The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-07 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Spa—ln reply to the letter of J. W., which appeared in your Paper
last week, permit me to state, through the medium of your pages, for
his information, that from what I can learn, if officers in any of the
dockyards were to "Undertake either an agengy or an executorship, it
would be so contrary to the rules of the service, that although the Lords
of the Admiralty would not perhaps visit the act with such displeasure
as to deprive the offending party of their situations, yet to prevent its
continuance they would decidedly remove them to some other station.
Will you oblige me by stating why he asked the question ?
Your's, &c.,

A. O'C.

IRELAND.

(FROM OUR PRIVATE CORRESPONDENT.)
DUBLIN, MAY 5.
-

Tea PRESS IN IRELAND—TAE "PILOT."—The large profits and
extensive circulation of the London press plaee it above the dangers
which are daily threatening the Liberal journals in this country. A
newspaper here is generally the proderty of an individual—a specula-
tion In which his whole property is involved, and any liabilities incurred
by the mismanagement of it, or by an unconscious breach of the law of
libel, fall, of course, upon the single proprietor. Every attack upon
monopoly, then, every expose of official misconduct, r every interpo-
sitioiebetween innocence and guilty power, is made at the hazard of the
property aliir-liberty of one courageous man. That an independent
press should have existed at all in this country, under the circumstances,
is strange; but it is more strange when you recollect that the circula-
tion of newspapers in this country is comparatively limited, and the profit
accruing to the sole proprietor, who undergoes all the responsibility, is
less than that received by one of a dozen partners in an English news-
paper, most of whom undergo no responsibility at all. These remarks
were suggested by the fact of two criminal informations having been
obtained against the Pilot during the present week; one yesterday by
two young men named Bateman and Fitzpatrick, for a paragraph in
which their claims to compensation for prosecuting some policemen,
were ridiculed, and themselves accused of abusing the Lord
Lieutenant ; and the other by the Marquis of Westmeath, for
a disagreable expose made by the Pilot in defence of Mr. Shell,
the magistrate whose case Lord Westmeath brought before Parliament
three weeks ago. In both cases the plaintiffs are proceeding by criminal
action, seeking to remove from his duties one of the most fearless as-
sertors of the people's rights at the public Press. As a further illustra.
tion of the working of the libel law in this country, I may observe that
a civil action is pending against another Liberal Evening Paper for an
attack upon a public functionary, or rather a candidate for a public
office, whose conduct was highly censurable; and that scarcely a month
has elapsed since a Morning Paper was mulcted in 3001. damages and
costs for the insertion of an advertisement. The most deplorable part
of the case is, that juries, who look to the Press to make all sacrifices in
their defence, have no sympathy with them, even when unjustly at-
tacked; and that some barristers, who have been switched for miscon.
duct by the Newspapers, pursue them, when employed against them,
with relentless bitterness of spirit.
ANTI-SLAVERY MEET! NGS.—The friends of Negro Emancipation
throughout the country are actively employed iu agitating the question.
Meetings have been held in Kilkenny, Mayo, and elsewhere, and a
meeting is convened in Dublin, at the Rotunda, for Monday, at which
the celebrated advocate of liberty, Mr. George Thompson, will attend.
The Anti.SlaVery Committee are untiring in their exertions, and, with
the assistance of O'Connell, they have succeeded in snaking the question
one of general interest in Ireland. The tithe campaign and anti-tithe
agitation are keeping pace with each other, while the parsons are
scouring the country with Dragoons, serving tithe notices, or employing
themselves in the less dangerous recreation of prosecuting Exchequer
suits, the Reformers are holding meetings, protesting against the ins.
post, and pledging themselves not to submit to it. This irritation, and
counter-irritation, was prettily exemplified the other day at North Wex-
ford, where a meeting of between fifty and sixty thousand persons as.
sembled on Wednesday, and adopted the strongest resolutions against
the tithe system ; and on Friday the Parson called an auction to dispose
of llfty.fivr bullocks and five racehorses, the property of Mr. Maher,
one of the Members for the county, by way of reprisal. As the
second act of the drama was only enacted yesterday, the result has not
yet reached town.

The collection for the monument of Curran is still proceeding with
spirit; and so also is another national fund, the subscription to the
Finn Testimonial to be presented to the late Member for Kilkenny, for
his exertions to uproot the Orange conspiracy in this country.
The commission dc lunatic° inquirendo, which excited so much in-
terest here for the last week, has concluded, and Miss Martha Matilda
Loftus has been declared of unsound mind, and trustees, or as the
technical phrase is, a Committee, appointed over her property, which
amounts to more than 36,0001. The lady of Sir George Rich, and her
sister, Mrs. Magan, wife of Wm. Henry Magan, Esq., arc declared co.
heiresses-at-law to the lunatic.

At the Thurles Quarter Sessions, a few days ago, a case came on
which excited considerable amusement. It was an action by a man
called Smith, against a pious gentleman named Hall, who had employed
him as a missionary to travel through the country, and preach, read, and
explain the Scriptures. The plaintiff was an old soldier, but it ap.
peared by several letters produced on the trial that the Church consi-
dered him as her special champion, for he was addressed in them by
clergymen of the Establishment, as "dearly-beloved friend." The
ambidexter champion made out his case successfully, and obtained a
decree against Mr. Hall for 131. 10s. It would be a curious inquiry
how much piety was expended, and how many souls saved for this
trifling sum. Supposing it was shewn that any given number of be-
nighted Papists were converted for 13/. 10s., a question would arise
whether it would not be expedient to grant a certain number of
thirteen-pound-tens to convert over the whole population. The thing
might be done upon BobadiPs system. Three at 131. 10s. convert them;
three more at 13/. 10s., convert them, and so on till there was not a
Papist left in the island. The superfluous tithes and unneces-
sary church lands would produce a ♦ery considerable quantity of
thirteen pound-tens of the clergy would consent to apply them to this
good purpose.