The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-03-16
The Attack on the queen.


Her Majesty of England has just beer the
subject OF another sensation. While returns
ing to Buckingham Palace, the other day. in
her carriage. a poor boy named O'Connor,
scarcely eighteen years OLD. and evidently
warped in mind. approached her suddenly
with something that looked like pistol In
one hand and paper in the other. The
foolish youth was captured very easily, and
it then turned out that the pistol was an old
thing that whole ton of powder would hard
~ induce to "go off," and that there was
nothing in it anyway. and the paper proved
to be pardon for the Fenian prisoners, which
the Queen was to be compsled to sign. under
the influence Of the old pistol that could not
do any one any harm. When the boy was
captured, feat due to the presence of mind
of the celebrated John Brown (not him whose
peripatetc soul is declared. in supsr>loyal
American doggersl. to DC still marching on,
but the Scotchman who. as her Majesty's ia
vsrite groom. has been not entirely uEcon-
nected with certain royal fcandals) he turned
out to be grandson Of Fearsus O'CcnnOr,
the well>remem bersd Chartist leader, who
died in an insane asylum some eighteen years
ago.
OF course the London press immsdiefsly
raised terrible hullabuloo over the freak of
the young enthusiast, which freak was mag
nified into a most dastardiy and ipfsrnal att
tempt to assassnate the Queen. And the
prsss was not slow in drawing comparisons
between this most dastardly, Internal, etc.
attempt and the great demonstration Of re-
gard for her Majesty which was made few
days before Coy the nobility in st. Pau's
Cathedral. But the poor boy really had no
more thought of killing the Qusen than he
had of disputing royal claims with the Prince
of Wales. Men with murder in their hearts
do not usually approach their intended VIC
TINS with empty anl superannuated pistols.
Young O'CoDnor. probably thought he coule
frighten the Queen into signing the form Of
pardon which he held toward her, but he
certainly could rot have any purpose of doing
her bodily harm. His act was m ost impro~
per, of course, bat are the acts of SIM pie
tons, lunatics and enthusiasts generally. The
boy did not realize what he was doing. He
Is simply an impstuous youth who iancled
| that he mic sht immOrtaze himself by COM
pelling the liberation of the political prison
! ers. the many petitions for whose release
! not elici even an acknowledgment from
/ Victoria. to whom they were addressed. And
now Mr.. John Brown has big feather in
! his Scotch cap for saving her Majesty from a
! dastardly young assassin who went up to her
carriage with an empty old pistol that would
/ probably be indignantly r.jscted 10y the most
| disreputable junk dealer III London.
Q2een Victoria has had an experience
much like that Of otl CT rulers in respect OF
attempts upon her life. The first Of these
was made in 1910. by crazy lad named
John Oxford, who actually fired at her, but
whose bullet missed lis Cjbect. Oxford meant
to kill, whereas the latest Wou d tie ASSASSIN"
evidently had 20 thought Of killing. The
second attempt WAS made two ysars later, ty
one John Francis. who was captured, tried
aud sentenced to be hanged, but whose ser
/ tence the Qleen commutsd To transportation
for life. Only two months passed after the
attempt Of Francis when third assassin, j
| W. Bean, sought to put snd to her Ma
esty's lfo, but his pistol was struck down
| before he had chance to fire. He was inn
| prisoned for eighteen months, and had to
undergo the process Of whipping. which. &C
cording to act Of Parliament, was then the
| penalty fer the crime. 1t seems to be reg
ular contingency Of royal rule, OF political
rule Of any kind, that the ruler may becom
an ob-cs of assassination at any time
| Within few wears we hava seen attempts
on the lives Of Louis Napolean. the Emperor
Of Russia, the King Of Prussia, and lately
according to reports, on those OF President
rhisrs and Prince Bismarck. The latest wa,
perhaps the most foolish and fantastic of all
LOT lns WnOle prosecuting p"i tOoN VI 'ii0 Via
acter of a silly, boyish demonstration.
Young O'Cunuor is of English birth. but
it seems the harsh treatment of the Irish po
litical prisoners has preyed upon his mind
until he has become sort of monomaniac
But there may be men of much sounder mind
than his who would, for the same cause. e
much further than he did 10 seeking revenge
1t appears that some fifty persons are still
held in custody by the English Government
for acts connected with the Fenian undsrtak
ing. Petition after petition for the releas,
of these prisoners, all of whom are treated
} with barbarous severity. have been addresse,
to the Queen. bat she has not even dsignec
to notice them. Certainly it is not strang
that the indifference of the Queen, coupled
with the cruel harshnesS of the treatment t
which the prisoners are subjected, has e1as
psrated many who symapthizs with the vic
Tins of English law, and led at least on
, hot-headsd young fellow to risk his own lif
for their liberation. Arthur O'Cennor's &C
: was q very foolish one, but the cause of
may be traced to the systematic injustice an
, outrage of which Ireland and 1rishmen hav
long been victims at the hands of brow beat
3 ing England -Metropolitan Re cord