The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-03-09 00:00:00

The following are the ewtraordinary documents
fonds,' upon O'Connor when he *as taken Into I ustody
"1, Nicholls Queen, by the Grace of God, du make the fol-
lowing declaration. Whereas there are at the present moment
confined in various prisons throughout the United Kingdom
a number of meal, Irish by birth, who are known and
celebrated as the 'Fenian prisoners." And whereas the
said Fenian prisoners have been in prison, and kept in du-
rance by order of nay Government, and with my sanction
for the crime of high treason. The said Fenians having
rebelled and conspired against iny Crone, endeavouring
by various unlawful means to weaken and destroy my
power and authority over the Irish nation. And whereas
It is a well-known fact that the sympathisers of the I
Fenian prisoners, and the nation have at various times
humbly petitioned for their portion and release ; notwith-
standing which they are Still dept ived of liberty No*, I,
the said l' ictoria, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, and the
Colonies, do hereby, with the consent of my Parliament,
grant a full pardon to each anal every One of the said men
known and celebrated as the Fenian prisoners, who are
now suffering imprisonment for the crime- of treason against
my crown. And I, the said Queen of Great Britain, Ireland.,
anefthe Colonies, do solenuily pledge my Royal word, and swear
to keep and see carried out the following five clauses :
Clause the first. That all the said men known and celebrated as
the Fenian prisoners shall be restored to liberty without any
delay whatever. Clause a. That all the said Fenians shall
he allrawed free and luitire liberty for the tett-minder of their
lives. Clause 3. That for the remainder of their lives the
said Fenians shall be as free front the police supervision
and restraint, as the rest of my subjects. Clause 4. And
that the said Fenians shall be allowed to return to their
native country, or any other country, town, or place
which they may choose to visit, without any interference
whatever from try Government. lartun 5. That riots ith-
standing the fact of say agreeing to the above conditions,
only through fear of my life, I witi 1:44 attempt to depart
from any of them on that account ; nor upon any other
reason, cause, and pretext whatever will I depart, or attempt
to depart, from any of them ; neither will I listen to any
• advise which my Ministers may wish to give towards causing
me to depart from my wort, or towards the violation of any-
thing above stated, but shall adhere strictly to every thing.
—Po help me God. Signed this twenty-seventh day of
February, In the year of Grace one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-two.
Witnessed by
"Whereon a person named Arthur O'Connor, resisting at 4,
Church-row, Ilosindsslitch, in the City of London, having
committed an outrage against my Royal pluton, has sur-
rendered himself into my hand., he the said Arthur tiConnur,
being perfectly trilling to sutler fob such oftence. Now I,
the said Vietoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, do
solemnly pledge nip Royal word to the effect that, if the said
Arthur O'Connor be found guilty of death by my judges
after a just and fair tidal,
.he, the said Arthur O'Connor, shall
nnt be stramtled like a common felon, but aliall receive the
death which is due to him IRS a flirtation, a Republican,
and as one who has never harmed a human being, that is to
! any, lie shall he shot, and after death his body shall be de-
livered to his friends, to be lsuricd wheresoever they may
choose. Signed th.s 27th day of February, In the year of
Grace sue thousand right hundred and seventy-two.
4 me,
1.10.944

•q• J."

It is expected that O'Connor will he tried at the Old
Bailey on Wednesday or Thursday in next week.

O'CONTOIN ANT:CEDFNTEI.

