The Express.
London, England, 1850-01-02 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DrOLIN, JAN. 1.
The requisition for the meeting of the county of
Dubiiu in support cf protect ion, appeared in the /hewing
of last night. l'he meeting has been oorwred
for Friday next—" for the purpose of comedians'
the expe&ency of adopting petitions to be ready for
presentation to both heave of parliament, at the corn-
iseceement of the approaching seeaioe, representing
the imminent rain which impends over every class
and interest in this country, m consequence of the
depreciated value of agricul•urel produce, the only
staple of Ireland, and praying that such a moderate
duty may be imposed upon the agricultural produce
of foreign countries u may give confidence and secu-
rity against unlimited depreciation, and afford a fair
compensation for the disadvantages to which the
home growers are subjected."
This must not be confounded with the "aggregate
meeting " which was fixed to tske place on the 17th
inst., but which the protectionists will cow " shirk,"
if they possibly can. The county of Donegal is con-
vened for the 7th inst., and the North Riding of Tip-
perary for the Bth.
Lord (Bengal's petition was discussed yesterday,
in the North Dublin Board of Guardians, bat the
motion for its adoption was withdrawn, on the sug-
gestion of a judicious conservative, to escape an in-
evitable defeat.
A vast out-door meeting was held at Templemore,
in the county of Kerry, on Wednesday last, in pursu-
ance of a requisition couched in the following rather
formidable terms:
RANTS! RENTS!! HINTS !I—LOW PRICES! LOW UNTO!
A public meeting will be held on Bt. Stephen's day, at
the Cross of Rent, to petition parliament to take into canal-
&reit.. the elete et the (armies clue, as well as to lay be-
ore the landlords of this inspoveri•hed union the trier Is.
possibility of their continuing to exact the present exorbitant
sad eppressive rent, without ruining themselves and their
unfo-tunate tenants. The chair will he taken at 2 o'clock
precisely. Down with the rents, and hurrah for cheep land,
cheap food, an! plenty.
The meeting was a very important one, and the
moat distinct expression of the feelings of the Irish
tenant-farmer class, on the question of protection, yet
given utterance to. The chair was occupied by T.
O'Sullivan, Esq , of Prospect-lodge, and the following
were among the neolu.ions adopted :
That it is the opinion of this meeting that the free im-
portation of corn into this union is essentially neenreary, not
only for its well being and prosperity, but for its actual
criticises, ; and that any attempt to reimpose a duty on the
importation of food can only have the effect of swelling the
parses and increasing the rentals of a few landlords, whilst it
must, of necessity, tend to the starving of the people.
Teat we do not by any means concur or participate in the
cry that is being raised against the present poor law, inso-
much that, with all its defects, it places the burden of the
poor on those who are best able, and who ought, to bear it.
It, to a certain extent, relieves the struggling farmer of a
heavy burden he had hitherto, solely and unaided by the
landlord to bear, via , the support of the poor; and it leaves
no choice to the landlord between supporting the poor idly
and unprofitab!y in the workhouse, and their useful and
remunerative employment in the cultivation of the soil out-
side.
That the rents of this union have been at all times immo-
derate, and of late years so oppressive as to render it impos-
sible to hold out any longer ni.der so grievous a burden. All
our means have gone out for the import of ford daring four
successive famines, our fuming produce has fallen to half its
value, teratioa has ben doubled, and yet the same rents,
with few exceptions, have been demanded and paid with u
much severity as they have been in times the most pros-
perous ant 8 mashing. Seeing, therefcre, no dispwition on
the p irt of the landlords to take our case into consideration,
sad ening them meet and come together for no other pur-
p,se than to make more grievous the yoke that has been
for centuries cast upon us, it only remains for us to resign
their lands and betaas (writhes to a country where a man
may feel that he is labouring for himself, and whets
the fruits of his labour are not likely to go to other than his
own family.
At a large meeting of the Coleraine Tenant Right
Association held on Saturday last, J. Boyd, Esq.,
M.P. for Coleraine, in the chair, the following resolu-
tions were agreed to :
That the unexamipl4 distress which has prevailed through-
out this country during the last few years calls loudly tee
amity individual and legislative effort that can be made to
cheek it moues& and remove its disatrous effect,.
That mach of this distress has arisen from the went of
remunerative employment for the labouring populism',
which i s mainly caused by the absence of all legal security
to the tenant farmers for their permanent improvement et
the soil.

That in order to enable the agrieul.nrists of this enuotry
to meet with sums the compeutioss of foreigners, an exten-
sive riVorm is required in the law of real property and eon-
veyancini, • m Rini reduction of rents to a level with the
present prises of agricultural produce, and • secured interest
to the tenant tumor in the benefit of all substantial improve-
ments which his own capital chat accomplish.
That If these just demands were cone °dal, there is enough
eagerly, enterprise, and scientific skill in Great Britain
and Ireland to enable the tenant farmer to cuspate with
for. igners an successfully u the m mufactur_r is now able
to do.

That petitions be forwarded from this meeting, and ss far
as possible from all the surrounding districts, to both houses
of parliament, praying for the legislative reforms pointed out
is the foregoing resolutions.
Sir A. 13. Brooke, M.P., has addressed a letter to
Lord Ohmsll, oomplainitg of the looseness and dis-
cursive character of his now famous memorial.
The Slljs Champion records a singular affair :
Through the kincnees of a eorreapondirit, we bays been
favoured with the particulars of an Investigation held during
the week, relative to the alleged shooting of a highwayman
by a Mr. Rea, a Scotch agriculturist, who lately arrived in
t►is country. Mr. Rea states that he was attacked t y three
men, on the road between Collooney and Sligo, and to self.
defence shot one of them. No evidence was brought forward
to sustain his statement, and the impression of the bench
was, that Mr Rea's foes were not a whit more substantial
than Falstaff's men in buckram. The friends of a respect-
able yeoman, who died a few days ago of scarletina, had
their feelings most cruelly outraged. A rumour win:
abroad that the deceased was the highwayman ; the body
was exhumed, and, on medical examination, the calumny
was refuted.

The new mayor of Drogheda bag given ,501. to be
distributed among the poor, instead of spending it on
a civic dinner.
Accounts of two or three deaths from destitution
in the west of Ireland are given in the papers this
morning.
The workhouse of the Carrick on Shannon union is
described u being in a most deplorable state from
fever, neglect, and want of funds.
The frost still continues uninterrupted, and skating
can now be practised on all the ponds in the vicinity
of Dublin.