The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-23 00:00:00

THE RIOTOUS PROCEEDINGS IN WOLVER-
HAMPTON.

WOLVERHAMPTON, Fermi.
At about midnight yesterday the magistrates
tame to the determination, from information that they
had received, that to effectually secure the peace of the
town to-night it would be necessary to obtain the presence
in the town of another troop of cavalry, and likewise to
call up the yeomanry. They therefore at once telegraphed
to the officer commanding the oth Hussars, at Coventry,
and at the same time intimated what they had done to the
commanding officer of the district at Manchester. Simul-
taneously a telegram was forwarded to the Secretary of
State for the Home Department announcing that a re-
port from the magistrates would reach him at about noon,
and asking for certain instructions by telegraph upon
the receipt of the report. To-day, at about half-past one
o'clock, a troop of the Stb Hassan, under the comment of
Captain Kennard, arrived in this town by special train
from Coventry, and during the afternoon two telegrams
were received from the Home Secretary, giving instruc-
tions for the swearing in of special constable+, but commu-
nicating no instructions by virtue of which the autho-
rities would be empowered to stop the lectures.
At ten o'clock in the forenoon the magistrates again
assembled, and they continued their sitting up to one
o'clock. Letters had been received by the Mayor (Sir John
Morris) and by the chief constable, threatening the life of
Sir John and the destruction of his works, and it had been
conveyed to the Mayor's business manager (Mr. T. M.
Fuller) that as many as 100 Irishmen had sworn to destroy
his (Mr. Fuller's) private residence, and likewise to take
his life. Evidence was forthcoming in support of the state-
ment that four men were lying in wait for him on his
return home on Wednesday night, but that they were pre-
vented from carrying out their purpose by his having been
passed by a neighbour at the point at which they were ill
waiting for him. During all Thursday night Mr. Fuller's
premises were guarded by a detachment of police. These
threats against Sir John Morris and his manager are due
to the views which the Irish entertain that the Mayor
sympathises with the lecturer, and also that his
manager has afforded the lecturer the hospitality of
temporary, home. The facta, however, are that Sir John
Morris did all he could to prevent Murphy from coming
to the town ; and, since be has been here, has been pre-
pared, as one of the bench of magistrates, to take his
share of the responsibility of stopping the lectures, whilst
his manager fully shared hie views, and never spoke to
the lecturer before or since Monday night, when he went
to him in the hall, and begged him to desist from lea-
truing. It is a singular circumstance that the mob have
not yet found out where Murphy is staying. Before sepa-
rating the magistrates resolved to Moue a proclamation,
signed by the Mayor, stating that they " have been ad-
vised that they have no legal power to stop the lecture to-
night. Notwithstanding, they were of opinion that the
placards issued by him respecting that lecture are
most offensive to a large body of the inhabitants,
and they call upon the inhabitants not to countenance by
their presence in the streets or elsewhere any assembly
by which the peace of the town is in danger." The offen-
siveness referred to by the Mayor's proclamation is the
advertisenieut of to-night's lecture, which runs—" The
confessional unmasked, showing the depravity of the
priesthood, and the immorality of the confessional." To
this it is added, " Ladies not admitted to the lecture on
the confessional, except those who frequent it, nor gentle-
men under 21 years of age." Towards the lecturer and his
cause a large amount of sympathy has been ex-
pressed by the protestant working men, all tee
operatives at several manufactories having come
forward and volunteered their services to protect
the lecturer during the •wining ; and as this was being
written arrangements were being made by the lecturer and
his party to admit between five and six hundred of these
men--all armed by some weapon of their own choosing—
by the side door of the hall. Information has reached the
authorities that Irish miners are to come into the town
to-night from Bilston, Willenhall, Portobello, and else-
where, and an irolunaster has called at the police station
to intimate that Irish emissaries have been to his works
to-day to invoke the presence to-night of the Irishmen in
his employ. The magistrates re-assembled at four o'clock.
It was resolved that one troop of Hussars should
be drawn up in Queen's-square, under the direction
of a local magistrate, ready to march to any
part of the town that may possibly be attacked. It was
further arranged that the yeomanry 'should be sent out as
patrols to those outlying thoroughfares specially threat-
ened ; and that the Agricultural-hall, the place of the lec-
ture, should be guarded by the other troop of Human,
by 150 policemen, and by the volunteers of the town act-
ing as special constables.

WOLVERHAMPTON, FRIDAY NIGHT.
The town was patrolled throughout. The hall was well
guarded, about ten thousand people being outside.
Threats were mule of firing property, and a rush at the
hall was defeated, a number of bludgeons being taken
from the Irish. Three thousand persons were present at
the lecture. The town was cleared at ten. Father Kelly
was sent for by the stipendiary, but it was found that he
had gone amongst the Irish.

THE FENIAN " ATTACH " ON THE CHTATER
WATERWORICEI.—A Chester correspondent, writing on
Thureday, sari :—" In connexion with the bite Fenian
raid upon the city of Chester the engineer of the water-
works published a tale which was calculated to attribute to
that army of roughs the most diabolical intentions. Who-
they his statement that he was visited during the memo-
rable Monday by two individuals of the Fenian type, soli-
citing an inspection of his engine, and his inference that it
was with the design of putting it out of order, with the
ultimate object of successfully setting fire to the city, be
true, becomes, under circumstances which have since
transpired, rather doubtful. He has now just forwarded
another alarming statement, which was published in the
Chester papers of Saturday last, to the effect that his
dwelling-house, which adjoins the engine-room, was at-
tacked on Friday night by three men, one of whom he
could swear to a. being one of the two who visited him
on the Monday. He fought with them as well as the in-
equality of the odds would allow him; but was eventually,
after being kicked and cut at with a formidable-looking
weapon, which he described as being like a butcher's
knife as long as his arm, left for dead, at a distance
of about thirty yards from where he was first
attacked, and found on Saturday morning by a
man going to his work. After the publication of the
above a meeting of the directors of the waterworks was
called, to take into consideration what course should be
taken for the discovery of the supposed perpetrators of so
foul and dastardly an outrage. But, as the engineer was
able to appear before them, and—considering that he had
been left for dead for some hours a few night. ago—
looking so well, the investigation took another turn.
His hat, upon examination, was cut nearly into
ribhons, but none of these cute had reached even his
scalp ; his face, however, was plastered in about half
a dozen places, but be complained that his greatest
injuries were of an internal character. Doubt of the
truth of the whole affair, however, had taken hold of the
gentlemen of the hoard, and it was found upon a more
minute examination that the white plasters, which ran in
all directions and imparted such a ghastly appearance to
his face, merely covered a few scratches which might have
been caused by the nails of a woman. They have since
found that such is the fact, and the wan has been sus-
pended for such a barefaced imposition upon the credulity
of an already somewhat terrified community."—Manotester
Szeininer.