Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-21
A new IRISH MARTYR
Editor Sent to Prison for Pub
fishing Boycott.
REFUSES TO GIVE BOND
Mr.. Farrell Prefers Jail to Promising
Good Behavior.
R0UNDLY SCORES GOVERNMENT
Denounces as Base and Brutal the
Men he Had Helped With
His Vote.
ROUNDLY SCORES GOVERNMENT


other martyr, James P. Farrell, national
| list member of parliament for North Long
| ford, who has just been sentenced to a
term Of six months in Kilmainham jail
for publishing "boycotting' notices in his
| newspaper. The case against Mr.. Far
rell came up in the kings bench division
| before the lord baron, Justice Johnson
| and Justice Boyd. The crown was repre-
| sented by the attorney general, solicitor
general and Dudley White. Mr.. Farrell
conducted his own defense The attorney
general said this was an application that
| the defendant be required to find suffi-
cient sureties to be of good behavior, and
| in default he might be committed to
prison.
District Inspector Hirst had made an
| affidavit that for some time past the
| Longford Leader, a newspaper circulat-
! ing in Longford district had been pub
| fishing boycotting and intimidatory no.
| tees emanating from branches of the
| local United Irish League and referring to
| individuals by name 1t had also been
publishing editorial articles of a similar
! tendency. He was informed and believed
that j. p. Farrell, NIP, was the editor
and manager of the Longford Leader.
october he called on J. p. Farrell and
drew his attention to the fact that he
was publishing these intimidatory notices,
| and that he would be prosecuted by the
government for doing so. He replied that
tIlefe was no answer.
The attorney general, proceeding with
! the reading of Mr. Hirst's affidavit, said
he was in charge of the Longford dis
trict for almost seven years. Portions
of the county were usually let and taken
for grazing purposes every year, but for
| the past eighteen months an agitation had
been in progress directed against the
letting or taking any land for grazing
| purposes. He had received the several
resolutions and articles referred to. From
his experience he would say that Ian
guage such as that reported to have
been used by j. P. Farrell. and language
| such as applied in the resolution and
| articles. were. generally calculated to
cause social disorders, disturbance of the
public peace, and stir up and promote
discomfort If Mr.. Farrell was permitted
| to repeat his language there would be a
development of lawlessness, disorder and
breaches of the peace throughout the dis
trfct. In the issue of November Z, under
the heading of THE Douglas Branches"
| it was stated that Mr.. Farrell said that
before separating he wished to point out
to them the Importance of attending the
Newton Forbes parade Sunday next
especially now as part of the grazing
lands surrendered had been again taken
possession of, and he trusted every good
nationalist in North as well as South
Longford would attend. Mr.. Farrell said
Nc. Russell first, and If they failed in
| that they would try other measures.
Talked of Violence.
Counsel referred to an affidavit of Har-
ris Martin in which it was stated that
owing to the agitation fomented by the de-
PENDANTS newspaper he had been held up
to odium. An affidavit made by Consta-
BILE Wallace, shorthand writer, referred to
liz inor hall -
Der 6, 1908. Mr.. Farrelrs speech, accord
ing to the transcript. stated that a person
asked him about the taking Of a farm
on the Douglas estate. and he replied: eff
you want to be shot you will take it,"
The attorney general said that, while he
did not suggest that Mr.. Farrell counte-
nanced violence to be done to Mr.. Mar
tin, the statement that he was alleged to
have made in his speech showed that he
knew the danger.
The defendant proceeded to cross-ex-
anime witnesses. and ELECTED from Dis
trict Inspector Hrst that the members of
the league at Longford included the most
respectable merchants and traders of the
town, and that in the case of man
| named Bennett he took the turbary of
farm against the wishes of the tenants,
to whom the farm was useless without 1t.
That however. did not justify the boy
cotting resolution subsequently passed by
the league, added the witness Hrst fur
Their admitted that he did not think in the
case of the Moore estate incident that
defendant intended any physical violence
by his speech, nor did he (HirsD believe
any one had much sympathy with Mr..
Martin.
Defendant addressing the court, said
this prosecution would not tend to good
order in the county or to the peace and
quiet of the wretched persons who had
been made the tools of the government in
this contemplate business. Hopes en-
gendered in peoples breasts by Mr..
Wyndhams land act were thwarted by
men like the witnesses Martin and Gee
Ian. Not very long ago, in the absence
of popular organization to express pop
ular feeling, the lives of such men would
not have been worth a days purchase.
The chief baron decided that the court
was bound to conclude that such language
as was used in the defendants recent
speech and in the resolution to make
ring of fire round Martin. etc, was cal
culated to have a dangerous influence on
the minds of those to whom 1t was adj
dressed. The court had a duty to per-
FORM on its firm action might depend
the lives of persons in Longford. Mr..
Farrell declining to give any assurances
or undertakings, was ordered to find Sc
curity in $1,000. with two sureties of $500
each, to keep the peace, or to be impris-
oned for six months in kflmainham Jail
as a first-class prisoner. Mr.. Farrell de-
clined to give the required security and
was accordingly sent to prison.
Scores the Government.
Before starting for prison Mr.. Farrell
was rendered big reception by his fell
w-townsmen of Longford. Replying to an
address Mr.. Farrell said he could not find
words to thank all his friends from town
and country for the spontaneous and en-
thusiastic send-off to kilmainham Hotel.
They have now the dusty old fusty bones
of Edward III resurrected 600 years after
his death to Imprisonment rogue or d
vagabond-as poor old Ned wanted to do,
but to muZzle and to gag the press in
Ireland. That surely was a nice spectacle
for a liberal government to present to the
people of Ireland, and the feature of the
whole mean, cowardly transaction was
that the government waited until parlia-
ment was over and the Irish party scat
tered before they took this civil action to-
ward him. They asked him to give bail
to be of good behavior The foundation of
has case was that he had never been
of bad behavior. He claimed himself
to be just as respectable a man and as
worthy a citizen as either Asquth or
Birrell or Cherry, or any other hanger
on of the present liberal government"
Furthermore, he said that on grounds of
gratitude alone this government should be
the last that would prosecute him as
rogue and a vagabond because he. with
Messrs. MacNeil, Nannetti and Duffy,
Of fl.n Trfc !,