The Express.
London, England, 1852-07-27 00:00:00

IRELAND.

Dupuis, JOLT 26.
The following is the tory account of the unfortu-
nate transaction at Six-mile-bridge. I take it from
the Limerick Chroosick, and it will be seen even from
this version that the origin of the affair was landlord
intimidation and the carrying off of tenantry whole-
sale like cattle to make use of them for their land-
lord purposes. The Limerick C'hronicie says :
It appears that owing to the intimidation held out
against the tenantry of the Marquis of Conynghain, re-
siding in the neighbourhood of Metlick, and whose votes
were solicited for Colonel Vandeleur, it became necessary
for their protection to bring them into Thomoodgate on
Wednesday night, and they were provided with lodgings
in the apartments under the Temperance Room.. Next
day Carl were provided, and the electors under escort
of the 31st, as above specified, left fur Six-mile-bridge,
Mr. John C. Delmege, J. P., having command of the
military, who before moving off were ordered to load their
flrelocks. The cavalcade then proceeded without further
interruption, except being occasionally pelted with stones
on the route. On approaching the village it was observable
that an immense miss of country people had cougregated
sou to intercept the progress of the electors and military,
who, urosaentering the town, were assailed with grouts,
and rudely assaulted with stones, and other miudes. In
vain did the officers and men remonstrate with the infuriate
people to give way and forbear violence, hut the more en-
treaty was used to dissuade them the more reckless and de-
termined did they appear to attack the Queen's troops, who
were merely discharging an imperative duty. Stones were
hurled at the escort from every direction, their caps were
knocked off, muskets broken, knapsacks stove in, and several
of the detachment were cut and injgged. This outrageous
attack was no longer endurable. 'M soldiers got off the
ears, and formed two sections of 10 men each in front and
rear of the vehicles upon which the electors were seated,
and who were equally exposed to the vengeance of the
mob. The escort pressed on in the direction of the court
house, when a simultaneous onslaught was made. Captain
Eager received a violent blow from n stone on the side of
the head; Corporal Marshall was struck behind the right
ear and a deep cut inflicted, extending to the shoulder; he
was also knocked down, and while on the ground some of
the more desperate rioters jumped on his body ; his firelock
was broken, and his coats, torn off his back. Sergeant
Newn was similarly ill-treated, while 30 men out of the
party were cut and bleedingtheir uniform and ace' utte-
manta spotted with blood. What man, officer or private,
wearing the honourable uniform of his Sovereign, could
' remain passive under such unheard-of indignity and abuse
as this, from a disloyal rabble? The natural and fatal re-
sults are to be recorded. Exasperated by such vile usage,
and their lives in imminent danger, the soldiers tho
advance section, fired upon their assailants, when, s.'d
to relate, six men were shot dead, and as many more
badly wounded. Terror and dismay now seized the rioters
and all who witnessed the spectacle as the lifeless corpses
fell here and there, the moans of the wounded and
shrieks of the relatives and friends resounding from the
town, and responded to from the fields. Mr. David J.
Wilson, J.P., was so overcome by his feelings on hearing
the shots and beholding the sad catastrophe that he rushed
from the court-house towards the military, and ripping open
the front of his dress exclaimed to them, with extended
hands, to shoot him if they wanted more victims. Would
to God that Mr. Wilson, a most humane gentleman, and
the police had earlier shown themselves at the scene of
danger before the military were struck down.
Names of killed :—James Casey, 1 homes Ryan, Michael
I Coleman, Michael Connellan, Jeremiah Frawly, and James
Flaherty. Of those wounded, Michael Glinn,of Rossmanalier,
was brought into Burington's Hospital same eveoiug with a
gun shot wound, the ball hasher( entered under the thigh
bone, and passed out at the other side; John Heffernan was
received in yesterday with a wound in his hit', where the
ball is Wired. John Reilly was sent to Ennis Iloapital with
broken arm from a gun-shot wound. The Major, who
left Limerick to vote, immediately on the disastrous occur-
rence being known, rendered surgical aid to the wounded.
It is said that a ball entered through the crown of the hat
of the Rev. Mr. Clime, P.P., fortunately without injuring
the rev. gentleman, though it scratched his ear.
The party of the 31st engaged with the rioters returned
to garrison same evening. Two field-pieces of :winery
were soddenly ordered to Six-mile-bridge when the intelli-
gence of the conflict arrived. Lieut.-Colonel Douglas, dis-
trict Adjutant-General, took charge, and accompanied
them, with Lieut.-Colonel Staunton and 100 men of the
31st, but they all returned to this garrison at eight o'clock
in the evening, having left all quiet.
Corporal Marshall, 31st, one of the escort, was brought
into barracks dangerously wounded, and is now in garrison
hospital, suffering from the injuries inflicted on his person
by the rioters.
Mr. Canny, the coroner, impanelled a jury on the sea,
but it was deemed prudent to adjourn over the polling
days without hearing evidence until this day. The tsnlies
of the deceased were removed into the chapel by their
friend'.

