Omaha daily bee., 1888-05-27
THE CASE OF KENT.
Interview With the Alleged Dyna-
inter in Prison.
A FRIEND OF DIR. GAlLAGHER'Ss
The Main Evidence Which Secured
His Conviction. !
HE is AN AMERICAN CiTiZENS
A Fact Not Made Known During
His Trial.
'E is AN AMERICAN ClTlZENS
MISTAKE DISCOVERED TOO LATEs
A Visit by a Solicitor Leads tho
Young Man to Believe the Amer
lean Legation Would At
tend 10 the Case.
Belmont's Fcnian Resolution.

~tCoppright 1888 by James Gordon Bennett.1 N
LONDON, May 26,-[New York Herald
Cable-Special to THE BEE. THE con-
gressional resolution of MIR. Perry Belmont,
directing inquiry into the case Of Convict
Kent, whom the congressman described as
having been taken up by Consul General
Waller, suggested a visit to that Official this
morning. The consul general said he knew
nothing as yet about what you call the fenian
resolution Of Mr.. Belmont beyond what he
read in the Herald dispatch some time ago.
to make inquiries into the
case of Kent, alias Coutin, who was
sentenced to penal servitude for life on the
charge of being implicated IN a dynamlto
conspiracy. / have sent dispatches on
the subject to the state department al
Washington, where they can be seen i
presume. 1t would be extremely impolitid
for me in my semi-diplomatic position to
inform as to dispatches.
] made a fair and minute account
of my investigation. l first went
to the lawyers employed in the case,
'"S "eS oh "
There l found that the notes of the trlal
amounted to over 1000 pages. He told me-
the trial was fair and impartial, but the gov
ernment did not know Kent was an Ameri-
can subject, for Kent and his council were ST.
lent about that or it might have made . diff
ference in the mode of procedure. Sir e.
Clarke added the prosecution relied mostly
on the fact of Kent's having known DR.. Gal
lagher, the main conspirator.
"Under permission of the home Office / in
terviewed Kent at Chatham prison, where =
found him a cheerful and good looking young
| man of pleasant manners. In the course of
the interview, during which his statement
was taken down In writing by my secretary,
Kent said he was boru in Ireland and subse-
quently became a naturalized American
citizen, having worked in New York
and elsewhere in the states and
served in the militia at Philadelphia.
During his residence in America he had never
been convicted-in fact, to use his own Lam
guage, a policeman had never laid hands on
him. He first met DR.. Gallagher in New
York, when he went to him for medical as
sistance. Previous to that he had never seen
Gallagher, either in America or elsewhere,
nor had he met him in London until the trial.
Kent then gave the details of how he was ar
rested, all of which came out at the trial,
adding that no dynamite was found upon
him or at either places he had lodged. Asked
why he did not apply to the American gov
IN for assistance during the trial, he
replied while awaiting trial at Millbank o
gentleman came to him and represented him
self as an American solicitor. Kent, think
ing he was attached to the legation, made
no further effort to interest tho
American authorities in his behalf
during the trial, being under
the impression that the American solicitor
was working up his case in that respect.
After the sentence, however, Kent wrote tho
legation on the subject and received a reply
from the secretary stating that Minister
Lowell was out of town and that he could
not himself move in the matter. Kent
strongly protested his innocence, but said
he. had nothing to complain of in the pri-
son treatment. l forwarded Kcnt's
statement to the department at Washington,
adding that whether the man is guilty or not
guilty, the prosecution was extremely sue
bessful in convicting him on such evidence.
Personally, l believe things would have
turned out much better if Kent had made
known at first that he was an American citi-