The Express.
London, England, 1852-06-21 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DTHLIN, SATURDAY EVENING.
The outcry raised on the subject of the proclama-
tion against Roman catholic processions has by this
time found a voice in the whole of the Irish Roman
catholic press, the weekly papers of to-day being of
course the loudest in their protests against it. The
Freeman, Tablet, and Nation, denounce the procla- ,
mation as the commencement of a new reign of per-
secution, and describe it as the most direct attack on
the liberty of Roman catholic that has yet been
I made. The Tablet sums up a long array of cases in
which catholic processions of a religious nature had
taken place out of doors in England within the last
twenty years, without any attempt having been
made to interfere with them, and argues that no
special cause could be shown why any measures
should have been adopted against them at the pro-
ment moment. The following documents referred to
by Mr. Walpole in the House of Commons, appear
for the first time in the Tablet, to which they have
no doubt been furnished in the original by Bishop
Perry. It will be perceived that they refer to a pro-
cession which took place a few weeks since on the
occasion of laying the first stone of a new Roman
catholic chapel in Ballinasloc :
County of Galway, Ballinasloe, April 30, 1832.
Sir—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
yesterday's date, transmitting on extract from a newspaper
purporting to give a description of a procession in Bel-
linaslor, headed by the Roman catholic bishop and several
priests, dressed in canonical., on the occasion of hying the
foundation-stone of a Lew Roman catholic chapel, in which
sannmunicatien you desire me to state why I did not think
it necessary to report the circumstance to the government.
In reply I beg to inform you that at the time I really did
not think the matters of sufficient importance to make a
special report upon. A demonstration of this description had
not taken place here before, and from the total absence of
ctarian animosity or display in the dist, iet, and from the
general inoffensive and unobtrusive demeanour of the Roman
catholic clergy of the neighbourhoed, particularly in Bid-
Hassler, I was satisfied it was not likely to occur again. The
occasion, too, that of laying the foundation•stone of a chapel,
was a novel occurrence here. I did not witness the proces-
sion, nor was it reported to me by the constabulary ; and,
judging from the impunity with which a similar demonstra-
tion at the Synod of Thurles was treated, I did not at the
time imagine it was contrary to law. I regret now to find
that 1 was mistaken, and that, on reference to the 10th
George IV., chap. 7, sec. 26, it appears Roman catholic
eeeleamatica so acting are liable to a penalty of 501., recover-
able at the suit of the Attorney-General by criminal infor-
mation in the Court of Exchequer. Immediately on re-
ceipt of your letter I called n Mr. Sweeny, the sub-in-
specter of the district, for his report of the transaction, and
1 now enclose that report for the information of the govern-
ment, and I beg to add that it can be sufficiently corrobo-
rated if necessary.
(Signed) G. FITZGERALD.
John Wynne, Esq., &c.
Badinasloe, 30th April, 1852.
I have to report that on Tuesday, the 13th instant,
about the hour of 11 o'clock, a.m., a procession of the
Roman catholic clergymen of the diocese of Clonfert took
place here, on the occasion of laying the foundation of a
Roman catholic chapel. The procession formed at and pro-
ceeded from the residence of the Ikv. Mr. Dillon to the
chapel yard ; they walked two and two, the Rev. Mr. Green
in front, carrying a large cross, and the Rev. Dr. Derry in
the rear, and all dressed in canonicals. After the ceremony
of laying the first stone took place, they returned in the
same order to the residence of the Rev. Mr. Dillon. I ob-
served the following clergymen in the procession : The Rev.
Dr. Derry, the Rev. Mr. Dillon, the Rev. Mr. Green, the
Rev. Mr. Farrell, the Rev. Mr. M'Kenna, the Rev. Mr.
Usher, the Rev. Mr. Head, the Rev. Mr. rally, the Rev.
Mr. Manion, and several others whose names I do not re•
member, to the number of about four-and-twenty.
(Signed) PATRICK SWEENY.
Dublin Castle, 7th May, 1852.
Right Rev. Sir,—ln transmitting to you the enclosed
copy of reports from Mr. Fitzgerald, resident magistrate,
and Mr. Sweeny. Sub-Inspector of Constabulary, relative to
a procession of Roman catholic priests at Ballinssloe, I am
directed by the Lord Lieutenant to point out to you the
manifest infraction of the statute 10 Geo. IV. e. 7, sec. 26,
which has taken place on that occasion; but, at the lame
time, lam to intamete that, as his Excellency hopes that
this violation of the law has been committed inadvertently,
he is unwilling to take any further notice of it in the pro
sent instance; but, should the law be violated a second
time in • similar manner—which his Excellency trusts will
not happen—his Excellency would feel it his duty to
instruct the law officers of the crown to sue for the penalty.
—I have the honour to be, Right it,,. Sir, your obedient
servant Joint Wxxzez.
The ht Rev. Bishop Derry, &c., Loughrea.
The oat of this evening has the following an-
nouncement :
As we were going to press we learn, after all, with some
surprise, that Lord Derby has supplied the vacancy at the
Education Board, caused by the death of Archbishop
Murray, by Mr. Blackburne, the Chancellor. There is,
then, one catholic less, and one protestant more.
A great demonstration was made on the Hill of
Mullacrew by the electors of the county of Louth,
on Thursday last, in support of Mr. Chichester For-
, tescue, who was received on the occasion by the vast
meeting with the utmost enthusiasm. Mr. It. M.
Bellew is also carrying on a successful canvass in
that county.
Berjeant Murphy and Mr. Fagan have issued a
, joint address to the electors of the city of Cork.
-- • - -

