The Warwickshire Herald. — 1887-04-14 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

PARNELLISM AND CRIME."  The Dublin correspondent of The Times states that as the result of the introduction of the Bill for the repression of crime in Ireland, a sullen and bitter feeling is shown by the Parnellites, who feel that at length the Government have obtained an effective weapon for striking down obstruction and clearing the line for legislation. They are disappointed and irritated at the failure of their tactics for prolonging the discussion and preventing the early enactment of the Bill. It is a rather suspicious fact ; but the most astonishing part of Mr. Parnell's speech was that in which he claimed credit for having led to the discovery of the Park murders by signing, along with Messrs. Dillon, Davitt, and others, a manifesto in which the crime was ostentatiously denounced. The best proofs that the documea referred to had no effect whatever in bringing toe assassins to justice are to be found in the historical facts. So little did the assassins regard it as likey to lead to their detection that they remained in the city and plotted other murders. The Park tragedy occurred on Mat 6, and the miscreants who took part in it went about in perfect confidence until the following January, and if it had not been for the powers of examination given in the Crimes Act, and which Mr. Parnell now denounces the Government for reviving in the new Bill, none of them would have been brought to ju•tice, even when they were committed for trial. There was only a general charge of conspiracy to mu, der, and no evidence to connect any of them with the specific crime until after they had been repeatedly brought before the chief police magistrate, and after James Carey, to their confusion and dismay, one day told tha whole story, on the witness table, confirming and supplementing the evidence of Delaney, who was one of the group of actual assassins. How Carey came with his evidence is a secret with a little romance about it which may some day be brought to light. No one believed in the sincerity of Mr. Parnell and the other signatories to the manifesto repudiating the crime. So far from enlisting popular sympathy and showing an earnest desire to bring the assttssins to justice a cry was railed against informers, and the effect of the comments made in the national Preqi was that the populace either expressed impatience because too much was made of the occurrence, which, it was said, was due to the fact that one of the victims was an English lord, or it was suggested that the murder was committed by agents of the Government. It was months after, wnen the attempt was made upon the life of Mr. Field for doing his duty as a juror, and Tim Kelly, one of the assassins in the Park, was one of those engaged in the crime. During the trial of the Invincibles the bearing ot Joe Brady and Tim Kelly was lauded in Mr. Parnell's pap •r as if they were heroes, while everyone who helped the crown was held up to execration. The solicitor to whose ,reat ability and zeal the Crown was largely indebted for the successful prosecution of the wretches who committed this arid other atrocious crimes, has been hunted down with a savage malice which made it manifest that the sympathy of his friends was with the patriots whose love of country brought them to the scaffold. Carey was marked and clearly pointed out in the Press to be muniered. His steps were dogged by the Parnellite journals and notice given of all his movements. He was recognisel by his murderer from a description given of him by one of them, w hien atter his assassination coutainedan article in which it deliberately laid down that the deed was an act of ju-tice done by an executioner, and morally right, although technically irregular in Hutt it was not carried out after a trial under the forms of law. All the witnesses wao gave evidence for the Crown, although not informers in any sense, have since been subjected to every possible annoyance, attcl the whole current of popular feeling was adverse to those who have taken any part in bringing Joe Brady, Tim -itY, D iii Curley, and other criminals of the seine lark type to justice.