Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698136136231.pdf (Ireland)
R E OP L Y OF W, R. R O B E R T S , ÿ r fsittc n t, Jfim ran ’iirotb crb ooti, TO T H E MIS-STATEMENTS OF B.

DO KAN KILLIAN ; W IT H REPORT OF GEN. T. W. SWEENY, £m t<ani of War, § .

NEW YORK : 1866.

R E P L Y f OF W. R. R O B E R T S , r Jfcnran Ik otlicrlm ob , TO T H E MIS-STATEMENTS OF B. DORAN KILLIAN ; W IT H REPORT OF GEN. T. W. SWEENY, Sctrtlaril of War, J. g .

NEW YORK : 1866.

REPLY OF W. R. ROBERTS \ ’ j No.
7 34 B r o a d w a y , N e w Y o r k , J a n u a r y 8, 18(36.

To the.

Members o f the Fenian Brotherhood : F e l l o w -Co u n t r y m e n a n d B r o t h e r s —1 have seen a pam p h let p u r­ po rtin g to em anate from B .

D. K illian, w ho signs him self Secretary of th e T reasury of th e F enian B rotherhood.
A lth o u g h th e Senate of th e Fenian B rotherhood im peached th is m an for malfeasance and other crimes, he still persists in h is open and sham eless violation, n o t alone of th e commonest instin cts of an honest m an, b u t th e expressed and clearly defined provisions of our C onstitution, m ade to guide, bind, and govern th e Brotherhood, and thereby secure th a t confidence in th e E xecutive and L egislative branches of th e Fenian B rotherhood so indispensable to its support, power, and respect­ ability.
An extensive organization lik e durs, w ith all degrees of in telli­ gence am ong its members, and com prising every grade of social life w ith in its ranks, m ust lay its p atrio tic aspirations upon a foundation of wise co nstitu tional law , or else see o ur hopes, dream s, and years of toilin g efforts disappear a t th e first shock of faction, or tum ble dow n in a disgraceful ru in th ro u g h th e insidious, b u t no less destructive, pow er of corruption.
th a t, instead of giv in g you I am sure your disappointm ent and surprise on reading the report m ust be g reat w hen you find th e receipts, expenditures, and am ounts of cash on hand, it is a tissue of fustian, bom­ bast, exaggeration, and th e m ost barefaced and m alig n an t falsehoods from beginning to end.
T here are, indeed, a few tru th s in it, b u t so placed and distorted as to convey to th e reader unacquainted w ith th e real facts as false im pressions as th e palpable and groundless libels p u t forth w ith an intentio n too evident to be for one m om ent m istaken by sensible or discrim ­ inating m inds.
The individual w ho w rote th a t docum ent m ust have a very decided contem pt for the intelligence of th e m em bers of the Fenian B rother­ hood to suppose for one m om ent th a t a strin g of libefs could satisfy them in the absence of th e financial statem en t w hich should accompany th e report of th e head of a financial bureau.
He and John O’M ahony have held, in direct violation of th e C onstitution of th e F enian Brotherhood, all m oneys received since the P h ilad elp h ia Congress, besides draw ing ten thousand dollars from the Treasurer, P. O’Rourke.
A nd w here, or in w hat portion of his report do you find a single figure in relation to th e outlay or am ount on hand ?—Echo answers “ Where / ” And I fear th a t an exam ination of th eir bank account w ill show the astonished and befooled m em bers of the Fenian \ 4 Brotherhood a very small balance on hand of th e im m ense sum s th a t m ust have been received in th e interval betw een th e P h ilad e lp h ia Congress, October 21, and Jan u a ry 2, 1866.
The sixty thousand dollars to w hich your Senate refers as h aving been sent to the I. R. B. per Jo hn M itchel were tak en from m oneys in the hands of P. O’Rourke, Treasurer, w hich he held a t th e tim e of th e Philadelphia Congress ; but, w ith th is exception, I have good reason to believe th a t not one dollar has been sent to aid the m en a t hom e since K illian has taken charge of the funds ; and yet, w here has it gone to ?
Ju d g in g by th e receipts a t H eadquarters for the tw o previous m onths, there m ust have been about tw o hundred thousand dollars received in th e in te rv a l referred to.

I hope, for the sake of Ireland, they have it now.


If the S tanding Finance Committee of the Senate were not positively refused perm ission to exam ine th e accounts, they could tell you long before th is w hether it was still on hand, tak en out under pretext of secret-service money, or squandered on a horde of greedy, heartless cormorants, who are devouring the m eans given to place m uskets in the hands of th e ir countrym en a t hom e to fight for lib erty and independ­ ence.
God help the men in prison th a t depend on these m en for aid ; and God help the men outside, who are hoping from day to day to see arm s, men, and ships going to th e ir assistance.
How b itte r w ill be th e ir disappoint­ m ent when they find th a t an adventurer,w ho m aligned th e ir principles and organization for six years, came in at th e tw elfth hour, and th ro u g h his m aking a tool of a weak, in trig u in g man, b rought disgrace and sham e upon us all, through h is falsehoods and corrupt com binations, w hether for purposes of direct x>lunder of the money of patriots, or th a t his friend D’Arcy McGee promised a higher price for disrupting the Fenian Brotherhood, tim e, and a thorough exam ination of the receipts and expenditures w ill determ ine.
He could not go to W ashington from P hiladelphia for three or four days w ithout having a certain su m —three hundred dollars—given to him , and a messenger to assist, who got fifty dollars more ; and yet he can w ork now in an office th a t has no salary attached to it, w hen everybody w ho know s the m an m ust be well aw are th a t he is a penniless adventurer, ow ing I could nam e money in every portion of America in w hich he has resided.
several instances of his confidence games, b u t for the present I refrain, as I am not done w ith th is individual y et ; in fact, I have only begun w ith him ; w hen I get through, I will guarantee he w ill be too well know n to ever impose upon honest n^en again.

Now to refute his calum nies and m isrepresentations.

He begins his document by stating th a t he received a vote of th an k s from the P hiladelphia Congress.
So he did ; and it shows how necessary it is for him to refer to it to give him character in your eyes.

B ut he did not tell you th a t he got th a t vote of thanks and the three hundred dollars under the belief th a t he procured the release of John Mitchel, when it is now well know n th a t it was tw o distinguished gentlem en in W ashington, Judge Mason and T. W. Florence, Esq., who procured it.
N ext he says he was honored by th e highest vote for Senator, b u t he forgot to tell you th a t he procured it for the very same 5 reason th a t he received th e vote of th a n k s and the three hundred dollars, and also by playing a double game, by p a rtia lly siding w ith th e tw o elem ents in th e Congress, m aking each believe th a t he w as indifferent to office ; th a t he h ad a m ission outside th e local objects of th e organization, w hich m ission w as in relation to our atta ck in g Canada, w hich he held w as the only w ay to tak e Ireland.
And to m en who, he saw, were op posed to O’M aliony’s conduct in th e C onvention, lie exhibited, in th e C ontinental H otel, le tte rs from parties sta tin g th a t O’M ahoney w as an ex-lunatic, and an ex-preacher of spiritualism .
S till later, he says, a t th e request of O’M ahony, he allow ed his nam e, for purposes of reconciliation, to go before th e Senate for Secretary of th e Treasury, w hen the tru th is th a t th e sending in of h is nam e was th e first fire-brand w hich O’M ahony th re w in to th e Senate after th e P hilad elphia Congress.

T hey refused to confirm him , and O’M ahony again sen t in h is name, w ith M eany’s, for Secretary of Civil Affairs, and M ullen for Secretary of th e N avy.
T he Senate became in d ig n a n t a t th is a tte m p t to d isru p t th e ir body after com ing fresh from th e people, w hile p len ty of good m en rem ained outside w ho had th e capacity to fill those positions, and w ho were not, lik e M eany and K illian, F enians of a few w eeks’ standing.
I appealed to O’M ahony, in th e presence of Jo h n M itchel, not to force th is issue on us, and im plored h im as he loved h is country, and the cause of Ireland—for which we were w orking, n o t to do w ith th e elected guardians of th e in terests of th e B rotherhood w hat E ng lan d did to th e Irish parliam ent in 1800.
A fter th e Senate spent nearly tw o w eeks in vexatious session, aw ay from th e ir business an d th e ir homes, rejecting unfit nom inees of O’Mahony, and he sending them in as fast as rejected, he finally agreed to ta k e no more m en off th e Senate, provided we confirmed K illian.
He had been rejected tw ice under oath by th e Senate, th e y suspecting th a t his great a n x iety to g et an office w ith o u t legitimate pay looked very suspicious in one w ho could not go to W ash in g to n for three days w ith o u t receiving th ree h u n ­ dred dollars, and w hose finances were believed to be a t a very low ebb although O’M ahony said lie had p len ty of m eans.
I urged h im to w ith draw them all, b u t lie insisted on K illian ’s confirm ation, and, for the sake of harm ony, th a t treacherous goddess to whose influence we so often yielded before, I urged th e Senators to confirm K illian, and, after a good m any doubts and m isgivings on th e p a rt of a m ajority of th e Senators, th ey yielded to my solicitations and confirmed him .

H is conduct since has justified th e ir hesitancy, and m ore th a n confirmed th e ir w orst suspicions.
As to th e regret of the Senators a t th e consequent separation from them of th e m an who was so irrita te d and chagrined a t h is frequent rejection, it is all im agination ; th ere w as none felt 01* assum ed on eitliefr side.
He w as too well pleased a t h is confirm ation to an office w hich he fills w ith so m uch benefit to him self ; an d his brother-senators certainly expressed no re g re t a t h is departure, unless, perhaps, h is friends and associates M eany and M ullen ; b u t th is is scarcely possible, as he has been m uch more useful to them in h is present position th a n he could possibly be as a Sena­ I w ill pass over the rules and regulations rendered necessary, as he tor.
6 says, by the complex n atu re of the constitution.

Y et he m akes it m uch more so by a series of regulations w hich are all very well on paper.

1 have strong reason to believe they were only intended for show, else why are circles for m onths w ith ou t receipts tor m oneys rem itted, w hile there has been an arm y of clerks, large enough alm ost to w ork th e U nited States Treasury D epartm ent, employed at U nion Square.
I w ill also pass unnoticed m uch of his em pty hum bug, w ritte n evidently to m vstify his readers, and to slander m en of respectability and character insinuations regarding General Sweeny, Colonel M eehan, and —his Others, and come to those portions w hich, for sham eless and barefaced lying, place th eir au th o r below th e grade of a convicted felon.
H e says : “ Mr. Roberts has received, and has not ..accounted for, a sum ot money presented to the B rotherhood as a bribe for th e ir political influence in th e recent election.” This is an infam ous falsehood.

I h ave náver, on any occa­ sion, been tendered or received a bribe ; no m an has even dared to m ake me such an offer.
T h at parties have given m oney in to th e funds of the F. B., out of compliment to me, I have no doubt, and several of m y friends, m yself among th e number, stood ready to take a five hundred dollar bond each ; b u t no m an or body of men has ever attem p ted to approach me w ith a bribe, and I I have no connection writh politics w hatsoever, have not taken any money.

except as an American citizen, w ho votes and m inds h is ow n business, and cares very little about parties, politics, or politicians.
M issouri has I hope there are not m any spawned K illian upon a p atriotic organization.

more like him w here he last came from.

.

This brings me to a portion of th e docum ent w hich he has tu rn e d and worked and tw isted and lied about, b o th in th e press and a t 814 Broadway, to crowds of hi^dupes, w ho w ill yet open th e ir eyes, if th ey have n o t done so already, in astonishm ent a t th e w ay th is m an lias fooled and deceived them.
I refer to the purchase, for eighteen m onths, of the Moffat m ansion.

Now, the first I ever heard about the h irin g of th is place w as on a Saturday, about 11 o clock, A. M., w hen K illian and M ullen, in company w ith General Sweeny, drove up to m y store.

M ullen came in and asked me if I would I said yes, and we go w ith them and look at a place for H eadquarters.

drove to Union Square, and drew up in front of th e m ansion.
My first words, on looking up at the house, were, “ You can’t get th is place,” suppos­ ing th a t the landlord would not let it for public offices.

K illian answered “ Yes ; we have been offered it.” « How m uch is the ren t,” said I, nam ing at the same tim e $3,500 a year.
K illian said, “ You are joking ” “ W ell ” said I, “ how m uch ?” « W a it,” said he “ u n til you see it inside.” In we went, and, as we traveled from floor to floor, ho w ould ask me, “ H ow do you like it ?” My answ er was, “ Very well ; its ra th e r too eleg an t; but w h a ts th e re n t?

