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The Irish Trials For High Treason. The E...
_saaar-assKagSS ae Sie State Trials ] :-- ' ' A mercenary informer Knows _TdtedSSte . _^^ "if _^ _SSKS -opfeopteare slaves , not only to _tto _©^ _** _ Z jeyliey live at the meroy of every individual ; ftey are { ' _onsonoa the slaves ofthe whole community , eadot sery rery part of it ; and the worst and most unmerci-[ ml -sen are these ea _whase goodness they must 106 HID 61 ld / _SWitWitness . —Stop , stop ; I cannot repeat it if you m't » n't stop - ( Laughter . ) - ¦ SMr Mr Whiteside . —What ' . can't 50 _U repeat
that?ppesspeat a tangle sentence of it . _ETheThe witness hesitated , evidently quite at fan ! J . EDiaDia not Mr Meagher speak very _quiok—waahenot _IJasldasbing speaker ? He is a very nice young man . — _lauwughter . ) Well , I will try you again . I will _tid tad slowly—not near so qnieBy as Mt Meagher ukeoke—and when I have done yoa can tell _ms what I id . id . ( The learned counsel then read the following sssaissagefrom the same volume ) : — 'Bnt letusflret » mamine in what manner this matter , snch as itis , is ras recorded . He preferred to speak from notes , yet Ibsobserved him frequently looking np to tke ceiling _lailthilsthewas speaking , when 1 said to him , 'Are iu ou now s peaking ; from a note ? Have yoa got any
isle oie of what yoa are now saying V He answered—)) h _, Dhf no , this is from recollection . ' Good God Al iigbighty!—recollection mixing itself with notsa in a ississ of high treason . He did not even tako down te te words—nay , to do the man justice he did not ' seven affect to have taken the words , but only the ubiubstance , as he himself expressed it ; Oh , exceltntjnt evidence ! The substance of words taken down ff ay a spy , aad supplied , when defective , by his meueraery . * Now , sir , repeat that . ( Laughter . ) Witness srifwith a ludicrously pealed expression of countelamanee . y—I don't think there is a man in the court _coujoulddoit . ( Laughter . ) _« S py'h not applicable to Mine , fer I waa only discharging my duty . 1 Mr Whiteside . —Go down , sir .
< Constable Geary deposed ! that he began to write _uuuU report of the speech at night , but next morning _wrtore up wbat he had written and began again . ( Tbe ¦ _ritfritnesa was here atked to repeat a sentence in the ' pspeech , but coafr not do so unless he was permitted « to refer to his note . Mr Bntt objected to bis doing who)—I recollected the speech next morning ; there ia _uonotadayaince I came to Clonmel that 1 have not [ oolooked at it , for I had it in my cap . ( Laughter . ) ] Mr Butt —That is the nearest it got to your head , 11 believe . How often did yoa read it to-day ?—I wo-ronldnot swear how often , whether six times or ' _. wtwenty . Now repeat the passage abont the fire ship f if you an ; are you able to repeat it f—lam : be _laiaid , ' sink beneath tbe waters and _riseagain ,
_showinjrig forth the benefits of a glonona republic' Well , _vkufrmi _tta next sentence—waa ithumn ? Yes _dHhatwaait , 'hurrah for the republio . '—Well , can yoyou go on any farther ? Ne answer- —Can you repeat ihthepassaga ab-iut the ohildren 1 Witness ( scratchiningbis head ) : About the _«* hildt . en!—Yes . Are yryoa able to give ns that sow ? No answer . —Were _yryou drinking this morning ! No . —Were you _drinkiiine on tbe evening you made the report ? I wasnot . —Do you ever drink any ! I do . —So yon ever take aa drop too ranch f Oh , the first man in the land rrrnight do tbat sometimes . ( Laughter . )—Bnt are you
irin the habit of doing so ? I am not . —Were yOH _dsggradedforit ! No . —Were you ceasured for it t I wwas not—Did you ever lone service for it ? I did ; Sfive y ean ' . —How often did that happen ? Only once . —Well bow , I ask yoa again , canyon give me the ppassaga " about the children ! No answer . —On yonr _joatb _, and _before God , do yoa think yon can give oie [ sentence from tbe speech ! Have I not dene so uh-eady f—Bat on yonr oath , can you now repeat one wentenoe he uttered ! lean . —Well , if yen oan , reppeatme one sentence . ( The witness hesitated for _ssome time , but made no answer ) Mr Butt . —You may go down , air .
Captain Longmore . ofthe 8 th _Haasars , deposed to ihavingseen barricades at Kiilenaule * and stated ( that these ebstraatioss to the progress of his troop * were removed when he said he had not a warrant for Ithe arrest of Mr O'Brien . Mr Baft . —Captain _Longmsre , I suppose yoa iwouldbe very much surprised if yoa were told you : were engaged in war tbat morning . Captain Longmore ( laughing . )—Why , indeed I ishonld . Lamphier , another policeman , in his evidence , attributed to Mr Meagher words which he swore en the trial of Mr O'Brien were spoken by that gentleman _, and on being shown that he had done so , excused himself by saying that he was brought so often there that he was confused . The next witness we quote is of a different stamp :-
—An old woman named Mary Keenan ( said to have been Mr Meaghert nurse ) was tben called . When ahe made her _appearanoa on the table she said—My lord , with the greatest submission , I beg leave to apeak a single word . I have been bribed for the prosecution . I have got this cloak and thb cap . I have been bribed . Clerk of tbe Crown . —Take the bsok . "Witness took the boek asd kissed it . Sbe was then examined by the Attorney General —I live on the commons . I recollect the evening of the day of the fight at the Widow _Cormick ' s . —Do you know Mr Meagher ? Ob , I got a bribe , I will say nothing . —Yoa are noon your oath ; yoa are bound to give evidence . Look at that gentleman ( the prisoner ) . [ Witness buried her face in her hands . ] Do ycu know that gentleman ? I do sot , sir . There was some commotion in the court at this
part of the proceedings , - and many persons \ a the gallery laughed at the Btrange appearance of the old woman , and her demeanour on the table . Chief Jastice Blackbnrne . —The court has for some days observed great levity immediately ontside tbe dock ; and if these marks of approbation or disapprobation be continued , we will order the court to be cleared of those persons who are tbu disturbingit Attorney General ( to witness ) . —Yoa must turn about , madam . Mr Bntt—She has already said she does not know Mr Meagher .
Attorney General . —Ob , she most answer . Look , my good woman , at the dock . Do you know that gentlemen ? I tonld you I got a bribe for _spakisg I got a cap , a handkerchief , a _oloak , and stockings _forswearing . A constable got £ 1 , and bought them forme?—We will talk about the bribe by and by . Do you know that gentleman ? Yoa must answer me . I do not know bim . —Did you ever _sbb him before ? I might— -Were you ever in Waterford ? I wss . —Did yon know bim there ? No answer . —Was that the gentleman yon saw at Waterford ? I do not know , sir . —What acquaintance bad yon with him . -No acquaintance . —Were you at all acquainted with him ? When tea years old I was . I bad no
acquaintance vrith him , only to see hira , —Da you recollect seeing any gentleman about Sullivan ' s house , near the commons , before Friday evening ? There _werea' _-rea'itBany gentlemen . — -Were you renewing any old acquaintance with him there ? I do not know whether I was or not . I do not remember . —Did you see that gentleman upon that evening at the commons ? I do not know . I saw several gentlemen . — Come wormn , you must- answer . I am not able to answer you . — Did you see thai gentleman , and were you speaking to him ? Nff . I have not a bit of memory , sir . Yeu have not a bit of memory ! No , sir . lama poor ione widow , making my way , through tke world .
