FENIAN SYMPATHISERS IN AUSTEALIA. (FROM THE MELBOURNE "AGE," MARCH 21.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3353, 15 April 1868, Page 3

FENIAN SYMPATHISERS IN AUSTEALIA. (FROM THE MELBOURNE "AGE," MARCH 21.)

la O'Farrell one of a gang of Fenians, or is he alone responsible for the murderous assault on the Prince ? There is a great difference of opinion on this point, and, as yet, no conclusive evidence. • As for the so-called confession of O'Farrell, sensationally paraded yesterday by a contemporary, the description most applicable to it is the trite one that *• what is new is not true, and what is true is not new." No such confession has been made. The document is a re-hash of nearly every rumour that hai been in circulation since O'Farrell was apprehended. The prisoner has made occasional admissions which we have had telegraphed from time to time, but he divulged nothing on the day on which it is alleged that he confessed. Some of his statements are unworthy of credence, such as his allegation that his accomplices had left the colony. What instalments of truth, hit other admissions may contain have yet to be tested. The Sydney police may be in posses* sion of a clue to his accomplices, if any, but all that we know is that no arrest has been made either there . or in Victoria. Fenian sympathisers in Victoria have attached great importance to this question of the complicity or non-complicity of O'Farrell with other Fenians, but we cannot understand why they should be so sensitive on this point. There is one assertion respecting whioh there is no possibility of doubting O'Farrell's word, namely, that he is a Fenian, and that it was in the Fenian cause that he attempted to commit murder. There is another fact which is known to the public at large, namely, that there is a publication issued under distinguished patronage, and recommended by the Roman Catholic priests to the perusal of the laity, which elevates murderer* to the rank of heroes and martyrs. There is a similar journal, called the Celt, published in New Zealand, also under sacerdotal patronage ; and there is a third of the kind, called the Freeman's Journal^ published in Sydney, but we do not know to what extent it is countenanced by the clergy, although we believe it is impossible for a Roman Catholic organ to exist without such patronage. O'Farrell is of an excitable temperament, and is also said to be a religious fanatic. To preach the doctrine that a murderer is a hero and a martyr is likely to excite characters of this kind to the perpetration of outrages ; and those who supply the excitement are morally, if not legally, the accomplices of the perpetrators. In this view |of the matter, the accomplices of O'Farrell are not limited to ten or twenty. It would be better for the peace of mind of those who have been instrumental in disseminating the poison that it should prove to be the case that O'Farrell received his instructions from Ireland or America, than that it should be found that he drew his inspiration from the promoters of local Fenian papers. In one of those papers, the Advocate of 29th February, we find in an article, apparently original, on no more exciting topic than the kindness of the Dowager Marchioness of Queensberry to the Manchester prisoners and their families, the murderers Larkin, Allen, and OBrien spoken of as "our martyred countrymen," and we are told that "the cry for vengeance went up to God in secret from outraged millions," that "howling tigers were thirsting for the blood" of the martyrs "marked for ignominious death by a bloodthirsty and merciless power," and the article winds up by "canonising for ever" the name of the benevolent lady who had daily masses put up for the lucky wretches who were to go straight from the gallows to Paradise. The Dowager Marchioness was no doubt actuated by the purest piety and benevolence ; but what shall we say of the use to which her kindness has been put 1 It looks very much like holding out an inducement to secure eternal happiness by the commission of murder in the cause of Fenianism. It was while these p«pers were being sold in and round their churches that the priests inculcated the doctrine that voting was a matter^ of confession, and that the exercise of a political privilege in favour of candidates not approved of by the priests might involve the eternal perdition of the soul of the independent elector. There is something in this more terrible than a regular Fenian organisation, for in that there would be subordination and system, while, by the public teaching of the doctrine that murder and heroism are identical, every ignorant, hot-headed, and fanatical individual may become a "centre" in himself, free from all prudential control. If the priests continue this system, they will establish an indigenous Fenianism, the object of which will be, not the redress of the wrongs of Ireland, but the infliction of a hideous wrong on Victoria. The priests themselves have linked Fenianism with colonial politics, not only by their publications and " gi'ings out" from the altar, but by presiding at secret meetings in St. Francis's Schoolroom, where the merits of candidates and the glorious news of the doings of their fellow-countrymen elsewhere were discussed together. It may be urged that the atrocious crime which has evoked universal indignation was merely an accidental coincidence, and had no connection with these priestly encroachments on personal liberty ; but if their teaching has any efficacy at all, it must tend to increase turbulence and encourage violence, and we should not be doing our duty if we did not illustrate the danger of such teaching by pointing out its legitimate results. Granted that O'Farrell was excitable and fanatical, the question is, what gave his hot blood and fanaticism the direction it has taken? Even instrucbions from Ireland or America could have had but slight weight with him unless he had been previously worked upon by influences nearer at hand. It iS'to be hoped that influential men and church dignitaries will take these considerations to heart, and ne^er forget the lesson that has been taught them. The immediate suppression of the noxious publications, and total abstinence from political intervention on the part of the priests, are imperatively demanded, and nothing less will satisfy the colonists at large.

How to Dress Old Fowls,— lf you we obliged to kill any " old fowls" for the table, try the following recipe for cooking them, and I think you will find that "Jove" likes "braized fowl" even better than roast " chicken." It does not matter how old the fowl is. Let it hang for a few days. Lard it with bacon like a guinea fowl is done, and put it in a stewpan with a close-fitting lid (my cook puts it in a digester), with pepper, Bait, any shreds of bacon that are left, and a little seasoning, "no water 'to be used. Stew it gently for a couple of hours. Make a little good gravy with bones (or gravy beef if you wish it to be very good), seasoned with onion, and put to the braize before dishing up. The fowl ought to come to the table covered with a rich brown gravy. lam a siater henwif c, and, wishing to weed my stock of all the useless fowls, I tried various plans of cooking them. The first time one was braised, my " Jove" said to me, "If this is an « old hen' you had better go and buy all the old hens in the parish for cooking." Just try the recipe, and let me know how you succeed. Guinea fowls done this way are capital, and 1 dareiay you know the old saying:— " A turkey boiled is a turkey spoiled, but a turkey braised is a turkey praised !"— Molly. Recent scientific discoveries should do much to lessen the alarm of those who fear the exhaustion of our coalfields. Mr. H. W. Pond, of Newark, U.S., remarks that economists have speculated on the possible discovery of some method of producing heat independent of coal, and the decomposition of water has been regarded as a probable expedient. With our present knowledge and appliances it appears not to be difficult to realise this proposition, even in competition with coal — at least in a small way. The agents are obvious— wind-power, a msgnetoelectric machine, oxygen and hydrogen gasholders, k and electrolysis of water. The result would be that oxygen and hydrogen would be available for the production of the heat which would be required. For use in the arts the oxy-hydrogen furnace would, of course, offer advantages far above any other known, and results could be reached impossible with the lower temperature of the coal fire, while the flame would be free from deleterious substances common to coal. Owing to its gaseous form, and the intensity of its heat, this fuel would be manageable in many ways impracticable with coal. For instance, seams could be hard-soldered with great rapidity with the jet of a compound blow-pipe, and it is probable that the joints of steam-boilers could be heated for welding in a suitable oxy-hydrogen jet. — Mining Journal. The following quaint epitaph on husband and wife is to be seen in one of the Parisian cemeteries :—: — "I am anxiously expecting you.— a.d. 1827.' "Here I am.— a.d. 1867." So the good woman was forty years making up her miQd to follow her husband,