Mr. Justice Keogh delivered a charge on the 17th inst.
at Cork which created considerable uproar in court. He had been trying ten young men convicted of illegal drilling at Blarney, and sentenced them all to one year's imprisonment, but prefaced his sentence witha severe reprimand to all who assisted in such practices. He told them that there was not a club met in Ireland in 1848 but in five minutes after it separated two or three reports of its proceedings were forwarded to the Castle, and asked them whether even if an army landed in Ireland, they could hope to contend against an empire which had once met the whole world in arms and triumphed in the contest. It seems that considerable bodies of men have been drilling with white sticks, and though repression is but a poor instrument of government, still it is necessary to prevent these poor people from encouraging themselves to attempts which always end in useless bloodshed. There is not much harm in drill itself, but civil war waged by silly lads against an empire must be prevented at any cost.
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