FENIAN INSURRECNION IN IRELAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1074, 24 April 1867, Page 6

FENIAN INSURRECNION IN IRELAND.

At last something like a vising seems to have taken place in the south-west of Ireland. Tho " Kingdom of Kerry " has been chosen by the Fenian leaders as the scene of their lirst attempt at insurrection. In some respects it cannot be denied that the ground is will selected ; for there is no part of Ireland which oilers greater natural difficulties to troops engaged in quelling an insurrection, and there is no district which affords greater facilities for tho movement of rebels. In 1790 the bogs of Ulster were chosen as the opening scene of the then blood}' drama ; in ISIS, the cabbage gardens of Tipperary for tlie ridiculous fiasco; in lS(i7, the fastnesses of tlie far south-west. The rising appears to be at present confined to the peninsula lying between Kenmarc river and bay and Dingle bay. It does not as yet extend into Cork on one side to Limerick on the other. This peninsula is about twenty miles wide at its broadest part, and about thirty-eight miles long at its greatest length. From Killarney at one end to Valentia at the the other, and from Kenniare to the town of Killorglin, this peninsula contains hardly anything but high mountains and abrupt valleys. Of the mountains, Macgillicuddy's liccks arc the highest; but to the wesi of these are many ridges exceeding 2000 feet in height. It is not, however, so much the height, as the continuous nature of these mountain chains which renders the country favourable to the action of brigand insurgents, and unfavourable to troops. The roads are very bad in comparison with those of the rest of Ireland ; but though few in number they are fairly adapted for the passage of troops. The difficulty of bringing troops to bear is, however, increased by the almost entire absence of railways, which run on one side only to Dunmanaway, in tlie county of Cork, by tlie nearest road thirty miles from Ketimare; and on the other only to Killarney, thirty-eight miles from Cahircivcen, which appears to have been a central part of the movement.

Tile csmse of the outbreak nppears to have ' been the arrest of n Captain Moriarty, an Irish American ollicer of high rank in the brotherhood. On February 12th the authorities in Tralee received information from a reliable source that the captain was to visit several places in the county in which the chiefs of the organisation were located with despatches from General O'Connor, the Military Centre who commands in that county, warning them to prepare for an immediate rising, which probably was to have taken place simultaneously with the movement iu Chester and Dublin projected by the Fenians in England. The captain, with two of his subordinates, was arrested in Killarney on the above evening, and wns sent under a strong escort to Tralee. Concealed on his person were found the despatches signed by General O'Connor, of which information had been given. As there seemed to be danger of a disturbence of the peace occurring, a mounted constable was sunt from Killarney to Killorglin, with orders for the police at that station, and thence lie was sent on to Cahircivcen. Between Killorglin aiid Caliirciveen this man was met by a party of Fenians, shot, and his despatch-box rifled ; he was, not, however, fatally wounded. Intelligence of the arrest of Moriarty appears to have spread rapidlj* over the country, for on the same night a party of young men, variously estimated at from 200 to 400, left the neighbourhood o( Cahircivcen, and having destroyed the telegraph posts and wires in the neighbourhood, inarched iu a body in the direction of Killarney. Their object was supposed to be to rescue Captain Moriarty. whom they believed to be still in that town. On the road between Cahireiveen and Killarney is the police-station of Kells, upon which an attack was made ; the police were overpowered, and the inns and ammunition taken awiy. A portion of the attacking party was said to have been provided with firearms, the remainder were armed with pikes. A coastguard station in the same locality was also attacked and rilled, but the particulars of the outrage are not yet known. At one place a man in the employment of the Magnetic Telegraph Company, while endeavouring to repair the broken wires, was surrounded by a number of men, detached from a body of at least 200 who appeared in the vicinity, whose leader commanded hiin, on paiu of death, to desist. The workman, of course, yielded to 1 compulsion; but in a short time the insurgents moved off in an easterly direction, and ho then completed his work, and was instrumental in sending the first telegram to Dublin announcing the danger. The Government had thought it necessary, it is believed, to interpose to prevent at the outset the publication of telegrams which might have interfered with the military operations. It was judged necessary, upon the night of the 13th, to despatch reinforcements to some of the southern garrisons, and in particular to send troops from Cork to the disturbed districts of the county of Kerry. What exactly had been done up to that time the authorities wcro probably not fully aware of; but they acted on the pressing demand of the magistrates of the county, who had been sitting throughout the afternoon discussing the state of affairs. It was necessary to occupy Mallow Juuction station as a point of importance, and Sir A. Jlorsford an! 1000 men had been brought to that placo . y 0 dock on the ldtli. The excitement in Dublin towards the close of the day was considerable, and the idea prevailed that the rioteis who had assailed the coastguard station could hardly be country people, butmust be invaders who had landed at some remote point on the west coast. Others found in their speculations a conncctiou between the disturbances in Kerry and the attempted raid on Chester, and regarded both as the commencement of a possibly formidable plan. It appears that a body of at least 300 men, more or less completely armed, have been iu possession of that part of the country between Killarno}- and Cahircivcen since Sunday, February 10. They succeeded in preventing any information of their proceedings being conveyed by messengers, and tore down the telegraph wires at four or fi\c places. Detachments of troops had been sent on cars to different points at wliich they were likely to encounter them. Tt is not yet known how the " patriots ' have been received by the humbler classcs of the countrv people, but all the gentry, or those who have anything to lose, loft their homes and sought more secure retreats. The Killarney Hotel, which was guarded by police, wis crowded froir, roof to cellar with refugees. Tre children of .Lord of Lord Castlerosse were hurriedly sent up to XJublin, and forwarded to England by the mailboat. Mr. Herbert, M.P. for Jverry. had removed his family. Lord -Castlerosse's agent had armed about 100 of his tenantry, for the purpose of aiding the authorities. Three express trains were despatched from the Kingsbndge terminus on February 14, conveying troops to the Mallow .Junction. The strictest precautions were used in Dublin at all the military stations, and nearly all the soldiers slept fully accoutred at night, so as to be in instant readiness for action. '

