New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-01-27
.JURY AND FORCE BILL.

The collapse of the State trials in Dublin Is
n defeat for the Government, and at the same
time yindcatiOn of its coercion policy. Inc
conviction of the traverscrs would have LETT
the Ministry in a most embarrassing position.
II would have been q conclusive demOnNtra-
ton of the adequacy of the common law at the
moment when the Commons were being I'M
po1tuned 10 suspend the Constitution and sub
sttute force for law. The resource of the
common law have been exhausted The coer-
ciOn tub now rests upon It's own bottom.
Tie trials have afforded a striking contrast
to the proceedings against OConnelI a'd Ills
seven associates in 1S43-'44. AT that time
every inch of the ground was contested; there
was an eloquent body of counsel on each sid,
and not n SINGLE technically was passed over
feeling between the lawyers ran so high that
Tn. Attorney General challenged one OF his
opponents to duel OCOnnell male mas
terly speech in his own behalf, and future
Chief-Justice surpassed the great orator III
plea which is still remembered as one of the
greatest achievements of the Irish bar; and
when public excitement was at q white heat
the Jury rendered a verdict of guilty. In the
present instance popular interest," has dragged
from the first. While the case for the Crown
has not been neglected at any point, 1t
has been conducted i'll lahoriOus
and pcTfunctory manner. The counsel
for the traversers have been so confident that
the jury would either disagree or acqult that
they have waived all technical objections.
made no efforts to obsruct the course of the
trials, introduced very little cvld aud
relied implicitly upon the sympathies and
rro;ud;cos nF tho iurv The urocppdiuDS cOuu
not be spirited when both the Attorney Cen
eral and the counsel for the defence looked
upon the failure OF the Government a. incvi-
table. That failure has followed. Instead of
getting a verdict. and, on appeal. sentencing
Mr. Parnell to pay a fine of $4,000 under
penalty of years imprisonment, rs WAS
done III the O'Connell case. the prosecution
has broken down completely. Indeed. the
abrupiness with which the jnIy was discharged
after one of them had blurted out the fact
that they stood ten to two betrayed the un-
casinrss of the lcnch. If the jury had re-
man,d out all night verdict OF acquittal
might have converted the defeat OF the
Government into utter Tout.
There was certainly fair presumption,
when the trials Gp ned, that the jury would
not PREJUDICE the case. That jury was made
up of tradespcOplc, vino might have been eX-
pected TO side with the governing class III
Dublin. There was not single tcnant-Etrmcr
in the iury-bOx. There were three gruc,rs,
two winters, two cOrn-merchants, n gold
smith, n observation-disclosures rope maker,
Il cothier and an agent. They represented
the class of small traders whose business must
be suffering from the disorder and stagnatiOn
caused by the land agitation. III nine of them
were Roman Catholics. the influence Of
the Arch bshop of Dublin has been
brought to bear against the Land League,
and the leader of the agitation Is
a Protestant. Yet the lawyers for Crown
and Traverscrs have acted from the first rs
though argument and evidence were equally
immatcrial, the jury having decided the case
in advance and the Government having
anticipated that decision by resort
ing to the wcl-worn policy of coercion.
The jury has justified the listlcssncss Of the
counsel and the shIcwd sense of the Ministry.
These twelve DuDlln tradespcOpe, with souls
above their tills and political convictions
which were not ndOcirinated with the cate
chism, have refused to condemn the cham
piOns OF the Irish tenants. They have not
passed Judgment tho merits OF the
Queen versus the Traversers. They have
virtually rendered this verdict against the
British Government: $50 long as Ireland |
" has no Parliament of its own, its Judgment
g must be voiced by jurymen like ourselves ;
" and we will not indIct the Irish people. Now |
" 20 back to your force bills"
Aud this will be done. Since 1880 the |
British Parliament has enacted forty-elght |
T.r
Mr. F0rster's additional bills will swell the
number to round fifty. That is an average |
of one a year for half century. 1t Is a
black list of suppression OF disturbance, peace
preservation, arms, crime and outrage, treason |
and unlawful Oaths acts, with SIX or seven |
of habeas corpus. The titles are |
varied, but there is one idea in common, and |
that is Government by Force.
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4 REBELLION. NOT RETOLUTiONp