The Sun. — 1845-03-22 (London, England)

DEPLORABLE STATE OF MAYO. (From the Castlebar Constitution.) In passing sentence, on Monday morning, on the persons convicted at the assizes, Baron Richards made some very feeling and suitable observations. He regretted to find that there was so much crime in the county of Mayo. It was true the lives of none of the magistrates had been attempted; nor were there such crimes as were perpetrated in some other counties ; but the cause of regret was not the less. Though the people did not take the lives of magistrates, or persons in the upper walks, they attacked, dreadfully beat, and murdered one another. This was not less heinous than if they attacked and killed those above them; for the life of a poor man ' and his person should be held as sacred as that of the rich man, and should be protected. He regretted, also, to find that the people were not improved by the lessons they got in the house of God. But that was not the case. In many instances, at this and other assizes here, he found that the course of proceeding was for the people to come hot from the house of worship to the house of whiskey near it, and from that begin to fight on the public highway, and with sticks and stones attack their fellow-creatures who knelt with them in the same chapel a few minutes before, and to pursue that system until they deprived each other of life. On a former occasion he hal alluded to this unfortunate custom, and was sorry to find that it still continued. He did not know what to attribute it to, unless to the unfortunate propensity which distinguished this county from all others—a propensity to indulge in the use of ardent spirits. Every other county had, to a great extent, given up that abominable practice. It seemed that in Mayo this reformation had made little way, if any. There were here the same drunken habits that existed in Ireland half a century before, and the high and glorious examples given in other parts of the country had no weight here. He was extremely sorry for it, when he saw what it brought so many men to. There ' was scarcely one of those murderous cases that did not originate in it. But he hoped in God that the day would soon come when the people would be as free from those abominable habits as they were now unfortunately addicted to them. He could not but also regret the great difficulty he felt in arriving at the facts of the cases, or at the truth, owing to the unfortunate want of education among the peasantry of the country. There was scarcely a case in which he was not obliged to examine the witnesses through the medium of an interpreter. He did not find this to anything like the same extent in other counties in Ireland. The interpreter here was quite competent to discharge his duty, was a good Irish scholar, and well able to interpret the language ; yet from the ignorance of the people, he (the Learned Judge) felt it almost impossible to understand the cases, or get at the truth. That was a misfortune which he hoped would some day or other cease, and that the people in this county would be as well able to communicate their ideas in English as the people of other counties. It would be for their own benefit to learn the English language and receive education, for when they left the country, and went to England and elsewhere, they would find themselves in great difficulty from their not knowing that language, and from not being able to transact their business in it.  His LORDSHIP then proceeded to pass sentence on the prisoners. It will be seen that thirteen have been sentenced to transportation for various periods. This is a sad picture of a county which is to all intents and purposes under the entire spiritual control of the lion of the fold of Judah. And let it be borne in mind that Barcn Richards is a Whig, and something more.