IRISH DISORDERS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 44, 11 February 1908, Page 3

IRISH DISORDERS.

.MUKK ACgiTiTALS. Keceived Feb. IU, 11.12 p.m. London, Fel.ru.irv 1". Very anil WaUh were a;-.|iiiucd tor conspiring against Lord A-shdowiie. The jury disagreed regarding the charge again-* \\aKh- mother. The latter was liberated mi lu-r own recognuance* until the nevt commi-sion.

•Judge Madden'* suniunug up strongly favored the prisoners, emphasising the fai-t that mere suspicions were iunitlilient.

Air. Join, liedmoiid. leader of Hie N itionalist part j. j- reported a- living :u a speech at Motherwell: "We are told that cattle-driving is a crime. . . .

Hut cattle-driving does not mean stealing the cattle. No duiilit it i-. an otfeie c against tlie law, hut we cannot call these onViii-es outrages and crimes." Ke.it day the Lord Chief Baron of Ir» land, Itaron I'alles, made sonic strong comments in opening the Leiuster As" sizes. The Kxpress re|iorts that, ill announcing that true bills would be pre»culed from County J>ongford again*! a numlier of liersons charged with Kittledriving, be said no political motive couid e«U"« or justify their conduct, and continued—"lt is an uuliappy stitc of things that the doctrines contained in Jlr. Kedniund's speech can be promulgated either in this country or in Sco:land—and promulgated with imparity." Not long after the Judge made these remark., the jury could not agree in the cat* of twenty-six men from County Longford, who were indicted on the usual charge of uulawlul assciublv. riot. and conspiracy. Mr. Justice Wright, in hi* charge to tlie jury, said there could be no doubt that on the occasion in qucs. tion there was an unlawful assembly, and that the prisoners ought to lie fouel guilty. i„ ..pit,- of thi-, the jure ,-M not convict the men, the foreman announcing, after an ab-euce of an hour and a-half, that they had disagreed. "The Irish authorities," the Express add*, "are already beginning to sec the utter futility of attempting to obtain a conviction against men accused of cattledrvVing. The Crown has now entered a nolle prosequi in the rase of the fifteen Leitrim farmers who were charged wi'h riot at Drumkcrran in March of !a-t year. Tliege men were tried three times, but no jury would bring in a vcrdi-t against them."