Chief Justice . —Mr Attorney General , will you press her any more ? Attorney General—No , my lord . You may go down , madam .. Mary Keenan rolled her cloak abont her , snd adjusted ber cap , and then , went rapidly oS tbe table , covering her face in her cloak , as if unwilling even to look at Mr Meagher . Mr Whiteside in opening the defence said : —In tbis ca 3 e ( _hssaid ) , IS now becomes my duty to address you on the part of my client , the prisoner at ita bar . I shall not be guilty of the silly affectation of asking yon as Court and jadges to dismiss from your minds what you may have heard of the proceedings in this case-on the contrary , I do not desire that you should
forget all that yoa know and mast necessarily bave read ofthe trials which have taken place at this unfortunate commission . Had my client been tried first , and had he beea tried in any happier portU of this empire , I aver his acquittal would have been certain . But the Attorney Ganeral , wiih consummate art , bas reserved this case for the last . The previous Mais have paved the way for the oonvictioa ofthe _prisoner , and my learned friend , flashed with his past successes , nu kept the case of Thomas Francis Meagher for the closing scene of tha commission : Gentleman of the jury , you heard the Attorney General ' s statement . That statement wa 3 clear , aad in oae or two respects , was _remarkable . He told yoa Mr Meagher was indicted for levying of war against the Oaten , and ha
larthertold you-I wrote down the sentence as ha spoke it—thai it wasnot necessary for him to prave ttiat Meagher wag present at tiuJn-j-i-jc of _* _, _« _-, for _vaai he would be equally euiliy if he wera seated in his parlour ( I presume iu D iblin ) while all the trans * acbqns spoken of were taking place in your county , and if the Attorney Ganeral be right and succeed in convincing the court that his view of tha law ba correct , and it the court succeeds in _oonvincinzyoa that it onght to bs adopted , of course my oiient must be oonvicted . But if _. oa thecontrary _. thecaseof my client be heard and ba _tnsd with reference toevervthicg he has done—with reference to his conduct and all his actioas-then his acquittal is eertain ; Now , the _dift-culty m my way is to have him tried acoordiiig to _tUeprffiClpta' Of COmlnOnleSRA m' ffnmmnn 'n « _tinA
By' _thefandamsntalirule of onr law , that one man is _nofcto be affected by the declarations , speeches , asd conduct ot ano fa 3 r , unless tbat other is _injeffect almost _himself-ihat is to say , bo identified in one parpoie and one _objee , inst the identical purpose stated in the _ind-et-aent to affect Mr Meagher , my client , with
The Irish Trials For High Treason. The E...
anything whioh has been said , or spoken by another , unless on suoh grounds , is simply to deny the first principles of jastice , and to violate the law you are to administer . The learned gentleman after stating the offence of which Mr Meagher was _' acbused , and giving a luminous exposition of the law with reference to it , proceeded to give an outline of hiB client ' s political career and opinions : —About four years ago Mr Meagher left tbe college in which he was educated—a placB at wbioh some ofthe most distinguished men at the bar , and one or two on the bench , were educated before him . He came over to this country at the time Mr O'Connell was holding what were called the monster meetings . He attended several of those meetings , held for the purpose of obtaining a repeal of the union , bnt he did not speak . He became
personally known to Mr O'Connell , and was admired by that distinguished person for his talents . One vice , he admitted , hisclienthad—that any opinion ha ever entertained he as openly avowed and consistently adhered to ; and if he thought a particular question was bottomed on principle asd justioe , he adhered to bis opinion , whoever those mi ght bs who held a contrary one . In almost the outset of his life be got into one difficulty . In May , 1845 , upon tbe occasion of the . bill being brought in by Sir ft . Peel io establish pro- j vinoial colleges in this country , there was a discus- j _siori at the Repeal Association on the valae of those associations . Mr Meagher held the opinion that a j mixed religious education was the best mode in order i to abate religious rancour , and to combine the yonth of the country in sentiments of union and affection :
he spoke in advocacy of tba' . plan , - and instantly be was assailed and branded as *> n infidel . A storm burst upon him which he believed Mr O'Connell rather directed , and Mr Meagher for some time was obliged to withdraw . Iu February , 1846 , however , he became an aotive member of the Repeal Association , and apon bo occasion did he shrink from avowing sentiments of generous nationality , in strains of ratber rustic elcqaence . His theory , right or wrong , was this , and in it he ( Mr Whiteside ) entirely agreed with him , and thought he had done a lasting benefit to his country , by asserting that withont / the entire and _complete union of all classes of persons it would be impossible to accomplish the objeot he had in view . When the Whigs came into _offi-e he was found in a prominent position , and one thing
_oocnrl red which brought bim into odium . A proposition was mooted whether Repealers should hold places or not . Mr Meagher was of opinion that they shonld not , and that it would destroy the object- of the party ; and in truth he thought tbe Whigs most dangerous to bis project , because agitation , was carried on as a means of getting places , and ne farther , and no good was done to tbe conntry . His opinion met with . violent opposition tbat led to a schism , and resulted in the Confederation . There was a proposition , to o ppose Mr Sheilat Dangarvan . and Mr Meagher _espensed tbat cause , but he waa deemed an impracticable person , uttering extravagant opinions that could never be pnt in praotice , After that , what were oalled the notorious peace resolutions were introduoed , and an argument was got up against
physical force and for moral resistance . He refused to agree to that dectrine , tbat iu no event should a nation resort to armed resistance . -. It waa by jtbe assertion of the doctrine which Mr Meagher supported tbat the Qaeen held her throne . In January , 1847 . the Confederation was formed , and MrMeagber on several occasions candidly expressed his feelings , uttering sentiments which were all in favour of the legitimate rights of property , of the preservation of the various orders ot the state , bat advocating ; no doubt with ardent expressions , that coarse which be thought wonld recover and restore what he had been taught to believe was the good old constitution of Ireland . In February there came a qaestion as to the organisation of clubs , and the great question of _Rspealers holding _nlacEB was again discussed . At
a later period Mr Meagher attended a meeting in Belfast , and at that meeting be disclaimed the idea of any ascendanoy of any class in the conntry . The next transaction he figured in waa at Galway ; in supporting Mr _O'Flaherty against the Attorney General , though not from any personal disrespect to his learned friend . Mr Meagher afteiwards became a candidate for Waterford , bnt was aot returned ; that was on the 14 th of March , and on the 15 th he uttered that very speech in which , as the Attorney General conceived , he had established something guilty against him . What did tbey think of the principle of a case whioh relied upon speeches in March to explain aots dene in July ? It was a most unconstitutional style of argument . It was mdns _> _trous to take speeches made at a given time , and
wbich might then be seditions only , and to strain them into treason four or fire months afterwards , and to make them evidence cf a crime which , at the time they were delivered , they did not establish and could not prove . He objected to take old stale speeches , connecting them with others , and mixing them np into a jumble , and then , easing , ' This proves high treason , ' Tbat was the bad doctrine of cumulative treason , which he thought ; was driven out ot onr courts of law . He was surprised thatthe Attorney General could refer to the speeohes of Mr Meagher , and say that his enthusiastic declamation about the _Repnblic . of France was evidence of treason . His client spake with warmth , bat the best men he ever knew had talked in their youth in the same manner , and he would not give a rash for
any young man through whosei brain ah idea never passed of restoring the departed glories of Greece or Rome . A jary wonld not convict him on this speech of sedition , and yet thejury were now called on ; to take Mb . life for it . Tbe Attorney General said he had an idea in his mind . An idea 1 Suoh a phrase suggested the worst days before the old Revolution , And because the prisoner entertained ' an idea' about the independence of his country , he was to be accused on the authority of speeches delivered months before . Attempts like these bad been crammed into indictments in England , and speeches , songs , and ribald verses poured into the ears of jurors until they were sick , but all to no good ; in every case the juries acquitted the accused . The learned' gentleman read another 6 peech of Mr Meagher , in whieh he spoke ofthe necessity of procuring repeal , and if that were denied , of essaying for independence . Tbe Attorney General prosecuted him—and he was sorry he had
failed—for sedition , bat a common jary did not believe him guilty -, and now he was tried before a jury characterised , it waa said , by firmness and determination , for high treason . Lst them beware that they did not earn a character for firmness and determination at the expense of humanity and justice . Mr Whiteside proceeded at great length to comment with singular power and ability on the evidence adduced by tbe crown , and especially on the varioas speeches attributed to his client , and the letters written by bim , and pnt in evidenoe against bim ; and having closed the documentary part of the case at nearly seven o ' clock , requested the court would adjourn , as he felt mnch exhausted . The court granted the request . A burst of clapping of hands and stamping oi feet followed the close cf the speech , and lasted a fsw seconds . ' ¦ The High Sheriff ( to the police } . —Take any one into custody yon see applauding at once .
