NEWS BY THE MAIL. THE FENIANS.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 246, 25 April 1866, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL. THE FENIANS.

(From the Home News.) For many of our countrymen in Aus tralia and New Zealand the Fenian move-" ment, in America and in r lreland, will possess a special interest because amongst them are many Irish Celts by birth or by descent. The habits of colonial life, which are calculated to encourage sentiments- of attachment for the mother country and her institutions, settling down ultimately into independence and fast alliance with England, are diametrically opposed to the views of the .Fenians, whose sole object is separation from Great Britain. . Hence in all. our Colonies we find that Eenianism is regarded with aversion, and that it has taken root in America alone, where the form of government is open and loose, where the people enjoy the license of libertines in political matters, and where the wild genius of Irish discontent, not knowing exactly what it wants, may luxuriate with impunity. There certainly never was a conspiracy- against law and order so fanatical in character, so widely spread, or so utterly hopeless. That it has infected the lower classes, far and near; that large supplies have been collected to enable its leaders to diffuse their theories, and to gather adherents; that the military have been corrupted to some extent ; and that the manufacture and importation of implements and munitions of war have been extensively carried on, are facts that admit of no doubt. The whole affair is like a nightmare," very horrible while the agony is on, but certain in the end to vanish into thin air. The worst of it is, that in the interval much mischief may be done, blood will be spilt, and property sacrificed. Government, however, have adopted energetic measures, and taken the most humane course by suspending the Habeas Corpus Act, and ■ proclaiming martial law in the north, as well as in the east, south, and west. The. sudden disappearance of numerous suspected persons from the principal towns, and the arrests of some hundreds of Eenians, including many leaders, in different parts of the country, show that a temporary check has been given to the movement ; but it would be premature to infer that the subterranean revolution is, therefore* materially arrested. The authorities think differently. They are of opinion that the worst is to come, and they* have, in conformity with that impression, augmented the force of the army in Ireland. They have even taken the extraordinary step of sending the Guards across the Channel, a measure of such rare occurrence as to mark emphatically the determination of, England to crush this wicked conspiracy. The Guards battalion was. evidently ordered to Ireland for a moral effect; and the appearance of that magnificent body of men will not fail to accomplish its object. Every. day brings fresh tidings of arrests and discoveries of arms ; and, if a report which has reached us just before going to press may be credited, the end is not far distant. We hear that the rising is fixed for St. Patrick's Day, March 17. If it should prove so, then the Patron Saint will, for the first time, have brought evil upon his country.