text:  On the other hand if Mr O'Connell and his companions in guilt or misfortune should break through the cobwebs of the law and hurl a _retrospective_ defiance at the Government; we feel the utmost confidence that the learning foresight and ability of the eminent lawyers who represent the crown together with the firmness and integrity of the Irish bench "_sans peur et sans reproche_ " will demonstrate to the millions who look on that the constitutional powers of the state still remain uninjured and unimpaired in all their pristine and legitimate energy and vigour; and that neither in the machinery now set in motion nor with those who conduct or superintend its action but with others on whom in the course of these proceedings will be thrown the execution of a grave and all-important duty must rest the real blame if blame there be of the failure of _this_ "State Prosecution