The delinquents were , however , concealed beneath the shades of night in the gallery and tbe court , and not one of the enthusiasts was caught to be made an example of i Oa Friday morning Mr Whiteside resumed his address for the defence . After a brief recapitulation of wbat he had advanced on the previous day , he entered into a minute analysis oi the evidence and charaoter of tbe witness Dobbin . He first pointed out the discrepancies in his evidence , and then the additions made to it since his former examination , whioh alone wonld expose him to suspicion . He denounced his whole story , and condemned the officers ef the orown for not _attempting to sustain it by any csrroboration . The mean 3 were within their power ; even witnesses had been placed npon the table who
conld have corroborated portions of his story bad it been true , and yet tbe Attorney-General had not dared to examine them on those points , Dobbin ' s history , as extracted on cross-examination , waa next handled with great effect ; and Mr Whiteside closed this part of the case by _asterting that on Dobbin ' s evidenoe the whole case hinged , and no twelve men in their senses coold place the sli ghtest confidence in his testimony . The speeches , as reported by tbe police , were next commented npon , and the speaker condemned in strong language the employment of iluteratemen in suoh duties as are likely to iapai * their efficiency , and bring them into great contempt . He went rapidly through the remaining evidence ; concluding as follows :-Who is the prisoner whose acquittal I demand inthe name of jastice ? Yoa
see bim scarcely entered on the race of life , with every prospect of a happy and a bright career , ardent in feeling , of generous aspirations , gifted with impassioned elcquenoe , and urged on by a vehement lave of country ; His indiscretions have been free from cieanness , selfishness , hyproorisy , or falsehood ; but still they bave been indiscretions . HiB desire to restore a local _pailiament may be visionary , but it is natural , and springs from the noblest feeling whioh can warm ir animate the heart of man . I do not say he was right . I declare emphatically my belief that npon such shreds of evidenoe as you have heard , if tried in England , his acquittal would be certain . Discriminate between guUt and iuuocencei The proceedings at tbis commission , the condition of tar country , the man y prejudices pressing upon the prisonerare all with honourable minds ao many
addi-, tional reasons for the _extremist caution in listening to the proof of words—words , nothing but words—to establish treason . I only ask yoa to aet in conformity with the law , acd I tell you the honest verdict oi acquittal will be hailed with delight by all _reflecting men , by your countrymen throughout the wide world with gratitude , and , better still , it will receive the lasting approbation ofthe impartial monitor within your hearts . Posterity will remember and bless your names ; it will be said of you , that when impanelled in a time of unparalleled excitement yoa did your duty between the _CtoWtt Bnuthe subject , and _exeouted justice temperately , wisely , reconciling many to the law who bad _donbts of its impartiality and fairness ; that you would not listen to _sophiBtry , nor convict your fellow-creature on oonjeotnre and guess ; that you struck down _Uk _odiousfttetrhie of
The Irish Trials For High Treason. The E...
| constructive treason , and restored thelaw tothe _nobleaimplieityiu which it waa _fashioned by a free ! and * * i ! riS 6 u 8 ancestry , May that law , not a law of 1 subtleties and quirks , quibbles and _oonstruotions , 1 bat a law-of broad reason , be perpetual as thegreat-1 ness of the people from whom it springs , and may : tbe free _' and happy constitution , defended and guarded by that law , flourish in unbroken Btrength and splendour uatil that dread day on which we are ' taught to believe this fabric of nature mast be dissolved in eternal asheB . . ¦ ' .. .,, , _„ _„•„„„ „ - Mr _WhifeBide was quite exhausted at the close of -tail address , which ended at about Wf _* P » twft MJ on tbia occasion even Burp & tted hia effort ou behalt ot
_i The evidence for the defence was then called . The i first witness deposed to being a member of the Bea Hand Club , and being acquainted with Dabbin . He was a member before Dobbin , and swore that _neither Dobbin nor any one else had ever been appointed a delegate from the club under any circumstances , aud none of the club bad ' ever been armed . Mr Kirwan , tbe solioitor for Mr Meagher , then deposed that he had examined ' -the balloting papers for thecounoilof war , and though Djbbin had stated that Mr D . Reilly and Mr Lalor had an equality of votes , the numbers , acoording to the papers , werefor Mr Reilly 16 . and for Mr Lalor 10 , and this on the first ballot . . . „ , _« ,. Similar evidence to tbat in tbe case of O'Donohoe , was then given , showing that Mr Meagher , on the day of the attack at Widow M'Cormick ' s , was some miles distantand eon'd not have been there . '
, After a _ahnt adjournment , Mr Butt followed on ths _aama side as Mr Whiteside , on whose speech ne passed a high _eulogium . He necessarily passed over the Baoe ground as on this and previous trials . _^ _His speech was very able and argumentative , and had not _concluded at half-past seven , when he prayed tne indulgence of an adjournment , which the ceurt refused , till Mr Meagher implored them to do so aa an aotof justioe to his counsel . On Saturday morning , Mr Butt resumed , and concluded auable Speeo h by asking thejury to call-back to their minds the speeches whioh his client made in Dablin—to read carefully those splendid lessons of toleration and peace—tho ° e grand lessons of order and _loralty wbioh be had inculoated en his
_oouhtrymen—andask themselves whether they ought _» pt to obliterate from their memories the io se and indiscreetray _. if : tbey wonld bave it so , these seditious speeohes , into wbich persecution aud persuasion had betrayed him . _Everything given in evidence onjthat trial was left to thejury . On them depended whether a precedent should be established that might prove fatal to the liberties of the country . It ** _as by the independence of jurors that tbeir liberties were alone proteoted , and if thejury he addressed betrayed the high trust reposed in them that day , they would be establishing a precedent that might be ased againBt their own children hereafter . He would pray the
Great Being wht presided over tbat tribunal before which _. they must aU app * ar , to rescue his olient from a verdict of guilty , founded upon Buch evidence as had been brought against him by tbe orown omthe preseut trial ; and fully confiding in the impartiality of the jodges . on thebenbhi in the honour ;; integrity , and determination of the jury , and inthe'UBttceaud righteousness ef tbe case he presented to them ; he felt tbat the high and noble qualities of bis olient were not to meet tbo traitor ' s doom ; and that their verdict would redeem him from tbe inventive imagination of spies apd informers , and restore him tothe service ef bis Queen and conntry . _ The learned gentleman was applauded npon resuming his seat .
