The Express.
London, England, 1848-02-05 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 5, 1848.

attempt had been made obtain the remission of the ex-
treme punishment in the use of Andrew Dee, but the reply
of the Lord Lieutenant promptly given was, " The law must
take its course." Mercy has, however, been extended to a
man named Hourigan, sentenced to death at Ennis together
with a comrade, Butler, for a murder. Hourigan will be
transported fur life. Butler it was who fired the shot.

STATE OF THE COUNTRY.
Among the nocturnal gambols of the " Tipperary boys
abductions are not entirely omitted. A few slights Lace
four men forced an entrance into the house of a widow,
young and fair, residing near Roscrea, captured, and carried
her off, with& view to her entering again the bonds of wed-
lock with one of her captors.
The demonstrations now making of a determination to
enforce payment of poor-rates from all defaulters must be
attended with the best effects, and are not lees vigorous than
indispensable. The poor-rate collector of the Galway
Union pawed out on Monday to levy the rate upon a
property not more than two miles from the walls of the
town or the tribes accompanied by 200 police, a troop of the
Scots Greys, and about 40 bailiffs. The local paper an-
nounces the result as follows: After a short interval this
formidable force returned with nine carts of barley in sheaf,
six carts of upland hay, ten sheep, one heifer, and box cart,
which were seized for the arrears due upon the lands above
named. The corn and hay were immediately sold by auction,
and fetched remunerative prices, but attended with such
enormous expense as to leave nothing to the credit of the
defaulter. From the same source I find that landlords as
well as landholders are defaulters in this union ; and bow
necessary it was to make this demonstration your readers
will understand from the fact that the amount of rate due
by the union is 12,000/. The work of house demolition,
meantime, goes on, throwing more claimants on the poor-
rates, and, as a corollary to all, the incidents attending the
death of two parties from destitution are developed by dit-
ferent coroners' juries.

SCOTLAND.
EDINBURGH, FEB. 3.
The Admiralty have taken steps to obtain early
and correct information regarding shipwrecks oc-
curring in the north. Lieut. Medley, the chief coast-
guard officer at Freswick, Caithness, has received a
series of searching questions to be answered and for-
warded on the occasion of all casualties.
A deputation from the National Anti-game-law
Association waited on the Lord Advocate yesterday,
and were favourably received. Notice of a motion
for a petition in favour of the repeal of the game laws
has been given in the town council. Iu reference
to the phrase " hireling lecturers," used by a local
paper, the secretary of the association has intimated
that the services of the lecturers are gratuitous, their
very travelling expenses being paid by themselves.
Petitions for the removal of Jewisli disabilities
ore at present in course of extensive signature in

THEFT AND THE CONFERSIONAL.--On Saturday a boy at
a school in Glasgow, kept by Patrick Donnelly, was charged
by his teacher with having stolen a it. note from him. The
boy was acesrdinsly apprehended on the charge, and locked
up. On Monday morning, however, Donnelly came to the
Calton-office, and stated that the boy was innocent, u he
bad received his money. On being questioned, Donnelly said
that he had got the note from the Homan catholic priest,
, who said the boy was not guilty. A criminal officer was
immediately despatched to the house of his reverence, to
ascertain who was the real delinquent, and to request his
presence at the poiice office. The priest came to the office
as requested, but nothing would induce him to tell the name
of the real thief. He stood upon the rights of his order, and
said it was a privilege which could not be violated. The
police authorities might take what steps they thought fit, but
he would not say one word upon the subject. The result
has been, that the boy who was accused has been liberated,
after an imprisonment of two days, and the guilty party is at
large.

