The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-09 00:00:00

CRYSTAL PALACE IN NEW YORK.

We have several times alluded to the scheme for estab-
lishing a permanent industrial exhibition in this city, on
a scale corresponding to the requirements of the time. A
charter was granted by the Legislature last winter, and we
learn that a company has already been organised under it.
Sufficient capital has been subscribed to insure the speedy
success of the enterprise, and as soon as a suitable site
can be secured the plan of the building will be determined
upon and its construction begun. The whole city is inte-
rested in the success of the' enterprise. Aside from the
large expenditure and the employment of labour which it
will involve, the proposed exhibition will be a permanent
attraction to visitors from abroad. Our merchants, hotel
keepers, and business interests generally will be bene-
fitted, besides immense help will be given to the general
causo of mechanical science and art. It is to be hoped
that the enterprise will be carried out upon a liberal scale,
and that the building will be a prominent feature of our
metropolis, surpassing even the Sydenham Crystal Palace,
and the buildings of the' recent Paris Exposition.—. New
York Times.

THE LATEST PARISIAN JEU D'ESPRIT.
The citizens of Paris were fairly startled on Whit
Tuesday by a jest so audacious, so unexpected, that it
even deceived the quick-witted Parisians. The Figaro, the
well-known serio-comic journal, which mixes jest and
earnest after a fashion of its own, suddenly appeared
with a leaded notice from its chief editor and proprietor,
M. Villemessant, announcing that he had parted with his
paper to the Republicans, having received so hand-
some an offer for it that in consideration for
his family he felt bound not to refuse it !
After thirty years journalism he bade his readers adieu,
and Whit Tuesday was the last day on which his name
would appear at the head of a journal whose
principles he disavowed. Then followed a bom-
bastic address by the Republican leaders,
after the manner of the Rappel and its
comrades, letters from Jules Simon, Garibaldi,
Felix Pyat, Ledru Rollin, &c., verses purport-
ing to be an extract from Victor Hugo's forth-
coming " Nouveaux Chatiments," and a list of the
intending contributors. Among those shining stars
Gustave Flourens, Louis Noir, and others of the same
class were to be included, and the whole of the paper,
theatrical notices, monetary news, and every other
department was seasoned with uncompromising Red
Republicanism! The amazement of the public at the sudden
transformation of their old friend could only be paralleled
by the ire of the travestied Republicans, at what turned
out to be a keen and not undeserved satire.

SINGULAR DEATH OP A POLICEMAN IN

ST. LOUIS

At an early hour yesterday morning the Coroner was
notfied of the fact that the body of a dead man was lying
in an open field near the Widow's Home, on the Caronde-
let-road. On arriving at the spot, which is known as
Pleasant Hill, the body was found there, and proved to be
that of a man of about 30 or 35 years, attired in metropo-
litan police pants, gray vest, and dark coat, and a black
felt hat. He had in his pocket a " billy," a sort of slung
shot, but not so heavy ; a pocket-book, containing fifteen
dollars and forty-five cents- and two car tickets—one for
the St. Louis Railway cents;
and another for the
Union Railway Company. There was also found in his
po'cket a key and a pocket-knife, There was no evidence
of foul play on his body ; his dress and the " billy " indi-
cated that he had been in the police force. The name of
the deceased is Conrad Horner, who resided at No. 1,116,
North Fourteenth-street. Last year, when he was in the
police force, he suffered from sunstroke, and was laid up
for two months. His doctor told him ,then that if he
stayed in the police force he would have to be very careful.
Yesterday week he was stationed at College-hill, where a
pic-nic was held, He was much exposed to the sun and
received another stroke. He came home and acted in a
strange manner. On Saturday afternoon he told his wife
he had heard music. like the march of his funeral, and if
he did not go to a doctor he would probably die. He told
his wife he would go to Frenchtown to a relative, and that
was the last she saw of him. It is said that on Saturday
night he called at the ballroom of the Wild Hunter. He
walked into the room and acted in a very singular man-
ner. He was silent and perfectly sober, and walked slowly
across the room counting " one, two, three," until he had
taken sixteen steps. He •then turned round and walked
out of the room. This was the last seen of him. He had
previously called at the Railway House, on the Carondelet-
road.--,St. Louis Republican, May 23.