Chief Jastice to the prisoner : Now is your time to say anything to the conrt and jary if yoa desire it . Mr Meagher . —No , mylord , I do not wish to say anything ; J am perfectly satisfied . with the manner in which mj counsel have defended me ; The . Solicitor General rose and reviewed tbe law of high treason as applicable to the present case , and admitted thatthe speeches delivered by Mr Meagher were not treason , bnt they were used on tbe part of the crown to show the intention of Mr Meagher wben he addressed tbe populace of Carrick the night
before tha insurrectionary movement , and his appearance in Kiilenaule , holding with ten others , a oounoil of war . Tiey were to say whether they conld draw any other conclusion from this , than that he accompanied armed bodies marching through Ballingarry —was _contributing his aid—nsihg tbat gift of eloquence which God . gave bim ( and wbioh every man shonld regret had not been differently employed ) to excite tbe misjudging population to aots of rebellion , which had unfortunately placed their lives in jeopardy . .. . ....
After going over the evidenoe , he concluded ; by leaving its value to the jury , confident they would give a jast and impartial verdict . Lord Chief Jastice Blackbarne then summed up , during which he re id the evidence of Dabbin verba : iim , and told the jury tbat they must be the sole judges of his veracity . Thejury retired , and at a quarter to eight returned into court with a verdiot ot ' Gnilty ' againat T . F . Meagher , strongly recommending him to mercy , on account of his youtb , and for other reasons . On Monday the untried politioal prisoners were brought up . The attorneys of the prisoners , it is understood , exerted all their persuasive powers to induce them to plead guilty , but many of 'the boys' repudiated suoh a pusillanimous and inglorious proceeding , insisting on tbeir right to share the fortunes of ' the gentlemen , ' and to try chance for a verdict , and tbe success of those efforts may be seen below .
The prison van arrived at the Conrt bouse with the usual guard of police at half-past nine o ' oleck , but it was three-quarters past ten before tbe Judges took their seats on the bench . The court was very full , the galleries being crowded by a number of grand jurors , their families , and of officers of the regiments
in garrison . The Solicitor General ( who is left to conduot the Crown cases in the absence of tha Attorney Ganeral , who went up to Dublin on Saturday evening ) applied to the Court that James Orohard , Denis Tyne , and Patrick O'Donnell should be brought to the bar to plead to the indiotment . The prisoners were brought forward accordingly . Orchard has the appearance of a country blacksmith in reduced circumstances , D . Tyne of a farm labourer , and Patrick _O'Djnnell looked like a respectable farmer . Tbe Cl ? ik o * the Crown _having read over the indictment , eaoh of tbe prisoners pleaded 'Not guilty . ' ' ¦ ' . Mr O'Callaghan tendered the same plea as in tbe
case of ths former prisoners with respect to the list of witnesses , & c , not having been delivered to each ten dayb before trial , in order to establish their rights in ease of _olterior proceedings . The pleashaving been received , the prisoners were removed , and another batch placed at the bar . They wera ell ill-dressed , half-starved men , with the air of miser able rustic mechanics and artificers , except Stack , whe ib an enormous peasant , with a bold and determined bearing . Tbey consisted of . William Peart , Thomas Finane , J . Brennan , J . Preston , and the last named . Each _pleaded _VN 6 V guilty , ' and were removed as soon as similar pleas had been handed in on behalf of each of them .
BBKTBNCE OH IHS CONVICTED FHIS 0 NER 8 . The Solioitor General—I have now to apply to your lordships that T . B . M'Manus , Patriok O'Donohoe , and Thomas Francis Meagher may be brought to tbe bar to receive the jadgaent of the court . The three prisoners advanced to the centre of tho dock ; they were attired with evident attention to tbeir appearance . ' Eaoh of them comported himself with a resolute air . M'Manus seemed as self-composed as he -raj on his trial . O'Donohoe looked pale , bat _colle * ted ; while Me _jgher had a little _osten tatious display in his attitude . The Clerk of the Crown ( having read the indiotment ) said—Wbat bave you , Terenoe _Bsllew M'Manus , now to say why sentence oi death Bhould not be passed upon you ?
M'Manus ( who , at tbe utterance of the first word , paused for a moment , thsn proceeded in a firm voice , and with that composure and propriety of manner which had . characterised hia demeanour during hi * trial)—My lords , I trust I am enough of a Christian and of a man to understand the awful responsibility of the question which has been pat to me . Standing upon this my native soil , _—^ standing in an Irish court of jastice , and before the Irish nation , I bad much to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon me , and why the sentenoe of ihe law should not be passed against me' but upon entering into this court I placed my life , and , what i 3 of more import- ' ance to me , my honour , in the hands of two advocates , and if I bad a thousand lives and ten thousand
honours , I should have been content to place them all under the watchful and glorious genius ofthe one , and under tbe patient _zsal and devotion of the other . I am , therefore , content on this point , and bave nothing to say with regard to it . I have this to say , whioh no advocate , however anxious and devoted , he may be , can say for me—I have this to say—tbat whatever part I may bave taken in my struggle for my oountry ' _s _independence— whatever part Ihavo acted in my short career , I stand before your _lotdships now with a free heart and light conscience , ready to abide the issue of yonr sentence . And now , _uiy lotus , ia thiB , whioh may b *> the fikteeb time for me to put tbis sentiment on record , I say , that standing in this dook , and about to ascend the scaffold , it may be to-morrow—it may be now , it may be
never—whatever the result may be , I wish to pui this on record , thatin no part of my conduot ,--. m no part of the proceedings I have taken , _havi'l been aotuated by animosity towards _Englif-, * amen for among them I have spent some of the _happiest _' _days of my life , and of the most _prosperous , and in no part whioh I have token was I ap _^ ed by enmity towards Englishmen indmdu _^ _iy _, Wflatever I may have felt of the injustice & English rule in this island . Therefore , I hayp . only to say , it is not for hawBglsvedEnBianaV _. _a _, butfor having loved Ireland more that 1 now stand before you , ( Murmurs of _apolause in the ga ' ilery . ) " O'Donohoe , on feeing a 3 " j ed by the Clerk ofthe Crown what he . bad to aay , spoke as follows : —I beg to say that thf _* , Attorney General aad tbe Solioitor _Ijengrai nave conducted the case against me fairly
