Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-08-04
TRIAL OF FENIAN LEADERS
Gen. O'NeII Convicted.
HIS SPEECH AND SENTENCE.
Incidents.
WINDSOR, VT, Saturday, July 30.


MONAHAN PLEADS GUILTY.
On the opening Of the Court this morn
ing Capt John Monahan was arraigned
before the Court for violating the neutral
ity laws and pleaded guilty.
GEN. O'NEIL's SPEECH.
Gen. O'Neil was then placed in the
dock, and to the question have you any
.l,i.,. To why the snnfanea. Of the
court should not be passed upon you. He
rose and said:
| feel that am occupying a very awk-
ward position as a man who loves and
reveres the laws of the land, and AS a MAJ,
who had fought and bled for those Tvs
1t was an awkward position becarse he
was charged with a violation Of those
| laws.
AS a soldier L have honestly and faith.
fully endeayored to perpetaate them. He
then gave a somewhat detailed account nj
his army record, that be entered the army
in 1857, and rose from private TO captain
| and was offered colonelcy, bat declined
on account of wounds which tli,oualified
him from active service in the field.
(He then read letters from Gen. Stone
man, Gen. Judah and Gen Stursis. all
speaking very highly Of his ability Il, a
soldier and meritorious officer.)
He summed up by saying: "Alrhonyb
l have violated the law. of m, c.u,,+T,.
L love them, and was ready and did offsr
myself to die for them"
He then gave a. his reason for the late
raid the oppression which his people had
received from the h .uds If Brti-l tyr
amy, and that he felt that =. blow struck
against Canada was for thu. purooso of
hauling down the British h4g. which
every Ill~hman always desired 10 dn. n
was not against the people OF CAnada, or
even the English people, but the Erplisb
government they wee hghtiu-- .t.s.iust
de said may have been irnprud. mt. bnt
could not and viii not f5r.~t the land
OF my birth, however much l may love
my adopted country, aud that excerpt in |
this instance and perhaps one other, | !
have always been ii good citizen OF Ameri-
ca He then spoke of the love OF thet
Irish people for America, aud the Irish |
Parliament refusing to vote a single man |
or single dollar to put down the IT y,,lu-
ton, and extended their sympathies to |
Geo. Washington and his co-patriots, and |
If Washington had sailed he would have
been a rebel
He closed by saying that he saw the
utter folly of future raids upon Canada. |
and would now use his influence against
any future demonstrations in that direc-
ton.
His counsel, E J. Phelps, Esq, made
some remarks upon the restitution Of his
family.
United States Attorney 3. f. Fifeld
desired to state that Gen. O'Neil was in
the raid of 1866, and that he was Presi-
dent OF the Fenian Brotherhood and or
ganized the movement; that he came
into Vermont early ia March, making ar
engagements for the raid.
..... SENTENCE.
Judge Woodruff.-It would have been
a satisfaction to the Court had they
that you had expressed yourself
repentant criminal, but in place you
say you were deceived in the support You
were to receive and only express regret
that you had not the number of men Won
expected, or perhaps the amount of sup
plies, etc, to make it a success He spoke
at length upon the law and the examn,e
that must be shown in his case tc prevent
al future 1tI attempts in that direction, and
also that ne was not insensible ia reoard {
20 MS high standing in the army, but the ;
higher the skill, the more the prostitution
u that SKILL In lending his influence IN
'uch scheme. 1t is no pleasure to the
court but pain to pronounce sentence
ipon you but the demands of Justice re-
luire it, and having avowed your guilt /
iIothlng is left for us only to pronounce !
hat sentence upon you, which is that I
,on be imprisoned IN the States Prison at P
n lndsor for the term of two years. and il
hat you pay fine of ten dollars. s.
OIL. RRowN's SPEECH AND SENTENCE. !
Col. John Fl. Brown was then arraiened .
the bar, and to the question, Have Won e
nythlng to say why sentence should not d
passed upon your made short and ',
cling speech. ~,