Had I been an Englishman,
and arrested near the scene of that disturbance, I would
have been brought as a witness to identify them; but being an
Irishman, it was supposed my sympathy was with them, and on
suspicion of that sympathy I was arrested, and in consequence
of the arrest, and the rewards which were offered, I was
identified. It could not be otherwise. As I said before, my
opinions on national matters do not at all relate to the case
before your lordships. We have been found guilty, and, as
a matter of course we accept our death as gracefully as
possible. We are not afraid to die--at least I am not."
"Nor I," "Nor I," "Nor I," swelled up from the lips of his companions,
and then, with a proud smile, Condon continued:--
"I have no sin or stain upon me; and I leave this world at
peace with all. With regard to the other prisoners who are to
be tried afterwards, I hope our blood at least will satisfy
the cravings for it. I hope our blood will be enough, and that
those men who I honestly believe are guiltless of the blood
of that man--that the other batches will get a fair, free,
and a more impartial trial. We view matters in a different
light from what the jury do. We have been imprisoned, and
have not had the advantage of understanding exactly to what
this excitement has led.
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