i Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 J https://archive.org/details/reportoftrialsofOOsull REPORT OF THE TRIALS OF ALEXANDER M. SULLIVAN AND RICHARD PIGOTT, FOR SEDITIOUS LIBELS ON THE GOVERNMENT, AT THE COUNTY OF DUBLIN COMMISSION, HELD AT THE COURT-HOUSE, GREEN-STREET, DUBLIN, COMMENCING FEBRUARY 10, 1868 ; WITH THOSE PARTS OP THE CHARGE OP MR. JUSTICE FITZGERALD, TO THE COUNTY AND CITY GRAND JURIES, RELATIVE TO THOSE CASES AND TO THE PARTY PROCESSIONS ACT. REPORTED FOR THE CROWN BY J. HILL, Esq. AND ALSO THE APPLICATIONS TO THE COUET OF CHANCERY, BY EICHAED PIGOTT, FOE A WBIT OF EEEOE, EDITED BY T. PAKENHAM LAW, Esq., BARRISTER- AT-LAW. DUBLIN: PRINTED BY ALEXANDER THOM, 87 & 88, ABBEY-STREET, FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, I 80S, GREEN-STREET COMMISSION. presibtng ^nbges : TUP] IIIG1IT HONORABLE MR. JUSTICE FITZGERALD; THE RIGHT HONORABLE MR. BARON DEASY. %ri(fs: High Sheriff— MALACHI STRONG HUSSEY, Esq. ; 6 ud- Sheriff — WILLIAM ORMSBY, Esq. Counsel for t be Crohn : THE RIGHT HONORABLE ROBERT RICHARD WARREN, K.P., llEn MA.iKvrvs Attorney-General ; MICHAEL HARRISON, Esq., q.c, Her Majesty's Solicitor-General; CHARLES SHAW, Esq., q.c, Law Adviser; JOHN THOMAS BALL, Esq., q.c. ; r-l ^ Ck C C JAMES MUIirilY, Esq., q.c. Crohn Solicitor : MATTHEW ANDERSON, Esq. Clerk of tbe Crofun : EDWARD GEALE, Esq. Counsel for the prisoner, |fl. Snllib:m: DENIS CAULFIELD HERON, Esq., q.c; T. MICHAEL CREAN, Esq. Counsel for the prisoner, 2urlnrb piqott: DENIS CAULFIELD HERON, Esq., q.c ; GEORGE JOSEPH PERRY, Esq. 221489 £Utornen for tbe prisoners : JOHN TALBOT SC ALLAN, Esq. CONTENTS. Page Introductory Statement, . . . . . vii Charge of Mr. J ustice Fitzgerald to the Grand Juries : — Its Commencement, ..... 1 Statement of the Manchester Occurrences, ... 2 Definition of an Unlawful Assembly, ... 2 Explanation of Party Processions Act, ... 3 Definition of Sedition, ..... 4 Observations on Pigott's Case, .... 4 He-publication of Articles not justifiable as News, . . 5 Circumstances show Seditious intent, ... 5 Comments on the Articles, .... 6 The Liberty of the Press, ..... 8 Sullivan's Case, ...... 9 Libellous Pictures, . . . . - . 10 Mr. Pigott's Objection to Trial before a County Jury, . . 11 Crown Right of Reply, . . . . . .19 Judgment of Mr. Baron Deasy on point as to Habeas Corpus, . 21 Judgment of Mr. Justice Fitzgerald on same, . . .23 Issue of a Bench "Warrant, . . . . .24 Mr. Heron's Objection to the issuing of a Bench Warrant, . 25 Mr. Sullivan's Case. The Indictment against Mr. Sullivan, . . . .27 Articles and Pictures in it — The Manchester Tragedy, . . . (1st count), . 28 The Picture, " It is Done," . . . (2nd count), . 30 Ireland's Reply, . (3rd count), . 31 The Demonstration — To-morrow, . . (4th count), . 32 The Picture, " The Angel of Justice," . (5th count), . 33 The Funeral Processions, . . . (6th count), . 33 Liberty — God save Ireland, . . (7th count), . 36 The Picture, " England and Austria," . (8th count), . 37 Mr. Sullivan's Plea of " Not Guilty," .... 37 Calling the Jury, . . . . . .37 Application to allow Mr. Pigott to appear without Arrest, . 39 < ( ►NTENTS, ftp t > pen ing Statement of (In- A t tun icy ( leneral in Sullivan's Case, 4<> . I; lines liowen examined, . . . . .50 ObjeotioD to a Certified Copy of the Printer's Declaration, . 59 Juhn l'uMcn examined, . . . . . 60 Ohjection to the Copy of the Record of Conviction at Manchester, 00 Seth Brumlcy examined, . . . . . 61 Speech for Defence l>y Mr. Heron, . . .02 Arraignment and Plea of Mr. Pigott, .... 64 Speech of Mr. Heron continued, . . . .64 Denis B. Sullivan examined, . . . . .88 lu plv of Solieitor-Ceneral, . . . . .88 Jury allowed to go home, and cautioned, . . .89 Denis 15. Sullivan re-examined, .... 90 Ileply of Solicitor-Ceneral continued, . . . .91 Charge of Mr. .Justice Fitzgerald to the Petty Jury, . . 113 Verdict, .... M| 130 Richard Tigott's Trial. Motion for an Order to remove the Indictment into the Queen's Bench under the Statute, . . . . .131 Similar Application to the Discretion of the Court, . .138 Admission I >y the Crown that certain of the Articles were published in American papers, . . . . . .145 Calling the Jury, 149 Indictment, . . . . . .149 Articles — The Late Rising in Ireland, . . (1st count), . 150 Boston Circle Fenian Brotherhood, . . (2nd count), . 152 War Clouds and Omens, . . . (3rd count), . 153 Ireland's Opportunity, . . . (4th count), . 154 Fenianism, ..... (5th count), . 155 Suggestions for the future Management of Fenian Affairs in Ireland, . . (0th count), . 150 Letter from Colonel Kelly to the Universal News, . . . . . (7th count), . 158 Resolutions respecting the Manchester Rescue, ..... (8th count), . 160 Letter from Colonel Kelly, . . . (9th count), . 1G1 The Holocaust, .... (10th count), . 103 Advertisement of the Procession, . . (11th count), . 105 Father Vaughan's Letter, . . . (12th count), . ICG Clerkenwell — Kagosima, . . . (13th count), . 107 '98, '48, '68, .... . (14th count), , 168 The Statement of the Attorney-General, , , 170 i CONTENTS. V Page Joseph John Murray examined, . . . .207 John Polden examined, . . . . .207 John Joseph Coiydon examined, . . . .208 John M'llwaine examined, . . . . .209 Seth Bromley examined, . . . . .209 Mr. Heron's Speech for the Defence, . . . .210 Edward Donnelly examined, . . . . .225 Mr. Perry's Reply for the Defence, . . . .226 The Solicitor-General's Reply for the Crown, . . . 230 Charge of Mr. Baron Deasy to the Petty Jury, . . .248 Verdict of the Jury, . . . . . .265 Sentence on Mr. Sullivan, . . . . .265 Sentence on Mr. Pigott, . . . . . .267 Application by the Prisoners to be sent to the Prison of City of Dublin, ....... 269 Record of the Judgment on Mr. Pigott, . . . .270 Proceedings by Mr. Pigott to obtain a Writ of Error. First Application in Chancery, . . . . .271 Petition taken off the File, . . . . .275 Second Application in Chancery, . . . .275 Mr. Butt's Argument, . . . . . .275 Alleged Grounds of Error : — 1st. Caption not showing which Grand Jurors affirmed, . 276 2nd. Sentence illegal, because bail must be given during the year, ...... 276 3rd. That fifteen recognizances were required, . .276 4th. That some counts were treason not seditious libel, . 278 5th. That some counts alleged matter not seditious, . 278 Argument that Lord Chancellor had jurisdiction," . .278 The Solicitor-General in answer, . . . .280 Mr. Heron in reply, . . . . . .281 The Lord Chancellor's Judgment, . . . .282 Proceedings in the House of Commons, . . . ,286 CONTENTS. TABLE OF CASES CITED. Armstrong s (Mi" I hoinas) case. 1 St. I ri., 118, J i £ Button, I h«' Quern r.. 11 / V 1 > 1 L • ) 1 I 11 Q. 1 .., !»-".», 97ft ( mwlr < - v, ,r, 1 Vern., 109, 970 C ross, I In* Queen r., 1 \ A. u:\} nut. , i 1 1 , . 97ft ( tit lull, Kex r., . It St. 1 n., <>(,), a o I >ean of St. Asa] ill s. Kex v.. 21 St. J IX , 1040, I )u!l V. 1 Mr Qurrll 4 L-ox, c.c, 11/, 1 i TT . it- _ — 1 l:irt s case, o\) St. 111., 104*, 977 Lrrs, Tin' Quern r., 1 PI "Rl onrl 171 fi^^ l rA. -131. anil -CjI., c 1 "'.', ^73 "\T fill — , _ - - rsewton, 1 he Quern v., . 4 H.1. and 151., ob*J, . 97Q I aty, 1 lir Queen r.. J Sulk., ;>U4, 14 St. 111., oU/, 979 1 oltirM, Ivrx ft, 1 1 >i >\\ 1. l r. i a., hi' 1 , Prosser, The Queen v., 1 1 i>ea\ .,014, lloWs case, . 2 Moll., 28, . 272 Rioters' case, The, 1 Vern., 175, 279 St Asaph's (The Dean of), 21 St, Tri. 1040, . 4 Trenor, Rex . . 1 Cr. and Dix, c.c. 237, 1G Wilkes' case, . 19 St. Tri, 1009, . 272 Willet, In re, . 2 L. Rec. o.s., 422, . 277 Wood ft Brown, . . 6 Taunt, 169, 278 TABLE OF STATUTES CITED. 34 Ed. III., 277 6 Geo. III., c. 4, . . . . . .22 35 Geo. III., c. 25, . . . . . .24 6 Geo. IV., c. 51, . . . . . 14, 135, 269 6 and 7 Will. IV, c. 76, s. 8, 59 14 and 15 Vic, c. 93, . . . . . .25 14 and 15 Vic, c. 99, s. 13, ..... 61 14 and 15 Vic, c. 100, ..... 17,136 30 and 31 Vic, c. 35, . . . . . . 276 INTBODUCTOBT STATEMENT, Mr. Pigott, the proprietor, printer, and publisher of the Irishman, a Dublin newspaper, was summoned to attend at Capel-street Police Office, on the 10th January, 1868, on a charge of having published in the Irishman seditious libels. He accordingly attended, when informations were taken and the case sent for trial, the Defendant being admitted to bail on his own recognizance in the sum of £500, to appear at the next Commission Court in Green- street, held for the city of Dublin, and answer an indict- ment for the above-mentioned charge. Mr. Pigott afterwards obtained a conditional order for a certiorari to remove the case into the Queens Bench, and on the 29th of January, 1868, the Attorney -General, on behalf of the Crown, moved to have the conditional order discharged, which motion was opposed on behalf of Mr. Pigott ; one of the grounds of the application for the certiorari was an objection that there might prove to be an insufficiency of jurors, in consequence of the state of the City panel, and of the fact that so many of the jurors were not resident within the city of Dublin, and had been challenged on that ground at previous Commissions. The Attorney-General stated that it was his intention to send up the Bills to the Grand Jury of the county of Dublin, as being the next adjoining county, under the 6th Geo. IV., chap. 51. The Court was evenly divided upon the motion, and accordingly the conditional order stood discharged, and the case remained over for the Commission Court, (a) (a) The certiorari motion will be fully reported in the Irish Reports, 2 C. L. i \ 111 INTRODUCTORY 8T \TI.MKNT The Queen v. Sullivan. M u. Si i.i.i \ \ js f the proprietor and publisher of the Weekly News, a newspaper published in Dublin, was summoned to attend at Capel-street Police Office, on a charge of having pul>lished in the Wccl'h/ Xeirs libels -contained in certain pictures and articles, tending to bring into hatred and contempt Her Majesty's Government and the administration of justice within the United Kingdom. He was in France at the time the summons was issued, and the case was postponed. He afterwards attended, when informations were taken, and the case sent for trial, the Defendant being admitted to bail on his own recognizance in the sum of £500, to appear at the next Commission Court at Green-street, for the city of Dublin, and take his trial on the above charge. COUNTY AND CITY OF DUBLIN COMMISSION OF OYER AND TERMINER. Coukt-House, Green-street. February 10th, 1868. Judges — The Right Hon. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald, and the Right Hon. Baron Deasy. Counsel for the Croivn — The Right Honorable Robert R. War- ren, q.c., m.p., Attorney-General; Michael Harrison, esq., q.c, the Solicitor-General ; John Thomas Ball, esq., q.c. ; Charles Shaw, esq., q.c, Law Adviser; James Murphy, esq., q.c; Robert H. Owen, esq., q.c. ; and Edward Beytagh, esq., instructed by Mathew Anderson, esq., Crown Solicitor. The Clerk of the Crown called over the panel, and the Grand Juries of the County and City of Dublin answered. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald, in addressing the Grand Juries, said — In opening this the ordinary sitting under the permanent Com- mission for the metropolitan district, I regret to be obliged to say, in the first instance, that the cases that are to come before both Grand Juries are of so grave and of so important a character that the observations I shall have to address to you, departing from the usual precedent, will, I fear, occupy some time, but I hope not more than the difficulties of the cases essentially require. The business to come before you may be divided into two classes — the ordinary cases, and the unusual or extraordinary cases ; and knowing whom I have to deal with on both Grand Juries, and the experience of everyone of you, I don't think it necessary to give you a single suggestion in point of law ; and if we had only to deal with the ordinary offences which usually come before the Commission Court, I would be enabled at once to close my obser- vations ; but, gentlemen, there are unusual cases of very great magnitude, which require at your hands that careful and conscientious consideration which I have no doubt they will receive. [His lordship then addressed the City Grand Jury on the other cases, and among them on that of Patrick Lennon, against whom 'bills were laid before the Grand Jury, charging him with the murder of a member of the Metropolitan Police Force, named Patrick Keena, and with shooting at and wounding Sergeant Kelly of the same force.] Turning to the County B '2 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Grand Jury, his lordship said: — Gentlemen of the County Grand ■Jury, it' the cases I had to lay before the City Grand Inquest are of B grave and serious character with respect to the public interests, the cases which I have to submit to you are still more important; they arc not of the character last described by me, 1 »\i t they cany with them important public consequences, and 1 regret to say that 1 shall be obliged to address you upon them at some Length. [His lordship then alluded to the cases arising out of the funeral procession in Dublin, in the course of which he said] — " I think it necessary in the first instance to direct your attention to that unhappy topic (the Manchester executions). You will recollect, gentlemen, that two persons of the name of Kelly and l)easv were arrested in Manchester charged with being emissaries of and deeply engaged in forwarding the designs of the Fenian conspiracy. Subsequent events have shown that that accusation was but too well founded. In the month of September last the charge against these men was in course of magisterial investigation; they were remanded for further exami- nation, and while they were being conducted by an unarmed escort of the local police of Manchester to the bridewell, they were forcibly rescued b}' a large armed party. In the perpetration of that violent and unlawful act, a police constable named Brett, one of the local police, who refused to betray his trust, and while he was in the honourable and faithful discharge of his duty, was shot dead. Gentlemen, there can be no doubt that the homicide of Police Constable Brett was murder on the part of all who were concerned in it, and that it was a murder of a very aggravated character. For that crime three unhappy men, named Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, were tried in Manchester ; they were con- victed, and the sentence of the law was subsequently carried out against them in November last. That trial took place before Judges of the highest eminence, and I presume that a copy of the record of that conviction will be laid before you ; it will be of course the legal evidence of what then took place. And you must take it that that was a legal and proper conviction, and followed by the sentence which the law imposes in every such case. Gentlemen, we have not the means of examining into the circumstances of that trial, nor if we had the means would it be proper or right for us to do so. I again repeat to you that we can only act in the present case on the basis that that conviction was a just and a legal conviction. [His lordship then proceeded to charge the Grand Jury with reference to the cases against the parties concerned in the funeral processions in Dublin who were indicted for an unlawful assembly at common law, and also under the Party Processions Act.] He paid, — An assembly of persons is unlawful at common law where three or more persons meet together to carry into effect some illegal purpose ; or if they meet in such numbers, and under such circumstances as to endanger the public peace, or cause alarm and .•ij.j.H-licnsion to Her Majesty's subjects ; or if numbers assemble to promote Rome seditious purpose, such as to create disaffection, to incite the inhabitants of this country to hate their fellow-subjects QUEEN a. PIGOTT AND SULLIVAN. 3 in Great Britain, or to asperse justice, or to impair its functions, by bringing its administration into contempt, every such assembly would be unlawful, and a misdemeanour at common law, punish- able by fine or imprisonment. I have endeavoured to make my language plain and clear. In considering whether the assembly in question comes within the definition of an illegal assembly at common law, which I have just given, it will be your duty to regard the object of the meeting, the placards or advertisements by which it was convened, the conduct of those composing it, their numbers, and all the surrounding circumstances, but espe- cially, and above all, the speeches if any which were delivered on the occasion. I now will explain to }^ou the Act known as the " Party Processions Act." It was intended to restrain party pro- cessions, and its preamble recites that " numbers of persons have been in the practice" — and I pray your attention to it — " of assembling and marching together in procession in a manner cal- culated to create and perpetuate animosities between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects, and to endanger the public peace." Such is the preamble, clearly reciting the mischief to be remedied, and the danger to be prevented ; and accordingly, the enactment provides that if parties meet and parade together, or join in procession who shall bear, wear, or have amongst them, amongst other matters, " any banner, emblem, flag, or symbol, the display whereof may be calculated or tend to provoke animosity between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects," then the parties so assembled are guilty of a misdemeanour, and may be convicted and punished accordingly. Gentlemen, you will per- ceive from this that to constitute an offence against the Party Processions Act, three things are necessary, and bear this in mind. The first is, that there shall be an assembly of three or more per- sons joining in procession. The second is, that the persons so assembled must wear, or have amongst them, some emblem or symbol; and the third is, that the display of that emblem or symbol must be such as is calculated to provoke the animosity of some other class of Her Majesty's subjects. The concurrence of these three circumstances constitute an offence against the " Party Processions Act." The enactment is so plain and clear, so wise and forcible, that further comment is un- necessary, save to add, that in my judgment aud belief — and I speak with the entire concurrence of my learned colleague — it matters not in the least what may be the colour of the flag or emblem or symbol; it may be orange or green, light or dark blue, or any other colour ; but the question for you to consider and determine on this preliminary investigation is, whether, under the circumstances, the display, or wearing of that emblem or symbol, whatever it is, was calculated to provoke such animosity as the Statute points out. [His lordship then proceeded to apply the above statement of the law to the special facts of the cases then for trial.] I have now, gentlemen, to direct your attention to two cases of great public importance, in which the Attorney-General pro- secutes the publishers of two weekly newspapers for a series of printed articles alleged to be seditious libels of a very dangerous B 2 4 DUBLIN COMMISSION. character. Gentlemen, as such prosecutions are unusual, I think it necessary that I should define sedition, and point out what may he a seditious libel. Sedition is a crime against society nearly allied to treason, which it too frequently precedes only by a short interval. It is a comprehensive term, and embraces all those practices, whether by word, or deed, or writing, which are calculated and intended to disturb the tranquillity of the State, and lead the Queen's subjects to resist or subvert the established Government of the empire. Its objects are to create commotion, and introduce discontent and -disaffection ; to stir up opposition to the laws and Government, and bring the administration of justice into contempt, and its natural and ultimate tendency is to excite the people to insurrection and rebellion. The distance is never great between contempt for the laws and open violation of them. Sedition has been aptly described as "disloyalty in action ;" and the law treats as seditious all those practices wh ich have for their object to excite discontent or disaffection — to create public disturbance, or lead to civil war — to bring into hatred or contempt the Sovereign or the Government, the laws <»r constitution of the realm, and generally all endeavours to promote public disorder. Sedition being inconsistent with the safety of the State, is regarded as a high misdemeanour, and as such punishable with fine and imprisonment ; and it has been truly said, that it is the duty of the Government, acting for the protection of society, to resist and extinguish it at the earliest moment. The indictment for sedition must specify the acts — the overt or open acts — by which the seditious intent is evidenced ; and in the cases to be specially submitted for your consideration, the acts relied on as indicating the seditious spirit of the accused parties are certain newspaper publications which are alleged to be seditious libels. Gentlemen, it is scarcely necessary for me to point out to you that in order to accomplish treasonable purposes — to delude the weak, the umvary, and the ignorant, no means can be more effectual than a seditious press. With such ma- chinery, the preachers of sedition can sow widecast that poisonous seed which, if unchecked, ultimately must culminate in insurrec- tion and revolution. Lord Mansfield, in the great case against the Dean of St. Asaph (3 Term Rep., 431, note ; 21 St. Tri., 1040) well likened a seditious and licentious press to Pandora's box, as the source of all evils — meaning all evils to the State. Mere" words may be of a seditious character, but they may arise from sudden heat; they may be heard but by a few, and create no permanent effect. They differ in malignity widely from seditious writings. In reference to the latter, a great judge, Sir Michael Foster, says truly (Foster's Crown Law, 204) : — " Seditious writings are permanent things, and if published they scatter the poison far and wide ; they are acts of deliberation capable of satisfactory proof, and not ordinarily liable to misconstruction, and they tan submitted to the judgment of the Court naked and undisguised, as they came out of the author's hands." I am sure you will concur in the force and justice of the observations of that learned j]udge. I now proceed to consider the first case, of the Queen a-ainst Richard Pigott, the publisher QUEEN a. PIGOTT AND SULLIVAN. 5 of a newspaper called the Irishman. The indictment against him, which will he submitted to you (which is the only one I have seen), requires great consideration and care. It contains no less than seventeen counts, and I believe embraces fourteen separate and distinct publications, each alleged to be a seditious libel, and it charges him with the publication of those seditious libels in that paper. They are divisable into three classes. The first consists of original articles, which appeared in the Irishman for the first time ; the second of articles taken from American and other newspapers, and republished in the Irishman ; and the third of articles some original and some republished relating to the "Manchester executions." With respect to the articles extracted from American and other newspapers, it was recently contended in argument before the Court of Queen's Bench by the learned counsel for Mr. Pigott, that even if those articles were of a seditious or treasonable character, the defendant was justified in point of law in publishing them as foreign news. Gentlemen, I am bound to warn you against this very unsound contention ; and I now tell you, with the concurrence of my learned colleague, that the law gives no such sanction, and does not in the abstract justify or excuse the republication of treasonable or seditious articles, no matter from what source they may be taken. In reference to all such republications, the time, the object, and all the surrounding circumstances are to be taken into consideration, and may be such as to rebut any inference of a criminal intention on the part of the publisher. If, for instance, I put it thus to you, one of our leading newspapers, in a time of great peace, should, in good faith — bear in mind that expression — in good faith publish the proceedings of a foreign conspiracy, with a view to communicate the intelligence as a warning to the public or the nation, accompanying it with proper editorial comments, the circumstances would be such as in every candid mind would negative the idea of any seditious design. But if, on the other hand, at a time of great political disturbance and disaffection, when a treasonable confederacy exists amongst us, urging our deluded people to armed insurrection, a journal is found habitually to devote a considerable portion of its space to the republication from foreign sources of treasonable and seditious articles addressed to the people of this country, and without a warning or note of disapproval, then, gentlemen, it would be but reasonable to infer that the publisher intended what was the natural results of his course of action — namely, to promote some seditious object. If, gentlemen, the law justified or excused in the abstract such republications, we might as well at once blot out from our books the whole chapter on seditious libel, and take away from society the great protection which that branch of the law affords. Now I may put an instance peculiarly applicable to the present case. In 1865 the Government of the day, with a strong- hand and by a vigorous movement, entirely suppressed a news- paper then published in this city called the Irish People. That paper was specially devoted to the treasonable purpose of pro- moting the Fenian conspiracy ; and some amongst you will 6 DUBLIN COMMISSION. recoiled dial die main evidence given against the parties tried in 1S(;:> consisted of the articles published in that paper. A news- paper under tlu^ same name and advocating the same views was soon alter established in New York, and I believe exists there now. Gentlemen, the law may prevent the circulation of the New York Trisk People, in this country; but of what use would that be if any of our local papers were justified and permitted by law to republish its treasonable articles ? You will see, therefore, how necessary it is to assert this part of the law. Therefore, again emphatically I tell you, that it is no justification of a pub- lication, treasonable or seditious, that it appeared first in another paper, whether local or foreign. Now, I wish to be particularly plain on this. It will be found that some of the republished matter does not properly come under the head of "news" or " intelligence," but consists rather of articles such as are com- monly called " leaders." But I would recommend you not to rest anything on this, if in other respects you find the articles to be innocent or excusable. 1 now ask you to consider with me what some of these publications are. I have before me a copy of the indictment, and with respect to the intent it alleges on the part of the publisher, you must pay particular attention to that, be- cause the crime — the thing to be looked to — is the intent. You can only find the bills against the accused if you come con- scientiously to the conclusion, assuming that you think the articles seditious, that they were published with the intention specified in the indictment. The intention alleged is this, to spread, stir up, and excite discontent and sedition amongst the Queen's subjects ; to excite hatred and contempt towards Her Majesty's Government and administration; to encourage, foster, keep, and keep alive the said conspiracy alluded to before — the Fenian conspiracy; and to disseminate and conve}^ amongst Her Majesty's subjects information and intelligence of the extent, pro- gress, and designs of that conspiracy, and to keep the members of the said conspiracy in this country and other seditious and evil-disposed persons well informed as to the proceedings of the conspiracy in America. You, gentlemen, will have to determine as to those fourteen or fifteen articles, and determine whether each of them or any of them are seditious. You may determine that one is seditious and the other not, and find your bills accord- inglv. I will not call attention to the details of any of those articles ; I shall only advert to two of them. The first is one of the borrowed articles — an article purporting to be a letter origi- nally published in New York, and dated June 4th, 1867 — pur- porting to come from a person who had been in this country, according to his own representation, at the time when an actual insurrection took place in this country, in March, 1867. In that letter the writer says — "The redemption of our native land mainly depends on Irishmen here, and if they continue to work as their brethren at home expect, they v. ill find the stamping out of Fenianism will be something too diffi- cult for the British manslayers of Sepoy notoriety." QUEEN a. PIGOTT AXD SULLIVAN. 7 He also says — M The -whole people were animated with a single thought — the thought of the coming struggle. Smiths were hard at work, and the people said, ' Let us begin the struggle, and we -will not be allowed to perish.' The national spirit of the time almost amounted to frenzy. Xo sooner were the children able to speak, than their mothers taught them to pray for the Fenians/' He says the people will fight if they only get the means, and adds — M I know they will, for I know- the people, and let not the baseness of a few informers lead to the belief that the people are bad." I give you that, gentlemen, as characterising what the borrowed communications were. Let me ask your attention now to one of the original articles : I think it is the one contained in the tenth count : it was published originally, as I understand from the in- formations, in the Irishman^ and is entitled u The Holocaust." I don't intend to read the article in detail ; it will be for you to do that. It is one of great literary ability, and of great power, and it is written by a person accustomed to write, a person capable of writing with great power — but it is not the less mischievous on that account. It deals with the Manchester executions, and is a declaration against the mercy and justice of England, and says that •• the men perished to gratify a sanguinary aristocracy.' 3 It goes on — u Dead ! dead ! dead ! But there are those who think that in death they will be more powerful than in life. There are those who will read on their tombs the prayer for an avenger to spring from their bones." Xow, gentlemen, I will make but one observation upon this publication. You will recollect that the Manchester trials took place in October, that the execution of the unfortunate and unhappy men took place in November, and this is a declamation against the justice and the mercy of England ; and it says that those men perished " to gratify a sanguinary aristocracy :" but the writer seems to have Ibrgotten that an event had intervened which probably tied the hands of the administration, and shut the doors of mercy — that was the Dublin assassination of the 31st of October. [The shooting at Constable Kelly and murder of Constable Keena before mentioned.] The third article to which I will call your attention is that contained in the twelfth count. It purports to be a letter from a Roman Catholic parish priest in the county of Clare, published in the Irishman. I invite your attention to it for two purposes — first, that you will have to consider whether it comes upon a fair and liberal interpretation of it within the meaning assigned — that is. that it was a letter written with the intent of exciting discontent and sedition, and of bringing the laws and government into hatred and contempt. I would ask special attention to it, because a great deal of it will be found to be rather an attack upon the land system and the landlords of the country, than upon the government of the country and the laws in general. The writer refers to the woman of Apulia who smote the tyrant. Who the woman of Apulia was 8 DUBLIN COMMISSION. puzzled me for a considerable time; but recollecting that there is a scriptural character who did smite a tyrant, and free her country, I interpret that the u woman of Apulia" is Judith, who ( ame from Bethulia and smote Holofernes, who was sent, as the expressive language of scripture is, to waste the countries of the West. Now, gentlemen, I don't find it necessary that I should comment any more on these publications. I leave them entirely to you. They will be laid before you, and I have no doubt that they will receive your most careful consideration. As so much has been recently published in relation to such prosecutions as the one now before us on the subject of the freedom of the press — I feel that I will not be transgressing the limits of my duty if I point out to you how that may bear on the question which you are to determine. Since the year 1692 we have had complete liberty of the press in Great Britain and Ireland. By that liberty of the press, I mean complete liberty to write and publish without any restrictions, save such as are necessary for the preservation of the State. Gentlemen, the system of liberty which we enjoy is largely due to a free press, which is the principal safeguard of a free state, and the foundation of a healthy public opinion. Every man amongst us is free to write as he ma}' think fit, but he is responsible to the law for what he writes. He must not, under the pretence of this freedom, invade the rights of the community, or vilify the constitution, promote insurrection, endanger the public peace, bring justice into contempt, or impair the exercise of its functions. We are now dealing with public and political writings, which, when confined within proper and lawful limits, are not only justifiable, but often productive of public good, and are to be regarded and read in a fair and liberal spirit. It has been truly said that " a man may lawfully discuss and criticise the measures adopted by the Sovereign and her ministers. He may criticise the conduct of the administration as servants of the Crown ; he may canvass freely the acts of the Government, but he must do it fairly and temperately, giving way to no spirit of malignity, and not imputing corrupt or malicious motives. Within the same limits a person may comment on the laws ; he may freely criticise the proceedings of courts of justice, or of individual judges in their administration, and I may add, he is invited to do so in a fair and liberal spirit, and for the public good. The law does not seek to put any narrow construction on his expressions, and only inter- feres when he deliberately passes the limits of free discussion, or of fair, candid, honest criticism. It has been truly said that the liberty of the press is dear to us, and to you, gentlemen, the law intrusts its protection ; and sure I am, although its abuses may be checked, that its true freedom cannot be diminished or en- dangered so long as the Grand Inquest of the county and the petty juries stand between it and arbitrary power. Lord Kenyon once quaintly but pithily defined the liberty of the press to be, that a man may publish whatever a jury of his countrymen thinks is not blamable. (" Cuthell's case," 27 St. Tri., 675.) In ordinary cases the questions of law which arise are to be deter- QUEEN a. PIGOTT AND SULLIVAN. 9 mined by the judge, but in cases of libel, with a view to the true freedom of the press, the law casts on the jury the determination of both law and fact ; and you are to determine, and you alone, whether the publications complained of are or are not seditious libels. Now, gentlemen, I desire to impress this upon you emphatically, and in the plainest and clearest language. You are the sole judges here of the guilt or innocence of the accused. My learned colleague and I will give what help we can, but you are constituted by statute the judges both of law and of fact, and on you rests the whole responsibility. It is in this sense, I repeat, that the jury is in this country the true guardian of the liberty of the press. Now, gentlemen, in dealing with the question whether the articles were published with a seditious intent, you must consider the surrounding circumstances, coupled with the state of the country and the public mind at the time, for these may be material. For example, if the country was free from political excitement and disaffection, if it was engaged in the peaceable pursuits of commerce and industry, the publication of such articles as had been extracted from the American papers might be harmless and comparatively innocent ; but if at a time of political trouble and commotion, when we have but just emerged from an attempt at armed insurrection, whilst the country is still suffering from the machinations, and overrun by the emissaries of a treasonable conspiracy, hatched and operating in a foreign land, the systematic publication of articles advocating the views and objects of that conspiracy seems to admit of but one interpretation. In dealing with the question of intention, gentlemen, you are to bear in mind that the intentions of men are inferences of reason from their actions when the actions could flow but from one motive, and the reasonable result of but one intention. Now, gentlemen, I invite you to a careful examin- ation of these several articles. I advise you to deal with them in a broad, candid, and liberal spirit, subjecting them to no narrow and jealous criticism. In considering them, recollect that there is no sedition in censuring the servants of the Crown, or in candid criticism of the administration of the law, or in seeking redress of grievances, or in the fair discussion of any public question. You are the true guardians of the liberty — of the freedom of the press, and it is your duty to put an innocent interpretation on these articles if, according to your sound judgments, they are capable fairly of that interpretation ; but if, gentlemen, on the other hand, from their whole scope, you are coerced to the conclusion that their object and tendency is to foment disaffection and discontent — to excite tumult and insur- rection — to promote the objects of a treasonable conspiracy — to bring the administration of justice into disrepute, or to stir up the people to a hatred of the laws and constitution — then you may, and I think you ought to find true bills, and send the cases forward for trial by a petty jury. I have now done, gentlemen, with the case against Mr. Richard Pigott. There is another case of equal gravity and importance, but it is one on which I will say very little; for the observations which I made in Mr. Pigott's 10 DUBLIN COMMISSION. case will be all applicable to the second. I have not seen the indictment in the second case, but I am informed that it is against Mr. Sullivan, the publisher and proprietor of a paper called the W& kly X< W8. The case is different from the other in this respect, that the articles complained of, and alleged to be seditious libels, all relate to the Manchester executions. I don't intend to read any of them save one short one. They are of a similar character to those in the Irishman — appear to have a similar tendency, and must be considered with the like views I have pointed out. The articles are all original in this case, so that the remarks I made in the other case on re-publication do not apply now. I will just read, as I have said, one small article from the Weekly Neivs of the 11th of January, 1808, headed " Liberty — God save Ireland." The So/jr'ffor-Gc/ieral.—Th&t is not original. It is the only article that appears to have been copied. Air. Justice Fitzgerald. — It is as follows : — " Liberty — God save Ireland ! — Brothers and friends of Irish liberty, do not despond. The persecutions of centuries will soon be avenged, and by the force of our arms we will purge our native soil from the CUtSe of British misrule. What lias been our position hitherto ? We labour hard and constantly, not to enjoy the fruits of our industry, but to support the revelries of landlords, forced upon our fathers by the English despoilers of our country. Then Ireland expects that eveiy man will do his duty when the time of the glorious struggle arrives. Be united ; and remember the cause for which Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin died on an English scaffold." You will have the other articles to examine, and in doing so, I would ask you to bear in mind the observations which I made in the other case. There is this distinction, however, gentlemen, in the cases, that in the one against Mr. Sullivan, the Attorney- General alleges that certain woodcuts are seditious libels ; and as I have never seen these, and could not very well understand them from the description given of them, you will not expect me to say anything regarding them. You will have copies of them before you ; and I will only tell you in reference to them, that a seditious libel does not necessarily consist of written matter, but may be solely evidenced by an engraving, or any kind of picture. It may convey its own meaning, and that meaning may be of a most malignant kind. There is no doubt wmatever upon the point of law; but you will consider the counts carefully in regard to the meaning assigned to them, and see whether, according to your view, they bear the interpretation put upon them, and if so there will be no difficulty then in finding the bills. [His lordship then proceeded to charge the jury in the case of the same man before mentioned, Patrick Lennon, who was indicted in the county for treason-felony, and his lordship concluded by sayingj — It is unnecessary for me, gentlemen, to add a single word of caution to you. I feel that I have already addressed you at too great length. I know that at times, as I may call them, of wild apprehension, and when the greatest public uneasiness prevailed, you performed your duty as Grand Jurors in a way that elicited QUEEN a. PIGOTT AND SULLIVAN. 11 general approval throughout the country, and I have not the slightest doubt that on the present occasion you will act in a like manner — that you will fairly and candidly examine these im- portant cases, that you will do your duty with calmness and temperance, and show a bright example in the fail- and impartial administration of the law. The grand juries then retired to consider the bills, and after- wards found them. Thursday, February 13th, 1868. The Queen a. Richard Pigott. At half-past two o'clock, The Clerk of the Crown called on the case of the Queen a. Richard Pigott. The Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, John T. Ball, esq., q.c. ; Charles Shaw, esq., q.c. ; J. J. Murphy, esq., q.c. ; Robert Owen, esq., q.c. ; and Edward Beytagh, esq., ap- peared for the Crown. Denis C. Heron, esq., Q.c, and George Perry, esq., appeared for the traverser. Mr. Heron said — Mr. Pigott appears in pursuance of his recog- nizances, and surrenders to the Sheriff of the city of Dublin. The Attorney-Gene ral. — I apprehend Mr. Pigott being in court, and a bill of indictment having been found against him in the county, he should be pro forma in the custody of the Sheriff" of the county. Mr. Heron. — He is now in the custody of the Sheriff of the city of Dublin, and if the Attorney-General makes an application that he be transferred to the custody of the Sheriff of the county, I will be prepared to meet it. The Attorney-General. — I apply that the traverser be arraigned. He is in the county of Dublin. Mr. Heron. — Well, my lord, I object to what you are now asked to do — to arraign the traverser on the county indictment. It was stated by the Attorney-General that the bill was found by the Grand Jury of the county of Dublin, which I believe to be cor- rect. In a case of this kind, where informations are returned to the City Commission, of course there is a power we all know given by the Act of Parliament to have an indictment found in the adjoining county ; and I object now to the prisoner being arraigned under the Count}?- Commission, inasmuch as the usual and ordi- nary course pointed out by the Act and by the decided cases has not been followed. My lord. Mr. Pigott was summoned on the 18th of January before Mr. O'Donnell, and the application then made on behalf of the Crown proceeding by their law officer, was that the informations should be returned to the City Commission, and accordingly, my lord, they were so returned. My lord, it was in the option of the Grown either to have summoned Mr. Pigott, 12 DUBLIN COMMISSION. if they pleased, before a county magistrate, and have the informa- tions returned to the County Commission ; or even under a habeas corpus they could have the informations returned by the Justices of the city of Dublin to the County Commission. And Mr. O'DonnelJ had perfect jurisdiction to return informations to the county and not the city of Dublin ; and the Crown, if they liked, had full opportunity of prosecuting Mr. Pigott before a jury of the county, and the matter is now before the Court. That was not done, and accordingly now the application is that the traverser be arraigned on an indictment found by the Grand Jury of the county of Dublin. My lord, the power to do so is under the statute of the Oth Geo. IV., cap. 51 ; and, my lord, that says first of all, in the second section. [Mr. Heron then read the second section of the ,s/e forfeited, if the prosecutor shall, ten days previous to the holding of the next Court of Oyer and Terminer or ( imcral Gaol Delivery for the next adjoining county, give notice to the person hound in such recognizance to give evidence on such bills of indict- i iK lit or to answer to our Lord the King, as aforesaid of the intention to prefer such indictment in, or to remove such inquisition to the next adjoining or other county, the party bound in such recognizance shall not appear, prosecute, or give, or be ready to give evidence," f the Crown called the name of Richard Pigott. No answer. The Attorney -General. — I ask for a bench warrant. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Issue a bench warrant against Mr. Pigott. Call him again. He was then called again. No answer. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald — Issue a bench warrant. Mr. Heron. — Under what statute is the Attorney-General applying for the warrant ? Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — It is the ordinary course. Mr. Heron. — I think it is only fair, though the Attorney-Gene- ral has not done so, to refer your lordships to the 14th and 15th QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 25 Vic, cap. 93, section 18, which regulates the time at which a war- rant shall be issued : — " That where any indictment shall be found by the Grand Jury in any Court of Oyer and Terminer or General Gaol Delivery, or in any Court of General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace against any person who shall then be at large, and who shall not already have appeared and pleaded to such indictment (and whether such person shall have been bound by any recognizance to answer to the same or not)." And so on. At the end of the session it shall be lawful to issue a warrant, if such person shall not have appeared. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — What is there in that to interfere with the ordinary jurisdiction of the Court under the 6th Geo. IV., cap. 51, to issue a process. You are now dealing with a warrant issued after the sessions; which only enables the Court to do cer- tain things we have not authority to do here. It doesn't inter- fere with the ordinary jurisdiction. Mr. Heron. — Does your lordship not think I ought to be heard as to the issuing of the bench warrant ? The Attorney-General. — This is an ex-parte application. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — This is an ex-parte application, and we cannot hear you now. Mr. Heron. — I refer you to the section. I am not aware that in any case it is usual to apprehend a person for trial during the commission or sessions. The A ttomey- General. — At the 76th page of Archbold's "Crimi- nal Pleading," it is said : — " By a long course of practice it is an established rule that any Court before which an indictment is found may forthwith issue a bench warrant for arresting the party charged, and bringing him immediately before such Court to answer such indictment. It is granted while the Court is sitting." Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — We have no doubt about it. Mr. Heron. — Would your lordship permit me Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — As amicus curice. Mr. Heron. — In 2nd Gabbett, 285, it is said : — " When a party is already under recognizance no process can be had against him during the assizes or sessions, because it is considered in law to be but one day, and the defendant has, therefore, the whole of that time to make his appearance, but in such cases the prosecutor may, if the defendant has not appeared, bespeak a bench warrant during the assizes or sessions, which will be issued at the close thereof." And accordingly, my lord, suppose he is under recognizance to appear, and that the warrant cannot be issued until the close, why should a warrant be issued before the close ? It is an a fortiori case. I refer you to the difference between felony and misdemeanour. I don't think a bench warrant ever issued in a case of this kind. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald, — We have not the slightest doubt about it. There was some doubt whether it did not apply only to a case of misdemeanour. Mr.Eeron. — Atpage 68 of Archbold,15th edition, "Indictment," section 8, it is laid down — 26 DUBLIN COMMISSION. " Where an indictment has been found, a writ of veni 're facias ad respon- dendum may be issued either by the Queen's Bench, a Judge of Assize, OT a Court of Quarter Sessions ; if default in appearing be made, a writ 6f distringas is issuable." And ba page 288 of Gabbett's " Criminal Law," I find— "Wlicii an indictment has been found for a misdemeanour or a crime inferior to felony, and it becomes necessary to proceed to out- lawry, a n aire facias ad respondendum is first issued, which is only in the nature of a summons to appear; this writ may be made returnable im mediately before Justices of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol Delivery, and immediately also in the King's Bench, for all offences committed in the couuty where this Court sits ; but there must be fifteen days at the least between the teste and return of every process awarded from the King's Bench to any foreign county." Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Outlawry is tantamount to conviction, and then if you want to proceed to outlawry you must take the regular steps. You will find that followed by a statement in reference to the issue of a bench warrant. The Gth of Geo. IV., expressly provides for it. Mr. Heron. — That is at the close of the sessions. As amicus curiae, I may call your attention to this. If a party has an indict- ment found against him and does not appear, surely in that case if the warrant is only issued at the close of the Assizes, it applies far stronger to the case where he is put under recognizance to appear and did appear, why should a warrant in that case be issued forthwith ? Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — What do you say to the 6th section of the Act, which directs in case the party is not in custody, that the Court shall issue a warrant to apprehend him ? Mr. Heron. — Certainly, no doubt about that; but when is that to be issued ? Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — In the case of a recognizance binding the party to appear, he may be called at any time, and if he does not appear the recognizance is forfeited. He may appear during the sitting, and save the recognizance, and if he does not appear the Court issues a process compelling him to attend. The statute directs that we shall issue a process to apprehend him. The Court then adjourned, and resumed at half-past two o'clock. The Clerk of the Court called Richard Pigott, who did not answer. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — What do you do now, Mr. Attorney % The Attorney-General. — An unsuccessful search has been made for Mr. Pigott ; he did not appear at his office. I trust Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Pigott, will appear in the morning. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Mr. Sullivan appeared this morning. Will you go on with that case to-morrow morning ? The Attorney -General. — I hope Mr. Pigott will be present. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald — You will take one or other of the cases to-morrow morning. The Attorney-General. — Yes, my lord. I expect to take the case of the Queen a. Pigott. The Court then adjourned to the following morning. QUEEN a. PIGOTT AND SULLIVAN. 27 Saturday, February 15th, 1868. The Court sat at a quarter past ten o'clock. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Mr. Attorney, how do you intend to proceed ? The Attorney- General. — I wish Mr. Richard Pigott to be called. [Mr. Pigott was then called to appear by the Clerk of the Crown, but there was no response.] Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — He does not appear, it seems. Mr. Heron. — I would wish to ask if he is called in the county or the city \ The Attorney-General. — I ask him to be called in court. Mr. Heron. — But I want to know is it in the city or county you call him ? I have a right to know. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — No, you have not. The Attorney-General. — Mr. Sullivan was good enough yester- day to say that he would appear to-day. Mr Heron (who, with Constantine Molloy, esq., and Michael Crean, esq., instructed by Mr. Scanlan, appeared as counsel for Mr. Sullivan). — Mr. Sullivan is here. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Then we can go on with that case. The Clerk of the Crown called the name of Alexander Martin Sullivan, and Mr. Sullivan rose and bowed to the Court. The Clerk of the Crown was about to read the whole indict- ment, when, Mr Heron said — There is no occasion to read the whole indict- ment, as we have been furnished with a copy. The Clerk of the Croivn then stated its substance shortly. It was as follows : — County of the City of Dublin, ) The Juroes for our Lady the to w it : f Queen, upon their oath and affirma- (County of Dublin.) t tio * P^??* ^ befo ^ e the printing * and publishing hereinafter stated, three men, named William O'Mara Allen, Michael Larkin, and William Goold (in the libellous matter hereinafter set forth called O'Brien), were tried and found guilty according to law of the crime of murder, and had been duly sentenced to be executed for said crime at Manchester, in England ; and Alexander M. Sullivan, contriving, devising, and intend- ing to excite hatred and contempt against Her Majesty and her Govern- ment and the administration of her laws, and to cause it to be believed that said three persons had not been tried and found guilty according to law, and had been unfairly and improperly dealt with by her Majesty's Government, and intending to excite and cause sedition and disaffection against Her Majesty and her Government, and to possess her subjects with an ill opinion of her Government and laws and the administration of justice of this kingdom, and seditiously to disturb the peace and tran- quillity of this realm, falsely, maliciously, wickedly, and seditiously did print and publish on the thirtieth November, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, a certain printed paper called The Weekly News, in a certain part of which said printed paper there were and are contained of and concerning the trial, condemnation, and execution of said three persons, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, and of and concerning the administration of justice and the 2S DUBLIN COMMISSION. lawi of this kingdom, certain false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and Libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " The Manchester Tragedy. " Three narrow graves in the gloomy space darkened by the walls of the Salford Jail — three freshly covered plots in the Manchester Haceldama, unconsecrated, unnoticed, and unmarked, hold all that now remains of the three brave Irishmen whose lives were so ardently petitioned and so anxiously prayed for a week ago. The law has had its victims, the gibbet has done its work, and England (meaning thereby Her Majesty's Govern- ment) has consummated her crime. The patriotic men whose noble words in the desecrated Hall of Justice in Manchester drove the blood from the cheeks of their accusers three weeks ago, are blackened corpses to-day, and the world now knows that the faith which brought Emmet, and Grr, and Russell, and the Sheareses to the scaffold, has been baptized anew in the life-blood of that nation whose sacrifices have so often and so unavailingly purpled the altar of Freedom. Allen and Larkin and O'Brien (meaning the three men above mentioned as having been tried, found guilty, and sentenced for the crime of murder) are dead; the voice of England demanded their blood, and their rigid, lifeless bodies, suspended in a row, swung out the response through the dark cold fog that wrapped the victims and the executioner, the armed guards and the brutal mob, last Saturday in Manchester. The cry for vengeance has been answered, and in the convulsive death-struggles of the men who were bold enough to put in practice at home the lessons which England incul- cates abroad, the ruffians who gloated over their sufferings beheld the accomplishment of the hopes on which the magnanimous British nation had set its heart. The feeble voices of the few who tried to preach pru- dence and moderation in the hour of national frenzy were lost in the roar of passion ; justice, humanity, policy — all have been disregarded, all save the savage resolve to take the lives of the Irishmen who had crossed the path of English power, all but the longing to inflict another wound on the palpitating form of a trampled but unconquered nation. U To this, then, it has come to-day ; thus it is that our patience and our submissiveness have been rewarded. For years and years we have watched and waited for the dawning of some ray of justice in the British horizon ; through famine and suffering and desolation, the Irish people have waited for the birth of a new era in British policy, the inauguration of the new system, often promised, but always withheld. The longing hopes of peaceful redress, the expectation of a course of treatment in sympathy with our wants and our rights, restrained the people of Ireland from the desperate line of action towards which the encouragement given by Englishmen to Revolution abroad impelled them, and now we have the reply to our docility and forbearance. The loaded gibbet in Manchester, the young lives ignominiously cut off by the hand of the public execu- tioner, the mangled corpses laid beside the murderer's grave, the jeers of the wolfish multitude who danced and sang around the gallows — these are the responses to our appeals — these are the accursed gifts that are offered in redemption of our hopes. After centuries of dominion, during which conciliation alone was left untried ; after hundreds of years, during which English statesmen found in Ireland the danger and the difficulty of their empire ; after the impossibility of crushing the Irish national spirit by torture and death has been attested through decades of persecution, we find ourselves to-day standing where our fathers stood when Tone died on his prison pallet, and when Russell's blood flowed from the scaffold in QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 29 Downpatrick. There is nothing in our political position to distinguish the present from the time when Major Sirr and his myrmidons trafficked in the blood of Irish patriots, and when the bleeding head of young Emmet was held up by the executioner in Thomas-street. The impatience of English domination that stirred the pulses of Ireland then has not passed away; and in 1867, as in 1803 and 1798, the jailor and the hangman form the twin pillars upon which the edifice of British rule (meaning J lei- Majesty s Government) in Ireland is supported. " The executions are over — the saturnalia is at an end ; but the price of that brutal carnival is still unpaid, and the important results which flow from it are hardly yet understood in England. It is better that the meaning of that bloodstained scene should be fully realized ; it is better that the English people should clearly understand the cost at which they gratified their revengeful feelings last Saturday. On that morning the British Government {meaning Her Majesty's Government) deliberately blasted for ever the chance of reconciliation between the people of Ireland and the English nation : on that clay they put an end to the efforts of those who sought to bridge over the gulf of antagonism that divided Ireland from the rest of the British Empire. It was open to the Govern- ment (meaning Her Majesty's Government), had they so chosen, to extract a golden opportunity for beginning the pacification of Ireland from the Manchester disturbances \ it was in their power to have rendered them the means of sapping the vitality of disaffection in Ireland; and winning for themselves some gratitude from a people who are never insensible to considerate treatment. But this was not their choice. They (meaning Her Majesty's Government) preferred to go back to the days of the pitch-cap and the walking-gallows for a policy ; and they (meaning Her Majesty's Government) elected to satisfy the English craving for blood, though the result should be to convulse the heart of Ireland with pas- sionate grief and indignation. And they have had their will. The rebels are lying in their prison graves ; but sooner shall they recall the light to the eyes of the strangled men, sooner will the current of life be brought back to the stark cold bodies of the slain, than the horror, the resent- ment, and the anger which their fate has excited in Ireland will pass away. " For the brave-hearted men who perished last Saturday (meaning the said three men who had been found guilty and sentenced to be executed for the crime of murder) there need no tears be shed. They died, as many good Irishmen died before, in defence of the principles of Irish nation- ality ; and they fell in a cause which can count amongst its martyrs the noblest spirits that ever the love of liberty inspired. Their cruel end cannot rob them of their fame, nor can the means by which it was sought to degrade them in death cast a shade upon their memories. There are circumstances under which the scaffold becomes more glorious than the monarch's gilded throne, and which cast round the obscure grave of the felon a halo unshared by the mausoleum of royalty. The men whose names are closest enshrined in the Irish heart, and to whose memories the noblest efforts of our poets and our orators have been con- secrated, were cut off, like Allen (meaning the said William (J Mara Allen), by the rude grasp of the executioner ; and in every age and in every land there have been instances in which the gibbet and the block borrowed dignity from the patriot's blood. They perished as good men might, in a noble but a baffled cause ; and whatever might have been their errors or their mistakes, they passed away leaving no memory behind them in Ireland save that of heroic and patriotic men. They died with fortitude and firmness, and the history of their last hours 30 DUBLIN COMMISSION. loaves us also tho consolation that the reward of a good death has not boon denied them, and that they have realized the promise of the Psalm- ist — Bcati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur. They (meaning the above- named three men who were executed at Manchester) are added to the long roll of gallant men whose love for Ireland was adjudged treason, and who sealed their fidelity to their principles with their lives ; and through many a coining age their names and their histories will be handed down, and the story of their tragic death recited to sorrowing listeners in sym- pathetic words. Nor is it in Ireland alone that their fate will excite emotion. In the crowded streets of the great American cities — in the log huts in the backwoods — in the scattered settlements far away towards tho shores of the Pacific — in the marts which commerce has raised in distant Australia — wherever the Irish race has a representative — the cheek will redden with the flush of indignation, and the pulse quicken with the hot impulse of revenge, when the scene which Manchester rojoiced over last Saturday is heard of. How far it may influence the future conduct of the Irish race, in exile and at home, we will not examine; the effect which it may have on. the powerful confederacy in America, to which Allen and his fellow-sufferers were alhliated, is a sub- ject which we need not discuss. We shall only say that we believe the sickening scene of Saturday will revive the hope and strengthen the resolve of the disaffected in Ireland — that it will quicken into activity the conspiracies directed against British power — and that, if the present tone of the public mind be anything more than a passing shadow, the English people may well be esteemed fortunate if the deed of blood which they so heartlessly perpetrated a week ago does not yet entail a dreadful and a sweeping retribution." (Thereby intending and meaning to excite hatred and dislike toward Her Majesty and her government, and to excite hatred and dislike toward and against the administration of justice and the laics of this realm, and to cause it to be believed that said government was cruel and oppressive, and also meaning and intending to excite disaffection and discontent toward and against said government, and to cause strife and sedition amongst Her Majesty's subjects.) Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. 2nd Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation afore- said, do further present that the said Alexander M. Sullivan, further to carry out and effect his wicked, malicious, and seditious intentions and de- signs aforesaid, did in and upon said last-mentioned libellous and printed paper, place, print, and publish a certain false, wicked, scandalous, sedi- tious, and libellous picture of and concerning the execution of said three men, and of and concerning Her Majesty's government, in which said seditious and libellous picture so printed and published of and concerning said execution, and of and concerning Her Majesty's government, and having over it the words " It is done," and immediately under it the words and figures, " Manchester, November 23, 1867," the said Alexander M. Sullivan did represent and did intend to represent her -aid -Majesty's government and the administration of justice and law under and by Her Majesty and her government, in a false, scandalous, wicked, and libellous manner, by representing Her Majesty's govern- ment in said libellous picture under the form of a woman armed with a dagger, and appearing to have recently slain some persons, and as trampling on a balance and scales, intended to represent Justice, the said Alexander M. Sullivan thereby intending and meaning to excite odium, -it b swsr QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 31 hatred, disaffection, discontent, and sedition toward and against Her Majesty, her government, and her laws. Against the peace of onr said Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. 3rd Count. [Commenced as the 1st Count, and in the same way averred the identity of Allen and O'Brien mentioned in the articles, with the two executed men, and alleged a publication on the 7th of December of articles as follows.] "Ireland's reply. " The gauntlet thrown down by the Government press has been taken up by the people of Ireland. A week ago it was proclaimed that the hideous act which blotted out the young lives of three Irish patriots (meaning thereby the legal execution of the said three men ivho had been found guilty of murder) in Manchester was acquiesced in by their country- men, that the Irish people saw nothing to object to in the bloodstained revelry in which Manchester steeped itself a fortnight ago, and that the policy which consigned Michael O'Brien, William Philip Allen, and Michael Larkin to the gallows was accepted as a State necessity by the race for whom they died. It was assumed that the old fire of patriotism was extinguished in the Irish breast, that the flame which glowed through the dark centuries of our past had ceased to burn, and that now at last the time has come when the hangman might pursue his accursed vocation amongst the true men of the Irish race unquestioned and undisturbed." And in a certain other part of which said printed paper there were and are printed and published of and concerning Her Majesty's Govern- ment, and of and concerning the said execution of said three men, and of and concerning the acmiinistration of justice and the laws of this King- dom, certain other false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " . . . .It was false, and they knew it ! It was false ! for never within the minds of living men was the heart of the Irish nation more fiercely agitated, more deeply moved. It was false ! from north and south, from east to west, everywhere within the sea-washed shores of Ireland, the news of that shocking tragedy (meaning the said execution) was responded to by the cry of anguish and resentment. It was false ! for, save by the foreign brood that props up the wreck of ascendancy, and save in the subsidized press which echoes their bigotry, no voice was raised in Ireland but to stigmatize, to reprobate, and to condemn the brutal scene (meaning the said execution) in which Calcraft appeared as the preserver of British power (meaning thereby Her JIajestfs Govern- ment):" And in a certain other part of which said printed paper there were and are printed and published of and concerning Her Majesty's Govern- ment, and of and concerning the said execution of said three men, and of and concerning the administration of justice and the laws of this King- dom, certain other false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — '< ( . . . . . But the end has not come yet. The Irish capital has lain, so far, inactive j but the silence will soon be broken. The nationalists of Cork have nobly discharged their duty — to-morrow, citizens of Dublin, you will do yours. Only for another day will the taunts levelled against you remain unanswered ; and before the light of to-morrow's sun has faded you will have shown to the world that your DUBLIN COMMISSION. sentiments aro not those which are attributed to you in the organs of Dublin Castle. What the people of Dublin think of the triple execu- tion, and the light in which they regard the memories of the men strangled as murderers by British law (meaning thereby Her Majesty's Government), to-morrow's demonstration will show." (Thereby intending and meaning to excite hatred and dislike toward Her Majesty and her Government, and toward and against the administra- tion of justice and the laws of this realm.) Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. 4th Count. [Commenced as the 1st Count and continued, averring that Mr. Sullivan did] print and publish on the seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, a certain printed paper, called The Weekly jYeivs, in a certain part of which said printed paper there were and are contained of and concerning the trial, condemnation, and execution of said three persons, and of and concerning a certain procession intended to be held in honour of said three men, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, and of and concerning the administration of justice and the laws of this kingdom, certain false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matter, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " The people have hailed with delight and satisfaction the prospect of an opportunity being afforded for openly and peaceably manifesting their feelings regarding the strangling of the Irish patriots at Manchester (meaning thereby the execution of said three men), and amongst all classes and all shades of nationalists there exists but the one idea on the subject — the desire of rendering the demonstration (meaning thereby the proces- sion aforesaid) as effective and as successful as possible." And in a certain other part of which said printed paper there were and are printed and published of and concerning Her Majesty's Govern- ment, and of and concerning the said intended procession, and of and concerning the execution of one Robert Emmet, certain other false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " The processionists (meaning the persons who proposed to assemble in said procession) will pass by the spot where Robert Emmet, the chival- rous and the true, was executed in 1803, with uncovered heads. And in a certain other part of which said printed paper there were and are printed and published of and concerning Her Majesty's Govern- ment, and of and concerning the said execution of said three men, and of and concerning the administration of justice and the laws of this Kingdom, certain other false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " In connexion with the subject of the Manchester execution (meaning tlie execution of said three men), the following item of intelligence may well be perused. It reveals an act of brutality worthy of the nation which holds its revels round the gibbet which they (meaning thereby Her Majesty s Government) load with the blackened bodies of patriotic and innocent men (meaning the said three men who had been so executed, .)" Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. 5th Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation aforesaid, do further present that the said Alexander M. Sullivan, further to carry out and effect his wicked, malicious, and seditious in- i«riM in* «-im.»b»atw» fAlNllMt hv r IVIVIU- QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 33 tentions and designs aforesaid, did in and upon said last-mentioned libellous and printed paper, place, print, and publish a certain false, wicked, scandalous, seditious, and Libellous picture of and concerning and intended to represent the execution of said three men, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, in which said seditious and libellous picture so printed and published of and concerning said execution, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, the said Alexander M. Sullivan did represent and did intend to represent her said Majesty and her said Government and the administration of justice and laAv under and by Her Majesty and her Government, in a false, scandalous, wicked, and libellous manner, by representing Her Majesty's Government in said libellous picture in the form of a woman holding a dagger in her hand,, with which she is represented in said picture to have recently committed a guilty deed, namely the execution of said three men, and after having committed same, she is represented as flying from the scene of her guilty deed and crouching in terror under a figure of another woman with a sword in her hand, intended to represent Justice (thereby intending and meaning that Her Majesty's Government, in having executed said three men, had acted with cruelty and injustice, and had done an act that justly called for punishment), the said Alexander M. Sullivan thereby intending and meaning to excite odium, hatred, disaffec- tion, discontent, and sedition toward and against Her Majesty, her Government, and her laws. Against the peace of our said Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. 6th Count. [Commenced as the 1st and like it averred the identity Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien with the executed men, and alleged publication on the 14th of December, 1867, of the following article.] " THE FUNERAL PROCESSIONS. "The spell is broken — the enemies of Ireland are answered — the reign of distortion, falsehood, and calumny is at an end. Startled into life by the rejoicings meant to celebrate her expiring throes — galvanized into action by the touch of the undertaker — Ireland stands to-day face- to-face with the power that oppresses her {meaning thereby Her Majesty's Government), and flings defiance in the teeth of the cowardly foe that floated over her sufferings and exulted over her prostration. Pallid and emaciated with the blood-streaming gashes still reddening her brow, that long-tried nation, which six centuries of violence and slaughter, of fraud, butchery, and confiscation, could not subdue, arises like a figure from the dead, and resolute, unflinching, and unconquerable, confronts the horde of revilers that insulted her sorrow and revelled in the prospect of her doom. It is not conquered yet, that noble spirit which persecution has warred with for ages ! — it is not conquered yet, that strength of will and holy purpose which, through bloodshed and proscription, have been clung to as a sacred commission by our race. The tide of national life courses warmly through the olden channels, and the grave dug for the genius of Irish Freedom is untenanted still. In vain are the pages of the past re-opened ; in vain are the resources of tyranny invoked ; in vain are the weapons of violence and terrorism appealed to. Unflinching and undismayed, the unconquerable Nation, oft doomed to death, but fated not to die, emerges from each bloodstained convulsion with the appealing arm uplifted to Heaven, and the words of hope and resolution still flowing from her wasted lips. The spectre of famine may stalk through th(T land, blasting wi J .h its withering breath the young and the strong, the stalwart man and the bright-eyed maiden j the dungeon may D 34 DUBLIN COMMISSION. be filled with the high-spirited and tlie brave, and the dock of the emigrant shij) crowded with the manhood of our race ; but in the dreary prison, in the pestilent; shiphold, and amidst the silent fields billed by the stricken remnants of our people, the spirit that tells of a mission to be accomplished, of a glorious future to be won — that breathes the hopes of liberty — that tells of a nation yet to arise, redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled — burns brightly within the Irish breast. Nor are the darker acts of cruelty more successful in the crusade against our political faith. The hand of the executioner is stretched out in vain ; the hideous gallows stands out like a blot against the sky, and is loaded with the mangled bodies of Irish patriots (jneaning the aforesaid three men who loere executed for the crime of murder) ; but the gibbet which England (meaning Jin- Majesty's Government) erects has no terrors for the Irish heart, and, sanctified by the blood of her victims, the fatal tree blossoms into an object of national veneration, to be girt round by the vows and aspirations, and watered by the tears, the prayers, and benedictions of the Irish race. " Look at the scenes of the present hour ! Four weeks ago they [mean- ing Her Majesty's Government) hung three Irishmen in Manchester amidst the drunken rejoicings of a mob rioting in the orgies of blood. They were poor, they were humble, they were obscure. Until the com- mission of the act for which they died they were unknown to the mass of their countrymen. They attached themselves to a conspiracy about the merits of which Irishmen are divided, and they perilled their lives in an undertaking which prudence must condemn. But whatever may have been their mistakes, they (meaning the said three men who v)ere executed for murder) fell in the cause of Ireland ; their efforts might have been mis- directed, but it was love of country inspired them ; and throughout the ordeal of a trial little better than a mockery (meaning thereby the trial before Her Majesty's Judges at which said three men had been found guilty), and even while standing in the shadow of death, with the hang- man's noose around their necks, they bore themselves as patriots and as Christians. They were strangled, we are told, as a lesson to disaffected Irishmen ; and when their blackened bodies w^ere buried in the mur- derer's plot, it was thought that the impulse which prompts Irishmen to resistance would perish too. And what has been the result 1 Look to it, ye rulers and teachers ; look to it, ye legislators and statesmen, for the acceptable time is passing away ; look to it ere the day when concession may avail ye has faded for ever from the heavens ! " The voice of the Irish nation, bursting through the restraints of inti- midation and oppression, reverberates through the land. No murderers were they who died on the gallows tree in Manchester (meaning the said three men) ; no murderers — but brave-spirited patriots who sealed their devotion to Ireland with their blood ; no murderers — but political mar- tyrs, whose memories are to be cherished through future ages, and whose death has taught their countrymen another solemn lesson of constancy and courage. So the Irish people proclaim. Such is the import of the monster demonstrations described in our pages to-day. Last week we chronicled the extraordinary procession which delilcd through the streets of Cork in honour of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien; to day Ave place on record the unprecedented demonstration by which Dublin marked its reverence for their memories, and re-echoed the protest against the system which has reddened its hands with their blood. " It is only in Ireland, and only amongst a people as warm-hearted and high-spirited as our own, that a spectacle such as that presented last Sunday in Dublin could be witnessed. From no other race on the face QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 35 of the earth could so extraordinary a manifestation of feeling be elicited. Amidst a pitiless downpour of rain and sleet, and over thoroughfares softened into broken streams of mud, the monster procession that followed the empty hearses of the executed patriots wound its way. In tens of thousands they marched along, heedless of the drenching rain, heedless of the waves of mud through which they were compelled to wade, heedless of the threats and intimidations that were levelled at them by the enemies of the cause which they honoured, reckless of all save the determination to testify their fidelity to the principles of Irish independence and their detestation of foreign rule (meaning Her Majesty's Government). Had the efforts of those who organized that grand display of patriotism resulted in failure, there would still be little with which to reproach the people of Dublin. For the unscrupulous arts of the Castle tribe, exerted as they were with consummate cun ni ng and ceaseless energy, might well have been expected to damage the movement, and the frightful inclemency of the weather would sufficiently account for inaction on the part of the people without reflecting on their patriotism. It was pretended that those who should dare to participate in the demonstration would rim the risk of being sabred by the troops or starved by her Majesty's gaolers \ it was assiduously reported that wholesale arrests would follow the proces- sion, and that the march to Glasnevin would be followed by countless prosecutions ; that lists would be compiled by the detectives of the per- sons venturing to wear the black and green ; and it was maliciously suggested that the merchants and manufacturers of the city would second the action of the Government by dismissing such of their employees as should dare to take part in the proceedings. To these evil influences was added the discouraging nature of the weather. Early on Sunday morning the rain set in, and at the hour fixed for the assembling of the procession the streets were converted into open sewers by the floods of rain that fell from the black cold sky overhead. But the true-hearted patriots of Dublin cared nothing for these obstacles. The threats of their enemies they were prepared to brave j and they saw nothing to deter them from their object in the prospect of a three hours' walk at funeral pace through sodden thoroughfares and driving sleet. In thousands and tens of thousands they came, until miles of streets were blocked up by the living mass. Who that has seen that sight can ever forget it ? Who that reads of it can fail to be moved by the description ? What shall we say of the orderly ranks of earnest, respectable men — the flower of the manhood of our city — that marched in regular array towards the City of the Dead upon that memorable day ? What shall we say of the multi- tude of tender children that, with the emblems of patriotism and mourning upon their little dresses, struggled contentedly, and with the approbation of their parents, through miles of mire and broken stone, imbibing thus early the lesson that to die for Ireland, though it be on the gallows tree, is a glorious and an enviable fate \ What shall we say, above all, about the thousands of fair young girls in beautiful attire who joined in the weary pilgrimage, nor swerved from the countless ranks even when drenched with rain, and wheu their green-trimmed garments, soaked and soiled by the liquid mire, hung limp and draggled train their shoulders \ What, except to marvel at the heroic spirit thus nobly exhibited, and to pray that the God of J ustice may bless the true-hearted, generous race which has given to the world so unparalleled an exhibition of patient, enduring courage and self-sacrificing patriotism. ' J But it is not in Dublin alone that the voice of the people has been uplifted in protest against the bloodstained policy that exhibited its accursed fruits at Manchester (meaning thereby the conduct of Her D 2 3G DUBLIN COMMISSION. Majesty s Government in executing said three men). In Limerick, in Midleton, in Mitchelstown, in Skibbereen, and in Kantui k, the splendid example set by the brave young men of Cork has been followed with spirit and success. Another series of processions is fixed for to-morrow j and we trust that, before long, a similar demonstration will have in Kin place in every town in Ireland. Already the enemies (meaning II r Majesty s Government) of our race stand aghast at the magnitude of the movement which their ferocity and their brutality have evoked. Well will it be for Ireland, and well for the nation which oppresses her — well for the governed and the governing, for the men of the present day, and for the generations of the future, if the great lesson of these demonstra- tions — the lesson that Ireland contented means Ireland independent and free, be taken to heart by the rulers of our people." (Thereby intending and meaning to excite hatred and dislike toward (md against Her Majesty's Government, and the administration of justice and the laws of this realm.) Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. 7th Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation afore- said, do further present that the said Alexander M. Sullivan, contriving, devising, and intending to excite hatred, discontent, and sedition against Her Majesty and her Government, and seditiously to disturb the peace and tranquillity of this realm, and to urge and incite Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland to strive and overthrow her power and authority in Ireland, falsely, wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously did print and pub- lish, on the eleventh day of January, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and sixty-eight, a certain other printed paper, called The Weekly News, in a certain part of which said printed paper there were and are contained of and concerning Her Majesty, her power and Government, and of and concerning her power and authority in Ireland, and depriving her of same, certain other false, wicked, malicious, sedi- tious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — « LIBERTY. " GOD SAVE IRELAND. " Brothers and friends of Irish liberty, do not despond. The persecu- tions of centuries will soon be avenged ; and, by the force of our arms, we will purge our native soil from the curse of British misrule. (Mean- ing thereby that Ireland would be wrested by force of arms from Her Majesty's power and authority.) What has been our position hitherto 1 We labour hard and constantly, not to enjoy the fruits of our industry, but to support the revelries of landlords, forced upon our fathers by the English despoilers of our country. Then, Ireland expects that every man Avill do his duty when the time of the glorious struggle (meaning thereby the struggle against Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland) arrives. Be united ; and remember the cause for which Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin died on an English scaffold I" (Thereby intending and meaning to urge and excite sedition, discontent, and disaffection toward and against Her Majesty's Government in Ireland, and to cause her subjects in Ireland to oppose and overthrow her power and authority in Ireland.) Against the peace of our said Lady the Queen, 1 er crown and dignity. QUEEN SrTJJTAX XI 8th COUST. Axo the JrsoES aforesaid. upon their oath and affirmation aforesaid, do rimmr resmr rim nm s-i: Aimmi-rr 31. S-ll-m. m-eniiiLZ ml devising as afor said, did on the twenty-second day of June, in the year of oar Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, print and pub- lish, and cause to be printed and published a certain other paper called Ths W shhf JSewg, in and upon which there was and is a certain false, reVflyig. mi seiriins liel :: mi xn:e~" g Her Majesrr mi L-r ' r '. v--— — ~. in me ::rm :: a rii-mr e. "lerein '. - \ ?mi enrm-m •• r 7 - _•- land and Austria : A Striking Contrast," having printed and published tin iciiimIi r the false, fibeuous, and seditious words following, that is to s.vr. - Mrs. Brin-m - - --iby Her MajeXhjx G&rernjneut), while holding Erin (msaamtg thereby ike people of Ireland), prostrate in bond- are. sers :le mV- f me p-mm me L« rej^med in lie reconmimim ;: Austria and Hungary," representing in the said picture a fake, malicious, selld-ms. mi mmms re:. resmmm : n :: Her 3I.-.;esrr"= ' m-rrmmm. mi intending and devising to represent her said Government by means of mi zj referenre :V Ve rLr/me in lic-nre ~ Tin; i mmm mi la— im: in ler rilm Imi * si m s~ :r-i :r iagger. ss :riel n: imressme To-arm-i mi mamsT me tem.le :: Ire Inn rerresemed in smi rierme \j a female figure crushed and pressed down by the left hand of said other female nrire plmei :n me neck :: sail rlrire remesenmm me r-rorle :: Ireland, and to cause it to be believed that the people of Ireland were governed by cruelty and oppression, and further intending and devising bv rlr mres.ml £.nse. memm. mi seiiriins — :rls irmrei mi pm- Iisle*i as mresmi \~ m- sail Aiezmier 31. Smmm :: mi :m:emmr. Her Majesty's Government, to excite hatred, discontent, and sedition mi mi mmmr Kir 3La;esvr = G-ivrmmen: mirnrsr Her 31a errv's nb : m in Ir^lmi. Agaisst the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. Mr. Sullivan pleaded " not guilty," and said he was ready for Lis mial The long panel was then called over, when forty jurors an- swered to their names. Mr. Heron. — Mr. Sullivan instructs me to say that he will not take any objection to any of the jurors. I mention that to save tim- Mr. Trevor Hamilton was first called, and sworn. Mr. James Milo Burke called and sworn. Mr. John Kelly (on being called) asked to be excused, as he had served in three cases already. The Attomey-GeneixiL — I hope the jurors are not labouring under the apprehension that they will be locked up for the night. Mr Justice Fitzgerald. — No, gentlemen; you will not be locked up overnight if the case has not concluded. I am afraid we cannot excuse Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kelly was then sworn. Mr. Wilnam Andenon oiled, and sworn. Mr. Joseph Berry was called, and directed by the Crown- Solicitor to ■ stand by." Mr. Herat — If there is to be a "stand by," my lord, let it be done in public The Attorney-General. — Surely that was done in public. 38 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Mr. Heron. — It was done in a whisper. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald, — Really that is an observation that is whollv uncalled for. It is not the duty of the Attorney-General to tell a juror to stand by. He announces to the officer of the Court whether it be a challenge or a "stand-by," and the officer docs his duty in public. Mr. Heron. — With great respect, it is the business of the Attor- ney-General to announce it to the officer, so as that the prisoner's counsel may hear it. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I have stated the practice. The Attorney-General directs the attention of the officer of the Court as t<> w hat is to be done, and the officer announces it in public. We allow nothing to be done here in a whisper. The word is addressed to the juror, and not to the counsel. Mr. Heron. — I think it is the Attorney-General that does it — Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I don't agree with you. Mr. Heron, — And he has done it in a very remarkable manner in these trials. The Attorney-General, — I protest against this. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I will not bear this repeated, Mr. Heron. Mr. Heron. — I will not repeat what I have said, but I abide by what I have said. The Attorney -General. — I protest against these personal im- putations. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — The Attorney-General has done his duty. I have had some experience of trials in this Court, and I must say I never saw trials more fairly conducted than these. Mr. Heron. — I shall certainly always call attention to the " standing-by" system. Mr. Baron Deasy. — You can do that elsewhere ; this is not the place. Mr. Heron. — It is an infamous system. Mr. Baron Deasy. — You must not make such observations. The Attorney-General. — I ask for the protection of the Court. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I must ask Mr. Heron that such an observation may not be repeated. It is a most improper one. Mr. Heron. — I will not repeat them. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald, — We have to administer the law as we find it. Mr. Heron, — No doubt, my lord. I beg to say that I meant to impute nothing whatever to the Court. The Attorney-General. — I don't know whether your lordship considers that statement satisfactory. Mr. Francis Magrath was called, and directed to " stand by." The following are the names of the gentlemen sworn on the jury:— Trevor Hamilton, Esq. (Foreman). John Milo Burke, Esq. Edward James Cuppage, Esq. John Findlater, Esq. John Kelly, Esq. Thomas R. Austin, Esq. John Ingram, Esq. John Lee, Esq. William Anderson, Esq. Richard Fowler, Esq.; James S. Hetherington, Esq. John Crossthwaite, Esq. QT7EEN a. PIGOTT. 3£ When t he prisoner had been given in charge to the jury, the Attorney-General rose to state the case for the Crown. Vit was interrupted by Mr. Heron, who said — My lords. I do not wish to interrupt the learned Attorney-General, but in the case of Mr. Pigott, in which I also appear, I may mention that I received a communicatii m from Mr. Pigott this morning. I need hardly say that it never was Mr. Pigott's intention to fly to avoid justice. It could not have been his intention. He appealed here on the first day. and acting for him I raised a legal objection, which I had a right to do, which was properly argued,, and which your lordships decided accorcling to law. My lords, what tjien occurred was this : Mr. Pigott was in court, as I mentioned, and the Attorney-General, in good humour, I will say, said he would shut his eyes to his presence, as did the Court, and the Court did not see him. although he was sitting beside me. Mi*. Pigott left the court, apparently for the purpose of having the Bench warrant issued against him. I thought it a hard thing that Mr. Pigott should be submitted to an arrest in the ordinary course. I. therefore, say this, that if the Attorney-General will direct Mr. Anderson to write a letter to Mr. Pigott at his office, he will appear ; and, in my opinion, whoever was intrusted with the execution of the warrant has been as blind to Mr. Pigott as the Attorney-General was yester- day The Attorney-General. — Surely this is most unwarrantable. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — There is nothing yet said calling for a reply. The Attorney-General — I say that the police have been search- ing for Mr. Pigott, who, when his trial was called on, kept out of the way. He was called on to appear Mr. Heron. — Does the Attorney-General insist upon Mr. Pigott's being arrested as he is coming to the court ? I am quite sure the Att rrey-General is not capable of doing anything unkind, and i: would be an unkind act to arrest my client as he is coming to the court. Mr. Pigott has written to me to say that he will be here at any hour the Attorney-General may choose to name. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I am sure there will be no necessity to execute the warrant under such circumstances. The Attorney- G* it ml. — I think it right, now that the state- ment has been made, to say this : Mr. Heron has been in court for a considerable time. He was here before the jury was called in this case, and Mr. Heron deliberately abstains from ma king that statement until the jury is impannelled to try Mr. Sullivan s case. That ought not to have been done, and the interruption take place now. Mr. Pigott tied from justice Mr. H- ■ .. — I protest now against that observation. The Att-:-?r. vein n lent, the laws or constitution of the realm — and all endeavours to promote public disorder. Sedition, being inconsistent; with the safety of the State, is regarded as a high misdemeanour; and, as such, punishable a\ i tli fine and imprisonment ; and it has been truly said that it is the duty of the Government, acting for the protection of society, to resist and extinguish it at the earliest moment. The indictment for sedition must specify the acts — the overt or openacts — by which the seditious intent is evidenced; and in the cases to be specially submitted for your con- sideration, the acts relied upon as indicating the seditious spirit of the accused parties are certain newspaper publications, which are alleged to be seditious libels. Gentlemen, it is scarcely necessary for me to point out to you that, in order to accomplish treasonable purposes, and to de- lude the weak, the unwary, and the ignorant, no means can be more effectual than a seditious press. With such machinery the preachers of sedition can sow, broadcast, that poisonous seed which, if unchecked, ultimately must culminate in insurrection and revolution. Lord Mans- field, in the great case against the Dean of St. Asaph, (reported 3 Term Rep. 431 note. 21 St. Tii. 1040,) well likened a seditious and licen- tious press to Pandora's box, as the source of all evils — meaning all evils to the State. Mere words may be of a seditious character, but they may arise from sudden heat ; they may be heard but by a few, and create no permanent effect. They differ in malignity widely from seditious writ- ings. In reference to the latter, a great Judge, Sir Michael Foster, says truly, (Foster's " Crown Law," 204) : — ' Seditious writings are permanent things, and if published they scatter the poison far and wide ; — they are the acts of deliberation capable of satisfactory proof, and not ordinarily liable to misconstruction; and they are submitted to the judgment of the Court, naked and undisguised, as they came out of the author's hands.'" There, gentlemen, is a clear and plain and unambiguous exposi- tion of the law of libel, and, therefore, if these written documents, deliberate acts, showing a clear purpose, were published, and if the intention of these documents, according to this view, was to disturb the tranquillity of the country, to excite discon- tent and disaffection, and to bring the Queen and the Queen's QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 43 Government into contempt, then, gentlemen, these documents are in the view of the law — according to the incontrovertible view of the law — seditious libels. And here, gentlemen, I might pause, but that three of the libels for which we prosecute Mr. Sullivan are not in words. They are for pictures, and therefore I will call your attention to another very short passage from the shorthand v/ liter's report of the same charge. It says : — " In reference to them (that is, to these pictures) a seditious libel does not necessarily consist of written matter, but may be solely evidenced by an engraving or any kind of picture. It may convey its own meaning, and that meaning may be of a most malignant kind. There can be no question whatever upon the point of law. But, then, you will consider these counts carefully with reference to the meaning assigned to them, and see whether, according to your view, they bear the interpretation put upon them." So that, you will see that, beyond all doubt, a malignant libel may be found under the form of a mere picture, with- out words. Therefore, gentlemen, bearing in mind that expo- sition of the law of libel in reference to printed words, and in reference to printed pictures, you are to try and incpiire, are these libels of the character charged in the indictment against Mr. Sullivan? The only matter remaining would be the meaning and intent of these libels ; but, gentlemen, before I read the arti- cles themselves, it is necessary for me to ask you to bear in mind a few facts of a historical character. Gentlemen, you are aware that in Ireland, in 1798, there was a wicked and disastrous rebel- lion, and that rebellion, having been subdued, an attempt was made some five years afterwards — in 1803 — to revive and rekindle the flames of insurrection and rebellion ; and, gentlemen, amongst those men — those unhappy men — who were most deeply impli- cated in those transactions, were two well-known men — avowed traitors — Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who was shot in Thomas- street, and Robert Emmet, who was executed in Thomas-street, in this city. Gentlemen, }^ou will remember these facts, and that these men, however estimable may have been their private char- acter, were avowed traitors, and that they perished — one being shot, and the other executed — because they were traitors. Gen- tlemen, I pass by in the history of our country a period of sixty years, and I come down to a new treasonable conspiracy, of a more wicked, and mad, and desperate character — the most desperate and most wicked that has sullied our annals for upwards of 200 years— I mean that conspiracy known as the Fenian Brotherhood. Gentlemen, that conspiracy, concocted for the overthrow of the existing Government, concocted for the estab- lishment of a socialistic republic, existed — (alas ! that I should say, does exist in this country) — existed, gentlemen, previously to the year 1865. and was in full vigour in the year 1867, from which we have just emerged. That conspiracy had its ramifica- tions not only in Ireland, but in America and in England. In many parts of Ireland it had numerous devoted adherents. In some few districts of England it had some desperate members ; and the spirit of discontent, and disaffection, and disloyalty was 4t DUBLIN COMMISSION. rife in this country in the month of June last, in the month of November last, and in the month of December last. Gentlemen, amongst the incidents of that Fenian conspiracy was one trans- action — the only one it will be necessary for me to call your attention to in this ease. At Manehester, in England, two men, reputed to be leading Fenian eonspirators, were in the custody, the lawful custody, of the police — in a prison van ; and a plan was formed by men armed with loaded revolvers, to attack that van and its guardians, for the purpose of rescuing these reputed Fenians. In the month -of September those men sallied forth with loaded revolvers, attacked the prison van, they rescued the reputed Fenians, and they shot a man of the name of Brett, a policeman, because he was faithful to the discharge of his duty, and would not give up the keys of that van and liberate the prisoners. Gentlemen, the crime of murder was committed in the si looting of that policeman Brett. No man will dare to stand up in a court of justice, and say that it was not murder. No prisoner's counsel, pressed as he may be by the emergencies of his case, will stand up and say that it was not murder to shoot Brett on that occasion. And for that crime of murder, three men — Allen, Larkin, Gould, or O'Brien, were tried, and condemned, and were executed in Manchester on the 23rd of November last. Gentlemen, bear in mind these facts — that Brett was murdered by men who went out with loaded revolvers, and that three men, found guilty of that crime of murder, were executed according to the law of the United Kingdom, after a trial before two of the Queen's Judges. Gentlemen, these are the material facts for you to have present to your minds in considering the meaning and effect of the libels for which Mr. Sullivan is now on his trial before you. Now, gentlemen, I will call your attention to these libels. You recol- lect, gentlemen, the charges made were for exciting hatred and contempt of the Queen and Government, exciting sedition and disaffection among the subjects of the Queen, and disturbing the peace and tranquillity of her reign. The first article which is charged as a seditious libel against Mr. Sullivan is a leading article, published in the Weekly News of the 30th November, 1867. I hold the paper in my hand, and I find the leading article is entitled, " The Manchester Tragedy." Of course, gentlemen, that requires no inuendo to point it to the execution which had taken place seven days before, at Manchester, of the three men who were then executed for murder. The article proceeds : — " Three narrow graves in the gloomy space darkened by the walls of Salford Gaol — three freshly-covered plots in the Manchester Aceldama, unconsecrated, unnoticed, and unmarked, hold all that now remains of the three brave Irishmen" that is the first term of commendation conferred upon the three men who were lawfully convicted of the crime of murder "whose lives were so ardently petitioned and so anxiously prayed for a week ago. The law has had its victims, the gibhet has done its work, and England has consummated her crime" QUEEN .:. SULLIVAN. 