PROVINCIAL.
LANCASHIRE.
THE IRISH IN LIVEREOOL.—Since Monday morn-
ing (says the Liverpool Mercury), one hundred and sixty.
nine Irish offenders have been brought before Mr. Rushton
—an average exceeding forty per day ! The borough gaol
contains at this moment more than one thousand prisoners
—five hundred being about the usual average—and the
workhouse is so full that many shivering vagrants have been
denied admittance. The overseers are endeavouring to meet
the evil, but we ore assured that, but for the night asylum,
deaths must have occurred in the streets from sheer starve-
tion. On Thursday Mr. Parkinson stated that a poor wo.
man, just out of fever, had been brought and laid at the door
of the bridewell for shelter, and such was the pressure of ex-
treme destitution upon his attention, that ne scarcely knew
what to do.
... .. n'enr .V'S

SEVEN PILOTS WERE DROWNED off the haven et
Cullercoete onWednesday morning, by the upsetting of a beat.
in the presence of their own families and crowds of vil
who were unable to render assistance, owing to the violence
the sea. The catastrophe extended over an hour; three atriae
poor fellows disappeared quickly : the fourth perished after
a long struggle ; and one of the remainder was able to swim
so close to the rocks, that his voice was heard only, however,
to make the scene more affecting. The coble has since come
ashore, but up to Thursday none of the bodies had been
found.
NATIONAL DEvENces.—The Mayor of Newcastle
has convened a meeting of the inhabitants to petition parlia-
ment against any increase of the military establishments.

DERBYSIIIRE. -
Co3IMISSION BY THE LORD-LIEUTENANT. —J.
Broadhurst, jun., Esq., to be Deputy Lieutenant.

COMMISSION BY THE LORD-LIEUTENANT.-3lajor
King to he Lieut.-Col., vice Sir F. Lawley, in Warwickshire
Yeomanry Cavalry.
NORFOLK.
VALVE OF LIVE-BOATS.—The Scroby Sand, off
Yarmouth, has been the scene of another shipwreck, the
sixth since last October, and the Caister boatmen have, for
the fourth time, been instrumental in saving a crew. The
crews of the two ether vessels were saved by other assist-
ance. Caister is a village on the coast, two miles north of
Yarmouth, where a life-boat is stationed, and is manned by
the beachmen when required. Last Tuesday they success-
fully used die boat for the second time this winter. The re.
cult is thus told in their own words : " On Tuesday evening,
Feb. 1, the wind strong from the westward, we saw a light,
about half past six, on the Scroby Sand, which afterwards
proved to have proceeded from a tar-barrel burned on the
deck of the Admiral Blake, iron-built schooner, bound from
Hartlepool to London, coal loaded, she having struck on the
rand about six o'clock. We immediately launched our yawl,
the Star, with 10 men, and went towards the light, which
soon disappeared, the vessel having sunk. There being too
much sea to reach her in the boat we were in, we returned
on shore and launched the life-boat, and about half-past
nine went again to the sand, and, though we could see the
masts of the schooner, we could not tell if any one was on
them, the sea broke upon the sands so violently, that even
the life-boat could not approach near to the wreck, though
we went round to the lee side of the sand for that pur.
pose. It being now about two o'clock in the morn-
ing, and finding we could do no good till daylight
we returned on shore, where we remained till five
when we again launched the life-boat, and laid as near the
sand as we dire till daylight. Daylight having arrived, we
found the masts still standing, but at first could not see any-
one alive ; but on going nearer through a tremendous surf,
we at last saw the crew, Ave in number, in the foretop,
under shelter of the topsail. We anchored the life-boat to
windward, and veered out cable till near enough, by help of
our foresail, to sheer ma far aloagaide as to be able to throw a
small line to the men on the masts, which they caught, and
with it drew a strong rope from our boat, and made it fast
to the rigging, and by its help we drew them one by one
through the boiling surf into the life-boat, as we dare not
remain nearer than twenty or thirty yards of the sunken
vessel, for fear of being stova by her bulwarks, which were
under water. As it was, we were once thrown upon them,
• and our rudder was damaged. We landed safely about nine on
Wednesday morning, with the satisfaction of haring saved
five men. They had been in the rigging about 'thirteen
hours." nri nurVaTCRRITIRE.