THE CAPTURE OF " GENERAL " O'NEILL.
The following account of the capture of " General "
O'Neill and his followers is extracted from an American
journal :—" St. Albans, May 25.—" The body which left
here to-day consisted of between 400 and 500 men. They
marched in the direction of Franklin. Two
companies of Fenian troops preceded them last
night. General O'Neill was in command. Before
he left St. Albans he said, I am going into, the
enemy's country. I shall cross the lines with cannon and
sabre, and never recross them unless I am victorious or
dead.' After the halt General O'Neill faced about on his
horse and addressed his countrymen as follows
Soldiers,—This is the advance guard of the Irish-
American army for the liberation of Ireland
from the yoke of the oppressor. For , your own
country you now enter that of the enemy. The eyes
of your countrymen are upon you. Forward, march !'
Colonel Brown who commanded the skirmish line,
also addressed a, few words of cheer to the men. The ad-
vance company was from Burlington, and was commanded
by Captain William Cronan, of that city. At the con-
clusion of General O'Neill's address he lifted his hat and
replied :—" General,—l am proud that Vermont has the
honour of leading this advance. Ireland may de-
pend upon us to do our duty." Until this time
the main body of the Fenian forces had , been
hidden from the view of the other side, but as
they slowly defiled past the dividing line between the
two countries, their numbers and extent became visible.
The volunteers waited until the last of their antagonists

had set foot upon British soil, and then crack, crack,
crack, came volley after volley of musketry -into their
ranks. The battle had begun. So unexpected was this
attack that the Fenians became panic-stricken, and scat-
tered like wildfire behind the walls and fences and into

the barns, behind the bark pile, and anywhere that shelter
could be obtained from the death-dealing missiles that
were being showered upon them. Two men—John Rowe,

of Burlington, and another whose name I have been un-
able to ascertain—dropped dead during this discharge,
and were left upon the field. Lieutenant Edward
hope of Bridgport, was shot through the
thigh, and a captain of a Long Island Company
sustained a flesh wound in his arm. Several minor
casualties were also sustained. General O'Neill, who had
been concealed behind the house, rushed forward with
drawn sword and shouted to his scattering soldiers.
Gaining an audience, he said : " Men of Ireland,—
lam ashamed of you. You have acted disgracefully ;
but you have another chance of shewing whether
you are cravens or not. Comrades, I will lead you
again, and if you will not follow me I will go with my
officers and die in your front. I leave you now under
command of Boyle G'Reilly.' Skirmishing was then
recommenced, and continued for about one hour, when
General O'Neill drew back his forces from the brow of
the hill for the purpose of rest. The General, in company
with Boyle O'Reilly, walked down the side of the hill
and entered the parlour of the brick house, encounter-
ing General George Foster, who, with his deputy,
Thomas Farley, of St. Albans, was seated in the parlour.
He reached out his hand, but the greeting was refused,
and General Foster, placing his hand on O'Neill's shoulder,
said, ' I arrest you by yirtue of my authority as a district.
marshal of the United States.' Sir,' exclaimed General
O'Neill, starting back as lie spoke, ' I shall resist
your arrest.' It will be useless, sir,'' replied
General 'Foster. But, sir, lam armed.' So
am said the general. John, open that carriage
door. Now, Mr: O'Neill, get in' or I will throw you
in. lam going to take yeti to St. Alban's, right through
the midst of your men, and if you make the slightest
outcry, I will shoot you dead.' Resistance Was useless,
as the General had said, and O'Neill placed himself in the
carriage, and was driven to St. Albans. An hour later he
was taken before the United States Commissioner, Jacob
M. Smalley, on a charge of violation of. the neutrality
laws, and in default of 20,000 dols. bail was lodged in gaol
at Burlington." ,

