The New York herald., 1870-05-26
The Ycuian Movcmcns-A skirmish on she
FrOutlofs

The Fenlan movement now agltaling 'ne
telegraph wires throughout the State and coun-
try has become somewhat important as mat
ter OF news, about which everybody is talking.
If the movement is not very important per %,
1t becomes so from the fact that the govern
ment has taken the trouble to recognize it,
has probably obtained some information which
slyes graver aspect 70 the enterprise
than the public are disposed to attach
to It, and that the President has
issued proclamation against 1t, assuming
Of course, that there is something going on
which implies violation Of the neutrality
laws. In adopting this course General Grant
has followed the example Of his predecessor
Andrew Johnson, in 1866, who not only by
proclamation, but by the action Of tho United
States troops, utterly wiped out the absurd
undertaking of that time, capturing the pro-
vision trains, seizing the ammunition and ar
resting the military leaders on the frontier.
That settled the invasion business for that
time
The news from the frontier now shows q
gathering Of men at various towns and
a general movement towards the frontier, Of
small bodies passing through the different
cities north and east Of Albany, as well as
some migration from the West as far as Detroit
and certain parts Of Wisconsin. But the later
and more significant news is that force Of
Fenians three thousand strong, had assembled
at Pigeon Hill, on Canadian soil. There
appears to be no truth In this statement, and
probably not much more truth in all the other
reports. The facts are that few Fenians,
about FIVE hundred strong, under command
of O'Neil, while advancing from Frank
lin, VT, towards the Canadian frontier,
were fired upon by some Canadian
militia. The fire was returned, and one
or two men were shot on both sides.
After the skirmish United States Marshal
Foster arrested the Fenian commander,
ONeill, on the spot. and, thrusting him into
a carriage, drove him off to Burlington q pri-
soner, leaving-as the kilograms say-his
little army 80 demoralized that many of them
eagerly turned their faces towards home and
sought means of transportation from ST. Adams.
Our dispatches give the.whole story in detail.
Our map will show the locality Of the skirmish.
IT is not certain-despite the fzzle of yester-
day--that the disturbance is entirely over, but
no doubt the arrival Of few regular troops
under General Meade will dispense the graade
Grsase Of General O'Neill.
1mpotent, foolish and illegal as this move
ment is, and easily put down as it can be by
the United States authorities, adventures of
this kind should be warning to England.
They are the natural growth of an immense
Irish population, almost every man Of whom
hates England and wonld bring her to ruin or
any portion of her dominons, from Nova
Scotia to New Zealand, if opportunity offered.
There can be no doubt that this is the
spirit of what is called Fenianism. It is
the spirit which enables body of men, no
matter what their qualifications or status may
be, to get sufficient number Of their country
men to subscribe money and furnish recruits
for any expedition upon British soil, such as
the last raid on Canada in 1866, and the pres
ent one. Would it not be wise for the British
government to consider that there is but an
imaginary line between this country and
Canada, and that Canada will always be
source of irritation, as well as weak spot, for
the restless anti English element In this COM
munitya The best thing British statesmen
could do, under these circumstances, would be
to annex Canada to the United States; pay off
the Alabama claims, and then we would hear
no more Of lawless Fenian raids. The sym
patby of the American people would be with
drawn from oil movements and organizations
having such aims III invasion, whether for
conquest or plumber. If England does not act
squarely In the matter OF the Alabama claims,
and thus cultivate some better feeling than
sympathize more closely than they do with
hostile movements of this kind; or, indeed, the
Irish element, which becomes stronger every
day, may force us ultimately, against our will,
into war--the last thing at present to be ex-
pected, and certainly an event most of all to
be depl0red.
The Fenian f0sco twice repeated does not
prove that because attacks upon the colonial
dependencies of Great Britain over the border
have failed there will not remain a disposition
here among large class of our people to en-
courage, tacitly at least, such movements,
until the just claims Of our government as to
the unsettled Alabama business are attended
to.
FosrER's PLAN.--Air. Stephen s. Foster
says he ''will unite with any hundred resolute