The Express.
London, England, 1867-11-25 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY DEMONSTRATION IN THE

METROPOLIS.

The feelings with which the execution of Allen,
Gould, and Larkin is regarded by, the Irish labouring
population of London and by Mr. James Finlen and his
Clerkenwell friends, were manifested yesterday in a very
novel and striking manner. It had been announced that
in the event of the three ill-fated men being banged, a
" solemn funeral promotion in honour of their memory "
would be organised on Clerkenwell-green, and would after-
wards
proceed through the principal streets of the West-
end to Hyde-park. Accordingly, at eleven o'clock yester-
day morning several thousand persons, undeterred by the
prevailing fog, assembled at the appointed place for the pur-
pose of taking part in the procemion, and listening afterwards
to Mr. Finlen's promised "funeral oration." Mr. Pinion,
surrounded by • few of his friends, took up • position at
the fountain in the centre of the green, and addressed the
crowd, remarking that the murkiness of the atmosphere
was • fitting accompaniment to the solemn scene which
was then being enacted. A melancholy halo, be said,
surrounded the memories of the men who had been
"murdered" on the previous day, and he felt sure that aspi-
rations emanated from the hearts of those present for the
success of the cause for which those men had been " cruci-
fied." As there was a difference of opinion as to whether the
procession should take place in the morning or in the after.
noon, he thought it beet to submit the matter to the consi-
deration of the meeting. Since thousands of good catho-
lic. and true Irishmen were then engaged in the services
of their church and in offering up prayers for the repose
of the " martyred men," he considered that though •
morning procession would be a real success, yet one held
in the afternoon would be still more imposing. He, how-
ever, left it to the meeting to adopt its own course.
Mr. Callaghan next addressed the meeting, and having
described the executed Fenian. as men who had been sa-
crificed for the cause of liberty, an enthusiastic Irishman
among the crowd promptly shouted for " three cheers
for Ireland and freedom." An Irish tailor of
the name of Campbell said that the bones of
Allen, Gould, and Laskin were now fleshless within the
prison walls at Manchester, but their mule looked down
from heaven upon that meeting. There were not 100 men
then present who regarded them as murderers, and their
names would be committed to the memory of every honest
man for generations yet to come. Irishmen were too
noble, too manly, and too chivalrous to be murderers. It
having then been determined by a show of hands that the
procession should be at once formed, the crowd arranged
themselves for the marsh, and proceeded as far as
Farringdon-road, where, either by accident or design, they
divided into two parts. The larger stream of prooessionists,
led by Mr. Finlen, and accompanied by a band playing the
"Deed March in Saul," carried • black flag with the in-
scription " Man's inhumanity to man makes countless
thousands mourn." Their route lay through Meet-street,
Strand, Pall-mall, St. James's-street, Piccadilly, to Hyde.
perk. At various points on the march they were joined
by fresh contingents, principally composed of Irishmen of
the labouring class, some of whom had their hats draped
with craps bands. The smaller section made their way to
Hyde-park through Holborn and Oxford-street. No
interference was offered by the polies to the progress of
either party, and the only instance in which their services
were brought into requisition was when, near the Carlton
Club, two English roughs, having assailed and " bon-
netted " an Irishman who wore crape, a vigorous sally was
made by •hunt • dozen policemen, who seemed to have
been placed there in reserve, and who promptly bore off
the delinquents. Many windows were thrown open as the
promotion passed, and persons with astonished looks made
their appearance at them. The streets were crowded with
spectators, including a goodly number of Irishmen, who,
although not taking part in the proceedings, exhibited a
lively interest in them. The number of processionista was
estimated at 5,000, but that number was at least quad-
rupled when they arrived in the park. The body that
marched by Holborn was the first to arrive in Hyde.
park, and pending the arrival of Mr. Finlen and
his followers • meeting was constituted with
Mr. Bligh in the chair. That gentleman, in the course of
an indignant speech. trusted that the " great blunder and
indiscriminate cruelty of a tyrannie government" would
unite Englishmen, Irishmen, and Scotohmen. They were
there to bewail the death of three—(a voice, " murderers")
—honest patriots of • country which had been entirely
rained by oppression and warder. Irishmen had fought
our battles, and helped to make this nation great, and yet
we had let them starve in the etrests and under the hedges.
" These poor men who had been murdered yesterday" had
loved their country too well. (A voice in the crowd here
shouted, "Served them right," whereupon an indignant
Irishman yelled, " Shove a brick into that fellow's
mouth.") He would like to see • rope tied round the neck
of every man who held that opinion, and have him hanged
upon • tree. (This remark evoked enthusiastic cheers.)
The dead men had released patriots who had gone to
America and joined their brother Irish patriots. Woe to
the men who have brought disgrace on this nation !
He would not like to stand in the shoes of
Mr. G•thorue Hardy. (Hisses.) He would not have
the blood of these men on his head for all the wealth of
England ; it was a crime for which the guilty man ought
to be brought to condign punishment. For years a warrant
bad been out against his (the speaker's) person, but that
would not prevent his speaking boldly on the present oc-
casion. He had never been in prison, but the fear of
living on bread and water would not deter him from telling
the truth. The speechmaking was here suspended until
the arrival of Mr. Finlen's procession. When that
gentleman came upon the ground there was a general
rush to the spot whereon he took his stand. One
of his immediate supporters requested the listeners
to doff their hats and preserve strict silence.
Mr. Finlen then commenced his " funeral oration." He
said the lives of Irishmen bad been sacrificed ou the pee-
'ions day in Manchester because they thought they were
subserving the interests of a glorious and • just cause, and
they had died nut as criminals, but as harms. They were .
followed to their graves with the sympathies of all
men with hearts to feel end with intellect enough

