The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-19 00:00:00

THE STATE PRISONERS.

Neither Mr. S. O'Brien nor other prisoners con-
fined in Dublin on a charge of high treason have re-
ceived any notice of removal to Clonmel. It is now
quite certain that Mr. Duffy will be tried at the
forthcoming Commission in Dublin. The Freeman
of this morning states that Mr. O'Brien and his
confreres will be sent down by a special train, per-
haps on Monday or Tuesday night, but at present
nothing positively certain is known as to the time of
their removal. A special train can be had at a short
notice, but it has not yet been stated whether the
prisoners will be conveyed to Thurles or Tipperary
stations, and thence to Clonmel.

NATIONAL FETE AT BOULOGNE.
BOULOGNE, MONDAY MORNING, ELEVEN O'CLOCK.
—This morning all is bustle and excitement at Bou-
logne, in consequence of the commencement of a
series of amusements which are to extend over the
next three days, provided by the Mayor and Corpo-
ration of Boulogne, in honour of the National Guards
of the neighbouring towns and other strangers, who
have been invited to join in a "Fete Nationale et
Fraternelle."
Early on Sunday morning workmen might have
been seen busily engaged in erecting triumphal
arches and orchestras in all parts of the town, and
the sound of the hammer and other implements of
the carpenter might be heard throughout the day,
though up to a late hour at night no great progress
seemed to have been made in the way of decoration.
At ten o'clock yesterday morning a discharge of
artillery announced the commencement of the fete,
and crowds of pleasure seekers might be seen ear-
nestly bending their steps to the Place des Armes,the
appointed rendezvous of the National Guard of Bou-
logne, from whence they were to proceed in small
bodies to receive at the several approaches the deputa
tions from other towns, as they arrived to take part
in the fete. Between three and four hundred of the
National Guard of Boulogne having assembled at the
appointed spot, they marched in review order, with
the band of the Ist Regiment of the Line at their
head playing the Marseillaise Hymn past the Hotel
de Ville. They were then put through various mili-
tary evolutions,which were executed in a manner which
would have reflected honour on more disciplined
troops than the majority of them appeared to be.
Many of them, indeed, not being provided with a
uniform, appeared in their ordinary dress en bourgeois
One division of thirty men we particularly noticed as
being more than ordinarily deficient in this respect,
only thirteen of them appearing in uniform. The
men having► been allowed a short time to " stand at
ease" and refresh themselves with the creature com-
forts supplied by their rivandii?res, or the neighbour.
ing estanzinets, about a quarter to twelve the rappel
Was beaten, and the troops, with the exception of
about fifty or sixty left to keep the ground, marched
to the terminus of the Boulogne and Amiens Railway
to receive the National Guards of Abbeville and
Amiens, which were escorted into the Place des
Armes amidst loud cheering and waving of handker-
chiefs. Nearly every musket carried by the men was
decorated with bouquets of flowers and tri-coloured
ribbons, and an immense number of bouquets were
showered in the path of the men during their march
from the railway terminus to the Place des Armes.
On arriving at the latter place,they marched round it,
amidst continual shouting of " Vive la Republique,"