” Finally, w hen we got dow n to the basem ent, I said.
ow much is the rent ?” nam ing a very large sum , th irtee n thousand dol- ars which, I presumed, would be as m uch above th e real value as my first sum was below it.

“ No,” said he, « it is tw elve thousand dollars.” s surPnscd me, as I considered it an enorm ous rent, and I so expressed * 7 myself.
He, how ever, insisted th a t we could do no b e tte r ; th a t lie should have a place on the M onday follow ing to issue th e bonds from ; th a t tw o thousand dollars a t least could be tak en off th e re n t by le ttin g th e upper portion of th e build in g for dorm itory purposes for th e clerks a t H eadquar­ ters.

I asked h im how Mr. O’M ahony felt about it.


He replied th a t “O'Maliony would give no trouble now, or a t a n y fu tu r e tim e, on the score o f econom y” and th a t he h ad no objection.
I rem em ber th is answ er very dis­ tin c tly , as i t struck me as a very significant one, and I said th a t “ th e ren t w as too h ig h ; still, as I did n o t w ish to be the m eans of obstructing the business of th e organization—on th e contrary, m y g reat desire w as to see it pushed ahead—and if you can’t g e t a n o th er suitable place, I have no objection to y o u r ta k in g it.” B u t I asked if th ere w as no o th er place we could go an d see.
H e said th e re was ; and I said, “ W e h a d b e tte r drive th ere w h ile w e are about it.” One of th e paid officials a t H ead­ quarters, came up, an d w e w ent along to inspect tw o or th ree o th e r places, none of w hich were to let.
F inally, we w ent to a private house on F o u rth street, w here th is em ployé boarded, and in to th e fam ily of w hich he is now m arried ; th is could be h ad for five th o u san d dollars a year, a sum so enorm ously out of proportion to its real value th a t I said I w ould prefer ta k in g th e one in U nion square.
T his house could not certainly re n t leg it­ im ately for more th a n tw elve h u n d red dollars, as far as m y know ledge goes and m y experience of th is individual’s character m ade me very suspicious about a n y th in g he w as interested in.

A fter th is they drove me to m y store, and th e n I left them .
On th in k in g th e m a tte r over, w hen alone, I became m ore and m ore dis­ satisfied w ith th e re n t of th e Moffat m ansion ; and on going dow n tow n in about one h o u r after, I m et M ichael K avanagh, p riv ate secretary to O’Ma­ hony, and I told him to te ll K illia n n o t to tak e th e house u n til he made another search, an d asked him a t th e same tim e if he did n o t know of a place.
He said th ere w as a place in Broadw ay, n ear th e P ark , advertised in the H erald th e day before.

I requested him to see after it, and te ll K illian not to tak e th e m ansion u n til he m ade fu rth e r search, as I considered the re n t of th e m ansion too enorm ous.
T he n e x t I h eard of it w as from a gen­ tlem an, th a t i t w as tak en by K illian a t $12,000 a year, n o tw ith stan d in g the fact th a t i t was offered to a lady of his acquaintance for a boarding-house for $8,000 a year.

I said, “Are you sure.” He replied in th e affirmative.

W here­ upon I w ent w ith Mr. O’R ourke to O’M ahony, and told him w hat I heard.

He seemed very indifferent, and rem arked, w ith his head down, w riting, th a t he did not believe it.
The fact, tho ug h lias since come to me from different sources, th a t it was offered, w ith in a very few days before K illian took it, for eigh t thousand dollars a year, w hich w ould be six thousand dollars less for eighteen m onths th a n th e B rotherhood have been charged w ith, and I have no doubt b u t it can be proved in a cou rt of law , could th e m a tte r be tested there.
Now th e question w hich n a tu ra lly suggests itse lf to every honest, in te llig e n t m ind, is, “ Did K illian pay so m uch more for th e place th a n it was offered to others for, or did he, th ro u g h some underhand trick, sim ilar to the 8 To assert is directly contrary th a t General Sweeny or m yself w anted pu.rcb.as3 of tlie bill of exchange tor Jo h n M itchel, pocket th e difference.

Now the foregoing is all I know about th e house in Union square.
I never saw the landlord or any p arty connected w ith th e le ttin g , leas­ in fact, I never knew th e house was ing, or renting of the building ; th e occasion I have m en­ to be let u n til K illian told me of it on it rented tioned.
to th e tru th ; for, w hen K illian for three years said th a t th e landlord w ould no t let it for less th a n three years, I replied th a t, if it was so, I w ould have n o th in g to do w ith it ; for, if we were to require a headquarters in N ew Y ork for three years m ore, I was going to get out as soon as possible and a tte n d to m y business.
How­ ever, I believe now th a t th e three years’ assertion w as m erely a b a it to get General Sweeny and m yself to assent to th e ta k in g of it for a less term , for he adm its th a t O’M ahony advised him to see us about th e place before he took it, for the reason, no doubt, th a t he w anted to have it to say here­ after th a t we were in strum ental in ta k in g it.

I t requires b u t a very sm all peg for these individuals to h an g an u nm itigated falsehood on.
As to the Senators w ithin reach,—each of whom, he says, expressed d elight and satis­ faction a t th e idea of g e ttin g a headquarters to give eclat to th e financial movement then in prospect,—I can testify th a t he never even consulted Senators Meehan, O’Rourke, and Carey, all of whom were w ith in easy reach ; and I have good reason to believe th a t Mr. Gibbons w as not consulted either.
Now, as to the paym ent of eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) for re n t in advance, five thousand dollars ($5,000) as a deposit against dam age to the building, and, I believe, nearly an equal sum for fu rn itu re, carpets, bedsteads, etc., etc., I can solemnly aver th a t I knew n o thing of all these expenditures until after they were made, and I was am azed w hen I heard of it, not alone lor paying out money then needed for purposes of w ar, for w hich it was appropriated by the Senate, but because it w as a very convincing indication to my m ind of the new policy th a t was going to direct th e financial affairs of the Brotherhood.
Even th e n I did not know of th e five thousand dollars ($5,000) locked up in K illian’s name, w hich fact he carefully covered up in his report by saying th a t it is lodged in th e nam e of Eugene K elly and another, w ith th e American T rust Company ; so it is, b u t it is lodged there as K illian’s, for eighteen m onths, and at the end of th a t tim e i t reverts to him, or, should he die in the interval, to liis heir-at-law.
The m ansion is also leased in h is name, instead of being in th e jo in t nam es of a com m ittee of responsible Fenians ; so th a t, if the B rotherhood should th in k it desirable to expel Killian, K illian can expel the B rotherhood from the Moffat m an­ It shows how well the Clinton H all Convention did th e ir work sion.

when they left those m atters as they found them .


N ow th ere is one broad and palpable fact apparent in th is whole transaction, th a t K illian and O Mahoney (for the la tte r held the money) paid out about tw enty-six thousand dollars ($26,000),- w illf u lly and crim inally expended by th e above- the h irin g and purcllase of an elee a n t man8i0D’ although but three thousand was appropriated by th e Senate, not, as K illian T says, for one departm ent, b u t for an e n tire headquarters.
Before th e P h ila ­ delphia C onvention, I was about ta k in g a floor 25 by 100 feet, in Broadway, a t a yearly re n t of eig h t hundred dollars ($800.)

Less th a n th ree thousand dollars ($3,000) w ould fit it up thoroughly.

So th a t you can see how w idely opposite w ere m y real view s of a headquarters and his.

N ow th e n ex t por­ th is M unchausen n a rra tiv e I shall ta k e up is one of -the m ost tio n of im p o rtan t, as it is one of th e m ost scandalously false, of th e whole batch.
F o rtu n a te ly I have o th er w itnesses th a n th e h irelin g p a trio ts w ho flourish th e ir falsehoods around U nion square, in th is case ; an d I ask the p articu lar a tte n tio n of th e Fenian B rotherhood to it, as w ith th is one sam ple alone, if th ere w ere no others to show, th ey can ju d g e th e character of th e m an who now liQlds th e purse of a po rtio n of th e F enian Brotherhood.
I f h is honesty is on a p ar w ith his veracity, it w ill n o t be difficult to tell where the funds w ill find a last resting-place.

My w itnesses now are th e C on tinen tal B ank N ote Company, an in s titu ­ tion of as h ig h character and stan d in g as any in America.

K illian, in speak­ ing of th e p rin tin g , num bering, and g e ttin g u p th e bonds, uses th e follow­ in g language.
H e says : In a conversation w ith Mr. M eignelle, th e Super­ in ten d en t of th e B ank N ote Company, I had learned tw o facts of great significance.

One w as th a t Mr. R oberts h ad adopted a system of s e c r e t n u m b e r s for th e bonds ; th e o th e r w as th a t h e h ad m ade a personal arrange­ m en t w ith th e B ank N ote Company, placing him self as ow ner of th e m ate­ rial, an arrangem ent w hich, if not broken up, w ould enable him to repeat th e K eenan trick a t pleasure.
T he only object w hich Mr. M eignelle could assign for th e secret num bering w as th a t Mr. R oberts m ig h t p rin t as m any bonds as he w ished w ith o u t any one being th e w iser.

The ap p aren t object of th e o th er arrangem ent w as th a t, ow ning th e m aterial, no one could prevent h im from p rin tin g as h e w ished,” and m ore of a sim ilar character, b u t equally false and groundless.
Now, before I b rin g in proofs of th e u tte r falsity of th e m eaning im plied in the above, I w ill give a short h isto ry of those bonds and th e trouble and tim e I lost about them , w hile K illian w as perhaps slandering the Fenians in St. Louis.

P .

J .

M eehan and P .

W .


D unne w ere sent to Ireland by th e C entral Council, in consequence of th e disparaging m anner in which John O’M ahony, th e n H ead Centre, spoke of Jam es Stephens and the Irish R epublican B rotherhood,—I have th e proofs, in h is ow n h an d w ritin g to Jam es Gibbons, to prove it if necessary.
W h en M eehan and D unne exam ­ ined th e organization a t th e o th e r side, th ey w ere com pletely surprised a t its extent, power, and ram ification, and Mr. M eehan w rote back his opinions, and fired our hearts by h is w ords of cheer.

He said we should get out th e bonds and issue the final call.

O’M ahony asked me to w rite th e final call, w hich I did, and it appeared, w ith a few alterations, as w ritten .
I t was not quite w h at I should w ish it to be, b u t I w rote it in a h u rry , and there w as no tim e to be lost.

I th en w ent, in com pany w ith Messrs. Scanlan, O’Rourke, Doody f and O’M ahony, to find out w here we could get th e bonds p rin ted quickest, cheapest, and best.
W e found th a t th e C ontinental B ank N ote Company ' 10 offered to get them up for nearly one-half of w h at th e other companies asked ; so we concluded, after a few visits, to get them th ere: In connection w ith the Superintendent of the establishm ent I designed th e bonds, and the vignette was my own conception.
A fter leaving th e order, th e P resident of the Bank Note Company sent for me, and, in com pany w ith Mr. O’M ahony, I I found he did not w ish to undertake th e p rin tin g u n til w ent to see him.

he investigated and became satisfied th a t th ey were to be used for patriotic purposes, and none other.
I assured him th a t w as th e in tention, and to satisfy him th a t I would not meddle w ith them if it were otherw ise, I gave him references to some of the m ost respectable m ercantile firms in N ew Y ork to inquire into m y standing.

He made th e in q u iry , and on the n ex t in te r­ view agreed to p rin t them , provided I w ould sign bonds to pay th e expenses, as they could not recognize an irresponsible organization.
The expense was nearly three thousand dollars, and I gave m y personal security for the paym ent of the bill in case the B rotherhood failed to do so.

T hey w ent on preparing the bonds, and du rin g the sittin g of th e P h ilad elp h ia Conven­ tion I received th e following note from Mr. M eignelle.
I t shows how the bonds came to be num bered in the m anner in w hich th ey were, and w hy they were so numbered, and th at, instead of th e s y s t e m of n u m b erin g th e bonds aiding in a fraud, it w as specially designed to prevent it, an d is used with slight variations by the U nited States G overnm ent and banking-houses.

The le tte r is as follows : 1 14„, 144, and 146.G reenw ich st., cor.

L iberty, C o n t i n e n t a l B a n k N o te Co., ) f w W .

R .

R o b e r t s , Esq.


: -n pI'KÏSa" October 18, 1865.

“ ZtfiVT FECT CHECK UPON THE ISSUE a n d tlin 1 one thousand bonds, w hich Ù less th an MBERING THAT W ILL BE A PER- ^ ^ Respectfully, J .

M EIGNELLE, Superintendent.

