Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1872-03-04
DRAMATIC

Tho late assault upon Queen Victc-
ria by the crazy youth O'Connor, az
reported by the telegraph, partook oil
the dramatic, tragic, and serio-comic'
combined. AS the Queens carriage
stopped at the gate Of Buckingham
Palace, this demented lad, only about
20 years Of age, having climbed over
an iron fence ten feet high, rushed for
ward with an old rusty, broken pistol,
empty at that, smote her lightly across
the breast, and then with Its formida-
bic muzzle pointed ather head he struck
n dramatic attitude and held before
her astonlshed vision a broad, open
document or petition, granting full
amnesty to all i%ncarcerated Fenians,
exclaiming In a tragically husky voice,
"Sign or die :" He was Immediately,
however, made to adjourn sine die, by
Prince Arthur. who summarily knock
ed the ambitious youngster down.
John Brown, her Majssty's groom,
whose soul was marching on-horse-
back-just behind the carriage, also
Immediately charged to the rescue,
collared the assailant, took his old pis-
toll away and sent him to the cala-
bose. When brought before the Court,
O'Connor rose to explain, and said his
only design In the matter was to
frirhten the Queen into doing justice
to Ireland. All his explanations OF the
matter, however, simply prove that he
was a lunatic on the subject, and really
quite n dangerous one at that. for had
his cratic fancy been n little more
strongly drawn, he might have used a
more formidable and effective weapon.
The Sacramento Record, commenting
upon the matter, says:
The attack of the lad O'Connor upon
Queen Victoria can hardly DO called
mn attempt at assassination, since the
weapon employed was perfectly harm
less. 1t will probably turn out that
the young a is insane or half-wit-
ted, and we do not think II Is even
probable that he was instigated to the
attempt by others more crafty than
himself. Veritable assassins do not
90 about their work with rusty, I'M
loaded old pistols, as this fellow did.
Indeed, the whole proceeding evinces
lunacy OH the part OF the perpetrator.
This Is the fourth attempt Of the kind,
though the preceding ones were far
more serious. In 1910 the Queen was
shot at by a crazy lad named Oxford.
Again, In 1871, by M John Francis,
| who was sentenced to death for the AT
fair, but escaped with life tr1nsporta.
ton. In the same year j. w. Bean
fired or attempted to fire ut the Queen,
for which crime he was. sentenced to
| eighteen months imprisonment only,
| None of these cases showed col
lusion on the part Of secret societies,
or anything Of that kind, monomania
| being generally ut the bottom OF them.
1t will be scarcely possible to make
capital against the Fenians out Of this
attempt, for it ia clear that had assas'
| sination been intended. ne such bung.
ling operator would have been select.
| cd Il Is also probably patent to all
that the cause whose advocates sought
redress for real Dr. imaginary griev-
ances by so Infamous a deed as the
murder OF one of the purest, most vlr-
tuous and best beloved women in the
world, would be hopelessly damned,
and that the atrooity would leave HI
indelible stain upon the memory oil
| all who should be connected with 1t,
directly or Indirectly. 1t Is, however,
scarcely worth while to seek to dlgnhy
the escapade of a lunatic by chasing II
with the terrible reality Of deliberate
attempt at assassination.