Page:A letter to the Right Hon. Chichester Fortescue, M.P. on the state of Ireland.djvu/7



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The mind of England has been greatly disturbed of late by Fenian outrages.

The rescue of a Fenian leader at Manchester, and the murder of a constable, who was shot in the performance of his duties, were followed, as we all remember, by trials for the capital offence of murder; trials conducted with all the solemnity, fairness, and publicity which are characteristic of British justice. Five were convicted of the murder; three were executed. Lord Derby, in his place in the House of Lords, declared that he did not see how the allegation, that the constable had been killed in pursuance of a treasonable purpose, could in any way attenuate the crime of murder. This was considered by all who heard it a reasonable observation.

But in Ireland the impression was very different. Every person with Fenian sympathies considered that the men convicted were patriots, innocent of murder because their purpose was treasonable, and because they had no personal malice against Sergeant Brett, their victim. Processions were organised; crape was worn; hearses were paraded through the streets of