The Times, 1881-12-10, p.6

The Times, London, 1881-12-10, p.6

Dateline: CASTLETOWN, BEREHAVEN, Dec. 9.

Summary

The Times's correspondent reports from Castletown Berehaven on the petty sessions of 9 December 1881. Hannah M. Reynolds (Dublin Ladies' Land League) was charged on summons with aiding and abetting a conspiracy to prevent payment of rent, by intimidating Catherine Murphy of Aughabrack — a tenant of the Earl of Bantry — not to pay her rent on 1 December. While Reynolds was in town a second summons was served on her by Head Constable Meek, charging the same offence in different language. The bench — Warburton R.M., Handcock, Dr. Armstrong — granted a fortnight's adjournment and issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin White, the absent Cork bailiff. Miss Anna Parnell travelled overnight from Dublin in support. The ladies were cheered as they drove off.

Narrative

Miss Reynolds of the Dublin Ladies' Land League appeared at Petty Sessions in Castletown Berehaven before Mr. E. B. Warburton R.M., Mr. O. V. Handcock, and Dr. Armstrong, charged with aiding and abetting a conspiracy to intimidate Catherine Murphy of Aughabrack into withholding rent from the Earl of Bantry on 1 December. A second summons for unlawfully inciting Murphy to pay no rent was served on her the same morning by Head Constable Meek; both hearings were adjourned for a fortnight after Sub-Inspector Maxwell secured a warrant for the absent Cork bailiff Benjamin White. Miss Anna Parnell had travelled overnight from Dublin and was present in court; in the evening she and Miss Reynolds were cheered by crowds as they drove out of town.

“it was a shame to bring her there on such a charge”
“she supposed that the Bench had made up their minds on the case before this”
“Miss Parnell, Miss Reynolds, and Mr. White left town for Dublin, and the ladies were cheered as they drove off”

AI-generated (claude-sonnet-4-6). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

People

Hannah M. Reynolds(as printed: Miss Reynolds)
role: subject · family confidence: 0 not family
Catherine Murphy(as printed: Catherine Murphy, of Aughabrack)
role: tenant named in charge · family confidence: 0 not family
Mr. E. B. Warburton, R.M.
role: presiding magistrate · family confidence: 0 not family
Dr. Armstrong (Berehaven, 1881)(as printed: Dr. Armstrong)
role: magistrate · family confidence: 0 not family
Possibly the same man as person_dr_armstrong_berehaven_1846 — two records held until resolved.
Miss Anna Parnell
role: supporter in court · family confidence: 0 not family

Also mentioned

Mr. O. V. Handcock · magistrate
Head Constable Meek · RIC_constable
Sub-Inspector Maxwell · RIC_inspector
Benjamin White (a Cork bailiff) · absent_witness
Distinct from Mr. White, B.L., below.
Mr. White, B.L. · defence_counsel
The Leeds Mercury and Glasgow Herald accounts of 1881-12-24 spell this same person "Whyte-Barker" / "Whyte." Treat all spellings as the same individual.

Places

Berehaven (Castletownbere) (primary)
Aughabrack (primary)
Dublin (secondary)
County Cork (context)

Themes

Story threads

Source type

correspondent_report

Related sources

Transcription

transcription: complete · confidence high

# Transcription — The Times (London), 1881-12-10, p.6 **Source**: The Times (London), Saturday 10 December 1881, p.6. **Status**: Complete. OCR cleaned against the page image. --- CASTLETOWN, BEREHAVEN, Dec. 9. Miss Reynolds, of the Dublin Ladies' Land League, was charged on a summons at the Petty Sessions here to-day before Mr. E. B. Warburton, R.M., Mr. O. V. Handcock, and Dr. Armstrong, with aiding and abetting a conspiracy, to prevent payment of all rent by intimidating a tenant of the Earl of Bantry, named Catherine Murphy, of Aughabrack, on the 1st of December, from paying her rent. The offence was alleged to have been committed on the occasion of recent evictions in this district. Miss Reynolds reached Castletown from Dublin at 5 o'clock this morning, and at 10 o'clock Head Constable Meek served her with another summons for the same offence. The charge in the latter instance was for unlawfully inciting Catherine Murphy to pay no rent. When the case was called on Sub-Inspector Maxwell asked that the hearing of both summonses might be adjourned, on the ground that a necessary witness, named Benjamin White (a Cork bailiff) was absent. Miss Reynolds, whose counsel had not arrived at the time, said it was a shame to bring her there on such a charge. As to witnesses, they did not require any, because she supposed that the Bench had made up their minds on the case before this. Mr. Warburton said that was not proper language to address to the Bench. On the application of Mr. Maxwell, a warrant was granted for the arrest of White, the bailiff. Later in the day, Mr. White, B.L., of Dublin, appeared to defend Miss Reynolds. He asked that both summonses might be dismissed, with costs. The Bench granted an adjournment for a fortnight, which the Sub-Inspector asked for. Miss Anna Parnell travelled from Dublin by the night mail on Thursday, and reached Castletown at noon to-day. She was present in court while the case against Miss Reynolds was being discussed. In the evening, by which time the news had spread all over the city, Miss Parnell, Miss Reynolds, and Mr. White left town for Dublin, and the ladies were cheered as they drove off.

Open questions

Is Dr. Armstrong on the 1881 Castletown bench the same man as the Dr. Armstrong who post-mortemed Timothy Sullivan in Berehaven in 1846? 35 years apart — could be the same elderly practitioner, a son, or a nephew. Cross-check against the 1881 Irish census for Castletown.
Was the warrant for Benjamin White's arrest executed? The Dec 23 hearing in Leeds Mercury and Glasgow Herald reports finds him testifying, so presumably yes.
Mr. E. B. Warburton's career as R.M. across West Cork — what other land-related matters did he sit on?