The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-17 00:00:00

AFFAIR OF HONOUR

The following correspondence has been published in
the Dublin newspapers
" Hibernian Hotel, Thursday night, ten o'clock.
"Sir,—l shall feel obliged if you will be so kind as
to give insertion to the following statement, which I
think it necessary to make respecting a liberty which
Was taken with Mr. Dillon Browne in the Monitor
Paper of a recent date. Immediately after the paper
alluded to was brought to the notice of Mr. Browne,
I waited upon Mr. Coffey, the registered proprietor
of that newspaper, and demanded, on the part of Mr.
Browne, reparation of the offence that was committed,
upon which occasion Mr. Coffey declined to make
any atonement, and stated that on that evening, or
early the following morning, he would refer me to a
friend, for the purpose of arranging ulterior proceed-
ings • .on that evening Mr. Martyn waited upon me
and left his card, which I received with the accom-
panying letter from Mr. Coffey . _

51, Dominick-street,-September 10, 1844.
Sir—Upon the subject of our interview this
day, I beg to refer you to Mr. Martyn, who will
communicate with you.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
" JAMES CHARLES COFFEY.

" ' M. Blake, Esq., M.P.'"
`` At one o'clock in the afternoon of the next day
.ix. c\Vednesday) I had the honour of an interview with
;11h. Martyn, when he adhered to the position which
nCoffey thought fit to occupy, and discussed the
appointment of time and place, I suggested that
levening—Mr. Martyn the following morning, and
definitively
waited upon Mr. Browne to have that point
uefinitively arranged, I returned to Mr. Martyn,
rhen, in compliance with his wishes, I deferred the
final arrangement until three o'clock. At that hour
kr. Martyn declined either tendering an apology or
Banetioning a meeting, upon which I again waited
Pon Mr. Coffey, who adopted the views of Mr. Mar-
-Ir, and refused to refer me to another friend. Mr.
rowne then addressed the following letter to Mr.
Coffey:—

