The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-21 00:00:00

LON DON,

DELMEGE, of having either fired himself or given
orders to fire. Twelve persons, however, solemnly
sworn on the Holy Evangelists " a true verdict to
give according to the evidence," took a different view
of the case, and after full deliberation branded the
military prisoners as cold-blooded assassins, who
had calmly and advisedly, without any adequate
provocation-, stained their hands with the blood of
their fellow-citizens. Such a decision proves too
much, and, the temporary inconvenience of a few days'
incarceration being put out of the question, must
prove beneficial rather than injurious to the soldiers.
The jurymen who yielded to popular clamour, or to
other external influences even less justifiable, must
be the chief sufferers, so far as character is con-
cerned.

they The plea of ignorance could not, at all
events, extenuation
thess
aita
sofnete heir
conduct.ts, b
Tot set
only up
had inof
able counsel on either side. But the Coroner—him-
self a Roman Catholic, and one strongly identified
with the popular cause—explained the law of the
case clearly,
distinctly, and impartially, so that any
men of ordinsry capacity could not unwittingly have
fallen into error. After pointing oat the distinction
between murder and manslaughter—after showing
the degree of provocation that would be necessary to
reduce the offence to either justifiable homicide or
manslaughter, he continued—" You must remember
that her MAJESTY'S troops were engaged in their
lawful calling—they bad persons under their charge
whom they were bound to protect, and it was the
height of madness to attack the party so protected,
or to attempt to rescue voters guarded by an armed
force, no matter under what circumstances they were
brought there. The evidence and details of the affair
at the critical period are so contradictory that I shall
leave it in your hands to believe whichever you conceive
most entitled to credit. However, gentlemen, there
is one point clear—that an attack was made upon the
escort; that they were assailed with stones ; that the
corporal was knocked down and severely cut ; that
two soldiers were violently attacked ; that the reins
and bridles were cut, and an attempt made to cut the
traces with knives. If you believe that all those put
together placed the soldiers in real peril, you will
justify that act, and bring in a verdict of justifiable
homicide. But, gentlemen, it is not because all the
sethings were done, that unless you believe that their
lives were in real peril, and that they felt them to be
so, that soldiers under the command of a brave and
experienced officer, and also in charge of a magistrate,
who should be supposed to be close to that officer in
the moment of danger, should fire loaded guns
amongst their fellow-creatures without the orders of
that magistrate given through their officers ; the
moment they did so they acted in the capacity of
citizens defending themselves from real or imaginary
danger ; and it is for you to justify their acts if you
consider there was real necessity for firing—if the
danger was such as to appal any
ordinarily brave
man. But if you believe that there was no such
necessity, or that they fired from a wanton spirit and
from a recklessness of human life, without sufficient
provocation, or malice prepense, then your duty will
be to find them guilty of manslaughter.
The issue was thus placed upon a just and fair
foundation—the only question that could arise was
submitted to the jury. But twelve of the number
disregarded the facts, and although the Coroner de-
clared that " the circumstances of the case, and the
prOvocation received, whatever it was, put murder
out of the question," and also " that the provocation
was admitted," they yet brought in the verdict,
which, as we have stated, must prove more injurious
to themselves than to the parties whom they endea-
voured to inculpate.
It is indeed deeply to be regretted that sectarian or
party feeling should be so plainly manifested by per-
sons concerned in the administration of justice, in any
capacity, however subordinate, that a body of men oc-
cupying respectable positions in society should evince
such gross and indefensible carelessness of the sacred
obligation which they had taken. The whole trans-
action, indeed, exhibits the Irish character in any-
thing but a favourable light. First, we find a num-
ber of electors—styled, by a pleasant fiction, " free
and independent"—forcibly carried off from their
homes, and illegally confined in Limerick—confined,
too, at the Temperance Rooms, where the passions of
the habitues should be kept under some kind of con-
trol. They were rescued, in order that they might
be enabled to exercise their legal privilege, and a
brutal attack was made on the party. The military
escort was assailed with savage fury, stones and
other formidable missiles were flung at the party.
Several were seriously injured ; and it is scarcely
too much to say, that the lives of all were
greatly endangered before a single shot was
fired. The soldiers would have been more
then men if they could have submitted to the outrage
without adopting the most effective measures to pro-
teat themselves. Any unprejudiced and dispassionate
man must have made allowance for the aggravated
provocation. the majority of the jury, however,
thought otherwise. It is by no means impossible
that in returning the verdict of wilful murder they
were in some degree influenced by their terrors, and
the dread of incurring the animosity of the illegal
confederacies flourishing in the district. Whatever
may have been their motives, or reasonable their ap-
prehensions, they have done rnueh to fling discredit
on the administration of justice, and to diminish the
confidence that has hitherto been entertained in the
security afforded by " Trial by Jury," which we
have been accustomed to consider the great Palladium
of national liberty.