resolution admits the existence of dissension
among the Brotherhood, and it is therefore
resolved that American politics and religious
questions shall be excluded from their councils.
It asserts that it is not a secret, nor an
oathbound, society; and, as certain circles have
adopted a form of pledge capable of giving
colour to a contrary assertion, the following
form is recommended for general adoption:

"I——solemnly pledge my sacred word and
honour as a truthful and honest man, that I will
labour with earnest zeal for the liberation of
Ireland from the yoke of England, and for the
establishment of a free and independent government
on Irish soil; that I——will implicitly
obey the commands of my superior officers in
the Fenian Brotherhood; that I will faithfully
discharge the duties of my membership, as laid
down in the Constitution and By-Laws thereof;
that I will do my utmost to promote feelings of
love, harmony, and kindly forbearance among
all Irishmen; and that I will foster, defend and
propagate the aforesaid Fenian Brotherhood to
the utmost of my power."

The statement that the Brotherhood is not
a secret or oath-bound society, put forth to
evade, if possible, the opposition of the Irish
clergy, can hardly be reconciled with a subsequent
admission that there is an "inner circle,"
an unnamed council of ten, who direct the
proceedings of the Brotherhood, and who are not
called upon "to make any report as to the
methods and means by which they are endeavouring
to carry forward the avowed ends of the
Brotherhood." The Bishops of Pennsylvania
and Chicago having denounced the Brotherhood,
a deputation was appointed to wait on
the latter, with whom a conversation took
place, much too long to be given even in
substance. The bishop, however, said that they
had a most atrocious oath, and for that reason
he had refused to send their contributions
in aid of the poor in Ireland. That Archbishop
McHale had accepted this money sent through
another channel did not surprise him, on the
contrary, it would have surprised him if he
hadn't. The bishop further said that Mr.
Smith O'Brien was opposed to such societies;
that the leaders of the Brotherhood were
unknown to him, that their actions "are not
sufficiently before us to know what they are
doing. And we do not know what is done with
the money raised in this society." The italics
occur in the report. Finally, the bishop
pronounced that the British government in
Ireland is a legal government, and that it is a
crime against the Church to attempt to
overthrow it.

As to the sentiments and present position of
the Irish race abroad and at home, we are told
that it is pervaded by a profound love of
Ireland, and "by an intense and undying hatred
towards the monarchy and oligarchy of Great
Britain, which have so long ground their country
to the dust, hanging her patriots, starving out
her people, and sweeping myriads of Irish men,
women, and children off their paternal fields, to
find a refuge in foreign lands," and that the
best way of gratifying the hatred of Great
Britain is, for Irishmen to cultivate brotherly
feeling, good will, and mutual forbearance.
Fenians who are not yet aware of the fact, will be
glad to learn that the "men of Irish birth and
lineage now dwelling on the American
continent, hold, at present, a more powerful
position among the peoples of the earth, in point of
numbers, political privileges, social influence
and military strength, than was ever before held
by any exiled portion, not alone of the Irish
nation, but of any subjugated nation whatso-
ever;" while in the very same document they
are told that, "in the hard battle of the exile's
life the race is dying out, and the present
moment is that in which the Irish element has
reached its greatest development." The final
resolution is given in the boldest type, and runs
thus: "THAT WE DECLARE THE SAID IRISH
PEOPLE TO CONSTITUTE ONE OF THE DISTINCT
NATIONALITIES OP THE EARTH, AND AS SUCH
JUSTLY ENTITLED TO ALL THE EIGHTS OF
SELF-GOVERNMENT."

But this absurd society must be more numerous
in America than an Englishman with fair
regard for Irish sense would imagine, or we
should not have Mr. Blair, the Postmaster-General
of the United States, writing to the
Secretary in this style:

"Washington, February 9th, 1864.
"Cor. Sec. I. N. Fair.

"DEAR SIR,—Herewith I send you a cheque
for twenty-five dollars as a small contribution
to the Irish National Fair. I have always
sympathised warmly with Ireland, and rejoice
in the conviction, which daily grows stronger,
that the days of her oppressor—the haughty
and heartless British aristocracy, are numbered.
To the cold-blooded, calculating policy of this
odious class we owe the planting of slavery on
this continent, and consequently all the horrors
we have witnessed in the war which now shakes
the continent. Let us triumph in this struggle,
and there will soon be an end put to the sway
of the oppressors of Ireland, and both parties
so understand it, for whilst the Irish with the
gallant Mulligan, Meagher, and other true sons
of Ireland are armed for the cause of free government,
the British aristocracy, with scarcely an
exception, openly sympathise with the rebels,
and this, notwithstanding their affected horror
of slavery, for the perpetuation of which the
rebels are fighting. "Yours truly,

"M. BLAIR."

The governor of Illinois writes in a similar
strain, and Fernando Wood, the member of the
House of Representatives, sends a cheque for
a hundred dollars, and says: "I would give all
I am worth, if, by so doing, I could advance the
cause of Irish nationality to a successful
completion." The Hon. Fernando probably means
all he possesses. His expression, carried out
literally, would not add much to the funds of
the society. The senator from Michigan gives
his sympathy to the movement. The governor of