The Virginia Eleeti,n, has urob iby gone Repub-
lican throughout the State, and certainly has in Richmond.
This is the first election since the State was readmitted,
and the Radicals in Congress, who believe that loyalty
means Republicanism, have the privilege of rejoicing over
the thorough reconstruction of the Old Dominion, while
they have also the option of blushing at the useless con-
ditions they imposed upon the State before readmitting
her. Chahoon was elected Mayor over Ellyson, in favour
of whom the United States District Court was about to
render a decision when the fatal disaster at the Richmond
State House occurred. How many houses now in mourn-
ing would have been still joyous and cheerful had the
difference between these opposing candidates been settled
at first by the ballot ?—New l ork Herald.
AN EXCITING SCENE.--Considerable excitement
was caused a few evenings since on Montgomery-street by
the sight of a little child, apparently about two or three
yeats of age, standing on the sill of a window in the
fourth story of a large building on the corner of Sacra-
mento-street. The railing or balcony of the window was
close to the glass, and the interstices in it were large
enough to allow the little one to pass through and stand
on the sill, looking down, seemingly unconscious of any
danger, to the pavement, some 70 feet below. Quite a
crowd collected and gazed at the child above, momentarily
expecting that it would fall and be dashed to pieces on the
sidewalk, as there seemed to be no one in the room behind
it to take care of it. Some men rushed up stairs andgave
the alarm to those in the upper part of the building, and •
the child was rescued from its perilous position, to the
relief of the spectators in the street.—San Francisco Bulle- '
tin, May 16.

THE NEW YORK PRESS ON THE FENIAN
INVASION.

