The Irish standard., 1888-02-18
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST PAUL. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY

and intensified, as they are, by the bare
walls, the iron doors, and massive bars
that encompass and cage you in, to the
tosal 1nsolation from all you hold dear
and near in the world, to the coarse
prison fare that is telling so dis
astrously OH your health, to the rude
personal insults and indignities that al.
most maddens one, aud, above all. &c
the settled conviction that you are suit
fering cruel and wanlon injustice and
wrong demand the fortitude and cour
| age of Christian hero, If, therefore,
the last and the lowest of ordinary
prisoners has unquestionable CLAIMS on
my pastoral solicitude and sympathy,
how much clearer and stronger does
that claim become III the case Of perse-
euted patriots, whose prison life is no.
merely a life of suffering but ofpositive
physical and rnenCal agony and torture?
The motive. then, OF my visit was q
feeling of charity and of compassion for
the suffering members of my flock. and
its object Was to convey some small mo-
licum OF consolation and encourage
nent to those who stood sadly in need
of them. The curl and ungracious re-
ply made by the Prisons Board to my
application in favor of this mission OF
mercy is contained in the following bald
minute of their proceedings which they
have directed to De forwarded To me-
Board Minutes, 18th January. 1883.
The governor to inform the Il. c. chaplain that
If Mr.. Sullivan desires to see the Most Rsv. Dr..
Nuty or any other friend, he can select him as q
visitor for any days but in the of Mr. o. 'Brien,
he is not entitled to any such visit under the
rules, and the board regret that they cannot
comply.
Il. ChEaa. Chief Clerk.
Although here they make no conces-
sion in either case, they yet make dis
tinction between the Lord Mayor and
MIR. O'Brien. They allow a visit to the
Lord Mayor because in justice as wei!
as in law thev cannot withhold it; but
they will no tolerate either as rig t
or favor a visit to Mr.. O'Brien. Now,
I have hardly any personal knowledge
of MIR. O'Brien, aud nothing at ali like
a friendly or familiar acquaintance with
him. never saw him or spoke to him
but once in my whole life. But if I
never saw or heard of him at all con-
fess that the exceptional meaunass aud
malice with which he has been SO per-
slstentiy worried and prosecuted could
not fail to inspire me with the keeuest
and tenderest sympathies in his suffer-
ings, as we'll as the deepest interest in
his welfare. j. have already observed
that a large part Of my missionary life
had been passed in the instruction, the
enlightenment, aud reformation Of
prisoners i'll jails, and | have an element
for that kind Of work even. still. | had
always ample aud abundant oppor5uu1~
ties for satisfying that instinct to the
full. had free access to the various
prisons throughout the diocese, aud my
right to visit political as we'll as criminal
prisoners was never questioned even by
the Prisons Beard till now. visited
Mr.. Harrington, M. F., and other poll
tical prisoners during their confinement
here, at Mullingar, and in the very
week in which this Jail was finally closed
spent hours with man uader the
sentence Of death for the awful crime of
numbering his own father. The right
of visit of sympathy and coincidence
from their bishop, which was freely aad
cheerfully recognized 10 criminals and
murderers, is now yindictively and un-
reasonably denied to Mr. O'Brien.
My complaint, then, against the
Prisons Board amounts to his that
they have intolerably, as we'll as un-
Justly, irnpeded and obstructed me in
the exercise of roy Divine rights, and in
the discharge OF the Divine duty of Wis
iting members of my flock, even in the
season of exceptional adversity and sor-
row which everyone must suffer during
their confinement in prison. Aud |
cannot help adding that the bgoted
tyranny which has so rudely Danlsheu
the bishop from the Jail would Danish
the priest, the Mass, the Sacrements.
and the Catholic religion, root and
branch. along with him, if it only had
the power Of doing 80. | trust that
some member of the Irish party will
soon bring this piece of petty but irri-
tating bigOtr7 under the notice OF Par
remain, my dear SIT, re-
fTuOarAa N11ITy