The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-04 00:00:00

A recent visitor to Ireland writes :- -" Fenianism appears
to me to be a much more serious affair than people in
England suppose. It may not be generally known that
the cost of maintaining order in Ireland amounts in all to
£870,000 annually,- and that the county force of consta-
bulary in that country exceeds that of England and
Wales. This of itself is a very significant fact. No place
in Ireland is so small as not to have a constabulary station.
The constables are not, as with us, even in our rough
mining districts, provided simply with a baton, but
are armed with rifles and bayonets, and are,
indeed, nothing less than irregular soldiers. But
even this force has not been found sufficient. It
is admitted by the military authorities in Dublin that
t thing could have saved the country from general dis-
order but the suspension of the Habeas Corpus. This
proved effectual ; and the Irish proprietors are now con-
gratulating themselves on a respite from anxiety, whilst the
active spirits of sedition are giving their English friends a
taste of what they can do in the way of mischief. But,
in regard to Ireland, the important point is as to the
future. How long is the Habeas Corpus Act to remain
suspended? How long is Ireland to be kept in
order by an armed force ? How long are Fenian
plots to go on being hatched ? For the spirit of
Fenianism appears to be one of determined and - patient
enmity to England, which can afford to wait any length
of time tilt Ys x opportdnity comes for inflicting a blow.
And, though many may be sceptical as to its power to hurt
the Empire, yet all must confess that even-now it is a thorn
in our side. In Ireland all thoughtful men know well that
it :s a very serious matter. One cannot fail, in conversing
with Irishmen of education, position, and also of refine-
ment—laymen as well as priests—to be struck by their de-
liberate opinions as to the grave and critical character of
the occasion."

The Weekly Register says that the priest named in the
evidence of Vaughan, the informer, as Father O'Connor,
who, according to the testimony of the informer, presided
at a Fenian meeting in Cavanagh's public-house, near
Golden-square, " is a young priest of the diocese of Cashel.
He was sent over to London by his diocesan for the pur-
pose of collecting some funds to aid in building the tower
of the cathedral in that town, and on his arrival applied
for the usual leave to say mass in the diocese of West.
minster, which was granted as a matter of course. From
all we hear, he gave great offence to such of the London
clergy as he called upon by his denunciations of the En', m
lish Government. He left London some time ago, having
been recalled by his archbishop, Dr. Leahy."

A curious episode in the special constable movement is
reported. A few days ago the working men in the em-
ployment of Messrs. Holland and Son, builders, of
the Ranelagh Works, Pimlico, were invited to enrol
themselves as special constables. They are some
hundreds strong, and would have been a formidable
addition to the body. They held a meeting at the vi)rks,
at which the proposition was fully discussed, and, after
mature deliberation, they passed a resolution which set
forth in effect that, while they yielded to no one in their
Loyalty to the throne, their love of the laws and the constitu-
tion, and theirlatred of the outrage in Clerkenwell, they
yet believed that the exteht of the Fenian conspiracy was
exaggerated, and they declined to be sworn in as special
constables under the present Government, lest they should
be called upon to suppibess perfectly loyal public meetings.
After passing this resolution they determined to form a
guard over the property of the firm employing them,
and they have since kept daily and nightly watch.

A rumour has been current for some days past that two
vessels supposed to belong to the Fenians had been seized
by the naval authorities at Woolwich as contraband.
the authorities have given a direct contradiction to the
rumour.

During the last few days a large number of revolvers
have been issued from the armoury stores of the Ordnance
establijimpt, Chatham, it being intended to arm the
police constables on duty at the naval establishments at
the port with that weapon.

