ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 7, 28 March 1868, Page 2

ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

The extras which we published oa Sunday and Monday mornings giving the telegraphic news regarding the attempted assassination of the Duke of Edinburgh, and which caused such excitement in the district, are fully borne out by the arrival of the Mail so anxiously looked for. When the news first reached us on Monday morning our minds in common with every sane individual's were filled with horror and indignation at the perpetration of an act so cowardly/ upon the person of a youth so unassuming ing, and above all upon whose assassiiia.tion even from political motives could not accomplish any object whatever unless it were the sudden extinction of the conspirators whoever they might be. In fact, the news seemed to us so improbable, that we were inclined to. doubt its truthfulness, and look upon it as a hoax. We are exceedingly glad to learn from the "Daily Times" Melbourne correspondent, a portion of whose letter wet subjoin, that jO'Farrell'^ act is generallyi believed to be the effect "of mere lunacy. , This must greatly relieve the^jninds of' all interested in the welfare ofthe^cokK j nies ; for had it been the result of any ' conspiracy, it would have cost such a blot upon the page of colonial history as time could never have effaced. " On Thursday afternoon, I2fch March,, the. Prince, in company with a party fron> Government House- and a large* miscellaneous assemblage, attended the Sailors" Home ppic-nitc t at one of those pretty spots which are so numerous ort theshores of the Sydney Harbor, when, while walking between the Countess of Belmore and Sir William Manning, a man approached him from, behind, and when within about two yards- o£ the= party, drew a revolver, and shot His; Royal Highness in the back. Thewounded Prince fell, exclaiming; "Myback ia broken," 1 The assassin; immediately fired a second shot, evidently with the intention of murdering Sir William Manning, whom, it is supposed,, he mistook for Lord Belmore r theGovernor. Sir William, however,, before? the miscreant had time to carry out his; design, threw himself upon the ground,, and thua escaped unhurt ; but the ball hit a gentleman- named Thome- in the heel,, and inflicted a serious wound. As the? man was about to- fire a third shot he was; seized by a bystander,, amidst cries from all quarters of " Lynch Mmf lyncht him !" Indeed had it not beea for theimmediate interference of the police, thefellow would, no doutt, have been torn limb from limb, so intense was the feeling excited by the crime. As it was,, his clothes were torn from his back, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the police at length, succeeded, in conveying him to gaol. In the meantime, Hia Royal Highness- was carried on board th» steamer Morpetb, and conveyed with- all speed to the landing-place at Sydney— about an hours' steaming as it was — and thence to the Government Honse-. On his arrival there, no time was Tost in procuring the best medical assistance available in the city, in addition to which the; surgeons of the Galatea and the Challenger were soon afterwards in attendance.. As the news of the horrible outrage upon their young and amiable Royal visitor spread amongst the inhabitants of Sydney, the anxiety to obtain the latest intelligence respecting the Prince became intense, and the vicinity of the Government House was besieged by an eager crowd of inquirers. Bulletin* were issued by the medical attendaat«>at^hort intervals, the contents of which werentoj^ only read with an extreme interest uporiX, the spot, but were at once forwarded by telegraph to all parts of New South Wales and the neighboring Colonies. For many long hours the news thus transmitted, although hopeful in tone, waa such as to excite doubt and fear in the minds of the recipients. His Royal Highness's wound was said not to be mortal ; but then we were told that the ball had entered his back, only two inches from the spine, and had passed round into or near the abdomen, and had not been extracted. The patient, however, gradually improved in strength, until on Saturday morning it was decided that an attempt should b« made to fitw^»

the bullet. That delicate operation was ihen, to the unspeakable gratification of the public, successfully performed by the BurJeons of H.M. ships Galatea and Challenger ; and every successive teleMam now t«ll» us that the Prince is fapidly recovering fronvthe effects of the i? und. Yesterday (Sunday) prayers ' *ere offered up in all our places of worW»hip for his safety ; and I trust that by 'next Sunday those prayers may be turneo into praises for his providential escape. The name of the man by whose hand the Prince was struck down is H. J. O Farrell, and there seems very little reason to doubt that he is mad. It has been ascertained that up to about three months since he was living at Ballaarat, where he attracted a good deal of attention by his habit of hard drinking, and the frequent attacks of delirium tremens, to which he was subject. It is said, indeed, that on more than one occasion he had to be placed under the temporary restraint of a strait-waistcoat. He is an Irishman, and a Catholic, and the only words he uttered, when seized, after the commission of the attack upon the Prince, were : « I am a Dublin man.' It was either the brother or the cousin of the man— it does not appear certain which— who a few years ago followed the profession of a solicitor in this city, and subsequently absconded, after having wrongfully appropriated large sums of money belonging to his clients. It remains for me to add, that both here, and at Sydney— especially at the latter city— there has been a great deal of talk about ' Fenianism ' in connection with this frightful and atrocious outrage. The Government of New South Wales has even gone so far as to endorse the popular belief in that respect by offering a reward of a thousand pounds for the arrest and conviction of each of the persons belonging to a supposed Fenian plot to slay the Prince. But many persons here, and I myself amongst the number, confidently believe that O'Farrell's act was, like many previous attempts upon the lives of the great, the effect of mere lunacy. And although Fenianism in its development in Great Britain seems mad enough, in all conscience, I do hope that the ' movement,' as it is called, has not yet arrived at such a pitch of insanity as to encourage its adherents to take away the life of an amiable and innocent young gentleman, whose only fault is that he happens to be the son of the most excellent Queen that ever sat upon the British throne. On Friday evening one of the most numerously attended public meetings ever held in this city, assembled in the New Exhibition Buildings, for the purpose of expressing sympathy with His Royal Highness, and detestation and horror at the deed of which he was the victim. The Mayor presided, and there was a large attendance of members of Parliament of every shade of political opinion. Similar meetings have also been held at all the principal towns throughout the Colony.' " The " Daily Times " gives the following further particulars, which, however, appear somewhat doubtful : — "Notwithstanding the suggestion that the act was that of a madman, it is stated in the Sydney telegrams that there appears to be no doubt now that the assassin was connected with the Fenian organisation. " \ The authorities, at least, have informa- \ tion of his having been connected with a \ treasonable conspiracy, and they have yigßti6d tlie following proclamation : — )' Whereas, on Thursday, the 12th instant, an attempt was made to assassinate His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, by firing at him with a revolver ; and whereas, before the assassin could be secured, he had fired a second shot, wounding Mr. George Thorne ; and whereas, a man, giving the name of H. J. O'Farrell, has been arrested for the above crimes, there is reason to believe the offender was acting in concert with, or by direction of, others not in custody, organised and associated together for treasonable purposes. Notice is hereby given, that a reward of one thousand pounds -will be paid by the Government for any information leading to the apprehension and conviction of each and "every accomplice of the above-named offender, whether residing in this or any of the adjacent colonies ; and further, that in addition to such reward, His Excellency will be advised to extend Her Majesty's free pardon to any accomplice who shall first give the required information.' It is also stated that a number of arrests had been made, and it is added : — ' Fenianism, if it exists here, has received a solemn warning that no terms will be held with it. A preliminary examination of O'Farrell took place at the gaol to-day. He has been remanded till Tuesday next. The Government intend to issue a special commission for his trial. O'Farrell states that twenty persons were in the conspiracy. The number was then reduced to ten, who drew lots as to who should assassinate the Prince.'" Telegrams and. communications, expressing horror and regret at the occurrence, have been received by the Governor from every town in Australia which the Prince has visited.