Evansville weekly journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 184?-18??, 1848-06-29
From the North Americana
BRITISH FREEDOM.


of poor Mitchell, the convicted "felon"-that
is, the convicted rcpublicun-of the United
Irishmen, we rise up confirmed, and saddened,
in our first impression, that his case affords an
example of governmental tyranny and cruelty
nay, of monarchical Notwithstanding to
every sense of right and justice, an insult to
the age, dishonor and humiliation to the Brl-
fish name. British freedom, indeed! British
freedom of speech! British freedom OF the
press We can now understand what this
sort of freedom means in Ireland at least. We
have only to follow Mitchell TO the prison
hulks of Bermuda,-to see him balled and
chained among felons, in the dress, and endur-
ing the treatment of d feloh-a galley slave
condemned to fourteen years OF this horrible
punishment for words, spoken in speech and
printed in newspaper, to understand what
that ':inestimable privilege of British freedom"
really means.
We have always been of the opinion, and
never hesitated to express it, that revolution
was impending over the British monarchy, as
well as over all other monarchies, which are
destined to fall, or TO be liberalized down 10
that point in which the popular sovereignty
shall assume Its proper position and be recog-
nized as paramount to all royal sovereignty;
and royalty, if spared, be continued merely in
an ancillary or subjective capacity, as the ser
want of the people; but we have always depre-
Gated revolution of blood, believing that En-
glish reform and Irish reform could be always
best; most safely, and most expeditiously ac
complished by energetic political agitation,
instead of brute force and civil war; For with
all the resisting instincts and strength of the
British aristocracy-which is the real ruling
power of England, the royalty being mere
pageant, and Victoria herself diademed pup
pet III the hands of the aristocracy-there is
that in its position, as well IS ip the general
character of British institutions, which rem
ders both equally incapable of resisting the
systematic efforts of popular progress. We
have always believed that the arstocracy would
yield, step by step, all the reform demanded
by Ireland; and that it was the interest and
true policy of Ireland, considering the instinc-
tive national jealousy of the two sister king
doms, which, at the first false step, would be
so readily invoked against her, to avoid all i'm
prudencies, all violent ultraisms of whatever
character, adventuripg only on such agitations
and Tor such objects as should secure her the
popular sympathies in England and Scotland.
And not notwithstanding the number OF over
boiling, apd, perhaps, oTey-violent spirits, who
would have ipstigated to another course, we
believe that this was the kind of policy to
which the great majority of Irishmep wished
to adhere, and would have adhered had the
British ministry not departed from what was
its original scheme of antagonistic moderation
of resisting, indeed, as far and as long as it
could, but resisting with cautious eschewal
of all exasperating acts of intimidation, and re-
fusing the experiment of the old French ty-
ranny of coups d-etat, The treatment of Nit
chell is departure-a most gross, and Violent
and infatuated departure from the moderate
policy, and, in our opinion, it cannot fail to
produce a total change in the feelings OF all
Ireland, inf1aming the people to new thoughts
of war and vengeance. If Irishmen are really
what the world believes them to be, it is i'm
possible that they can read over the proceed
ings in the case of Mitchell, aad reflect upon
his fate, whom the ministers have chosen to
make victim martyr-the martyr, too, OF
Irish liberty-without deep, an intense,
grievous feeling of humiliation, of wrong and
brutal tyranny, all which they now suffer
through him, from which it seems most natural
to expect an outburst of national indignation,
ending in universal rebellion.
The case of Mitchell is just as slmple--only
, a great deal worse in its iniqqity than we de
picled it on Thursday. There is no doubt that
: Mitchell avas one of the most ultra, daring and
hot-headed of all the leaders of Irish reform.-
D He was even a republican, and open and out
and-out republican; and there was the gist o.
: his offence. He delivered fierce republican
Q speech, and he reported it in his journal, the
United hishman; and it was the delivery ant
; the publication which, technically, formed thu
{ body of the felony,-only made SO by recen
s act of Parliament, framed almost aTowedly TO
the purpose of silencing Mitchers press, o
! Furnishing him for his audaclty in expressing re
publican sentiment
> Now we are not writing to defend Mitchell
+ We are only demonstrating from his example
the nature of the new and internal tyranny
y which, in this reforming age of the world, il
the British emrire, or, in Ireland at least, no
i merely strikesdown all the supposed constitu
/ tiopal privileges of British freedom, but pun
I ishes the exercise of them with the wages o
arson and the penalty of assassination. Every
British freemen has right to talk and write
l. repnblicapism as much as he pleasesi repubii
e canism, in the abstract, is no crime; treason
. only begins when resistance is made to, or wa
: waged upon the existing institutions. 1t was
IS the act of Parliament of the 22d of April--al
IS act more UNANIMOUSLY and audaciously subser
/ siye of freedom than any adyentured on b.
Parliament for fifty years--which made it |
: crime 10 talk and write every subject has ;
: right to talk and write. The passage of tn
l. law was usurpation by Parliament OF al
authority incompatible with the liberty OF tbs
subject; and Mitchell ,--bravely, we do not hes
: itate 10 say--howeVeg daringly and imprudent
w
= = to set an example to all Ireland, England ant
y Scotland, by disregarding it. There were 9th.
er Irish reformers who did the same,-as o.
r Brien and Meagher, who were also indicted
y and acquitted, acquitted, too, as is openl.
!, charged, because they had powerful family re
: lations connected with the aristocracy, so tina
q the Ministry burst not convict them; while al
y its vengeance and tyranny fell upon poor Nit
:. : chel; who though highly respectable man, o
:, unspotted character, was without family ALI
} ances, and therefore helpless victim, free Il
= = be made a sacrifice, felon-exile of the Bermu
s da hulks for fourteen years. What knaves AM
: towards, then, are these British Ministers !
Does any man suppose that eight millions Q
; Irishmen are to be crushed into submission b.
;, such an act of ministerial energy?
= = There were circumstances attending the sen
= tence of Mitchel-there were words spoken b
him in Court-which cannot but strike int
: the hearts of Irishmen, and strike like red-ho
J iron. When the Clerk of the Crown asked Mr.
: Mitchell if he had any thing to say why sen
! tence should not be passed upon him, he an
i sweyed: