Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1889-10-26 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

THE MURDER OF INSPECTOR MARTIN.  TRIAL OF FATHER MPADDEN.  The trial of the Gweedore prisoners commenced on Thursday at Maryborough, before Mr. Justice Gibson. Ten are indicted for the murder of Districtinspector Martin,and 13, including Father M 'Fadden, are indicted for conspiracy. The Attorney-General for Ireland challenged several jurors on behalf of the Crown. These jurors alleged that they had been challenged because they were Roman Catholics, and one or two would not stand down till his lordship threatened to commit them for contempt of court. William Coll was then placed on his trial for the capital offence. and the AttorneyGeneral having opened the case, called a witness to produce plans and models of the scene of the alleged murder.—Counsel for the accused put in an affidavit shewing that the prisoners were placed at an enormous disadvantage by the change of venue, and asked his lordship to direct the jury to take a view of the locality. The Attorney-General said there was not the slightest necessity for such "an Arctic expedition," and the judge declined to accede to the request at present. Evidence was given, and a constable stated that Coll was certainly one of the assailants.—The court adjourned. On the resumption of the trial on Friday, Constable M`Aweeney described the attack, and said that District-inspector Martin ordered the people to clear away, or they might have sore heads. Police-officer Varelly said he hard Father MTadden toe the words "Keep back; I wi4.l scatter these at once." He did not know whether Father M`Fadden meant to protect the police or wished. to. see them scattered. He described the scene of District-inspector Martin's death, saying he saw a man advance with a large post and strike the otlleer upon the head. He was certain about the identity of Coll, for during the time he was stationed at Derrybeg he had frequently seen the accused at Mass. Cross-examined by The Macdermot, the witness said a woman's cry that Father M 'Fadden had been struck by District-inspector Martin with his sword was carried through the crowd, and the people then became intensely excited. During the day there was an exciting scene. Mr. O'Doherty, the solicitor for the defence, complained to the judge that he had been refused admission to the court and assaulted.—Mr. Theodore Fry, M.P., and Mr. H. J. Wilson, M.P., also complained that they had been refused admission, the latter hon. member asking if, even without tickets, the court was not open to the public.—His lordship expressed regret that they had been subjected to annoyance, said the court was free to its utmost capacity, and intimated that he had given instructions guarding against any other incident of the kind.  On Saturday morning, several constables gave evidence, and the case for the Crown having closed, The Macdermot, Q.C., proceeded to open the case for the defence, in a speech w)iich lasted four hours. The learned gentleman strongly commented on the time, place, and manner in which the arrest of Father MTadden was effected, and said it looked as though a premeditated attempt had been made to humiliate both priest and people.—The court adjourned until Monday, the jury being taken to Mountmellick.  On the resumption of the proceedings on Monday a discussion took place between the AttorneyGeneral and The Macdertnot. The latter, in his statement for the defence, charged the Crown with withholding documents which, if produced, would prove the prisoner's innocence. Those documents the Attorney-General now proposed to hand to his lordship. The only other incident of interest was when the English lady visitors who have attended the court since the opening of the trial made a too fervent display of their appreciation of the manner in which Dr. Houston, Q.C., dissected the evidence of Constable Varelly, whom he charged with deliberate falsehood.—His lordship, on bearing the noise, requested that order might be kept in court.—The remainder of the day was occupied with addresses by counsel. On Tuesday the judge summed up, and in the course of his reniarks commented on the inexpediency of attempting to arrest Father M`Fadden as he left his chapel. After an absence of 40 minutes, the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter. Sentence was postponed. A legal point as to evidence, raised by The Macdermot, was stated for the Court for the Consideration of Crown Cases Reserved.