Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-06-04
THE LEADER LEADS.
Thn Eeninn InxnsiOn.


The invasion of Upper Canada by the
Fenians under Colonel O'Neil, of which
our dispatches give us sufficiently full
though provokingly indefinite and Irish
accounts, has been pushed forward with
an energy and is apparently supported by
a cooperation which leads us to believe
that it is not yet over. General Sweeny,
who, though not present in person st Fort
Erie, is generally believed to have the
chief command of the invading troops, is
a man of very different make from the
inflated Killian whose PASSPORT fasco
was not only a failure but an utterly and
ir~redeemably ridiculous me-. He has seen
war, and he has courage, energy and de-
termination enough TO make him a
formidable enemy. His expedition can
not by any possibility gain ultimate sue
cess, but even if it is now crushed out 1t
will at least have enough of the tragic
about it to redeem it from ridieule. Bnt
we do not believe that it either is now or
will easily be crushed out. The move
llents of Fenians reported by telegraph
from every part of the country indicate
that a very large number of them-m1ch
larger than that which crossed at Buffalo
are on the move. We shall yet hear
from these men in quite a different di-
r~ection, we fancy, from Fort Erie. and
the fact that General Sweeny is not
with the attacking party which crossed
at Buffalo confirms rs in the suspicion
that the main contest will not be fought
rnere.- 5wvv-+Anot the man 10 shirk
duty or danger, and he ought 10 under
stand the Irish character well enough TO
know that his personal presence and lead
ership at the critical moment viii inspire
as much enthusiasm and create as much
confidence as a reinforcement of ten thou
sand men. We predict, that wherever
he deems the important point 70
be there he will be found. The fact that
he was not at Buffalo leads US TO think
that that is not deemed the key to Cana
da. Whatever, therefore, m sbe the
truth in regard to ONeiTs fOrce-whether
it has already broken into squads and i;
ingloriously seeking safety in fight to the
American lines, as was rumored last night,
or whether, as the street rumors Of to-day
have it, a bastle has been fought and
O'Neil is ~victorious-we shall wait anx-
iousIy, with our eyes scanning the Cana
dian border, for news of Sweeny at some
other point.
OF course we do not, in shy event. an
ticipate the ultimate success of this mad
and wicked invasion. Itcan at thelongest
be a matter of only a few days or Q few
weeks. Let Sweenydo his best, in a fort
light there will not be a Fsnian in Cana
da, unless in disguise, in Jail or in his
grave. Within tw~enty-four hours the
Canadian authorities can concentrate ten
thousand troops on the border. In a
week they can have fftythousand al their
control. Against these men Sweeny can
not muster, or if he could, he can not
transport across the line, over ten thous-
and men. When to this disadvantage Of
numbers is added the immense disad-
vantage which an attacking army always
suffers - want of knowledge of the
country, the hostility of the inhabitants,
the lack of railroads and telegraph wires,
and above all the fact that they have 10
attack opponents who fight behind breast
works and in Notifications the
reader can begin TO understand the mad
folly of this undertaking. 1t cannot by
any possibility succeed. Its only result
will be a wicked waste OF money and life,
an enlightenment of feeling between the
United States and Canada, and a diplo-
matte and legal difficulty which may be-
come formidable.