The Sun.
London, England, 1822-04-19 00:00:00

tk4*
rThHe:\
----' • 0, IlaY•
•
/ T I
Z-t
/12 r #4141.

1007, Pall Mall, April 13, 1622.
AGENERAL MEETING of the MEM-
BEES of the UNITED UNIVERSITY CLUB will be
held at WILLIS'S ROOMS, King-street, St. Jawes's.square,
on SATURDAY, the 47th Instant, at One o'Clock.
His Royal Highness the Duke of GLOUCESTER,
in the Chair.
By Order of the Committee,
CHARLES STEt'ART, Secretary.

FOR THE SUN.

LETTER V.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1822.

MR. EDITOR—The inhabitants of the City of
Dublin presented, through their Lord Mayor,
an address to his MAJESTY, on the day of his em-
barkation, in which they stated, that " Your
MAJESTY came among us: at your approach
discord ceased, and every prejudice fled. Your
MAJESTY has vanquished every bad passion, and
united six millions of a grateful people in a bond
of brotherly love to one another, and of affec-
tionate attachment to your MAJESTY'S person
and Throne :" thus ascribing to his MAJESTY a
greater degree of supernatural power than the
Irish Papists have ever done to their tutelar
Saint, who only banished venemous animals from
the Holy Island ; while his MAJESTY has, in
three weeks, " vanquished every bad passion."
These modern Prophets, with the exception of
Mr. O'CONNELL, who, six months before, pre-
dicted " that a bloody insurrection was 'on
the eve of breaking out," remind me of the false
prophets mentioned by Jeremiah, ia his 23d
Chapter : for, though they said" Peace, Peace,"
scarcely had his MAJESTY lost sight of the Island
of Saints, before the Goddess of 44 Discord" re-
lighted her torch, " prejudice" resumed her seat,
and " all the bad passions" revived in the breasts
of the Romish inhabitants of the County of Lime-
rick, extending to the circumjacent counties, and
spreading horror and devastation around.

- Some Protestants think, or affect to think, from
the circumstance of the houses of a few Roman Ca-
tholics having been attacked and robbed of arms—
probably from an idea that they might not make a
proper use of them, or might send them into the gar-
risons—that the present insurrection is different
from all former ones, and not of a religious or po-
litical nature ; but merely arising from the dis-
tresses of the lower classes of inhabitants ; and I
am aware that the same has lately been expressed
from very high authority, even from the Bench.
I have ever been, however, and, notwithstanding
that high authority, still am of a different opi-
nion, for the following reasons, among many
others I might produce.
In the first place—The distress, which has
been general, has pressed as heavily upon Pro-
testants of the lower classes as upon Roman
Catholics ; and yet there has not been an instance
of one of the former having joined the ranks of
rebellion, notwithstanding the late assertion of a
young Candidate for popularity, which he may
find as unstable as his father had done; but,
when dared to the proof, he could not support his
allegations. I cannot avoid here remarking; that
ever since what is improperly called 4' Catholic
Emancipation" was first brought into notice, its
advocates have adopted the Romish hyperbolical
style, in violation of truth : so true it is that
" Evil communication corrupts good manners."
Secondly—From the meditated destruction of
all the churches in Ireland, as first planned ; and
the actual destruction of a considerable number,
by fire and other means, together with those ob-
noxious books—the Bibles and Books of com-
mon Prayer, that they contained.
Thirdly—From the application of the word
" CHRISTIANITY" in the catechism of the infer-
nal Brotherhood, adopted for the purpose of
knowing each other : for Roman Catholics do
not consider Protestants as Christians, but Here-
tics, however some may affect a contrary opinion ;
and in this they are countenanced by "His Holi-
ness," Pi us VII. who has declared, that " he re-
garded all indulgence to Protestants as an al-
liance between Christ and Belial, light and
darkness, truth and error, sincere 'piety and im-
piety ;" and who reproached the French Go-
vernment, after the restoration of the Bourbons,
" for its protection of Heretics, Sectaries, and
Schismatics ;" to which source we may probably
trace the late persecution and massacre of Protes-
tants in the Southern provinces of that Kingdom ;
of whom above sixteen thousand, having been des-
poiled of their property, have been reduced to
beggary ; and many hundreds have been murdered.
Fourthly—From the murder, as well as from
the circumstances attendant upon and following
it, of Mr. BRERETON •of Tralee, Mail-coach
Agent, who, on the non.arrival of the coach from
Cork, on Friday the 25th of January, set out in
company with another man to investigate the
cause of detention ; and, as they were return-
ing, with the mail in charge, they were met
and stopped by a numerous party of Insur-
gents, near to the Chapel of Knockacopnil. Mr.
BRERETON'S companion being of the Romish Com-
munion was allowed to return to Tralee with-
out injury : but, as poor BRERETON was a Pro-
testant, he was murdered in a most barbarous
manner, his body having been perforated with
innumerable wounds from pikes and fire-arms,
and literally cut to pieces.

For these reasons, therefore, I think that
bigotry and hatred of Protestants are the main-
springs of the present insurrection, as they had
been of all former ones, and I doubt not but all
those will be of the same opinion who have no
motive for deceiving one party, and temporizing
with the other.

But there is a circumstance connected with
this most atrocious murder, which is worthy of
notice. A Priest, named O'StmLivAN, had met
the insurgents previous to poor BRERETON'S un-
fortunate rencounter ; and as he had stated in a

long and laboured letter, published in the Cork
Mercantile Chronicle of the 27th February, he
had used every possible argument to dissuade
them from their unlawful pursuits, and to induce
them to return to their respective homes ; after
which he left them, and went to the house of a
person of the same namei however, it may be