_
Csi
BRISTOL AND CLIFTON RAGGED SCHOOLS. A
meeting was held yesterday, at the Victoria Rooms, Clifton,
in behalf of the ragged schools. The chair was taken
by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Gloucester.—Mr.
T. D. Taylor, one of the honorary secretaries, read the re-
, port of the committee, which announced the establishment
of ragged schools in the populous and impoverished districts
of St. James, St. George, Brandon-hill, St. Philip and
Jacob, Temple, 6:c. and detailed the avidity with which
they had been resorted to by the poor children, and the good
which had already resulted from their institution. The cash
account, which wu read by the treasurer, Mr. P. F. Aiken,
showed the receipts to hays amounted to 3.501. Os. 6d.

be 19Tanta.
OLYMPIC. —The management of this theatre is
active in providing novelties. Last evening Morton's once
popular play, " The School of Reform," was produced, in
order to bring forward a debutant in the character of Tyke—
Mr. Lysander S. Thompson, described in the bills as " the
celebrated delineator of rustic characters." His celebrity
has hitherto, we suppose, been confined to the provinces ;
but his success last night has been sufficient to gain for him
a prominent position on the London boards, and in a line
in which at present he has no competitors. The character
of Tyke was "created" (as the French call it) by Emery,
for whom we believe it was written; and the onlyim actor
who, since Emery's day, has succeeded in it and silar
parts, was Rayner, to whom we do not consider )Ir
Thompson as being In any respect inferior. With
looked his tall
all,,
—..-....... muscular figure, and manly countenance, he
THE PRISONERS UNDER SENTENCE OP DEATH.—It is stalwart YOPRPhilernall to the life; his dialect was perfects
gratifying to learn from the local journals of the south, that and his whole action was unaffected and truthful. In the
those unhappy men now awaiting the last sentence of the earlier scenes, Tyke's hardened and reckless indifference,
La in Limerick are contrite, and convinced that justice, the quiet simplicity, and sly, sarcasm, with which Ise relates
not vengeance. has overtaken them. The it
catholic his ruinous career among " jeckey lords" and blacklegs, and
clergy of Limerick are constant in their visits to the convicts his growing agony as his tale reached the death of his
\
under sentence of death in that city ; so also are the Sisters td father were full of fine touches of nature.
of Charity—and the result is, that the reckless bandit, Ryan Thee pert reaches its' climax at the end of the third aet,ia
(Puck), as well as his comrades in crime and punishment, the scene of Tyke's delirious joy. when he finds the °Moen
Reuchan, for the murder of M'lners and Skeahan and still alive. The part of the father was exceedingly mil
Quane for the murder of Mr. Hill, are, to use the worts of acted by Mr. H. Lee ; and the scene was altogether a vet, 1
the Limerick Chronick, " quite reconciled to their igno- beautiful piece of domestic tzsgedy. Setting aside the
minions fate." Howard, convicted. of the murder of scenes in which Tyke beers a part, the play has
Johanna Hourigen and her son, still persists that no merit. It is a spurious medley of nelo-drama
hs is innocent of the crime ; but ha is perfectly resigned._An and faros ; passing from aUnrdly exhatigant incident, and

language full of inflated sentiment, to the merest buffoonere.
The acting was, altogether, u good as the play deserved ;
though the neglect of congruity of costume was almost
amusing. General Tarragon might have been a brigadier
under the Duke of Marlborough ; and &fr. Ferment walked
about in the full dries of a fop of the last century, while all
the others were in the attire of the present day. The repre-
sentative of Lord Arondale exhibited himself, in the first
scene, in a state of such elevation, that he appeared no more:
the stage msnager, after apologising for him on tne score of
"sadden indisposition," read the remainder of the part.
Mr. Thompson was loudly called for at the end of the play.
He will be a valuable acquisition to the stage in the range al
parts formerly occupied by Emery and Rayner.