The Express.
London, England, 1848-12-14 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Dec. 19.
The reply of the Lord-Lieutenant to the memorial
against jury-packing, which was yesterday presented
to his excellency, presents the justification of the go-
vernment for the course adopted during the political
prosecutions of the last six months. The document is
elaborate and explicit. As regards the put, his ex-
' e fleecy mays he has no reason to suppose the allega-
tions of jary-packing well founded ; as regards the
future, the Lord-Lieutenant explicitly declares that
whenever the law officers of the crown have
reason to believe that any party summoned as a juror
does not " stand indifferent as he stands unworn;"
they would be guilty of a dereliction of duty if they
did not exercise the privilege of setting by. Who
can doubt it 2 His excellency drew the attention of
the memorialists pointedly to a circumstance which
they appear to have unaccountably overlooked—
namely, that a larger number of protestants than of
Roman catholics had been set aside by the crown in
the course of the trials whence the occasion of the
memorial was afforded.

The following is the conclusion of Lord Clarendon's
reply to the deputation:
In a state of unparalleled public excitement, occasioned by
the agitation of a great political question through organised
wisociations and clubs embracing • large portion of the com-
munity, whose members openly avowed and demonstrated
their sympathy with the stewed, and their Participation
in many of the opinions 4(40:m0d in the publications that
were the object of prosecutions, whose supporters in the
public press advanced and advocated the doctrine that
the duty of juror', whom by every means they sought to
intimidate, was to give political votes, not judicial ver-
diets, and whose whole conduct notoriously indicated
their apprehension that the conviction of the parties
to be tried would materially endanger the political
objects of their combinations and confederacies, it be-
came the bounden duty of the public prosecutor to watch
vigilantly the condition, the character, and the essociations
01 those who might be impannelled on the jaries, to exclude,
as far as in him lay, all members of those usociationo, all
known supporters of their principles, all, of whatever
religious persuasion they might be, who could on reasonable
grounds be 'apposed to be under the undue influence of
melt opinions and such views. To act otherwise would
have been on his Dart, • serious dereliction of duty. It le
my firm belief thai he did no IPPre than hit duty, In the
exercise of the mivileges of the crown he was neemsarily
compelled to set aside not only many Raman catholic,' I, but
even • mato' number of Prottotants, to whom your mews-
rial makes not the slightest allusion, but of which fact, I pie-
' same, you cannot have boss ignorant. It is one which, I
should have thought, might not unnaturally have led you to
lOW apprailtonslon of the true circumstailoes of the lodine
you thought yourselves warranted in amiantus the conduct
of the officers of the crown u being based on • studied
design of *Wad* Boman catholios, as such, from the
uries of whose cosititution you somplain. Disclaim,* me
I do, in the most *aphasia manner, the existence deny such
desig., and saddled of the justice of the principles on white
her Majesty's :Attorney-Cieneral has found himself Japan.
drily bound to act on the occasions you have reared to,
Nei of his strict adherence to those principles ekes in the
-cis of the privileges of the crown, I have no doubt that
he will net es any future occasion go boned those legiti-
mate pounds of objection which his public duty makes
him M stledl to, and Ido not therefore feel collect upon to
Wm lay asalarim for interfering with the maven° of that
discretion with which the law has invested bin, for the son-
dem of the public prosecutions committed to his charge.
The bale against Mr. Daffy will be sent up to the
grand jury to-day. It was supposed they would be
the first subject of consideration, bat the presiding
judges, Mr. Jostles Perrin and Baron Richards, sug-
gested; that the grand jury should fired consider the
other bills. This will inevitably throw back the trial
of Mr. Duffy until Monday next at the earliest.
There are many confident statements made that it
will not corm off previous to January next.
A warrant his been received from the 'Treasury, by
the Board of Works, directing that, instead of repay-
ing into the exchequer the instalments of the famine
loan now in the hands of the board, and which ex-
ceed the sum of 360,0001., this money may be
re-ismed, upon proper security, to the landowners in
the several counties which have paid it, for the w-
pm; of drainage and other means of improving the
land. No apphostime front persons resident in coun-
ties in smear to be complied with.

YORKSHIRE WEST RIDING ELECTION.
(By me Mark Telegraph Compaily's Esprua.)
At 11 o'clock this morning the numbers, according
to Mr. Denisoes committee, were :
Denison ..
FArdley

1823
1297

ENCROACIIIIZNIS or THZ S&L—Within the last
few weeks the sea by made ouseiderable inroads on the land
in frost of the Esplanade and the Ordain.* ground, Dover,
and it appears that if we have a condemn°e of gales such as
we have ezmnienesd this week, with high tides, still greater
imawmailmwsla may he anticipated; unless, indeed, the
NIFFO epr 1 new being employed by the harbour work-
mei, la the omelnstion of grethe and other barricades, shall
he awlialsmt to urea the morose of the water. Already
half the sawly formed walk .tt the place of which we are
sperthiag Ins bun washed away, and the remaining porticos
steads in danger of sharing the same fate every tide.