The Express.
London, England, 1848-11-06 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Nov. 4.
It is expected that the arguments on the writ of
error in the case of Mr. Martin will be heard in the
Queen's Bench about Friday next. The errors have
been assigned, and it is supposed that the case will be
set down for argument on that day. The point relied
oa by Mr. Martin's connect is, that burgesses of the
city of Dublin were sworn on the jury, and that they
-ould not legally serve, as they were interested in the
conviction of the accused, an old charter giving to the
corporation of Dublin the goods of persons convicted of
felony. I believe it is scarcely hoped that the decision of
the Court of Queen's Bench will be in favour of the pri-
soner ; but if not, the case will be brought before the
House of Lords. I understand that sound lawyers
here have given it as their opinion that the point
raised is a good one.
The record in Mr. O'Brien'. case has not been made
up yet, and of course the errors have not been assigned.
When the record is made up, counsel for the accused
will assign their errors, and apply for a writ of habeas
corpus to have the accused brought up. It is not
certain whether the case es u be argued in the Queen's
Bench this term, but most likely it will not. Messrs.
Henn and Napier, Q.C., having stated their opinions
on the writ of error in the case of Mr. O'Brien and
the other prisoners convicted at Clonmel—in all of
which the same point, relative to the non-delivery of
a copy of the indictment and a list of the witnesses ten
days before the trial —people here sanguinely ex-
pect to see those persons at large again, by the deci-
sion of the House of Lords. It is not expected that
the decision of the Queer's Bench will be favourable.
The question raised in Mr. Martin's case having
been also raised in that of Mr. O'Doherty, a writ of
error will be sued out in the latter case on the same
ground. So that all these cases will be affected by
the one decision.
The last incident of the legal drama now perform-
ing has been rather untoward for its authors. Mr.
Williams her, contrary to all anticipation, been acquit-
ted. It appeared that Mr. Williams could not be fixed
as the author of any of the articles indicted. Those of
them which were most violent bad been published
during a period when he was confined to his room,
and could not, and did not, take part in conducting
the lritune. Here were grounds, therefore, negativ-
ing the intent charged; and probably the fact of the
conviction of his colleague O'Doberty came in aid of
more strictly legal cause, and turned the scale in
favour of the accused.
The sentence upon Mr. O'Doberty was not expected
to be so severe. He is an extremely young man, not
more than 22, and his high character for humanity
and the recommendation of the jury induced the pub-
lic to believe that though the sentence would be
severe the punishment would not so nearly approach
that of those who preceded him in his career.
With his sentence, and the discharge of Mr. Wil-
liams, the commission terminated. Mr. Daffy still
remains in custody of the gaoler of Newgate.
There were scores of prisoners discharged from our
gaols throughout the country on the first of Novem-
ber, who had been confined for sums under 101. From
the county of Cork gaol alone not fewer than 63 were
released.

