The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-23 00:00:00

TRIAL OF MR. MEAGHER.

CLONMEL, OCT. 20.—Atihesiiiini—OF the Court
this morning Mr. Whiteside resumed his brilliant and
powerful speech on behalf of theiprisoner. It was a splendid
piece ofeloquence, especially towards the close,:and,created
a great sensation in court. The Learned Gentleman
commenced by saying that on the previous evening he
had referred to the charge made against his client, for
sympathising with the French revolution. Now what
was the fact ? That in England, after the first French
revolution, meeting on meeting was got up, addresses
adopted and presented to the people of that country,
some of which contained expressions of a most objec-
tionable nature, and yet a jury refused to convict pri-
soners charged with high treason. He should
next call their attention to the evidence of
Dobbin. They must, however, bear in mind that,
had Mr. Meagher been indicted for a conspiracy, two
witnesses were necessary, and yet, in every instance,
where an important fact was to be proved in this case,
there was only ono witness. Let them compare the
statements made now with those of that man on a former
occasion. Let them examine how far he was corrobo-
rated by circumstances; and after doing so, their duty
will be to decide as their own fate shall be adjudged in
another world. He said, the jury should recollect that
he never spoke at any of their meetings—that they used
to meet in a small room on Constitution-hill to read
newspapers. The Learned Counsel then proceeded to
read the evidence of Dobbin, and continuedt—He had
thus given them a faithful transcript of his evidence, and
they would see the additions he made to his testimony
formerly given. In the first place, he never said a word
about the Convention Act; ho did not say a syllable of
the arrangement that three should be a quorum;
and other things, of which they had not heard a
word on the former trials. They would bear in mind
that the lives of thirty persons were at stake
on the evidence of such a man who had so con-
ducted himself. What was the meaning of the oath a
man took when examined in a court of justice? He
swears to tell the whole truth; and yet, in this instance,
this man not only gives a totally different version of it,
bat adds circumstances of which they never heard, and
substitutes names and persons at his pleasure. The
whole thirty men who acted at the council forfeited their

lives according to the argument of the Attorney-General;
but he (Mr. Whiteside) would ask the jury, did they
ever see treason so slovenly committed as it was by them,
according to the testimony of that man? What corrobo-
ration was there that the council which he described was
a war council? 'There was 'tent,-tsooording to the state-
ment of the Attorney-General; and then they had the
evidence of a man like him on a charge which should
bring his client, if convicted, to the scaffold. The At- '
torney-General not only said that his evidence could
' not be corroborated, but, in addition, that it was
not in his power to do so. Why not sum-
mon all the persons in the outer room, many of
whose names could be supplied by Dobbin? They
could have been sworn on the table, and merely state,
without convicting themselves, that Dobbin was present
on the 21st of July. Besides, every ono knew where
the meeting was hold ; it was notorious to all the citi-
zens of Dublin that the place was I)'Olier-street ; and
why, he should ask, was not the detective produced,
who was on the watch on that evening ? That they
could have done so no man can doubt, for the attention
of the Government was directed at this time to the clubs,
and this council in particular, and every one knew that.
Mr. Meagher's person was well known to every detective
in Dublin. No human being was summoned to prove
that that meeting was held, and if it had been held,
there is no doubt whatever that every man who went
there was watched by the police. What evidence had
they that Dobbin himself was present but his own ?
A policeman was produced to prove his having
seen hint go into the room occupied by the " Red
Hand Club" on a particular evening, and yet there's
no one to show that ho was in D'Olier-street on the 21st
of July. Besides, what evidence had they that Mr.
Meagher was present either, except of that man who
was a notorious spy? Mr. Meagher was a
public man, his person was well known to the
Government; he, an eloquent speaker, in the habit of
addressing the clubs, the Government were watching
him, and yet not a human being is found to prove his
presence at that meeting whose testimony would or could
be believed by a jury. Ho remembered having read once
that the only way to preserve the liberties of a country
was for every man to look upon an aggression of another
man's rights as if it were on his own, and that was the
position in which the jury were placed in regard to
' Mr. Meagher. Would they like to have their lives
placed at the mercy of a man who scrupled not to tell
everything that came into his head, and was totally un-
corroborated by a single witness ? He should now come
to the balloting papers found in the possession of
Mr. Lalor. They would remember that those papers
were kept since that time, not by his esteemed friend
Mr. Kemmis, the Crown solicitor, but by Mr. Reding-
ton, the Under Secretary of State, who sent them to him
on the evening previous to the opening of the Commis-
sion. Why was not Mr. Redington produced? He had
the custody of those papers since they were discovered,
and would have explained to them if any alterations wore
made, but he was not brought forward. He was no
doubt an Under Secretary of State, but in the eye of the
law not more than a police-constable—aye, not better
than police-constable Premier himself. What would the
jury think if those papers were to be kept in police-
constable Prender's possession, the associate and
companion of the immaculate Dobbin? On those
papers the handwriting of Dobbin himself was
no doubt proved by an attorney's clerk, but ho was
not corroborated in any other particular; nor did
they ask Mr. O'Hara, when he was on the table for
another purpose, if Mr. Dillon's handwriting was to a
single paper. They called up a Mr. Sharman, also, a
solicitor, who proved Mr. Meagher's handwriting to a
letter, and yet they did not ask him a word as to his
vrritieg on the balloting papers, although Dobbin
proved that he (Meagher) was present, and voted.
Dobbin swore also that no clergymen were to be on the
council; he stated that they resolved not to do it before
the election commenced, and yet these men, who were
going steadily to overthrow the state, did that In one mo-
ment what they resolved; on another not to do. Dobbin
said that there was an equality of votes for Lalor and
Reilly in the first instance, but a greater falsehood was
never uttered in a court of justice. His story was, that
two scrutineers were appointed; that, on examining
the papers, there was an equality of votes.
But what was the fact? Reilly was elected by a
majority of eight, the numbers being, eighteen for one
man and ten for another. Of course the jury would hear
the explanation of that fact to be given by Mr. Solicitor-
General, but in his opinion it was impossible to do so.
Then l9t them look at the account Dubbin gave of him-
self. He began as a schoolmaster in Ballyshannon, but
the school was soon shut up. Then he became a collec-
tor for a newspaper, and lost the subscriptions.—(A
laugh.) Next, as a Protestant, he feigned to be a
Romaa Catholic, under what he calls a delusion.—(A
laugle) He was under no delusion; be was ti hypocrite
of 'at norse character than even a spy. He said ho was a
Catholic for the purposo of obtaining a situation, and
t, len becomes an Orangeman when the delusion ceases.--
(A laugh)—or rather when ho cannot get a situation.
They next found him in the Custom-house docks in
Dublin, threatening to dismiss his employer for al-
lowing men to drink wine; and again, lie was de-
voted to the position of carrying a chain for a sur-
veyor.—(A laugh.) From that position he goes into
Mr. Griffith's office, where the secret of a for-
gery was reposed in his immaculate breast—(A
laugh)—which he keeps for six months, although he
knew his employer was robbed of 651. They next found
him in England, and finally returned to this happy land,
where many a man made his fortune as a spy, and is
found in the Poor-law-office, telling a respectable gen-
tleman
that he was about to be assassinated! A baser