Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-01-19
BRITISH DUNGEONS.
How 1reland's Political Prisoners Are
Treated by Tory Officials.

BRITISH DUNGEONS.
How 1reland's Political Prisoners Are
Treated by Tory Officials.
A reporter had an interesting in
terview with recent arrival in the city
from the County Wexford, Ireland, who
has felt the inconvenience of sleeping
on plank bed and living on prison
fare for using in the course of a public
speech a quotation from Lord Byron's
dramatic poem of Gain"
1t will be something new to the gen.
eral public to learn that the author of
"Childe HAROLD and "Don Juan"
wrote treason against the English gov
eminent. though there can be little
doubt but such a catholic lover of free
dom as 'the noblest of all Gordons"
would, if alive to-day, be as warm
sympathizer with the Irish people as
his granddaughter and her husband,
Sir Wilfrid Blunt. Lady Blunt is the
daughter of Byron's only child, whom
he loved with a passionate fondness
which he has immortalized in the OPEN
ing line of one of the cantos of "Childe
| Harold"
The treatment of John j. Heating,
the gentleman above referred to, is the
same as that accorded to all Irishmen
thrown into prison. The details of an
Irish patriots life in an English prison
IL Ireland will be read with something
Approaching to incredulity by the
American people.
81 was arrested" said Mr.. Heating.
'for using language which was as
serted to be violation of the seventh
section of the Crimes act Of 1882. The
language for which was arrested and
incarcerated as common criminal for
one month is a simple quotation from
Byron referring to notorious land
grabber and cruel exterminator in the
neighbour o I'd of Davidstown, the place
where | made the speech. l quoted
from "Cain" the well-known curse:
May the grass wither from his feet.
The woods deny him shelter, the earth home,
The sun its light and heavenits God.
"Of course l only used that quotation
in the peroration of my speech. l was
promptly arrested and tried at the petty
sessions at Enniscorthy, place famed
in the rebellion Of 1898. The magis-
trates who tried me were two crown
officials-one R. R. Kennedy, the regu-
lar stipendiary of the place, and the
other Captain Keogh-who were i'm
ported from Dundalk, in tho North of
Ireland, to assist at the mock trial.
Captain Keogh is brother of the infa-
nous Judge of tho same name who
committed suicide some years ago, and
has borne the title of the Irish Jeffries.
81 dare say you would like to hear
my treatment in the Wexford Jail. Fol
the thirty-one days was there spent
twenty-five hours out of every twenty
four alone in my cell, which measured
fourteen feet by seven, and was lighted
by small IRON barred window about q
foot square. had hard plank bed tc
sleep upon, with thin blanket to oovel
me. For food got eight ounces o.
black bread and pint of water fo1
breakfast, half-pint of vegetable souI
at dinner, and eight ounces of blacl
bread and another pint of water fo1
supper. This was all got the frs
week, and was by way of initiation int
the mystery of living without nourish
ment. The second week, and during
the remainder of my work, my dali,
allowance of bread was reduced to ST,
ounces in the morning and in the even
ing with half-pint of coffee withou
sugar or milk. During my entire stay
in Jail | never got single atom of mea
or any thing else but what have tol'
you. | need scarcely add that l locke,
like ghost when came out. but ba,
as l was / was able to quote Byrol
again and use stronger language thai
he ever wrote against the Englisl
tyranny in ireland.
II don't think told you that durin,
the two hours | had freedom from m
cell each day l was engaged breaking
stone in the prison yard. When in tn
cell l had three pounds of oakum t
pick daily, so had plenty to do. Ever
prisoner sent up for month gets ex
actly the same treatment as l did. bu
those whose terms are longer get littl
more food. You can now imagine wha
, people get for telling the truth in Ire
land about the manner in which tfi
country is robbed by the landlords, an
: crushed to the earth by English o.
1 ficials. San Francisco Examiner.