A singularly cold-blooded murder was committed on Monday near Killarney.
The victim was an old man named Cornelius Murphy, who had been a water-bailiff, but was living in retire- ment as a little farmer with his wife and family at Coola. Eight masked men were sent to hishouse to demand arms, and a revolver in his possession was surrendered. The men then shook hands with Murphy, and were apparently going away, when one of them gave the order to shoot him. Mrs. Murphy flung herself before her husband ; but the villains were not to be baulked, and one of them shot Murphy in the leg with "zinc" bullets—more pro- bably pewter—shattering the bone from the foot upwards. He died within the hoar. The Parnellite Press denounce the murder as infamous, and of "no advantage ;" but they will not render any real aid to the murderer's capture, nor will any local jury, when he is caught, convict him. It is probable that, although the robbery of the house was ordered, Murphy's death was due to parochial spite ; but to allow the murderers to be hanged would be considered a desertion of the national cause. It is the utter demoralisation caused by the general protection of crime, more than the occurrence of crime itself, which is ruining Ireland. If she obtained Home. role, no leading Home-ruler would be safe, and the native Government would either have to tolerate anarchy, or set up a gallows in every village.
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