« r r r r r “ • - 1' ° f the bonds was th a t Mr. Roberts m ight p rin t as m any out any one being the wiser and h e T b r l .
T liar ; for, of course, Mr. Meignelle never uttered b "h a ^ him, in proof of which I give, as an extra c o r r o b o r a t i o n ^ It was in answer to one from me when I first heard ™ , around ; I have not used it, though, u n til now as I thn individual „ m „ „ M 1 ^ ^ ^ T “ h ° WÍth‘ * * * deSÍffDÍng * ’ 7 ?

* * * « W .

* S° ÍDg ,h .

11 capital lie liad to w ork upon in the F. B., nam ely, falsehood.

The other le tte r is as follows : W .

R .

R o b e r t s , Esq.


: N e w Y o r k , December 18, 1865.

S i r — T he P resid en t of th e C ontinental Bank N ote Company has handed me your com m unication of the 12th in sta n t, and requested me,'a s the Super­ visor of th e m a tte r in question, to reply.
I have to state, therefore, th a t th e system of num bering the Irish bonds w as devised by Mr. R oberts, Mr. M eehan, and m yself (Mr. M eehan and I w ere a t th e P h ilad elp h ia C onvention a t th e tim e, and Mr. M eignelle came on w ith copies of the bonds), and w as intended to act as a check upon th e sev­ eral officers of th e organization and subordinates.

I t differed b u t little from th a t used by th e U nited S tates G overnm ent, and by m any corporations, for precisely th e same purpose.
to M r .

B.

D o r a n K i l l i a n , .
Respectfully, your obedient servant, C h ief o f M anufacturing Department, C. B. N. Co. J. M EIG N ELLE, T he above proves no t alone th e falsehood in relatio n to th e n u m b e rin go b u t also proves th a t he received th e bonds, w ith th e key to th e system of num bering, from th e B ank N ote Company, on an order from me, w hich I signed about th e 10th of November, some days before he presented it ; for after h is doing so I received a note from th e company, and answ ered it- by sta tin g th a t I w as no longer responsible for th e bonds, and th a t th e finan­ cial officers w ould see after them in future, th ereb y tran sferrin g a ll rig h t to control th e p rin tin g , and all claim s w hich the com pany m ig h t have ag ain st me to th e proper officers, un d er th e new C onstitution of th e F enian B rother­ hood.
T he follow ing is a copy of th e le tte r : J .

M e i g n e l l e , Esq., N e w Y o r k , N ovem ber 23,1865.

Superintendent Continental B a n k N ote Company : D e a r S i r — T he financial and o th e r executive branches of th e Fenian B rotherhood are now en tirely beyond m y influence and direction, and in future you w ill be guided by y o u r ow n ju d g m en t and experience in your dealings w ith th e gentlem en w ho m anage th is branch of th e organization.
Please ten d er th e P resid en t of th e C ontinental B ank Note Company m y kindest th a n k s for th e uniform courtesy w ith w hich he tre a ted m e in m y interview s w ith him in relation, to th e bonds, which you, sir, have so beauti­ fully and a rtistically executed.

V ery tru ly , yours, &c., W .

R. ROBERTS.


T he above w as w ritte n one w eek previous to th e tim e w hen K illian, on th e 29th of November, says he abolished th e ow nership of Mr. R oberts to th e bonds, and th e m aterial belonging thereto, by inclosing a check for $1,502.50 as paym ent for am ount due th e B ank N ote Company.
In fu rth e r proof th a t I considered m y connection w ith th e bonds a t an end, and th a t I did n o t w ant to be associated w ith K illian in any m an­ 12 ner or shape after I began to find out the tru e character of th is bom bastic m ountebank, I give the following correspondence, w hich took place even before th e above was w ritte n : N e w Y o r k , N o v e m b e r 21, 1865.

Col. W .

R .

R o b e r t s : D e a r S ir —W ill you please m eet Mr. B.

D .
D .

K illian and m yself at H eadquarters of the Fenian Brotherhood, U nion Square, a t te n o’clock, to-morrow (W ednesday), on im p o rtan t business connected w ith th e issue of the bonds of the I. R. Y our obedient servant, I answ ered as follows : Mr. P. A .

Co l l in s : P. A. COLLINS, Subscription Agent.

N e w Y o r k , N o v e m b e r 22, 1865.


• D e a r S i r —It would afford m 3 great pleasure to m set Mr. K illia n and yourself at H eadquarters a t the tim e designated in y o u r n o te of yesterday, but business of im portance w ill not perm it of m y h aving t h a t HONOR; besides, I am not aw are th a t th e P resident of th e Senate^is officially con­ nected w ith the bonds.
^ The proper officers to issue them are already designated, and, I presum e, can be found if they are not already at H eadquarters.

Very tru ly , yours, &c., W .

R. ROBERTS, President Senate F .

B.

Now, Brothers, you see th e ram parts of falsehood, behind w hich th is lying m ountebank intrenched himself, tum bled to pieces by the force of a few honest, simple facts, so undoubted a n i conclusive as to expose th is fellow ’s infamy and designs to the eternal scorn and disgust of honest men.
A willful liar is looked upon, in all countries and in all ages, as a m oral assassin, to be eared and dreaded more th an the highw aym an or th e hangm an.
They,in th e ir separate callings, run some risks, and are capable of sham e a t tim es ; b u t the liar—th e willful and malicious lia r—w ho lies from a n atu ral ri* ™ vit.v ively th a t such is not th e case ; they requested a compromise candidate for Treasurer, when 13 no o th er one could be found, except an individual from Indiana, w ho was expected to give u p his in terests out th ere and come on here to w ork for the cause and give bonds, and all w ith o u t pay—a very refreshing instance, certain­ ly, of disinterested patrio tism (quite equal to K illian ’s), on th e p a rt of a man who, w hen he was a m em ber of the old C entral Council, p u t up a t th e A stor House, and charged th e larg est bills for expenses of an y m em ber of the Council.
Y et O’M ahony sent h is nam e in four tim es, and four tim es it was rejected by th e Senate un d er o ath ; and to bridge over th e difficulty the Senate suggested Mr. K eenan for tem porary T reasurer, to give forty th o u ­ sand dollars’ security, and three T rustees ; but for some reason best know n to O’Mahony, instead of sending him in for T reasurer, as expected, he sent him in for Bond Agent.
It is now q u ite clear th a t it was a shrew d political trick to get him out of th e w ay, so th a t th e y could hold th e m oney them selves.

He afterw ard agreed to appoint Mr. O’R ourke T reasurer, and he w as con­ firmed by th e Senate, b u t u nder one p re te x t or a n o th er th e y did not pay over to him e ith e r ; it w as m uch b e tte r they should hold all th e financial posi­ tions themselves.
H ow m uch sim pler i t is to have President, T reasurer, • A gent for th e Irish Republic, and Secretary of th e Treasury,—all the strings, checks, and safeguards w hich w ere th ro w n around th e finances by p rudent and honest m en - in th e hands of two, John O’M ahony and D. B. K illian.
W h en O’M ahony found the Senate confirmed K eenan for the position to w hich he nom inated h im of h is own volition, h e sent in a message req u est­ in g h is salary to be cut down tw o hundred dollars, and asked a t th e same tim e to have the salaries of all th e o th er employés advanced from tw o to three hundred dollars a year.

P erhaps you w ill ask the reason w hy : simply because th e others w ere parasites of O’M ahony, w hile K eenan w as sim ply an unassum ing patriot.
I never w as a p a rty to Mr. K eenan’s resignation, and I knew n o th in g of it u n til a few days after it occurred, w hen I m et him w ith it in h is pocket, in Mr. O’M ahony’s ow n h an d w ritin g , and instead of m y desiring h is resignation I w as m ost anxious to prevent it, and did in fact prevent him from doing so a t one tim e ; for, although m y acquaint­ ance w ith him w as very slig h t indeed, I understood lie w as th e A ssistant T reasurer elected a t C incinnati, and well know n to Mr. O’M ahony ; b u t from w hat I did know of him I believed him to be an honest m an —“ God’s noblest w ork ”—know n and respected as a prudent, careful, and th o u g h tfu l man.
He did not w ear as fine broadcloth as some ; b u t th e n w h at he wore was paid for, w ith the money earned by honest toil.
H is m anners are not so polished as a Chesterfield’s ; b u t th e n he cannot, Iago-like, “ sm ile and smile and be a villain.” H is business (a wholesale m ark et dealer) m ay disqualify him for th e requirem ents of a p a trio t in th e eyes of c h a b i t y - r a i s e d s h o n e e n s ; b u t I scarcely th in k the hard-fisted, stout-hearted Irishm en, who raised th is Fenian stru ctu re of democracy, are of th e same opinion.
So m uch for the flimsy strin g of falsehoods about the Senate desiring to place Keenan in a position, so as to get him to resign at th e critical m om ent.

B ut w hy should I endeavor to squelch those lying defam ers’ separate falseh oods w hen there 14 is scarcely a word of tru th uttered by them ?

Bah !

m y very soul sickens at the infamy of men who are a disgrace to our race, and are certain to disgrace our country.
M ark my words, B rothers, tim e w ill prove them tru e. I have been long enough behind th e scenes to realize th e u tte r baseness of th e ir motives, and it is only a question of tim e w ith you, as it has been w ith me, I entered th is m ovem ent w ith a w arm h eart and to make th e discovery.

high hopes, prepared to lose all and stake all upon th e a lta r of m y native land.
I judged others to be equally unselfish and devoted ; b u t m y faith and confidence in these men lias been lessening little by little, u n til I have I have found the not one single atom of faith o r tru s t in them rem aining.

great heart of the mass of our countrym en solid, ardent, and tru e to the very core, anxious and enthusiastic to be molded in to a lib erating power even by men of doubtful qualifications and reputation.
S till th ey were w illing to follow, aid, sacrifice, or even die for th e ir poor, lone, suffering m other­ lan d —E rin of th e stream s, the green hillsides and th e heather-knolls.

w ith her enchanting valleys and lakes, and lier balm y air, and h e r memories, , doubly dear, and remembered because of h e r w retchedness.

0 God !
0 God !

to th in k th a t her noble spirit, w ounded and lacerated, m ust be dragged out from th e grave where h e r ty ra n ts have so often laid i t —to be stabbed again and sent back bleeding from fresh wounds, and m ore p ro strate th a n ever, by th e guilty hands of corrupt, would-be leaders on th is side of th e A tlan ­ tic !

The m en on the other side have given too m any proofs, and m ade too heavy sacrifices, to be doubted for one m om ent.
May H eaven send a ray of its consoling influence th ro ug h th e ir prison-bars, and send th e strong arm of th e Irish soldier to sm ash the prison-doors and proclaim them free !
I now come to an in teresting chapter em bodying a correspondence between B. D. K illian and a fellow named M ullen, who, in connection w ith one S. J. Meany, seemed to have special qualifications for financial investigations, and had roving commissions, and, of course, expenses, to look after other people’s business and m ind th e ir own at th e same time.
T hey are w orthy coadjutors, certainly, and are adm irably adapted, both by n a tu ra l proclivities and long experience, for the w ork m arked out for them .
M ullen states th a t he could not settle th e accounts of th e T reasurer, P. O’Rourke, in conse­ quence of th a t gentlem an refusing to surrender his bank-book, w hich was a mere record of his own deposits, and had n o th in g w hatever to do w ith the debit and credit side of the books a t H eadquarters, so far as th e balancing of their accounts was concerned.
Besides, I can assert as a positive fact, th a t I heard this M ullen say th a t the only difference betw een th e ir balance and Mr. O’Rourke’s was a very small sum, about thirty-five dollars w hich I tlunk, he said was in favor of Mr. O’R ourke.

He says th a t Mr. O’Rourke had $75,804.05 on hand w hen K illian took charge of the funds and other management.
Out of this, sixty thousand dollars w ent w ith John Mitchel, and K illian got ten thousand dollars more on th e request of Jo h n O’Mahony, leaving a balance on hand which Mr. 0 liourke holds, w ith a few thousand dollars more, subject to the order of General Sweeney as a portion of the thousa° d dollars appropriated by the Senate, and approved of by John 15 O’M ahony a t th e tim e, for w ar m aterials.
U p to th e period of th e P h ila ­ delphia C onvention Mr. O’R ourke and th e F inancial T reasurer, W .

F. M eehan, k e p t th e ir cash account constantly balanced, so as to compare the am ou nt in b ank every few days, and u n til a few weeks previous to th e P h ila ­ delphia C onvention th e m oney w ent out alm ost as fast as it came in.

