The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-22 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Sept. 21.
The speech of Mr. Ralph Cusack, chairman of the
Midland Great Western Railway Company, at the
half-yearly meeting yesterday, contained some mat-
ters which arc very encouraging indications of im-
provement and progress in the midland and western
counties. The tonnage of goods carried on the line
was 84,502 tons, showing an increase over any other
half-year since the line was opened of 4,238 tons.
The greatest increase had been in what are called
luxuries. There was an increase of 600 tons in porter
and whisky, 1,200 tons in tea and sugar, and 500
tons in candles and soap. The last item is perhaps
the most hopeful, as it indicates a growing attention
to cleanliness in Connaught. There was also an in-
crease in building materials and in bale goods of 900
tons, while there was an increase of 3,000 tons in
corn and meal from the country to be shipped at the
North-wall. But the most important source of traffic
mentioned in the report is the produce of an iron
mountain, the royalty of which has been purchased
by Dr. Ritchie, an enterprising gentleman from
Belfast. The ore possesses all the qualities for mak-
ing steel, and he has received an amount of orders
. _

which be cannot possibly supply. The iron was
carried from the mountain in panniers to boats
on Lough Owel, whence it was taken some five or
six miles across the water to the railway station.
Dr. Ritchie was now building iron boats for the
lake, and was prepared, at his own expense, to lay
down a tramway from the Crossdoney station, so
that, so far as that traffic was concerned, everything
looked well for the prosperity of the company and
of the country at large. They all knew what
minerals had done for England, and the chairman
believed that enterprises like that of Dr. Ritchie
would do more to promote peace, contentment, and
happiness in this country than all the Acts of Par-

liament that the wisest statesmen and profoundest
politicians could give them. The cattle traffic had
diminished by 6,500 beasts in consequence of the
rinderpest ; but there had been an increase of 10,112
in sheep, and 42,861 in pigs. The increase in cattle

traffic receipts over the corresponding period of 1865
was £2,687, being an excess of £769 over the largest
trade they had ever carried. These were facts that
proved they had not been doing badly during the
past half-year. The accounts showed a profit for
the half-year of £33,318.
The launch of the " G. V. Brooke" lifeboat took
place yesterday at the North-wall, from the yard of
Messrs. Walpole, Webb, and Bewley, the eminent
Irish shipbuilders. The attendance was large and
fashionable. The boat, which is a beautiful speci-
men of shipbuilding art, measures 32ft. in length
and 7ft. 6in. in breadth, and when afloat with her
crew of ten oarsmen, coxswain superintendent, and
assistant, shows fully 3ft. over the water. Previous
to the ceremony of " christening," Mr. Maguire,
M.P., addressed those present in eloquent terms, in
reference to the selecting of the lifeboat as S. fitting
means of perpetuating the memory of the great Irish
actor, G. V. Brooke, and passed a high eulogium on
his character. Capt. Robertson, Mr. Hodges, Mr.
Clarence Holt, and other gentlemen subsequently
spoke. Mrs. Harris then said—" I now name this

lifeboat the ' Gustavus Brooke,' and may God prosper
it in its benevolent mission." (Applause.) At a
signal, the boat was loosened from her fastenings
and glided down on her carriage in the water, into
which she plunged with her crew, amid the cheers
of the crowds present. Capt. Robertson subsequently
had the boat capsized in deep water, while one of
the crew remained in her, for the purpose of showing
her self-righting qualities. The experiment was
most successful. The lifeboat is to be placed at the.
Poolbeg Lighthouse, and is to be manned by the
coastomardmen of the station.

The evening mail steamer Munster did not arrive
at Kingston this evening till 7 p.m., one hour be-
hind time, owing, it is stated, to a detention of the
down mail train between Loudon and Holyhead.
At 3 o'clock a.m. on Wednesday, a Mrs. Purcell,
aged about 60, nurse tender, was seized with cholera.
Dr. White saw her, and caused Dr. Seward also to
be called in. All remedies were unavailing, and the
poor woman died at half-past 2. Her remains were
interred at 7 o'clock in the evening in Tallaght
churchyard.

James Gill, a sailor on board the brig Marian,
became suddenly ill with violent cholera yesterday
at the North-wall Quay, Dublin, and died while
being conveyed to the Mater Misericordivi Hospital.
Last night, about half-past 8 o'clock, a seaman
named George Bodley, aged 22, who had on the
day before been paid off and discharged from the
ship Circassian, was killed in a drunken quarrel in a
beershop kept by a woman named Scraggs, on Sir
John Rogerson's Quay, near the Sailors' Home,
Dublin. It appears he had been drinking with
some other persons, when a dispute arose, and he
was knocked down and kicked iu the head. He was
removed to the Sailors' Home, where he died imme-
diately afterwards from a wound on the left temple.