The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-05-08 00:00:00

THE MAYOR OF CORK.

In The Times of Monday, May 3, "A Barrister" thus sums
up the case of the Mayor of Cork :
The revolting and mischievous character of the
language attributed to the Mayor of Cork is beyond
denial or dispute. But grave doubts exist whether
he has thereby been guilty of a punishable offence, and
we must look closely to this matter, for an unsuccess-
ful prosecution would greatly aggravate the scandal.
There was a time when indiscreet words, hardly
capable of misconstruction were held to amount to
high treason. Two instances are recorded of persons
executed for treasonable words in the reign of Edward
IV.; the one, a citizen named Walker, for saying to
his son, "Tom, if thou behav eat well, I will make thee
heir to the Crown "
—moaning the Crown Tavern in
Cheapside, of which he was landlord and proprietor;
the other a gentleman (according to Lord. Campbell,
Sir Robert Burdett, ancestor of Sir Francis), for say-
ing, on hearing that the King had entered his park and
killed a favourite white buck, "I wish the buck, horns
and all, were in the King's belly." On consulting the
record, it will be found that he merely wished the
buck, horns and all, in the belly of the man who had
counselled the King to kill the buck; but it
was adjudged that this was a distinction without
a difference, insomuch as the King was his
own counsellor on the occasion. These, remarks Black-
stone, were esteemed hard cases, and it gradually came
to be thought that, nothing being more ambiguous
and equivocal than words, it was unreasonable to make
them amount totreason, and accordingly, in 4 Car. 1.,
on a reference to all the Judges concerning some very
atrocious words spoken by one Pyne, they certified to
the King "that though the words were as wicked as
might be, yet they were no treason, for, unless it be by
!Mlle particular statute, no words will be treason."
By a parity of reasoning no words unconnected with
acts or other evidence will be felony unless it he by
some particular statute. But by the 36th of George
111., cap. 7, it was enacted that any one using any
words or sentences to excite the people to hatred or
contempt of the King or of the Government and con-
stitution of this realm should incur the punishment of
a high misdemeanour. This enactment was repealed
by the 11th and 12th of Victoria, cap. 12, which pro-
vides that if any person whatsoever shall ciimpass,
imagine, invent, devise, or intend to deprive or depose
Her Majesty, or to lvvy war against her, or to move or
stir any foreigner stranger with force to invade her
dominions, and such compassing, imaginations, inven-
tions, devices, or intentions, or any of them, shall ex-
press, utter, or declare by publishing any printing or
writing, or by open and advised speaking, Cr by any
overt act or deed, every pennon so offending shall be
guilty of felony.
Now, far from compassing or imagining any act of vio-
lence, the Mayor, absurd as he was, had still sense
enough to see and say that the supoosed wrongs of Ire-
land could never be redressed by physical force. To
save your readers the trouble of reference it may be as
well to reproduce from The Times of Friday last the
most strongly and justly inculpated passages of his
speech

- - -
" Ile believed the energy and moral force of Irishmen
would yet enact the fulfilment of the shamefully violated
reaty of Limerick. Ile believed that a spirit of concession
had been aroused on the part of the dominant race. He did
not say that It was owing to renianiam or to the barrel placed
sunder the prison at Cleiketta ell, but he believed he paid a
solemn act of Justice to his own countrymen—as solemn an
net of justice an if he were a high priest—when lie said
those noble men, Allen, Larken, and O'Brien, who aacrilieed