SENTENCE ON MR. OTOHERTY.
Cobstestos Cocar, Dom.'s, Nov. 3.—Mr. Kevin Izod
O'Doherty was placed at the bar.—Judge Cram ton, ad-
dressing the prisoner, said—You have been fund guilty of
compassing to levy war against her Majesty to compel her by
force and constrain to change her measures. Your offence
is emphatically an offence of intention. Now, what was that
intention ? As found by your jury, it was an intention to
raise an insurrection against the government of the kingdom,
to embark the rouses of the country in a civil war, with ell
its attendant horrors; and your own view was, no doubt, to i
bring about a revolutieu, and to establish a republic in'
Ireland. You might have known, by exercising the powers
of ordinary understanding—and patens yours may be a
superior one—the power of " the enemy," as in your publi.
cations you denominated the British crown and govern-
ment. You might have know that you were engaging—to
use again your own lauctrge—in a life and death s toggle
with the crown and government of the mated Kingdom ;
that your object could have been attained only by the total
destruction and deleatof the British army, and that to reach
that point you mur have waded through seas of blood—in a
word, that cootination, and spoliation of punlic and private
property, murder, and tram's, must have ben the means
used for the achievement of your desperate design.. Oh !
had you reflected on the steps of blood and crime which your
purpose would have required you to tread—had you coati
Aired hew many lives must have been sacrificed—how many
widows and orphans you must have made, and what a vast
amount of misery your 'under skirt must have involved.
sorely your conscience, if not seared, r blind. d, or carried
away by the contuion of that rovolulonary frenzy which
seized on so many minds on the continenf, would hhve re-
volted from such an awful respon-ibili.y. Again, had you
succeeded in your desperate enterprise, the scenes lately
enacted, and now en .cting in the neighboori g countries,
might have taught you how futile and disistrous, how
utterly disappointing to all your hopes, must have been the
result. But you may be under the impression—as lam
afraid many others are—that the guilt of such a disloyal and
desperate enterprise is mitigated, if not removed, by the con-
sideration that your t Bone may be called a political offence.
lan no man be deceived on tire ;abject. Be not misled by
embus, sounding words. Robbery, assassination, and
murder ace not the leas robbery, assamination, and murder
because they are resorted to for political purposes. The
didhience I. only in the end to be achieved; and, whe-
ther that end be merely personal and private, to gratify
malice, or to utility the lust of gain, or whether it involve
the supposed rights and interests of classes or of mul-
titudes, the stabaantial character of the crime remain the
same. The MANN who murderously takes away the life of
an iadividual becauos he considers him to be a tyrant or en
enemy to liberty, is still an amassin. The robber se the pub-
lic treasury is as much • • abhor as the man whooshil Dem
the private chest. Tne difference is only between lOW on
a slag' and crime on a grand stale—between goblin
and minder. Much is the doctrine that the laws d
Ikea states teach us, which pronounce high trama Y be the
gustiest of crimes; and such is the sanest* et rimy sound
moralist, and such is also the doctrine immiested by the
precepts of our divine Redeemer and We spanks.
The jury who found you guilty have reerimmeade4 you to
mercy on account is your youth, aad on the ground of the
ezcltement which existed in the public mind at the time
when your pernician publications issued from the TribtaGe.
I But much as we desire to yield to the recommendation of the
I jury—and we always pay the greatest attention to such re-

. .
ennaniondatione—yet in this instance we tea follow it but is
a qiuddied maser. The court is celled en to p-onounee en
you We 'entente of traasportatioa for tea years.
Mr. 011aberty—I min say, with perfect truth, that I had
but one object in view. I cid feel deeply for the sufferings
of my fellow-tematrynien, sad I desired, I mesa, by all
stems toasistsat with a mealy sad itosoaraltto mistime to
put an end to that salf•ring. It is very true, and I will con-
fess it, that I dedred an open resistance of the people to the
government whin', in my judgment, entailed those sufferings
on them. I used the terms"honourable resistance " in
order that I might Wee in termed the strongest disapproval
to one of the ankles brought forward against no, in which
' the writer of it made a suggestion of throwing burning
loops oa the soldiery. I never saw that ankle, nee
did I know enythiag about it until I road it in the news-
paper ; and I did not bring the only person who could
prove that fact on the table, because he was the writer
of We article • sod I knew that in doing so I would be
calf at your Coorthosos doors handing him over to the
law. With rupiahs 'myself, I least that I shall be enabled to
bear the antenna of ale jury with all the forbearance nue to
what I be.ieve to he the punishes. at of twelve conscientious
enemies to me • sad to endure the wrath of the government,
wham mouth-Pine they were, with all due patience. But
I ill eases to deplore the unhappy destiny which gave
me birth in this wretched country, and enspelled me, an
Irishman, to take my stand in the dock, end receive at your
hands a felon's dam to discharging what I conceived, and
still conceive to be, my duty to my country.—[Hero Mr.
O'Doberty was about to retire Iron the bar, when he
stopped ad added]—There were inquiries made by my
friends with respect to the matter tat tut to which I before
alluded; sad in ecasequenee I had felt it my duty to do
justice to myself m w.tt as to my Roman catholic fellow-
oountrymea. The names of the jurors who were struck ofi
are mentioned is this paper, and instead of three I find that
there are=_

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Judo. Cramptos.—That b a matter unconnected with the
proceedings.— he nrienner then withdrew kora the dock.
The anamission was then adjourned uata the 12th Dec.