The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-03-05
Present Member of Parliament
Once Was Convicted of
High Treason.
High Treason.
nv la MARouIsE DE FoNTENoY.

A1A6h AASuSOll.
nv la MAR0uIsE DE FoNTENOY.
LEVEN yenrs ago Arthur Lynch,
now Nationalist member of Par
lament for County Clare. was
convicted of high treason Mt the Old
fSailey, In London. and condemned to
ucath, the capital sentence being sub
sequently committed to penal servitudc
Tor life. Tho high treason consisted
In his having commanded as colonel
the Second Irish Brigade under the
Boer flag in South Africa, that Is to
say. Tor having as "A British native.
born citizen borne arms against Great
Britain.
1t Is doubtful whether the English
government would have COMO to the
length of indictng him for high trca-
son on this account. had II not been
virtually forced 10 adopt this course
by the action of tho Galway National
lists in electins him to represent them
In Parliament.
For during the war IN So;;th Afric,
thcrc were at least three or four dozen
instances or men among the Bocr
prisoners who were recognized not
merely az Irshmcn. but even as fun
nedGed EnSltshnen. some OF them
former officers OF tho British army and
navy. who had come to grief and who
had diifted down to South Africa and
To the Transvaal, where they had
taken service against the land OF their
birth. There were Eve OF them among
the Bocr prisoners intcrncd In the Is.
land of ST Helena.
But. although the English authori-
ties. both 1t the Capo or Good Hone
and at st. Helena, were thoroughlv
aware OF their antecedents, and would
nave been justified. according TO the
rules OF war, and the laws Furnishing
nigh treason. in bring them before
court martial, and In sending them
to the gallows. they preferred 10 ar
rect TO ignore their identity, merely
Withholding from them those tokens
OF regard and courtesy accorded 10
,hose OF the enemy's officers and men
who We're either bona nde Beers, or
foreign soldiers of fortune.
In consequence OF his conviction.
arthur Lynch was prevented from
taSinS his scat as member for Galway
In the House OF Commons; his cleo
ton being invalidated. He did not re-
main long In prison. For. after hay-
ing worn the Earb of a penal seryi-
tude convict for just twelve months.
lie was released on ticket of leave by
the union!st government. and three
years later. when the Liberals came
into office, received a free pardon from
the crown. In 1909 he was reelected
TO Parliament this time by County
Glare. and since then has sat on the
Nationalist benches in the House OF
Commons at Westminster
The other day Lord Hugh Cecil, one
/ OF the most aggressive members OF
the Unionis, party. in attacking the
Nationalist. argued that the conces-
sion of home rule for Ireland was
merely a preliminary TO the complete
secession of Erin. since many Of the
i Natlona lists regarded England as "a
foreign country, and some even. like
y inI
in war
Lynch thercupon requested permits
sion Of the Speaker 70 make n personal
explanation. He admitted that AT the
time when he fought for the Beers,
under the Bocr flag. he had no, much
respect for the British Constitution.
| having been born OF Irish parents
lie added that lie had been tried and
| condemned TO death nnd that had pro-
duccd reflection. That since then Eng
land had done Il great deal both for
south Africa and for ireland, and that
If Great Britain were attacked to-day.
he would light for her. lie concluded
that II he believed what some peopla
OF Ulster said they believed. he would
even tight for them. His explanation
was received with good hunor, cheers
and laughter.
Arthur Lynch is q very brilliant man
OF fifty-four. native of Australia, and
bourne, Berlin and Paris: also 4 doctor
OF medicine In France, Il member Of
the Royal College of Surgeons In Eng
land. II former lecturer OIL engineering
at the University of Melbourne, the
author OF several standard works on
higher mathematics. also on psych-
ology, a Journalist and poet Mar
ried since fifteen years ago TO the
daughter OF n clergyman of the Church
OF England. hs has, ever since the
grant of his pardon, been earning his
living n physician In London and
has succeeded in building ny n very
lucrative practice. In one word, he is
Il very gifted and interesting man,
who. In spite OF his having borne arms
against England. enjoys universal
/ good will and consideration at West
minister.
Some curiosity having been eN-
pressed as to the identity OF Princess
Joachim Albert OF Prussia who is de-
scribcd in cable dispatches printed
here the other day rs having quilted
the Casino OF the popular Austrian
seaside resort of Abbazia with the
prince. owing to the loud Kissing which