The Fall of the Great Republic (1886-88) — John Shaqi
The Fall of the Great Republic (1886-88)Coverdale, Henry Standish
History
The Fall of the Great Republic (1886-88)
Coverdale, Henry Standish
Imaginary wars and battles
The news of this direct attempt on the Queen’s life filled England with
a perfect fury of revenge. Popular sentiment demanded the adoption
of stringent measures for the suppression of “dynamitism” and the
punishment of criminals engaged in it. A flood of bills was let loose
upon Parliament, the enactment of the mildest of which would have
resulted in the depopulation of Ireland and its transformation into
an English colony. Meetings were held in every part of England and
Scotland to express detestation of this attempt to murder the Queen.
The newspapers were filled with the most sensational appeals and the
most scorching invective aimed at Irishmen.
In the midst of this turmoil the police arrested Timothy Gallivan, an
American, born in Massachusetts and educated in its common schools,
but the son of an Irish immigrant, full of half-crazy ideas about his
“duty” to Ireland, and fevered with anxiety in some way to “revenge”
her upon her “oppressors.” Secreted in one of the hiding-places to
which Gallivan was tracked were found papers constituting an extensive
correspondence. They proved that Gallivan was an American; that he
was a member of an Irish society in New York; that he held office
in that society; that he had been sent to London as its accredited
agent and representative and at its expense; that his instructions
had been to cause the death, by dynamite explosion, of some member
or members of the royal family, “the nearer the top the better;” and
that he had associated with him, either before or after his arrival
in London from New York, some twenty kindred spirits. The names of
his fellow-conspirators were obtained, either from Gallivan’s papers
or from the confessions of those whose identity had been therein
disclosed. When once any Irish conspiracy began to be unravelled,
there never failed to appear at least half as many “informers” as
conspirators, eager to betray their associates for reward or safety.
This was no exception. In less than two weeks from the date of the
explosion in Windsor Castle, every detail of the plot was in the
possession of the public, and twenty of the “dynamiters,” including
their leader and chief, were in custody, with amply sufficient evidence
in the way of documents, confessions, and corroborating circumstance to
send them all to the gallows. By far the most important and significant
feature, however, in the whole murderous affair was the amount of proof
it put into the hands of the police that the crime was exclusively
Irish-American in its inception, its details, its payment, and even the
_personnel_ of the criminals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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