The Fenian movement now agitating the telegraph
wires throughout the State and country has become
somewhat important as a matter of news, about which
everybody is talking. If the movement is not very im-
portant per se, it becomes so from the fact that the govern-
ment has taken the trouble •to recognise it—has probably
obtained some information which gives a graver aspect to
the enterprise than the public are disposed to attach to it,
and that the President has issued a proclamation against
it, assuming, of course, that there is something going on
which implies a violation of the neutrality laws. In
adopting this course General Grant has followed the
example of his predecessor, Andrew Johnson, in 1866,
who, not only by proclamation, but by the a,ction'of the
United States troops, utterly wiped out the absurd under-
taking of that time, capturing the provision trains, seizing
the ammunition, and arresting the military leaders on
the frontier. That settled the invasion business
for that time. The news from the frontier now
shews a gathering, of men at various towns and
a general movement towards the frontier, of small bodies
passing through the different cities north and east of
Albany, as well as some migratiOn from the West as far as
Detroit and certain parts of Wisconsin, but the later and
more significant , news is that a force of Fenians three
thousand strong, had assembled at Pigeon Hill, on
Canadian soil. There appears to be no truth in this
statement, and probably not much more truth in all the
other reports. The facts are that a few Fenians, about
500 strong, under command of O'Neill, while advancing
from Franklin, Vt., towards the Canadian frontier, were
fired upon by some Canadian militia. The fire was re-
returned, and one or two men were shot on both sides.
After the skirmish, United States Marshal Foster
arrested the Fenian commander, O'Neill, on the spot, and
thrusting him into a carriage, drove him off to Bur-
lington a prisoner, leaving—as the telegrams say-
his little army so demoralised that many of them
eagerly turned their faces towards home and
sought means of transportation from St. Albans. It is not
certain—despite the fizzle of late—that the disturbance is
entirely over, but no doubt the arrival of a few regular
troops under General Meade will disperse the grande
armee of General O'Neill. Impotent, foolish, and illegal
as this movement is, and easily put down as it can be by
the United States authorities, adventures of this kind
should be a warning to England. They are the natural
growth of an immense Irish population, almost every
man of whom hates England and would bring her to ruin
or any portion of her dominions, from Nova Scotia to
New Zealand, if opportunity offered. There can be no
doubt that this is the spirit of what is called Fenianism.
It is the spirit which enables a body of men, no
matter what their qualifications or status may
be, to get a sufficient number of their country-
men to subscribe . money and furnish recruits
for any expedition upon British soil, such as the last
raid on Canada in 1866, and the present one. Would it
not be wise for the British Government to consider that
there is but an imaginary line between this country and
Canada, and that Canada will always be a source of irri-
tation, as well as a weak spot, for the restless anti-
English element in this community ! The best thing
British statesmen could do, under these circumstances,
would be to annex Canada to the United States, to pay
off the Alabama claims, and then we would hear no
more of lawless Fenian raids. The sympathy of the
American people would be withdrawn from all move-
ments and organisations having such aims as invasion,
whether for conquest or plunder. If England does not
act squarely in the matter of the' Alabama claims, and
thus cultivate some better feeling than now exists,
Americans may come in time to sympathise more
closely than they do with hostile movements of this
kind ; or, indeed, the Irish element, which becomes
stronger every day, may force us ultimately, against our
will, into a war—the last thing at present to be
expected, and certainly an event most of all to be de-
plored. The Fenian fiasco twice repeated does not prove
that because attacks upon the colonial dependencies of
Great Britain over the border have failed there will not
remain a disposition here among a large class of our people
to encourage, tacitly at least, such movements, until the
just claims of our Government as to the unsettled Alabama
business are attended to. —Hew York Herald.
At the hour of going to press, very full dispatches had
reached us from the present field of operations of the
Fenian leaders. They shew, beyond doubt, that the
affair is extensive, and that preparations must have been
going on for several months. It is a matter of surprise
that so much secrecy could have been maintained among
such a miscellaneous and comparatively undisciplined
material, but the fact may be placed to the credit of those
in control, and accepted as an evidence of the earnest-
ness of all engaged in it. But it is equally evident
that the "invasion " is, so far, a great muddle from be-
ginning to end, The course of Government has not done
more to kill the movement than the tactics of the Fenian
Generals. General O'Neill was arrested by United
States Marshal Foster, and, in default of bail, was taken
to Burlington. If, as it is said, he vowed to succeed in-
his enterprise or die, it is probable that he is much dis-
appointed with the actual result. The " engagement "
between the Canadians and the Fenians partakes rather
of the nature of a mock battle than a conflict between
heroes. Nevertheless, more lives have been lost than the
cause seemed to deserve. The invasion, if it is to end in
nothing worse than this—and we have pointed out its
serious possibilities in another column—must be regarded
as a " bull " on a great scale. Irish inde-
pendence can never he achieved by raids upon
Canada. It is necessary to' remind the Fenians
that they can scarcely claim protection, or even
mercy, in case they come to grief, on the score
of their being American citizens.' They have clearly
forfeited all title to this protection by violating the law,
and scouting the admonitions of the Federal authorities.
The large expenditure which the Fenians have incurred,
and the still larger expense to which they will put the
Canadian authorities, are far from being justified by any
achievements which they can reasonably hope to accom-
plish. When we consider the embarrassing position in
which these recurring demonstrations put our own autho-
rities, and the possible injuries which may be inflicted
upon the innocent Canadian people, we certainly fail to
appreciate the wisdom or the justification of the move-
ments now being made. At the same time it is impossible
for us to refrain from contrasting the prompt and ener-
getic measures taken by our Government to suppress the
raid with the tardy policy of Lord Russell when the
Alabama was being set loose at our commerce_ Had the
English Government done as much for us as we have done
for its colony, the Alabama would never have escaped,
and vast damage to our commerce would have been
averted.—New York Times

