The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-24 00:00:00

RIBBONISM

On Wednesday night the house of a herd in the
employment of George N. Purdon, Esq., of Lis-
nabin Castle, county Westmeath, was maliciously
d stroyed by fire. A few nights previously a similar
outrage was perpetrated at Corbetstown, in the
saw() barony. A meeting of the local magis•racy
was held yesterday to con,ider the most advisable
measures to check the progress of Ribbonism, and,
if possible, to bring the parttes concerned in these
burnings to justice.
HOLIDAYS.

It is a matter of notoriety that there are more
holidays, saints' days, and idle days in Ireland than
in any other country in Europe, saving probably
the Roman. and Neapolitan states. That these days'
are scrupulously kept, as far as idleness can keep
hem, is, unfortunately for the people themselvers
a patent fact. We have not, however, seen anything
like the annexed resolution before. If the coopers
of Cork adhere to the letter as well as the spirit of
it, they will have at least 100 holidays in the year :
At a general meeting of the o,,rk operative
coopers held on the 11th inst., the following reso-
lution was unanimously agreed to :—Resolved--,-
" That, deeming the practice of holiday breaking
to be not only profitless but dein. nilising, we pledge
ourselves, from Ist June next, to observe, as strictly
as polsible, the few days in the year which are or-
dered to be kept holy. Thereby affording ourselves
au opportunity of complying with our religious
duties, while the rational recreations which on
those days we can enjoy will undoubtedly lead to
our physical and social advancement.
" GEORGE EGAR, Chairman,

MICHAEL J. 0. CONNELL, -Secratary.
" Cork, May 21, 1858."

THE AUSTRALIAN LABOUR MARKETS.

Much has been said and written as to the ghat of
labour in Australia, but this applies solely to Inc-
toria, and even in that colony it refers almost ex-
clusively to what may be tereted effeminate labour
—that is, those classes of persons who are more
accustomed to office or in-door employment, but
does not in any sense include those who occupy
themselves in the search for, or in the working
of, mines. In Victoria and New South Wales
there is, it is true, little more produced I han
the preci ,us metal, but from. South Australia we
draw large supplies of rich copper, lead, and tin.
In the two last-named colonies, where mining is
its more ordinary sense is extensively prosecuted,
there is a dearth, and not a glut, of mining labour
—indeed, of every descripdon of labour ; and
various localities well known to contain rich lodes
of ores would be promptly opened up, if the sup•
ply of this description of labour were equal to the
demand. We may add, from the letters which
reach us f. om the various mining districts in this
country, it is evident there is a steady increase of
mining lab our leaving our slime,. In fact, this is
the natural consequence induced by the continual
rrivals of large amounts of the precious metal from
Victoria and Sydney, and of rich copper and silver
lead ore from South Austral a—the resalt of un-
skilled mining with unskilled labour ; therefore, it
becomes self-evident to experinc:td miners that
they are certain to obtain immediate and lucrative
employment the moment they reach the mining
localities of Australia. No discrimination is shown
when allusion is made to colonial labour by the
general press in this country, which necessarily leads
to nnisapprehen-ion in the minds of soaie who
otherwise would emigrate ; fur while there is a glut
of one description, tbere is a great dearat of
another. Our Australian colonies are an illimitable
field of mining enterprise, and with practical
miners to open up the various deposits of ores, and
with a corresponding necessary
amount of agri-
cultural and pastoral labour to supply the wants of
others, it is evident that no glut of mining labour
can exist for years to come.—Mining Jour ad of.
May 22d.