The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-03-20 00:00:00

INFLAMMATORY SPEECHES IN
IRELAND.

Paiiperism and crime form permanent topics of dis-
cussion with statesmen and philanthropists, but they
have lately been specially studied in the light of some
revelations in tie by " N. A. W." in The Times, who
is known to be one of the acuteet special correspon-
dents and one of the best writers connected with the
leading journal. His interesting papers, describing
"the haunts of crime S' in London, will be read
with deep interest by many thousands, and, per-
haps, it is not too much to ascribe partly to these
articles the determination to form a number of mendi-
city secieties in the metropolis I may temind the
reader that, at Blackheath and its vicinity, on the
eastern outskirts of Loudon, a plan has been for some
time ill operation which leas been found to work well.
The adherents of a society formed there bind them-
selves to give no alms, in money or in kind, to beggars
but instead of this, a beggar who asks for charity is
preeented with a ticket. This ticket gives the right
to apply to an appointed officer of the society, who in-
quired into the came, gives immediate relief where it is
needed, or endeavours to procure work for the appli-
cant, or helps him on towards any place to which he
wants to go. The Association for the Prevention of
Crime and Pauperism in London is now about to de-
velop th,s plan. Circulars have been sent out, and
preliminary arrangements made for meetings to be
held in various districts, awl it is intended to form a
number of mendicity societies, the Mendicity Society
apparently having given up the ghost, for at all events
it shows no signs of life. Begging is a great evil, and
it ought not to be necessary; but to put down men-
dicity without affording the poor creatures an oppor-
tunity of proving that they really are in extreme want
would be cruel. If this association will do what they
pnrpose, they will confer a great benefit on society.
Over and over again we are warned, and now once
again by "N. A. W.," not to give alms in the streets,
for that professional beggars make a good living in this
way ; but the great temptation to give has hitherto
arisen from the total inability of the persecuted way-
farer to tell the beggar what to do or where to go for
relief. There are many people who mit/ give to beg-
gars, all usages or laws to the contrary notwithstand-
ing, but these are the minority, and the majority
would be heartily grateful for the ticket system.
A few years ago, especially perhaps about 1863, the
age for public company-making was Bo great that the
supply of directors was not found equal to the demand.
Hence speculative people, with more enterprise than
influence, resorted to the expedient of advertising for
directors as a merchant would advertise for clerks. Men
with a name were especially wanted. Now-a-days
when there is anything but a mania for company-
making, it is rather men with money that are wanted,
and I occassionally notice an advertinemen carefully
worded, the object of which is very clear—to get strue
person to come forward who may have capital to
spare, and who would like to see his name on a
prospectus as a director, to say nothing of directors
fees. Now all this is very unhealthy, and it is rather
strange that the system should lan so long, especially
after the public experience in respect to so many com-
panies having come to grief. As to secretaries, it is
fair enough perhaps to expect them to "put money
into the concern," or, as it is expressed, to take an
interest in the company, and it is common to see
secretaries advertised for under such conditions. The
two classes of invitations are now once again becoming
common, as companies are again coming into fashion
after a long period of dulness.
I have been reading &little book by Dr. Chapman—
"Sea-Sickness, and how to prevent it." It is very
learned (or else I am very unlearned), or at all events
it is very technical and scientific ; but the remedy be
proposes, of which I presume he is the inventor. is
simple enough, nor is it now announcol to the public for
the first time. He asks, "by what means can the
quantity of blood circulating in the spinal cord, in-
cluding the medulla oblongata and in the ganglionic
nervous centres be most e tfectually lessened ; " and he
answers this question by the compound word -
The doctor simply proposes to numb our spinal cords
ter us. Well, perhaps; it is the lesser of two evils. I
have horrid memories of days and nights of sea-
sickness, and merely nothing can be worse. There
are these stages of it—the first when you don't much
care if you were to fall overboard; the second, when
you would prefer being thrown overboard; and the
third, when yonr only fear is that you won't be
thrown overboard. But for all this I would rather
have my medulla oblongata kept free from ice, and my
ganglionic nervous centres unfrozen. The very
thought of the application of ice to one's spine
gauges a shudder.

The Qnartier des Terraux at Lyons was the other
moruMg thrown into commotion by a horrible tragedy.
• gentleman, accompanied by his wife, had arrived the
night before at an hotel of the Itue Lantenie, ostensibly to
consult some physician on a nervous malady to which he
wasp not. On the following morning ho was seen to dc-
staircase of the hotel in • state of rang froid and
ea if for • walk. It was not until several hours after
• servants of the establishment, on entering the
at occupied by the strangers, found the woman
a pool of blood with her head almost severed from
r. The man has not since reappeared.

