-To O’Mahony from J.S. (Stephens)-April 7, 1862

7 April [1862], Dublin. 'Brother, This will be handed to you by the "Pagan" [O'Leary]. To tell you what I feel at parting with him would be as difficult as to express my sense of his worth. I shall therefore merely say that, taken for all in all, I think him one of the finest, grandest natures I have ever met. The penalty of such a nature, circumstanced as he has been here, is scarcely oilier than perpetual agony:

not to mention straitened means and consequent bad food, bad lodging, and discomfort of every kind, nor of the general tyranny, as galling to every independent spirit, there is in his case the odiously petty tyranny of apostate employers, intolerable to a man like him. In corroboration of this, I have only to state the fact of his having been compelled to leave his employments since coming over. Did he remain, this change of masters would be frequent and inevitable; so that even in a pecuniary point of view his stay here would be next to impossible. Under these circumstances it is clearly better he should return to America till absolutely needed here. He will of choice and as a duty remain in New York in order to be always near at hand. From this he brings with him the best wishes of all who know him and are capable of appreciating such rare qualities as his. I could give you no notion of his popularity. Scores of our best men love him like a brother. He has not been idle and has proved himself a good propagandist, more than one branch having been established by him in very unpromising places. Such is the result of faith, straightforwardness, and thorough manfulness like his. Leaving him to tell you of all matters of this kind and, far as he knows, of general affairs also, I must now wish him a hearty God speed.

'In my last I acknowledged the receipt of two cheques, one to Peter [Langan] and the other to Gerald [? Garrett O'Shaughnessy], each for ^10. I have now to acknowledge two more, both to Gerald, the first for ten and the second for eight pounds. Let me here mention the other sums received since your return to America. Shortly before the funeral [of Terence Bellew MacManus, Nov. 1861]. I got the ^50 sent, I believe, if not brought to you, by Jeremiah Kavanagh. Subsequently I received three cheques, two for {10 each and one for ^5. This makes in all ^113. One hundred and thirteen pounds from the whole. American organisation in a whole year \ I should look on this as a small sum monthly, dating from the first month after you received the news of the MacManus demonstration here. Our friends at this side cannot understand their transatlantic brothers, and without a speedy and very marked improvement they will come to believe their hopes from America utterly delusive. They are aware that business has been very bad for the last year; but deeming it flourishing compared to what it has been here, yet knowing that far more money has been subscribed here than I have received from your side, they naturally conclude either that the organisation yonder is very limited or that the members of it are not in earnest. They wonder too why those friends of ours who have joined the army don't continue to subscribe; and, from the fact of their not doing so, question their willingness to come over to fight here.

'It would pain you to hear all that is said about the American branch and to know that I cannot conscientiously defend the conduct of our brothers yonder, especially since the [MacManus] funeral. It would also pain you to see how my friends here receive the announcement of a money-order for ^10. The fact is I had much rather you would never send such a sum. This ought to need no explanation. I cannot safely and effectively move with less than {60. This at least I ought to receive monthly and together, so as to be able to take a wide range round the country and not by frequent departures and returns—by continual beatings of the same track—to make my arrest a certainty. You must be aware of the danger inseparable from my movements since the funeral and that the sole means of avoiding this danger can be found in a fair supply of money. On the other hand, never has action been so imperatively called for. This ought to be obvious too. I must go through the old hands in order to remove doubts, scruples—the manifold weaknesses resulting from the unutterable baseness of the Felon-setters; and I must extend our action as widely as possible so as to make the enemy feel they cannot drive their infamy with impunity. Had I the framework I desiderate, with 80,000 to 100,000 filled up, they might set, denounce, or curse till their dogs' souls were howling in Dantean pits. My conviction is that our safety depends on the speedy accomplishment of this work or the forbearance of the government. If not speedily accomplished, our transatlantic brothers alone shall be to blame;

so that should I be arrested and the cause lost the shame and remorse shall be at their door—they shall have outdone the Felon-setters—abandoned us in our hour of need.

'From the foregoing you have inferred that the felon-setting goes on apace. Every national paper, many bishops' pastorals, and numerous altars and pulpits are battering us might and main. You will grieve to hear arrest. / have been warned by various parties. Cantwell in a state of intoxication recently spoke to a party about me, telling my name and about where I resided and how he would find me out and have me driven out of the country. He did not know that this party was one of us and had him tell everybody what he said. I expect to see the party in question tonight and, if so, I shall get him to write out the whole affair for you. But should I not see him the "Pagan" can give you an account of it. [Rev. John] Kenyon, who was beastially drunk, was with Cantwell on this occasion. In short, "Young Ireland" is toiling at a work without a name. What is the result hitherto? So far as I have learned, three men have been paralysed by all the felon-setting, denunci-ation, etc. Even these men have not been lost. On the other hand our numbers are in all places I have heard from increasing; in some places the increase is next to incredible. Thus, a Centre who three months ago did not count 100 men sent me last week a return for 820! / am sure of this return. Centres who were appointed only a few months ago now count their men by the hundred! The Dublin organisation has nearly trebled, within the last 3 months. We are so thoroughly master of this city that, in the event of a public meeting of the enemy, we can take them one and all and flog them through the streets. This is a fact: if John Mitchel, William Smith O'Brien, The O'Donohue, and all that fry, were to meet here tomorrow against our wish we could do anything we liked with them. All they can do against us is simply to set us.