A telegram forwarded from Dublin on the forenoon of Friday, February loth, states that a search was made tlie previous evening at Malaliide, about J1- miles from Dublin, for Stephens, who was said to have elfceted his landing at a place called .Kclls, by military sent there specially. 'j he same telegram adds:—"The telegraph wires communicating with the Atlantic cable wero cut in five places, but are now repaired. The workmen saw hundreds of armed men about. There are now almost no military

at the Curragh. They are all gone to Kerry. Brigadier Horsford, in command at Killarney, has told off bodies of military for night duty on tho Tonnes Mountain. The rising is declared to be totally abortive. Parties of armed men, footsore, hungry, and exhausted, are wandering about the lake district in Killarney. The telegraph wires on the Valentia road were again cut last night, and as rapidly as repairs could be made ilie wires were cut again." Another telegram, dated the night of 'February loth, says : —" The rising is at an end. All the telegrams from Kerry state that it has failed miserably. Tho principal part of the insurgents, who were never more than several hundreds strong, were, by tho last accounts, hidden in Toumie Wood, which was surrounded by the military, who were supplied with food from Killiirney, while the fugitives were starving. About 50 escaped out of the wood. The peasantry all through refused in any numbers to join the insurgents, who were dressed in green coats and Yankee boots, and are believed to be strangers. The insurgents are certainly next to unarmed." A Dublin, despatch of Sunday night, February 17, states: — Telegrams from Killarney this day state that Kerry is quiet, and that none of the Fenian fugitives have been arrested. It is said that O'Connor and his staff have made their escape to n vessel which was seen lying off Dingle Bay, and is supposed to be a Fenian cruser. The peasantry seem to be afraid of. the insurgents, and the troops who formed the searching parties have found great difficulty in obtaining food or information. Captain Bowles, of the GOth lii/lcs, and about thirty volunteers, consisting of soldiers and constables, have performed the perilous duty of searching the Black Valley by night, but without success. A few insurgents arc supposed to be concealed in the demesne of the Macgillicuddy, and to have failed in escaping across the Kiver Laune, which is greatly flooded. Thirty-four persons were arrested this morning in Dublin on the arrival of the Holyhead and Liverpool steamers, but only five have been detained. The Homan Catholic Bishop, Dr. Moriarty, denounced Fenianism today, and praised the people for not joining the movement. While he was speaking several young men left the church. The couiitry is tranquil. Subsequent telegrams from Killarney announeo that tho town was perfectly quiet, and that there was no news. The troops are still scouring the country in search of the scattered fugitive Fenians. The county of Kerry Las been " proclaimed a reward of £500 has been offered for the arrest of the person or persons who wounded constable Duggan, and a reward of £'250 fer the arrest of J. J. O'Connor, who acted as commander of the insurgents at Killarney, Killorglin, and Cachircivcen. A reward of £250 is offered, for the apprehension of any of the men who surrounded and entered the eoastgard station at Kells, and challenged T. Pierce to surrender to the Irish Republic on the 13th of February. The insurgents went to the house of a Dr. Barry near Cahircivcen, and took away a splendid hoase for some one they had called " the colonel." In tho portmanteau of a person arrested in Limerick on February 14 a six-barrelled revolver, a sash, and a military cap were found, and documents of importance. He was en route for Kerry. Twelve arrests were made there on tho 15th, and twenty-two in Dublin. Murphy, the headcentre for Limerick, with two American colonels was also arrested. At an early hour on the morning of February 12, no less than seventy persons were arrested in Dublin on board the Alexandra, from Holyhead, and the St. Columbia, from Liverpool, as part of a Fenian army of invasion. The lirst intimation of the danger the public had was from the appearance of a body of police drawn up on the quay at the North Wall, armed with cutlasses. This was the result of telegrams received during the night about the movements at Chester. It was stated that when the Fenians found they could do nothing there they pushed on for Birkenhead and Liverpool, intending to come to Dublin. When the Alexandra came alongside soon after 7 o'clock a.m., thirty-one persons were arrested, chiefly young moil. The steamer was considerable time swinging round, and during that time the supposed Fenians were giouped together, apparently in earnest consultation. Of course, they had seen the police >vith their cntlasscs, and they took the hint, and it is said they threw their revolvers and ammunition into the river. When arrested they had no weapons, no documents, nothing to criminate them, and they pleaded the Habeas Corpus Act, which they said was in force again. It is said that some of them arc Americans. None of them gave a satisfactory account of themselves. They said they belonged to the following classes : —- Dock labourers, discharged soldiers, bakers, tailors, millworkers, &c., and they came from Liverpool, Bolton, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and Birkenhead. Later in the morning the Columbia arrived from Liverpool with about an equal number of suspccted characters on board, and they were arrested under similar circumstances. The prisoners were first conveyed to Saekville-place Station, and then lodged in Kichinond Bridewell — sixty-seven together. Three loaded revolvers were found in tlie first steamer, hidden under ropes where the prisoners had been standing. It is said that the bed of the river will be dragged in the hopo of finding the revolvers.

