JCNE I,] 



THE NEWSPAPER. 



[1844. 



Whether in consequence of the way m which the charge 

 ^made in ^is indictment judgment can be pronounced 

 £S£ he defendants. What were the inflammatory 

 ^Krhes ' The words to bring the Government into 



P tPn^t was not charged as the object of these speeches 

 c t r thus the charSe of making inflammatory and 

 ledUioui speeches was left vague and objectless. At the 

 !^1 of the learned gentleman's address the Court 

 aSrned.-On Wednesday the Attorney-General re- 



r j «n h*half of the Crown, in a speech of two hours, 

 jKctag numerous authorities to show that the objec- 

 tions of the traversers' counsel were inadmissible, lhe 



earned gentleman, at the close of his argument, observed 



hat as it was said on the other side, that this was an in- 

 dictment which ought to be scouted out of Court, lie 

 would beo the Court to recollect what it was they were 

 Elicited °to establish. They were then to determine 

 that to excite hatred and contempt of the law and 

 constitution amongst the people and to do all those 

 various acts with which the defendants were charged, 

 ffM perfectly legitimate and constitutional. If they 

 should do this, they would, in a word, pronounce the 

 doom of our present constitution—for it could not pos- 

 sibly survive a licence to commit such acts as these 

 parties were charged with. The Court now proceeded 

 <o give judgment. The Chief Justice said that the other 

 judges as well as himself " were all of opinion that there 

 was° no ground for arresting the judgment." Mr. Justice 

 Burton " was of opinion that nothing had been brought 

 before them which would warrant them in arresting the 

 judgment." Mr. Justice Crampton declared that 



"there was no reason existing to prevent judgment 

 being passed on this record ;" and Mr. Justice Perrin 



*• was of opinion that the judgment could not be 

 arrested." As soon as the Court had thus decided, the 

 Attorney-General moved that the traversers should be in 

 attendance on the following morning to receive sentence. 

 An intimation was then given by Mr. Moore, on behalf 

 of the traversers, that a motion would be made for the 

 purpose of deferring the operation of the sentence until 

 after the decision upon the proposed writ of error. The 

 Court then adjourned. j 



The Sentence. — On Thursday morning one of the 

 •most extraordinary scenes that ever took place in a 

 •Court of Justice occurred upon Mr. O'Connell's appear- 

 ance in Court. All .parts of the Queen's Bench were 

 crowded. All the junior members of the bar, with the 

 exception of a few, rose upon Mr. O'Connell's entrance,: 

 «nd commenced cheering and clapping hands for him. 



Mr. OX'onnell appeared to be greaiy surprised, and 

 was evidently affected by this unlooked-for compliment. 

 He repeatedly bowed to the members of the bar,, who 

 still continued applauding him, and persevered in doing 

 10 for several minutes, despite of the repeated warnings 

 of the crier to preserve silence. It is said to be the first 

 time that a person called upon to receive the sentence of 

 a Court of Law has been greeted by the plaudits and the 

 /sympathy of the members of the bar. At the time this 

 scene occurred, none of the Judges were on the bench, 

 nor any of the Crown or Queen's Counsel present. 

 When the Judges assembled, the first business of the day 

 was the discussion of the motion on the part of the tra'- 

 Tersers that the Court should fix the time for the sen- 

 tence to commence at such a period as might enable j 

 the traversers to have their writ of error determined 

 by the House of Lords. This motion was supported 

 by Mr. Moore, Q.C., and Mr. Whiteside, Q.C. It 

 was opposed by the Attorney-General and Solicitor- 

 General, and the Court was unauimous in rejecting 

 it. Upon that decision being announced, the Chief 

 Justice said — Have you anything to move, Mr. 

 Attorney - General ? The Attorney - General— I sup- 

 pose the traversers are, in pursuance of the notice served 

 on them last night, in attendance ; and I move that 

 sentence of the Court be pronounced on them.— Mr. 

 ■vrLonnell, who had been on one side, speaking to his 

 counsel, with difficulty made his way to the traversers' 

 cox, and, on his entiance, all the bar rose. He was fol- 



hZu the otlier trave rsers, and when their names 

 nan been severally called over, Mr. Justice Burton, 



".midst tbe m °st solemn silence, and in a very impres- 

 sive manner, pronounced the skntenge of the Court. 

