Fenianism in the United States.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4278, 16 September 1882, Page 2 (Supplement)

Fenianism in the United States.

The correspondent of the London Times in New York was recently commissioned to ferret out all the facts concerning the plans and operations of the Fenian party in the United States. He makes some curious disclosures. The head quarters of the organisation, he says, are in New York, yet men are engaged forwarding news from every large city in the United States, outside of tfie headquarters. The chief hiding-place of the conspirators is Chicago. While O'Donovan Kossa was at one time the projector and conductor of the party, he is not now, nor has he been for some time in any position to control it, or even learn of its secret doings. In fact though sincere in his views, Eossa talked too much for his conspirators to trust him, and while his United Irishmen Society Directory were general managers of the business, they used hini only as a figurehead. The dynamite parly has a regular system of correspondence with friends in Ireland, so conducted that it is impossible to find the writers out. The discovery by British detectives of infernal machines sent over last summer led to a radical change in their plans. A scheme was laid in the West to capture the Princess Louise, who was expected to accompany the Marquis of Lome on his recent tour of Manitoba. The conspirators formed the plan of sweeping down upon her and keeping her as a hostage until the Irish suspects should, be released, but as the Princess did not come out to Canada the plot failed because the detectives had found it out and sent over a warning, and she prudently remained in England. Last autumn the party planned, an expedition to Bermuda, and selected a party of men to go with a view to blowing up the Government, floating dock there. The men arrived safely out, and were proceeding by cautious steps to execute their mission, when the Bermuda authorities acted as if somebody tiad informed them what was in the wind, and the party were obliged to return to New York. Emissaries from the conspirators also' went to Halifax, N.S., and St. John, N. 8., to blow up some British war ships there; but as in the case of Bermuda, it would seem information of their designs preceded them, and they failed in their purpose. According to the Times' correspondent this Dynamite Society is jw>

' : severing in its schemes. Last winter a " Dynamite School" was opened in New York under its auspices, where an instructor in explosives, a Russian named Professor M. Zeroff, was employed. The pupils were all bound by oaths to carry out the orders of masters whom they do not know, and will never see if the orders are communicated in an ascertained way communicating their authority. The New York World reporter says of the Times' article that O'Donovan Kossa admits the greater part of it is true, but be does not care to say what parts are true and wbat false. He admitted further —" We have a chemical school in opera* tion, and our pupils are selected with care. Many of them have come over from Ireland."