The Sun.
London, England, 1837-12-05 00:00:00

IRELAND.

MR. O'CONNELL'S TITHE BILL.
• Another Clergyman of the Established Church, the Rec-
tor of Dundalk, has announced his willingness to accede to
Mr. O'Connell's proposition for the settlement of the tithe
question. This augurs well for a termination of the. breaches
of peace and of Christian charity to which this question has so
long given rise. The following is the letter we ellude to :
To DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P.
Stn—la the Drogheda Journal of the 18th instant, I have
read a letter addressed by you to the hies archy and clergy
of the P.otestant Church in Ireland, and containeig a plan for
the setttl.ment of the tithe question.
I think your plan is a good and reasonable one. It appears to
me to be quite feasible, and it would evidently relieve a great
portion of the people of this country from what they have been
t ought to regard as an unequitable tax ; whilst it would, at the
same time, pros ide for the maintenance of the Clergy, without
nseessitaf ng them to have recouree to those unpleasantroceed-
inga be which they have been brought into angry collision e ith
their flocks.
I do think there is every probability of its being favourably
erNeived bthe Clrgy, prosided a suffi?tent guarantee is given
to them hat there will be no further innovations made upon
their rights.
To receive their incomes at the Treasury, without trouble,
subject to the deduction of thirty per cent., is very good, p
ar-
tienlarly when compared to the eel in which they have been
circurustane,cd for the la-t six years ; but, then, may not this
" adjustment" afford a precedent for further- do ductions ? for
the appropriatien, or, as it ought rather to be called. the spo-
liation otieciple ? Will it not, in fact, be laying a foundation
upon whist, Radicals and Agitators -nay erect their batteries
to beat down the bulwarks of Protestantism in this benighted
land ?
Nothing could be more melanellolY than the situation of the
Protestant clergy in this country foi !he la few years ;on
the one side, reduced to the utmost destitu::"- by the with-
holding of their just and legitimate rights—and on other,
driven to the necessity of taking such proceedings for the re-
covery of those rights as have unfortunately sometimes led to
ft fatal termination. Well, Sir, deplorable as this state of
things is, I, for one, do say, that rather than be a party to any
act er compact, by which the effects I have above-mentioned
might be produced, I would let this unfortunate state of things
continue. I think destitution upon the one side, and the as-
sertion of legitimate right upon the other, no matter what
might he the result of that assertion, would be preferable to
to that peace and plenty which you promise, if that peace and
plenty are hereafter to be twitted into ropes with which Pro-
testantism may be choked.
But Sir, my apprehensions may probably be unfounded ;
however, if they are not, I think the Protestant Clergy should
require, and ought to receive, the guarantee to which I have
alluded. These, Sir, are merely my own sentiments ; but if
I do not greatly misunderstand the sentiments of my brother
clergymen generally in Ireland, they are theirs also ; and I
think, Sir, they tend to show that the charges of selfishness
and avarice which have been made against us are utterly un-
founded, and that they are so, at least in so far as I am con-
cerned, will appear evident from a simple statement of nay
own case.
As a minister of the Gospel, it was my duty to make every
sacrifice possible in order to promo:e "peace and good-will,"
and in accordance with that principle, I refrained for more
than three years from taking any proceedings for the reco-
very of my tithes. Poverty at length compelled me to assert
my rights, wad by filing bills in the Exchequer, I, in almost
every instance, forced the recusants to settle with my attorney,
but what has been the consequence to me ? In the first place,
my Catholic parishioners are angry with me, and that feeling I
am sorry to say, some of our local agitators are labouring to
excite to a greater degree; and, in the next place, more than
one-half of what I have been able to recover in this way, hag
been expended in the payment of what my solicitor calls
" costs between attorney and client." So that, upon the
whole, I have sot been able to pocket even one-fourth of my
former yearly income. However, all this and more will I
bear rather than acquiesce in any measure which may have a
tendency to injure the interests of that Church of which I am
an humble minister. Secure those interests—place them be-
yond the reach of the sacrilegious hands of Radicals and
Liberals, and then, Sir, your plan for the settlement of the
Tithe question may be accepted ; and your mind will be filled
with the consolatory reflection that you have done a great deal
towards promoting " peace and good-will amongst men."
Sir, your obedient humble servant,
ELIAS THACKERAY,
Rector, Dundalk and Louth.

