THE DUBLIN ASSASSINATION SOCIETY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1085, 16 March 1883, Page 3

THE DUBLIN ASSASSINATION SOCIETY.

♦ [Evening Star's London Correspondent], I hat chore was a powerful and unscrupulous secret brotherhood society in Dublin for the assassination of Government officials was, of course, well known, both to the police an! public, for months past. Murders had been committed at intervals in a very systematic and successful manner ; in fact, so daring did the criminals at last become, that despair reigned in official circles, and it began to be feared that the head centres would never be discovered. The police, however, not acted so foolishly as people fancied. Their determination was to “watch and wait,” and the common sense of this policy is now obvious, for, thanks to their keeping quiet till unanswerable evidence was obtained, twenty one men are now in custody, and no one doubts that either the perpetrators or instigators (perhaps both) of many of the recent crimes arc amongst them. On Saturday last 21 prisoners, stmugly guarded, were brought up at tho Dublin Police Court,and the evidence of the informer Farrell was taken against them. Tliia worthy swore to tho existence of a Fenian brotherhood consisted of two divisions—an inner circle and an outer circle. The latter was for ordinary organisation purposes only, but the former arranged all assassinations, ami were actually concerned in the murder of tho late Chief Secretary. If the witness is to be credited, the Phcenix Park murders were among the exploits of the inner circle. Though, as it chanced, he left work too iatc that day to take part in the murders himself, it does not appear that Farrell was employed in less desperate deeds. He and others were instructed on two or three occasions to stop the Chief Secretary’s carriage. The attack was then made, probably by more experienced hands, on the destined victims. Forster, it seems, narrowly escaped once, and again the spies failed to recognise his carriage or the signals were mistaken. On another occasion, when one of the jury in Haynes’s case was marked out for attack, Farrell was placed on watch against a descent of the police. He was armed with a revolver, and ordered to shoot any policeman attempting to make his arrest. His evidence with regard to the plot to murder Mr Judge Lawson is less indirect. Ho was again placed as sentinel at a street corner on the night of the outrage, but had no active work to do. In conversation, however, with Delaney, who was lately convicted of conspiring to murder the Judge, he learned that sumo felonious deed was in contemplation. The details of the approver’s evidence show how elaborate was the system of signals and passwords with which the assassination conspiracy secured themselves against the law. Their main security, however, was iu the terror inspired by their threats. It is a remarkable symptom of the reviving authority of the law that a fear of legal punishment is now prevailing over tho terrorism of the secret societies. It is believed that Farrell’s testimony will be borno out by Delaney, who made the attempt on Justice Lawson’s life, and by that of tho carman who made off with Mr Field’s assailants. It must not he assumed that Farrell or the other informers who have followed his example are telling the whole truth, but there is enough and more than enough in what has been published to justify tho strongest measures the Irish Executive can adopt. The inquiry will lie resumed next Saturday, two days afrer this mail goes, when further revelations are anticipated.