The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-17
BY TIMOTHY ,. o'CONNOR.

IAnAF&yTs MT. I4Ul8H E2IIStl, NALfOn0i list member of Parliament for Nortf
 Longford. who has just been sentenced Ito q term of six months in Kilmain.
 ham jail for publishing "boycotting' notices in, his newspaper, The case lagainst, Mir. Farrell came up in tho
 Kings Bench Division before the Lord Baron, Justice Johnson, and Justice
 Boyd. The crown was represented by the Attorney General. Solicitor General and Dudley White. MT. Farrell con-
 ducted his own defence. The Attorney General said this was an application
 that the defendant De required to find
 sufficient sureties to, be of good be- lhavfor, and in default he might be
 committed to prison.
 l District Inspector Hirst had made an
 affidavit that for some time past the
 "Longford Leader" a newspaper cir
 culating in Longford district. had
 been publishing boycotting and in-
 timidatory notices emanating from
 branches Of the local United Irish
 League and referring to individuals by
 name It had also been publishing
 editorial articles of a similar tendency.
 He was informed ani believed that J.
 F. Farrell, M. P. was the editor and
 manager of the "Longford Leader" On October he called on J. P. Far
 rell and drew his attention to the fact
 that he was publishing these intimida- tory notices, and that he would be
 prosecuted by the government for do-
 ing so. He replied that there was no answer. n. l/ The Attorney General. proceeding
 with the reading of Mir Hirst's affi-
 davit, said he was in charge of the Longford district for almost seven
 years. Portions of the county were
 usually let and taken for grazing pur- poses every year, but for the past eigh- teen months an agitation had been in progress directed against the letting
 or taking any land for grazing pur. poses. He had received the several
 resolutions and articles referred to. From his experience he would say that language such as that reported to have
 been used by J. F. Farrell. and lan- guagc such as applied in the resolu- ton and articles, were generally cal- fculated to cause social disorders dis turbance of the public peace, and stir up and promote discomfort. If Mfr. Farrell was permitted to repeat his language there would be a develop
 ment Of lawlessness. disorder. and breaches of the peace throughout the district. In the issue of November [.
 under the heading of "The Douglas
 Branches" 1t was stated that Mir. Far rell said that before separating he
 wished to point out to them the im-
 portance. Of attending the Newtown
 Forbes Parade on Sunday next, es- pecially 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. Mir. Farrell saidL they would' try Apeaaesf1l lneeotiztIoha with Mir Russell first. and If theyo failed .Nin that they would try |Qthers smeasureRS rs .lfgf4 ,.fG4An, saG
 es ,ESmanting Agitation. 2
 Counsel referred to an affidavit of Harris Martin in which 1t was stated that owing to the agitation fomented by the defendant's newspaper he had been held up to odium. An affidavit made by Constable Wallace. shorthand writer. refesred to a public meeting held at Cloudra on December 6, 1903. Mr. FarreIis speech, according to the transcript, stated that O person asked him about the taking a farm on the Douglas estate, and he replied: 'If you want to be shot you wiu take 1t. The Attorney General said that. while he did not suggt.st tlMt Mir, Farrell countenanced vfoIence to De done to MT. Martin. the statement that he was alleged to have made in his speech showed that he knew the danger.
 4 The defendant proceeded to cross examine witnesses, ani elicited from District Inspector Hirst that the mem- bers of the League at Longford inciud. ed the most respectable merchants and traders of the town. and that in the case of a man named Bennett he took the turbary of farm against the wishes of the tenants, to whom the farm was useless without it. That however did not justify the boycotting resolution subsequently passed by the league, added the witness. Hirst fur ther admitted that he did not think in the case of the Moore estate in- eident that defendant intended any physical violence by his speech. nor did he (HIrstl believe anyone had much sympathy with MT. 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 per sons who had been made the tools O. the government in this contempttblF business. Hopes engendered in peo- ple's breasts by MT. Wyndham's Land Act were thwarted by men like the witnesses Martin and Geelan. Not organization to express popu- lar 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 defend- ant's recent speech and in the resolu- ton to make a ring of fire round Mar tin, etc, was calculatd to have a dan- gerous influence on the minds of those to whom 1t was addressed. The court had a duty to perform, as on its firm A ction might depend the lives of per- I sons in Longford. MT. Farrell de- cltnine to give any assurances or un- | was ordered to find se- | curity in $i,00O, with two sureties of | R6OO each to keep the peace, or to be | for six months in kilmaln- | nam fail as a frst-class prisoner. MT. FarrolI declined 10 give the required security and was accordingly sent to prison.
 Big Reception.
 Before starting for prison, MT. Far ell was rendered big reception by ] ,is fellow-townsmen of Longford. Re- living to an address, Mir. Farrell aid he could not find words to hank all his friends from town nd country for the spontaneous nd enthusiastic send:Off to Kill l laInham Hotel. They had now the 1 usty old fusty bones of Edward the 'hird resdfrected 500 years after his cath to imprisOn-not rogue or tt gabond-as poor old Ned wanted to O, but to muzzle and to gag the press n Ireland. That surely was a nice pectacle for Liberal Government to resent to the people of Ireland, and |, ne feature of the whole mean, cow Et rdiy transaction was that the Gov rnment waited until Parliament was { yer and the Irish party scattered be- ore they took this civil action towards i'm. They asked him to give ball q