THE ESCAPED FENIANS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 2627, 25 August 1876, Page 3

THE ESCAPED FENIANS.

The Philadelphia correspondent of the London Times writes, on Juno 13, as follows : There reoontly oame to San Fxafaoisoo by steamer from Australia a bnof announcement that the oablo conneoting Java and Australia had, been out, and $*$ $0 Fenian conviots in Australia had esoaped in a whaling vessel. No particulars wero given either as to dates or details. . Tho announcement oaused great joy among the Fenians in the Unitod States, and it was not long before onough of the matter was permitted^ to leak v but to show that the esoapo was the suooessful onding of a plan, formed some two years ago, but whioh, unlikb most Fenian plans heretofore, had been kept perfectly seoret. The plan, seems to have been formed in Boston, though the indney neoessary- to oarry it out waa raised in Ireland as well as here. John Boyle O'Reily, an esoaped priaoner from Australia, Oaptain Gifford, an offloial of Now Bedford, Massachusetts, and aovorai others wore in the seoret, and managid tho affair. Gifford, it seems, had resoued O'Reilly. The money was raised, and thorough information obtained of the ooast of West 'Australia and the 'best looalities for boarding a resouing vessel, and a whaloship waß purohased and fitted out, whioh soiled from New Bedford for the southern fishing grounds last year. Afterwards trusty emissaries were sent by steamor to Melbourne to prepare tho oonviots fpr osdapo- < This was no easy task, as two of them wer'o in prison at Freeman tie, and the other six— for thepe were eight to be resoued— were distributed in the gangs engaged in (<roa& making, and wore thus widely separated. It was arranged that the whalor, aftor spending a oortain time in proseouting her fishery, should at a fixod dqtf approach tho Australian coast, and a system of signals was agreed upon, whereby tho confederates on shore oould fully establish her identity. t Eaoh prisoner had to be separately resoued, and taken aoroßß the country to the rendezvous agreed upon, and bribery wots tho means ohiefly depended upon for securing the escapes. Provision was made to Bupply each prisoner, aa soon as resoued, with a horse, a suit of olothos, a revolver, money, and foodo The planiTwfefaJ ripe for execution in January last, but how far they were successfully fxeoutedf And Whether the entire eight esoapod, is not yet known. The cutting of the oable had keen previously . arranged both aB afflignal that the resou4 was successful, and to prevent news being sent whioh might facilitate tho British war vessels in making pursuit. The oable was 6ut on April 27. The whaler is nowoomiqg to San Franoisoo, where she ought soon to arrive, and the Fenians aro in a very anxious frame of mind about her, as tho completeness of tho rescue cannot be , known until she Jreaohos there. This esoape and resouo, while, of oourse, a great triumph for the Fenians, seems fraught with peril to tho friendly relations of the two oountries. If the oase should really bo as told above, England would oertainly have grave causo of , complaint the United States for permitting a veßßel flying the Amerioan flag deliberately to embark upon a voyago designed to aid a resoue of prisoners from a penal settlemont— prisoners oharged not with orimes meroly, but with felony. When the whaler comes into an Amerioan port and lands her passengers, the British it seems, might have very good ground for interferonoe, and it is diffioult to see how the United States oould avoid giving v »p the .prisoners and punishing the vessel, and, if they oan be found, those engaged in the resouo. The name 0^ the whaler is kept carefully secret, ahd it may be that her passengers will be quietly smuggled on shoro. 1;, ■ ;, , In this oonnootion I will mako mention of what is known as the Fenian "Skirmishing Fund." This is a fund got up by Jeremiah O'Donovari Rossa, "who 7 proposes to devote it to "seoretly harassing England." The raising 'of this money prooeeds more suooeßsf ully fihan ono would suppose .possible, for such a shadowy enterprise. Tho Irish World newspaper, whioh pays attention to the matter, acknowledges the roooipt of about ISOOdols within a week, printing the names of the donors, who are said to be ohiefly faotory operatives and labourers, and whoi give, small sums. Rossa is now in California, making spoeohes to the Irish and soliciting subscriptions, the San Franoisoo papers criticising him very harshly. Several " bogus " collectors for the fund have appoarod indifferent parts of tho oountry, who devoto what money they got j to their own purposos, and against theso the Irish World warns subscribers, saying that " the Committee in oharge of this fund have not sent out agonts or canvassers."