THE ARREST OF HENRY GEORGE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6473, 10 November 1882, Page 3

THE ARREST OF HENRY GEORGE.

The pleasures of travelling in Ireland at present (writes tho Home correspondent of tho Auckland Herald) were ludicrously illustrated in tho arrest and re-arrest of Mr Henry George, an American gentleman, the author of the remarkable work "Progress and Poverty," and the.arrest at the same time of one of the masters'of Eton. After his first arrest and liberation, Mr George was a second time seized as he was leaving by tho train, and this is what the bobby said: He had " saized him because he had seen him associating with subpicious characters, and produced two constables to prove they had seen him walking with Rev. Mr M'Pbilpin, Roman Catholic curate of the parish, who was ono " suspicious character," the other one being the master of Eton College. The bobby also swore that they remained a long time in the graveyard of the abbey, which he regarded as suspicious, for goodness knows what they might be up to among the old grey stones. This policeman must be own brother to a policeman I knew in Dunedin. A gentleman with astronomical tastes had planted a telescope on a tripod in the Octagon at a late hour, and was gazing heavenward. He was pounced on as a suspicious character by Robert, who demanded, "Arrah, thin, what are you doin' here now ? "—" lam looking at Orion's belt," replied the gentleman. "Sure, thin, who is O'Brien, and where did he loso his belt ?" inquired Robertus. But, besides the graveyard, Mv George had entered the shops of three suspects. There had also been found in Mr George's luggage a " dangerous book," written by that gentleman, in which it was stated that the land did not belong to the landlords ; and there had also been found on him a memorandum with " unknown and suspiciouslooking names." This formidable catalogue of crimes was met by Mr George by saying that ho visited the old abbey with the priest to see the ruins, that he went into the shops to buy a collar button, and the unknown names in the memorandum were part of several hundred addressess. But last, not least, _he used tho talismanic words, "I am an American citizen," which appear to constitute a special exemption clause in the Peace Preservation Act in Ireland, and he was released.