The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-01-11 00:00:00

FENIAN ALARMS !

When the history of Feniatdsm shall cane to be written, It
will be lightened by many a story of groundless alarm. One
such story is told by the Weal Surrey TimeB:
The other day, at Guildford, a sergeant in charge of
a rifle barracks was approached by a mysterious
stranger, who asked him many questions concerning
the arms and ammunition in store, and in particular
appeared very anxious to learn if "the Sniders had
arrived." On receiving the information required he
went away ; but no sooner was he gone than the
sergeant began to suspect him, and ran off to tell his
colonel that be had just had an interview with a
Fenian spy. The colonel told the mayor, and soon
the telegraph was at work, constables were in active
search after the stranger, who was found at last,
and turned out to be the sub-editor of a local
paper, who had merely been engaged in a harmless
quest for " copy " for his next edition. There
has also been a groundless alarm at Nottingham.
Several barrels of gunpowder were "left to be called
fir" in the staldes of an him. But nobody called ; the
landlady of the inn got frightened, and told the Mayor;
the Mayor had the police turned out as before, the
barrels were taken to the House of Correction, and
the whole country side was in .alarm, when a letter
was sent to the authorities requesting that the gun-
powder might be sent to Gotham at once. It was only
wanted for ordinary blasting purposes, after all, and
should have been forwarded direct to the owner, but
it had been delayed in tramtit by a blunder of the
carrier's.

The Cork Examiner publishes the following amusing
illustration of the activity of the Cork policemen

Yesterday three young men were standing at the corner of
Adelaide-Street talking, when a party of police, who were at
the time on patrol, passed that nay, ;old thinking they ob-
served something suspicious in the appearance of one of.
the two, took measures to assure themselves as to his
character. The suspected person was a young man of rather
rakish appearance, :mil as he stood talking to his companions
kept his hands one in each of his coat pockets, with his
elbows jauntly stuck out. It was this attitude which aroused
the distrust of the police, who straightway came to the
conclusion that the unconscious Civilian had in each hand a
concealed revolver. Accordingly, approaching him stealthily,
the leading constable with a spring firmly pinioned his arms
from behind, while the others rushing n one each side
grasped his pockets. The startled captive, astounded at this
unexpected attack, turned round, and to his dismay found
himself in the grasp of the police, who calling him to give
up what he had in his pockets, carefully drew forth hii hands
and discovered they were empty. A moment satisfied them
that the captive had no deadly implement of any kind upon
hini, and the police went on, having indeed effected a
seizure of antis, but found no weapon of war whatever.

There does not appear to have been any tangible founda-
tion for the report of the Fenian plot to blow up Shrews-
bury Railway Station, the alleged discovery of which led to
the observance of a great many precautionary measure.
Reduced to simple facts, the "plot" seems to have been
hatched solely in the brain of an excited Irishman, who was
goaded into saying something to show that Fenianism was a
matter not to be despised, even in a quiet town like Shrews-
bury. It is, howeve quite possible to blow up the railway
at Shrewsnury by means of barrels of gunpowder conveyed
beneath it through the medium of the sewers and though it
is &Moult to me how the accomplishment of such an event
would tend to the regeneration of Ireland, the local autho-
rities are hardly to he blamml if, after the experience of the
last few months, they adopted the simple precautions of
fencing the outlets of the sewers, and placing a special
watch over the station.

An Instance of how an unimportant awl trivial circum-
stance may serve to alarm a whole district awl render the
inhabitants suspicious id some Fenian movement among
them has occurred at Milford Haven. A cask of powder
was discovered by a passer-by, near the railway works, and
he at once gave information to the authorities, the con-
clusion arrived at being that it was a Fenian plot. The civil
authorities, in conjunction with the volunteers, at once took
steps to secure the safety of the town, and a number of
special constables were also sworn in. The f Tees at the
command of the authorities were distributed and placed at
different points, and MO precaution was omitted to protect
both life and property from the suspected Fenian attack.
On inquiry, however, it turned out that the whole alarm
was entirely groundless, the powder having been brought
for blasting purposes at the railway works, arid it had
arrived too late in the evening to be placed in the usual
store-room. The promptitude and vigilance of the authori-
ties were no doubt highly commendable, and privet, beyond
a doubt, that treasonable acts would be immediately
oMactol at Milford ; still it is well to sift such reports
before creating unnecessary alarm in the public mind.