Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-12-12
THE EVENING STAR.
FRIDAY. December IL, 1879.
KILLEN'S QUEER LAWYER.
Mr.. Rae and Sis Forensic Exploits.

Mr.. Rae and Sis Forensic Exploits.
BULLYING THE JUDGE, BROWSE ATING WITNESSES.
AND HARANGuING At EANDoM-rRYiSG IN VAIN
To GET COMMITTED FOR CoNTEMTT-AS EcCES
TRIO CHARACTER.
Correspondence " T. TinisSA
DUBLIN, Nov. Elf ever man had reason to
say, Save me from my friends,r that man,
surely, is Mr. j. b. killen. barr1ster-at-iaw. one
OF the three persons arrested by the govern
ment for sedition. This gentleman had for his
advocate At the preliminary inquiry before the
magistrates AT Sligo Mr.. John Rae solicitor. OF
Belfast, unframed and untamable; the widest,
incomprehenSible man in Ireland or any-
where else. Mr.. Daly'S advocate WAS an
average solicitor, and Mr.. Daily was lio-
Grated on bail a week ago. and has been flourish
ing about the country in the full feathers of a
political martyr. Mr. Davitt was his own advo-
cate, and he, too, was promptly liberated on
bail, like Daily, both TO appear 70 stand their
trial at the winter aSSizeS, in December. But
poor Mr.. killen has been detained several days
in Jail by his own advocate. Since the world
began there never has been such n strange per-
son as this John Rae He revelS in tumlt:
peace and quietneSS are TO him oppressive; he
lives and thrlves in storms of his own creation.
Politically and religiou5ly he Is eomlcAl con-
pound or everything. His own description OF
himself is that he is Presbyterian rebal-la
Orange Fenian: lie says ne is an honorary
member OF the Ribbon and Fenian societies. He
is built like Hercules and he has the constitution
OF camel; there is leOnine look about his wild
head, and generally he gives one the impT
sion OF a man who is not AFRAID OF anything in
this world or the next. At home. In Belfast. he
is in never-ending war with the magistrates.
Nature cut him out for bully, and for the last
thirty years he has been bullying all around
with amazing vigor. The thing called .'cla-
tempt OF court is his special delight. His h ~
pineSS is complete when, after days of worrying
and bullying some unucky mayor or other
magistrate, he gOads the judge to commit him
to prison for seven days for contempt OF court"
| Then he calmly and deliberately lays himS If
| out on the floor and refuses to leave the court
| except in the arms OF half a dozen policemen
| His capacity for eXtemporaneous speechifyng
| is unequalled in Ireland, which is saying some
| thing. He will keep talking for twelve hours
| at stretch, and want to 60 on longer at the
| end of that time.
| In this case of Mr.. Killen he was in great
| form. His usual performance was this Before
! the court each day he let OF a burst OF prelim-
| mary steam to ease himself ana, as II were, TO
| get himself into swing for the days talk. In
! this little morning exercise, which came OF
! before highly-amused and more or less
| amazed audience, in the court, he ratified away
policeman Maloney.' as he elegantly called the
| Sripendiary Magistrate who presided at the pro-
| ceedings. Then he tackled into some Crown
witness for several hours at n stretch, enliven-
ing the work by tiingiag himself ut poor police
| man Maloney," who had hot time OF It, chal-
| longing coInmittal for contempt Of court, but
declaring that he wouldn't stir except in the
arms OF seven policemen, and that then he
would have the whole lot indicted for assault
| and battery, and would menoralize Queen
| Victoria to send the Lord Lieutenant
to the tower for maltreating her subjects IN Ire
land. keeping up all the time a running fire OF
| commentaries, personal, political and religious,
| OF the most original character. His cross
examination OF the shorthand writer's VINO
| were produced to prove The alleged seditiouS
| speech delivered by his client, was something
! to remember lie kept at it 'hammar and
longs for two days, and in the end he protested.
| with appropriate action, that he had been
struggling for hearing which had been de-
MED to him." And this after flood OF talk.
mostly irrelevant, had been pouring from him
| increasingly for hours together. When The
court adjourned in the evening, the ire )reSSi-
bic John relieved himself OF the talk which
he couldn't let off during the day, in c0nSe-
quence of not being able to get in a word.