" Vive In France !" &c.
Having gone through the ordinary military exer-
cise and saluted the municipal authorities, the new
corners were admitted in detachments of about fifty at
a time, the number which had arrived being about
four hundred, into the Hotel de Ville, where the mu-
nicipal authorities presented them the viii d'honneur,
in which La Republique was duly pledged. This
ceremony occupied till about two o'clock, when the
band formed in the centre of the square and per-
formed various martial airs until about three, when
the National Guard of Boulogne again marched to
meet fresh importations of troops from Lille, Beau-
vais, and other places. On their arrival the same
ceremony was repeated, as indeed it was up to seven
o'clock in the evening, when the last arrivals of the
clay, being a detachment from Paris, were marched
into the square. From this hour till about ten the
hands of the Line and of the National Guards who
had arrived from the neighbouring districts continued
to play the Marseillaise, Mourir pour la Patric, and
other popular pieces of music.
The square was densely crowded with visitors, and
the neighbouring windows commanding the scene
were occupied by elegantly-dressed ladies, who waved
their kerchiefs and flung bouquets to the troops with
all their might.
This was the only ceremony announced in the
official programme of the fete for yesterday. The
" representation extraordinaire, avec une actrice du
Grand Opera" at the theatre took place at seven
o'clock. The performances consisted of one of those
light, bustling farces with which the Englisk publia
are so well acquainted, entitled, Une Femme guise.
jette par la Fenetre, and Donizetti's opera of Lucia
Lammermoor, in which the principal characters were
ably supported by M. St. Denis, from Paris, and
Mdme. Lundell. Owing, we suppose, to the attrac-
tions out of doors, and in some measure to the repug-
nance which the English naturally and properly have
of attending theatrical representations on a Sunday,
the house, which is about the size of the Lyceini,
with an additional range of boxes, was very indifle
rently attended, and scarcely an English face was
seen within it.
If, however, these were the only entertainments
laid down in the programme of the files they were
not the only ones which took place. Dancing, fire-
works, gaming, singing, and other little et cmtras
usual at French galas, characterised the proceedings
during the remainder of the day ; the streets pre-
sented all the aspects of a country fair or race-course
in England before such stringent regulations as now
exist were put in force against the thimble-riggers
and other gamblers.
An early ramble through the streets this morning
showed how active the workmen must have been
throughout the night, and in how short a space of
time a town can be decked out with evergreens, tri-
umphal arches, colours, bouquets, garlands, .festoons,
&c. But the decorations are far from being com-
pleted. Proceeding from the Quay by the E,ue de
l'Ecu, the eye meets with one unbroken string e.!
garlands suspended from pillars covered with ever-
greens, interspersed :with triumphal arches and the
national colours, till, on arrival at the Place des
Altons, the chain is broken by the appearance of two
magnificent orchestras. The chain then recommences
and proceeds with little interruption to the Place des
Armes, in the old town, which is surrounded by
triumphal arches at every point of entrée. Promenade
concerts are to be held during the celebration of the

fete.
This morning the National Guard re-assembled at
nine o'clock in the Place des Armes, with a view of
proceeding to meet further detachments of the Na-
tional Guard, who are expected from Calais, Grave-
lines, Dunkirk, Paris, Versailles, and other places,
when the same ceremony as that we have above de-
scribed will be repeated. In the meantime such
National Guards as are at present in Boulogne are to
be reviewed by the military and civil authorities,
immediately after which they are to fire at targets
erected on the sands, for medals. The remaining
amusements announced for to-day consist of regattas,
donkey races, a gratuitous theatrical representation, a
grand festival in the concert-room, in which the
fascinating Anna Thillon is to take part, with other
things calculated to delight the flighty Frenchman.
The town is most densely crowded with strangers,
a great portion of whom has arrived from England
within the last few days, in consequence of the ad-
mirable accommodation afforded conjointly by the
South-Eastern Railway and the Continental and
South-Eastern Steam Packet Company—from three
to four hundred having arrived daily, via Folkestone,
by this conveyance during the past week, in addition
to a considerable number via Dover. Nor has the
General Steam Navigation Company been disre-
garded by the English holiday makers, their vessel,
the City of London, which left London on Saturday
night, having brought over 240 passengers. These
importations, together with a large number of visitors
from other parts of France, brought by the railways,
and 800 National Guards, who came into Boulogne
ye,terday, have so crowded the town, that beds can
scarcely be obtained for love or money. Many of the
hotel-keepers doubled and trebled their charges yes-
terday, and even parties staying at an hotel were not
allowed to change from one chamber to another, how-
ever inconvenient the one they possessed might be,
without paying an additional charge for the accom-
modation.

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RELIEF OF limit DisTrws.—The seventh series
of official papers, relating to the relief of Irish distress,
has just been issued. It contains the narrative up to
the middlo of August.