I have th e m ost unbounded confidence in Mr. O’R ourke’s in te g rity and patriotism .
N e ith er can be questioned by any ho n est m an w ho is acquainted w ith him .
He h as been J o h n O’M ahony’s in tim a te friend for years—h is tried and proved friend in need—and it seems th e very basest in g ratitu d e, nay, it am ounts to positive infam y, for him to endeavor to steal P a tric k O’R ourke’s fair and h onest nam e by in sin u a tio n s w hich he know s, in h is very soul, are false, and a gross injustice to th e character of a n old and faithful servant of th e Fenian B rotherhood, w ho w orked for love, and not for money.
How­ ever, it is th e old story over again of th e viper w arm ed to life in th e friendly bosom, to show its g ra titu d e w ith th e stin g of its “m oral poison.’’ If P a trick O’R ourke w ere to reciprocate Jo h n O’M ahony’s m alig n an t sp irit, lie could tell a very effective story.

A nd w hy, le t m e ask, if he be w h a t th e y have la t 3ly im plied of him , w as he forced to accept a position th a t he never sought for, convention after convention ?
My acquaintance w ith Mr. O’R ourke is of very short du ratio n , a little over a year, and w hen I first entered th e C entral Council I w as ra th e r opposed th a n otherw ise to h is holding th e position, because I believed it should be held by a person b e tte r qualified by circum stances to discharge its duties ; b u t w hatever h e lacked in o th e r respects, he m ore th a n m ade up for by his strict in te g rity and careful g u a rd ia n sh ip of th e Fenian funds.
I t w ould be w ell for us all, and for our country, if every m an w ho handled and controlled th e finances w ere as honest as P .

O’Rourke.

The patriotism w hich has n o t honesty for a pedestal is, a t best, of a very doubtful and uncertain q u a lity ; and th is m axim is n o t based so m uch upon theory as upon actual observation.

th e arrests S hortly after I t is not m y place, n e ith e r is i t m y desire, to do so.
I t w as not m y in te n tio n in th e foregoing rem arks to give a financial report.

I have p u r­ posely k e p t m yself aloof from all m eddling w ith th e finances, w ith one in D ublin, m oney was badly exception.
needed th ere in consequence of some six thousand pounds B ritish being th e E nglish authorities, th ro u g h th e stupid and bungling seized by th e house of R othschild b y a well-known m anner of its purchase a t employe of O’M aliony’s, and also in Dublin to p arties w ho m u st have been long suspected by th e E nglish governm ent w ith com plicity th is m ovem ent : and we know now for a fact th a t Pierce N agle, w ho w as in th e employ of the B ritish for eighteen m onths as a spy, got his first inform ation about our plans in John O’M ahony’s office in N ew Y ork, and th e n w ent over to D ublin w ith th is inform ation, and, in consequence of th e know ledge gained here, got employ­ m ent in the Irish People oifice, w here he plied his vile trade u n til th e tim e I t is also a very rem arkable fact th a t came for th e E nglish to use him .
th e drafts being m ade payable in 16 Schol field, tlie other spy, swore also th a t he w as a frequenter of th e H ead­ quarters in New York.

Jam es Stephens w anted m oney sent to P a ris a t once, and the Central Council and the Head Centre resolved to send one hundred and fifty thousand francs.

There was no agent th ere to receive it, so th a t it would have to be sent by a messenger, who w ould deliver it to th e parties appointed to meet him .
The Head Centre and C entral Council could not th in k of any proper person to in tru s t w ith so large a sum, and appealed to me to find one.

1 did not wish to do so, in consequence of m y repugnance to have anything to do w ith financial m atters, even in an open and plain transaction.
Still the case was pressing ; somebody should go, as the money m ust be sent ; so I finally waived m y objections, and selected Mr. P a trick Cooney, a true Irishm an and an honest, faithful m an, w ho was in m y employ­ m ent for seven years, and an old m em ber of th e Fenian B rotherhood, and the Centre for a long tim e of a Circle in th is city.

I said I would give m y per­ sonal sscurity for the safe delivery of every dollar in tru ste d to his care.
I then received a check for forty-five thousand dollars, and w ent to a large commercial house of the very first standing, and requested them , as a par­ ticular favor to me, to give me a le tte r of credit payable to P a tric k Cooney, at sight, in P r ris ; they dem urred a t first, b u t on m y tellin g them th a t it was a m atter entirely outside m y business, and th a t I should feel m yself under a compliment by th eir doing so, th ey complied, and on m y h an d in g them the check for forty-five thousand dollars I found th a t it w as not certified to a t I, however, guaranteed its solvency, and th ey purchased th e the bank.
francs, and gave me the le tte r of credit, w hich I gave to Mr. O’M aliony ; he ga\ e it, w ith letters oi instruction, to Mr. Cooney w ho w ent to Paris, deliv­ ered his money to th e parties appointed to receive it, and retu rn ed to New York w ith letters to O’Mahony, who retu rn ed Mr. Cooney th a n k s in th e fol­ low ing letter of acknowledgm ent for his faithful services : ------------- J 7 — - CJ opy.)

H e a d q u a r t e r s , F e n i a n B r o t h e r h o o d , December 6, 1865.
P a t r ic k C o o n e y , Esq., Centre, F enian Brotherhood : I rem ain, F ratern ally yours, JO H N O’MAHONY, President, Fenian Brotherhood.

ters, show how I discharged m ine : 17 L ----- & D-------: Received from Mr. W .

R. Roberts.

$30,000 gold, as per b ill.................. C urrency cred it......................... D e b i t .

N e w Y o r k , October 10,1865.

$45,000 00 43,837 50 $1,162 50 j - - - — — 150,000 francs on P aris, 5.13J.................... .

.

.

.
.

.

.

$29,197 08 One-eighth per cent, commission for b an k in g in P a ris 36 50 ’aris Stam ps in P a r is .................................................................. 14 60 ............................................................................................« Due to W .

R. Roberts, in gold $751.82 gold, sold a t $1.45J c u rre n cy ..........
Check due Mr. R oberts $29,248 18 751 82 $30,000 00 1,093 90 $2,256 40 T his transaction took place on th e 10th of October, shortly before the P hiladelp hia Convention, and I h ad no tim e to spare to go after th e checks for th e balance before leaving for P hiladelphia, so th ey rem ained over u n til after m y retu rn , w hen, as soon as th e Senate adjourned, w hich occupied my tim e constantly for nearly tw o weeks, I w en t and got th e checks (w hich were already m ade out and w aitin g for me), and w ith in th ir ty m inutes after I received them into m y possession I gave th e very identical ones w hich I received,draw n to m y order, and signed by th e firm w ho gave them to m e, to Jo h n O’Mahony.
T his is a clear, full, and explicit statem ent of m y whole connection w ith F en ian funds, w ith a b ill of particulars, so th a t every one who reads can see.

Compare the bill w ith th e report of th e W h itew ashing Com m ittee of th e late O’Mahony-Killian-Mullen-Meany-and-office-holders- in-general C onvention in N ew York, and you w ill see w ho has clean hands to show, and w ho need plaster-of-Paris to hide th e cracks and fissures in th e ir financial transactions.
H ere is a bill of exchange purchased by me w ith ou t one cent of expense on th is side, and only fifty-one dollars and ten cents cost of b an k in g in Paris.

In th e K illian, Spellissy, and T apscott tra n s­ action, you have a p re tty good idea of B. D. K illia n ’s financiering.

The sixty thousand dollars he received from Mr. O’R ourke should have purchased a bill of exchange for £8,518 7s.

6d., b u t instead of th a t he only purchased a bill for £8,163 5s.
4d., leaving a sum of $1,716.32 to be accounted for.

Besides this, instead of purchasing th e exchange w ith the gold w hich Mr. O’Rourke gave him , he sold th e gold for currency, and gave th e currency to Tapscott, to sell it again for gold before th ey could purchase th e exchange.

On th a t sale of th e gold he m ust have made, according to calculation, about $350, b u t he only placed $163.98 on the books a t H eadquarters.
Besides all this, th e agent b rought from P h iladelphia to purchase exchange in N ew York m ade a heavy commission, about tw elve hundred dollars more, on the trans­ action, and not a cent of th is w ent in to the Fenian funds; and yet the W h itew ashing Committee could see n o th in g of all th is ; they could take sums 2 18 by the lump, and place them under different heads, so as to m ake accounts balance, in the following m anner : “ S u s p e n s e (rent of H eadquarters and deposit)..................$22,636 25.” T hat is certainly suspending funds to p re tty good advantage.
I should like to know w hat p a rt of the report shows th e discount allowed Killian, for the paym ent in advance of the re n t he acknowledged he received ; b u t it does not show in the report, although receipts are show n under every conceivable head.

Now, seven per cent, on $18,000 would am ount to th e snug little sum of twelve hundred and six ty dollars ($1,260).

W here is th is gone to?

There is no account of it in the R eport of the Committee.
P erhaps it is where the difference of the exchange w ent, and w here the difference in rent, between eight thousand asked, and tw elve thousand,w hich they say was paid, for th e Moffat mansion, w ent.

There is another very interesting item in th e report, under th e head of incidental expenses, of course a mere incident ; b u t th e sum for tw o m onths, shows th a t there m ust have been a great m any incidents—it only am ounts to the trifling sum of $2,008.93.
B ut I w ill give th e whole balance-sheet as given by this committee, m erely rem arking th a t th e account p u rp o rts to commence on October 30, the day B. D. K illian assum ed control ; b u t I see no account of the cash received betw een th e 21st of October and th e 30th.

This money was not given to P .

O’Rourke, and I th in k am ounted, as near as I can ascertain, to about twenty-five thousand dollars, or a few thousand over.

W here does th is show on th e books ?


I suppose it was p artly paid out for the house, b u t the house expenses are debited to th e receipts since Octo­ ber the 30tli.

The following is the exhibit made out by them selves : R e c e i p t s f r o m Oc t o b e r 30,1865, t o J a n u a r y 6, 1866.
Dues and F inal C all............................................................................. $58,439 31 Dues and Final Call in g o ld ..................................................... 14 138 64 2 761 18 Prem ium on sale of gold................... A ......................... 9g Gain on purchase and sale of g o ld ............................................. 40 00 Sale of Bonds in currency............................................. 20 00 Sale of Bonds in gold.......................................................
Amount of checks returned by W .

R. Roberts, after purchase of draft in P a ris.............................................................
Received from P. O’R ourke................................................................. 2 256 40 70 000 01) Deduct Mr. O’Rourke’s drafts paid in ....................................... $147,819 51 70,000 00 And it leaves th e actual receipts as reported from October 30,1865, to Jan u ary 6, 1866,.......................................... $77 819 51 19 E x p e n d i t u r e s f r o m O c t o b e r 3 0 ,1 8 6 5 , t o J a n u a r y 6 ,1 8 6 6 .

I. R. B.
(per Jo h n M itc h e l)................................................................. $60,000 00 I. R. B. envoys.............................................. ... ........................................ 2,567 42 22,136 25 Suspense (ren t of H eadquarters and deposit).................................. F u r n itu re .................................................................................................. 2,608 32 1,203 66 Gas fixtures, plum bing, flag-staff....................................................... 6,178 74 Old claim s................................................................................................. 1,899 69 O rganizing............................................................................................... 1,882 44 P rin tin g and S ta tio n e ry ....................................................................... 470 00 Secret Service.......................................................................................... 2,222 00 Special A ppropriation (w hat for, and to whom ?)
......................... 625 00 Special A ppropriation (gold)* (w hat for ?

)...............................
......... 765 00 P o sta g e ...................................................................................................... 2,496 39 Salaries of officers, clerks, and o th er em ployés,.............................. 5,600 00 Secretary of W ar, per G eneral Sw eeny............................................ 511 30 P rep a rin g b o n d s...................................................................................... P aid I. R. B. refugees................................................ .. .......................... 870 70 Expenses of M ilitary B oard (I w onder w h a t doing, and who got it ?
)........................................................................

..................... Senate expenses (who w as th is given to ?
The Senate drew expenses from old T reasu rer).................... ................................. ................................ Incidental expense®........................................... 215 00 2,008 93 312 30 D educt from this, given to John M itchel from O’R ourke .. $114,573 14 60,000 00 And you h a v e ........................................................................................... $54,573 14 T hen comes an o th er item : E xpenses from Ja n u a ry 1 to Ja n u a ry 6, as per vouchers............ 2,000 00 $56,573 14 —m aking a gross sum, spent from th e 30th of October to th e 6th of January, of fifty-six thousand five hundred and seventy-three dollars and fourteen cents, spent for th e support of th e governm ent a t U nion Square.
Add to the above th e am ount w hich m u st be due th e arm y sk ir­ m ishing th roughout th e S tates for O’M ahony, and it cannot fall short of sixty thousand dollars, w hich, being deducted from th e am ount received in th e same interval, seventy-seven thousand dollars, leaves a balance of seventeen thousand dollars for poor Ireland, to fit o u t ships, purchase arm s, equip soldiers, and keep th e revolution alive a t home.
I ask you, B rothers, to note the fact, th a t n o t one dollar of the above sum w ent to Ire­ land ou t of the money received since B. D. K illian took charge of the Fenian funds.

