Page:The Irish in Australia.djvu/223

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FOUR OF THE FAMILY.
209

bound; from the derision and the contumely; from the buffeting and the blows she is doomed to bear in this her night of weakness and humiliation; from the garments of scorn, the crown of torture, and the gall they have given her to drink; may the brave spirit of her sons decree to her a deliverance—speedy, blissful and eternal!"[1] As every one knows, it was to Tasmania that some of the most prominent leaders of the Young Ireland party were expatriated at the close of the State trials of '48. William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Francis Meagher, Terence Bellew McManus, and Patrick O'Donoghue reached Hobart, the capital of the island, on October 27, 1849, in Her Majesty's steamer "Swift." Four days afterwards the "Emma" arrived, having John Martin and Kevin Izod O'Doherty on board, and the "Neptune" followed with the most belligerent and irreconcilable State prisoner of all—the ex-editor of the United Irishman, John Mitchel. On landing in their place of exile, the Irish leaders were offered tickets-of-leave, under which they would be severally assigned to different districts as their place of abode, and by the acceptance of which they would be giving their word of honour not to leave their respective localities without having previously given due notice of their intention to the authorities. As the alternative to this arrangement was rigorous imprisonment, with the repulsive prospect of forced association with the vilest of criminals, the exiled chiefs, with one exception, very naturally and properly accepted the proffered indulgence and comparative liberty. McManus was sent to the Launceston or northern district of the colony; Meagher was appointed to reside in the neighbourhood of Campbell-

  1. Meagher to Duffy. Nation Correspondence.