The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-05-12
ENGLAND'S BOASTED FREEDOM.

Outrage upon an Anti-POpery Lecturer
Brutal Treatment of Mr.. Murphy.
From the London Standard, April "a.
A most disgraceful outrage has been inflicted
upon Mr.. W. Murphy, the well-known anti
Popery lecturer There may be differences of
opinion even among Protestants as TO the wis
dom or expediency of Murphy's proceedings,
but If he or any other man cannot deliver
lecture within the walls of some private build
ing (to which people need not go unless they
choose) without the risk of being mobbed
and murdered, the boasted liberty of England
is not worth much. About an hour or so before
the time fixed for the commencement of his
address on Thursday night, Mr.. Murphy pro-
ceeded quietly to the Odd Fellows Hall, with
the view of evading observation and went into
the ante-room adjoining and on the same floor
as the hall, from which it is divided by space
of about six feet. The entrance to the building
is through long covered passage leading from
the street, and up six flights of stairs. After
Murphy had gone into the ante-room band of
800 Roman Catholic miners from Cleator Moor
marched down Corkickle ten abreast. Upon
reaching the Odd Fellows Hall, the band halted
and at once took possession of the entrance
to the building and the stairs. When
they did this there were only about fifteen or
sixteen of the friends of the lecturer in the hall,
and it wanted upwards of half an hour of the
time when the discourse was to begin. The
lecturer unaware of the purpose of those who
were waiting for him outside, left the ante-room
in order to proceed into the hall. The moment
he made his appearance he was seized by the
mob. he was dragged down the stairs Dy his
savage assailants, and struck and kicked
numerically the whole way. He was
then dragged into the passage knocked
down, kicked, raised up, knocked
down again. and kicked till he was covered
with blood, which gushed from his wounds and
splashed the walls. He was then dragged down
the passage, the brutal treatment going on the
whole time until he reached the door opening
the street. and there, it is said an attempt was
made to kill him outright, by man who drew
a weapon for the purpose At this juncture,
however, some persons interfered to save the
now insensible victim of this ruffianly violence.
They got him back into the passage, the outer
door of which was closed in the face of his as
saants, and conveyed him up stairs to the
ante-room. The band having done the work
which they had set out to do marched back in
triumph to Cleator Moor, cheering as they pro-
ceeded through the villages on the way.
A visitor to Murphy on Friday morning found
him lying upon the bed which had been made
up for him, unable to move His head was
swathed in bandages, and his face bruised, cut
and swollen. There is a shocking wound above
the left eye, which had been almost kicked out
of its socket. His body is all over black, blue
and purple, from the kicks which he had re-
ceived. He was lowering between life and
death, and it seemed as if the balance might as
easily incline one way as the other. large
number of policemen had been drawn into
Whitehaven to preserve order, but they seem to
have been taken by surprise by the attack hav-
ing been made so long before the time announced
for the commencement of the lecture.