S ixty thousand dollars for dom estic comforts, nasal organs, penny w histles (too dearly paid for), sponges, trum pets, and various other etceteras, bu t not one dollar sent to aid the m en a t hom e on th e e v e o f a b lo o d y r e v c - r lution !
W ho will be to blame for the m urder of defenseless m e n w ith em pty ' hands ?

W hy, those who squandered the money given to p u t a r m s i n th eir hands, and not to be spent for p atent-leather boots and fa n c y overcoats.

Look at every item in the foregoing exhibit.


Scan them closely, a n d see if you are satisfied w ith the financial and political m anagem ent o f Mepliis- topliiles Killian,who, more th an any o th er m an -aye, or th a n a thousand men —has brought disgrace and shame upon us all.
T his is the m a n of whom Mr. O’Mahony says, “ His very ZEAL AND SCRUPULOUS EX A CTITU D E IN TH E MANAGEMENT OF YOUR FIN A N C ES W E R E IM PU TED TO HIM AS CRIMES.” In the face of th e above figures, I th in k th is endorse m ent is more th an significant.
Ile says, also, th a t “ the A lm ighty sent him to b u t I am dis­ his aid in th w a rtin g the designs of those terrib le Senators posed to think (looking at h is work from a p atrio tic stand-point) th a t he was sent from the regions where the ghost of H am let’s father disappears w hen he departs from th e stage am idst a m ost villainous smell of sulphur.
This exhibit shows clearly th a t th e Senate were justified in th e ir charges against these men, who are even worse th an they proclaim ed of them .

T hey are condemned out of th e ir own m ouths, and by th e ir own testim ony they stand convicted of perfidy of the basest kind, as well as every charge and specifi­ cation brought against them by the Senate.

T hey were rig h t, indeed, in not allow ing th e Senate to exam ine th eir books w hen th e ir own p artisan s m ake such an exhibit.
How would it b e when the Senate demanded, w hen, where low, to whom, and for w hat all the money w ent?
And when they compared the am ounts as receipted for to the Circles w ith the books, there certainly perverted tru th s and tw isted Ï r i o t Ü ^ L n oh where, can be found such n a trin f a terrible dragon tor dem olishing foes unscathed ‘Í W hat p lo tting had for years w ith the t e ^ b W o the vipers, and - ° f ful1 ° f 1 • • ° g m ay Wave ; for whure, ' ' U1“ ngs’ sucl1 self-stultification, such ^ 8 0Í írelan d ’ and for leaving her !
, ^ baU ling he “ 1 McCarthy, of whom he Said in a n c in n a ti w in letters of gold in Ireland’s history ■ and n on th e verdure th a t springs from a p a tó o r evil he did has lived after him .” This is tl *C g rav e> b-v saving ° ‘ C be Writte" ® “m °ral ^ 80" ” th a t “ the T T ™ W° “ ld ^ n’ and P° ° r they stand in the way of his selfish and h e a r t h ^ which should hide all rivalries and lint .

, ^ desi&ns—even the grave, from outrage.


There is not a man now" (wUh '^ memories iw itii one or tw o exceptions) lie 21 is so b itte rly and d isreputably denouncing, for whom he has n o t professed th e highest respect and esteem w ith in a very short period : b u t th en th ey saw Ireland th ro u g h O’M ahony ; now th ey see Ireland, a n d h e r a l o n e !
W ho can read th is address w ith o u t experiencing a feeling of compassion for th e m an, th e p a trio t, and th e statesm an in h is terrib le and unceasing struggles 'w ith h is fellow -patriots of th e Council and Senate, and a feeling of satisfaction th a t he has departed from th e ir m idst.

E ven th e shadow of h is ‘‘h ig h ancestory ” has not rem ained to th ro w h is rejoicing and b ro th erly influence on “ th e m alig n an t an d perfidious so-called Senate.” Alas !
poor Yorick, and alas, alas !

poor, miserable, traitorous B ritish go(o)ld bought Senators.

th e m an W here now w ill be your solem n deliberations w ith in the moon “ w ho is backw ard advancing ?” w here w ill be th e pedagogical com m unications w hich were w ont to p u t th e Senate in the dum ps, ex.
pound th e C onstitution, and “ m y o ath to m y co nstitu en ts ?” Gone, gone, all gone, and you are now left gazing on the place w here the m ig h ty ap p ari­ tio n once stood, amazed, terrified, and confounded, but grasping closer to your hearts,\lik e m en and patriots, the grand and im m ortal principle, which you have struggled, and suffered, and worked f o r patiently, though often bitterly.
T h a t principle m ust still guide an d strengthen and encourage you to fu r th e r efforts ; fo r the liberation o f our race and the f reedom o f our coun­ try are not to be kicked over at the beck o f a weak, im potent despot, or carried off in the pocket o f a “ C h e v a l i e r d ’I n d t j s t r i e .” Before I close th is docum ent, w hich lias already gone m uch fu rth e r th an I intended w hen I began it, I desire to say a few w ords in regard to a I m ean Mr. P. J. M eehan.
He grossly m aligned and m isunderstood m an.

is one of th e few m en liv in g I can call friend in its fullest and tru e st sense, not th ro u g h an y w orldly in te re st or expectations.

I am as independent of h im as he is of me, and I am h is friend because I believe him to possess qualities of head and h e a rt as rare as th ey are adm irable.

He m ay e rr in judgm ent, as all m en are a p t to do, e ith e r th ro u g h m isconception or th rough false or defective inform ation.
He is not a W ashington, and he certainly is I f P .

J .

M eehan be not tru e to h is n ative land, then not a Jo h n O’M ahony.

there is no m an liv in g to be tru sted , and p atriotism , tru th , an d h o n o r are so m any b rillian t hues in th e rainbow of our im aginations,w ithout substance, form, or virtue.
If it were not for th e peculiar circum stances in w hich he is now placed, I should never th u s publicly speak of him ; b u t he is censured, m aligned, and w ronged for an accident th a t m ig h t have happened to any m an, and therefore, because I know it to be so, I consider it m y duty, as a I cannot be one of those m oral cowards m an, to do his character ju stice.
w ith whom the w orld is filled, w ho shout hosannas or anathem as in chorus ; n either can I im itate th e in stin cts of those m ongrel curs w ho fawn a t one’s feet, or together yelp and snarl.

W h en Mr. M eehan w ent to Ireland in com pany w ith P .

W .
Dunne, Esq., an old and well-proved Fenian, n o t by draw in g from th e funds of the F. B., b u t b y heavy contributions (I believe h e gave $2,500 a t different times), 22 both of money and valuable business tim e, (I w ill guarantee Mr. D unne will indorse every word I say in relation to th is m a tte r)—w hen Mr. Meehan went to Ireland, he w ent solely th rough th e influence of Jo h n O’Mahony, who expressed before theC entral Council dissatisfaction w ith th e inform ation which he received from Mr. Stephens in regard to th e stren g th and resources of the I. R. B.
He said it was indispensable th a t we should send over m en of ability and sound judgm ent to investigate and ju dge for them selves, and also endeavor to get some of the leading n ationalists to give th e ir adhe­ sion to the movement, and unite w ith th e C. E. and hi» friends in aiding the anticipated revolution.
John O’M ahony believed th a t P. J. M eehan w as th e m an of all others to send, for several reasons : first, he considered h im a m an of cool and reliable j udgment ; secondly, he believed he w as b e tte r acquainted w ith m en and things on the other side th a n any other available m an ; and, th ird ly , he was then O’Mahony’s w arm friend, although th ey had been estranged for years in consequence of O’M ahony practicing the same “m oral poison” dodge on him w hich he is now practising on such an extensive scale.
B ut it is too late now ; his pitcher of moral poison has gone once too often to th e well, and it is smashed a t last.

The m en he is now dealing w ith can defy him and his purchased hirelings, and w ill give him a Roland for his Oliver.

In 1858, Mr. Meehan inquired into th e disposition of some m oneys which he aided very m aterially in collecting.

F or th is he w as expelled as a traitor.

T raitor to w hat?

To his country?


Oh, n o ; b u t because h e objected to O’M ahony’s using, for the m aintenance of a new spaper published in Centre street, New York, funds w hich were collected to pay counsel for defending the Phoenix prisoners in Ireland.

This w as “ th e head and front of his offending,” and he was expelled.

B u t tim e rolled on, and I saw John O’Mahony sign, w ith his own hand, in presence of the C entral Council, a document adm itting th a t P .
J. M eehan w as falsely accused and unjustly expelled ; and I heard him say, w ith his ow n lips, th a t he never believed Mr. Meehan to be a traitor, thereby ad m itting th a t h e endeavored to blast the fair name and character of a tru e m an, th ro u g h base m otives, and not for the good of his country.
It is a very rem arkable fact, and one th a t deserves the thoughtful atten tio n of our countrym en, th a t Jo h n O’M ahony and John Bull are very lond of calling Irishm en traitors, w ho can be purchased at any time.

The m otives m ay be different, b u t the resu lt is precisely the same, to advance th eir own schemes, and cast a gross insult- on th e Irish character.

After tw o or three Committees of the C. C. w aited on Mr. M eehan, he joined the Council.
This was about tw elve m onths ago; b u t those twelve m onths have made a vast change in the extent, power, and resources of the F. B. ; the Circles trebled, the members quadrupled, and th e receipts, up to the time of the violation of our C onstitution, k e p t increasing, u n til they am ounted to about one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars for Octo- id E -If' agamSt’ ab° Ut fiVe thousalld.
the corresponding m onth of But In no sinSle portion of America did th e organization increase so rapidly as in New York.

I t w as difficult a t th e tim e to get a m an of any influence or stan d in g to jo in in th is city, and, indeed, I am sorry to say it is so still, thou gh not to so g reat an' extent.
On m y first interview w ith th e Council, after receiving a very pressing in v ita tio n in w ritin g from th e P resi­ dent, H. O. C. M cCarthy, I felt chagrined on seeing an Irishm an, a t one tim e ra th e r prom inent in N ew Y ork, positively refuse to become a m em ber of th e Council.

A lthough he w as pressed very strongly to jo in it, h e refused to do so, n e ith e r w ould he jo in th e B rotherhood.
I h a d been a m em ber for some tim e, b u t I had no in te n tio n of ta k in g an office or jo in in g th e Council, b u t I felt so m ortified a t th e p ersistent refusal of th e other, th a t I assented, w ith o u t hesitation.
The reader wil!, perhaps, be enabled to ju d g e th e s tre n g th of th e F. B in N ew Y ork a t th a t tim e, after five years of Mr. O’M ahony’s statesm an­ ship, w hen th ey are told th a t in 1864 th e d istrict of M an h attan contributed tow ard the liberation of Ireland, th e m unificent sum of o n e h u n d r e d a n d th e y drew d irectly out of th e general s i x t y -t h r e e d o l l a r s , w hile H o w m uch w as draw n funds a little over e i g h t h u n d r e d d o l l a r s .
indirectly of course I cannot say, as th e accounts w ere kept, as Mr. O Ma- hony said,’by th e “ rule of th u m b .” T here are, how ever, some ra th e r curious entries in th e only book th en k e p t ; one is a sum of th ree hundred dollars for some presentation—an o th er is a still larg er am ount—advanced by Mr. O’M ahony out of F. B. funds for b rin g in g some fam ily to th is country.
A pic-nic given in 1864, although it was very w ell attended, by some hocus- pocus, under th e m anagem ent of an individual w ho h as lately figured pre­ em inently disgraceful a t th e head of th is district, b ro u g h t th e B rotherhood in debt gome tw o hundred dollars : he is now rew arded for h is heavy drafts on th e general funds, and those of the Circles he visited, by a position on th e Council or C abinet of Mr. O’M ahony.
M erit d e se rv e s its rew ard and principle m u st be appreciated ; and w hy should not th e ex-runner of a provost-m arshal be elevated in to th e position of a p a trio t, w ith five dollars a day, and pickings.

Mr. M eehan was, as stated, selected as th e w arm friend of Mr. O’M ahony, and because he was believed to be m ore th oroughly im pregnated w ith his doubts about th e stre n g th of th e I. R. B. th a n any o th er m em ber of th e Council : Mr. P .

W .
W .

D unne, a strong and steady I. R. B. m an, was chosen to accompany him , so th a t b o th sides should be represented.

