The Express.
London, England, 1847-11-04 00:00:00

IRELAND.

Drntiv, Nov 2.

The Irish council met to-day, and adjourned. The
business done, or rather undone, you will find in the
abstract of the proceedings. The prudence of a post-
ponement, under the circumstances, was very judi-
cious, for, without any definite plan of policy, it is
evident the time would be more devoted to declama-
tion than to business. It was expected that, at the
private meeting of the members, held last night, a
programme would have been prepared. But nothing
had been done, and, at the appointed hour of twelve
I o'clock, the members entered the Rotundo—made
their mutual bows and gratulations—retired to deli-
berate—re-appeared, explained, and adjourned until
further notice. The meeting, composed of citizens in
no very formidable numbers, did not relish the sudden
dismissal, after so many hours of ardent expectation,
and departed, not without murmurs. One may dis-
cover in this unexpected result a design on the pert
of some to play into the hands of the rival council. It
was remarked that the least prominent of the body
was Mr. John O'ConnelL
The poor-law administration is in a state of wild
confusion. The Skibbereen workhouse is closed ;
there are no funds ; no rate can be collected ; and to
go on, say the guardians, is impossible. A deputation
has proceeded from the district to wait on the Earl
of Clarendon. What can he do ? In Berehavcn and
Bantry there is also much disorder. In another part
of the county—far away from the usually miserable
maritime border—namely, Kanturk, a well-circum-
stanced district, the able-bodied poor are in a state of
insurrection against the workhouse authorities.
While the guardians deliberated on a letter from Mr.
Leader, the late candidate for the county, a policeman
entered in breathless haste to announce the rush of
2,000 poor on the outer gate, against whom the mili-
tary refused to act. Thereupon, as the account goes,
Mr. Freeman took charge of the civil and military force, and though
stones were (literally @peaking) falling in ehowere, he thowed the
greatest steadiness and courage. On some of the ringleaders being
arrested, an attempt wax made to rescue them by the crowd, who
had to be kept back at the point of the bayonet. The people
were becoming very violent, and threatening to attack the
workhowe gatm; stones were flying thick and fast, when
Mr. Freeman ordered the pollee end military to load; the crowd
threatened to attack the town, and take with them all the money they
could find, if they did not get out-door relief. Mr. Freeman threat-
ened to read the riot art, if they did not disperse quietly; the greater
part of them then marched off towards the town. Mr. Freeman
ordered the gates to be opened, and marched tbe fors uncle, his
command after the crowd, who halted opposite the first bread.shop
they met; but they wereirnmediately dispersed. They then marched
on, but had not time to do any mischief, as the military were at their
heels. A strange fact—sire powder leas purchased by those out-
door *The folks 03 that day than was told for Mr preview year in
the town of Novena& The Mears. Bross and Barry J.P.M from
whose neighbourhood the principal number of thin troublesome moo
were, gore them 21. to purchase bread, the greater portion of which
the applied to supply themseleth with powder and ball.
I stated some weeks since an outline of the plan
devised by the Rev. Mr. Fitzpatrick for the employ-
ment of the able-bodied poor. His system is more
ingenious than practicable, and by no means likely, to
attract the attention of the powers to whom it is
directed. He begins with a census of the able-bodied,
including boys over 16 years, and old men able to
labour; the latter classes, however, not to be entitled
to the standard shilling per diem of the able-bodied.
This census could be easily accomplished through the
relief list. The second step would be to ascertain the
poundage of the rateable property in the tenure to
which the hire would amount in twelve months. Of
this sum the government should lodge one-third in
some bank within the union. After this process a
meeting could be convened of all the resident gentry
and farmers in each electoral division to ascertain the
amount of each in agricultural wages throughout the
year, which would be under, over, or equal to the
entire amount of his rate. In the first contingency,
ono or more labourers to be sent to such a farmer
until the wages reached the deficiency. For instance,
ii the rate amounted to 20/. and his yearly wages only
10/., a man would be sent to him for two hun-
dred days. Of the 201., government would
have to contribute one-third, the landlord one-third,
and the farmer one-third. In the second contingency,
where the wages exceed the rate, ho would be en-
titled to receive one-third of the latter from the
government and his landlord respectively. The same
principle applies where the wages and the rate are
equal. Mr. Fitzpatrick produces various examples
to illustrate the working of his plan. One will suffice
here. A Mr. Blank, living in Tipperary, holds lands
in Castletownroche valued at:3B3/., which employ only
two labourers. According to the 3s. rate his quarterly
paymentcomes to 571., and the nine months' rate will
be at least 154/., for which nothing is had in return.
Apply Mr. Fitzpatrick's plan to this case. Suppose a
12s. rate would pay the labourers. This would amount
to about 230/., which would give employment to 14
persons ; so that for the difference between his present
rate and the wages' assessment, or 76/., he would have
the labour of twelve additional men for an entire
year. There is a crowd of objections to this plan ;
but it contains the germ of the only principle which
many intelligent men identify with the revival of
prosperity, namely, to force employment by some
means or other.
The new chief justice of Newfoundland, Mr.
Brady, was entertained at a farewell dinner by hie
friendi, at Salt-hill. Mr. Brady is a sound lawyer,
and most amiable man, who has cultivated and won
the esteem of all parties. A more judicious selection
could not be made from the bar of Ireland. Mr.
Brady's brother, James Charles Brady, died some
years ago, atter having reached the highest rank as a
common-law advocate. He was the rival and co-
; temporary of Sheil in the Catholic Association, with
a more chastened and tempered style of eloquence.

Had ho livcd he would long since have been on the
bench.

MEETING OF IRISH MEMBERS OF PARLIA-
MENT.
. .

There was a meeting of lrish member, held to-day in the
Pillar-room of the Rotunda in accordance with the requisi-
tion published some time back, signed by thirty-eight of the
Irish representatives. Public expectation did not appear to
be much excited by the assemblage, all unaccustomed as we
are to such scenes, probably because there was no intimation
that the public would be admitted to the Council-room. The
numbers of the people present did not exceed a few hundreds,
and these were principally idlers. The number of respect-
able persons present was far from numerous. The hour of
meeting was fixed for 1 o'clock. Several members of parlia-
ment had arrived by that time, and in order to arrange pre-
liminaries retired to an adjoining apartment, where they
continued until some time after 2 p.m., when they came into
the rosin appointed fur the meeting, and assumed places upon
benches elevated above the floor of the place of meeting.
Upon their entrance Mr. N. Mauna moved, and Mr. R.
D. BROWNE seconded, that the chair be taken by Mr.
HENRY GRATTAN, who, on taking that position, acid he had
been requested to make some explanation to the public. The
meeting was called by requisition, and was constituted as he
would state to them.

The following counties and boroughs were represented at
this meeting: Counties—Cork, E. B. Roche and M. Power,
M.D. ; Galway, Chr. St. George (this gentleman is a conser-
vative, and did not sign the requisition); King's County,
Hon. Col. Westenra; Limeri^k, W. S. O'Brien ; Longford,
Major Blacken and Charles Bustle Fox ; Mayo. Robert
Dillon Browne; Westmeath, Sir Percy Nugent; Meath,
Henry Grattan; Roscommon, Fitutephen French (this
gentleman did not sign the requisition calling the meeting);
Tipperary, Francis Scully and Nicholas Valentine Maher;
Waterford, N. M. Power and Leonard Keating ' • Kilkenny,
Pierso Somerset Butler and Captain Greene. Boroughs—
Carlow, J. F. Sadlier ; Cashel, Alderman T. O'Brien;
Clonmel, Hon. Cecil Lawless; Curk, Daniel Callaghan and
William Fagan; Dublin, John Reynolds; Dundalk, E.
Carroll Mac'Tavish ; Ennis, O'Gorman Mahon; Galway,
M. J. Blake and Anthony O'Flaherty ; Limerick, John
O'Brien and John O'Connell ; New Ross, John H. Talbot ;
Portarlington, Col. Duane; Sligo, John P. Somers; Wex-
ford, T. Devereux ; Waterford, Thomas Meagher.
Mr. Gaarran proceeded to state that the primary motive
for convening that assemblage was to impress upon the qco-
yernment, and, if necessary, upon her Majesty also, the in-
dispensability of convening parliament before Christmas to
consider the (10031.31)1e condition of the country. For that
purpose a meeting was held in Serv.ember, and adjourned
from time to time until that day. Parliament, it was now
announced, Would assemble on the Pith instant, and their
duty was to consider what should be brought under its
review. It was their duty to impress upon the mimi,try, and
if need even upon her Majesty, the indispensable ne•tessity of
taking the distress of the country into the immediate con-
sideration of the government and the legislature. The b •tly
