The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-12-26
London.
Correspondence of the Herald)

OConnell has wholly and signally failed in his at
tempts to obtain delay, and in his efforts to postpone
must at last come to of-Guilty or not Guilty In
stead of being anxious to meet his opponents-in-
stead of trying defend himself and his proceed
ing before an Irish uryinstead OF burning Tor the
moment TO arrive when he might ask OF his fellow
countrymen, whether Catholic or Protestant, whe-
Their Repealers or non-Repealers, verdict OF ac-
quittal, the ground of the alleged Legality OF his
proceedings and his boosted patriotism and devo-
tedness to lreland-his great object has been and
is, by every man9uvre IN his power, TO postpone
the much dreaded trial, and to resort TO every ex,
pedient to put off the decision both OF the court and
Jury. Now, this line OF proceeding must be the re-
suit of one of two states of mind. Either OCon-
nell is convinced that he has acted illegally, or else
he breads the punishment which Will most assured
y be inflicted on him. feel satisfied he desires
much rather to be hero than TO be a martyr, and
that he has no idea of suffering tor any cause he
espouses He thinks his career has been one OF
ceaseless triumph and progress. Friends, money,
partisans, all at his disposal. The wings disturbed
him for while, but the period was very short
They yielded to his influence, as he did to their
overtures When one association has been put
down by law, the objects for which it commended
have been soon afterwards conceded. All his plans
for rousng the people, exciting the people, ana
obtaining funds from the people to carry
his views, his schemes into effect have succeeded
abundantly for him, and the Roman Catholic Cler-
gy have backed him from the altar, and in the con
fessional. Now, this was easy, sailing TOR MI
able--and in spite of occasional difficulties the port
has almost always been reached IN safety. But now
stormy weather has commenced; they are called
on TO rough it, and they show neither courage ,h
chagrin; they do not so much as AFFECT gaiety they
take to abusing their old friends the nbbandmen
they protest they would not wound the feelings OF
the Orangemen not for any thing that this world
could offer they bid the Irish not much as to fire
of rocket or burn faggot on hill side-and they
implore the priests and the repeal wardens to de.
nounce all rlbbandmen to the Irish Magistrates
What means, of sudden, all this wonderful love OF
legality What means this aversion to old friends
and acquaintance! How comes II to pass that
whilst Mr.. O'Conne is establishing arbitration
courts to beard the magistrates, to mock their at-
thorlty, and to bring them into contempt that ne
enreating his friends and supporters to appeal to
those very magistrates to put down bonfires and
ribbandsm! The answer to these inquiries is clearly
this that he is &C at his wits ends"--that ne wishes
produce. if possible some reaction In his favor
on the minds of Dublin Jurymen before his trial
comes on-and that he earnestly hopes to satisfy
them that he is only anxious to obtain repeal by
perfectly legal and pacific means, But IT MIR. OCon-
nell has a short memory, the Irish iurymen may not
be similarly circumstanced, and when the trial
shall come on the Attorney and Solicitor General
will not fail in their addresses to bring before the
jury extracts from the Dctator's speeches during
the summer and autumn, showing, from his own
words that he has repeatedly dehed the y Saxon
government to put him down, either by law or
by force and that he has pledged himself to
obtain repeal even wthoutthe assent oil the Houses
of Parliament"
The success of the government in the inermedl-
ate stages of this remarkable prosecution has aston
ished those who believed the declarations OF Mr.
O'Conne and his partsans, that by fnesse, atida-
Wits, and repeated motions and special pleading the
trial would be postponed for year or two-and
then that it would take years to try. These
declarations were made SO publicly by O'Con
nell, his lawyers and his friends that they
could not fail of reaching the ears OF the
Judges-and therefore, when they saw the trick OF
a plea in abatement, and the trick OF moving tor
various documents, extracts, and copies-of the
trick of seeking time to plead, time to JOIN In de,
murrer, time to argue the demurrer-tlme TO plead
after the demurrer was heard-and time to JOIN
lssne-apd tor Icing delay, even until February,
before the trial should come on-they could not
help feeling men, in spite OF their Judicial cha
| racter, that O'Connell's object was delay.
The plea of abatement was one OF the strongest
proofs to the minds of the Judges that 1t was the
real design of all the traversers to get time. twas
essentially dllaiory plea, for what mattered It to
the real question at issue, VIZ guilty or not guilty,
OF being engaged In conspiracy against the 60
vernment of the country, whether the witnesses tor
the Crown, whose names were mentioned on the
back of the Indictment, were sworn In open Court,
or sworn before the Grand Jury They were
sworn. THIS was known to be the case; and that
was all that was sufficient.
When the Attorney General demurred'to the plea
of abatement as bad IN law, another attempt was
made to create delay. The accused asked fol-
time to Join in demurrer. But why ask for time
than mere legal form to JOIN IN demurrer, and
therefore TO ask for four day rule IN such case
additional evidence that delay was Ill that was
desired However, the Court would not be tried
with, and the application was refused But this de-
feat did not deter the traversers from yet further
application, and that was for time TO argue the de-
murrer. "We have not got our Briefs" cried one.
"We have not consulted together 10 our argu-
ment," exclaimed second. "We shall have to
sit up all night calculated third. " Fidde-de-
dec was practically the answer of the Judges,
who paid no attention to such qulbbing, and laugh
ed In their sleeves at the boosted heroism OF Mr..
O'Connell, who, the moment the time OF danger
draws near, and when his offer of being martyr
tor the repeal cause IL TO be tired and tested, does
nothing but seek to delay the hour of his martyr
dom. So the demurrer was argued-and Mr.:
O'Connell was defeated-for the Judges decided
that the act on which he relied did not apply.-that
the witnesses had been properly sworn and that IN
law the Indictment was good and could not be
quashed.
As the plea in abatement was thus decided to be
bad, it became necessary for Mr.. OConnel to
plead again; but even this be sought 20 delay, and
was an absurdity, since what could he plead but
guilty guilty, and it refused to listen to such
a demurrer. Not guilty." therefore, was the plea
| OF O'Conne, and so issue was joined.
The Attorney General now applied to the Court
TO fix day for the trial at bar of this memorable
cause; and his application was met by host OF
hostile efhdavits. The Attorney General now
made false move. IL was not because MIR. O'Con.
nell had sought to delay the trial of the indictment
by absurd pleas and preexts, therefore that he and
his coadutors should be deprived of that necessary
time for preparation which is granted to even the
meanest offender, on either a grave or a solemn
charge The Attorney General, therefore, failed
in his attempt to bring on the trial in December,
principally, however, on the ground that the jury
list had not been revised and that legal jury could
not, before the beginning of January, be properly
selected But when O'Connell applied TO postpone
the trial until the first of February, the Court
that such demand was part and parcel of the
"delay" system-and il fixed the 18th OF January.
On that day, then, the trial will commence and
no efforts on the part of Mr.. O'Connell the ira
versers will avail them to postpone 1t farther. The
questions TO be decided by the issue OF that trial
really immense. They are
LIST. Whether repeal agitation is legal or illegal
under the present laws or whether il is necessary
apply to Parliament TO suppress 1t by new acts of
Parliament
3D. Whether the Repeal Association can be put
down by the existing legislation?