Ou the morning of tlie 13tli, thirty-seven of the passengers by the Holyhead, and Liverpool boats were arrested also in Dublin on tlie arrival of those vessels at the quay. None of tliem had arms, and they were principally from Liverpool, Manchester. Leeds, and other English towns. The lu-ec>iuin's Journal says : —" It would be hard to bring together a more daring and reck-less-looking lot of men than the prisoners. Some of them had been in the late American war, others were discharged soldiers, but the majority stated that they had been operative tradesmen, millworkers, and dock labourers. A few of them had money, but by far the greater number had none ; but there appeai-s to be no doubt if they had succeeded in escaping the vigilenee of the police they would have had all theirwantssupplied bypersonsinthecityon whomthe detectives j are keeping a close watcli. Orders liave been issued by tlie Government to the constabulary stationed at all the seaports in the kingdom to exercise a strict watch on all incoming steamers from America and from 'across Channel,'and to arrest all suspected persons who eauuot give satisfactory accounts of themselves and their movements. A few of the persons who had been arrested at the Jforth-wall this morning were released from custody on proving to the police that they had legitimate business in tliis country." The prisoners were removed to Richmond Bridewell. The reason generally assigned by the prisoners for visiting Dublin in such numbers just now is that they were seeking employment, but it is stated that many of them are known to have given up employment with os. or Gs. a day before leaving England. Some who were able to give a satisfactory account of themselves were discharged; twenty-two were detained in custody. A watch is still kept on the quay by the police for any further arrivals of suspicious characters. At Proglieda the same morning, a bodj' of thirty-five police boarded the Colleen Bawn, and arrested five men, who, like those arrested in Dublin, appeared to be labourers and mechanics. Two were discharged by the magistrates. The steamers arriving from England at Belfast have been searched in the same way for Fenians, but 110 arrests have been made. At first the people were disposed to think "the movement on Chester " a lioax, or niercl}' some tentative manoeuvre to try what the effect would

be of a real rising ; but there seems to bo now no room to doubt that mischief was intended, and that this affair is another abortion of the Fenian conspiracy.

Accounts from Cork on February 17th, stated that each day the estimates of the Fenian foree continue to fall. At first it was estimated at 1500, then at 500, then at 150, and afterwards still lower, whilst no reliable evidence was obtained that a single Fenian inarms had been seen anywhere, cxcept on the occasion when the policeman was shot at and wounded. Further arrests under the Habeas (Jorpus Suspension Act have taken place in Limerick, Drogheda, Dundalk, and Caven. In Limerick, John Healy and John Lunes, were arrested, supposed to be American colonels, and John Murphy, a head-centre, and O'Donovan, who had been liberated a year ago from the Mountjoy prison, and sent back to America, whence lie had recently returned, were also arrested. 11l the hotel were Donovan stopped, his trunk was searched, and a loaded six-barrel revolver, a sword; sash, a military cap, and a drill-book were found in it. The news received in London on February 22 showed that all danger was declared by the local authorites to be at an end, and that General H orsefall and staff had left their head-quar-ters at the railway for Kenmare, Screen, Valentia, and Cahirseveen, in a tour of inspection, a sure sign that they believe all is over. They have since returned. The wounded policeman Duggan is not yet pronounced out of danger, but he has rallied considerably. A party of troops and constabulary went on February 26 in search of arm 3 or rebels in Glenflesk. In this glen is a spot known as Filedown, or Robber's Cliff, and a cave called Leabey Owen, or Owen's Bed, which will hold GO men with ease. The place is extremely difficult of access, and the situation most romantic. Nothing was found except the dead body of a supposed Fenian, thought to have perished from exhaustion. A telegram dated Killarney, February 21, states that an unsuccessful search for arms was made that day in the town and in various farm i houses in the neighbourhood.