The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-04-06


the exceptional legislative measures recent
ly enacted in respect to that country, the
government cannot view with unconcern
the application of the summary proceed
ings of these measures upon naturalized
citizens of the United States, of Irish ORR
gin, whose business relations may render
necessary their presence in Ireland, or any
other part of the United Kingdom, or
whose filial instincts and love for kindred
may have prompted them to revisit their
native country. If American citizens.
while they are within British iurisdic-
ton, offend against British laws, this
government will not seek to shield
them from the legal consequences of their
acts. But 1t must insist upon the applica-
ton of those common principles of Grim
inal Jurisprudence, which in the United
States secures to every man who offends
against its laws whether he be an Ameri-
can citizen or a foreign subject, those in
cidents to criminal prosecution which af-
fords the best safeguard to personal iber-
ty, and the strongest security against op-
preston under forms of law which might
otherwise be practiced through the exees-
sive zeal, that the accused person shall i'm
mediately, upon his arrest, be informed of
the specific crime or offense upon which
he is held, and that he shall be offered an
opportunity for a speedy trial before an
impartial court and jury, are essential to
every criminal prosecution, necessary alike
to the protection of innocence and the as
certainment of guilt.
Lowell replies to this 1t will give me
great pleasure to communicate to Lord
Granville the views you have so clearly
and eloquently expressed as to the injus-
tice of some of the features of the so called
protection act especially to its retroactive
character. But whether any steps would
be gained toward a speedy trial or release
of Walsh by argument against law itself,
under the law which he was apprehended
So long as Lord Granville expressly de-
clines to make any distinctions between
British subjects and American citizens in
application of law, and opposition which
presume may be justified by precedent
under our diplomatic history.
On the 31st of January last the House of
Representatives, called for list of Amer
lean citizens, naturaliZed or native born,
under arrest or imprisonment, and espec-
tally such of said citizens as may have
been arrested and imprisoned under the
ha6eas corpus act IN Ireland. etc. A copy
of the resolution was forwarded Lowell.
It appears from his return that the follow
lowing arrests and imprisonments of per
sons claiming to be American citizens were
made after January, 1881, namely: NJ. B.
Fogarty, Michael Boynton, Daniel Nc
Sweeny, Henry O'Mahoney, James Daley,
Dennis McEnery. II. O'Connor, Michael
Hart, Joseph Dalton.
On the fourth Of thesame month Lowell
was instructed to inform the British Gov
ernment that the President hoped that
without dicussing the applicability of the
coercion act to citizens of the United
States the Lord Lieutenant would be in
structed to exercise the discriminating
powers reposed in him by the first section,
as far as to order speedy trials OF all i'm
prisoned American citizens.
On the sixteenth of the same month
Lowell wasS Sagain instructed to call atten
ton to this subject and to say the Pres
ident did notwish to appear unreasonable,
but he would be relieved if he could in
form Congress that his request for the
speedy trials of Americans had been com
piled with.
On the twenty-fifth of March Lowell was
again instructed to say the President hoped
Her Maiesty's government would see its
way clearly and favorably answer to his
request
Negotiations are still going on and have
80 far reached conclusions that but three
persons remain in prison. and there is good
reason to believe that results will be
reached satisfactory to both Governments.
Several kilograms have passed between
London and Washington during the recent
pending negotiations which it is not
thought compatible with public interests
to disclose at present.
The course of the correspondence, Boy
ton was not an American citizen, and some
doubt was thrown at by the consul at Cork
upon Mahoney's naturalization.
On third of March last the Secretary of
State instructed Lowell to use all diligence
in regard to the late cases, especially that
of Hart and McSwesney.