The 515th Of 0 Conner is a very humbly one. C Mach-row
Is a mean and squalid court, which dives In teem the north
side of Aldgate. and turning at right angles, strikes into
thus enclosing on two sides Aldgate-church-
yard, on which about such of the houses as are on the
western side of the court. Just at the angle, and the first
on the north side f the court, is the house where
the O'Connor family live—a house three storeys high,
and densely populated. There is a family In every room, and
this bottle Is old, dldgm, and In Lai... tepAir. The O'Conners
live in Hie second loan- ha'yk. The family celtsitts of
the father, who is reported, and who seems to be a
very respectable man, in permanent employment at one
. of the piers of the London and Waterman's Steamboat
Company; the mother, whose distressed condition is most
painful ; and seven children, of w twin Arthur is the eldest.
The father is a native of II eland, but all his family were born
In England. Tlie parents are Protestants, mid have
up their children in the Protestant religion. The family,
who have laved in theil' prestiit lodgings for More than two
and a half yell's, ale verb well. spoien of by their neigh-
houris as milet, deceirous pt,utu, ele.buts o iniiintain a
creditable appearance, 'ltch at some slim-filch Cl mord sill,.
stantlal comforts. Arthur is stated by Ms parents and by
all who know him to lie a lad of a mild, peaceable, and,
indeed, rather timid and pensive disposition ; to have
no bail associites, so far as is known, or, Indeed, hardly
any ;associates at all, but to he much addicted to reading
and to solitude. He was educated at St. Dunstan s
School, In the City, and won always of a very studious Dun.
On :seeing alquirl Oias ittiptehtited lie e nem of minters,
with whom lie remained about four peals, but his indentures
were cancelled, it is stated, during the course of a lengthened
illness, which forced him to become an in-patient in King's
College Hospital, where he had one of his toes amputated.
On recovering, lie entered the employment of a legal firm in
. Chancery lane. from which, about a month ago, he came into
the counting-house of Messrs. Frank. It was O'Connor's
duty to copy the orders that came. MO carry them down,
ept•,..red inh's beolt , for etMtlifeJ.. e At .imstness on
!holiday, the establishment was C rlosed on Tuesilisy, and
O'Conuor has not since returned to his employment. At
Messrs. Frank's nothing peculiar was noticed about the lad,
who seemed willing, assiduous, and regular.
Although he had left school for several years, O'Connor
continued up to the present time to take evening instruction
in drawing at Sir John Cass's Foundation School, in Church-
row, which seminary his sisters also attend. Ile W,tB at
home p Menet. op. Thtietlay nowt ore eclork, am'. so little
his parents imagine hini to be alloiit the mhicidef in
which lie was engaged, that his tea was waiting for lam
when Detective Superintendent Williamson reached the
humble dwelling with the evil tidings. It is understood that
in the search he maile,thatoflicer ound nothing tending to give
seine to the crime, unless it may be supposed that is clue is
furnished in the discovery id amass of pernicious juvenile
literature of the" halfpenny dreadftl" school, which lay
on the top of the latl's Joks,
nit, gedes"l belief istlYil isn't oifti Aree. Mporter) °lthe
plirt those who best know O'Connor is, th"t renst nave
been induced by Fenian desperadoes to attempt the used
which they themselves wished done, lust which they were
not mad enough to attempt. Just behind Church-row, which
is chiefly inhabited by foteign .lews, is Seven-Step-alley, one
of the worst Irish rookeries in all London, and it is conjec-
tured that O'Connor may there have met the villains who
egged him on to the Miechief. The view that evil men have
^'Clotni"r hi this 'batter teems stiefikenefl li
Dia obvious consideration, that they would sOarcely have
commissioned him to make the attempt equipped in a
manner which, but for the seriousness of the topic, might
well be termed ludicrous. Looking to the probabilities, and
also having regard to the information we have obtained, we
are inclined to believe that O'Conuor's brain has been turned
by reading trash, and that he has no accomplices.

PREvTOUS ATTACRS 'UPON HER MAJES'rY.
It will bb rembnibeCed that thit If not the hist occasion of
the Oneea beim! siNeCted b6utri.coors ot- threatening in-
t Orference. On the 17th July, lem, her hlnjesty Was annoyed
when taking an airing in Hyde Park by a man on horseback,
who persisted in crossing before her Majesty, waving his
hand, awl placing it on his breast. Refusing to desist from
his ridiculous conduct be was given into custody by Captain
Cavendish. The otiender, who described himself as a traveller
of a wholesale house in the City, was committed to prison
for two months.

