The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-20 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The inexhaustible topic of the ironclads
in the Mersey receives one 'more illustration this
morning. Let no reader fear any hard discussion of
technical subtleties or deep analysis of public law.
This
time, at any rate, the " explanation" will be
amusing, if not authentic, and that our description
of the case may be verified at once we transcribe
from a New York paper some of the " headings" un-
der which the new intelligence is introduced to the
"Ireland to be Free." "Programme of a new
Irish Revolution." "200,000 of the Sons of
Erin ready for Battle." " The Secret of England's
Back-down on the Ram Question." " Mystery
of the Fenian Brotherhood Explained." "'What
became of the Irish Directory Fund." " Faugh a
Ballagh." " England's Terror of the Coming Sturm."
"Ireland's Deliverance at Hand." There is the pro-
gramme. What it all means or is designed to mean
shall be now explained. Till the other day, the
Fenian Brotherhood was a reputed mystery, Acne-
rice is now the land of Secret Societies, but this
Brotherhood contained the greatest secret of all, in-
somuch that the brothers themselves did not know
it. Now, however, it has come out. The association
was a society of Irishmen aiming at the "liberation
of Ireland from British rule, and the creation of an
Irish republic" moulded upon the desirable and well
approved model of the American Union. It was
" essentially a revolutionary organisation," and,
although not one in a thousand of its alleged mem-
bers had any knowledge of the " splendid pro-
gramme sketched out for them, we are assured
that they were all so thoroughly disciplined and
obedient as to represent a formidable army available
for immediate service. On a signal given the Brother-
hood would have been ready to send from America
to Ireland " an armed force of 100,000 men, as well
as munitions, arms, ships, and everything, in fact,
that the new Irish nationality would need." An op-
portunity was anticipated in the outbreak of war
between the Federal Government and Great Britain
on the question of the steam rams in the Mersey.
The revolution was to come off this very autumn.
The Fenian Brotherhood had ascertained that Ire-
land had entirely recovered from the effects of the
potato famine ; that the Encumbered Estates Act
had been " most beneficial ;" that the harvest had
been abundant ; that " the country, on the whole,
was tolerably well off;" and that, consequently,
having been so well governed and rendered so
prosperous, "it was never in a better position than
at present for an insurrection." So, having drawn
that conclusion, the Fenians thought the time for
the expedition had arrived. The rupture between
the two Governments on the " Ram Question" was
expected the other day, and three landings were to
have been forthwith effected in Ireland—one in the
extreme West, one near Dublin, and one in Kinsale
Harbour. Unluckily, the Brotherhood was betrayed,
and the traitor, it is intimated, was no other than
Mr. William H. Seward, on whose " secret counte-
nance" the Fenians had been Wight to rely. That
intelligent statesman, it seems, was well affected to-
wards his own countrymen. He had no great objec-
tion to an Irish Secession, but the detention of
these two Steam Rams interested him far
more. So we are given to understand that in
putting a stress upon our Government he let
slip the great Fenian secret, and informed Lord
Russell not only that the United States would go to
war upon the point, but that the Fenian Brother-
hood would take the opportunity of appearing in
Ireland with an army of 150,000 or 200,000 men.
This discovery startled the British Government, and
Mr. Seward carried his point, though at the cost of
the new Irish revolution. Since, therefore, the game
is up and the secret out, and the expedition de-
molished, the leaders of the Brotherhood have
thought it an eligible occasion for telling all about
themselves, and proclaiming their disappointment
to the world—a genuine Irish resolution, and one
bespeaking the true nationality of the Association.
Tne Brotherhood hope for another opportunity,
but we doubt if their case is very promising. If
they have 200,000 men anywhere, or the tenth
part of that number, we are not surprised at Mr.
Seward's having his eye upon them and endeavour-
ing to retain them in the country. They are more
likely, we fancy, to find their way to Tennessee
than to Tipperary. The " fleet steamships" and
ponderous Ironclads of the projected Armada will
be wanted at home. The Federal Government is
more disposed to get men from Ireland than to
send men over there. Of course the thing, if
it could have come off, would have supplied a
charming bit of retaliation. The new Irish revo-
lutionists were to have been promptly " recognised
as belligerents," and then, when the British
cruisers were blockading Cork and Dulslin, New
York shipbuilders were privately to build steam
rams on Irish account, and Mr. Seward was to
reply to the remonstrances of Lord Russell by
lamenting the inability of his Government to bring
the laws to bear upon the offenders. The " tit for
tat" would have been complete and the paral:el
absolute, with one slight exception—that, whereas
we had found the civil war and the belligerents
ready-made to our hands before we recognised the
facts, our friends across the Atlantic were to kindle
the war in Ireland and create the belligerents for
us in order to recognise them afterwards. Perhaps
the reader has been curious all this while to learn
the meaning of one rather significant line among the
" sensation headings." We do not deny that we
ourselves approached the question " What became
of the Irish Directory Fund ?" with more interest
than ordinary. Funds arc ticklish things, and it is
often hard to say what does become of them. In
this case, however, the account is presented as
offering great expectations. It seems that about
the year 1848 a sum of money had been raised by an
" Irish Directory" in New York for the support
and encouragement of an
Irish insurrection. When
the scheme proved abortive it became necessary to
dispose of this money, and it was accordingly lodged
in the hands of trustees, to be put out at interest,
and allowed to accumulate for another opportunity.
The fund now constitutes the financial hope of the
Fenian Brotherhood. It is to supply them with the
sinews of war, but we can hardly help concluding
either that the expedition will be done very cheaply,
or that the army will run short of money. The
original sum amounted to just £14,000. No doubt,
interest in America is very high, especially if
reckoned in greenbacks, and 15 years would allow
of a good deal of accumulation. Still, we fancy
that £28,000 or £30,000 will not go so far in a war
as the Brotherhood seem to imagine. It is now, we
imagine, to be supposed that everything about this
famous mystery is known. As there appears nothing
for the Brotherhood to do, they have called a great
meeting. • Notice has been sent to all the " circles"
of the Brotherhood that each circle is to despatch
its "centre" to " the Hall of the F. 8., Chicago, Ill.,"
on November 3 next, where grave and important
matters are to be considered. We hope it is not true
that the consultations are to be secret. Having
made so opportune a disclosure of the organisation
and aims, the Brotherhood need not resort to mys-
tery any longer. They may as well publish their
debates ; but in the meantime, there is one secret
which they have not explained, and which we
really think the most interesting of all. What is
" Fenian ?" What language is it ? What is the
root, origin, or meaning of.the word ? Is it Erse,
or " Ogham," or only American slang ? People do
not quite know how to spell it, still less how to ex-
}.ll3in it. However, the Fenians have given the
world one little piece of evidence which may be
useieul to those who like an " Irish question" to
disatn's. They have acknowledged that Ireland is
well ce and well to do, and we suspect that most
non-Fenons would regard that fact as by no means
suggesting' the propriety of an immediate insur-
rection.

