Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-11-18

Arrest of a Correspondent of the N.
". Tribune in Ireland On Suspicion
of being a Fentan.
A correspondent of the New York Tri-
buae, on his arrival in Queenstown, on his
way to England, has been arrested by the
British authorities on suspicion of being
connected with the Fenian movement,
merely because he had a little pocket re-
volver in his trunk, and some papers with
the word "Fenians" written on them. He
was thrown into a dirty prison and kept
there about a week and then released.
The British Government is now enEag-
ed in the brave business of arresting de-
fenceless passengers from America on
the slightest pretext possible, such as
having a little pocket revolver, or a few
rounds of revolver ammunition in their
trunk, all this, too, in a time Of profound
peace, when no hostilities have commenced.
What makes John Bull appear the more ri
diculous in this matter, is the fact that near
ly the whole English press, and a majority
of English speakers, including even
Earl Russell himself, have been howl
ing and whining about the arrest of our
W citizens engaged in active rebellion
against our government. The American
government never made an arrest one half
so arbitrary" as those which the Eng
lish are making daily. We never arrested
the lying correspondents Ofthe Times, Bull
Run Russell, DIR. Mackay and George Au-
gustus Sala, for writing up the COnfeder-
ate and maligning IL government.
We eve arrested and imprisoned every
~defenceless passenger on his arrival from
England, because he had a pocket pistol,
or scraps Of paper with something written
on them concerning the rebels. If there
ever was a just cause for arresting any
correspondent, it was in the case'of Rus
sell, when he gave the rebels at Mobile
some information in regard to an improv-
ed method of ~mnnntins snna ~ forte, Yet
our government magnanimously allowed
him to 90 scot sree. In the case of hum
dreds Of British blockade runners captured
while engaged in carrying to our rebels,
cannons, powder, balls, muskets and all
kinds of military supplies, the officers and
crews were Sever imprisoned, yet if it
is justiiable to imprison ~defenceless pas
sengers, including some old women, for
carrying pocket pistols, these blockaders
were assuredly liable not only to arrest,
but TO punishment of the severest kind.
The spectacle of John Bull carrying on
a war against defenceless passengers, be-
cause they happen to have pocket PTS
tolls, is certainly ludicrous in the highest
degree, were it not for the serious conse-
quences that may grow out of it. If John
is so easily scared at a few harmless pocket
pistols, what must be his feelings should
he be menaced by some fifteen inch guns?
Seriously speaking, it is high time that
government take steps to notify the
British government that it will not sub
NIT to such unnecessary, outrageous and
cowardly arrests of innocent American
passengers, on such flimsy pretexts.
The n. Y. Herald, in speaking of the
arrest of the Tri6une's correspondent,
justly says:
"A European correspondent of one of
our contemporaries has just been arrested
and imprisoned by the English authori-
ties. His crimes were that he had on his
person some notes or memoranda which
the English officials were not able to I'M
derstand, and that he carried a very small
revolver. For this an inoffensive trav-
eler is seized and imprisoned in what is
commonly called a free country. No
more outrageous piece of despotism has
been perpetratcd in Russia, Austria, Tur-
key, or ever in the realm of the wonderful
Bomba, whose acts the British government
Is, perhaps, eager to emulate. Suppose
we had acted during the war, or, were to
act now, towards the correspondents of
English papers in this country inst as the
British government acts towards this cor
respondent Of an American paper. How
the English papers would below their de-
nunciations of that high-handed outraged
What On arbitrary measure that would
- IL a hAOAabAOAO PNloOlh4 liDCAb1
Yet these English correspondents gave us
good reason to arrest them, and the Amer
lean correspondent has given none. There
was hurdfy one correspondent here during
the whole war that did not villify and
misrepresent our government, cause and
country in the most malicious manner
Heart and soul they were against us, and
wrote against us; and now they are doing
their utmost by misrepresentation and
to stir up a new rebellion. To
apply the rule to another European
Power have we not, according to this
European method, plentiful reason to sup
press the French paper here and to i'm
prison all its editors? That sheet assails
government and country with the ~ilest
mendacity on every occasion, and Il we
apply to it this European conduct
towards the press we need not hesitate an
hour. There is ample reason in its open
hostility for the arrest of its editor, and
there is also ample reason for the arrest of
all the English correspondents that are
low going owe this country merely in
'earch of some new theme on which to lie
about us. We need only act upon the
example to put the whole crew in
Fort Lafayette.