The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-05 00:00:00

THE STATE TRIALS.

OCT. 3.—The Court sat this morning a
fear minutes past nine o'clock, when the law officers
of the Crown resumed their case.
Mr. O'Brien's appearance was in general composed,
but towards the latter part of the day he was more
anxious than we have yet seen him during the trial.
The most remarkable witness examined to-day was
Mr. Trent, the hero of Ballingarry. He is a man
upwards of fifty years of age, and gave his evidence
uninfluenced by any feeling. whatever, save the wish
to show that he had but discharged his duty in the part
he was called on to act. He described the battle
scene with great minuteness, and was followed by
several of the constables under his command, nearly
all of whom deposed that when they refused to deliver
vp their arms to Mr. O'Brien, he called out to the
pe opts " Slash away, boys, and slaughter the whole
of them." This is the most important charge against
Mr. O'Brien and if believed by the jury, decides the
case against
Jdhn Lamphire was the first witness examined.
He was employed by the Mining Company of Ireland
as pay clerk, to pay the workmen. He recollected
Friday, the 28th of Ally, when he saw three jaunting
cars pass by, which stopped at a public-house kept by
Thomas Sullivan, on the Commons of Boulagh. There
were from eight to ten persons on them. He did not
know who were there then, but that he was now able
to say that Mr. Smith O'Brien was one of them. As
soon as they arrived, Mr. O'Brien walked out about
the road, and began to address about 200 or 300
. people, to whom he said that there was a warrant
against him, and a reward of 6001. for his arrest; that
if they protected him from the soldiers, Ireland would
be theirs in a fortnight. Some of them said they had
no arms, to which he replied that stones were very
good weapons for those who had no arms. A gentle-
man they called Mr. Meagher, and another named
Dillon also spoke, the former of whom said that they
ought to arm and protect Mr. O'Brien, and Ireland
would be free in a fortnight. He also told them to drive
the Saxon from the soil. Mr. Dillon said, also, that
if they armed and protected Mr. Smith O'Brien they
would have Ireland free in six months. The witness
saw Mr. O'Brien walk up and down the road that
evening, opposite Mrs. Glacken's house, about which
there were some 30 or 40 persons, armed with guns,
pikes, and other weapons. The witness saw Mr.
O'Brien on the Saturday, about nine or ten o'clock
in the morning, on the road with the people, most of
whom were armed. There were, he thought, about
100 there at that period ; he said something to them,
but the witness did not hear him. About 12 o'clock
on the same day Mr. O'Brien walked into the con-
cerria of the mining company, and asked who was in
charge of them, when the witness replied that he was.
He then said he came for some carts and boxes to
help to throw up a barricade across the road. The
witness replied that he could not give them, upon
which Mr. O'Brien said he would take them by force.
Re then ordered a man who was standing by to
wheel away the cart, but he refused, and Mr.
_O'Brien commenced to do so himself. He, how-
ever, did not renigve the cart out of the yard, and
indeed only rollrd it a few yards. The people
outside did not come in, they remained about 50 yards
from the gate—say about 500 in number, shouting
and streaming. After Mr. O'Brien left the yard, he
went down to where the crowd was, upon which a
number of unarmed persons came into the yard, and
began ringing the workmen's hell. They continued
doing so for about a quarter of an hour, and then
commenced erecting a barricade across the road,
made of a ladder, some boxes, sticks, and stones, and
in height about four feet. When that was done they
marched isp and down the road, armed with pikes
and guns, and shouting. Mr. O'Brien had a pistol
in his band when he ',came into the company's yard.
After leaving the road they proceeded towards Mrs.
M'Cormackit house, when the witness saw a body
of police coming towards a place called Scott's
Cross, and after that turned also towards the house.
As well as he could see at the distance he was from
the parties the police got into the house first, and
shortly after, say a quarter of an hour, he heard fir-
ing. The witness saw about 500 people going to-
wards the Widow M'Cormack's, and besides those a
great many on the hills around, but he could not see
if they were armed or not. Later in the day, about
an hour and a half after the firing at Widow M'Cor-
mack's house, he saw another body of police coming
from the direction of Killenaule. Three or four days
previous to this the police stationed on the common
were withdrawn from the barrack on the common,
which was built and was the property of the company.
When Mr. O'Brien came into the yard he asked for
the key of that house, saying he wanted it to station
some men there. Farranrory was the name of the
place where Widow,M‘Cormack lived.

Cross-examined—The mining company's concerns
were about an English mile from widow M'Cormack's
house. The witness swore two informations, one in
August, at Ballingarry, and the other in September,
at Mr. Kemmis's offie in Dublin. The last was the
longest. The witness intended to continue in his
situation, which he preferred to being in the police.
No injury occurred to the property of the company;
all the men seemed to care for was to protect Mr.
O:Brien from arrest, and although there were fifty
pafunds of powder in the concern, it was not touched.
The witness WS3 not afraid on the occasion. lie did
mot hear a word in the speeches made about Ireland
being free in a week, but he did that she would be
free in a fortnight, and in six months, provided they
protected Mr. S. O'Brien. The witness went to
bed and slept, after being well frightened, and early
next morning saw Mr. O'Brien on the road with about
a hundred people. When Mr. O'Brien came into the
yard he was accompanied by a little boy only, and
did not frighten the witness. When he refused to give
up the cart, if Mr. O'Brien chose he could have got
men to roll it out, but the witness believed any of those
employed by the company would not do so. The door
of the police barrack appeared to have received a blow