The Sun.
London, England, 1840-05-26 00:00:00

MR. FEARGUS O'CONNO2.

(From the Leeds Inelligeneer,)
Before Mr. O'Connor waa placed in York Castle,
which oocurred about nine o'clock in the evening of Teen-
day, he visited the Cathedral and other public
Anotlia?: scene awaited him, however, when he arrived at
the gao I ; for he was immediately put on the felons' side,
and ple .ced on a par, in all respects, wi th the worst class of
offend( :re. A fiiend of his went over to York cn Thurs-
dav to% see him, but was refused admittance. The Governor
said tea at he had received no special instructions on the
matter, but that he roust conform to prison rules, which
were -under the immediate sanction and control of the
Homo Secretary, Lord Normandy. Mr. O'Connor's
friend, then sent in a letter, requestinw a statement of the
prise aer's health and circumstances we Have before us a
copy .of the answer, and we print it at length :

" York Castlet, Mt.y 20, 1840.

" You ask me for a full account of m:y health and treat-
meeet. 7 was lodged here last night at about 10 o'clock. I
brought some luggage, and had 3/. lls., and sonic news-
papers,, all of which, according to the rules of the prison,
were taken possession of by the Governor. I was then as-
comp anied by the Governor and several turnkeys, through
numb erless passages, and heavy iron doors, till I reached the
usual cell for all classes—murderers, robbers, felons, and
political offenders, in whose treatment no distinction what-
eveN is made, with the exception that the latter are allowed
to we ar their own clothes. As I was a novice, Mi. Noble,
who, I must say, would have more pleasure in obeying less
strip gent rules, allowed one of the turnkeys to make my
bed, which consisted of a flock sack-like thing ; and
whic b you have often heard me say, knocked me up
more than anything in the world ; that may be only a mis-
fortu no, as I prefer hard straw to a feather bed : but, to re-
turn, • my bed was laid upon an iron grating without
sides • ; I had a blanket over it, but no sheets, and two more
bled tees to put over me; no pillow, and no aides to the
bed. The Governor very kindly offered me more blan-
kets,. ,but I had my great coat. I was shut up in a dark
stones cell, with a very narrow iron door and a small iron-
gratee I window. In the dark I knelt down and prayed to
God 7 that I might sleep soundly for ever. I then stripped
and h ;id me down, but my prayers were not granted, as I
nevel closed an eye. When I placed my rheumatic
shout der against the wall, the cold stones repulsed me ;
and PI hen I moved I was almost out of bed, for its width is
not at ; broad as my shoulders.
" :Before seven, a bell rang, when I dressed myself, and
shot tly after my door was unlocked, previously to which I
had, , according to the rules, folded my thin bed into a triple
roll, and my bed clothes, neatly folded, I placed over it. I
the) i followed the turnkey, carrying in my hand a black
cha tuber-pot, which I was to empty in the sink in the
yar fl, and then wash the utensil at the pump. I was
the a placed in a yard with two other prisoners, who
hay a been tried and sentenced. At eight I was sum-
more sd to breakfast, when I passed under many a fe-
lon's anxious gaze, to a long narrow stone, where every
man stood up in the prison in line, all in prison
dreg ;es, but myself, and all uncovered. We were then
plate ed standing at a narrow shelf, where before each man
was, placed a black carthern pot, and a wooden spoon,
wit t a roll of very good bread - in the' pot was water and,
oat sneal, which was supped with the bread. I looked on,
bu ; did not, nor could not touch it. At ten o'clock wo
wt Ire summoned to Mittel, where, with my ttvo yard com-
p pions, I was locked up and saw the minister through the
gt sting. The service lasted nearly an hour; after which
I a-as locked up in my yard, to whien is attached a day-
ro em. with stone benches to sit upon, and everything very
cl e an, but cold. About eleven o'clock the visiting
su a 'poll called ; and, for the first time in my life, I felt
we unded pride, while through an iron grate I was cam-
pe lied to explain my several maladies; but if I felt pride,
ti e surgeon appeared to have no less feeling. He has mio
o f the most sagaciV and intellectual countenances I ever.
3 ass, and of his feeling you must judge when I tell you
.hat he seemed to take a pleasure in being able to substlp
tute tea for the meal and water ; which I declared I nest
would touch. Shortly after, one of the visiting magistrates,-
Mr. Hague, visited me, and told me he hoped I would submit •
to the prison rules. I replied that through life I had always
conducted myself as a gentleman, and I felt convinced that
even a prison could not make me forget tat I was a gentleni a`4.
He then asked me if I should prefer being alone to having
my two companions. I, of course, said no. At twelve
we were summoned to dinner, when each man had the
same quantity of bread as at breakfast, with some broth.
I ate a few mouthfuls of bread, but could not manage the
broth ' • and up to now, four o clock, I am all but fasting.
Now, for my health. I never was so much debilitated. I
have rheumatism in both legs and in my back ; I have a
pain in my chest and loins, and a cough. And, new, what
say you to a good man struggling against adversity. Per-
haps you are not aware that very Strong affidavits were
made by Dr. Thompson, one of the ablest of the London
faculty, and another by Surgeon Jaque, who has attended
me for five years, in which they both depoied that confine-
ment in York Castle would lay the foundation of disease,
which would certainly shorten my life. To which Lord
Normanby replied that he saw nothing in them to cause
any alteration in my place of imprisonment. lam five
years older than when you saw me on Monday week; but
am still the same man. I thought it wholly out of the
nature of things that such punishment ever could be in-
tended for, or inflicted upon, persons for a political misde-
meanour. Eighteen months now is more than ten years
under the usual treatment for similar offences. The man
from Huddersfield (for the murder of Duke) and myself
are precisely under the same rules. Need I say more—or
have you not yet beard enough?—Faithfully yours,
FEARGUS O'CONNOR.
" P. S. I eat my meals with several under sentence of
transportation. There arc no political offenders but my-
self. At seven in the evening lam locked up again, and
am now standing at a hole in the wall while I am writing.',
We must say that this treatment is most disgraceful_
not to Mr. O'Connor, but to the Liberal Government—to
Lord Normanby—especially when we call to mind the
fact that more than one member of the Melbourne Cabinet
has used language at public meetings as violent as that
charged upon Mr. O'Connor; and particularly discredit-
able as it respects Lord Normanby, whose wholesale
;ration of Irish felons of the O'Connell school is vet fresh
'in the public memory. We understand that the euito; and
deVNorotrh,enraini
b.Sy t,asre
titlianvge
:talanedpruegbulieshstertoof
forthLthere
,cipal's hardships and mortfficetions. Having represented,
bin substance, that which he If
iimse states in his letter, they
proceed to say_