I t is due to Mr. D unne and M ichael Scanlan to say th a t th ey b itte rly opposed th is m ission, believing it to be in su ltin g to th e m en a t home, by th ro w in g doubt on th e ir representations, and a loss, a fa ta l loss o f valuable tim e. B ut the influence of Mr. O’M ahony’s doubts prevailed : he said th e I. R. B. stood upon one leg.
The tw o W estern p atrio ts were looked upon as designing plotters, and th e Committee of Investigation were sent, no tw ith stan d in g th e fact th a t O Dono­ van Rossa came out w ith im p o rtan t documents, and to give his own testim ony about th e I. R. B. Mr. O’M ahony, w ho, I believe, was afraid th a t Rossa’s pres­ ence, docum ents, and explanations w ould have a strong I. R. B. influence on Mr. M eehan and myself, made an engagem ent w ith us, th e day before we 24 were to meet Rossa in council, to read th e docum ents to us privately, in order to impress upon our minds th a t the envoy came out here to force us in to a course of action contrary to our judgm ent and positive knowledge.
The th a t consequence of this preparatory m ental stuffing by O’M ahony w as poor Rossa was looked upon w ith suspicion.

Mr. O’M ahony stood up in the m eeting before Rossa, and said th a t he w as never satisfied w ith the organization at home, and th a t w hen he w as there it was not w hat it was represented to be.
A t this, Mr. P. O’Rourke, w ho w as present, rose excitedly to his feet, and asked him, “ if th a t was th e case, w hy he deceived him by telling a different story, after they gave him over one thousand dollars in gold to defray his expenses.” Mr. O’M ahony answ ered th a t he was afraid it would have a bad effect on th is side if he said so.
I appeal to Messrs. Gibbons, Dunne, Meehan, Scanlan, and Doody, m em bers of th e C. C. and to Mr. O’Rourke, who was then present, if th e above, and m ore of a sim ilar character, did not take place a t th a t m eeting ; aye, and at others too.

I t was the constant cry of Mr. O’Mahony.
A nd w hen I jo in ed th e C. C., instead of having m y doubts, as an outsider, removed, th ey were greatly increased through th is conduct ; so m uch so, indeed, th a t rather than act contrary to m y judgm ent, or obstruct, in an y w a y /th e policy of the organization, I offered m y resignation as a m em ber of th e Council three different tim es: the last tim e was on the occasion referred to 1 wrote it out and handed it to Mr. O’Mahony, in sisting upon its acceptance, but he laid it back on the table, saying th a t m y resigning w ould be a great blow to the organization, and th a t he would not accept of it.
O’Donovan Kossa pressed me not to resign, and I yielded.

W ell, the result of the m eeting was th a t Mr. O’M ahony’s policy prevailed • the Committee of Investigation to th e Irish R epublican Brotherhood was decided o n ; and Mr. Meehan accompanied by Mr. D unne w ere sent Mr. Meehan was « tru s te d w ith a bill of exchange for five hundred pounds a 0f ln trod ucti°n to the C entral Executive.
Add ln" \ I t w as not addressed to any person, and m erely m entioned th a t Messrs. Meehan and Dunne went over on a special mission from friends on th is side, and bespoke l m a warm greeting.

The letters were signed by John O’M ahonv and, W1th th e usual display which characterized all docum ents sent from’ his side to the Chief Executive in Ireland, had p rinted in large leU erl aT the top H eadquarters Fenian B rotherhood.” P len tv of t h p .
, a have since turned up on the trials of flip <5+ + cipal cause of th eir conviction ■ and t English Government introduction which Mr Meehan carried rv n Which he gave to Mr. Meehan to S on the other side.

im portant character • it was short nml esides the le tte r of ° D° nOTa\ R °8Sa had one also, " " ° f ^ notllin g in th is le tte r of an docum ents l i n e r s , and were the prin- on h i m T h l If S ^ • mission w ith fideU ^.
* Mathews.” Mr. Meehan concealed these d o c u L n ^ h T l i T slippers until he reached Dublin, when he took them o u Í p l ^ X ,,JameS h Î 25 calling on th e C entral E xecutive, and pinned them in his draw ers.

T his he did in consequence of h earin g so m uch from Rossa and others in relation to th e suspicions en tertain ed by th e B ritish a u th o ritie s of Americans.
He th e n w ent to th e place w here he expected to m eet th e C entral Executive, b u t w as to ld th a t he could n o t be seen u n til five o’clock th a t evening.

He offered th e n to leave h is docum ents w ith M r .------------, as hé was afraid to have them about him , b u t th e gentlem an preferred th a t lie should see Jam es Stephens him self and hand them to him .

T he appointm ent w as m ade for th a t evening, and Mr. M eehan left.
H aving some hours to spare, he did not w ish to spend them in Dublin, so he took th e tra in for K ingstow n, and, as it tu rn e d o u t afterw ard, lost th e docum ents a t th e railroad statio n as he was leaving, th e cars in K ingston, for a boy found th em th ere, and th ey were taken to th e telegraph office, w here th e y w ere opened and found to be docum ents from th e F enian H eadquarters in N ew York, w ith a bill of exchange inclosed, b u t n o th in g m ore ; th ere was n o t a line in them th a t could im plicate any one, or reveal a single secret of th e F enian Brotherhood or Irish R epublican B rotherhood ; th e only loss was th e money, w hich is now held by th e B ritish authorities, w ith some five thousand pounds sterling more, sent over by th e excellent business m anagers, who could, openly, purchase bills of exchange in th e house of Rothschild, w ith revolutionary funds, on a branch of th is intensely pro-Englisli house in London.
I am th ere was not a pound purchased th e re by th e secretary of Mr. sure I told the O’M ahony th a t was n o t know n to th e E nglish authorities.

Head C entre at th e tim e, w hen I heard how they w ere m anaging it, th a t it was not alone risking th e money, b u t the lib erty and lives of th e men to w hom such large am ounts were m ade payable ; and itn o w tu rn s out th a t I t m ig h t have been safe enough w hen the I was rig h t in both particulars.
Fenian Brotherhood was in its infancy, and attracted little a tte n tio n from th e au th o rities in Ireland, to send over a hundred pounds or so ; b u t to send it over th a t way in large am ounts, a t such a tim e, and under such circum ­ stances, was th e grossest stu p id ity , and affords a very fair sample of the bungling m anner w ith w hich th e political and business affairs of th e Fenian Brotherhood were m anaged.
These docum ents did n o t get in to th e hands of th e governm ent for a m onth or m ore after they w ere lost.

All drafts sent by M ichael Cavanaugh were stopped by th e governm ent p rio r to th a t tim e, and I believe before th e first arrests h ad been made.

The m anner in w hich O’M ahony has been accustomed to tre a t “ th e men a t home,” w henever any of them chanced to v isit America, is w ell know n to all the older members of th e organization.
Ile lias, before the Council, accused Luby of being th e cause of F a th e r O’F la h e rty ’s death.
The sin­ cerity of h is professions to aid th e revolutionary p a rty in Ireland may be jud g ed from th e fact th a t, w hile he had thousands of dollars lying idle in th e T reasury in New York, he left th e I. R. B. a t hom e so d estitute of funds th a t Messrs. Dunne and Meehan, on th e ir arriv al in Dublin, were obliged to advance £219 to the C. E. out of th e ir personal funds, and had, moreover, to 26 pay for the passage to Ireland of O’Donovan Rossa, w hom 0 M ahony allowed to leave w ithout a pound in his pocket, a lte r doing all he could to defeat him in the mission w ith w hich h e w as entrusted.
Now the foregoing is a tru e account of th e h isto ry of Messrs. M eehan and Dunne’s mission, neither colored nor magnified.

Indeed, it is very m uch modified, compared w ith th e actual facts w hich I could give in th is case, show­ ing clearly, in John O’M aliony’s ow n h andw riting, th a t th e m ission to th e I. R. B. was not alone inspired by him , b u t engineered also.
In one of h is letters to James Gibbons, about th a t tim e, he says th a t “ Mr. Stephens dicta w ould In another, he says th a t “ Mr. not satisfy the m inds of in tellig en t m en.” Stephens did not w ant a directing m ind here ; th a t he w anted a m achine to bring in money.” And again, th a t “ he w anted to m ake a draw -farm of the F. B.” These, w ith his frequent assertions th a t th e organization in Ireland stood upon one leg,” w ill show p re tty clearly his private policy and feel­ ings, (if, indeed, he had any feelings a t all in th e m atter).
Of course, all th is tim e he was addressing pompous and m ysteriously w orded docum ents of the most cheering character to th e B rotherhood a t large, rem inding one of the elder Mathews, the actor, who, on the stage, could m ake th e people on the left of the house freeze w ith th e terrib le contortions of one side of h is face, w hile on the other side he could set them in roars of la u g h te r by its comic and farcical expression.
I t is also strictly true, in every im p o rtan t p articu lar, in I t was a n accident th a t m ig h t have regard to the loss of th e documents.

happened to any one under the same or sim ilar circum stances.

T he m istake was in tru stin g to a pin ; b u t th e n it m ust be rem em bered th a t th e bearer expected to deliver them im m ediately after to th e proper parties, and th a t he was too much afraid to cari y them loose in his pockets in th e streets of Dublin.
There was n othing of an im portant character in them .

C ertainly th e re was not one-fiftieth p a rt of th e inform ation w hich was conveyed to th e E nglish governm ent through the press of America every day, in relation to th e doings of the Fenians.
And there was not one-thousandth p a rt of th e dam age done to th e I. R. B. by th e ir loss th a t there was by th e publication, long before th a t time, in th e New York Herald, of th e form ation, strength, designation, and titles oi officers of the organization in Ireland.
The m ost m in u te details were given in th e Herald, and covered a w hole side of th e paper ; and the inform ation on which th is article was w ritten was given by John O’Mahony, and wras ordered “ ex officio,” as he said in one of his le tte rs to Mr. Gibbons.
Mr. O’Neill, of Charleville, a prom inent m em ber of the I. R. B., now in this city, and Mr. J. J. Geary, of Cork, for whose arrest th e E n glish governm ent offers a reward of tw o hundred pounds, told me, w h at I was already aw are of, th a t the publication of the docum ent referred to did m ore harm to th e I. li.

B. th an anything of the kind th a t ever happened.
W hen I commenced th is document, I only intended to w rite a few pages refuting by incontestible proofs th e w ilful m isrepresentations of B.’ D. K illian ; but other points presented them selves upon w hich I knew you needed information, and I considered it m y d u ty to give them to you.

There fore the length of th is document.


And yet I have left m any th in g s un- 27 touched th a t I should like, if tim e perm itted, to explain ; b u t perhaps I m ay do so a t a n o th er tim e, if th e in te re sts of th e organization should require.
Of one th in g you m ay rest assured, th a t, had I m erely m y own character to defend in th is m atter, I should never have penned a single line of th is docu­ m en t ag ain st th e attack s of a m an w hose antecedents are as disreputable as h is character is beneath contem pt ; who, w ith th e cant and policy of a hypocrite, in g ratiated him self th ro u g h false pretenses in to a position of respon sib ility and power.
You see how he lias abused the tru s t reposed in h im by h is peculiar m anagem ent of your finances.

To prove th is I need not refer to the charges of the Senate.

T he report of h is ow n com m ittee condemns h im w ith th e ir figures, a lth o u g h th ey endeavor to deceive the public w ith th e ir words.

See th e evils he lias b rought upon us th ro u g h his satanic p ro m p tin g of a too-w illing victim .
W h a t w as th ere in th is m an’s character o r antecedents th a t Mr. O’M ahony should insist upon placing him in so im p o rtan t a financial position, and th en sustain him in his im proper and ruinous conduct ?

H is financial record w as bad.


He w as never know n to lose a dollar or an h o u r of h is tim e for th e F enian B rotherhood ; in fact, he w as only a m o n th or so a F enian, and yet he m ust be m ade Secretary of th e T reasury w ith full control over th e finances, w ith th e additional and u nconstitutional prerogative of holding th e funds in connection w ith Mr O’Mahony.

Surely th is is strange, m ost strange.