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bat strictly , and that I find no fault with them , nor with the evidenoe given against me , as far as it was stated to the jury . My Lords , I do complain that in suoh a oountry as thiB the jurors summoned to try me —a stranger—for a politioal offenoe were exclusively m y political opponents , and with suoh a panel ' I re gret tbat your lordships did not , as my counsel re . _aaestedrsltow my jury to be called from those who had not served or had been rejected on a former trial . Thejury thus selected could net be supposed to overcome all bias , and I _bali ' eve tbey found a most _miitatrea verdict . Mr Justice _^ Moore in his direotion told tbt > jury tbat if I assisted Mr O'Brien whilst _eaeaeed in a treasonable design , I was guilty of treason although I might not know of his intent , aiid from their recommendation to meroy , it appears that direction ., ,
the y found me guilty on that . To one unlearned in the law , who might suppose that treason depended on intention , it seems contrary to common sense that I oan participate in a treasonable design of the existence of which I am ignorant . I do not , however , presume to dispute the law as your lordship _haB stated it , but no earthly judge ib infallible ,, and as the doctrine is so . startling , and is stamped with the authority of Mr Moore ' s high constitutional charaoter , and would form a precedent dangerous to thelives and liberties of the best men , I humbly re quest your lordship to reserve tbe point for the consideration of the judges ; if your lordship be in error that error will be corrected , if not it will be a protection to every one to know that tha law laid down ' here bas been confirmed . It is not for me on thia
occasion , nor is it fit , to defend my opinions and character ! I will therefore only say those opinions have _bsen _tolerant sincere , and consistent . I am grateful to my _eminent counsel , Mr Bntt , for hia eloquent and truly able defence—the more so , beoause that defence was generously given without fee or reward , and given to his political antagonist . I oannot express my admiration' for the sincerity and great talent shown by my junior oounsel , Mr Franois Meagher , and his zeal in my defenoe . I also beg to thank my solicitor , Mr Laffan , for the ability with which he _conducted my case , and the great exertions made by him on my behalf . I thank your lordship for this patient hearing . Mr Meagher , on being called on to say why . sentence of death should not be passed upon him , spoke
as follows t—My folds , it is my intention to say a few words only . I desire that the last aot of a proceeding which bas ocbppied so much ol the publio time should be of short duration ; nor have Ithe indelicate wish to olose the dreary ceremony of . astatep-oseoution with a vain display of words . Did I fear that hereafter , when I shall bs no more , the country I have tried to serve would think ill of me , I might ind ed avail myself of tbis solemn moment to vindicate , my sentiments and my conduct ; but I have no suoh fear , The country will judge of those , sentiments and that oondaot in a light far different from tbat in which the jury by which I have been tried and c mvioted have ' received them , and by the country , ! the sentence which you . my lords , are about to pronounce will be remembered only as the severe and solemn
attestation of my reotitude and truth . Whatever be tbe language in whioh my sentenoe be spoken , I know that my fate will meet with sympathy , and that my memory ' will be honoured . In speaking thus acouse ' me not , my lords , of an indecorous presumption . Tothe efforts I have made in the just and noble cause I asoribe no vain importance , nor do I ' _olaim for those efforts any high reward ; bat it so happens , and it ever will happen bo , tbat tbey who have tried to serve their country , no matter how weak their efforts may have been , are sure to receive j tbe _tbanks and blessings of its people . With my countrymen I leave my memory , my sentiments , my aots , — -proudly feeling tbat they require no vindication from me this day ; ' A jory of my countrymen , it is true , have fonnd me guilty of tbe crime of whiob
I stood indioted . For this I bear net the slightest animosity or resentment towards thera , influenced as thfy must have been by , the charge of the Lird Chief Justice , perhaps they could have found no other verdiot . Bat what of this charge ! Any strong observations upon it I feel sincerely would ill befit the solemnity of this scene ; bnt I woald earnestly beseeoh of you , my lord , —you , who pre side on tbat bench , — -when the passions and prejudices of this hour _ehallhave passed away , that you will appeal to your own conscience , and ask if it were a charge as it ought to have been , impartial and indifferent between the subjeot and the Crown . My Lord * , you may deem tbis language unbecoming in me , and perhaps it may sea ! my fate . But I am here to speak the truth whatever it may cost . I am
here to regret nothing I have ever done—to retract nothing I have ever spoken—I am here to crave with no lying lips the life I consecrate to tbe liberty of my oountry . - Far fieri it . Even here , where the thief , the libertine , and the murderer have left their footprints in the dust—here , on this spot , where the shadows of death surround me , and from which I see myttir ' ygrsreioas Deconsecrated soil is opened 'o receive me—even here , encircled by those terrors , the hope which beckoned me en to embark upon the perilous sea upon wbioh I have been wrecked still consoles , animates , enraptures me . No , I do not despair of my poor old country . I do not despair of her peace , her liberty , her glory . For that country I can do no more than bid ber hope . - To lift up this isle , to make her a benefactor to humanity , instead of
being ' what she is—the meanest beggar in tbe world —to restore her anoient constitution and her native powers—this has been my ambition ; and thiB ambition has been my crime . J adged by the law et England , I know tbat this crime entails on me the penalty of death j but the history of Ireland explains this orime and justifies it . Judged by that history I am no criminal ; you ( turning and addressing Mr M'Manus ) are no criminal . You ( turning again , to Mr O'Donohoe ) are no criminal ; aud we deserve ne punishment . Judged by that history , the treason of which I stand convioted loses all guilt , has been sanctified as a duty , and will be ennobled as a sacrifice . With _these _' _seotiments I await the sentenoe of the Court . Having done what I conceive to be my duty—having spoken now , as I did on every occasion daring my short career , wbat I felt to be the truth—I now bid farewell to the oountry of my birth ,
of my passion , and of my death ; the country whose misfortunes have invoked my sympathies , _whosB fao tionB I have sought to quell , whose intellect 1 have prompted to lotty aims , whose freedom haB been my fatal dream . To that country I now offer aB a pledge of the love I bore ber , and as a proof of the _sinoerity with which I thought , and spoke , and struggled for her freedom , the life of a young hfart , and with that life all the hope ?; the honours , tbe endearments of a happy and an honourable home . Pronounce then , my Lords , the sentence the law _direots , and I shall be prepared to hear it—I trust I sh % ll be prepared to meet its exeoution . I hope I shall be able , with a light heart and a dear oonBcience , to appear before a higher tribunal—a tribunal where a Judge of infinite goodness as well as of infinite justice will preside , and"Jiheie , my Lords , many , rxaay ol ' _thejudgments of this world will be reversed .