"‘ September 11, 1844.
14" Sir,--I have just been informed by my friend
• Mark Blake, who waited upon you, on my part,
having
avin
gjuu
have refused to give me any redress for
published an article offensive to me in the last
number of the Monitor, of which newspaper you are
the registered proprietor. I did not expect that such
a course would have been adopted by an individual
Whom, as a member of the Irish bar, I presumed to
be a gentleman. I have now but one other appeal,
Which is made to your feelings as a man and an
Irishman—feelings which, I trust, will be evoked
When I here unhesitatingly declare that your conduct
1,,.4 unworthy of a gentleman and a man of courage.
If this stimulates you to give me the satisfaction I
require, you can still communicate with my friend,
41r. Blake.—l have the honour to remain, Sir, your
obedient servant, " R. D. BROWNE.
"`J. C. Coffey, Esq.' "
" At twelve o'clock, noon, Mr. Martyn again
waited upon me, and demanded a withdrawal of Mr.
Browne's letter, which I declined doing, unless the
article in the Monitor was withdrawn, and an apology
made for its insertion. Mr. Martyn then declined
Proceeding further in the business. After this, I
Waited until the hoar at which this letter is dated,
When I came to the conclusion that it was then neces-
sary to insert this.communication in the public prints.
" I have the honour to remain, Sir,
" Your obedient servant,
" MARK BLAKE."
TO THE EDITOR or TIIE DUBLIN EVENING POST.
Sir,-IVith reference to the statement of Mr.
°lark Blake, in which he adverts to interviews and
Innversations held with me, as the friend of Mr. Coffey,
beg to state that I refused to permit Mr. Coffey to
give Mr. Dillon Browne a hostile meeting, on the
ground that that gentleman had no claim for repara-
tion from Mr. Coffey, " personally," in the position
Ir. Browne had then assumed ; and throughout the
t,,ntire negotiation I disavowed, on the part of Mr.
Coffey, any " personal" responsibility for the matter
enniplained of.
I protested against the principle that the proprietor
~°C newspaper should be held personally responsible
for the contents of it; and to exemplify the justness
Unreasonable
this position, I fully explained to Mr. Blake how
unreasonable it would be that the proprietor of a
newspaper, having no means of being personally cog-
nisant of all matters which might appear in it, should,
notwithstanding, be held personally responsible to all
Who happened to feel themselves offended, in conse-
Vlence of matters which might get publicity without
s sanction or knowledge ; and I stated that equally
as his liability in a court of justice was ascertained,
a 0
Was his personal irresponsibiliry perfectly under-
st°o(l. Upon these grounds I altogether refused to
sanction or recognise Mr. Browne's demand, as it
*ast then made.
however, invariably expressed my readiness on
`'Olalf of Mr. Coffey to give Mr. Browne a meeting
r
them.' explanation, when that gentleman had taken
ve. proper preliminary steps to enable him to call on
nr- Coffey "personally," namely—when he had ap-
red in the ordinary way and in the usual quarter
r redress, which mode he had on a former and a re-
eent occasion recognised and adopted, and it was in
the event of that application for redress so made being
tefilsed, and that Mr. Coffey sanctioned its refusal,
t I " discussed with Mr. Blake the appointment of
itne and place."
fir. Blake, upon behalf of Mr. Browne, refused to
„Illake the application in the way I suggested, where-
'NU I declined permitting any retractation or meeting.
Subsequently to the communication of my final
determination to Mr. Blake, the letter of Mr. Browne
t 0 fir. Coffey was handed to me, and as I regarded it
as an unjustifiable attempt to influence Mr. Coffey's
e.nlper, and even to irritate him to sacrifice the prin-
RPle of personal irresponsibility which I conceived he
as bound to maintain, as well as in his individual
position as proprietor of the Monitor, as on behalf of
~t other proprietors of public journals ; and as Mr.
Browne thought proper to offer by it a voluntary and
deliberate insult to Mr. Coffey, for the purpose of
a'Arging him to abandon the course I, as his friend,
iliepted, I felt myself imperatively bound to direct
III:. Coffey not to notice it further, and in this opinion
thuave had the gratification since to he confirmed by
approval of two experienced military gentlemen,
'l°,oll I have consulted..
,11.8.8 an act of courtsey to Mr. Blake, I yielded to
irlY anxiety to afford him an opportunity of retract-
pig Mr. B-rownes letter. I endeavoured again to ex-
wain, as simply' as I could, that everything he sought
,e as to be had by him, if he would only take the pro-
li„r..eourse. He offered to withdraw the letter, if I
,ittertook to have an apology for the insertion of the
r'ragraph he complained of, published in the Monitor;
and he added, that he would not then, as he had. at
Ztrts.t required, insist on Mr. Coffey's personal retrac-
te and apology. I refused this proposal upon the
:lands I first stated, and I intimated my deterrail i•
14 to adhere to the position I held from the corn-
eneernent. Mr. Blake then asked time for consi-
d,,,,
'"°a,„ which I, of course, at once acquiesced in.
'ter an hour's deliberation, Mr. Blake came back to

me, but peremptorily refused to retract the letter, and
so all further communication upon Le subject was
then (at three o'clock yesterday) finally concluded.-
1 have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
MATHEW J. MARTYN.
5, Middle Gardiner-street, Sept. 13, 1844.
ARREST OF MR. DILLON BROWNE1 M.P.
_ _ _

Mr. Browne, M.P., was last night arrested on a
warrant, charging him with writing a letter to Mr.
Coffey calculated to incite him to commit a breach of
the peace, and this day all the parties appeared at
Henry-street Police-office, before Mr. Duffy.
Mr. Browne was attended by Mr. Keogh as his
Counsel, by Sir Valentine Blake, Bart., and Mr. Mark
Blake, M.P.
Mr. Henry Grattan Curran acted as Counsel fit
Mr. Coffey.
Mr. Keogh stated that he appeared on behalf of Mr.
Robert Dillon Browne, to submit to the consideration
of the Bench the facts connected with the misunder-
standing between him and Mr. Coffey. He then
proceeded to detail the case of Mr. Browne, which, to
a certain extent, appears in the correspondence given
above. He designated the article in the Monitor,
which gave rise to the correspondence, as a gross per-
sonal attack—a very lame, low, and -vulgar produc-
tion. All Mr. Browne required was a retractation of
the statement, and a public apology in the journal
which contained it; and as no gentleman could adopt
such a contemptible article, he did expect that repa-
ration would be instantly made to him when he
applied to Mr. Coffey on the subject. The letter of
Mr. Browne did not imply that he intended to take
any further steps ; on the contrary, it was final and
conclusive as far as he was concerned.

