The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-25
DIR. JAMESON
Will Probably Be Ar
raigned Today.
His Friends Prepared to Give
Unlimited Bail.
Large Crowd Inside and Outside
Bow Street Court.


expected, will be arraigned at Bow street
police court this morning. 1t is said that
he has succeeded In eluding the Enlgish
newspaper reporters and that he has been
in this city, on parole, at one OF the
leading hotels, since Sunday.
The Duke Of Abercorn, chairman OF the
British South Africa Company, and
others will be present when the prisoner
is brought into court. His friends will
offer unlimited bail.
In addition TO the Duke of Abercorn,
many men of great prominence in the
world of finances are expected at Bow
street, and the neighborhood of that court
Is surrounded by large crowd of people.
Inside and outside Bow street police court
in anticipation OF the arrival of DIR.
Jameson, the principal subject discuss
ed was the charge upon which he would
be arraigned. Lawyers have claimed that
he can be charged with being a pirate,
taking the ground that the acts he and
his followers committed are similar to the
act committed by pirates at sea and sea
pirates and land pirates, evidently, came
under the same category and should be
punished under the same provisions of
the law. Then again, Ii has been asserted
that DIR. jameson should be charged with
high treason, on the ground that he was
caught bearing arms without the authori-
ty of his government in the territory OF
foreign power. This view of the case,
however, Is combated on the ground
that the South African Republic Is not
a foreign power, as, according to the
treaty of 1884, il is practically under the
protection of Greet Britain, inasmuch as
its foreign relations are subject TO the
approval OF the British crown.
1t is further recalled that previous to
the tenian raid in Canada, the so-called
provincial act wss passed imposing the
penalty of death on the citizens of any
foreign state at peace with Great Britain
who should he found in arms against
Her Majesty in Canada and there are peo-
pie who have asserted that this act could
be brought to bear upon DIR. jameson,
although IL is difficult to see how he can
be classed as a citizen of a foreign state.
But il is true that many Irishmen who
joined I'm the Fenian raid tried, after hav-
ing been captured and arraigned under the
provincial act, to reassert their British
nationality, unsuccessfully, in attempts
to escape the penalties of the law.
1t has been pointed out here that al
though the United States government
failed to stop the first Fenian raid, it
succeeded In capturing a number of raid
ers on their retreat and issued a proclama-
tion i'm time for the second raid, while
taking energetic measures to suppress it.
A ftei ward, pressure was brought TO bear
upon the British and Canadian author
tiles in the interest OF the prisoners and
the captured Fenians were tried by the
ordinary courts and not by court-martial,
which would have deem lawful under the
provincial act In reviewing this case, n
conservative newspaper recently pointed
out that the United States government
"asked for special forbearance and elem.
ency, and paid counsel to defend such OF
the prisoners as were American citizens
hxv hfrth aftr rolf lfzat Ion aud In q h..
case of those upon whom capital sentence
was pronounced they demanded trans
cripts of the proceedings ani evidence
with a view of reviewing the cases, and
ultimately procured the remission in
every case OF the capital sentence" The
conservative newspaper referred to then
continued, showing that, though prosecu-
tions ''were commenced in the United
States against some of the Fenians for
breach of the neutrality law, they were
all discontinued, and President Johnson
excused the raid, to some extnt, bv refer
ing to the state of Ireland at the time'o
1t was added: "At no time was an i'm
demnity offered by or demanded from the
United States. IL is not likely that the
British government will exactly follow
this precedence, but il is as well that the
world should be reminded that,justice can
be done TO the South African republic
without any measure of abject apology
and without the need of any severe retail
alton by the republic or any excessive
punishment by our courts of those who
took part in the disastrous advance of DR..
jameson
From these utterancss of a so-called
"inspired" newspaper, il seems apparent
that the British government has no in
tention of dealing severely with Dr. Jane
son, and that 1t is inclined TO shelter it
self behind the attitude of the United
States toward the Fenian raiders not only
in the treatment OF the jameson raiders,
but in refusing to make any distinct
apology to the South African republic for
the invasion of its territory.
DIR. Jameson landed at Firth on Thames
in tug, from the troopship Victoria,
and took the train for London.
Dr. jameson, after having traversed a
circuiSSiis route in order to avoid the
crowds as much rs possible, arrived at
Bow street police court at 8:25 p. m. He
was loudly cheered on entering the court
room, the entire audience rising and un-
covering upon his appearance. Later DIR.
jameson and IL of his fellow prisoners
were charged with "warring against n
frinodly state" after which the case ad
journed for two weeks, the prisoners be-
ing admitted TO tail in G20O0 (S10, ,000)
each.