The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3339, 30 March 1868, Page 2

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUOKO, NON USO. If I h»T« twwi •xtfnfuiilud. r«* OtWfflM , A tboawud bMOona from th«*ip*rk I beat. ■ ,

MONDAY &ARGR 30.

It is with no ordinary satisfaction, that we record the convalescence of Jiia ! Royal Highness the" Duke of Edinburgh. The news of the murderous' attack made upon him at the picnfc 'in Sydney ' was received in Auckland on , Wednesday last, and created a painful exci^emen^ in, the. public mind, in .which uncertainty as to; the facts and reprobation of > the crime' were blended* There was a hope that' the rumour might turn out to be 1 false; ahd'it was not until later news arrived- on Saturday morning by the 'Storm Bird/ ftpm the .South, which was subsequently confirmed- on the arrival of the ' Egmont *■ from Sydney, that the apprehenrid* of the public was allayed. The rainbur flmit an attempt had been mada to murder. hii

Boyal Highness was oonfirmed j" but it was accompanied- by #ie gratifying ..intelligence that thfe "Prince~w«tsotitdf uanger. . We neecl hot,- in this place, do more than reprobatethe great crime that has been committed. ;TMs is not the place to impute motives, or to bring charges against anyone; and, indefcd, on' such an occasion, it is next to impossible to deal with such a subject in a spirit of judicial candour, The crime of murder is the highest Jcnown to the law. It is a crime which the law, in the interests of society, visits with the punishment of death. Whatever may be said to the contrary, we hold the perfect fitness of capital punishment for capital offences. It is founded on the instincts of natural justice, and does not in the least partake of the feeling of revenge. There are, however, degrees of guilt which can only be ascertained by carefully considering all the facts, .and if possible the motives which actuated the perpetrator of a crime; and the punishment, as far as possible, ought to be proportioned to the moral guilt disclosed by these inquires. In the case of the recent attack upon the Duke of Edinburgh, a step has been taken in this direction. A preliminary inquiry has taken place, and the accused, about whose identity there can be no question, has been committed to take his trial on the charge of attempting to murder his Royal Highness. The trial was to open on the 26th instant, when the facts would be disclosed before a jury, who would decide upon the evidence. But enough has transpired at the preliminary examination to prove that the accused had no personal motives impelling him to commit the deed. Prince Alfred had not injured him in any way, therefore he could cherish no vindictive feelings towards his Royal Highness ; nor could O'Farrell be a gainer in any way by the death of the Prince, therefore motives of cupidity could not have actuated him. Indeed, the unhappy man would appear, from his own admission, to regret the attempt which he made upon the Prince's life. What, then, could have influenced him to take away the life of a fellow-creature, without a word of warning, and forfeit his own life to the outraged laws of his country 1 Above all, what induced him to make the attempt to assassinate an illustrious stranger, who was enjoying the hospitality of the colonists of New South Wales, and whose position removes him from the active sphere of politics 1 The theoiy has been set up, we think in the Argus, that O'Farrell is insane, and the man's career is minutely traced in support of this theory. Mr. Charles Gavan Duffy takes up the same, idea. We are told that years ago the impression was left on the mind of one of his acquaintances that he was "a dangerous " man," and yet he is allowed to go at large, not a word of warning being given until he attempts to murder the second son of the Queen of England, in open day, and in presence of thousands of her Majesty's subjects. If "dangerous" men are to be allowed to develop this species of moral insanity in the way (yEarrell did, and then evade the penalty the law awards to their crimes, all we can say is this, that every criminal may escape punishment. They have only to prove that some time ago, either through the effectgj of strong drink, or from some other cause, the/ impressed some one who knew them with the belief that they were " dangerous," to ensure a verdict of insanity in their favour, and free quarters and attendance at the expense of the State. But in this case,O'Farrell points to a • totally different cause from derangement of the intellect. It is a widely different malady. Mental aberration may be a visitation from the hand of God ; moral turpitude, which makes a man, by his own confession, an instrument in the hands of a secret organisation of ruffians to commit an atrocious crime, is a species of insanity no doubt, but it owes its existence to quite another Power. O'Earrell has confessed that he was commissioned to murder the Duke of Edinburgh ; " the task of executing the Duke " was sent out and allotted to me," he said to the magistrates ; " but I failed, and I am not "r" r sorry that I did fail." Here then, we find that the order to murder his Royal Highness came from abroad ; and that the lots were cast in Australia. Whence, and by whom, did this Qrder issue ? where, and by whom, were the fatal arrangements made to give effect to the murderous i order ? The replies are merely matters of conjecture at present. The Eenian conspirators', no doubt, will be found to have been the instigators and the perpetrators of this foul deed, which ought to create a revulsion in the public mind. " Fenianism," as Professor Badham said at a public meeting in Sydney, "is not sedition; it is murder." Therefore, Irishmen all over the globe ought to renounce it. Good men have no sympathy with murderers. They can lend no moral support to an organisation which seeks to accomplish political ends by assassination. We are glad to find that the celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Sydney, as a-holiday, was not carried out as contemplated ; and this we take to be one of the strongest proofs that could be given that the Irish residents in New South Wales reprobate the crime. The following additional particulars will doubtless be read with interest. They are from the Sydney Mail, March 21 : — At 8 o'clock on Saturday morning, the 14th instant, the bullet thai; has awakened the keenest anxiety in tens of thousands of hearts was satis* factorily extracted. During the forenoon of Saturday ttie pain caused by the operation gradually subsided, and towards evening his Royal Highness became composed. ** v ' ' „ ,We have Wn favoured by the medical gentlemen Who are attending his Royal Highness with the following particulars of the operation and state of the patient: — . .- "The baU'was extracted without difficulty at 8 o'clock on Saturday morning ; in. the course of the day Jus ißoyall 'Highness suffered considerable pain in the track of the bullet, which, however, disappeared towards evening. The night was passed in a «atisfaBtory manner, %, sleep watf procured for several hours ; and to-day (Sunday) the Duke was enabled to get up, and pasted several hours oomfortably and without pain. •'Jambs Yotoo, M.D. "A. Waisok, M.D. 1 '. ; "W. L. Powell." The wretched miioreant O'Farrell has been visited in., hii 'cell afr Darltnghurst gaol by the Colonial Secretary, ;Mr. Parkea, t and the Speaker of the * Legislative Assembly, the Hon. >W. ftL Arnold^ to 3rhom,j .we (understand, he was very communicative. Her stated that he intended /to have shot at the Prince a second time as he lay on .the ground, and theri to hayeshok himself, but , was . prevented from id doing! by i the m6vement of, Sir William Mannings Helstated^mpreoyer, that a written instrument had been received from the heads (or directors) of the Fenian movement (a republic) at home, .directing the execution of the Prince, and that ten person's entered into a solemn engagement- to' sboot nim in the event ofjthelot falling to L them. The lots; the prisoner stated, 'were drawn, by a boyiu the presence of the ten m?n, apd ife^elLtio his lot.fco execute the Prince. »t*ted»^pk place about tw»,months ago. H«.aajd he regretted that it had.fallen to his lot to kill the Prince, j but the killing was not regarded by hirn^oj bj_any gi the others, in the. light of an aisiMUiation, but in the lame way as they reearded Sk& execution of the three Irishmen at Man* ihfster. 'He stated that the general design of the

