"They'd never have seen me," said Mr. Berry, "I'd 'a been in th'
jail and 'anged her before th' mob knew I was about, and I'd been
on th' train and on my way back 'ome before they knew she was
dead. Why when I 'anged Poole in Dublin, who murdered informer
Kenny--O'Donnell, who murdered th' other informer, Carey, having
been 'anged at Newgate th' day before--there was a great mob in
Dublin to prevent my getting into th' prison, and nobody outside
knew Poole was 'anged until I was on th' boat a steaming away for
Holyhead."
"How do you manage that?" I asked again.
"I'll tell you," said Mr. Berry in a burst of confidence. "I shaves
off my whiskers and I puts on women's clothes. That's th' way I got
into Dublin Jail, with my ropes and straps under my clothes, and
that's th' way I've done many a job."
Berry never did such a thing in his life as put on women's clothes.
He never had occasion to put them on, and there was not the slightest
shadow of foundation for the statement. The people mentioned in the
article as having been hanged by Berry were not hanged by him at all.
This libel was printed upon November 23rd, 1889, and an action was
commenced at once. The defendants now stated in mitigation of damages
that they denied that the words bore the construction which the
plaintiff had put upon them, withdrew all imputations, and admitted
that any such were unfounded, and apologised for the matter complained
of. But the apology and the withdrawal appeared upon the pleadings
only. From that day to this, with 158,000 of their papers going out
every week, there had net been one single word in the paper apologising
for their action. It was open to them with a view to mitigation of
damages, to have taken this course, but they had done nothing but put
their apology upon the record, and paid into court the majestic sum of
40s. as, in their opinion, sufficient to atone for the wrong.
Mr. Berry was then put into the box and supported Mr. Waddy's
statements.
Mr. Waddy then spoke upon the whole case.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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