The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-29 00:00:00

The Prosecution of Governor Eyre.

At a meeting of the Jamaica Committee, held on
Tuesday, it was decided by a majority that Governor
Eyre should be prosecuted for the murder of Mr.
Gordon, either by the Government or Mrs. Gordon.
Mr. Charles Buxton, having differed on the point
from the majority of the Committee, has addressed
the following letter to the Secretary of the Com-
mittee on the subject :-
7, Grosvenor-crescent, S.W., June 26, 1866.

Dear Sir, —I find that I shall probably be prevented from
attending the meeting of the committee to-day. I wish,
therefore, to write to you the views I entertain with regard
to the prosecution of Mr. Eyre by our committee. I have
deliberated most anxiously on the subject since we lastmet,
and am fully decided not to support that proposal.
No one, indeed, can have felt deeper indignation than
myself at the shameful misconduct of Governor Eyre
towards the people entrusted to his care. The report of
the Commission, feeble and timid as it is, and written
though it be with a manifest anxiety to exculpate the
authorities, yet but too amply proves the atrocious
cruelties of which they were guilty. It proves, too,
that these cruelties were not committed, as some have tried
to make out, in order, by striking terror into the negroes,
to prevent the further spread of the riot or insurrection ;
but that they took place after every shadow of resistance
had vanished, and were simply acts of vengeance inflicted
almost indiscriminately upon the negro population, with
scarcely a pretence of distinguishing the innocent from the
guilty. It proves that for more than a month the civil,
naval, and military authorities went on wreaking this
vengeance at their own caprice ; that a couple of young
lieutenants and an ensign went on hanging any one they
pleased till nearly 200 persons had perished on the scaffold
by their orders alone, besides nearly 300 who were put to
death by others; it proved that, besides all this hanging
and shooting, horrible tortures were inflicted on more
than 600 persons, women as well as men ; and in many
cases, in addition to the punishment of death; and that
Mr. Eyre never moved a finger to prevent or to punish
these atrocities.

These facts, which at first seemed incredible to the British
public, have been proved by the report of the Commission,
and must cover the name of Mr. Eyre with infamy. Even
those who have most eagerly advocated his cause must
allow that the governor of a colony who thus gave the rein
to everyone without exception—who chose to vent his rage
upon the people without the smallest attempt to moderate
their passions, or restrain their cruelties—showed himself
utterly unfit for the responsibilities that had unhappily
devolved upon him. Aud with regard to Mr. Gordon, no
one can dispute the conclusion of the Commission, that Mr.
Eyre shared in the awful guilt of consigning an innocent
man to the gallows.
I feel all this most deeply ; but the question before us is
whether we should prosecute Mr. Eyre for the wilful murder
of Mr Gordon ? I certainly have felt the gravest doubt
whether it would not be our duty to take that course. I
cannot, however, shut my eyes to this fact—that in arrest-
ing Mr. Gordon, and sending him to be tried by court-
martial, Governor Eyre was under the belief that a wide-
spread conspiracy had broken out in the island with a view
to a general massacre of the white population, and that Mr.
Gordon was the prime mover of this design. The report
of the commissioners has completely dispelled this belief.
They say themselves that the conclusion at which they
have arrived "is decisive as to the non-existence of such a
conspiracy ;" and they admit (though evidently with re-
luctance), "that the evidence against Mr. Gordon was
wholly insufficient to establish the charge upon which he
took his trial."

But while we feel all the horror which must be inspired
by the reflection that not only one innocent man, but hun-
dreds of innocent men, were put to death in cold blood,
owing to this shameful misapprehension by the governor of
the island; still 1 do not think that anyone who has duo re-
gard to truth can deny that Mr. Eyre really shared in the
belief, universal at the moment among all the white and
coloured men of the island, that such a consipracy had ex-
isted, and that Mr. Gordon was to a great extent guilty of
promoting it.
It seems to me impossible to regard the course taken by
Mr. Eyre under these circumstances—shameful and crimi-
nal as it was—yet as involving him in the guilt of wilful
murder.