Sir John Eardley Eardley Wilmot, the Recorder of
Warwick, in charging the grand jury at the borough
Quarter Sessions, referred to the commercial depression in
the metropolis and the country, and said it was not in any
way attributable to Fenianism. They might congratulate
themselves that up to the present time, although there
had been apprehensions that an outbreak might take place
in the neighbouring town of Leamington and some pro,
perty be assailed, yet that throughout the county, and
especially in Birmingham, where large numbers of artisans
were employed in the different branches of trade, the
hearts of the people were sound to the very core, and
they had everywhere evinced a determination to come
forward and assist in upholding the cause of peace,
law, and order. They should all, in their respective
stations, and to the utmost of their power, endeavour
to uphold the integrity of the empire, and maintain
England in that position among nations which it had so
long held, and which it was to be hoped it would continue
to retain.

An amusing incident occurred yesterday in the Wharf-
road,Paddington. Ahalf-tipsy Irishman went in front of the
bar of one of the public-houses there, and delivered him-
self of a speech which had for its burden the woes of
Ireland, and a peroration in which lie cursed all that was
English. A party of dustmen got hold of the man, and
so trounced him that he was glad to recant his seditious
language, and drink a health to the Queen. He was then
kicked away from the place.

WrNTEnLlKE.—Several flocks of wild ducks and
geese have been seen flying over the metropolis, south•
ward.

EXTRAORDINARY STORY.—ACCOICEDg to a corm-
opondent writing from Berlin, St Petersburg has lately
been the scene of a horrible tragedy. The patroness
of a boarding-school for young ladies had expressed
her disapprobation of their coiffure, which she con.
sidered as too coquettish. The lady who had the
superintendence of the class was so much affected
by this censure, that she ordered all the young
ladies' hair to be cropped quite short. This was
regarded as a great indignity, and as soon as it was dark
the young ladies attacked the supposed offender, threw a
sheet over her head, knocked her down, and maltreated
her so seriously that she died in a few hours. It turned
out afterwards that these paragons of feminine propriety
had made a mistake in the dark, and vented their fury on
the wrong person. The unhappy victim was what we
should call in England a parlour boarder, who on the
evening in question had undertaken to discharge the duties
of the usual class teacher.

ILL-TREATMENT OF A SERVANT GIRL. —At
a meeting of the Greenwich Board of Guardians a
letter was read from Mr. Wilton, surgeon at the Sutton
district school, describing the horrible condition of Sarah
Wright, aged 15, belonging to the Greenwich 'Union,
who had returned to that establishment after being
in service to a family resident at Wandsworth.
111 r. Wilton states that on Sunday evening last
he was called to see the girl; whom he found
sitting by the fire, complaining of cold and of
feeling sore all over her body. She was in a very pros-
trate condition, and was removed to the infirmary, where
it was found she was much emaciated, the body being
a mere skeleton and extremely dirty. She states that
during nine months she was in her situation she had
scarcely any food except bread and water, and had to
sleep on a mattress in the kitchen, with no other covering
than a small quilt. There were scratches on her face,
caused by her mistress, she said, beating her, and a
large bruise on the right shoulder from the same cause.
There was a sore on each buttock, and the skin was
abrased in three places over the dorsal vertebrm, and also
three weals on the left thigh, and the mark of a burn on the
breast. She states that fourteen days after entering ser-
vice her mistress commenced beating her, and was in the
habit of striking her with fire-irons, clothes-lines, and
brushes, and that for two months she had been kept without
boots. Those she was wearing, and which had been given
to her by her mistress, had to be cut from her feet, when
she was found to be suffering from chilblains on the hall of
the great toe of the size of a crown-piece, and one also on
each heel. She states that during the nine months she
received no wages, and that on one occasion when a penny
was given to her her mistress
as tooso k
ravenous that it was
it away. When ad.
mitted to the infirmary sh w
considered dangerous to give her solid food, and in Mr.
Wilton's opinion it will be a month before the unfortunate
creature is able to leave her bed. The board unanimously
agreed to a criminal prosecution against the girl's master
and mistress, under the Act of Parliament specially passed
for the protection of pauper children sent out to service,
and directed their solicitor and clerk to take the necessary
PrOCCedinfai. •