POST.—Sir Rouladell Palmer's words at Rich

mond are but echo of public opinion throughout
the country. That this is the case is not their dis-
paragement in pciut of originality, but their
panegyric in point ot ~:ustice. The Attorney-Gene-
ral puts the case very fairly before his constituents.
What he says amounts aljnost to a confession that
moment in abeyance.
ilasue in the heart of
party government is for the
There is no question really at
the country as to which party should conduct the
Government. The advantage of an k.9pposition, in-
deed, is fully recognised. Lord Denby and Mr.
Disraeli are highly useful as correctives of the Ad-
ministration. If there were no organiser
body in
Parliament charged with the special duty of finding
fault, the Executive might grow lethargic;
and
Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli may be relied upon
to keep the public duly informed if there is really
anything to be complained of. But nobody dreams
of putting Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli in power.
The truth is, that parties are becoming narrower
and narrower with every dissolution of Parliament.
The partisan Conservatives, the partisan Whigs, and
the select society known as the Manchester party,
present but infinitesimal sections of the country at
large. The massof the community have ceased to hold
partisan opinions. They are neither Tory, iyhig, nor
.Radical. They will be found siding with those
political leaders in whom they have the -greatest de-
gree of confidence. In domestic government there
are no great questions practically at issue.
In
foreign
politics perhaps there is more divergence;
but wherever there is a difference between the
Ministry and the Opposition, the country appears
generally to side with the former; while whether
there be difference or none, it places greater trust
in the discretion of the former also. Possibly the
real explanation of the apparent decline of party
warfare to which Sir Roundrll Palmer refers, is to
be found in the fact that we areat this day governed

