The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-12-18
A CURIOUS STORY.

A CURIOUS STORY-THEY HAVE
HAD TROUBLE WITH THEIR
JUDGES-THE STORY OF MORAN'S
COLLAR.
The Chippewa Falls, Wis, Catholic Sen
tinel.
We have a curious case recorded in
Irish history of the manner of punish
ing unjust judges. About the beginning
of the Christian era, the people were SO
greatly oppressed by the injustice of
their rulers that they rose in their might
and killed all the royal race, but one
child which was concealed by his nurse,
and then set up king from among them
selves. But this does not seem to have
improved matters much, for in the course
of score or more years, when their
plebeian king died, they restored the
royal scion to the throne once more
Then the son of their late ruler, whose
name was Moran and who had magnan-
imously refused the crown, was appointed
chief Brehon or judge. Moran, however,
doubted his ability to fill the Office with
out sometimes falling into the vices of
his predecessors. So he applied to an
old Druid, skilled in every art, for advice
The Druid told him he coud make him
silver collar, which, worn around the
neck, would always warn him when he
was about to pronounce perverse judg-
ment. The collar was made and worn by
the chief justice when he sat in the
judges seat, all the days of his life. and
it's virtues proved equal to the recon-
mendations of the Druid, for the judg-
ments of Moran were just, and his col
lar was so much respected, that to this
day an Irish speaking person would con-
slider it an awful crime to swear falsely
by Moran's collar. His successor, how
ever, tried to treat the collar with con-
tempt, but when he attempted to give a
perverse judgment, the collar squeezed
his neck and he was detected and put
to death. And like the Persian, his skin
was nailed to the judgment seat and for
a period of 400 years after, the chief
judges who sat in that chair and wore
the collar never delivered wrong deci-
sion and their judgments were after
wards collected under the name of the
Celetial Decisions, and were presidents
to their successors till the establishment
of the English power in Ireland.
The secret of the magic collar was
very simple, and proved the anatomic
skill of the old Druuids. 1t was con-
structed with band of little silver
spikes SO fitted inside, that when the
collar was adjusted and locked, the
spikes just touched the skin of the neck
but did not penetrate it. Now, when
judge attempted to give perverted judg-
ment, his dread of the collar and of the
fate of the man whose skin he sat on, as
we'll as the conscienciousness of his guilt,
caused rush of blood to his head the
veins of his neck became swollen and
pressed against the spikes which instant
ly entered his flesh and drew blood, and
so his crime became manifest
1t were to be wished that Moran's COL
lars were worn by many of the judges of
the United States. If they were, we
would not have SO much necessity for
Judge Lynch. And it is our opinion that
if the laws of our country are not ad-
ministered with more regard to the rights
of oru citizens than they are at present,
the people in addition to hanging Grim
inals, will take to hanging judges and
juries. Every man." says the constitu-
ton, sis entitled to a speedy trial to re-
ceive justice freely with out being
obliged to purchase it, and completely
without denial" But instead of this,
the laws delay has become proverbial
when there is rich man ON one side
and poor man on the other. We heard,
some five or six years ago, of suits being
started against the whiskey trust, and