THE FENIANS.

New Zealander, Volume XXIV, Issue 2603, 14 February 1866, Page 3

THE FENIANS.

'l'irjK public attention ha* again been prominently drawn to the Fenian moveinent in Ireland by the arrest and escape of Stephens, tlie leader, or " head centre " as he is styled. He was found the other week in a house about two miles from Dublin, living in grand style, with quantities of provisions, plenty of money, and some arms in the liou-e. He made no resistance, ami when brought before the Court, behaved exactly a< bis former employer, Smith O'Brien, whose secretary he was, would have done. He refused to acknowledge the competence of British law, and concluded a short burst of grandiloquence by—" I have spoken." The two detectives who arrested him have since been shot in the streets, presumably by some of his followers, but are not mortally

■wounded. Yesterday mornin.; tlic country was startled by the news tlmt Stephens had contrived to effect his escape from the Richmond Bridewell at Dublin. The prisoner was two hours crone before his flight was discovered, and on an examination taking place, it was found that a duplicate key was in the lock of the cell in which Stephens had been confined, and that the lock of six other doors leading from corridor to corridor had been opened with a pass key. The escape from prison was effected during the night, and the modus operandi is easily explained. The massive tables of the dining hall had been remove I to the garden, and placed against the wall, so as to afford an easy mode of ascent to the summit. Whoever did this must have been thoroughly acquainted with the topography of the prison and its vicinity, as immediately outside the wall, and corresponding to a nicety with the spot on which the tables had been raised, there stands a tree offering a most facile means of descent. In this way it seems Stephens h;s made his escape, and up to the present m mient no trace has been (bund of his whereabouts. Government has offered a reward of CIOOO for information leading to the arrest of Stephens and £3OO for the nrrest of any person who has harboured, received, or nss-stetA him —-with a free pardon, in addition to the reward, to any person concerned in the. n.scnpe who can give information to lead to Ilia Mi-rest. His recapture is considered to be exceedingly problematical. In America, the head quarter* of the movement, the members of the Fenian body have been active. They have' funned a regular Republic, appointed n House of Representatives, officials, .So, They are greatly indignant at the " late hostile movement of the British Government," an 1 it is said that they meditate a raid upon Canada by way of retaliation. Accordinging to the reports, they are to be ai.led by French Catholics, they have purchased steam transports, and the Government has called out 10,000 volunteers. These rumours are, however, regarded as probably inventions. The Fenians, notwithstanding their " tall talk," are not very formidable opponents, and any hostile action on their part would be easily defeated. — Irish Paper.

The Losses of G rant and Sin km an.— For some time past an earnest discussion has been kept up between the friends ol Grant and Sherman as to which officer losl the most men in the campaign of IBG4, ■when Grant marched through the wilderness to Richmond, and Sherman advanced from Chattanooga to Atlanta. A report of ihc losses of both officers between May 1 ami November 1, 1864, has at length been furnished from official records of the War Department. Grant's battles, and the losses in each, were as follows :—Wilderness, 29,410; Spottsylvanin, ]0.:>8l ; North Anna, 1007; Coal Harbor, 13,153; Weldon Railroad, 4543; Ream's Station, 2432; Trebles Farm, 2CS;; ; Boydton-road, 1802. Trenches, from June 10 to August 18, 13,857; trenches, until August 30, 2417. The total is 88,387 ; but no estimate or report is made of the los«cs in the trenches during September fir October. The loss is hesvy enough, certainly, when we consider that Grant butted at Richmond six months after November, ISG4, and must have lost thousands of men after this report closed. When people say that he lost 150,000 men in his nssaults upon Richmond, that no man who went with him into the wilderness was present at Lee's surrender, ami that Grant winces when the figures "150,000" arc held up before him, they are not far distant from the truth. Sherman's losses were not nearly so heavy. From May to November, 18G4, from the time he left Chattanooga until he entered Atlanta, he lost 5284 killed 26,129 wounded, 5786 mi-sing—a total of 37,190. His march from Chattanooga to the sea was comparatively bloodless, audit, not Grant's continued assaults upon the works of Richmond, forced Lee's surrender. Rut when Lee shall have made his report, and •we shall hear how bravely he kept his ground, in spite of meagre numbers, scanty rations and clothing, and every obstacle a general can have against him, and how long lie successfully struggled against such fearful odds, Grant's and Sherman's glories will pale before the wonderful achievements of the Virginian, —American correspondent of The Times.