The Sun. — 1868-05-05 (London, England)

FENIANS.  The newseuesuppliedlnmGToire ona et bheyer Fenian sensational. aaotni ielsinpaianrl a. named ayiihreasdst dinarily eilnaft:i7,nlypiprboNrtance is the attempt on the life of the Duke O'FARREL, wslhlootprhoisnoßunocyeadla himselfhee tos be s ithea Fenian,hsek ; (Llheelibberaallte nt, tturned days alongaft e rt h. e ninthT h e Frib o Fenian ol itto passedo took t elyntered half an inch f'rom the spine, and of the presence of the Prince at a puhbel itocopptpil oicer_ ocn half-way round the body, where it was extracted ity in aid of a Sydney Charity to give effect to his design, which it is said fell to him by lot in execution of an order received from the Fenian circle in England. On the 18th March OTARREL was arraigned before the Supreme Court, found guilty on the 31st March of wounding with intent to kill, and sentenced to be hanged. The assassination of JOHN D'ARcY M'GrEE, plotted, it is said, by the Fenian circle in New York, and carried into execution as is now is srethtte F pretty weeelilaensteavbeliestheedf btyhea man Western nani world V which eNh, excites most attention. Here in England there has been the trial of the Fenian prisoners accused of causing the Clerkenwell explosion • b ut. MICHAEL BARRETT only, of .the nine persons has been convicted and sentenced to death. A • vigorous effort was made to prove an alibi in his favour. Three shoemakers from Glasgow testified that on the 13th December, the day of the explosion, BARRETT was in that town, and therefore could not have been in London. Mr. M`Nuvry had not only brought to him a pair of boots for repairs on the 13th, but had called the next day, annoyed at not receiving his boots; when the fortunate entrance of two shoemakers, each of whom set to work on a boot, enabled BARRETT to get the Lib completed. The circumstance was all the more impressed on his mind as BARRETr took a paper and read aloud the narrative of the explosion. Here was a substantial alibi, but it failed in bringing home to the judge, jury, or any one else, the impression of truth. Before sentence of death was passed on BARRETT he addressed to the court a very effective speech, in which he reviewed the evidence, and touched with withering scorn on the approver MIJLLANY :—" Ilic indeed.is. a life that no one will, envy,: and. Avery one, even the most abandoned, will despise him. Thekir.ety parties 'to- natv upon .him and,have ;r7.,coiciise.. to him will'spUru him:: A thmisand, times:! , wore` welcome is death 'to a, criminal- ,cJIIV)Ctei of ,:the 'highest crime than life and so-called libertiat the-Sacrifice of everYthing,that .that: to elevate the human' being and renders him worthy the name of man." He spoke of the lova he bore his native country, asserting that he would willingly and gladly give his life if by that means he could redreSs the wrongs of that persecuted land. Turning again, however, to the evidence of his companion MULLANY, he d..:clared—" If there was one thing, more than another required to complete the degradation of Irishmen it is what has happened in this Court. Au Irishman's oath will no longer be admitted in a court of justice where the life of a fellow-creature is at stake. This is, indeed, a crowning indignity and a crushing humiliation." After expressing a fervent wish that Irishmen will never cease to attempt to shake off that yoke which has so long depraved and degraded them, until the freedom of their country or the extinction of their race shall be complete, he thanked his Lordship for his patient hearing, his counsel for their able defence, and announced that he would ascend the scaffold with firmness, preferring that to life with the brand of Cain. He was consoled with the reflection that the stain of murder does not rest Upon him. It is singular to remark the bearing assumed by the Fenian prisoners in these trials. It shows how invincible is habit and training ; and how completely a man may be wedded not only to error, but to the approval of plain and unvarnished crime. Seliom has a more reckless aid shocking outrage been committed than that of Clerkenwell. Seldom has a more senseless, causeless, and vicious assassina tion been attempted than that of the Captain of th 3 Galatea. A street composed of frail tenements of the poor was, through BARIZETT'S agency, when filled with inmates, shattered into ruin on the chance of releasing two prisoners—in Australia the Fenian assassin shoots at a post-captain in the Navy, a young man universally liked and respected, and who has spent the most active part of his career at sea, simply because this sailor happened to be the son of the