45 What crime ? Who is England ? England — the land of Eng- land, did commit co crime. It was the Government of England, the Government of the united country, who are charged with hav- ing commited a crime in causing the sentence of the lav.- to re carried out by the execution of three convicted murderers. Was that calculated to conciliate the affections of the ignorant, the excited, the impassioned, and the impulsive people of this country into harmony and good-will towards the Government, or was it calculated to rouse their passions to hatred and sedition ? That is the question you have to try with regard to that expres- sion. The article proceeds : — u The patriotic men" Patriots! I have heard definitions of patriotism, but I have yet to learn that murder is patriotism u The patriotic men whose noble words" Noble words! What are the words of the •patriots ?" Were they words of remorse, or of sorrow for the murder of the poor innocent man who was sent into eternity without a moment s reflection, in defiance of the law ? What were the words ? The people of Ireland know the words of the three ■ brave*' and patriotic"' men " The patriotic men whose noble words in the desecrated hall of justice in Manchester drove the blood from the cheeks of their accusers three "weeks ago. are blackened corpses to-day, and the world knows that the faith which brought Emmet and Orr, and Russell and the Shearses to the scaffold, has been baptized anew in the life-blood of that nation whose sacrifices have so often and so unavailingly purpled the altar of freedom. Allen. Larkim and O'Brien are dead : the voice of England demanded their blood, and their rigid, lifeless bodies, suspended in a row. swung out the response through the dark, cold fog that wrapped the victims and the executioner, the armed guards, and the brutal mob, last Saturday in Manchester. The cry for vengeance has been answered, and in the con- vulsive death-struggles of the men who were bold enough to put in prac- tice at home the lessons which England inculcates abroad" England inculcate murder! The people of England or the Government of England inculcate murder ! Gentlemen, is that calculated to conciliate the affections of the Queen's subjects towards her Government, or is it calculated to stimulate them into hatred and contempt ? M The rumans who gloated over their sufferings, beheld the accomplish- ment of the hopes on which the magnanimous British nation had set its heart. The feeble words of the few who had tried to preach prudence and moderation in the hour of national frenzy, were lost in the roar of passion : justice, humanity, policy, all have been disregarded" that is. the English Government in their conduct in causing murderers to be executed, disregarded justice u all, save the savage resolve to take the fives of the Irishmen who had crossed the path of English power 1 that is. because these men, in rescuing reputed Fenians, had " crosses! the j a£h of English power," and had interfered with the trial and possiLLe condemnation of those men, the crime, as im- 46 DUBLIN COMMISSION. puted to the English Government, is " a savage resolve to take their lives" "all but the lodging to inflict another wound on the palpitating form of a trampled, but unconquered nation. To this, then, it lias come to-day; thus it is that our patience and our submissiveness have been rewarded. For years and years we have watched and waited Cor the dawn of some ray of justice on the British horizon ; through famine, suffering, and de- solation, the Irish people waited for the birth of a new era in British policy, the inauguration of a new system, often promised, but always withheld. The longing hopes of peaceful redress, the expectation of a course of treatment in sympathy with our wants and our rights, restrained the people of Ireland from the desperate line of action towards which the encouragement given by Englishmen to revolution abroad impelled them, and now we have the reply to our docility and forbearance. The loaded gibbet at Manchester, the young lives ignoininiously cut off by the hand of the public executioner, the mangled corpses laid beside the murderer's grave, the jeers of the wolfish multitude who danced and sung round the gallows — these are the responses to our appeals — these are the accursed gifts that are offered in redemption of our hopes. After centuries of dominion, during which conciliation alone was left untried ; after hun- dreds of years, during which English statesmen found in Ireland the danger and the difficulty of their empire ; after the impossibility of crush- ing the Irish national spirit by torture and death, has been attested through decades of persecution, we find ourselves to-day standing where our fathers stood when Tone died on his prison pallet, and when Russell's blood flowed from the scaffold in Downpatrick. There is nothing in our political position to distinguish the present from the time when Major ISirr and his myrmidons trafficked in the blood of Irish patriots, and when the bleeding head of young Emmet was held up by the executioner in Thomas-street. The impatience of the English domination that stirred the pulses of Ireland then has not passed away, and in 1867, as in 1803 and 1798, the gaoler and the hangman form the twin pillars upon which the edifice of British rule in Ireland is supported." Gentlemen, that is an encouraging and flattering picture of the English Government. By the English Government I mean, of course, the Government of the United Kingdom. We have one government — and that government here is represented as resting upon two pillars, which are the support and mainstay of that government, according to this writing, and those two pillars are " the gaoler and the hangman." Gentlemen, is that calculated to excite disaffection — is that calculated to excite discontent — is it calculated to excite the ignorant and the deluded peopje of this country into the most intense hatred of the government which Providence has set over them ? Gentlemen, is that the language of fair comment, of criticism, of censure % It is not. It is the language of seditious libel. It is the impassioned language of a man who appeals to the passions — not the calm language of a man who appeals to the judgment of the people. Gentlemen, if that be read, as it might be read, with an elocution which I do not possess, and a voice which has not been given to me, you would be carried away, in spite of your reason, by the effects of such writings. I confess that when I read it it requires an exercise of my reason and my conscience before I can arrive at a correct judgment, and view it as it is — as a wicked and seditious libel. QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 47 Gentlemen, if such an effect is produced on the mind of an educated man — accustomed to the affairs of life and to deal with business — what must be the effect on the people of Cork and of Tipperary — of the west, and east, and south, and north — when a document like that is placed in their hands, and they are told, " The government which is over you rests on two pillars, and those two pillars are the gaoler and the hangman" ? How could there be anything but disaffection and discontent ? Where are the limits of hatred, and where will the hatred end but in treason, and rebellion, and bloodshed, and death, throughout the land 1 But it goes on : — " The executions are over, the saturnalia is at an end; but the price of that brutal carnival is still unpaid, and the important results which flow from it are hardly yet understood in England. It is better that the meaning of that bloodstained scene should be fully realized — it is better that the English people should clearly understand the cost at which they gratified their revengeful feelings last Saturday. On that morning the British Government deliberately blasted for ever the chance of recon- ciliation — on that day they put an end to the efforts of those who sought to bridge over the gulf of antagonism that divided Ireland from the rest of the British Empire. It was open to the Government, had they so chosen, to extract a golden opportunity for beginning the pacification of Ireland from the Manchester disturbance — it was in their power to haVe rendered them the means of sapping the vitality of disaffection in Ire- land, and winning for themselves some gratitude from a people who are never insensible to considerate treatment. But this was not their choice. They preferred to go back to the days of the pitchcap, and the walking gallows for a policy ; and they elected to satisfy the English craving for blood, though the result should be to convulse the heart of Ireland with passionate grief and indignation. And they have had their will. The rebels are lying in their prison graves, but sooner shall they recall light to the eyes of the strangled men — sooner will the current of life be brought back to the stark cold bodies of the slain, than the horror, the resentment, and the anger which their fate has excited in Ireland will pass away." That is touching writing, powerful writing, dangerous writing, and, therefore, it -is wicked writing. " For the brave-hearted men who perished last Saturday, there need be no tears shed. They died, as many good Irishmen died before, in defence of the principles of Irish nationality." Gentlemen, is there any man who before a jury of his countrymen, will venture to stand up and say that Irishmen are good because they died attempting to achieve Irish nationality by an unpro- voked murder such as that ? Is that the definition of a good man ? Is it upon such remedies that the vindication of Irish nationality is to depend ? If so, gentlemen, God forbid that those principles should make any progress among us. " And they fell in a cause which can count amongst its martyrs the noblest spirits that ever the love of liberty inspired. Their cruel end cannot rob them of their fame, nor can the means by which it was sought to degrade them in death cast a shadow upon their memories. There are circumstances under which the scaffold becomes more glorious 43 DUBLIN COMMISSION. than the monarch's gilded throne, and which cast round the obscure grave of the felon a halo unshared by the mausoleum of royalty. The men whose names are closest enshrined in the Irish heart, and to whose memories the noblest efforts of our poets and our orators have been con- secrated, were cut oil*, like Allen, by the rude grasp of the executioner; and in every age and in every land there have been instances in which the gibbet and the block borrowed dignity from the patriot's blood. The} perished as good men might, in a noble bui baffled cause." All we know of the noble but " baffled cause" is, that they perished on the sea Hold convicted of the crime of murder — of the murder of a policeman acting in the discharge of his duty. " And whatever might have been their errors or their mistakes, they passed away, leaving no memory behind them in Ireland save that of heroic and patriotic men. They died with fortitude and firmness, and the history of their last hours leaves us also the consolation that the reward of a good death has not been denied them, and that they have realized the promise of the psalmist — 1 Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur? " Are such men praiseworthy examples ? Does the writer of that mean to say that the people of the country should go and do like- wise ? Does he mean to say, if you, when a Fenian prisoner is being conveyed in a prison van under the charge of police, would merit the character of good men and patriots — serving in a noble cause — if you would — go out with revolvers and attack that prison van, and shoot a policeman, and thus though you may perish on the scaffold for it, you will earn the characters of noble and patriotic men who died for their country ? That is this teaching. I defy any man to say that that article is not a distinct state- ment, that those who go out with loaded revolvers to murder policemen who are conveying alleged Fenians to prison, did praiseworthy acts, and should earn the character of patriots and good men. Is that a seditious libel ? Is it calculated to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the country ? Is it written for that purpose, or is it for the purpose of making money by the circula- tion of the paper through the country ? I said, gentlemen, that I was not here to insult Mr. Sullivan. I believe there is no foundation for such an assertion as that it was published for the purpose of making money. I believe Mr. Sullivan never put the article in the paper with the view of making money. Was it not for the purpose of stimulating, and exciting, and exhorting the people of the country, and awakening them — or, rather, I should not say awakening them, because their passions had been already awakened, but of fanning the flame, and pouring oil upon it, so that it might burst into a conflagration ? " They are added to the long roll of gallant men whose love for Ire- land was adjudged treason, and who sealed their fidelity to their principles with then- lives." Does that excite to peace and tranquillity ? " And through many a coming age their names and their histories will be handed down, and the story of their tragic death recited to sor- rowing listeners in sympathetic words. Nor is it in Ireland alone that QUEEN a. SULLIVx\N. 4.9 their fate will exc'te emotion. In the crowded streets of the great American cities, in the log-huts in the backwoods, in the scattered set- tlements far away towards the shores of the Pacific, in the marts which commerce has raised in distant Australia, wherever the Irish race has a representative, the cheek will redden with the flush of indignation, and the pulse quicken with the hot impulse of revenge, when the scene which Manchester rejoiced over last Saturday is heard of. How far it may influence the future conduct of the Irish race, in exile and at home, we will 'not examine." That might be dangerous ! " The effect which it may have on the powerful confederacy in America, to which Allen and his fellow-sufferers were affiliated, is a subject which we need not discuss. We shall only say that we believe the sickening scene of Saturday will revive the hope and strengthen the resolve of the disaffected in Ireland, that it will quicken into activity the conspiracies directed against British power, and that, if the present tone of the public mind be anything more than a passing shadow, the English people may well be esteemed fortunate if the deed of blood which they so heartlessly perpetrated a week ago does not entail a dread- ful and a sweeping retribution." Gentlemen, from that deed the direst consequences will result if writings such as these are permitted to circulate among the people of the country, stirring them up to hatred, disaffection, and contempt for the administration of the laws — to contempt and hatred for the administration of justice, to strife, and to rebellion. Gentlemen, I shall now pass to the second alleged libel. The second part of the charge is, that in the same paper from which I read the article called " The Manchester Tragedy," the defendant published a picture which you will have before you, and that that picture was intended for the purpose of exciting odium, hatred, and contempt of the Government. Gentlemen, the picture is headed, " It is done." Underneath is the date, " Manchester, No- vember 23, 1867." Gentlemen, that picture represents a female figure, with a fiendish expression of countenance, holding a dagger in her hands. Dead men are lying at her feet — a weeping- woman stands over the dead men, and beneath the feet of the chief figure is a pair of scales upon which she has trampled. We charge— and I presume it is not denied — that the meaning of the picture is to represent the Government of England, after having murdered Allen, Larkin and O'Brien, trampling on the scales of Justice, which are beneath her feet. Gentlemen, if that is the meaning of this picture, " It is done," it is a malignant libel, ex- pressing that malignity more strongly than words could tell ; the more dangerous because our minds are more easily reached through our eyes than through the ears by words ; dangerous because it goes direct to the hearts and minds of those who are so uneducated that they are not able to read. Take that picture, show it to unenlightened men of strong passions and feelings, telling them, " There is England's justice ; see the dagger, see her victims, see the weeping woman mourning over the dead," and what feelings do you think would be produced on their minds ? Are they not the feelings described — feelings of discontent, of disaffection, and E 50 DUBLIN COMMISSION. of the most bitter hatred,— naturally leading these men to mis- chief, or to look for an opportunity to raise an insurrection, and to overcome fchttt " malignant" power. Gentlemen, there is no doubt about fcHe law that a libel may be contained in a picture, and I put it to you, as men of common sense, — as men of intelli- gence — as men capable of understanding the effect and meaning of that picture, to say whether that picture does not bear the meaning which we allege in our second count, and whether it is not a malignant libel upon the Government of this country. The next document upon which we proceed is an article contained in the Weekly Neivs of the 7th December. The two others were published on that day week. The Weekly News of the 7th December contained a long leading article — a 1 m >ut a column and a quarter, entitled, " Ireland's Reply." I shall not read the whole article, but merely the portions that are laid in the indictment. You will have the entire of it before you, and the defendant will have the benefit of any expressions in the parts I shall not read, and that are not set down in the indict- ment ; and which, perhaps, might moderate the tone of the article. Gentlemen, it commences : — " The gauntlet thrown down by the Government press has been taken up by the people of Ireland. A week ago it was proclaimed that the hideous act which blotted out the young lives of three Irish patriots in Manchester" meaning Allen, Larkin and O'Brien " was acquiesced in by their countrymen, that the Irish people saw nothing to object to in the bloodstained revelry in which Manchester steeped itself a fortnight ago, and that the policy which consigned Michael O'Brien, William Philip Allen, and Michael Larkin to the gal- lows was accepted as a State necessity by the race for whom they died. It was assumed that the old fire of patriotism was extinguished in the Irish breast, that the flame which glowed through the dark centuries of our past had ceased to burn, and that now at last the time has come when the hangman might pursue his accursed vocation amongst the true men of the Irish race unquestioned and undisturbed." So far, gentlemen, the writing is not so strong as in other parts, but it is for you to take into consideration as showing the delibera- tion and intent of the proprietor and printer and publisher of that paper in a series of articles. Gentlemen, I do not prosecute Mr. Sullivan here on behalf of the Government, for one libel only, which might have slipped into his paper by accident. That is not the case of the Government in this prosecution. I prosecute Mr. Sullivan for a series of articles, all indicating the same intent, — the same seditious intent of creating disaffection and disloyalty, and stirring up the people to hatred of the Government, The article then proceeds : — "It was false, and they knew it ! It was false, for never within the minds of living men was the heart of the Irish nation more fiercely agitated, more deeply moved " when their minds were stirred up by such articles and pictures as these. " It was false ! From north to south, from cast to west, everywhere QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 51 within the sea-washed .shores of Ireland, the news of that shocking tragedy was responded to by the cry of anguish and resentment. It was false ! for save by the foreign brood that props up the wreck of ascend- ancy, and save in the subsidized press which echoes their bigotry, no voice was raised in Ireland but to stigmatize, to reprobate, and condemn the brutal scene in which Calcraft appeared as the preserver of British power." You will remember they represented first that the British Government rested on two pillars — the gaoler and the hangman — and they now represent Calcraft as the " preserver " of the British Government. It then proceeds — " But the end has not come yet. The Irish capital has lain, so far, inactive ; but the silence will soon be broken. The nationalists of Cork have nobly discharged their duty; to-morrow, citizens of Dublin, you will do yours." That is, the duty of doiDg honour to those men who died as murderers. " Only for another day will the taunts levelled against you remain unanswered, and before the light of to-morrow's sun has faded you will have shown to the world that your sentiments are not those which are attributed to you in the organs of Dublin Castle. What the people of Dublin think of the triple execution, and the light in which they regard the memories of the men strangled as murderers by British law, to- morrow's demonstration will show." Thus carrying out the same line of thought in different language, though not so strong, but having the tendency to excite in the same manner the people of the country against the Government. Gentlemen, in the same newspaper, on the same day, is an article entitled, " The Demonstration to-morrow," which is the subject referred to in the leading article to which I have called attention. After speaking of the arrangements made for the procession in Dublin, it proceeds : — " The people have hailed with delight and satisfaction the prospect of an opportunity being afforded for openly and peaceably manifesting their feelings regarding the strangling of the Irish patriots at Manchester, and amongst all classes and all shades of nationalists there exists but the one idea on the subject — the desire of rendering the demonstration as effective and as successful as possible " the demonstration in favour of men described as " patriots." " The processionists will pass by the spot where Robert Emmet, the chivalrous and the true, was executed in 1803, with uncovered heads." That is, the processionists will pass the spot where the man who died as an avowed traitor, was executed in 1803, and he is described as a man " chivalrous and true " — not referring to his personal amiable qualities, which I believe he possessed, but referring to him in his • character of a traitor, and who showed his chivalry and truth by his treason. Is that, gentlemen, writing calculated to stir up the people of the country to disaffection and disloyalty ? In the same paragraph, the article proceeds : — "In connexion with the subject of the Manchester execution, the following item of intelligence may well be perused. It reveals an act E 2 52 DUBLIN COMMISSION. of brutality worthy of the nation whi ill holds i f s revels round the gibbet^ which they load with the blaokeneJ bodies of patriotic and innocent men." Something very horrible is published in the paper, that "reveals an act of brutality worthy of the nation." What nation ? Worthy of the people of England — worthy of the Government of the country, "which holds its revels round the gibbet which they load with the blackened bodies of patriotic and innocent men." That is, gentlemen, according to the writer of the article, the synonymes of patriotism are violence and murder. Is that, gentlemen, language calculated to lead to the peace and tran- quillity of the country ? Is it calculated to stir up the people into violence, and sedition, and revolt ? In the same paper there is a third libel — a picture. The picture is entitled "The Angel of Justice," and is described as being taken after the celebrated picture by David. Well, gentlemen, in the picture you will perceive a woman holding an hourglass in one hand and a sword in another. Under that figure, which, as the publisher tells you, is the figure of the Angel of Justice, crouches another woman with a dagger in her hand, with a ghastly and fiendish expression on her countenance. That woman is Bri- tannia, who has perpetrated a deed of blood, and that deed of blood is represented also in the picture by means of a gallows, with three ropes suspended from it. The bodies have been taken down from the gallows, but over it are placed three martyrs' crowns. Gentlemen, that is the picture which Mr. Sullivan has thought proper to print, and publish, and circulate among the people, representing Britannia as after committing a deed of blood, and the Angel of Justice, with the hourglass, as if saying, "The time has come, in which I, by the sword I hold in my other hand, will avenge that deed of blood." What that "deed of blood " is there can be no mistake, because the three martyrs' crowns are suspended over the deserted gallows. Gentlemen, what is the effect of that picture? What is intended by it? Was it intended to promote good-will a.mong men? Was it intended to promote loyalty towards the lawful Government, or wag it intended to excite hatred and disaffection, and to stimulate the people to carry out in one form or other that hatred and contempt ; and that by them, or through their deeds, the ven- geance of the Angel of J ustice might be wrought on the British Government. Gentlemen, the next article is contained in the Weekly News of the 14th December. You recollect the first paper was the 30th of November, the next the 7th of December, and new w r e have the 14th of December. This libel is all the leading article — the most prominent article in the paper, and the one supposed to express most strongly the intent and meaning of the publisher. It is entitled, "The Funeral Processions," and it says : — "The spell is broken —the enemies of Ireland are answered — the reign of distortion, falsehood, and calumny are at an end. Startled into life by the rejoicings meant to celebrate her expiring tliroi:* — galvanized QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 53 into action by the touch of the undertaker, Ireland stands to-day face- to-face with the power that oppresses her, and flings defiance in the teeth of the cowardly fo3 that gloated over her sufferings and exulted over her prostration.'' There is a plain statement, that Ireland — the people of Ireland, stand face-to-face with some cowardly foe — with a cowardly foe that gloated over the sufferings of the Irish people — with a cowardly foe that exulted over the prostration of the Irish people. Where is that cowardly foe ? Is it not the Government of the United Kingdom ? What is the tendency of that article — what is the intention ? With regard to intentions, it is your duty to infer them from the plain meaning of words. If a man places a loaded revolver at the breast of another man, and fires that revolver, and the man dies, will you listen to him stating that he did not intend to shoot him? You are justified and bound to find the intentions from the acts. The article goes on : — "Pallid and emaciated, with the blood-streaming gashes still reddening her brow, that long-tried nation, which six centuries of violence and slaughter, of fraud, butchery, and confiscation, could not subdue, arises like a figure from the dead, and resolute, unflinching, and unconquer- able, confronts the horde of revilers that insulted her sorrow and revelled in the prospect of her doom. It is not conquered yet, that noble spirit which persecution has warred with for ages ! it is not con- quered yet, that strength of will and holy purpose, which, through bloodshed and proscription, have been clung to as a sacred commission by our race. The tide of national life courses warmly through the olden channels, and the grave dug for the genius of Irish freedom is untenanted still. In vain are the pages of the past re-opened; in vain are the resources of tyranny invoked ; in vain are the weapons of violence and terrorism appealed to. Unflinching and undismayed, the unconquerable nation, oft doomed to death, but fated not to die, emerges from each blood-stained convulsion with the appealing arm uplifted to heaven, and the words of hope and resolution still flowing from her wasted lips. The spectre of famine may stalk through the land, blasting with its withering breath the young and the strong, the stalwart man and the bright-eyed maiden " When death and desolation were rife in the remote districts of the land, was that the fault of the English people — of the English Government ? " The dungeons may be filled with the high-spirited and the brave" Who are the " high-spirited men" or " the brave ?" Are they convicted traitors ? "And the deck of the emigrant ship crowded with the manhood of our race ; but in the dreary prison, in the pestilent shiphold, and amidst the silent fields, tilled by the stricken remnants of our people, the spirit that tells of a mission to be accomplished, of a glorious future to be won — that breathes the hope of liberty — that tells of a nation yet to arise, redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled — burns brightly within the Irish breast. Nor are the darker acts of cruelty more successful in the crusade against our political faith. The hand of the executioner is stretched out in vain; the hideous gallows stands out like a blot against the sky, and is loaded with the mangled bodies of Irish patriots ; but the gibbet which England erects has no terrors for the Irish heart, and, sanctified by the 54 DUBLIN COMMISSION. blood of her victims, the fatal t ree blossoms into ail object of national veneration to be girt round by the vows and aspirations, and watered by the tears, the prayers, and benedictions of the Irish race." The tree upon which the sentence of the law upon those con- victed of the murder of the unfortunate policeman was carried out, is to blossom into an object of national veneration, and to excite Bympathy for those who committed that murder. Where, is the sympathy for the man who died in discharge of his duty ? Where is the regard for the death of the man who died doing his duty to his God, to his Queen, and to his country ? Is it to be found in the pages of the Weekly JS T eivs 1 No ; the sympathy of the readers of this paper is reserved for those who did that brave man to death. It goes on : — " Look at the scenes of the present hour ! Four weeks ago they hung three Irishmen in Manchester, amidst the drunken rejoicings of a mob rioting in the orgies of blood. They were poor, they were humble, they were obscure. Until the commission of the act for which they died, they were unknown to the mass of their countrymen. They attached them- selves to a conspiracy about the merits of which Irishmen are divided" that is they were Fenian conspirators l ' and they perilled their lives in an undertaking which prudence must condemn." Prudence is the virtue which is preached as condemning the crime < \i murder. No doubt prudence is amongst the virtues, but base is the man who is prevented from committing any crime by motives simply of prudence. They were not deterred by the laws of God, which forbid the shedding of blood ; they were not deterred by the laws of man, which condemn the crime as the highest offence. They were not deterred by these. It would have been more prudent for them, says the writer, not to have engaged in this undertaking, and not to have imperilled their lives in this trans- action. The demerit of these men, we are told, was imprudence. That is the only word of censure, the only word approaching to censure, which I am able to find on the pages of this paper. And I find murderers who suffered the last penalty of the law held up as martyrs and patriots, and good and noble men who died in the cause of their country, the only word of censure against them being that they were imprudent. " But whatever may have been their mistakes" the little error to which we are all blind, the small mote you are not to see " they fell in the cause of Ireland." Gentlemen, you and I, I trust, love our country, but I hope that the love of our country and the prosperity of our country is not, and never shall be, founded on such deeds as these. "They fell in the cause of Ireland." God forbid that the prosperity of Ireland should depend on such actions. It depends upon the vigorous administration of the laws ; it depends upon order; it depends on the good-will and the love of one man to another, and of all men to government — I don't say to this government, or that govern- QITEX a. SULLI VAX. ment, or to any particular government ; bat it depends upon the loyalty of the people to the cause of government, as distinguished from the cause of revolution, and anarchy, and sedition, and treason. u Whatever niay have been their mis lakes, they fell in the cause of Ireland ; their enons might have been misdirected, but it was love of country inspired them ; and throughout the ordeal of a trial little better than a mockery, and even whilst standing in the shadow of death, with the hangman's noose around their necks, they bore themselves as patriots and as Christians. They were strangled, we are told, as a lesson to disaffected Irishmen j and when their blackened bodies were buried in the murderers plot, it was thought that the impulse which prompts Irishmen to resistance would perish too. And what has been the result I Look to it, ye rulers and teachers ; look to it, ye legislators and statesmen ; for the acceptable time is passing away ; look to it ere the day when concession may avail ye has faded for ever from the heavens ! The voice of the Irish nation, bursting through the restraints of intimi- dation and oppression, reverberates through the land. Xo murderers were they who died on the gallows tree at Manchester ; no murderers, but brave-spirited patriots, who sealed their devotion to Ireland with their blood." "No murderers f The law says they were. • Brave-spirited patriots fl Their devotion to Ireland consisting of the attack on the prison van by men who are stated in this paper to have been conspirators, for the purpose of rescuing co-conspirators, with loaded revolvers, in which attack unfortunate Sergeant Brett lost his life. No murderers, but political martyrs, whose memories are to be cherished through future ages, and whose death has taught their country- men another solemn lesson of constancy and courage. So the Irish people proclaim. Such is the import of the monster demonstrations described in our pages to-day. Last week we chronicled the extraordi- nary procession which denied through the streets of Cork in honour of Allen, Tjarkin > and O'Brien ; to-day we place on record the unprecedented demonstration by which Dublin marked its reverence for their memories, and re-echoed the protest against the system which has reddened its hands with their blood. It is only in Ireland, and only amongst a people as warm-hearted and high-spirited as our own, that a spectacle such as that presented last Sunday in Dublin could be witnessed. From no other race on the face of the earth could so extraordinary a manifestation of feeling be elicited. Amidst a pitiless downpour of rain and sleet, and over the thoroughfares softened into broken streams of mud, the mons er procession that followed the empty hearses of the executed patriots wound its way. In tens of thousands they marched along, heedless of the drenc hing rain, heedless of the waves of mud through which they were compelled to wade, heedless of the threats and intimidations that were levelled at them by the enemies of the cause which they honoured, reckless of all save the determination to testify their fidelity to the principles of Irish independence, and their detestation of foreign rule. Had the efforts of those who organized that grand display of patriotism resulted in failure, there would still be little with which to reproach the people of Dublin. For the unscrupulous arts of the Castle tribe, exerted as thev were with consummate cunning and ceaseless energy, might well have been expected to damage the movement, and the frightful inclemencv of the weather would sufficiently account for inaction on the 56 DUBLTN COMMISSION. part of the people without reflecting on their patriotism. It was pre- tended that those who should dare to participate in the demonstration, would run the risk of being sabred by the Loops <> • starved by Her Majesty's gaolers \ it was assiduously reported that wholesale arrests would follow the procession, and that the march to Ulasnevio would 1 e followed by countless prosecutions j that lists would be compiled by the detectives of the persons venturing to wear the black and green ; and it was maliciously suggested that the merchants and manufacturers of the city would second the action of the Government by dismissing such of their employees as should dare to take part in the proceedings. To these evil influences was added the. discouraging nature of the weather. Early on Sunday morning the rain set in, and at the hour fixed for the assembling of the procession, the streets were converted into open sewers by the Hoods of rain that fell from the black cold sky overhead. But the true-hearted patriots of Dublin cared nothing for these obstacles. The threats of their enemies they were prepared to brave; and they saw nothing to deter them from their object in the prospect of a three hours' walk at funeral pace through sodden thoroughfares and driving sleet. In thousands and tens of thousands they came, until miles of streets were blocked up by the living mass. Who that has seen that sight can ever forget it ] Who that reads of it can fail to be moved by the de- scription i What shall we say of the orderly ranks of earnest, respectable men — the flower of the manhood of our city — that marched in regular array towards the city of the dead upon that memorable day ] What shall we say of the multitude of tender children, that with the emblems of patriotism and mourning upon their little dresses, struggled content- edly, and with the approbation of their parents, through miles of mire and broken stone, imbibing thus early the lesson, that to die for Ireland, though it be on the gallows tree, is a glorious and enviable fate? What shall we say, above all, about the thousands of fair young girls in beautiful attire who joined in the weary pilgrimage, nor swerved from the countless ranks even when drenched with rain, and when their green- trimmed garments, soaked and soiled by the liquid mire, hung limp and draggled from their shoulders ? What, except to marvel at the heroic spirit thus exhibited, and to pray that the God of Justice may bless the true-hearted, generous race which has given to the world so unparalleled an exhibition of patient, enduring courage, and self-sacrificing patriotism. But it is not in Dublin alone that the voice of the people has been uplifted in protest against the bloodstained policy that exhibited its accursed fruits at Manchester. In Limerick, in Midleton, in Mitchelstown, in Skibber- een, and in Kanturk, the splendid example set by the brave young men of Cork, has been followed with spirit and success. Another series of processions is fixed for to-morrow ; and we trust that before long, a similar demonstration will have taken place in every town in Ireland. Already the enemies of our race stand aghast at the magnitude of the movement which their ferocity and their brutality have evoked. Well will it be for Ireland, and well for the nation which oppresses her — well for the governed and the governing, for the men of the present day, and for the generations of the future, if the great lesson of these demonstra- tions — the lesson that Ireland contented means Ireland independent and free, be taken to heart by the rulers of our people." Carrying out the same systematic plan of making the execution of three men at Manchester for murder, the means of exciting the people of this country to hatred and contempt for their rulers. I have gone through all the long articles of this paper, and I shall only have to occupy you for two or three minutes longer QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. with the short articles. On the 11th January last, the one I am about to read for you wi> pubii-he 1. which ~^e als<> allege was - libeL Gentlemen, the article is in these words : — "LIBERTY. u GOD SATE 15, FT. X VP. "Brothers and friends of Irish lie errr. n:: icsrcccl. The r e ----- curious of centuries will soon be avenged : and by the force of our arms we will purge our native soil from the curse of British misrule. What has been our position hitherto ) We labour hard and constantly, not to enjoy the fruits of our industry, but to support the revelries of landlords, forced upon cur fathers cy the English despoilers of oar country. Then Ireland exp>ects that every man will do his duty, when the time of the glorious struggle arrives. Be united, and remember the cause for which Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin died on an English scaffold '.' 7 Now, gentlemen, who will dare to say that is not a grossly se«litious libel I The meaning of it is quite plain. It is plainly intended to urge to sedition and disaffection, and to disturb the tranquillity of the country. But, gentlemen, it appears from the newspaper that it is called a " Fenian placard," and purports, whether truly or not. to be taken from another newspaper into which it was copied in another country. Gentlemen, whether that be true or not is wholly immaterial for yon to consider. M a doubt the moral guilt of publishing an original article is greater than the moral guilt of publishing one copied from another paper. But in its results to tL- >:ate it comes to the same thing, and as regarois the verdict you are to give,. I believe it makes no difference whatsoever. Xo newspaper is justified in publishing a libel which redeets on the character of an m dividual. :r a lit. el which redects or the conduct of the State, or a libel which excites the people to disaffection, whether it be original or copied ; and it has actually been decided in the courts of England, that evidence is not admissible for the purpose of showing that a docu- ment complained of in an alleged libel was previously published in another paper ; so that, gentlemen, you have nothing to do but to find whether beyond doubt the meaning we allege is borne out by the article itself, and on that you will have little difficulty. Now. gentlemen, having gone through this series ::' artii-Ies with reference to the Manchester transaction. I go rack to another article published on the 22nd June, 1867, in the Weekly Xtics. in order to show that before the Manchester transaction its purpose was to excite the people of this country to hatred of their rulers. This I propose to satisfy you of by a picture on the first page of the number of the 22nd June, 1867. That picture is explained for us by the publisher. It is entitled at the head "England and Austria. — a striking contrast ; n and W.. w. - Mrs. Britannia, while holding Erin prostrate in bondage, sees the effect of the policy she htm rejected in the reconciliation of Austria and Hungary." That is, a contra.-: drawn between the conduct of Austria towards Hungary, and the alleged conduct of England towar .Is I:-.". •:. I. The lady who represents Austria, is 58 DUBLIN COMMISSION. introduced into the picture as placing some kind of crown on a gentleman in the front, who, I presume, is Hungary. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — The lady is Hungary, and the gentle- man is Austria. The Attorney-Geneval. — I beg pardon, of course, that is so. The lady is Hungary, and she is placing a crown on the Emperor cm' Austria. It means that Ireland ought to place a crown on the head of the Queen. Then it represents Britannia wearing a helmet and having in her rio-ht hand a short sword or dagger. o o ire? > and grasping with her left the throat of a woman, representing Ireland, who lies in chains on her face and hands crushed to the earth. Is that calculated to excite ill- feeling amongst the people o!' this country, the prostrate people as they are said to be? Or is it calculated to create hatred and discontent in the same way and manner towards the Crown, as is sought to be pro- duced by the articles in reference to the Manchester execu- tions? Gentlemen, these are the publications which are the subject of this prosecution; and in laying the case before you, I am anxious about two matters. First, I am anxious that you should arrive at a conclusion in your own minds that these pro- ceedings are not an attack on the press, or the liberty of the press. No person loves the liberty of the press more than I do. I believe it is the bulwark of civil and religious freedom ; and I believe that when the press is enslaved the people also must be enslaved. But, gentlemen, liberty of the press is a thing that is to be understood, and liberty of the press is a thing capable of being abused. No man ever lived and loved liberty and understood its principles more truly, and adhered to them more bravely, than one, a passage from whose book I am about to read to you, and whose defence of the liberty of unlicensed printing will last as long as the English tongue, as long as English liberty. Milton says : — " I deny not but that it is of greatest concernment in the Church and the Commonwealth to have a vigilant eye how bookes demeane themselves as well as men ; and thereafter to confine, imprison, and inflict sharpest justice on them as malefactors. For bookes are not absolutely dead things, and doe contain a potencie of life in them, to he as active as that foule was whose progeny they are. Nay, they doe preserve as in a violl the purest eflicacie and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. I know they are as lively and as vigorously productive as those fabulous dragon's teeth, that being sown up and down may chance to spring up armed men." Gentlemen, Milton tells you that books may be dragon's teeth, and I now tell you that these articles are dragon's teeth, and that the publisher of this newspaper is sowing them broadcast through your country ; and that from these dragon's teeth will spring up armed men, to the destruction of the State, of property, of society, unless he be interrupted in the sowing. I prosecute to vindicate the liberty of the press, because society must be protected, and society cannot exist if such writings be permitted. I am sure you understand that I am not invading the liberty of the press. The other point upon which I am anxious is, that you should find by your verdict that these writings are, within the meaning of the QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 59 indictment, seditious libels. You have heard the law clearly and succinctly laid down to you by one of the learned Judges who preside, and you will have it further explained before you retire to consider your verdict. It is for you to apply it to those libels. The law makes you the sole judges; it constitutes you the sole arbiters of whether the crime has been committed or not ; and I ask you, gentlemen, reading these articles, and looking at these pictures, to say whether or not they were intended to create dis- affection against the Queen and the Government, and whether they were intended to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the country. If they do this Mr. Sullivan is guilty of a violation of the law of libel, and I don't know what his defence can be in the case. I can imagine abuse of the Government, abuse of the Attornev-General — and the Attorney-General is considered fair game. But let the Attorney-General be abused as much and more than he deserves ; let things just and unjust be said of him; let things just and unjust be said of the Government. You may be as much opposed to the Government as I am attached to it. This is not a question of party politics. It is a question of the existence of the Govern- ment of the United Kingdom, and the protection of society in Ireland. The following evidence was then given : — James Bowex examined by the Solicitor-General. Stated that lie was employed in the Stamp Office. He produced from the Stamp Office the declaration of Mr. Sullivan, and said he thought lie knew Mr. Sullivan. He had seen him in the office, and he had himself gone to the Weekly News office to order the paper to be sent up to the Stamp Office. He then applied to that gentleman (the traverser), and he forwarded the paper. This declaration purports to be signed by Mr. Alexander M. Sullivan. That signature, which is also to the declaration, is that of Mr. Daniel, who is in our office. That is his handwriting. The Solicitor-General. — My lord, this is a certified copy of the declaration. Mr. Heron. — I object to it. The Solicitor-General. — The witness says the signature is in the handwriting of Mr. Daniel. Mr. Heron. — That is not the way to prove it. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — What is the provision of the Act of Parliament ? The Solicitor-General. — The 6th and 7th William IV., cap. 7G, sec. 8, says, that copies " certified to be true copies, as by this Act directed, shall respec- tively be admitted in all proceedings, civil and criminal, and upon every occasion whatsoever touching any newspaper mentioned in such declaration, or touching any publication, matter, or thing mentioned in such newspaper as conclusive evidence of the truth of all such matters set forth in such declaration as are hereby required to be therein set forth." " And the said commissioners, or the proper authorized officer by whom any such declaration shall be kept according to the directions of this Act, shall, upon application in writing made to them or him respectively by any person recpiiring a copy certified accord- ing to this Act of any such declaration as aforesaid, in order that the same GO DUBLIN COMMISSION. may bo produced in any civil or criminal proceeding, deliver such certifi* <1 copy, or cause the same to be delivered to the person applying lor the same upon payment of the s un of one shilling, and no more ; and in all proceedings, and upon all occasions whatsoever, a copy of such declara- tion, certified to be a true copy under the hand of one of the said com- missioners, or of any officer in whose possession the same shall be, upon proof that such certiheate hath been signed with the handwriting of a person described in or by such certificate as such commissioner or ollicer, and whom it shall not be necessary to prove to be a commissioner or officer, shall be received in evidence against any and every person named in such declaration as a person making or signing the same as sufficient proof of such declaration, and that the same was duly signed and made according to this Act and of the contents thereof." Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — The language of the statute is so plain that we must receive this document as read. The Solicitor-General [to witness). — And afterwards you went to this gentleman's office, and told him to send up the paper to be stamped 1 — Yes. Mr. Heron. — Do you mean to say you saw this gentleman (the tra- Vi rser) at the office ? — I did. The Solicitor-General. — Is this Mr. Sullivan's signature to this declaration 1 — That is Mr. Sullivan's signature. The witness was cross-examined by Mr. Heron, but nothing important was elicited. John Polden examined by Mr. Ball. I bought these newspapers in the Weekly Nevis office, in Lower Abbey- street. The title over the door is " The Nation it is about four or five doors from Sackville-street, on the left-hand side. The dates of the papers I purchased, which I produce, are 30th November, 1867, 7th December, 1867, 14th December, 1867, 11th January, 1868, and the 22nd June, 1867. The Attorney-General was about handing in a copy of the con- viction of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, executed at Manchester on the 23rd November, 18G7, when Mr. Molloy asked to see it. The document was then handed to him. Mr. Molloy. — Take me as objecting to this document. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — On what grounds % Mr. Heron. — It is informally drawn up. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Does it not contain the portions of the conviction required by the Act of Parliament? Mr. Heron, — I submit I am not bound to tell your lordship how a record is to be made up. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — All I can say, Mr. Heron, is, that I will not take an objection the ground of which is not stated. Mr. Heron. — 1 submit that the Act of Parliament, 14th and 15th Victoria, cap. 99, sec. 13, has not been regarded in the drawing up of this paper. I further say that the seal of the Court is not affixed to the document opposite what purports to be the signature of the Clerk of the Crown. Also this paper QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. Gl extends over pages, and the signature is only on one and the seal on another. Mr. Justice F'Uzger d I. — Your objection is, there ought to be a certificate on every page ? Mr. Heron. — Yes, or it ought to be all written on one sheet of paper. There is no objection to the reception of the last sheet. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — We have everyday experience that on documents extending over several pages, the certificate is only affixed to the last sheet. Mr. Her on. — The names of the Grand Jury are not attached. Altogether the document appears to be very carelessly drawn up. The copy of the record was then received. Constable Seth Brumley examined by Mr. Murphy. I am a constable in the Manchester Police Force. I was in Manchester on the 18th September last. Knew a sergeant in that Police Force named Brett very well. Sergeant Brett was with me on duty on the 18th September last. Mr. Heron. — I object to your going into any details of that un- fortunate transaction. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — If this is to be taken as evidence, you must show on what grounds you go into it. Mr. Murphy. — I am not going into details. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — If you go into a part of the affair you must go into the whole of it. Mr. Murphy. — I only want to establish the fact that Sergeant Brett lost his life. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — The record proves that. Mr. Mu rphy. — There is a man mentioned in the record as Gould whose name was O'Brien. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald.. — You had better confine yourself then to that. Mr. Murphy (to witness). — Do you recollect having seen a man named William Gould on trial in Manchester ? Mr. Heron. — I object to this evidence, that flatly contradicts the record. Mr. Murphy. — This is merely formal. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — A man may be tried by one name and known by another. Mr. Murphy (to witness). — Do you recollect a man being tried at Manchester under the name of William Gould 1 — I do. Mr. Murphy. — Do you recollect that man passing by any other name ) — I heard him making in open court a statement after he was brought in guilty, and in that statement he said his name was "Williain O'Brien and not Gould. The Attorney-General then read pro forma passages from the indictment, and this el sed the evidence t'ov the Crowu. 02 DUBLIN COMMISSION. DEFENCE. Mr. Heron, then proceeded to address the Court and jury for the defence, tie said : — May it please your lordships — gentlemen of the jury, I ap- pear here for my friend Mr. Alexander M. Sullivan, to defend him from the charge of having printed and published a series of seditious libels against Her Majesty's Crown and Govern- ment, with the intent laid in that indictment, namely, " to excite hatred, discontent, and sedition toward and against Her Majesty's Government amongst Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland." I" nave been, I will say, as regards the circumstances of this country, unfortunately, engaged in a great many of these State trials. But this is the first, for many years, in which a newspaper is prosecuted for sedition, and I will ask you, through the whole of it, to bear distinctly in mind what was the extraordinary cuurse taken by the Attorney-General in the prosecution. He has had some experience in cases of high treason and treason- felony. Why, we have been trying nothing else here for — I was going to say for years. Last year the Court sat a hundred and two days trying treason and treason-felony. But this case seemed, somehow or another, to excite the Attorney-General more than any of them. I could nol understand it. I try to conduct my cases with good humour and good temper as far as I can, and I believe it is the best way in the long-run. I ha\ e made up my mind that the country must remain in a certain state, that there is very little hope, political or otherwise, now. The Tories, in all probability, will remain in office for the next ten years. I cannot help that, and I accept my position good humouredly ; and I think there ought to be as much good temper and good humour on the other side. But you must remember, gentlemen, that Alexander M. Sullivan is not prosecuted for treason or treason- felony. No one dare say, as was said of another newspaper, and indorsed by the verdicts of juries, that the Weekly Neivs has ex- cited the people to arms. Mr. Sullivan is no Fenian, and I cannot understand the meaning of the Attorney-General's giving, as it were, a short history of '98 ; and he certainly enlightened us as to who were the leaders of that rebellion, and of that of 1803. These matters were introduced into this court-house to-day in order that you might, in some way or another, be led to confound this case with the cases of treason-felony which in this court-house have been tried for years past. Some such hope, I dare say, was in the Attorney-General's mind, because in England press prosecutions were never yet conducted at the Old Bailey. There is another remarkable thing in the present proceedings that I do not quite comprehend. If one article appear in a newspaper of a character calling for a prosecution on the part of the Crown, that one sedi- tious libel should be the subject of an indictment. But it is not against one or two publications that proceedings are taken here, but against the character of the paper. And that is the reason the prosecutors go back to June 22nd, 1867, for their earliest article, the earliest libel as they call it — Hungary placing a crown on the head of the Emperor of Austria, whilst the contrast QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 63 is that Ireland is kept as it were in chains under the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act ; but, in his description, the Attorney- General represented the picture as Austria crowning Hungary, and displayed a knowledge of contemporaneous history which was perfectly astounding. In this city of Dublin Mr. Sullivan has been conducting for years one of the national newspapers of Ireland — and the national press still exists, and is carrying on a sort of warfare with the anti-national press. For Ireland, notwithstanding what anyone may say, is still a nation, re- . cognised by the Queen, recognised by the aristocracy who have any sense, and who are Irishmen ; recognised by the contempora- neous literature and history of the world. He is well known in this city, and it is almost unnecessary for me, standing here on his behalf, to say he is no Fenian. But I do say he is no Fenian ; for an insinuation, a covert insinuation, has been made in this prosecution against his character, against his property, and against his position in life. I repeat again he is no Fenian. But the Crown seek to get a conviction against him on the insinuation that he is a Fenian, while those who know anything of contempora- neous history know that the accusation is false, and false to the knowledge of those who make it. I pass a moment from general politics. What is the next charge against him ? That in these libels he — to use the words of the Attorney-General — " glorifies murder." Is it possible that those who conduct the prosecution can know what they are about ? The Right Honorable the At- torney-General says that while murder is glorified, no sympathy is expressed by Mr. Sullivan for Sergeant Brett, who was murdered. I ask you was not Mr. Sullivan the man who, in the Corpora- tion of Dublin, moved a vote that a hundred pounds be given to the family of the policeman who was murdered in this city, and who himself subscribed for the purpose ? This prosecution was ushered in with a great deal of eloquence about revolvers and assassination, in order to affright the jury and the Court — which, however, anything outside the case is incapable of doing — in order to suggest some vague notions that this and a prosecution for treason-felony are identical. And, forsooth, this court-house is conducted like a Neapolitan court-house with locked doors, inside which no respectable citizen can get without the greatest difficulty, while the delusion is kept up that these political trials are tried before the public. They are not tried before the public. With the greatest respect for the high Judges before whom I plead, I say this is not a public court-house. " Glorify- ing murder" is the charge. Gentlemen, is there no possibility of a difference of opinion as to a legal murder ? I, as a lawyer, will not, before this Court, say for one moment that the death of Sergeant Brett was not a legal murder. But I will say that, on the evidence in the Manchester papers, in the Times, and other English journals, and read here in Dublin, many persons came to the conclusion that the fatal pistol shot that took away the life of Sergeant Brett, was fired to burst the lock of the door of the van, and not fired with the intent to murder. " Glorifying murder !" What did the men themselves say in the dock ? DUBLIN COMMISSION. Lark in : — " I have only a word or two to say concerning Sergeant Brett; as my friend has said, no man could regret that man's death as much as I do." Allen said, "No man in this court regrets the death of Sergeant Brett more than I do, and I positively say, in fche presence of God, that I am innocent" — meaning, most unfortunate man, that lie was innocent of any intent to murder Sergeant Brett. Policemen must be protected in the discharge of their duty. That attempt to rescue those two political prisoners was attended with the death of Sergeant Brett. That fatal event, in law, was a murder. But I will say that it makes a great difference indeed, in the moral guilt of the men engaged in the transaction if the murder was an accident and not a deliberate predetermined act. It is for taking this view of the matter that Mr. Sullivan is to be branded as a sympa- thizer with murder, and an advocate of assassination. All I can say is this, Sullivan was the man who in the Corporation of Dublin moved an address of sympathy with the families of the police who were killed in this city ; and through me he now tells you, and I believe him. that there never was the slightest intention in the publication of this series of articles or any one of them to glorify murder, as the Attorney-General tells you. Her Majesty's Go- vernment, her Majesty's Ministers of the day are entirely distinct from the Queen, and it is for criticism on their policy in the exe- cution of the three men at Manchester, that Mr. Sullivan is on trial, as a glorifier of murder. At this stage of the proceedings the city Grand Jury came into Court, and handed in a true bill against Mr. Richard Pigott for printing and publishing seditious libels. The Grand Jury, after asking a question as to other cases, then retired, and Mr. Richard Pigott was indicted for printing and publishing in the Irishman newspaper certain false and seditious libels. The traverser pleaded " not guilty." Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — When the present case has concluded we will hear any application. The Solicitor-General. — Mr. Pigott may now enter into his own recognizance to appear to take his trial. Mr. Heron. — Mr. Pigott again wishes to say that he had no intention of evading justice. The Solicitor-General. — I do not wish to renew that subject now. Mr. Pigott was then bound in his own recognizance in i?500 to take his trial when called on. Mr. Heron then resumed his address. He said : — Gentlemen of the jury, in the case of the Queen against Sullivan, in which 1 was addressing you, I was about to submit that it was not only the right, but the duty of a public journalist, to comment upon and criticize the actions of the Government of the day. The liberty of the press, gentlemen, is really in question ; I mean the modern liberty of the press. You all know that the wonderful progress which El gland and America have made is mainly owing QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. C5 to the liberty of thought and speech which is allowed in those countries, and to the freedom of expression, both in writing and speaking, which is enjoyed by the subject. And I believe the greatness and glory of England aud the United States — the two political asylums of the world — have been achieved entirely through the liberty of the press. There was a time when the mere publication of news was not allowed. Chief Justice Scroggs, that man of infamous name and detestable memory, lays down that the publication of news without the authority of govern- ment is a high criminal offence. The liberty of the press was first guaranteed by Mr. Fox's Libel Bill in 1792, when, notwithstanding vigorous opposition by the advocates of arbitrary power, it was finally determined that to a jury alone is to be entrusted the question of deciding whether a publication alleged as a libel, private or political, be or be not a libel. Inuendos are laid here about the meaning of these articles. I am tempted almost to quote the old ballad — " The Attorney well knows that his muendoes Will serve him no longer in verse or in prose, When twelve honest men have decided the cause, Who are judges alike of the facts and the laws." Gentlemen, I tell you it was a fair question for a public journalist to comment on, whether or not the murder of Brett was intended by those who took part in the rescue out of which that unfortunate affair arose. And you are to remember if there be a press upon one side there is a press upon the other, and the popular press has as much right to free commentary as is enjoyed by the anti-popular press. This was a public transaction ; this was a political transaction. I don't mean to characterize the exe- cution as a political execution, but it is idle to confound the persons who shot Brett, wdiether accidentally or not, with the ordinary run of murderers in England — those persons who in the Chamber of Horrors in London are condemned to evil immortality as the ravishers and murderers of young girls. These young men who were executed at Manchester attempted to rescue the leaders of the Fenian conspiracy in which they were joined. They risked their lives for that purpose, and with their lives they have paid the penalty. What I mean by saying it was a political execution is, that it was an event upon which it was fair to criticize the policy of the Government in hanging these men. Many of the wisest and best of us think there ought to be no capital punishment at all ; and I must say, having read and studied much upon the subject, and having vacillated backwards and forwards between two opinions, I have, from the Manchester executions, come to the conclusion, and shall retain it all through my life, that there ought to be no capital punishment. Well, this then is but a question of policy. And, gentlemen, do you think if Robert Emmet, who was hanged in Thomas -street in 1803, instead of having suffered the capital punishment for his high treason, had been transported to Australia, and in the course of events become a settler, and died in a good old age, F GG DUBLIN COMMISSION. rich and influential, do you believe his memory would now be cherished as it is, and that to the Irish exile all over the world the soil of Ireland would be sacred as his grave? 1 therefore say, first of all, that this political execution was an act for the policy of which it was competent and right for a public journalist either to praise or condemn the Crown ministers of the day, and it was an act calculated to call forth in the discussion on either side the most excited and angry feelings — on the one side the topic of the murder of an innocent policeman in the -discharge of his duty was denounced by the English press in the strongest language mortal man could invent ; and in this abuse of the Fenians there is inevitable abuse of Ireland, because such a large mass of the population are Fenians. No doubt about it at all. The wide- spread discontent at the historical misgovernment of the country is now expressed in open action in the form of Fenianism. So also, on the other side, are there grounds for saying, in discuss- ing the policy of the execution, that the act was a political blunder, and was terribly wrong. And, gentlemen, if you come to the conclusion that my client, Alexander M. Sullivan, in writing and publishing his opinions on this matter — whether they be his writings or not, he is responsible for them — in criticizing the conduct of Her Majesty's ministers, had no intention of exciting the people of Ireland to sedition, and rebellion against the Government of the country, upon this record he is entitled to and will get your just acquittal. Have I not a right to say, on the lowest grounds of public policy, that the jury made a great mistake in convicting Allen, O'Brien, Larkin, and Maguire ? In Ireland, had they received the ordinary sentence of transport- ation, their names would have been forgotten in a fortnight. The Government have deliberately made these men martyrs for Ireland, as the Government of 1803 did with Emmet, and they have done so decidedly against all the advice and remonstrance of their political friends and enemies. They have made that event a part of the history of this country which, I venture to say, had been forgotten ere this had they adopted a different course. What led to the rebellion in the North of Ireland, and the furnishing of a watchword against the Government ? The execution of Orr, which the country people of the North of Ireland to this day believe was an unjust execution. Why one of the watchwords of the North at that time was, " Remember Orr." For sixty or seventy years the memory of Emmet is fresh in the minds of his countrymen, and so will the memory of Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin live as long as the present system of Government is continued. In these articles on the Manchester executions con- temporaneous articles from other journals are copied and contravened. We find one side advocating one set of views, and another side advocating another. It is all legitimate discussion, and from the conflict of opinion truth is elicited. Is it to be said there is to be no reply to the Government press when they revile and insult the feelings of the people of this country ? and are they to be allowed to use with impunity the language wo sometimes read in those journals ? What does the Saturday QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 07 Review say of the Irish exiles who are every morning leaving almost every railway station in Ireland ? It calls them demons of assassination; the Times calls our priests surpliced ruffians. Gentlemen, I was alluding to the liberty of speech, and what might be called the licence of speech — the licence of writing enjoyed by the press of the present day. Is it all to be on the side of the Government press ? I was saying that this very day, in every morning train in Ireland, the cries of the Irish emigrant are to be heard. The saddest sight in the world is the daily departure of the Irish exiles. The shrieks of the exiles ascend, as it were, in chorus from every railway station in Ireland, to the throne of Almighty God. They are heard by some with derision and exul- tation, and the Saturday Review gloats over the Irish emigrants departing, calling them the departing demons of murder and assassination. That is the way the Irish emigrants are described. And those men sent forth with hatred and exultation by the Govern- ment are expected for the remainder of their lives to have a natural allegiance to the Crown, and to the kingdom which gave them no field of industry at home. That is the description of the peasantry. What is the description of their priests ? " Surpliced ruffians !" That is what is referred to in those very articles — in those very papers. That is the way the Tory press describes the peasantry and the priests of Ireland. Is there to be no reply, except under the threat of a prosecution by the Tories ? This is repeated every- where ; in the House of Commons Air. Waller says, " If negro was not negro, Irishman would be neoro," and in the House of Lords Lord Lyndhurst calls us " aliens in blood, in language, in religion." And under the present administration of government in Ireland, 1 shall always remain in my native land and ever be considered an alien in blood, language, and religion. " Unprized are her sons till they've learn'd to betray, Undistinguished they live if they shame not their sires, And the torch that would light them thro' dignity's way, Must be caught from the pile where their country expires." This is the freedom of language used by the Tory press, and by the Tory Government and the supporters of the Tory Govern- ment. I believe that Lord Lyndhurst's words are true still, as expressing the faith of the whole Tory party as regards the people of Ireland. Is there to be no retort to this on behalf of the popular press — those who believe the contrary, those who hope for the country, those whose lives have been spent in trying to serve the country, and who take the liberty of contrasting the treatment of Ireland by England with the treatment of Hungary by Austria \ I will enlighten the Attorney-General a little on the history of Hungary and Austria. Austria is a great Catholic empire. Hungary is a great Protestant state, and they have their Protestant Established Church. England is a great Protestant country, and the majority of the people of Ireland are Roman Catholic, and have been so for ever. What is the state of Ireland at this moment ? It is the same System that has been illustrated during the history of the country for the last ^00 years. There is no change that I can see — no change as regards the people. 68 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Catholic emancipation has been of no use to the peasantry. Hungary is a great aristo< ratic state, with resideni nobles among the wealthiest and most high-spirited inEurope,with their national religion united with the S ate. And in May last they loyally crowned the Emperor of Austria King of Hungary. The old aris- tocracy, the national religion, and national traditions, and national Hag of Hungary are respected by the government under which the Hungarians live. And therefore they, in the centre of Europe — isolated from trade and commerce, without manufactures — are a glorious and happy people. , What has been the Irish policy — the English policy in Ireland ? It is a marvel in this country how a single person of intellect or position among the native Irish re- mains. Ei i dgration after emigration of the princes, and nobles, and gentry of the land has gone on, and still from the unconquerable heart of the Irish nation rose spirit and life in the struggle for national existence. In 1G07 the great earls fled — the princes of lyroiie and Tyrconnell, and they brought with them the native chieftains of the North, and left behind but few of their own individual names or races. Ireland was apparently at peace for some thirty years, and tranquil with a ghastly tranquillity of exhaustion and despair. Again the spirit of the Irish nation broke forth. The great rebellion began, as it is called — the civil Avar of 1641 ; and the Confederation of Kilkenny sat there and were the government of the country, and coined money, and fought battles, and made laws. Again, again defeat and despair followed the fortunes of the green flag. Again confiscation was the reward — of whom ? The reward of the Irish cavaliers who had given their lives and fortunes, and thrown their swords into the scale which might have saved Charles I. from the scaffold. Again the country is pacified and quiet with the ghastly tranquillity of ex- haustion and despair. The great revolution of 1088 occurs in England, and James II. expelled from his own dominions, lands in Ireland, hoists the royal standard of England, fights his army as an English army, and from every village, from every city in Ire- land, every Irish gentleman put himself, his sons, his tenants in king James's army lists, and again apparently there is a national army. The battle of the Boyne was fought. The battle of Augh- rim was fought ; there Colonel Luttrell sold the pass, causing his name to this day to be remembered by the peasantry, and his act to form a phrase in the English language. The second siege of Limerick followed. The city capitulated: and the first Irish brigade went to France, comprising the whole of the Irish gentry, with few exceptions, and 20,000 gallant Irishmen, the first Irish brigade, afterwards fought from Dunkirk to Belgrade, and Cre- mona to Fontenoy. What is the consequence ? I turn to Macau- lay (History, vol. IV., p. 116) describing the condition of Ireland — describing the policy which still to a great extent prevails after the flight of the wild geese, and when there was scarcely a Boman Catholic Irish gentleman left in Ireland : — " And all this time, hatred kept down by fear festered in the hearts of tlie children of the soil. They were still the same people that had sprung to arms in 1641 at the call of O'Neill, and in 1G8'J at the call oi Tvr- QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 09 connel. To them every festival instituted by the State was a day of mourning. Every public trophy set up by the State was a memorial of shame. We have never known, and can but faintlv conceive the feelings of a nation doomed to see constantly in all its public places the monu- ments of its subjugation. Such monuments everywhere met the eye of the Irish Roman Catholics. In front of the senate-house of their country they saw the statue of their conqueror. If they entered they saw the walls tapestried with the defeats of their fathers." Gentlemen. I might give a hint to my friends in the North of Ireland who will be defenders of the Processionists, that Maeaulay alludes here to a time when on the 12th of July anniversary, and the 4th of November, the birthday of King William, the Provost of Trinity College, the Judges of the land, and the principal official dignitaries of Ireland went in solemn procession round the statue of King William, everyone wearing orange lilies in their breasts. That is what Lord Chesterfield, that model of politeness, did. It is remarkable, when alluding to the Party Processions Act, that in College-green a party procession is for ever going on. King Wil- liam is always marching in a perpetual procession, and they used long ago to have him painted orange and blue, but the Corpora- tion, with a keen sense of humour, painted him green. Now, gentlemen, I am still on the Irish policy as contrasted with the policy of Austria to Hungary. ITS- came. Ah ! there never was a country treated like this. In the old times when the Normans conquered a great portion of this beautiful island, they loved the country, and the Geraldines became more Irish than the Irish themselves. But the mercenaries of William and Cromwell lived as foreigners in their native land. In ITS'2 political power was acquired by the owners of the land of Ireland, and for eighteen years they had it. They had a country, and ground the countiy, and thanked God they had a country to sell, and they sold the country. I am still contrasting the Hungarian and Irish policy. What next occurred ? Catholic emancipation was granted, as the Duke of Wellington said, in fear of a civil war. How was O'Connell rewarded? He was rewarded by a prosecution which the Tories instituted against him, and which will be remembered as long as the English language is known in the land. It was the case in which Lord Denman. as regards the infamous packing of the jury, said the administration of justice in this country, as regards the packing of juries, was a mockery, a delusion, and a snare. Better to take men out and shoot them, in the way that drumhead court- martials did in ? 9S. It is a quicker way of getting rid of them. It is more just. Well, gentlemen, what is the result of this p>olicy towards our unfortunate country? Gentlemen, carry in your minds the fact that Ireland is the only geographical district in Europe decreasing in wealth and population. Many of you know the country well, and I ask you — any of you who know the old country towns were wealth was accumulated, would you not say now that this is the only country decreasing in wealth and population. Since the year 1845 Ireland has lost three millions of her population. Gentlemen, can you impress these figures on your mind ? Do you know what it means ? Do you know that Switzerland — that independent republican government — where 70 DUBLIN COMMISSION. every peasant owns his land, and is educated — has the suffrage and right to carry arms — do you know that the population of Switzer- land docs not come up to the three millions? The population of Denmark or of Greece does not come up to three millions. A great independent kingdom, a great European republic, could he Formed out of the population Ireland has lost — lost — lost in the twenty- three years of misery and degradation. Contrast the pol icy of England towards Ireland and Austria towards Hungary. Was such a thing ever known in the history of the world as a loss in twenty-three years of three millions ? . Was it ever known before that two millions at one time were receiving out-door relief — two mil lions out of a great and prosperous population? Are we to write tamely and with bated breath of the Irish policy which is grinding us, and which is the cause of these miseries ? And is the Tory press — calling our priests "surpliced ruffians" — calling our peasantry " demons of assassination " — is it to act with per- fect impunity, and is Mr. Sullivan, who in this matter has carried on the war with all the ordinary and fair weapons, is he to be punished by the Tory press, protected by a Tory Attorney-Gene- ral ? It is idle to say that the prosecution is not directly called for by a large section of the press. The Nation and Weekly Neil's have been in existence for years, and have done good service to the country, and I trust the day will never come when a jury in this court-house will say there is not to be perfect political freedom of discussion. No doubt this paper does advocate nationality. No doubt it does say distinctly that Ireland is still a nation — has its national history, and its national traditions. A natural love for the country is implanted in every honest heart, and I say that in the hearts of the Irish nation the green flag is flying still, and if there was conciliation the green flag would be the brightest colour in the national ensign of the kingdom. The Hungarians have forgotten the terrible civil war of 1848 and 1849, when the Hungarian national flag — the tri-colour — the green, white, and red — so often was foremost in the charge against the battalions of Austria ; and the present Emperor — the present gallant Empe- ror, who, with wise Ministers, well understood the feelings of that great and chivalrous nation — recognises the national colours, recognises the national sentiments, receives a chivalrous and heroic welcome from his loyal subjects in Hungary. In Ireland you prosecute the green. That is the same thing as if in Scotland you prosecuted MacGregor or Campbell for wearing the tartan of his clan. No country can be loyal unless the national senti- ment and traditions, the national flag, the national religion, are respected and established ? You cannot eradicate the sentiments of nationality from Ireland. It is impossible. It is in the hearts of the people. You cannot teach a people to be good, honest, and virtuous subjects by telling them in your lying prints that their ancestors were cowards, that they themselves are thieves and drunkards, and by teaching the nation to remember nothing about its wrongs. An advertisement relating to the wearing of green ribbons is held to be sedition. Again I am speaking about the Hungarian policy as contrasted with the Irish policy. The prosecution of the green in Ireland is, I repeat, the QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 71 same as a prosecution for the wearing of the tartan by the clans in Scotland. The prosecution of national emblems I look upon as one of the most disastrous things that could happen to the government of a country. It is the prosecution of the nation, but you cannot indict a nation. The green shamrock has been the emblem of Ireland for over 1,000 years. It was adopted by St. Patrick as the symbol of the holy and undivided Trinity, and used by him in the conversion of pagan Ireland. I have been looking into the subject, and I find in an ancient manuscript in Trinity College that in the year 637 the flag of the Red Branch Knights was a yellow lion upon green satin, and I find that when the Pope issued the Bull giving to Henry II. the lordship of Ire- land, he sent him an emerald ring, symbolizing the green island. These historical records must have been present to the mind of Moore when he writes : " Let Erin remember the days of old, Ere her faithless sons betrayed her, When Malachy wore the collar of gold Which he won from the proud invader." The harp was quartered with the arms of Ireland by Henry VIII., and in the office of the Garter King-at-Arms, at London, there is a most remarkable letter, written by the Earl of Northampton, in which he disputes the right of Henry VIII. to quarter the harp on the arms of Ireland. His lordship concludes by saying : — "1 can- not understand why His Sacred Majesty quartered y e harp as y e ancient arms of Ireland, unless it be this, that y e harp is an instru- ment most symbolical of Ireland, as being an instrument most difficult to keep in tune, and not worth y e cost/' Gentlemen, that was written at the time of James I. The original letter is there still. I must say that in my opinion Lord Northampton was a wise statesman, and the Tories ought to take a lesson from him. But, gentlemen, I am partly addressing you on the national emblems to show that there is still a national love for the country, and that green is recognised as the colour of the country. Every portrait of every Lord Lieutenant of Ireland hung up in Dublin Castle, has the harp round his neck. That is not in derision of the country. It is a wise recognition of the emblem of the country. When His Sacred Majesty King George landed at Howth — I will not say what state he was in — but he wore on his royal breast a shamrock as big as a Dutch cabbage, and drove up to town with it. At the present day the Constabulary wear a green uniform. The Constabulary had been given a medal for their services on the occasion of the rebellion of the 5th of March, and those services I don't undervalue at all. What is the colour of it ? The medal bears on it the harp and shamrock, and name of the reci- pient, and the ribbon is a bright grass-green. I am not talking of the policy of the medal. The medals of soldiers are to be worn for heroic achievements in war against the enemies of the country, but the memory of such transactions as the 5th of March should be buried in oblivion. I therefore say, with great respect to the authorities, that the medal with the grass-green ribbon — symbolic of Ireland — was an unwise thing, and the sooner the medal is 72 DUBLIN COMMISSI* )\. taken off the better. I am addressing you on nationality — national traditions, national history, and devotion to country being advocated in this paper. I appeal to the Irish exiles over the world, and I appeal to tradition in support of that. The traditions of home are traditions of misery. The records of lie- land are not kept in the Birmingham Tower. They are kept in the ruined abbeys w here the good monks prayed for the souls of their poor brethren. The records of Ireland arc kept in the miserable cabins where the peasantry crouch over the fires, remem- bering that they are the worst clad, worst fed in Europe, — where they dream over the past, and whisper of the future. The records of the country are kept in the miserable cabins, where the Irish mother kisses her firstborn, and prays — "My God, may he live to be a free man." I turn to foreign lands — to the Blakes and O'Donnells, who, exiled, have founded in Spain a long line of princes, and marshals, and captain-generals — to the Butlers, Lacies, Geraldines, Nugents, and Dillons who have been the foremost captains in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Russia. I turn to the first Irish Brigade — the exiles from Limerick — and addressing the mighty dead whose bones whiten the battle-fields of all Europe, I ask them — Have you a national flag? I come now to the second Irish brigade, which was established by Napoleon on that 3rd of April, 1804, and who gave them the ancient arms of Ireland on a green tlag. I look to France, and add less the great leaders of the French army — M'Mahon and O'Neill — marshals of France — leaders of the grand army of France — that has amongst its memories Waterloo and St. He- lena, and I ask them, " Have you a country ?" Do you recognise 1 reland, from whose land you are separated \ Do you recog- nise your country, whose records you have placed among the archives of France?" I now cross the Atlantic, and turn to Ame- rica, Up the bloody slopes of Fredericksburg the third Irish Brigade charged in dense column under their gallant leader, the unfortunate Thomas Francis Meagher, who, when the iron hail of the Confederates came, smiting each third man down, said, with Sarsfield — " Would that this were for Ireland." I ask them, have they a country ? Abroad or at home I ask this epiestion of the Irish race, and I hear in every language of the civilized world a chorus rising to Almighty God, saying that — "By the grace of God, and by the will of the nation, Ireland still has its national exist- ence, and our flag is our own immortal green !" I say this in the spirit of the truest loyalty, that never will you have this country loyal, prosperous, and truly free, until the national sentiment is recognised, and put in harmony and union with the English Government. The national flag of the country is the Union Jack, and the " union " is carried by every regiment. It has on it the crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick. This is wise and rational, and again I say in the truest spirit of the policy dictated by the national press, you will never have the country prosperous and free until the national sentiment is re- cognised. The Celts are going. The policy of Cromwell may ultimately be accomplished, and the Roman Catholic peasantry QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 73 and Roman Catholic religion may be exterminated from Ireland ; but if the Celts be going with a vengeance, I tell you that democracy is coming with a vengeance ; and whatever race is destined to inherit the beautiful fields of green Ireland, never will be contented until, as in America and Switzerland, every man has the right to carry arms, has universal suffrage, and until the peasantry own the land. Gentlemen, it is now my duty, following the Attorney-General, to refer you to the different articles which have been referred to, and to call your attention in particular to the dates of some of them. Gentlemen, the first article is that of the 22nd June. The last article — that upon the funeral procession — is dated 14th December. The Dublin procession was called for the 8th Decem- ber. A number of processions had been held in England and Ireland before the Dublin procession of December. They had been held under very peculiar circumstances. They had all been peaceful and orderly. I believe I am correct in saying that not a single breach of the peace occurred in consequence of the hold- ing of a single procession. On Tuesday, five days before the Dublin procession, Lord Derby, in the House of Lords, declared that the Party Processions Act did not apply to these funeral processions. That was ^declared on the 3rd of December, and the procession was held on the 8th. All these articles had appeared except the one of the 14th and the last little placard which ought never to have been inserted on any indictment. What occurred ? On the 12th December, 1867, Mr. Alexander M. Sul- livan was summoned to the police-court, Exchange-court, as a witness to appear on the 16th December in the case of the Queen at the prosecution of the Attorney-General against Messrs. Martin, Waters, Scanlan, and Lalor. I call that now, and I called it immediately after, a mock prosecution. It is a humbug. The Government had that fearful article on which the Attorney- General said Austria was crowning Hungary. They had all the articles about the Manchester execution, and I believe they had some little spite against Mr. Sullivan for his denunciation of the Tories. And what did they do ? They summoned him to the police-office as a witness in the prosecution against the party pro- cessionists in order to put him in the same category with the Corydons and the Masseys. The Solicitor-General — Counsel, my lord, has no right to say this. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald, — I don't see, Mr. Heron, what your observations have to do with the case. We are unwilling to interpose, but really your observations are entirely irrelevant. Mr. Heron. — Indeed the summoning of Mr. Sullivan as a Crown witness, when they had the information of these articles being published before that, is evidence that the Attorney-General had no idea that the articles were seditious. However, motives are unparliamentary. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — We think that this matter has nothing to do with the present case. Mr. Heron. — Very well. I will say no more about it. 74 DUBLIN COMMISSION. The Solicitor-General. — You have said all you intended to say. Mr. Heron. — No, L did not. It is the most extraordinary pro- ceeding that ever occurred, what with the Attorney-General apologizing — but we will say no more about it. It is really a dramatic thing. Sir John Gray, a distinguished gentleman of the press, had published a letter on the subject in the Pall Mall Gazette. The Sollcilor-GeneraL — I hope you will give the answer. Mr. Heron. — These are only the fireworks of the case. As to this summons 1 will say no more. All I say is this — and what I ask you to bear in mind is this — that having the seditious libels against a man whom they believe to be a person intending to excite sedition — they summon him as a Crown witness. It is not sedition or contempt of her Majesty's Ministers. The Evening Mail has done more to excite hatred — I won't say that, but contempt, of her Majesty's Ministers than the Nation or Weekly News could by possibility do. You remember the illustration, gentlemen. Macaulay said " the time would come when the New Zealander would take his stand upon the broken arch of London Bridge, and sketch the ruins of St. Paul's." The Even ing Mail alludes to a transaction on Carlisle Bridge — not London Bridge, my lord — and they compare the conduct of the present Govern- ment to that of Zozimus on Carlisle Bridge. There was a ministry of " all the talents," and the present government have fixed on themselves for ever the name of the Zozimus Administration. I don't know the reason of that. I might guess. I have read the celebrated ballad composed by Colonel Blacker, entitled " Oliver's Advice," and there is a verse concluding with the allusion — " Clanbrasils vales are kindling, and Roden is the cry. But put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry." In party warfare it is right to use the legitimate topics to ridicule. Do you think that during the two sessions of Parlia- ment that Oladstone held Disraeli up to public contempt, or that Disraeli held up Gladstone to contempt ? When Lord Derby, the Prime Minister of England, a nobleman of great experience, an- nounced in the House of Lords that the Party Processions Act did not apply, he did so after consideration, and I say that after the declaration of the Prime Minister of the realm substantially the meeting was a legal meeting, and could not be prosecuted ; and it was a strange thing to summon the editor of a paper as a Crown witness. Against Mr. Sullivan there have been found to- day, two bills of indictment for the procession— one for the county and one for the city ; and we will again not know where we are at all — whether in the county or the city. I don't know now wdiether I am in the county or the city. Gentlemen, bear with me now for a moment. The illustration here is from the cele- brated picture, by David, that we have all seen in the Louvre, although the Attorney-General may not have known it. It is urged that the entire policy of this paper is sedition. What is sedition in this country now 1 It is Fenianism. This paper has been impartial, and if you say it is seditious, look at that picture of James Stephens. The object of the journal is to shoot folly where it flies, and if necessary to expose those who by deep and QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 75 scandalous designs have brought misery upon thousands of their fellow-countrymen. There is James Stephens in a Parisian cafe, smoking the best cigars, drinking the best claret, the best wines, and with the best fruits of the day. What is the picture beside it ? It is a Fenian cell. What is the second ? The wife and children of the Fenian convict, separated for life from the men whom it was but the duty of my lords to send away for life or twenty years' penal servitude. What is the third picture, rising from the smoke of Stephens' pipe ? The labourers — the honest labourers — men and women in America, who subscribe their weekly halfpenny or penny towards the regeneration of their country, with true but mistaken patriotism, and which this James Stephens has appropriated. Look at that. More can be shown to you, but I won't weary you. There is a woodcut of the greatest ability. It is headed " The C.O.LR.* and his victims." Who are his victims ? The gallant and unfortunate Burke, who made his memorable speech from that dock. The poor Fenian convicts, their wives and families, and the persons who are subscribing, by the machinations of Stephens, the C.O.I.R What is at the bottom ? " Mr. Stephens in his luxurious apartment, at forty-five dollars a week, reflects on the advantages the movement has conferred on his dupes." The date is immediately before the rising of the 5th of March. Truly considered, it will be found that this paper has rendered true and loyal service to the Attorney-General — true and loyal service to the best interests of the country. It says, Ireland is a nation, and ought to be recognised as a nation, and ought to be the emerald gem in the crown of Queen Victoria, and not as it will be, sooner or later, in the present state of things, and in the present Government, the most terrible battle-field that ever ap- peared in the history of the world- The present policy must bring on a war with America. If there was a war with America the democracy of either country must be murdering each other in civil war for ten or fifteen years, while Lord Derby or his successor, Mr. Disraeli, will be in power. Gentlemen, some few portions of this first article I will read to you : " The cry for vengeance has been answered, and in the convulsive death- struggles of the men who were bold enough to put in practice at home the lessons which England inculcates abroad, the ruffians who gloated over their sufferings beheld the accomplishment of the hopes on which the magnanimous British nation had set its heart. The feeble voices of the few who tried to preach prudence and moderation in the hour of national frenzy, were lost in the roar of passion; justice, humanity, policy, all have been disregarded, all, save the savage resolve to take the lives of the Irishmen who had crossed the path of English power, all but the longing to inflict another wound on the palpitating form of a trampled but unconquered nation. To this, then, it has come to-day ; thus it is that our patience and our submissiveness have been rewarded." And then there is this : — " The loaded gibbet in Manchester, the young fives ignominiously cut off by the hand of the public executioner, the mangled corpses laid beside the murderer's grave, the jeers of the wolfish multitude who danced and sang around the gallows — these are the responses to our appeals — these are the accursed gifts that are offered in redemption of our hopes." * C.O.I.R., Central Organizer Irish Republic. — Ed. 70 DUBLIN COMMISSION. I marked that passage because the Attorney-General was affected to tears iii reading it, especially at the description of the " wolfish multitude" of England, and I turn, gentlemen, to a pic- ture of the English as drawn by themselves on the 23rd of October. The Solicitor-General. — I don't know what Mr. Heron is going to do. There is a latitude that ought not to be transgressed. I don't know what he is going to say, or what an English periodical can have to do with this case. Mr. Heron. — The liberty of the press The Solicitor-General. — The liberty of the press, forsooth ! Mr. Heron. — Oh, it is a most contemptible thing! Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — You ought to comment on the matters before the Court, or any others that would be legitimate evidence on the issue to be tried. Now, at the end of two hours you are only beginning to touch the case. Mr. Heron. — To touch on the evidence. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Touching on the case. I have hardly heard a word touching on it. Mr. Heron. — There used to be great latitude given in defending a prisoner. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — We don't wish to restrain you unne- cessarily. Mr. Heron. — This is with reference to the description of the " wolfish multitude" — the picture of the " wolfish multitude" dancing round the gallows. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — We cannot take it. Mr. Heron. — It is impossible to avoid alluding to contemporane- ous history. I have a right to say this, that in papers like Punch and the Tomahaivk, the portion of the public that dances round the gallows have been held up, I might say, to execration. The picture is there, and probably some of you, gentlemen, have seen it. The paper then goes on : — " After centuries of dominion, during which conciliation alone was left untried, after hundreds of years during which English statesmen found in Ireland the danger and the difficulty of their empire, after the impos- sihility of crushing the Irish national spirit by torture and death has been attested through decades of persecution, we find ourselves to-day standing where our fathers stood when Tone died on his prison pallet, and when Russell's blood flowed from the scaffold in Downpatrick." Is it not right to allude to the old historical themes, and that here in this court-house ? Sixty-five years after the execution of Robert Emmet, rebellion still stalks through the land, and for some reason or other the great majority of the people of Ireland are greatly disaffected to the constitution under which they live. I deny there is personal disloyalty to the Queen. I deny that these articles are levelled against the Queen's Government. There is intense disaffection from — intense hatred of the policy of the present Government. There is no disloyalty towards the Queen, and if the Queen visited her North of Ireland, her West of Ireland, her South of Ireland, she would in Dublin again re- ceive a glorious reception, and she would throughout the whole of Ireland, I venture to say, receive the most hearty cead mills QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 77 fa tithe, and we would have some chance of making Ireland fashionable for those who receive so much as absentees, and who do so little for their native land. No wonder there is dis- content. I say there ought to be discontent. The article goes on : — " The impatience of English domination that stirred the pulses of Ireland then has not passed away, and in 1867, as in 1803 and 171)8, the gaoler and the hangman form the twin pillars upon which the edifice of British rule in Ireland is supported." I may add to them the police barrack, the gaol, and the poorhouse. Far be it from me to say one single word against the adminis- tration of justice, the bench is pure and uncorrupted, but have I no right to say that the administration of justice as displayed in the Manchester executions, is not free from a scintilla of doubt \ Five men were put on trial, five men were found guilty, and amongst them Thomas Maguire. There was a jury of Man- chester merchants, who in position and station, ought to have been above the panic and fear which confound the innocent with the guilty ; and I believe they were. The case was tried before two Judges of the very highest position that ever adorned any bench. Thomas Maguire was convicted. What occurred? The sovereigns of Europe are powerful, but there is one sovereign above them all — the press. The press ! Thirty reporters were present. Thirty reporters signed a declaration stating that from their long experience of trials, political and capital, from the demeanour of the man in the dock, and from the evidence they heard adduced, they believed M r aguire to be innocent. The nation and the Queen responded to the call which the "Fourth Estate" made, and in a few hours, I may say, almost from the time of the sen- tence of Thomas Maguire to be hanged along with Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, the press, the nation, and the Queen, declared him not guilty ; and he received a free pardon. And was it to be said that the editor in his study is not to be permitted to make those obser- vations which the reporters in their box made that day ? Is that to be the new law for the liberty of the press ? There can be no doubt whatsoever that, it being the case that Maguire was par- doned, after being convicted upon evidence similar — I do not say the same — to that upon which those other men were hung, there Avill be always, as long as the world goes round, a doubt in some men's minds as to the satisfactory character of that trial. There is no imputation cast upon the administration of justice ; it was ad- ministered fairly, but erroneously. It has often happened in olden times, that the innocent criminal condemned to death has been friendless and alone in his cell during the few days which elapsed between trial and execution. Had Thomas Maguire been so left — had he died on the scaffold, protesting his innocence, he would probably be likened to the impenitent thief. Am I to be told that a journal is not to be allowed to comment or pass strictures upon the policy of justice. There is nothing more dangerous to society than the failure of justice. These are words which I would ask you, gentlemen, to carefully remember : — " It was open to the Government, had they so chosen to extract a 7;s DUBLIN COMMISSION. golden opportunity for beginning the pacification of Ireland from the Manchester executions, it was in their power to have rendered them the means of sapping the vitality of disaffection in Ireland, and winning for themselves some gratitude from a people who are never insensible to con- siderate treatment. But this was not their choice. They preferred to go back to the days of the pitch-cap, and the walking gallows for a policy." This last sentence alluded to the cruelties which were practised by the British soldiery on the Irish peasantry. The "walking-gallows" policy. That referred to the. man who used to throw men over bis shoulder and thus hang them. It was of him the following lines were written : — " Here lie the bones of Hepenstall, Judge, jury, gallows, rope and all." " The rebels are lying in their prison graves, but sooner shall they recall the light to the eyes of the strangled men, sooner will the current of life be brought back to the stark, cold bodies of the slain, than the horror, the resentment, and the anger which their fate has excited in Ireland, shall pass away." Then follow those words, which are said to be an incitement to revolution and sedition : — " They died as many good Irishmen died before, in defence of the prin- ciples of Irish nationality." These men died in defence of revolution, believing that they were doino: what was best calculated to serve the interests of their country. They were certainly no ordinary class of murderers. " They fell in a cause which can count amongst its martyrs the noblest spirits that ever the love of liberty inspired." And is it to be said that a man who believes that his country ought to be separated from another, and who organizes a great political movement for the accomplishment of such an object, is to be classed in the same category as regards criminal intention as the thief, the highway robber, and the murderer for lucre ? Gentle- men, I will read you an extract from the Spectator, and I will ask you to take it as my opinion on the law of libel : — " The law of libel is so severe that, if enforced, it would seriously im- pair the liberty of political discussion ; the practice is so lenient that the English press is on all political subjects by far the freest in Europe. It is scarcely possible, therefore, for a prosecution once instituted by Govern- ment to fail, as the act complained of is sure to be illegal ; yet every such prosecution strikes the public as an exceptional and high-handed act, calculated to establish a dangerous precedent. The law of England sup- posed by some people to be so very lenient, is in theory quite as severe as that of any other civilized country, its definition of seditious writing so wide that it makes any writing whatever calculated to bring the Government into hatred and contempt punishable with imprisonment. If strictly enforced before hostile courts, no paper, from the Times to the smallest halfpenny sheet that thunders or quavers against the Poor Law, could escape frequent penalties, or, it may be, ultimate ruin. Attacks on hereditary monarchy certainly have been published with impunity, and there is not abranch of the Constitution which has not been repeatedly and openly assailed, in language certainly calculated to excite sedition. Even the QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 7.' dismemberment of the empire is a subject, under certain aspects, entirely within the competence of the press. If the Times, for example, next Monday publishes an article advising the Canadians to take a phbis-icitum, and thereafter declare themselves an independent nation, the Times will certainly not be prosecuted. Half the statesmen in England, though loyal to the backbone, would declare that it was " speaking out " very wisely. It is impossible while such freedom exists in regard to every division of the empire except Ireland, that Liberals should not be uneasy at the thought of a more rigid regime to be specially applied in the division which, as they always admit, has the most serious grievances to redress." I will ask you, gentlemen of the jury, to found your opinion on this opinion, as a basis. u They perished, as good men might, in a noble but baffled cause ; and whatever might have been their errors, or their mistakes, they passed away leaving no memory behind them in Ireland, save that of heroic and patriotic men. They are added to the long roll of gallant men, whose love for Ireland was adjudged treason, and who sealed their fidelity to their principles, with their lives ; and through many a coming age, their names and their histories will be handed down, and the story of their tragic death recited to sorrowing listeners in sympathetic words. Nor is it in Ireland alone that their fate will excite emotion. In the crowded streets of the great American cities — in the log-huts in the backwood, in the scattered settlements far away towards the shores of the Pacific, in the marts which commerce has raised in distant Australia, wherever the Irish race has a representative, the cheek will redden with the flush of indignation, and the pulse quicken with the hot impulse of revenge, when the scene which Manchester rejoiced over last Saturday is heard of. How far it may influence the future conduct of the Irish race in exile, and at home, we will not examine : the effect which it may have on the powerful confederacy in America, to which Allen, and his fellow suffererers were affiliated, is a subject which we need not discuss. "We shall only say that we believe the sickening scene of Saturday, will revive the hope and strengthen the resolve of the disaffected in Ireland.*' And so I believe. In my conscience I believe that as an act of policy, there never was a greater political blunder. Was not the memory of these men honoured by the processions in Ireland, and by the marching of Irish regiments in New York and Philadelphia, with their green flags and uniforms, and their arms turned to the ground. ? Is not a journal to be allowed to express an opinion on a question which is evidently one of world-wide importance ? You, gentlemen, have to find an evil intent in such comment, virtually you have to find the inuendo — that Alexander Sullivan is a Fenian, and a traitor to the Queen and her laws. I will now say a word on thepictures, (i The Angel of Justice,'" and "It is done." In reference to the first, the letterpress accompanying it, and on the same page, explains it. The following are the words I allude to : — " It will be seen that the victims, in manly and dignified language, protest their innocence of the slaying of the policeman Brett, and that they are unanimous in declaring the testimony on which they were con- victed a tissue of perjuries. Whether these dying statements of men on the threshold of eternity, and prepared by the sacraments of the Catholic Church to meet their God, or the oaths of the Manchester witnesses, and 80 DUBLIN COMMISSION. the representations of counsel, judges, and jury at their trial, will carry- most weight in this country, it can hardly be necessary to explain." As to the second, the figure called " Britannia" is neither the Queen nor the British people, but only that section of it that gloated o'er the scene of blood in Manchester. The following words of an article on the 30th November related to the same subject : — " Of the conduct of the ruffians who thronged round the scene of blood, and w atched with wolfish eyes the death struggles of the Irish patriots, no language is strong enough to convey a description. Fearing that they might be baulked of the savage gratification for which they longed, the brutal mob began to assemble before the scaffold early on the day pre- ce ling the execution. By three o'clock on Friday hundreds had assem- bled before the Salford Gaol ; by ten at night they had swelled to thou- sands. There they waited through the long watches of the night, till the morning's light should reveal the scene of butchery to their eyes. Nor did the dreadful solemnity of the act which they assembled to witness appear to concern them. They roared and they shouted, and fought and cursed, and made the night hideous with their obscenities. The ribald songs, the oath of the blasphemer, and the shouts of the drunkard, blended with the midnight air, and reached even the ears of the condemned patriots as they prayed in their prison cell. When morning broke, the prison walls were surged round by a tumultuous sea of reeking humanity, and the impatience with which the last dreadful scene was awaited found utterance in the sullen roar. At last the victims appeared, but the degraded beings who stood with up-turned faces before the gibbet were denied the fiendish gratification for which they had waited so long. As if interposed by the hand of Heaven between the expiring patriots and the greedy eyes of the mob below, a dense dull fog hung around the fatal spot, wrapping the scaffold and its occupants in an almost impenetrable veil. Through the vapoury haze the dark outline of the triple gallows was dimly discernible below, but the martyred men were sheltered from the glare of the hungry eyes that burned to see them die. The Irishmen of Manchester, with great propriety, absented them- selves from the scene. In their churches and in their homes they remained to pray for the souls that were passing away, and it may be to appeal to an avenging God for the manifestation of His justice which that morning's bloody work seemed to challenge. " In England, as in Ireland, the belief entertained that the savage act perpetrated last Saturday would never be attempted, restrained those who sympathized with the prisoners from exerting themselves as strongly a i they otherwise would to obtain a reprieve. Still the lingering fear that the Government might really yield to the inhuman clamour of the British people gave rise to numberless petitions, and to several demon- strations in favour of a policy of mercy. In Birmingham about 4,000 persons assembled to petition the Executive on the subject, but the blood- thirsty English mob, who feared to have their hopes of vengeance disap- pointed, proceeded, in the first place, to disperse the meeting and assault the advocates of mercy, and then vented their savagery by wrecking the Catholic churches of the city. Not only was the ruffianism of England resolved that Allen and his companions, guilty or not guilty, should die, but they were also determined that no voice should be raised in their favour, except at the risk of the speaker's life. Their hatred of Irishmen was only equalled by their rabid hostility to Catholicity ; and so, having first glutted their rage on the advocates of clemency they considered the QUEEN a, SULLIVAN. 81 destruction of the Catholic churches a necessary sequel to that proceeding. At Windsor a still more scandalous scene was witnessed, which it is hardly possible to describe with patience. At one of the numerous meetings held in London previous to the execution, it was resolved to despatch a deputation to Windsor, to lay before the Queen in person the petition which the Home Secretary had ignored. The noblest prerogative attaching to the Crown is that of mercy, and the power of life and death is one which the British constitution entrusts absolutely and expressly to the Sovereign. It was argued that Queen Victoria would not hesitate to receive a deputation on so important a subject — that the ' widow's heart,' of which we have heard so much, would recoil from the threatened blood-letting at Manchester, and would seize on the opportunity of staying the tragedy which was to make Larkin's wife a widow and his children orphans, and to spread mourning and sorrow throughout Ireland. It was expected that the 1 womanly tenderness,' which the English papers have so often expatiated on, would count for something, and that the 'bereaved Sovereign' would take a special pride in exercising the glorious privilege which enables her to interpose between the executioner and his prey. But the deputation did not share this feeling on their return. The Queen refused to see them — the gates of the palace were shut in their faces, and the domestics of the household employed them- selves in hooting the seekers for clemency from the precincts of the castle. The workmen employed about the royal grounds joined in the onslaught on the deputation ; and the three poor men who came from London with the petition were, with difficulty, saved by the police from outrage at the hands of the mob. There was no mercy to be found at Windsor — the Queen would not even listen to their prayer — her servants insulted and jeered them, and so they returned to London sadder but wiser men. and another burning memory was added to the wrongs which Ireland counts up against the British nation." I ask you, under the correction of his lordship, to find that this figure is no libel on the Queen or her Government, but, if a libel at all, is one, not on her, but on the ruffianism of England. " Ire- land's reply" is virtually to the same effect. A very severe course is taken by the Crown with respect to this article, for out of its entirety they take only a few isolated sentences. Of course, the Crown has a perfect right to do so ; but you, gentlemen of the jury, are bound to read the whole article of the 7th December. It begins : — " The gauntlet thrown down by the Government press has been taken up by the people of Ireland." It goes on to express its gladness that the intended procession is in no way illegal ; and it ought to be borne in mind that this sentiment was uttered on the day previous to the demonstration. 1 will also presume to say that if this procession were merely a manifestation of sorrow for persons believed to be political mar- tyrs, no matter how wrongfully, and if the object of the meeting- were not to excite sedition or revolution, it was not illegal at common law. It is quite a different question whether it came within the scope of the " Party Processions Act," though even if it did the article would not thereby be rendered seditious. I think the :< Party Processions Act" was. intended for a totally dif- ferent state of things, and I certainly will ever maintain that G 82 DUBLIN COMMISSION. there IS jtlst the same right to wear the green shamrock in Ire- land that there la to hoist the " Union Jack" wherever the Queen's dominions extetid to. The emblem is not illegal, and green is the national colour of Ireland. The fourth count is upon an article published on the 7th De- cember ; the whole of it is not indicted, but merely that portion of it which may be called the programme of the procession — " The people have hailed Avith delight and satisfaction the prospect of an opportunity being afforded for openly and peaceably manifesting their feelings regarding the strangling of the Irish patriots in Manchester, and amongst all classes and all shades of nationalists there exists but the one idea on the suhject, the desire of rendering the demonstration as effective and as successful as possible." The other passage complained of was — "The processionists will pass by the spot where Emmet, the chivalrous and the true, was executed in 1803, with uncovered heads." Is it treasonable and seditious, as far away as sixty-five years after the execution of Emmet, to say that in passing by the place where that unfortunate man was executed a living Irishman should pay a tribute of affectionate pity to a sincere and ardent patriot ? I have never heard Emmet's name mentioned in public or private except in a spirit of affectionate sympathy; and during these trials I heard his fate commiserated by no less a person than the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench. The Solicitor-General said he dissented from this statement. Mr. Heron. — It is impossible not to remember that Irish history is to a certain extent the history of sedition, and many of the events recorded in it are still unhappily too well cherished up in men's memories. But I trust the time will come when I may refer to the battle of the Boyne or the battle of Aughrim without excit- ing a single disagreeable sentiment in the heart of any Irishman. I myself have no objection to seeing these combats celebrated ; and often in boyhood's days have I beheld the Orangemen of Newry rejoicing over these victories without feeling the slightest animosity towards them. The history of Ireland, I repeat, is, to a great extent, the history of sedition. And such will be the case as long as the national sentiments are not recognised, and attempts are made to put them down by paltry prosecutions like the pre- sent. Goldwin Smith says on this subject : — " In Ireland we can make no appeal to patriotism; we can have no patriotic sentiments in our school-books, no patriotic emblems in our schools, because in Ireland everything patriotic is rebellious. These are the words, uttered in my hearing, not by a complaining demagogue, but by a desponding statesman." I suppose three hundred thousand children attend the National Schools of Ireland. There never was a greater mistake, under the present system of the Government of the country, than to educate the children of the poor in these National schools, while the pea- santry are kept, as regards the land, mere tenants at will under absentee landlords. Was there ever such an absurd land system as the land system of Ireland, in which rack-rent, eviction, and QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 83 assassination are the ordinary incidents of the tenure of land in distressed times ? It is a disgrace to Government that such a state of things should be allowed to continue. Parliamentary sessions pass over ; a bill is introduced ; a few debates take place ; and so the matter ends. The last article upon the in- dictment is that of the 14th December, on the "Funeral Pro- cession." It was in reference to this article that I addressed, for the most part, my argument that Ireland was still a nation, and that it was necessary for Government to recognise the nationality of Ireland in the same way that Austria has recognised the nationality of Hungary. I do not mean in precisely the same way as regards the existence of a distinct form of government; though I do not see why, as Goldwin Smith and others in England suggest, the Queen and Parliament should not occasionally spend a season in Dublin. Long ago Parliaments used to be "peripatetic," that is, held at different places. The Parliament of Ireland, for example, held sittings at Drogheda and Kilkenny, as well as in Dublin. The feelings of the Irish people are deserving of all respect, and I say these words in the spirit of true loyalty, not loyalty to the Tories and their pestilential policy. There was a time when the Irish nation would have been satisfied with much less than it now demands. If, a hundred years ago, Catholic emancipation had been granted — if, one hundred years ago, the owners of the land of Ireland had ceased to be foreigners in their own country, in which they should have occupied a position similar to that of the resident gentry of England — if the native aristocracy of Ireland had not been ruthlessly swept from the land — if the O'Neills, the O'Sullivans, and the O'Donnells were still the heads of their septs, and the princes in their own counties, they would form the best and noblest ties between the Queen and the Irish people, and a very eas}' answer might now be made to the fierce demand of democracy for power. But the effort has been to destroy the feelings of nationality ; and it is Mr. Alexander Sullivan, and men like him, who have to oppose such efforts. At this very moment I see the greatest danger to the institutions of this country, as they now exist, because now, I repeat, the young educated peasant will never be satisfied until he owns the land, has universal suffrage, and the right to carry arms. Yes ! that is what we are coming to. Look to it, ye rulers and teachers. You are disconnecting the peasantry of the country from every tie which excites in man's bosom a love for his native land. Even the existence of religion is threatened, nay, more, imperilled. Europe appears to be on the point of abandoning Christianity for a time. The Irish people, with the sentiments of loyalty implanted in their bosoms — a people who adored their chieftains when they had them, and fought under their banners until death — are left without a single object for which to cherish love and affection. These are the men whom you are teaching, whom you are imbuing with the spirit of demo- cracy, which, in its progress through Europe, will shake both creeds and thrones. And men like Alexander Sullivan are, forsooth, to be accused of treason and sedition because they preach that the principles of nationality are those which alone can be the saviours G 2 84 DUBLIN COMMISSION. of the nation. This article on the " Funeral Procession" describes that most melancholy procession, which went through the streets quietly and peaceably, and concludes in these words — " What, except to marvel at the heroism thus nobly displayed, and to pray that the God of justice may bless the true-hearted, generous race which has given to the world bo unparalleled an exhibition of patient, enduring courage, and self-sacrificing patriotism 1 But it is not in Dublin alone that the voice of the people has been uplifted in the protest against the blood-stained policy that exhibited its fruits at Manchester. In Limerick, in Middleton, in Mitchelstown, in Skibbereen, and in Kanturk, the splendid examples set by the brave young men of Cork has been followed with spirit and success. Another series of processions is fixed for to-morrow, and we trust before long that a similar demonstration will have taken place in every town in Ireland. Already the enemies of our race start aghast at the magnitude of the movement which their ferocity and their brutality have waked. Well will it be for Ireland, and well for the nation which oppresses her, well for the governed and the gover- ning, for the men of the present day and for the generations of the future, if the great lessons of these demonstrations — the lesson that Ireland contented means Ireland independent and free — be taken to heart by the rulers of our people." With regard to the seventh count, I think Mr. Sullivan has been treated most unfairly. The article prosecuted is headed, a "Fenian Placard." When I saw it, I did not think it possible that such a thing could have appeared in the Weekly News. It calls upon the Irish people to take up arms; and, if it were the original composition of Mr. Sullivan, he could be prosecuted on a charge of treason-felony. It runs thus : — M Liberty. God save Ireland ! Brothers and friends of Irish liberty, do not despond. The persecutions of centuries will soon be avenged; and by the force of our arms we w T ill purge our native soil from the curse of British rule. What has been our position hitherto 1 We labour hard and constantly, not to enjoy the fruits of our industry, but to support the revelries of landlords forced upon our fathers by the English despoilers of our country. Then Ireland expects that every man will do his duty when the time of the glorious struggle arrives. Be united; and remember the cause for which Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien died on an English scaffold." The inuendo to these words is, intending and meaning to urge and excite sedition, discontent, and disaffection, toward and against Her Majesty's Government in Ireland, and to cause her subjects in Ire- land to oppose and overthrow her power and authority in Ireland. You are asked upon your oaths to declare this gentleman here to have published that article intending to cause the Queen's subjects in Ireland to oppose and overthrow her power and authority in Ireland: — in conjunction with whom? Who is the writer but a Fenian ? Gentlemen, a witness in a court of justice is sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In my opinion, in the same way the truth, and the whole truth, ought to have been put into the indictment; and I appeal to his lordship if the manner in which that article is inserted in the indictment did not leave everybody who heard it for the first QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 85 time, and who read it in the charge, under the impression that that appeared in the Weekly News, I will say, as an original article. I distinctly say that that was an imposition on the Conrt and on the public. Why, when I saw that, I could scarcely believe my eyes that some overt act of treason-felony had not been committed by my client. Gentlemen, there it is in the paper ; you will have the original papers before you. You will not mind the rubbish of the indictment, except so far as my lord will tell you that the inuen- does are material. You must find on the inuendoes. This is from a correspondent, writing from Knockcroghery, county Roscommon. I have often said before that the National schools are schools of sedition, because they teach the people to read and write. They learn to read the history of Ireland ; and it is a very significant matter that " Moore's Melodies " are now to be got for a penny a copy. " Moore's Melodies " only a penny ! " The Life of Wolfe Tone," 2d. ; " The Life of Robert Emmet," Id ; " The Life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald," 2d. ; " Liberty : God save Ireland." That is not an original article published by Mr. Sullivan. It is published by him as a bit of news — what may be called " Fenian news ;" but you are called on to find this — that he published it with the intention of causing her Majesty's subjects to overthrow her power and authority. It is true, as the Attorney-General says, that the previous publication in another journal or another paper does not j ustify the re-publication of a libel, whether private, public, sedi- tious, or political. That is quite true ; but still the question is for you with what intention the libel is published. I believe the Attorney-General stated it was immaterial whether it was pub- lished as an original composition, or whether it was copied as Fenian news. And is it not a most extraordinary thing to say that it is immaterial whether this article, which is alleged to be seditious, was Mr. Sullivan's own composition, or merely published by him, in common with other newspapers, as a piece of Fenian news ? But I will show that it was not an original proclamation, but was a Fenian placard, written by some scholar of a National school and posted up. My explanation on this point might not be acceptable if I did not produce to you the manager in whose department this was, and who authorized its insertion. It might be said in reply that Mr. Sullivan told a lie when he said this proclamation came from a correspondent, and that it was his own original composition. He is responsible for it, no doubt, but not in the sense the Attorney-General alleges. He is responsible for it, but only criminally responsible, if he published the placard intending to excite the Queen's subjects in Ireland to overthrow her royal power and authority. It is but a portion of Fenian news, and follows immediately on the following publication. " On yesterday a man named Patrick Byrne, a shoemaker, of Power's- court, was brought up at the Head Office, before Mr. Dix, in custody of detective officers Cullen and P. Doyle, charged on suspicion with having posted two proclamations, which were written on note-paper surrounded with a black border, in Power' s-court and in Merrion-street on the pre- vious evening. The proclamation was as follows : — " ' Whereas it has been the policy of the British Government to murder 8G DUBLIN COMMISSION. those three Irishmen at Manchester for doing the duty of every true- hearted and true-horn Irishman, via — To rescue these able leaders of the people, the brave and patriotic Colonel Kelly and Deafly. We now call upon you to be prepared when called upon to avenge them. God save Ireland.' u The officers stated that the prisoner had been found loitering in the neighbourhood of where the documents were posted, and they asked for a remand. The prisoner was remanded. — Freeman of Tuesday" By an extraordinary coincidence this placard is followed by a similar proclamation quoted from the Freeman; and although this proclamation was read at an investigation held in a police court, Sir John Gray would not be shielded by that fact lrom a prosecution like the present. The law is so. I believe the attempt — the base attempt — which at this moment is being made, for the first time, to prosecute articles which contain foreign or domestic news, is the greatest mistake that was ever made, and is an attack upon the liberty of the press. I already in the Queen's Bench have insisted on the absolute right in the press to publish news, even if seditious news, provided it were news. Within the last fifty years the trade of newspapers has made enormous strides, owing to the invention of the steam-engine and the electric telegraph. Europe and America have been united — everybody has been taught to read and write ; and what is the result ? I believe it is for the benefit of the Government that contemporaneous events should be known almost as soon as they occur. I believe such a state of things is a matter for congratu- lation in these days of enlightenment and progress. The right of everybody both to hear and publish all kinds of news has become unquestionable. The illustration I gave in the Queen's Bench was : Danton said in the French Convention, " The kings of the world are conspiring against the liberties of the world, and the liberties of the French nation. In defiance we hurl down before them the head of a king." Was the Times or the Chronicle to be prosecuted for translating that article from French into English, and giving it as part of the news of the day ? When Napoleon in his proclamations abused the English Government, and fixed throughout Europe the name " Perfidious Albion " on England, were the English papers to be prosecuted for the publication of such proclamations ? The Fenians in America are conspiring against England ; and is not the press giving the best informa- tion to Government by circulating the news as soon as it has come across the Atlantic ? When the Fenians invaded Canada, was it not well that the reporters should be there to inform Govern- ment what was occurring ? The press now-a-days accompanies men almost everywhere : it follows generals to the battle field, diplomatists into their cabinets, and nothing can be kept secret. Almost every man is aware of the state of public affairs ; and, as an example, I may add that there are but few, indeed, who are not acquainted with the exact position of the Alabama, claims. We live in a great age of progress, events, and freedom. Liberty, I may say, is the leader, organized by Providence ; and the safest security against the degradation of liberty into licence is a free QUEEN a, SULLIVAN. 87 and untrammelled press. The Government ought not, therefore, to institute party prosecutions like the present ; it ought rather to endeavour to cement the different parties in the state together, and thus preserve the peace of the country. I will not repeat the misrepresentations and calumnies by which the law officers have been hounded on to these prosecutions. A few more observations will bring my speech to an end ; and I sincerely trust I have not delayed you longer than my duty to my client com- manded. I venture to say that up to the time of my address everybody was under the impression that Alexander Sullivan was prosecuted as a Fenian, and as a sympathiser with Fenianism. But my client denies the imputation ; and I ask the Attorney- General if he have proven it, although the whole conduct of Sullivan, both public and private, in the city of Dublin, lies before him to be ransacked ? He only desires, like so many others, that a larger share in the government of their country should be granted to Irishmen ; and the speeches made by John Bright on the state of Ireland are a confirmation of such opinions. But while my client repudiates connexion with Fenianism, he, at the same time, fearlessly adopts what he has done. He does not retract from his position, and, if he be erring — I do not believe he is — he must suffer for it, as many an Irishman has done before. I believe he is advocating the policy which is wisest and best, the policy of nationality — a far different thing from dismemberment of the empire. This is the policy pursued towards Scotland. The Duke of Argyll is Duke of Argyll in London ; but in his own land he is MacCallamore. What is the real root of disaffection in Ireland ? The want of national institutions, the want of a national capital. The want of anything deserving to be called national life. " The English Crown and Parliament, the Irish nation has not yet learned to love — and the greatness and wealth of England, although shared in by the upper, the govern- ing classes, are nothing to the Irish people living in Ireland." I think that it would be no unwise measure in the Queen to visit this country occasionally ; and that, as absenteeism is the curse of the country, the Queen ought not to be the greatest absentee. These opinions are not the opinions merely of my client, Alexander Sullivan ; they are the opinions of the best and wisest of English statesmen. He was prosecuted for writing strongly in reference to the policy and probable effects of the Manchester executions. Did the jury read the letter of Mr. Goldwin Smith upon these very executions, advocating the sitting of Parliament in Ireland to deal with Irish measures, as a means of drying up the blood shed at Manchester ? Was that sedition ? Was it sedition only in the columns of the Weekly News, or the colums of the Nation? I am done. I believe, gentlemen of the jury, your verdict of not guilty in the case will teach a useful lesson to the Government. It will teach the Tories that Ireland is not to be calmed by the pro- secution of Irishmen, that she is not to be restored to prosperity by destro} T ing the liberty of the press, and that the cause of law and order is not advanced, but rather imperilled, by attempting to sustain a charge of Fenianism under the guise of a charge of 88 DUBLIN COMMISSION. sedition. With these observations, made in zealous and earnest sincerity, I commit the case of Mr. Sullivan into your hands. Mr. Denis B. Sullivan, sworn and examined by Mr. Heron, Q.C. I am brother of defendant. I occupy the posit ion of one of the editors of the Weekly News. I see in the paper of the 11th January of this year, the Fenian placard concerning " liberty." That placard came through the post-office, and was printed in the paper. I think the original may still be in existence. I did not look for it. The general practice is to keep the copy for some months, but it is ultimately destroyed. I was present when instructions were given to the artist to prepare the picture "It is done."- The meaning sought to be expressed in that is, that there is in the foreground a female figure representing thai section of the British public who sung and danced round the gallows at Manchester, and it further expresses how The Solicitor-General. — Were you at the execution ? — Certainly not. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. —He is merely explaining his views of the pictures. Witness continued. — It represents that portion of the British public who stoned the deputation that went to Windsor to sue for mercy ; also the same element as represented by the persons in Birmingham who per- formed a similar work on those who there assembled to present a peti- tion of mercy for these men. It also represents the brutality of that section of the British public. In the " Angel of Justice," the figure I believe to represent the same section of the British people, and the Angel of Justice is about to inflict punishment on them. I remember the Emperor of Austria being crowned at Buda in June last. The meaning I take from that is, that Hungary, having her legislative independence restored, crowns the Emperor of Austria, and that there was a strong contrast between the course pursued, ending in peaceful and honourable reconciliation between Austria and Hungary, and the existing state of things in this country. Cross-examined by the Attorney-General. Britannia is represented by the figure in the helmet in the " Angel of Justice." In the other picture there is also a helmet on Britannia. In the three crowns hanging I would imagine that they represented that the three men who died died very honourably in their death. Do they represent the crowns of martyrdom ? — I can't tell. Do they represent martyrs' crowns ? — They may be. But my reading is, that the men who died beneath them, died under circumstances that were creditable, and might place them amongst the roll of martyrs. The crowns refer to the men who were executed at Manchester. The prostrate figure represents Ireland, and Britannia the English people. The head represents the three men who were hanged. I believe the scales to be scales of Justice. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — As the evening is now advanced, I think we may allow the Solicitor-General to deliver a part of his address, and continue it on Monday morning. Reply of the Solicitor-General. The Solicitor-Ge neral. — Gentlemen of the jury — With reference to the statement made by Mr. Heron at the commencement of his address, disclaiming any connexion on Mr. Sullivan's part with Fenianism or the Fenian conspiracy. I have the utmost QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 89 confidence in the truth of that assertion. I believe that Mr. Sullivan is no Fenian ; but I consider that the man who has spread broadcast seditious writings of the class disclosed by the present indictment, has thereby prepared the minds of his more ignorant countrymen for conspiracy and revolution, and is as responsible in the sight of God, though perhaps not in that of human law, as any of the misguided men who have from time to time been convicted in the dock of this court-house. Now, in the copies of the Weekly Neivs which we have here before us there are pictures and articles of the most seditious and dangerous character. In all these pictures one figure fills a pro- minent place. The British nation, represented by " Britannia," is held forth as the personification of bloodshed, cruelty, and oppres- sion. In the illustration " Ireland and Hungary," contained in the paper of the 22nd of June, Ireland is represented as in chains, held to the dust by Britannia, who, dagger in hand, appears sitting on her prostrate form, and threatening her with instant assassi- nation should she attempt resistance. Now, gentlemen of the jury, I will ask you if such is a true representation of the state of your country, of the condition of Ireland, and of the treatment she receives ? Is she thus deprived of every liberty and of every right ? The changes which have lately been made by Austria in the constitution of Hungary are referred to in this picture and its accompanying letterpress ; but I think I may confidently say that whilst it is very questionable what amount of real constitu- tional liberty that country has obtained from A ustria, we here, in common with our fellow-countrymen in England and in Scotland, enjoy, under one and the same Government, as large a share of constitutional liberty as that enjoyed by any other country in the world. We are told by strangers and agitators that the English Government does not understand Ireland — that the British Con- stitution is unsuited for her wants ; and various theories, arid panaceas for her cure are advanced by men who often disclose great ignorance, on their own part, of the subject with which they so confidently affect to deal. The best remedy a true patriot could, in my opinion, suggest for Ireland would be to leave her alone — to relieve her alike from the inroads of foreign adventurers and the excitement of interested agitators — to permit her to enjoy in peace the advantages of an intimate connexion with England, and to follow the career of prosperity which I believe is dawning for her. If this were done the occupation of the agitator would soon cease, and our countrymen would enjoy the blessings of dwelling at peace under a Government constitutional in its laws and having always in view the happiness and progress of those living under its paternal rule— under an administration admitted by all civilized countries and peoples to be the most popular and glorious in the world. [It being now six o'clock, the Court intimated its intention of adjourning to Monday morning at ten o'clock.] Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Gentlemen of the jury, previously to separating, allow me to caution you, as this is not a case in which you will be confined for the night, not to converse with any person 90 DUBLIN COMMISSION. in reference to the trial, or even among yourselves, till you meet again on Monday next in the jury-box. The Court then adjourned to Monday at ten o'clock. Monday, February 17, 1868. Trial of Mr. Sullivan. The Court sat at half-past ten o'clock. Dexis B. Sullivan was recalled and examined by Mr. Heron. I caused a general search through the office to find the documents refi rred to last night, and I received them. This is the original manu- script of the placard in the state it was in when sent to press. The proclamation is in the original state it came and went to press, except that I have written the type in which it was to be set. This is what I called a letter from a correspondent, with a few changes which I made, which are in my handwriting, and the original manuscript can be seen. Mr. Heron. — My lord, the original was " Knock croghery, Bos- common, 6th January, 18G8. Dear Sir." The Cth January, 18GS, is crossed out, as is visible, and in Mr. Sullivan's handwriting there is put — " A Fenian placard. A correspondent from Knock- croghery, county Boscommon, says." In the conclusion, my lord, at the bottom, these words appeared in the original — " I send you the enclosed copy, considering you may deem it right to give it ;" and that is struck out, and in Mr. Sullivan's handwriting are the words — " The following is a copy," in order to make it intelli- gible. (To witness). — All the changes that are there are in your hand- writing 1 — Yes. You have already said it came to you by post ? — Yes. A Juror, — I would wish to ask Mr. Sullivan a question as to his evidence on Saturday. He said that one of the figures repre- sented a portion of the English public. What part of the picture contains that ? Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — He said the figure with the helmet and armed in the first picture represented Britannia. In the second and third there is a figure with a helmet, but not armed. The Juror. — What part of it signifies a portion of the English public ? The Solicit or- General. — It would be convenient that the jurors had a copy of the picture. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Becollecting what the witness said on Saturday, the jury can put what questions they please. Another Juror. — What portion of the English public does the figure represent \ — That portion of the British public which figured at the scene of the execution, and other things which I described. Juror. — Is there anything in the figure that signifies only a portion of the public ? — There is nothing in it would show that it does not represent the whole. Juror. — Are these scales which are represented at the bottom of the QUEEN a, SULLIVAN. 91 picture, at the feet of a portion of the British public ? — I think they are scales, but I did not know at first ; I think they would be very appropriate. Mr. Heron. — My lord, the only observation I have to make is this, that my argument on the letterpress accompanying the picture, in my humble judgment, clearly describes it. [Mr. Justice Fitzgerald then read the portion of the article in question, quoted by Mr. Heron in his address.] The Solicitor-General. — There are three lines here I would wish to call attention to, and examine the witness. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — No ; I think I could not allow you. The Solicitor- General. — Very well, my lord. [Several papers were then handed in to be marked, on the part of the defendant.] Reply of the Solicitor-General — Continued. The Solicitor- General then said — With your permission, gentle- men of the jury, I will resume the observations which I was permitted to make on Saturday night. Gentlemen, an author of antiquity, whose writings I hope will long be read in this country, no matter what turn education may assume, has said in his own language, that what is submitted to the eye strikes the mind much more strongly than those things which are only taken in by the sense of hearing. I refer to the well-known lines of Horace, with which, I am sure, many of you are familiar. The more things are brought in contact with the eye, the more vividly are they imprinted on the imagination. I think the remarks made eighteen hundred or nineteen hundred years ago are apposite on the present occasion. You have reason, I think, gentlemen, to complain that these pictures were not shown to you before this, because it is by T looking at them yourselves that you can form your judgments better than from the statements of the most learned and able counsel in the world. If that be true, and I do not think it can be questioned, it serves to illustrate wjjat was submitted to you by the Attorney-General on Saturday — how very important an element these pictures are in educating unedu- cated and ignorant persons, who are not able to read or write, but who can at once appreciate and enjoy a caricature or picture, and are able to take in the meaning — be it innocent or noxious — of any print submitted to them. These pictures, which form an important portion of the alleged injurious publications of Mr. Sullivan, in my humble judgment, are important matters for you carefully to consider in forming your opinion, as to the guilt or innocence of Mr. Sullivan. In the woodcut of the 14th June, you see the figure of Britannia representing the power of Eng- land embodied in Her Majesty's Government — not Her Majesty's ministers for the day, for that is not the meaning of Her Majesty's Government — but the Government of England, repre- sented by Britannia, treading down and riding roughshod over the figure of Ireland in chains. You can form your own opinion as to what the meaning of the person who designed this wood- cat was, and what meaning he intended the people of the country to take out of the representation It is entitled "England and Austria — a striking contrast," and beneath are the words " Mrs. 92 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Britannia," which means, of course, the Government of England; '• while holding Erin prostrate in bondage, sees the effect of the policy she has rejected in the reconciliation of Austria and Hungary." That is Mr. Sullivan's own description of this wood- cut, intended to represent to the unenlightened peasant the condition his country is in; the oppression she is subjected to from the iron rule, and cruel and unnatural policy of England. I ask you, gentlemen, is that anything like a representation of the ( rue state of the case ? Is it not a complete perversion of the truth ; and has it not the very intent and object which we charge against Mr. Sullivan, viz. — That he, in publishing it, thereby intended — " To represent, and cause it to be believed, that the people of Ireland were governed by cruelty and oppression, and to excite hatred, discontent, and sedition, toward and against Her Majesty's Government amongst Her .Majesty's subjects in Ireland?" I can take no other meaning from it. It is for you, to whom the Law has intrusted the duty of considering the intent, to say whether the meaning the prosecutors have taken out of this W( lodcut is not the only one to be taken, and whether it is not the natural one which the picture itself conveys. And I will ask you, in considering this and all the other pictures and articles in this case, to bear this remark in mind. What a man intends can only be known from what he does and says — by the plain meaning of what he does and says. It requires no abstruse reasoning to satisfy you of this. However, the proposition is very shortly put in a leading book on the law of libel and slander, "Starkie's Preliminary Treatise," page 75, which says — "It is an obvious rule of natural justice that whenever a man uses noxious and injurious means, he must be presumed to have contemplated and intended the injurious but natural consequence of using such means." What the author here lays down is only common sense. M r. Sullivan boasts that his paper enjoys a circulation of hundreds of thousands, and I believe him. His paper is cheap food, tempting and dangerous food. And if the publications in that paper in their plain and obvious meaning, be of the character alleged by the Crown, he is answerable for the consequences, and it will not do for him to produce his assistant editor in the witness-chair, and for that gentleman to say this picture in the paper of the 30th November does not represent, and was not intended to represent what the Crown alleges. "It does not re- present the English people or Her Majesty's Government, but merely that portion of the British people which held its bloody orgies around the gallows tree ;" and it is not intended to represent what the Crown says it does, the power of England by Her Majesty's Government, brutally exercising that power in taking the lives of innocent and unoffending men. It will not do for the witness to tell you that in the witness-chair if the plain meaning of the representation be entirely different. The Attorney -General alleges that the figure in the picture of the 22nd of June represents Her Majesty's Government, that the QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 93 figure in the picture of the 30th of November also represents Her Majesty's Government — not that portion of the English people that met at Windsor, when, as is said, a petition was presented to Her Majesty, and was not received, or the portion that met at Birmingham, when it is alleged that houses were wrecked. Mr. Sullivan admits that the figure in the picture of the 22nd June represents Britannia, and you will find it is the same Britannia which is portrayed in the picture of the 30th November; and again in the picture of the 7th December, the same Britannia is depicted — guilty and criminal — with all her trappings torn, flying from Justice, which, in the one hand, grasps the sword of punishment, and in the other, holds aloft an hour-glass — a preg- nant hint, gentlemen, that the days of England's power, represented by Britannia, are numbered. One of you asked the witness "Did you intend, or do you believe that these are scales of Justice that are under her feet ?" He replied, " He believed they are, but that it had escaped his notice." He admits that the scales of Justice are intended to be here portrayed ; but, gentlemen, those scales are inverted, the balance is broken, and Britannia thus appears held out to the world as trampling upon Justice, whose symbols she has destroyed beneath her feet. The witness says the figure is only intended to represent a section of the English nation, but he has failed to satisfy any reasonable mind of the truth of his assertion. Is this picture then a fair representation of the English people ? Is it proper conduct on the part of a public journalist, in a free country, commenting on contemporaneous history, to publish such a perversion of the truth ? Is it not a gross libel ? I say that nothing could be more dangerous, or inflammatory, or calculated to do more mischief among the men and women and children of this country than the publication of such pictures as these. I arraign them as false in fact, and doubly false in point of law. I would challenge Mr. Sullivan to read the whole of the letterpress in these papers that gave a description of the execution in Man- chester. I believe the conduct of the English people on that occasion was not such as he represents; but, even if some portion of the mob were guilty of the brutal sentiments at the scene of the execution, which he alleges ; the language in this journal is still calculated to excite bitter animosity and hatred amongst the un- educated, ay, and amongst the educated classes of our fellow- countrymen against their brethren in England. And if this was the intent of these publications, Mr. Sullivan would be equally guilty of the crime of sedition with which he is charged. Mr. Heron takes us through the history of Ireland from 1609 down to 1848 ; tells us of the penal laws, of the confiscations and tyranny of former times ; but where in these articles is there a word said about the 200 years of alleged oppression; or where is there a word said about the penal laws, from the effects of which it is said we are now suffering ? These articles have reference to current events, and when the iron policy of England is enlarged upon, I ask what iron policy were the people suffering under in June, 1807 ? Where were then the fetters to be found with which it is alleged Britannia held her enchained ? The Tory rule is talked of 94 DUBLIN COMMISSION. l>y the learned counsel — the Tory prosecution of O'Connell — tho conduct of the Tory Government of the present day — in prosecuting a free and innocent press. When the Tories are in office they are " the cruel and persecuting Tories ;" when the Whigs are in power they are "the base, brutal, and bloody Whigs." I give you the choice, which is the more tender expression of the two. Who, I t may ask, suspended the Habeas Corpus Act, which unfortunately for us has been suspended in this country ? Was it the Tories ? No, it was the other party of whose Government my friend formed an humble portion, as I do now under the "persecuting Tories." I believe it was Lord Kimberley, who was represented in the "national" press of the day, as a grazier who wished to turn the people out of the country. It was the "base, brutal, and bloody Whigs" who suspended the Habeas Corpus Act. Who, again, I ask, was in power on the previous occasion when the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended % I answer again, " It was the Whigs," whose Lord Lieutenant was styled in one of the " national papers" of the day as the "butcher" Clarendon. These things are matters of history, and I find on referring to the report of a former prosecution in this court-house, that one of the letters which formed portion of the indictment was addressed to Lord Clarendon, on the 25th March, 1848, in the following manner: — "To the Right Hon. the Earl of Clarendon, Her Majesty's Executioner- General, and General Butcher of Ireland." That is the way Lord Clarendon was styled. The next article addressed to him was on the 8th of April, 1848, as follows :— " To His Excellency the Earl of Clarendon, Her Majesty's Detective-General, High Commissioner of Spies, and General Suborner in Ireland." I have referred to these two documents to show the course the so-called "national" party followed. It is not Whig power or Tory power — it is con- stitutional Government, by whatever party administered, that they persistently attack. When it suits their purpose to keep alive the coal that, kindled once, is not easily extinguished, they find ready epithets to apply to the party in power, whether Lord Derby, Lord Clarendon, or Lord Kimberley, or whoever is sent by the Queen as "Executioner-General," or " Chief of Spies," or as we call him, "The Lord Lieutenant-General, and General Governor of Ireland." At the Lord Mayor's civic banquet, to be held in a few evenings hence, we will have the toast proposed of the " Lord Lieutenant and the Prosperity of Ireland ;" and we will have from His Excellency one of those graceful speeches which he can make so well. I hope he will be able to announce that the country is in a state of peace, and is advancing in prosperity. All sections of Her Majesty's subjects will be represented there ; and, gentle- men, when you read their speeches next day, and hear from them the truth as regards Ireland, you will look back with disgust and indignation at such publications as these, which are sent forth not to promote the welfare of our common country, or truly to represent contemporaneous history, but as inflammatory pictures and addresses, intended to keep alive that spirit of disloyalty which has so long existed in this country, to the incalculable injury of everything and everyone connected with it. QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 95 Now, gentlemen, with these remarks I will pass on. AVith regard to the picture of the 30th November, I would, with the picture open, refer to the leading article in the same paper. It is all very well for Mr. Sullivan's witness to say " Look at the left hand column of the paper where an account is given of the con- duct of the ruffians at Manchester, you will thus see' that it was only a section of the English people the picture was intended to represent." Gentlemen, when you read the article you will see if it does not throw some light on the picture on the first page. We say that Mr. Sullivan, by that picture, intended to represent — " Her Majesty's Government, and the administration of justice and law under and by Her Majesty and her Government, in a false, scan- dalous, wicked, and libellous manner, by representing Her Majesty's Government " — That is, Britannia, the power of England — " In the form of a woman holding a dagger in her hand, with which she is represented to have recently committed a guilty deed, namely, the execution of three men ; and after having committed same, she is repre- sented as if flying from the scene of her guilty deed, and crouching in terror under the figure of another woman with a sword in her hand, intended to represent Justice." Now, gentlemen, what is his article ? How does it begin ? Turn to the leader, and you will see — " Three narrow graves in the gloomy space darkened by the walls of the Salford Gaol — three freshly-covered plots in the Manchester Halce- dama, unconsecrated, unnoticed, and unmarked — hold all that now remains of the three brave Irishmen whose lives were so ardently peti- tioned and so anxiously prayed for a week ago. The law has had its victims, the gibbet has done its work, and England has consummated her crime." Turn to the picture now. Look at the figure with the dagger in its hand trampling upon justice, and tell me if his own leading article does not convict Mr. Denis Sullivan ; if it does not prove out of the paper itself that he is giving, I will not say a false, but an incorrect explanation of the figure. " England has consum- mated her crime." Does it lie in his mouth to come up on the table, and to say now that that figure, "Mrs. Britannia," with the helmet, does not mean the whole power or people of England, but means that section of England that he alleges behaved in a scan- dalous manner on the night of the execution, and upon other days, in Windsor and Birmingham ? The article goes on thus : — "The patriotic men, whose noble words in the desecrated hall of justice " The writer here intends to represent the Commission Court in Manchester, presided over by two of the Judges of the Queen's Bench, Judges Blackburne and Mellor. " The desecrated hall of justice," where Her Majesty's Attorney-General prosecuted, and where the prisoners were defended by a gentleman from our own country, Mr. Seymour. 9G DUBLIN COMMISSION. " The patriotic men, whose noble words in the desecrated hall of justice in Manchester drove the blood from the cheeks of their accusers three weeks ago, are blackened corpses to-day, and the world knows now that the faith which brought Emmet, and Orr, and Russell, and the Sheares to the scaffold has been baptised anew in the life-blood of that nation whose sacrifices have 80 often, and SO unavailingly, purpled the altar of freedom. Allen, and Larkin, and O'Brien are dead; the voice of England demanded their blood." Mr. Sullivan's counsel, who defended liim with such ingenuity on Saturday, opened his case by admitting that the men were guilty of murder. He would not, nor dare not, nor could not, put any other name on the crime of the men who shot Brett in Manchester than murder. "The voice of England demanded their blood." If they were murderers, why should not the voice of England demand their blood ? Why should not society demand blood for unprovoked murders such as those of Brett, or Kelly, or of Keena? Mr. Sullivan, we are told, moved a vote in the Corporation to compensate out of the city rates the families of Kelly and Keena, who were shot in your city on the 31st of October. What is the difference between the crime of the man who shot Brett, and the crime of the assassin who murdered Keena, and who attempted to murder Kelly ? What, I ask, is the difference? Kelly and Deasy, leaders of the Fenian conspiracy, of which Mr. Sullivan says he is no participator, and I have no doubt he is telling the truth — Kelly and Deasy leave the Man- chester Court-house, under remand, on the 24th September at four o'clock, in broad day, and in a leading thoroughfare in Man- chester they are rescued by an armed band from the hands of justice. Thirty men, forty men — twenty, if you will, I care not which — armed with deadly weapons, go out on that nefa- rious scheme that day. It was no sudden attack on the van which was made on that 24th September; the plans of the con- spirators must have been skilfully laid. I can imagine a man taken in a lawless occupation, such as poaching, raising his arm and shooting his opponent. That would be murder; but I can conceive a great difference between such a crime and that of men going out deliberately with loaded weapons to accomplish their purpose. The guardians of the van are attacked, revolvers are used, and Brett loses his life. As was said by the learned judge who presides, and as his words are stronger than mine I use them — "In the perpetration of that violent and unlawful act, a police- constable named Brett, one of the local police, who refused to betray his trust, and while he was in the honourable and faithful discharge of his duties was shot dead. Gentlemen, there can be no doubt that the homicide of Fol ice-constable Brett was murder on the part of all that were directly or indirectly concerned in it, and that it was a murder of a very aggravated character." What, then, I ask, is the difference between that crime and that committed on the 31st October in your own streets, on which occasion Mr. Sullivan says he came forward and moved a vote for granting £100 to the families of the sufferers ? If there be a QUEEN . STTLLIVAX. difference, J believe the crime eonimitted at Manchester was the greater of the two. The murder in Dublin may have been com- mitted without premeditation. I can imagine that the man never intended to commit murder when he went out on that ni^ht. He may have been a Fenian emissary with documents in his possession, which, if discovered, would prove fatal to the cause in which he was engaged. When he is challenged he fires at the policeman and death ensues. I believe that if the Dublin murder happened in this way. it was a crime more venial than that of those " patriots * who went out with murderous weapons, and at whose hands Brett lost his life. A" -- -\- T ..-•.- >-'-• 0" Brie:. ..:r .: -. \ L Tz.~ ~:::e :: T~z ' ~ i demanded their and their rigid, Kfehsre bodies, suspended in a row, swung out the response through the dark, cold fog mat wrapped tht» -yir iiinR ^nA A<» ^ neffliliww ^ *i i m*! mxrA and the brutal mob, h*: Saririij iz. 31 :^:Le*Ter. Tlr icy ::r "rij^v \-— r. Why should not the KngKsh people cry for justice when such a fearful crime was coinmitted ? Was it a cry for vengeance that arose in your breasts on the 31st October, when you read of two policemen of this city being attacked — one shot dead, and the other lying for dead in Mercer's H : -:-ital \ Was it a cry for vengeance that arose in your breasts as men, as citizens, or was it not rather the feeling which I know actuated every right-minded man throughout this community — that justice must have its course, if the murderer was detected and guilt brought tone :•: v i "The ay fiat vengeance has been answered; and in the convulsive death- struggles of the men who were bold enoagh to put in practice at hone .- L-r*5 Tr I zz. . '. zz.- :. — L: _\ i over their su£Eerings beheld the awaimplid i ment of the hopes on which Where is the section of the British nation in that ? You have here ™ the British nation," 7 not a section of the British nation. I would ask you now to turn to the woodcut on the frontispiece of this same paper. I would ask you does it not. as we ask you to hold, represent under the figure of Britannia, the KngHsh people — the Government of England and not merely that section who may have been guiltv of acts of brutality at the scene of the execution ? rmed to lay hands on the conspirators in hich Mr. Sullivan protests he is not a iiould not England exercise her power in arresting tnose men • the pith of KngHsh power — all, but the longing to inflict another wound on the palpitating form of a trampled bat unconquered To this, then, it has come to-day : mas it is that our patience and our B •■ TLe feeV.-= T?r.z:z. zz. zz_~ 1 justice, huma] savage resolve English p >w, :L : ,5 zenlis:: i_eiz.':er. ^ 98 DUBLIN COMMISSION. submissivcness have been rewarded. For years and yean we liave watched and waited for the dawning of some ray of justice in the British horizon." " Some ray of justice !" Until a few months ago, I must confess I never saw these papers, but I have read them regularly since, and sometimes I am completely amazed, and begin to think I must be living in wonderland. We have read in the u Arabian Nights" the story of the poor man who was transported from his cabin, and next morning on awaking found himself in the kaliph's palace. All the domestics in- the place were tutored to do his bidding. The illusion was kept up during all the day, and when he retired for the night he had come to believe himself to be the kaliph, so complete was the deception ; when, lo ! he was carried back the next night to the cabin from which he had been brought. On reading those productions I am tempted to ask myself where I am — am I in the cobbler's house or in the fairy palace ; am I living in a land where liberty is extinct, or in a country blessed with a free constitution, where all men are free in thought, opinion, and action ? The article then proceeds : — " Through famine and suffering and desolation, the Irish people have waited for the birth of a new era iu British policy, the inauguration of the new system, often promised, but always withheld. The longing hopes of peaceful redress, the expectation of a course of treatment in sympathy with our wants and our rights, restrained the people of Ireland from the desperate line of action towards which the encouragement given by Englishmen to revolution abroad impelled them, and now we have the reply to our docility and forbearance. The loaded gibbet in Manchester, the young lives ignommiously cut off by the hand of the public execu- tioner, the mangled corpse laid beside the murderer's grave, the jeers of the wolfish multitude who danced and sang around the gallows — these are the responses to our appeals — these are the accursed gifts that are offered in redemption of our hopes. After centuries of dominion, during which conciliation alone was left untried" Is that true — that " conciliation was left untried" ? " After hundreds of years, during which English statesmen found in Ireland the danger and the difficulty of their empire ; after the impossi- bility of crushing the Irish national spirit by torture and death has been attested through decades of persecution, we find ourselves to-day stand- ing where our fathers stood when Tone died on Ins prison pallet, and when Russell's blood flowed from the scaffold in Downpatrick." Goim>- back again to the transactions of '98. " There is nothing in our political position to distinguish the present from the time when Major Sirr and his myrmidons trafficked in the blood of Irish patriots, and when the bleeding head of young Emmet was held up by the executioner in Thomas-street. The impatience of English domination that stirred the pulses of Ireland then has not passed away ; and in 1867, as in 1803 and 1798, the gaoler and the hangman form the twin pillars upon which the edifice of British rule in Ireland is supported." This is the sort of writing that this newspaper disseminates weekly amongst our population at the cheap price, I regret to say, of one penny. I wish it was £10 a number. If this sort QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 99 of seditious poison is to be instilled through the medium of the penny press, T would wish to go back to the time when our papers were more expensive, and therefore less witliin the reach of the people of the country. u The executions are over — the saturnalia is at an end ; hut the price of that brutal carnival is still unpaid" What does Mr. Sullivan mean by that ? Mr. Heron told us that the history of Ireland was not contained in the Birmingham tower, but was recorded in the conversations held in the farm- houses of the peasantry throughout the country, where the people talked over the past and whispered of the future : using language, I must say, which only carries out at the bar what Mr. Sullivan disseminates in print. " The price of that brutal carnival is still unpaid, and the important results which flow from it are hardly yet understood in England. It is better that the meaning of that bloodstained scene should be fully realized ; it is better that the English people should clearly understand the cost at which they gratified their revengeful feelings last Saturday. On that morning the British Government deliberately blasted for ever the chance of reconciliation between the people of Ireland and the English nation ; on that day they put an end to the efforts of those who sought to bridge over the gulf of antagonism that divided Ireland from the rest of the British empire. It was open to the Government, had they so chosen, to extract a golden opportunity for beginning the pacification of Ireland from the Manchester disturbances ; it was in their power to have rendered them the means of sapping the vitality of disaffection in Ireland, and winning for themselves some gratitude from a people who are never insensible to considerate treatment. But this was not then- choice. They preferred to go back to the days of the pitch-cap and the walking-gallows for a policy, and they elected to satisfy the English craving for blood, though the result should be to convulse the heart of Ireland with passionate grief and indignation. And they have had then- will. The rebels are lying in their prison graves : but sooner shall they recall the light to the eyes of the strangled men, sooner will the current of life be brought back to the stark, cold bodies of the slain, than the horror, the resentment, and the anger which their fate has excited in Ireland will pass away. For the brave -hearted men who perished last Saturday there need no tears be shed" I ask you now in reflecting upon this article to consider this : suppose a man convicted of the attempted murder of Sergeant Kelly, or the actual murder of Constable Keena in this city — suppose he had been hanged at the gallows of this court-house — and suppose an article was published in this paper upon that execution, the crime which led to it being the same in character as what ended in the Manchester execution — what would Mr. Sullivan say in regard to it \ Listen to what he has to say of the Manchester execution. u They died, as many good Irishmen died before, in defence of the principles of Irish nationality'' Is there a word of truth in that. What national principle was involved in the execution \ They happened, unfortunate men, to be Irishmen. If they had been Frenchmen, Spaniards, Americans, B 2 100 DUBLIN COMMISSI >N. or Russians, the crime would have been the same. What Irish nationality was involved in the execution? "They fell in a cause," that is the Fenian cause — the cause, I say, of rebellion. " They fell in a cause which can count amongst its martyrs the noblest spirits that ever the love of liberty inspired." What, gentlemen, is the use of educating our peasantry — why should National schools, or any schools, be supported, if this is to be the sort of literature that our population is to be supplied with, when they can read and write? The teaching of ministers of religion is useless. The teaching of priests and bishops is useless. Enlightenment, civilization, all are useless. Better go back, not to the pitch-cap and walking gallows, which Mr. Sullivan refers to, but better to go back to bovine ignorance than educate our population to have their enlightenment perverted by such pro- ductions as these. How can our peasantry or artisans deem it to be criminal to rise in open rebellion against the State, if their minds are educated by such writings as these to consider such rebellion to be glorious patriotism, and the men who are condemned to suffer for their guilty acts committed in that cause " to be martyrs and patriots ?" " Their cruel end cannot rob them of their fame, nor can the means by which it was sought to degrade them in death, cast a shade upon their memories. There are circumstances under which the scaffold becomes more glorious than the monarch's gilded throne, and which cast round the obscure grave of the felon a halo unshared by the mausoleum of royalty. The men whose names are closest enshrined in the Irish heart, and to whose memories the noblest efforts of our poets and our orators have been consecrated, were cut off, like Allen, by the rude grasp of the executioner ; and in every age and in every land there have been instances in which the gibbet and the block borrowed dignity from the patriot's blood. They perished as good men might" The Attorney-General protested against the application of the term " good men." You will, I am sure, agree with his protest. "They perished, as good men might, in a noble but baffled cause." What is the meaning of our beinci: told that Mr. Sullivan is no Fenian? What is the cause here referred to? Is it not the Fenian cause — the cause of rebellion ? " No," says Mr. Sullivan, " it is not that — it is the cause of nationality." An epithet which seems sufficient to excuse every act, no matter how criminal. Everything is a national cause. Cut a man's throat — shoot him in the street — it is a political offence. We have been reminded of Avhat the Prime Minister said on a late occasion in the House of Lords. But if I remember the remarks of Lord Derby on that occasion, he said, when this doctrine of nationality and political offences was put forward, after stating truly that these men had gone out to perpetrate a premeditated act of violence, " I have yet to learn that murder when committed in a treasonable cause is less a murder than when committed in any other cause." " They perished," Mr. Sullivan proceeds, " as good men might, in a noble but a baffled cause, and whatever might have been their errors or their mistakes, they passed away leaving no memory behind them in Ireland QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 101 save that of heroic and patriotic men. They died with fortitude and firmness, and the history of their last hours leaves ns also the consolation that the reward of a good death has not been denied them, and that they have realized the promise of the Psalmist — Beati raortui qui in Domino moriuntur." Gentlemen, I hope these men made their peace with God. I believe they were attentive to their religious duties, and upon this I will say nothing. " They are added to the long roll of gallant men whose love for Ireland was adjudged treason, and who sealed their fidelity to their principles with then* lives ; and through many a coming age their names and their histories will be handed down, and the story of their tragic death recited to sorrowing listeners in sympathetic words." Here again we find the dangerous poison of this article. Open rebellion is preached in it, but the spirit of disaffection is instilled by it as well. " Nor is it in Ireland alone that their fate will excite emotion. In the crowded streets of the great American cities — in the log-huts in the backwoods — in the scattered settlements far away towards the shores of the Pacific — in the marts which commerce has raised in distant Australia — wherever the Irish race has a representative — the cheek will redden with the flush of indignation, and the pulse quicken with the hot impulse of revenge, when the scene which Man Chester rejoiced over last Saturday is heard of. How far it may influence the future conduct of the Irish race, in exile and at home, we will not examine ; the effect which it may have on the powerful confederacy in America, to which Allen and his fellow- sufferers were affiliated, is a subject which we need not discuss. We shall only say" Was the wish the father to the hope ? — "that we believe the sickening scene of Saturday will revive the hope and strengthen the resolve of the disaffected in Ireland." What, I ask you, is sedition, if that is not ? You have heard the definition of sedition from his lordship, in his charge ; you have heard it repeated by the Attorney-General, in his statement. I ask you to bear that definition in mind when you come to con- sider this in your jury-room, and ask yourselves is not this writ- ing seditious ? " Sedition," says his lordship, " is a comprehensive term, and embraces all those practices, whether by word or deed or writing, which are calcu- lated and intended to disturb the tranquillity of the State, and lead the Queen's subjects to resist or subvert the established government and laws of the empire. Its objects are to create commotion and introduce discontent and disaffection ; to stir up opposition to the laws and govern- ment, and bring the administration of justice into contempt, and its natural and ultimate tendency is to excite the people to insurrection and rebellion." These, gentlemen, are most pregnant words. " The distance is never great between contempt for the laws and open violation of them." Such are his lordship's words ; listen now to Mr. Sullivan : — " We say that the sickening scene of Saturday will revive the hope and strengthen the resolve of the disaffected in Ireland — that it will quicken 102 DUBLIN COMMISSION. into activity the conspiracies directed against British power, and that if the present tone of the public mind be anything more than a passing shadow " The distance is never great, as his lordship says, between con- tempt for the laws and open violation of them, and I suppose Mr. Sullivan hopes it will be short in this case. " The English' people may well be esteemed fortunate if the deed of 1 >1< k k3 which they so heartlessly perpetrated a week ago, does not yet entail a dreadful and a sweeping retribution." That is the end of the first article, which forms the subject of the first count in the indictment in this case. Consider the picture in this paper of the 30th November, and the article which I have read and commented upon — take them separately and together, and 1 laving heard the definition of sedition read ont, ask your- selves whether these are not seditious publications — whether the effect of them is not to cause discontent and disaffection among the people, to bring the administration of the law into disrespect, to stir up the people to active practices of rebellion, and whether, if that be their natural and inevitable effect, Mr. Sullivan, who is ri sponsible for these publications, should not be punished. Now, the next paper is the 7th of December, and in that paper there are three subjects of prosecution — a picture, a leader, and a proclamation in the nature of an advertisement of the pro- cession of the day following. Now, gentlemen, I was a little surprised on Saturday at hearing a complaint from Mr. Heron in regard to this prosecution. One of his complaints w^as that the Attorney-General had not prosecuted Mr. Sullivan for a single article, but had embraced several publications in one indictment. I must say, however, that this is the most extraordinary complaint I have ever heard of in any prosecution such as the present. If the Attorney-General had selected a single article, I could imagine Mr. Sullivan complaining; but when several papers appear, all containing objectionable publications, what can be fairer than to include all in one indictment, and to present all to the con- sideration of the jury, w T ho can thus form a much better judgment of the intent of the publications ? It is from the series of these articles we ask you to infer the seditious intent of the publisher of each ; and we charge that these three papers of the 30th November, the 7th December, and the 14th December, all contain publications of the most inflammatory and seditious character. In the woodcut on this paper of the 7th December, Britannia is again depicted ; the same figure which was repre- sented on the 30th November is now held up to the admir- ing gaze of the penny reading population throughout Ireland, as likely now to meet her doom. ''The Angel of Justice" is the heading of the picture, and over the background appear the three gibbets, and the three patriots' crowns suspended over the gibbets, of the men who were executed in Manchester. The picture is designed after the famous picture in the Luxemburg, which represents Cain, after he had murdered Abel, flying from the scene of his crime, Justice pursuing him on one side, and QUEEN a. SULLIYAN. 103 Remorse, in the shape of a female figure, following close upon his steps. I ask you, gentlemen, was not this picture intended to convey the meaning we allege \ Is it not by this picture intended — " to represent Her Majesty and her said government, and the adminis- tration of justice and law under and by Her Majesty and her government, in a false, scandalous, wicked, and libellous manner V Gentlemen, the picture speaks for itself, and requires no comment or explanation from me. What then is the letterpress in this same paper 1 It is set out in the indictment, which is before you, and from it you will find that the language in this paper of the 7th December is as violent and seditious as in the article of the 30th of November — only three extracts from the leader in the paper of the 7th December are set out, but you are entitled to read the whole article and to see if there be anything in the context that modities the part complained of. The first extract set out in the indictment is in these words — " The gauntlet thrown down by the government press has been taken up by the people of Ireland. A week ago it was pointed out that the hideous act which blotted out the young lives of three Irish patriots in Manchester was acquiesced in by their countrymen, that the Irish people saw nothing to object to hi the revelry in which Manchester steeped itself a fortnight ago, and that the policy which consigned Michael O'Brien, William Philip Allen, and Michael Larkin, to the gallows, was accepted as a State necessity by the race for whom they died. It was assumed that the old fire of patriotism was extinguished in the Irish breast, that the flame which glowed through the dark cen- turies of our past had ceased to burn, and that now at last the time has come when the hangman might pursue his accursed vocation amongst the true men of the Irish race unquestioned and undisturbed." That is the first portion set out in the indictment. Then say if what follows does not aggravate what went before. " It was thought that the spirit which rose indignant when Emmet's lifeless body swung from the gallows in Dublin, which swelled with bursting grief, when the bloody remains of Lord Edward Fitzgerald were borne from the dungeon in which he died, no longer lived ; and that Irish national sentiment, like Irish independence, had gone down before the conquering influence of British power ; such were the statements, such were the lessons taught by the Castle press; the professional agitator, they said, might murmur at the Manchester executions, but the bulk of the Irish people regarded them with apathetic indifference." The portion I have just read is not set out in the indictment, but I have read it at length, as it is alleged that it explains the former part. The indictment then takes up the next sentence — " It was talse, and they knew it. It was false, for never within the annals of living men was the heart of the Irish nation more fiercely agitated, more deeply moved. It was false. From north to south, from east to west, everywhere within the sea- washed shores of Ireland the news of that shocking tragedy was responded to by the cry of anguish and resentment. It was false, for save by the foreign brood that props up the wreck of ascendancy" That is the loyal people throughout the country, " and save in the subsidized press, which echoes their bigotry, no 104 DUBLIN COMMISSION. voice was raised in Ireland, but to stigmatize, to reprobate, and to con- demn the brutal scene in which Calcraft appeared as the preserver of British power. But the end has not conic yet. The Irish capital has lain, so far, inactive; but the silence will soon be broken. The nation- alists of Cork" There again the word is perverted — " have nobly discharged their duty; to-morrow, citizens of Dublin, you will do yours. Only for another day will the taunts levelled against yon remain unanswered ; and before the light of to-morrow's sun has faded you will have shown to the world that your sentiments arc not those which are attributed to you in the organs of Dublin Castle. What the people of Dublin think of the triple execution, and the light in which i hey regard the memories of the men strangled as murderers by British law, to-morrow's demonstration will show." He thus reverts to the same inflammatory topic, and holds up again to contempt and hatred the administration of justice and the conduct of the Government in the Manchester execution. There are some other portions of the article which you will hav e before you, and to which you are at liberty to refer in forming your opinion of the intent and object of the portion set out in the indictment. The next count sets out certain portions of the ad- vertisement which appeared in the second edition of the week's paper of the 7th of December, of the procession intended to take place on the following day in honour of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien. The details of the arrangements, as therein set forth, are omitted from the indictment ; but as in the last article, you are invited to study these portions also as well as what is set out. In this advertisement, and as set out in the indictment, the fol- lowing passage occurs : — " The people have hailed with delight and satisfaction the prospect of an opportunity being afforded for openly and peaceably manifesting their feelings regarding the strangling of the Irish patriots at Manchester, and amongst all classes and all shades of nationalists there exists but the one idea on the subject, the desire of rendering the demonstration as effective and as successful as possible." The mode in which the procession was to be marshalled is then detailed. The place of meeting, the route to be pursued, the detour to be followed, so as to reach and pass by the scene of Emmet's execution, are all described. Mr. Sullivan goes on to tell his readers that there were to be no party tunes, no flags or party emblems displayed ; that green ribbons and black crape only were to be worn ; and above all that the provisions of the Party Processions Act were not to be infringed. It is to be a " national" exhibition — " national" in the sense these writers use the term — not in its true sense as including the whole body of the Irish people, but "national" in the sense of the seditious portion of the population of Ireland. What, I should like to know, w^ere the loyal nationalists thinking of when this array was paraded before their faces upon that Sunday ? What, I say, were the feelings of the loyal, peaceful, industrious inhabitants of this city — people of property, education, and social influence — people of peaceful dispositions, who do not violate the law ? QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 105 Their feelings are not to be respected, but the " nationalists" who are told by this writer to keep within the letter of the law, and who are encouraged in every possible way to break its spirit, and by the expected demonstration to bring the administration of the law into contempt, are not to be interfered with. The term " nationalist," as applied by Mr. Sullivan, means one section of the population, just as he would have you believe Britannia, as depicted in the woodcuts of his paper, meant that section of the English people which held their brutal orgies over the men who were hanged in Manchester. The advertisement then proceeds: — " The processionists will pass by the spot where Robert Emmet, the chivalrous and the true, was executed in 1803, with uncovered heads." Following this advertisement there appears a paragraph, which I can scarcely trust myself to refer to — it is only five lines in length ; but it is a most seditious and scandalous libel — as scandalous and as seditious as any other portion of the publications in this paper, editorial or otherwise ; and it was never once referred to by the learned counsel for the defendant on Saturday. Listen to this : — " In connexion with the subject of the Manchester execution the fol- lowing item of intelligence may well be perused. It reveals an act of brutality worthy of the nation which holds its revels round the gibbet which they load with the blackened bodies of patriotic and innocent men." Such is Mr. Sullivan's comment upon the report of the trial of Adelaide M'Donald before Her Majesty's Judges of Assize in Manchester ; and he says, the report may well be read in con- nexion with the Manchester executions; and he winds up by saying— " It reveals an act of brutality worthy of the nation which holds its revels round the gibbet which they load with the blackened bodies of patriotic and innocent men." Which section of the English nation does he here refer to 1 I am not surprised Mr. Heron said he must express his astonishment that the indictment in this case should comprise five or six distinct articles and publications, when I consider that every one of these articles and publications might have been separately prosecuted with success. No wonder Ireland is in a state of disaffection when such writing as this is listened to and read with avidity by the working population of this city, and circulated throughout the country. No wonder that complaints come every day to the authorities of the manner in which the press is permitted to sow sedition throughout the land. Why, it is asked, arrest and punish men who break out in rebellion when you do not go to the fountain-head? Why allow the poison to be dispensed and spread ? Why punish the victim, who takes that poison and suffers from its evil effects, and allow the head magician, who concocts the poison and circulates it through the land, to go abroad at large ? The last original article, gentlemen, of which the Crown complains is contained in the paper of the 14th of December ; and again Mr. Sullivan comes back to the odious theme, and repeats his allusions to the conduct of England in this matter, and holds up the Government to hatred, contempt, and- obloquy. Again I say, 10G DUBLIN COMMISSION. that it is no wonder our unfortunate feHow-countrymen should break out into open rebellion when such writings are allowed to circulate amongst them. This paper of the 14th of December is as criminal as either of the two preceding, and contains the following leading article, on the subject of the Dublin proces- sions : — " The spell is broken — the enemies of Ireland are answered — the reign of distortion, falsehood, and calumny is at an end. Startled into life by the rejoicings meant to celebrate her expiring throes, galvanized into action by the touch of the undertaker, Ireland stands face-to-face with the power that oppresses her, and flings defiance in the teeth of the cowardly foe that gloated over her sufferings, and exulted over her prostration ; pallid and emaciated, with the biood-streaming gashes still reddening her brow, that long-tried nation, which six centuries of violence and slaughter, of fraud, butchery and confiscation could not subdue, arises like a figure from the dead, and, resolute, unflinching and iinconquerable, confronts the horde of revilers that insulted her sorrow and revelled in the prospect of her doom. It is not conquered yet — that noble spirit which persecution has warred with for ages; it is not con- quered yet — that strength of will and holy purpose which through blood- shed and proscription have been clung to as a sacred commission by our race. The tide of national life courses warmly through the olden channels, and the grave dug for the genius of Irish freedom is un- tenanted still. In vain are the pages of the past re-opened ; in vain are the resources of tyranny invoked ; in vain are the weapons of violence and terrorism appealed to. Unflinching and undismayed the unconquerable nation, oft doomed to death but fated not to die, emerges from each bloodstained convulsion, with the appealing arm uplifted to heaven, and the words of hope and resolution still flowing from her wasted lips. The spectre of famine may stalk through the land, blasting with its withering breath the young and the strong, the stalwart man and the bright-eyed maiden ; the dungeon may be filled with the high-spirited and the brave, and the deck of the emigrant ship crowded with the manhood of our race; but in the dreary prison, in the pestilential shiphold, and amidst the silent fields tilled by the stricken remnants of our people, the spirit that tells of a mission to be accomplished, of a glorious future to be won — that breathes the hopes of liberty — that tells of a nation yet to arise, redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled — burns brightly within the Irish breast. Nor are the darker acts of cruelty more successful in the crusade against our political faith. The hand of the executioner is stretched out in vain ; the hideous gallows stands out like a blot against the sky and is loaded with the mangled bodies of Irish patriots ; but the gibbet which England erects has no terrors for the Irish heart, and sanctified by the blood of her victims, the fatal tree blossoms into an object of national veneration, to be girt round by the vows and aspira- tions, and watered by the tears, the prayers, and benedictions of the Irish race. Look at the scenes of the present hour." What writing could be more dangerous than this ? Does it not, as the Attorney -General said on Saturday, glorify the crime of murder? Mr. Heron protested against that expression, but is it not too mild a phrase to express the sentiments of the writer ? This article then proceeds : — " Look at the scenes of the present hour. Four weeks ago they hung three Irishmen in Manchester, amidst the drunken rejoicings of a mob, QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 107 rioting in the orgies of blood. They were poor, they were humble, they were obscure. Until the commission of the act for which they died they were unknown to the mass of their countrymen. They attached them- selves to a conspiracy about the merits of which Irishmen are divided, and they perilled their lives in an undertaking which prudence must condemn." I hope there is no difference of opinion amongst all loyal men regarding the merits, or rather the demerits, of the foul conspiracy which is here so tenderly alluded to. Mr. Sullivan says he is himself no Fenian ; his counsel repeats the assertion, and I assume that he is not a Fenian ; but I think it would be difficult to come to that conclusion if one were to judge from the tone of the writing in his paper, as disclosed in these articles : — " Prudence must condemn it. But whatever may have been their mistakes, they fell in the cause of Ireland. Them efforts might have been misdirected, but it was love of country inspired them, and through- out the ordeal of a trial little better than a mockeiy, and even while standing in the shadow of death, with the hangman's noose around their necks, they bore themselves as patriots and as Christians. They were strangled as a lesson to disaffected Irishmen j and when their blackened bodies were buried in the murderers' plot it was thought that the im- pulse which prompts Irishmen to resistance would perish too. And what has been the result ? Look to it, ye rulers and teachers. Look to it, ye legislators and statesmen, for the acceptable time is passing away. Look to it ere the day when concession may avail ye has faded for ever from the heavens 1" What is the meaning put upon these words? The explanation given by Mr. Heron of them is, that it was national reform that is spoken of — that this is what the writer alludes to ; but I scarcely think that if a peasant in the south or west of Ireland were asked what these expressions meant, he would adopt the explanation offered. " The voice of the Irish nation, bursting through the restraints of intimidation and oppression, reverberates through the land. No mur- derers were they who died on the gallows-tree in Manchester. No mur- derers, but political martyrs." You remember the three crowns. " No murderers, but brave-spirited patriots, who sealed them devotion to Ireland with their blooch No murderers, but political martyrs, whose memories are to be cherished through future ages, and whose death has 'taught their countrymen another solemn lesson of constancy and courage. So the Irish people proclaim. Such is the import of the monster demon- stration described in our pages to-day. Last week we chronicled the extraordinary procession which defiled through the streets of Cork in honour of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien. To-day we place on record the unprecedented demonstration by which Dublin marked its reverence for their memories, and re-echoed the protest against the system which has reddened its hands with their blood. It is only in Ireland, and only amongst a people as warm-hearted and high-spirited as our own, that a spectacle such as that presented last Sunday in Dublin could be wit- nessed. From 1 no other race on the face of the earth could so extraordi- nary a manifestation of feeling be elicited." I believe this assertion. I am confident that no population in the world could be duped to the extent of our unfortunate people. 108 DUBLIN COMMISSION. This avisos from no want of intelligence, for the people are abright people, and gifted with quick perception; but so constant and persistent lias been the course pursued by these agitators that the minds of the people are ready prepared to take part in any seditious demonstration that they may be invited to attend. " Amidst a pitiless downpour of rain and sleet, and over thoroughfares softened into broken streams of mud, the monster procession that fol- lowed the empty hearses of the executed patriots found its way. In tens of thousands they marched along, heedless of the drenching rain, heedless of the waves of mud through which they were compelled to wade, heed- less of the threats and int imidations' which were levelled at them by the enemies of the cause which they honoured, reckless of all, save the determination to testify their fidelity to the principles of Irish indepen- dence and their detestation of foreign rule." What, I ask, was the " cause" they honoured ? I answer, the cause of rebellion. What is the " foreign rule'' which they are told to detest ? It is the rule of Her Majesty's government — the rule of England — which, unfortunately, as they would have you believe, but fortunately, as I hold, exists in this country.. " Had the efforts of those wdio organized that grand display of patriotism resulted in failure there would still be little with which to reproach the people of Dublin, for the unscrupulous arts of the Castle tribe, exerted as they were, with consummate cunning and ceaseless energy, might well have been expected to damage the movement, and the frightful in- clemency of the weather would sufficiently account for inaction on the part of the people without reflecting on their patriotism. It w r as pretended that those wdio should dare to participate in the demonstration would run the risk of being sabred by the troopsor starved by Her Majesty's gaolers ; it was assiduously reported that wholesale arrests would follow the procession, and that the march to Glasnevin w^ould be followed by countless prosecutions ; that lists would be compiled by the detectives of the persons venturing to wear the black and green." Such is the comment of Mr. Sullivan, on the success of the as- sembly be was mainly instrumental in calling together, the mem- bers of which were told to wear no party emblems, lest they should bring themselves within the meshes of the Party Processions Act, but to violate the spirit of that very Act, and to assemble in thousands and testify their dissatisfaction with the administration of the law. " To these evil influences were added the discouraging nature of the weather. Early on Sunday the rain set in, and at the hour fixed for the assembling of the procession, the streets were converted into open sewers by the floods of rain that fell from the black, cold sky overhead. But the true-hearted patriots of Dublin cared nothing for these obstacles. The threats of their enemies they were prepared to brave, and they saw nothing to deter them from their object in the prospect of a three hours' walk. In thousands and tens of thousands they came until miles of streets were blocked up by the living mass. Who that has seen . that sight can ever forget it P' No one, I answer ; and I hope we shall never see another. " Who that reads of it can fail to be moved by the description? What shall we say of the orderly ranks of earnest, respectable men — the flower of the manhood of our city ?" QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 109 I wish their energies were better directed. There is no more noble population — no. more intelligent — none that, I think, might be made more loyal, and 1 hope yet to live to see the day when they will all form part of the loyal portion of the Irish people, which these nationalists sedulously ignore in their seditious pub- lications. '•What shall we say of the orderly ranks of earnest, respectable men — the flower of the manhood of our citv — that marched in resmlar array towards the city of the dead upon that memorable day?" I can only say in all affection and tenderness I was sorry to see them there, and that I hope I may never see a similar sight again. The whole procession was an open expression of disloyalty against the " foreign power," as these writers style the govern- ment of this free country. •• What shall we say of the multitude of tender children" I think if there was one sight in that procession that would strike with indignation and deep pain and sorrow the heart of every person who witnessed it, and who was actuated by proper feelings, it was to see the poor children, who were taken out from their schools on that day, who were not allowed to enjoy the blessed day of rest which is given to us all to refresh us in the course of our daily toil, but who were taken out on that holy and sacred day. and brought forth to be participators in this open exhibition of sedition and disloyalty. Listen to what Mr. Sullivan says of it : — " What shall we say of the multitude of tender children T Had Mr. Sullivan compassion on them? Is he a father \ " What shall we say of the multitude of tender children, that with the emblems of patriotism and mourning upon their little dresses, struggled contentedly, and with the approbation of their parents, through miles of broken stone, imbibing thus early the lesson that to die for Ireland, though it be on the gallows-tree, is a glorious and an enviable fate." I say in all the treasonable and seditions writing in this article there is no sentence that has struck more horror and disgust into my mind, as a loyal man. as a father, than the sentence which thus inculcates the fearful teaching that the children of this country are to be educated to believe, that to die for Ireland on the gallows-tree is " a glorious and enviable fate," though the men who were condemned so to die are admitted at the bar to have been guilty of the crime of murder. "What shall we say, above all, of the thousands of fair young girls, in beautiful attire, who joined in the weary pilgrimage, nor swerved from the countless ranks, even when drenched with rain, and when their green-trimmed garments, soaked and soiled by the liquid mire, hung limp aud draggled from their shoulders. What, except to marvel at the heroic spirit thus nobly exhibited, and to pray that the God of Justice may bless the true-hearted generous race, which h is given to the world so unparalleled an exhibition of patient, enduring courage, and self-sacriricing patriotism. But it is not in Dublin alone that the.Yoice of the people has been uplifted in protest against the blood- stained policy that exhibited its accursed fruits at Manchester. In 110 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Limerick, in Middleton, in Mitchelstown, in Skibbcrccn, and in Kanturk, the splendid example Bet by the brave youngmen of Cork lias been followed with spirit and success. Another series of pi occasions is fixed for to- morrow, and we trust that before long a similar demonstration will have taken place in every town in Ireland. Already the enemies of our race stand aghast at the magnitude of the movement which their ferocity and their brutality have evoked. Well will it be for Ireland, and well for the nation which oppresses her, well for the governed and the governing, for the men of the present day, and for the generations of the future, if the great lesson of these demonstrations — the lesson that Ireland con- tented means Ireland independent .and. free, be taken to heart by the rulers of our people." Such is this article, — the last in order, hut not the least guilty or seditious of the original publications in this paper. « The only matter that remains, is the short extract from the paper of the 11th of January. Mr. Heron complained of two matters in regard to this prosecution — one, to which I have already re- ferred, that a series of articles is made the subject of prosecution. The second ground of complaint was in regard to this extract from the paper of the 1 1th of January, which he says was the bond fide communication of a correspondent, and not the composi- tion of Mr. Sullivan himself. This may alter the degree of the crime of which he is guilty by its publication, for if this article had been written and published by Mr. Sullivan himself, it might have formed the ground for prosecuting him under the "Treason Felony Act." It is an overt act of treason on the part of the person who wrote and published it, but it is also an act of sedition on the part of every person, although not the original author, who circu- lated the contents of that document as Mr. Sullivan has done. Now the editor purports to give the public the whole of his correspondent's letter. Mr. Denis Sullivan was asked on Saturday if he had the manuscript, and I understood him to promise that it would be produced to-day ; I understood that the whole of this letter would be forthcoming, but only a portion is produced. , Mr. Credit. — You will find every line given in the paper. The Solicitor-General. — It is not all given. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — The whole of the communication is in print, though the manuscript of the whole is not produced. The Solicitor-General. — No, the whole is not in print. Gentle- men, it is fair and right I should call your attention to this. When you get the newspaper you will find the publication. It is in the third page of the Weekly JS T etvs of the 11th of January. It is headed " A Fenian Proclamation," and here is all that appears in the paper — "A correspondent writing from Knockcroghery, county of Roscommon, says" — I will now read to you what Mr. Sullivan purports to give as the correspondent's letter : — " It may not be unimportant to forward you a copy of a ' Fenian Proclamation' " That purports to be the whole of the correspondent's letter. The original letter, or portion of it, is handed in to-day, and here is what is given to us: — "I send you forward a copv, considering you may deem it right to give" QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. Ill and here the part produced abruptly terminates. Where is the rest of that correspondent's letter ? Give what ? Is it publicity ? Is it a place in your widely-circulating journal. The fair mean- ing is, that the writer asked Mr. Sullivan, if he thought it worth publishing, to give it publicity. I ask you for what purpose ? V>'as it to calm the feelings of the Irish population, amongst whom this paper circulates ? Was it to excite good- will towards the Crown by thus reminding the people of the Manchester exe- cution ; or was it, gentlemen, as we say it was in the last count, that the publication of this document headed " Liberty — God save Ireland !" was intended to " urge and excite sedition, discontent, and disaffection toward and against Her Majesty's Government in Ireland, and to cause her subjects in Ire- land to oppose and overthrow her power and authority in Ireland." Why, I repeat, did Mr. Sullivan publish this document ? He got it from his correspondent, and he deliberately publishes it, and for that publishing he is responsible. Here is the production : — " Liberty — God save Ireland. Brothers and friends of Irish liberty, do not despond. The persecution of centuries will soon be avenged, and by the force of our arms we will purge our native soil from the curse of British misrule. What has been our position hitherto 1 We labour hard and constantly, not to enjoy the fruits of our industry, but to sup- port the revelries of landlords, forced upon our fathers by the English despoilers of our country. Then, Ireland expects that every man will do his duty when the time of the glorious struggle arrives. Be united, and remember the cause for which Allen, Larkiu, and O'Brien died on an English scaffold." This is the correspondent's letter to which Mr. Sullivan was asked to give the benefit of the extensive circulation of his journal. Mr. Sullivan did do so, and, as I have already said, he will , have to answer for having done so. Now, gentlemen, that is the last publication of which the Attorney-General complains in this prosecution. I should apologize for the length at which I have addressed you, but the case is one of great magnitude and im- portance ; and I hope has not been unfairly conducted. The defendant and his counsel have had every latitude given to them of referring to any article, not merely in these particular papers which are now in evidence before you, but in any other number of the Weekly News which might palliate or correct the injurious effect of these publications. Reference has been made to some portions of the letterpress in the papers given in evidence, which are alleged to qualify the libels complained of, and to disprove the meaning which we put on them in the inuendoes of the indictment ; but have those portions that effect ? Has reference been made to one single article, one single expression of disapproval on the part of Mr. Sullivan, of the sentiments which we say these articles were calculated and intended to disseminate through this kingdom ? I may remind you that a number of the Weekly Keu'S, published so far back as in February, 1SG7, was referred to on Saturday, and the paper was produced, but Mr. Heron sat down and never gave that paper in evidence. Mr. Sullivan was permitted, I say, to produce any article from his paper which was calculated to ■ 112 DUBLIN COMMISSION. qualify the noxious effect of what tlio Crown complains of in the present prosecution, and he lias failed to produce a single line. If that be so, how does he stand at the bar to-day ? He stands at the bar as the printer, publisher, and proprietor of a journal which, iu critical times, when the minds of our people have been disturbed by a late open attempt at rebellion, has cir- culated a series of articles and publications of a most inflamma- tory and dangerous character, teeming with sedition according to every legal definition of that crime. It now remains for you, gentlemen, by your verdict, to give a wholesome check to the career he is pursuing. The Attorney-General is not here, nor am I here for the purpose of inflicting vindictive punishment. We have no such power, and if we had, neither of us, 1 am sure, would wish to exercise it. We are here only in the discharge of a solemn duty, to try and protect the commonwealth, to try and vindicate the majesty of the law, to endeavour to prove, to the satisfaction of you, as jurors — and I think we have so proved to tin satisfaction of every man in court — that this is a well grounded prosecution ; that the Attorney-General could not longer have remained inactive ; that although the publication of the 30th of November might have been allowed to escape unnoticed, yet when the defendant, on the 7th of December, and again on the 14th of December, repeated the offence, when he published a series of articles glorifying, as has been said, and justifying the murder which was committed in the streets of Manchester, hold- ing up to admiration, as patriots, the unhappy men who had expi- ated with their lives the crime of which they had been found guilty, and bringing the administration of the law into hatred and contempt, it was high time for the public prosecutor to interfere. What, then, is your duty as jurymen sitting in that box ? You are the judges of the law and of the facts. This is not like an ordinary ense, where the Judge would direct you as to the law ; he will in this case define to you in what the crime of sedition consists, but you, gentlemen, will have the privilege — it is your right — may a jury always have it in this free country — of saying whether these articles are seditious. Give the traverser the benefit of any doubt if a doubt can find a place in your minds. If you can find anything in these articles which can excuse the defendant — if the whole scope of these publications is not what the Crown alleges — if the prosecution has failed in proof, acquit Mr. Sullivan ; but if every line of these articles inculcates the same foolish, wicked sentiments, and instils the same poison into the minds of the readers of this paper, your duty is a plain and simple one, and you will not hesitate to discharge it. .If you have no doubt in this case why should you hesitate ? The Attorney- General told you that he instituted the prosecution to vindicate society, to preserve the free liberty of the press, and he told you truly; that liberty, I trust, will ever be supported by enlightened men — by free men, sitting as jurors on trials such as this; but in giving that verdict, you will not check that liberty in the slightest degree, and you know it. You will only check the improper use, the perversion of that liberty as it has been perverted by this so-called QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 113 national press for years in this country. You will only check the unrestrained licence of that press, the consequences of which have been so disastrous to our peace and prosperity. How can property increase, how can real liberty be enjoyed, if such publications as these are allowed, week after week, to appear unchecked/ The prosecution in this case has been instituted, I fear, not too soon, but too late, for the protection of society. If, then, these publica- tions bear the meaning which the Crown puts upon them, you can only have the one duty to discharge, and that is to return your verdict of guilty. t The consequences of that verdict it will be for the Court to determine. I will venture to hope it may have one effect. It may induce Mr. Sullivan to apply Lis abilities in a more proper and legitimate channeL If he and the other writers would only use those talents which they undoubtedly possess, in trying to guide aright the children, the youth, the generous-natured men, the kind-hearted men, of our country, what a happy land this would be. I now leave the case, with complete and perfect confidence, in your hands. I know I have occupied your time at considerable length, but I had a solemn duty to dis- charge, and one I could not shrink from. If I have said anything in the course of my remarks which may have offended any one, I regret it, I did not intend to do so, — nor did I wish to inflict pain on the defendant, or any other person by the observations I felt constrained to make. I now sit down, leaving the case with you, as Irishmen, as loyal citizens, as conscientious jurors, to do right and justice between Her Majesty the Queen and the traverser, Alexander Martin Sullivan. MR. JUSTICE FITZGERALD S CHARGE, Mr. Justice Fitzgerald then charged the jury as follows : — This grave and important trial is now corning to a close, but I regret I shall be obliged to detain you by observations more in detail than I would wish. I feel called on to do so, not alone in conse- quence of the gravity of the ease, and the wide scope of the argu- ments taken on both sides, but from the peculiar, and I will say the difficult, nature of the questions which you will have to detennine ; and I am not the less called on to adopt that course, gentlemen, from the recollection that in this trial you are the sole judges of the law and the facts. It is not my intention to follow the learned and eloquent counsel who addressed you for the traverser in the course of his discursive address, — nor even the more moderate discursiveness of the Solicitor-General, when he told us of matters that were likely to have taken place during the time of Lord Clarendon. My duty is. to endeavour to simplify the case you have to determine, to assist you if I can, and to address you solely in the calm voice of reason. Gentlemen, in this prose- cution for a seditious libel against the proprietor or publisher of a newsp«aper. which is of a nature that is very unusual — we have not had one, certainly, for the last twenty years — you are constituted by the law the sole judges to detennine every ques- tion between the Crown and the traverser ; and I may remind you, I DUBLIN COMMISSION. at the outset, that there will be four questions for your considera- tion. The first, gentlemen, is a question of fact ; that is, did the defendant publish the libels in question? On that there will be no difficulty, for it is not a matter of controversy that Mr. Sullivan is the proprietor of the paper called the Weekly Netvs, and that the several articles and woodcuts were published in that paper. The next question you have to examine into is this : do these publications, whether they are letterpress or wood- cuts, fairly bear the interpretation which has been put on them by what is called the inuendoes ? that is, gentlemen, when the print does not in itself carry on its face its own meaning, the pleader is obliged to state, by what are called inuendoes, the meaning it ought to be held to bear, and it is the province of the jury, on the second question, to say whether the publications or woodcuts bear the meaning which, in the indictment, has been assigned to them ; and that will be a matter for your grave consideration, especially in reference to the woodcuts. The next question — and one paramount in importance — is a mixed ques- tion of law and fact, namely, whether these publications are seditious libels ? and that is the compound question of law and fact, which the legislature has intrusted to you, and to you alone. Gentlemen, I know that some of you have had considerable experience as jurors ; I know that I have often, from this bench or elsewhere, had the duty cast on me of addressing you as such. Many of you have presided in ordinary cases, and especially in the Crown Court, and in cases between two parties, where the questions were of law and fact. There the question of law is solely for the judge, and he instructs — nay, more, he directs the jury in point of law, and they are bound to take his direction, and to follow it on the law of the case ; but the question of fact is for them to determine. But in this particular case of libel — the la w of the land says the jury shall determine the whole question compounded of law and fact, namely, whether the pub- lication in question is a seditious libel. And, gentlemen, for a very good purpose the law has intrusted that to your discretion and to your determination, receiving such aid as you may from the presiding judge, who is to assist you, who is bound to tell you what the law is ; but, gentlemen, it is for you to apply the law to the facts, and it is for you to determine whether the publications in question are or are not seditious libels. That power has been intrusted to you as the best conservators of public liberty, and it has been given to a jury chiefly for the purpose of protecting the invalu- able blessings of a free and independent press. Bear that in mind, you may receive assistance from me, but you are the sole judge^ of the law and of the facts. The fourth question is one in which I will also have to give you some assistance in point of law,.' nit which is also for 3'our determination, namely, whether the publica- tions in question — if you consider them to be seditious libels — were published by the defendant with the intention alleged in the indictment ? and if you should come to the conclusion that the defendant published these articles, that the true meaning has been given to them in the indictment, and that they were so published QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 115 with the seditious intentions imputed — then you have all the elements to pronounce a verdict of guilty. Gentlemen, let me remind you that the defendant in the case is prosecuted as the proprietor and publisher of a public journal ; and it is well, before dealing with the case in detail, to consider for a moment what a public journalist may, nay, what he ought to do. Gentle- men, we have in this country perfect freedom of the press, and as long as that free press exists liberty must co-exist with it. A journalist representing that free press may canvass and censure the acts of Government or of the State. It is open to him to discuss every act of public policy. He is free to do it ; he is invited to do it. He may canvass, and, if he thinks right, censure, and censure severely the acts of Government, or individual ministers, and, above all, he is invited to consider wdiat is of greater importance than anything else — the administration of the law ; for it has been well said by Burke, I think, and a great American writer, that, after all, what was the object of our institutions ; for what do we enrol armies; for what had we a Legislature: for what do we make peace or war ; what was the final object and end of all this ? It is that the administration of justice should be pure and incorrupt — it was to have such a tribunal as I now see before me — a jury of our countrymen impanelled to decide our civil rights and criminal responsibilities. And it is in that view I say the public press may, nay, is invited to canvass the proceedings of courts of justice, for, like every human tribunal, courts of justice arc fallible, and liable to error. It is right, and the public safety demands that the errors of courts of justice should be pointed out — that if misconduct exists it shall be censured ; and all this is within the province of a public journalist. But, gentlemen, in enjoying that freedom and that liberty, in carrying it out to its fullest extent, it must be done, it ought to be done, with calm and tempe- rate language. The man who canvasses the conduct of the Government, ought not to impute corrupt motives. He may point out that there has been error in the administration of justice, or misconduct on the part of a particular judge, yet he ought not to use language that carries into the public mind contempt for the administration of justice, or for the laws of the land. And, gentle- men, in pursuing this freedom he must not abuse it for the object of sowing discontent or disaffection, and of creating hatred to the law, or for the very criminal purpose of inducing one body of Her Majesty''.^ subjects to hate and despise another. When a public writer exceeds the due limits that I have marked out, and uses his power and his privileges to create discontent or disaffection,, or bring the laws into contempt, he becomes guilty of what the law calls sedition. Now, gentlemen, I invite your attention to the indictment itself, as it is necessary to carry in mind what the intention, as stated in the indictment, is. I may say there are three allegations. The Attorney-General alleges that Mr. Sullivan intended to excite hatred of Her Majesty's Government, and con- tempt for the laws ; further, that these prints and wood-cuts were intended to create disaffection, and, thirdly, that they were c dcu- lated and intended to disturb the public peace ana tranquillity DUBLIN COMMISSION. of the realm. Without defining sedition further than may be necessary for the purposes of this trial, I have to tell you that if, in your honest judgments, you come to the conclusion that these publications, or any of them, were calculated and intended either to excite hatred and contempt for the Government, or of the administration of the laws, or to create disaffection, or were calculated and intended to disturb the public peace and tranquillity of the realm, then, gentlemen, they are seditious Libels. You ha ve the indictment before you, you have the inten- tions stated in print, and if the publications were calculated and intended to carry out these intentions they are seditious libels. That is putting it as plainly and simply for your guidance as I can. With these remarks let us consider the several counts in the indictment. I won't take them in the order exactly that they appear in the indictment itself. I will first proceed to deal with the wood-cuts. The first of these is contained in the second count of the indictment. The Attorney-General in his statement gave it a particular meaning. He says that Her Majesty's Govern- ment is represented in that libellous picture in the form of a woman holding a dagger in her hand, with which she is repre- sented to have committed a crime against Ireland, and to " Cause it to be believed that the people of Ireland were governed by cruelty and oppression, and to excite hatred, discontent, and sedition toward and against Her Majesty's Government, amongst Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland." Now, gentlemen, as to all these wood-cuts, you will bear in mind this — you have to examine first whether they bear the interpre- tation which is given to them in the count applicable to each, if they are unexplained in any way by the letter-press. " England and Austria 5 ' is the heading of this one, and the observation at the foot too, with " England and Austria " is " Striking Contrast ;" and where there is an observation at foot, which tends to give a meaning to the picture itself, the more anxious you should be to look at the indictment, to see if the description given of the picture is in your opinion correct, because you will recollect that no explanatory evidence has been supplied to us by the prosecu- tion. It was quite open to the Attorney-General to call witnesses, who, looking at the picture, would be able to tell us what in their opinion was its true meaning. The .question you have to deter- mine is not how Mr. Sullivan understood it, but how the public understood it — the reading, intelligent public,. If we are to derive any aid at all from the oral testimony in the case, it is from that supplied by Mr. Denis Sullivan, who was examined on Saturday. He says it is quite true the female figure represents Hungary as crowning the Emperor of Austria as king of Hungary — an historic event which took place at the end of May, or early in June last year; and he says further, the picture is intended to point out, as a matter of policy, the effect Which would take place in this country if England adopted the policy of Austria — a policy of conciliation. We know as a matter of history, the Emperor of Austria did go to Hungary, and was crowned there, and that a contract was entered into between the QL'EES" a. SULLIVAN. 117 two nations, by which Hungary obtained a separate, free, and independent government, having its representatives, its own ministers, but still united to the empire of Austria. And Mr. Sullivan has called your attention to that proceeding on the part of the Emperor of Austria to conciliate Hungary, as calcu- lated to add strength to the imperial resources of the empire of Austria. On the other hand, he admits the figure with the short sword or dagger represents Britannia as England or the British Government- Of course when it represents Britannia, it represents the Queen's Government The Queen's Government is tee same no matter who tee ministers may be. It is still Government of this empire, and as he admits it y the figure crouching or lying on the ground on its face, manacled, repre- sents Hibernia or Ireland, and the manacled and crouching figure appears to be held down violently, by Britannia, who flourishes in her right hand a short sword. As I understood Mr. Sullivan, it was intended by that to represent the then state of affairs in Ireland — on the 22nd of June last, when this picture appeared — that is, to represent Ireland as deprived of her liberty by the sus- pension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and by the proceedings which were then taking place under the suspension of die Habeas Corpus Act It is for you, taking into account the letter-press that accompanies this picture — examining this wood-cut as best you can, to assign the true meaning to it; but I may point out to you, gentlemen, that if the meaning assigned to it by the Crown is correct, it is one of those pieces of gigantic deception by which the people of this country are jterio-iically misled. - I called it deliberately a gigantic deception, because, gentlemen, we are dealing with an exceedingly intelligent ra dealing with people amongst whom education is widely spread, and I am happy to say. is every day spreading further — a quick- witted people. wL\ if only allowed to know the truth, are able to form sound judgments of what is their true and real interest ; but we cannot shut our eyes to this, that for many years, as well as at the present rnornent, they are not allowed to know the truth. Now, can any reasonable man say that that picture really and truly represents the state of the Irish nation. The Habeas '1' r •.:= Act w.-i5 suspended with the assent of all that is good in the nation — giving up for a time, and I hope a short time, a portion of their liberties in order that the hands of the Government should be strength eue-i. Strengthened for what ? To protect our institutions and our homes from foreign marauders and incendiaries, who, but for that, would oveirun the country. Does the picture truly represent the state of this country. Why. gentlemen, cast your eye — I wont say over civilized Europe, but take in America, take in the civilized world — and where is there a country enjoys more real liberty? Putting aside for a moment that temporary suspension, we are free to read; we are free to speak; we have undoubted, unshackled liberty of the press ; we are free to believe according to con- science. I say that this country, in point of rational liberty, challenges comparison with any country on the face of the globe. IIS DUBLIN ( IOMMISSH >\. I am Dot now dealing with past events or past misgovernment, which undoubtedly did exist for centuries, and the penalties of which we are now, in a very large degree suffering ; but 1 am dealing with the present state of things; and I say that on the 22nd of June last; save for the voluntary surrender of a portion of our liberties for a time, in order that our institutions may be sared ; we challenge comparison with any country in the world. I may refer to the topic of Fenianism. I say that too' is largely the result of public deception. The Fenians of this country are bent on deceiving the Fenians of America, and do deceive them; and the Fenians of America deceive the people of this country. Do you think we would have Fenianism in its present state in this country if the people of Ireland knew really how the Fenian organization is despised in America % Or do you think the people in America, or the servant maids of New York, if they knew the truth, would part with their money — their hard-earned money — to support that system in this country which never can be productive of good, and which has been productive of such e\il consequences to the people themselves? No, gentle- men, it thrives, as it has thriven, because the people are never allowed to know the real truth. Now, gentlemen, you will put on this woodcut such interpretation as it can fairly bear, and all I can say is, if you can adopt Mr. Sullivan's, you are bound to do so. If you believe that the picture was not intended to promote or sow sedition or disaffection, that its sole intention was to point out to the English Government what would be the fruits of a policy of conciliation, or in other words, to put it plainer, what would be the fruits if England would consent to repeal the Act of Union and restore to Ireland an independent Parliament. If that is the true and real meaning, you ought on that account fairly to give Mi'. Sullivan acquittal. Without further observation I leave that to you. We come to deal with the next, which is that contained in the second count. The second count is one framed also on another of the wood-cuts. It is the one entitled " It is done ;" and the count treats it as — " A false, wicked, scandalous, seditious, and libellous picture of and concerning the execution of three men, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government. In which said seditious and libellous picture so printed and published of and concerning said execution, and of and con- cerning Her Majesty's Government, and having over it the words — ' It is done,' and immediately under it the words and figures — ' Manchester, November 23rd, 18G7.' The said Alexander M. Sullivan did represent, and did intend to represent Her said Majesty's Government and the administra- tion of justice and law under and by Her Majesty and her Government, in a false, scandalous,wicked and libellous manner, by representing Her Majesty's. Government in said picture under the form of a woman armed with a dag- ger and as appearing to have recently slain some persons, and as trampling on a balance and scales intended to represent justice, the said Alexander M. Sullivan thereby intending and meaning to excite odium, hatred, disaffection, discontent, and sedition towards and against Her Majesty, her Government, and her laws." You must be satisfied that is the true meaning of the picture. Again I have to remind you that no witness was called on the QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 119 part of the Crown to give you by oral testimony the meaning of that picture, but still it may, in its inherent elements, sug- gest to you its true meaning so correctly as to enable you to come to a conclusion on it. You may also — it is quite open to you — refer to the letter-press, as an article is to be found in the same paper, one of the articles alleged to be a seditious libel. Take that article as throwing a meaning on this picture, as it does ; and again, I think it is in reference to this, too, Mr. Heron called ' my attention to the letter-press, to the column beside the picture, to show the true meaning is what Mr. Denis Sullivan suggested it was. There is no doubt it represents three dead men. Over them is a weeping figure intended to represent Ireland, and then comes the figure, the subject of controversy. They say the helm eted figure represents the Queen's Government, that is, repre- sents Britannia, or the Queen's Government — a very fierce and malignant-looking woman, with a helmet on her head, and carrying a dagger, which may be, according to the picture, a bloody one, and as if retiring from the place of execution, and trampling under foot the scales of justice. That is the meaning, as the Crown puts it. Is it intended by that picture to represent the Queen's Government by that figure ; and is it intended further to represent that she is retiring from the scene of execution, having done an unjust and bloody act, and in the course of trampling under foot the scales of justice ? If that is the meaning, it is a seditious and malig- nantly seditious libel. I tell you that a libel may be conveyed by a wood-cut or engraving, and for a certain purpose it may be con- veyed in a much more formidable manner than by letter-press. For instance, a great many of our countrymen, who may not be able to read, may be able to understand the meaning of such a picture ; and bear in mind, now, we are dealing with these execu- tions in Manchester. In reply to that part of the case, Mr. Denis Sullivan was called, and he said he was present when the instruc- tions were given for this very picture. He did not give these instructions, because an objection was raised, and a valid objec- tion on the part of the Attorney-General against giving you evidence of what occurred between him and some third party, and therefore the instructions were excluded ; but he says the intention under that figure was not to represent the British people or Government, but to represent a portion of the British people, who had undoubtedly, if the statements made are true, grossly misconducted themselves in reference to these exe- cutions. We all know, unfortunately, and it is one of the argu- ments particularly used against capital punishments, at least against having them in public, that they are productive of the worst consequences amongst a particular class — that people assem- ble the night before, and go there as they would to attend a spec- tacle from which they derived pleasure ; and there is no doubt that something of the kind takes place in England too frequently, as may be seen in the columns of the public press. And Mr. Sullivan says, the night previous to the execution there was the usual assembly. of the lowest class, drinking and carousing, or indulging in what are called orgies, and dancing round the scat- L20 lHTdJX ( 'OMMISSION. fold. This picture has not the same helmet or the same armour. Ho says the intention was to convey to the public a censure upon that portion of the British public who had so misconducted themselves, both at the Manchester execution and in Birmingham, when a portion of the population met there, about to address the Queen, soliciting the prerogative of mercy in favour of the condemned culprits ; and also at Windsor, when a party of the people proceeded to lay an address at the foot of the throne, asking for mercy. You must take into account this state- ment of Mr. Denis Sullivan. -No witness has been called to give a different view of this woodcut. But still, gentlemen, the ques- tion for you is not whether Mr. Denis Sullivan intended what he says, but what the meaning is which the people, seeing that woodcut — reading the leader accompanying it — what is the mean- ing and interpretation the people would fairly put on that wood- cut ? And if, gentlemen, any person, taking it up and reading this letter-press, would put on it the interpretation that is suggested by the Crown, then, gentlemen, it is undoubtedly a malicious libel, and the verdict should be for the Crown. If you, on the other hand, take into account the evidence of Mr. Denis Sullivan, and reading with it the letterpress, which you have a right to do, and which deals with what is called the ruffianism of the mob of England ; if you put his interpretation on it, and that you think the public put that interpretation on it, then, gentlemen, however you may censure the thing, it ceases to be a libel in the manner alleged in this second count of the indictment, and your duty will be to acquit. The next woodcut is in the fifth count of the indictment, and it is stated to be a — "Wicked libel, representing Her Majesty's Government in said libellous picture, in the form of a woman holding a dagger in her hand, in which she is represented in said picture to have committed a guilty deed, namely, the execution of said three men; and after having committing same she is represented as flying from the scene of her guilty deed, driven out by the angel of justice." It appears to me the whole question is as to the meaning of the picture, the same exactly as the last, whether it is that pointed out by the evidence of Mr. Sullivan. We have this picture before us, and we have Mr. Denis Sullivan's evidence, and the whole question turns on the meaning to be given to the female figure, whether or not that was intended to repre- sent Her Majesty's Government, or only that powerful portion, as it has been called, of the population of England who held their orgies around the scaffold, at Manchester. The whole question is, what interpretation you, as reasonable men, will put on it ? I don't think as regards this there is any letter-press called in aid. But let us see what the picture itself is. It is after a celebrated painting representing Cain after he has committed the murder of his brother Abel, with the angel of Justice pur- suing him through his whole career. There is brought into this, most certainly, what is not to be found in the other. There is a scaffold with three ropes dangling from it, and underneath a weeping figure, and as if praying to God ; there are three crowns, QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 121 which the Attorney-General says must be taken as martyrs' crowns, but which Mr. Denis Sullivan says denote that they died a happy death, — that is, that before being removed from the scene of their earthly transgressions, they had repented their crimes, and had died, accompanied by the last consolations of re- ligion. That is the meaning he puts on it. And then as to the debated figure we have Mr. Sullivan "saying it represents a portion of the English people, while the Crown allege it represents Britannia, or in other words, the Queen's Government — that the Queen's Government having been guilty of a bloody and unjust deed, was then flying from the scene of its crime, pursued and driven out by the Angel of Justice. If the latter is the correct interpreta- tion, you will say whether or not it comes within the law of libel. On the contrary, if you would read it in the light which Mr. Denis Sullivan, in his parol testimony throws on it, then, though it may be very censurable, it is not a seditions libel within the meaning of this indictment, and you should find a verdict for the defendant on that count. Well, gentlemen, I pass from that to the count in the indictment on the article headed " Liberty." . I propose to take the others together — the remaining and important ones together, as they all relate to the Manchester executions ; but there is one, which I believe is in the sixth count of the indictment, and is the short publication that has been called the proclamation, and is headed " Liberty — God save Ireland;" and it is alleged the defendant intended to " Excite hatred, discontent, and sedition against Her Majesty and Her Government, and seditiously to disturb the peace and tranquillity of this realm, and to urge and incite her Majesty's subjects in Ireland to strive to overthrow her authority in Ireland." And it then proceeds without more to give the articles in question. I confess, gentlemen, when I read this indictment, nay, more, when I was proceeding to give some instructions to the grand jury, until I was corrected, I took this as an original article, appearing in the Weekly News, and pointed to it as one deserving the greatest censure. It is put in without any introduction whatsoever ; and unaccompanied by the explanatory letter-press, which would show it in a .different light. And, gentlemen, I will caJl your attention to the concluding portion of the indictment. After setting out the article without any explanation the con- clusion is this — • " Thereby intending and meaning to urge and excite sedition, discontent, and disaffection toward and against Her Majesty's Government in Ireland, and to cause her subjects in Ireland to oppose and overthrow her power and authority in Ireland." That is the meaning the Attorney-General puts on it. That is, the defendant is charged, if he is chargeable with this document in the meaning that is assigned to it by the Attorney-General, with a distinct, complete, perfect overt act of high treason. For the article is this : — " Brothers, and friends of Irish liberty, do not despond. The persecu- tions of centuries will soon be avenged, and by the force of our arms we 122 nrnuN commission. will purge our native soil from the curse of British misrule (meaning thereby that Ireland would be wrested hi/ force of arms from Her Majesty's power and authority.)* It could have no other meaning. " What has been the position hitherto 1 We labourhard and constantly, not to enjoy the fruits of our industry, but to support the revelries of landlords, forced upon our fathers by the English dcspoilers of our country. Then, Ireland expects that every man will do his duty, when the time of the glorious struggle (meaning thereby the struggle against Her Majesty 's power and authority in Ireland,) arrives. Be united, and remember the cause for which Alien, O'Brien, and Larkin died on an English scaffold." Well, gentlemen, I am happy to say when this article comes to be looked into with the surrounding circumstances, it assumes a wholly different character ; for we have it now clearly and satisfac- torily established in evidence that it was not an original article — that it was some publication under the character of news or in- telligence not made up in the Weekly News office, but derived from their correspondent in a letter — in a letter sent from their Roscommon correspondent — in a letter, the original of which is produced in part, and so far as it is produced corresponds with the print exactly before us — corresponds in substance, for it is headed here, " A Fenian Proclamation. A correspondent writing from Roscommon says" — &c. I did tell the grand jury, gentlemen, that if treasonable or seditious matter is republished from another paper or another source, the law did not in the abstract excuse the republication of such matter, simply because it was not original. It gives it no protection ; but I do not agree with the learned Attorney- General, who said it was wholly immaterial whether the article was original or not. I cannot agree to it to that extent, be- cause I think its being original or not may be a very important element in considering the intention with which it is published. But, gentlemen, I entirely concur with an observation that fell from the learned counsel for the defendant, namely, that if the law regulating the law of libel, of seditious libel, were to be carried out in its rigid exactness, to the full letter, it would materially interfere with the freedom and liberty of the press; and hence it is that a great deal depends on the forbearance of the Government, on the discretion of the judge, and above all on the protection of the jury. I may illustrate it in this way. It is quite open to any member of the community, or representative of any paper to complain of a grievance, and to complain in loud and no measured language, and ask for its redress. Why, gentlemen, the very fact of complaining of a grievance, may have in itself a tendency to create discontent, and in one sense it might be said to be sedition, but if it is a real grievance, no jury would find the complaint to be a seditious libel. Again, gentlemen, you cannot look to the columns of papers published in England as well as our country from time to time, without seeing that some of their articles might be brought within the category of libel. For instance, it may be the province of the paper, nay, QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 12:5 in some instances their duty, to call attention to the imbecility of a Government, and you can easily see how that must trench on the law of libel. The real question for you, and to you I leave it, is, did Mr. Sullivan publish that communication from a correspondent in Roscommon, representing truly a fact which we may assume did take place, that is, that the proclama- tion was posted on some school-house in some place within a space of ten miles — did he in doing that intend " to cause Her Majesty's subjects to oppose and overthrow her power and authority in Ireland ?" I have heard in this case the Solicitor-General candidly observe that Mr. Sullivan was no Fenian, and he did not impute he belonged to that confederacy ; but still he asked you on this count to come to the conclusion that he published that paper with the intention of furthering the objects of the conspiracy, namely, to assist in procuring the overthrow of Her Majesty's Government. I leave you that count to find such verdict on it as in your wisdom you may think fit. And now, gentlemen, I proceed to consider the remaining counts of the indictment, and I hope I will not have to detain you at any very great length. They are the counts in reference to the articles of the 30th of November, the 7th of December, and the 14th of December. In fact there are three papers in all you will have to look at, bearing in mind some precautions I will point out. The remaining articles — and I reserved them for the last — all relate to the execution at Man- chester ; and it is to that point we must now direct our eyes and limit our inquiries. Gentlemen, your attention has not been called to any other article contained in the Weekly News save those in the indictment. It was open to the Attorney-General, in further- ance of the prosecution, if he had found any other criminatory articles in the Weekly News either to have made them the subject of a distinct indictment, or he might have used them, to show that the articles he complained of bore the interpretation, and were pub- lished with the intent he alleged. It was open to him to have called attention to those passages in the paper, and as he did not do so, I think you ought to assume there are not any other articles to be found in the Weekly News which would tend to support the prosecution ; and it was therefore, gentlemen, I warned you that you were not at liberty to look at other articles and to take them into account pro or con in determining your verdict. You see how unjust it would be if you were at liberty to look at articles that had not been referred to; because if they had been referred to they could be open to comment and explanation. Therefore, I tell you, gentlemen, to confine your attention to the four articles, the subject of the indictment, with which we are now about to deal. You must consider the articles themselves, and that no evidence has been supplied on either side to assign a meaning to them. The meaning must be found in the articles themselves. They relate all to the Manchester executions. I need no further allude to this sad affair than to remind you that a copy has been given in evidence of the conviction of the three men, named Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, for murder; and, gentle- men we are bound to assume, and I so tell you for the purpose DUBLIN COMMISSION. of this trial, we must assume that this was a legal and proper con- viction, on a trial properly conducted, before two of the most eminent judges of the day. Gentlemen, Mr. Heron asked you in the course of his address — I took down his words at the time — lie said, after saying this arose out of a political transaction, was not it open to comment on the policy and justice of the Man- chester executions — was not it open to discuss it as a political blunder — was it open to discuss it as the effect of a political blunder ? I tell you in reply it was open to discuss those trials themselves — discuss fairly and bond fide the administration of justice as evidenced at these trials — that it is open to show that error had been committed either on the part of the judges, or mistake on the part of the jury — nay, further, for myself J should say, that the judges invite an examination of their acts in admi- nistering the law, and that it is a relief to them to say — if error lias been committed — to say that error shall be pointed out. But whilst they invite the fullest criticism on the proceedings in courts of justice, on the administration of the law, on the acts of indivi- dual judges, or even on the decision of juries, I tell you what it is not open to do. It was not open to impute corruption — it was not open to impute to a judge that he acted corruptly — or to say that a jury acted corruptly — they may be mistaken, in common with all human tribunals ; but if a public journalist accuses them of misconduct, he is responsible for the consequences. When he does that he passes the true limits of fair controversy, and he is responsible to the law for his misdeeds. Again, Mr. Heron asked was it not open to discuss it as a political question ? — the policy and justice of the execution, and to discuss the execution itself as a political blunder? And again I answer in the affirmative, it is. It is quite open to every member of the press to do so. We all know the execution was the subject of very divided opinion. Some amongst the public, those who are opposed to all capital punishment, thought there should be no execution. Others attri- buted to it something of a political character, and would have preferred the parties to be sentenced to penal servitude for life ; whilst another party of the community thought the ends of justice and the safety of society required that the verdict should be carried out. Some thought policy required, some thought policy would condemn, the execution of these men, and these were all subjects for the freest and amplest discussion. If there had been simply a fair bond Jide discussion and criticism on this question, or on the acts of the Government in relation to this execution, you would not have this prosecution by the Attorney-General, who alleges that the true bounds of criticism have been passed by — that in place of bond fide discussion with a view to attain a good end — in place of confining his attention to that, the writer has gone far beyond it, has sedulously described the administration of justice as corrupt — and the conduct of Her Majesty's Government in refusing to remit the sentence of these men, and carrying out the sentence, is stigmatized as a desire for blood, and trampling under root the admonitions of justice. Now, gentlemen, let us deal with the articles. I don't intend to call QUEEN a, SULLIVAN, your attention to them in detail, but you will have the articles, and it is your duty to read them word for word, and end to end, to see what meaning is to be put on them ; nor do I intend to call your attention to more than isolated passages. The first article is the 30th of November, which contains this passage : — " The feeble voice of the few who tried to preach prudence and moderation in the hour of national frenzy, were lost in the roar of pas- sion ; justice, humanity, policy, all have been disregarded ; all save the savage resolve to take the lives of the Irishmen who had crossed the path of English power ; all but the longing to inflict another wound on the palpitating form of a trampled but unconquered nation. To this, then, it has come to-day ; thus it is that our patience and our submissive- ness have been rewarded. For years and years we have watched and waited for the dawning of some ray of justice in the British horizon ; through famine and suffering and desolation the Irish people have waited for the birth of a new era in British policy, the inauguration of the new system often promised, but always withheld. The longing hopes of peaceful redress, the expectation of a course of treatment in sympathy with our wants and our rights, restrained the people of Ireland from the desperate line of action . towards which the encouragement given by Englishmen to revolution abroad impelled them, and now we have the reply to our docility and forbearance. The loaded gibbet in Manchester, the young lives ignominiously cut off by the hand of the public execu- tioner, the mangled corpses laid beside the murderer's grave, the jeers of the wolfish multitude who danced and sang round the gallows, these are the responses to our appeals ; these are the accursed gifts that are offered in redemption of our hopes. After centuries of dominion, during which conciliation was alone left untried ; after hundreds of years during which English statesmen found in Ireland the danger and the difficulty of their empire ; after the impossibility of crushing the Irish national spirit by torture and death has been attested through decades of persecution, we find ourselves to-day standing where our fathers stood when Tone died on his prison pallet, and when Russell's blood flowed from the scaffold in Downpatrick. There is nothing in our political position to distinguish the present from the time when Major Sirr and his myrmidons trafficked in the blood of Irish patriots, and when the bleeding head of young Emmet was held up by the executioner in Thomas-street. The impa- tience of English domination that stirred the pulses of Ireland then has not passed away; and in 1867, as in 1803 and 1798, the gaoler and the hangman form the twin pillars upon which the edifice of British rule in Ireland is supported." It is not alleged in the indictment that the intention of the defendant was to create hatred on the part of one class of Her Majesty's subjects towards another ; that is, in other words, to create hatred by the people of this country towards the people of England. It will be for you still to consider whether language such as is written here, and in reference to the event that is described here, was calculated to disturb the peace. I have already pointed out what a great offence it is to excite that hatred on the part of one branch of the community against the other. I apply that observation not to the defendant here but to many of the organs of the public press in this country and in England, and those who in England excite the English people to despise the people of this country, and those who in this DUBLIN COMMISSION. country excite the Irish people to hate their English brethren, are guilty, in my mind, of the greatest possible offence. The article then proceeds. Gentlemen, one of the greatest objections to it is its great Length : — "They died as many good Irishmen died before, in defence of the principles of Irish nationality, and they fell in a cause which can count amongst its martyrs the noblest spirits that ever the love of liberty in- spired. Their cruel end cannot rob them of their fame, nor can the means by which it was nought to degrade them in death cast a shade upon their memories. There are circumstances under which the scaffold becomes more glorious than the monarch's gilded throne, and which cast round the obscure grave of the felon a halo unshared by the mausoleum of royalty. The men whose names are closest enshrined in the Irish heart, and to whose memories the noblest efforts of our poets and our orators have been cOnse crated, were cut off like Allen by the rude grasp of the executioner; and in every age, and in every land, there have been instances in which the gibbet and the block borrowed dignity from the patriot's blood. They perished as good men might, in a noble but a baffled cause, and whatever might have been their errors or their mistakes, they passed away leaving no memory behind them in Ireland save that of heroic and patriotic men." Let us apply our reason to this. Though there may have been mistakes, may have been errors in the conviction of these men, may have been bad policy in carrying to the full extent the rigour of the law in regard to all, still when we find in this article these men held up as patriots, as good men, as men who have committed no crime whatsoever, I think the Solicitor-General was right in putting the question, what distinction are you to draw between the murder of Constable Brett in Manchester and the murder of Constable Keenain Dublin? The defendant has been represented fairly — for I recollect reading the discussion in the Corporation myself — as having, on the occasion when the question was brought before that body, taken an active part, and a praiseworthy part, in voting a sum of the public money, and being also, I believe, a subscriber himself in presenting a sum of money for the family of the murdered man. That was worthy of the highest approval. But let us see whether there is any real difference between the act which he condemns by his vote in the Corporation, and the act which he appears to some extent by the article in his news- paper to approve — what is the distinction ? the Solicitor-General has asked. I tell you what the distinction is — the distinction is altogether in favour of the Dublin assassin. The men of Man- chester who committed this crime, whoever they were, whether the three men in question who were found guilty by a jury were the very men, they volunteered to do — what? to rescue two persons from the hands of justice. They were mere volunteers in the matter ; they went armed, and armed in such a way as nobody can doubt they went intending to overpower all opposi- tion, and, if necessary, to sacrifice life in the encounter, and they did sacrifice it in that act. What is the case of the Dublin assassin ? Why, gentlemen, there might be argued for him that he was not a volunteer, that there was to some extent a defence for his act, that he was determined to protect himself from being arrested, that his act was in some sort in self-defence; but there QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 127 is a wide difference in the case of a man who takes the life of another in defending himself from arrest and imprisonment, and a man who volunteers in a cause with which he has no concern, and perseveres until he takes the life of an officer who refused to betray his trust, and who honourably and faithfully discharged his duty. Therefore, if there is a distinction, the dis- tinction is in favour of the Dublin assassin, and not of the crime that was committed in Manchester. And let me observe, that I, for one, could have wished that the sentence to its full extent had not been carried out on these men — in reference at least to some of them — that is, that the Government could have seen their way to modify the sentence, as to some of them, who were not said to be actually perpetrators of the murder ; but we cannot shut our eyes to this, that between the condemnation in Manchester and the carrying out of the sentence, there intervened the Dublin assassination, which cannot but have had a material effect in shutting the door of mercy to these men. Now, gentlemen, you are to deal with that article. The other article to which I will call your attention is the " Funeral Procession." There are expres- sions in that which require your attention. It says, "Throughout the ordeal of a trial, little better than a mockery;" "Four weeks ago they hung three Irishmen;" and it proceeds in that strain. I will not go through it as it will be your duty to read it from becnnningr to end. It goes on thus : — u No murderers were they who died on the gallows tree in Manchester; no murderers, but brave-spirited patriots, who sealed their devotion to Ireland with their blood ; no murderers, but political martyrs." Gentlemen, I pause on that ; it reminds me, if that is their true character, of the expression that is attributed to a great bishop of the Catholic Church — a man of great enlightenment, who has been named to-day — the Bishop of Kerry, and who in reference to this subject — not to this article — says, that "if they were no murderers, if they were brave-spirited patriots, if they had done or said nought to be condemned but to be praised, we ought all to follow their example." That may be the meaning of such expressions. If they are patriots who have done or said nought to be condemned, but to be approved, why should not any person do likewise ? they must meet with approval and not condemnation. You will have to go' through this article. I forbear to comment on it. It is your pro- vince to put the true interpretation on it. I do not intend to call your attention to any but these two articles — one of the 30th of November, and the one headed " Funeral Processions." I have not the means before me of commenting on the others. Only isolated passages are set out in the indictment. You will take these passages into account, and the observations I have made on them. I have already called your attention to this ; I wish to repeat it, that in determining whether these are seditious libels or not, you must not attend to any observations I have made upon them save so far as they may meet with the concurrence of your own sound judgments. It is you who are the judges of the fact and of the law, and the constitution has given you that power for 128 DtJBLXIS COMMISSION. wise purposes. And now, gentlemen, I proceed with the remaining question in the case. Suppose you are satisfied the defendant pub- lished these articles, and that they had the meaning assigned to them by the Crown — that in that light they are, according to your judgments, of the character of seditious libels — then it becomes necessary to consider whether they were published with the intention which the Attorney-General in this indictment puts on them. I have already called your attention to it. Now, gentle- men, to constitute crime, as a general rule, the criminal intention, as well as the act alleged to be criminal, must concur ; but it is a maxim that pervades the whole law that every man primd facie intends the natural consequences of his own act — that is, while the act can flow but from one motive, and be the result of but one intention : and you will see that is a rule of justice, and that the safety of the community requires it should be carried into application. When dealing with a criminal intention we cannot dive into a man's mind — we cannot lay open the intentions of his heart — save so far as they are indicated by his actions. If the necessary and natural consequence of the articles in question was to carry out the object which the Attorney-General attributes to Mr. Sullivan, then he is fairly chargeable as part of his intention with the necessary consequence of his own acts. This rule may at times bear hardly, but still public policy requires it should be put in force. I recollect the case of a man who was tried here for Treason-felony evidenced by his writings, what he had written, and he was convicted ; and he made the strongest appeal for commiseration, on the ground that he had written for money, and that he was as opposed to Fenianism as any person in the community. That, gentlemen, did not avail ; we could not take that into account ; he was held responsible for the natural and necessary consequence of his act. Again, suppose a case that a newspaper proprietor who was opposed entirely to Fenianism, but who for the purpose of taking the wind out of the sails of another newspaper, or to promote the sale of his own, should embark in a cause such as I have described, we could not listen to him saying- it was pecuniary or mercantile motives that actuated him. That line of argument is not open to him ; and there, though he might actually have any other intention than that imputed to him, yet, as it was the necessary effect of the writings that he published to carry out the objects which were imputed to him, he is responsible in the manner I have described. These are the observations I have to make on this question of intention. In addition you are to take into account all the surrounding circumstances ; the state of the country, which is known to you ; the state of public opinion, as it is made known to you ; and say whether the time — time is all important — when all these articles appeared was opportune. Taking all these into account say, in your own honest judgments, if those articles are seditious libels, whether the necessary consequence was to carry out what is imputed to Mr. Sullivan. I ought to remind you that you are not to assume the four articles in question are the only articles which the Attorney-General can lay hands on as calculated to carry out QUEEN a. SULLIVAN. 129 the object which he imputes. Gentlemen, with these obser- vations, I shall leave the case to you. 'The whole matter, as I have said, is for your decision; and I would invite you to deal with it in a fair and liberal spirit. It is of the gravest and most important consequence. Don't take up this article or that article — don't take up an objectionable sentence here, or an objectionable sentence there; an objectionable word here, or an objectionable word there. I advise } r ou not to be carried away by strong language at all, as for instance, calling a court "a desecrated court of justice ;" but deal in a fair and liberal spirit. Recollect you are dealing with a public political article, to which a £reat latitude is to be given. You are dealing with a public writer applying himself to the public affairs of the day. Gentlemen, you are dealing with a class of articles which, if con- ducted in a fair spirit, and written bond fide, imxy be productive of great public good, and are often necessary for the public protection. I mean the public political articles appearing in a public journal ; and I therefore advise you. I recommend you, not to view them with the eye of narrow criticism, but deal with them in a broad and liberal spirit. Allow a fair and broad margin. Don't be carried away by strong words, but look at them as a whole; and recollect that you are the guardians of the liberty of the press ; and that whilst you will check its abuses, you will still preserve its liberty. Recollect what an invaluable blessing it is, and I am sure it will receive no unfair treatment at your hands ; but, viewing it in that light, and regarding the case in that fair, bold, manly spirit towards the defendant, if you come to the conclusion either that they are not seditious libels, that they are innocent articles, or that though open to censure they are not seditious libels in the sense that has been imputed to them, you are bound by your oaths to find for the defendant ; and I ask you, in the name of free discussion, if such is your view, to find a verdict for the defendant. Gentlemen, I need not remind you that you are bound to give the defendant the benefit of any doubt you entertain. I invite you to view these articles in tne broad spirit I have described, and give him the benefit of a fair and liberal interpretation ; but, gentlemen, if, on the other hand, while disposed to view them in that spirit, you are, from the whole spirit and context of the articles, obliged to come to the conclusion they are seditious libels, and if their necessary consequence is to excite hatred and contempt of Her Majesty's Government, and to bring the administration of the laws into contempt, or that the necessary consequence of articles of this kind was to disturb the public- peace or tranquillity of the realm ; if you are coerced to come to that conclusion, it is your duty, fearlessly and honestly, to find a verdict of conviction on all the counts, or for such of these articles as you think deserve that character, and I need not remind you, gentlemen, of the oath you all have taken, and I am certain to the utmost you will endeavour to do your duty, and find a verdict according to truth, and right, and justice. The jury, at the conclusion of his lordship's charge, were about to retire, when one of them put a question to the Court. K 1 30 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald said — There is no doubt the article in question headed " Liberty — God save Ireland," was not original in the sense I now point out to you — that is, not one written by the publisher of the Weekly News, or prepared in the office of" the \\'<r on behalf of the pri- soners, and not by the Crown. I further say that although having had the conduct of the prosecutions referred to, and having considerable opportunities of hearing the observations of the convicted prisoners, and reading any comments made by the public newspapers upon the cases, I have never heard or read any allegation that any of the verdicts in the t rials alluded to were unfair to the prisoners, or that the prisoners were not guilty of the offences charged. And I further say that, with very few exceptions, the objections for non-residence against jurors upon the trials alluded to were made against city jurors only, and not against jurors for the county of Dublin, and that such objections do not lie against the jurors for the county of Dublin, except in very few cases, and that I have been informed and believe that it is the intention of the Attorney-General to have this case tried by a jury of the county of Dublin ; and I further say that I have been informed and believe that if this case were removed by certiorari into this honorable court, the special jurors who would be selected to try this case must be taken from the same jurors book from which the panel for the Commission Court would be arrayed, and would be likely to include several of those who have served on the former trials alluded to in said affidavits ; and I further say that if the present application of the said Richard Pigott were granted it would cause considerable delay in bringing the case to trial." Referring to the sworn statement of Mr. Anderson, who, of course, was informed by the Attorney-General, and believed it to be true, it appears that it was the intention of the Attorney-General to have the case tried by a jury of the county of Dublin. I am justified in saying that the Attorney-General, on the motion in the Court of Queen's Bench, stated it was always his intention to have the case tried by a jury of the county, though no notice was given to the traverser of that intention, until the motion came on in the Queen's Bench, on argument. The conditional order for a certiorari was made on the 23rd of January, and the case came on for hearing on the 29th of January. YVe then refer, in our affidavit, to what actually occurred in the Queen's Bench. My difficulty in carrying my motion was the statement that was made by the Attorney-General, and the grave objection stated in Mr. Pigott's affidavit to the city venue as being conversant with a limited number of jurors was thereby removed. And accord- ingly we refer to the opinions of two of the justices of the Queen's Bench — my Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Justice George — " That two of said justices being the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Justice George, who were of opinion that my said application should not be granted, came to such conclusion chiefly upon the said undertaking of her Majesty's Attorney-General, that I should be tried by a jury of the said county of Dublin. That a bill of indictment has been sent up to the grand jury of the county of the city of Dublin, and found to be ;i true bill by said grand jury, and defendant submits that the preferring of such indictment is a breach of said undertaking of her Majesty's At- torney-General." QUEEN a. PIGOTT. My lord, as to delay, the only effect of delay would be to post- pone the trial until next after-sittings. And I now say that the Attorney-General having first of all advised his law officer to re- turn the informations to the city of Dublin on the 10th of January, having on the 29th of January given notice of his intention to have the case tried in the county of Dublin, he has now no right, on the 10th of February, to change his mind again, and have an indict- ment preferred before the city grand jury. I at once say my motion for a certiora ri was defeated by that undertaking of the Attorney-General, and in the words of the affidavit — " That the preferring of such indictment is a breach of said undertaking of her Majesty's Attorney-General, and that it is his right to have said indictment removed by certiorari into the Court of Queen's Bench and said charge tried before the Lord Chief Justice, and a special jury of the county of Dublin.' 7 And if the case were now res Integra in the Queen's Bench, I would have carried my motion for a certioTQ ri, and this case would have been tried before the Lord Chief Justice. I now ask your lordship to give a conditional order for a certiorari to remove the indictment into the Court of Queen's Bench, and I do so on the ground I have already stated. The Attorney-Cfeneral. — I have no intention of pn >eee<:ling in the city. Mr. Heron. — Then why was the indictment sent up I The Attorney-General. — To bring back your client, who fled from justice. Mr. Heron. — That is a distinct untruth. The Attorney-General. — My lord. I call Mr. Heron. — Yes ; to say that he fled from justice. Mr. Justice F'ttzg< raid. — Mr. Heron, we must insist on that expression being withdrawn. Mr. Heron. — The Attorney-General had no right to say that my client fled from justice after the rebuke he received from your lordship on Saturday. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — There was no rebuke. Mr. Heron. — When he says Mr. Pigott fled from justice, all I can say is Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — We adniinistered no rebuke, noi anything fall from the Attorney-General to call for a rebuke. 1 must say I never heard such language used by one member of the bar towards another, much less by a member of the bar towards the Attorney-General. It appears to me to be entirely without foundation. Mr. Baron D isy. — I entirely concur in the opinion of my brother Fitzgerald. The Attorney-General — Will your lordships allow the case to proceed until such language is retracted ? — It is impossible for the Attorney-General to discharge his duty, when he is exposed to such observations. Mr. Heron. — It is a very serious thing for me. defending the traverser, when the Attorney-General, with almost the judicial ermine thrown over him. says the traverser has fled from justice ; dujlin COMMISSION. when I moved for fche (MrUora/ri, it was in the recollection of your lordships what had occurred. 1 distinctly say that on Mr. Pigott's leaving the court, which was the " flying " alleged, the Attorney- GeneraJ said he shut his eyes to Mr. Pigott, and then the Attorney- (Jeneral opens his eyes, and sees he is gone. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I must say that nothing has occurred here, or any place else to justify the expression of Mr. Heron, and we both think that it should be unequivocally and unquali- fiedly withdrawn. Mr. Heron. — I deny that my client fled from justice ; I say that I emphatically and distinctly deny that my client fled from justice ; and I believe that observation was intended to prejudice his case. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I don't think he intended any such thing. Mr. Heron. — Then, my lords, I believe I fell into an error in using the w T ord untruth ; I do believe it, and I regret I used the word ; but then I say I deny my client fled from justice. Mr. Baron Deasy. — There was nothing whatever to call for these observations in the conduct or language of the Attorney- General, or to justify your imputation on his character in the slightest degree ; there is nothing to warrant the unfounded aspersion cast on him. that he intended to prejudice the trial. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I think no one who knows the Attorney-General would say that, under any circumstances, he would give cause for such an imputation. The Attorney-General. — I feel it due to myself, and to the position I hold as Her Majesty's Attorney-General, to state that I will not proceed w r ith the business until the imputations cast on my conduct are withdrawn. Mr. Baron Deasy. — I have no hesitation in saying that the observations ought to be promptly and unequivocally withdrawn. Mr. Heron. — Will you allow me to say that w r hen I used the word untruth, under circumstances of heat, believing that my client's case w T as prejudiced, surely I have a right to say that Mr. Baron Deasy. — You have no right to say that it was used for the purpose of prejudicing your client. I never heard such an imputation used by a gentleman of your position. It was quite unfounded. Mr. Heron. — All I can say is, that I sincerely believed it, when I said it. Mr. Baron Deasy. — I am sincerely sorry it was not promptly and unequivocally retracted. Mr. Heron, — Very well, my lord. (The subject then dropped.) The Clerk of the Crown then called on the traverser a^ain. Mr. Heron. — Your lordships will permit me to refer to the sections of the Act of Parliament under which I contend your lordships will adjourn the hearing of this trial until the next Commission. The section is the 3rd of the 6th Geo. IV., cap. 51. That is the section under wdiich this proceeding, this un- fortunate proceeding, that has led to so much confusion — first returning the informations to the city, and then having them QUEEX a. PIGOTT. 133 transferred to the county, is taken. I refer you to 2nd Hay — p. 906. (Mr. Heron then read the 3rd and ith sections, which are Set out at p. 12). I contended, as your lordship will remember, that the defendant was in the custody of the city Sheriff and that he was not removed, and that though the Court had jurisdiction to issue a bench warrant to compel his appearance, still I am entitled to say the proper course was by H >'.":*; • < C Section six then proceeds — [he read the section, see page 13\ According to the case of the Queen a. Duffy 4th Cox. p. 117) it is quite clear, if notice is not given ten days before the assize-. the trial must be postponed until the next Commission. By the concluding part of that section power is given — •• To compel the attendance of witnesses upon the trial of such indict- ments in like manner as in cases of indictments found for offences committed within the adjoining county." And your lordship will rind that where the indictment is found within the county of Dublin, for offences where informations were not returned to the county of Dublin, the invariable practice is the trial shall not take place until the next Commission. My lord, the attendance of Mr. Pigott here — I will say the voluntary attendance — there being of course a bench warrant against him — I will take it either way — I will take it that he is in the custody of the Sheriff, or not in the custody of the Sheriff — cannot affect his right to postpone the trial. I say it will never be found in any case where an indictment is found at the sessions, there being no previous return of the informations to the sessions, or to the assizes, that the prisoner is to be tried at that sessions. My lord, the seventh section say> (Mr. Heron read the whole section, see p. 14, wk provides that every recognizance shall be forfeited), if the prose- cutor shall, ten days previous to the holding of the next court of Oyer and Terminer or gaol delivery for the next adjoming county, give notice to the person bound in such recognizance of the intention to prefer such indictment to the next adjoining county, and the party bound shall not appear. Now, mv lord, here that notice was not oiven. It is singular to say that if the ten days' notice had been given, under the ninth section it would not have been possible to prefer the bill of indict- ment to the city Commission — a very remarkable thing. The ninth section says (Mr. Heron then read the section which pro- fyfrg for the return of the recognizances to the next county on ten days' notice being given) : and concludes : — u And that after delivery as aforesaid, of any of the said notices, it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to prefer any bill or bills of indictment or to return any inquisition for any offeree or offences men- tioned in the said recognizances, or any of them, at or to any se> - . Over and Terminer or general gaol delivery for any such county o: a city, county of a town, or town corporate/' £c. It is very remarkable that there is an indictment now pending in the city of Dublin on which at this moment Mr. Pigott may be arraigned and tried in the city. There can le no iitnciuty ;f DUBLIN COMMISSION. service of the nol Lee. as under the eighth seel ion notice being I eft at the residence of toe party is sufficient. (Jfr. Heron then read the section, which 'provides for leaving the notice at the party/a house, and concludes) — " And that no such recognizance shall be estreated or returned into the Court of Exchequer until the next following sessions of Oyer and Terminer or general gaol delivery to be holden in such next adjoining county." Mr. Baron Deosy. — What section is that? Mr. Heron.— ^The eighth section. I went hack for a moment from the ninth to the eighth. The thirteenth section provides — [Mr. Heron then, rend the seel ion which provides that security for the extra costs caused by the removal be given). Now, my lord, it seems to me that all through the sections of the Act of Parliament, it is conversant with the same principle that would exist supposing an indictment was preferred in the county of Dublin for an offence committed within the county of Dublin. And at page 280 of Gabbett's Criminal Law, vol. 2, it is said — ' • We may here observe that when a defendant is arrested upon a bench warrant, or upon a capias in case of felony, he is either to be committed or bailed to appear, and answer at a subsequent sessions or assizes." And supposing now, that Mr. Pigott had been arrested on a bench warrant, he then, my lord, would be committed or bailed to appear and answer at the subsequent sessions or assizes, and I, my lord, on behalf of Mr. Pigott, am not to lose the benefit of being considered in custody. I do not dispute the Court's jurisdiction to issue a bench warrant, but I must respectfully say that I am placed in the same position as Mr. Pigott was on the first day he was called by the Clerk of the Crown, when he surrendered, and came within the custody of the Sheriff of the city of Dublin. Under these circumstances I ask the Court when the ten days' notice was not given, and when he is volun- tarily appearing before you, there should not be a trial as of right on the part of the Crown against him. The Solicitor-General said — My lord, I think the observations of my learned friend proceed on an entire misconception of the statute, and an entire forgetfulness that the law has been changed. If the 14th and 15th Vic, cap. 100, sec. 27, which takes away the old right of postponing the trial of a misdemeanant, had not been passed, and we had been obliged to proceed on the statute of the 6th Geo. IV., I could understand the contention of Mr. Heron. This motion is not to the discretion of the Court, but is grounded on an abstract statutable right ; but Mr. Heron has forgotten to refer to that later statute. We must, in reading the 6th Geo. IV., see what has been the necessaiy result of what has passed in this case. If Mr. Pigott was not present, and that Act, 14th and 15th Vic, cap. 100, sec. 27, had not passed, the result would be to postpone the trial. The intention of the 6th Geo. IV. cap. 51, by the 3rd section, was to give an absolute right to all prosecutors when offences were committed in a county of a city to try the case in the next adjoining county. QUEEN ,i. PIGOTT. ■7 That positive absolute right was given. Then comes the subse- quent sections, one of which renders it incumbent on the prosecu- tor, when the party is in custody, to give ten days' notice, so as to transfer his trial to the next adjoining county. If a bench warrant had been issued under the tith Geo. IT., cap. 51. sec. 6, this course need not be pursued. But further than that the case stands in this position : a bill has been found against Mr. Pigott, he is in the actual presence of the Court, and he has made no application founded on the discretion of the Court, which I don't deny, on the ground that he is not ready lor his trial. He stands upon his right, and upon his right this case must be de- termine'!. There is no such right as he claims known to the law. and no ground having been shown for the application, I submit respectfully to your lordship that it should be refused. Mr. J". T. BxlL was about to follow, when Mr. Baron Deasy said — It is plain there is no such right as the traverser claims. Mr. Perry, on the part of the traverser, said — Is this an original indictment found by the Grand Jury of the county of Dublin, of which no notice of the change of venue from the city of Dublin to the county of Dublin has been given or not I I submit in either case you must refuse to proceed with the trial. Now, your lordships have taken it. perhaps, entirely as an original indictment, and have refused to re quire the Attorney-General to comply with ~. \ ■ requisitions of the Statute of the Oth Geo. IT., on the ground that it was an original indictment, found in this Court for the first time, and on the ground that we were obliged to answer an in- dictment, and that the motion on the statute failed, and was outside the statute altogether — if your lord-hips laid down that for that purpose, this is an original indictment — and for any other purpose it is not an original indictment — the effect of that would be to put an end to the Statute Gth Geo. IT. With that view. I simply call attention to the matter. Mr. Baron D-. . i — This is n t mattei >f right, though the Court might postpone the trial if proper ground was shown. It is now to be dealt with as if it was an original indictment brought under the powers of the statute in the county tor offences committed in the city. If any case was made out that he was not prepared for his" trial, or that he was surprised by the handing of the bill, the Court has power to postpone the trial till the next Commission. Here the defendant was apprised of the nature of the charge by the proceeding in the police ■ -nice, and the charge to be tried against him is now the same, to be sustained by the same evidence, and he was apprised of the intention to send bills up against him in the county of Dublin. In pursuance of the undertaking everv step has been taken in presence of Mr. Pigott or Mr. Pigott"- counsel. Bills have been prepared and already found, and Mr. Pigott has since appeared. He does not state now he is not as perfectly prepared to meet his trial as he would be on the next Commission. He does not bring under the notice of the Court any advantage he would have at the next Commission which he does not enjoy now. Ills counsel who is fully instructed, has not DUBLIN COMMISSION. stated to us a single ground for exercising the discretion wc have and would exercise in a proper ease. Therefore we must proceed with the trial on the indictment found by the county Grand Jury. Mr. Heron. — Having applied as a matter of right to your lord- ships to postpone the trial, I now make a similar application on another ground. I apply to the discretion of the Court. My lord, 1 move on the affidavit of Mr. Pigott that the case be post- poned till the next Commission on the ground stated in the affi- davit. He says the prosecution in this case is for the publication of seditious articles, that for the most part these articles are not original articles, but articles taken from American papers. I may mention that there are seventeen counts in the indictment. I am really not aware how many new articles in addition to those mentioned in the information returned to the city Commission are in them. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — There are four or five. Mr. Heron. — There are four or five at least. Mr. Pigott then goes on to say that he is advised and believes, that proof of the fact that said articles originally appeared in said American papers is material for his defence. He refers to the fact that, on the 29th of January, the J udges of the Queen's Bench were equally divided on a motion brought by him before them. And he then says — " That a number of articles charged as seditious in the indictment, are matters taken from American papers and published bond jide as American news. He is advised, and believes it is necessary for his defence to have evidence from America, that the transactions deposed to in said American journals really occurred — namely, that the several pro- ceedings at public meetings or other meetings of the persons called Fenians in America really occurred, which deponent believes they did, and which proceedings so reported in the American journals, deponent honestly and bond, fide published as the news of the day irrespective of the politics of the parties, and which proceedings whether shortly reported by the Atlantic Cable, or sent by telegram from Cork on their arrival by steamer with the American newspapers, deponent believes were published by every leading newspaper in England, Ireland, and Scotland, and were also almost contemporaneously translated into the newspapers of France, Germany, and Italy, as a portion of the news of the world. Deponent believes that he will be really prejudiced in his trial if he is unable to prove by the foreign newspapers of America, and by the reporters who attended the meetings of the so-called Fenians in America, that those meetings were really held as legal meetings in America with- out any intervention on behalf of the American Government, and deponent saith that said meetings were legal in America. Deponent saith, that if allowed so to do by the laws of the country, he intends to examine the reporters who attended at said meetings in America, to prove that Ame- rican citizens, legally assembled, passed the resolutions which were, after- wards printed in the American papers, and for the republication of which deponent is now being prosecuted ; although, as deponent believes, more than 100 of the leading newspapers of England, Ireland, and Scotland simultaneously published the same news, popularly called " the Fenian ih'ws ;" for the publication of which defendant is now being prosecuted." In the second count there is the article headed " Boston Circle, Fenian Brotherhood," which appears in the New York papers, and QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 139 which is published in the Irishman of the 13th of July. It is a meeting of the Boston Circle. Fenian Brotherhood, and I believe it is not in the informations returned to the city Commission — " the Boston Circle, Fenian Brotherhood" is not in the list of pub- lications referred to in the proceedings at the police office : it is a most material one ; it is a report of the Boston Circle of Fenian Brotherhood ; if published as an original article it would be subject to the gravest comments : and I have to complain, on behalf of my client, that though the Crown pretend to give him notice in re- ference to these publications, the first notice he got of this one is the finding of the indictment. My lord, the defendant then pro- ceeds to say — " And deponent saith that in reference to all the articles which purport to be reports of Fenian meetings in America, or purport to be extracts from the American newspapers, that they are real and bond, fide reports of lawful meetings within the jurisdiction of the United States of America, and are. without exaggeration or suppression, real republications of portions of American newspapers as part of the news of the day j and that no newspaper, from the London Times, which deponent believes to be the greatest representative of the press, down to the humblest provincial journal, could have existed as a newspaper within the last two years without publishing the so-called Fenian news, for which deponent, as the publisher of the Irishman, is now prosecuted Deponent saith the Irishman has been published since 1852. and has ever since advocated National and Catholic principles in Ireland. That deponent became the proprietor since April, 1865. That deponent believes it necessary for his defence in reference to articles purporting to be copied from foreign papers, viz., the American papers — to prove that the papers were published in America, and were in the course of business so copied ; and deponent refers to the following articles, viz. : — Xo. 1, in the inchctment called 4 The Late Rising in Ireland, 1 and saith that said letter appeared in the Sew York People newspaper about the first week in .June, 1867, and was pub- lished in the Irish ma n on the 29th of June. And deponent saith it is necessary for his defence to produce the New York papers to prove that same were duly printed and published in Xew York : saith he is unable to do so at the present time in consequence of the limited time since deponent was committed for trial at the city Commission, especially since the Attorney-General announced in the Queens Bench that the intention of trying him at the city Commission was abandoned, and that with a view to the constitution of the jury, he would be tried at the county Commission." He refers to the article Xo. 2, that is headed " Ireland's Oppor- tunity." The article No. 2 is in the original lot of articles re- turned from the police office. The defendant says: — M Deponent craves leave to refer to the article Xo. 2, headed 1 Ireland's Oppoi'tunity,' and saith that the same was published on the 24th of August, 1807, in the Irishman, and deponent saith that the same was really and bond fide taken from the Xeic York Irish People, as part of the news of the day. and that it is absolutely necessary for defendant's defence to prove by witnesses that said article was published in the New York Irish People, as he is advised, and believes, and was copied from a newspaper duly publish el in New York. That deponent has no means of proving the publication of a paper in America except bv witnesses from America. That if a proper and reasonable time be given to de- DUBLIN COMMISSION ponent, he will be able to prove that said article wan published in America, in the paper aforesaid. Deponent saith that with reference to the article in the indictment headed ? Boston Circle, Fenian Brotherhood,' and al- leged to be published in the Irish man, in July, 1807, saith same is no1 in the number of articles or portions of the paper alleged to be seditions in the informations returned against him to the city of Dublin Commis- sion. That in the multiplicity of articles stated in the indictment de- ponent has not yet discovered from w hat New York paper or other American journal this document is an extract. Deponent presumes that same was before the law officers of the Crown when he was summoned to the police office, and that said publication was not then considered seditious, but same is now included in the indictment. Deponent saith that it is absolutely necessary for his defence to prove that the transac- tions of the 9th June, 1867, mentioned to have occurred in Boston, as of said date did really occur, at a legal meeting in the United States of America, and that same were legally published in the United States journals, and copied by deponent, as a public journalist, in the ordinary discharge of his duty, as proprietor of a newspaper, and deponent knows and believes that he will be able to prove, by American citizens that said meeting of the 19th of June, 'G7 did take place; and that said resolu- tions mentioned in said article were passed, and that same were published in most of the journals of the United States, and that deponent really and bond fide published same as part of the news of the day, and without which deponent's or any other newspaper could not exist as a mercan- tile speculation. And deponent saith that with regard to the article mentioned in the second count he is without defence, and taken by sur- prise, and never knew said publication would be used against him until the 10th of February, 18G8. Saith that most of the witnesses to prove his defence are resident in America. And deponent further saith that the said count is conversant with an article published in the Irishman on the 17th of August, 18G7, which is not made the subject of the informa- tions returned to the city Commission, in reference to which deponent is completely taken by surprise, and as to which he has a real defence, but has no opportunity of instructing his counsel or justifying the policy thereby recommended. And deponent saith that in England or Ireland before the present prosecution, no Attorney-General ever sent up a bill of indictment against the proprietor of a newspaper in reference to pub- lications about the illegality of which no previous notice was given to the publisher before the indictment was found." Now, my lord, I do submit my case is stronger as regards others ; but in reference to that second count on the article, " Boston Circle, Fenian Brotherhood," that is said to have occurred in Boston on the 1 9th of June. I would respectfully call your lordship's attention to that count, and the nature of the article in that second count. I do not wish to read it now, or that it should ever be published again, and I am sureit would have remained in obscurity and been forgotten hmg since, except for this prosecution. The transactions referred to are said to have occurred on the 19th of June; they are pro- duced in the Irishman on the 13th of July, '07, and my client swears — that although he believes that he can prove that to be extracted from an American journal in the course of busi- ness, and that he can prove the meeting did take place — he is now unable to do so, and, therefore, without means of defence ; and il* the trial be allowed to proceed, that may be relied on as QUEEN a, PIGOTT I ! I ail original article, falsely stating a transaction to have taken place which never did take place, because in the Queen's Bench it was relied on, in reference to another article headed "Ireland's Opportunity," that that was an original article of the Irishman newspaper. It is truly stated in the indictment that it is under the heading " Fenianism " in America, but it does not appear what the paper was from which the paragraph was taken. My lord, Mr. Pigott sAvears, in the multiplicity of articles, he has not dis- covered what New York paper or ether American journal this document is an extract from. This is a matter that is done with the scissors, and some things are sometimes omitted, and others inadvertently introduced. Mr. Baron Deasy. — It would appear primd facie to be taken from a New York journal. Mr. Heron. — At all events this is a matter to be met by evidence. There is the ordinary separation of that article from the article before, and your lordship will see the ordinary separation occurs down along the whole of the column, separating one article from the other, according to the paper it is taken from ; and that Avhole page proves the news to be a resume' from the American journals. Mr. Pigott swears, that in the multiplicity of articles, he cannot trace from what paper this is an extract. I believe it will be found that it is an extract from a Boston paper. We believe that, but have not yet discovered it. Mr. Pigott says the third count is conver- sant with an article, in reference to which he has been completely taken by surprise. That article is headed "War Clouds and Omens," and is a political article on the state of Europe. The defendant then goes on to say : — " And deponent further saith that the article in the fourth count, entitled ' Ireland's Opportunity,' from the New York Irish People, was published as foreign news, and defendant has no means of proving same without procuring witnesses from New York." The main controversy appears to me to be whether " Ireland's Opportunity" is an original article or not. It makes, my lord, a very serious difference ; and, my lord, I say I would not like going before a jury without having a Neiv York Irish People before me. As to that we have full notice of the point, and it is a mere matter of evidence by which that point is to be met. " Ireland's Oppor- tunity " may have an innocent face. It might be said, I will state by the most loyal man in the community. My lord, if the article were reprinted bond fide from the New York Irish People without that heading, if that heading were not there, of course the question would then be the intent of the publisher — to see if it were a seditious libel — because, notwithstanding that the article is capable of being construed as a libel, and as a sedi- tious libel, the jury must find the criminal intent. It, there- fore, is a material matter. This is a matter that appears to me most vital in the case. It is important to me to show the heading " Ireland's Opportunity" is in the New York Irish, People, and that this was published, I will say, in the way of news as an expression of foreign opinion, and not with the intent to over- 1 12 DUr.LlN COMMISSION. throw Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland. With reference to the innendoes, they all appear to me to be borrowed from the counts for treason-felony. Your Lordship has had the innendoes in the last case before yon. The innendoes here, for instance, in reference to the article of the 17th of Angnst, are — " Meaning thereby and intending to point ont and show that when Her Majesty should he engaged in war with any Foreign Pow er, a favourable time would be presented to the discontented and disaffected subjects of Her Majesty in Ireland of rising up in armed rebellion .against Her Majesty, and intending and devising to urge preparations for and incite her said subjects so to rise when such opportunity should occur, and to excite hatred, contempt, and dislike towards and against Her Majesty and Her Government." And, therefore, these two articles — "The Boston Circle" — the article that is in the third count, and the article in the fourth count must be relied on as overt acts of treason-felony — to be originally published as garbled and untrue reports, and with different headings from the New York newspapers. The attempt in this case is under the guise of an indictment for sedition to confound the case with the case of treason-felony. That has been found with reference to the fifth count, which is new, although it was published so far back as the 31st of August, and the first time it was brought in accusation against the defendant was on the 10th of February, 1868. That, my lord, is not the publication of the entire article, I believe. Mr. Baron Dea&y. — It purports to be an extract from the letter of an occasional correspondent. The Solicitor-Gc iLcml. — What does he say on that ? Mr. Heron. — This- is a paper from a foreign correspondent, show- ing the state of feeling in America — expressing the state of feeling in very strong language ; and the defendant says — "And deponent Says that with reference to the articles referred to in the fifth count, said article was not referred to in the information re- turned against deponent to the city Commission, and that no Attorney- General for England or Ireland before this prosecution prosecuted a newspaper for libel without giving some notice to the proprietor of the paper before the indictment was found, and the practice commenced by the present Attorney-General for Ireland is wholly unprecedented and is contrary to the laws and customs of this realm. That deponent believes he has the means of proving literally the truth of what is stated in the said publication complained of in the said fifth count, and that same can only be proved by witnesses from America. That if notice had been given to deponent six weeks ago, deponent would have been enabled to procure such witnesses from America. That deponent published said publication under the following head — ' American Correspondence. From an Occasional Correspondent. We do not of course, agree with all the writer's news as here expressed.' And deponent saith that said heading is designedly omitted from the indictment to the prejudice of the defendant, and deponent positively saith that he is taken by surprise as to said publication being inserted in the indictment, and that the trial against him will be an unfair one unless he had the means of proving, as deponent would, if sufficient time were allowed, have been enabled to do, that said publication was a letter of a corres- QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 143 pondent on the political news of the day, truly representing the real state of public opinion in America upon the political question referred to in the letter, and in reference to which political opinions the Times, Daily News, Telegraph, and other journals of the empire, published the letters of other correspondents from Paris, Rome, Berlin, New York, Madrid, stating the real opinions entertained by foreign communities upon British or Irish affairs." He refers then to the 6th count. This also is a new article. It is published on the 21st of September. It is not referred to in the informations. It is headed, " Suggestions for the future man- agement of Fenian affairs in Ireland." The defendant says: — u Deponent refers to the 6th count, and says same was duly copied from the New York People as foreign hews, and same is not referred to hi the informations returned against deponent to the city Commis- sion ; and deponent saith that although said article was published on the 21st of September last, he had no intimation that same would be used against him until after the indictment was found. That he is completely taken by surprise ; that it is absolutely necessary for him to examine persons resident in New York, to prove that said article was published hi the New York People; and to prove that the proceedings therein mentioned are legal in America, as to which it will be necessary to examine American lawyers, and deponent is advised that it is necessary to examine same, and he intends to examine same." That is as to the 6th count. The 7th count he has had notice of, and, as to that, we cannot allege anything about the American witnesses. He then refers to the 8th count, and says: — "Deponent refers to the 8th count, and says that up to the time of the Honorable Court of Queen's Bench being equally divided upon the question of granting a certiorari to remove the indictment from the Commission Court to the Court of Queen's Bench, deponent believed he would have obtained the said writ, and that the trial would not have taken place until Easter Term next. Saith it is absolutely necessary for his defence to prove that the resolutions respecting the Manchester rescue, referred to in the 8th count, were actually passed at a public meeting held in Boston, hi America, That said meeting was legal, and that said resolutions were published in the Boston Pilot. Saith it is impossible to prove said matters without the production of witnesses from America, whom deponent is advised and believes are necessary to be examined for his defence, and whom he intends to examine, if possible. Saith from the course the prosecutors have adopted in this prosecution, it will be impossible for deponent to have such witnesses in attendance from America. Saith the trial against deponent will be an unfair one if he be now tried on those articles or publications, as to which he never got any notice until the indictment was found, and as to which it is absolutely necessaiy he should produce, in order to a real defence, the witnesses from America, who can prove the transactions which occurred there; and who can prove the publications in the American newspapers of the meetings there, and the witnesses who can prove the publication of the leading articles of the newspapers there; and deponent saith that without then production, he is now unable to defend himself against the indictment, some counts of which, found on Monday, the 18th inst., for the first time, gave deponent notice of the offences with which he is charged. Saith the Irishman newspaper has been since 1852 advocating DUBLIN COMMISSION. in the strongest manner the same national principles as regards the Koman Catholic Church and the Jrisli people for the expression of which deponent is now prosecuted." That is the affidavit. The affidavit mainly relics on five of the principal matters against Mr. Pigott, with reference to which, for the first time, he got notice on the finding of the indictment on the first day of the Commission. I shall try to avoid any strong Language ; but, as regards one of these articles, 1, {is his advocate, say that he is at present without defence, and that tin; article charged against him, if it be relied on at all, could be relied <»n in the same way that newspaper articles have been properly relied on by the Crown in this court, namely — as overt acts of high treason, and liable to punishment as treason-felony. As regards some of the articles, those republished from the Ame- rican newspapers, that can never be proved to the satisfaction of the Court, without the direct production of the original news- papers and witnesses to testify to their contents. I therefore say, my lord, on the whole of this case — having regard to this, that courts of justice have two functions (one is to do justice, and, I believe, justice is generally done) — that my client will not get a fair trial at this Commission if the prosecutor insists on going on. The Sol Icitor- General replied : — Mr. Pigott apparently founds his objection on distinct grounds with regard to the original articles and those which have been since brought forward against him and in- serted in the indictment. I recollect that in the Police-office there was only one original article brought forward, that entitled the " Holocaust ;" but there were several other articles, which pur- ported to be taken from American papers. The new articles which have been inserted are altogether four or five in number. To some of these no objection was or could be made, simply because they are original articles — some being "leaders." As to the remaining three, one of them is the letter, signed " Liscarroll ;" the second is a number of resolutions which follow an article from the New York I risk People ; and the third, I think, appeared in the issue of August 21st. The application for postponement applies with equal force to the documents which have been produced at the Police-office, whether original or selected from American papers, and to those which have been since inserted in the indictment. Mr. Pigott, in his affidavit, with regard to those selected articles, says that it is material for him to do two things— first, to produce the papers out of which these articles have been taken, and, secondly, to have these articles certified by the proper authorities as having been published in America. But he does not deny that he has these papers in his custody and possession at his own office. Let him produce them. Mr. Baron Deasy. — As I understand his statement, the course of business is just to cut out the articles. The Solicitor-General. — He does not say that he hasn't them. Mr. Baron Deasy. — If lie had them itself, the papers would be of no use, for the articles are cut out of them. The Solicitor-General. — I thought he would have been able to produce the newspapers in their entirety. But he does not say a QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 145 single word of having taken any step to procure those papers which contained those articles originally — those articles which were charged with being seditious in the Police-office, of which he had notice since January. Even on his own showing, there is no evidence of the slightest effort or the slightest trouble to obtain those papers that are. indeed, so veiy necessary for his defence. Mr. Heron. — If that fact is to be relied upon, I shall have to produce witnesses to show that it is the usual course of business in the office to burn those papers. Mr. Baron Dea-sy. — If that were required we should permit you to alter the affidavit accordingly. The Solicitor-Ge ne red. — If any of these articles in the Irish- man is represented to have been taken from a particular paper, the Crown will not seek to go behind that. As to the events having occured, that could not be proved in this court: . Who wishes to go into the truth of that ? I do not think it at all likely that the American papers would have invented those things. But the truth never could be given in evidence. Ifr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Are you willing to admit that these articles were so extracted, and appeared in the American paper- ! What do you say to the article " Ireland's Opportunity r The Solicitor-General. — We do admit that these articles were taken from the American papers. With regard to the article " Ireland's Opportunity. Mr. Pi. :: says that it is copied from the Xev: York Iri*h People, and. that he has no opportunity of proving that. In regard to that article, the question arises, whether the heading appeared in the American paper, or is original on the part of Mr. Pigott. But I am willing to admit that it appeared — heading and all — in the New York' Irish People. The prosecution of the articles which belong to this category, was nut founded on the supposition that they were in- vented or fictitious documents. The Attorney-General would be quite unworthy of his position, if he brought in such a side-wind here. He seeks to have a great principle established in this case. I think Mr. Pigott's application entirely fails in regard to the next class of articles — those that have originally appeared in the Irishman. As to the letter signed, " Liscarroll,'' he does not say in his affidavit, that he is not in possession of his corre- spondent's letter. Mr. Pigott adds that this document did not appear in the original informations, and that he could prove the literal truth of some parts of it. if he had the proper witnesses. But. if it be libellous, the article cannot be proved true : and if it be not libellous, such proof is altogether irrelevant He admit- tedly has got the letter himself — let him produce it, if it really came from a correspondent. Mr. Heron. — We cannot produce the old documents of last Augn-:. The Solicitor-G^eraL — I ask again, of what part of the letter could he prove the truth ? " Mr. Baron Deasy. — Are you willing to admit that the heading came from the correspondent ? The Solicitor -General. — Certainly ; but if he have the docu- L 146 DUBLIN COMMISSION. merit, we shall of course expect that lie will produce it on fcne trial. If not, the Attorney-General will certainly not taunt him with its non-production. We do not seek by a side-wind to get indirectly what we consider ourselves entitled to directly. We consider the publication of those letters, although received from American correspondents, just as criminal as if they had been concocted in Mr. Pigott's own brain, and penned at his own desk. The second count is the only one, as to which, it appears to me, there can be any difficulty. It purports to be a series of re- solutions passed by a meeting of the Boston circle of Fenians, and follows immediately upon an article, taken from the Neiv York Irish People In regard to this article, Mr. Pigott says that it is not one of those mentioned in the original information and that, therefore, he presumes, that it did not appear seditious to the law-officers of the Crown ; that it is absolutely necessary for his defence to prove, that the transactions mentioned in it did really take place in Boston, and that the meeting, and the publi- cation of it, were both legal in the United States ; that he now believes that he will be able to prove by American citizens that such a meeting did really occur; that such resolutions were passed, and that the same were published in most of the American journals, as part of the news of the day, without the publication of which a newspaper, as a commercial undertaking, could not exist. We are perfectly willing to take it for granted, that it is as he says, and that, whether it were news or not, it did appear in the New York Irish People, which is the publication quoted immediately before. What, then, becomes of the motion? There is nothing to put it upon, and Mr. Pigott has no right to have it adjourned on any other ground. As to the insertion of articles, other than those in the original informations, in preparing the present indictment, and in going carefully over the papers, things might strike the pleader, which did not at first catch his eye. Besides, as your lordships are aware, the Attorney-General, even if these articles were not inserted in the indictment, would have a perfect right to refer to any one of them. Mr. Pigott has, there- fore, no right to complain, since he has got some notice, when he might have got none, and can under such circumstances show no fair reason for adjournment. As regards the original articles, which have been since inserted, no documents could have any effect on them ; and as to the selected articles, the Crown admits that they were taken from American papers. Mr. Baron Deasy. — Will you put down in writing, Mr. Solicitor, what are the admissions you intend to make, and hand it to Mr. Heron. Mr. J. T. Ball. — Tt is right to say that this indictment is f< >un4ed on the supposition that the very matter is admitted that Mr. Heron seeks to prove. In the indictment, the article on the Boston meeting is taken to be a report of events that did really take place, and the very reason why it is rffosecutcd is that the proprietor, by inserting it, meant to disseminate information of the proceedings, progress, and designs of the Fenian conspiracy. It is, consequently, assumed that the meeting did so take place, QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 147 and the rebellious proceeding did really occur, as recorded in the paper. In the indictment you will tind that Mr. Pigott is prose- cuted, not merely for having published original articles, but for having endeavoured to excite hatred and discontent among Her Majesty's subjects by publishing original and selected articles, which are calculated to keep alive and encourage sedition and the vile designs of evil-disposed persons. There is another ground, however, for postponement, namely, that it is necessary to bring over American lawyers to prove the legality of these proceedings in America. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — You need not trouble yourself with that. Mr. Ball. — With respect to the third ground for postponement, there is nothing in that differing from the rest. Xew articles have certainly been inserted in the indictment ; but they could have been given in evidence without any notice at all ; instead of that, fair notice has been oiven. If they had been left out, Mr. Pio-ott would have more reason to complain. I may also say, that, if an application for delay and postponement for the purpose of pro- ducing other evidence, were to be made at all, it should have been made in the course of the Term. Mr. He run. — I could not have made it then. I really feel that my client is prejudiced by this admission, because I now perceive from what my friend Dr. Ball has stated, that it is the intention upon this trial to go through the whole proof of the existence of the Fenian conspiracy. If the Crown is willing to consent that this affidavit shall be read at the trial, I then consent to be bound by any admission the Crown may make. I consider it material to prove that these events did really occur, because it makes a great difference, as to these transactions, whether they be the report of a public meeting, or whether they be the invention of the Boston Pilot or the JYt : v: York Irish Pt<>p!<:. Unless, therefore, the affi- davit be read at the trial, I decline to be bound by the admission on the part of the Crown. Mi\ Baron B^isy. — We were at first disposed to think that there were some grounds for postponement, but now, after hear- ing the statement from the Solicitor-General, and after the admis- sions by him, which include everything that the defendant could prove, if he had any number of witnesses from America, I think the grounds that I originally considered existed for the postpone- ment, have been entirely removed. The indictment charges the defendant with having published original articles, as to which there is no ground for postponement ; and also with having pub- lished articles selected from American newspapers, and resolutions passed at meetings that took place there. It might be material for the defendant to prove that these articles were taken from American papers, if he were called on to do so. That difficulty has been removed, for the trial is to proceed on the admission dis- tinctly and unequi vocally made, that all these articles that purport to be from American papers, did really and actually appear in American journals, which came to Mr. Pigott, and that they were extracted by him from these papers and put into the columns of us DUBLIN COMMISSION. the Irishman, exactly and literally as they originally appeared. We cannot go into the question whether these meetings were legal, according to the American law. We presume they were, since they were allowed to take place by the American authorities. We have no right to enter into that question at all. With respect to the only article as to which there was any difficulty, and with respect to which it might be material to show that the heading- was copied as well as the article, all difficulty has been removed by the admission that Mr. Pigott copied heading and all. He has, therefore, every advantage,. by that admission, that he could pos- sibly have from the evidence or attendance of witnesses. He has had ample notice of the institution of this prosecution, and of the intention to proceed with it. He knew that it would come on in a particular order at the Commission held in Dublin. The inser- tion in the indictment of articles — most of which are original — in addition to those in the original informations, has in no way prejudiced him. A defence to the original articles is now amply open to him, and the facts upon which he grounds his defence to the other articles are now admitted. Under such circumstances I do not see how his case could be in the slightest degree bettered by postponing it to the next Commission. We must, therefore, refuse the application. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — I quite concur with my brother Deasy, that the ample admission which the Solicitor-General has given, and which we shall take care to have preserved, leaves no legal ground of apprehension that the trial would not be fair and satis- factory. The great object is to have a satisfactory trial, which may be prejudiced in no way, and if I thought that a more satis- factory trial would be accomplished by a postponement, I would certainly be for granting it. But I see no reason for forming such a view, and I therefore think the application fails. We propose to take up the case to-morrow morning, but, before ad- journing the Court for to-day, I wish again to refer to a very painful transaction which occurred here to-day. I refer to ex- pressions which w^ere used by Mr. Heron — I have no doubt in heat, for his usual practice is to conduct his cases with good temper ; but undoubtedly the observations used by him to-day fell little short of a contempt of Court, and were, in our opinion, entirely unwarranted. We think, for many reasons, that Mr. Heron ought to retract those words. Mr. Heron. — My lord, I would never have been betrayed into the expressions wdiich I used to-day, had I not believed that my client's case was prejudiced by the observations which fell from the Attorney-General. I do not say that the Attorney- General intended that his observations should have this effect, but at the time I considered they would lead to such a conse- sequence, and I, therefore, felt great indignation. It was my inten- tion before the Court adjourned to refer to the matter again. Your lordship has given an opportunity of doing so. J very much regret having used the word " untruth," and I recall it in the most unqualified manner. The Court then adjourned. QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 149 Tuesday, February 1 8, 1868. When the Court sat the long panel was called over by the Clerk of the Crown. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — There are some gentlemen on the panel who never answer at all. Keep a record of their names. There are a great number I know who never appear by any chance. Mr. Patrick Langan (juror) was excused on account of deaf- ness from the effects of a cold. Mr. George Beebe said that his name was not properly spelled in the summons. His name was Beebe, not Bebe. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — It is only the pronunciation, you must serve. Mr. William Webb was excused as being above sixty. Mr. Stephenson Moore also claimed exemption for a similar reason. (Excused). The following gentlemen were sworn on the jury : — Robert Cordner, Esq. Daniel Maunsell, Esq. John W. Brown, Esq. George Beebe, Esq. James Pillar, Esq. William Ryan, Esq. Charles Cooney, Esq. Robert Echlin, Esq. Greeves Holdbrook, Esq. Richard Salter, Esq. Fielding Scoyelle, Esq. Thomas Hayes, Esq. The following gentlemen were directed to " stand by" by the Crown : — Joseph Berry, George Doyle, and William Magrath. Mr. Pigott pleaded not guilty to the indictment, which was as follows : — County of the City of Dublin, ^ rp TTT , t- _ „ T ' f JLhe Jurors for our Lady the (County of Dublin). f ? CEEN > U P°" f h f, nd affil ™*- i L J tion, present that before the printing and publishing of the false, wicked, malicious, scandalous, and seditious libels hereinafter mentioned, a certain unlawful organization and con- spiracy existed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and in America, having for its aim and object the overthrow of Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland, and establishing a Republic in Ireland, and the members of said conspiracy called themselves and were known as Fenians, or the Fenian Brotherhood, and Irish Republican Brotherhood, and the principles avowed and professed by, and the aim and object of the members of said conspiracy were called and known as Fenianism, and said conspiracy was called and known as The Fenian Conspiracy, and also called and known as Fenianism. And the mem- bers of said conspiracy in March, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, attempted by force and arms to over- throw Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland, and Richard Pigott, well knowing the premises, and being a wicked, seditious, ma- licious, and ill-disposed person, and being greatly disaffected to our Lady the Queen and to her administration of the government of this Kingdom and the dominions thereunto belonging, and wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously contriving, devising, and intending to spread, stir up, and excite discontent and sedition amongst Her Majesty's subjects, and to excite hatred and contempt toward Her Majesty's government and the administration thereof, and to encourage, foster, and keep alive the said conspiracy, and to encourage and excite the members of said con- DUBLIN COMMISSION. spiracy to continue and persevere in their unlawful plots and designs, and contriving, devising, and intending to disseminate and convey among Her Majesty's subjects information and intelligence of the extent, progress, and designs of said conspiracy, and to keep the members of said conspiracy in this country, and other seditious and evil-disposed persons in this country, well informed of the acts and proceedings of the members of said conspiracy in America, on the twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty seven, did print and publish, and did cause to be printed and published, a certain printed paper called The Irishman, in a certain part of which said printed paper there were and are contained of and concerning the said conspiracy, called The Fenian Conspiracy, and of and concerning Fenianism, and of and concerning the attempt made by the members of said conspiracy to overthrow the power and authority of Her Majesty in Ireland, and of and concerning future attempts to be made by Irishmen for the overthrow of Her Majesty's power in Ireland, and of and con- corning the means and probability of the said Fenians accomplishing their said object, and of and concerning Her Majesty's government, and the execution and administration of the laws of this Kingdom by Her Majesty's government, certain false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " The Late Rising in Ireland." (Meaning thereby the attempt made in March, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, to overthrow Her Majesty's power in Ireland.) " New York, June 4, 1867. " The following remarkable letter appears in a New York paper : — " Two years ago, accompanied by my dog Ban, I used to ramble through the picturesque barony of Clanwilliam, in the county of Tipperary. I had a light heart then. Like thousands of my fellow countrymen, I little thought that the summer's sun of '07 would shine over a prostrate Ireland, and that British dungeons would be the abodes of some of the truest and most stern opponents of British rule that ever bore the name of Irishmen. I was not so sanguine as to natter myself that Fenianism [meaning thereby the Fenianism above referred to) would progress to the end unchecked by traitors ; but certainly I never imagined that it (mean- ing said Fenianism) was doomed to meet with such obstacles as it has met with, and with which it still continues to meet, from persons whom I will take very good care not to call men. " But here in America true men must not now occupy their minds with thoughts of the past and the machinations of scoundrels. The redemption of our native land (meaning the rescuing Ireland from the government of Her Majesty the Queen of England and Ireland) mainly depends upon Irishmen here (meaning America), and if they continue to work as their brothers at home (meaning in Ireland) expect they will, the stamping- out of Fenianism will be something too difficult for the British man- slayer of Sepoy notoriety. " Irishmen in America ask the question — and little wonder that they should — What are the feelings of those at home 1 This is a question not very easily answered ; but I will try to give a true and faithful descrip- tion of affairs as they were one month ago. " Before doing so, let us look at Ireland as it was during the merry Shrove prior to the 5th of March last. The whole people were animated by one single thought alone — the thought of the coming struggle {mean- ing the struggle or attempt to be mode by the Fenians to overthrow Her Majesty's government by Jorce and arms). Smiths were hard at work QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 151 everywhere, pike handles were manufacturing, and the women devoted their time to the making of ball cartridges. This was all the people could do in the way of preparations, and they did all they could. u Those who love their country are poor, but poor as they are, they would not be so entirely destitute of arms as they were if they could get them to buy. " The faith of those at home in their brethren at this side of the Atlantic was unbounded. Let us begin the struggle, they reasoned, and we will not be allowed to perish. Irishmen in America will do their duty, and we will be successful (meaning thereby that they wotd ('succeed in their attempt to overthrow Her Majesty's power and authority in Ire- land). The national spirit at this time almost amounted to frenzy. No man thought on Ms private business. No sooner were the children able to speak than their mothers taught them to pray for the Fenians (mean- ing thereby the Fenians above referred to), and young women were the constant and trustworthy emissaries from village to village. Any man going amongst the people then, and witnessing their love of country, their carelessness about aught else, and their unparalleled hopes and buoyant spirits, should exclaim this people will be free. w The word for which they so long waited came at length, and with it came the assurance that all was right at last. A few days showed them the contrary. What wonder, then, that the spirits of men should be broken for a time ? All hopes vanished, and despair set in. There was nothing but woe throughout the land ; almost every family was visited with ruin. The father was torn from his family by the heartless hire- lings of the enemy, and the son from the mother of his heart's love. The children who, a few days previously, prayed for the Fenians, are now crying for bread, and the father who. with all imaginable confidence, used to promise them that they would be freemen yet, lies in a British prison. We are deserted and betrayed by those in whom we had all faith, was the general cry. " When overwhelming grief comes upon us it precludes all hope for a while. Talk to us of hope, then, and you but mock us. When a man " ' Finds his hearthstone turned into a tomb, And round its once warm precincts palely lying The ashes of his hopes tell him that eveiything will be all right with him soon again, and you increase his agonies tenfold ; but let the first shock pass over, and he will gather hopes of his own accord. The Almighty consoler has sup- plied us with antidotes for the ' greatest misfortunes. The keenest mis- fortunes that visit the human breast are gradually allayed and finally subdued by God-given Hope. And Hope was travelling on its heavenly mission through the old land when I left it last month. The people will not, for they cannot, believe that the cause (meaning the cause of Fenianism) is lost ; and let them only get the means, and they will fight (meaning thereby that the people of Ireland would fight against the power and authority of Her Majesty). I know they will, for I know the people. Let not the baseness of a few informers lead any man to believe that the people are bad. If oppression, which left nothing untried to demoralize — if bad teaching and scoundrelism of all sorts could make them bad. they would be bad indeed. k ' When I look back at the past, ay, when I view the present too, I feel surprised that the Irish people have preserved to such an extent their patriotism, their virtue — in a word, their integrity. " A short time since I asked myself what will become of the Irish race ? Are we doomed to be the outcasts and beggars of the earth 1 And I greatly feared we were : for I then had no faith in mv countrv- DUBLIN COMMISSION. men here. I have faith now. Tliank heaven, I found men here who mean work and who arc working. But what can men do if they be not supported ? Let all those who love Ireland bear this well in mind. " That you have been duped too often, I know. That it is hard for you to know those in whom you can place your trust, I admit ; but "seek and you shall find," and when you have found, turn away with loa tiling from those political traders who have used you so long for their own purposes. " Our home is not here in this great republic. We are in a free country, we may prosper in it, but still it is only a land of temporary refuge for us, and our home is far away. Should we be dilatory in striving to regain that home, we will hereafter deserve to be treated with contempt by every people on the globe. And there is no time to be lost if we intend to do our duty. The British Government is not idle. Every mail from Europe brings us news of wholesale arrests and convictions, and these alone ought to be enough to stimulate every true man. But we can learn very little of our suffering countrymen from the newspapers. Our kith and kin, our parents and our families, those who love us far better than they love themselves, feel these sufferings, and hope that we will end them. Let them hope on — it is their only consolation now. Irishmen in America have it in their power to realize these hopes, and if they will not, God may forgive them, but posterity never can. " Harvey Birch." (Meaning and intending thereby to excite and urge Irishmen in Ame- rica to join and aid seditions, discontented, and disaffected subjects of Her Majesty in Ireland, to overthrow and destroy Her Majesty's j)ower and authority in Ireland). Against the peace of our Lady the Queen her crown and dignity. The 2nd Count [Was the same as the first, but grounded on the following article, alleged to have been printed and published on the 13th of July, 1867.] "Boston Circle, Fenian Brotherhood. " Boston, June 19, 18G7. — At a meeting of the Boston Circle, Fenian Brotherhood, this evening, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : — "Whereas — British law has condemned John Edward Kelly, a former member of this circle, to the scaffold for his exertions to shake off the yoke of his country's oppressors ; and Whereas — The said John Edward Kelly went out from our midst six years ago, to prepare the Men in the Gap for the work that was to come, and has stedfastly and patiently laboured for that end until his strength was nearly destroyed ; and " 1 Whereas — His last blow for Ireland was w ith our martyr patriot Peter O'Neill Crowley, at Mitchelstown, where three men held a bay at {meaning thereby " hold at bay a") flying column of British troops; there- fore be it Resolved — That the Boston Circle of the Fenian Brotherhood will ever hold dear in their hearts the memory of their brother member, John Edward Kelly, and that we hold his example out to his country- men as an incentive to devoted, zealous labour for our downtrodden country. Resolved — That we offer our heartiest sympathies to his friends in Ireland, for their trouble and distress. " ' Resolved — That we call upon our countrymen to unite with us in endeavouring to save him from that lingering death in a penal settle- QUEEN" a. PIGOTl. 153 ■lent which British ^ mercy" will accord him instead of the seanokl to which he is sentenced; to save him by the only ~*fa—n* way — the force of might and right united- " [It did m r:: any immni:- :i lim armm n zL~ mil "im: arriie. of August 1867. The : ami comivmi main if tfcre&y ifrr Mjj^sty's : mmm and lie clasi/o: ^ _ aim mm lim mice do bo all men have little :m an era immxJ maswnd together in two Wlic-L -Lands aime. aid ::- urni -a-eJl presume :: emm : : -.11.7:7 — — — : " ** Yes, England « m# nm w § t~\?rehy Her Majesty* gomermmem^ may be draped mm'-me very lean :: iim imiii. nil ma-ers inm. in me eyes :f many IrVm ri. — mm :azp may 11:11 me Er_gli=> miiem. Her (meaning thereby Her Mi r >estys yomtwmsmLHt) cipher navy, her mini- ature land-force (miniature as armies are now-a-days manrtained), her vmiried levies, lir miiesime possess:: is. 171-im hir ai ini= mmr :•: a TiTifii rank ii:i: me larger iimmies :: lie ~:rii Tie i:n :t cannoT re cmi-eai-ri, is re~inz eld ii lii^ England ' mmm tfer?6y ZTer Majesty's govermsment), in her weak condition, will suffer nea~m.y mm 1-11 mar mmmm ht: 7:011 ~ — 1 irami :~ mm In ma. mm ana—a, mm ( jin*ai ana mm ma::. 1 a: mur mm in the struggle : and we wffl hold the same position towards England {measumg thereby Her Majesty** gorermment) that our lathers did what they m moriem "fi •*TLe lime- am full of t rename fir a ]emm ttL; nave ^aned wifli ■weary Leans. LeT us hope and pray flat -srlien die Lour is come, our reapers may be ready, with sickle in hand, to save the golden {Meaning thereby and intending to point out and show that when Her Majesty should be engaged in war with any foreign power, a favourable time wou'd be presented to the discontented and disaffected subject* of Her Majesty in Ireland, of rising up in armed rebellion, against Her Majesty, 154 DUBLIN COMMISSION. and intending and devising to urge p reparations for, and to incite her said, subjects so to rise when such an oj//>orf unify should occur, and to excite hatred, contempt, and dislike towards and, against Her Majesty ami her government.) The 4th Count [Was the same as the 1st Count, but grounded on the following article, alleged to have been published on the 24th of August, 1867. The inu- endoes are given below]. " Ireland's Opportunity. "From the N. Y. Irish People." « # #. # rpjjg mos t obvious opportunity would arise from England engaging in a war with America, Russia, France, or any of the great powers (meaning thereby an opportunity for the members of the said Fenian Conspiracy to accomplish their object of overthrowing Her Majesty s power and authority in Ireland). This opportunity must come some day. " In the second place, a grand opportunity may be presented, sooner or later, by the breaking out of another popular convulsion on the Euro- pean continent, similar to that of 1848. This too is certain to take place in its own due time. Eor it, as well as for the former opportunity, the Irish at home and abroad should be ever found watchful and prepared. " A third opportunity may arise from popular convulsion in Great Britain, whether resulting from commercial distress or from democratic propagandism. The English and Scotch Fenians {meaning thereby the Fenian Conspirators) can do much by judicious management towards making an opportunity in this direction, but 'tis slow and uncertain con- sidered alone. ' 'The fourth, and the grandest and most glorious opportunity, as well as the most certain in its results, is one that lies entirely within the pro- vince of the Irish nation in America. It is the sending of an expedition of from five to twenty thousand armed and disciplined men, properly officered, from the United States to Ireland, with arms and munitions for fifty or one hundred thousand more. This would be making our own opportunity. Under favourable circumstances, even less than a force of five thousand men might suffice for a beginning; but, after the late failures and consequent discouragement of the home population, that is the minimum which, in our estimation, would be needed to create an opportunity at present. " The practicability of shipping and landing a force of the kind is no longer a matter of doubt to any faithful Fenian. The hope of accom- plishing it, at an early date, should call forth our most strenuous energies, firing our hearts for the glorious work. But, in order to reap permanent benefit for Ireland from any or all of the above specified opportunities, it is indispensable that the friends of Ireland, at home and abroad, should be kept in a state of constant and well ordered organization, ever watchful and working. We have deemed it right to say this much in explanation. Henceforth, we trust, we shall not be misunderstood by any tine Irish- man when we insist upon " England's difficulty as Ireland's opportunity." We may have to wait for it from outsiders ; but, if we will, we can make it ourselves (meaning thereby to point out and suggest to the members of the Fenian Conspiracy and other persons disaffected toward Her Majesty, the fit and proper time with force and arms to endeavour to overthrow Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland, and further meaning and intending thereby to urge and excite all persons who were ill disposed, towards and discontented with Her Majesty's government to endeavour to overthrow Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland). QUEEN a. PIGOTT 155 The 5th Cot>~t [Was the .same as the 1st Count, but grounded on the following article, alleged to have been published on the 31st of August, 1867. The inu- endoes are .given below . "FEyiA^ISM.'' ■ Tn this same feeling had Fenian ism (meaning thereby the Fenian Cov.- wpbracy) its rise and astounding progress. 01 5.11 the associations for marking out the independence of Ireland to which Irishmen have ever lent aid and sympathy, none has ever in this country commanded, as Fenianism ( meaning thereby the Fenian Conspiracy) did, such universal, such enthusiastic support. From the millionaire to the work in g man, through every srade and class of Irish- American Society, Feniar_i-:„ (meaning thereby the F- i?n Conspiracy) was the one absorbing topic. Money showered by hundreds of thousands into the Fenian exchequer. Regiments of infantry, cavalry, and artillery were tendered in every direction for their acceptance : and these were no mere holiday soldiers — they were men who had stood the smoke and brunt of battle — they had perilled their lives for the land of their adoption — they were willing to lay them down for the regeneration of the land of their birth. The time was opportune, and if Fenianism (meaning thereby the Fenian Conspiracy), in the name and under the ensign of Irish independence, had obtained a permanent territorial foothold upon this Continent, it might have changed the aspect of the world. And 50,000 men stood waiting, waiting eagerly and anxiously, along Ontario's shore for the word which would place them face to : • with their hereditary enemy. From east to west, from north to south, they had hurried to the rendezvous, and now ? Proclamations and paper buUetins came thick and fast, but where were their leaders ? . I need not dwell on the painful result of all thb fine enthusiasm. Recent events on the continent and in Ireland unhappily are still fresh in our memories. But still the same love of country and devotion to freedom, which lent such life and vigour to FeniarJ =ra the F- ■..i-jAf^cy), in its palmiest days, burn still as warm and as bright in the bosoms of our country men. Though duped and betrayed, we are not disheartened. The men who marched six hundred miles with the eager hope of crossing swopIs with the hirelings of their country's oppressor, and who at Limestone Pddge, under a name of ominous significance to England, so nobly vindicated the honour and valour of their countrymen, are not made of the stuff that sits l;wn and whines in compla ining despondency. You will hear from them again — ay, and again, and again. But reconstruction, a newer and a closer union, must bind us together. And when the new association is perfected, traitors had better stand aloof. Its construction will be made to include judicial as well as executive and legislative functions. For traitors, whether high or low. there will be short shrift and no mercy. If our cause be just before Heaven, as we believe it to be, we have a higher and more indefeasible right to punish treasonable niachinations within our midst than any British judge — who has, perhaps, bought his place by first betraying his country — can possibly have, to sentence our best and bravest to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. We play false to the best interests of humanity when, through a sickly sen- timentality, we stand tamely by and see our dearest hopes brought down to nought through the instrumentality of a wretch whose very presence is pollution. If such trarhckers in human blood are willing to dare the peril as well as the infamy upon their own heads, to our people be the consequences in Ireland. The new organization should commence pre- parations. "When _ h . " ! men ore ready to take the field and keep it for thire months, then, and not till then, let the revolution be initiated. DUBLIN COMMISSION. When they have given this proof of earnestness they can calculate upon any amount of men, money, and munitions of war from this side of the Atlantic. They can, likewise, calculate, if not upon the overt assistance, at least upon the friendly neutrality of our government." ( Meaning and intending thereby to give advice and counsi I to the members of said Fi nia/n Conspiracy, and to aid and assist them in, about, and toward the planning, prt paring, and carrying out of the designs of said conspiracy). The 6th Count [ Was the same as the first, except that it further averred that the — "leading members of said conspiracy were called ' Centres,' and sections or groups of members of said conspiracy were- called < Circles.' " — It was grounded on the following article, alleged to have been published on the 21st day of September, 1867. The inuendoes are given below.] "Suggestions for the future Management of Fenian Affairs in Ireland." (Meaning (hereby the affairs of said Fenian Conspiracy.) " The entire governmental power of the organization {meaning thereby th< said Fenian Conspiracy) should be concentrated in New York, or some other American city. Ireland and Great Britain should be par- celled out into military provinces, districts, or departments, each having over it a separate officer, whose duty it should be to superintend the re- volutionary preparations therein, to control the organized forces, and to receive his orders from and report directly to the executive in America, without communicating the same to any of his co-equals in the other military departments. "Now that there is no central authority at the other side of the water, it will be easy to effect this reformation. Mr. Stephens has retired; the chief men of his late council are all either in prison or in exile; the best men of the so-called ' Provisional Government' that succeeded them are also, with very few exceptions, in prison or in exile. Such of the in- fluential local centres as have escaped the bloodhounds of the enemy up to this (meaning thereby the leading members of the said Fenian Conspiracy who had not then been imprisoned by Her Majesty's government) , will only be too happy to receive their instructions from here, through agents ap- pointed in America, avoiding thereby the greater part of those unneces- sary risks and inconveniences which have had such unhappy results under the late domestic executives. The seat of supreme authority once proclaimed to be in America, the next step should be to issue a peremptory order for the imme- diate cessation of all outward demonstrations of a revolutionary character in Ireland. Drilling should be strictly prohibited and the local circles (meaning thereby the local sections of members of said conspiracy) distinctly informed that they should not only receive no Fenian sympathy but that they would be reprobated and denounced as enemies to the cause, should they thereafter get themselves into trouble by any idle and unnecessary displays whatever. There is now quite enough of organization in Ireland and the spirit of national independence is sufficiently aroused among her people. All that is needed there at present is to re-establish the links of official communication between the local circles and the cen- tral authority, wherever they have been broken, and to revive their con- " hdence in their American brothers, wherever it has been impaired or destroyed. Until they receive the signal from America for another up- rising (meaning thereby another rising or attempt to overthroio Her Ma- jesty s power and authority in Ireland) — and that must be the landing of a strong armed force from here upon Irish soil — they should do nothing but remain quietly at their "posts, watching every movement of the enemy, QUEEN a, PIGOTT. 157 like soldiers in the trench before the lines of a hostile army, without ever exposing themselves under fire, until they hear the words ' up and at them/ As the American Fenians must send them arms and munitions of war under present circumstances, they have nothing more to do now. If they can be got to act thus, the risk to be run by keeping up a regular communication with the executive here, through the provincial prefects or commanders above mentioned, will be trifling, especially if the original system and discipline of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood be restored. Xo system could by any possibility be safer or better than that. " For the men in Ireland to attempt to supply themselves with arms, even where they have means to buy them, would be hazardous as well as ineffective, while the Habeas Corpus remains suspended. Let there be no more foolish demonstrations then. Let the * men in the gap' bide their time patiently, but resolutely, nor ever make another attempt to strike at their country's oppressors until they shall find them right under their blows. Besides, the men at home require some rest now, in order to recover from the shock of their late defeats. Let them take it while they may. u In England and Scotland, however, there is no need for so much secrecy and caution. The Habeas Corpus is not yet suspended in these countries. The work of Fenian propagandism should be urged on vigor- ously and incessantly there. Eveiy Irishman capable of bearing arms should, as soon as initiated, be instructed to furnish himself with a rifle or a revolver and with the ammunitions requisite for their use, provided he can afford it : but when procured, he shoidd lay them secretly by, in some safe place, and say nothing about them to any one except his immediate superior officer. Here, too, the original system of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood should be restored. There should be no more drillings en masse. Ten men — a sergeant's guard — should be the largest number allowed to know each other officially, and no more than ten should be permitted to meet together, as Fenians, for any Fenian object. In admitting a member to the Brotherhood, none should be present but the initiator and the postulant. There should be no more general assemblages for the election of delegates, no more representative or deliberative councils, no centralized conventions, no so-called provisional governments of an Irish republic. Everything should be transacted according to the strictest rules of military discipline, the private reporting to and receiving orders from the chief of his own section of ten, and to none other, and so on to the commander or prefect of the military province, whose duty it should be to report directly and exclusively to and to receive orders from the cen- tral executive authority in America. " If the affairs of the organization be thus arranged and systematically carried out, a complete victory over the enemy will be rendered certain in due time — no power at the command of the British oligarchy can de- feat Fenianism As matters have been managed for some time past it is utterly impossible for Fenians to gain even the most trifling and tem- porary success. — New York People™ (Meaning and intending thereby to give advice and counsel to the members of said Fenian Conspiracy, and to aid and assist them in, about, and >> "card the ]> T 'rn/ t ing. preparing, and carrying out of the designs of said conspiracy.) The 7th Count [Was the same as the 1st, omitting the words u and also called and known as Fenianism." It was grounded on the following article, alleged to have been published on the 5th of October, 1867. The inuendoes were throughout the article only as given hereafter.] 1 :>s DUBLIN COMMISSION. "Letter from Colonel Kelly. "The following letter appears in the Ciiirrrsfif Xeivs : — "TO the editor of the universal news. " Sir, — I would not trouble you at this time, but in the interests of humanity, and in order to give fair warning to all concerned in a matter which may be the turning-point in the destinies of this great and glorious empire. J do not choose to draw attention to the terror-stricken articles in the Times, or the papers published in Manchester and vicinity, or the significant aspect of the circumstances accompanying my recent liberation ; but when I see an article in the columns of such a standard literary journal as the Spectator, approving of the disposition of the English lower classes to repeat the recent scenes enacted at Birmingham, and take the law into their own hands if they once come to the conclusion that all Irishmen are Fenians, I think it high time to place the responsibility beforehand on the proper parties, should the English mobs be further urged, covertly though it be, to any such criminal excesses. There has nothing as yet been exhibited in the management of the Irish republican organization to warrant, as the Spectator says, the English once to get the idea that all * * * Fenians may at any time attack Englishmen anywhere from mere natural spite. No, Mr. Spectator, on the contrary; if a letter of mine published in the Irishman of the week before had come under your notice, you would have seen that not only have we no antipathy to the English masses as such, but that I was partly instru- mental in the organization of an English Republican Brotherhood, with its headquarters within two miles of Buckingham Palace, having, as we have, the overthrow of the monarchy and its attendant vampire aristo- cracy as its guiding principle. The Spectator and the main body of the English press misjudges very much the current which the bitter Irish resentment against the galling tyranny exercised by an alien government over their unhappy country, or the concentrated essence of the heart- burnings of seven centuries, will be likely to take. He says, ' An Eng- lish peasant would nourish the deepest vindictiveness against a private enemy, and burn down his rick without hesitation (!), but would be wholly unable to see the satisfaction in running the most imminent risk of his life for the sake of striking persons of whom he has never heard, in a place he had never suffered any kind of wrong, simply because that person and that place were invested with the ideal character of a hated national name.' We cannot, he continues, help feeling a vague sort of awe and respect for so wonderfully idealizing a power of resentment as this. J ust so, Mr. Spectator ; it is just as foolish to judge the action of the repub- lican Irishman of the present day from such a stand-point as it will be to calculate the nature of the resentment which is likely to be developed in case any prisoners arrested on suspicion of connexion with the recent rescue be maltreated or used otherwise than as political prisoners. . I greatly fear that instead of collisions taking place between the Irish in this country and the English masses, the expected New Zealander would, as the result, be likely to sketch the ruins of London from an arch of London-bridge much sooner than comes within the comprehension of the Spectator of the present day. Indeed, I greatly fear that unless the pri- soners arrested be treated as prisoners of war, that reprisals will be made from amongst the heads of the British Government. Such would be deplorable ; but if, as the Spectator says, ' the Fenians are in some way taking personal revenge for national wrongs, by striking at any vulnerable point in the British Empire,' so it is not at all unlikely that some may be desperate enough to take into consideration that the vast commerce QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 159 of Liverpool, Manchester, &c., &c, and, indeed, of London, could be para- lysed in twenty-four hours, should the Fenian organization in those cities determine. Indeed, I am fully convinced that should any body of Irish be so determined as to use that terrible combustible called Greek fire in such a work, the English mobs of these places would, for the sake of plunder, assist rather than oppose such a deplorable result. Let us hope, then, that appeals to the worst passion of English mobs will cease, as otherwise I can scarcely foresee the probable consequences. What would we do, sir, should the commerce of this great country receive such a shock ? Then, sir, the Irish have such long memories, that if once the match be applied there is no knowing where the revolution would stop, should the history of the penal laws so rigorously executed, the hangings, drawings, quarterings, pitch-cappings, rapes, and murders suffered for centuries at the hands of the soldiers of our oppressors, be appealed to. The Times says that if Kelly and Deasy be captured, and if prompt punishment be meted out to the rescuers, &c. If the sky falls, we'd catch larks. L T ntil then, I will tell the Times that Fenians will not see that it is not better to resist such laws as the alien Government (meaning thereby Her Majesty's Government) has in force in Ireland. Meanwhile, in spite of hell, the British Government {meaning thereby Her Majesty's Government), and all his other enemies, Kelly is yet a free man. — I have the honour to remain, respectfully yours, "Thomas J. Kelly, C.E.I.R. [The above letter was left at our publishing office on Wednesday after- noon, with a request for its publication.]" The 8th Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation afore- said, do further present that before the printing and publishing of the false, wicked, malicious, scandalous, and seditious libels hereinafter men- tioned, a certain unlawful organization and conspiracy, called and known as The Fenian Conspiracy, existed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and in America, having for its aim and object the overthrow of Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland, and estab- lishing a Republic in Ireland, and the members of said conspiracy called themselves and were known as " Fenians," or the " Fenian Brotherhood," and " Irish Republican Brotherhood," and a man named Thomas J. Kelly sometimes called Colonel Kelly, and also a man called Captain Deasy, were for a long time reputed and believed to be members of said organization and conspiracy, and said Thomas J. Kelly had been reputed and believed to be an active and leading member and organizer of said conspiracy in Ireland, and in England, and Richard Pigott, well know- ing the premises, and being a wicked, seditious, malicious, and ill- disposed person, and being greatly disaffected to our Lady the Queen, and to her administration of the Government of this kingdom, and wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously contriving, devising, and intend- ing to disseminate and convey among Her Majesty's subjects information and intelligence, in and about the said conspiracy, and to gain and pro- cure respect and esteem for the leading members of said conspiracy, and for all the members of said conspiracy who would dare and attempt to commit unlawful deeds in furtherance of said conspiracy, and to excite hatred and contempt towards Her Majesty's Government and the admi- nistration thereof, and to footer and keep alive said conspiracy, and to incite and urge Her Majesty's subjects to unlawful and seditious acts and deeds, on the Nineteenth day of October, in the year of Our Lord DUBLIN COMMISSION. one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, did print and publish and cause to be printed and published a certain other printed paper called The Irishman in a certain other part of which said printed paper were and are contained of and concerning the said conspiracy called the Fenian Conspiracy and Fenian Brotherhood, and of* and concerning the rescue of said Thomas J. Kelly and said Captain Deasy from arrest by other members of said conspiracy called the Fenian Brotherhood, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, certain other false, wicked, ma- licious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say : — " RESOLUTIONS RESPECTING THE MANCHESTER RESCUE. "JOHN SAVAGE. " THE MANCHESTER RESCUE. At a meeting of the officers of the F. B. (meaning thereby Fenian Bro- therhood), of Boston and vicinity, held at Corcoran Hall, Sunday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m., Patrick Doody, State Agent, in the chair ; P. Egan, Centre of Circle 168, Secretary. After the transaction of the regular business, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted : — " Whereas, the British Government, through the Atlantic cable, has informed us of the arrest of Colonel T. J. Kelly and Captain Deasy {meaning the above-named reputed members of the Fenian Brotherhood), and subsequently of their rescue (meaning the said T. J. Kelly and Captain I hasy) by some of their tried, devoted and steadfast followers, in Man- chester, England; and " Whereas, we regard the complete success which has crowned their efforts as an indisputable proof of the existence of a wide-spread and formidable organization in Great Britain, notwithstanding the many statements of the British press to the contrary ; and " Whereas, certain statements have been published by parties with a view to damage the character, devotion, and honesty of Thomas J. Kelry ;uh1 his co-patriots — the Irish-American officers in Ireland — we regard this occurrence as a sufficient proof of the maliciousness and treachery of such charges. Therefore be it " Resolved, That the thanks of the officers and members of the F. B. (meaning thereby Fenian Brotherhood) be, and the same are hereby, tendered to those brave and gallant patriots who, in the face of the mer- cenary hirelings of England, rescued two as brave and gallant soldiers, true and devoted patriots as ever worked for the redemption of Ireland; and be it furthermore " Resolved, That we pledge to them our undivided support henceforth as hitherto, until our fondest hopes are realized in the redemption of our native land. " Resolved, That a copy of the resolutions be entered on the minutes, and published in the Pilot and Irish People. Patrick Doody, 1 John Linehan, > Committee on Resolutions. Patrick J. Egan, ) — Boston Pilots (Meaning and thereby intending to represent to Her Majesty s subjects in this country that the men who rescued from arrest the above-named reputed members of the Fenian Conspiracy, were deserving of thanks ancl praise, and were patriotic because th-°y had done a daring act that released QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 101 fr:>.n arrest two reputed members of said conspiracy, and intending and desiring to represent that the men who effected said rescue were persons whose acts were worthy of being imitated and followed by others, and to further excite and spread sedition, disaffection, hatred, and dislike toward Her Majesty and her Government.) Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. The 9th Count. Asd the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation afore- said, do further present that before the printing and publishing of the false, wicked, malicious, scandalous, and seditious libels hereinafter men- tioned, a certain unlawful organization and conspiracy called and known as the Fenian Conspiracy, existed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and in America, having for its aim and object the overthrow of Her Majesty's power and authority in Ireland, and estab- lishing a Republic in Ireland, and the members of said conspiracy called themselves and were known as 4 1 Fenians, n or the " Fenian Brotherhood," and "Irish Republican Brotherhood," and a man named Thomas J. Kelly, sometimes called Colonel Kelly, and also a man called Captain Deasy, were reputed and believed to be members of said organization and conspiracy, and said Thomas J. Kelly had been reputed and believed to be an active and leading member and organizer of said conspiracy, and said Thomas J. Kelly and said Captain Deasy had been arrested, and had afterwards been rescued from the custody of certain constables of Her Majesty, at Manchester, in England, and certain men who had taken part in said rescue were placed on trial at Manchester for and in respect of acts committed by them at said rescue, and Richard Pigott, well knowing the premises, and being a wicked, seditious, malicious, and ill-disposed person, and being greatly disaffected to our Lady the Queen, and to her administration of the Government of this king dom, and wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously contriving, devising, and intending to disseminate and convey among Her Majesty's subjects information and intelligence, in and about the said conspiracy, and to gain and pro- cure respect and esteem for the leading members of said conspiracy, and for all the members of said conspiracy who would dare and attempt to commit unlawful deeds in furtherance of said conspiracy, and to excite hatred and contempt towards Her Majesty's Government and the admi- nistration thereof, and by threats and intimidation to interfere with the due administration of the laws of the realm, and to incite and urge Her Majesty's subjects to unlawful and seditious acts and deeds, on the Twenty-sixth day of October; in the year* of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, did print and publish and cause to be printed and published a certain other printed paper called The Irishman in a certain part of which said printed paper were and are contained of and concerning the said conspiracy called Fenian Conspiracy and Fenian Brotherhood, and of and concerning the rescue from arrest of said Thomas J. Kelly and said Captain Deasy effected by other members of said conspiracy called the Fenian Brotherhood, and of and concerning the trials of the persons who had taken part in said rescue, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government certain other false, wicked, mali- cious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say : — • ; Letter from Coloxel Kelly. "The following letter was left in our letter-box. purporting to be from the irrepressible Colonel Kelly (meaning thereby the said Thomas J. Kelly iclio had been rescued as aforesaid) : — M 102 DUBLIN COMMISSION. "to the editor of the irishman. " Dublin, Oct. 22, 1807. " Sir — As the most determined efforts are being made by British papers to promote wholesale massacre of the Irish people in the English cities and manufacturing districts as the most effective method of divert- ing the attention of the English working classes from the notorious de- pravity of the upper classes, and from a consideration of the fact that luxurious aristocrats feed off the fat of the land whilst millions of Irish and English working-men cannot provide against a single month's sick- ness, and consequently impoverishment and starvation, I take the occasion publicly to deny that I have ordered any general movement in connexion with the trials in Manchester (meaning thereby the trials of the persons who had taken part in the rescue of the said Thomas J. Kelly). It would be treason to tlie cause of liberty (meaning tliereby the Fenian Conspiracy) for any body of men who have not had special word from me to act at this time. " While vengeance for seven centuries of wrong is a fixed determination with me, I would have my countrymen and women (God bless them !) that they should bide their time. One false step taken perils all they yet have done. It will not answer to appoint the 5th of November as the day to pass sentence of death on a conspirator against aristocratic pretensions. " Once for all, I pledge myself that I will have an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth (meaning thereby to threaten that punishment would be effected by said Thomas J. Kelly by way of retaliation for any punish- ment imposed by law on any of the persons who effected his rescue). Irish- men in England and Ireland and Scotland must not look on this as discouraging them from making every preparation in self-defence, against extermination. I hereby proclaim until the exact minute " PEACE. " Mr. Editor, can anything satisfy the Government of Guelphs (and Mr. Brown) if that does not? — I have the honour to remain your obedient servant, Thomas J. Kelly, C.E.I.R" Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. The 10th Count. And the Jurors Aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation aforesaid, do further present that before the printing and publishing hereinafter stated, three men, named William O'Mara Allen, Michael Larkin, and William Gould (in the libellous matter hereinafter set forth called O'Brien), were tried and found guilty according to law of the crime of murder, and had been duly sentenced to be executed for said crime at Manchester, in England; and the said liichard Pigott, well knowing the premises aforesaid, contriving, devising, and intending to excite hatred and con- tempt against Her Majesty and her Government and the administration of her laws, and to cause it to be believed that said three persons had not been tried and found guilty according to law, and had been unfairly and improperly dealt with by Her Majesty's Government, and intending to excite and cause sedition and disaffection against Her Majesty and her Government, and to possess her subjects with an ill opinion of, and to excite hatred against her Government and laws and the administration of justice, and to cause strife, disunion, and hatred between Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland and in England, and to bring the courts of justice QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 163 and the administration of the laws into hatred and contempt, falsely, wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously did print and publish and cause to be printed and published on the twenty-third day of November, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, and also on the thirtieth day of the same month, of and concerning the trial, condemnation, and execution of said three persons, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, and the administration of justice and the execution of the laws by Her Majesty's Government, certain other false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " The Holocaust. " Deaf to all warnings, however ominous, spurning alike the argument of the Just and the prayer of the Merciful, the Government of England (meaning thereby Her Majesty's Government) has this day done a deed of blood which shall overshadow its name before the whole world. " Nothing can account for its perpetration, against all the urgings of statesmanship and humanity, save alone the blindness which falls from Heaven upon overweening pride. " Clouds of passion and prejudice have wrapt their councils round ; thick, and gloomy, and terrible as ever fell the black night of darkness upon the Egyptian land, " because," said the Lord God of Israel, " ye would not let my people go." " Hapless people ! Fortunate only in the protection of one Sovereign — the King of kings, the Judge of judges, the Avenger of oppressed innocence, who shall surely mete out to all offenders retribution with interest to the uttermost farthing. " Hapless people ! They have been required to build without stones, to make bricks without straw ; and when their taskmasters have found the tale not completed, the lash has been laid unsparingly on their backs. " For they were deprived of their lands, and punished for being poor ; deprived of their liberty and scourged for being serfs ; deprived of their teachers and slain alike for learning and for being ignorant. " Those days, they exclaim, have passed and gone away; we have long desired to govern you mildly and well. " Thus they cry out, and since when, we ask, has the change been shown 1 " Was it in the Relief Act, granted merely through fear of a civil war ? " Was it in the prosecutions of the Tribune who won it ? " Was it in the Famine which slew its millions under their flag ? " Was it in the exile of those gallant men, whose counsels would have guided them to avert the popular death % " When and where can we behold this beneficent change of policy ? let it not be hid from the nation. " Was it in the mouthing of a Viceroy who incessantly proclaimed that Ireland was proper only for brute beasts, not for men % " Was it in the millions' exodus fleeing from all ports, before his fiat, to the uttermost ends of the earth 1 " Was it in the refusal to this day to change a system of land laws which plunders them of their hard-won earnings, and drives them out bare and miserable, sick and dying, in the heat of summer and in the icy chills of winter, from the homesteads of their fathers, from the native land of their race 1 " Let it be shown to us, this change which should make us glad. M 2 104 DUBLIN COMMISSION. " Is it to be found in the benignity of rulers, whose faces we never see; but whose swords we have often felt? M Is it to be found in a denial that Ave have a right to a voice in our own Gk)vemmen1 —like Hungary, like Australia, like Canada, like any colony soever of the Empire, however small, provided it be not Ire- land 1 " Finally, the wrongs and grievances of the country are admitted : English statesmen have denounced them in the harshest terms. The pi t sent Chancellor of the Exchequer has declared them sufficient cause for a revolution. When young men know this — when young men hear this — when, too, they see them, allowed to remain in all their venomous vitality —when, too, they see those statesmen not only justify revolution at home, but foster it abroad — then, stung into desperation and mad- ness, should they act upon the lesson taught, where is the exoneration, where is the mercy 1 " On a vitiated verdict (meaning the verdict by which said three men were found guilty) ; on tainted testimony ; on evidence which has been admitted that of false swearers or perjurers — on a verdict avowed to be flawed with error — two men and a youth — in the eye of the law an infant — are done to a cruel death (meaning thereby that they were executed). " Behold England's justice (meaning thereby the justice of Her Majesty's Government) in the conviction and condemnation — behold England's mercy (meaning thereby the mercy of Her Majesty 's Government) in the sentence and execution of the political prisoners — Allen, Larkin, O'Brien (Meaning thereby said William CMara Allen, Michael Larhm, and William Goold). There, indeed, written large and deep — written in letters indelible — written in letters of blood — read the Mercy and Justice of England ! " They died far from the land they loved — far from the nation they would fain have served — foully slandered by the organs of a sanguinary aristocracy — in the midst of five thousand bayonets. It was said as an excuse they were offenders against society ; but an army had to interfere between them and the people, to prevent a rescue. It was said as an excuse they were mere non-political criminals ; but they offered their lives to save those of two fellow-men, and they died w^ith their faces turned to the West, with trust on God in their souls, and on their lips the patriotic cry : " ' God save Ireland !' " Dead, dead, dead. But there are those who think that in death they will be more powerful than in life. There are those who will read on their tombs the prayer for an avenger to spring from their bones, exoriare cdiquis ex ossibus ultor, and we forsee troubles and trepidations which might have been averted by a humane policy, which we fain would have averted, and which we pray, by wise counsels, may yet be saved the nations. Mistaken as these martyred men may have been, they yet shall be remembered in their native land, along with those who have gone before them : nor shall their deaths shake her desire for a legisla- tive independence, nor her trust in its speedy consummation. " 1 From the morning watches even to the night, Israel shall hope in the Lord. " ' Because with the Lord there is mercy ; with Him there is a plen- tiful redemption. " 1 And He shall redeem Israel from all who work in iniquity." QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 165 (Meaning thereby that Her Majesty s Government had acted unjustly and unmercifully, and further meaning and. intending to excite hatred, sedition, and dislike towards and against Her Majesty's Government, and against the administration of justice and the laics of this realm, and to cause sedition and discontent amongst Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland, against Her Majesty and her Government, and to excite Her Majesty s subjects in Ireland to hate, dislike, and be at strife with Her Majesty's subjects in England). "Against the peace of our lady the Queen, her crown and dignity." The 11th Count [\Vas the same as the 10th, save that it did not give the alias of Gould, and that it averred the inuendoes as below, and the publishing of the following article on which it was grounded, on the seventh Decem- ber, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, and that defendant published] " Of and concerning the trial, condemnation, and execution of said three persons, and of and concerning a funeral procession intended to be held in honour of said persons, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Go- vernment, certain other false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matter, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " 1 God save Ireland.' " A public funeral procession in honour of the Irish patriots executed at Manchester (meaning thereby the said persons who had been found guilty of the crime of murder), Xov. 23rd, will take place in Dublin, on Sunday next, the 8th inst. " The procession will assemble in Beresford-place, near the Custom House, and will start from thence at the hour of Twelve o'clock, noon. u It is recommended that the processionists, men and women, will each wear a crape tied with green ribbons, as an emblem of moimiing. " Xo flags, banners, or party emblems will be allowed. " Irishmen ! " Assemble in your thousands, and show by your numbers and your orderly demeanour your sympathy with the fate of the executed patrio: s (meaning thereby the said persons who had been found, guilty of the crin e of murder, and executed for said crime). " Irishwomen ! " You are requested to lend the dignity of your presence to this im- portant National demonstration. By order of the Committee, John Martin, Chairman. J. C. Waters, ) James Scanlan, ^ Hon. Sees. J. J. Lawler, ) (Thereby intending and meaning to excite dislike and disaffection toward Her Majesty and Her Government, to cause it to be believed that the m n who had been executed at Manchester were worthy to be called patriots, and intending to bring into hatred and contempt the Courts of Justice and the administration of the laws of this kingdom, and intending to cause Jiatred, dislike, and sedition toward and against Her Majesty s Government. ) " Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity." The 12th Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation afore- said, do further present that Richard Pigott being a wicked, malicious, 166 DUBLIN COMMISSION. seditious, and ill-disposed person, and being greatly disaffected to our Lady the Queen, and to her administration of the Government, and wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously contriving, devising, and intend- ing to stir up and excite discontent and sedition amongst Her Majesty's subjects, to alienate and withdraw the affections of Her Majesty's subjects from Her Majesty, and to bring her said Majesty and he* laws ucd Government into hatred and contempt, and to cause it to be believ< I that her rule was oppressive and unmerciful, falsely, wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously did print and publish, and cause to be printed and published in a certain other paper called The Irishman, on the twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, of and concerning Her Majesty and her Government and laws, and the administration thereof, certain other false, wicked, scandalous, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — " In our day 'tis a crime to be identified with the oppressed in their struggles for national regeneration, and the brand of infidelity is fastened on the man or woman who dares cniestion the infallibility of English law, or any other means than delusive Parliamentary action through renegade Cawtholic Whigs — preying on their country like vermin — devouring the womb that engenders them— for the redemption of Ireland and her sorely oppressed people. * Had the Irish people ' (suffering as they were, said Dr. Doyle) 1 been in open revolt from Carrickfergus to Cork, no bishop in Ireland would be found to fulminate a censure against them, or if such a one were found, his anathema would fall to the earth like a spent thunderbolt.' His great prototype, St. Augustine, said of one of the Roman Governors oppressing the people, ' he deserved to be devoured by the devil.' " Here we have in our midst the most revolting oppression ever recorded in history from Polybius to Babington Macaulay — an oppression that the holiest instincts implanted by God and nature in the human breast would imperatively command us to abhor and obliterate ; and yet 'tis a crime deserving excommunication — decimation — to participate in. any legitimate practical movement biding its time for the disenthralment of the most patient, most faithful, most virtuous people God ever sent on the earth. " Before God, angels, and men, I deem it a serviceable duty to Christ's poor, and agreeable to God, to aid in the struggle for the regeneration of Ireland — first, because destitution and rags are incompatible with freedom, as I saw evidenced in the United States of America ; and secondly, because more crime is engendered by poverty — more go down to hell through its agency, than from any other cause. , " In America five out of every seven of our countrymen and women settling down on the seaboard cities, go to perdition. These are they Avhose homesteads in Ireland were levelled with the earth — ground to the dust by poverty, and become reckless — whom I have seen broken- hearted outcasts — the victims of misrule and destitution — and whose forlorn condition often brought to my lips imprecations on their tyrants that with difficulty I suppressed. "VEis said these people are propagating the empire of Christ; more proper to say they are propagating the empire of the devil. " To rid Ireland, then, of this accursed anomalous condition at home and abroad, I earnestly believe the great soul and strong arm are of vital importance ; and that we may as well expect to hang our hats on the horns of the moon as hope for the amelioration of our country by tall talk and brawling agitation. To the strong arm and great louI I would unite QUEEN ■ PIGOTT. 167 prayer to the Great Eternal Being, who elevates a nation for its justice, an 'I prostrates kingdoms and peoples for their iniquity — who opened the heavens to Judas Machabees, and guided the hand of the saintly heroic woman of Apulia that smote the tyrant and freed her country. Under the guidance of such unerring superhuman agency, we would inevitably — as sure as God is in heaven — soon become a free people."' Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. The 13th Count [Commenced as the 12th. and continued :] — "To cause it to be believed that her rule was oppressive and unmerciful, and that Her Koyal Xavy had been employed in the cruel and unmerciful slaughter of human beings, falsely, wickedly, maliciously, and seolitiously did print and publish, and eause to be printed and published in a certain other paper called The Irishman, on the twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, of and con- cerning Her Majesty and her Government and laws, and the administra- tion thereof, and of and concerning Her Royal Xavy, a certain false, scandalous, malicious, and seditious libel, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to soy — " It is the intention makes the crime, we have said. Let us now turn to the act of cruelty, deliberate, and of malice prepense, of a constituted government and set it off against this lamentable Clerkenwell explosion. We do not advance it as an argument that one evil justifies another, but simply as an apt illustration of the Scriptural maxim which recommends the beamy-eyed to look in the mirror and not in the eyes of other -li- ners. The sinning government of which we speak is the British Govern- ment (mec .■;.>:■ ig tJierehy Her Majesty's Gcver .. . . We are not going to travel back to the times of Ceoxwell, who bartered Irish virgins to I : Lerous West Indian planters, nor even to the era of the 2s inety-eigbfc Rebellion, when Irishmen were sold as slaves to work in the mines of the King of Prussia. INo : these black pages of history are too remote for our purpose. We ask the reader to take himself to Japan, under the reign of her present Majesty, Queen Ymtoria the merciful. In that island-empire, a city of one htm ire- 1 and forty-six thousand inhabitants, Kagosiraa. was bombarded from a place of security by a British fleet (mean ' / ther-.oy the Royal Xai-y) for no crime that it had been guilty of, but simply to punish a Danrio, or native no>ble, Prince Satsuxa, whose residence was in it3 vicinity ! Xever in the annals of any nation was a more cowardly, cold-blooded atrocity perpetrated. Men, women, and children, the dwellers in a peaceful city, were subjected for hours to a hail of deadly projectiles, the perils of tire, the crash of niJling ruins. The stench from burning bodies could be distinctly smelled from the ships of the fleet '. And this barbarism had for its ultimate object that a better trade might be driven with Japan ! It was a holocaust by Moloch on the - "tar of Maxim v. " Clerkenwell — Kagosima. i Look on this picture, and on this.' On which side of the scale inclines the balance of guilt F (Thereby meaning and intending to excite hatred and dislike toward Her Majesty, her rale and Government, and to excite discontent and dis- affection toward Her Majesty and her Government.) Against the peace of Our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. The liTH Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and anirmation afores. i : , a j rurther present that Richard Pigott, aforesaid, being a wicked, niaii- 1G3 DUBLIN COMMISSION. cious, seditious, and ill-disposed person, and being greatly disaffected to our Lady the Queen, and to the constitution and Government of this king- dom, and well knowing that there then existed amongst the ill-disposed and discontented subjects of Her Majesty in Ireland a conspiracy to over- throw the power and authority of Her Majesty in Ireland by force and arms, and unlawfully, wickedly, seditiously, and maliciously devising, contriving, and intending to alienate and withdraw from our Lady the Queen the true obedience and allegiance of her subjects, and wickedly ami seditiously to disturb the peace and tranquillity of this kingdom, and to urge, incite, and encourage Her Majesty's subjects to rise up against Her Majesty's power and authority with force and arms, he, the said Richa/rd Pigott, unlawfully, wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously did (on the seventh, fourteenth, and twenty-first days of September, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven,) print and publish, and cause to be printed and published, of, concerning, and in relation to, and thereby intending to point out and refer to preceding rebellious movements in Ireland, and also a future rebellious movement therein, the printed figures following, that is to say, "'98," (meaning thereby the year of Our Lord one thousand sevenhundred and ninety-eight, and the rebellion that broke out in Ireland in said year,) " '±8," (meaning thereby the year of Oar Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and the rebellion that broke out in Ireland in said year,) "'68," (meaning thereby the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight,) and thereby wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously intending 'and devising to suggest to all disaffected, seditious, and ill-disposed persons in Ireland that they might expect and should be prepared to join in a rebellious movement in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- eight, thereby maliciously and seditiously meaning and intending, and thereby tending to bring into hatred and contempt the person of Her Majesty and the government and constitution of the United Kingdom as by law established, and to excite Her Majesty's subjects to strive and attempt to alter the laws and constitution of the United Kingdom other- wise than by lawful means. Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. The 15th Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation afore- said, do further present that the said Richard Pigott, being a wicked, seditious, malicious, and ill-disposed person, and being greatly disaffected to our Lady the Queen and to her administration of the government of this kingdom and the dominions thereunto belonging, and wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously contriving, devising, and intending to excite discontent and sedition amongst Her Majesty's subjects, and to excite hatred and contempt toward Her Majesty's government and the admi- nistration thereof, on the 17th day of August in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, did print and publish, and did cause to be printed and published, a certain other printed paper called The Irishman, in a certain part of which said printed paper there were and are contained, of and concerning the overthrow of Her Majes- ty's power and authority in Ireland, and of and concerning the time, means, and probability of accomplishing the said overthrow of Her Majesty's power in Ireland, and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, and the execution and administration of the laws of this kingdom by Her Majesty's Government, and of and concerning a favour- able opportunity that might be offered to Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland of opposing and defeating her power and authority, certain other QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 109 false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libellous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — [The article was the same as that on which the 3rd count was grounded. See p. 153. The explanatory inuendoes were the same, and the principal inuendo was as follows.] (Meaning and intending thereby to cause and excite discontent, hatred, sedition, ami dislike toward and against Her Majesty 's Government amongst her subjects in Ireland.) Against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. The 16th Count. And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation aforesaid, do further present that the said Richard Pigott, intending and devising as aforesaid, to wit, on the twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, did print and publish, and did cause to be printed and published, a certain other printed paper called The Irishman, in a certain part of which said printed paper there were and are contained of and concerning Her Majesty's Government, and of and concerning Her Royal Navy, and the administra- tion of the laws of this kingdom and of the Royal Navy by Her Majesty's Government, certain other false, wicked, malicious, seditious, and libel- lous matters, according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say — ■ [The article was the same as that on which the 13th count was grounded, see p. 167, the explanatory inuendoes were the same, and the principal inuendo was as follows.] (Meaning and intending thereby to excite liatred and dislike toward and against Her Majesty and her Government, and to cause it to be believed that her Government was cruel and unmerciful, and to excite discontent and disaffection toward Her Majesty ami her Government.) The 17th Count. " And the Jurors aforesaid, upon their oath and affirmation afore- said, do further present that the said Richard Pigott, contriving, devising and intending to excite hatred and contempt against Her Majesty and her Government and the administration of her laws, and to cause it to be believed that certain persons had not been tried and found guilty accord- ing to law, and had been unfairly, illegally, and improperly dealt with by Her Majesty's Government, and intending to excite and cause sedition and disaffection against Her Majesty and her Government, and to possess her subjects with an ill opinion of her Government and laws and the ad- ministration of justice, and to cause hatred, disunion, and strife between Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland and England, falsely and seditiously did print and publish on the twenty-third day of November, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, and also on the thirtieth day of November, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, of and concerning the trial, condemnation, and execution of three men (called in the matter hereinafter set forth, u Allen Larkin, and O'Brien"), and of and concerning Her Majesty's Government' and of and concerning the administration of justice and execution of the laws of this kingdom, a certain other false, wicked, malicious, and seditious libel, in which said seditious libel there was and is contained the false, wicked malicious, seditious and libellous matter following, of and concerning said trial, condemnation, and execution, and of and concerning Her Ma- 170 DUBLIN COMMISSION. jcsty's Government, and of and concerning the administration and execu- tion of the laws of this kingdom, that is to say — [The article was that called "The Holocaust," the same as that on which the 10th count was grounded, see p. 1G3. The explanatory inu- endoes were the same, and the principal inuendo was as follows :] {Thereby intending and meaning to excite hatred and dislike toward Mi f Majesty and her Government, and to excite hatred and dislike toward, awl ((gainst the administration of justice and the laios of this realm, and to cause it to be believed that said Government was a cruel and oppressive Government, and also meaning and intending to excite sedition, disaffection, mid discontent toward and against said Government, and to cause strife, dis- union,and hatred between Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland and in England.) Statement of the Attorney -General. The Attorney-General said : — May it please your lordships — gentlemen of the Jury — in the discharge of my functions as Her Majesty's Attorney-General, I have deemed it right to institute a ] n-osecution against the publisher and the proprietor of a newspaper called the Irishman, for certain libels contained in that paper. I charge that that newspaper, in a series of numbers, contained sixteen seditious libels — false libels — mischievous and malignant libels. Gentlemen, in the conduct of this prosecution, as in all prosecutions which it has been my duty to conduct, it has been, and is, my desire to conduct them, on the one hand, with a deter- mination to do my duty, and a zeal for the public service, and on the other hand, with perfect fairness and truthfulness towards the accused. I trust that in this case, you being my judges, I shall not transgress the limits of my duty — that I shall not violate that fairness which becomes a public prosecutor, and that while I shall designate articles and expressions by epithets which, in my conscience, I believe they deserve, I shall not use one unfair observation, or address one word to you, calculated to lead you to an erroneous conclusion. Gentlemen, I am de- termined, as far as in me lies, to conduct this case with the most scrupulous fairness towards Mr. Pigott. I shall give him every possible opportunity of defending himself from the impu- tations which I have thought it right to cast upon him in this indictment. I believe that thus I do most justly discharge my duty, because when every possible opportunity is afforded to an accused person of making his defence, the result must be that his acquittal is insured if he be innocent ; and if he be not innocent — if he be guilty — a step is taken in the right direction, that of securing his conviction. Gentlemen of the Jury, I ask your patient consideration of this case. I trust it will not be my duty to occupy you a very long time. It is my habit, whether in a civil or cri- minal case, to avoid repetitions ; and therefore, gentlemen, while I for my part shall avoid as much as possible any repetition in the observations I may make, I ask the more earnestly for that patient attention which I am sure I shall receive at your hands, that attention which this case deserves, not on account of its diffi- culty, but on account of its importance. Gentlemen, in the short QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 171 period of my official life, I have seen in that dock men standing tried for their lives for the offence of high treason. I have seen men standing there tried for crimes which involved their liberty during their whole lives. Those cases were of more im- portance to the accused than the present ; but I believe that this case which you are now impanelled to try is one of infinitely more importance to the public, to the welfare of your country, to the interests of society, to the existence of this commonwealth. Fenianism, that accursed conspiracy, excommunicated by one church, and denounced by all churches, condemned by the lavs of God and man — having objects fatal to life, to property, to law, and to order, is existing in this country, and has existed in this country for many months — for years ; and, gentlemen, I think you will agree with me, if you have reflected on the subject, that this Fenianism is to be attributed mainly to two great causes. One great cause of the progress, and the influence, and the effects of Fenianism, is the influx into this country of desperate, dis- banded American officers, men having nothing to lose, having acquired a taste for deeds of violence and rapine, thrown out of employment upon the termination of the great civil war of America, visiting this country, stirring up our people to deeds of outrage, of violence, of treason, and of murder. I believe that the vigour of successive Governments, the vigour of the late Government, who suspended the Habeas Corpus Act and insti- tuted numerous prosecutions, and the vigour of the present Government, which has continued the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, has had an effect upon that cause of a most bene- ficial kind, so much so, that the result of the combined action of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act and the prosecutions, has been either to convict or imprison, or send out of the country every leading American officer who came here for the purpose of instigating a Fenian insurrection. So far as my means of infor- mation extend, I am not aware that there now remain in this country any of those men who came here with that desperate design — I mean any men at large — because there are some men still awaiting their trial for being engaged in the con- spiracy. Gentlemen, the other cause is the influence of a pestilential press, which, brooding over our country like the poison-tree of the East, overshadows eveiything that is pros- perous, everything that is good, everything that is praise- worthy. It acts, not on the judgments of the educated classes, not on the minds of those who possess property, but it acts upon the passions of an ignorant and impulsive, though generous and brave-hearted people. Gentlemen, the Government, so far as in their power lay, have done their duty. They have done their duty in prosecutions against the American officers who stirred up revolt in this country. They have done their duty, through me, in instituting prosecutions against that press. And it remains for you ; if upon the patient consideration of this case, you shall arrive at the conclusion that the charges of libel against the present defendant are of the character I have described — false, seditious, stirring up disloyalty and disaffection ; to do a great service in the 172 DUBLIN COMMISSION. cause of law and order, and your country. The punishment which the law affixes to the crime of treason and treason-felony, is much greater than that which the law affixes to seditious libels, but the moral guilt I believe is greater on the part of those who stir up sedition, than on those who engage themselves in seditious enter- prises. We may turn to the memory of our school-boy days, and in one of the first books we ever held in our hands — "iEsop's Fables" — you will remember the story of the man who was brought, after a battle, before the conqueror, and doomed to death, and he protested his innocence, saying he never drew sword or bow, and never did a deed of violence. "Ah," said the con- queror, " but you were the trumpeter. You were the man who raised the men's passions to engage in the action. Your guilt is greater than theirs." And so, gentlemen, the guilt of a sedi- tious press is, in a moral point of view, and in the conse- quences which flow from it, greater and more important, than the guilt of those who actually take up arms against the Queen and against the Queen's subjects. Governments shrink from a press prosecution for two reasons. First, because it is always said that Government is attacking the liberty of the press, and secondly, because juries will not and ought not to find verdicts for the Crown in press prosecutions unless the line of demarcation, which separates legitimate comment, censure, and criticism, from unlaw- ful, seditious writing, is clearly and broadly transgressed. Gentle- men, if the line which separates censure and criticism, and fair comment upon the acts of the Government, and upon individuals, is broadly transgressed, then juries do their duty ; and when that line is transgressed, no person will dare to say that the liberty of the press is endangered ; because the liberty of the press is never in so much danger as when its abuses remain uncorrected. The abuses of the press, if not restrained within legitimate bounds by legal and constitutional measures, would become so dangerous to society, such a nuisance in the face of the country, that it would become necessary for Government, and the constituted authorities, and Parliament, to obtain and to confer unconstitutional powers in- consistent with that liberty of the press which exists in the country, and which, I trust, will exist as long as the United Kingdom exists among the monarchies of the world. Before I proceed to refer to the libels, I would ask your attention to two or three well-known matters of history. Among the articles which form the subject of this prosecution is one of a curious kind. It consists of six figures. The figures are '98, '48, '68. We complain of three arti- cles, which contain nothing except these figures, '98, '48, '68 ; and, of course, gentlemen, it is necessary for you to understand clearly the meaning of such figures. Gentlemen, in 1798, '98, as it is popularly called, there was a grievous rebellion in this country, bursting out afresh in the year 1803, in the course of which many lives were sacrificed, and much injury and violence towards persons and property were committed. Amongst those who suffered in '98 and 1803 were Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who was shot in Thomas-street, and Mr. Emmet, executed, also in Thomas-street, in this city. Gentlemen, the expression '98 everybody understands. QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 173 It is the subject of a song — " Who fears to speak of '98 ?" It is as well known as any expression in the English language. After this rebellion the country was at peace for some years, but in 1848, a foolish and wicked rebellion was got up, chiefly instituted by Mr. Smith OBrien, with his associates, Meagher "and M'Gee, and other persons. That rebellion was put down in a short time by the powerful arm of the law. Smith O'Brien and others were condemned, and then, gentlemen, occurred a circumstance never before known in our annals. An Act of Parliament was passed for the purpose of compelling the condemned individuals to accept the mercy of the Crown. That is '48. And, gentle- men, we now come to the year '68, to Fenianism. The Fenian conspiracy is established — constituted by American desperate disbanded officers, encouraged by a seditious press in this country : and in the course of the Fenian insurrection which took place, it is necessary for me to call your attention to one transaction. There were two men deeply implicated in the conspiracy, called Colonel Kelly and Captain Deasy. These men were arrested last autumn, or the latter part of the sum- mer, in Manchester. They were conducted in a prison van from one place to another, through the streets of Manchester, where a number of men, armed with revolvers, attacked the van and its guards, and in the progress of the attack, they shot an unfortunate policeman called Brett, who refused to abandon his duty. Kelly and Deasy were rescued, and escaped from the hands of justice. The men who came out with revolvers were appre- hended — many of them. Some of them were tried, and O'Brien, Larkin and Allen, were executed on the 23rd of November, in Manchester, for murder. I do not suppose that any member of the Bar of Ireland will tell you that these men were not murderers, and it will be found rather remarkable that when this newspaper (the Irishman) came to speak of this transaction — no sym- pathy was expressed for a loyal policeman, shot in the discharge of his duty ; but sympathy, in the strongest terms, was ex- pressed for the men by whom he was murdered, and who were lawfully and justly executed. The murderers were called in that paper and elsewhere "martyrs" and "patriots." Processions and sermons were inaugurated in their honour, and for their families collections were made. So, gentlemen, this Fenianism continued, and continues down to the present day, sometimes engaged in deeds of violence, outrage, robbery, and murder ; always planning, plotting, and conspiring against the Government of the country, and the safety of the commonwealth. Gentlemen, I have con- cluded the introductory observations which I thought it my duty to make in the case, and I trust before I close, you will see the necessity that existed for making those observations. I shall proceed now to call your attention shortly to the indictment and the law bearing upon it. You will hnd in the indictment that we allege and charge against the publisher of the Irishman that he de- vised to excite discontent and sedition amongst Her Majesty's sub- jects; to excite hatred and contempt towards Her Majesty's Govern- ment; to encourage and keep alive the Fenian conspiracy; to dis- 174 DUBLIN COMMISSION. sc in in ate and convey (and this yon will find of importance), amongst i [or Majesty's subjects information and intelligence of the designs oi* the conspiracy, and to keep its members and other evil disposed persons well informed of the proceedings of the conspiracy, and further to bring into hatred and contempt the administration of justice and- the Courts of Justice, and the administration of the laws of the country. If the articles bear the meaning we attribute, and you arrive at the conclusion that such were the intentions of the defendant, then in point of law, beyond all doubt, he is guilty in law of the crime charged against him. Addressing a former jury on a similar subject, I had the honour to read a short and brief exposition of the law of libel, which, being laid down to s >me extent with reference to these prosecutions, and conveying the most clear and recent summary of the law, I think I shall do well to read again to you in reference to these transactions. It is in these words: — " Sedition is a comprehensive term, and embraces all those practices, whether by word, or deed, or writing, which are calculated and intended to disturb the tranquillity of the State, and lead the Queen's subjects to resist or subvert the established government and laws of the empire." " Its objects are to create commotion and introduce discontent and disaffection; to stir up opposition to the laws and Government, and bring the administration of justice into contempt, and its natural and ultimate tendency is to excite the people to insurrection and rebellion. The dis- tance is never great between contempt for the laws and open violation of them. Sedition has been aptly described as ' disloyalty in action,' and the law considers as seditious all those practices which have for their ob- ject to excite discontent or disaffection — to create public disturbance or lead to civil war — to bring into hatred or contempt the sovereign or the Government, the laws or constitution of the realm — and all endeavours to promote public disorder. Sedition, being inconsistent with the safety of the State, is regarded as a high misdemeanour; and, as such, punishable with fine and imprisonment ; and it has been truly said that it is the duty of the Government, acting for the protection of society, to resist and extinguish it at the earliest moment. The indictment for sedition must specify the acts — the overt or open acts — by which the seditious intent is evidenced; and in the cases to be specially submitted for your con- sideration, the acts relied upon as indicating the seditious spirit of the accused parties are certain newspaper publications, which are alleged to be seditious libels. Gentlemen, it is scarcely necessary for me to point out to you that, in order to accomplish treasonable purposes, and to de- lude the weak, the unwary, and the ignorant, no means can be more effectual than a seditious press. With such machinery the preachers of sedition can sow, broadcast, that poisonous seed which, if unchecked, ultimately must culminate in insurrection and revolution. Lord Mans- field, in the great case against the Dean of St. Asaph, well likened a seditious and licentious press to Pandora's box, as the source of all evils — meaning all evils to the State. Mere words may be of a seditious character, but they may arise from sudden heat ; they may be heard but by a few, and create no permanent effect. They differ in malignity widely from seditious writings. In reference to the latter, a great Judge, Sir Michael Foster, says truly : — 4 Seditious writings are perma- nent things, and if published they scatter the poison far and wide ; — they are the acts of deliberation capable of satisfactory proof, and not QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 175 ordinarily liable to misconstruction ; and they are submitted to the judg- ment of the Court, naked and undisguised, as they came out of the author's hands.'" Now, gentlemen, if you have followed me in reading this passage you know as much of the law of libel as I do in reference to the case before yon. Writings, as distinguished from words, exceed words in their deliberate and malignant character, and words . which might not be seditious, are when put into writing clearly and manifestly seditious, indicating a determination and intent clearly which words may not do, and when the tendency of those words, — when the material effect and consequence is to stir up hatred to the Government or to the administration of the law, or to assist and encourage men to engage in treasonable practices and plans, then beyond all doubt the crime of a seditious libel is committed. Gentlemen, you are the sole judges in this case of every question which arises. There are three questions for you to try : — first, whether Mr. Pigott is the printer and publisher of the Irishman newspaper ; secondly, whether those articles which appear in that paper mean what I, on the part of the prosecution, allege they mean — that is, had they a seditious meaning ; and thirdly, you have to try, and it is for you to deter- mine, whether the intention of Mr. Pigott in publishing papers bearing this meaning, was of the seditious character alleged in the indictment. Without further comment I shall now proceed to call attention as shortly as I can to these libels. We commence this prosecution with an article found in the Irishman of the 29th of June, 1867. We end this prosecution with an article found in the Irishman on the 28th of December, 18C7. That is the period covered by these libels. They run through the papers from month to month indicating one design on the part of the publisher and printer of the Irishman. The first — which is in the number of the 29th June is called in the indictment, " The late rising in Ire- land,'' and it is found in the first page after the advertisements of that number of the Irishman. This paper we shall give in evidence in this case, and the page in which the article is found commences thus : — " Fenianism in America." You recollect, gentlemen, one of the allegations in the indictment is, that the object of Mr. Pigott in publishing certain articles was, for the purposes of a Fenian conspiracy, to give information and keep the deluded people of this country well informed as to Fenianism. It commences — " Fenianism in America. Enthusiastic" Mr. Heron. — My lord, I object to this. It is not in the indict- ment. The Attorney-General. — It is not, but I am entitled to give m evi- dence any article in this paper. Mr. Heron may have properly inter- rupted me because he might not be aware that it is my intention to o-ive in evidence the entire of every paper which contains the arttcles on which we are proceeding to show a consistent design. Mr. Heron. — I was not aware. The reason I interrupted was because it was not done in the last case. The Attorney-General. — Quite so. Any apology is quite un- 176 DUBLIN COMMISSION. necessary. The article commences : — " Fenianism in America. Enthusiastic meetings. Enrolment of Recruits for the Irish Re- volutionary Army. Speeches of General O'Neill, General Spear, Archdeacon Morrison, &c. Fenian Picnics in Pittsburg. Meet- ings in Boston, Detroit, Jersey city and Abington." " Feniani.sm in America" is the heading of the entire. Mr. Baron Deasy. — This purports to be a letter from New York, and the heading applies to the whole of what follows. