Charged With Sedition
Such an opportunity arose when on 15 April 1848, legal proceedings were instigated against John Mitchel. The grand jury were called on to find against him for "seditious libels," and also against O'Brien and Meagher for seditious speeches. Isaac Butt acted on behalf of both O'Brien and Meagher, and in both cases the juries were not sufficiently packed to secure a conviction against them. Mitchel's trial still remained though, and there was to be no mistake in his case. Mitchel's defence had entered a "dilatory plea" and this technical delay was seized upon by the Government. The charges of sedition against him were replaced with the newly enacted charge of Treason Felony.
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