The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-29 00:00:00

and the Royal Artillery stationed here will be re- I
moved to make room for head-quarters of a regiment,
which could be easily effected now by the additional ac-
commodation afforded by Mr. Bianconi's house, which
the Ordnance still retain as a barracks, although the
period for which they originally hired it has expired."
THE REPEAL MAGISTRATES.
At the eleventh hour, and when the act of amnesty
has lost its grace, the Government have thought proper
to reinstate Mr. Smith O'Brien in the commission of the
peace. The correspondence annexed will tell the his-
tory of the circumstances connected with Mr. O'Brien's
peculiar case:—
" Secretary's Office, Four Courts, Dublin, Sept. 22.
" am directed by the Lord Chancellor to in-
form you that he yesterday received a letter, enclosing
to him a document signed by several magistrates of the
county Limerick, stating their regret at being deprived
of your advice and assistance as a magistrate, and sug-
gesting to him that your restoration to the commission
of the peace would be productive of advantage to the
county.
"The Chancellor directs me to say, that, on examin-
ing the lists of magistrates who had been removed from
the commission of the peace, which he did in conse-
quence of a communication from the Lord-Lieutenant
(as you are no doubt aware from the statements in
Parliament and the public papers), he found that you
had not been removed for any specific cause, but had
yourself resigned the commission, and been superseded
at your own request. Under these circumstances he did
not cause any. communication to be made to you on the
subject, deeming it a matter altogether for your own
discretion and judgment whether you would think fit to
intimate your wish to be replaced on the magistracy ;
but having received such a statement from a large body
of the magistrates of the county, he cannot hesitate to
inform you of it, in order that you may apprise him of
your intentions as regards the resumption of the office.
" I am, Sir, your very obedient humble servant,
' FRANCIS W. BRADY,
" Secretary to the Lord Chancellor.
"To William Smith O'Brien, Esq., M.P."
" Cahermoyle,Sep t. 23.

" Sir,—l have had the honour of ieceiving your
obliging letter of the 22d, in which you inform me that
several magistrates of the county of Limerick have re-
presented to the Lord Chancellor that my restoration to
the commission of the peace would be of advantage to
the county, and that in consequence of such representa-
tion the Lord Chancellor desires that I should apprise
him of my intention as regards the resumption of the
office.
"It affords me extreme gratification to learn, that
without suggestion upon my part, a large body of the
magistrates of the county of Limerick have expressed
such an opinion to the Lord Chancellor.
" I will not conceal from you that I felt some surprise
that I had not received an intimation similar to that com-
municated on the part of the Executive to other magis-
trates who resigned their commissions for political rea-
sons; but I now rejoice that this delay has taken place,
as it has elicited towards me a demonstration of gener-
ous feeling, which upon every account I highly appreciate.
" The present Government having wisely renounced
the principle of excluding individuals from the magis-
tracy on account of their advocacy of the national rights
of Ireland, the motives which induced me to resign my
commission no longer exist. I shall, therefore, cheer-
fully resume my functions as soon as reinstated.
" I have the honour to be your obedient servant,
" WILLIAM S. O'BRIEN.
" To F. W. Brady, Esq., Secretary to the
Lord Chancellor."
The Limerick Reporter is by no means satisfied with
the Chancellor's explanation, er. qr.:—
" The Lord Chancellor or the Government are at
length about to perform an act of tardy justice in restor-
ing our distinguished and excellent county Member to
the commission of the peace. The delay has caused a
good deal of surprise, much speculation, and great
in-
dignation on the part of a very numerous section
of the community. Even the Tory press exclaimed
against the injustice. The
.reason assigned by the
Lord Chancellor is most unsatisfactory, inasmuch as the
commission of the peace has long been offered to others
who also resigned fur political reasons, and did not apply
to be restored. For example, the Orangeman, Mr. Rose
Cleland, who resigned in consequence of his friend
Commodore Watson being superseded, was offered the
commission without any intimation on his part that In
would accept it, which is evident from the fact of his
having refused the office; so that the justice which was
offered to an Orangeman was denied by the Whigs to
an uncompromising ripea/er, until the magistrates of
the county of Limerick at last reminded the Government
of their duty. With how much better a grace would they
have offered him the commission in the beginning than
to be thus forced to do him justice. Did they want On;
lineal descendant of an Irish King to bow down at their
feet, and, with bated breath and whispering humble-
ness,' sue for the office from au English faction ? Some
of the Whig organs and apologists of the Government
appear to think he ought to have done so, but he knew
his own dignity and proud position better than that.
The Government stated, when coming into power, that
they would investigate the merits of each case, and act
accordingly, and, for our part, we think it would be
derogatory to any gentleman who was superseded to ask
for a restoration."
LANDLORDS AND THE RENTS.

