The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-22 00:00:00

ARREST OP PENIANS NEAR hpvgarci;
HAM PALACE.

The Telegraph gives the following account Of -ea
affair :—" A. painful state of excitement was created on
Tuesday night by a rumour that an attempt had been.
made by Fenians to set Buckingham Palace on fire.
Improbable as the story may appear, it was nevertheless
founded upon an incident of a startling character. Her
Majesty is not at present residing at the palace, and no
more than the usual number of soldiers are on duty
there, while the park is in the charge of the
customary number of police. Between eight and mine
o'clock in the evening the attention of the .police
on duty near the Palace was attracted by the appearance
of two suspicious-looking men. They loitered about the
ground in front of the building, passing and repassing re-
peatedly. One of the men had a basket in his hand,
which, judging by the manner in which it was carried,
must ha ve contained something heavy. Both men were
of the striking Irish-American type, made familiar to the
En;lisli during the recent Fenian disturbances both in
this country- and in Ireland. As it was quite dark, and'
the men could only be examined closely when near
the lamps, considerable difficulty existed in arriving
at a definite conclusion respecting them. But
their appearance was so far suspicious that it was wisely
deternihie*l to arrest. them. This was done in a most suc-
cessful manner. The men, who seemed astonished on being
seized, resisted violently, but were soon overpowered,
and eventually lodged in cells at the King-street
Police-station. An examination of the basket which
one of them carried fully justified the suspicions
which had been excited, as it was found to contain a
large quantity of Greek fire in a jar or bottle. Sir Richard
Mayne and one of the commissioners of police were at once
communicated with, and the men were closely questioned..
They, however, resolutely refused to give any account os.
themselves, so that at present the police are without their
names. The authorities at Scotland-yard attach great
importance to this arrest. There is little doubt in the
minds of the police but that the intention of the two men
was to set fire to the Palace."

The Post has this prominent paragraph, introduced by
the side-heading " Seizure of Greek Fire:"—" On Tuesday
night, while Police•s2rgeants Langley and Campbell were
on duty in the neighbourhood of St. James's Park, they
met three suspicious-looking men, whom they followed and
stopped near Buckingham Palace. After a desperate
struggle two of the men were apprehended. They were
carrying a basket containing jars of Greek fire. The men
—who are known to be Fenians—were taken to King•
street station, and will be examined at the police-court to•
day. Mr. Secretary Hardy, who was in the House of
Commons at the time, was sent for and put in possession
of the particulars."

The Daily .News has the following :—" Rumours that
an attempt had been made to fire Buckingham Palace
were current on Tuesday night, and were the subject of
conversation in the neighbourhood of the House of Com-
mons. As the result of special inquiries instituted at
a late hour, we learn that the report was not entirely
destitute of foundation, and it is said to be the
opinion of the police that such an attempt was con-
templated. It seems that between eight and nine
o'clock a constable in plain clothes was walking along
the mall in St. James's Park, when his attention was
drawn to two suspicious•looking men proceeding in the
direction of the Palace. They carried a large hamper,
and from their manner he thought something was
wrong. He accordingly followed them, and on near-
ing the Palace they halted for a time, and, after looking
about, turned off in the direction of Buckingham-
gate. He then accosted and questioned them, but could
elicit no satisfactory reply. Ultimately both men
were taken to the King-street station, and the constable
having made his statement, the inspector on duty put the
usual questions to the prisoners, neither of whom would
give his name or any account of himself. They were
dressed in the garb of labourers. The hamper, on being
opened, was found to contain several tin cases of what is
known as Greek fire,' the smell from which occasioned
some alarm at the station whilst it was being inspected.
The men, as a matter of course, were safely lodged in the
cells."

The Star has a longer account than any of its contem-

poraries. From it we take the following facts :—" At an
early hour on Tuesday morning information was received
by the authorities at Scotland-yard that during the after-
noon a quantity of Greek fire would be conveyed from the
City side to the neighbourhood of Pimlico. Accordingly,
plain-clothes officers were stationed in that part of Pimlico
which is close to Buckingham Palace, having orders
to stop and. question all suspicious-looking persons
who might be seen conveying any mysterious bundles •
or packages in the direction of Pimlico. Several
of those officers extended their ground of observa-
tion along and around the palace railings,watching parties
coming from the direction of the Mall, as well as from
Birdcage-walk. Sergeant Langley and Constable M`Don.
dell were of the party, and about half-past eight in the
evening they saw three men of the labouring class carryinr-,
or wither dragging, along a large and apparently heavy
hamper close to the Palace on the Pimlico side. The lights
at this portion of the park near the Palace, unlike the
more dangerous parts, are very numerous, and the
officers had full ..,pportunity- of watching the movements
of the• three men. • The latter laid down the hamper
frequently, changed sides, talked, looked up at the Palace,
then went on, and then laid the hamper down
again. All this helped to make up the minds of
Langley and 11193onnell that all was far from being
right ; and probably having the dearly-bought lesson
taught by Clerkenwell—that delays are dangerous—
before their eyes, they at once went up to the men
and asked them their names, business, and destination.
Unsatisfactory replies were given, and, after a little
parley, the officers seized the men—M`Donnell taking one,
and Langley two. A fierce struggle ensued ; the men
attacked the police with desperate violence, and the latter
as desperately held their prisoners. Sergeant Langley
knocked down one of the men with a blow, which had the
effect of giving him a chance of escape, which be was not slow
to profit by, and scampered off as fast as his legs could carry
him. The other two men were secured and with assistance
brought to King-street Police-station, Westminster. The,
hamper was also brought to the station. It was found to
be cased with tin, waterproof, and nearly filled with water.
In the water were two large jars or bottles, containing
what upon examination proved to be Greek fire; The
prisoners when at the station refused to give their names
or any account of themselves. They are poorly-clad Irish
labourers. No charge was entered against them on the
charge -sheet, pending instructions from Sir Richard
Mayne."