Then he put his head out OF a window In his
hotel and harangued mob in the street. and
he actually wound up by delivering an address
in the coffee-rOom to a crowd OF reporters.
After this an ordinary man wouldn't have
| spare word to say for month; but on the fol
| lowing morning John would turn up early in
court, as full OF strange, wild talk, and us eager
| to throw it off as If he hadn't heard the sound
| OF his own voice for year. As he is fellow of
| infinite humOr and no reSpecter OF perSonS-a
| man who in a ten minutes talk will fling spicy
| ISLANDERS about him in profuSion-he is always
| sure of an uproariously appreciative audience
| whenever and wherever he gets on his legs and
| lets go shower OF his peculiar oratorical fire
! works He can do this, and does do ii, ire
Quently, on the shortest notice and the slightest
| prOvOcatiOn.
His performances in Sligo Courthouse reached
yesterday the characteristic climax. Having
| thrown off the usual preliminary moving speech
| ABOUT everybody ana everything, in the course
OF which he intimatcd that Wheu the time came
| for carrying him out OF court, according to
| ancient custom in his case. he would hold On to
| the crown lawyers and that at least twelve
| policemen would be required for the work, he
proceeded to Gail as witness for the defense The
| Roman Catholic Archbishop OF Dublin, (WhOm
| h wanted to tax to he said about that pas
| 10 al in which he condemned the land agtatora,}
| lurG BeacOnSteld. his isOSa llighneSS the Duke
| OF Connaught. and some others. At length the
| temper OF the magistrates gave way. They
| declared that Tho cas- was ended 50 lar as that
.nlt
| returned for trial at the assizeS, but that
bal for his. appearance would be accepted.
Now it was Mr.. RAGS turn again. He said he
wouldn't allow his client to give bail, as he in
| tended to have the whole proceedings quashed
| as grossly irregular. Further..he wouldn't al
| lew his client 10 walk back to Jail. The police,
| him into the river if they pleased but walk he
| would not. Acting on this legal advice. Mr..
| Ktllen refused to walk to the carriage which was
| In waiting to reconvey him TO prison. and he
| was carried bodily out OF court by some police
men. MIR. Rae's delight was great Here was de-
nouement after his own heart! There was but
his happiness He wanted them to carry
himself off to jail for contempt of
court" And it certainly isn't his fault that
| it was not done. He left nothing unSaid or I'M
| done on his part to bring il about. When the
| police Inspector gave the order. Clear the
| court" Mr.. Rae advised the ladies and gentle
| men present not TO move until a policeman put
| his hands on them, and then 'eVery mothers
son OF them" could bring an action for assault
| and recover damages For himself, he said, that
| under such circumstances he could not think OF
| stirring, except in the arms OF six policemen.
The end OF it was that everybody left The court
| except Mr.. Rae, who failing in all his Efforts TO
get carried off to Jail, gathered up his papers
| and strobe out OF the place In disgust. Five
minutes afterward he was haranguing a crowd
from the hotel window. He declared that,
emitting the personal disappointment at nJJ
! being locked up for contempt of corsn he
was delighted with the result OF the inquiry,
which he said was a % melodramat1n farce, term
mating in the ignominlouS defea. of the Crown =
The next we shall hear and see OF this remarka-
| Bench, where he VII apply next week TO have
all the proceedings in sligo upset.
RHODE ISLAND PoIITICs-A telegraph to the Y.
Y. Herald from Newport, Dec. 10th, says:-Goy.
| Van Zandts friends having seen that he. Van