The Sun.
London, England, 1834-12-27 00:00:00

TITHE. CONFLICT AT RATHCORMAC-IN-
QUEST ON THE BODIES OF THE SLAIN.

The melancholy subject of this inquest naturally excited an
intense interest throughout the south, and numbers of strangers
as well as neighbours poured into the town of - Rathcormac,
anxious to. be present at it. At an early hour on Saturday the
roads, particularly those from the Cork and Fermoy sides,
were crowded with people of all ranks and conditions. Troops
of the 4th Dragoon Guards,• and detachments of Infantry,
continued to pour in all the morning. Amongst them, under
a strong escort, were seen the Rev. Joshua Ryder (the incum-
bent at whose suit the fatal seizure was made), and his brother-
in-law, Richard Wood, who came with him from Cork to
assist as Counsel in the investigation. At eleven o'clock the
members for both the city and county of Cork appeared,
(Messrs. Baldwin, Callaghan, Barry, and F. O'Connor,) b)
which time the usually tranquil little town of Rathcormac
presented the appearance of a besieged place. In the midst
of the din and confusion occasioned by the constant arrivals of
military, country gentlemen, and peasantry, were heard the
incessant tolling of the chapel bell, which continued (at half-
minide time, all day-long) to remind the gloomy crowds of
the fate•of the fallen " tithe martyrs." The still frequent
wailings .of the women and imprecations were also frightfully
in keeping with the awful character of the scene.
A warm personal discussion took place soon after their arri-
val between Dr. Baldwin and Coroner Foote. At length the
three coroners got together in a mom capable of accommoda-
about 20 persons, 'and took their places for the despatch of
business. ,As soon as this movement was discovered, the
crowds directed their steps thither also, and presently the
room was crowded almost to suffocation. Fergus O'Connor
was with difficulty enabled to force his way in, under the cha-
racter of " counsel for the prosecution," and stated that he
meant to tender the sworn informations of respectable persons
against Captain Cooke Collis, Captain Bagley, and the Rev.
Mr. Ryder, ( who were in authority over the military at the
moment of the attack.) A long argument took place on the
jury-list submitted by the coroners, of 35 persons summoned
from the neighbourhood of Fermoy, who were chiefly shop-
keepers, and (with the exception of one person, named Sulli-
van) Protestants. Mr. O'Connor, M.P., insisted on having
at least 100 names to choose from. At length, after much
discussion, an increased list of from 60 to 70 names was taken,
and 23 names selected therefrom by ballot. " I pledge my-
self " said Mr. C'Connor, " that six mounted and eight dis-
mounted men would have been a sufficient force to protect any
party distraining for the tithes in question, without a probabi-
lity of danger to themselves. The officers and soldiers are as
liable to a prosecution as the magistrates, but military men are
the best judges whether or not the military have transgressed."
Shortly afterwards the jury were sworn, and a view of two
bodies took plrce in the Chapel-yard. They were those of
Richard Ryan, aged 20, and of William Twomey, aged 35.
The enclosure was crowded with the friends and relations of
the deceased, who surrounded the coroner and jury in a state
of the most mournful anxiety. When the lid of the first coffin
was raised, a simultaneous murmur of horror was heard from
the surrounding multitude. The correspondent of the South-
ern Reporter describes the awful spectacle in a manner truly
graphic, and I shall give his own words :
" Death by a gunshot wound always imparts an expression of
a peculiar nature to the countenance; iu this instance it was a
ghastly smile, such as that sometimes excited by an unexpected
shock, and as the parish in which the occurrence took place has
been heretofore remarkable for peace and good order, the circum-
stance of death from such a cause was a thing unknown. The
body, from the nature of the wounds, was in a state of decomposi-
tion, and this circumstance added greatly to the sufferings of
the surviving friends and relatives. As the lower orders of
the Irish are perhaps of all people in the world most anxious
that every possible attention should be paid to the person of
the departed, the circumstances of its making fine corpse' is
one of a most consolatory nature ; and when the body was
turned by the surgeon to examine the wounds on the back, the
face become covered with blood, which was anxiously and ten-
derly wiped off with a handkerchief by one of the brothers,
which was furnished by a sister for the purpose. The young-
est person present can never forget the tender manner in which
the body was handled, and the last kiss that was taken by the
mourning relatives. A similar "examination then took place
with the other body. The awfulness of the scene was deeply
increased by the knell of the chapel bell, which continued to
all the time." •

As soon as the bodies were removed by the sriends, and the
funereal array was ready to proceed (through a double line
formed by a regiment of infantry outside the town), it was
thought absolutely necessary to allay the excited feelings of
the populace, and at the request of the parish priest (the Rev.
Mr. M'Carthy), whose exhortations had such a salutary effect
in preventing threatened conflicts on Monday and Tuesday
previous, Mr. F. O'Connor addressed•the crowd, and success-
fully exhorted them to avoid disturbing the 'solemnity of the
occasion by any manifestation of feeling whatever.
The peasantry have, however, not hitherto committed any
overt act of revenge. The next day Archdeacon Ryder rode
freely through the town attended only by a single mounted
policeman.

The inquest continued on Monday, but nothing material is
yet elicited.

THE MARKETS-(THIS DAY.)

COVENT GARI
There was a good supply to thi:
was dull at nearly last week's pric

DEN MARKET.
is morning's market, but the trade

s. O. to ittt
Potatoes (..wt.) ... 3 0 5 0
Ca' hisge, White (12) 0 10 2 0
Ditto Red 1 8 4 0
Ditto Savoy
I,:ndive 1 0 2 0
11 .rse ltadishpo.il'e) 3 0 5 0
13rocoli 1 0 1 8
Celery
Carrots 121, ~eliesi... 3 0 6 0
I mills
Coieworts or lir,-e,:s 1 0 2 0
Leoks
For.Orapc,,pr 114) 0 8 2 4
English, Fore Al .
Pine Apples (lb.)
Filberts

s. d to s. 41 •
Spinach (lialf.sieve) U.. 5 0
Apples 2 0 5
Pears
Quinces 3 0 0
Onions for pickling 2 6 4
Onions I. 0
Sweet Oranges (100)
Seville Oranges
Lenums
5 0 14 "

..,
Walnuts
Span. Cheinuts (peck) 4 0 6 0
French ditto
French Walnuts 3 0 4 c
Spanish i iazleuuts : 4 0 6 0
Itrazillan Nuts 2 ll 4 0
Small Sallad

HAY MARKETS A
Coarse heavy Lowland Meadow HCUMBEIay .
\ew Meadow Hay 4CI 15 to £4 0
5 5 0
.
Useful Old Ditto 4 5 4 15
Fine Upland Meadow and Rye grass Hay
Clover Hay
Oat Straw el Bto 4:1 10 I Wheat Straw I I 2 1 13

per lAA of 36 Trusses
ILAND.

SMITHFIELD
Coarse heavy Lowland Meadow Hay ... , 3 15 0, £.4 0
New Meadow Hay
Usefi,l Old I;itto
... 4 10 4; 15
Fine Upland Mevdow and Rye-grass Hay
Clover Hay extra fine .......t5 10.. ......Generally ~ ..... 4it 5 5
Oat Straw ...... .. II 4 v., .£ I 6 I Wheat Straw I 8 1 10