THE FENIAN SKIRMISHING FUND AND THE HIGHLANDS.

THE following correspondence appeared in recent issues of the Scotsman :

SIR,-I have read your article in to-day's issue on the American Fenians and the Skirmishing Fund with considerable interest. I am, however, surprised that you made no reference to the portion of the fund which is alleged to have found its way to the Scottish Highlands. A friend sent me a Canadian paper yesterday in which a telegraphic summary appears of the proceedings at Chicago under date of 8th August. Patrick Crowe, who claims to have originated the Skirmishing Fund, held forth at the "Fenian conclave," and said that the fund "has been squandered; 7000 dollars of it being lent by one of the managers to himself; 20,000 dollars used in building a torpedo boat, which never worked, but was profitable to the ring; and 2000 dollars going to support an Irish paper in the Highlands of Scotland, and the disposition of the rest being known only to heaven and the insiders." What paper can it be that has received substantial aid from Irish-Americans? It is to be hoped a contradiction and repudiation will be at once forthcoming in the name of, I wont say patriotism, but common decency.-I am, &c., NO FENIAN.

SIR, A correspondent of yours, "No Fenian," referring to this subject, quotes certain figures mentioned by Patrick Crowe at the "Fenian Convention" held in Chicago on the 8th August, and, amongst these, 2000 dollars as having been given to an Irish paper in the Highlands of Scotland in support of the movement, and he asks "What paper in the Highlands of Scotland can it be that received substantial aid from the Irish-Americans?" There is no Irish paper in the Highlands of Scotland, but there is a paper published at Inverness, The Highlander, which I heard some time ago had received "substantial aid" from the Irish-Americans, and which, I have reason to believe, would like to have closer relations with the Irish Land Leaguers at home. The editor and proprietor, Mr John Murdoch, some time ago made a prolonged visit to America, and, after a short stay at home, has again gone out to America. The Highlander was, until recently, published weekly, but now appears in the form of a monthly magazine.—I am, &c., ONE BEHIND THE SCENES.

The Highlander Office, 76 to 82 Castle Street,
Inverness, August 29, 1881.

SIR,-A letter under this heading, signed by "No Fenian," appearing in your Friday's issue, contains an inuendo that an Irish paper in the Highlands had received Fenian support. As The Highlander is, I believe, the only paper in the Highlands— or even in Scotland-that has prominently advocated the Irish land question, there can be no doubt that it is the paper alluded to, and I shall therefore be glad if you will allow me, through your columns, to state as plainly and as emphatically as possible that The Highlander newspaper never in any way received pecuniary aid from the "Skirmishing Fund." As a paper advocating the people's right to the soil they cultivate, The Highlander received the warn support of Irish Americans, who readily subscribed for it; and when Mr Murdoch, its proprietor and editor, visited America and Canada in 1879, he received as hearty a welcome from the Irish as from the Scotch, the former assisting him as much as possible by crowding upon him invita. tions to lecture, for which he was paid by the local committee inviting him. In January 1880, Mr Murdoch (then in Toronto) was urgently pressed to take part in the "Parnell reception " at Philadelphia, and he thereafter, by invitation, took part in a number of Mr Parnell's meetings, for which he was paid by the Central Committee in New York. But never under any circumstances has Mr Murdoch advocated Fenianism or other violent measures (on the contrary, he has always been most careful to condemn them), and never has he in any way connected himself with, or received a cent from, the "Skirmi-hing Fund." Mr Murdoch's present absence in America (fulfilling a second series of lecturing engagements) prevents him writing you himself, but my knowledge of the facts stated above warrants me in giving the statement an un. qualified denial.—I am, &c., A. E. MIDDLETON, Manager.

In the same issue of the Scotsman in which the last of these letters was published, the following telegram, dated New York, August 29th, appeared:

THE FENIAN CONSPIRATORS.

Perhaps no one is better qualified to speak for the Irish Nationalists than William Carroll. The Philadelphia Press to-day prints a long report of an interview with him. He says the organisation which recently sat in Convention at Chicago regards the use of dynamite with contempt and disgust. The Irish Nationalist party is certainly revolutionary in its objects and methods, but it will not sacrifice innocent human life if it can possibly perceive any other method of achieving its purpose. Nothing less than the complete independence of Ireland will content them. Their present efforts are devoted to preparation and patient waiting for England's next war.

From an account in the World, of 31st August, of an interview by one of their correspondents with the arch-Fenian, we extract the following answer by O'Donovan Rossa :-

You were asking me about that Skirmishing Fund a while ago. Pat (Crowe) knows what he is saying. I transferred the whole thing in 1877 to the Irish National Revolutionary Committee. Pat says that Ford, proprietor of the Irish World, used 20,000 dollars out of the 90,000 collected, on his paper; that Dr Caroll, of Philadel phia, got 7000, on his personal note, for his own uses; that 2000 were handed to Murdoch, who agitated in this country with Parnell for the purposes of founding a paper in the North of Ireland (Scotland?); that 5000 dollars went to Michael Davitt to start the Land League; and that 20,000 dollars went to John Holland for his torpedo.

In an advertisement inserted in the American papers last spring intimating Mr Murdoch's Lectures, we were told "For vacant dates, address "Dr William Carroll, 617 South 16th Street, Philadelphia, Pa." Further comment to show the connection of parties with each other and with the Skirmishing Fund would be a waste of space.