Air. Duffy—He says in this letter, " I here unhe-
sitatingly declare that your conduct is unworthy of a
gentleman and a man of courage. If this stimulates
you to give me the satisfaction I require," &c.
Mr. Keogh replied that Mr. Browne meant that
Mr. Coffey should make him the just reparation to
which he was strictly entitled—namely, an apology
for the injury inflicted upon him.
Mr. Duffy—The meaning of Mr. Browne was ob-
vious. The course he suggested ought to be repudiated
by every person, and he (Mr. Duffy) would certainly
require the writer of that letter to give securities to
keep the peace.
Mr. Keogh proceeded at some length to detail his
version of the transaction, and in the course of his
remarks contended that all his client sought was the
withdrawal of the offensive paragraph, one which was
not aimed against his political character, but invaded
the sanctuary of his private life. He applied for that
redress to Mr. Coffey, because, on a former occasion,
when he was libelled in the same paper, he applied to
the editor, who then denied his responsibility—now
he looked to the registered proprietor, and he was
met in the same way—and although Mr. Coffey
could not adopt the low, vulgar, malignant article in
question, still he would not afford that justice which
he was bound to give the gentlemen injured by it.
Mr. Curran then replied at considerable length on
the part of Mr. Coffey. He said the true facts of the
case were set forth in the letter of Mr. Martyn, dated
yesterday (published above). He said the first inti-
mation Mr. Coffey received of the displeasure of Mr.
Browne was from two gentlemen, Mr. M. Blake and
another, who walked into his office. They held up
the Monitor to him and said, " Sir, we call upon you
to retract this statement, and to make a full and
ample apology for inserting it." The manner of
these gentlemen was offensive, and Mr. Cofey not
wishing to intrust himself with the discussion of the
subject, referred them to Mr. Martyn. That gen-
tleman at once declared that Mr. Coffey could not,
and ought not to be considered personally responsible
for the article complained of; suggested who the pro-
per party was, and, on retiring, Mr. Blake and his
friend admitted that Mr. Coffey could not be consi-
dered responsible in the manner sought, although
legally he was. Mr. Martyn conceived the principle
for which he contended was thus admitted; but no—
on communicating with Mr. Browne, that gentleman
resolved to hold Mr. Coffey alone responsible for the
article of which he complained. And finding that the
original cause of quarrel was not sufficient, he says " I
will break new ground ; I will write such an insult-
ing letter to him that he must fight me." Unless he
was actuated by the most malignant feelings towards
Mr. Coffey, he would not have adopted the course he
did. Counsel assured the bench that he could vouch
for the correctness of Mr. Martyn's statement, and
further, that the course he pursued had the full appro-
bation of two gentlemen holding commissions in both
branches of her Majesty's service.

Mr. Browne declared that he never heard of Mr.
Coffey's name until this transaction, and Mr. Coffey
denied that he was actuated by any hostile feeling to
Mr. Brown.

Mr. Keogh replied, and after a good deal of " hard
hitting " between the learned counsel—not of each
other—but of the principals—
Mr. Duffy said, that looking to the language and
the spirit of the letter written by Mr. Browne, and
its subsequent publication by him, he should call upon
that gentleman to find sureties to keep the peace to
Mr. Coffey.
Mr. Keogh—To Mr. Coffey ?
Mr. Duffy—And all her Majesty's subjects, for
seven years, himself in 4001., and two sureties in
2001. each.

Mr. Keogh intimated that his client was ready to
comply with the order of the bench, and mentioned
that Sir Valentine Blake and Mr. Geoghegan (of the
county Galway) were present as sureties.
The parties then retired to the clerk's office, and,
after a short time, the recognizances were duly ex-
ecuted, and the parties left the office.