' Fenian organisation was to strike terror into the English people (or aristocracy), believing that to be the moat effectual mode of bringing about the independence of Ireland. The prisoner, we understand, went on to state that he intended to have ■hot the Prince on the occasion of his public landing, and had a good opportunity of doing bo, haying procured a gun for the purpose, and hired a room which commanded, a view of the procesßion. He was, however, deterred from carrying out his intention on that occasion, as there was a probability of the shot taking effect on the person of his Excellency the Earl of Belmors, who was sitting beside his Royal Highness. He afterwards proposed to <arry out the intention of effecting his deadly purpoie at the Citizens Ball, and one of the ten men previously referred to wished to accompany him for the purpose of setting fire to the Pavilion by means of inflammable substances which he had in his possession ; but he (O'Farrell) was unwilling to sacrifice so many lives when the engagement he had entered into required but one. Subsequently he intended to have accomplished his diabolical design at the Prince of Wales Theatre on the occasion of the Fancy Dress Ball, but for some cause or other was led to postpone it for a more favourable opportunity. "We trust the statement, to the effect that it was in contemplation to set fire to the pavilion, is a fabrication. One cannot imagine such an atrocity being contemplated by any man, much less being proposed by several, without any motive whatever, but that of reckless disregard of human life. However, the New South "Wales Government would appear to attach some weight to the rumour. The following appears in a Gazette Extraordinary, on the 13th. The reward will be offered simultaneously in Sydney and Melbourne : — i Whereas, on Thursday, the 12fch 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 ; and 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 £1,000 will be paid by the Government for any information leading to the apprehension and conviction of each and every accomplice of the abovenamed 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. ' Henry Pabkes. Public meetings have been held in all the cities and towns in the Australian colonies. 'Addresses of condolence have poured in from all quarters. At a public meeting in Sydney it was resolved to build a new hospital on the site of the main front of the present infirmary, as a memorial of the Prince's recovery, to be named the Prince Alfred Hospital. Prayers were offered in all the churches for the recovery of the Prince on Sunday the 15th. "We conclude this article [by appending the latest particulars from the Sydney Morning Herald of the 21st : — A Government Gazette Extraordinary, issued yesterday, contains the resolutions passed and addresses adopted at the various public meetings held throughout the colony to express indignation at the attempt on the life of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, and sympathy with his Royal Highness in his sufferings consequent on the wound he received at the handa of the assassin/ The same Gazette also contains the general reply of his Royal Highness, which will be read with delight through the length and breadth of Australasia. It is as follows :— "Government House, Sydney. " Maroh 19, IS6B. " I have received with sincere gratification these numerous addresses, and desire to return my warm thanks for the expression of sympathy which they contain. > "The cowardly act of one individual has not, in any degree, shaken my confidence in the loyalty of the people of this colony towards the throne and person of her Majesty, or in their affection for myself ; *nd I shall gladly convey Co the Queen the (Universal expression or horror and indignation which the attempt to assa-»inate me has called forth from her Majesty's faithful subjects in Australia. "Alfred." We regret to say that his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh suffered considerably on Thursday night, and continued to suffer yesterday forenoon from seveie pains of neuralgic character in the lower part of bis back and right! leg. These paiu3, we understand, result f rom injury to the muscles. During the latter part of the day his Royal Highness was easier, and was enabled to spend some time in his chair on the lawn. The ' Galatea ' band was again in attendance to assist in wiling away the time. A deputation from BathurSt— consisting of the Mayor of Bathursfc, Messrs. W. H. Suttor, M.L.A., C. M. Phillamy, J. C. Strange, R. B. Turner, and J. De Cloete — waited upon his Excellency the Governor, to present an address of sympathy to his Royal Highness Prince Alfred, adopted at a public meeting at Bathurst. A deputation from Liverpool also waited upon his Excellency ,to present an address of condolence with his Royal Highness. The deputation consiated of R. Sadlier, K.N., Messrs. C. Leyster, Kendrick, and Scrivener, and tbe address waa adopted at a public meeting held on the 16th inst.