then met had been called a " Council of national ilistr( as and
national safety," but he had to 5.7 that there could be no
safety, and there ought not, until the distress was removed.
Their object and their duty ought to he to tail on
government to provide for the national safety by taking
care that the people should not is the present year die as
they did last year, in the ditches. They should take care
that their countrymen should be no longer open to the
attacks made on them, as &nation of beggars, of paupers, of
dishonest debtors, and they should save them from the dis
grace of being stigmatised as a nation of ILlSassill3. He
would be ready at all times to stop the murderer's hand ; but
while he held out one hand to punish him, he would hold
the other out with food to save him. After some further ob-
serrations of this tenor, Mr. Grattan concluded.

O'GORMAN NA uoN rose and said, that in compliance with
the wish of his brother weathers, he had to propose a resolu-
tion, which he begged to say was not suggested by any
dereliction of the duty they owed the Irish public, or
by any desire to keep their deliberations unnecessarily
secret, but simply because they had not yet agreed upon any
measures. The resolution he had to propose was that the
committee of Irish members then present do retire for the
purpose of arranging and digesting whatever measures and
propositions should be submitted to them, and that when
matured they should on a future day assemble and lay them
before the public.

Mr. JOHN O'CONNIRLL seconded the resolution. He said
it had been found that the numbers assembled were not able
to concur in any of the resolutions submitted to them.
Divisions had amen—not dissensions such as they had fre-
quently to deplore, for none such had arisen, or were, he
was happy to say, likely to arise, but simply differences of
opinion upon matters which all did not repack in the same
light. When they bad agreed upon the measures submitted
to them they should offer them for the approval of their
countrymen in a public assembly, of which due notice would
be given. For the present it was thought better to deliberate
without the presence of the public or the press. the reso-
lution passed.
bir. Grattan then left the chair, and the public retired in
a disappointed mood, leaving the M.P.'s in possession of the
room.

REJOICINGS AT CARTON, THE SEAT OP THE DVKI OF
LEINSTER.—The Marquis and Marchioness of Kildare were
received with the national Cead male fail€he at Maynooth,
on Saturday. At Carton the event waa preceded by eaten•
sive preparations for enjoyment and fun. Yesterday being
the day of introduction for the youthful bride, the peasantry
assembled in large masses within the beautiful demesne.
At two o'clock the real enjoyment commenced with a dinner
to MO of the tenantry, with their wives and families, to
which a rest was given by the patriotic strains of a tem-
perance band. The duke himself presided, and hard work
he had for an hour or so. After dinner the usual rustic
amusements were played, and the day closed with a grand
ball. There were stars and emblematic devices of various
kinds, with tea, coffee, music, and dancing, all in profusion.
SCOTLAND.

