The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-05-30
CANADA AND THE FENIANS.

FROM the ". 7. World.
We have already seen at Pigeon Hill what
the Canadians think of their Fenian visitors,
and what sort of reception they are disposed
to extend to the liberators of Ireland. Ca
NADIA, of course, contains certain proportion
of citizens of Irish birth or descent, and the
history of the relations of Great Britain with
the ancient provinces of New France is not
history of perfect maternal tenderness on the
one side, nor yet of absolute flial affection
on the other. But it is plain that the Irish
republic will get no help from Canada towards
its establishment save such incidental advan-
tages as might possibly, in case of serious
Irish revolution, be derived from the diver
sion of British troops to the New World to
meet a serious invasion of the Dominion"
Equally plain is it, we think, that these re-
peated incursions of the Fenian forces tend
rather to diminish than to increase the dispo-
sition of the Canadian people to throw in
their fortunes with those of the United States
The tone in which the leading Canadian jour
nails comment upon the events of the last few
days may be fairly estimated from the extracts
which we gave in Saturdays issue. 1t is by
no means respectful to the Government at
Washington, or sympathetic towards the
American people. Indeed, our Canadian
friends are SO much irritated and excited by
the news from the border that they charge
upon republican institutions calamity for
which the corruptions and brutalities of a
monarchical system are alone really respon-
sible. There would have been no Fenians in
the world had Ireland been governed upon
republican principles. The hatred of England
and the English which gives life and earnest
ness to the Fenian cause comes of the secular
wrongs inflicted upon helpless and subject
race under the authority Of a foreign crown
Nor is it true that under republican institu-
tions alone armed expeditions can now be
fitted out in one country to disturb the public
order of another in season of peace. There
is no overt war between the Italian monarchy
and the Papal court. But not the less are
the partisans of the fallen dynasties of Parma
and Modena, of Naples and Tuscany suffered
to recruit troops, to organize regiments, and
to set on foot adventures for the invasion of
the dominions of the house of Savoy. Neither
at Florence nor at Rome have such decisive
steps ever been taken within the last decade
to arrest Italian expeditions against the
Papacy or Bourbonist raids upon Italy as have
been taken by President Grant to crush the
hopes and paralyze the efforts of the invaders
of Canada. Those Irish parrots who are
really and gravely bent upon the independ-
ence of their native land will do well, we
think, to consider the question of how far they
are likely to be helped forward to their object
byenterprises which ALLEVIATE from America the
goodwill of her Canadian neighbors, and SO
postpone that natural gravitation of Canada
into the American system which, if suffered
to work out its natural results, must enor-
mously reinforce the power of the United
States, and SO make brighter and brighter the
prospect of final liberation for Ireland
That England has no hold upon the Cana
dian mind so strong as Canadian anxieties on
the subject of the relations between Canada
and the Union is also made plain by the tone
of the prOVincial nrass in this iunctura Wa
do not very distinctly perceive of what par
ticular advantage it can be to the cause of
Irish independence to strengthen this one
hold of Great Britain upon a dominion the
forcible conquest of which, while it must GER
tainly exhaust no inconsiderable proportion
of the Fenians or the American force at any
time available for the liberation of Ireland,
could never draw very severely upon the re-
sources of metropolis already fully resolved
to abandon its colony just so soon as its
colony shall have exhausted its own capacities
of self -dafenae