The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-22 00:00:00

and humane, he deprecated any violation of order,
mentioning a report that soldiers were near, in the

House of Detention. (A Voice—

Let them stop

there.") Comparing this demonstration of force and
authority to that which he said caused the riot in
Hyde Park, he said that now, as then, the people
were not to be intimidated thus. Then, pleading for

the " good, but perhapsreckless youngmen, doomed
to the tender mercies of Calcraft," he contended that

they were political offenders—Fenians certainly,
but Fenianism was another name for patriotism.

(Hear, hear, and cheers.) It had been declared by
the Times that his own conduct at the Home-office

had been as disgraceful as that of the condemned
prisoners ; if so, he ought to be condemned too ; and
if he could not be hung for his conduct, then the

prisoners ought to escape. (Cheers.) Referring to a
suggested prosecution of himself for trespass, which
the meeting received as a joke, he claimed a degree
of publicity for the Home-office which protected him
from such a charge. The terms of their resolution
were intended to convey sympathy with the doomed
and commiseration with the family of the man whose
life was lost. If their efforts proved ineffectual up to

this morning, they would to-day do their best to
reach the ears of the Queen. (Hear, hear.) The de-

putation would go in the spirit of mercy ; it would
be prompted only by the most catholic and generous
considerations. If the men were after all executed
—(A. Voice—We will have revenge.) Let there be
no talk of revenge, for a moral power would be
evoked which would be enough without that; but
there would be a funeral procession. (Cheers.) For

what he had already done in this matter he had been
dismissed from his employment—(cries of "Shame")
—but, nevertheless, he would head the funeral pro•
cession. (Great cheering.)
_ _ .

After a few all but inaudible words by the visitor
from Liverpool, who was understood to communi-
cate a declaration made by one of the condemned

prisoners to a relation that if executed they would
regard themselves as murdered men,
Mr. OWEN seconded the resolution. I-Ie urged
that we could afford to be magnanimous, and that
the Government would be humiliated if it took away
the lives of the four misguided young men. lie did
not see why the Queen, on the presentation of a me-
morial, should not in such a case advise her advisers.

After three cheers for the Queen, the resolution
was put and carried by a show of hands.
Mr. MELDRUNI moved the second resolution, and
treated the crime of the condemned as a political

offence, which it would be impolitic to punish with
death, while the exercise of mercy would strengthen
the hands of the Government. lie also referred to
Allen as being a youth and a child in the eye of the
law—certainly in a political sense. lie concluded
by dwelling on the sufferings and the wrongs of Ire-
land.

Mr. THOMAS seconded the resolutipn, and said
here would have been no neeassity for this meeting

if the Home Secretary had received the deputation
on Monday. Perhaps that refusal had done more
to excite public opinion on the subject t'►an any
other event which could have transpired. He urged
that the convicts were guilty only of manslaughter
at the worst.

Mr. BItADLAUGH supported the motion. He would
not have spoken, he said, but for what he had just
heard of the jcourse of the debate in the House of
Commons. Earnestly recommending abstinence
from language or conduct which could tend to de-
feat their single object, or that could provoke a
conflict which would be attended with disadvantage
to those who were the worst prepared for it, he
called upon the Government to consider that they
must bear the full responsibility if they provoked
people here and in lreland—(A. Voice—" And in
America")—to such an extent that sad results en-
sued. He pleaded, however, with the strong for
mercy, and with authority for clemency. At the
same time, he concluded from the letter of Mr.
Justice Blackburn that the law was not so clear
but that some excuse might have been found
by the Government if they had wished to
show mercy. L-pally, they had the right to
take these men's lives ; but how could they
do so with the consciousness that if we
had governed Ireland better these things would not
have happened? (Hear, hear.) Calmly and
earnestly, he dreaded that the worst kind of civil
war would follow the execution. In conclusion, he
contended that the poor, who would suffer most for
any mistaken policy, had the right to urge this plea
for mercy. (Cheers.) In the time that remained let
all who joined in the appeal individually petition
the authorities, earnestly, solemnly, but not rashly,
asking that the lives in their hands may not be
recklessly sacrificed. (Cheers.)
The resolution was carried, and it was announced
that collecting boxes would be sent round for con-
tributions towards the expenses. It was also stated
that a gentleman had contributed a box of mourning
hat-bands to be worn on Sunday if necessary, and
those who could not obtain hat-bands were recom-
mended to wear crape on the aria. The procession
would start from Clerkenwell-green at 11 o'clock.
Thanks were voted to the chairman, and the assem-
blage around the platform began to disperse.
Mr. GILMORE presided at the second platform,
and, opening the proceedings, he insisted that, no
matter how impartial the Judges and the jury at
Manchester were, they could not possibly have given,
in the excitement of the moment, proper weight to
the defence set up for the convicts ; and, to his mind,
it was palpable that in this instance the lives of four
human beings were to be sacrificed on the testimony
of prostitutes and perjurers. But, notwithstanding
his belief in the innocence of the men, he would
rather see them hanged than condemned to the
pains of Portland, because be believed they would
go from martyrdom into everlasting glory.
Mr. RICHARDSON, the mover of the first resolu-
tion, rejoiced in the demonstration before him. That
the men of London could leave their homes on such
a night to speak in mercy's name was enough to
stay the tyranny of any Government, however
bloodthirsty it
might be. He urged his hearers to
go on in their work of mercy, and if possible save
the lives of those misguided, rash, but patriotic men
in Manchester.
Mr. M'SwEENY, one of the deputation, declaimed
against the juvenile perjurers who had been trained
to swear away the lives of the men at Manchester,
and then he criticised Lord Derby's speech in the
House of Lords. The Earl of Derby had said that
the prisoners were not condemned for political
crimes, and in the next breath he expressed himself
satisfied that the Fenians would rest content with
nothing short of a republic. He had also stated that
before the republic had lived six months the people
would have knocked each other's brains out, and in
twelve Months they would be cutting each other's
throats. Such was the trifling of the Prime Minister,
such the wisdom with which England was governed
and Ireland misgoverned. The Government of Ire-
land was but a military encampment, and the Lord
Lieutenant a notorious exterminator ; he had,
therefore, little hope of getting justice for Ireland,
but he appealed to the men of Loudon to insist that
the lives of these men should not be sacrificed at the
desire of such a miserable Government.
Several other speakers followed in the same strain,
and some urged their bearers to behave in au orderly
manner, even before the police or military, so that
the Government should find they could prove them-
selves men, and worthy of a hearing.
At the third platform the same speakers repeated
their observations with more or less variation, and
the crowd dispersed about 9 o'clock.