No. 135.
Mr. Davis to Mr. Lowell
.
Department of State,
Washington
,
August 16,
1882.
No. 439.]
Sir: Referring to my telegram to you of the
11th of this month, in relation to the arrest in Ireland of Mr. Stephen
J. Meany, and to your reply of the 13th instant, announcing that he had
been liberated, I inclose herewith for your information a copy of a
communication to this Department from Mr. George H. Sandison, the
managing editor of the New York Star, from which it appears that Mr.
Meany is an American citizen of good character, and at the time of his
arrest was the editorial correspondent in Ireland of the above-named
journal. Although it is probable that your proceedings in relation to
the arrest of Mr. Meany will have been brought to a satisfactory
conclusion before this instruction reaches you, I deem it proper to
transmit to you Mr. Sandison’s letter for your information should any
further steps be necessary.
That part of Mr. Sandison’s communication which relates to the opening of
a letter addressed to him has been referred to the Postmaster-General
for his attention, as it is a matter properly within the jurisdiction of
his department.
I am, &c.,
JOHN DAVIS,
Acting
Secretary.
[Inclosure in No. 439.]
Mr. Sandison to
Mr. Davis
.
Office of the New York Star,
New York
,
August 12,
1882.
Dear Sir: Permit me to thank, through you,
the Department you represent, for the prompt service rendered in the
case of our editorial correspondent in Ireland, Stephen Joseph
Meany, who was arrested at Ennis. We received a cable message last
evening announcing that he had been discharged from custody,
doubtless in consequence of the representations made in his behalf
by Minister Lowell, at your request.
Mr. Meany is a naturalized citizen, and has for many years been a
resident and a voter in this State. On two previous journeys to
Ireland, as our representative, he experienced no personal
molestation, although his correspondence was examined repeatedly and
only forwarded after considerable delay by the English postal
authorities. I inclose you the cablegrams received by us on the
subject, which contain all the information at hand, and which I
would respectfully request you to investigate.
You will observe that, in addition to his arrest, his trunks were
searched and he was only permitted to go on giving bonds for good
“behavior.” As he has at all times, both at home and abroad,
demeaned himself as a quiet and respectable American citizen, it is
difficult to understand the nature of the information which led to
his arrest as a “dangerous character.” He has never, to my
knowledge, or that of his most intimate friends, been guilty of any
conduct which could be construed as being incentive to sedition
against Her Majesty’s Government, or to a breach of the peace,
either at home or abroad. I have written to Mr. Meany to furnish
Minister Lowell with evidences of his American citizenship, his
passport, and all the other information in his possession bearing on
the question of his status abroad at the present time.
At 2.30 p.m. to-day I received the first instalment of Mr. Meany’s
editorial correspondence, the envelope containing which bears
evidence of having been opened in transit and resealed by the United
States postal authorities. The envelope is inclosed herewith,
together with other matters bearing on the subject of the recent
arrest.
Very truly, yours,
G. H. SANDISON,
Editor
Star.
[Page 289]
Simultaneously with the tidings of the liberation of Henry George
comes the announcement that Stephen J. Meany, the New York Star’s
special correspondent in Ireland, has been arrested at Ennis,
whither he went to visit his relatives, and whence he was about to
make a tour of the most distressed portions of the West of Ireland,
where evictions are being carried on at a wholesale rate. These
arbitrary seizures are the first fruit of the new repression act,
and their manifest intent is to intimidate American citizens from
visiting Ireland. Mr. Meany was arrested on Thursday while in bed in
Brennan’s Hotel, in Ennis, County Clare, under a warrant issued by
Earl Spencer, charging Mr. Meany with being a dangerous character.
Mr. Meany was subsequently released on giving bail for his good
behavior for six months. Mr. Meany’s trunk was searched for
treasonable documents, but none were found.
Mr. Meany’s Arrest.
It now appears that Stephen J. Meany was arrested on Thursday
night at Brennan’s Hotel, Ennis, under a warrant of the lord
lieutenant, charging him with being a dangerous character. He
was detained all night at the police barracks and discharged in
the morning on giving bail for good behavior for six months. His
trunks were searched but nothing of a treasonable character was
found in them.