much more by acts, and much less by opinions than
we were formerly. The zeal for reform in all things
which received its impetus from the great events' of
1831 and 1832, led the public for a long time to
think more of theoretical changes than of psactieal
administration. That has now very much gone by.
There are, indeed, great principles still on their trial,
but they refer chiefly to foreign affairs. As Sir
Roundell Palmer expresses it, the public sees in.
Lord Palmerston the representative of those prin-
ciples. In illustration of this, he quotes a charac-
teristic acknowledgment of the honest heart and.
1 clear perception of Mr. Henley. " One of the
oldest," says the Attorney-General, " one of the most
sagacious, the most experienced, and, I may add,
the most respectable members of the Opposition par-
ties, said in public that he hoped the Government
would continue to follow the wise course of policy
they had hitherto pursued, and that he had no fear
but that the honour of the country was safe in their
hands." This is an avowal from a Cabinet Minister
in both Lord Derby's Administrations which does
equal credit to his sense of justice and to his dis-
cretion. In truth, the time has now arrived for a
vindication of the reredos of Canning, who assailed.
the old principle of " man and not mease'res." What,
in truth, it rc ay ba asked, can the measul•es be with-
out men capable of producing good ones ? This is
the more true at a time at which the responsibility
of a Minister consists much more in action than in
theorising. The infinite complication of foreign
affairs at the present day requires not merely tne
preliminary settlement of main principles, but the
application of them to every serious event that
arises. It is just for this reason that the country
prefers Lord Palmerston to Lord Derby at the
Treasury, Lord Russell to Lord Malmesbu ry
at the Foreign - office, and Mr. Gladstone
to Mr. Disraeli at the Exchequer. Si r
Roundell Palmer has touched upon another
source of the popularity of the present Administra-
tion, hardly less powerful. " I think," he says, "tbe
country have made up their minds as to the parti-
cular merit of Lord Palmerston.--and that is that, if
there ever was a man who ioved!his country, Lord
Palmerston loves Great Britain—that if ever there
was a man to whom the honour of the country was
dear, and for which he would sacrifice every perso-
nal object, that man is Lord Palmerston—and if
ever there was a man who would do anything which
he justly and rightly could, to promote the cause of
liberty througheut the world, that man is Lord Pal-.
merston." These are words which come with a pe-
culiar force from a man who, perhaps, of all others
in the House of Commons, is believed never to have
strained even an expression, much lees to have be-
lied an opinion, for the sake of the party to which
he belonged • and who, until two years ago, was
thought to be rather an opponent than a supporter
of Lord Palmerston individmally. Sir Roundell
Palmer not unduly identifies the present Govern-
ment with the Liberal cause both at home and
abroad. This identification is no more than just.
But we all know with what circumspection a sup-
port of liberalism must be carried out in our foreign
relations. The doctrine of non-intervention has now
stifled political propagandism ; and it has become
matter of the utmost nicety to determine where the
support of the Liberal cause can be recoiled with
non-intervention. Italy and Poland have presented.
. two remarkable instances of the delicacy of dealing
P with such interests ; and if the force of our influence
shall yet be only half as successful in regard to
Poland as it has already been in regard to Italy, li-
beralism will have cause to be thankful. These
appear also to be pretty much the views of Sir Roun-
dell Palmer ; and his unqualified accession to the
cause v$ ith which the present Government is iden-
tified is the more valuable that it springs from the
conviction of maturer years, which has worn away
the force of other predilections.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

b.______

GLOUCESTER—Ocr. 17.

There was a good show of English wheat to-day, and
the currencies of last week were maintained. Foreign
wheat was dull, and prices tending downwards. Barley,
beans, and oats sold very slowly.

COLCHESTER—Ocr. 17.
There was a moderate supply of wheat to-day, but the
demand was slow, and the rates of last week were generally
made. Barley of fine quality realised fully late prices, hut
other sorts rather lower. Beans and peas wore the turn
cheaper.
Wheat, white 44s 48s Beans, Mazagan..33s 36s
red 42s 46s middle & 5ma11.358 42a
Barley
Oats