 «e described the pain the discharge of such a duty 



the C ^ • ' and Stated the masons which influenced 

 ourt in pronouncing a greater amount of punish- 

 *n«r. h 3 ° D Mr * ' Co onell, the principal offender, than 

 nLp the . °; her traversers. A wide distinction was 

 ^essarily drawn, and the Court felt bound to inflict 



ajteraV e , Xem P lar y Punishment upon him for the greatly 



Star n-i of " which lie haU bfen ' after the most 



some 1« til becatl0n > convicted. After expatiating at 



been found "m^ the c . rimc of which tbe traver9ers had 

 fered to n ^ U • ' and * ts uan gerous consequences if suf- 

 the Court ^ With , out aucn punishment being awarded by 

 •fence, he d • ould Prevent the repetition of such an of- 

 fciehe'«*t o) esigQated the offence as a misdemeanor of the 

 the ZJ. a**' and that * was not only dangei 



*> RS broVr^i- f ?■ — p** be 



»ghest cha onence 



the neap* J***?*' and thHt i{ was not onlv dangerous to 



. he country, but he might 



* c»»il war 'f ^ P eo P^ e almost to the very verge of 

 8eT ere and ' • therefore, of necessity, must dead to 

 *>*uishmtmt '^ ' P^ishment. •« In according that 



£**t the off 8aid ' M tUe Court feels that however 

 pubMc welfar l 6 h '* S been -- h owever dangerous to the 

 inflicted— n(> e ~~ however necessary the punishment to be 

 have led 8 nT V ? r , considerin g that the crime could 

 •^ the Iff f lead ' t0 con ™lsions of the public 

 tte Court ZT\\?* Which are y et t0 be seen— still 

 h r feelin.c ^ . f. 1 lt is not to be led away either 

 tnflict punishm J f nd ;g nation } nor by any desire to 

 Punishment for punishment's sake but that it 



behoved us to bring our minds free and unbiassed | 

 from external influence to the subject. A crime has 

 been committed which calls for exemplary punish- 

 ment likely to prevent the same persons from committing 

 the same offence again, and to deter others of the same 

 views from the perpetration of similar acts. For myself, 

 and I may I think add all the Court — I am sure that 

 their minds have been brought into exactly the proper 

 state to consider the case. "We are bound to award 

 punishment of an exemplary kind ; but at the same time 

 determined not to suffer any opinion of our own as to 

 the offence to guide us in the sentence, but strictly to 

 examine and conclude upon the character of that offence. 

 With these views the Court have come to the judgment 

 now determined upon, and which I am about to 

 pronounce." The learned Judge here paused, burst 

 into tears, and when he was able to resume, ut- 

 tered in almost inaudible tones these words : — " With 

 respect to the principal traverser, the Court is of opinion 

 that he must be sentenced to be imprisoned for the space 

 of twelve calendar months, and that he is further to be 

 fined in the sum of 2000/., and bound in his own 

 recognisances in the sum of 5000/., and two sureties 

 in 2500/., to keep the peace for seven years. With 

 respect to the other traversers, we have come to the 

 conclusion that to each shall be allotted the same sen- 

 tence; which is, that they be imprisoned for the space 

 of nine calendar months, each of them to pay 50/. fine, 

 and enter into their own recognisances of 1000/., and two 

 sureties of 500/., to keep the peace for seven years." 

 After a lapse of a few moments Mr. O'Connell rose, and 

 leaning over the table towards the bench, thus ad- 

 dressed the Judges — ** I beg to remind your Lordships, 

 that I made a solemn affidavit, denying for myself and 

 on the part of the other traversers, that I had entered 

 into any crime of conspiracy with them ; and it is now 

 with great regret that I have to express that I am 

 under the painful conviction that justice has not been 

 done." — (Loud cheers here broke forth from all 

 parts of the Court. The Judges looked around 

 them as if utterly confounded by this outburst of popular 

 feeling. The cheering was continued for a few minutes, 

 and, as it was about to subside, was again renewed in 

 obedience to the call of " One cheer more.") A con- 

 sultation took place in a low tone of voice between Mr. 

 Justice Burton and Mr. O'Connell as to the place of 

 confinement. They are, it was understood, for Mr. 

 O'Connell, the Richmond Penitentiary; for the other 

 traversers the City Marshalsea, as being within the limits 

 of the place where they were tried. At half-past four Mr. 

 O'Connell was in the custody of the High Sheriff for the 

 city. He was still within the walls of the court, in which 

 there were large bodies of the police. All sides of the 

 court, and all the approaches to it, were invested by a 

 large multitude. The greatest excitement prevailed in 

 all parts of Dublin, but no apprehension was entertained 

 as to any violation of the public peace. A proclamation 

 had been universally circulated in all parts of Dublin bfr 

 order of Mr. O'Connell, and was an exhortation in the 

 strongest language to M peace and quietness." 



