MF – 1865.10.31 – The Fenians – #125 – F12250
The Journal is suffering dreadfully in spirit – and its groanings are quite affecting – because we copied from the Dublin Nation a review of the Registrar General’s report on the condition of Ireland. The statistics in that article are the important part of it, and these are all taken from the public official report. The Journal should therefore blame the Imperial Government rather for having published such startling dreadful statements at such a time to show the world why, though they must think Fenianism madness, they can not regard it as madness wholly without a cause. The wasting away of the Irish nation in its population, its industry, its wealth and even in the productions of its oil, and in the very number of the cattle, to make room for which men are removed, all reasonable men admit to be an evil, the remedy for which not even the sudden alarm about Fenianism prevents the leading English as well as Irish papers from discussing, precisely as our knowledge of the plottings of the Confederation conspirators should not prevent us from considering what would improve the condition of New Brunswick. IF in either case it were possible that the conspiracy could succeed, such discussions and considerations would be useless.
The Journal and its associates would fain use the Fenian scare for their own purposes. They would be delighted if it could be made useful in the York election next week. It is almost a wonder that they have not begun to assert that Fenianism exists in this Province, and that a rising ought to be dreaded. To be sure there is not the slightest grounds for making such an assertion, and perhaps they shrink from trying the credulity of their readers so far, and are afraid of the laugh that would be raised against them; but if they saw the slightest chance of gaining votes for Mr. Fisher by such means, they would not hesitate to say that all the Anti Confederates, Protestants as well as Catholics, Blue Noses as well as Irishmen, are Fenians and worse than Fenians.