The Express.
London, England, 1867-12-23 00:00:00

IRISH ArIAIRS.

The Times prefaces some unfavourable criticisms
upon the views of Mr. T. Hughes on Ireland, as stated to
his constituents, with the remark that it hears on all
hands that the next session of parliament is to be devoted
to the affairs of Ireland. The whole genies of the Logi'.
lature, free from the shackles of Reform and no longer dis-
tracted by the remote obstacles of Abyssinia, is to be
turned, whole and undivided, on this arduous and intri-
cate subject. The gist of the reply to Mr. litlgbea is that
his proposal is an act of spoliation. Why is the
State to compel the Irish landlord virtually to sell his
land for the rent at which it is let, while the Scotch land-
lord may sell it for any rent he can obtain ? Why is the
Irish landlord to be compelled to sell at all l What
reason have we to suppose that the new proprietary would
be better than the old

In another article the Times observes that no greater
evils could fall upon society than a Fenian panic and an ,
anti-Irish crusade, which would exclude thousands of un-
offending Irishmen from employment; yet both are pos-
sible at any moment. Before any further atrocity frightens
one part of the public and enrages another, it would be
wise for the Irish of Great Britain generally to come for.
ward and repudiate the Fenian conspiracy.
The Daily New narrate,, from evidence supplied by the
late inquiry at the Clerkenwell inquest and other quarters,
the precise circumstances under which the explosion took
place, with a view of illustrating the incompleteness and
inefficiency of the police arrangements. The guard placed
outside the prison on the 13th inst. was altogether insuffi-
cient, and by no means corresponding to that which Sir
Richard Mayne's warning led Captain Codd to establish.
Inside the prison the story of an attempt to blow the walls 1
down appears to have been believed, and hence a complete
change in the arrangements, a constant watch, a distribu-
tion of firearms, and the additional security of double
bolts. Outside, the constables were not only in number
unequal to their duty, but apparently ignorant of the
nature of the danger against which they were to guard.
The Star condemns the practice of summoning Irish
judges to PH% j Councils, especially when they are called
for the purpose of sanctioning by their signatures executive
measures of coercion. Mr. Martin will probably be tried
for his speech at the Glasnevin Gardens, and if any ques-
tion is to be reserved for the Court of Criminal Appeal,
Judge Keogh must be one of the judges to sit in that
tribunal. Yet on the very day on which the Attorney-
General institutes his prosecution against Mr. Martin, he
and the judges sit down together at the council board and
put their hands jointly to a declaration in which they
describe Mr. Martin's speech as seditious and inflamma-
tory. Another signature to the proclamation, of which
the Star complains, Is that of Dr. Trench, the protestant
Archbishop of Dublin.

II TOPICS.

Commenting upon the report of the American Secretary
to the Treasury, the Daily News deduces from it proofs
that the protectionist theory is so obviously breaking down
that the people are awakening to its fallacy. One
of his recommendations is nothing leas than free trade in
ships, which would establish an awkward precedent for
the protectionists. When the merchants of New York
and Boston can buy their ships in the cheapest market,
how long will the agricultural population—the vast terri-
torial democracy who rule the policy of the nation—con-
sent to buy their tools, thee eloth;og, and their domestic
articles in the dearest market!

The Time" has been favoured by " a very eminent legal
authority " with some lengthened remarks on the law of
arrest for treason-felony. The object, in brief, is to
point out that a person charged with treason-felony,
wheresoever found within the kingdom, may be taken
and detained for trial upon probable cause of suspi-
cion, without warrant ; and that if he resists to the death
a known officer of the Law he will be guilty of murder.
Decided eases establish the proposition that any private
person can justify the arrest of another without a warrant
if he can show that a felony had been committed, and that
he had probable cause for suspecting, either from his own
direct knowledge or from information derived from credible
authority, that the person he arrests is the felon. The
individual arrested may in the end be found net guilty,
but the arrest is justifiable, and so is the detention from
the time of committal until gaol delivery.
The Telegram:a draws attention to an enterprise which
has been set of toet in the suffering eastern district of the
metropolis. At the suggestion of Miss Burdett Coutts, an
association has been formed, based on the idea that wages
paid for wort done are more welcome to the poor than
gifts in charity. Men of various persuasions have met to
perform a public service, and, with the unanimous vote of
the dissenters, the chosen president is the Bishop of Lon-
don. The work proposed is the cleansing of the streets,
alleys, and courts, and the making or repairing of roads.
The labour performed will be supplementary, and in
excess of the ordinary proceedings under the local boards.
In order to carry out the project money will be needed.
Miss Burdett Coutts has undertaken to pay the wages of
250 persons for six months at Is. fid. a day ; she has guar-
anteed the rent of ground required for stone-breaking—
employment suited to dock labourers--and has oontributed
3001. towards the mad-making fund.
The Post is enabled to announce that the " agencies " in
the Foreign-office are to be immediately abolished. The
agencies, which have probably lasted since the time of
Pepys, may now be numbered amongst the abuses of a
bygone time.

The Standard advises Italy and France to be as civil to
each other as people so often have to be, in spite of pro-
found differences and even mutual dislike. If the mo-
ment ever come for using successful violence against France
in order to obtain Rome, no doubt Italy would use it,
and General Menabres would probably avail himself of it
as eagerly as any other Premier. At present no such mo-
ment is approaching. General Menabres falls back uplk
the old "moral means," but better fight France at once
than again try to dupe her, the Pope, or anybody else. It
is because the Standard believes General Blenabres to be
an honest man, at well as a true Italian, that it preys for
his continuance in office, notwithstanding the adverse ma.
jority telegraphed from Florence yesterday.
The action of Signor Rattarsi in throwing himself coin.
pletely into the hands of the Left seems to the Star even
more significant than the defeat of General Menabrea.
Signor Rattazzi's conduct establishes beyond all question
that the people of Italy are determined to have Rome,
that they will shrink from no sacrifices to attain this end.
and that the struggle for the predestined capital of the
nation will baud together all true Italians and destroy
every adverse and foreign influence.

The Calcutta Englishman says :—" The Viceroy
has called upon all native princes to .übmit an explana-
tion, showing what punishments are inflicted on witches
in their various states. This measure has been taken in
consequence of the cruelty inflicted upon twelve reputed
witches, at a place called Goozerat, in the Cashmere ter-
ritories. These unfortunates were last year sentenced, on
suspicion of dealing in magio, to have their tongues slit.
The common punishments in native states for this offence
appear to be the slitting of noses and tongues and the am-
putation of ears."