The Catalpa Expedition. Zephaniah Walter Pease
you hear Geary say anything about what was to be done to the commanders when the signal for a rising was given?
Prisoner. I object to that.
Prosecutor. When a conspiracy is proved, the act of any one applies to the whole. I am asking the witness now what was the intention of the Fenian Society. We have already received documents which do not relate exactly to the prisoner, but to the aims and objects of the society. I withdraw the question for the present.
Prosecutor (to witness). Did you hear Geary, as a member of the Fenian Society, say anything about what was to be done to the commanders when the signal for a rising was given?—The commanders, he said, were to be destroyed if they did not take the oath of allegiance to the society. Every man that did not take the oath of allegiance would be destroyed. I heard Geary say that.
Who was it said to?—It was said to Darragh, and to different other members in my presence.
Did you keep a list of the members enrolled? Yes, sir. (A book was produced, which the witness-identified as that in which he had the names of new members enrolled.)
The court adjourned.
Cork, Thursday, February 22d.
The president (Colonel Shute) and the other officers of the court took their seats at eleven o'clock, when the trial of Sergeant Darrah, of the 2d (Queen's Own) Regiment, was resumed.
John Warner, the informer, who was under examination at the rising of the court yesterday, was again produced and gave the following further testimony:—
Are you certain that the prisoner was present when Geary said that the commanding officers were to be destroyed?—He was.
Are you quite certain?—I am.
When he said the commanders were to be killed, and all in the barracks who did not take the oath, are you quite certain that he said all the commanders who did not take the oath?
The prisoner objected to the question.
Prosecutor. Was it that the commanders especially were to be destroyed that did not take the oath of allegiance, or that every one was to be destroyed, the commanders included?—Every one, the commanders included, who did not take the oath of allegiance to the Fenian Brotherhood.
Are you able to read and write?—I can read and write a little. I can write my name.
President. Can you read print and writing?—I can read print, but not writing.
Prosecutor. Have you ever seen the prisoner at Geary's since he was sworn in, and if so, how often?—About three or four times.
Where did he generally go to when in Geary's?—Upstairs in a front room over the shop.
Is there a small room at the end of the shop on the ground floor?—There 's a small room on the left hand side before you go into the shop, and two inside that.
Did you see the prisoner go into either of these rooms, and if so, how often?—Once he went to the inside one with me, before he was sworn, the inside tap-room.
Were you ever in the prisoner's room in the barracks?—I was.
How often?—Three or four times. I took tea with him there one evening.
Who was present on those occasions besides the prisoner and yourself?—Two color sergeants of the 2d Queen's and their wives.
Their names?—I don't know their names.
Did you speak of the Fenian Society in the presence of these sergeants, and of the prisoner?—No, not in the room.
President. Did you do so in the presence of those other sergeants?—No, not at all.
Prosecutor. Can you state, of your own knowledge, what rank the prisoner held in the Fenian, Society?—Geary told him he would be a B, which I was a captain.
Do you know if Geary and the prisoner are relations?—I could not say.
Were you acquainted with Bryan Dillon?—I was.
Had he any connection with the Fenian Society, and if so, what was his rank?—He was a centre or an A, which means colonel in the Fenian Society.
Have you seen him in the company of the prisoner?—I never did.
Do you know if Bryan Dillon was tried at the Commission for being a member of the Fenian Society?—Yes.
The prosecutor then handed in a certificate of the conviction of Bryan Dillon, at the special commission, held in Cork, when he was sentenced to ten years penal servitude.
Examination continued. Do you know a man named Thompson?—Yes.
What was his Christian name?—I can't say, but he lodged at Geary's.
Was he connected with the Fenian Society, and what was his connection?—He was a B in the society, which made him a captain.
Did you ever see him in company with the prisoner?—Once in Geary's, in the front room over the shop.
Give a description of what took place at Geary's house?—A man named Donovan, from Dublin, lectured on the rifle, showing how to make cartridges, and military and field engineering.
Did you see a rifle raffled for there?—Yes.
Was it the headquarters of the Fenian Society in Cork?—It was the principal part of the city for the Fenian Society to meet in.
JOHN DEVOY
Organizer of the Rescue Expedition
Do you recognize this book (book produced), and if so, state what you used it for?—This is the book on which I swore in Darragh and different other members besides.
Did you make any communication to Sub-Inspector Hamilton as to how your being in the barracks could be proved?
Prisoner. I object to that question.
Prosecutor contended that the question was legal.
The court was cleared.
When it reopened, the deputy judge-advocate announced that the Court ruled the question might be recorded, but not answered.
Examination resumed. Had you any communication with Mr. Hamilton in reference to your being in the barracks with the prisoner?—Yes.
Did the members of the Fenian Society carry on drill in the neighborhood of the barracks?—In a place called the Lawneys, about a mile from the barracks.
Prosecutor. I close.
Cross-examined by the prisoner. Did you know I was in Cork until the time you say you met me outside the barrack gate?—No, I did not know you were there until then.
Did you swear, in answer to the prosecutor, that you came up to the barracks for me, which is true?—I did not come up for you in particular.
Were you in the habit of coming to the Cork barracks previous to the day you say you met me at the gate? If so, for how long?—No, I was not.
Did you come to the barracks before, and if so, how often?—I have come in before, when doing Sir John Arnott's business—conducting it.
Were you in barracks when the last detachment of the 2d (Queen's) Regiment arrived here from England?—I could not tell; I was not aware what time they came, or what place they came from.
Did you see Corporal McKillop with me marching into Cork barracks?—I did not.