The mad attempt of Edward Oxtail, a potboy, in late,
predecee a Meat levitation et the tinte. A recent Of the eeent
eays t— About sit, o'clock the: c :ening the lc,en Mid Pritoce
Consort left Buckingham Pelace by the garden gate opehthg
from Constitution-hill. They were seated in a very low
Oennarr Brooch!: y inavni by four horses with postilions, pre-
ceded by two outriders, and followed by two equerries A
number of potpie assembled to witness her departure were
ranged in two lines outside the gate. After the carriage had
proceeded a short distance up Constitutiolehill, so to be
quite clear of the Ctowd, eluting men en the tereen-rark stile
of the road preseeted a pistol anal fired It dire utly
at lier Majesty. The Prince, he-aring the whistle of the
hell, Stinted his head Its the direction of the repot, and her
Majesty at the moue instant rose, but Prince Albert suddenly
pulled her dew aby Isis teem. The report of the pistol,"
' says Perks, a witness, " attracted my attention, and I heerd
a distinet whiniest or buzzing befere my eyes, between my
I face Mel the tentage. The in commit he fired the pistol be
Welled - himself wound all ft tie see if aeyone Wes belated
; him. Ile then set himself bare attain, dreg a mend
pistol with his left hand from his right breast, presented
it across the one he had already fire& which he had
in his right hand, ant fired again, taking very deliberate
I aim." Several persons at once rushed upon him, lie
was then c tlin and collected, Omitted firing the
pistols, 11,14 reene away ontette with two et the petite to
QUegu-square station. Ile there gave his name as Edward
(oxford, seventeen years of age. The Queen, as might be
stipposee, appeared extremely pale from the alarm, but
rising to show that she was unhurt, or tered the postilions to
drive to Ingestre House, the residence of the Duchess of
Kent, where her Majesty RIO the Prince remained a short
time. On returning by Hyde Park the Royal party were re-
ceived by a large gathering of ladies and gentlemen, and
escorted to Btetkingharn Palace whichthey reached about
twenty minutes past seven o'clock. In the evening large
numbers of the nobility called at the Palace to offer their
congratulations.
The following day Oxford made the following declaration
on examination before the Privy Council, "A great many
witneeses neatest me. Some say I shot with my lett, others
with my right. They vary as to the distance After I fired
the first pistol Prince Albert got up as if he would jump out
of the ceach, and fiat down again as if he thought better of
it. Then I tired the second pistol. This is all I shall say at
present"
On Bean:ling his lodging, a quantity of powder and shot
was emote and the rules of a secret anclety styled, " Young
Eugenia," prescribing, among other things, that every mem-
ber stiould, when ordered to meet, he armed with • brace of
loaded pistols and a sword, and a black crepe etp to cover
his face. The prisoner was comninte.l for trial on the charge
of high treeson it, Ha most aggravated form, a direct attempt
1.0 the life of the Queen. 'tile surmises as to the attempt
being part of a widespread ettespiracy were not established
by the can fat inquiry to which the outrage let.
A jolut address from both Douses of Parhament wasegreed
elm at a conference. On the Pith the joint address was
presented to her Majesty at a Court at Buckingham Palace.
It expressed great indignation at the late attempt against
her life, and heartfelt congraeulatiuus on her preservation
tier Majesty replied ; "I am deeply sensible of the mercy of
Divine, Providence, to whose continued protection I humbly
commend myself, and I Oust that under all trials I shall find
the eameenonsolediots aid support which I now derive from
the loyal and efleTetionale aturefteent of my Parliament and
toy people." Addreeses Were :deo preseuhel by many public
Atkins througheut the kingdom, and tor some weeks the
excitement produced by the outrage abaorbsel all the topic+,
of public intenat.
" - - - - - -

-Tho moll ot tko talst ot Ostotg was OA tio vas oottuitaal