The Rev. Mr. Maguire, P.P. of Ennismaesaint
parish, has been arrested this week, by an order from
the Commander-in-Chief, for having married some
protestant soldiers to Roman catholic females. The
rev. gentleman gave in bail to stand his trial at the
ensuing assizes for Donegal.
The total number of persons who visited the Cork
Exhibition during the first five days after its open-
ing was 7,360, and the number of two shilling
tickets sold at the entrance 1,697.

The Be!fad News Letter announces that, should
the weather be favourable, the Irish Channel Sub-
marine Telegraph Company will immerse their cable
between Portapittle Bay (near Portpatrick) and
Donaghedee, early in the ensuing week. Public
a have not yet been conveyed by the Howth
and ale Holyhead wire.
Deems, JUNE 18.
Captain Beechy, RN., Captain Smith, RN., and
a third gentleman, whose name I have not learned,
passed through Dublin to-day, en route to Galway,
to commence the inquiry ordered by government as
to the suitableness of that port or Limerick for a
packet station.
Lient-Colonel Campbell retires from his office of
Private Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant. The
Mail states that he has been compelled by profes-
sional duties to resign.
The following remarkable letter from the Rev. H.
O'Brien, a brother of William Smith O'Brien, and a
clergyman of the established church, appears in the
Moil of this evening:
Dromoland, June 17, 1852.
Sir,—l have observed, with much regret, that some mis-
apprehension as to the conduct of her Majesty's government
with regard to the memorial presented to the Lord Lieute-
nant in behalf of my brother, Mr. William Smith O'Brien,
has called forth some severe remarks both in the House of
Commons and in the newspapers against individual mem-
bers of the government, which are meet unjust and undo
'med. A short account of the origin of the memorial will,
I conceive, be the best means of removing this misappre-
hension, and of putting tho whole subject fairly before the
public. Since her Majesty's present ministers have come
Into office, I have been frequently applied to by many
persons in different parts of Ireland, to know if it was
proposed to take any steps in endeavouring to obtain •
mitigation of my brother's punishment, and offering to co-
operate In any movement in his behalf which was sanc-
tioned by his family. On arriving in Dublin after Easter,
I found that several gentlemen had formed themselves into
a committee, and had set on foot a memorial, to which a
number of most influential names of men of all shades of
political and religious opinions were attached. As this ap-
peared to me a favourable opportunity of making use of the
, kind offers which I had received from so many quotient, I
l at once endeavoured to bring the different persons interested
in. my brother's welfare to act together, and the memorial
which was banded to his Excellency was the result. The kind
expressions of regret for my brother's sufferings, and of respect
for his upright and disinterested character, which we heard
from many of the supporters of the present government,
both in and out of office, created • general feeling among
his friends that the government would be glad to have •
good reason for asking her Majesty to do an act of mercy,
which would have been received as • gracious favour by
large majority of the Irish pea le, by giving a partial if not
a free pardon to a person who for nearly twenty years had
maintained in the imperial parliament a character for un-
wearied di:igenoe, and sacrifice of all private interests, in
endeavouring to obtain fur Ireland • fait share of those
social and political blessings which have made England
the great and glorious nation that she is, and the want of
which he thought was the chief cause of the misery and
degradation of this pert of the kingdom. Beyond this
general feeling, as to the temper and policy of the
government, there were nn grounds, that I am aware
of, for forming an opinion as to what would be the re-
ply to the memorial. I cannot lose this opportunity of
offering my mat sincere thanks to those many friends
whose generous conduct in my coiled brother's behalf I
trust I never shall forget. I should not be acting truthfully
to my own sense of what is right, if I did not also exprese
my indignation at the ungenerous imputation contained in
the answer to the memorial that vanity was the motive of
my brother's conduct; and my deep regret that the present
government have not thought it w'so to try and wipe away
the bitterness of feeling which is kept alive by the fact, that
a person whose whole life has been devoted to the service of
his country, is suffering for an unlawful act committed in
time of great political excitement, when the people of this
country were enduring the most fearful sufferings, which
ho imagined would have been greatly mitigated, if not

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altogether removed, by the local knowledge and practical
wisdom of ea Irish parliament.—l have the honour to be
your obedient servant. HINIIT O'Buntw.
To the Editor of the Evening Mail.

CRICKET.