The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-01 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, May 31.
There is a Fenian case now before the Court of
Criminal Appeal—the Queen v. George Gilles, which
is being argued ty,Mr.)3utt and Mr. Waters on the
part of the prisoner, and Mr. Heron and Mr. Walsh
for the Crown. The prisoner was tried at the
special commission, and sentenced to five years' penal
servitude. He had first, at the request of the detec-
tive police, given evidence, by information, against
several persons under arrest for complicity in the
Fenian conspiracy, and particularly Moore, the pike-
maker ; but afterwards, when required to repeat
his evidence in the presence of the prisoners, he de-
clined, saying that he would rather take ten years
than give the same evidence over again, and that he
would willingly suffer five years' imprisonment to
get out of the business. He was then placed under
arrest as one of the conspirators, and tried at the
recent special commission in Dublin for treason
felony. Mr. John Calvert Stronge, the magistrate
before whom the information was sworn,. Charles
Smith, detective officer, and Mr. Superintendent
Ryan, of the detective force, were examined at the
trial in relation to the circumstances in which Gilles
at first gave and afterwards refused to complete his
evidence against the other prisoners. At the close of
this evidence the Crown counsel tendered in evidence
the prisoner's information, which implicated himself
in the conspiracy, and formed the evidence against
him. Mr. Butt, Q. C., objected to its reception, on the
ground—first, that it had been made under an expec-
tation that the prisoner would be taken as an approver
and witness ; and, secondly, that, being on oath, he
was bound to answer all questions put to him, un-
less he said it would criminate himself to do so.
The Court, hOwever, allowed the information to be
read in evidence, but reserved the question of the
propriety of doing so for the consideration of this
Court. The prisoner has been since undergoing his
punishment.
The following is Professor Ferguson's last report,
issued yesterday evening :
"No fresh cases of cattle plague have occurred in the
county Down since the last report. There have been
many cups of alleged cattle plague reported from four dif-
ferent counties in Ireland; but the symptoms of none of
them resemble that disease. It is very probable that the
disease has been already exterminated from Ireland. All
the cattle in the proclaimed district of Drennan are in
perfect health, apparently, notwithstaading that previous
to the cattle being slaughtered, and the cordon bring
established, there had been for weeks a continuance of
disease and mortality. It would, however, be premature
to report more decidedly than that the prospect of a de-
sirable issue to the prompt measures that have been taken
is most favourable."

The Dublin University foot races and other
athletic games comrnenced:yeisterday, and seemed to
have attracted all the people yn the city who could
get away from business. It is said that 10,000
tickets were issued for the reserved part of the Col-
lege Park, and there must have been fully that I
number in the free part. The Lord Lieutenant
and the Countess of Kimberley arrived shortly after
3 o'clock, and met an enthusiastic reception. It
was pleasant to see the Fellows of College, the
clergy, judges, and other dignitaries giving their
countenance to these sports, which, however, de-
rive their chief encouragement from the presence
and sympathy of innumerable ladies. The weather
was very favourable.
Londonderry is in full revolt against the Irish
Society, who are the lords of the soil in that famous
city. A great meeting has been held there on the
subject of Mr. Tristram Kennedy's motion in the
House of Commons, and it appears from the re-
port in the Londonderry Standard that nearly all the
influential men in the place were on the platform.
The Mayor (Mr. Darcus) was in the chair, and
among those who were present and took part in the
proceedings Mr. Geo. Skipton, D.L., Mr. Haslett,
J.P., Mr. T. Macky, Dr. M‘Knight, Dr. Browne,
Mr. Isaac Colhoun, Mr. Chambers, Mr. Hamilton,
barrister, and a number of the leading merchants of
that prosperous town, which would progress much
faster, they assert, if the Irish Society did not stop
the way by refusing proper building leases. One of
the speakers stated that £4,094 is expended in the
management of this trust property, which produces
£11,192 17s. sd. a year, and they think it rather too
much to spend £4,000 in the management of £12,000.
These are the items :—lncidental expenses, as per
general agent's account for 1865, £ll4 3s. Odd. ;
law expenses, £492 7s. 11d. ; salaries to general
agent, deputy vice-admiral, surveyor, and others,
926 16s. 6d. ; pension to general agent, £250 ;
italB6s, £539 19s. 6d. ; surveying
expensesexpenses,n
iso;sala ry
of clerk -and porters' wages,
£197 Os
co al„, gas,
printing, stationery, adver-
tisements, 118. 5d.; salary to secretary
l coal,
and assistant-governor, deputy-governor, and assis-
tants, for attendance at 51 meetings, £549 ls. 6d.—
total, £4,094 98. lOid. Mr. Haslett gave the fol-
lowing as an illustration of the intelligence of the
managers :

" One gentleman on being asked by another, Were you
over in Ireland ?' replied, Oh, no ; but I intend to get on
the Irish Society next year, and then I'll have a trip.'
(Laughter.) ' What kind of people are they over there ?
Do they speak Trish ?' (Laughter.) ' Oh, no; they are very
proud of
decent, civilised people.' ' Oh, lam glad they dont speak
Irish, for none of us do, but my daughter can speak French.'
(Laughter.)
: g
yes,yet e—r
I. )t. e
h see
' They
overthe there.'
siege.'er
: A Oh,
happened in the reign of Ring John, I be-
lieve?' (Laughter.) This is by no means an imaginary
u sDerry had
people a g r
are eat siege
veryQne u time
ro
specimen of the way we are talked about in London."
The Maiden City thinks that after a minority of 250
years she is now quite capable of governing herself,
and that she should Ono
of
free and independent
use of her dowry. ne of the speakers, Mr. Skip-
ton, explained her wants thus:—
" It is not our private interests, I trust, that we regard.
I, for one, though deriving the largest benefit out of the
society's Derry lands—they themselves not excepted—can
neither gain nor lose by any change in their constitution
except as I .am affected by the welfare of my follows and
the prosperity of their city. (Applause.) We do not wish
to rob the society of their property ; we do not distrust or
doubt the honesty of the individual members of that body,
or their sincere desire to carry out their trust to the best
advantage of the inhabitants; but we do call in question the
fitness for the present time of the constitution of thiit body,
and the opportunities afforded them of its members obtain-
ing any real knowledge of the trust it administers. What
we want is a tenure like that which has made Belfast the
great emporium of commerce she now is."
Among the resolutions, all of -which passed unani.
mously, was the following
That a committee consisting of the following gentle-
men be now appointed to prepare and forward for presenta-
tion to both Houses of Parliament a petition praying the
Legislature to take such measures as to them may seem
best to carry out a complete reformation of the Irish Society,
and the existing evils, having reference to the report of the
Royal Commissioners, and to take such further measures as
to them may seem best to carry out the objects of the fore-
going resolutions :—T he mayor, the movers and seconders of
the several resolutions, Mr. Tristram Kennedy, M.P. ;
Lord Claud John Saililto; i Sir F. 'W. Haygato,