No. 135.
Mr. Davis to Mr. Lowell.

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.

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.