New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-22
TWO IRISH MARTYRS.
MR. HENRY GEORGE AND MIR. GRAY, NJ. p.

one week are more than can bc hoped Tor aver
age. If YOU should think their claims slight, hat
is not my fault. | take things as find them
Martyr No. / is Mr.. Henry George. The arrest OF
Mr. Henry George is treated by h1s friends here az
ancxcclleu. alive rtIscment for book Of lis which -
in circulation-a sort OF new gospel OF c0ninuhNuc
socialism. His letter TO President Arthur may
also be useful to promote the sale Of this work AMI
the hilarty OF thc public. But If you consider IL rs
a narrative OF facts the most striking thing apout
it is its disngenuousness Take two examples:
Mr.. George complains OF the wantonness OF his
arrest. and that he and Others have been
subjected to indignities because Of being Amer
leans. The truth is that Mr. Henry Georges
associations and conduct had alike given rise
to suspicious for which here was certainly ground
enough TO make police action and maglsteral III
qury natural, if not necessary.
lie was travelling with Mr.. Joyres. Now. Mr..
Joynes was Ger ainly not arrested because OF his
American citizenship. for he Is an Engllshman ana
an EtOn tutor; which may be the reason why Dir.
Henry George SURPRISES all mention OF bis arrest
Mir. Joynes. moreover, has published in The Times
long account of his journey and his arrest, from
which it is pretty clear that he sought TO be ar
rested If he did not, he certainly so conducted
himself as to justify arrest. lie went to Ireland
TO see how the Coercion Act was
worked; he wanted an inside view
and ne got it. In such company as this it is no
wonder that Mr. Henry George shared his fortune:
good or i'll as he may havo considered it. There is
nothing in Mr. Georges letter to show that his OBJ
ects differed from those of Mr. Joynes. Most peo-
pie who have read the two stories will conclude ana
fairly conclude, that these two men were III search
of grievance, and got il, and rejOced over it.
What Mr. George says about Americans being re-
hi.
picion is. believe, quite inaccurate If he had said
Irish Americans it would have been easier to agree
with him. Some Irsll-Americans have been objects
of suspicion and of well-fOunded suspicion. 1t is
now an old story and 1 am not going over it. This
only repeat, that those men came to Ireland re-
lying on their adopted citizenship either TO
secure them impunity in criminal operations, or
to embrOi England and America if this impunity
were denied them. presume it was known to the
Irish authorities that Sir. Henry George was cor
respondent of 1he Irish Uorld That alone
would have exposed him to suspicion. His
total detention amounted, according to his
own story, to thirteen hours. Tie was
legally arrested, legally examined. legally and
lenently dealt with throughout, and discharged
when he might have been legally kept in prison.
OF such stuff as this is an Irish grievance manufac
tured-nay, for aught | know Mr.. Henry George.
despite his American" claims, may yet be a CON
spicuous figure in the roll OF Irish martyrs. Mar
tyrdOm is cheap, and the Irish of the ridIcu-
lous is dulled.
Martyr No. 2 is Mr.. +. ID. Gray, VI. 2. l have
kept him for the second because climax is
thing to be considered, and if You reckon
by length of sulerings, Mr.. Gray is
almost eighty times as good martyr
as Mr. George. Mr.. Henry George was detained
I hirto Mr. in ric fnr sic,
weeks.
The release of Mr.. Gray by Mr.. Justice Lawson
was due, believe, in part to highly coored repre-
sentatons respecting the state of Mr. Gray's health
1t was in any case an act of clemency and of mis-
taken clcmcncy. As their custom is the Irish i'm
puie it rot to strength. but to weakness: not to
but to n craven wish TO curry favor
1t was rewarded by an Outburst of pent-up fury IN
Mr.. Grays paper, and in the more advanced Jour-
nails Of his party by other articles of ex-
IRENE violence. Much of the sautary eGcc5
produced by the sentence upon Mr.. GRAY
was ncutrazed by his release. For
The frotmGH's journal itself which Mr.. Gray owns
and edits, some allowance may be made. An expo-
SION of anger would have been natural enough. But
this is not the explosion Of anger it is the overflow
OF suppressed venom. The bascst motives of per-
sonal malgnity are aScrlbed to Mr. Justice Lawson,
y
which may be also measure Of prtcautiou, he Is
nomnilly absolvcd in words which to every reader
Imply the most direct accusation.
Mr.. Justice Lawson, it must be said, did a weak
thing in a weak way. If hc HAD made uD his mind
that il was right to let Mr. Gray out of prison. he
had only TO say 50 and 70 say why, if he liked to
add a reason; prOyerbaly dangerous rs that H.
But he restated and reargUad tn original case
and n0t so well rs he had done it before. Nothing
could be more futile. There was nobody to be con-
WINGED. Public opinion had long since passed ITS
verdict on his act. The sober Judgment of ENGLAND
approved Mr.. Gray's impris nncnt The less sober
judgment, reinforced By the prejudice and passion
of an English minority and Of the Irish reyolu-
tionists, condemned it, The men who are hit By it
naturally cry out.
Bat that act of wise courage had done its
work 1t protected the Jury and he administration
of justice at which Mr.. Gray had struck Preacher
Gus and dangerous blow. 1t intimidated the intim-
idatOls. The more riOtOus part Of the Irish press
at understood that they were no longer free TO
terrorze jurors obstruct the Ial of their accused
friends. What they understand now may portIv he
seen from the language used in THii,d JreL,Dd
That interesting organ Of agralan reform speaks of
the recent Special Commission as the bloody as
size" o. The trial of Walsh. lately convicted and
sentenced to death. on clear evidence of completely
in feroclous murder, the paper remarks:
1--WE can see nothing 20 distinguish the trial of
Michael Walsh from the trials OF Francis Hvnes and
Patrick Walsh except is greater atrocty. The
jury was as shamciully concOcted, its partisanshp
was as indecent, and the evidence was evidence
upon which an English jury would rot hang docv
These comments touch upon trials which ara no
longer proceeding, and violent as they are. NAV be
wi hin the line which the law draws; safe tbou h
scandaous Bat they mark clearly the revival of
the purpose TO which Mr. Gray and The Frcc,naa's
Journal were parties; the purpose to prevent an i'm
partial investigation into agrarlan crime
simultaneously with that savage shrek comes
the that the police at last upon the trail of