The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-06-06
Head Centre stephens in PhiIadeI.
phia--HIshIy Amusing Seenees---
The Head Centre on his Balance.

4
The Head Centre or his Balance.
On Thursday last the Philadelphia
papers announced, that on that evening
| the great James Stephens, G. o. I. r.,
| the lineal descendant of the man who
| lived in Tara's Halls, and the wearer OF
| the mantle of Wolf Tone, Brain Boru,
| and Smith O'Brien, would expound the
mysteries of the Brotherhood at Ma
| tional Hall. The hall filled up slowly
as the hour of eight approached, until
some five hundred persons were pres
| ent. at the appointed time, stephens,
| accompanied by number of the unter-
! ritied, appeared, and was greeted with
loud applause. He is short, heavily
built man, with high forehead and
bald head, with the exception of mar
| row string of long red locks, brushed
| back behind his ears. He is by no
means a handsome man, and his gen
/ eral phisiognomy is far from prepossess-
| ing. Mr.. Andrew Wayne performed
/ the ceremony of Introduction, which
was the signal for a round OF applause:
| The ''Great Mogul" of the Brotherhood
| then commenced his Grafton amid pro-
! found silence. He was frequently in
| terrupted by six females seated in the
| front part of the hall, waving small
| pocket handkerchiefs, signal for the
inen to applaud. Every time the orator
| lifted his hand, the females, not possess
cheers, and hence the criticism was FREE
quently slightly out of place.
! For Instance he remarked with great
| fury, "you Fenians in America have
destroyed US in Ireland" This COM
| plimentary announcement was greeted
\ with wild applause by the betrayers.
! After speaking for about an hour, Mr..
Stephens announced himself anxious
and willing 10 answer any questions
which might be put to him. AT this
point of the assemblage the fun COM
menced. A man in the audience arose
and asked:
"Do l understand you to say that the
people of Ireland are SO unreasonable
that they don't want England crippled
at any point except on the coast of Ire
land or England?m
Mr.. Stephens replied:
"They want England crippled, but
do not want Ireland crippled; at the
same time they know Ireland will be
destroyed. We know at home If any
body of men go into Canada the men
in Ireland will be held responsible.
We cannot hold together beyond this
year; and the people OF Ireland would
go from the country by tens of thousr
ands if you make any diversion from
the righ, path-Ireland."
A well known "Fenian" arose and
asked: "Whether you, James Ste
phens, are not British agent employed
10 destroy the influence of American
Irishmen in favor of their native coun-
tTy?"
Mr.. Stephens-'Your'e a traitor +;
you're no Fenian. Gentlemen, am TO
| be insuIted? Put him out, put him
out;" and the furious chief rushed at
his interrogators, seized the questions
! from the Gentleman's hands, and Hung
them on the floor. The cries of the
Centre were taken up by the audience.
A short-haired leader on the stage made
rush for the victim of misplaced con-
fdence. He was seized. hurried OF the
platform sans hat, sans manuscript,
sans senses, and deposited in corner,
where four faithful Fenians kept guard.
After the excitement had partially
subsidized another voice arose in the au-
dience: "were we fools for trusting
John O'Mahony when you endorsed
him?"
Mr.. Stephens-sfYou have been tam
pered with, sir! You are invidiOus, sir!
Shall the true Irishmen doubt the pa
triotiSm of their fellows ut home? VIII
| you not stand by your native land?"
aud a vast supply of buncombe, which
distracted the attention of the audience,
silenced the unfortunate questioner,
and created great enthusiasm for the
AgainG"Where did P. ]. Mealy lose
his papersH How soon we're they
found2"
Mr.. stephens twildly)-''I see your
purpose. 1 scorn you. You are invid-
ious. Go to ireland, and ask the Irish;
they will tell you. iftbey don't hang
you, who is to be trusted. Ask them
| whether 1 have not done my duty"
etc." AS none of the hearers seemed
| inclined TO do as their chief advised, he
| looked around triumphant.
And now" said he, II hope you will
I eli g,rna ions al m
| delighted to answer. Everything must
be explained, and 1 will appear more
honorable in my course. Has any one
else anything TO ask7"
A voice from the audience-"What
has become of the millions we have
given already?"
Mr.. Stephens-"You have been de-
ceived. There WAS never much sub
scribed. When they got ten dollars at
the Moffat mansion they called it a
hundred, and a hundred was thousand.
You will hear the report of the COM
mittee, l see in your eyes you are a
detractor. Will the glorious green flag
once more float over nationality or
not? The Irishmen have not degener-
ated in brains, music, OF determine
tion." loud cheers.l
Another question then came from the
audience: "Do you know John Mitch
ell, aud what has become of his S5O,-
OOO2"
! Mr.. Stephens, "That is invidious. You
are a traitor TO the cause. How dare
! you mention John Mitchell'S name ?
/ it is an understood thing that he is
never to be referred to. He desires to
| be forgotten. Shall the glories of the
| past once more enc8rcle the Green IsleS2
Shall she be free? Yes Yesl! Yesll
| loud cheers.l
A few more like questions were
asked, and were replied to with insinu-
ations or abuse, and an appeal 10 bum
combe and patriotism. Then Mr.
| Stephens addressed the meeting. He
placed his hand on his heart, bowed, ,
| smiled, and said he had satisfied their
curiosity. ireland would be free.
! Subscribe subscribe! Make him die
| tator; all would go welll They would
! never learn what was done with their
money. He would be their father,
their friend, their chief. Amid great
cheering for Stephens by one party,
and for Sweeney by another, the meet
ing dispersed. However well he might
! have succeeded in deluding the igno-
rant mnsses, the leaders and all disin-
| terested spectators were far from salts
lied, and felt that Mr.. Stephens was
not reliable and that the Fenian cause
was dead.
Tom HUGHES as BoxER.-Every-
body knows Tom Hughes-or Tom