My readers, I know, would like to learn of something mysterious, prompted by a paragraph which appeared in last week's Impartial Reporter, in which it was stated that a letter between two Fermanagh officials had found its way to a Clones merchant [in error].

It was before the first of April last, on which date the Customs barrier came into force.

Now in the town of Dundalk – and for that matter in Dublin and Enniskillen – there were men, who were greatly perturbed over the prospect of loss of trade through the Customs barrier, and as the Dundalk people had a lot of trade in the North, the idea was mooted that it would be a splendid thing to have a brewery north of the border.

And so letters passed between the promoters of the new suggested brewery, and by good – some will say bad – luck, the Irregulars raided the mails one fine night, when the most important of the proposals was in the course of post between Dundalk and Enniskillen.

The letters were opened, censored, and by mischance certain letters were put back into the wrong envelopes, and thus it came to pass one morning an Enniskillen gentleman received in his envelope tales of woe from a girl in Drogheda about a brother on the run, and another document about the proposed Enniskillen brewery.

The interesting point about the brewery letter was not that it was all typewritten, but that it had not one name mentioned therein, [concerning] negotiations for the purchase of a very valuable building site.

Farther, from the letter it was learnt that if peaceful persuasion could not bring off the deal, threats were to be made use of, and the whole plan was laid bare.

The steps taken to prevent any possibility of any brewery being set up in Enniskillen were so sharp and drastic that the proposed plan will now never be carried out, at least not in Enniskillen.