A murmur of applause ran through the Court Many were moved by the prisoner ' s words to tears , and among them the counsel to . whose , care bis lift ) had been intrusted . Lord Chief Justice Doberty proceeded , amid , the most , profound silence , to pass sentence upon tbe criminals . Prisoners at the bar—Terence _Bellew M'Manus , Patrick O ' Donohoe , and Thomas Franois Meagher , after'deep consideration before entering into this court it wai my intention , in the performance of the vety painful duty which devolves upon me , not to have ' prolonged your stay at that bar by any length of observation . You , and each of you , _ippear there having been convicted by the verdict of three ' successive juries of the crime of high treason —the crime of the greatest ' enormity kuowff to our
law ? . Ifeel bound tossy tbis , thatit is the deliberate , diuia-sionatoi and calm opinion of the Court tbat ( he verdicts ' which' were found by those jurie " , and tbe verdiot which was'found by a former jury , conld not bave been other than they were That no honest , fair , impartial , and conscientious _jUrors , attending strictly to their oaths , and ; listening to the evidence ' that was produced in tbis court in the _courseof these _unusua Iy pro _' rabted trials , could have soma to any other _oimoiualon th _air that whioh the ) have done . They hare pronounced yon , one and all guilty of the crime of high treason . That orime con _sists in haying levied war in this country within and during tbe last week of the month of July—ef having leviedwar _fortieaaqnable purposes-and thatyou _. and each of you , more or ' less participated in , exoited to . of
and prepared for , and were . yourselves , some you morei ' Bome less , actively engaged in the furtherancr ofthat projeot . In order t 6 constitute the crime of hi gh treason by the levying bf war , it is no ingredient that the means should ; be proportioned to the end sought ' to be accomplished , or tbat there should be a rational prospect of success . Tha parties who engage in such transactions become responsible if they have arrayed , assembled , oolleoted , drilled , and prepared those who , by force , endeavoured to accempliBb tbat object—the common object that was in view . It is not , I am sorry tossy , to any forbearance on your part , that ' that rebellion—for such I may term it—vbich broke out _inthatwetk , waa brought to a speedy conclusion . It is not due to you ; it is . unde ; God , attributable to the fidelity and to the brewery of tho police foroe . When I unset on what mjgul have been the consequences if tbat police force ,
oither seduced by premises er intimidated by threats whioh were made use of , had yielded to the advances tbat were made to them , if they had been overwhelmed by tbe congregated numbers that assembled and _attemptou Vnew _dea ' _vtuc ' tHm , or ii they "iiad failed in dispersing these bands of rebels « - _* a 0 assembled arouad tbem on the hills , —I thi ' _jk there is no fair man who , looking at and conte Kiplatin" _wha-. the state of this couptry might hav ., been , will not see bow rapidly a temporary success might havo added te the number of the _insurgents , and how soon this country might have bepa deluged in blood , and given over te all the _horrors of a civil war . It ia from that we havB esoaped by the fidelity and by the bravery of the police force , lam very far , God knows , frcm wishing to say tme word at this moment that can raise or enhance tbe feelings whioh seme of ycu may endure . . But I cannot , in looking to what WW m state of the _gouBtrv in , fee _jaoath of
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May last . avoid adverting ( without entering into particulars of it ) to that authentio speeoh whioh was given in evidence upon the hut trial—eloquent ho doubt it is—but who can avoid seeing , , in the perusal / of that ; speeoh , delivered by yon , ' Mr Meagher , on the 6 th of Jane , a terrible piotureof what was at that time the state of tbis country , and the calamities which were impend m and meditated , and from whioh , by God ' s assistance , we have escaped . I have told you that it was my wish to abstain from enlarging or giving any details , and 1 shall do so _/ I _aha'l merely add this observation , that from the commencement to the conclusion of this commission , whioh has . now extended to the fifth week , there has been a perfeot coincidence in '
the views of every ; member .: of this henoh as to the law ; and if the observations of the distinguished judge who presides here did seem to you ( and lean make every , allowance for their doing so ) to press and bear severely upon you , perhaps , iu a calmer moment , when you come to reflect upon it , yoa will see that it was from the very nature of the transactions themselves that those comments legitimately arose which appeared to you to press with undue severity upon you . Perhaps when yon come to refleot dispassionately you will see this in the same light , and I trust tbat you may be more reconciled than you appear at present to the jastice of tbe unhappy fate whioh awaits you . and whioh there is not an individual with ' a heart to feel who must not deeply depltte . I shall
now not detain yen longer . I have merely to exhort each of you to n fleet on the awful situation in which each of you at this moment stand , and to prepare for the dreadful fa ' . e that impends over you . We have not failed to send , as was oar duty , to the Lord Lietitonant , the recommendations with which the juries in your respective cases have accompanied the verdicts that have been found against you . But you must be well aware that it . is with the Exeoutive government , and the Executive government alone , tbat tbe fate of those recommendations rest ? . And we , in the disoharge of our most anxious and painful
duty , have now only to proceed to pass upon you , and upon each of you , tbe awful sentenoe of the law , whioh is , tbat you TerencB Bellew M'Manus , you Patrick O'Donohoe , and you Thomas Franois Meagher , be taken bancs to tho place whence yoa oame , and be thence drawn on a hurdle to the place of exeoution , and that each ef you be there banged by _theneok until you be dead , and that afterwards the head of oaoh of you shall be severed from his body ,, and the body of each divided into four quarters , to be disposed of aB her Majesty shall think fit , and may . the Almighty God have mercy upon your souls . .
His lordship , who raised up his hands to Heaven as he pronounced the last words of the sentence , left the bench'irrmediately , followed by the Lord Chief Justice Blackbnrne and Mr Jastice Moore . The Governor of the gaol and his assistant removed the prisoners , who bowed to the , court as they retired down tbe steps of the dock ,, and . shook hands with theirfrieBds . _, . . .., 7 There was a dead silence iu court for a short time ; then the noise of conversation became loader and louder , and at last the persons who perhaps had wept at the address of Mr Meagher fergot tbeir ' Borrow , and testified the existence of very different feelings by laughter , which _soaaded harshly snd gratingl y on
the ear after the solemn words it had bo reoently listened to . . ., .. . _, ,.: _,, ¦ - . On the return ofthe judges , in about half an hour , The Solicitor General said , that in consequence of the lengthened sitting ofthe commission , and tbe painful and onerous duties which had bsen imposed on all concerned , in it ,, and from the protraoted attesdance ef the jurors , on mature consideration it was not hia intention , to ask the conrt to _prooeod with any ' further trials at the present sitting , but he would request their lordships to adjourn tbe proceedings at the commission to Taesday , _Ddoember 5 th .
igLord Chief J ustice Blaokburne . —Then let the oourt be adjourned to , Tuesday , Deoember 6 th . The judges then retired , and in a few minntes the oourt , which had been the busy scene of Baoh memo _, _rable events , and for upwards of a month thronged by an anxious _aadiencs , was left te the guardianship of the old woman who keeps it clean , and sweeps away the cobwebs from Us windows aad oeiling .
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With respect to the men who refused to give ' eV _denos against Mr O'Brien , the jadges have raV that John O'Donnell , a farmer of the better _olagj and Riohard Shea , a half famished lad of aboni eighteen years old , are to be imprisoned for oney ** _- from the lst of Ootober , and fined £ 10 , and io de ! fault of paying Buch fine that they be further i- _^ prisoned for a period of tbree months . Edmund Egan , the other man who refused to give evidence is in for trial , true bills for high treason having been foand against him . _— _.. _ . _ .
TRIAL BT JDRT . Tho following letter rras received hy _Sauthoota _Manserab , Esq ., of Grenaue , the foreman Of the iur » on Mr O'Brien ' s trial :- J 7 Sir , —1 received Intelligence that yen were a Fora f the grand jury on tbe tryal of W . S . O'Brien , and _tlnat yoa returned to a verdiot of guilty on the nooble and high-minded man . But-by the great name of God I swear if he be executed accordln to his _aentense , that y . u may be sure ef a fate similar to bit ; and alio your unmanly savage—or brother bo sure of his fate . Agala I tell you be prepared to meet tht oruels ded that ever wai inflicted en any ho mane beta , If Ur O'Brien bo bun < or tranipor'ed . For by the Lord of Heaven and earth , they hand that rote thlt will send yea and your brother soul to the schorchlo flames of perdition . Signed by your unrerenged enemy , To Ur _Hanser , Q enano .
TBE _ItintmH SENTEN 0 E 3 OF IBB _MIHH TB 1 IT 0 S ~ . ' _~ . THE DDBLlK C . UUISSIOK - » C . O . _OOFtr . — _HEVOVrn , MATH OF JOBN HITCHM ,, —TBS 10 BD _LISDIBKiST ' _a
VISIT TO I 0 _MD _3 N , [ From our own Correspondent , ) Dublin , Oot . 21 tb , 1818 . Lac tba hangman new ba only permitted to do his doty to earn his own portion of the blood wages , ' nnd all will be satisfactorily over . Even if tbe Whigs should grant the lives of their victims tomorrow , it will ba only oause tbey muBt do it , just as tba rarenou * _jtokal hesitates to lap the blood of the stricken . dowa victim whilst his master the lion growls within his view . Were it net tbat the vile mutches tremble before the voice of the people , tbe pulleys of tbe Clonmel _gollowi would soon be heard squealing , and ths blood of the noblest and bravest of men tbat Earopa ever gave birth to , would be food for tbe oarrion _orons ofthe Gualtees before to . morrow ' s _snn . down .