Dublin The Repeal Association held their usual 



weekly meeting on Monday at Conciliation-hall. It 

 being generally understood that this would in all proba- 

 bility be the last occasion on which Mr. O'Connell would 

 be present previous to the passing of the sentence, the 

 Hall was densely crowded. When he entered the Hall, 

 he was received with enthusiastic cheering. When the 

 applause had subsided, he moved that Sir Samuel Brad- 

 street, Bart., shou.d take the chair. After some business 

 had been gone through, Mr. O'Connell rose, and 

 said he had to move that an address to the people of 

 Ireland, on the present position of the public cause, be 

 prepared for circulation against the passing of the sen- 

 tence. That sentence might, or might not, be carried 

 into effect immediately. They intended appealing to the 

 House of Lords, and it was only just that the execution 

 should be deferred until the result of that appeal was 

 known. The past, however, gave them little to hope 

 from the leniency of the Court of Queen's Bench. In 

 any event it was right that the people should be per- 

 fectly prepared, and not be suffered to allow their feel- 

 ings to overcome their resolution to be peaceable. They 

 would play the game of the enemy by violating the law— 

 they should be made to understand that, and moreover 

 that nothing would be more desirable to certain parties 

 than an opportunity of turning out the military and 

 police on the unarmed people. He was sure that tran- 

 quillity would be maintained. The Catholic clergy had 

 taken up the cause : they were the best peace officers they 

 could have. The magnificent contributions which he had 

 that day handed in were evidence that they were heart 

 and soul in the cause. He continued to address the 

 meeting at considerable length. He said that Ireland 

 was in a worse condition now than at the time of the 

 Union— that the testimony of all travellers was, that 

 there was more destitution in Ireland (a country so blessed 

 by nature) than in any other on the face of the earth, 

 and attributed all the evils of Ireland to the want of a 

 domestic legislature. As it was the object of the prose- 

 cution at present to press matters forward, it was highly 

 probable that in a few days they would be sent to prison ; 

 bnt did theygotheredisgraced?— had they flinched or com- 

 promised their principles ?— were they less Repealers. i>o; 

 but, if it were possible, they were a thousand times more in 

 favour of repeal than thev were before the prosecution had 

 been instituted. What' had their prosecutors m view . 

 Surely not the miserable pleasure of having nim in 

 pound, although there were some ancient dames who, h 

 supposed, would sweeten their tea and tracts with the 



thought that tbe man who achieved emancipation was in 



gaol. With the blessing of God, however, they would 

 live to come out of gaol. But he solemnly and awfully 

 declared, for his own part, that he would not come out 

 of it except to his grave, if any man were guilty of any 

 violation of the law in consequence of that imprisonment. 

 Whosoever did so doomed him to his grave. He there, 

 in their name, promised for them that they would be 

 tranquil, come what might ; but he told them also, that 

 if they wanted to keep him alive they should continue to 

 agitate for Repeal. Every man who refused to be a Re- 

 pealer was a nail in his coffin. So long as he lived the 

 connexion between the two countries should be main- 

 tained, and he thought that shortening his life was not 

 the way to lengthen the connexion. His opinion was, 

 that if the union were not repealed in his lifetime, it 

 would be dissevered by force, and the flag foremost in 

 the battle would be one having inscribed on it, "The 

 Monster Trial/' He continued at considerable length to 

 impress on his auditory the necessity which existed for 

 peace and renewed exertion in agitating the Repeal of 

 the union, and concluded by moving that an address em- 

 bodying the topics of his speech be prepared and circu- 

 lated among the people on the termination of the prose- 

 cution. Mr. W. S. O'Brien seconded the resolution, 

 and asserted that by imprisoning O'Connell they would 

 destroy much of the link which bound Ireland to Eng- 

 land, lie should not be convinced that they could reach 

 that degree of fatuity until he had accompanied O'Cou- 

 nell to his dungeon. The rent for the week amounted 

 to 544/. — Our readers cannot have forgotten the case of 

 Mr. Egan, of Moat, who was tried in January, 1843, for 

 purloining a parcel from the coach which contained 

 several hundred pounds in bank-notes, the property of 

 the National Bank of Ireland. The parcel was abstracted 

 from the coach between Moat and Dublin. Mr. Egan 

 was tried for the felony, and afLer an investigation which 

 lasted two days was acquitted. On Monday last Daniel 

 Forrester, the officer of the London Mansion-house, 

 arrived in Dublin with a warrant from the Lord Mayor 

 of London, which charged Mr. Egan with having in his 

 possession a 100/. note stolen out of the parcel in ques- 

 tion ; and proceeded to Moat, where he arrested Mr. 

