The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-29 00:00:00

AMERICA.

(BY BRITISH AND IRISH MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.)
GALWAY, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
The Jason, Captain Nicholson, arrived to-night,
at ten o'clock, with mails and passengers.
She sailed from New York on the 15th inst.,
and from St. John's on the 21st.
Her news has been anticipated.

THE AMNESTY MOVEMENT IN

IRELAND.

A meeting was 'held on Tuesday in Waterford'
"for the purpose of adopting such constitutional
measures as may seem best calculated to procure an
amnesty for our townsman, Thomas. F. Meagher,
and others, now excluded from ;their country for
political causes." The chair was taken by the
Mayor. The only speaker of any standing was Mr.
John Blake, M.P., who proposed the following re-
solution :—" Resolved—that her Majesty's Govern-
ment, having congratulated the Emperor of the
French on the full and unconditional amnesty lately
granted by him to all political offenders, be and are
hereby requested to imitate the example which they
so much commended."

Mr. BLAKE, in supporting this resolution, said—
" In giving prominence to Mr. Meagher's name he
did not mean to moderate in the slightest
the merits of his companions in exile. They
deserved to be mentioned with all honour, for no
country ever gave, or cause ever enlisted before, men
more disinterested, more ready to make sacrifices,
and who had made more sacrifices, for what they be-
lieved to be the cause Of their country, than the men
of whom he spoke. (Hear, hear.) It was not un-
natural that in the city of Meagher's birth, in the
place where he passed his youth, and oft delighted
them with his soul-stirring appeals that the con-
sideration of him should. particularly urge them in
this movement, the more so as they hoped it would
result in restoring the son to a worthy father, who
might be proud of such a son. He had no doubt
that when the application was pressed properly upon
Government, as he expected it would be, Govern-
ment could not refuse to concede what was so rea-
sonable to ask. Tho only reason that was urged
against granting a full pardon, and he did not want
to blink the question, especially as it could be most
satisfactorily explained, was that they broke their
parole. In Mr. M'Manus's case it was clear that no
such thing had occurred, and he was fully satisfied—
indeed, after Mr. Smith's statement, if he wanted
that evidence at all—thoroughly convinced that Mr.
Meagher and the others did not break their parole.
Now that the facts were known, all men, even the
most fastidious in points of honour, would admit
that they were justified in what they did for effect-
ing their escape. (Cheers.) In support of this
movement an appeal was to bo made, in the first
instance, to their countrymen of all classes and
denominations, and he very much misunderstood
Irishmen if the response from all creeds and classes
was not unanimously in favour of the object to he
accomplished. He said this because none of the
'4B men were influenced by mere party or sectarian
considerations. He expected the hearty co-opera-
tion of all, whether they approved or disapproved
of the proceedings of '4B, and as that was not a
political meeting, but was restricted, and wisely,
to the purpose stated in the requisition, he
abstained from expressing any opinion one way
or the other upon those proceedings. This, how-
ever, he would say, that the motives of the '4B
men were as pure as could animate the human
breast. He confidently hoped, therefore, that as
their objects were neither party nor sectarian, and as
the men of '4B inclu?.ed all denominations, so men of
all creeds and political opinions would give their
aid in obtaining the amnesty. (Cheers.)
Mr. SMITH spoke sanguinely on the prospects of the
movement for their amnesty :—Happening to be in
London during the Parliamentary session, he (Mr.
Smith) called upon Mr. Maguire, who entered with
the greatest warmth and aced into the matter. He
spoke also about it with his friend Captain Es-
monde—(hear, hear)—with Mr. Sullivan, M.P., and
Captain Greene, M.P., all of whom promised to
co-operate heartily with Mr. Maguire. In the
course of one evening in the House of Commons Mr.
Maguire obtained the signature of at least 40 mem-
bers of Parliament of all parties to an agreement to
wait upon the Chief Secretary, and out of the whole
body of Irish representatives there were but two
