On Feb. 23, 1864, a riot occurred at a public meeting in the Rotunda, Dublin, in which Mr. A. M. Sullivan, who had openly attacked the "I. R. B.," was, together with his adherents, the national party," ejected by the Fenians. The numbers of the latter, and the perfect discipline with which they acted in their attack on the opposing faction, were a revelation to the authorities, while the victory itself was to the friends of Ireland prophetic of the dissensions destined to mar every attempt at revolution. Stephens again returned to the United States in March, 1864, and visited the different corps of the Union armies, under the pseudonyme of Captain Daly. The prudence and secrecy which always characterized the movements of this leader found but few imitators among his followers. The bravado with which the Irish press in America and the Irish People in Dublin spoke of the near liberation of Ireland, and the enthusiasm expressed by the Irish masses at home and abroad, served the British government effectively.

Stephens left New York at the end of July, his presence having given an extraordinary impulse to the spread of the brotherhood.-"When the second Fenian congress assembled in Cincinnati, Jan. 17, 1865, the circles had increased five fold, and the financial receipts exceeded the total of the seven previous years. A report from an agent sent to Ireland stated that the masses were desirous of revolution, and that the middle classes, though hesitating, would in extremity act with the patriots. The surrender of the confederate armies and the disbandment of the Union forces left free those Irish officers and soldiers on whom were centred mainly the expectations of the revolutionists. Many of these officers now went to Great Britain; and about this time disaffection began to spread among the Irish troops in the British service. It was no longer a secret that the Fenian conspiracy had its ramifications all over Great Britain as well as Ireland. On Sept. 8 a proclamation from Stephens was circulated among the circles in Ireland, announcing that the time for action had come.

I speak with a knowledge and authority to which no other man could pretend," he says, in concluding;the flag of Ireland, of the Irish republic, must this year be raised! But every purpose and act of Stephens was made known to the British government. On the night of Sept. 15 a squad of the Dublin police suddenly seized the office of the "Irish People," taking into custody Jeremiah O'Donovan-Rossa, the registered proprietor, and several of the editorial staff and other employees, among whom was Pierce Nagle, who turned crown witness at the subsequent trial. Another squad arrested Thomas ('. Luby, the chief editor, at his residence, capturing among other documents a letter addressed to Miss Frazer," but which in reality was an official document signed by James Stephens appointing a committee of three to govern "the home organization," with the same supreme authority hitherto exercised by himself. There were resolutions also from the brotherhood in America, signed by O'Mahony, formally recognizing Stephens as the chief executive and head of the Irish republic.

The next day appeared two proclamations from the viceroy, Lord Wodehouse. The first announced the existence of "the Fenian conspiracy," and offered a reward of £200 for the apprehension of James Stephens; the second declared military law in the city and county of Cork, and offered another reward of £200 for the apprehension of one Geary. Simultaneously with the arrests in Dublin, which continued daily for several weeks, others were made in different parts of Ireland. In England, at the same time, several leading Fenians were arrested in Liverpool, Manchester, and other cities. On an American steamer landing at Qucenstown, C. U. O'Connell, an aide-de-camp of O'Mahony, was taken into custody, and upon him were found papers incriminating many persons. The utmost energy was displayed by the British authorities; vessels of war were despatched to the principal seaports, and a cordon of gunboats surrounded the Irish coasts. Stephens, under the name of James Herbert, had occupied a villa near Dublin, where on the night of Nov. 11 he with three others was arrested by the police.

He was committed to prison, whence he escaped on the 24th of the same month, and finally reached France. Bills of exchange in large amounts from the Fenian treasury in New York to the Irish leaders had fallen into the hands of the government.-No sooner had tidings of this reached the United States than the central council of the Fenian brotherhood," sitting in New York, summoned the third congress, which assembled in Philadelphia, Oct. 18. During its sitting, P. J. Meehan, editor of the Irish American," and accredited agent to the brotherhood in Ireland, returned, and reported the home organization as powerful, the management masterly, and the position solid," and this at the very moment when the Irish revolutionists were utterly helpless. To this congress 350 circles, representing 30 states, sent deputies, and among the circles those styled "army and navy had 14,620 members. This session of the third congress authorized the establishment of a Fenian sisterhood," which spread rapidly, and proved a successful auxiliary in raising funds. It also adopted a new constitution, creating a president, secretaries of departments, a senate and house of representatives, and authorized the issue of bonds of the Irish republic.

A deputation from this convention of Irish-American citizens obtained from President Johnson the release from Fortress Monroe of John Mitchel, who had been confined as a prisoner of state. He was despatched to Europe as the accredited agent of the brotherhood, and bore with him a large sum of money in aid of the struggle in Ireland. After the adjournment of this congress public offices were opened in New York, and the issue and sale of bonds were actively carried on for some time. But a fatal dissension now manifested itself between O'Mahony and the newly created senate. Meanwhile events in Ireland were hurrying onward. The special commission to try the Fenian prisoners com-menced in Dublin Nov. 27. O'Donovan-Rossa was sentenced to penal servitude for life, and Luby and O'Leary for 20 years. The judges then proceeded to Cork, where similar punishments were dealt out. In the mean time the rupture in New York between O'Mahony, who had been created president of the whole brotherhood, and the majority of the senate, had been gradually widening. He and his friends wished to operate in Ireland, while the senate favored the scheme of an armed expedition into Canada, and henceforth were designated by their opponents as the Canada party.