The Clare Journal (Conservative) strongly impwesses
upon the landlords the actually necessity of foregoing all
demands for rent pending the present crisis, for, although
the farmer may obtain a remunerative price for his corn
he must, in self defence, reserve it for his own con: ump •
tion now that his usual resource has been swept off the
land:—

" It -were well, we think, if the exertions of the Go
vernment received a corresponding assistance from the
landlords of the country. They must be forbearing to
the tenantry. We do not desire to retail the com-
plaints that are hourly spreading of the conduct of the
landlords and agents pressing for rents at this season.
It is true, for every commodity that the farmer has
to sell he has high prices to get ; but then it must
bo remembered that the corn upon which lie depended
to meet the greater portion of the rent, must be
now kept to feed his family, in place of his potatoes,
that failed. Can he sell that, and depend on the chance
of public employment to support his family It is folly
to think it. We know, too, all the complicated demands
that those rents may be, in idea, allocated for, but they
must, in fact, be laid aside for the present. There must
be mutual forbearance on all sides, and, as none of the
demand that is to be laid upon the land will be levied
during this year, the landlord is relieved from any bur-
den by its presentation. Again, we repeat, we do not
desire to report the various complaints every day cir-
culated of parties who are pressing for rents, and where
a gale's rent has been refused, yet when to meet the
year's rent the tenant should deprive himself of every
ounce of subsistence for his family. It is the extreme
of folly to ask for this ; no matter what the pressure
upon the landlord may be, he cannot hope to get this
demand ; and if he endeavours to do so, the consequences
will be dangerous to the peace of the country."

We understand there are at this time upwards of
3,000 labourers engaged at work between Peterborough
and Ely. The line is in a state of considerable forward-
ness.—Cambridge Chronicle.

DETENTION OF THE LISBON MAIL.—OH Saturday
morning a notice was posted at the General Post-office,
St. Martin's-le-Grand, that her Majesty's ship Bulldog,
for Lisbon and the Cape of Good Hope, with letters,
&c., had been compelled to put back to Devonport, in
consequence of damage, and will be detained for two or
three days.
A PATRIARCHAL AGRICULTURIST.--A local paper
records the death of Mr. James Collins, of Eastrington,
near Bowden, aged ninety seven, and adds—" He was a
man of temperate and regular habits, he seldom met with
his equal in agricultural pursuits, and he invariably took
the lead with the scythe, the sickle, and the flail. seven
children, twenty-seven grandchildren, and eighteen great
grandchildren, survive him."
THE MAILS.—SOUTHAMPTON, SEPT. 27.—The
Peninsular steam-packet Royal Tar, Captain Hamilton,
arrived here yesterday at four o'clock pal., and landed
the usual mails, which were forwarded to London by
this morning's early mail train. Her dates are, Gibral-
tar, Sept. 17; Cadiz, 18th; Lisbon, 20th; off Oporto,
22d; Vigo, 22d; and Corunna, 23d. The Tar brought
home a detachment of artillery, women and children, and
about forty passengers, also a cargo of almonds and
raisins, grapes, parcels, &c. Her Majesty's steamer
Phoenix was at Gibraltar. The experimental squadron,
Hibernia, Trafalgar, Queen, St. Vincent, Rodney, Van-
guard, Albion, Superb, Spartan, and Eurydice frigates;
Terrible, Retribution, Cyclops, Polyphemus, and Rattler,
were at Cadiz. Her Majesty's ship Canopus, French
brig of war Cyne, and the usual Portuguese squadron
were at Lisbon, and at Vigo the Spanish frigate Isabel
11., and Villa do Bilboa, and Cologne corvette, and
Blasco de Caray steamer. The Ariel, Captain Colbeck,
left the docks yesterday for Malta and Alexandria with
a full cargo of goods and passengers; she will remain
out for the newly arranged passage between Alexandria
and Marseilles for the purpose of establishing the facts
as to which practically is the shortest route for the India
mails. The Queen steam-ship, Captain Russell, will
leave this port to-morrow with the mails, a good cargo,
and passengers for Gibraltar. A very fine new iron
steam-ship (Tiber), Captain Olive, leaves this port on
the 30th instant, en route fur Italy, Florence, Rome, and
Naples; she will take out a large cargo of Manchester
and other goods, and a fair number of passengers for a
first trip. The Oriental, Captain Soy, is hourly ex-
pected at the Motherbank with the India and China
mails; she left Malta on the 16th.
CONFLAGRATION AT LIMEEIOUSE.—On Saturday
night, between nine and ten o'clock, a very extensive fire
broke out in a house, No. 71, Fore-street, Limehouse, in
the occupation of Mr. Talbot, boot and shoe manufac-
turer. The flames originated in the first floor, from
some cause which could not bo ascertained. Although
an alarm was raised, and several persons were instantly
on the spot to render assistance, very few minutes elapsed
before the fire had extended throughout the whole of the
upper porticn of the premises, and when it broke through
the roof, it completely illuminated, not only the imme-
diate district, but the more distant portions of the metro-
polis. With all possible expedition, several engines of
the London Brigade, with Mr. Braidwood, the superin-
tendent, attended; and a plentiful supply of water being
soon obtained, the engines were set to work; but, not-
withstanding, the flames continued to spread with more
!Ilan usual rapidity, so that before eleven o'clock every
part of the spacious building, together with the furni-
ture and stock-in-trade, was blazing away most furiously.
Whilst the firemen were engaged directing the branches
of the engines through the front windows, the floorings
gave way, and fell with a fearful crash. The shock
caused the outer walls to topple over into the street, and
it was with the greatest difficulty that several of the fire-
men escaped being crushed to death. The engines were
worked with full vigour until half past eleven o'clock,
when the firemen at length got the mastery over the fire,
but by that period the place was gutted, and several of
the adjoining premises were very extensively damaged,
mere especially the residence of Dr. Barnard, next deer.