THE LATE DEEDS OF THE IRISH INQUISITION, ETC.

505

SYSTEMATIC PIRACY UPON THE COLUMNS OF
THE MORNING ADVERTISER.

SYSTEMATIC LITERARY PIRACY.

Ungracious the Editor

practices of

of the Globe.

The deter mination of

the Belgian

Govern

We are sorry to have to complain of systematic piracy, on the part of the Globe, of our telegraphic exclusive intelligence, procured at great expense. Were it only occasionally that our contemporary gave our exclusive intelligence without acknowledgment, we should not have taken any notice of the fact; but when the thing has become habitual, and has been continued for years, it is only an act of justice which is due to ourselves, that we should make the matter public, in the hope that the ungracious practice will be discontinued. It was only last night, that the very important telegraphic information respecting the determination of the Belgian Government to set at defiance the threat of Louis Napoleon to destroy the liberty of the press in Belgium, which we were enabled to give exclusively, was given by the Globe, without acknowledgment, or anything ment to set that could indicate the source when it was obtained. Nor was at defianco this all. Our evening contemporary also gave in his impression of Napo last night, the whole, word for word, of our telegraphic communication from Marseilles. We ask the Globe itself, whether this be not too bad? It does not act in this way to the Times. Quotations from the Times are duly acknowledged every day. We trust that we have only to point out this injustice and ungraciousness on the part of the Globe, to insure for the future that which fairness and right feeling equally dictate. We never knowingly quote from the Globe, or any other paper, important exclusive intelligence, without giving the name of the journal whence our quotations are made. May 9th, 1856.

the threat

THE LATE DEEDS OF THE IRISH INQUISITION, alias IRISII COURT OF DELEGATES.

THE CASE OF TALBOT ». TALBOT.

2.

House of Commons, 28th February, 1856.

MR. J. G. PHILLIMORE moved for copies of the judgment pronounced by the Hon. Mr. Justice Torrens, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, in the case of Talbot

Judgo

Torrens and

the Talbot case of

atrocity.

Laughter of

Queen's

Counsel at the just in

dignation

of a man of feeling.

v. Talbot, before the High Court of Delegates in Dublin, in
the month of May, 1855; and of the written proceedings and
depositions taken in the same cause before the Consistory Court
of Dublin, from which the appeal was made to the said Court of
Delegates, and which were laid before the said High Court of
Delegates. The honourable and learned gentleman in support
of his motion, stated that he was a stranger to those interested in
it, but investigation into the facts of the case showed it to be one
of such monstrous brutality, that they chilled his blood, and made
his soul sick. ("Hear" and laughter.) He said that an innocent
woman had been most cruelly and brutally treated, and as an
English gentleman, he felt that indignation at so gross an insult
on humanity, that he at once considered it his duty to bring the
case before the house. He did not propose that the house should
act as a court of review in the case on an appeal from the
decision pronounced by the judge, neither did heappear as the
advocate of Mrs. Talbot or her friends; but he said, without
hesitation, that the reverence due to judges, and the estimation
they ought to be held in, would be lost, if charges of this sort
were brought, not anonymously, but by people high in office,
and certifying them with their names, were to be passed over in
silence and unnoticed by that house. One of the gentlemen
who brought these charges was a barrister of good standing,
and in respectable practice, and the other was a country
magistrate, who had to officiate in the administration of
justice almost every day, and if they have falsely brought
these charges, neither of them were longer fitted to hold the
position they did. But if, on the other hand, these charges
were true, the judicial incapacity exhibited by them was so
great, that it was the duty of the house to interfere.
regarded corruption, he exonerated the judge from anything like
that; but the charge he brought against him was incapacity,
and which had been followed by the most lamentable and ter-
rible consequences. Now, then, what were the charges against
the judge? One was, that he had admitted hearsay evidence.
Another, that he had stated, in a material part of the case, that
a witness had said what in no part of the case such witness did
say. Another, that he had quoted a witness as asserting what
the witness denied he did assert; and another, that with regard
to a material fact which established Mrs. Talbot's innocence he
stated that fact in his decision when first drawn up, but when
sent to him for correction he obliterated that fact, rendering one

As

Horrible

eeds of a against his

husband

innocent

wife sanctioned by

Inquisition.

part of his decision wholly inconsistent with the other. These were the charges against the judge; and in a few words he would lay the facts of the case before the House. Mr. and Mrs. Talbot were married in the year 1846. In 1847 they resided in the city of Cork, from whence they went to reside in the county of Roscommon, Mr. Talbot having succeeded to a valuable estate in that county, which was entailed on male heirs (let the House recollect that fact), Mrs. Talbot having born no son. They were there in 1852, and up to the 19th of May of that year, they had Mr. Talbot's own statement that he believed his wife pure and spotless. At that time a charge was brought against her by a man, who, to quote the words of the judge, was "a loathsome and detestable wretch, a slander upon his species, and who ought not to hold up his head in society." That charge was brought in May, 1852. As stated by the judge, they went to the door, and finding it bolted, broke it open, and found this woman in the room with the groom, who it was alleged was her paramour. But it is admitted that at the very time there was in the room a child of seven years of age, Mrs. Talbot's daughter; and he put it to any one, would the lowest strumpet take a child of that age to witness the commission of a criminal act such as that alleged? That, then, was the charge. Mr. Talbot hears of it, he takes the child from her mother, leaves out some tea and sugar, locks up the premises, and takes his departure, leaving his wife with these two men, and in the course of the night one of them attempted to violate her person. That was the man whom he accused first of all; but what was most singular, he still kept him in his service, and had raised his wages. That fact the judge admitted; but he took no notice of it in his judgment. The horrors of that night made the woman a lunatic, she went Perjury and in the mean time to Dublin, threatened to throw herself out of the chief a window, and fancied an old woman to be her daughter. From elements this she was taken to England by a brother-in-law of Mr. Talbot's support attorney, who placed her with a woman who had never yet been Chancery brought forward, while her friends knew not where to find her. The action of divorce was in the mean time brought, and a servant girl, who was in the house with Mrs. Talbot during the night in question, protested in the strongest terms her mistress's innocence, and that servant had returned to her master's house. This was on the 13th of July, 1852, and in January following additional allegations were put in against this poor woman, which had reference to the time they were living in Cork. A