There is something so noble in the heroism of the honest
Irishmen who have offered their fortunes and their per-
sons for this last wretched expedition against Canada,
that we cannot speak of their enterprise without respect;
but the folly of the whole affair has been so stupendous,
and the failure so inconceivably absurd; that we can hardly
speak of it either without equal indignation and amuse-
ment. For months the Brotherhood has been massing its
resources, collecting arms, organising resiments and
bri-
gades, planning battles and sieges, and devising commis-
sariats. Every available dollar has been raised and spent.
Every available man, if the Fenian organs are to be
trusted, has been ordered to the front. According
to one of the cheap papers of this city, no fewer
than 25,000, disguised in plain clothes, marched
from Brooklyn alone in a single day. Im-
mense arsenals of muskets and cannon have
been hidden somewhere in the Green mountains. On the
other side of the line, Canada has been shaking with
terror. The volunteers have rushed to arms. Theregular
troops have been posted along the St. Lawrence. Quebec
is in flames, and Sir John M'Donald is sick a-bed with
fright. Under these awful circumstances the war began.
The field of affray was in Franklin County, Vermont,
close to the Canada line and some fifteen miles north of
St. Albans. Thither the Fenian army repaired in driblets
to place themselves under the command of General O'Neill.
Their first proceeding was to unpack carpet bags -and get
out the green uniforms. Their second was to hear a
speech. " Fenians," said the General, " the eyes
of Ireland are upon you. Forward, march ! "
Now it was perhaps not strictly in accordance
with military etiquette—or shall we say
?—but when General O'Neill said " Forward,
march," the Fenian to whom had been committed the
command of the skirmish line deemed this a proper occa-
sion for another speech, in the course of which he
copiously observed that he would forward march. Then
the army turned around, saw Canada, and went for it.
The Canadian army at this point being only fifty strong,
while the Fenians were about 250, the conquest of the
Dominion might seem a foregone conclusion had it not
been for the sudden interference of the United States of
America. The United States of America was personated
on this occasion by George P. Foster and Thomas Failey,
who came upon the field of battle in a ro:kaway, or some
such peaceable vehicle, and took a commanding position
upon a hill-side under fire. In the thickest of the fight,
while the Fenian commander (also under fire)
was surveying the scene through a glass, the United
States of America crept from the rockaway and tapped
him on the shoulder. " Sir," said Marshal George P.
Foster, " I arrest you for breaking the law." " Sir," said
the General, " I have an army here, and I won't be
arrested." Whereupon the commander was ignominiously
bundled into the carriage and driven off to a jail—and the
army went home! A plain narration of this story—a
war stopped by a marshal and one deputy, a whole army
defeated and utterly routed by two men, is so utterly
ludicrous that no comment can improve it. But in fact
we have no desire to dwell upon the farcical features of
this new discovt ry in strategy. We have no disposi-
tion to speculate upon what would have hap-
pened if Wellington had been arrested by a
sheriff's officer in the middle of the battle
of Waterloo, or Grant lodged in jail by a Virginia con-
stable while the Army of the Potomac was fighting in the
Wilderness. The serious side of Gen. O'Neill's ridiculous
blunder is too painful to be laughed at. • The folly, of this
charlatan has cost thousands of working people the last
dollar of their savings, and perhaps some poor fellows
their lives. It has covered a good cause with disgrace.
It has postponed the liberation of Ireland. It has
degraded Irishmen in the- estimation of many of their
fellow-citizens, who will perhaps overlook the difference
between the patriotism of the people and the imbecile
vanity of the leaders. These are the sad results of tile
last Fenian invasion. We can only hope that the rank
and file may get home quickly and sound, and save their
carpet-bags.—New York Tribune.

ltaiLwAY ACCIDENT.—The express train going
east on the Fort Wayne and Chicago road ran off the
track, on the night of the 21st May, near Lucas, Ohio.
One man, name unknown, who was stealing a ride between
the tender and baggage car, was killed. The engineer
and fireman were badly bruised. The passengers were
not hurt, and were brought forward with a few hours'
delay.