Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-10-24

conseorated His life to unobtrusive labor
in very unproductive portion OF his
Masters vineyard. Many years Of con-
scientiou9 devotion to duty which held
ont no promise Of earthly reward had
endeared him in a striking degree to the
hearts OF his parishioners. He had
identified himself with these poor people;
had shared with them their privations in
o. distriot where gsunt starvation was
almost always nigh; where the PEASANTS
lot is one continuous struggle to make
both ends meet; he had gone up and
down anon. these poor people all these
years, comforting them in their many
hours OF sorrow and ailliction, encourag-
ing them when hope was about to fly,
intsrceding for them when they could
not raise the rent on their humble homes,
doing quietly, patiently, uncomplain-
ingly, all that lay in his power for the
amelioration of their temporal as we'll as
the betterment Of their spiritual lot.
This is the man who seems to have been
deliberately selected as the victim Of
court organized to convict. 1t has been
nearly year since. in q conflict with
the poiice-one in which, true to
his character, even the testimony Of
the prosecuting witnesses has shown
that Father McFadden acted only the
part OF peace maker-rhat one OF
the constabulary was killed. Upon
garbled evidence, taken by policeman
whose Incompetence to report speech
was notoriously demonstrated on the
preliminary trials, Father McFadden was
indiotod for stirring up the alleged con
spiracy which resulted in the resistance
to constituted authority in which Police
Inspector Martin lost his life. It is upon
this charge OF conspiracy that he and
o score o. his parishioners are now being
tried at Mary borough, before jury from
which ''all men known to be of their
own faith or suspected of the least faint
of Nationaiism, or even Of mild Liberal
ism, have been excluded" The New
York Suns London correspondent, in re-
porting the proceedings to his paper OF
yesterday, saysi
| Should any OF the prisoners be convicted
By this packed Jury, 80 lrishmen out Of l0G,
Gnd d majority Of Euglishmen will regard
It rs attempted judicial murder, and IN
effort to carry out the sentence would In
evitaply arouse storm OF Indignation
sufficient to ogerwhelm the government
and iCl base instruments.
Il is comforting, at any rate, to know
that the proceedings In the little court
house at MaEyborough are being chc1nicled
By independent and fearless observers, and
that already some OF the dark ana crooked
methods of Dublin Castle lawyers have
been dragged into the light Of day. Eng.
lish members Of parliament are present In
court 10 show their sympathy, and special
correspondents have been sent by several
English newspapers to note and describe
the trial which will figure In history as enc
of the most notable in Irish Jurisprudence.
Had the jury been fairly impRneled
there would have been no doubt OF the
result, Tor the prisoners were arrested hi D
hazard IN the hope that some among then
might prove TO be the maddened men wht
threw stones at ald hit the unfortunate
officer. There Is absolutely no evidence
against Them save that supplied by police
men, whose versions OF the ahrAY whict
led up to Martins death vary to IN extra
ordinary degree
AS for Father McFaddan and the other
charged with aiding and abatttng MIN ,rhert
is good reason to believe that the wsrran
which Martin attempted TO &c ve will b
proved Illegal, and the prisoners therefor
: justified la resisting or ecRdtng Its execu
. tlon. But even this packed Protestant Tor
jury may, 1t is hoped, hesitate to conviC
prisoners in the face Of many importan
' facts eltelted from the crown witnesses.
In cross-examlnation It had been prove
: out OF the mouths OF the prosecuting police
~, a.. ~. e.
people saw their reVered priest struck an
wounded. That the blood streaming dow
hts face momentarily maddaned tham hi
4 Marf'n's behavior and demeanor weI
! nnad,5 sly violent and insulting mat Fata,
Mclalden repeatedly tmplored his poop
: to retire: that he entered his Rouse, upo
I. the urgent enTeaty of Sergeant CHtey. an
= was stuck down.