Why then, I say, should I feel regret? I leave the dread of death to
such wretches as Corridon and Massey--Corridon, a name once so
suggestive of sweetness and peace, now the representative of a
loathsome monster. If there be anything that can sink that man,
Corridon, lower in the scales of degradation, it is--"
The Chief Justice--"We cannot listen to any imputation on persons who
were examined as witnesses. Strictly speaking, you are only to say
why sentence of death should not be passed upon you; at the same time
we are very unwilling to hold a very strict hand, but we cannot allow
imputations to be made on third persons, witnesses or others, who
have come forward in this trial."
Prisoner--"Well, my lord, I will answer as well as I can the question
put to me. The Irish people through every generation ever since
England has obtained a footing in Ireland, have protested against the
occupation of our native soil by the English. Surely that is answer
enough why sentence of death should not be passed upon me. In the
part I have taken in the late insurrection, I feel conscious that I
was doing right. Next to serving his Creator, I believe it is a man's
solemn duty to serve his country.
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