EDINBURGH, Nov. 2.
The winter session of the University of Edinburgh
commences to-day. For some years past the opening
addresses of Principal Lee have been devoted to a
continuous history of the university, but this season
the series has been intermitted, and, instead of an
historical, the students received a didactic address.
Idleness, light reading, scepticism, and midnight
study, were the practices chiefly condemned by the
venerable principal ; and, although students are gene-
rally not fond of receiving advice, the paternal direc-
tions of the learned divine seemed to go better down
than his university antiquities, which are, probably,
more suitable for delivering through the press.
The Glasgow Argus has been making some statis-
tical inquiries regarding bankruptcies. During the
eight weeks ending Oct. 26 the sequestrations re-
corded in the Gazette are 51, or rather more than 12
per week. In the corresponding period of 1846 they
were 33, or rather more than 8 per week. In Oct,
1842, that being a severe year, they were the same as
1846—namely, 33. In 1813 and 1814 the averages
were 5 per week, being considerably less than half of
the casualties reported for 1817. As compared with
England, the number of sequestrations in Scotland
brings out curious results. Thus while the fear weeks
of the current year show 51 sequestrations for Scot-
land, England records 104. For 1846 Scotland 33,
England 66. For 1844, Scotland 19, England 76.
To show the disparity the Argus " roughly " esti-
mates the population of England as six times that of
Scotland, and draws the inference that Scotland, from
some cause or other, is seemingly much more insol-
vent than England. To account for a result at 'va-
riance with actual fact, it has to be noticed that the
larger failures in England do not find their way into
the Gazette; but what is of more consequence, the
Argun says,that without pretending fullyto accoantfor
the striking difference thus found in the apparent gene-
ral solvency of the traders of the twocountries, it has no
doubt that a great part of it is to be accounted for by
the superiority of the English insolvent debtor law to
tho Scotch cessio—a circumstance which enables
many of the cases which we force into the sequestra-
tion system to be managed by the much more econo-
mical arrangements of the Insolvent Debtors Court.
The English bankruptcies falling. off in comparison
with ours at the time when the insolvency system
was receiving new extension, confirms this idea, and a
promise is given of further inquiry into the subject.
An official investigation having been made into the
state of the Glasgow police, it has been found that the
charge of appointing raw recruits is not wholly with-
out foundation.
With regard to the time (sees the report) which the persons ap-
pointed had been resident in Glasgow prior to their appointment, the
returns exhibited the following results:—Persona appointed: Days—
for 1 day, I ; for two days, 7 ; fur three days, 3 ; for four days 2 ; for
flee days, 3; for eight days, 12; total 25. Weela —for two weeks,
3 ; for three weeks, I for four weeka,6; total, 10. Months—for two
months, 6; for three months, 7; for four months, 4; for live months,
1; for six months, 9; total, 27. For longer periods, 103. Total, 173.
With respect to the alleged preference for Irish
officials, the new appointments have consisted of 86
Irish, 79 Scotch, and 8 English. The time occupied
with drunkenness in Glasgow should form some ex-
cuse for the police in that city. Last Saturday even-
ing 106 persons, totally unlit to take care of them-
selves, were carried to the office in barrows—no fewer
than 85 policemen being employed at this disgusting
duty. In the general revenue account of Glasgow
the criminal expenses are 1921. 14s. less than last
year, affording a very common proof of the uselessness
of mere figures inillustrating the real state of the social
system.

THE GREENOCK ARTIZAN Ctcn.—lt issuspected that the
Greenock Artisan Club is rather in deep water, and a public
meeting has been held to devise measures for its better
encouragement during 1848. Mere than 400 persons
pledged themselves to support it, but not one half of the
number came forward in the hour of need. The yearly sub-
scribers amount only to 110, although the cost is but 7s. Gd.
The following graphic account of its operations, so given by
the manager, will increase the regret that such an institution
should not command success.
There were eight or nine dame at work. The duo of arithmetic
and mathematics area attended by 21 permits ; mechanical drawing,
by about 20 ; ornamental dnortng, 12; chip carpenters' drawing, 12;
vocal and instrumental mimic, about t 2; sad architectural drawing,
18; forages altogether about 80 persons attending these clams. for