PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MR. O’CONNELL.
It has been seen in the last chapter that the trial of Mr. O’Connell and his associates for a seditious conspiracy was postponed till the commencement of the present year. It was intended that the trial should commence on the 15th of January; and, although the defendant sought to obtain a postponement of it till the 1st of February, this intention was carried out. On that day the Court of Queen’s Bench was crowded with barristers and spectators, in the expectation that the trial would commence. Before the jury were sworn, however, Sir Coleman O’Loghlen, on the part of Mr. O’Connell, challenged the array, on the ground of the irregularities in the preparation of the jury lists, stating at the same time that the challenges of the other counsellors, or traversers, as they were called, because they had traversed the indictment, were identically the same, and would be handed in very shortly. The attorney-general demurred to the challenge; on which the question previously debated was re-argued. The judges, however allowed the demurrer; and then the court adjourned without swearing the jury. On the 16th, after some delay, twelve jurymen were sworn, when Mr. Napier opened the pleadings; after which Mr. Smith, the attorney-general, opened the case. The court adjourned at five o’clock; and next day the hearing of evidence commenced, which continued up to the 11th day of the trial, January 26th, on which day the case for the prosecution closed. On the next day Mr. Shiel opened the case for the defence, as counsel for himself and Mr. John O’Connell. In his speech he contended that Mr. O’Connell shrank with abhorrence from the sanguinary aims imputed to him; and bitterly complained that poems and articles in newspapers should be brought as evidence against him, as if he were the editor of the several journals from which that evidence had been collected. It was like making, he said, Mr. Cobden answerable for all that appeared in the Chronicle, or the Globe, or the Sun: he was accused, in fact, of conspiracy with men who, so far from conspiring together, were rivals. “They pay their addresses to the same mistress; but they cordially detest each other.” How formidable, then, was this doctrine of legal conspiracy! In 1819, when England was in a perilous condition, it was proved that men were drilled by night near Manchester; yet an English jury would not find Henry Hunt guilty of conspiracy. Mr. Shiel next undertook to show that his clients’ objects were legal, and sought by legal means; and concluded with an impassioned address to the jury on behalf of Mr. O’Connell and all the traversers. He asked:—“Shall I, who stretch out to you in behalf of the son the hand whose fetters the father had struck off, live to cast my eyes upon that domicile of sorrow in the vicinity of this great metropolis, and say, ’Tis there they have immured the liberator of Ireland with his fondest and best beloved child. No; it shall never be! You will not consign him to the spot to which the attorney-general invites you to surrender him. No! When the spring shall have come again, and the winter shall have passed—when the spring shall have come again, it is not through the windows of this mansion that the father of such a son, and the son of such a father, shall look upon those green hills on which the eyes of so many a captive have gazed so wistfully in vain; but in their own mountain home again they shall listen to the murmurs of the great Atlantic; they shall go forth, and inhale the freshness of the morning air together; ‘they shall be free of mountain solitude;’ they will be encompassed with the loftiest images of liberty upon every side; and if time shall have stolen its suppleness from the father’s knee, or impaired the firmness of his tread, he shall lean on the child of her that watches over him from heaven, and shall look out from some high place, far and wide, into the island whose greatness and whose glory shall be ever associated with his name. In your love of justice; in your love of Ireland; in your love of honesty and fair play, I place my confidence. I ask you for an acquittal, not only for the sake of your country, but for your own. Upon the day when this trial shall have been brought to a termination; when, amidst the burst of public expectancy, in answer to the solemn interrogatory which shall be put to you by the officer of the court, you shall answer, ‘Not guilty,’ with what a transport shall that glorious negative be welcomed! How will you be blessed, adored, worshipped! And when retiring from the scene of excitement and of passion, you shall return to your own tranquil homes, how pleasurably will you look upon your children, in the consciousness that you will have left them a patrimony of peace, by impressing upon the British cabinet that some other measure beside a state prosecution is necessary for the pacification of your country.” On the thirteenth day Mr. Moore addressed the jury on behalf of the Reverend Mr. Tierney, and Mr. Hatchell for Mr. Ray. On the fourteenth day Mr. Fitzgibbon spoke on behalf of Dr. Gray, his address occupying two days. In the course of his address an extraordinary scene took place, in