FENIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



333 



etc. One copy is sent to the State Centre, and 

 the other forwarded for file and comparison to 

 the Head Centre's headquarters. Any circle 

 failing to report for three months will be set 

 down as " in bad standing," and will be cut off 

 from connection unless full and satisfactory ex- 

 planations are forwarded. The initiation fees 

 of each Circle are not less than one dollar 

 many rich and patriotic members having vol- 

 unteered as high as five hundred dollars ; and 

 the weekly dues of each member not less 

 than ten cents about fifty cents per month 

 being the average actually paid in by each mem- 

 ber. Candidates for membership must be pro- 

 posed by one Fenian brother and seconded by 

 another. Their names and evidence as to their 

 good moral character are then submitted to the 

 Committee of Safety of each Circle, this com- 

 mittee consisting of not less than three nor 

 more than seven of the most discreet and trust- 

 worthy members of the Circle. This com- 

 mittee is nominated by the Centre of each 

 Circle, but must be approved by a majority 

 vote of all the members ; and its report on each 

 candidate for admission must be submitted, 

 for acceptance or rejection, to a regular meeting 

 of the Circle. If the candidate for admission 

 be accepted, he then, if in the United States, is 

 only asked to make the following declaration : 

 " I solemnly pledge my sacred word of honor, 

 as a truthful and honest man, that I will labor 

 with earnest zeal for the liberation of Ireland 

 from the yoke of England, and for the establish- 

 ment of a free and independent government on 

 the Irish soil ; that I will implicitly obey the 

 commands of my superior officers in the Fenian 

 Brotherhood in all things appertaining to my 

 duties as a member thereof ; that I will faith- 

 fully discharge my duties of membership as 

 laid down in the constitution and by-laws 

 thereof ; that I will do my utmost to promote 

 feelings of love, harmony, and kindly forbear- 

 ance among all Irishmen ; and that I will foster, 

 defend, and propagate the aforesaid Fenian 

 Brotherhood to the utmost of my power." All 

 political discussions as to any but Irish national 

 affairs are peremptorily excluded from the de- 

 liberations of Circles; while religious discus- 

 sions of any kind are excluded altogether. 

 Centres of Circles correspond with State 

 Centres ; State Centres with the Head Centre. 

 All correspondence with the brothers in Ire- 

 land, the Canadas, or elsewhere in foreign 

 parts, has to pass through the Head Centre 

 the Head Centre and Central Council know the 

 true names and addresses of the officers of the 

 " I. R. B.," or Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, 

 and other brotherhoods in Ireland, the Cana- 

 das, and elsewhere. Members of the "I. R. B." 

 coming from Ireland, must first be certified by 

 the Head Centre, to whom they shall show 

 their credentials as brothers in good standing 

 when they left their native land. The names 

 of all Fenian brothers expelled for perfidy, are 

 sent by the Head Centre to all State Centres, 

 these latter communicating them to all their 



subordinate Centres of Circles. When broth- 

 ers are about changing their localities of resi- 

 dence, they must procure, for a trifling fee, 

 letters of introduction from the Centre of their 

 late Circle to the Circle they are about joining. 

 If these are in different States, the introduction 

 must be avouched as correct by the State Cen- 

 tres as well. The decision of the Head Centre, 

 approved by a majority of the Central Council, 

 is absolute upon all points within the associa- 

 tion. Each State Centre of the order is ap- 

 pointed and commissioned by the Head Centre, 

 on the recommendation of a majority of the 

 delegates from the various Circles in the State 

 entitled to vote. The Head Centre, however, 

 has power to reject such nominations, being 

 responsible to the next annual Congress for his 

 action; and with the assent of the Central 

 Council may even remove such State Centres 

 as may be agreed upon, and appoint other and 

 more trustworthy men in their places. The 

 State Centres are charged with establishing 

 District Centres and organizing Circles in their 

 respective States or Territories, settling all 

 minor disputes and reporting twice a month to 

 the Head Centre the progress, numbers, and 

 financial condition of their charges. The chief 

 officer of the order in the United States, as in 

 other countries, is called the Head Centre. He 

 is elected annually by a general Congress, com- 

 posed of the various State Centres, ex officio, 

 and one delegate from each Circle in good 

 standing, containing not less than one hundred 

 members, with one additional delegate from 

 each. 



Previous to the reorganization of the Broth- 

 erhood in the United States, in 1865, the Head 

 Centre was assisted by a Central Council of 

 Ten, who were nominated by himself, but must 

 be confirmed by a Congress of the order. The 

 same mode of appointment was adopted for the 

 Treasurers and Secretaries. The Central Coun- 

 cil elected its own President and other officers. 

 It had the power to call conventions of all State 

 Centres, or a general Congress in case of emer- 

 gency. These bodies had the power to impeach 

 or remove any officer. The Council also were 

 required to audit and approve all financial trans- 

 actions of the Brotherhood, and to report once 

 a year to each session of the Fenian Congress. 



The first Congress of the order was held in 

 Chicago in November, 1863, and the second in 

 Cincinnati in January, 1865. The Congress at 

 Chicago consisted of nearly two hundred dele- 

 gates. They reformed the constitution of the 

 order, and more boldly avowed its designs, and 

 rendered it an open organization. In January 

 1865, the membership had so greatly increased 

 as to number about the following Circles : Con- 

 necticut, 8; California, 13; Delaware, 3; In- 

 diana, 29 ; Illinois, 26 ; Iowa, 15 ; Kentucky, 

 8 ; Kansas, 3 ; Louisiana, 1 ; Missouri, 9 ; Mon- 

 tana Territory, 2 ; Maine, 3 ; Michigan, 9 ; Min- 

 nesota, 3; Massachusetts', 65 ; Nevada, 3; Ne\v 

 Hampshire, 9; New York State, 41, and in 

 District of Manhattan (New York city), 26; 



