The Express.
London, England, 1867-10-25 00:00:00

TEMA/UAL

Approving of the refusal of the Home Secretary
to postpone the opening of the special commission at Man-
chester, the Timm argues that if a great excitement is to
prevail so long as these men remain untried, which their
advocates contend, the sooner they are tried the better.
If a violent anti• Fenian prejudice exists at Manchester,
it may go to favour a removal of the indictment
into the Central Criminal Court ; but the prejudice is not
so much local as national; nor will it become weaker be-
tween this and Christmas if honest men continue to be
shot down in the streets with revolvers " drawn " in the
American fashion. If it be true that the men are too
poor to pay for their own defence, perhaps some of their
friends at the Reform League will assist them. At al
events, if necessary, a sufficient defence fund ought to be
placed at Mr. Roberts' disposal, and the prisoners should
be duly informed thereof. The responsibility of appearing
without counsel would then rest with themselves and
their advisers.

The Daily News sees no valid groubds for delaying the
coarse of legal inquiry. The lapse of a few months would
not change the sentiments with which Fenianism is re.
garded, but, as the case of Groves has shown, the English
populace are not in a mood to sacrifioe their love of law and
justice to their hatred of Fenianism. As to the feeling of
the public, if there have been foolish " demonstrations
on one side, there have been ebullitions still more foolish
on the other. The nonsense talked the other evening at
the meeting of the Reform League may be set against the
expressions of hostile sentiment to which Messrs. Jones,
Cottingbam, and Roberts refer. The aspect of Fenianism
which is of the most importance is its intangibility. It
haunts society with its spectral presence, but it is evasive
and inapprehensible. Attempt to seize and grapple with
it, and it is gone. The Irish colonies settled among us
practice with the advantage of isolation the art of evading
the law which they have learned at home, and the police
have little chance of success while the offenders meet with
active sympathy amongst their fellow-countrymen.
The Herald persists that the assassination of McDonnell
bad a political origin. The key to the mystery is the re-
semblance of Furber to a man supposed to bo employed as
a spy upon Fenian conspirators in London. from whom
the probability is that we have been in more danger than
the public have hitherto dreamed.

The Telegraph proclaims that, after the meeting of Wed-
nesday night, the existing council of the Reform League
and English liberalism can have no more dealings with
each other. English liberalism has nothing to do with the
advocacy of murder and rebellion ; the council of the
Reform League has avowed itself the champion of both.
Already Mr. Lncraft and Mr. Odgers have rendered them-
selves liable to a criminal prosecution at the hands of the
Attorney-General, and their sentiments are as abhorrent
to the working men as to the governing chasm
The Star greatly regrets inch demonstrations, were it for
nothing but the fact that they will assuredly cause the
Reform League to be misunderstood by many, and give an
excuse for its being denounced and calumniated by more.
All Philistinism with its thousand throats will doubtless
open on the League, and moderate men, however sincere
and zealotss in the cause of reform, will naturally object to
being mixed up in an association some of the leading mem-
bers of which openly justify and applaud rebellion against
our own constitution.

Mr. Nein, says the Post, seems to have been treated
very ungratefully after all he has done for the League.
He has the reputation of having morn than once caused
more moderate counsels to prevail than would otherwise
have been adopted, and the rejection of the letter now in
question shows that he must have had some difficulty in
doing so. If he is wise he will henceforth leave the
Leaguen to themselves and the police.