ORANGE RUFFIANISM.—On Saturday night, a reckless
Orange ruffian, in the service of a gentleman in this city,
sallied out of his master's house, about ten o'clock, armed
with a dagger, and exerted all his ability to create a riot.
He went along the Quay with the instrument of death ex-
posed, shouting for " any Mulgravebloodhound," in order that he
could put his dagger through him. At length he encoun-
tered one of our city police, who, with much difficulty se-
cured him, and handed him over to the authorities. An in-
vestigation was yesterday held before the Mayor, when the
reckless Orangemen was bound over in a heavy penalty to
keep the peace.—Waterford Chronicle.
ORANGE PLOT DETECTED.—The following is extracted
from a letter which we find in the Freeman's Journal:—
About seven o'clock last night some armed ruffian came to
the house of Mr. John Legg, of Lamagh, which is within a
mile and a half of the town of Longford, and within half a mile
of Newtotvn Forbes. This fellow, armed with a loaded
pistol, instantly demanded admission into Mr. Legg's house.
This demand was refused. Mr. Legg opened his door, very
incautiously, t ) drive him off; the assassin immediately fired
on him. The ball shattered Mr. Legg's hand, and wounded
him on the breast. As soon as the assassin fired he fled,
and, thaugh closely pursued by some countrymen, he effected
his es ape. This, the Mail will say, is an alarming state of
thing; I Here is a respectable and inoffensive Protestant
farmer, living within a mile of two police stations, and of
some troops of dragoons and a stipendiary magistrate, and
at le ist four unpaid magistrates, and within a few Fees of the
mail road—and whilst the same road is trodden by successive
crowds of persons returning from the market of Longford ;
his only crime his conscientious votes fur the Tory candi-
date' ; and yet a daring ruffian, at the early hour of seven
o'clock, comes up to his house, and murderously assails
his life, deliberately fires upon him, and wounds him mor-
tally—for he is supposed to be mortally wounded—or maims
him for life I Such a state of things is indeed awfully
earning ; and if the supposed perpetrator had not been de-
tected, the chafge against the poor Papists would be em-
blazoned in the Mad. But no Popish Agitator—no " Irish
savage"—in accused or even suspected ; but a genuine
Orangeman, from the very heart of an exclusively Orange
district—Bobby Beatty—has been arrested, fully identified,
and committed to Longliffd ganljiff the attempted murder—for
this Rockite outrage-4ff this persecution, extermination, and
attempt on the life of a loyal and unprotected Protestant of
Longford.
Contiguous to this Bobby Beatty's house is an Orange
lodge, in which the members assembled, and were found by
our excellent stipendiary magistrate, Captain Barnes, on the
fifth of last November ; and a poor woman, who " plodded
her weary way," and, tottering under a load of peat, was found
on the public road near that lodge, on the same night; and
for the mere crime of pressing on ground sacred to Orange-
men, some ruffian approached her, and wantonly fired on her
in the knee. Such is the man who disturbs in Longford the
peace and tranquillity of the county ; and such are the per-
sons who, from motives known to themselves and to their
leaders, stigmatise, by their own outrages, of " ingenious de-
vice," the character of a loyal, peaceable, and persecuted
people—such the rotten ground on which the 'l'ory faction
build their plan of assailing Lord Mulgrave's Administration,
and of propping their own tottering cause.

The Czar arrived et Moscow on the Bth of the
present month. A serious accident had like to have occurred
to him as he descended Mount Caucasus. The axletree of
the vehicle ia which he was broke as he was crossing a hi idge,
and the passengers were in consequence flung violently for-
ward. The Emperor sustained no personal injury, but his
mind, which had betrayed symptoms of wildness before, is
said to have felt the effects of the shock. The remainder of
his voyage to Moscow has rarely been equalled in point of ce-
lerity. tie travelled 104 leagues in 26 hours. lie intends to
return to St. Petersburg about the middle of December.

SIIIPWRECK.—On Monday, the Ranger lugger,
Le'onging to Ramsgate, arrived there from a cruise, having
on board the matt awl four seamen from the American ship
Colosseum, Captain Winsor, of Boston, who gave the fol-
lo,,ing particulars respecting that ship :—The mate states
that the Co/osseunt, a ship of 320 tong, left St. Petersburgh on
a voyage to St. libes, and th it on Sunday last, the 26th inst.,
about two o'clock in the afterncoa, they went on shore on the
Kentish Knock. They immediately hoisted their colours, and
fired signal-guns for assistance, and the same %las observed by
the schooner Robert, Captain Hunter, of South Shields, who
bore down as near as possible, with the view of rendering aid.
The mate and four seamen put off from the ship and hoarded
the schooner, requesting the captain to lay by the ship and
keep a light up, which was done. The wind and the sea
having greatly increased, rendered it impossible for the boat to
return to the ship : night and every prospect of a gale coming
on, the captain of the Robert, unable to remain longer by the
ship, stood off for the night. At daylight next morning
(Monday) the schooner showed her colours, which were soon
seen by the Ramsgate lugger, the Ranger, cruising on the
bank of the Goodwin, when they (the mate and four men)
were put on board the lugger, and at the particular request of
the mate of the ship they proceeded to the Knock Sand, if
possible, to regain their vessel. They could not discover any
Th-y then spoke a schooner, the captain of which in-
formed them that they had passed a broadside of a large ship,
with other ureckage, which circumstance leaves but little
reason to doubt of the Colosseum having gone to pieces, and
that the captain, with ten men and one passenger (twelve in
all), perished with the ill-fated vessel.
Friday evening a meeting of the parishioners of
S. Clement Danes was held in the vestry-room of the church,
for the purpose of sanctioning. the collection of a poor-rate of
tenpence in the pound, and it was rumoured that an attempt
would be made to pass one of one shilling. The speakers
were numerous, and the business of the meeting concluded by
an amendment of eightpence being carried.
There has been great excitement amongst the inhabi-
tants of Chatham and Brompton during the past week, in con-
sequence of a great many dogs being in a rabid state. We
are sorry to have to state that a boy of the name of Skinner,
aged six years, whose parents reside at New Brompton, was
bitten by one of those animals, and on Friday last died in a
most dreadful state of madness. The Magistrates have issued
an order for all persons to keep their dogs closely confined.—
Maidstone Gazette.