refusals. These men did not now represent
any constituency. (Cheers) At that time, in con-
sequence of an intimation conveyed to some of the
gentlemen who put down their names from the
head of the Government that they were not quite
prepared at the time to receive the application, the
matter dropped. It was now revived—revived in
the city of Thomas Francis Meagher, under the
auspices of the chief magistrate of that ancient city
—(cheers)—with the name of Morris, a name idea-
fied with one of the most illustrious families of
the city of Waterford, under the auspices of their
patriotic member, Mr. Blake, and of many of
the most respected of the mercantile community.
(Hear, hear.) He had an assured confidence
that the movement would succeed. (Hear, hear.)
Two years ago the heads of the Conservative
party in this country, the Whitesides and Napiers,
were strongly in favour of the amnesty now sought,
and there was no reason to suppose that they had
altered their opinion. He had reason to know
that the heads of the Liberal party in this county
were in favour of the amnesty —(cheers)—and that
amongst the most active in promoting it would be
the present Solicitor-General, Mr. DE asy. (Cheers.)
Under these circumstances, there was no reason to
doubt of success. • The task which they had under-
taken was not so difficult as the task which he
undertook some four or five years ago in wrench-
ing men from the hands of their jailors. (Cheers.)
Mr. SMITH, another speaker, gave the following
account of the escape of the " exiles" from Van
Diemen's Land :—The first of the prisoners who
made his escape from Van Diemen's Land was
Terence Bellew M‘Manns, who was now in Cali-
fornia, and had, he (Mr. Smith) believed, no de-
sire to return to this country. But would it be
believed that that man who had been branded
with dishonour by a Prime Minister, and de-
barred from return to his native lend by reason of the
alleged breach of parole, was not at the time of his
escape under parole at all. Ho stated a fact which
admitted of no contradiction, and would leave the
public to draw their own conclusions, ex uno disce
onmes.. The next to effect his escape from the
island was their illustious townsman and his dear
friend, F. T. Meagher. (Cheers.) He (Mr. Smith)
was not in the colony at the time, but having gone
there subsequently he made it his business to inquire
fully into all the particulars of the transaction. He
unversed with colonists of every class; he con-
versed with officials of the Colonial Government, end
he would solemnly declare_ that in Van Diemen's
Land, where all the facts were truly, clearly, and
publicly known, a question had never been raised
as to the perfectly fair and honourable nature of
that transaction. (Hear, hear.) He might men-
tion another circumstance also which would tend to
raise T. F. Meagher's charactea higher than it ever
stood before even in that his native city.
Shertly after his arrival in New York, a doubt
having been expressed by some parties respecting
the complete validity of his escape, he resolved at
once, without a moments hesitation, to return to
his place of punishment and surrender himself into
the hands of his jailors. The ticket for his passage
he (Mr. Smith) had actually taken with his own,
for he was determined to accompany him back to
Australia. For such a sacrifice 'as that they
might search history through and find but one
parallel, and that was in the case of Regulus of
old. It might be asked why he did not exe-
cute his purpose. He would tell them. Some
of Mr. Meagher's friends in New York pre-
vailed upon him to allow his case to be submitted
to a committee of American gentlemen of the
highest social position in New York, some of them
being officers in the service of the United States
Government at the time, and that he would agree
to be guided by. their decision. That committee
unanimously decided that Mr. Meagher had fully
discharged himself of every parole obligation, and
then and there only. he consented to abide in
Ameriea. (Hear, hear.). Of John Mitchell's escape
he (Mr. Smith) could speak from personal know-
ledge, for he was a party to it. The whole facts
were put forward'in a volume which he held in his
hand, a production which, viewed merely in a
literary point of view, was one of the most remark-
able of the age, and would well repay perusal. No one
who read it would hesitate for an instant to acknow-
ledge that the escape was effected honourbly and
even daringly,