The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-22 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON. FRIDAY EVENIISTU, NOVEIVIBER 22, 1867.,

third, well provisioned, it is difficult to see what
danger of starvation threatens the force, and though
the enemy if he shows fight may greatly retard the
advance of the troops with provisions, he cannot,
as we shall have artillery with us specially adapted
to mountain warfare, stop them altogether. The
matter here is generally regarded as one merely of
money and time, assuming that Sir Robert advances
slowly and steadily on some such base of operations,
as I have pointed out—both serious considerations,
no doubt, but still not quite so bad as the starvation
and annihilation with which M. Bisson and others
threaten us. These calamities might indeed over-
take a small force making a rapid dash, according
to the plan first proposed, into the country, and
trusting to its celerity of movement and lightness
of equipment. But with 12,000, or, as I now hear,
15,000 effectives, we shall have enough men for
depot guards, escorts, and reserves.
The whole force, including effectives, the men at-
tached to the Departments of Supply and Transport,
the coolie corps, and followers, public and private,
of all descriptions, will, I am told, not run very far
short of 50,000 men. The animals are variously
estimated from 25,000 to 30,000, and by some even
35,000. It is only, however, just beginning to le
seen at what rate they are coming on. The reports
so far are favourable, and the Scinde portion of the
First Brigade (the details of which I gave in my
last letter) will in consequence leave Kurrachee in a
few days. If the reports continue good, the Second
Brigade will leave about the 25th of November, not
improbably under the command of General Sir
Charles Staveley, a first-rate soldier, whose whole
heart is in his profession. Sir Robert Napier, how-
ever, has steadily set his face against sending any
troops to Zoulla one moment before the necessary
preparations are made for them, or before there is
really something for them to do. They would be
only risking their health and " eating gold." So
that the further movements of the force are little
more than matter of conjecture, and depend upon
what reports as to carriage, &c., the next few days
or weeks may bring in. _

Some of your readers who have friends in the
Abyssinian force may be glad of the following in-
formation with reference to the postal arrangements
—They will have to address to " The Field Force,
Abyssinia," and pay the same rates of postage as for
Aden.

The Condemned Convicts at Manchester.

We have very great pleasure in announcing that,
upon the recommendation of her Ministers, her Ma-
jesty has been graciously pleased to respite the capi-
tal sentence upon the convict Shore, in whose favour
it may be remembered that he was unarmed when
apprehended, and that he was not proved to have
been armed during the fatal affray.

MANCHESTER, Thursday.

The work of erecting barriers in New Bailey-
street, Manchester, on the side where the execution
is to take place, was commenced to-day, and is pro-
gressing rapidly. The timber employed in their
construction is of great thickness, and will be suffi-
ciently strong to resist anything short of super-
human pressure. The barricades within which the
police will stand will be so placed as to keep back
the spectators towards either end of the street, and
barriers 12ft. high will be erected across Stanley-
street and at the junction of Stanley-street with
New Bailey-street, with a door to admit the magis-
trates and officials, and to permit the egress of ar-
tillery stationed within the enclosed part of New
Bailey-street if it should be necessary. A procla-
mation from the corporation of Salford requests all
peaceably-disposed persons not to be present, so as
to reduce as far as possible the dangers likely to
arise from the presence of a large crowd. The pri-
soners have the advantage of spiritual comfort from
priests of their own religious persuasion, and the
Rev. Canon Cantwell and the Rev. Mr. Gudd are
in daily attendance at the prison. They appear to
be quite resigned to their doom.

Evening.

A. crowded meeting in the Corn Exchange to-
night has petitioned unanimously for the commuta-
tion of the sentence upon all the condemned Fenians.
The Rev. W. Call presided, and Messrs. Jones and
Cottingham addressed the meeting.
The Dowager Marchioness of Queensberry has
sent £3OO for Larkins's family.

THE DEMONSTRATION ON CLERKEN
WELL-GREEN.
The deputation from sympathisers with the
Fenian convicts which was repulsed from the Home-
office on Monday afternoon carried out their inten-
tion of making " a gre tt demonstration" on Clerken-
well-green last evening. The placard summoning
the meeting was headed by the introduction of
Portia's appeal to Shylock, and this was gene-
rally the text of the speakers. The evening was
very cold for an open-air meeting, but at half-
past six the people began to gather iu considerable
numbers round a waggon drawn up near the
drinking fountain in the middle of the paved
quadrangle known as " the green." By 8 o'clock,
when a second waggon was drawn up near the
Sessions-house, the gathering must have numbered
some two or three thousand, and when it had been
added to by a couple of processions—the St. Swithin's
Temperance Society and another—the crowd ap-
parently filled the whole of the green, and, as far
as could be seen from the platforms, people also
congregated in the streets leading from the quad-
rangle. It was easy to move on the outskirts of the
crowd, and more than once, while the demonstration
was at its height, vehicles passed through the green
without difficulty, though slowly. The crowd was,
therefore, not so dense as it seemed from the wag-
gons, lighted only by naphtha lamps, and perhaps
did not number much more than 4,000, including
the large number of boys and the few women
who helped to swell the gathering. Later in the
evening a third waggon was drawn up close in
front of the Sessions house, and the more prominent
among the speakers, passing from platform to plat-
form, took part in the proceedings at each. The re-
solutions come to expressed a hope that the Fenians
would not be executed, protested against the Home
Secretary's refusal to receive a deputation on Mon-
day, and declared against sacrificing the lives of four
men for the " accidental and unfortunate death" of
one. It was also resolved to memorialize the Queen
in person ; the memorial agreed on was precisely
similar in terms to that taken by Monday's deputa-
tion to Mr. Hardy, and it is proposed to carry it to
Windsor to-day, in the hope that the Queen will
receive those bearing it. If the memorialists prove
unsuccessful, and the convicts are hanged, the
movers of this demonstration have resolved to march
on Sunday, with as many as please to follow them,
from Clerkenwell-green to Hyde-park. On the way
the members of the procession are to wear mourning
badges, and bands will accompany them, playing
the " Dead March in Saul ;" black banners also are
to be borne by them, bearing figures of the harp and
shamrock and the names of the condemned men.
The proceedings were conducted in the most orderly
manner ; no more policemen were to be seen on the
green than are usually found there ; the speakers
were, of course, very earnest in their declamation,
and their hearers cheered with their wonted vigour,
but beyond this and the obstruction of the traffic,
no public inconvenience was caused by the demon-
s tration.
The chairman of the meeting held in the centre
of the square was Mr. CI.EuG, who, on opening the
proceedings, announced that there were present sym-
pathizers from Liverpool and from America. Re-
ferring to the visit to the Home Office, he attributed
any violent expressions uttered there to the bad
taste of Mr. Hardy in not receiving a deputation of
working men. (Cries of " Shame on him !") They
wished to talk a little with him, because they had
something to say which they could not very well
put down in writing, lest they should have risked
the reception of the memorial itself. It was said
that they ought to have been introduced by a mem-
ber of Parliament; but they wished, as working
men, to do their own work themselves. If they
committed any breach of etiquette, let it be remem-
bered they were illiterate men, and let the will be
taken for the deed.
Mr. FIN LAN moved the first resolution. Describing
the object of the meeting as disinterested, generous,