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — The Attorney-General would be at liberty to read anything in the paper, as Mr. Heron would likewise bo at liberty to read anything that would qualify the alleged libels. The Attorney-General. — That is what I intended — namely, that to treat Mr. Pigott with the utmost fairness, he shall have the opportunity of showing whether, from the first to the last of these papers, he can show there is one word of loyalty, discountenanc- ing disaffection, discountenancing Fenianism, or one word express- ing sympathy with what is good, or detestation of what is evil. Gentlemen, after those sensation headings, which are all calculated to attract the sympathies of Fenians, we have — "The Late Rising in Ireland. New York, 4th June. The following remarkable letter appears in a New York paper." Mr. Pigott says it does, and I admit it, and I admit that everything in this page is taken from New York papers. The letter says : — " Two years ago, accompanied by my dog Dan, I used to ramble through the picturesque barony of Clanwilliam, in the county of Tippe- rary. I had a light heart then. Like thousands of my fellow-country- men, I little thought that the summer's sun of '67 would shine over a prostrate Ireland, and that British dungeons would be the abodes of some of the truest and most stern opponents of British rule that ever bore the name of Irishmen. I was not so sanguine as to natter myself that Fenianism would progress to the end unchecked by traitors; but certainly I never imagined that it was doomed to meet with such obstacles as it has met with, and with which it still continues to meet from persons whom I will take very good care not to call men. But here in America true men must not now occupy their minds with thoughts of the past, and the machinations of scoundrels. The redemption of our native land" That is, rescuing Ireland from the government of the United Kingdom. "mainly depends upon Irishmen here, and if they continue to work as their brothers at home expect they will, the stamping out of Fenianism will be something too difficult for the British manslayerof Sepoy notoriety." Expressions in my opinion rather calculated to excite "hatred and contempt ! " Irishmen in America ask the question — and little wonder that they should — what are the feelings of those at home 1 This is a question not very easily answered ; but I will try to give a true and faithful descrip- tion of affairs, as they were one month ago. Before doing so, let us look at Ireland as it was during the merry Shrove prior to the 5th of March last." The 5th of March was the day of the rising. " The whole people were animated by one single thought alone — the thought of the coming struggle. Smiths were hard at work everywhere, pike-handles were manufacturing, and the women devoted their time to QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 177 the making of ball-cartridges. This was all the people could do in the way of preparations, and they did all they could. Those who love their country are poor, but poor as they are, they would not be so entirely destitute of arms as they were if they could get them to buy. The faith of those at home in their brethren at this side of the Atlantic was unbounded. 1 Let us begin the struggle,' they reasoned, 1 and we will not be allowed to perish. Irishmen in America will do their duty and we will be successful.' " Successful in an attempt to overthrow the Government. " The national spirit at this time almost amounted to frenzy. No man thought on his private business. No sooner were the children able to speak than their mothers taught them to pray for the Fenians, and young women were the constant and trustworthy emissaries from village to village. Any man going amongst the people then, and witnessing their love of country, their carelessness about aught else, and their unparalleled hopes and buoyant spirits, should exclaim, ' This people will be free.' The word for which they so long waited came at length, and with it came the a ;surance that all was right at last. A few days showed them the con- trary. What wonder, then, that the spirits of men should be broken for a time 1 All hopes vanished, and despair set in. There was nothing but woe throughout the land, almost every family was visited with ruin." True, gentlemen, such were the melancholy consequences of that miserable rising of the 5th of March. Families throughout the length and breadth of the land were thrown into distress and grief and mourning ; husbands, brothers, sons, and fathers in gaol or driven from the country, or wandering about the hills in con- cealment. " The father was torn from his family by the heartless hirelings of the enemy, and the son from the mother of his heart's love. The children who, a few days previously prayed for the Fenians, are now crying for bread, and the father who, with all imaginable confidence, used to pro- mise them that they would be free men yet, lies in a British prison. ' We are deserted and betrayed by those in whom we had all faith,' was the general cry. When overwhelming grief comes upon us, it precludes all hope for a while. Talk to us of hope then, and you but mock us, When a man ' Finds his hearthstone turned into a tomb, And round its once warm precincts palely lying The ashes of his hopes,' tell him that everything will be all right soon with him again, and you increase his agonies tenfold ; but let the first shock pass over, and he will gather hopes of his own accord. The Almighty consoler has supplied us with antidotes for the greatest misfortunes. The keenest misfortunes that visit the human breast are gradually allayed and finally subdued by Gocl- significantly, a threat of Colonel Kelly that unless the prisoners arrested for his rescue are treated with the honours of prisoners of war, selections will be made from the heads of the British government for assassination. Gentle- men, this is the literature which you will be asked to say is not a criminal literature. I say it is the literature of sedition, the literature of treason, and the literature of assassination ! " Such would be deplorable; but if, as the Spectator says, ' the Fenians are in some way taking personal revenge for national wrongs, by strik- ing at any vulnerable point in the British Empire so it is not at all unlikely that some may be desperate enough to take into consideration that the vast commerce of Liverpool, Manchester, &c, &c, and indeed of London, could be paralysed in twenty-four hours, should the Fenian organization in those cities determine. Indeed, I am fully convinced that should any body of Irish be so determined as to use that terrible combustible called Greek fire in such a work, the English mobs of these places, would, for the sake of plunder, assist rather then oppose such a deplorable result. Let us hope, then, that appeals to the worst passions of English mobs will cease, as otherwise I can scarcely foresee the pro- bable consequences. What would we do, sir, should the commerce of this great country receive such a shock 1 Then, sir, the Irish have such long memories, that if once the match be applied there is no knowing where the revolution would stop, should the history of the penal laws, so rigorously executed, the hangings, drawings, quarterings, pitch - cappings, rapes, and murders, suffered for centuries at the hands of the soldiers of our oppressors, be appealed to. The Times says that if Kelly and Deasy be captured, and if prompt punishment be meted out to the rescuers, &c, &c. If the sky falls we'd catch larks. Until then I will tell the Times that Fenians will not see that it is not better to resist such laws as the alien government has in force in Ireland. Meanwhile in spite of the British government, and all his other enemies, Kelly is yet a free man. I have the honour to remain respectfully yours, Thomas J. Kelly, c.e.i.r." That is " Chief Executive of the Irish Republic." Gentlemen, that QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 191 was published in the Universal Neivs, an English paper ; that paper I never saw. I think the Universal News did wrong in publishing it. I think the Universal News deserved to be prose- cuted, if it was published without note or comment — if it was published without the expression of reprobation and condemna- tion. However, it was published. I deplore its publication in the Universal News as an injudicious, and impolitic, and wrong measure. But, gentlemen, here we have it copied into the Irish- man, to be circulated amongst the impulsive and excited people of this country, without note or comment, or expression of regret that such threats should be held out. I now come to the 19th of October, and here is one of the articles which we are told are American news. The page begins, not with Fenianism in America, but the Fenian panic in England, and Fenian drillings, and after a number of articles, we come down to page 253 : — " Fenianism in America — the Fenian privateer." I suppose that is a reference to the Jachnell. "RESOLUTIONS RESPECTING THE MANCHESTER RESCUE. "JOHN SAVAGE. " THE MANCHESTER RESCUE. At a meeting of the officers of the F. B. of Boston and vicinity, held at Corcoran Hall, Sunday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m., Patrick Doody, State Agent, in the chair; P. Egan, Centre of Circle 168, Secretary. After the transaction of the regular business the following preamble and reso- lutions were unanimously adopted : — " Whereas, the British Government, through the Atlantic cable, has informed us of the arrest of Colonel T. J. Kelly and Captain Deasy, and subsequently of their rescue by some of their tried, devoted and steadfast followers, in Manchester, England ; and " Whereas, we regard the complete success which has crowned their efforts as an indisputable proof of the existence of a wide-spread and formidable organization in Great Britain, notwithstanding the many statements of the British press to the contrary ; and " Whereas, certain statements have been published by parties with a view to damage the character, devotion, and honesty of Thomas J. Kelly and his co-patriots — the Irish-American officers in Ireland — we regard this occurrence as a sufficient proof of the maliciousness and treachery of such charges. Therefore be it " Kesolved, That the thanks of the officers and members of the F. B. be, and the same are hereby, tendered to those brave and gallant patriots who, in the face of the mercenary hirelings of England, rescued two as brave and gallant soldiers, true and devoted patriots as ever worked for the redemption of Ireland ; and be it furthermore " Resolved, That we pledge to them our undivided support henceforth as hitherto, until our fondest hopes are realized in the redemption of our native land. " Resolved, That a copy of the resolutions be entered on the minutes, and published in the Pilot and Irish People. Patrick Doody, \ John Linehan, > Committee on Resolutions." Patrick J. Egan, J * — Boston Pilot. DUBLIN COMMISSION. Signed by three gentlemen " on behalf of the Committee on resolutions." Now this is a publication of Fenian news for the purpose, as we allege, of keeping up and encouraging Fenianism in this country, by giving them information of the sympathy of American Fenians. I must leave it with the same observation that applies to the other. Gentlemen, as I said, I think, Mr. Pigott is entitled to the benefit of every expression, not only in Leading articles tending to qualify or modify the disloyalty of the articles I state, but he is entitled to the benefit of all acts, speeches, letters, correspondence, public, acts, which discourage Fenianism in this country. And, Gentlemen, I am bound in fairness to say, that in this number of the paper, and it is the first time I have met anything in this paper which comes within that category — any article, any statement, discountenancing Fenianism — I find a passage from a pastoral, addressed to the people of this country, by his Eminence Cardinal Cullcn, from which I will read to you two or three lines, denouncing Fenianism. I said it was in the same page : — " Important decision of the Irish Bishops." It then refers to some matters which have no connexion with this case, and then referring to education in Ireland, Cardinal Cullcn says : — " During the past year I have often warned you against the evils which result from secret societies. I exhorted you to shun all communications with them, and I now renew the same warning, in conformity with the last resolution adopted by all the bishops of Ireland. Be not seduced, dearly beloved, by the deceitful reasoning of such acts, and allow not yourselves to be led away in pursuit of the vain chimeras, which they propose to you. Shun all secret associations — shun all associations, no matter what name they bear, whether they be Masonic or Fenian; Orange or Ribbon ; they are all alike condemned by the Church of God. They are all subject to excommunication." Gentlemen, that is the comment of his Eminence Cardinal Cullen, the head of his Church in this country, upon the subject of Fenianism. Mr. Pigott is entitled to the benefit of having pub- lished that comment in his newspaper, and if he has published a like denunciation by Bishop Moriarty of Kerry in his newspaper, which I have not found, it can be produced and read in his favour. But he has this in his favour, that he has published this denuncia- tion by Cardinal Cullen, who remarks — and I shall have again to refer to it in another part of this case — that secret societies, in- cluding Fenianism, are subjects of excommunication. Now, gentlemen, we come to Colonel Kelly, as the correspondent of the Irishman. The rescue had been effected ; preparations were made for the trial of the men who had effected that rescue, and who had murdered Brett ; and on the 2Gth of October, 1867, we find a letter from Colonel Kelly in the Irishman, introduced by this observation of Mr. Pigott's — " The following letter was left in our letter-box, purporting to be from the irrepressible Colonel Kelly." The irrepressible Colonel Kelly ! A Ju ror. — WrTat is the date of the paper ? The Attorney-General. — The 2Gth of October. " The following QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 193 let ter was left in our letter-box, purporting to be from the irrepres- sible Colonel Kelly." "to the editor of the irishman. "Dublin, Oct. 22, 1807. "Sir — As the most determined efforts are being made by British papers to promote wholesale massacre of the Irish people in the English cities and manufacturing districts as the most effective method of divert- ing the attention of the English working classes from the notorious depravity of the upper classes, and from a consideration of the fact that luxurious aristocrats feed off the fat of the land whilst millions of Irish and English working-men cannot provide against a single month's sick- ness, and consequently impoverishment and starvation, I take the occa- sion publicly to deny that I have ordered any general movement in connection with the trials in Manchester. It would be treason to the cause of liberty for any body of men who have not had special word from me to act at this time. " Wliile vengeance for seven centuries of wrong is a fixed determina- tion with me, I would have my countrymen and women (God bless them !) that they should bide their time. One false step taken perils all they yet have done. It will not answer to appoint the 5th of November as the day to pass sentence of death on a conspirator against aristocratic pretensions. " Once for all, I pledge myself that I will have an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Irishmen in England and Ireland and Scotland must not look on this as discouraging them from making every prepara- tion in self-defence, against extermination. I hereby proclaim until the exact minute " PEACE. " Mr. Editor, can anything satisfy the Government of Guelphs (and Mr. Brown) if that does not ? — I have the honour to remain your obedient servant, "Thomas J. Kelly, C.E.I.R" " I will have an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." What is the meaning of that, gentlemen ? And he proclaims "until the exact minute " peace" — that is, says the writer, I am to be the arbiter of peace and war between the Fenian conspirator and the British Government; and that letter, gentlemen, is published voluntarily. There was no obligation on Mr. Pigott to publish it, and distribute it through the length and breadth of the land. Without any obliga- tion to do so, if this letter ever in fact reached him. And then he introduces it not with an expression of regret that any man should be so desperate, and so wicked as to compose and oner for publication such a letter, but, on the contrary, he introduces it with an air of pleasantry. He attempts to hold out to an admir- ing population " the following letter purporting to be from the irrepressible Colonel Kelly.'' Gentlemen, I now come to the newspapers of the 23rd and 30th of November. I take these two newspapers toge- ther, because they contain the same wicked malicious libels, published first in the paper of the 23rd of November, and pub- lished a second time in the paper of the 30th. of November. Gentlemen, we allege that this paper was published for the pur- pose of exciting hatred and contempt against the Queen's Govern- o 194 DUBLIN COMMISSION. mcnt and the administration of the laws of the country. We charge that it was published for the purpose of representing, and causing it to be believed that three men convicted and executed as murderers had been unfairly dealt with. We charge that it was published fur the purpose of exciting sedition and disaffection against the Queen and her Government, and of exciting hatred against the Government and the laws, and the administration of the laws, and to bring the courts of justice and the administration of the laws of this country into hatred and contempt. No man will dare to deny that any document published bearing such a meaning, and published with" such an intent is a malicious libel of the worst character. Gentlemen, in addition to those matters which I have mentioned, it is also charged that one of the objects of this publication is to cause strife, dissension, and hatred between Her Majesty's subjects in Ireland and Her Majesty's subjects in England — to create hatred between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects. Now, beyond all question and controversy, I speak, of course under the correction of the Court, if Mr. Pigott has published in this Irishman newspaper a document to which all or any of these attributes are justly and fairly applicable, he has published a seditious and malignant libel, and is guilty of the crime of seditious libel. It is for you, gentlemen, to judge of that article — whether it bears that character or not. Gentlemen, re- member that this article is published in two successive num- bers. The name of the article is the "Holocaust." Gentle- men, who the writer of this article was I know not. If it was written by Mr. Pigott, I owe a tribute to his eloquence, and his power. This was written by no ordinary pen. It was written by a man of high ability. Perhaps you may live many years — you may drink deep of the stream of literature, but I believe you will seldom meet in your reading an article of more power, of more vigour, of more stirring eloquence, than that article called the " Holocaust." And, gentlemen, in proportion to the ability with which that article is written — just in proportion to the genius from which it emanated it is dangerous, and its circu- lation amongst the people of this country is wicked. " Deaf to all warnings, however ominous, spurning alike the argu- ment of the just and the prayer of the merciful, the Government of England has this day clone a deed of blood, which shall overshadow its name before the whole world." Three men went out with a party armed with revolvers ; they went out deliberately for the purpose of making an attack upon the guardians of a prison van in which two traitors were secured. With this party so armed with revolvers they executed their deliberate purpose ; they attacked the van ; they liberated the* prisoners ; they shot Brett, a man who was faithful in the discharge of his duty. For that crime, which was mur- der, these men were tried, convicted, and executed; and the Irishman tells the people of this country that because the legal sentence of the law was carried out on the persons of three murderers, the English Government has done a deed of blood. " They have spurned the argument of the just ; they have spurned QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 195 the prayer of the merciful." Do you believe that is true ? Would you not detest in the inmost depths of your heart the Government who did that? What philanthropic man, what humane man, what man penetrated with the love of God, of his country, or his fellow-beings, would not hate with deliberate and deadly hatred any Government who did a deed of blood, spurning the arguments of the just and the prayers of the merci- ful ? The Government which spurns the dictates of justice, the Government which rejects the prayer of mercy, and perpetrates a deed of blood, in violation of the principles of justice and mercy, deserves hatred; and this article was written to excite that hatred, horror, and detestation. Was it false ? That is not the question you are to try ; but it was false. No man will stand up in the court and say to you that when the Government in England, in the discharge of its public duty, carried out the sentence of the law of the land on the persons of murderers, it did a deed of blood, spurning either the argument of the just or the prayer of the merciful. It is false ; it is a false, malignant, malicious, diabolical libel. I cannot use words too strong. The magnificence of the language, the power of the utterance, all com- bine to swell the 'iniquity of the crime of publishing that libel. " Nothing can account for its perpetration, against all the urgings of statesmanship and humanity, save alone the blindness which foils from heaven upon overweening pride. Clouds of prejudice and passion have wrapt their councils round — thick, and gloomy, and tenable as ever fell the black night of darkness upon the Egyptian land, ' Because,' said the Lord God of Israel, ' ye would not let my people go.' Hapless people ! — fortunate only in the protection of one sovereign, the King of kings, the Judge of judges, the Avenger of oppressed innocence, which shall sorely mete out to all offenders retribution with interest to the utmost farthing." And thus the words of God's holv book are brought in aid of this seditious libel for the purpose of influencing the passions of an excited people, and that at a time when excitement was at its height, against the Government of oiu* count ry. " Hapless people ! . They have been required to build without stones, to make bricks without straw, and when then* task-masters have found the tale not completed the lash has been laid unsparingly on their backs, For they were deprived of their lands and punished for being poor ; de- prived of then* liberty and scourged for being serfs ; deprived of their teachers, and slain alike for learning and being ignorant. These days, they exclaim, have passed and gone away. We have long desired to govern you mildly and well. Thus they cry out ; and since when, we ask, has the change been shown 1 Was it in the Relief Act, granted merely through fear of a civil war ? Was it in the prosecutions of the tribune who won it ? Was it in the famine which slew its millions under then* flag F Is it that the famine by which our country was visited, under which its thousands and tens of thousands perished, was the act of the British Government, and is it that the British Government and the British people did not endeavour to mitigate the suffer- ings which the visitation of God had brought on the land ? o % 19.6 DUBLIN COMMISSION. " Was it in tlio oxilc of those gallant men whose counsels would have guided them to avert the popular death? When and where can we be- hold this benilicent change of policy ? Let it not be hid from the nation. Was it in the mouthing of a Viceroy who incessantly proclaimed that Ireland was proper only for brute beasts, not for men? Was it in the millions' exodus fleeing from all ports, before his fiat, to the uttermost ends of the earth ? Was it in the refusal to this day to change a system of land laws which plunders them of their hard-won earnings, and drives them out bare and miserable, sick and dying, in the heat of summer and the icy chills of winter, from the homesteads of their fathers, from the native land of their race? Let it be shown to us this change which should make us glad. Is it to be found in the benignity of rulers, whose faces we never see, but whose swords we have often felt ? Is it to be found in a denial that we have a right to a voice in our own Govern- ment, like Hungary, like Australia, like Canada, like any colony soever of the empire, however small, provided it be not Ireland ? Finally, the wrongs and grievances of the country are admitted — English statesmen have denounced them in the harshest terms. The present Chancellor of the Exchequer has declared them sufficient cause for a revolution. When young men know tins — when young men hear this — when, too, they see them allowed to remain in all their venomous vitality — when, too, they see those statesmen not only justify revolution at home, but foster it abroad — then stung into desperation and madness, should they act upon the lesson taught — Where is the exoneration ? Where is the mercy ? On a vitiated verdict, on tainted testimony, on evidence which has been admitted that of false swearers or perjurers, on a verdict avowed to be flawed with error — two men and a youth, in the eye of the law an infant — are done to a cruel death. Behold England's justice, in the conviction and condemnation — behold England's mercy in the sentence and execution of the prisoners — Allen, Larkin, O'Brien. There indeed, written in large and deep — written in letters indelible — written in letters of blood — read the mercy and justice of England." Was it the act of the English people? Is such a statement calculated to excite hatred on the part of the Irish people towards their English brethren ? If so, it is a gross and seditious libel. Are such statements calculated to excite disaffection and hatred towards the English Government, and contempt for the adminis- tration of the laws ? "They died far from the land they loved — far from the nation they would fain have served — foully slandered by the organs of a sanguinary aristocracy in the midst of five thousand bayonets. It was said as an excuse they were offenders against society ; but an army had to interfere between them and the people to prevent a rescue. It was said as an excuse, they were non-political criminals ; but they offered their lives to save those of two fellow-men. And they died, with their faces turned to the West, with trust on God in their souls, and on their Hps the patriotic cry — ' God save Ireland.' " That is, the death of those men is connected with patriotism, and with an appeal to God to save Ireland. " Dead, dead, dead. — But there are those who think that in death they will be more powerful than in life. There are those who will read on then- tombs the prayer of an avenger to spring from their bones — Ex- oriare aliquis ex ossibus ultor. And we foresee troubles and trepidations which might have been averted by a humane policy; which we fain QUEEN a, PIGOTT. 11)7 would have averted ; and which we pray, by wise counsels, may yet be saved the nations. Mistaken as these martyred men may have been, they yet shall be remembered in their native land, along with those who have gone before them. Nor shall their deaths shake her desire for a legislative independence ; nor her trust in its speedy consummation. " ' From the morning watches even to the night, Israel shall hope in the Lord.' " ' Because with the Lord there is mercy ; with Him there is plentiful redemption.' " 'And He shall redeem Israel from all who work in iniquity.' " That is, Israel — Ireland — should be redeemed from those who work in iniquity — the British Government, and the administration of the law by the British Government. Now, there is allusion here to a desire for legislative independence. Gentlemen, it is no crime, political or moral, for any man to desire the legislative independence of this country. A man is free to desire, if he thinks proper, what is called a repeal of the union. He is entitled to write and to express himself as desirous of that object ; but, gentle- men, this is not the object of the Holocaust article. A man has no right to agitate for a repeal of the union by exciting hatred and contempt against the Government, and publishing libels upon the administration of justice. Gentlemen, I ask you patiently to read this article ; and I ask you to say whether you have a doubt on your mind, but that that article bears the seditious meaning which we attribute to it — that its meaning is to exite hatred and contempt against the British Government, hatred and contempt of the administration of the laws, hatred and contempt between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects. And, then, gentlemen, what think you of its repeated publication. Gentlemen, in the same paper, the paper of the 30th of November, which contains the " Holocaust," in mourning, with the names of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien affixed, I find at page .339 an article entitled " The martyred at Manchester." " From our special correspondent." Not from a stranger like Colonel Kelly, who writes ; not from an American correspondent, who writes, but " From our special cor- respondent," whose communication, of course, they insert or reject at pleasure. " The terrible state tragedy is ended, and three more of the ' mere Irish ' have been immolated on the scaffold in vindication of the great British dominion in Ireland. The bloody holocaust has been offered, and William Philip Allen, Michael O'Brien, and Michael Larkin are thereby added to the long list of enthusiastic martyrs, whose memories are a rosary of sorrow and of hope, hanging around the neck of their beautiful Erin. The old weapon of English - rule in Ireland, its most approved minister, is again in force. It is sixty -three years ago since the scaffold was erected to strangle Irish patriots. Then one summer night, in the streets of Dublin, a young rebel sallied forth at the head of a handful of men to proclaim the independence of his land, and invite the people to freedom. It ended in nothing by the dispersion of his followers, and he was captured, adjudged guilty, and by his last words left his country a legacy of the love he bore her, and to-day the name of the dead man, Robert Emmet, is a dangerous propagandist of enmity to the English rule in Ireland. Let your 'special' transpose the picture from the city of Dublin in 1803 to the city of Manchester in 18G7. What happened in 1803 bears some 11)8 DUBLIN COMMISSION. resemblance to the event of Saturday. For yean a conspiracy against the power of England had possesion of the hearts of the Irish people. It burst out in 1798, and then followed State trials and dent!) sentences, and expatriation wholesale and retail. The memory of those events remains still fresh and green, and hardly a man is now in Ireland ' Who fears to speak of '98.' Much the same thing is going on now. It is 18G7 — the latter half of this blessedly enlightened nineteenth century — when civilisation reigns, and 'beneficent legislation' is the panacea the English doctors oiler as a cure for Irish ills. Treason has erected its hydra-head. Conspiracy thri\ i s in Ireland. It has been thriving these ten years. State trials have been going on for two years — brave men have been sent to the felon's cell — some have been condemned to death, and only escaped the scaffold to meet a worse doom — but ' treason ' thrives for all that. In September List two of those conspirators, known as Colonel Kelly and Captain Deasy, were captured in Manchester. It is unnecessary to go over the details of their capture and liberation ; enough to say that the chiefs made good their escape, but some, said to be of the rescuing party, were captured, tried, and found guilty, and by their last words gave the generations to come a legacy. In 1803 Emmet from the dock prayed that his death might help his country to ' take her place among the nations of the earth.' In 18G7, Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin from the dock, almost on the verge of eternity, cry out ' God save Ireland.' " And then, gentlemen, I find in the same paper, at page 344, the leading article entitled "Government by gallows." I do not read the whole artiele. It can be read if it is desired, but it ends thus : — " When even in France a different opinion prevails no amount of sophistry can cloak the fact that Great Britain has inaugurated Govern- ment by Calcraft, since that official appeared on the scaffold to strangle legally men whose names are now household words in Ireland." So much for the article ; so much for the paper of the 30th of November. Gentlemen, is there one of you who has not the most clear conviction in his mind that the intention of that article, " The Holocaust," taken by itself, taken in reference to the known and admitted facts, taken with reference to the other papers I have read for you, was, in the words of the indictment, " to excite hatred and contempt against the British Government, against the admi- nistration of the laws in England, and to excite hatred and discon- tent between various classes of Her Majesty's subjects ?" Gentlemen, I have said that the sympathy of the Irishman was for the men who committed the murder, and not for the man on whom the murder was done. Let there be produced from the pages of the Irishman an expression of sympathy for the fate of the brave man who perished in doing his duty; but sympathy for the murderers is manifested by the artichs, and by the names given to them, martyrs and patriots ! And I find in the next number, the 7th of December, a publication which I do not know whether I ought to call an advertisement or not. I believe it is not an advertisement. There is no other advertisement on the page where it appears, but it says : — " The funeral procession tO-morrow ; the head of the procession will be formed by a body of 200 men walking eight abreast, after which, behind the ladies of Dublin, the hearse ; the funeral procession to be supported by bands throughout." QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 109 And then it recommends that the male portion should wear green ribbons, and so forth ; and the ladies to wear some emblem in their head dress; the various trade societies are recommended to march in bodies, &c. ; peace, order, and regularity to be the order of the day. God save Ireland. By order of the committee, signed by the chairman. And then, gentlemen, I find on the first page what is an advertisement on the same subject as that, . a notice of which appears in the concluding page. The first advertisement which appears on the face of this paper is this — " God Save Ireland." " A Public Funeral Procession in honour of the Irish Patriots executed at Manchester, November 23rd, will take place in Dublin, on Sunday next, the 8th inst. The procession will assemble in Beresford- place, near the Custom House, and will start from thence at the hour of twelve o'clock, noon. It is recommended that the processionists, men and women, will each wear a crape tied with green ribbons as an emblem of mourning. No banners, flags, or party emblems will be allowed. Irishmen, assemble in your -thousands, and show by your numbers and your orderly demeanour your sympathy with the fate of the executed patriots. Irishwomen, you are requested to lend the dignity of your presence to this important national demonstration. By order of the committee." Signed by the chairman and honorary secretaries, showing and manifesting sympathy with the " patriots," and not manifesting any sympathy with Brett. And now, gentlemen, I come to what I believe is the last but one of the articles which are the subject of this prosecution. You will find it, gentlemen, at page 410 of the Irishman of the 28th of December. It is headed " Clerkenwell — Kagosima." It commences — " We have no desire to set ourselves forward as the apologists of the reckless blow-up at Clerkenwell, attended as it was with such murderous results to innocent people. God forbid ; but let the public mind close its eyes and restore its mind to judicial calm, which Mr. Gladstone so justly panegyrises, and we believe many circumstances will appear that strips the Clerkenwell explosion of its grossness. It is the intention makes the crime, we have said. Let us now turn to the act of cruelty, deliberate and of malice prepense, of a constituted Government, and set it off against this lamentable Clerkenwell explosion. We do not advance it as an argument that one evil justifies another, but simply as an apt illustration of the Scriptural maxim which recommends the beamy-eyed to look in the mirror, and not in the eyes of other sinners." That is, they institute a parallel between the lamentable Clerkenwell explosion and the action of the British Government, and say that the latter is of a deeper shade of guilt than the explosion. " The sinning Government of which we speak is the British Govern- ment. We are not going to travel back to the times of Cromwell, who bartered Irish virgins to lecherous West Indian planters, nor even to the era of the Ninety-eight rebellion, when Irishmen were sold as slaves to work in the mines of the King of Prussia. No, these black pages of history are too remote for our purpose. We ask the reader to take himself to Japan, under the reign of her present Majesty Queen Victoria 200 DUBLIN COMMISSION. the merciful. In thai island empire, a city of one hundred and forty- six thousand inhabitants, Kagosima, was bombarded from a place of security by a British licet for no crime that it had been guilty of, but simply to punish a damio or native noble Prince, Satsuma, whose resi- dence was in its vicinity. Ne\er in the annals of any nation was a more cowardly, cold-blooded atrocity perpetrated. Men, women, and children, the dwellers in a peaceful city, were subjected for hours to a hail of deadly projectiles, the perils of fire, the crash of falling mins. The stench from burning bodies could be distinctly smelled from the ships of the fleet. And this barbarism had for its ultimate object that a better trade might be driven- with Japan. It was a holocaust by Moloch on the altar of Mammon — Clerkenwell — Kagosima — look on this picture and on this — on which side of the scale inclines the balance of guilt r That is drawing a comparison between the foul Clerkenwell outrage, and the action of the British Government through the British fleet at Japan. They say to the people of Ireland, "look on this picture and on this, on which side of the scale inclines the balance of guilt ?" The guilt is the British Government's, in the reign of Queen Victoria the merciful, from the way it used Kagosima ; that crime is greater than the guilt of those who per- petrated the Clerkenwell explosion. Is that writing calculated, is it intended, to excite hatred, contempt towards the Government of the country, and of the Queen, and our fellow-subjects in Eng- land ? Gentlemen, the question admits of but one answer. And now, gentlemen, I come with a feeling of deep pain to the last article, which is the subject of this prosecution. Gentle- men, that article is a letter which purports to be signed by a minister of the everlasting Gospel of peace — whether it was written by him or not, gentlemen, I know not, but it purports to be signed by him ; and, gentlemen, it will be my duty to read to you the whole of that letter, which, coming from a clergyman, was calculated to do great mischief amongst a people of strong religious impressions and feelings. If anything is more calculated than another to lead the people of Ireland astray, to lead them from the path of duty, to induce them to join with criminals in a criminal enterprize, to engage in seditious crimes, and in crimes of outrage and violence, it is to tell them — I hold out to you for such conduct the encouragement of a clergyman of your faith. Gentlemen, in this same paper of the 28th of Decem- ber is a letter entitled " Ireland's patriotic Archbishop," referring to that very distinguished prelate, Archbishop MacHale : — " We have been requested to publish the following brief correspondence, and we do it with pleasure. The ' Lion of the Fold ' can feel for help- less little ones deprived of then natural protectors by ruthless spoilers" : — "'Tuam, December 15, 18G7. " ' Kev. Dear Sir, — In reply to your letter, I beg to enclose a cheque for £10 towards the relief of the distressed objects mentioned. — Your faithful servant, « < John MacHale.'" Gentlemen, I am willing to assume, though I do not know it to be the fact, that the £10 was subscribed towards the relief of QUEEN a. PIGOTT. bad been depaived of their at that as the moat violent Htnein proceeding on this r :eri :r_ tils :-:in:rv. ss ::. ds. instances of severitv. I - 3-1 ~.r- L.:r-I Aril". 1=1:3. — A:-:^:! lii -ii^rr rr:--:.i :f ■j thanks for the guniuiu conlrilmtiqp cf JE1Q, in aid of the destitution ■ ■ ■i n i l lij in i ■■ 1 1 ■ ■ I ■ in i^iiili illn in mj fii i i i n ' ili in "lis not TLL-r ZT-i- -ZZ-- I :*r*rZ. H-i-I-r llr T^ldl It" if 1_T 1 IT 1 T I IT r/-r_^r:-s *'■•• - is ::r At :n«lrL -At ".:-.>rz-_r;z-^i :: ilii li~i :ri: nTi^y. Lii^T--rn:e L»T:»:>. Iirinr. ilr-^r — 1:"_t v^sr*. ~--..lr_r.i zt-r ; --^> : -Ar" :f ilr PAt. — : r " lire — in ilr — £re ir_l t— — :: "It S-.ix : r_ A-ArT-? : - :r -li i It. A>t ^i-rsrlrl A^n rr. z — ~ ' '^i -~.:.7i:r ~: -in: '.•r"^i _r-T_.n : mi _tT ~o irfrLi iir :"^:'t^_ mi ~ z~.~-~~ ~_>:~-z —~zz. ilt rAriTS": i-tziz.- aatioaa on tke heads of the heartless invaders of lis country. In our ►ii- "is i .ri_r :•: V LAr-iirAl — A_ il-r iicr-essei A i_rii rzn^jl^ f:r - rv.-TiTrm.i. " The straggle spoken of is not a straggle lor the change of the land laws — a legitimate object — it is a straggle far national regeneration. I don't say that is not a legitimate object also, but i: is -i ILfzT-" ±-.t_ vrriji'Lir.*: ::r & ::-::r ir_ "li lir_I laws. X© one can say that by the words "straggle for national reger.rr-1-.i : r_ is l-ii: :•. ^7!: : r 1 :1ih^t ir_ -.It 1ml i*— s - - - : _ At :r*irA :: : - ~ *-*■— 1- £ v T :-i :r_ A- inn :: tLlT'rS ..~lT?lLir_ 11 t I mil - II — ^ ~ " \7 1T_~ " ~ ' - d^AsA-r ^r'miizy i.:n:i_ AriirA rm^ri-ir AA:A: V I suppose that is a reference to Roman QathoKf F:- J ril.-.i_r_-. i:i: y.— tat. rTr_iir_ x r_r: in-: - : ■arir- cy "^i^sir Ciziili:- Wlii*?." 1" -It intm:-: twnrn in this country, who confine themselves to tt influence which they possess, and winch they exerei ■sent? That is my idea of " renegade Catholic Whig AIt 1 :^-I 11.11. 202 DUBLIN COMMISSION. prototype St. Augustine said of one of the Roman governors oppressing the people, 'he deserved to be devoured by the devil.' Here we have in our midst the most revolting oppression ever recorded in history from I'olybins to Babington Macaulay; an oppression that the holiest in- stincts implanted by God and nature in the human breast would imper- atively command us to abhor and obliterate, and yet 'tis a crime deserving excommunication, decimation, to participate in any legitimate, practical movement, biding its time for the disenthralment of the most patient, most faithful, most virtuous people God ever sent on the earth." Does that sentiment mean the national regeneration of Ireland, or does it mean the redemption of the people of Ireland from the tyranny of landlords ? It is impossible it can be the latter, and that is made clear by the reference to excommunication, which in the epistle of His Eminence Cardinal Cullen is denounced against members of the Fenian conspiracy; that is the keystone to this reference to excommunication. Mr. Vaughan, if he wrote the letter, or whoever wrote it, does not approve of excommunication being hurled at those who engage in what he deems a legitimate movement for the disenthralment or national regeneration of Ire- land. While speaking for himself — "Before God, angels, and men, I deem it a serviceable duty to Christ's poor, and agreeable to God, to aid in the struggle for the regeneration of Ireland. First, because destitution and rags are incompatible with free- dom, as I saw evidenced in the United States of America; and secondly, because more crime is engendered by poverty — more go down to hell through its agency — than from any other cause. In America five out of every seven of our countrymen and women, settling down on the sea- board cities, go to perdition. These are they whose homesteads in Ire- land were levelled with the earth — ground to the dust by poverty, and become reckless — whom I have seen broken-hearted outcasts, the victims of misrule, and destitution; and whose forlorn condition often brought to my lips imprecations on their tyrants, that with difficulty I suppressed. 'Tis said those people are propagating the empire of Christ, more proper to say they are propagating the empire of the devil." Before I resume, remember the expression that he deemed it a duty to aid in the struggle for the regeneration and disenthralment of Ireland. " To rid Ireland, then, of this accursed anomalous condition at home and abroad, I earnestly believe the great soul and strong arm are of vital importance." That is for the regeneration of Ireland, not for the repeal of the land laws. For the disenthralment of the country, for the national regeneration of this country, two instruments are required, "the great soul and the strong arm," by which physical force is meant; what else 1 What is the strong arm ? With what are deeds of violence done ? It is with the strong arm, when that strong arm is supported by a great soul and brave determination. " And that we may as well expect to hang our hats on the horns of the moon as to hope for the amelioration of our country by tall talk and brawling agitation." That is tall talk in the House of Commons, or out of the House of Commons, brawling agitation, is useless for the purpose which he QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 203 baa in hands. Nothing will do but the great soul, the strong arm as distinguished from words. He thinks words repeated over are worthless for the great purpose which he has in hand, the disen- thralment and regeneration of the country. '•To the strong arm and great soul, I would unite prayer to the great Eternal Being, who elevates a nation for its justice, and prostrates kingdoms and peoples for then* iniquity. Who opened the Heavens to Judas Mackabeus, and guided the hand of the saintly heroic woman of Apulia, that smote the tyrant^ and freed her country \ Under the guidance of such unerring superhuman agency, we would inevitably, as sine as God is in Heaven, soon become a free people." That is a great soul and strong arm could by superhuman agency do all this. ' ; I presume I need no apology in writing thus freely to the great lion- hearted bishop now left us, whose heart beats wami to the condition of Ireland, and her poor, and who during the past half century has stood up in luminous grandeur ' The Pillar of Fire ' before his countrymen. " Most Reverend Lord Archbishop, ever sincerely, <; Jeremiah Yaugha>~, p.p.'' I presume that is a contrast drawn between the Pillar of Fire and the distinguished prelate who denounced Feirianism. New, gentlemen, on the passage it has been my painful duty to call your attention to — I submit — with entire deference to your better judgment — it is evident that this is a recommendation to use physical force for the regeneration of the country, and a statement that Ireland can only be regenerated by means of the great soul and strong arm, coupled with power and wisdom from on high. And then, gentlemen, the writer points to two acts of sacred history which illustrate his meaning and show what he means by the great soul and the strong arm. We read in sacred history of the Jews, the persecuted people, of the noble efforts made for their deliverance from their oppressors by Judas Maccabeus. Judas Maccabeus was the instigator of rebellion against the tyrant rulers of the J e ws. The meaning here is that the Irish people filled the position of the persecuted Jews, and that it is desirable one inspired like Judas Maccabeus should head the people of this country — those who occupied the position of the Jews — and that they should rise in rebellion against their tyrant oppressors, the Queen and Government of the United Kingdom. But, gentlemen, there is something more painful to contemplate in this letter. He also, we are told, guided the hand of the saintly, heroic woman of Apulia — meaning the woman of Bethulia — who smote the tyrant and freed her country. There is no doubt but the saintly, heroic woman alluded to was Judith. There is no doubt but that the tyrant was Holofernes. There is no doubt but that Holofernes was a tyrant of hateful character ; and, gentlemen, we are told that by the assassin hand of Judith the tyrant was removed and the country freed ; and it is the inspiration of assas- sination which is evoked by this letter. If J udith was anything — if we know anything of her history — we know that she was" an assassin. We are not here to judge her acts ; we are not here to 204 DUBLIN COMMISSION. say that Holoferncs deserved the fate he met. Holofernes, the tyrant, perished by the hand of Judith, the assassin. And what is the meaning of this evil letter, coming, as we are told, from the hand of a minister of the Gospel, but that we must look to the strong arm and great soul and united prayer for the inspiration which guided the hand of an assassin, for the regeneration of this country ? Gentlemen, is the British Government a tyrant of the same character as Holofernes ? Is Ireland in bondage and slavery to England \ — That is the representation. — Gentlemen, we are told that under the guidance of "such agency we should become a free people." Free from what \ Is it free from the individual oppression, alleged to exist, of landlords in some parts of this conn- try ? No ; it is impossible for any reasoning man to arrive at the conclusion that it is the oppression of landlords that is alluded to in the early part of this letter. The object of this letter is inspiration such as I have described, for the purpose of delivering Ireland, rege- nerating Ireland, disenthralling Ireland from the thraldom, from the bondage of the British Government and the British people. Gentlemen, I have called your attention to sixteen articles in the indictment. I have called your attention also, occasionally, to some other articles, as affording evidence of the animus, as we lawyers call it, the mind or intent, with which those articles were published. Take every article separately. Take also the number of art icles, take the succession of the articles, take the varied charac- ter of the articles. You have before you seditious advertisements ; you have before you seditious news ; you have before you seditious correspondence ; you have before you seditious original articles, all pointed to the same seditious object, to encourage discontent and disaffection, and excite hatred and resistance to the laws of this country. I do not intend to lay before you any evidence what- ever of what are called inuendoes, with the exception of thatshovt advertisement called '98, '48, and '68 ; and I do not give such evidence, because I am very much inclined to think that Govern- ment ought not to prosecute a newspaper, unless the seditious meaning is patent on the face of the libel itself. Gentlemen, by these papers which we prosecute on their inherent character, and by the other articles taken from Mr. Pigott's own paper, we rest this case, to stand or fall. We will not produce any person to say that those articles mean what we say they mean. If on the face of these documents, if on reading those documents, you shall arrive at a conclusion they do not bear the seditious meanings we aver they bear, acquit Mr. Pigott, and send him out of court a free man. Now, gentlemen, irrespective of the conclusive testimony, as it appears to me, afforded by those articles themselves, there are two tests which always exist in cases of libel, by which you can try the meaning or intent of the publication. One, gentle- men, is this — what I would call the negative test — that is, if in all those newspapers which are before you, there are not to be found any articles qualifying the sedition which is contained in the articles themselves. That, gentlemen, is a strong test of the seditious intent of Mr. Pigott in this publication. I should like to have this paper taken and examined line by line before you ; QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 205 and I should like to have pointed out to me as a curiosity, one expression of personal respect for Her Majesty the Queen, an expression of respect for our Government, be it a Whig or Conservative, or Tory Government, from first to last, one word in favour of loyalty, one word against disaffection or treason. Gentlemen, if such cannot be produced, you have a negative test, if it was required, for the purpose of enabling you to arrive at a conclusion. You will have before you in evidence some fifteen or sixteen papers, they are all open for your inspec- tion, all open for the learned counsel who will advocate the defend- ant's case this day ; we shall see whether that negative test tells for or against him. Gentlemen, the other test is the occurrence in the newspaper of other articles in addition to those for which we are prosecuting ; and I called your attention, gentlemen, as I proceeded through the papers, to an article here and there of this seditious character, as bearing on the other articles which were prosecuted; but there is one newspaper bearing date the 21st of September, 1867, to which I beg to call your attention, and to the series of articles which are found in that paper. Gentlemen, the first advertisement which appears is the advertisement of a national magazine, which is to contain interesting biographies, speeches by Irishmen in the dock : The next is " The Life and Times of General Thomas Francis Meagher," published in weekly numbers. The next is about carte de visites of Colonel Kelly. Then " The Life and Times of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and why we should complain of '98." Then comes the advertisement of '98, '48, and '68. Then comes " Fenianism in America," first " The Great Con- vention in Cleveland, from the Cork Herald Correspondent." Then a paragraph headed " John Savage," and commencing, " We have much pleasure in informing our readers that Mr. John Savage, executive of the Fenian Brotherhood, is surely but slowly recovering." Then, " An Appeal for Union." " Suggestions for the future management of Fenian Affairs iu Ireland." " M'Ghee's Revelations." " M'Ghee Hooted Down in Montreal — Massyism at a Discount," " The Montreal Elections— D'Arcy M'Ghee's Victory." "Message of President Roberts" — (to the Fenian Congress). " Funeral of William Harbison — Immense Procession." " Adjourned Inquest on the body of William Harbison." " Fenianism and Reform." " Special American Correspondence." " General Sheridan for President." " The Resources of England and Ireland Contrasted." " Lecture of Father O'Connor." " Important Fenian Arrests." u Attempted Escape of a Fenian Prisoner." " The Murders of Police Constable O'Xeill and George Clarke." " Discharge of Political Prisoners." 203 DUBLIN COMMISSION. " Arrest of a Supposed Fenian at Howth." Then, "A Coup D'Etat," an artiele on the escape of Kelly ai d Deasy. u Government by Bastille." " Forty Thousand Mourners" (an article on Harbison's funeral). Then,*" Found Out." "A Striking Parallel — Ireland and Abyssinia." " The Popes, and Revolt against the British Crown." " Escape of a Fenian Prisoner from Clonmel Gaol." " Arrest of Colonel Kelly and his Aide-de-Camp. Great Riot and Rescue of the Prisoners. " Three Policemen Shot." " The Suspicious Craft off' Lough Swilly." And the last one I shall call your attention to is a short para- graph, purporting to be taken from an American paper, which I must read in full. " INFORMERS. " The business of these vipers seems to be as lively as ever in Ireland. Fenian trials, and, of course, convictions, are the order of the day .in all parts of our highly-favoured land. Massy and Corydon are the chief devils doing the work of England, assisted by Keogli, Fitzgerald, and the Peelers. All loyal Irish Cawtholics. Surely England can boast to-day as did Cromwell of old, ( Put an Irishman on a spit and you will find another to turn it.' What are Keogli, Fitzgerald, Cullen, Moriarty, Massy, Corydon, and hundreds of others, all Irishmen, doing but turning the spit on which their countrymen are roasting." Two eminent judges, two Roman Catholic bishops, who de- nounced Fenianism, and two informers, placed in the same cate- gory ! Thus, running over this one newspaper, we find no less than thirty-five articles and paragraphs devoted to the subject of Fenianism. Gentlemen, it is time I should have done, pardon me ; I have dwelt long on this case ; but this prosecution is not instituted for one article or two articles ; but it is instituted because the Irishman has been through a long series of articles for six months, doing mischief in the country, as the disseminator of seditious and malignant libels amongst the working classes of Ireland. Gentle- men, you have those documents before you. You have three ques- tions to try. The questions are all simple questions to the intel- ligent and honest men whom I address. Is Richard Pigott the printer and publisher of that newspaper ? Do those articles bear the seditious meaning which I have attributed to them. And had Richard Pigott in the publication of these libels any intent to disseminate sedition through the land. Gentlemen, as to this question of intent, you or I cannot see into Mr. Pigott's heart. If this document, the Holocaust — and who can doubt it? — circulated through the length and breadth of the land, is calculated to excite feelings of hatred and animosity towards the Government, towards different classes of Her Majesty's subjects, towards the administration of law and of justice, Gentlemen, you are, as reasonable men, bound to come to the conclusion that QUEEN a. PIGOTT. i 7 Richard Kgofct intended that consequence. Shall a man standby your dwelling-house, or standing fields of corn, and throw a fire- brand into it, and then be permitted to say, I did not intend to burn your house ? H? might as well say so, as Mr. Pigott >> 3 permitted to say that by publishing these articles he did not intend to disseminate sedition. Shall a man put a revolver to your heart and fire, and shoot you dead, and when he is put upon his trial be permitted to say, I did not intend it ? I did it to try my revolver ; I did it for amusement, or sport. Would you believe it ? Gentlemen, I ask you was it, to take an example, the intention of Mr. Pigott, in pubKshing the " Holocaust."' to circu- late and disseminate by means of the Irishman newspaper, the malignant sedition it contains, through this land ? The Court here adjourned for a quarter of an hour, and on re- suming, the following evidence was given for the prosecution : — Joseph John - Murphy examined by Mr. Ball, q.c, Stated that he was in the Stamp Omee. This document is signed by one of the inspectors of stamps, in the Stamp Office, Mr. Daniel. He is in the office for the registering of newspapers. That is his handwriting. Mr. Ball. — This is the certificate, my lord, of the reiristration of the Irishman newspaper. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — TThat is the title of the newspaper in the certificate ? Mr. Ball. — The title of the paper is the Irishman. Mr. Pigott is the sole proprietor. It is printed and published at Xo. 33 Lower Abbey -street, in the parish of St. Thomas, in the city of Dublin. (Examination continued.) You know Mr. Pigott himself I — He signed that document in mv presence. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — That is the original declaration. Johx Poldex examined by Mr. Shaw. I purchased the newspapers (papers produced) at 33, Lower Abbey- street. I endorsed all that I had purchased Mr. Heron. — I am sure the Government did not purchase them for the trial. There need not be this particularity. Mr. Shaw. — Do vou see that advertisement there (points it out)] — I do. Do you see the figures '98, '48, and '63 ? — Yes. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — What paper is that i Mr. SJioav. — The 21st September, ISO 7. (To witness). — What do you take the figures '98 to mean ? Witness. — The rebellion of '98, I take it to be. Mr. Heron. — Are you sure ? Witness. — There was a rebellion at that time. Mr. Shaw. — And the figures '48 ? Witness. — For the little rebellion in '48. "What I call the little re!>eHion. Mr. Shaw. — And the figures '68 ? Witness. — The figures '68 — I suppose they thought they would have another rebellion. In what year 1 — This year. 203 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Cross-examined by Mr. Heron. Are you quite sure there was a rebellion in ' ( J8? — I could not swear, for I was not here. "Were you here in '48? — I was. You did not see the rebellion in '48? — I had enough to do about it. Do you undertake to say there is a rebellion in 'G8 ? — Not at present, and I hope there will not. Mr. Heron. — And so do I. Do you know what a sensational adver- tisement is? — Why, not particularly. ( The witness was further examined on the question of sensational adver- tisements, but nothing was elicited.) John JosErii Corydon, examined by the Solicitor-General. Have you been aware of any conspiracy or confederacy existing within the last few years against the British Government ? — Yes, sir. Where have you been aware it existed? — First in America. That is, you were first brought into contact with it in America ? — Yes. Were you aware whether it existed in the United Kingdom here ? — Yes. What was the object of that conspiracy? — To overthrow the Queen's authority in Ireland, and to establish an Irish Republic in its stead. What was the name of that conspiracy ? — The Fenian Organization or Fenian Brotherhood. And what were the members called? — Centres and members of the Fenian Organization, and members of the Fenian Brotherhood, I knew them also styled as such, members of the Irish Republican Brother- hood. Were you aware of any outbreak in the month of March last ? — Yes. Mr. Heron. — Were you present at any outbreak ? — I was present when it was planned that there should be an outbreak. The Solicitor -General. — At what time was that outbreak planned to break out ? — In the month of March. And you are aware that an attempt was made in March ? — Yes. Mr. Heron. — Were you present at it ? — No. The Solicitor-General. — We'll call another witness. What meaning would you attach to the letters F. B., if you saw them? — F. stands for Fenian, and B. for Brotherhood. Do you know anyone in connexion with the Fenian Brotherhood named Thomas J. Kelly ? — I was intimately acquainted with him. Sometimes called Colonel Kelly ? — Yes. Did you know a person called Captain Deasy ? — Intimately, he was reputed, and believed to be a member of that conspiracy. Colonel Kelly was a leading member of that conspiracy ? — He was. What was the meaning of centre in connexion with that conspiracy ? — Centre was the commander of a circle. Was he a leading member of it ? — He was the leading member of a circle. And the circles were what ? — It depended on the size of the circle. Some amounted to a regiment with ten companies, he was a head-centre, and a sub-centre, if there was only a company. The Solicitor-General. — I beg your pardon, did you see that Kelly and Deasy you spoke of in Manchester in the September of last year ? — I saw them in Manchester, and identified them. Where were they when they were identified ? — They were in gaol. QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 209 Cross-examined by Mr. Heron. Have they paid you yet 1 — No. And they are only giving you a weekly allowance 1 They are giving me enough for the time being, such as clothing and protection. You expected the last time £1,000? — Yes. How much do you expect to get now ? — T don't know. How much ? — I will take all I get. (He zoas then cross-examined as to a ring he formerly vwre, but nothing bearing on the case elicited.) Mr. Heron. — I will save time. I admit the rising in March as laid in the indictment. John MTlwaine examined by Mr. Shaw. I remember the 5th of March, '67. There was a rising — a rebellion on that night. I was attacked by a party who represented themselves as Fenians. Seth Bromly examined by Mr. Ball. I am a constable at Manchester. I was present the day Sergeant Brett was shot. I saw what occurred. I know Kelly and Deasy who were prisoners. I saw them that day in cells under the court. Mr. Ball. — I put in the conviction of Allen, Larkin, and Gould for the murder of Sergeant Brett. (To the Witness). — Were you in the court at the trial of these three men ] I was. Sergeant Brett is the name given on the record. I saw Kelly and Deasy before the murder going into the prison van. Brett was in that van. You mentioned you were present at the trial of Allen, Larkin, and Gould? I was. I heard Gould say at that trial that his name was O'Brien and not Gould. Were these three men tried in connection with the murder of Sergeant Brett ? They were. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — That is, Sergeant Brett was murdered in the course of the rescue, and these three men were tried for the murder ? — They were, my lord. The Solicitor-General. — We hand in the papers. Mr. Baron Deasy. — Give the dates of them. The Solicitor-General.— June 29th, July 13th, August 17th, August 26th, August 31st, September 7th, September 14th, Sep- tember 21st, October 5th, October 19th, October 26th, November 2 3rd, November 30th, December 7th, and December 28th. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — You have put in the whole papers? The Solicitor-General. — Yes, the whole papers. This closed the case for the prosecution. P 210 DUBLIN COMMISSION. DEFENCE. Mr. Heron then addressed the jury on the part of the traverser. He said — May it .please your Lordships and Gentlemen of the Jury — I am in this case, with my friend Mr. Perry, counsel for Mr. Pigott, proprietor of the Irishman newspaper, who stands hefore you indicted for having published a wicked and seditious libel against the Crown and Government of the country. Gen- tlemen, the case appears In some respects, unavoidably I admit, as if it was conducted for treason-felony, because you have had Cory don, the informer, proving the Fenian conspiracy, you have had the policemen proving the rebellion of the 5th of March, and you have had the Manchester policeman proving the rescue of Kelly and Deasy, the Fenian prisoners, and the incidental murder of Sergeant Brett through that rescue. Gentlemen, I do feel in that respect the case of my client is seriously prejudiced, and I feel this moment, what I said before and stated in the Queen's Bench, that there was the danger of confounding this case with the cases for treason-felony which have been tried here. And therefore, on Mr. Pigott's behalf, I ask you, throughout the whole of this case, to keep clear and distinct before your minds that my client is charged with sedition — sedition only by means of the publication of seditious libels. Gentlemen, a proceeding of this kind is an unusual proceeding — a very unusual proceed- ing I believe for twenty or more than twenty years, there has been nothing of the kind in Ireland until the present Commission. In England I can scarcely remember the time when there has been a prosecution for a seditious libel on the Crown and Govern- ment of the country. This case was opened by the Attorney- General as a case of vast importance. I have seen the Attorney- General conduct cases for high treason with moderation, and certainly, I must say, in these cases for high treason there was nothing like the excitement displayed on the present occasion. I don't know whether that arises from this, that in most of the cases that were tried in Cork, in Limerick, or in Dublin the fact of the rebellion was a fact so easy to be proved — the fact of persons being taken, as it were, red-handed, engaged in deadly combat with the Queen's troops was, of course, a matter so easy to be proved there was not the slightest doubt about the verdict of the jury. It was not so in this case. It was not so at all on the 10th of January. A number of seditious libels were returned to the City Commission on the 10th of January — a number of others were read against the defendant by being given to him inthe indictment, and some fifty or sixty independent articles of those are referred to to-day by the Attorney- General, and I defy the ingenuity of any advocate to follow him through his statement about them. No doubt everything Mr. Pigott publishes is evidence against him. That I admit, but the Attorney-General taking this extra- ordinary and unusual course then proceeded, after saying that this was the most important, or one of the most important of the State QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 211 trials, and intimating that it was more important to convict Mr. Pigott than to convict General Burke— after dilating on the exist- ence of a pestilential press, and after making the extraordinary statement that certain men waiting their trial were American officers who had landed here with treasonable intent, he then proceeded to refer to literary subjects ; and accordingly, I don't know whether he has recently been reading the life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. I think, from his speech to-day, he did since the last trial. Next he refers to the upas tree ; and then the Attorney- General, most singular to relate, said he was reading iEsop's Fables, and referred to the trumpeter, who said he did no harm, that he did not strike the blow, that he did not hold the shield. The trumpeter, as we have read a long time ago, was a very im- portant man, but I have yet to learn the unfortunate trumpeter who blows his horn in obedience to his superior officer, is to be compared forsooth with the captain or general of the hostile army. The Attorney-General proceeded forthwith, after that allusion, to blow his own trumpet, and he tells you this trial against Mr, Pigott was conducted with the most scrupulous fairness. I have never made it my practice to reflect, and I don't believe in all my speeches a single word could be found reflecting on the adminis- tration of justice. I would be unworthy of the gown I have the honour to wear, if I was capable of taking such a course ; but, gentlemen, it is right for me to refer to, and in reference to the administration of justice I refer to, a portion of the conduct of what I call the trial — that is the proceeding leading to this trial which is before you to-day. I have a right to refer to this, that my client, Mr. Pigott, was summoned on the 7th and committed for trial here on the 10th of January, and he applied, as he had a right to do, to Her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench in order that the trial might be had before the Lord Chief Justice White- side and a special jury of the county or city of Dublin. I have a right to refer to this as regards the administration of justice, which has two aims — one is to do justice, the other is, as Bentham says, the more important one, to satisfy the public and the parties that justice has been done. Gentlemen, if Her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench had granted to my client, Mr. Pigott, the right to be tried by a special jury of his fellow-citizens, he would have had the right, on the Sheriff impartially returning forty-eight, to strike off twelve, the Crown would have the right to strike off twelve more ; and twenty-four remaining, as we know by the com- mon practice, the first twelve of the twenty-four who answered to their names, special jurors of the county or city, would have been the tribunal. Gentlemen, I know many of you well. I believe all of you to be men of honour, intelligence, and impartiality ; but this I will say as regards the satisfactory administration of justice, that the Sheriff returned a fair and impartial panel. It is proved to be fair and impartial, because the Attorney- General struck some of the jurors off that by ordering them to stand by. The Attorney-General, by the law of the land, has a right to strike off five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, 100, until finally by that means a jury of his selection is chosen. And, therefore, I have a right to say that this case has not been conducted with the most scrupulous fair- p 2 212 DTLLIN COMMISSION. D ss towards Mr. Pigott, forin the selection of the jury the Crown and the traverser are not equal before tin • law. Therefore I ask you, con- sidering the defendant in this ease could not and did not object to a single gentleman on the panel, and that the Attorney-General, exercised his legal prerogative, and did object, I would ask you to a ] tproach this case, as I know you will, in a fair, in a scrupulous, and in an impartial spirit. And if you believe, after you have heard us, that these are treasonable libels against the Crown and Government of the country, convict Mr. Pigott. But it is not sufficient, as it used to be in the times of Lord Kenyon or Lord Ellenborough, to indict the proprietor of -a paper for the one seditious article published upon the Government. In this indictment, in this prosecution, you will have to consider this fact, that my client, Richard Pigott, is prosecuted, not for a seditious libel, or ten seditious libels, but he is prosecuted for being the proprietor of a paper whose tendency is seditious. That is no offence, that I am aware of, known to the law. The counts in the indictment must charge distinctly the offence. The offence charged in each count of the indictment is seditious libel. On that I join issue ; and it would be a sad thing indeed, if in this case, after being tried impartially, after the charge you will hear from my lord who will address you, and possibly it may be so, that you should be con- tent with retiring to your jury-box and then finding at once, without examination, without criticism, without inquiry, a general verdict of guilty ; because, gentlemen, if you read the articles, and if you think the tendency be not seditious, find him at once not guilty. On the other hand, if you don't read the articles, and are determined to find him guilty, because you think the whole tendency of the paper is seditious, I tell you, with great respect, in doing so you would be acting contrary to the solemn obliga- tion under which you sit in that box. The next topic the Attorney-General alluded to was '98, '48, and 'G8. The Attorney- General said there was a rebellion in '98, and he said that Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the phrase was, suffered, and then he corrected himself, and said he was shot in the rebellion ; and he referred, certainly in language which I never heard used before, to that which is a matter of history — he said a Mr. Emmet had a rebel- lion in 1803. I hope in future days there will be law officers who will know something about the history of this country, for I think it an essential thing in a country like Ireland, where there have been wars of race, wars of religion, wars against the Government, where there are complicated questions affecting property and the institutions of society, that some little knowledge of the history of the country should be in the heads of those who govern it. He then referred to '48 and to '68. At the police-office below it was thought that rebellion of '68 had already occurred, and we were in a state of alarm at the time. We did not know when it was ; it was stated to have occurred some time about March, 1868 — that was the idea there. He says then that a gentleman a] >peared at the police-office and suggested an interpretation of '98, '48, and '68. I interfered, and said he knew perfectly well it was I, and that I asked to be addressed in the usual way ; I said that with perfect good humour. The Attorney-General did not QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 213 respond to the call, and made the statement that a gentleman appeared at the police-office, and suggested an interpretation of '98, '48, and '68. I remember one of the characters in one of Dickens's novels ; in a rage with some unknown person, he says, as the most cutting thing he could say, " Sir, you are an in- dividual." And so the Attorney-General would not recognise my legal or forensic existence, but describes me as a strange gentleman, who was present at the police-office. All I can say is, I reply in almost the same words, and with all the rage and indignation I can by any possibility get up. I say this, when the Attorney-General for Ireland calls me a gentleman, ' : Sir, you are another." Really, are we not acting in this matter like school- boys ? The idea of the Attorney-General for Ireland pretending not to know who was there, or who I was, appeared to me to be very silly. Well, gentlemen, '98, '48, '68. I did suggest an inter- pretation at the police-office — and I am responsible for it — and what I suggested was this, that it was an advertisement of pho- tographs of eminent Irishmen from '98 up to the present time ;' that is what I suggested in two of the newspapers — it is the sen- sation heading ; to the third it is not ; and Father Lavelle appears to come in from the other matter. Here on September 7th is '98, '48, and '68, followed immediately by the photographic por- traits, as I have read them to you. In one paper it is by itself. I am told now that this is the sensation heading of a book pub- lished by a man named John Savage about Fenianism in America, and I don't believe we will get the book to tell me all that at once. I have a right to put it by way of illustration, if this be the sen- sation advertisement, in the same way as we all remember large placards all over the Avails of the city without either address or anvthing to suggest what was the meaning of it. At once, with the natural curiosity and love of the marvellous in the human mind, if you see a thing that you cannot make head or tail of, it fixes itself in your memory — something like the announcement of Mrs. Lirriper's lodgings to be had for the small price of 3c?., or that extraordinary sensation placard which I saw posted about in the streets, and which I saw the police tearing down — I mean " Ste- phens' Menagerie, the British Lion." There was the lion in a cage, and this was understood by the very clever and intelligent detectives of Dublin — I mean that it might be thought Stephens had the British lion in his power to stir up with a red hot poker. And accordingly the placards were torn down. I suppose the proprietor of the menagerie in the Botundo Gardens could not un- derstand what became of them, why this was being done, and why his profits were falling off. I am not sure whether he could not have an action for loss of property for his placards being torn down by the detectives of Dublin in accordance with some direction from the Castle. What is the next thing ? The next is the letter in the first count in the indictment, and certainly it is a curious production ; that is the letter which is now immortalized for ever, and also the dog "Dan," the name, I am sure, of a very good terrier, a good dog — " Two years ago, accompanied by my dog Dan, I used to ramble through the picturesque barony of Clanwilliain, in the county of Tipperary." 21 1- DUBLIN COMMISSION. Ever since that time, if a dog answered the name of Dan, his proprietor is supposed to be General Harvey Birch, and is imme- diately identified as a Fenian. But I have another thing to say about this letter, which was published on the 4th of June, 1867, at New York, and published in the Irishman on the 29th of June, and I venture to say, except for this trial and prosecution, it would never have been heard of. It is signed by a man of European lame. This Fenian General has not been arrested. In the police ottice they called him General Birch. It is signed Harvey Birch. There ought to be, for general instruction, in the library of Dublin Castle an edition of Cooper's novels, for it would then be found that Harvey Birch is the name of a character in " The Spy." The name of Harvey Birch is a dangerous one to bear, so that the sooner any man in Ireland who has it gets rid of it the better. Suppose a man in Dublin went to an inn — " What is your name, sir V " My name is Harvey Birch ;" and suppose he had a terrier with him called Dan, why he would be in Kilmainham as long as the Habeas Corpus remains suspended, which, under the present Government, there is no doubt, will be for ever. Well, gentlemen, I have tried to talk of this matter good-humouredly. There are some matters that I must treat of seriously. I am disposing now, as well as I can, of the various points that were made by the Attorney-General. I will invite your attention, not at great length, to the different branches of this case. There are, as I call them, five sets of libels charged. One series of libels is connected with the history of the country ; another set with the land laws. I have disposed of that wicked and atrocious libel of '98, '48, and '08. Then implying there were to be murders or assassinations, coupled with reference to Holofernes. I venture to say the Fenians did not identify anyone as Holofernes. Kean used to have a great whisper on the stage, " Is it the King ?" Who is Holofernes ? Is it the law adviser ? Holofernes is the British Government. And then consider the sainted woman of Apulia. I never heard of the saintly woman of Apulia. I don't find any inuendo laid as to that. We know the name in the Scriptures, if I were inclined to be critical. The saintly woman of Apulia is unknown to the historian. But there is a celebrated name which we have all heard of from our childhood — that all love as in some respeets the per- sonification of the genius of our country — and that is Granuwaile, which the Attorney-General does not appear to have heard of. It is not Granuviller as he said. Put that down in the dictionary of Castle literature. The first count in this indictment has reference to foreign news. I will say that there is a great difference as to the publication of articles which have appeared in a previous journal, whether foreign or domestic, and the publication of original articles ; and I also say this, that admitting that the previous publication in a foreign newspaper, the thing itself being news, does not exonerate the publisher from the consequences ; still it is a most material element to be con- sidered in considering what you have to find — the criminal intent of this alleged sedition. Gentlemen, we live in an age of the greatest freedom of thought, and speech, and writing, QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 215 in the advanced and republican nations of the world, and in this I include our own country — the United Kingdom — although under Queen Victoria, long may she reign. I use the word republican in the sense of res rei-publicce, when the state is the head, when the people is the state. It is the proudest boast of the Queen on her throne, I may say, that she sits there by the will of her people. Gentlemen, the trade of newspapers has de- veloped in the most extraordinary way within the last sixty or seventy years. There was a time when money was more valuable than it is noAV ; when the price of the Times was a shilling a copy, although that would not last now for a moment, and accordingly every paper has come to be sold for a penny. The electric telegraph has joined us to America and to every part of the world ; and this also is to be considered, that within the last ten years there has been a variety of great social and national events agitating the world, and of which news has to be got. Within our own memory, in Europe, Germany and Italy have been formed from the old independent kingdoms. Last year the independent kingdom of Hanover, and independent principalities in Germany disappeared from the ranks of independent states. The great civil war in America has occurred. Wherever there is a siege or a battle wherever there is danger to be encountered, printed news is to be got ; there the reporters of the press, the fourth estate, are to be found, jotting down their notes, undisturbed, amidst the roar of battle and the hissing of bullets. Gentlemen, we cannot live now without the newspaper. We cannot exist, I may say, as citizens without the daily press, and the daily press in my opinion does the greatest service to the civilized governments of the world. By what? By the publication of everything that occurs, whether good or bad. Gentlemen, publicity is the life of this Court of Justice that I am now addressing ; and I believe the good administration of justice in England and Ireland has been obtained — by what ? By publicity. The Judges on the bench are subject to public opinion. I am wrong in saying sub- ject. They create public opinion ; and in the contemporaneous history of the world, I believe the greatest and most important service is done to every civilized government by telling them every day, by the telegraph and the press, of the events which are occurring in every quarter of the globe, no matter what they are. This news is Fenian news, Fenian news from America principally. No doubt whatever, in this case it was necessary to call Corydon to prove the conspiracy — Corydon, who was not looking so well as when I saw him last — Corydon, who expected £1 ,000, but who will take anything he gets now. I firmly believe him. I believe that is the truest word he ever said. There is a vast Fenian conspiracy in America, mainly composed of the Irish exiles — the Irish Ameri- cans, and those of Irish descent there. They are determined, if they can, to overthrow the Queen's dominion here ; and they have, as we know by history, invaded Canada. They have subscribed money, they purchased arms, and I may also say, that a force from America levied war against the Queen. Is it not far better for the Government of this country, that every single thing these 210 DUBLIN COMMISSION. men. do, that every resolution they pass, that everything they write, that everything they speak, should be at once either flashed along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, or when the steamer arrives at Cork, that the news should be cut from the American papers and published to show what these people are. I was defied, I might almost say, by the Attorney-General to read an article from the Irishman newspaper, explaining why certain things were done, or, as he said, in explanation of Mr. Pigott's conduct. 1 refer to an article on this subject, that is the publi- cation of the Fenian news. ^ I refer to an article in the Irishman of the 9th of November, which states shortly the correspondence on the Fenian news, and the necessity of giving it. It is at page 298. And, gentlemen, I say this, whatever influence the Irishman enjoys has been obtained by simply supplying honestly and fairly the news which the state of things that has existed in Ireland for the last three years, has furnished. The article savs : — " Our position in Irish politics is perfectly distinct and defined, we represent the opinions of men who are determined never to abandon the claims of self-government for Ireland. There are men in Ireland who believe that neither the failure of 1843 nor the transactions of 1848 have extinguished the hope of that self-government upon which the Irish nation has set its heart, and this conviction the Irishman was established to represent." I dwell on that paragraph for a moment. It refers to 1 843 as the failure in 1843, and it describes what occurred in 1848 as the transactions of 1848. I was referring to the date of '43. Why we all know it was the date of the agitation of Mr. O'Connell — the repeal year, as he called it. I believe the longer we live the brighter will his memory be. When we can judge of him by the light of history, apart from the party politics of the day, I believe ultimately it will be recognised by all in Ireland that he was one of the greatest men the world ever produced, and that he laboured earnestly, and zealously, and legally in the cause of his country. No one will venture to say that the lessons taught by Mr. O'Connell were traitorous lessons. O'Connell may have been mis- taken in his earnest, passionate aspirations for a repeal of the legislative Union. That is not for me to dwell on as a matter of policy, but I may say that it would not be libellous for every citizen in England and Ireland, by peaceable and loyal means, to agitate even for a repeal of the Union. Therefore, gentlemen, the allusion to 1843 is this — We are seeking for self-government, the failure of 1843 does not discourage us. What is then said? The article proceeds — " Vehement counsels, it is now known, have prevailed at least with a portion of the Irish people ; despair of redress by peaceful means has had the natural effect of driving men into secret combinations, and a confederation or organization, we really know not which to call it, has grown to be formidable enough to cause alarm and anxiety to our rulers." And then it goes on to say — " AVe may use the words of Grattan,and say that if we have not joined QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 217 that which is called the treason of the people against the minister, neither have we joined the treason of the minister against the people." There is the distinct statement. We have not joined the treason of the people against the minister, neither have we joined the treason of the minister against the people. We have indig- nantly protested against the measures and acts which, under the pretence of putting down rebellion, are in reality intended to crush popular opinion in Ireland. We have taken the part of Irish liberty against arbitrary r :-wer. and denounced the system of laws which left us free government only in name. There is still one other respect in which we may claim credit for the move- ment which has agitated this country for the last two years. We have endeavoured fairly to place before the people whatever information could be collected from public sources respecting the proceedings of the Fenian organization. It is idle to suppose by garbling or suppressing any extracts from a foreign newspaper the facts can be kept a secret from the Irish people. That extract from the Irishman refers to secret organizations. When almost, I might say, has there not been a secret organization of some kind in Ireland ? Thackeray has marvelled at the powers of keep- ing a secret possessed by the Irish peasantry, when in graphic, when in wonderful language he speaks of the freemasonry of the Irish poor. Whatever secret there is in the society in America, they have a phrase to describe it. and that is that every atom of the Fenian conspiracy is known to every one of its members. The proof of that is in the historical events of the 5th of March last. The men were ordered to rise on a given day ; they were ordered to adopt the same means, namely, to march out of the towns and attack the barracks, and they did it. and it has not yet been proved on any trial how that order to rise on the 5th of March was given. By what means, and through what means, except the wonderful freemasonry of the Irish poor ? Therefore, as to secrecy keeping down Fenianism, it is idle to suppose it. Secrecy is the life and soul of Fenianism. There is something fascinating in the idea of a secret to either man or woman, and I say. speaking, not as regards this case merely, but as regards the general int-rivst- >:■*' - ty. that I trust the time will not come, when, by press prosecutions, the Government will have it in their power to put down the publication of foreign news. The Attorney-General properly says a great deal of these articles, if published as original articles, are not only "seditious," not only lib els, but are open acts of high treason ; and if any of them were published as an original article, would be considered as justi- fying the Government in regarding the country as in a state of war, and adopting the measures which are adopted in war. The laws are silent in the din of arms. and. accordingly, if any man in the press published an open and advised proclamation to the people to rise in arms, the Government are justified in suppressing his paper by open force on the spot. Therefore, as regards this set of articles, consisting entirely of foreign news, and which I will not go through the farce of reading again, I cannot justify them per se. These articles are treasonable articles, but they are 218 DUBLIN COMMISSION. the foreign news that came from America, that was published in the loyal press of this city — in the Saunders, in the Daily Express, in the Irish Times and Fire mail 8 Journal. The Solicitor-General. — Do yon mean all these things ? Mr. Heron. — I mean the American news. I say distinctly the American news is treasonable 'per se, but I say it has been published by the loyal press of the United Kingdom. I say the correspondent of the Times gives every single thing which the Fenian Brotherhood is doing in America, and contributes valuable services to the Government of the empire. The publication of foreign news has always been permitted by the Government of the country, and there never has been a prosecution instituted for publishing that news. Gentlemen, I don't say it is the indisputable right of a journalist to publish foreign news and escape the consequences. I never argue any such absurd proposition. But admitting the articles arc, per se, seditious libels, you must be, on your oath, of opinion that they were published with the intent of aiding the Fenian con- spiracy, The next set of articles I will call your attention to, are those on the Manchester executions, and especially the article called, " The Holocaust." I look upon this as the principal one in the entire indictment, and as that which caused the prosecution. But the Crown officers have, in their drag-net, included thirty or forty other fish. Their object is, in some shape or form, by some means to procure a conviction. I never heard of this article till this prosecution was instituted, and I certainly must say, that I read it with feelings of admiration at its wonderful ability. The impolicy of a State press prosecution was never so forcibly brought before my mind as since I read that remarkable and extraordinary composition. It is an article that Erskine, or Brougham, or Macaulay might be proud to have written in the closet or spoken in the forum. And, through the instrumentality of this prosecution, it will now be preserved in the English litera- ture with everything that is worth preserving in the language, and no matter what is good or bad in it, it will find a place amongst such books as * Enfield's Speaker," and become a portion of the history of English literature. This fact, in itself, is a proof of the impolicy of this indictment for sedition ; because, in the long-run, truth prevails on which side soever it lies. And how does truth prevail ? By talent and argument ; and if the argu- ments in the article are convincing, if they are right, then the truth in the article prevails. But, on the other hand, if it be a foul and blasphemous libel, it lasts with infamy for a week, or for a year, and then disappears from literature. I consider, in reference to such an event as 'the Manchester executions, that it is not only the duty but th e privilege of a public j ournalist to comment. The Attorney- General said, forsooth, he hoped no member of the Irish Bar would venture to say these men were not murderers. The At- torney-General could not have heard my speech for I said no question on the subject could be raised that they were legally convicted of murder. But, admitting to the fullest extent that they were murderers, it is another matter whether they are to be QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 219 classed with the degraded wretches that we read of in England. It is idle to deny that their offence was not recognised as a politi- cal crime. Kelly and Deasy were Fenians, rebels, traitors, if you will. These men were under them, and showed that they were ready to sacrifice their lives to rescue them. Their offence was committed for the sake of their country, and not for the selfish reason of committing a robbery or any other sordid motive. It makes a very great difference as to the light in which you will regard this crime of murder, whether the men originally intended to kill Sergeant Brett, or whether he was accidentally shot, the man who fired the shot having done so for the purpose of bursting open the lock of the prison van. The convicted men themselves, from the dock, Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin, protested their inno- cence, and their heart-felt sorrow for the death of Sergeant Brett. And these two topics, the policy of the execution and the miti- gation of the guilt of the murderers, being intimately connected with the state of Ireland, I say that this article is full of the soundest wisdom and political truths. "What does it do ? It does the same as the press of France. By reference to the Irishman, page 339, November 30, we find the communication of the Paris correspondent quoted, in which he said the news of the Manchester execution produced a deep feeling of regret in Paris, and brought many to the conclusion that the punishment of death ought to be abolished. And is this to be considered a slander on England ? The Avenir National deplored such executions; and the Temps said there were three new martyrs added to the necrology of Fenianism. In another article in the Irishman, of November 23, which is headed, " Remember Orr," is a description of how the United Irishmen rose in the North of Ireland, and fought at the battle of Ballina- hinch. That article says — " The policy of the Government in ex- ecuting the Fenians at Manchester is deliberately described as a Fenian policy, which every Fenian in heart would rejoice at who wishes for the invasion of Ireland and the destruction of English power." "Remember Orr," is the heading of the article. You remember William Orr was an Ulster Presbyterian, who was hanged for being a United Irishman. The evidence was con- sidered unsatisfactory by the people. And I believe that with the people of every nation of the world, nothing rankles in their hearts so much as what they consider to be an unjust execution. It is not the question of guilt or iunocence they try. The question the people try is, Was there a fail* trial ? After Monmouth's fatal insurrection in the West of England, when Judge Jefferies went his bloody assize, and hanged and transported over three hundred persons, I believe there was not one of these who had not fought in arms against the King. Yet it is not their sentences that have made the name of that Judge infamous for ever, but the popular opinion that the accused had not fair play in their trials. Who can forget the trial of Lady Alice Lisle for harbouring a rebel ? It is an offence known to the law ; but, at the same time, where is the man or woman who would not give a poor, hunted rebel sympathy and shelter for the night ? — not sympathy for his cause, but for his misfortunes. No one can say she had a fair trial, and 220 DUBLIN COMMISSION. that trial has stamped with infamy the name of Jefferies. Altb 0\ i;. 