The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-17 00:00:00

FENIAN MEETINGS.

A correspondent of the Isirmingham Daily Post writes
to that join-nal as follows :
" On Tuesday night I attended a Fenian ball and enter-
tainment in a filthy den in the neighbourhood of the
Westminster bridge-road. The place, which was a sort
Qi low theatre, was crammed with Irish men and women,
and the entertainment consisted of songs, jigs, and
recitations. All the singers wore large tin shamrocks
and green ribbon, and the way in which every sentiment
of a treasonable tendency was greeted with a howl of de-
light, was something to be remembered by a law-abiding
and peace-loving citizen. My friends and I, who were
politely shown into a private box, as representatives of the
press, little thought that we were attending at what was,
perhaps, a rehearsal of one of the greatest tragedies of the
present century. An English agitator of notoriety was in
the.how3e, and it was alleged that he was to address the
meeting ; but the programme was altered, and there were
no speeches while we were there. So little did we think
of the affair that, although representing several London
morning papers, we decided not to write a line upon what
we had seen ; and yet I have now a very strong suspicion
that the gunpowder plot was hatching behind those very
scenes, and perhaps our shillings taken at the door laid
out in the infernal grain which has wrought such desola-
tion among our brethren. The meeting to which I refer
was not called in a public manner, but, like most Irish
secrets, was well kept—moving !"
A meeting of Fenians, which was attended by persons
from Manchester and Liverpool, was held in Warrington
on Sunday night. A number of strangers arriving in the
town by the last trains attracted the attention of the police,
who watched them enter a beerhouse at Town's-end,
which is known to be a Fenian rendezvous. Mr. Hunt,
the chief constable of the borough, having been ap-
prised of the circumstance, proceeded with a number of
constables in the direction of the house, but their approach
was communicated to those within, and the conclave
immediately broke up. The police met a large number
of men coming from the house, and observed a man who
is said to be a " head centre " in Warrington, amongst
them. They separated and took different directions,
followed, however, by the police. They subsequently
met at Bank-quay Bridge, but, seeing that they wero
dogged by the police, they went along the Liverpool-road
a considerable distance beyond the boundary of the
borough. It is believed that they remained in the fields
during the night, and did not separate until Monday
Morning was far advanced. The station-master at War-
rington received the following note yesterday morning
from the master of a station three Miles distant from
• Warrington on the road taken by the Fenians the previous
night :—" Dear, sir,—Please inform the police in your
town as soon as possible that a very suspicious-looking
Irishman got on the 7.32 train this morning, at this
station. His attire did not correspond with his appear•
ance, and he had a large sum of money, in gold, in hi 4
possession. He booked to Oxford-road. He wanted tc
book here for Bradford. I am sure he is in disguise fox
wale purPOse."