Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1867-12-18 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1867.  THE FENIAN OUTRAGES.  THE British people generally have neither any sympathy with Fenianism nor much fear of it, and, as a mere Irish conspiracy, they might afford to treat it almost with indifference; but when in the open day police-vans are stopped in the public streets of our towns, or, worse still, when an attempt is made to blow up a prison in a crowded quarter of London, it becomes a matter of grave consideration whether our vacillating policy in the treatment of this new Irish conspiracy is based upon sound principles. We think that the Press of this country has made too light of Fenianism when it has represented it as a feeble conspiracy of a few disconteted native Irishmen, fed and supported from al road. By taking this view of the matter, the v riters have lulled the people of Great Britain into a false security, and induced the Government to look upon the Fenian organisation as a movement of a contemptible character, instead of one which threatens to distract the nation from one end to the other with violence, aggression, and hostility. At first, the Government treated the Fenians with a leniency almost amounting to toleration; but as this has had little or no effect, it resorted to harsher measures, raised what has been called "the political scaffold," and gave the Fenians what they required, pseudo-martyrs for their cause. There can be no doubt that, however justly the Manchester Fenians deserved death for their murderous attack upon the officers of the law, the infliction of that punishment rather stimulated than repressed the zeal of the great body of sympathisers with Fenianism, and has given a strength and importance to the Fenian cause which it never otherwise could have had. Men who are averse to capital punishment altogether—politicians who will not regard offences against authority as a heinous crime, naturally raised their voice against the Manchester executions. This was taken advantage of by the Fenians; and, knowing that they could not strengthen their ranks by a direct and open prosecution of rebellion, they organised so-called "funeral processions," brought religion to their cause, and, in orations professedly delivered in honour of their martyrs, gave vent to seditious utterances that would not have been tolerated under other circumstances. Once more the Government found itself in an unsatisfactory position. By the strict letter of the law, the Executive is hardly empowered to prohibit processions which are said to have been of a solemn, peaceful character in honour of the "illustrious dead." But the thousands who have flocked together to join in these celebrations have revealed an extent of disaffection with which we were little acquainted. To say Fenianism is confined simply to the low, dissolute, unthinking Irish, would be only to deceive ourselves. It is widely spread, well organised, and prepared to assert its existence by a kind of moral guerilla warfare with authority. It commands funds to bribe gaolers—men ready to engage in any desperate enterprise, and intelligence sufficient to be able to avail itself of any opportunity that may offer for inflicting treacherous blows upon law and constituted authority. Had it not been for the "funeral processions," we never should have had an idea of the extent of Fenianism; but, with the knowledge we now have of the wide dissemination of this moral poison, need we wonder that outrage after outrage takes place, and that our police are frequently baffled in their endeavours to bring the offenders to justice. Fenianism in Great Britain is more alarming even than in Ireland; and we fear that unless the Government can attack the evil at its root, we shall soon have the Fenians on one side, and the British public on the other, intent only upon inflicting vengeance upon one another.  THE ?eath is announced of Mr Ebenezer Charles, a young barrister of great promise. CONSIDERABLE sums have already been promised towards making up the losses sustained by the destruction of Her Majesty's Theatre. The theatre is to be rebuilt without delay, with many important improvements which the recent calamity has suggested as desirable and necessary for a building of this description. SATURDAY was the sixth anniversary of the death of the Prince Consort, who died at 'Windsor in 1861, and her Majesty and the various members of the Hoe-al family now at Windsor paid the usual visit this morning to the Prince's mausoleum at Frogmore. The Prince Consort's burial-place is yet in an unfinished condition. On Tuesday the Queen will, it is understood, leave Windsor Castle for Osborne.