Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-05-19

Efues the OONeTuucub QloCOhcICA A- ANo
dence, and I was arrested. 1 suppose you
wpuld all like to know how I got out o
prison. Laughter and great enthusiasm.
Well, it did not require any extraordinary
effort on my part, for, with the force OF tru'
hearts that were around that prison il
Dpbiin, it would not have been possible fol
the Government, though its walls had beer
adamant and though it had a whole regi
ment stationed within those walls, to keel
me there ~[Applause,] To my friends out
side Of Dublin, then, I refer you Tor th'
manner in which they effected my escape
Daughter. That was the time OF oui
greatest power in Ireland II at any time
between the oath of November and ths
end Of De.euber YOU had sent to Ireland 8
small force, or even n few superior officers
with the necessary wal material, do be-
6eye as firmly as 1 believe in my own ex-
isteuce that Ireland would be an indepen.
dent country to-day. But you all know
what took place. However, my mind wal
made up not TO leave Dublin, SO I remained
in Dublin City nearly four months afterm
escape from prison" [Cheers.l
In the whole speech of Mr.. Stephens
we perceive a dignity, a determination, {
devotion, which We have failed to remark
in the more rhetorical and enthused
speeches of other Fenian orators. 1t il
hardly as reticent as the utterauces of the
chief of a conspiracy should be, and there
is in it a good deal of egotism and gas
copade. But it displays power, self-reIi,
Gnee and unconqnersble will. If any
man can restore tile Fenian enthusiasm
in this country it is james Stephens.
But this, we believe, no man can do
The bubble has been thoroughly ex-
ploded, and a bubble, once burst, can
never be reconstructed. The utter failure
of all the plans Suggested by either fac
ton, the utter falsi7y of ali the predic-
tons made by confident leaders, the utter
and ridiculous fas co of the olly actual
demonstration yet made, have not only
shaken but destroyed the confidence OF
every sensible iIrishman in the entire
movement. The Financial expose which
has already been partially made, and
which will inevitably become more and
more complete, will complete the destruc-
ton of the Fenian scheme. Our readers
VIII remember that last fall the receipts
Of the society for a single month were
published, showing a total of over one
hundred and forty thot sand dollars. At
that timO the total recei pts of the organ
izasion, during the seven years of its ex-
istenee, were stated at five millions of dol
lars. What he's become Of this money ?
We now learn that five hundred collars
in cash remain in the oMaliony treasury,
and that he holds property of various
sorts, the value of which is estimated at
from ten to thirty thousand dollars. As
to the amount sent to Ireland, Mr.. Ste
phens is not explicit. He states the total
receipts from America for the first six
years, or up to 1864, at fl,5OO. He
further speaks of $4,000 as the total
amount received by him in 1865 previous
to August. What other amounts have
been sent are not stated. However, if
these figures afford any basis of compu-
t~Asion, the total amount sent across the
Atlantic, to the linen in the gap cannot
at the most liberal estimate, be supposed
to exceed twenty thousand pounds, or one
hundred thousand dollars. Thus it will
be seen that the total amount sent to Ire
land and the total amount still in the
hands Of the organization will not equal
the amount acknowledged to lave been
received in the month OF October alone.
Where Is the rest of this nssney? A par
tial answer to the question is suggested by
the fact noted by the World reporter,
that after Mr.. Stephens returned to his
hotel, HgreRn seal was abundant, and
added much 10 the flow of soul which
characterized the hour" For an entire
explanation of this marvellous deficit, we
must however, look farther than to such
extravaganees as these. It is impossible
to resist the conviction that some of the
Fenian leaders have made a snug thing
out Of that most visionary of e~onspiracies,
the Fenian Brotherhood. -
But It's better as it is. The poor Irish
man who has deprived himself of his forty
rod whiskey in order to contribute to the
Fenian fund, may swear vigorously at the
idea of Stephens and OMahoney carous-
ing over champagne which his money
paid for. But it is better for him to be
swindled than TO be killed. He will fare
better without his dollars than if the con-
had taken overt shape, and he had
himself in mad defiance against
the Overwhelming military power of
England. Let him thank Heaven that it
is no worse, forswear F~enianism, and. set
tie down TO tho quiet enjoyment of the
rights of citizenship under the freest gov
srnment on the earth.