consequence of a challenge which the attorney-general had sent to Mr. Fitzgibbon to fight a duel. Of this circumstance Mr. Fitzgibbon took every advantage. After handing the note to the judges which contained the challenge, he said that he left him to their lordships to answer for his conduct. Mutual recriminations and explanations followed; but the matter resulted in Mr. Smith’s withdrawing the note, which was allowed by the consent of all parties. On the four following days, Messrs. Fitzgibbon, Whiteside, M’Donnah, and Henn, successively addressed the court for different clients. On the nineteenth day, Mr. O’Connell commenced his defence. He began by showing that he had a right to demand from the jury a favourable verdict; after which he came to the consideration of the case itself; in doing which he retraced, with more or less of variety, arguments already employed. In referring to the indictment, he said that it was the history of the last nine months; and that he defied the most brilliant imagination to grasp the monstrous accumulation of matter. Its entire strength rested on the meaning of that cabalistic word, “conspiracy.” He continued:—“If, my lords, I look into the dictionary for the meaning of that word, I find that it is ‘a secret agreement between several to commit a crime;’ and that is the rational, common-sense definition of it. This word, however, in recent times, has been taken under special protection by the government; and the definition of it now is, not only a secret agreement between several to commit crime, but they have taken two loops to their bow, and the further depiction given of it is, to effect, or attempt to effect, a legal object by means that are considered illegal; and thus a conspiracy is spelt out by the construction put upon the means that are used to attain the object sought, however legitimate that object may be. It has been admitted even by the crown, that in this case there is no privacy, no secresy, no definite agreement to do anything whatsoever; but, above all, no secret agreement, no secret society, no private information. It has been admitted by the crown that there has not been even one act of private communication; that everything was openly avowed, published to the world; that this ‘secret conspiracy’ had no secrecy at all. What a monstrous thing it would be to hold that that was a conspiracy which everybody knew of, everybody heard of, and three-fifths of the people of this country were engaged in. And what was the evidence of those conspirators assembling together? That Mr. Such-a-one attended at such a meeting; that Mr. Barret attended at a certain meeting; and that Mr. Duffy attended once or twice; that I. myself attended; and this is the way the charge of conspiracy is to be spelt out. Is it common sense that that should be denominated a conspiracy? Conspiracy! where was it made? when was it made? how was it made? Was it made in winter, or in summer? in spring or in autumn? Was it made on a holiday, or on a Sunday, or on a week day? Tell me the hour, the week, the month, the year it was made? In which of the three quarters of the twelve months did the gestation of this conspiracy commence? Who proposed it? Who seconded it? Who was present at it? I don’t know whether it was said that I was present at the concoction of this conspiracy, or this agreement, private or public, or who else was there. When and where did it take place? Ought I not, at all events, to have the advantage of being-able to prove an alibi? No; but you must go over nine months, and toss up which time or place you may select. Do you not believe that if there was a conspiracy it would be proved, and that the only reason it was not proved, is, because it did not exist? The attorney-general told you it did exist; that it must have existed: but that is all imaginary; and you are called upon to find me ‘guilty’ if you imagine that this agreement was entered into. I don’t want to speak of the talents of the attorney-general. I admit the ingenuity, the talent, and the industry with which he conducted this case. He was eleven hours, eleven mortal hours detailing the facts to you. What did he tell you the conspiracy consisted of? He made a long statement, and when he came to the end, he told you to go back to the beginning, find out the conspiracy, and what it consisted of. I say, gentlemen of the jury, without tire least affectation, if any gentleman could have found out evidence of a conspiracy, it would have been found by the attorney-general.” Mr. O’Connell proceeded at great length to defend the means of his agitation, and then proceeded to vindicate its object—the repeal of the union. On the latter subject he remarked:—“I mean first to demonstrate that the English Parliament has, from the remotest period at which she possessed the power, governed Ireland with a narrow, jealous, restrictive, and oppressive policy. By way of parenthesis, I would first beg of you to recollect the history of the woollen manufactures of Ireland, in the reign of a monarch whom you are not disposed to condemn. I shall next demonstrate in succession, that the transactions of 1782 were intended to be a final adjustment, and that it was then intended and agreed that the Irish