Thomas Francis Meagher , Terence BeUew _M'Manu * and P . O'Doooboe , received -entenoe of BUTCHERY _jeBterday , The death of tbe smash * , or common , nw . deter was 'too good' for gallant Irishmen , The doom " of tbe mad deg was not enough for Irish gentlemen- _^ they _murt be chopped ln ' . o mlnce-meat , and their flesh flang to tbe ravens andfoses of the bills-. ' if suohbetht pleasure of her Majesty . ' Ob 1 --ill the -no ever aet upoa the last a » y of Ireland ' s wrongs , and of ths power of Inland ' s oppressors f Well , now , won ' t the Whigs rest lo peace , whealre . _liBd ' _s beat and bravest are « squelohed * for ever , and there is not a murmur of opposition in the land 1 Is not that a comfort 1 By the time that famine and fever—aided by the oholeraof 1848 -have done their pari It will ba easy te count the Otitic oraniums , which may be left in Ireland .
The Irish papers will give you a fine , thongh gloomy piotureof the closing scene of the Clonmel _CommissloB . Do any think the prisoners got a fair trial ? Not tea men in Ireland wonld venture to say they did ! It was remarked ot the late Dablin Commission that Judges Pennefather and P . got performed tbeir duty In a Christian and gentlemanly spirit . Tbe conduct of Blaokburne and Doberty , at Cloamel _, was worth ; of tbe worst days of Jeffrey , or our own bloody lord Nerbury , There are many here wko think that ' the law will
take its course , ' and the oonviots be hanged . I do not credit tbis , however . It Is remarkable how the minds of people here change every hour . A few days ago aad a maa would incnr the danger of a broken no 3 o if he woald doubt of UrM'agher ' _s acquittal ! Now our folk will bare it that fie _nentenoes will be immediately car . tied into EXECUTION ! They will not . Pablio opinion it too strong for meroy ; and yet I tbink it would be more merciful for the pablie to remain silent , and let brave men die at oace , rather then send them away to a penal settlement .
Oa Saturday the Commission was opened iu Dublin , for the trial of our _varlonrolaBses of offenders , including theFelons , " C . _0 . Duffy , O'Dogherty , WilliamB , and others of less Importance , Sinoe the attempted _eioaps of Mr Duffy from tbe careful _wred'tanes of the Newgate Argus , he has been _reoalvlng a good deal of extra atten . tion , insomuch tbat unless bt bad the' _invisiblering'of tbe fairy , he could bave no chance of a flitting . Indeed the most signal bad luck marked ibe course of tbe Confederate _chltf * . I was present on tbe evening in July lost when Duff * was conveyed from the _PoUce-offioa in College S tree ' , to Newgate , aud I pledge myself that bad an _attemptat rescue been made there would not have beea tho slightest difficulty in _tffiOttag it . It would , Indeed , bare been a' moral and bloodless' rescue , for the people
cumbered several _thousands around tha frail car in which t _* be prisoner was borne along—all full of hops and excitement , and ready for any task wbicb might be set tbem . Oa the other band the police—numbering perhaps about forty—had no arms but tbeir batons , aad exhibited more rank _cowanJloa than I ever before wit . neasei in men wearing the government ltrery . In faot they shook and trembled l _' _-to aspens In tbe Ootober blast , and some of them were heard to implore tho mob to ' let them do their duty ! ' Had the mob raised a band Daffy _wculd not % ave entered Newgate that night , nor probably wsuld he from that night to this . They wera thirsting for tbe fray , and I beliere Mr Duffy himself had no _objection to let it go on , but Thos . D . M Ghee sat in the car beside bim , and persuaded poor Duffy to quell the people ' s fury , and go quietly and loyally into the dreary fastness of Newgate ! * He took theadrloe :
—M'Ghee subsequently escaped ( and I am glad of it ) , but the _too-easity duped Duff ; was left behind , and tha * bars of Newgate were not broken' for bis deliverance , es hU / _riends promised . He will now quit his native land with tbe brand of a ' coaviot felon' on hie brow , and the memory of false friends aud ruined hopes rankling ta his too _. generoui and confiding bosom . There is scarcely a deubt bat that he will be _coBtloted . He is charged wltb fctgh treason , and will probably reoeive sentence of death . Should be be acquitted on tbat charge , it is re . ported tbat he will ba indicted for a _conspiracy to esoaps from prison ! I do not doubt this . Months ago I said _tbatgsrernment would bave revenge _cs Doff _ri It Is be whom tbey look on as the flre . t originator of the revolutionary school ; and no deubt , in bis own way , G _. O , Duffy did more Injury to the Sason In Ireland than any other maa since tbe days of Paellra _O'Nell _, or Red Hugh O'Donnell .
It Is thought tbat tba convicts , if pardoned , will be sent to _Bermuda ! Very likely , Indeed , as that ' still vexed' isle seems to have no grah for Irish traitors I It is well known that poor John Mitchel baa never enjoyed a day ' s good health in that island , and a report has got Into the Irish papers—yesterday and _ts day—that one of tbe 42 nd Highlanders writing home , stated tbat Mitchel had just breathed bialaat I This is not improbable , poor fellow ! _Tfied-yhe lefj Newgate prison anybody nh looked on bis care-worn and pallid brow might well know that his very heart wbb breaklag .
Tbe Lord-Lieutenant is gone Co London . Ho bade his temporary adieu laet Friday tbe Lord Chancellor , the Archbishop of Dublin , and Sir Edward Blakeney being sworn in Lards Justices to aot during bis absence . People ara racking their brains in all directions , trying to discover bis lordship ' s business in London at such a _tims as thiB , Some Bay be is gone to represent the case of the conviots in Clonmel to the Qaeen , and implore their pardon . The Lord-Lieutenant need nn apply to Her _Usjesty in such a cafe , as he bimself has the full power to _savo or condemn , and whatever may be the doom of the convioted _rebala , his visit to England _CBnaot be in conn « x on with them . Others say be wants i > cu > bis coanexlon with us altogether ; whilst more prc test that he is gone to aek tbe government some very " pertinent questions as to how they mean to deal with tho rapidly approaching famine , Theso , however , are only mere guesses ; but people here must be guesting , though it generally _occura ' . that tbeir predictions , like the dreams of ' R * ry O'More , ' all * go by contraries . '
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' _^ ' ' _- ....:, '¦ ' . : _- : _- ::. \ : ~ : :: ' - ' ' ... " \ , \ ' _. _*>• ¦ ¦ ¦ _. October 38 , 1848 , j - _~^—**^ S—— - _^ - aa \~ _aaaamm _^^~~ mm ~* - ~~ _' - ~~ _, ——————a-a————m——m-mm _^ a————aaa-m-- ——m | n ¦ _i- — _. — ¦ - ¦ —¦ . , __ , _ , . n » „ ,. * , ' m I _» I
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Special Commission. The Commission For T...
