The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-25 00:00:00

SUSSEX MEMBERS ON FENIANISM.

The annual dinner accom-_,anying the Christmas exhi-
bition of fat stoc' at Lewes was held at the Star Hotel in
that town. In the course of the evening, in respondine Eo
the toast of "The Members for East Sussex,"
Mr. DODSON referred to Fenianism in the following
terms :—There was one point on which he believed every
person in that room, and, indeed, every loyal subject of
the QueLn, would be agreed, that throughout the United
Kingdom the supremacy of the law ought to be maintained,
and that, God willing, it shall be maintained. (Cheers).
In no civilised country had any cause, even if it were ever
so just a cause, been forwarded by assassination and
incendiarism ; and there was, perhaps, less excuse fer such
deeds in this country than in any other, seeing how largely
all men enjoyed the privilege of speaking and writing, and
expressing ideas, and endeavouring to convince other
people respecting them. He said that no cause, however
just, prospered in any country by incendiarism and assas-
sination. (Hear, hear.) They had had instances of this
in their own and other countries in modern times.
The cause of the Jacobites was not promoted by the
attempts to murder William 111. The cause of Italy
never prospered so long as it was confined to indi-
vidual attempts to stab Austrian sentinels at their
posts. The cause of the Southern States of America
became the more hopeless when the assassination
of Abraham Lincoln was perpetrated. There was an
absurd pretext, of the most flimsy character. put forward
on behalf of those who had been guilty of tinal acts in
this country, that they were belligerents c•.: eying on war
against the Government of this country ; but the very
essence of war, as he understood it, was that those who
were enemies were acting under the sanction.of some known
and responsible body. There was no such responsible body
known in the case of these Fenian outrages. The essence
of war was that the persons attacked should know who
his enemy was, and where to look for his centre quarters.
He might, according to the legitimate tactics of war, be
exposed to sudden surprises and attacks, but he had
this advantage— he knew who were the persons carry-
ing on the war and who were responsible. In the case
of the Fenians this was not so ; crimes had been com-
mitted—even if they were not individual crimes, they were
crimes perpetrated at the bidding or by the connivance of
some secret, or not known and irresponsible body. (Hear,
hear.) Therefore they could not shelter themselves under
the assumption of their being belligerents, any more than
the burglar who went about in the daytime in the garb of
an honest man, but who in the dark took up his crowbar
and dark lantern wherewith to ply his nefarious trade.
(Loud cheers.) He sincerely trusted that the attachment
which they all felt for the law would be sufficient, in a
short time, to put an end to these criminal_outrages. (Hear,
hear.)

The Right Hon. H. BRAND, in responding to the toast of

" The Borough Members," also referred to the Fenian move-

went. He believed that movement was set on foot mainly
not by British subjects. (Hear.) It might be indeed
true that here and there they might find unhappily a certain
number of their impulsive fellow-subjects, the Irish, follow•
ing the movement, but he believed that the leading agents
in it were aliens, and not subjects of the British Crown.
He believed they were rowdies—outcasts from the United
States, men who served in the civil war in America, and
whose lives were lives of violence. Being, as it were, out
of employment on the termination of that war, they were
now levying war on England. There could be no question
about it, that these men were entitled to no mercy, and
should have none. (Loud cheers.)
Lord PELHAM responded to the same toast, and in the
course of his speech remarked : Notwithstanding what had
been already said as to the Fenian movement, he desired
to add his testimony to that of others. All members of
Parliament, on whichever side of the House they sat,
would, he was certain, give to any Government their
earnest support-for the purpose of putting a stop to these
attacks of murderous ruffians and bringing them to
justice. (Hear, hear.) And if any member should be so
false to his country as to attempt to make political capital
by praying for false clemency for such desperadoes, he
(Lord Pelham) could only recommend him to the tender
mercies of his constituents. (Loud cheers.)

FIRE IN KErrisn TowN.—At about a quarter-
past eleven o'clock on Tuesday night a fire brOke out in
one of the arches situated under the Kentish Town Sta-
tion of the North London Railway. As soon as the flames
attracted attention large numbers of people collected in
the Grafton-road and the several approaches thereto.
The long tongues of flame issued from the mouth of the
arch and licked up the wooden supports and the flooring
of that part of the station which was immediately above
them, when it began to be feared that the neighbouring
arches and the station itself would be destroyed. At
length, however, the fire-engines arriving, the great bulk
of the station was preserved, and the adjoining arches
were to a large extent secured from damage. When the
flames had in some degree subsided, a long and heavy lug-
gage train passed in safety over the still burning arches,
thus sliming that, to the permanent way at least, no
serious injury had happened.

THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF "VALES.—Their
Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales,
attended by Sir W. Knollys, Major G. H. Grey, Mr.
Fisher, and the Hon. Mrs. W. Grey, returned to
Sandringham Hall on Monday afternoon at the
conclusion of the day's hunting with the West Norfolk
hounds. The hounds hunted well throughout the day,
considering how indifferent the scent was. No fewer
than four brace of foxes were seen, thereby de-
monstrating the possibility of foxes and pheasants being
preserved on the same estate. If the scent had been
sharper, several good runs would doubtless have been
obtained. There was a large sprinkling pf the aristocracy
and landed gentry present. On Tuesday morning his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was engaged, with
Mr. E. Beck, his agent, inspecting the various works of
improvement that are in progress, and giving directions
for the demolition of old buildings at West Newton. This
part of the estate, which commands a splendid view of the
park, is becoming very picturesque. Large presents of
Christmas beef, Sze., ware distributed on Tuesday aftev.
110011 by her Royal Highness.