parliament, after having achieved its independence, should maintain it, and that the union was forced upon the Irish people against their consent, by the most criminal means. I shall next show you in detail the many evils that resulted from the union, and the gross injustice of the enactment of that statute. I shall show you the increasing distress and destitution which have arisen from that statute; and that there is no probability of restoring prosperity to this country, or of avoiding ultimate separation from England, save by the restoration of her parliament.” In support of these propositions, Mr. O’Connell read extracts from the writings and speeches of various statesmen, both native and foreign. In conclusion he said to the jury:—“I leave the case in your hands. I deny I have done anything to stain me. I reject with contempt the appellation of conspirator. I have acted boldly, in the open day, in the presence of the magistracy: there lias been nothing secret or concealed. I have struggled for the restoration of the parliament of my native country. Others have succeeded before me; but, succeed or fail, it is a struggle to make the fairest land in the world possess those benefits which nature intended she should enjoy.” On the next day some evidence was gone into on behalf of the defendants, in the course of which it was proved that on the 16th of July, when an arch was erected bearing the inscription, “Ireland, her parliament, or the world in a blaze,” Mr. O’Connell expressed disapprobation of it, and Mr. Steele stood by to see that it was taken down before the people were fully assembled. The next two days were chiefly occupied by the solicitor-general’s reply, which recapitulated the principal points of the evidence, and stated its bearings upon the different charges laid in the indictment. After he had concluded, the lord-chief-justice commenced the charge: in doing which he first explained the nature of the indictment, and of the single offence with which the traversers were charged, “conspiracy;” then explained the law of public discussion and public meeting; next proceeded to consider the evidence that had been given; then commented on the large funds collected in Ireland, England, Scotland, and America, towards the “exchequer” of the association; and finally, alluding to the scheme for bringing into disrepute the courts of justice as established by law through the arbitration courts, showed in what maimer the conspiracy was to be inferred. He asked:—“Have you or have you not Dr. Gray coming forward and telling the assembled multitude that the time was coming when they would be taken out of the hands of those petty tyrants who at present preside in their courts of justice? Have you or have you not Mr. O’Coimell himself adverting to the same system at the Clifden and other subsequent meetings; recommending the appointment of arbitration courts, and the placing thereon the magistrates who had been dismissed? And have you or have you not Mr. John O’Coimell making a speech recommending the same systems, and appearing himself to act under the appointment of the repeal association, in presiding over an arbitration court established in Blackrock?” The jury retired about half-past seven o’clock, and the judges withdrew. Later in the evening, Mr. Justice Crampton returned, and remained in court to await the return of the jury. They brought in a verdict of “guilty” against all the traversers on various counts; but stated “no finding” upon others, deeming them too comprehensive. This verdict was handed back by Mr. Justice Crampton, saying, that it was imperfect: they must find a verdict of “guilty” or “not guilty” upon every part and every person. Finally, they were ordered to be locked up till Monday, on which day they were summoned, and an issue paper was given them, which set forth the five several issues in the indictment in a distinct shape, against which they were directed to write their finding. This was done, and all the prisoners were found guilty on one or other of the counts, and some of them, including Mr. O’Coimell, on them all, Sentence was pronounced on the 30th of May against the traversers, with the exception of the Reverend Mr. Tierney, against whom the attorney-general did not press judgment, by Mr. Justice Burton in these terms:—“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 recognizances 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 sentence: 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 recognizances of £1000, and two sureties of £500, to keep the peace for seven years.” In accordance with this sentence the traversers were imprisoned: but in consequence of the sympathy, real or supposed, which they met with in the English parliament, their full sentence was not carried into execution. On the 9th of August, Messrs. Shiel, Wyse, Lord John Russell, and others, called upon government to release them from imprisonment; and the result of this appeal was, that on the 4th of September, the judgment of the house of lords was pronounced, reversing the judgment of Mr. O’Connell and his co-defendants. The prisoners were freed from confinement; but the result of the trial was, that the virulence of the agitation for repeal abated.