to appreciate the right, the true, and the beautiful. The
graves of those men were within the precincts of • prison,
and it was not possible for the people to attend their
funeral. Had their funeral been publicly held in Man.
chester those whom he addressed could not have attended,
and to-day they did the next best thing, namely, attending
that solemn funeral procession, which was their recogni-
tion of the worth of the poor men yesterday sacrificed,
and likewise the integrity of their cause as patriots.
(Cheers.) That blood of theirs which bad been wantonly
and unnecessarily shed went to cement and consolidate
the sympathies and hearts of Englishmen, Irishmen, and
Scotchmen in one holy invincible bond, dedicated to the
regeneration of these islands, afflicted by clam despotism,
and desecrated by class slavery. (Cheers.) Should that
, blood bring about such an issue he thought the memory of
Allen, Gould, sad Larkin would be enthroned for
ever in the hearts of the people, and they
would be regarded in the future as the deliverers
of the past were regarded at the present moment. The
dead men had left behind them mothers, wives, sis-
ters, and brothers to weep in melancholy over their fate.
They (the meeting), whilst recognising that fact, must
not forget that the poor unfortunate policeman, Sergeant
Brett, was also taken from the bosom of hie family, end
they oommiserated that family as earnestly and as sin-
cerely as they did those of the murdered men. They were
cosmopolitan in their sympathise. They were not secta-
rians—they were humanitarians. A philosopher of old
laid down that an indignity to the meanest citizen was an
indignity perpetrated upon society at large. It was in
the largest spirit they had undertaken this vindication,
and as they had carried it so far, Id them
carry it an morally, grandly, constitutionally, keep-
ing within the proscribed and recognised paths
of our constitution, determined to be freemen, to be
elevated to that position which ought to be the one held
by the true and trusty portion of that civilised community
which guaranteed the power, wealth, and integrity of the
State. If Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irishmen united,
great good would result from their recent efforts. He
hoped the families of these poor men would be cherished
by people who could sympathize with misfortune, and he
prayed a benediction upon the counsel who had striven
for the condemned men. Let them show they were not
as callous as the aristocracy to the demands of humanity
and of justice. " May the souls of the ill-fated men rest
in peace." (Here a general response of " Amen " fol-
lowed.) He thanked them present for their orderly
conduct, and for their triumph over prejudice and
fear by assembling on • spot upon which had
been laid the foundation of a success culminating
in the triumph of reformers over the tortes, who
bad stood heartlessly and relentlessly against the poor
men whose memory they had met to honour on that occa-
sion. (Great cheering.) Mr. Pinion having concluded,
Mr. Wade called upon the esthetics present to join with
him in offering the " De Profundis" for the souls of Allen,
Gould, and Larkin. The request was solemnly complied
with, and the gathering then broke up in an orderly
manner. During the delivery of Mr. Finlen's " oration"
two other meetings were Being held close at hand. At one
of them the crowd knelt while the " De Profundis" was
being recited, and the scene was of the most edema and
imposing nature. Resolutions were also peened character-
ising the execution of Allen, Gould, and Leckie es •
judicial murder, and tendering to the Dowager Marchioness
of Queensberry thanks for her " Christian, humane letter,"
giving end promising assistance to the families of the
men.

Last night a public meeting, attended by about
2,000 persona, wee held on Clerkenwell-green, to per
a vote of condolence to the famflies of the three Fenian'
executed onSaturday at Manchester. Mr. T. Wade, oc-
cupied the chair. The chairman having briefly opened
the meeting, Mr. M'Sweeny moved—" That this meeting
of London working men desire to offer their condolence to,
and express their eymathy with, the bereaved families of
the three men executed by the tory government on Satur-
day last at Manchester, and express their regret and in-
dignation at seeing the political scaffold again reared in
this country." Mr. Owen seconded the resolution, which
was supported by Mr. Bligh, and carried unanimously.
Mr. Fialen, having been loudly called for by the meeting,
then came forward, and was received with great cheering.
He congratulated the meeting on the great and significant
spectacle that had been seen in London that day, and
upon the orderly way in which the proceedings had been
conducted. He called it significant, because such a large
mass of people bad been collected together at a few hours'
notice, without one penny having been spent in adver-
tising or printing bills. Mr. Campbell, Mr. Thomas, and
others having addressed the meeting, the proceedings con-
cluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman, and three
groans for the government.

PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FENIANISSI r.ouso WIND"
Sols.—Colonel Bloody, chief constable of Berkshire, has
issued elitism*. to the county constabulary doing duty in
the villages and rural districts on the south side of the
Thames, round the royal borough of Windsor. A supply
of Oolt'a revolvers has also been provided, and these in
case of any sudden emergency can be immediately issued
to the men. As an additions] precaution, some of the
Berkshire constabulary have been doing duty in Windsor
for the last week, thus supplementing the ordinary form
of the borough, the new chief superintendent of which,
Mr. J. M. Davis, enters upon his duties to-day (Monday).
Henry Jones, a decent-lookinc man in a semi-
military uniform, who described himself as a noncommis-
sioned officer in the Fenian armywho had come to Liverpool
for orders, was committed for trial by the local msgi•trstes
on Saturday, for stealing a coat belonging to the landlord
of a public•house where Jones had lodged for the night.
The Fenian convict O'Donovan Rosso., who was
for a long time the most unmanageable prisoner known to
the convict prison authorities, has lately become one of
the most docile of his class. A considerate treat:Dent has
worked his reformation so far.