The Sun.
London, England, 1839-01-25 00:00:00

(REPORT

" METROPOLITAN DINNER TO MR. O'CoNNEtt..—Yesterday evening
Mr. O'Connell's constituents entertained him at a public dinner, at
the Circus, Abbey-street.
" Ignatius Callaghan, Esq., President.
" John Guthrie, Esry , filled the office of Vice. Chair.

" The proceedings continued with uninterrupted harmony until Mr
O'Connell had nearly concluded his speech. The Learned Gentleman
about that period took occasion to indulge in a tirade against the Dublin
Liberal Press, which was felt to be so offensive by the gentlemen who
represented it, that they spontaneously discontinued reporting him, and
as soon as he had concluded his observations they retired in a body from

the room, having been previously assailed by the houtings of violently
excited individuals, who groaned and hissed them in a manner both in.
decorous and violent. In their passage out, some of the stewards and
police had to interfere for their personal security. A meeting was in-
stantly held by the gentlemen who felt themselves thus individually no..
ticed, and a resolution, which appears elsewhere, was then agreed to."
II EGISTER (EDITORIAL).

" Ma. O'CONNELL.— TIIR PRESS.—The reader who may feel sur.
prised upon looking in vain for a Report of the proceedings of the
metropolitan dinner to Mr. O'Connell, will find an explanation set
forth in an advertisement from the gentlemen in attendance on
the part of the Liberal press. We approve of the suppression.
not because we fear anything that may be alleged against
the character of that gteat engine of which it is our pride to

form a part ; for we are ready to justify our course, where it
is deliberate, or to make atonement where we are wrong. But
we appruve of the suppression, because the independence of
the press has been trenched upon—because we have been DARED
to refuse to give power and effect to words that would
otherwise die upon a few hundred ears—because we feel the
sustentation of our professional character of infinitely more importance
to the public than columns unnumbered of Mr. O'Connell's eloquence,
impulsive as that has undoubtedly been towards the goal of Ireland's
liberties—because it we proved ourselves the whipped slaves of the
Learned Gentleman, which we have been sometimes slanderously re-
presented to be, we should weaken even his utility—because, finally,
however reasonably Mr. O'Connell may think that Ireland's hopes are
centered in him, the integrity of the Press is of incalculably more im-
portance to the nation than the dominancy of an individual's power
—see.ng that the individual patriot is mortal, and his influence
dies with him, while the Press lives for ever, vitally affecting
the destinies of generations unborn, for good or evil, according
to the character it earns and the course it wisely or weakly pursues.
For the present we shall quit the subject, by demanding of Mr. O'Con-
nell the cause of this unmannered, unexpected, and from him, most
undeserved attack upon the Press ? The subject is one in which the
community has the deepest interest ; and to the bar of public opinion
—the sense of public virtue—we appeal. Enough in conclusion to say,

:hat when goaded by Mr. O'Connell's Insulting language, the reporters

indignantly threw down their pens, and left the room. In the name
of the Press we thank them for the manliness that induced the resolve
not to permit an outrage so gross to pass unreproved."
(RKPORT.)

" METROPOLITAN DINNER TO MR. O;CONNELL—Last night this en-

tertainment took place at the Circus, Lower Abbey street. In the
course of Mr. O'Connell's speech, he unexpectedly commenced an at.
tack upon the Press of Dublin, which was so insulting that the re-

. ,
porters threw down their pens and refused to take further notes of the
proceedings. On the termination of his speech all the reporters of
the Liberal Journals walked out of the room together; but during

their progress they were assailed by groans and shouts, while some of
the more infuriated and slavish of those present even attempted vio-
lence upon their persons. They immediately afterwards held a meet-
ing at which was pasued the resolution which will be found in an-
other column."

....
The following arc the resolutions referred to in the foregoing ar.
icles

" METROPOLITAN DINNER—THE Paass.—At a meeting of gentle-
men connected with the Dublin Press, held this evening, the following
resolution was unanimously adopted :
" That inasmuch as Mr. O'Connell, at the Metropolitan dinner this
evening, used, in reference to the members of the Dublin Press, terms as
insulting as they were unjustifiable, and dared theomission of the report of
the proceedings—Resolved, that having respect,to our own character,
and holding the independence of the Press to be the foundation of public
liberty, and considering that a mean submission, under these circum-
stances, would be a surrender of those principles which Mr. O'Connell
professes a desire to establish, we hold ourselves justified in a total sup.
pression of all the proceedings that took place upon the occasion.'
" James Coffey, Charles D. Duffy, Martin Haverty, John Flanedy,
S. Corcoran, Andrew C. Elrington, John Morgan.'
" January '22, 1639."

HER MAJESTY AT DRURY-LAN

THEATRE.

Last night the Queen honoured this theatre with her
.pre-
sence for the third time during the season. Her Majesty
arrived soon after ten o'clock, and was attended by a suite
which included the Marchioness of Breadalbane, Hon. Miss
Murray, Baroness Lehzen, Marquis Conyngham, Lord Lil-
ford, Sir Robert Otway, and Lord Alfred Paget. The per-
formances were Benedict's opera of The Gipsy's Warning,
and the Pantomime : and after their conclusion her Majesty
paid a high, and we believe unprecedented compliment to
the theatre, by going personally upon the stage, and wit-
nessing the feeding of Van Amburgh 's lions, which were
again brought on after the departure of the audience t')gra-
tify the Royal curiosity. On this occasion the stage was in
a manner walled in by the scenery, and everybody be-
hind the scenes excluded from it, with the exception of the
Queen and suite, Mr. Bunn, who attended upon her Majesty,
and Mr. Van Amburgh. The beasts in their dens devoured
their food (raw beef) with a violent rapacity which leads to a
supposition that their feeding time might have been purposely
delayed-7a surmise, in some measure, borne outby an occur-
rence which had previously taken place during the perform-
ance. When the lamb was put into the page the lion and
panther simultaneously attacked it, and it would certainly
have been killed but for the determined interference of Van
Amburgh, who unmercifully whipped the animals until they
crouched in their den, and rescued the poor lamb, which bad
been washed and furbished up to a snowy degree of cleanliness
—perhaps in honour of its appearance before the Queen. Her
Majesty, when on the stage, held some conversation with Mr.
Van Amburgh, and appeared very much pleased with the ex-
hibition of the feeding. The Queen has announced her in-
tention to go in State to Drury-lane Theatre on Tuesday next.