IRISH CRUSADERS.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 317, 2 November 1860, Page 2

IRISH CRUSADERS.

'■. Tothe'Editor of:iM Colonists [ ' Sir—The article in your issue of the 23rd ultimo, (as taken from the Saturday Smew), styled the ' Irish Crusaders,' is written in a spirit so contrary to good breeding and truth, that one feels inclined to suppose, it written from amidst some uncivilised people., In the first place I treated it with the contempt it deserved; but some of the crusaders' friends wishing to know what reliance might be placed on the unfavorable idea conveyed by this article, I beg, in answer to their rational request, to furnish you with the following documents, which I received per last mail. From the Civilta Gattolka of August 14th :— We receive from Spoleto a request to publish the following facts, to which the whole town can testify, and which serve to prove the excellent attitndo of the greater part of the Irish who reside there. The facts, says our correspondent, will contradict the impudent falsehoods spread against the reputation of those fervent Catholics who have abandoned all that they held ■ most dear to repair to a foreign and hostile land, with the sole object of defending the" Pope's temporal sovereignty, Ist. Though they, .for more than a [month,were without officers, their conduct hai been such as no good man would disavow, and if any volunteer behaved otherwise, he was (as has been ascertained) one of the intruders'fraudulently introduced amongst them. 2; &c. &c. . . The Nation prints the following letter :— Ancona, July 15, 1860. My dear Sir—l take the liberty to forward you the following concerning the Irish brigade. Although you may have already received many communications which perplexed you, being entirely contradictory and various in detail; nevertheless I am certain that a few lines coming from one who has taken the greatest pains to understand j the question, will not be superfluous; but, on the contrary, acceptable, yea, absolutely neceisary. I arrived here direct from Rome on the 12th July, and I immediately called on Major Fitzgerald to ascertain if the rumors I had heard so repeatedly en route were really j to be relied upon. I could not understand that men, i whose attachment io the head of their church at home j is so sincere and so earnest, could be so changed abroad. Glad I am exceedingly to say that such is not the case. No doubt I found that there were evil agencies at work amongst them. No doubt that English, gold had purchased a place for its friends, admirers, and partisans among their hallowed ranks; but the Irish brigade is Irish still—true to their colors and cause, firm and loyal to him whom they honor and revere as their pontiff and father. ' ■•-'•' First, in stating the facts, let me premise that I understood there were some complaints amongst my countrymen as to the preparations for their reception on their arrival in this fortress—that there was also an insufficient commissariat. The complaints were partially true, but not to such an extent as certain papers exaggerated. It is natural to suppose that, on account of tlie numbpr of troops previously concentrated here, there was no doubt a want of accommodation, whicn it was the mo3t earnest desire of eveiy official to give to the Irish defenders of his Holiness. But there was no murmur, no complaint amongst those brave fellows, until some men (who have since been known as, I will not say spies, agents of disaffection among them, but whose conduct bore that character and that alone) urged them as far as they could to mutiny and sedition, to disobedience against their officers, and thus to partial disorganisation. Thanks to the judgment of the general mass, thanks to the innate spirit of fidelity and honor which is the characteristic of every true Irishman, their influence over them was but short lived. The Irish brigade returned to its duty—the worthless and the vile were expelled from its ranks— the true and loyal are anxiously awaiting the moment when they shail be called upon to add new lustre and renown to the old historic glories of the Irish name. The Cork Examiner says :— We have been handed the following extract of a I letter from Rome, by a gentleman at present staying in this city. The writer is an Italian of position and property, and one who is not likely to over-color facts in his description of the position of affairs:-— j 'Rome, 4th August, 1860. . . . You ask me about your Irish soldiers. The accounts you got of their bad conduct are greatly exaggerated. The very facts are in many instances untrue. After all theyare men, and under the influence of drink, and possibly encouraged by parties (English) who would be glad to see them any where but here, there was nothing very dreadful in the acts of indiscipline which some of them did commit. Great allowance should be made also for their ignorance of the language and other circumstances. ■ The great bulk are very well conducted. I can say that every, one is struck by their religious attitude, not a nominal but a genuine one (sono reli.giosin&n dinomemadi opera).\

ig, From other documents, which are too long to be related here, it appears evidently that the Irish Brigade been composed with Catholics who devoted themselves to defend the states of the Church against the will of England, which, encourages the revolution in Italy, is closely watched, so that any incident, viz., a case of drunkenness, a dispute ? or row between a few individuals becomes a subject to be commented upon, engrossed^ and made as a general affair by the various correspondents of the so-called Liberal' or Protestant papers, as if the whole of the Irish Brigade was concerned iv it. Indeed, .according to the Saktrday Renew ' a moment more, and the defenders of the church would have been on the high road to self-extermination, and in a moment after, that great affair terminated by a sudden explosion of good humor on the part of the Belgians concerned in it.

