Untitled

West Coast Times, Issue 117, 1 February 1866, Page 3

i) religious. " Their principles and aspirations were noblo and unselfish. Some may think them mi^tiken, but none can call them base." They repudiate O'Kcefe, the author of the nllcgc'd letter, suggesting the assassination of a number of noblemen and landed proprietors, and the houghing of cattle, and tho burning of property, in those terms: — " The newspapers that so vilely calumniate them (tho Fenian leaders) do not believe their own utterances ; neither does tho Crown prosecutor believe that the ravings of one man are the sentiments of a party." Several Fenian inquiries before provincial magistrates in Kilkenny, Nenagh, Thurles, and Kathkeale,' have resulted iv the sending of a number of unimportant persons for trial. In the course of the Kilkenny investigation, it seems to have been suggested by the Crown prosecutor that tho weapons found with many of the Fenians, swords or revolvers, or pikes of a peculiar form, were rather symbols of a certain standing in the order, and the possession of a defined authority, than intended for use in any struggle. A man named Cody had a sword inscribed'* Lieutenant Cody, Massachusetts Regiment," and this sword had been transmitted to him through the Archdeacon of Liverpool, but htrhad never been in America, nor had one of his family ever been a member of any United States' regiment. It was inferred that the words " Massachusetts Regiment" were meant to stand for some Irish Republican corps known to the brotherhood under that designation. At Nonagh, an approver named Kennedy refused, when brought forward, to give the evidence in open court, which he had before proffered to .* the Crown. lie betrayed great agitation, and on being sworn deliberately deposed that his informations were false. AMIUST OF THE " JIHAD OUNTIIK." The detective police, between six and seven o'clock in the morning of November 11, arrested Stephens, tho reputed leader o*' the Fenian movement, for whose capture a reward of L2OO was offered by the Government. lie was arrested, along with three men named Kickham, Brophy,', mid Duffy, in n cottage at Sandymount, about two mile's from Dublin. The prisoners were found 'amply provided with money, provisions, and arms, tho latter being discovered lying beside their beds. The prisoners were brought before Mr Stronge for examination on the 14th November. Evidence was given of their connection with the Fenian organisation, and it was found in Stephens' house that ho had been in communication with the jmsoiu rs already committed for trial, through the medium of an attorney named Nolan ; * and, in fact, wen taking a part iv the management of their defence. A German named Scholfield, who had been •sent to Dublin by tho British consul in New York, proved that certain documents produced, but not read, were in tho handwriting of John U'Mahony, the head of the ivovement in America. The prisoners were remanded till the following day, when they were again brought before Mr Stronge. The evidence was chiefly documentary. At its conclusion the magistrate asked the prisoners if they wished to say anything. Stephens made a short statement, lie said ho did not intend to obtain legal assistance, because in making a plea or defence of any kind he should be recognising British law, and he deliberately and . conscientiously repudiated tho right, or even the existence, of British law in Ireland. He defied and despised any punishment that could be inflicted upon nim. Brophy said he merely wished to deny a report iv the newspapers that ho had absconded. The other 'prisoners intimated that they would say nothing. They were all fully committed for trial at the special commission on November 27th. It is stated thiyt a person was despatched towards the latter end of ' September from New York, furnished with "credentials." authorising him duly to instal another " Head Centre" in Ireland in place of Stephens. The individual in question came to Ireland via Bremen and Havre, and his mission having been accomplished ho is supposed to have returned by the same route. The person chosen to fill the office of Irish chief of tho Fenian organisation is kept a secret, but in all probability in a brief period everything r concerning him will have been dis- ' covered by the police. Tho police have taken possession of Stephens' house at Sandymount, and are employed in examining his papers and memoranda. James Stephens is an accomplished linguist, and has translated several English novels 1 into tho French tongue. Ho was private secretary to Mr. Smith O'Brien during tho Baliingarry era, urd subsequently became mixed up with tho Phoenix affair of 1859. More lately he was employed part of his time as a tutor in families of respectability. Daily is the only son of a country schoolmaster, 'and has long been known in the county of Mayo from the pronounced character of his patriotism. Wickham belongs to a family of" Nationalists." Brophy does not appear to have any public antecedents. It is worthy of note that the three most conspicuous Fenians — O'Mahony, Stephens, and Luby— arc three graduates of Trinity College ; while the National School Establishment in Marlborough-street, Dublin, and its model schools, have furnished numerous rank and file to the organisation. At five minutes before 8 o'clock on * Sunday evening, November 12, Acting Inspectors Hughes and Doyle were entering Exchange-court, when they were fired at and struck wifcli two pistol balls. • Fprtunntoly, tho balto wovo fired from ft flifltanod, nml tho injury Mifttftinod by

tho men is not serious. Hughes was struck on the shoulder, and Doyle in tho spino. The wounded men wore able to resume their duties the followingday. It is stated upon rel'able authority that several of tho detective force received information that in certain houses in Dublin, where American agents have been stopping, the resolution had been come to, " That if Sle phens were over taken, blood would be immediately shed." In connection with this subject, it may bo mentioned thai Hughes was the first man who broke the door of, and entered into the " Irish People" office, and also the first who entered the house of Stephens. James Stephens escaped on Friday morning, November 24, about two o'clock, from Richmond Bridewell. His cell door was found open at four o'clock, with a duplicate key intho lock ; six others had been passed through, and his final cseapo was effected over the garden wall of the prison by the help of dining tables, which lmd been carried a good distance from the refectory, and placed against it. It is supposed he must have had an accomplice in some prison officer. Policemen were at once placed on all the railway stations. Tho Government has offered a reward of £1000 for his capture, anil .£3OO for information which may lead to his capture. The Dublin • Evening Mail' has tho following account of the escape :—: — Mr Marquis, tho governor, with a commendable anxiety to prevent any communication between the several Fenian prisoners, placed an ordinary prisoner ill each cell intermediate between two of the alleged Fenians. The prisoner so placed between James Stephens and Charles J. Kickham (whose cells are situate on tho second story) states that ho heard, a I 0. few minutes before 1 o'clock, a noise as of feet mounting the staiis. Shortly alterwards a sound struck his ear as of a lock being opened and then, to use his own expression, " two sets of steps" going downstairs. lie did not ruise any alarm at the time, not suspecting that an escape was being accomplished, and thinking that it was the night watchman who created the noise. At 4 o'clock, however, Mr Marquis, tho governor, was roused by ' tho watchman, Byrne, who 1 told him that Stephens was missing. An examination immediately took place, when it was discovered that a duplicate key was in the lock of the cell in which Stephens had been* confined, and that the locks of six other doors, leading from corridor to corridor, had been opened with a pass-key. Tho modo of escape from the prison is easily explained. The. massive 'tables of tho dining-h}>ll were removed 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 tho topography of the prison and its vicinity, as, immediately outside the wall, in Wellington- place, on tho Grand Canal side,' and corresponding to a nicety with the spot at which tho tables hud been raised, there stands a tree offering a most facile means of descent. In this way, it seems, Stephens made his escape, and up to the present no truce has been found of his whereabouts. It is reported from Dublin this morning that Daniel Byrne, who occupied the confidential post of night watchman, and was enti listed with keys of all the doors leading to the prisoners' cells, had left tho police to join the Pope's Brigade, of which he had been a member. This man has been arrested and charged with complicity in effecting the escape of Stephens ; and it is said that documents have been found in his trunk proving that he is a member of the Fenian Brotherhood.