'And as in Dublin so it is elsewhere—our doctrine alone has life in it. The very class we found it so hard to reach till this year—the farming class—are now craving for our approach. But with all this their [sic] is so strong a desire for intelligence—for frequent communication with me—that whatever the risk and inconvenience I must go amongst them. In England and Scotland as well as at home I am called for clamorously. In the name of Christ and of Liberty will our friends yonder ever rise to a sense of duty and the wants of the hour? I should forget everything did they give me but three months' uninterrupted work now. What might I not do! Then, as already said, I could go to America with such credentials as no Irishman ever brought there before me. The results produced here, together with my knowledge—or belief— of what is in me, lead me to the conviction that my toil yonder shall produce the necessary fruits. I have never heard nor can I even conceive anything to shake this faith in myself and in my countrymen in America.

'We have brought out the sixth edition (1,000 copies each) of the pamphlet. This unparallelled [sic] circulation of a brochure of the kind has stung the Clique; in as much that the Goulas, who would fain have left the Philadelphia meeting pass unnoticed, feel called on to look to their reputation, rather smirched by [Michael] Doheny. Mr A. M. Goula [Sullivan] is to pitch into the Col. [Doheny] in the next issue of the Nation. On this account, if for no other reason—though I myself see others enough— you will be kind enough to read my last letter to the Col. Should you still be at cross purposes with our old companion and friend, pray get somebody else to read my letter to him. It will give him hints which he may turn to account in case lie should deem it necessary to smash the Goulas in a rejoinder. Tell him or let somebody else tell him to pay special care to what he says. It is not enough to avoid saying anything that could compromise us with the government; he must advance nothing he cannot fully substantiate; and should link the various parts of his letter (or speech, should it be a speech) together in such a chain or armour of proof as to leave no weak point to the enemy. The same advice applies tc yourself should you consider yourself called on to write or speak. The pamphlet is getting so wide a circulation that, good as your discourse at Philadelphia was, I am sorry you did not make even more of it. We shall get out at least 10,000 of the pamphlet and may even extend the circulation to no less than double that number. No wonder the Goulas should be ill at ease. Allow me to prophesy: either we shall be put down or the Goulas shall have to quit the country by the close of the year, and this by force of public opinion. While on this subject of the pamphlet I should say that it has done considerable service and will do more in removing doubts and scruples among the old hands and as a recruiting-paper for new ones.

'How have you allowed yourself to fall into the complaining weakness in your recent letter? Believe me that such weakness is calculated to lower you in the estimation of our friends here. At the present time especially they cannot understand it. Deeming the post office unsafe they wonder how you can be pressing them to write to you. Besides, as I acknowledge the money you forward they cannot see the need for a second acknowledgement; nor do they deem a delay in the acknowledgement of {,10 on my part a matter for complaint. For the present and till further advice none of them wish to be communicated with by any party in America. You form no exception to this. Therefore, till further instructed, I call on and warn all friends at your side to discontinue every kind of correspondence not chiefly confined to private business. You must not even send money-orders to any of the old hands; and when writing to the parties whose addresses I send, it will be well to say nothing you can possibly avoid about our affairs, merely telling them to get cheques cashed and hand over the amount to me. Also, you must discontinue sending cheques in the names of parties known at this side—you might just as well send an order in your own or in Capt. Welply's name. Michael Kavanagh's name too is over-well known. In a word, send cheques in the name of someone altogether unknown here. Also, get somebody to address at least if not copy out your letters to us: you cannot disguise your hand sufficiently. All these precautions are needful now and the neglect of them would needlessly, not to say criminally, compromise good men, our friends and brother toilers here.

'The following are the parties to whom money-orders (or, in case of great necessity, letters of business—in case of business, letter under cover} are to be sent till you hear further: Mr Thomas Grant, 32 Power's Court, Lower Mount street (Dublin). Mr George Hopper, n Upper Camden street (Dublin). Mr Patrick O'Connor, at John Byrne's Esqr., io Lombard street (Dublin).

'Address these parties in turns, not sending two letters consecutively to any of them.

'As I am still suffering a little and unable without injury to write a long letter I must here conclude. Yours fraternally that the confessional itself is being most insidiously turned against us. In short, no means are thought too base to put us down. The Goulas [A. M. Sullivanites] and your friend [James] Cantwell are specially bent on my