corruption

required to

and Eccle

siastica!

Courts.

A just in

quiry into a terrible

case of iniquity op

posed in the

House of Cominons by James Whiteside,

man of the name of O'Brien, who had, on a previous occasion, sworn that he knew nothing against Mrs. Talbot, and which he admitted having done when brought forward as her accuser, now said that he saw a person have connexion with her near a public road, in the neighbourhood of Cork. The other witness, who swore she saw Mrs. Talbot go into a bed-room with the groom, had also before that said she knew nothing against that lady. Such was the character of the only witnesses whose evidence went to prove anything against Mrs. Talbot. The hon. and learned gentleman then read statements of the Witnesses, to show that Mr. Talbot's attorney had attempted to persuade them of a knowledge of facts of which they had no cognizance. He also stated that the judge had quoted the allegations of the accuser as proving facts of which there was not a Fitzgerald, word of proof in the evidence of the witnesses, as it appeared in tor-General the depositions, while he had rejected evidence, given by other for Ireland; witnesses, in favour of Mrs. Talbot. A still stronger point, howEsq., Right ever, was the omission by the judge to notice the fact of the Hon. T. H. child's presence in the room on the 19th, a fact strongly in Walpole, Q.C., a favour of Mrs. Talbot. But, as he had said, he was not the Church Esadvocate of Mrs. Talbot. She was now unconscious both of her tate Commissioner. wrongs and of the generous exertions of those who had risen in her behalf. He spoke not for her, but for the public, that the scales of justice might be taken from hands which could not hold them impartially, before others suffered such wrongs as had been inflicted on this unfortunate lady.

Q.C., J.

Q.C., Solici

C.W.Packe,

Mr. J. EWART seconded the motion.

A letter

THE COLUMNS OF THE TIMES OPEN TO THE
ADVOCATES OF THE IRISH INQUISITION.

TALBOT v. TALBOT.

To the Editor of The Times.

SIR,-As you have admitted into your columns of this day vindicating an anonymous paragraph, calculated to give a most false im

the honour

of Mrs. Talbot.

pression with regard to the family of Mrs. Talbot, I trust to your sense of justice to insert a few lines in reply from one of Mrs. Talbot's family, who is neither afraid nor ashamed to avow

his name.

Mr. Talbot's father, mother and sisters, have, in the most emphatic manner, pledged themselves to Mrs. Talbot's entire innocence. One of her sisters, has for three years shared her home with her, another has shared her bed.

Her only brother, Mr. C. T. M'Causland, has sworn, in the most solemn manner, that he believes Mrs. Talbot "insane, innocent, and the victim of a foul conspiracy."

A foul conspiracy perpetrated in

the Irish

Court of

The paragraph to which you have given insertion would lead Delegates. any one unacquainted with these facts to the false and cruel conclusion that Mrs. Talbot's family entertained an idea of her guilt!

With regard to Mr. Phillimore's motion, I have only to say that, until after he had placed his notice on the books of the House, I was an entire stranger to that gentleman, and had not the slightest intimation of his intention or knowledge that he had ever heard the name of Mrs. Talbot.

I, however, as one of Mrs. Talbot's family, feel deeply grateful to Mr. Phillimore, and beg through your columns to express my thanks to him on behalf of Mrs. Talbot (who is incapable of expressing them herself), for his eloquent and generous appeal on behalf of an entire stranger.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, .

THOMAS TERTIUS PAGET.

Humberstone, near Leicester, March 3, 1856.

ENGLAND BETRAYED BY HER MINISTERS.

Astounding made by Lord Pal

admissions

merston of

the un

of the

UNFAVOURABLE as was the light in which, from the first, the country regarded the peace lately concluded at Paris, no one, we believe, was prepared for the astounding admissions made last night by Lord Palmerston respecting the insecurity or hollowness of that peace. The nation will read with mingled soundness emotions of amazement and indignation, the confessions extorted Peace. last night from the Premier, in answer to questions put to him. First of all, in reply to a question asked by Lord John Manners, Lord Palmerston admitted that the Treaty of Peace accorded to Russia the right to rebuild her forts on the east coast of the Black Sca, if she should feel so disposed. If so disposed! Why, of course, Russia will be "so disposed," whenever she deems the fitting time for the purpose to have arrived. Our work, there