The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-03-28

erous move Isaac Butt replied with
smarter counter-move. Duffy had
all along been confined in Newgate.
which was local city prison. But the
law laid it down definitely and express
ly that when there was a change of
venue the removal of the prisoner to
the Jail of the new district in which the
trial was to be held should take place
ten days beforehand, so that ample
time should be given to the accused to
prepare his defense. In Duffy's case
he had never been removed al all from
the city prison, and, to the intense
chagrin of the crown lawyers, who inn
agined they had the conviction of their
intended victim within their grasp, the
judge announced that his trial could
not be proceeded with at that October
commission. Swallowing these humil-
iations as best they could, the Castle
conspirators plodded on with malignant
persistence, trying to load the dice at
every point. Five times they placed
Duffy in the dock, the first commission
opening on Aug. s, 1S4S, and the fifth
on April 10, 1S49, nine months and two
days from the date of his arrest. In
the end they had reduced the jury panel
to such an extent that they found it
impossible to exclude from the jury box
all men with open and impartial
minds, and the result of the fifth trial
was that seven of the jury were for an
acquittal and five for conviction. All
hope of packing a jury having by this
time evaporated, and public opinion
not all of it of a Nationalist hue-be-
ginning to somewhat fiercely resent the
outrage of trying a man for the sixth
time on the same charge, Duffy was
at length allowed to walk forth free
man, although so confidently had his
enemies counted at one time on, his be-
coming a "felon" that a government
vessel, the Dragon, lay in Kingstown
harbor with her steam up, ready to
carry the newly made convict to Van
Dieman's Land
THE IRISH CONFEDERATION.
He lost no time in fashioning his
channel In the crisis of its career, be-
fore the fires of revolution had burst
into flames, Duffy had drafted for the
Irish Confederation a programme IN
which. among other things, he had lald
it down that within the lines of the COIL
stitution Ireland might work out her
political and social redemption through
an Independent parliamentary party
self-contained and self-reliant, holding
sternly aloof from all British poltlcal
parties, and interested in public ques-
tions only in so far as they might be
made serviceable to the Irish national
demand. He now committed himself 10
the task of realizing that programme.
To advocate and advance it he revived
the National the first issue of the new
series bearing date of Sept. 8, 1919
Mainly through Duffy's labors a re
markable National Conference, repre-
senting all ireland, was held in the
Assembly house, William street, Dub
lin, on Aug 6, 1850. For four days
north and south, Orangeman and Pap
list, Presbyterian clergyman and Catho-
lie priest, deliberated earnestly togeth-
er, with the result that the Irish Ten
ant league was launched. The general
election of 1852 set the seal of practical
popular approval on the crusade of the
league. Gavan Duffy stood for New
Ross, where he inflicted an ignominious
defeat on Sir Thomas Redington, liv-
cry wearer of the Castle. who had been
under Secretary there when Lord Clar-
andon was doing mis- utmost to secure |
Duffy's conviction in 1883. The close |
Of the 1852 election was followed by a |
meeting in Dublin, when upward of |
fifty of the newly-elected members |
pledged themselves to act as an indie
pendent party in parliament. There is
40 need to describe anew here the |
ibyssmal depths of infamy into which |
he Brass Band" sank Over that /
story Irishmen still hang their heads in !
shame. The apostacy of Keogh and |
Sadleir not merely killed the tenant
light movement for that era, it drove
orave and honorable men from a strug-
gle into which such colossal and sue
,essful treachery was possible. Gavan
Duffy was enc of those men. What the [
whole might of England had failed to
10 was done by Ireland herself, when a
arge. section of her people condoned
Re baseness of these STAINLESS traitors
md their associates. In the turbulent
lrena of the active, living fight for Ire
and's national liberties Gavan Duffy was
cen no more, although his love for his
native land and his wishes for her hap
,iness and prosperity never abated. He
esigned the representation of New
Ross; sold the Nation to Cashel Hoey,
y NJ. Sullivan and Michael Clery, and
allied for Australia, embarking at Liv-
rpool on Oct s, 1855. in the Ocean
thief for Melbourne Finally, the man
Who had been denounced as a firebrand
nd traitor by the British government
n Ireland became prime minister in
1ictoria and speaker of its legislative
ssembIy.-New York Freeman's Jour-
al.
crDn TTT "A NnEn JTC NTTNn