other twelve months at all
events.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE "TIMES" FORGERIES COMMISSION.

When the "Times" on the 18th of April, 1887 published what purported to
be the _fac simile_ of a letter from Mr. Parnell, and suggested that it
was written to Mr. Patrick Egan in justification of the Phoenix Park
assassinations, I at once, like many others, guessed who the forger must
be. I had from time to time come into contact with Pigott, and I was
satisfied that he was the one man capable of such a production.

When the company was formed in 1875 for the starting of a newspaper in
connection with the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain, there was
an idea of buying Pigott's papers, "The Irishman," "Flag of Ireland,"
and "Shamrock," which always seemed to be in the market, whether to the
Government or the Nationalists after events showed to be a matter of
perfect indifference to him. Mr. John Barry and I were sent over to
Dublin to treat with him. Mr. Barry went over the books and I went over
the plant. What he wanted seemed reasonable enough, we thought.

The Directors of our Company did not, however, close with Pigott, but
concluded to start a paper of their own, "The United Irishman," the
production and direction of which, as I have stated, they placed in my
hands.

During these years I had many opportunities of getting a knowledge of
Pigott's true character. From time to time money had been subscribed
through Pigott's papers for various national funds. Michael Davitt told
me that when the political prisoners were released the committee
appointed to raise a fund for them, to give them a start in life,
applied for what had been sent through the "Irishman" and "Flag," that
the whole of the funds subscribed through the various channels might be
publicly presented to the men. There was considerable difficulty in
getting this money from Pigott, but ultimately it was squeezed out of
him.

An employe of the "Irishman," David Murphy, was shot--he survived his
wound--in a mysterious manner. This was ascribed, and from all we know
of the man, correctly, to Pigott, who, it was thought, fearing that
Murphy might know too much about the sums coming into his hands and the
sources whence they came, had tried to get him put out of the way. There
was a still more serious aspect of this attempted assassination. The
revelations of the "Times" Forgeries Commission afterwards proved that
all this time Pigott was giving informatio