F o r six years he w as a b itte r enemy of th e organization, and it flourished.
F o r three m onths he was a member, and it perished, a t least in h is hands.
P erhap s it w ould be w ell to offer a few rem arks, for th e inform ation of the B rotherhood a t large, on th e C linton H all C onvention, called to m eet in th is city by Mr. O’M ahony, to repudiate th e C onstitution, and sustain him by a sham endorsem ent in h is ty ra n n ic al defiance of its m ost essential provisions, and in tram p lin g on th e individual rig h ts of every m em ber of the B rotherhood, whose only protection against sham e and plunder la y in th e faithfu l execution of th a t C onstitution, not alone in letter, b u t in spirit also.
T h a t m any good and tru e m en w ent to it w ith th e m ost praisew orthy and p a trio tic in ten tio n s, I have n o t a shadow of a doubt ; indeed, I have seen enough to be satisfied of th e fact: b u t th e m ajority were p a rtisan s of O’M ahony and h is policy.
A nd a t no tim e durin g th e session, an d under no possible circum stance, could a resolution pass ten d in g to heal th e breach in the Fenian ranks, by replacing Mr. O’M ahony w ith a m an w ho could unite the different elem ents of th e organization under one head, one aim, and one C onstitution.
To th e m em bers of it w ho called to see me, in q u irin g w h at could be done to u nite us, I replied : “ G et Mr. O’M ahony to resign th e position he now usurps, and I w ill surrender m ine im m ediately after, and I w ill agree to th e elevation of any com petent and tru stw o rth y m an to the position ; or, if you are really anxious to u n ite th e F enian B rotherhood in a solid, compact body, you can, if you choose, adjourn to a tim e and place to be agreed upon, and I w ill u n ite w ith you in calling a reg u lar Congress of th e B rotherhood to investigate and decide, and also to elect a new set of officers.” Several 28 were in favor of these propositions, b u t wlien they were b rought up in the Convention they were laughed or shouted dow n by the p artisan s w ho controlled it.
Several of those I conversed w ith did not seek to hide th e ir opposition to the C onstitution, and th e ir rep u d iatio n of those provisions which were deemed m ost essential to the success of th e I* enian B rotherhood by its framers, and by those who adopted it, section by section, at P hiladelphia in September last.

This Convention deliberated for eigh t days ; but th e result,!ike one of Judge Keogh’s ju ry trials, was a foregone conclusion.
T told several well-meaning men of th e fact, and the proceedings tow ard the end satisfied them t h a t !

was right.

And I saw several, and h eard of m any more ,who left it in disgust, satisfied th a t no im partial decision w ould be arrived at by th at august body.
Its m oderation d u rin g the early days of its sittin g was owing to the fact th a t th e presiding officer was an able and honest m an, and th a t there was a larger elem ent of w ell-m eaning m en in it th a n was calculated on, and these had to be either driven off, tired out, or deceived, before the real work for which they were called together could commence.

At best it was a revolutionary body, illegally assem bled, and w as not by any means a representative of the Fenian B rotherhood of America.
Two- thirds of its members were from the States of N ew Y ork and M assachusetts, and about one-third from all the rest of th e U nited S tates and Canada.

Of the latter, eleven were special, w hich m eans, I suppose, adm itted under the passport of Mr. O’Mahony.
The following list of delegates, I have very good reason to believe, is cor rect, or nearly so : M an hattan ........................................84 Rhode Island New York S ta te ............................. 43 Shawmut (Boston)......................... 31 M assachusetts................................. 66 C onnecticut................A .. ............. 12 Chicago............................% .,..» ;... 4 C anada.............................................. 5 M ichigan........................................... 8 New Hampshire............................... 5 New Jersey..... ................................ 6 Ohio................... ... a ....................... 14 Pennsylvania................................... g Philadelphia..................................... 16 A rkansas........................................... 1 Colorado__ W f ............................... q 12 St. L ouis.............................................. 4 T e n n e s s e e ........................................................... 1 V e r m o n t ............................................................ 1 M issouri.................................................... 1 K a n s a s .............................. .................................. 2 M aine................................................... 2 Io w a ........................................................... 2 Illin o is................................................ 3 D elaw are................................................... 1 In d ia n a .. .
.

, ............................................. 4 S pecial.......... T o tal......................................... 353 ................................... 11 Deduct from the 353 the 224 from New York and M assachusetts, and the eleven special, and you have one hundred and tw enty-four delegates, outside of those two States, representing, or assum ing to represent, the Fenian Brotherhood of the United States and other portions of America.
Deduct, also the number of delegates who merely represented themselves, or some skele­ ton Circle, th a t never contributed five dollars, if any, tow ard the funds T hen rem em ber of th e Fenian B rotherhood.

th a t New Jersey, Ken­ tucky, Illinois, and Ohio, in State C onvention, unanim ously repudiated O’M ahony and h is call, and th a t Indiana, in S tate C onvention, refused to send a delegate, and you w ill see w h at a solemn and expensive farce the w hole affair has been.
Now, B rothers, in closing th is already too le n g th y docum ent, le t me appeal to you once again, in the nam e of Ireland, for h e r sake and hers alone, to renew y o u r patrio tic exertions in behalf of th e cause for w hich you have already m ade such heavy sacrifices b o th of tim e and money.
L et n o t one d isappo in tm ent d ishearten you, nor a p a rtia l defeat overw helm you : let th e heavy blow w hich your p atrio tic hopes received rebound upon your hereditary foes, and find you m ore unflinchingly resolved th a n ever to over­ come every obstacle th a t m ay intervene betw een you and th e freedom of y o u r n ativ e land.

T rue m en never despond, b u t find in each adverse cir­ cum stance a fresh incentive to renew ed exertion.
The brave and skillful soldier never acknow ledges defeat u n til every resource is exhausted, and there is no longer a possibility of success.

Look a t Sheridan, our dauntless countrym an, in th e valley of V irginia !

Did h e throw up his hands, and cry *• peccavi,” w hen he saw h is arm y routed and fleeing before a victorious foe ?
C ertainly not ; bu t, w ith a brave h eart and a clear head, he rallied his broken columns, and hurled, them on th e foe w ith such vigor and determ ination as to snatch victory, honor, and im m ortality from defeat, disgrace, and death.

There is a v ita lity in our cause w hich cannot die ; it w ill live as long as an Irish h e a rt rem ains to cherish th e holy love of country, and a ty ran n ic power exists on Irish soil to call it forth.
L et our resolves, therefore, be as tena­ cious as our p atriotism is undoubted.

Be firm, brave, dauntless, and deter­ m ined ; a resolute w ill canaccomplisli wonders, and there are few obstacles- w liicli brave arms, w hen well directed, cannot strike down.

If a n y th in g can be done for Ireland’s freedom in our day, it m ust be done before th is great organization disbands th ro u g h inaction, or, w hat is worse, im becility or cor­ ruption.
T he changed constitution of th e Fenian B rotherhood is less to be deplored than rejoiced at, for the great incubus w hich checked th e v ita l action of the organization lias been removed, and its vigor and effectiveness w ill now be felt in proportion as you sustain it.

Yours, in friendship and fratern ity , W ILLIA M R. ROBERTS, President Fenian Brotherhood.

REPORT OF GENERAL SWEENY.


To the tissue of falsehoods uttered by B. D. K illian w ith reference to the transaction m entioned on page 3 of his report, I, as Secretary of W ar, can make no better reply th an to subm it to the Fenian B rotherhood th e entire correspondence betw een m y A djutant-G eneral and Messrs. Jen k s & Mitchell, of Philadelphia : % Col. C. C. T e v is : B r i d e s b u r g A r m o r y , P hiladelphia, N ovem ber 1,1865.
D e a r S i r —W e will tak e fifty thousand dollars, in currency, for the seventy-five hundred rifled m uskets on hand a t our arm ory, delivered in th is city, w ith bayonets, in governm ent regulation cases, each case holding tw enty muskets.

This offer to be binding on us for tw o weeks.

Yours, tru ly , A LFRED JE N K S & SON.

B. D. K i l l i a n , E sq., Secretary of the Tre sury, F. B. : N e w Y o r k , N o v e m b e r 13, 1865.
SIR—I have tlie honor, by direction of th e Secretary of W ar, F. B., to pre­ sent the inclosed report, accompanied by his indorsem ent, for y o u r action.

Among a num ber of offers m ade to furnish arm s, th a t of Messrs. Jenks k M itchell is by far the m ost advantageous.

The arm s are new, of good qual­ ity, and at a lower price th a n any other presented, the difference being about in the aggregate $25,000.

General Sweeny is desirous of securing th e lot of seventy-five hundred im m ediately.
The Springfield rifled m u sk et is not to be obtained at any of th e U nited S tates arsenals, orders having been I shall issued to exclude th a t description of m usket from all public sales.

A^M t 6 ^10n6r CaIling on y ° u ^or an answ er to-m orrow m orning, at 8 Very respectfully, Y our obedient servant, Ç. CARROLL TEV IS, Brig.-Gen., and Adjutant-General, F. B.

[Frompages 2 and 3— Report of B. Doran Killmn.]
T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , F. B.. New York, November 17,1865, The Secretary of the Treasury acknowledges the receipt of a request from Secretary of W ar « to pay over (to him) $10,000 a t once, for immediate 31 use, in conform ity w ith th e resolution of the Senate ap p ropriating $50,000 for th e W a r D epartm ent.” The Secretary of th e T reasury begs to say, in reply, th a t th e appropria­ tio n b y th e Senate authorizes him to place $50,000, as soon as received, to the credit of th e W a r D epartm ent on h is books, b u t th a t th e disbursem ent of th a t sum, o r sm aller sums, m ust be m ade on vouchers, certified to by th e Secretary of W ar, and approved as in o th er cases of w a rra n ts upon the T reasury.
The Secret Service is th e only fund on w hich th e Secretary of W a r can draw w ith o u t filing vouchers in th e T reasury D epartm ent, and for th e m anifest reason th a t such a service precludes th e “ policy ” of vouchers.
To secure uniform ity in accounts and the proper m anagem ent of th is D epartm ent, b o th as to dem and and supply, it is essential th a t all disburse­ m ents should come under th e supervision of th e Secretary of th e Treasury, who w ill respect th e approval of th e Secretary of W ar, and other heads of D epartm ents.

To th a t end all paym ents to th ird parties w ill be m ade by w arran ts on th e T reasurer, to be presented by the parties in interest a t the T reasury D epartm ent.
T his relieves officers of bureaux from th e care or dis­ bursem ent of funds, and enables them to occupy th e ir whole tim e w ith duties m ore cognate to th e ir respective stations.

The P ay m aster is, of course, an exception, for th e benefit of troops in th e field.
In reference to th e requisition for $10,000, th e Secretary begs to assure th e Secretary of W a r th a t he w ill fo rth w ith take m easures to act on th e reference and recom m endation of the Secretary of M ilitary Affairs of th e lo th .
To th is end M essrs.------------ will be requested to forw ard th e ir proposal, term s of paym ent included, w hich, being approved by th e P resident, will assum e th e form of a contract, and be paid on account by th is D epartm ent on application of M essrs.----------- , w ith certificate of receipt of----------- , signed by Secretary of W ar.
Should the Secretary require sum s for c u rre n t expenditure, he w ill please attach vouchers to th e inclosed forms, and certify to th e am ounts, w hen paym ents w ill be im m ediately made.

V ery tru ly , B. DORAN K ILLIA N , Secretary o f the Treasury.

General T h o m a s W .

S w e e n y , Secretary o f M ilitary A ffa irs.

N e w Y o r k , N ovem ber 14, 1865.


Messrs. J e n k s & M i t c h e l l : G e n t l e m e n — I have com m unicated your offer to tak e $50,000 for the 7,500 Springfield m uskets, now a t th e B ridesburg Armory, and have been instructed to inform you th a t, if the term s for th e paym ent are satisfactory you m ay consider th e sale as effected a t th e price nam ed in your le tte r of the 11th inst.
You w ill be so kind, then, as to inform me, a t your earliest con­ venience, if any discount w ill be allowed for cash, or w h a t term s you propose.

V ery respectfully, Y our obedient servant, O. CARROLL TEVIS.

32 P h i l a d e l p h i a , N ovem ber 17, 1865.

Col. C. C. T e v i s : D e a r S i r — Y our telegram was received d u rin g m y absence from home, but I replied early th is m orning.
The term s as understood betw een us was cash on delivery here, and th e low price asked w ould adm it of no discount or loss on our part.

You are g ettin g a bargain, and I could now do better.

Yours, tru ly , J. G. M ITCHELL.

F r e n c h ’s H o t e l , N e w Y oi*k , Novem ber 18, 1865.

Messrs. J e n k s & M i t c h e l l , 65 N orth F ro n t street, P hiladelphia : G e n t l e m e n —I am directed to inform you th a t y o u r term s w ill be accepted.
One thousand dollars ($1,000) w ill be paid im m ediately, to close the bargain, the.

balance on th e delivery o f th e arm s, w hich w ill be called for in a short time.

Yours, truly, C. C. TEVIS.

(t e l e g r a m .)

* N o v e m b e r 23.

Col. C. C. T e v i s , A stor House, New Y ork : Our term s cannot be changed—th ey are cash on delivery.

M ITCHELL.

P h i l a d e l p h i a , Novem ber 24,1865.


Col. T e v i s : D e a r S i r —I dp not understand th e various m essages and tn e le tte r received this week.

I gave you, in w riting, our u ltim atum , and you sent word th e bargain was closed.

