The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-03-27 00:00:00

MR. JOHN BRIGHT ON THE IRISH
CHURCH.

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The following are extracts from the speech of Mr.
John Bright on the debate on the Irish Cnurch
For centuries we all know that Ireland has been restless,
turbulent, blld insurrectionary. .... Pages of her history
have been stained with tears of blood : civil troubles anti
Insurrections appear, and constantly reappear, in the records
of her sad anti dismal story. (Cheers • The late Home Se,.
tary, who spoke last Session whit a power which the House
most have admired if they did not envy, and who spoke, I
think, what he helleved, referred to the Church in Ireland as
a light of the Reformation, and he appeared not able to com-
prehend that this light of the Reformation, sustained by pri-
vilege, and fanned as it has been by the hot breath of faction,
has been not so much a healthy light of the Reformation as
a scorching fire burning up aim at everything noble in the
country cheers, and that industry, charity, peace, arid
liberty have perished in its rays. Cheers. ) .... the geo-
graphical position of the two islands points out to every one
that union is natural between them, and I maintain against
all corners that a true flild solid and just union between Ireland DOUBLE EXECUTION AT DURHAM.
and Greet Britain is infinitely better for both of them than
any kind of severance can possibly be. (Cheers.) but it On Monday morning, at eight o'clock, the last sen-
must be a real union, not of force and weakness- trampled on truce of the law was executed, in Durham Prison', rin
by Imwer. (cheers.) Hon. gentlemen tell us that this me. .
• wo culprits --John Arlan, aged thirty-seven, labourer,
sure armoire Meer., us eMy as the residt M what in America t
wend be called a Fenian scare hear, hear;, asset that but for and John WConville, aged twenty-three, furnaceman.
certain events which happened last year the policy of this The former prisoner was, at the recent Durham
Will would not have been avowed by the First Minister. Assizes, before Mr. Justice Lush, tried asid convicted
Suppose it true, it only adds another proof to many going of the wilful murder of Hugh John Ward, at Sunder-
before it that it is difficult with popular anti party govern. land, on the Bth of December, 1868, and the latter
ment to make h
them great and essentild reforms unless under
was tried before the same Judge at the same assizes,
circumstancee whic force absolutely upon the atten-
tion of the Parliament. You know very well—lrish as well and convicted of the wilful murder of Philip Trainer,
as English gentlemen—that the Catholic Association led to at Darlington, on the 30th of January this year.
Catholic Emancipation ; you know that the dethronement of The circumstances of the two murders may be briefly
tne Born bons brought about the Reform Bill of Mt We recapitulated. Dolan, who is an Irishman, it appeared
know—t know, at ieast— that the
hlies f desperate condition of lived in Linirm-lane, Sunderland, thaww oman named
affairs in the west oreed the slaves of the English
Catherine Keshan. On the day in question the pri-
colonies. We all know that the famine in Ireland came as
the irresistible argument to bring about the repeal of the . Boner and a man named Ceilings, who lived in the
Corn Laws We know also that the mutiny in India drove ' same house, had been drinking together, and the dc-
the Houk immediately, and without further consideration, ceased man, Ward, who was in the room at the time,
to abolish the East India Company and make an entire change I made a remark which seemed to excite the ill-feeling of
in the a
It 'time and speak of what ovenmient of India. Andhappe nifl we
ed in re to come d 4,
I ight "'
own to " ~, rim m er,
who began to illtreat Kl• Khan, with whom
er , lfit67, m
hecohabited. The woman entreated Ward to screen her
ask the right hon gentle . man and his colleagues and his
party what were the circumstances that induced them to from the brutal conduct of the prisoner. He did so, and
been thmiastic in support of a measure of household sat- a short time afterwards the prisoner was seen to go into
frage. (Cheers and a laugh.) it is a matter that we can another room and search for sotnething. He returned
all deplore that it has required three years of the Sille- into the room he had left, and was seen by the woman
peusion rf the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland and those other Keshan to putn a knife into Ii n pocket. The woman,
grievous events that happened in Iremnd and Englmel to . . .
en elde Park.mentto undertake. arid, ash believe, successfully kin Airing the chap damn of the prisoner, amt influenced i
to carry through, a policy which almost every enlightened by the remarks she had heard him give utterance to '
statesman in Ireland daring the lust 50 years has hoped for relative to the man Ward, ran out of the house crying
Ina feared he would met see realised. ;Cheers). Then we " Murder " and "Police !" She had not gone far be'
ire told that disco, dent in America is also avery serionsthing, fore she was induced to return, and on going into the
and we are told that Fenianism has caused this bill We room where she had left Ward and the prisoner to-
cannot deny that the existence of that disturbing cause in
America is unfortunate and irritating; but the theory of the gether, she saw the former on the floor with his bowels
Government is that the reimdy which will heal in part or so protruding, he having been stabbed in the bowels and
whole the disorders in Ireland will heal much of the Macon- in the eye by the prisoner. Ward MIA conveyed to
tent. or Irishmen evetywhere. (Cheers'. There is not an the infirmary, where he shortly afterwards expired.
Irishman in the Australian colonies or in North America who The defence made at the trial was that the prisoner
iquestions not .atchlng tire course of the English Parliament on this h.
d received considerable prirvocation from the de-
, and unless Ms spirit has .neen maddened tee that
state of resistance when he will listen tons reason and to no ceased, Ward ; that he was under the influence of
fact, he is probably feeling a softening disposition towards drink, and did not know what he AVM doing.
the Imperial Government and towards this House for the The jury, however, found him guilty, and he was
ineasures which we are now attempting to carry through... • I sentenced to death without any hope of mercy.
believe that Irishmen will still emigrate when we The facts connected with M'Conville's case are that
have done what may be done this Session and next. (in the 30th of January the murdered man, Philip
The right hon. gentkman main uch afraid that some-
Trainer, went into a puhlichouse at A lbert-hill, Darling-
thing desperate is about to be done with regard to the
land. So far as I am concerned, he may rely upon this, that ton, where he found that two men were preparing to
nothing will lie done with regard to the land which the tight. They were prevented from carrying out their
PrinciPles of plains! ect nomy will not support Prontoai inteittit en, and most of the company in the house
cheers), and which everything moral and just in the conduct adjourned into the street. The prisoner remained