" That your memorialists have been informed that this
Is the first instance of a prisoner, prosectited by ex officio,
I or a political libel, being so treated :
" That Sir Francis Burdett, when imprisoned for a like
)ffence, was permitted to provide his own food and bed,
tad to have free admission to his friends at all reasonable
awes, and to correspond freely with his friends out of
ioors; that Mr. Leigh Hunt had like indulgences, when
imprisoned for a like offence; that Mr. Cobbett, whose
c ase has often been quoted as a hard one, occupied apart-
r cents in the Governor's house at Nesvgate—lived in what-
( wer way he chose—had the free access of all his friends—
! and conducted his Register during the whole term of his
imprisonment ; that Mr. George Edmonds, of Birmieg.
ham, when confined in Warwick Gaol for a political
offence, during the worst days of Toryism, under Castle-
reagh and Sidmouth, was on the debtor's side, and had
the free access of all his friends ;
.that Mr. Stephens, now
confined for treasonable and seditious speech, in Choate
l Castle, has got private apartments with a healthful plea-
sure ground to walk in, provides his own bed and food,
and has the constant society of his wife and family, and
free admission for all other friends at reasonable times;
that Messrs. O'Brien, Richardson, and others, now eon;
fined in Lancaster Castle for " seditious speeches,"
their own bed and board, and have various other indul-
gences which have been denied to Mr. O'Connor :-
4, That Montgomery, the poet, when confined in tho
same Castle of York, for a seditious libel, was on the
debtor's side—found his own bed, provided his own food
and furniture, corresponded freely with his friends, and
could be freely visited by all his friends, on any day, from
seven o'clock in the morning till nine at night; and
" That your memorialists think it very hard and incon-
sistent that Feargus O'Connor should, for the same sort of
offence, be treated by a Liberal Government so much more
cruel than Mr. Montgomery by a Tory Government.
" Your memorialists, therefore, pray your Lordship to
order that the said Fcargus O'Connor, Esq., be forthwith
removed from the felons' to the debtor s' side of the Castle

of York, and subjected to such treatment only as Mr.
Montgomery received at the hands of your Lordship's
Tory predecessors."