The Life Story of an Old Rebel | Page 8

Times" who could appreciate his book.
He became Chief Constable of Liverpool in 1828. About this time
Messrs. Rockliffs published a weekly newspaper called the "Liverpool
Journal," which came into the hands of Mr. Whitty after he had
resigned the office of head constable. An offshoot of the "Journal" was
the "Daily Post," which, in Mr. Whitty's hands was (and indeed has
been ever since under the direction of Sir Edward Russell, who still
holds the reins) a powerful organ of Liberalism. One of Whitty's
sub-editors on the "Daily Post" was Stephen Joseph Meany, a
somewhat prominent figure in the Young Ireland and Fenian

movements.
As showing the power of the Press, there is no doubt that Whitty and
Meany, in the "Journal" and "Post," and through their influence
otherwise, did much to secure recognition of a great Irish actor. This
was Barry Sullivan, who was, I think, the finest tragedian I have ever
seen. He is still remembered with appreciation by many in England,
and, I am sure, in Ireland too.
He was a patriotic Irishman, and once offered himself to our committee
as a Nationalist candidate for the Parliamentary representation of
Liverpool. This was in the days when it was a three-membered
constituency. It was only the belief that the sacrifice which he thus
offered to make for his country would have injured his career as an
actor that prevented us from accepting his offer.
In my boyhood a great feature in Liverpool was the annual procession
of one or other of the local societies.
The great Irish and Catholic procession, of which the Hibernians
formed the largest contingent, was, of course, on St. Patrick's Day. A
considerable portion of the processionists were dock labourers; a fine
body of men, who were at this time, as I have already said, mostly
Irish.
The Orange processions in Liverpool were often the occasion of
bloodshed, for in them they carried guns, hatchets, and other deadly
weapons, as if they were always prepared for deeds of violence. The
ship carpenters were the most numerous body in the Orange
processions. Indeed, they formed such a large proportion that, by many,
the 12th of July was called "Carpenter's Day." Shipbuilding used to
flourish in Liverpool, and, as none of the firms engaged in it would
take a Catholic apprentice, it was quite an Orange preserve. This
became somewhat changed when the Chalenors, an English Catholic
family, who were already extensive timber merchants, commenced
ship-building, and, of course, took Catholic apprentices.
The Orange ring was thus gradually broken up, and, as iron ships

superseded wooden ones, ultimately the shipbuilding trade almost
vanished from Liverpool. The ship carpenters, for the most part, found
their occupation gone, and many of them ended their days in the
workhouse.
A further instance of the decline of rabid Orangeism might be cited. It
was not an altogether uncommon thing for people to be fired at from
the windows of Orange lodges. I see, according to the "Nation" of July
20th, 1850, that "an innkeeper of Liverpool named Wright fired out of
his house and wounded three people." In justification of this he stated
that "a crowd of Ribbonmen assembled round his house." At one time
there used to be a notorious Orange lodge held in a public house called
"The Wheat Sheaf" in Scotland Road. The members of this body
thought nothing of firing upon an unarmed and peaceable crowd from
the windows, and I remember an Irishman being shot dead upon one of
these occasions. The change that has taken place in this district can be
best realized from the facts that, in after years, the landlord of "The
Wheatsheaf" bore the name of Patrick Finegan, that, at the present
moment, Scotland Road is, as it has been for many years, represented
in the City Council by a sterling body of Irish Nationalists, and that the
Scotland Division of the Borough of Liverpool is the one place in Great
Britain where an Irish Home Ruler, as such, can be returned to
Parliament against all comers, as Mr. T.P. O'Connor has been, ever
since the Division became a separate constituency.
To return to the St. Patrick's Day processions. I used to look forward to
them with delight in my childhood, and, even now, cannot help
lingering lovingly on their memory. They were splendid displays,
which I can remember much better than many things which occurred,
so to speak, but yesterday.
"Our street," which was close to Russell Street, Rodney Street, and
other thoroughfares through which the procession passed, was by no
means what you would call an Irish street. Indeed, the most influential
man in it was a retired sea captain named Jamieson, who, if not an
Orangeman "all out," was certainly at one time an Orange sympathiser.
He and my