a short time in the house, aiiiihe—Wso went into ti •
street were the quarrelsome men were still wrang-
ling,. Immediately afterwards the report of A pistil
was heard, and the deeeaked was found lyine on the
gr mid, he having been shot in the head. The
pro,guer, it appeared, had some conversation in the
publichouse with a man named Quinn about fighting,
in the course of which he pointed significantly to his
reset pocket as containing something which would
successfully cope with another man in the room.
When in the street the prisoner drew a pistol from his
pocket, pointed it deliberately towards the crowd, fired
the shot, aml thereupon the ileceasied immediately
dropped and died instantaneously.
At the trial the defence was that there was an
absence of motive on the part of the prisoner, and
his identity had not been established. It was proved
that on the *.nrd of January, exactly a week before the
night of the murder, the prisoner had ordered 100
bullets for a pistol, and received them on the next
Wednesday. and it was shown also that the bullets
taken from the head of the deceased man corresponded
with those which had been purchased by the prisoner.
Twenty-four hours after the murder the prisoner was
taken into custody, and on his lodgings being searched
a revolver ease was found. It was supposed that dm
prisoner had intended to murier some one else other
than the deceased. and that he had been mistaken.
He was found gailty and sentenced to death without
any hope of mercy.
Dolan was a very ignorant man, and a representa-
tive of the very lowest type of the Irish character.
M'Conville, on the other hand, was a young man of
good education, great intelligence, and of very sober
habits, and his parents are very respectable people,
living at Coatbridge, in Scotland. During the triel,
and at the time of their condemnation, both men ex-
hibittel the utmost coolness and indifference, to the sur-
prise of every one in court. So soon, however, to
Dolan was removed to the prison his bold bearing in
the dock gave place to fear and grief, but M'Conville
was cool and collected up to the last moment.
Both the prisoners were Roman Catholics, and
such being the case they were attended by the Rev.
Cation Conant, Roman Catholic priest Durham, to
whose ministrations they paid the utmost respect aril
attention. The prisoners admitted the justice of the
sentence that had been passed on them, and desired
the rev. Canon to solicit the prayers of the congrega-
tion on their behalf. From the first neither 14 the
culprits expected that there would be any mitigation
of the sentence, and they accordingly prepared them-
selves with all diligence to meet the inevitable doom
that awaited them.
M'Conville's case excited considerable commiseration
on the part of the people at Darlington, where he had
been working some time prism to the time of the
murder, and at the instigation of Mr. Webster, '
solicitor, of Darlington, a petition was got up
and signed by a large number of the inhabitants
with a view of obtaining a commutation of
his sentence. A similar effort had been made
by the inhabitants of Coatbridge, where toe prisoner
was well known, and where Ms parents now reside.
The petitions were forwarded to the Home-office,
and on Thursday morning, in last week, Mr. Webster
received a reply to the effect that the sentence permed
by the Judmi could not be interfered with. That fact
was communicated to the prisoner M'Conville, but,
he having from the first prepared himself for death,
the intelligence made no pereeptilde impression on him.
In the case of Dolan, the murder of which be had
been convicted was so clearly demonstrated that no
, effort was made on his behalf. Both prisoners were
, vieited by their friends and relations a day or two
before the execution. . . . .

..„
Since M'Conville's condemnation certain statements
have appeared in the public press identifying him with
the Feeian movement It is said that he was a head
centre, that he was in Manchester during the time the
attack was made on the prison van, and that he had
suffered imprisonment for his Fenian proclivities and
sympathies.
The prisoners were executed within the prison walls,
only the Governor of the gaol, the Sheriff and his
officers, and the representatives of the press being
present.