HARBOR GRACE ORANGEMEN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 1, 25 April 1884, Page 13

HARBOR GRACE ORANGEMEN.

(New England Catltolio Herald.) The following dispatch is from Harbor Grace, St. John's, N.F. : — "In the trial of the Harbor Grace rioters, February 7, 11 witnesses were examined, and the evidence tended to exculpate Doyle and the other Orange prisoners. The three cardinal points sustained aie that the Riverhead party fired the first shots ; that no guns were discharged on the Orange side, and that Head Constable Doyle did not fire, was unarmed, and acted absolutely as a peacemaker." In connection with this business we quote from a letter in the Montreal True Witness of February 6, over the signature " Truth," an eye-witness of the scene describe l : " You remember the murderous onslaught that was made in 1862 by the Protestant party when they fired upon the defenceless Catholics. What an anxiouß time was then spent, and how much more so would it not have been if better counsels had not prevailed ? The anxiety which then prevailed is comparatively insignificant to the terrorism to which we were subjected on the afternoon and night cf the 26th December and the day following. " The Orangemen kf c here on St. Stephen's day as an auxiliary force to the Harbor Grace body. During their absence we had not heard a word of what was occurring, and it was only when we saw the mob entering Carbonear homewards in a disorderly and riotous manner that we discovered something was up. They came on roaring and shouting for Catholic and Irish blood. The first victim of their vengeance was a poor unprotected widow, a Mrs. Doyle. They smashed the windows and door of her house, and her daughter narrowly escaped death from a large stone thrown at her througu the window. All along as they passed down Water street they wrecke i the houses of the Catholics, uDtil they came to Mr. Thos. Geary 'h, which place also suffered from their fury. To add to these outrages, a constant yell was kept up for Catholic blood, and it was only by

keeping within doors that one's life could at all be safe. Thus passed tae night, which was made still more terrible by the continual firing of guns. Not one Catholic went to bed that night, but remained keeping watch. All business was suspended, houses were closed and remained so until the following Monday. A Catholic could not show himself outside doors. There was no protection for him. The passiveness of the stipendiary magistrate, J. L. McNeil, who was on the street during its possession by the mob, is severely commented upon. Muskrat Pennys and James Winsor, leaders of the Orangemen, nave made themselves notorious. Language is inadequate to express the bigotry and fanaticism those individuals manifested. An open house was kept at the Orange lodge, where the parties who had been brought in from outlying districts a? anxiliaries were feasted on soup and dumplings to keep their courage up. All Shoe Village were iv with the notorious Jack Curnew as leader, yelling for Catholic blood. What can be expected, when leaders of society endorsed such ruffianism and contributed supplies to those heroes?"