B u t there seems to be a desire on the I have already part of others to change the terms.

T his cannot be done.

gone beyond the lim it fixed by those interested, and some of them w ill be glad to have the contract annulled.

The goods are ready for delivery.


All th a t rem ains to be done is to have the money paid.

L et me h ear from you by return mail, if you can.

Yours, It is im portant, if a n y th in g is done, it be done a t once.

M ITCHELL.

„ „ M r. M i t c h e l l : N e w Y o r k , N o v e m b e r 25, 1865.

D e a r S i r - Your telegraph of the 23d, and the com m unication of the th, received this m orning, lead me to suppose th a t m y le tte r of the 18th was misunderstood.
I am directed now to state th a t th e term s, “ Cash on dehvery ” are accepted, and to prove the sincerity of th e contract one th o u ­ sand dollars ($1,000) w ill be im m ediately deposited w ith you.

It is not convenient to take away the arms for a short tim e, b u t w hen removed from your store-room the entire sum w ill be paid down.

You w ill m uch oblige 33 me by answ ering a t once if th a t arrangem ent w ill suit.
O ther p arties are now here offering to fill a sim ilar contract on sim ilar conditions, and a t the sam e price.

Yours, &c., C. C. TEVIS.

P h i l a d e l p h i a , Novem ber 27, 1865.

Col. T e v i s : D e a r S i r —My telegram and le tte r did not refer to any com m unications from you, b u t to those received from your H eadquarters, w hich w ere of a different character from yours.

T here appeared to be other n egotiations attem pted, a n d I h ad supposed th e m a tte r term inated.
Y our proposed term s are satisfactory if th e arrangem ents can be carried out a t once ; b u t, as I said before, it is im p o rtan t th a t th e m a tte r be atten d ed to w ith o u t delay, as it m ay be ta k en o u t of m y h an d s very suddenly.

If th e am ount nam ed be paid, nam e a day w hen th e goods w ill be removed and m oney paid.

T h is w ill form p a rt of th e contract.

Yours, M ITCHELL.

# N e w Y o r k , N o v e m b e r 29,1865.

M r .


M i t c h e l l , 65 N o rth F ro n t street, P h ilad elp h ia : D e a r S i r —Y ours of th e 27th in s ta n t w as received yesterday.

I knew no th in g of any other com m unication b u t m y ow n on th e subject.

As you agree to accept m y term s, I w ill m eet you a t your office on F rid ay m orning, a t 11, A. M ., to pay th e one thousand dollars, and sign th e contract for the balance.

Yours, C. C. TEVIS.
Yours, C. C. TEVIS.

N ovem ber 29, 1865, by telegraph from Philadelphia: C. C. T e v i s , F ren ch ’s H otel, New Y ork : W ill be at A stor H ouse to-m orrow a t one o’clock.

Call if you can.

P h i l a d e l p h i a , Novem ber 29,1865.

M ITCH ELL.

By teleg rap h from P hilad elp h ia, N ovem ber 30, 1865.

C. C. T e v i s : I w ill be at A stor H ouse to-day, a t noon.

M ITCH ELL.
M ITCH ELL.

It is only necessary to add here th a t Messrs. Je n k s & M itchell did not accept Mr. B. D. K illian ’s term s, e ith er from doubts of h is personal ability to fulfill them , or from th e fact th a t th e F enian B rotherhood, not being a chartered association, w a rra n ts on its treasu ry possess no m arket value.
T h at B. D. K illian does not “ now hold the refusal o f the same * * * at the price agreed u p o n ” and th a t th e ow ners have “ not very Jcindly consented 3 34 to allow the Brotherhood the am ount forfeited, owing to their feeling o f uncer­ tainty in the capacity o f General S., w ith his present associations, to p a y fo r the a r t i c l e s I refer you to th e following contract : N e w Y ork, N ovem ber 30, 1865.
This agreement, made th e 30th of November, 1865, w itnesseth, th a t the said Alfred Jenks & Son do sell to C. C. Tevis, of Philadelphia, seventy-five hundred Springfield rifled m uskets, now boxed and stored in th e arm ory of th e said Alfred Jenks & Son, a t Bridesburg, for th e sum of fifty thousand dollars, on the following term s and conditions, viz.
: One thousand dollars cash to be paid a t th e tim e of signing th is agree, m ent, paym ent w hereof is hereby acknowledged, and th e balance in cash w ithin sixty days from d a te —the arm s to be removed as paid for—said pay­ m ent of one thousand dollars to be forfeited to Alfred Jen k s & Son if the agreem ent is not fully carried out by C. C. Tevis.

W itnessed by W m. M. W h i t e .

A LFRED JE N K S & SON, C. C. TEV IS.


B. D. Killian, if a paid B ritish agent, could not jiave chosen a b etter plan to invite the interference of th e U nited S tates G overnm ent th a n th is very negotiation.

E ngland is professedly a friendly power, and th is open purchase of arm s by an association whose avowed purpose is to a tta ck h e r as soon as possible, m ight have compelled the prohibition by the au th o rities of any such sales.
It was the act of either a tra ito r or an imbecile to do otherw ise.

I had endeavored to avoid any such danger.

B. D. K illian has m isapplied th e term “ m ilitary a d v e n tu re rs/’ if he reters to the officers of my D epartm ent.

T hey are, w ith o u t exception, edu­ cated gentlemen, whose social position is unequivocal, and whose m ilitary reputation has been earned in th e field.
T hey are u n w illing to become tools, b u t th is character in the past is a guarantee for th e ir future, and can­ not be injured by an ything which can be coined by B. D. K illian, for the purpose of destroying the confidence of th e B rotherhood in th e ir ab ility and integrity.

B D. K illian’s cowardly and m ysterious insinuations about “ subordin­ ates wlio expected a handsome commission on the sales,” are of a piece w ith his other slanders, and are too contem ptible to need refutation.
n n i) s im p lic ity I h a d im a g in e d t h a t n e a r ly t w e n t y y e a r s ’ e x p e rie n c e to friend of T1 6 m e t0 jU d g e 0 f t h e ^ - e m e n t s o f a n a r m v a b o u t even th e tale'lted « -e d ito r, ex-land-broker, ex­ tend of Thomas D Arc., McGee, B. Dora* K illian, could possibly do, and had tv r a l s o s u p p o s e d t h a t , a s i s t h e c a s e i n were B. D. K illian s vouchers for moneys paid me by him.
n TT-iv > t h e U n i t p i l a u n ite d fetates Army, m y receipts n !

to tlI, ™ ?

r d Î w n t The a neCdRd vouchers t0 Prove to th e B ro th erh o o d -fo r r TreaSUrer’ KÍUÍan’ ara 1 a c c o u n ta b le -th a t I had not p ^ p o s e s fo w v r p u r p o s e s , f o r w h i c h a l o n e i t w a s d e s i g n e d .

!
!

0n “ C t0 m3' D e p a rtm e û t fo r «>«*»■ t h a n m ilita rv The Secretary of W a r of th e U nited S tates does not consult th e Secre­ ta ry of th e T reasury w hen he needs m uskets or cannon ; he is n o t obliged to ask h is perm ission, or aw ait the approval of even th e P resident of the U nited States, before he m akes h is purchases.

Mr. Chase did not interfere w ith Mr. S tanton w hen th e la tte r w anted to equip troops d u rin g th e late rebellion.
There are m any m a tte rs connected w ith m y D epartm ent, w hich, even could I tru s t to B. D. K illian ’s honesty of purpose, I w ould be u n w illing to com m unicate to him , because he would have been, as a civilian, incapable of com prehending theij; object and design.
My object has been and is to prepare for action against E ngland wliere- ever she m ay be m ost vulnerable, and to th a t I shall continue to devote m y energy, and w ith th e aid of m y countrym en surm ount th e obstacles w hich ignorance and treachery have th ro w n in our p a th to freedom.

The follow ing le tte r is from Colonel John M eehan, Chief E ngineer on G eneral Sw eeny’s staff ; it explains th e transaction to w hich K illian refers as th e political bribe received by Colonel W .
R. R oberts, and shows very clearly th a t Colonel R oberts h ad nothing, in th e rem otest degree, to do w ith th e m atter, and a t th e tim e of Colonel M eehan’s receiving th e m oney he w as n o t even acquainted w ith Colonel M eehan, b u t it offered a good chance for a K illian libel : H e a d q u a r t e r s F e n i a n B r o t h e r h o o d , ) No.
734 Broadw ay, Ja n u a ry 8, 1866. j To t h e F e n i a n B r o t h e r h o o d : The follow ing facts are w ritte n for th e purpose of proving to m y B rother F enians th e infam ous character of B. D. K illian, w ho seems plainly to be an agent of his old confederate, D ’A rcy McGee, sent in to th e B rotherhood for th e purpose of sapping th e foundation and blow ing up th e organization.
H is report to th e C onvention has been called, by a prom inent Fenian, “ one o f th e basest tissues of falsehoods ever penned, even by a convicted felon and I w ill select one item to illu stra te th e ju stn e ss of th is dam ning àccusa tion.
In his rep o rt he attack s G eneral Sweeny and h is staff, and goes on to say th a t M eehan, th e Engineer, h ad collected m oney frau d u len tly from o u t­ siders, and gives th e C onvention to understand th a t I appropriated the said money to m y p riv ate use.

Now, B rother Fenians, read th e facts carefully, and judge for yourselves w h eth er a F en ian ’s re p u ta tio n is safe w hen asso­ ciated w ith such a vile scamp.
I received an authorization to collect money, in a sm all book issued from I a t once p u t th e H eadquarters for th a t purpose, by Mr. Jam es M cDerm ott.

m y ow n name down for $20, and collected the follow ing sum s from the gen­ tlem en named : D aniel D ougherty, $5 ; Colonel H assler, $2 ; P a t. K ane and brother, $2 ; Mr. B utler, $1 or $2, I forget w hich ; Thos.

W heelan, $3.
W heelan, $3.

Messrs. McNeff & C lair p u t th e ir nam es dow n for $5 each, b u t I did not see them afterw ard to collect it, and gave th e address of th e tw o gentle­ m en.

I explained th is in a le tte r w hen I sent in th e collection-book to U nion Square.

These sum s I delivered as follows: $29 or $31, I forget 36 which, to Mr. Jam es M cDerm ott and Mr. W m .
M eehan, and Mr. Hefferman, at U nion square, receiving a receipt for same ; and th e other $3 or $4 to Cap­ ta in O’Grady, for his “ George W a s h in g to n ” Circle, for w hich I received I th en applied to a prom inent citizen, and he sent me a check a receipt.

for $250.
for $250.

I received it at a tim e w hen th e N ew Y ork press had branded K illian as unw orthy to be tru ste d by honest m en, and General Sweeny believing it true, as regarded K illian, ordered me not to give the $250 to Fillian, but to hand it over to the Treasurer, Mr. P. O'Rourke, which order I obeyed.
Previously, I had notified Mr. O’M ahony of its receipt and of th e donors’ names, and even w ent to K illian ’s office and had its receipt entered on the “ Day Book ” by Mr. Hefferman, and forw arded O’R ourke’s receipt for the sum to U nion Square, w ith an explanatory letter.

Now, B rother Fenians, after m y labor, loss of tim e and money (for I refused th e salary attached to m y position by Mr. O’M ahony and the Senate,, and am a subscriber to, and not a consum er of, th e funds of the F.

B.
B.

), is th is a ju s t recompense, to be branded by a scoundrel w ho h as never subscribed a cent, but who charged $300 to th e B rotherhood for his expenses on a three days’ trip by railw ay ?

F or a t th e P hiladelphia C onvention Mr. K illian had not in the w orld w h at w ould pay h is hotel bill ; yet he pretends to serve g ra tis in his present office; and th e $1,200 commission on th e European bill of exchange, and oth er transactions alleged against him , h in t a t the sources of his income.
The spite w hich caused him to coin th e base insinuation against m e arose from a le tte r I addressed to Mr. O’Mahony, suggesting as a means, of cem enting our unfortunate quarrel, th a t he, O’Mahony, Roberts, and th e Senate should resign.

I w ent on to say th a t every one in America (outside of th e F.

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B.)

believed the statem ents made by th e N ew Y ork press in regard to K illian ’s trickery and m endacity, and th a t members, under these circum stances, could no longer approach outsiders for subscriptions for th e cause, statin g at the same tim e th a t I did not believe th e character given to them in th e press, and was only actuated in m y request by love of th e Fenian Brotherhood.

The scoundrel a t once sat down and penned the base libel.
From th is one item in h is report you can ju dge of th e rest of the “ tissue of false­ hoods.” Your obedient servant, JOH N M EEHAN.

Colonel and C hief Engineer, F. B .