THE ANARCHIST FERRER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1023, 12 January 1911, Page 2

THE ANARCHIST FERRER.

Sir.,—An amnsihg letter- from ■ the- pen ; of Jlr. John:. GammeU,appears in your t issue of to-day oil theabovena.med peri. sonage. Tho writer evidently knows 1100 tiling at all about the subject except what ho has learned from Joseph Jt'Cabo, . an authority unworthy of attention. Jlr. Garamell. challenges: me tri ,quote, any , anarchist statement from tlie .text' books, j used in the modern schools established by Terror. Had Jlr. Ganiincll known - anything about the subject he would, have never issued, this challenge. But to the' j books let' us go at once. In one of them,. "Cuadcrno Manusereto" (Pago 182) we arc 1 informed that "assassination has ever . been esteemed-.by human society." In. another text book entitled "Patriotism v. - .'Colonization" (Page. 81) the love of ones g country is called''"a--.brutal lie. In the ; cmc lie ok the right of tho State to legislate and to punish is denied (Page IH.) r Oil Page 71 of the same-text' book liiiltt.ary oTficers, Ministers of' State, and. '* Judges are denounced as "men destitute '■ of every human sentiment."-The public _ is further informed (Page 80) .-that such u terms as "country,"."flag." "fatally, are !1" but "meaningless sounds. -i\ow, jUr.. Grmmcll, yoti-aro in. glorious'company, - - c hv perrer's'-schools were dens of im- * morality as well as of anarchism and v atheisni. They wero meagre and vicious from an educational point of view. this - is averted in the "Chicago 'I nliuiie ot- ■- October 21, 1909, by Senor Eladio Horns,: O who was sent by the municipality ot ifar- '• celona to inquire into the educational a conditions in the United Stales. Ferrers II schools, this gentleman declared, were , "liieoTe and vicious pedagogically considered." Books that this country would • confiscate wore there printed and read in. them and things took place therein, which - wo do not find even amongst the savages. '' Again. Jlr. Ganiincll asserts, that there, i. were no witnesses against Ferrer at the >- trial and that it was an unfair one. Let us see. The charge against him was that jl lie had been the leader and instigator ij of the Barcelona -rebellion. When that v rebellion broke out. as happens in every civilised country under similar circuni- - stances, the city was placed under mars' lial law and consequently all persons arrested in collection with the outbreak had to !;o tried by tho Military Court—not 7 l(y tho Civil Court. So it would be in e England and Jlr. Ciammell talks. utter, nonsense when ho asserts that the authorilies did not dare to put him on trial be--11 fore a Civil Court. Ferrer did not volunL '" turily deliver himself to the authorities; but was discovered by them after lying ' concealed from August 1 to August 20. Prior to the tragic events of the Barce-' lona rebellion, ho woro a beard—when arrested he was clean shaven. Had -he ireen an innoccnt man ho would neither have gone into hiding nor attempted a dis- ' guise. The trial, ns I. v;rote before, lasted nearly a month. Over GO witnesses gave evidence against tho anarchist leader. Jluny of these witnesses were nnncquninte<i with each other and tlieir in- ; dependent testimony against Ferrer was absolutely damning. _ Tho witnesses inelude a man named Ventura,-the Mayor'of a Preinia, a suburb of Barcelona, *' who swore that ' he was approachis od on Wednesday, July 2S, by Ferrer to : declare a provisional Government, and

to visa against the existing one. The Mayor's evidence was corroborated )>y nineteen witnesses who were present nt

the interview. Other witnesses were called 'do fornor, who saw Ferrer actually leading a group of rioters; a soldier named Ardia, who swore that on the same .evening (Monday) Ferrer took him aside, and attempted to lead him from his duty. It was proved by the Crown, and oven admitted by the defence, that Ferrer distributed money to the revolutionary mob. The barber, Domenech, swore that he accompanied Ferrer throughout'the' whole of the riots', and that the latter was the prime mover and organiser of the rebellion. And this evidence was corroborated by independent witnesses.. In Ferrer's, possession the police found. papers and telegrams which alone showed how completely he was concerned in the rebellion and rioting, and the only answer lie could finally make regarding these damning evidences of his complicity in the plot was that they were twenty years old! Not a solitary witness could be found in any part of Spain who could come forward and say anything to rebut the evidence for the Crown. Yet they had every opportunity of doing so; the trial was- public; the accused and his counsel crossexamined witnesses as freely as they desired; . every latitude was allowed them, and they were not brow-beaten, as Mr. Gammell allegss. The verdict was unanimous, and was ratified by the Capitanoria iof Catalonia. The Premier of the Liberal Government which succeeded the Conservative one under which .Ferrer was executed, said-that the only fault lie liad to find with the trial was that his. predecessor had erred "by allowing Ferrer illegal means of defence, and prolonging the trial, instead. of adopting the summary procedure." Yet .Mr. Gammcll, who knows nothing about tho case except what he learnt from M'Cabe (who, of course, is not a partisan—only a clever writer and speaker who makes .money at the game), has the folly .to write as he dees. I. ask him who is trying to mislead and keep the people in ignorance of the truth of things. . The crowning sample of Mr. • Gamuiell's knowledge of things is liad when he calls the French "Temps" "a priestly organ of a decidedly ultramontane character/' To put" it plainly, Mr. Gftmmell does not know, what he is talking about. , "Le -Temps" is a secular organ, decidedly anti-Catholic in character; As a lawman,, I would. strongly advise Mr. Gammell to take some remedy. for the Secularist-Clerical-Fer.rer-M'Cahe fever which is. coursing through his mental system. For'intoleraiioe, egotism; and Hastiness some of the Secularists have "taken the cake/' At anyrate, Mr. Gammell and his friends can rest assured tli.it Christians can and will unite ' solidly against the introduction of Anarchistic riacularism into our happy little Dominion. And, Sir, as these are my last words to Mr. Gammell until he learns something about the subject, T cannot conclude without thanking you for your courtesy to "A WELLINGTON ■CATHOLIC." Wellington, January 6, 1911.