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go out.
that the

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lying in a
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-
In the House of Commons, on Monday evening, Sir
.1. Hay asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether
his attention hall been called to a report which has ap-
peared in The Times and other newspspers of the 9th
inst., as follows :
A meeting was held at Limerick on Sunday evening last,
under the presidency of the Mayor, to make arrangements
for a general collection at all the ROMIIIII Catholic chapels,
awl at each of the masses, on St. Patrick's Day, in aid of
the Feld. prisonem, by persuasion of the Roman PatWdic
"who loci expressed his sympathy for the as!-
feed.;" upon which occasionthe Rev. Mr. Shanahan, a
Roman Catholic prie.t, openly avowed himself a sympathiser
with the Fenian prisoners ; and concluded his speech with
the I chewing w. rds .—" I do not exactly know what a
Feidan is; but if it means love for Ireland, Ireland for the
Irish, and that Irishmen ought to be abie to govern them-
selves. I am a Fenian in my heart, and so is every priest in
Ireland ;" after which the meeting broke up with cheers for a
republic, President Grant, Stevens, awl Pigott ;
aral whether Her Majesty's Government proposed to
take any notice of these proceedings.
Mr. C. Fortescue in reply, said: No one can regret
more deeply than I do that language such as is referred
to in this question has been used at a public meeting in
Irelaud, and for no other reason more do I regret it
than this—that such language coming from several of
tha persons concerned at a meeting held for an
ostensibly charitable purpose,—namely, for the relief
of the families of political prisoners, has un-
doubtedly had the effect, not unnaturally, of pro-
ducing on the public mind an impression that
many parties are favourable to the cause of
Fenianisin who, I know, are and always have been
opposed to it. But with respect to the rev, gentleman,
part of wle.se speech has been quoted in the ques-
tion put to site, I most say, on referring to a report
which I hold in my hand, that however much to be re-
gretted those words are, there yet are other words in
the same speech which very considerably modify their
meaniag. ("Oh !" and laughter.) I take it that the
only way to ascertain the meaning of speakers under
these circumstances is to oompare the few words which
have been quoted with the context. (Hear, hear.) The
beginning of the sentence that has been quoted is this,
—"I do not by any means profess myself to be a
Fenian ' (laughter) ; "but if Fenianism means" so and
so,—love for Ireland, attachment to my native land,
and so on, "then I am a Fenian." ("Oh oh !") And
farther on in the speech in which heuses the words which
the hon. member has quoted and the other words
which I have quoted, he said, "I hope the slay is
coming when we may expect just and wise legislation
under a British Government." (Ministerial cheers.)
"Rome was not built in a day: and neither can we
get all we want at once." (Opposition cheers.) "We
must wait." (Renewed cheers from the Opposition,
and counter cheers.) "We must wait, and wait
patiently. If justice be done to our country, we are
satisfied. That is all that we want." (Laughter.)
While rearetting that intemperate language was used
so evidently open, not only to misconstruction, but to
produce mischief, I yet must be permitted to say,
on reading the whole of this speech, that it
comes rather under the class of what has been
called "heedless rhetoric" ("Oh ! oh !" laughter, and
cheers), used on an occasion of excitement, than under
the elm of language of an intentionally treasonable
character. With respect to the Bishop of Limerick,
Dr. ltutba--wito has always been a strong opponent
of Fenianiem, and who has always used his influence
against it—whether he has thought it right to give his
permission and sanction to this collection I do not
know ; bat I am glad to see from the newspapers in
respect to Duldin that a letter has been addressed by
his eminence Cardinal Cullen to his clergy. in which
he Musea to have anything to de with these so-called
charitable collections for the families of these prisoners,
and in which he warns his clergy that they are a
"stratagem " for the purpose of obtaining from the
country marks of approbation of the conduct of these
persons and of adhesion to the cause in which they.
have suffered, and he advises the clera to have
nothing to do with it. That seems to me to be advice
of very great weight.
Sir J. Hay subsequently remarked that the right
hon. gentleman had not stated what course her Ma.
jesty'a Government intended to take with regard to
the Mayor of Limerick.
Mr. C. Forteseue : The Government are making in-
guinea of their own authorities into the whole of the
circumstances, including the conduct of the Mayor of
Limerick. (Hear, hear.)

e
udg e.

recognition he would take care that something was
done. But whether be desired a reward or not he
behaved with great bravery. You behaved very
nobly (continued Mr. Justice Hannen.) I am very
pleased to have met you. It is no light matter for a
man to leap iato water so deep that made it necessary
he should swim, and gave three people. The risk he
ran is conclusive by the state of exhaustion in which
he was the last time he was swimming to land. The
service he performed was undoubtedly the saving ot
three lives.
The prisoner was undefeirded, and the judge, 82.070-
eating her Cause in the summing up, urged the jury to
consider whether she and the children had been
drowned, and the same panel had to sit upon the
case as ii coroner's jury, they should not have returned
a verdict of temporary insanity? For, although she
was well now, yet the surgeon had deposed that during
the ten days after the offence she was in a state of
mental depression, brought about, in all probability,
by the treatment of her husband, of which she had
complained, and who was given to drink.
The jury acquitted the prisoner on the hypothesis of
the ji