The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-04 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, WEDNESDAY HORNING.
LETTER FROM DR. WHALE TO LORD PALMERSTON

The Freeman's Journal and Morning News pub-
lish a letter from Dr. M.Hale to the Prime Minister.
It is full of the same vague generalities and the same
tedious prolixity which have characterised most of
his latter effusions, while the topics are equally
wanting in novelty. The newly constricted Board
of Education (which I may state here the News
asserts has now become an accomplished fact) is,
of course, the subject of severe animadversion. I
give an extract from this portion of the letter, as
it is seasoned with a little spice of threat :

" How consoling to the Presbyterian clergyman
who has been placed at the head of that establish-
ment, and who works it with zealous energy in
favour of Protestantism of every hue, to be sur-
rounded by some easy-going Catholics, who know
but little and care less about the offensive working
of the system, provided they are permitted to exer-
cise a small patronage in getting an inspectorship
for some friend, for whose amiable conduct they
can vouch, and give an assurance that he will not
give any annoyance to the President of the Board,
or its patron, the Viceroy, by any overt acts, in
watching over the faith of Catholic scholars, and
shielding them from the dangers of perversion.
Should you persevere in this system of a penal
education, in opposition to the just rights of the
people, and in contempt of the solemnly declared
condemnation of the bishops, you are to calculate
on an open, earnest, vigorous, and persevering re-
sistance. There is no other course open to us,
unless we are content with the disgraceful imputa-
tion of subscribing to resolutions which we never
meant to carry out. The people of Ireland can
bear much—they have already suffered much—
rather than risk the integrity of their faith or that
of their children. They will not now yield to cor-
ruption what they already refused to persecution,
although the corruption of the present is strength-
ened by the coercion of former times. . . . As
long as the unchristian pretensions set up by the
National Board continue, we shall continue to
repeat and re-repeat our remonstrances against its
encroachments, until we have secured the full
practical exercise of our divine right, which is now
attempted to be denied us, of directing the religious
education of the young children of our respective
flecks, wherever and by whatever agencies they
are taught, within the sphere of our natural juris-
diction."

MR. SMITH O'BRIEN ON THE PARTRY EVICTIONS.

The following letter has been addressed by Mr.
Smith O'Brien to Dr. M'Hale, enclosing his sub-
scription in aid of the people recently ejected by
LordPlunket

" Cahermoyle, Dec. 24, 1860.
"My dear Lord Archbishop—l shall feel obliged
to your Grace if you will hand the enclosed sub-
scription to Father Lavelle in aid of the poor people
who have been recently expelled from their hold-
ings by the Protestant Bishop of Tuam. I have
read a considerable portion of the statements
which have appeared in the newspapers respecting
the proceedings which have taken place at Peary,
and, founding my opinion not only upon the alle-
gations of his adversaries, but also on the explana-
tions set forth by authorised agents of the bishop,
I can arrive at no other conclusion than that the
treatment of these poor people was a case of most
unjustifiable oppression. I firmly believe that if
the Catholic tenantry of the bishop and his family
had, even hypocritically, conformed to the views
of this family in regard of religious teaching, their
houses would not be in ruins, nor would they be
outcasts on the face of the earth. By their fidelity
to their religious convictions they have become:vic-
tims to a cruel persecution, and, as such, they
ought to be protected by the community to which
they belong. At a time when appeals are made
to public sympathy on behalf of the Christian popu-
lation of Syria who have been driven from their
homes by the Druses, ought we not to ask ourselves
whether our own fellow-countrymen, who are now
suffering similar calamities, on our own soil, are not,
at least, equally entitled to our sympathy and sup-
port ? For special reasons it is peculiarly painful
to me to say a word that can be unpalatable to the
Plunket family ; but I conceive it to be the impe-
rative duty of all those who feel an interest in the
welfare of the people of Ireland, and who desire to
check the perpetration of crime, to endeavour by
all means in their power to prevent the recurrence
of such outrages upon humanity and the rights of
conscience as have been committed on the estate of
Partry,
" I have the honour to be, my Lord Archbishop,
yours, very faithfully, WILLIAM S. O'BRIEN.
" TO his Grace the Archbishop of Tuam."

ASMITII O'BRIEN AND COUNT

TEL

Mr. Smith O'Brien has addressed the following
letter to the editor of the Freeman's Journal, which,
it will be perceived, was written before the news
of Count Teleki's release had been published :
" Cahermoyle, Newcastle West, New
Year's-day.
"My Dear Sir,—l have read with much pleasure
in the Freeman's Journal of yesterday an article
respecting the capture and extradition of Count
Ladislaus Teleki, worthy of that chivalry of spirit
which formerly belonged to Irishmen—a spirit
which is not, I trust, altogether extinct—though,
in these latter times, it has too often been dor-
mant. You justly characterise the conduct of the
Saxon Government in giving up Count Teleki to
Austria as base and contemptible. You justly de-
clare that if the Emperor of Austria be sincere in
his professed desire to conciliate his Hungarian
subjects he ought gladly to avail himself of this
opportunity of testifying such a disposition, as well
as of showinc, his personal magnanimity, by the
immediate liberation of Count Teleki, and by restor-
ing him and all Hungaiiani who are still in exile
to their homes under an unconditional amnesty.
" If these, your sentiments, are shared by your
fellow-citizens, ought they not to be expressed in
an authoritative form ? Would the present Lord
Mayor of Dublin hesitate to call a meeting upon a
requisition for the purpose, first, of protesting
against the conduct of the Saxon Government ;
secondly, of representing to the Emperor of Austria
that the liberation of Count Teleki would be an act
acceptable to the people of Ireland ? If you desire
to know why I feel a special interest in the case of
Count Teleki, I will tell you. As an Irish nation-
alist I consider the case of Hungary to bo as nearly
as possible parallel to the case of Ireland; and
Count Teleki, in hazarding life and property for
the sake of Hungarian rights in 1848, was not more
culpable than I am for having hazarded life and
property in: defence of the national rights of Ire-
land. The recent proposal made by the Emperor
of Austria to re-establish the Diet of Hungary
justifies his conduct, even as I trust that hereafter
the restoration of its Parliament to Ireland will
justify mine. _

