by the authorities, and held to make such a gathering liable to
dispersion by the police, as our "groups" used to be subject to
proctorial punishment. Mills are another favourite resort of the
law-breakers. Mr. Tener tells me that a large mill between this place
and Loughrea is a great centre of trouble, not wholly to the
disadvantage of the astute miller, who finds it not only brings grist to
his mill, but takes away grist from another mill belonging to a couple
of worthy ladies, and once quite prosperous. It is no uncommon thing, it
appears, for the same person to be put through the ceremony of swearing
fidelity more than once, and at more than one place, with the not
unnatural result, however, of diminishing the pressure of the oath upon
his conscience or his fears, and also of alienating his affections, as
he is expected to pay down two shillings on each occasion. Once a
member, he contributes a penny a week to the general fund. It seems also
to be an open secret who the disbursing treasurers are of this fund,
from whom the members, detailed to do the dark bidding of the
"organisation," receive their wage. "A stout gentleman with sandy hair
and wearing glasses" was the description given to me of one such
functionary. When so much is known of the methods and the men, why is it
that so many crimes are committed with virtual impunity? For two
sufficient reasons. Witnesses cannot be got to testify, or trusted, if
they do testify, to speak the truth; and it is idle to expect juries of
the vicinage in nine cases out of ten will do their duty. Political
cowardice having made it impossible to transfer the venue in cases of
Irish crime, as to which all the authorities were agreed about these
points, from Ireland into Great Britain, it is found that even to
transfer the trial of "Moonlighters" from Clare or Kerry into Wicklow,
for example, has a most instructive effect, opening the eyes of the
people of Wicklow to a state of things in their own island, of which
happily for themselves they were previously as ignorant as the people of
Surrey or of Middlesex. This explains the indignant wish expressed to me
some time ago in a letter from a priest in another part of Ireland, that
"martial law" might be proclaimed in Clare and Kerry to "stamp out the
Moonlighters, those pests of society." That in Clare and Kerry priests
should be found not only disposed to wink at and condone the proceedings
of these "pests of society," but openly t