SPECIAL COMMISSION . The commission for the oity and oounty of Dublin was opened on Saturday by Justices _Torrens and Crampton . When the grand jurors were sworn , Mr Justioe Torrena addressed them . His lordship alluded . to the proceedings at the last commission in the cases of _O'D'berty , Duff / , and Williams , _aj-ainst whom the grand jury had found true bills for feloniously publishing seditious iibsls in the Natio * and Tbibvbb newspaper . ? . With _tbesa cases , of course , the present grand jury would have nothing to do ; but aa the law officers of the Crown were engaged at
the speoial _coramissioa in Clonmel , he could not state whether or not any new matter of importance would be sent before them by the Attorney General on his return to town . There was a ease to . which he felt it hia duty to allude—one wbioh arose out of the late unfortunate politioal excitement which had disturbed the peaoe and endangered the prosperity of the country—he meant the oharge against Miob . Moran , John Moran , and John M'Cormiok , for stabbing a police-constable while in the exeoution of hia duty . If they ( the grand jury ) were satisfied with tbe evidenoe tbat would be offered in support of the charge ; they would find true bills . After some further remarks , bis lordship , conoluded , and the grand jurors retired to consider tbe indiotments sent before them .
Constable Byrne , wbo wan stabbed in George ' sstreet , last July , by the three Confederates about to be tried for that offenoe , appeared in the court house in Green-street , on crutches . Itis more tban _{ . rob & bkv he will never recover the nae of his limbs , He has been superannuated on full pay— £ i 3 a-year . The Lord Lieutenant presetted hia with a gratuity of £ 50 ; and a private subscription , seme tiraa on foot for him , amounts to between £ 200 and £ 300 . Mb O'Bbien . —The whole body of the Catholio o _' erpy of tbe diocese of Ologber have signed an address praying for clemency to Mr S . O'Brien . The otber Roman Catholio dioceses will adopt a similar method oi moving tbe meroy of the executive . The established olergy of Limerick bave adopted a
memorial for the same object . The inhabitants ef Clonmel bave held a publio _meeting for the purpose , and the quarter B _3 SBioas jury of Cavan have added their prayer for the same purpose . Lord Farnham has signed the memorial on behalf of Mr O'Brien . Clearances . —Tenant evictions in the south proceedwi'b a most determined regularity . Not a journal ia published in which we do not read of one or more of those proceedings , whioh , however legally i authorised , and even though socially their ultimate ] effect may be good , produce muoh present hardship . On Saturday several houses were levelled in the immediate vioinity of Limerick , and preparatory notices have been eerved on several tenants of Lord
Clare in the west of tbat oounty . All _thesaJevellings aro effected in tbe presence of the police and military . _Emplo-ment for ihe Poor . — The Board of Works , anxious to promote employment in the Bandon union , where so much is suffered by the poor arising from the want of it , and also laudably desirous to encourage habits of industry and energy m the fishermen on the coast , have made a grant of £ 550 towards the construction of a pier at Burre , in that union , on condition that the sum of £ 275 be subscribed in the district , and a like aum levied on the division . It is to be hoped that this advance will not be loBt for want of promptitude or a little generow liberalit y on the part of the proprietors .
M 8 TRR 38 AMOXGST THB _HAHD-L 0 OM WEAVERS . A numerous meeting of delegates from the _handloun weavers of Antrim and Down has been held in Belfast . ' The object of the meeting ( says the Bakmer op Umibb ) was to endeavour to have comrau _« nionted through the press a general statement of the grievances to which the hand'loom weavers of the north are exposed , ' and thereby to enlist tbe sympathy and _oo-operation of tbe enlightened public on behalf of such legal and constitutional measures ta might be deemed necessary to avert further threatened evils upon tbe trade . ' The different _Bpeakers dwelt upon the enormous reduction of wages fcr weaving , especially by one extensive house , so that it became impossible for the weavers to exist upon the scanty pittance now allowed , Resolutions were adopted , deolaring the grievances of the whole class of _haud-loom weavers .
The Lord Lieutenant left Dublin on Friday for England . The principal object of hia _lordahip ' _a visit is for tbe purr ose of receiving from her Majesty the vacant ribbon , and being installed a Knight of the Garter . Mr Mitchm _,. —Tbe Limerick Chrosicle states that it is generally rumoured , by a letter from one of tbe 42 ad , that Mr MUcM baa died at Bermuda . It is stated that the government bave it in contemplation to augment , at an early date , the _oonetabulaty force in Iteland to 30 , 00 of &\ l rank * ,. This formidable body are to be employed , in addition to . present _cona . _tftbulaty duties , ia aU _descriptions of service for which the regular ; military are now required ; and the whole or greater part of tbe latter force will ba withdrawn from thia country unless upon _extraordinary occasions . The increased force will be placed upon a new footing , and comprise cavalry , infantry ( inoludiBg a rifle _oorps ) , and horse and foot i artillery .
Thk Sbniencb on thb Ibish Prisoners Comnoun . —It has been ' resolved to spare the live * of tbe convicted Irish , prisoners . This announcement , though really important , aud calculated to raise some very grave questions , will be received as a matter of course by the publio , bo entirely haa it been anticipated ; from tha date of the rebellion taeif , not to i & j _eartiw , —Ttmea .
• IHE 'FXGIAI _, COMMISSION . According to the Clonmel Chronicle , the entire cost of the witnesses in tbe recent Btate prosecution * for high treason , a « i paid by the crown , amounts to £ 1 , 500 , Dobbin , the informer , waa paid £ 17 , in- _, eluding all bis expenses up to $ e _tarday .
Dlftasmods Ploodj Is Ths Vailby Oi? Ths ...
DlftASMODs _PlOODJ IS THS VAILBY Oi ? ths St ; _uij akd Cut op _CANnmBUftY . — -The late heavy rains bave caused the Valley of the Stour , from Asbford ro Rimsgate , to be flooded , occasioning great loss and damage to the inhabitants . Oa Friday , the 21 st , about noon , the inhabitants of the _west-end ! of Canterbury were alarmed by a cry ofthe' water is rising , ' and almost before they could get their goods removed up stairs , the lower rooms were inundated ; Near the anoient weBt gate the water poured over into a new street called ; St Peter ' s Place , _coi-tiBting of n at _oottages , and continued to riBe for twelve hours , the only mode oi approach being _' iby _oarts and boatsthe nco i vonienoe andsoffering to tbe poor inhabitant ! being very _creat , as few of them were provided with
any Btock of food or fuel , CartB were employed ail day in removing the poor people and tbeir furniture , and sundry casualties occurred . The flood ' . has not been known to rise to suoh a height for the last aoventy years . The water in the Stour in the city was raised about eight feet , consequently immersing all tbe lower parts of the towr . The _greatest blame is attached to tbe owners of tba mill _atream _t _balow tbecitj _, which were dammed up , Aa the mayor and oorporatiPn are conservators of the _Bewers , the publio will look to them for redress . Tho depreciation of property is very great , as most of these small houses will become -untenanted . Great blame is
attributed to the authorities for not ruling the height ofthe mill dams . The valley of tbe Stout fur forty miles was flooded frem hill to hill , presenting the _appearanoe of a vast navigable river far exceeding the Thames or Medway . The Soutb-EaBiern Railway bridge at Chatham fell on Friday night with thegoods _up-train , several trucks falling into the stream . All the bridges on the line ought to ba carefully surveyed , as the floods have _donbtless injared the foundations , Monday morning , 23 rd—The floods in _Canterbury have subsided , but the marshes are all . under water , and present the appear * ance of a vast lake .
Bird * bv a Feather . — -Prince Metlernioh asd bia , son , Prince Riohard Metternwb , and Baron Huegel , bare become members of the Brighton Conservative Club .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 28, 1848, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_28101848/page/6/
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