 Egan on the charge. It is stated that Mr. Egan passed 

 the note at an hotel in London, and that it has been fully 

 identified as one of the notes stolen out of the bank 

 parcel. Mr. Egau was taken to London on Saturday by 

 Forrester, there to abide his ttial for having the note in 

 his possession, knowing it to have been stolen. 



Nenagh. — On Saturday, John and Thomas Wade, 

 brothers, who were found guilty last assizes of the 

 murder of a man named Patrick Ryan, were executed in 

 front of Nenagh gaol. A third brother, Patrick Wade, 

 remains in gaol until next assizes, charged with being 

 concerned in the same crime. The two criminals con- 

 fessed their guilt. 



Tuam.—'Lhe Limerick Chronicle states that the 

 Bishop of Tuam, Dr. Plunkett, has deprived one of the 

 absentee rectors in that diocese of his benefice, and 

 appointed thereto the working curate, and that there are 

 law proceedings instituted by the same prelate against 

 four absentee beneficed clergymen from the same 



diocese. 



SCOTLAND. 



Edinburgh. The General Assembly last week had 



under consideration the long-pending Tolbootu church 

 case, in which the Presbytery of Edinburgh, and the 

 Synod had declared their opinion that Mr. Smith, the 

 pnsintee to the Tolbooth Church, was not qualified 

 to be a minister in the parish, and was unfit to edify the 

 people. After a long discussion the Assembly reversed 

 the decision of the inferior Church Courts, by a majority 

 of 137 to 117, and the presentee will therefore be 

 appointed without further trouble. The Assembly was 

 adjourned on Monday by the Marquis of Bute, her 

 Majesty's Commissioner, to the 14th May, 1845. 







ILm. 



Court op ExcHEQtKR.-CSittings in »^>-f^"*£ *£ 

 U*w-i7'-.Mr W H. Watson moved for a new inquisition m this 

 ale on the ground that the damages assesse d 1 :he jury were 

 excess ve It appeared from the statement of the learned counsel, 

 that the action was one of trespass for an assault and battery m 

 which theplaintiff and the defendan: stood in the re alive position 

 of tew I and "squire." the c odant being a gentleman of large 

 Srniprtv in South Vales. From soa»e cause a quarrel arose be- 

 fweenbese parties which ended in the defendant dealing the 

 ISffXJ over his eve with a hay-fork. For this assai.lt the 

 t^SSS™*** and therebeing no defence to it the 

 defendant suffered judgment to go against him by default, where- 



a 

 e 



iurv sustained dv nim ui uk unuua ui mc u^»«-4.v.«. ll . ^.. *..««. »~ 

 casion several wi'tnesses deposed to the fact of the plaintiff having 

 suffered much serious injury from the blow, which had affected 

 his light and hearing, rendering it necessary for him to wear spec- 

 tacles, and to submit to the annoyance of a squint. Some medical 

 witnesses having further deposed to the permanent character of 

 these consequences, application was made during the prpgress of 

 the inquiry to the plaintiff's counsel and agent for the production 

 and imination of their client by other medical men. in order 

 that the jury might themselves form an ooinion as to his real st«u© 

 and condition, which were hinted not to be of so distressing a kma 

 as had been proclaimed by the counsel when openmg his case. 

 This request, however, though the under-sheriff expi da strouK 



linionon the subject, was refused, and the case having 8 on JL;. u 

 the jury thev, under such circumstances, awarded the sum o ov • 

 by w ay of damages . This, it was now conu tided, was ai lexir .-_ 



,nt view of the matter, and certain affidavits were JJJJJ*^ 

 ing to show that the plaintiff was not materially t he *ora ^ 

 assault, and that he had most positively refused .to auo J efcBdaKt . 

 to the inspection of any medical man on the pari ; « fl ^ h;(ve a 

 It was therefore urged that the defendant « _a* . ei ^ be a(1 _ 



fresh inquiry, in order that ^^^^iySam and the jury 

 ministered which had been withheld by «u P^ unanim ously of 



in the first instance. The Cour Jvi°JnferftrinK with the damages 

 opinion that there was no g™ u "<? ^ "' :ve province it was to 

 already sessed by a tribunal wh«£ ** ^ q£ ^ pUto . 



determine such matters, it arn uw b 