1 i Orr would have been the last man in the world to have said from the dock, " I am not a United Irishman," he did not get a fair trial, and the policy of the Government bore its fruit when by his execution they precipitated a rebellion in the North of Ireland, which cost ten thousand lives and ten millions worth of property. I will not say that the Manchester trial was an unjust one, but 1 am simply on the question of a public journal discussing the policy of a political execution. And this is the key-note to the article published in the Irishman, entitled the "Holocaust." It will bo my duty, gentlemen, to read that article for you. The rubbish of the American journals I shall not read again ; they have been already read by the Attorney -General, who has brought these old papers of eight months ago from the library of Du blin Castle. The " Holocaust" commences — (Mr. Heron then read down to thefol- loiving) : — " Hapless people ! they have been required to build without stones, to make bricks without straw ; and when their taskmasters have found the tale not completed, the lash has been laid unsparingly on their backs." There is the reference to the historical events of the country. " For they were deprived of their lands, and punished for being poor." Over and over again confiscations have gone on in Ireland. The Irish nation enjoyed no rest or liberty from the siege of Limerick down to 1803. " Deprived of their liberty, and scourged for being serfs ; deprived of their teachers, and slain alike for being learned and for being ignorant. Those days, they exclaim, have passed and gone away ; we have long desired to govern you mildly and well. Thus they cry out ; and since when, we ask, has the change been shown ] Was it in the Relief Act, granted merely through fear of a civil war?" Why, the Duke of Wellington in the House of Lords, imploring the Lords to pass the Catholic Relief Act, said he knew well what war was ; he also knew what civil war was, and he entreated the House of Lords to avert from the country the horrors of a civil war. " Was it in the prosecutions of the Tribune who won it?" Is the great historical event which happened in the prosecution of O'Connell to be made a matter for a State prosecution because of a bare allusion to it ? Where was there any real policy dis- played in the prosecution of Mr. O'Connell, which kept the country almost on the verge of civil war for two or three years ? Ireland wants a policy. We want a statesman with a policy. We want a statesman who shall have the courage to say that Ireland is a part of the British Empire, and ought to be the brightest gem in the crown of the Queen. There ought to be a royal palace in the Phcenix Park, and a royal residence amidst some of the glorious scenery of Ireland. The Queen ought to teach the great owners of land, the great aristocracy of Ireland, to live and reside in the country which so many of them, as absentees, now so shamelessly abandon. I believe that no reform whatsoever in the law of landlord and tenant would be required if Ireland possessed a resi- QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 2-21 dent proprietary such as that which exists in England I believe never before in the history of the world was such a law attempted to be enforced as that between tenant s-at- will in this country and landlords who rule only by agents. -Was it in the famine which slew its millions under their flag! Was it in the exile of those gallant men whose counsels would have guided them to avoid the popular death? When and where can we behold this beneficent change of policy : let it not be hid from the nation. Was it in the mouthing of a Viceroy who incessantly proclaimed that Ireland was proper only for brute beasts, not for menf* The word " mouthing " put there is improper, scurrilous., but it is not a seditious libeL It refers to one of the best men that ever lived, the late Lord Carlisle, and I will say that when he in his celebrated speech announced that Ireland was destined only to be the mother of flocks and herds he me;int it well for the country, that Ireland should cease to be an agricultural country, and be- come pastoral I regret the policy he inculcated should have been the lowest. 3Iy country is not destined to be the mother of flocks and herds. Magna Mater Yirum still shall be her title. u Was it in the millions' exodus fleeing from all ports, before his fiat, to the uttermost ends of the earth T Gentlemen, there must be fair play on one side as well as on the other. And the saddest sight that G 1 .vves upon earth every day, and the most mournful wail that ascends to heaven every day is to be seen and heard from every railway station in Ireland when the emigrants are departing from their native land for ever, amid the screams and shrieks of the women and the tears of the men. I believe that to be the saddest spectacle on the face of God's earth. Within the last twenty-three years our country has lost three millions of her people, and in that loss of population more misery has been endured than by any other country ever since iJie sun first shone upon the earth. What is there in the paragraph to excite hatred against the Government I How are the Irish emi- grants described in the S*.r.t urday Rtvitv; — " Departing demons of murder and assassination." Is there to be complete licence on one side for abuse and degradation, and no permission to reply except under threat of a political prosecution ? I am analyzing this article, which is the principal publication on which the indict- ment is based, step by step. The rubbish from the American papers would never have been heard of but for this. It goes on — " Was it in the refusal to this day to change a system of land-laws which plunders them of their hard-won earnings, and drives them out bare and miserable, sick and dying, in the heat of summer and in the icy chills of winter, from the homesteads of their fathers, from the native land of their race T There is in that sentence an allusion to the unconquerable love of country which exists in the heart of the Irish peasant. " The savage loves his native shore, Though rude the soil and chill the air — Then well may Erin's son adore The Isle which nature made so fair." 2'?2 DUBLIN COMMISSION. They do love their native land, and it is the greatest agony to them to part from it. You might see them in thousands going away from Qucenstown, bringing with them little shells gathered from the shore, and Little shamrocks in ]>ots of Irish earth. They go away, bearing hatred and despair in their hearts. Is there to be nothing done to cure this system ? Arc hundreds of thousands of men to leave Ireland every year with hatred and despair in their hearts, hoping that they or their children, or their children's chil- dren, will some day return with rifles in their hands as part of the army of liberation ? And is it to be said while a policy prevails like that which causes such disloyalty amongst naturally the most loyal people under the sun, and which prevents the country from being as it ought to be, loyal, contented, and happy, that an article like this, written with marvellous power, is to be rewarded with prosecution ? The causes of emigration are referred to — the laws of landlord and tenant. " Let it be shown to us this change which should make us glad. Is it to be found in the benignity of rulers whose faces we never see, but whose swords we have often felt V What is the allusion there % From the time that James II. fled the shores of this country till George IV. landed at Howth, no King of England visited Ireland; and I regret to say that Her Majesty Queen Victoria's visits have been few and far between. "Is it to be found in the denial that we have a right to a voice in our own government 1 ?" — I ask, my lords, particular attention to the historical illustration in that sentence — " Like Hungary, like Australia, like Canada, like any colony soever of the empire, however small, provided it be not Ireland." There is a reference to contemporaneous events in Hungary. Twenty years ago Hungary was engaged in a desperate and bloody war with Austria, and by the aid of Russia was defeated. Yet a few months ago the son of a minister who committed suicide, owing to the oppression of Austria, held the tricolour flag of Hun- gary over the head of the Emperor of Austria while he was being crowned King of Hungary at Buda. And how was this change brought about ? There was a recognition of the national feelings of the people, a recognition of the national Church, a recognition of the national aristocracy. This is an illustration from Hungary, and to say so is not treasonable, is not rebellious, but is full of the soundest political wisdom. I now turn to Australia, where with its immense Irish population many of the Irish exiles found a home, and I don't believe there is in that country this moment a single Fenian, or a single disloyal person ; why ? Australia is self-governed, everyone has perfect liberty to do as he pleases. Australia is a source of strength to England, Ireland a source- of weakness. A man who stood in that dock twenty years ago lived to be a minister of the Crown in Australia. The Attorney-General spoke of a person named M'Ghee who took part in the rebellion of 1848 ; M'Ghee was a rebel in 1848 and escaped to Canada, where QUEEN a. PIGOTT 223 he employed those talents for which there was no field at home. In Canada he became a Member of Parliament, and Thomas D'Arcy M'Ghee became also a minister of the Crown, minister of Her Britannic Majesty for the Board of Public Works. What was the meaning of the Attorney-General speaking of " a person named M'Ghee," apparently the Attorney-General never heard before of Thomas D'Arcy M'Ghee or Charles Gavan Duffy. I now come to a passage of the article which might, with propriety, be put into the Queen's speech to Parliament. " Finally, the wrongs of the country are admitted ; English statesmen have denounced them in the harshest terms ; the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer has declared them sufficient cause for revolution." This is an allusion to a speech of Mr. Disraeli, which was made twenty years ago, and often cast up to him last session. " When young men know this, when young men hear this, when, too, they see them allowed to remain in all their venomous vitality ; when, too, they see those statesmen not onlyjustify revolution at home but foster it abroad, then, stung into desperation and madness, should they act upon the lesson taught, where is the exoneration, where is the mercy]" Now, I come to a passage on which you are asked to come to the conclusion that the article is a libel on the administration of justice. " On a vitiated verdict ; on tainted testimony ; on evidence which has been admitted that of false swearers or perjurers ; on a verdict avowed to be flawed with error — two men and a youth— in the eye of the law, an infant — are done to a cruel death." Meaning that they were executed, because the mere adjec- tive " cruel" has nothing to say to seditious libel. Thomas Maguire was found guilty with the other four men, and their lordships were pleased to say to the jury that they indorsed that verdict. And, gentlemen, before you strike a blow at the press, remember what occurred then. The press there saved human life. Thirty reporters were present, the truth struck them, although it did not strike the jury or their lordships on the bench. They, the instant the verdict was given, signed what might be called a " roundrobin," to the effect that having had great experience in political and criminal trials, they, not only from the evidence, but from the man's demeanour in the dock, believed Maguire to be innocent, and the Queen and the nation indorsed the verdict of the fourth estate, and granted him in a few days afterwards a free pardon. Never before, I believe, in the history of criminal trials, in so short a time, did so strange a transformation occur. The man was freed from the dock, and sent back to his regiment to serve the Queen. That is the value of publicity. And is the reporter in his box to be permitted to make a comment, while the editor in his study is to be prosecuted for writing the same in effect ? The article proceeds — " Behold England's justice in the conviction and condemnation — behold England's mercy in the sentence and execution of the political prisoners — "Allen, Laekix, O'Brien. " There, indeed, written Large and deep — written in letters of blood DUBLIN COMMISSION. -read the mercy and justice of England ! Tliey died far from tlie land they loved — far from the nation they would fain have served; foully slandered by the organs of a sanguinary aristocracy — in the midst of five thousand bayonets. It was said as an excuse they were offenders against society ; but an army had to interfere between them and the people to prevent a rescue. It was said as an excuse they were mere non-political criminals; but they offered their lives to save two of their fellow men, and they died with their faces turned to the west, with trust on God in their souls, and on their lips the patriotic cry — " God save Ireland ! " Dead, dead, dead ; but there are those who think that in death they will be more powerful than in life; there are those who will read on their tombs the prayer for an avenger to spring from their bones, exoriare aliquis ex ossibus ultor, and we foresee troubles and trepidations which might have been averted by a humane policy, which we fain would have averted, and which we pray, by wise counsels, may yet be saved the nations. Mistaken as these martyred men may have been, they yet shall be remembered in their native land, along with those who have gone be- fore them ; nor shall their deaths shake her desire for a legislative inde- pendence, nor her trust in its speedy consummation. " ' From the morning watches even to the night, Israel shall hope in the Lord. " < Because with the Lord there is mercy, with him there is plentiful redemption. " < And he shall redeem Israel from all who work iniquity.' " What is the meaning of this — " We foresee troubles and trepida- tions which might have been averted by a humane policy V Now, would it not have been a humane policy to have transported these men even for life ? I know this Manchester execution has had an effect on my mind that capital punishment ought to be abolished. For political offences capital punishment has, to a great extent, been abolished. The first Act of the French Revolution, in 1848, was to decree that capital punishment for political offences should cease ; and we know that in America, after the civil war, there has been no execution for rebellion. In reference to the letter of Father Vaughan, it was fairly admitted by the Attorney-General that it con- tained the most violent abuse of every Government, Whig or Tory. It is really a violent letter on the landlord and tenant question ; but why the Attorney-General introduced it at all I cannot see, except that the reading of Father Vaughan 's abuse of the Catholic Whigs might afford him a pleasure. It was asserted that green was a party colour. I have before shown that green is the national emblem, and could not be a party colour. St. Patrick, in the conversion of Ireland, chose the green shamrock as an emblem of the Trinity. In the more ancient manuscripts Ireland is represented as a green island, and the genius of Ireland was a figure clothed in green. The flag of the Red Branch Knights was a tawny lion on green satin. Green is therefore the national colour. The constabulary are dressed in green, and they wear the ancient badge of Ireland — the shamrock. They have recently been presented with a medal for their praiseworthy conduct on the night of the 5th March last, and appended to it is a bright green ribbon. Green can never be QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 225 degraded into the symbol of a faction or the badge of a party. Any man has a right to hoist the Union Jack in his garden, but if a party of Fenians took exception to that, could an indictment lie for a breach of the " Party Emblems Act V This paper is indicted as a Fenian organ ; but it must be remembered that it was in existence since 1852, long before the Fenian conspiracy was matured by Stephens. It was carried on during the time the Irish People was the open instrument of treason. No law officer could presume to say that my client was ever suspected of being a Fenian. This trial is an attempt, under an indictment for sedition, to convict Mr. Pigott of an offence connected with Fenianism, and to subject him to a long term of imprisonment and ruin his property. Will the Attorney-General not be satisfied until he has two editors within the walls of a dungeon ? Is this the new measure for Ireland ? Who is to be the next ? I appeal to your sense of honour not to allow the country to be regenerated by throwing writers into dungeons. There must be something wrong in a country in which this article called the "Holocaust" could be published, and where the publisher could be prosecuted. I will ask you, gentlemen, not to send my client to a dun- geon. As to his personal and political character in this city, where he had laboured so long and respectably as a newspaper proprietor — I will ask you to say that on him there is no stain. He has written boldly, fearlessly, justly, and for the sake of the liberty of the press as well as for the sake of my client I will ask you to pronounce him not guilty ; and I will leave the case with the most perfect confidence to your mercy, to your intelli- gence, and to }^our sacred honour. Wednesday, February 19, 1868. The Court sat at half-past ten o'clock, when the trial of Mr. Pigott was resumed. Edward Donnelly examined by Mr. Heron. I am the foreman printer in the Irishman office. I have been so for nearly six years, and was so at the time when the letter from Father Vaughan was printed in the Irishman. I have seen and printed letters from Father Vaughan. I remember the letter alluded to. It was in the same handwriting as those I always received from Mr. Vaughan. It is dated the 28th December. I scarcely keep the copy issued to the printers more than a couple of weeks. It is very seldom kept. This was published as the letter of a correspondent in the usual course of business. Mr. Heron. — My lord, Mr. Vaughan has written to us that if there should be any doubt he will leave Ennis by the twelve train. The Solicitor-General. — No, there's no occasion. Mr. Heron. — Is it unnecessary to go into evidence about the Universal JS T eivs, for it was admitted it was copied \ The Solicitor-General, — Where is it printed ? Mr. Heron. — The Universal News is a London paper. Q 226 ELECTION PETITIONS. Respondents or either of them had not a majority of legal votes, although, in consequence of the success in the recriminatory case, the defeated candidate would not be seated, still the voters would be entitled to a new election.. My recollection of the cases before committees * is that this course has been taken by at least one committee." Bearing of proceedings at municipal election on parliamentary election. Mr. Justice Willes, in his judgment, declared the Respondent duly elected. As to the connection between municipal and parliamentary elections, he said : — " These elections are, prima, facie, distinct ; there is no neces- sary connection between them, and it is not enough to show mis- conduct with reference to the municipal election without connect- ing that election in some way with the Parliamentary election. There have been cases in which it was clear that the municipal and the Parliamentary election were part of one political contest, and that corrupt action at the municipal election either was expressly intended to operate upon Parliamentary elections, or that the necessary result of what was done at the municipal election was to affect the Parliamentary election ; whereupon the principle being applied that persons must contemplate the natural conse- quences of their acts, an intention to affect the Parliamentary election ought to be attributed both to people who were shown to have misconducted themselves with reference to the municipal election, and to agents of the Members who have been guilty of corrupt practices in the course of the municipal election, but with a view to the effect of such practices upon the Parliamentary election, or, the practices being such as must necessarily have affected the Parliamentary election. In such cases the judges have held that the two elections were, under the circumstances, really parts of one and the same political contest, and that the Members in the Parliamentary contest were bound by the acts of their agents in the course of the municipal contest. One of those cases was that of Beverley. Many remarks have been made upon the course taken by my brother Martin in that case f in dealing * Vide ante, S.-W. Riding case, p. 215. » f Vide ante, page 150. THE SOUTHAMPTON CASE. 227 with what was done immediately in respect of the municipal election as having an effect upon the Parliamentary election. Whilst I concur in what was done there, I act advisedly in the present case in not taking the same course, because here the evidence fails to connect the two elections. At Blackburn* I followed the same course as was taken at Beverley (a course which I entirely approve), and held the Parliamentary election void in consequence of the intimidation practised upon workmen imme- diately following the municipal election, which, in my opinion, had a necessary effect upon the voters at the Parliamentary election. I mention these cases for the purpose of saying that the circum- stances here are altogether different. No evidence was given in this case to connect the two elections to show that they were part of one political contest." As to the duties of the judge in conducting these inquiries, he said : — " I have been considering what is the duty of the judge sitting Duties of the here ; whether he sits here to judge according to what is alleged quiSoriaL 11 and what is proved by the parties who bring the case before him, or whether he sits here as a sort of inquisitor after the case is over, so far as the parties are concerned, to enter into a general inquiry as to the state of the borough, or a special and particular . inquiry with respect to individuals. My impression, as I have already stated elsewhere,t is that the case of individuals, except so far as it may be necessary to consider such a case for the purpose of determining whether the election is void or not, stands upon the same footing, so far as the duty of the judge sitting here is concerned, as a general inquiry into the state of the borough, and inasmuch as the latter does not fall within the province of the judge, so neither does the former, except in so far as the question is raised by the proceedings in the cause, or necessary to be decided for the purpose of disposing of the prayer of the petition." Costs follow the event. C osts * Vide ante, p. 199. t Ante, p. 6. 228 DUBLIN COMMISSION. understand the Celtic people. We must govern ourselves, We don't want this desolating connexion with you. We want to stand by } T ou, and be true friends, but not more. Now, gentle- man, 1 have told you what was the policy of this journal. I ask the Solicitor-General to point out a single article in these news- papers w hich is inconsistent with that line of politics. 1 ask you — upon the articles here, which are alleged to be original — to say that that was the line of politics pursued in them ; and that, therefore, with reference to the letter of "Liscarroll" and the part of the "Holocaust" — they are .not libels. Gentlemen, we come then to the next part of the indictment — and that is with reference to the Fenian news. You must say upon your oaths that you believe, contrary to the statement, the express statement in the Irishman, that Richard Pigott collected this Feniannews, with the view, with the object of encouraging Fenians in this country to open revolt, with the view and with the object of raising up (Usaifection — not, bear in mind, of carrying out the object of his paper — not with the view of making the people love the Crown and ask for relief from the Parliament, but with the view of supplanting alike the Crown and Parliament. Will you swear that he had that guilty intention ? Gentlemen, in the Times, Daily News, Tinsleys Magazine, and in every magazine you will read letters signed "A Fenian" every day. Do you mean to say that the editors of these — or would anyone say that the pro- prietors were guilty of libel ? The English papers and the Irish papers are teeming with Fenian intelligence ; and who would say that these papers intended to raise up revolt? But, gentlemen, it must be something in the Irishman wmich takes it out of the ordinary rule, and it must be because Her Majesty's Attorney- General thinks proper to prosecute him, he is to be found guilty of doing that which everybody else does. When Mr. Pigott saw every paper doing it, he had to do the same, as a commercial speculator. That takes the guilty intention out of it, and removes any doubt. But, gentlemen, if it had been Mr. Pigott's intention to write up Fenianism, or assist Fenians in any respect, was not he in a position to do it without borrowing ? The hand that wrote the " Holocaust" was the hand of a man who could write elo- quently on any subject, and if Mr. Pigott had given up his loyalty and obedience to the Crown and country he might have written up Fenianism in a manner that might have served it materially. He did not do that. I defy the Crown to say that or show it. Gentlemen, with reference to the Manchester executions, one man after being sentenced was pardoned, and declared innocent. There is another fact in the case not yet alluded to. Another man got off with a lighter punishment. There can be no doubt, for it is stated by the Crown that these two prisoners were Fenians. Gentlemen, there can be no doubt that Allen was a boy under twenty years of age. He was at that period of life, gentle- men, when any heroic or quasi-heroic enterprise — and I believe in my soul he thought he was doing a heroic action — would attract him ; he was at that period of his life when he might be induced by the hope ot any sort of rash enterprise to join in it. Gentle- QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 229 men, it was a terrible thing to hang that boy, and I say every journalist in the country — not only one — should have risen up and demanded from the Government that this boy should not be hanged. But, gentlemen, the Manchester execution depended upon two things — first, upon the verdict of the jury ; and second, upon the veto of the Crown. Gentlemen, it was perfectly legi i- inate and proper for any journalist in the country to say that this was a case in which you should have exercised your prerogative. It was a subject in which any influence anyone thought proper to bring should have been brought to bear on the Crown, and it was a case in which the Crown should have exercised the prero- g\:ive, and in not doini' that it has acted dangerouslv. As to tne }>:• >:-:>>L»:i. what was A Lr. Pigott's c-jimexion with it • You have been told that Lord Derby stated the procession was legal. You have been told again and again that this alleged libel with refe- rence to the procession was an advertizernent of the proce- ion. You have heard it read, and you see there is no express statement in it that in law is to be found to be a seditious libel. Gentle- men, I believe if any man took that advertizernent to any news- paper in Dublin it would be inserted. I believe it did appear in every paper in Dublin. If he went with an advertizernent for a meeting or for the procession to advocate a description of views which perhaps were not the views of the editor, but in which no wrong was to be done, any editor might and would, perhaps pro- perly, insert the advertisement, and no Government would indict him and say he intended thereby to stir up sedition among the people. Father Yaughan's letter is admitted to have reference to a poor tenant that was confined. We all know well when a parish priest in the country sees his suffering people about him in a sad way, he does use, perhaps, language which Her Majesty's Attorney- General would not use, but he does nothing more than forcibly and strongly to point out the necessity for changing the laws — the absolute necessity of making some attempt not of doing what the Conservative Governments have done from the beginning of existence from time to time — not to coerce, coerce, and nothing else. Every Irishman here knows that every Government is bound to win the affections of its people if it can. I den}' that any attempt has been made by the Government of the country to win the atfections of the people. People are accused of winning the affection of the people from the Crown ; and it is stated that the libeller is as guilty as the man who does the action. The Crown is as guilty of the disaiiection of the people whose affec- tions they never wooed and never tried to win as the persons who come here, believing they were doing what was right in winning their atfections from the Crown. I freely demand from you, gen- tlemen, an acquittal. If in a well affected country in which the people love the Crown, and in which they desire to carry out the laws — if a press be necessary, I say, in a free country with free institutions, then when the people are not well affected, but are disaffected, the press is more necessary still. It is necessary that the people should speak out. It is necessary that their voice should be heard and not indicted. Gentlemen, that press has 230 DUBLIN COMMISSION. spoken out. It has not recommended what might he the result if it did not speak out. It has not recommended the people in secret in the dark night to plot and plan, and confederal and agree for the overturning of the Government. It has poirt< o ' how the affections and loyalty of the people maybe won. It has pointed out that by a repeal of the legislative Union mucl be done to remove the great evils that exist in Ireland, pointed out again and again the terrible policy into wir e running — the frightful sea of democracy. It has pointed c ut that property has its duties as well as its rights. I commit this newspaper to you, and I say the liberty of the press is a thing you . must most anxiously and zealously guard. I know you all to be men with the most sincere desire to do right. I know you will not do wrong, and I ask you for an acquittal. Reply of the Solicitor-General. The Solicitor-General replied as follows : — My lords and gentle- men of the jury, I have now, in as brief a compass as the magni- tude of the case permits, to sum up the evidence submitted on the part of the Crown, which entitles us, as we conceive, to a verdict against the traverser at the bar. Before doing so, I think it only fair to say that I am glad that Mr. Pigott produced a witness this morning to give some formal evidence before you. For two rea- sons I rejoice at it, and the first is not the lesser one — namely, that it has given my friend Mr. Perry the opportunity of which he has so well availed himself — of addressing you on behalf of Mr. Pigott. Whilst I listened to his remarks with sincere pleasure, it was not unaccompanied with regret that his client had not pursued, during the six long months we have been investigating his mode, of conducting this paper, the course his able counsel has alleged he did pursue. If Mr. Pigott had consulted Mr. Perry before the 6th of June, 1867, and had followed his advice consistently, honestly, loyally, and honourably, he would not, gentlemen, stand in the degrading position of being a traverser at the bar of a criminal court for a crime as great, so far as society is concerned, as was ever investigated in a court of justice. This, gentlemen, is not an indictment prosecuted for the publication of a single libel. It is a prosecution for a persistent course of seditious writ- ing steadily and persistently pursued by Mr. Pigott for six months, as evidenced by the publications now before you. Unlike the last prosecution, in this case the Crown has put in issue the con- tents of every paper published by the defendant during the six months referred to, and has challenged the counsel for the defence to put their finger on a single article that could in any degree palliate the seditious and inflammatory writing contained in the articles the Crown complains of. If, gentlemen, you com§ to the conclusion that, as the Attorney-General alleges, the Defendant during this period published the articles or any of the articles in question — " Maliciously and seditiously contriving, devising, and intending to spread, stir up, and excite discontent and sedition amongst Her Majesty's subjects, and to excite hatred and contempt towards Her Majesty's Govern- i QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 231 merit and the administration thereof, and to encourage, foster, and keep alive the Fenian conspiracy, and to encourage and excite the members of said conspiracy to continue and persevere in their unlawful plots and designs j and contriving, devising, and intending to disseminate and con- vey among Her Majesty's subjects information and intelligence of the extent, progress, and designs of said conspiracy." If ; gentlemen, you come to the deliberate conclusion that these or any of these objects wa> or were the motive or motives that actuated Mr. Pigott in these publications, I repeat that no man ever stood at the criminal bar of a court of justice to answer for a more serious crime. During the course of the present trials juries have been frequently reminded that they were bound to consider the history of the time when the publications complained of appeared, the state of the country, and what is commonly called the sur- rounding circumstances. Such publications as these, if published in Australia or New Zealand, or in some other dependency of the British dominions, where no conspiracy was rife, would be harmless, and, comparatively speaking, innocent. The case, however, is very different when such writings appear at a time when public feeling is excited by previous abortive conspiracies, when they tend to keep alive disaffection, and to foster feelings of hatred and dislike between different portions of her Majesty *s subjects, — and by that I mean her Majesty's subjects in England and her Majesty's subjects in Ireland. If these writings have this tendency — if they are published when the public mind i3 excited by such an event as the Manchester execution, — and if in place of educating the public sentiment or applying a word of warning to the Government, as a paper is entitled fairly to do — if in place of that, the object of the writing is to excite and inflame the inhabitants of this country, and to promote amongst them feelings of hatred and animosity against their fellow-subjects in England, no more heinous crime against society could possibly be committed. The articles and publications of which the Crown complains extend over a considerable time, the numbers of the IrUh ma n newspaper for six consecutive months have been put in evidence, and the defendant's counsel have had the opportunity of searching among all these papers, with the assistance of Mr. Pigott himself, to discover a single article which could palliate or excuse the publications complained of. They have produced for this purpose three numbers of this paper ; and I will ask your attention to the articles they rely upon to prove the loyal and constitutional snirit of this publication. We are told by Mr. Perry and Mr. Heron that the I. Uh.man was first published in 185 2 ; and a newspaper of the 29th November, 1867, is produced, containing an article relied upon by Mi*. Pigott's counsel as showing the praiseworthy objects for which this reaper was com- menced and carried on. The article is headed " Freedom of Opinion in Ireland/' and some one or two sentences are selected from this article to establish that the Irishman was instituted for the purpose of freely and fearlessly advocating what are com- monly called u popular views " in this country, and nothing more. This article was written, as it would appear from its contents, in consequence of attacks that had been made by the English and 232 DUBLIN COMMISSION. well-affected newspapers in this country on the Irishman as a disseminator of sedition. The editor takes up the glove and thus begins : — " Ono of the most remarkable aspects of the Fenian craze which rages amongst Englishmen in England and West Britons in Ireland at present, is the savage ferocity with which almost the entire press of the governing classes and public men speak of those who show the slightest sympathy with our suffering country. From the Times to the Daily Express the chorus is rung with remarkable accord. We will cite a couple of in- stances. A patriotic priest was feasted by his friends as a testimony of their sense of his services to the cause of country, religion, and charity." You will see, gentlemen, that that was the banquet given to Father Lavelle, where speeches were indulged in that were severely commented on by the English papers. . . . " And although most of the speakers, in the plainest language, deprecated recourse to armed rebellion on the part of their countrymen, while, they deplored the misgovernment which is fast depopulating the country, the meeting was denounced as a treasonable assemblage, and impartial journalists of freedom-loving England wonder that it should be permitted to be hehl." In the next paragraph of the article the writer proceeds thus : — 4 ' It is easy to see into the motives which counsel such malicious prompt- ings. There are, we regret to say, persons actuated by hatred of Ireland who would hound on the Government to the performance of arbitrary and unlawful measures, until the people, driven to desperation, are led to the commission of rash acts of retaliation, and then a decent pretext could be had for shootings, hangings, burnings, and other approved measures for the thorough conquest of Ireland." Such, gentlemen, is the first article brought forward by Mr. Pigott's counsel as a palliative and corrective — as a proof sufficient to satisfy you of the loyal and peaceful spirit that actuated Mr. Pigott in the establishment and conduct of this paper. " Those rulers" (he says) " instead of adopting the wise policy of meet- ing discontent by concession, have resorted to arbitrary means of repres- sion. The attempt is now making to crush all popular feeling in Ireland by a resort to that system of coercion which has never yet succeeded in breaking down the determination of a bold and high-spirited nation. This is the state of things with which we have to deal. We take credit to ourselves for having done so honestly and fairly. " At the same time, watchful over the interests of the people, we have warned them to give no excuse by impotent revolts for a repetition of the scenes of '98. The bloody lances of the soldiery at Dungarvan show how such would be availed of. We have taken the part of the Irish nation and of Irish liberty against arbitrary power, and we have de- nounced as strongly as we could a system of rule which has left us little of free government in Ireland except the name." Again, at the end of the article, he continues — " We have written at this length, not because we regard the strictures of the organs of those whom we are compelled to look upon as ourenemies." That is, the English press. " But lest it might be supposed that any influence that can possibly be brought to bear upon us can ever cause us to desert or compromise the QUEEN a, PIGOTT. 233 cause of Ireland. We Lave not misrepresented, nor ever shall do so, the motives of men who sacrificed all that is dear to them for the good of their country, while we counsel our countrymen to avoid all rash — — " That is like the " impotent revolt " " And secret attempts which will but give the wished-for pretext to our rulers to exercise those measures for repression which are so dear to the hearts of some of their prompters at the press." Such is the original article which has been picked out as an exponent of Mr. Pigott's loyalty and discretion — of his desire not to excite disaffection and hatred. That article appeared in the paper of the 9th November. Another paper which was published on the 2nd November, 1867, has been referred to by Mr. Heron with the same object, and he read from it the following extract taken from the portion of the paper headed " Current Notes" — " There is nothing more curious than to note the various cries which hail every innovator. Thus Bright some years ago was denounced as a Radical, whose hidden aim was to swamp the monarchy in blood and republicanism. Now, the very party whose members cried out upon him, have taken a leap in the dark far beyond what he proposed. Thus, in our own land, Grattan was defamed as the reddest of red revolu- tionists. And in a few years the party of those who attacked Grattan were seen introducing a measure far more revolutionary than anything he proposed— a measure which destroyed the existing constitution in the Union. Thus it has been with the Irishman." That is, his own paper. " Because, apparently, we have declared that a solution of the Irish question, similar to the solution recently had of the Hungarian question, should be granted, this paper has been denounced in all the moods and tenses of objurgation. It has even been called a ' Fenian organ' by writers with oblique minds. They well know it is not so, for the Penians had never but one organ in this country, which was suppressed. But then we have not joined in with the howl against them ; but done that justice " That is, to the Fenians. " Everywhere refused them, and will ever do so." Such are two of the three articles referred to by Mr. Heron, but I tincl that in this last paper a few lines lower down there is a " current note " commencing thus — " The shooting of Sergeant Kelly and Constable Keena of the Dublin police, will, we have no doubt, be coloured into what is so much talked of now-a-days — 'another Fenian outrage.' " i And ridicule is then thrown on such a supposition ; and in the paper of the 9th November, I find an article preceding that of " Freedom of Opinion in Ireland," where, in the very same page and same column, a leading article appears headed " Attempted Assassina- tions!" — the object of which is deliberately to throw ridicule upon the Corporation of Dublin, which, as you may remember, voted a sum of £100 to the families of the policemen Kelly and Keena, who were shot in this city, on the 31st of last October. Here is what he says : — ■ "The Dublin Corporation has characterized itself by a remarkable piece of disinterested generosity. No sooner had the tidings reached it of 234 DUBLIN COMMISSION. the attempt to kill two policemen, than it sprang up in a flutter to com- pensate their families — at other people's expense. This is true philan- thropy I" The writer then goes on ridiculing the idea, and speaks of some person called Shannon, who, as he alleges, had been assailed by some "liveried policemen," and that the corporation did not interfere ; and he then proceeds — " We condemn assassination, but we condemn it honestly. We do not shut our eyes on attempts, daring, desperate, and treacherous, when they are inflicted by soldiers on citizens, to open them in horror when the uniform suffers. And we say deliberately that the Dublin Corporation has disgraced itself — not so much by voting away the money of the poor not its own to vote, but by exhibiting gross partiality, and by something which resembles truckling." Now what is the third article alluded to by Mr. Heron ? After referring to some short extracts copied from the French papers, he refers to an article which appeared on the 30th November, entitled " Remember Orr," an article which I think furnished the key-note to the fearful production called " the Holocaust." You will bear in mind that the executions in Manchester took place on Saturday, the 23rd November. These weekly papers are published on every Friday evening, and the first edition of the Irishman came out on the evening of Friday, the 22nd November, with a leader entitled " Remember Orr." The expression we know as a matter of history has reference to a man who is generally believed to have been unjustly executed in the North of Ireland, in 1798, and it was used at that time and for many years afterwards as a watchword among the disaffected. Mr. Pigott takes up the ex- pression, and publishes this article before the men were executed in Manchester, using the words " Remember Orr," as a threat to the Government if they executed those men. He says : — " This for years was the watchword of the United Irishmen, and nothing more greatly swelled their influence and deepened the disaffection of the people than these talismamc words. William Orr was an Ulster Presbyterian, and he was suddenly put upon his trial in a time of passion- ate excitement, before a panic-smitten jury who had been exasperated by the cry for blood, on the part of the official press. " On tainted evidence, they convicted him in hot haste, and before the furious passions cooled he was hung. He was innocent of the offence alleged. The jurors afterwards confessed that they had been impelled to a deed in haste, which blackened their souls with a horror of remorse." He then proceeds with reference to the Manchester convicts : — u If these men die, the boy Allen and his comrades, their blood shall not stain our hands, nor the consequences our conscience. But if the Government be so blinded as to commit such a deed against the millions' sense of fairness, justice, and mercy, we would turn to the irritated people with the earnest counsel that they should not allow even such a deed to provoke them into acts of violence. There are those who desire nothing better, at this time, than to see the arms of the soldiery turned on the defenceless populace in order redly to cement and bloodily to perpetuate the bulwarks of aristocratic force." That article, gentlemen, appeared on the evening of the 22nd November, the day before the execution. The execution takes QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 235 place the next day, and the second edition of this same paper was forthwith published with broad mourning borders, as if some great calamity had fallen on the nation — as if some great man had died. The Irishman comes out in a second edition, after the execution of the men, who, Mr. Pigott's counsel has admitted, were murderers — with a black border round the paper, and in place of the article " Remember Orr," the inflammatory, seditious, and grossly exciting article of " the Holocaust " is substituted in its stead ; and this second edition of the paper is circulated through England, Ireland, and Scotland, to excite the people against the law, to stir up hatred amongst the Irish against their English fellow-subjects, and to bring the administration of justice and the Government of the country into contempt. What does he do next week with regard to " the Holocaust " article ? In the publication of the following week, lest any of his readers who had purchased the first edition of the paper of the preceding week should not have the advantage of studying this article — of admirable composition, and full of literary merit, I admit — but full of the teaching of treason and of sedition ; for fear that any of his readers should lose the benefit of this composition, he publishes "the Holocaust" as a supplement to the Irishman of the 30th November, in broad mourning borders, and the deepest leaded type. Such is the deliberate act of a man who is .repre- sented as writing hurriedly about the blunder, as it is called, of the Government in presuming to execute three murderers, who took the life of one unoffending servant of the Crown, and who wounded several other loyal subjects in Manchester who resisted their nefarious attempt ; and remember that this article is one of a long series, the tendency of which was to bring the admini- stration of the law into contempt and ridicule, and to keep up a seditious feeling among Her Majesty's subjects. What wonder is it that our people, goaded on as they are by those inflammatory productions, and by those incentives to treason and rebellion, occasionally break out into open warfare against the Govern- ment ? Who is responsible ? Is it the unfortunate dupe who listens to this teaching, and in a foolish moment takes up a gun, a pitchfork, or a pike, and is arrested by the first policeman he meets ? What is his crime compared with that of the man who prostitutes his talents, which were intended for a different purpose — who uses his erudition, for the writer of that is not unversed in ancient, modern, or sacred history — who misapplies his gifts, both natural and acquired, for the sordid purpose of putting money in his pocket, or for the more criminal purpose of stirring up sedition and disaffection, and of keeping alive and fomenting that discontent which keeps this country in the miserable state it has been in for many years ? Now, it is only by a careful examination that you can find out the sort of paper this Irishman is, and, with your permission, I will present to you an analysis of the number of the 29th of June, which is the first in the series mentioned in the indictment. The paper consists of twelve pages of closely printed letter-press, three columns in each page, or thirty-six columns altogether. There are a couple of pages of advertisements in the usual way. In the centre there are about two 236 DUBLIN COMMISSION. pages of original articles, very ably written ; then there are letters from correspondents, and a special portion of the paper is devoted to what is headed U Fenianism in America," containing paragraphs with the following sensational headings: — Enthusiastic Meet- ings," " Enrolment of Recruits for the Irish Revolutionary Arm/," " Speeches of General O'Neill, General Spear, Archdeacon Morrison," foe. Then follows an account of a " Fenian Pic-nic in Pittsburg," succeeded by " Harvey Birch's" letter (which is set out in the indict- ment), "The American Government and the Fenian Convicts." Then comes a u Report of the Commissioners on the Treatment of the Treason-felony Convicts," followed by " Maximilian a Priso- ner," " More Fruits of British Government in Ireland," " Appalling, Famine in the West !" "The Waterfprd Butchery — the Sham Jury!" "The Waterford Massacre," "The Sheffield Commission," and then we come to " Current Notes," of which the following extract is a specimen : — " Some people have the hardihood to assert, notwithstanding the assurances to the contrary of loyal journalists, that Government is on the verge of another panic, that the Fenian movement, so far from having died out, has gained strength from recent reverses, and is more powerful and threatening than ever, and that the next rising will astonish the world by the extent of its resources in men, money, and war material. Wc, however, cannot presume to offer our opinion on so ticklish a question." .... " The best of Irish patriots found an analogy for his country in the state of Poland, and the most appropriate title ever our land received was that of < the Poland of the West.' " We are so wicked as to feel proud of the men," (Referring to some of those who had been convicted as felons in Limerick.) " Who have sacrificed everything dear to them for objects which we must regard as the purest that actuate mankind, and cannot accept a Govern- ment which relies on villanous spies and sham trials, as the only remedy for disaffection that is admittedly widespread and menacing." Next follow the leaders, including one headed " The late Special Commission," which thus concludes : — " Thus the case stands between England and the Irish ' rebels.' As it stood in Ninety-eight, as it stood after Emmet was hanged in Thomas- street, as it stood after O'Connell was convicted in Forty-four, after M'Manus was sentenced in Forty-eight, after Nagle's swearing in Sixty- five, so after the doom of Burke and his fellows in the summer days of Sixty-seven it remains ; and it seems now as ever a problem only to be solved in the future, when and how Ireland shall be pacified." The paper then concludes with <: Original Correspondence," " Bribes for the Police," &c. In the whole of that paper of the 29th of June, out of thirty-six columns of closely printed letter- press, how much, do you think, is devoted to what I may call the fair current news or intelligence of the day 1 There are but two and a half columns out of thirty-six ; and every other portion of that paper is filled either with open incentives to rebellion, or with what is equally dangerous, inuendoes, and hints of the great day to come when the great generals and captains will come QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 237 over with, troops and battalions, and money, and the " Poland of the West " will be released from the thraldom she is at present enduring. The other papers in the series are all of the same character, and every number contains exciting Fenian intelligence, which it is most dangerous to disseminate throughout the country, without a word of correction. It is idle to say that the Times, Sou nders, the Mail, and other papers publish the same articles of news which appear in this paper. If they give the bane they also give the antidote. Take any of the newspapers in Dublin, excepting one or two of the so-called national papers. They may contain items of Fenian intelligence and references to the con- spiracy — but these are not references approving of its object or design, nor could anyone come to the conclusion that these papers had the object in view in such publications, which we charge against the editor of this journal — viz., of promoting the objects of the conspiracy, and of fostering dissaffection. In the Irishman of the loth July occurs the publication which forms the subject of complaint in the second count of the indictment, and that same paper contains an original article which has been referred to by Mr. Perry, and to which I shall presently ask your attention. The article of which the Crown complains is headed " Boston Circle Fenian Brotherhood," and is inserted under the sensation- heading of " Fenianism in America." " Union." That is the union between O'Mahony and Stephens. It would appear this Boston circle had come to certain resolutions in reference to a person named John Edward Kelly, who was convicted as a Fenian at one of the Special Commissions. In one of these resolutions they say — " That we offer our heartiest sympathies to his friends in Ireland, for their trouble and distress. But we call upon our countrymen to unite with us in endeavouring to save him from that lingering death in a penal settlement which British 1 mercy' will accord him instead of the scaffold to which he is sentenced ; to save him by the only rational way." Now what is the only "rational" way suggested by these persons to save a man convicted of treason ? The only "rational" way is — " The force of might and right united." As a corrective of the teaching contained in these resolutions Mr. Perry referred to a leader in the same paper. That article is headed " Ireland and Hungary." Mr. Perry referred to some of the passages in that article, but I will ask you to hear some of the others. The article begins thus — " In comparing the conditions of other oppressed nations in Europe with that of Ireland, the oldest and most long suffering of those in thrall to the stranger, one great and fundamental difference must always be borne in mind. For the wretched plight of the agricultural population in this island, no parallel is to be found anywhere else throughout the wide world. Elsewhere, the wrongs of the people have been things of feeling and sentiment rather than realities of outrage and oppression." This is the article used by Mr. Perry to show the loyal, calm, peaceful temper and tone of Mr. Pigott. He proceeds to compare the Poles and the inhabitants of other countries with the Irish 238 DUBLIN COMMISSION. and the treatment which lie alleges the Irish farmer endures. He enlarges upon the prosperity of the Turks, who, he says — " Enjoy a mildness of social and political rule of which Ireland knows nothing." I ask you is not this a specimen of what one of the learned judges characterised as one of the gigantic swindles practised on the Irish people, as false as the picture of Ireland downtrodden, Britannia with a danger in her hand, and Ireland in chains ? The writer proceeds — " The Turks enjoy undisturbed the fruits of their labour — they carry dagger in belt, and sword on thigh, or rifle on shoulder ; and they know not of Arms Act, treason-felony, sheriffs' writs, detectives, perjured spies or landlords' crowbar brigades." This is the peaceful article which Mr. Pigott's counsel selects after a night's deliberation to prove the calm and loyal teaching conveyed by this newspaper. — " All the efforts of Greece cannot stimulate the Thessalians into a new rebellion. But how different it is with Ireland !" " Our hapless nation is tricked with the mockery of parliamentary representation ; and, constitutional brawlers may spout or clamour on the platform till they are hoarse again — whilst ' free and independent electors,' who dare not call their miserable souls their own, are driven to the poll like sheep to the slaughterhouse. But the law of personal liberty is suspended : the bearing of defensive arms is made a high crime ; the detective policeman holds men's freedom in his palm ; new laws are passed, creating new crimes of treason and felony unknown before." Why, I ask, is the Habeas Corpus Act suspended in this country ? Why is there an Arms Act in force ? Why are many of our countrymen deprived of the ordinary privileges which they would be entitled to if the country were in a peaceful state ? Is it not because that, goaded on by compositions such as the one which I am reading to you, the people have broken out into open rebellion, and have, in consequence, brought on themselves the temporary suspension of their liberties, only to be regained when such writings as these are marked by the disapproval of men such as I now address — when this literature, teeming with sedition and treason, is extinguished, and when these writers apply their talents to the praiseworthy object of teaching our fellow-country- men to raise themselves in the scale of humanity, and to vie with other nations in the arts of peace and industry, in place of following this chimera of rebellion so persistently brought before them? The writer continues — ''Such is the enviable lot of Ireland under the beneficent sway of Great Britain. There is no mere sentiment here ; but downright, real, palpable wrong —fraudulent pretence of constitutional Government. Steady, tenacious, sordid oppression and robbery, by one favoured class over the rest of the nation — the insolent maintenance of a citadel of sectarian domination, the mockery and blasphemous caricature of a Christian Church." Gentlemen, we may hold different opinions as to whether there should or should not be a Sta,te Church ; but I am sure no fair QUEE^I a. PIGOTT. 239 Roman Catholic, no truthful man, would characterize that Church of which I have the privilege of being a member, as "the mockery and blasphemous caricature of a Christian Church." Does not such writing as this excite hatred and animosity between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects ? Further, is it not false in fact ? I assert it is. The Church established here is not a u mockery," or a " blasphemous caricature." Our Govern- ment is not a " fraudulent pretence of constitutional Government;" nor does any class in this country practise or enjoy " steady, tenacious, sordid oppression and robbery," over the rest of their feUow-eountrvnien. Remember that this article is not one which the Crown selects for prosecution, but has been referred to by Mr. Pigott's counsel to prove the innocence of his client, and to satisfy you that the defendant was not actuated by any seditious motives in the other publications referred to in the indictment. That article appeared on the 13th July, and then on the 17th of August is published that awful article headed " War Clouds and Omens," and signed " Liscarroll." Its object is to show to the Irish people that there must be war on the Continent of Europe before very long — that the different nations are gathering for some great event, and that before the summer is past there will be a war. The writer says : — ! u This will bring forth the gray-coated legions of the Muscovite. His spoliation westward has ceased with the disnieniberinent of Poland, but we know that Russian gold is being freely lavished to win the Sclaves from their allegiance to the House of Hapsburg. This darling purpose will place the cohorts of the Czar beside the armies of Prussia, since vic- tory would furnish a ready means of dispensing with future bribes, and be withal a more satisfactory mode of conquest. The Russian is bent upon another purpose which directly concerns ourselves. He has gone eastward conquering along the plains of Asia, and now he is master of all that lies between Poland and Samarcand. Afghanistan is now before him a less than easy victory, and if he conquer this last dominion it is time for poor old England to buckle ou her rusty and discoloured armour. The Muscovite has fixed an eye of greed upon her spacious Indian penin- sula. He has come to the belief that England is an intruder upon the distant continent of Asia, and he may make a Prussian alliance a means towards compassing his object. Denmark will be eager to take revenge of Prussia — Italy will be slow to alienate herself from the hopes and inte- rests of France. Even u the Sick Man" will probably range his horse tails against the armies of Eastern Europe. All the military nations of the Con- tinent will seek the camp at either side." And then comes the point of the article — " But what shall we expect of England ? Here is a question which will cheer the heart and occupy the brain of many men in Ireland. Will Eng- land remain quiescent when the booming cannon and the clash of swords resound along the plains of Europe ! Will she have the choice to remain quiescent ; for of her inclination to do so all men have little doubt ? Far otherwise. We have entered upon an era of political alliances, and when the armies of Europe are massed together in two great hostile camps, then woe to the country which stands alone, and bears no burden in the con- test." 240 DUBLIN COMMISSION. He then shows how England would be affected — " With India and Canada torn from licr grasp, let us ask what influence the fact would ha upon the condition of Ireland. It is needless to make reply. But the fact is patent that England, at whatever risk, must join some side in the coming quarrel rather than establish the belief that she would bear with anything for the sake of maintaining peace, and rather than incur the enmity and contempt of every fighting country in Europe. Yes, England may be dragged into the very heart of the conflict, and it matters little, in the eyes of many Irishmen, which camp may contain the English soldiers." According to the writer it matters not which side England takes — the wished-for object will equally be gained ; no matter on which side of the contest she engages England will be weakened — " Her cipher navy, her miniature land force (miniature as armies are now-a-days maintained), her untried levies, her troublesome possessions, condemn her at this hour to a pitiful rank among the larger countries of the world. The lion, it cannot be concealed, is getting old and toothless. England, in her weak condition will suffer heavily from usual war disasters. Her troops wiil be drawn off from India, from Canada, from Gibraltar, and from Ireland, to do their duty in the struggle ; and we will hold the same position towards England that our fathers did w hen they opened the brightest page in Ireland's history five and eighty years ago, in glorious '82 ! The times are full of promise for a people who have waited with weary hearts." " Let us hope and pray" (he says) " that when the hour is come, our reapers may be ready with sickle in hand, to save the golden harvest. " Liscarroll." We have not been favoured with any information as to who " Liscarroll" is. Mr. Heron, in his address, never touched upon this article. He could not explain or palliate it, and so he never once referred to it; nor w T ill I comment further upon it, but merely remind you that it is an original contribution, and not copied from an American or any other foreign source. The next paper is that of the 24th of August, with the article headed " Ireland's Opportunity," from the New York Irish People, advocating, but not so forcibly, the very same sentiments, the Irish writer, " Liscarroll," a week before had circulated by means of Mr. Pigott's journal. The next article is in the paper of the 31st August, written by some person who favours Mr. Pigott with his communications from the other side. It is entitled " American Correspondence." The contents are so disgraceful that Mr. Pigott was afraid to publish it without some qualifica- tion, and accordingly inserts the following announcement at the heading of the letter : — " We do not, of course, necessarily agree with all the writer's views, as here expressed." But does he dis- agree? I confess I would rather see that he totally disagreed with the sentiments of this letter, and that he said : — " So far from agreeing with the writer, I entirely differ from him, and I merely publish his letter to warn my readers from being misled by him." The letter proceeds as follows : — " In this same feeling had Fenianism its rise and astounding progress. Of all the associations for working out the independence of Ireland, to QUEEN a. PIGOTT. which Irishmen have ever lent aid and sympathy, none has ever in this country commanded, as Fenianism did, such universal, such enthusiastic support. From the millionaire to the working man, through every grade and class of Irish-American society, Fenianism was the one absorbing topic. Money showered by hundreds of thousands into the Fenian exchequer. " Regiments of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, were tendered in every direction for their acceptance. And these were no mere holiday soldiers — they were men who had stood the smoke and brunt of battle — they had perilled their lives for the land of their adoption — they were willing to lay them down for the regeneration of the land of their birth. The time was opportune, and if Fenianism in the name and under the ensign of Irish independence, had obtained a permanent terri- torial foothold upon this continent, it might have changed the aspect of the world. And 50,000 men stood waiting, waiting eagerly and anxiously along Ontario's shore for the word which would place them face to face with their hereditary enemy." That is, Her Majesty's troops in Canada, or the loyal Canadians who made a very short account of these filibusters, when they did put a foot across their border, and the only mistake they made was, that they did not make a shorter account of them, and do as the Spaniards did when a similar raid was made on Cuba some years ago. What I have read is false, and false to the know- ledge of the man who published it. Mr. Pigott does not stand at the bar in the position of either an uneducated or unen- lightened man. His crime is greater because lie is possessed of considerable talents, and has perverted those talents, and mis- applied the education and superior advantages he has enjoyed, in misleading his ignorant fellow-countrymen. Mr. Heron attempts to excuse these publications by saying that they were all published as news — that it was a matter of duty to keep the public aware of the news of the day, and that the English Government ought to be thankful forit; but weknow,from sad experience, wha#is the natural effect of such publications as appear in this newspaper. History tells you what occurred in this country in March last, what occurred in your own streets in October, and what occurred in Cork within the last fortnight. If you sow sedition you will reap rebellion. The distance is not far between contempt of the law and open violation of the law. The result is natural and in- evitable. It is idle to talk of regenerating Ireland by legislative changes whilst seditious writings such as these are to be allowed to poison the life-blood of the population. You are the tribunal that the law intrusts with the great privilege of saying how far the liberty or licence of the press shall extend, and when that liberty has been so scandalously abused as it has been in these writings, it is then the right and privilege and duty of a jury to say, n the line has been transgressed, and this shall not be." You must look at the whole atmosphere of the paper. _ If you do so, and carefully consider the consistent object which has actuated its writers, you will have little hesitation in coming to the conclusion that such a publication can be no longer tolerated, and that the law must interfere. < You have next, gentlemen, to consider the article entitled " The R 242 DUBLIN COMMISSION. Holocaust," which has been so frequently referred to. I heard Mr. Heron try to put some innocent interpretation upon that article, but he altogether failed to do so. Its insertion was a deliberate act on the part of Mr. Pigott, and I have already re- minded you how he removed the article, " Remember Orr," which appeared in the first edition of this number of the paper, and in- serted " The Holocaust," bordered in black. He then repeats it in a supplement on the 30th of November, lest any of his readers should be deprived of the teachings which it inculcates. You know the occasion which drew forth this article — the very title of which is in itself a gross and scandalous libel. The writer begins thus : — " Deaf to all warnings, however ominous, spurning alike the argument of the just and the prayer of the merciful, the Government of England has this day done a deed of blood which shall overshadow its name before the whole world. Nothing can account for its perpetration against all the urgings of statesmanship and humanity save only the blindness which falls from heaven upon overweening pride. Clouds of passion and prejudice have wrapt their councils round ; thick, and gloomy, and terrible as ever fell the black night of darkness upon the Egyptian land, ' because,' said the Lord God of Israel, ' ye would not let my people go.' " He thus compares the English people to Pharoah and the Irish to the Israelites. That parallel is drawn in other parts of the paper, and is used for the purpose of exciting the angry passions of every man who reads it. " Hapless people ! Fortunate only in the protection of one Sovereign — the King of Kings." Down-trodden, he would suggest, by their earthly Sovereign. " Hapless people ! Fortunate only in the protection of one Sovereign — the King of Kings ; the J udge of Judges ; the avenger of oppressed innocence, who shall surely mete out to all offenders retribution, with interest to the uttermost farthing. Hapless people ! They have been required to build without stones, to make brick without straw, and when their taskmasters have found the tale not completed the lash has been laid unsparingly on their backs." I ask you, gentlemen, is not this a gross, wilful, and wicked misrepresentation of actual history ? " For they were deprived of their lands, and punished for being poor j deprived of their liberty, and scourged for being serfs ; deprived of their teachers, and slain alike for learning and for being ignorant. Those days, they exclaim, have passed and gone away ; we have long desired to govern you mildly and well. Thus they cry out, and since when, we ask, has this change been shown 1 Was it in the Relief Act, granted merely through fear of a civil war 1 Was it in the prosecutions of the tribune who won it ? Was it in the famine which slew its millions under their flag?" Is that a fair or truthful reference to the conduct of the English people in '46, when famine desolated this country ? Is it to be endured that this writer should, in this inflammatory paper, repre- sent to the misguided and ignorant population of Ireland that that famine was the fruit of British rule in Ireland ? QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 243 " Was it in the exile of those gallant men whose counsels would have guided them to avert the popular death ? When and where can we behold this beneficent change of policy 1 Let it not be hid from the nation." To whom does the writer refer as " those gallant men ?" Does he mean O'Brien, Mitchell, M'Manus ? Does he refer to Burke, or Luby, or Bossa ? Are those the men he holds up as gallant men, whose counsels, if attended to, would have enabled the Govern- ment to avert the national death ? " Was it in the mouthings of a viceroy who incessantly proclaimed that Ireland was proper only for brute beasts, not for man 1 " Was it in the millions' exodus fleeing from all ports, before his fiat, to the uttermost ends of the earth 1 Was it in the refusal to this day to change a system of land-laws which plunders them of their hard-won earnings, and drives them out bare and miserable, sick and dying, in the heat of summer and in the icy chills of winter from the homesteads of their fathers, from the native land of their race 1 Let it be shown to us this change, which should make us glad. Is it to be found in the benig- nity of rulers whose faces we never see, but whose swords we have often felt ? Is it to be found in a denial that we have a right to a voice in our own Government, like Hungary, like Australia, like Canada, like any colony soever of the empire, however small, provided it be not Ireland V Is that not a false representation of the social and political condi- tion of this country? Is it a truthful representation to tell the Irish people that they are treated worse than any of the colonies of England — that they are denied the rights which Austria concedes to Hungary, although Ireland enjoys, as the writer well knows, full representation in the Imperial Parliament, and forms an integral part of one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the world ? " Finally" (he says) " the wrongs and grievances of the country are admitted. English statesmen have denounced them in the harshest terms. The present Chancellor of the Exchequer has declared them as sufficient cause for a revolution. When young men know this — when young men hear this — when, too, they see them allowed to remain in all their venemous vitality — when, too, they see those statesmen, not only justify revolution at home, but foster it abroad — then, stung into despe- ration and madness, should they act upon the lesson taught, where is the exoneration, where is the mercy ? On a vitiated verdict, on tainted testimony, on evidence which has been admitted that of false swearers or perjurers — on a verdict avowed to be flawed with error — two men and a youth, in the eye of the law an infant, are done to a cruel death. Behold England's justice in the conviction and condemnation — behold England's mercy in the sentence and execution of the political prisoners." Gentlemen, it would be difficult to exaggerate the merits of the composition of this article. It is couched in noble language, and one cannot help regretting that the writer should not have devoted his talents to some useful patriotic end, and not prosti- tuted them to the base purpose of stirring up sedition and discontent. " Larkin, Allen, O'Brien. There, indeed, written large and deep — written in letters indelible — written in letters of blood, read the mercy and justice of England. They died far from the land they loved, far R 2 DUBLIN COMMISSION. from the nation they would fain have served, foully slandered by the organs of a sanguinary aristocracy." Is that fair criticism upon the government of the day and of the organs of that government in reference to what was the duty of t he ministry in regard to the fate of these men ? Between their conviction in Manchester and the carrying out of the extreme sentence of the law, two policemen were shot in the streets of Dublin, by the hand of an assassin; one was shot dead, and the other was left for dead. The sentence in Manchester was carried out on the 23rd of November, and may not the door of mercy have been shut by that -lawless, dreadful crime, committed in your streets, of the same character exactly as the crime in Man- chester, and traceable, apparently, to the same lawless confederacy. There is not one word of reprobation in this paper of the crime of the Dublin assassin, or of the men in Manchester who are admitted to have been guilty of legal murder. Their guilt is suppressed, or rather glorified under the epithet of patriotism; and the public journals which commented on their crime and its consequences are held up to scorn and hatred, as the organs of a sanguinary aristocracy, whilst the "justice" and "mercy" of England are represented as being recorded in letters of " blood." " They died" (the writer proceeds) " in the midst of 5,000 bayonets. It was said as an excuse they were offenders against society, but an arnrj had to interfere between them and the people to prevent a rescue. It was said as an excuse they were mere non-pclitical prisoners ; but they offered their lives to save two fellow-men, and they died with their faces turned to the west, with trust on God in their souls, and on their lips the patriotic cry, ' God save Ireland.' " God save Ireland ! God help Ireland, he ought rather to say, after the teaching of that article. " Dead, dead, dead. But there are those who think that in death they will be more powerful than in life. There are those who will read on their tombs the prayer for an avenger to spring from their bones, exoriare aliquis ex ossibus ultor, and we foresee troubles and trepidations which might have been averted by a humane policy — which we fain would have averted, and, which we pray, by wise counsels, may yet be saved the nation. Mistaken as these martyred men may have been, they shall yet be remembered in their native land, along with those who have gone before them ; nor shall their deaths shake her desire for a legis- lative independence, nor her trust in its speedy consummation. " From the morning watches even to the night Israel shall hope in the Lord. Because with the Lord there is mercy — with Him there is plentiful redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all who work iniquity." So concludes an article, the ability of which is only to be sur- passed by its treason. Mr. Pigott not only inserts it on the 23rd November, but, not content with the circulation the second edition of that paper had given to it, he deliberately prints it gratis, as a supplement, in the following week's paper, and thus sends a double impression of its teachings throughout England, Ireland, and Scotland. That article, I fear, will long be remem- bered, and, I doubt not, will produce fruits which I should hope even Mr. Pigott scarcely anticipates. At all events, I trust your QUEEN a. PIGOTT. verdict will prevent a second Holocaust coming out for some months to come. The last of the original articles in the Irishma n which is referred to in the indictment was published on the 28th December last, in reference to the Clerkenwell outrage. That outrage even the Irishman could not excuse or justify. Although I would submit it to your better judgment whether the men who shot Brett in Manchester — whether the armed mob who assembled to commit that deed of violence were not more criminal in heart than the man who rolled the barrel of gunpowder against the prison wall in Clerkenwell and exploded it there, totally ignorant, as he may have been, of the awful agent he was using for his purpose. I can well believe that that man knew no more of what would be the result of the explosion of that barrel than I know of many of the hidden depths of things in nature of which I am totally ignorant. Fearful as were the effects of the explo- sion, I can well imagine that the persons who were engaged in that dreadful action were not so criminal as the men who, with seven chambered revolvers, loaded with deadly bullets, came out in the sunlight of the 18th September, and shot right and left until they effected their purpose of releasing Kelly and Deasy, and in so doing murdered an unoffending policeman. The results of the Clerkenwell explosion were, hovvever, so disastrous the Irishman does not venture to excuse it. Men, women, and children were killed and mutilated, and wide-spread destruction was caused in all the neighbouring dwellings. I have looked through this paper for one expression of sympathy for those poor people, but I found not a word expressive of sorrow or regret. They were merely English sufferers. Their pain and anguish deserved no sympathy. Now what is this article of the 28th of December ? It is headed " Kagosima." It does not purport to be an excuse for Clerkenwell. That would not do. Public indignation was too rife at the time for any writer to attempt to palliate the deed. The article, I think, is even more criminal, for it represents the government as equally guilty in reference to an act done some years ago in Japanese waters, when the British fleet bombarded Kagosima, Kagosima is contrasted with Clerken- well. Many lives were lost at Clerkenwell ; but the readers of the Irishman are told that although Clerkenwell may be a sad event, and although human life may have been sadly sacrificed, still, as the writer says, " look on this picture, and look on that," Kagosima was worse. And is not the direct object and effect of such writing to excite hatred and disaffection against the government and the laws ? What is the meaning of sedition if this be not sedition % Listen to the article — " Let us now turn to the act of cruelty deliberate, and of malice }yt % e~ pense of a constituted Government, and set it off against this lamentable Clerkenwell explosion. We do not advance it as an argument that one evil justifies another, but simply as an apt illustration of the scriptural maxim which recommends the beamy-eyed to look in the mirror, and not in the eyes of other sinners. The sinning government of which we speak is the British. We are not going to travel back to the times of Cromwell, who bartered Irish virgins to lecherous West Indian planters ; 24G DUBLIN COMMISSION. nor even to the era of the Ninety-eight rebellion, when Irishmen were sold as slaves to work in the mines of the King of Prussia. No, these black pages of history are too remote for our purpose. We ask the reader to take himself to Japan under the reign of her present Majesty Queen Victoria, the merciful. In that island empire, a city of 146,000 inhabitants, Kagosima was bombarded, from a place of security, by a British fleet, for no crime that it had been guilty of, but simply to punish a Damio or native noble — Prince Satsuma, whose residence was in its vicinity. Never in the annals of any nation was a more cowardly or cold-blooded atrocity perpetrated. Men, women, and children, the dwellers in a peaceful city, were subjected for hours to a hail of deadly projectiles, the perils of fire, and crash of falling ruins. The stench from burning bodies could be distinctly smelled from the ships of the fleet ! And this barbarism had for its ultimate object that a better trade might be driven with Japan ! It was a Holocaust by Moloch on the altar of Mammon ! Clerkenwell — Kagosima. Look on this picture and on this. On which side of the scale inclines the balance of guilt 1 Of course Mr. Pigott's answer is plain. It is on the side of Queen Victoria and the British Government. Clerkenwell destroyed almost its hundreds, ruined unfortunate innocent people ; but it is nothing compared with the conduct of Queen Victoria, the merciful, in Japan. "Look on this picture and on this." This is the sort of food which is provided by this paper for its eager and excitable readers. It is said such writing is approved of by the Roman Catholic Church. It is false. I am not a member of that Church, but I protest against its being thought that the members of any religious persuasion could approve of such sentiments. Such are not the sentiments of the Roman Catholic Church. Such are not the w r ords of the bishop of that Church, who denounced this Fenian movement as a gigantic swindle. For this wicked and seditious article not one word of excuse or extenuation could be said, or was attempted to be said by his counsel. The only matter now remaining to be noticed is the letter of Priest Vaughan and the advertisement '98, '48, '68. The Attorney-General read the letter to you, and commented on it at length. I am not going to repeat his remarks. The plain object of the letter was to urge the people to rise in arms against Her Majesty's Government. The reference to Judas Maccabeus, to Holofernes, to the strong arm and heart, can have no other meaning ; but you, gentlemen, are the judges of that as of all the other publications. I will now, in con- clusion, refer briefly to the shortest but not the least criminal of the publications the Crown complains of. An advertisement appeared in this journal consisting merely of six figures — ' '98/ 1 '48,' 1 'G8.' That advertisement was inserted in the Irishman of the 7th, 14th, and 21st September, without note or comment. Gentlemen, anyone reading that advertisement w^ould be a little puzzled at first to know what its meaning w r as. Mr. Heron indulged last night in some pleasantry on some sensational advertisements which you may see placarded upon the w r alls of the city to excite attention, and to attract people to scenes of amusement and recreation ; but, gentlemen, what is the meaning of these figures ? The meaning which is put on this advertise- s QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 247 ment in the present indictment, I ask you to hold to be the true one. I have not heard it alleged not to be the true meaning. Mr. Pigott has called no witness to disprove the meaning attributed to it by the Crown. Mr. Pigott might have produced the original advertise- ment, if he got one, and was paid for it. It was open to him to prove, if in his power, that he published these figures bona fide as an ordinary advertisement in his paper, but he has not done so. Who was it furnished this advertisement ? What is its meaning ? I will read for you what the Crown says it means, and no man can put any other meaning on it than what the Crown has put ; and, if it be the correct one, a more inflammatory, seditious libel never was published even in the Irishman. The indictment charges that — " The defendant did unlawfully, wickedly, maliciously, and seditiously, on the 7th, 14th, and 21sfc of September, 1867, print and publish, and cause to be printed and published of concerning and in relation to, and thereby intending to point out and refer to preceding rebellious movements in Ireland, and also a future rebellious movement therein, the figures following, namely — ''98,' meaning thereby the year of our Lord 1798, and the rebellion that broke out in that year ; 1 '48,' meaning the year of our Lord 1848, and the rebellion that broke out in that year; ''68/ meaning thereby the year 1868, thereby wickedly and seditiously intending to suggest to all disaffected, seditious, and ill-disposed persons in Ireland that they might expect and should be prepared to join in a rebellious movement in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hunched and sixty-eight, thereby intencling to bring into hatred the person of Her Majesty, the Government, and Constitution of the United Kingdom, and strive to alter the laws of the United Kingdom otherwise than by lawful means." Is that the meaning of it ? What other can be taken out of it ? and what more wicked or seditious publication could appear in the columns of the press, than one bearing on the face of it such a meaning as that ; because you are to view that with the sur- rounding circumstances ; you are to remember the time of the publication ; you are to remember the history of the country ; you are to remember the period at which the advertisements were published; you are to remember the paper in which they appeared. Turn to the next page of this paper, and read the suggestive headings of the articles, " Fenianism in America," " Great Convention in Cleveland," " Suggestions for the Manage- ment of Fenian Affairs in Ireland," " Message of President Roberts," " Special Correspondence." What does his special corre- spondent say ? " All of our countrymen here, whose good fortune it was to obtain a copy of the Irishman during the recent troubled times in the old land, were struck with admiration. If there was such a journal published in every county in Ireland it would do more than all else to give vigour to the national mind, &c. " Read then, I ask you, this advertisement in connection with the other publications in this paper; study the original articles — the correspondence — the news provided for its readers, and say if any other meaning can be put upon it than what is put by the indictment, and if that meaning be the correct one, no publication 2-48 DUBLIN COMMISSION. could be more wicked and dangerous. And now, gentlemen, I have finished the remarks I felt bound to offer to you in this im- portant case. I fear some apology is due to you for the length of my address ; but, gentlemen, it was a painful and a solemn duty I had to discharge. It is nothing to Her Majesty's Government, or to those charged with the responsibility of con- ducting such prosecutions, that the defendant should be convicted of the offence for which he is indicted, were it not that the law must assert its supremacy, and that this inflammatory writing must be stopped, and that a jury of educated, enlightened men should have the opportunity of condemning by their verdict publications such as these. It is not for punishment, I again repeat, that this man is brought to the bar. He must be punished if he is con- victed. That is the necessary result when criminal acts are com- mitted and conviction follows. The sentence of the la.v must be carried out in defence of society, just as those three men were hanged in Manchester in defence of society. And I can imagine no more melancholy day was passed in the councils of the Govern- ment than the day when the final determination was come to that, in their case, the doors of mercy must be closed, and that the law must take its course. No one could be more unwilling than my friend, the Attorney-General, to institute a prosecution such as this. Nothing, except imperative necessity, would have compelled him to do it, and, I will say for myself, that no man could enter on such a case with less heart than I did. But still, gentlemen, it is duty — it is duty calls us all. I ask you to do yours. I ask you to approach the consideration of these articles, as you will be asked to approach them by his lordship, with fair, impartial, and unbiassed minds. Give the traverser the benefit of whatever doubt you can entertain ; but if you can have no doubt, if from the whole scope of the articles, from first to last, you find the same opposition to the authorities indulged in day after day, week after week, and month after month, in the columns of this paper slanderously and libellously called the Irishman, mark the conduct of the defendant by a verdict of disapproval. Tell the world that you, an Irish jury, do not ratify that conduct — that the sentiments of this paper are not your sentiments. Give your verdict fearlessly between the crown and the traverser. The effect of that verdict, though it may for a time be disastrous to the traverser, may yet work a better tone of thought in his mind, may induce him to see that this is a foolish policy which he has been pursuing. May we hope that your verdict will have the effect of producing a better tone in what is called the national press in this country; and that the poor people, in place of being misguided, may at last have some healthy mental food given them to live on, and may be taught by these journals to support and reverence the constitution under which they have the happiness to live. Mr. Baron Deasy's Charge. Mr. Baron Dm*y then charged the jury as follows : — Now, gentlemen, the time is approaching at which you have to dis- charge the important duties intrusted to you by the law, to QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 249 pronounce your verdict on the nature, effect, and character, of the different publications contained in this indictment, and of the intention of the defendant in publishing them as he has in his paper; and without offering any opinion as to what your verdict ought to be, I must say I do not wonder the Attorney- General has brought these publications under the notice of a jury, to ask their opinion as to their legality. He has introduced the matter in a calm and temperate speech, and indeed no one can complain of the manner in which the law-officers of the . Crown have conducted these important State prosecutions. Gen- tlemen, the defendant here is the proprietor, printer, and publisher of a paper called the Irishman, and in this country, as you all know, the public journalists enjoy very extensive privileges, and have very extensive rights. The public journalist is entitled to canvass the acts, the conduct, and intentions of those who may be entrusted, from time to time, with the administration of the government by the Crown. He is entitled to canvass, and, if necessary, to censure these acts. He is entitled to comment on, canvass, and, if necessary, censure the proceedings of Parlia- ment. He is entitled to criticise and condemn the acts of public men. He is entitled to point out any grievances which he may think the people labour under, and argue for their removal, and suggest what remedies may occur to him for the purpose. He is entitled, not only to publish, but to comment on, to criticise, and, if necessary, to condemn the conduct of judges and their decisions ; nay more, even the verdicts of juries are not exempt from fair and reasonable criticism. The limits, however, within which the privileges may be exercised are wide, I might almost say, un- defined ; for though judges give instruction to juries as to the law, the application of it rests entirely with them, and I hope will continue to rest. You are made by the constitution the sole judges of the law and the facts. You have the sole right to pronounce a verdict of guilt or innocence on the traverser: you, and \ou alone, are responsible for that verdict, whether it be a conviction or an acquittal ; and I have not the slightest wish or intention in any way to encroach or trench on the right which the law has given you ; and I have not the slightest intention to relieve you of any portion of the responsibility consequent on that right. I have told you within what limits a journalist may exercise his opinions and his talents ; but I should tell you also the things which he is not permitted by law to do. He must respect the existence of the form of Government under which he enjoys and exercises these very extensive rights and privileges to which I have referred. A public journalist must not either covertly or openly devote the pages of his journal to overthrow the Govern- ment. He must not, when a treasonable conspiracy exists in the land, for the purpose of overthrowing the Government, make his journal auxiliary to the purposes of that conspiracy. He must not devote it to supplying the members of that conspiracy with intelligence, which they may use to advance their objects ; he must not use his journal to encourage them to pei severe in that conspiracy; he must not devote his journal to encouraging 250 DUBLIN COMMISSION. those who may not have embarked in it, to become involved in its meshes ; lie must not sow disaffection and discontent generally throughout the land ; he must not inflame the minds of the people, so that they may be more accessible to the mem- bers of the conspiracy, or so that they may be the more ready to join in the insurrection which these conspirators are seeking to bring about. He may, as I said, comment on the acts of the Government and criticise them severely ; he may, as I said, canvass and criticise proceedings in courts of justice, and the conduct and demeanour of the judges who preside ; but he must not devote his journal to -the purpose of bringing the administra- tion of the law generally into contempt, and exciting the hatred of the people against that law. Neither can he legally devote the pages of his journal to excite animosities between different classes of Her Majesty's subjects ; he must not use it for the purpose of exciting the feelings of the people of this country against their fellow^subjects who live on the other side of the channel. It is alleged in the indictment that the defendant has employed his journal in the various articles that are set forth for some or all of the purposes which I have mentioned. He has pleaded not guilty to that, and you are to try upon the evidence and upon your oaths, whether he is in any one of the instances specified in the indictment to which your attention has been called, and will be called, guilty of having published these articles for all or any of the purposes which I have mentioned. Now, gentlemen, as I have said, the right to decide on the law and fact in this case rests with you, and you are responsible for its exercise. We all know, gentlemen — your own eyes, I may say, have witnessed it — the powerful effect newspapers have had in our day, in the overthrow of governments — the dynasty of the Bourbons in France — both the elder and younger branches — the downfall of that great dynasty has been effected principally or mainly by newspaper writers. Now, governments have a right to protect themselves and their existence against attempts to overthrow them ; and it is their duty to those who are loyal, and well affected towards them, if necessary, to use all the powders they possess for that purpose. In this country, the only power the Government possesses is to bring a newspaper writer before a jury of his countrymen. In this country it has been found that there is no necessity for more stringent measures. I trust no necessity for them will ever arise ; and so long as we have juries to interpose between the Crown and the subject, there is no danger the liberty of the press will be invaded either by Governments or judges. Jurors have too great an interest themselves in the free and unfettered exercise of the liberty of the press to sanction, in any respect, the slightest encroachment on it. Nay more, they ought to give great latitude to writings brought before them. They must make every allowance for the heat that is elicited by discussion on public subjects, and even in cases where the limits of the law had been overstepped, it would be more for the interests of the public that the journalist should escape, than that the writers of the public press should exercise their functions under the dread of prose- QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 251 cution and imprisonment. You should give great latitude ; make every allowance for freedom of discussion, make every allowance for excitement, heat, I would say, for passion ; but, if after making all these allowances, you think the limits of fair and free discussion have been overstepped — and you are the judges — if you concur in the view the Attorney-General has presented to you, that the defendant, Mr. Pigott, has devoted his newspaper to the purposes, or any of them, and with the' intention ascribed to him in this indictment, it will be your duty, great as is your regard for the liberty of the press, great as is the allowance you would make for the difficulties of the public journalist, it will be your solemn duty to pronounce a verdict on such of the counts of the indictment as you think are sustained by the publications to which I now direct your attention. Now, gentlemen, the articles are numerous, and it will be your duty to read every one of them ; consider the tendency, construction, and effect of every one of them ; arid pronounce a verdict on each and every one of these. That will occupy a good deal of time and attention, but that time and attention I am sure you will bestow. You may find that all these articles outstep the limits of the law ; you may find that as to some they do not. That Avill be entirely for you. In the latter case it will be your duty, and I am sure you will discharge it with pleasure, to return a verdict of acquittal ; but on each and every one of the publications in question you must express an opinion on your oath. Now, gentlemen, they consist of various classes, and I think it will facilitate your consideration of them if I divide them. Accord- ingly, there are five publications which are reprints from Ame- rican newspapers, three of them are leading articles — published on the 29th of June, the 24th of August, and the 21 st of September. Two are resolutions of Fenian circles, and were published in the traverser's paper on the 13th of July and the 19th of October. They are admitted to have been copied by him from the American newspapers in which they originally appeared. As to that class of publications, there is this observation to be made. They are not the original compositions of Mr. Pigott, and do not emanate from his mind, nor were they written by his pen ; but, gentlemen, the mere fact that they are copied from other newspapers does not exempt him from the consequences of publishing them. The journalist who undertakes to publish matters which appeared in a foreign paper does so at his own peril, both civilly and criminally. If they libel individuals it is no justification and no defence to say they were copied from another paper, but it is a circumstance which the jury may take into consideration in judging of the intent with which they were published. A proprietor may, through inadvertence or innocence, without a criminal design, reprint and publish in his paper an article copied from another paper of a very objectionable nature, and though you might think it more in accordance with his duty to take precaution before publishing, yet unless you come to the conclusion the publica- tion was made with the intent ascribed to it by the indictment, it will be your duty to acquit the traverser for these articles. That 252 DUBLIN COMMISSION. is an element well worthy of your consideration, and I direct your attention to it. Now, gentlemen, as I said, three of these article* are leading articles from American newspapers. One ol* them, it appears, is the article which commences with an account of the travels of a gentleman through the barony of Clanwilliam, and purports to be signed " Harvey Birch ;" the second is "Ireland's Opportunity ;" and the third " Suggestions for the future Manage- ment of the Fenian Organization in Ireland." Now, that letter signed " Harvey Birch " purports to give an account of what the writer witnessed in Ireland in the spring of '07. And he first gi res a very glaring, and, I must say, a very exaggerated account of the state of affairs in Ireland previous to the abortive rising on the 5th of March. Then he gives an account of the despair of the people at the failure of that rising, and then he proceeds to reani- mate their hopes by calling on their American companions to exert themselves for the supply of arms to the people. As I said, he gives a very exaggerated account of the state of the country, I believe, in both respects. I have had occasion, for the purpose of these trials, to read through a great deal of American Fenian literature, if it may be -called so, and I certainly would not wish to have any further acquaintance with it. It is characterized all through by the grossest exaggeration of the state of affairs in this country, and of the events which occurred here; what struck me in it is the acute and burning sense of the oppression under which Ireland labours, expressed by those American gentlemen who address the meetings there. The sense of oppression seems to vary directly with the magnitude of the distance from the country which is said to be oppressed, and the people here don't seem to entertain that acute sense of oppression which the American gentlemen express in such eloquent and indignant terms. Per- haps some of you would find it difficult to think what the oppression consists in. I may be considered a paid servant of the English Government. That does not apply to you, but you may be as good judges as they are. But, however, that is the entire which bears on this paper of the 29th of June. The Attorney-General has properly relied on other articles of a similar character — extracts from American papers of a similar character and tendency — which, though not mentioned in the indictment, he relies on as evidence of the intention of the defendant in publishing the articles complained of ; and they are perfectly admissible for that purpose; and they are fairly to be considered by you with a view to see what light, if any, they throw on the intentions of the traverser in printing and publish- ing the articles which the indictment charges him to have printed and published with a guilty intention. I will not go through them i .i detail. You will see them for yourself. They begin " Fenianism in America — enrolment of recruits;" and then comes " The late rising in Ireland" — the letter of Harvey Birch, which you have charged in the indictment. You will read that letter, and judge of the intention of the publisher