The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-31 00:00:00

THE FENIANS.

The correspondent of the Standard reports renewed
activity on the part of the Fenians on the other side of
the Atlantic. A " congress" was about to be held at New
York to decide whether the conspiracy was to be continued
or abandoned. He says : " There are in this country
already three societies of Fenians, beside a large number
of skirmishers, who propose to organise a fourth. The
leaders of these rival bands look upon each other with
that power of distrust and jealousy for which Irishmen
are pre-eminently distinguished. We endure a Fenian
' president,' Fenian head centre,' and Fenian central
director'—each with his cohort of followers and friends,
each claiming the right to the first position in the so-called
' brotherhood,' each with a plan for the overthrow of the
British Empire and the extermination of the Sassenach.
The strongest of these men is O'Neill, of whom I have
given some account ; he is probably most earnest in pur-
pose, and best calculated to marshal Fenians to overt acts
of violence. He, too, may justly pretend to a greater
following among Fenians than any other principal party
to the conspiracy; but were his rivals to combine
against him he would probably be put down. The forth-
coming ' congress' will therefore not be altogether devoid
of importance. As it is now well known, the single idea
of O'Neill is that the battle of Fenianism is to be lost or
won upon Canadian soil. All O'Neill's efforts are
directed to an invasion of Canada, and he employs all his
own ingenuity and that of his associates in devising
means to transport Fenians from the interior to the
frontier without prematurely exciting the attention of
the American Government. He has given out that a
way to do this has been found. In a letter to one O'Beirne,
a Fenian in Washington, he says that ' the obstacle
heretofore existing has been conquered. When the men
are wanted they will be found on the spot.' O'Neill's
tactics differ materially from those adopted by his prede-
cessors. O'Mahoney and Sweeny communicated
with their supporters by means of circulars, in
wl.ich the intended outrages were fully foreshadowed,
lines of march described, proportions of the com-
pani( s from different States named, &c. Of
course these circulars fell into the hands of the
American authorities, and of other persons interested in
suppressing Fenianism. But, with the exception of a
single pamphlet, O'Neill has published nothing indicative
of his real designs. He has verbally communicated his
plans to the various `centres' who recognise his leadership,
to that end seeking personal interviews with his adjutants.
Since the Bth March last he has travelled more than
30,000 miles in order to bring about these personal con-
ferences. These facts are obtained from a perfectly trust-
worthy source. In the Dominion there is a partial renewal of
excitement on the subject of the threatened Fenian in-
vasion. This is due to the revival of rumours of the
gathering of a considerable number of Fenians at Ogdens-
burg, New York—a point directly opposite the important
Canadian town of Prescott. The Government, not
desiring to be caught unprepared, have sent orders
to the various rendezvous of the volunteers, looking
to thorough preparation for active service on the fron-
tier. The commissaries have been instructed to prepare
rations; volunteers engaged in rifle practice have been
called in ; at Toronto 2,000 volunteers have been sum-
moned to perform three weeks' service ; in Kingston,
beside military preparations to repel invasion, the guard at
the penitentiary has been doubled. Several Fenian convicts
are confined in this prison. The Toronto Globe rretends to
positive knowledge of an imminent attack. The Canadians
will not be surprised, at any rate. They desire nothing
so much as a chance to meet raiders from the States.
They have been subjected not only to great personal
annoyance, but to great pecuniary loss, on account of the
threats of Fenians to invade the Dominion ; they wish to
settle the matter definitely ; they think that the best way
is to give the desperadoes such a reception as shall prevent
any future movements across the frontier. In a political
sense, I am not sure that a formidable Fenian invasion
would not be the best thing possible for the Dominion. It
would certainly unite the people."

The Recordership of Leicester, vacant by the pro-
motion of Mr. Sergeant Hayes to the bench, has been given
to Mr. C. G. Mereweather, of the Norfolk circuit.

Advices from Cagliari state that the powder,
magazine there has blown up. Several persons were killed
and a considerable number injured. The cause of the dis-
aster is not known.

The Bishop of Capetown has deferred his depar-
ture for another month. It is probable that the 30th
September will be the day fixed by his lordship for his
farewell services at St. Lawrence Church, Gresham-
street, City.

Two SPANISH MINISTERS NEARLY DROWNED.
—A communication from Lequeitio, in the Bay of Biscay,
ova :—" Two of the Ministers of the Queen of Spain,
MM. Marfori and Belda, who accompanied the Court to
this place, have narrowly escaped drowning. Both these
high personages went out in a boat fora sail ; the Minister
of Marine took the rudder, and as this was the first time
that the statesman who directs the Spanish navy had seen
the sea, he steered so well that the boat capsized. Both
Ministers were of course in the water, and neither being
able to swim, would undoubtedly have perished if aid had
not reached them. Much mirth has been indulged in
among the visitors here at this incident."
A circular has been sent from the Home-office
to the governors of the different gaols, laying down the
following rules with respect to private executions:
—l. For the sake of uniformity, it is recom-
mended that executions should take place at the hour
of 8 a.m on the first day after the intervention of three
Sundays from the day on which sentence is passed.
2. The mode of execution, and the ceremonies attending
it, to be the same as heretofore in use. 3. A black fisig
to be hoisted at the moment of execution upon a staff
placed on an elevated and conspicuous part of the prison,
and to remain displayed for one hour. 4. Th bell of the
prison, or, if an arrangement can be made for that purpose,
the bell of the parish or other neighbouring church, to be
tolled for fifteen minutes before and fifteen minutes after the
execution.

• SINGULAR CASE.—A Vermont raper says :
There is a man in this State who cannot speak to his
father. Previous to his birth some difficulty arose between
his mother and father, and for a considerable time she
refused to speak with him. The difficulty was subse-
quently healed, the child was born, and in due time
began to talk ; but when sitting with his father was
invariably silent. It continued so until the child was five
years old, when the father, having exhausted his powers
of persuasion, threatened it with punishment Air its stub.
bornness. When the punishment was inflicted it elicited
nothing but sighs and groans, which told but too
plainly that the little sufferer could not speak, though he
vainly endeavoured to do so. All who were present
united in the opinion that it was impossible for the child
to speak to its father. Time proved this opinion to be
correct. At a mature age its efforts to converse with
its parent could only produce the most bitter sighs and

groans.
TRADE DISPUTES.—An important case under the
Masters and Workmen Act of 1807 was heard at the
county magistrates' office, in Liverpool, ou Saturday.
Messrs. J. G. and Robert Martin, builders, complained
by information that two hod-carriers, named Stephen
Wood and James Dignan, whom they had employed at
225. per week wages, had struck work about one
o'clock on Thursday, the 20th August, at some houses in
course of erection in Hedge-lane, and so brought to a stand
the bricklayers engaged in building the houses. The bench
ordered the prisoners to pay respectively Bs. and 7s. as
their share of the loss thus sustained by their
employers having to pay men who were standing
idle, trade rules not allowing any one but recognised hod-
carriers to carry bricks to the " setters," and to forfeit
half their week's wages, The judgment was designated as
a lenient one for the sake of example, and to chew work-
men Ow pow,t of tho sow Act ill comptWpa theiLuig
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