Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-08-29

says:-''I showed that the evidence
presented by Boyton himself and by
his friends was not such as to prove
his claim to citizenship under our
laws Poor BoyIou, lying in an
Irish prison, three thousand miles
away, of course was powerleSS to pre-
/ sent his evidence anew. Yet it ap-
/ pears that 40 doubt was thrown upon
/ his declarations that he had loyally
served the United States in the civil
war, and that the Department of
State III 1866 had granted him pass,
! port, and that New York had accept.
/ ed him as voteri
THEY TRIUMPH OVER RoYTON.
That the brilliant abilities of the
I American Minister in Lendon and of
Mr.. Blaine in the State Department
! should have been devoted in this case
not to ascertaining whether Boytoa
/ was entitled to the protection of the
! United States government, but really
10 eNcuslng aud vindicating against
! this poor man the action of the Irish
authorities in censigning him to an
/ lndetinlte Imprisonment on a vague
charge, would certainly seem to show
that the American Minister and Mr.,
! Blaine were more sensible of the
great practical Inconvenience" re-
sulting to themselves from the opera
ton of Mr.. F0rster's Coercion bill
than of any practical inconvenience"
resulting from it to the unfortunate
Mr.. Boyton and to other persons
claiming American citizenship in such
circumstances.
Mr.. Blaine did not so much as in
struct Mr.. Lowell to make personal
appeal to Earl Granville, who was al
ways ready, as our diplomatic CORE
spondence with Great Britain shows.
to respond to such appeals even to
use his good offices with the home sec
retary in Lonaon--ln order to obtain
from the lord lieutenant of Ireland an
official inquiry into the circumstances
of Mr.. Boyton's arrest and into the
specific acts charged against him.
Certainly passport signed by Mr..
Blaine's famous republican predeces-
sor, William H. Seward, ought to have
been worth as much as that. But Mr..
Boyton was an lrishman, and there
fore source of great practical in
convenience" to Mr.. Blaine and to
Mr.. Blaine'S minister, so they COM
fortably "squelched" Boyton between
them, and never troubled Lord Gran
vile about him at all The poor man
was left to languish in Jail through
the whole of Mr.. Blaine's term. only
to be released after a new secretary
had begun to do in earnest the duty
dlsclaimed by Mr.. Blaine.
EX-sPEAKER RANDALL WORRIES BLAINE.
On the 30th of May, 1881, ex Speak
er Randall called the attention of Mr..
Blaine to the case of Joseph B. Walsh,
arrested and imprisoned on no specific
charge at Dublin, March 8, 1881. Mr..
Randall enclosed to Mr.. Blaine
Walsh's certificate of citizenship, da
ted October 16, 1879, and urged an
Immediate interference in his behalf,
with all the influence of the state
department.
"All the mauenee of the state de
partment" under Mr. Blaine, as we
shall see availed neither to bring out
any charge against Mr.. Walsh nor to
get a hearing for Mr.. Walsh. Vet
Mr.. Blaine, in despatch dated June
3 1881, admits that the character of
Mr.. Walsh, as a law abiding and good
citizen, was vOuched for by well
known and respectable people in
Pennsylvania, nor was any difficulty
or doubt raised as to the authenticity
of his naturalization. On the 4th of
June, 1881, Mr.. Lowell reported to
Mr. Blaine that he had had an inter
Tho eAnnyn,, CfI y.yifl Haul
Granville touching the case of Walsh.
''TEN MINUTE" WITH LORD GRAN
WILLIE
The report is curious and instructive
Mr.. Lowell thus described the inter
view: II told him lord Granville
the purport of the despatch, and said
that he would, of course, understand
the solicitude felt by the government
of the United States in view of the APP
plication TO American citizens Of un
usual methods of procedure, and that
the president would expect for such
citizens arrested under the terms OF
the protection act either speedy ex
animation or a prompt discharge. l
had informed Lord Granville that
written instructions were on the way.
He replied that it was not easy for
him to understand on what grounds
of international law my government
would base its claim that American
citizens should be treated better than
British subjects when both had ex
posed themselves TO the operation of
an act of parliament. He should pre-
fer not to give me any more definite
answer until [ was more fully IN
structed from home.
Lord Granville was TO leave town
at half past four, and as there were
barely ten minutes left for him to
reach the station, there was no time
for longer discussion"
OF course, the reader supposes that
upon receiving this despatch Mr..
Blaine promptly instructed Mr..
Lowell TO inform Lord Granville that
the claim made for the better treat
ment of American citizens by the
British government rested upon the
fact that American citizens are not
British subjects, and that he further
instructed Mr.. Lowell somewhat
urgently to seek out Lord Gran vile
at time when that most urbane Of
foreign secretaries would be at liber
ty to give him somewhat more than
item minutes" for the discussion of
the question whether it was proper
and right and conducive to friendly
relations between Great Britain and
the United States that American citi
zens within British jurisdiction should
be deprived of their liberty without
specific charges made against them,
and locked up with no chances of
able time into those chargesl
Mr. Blaine, / regret to say, did
nothing Of the kind!
Okfahoma's End.