of the letter by the light thrown on it, if any, by the articles to an outline of which I have just pointed your attention. Certainly in this respect in this paper, QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 253 and others I have to read, the defendant here seems to have been very skilful in gleaning from the American newspapers a large quantity of Fenian articles and Fenian information. The Solicitor- General has very properly called your attention to the proportion which that class of intelligence bears to the other portions given to the readers of this journal. That is a subject well worthy of your consideration, and it is not necessary for me to dwell on it. You will have all these papers, and you will look very care- . fully through them in order to enable you to judge, whether the articles complained of in the indictment were published with an}^ of the guilty intentions ascribed to the defendant by the indictment. The second article is that of the 24th of August, and it is headed " Ireland's Opportunity." Now, the heading as well as the article is taken from the American paper. That is admitted on the part of the Crown. The heading as well as the article is taken from the American paper, but I need not read that over to you at length. That is plainly a treasonable article. It says : — " The fourth, and the grandest and most glorious opportunity, as well as the most certain in its results, is one that lies entirely within the pro- vince of the Irish nation in America. It is the sending of an expedition of from five to twenty thousand armed and disciplined men, properly officered, from the United States to Ireland, with arms and munition for 50,000 or 100,000 more." Mr. Pigott on his part says that Ireland's opportunities were used by persons who did not contemplate any treasonable design or seditious purpose, and did not use them in any sense such as is attributed here ; but the writer of this article, the publisher of this article, did not use them in the sense Mr. Pigott says, for he is discussing the favourable opportunity that might arise for send- ing an expeditionary force from the United States to Ireland, for the purpose of making war here, and severing Ireland by force from the Queen's dominions. I say, gentlemen, it is your duty to say whether the defendant in publishing that extract from the American paper did so with any one of the intentions ascribed to it by the indictment. Now that this was calculated to encourage the Fenian conspirators here, is too plain for argument. Whether it was so intended — whether it was published in this paper by the defendant with that intention, is for you to say on your oaths ; and with respect to that you will take into account the com- pany in which it is found; you will take into account the articles that precede it in the same paper, and any other articles that may follow it; and you will say, reading that article, judging from its antecedents and consequences, whether the defendant in publish- ing that article, copying it as he did from an American paper, in- serting it in his journal, and sending it through the country to his readers, v T as actuated by any one of the intentions charged in the indictment, was actuated with the intention of encouraging the Fenian conspiracy, of supplying them with information, of exciting hopes amongst the disaffected, of exciting general dis- content and disposition to overthrow the Queen's power and authority in Ireland. If you are satisfied that is the construction of the article, there can be no question of its tendency, and no 254 DUBLIN COMMISSION. question — if you are satisfied it was publish I with any one of those intentions — it will be your duty to return a verdict of con- viction on that count, whatever you may think of the others. The next leading article — I mean a leading article of an American paper — is in the defendant's journal of the 21st of September. It is headed, "Suggestions for the Better Management of Fenian Affairs in Ireland." The writer proceeds to give his opinion and advice as to what would be the most efficient mode of conducting the Fenian Brotherhood organization in Ireland for the future. . That that would be treasonable if published here there can be no ques- tion. The construction of that article is not open to controversy. The mere statement of the heading of it is quite sufficient ; but you are to say in reading it, and looking at the other articles which precede it — that is to say, the articles headed "Fenianism in America," " Great Convention of Cleveland," and the like — whether you have any doubt that it was calculated to excite the hopes, to encourage the designs of the conspira- tors here, and that it was calculated to encourage disaffection, and you will say, on your oaths, whether it was pub- lished here by the defendant with the intention ascribed to it by the indictment, and to which I called your attention. These are the only three leading articles which are republished by the defendant. Now, it is said he did so merely to keep pace with the other newspapers, and to keep his paper well afloat. You will observe, with respect to these, they do not come strictly under the head of news ; they are not accounts of anything that occurred in America, but they are reprints here of leading articles published in America to aid the Fenian conspiracy there and here. That observation is one that does not apply to the other two publica- tions, which are resolutions of Fenian circles — the 13th of July and the 19th of October. One of them is about John Edward Kelly. He was one of three men captured at Mitchelstown. He was tried, I believe, at Cork. Here is the recital — " Whereas British law has condemned John Edward Kelly, a former member of this circle, to the scaffold, for his exertions to shake off the yoke of his country's oppressors ; and whereas his last blow for Ireland was with our martyr patriot, Peter O'Neill Crowley, at Mitchelstown, where three men held at bay a flying column of British troops." Now, that is an instance of the exaggeration which pre- vails in America. Three men held at bay a column of British troops. The naked fact is, the police gained in- telligence of their whereabouts — proceeded to capture them. One of them was captured by Mr. Redmond, the resident magistrate. There was no resistance after that personal struggle, and that is what is represented as holding at bay a flying column of British troops. The other resolutions are those which refer to the rescue of Kelly and Deasy in Manchester. I am not taking them in the order in which they are in the indictment, for I think it is more convenient to deal with them as classes. It is headed " The Manchester Rescue " in the defendant's paper under the head of " Fenianism in America." " Resolutions respecting the Manchester Executions." These are sensational headings which, I believe, have been copied from the American press QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 255 Then the resolution proceeds to recount the glorious event that occurred at Manchester, and it was resolved — " That the thanks of the officers and members of the F. B. be, and the same are hereby tendered to those brave and gallant patriots who, in the face of the mercenary hirelings of England, rescued two as brave and gallant soldiers, true and devoted patriots as ever worked for the redemption of Ireland ; and be it furthermore resolved, that we pledge to tb em our undivided support henceforth as hitherto, until our fondest hopes are realized in the redemption of our native land." That is another instance of the gross exaggeration, for the brave and gallant patriots were thirty or forty men armed with loaded revolvers, and the mercenary hirelings of England were seven or eight unarmed policemen, whom they attacked with their revolvers, and one of whom they shot, another of whom they wounded, and from whom they rescued those two men, as you all know. That is the way the rescue is represented to the American people by means of the press devoted to the Fenian cause. Well, that that is a criminal publication, if published here originally, there is no doubt ; but it was not published by the defendant as an original publication. It did not emanate from him directly ; he published ifc at second-hand, having taken it from the Boston Pilot, and you will take that into account in dealing with the criminal intent. If you believe he published it innocently or inadvertently as a matter of news, you ought on that account to give him the benefit of any doubt, and acquit him ; but if you believe, looking at the way it is published, and looking at the matters which are connected with it — if you come to the conclu- sion on your oaths it was published with the intent ascribed to it, of glorifying the people who effected the rescue — people who are described as having acted the part of gallant soldiers and tried and devoted patriots — if published with that purpose, and with the view of exciting disaffection and hatred towards Her Majesty, you will find a verdict of conviction. Now, gentlemen, that dis- poses of all the second-hand publications — of all the publications which originally appeared in American newspapers, and which were extracted by the defendant from them, and reprinted and republished in this country. You will take into account that circumstance — in estimating the guilt or innocence of them ; but you will have to say on your oaths, looking at the publications themselves, looking at the company in which they were, looking at their tendency, you will say whether they were, though copied from other papers, reprinted and published by him with any of the guilty intentions ascribed to him, and you will have to find him guilty on all, or such of them as you are satisfied were published with that guilty intent. Now, gentlemen, as to all the rest that element of second-hand publication does not exist. They are published in the Irishman for the first time. He himself is directly responsible for them. They appeared for the first time in his journal. There is one letter from the Universal News, but, with the exception of the letter from the Universal News, all the rest are publications emanating directly and immediately from the traverser. They are original articles, or letters, or 256 DUBLIN COMMISSION. advertisements — letters, I mean, of correspondents. Now the first essay or original article appeared on the 1 7th of August, and is signed " Liscarrol." [His Lordsh ip re id p >rtions of the article.] You are to say, gentlemen, on your oaths, what is the true con- struction of that article — what is its tendency. Is it to excite and encourage disaffection amongst the people — is it to excite hopes and encourage the disaffected \vho may not have joined the conspiracy, to wait until England is at war, and has her forces so distributed that she will not be able to afford resistance to her overthrow ? If you think that is the fair construction of the article, then the defendant, who published it is liable criminally for it, and you will pronounce your verdict of guilty. If you are not satisfied that it bears, and was intended to bear the meaning to which I have adverted, then your duty is to find a verdict of acquittal. But it is for you, and you alone to say, looking at the whole of the article, what is the construction and what is the tendency of such a publication. Then comes the letter of the 31st of August, purporting to come from a corres- pondent in America. It is dated July the 29th, '07; it appears in the defendant's paper on the 19th of October, and it is prefaced by this statement — " From an occasional correspondent. We do not, of course, necessarily agree with all the writer's views." It would have been more satisfactory if he stated which of them he did not agree with. He leaves it very vague and ambiguous; he leaves in doubt what he agrees with, and what he disagrees with, and to what extent his agreement or disagreement goes. [His Lordship read the letter.] The letter commences with a descrip- tion of Ireland and America, and he then proceeds to discuss the Fenian invasion of Canada, which Mr. Gladstone lately described as one of the greatest crimes of modern times ; and certainly we must agree in the description, when we consider that hostile operations were carried on to change a government with which the Canadian people were satisfied, merely because it is said or thought some oppression is practised by the British Government in Ireland. The Canadian people never did any harm to the Irish people, and one does not see the force of the logic by which they who never saw the existence of oppression that they say exists in Ireland, have a right to invade the country of the peaceful and well-affected Canadians, who are satisfied with the government under which they live, and which, if they are dis- posed to change, they can change next year or the year after. That that is calculated to keep alive the hopes of the disaffected here in Ireland is too plain for discussion. You have statements that money was poured in hundreds of thousands into the Fenian exchequer, that regiments of cavalry and artillery were enrolled and placed at the disposal of men who were in the great civil war, and acquired great military experience in it, for the purpose of being used to advance the objects of the Fenian organization ; and you will have to consider with what intention was it republished here. The defendant is directly respon- sible for that. He undertook to publish it from his correspondent in America, and if it had — you cannot doubt it had — the tendency QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 257 to keep alive the hopes of the disaffected, the defendant is respon- sible for the publication, and whether he did it to gain a sale for his paper or not is immaterial. In a court of law he must be held, like every one else, to contemplate the inevitable consequences of his actions. His action in this case was the publication of this letter, and the diffusing of it amongst his readers in this country. You are dealing with a man of education and intelligence, and he cannot fail to have come to the conclusion it was calculated to keep alive the hopes of the disaffected, to encourage the con- spirators, to induce them to carry on the conspiracy. If you put that construction on it, and come to the conclusion it was pub- lished with that intent, as charged in the indictment, it will be your duty to find a verdict of guilty on that count. Then come two letters of Colonel Kelly, one on the 5th, and the other on the 26th of October. One of them appeared originally in the Universal News, and was copied by the defendant. He is entitled to the benefit of the same consideration that I told you he was entitled to for having copied from the American papers ; but the other is a letter published by the defendant himself. It is said to have been dropped in the letter-box ; but we have no evidence on that. He heads it " The following is from the irrepres- sible Colonel Kelly." That w T ould seem to indicate approval of Colonel Kelly, and approbation of Colonel Kelly's proceedings upon the writer's part. That letter contains the most serious threats against both the people and Government of England, both individually and collectively — " As the most determined efforts are being made by British papers to promote wholesale massacre of the Irish people in the English cities and manufacturing districts as the most effective method of diverting the attention of the English working-classes from the notorious depravity of the npper classes, and from a consideration of the fact that luxurious aristocrats feed off the fat of the land, whilst millions of Irish and English working-men cannot provide against a single month's sickness, and consequently impoverishment and starvation. I take the occasion publicly to deny that I have ordered any general movement in connexion with the trials in Manchester. It would be treason to the cause of liberty for any body of men who have not had any special word from me to act at this time, while vengeance for seven centuries of wrong is a fixed determination with me. I would have my countrymen and women (God bless them) that they should bide their time. One false step taken perils all they yet have done. It will not answer to appoint the 5th of November as the day to pass sentence of death on a conspirator against aristocratic pretensions. Once for all, I pledge myself that I will have an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Irishmen in England, Ireland, and Scotland must not look on this as discouraging them from making every preparation in self-defence against extermination." You are to say what the meaning of that letter is. You will have to say what the tendency of it is, published by the defendant here on his own responsibility. One remark, and one remark only, I would make on it — that letter, and similar publications which appeared afterwards in other journals, I fear had a very injurious effect on the cases of the three unfortunate men who were convicted at Manchester for the murder of Sergeant Brett. It s 258 DUBLIN COMMISSION. was published before the trial, but even so, it can hardly have failed to have some injurious influence, and it was not the only paper at the time that had such an effect. That brings me to the article so much relied on and called the Holocaust. You will re- member that a very gross crime had been committed in Man- chester by a band of men armed with revolvers. A policeman was shot because he refused to give up the keys of the van in which the prisoners were confined whom it was the object of the assailants to rescue. Who fired that shot is wholly immaterial. It is said that is a political crime, but, gentlemen, I cannot see how it is less criminal to shoot a policeman in rescuing a prisoner who is charged with Fenianism than it is to shoot a policeman in the rescue of an ordinary offender, or for any other purpose what- ever. Other persons may take a different view, but in point of law there is no difference, and the man who fired that shot, in point of law, whoever he may be, is guilty of murder. That no man can question. There may be distinctions of criminality, but there is no doubt of this, that all who were concerned in that gross out- rage were equally guilty of murder. Three men were tried — three men referred to in this article, and whom you have so often heard of, they were tried for that murder, and were tried before two judges whose impartiality I have never heard questioned; they were tried by a jury whose conduct I never heard complained of. They were convicted on evidence which fully warranted that conviction. One of them, when called on to speak why sentence of death should not be passed, said he had had a fair trial. Each and every one of them, either directly or impliedly, admitted they had participated in the rescue ; they certainly never denied it, though they expressed regret, which I believe they sincerely felt for the murder of Sergeant Brett, and said they did not con- template that. Giving them credit for the fullest sincerity, that does not affect the legal guilt which was brought home to them, the judges had no alternative but to pronounce the sentence of death. Whether that sentence should have been commuted to penal servitude for life is a matter on which there was great difference of opinion both in England and Ireland. A large section of the English people, and a large and influential portion of the press in England advocated strongly the commutation of that sentence either as to all or some of them. There was a strong feeling amongst large classes in Ireland that that sentence should be commuted as to all. Whether there were elements in the case which would render them proper subjects of mercy I don't discuss". Whether it would have been more wise or more politic to commute the sentence of all or any of them I don't dis- cuss at all, but, as I have said and as my learned brother said before, the event that occurred in the murder of two policemen in Dublin and the publication of documents similar to that of Colonel Kelly, in which vengeance and retaliation were threatened both against the Ministry personally and against the people of England if the Government dared to carry out the sentence, interposed great difficulty in the way of extending the clemency of the Crown to all, or, at least, some of QUEEN a, PIGOTT. 259 the men who were convicted. I would have been personally glad that the sentence was commuted in the case of them all. No man will doubt that in advising Her Majesty that the law should take its course in regard to these men, the minister who advised was actuated by a most painful sense of duty to the Crown and to the country. How painful that advice is no one can estimate except those who have been placed in a position to exercise it. No one but those who have been placed in a position to be called on for advice on such an awfully important subject can express the unspeakable relief it is to advise a commutation of a capital sen- tence, and such I am sure were the feelings of the Minister of the Crown to whom was entrusted the duty of advising Her Majesty on this important subject; and this consideration was never presented to the Irish people by that portion of the press which called itself national or popular, but I must say it studiously kept back from free and fair discussion of the subject. They had a right to discuss the exercise of the prerogative of the Crown, and no one could com- plain if a writer wrote strongly and feelingly on that subject ; but making every allowance for that, and with that introduction of the facts of the case let me call your attention to the article which the defendant has published, and it is for you to say whether in that he has kept within the limits of fair and free discussion of the acts of the Government and the proceedings in courts of justice, or whether he has not, as the indictment charges him, seriously out- stepped these limits. Now, the article is headed the "Holocaust." That itself is a very significant circumstance. That means a sacrifice. That means these men were not executed according to law, according to justice, but to please parties. It then proceeds in a most inflammatory strain : — " Deaf to all warnings, however ominous, spurning alike the argu- ment of the just and the prayer of the merciful, the Government of England has this day done a deed of blood, which shall over-shadow its name before the whole world." The indictment charges that that — ■ "Is calculated and intended to excite disaffection and discontent amongst Her Majesty's subjects; that it is calculated to bring the admi- nistration of the law in this particular instance into contempt ; to excite hatred against those who administer it, and that it is calculated and intended to excite the feelings of the people of Ireland against the Govern- ment of England, and against the people of England." That Government, is said to have done a deed of blood, and the people of England, are said to have compelled the Government to do it — it says : — " Clouds of passion and prejudice have wrapt their councils round ; thick, and gloomy, and terrible as ever fell the black night of darkness upon the Egyptian land, ' because,' said the Lord God of Israel, 4 ye would not let my people go.' " And, then, diverging from the immediate subject of the article, the condemnation and execution of these men, the writer proceeds to dwell in impassioned strains on the condition of Ireland. s 2 260 DUBLIN COMMISSION. " Hapless people, they have l>een required to build without stones, to make bricks without straw, and when their taskmasters have found the tale not completed, the lash has been laid unsparingly on their backs. For they v. ere deprived of their lands, and punished for being poor; deprived of their liberty, and scourged for being serfs." He refers, in exaggerated and impassioned terms, to a state of things which existed a couple of hundred years ago, and then he proceeds to show how subsequently changes occurred in the counsels of the Government. He refers to the famine as if it was caused by the Government of England, instead of, as it was, arising from causes over which the Government had no more control than you or I ; and then he refers to what is called the "mouthmgs" of the Viceroy. That refers to some expressions of Lord Carlisle at some of the Mansion House dinners, and is a gross misrepresentation of what that estimable nobleman said. There never was a man who had a more sincere or strong affection for Ireland and the Irish people, though he may have been mis- taken as to the mode in which their interests could be best served. Then the writer proceeds : — " The present Chancellor of the Exchequer has declared them sufficient cause for a revolution. When young men know this — when young men hear this — when, too, they see them allowed to remain in all their venomous vitality — when, too, these statesmen, not only justify revolu- tion at home, but foster it abroad. Then, stung into desperation and madness, should they act upon the lesson taught — where is the exonera- tion, where is the mercy V That is writing of a highly inflammatory character, highly calculated to excite amongst the readers of this journal disaffec- tion and discontent with respect to the Government, not merely with respect to the administration of Whigs or Tories, but with respect to the whole administration of the Queen's Govern- ment in Ireland. Then having gone into these topics he refers to the Manchester executions. " On a vitiated verdict ; on tainted testimony ; on evidence which has been admitted that of false swearers or perjurers ; on a verdict avowed to be flawed with error, two men and a youth — in the eye of the law an infant — are done to a cruel death." That refers to the pardon of one of the men, Maguire, who was tried with those people. " On a vitiated verdict and tainted testi- mony" they were not convicted. It was not denied they were there — doing what, it was said by the witnesses for the Crown, they were doing. The testimony was not vitiated — not of false swearers or perjurers, for they themselves never denied the statement that they were there, and participated in the rescue. That article is of a highly inflammatory character, and calculated to excite feelings of hatred here for the administration of justice in that Manchester affair. " Behold England's justice in the conviction and condemnation — behold England's mercy in the sentence and execution of the political prisoners, Allen, Larkin and O'Brien. There, indeed, written large and deep — written in letters indelible — written in letters jf blood — read the justice and mercy of England." QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 201 Language more inflammatory — language more calculated to exci .e the indignation of the people here — language more calculated to lead them to believe that' these three unfortunate men were un- justly condemned and executed against all the considerations of justice and mercy, it is impossible to conceive. It is charged in the indictment that this language is calculated to excite the feed- ings of the people in this country against the people who dwell on the other side of the channel; and they who write, or speak, or act for the purpose of exciting or fanning national animosities between any two nations, but especially between two whose des- tinies are so lono* and must be so Long, linked together, as thore who dwell on both sides of the British channel, undertake an awful responsibility. Whether it amounts to a criminal act ( r not it is for you to say ; but that morally they become deeply responsible by such writing or speaking no one can deny. You were referred by Mr. Heron to language used in some influential journals towards the people of Ireland. It is true language has been used in widely circulated papers which was calculated i j exite, if not feelings of hatred, at least feelings of contempt for the people of this country. That is a grave offence. I have read these writings when they did appear with the greatest pain and the greatest indignation, for I knew that the writer did not kmrw the effect they produce in Ireland ; the feelings of indignation which they excite even amongst the loyal ; and I know how they are turned to account, and effectually turned to account, by those to whom the epithet of loyal could not be applied. But, howeve:-, we are now to deal with this publication; you are to say what tendency there is in it, and to say the intention with which it was published. That appeared for the first time in the second edition of the paper of the 23rd of November, but it was repub- lished in the following week, on the 30th of November, and you will see a large black border round it when we send it up to you. Now, gentlemen, the next class of publications are the advertise- ments in figures, '98, '48, '08, which appeared on the 7th, 14th, and 21st of December. The construction put upon the figures by the Crown is that in '98 and '48 there were unsuccessful rebel- lions in Ireland, and an insurrection in '08 is held out to the hopes of the readers of this journal. It was quite open to the traverser to prove that the advertisements were inserted in the ordinary course of business, but that evidence has not been given. The only thing you have to bear it out is that they appear in the advertisement sheet, and if that had appeared it would materially effect the intentions of the defendant — which is what you ha^ e to try ; for, if you believe they were inserted in the ordinary course of business, you ought to give him the benefit of an acquittal. The next advertisement is that relating to the proces- sion, which appeared in the paper of the 7th of December. You must not take into account anything that occurred at the meeting. It remains to be tried whether that was a legal meeting. You must assume its legality until it is decided to the contrary. You must also bear in mind it was not interfered with by the author- ities, and you ought to consider that in considering the nature of 2C2 DUBLIN COMMISSION. the advertisement. But looking at that advertisement, and seeing it was an advertisement for a procession in honour of these men who are represented as martyrs, you will say in your judgment whether it was calculated to bring the administration of the law into contempt, or excite hatred or disaffection against the Govern- ment, or against our fellow subjects in England. And that brings me, I am happy to say, to the last two articles — one is an article headed, " Kagosima/' and the other the letter of the Rev. Mr. Vaughan, which appeared in the same paper of the 28th of Decem- ber. The object of the writer, in reference to what occurred at Kagosima, was to contrast "it with the terrible outrage at Clerken- well, which occurs to me to have been the most terrible crime since Freschis' attempt in Paris with a score of gun-barrels. I do not coincide with the Solicitor-General in his opinion of the degree of criminality of the man who set fire to the gunpowder at Clerkenwell. No man could be ignorant of the destruction that would be caused by the explosion of GO lbs of gunpowder. The writer of the article says Her Majesty's admiral and sailors com- mitted an outrage at Kagosima greater than that at Clerkenwell. It was stated at the time that the conflagration at Kagosima was accidental, but whether it was so or not I have no means of know- ing or forming an opinion, but you will say whether an article of that description is in your minds calculated to bring the Govern- ment of Her Majesty into contempt, and excite disaffection amongst Her Majesty's subjects. Then comes the letter of Mr. Vaughan. That was an original letter coming from Mr. Vaughan, but that does not exempt the defendant from responsibility if he published it. A newspaper editor is liable for any correspondence he publishes; it is for him to refuse it and say it is not proper for him to publish it ; but if he publishes it he must take the consequences of the publication. That, certainly, is a violent article, but it is for you to judge if it is calculated and intended to excite the people to use violence in trying to redress the grievances under which it is said they labour. Part of it consists of general terms of abuse, amongst the rest " Renegade Catholic Whigs." We don't know who the gentlemen were. I suppose my learned col- league and myself are included in the category, and I would not be surprised if even Mr. Heron was included in the description. You should not let that influence your verdict. The publication of that did no harm to the State ; and very little, if any harm to the individuals who may be designated. I think none of them complain of it ; but there are other words which are calculated to bear a different construction, and may be more objectionable. The writer goes on to describe in glowing terms the oppression under which the people labour, and to say for the redemption and regeneration of the land, and for the removal of that oppression a strong arm and brave soul are needed ; and he gives a scriptural example. He instances J udas Maccabeus, who waged war against one of the successors of Alexander, and he refers to Judith, who cut off the head of Holofernes under rather questionable circum- stances. You will have to consider whether it was intended by the writer to stimulate the people to overthrow the Government QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 263 by violence. Another question for yon, even if yon conld pnt that construction on that article is, did the defendant, adopting that construction, publish it knowingly and intentionally for the purpose of exciting the people to the violence which the writer recommends \ It is quite possible, though the writer may have intended, that Mr. Pigott may not have adopted that construc- tion, and may not have published the letter with the intention the writer entertained. If you must find the construction of the letter is the seditious one alleged, and that Mr. Pigott published it adopting the construction, and with the intention of assisting the object of the writer — if you shall be satisfied of that beyond all reasonable doubt, you must, of course, on that count pronounce a verdict of conviction ; but if on either of the two questions you should entertain any reasonable doubt, it will be your duty to give the benefit of the doubt to the traverser and acquit him. I have now gone through all the articles — not in detail, for I don't think it would serve the ends of justice or aid you. All the papers relied on by the prosecution will be before you, and you will read eveiy article and consider the tendency, and decide on the intentions of the defendant in publishing them. The Attorney-General stated that all the articles in this paper were of a similar character, and he challenged the traverser or his counsel to produce an instance of a contrary character. Three were relied on by the traverser's counsel, and it is right to call your attention to them. One of the allegations of the Attorney- General is, that he has a right to rely on objectionable articles which are not charged in the indictment, to throw light on the construction of the articles which are charged ; and he submits rightly that the defendant should bring any article before you that may lead you to a contrary conclusion. The first relied on by Mr. Heron is the article of the 23rd of November, entitled " Remember Orr." The purport of it was this — to call the atten- tion of the Government and the public to the consequences which had resulted from the execution of a person named William Orr, of whom probably you have heard. The writer argued that the execution of that person in '98 caused general disaffection and discontent, and led many in the north of Ireland to take part in the events of that period, who otherwise would not do so, and that would have been arrested by a milder and more clement policy, and that the same policy ought not to be followed by the present Government with respect to the three men convicted in Manchester ; and he urges that the same evil consequences would or might result from the execution of these men if the sentence of the law was carried out ; and he urges the Government to avoid the adoption of a policy which would produce such fatal conse- quences, and adopt a milder course, which the writer thinks would have a beneficial effect. Now, that was a perfectly fair argument to adopt ; and he refers also to an original article or letter which appeared in the Star — an able and influential journal in England — in which a similar policy was recommended. There is no doubt that journal did advocate the commutation of the sentence, and there is no doubt it represented a very considerable 2Gi DUBLIN COMMISSION. portion of public opinion in England. That article, as far as I remember it, was a very fair article) and one that must be entitled to full consideration ; and no one can complain of the travels < r advocating that policy, and advocating it strongly and earnestly and properly. That article will be before you, and you will Bay whether it negatives the violence which the Attorney-General says the others countenance. The next paper relied on by the traverser is the 9th of November, and is headed " Freedom of Opinion in Ireland," and it refers to the attacks which were made by the English press upon his newspaper. That is relied on by his counsel for the purpose-of leading you to the conclusion that the publications from American newspapers, which are complained of by the Crown, were published bona fide as news, for the pur- pose both of selling his journal and for the purpose of giving infor- mation as any other paper did, and not with any culpable intent. It ought to be taken with that view into your consideration when you retire to consider the case, and also the article from the paper of the 2nd of November. His counsel presents that article to you to lead you to the conclusion that the defendant has only advocated the repeal of the Union by peaceful means, and he had a perfect right, as counsel told you, to advocate a repeal of the Union, if he thinks it would be beneficial to the country. He may advocate it by argument and discussion through the medium of the press, and in any other manner he thinks proper, and so long as he keeps within the limits of the law no one w r ill complain of it in a court of justice. His counsel then relies upon this, that the defendant denies his paper is a Fenian organ in any way, and states the only Fenian organ that was in the country was suppressed. A similar extract was read by Mr. Perry. It refers to the solution of the disputes between the Emperor of Austria, and Hungary, of which he was recently crowned King in Bucla. That is relied on for the same purpose, to show you that Mr. Pigott only advocated a similar solution of w r hat he called the Irish question, as that which took place in Hungary. That is a perfectly fair argument to advance, and you will take it into consideration on the whole of the case. You will deal with each and everyone of the articles charged in the indictment, and on these only find your verdict. The other parts of the paper can only be used, if used at all, as far as in your judgments they throw a light upon the construction of the articles, or upon the intentions of the defendant in publishing those articles, contained in the indictment, with which he is alone charged criminally here, and on the criminality of which you have to decide, and decide on your oaths. You must read and consider carefully every article in the indictment, and say, on your oaths, as to each and every one of them, separately and distinctly, whether as to one or all, or any number of them, they were published with any of the intents ascribed in the indictment. If they were, it is } ; our duty, however painful, to return a verdict of conviction ; but if you do not think the charge contained in this indictment of publishing these publications for the purpose and with the intent ascribed in each of the counts of the indictment sustained, then QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 205 however you may condemn, however censurable you may think a journal for diffusing them — if you are not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt, return a verdict of acquittal on all or any of the counts in the indictment on which you may think the Attorney-General has not established his case. Whatever your verdict, I am sure you will perform your duty conscientiously, with every regard for the interests of justice, for the liberty of the press, for the rights of the traverser, and that your verdict- will be perfectly satisfactory to the Crown, to the Court, to the public, and to the traverser. The jury retired at twenty-five minutes to three o'clock, and returned at five minutes to four, with a verdict of " guilty" on all the counts, except the fourteenth. Mr. Baron Dea&y. — Mr. Piirott will enter into his recognizances to appear on Friday, and also from day to day, to receive the judgment of the Court. The jury were then discharged. Sentence ox Mr. A. M. Sullivan. Saturday, February 22, 18GS. The Court sat at half-past ten o'clock, when — The Solicitor-General — prayed judgment in the cases of Queen against Messrs. Pigott and Sullivan. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — Pronounced sentence as follows — Alexander Sullivan, you were charged with publishing, or com- posing and publishing certain libels reflecting on the Govern- ment, and on the administration of justice, and the jury, to whom was referred the entire decision of guilt or innocence, has, by its verdict, decided that those articles were seditious libels, calculated and intended to excite hatred of Her Majesty's Government, and of the administration of the law, and to disturb the public peace and tranquillity. That verdict is now final and irreversible, and the result is ; that you stand convicted of a high misdemeanor, and subject to imprisonment, and to fine without limit, at the discretion of the court. The seditious libels were published in a paper having a wide circulation, and diffused largely amongst the less educated classes, who have little other means, if any, of ob- taining political information, so that if permitted to go on, they would, in the language of one of the articles contained in the indictment, be " calculated to blast for ever a chance of recon- ciliation between the people of Ireland and the English nation." I acquit you, however, of entertaining in your own mind any such intention ; but you must see, you must understand, and you must yourself now feel that no government could exist, or if it could exist, could hope to possess the affections or the esteem of the people, if it allowed a public journalist to proclaim with impunity to the ignorant people, in the language of another of these articles, that " the gaoler and the hangman formed the 2GG DUBLIN COMMISSION. twin pillars Upon which the edifice of British rule in Ireland is supported." Now, it is fair to observe in your case, and call public attention to the fact, that all the articles alleged to be seditious, with which you are charged, with one not very important ex- ception, relate entirely to what hasbeen called, and is known now as the Manchester execution, and are confined to that subject ; and it may be that, as that topic gave rise to great excitement, the feelings of the moment perverted your judgment, and carried you further than you intended, and that you possibly did not reflect or did not consider when, in the articles in question, you told the community at large, that those unhappy men executed at Man- chester were — to use again the language of one of the impeached articles — " No murderers, but brave spirited patriots who sealed their devotion to their country with their blood." You did not consider that you were infiuentially, and I am certain uninten- tionally, according an argument to the weak, and young, and enthusiastic, to follow a similar example. In the remarkable speech which you delivered in this Court two days ago (This refers to Mr. Sullivan's speech in his own defence when tried for taking part in the funeral procession to Glasnevin Cemetery, held in honour of the men executed at Manchester, — Ed.), and which I consider now as your own evidence, given in your own cause, of the motives which actuated your mind, you declared that you did not intend any disloyalty to the Queen or the Queen's Government — that nothing was further from your de- sign than to excite sedition or disaffection, and that your true meaning was not to express sympathy with the crime which had been committed — (and that I firmly believe) — but it was to create pity for the fate of those who had fallen victims to the sentence of the law. I am bound to give you credit for the truth of this assertion, but then I have to carry in my mind also, that it is not what you in your inmost mind intended, but what the articles themselves expressed, and were calculated to convey to the public mind. I assure you that it is with deep regret that it becomes my duty to announce to you the sentence of the law. My learned colleague and I have considered the case, and we have considered it with the view that if we erred at all it should be on the side of leniency ; but, nevertheless, the sentence must be such as will, for a substantial period, withdraw you from public life ; and I regret this the more when I recollect that you have proved yourself in this Court to be a person of eminent ability — an ability that one would wish exerted in the same way in another cause; and not only that, but that I learn from the public prints that you have devoted your time — and a considerable portion of it — and the talents with which you have been gifted — to the public ser- vice — to advance the cause of education, and promote the claims of charity ; but we have a duty to perform to the public in the repression of similar offences. It is not my w^ish or desire now to prolong this scene, to me so exceedingly painful, and I wish not to say a word that would give unnecessary offence, but I shall only in simple language announce to you the sentence of the law, and that sentence is that you be imprisoned for a period of six QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 267 calendar months from the present time, and at the end of that period you are to give security — yourself in £500, and two sure- ties in £250 each, to be of good behaviour for a period of two years, and in default of such security being given, that you be further imprisoned for a second period of 6 months. Sentence on Mr. Eichard Pigott. Mr. Baron J) easy pronounced sentence as follows: — Eichard Pigott, it becomes my duty to announce to you the sentence that we are bound to inflict, and I trust that you and the gentleman who sits near you will give us both credit for sincerity when we say it is with deep pain that we discharge that duty. It is painful to imprison anyone, but it is still more painful to deprive of their liberty gentlemen of education, of intelligence, of ability such as you ; to whom the restraint, the irksome restraint of confinement must be exceedingly galling. But, nevertheless, that duty is imperative. It has been imposed upon us by the verdicts of the juries who have convicted you of the charges preferred against you by the Attorney-General, and in the propriety of those verdicts we both entirely concur. What your motives were in publishing the series of articles which the jury have now by their verdict found to be seditious libels, I cannot and do not inquire, and cannot tell. That they were published in the journal of which you were conductor and proprietor and manager, and for whose contents you are responsible, is undisputed ; and the jury have affixed to that series of articles, amounting to about fifteen in. number — every one in the indictment but one — the jury have by their verdict affixed to them the character of seditious libels. Now, these libels are of two classes, speaking generally. In some of the counts of the indictment the Attorney-General has charged that you have published these libels with the view or with the effect of affording aid and encouragement to the Fenian con- spiracy in Ireland, and the jury have endorsed that charge by their verdict of guilty. That those articles were calculated to have that effect no one who has read them can doubt. Some- times they were republications of articles, treasonable in their character, found in American newspapers, which, though not amenable to the law there, are highly criminal when republished here ; and, as the jury have found, they were republished with the effect I have described. Some of them were articles of your own composition, which, though you deny being a Fenian, the jury thought were calculated to encourage that conspiracy. Other publications, not specified in the indictment, were also highly calculated not only to encourage those already involved in the conspiracy, but to induce others — perhaps ignorant and excitable young men — to involve themselves in its meshes. Nothing could be more calculated to do this than the accounts in your journal of a sensational character, headed " Eecruits for the Eevolutionary Army" — " Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars poured into the Fenian Exchequer" — nothing could be more highly calculated not only to encourage those already engaged in such practices, but to induce 2GS DUBLTN COMMISSION. some of the young men amongst whom your journ.il circulates — not having sufficient scope lor the abilities which, no doubt, many of them possess, and who derive their information from the pages of your journal, — to engage in treasonable practices. That is a serious oifence morally, and it is a serious offence in the contemplation of the law. That offence the jury have found a have committed in publishing the several articles complained of in the indictment. Another class of articles which the jury have found to be seditious, were those which relate to the administra- tion of justice on the occasion to which my colleague has referred ; and certainly nothing can be more highly calculated than these articles, not merely to bring the administration of the law into contempt, but to excite hatred and animosity among the portion of the people amongst whom your journal circulates — hatred against their fellow subjects — against the great people of Great Britain, with whom they must live in some species of political connexion. What that connexion may be in the future I cannot tell, and it is not for me to forecast ; but whatever it is, it is of the utmost importance to the people of this country that they should live on terms of amity and friendship with the people of the great nation with which they have been blessed by Providence as their near neighbour. Nothing can be more unjust than to represent to the people of this country the conduct of the mob of a great city, as a fair specimen, or sample of the character or dis- position of that great people. It is equally unfair to represent some incidents that do sometimes occur here of turbulence, as fair samples of the Irish people ; as I regret to say I have seen done in influential journals published iir England. Journalists or writers — but especially public journalists — who, either inten- tionally or otherwise, use their journals in such a manner as to excite national animosities, are, in my mind, guilty of a great moral offence, and incur grave responsibility. They sow broad- cast the seeds of disunion, which may ripen into hostility. To use the words of a great Irish orator in the Irish Parliament, "they sow the dragon's teeth, which too often spring up armed men." It is infamous and unjust. No one who has mixed with the English people can fail to discover their great qualities; and no one would believe that they, the people of England, who con- stitute the nation — who constitute the pith and marrow of the nation — no one can believe, or does believe, that they are animated with a spirit of hostility to the people of this country. In the same way I speak of the people here. It is not for me to speak of the people of this country — of their virtues or good qualities — I am myself one of the mere Irish — but I may say that there is no stranger coming amongst them, who has dwelt amongst them, whatever his prejudices may have been previously, who does not appreciate their many virtues, and good and sterling qualities. They have their faults as other nations and people have, and those faults it may be fair to comment on and exhibit, provided it be done in a fair spirit. The English people, too, have their faults, and they ought to be spoken of in the same tone, in the same manner, and in the same spirit. I regret to say you have used your jour- QUEEN a, PIGOTT. 269 nal, as the jury have found, contrary to law, and in a manner calculated to be highly prejudicial to the community amongst whom your journal circulates. These two classes of offence assume a grave character, and impose on us the duty of inflict- ing on you a more severe punishment than my colleague has pronounced on the gentleman who sits near you. 1 cannot hope, and do not expect, that any word of mine could have much effect upon a gentleman of your mature years and extreme ability, if we are to judge of that by some of the articles before us. I trust you will profit by the lesson which you now receive. The verdict of the jury ought to convince you that you have exceeded the limits of the law and outstepped the privileges which the law gives to every public writer. I trust when you emerge from the confinement to which it is our most painful duty to sentence you — you will emerge — I hope that it will not be as a sadder, but, I do hope, a wiser man ; and that you will pursue your avocation as a public journalist within the limits of the law, and in accordance with the spirit of the constitution. You have said in your journal that you are an advocate for the Repeal of the Union. You have a perfect right to advocate it. Many may agree with you, and others will differ with you in opinion. You may try and bring round the others by your arguments and reasons. So long as you pursue that con- stitutionally and legally no one can interfere with you or com- plain of you. You have been found to have exceeded the limits of the law in the respect to which I have referred, and it is now my duty to tell you that, after full reflection and taking into account every circumstance of mitigation that Ave could discover in the case, my learned brother and myself have come to the conclusion that we cannot, consistently with our duty, pass upon you a less sentence than that you be imprisoned for twelve calendar months, and that you give security, yourself in £500 and two sureties in £250 each, to be of good behaviour for a period of two years, and in default of such security being forthcoming, that you be further imprisoned for a period of six calendar months additional. Mr. Crean. — I believe your lordships have discretion as to which prison the traversers shall be sent — the county or city. They wish to be sent to the City Prison. Mr. Justice Fitzgerald. — The offence being committed in the city but tried in the county we have authority to direct in which prison the sentence shall be carried out. Let the prisoners be committed to Richmond Bridewell.-. Mr. Sullivan. — Your lordship, as far as the Court is concerned, I consider I have had a fair trial. [The prisoners were then removed.] 270 DUBLIN COMMISSION, Form of the Record. The Record was made up on the request of Mr. Pigott, and after the usual statements of the pleadings and finding of the jury, it proceeded to set out the sentence as follows : — "Whereupon all and singular the premises being seen, and by the said Commissioners and Justices being fully understood, it is considered and adjudged and ordered by the Court here that the said Richard Pigott, for the said misdemeanor in the said first count of the indictment above specified, be imprisoned for a period of twelve calendar months from the 10th of February, in the year of our Lord, 18G8, and do enter into a recognizance to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years from the termination of said twelve calendar months, himself in £500, and with two sureties in £250 each ; and if he shall not, previous to or at the termination of the term of imprisonment hereinbefore men- tioned, enter into and also obtain sufficient sureties to enter into the above mentioned recognizance, then it is further considered, and adjudged, and ordered that the said Richard Pigott, at the expiration of the term of imprisonment heretofore to him adjudged, be further imprisoned for a period of six calendar months from the expiration of the term of imprisonment first above mentioned. And it is by the Court ordered that the said Richard Pigott, so convicted as aforesaid, be imprisoned for and during the aforesaid term or terms of imprisonment, so to him con- sidered, adjudged, and ordered, within the said county of the city of Dublin, at the common jail of the said county of the city of Dublin, to wit, the Richmond Bridewell." The sentence on each of the fifteen counts on which Richard Pigott was found guilty was recorded in exactly the same words, save changing the number of the count, and the record concluded as follows : — " And the Court doth order that the said Richard Pigott be by the Sheriff of the county of Dublin delivered into custody of the Sheriff of the county of the city of Dublin, for the execution of the aforesaid sentence upon him, the said Richard Pigott, in the said county of the city of Dublin." QUEEN a, PIGOTT, 271 Proceedings in the Court of Chancery to obtain a Writ of Error. Mr. Pigott presented a memorial to the Lord Lieutenant asking for a writ of error; which was accompanied by a certificate, signed by Messrs. Butt, Heron, and Molloy, that upon such writ of error the judgment ought to be reversed. No grounds of error were alleged in the memorial or sent with it ; and accordingly when the memorial was referred to the Attorney-General to advise the Lord Lieutenant, he advised — " That as no question, as he recollected, had been raised at the trial, and as no specific error had been assigned by the prisoner or his counsel, and as he was not himself aware of any error, he was of opinion that it would not be proper for his Excellency to direct the writ to issue, but that the memorialist should be at liberty to present such further memorial to His Excellency as he might be advised ;" and accordingly the Lord Lieutenant refused the writ of error. Mr. Pigott then presented a petition to the Lord Chancellor, as Keeper of the Great Seal, praying that a writ of error might be directed to issue under the great seal without the fiat of the Lord Lieutenant. The grounds of the application were stated by Mr. Butt. The petition came on for hearing on Saturday, the 30th of May, 1868. Isaac Butt, Q.C., D. C. Heron, q.c, and Constantine Molloy, instructed by Mr. Lawless, appeared for the petitioner ; the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, Charles ShaAv, Q.c, and T. Pakenham Law, instructed by the Crown and Treasury Solicitor, appeared for the Crown. Mr. Butt. — On behalf of Richard Pigott, who is at present undergoing a sentence of twelve months' imprisonment for a sedi- tious libel published concerning Her Majesty's Government, I move that a writ of error should issue under the Great Seal, addressed to the Right Hon. J. D. Fitzgerald and the Right Hon. Rickard Deasy, two of the Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer, before whom the prisoner was tried, directing them to return the proceedings into the Court of Queen's Bench. The petition of the prisoner states that he was convicted on the 1 1th of February last, and that he was advised by his counsel that his conviction was erroneous, and that on the 21st of April he caused a memorial to be forwarded to the Lord Lieutenant praying that a writ of error might issue. The certificate was signed by me, Mr. Heron, and Mr. Molloy, and states our opinion that there are reason- able grounds of error, and that if the writ is granted the con- viction will be quashed. No answer was received until the 1 3th of May, when a letter was received from the Under Secretary to 272 COURT OF CHANCERY. the effect that in this case he had been directed by the Lord Lieu- tenant to acquaint the prisoner's advisers that the Attorney- General v as of opinion that no grounds appeared to exist for granting the writ of error. Thereupon the petition was pre- sented, since which time we have been furnished with the report made by the Attorney-General to the Lord Lieutenant, which is as follows : — " That, having considered the memorial and the cer- tificate of counsel, he begged to be permitted to say that no question was raised, as he recollected, at the trial, and no specific error had been assigned by the prisoner or his counsel ; and, as he was not aware of any error himself, he was of opinion that it would not be proper for His Excellency to direct the writ sought for to issue, but that the memorialist should be at liberty to pre- sent such further memorial to His Excellency as he might be advised." Taking the report and the letter of the Under Secre- tary together, I think I am entitled to say that Mr. Pigott has been rather hardly treated, for three weeks had been allowed to elapse before any answer was returned, and even then the Under Secretary left us under the impression that the refusal of the Attorney-General was absolute. If we had been called upon to state the grounds for a writ of error, we would have been able to do so. Unquestionably in old times all writs of error in crimi- nal cases were granted by the favour of the Crown, and no dis- tinction was made between felony and misdemeanor, and the form in which it was signified was under the King's sign-manual. During the Lon£ Parliament, as I find inlst " Hamreave's Juridical Arguments," p. 403, and in Hale's "Jurisdiction of the House of Parliament," 145, when Charles I. was frequently absent from Lon- don, it was necessary for some person to signify the King's pleasure, and that duty devolved upon the Attorney-General, who acted ministerially; but that did not supersede the other mode, by sign-manual, or by the direction of the person having the custody of the great seal. In the case of the Queen v. Paty, (2nd Sal- keld, 504, also in 14th State Trials, 807), the question was raised as to whether the granting of a writ of error was a matter of right or of grace. Ten of the Judges held that in all cases except treason and felony it was a matter of right, and the House of Lords, in the year 1704, in their address to the Crown, adopted the opinions of those ten Judges. Sir Anthony Hart's view, as reported in 2nd Molloy's Reports, p. 27, in the case of Richard Radford Rowe, was that it was the right of the subject. 1 here does not appear to have been any authority cited in that case, but Sir Anthony Hart would not have sanctioned it without some authority. In Wilkes' case (19th State Trials, 1099, 4 Burr, 2551), Lord Mansfield qualified the absolute right, and stated the law to be that if counsel certified probable grounds of error, the writ would be granted. In 1G89 the resolution of the House of Commons, in the case of Sir Thomas Armstrong (10th State Trials, 118, 3 Mod. 47), was that a writ of error for reversing a judgment was the right of the subject, and should be granted at his desire, and w r as not a matter of grace or favour. The case of Crawle v. Crawle (1 Verm 169), will be cited on the other side, QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 273 and there are two modem cases in the Court of Queen's Bench, in which Lord Campbell adopted Lord Mansfield's view of the law, namely, that the Attorney-General had to exercise a judicial dis- cretion, and that there should be reasonable cause shown. Those cases were the Queen v. Newton (4 Ellis and Blackburne, 869), and the Queen v. Lees (1 Ellis, Blackburne, and Ellis, 835). In the Queen v. Newton, the Queen's Bench would not grant a man- damus to compel the Attorney-General to grant his fiat for a writ, because they had no authority save under the writ; but they would grant a mandamus to require him to hear and determine the question raised by the memorial sent to him should he refuse to consider it, and after he had dealt with it they would not further interfere. The Court of Chancery, he apprehended, was responsible for all matters issued under the Great Seal. The Lord Chancellor. — I am only responsible not to allow any unlawful grants to pass under the great seal. All writs that the subject is entitled to are granted, not under the great seal, but under the seal of the Court of Chancery. Mr. Butt. — That makes no difference for the purposes of my argument. In Ireland a practice has grown up different from that which prevails in England, for in Ireland there was a peti- tion presented to the Lord Lieutenant, who referred it to the Attorney-General, and on his advice granted or refused the writ ; I contend that was an usurpation. The Lord Chancellor. — The old practice is maintained in Ire- land, which was to present a petition to the King. The Lord Lieutenant represents the King in Ireland. For the con- venience of the King the writ came to be granted by the Attorney-General in the manner stated by Mr. Butt. At the time of the rebellion under Oliver Cromwell a great many irregular things were done, and the Attorney-General was resorted to, to grant the writ, in order that justice might not be suspended. Mr. Butt was proceeding to address the Court upon the second branch of his argument — namely, whether upon probable cause shown the Court would not direct its officer to issue the writ. The Lord Chancellor. — Mr. Butt has argued the case very fairly as regarded the question of the absolute right of a prisoner to have this writ ; but as regarded the second branch of his argu- ment — namely, as to the right of a prisoner to have it, upon showing probable cause of error, the difficulty I feel is, can I act upon the present petition, which states nothing about a right to a writ of error when probable cause is shown ? I never make an order in this Court except upon a petition which states the grounds upon which my order is to be made. Mr. Butt. — I feel the justice of what your lordship says. The Lord Chancellor. — I feel obliged to Mr. Butt for having mentioned to me some time ago that he intended to bring forward this motion. The case being of so much importance, I looked into the authorities for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not it was compulsory on me, in the case of any person convicted in this country of a crime below treason or felony, to issue, ex mero T 274 COURT OF CHANCERY. motu of the person convicted, a writ of error. Beyond that I did not go, and I fear that Mr. Butt cannot, on the present peti- tion, go beyond that either. Mr. Butt. — I think your lordship is right. The matter had not before occurred to me in that light. It is, therefore, neces- sary to amend the petition. The Lord Chancellor. — It strikes me that you must do some- thing more. I think you will have to present a memorial to the Lord Lieutenant showing probable grounds of error, and that you cannot come here without having tried whether or not the Lord Lieutenant would grant tlie writ on a proper memorial. I throw this out in order that there may be no supposition of any unneces- sary delay. I think you should apply in the first instance to the prime mover. Do not understand me as giving any judgment, but merely in order that there may not be any supposition that you will not get justice as speedily as possible. Mr. Butt. — I am perfectly sure you will give Mr. Pigott every facility ; but in my opinion the presenting a petition to the Lord Lieutenant is only an usurpation. The Lord Chancellor. — I did not say it was necessary. I put it to you to consider what course you would adopt. If you had stated what your grounds of reasonable cause were, I am sure the Attorney-General's report would not have been what it is. Mr. Butt. — However we may do it, I think it right to give the exact grounds on which we think we should reverse this judg- ment. The Lord Chancellor. — I think you should present a new memorial to the Lord Lieutenant. Mr. Butt. — We will present a new memorial to the Lord Lieu- tenant on a new certificate of counsel, and state the grounds on which we consider the judgment was erroneous ; and we ask your lordship to let this motion stand, or to say no rule on this motion with liberty to us to bring it forward again. The Attorney-General. — I must press your lordship to hear the argument upon the first point raised by the application, and to make your decision upon it. It is of great importance to the administration of justice that there should be a declaration at once of what the law is on the subject, as every prisoner con- victed of a misdemeanor, in respect of whose conviction a writ of error issued, is entitled to be discharged on bail. The question as to the absolute right of a prisoner, convicted of a misdemeanor, to a writ of error might not be raised on any other memorial that the prisoner in this case might present ; because, if grounds for a writ were stated in it, the Lord Lieutenant's fiat would be given without further delay. The delay that had occurred was owing to my anxiety to discover, whether there were any grounds for the writ asked for, or whether the prisoner was really entitled to it as a matter of right. It would be acknowledged that there had been no delay in the last case of the sort in which a writ of error was asked for. Mr. Butt. — If I can, I will withdraw the petition. I think the best course would be to allow this petition to drop, and to present QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 275 a new one ; and I respectfully ask your lordship for liberty to take the petition off the file. The Attorney-General. — I will not object to that. The Lord Chancellor. — Very well. The Attorney-General not objecting, you may take the petition off the file. The proceedings then terminated. Mr. Pigott afterwards presented a fresh memorial to the Lord Lieutenant stating the alleged grounds of error, but as they did not seem sufficient the writ was refused by the Lords J ustices, the Lord Lieutenant being then absent. Mr. Pigott then filed a new petition in Chancery, setting out in it at full length the second memorial to the Lord Lieutenant, and the grounds of error therein alleged, and raising both the question as to the absolute right in cases of misdemeanor to a writ of error, and the right on probable cause being shown. The matter was heard in the Court of Chancery on Thursday, June 11, 1868. Mr. Butt, Q.C. (with him, Heron, Q.C., and Molloy, appeared for Mr. Pigott). — This motion is one of considerable importance to my client, and it has become of greater importance than before in con- sequence of the reply of the Attorney-General to his application, because the Attorney-General has distinctly claimed for himself the right to act on his own opinion of the probable result of the writ of error. As I go on, I think I shall be able to show that there are two very different opinions — a person's opinion of the probable re- sult of a writ of error, and the opinion whether there were probable grounds for granting such a writ. Lord Eldon has said that counsel ought to be very cautious in refusing to give a certificate of probable grounds existing for an appeal. The Attorney- General has stated that he has no reasonable or probable cause for believing that the judgment in this case will be reversed. That may be his opinion, and yet there may be, notwithstanding, reasonable and probable cause for bringing the matter before a higher tribunal. Now, the propositions that I have to support are, first, that I am entitled to ask for this writ as a matter of absolute right ; and, secondly, as a matter of right — not absolute, but upon reasonable cause shown that the judgment is erroneous. The majority of the Judges, and the House of Lords, in 1704, decided that in cases of misdemeanor the writ was matter of absolute right. In fact there was a change of law at the period of the Revolution, which made a difference between treason, and felony ; and misdemeanor. Sir Anthony Hart approved of that, and in Row^e's case, 2nd Molloy, 28, granted a writ of error, although the Attorney -General had refused to sanction it. The Lord Chancellor. — He did not approve of it, for it does not appear to have been cited to him. It is not easy to see what were the grounds for granting the writ of error in that case. It T 2 COURT OF CHANCERY. is no authority on the present motion, for it was the case of a private prosecution. Mr. Butt. — Well, our second ground is that put by Lord Mansfield, that the writ is cx deb i to justitice when reasonable grounds are shown. I need not go so far as to show that the judgment should bo reversed ; if J can show reasonable grounds for argument against the judgment it is sufficient. Whether there is probable cause, is a question entirely for your lordship. To be sure there is another difficulty, that it is not easy to say what is probable cause. I would say that the doctrine ought not to be carried higher than this, that if there is a cause of error assigned which is not absolutely frivolous, it is the duty of the Court to put the matter in a train for decision by the tribunal which decides cases of a criminal nature. It is not my business to convince you that I am absolutely right, but merely to show that there are points which require a decision, and that there is nothing to suggest that the cause is not assigned bond fide. I shall now proceed to call attention to the errors which are suggested in Mr. Pigott's memorial. The first is with respect to the caption of the indictment. It does not appear upon the record that the indictment was found against the prisoner, as required by law, upon the oaths of the Grand Jurors finding it, or on the affirmation of Grand Jurors who were entitled by law to make affirmation instead of an oath. The way it is done is, that the Grand Jurors present upon their oath and affirmation, and the caption of the indictment does not show which of the Grand Jurors were affirmed, or that any of them were capable of being affirmed instead of being sworn. In support of this I may refer to Rex v. Polfleld (2 Dowl. Pr. Cas. 469), where it was held that if a coroner's inquisition state it to have been taken on the affir- mation of a man, it should state the man to be either a Quaker or a Moravian. I may also observe that a statute was passed last year to give relief to persons who from conscientious motives do not wish to be sworn (30 & 31 Vic. c. 35. s. 8). That Act, it is true, does not extend to Ireland. The Lord Chancellor. — Surely, Mr. Butt, you cannot contend that a statute which does not extend to Ireland, and which was passed for the purpose of preventing the question from being argued again, is an authority for you. Mr. Butt. — I think it is. Bear in mind that the common law in both countries is the same. The words in the Act, " It shall not be necessary to specify," &c., show that before the Act, and apart from it, it was necessary to specify. The bringing in of such an Act shows that there was a doubt whether the form of caption used here was not wrong. Then, passing to our second objection, Mr. Pigott was tried upon an indictment containing sixteen counts. He was convicted upon fifteen, and acquitted upon one of them, and sentence was passed separately upon each count on which he was convicted. The sentence was, that he should be imprisoned for twelve calendar months ; that at or before the expiration of that period he should enter into recog- nizances by himself and two sureties to be of the peace for two QUEEN a. PKJQTT. 277 years, and that in default of his doing so, he should be imprisoned farther for six months. The effect of that is, that if he is una ble to get sureties within the original period of his imprisonment, he must be confined for six months more. He has no power of releasing himself by finding sureties at a later time. I submit that such a sentence is illegal. An absolute imprisonment for refusal to give sureties is illegal. In re Willett (2 L. Bee. 0. S. 422) Baron Smith decided upon a habeas corpus motion that per- sons were to remain prisoners no longer than until the requisition to give bail was complied with. The Lord Cka/ncellor, — I confess I cannot see what is wrong here. The sentence is a conditional one — first, for twelve months, then, if he does not find sureties, for six months more. It is a perfectly legal sentence. Mr. Butt. — There is no precedent in the books for it. The whole doctrine of taking sureties of the peace rests upon stat. 34 Edw. III. It is upon their authority as justices that the Judges of Oyer and Terminer exercise their jurisdiction, and there is no case in which the sentence does not run so as to give further imprison- ment until security is given to be of the peace, so that the prisoner may have the power of liberating himself at any time by giving security (Bacon's "Abr. Justice/' B, p. G03). The form of the commission of the peace, which is given in Nunn and Walsh "Justice of the Peace", and in Bacon, is to the same effect. The power given is to imprison until security is given. See also 5, Burn's "Justice," p. 1208, which refers to an old book, Lam- bard's " Eirenarch," p. 87, 2nd book. In all cases the sentence gives the party the option of terminating his imprisonment by 1 hiding bail. The Lord Chancellor. — Mr. Butt, all these are cases of rules of bail. What we are dealing with now is a sentence after conviction. Is there any case in which an objection was taken to a sentence of this kind, though I suppose hundreds of them have been pronounced ? Mr. Butt. — I will show that the proper sentence is what I have stated, namely, that an option is given to the party to give security or to remain in prison. The Lord Chancellor. — It is in favorem libertatis to pass this sentence, to enable persons, without undergoing further imprison- ment, to terminate it on entering into recognizances as required. Both the sentences are perfectly legal. Mr. Butt. — A Judge cannot sentence a man for his own caprice ; the requiring bail is not part of the sentence. The Lord Chancellor. — The House of Lords have decided in Hart's case (30 State Trials, 1344) that it was. There the decision of the Court of Queen's Bench was unanimously affirmed. The reasons for the judgment were delared good. Mr. Butt. — Those are the reasons of counsel, not of the Judges. This is a question of constitutional law. The Lord Chancellor. — Indeed, it is not ; it is a question of criminal law, simply. Mr. Butt — At all events this is a perfectly novel sentence, and 278 COURT OF CHANCERY. we ought to have the opportunity of submitting it to the deci- sion of the superior Court. Our third objection is this, that we say that the order for entering into recognizances is annexed to each count, so that there are fifteen separate orders for entering into recognizances. That, I suppose, was done to prevent any question, such as arose on the sentence in O'Connell's case. We do not say that these points are absolutely right, but they are matters to be argued. Our fourth objection is, that upon several of the counts in the indictment there is no case of seditious libel stated, but rather a case of treason. They allege that there existed a treasonable conspiracy in Ireland, known as the Fenian conspiracy ; and that the prisoner, intending to stir up sedition among Her Majesty's subjects, and encourage and excite the members of such conspiracy to continue in their unlawful designs, published the libels, &c. That is a good overt act of treason. Words are a good act of treason. See 22 St. Tr., 477, quoting East's P. C. High treason is distinguished from sedition, as sedition is when the words are not actually connected with any act or design against the government of the Sovereign (1st Gabbett, C. L., C48). The Lord Chancellor. — The real point, as I understand it, is: would proof of the facts necessary to sustain this count entitle the person to be acquitted, on the ground that the offence was treason, and not sedition ? If a person is tried for an assault, and the crime proved be murder, the prisoner would be acquitted of the minor offence. The word " traitorously " is not used in the indictment. Mr. Butt. — But the facts amount to treason (Reg. v. Button, 11 Q.B., 929). No treasonable intent was proved at the trial. The question is not whether it would be good as an indictment for treason, but whether the facts go to prove treason, not sedi- tion (Reg. v. Cross; 1 Lord Raym., 711). It may be said that this objection only applies to some of the counts, but if a person does not choose to have a conviction on record against him on a count on which he is not guilty, the Crown cannot complain. There is a merger of the offence. Then, in some of the counts matters are alleged which do not amount to sedition at all ; there are not even inuendoes (Wood v. Brown, 6 Taunt, 169). The 11th count sets out the funeral procession in honour of convicted and executed murderers ; that does not amount to a seditious libel, and the Court has a right to look and see whether it is seditious. The Lord Chancellor. — Mr. Butt, it is right to tell you, that, as far as I have looked into the matter, I have made up my mind that I have absolutely no jurisdiction in this matter. I did not state my opinion on that before, as you wished to argue the other points, but I wish you would address yourself to show me that I have jurisdiction. Some of the authorities show that I might speak to the Attorney-General. I would be glad to hear what you have to say. Mr. Butt. — Then, for this branch of the argument, I may assume that we have shown reasonable grounds for the writ. QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 279 The Lord Chancellor The question I have put is : have I jurisdiction, even in a case of probable cause ? Mr. Butt. — In Crawle v. Crawle, 1 Vern., 169, and in the Rioters' Case, 1st Vern, 175, the Lord Chancellor rests his refusal to inter- fere, on the ground that the writs were not ex debito justitice. The Lord Chancellor. — No ; it was upon the ground that he had not the jurisdiction to determine on it. The point is, even supposing the writ to be ex debito justitice, is it the Chancellor who is to grant it ? Mr. Butt. — If the writ is matter of right, whether for probable cause or not, it comes from the seal of this Court, and your lord- ship is to determine the matter. A writ of pardon is a matter of right, and the Court can grant it ; so it is laid down in 2nd Inst. ; 306 ; and Lord Coke's reading of the Statute of Gloucester, where it is said, " The King shall take him to his grace if it pleases him," says it was held that the Lord Chancellor under the statute, and without warrant from the King, was authorized to put the great seal to the pardon. The Lord Chancellor. — That was because of the statute in the case ; but you are asking me to put the seal of the Court of Chan- cery upon this writ, in a case where there is no statute. Mr. Butt. — The Queen delegates all power to act judicially to the Judges, and the Chancellor has this power as to matters connected with the seal of the Court of Chancery. When the matter is one of right the Lord Chancellor should put the great seal to the writ, and he is the proper person to apply to. If the matter be one of right there must be some person to deter- mine it. There is no difference between rights under the common law and by statute ; both are equally binding on this Court. New trials were frequently granted in cases of misdemeanor. The Kingwas sued like any individual till the time of Edward III. ; but in cases of felony, where the King was entitled to the lands of the person convicted, his title, even by erroneous judgment, could not be interfered with except by petition to himself. (Staunford on Prerogative, 41, 42 ; 1st Hawkins, P. C, 654 ; Com. Digest. Action, 10 St. Tr. 119; Bacon, Pardon, 137; Hawkins, P. C. c. 37, s. 2.) The Attorney-General has no commission from the Crown to administer justice, and yet he acts in these cases someway both as prosecutor and judge ; he decides this case in a private way, and reports to the Lord Lieutenant. All judicial powers are delegated to the Judges by the Queen, and she cannot now exercise them herself. The Lord Chancellor. — The Sovereign is the person to issue his warrant to the Lord Chancellor to put the fiat on the writ of error. The patent of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland gives him the power of the Sovereign in all matters relating to the adminis- tration of justice, though some other matters are excepted. There have been cases of Lord Chancellors in Ireland dying while hold- ing the great seal, and it appears that in such cases the eldest son of the Chancellor has gone to the Castle to give up the great seal. When a Chancellor is in extremis, a Commission is appointed to place the great seal in the hands of the Queen. The Lord 230 COURT OF CHANCERY. Lieutenant's patent does not authorize him to take the great seal. Mr. Butt. — If we are not entitled to come here for the great seal, I do not think we could go to the Court of Queen's Bench, and this case then would be one in which the subject would have a right, but not a remedy^ The Attorney-General cannot sit in judgment on this matter. He is not a justice. He is Dot sworn to do justice between man and man. He is the Queen's Attorney, and her prosecutor. Certainly, it is new in criminal law, and it is the only instance known where a man is both prosecutor and judge at the same time. He discharges his duties of judge in a private room. Was Mr. Pigott heard by the Attorney-General — did he bring the parties before him ? He had not done so. He reported his decision to the Lords Justices, and they had acted upon it. The refusal came from the Lords Justices; that was not a judicial decision. If the subject had by law a right to ihis writ, 1 do not see how your lordship, speaking for the Queen, can refuse to grant this writ. There is no remedy except in this Court. If the writ be not granted, there will be this anomaly, that there will be a right without a remedy. The L$rd ChaTicellor. — Mr. Butt, what you have to satisfy me of really is, that I am a court of appeal from the Queen. You must push it to that length. The writ is refused by her, through her Lord Lieutenant, on the advice of the Attorney-General. I hold the great seal in order to put it to whatever a fiat comes for, but the Sovereign, and she only, has the power to grant that fiat. She is supposed to do what is right, and her refusal, when it occurs, is right. The course in the matter is uniform. Every- thing springs from the Crown, and we have records on this subject going back nearly to the Conquest. I am ministerial only in this matter, not judicial. Mr. Butt. — Up to the Revolution this was a matter of favour ; since then it has been considered matter of right. A matter of right will not be refused without a judicial decision. The Lord Chancellor. — You are using the word judicial, not in the highest sense, but in the sense of justice being administered by the King's officers. Remember, the King himself may exercise justice. Mr. Butt — If there is a question for judicial decision, the King will not decide it himself. At the time of the coronation of George IV. there were a number of applications to be present at the ceremony — among them one on the part of the Queen — and all these applications were referred to the Privy Council lor determination. The King is not in any sense a judicial person. It would be an anomaly in English law if there was a right with- out a remedy. The SolieUor-Gfeiieral (with him, Mr. Ball, Q.c, Mr. Shaw, Q.c., and Mr. T. P. Laiv), for the Crown, — The application is one with- out either principle or precedent to support it. There are two questions to be considered — first, is the writ of error, in a case of misdemeanor, one of right absolute ; secondly, is this Court the proper tribunal to come to for it. It is admitted that, before the QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 281 Revolution, there was no distinction on this subject between felony and misdemeanor, but it is argued that the law has been changed since then ; but that is not so, and in ex 'parte Lees (1 El.Bl.and El., 835),ande#parfeNewton, (16 C.B., ] 02),it is said that the Attorney- General in matters of this kind exercises a judicial discretion. In England the authority of the Crown is delegated to the Attorney- General ; in this country it is vested in the Lord Lieutenant. The prerogative of the Crown remains untouched, and a writ of error cannot issue except by consent of the Crown, with the advice of the Attorney-General. Jervis, C. J., in ex pa rte Newton, said that the proper course was to apply to the Attorney-General, as he had a discretion to grant or refuse it — a discretion not to be ex- ercised capriciously ; but he was bound to refuse it if he thought it was sought on insufficient grounds. If the Attorney-General errs the party can apply to the Secretary of State. Lord Mans- field says the same ; so, in Blackstone's " Commentaries," it is stated that the granting of the writ in cases of misdemeanor was not of right or of course, but upon probable cause shown to the Attorney-General. Has the Court any authority to control the Lord Lieutenant, who in Ireland represents the Queen ? There is one authority which really appears to be decisive on this subject — the case of Reg. v. Prosser (11 Beav., 1*14), which came before the Court on an appeal from the decision of the Attorney-General in a patent case ; the Court held it had no jurisdiction to review the discretion exercised by the Attorney-General. The Lord Chancellor. — That case decides the whole question. The Lord Chancellor is a ministerial officer, and may advise the Queen to dismiss the Attorney-General if he acts improperly ; but the Lord Chancellor has no power to act judicially. Lord Romilly so held in that case. The Solicitor-General — The matter of writs of error was regulated by the Irish Parliament in 1782, and what was settled then was preserved at the Union, merely substituting one House of Lords for the other. The law as to application for writs of error is as old as the time of Edward the Third; it is laid down as we contend for it now in Savile, p. £03 ; Gargreave's case,Rolle, p. 174. The same practice is laid down in the cases in 1st Ver- non, Reg. v. Paty, 2 Salk., 501 ; Rex v. "Wilkes, Armstrong's case, 10 St. Tr., 105, in the statement of Roger North, in defence of Lord Chancellor North's refusal of the writ. All these authorities show that a writ of error is not matter of right, as a pardon is under the Statute of Gloucester. The King v. Cross is overruled by Reg. v. Button. (11 Q. B., 929.) Mr. Heron in reply. — The judgment in this case is, at all events, novel. I submit it is not in accordance with law, and I refer to Mr. Greaves's book on the Criminal Statutes, p. 12, to show that the law as to imprisonment in default of finding sureties to be of the peace has not been altered. In this judgment the punishment of six months additional imprisonment should be inflicted, if on or before the last day of the original imprisonment the prisoner could not find sureties. As to the jurisdiction, I submit that the writ is grantable as of right on reasonable cause 282 COURT OF CHANCERY. being shown. Shown to whom ? To the Court, I submit, which issues the writ. (Armstrong's case, 10 St. Tr., p. 215 ; 3rd Inst. 31.) The Lord Chancellor. — In this case I cannot say that I enter- tain the least doubt on the only point on which I mean to express an opinion ; that is, on the question whether I have power to do that which I am asked to do by this motion. It is a very singular thing, if the power exists, that in the whole course of the law no case can be produced in which a Chancellor was ever called on to exercise this jurisdiction, except the case of the King v. Rowe, in 2nd Molloy. No one pretends that the Chancellor ever was asked to issue, ex mero motii, a writ of error in a crimi- nal case; and if I have not the power of doing so in the first instance, surely there is much more difficulty in expecting that I should exercise the jurisdiction in the second instance, after the Attorney-General has refused his sanction to the writ. Has any one ever come to this Court before going to the Attorney-General or the Lord Lieutenant ? The memorial is always presented to the Lord Lieutenant ; who takes counsel with his officer, who stands, for a vast number of purposes, in a judicial position. It is not right to suppose that the Attorney-General acts always as a prosecutor ; and, in reference to that argument and that supposi- tion, I will say, that if there be any one thing in which he ex- ercises judicial functions more than in another — I can speak from fifty years' experience on the point — if there be one case in which he exercises those quasi judicial functions more than in another, it is in reference to his duties as prosecutor. I will add that I believe that if it were not for the great care a long succession of Attorney-Generals have exercised in that matter, the greatest protection that innocence has in this country would be taken away. For a long period I have been greatly brought into con- nexion with the administration of criminal justice, and I can testify that if there is one function which the Attorney -General exercises with the most conscientious and scrupulous care, it is to see that innocent men are not put upon trial. The Constitution expects from that functionary the greatest care in the exercise of his duties, and in this our Constitution, with a House of Commons all powerful, and a House of Lords superintending the administra- tion of justice, it is impossible that any such officer can exercise his functions capriciously or maliciously without being made amenable to public justice ; but then, on the other hand, it is necessary that such an officer should be left at liberty to perform those functions, which he would not be if a motion of the nature of the present one could be made, and an appeal brought to me from the decision at which he has arrived in a matter on which, upon all the authorities, he is to exercise a discretion, and on which, upon no authority, has the Chancellor ever been called upon to do so. There is no pretence for saying that there is any case but the one in 2nd Molloy, and I should be sorry to attribute to the Lord Chancellor of that day the language which is there put into his mouth. I know he had no experience whatever in matters of QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 283 this kind. He was a great Chancery lawyer in all that apper- tained to the practical exercise of the functions of the Court. As to the mode and practice of administering justice in the Court of Chancery, he was a master, He was a master also of equity itself to a great extent, but not so much so as of practice. But, I suppose he had never been three times in his life in a court of criminal justice. He directed his attention to matters of a different nature, and I think, before expressing himself as he is reported to have done, if he did so, he might have taken the opinion of a man of much greater experience — of a man who had greater experience in matters of this nature than any one ever had — Mr. Saurin. Mr. Saurin, in arguing, says — " The private opinion of the Attorney-General for the time being is against the necessity of this form, But the statute is express, and the prac- tice has been uniform. The law, perhaps, ought to be different. It may be fit that it should be amended" — now, that is the argu- ment that was pressed upon me by Mr. Butt — "but 1 know the rule has been understood to be so, and the practice has been so ever since the Act. No writ of error, whether in Crown cases or in cases of misdemeanor, prosecuted by a subject" — that is a point to which I wish to direct attention — " has issued, but upon the warrant of the Lord Lieutenant grounded on the certi- ficate of the law officer." Then when Sir Anthony Hart comes to deal with the case he says — " Precedents to be of value must be uniform. But here we have an instance where the party who thinks himself aggrieved, having memorialed the Lord Lieutenant, the Attorney-General on reference of the memorial to him to examine whether the warrant for sealing the writ of error ought to issue, returns an answer in substance amounting to this — that he will not examine, for that it is of course to grant the warrant — that no Attorney-General, in fact, ever examined. I think no reference after that should ever go in such cases. The charges of suitors, the delays and difficulties are enough that we should be glad when any hindrance can be abolished. Such forms are toll-bars on the road to justice. The present Attorney- General has removed one. Other gentlemen filling the office of Attorney- General have been in the habit of saying 'I have duly looked into the petition,' and I think the writ ought to issue — not that they considered the merits, but merely the party's petition. But this is mere trifling — it is an unnecessary compelling the suitor to make a circuity and go round about to be told that he is entitled to the enjoyment of a common law right." Now, I think this passage gives the key to the whole judgment. Sir Anthony Hart ambitioned the character of a law reformer, and the idea that he was getting rid of a toll-gate on the road to justice, as he expresses it, materially influenced his views. He goes on to say — "The person who brings forward this matter in the present instance may be a very litigious person. But it is nothing to the Judge who are the parties. I know nothing of individuals. The parties to suits are to me always abstract Nokes and Stokes. I read the words of the reference ; I find in practice the fiat is of course" — there never was a greater mistake than that — "and COURT OF CHANCERY. seeing that, I am of opinion that the suitor has heen for a series of years involved in a difficulty of forma which the law did not require. The present Attorney-General has most properly re- fused, looking to the interest of the subject, to sign such a certi- ficate. He declares that it is unnecessary on the ground" — now, I am satisfied that what follows is an error on the part ol the Lord Chancellor, or rather of the reporter — "that no Attorney- General ever looked into the matter, but passed it as a matter of course." 1 do not believe that any Attorney-General ever did such a thing as that in a criminal prosecution. As to private prosecutions it is quite possible, but 1 do not believe that any Attorney-General who understood his duty would, even in a pri- vate prosecution, pass it as a matter of course. " He has, there- fore, done something to diminish the expense and difficulty of the suitor, and to render more satisfactory the administration of justice." Well, now, to find a Judge, in a matter that was covered with authority, and that had been thesubject of the greatest contro- versy for 180 years, pass by everything connected with so grave a consideration, and a matter of so much delicacy, and in which the common law is admitted on all hands to be clear, to find that he never referred to a single authority, and that he preferred to act on the supposition that he was taking down a toll-bar on the road to justice, seems to me most marvellous. It never would have happened if he had had any experience ; for no one who had exercised any of the law offices would have said such a thing. But now this subject has been brought more fully before me than it ever was before any other Chancellor, and the case has been put here thus. It cannot be controverted that until the period of the Revolution the law was, what is supposed to be, adverse to the subject, and that there was no distinction between treason and felony on the one side, and misdemeanor on the other; but from the time of the Revolution to the present, it is said that there has been a change in the law, and that now the difference is that there is one rule in treason and felony, and another in cases of misdemeanor ; and then Mr. Butt, rightly, if his premises are true, goes on to argue that if there is an abso- lute right there must also be a remedy. Well, I do not know by what process it is that the law is said to have been changed at the Revolution. I deny Mr. Butt's m%jcjr premiss. I admit that at the time of the Revolution, the times preceding having been what are generally called bad times, the law was administered in a bad manner, and after the Revolution, the first thing sought to be done was to attempt to undo the injustice which individuals had too often suffered ; and that led to consequences which have a great tendency to bring the law into disrepute, because rough remedies were administered to meet gross injustice; and I do not consider that the law can be treated as settled at all at that period. The views of each dominant faction prevailed for the moment, and at the moment proceedings were taken, precedents were established, on which I am most unwilling to act in settled times, and after this country has for more than a century been living under law, as during that period it has been administered in our QUEEN a. PIGOTT. 285 courts of justice. I am unwilling, I say, to act upon precedents used in disastrous times like those, and I come down to times when, no doubt, everybody must admit the liberty of the subject, as between the subject and the Crown, has been asserted with a zeal, an ability, and an integrity, both at the Bar and upon the Bench, which have never been surpassed. I come down to times in which the Judges were of the strongest leaning towards the rights of the subject Well, the very question came before three successive Attorney-Generals who cover a period during which T think no one can say that the principles of liberty have receded at all. Sir John Pomilly, Chief J ustice J ervis, and Lord Camp- bell. Well, they all lay down the law exactly in the same way. They all say that the law, as stated by Blackstone, is the law of England. If so, plainly the granting of this writ is a part of the prerogative of the Sovereign, which, in Ireland, is intrusted to the Lord Lieutenant. He has the whole prerogative of the Crown in every instance which is not excepted in his patent. Every writ of error comes through him. We have no writs in this country from the Common Pleas to the Queen's Bench, and, there- fore, all the writs come from him to the Chancellor. I act only ministerially. Of course if I saw some great palpable error in the writ, I would call attention to it, but I never look into the merits ; I affix the seal of the Court of Chancery and I sign my name ; but all that is purely ministerial. The only ground upon which Mr. Pigott comes to me is that I should act j udicially. I do not think that I have the power to do so ; for, on the authori- ties, the person who exercises quasi judicial functions in this instance is the Attorney-General. If that is wrong it must be amended in some other way. I never heard of an instance in which the authority of the Attorney-General was abused. If it was, the fault would be at once corrected. I can only administer the law as I find it, and I can only do so in the way which has been laid down by the highest authorities. I must say " No rule." 286 COURT OF CHANCERY. Proceedings in the House of Commons. Sir Colman O'Logitlen placed on the notice paper of the House of Commons the following resolution : — " Sir Colman O'Loghlen. — To call attention to the practice re- cently established with respect to the granting of writs of error in criminal cases, and to move that this House doth agree with the resolution passed by this House on the 19th day of November, 1689, and doth re-affirm that a writ of error for the reversal of a judgment in misdemeanor, felony, or treason is the right of the subject, and ought to be granted at his desire, and is not an act of grace or favour which may be denied or granted at pleasure." The following is the resolution of the House of Commons re- ferred to : — " 19th day of November (1689). " Resolved, — That the House doth agree with the committee that a writ of error for the reversal of a judgment in felony or treason is the right of the subject, and ought to be granted at his desire, and is not an act of grace or favour which may be denied or granted at pleasure." — (Journals of the House of Commons, vol. x. p. 289). The following resolution of the House of Lords was also re- ferred to : — " 27th February (1704). " Resolved, — That a writ of error is not a writ of grace, but of right, and ought not to be denied to the subject when duly ap- plied for, though at the request of either House of Parliament, the denial thereof being an obstruction of justice contrary to Magna Charta" — (Journals of the House of Lords, vol. xvii., p. 678). The motion was debated on the 3rd of July, 1868. Sir Colman O'Loghlen and Mr. O'Beirne spoke in favour of the resolution ; the Attorney-General for Ireland and the Attorney-General for England against it, and the motion was ultimately withdrawn. A full report of the proceedings will be found in Hansard. the end. Dublin: Printed by Alexander Thom, 87 & 88, Abbey-street, For Her Majesty's Stationery Office. BOSTON COLLEGE 3 9031 01213668 5 2.2148.9 DOES MOT CIRCULATE M Boston College Library Chestnut Hill 67, Mass. Books may be kept for two weeks unless a shorter time is specified. Two cents a day is charged for each 2-week book kept overtime; 25 cents a day for each over- night book. If you cannot find what you want, inquire at the delivery desk for assisstance. ® 9-48