THE SCOTTISH THISTLE.-This ancient emblem of Scots pugnacity, with its motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit," is represented on various species of royal bearings, coins, and coats of armour, so that there is some difficulty in saying which is the genuine original thistle. The origin of the national badge itself is thus handed down by tradition :— When the Danes invaded Scotland, it was deemed unwarlike to attack an enemy in the pitch darkness of night, instead of a pitched battle by day; but on one occasion the invaders resolved to avail themselves of this stratagem; and in order to prevent their tramp from being heard they marched bare-footed. They had thus neared the Scottish force unobserved, when a Dane unluckily stepped with his naked foot upon a superb, prickly thistle, and instinctively uttered a cry of pain, which discovered the assault to the Scots, who ran to their arms, and defeated the foe with a terrible slaughter. The thistle was immediately adopted as the insignia of Scotland.

In the same issue of the Scotsman in which the last of these letters was published, the following telegram, dated New York, August 29th, appeared :

THE FENIAN CONSPIRATORS.

Perhaps no one is better qualified to speak for the Irish Nationalists than Wiliam Carroll. The Philadelphia Press to-day prints a long report of an interview with him. He says the organisation which recently sat in Convention at Chicago regards the use of dynamite with contempt and disgust. The Irish Nationalist party is cerainly revolutionary in its objects and methods, but it will not sacrifice innocent human life if it can possibly perceive any other method of achieving its purpose. Nothing less than the complete independence of Ireland will content them. Their present efforts are devoted to preparation and patient waiting for England's next war.

From an account in the World, of 31st August, of an interview by one of their correspondents with the arch-Fenian, we extract the following nswer by O'Donovan Rossa ::

You were asking me about that Skirmishing Fund a while ago. Pat (Crowe) nows what he is saying. I transferred the whole thing in 1877 to the Irish National evolutionary Committee. Pat says that Ford, proprietor of the Irish World, used 0,000 dollars out of the 90,000 collected, on his paper; that Dr Caroll, of Philadelia, got 7000, on his personal note, for his own uses; that 2000 were handed to urdoch, who agitated in this country with Parnell for the purposes of founding a per in the North of Ireland (Scotland?); that 5000 dollars went to Michael Davitt start the Land League; and that 20,000 dollars went to John Holland for his torlo.

In an advertisement inserted in the American papers last spring intiting Mr Murdoch's Lectures, we were told "For vacant dates, address Dr William Carroll, 617 South 16th Street, Philadelphia, Pa." Further iment to show the connection of parties with each other and with the rmishing Fund would be a waste of space.

:

SCOTTISH THISTLE.-This ancient emblem of Scots pug-
its motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit," is represented on
froyal bearings, coins, and coats of armour, so that there
in saying which is the genuine original thistle. The
badge itself is thus handed down by tradition :-
od Scotland, it was deemed unwarlike to attack an
es of night, instead of a pitched battle by day;
aders resolved to avail themselves of this
event their tramp from being heard they
hus neared the Scottish force unobserved,
ith his naked foot upon a superb, prickly
a cry of pain, which discovered the
ir arms, and defeated the foe with a
immediately adopted as the insignia

foresters in a wood, having a horse and cart evidently for removing the large trees which they had cut down with their saw, and were busy crosscutting to make them portable. But our Sheriff summarily dismissed the case, on the ground that as there was no wood on the cart it was not clear they meant to steal it! And when our foresters detected a man cutting down branches and young trees, both the Fiscal and the Lord-Advocate refused to prosecute, saying "the value of the wood was so trifling!" I could fill a volume with somewhat similar cases constantly brought before me as Factor or as Justice of the Peace, and our keepers, getting such law, for watching the woods and game, it is no wonder if one of them thought he had better either keep in his bed at night or take the law into his own hands, under the idea of "Home Rule" being desirable in this lawless land. So, a wood fancier soon summoned him before the same Sheriff for assault-and without any witness or visible mark of bodily hurt on the complainant, our forester was sent off to jail.

Now, can landlords be justly called cruel for evicting people, who keep him in such constant irritation and heavy yearly expenses, quite needless but for the people's dishonesty? The simple, but concealed, truth being that our cottars and crofters have all along been busy evicting themselves, and the reason why Clearances were all but unknown of old is that, even when I was young, game was of no value worth mentioning; no one cared much about the marches of estates or fences, and when cattle allowed trees to grow here and there, there were neither foresters nor gamekeepers employed, as now, looking after thieves. Further, the Poor Law of 1845 quickly extinguished the landlord's remaining sympathy with his small people, alarmed as he was by the unexpected heavy burden of poor rates which, previously, were all but entirely borne by the poor themselves. I knew a proprietor who, before 1845, used to hand £5 to his parish minister as his yearly contribution for the poor, and since then I have known his yearly poor rates to be close on £500. Such a change awoke many to the apparent duty of expelling from the parish every family not absolutely needed to cultivate the large farms.

Lastly, I would notice the heart-hardening separation between Highland landlords and tenants, caused by almost every proprietor having now deserted the national Church. When I was young almost every landlord and landlady in the north resided all the year round at home among their people, and, attending the parish church regularly, met there, after service, with all their great and small friends, with such handshaking and health enquiries as drew all hearts together, and bettered every one concerned. But now a landlord or landlady who, in the north, thus meets their people in and after church would be quite a surprise-a sad loss to high and low, without any visible gain to either-and thus, the natural, feudal, proper attachment of the people to their proprietors has been all but entirely destroyed.

In a future number of your Magazine I propose, if you will allow me, to show that the so-called discomfort and poverty of our crofters has little or no connection with our Highland soil or climate.

EILEANACH, INVERNESS, Sept. 5th, 1881.

JOHN MACKENZIE, M.D.

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