Probably many members of our committee, myself among
the number, are in favour of capital punishment for murder;
but is there one among us who would not be filled with utter
dismay if we supposed that any steps we might take would
send Mr. Eyre to the gallows ? But if so, can it be right for
us to engage in a prosecution which, unless it be a total
failure, must inevitably lead to the passing of a sentence of
death upon him as a wilful murderer ? Can we be justified
in doing all that in us lies to get such a sentence passed
upon him, trusting to some third party to step in and save
us from the awful consequence that in the ordinary course
of things would ensue from our own proceedings ? I for one
cannot consent to prosecute a man for wilful murder when
I feel all the while that however disgraceful and criminal his
conduct was, ho cannot really be classed with murderers,
and when I myself should shrink with horror from the
natural conclusion to which such a step would lead.
I do not wish to say much about the policy of adopting
the proposed course. I admire the chivalrous feeling of the
committee, that we ought to do justice without respect to
consequences ; still our common sense will not permit us to
blind ourselves to the truth that we could not possibly injure
our own cause more than by such a prosecution. There
cannot, I suppose, be the least doubt that its result would
be to give a triumph to Mr. Eyre and his advocates. Should
the grand jury find a true bill against him—which is in
itself highly improbable—still we can have but little ex-
pectation that the jury by whom he should be tried would
eonvict him. But in any case we ourselves should depend
upon the intervention of the Government to advise her
Majesty to remit the legal punishment for murder; nor
can we doubt for a moment that in fact Mr. Eyre would
receive a free pardon. Under any of these contingencies
he would be regarded by public opinion as a martyr who
had been vindictively and cruelly assailed, and his escape
from danger would be hailed as a glorious triumph for
himself and his partisans. As things stand, we have at
any rate achieved a considerable amount of success. At
any rate, Mr. Eyre has been dismissed with severe cen-
sure, thoroughly endorsed by the British public, and it
would be impossible for any Government again to employ
an officer whose misconduct has been so fully exposed.
The punishment that has befallen him is not adequate—is
indeed far from being adequate to his offences ; but still it
is sufficient to be a serious warning to others. But all the
good effect of this example would be done away were he
tried and deliberately acquitted, or pardoned by the Queen
amid the plaudits of the British people.
Furthermore, in thus confining our action to the case of
Mr. Gordon we should virtually condone all those other
atrocities committed by the naval, military, and civil
authorities in Jamaica, which, in my opinion, deserve
punishment not less severe. I think we ought to be satis-
fied, as far as Mr. Eyre is concerned, with his dismissal and
disgrace ; but we ought to insist on the same penalty being
inflicted on the more immediate actors in these horrible
scenes. My view, therefore, would be, that we should
ascertain what are the intentions of the authorities at home
with regard to these offenders, and if we find that no action
with regard to them is about to be taken, we should bring
the subject before Parliament with the view of compelling
them to do justice. Moreover, we ought at once to de-
mand compensation for the innocent sufferers by these
outrages.

I am heartily sorry to differ from those with whose views
and feelings I so cordially sympathise, but my opinion on
the subject is so clear and strong that I could not surren-
der it to that of the majority of the committee. Probably
it would be most convenient, under these circumstances,
that I should retire from the chairmanship, which I do,
however, with a feeling of the warmest regard for those
with whom I have hitherto been co-oporating.—l am, die.,
CHARLES BUXTON.

THE ROBBERY OF STAMPS AT MANCHESTER.-
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, acting
upon the recommendation of Capt. W. H. Palin, the chief
constable of Manchester, has advised the grant of her Ma-
jesty's pardon to any accomplice who will give such infor-
mation as will lead to the capture of the thieves concerned
in the extensive robbery of postage stamps at Manchester
a short time since.

HELSTON ELECTION COMMITTEE.—The General
Committee of Elections, consisting of Mr. Walpole (chair-
man), Mr. Corry, Mr. Clay, Mr. Gower, Mr. Hunt, and
Mr. Whitbread, met yesterday and selected the following
members to try the merits of the petition against the re-
turn of Mr. Campbell for the borough of Helston :--The
Right Hon. R. Lowe (chairman), Colonel Barttelot, the
G. Denman, Mr. liussell Gurney, and Lord Edward
Howard.