One may asily conceive how, from an innocent cause, a serious affair may originate iD the position of Irish in Italy. Here is an instance: a party of men had heen employed bringing up. some old iron from a part of the citadel. These old stores were covered with a sort of black rust or soot, and the men, of course, got their hands all daubed over with it. They commenced larking, and amused themselves blacking each other's faces. Some of them, however, carried their joking into a new and dangerous'region. They all commenced chaffing the Italian sentry on the outer gate, and, it is said, one of them gave him a daub of the black ochre. He took neither chaffing nor painting.in fun, and brought his musket, and fixed bayonet to the charge. One of the Irish, in all probability little dreaming the nature of the act in a military point of view, plucked the ramrod out of the gun as it was.thrust past him. This, of course, was ■disarming a guard.' Others of the guard rushed at the Irish, and one of the latter fell pierced with the bayonets of two Italians. A great deal of mischief arose from the Italians and the Irish not being able to understand each other. When the Irish turned round to explain and reason with them, the Italians thought they were going to resist, and charged them with the bayonet. After some other skirmishes, the Irish put the Italians to flight, and

pursued them in full chase down towards tht town. .;.■.. . V In addition to the above documents I have in mjK* possession a sample of falsehoods and fictitious letters which have been published in many newspapers in order to throw blame, discredit, and censure upon men who, with few exceptions are led;, by the most noble motive of defending what they-, inwardly believe to be the cause of God and his Church, i I am, &c. . AN OBSERVER. - Nelson, October 29,1860. [Our correspondent appears to have overlooked the very glowing accounts of the Irish Brigade which wo (as is our custom, always, on the principle of • Hear both sides!) gave in our number for October 3rd, from ■ the Cork Examiner, and likewise from the Morning News, as a part of the article which elicited .• Obs ;rvev's' remarks in the number for October 23rd. By the last mail news of any thing but a flattering cha- • racter arrived on the coition of the Brigade in Rome, whence many had re&*rne.d wearied, and. disgusted ■ both with the place andVthe service.—Ed. Col.] ■

YOUNG- MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. ' To the Editor of the Colonist. Sir—ln your issue of Tuesday, last you notice the formation of a Young Men's Christian Association in this city, and unadvisedly declare it to be under , my " auspices." Allow me, through your columns, : to express my regret for the use of the expression.": The real state of the case is simply this—that in . consequence of my previous connection with such'",' . a society, I was requested to attend the preliminary , meetings, and aid in any way in my power towards ' starting such an association in Nelson. ' This I gladly did, not in my ministerial capacity, but .. simply as a well-wisher to so desirable a project. ■■■ r You must be"a"ware thatvtne purely evangelical,1 unsectarian basis on which this association "stands, precludes it from seeking the auspices of any , Minister or Church, and to seek for it would be to seek its own extinction. I would avail myself of this opportunity through • ypur paper, of craving for the Nelson Young Men's Christian Association,' the prayers and sympathies of every Christian Minister and every faithful' disciple of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour—the high and holy object which this Association sets ■< before it—"the spiritual and mental improvement ot young men"—at once' commends itself to all nlen; and the large measure of success which similar associations have met with in. other parts of the world, will I.am sure, of itself alone, inspire . the confidence and call out the co-operation of our Christian community. With the sincere prayer, that the God of all grace may shine upon it, bless it, and make it a ' blessing to the young men of Nelson, . . lam, dear Sir, . Yours truly, . WILLIAM M. BISS. . Nelson, October 31,18G0. [The insertion of the name of our correspondent in '• the paragraph referred to happened thus: Because Mr. Biss was the only reverend gentleman present at ;. the meeting to which our attention was called, and because we were informed that he had communicated an impetus to the association which gave ifc a more enduring aspect than hitherto. As to deducing from th,e words ' under the auspices of Mr. Biss,' &c, that any particular sectarian bias would attach to the association because that gentleman was casually de- ~ scribed as a Baptist minister, such a construction never was intended by us. We can hardly suppose that any - one, except k very warm sectary indeed, could ever have drawn such a jealous inference from so simple and i undesigned a term.—Ed. Col.] ~' " ■