The name of Mr. J. C. Delmege was spoken of by return
oars to Limerick in connexion with having given the order
to firs, but such is not the case ; ho neither tired himself,
as alleged, nor authorhed the military to do ao. They
merely acted, as before stated, from absolute necessity in
self-defence.

The Cork Constitution, a paper of strong conserva-
tive principles, refers to this melancholy occurrence
in the following terms:
The priests have not had it their own way in Clare, as
they had in Cork. Five or eight (the numbers differently
stated) of their 'subjects' have been shot. We write the
announcement without any undue emotion. We know how
amiable it would look to profess sorrow and to dilute our ink
with tears. But no! There must be an end to the tyranny,
and if that end can be had only through blood, lot them be-
wail it by whom the direful necessity has been forced.
The outrages were not confined to the southern
elections. The Derry Standard says :
We regret to bear that Mr. Mitchell, of Ballymoney,
has bad a very narrow escape front the violence of a few
of the bludgeon men, who, it seems, thought proper to
gather together for the purpose of shouting for liatcson
and Jones at the election. Without committing any offence
beyond simply inquiring the state of the poll in Derry, on
the arrival of the evening car, he war knocked down, beat,
and abused, and stabbed in the breast with a knife or other •
sharp instrument. So much for freedom of election in
what is called the protestant town of Coleraine.
The following is from a correspondent of Saunders's
News Letter, a trey or_gan :
OALWAT, SATIIRDAT NIG/M.—The " Liberal " electors
of the county are this moment on the qui rive, hourly ex-
pecting if not two, at all events one conservative foe. The
booths are ready to be opened on Monday, the poll clerks Cr.
pointing their pencils, and the half-returned candidates are
in a state of the most feverish suspense, in consequence of
what they term the illegal and unjustifiable conduct of
the high sheriff in refusing to declare them on Thurs-
day " duly elected." There will be no contest, no at-
tempt b a coup de mein will be made to disturb Sir
Thomasßurke and Captain Bellew, although the eloquence
of a Demosthenes would not convince the people of Galway,
but it is a well concocted ruse to accomplish by stratagem
what could not be gained by legitimate means. But th
county Galway could and would return two Incompromia-
ing conservatives. The remeariet of the lion. Captain
Day's address, " I shall oppose any government that shall
&re to persecute or offer insult to the catholic, of Ireland,"
did not conciliate his enemies while it offended his Erie
ds—
in fact, it abated that anxiety they previously felt for his
return. The very fact of the Martin estates, which always
determined the fate of the county of Galway elections,
being now In the hands of conservative proprietors in Eng-
land, was in itself a sufficient guarantee for the success of
the conservative cause, and will at no distant day be the
means of triumphantly returning two honest conservatives.
It is confidently asserted that there must be immediately •
new election for the town, in consequence of • blunder of
the sheriff. The recent coalition between Sir Thomas
Burke and Captain Bellew, it is stated, has so materially
inflamed the priests in Lord Dunkillen's behalf, that his
return, in the event of a new election, is beyond doubt or
uncertainty.