The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-04-01
Captain Conan, and General burke

Edlt0rS OF the heSister'
II seems that General Burke looks
something like somebody else. Enough
like somebody else for Mr.. Goodwin, the
intelligent and gentlemanly proprietor
of the Mcclure House, not to know that
he was not that somebody else, and that
| he did look like that unknown gentle
man. Mr.. Conant pretended to have
no knowledge upon the subject other
than the description given of him by Mr..
Archer and that description OF him was
such that Mr.. Goodwin took him
(Archer) to the room occupied by the
unknown somebody else; it was such
that the ticket agent of the railroad
office said he had cold ticket to a
traveller answering that description, and
the similarity between the twowas such
that Mr.. Goodwin would not swear that
Burke was not that somebody else.
Perhaps the most common incident in
life is 10 be mistaken just in this very
thing. and we are afterwards surprised
that we should have been mistaken so
much. When such incidents do occur,
however provoking it may be TO any
one at the time, and damaging II may
be to men in suspicious positions in
society, vet q man OF position and char
acter may afford TO laugh a: it as
George Francis Train" would have
done, aud as Gen. Burke's good sense or
Irish humor prompted him TO DO.
But the IatslHgencsr would make some
political capital out OF it, yet does 1t in
that cowardly way in which shows
that it "is willing to wound but afraid
to strike" He would stir the blood OF
the Irish friends of General Burke, as il
il had been on purpose TO insult and
iniure the whole Irish population. That
press has done as much TO deiame the
Irish character, and this particular
class of the Irish people, as any paper
in the country, and it would now ex'
cite their Indignation at Mr.. Conant for
A mistake in identity. No, it does not
let him have the benefit of mistake
bit imputcs to Capt. Conant political
design, and this TO degrade the Irish
leader ofthe Protection Taritfparty. The
editor did not believe the imputatlon
when he wrote it, or hcis foo! to think
that so bald and temporary arrest as tins
must be, if these were not the parties who
had operated upon Archer, could affect
G encral Burke, or bring into contempt
his Tariff party; or that Captain Co
nant would incur the expense and re
sponsbiity, and the certain exposure
in so short a time. II any mistake was
made, it was Mr.. Goodwin, AMI not
Can't. Conant, who made it, and no one
will attribute any improper motive 10
Mr.. Goodwin in the transaction. The
language of the htsNignccr is As fol-
lows:
"An subsequent trouble appear to
have arisen from Capt. COnant's nm
fortunate land under the circumstances
inexplicablc) ignorance OF Messrs.
Burke and Costello, aud his failure to
recognize them az Cumberland Gen.
Burke and Mr.. Costello are firmly per
suaded that there is some motive for
the arrest more than appears on the
surface. They have been holding
meetings and making protection
spccchcs To Irishmen all over the
country, and forming associations in the
interest OF home industry, with great
success They think there has been q
purpose to break them down and dis
grace them for this reason. This does
not seem to ourselves very probable
view of the case; though it must be
confessed there are some singular
features about It which will bear cx.
p'anation.
There is 100 excuse iJr snch prcvari-
cation aud imputatlon The day is
gone 10y long ago when that paper
could Manufacture its acts and he
believed without proc, ami could
impute motives 10 gentlemen in our
midst and damn them 10y whistling
them down the wind. Couaut has been
a faithful and efficient officer. He was
aided in his election by the IntcWyenrer
ltsclfas pure and upright man, as one
well fitted TO execute the laws end TO
reform abuses in the city police, which
were alleged 10 exist to so great an
extent that n People ticket was formed,
on which Mr. Conant was prominent
candidate, and who received the warm
support OF that paper against his opro.
nent, because he vas an lrishman and
the nominee OF the Democratic party.
Did the Mtcligcnccr support that ticket
simply 10 defeat a Democratic nomina-
tion2 Will it say that Captain Conant
is not II gentleman and man OF honor,
and that he has not conducted his office
with fidelity and attention ? And will
it say that Captain Conant pursued
General Burke on any such dirty purpose
rs it has Infatuated, but dared not avow ?
But this is not the real point in the
Mtel;gcncer. 1t does not care whether
Irishmcn are imprisoned or not, so far az
they are Irishmen Mr. Hall has no
sympathics with them rs such. He
never had any, and be never expressed
any. BY his instincts, his education,
his party affiliations and his convictions
he is no friend OF the lrisbman or the
true Irish sympathisers He was a
Prus5ian, the Irshman was a French
man; he was Spanish Revolutionist,
tie Irishman was for the legitimate
government; he was for the Italian
monarch, the Irishman was for the
Pope; he ia against the temporarily OF
the Pope, the Irishman is for it. But
Burke and Costello are tariff men, and
as ! am pretty directly informed, are so
not upon any grounds OF public policy,
not upon any grounds that protective
tariffs are right or wrong in themselves,
but because protective tariff in this
country will injure England, and they
want, in this way, to injure their old
enemy. Will it not in precisely the
same way injure France, WHO is their
friend aud ally, and Spain, and the