Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-30
H0UNDED BY BLACK.
One of the Birmingham Inspectors
Victims Is in Pittsburg.
He PROSECUTED ALFRED MORTON.
For Reward Ee Tried to Prove His Con.
nection With Egan.
TWICE ASSAULTED IN THE STREETS

Black. of Birmingham, England, whose
record is now being investigated, is living
in Pittsburg in the person of Alfred Morton,
the bricklayer-poet, who now resides at "a
Heating alley. For IA years or more he has
known Black, and was In Her Majesty 8
prison in Birmingham at the time
Egan, DAILY and Mcdonnell were
| confined there and afterward convicted
on Inspector Blacks testimony. Morton
was the man Black tried to prove was Mem
Der No. 1 of the dynamite gang of the Irish
Republican Brotherhood. There was re-
ward of So, 900 sterling for this man, and
Morton believes Black tried to prove he
was the man in order to get the reward, as
he did in the cases of Egan and DAILY.
Morton even believes Black laid q
trap to find an excuse for arrest
ing him and says Black afterward
shielded the tough who hae assaulted him
(Morton) at the time of his trouble. Black
was only prevented from securing his con-
viction by the character papers sent to
Birmingham by Mayor Wyman, of ALE
gheny, and prominent people in Pittsburg
while in the Birmingham Jail.
Morton wrote number Of verses that
made him famous for the time on that side
of the ocean. Since then he has written
number of creditable pieces of poetry and
has received complimentary letters from Sir
Henry Hawkins, who tried him, and also
from Gladstone and Ernest Parke, a Liberal
agitator, to whom he had dedicated some of
his verses. The story he told yesterday is
as follows:
One Of Blacks Victims Talks.
IT am brieklayer and was born In
Birmingham, England. came to America
81 years ago. but made frequent visits to
England and ireland. Inspector Black Is
man who needs investigating and was capa-
BILE Of almost anything. He was malig-
nant man and would do anything to gain Q
reward. My first acquaintance, With him
land. was on Liberty street, Birmingham,
questionable portion of the town. Black
was then detective patrolling that dis
trct A bricklayer named Smith was there
talking to some Of the women of that Sec
tion, when Black came up and started .
disturbances. In the progress of 1t Smith
stabbed Black so severely that his life was
despaired OF, and on Blacks testimony as to
Smiths being desperate man and bis own
heroic efforts to capture him. Smith was
sentenced to seven years penal servitude.
bricklaver that fell into Blacks clutches.
SIN 1879 I came back to America.
stayed here until 1881, when I returned to
Birmingham and got married and then
came back. My wife grew tired of Pitts
burg and in 1883 again went to Birming-
ham I lived there with my father-in-law.
On May 10, 1884, I went out at night to get
some supplies for the family. While
coming down Porchester street
was assaulted by five toughs under.
the leadership of man who
afterward learned was James Jones.
had good double breasted REFER coat, and
the pockets were stuffed with the articles I
had purchased. 1 supposed the intention
was to get ME to lay off my coat and fight,
and by the time the fight was over my coat
would be gone.
Shot in self-Defense.
1.-THE man took off his belt and struck at
me with the heavy buckle and then made
several attempts to kill me. Finally
I fred twice over his head to
scare him away when he came at
me again with the buckle and would have
very likely killed me if had not shot him.
I knew the neighborhood to be dangerous
one, for not more than 80 yards from there
nv brother-in-law had been kicked to death
by gang of toughs.
Il was arrested and Jones was taken to
the hospital. His wound was not serious,
but was guarded as heavily as if I had
killed dozen men. Next morning was
taken from the precinct station to Central
station and shown to Detective Black and
all the other officers. They were all ex
cited. Just few days before Egan and
DAILY had been arrested and it was rumored
even then that the nitro-glycerine and the
COPY of the constitution of the Irish Repub-
lican League found buried in Egan's gar
den had been placed there by the police.
Blacks eyes seemed to twinkle as soon as
he saw me and he had me more heavily
guarded. When told was a bricklayer he
grew black in the face, aud the only thing
that troubled him much was the fact that
nv home was in America He said was
disgrace to my country and intimated that
I was guilty Of greater crimes than those
charged against me. bitterly opposed
any chance of my getting bail
Thought He Was Member No. 1.
'Ihad to stay in Her Majesty's prison for
II days before was admitted to bail, Black
opposing it to the last. Even after released
he kept me constantly under surveillance,
and on several occasions was called to
Central station by him. On one occasion of
my visits there happened to 60 to the
courtyard, and there saw the bill offering
reward for Member No. L. and if they had
taken my description it could not have been
a more perfect one of me. There
was reward of $4,000 for this
mans capture. Then 1 began to un-
derstand why Black was prosecuting me.
He afterward tried to prove my connection
with the gang, but the character papers I
obtained from Pittsburg through United
States Consul Wilson King saved me.
"Finally came up for trial on the other
charge before Sir Henry Hawkins. Black
did everything to convict me. but was
acquitted. Afterward was attacked by
another gang of toughs on Porchester
street, and when complained to the police
Black refused to do anything. believed
then there was some connection between |
Black and these assaults, but was never |
convinced of it until two years ago, when
Jones murdered a man in the same locality
where I was attacked, and through Blacks |
influence he escaped with three months
sentence. I firmly believe Inspector
Black prosecuted me because of his hatred |
of bricklayers, and in the hope of getting |
the reward for Member No. Of the 'dvna- |
mite snag.' 1t NAV have been possible he |