" Further, I enjoy the privilege of a personal
acquaintance with Count Teleki, which was formed
under very peculiar circumstances. In the year
1843, before I gave my adhesion to the Repeal As-
sociation, I made a short trip to Germany. On
that occasion I attended a meeting of the Hunga-
rian Diet at I'resburg, and during the sitting at
which I was present, I was introduced to Count
Teleki, then one of the prosperous and honoured of
the magnates of Hungary. He was so kind as to re-
main with me during more than an hour, explaining
to me the topics which were under discussion in the
Diet, and many other subjects connected with
tho condition and interests of his country. I WaS
greatly struck by his gentlemanly manners, his bright
intelligence, his liberal and benevolent spirit ; but
I saw him no more until my return to Europe from
Van Diemen's Land in the year 1854. We then
met at Brussels. Alas ! how changed
were the
circumstances of both of Us ! The hopes which we
had cherished had been frustrated, seemingly be-
yond recovery. We bad both undergone, during
several years, sufferings which would have rendered
death a welcome visitor. Each was still an exile
from the land of his birth and of his affections.
Often, since my return to Ireland, have I
sympathised with my friend Telekit reflecting with

PRICE 4D. STAMPED, SD.

Ipainful emotion that he has been still deprived of
his home whilst I have been restored to mine. I saw
him on several occasions at Brussels, and upon each
occasion I found reason more and more to believe
that the estimate of his character which I had
formed in 1843 was well founded: He is now in
peril. To deprive him of life would, indeed, be an
act of assassination ; but he is suffering all the
pains of imprisonment, and if ever the Irish people
can be justified in taking a part in foreign affairs, 1
know no occasion on which such intervention would
d' them honour more than in this case of Count
Teleki. I am also disposed to hope that in this case
there would be an unanimity which can rarely be
obtained in Ireland respecting any matter of domes-
tic or external interest. In case there be a public
meeting in Dublin to give expression to the feelings
of those who sympathise with Count Teleki, it is
possible that some who would attend it will object
to forward any representation to Vienna through
Lord J. Russell, the present Minister for Foreign
Affairs. Under these circumstances it may be
advisable to send a deputation to convey the senti-
ments of the citizens of Dublin to the Emperor or
his representatives. Am I too sanguine when I
believe that many Irish gentlemen would esteem it
an honour to form part of such a deputation, and
would cheerfully go to Vienna at their own expense
in such a capacity P—l have the honour to be, yours
very faithfully, "WILLIAM S. O'BRIEN."

TRI POLICY OF FRANCE. *

The following is from the political article:of M,
Forgade in the January number of the Revue des
Deux Mondes, which appeared yesterday :
"The shadow which foreign questions cast on the
domestic policy of France is too thick for us to be
able to give to internal questions properly so called
the order which belongs to them—that is, the first
order. At this close of the year (fate has willed it
for some time that the years should expire in a
gloomy fog) the anxious expectation of each indi-
vidual is directed more to foreign countries than to
home. It is in vain that an appearance of a return
towards a liberal policy was lately manifested ; and
that we have acquired a right to count on an ap-
proaching
.revival of Parliamentary life. One is
curious, no doubt, to see what will happen at the
fulfilment of the programme of the 24th of Nov. ;
but we are much more uneasy with respect to the
events in Europe which the first months of the
year 1861 promise us. It is the question of peace
or war which occupies the first place in the people's
minds. One is more particularly anxious as to the
influence which external commotions may exercise
on France. Italy, Austria, and perhaps Turkey
are in a state of agitation which may at any
moment produce profound disturbance. Will these
disturbances commence at the period so long fore-
told-that is to say, next spring ? What shall the
consequences be for the rest of Europe ? Such are
the questions asked, and which the public addresses
to itself with an anxiety which increases according
as we advance towards the date fixed by the hopes
of some and the fears of others.

" In our eyes the great importance of the events
to which we are approaching, in place of diverting
public opinion from internal discussions of which
the mechanism of our Government may be the object,
ought, on the contrary, to bring it back to that sub-
ject with more force. We are on the eve of a
great European crisis. Be it so ! But then
how far does that concern France? Evi-
dently with respect :to two matters. First,
to be well informed as to the nature of the
European problems which are about to be
agitated ; the extent of the engagements of
our foreign policy ; and, next, to adopt decided reso-
lutions when fully informed. Is it not true that
public opinion in France is insufficiently enlight-
ened as to the engagements of our foreign policy
which it interprets erroneously from incomplete
information, and that ignorance is the principal
cause of the uneasiness which prevails ? Is it not
true (and the lesson derived from the war in Italy
is a caution) that it would not only be violently
unjust, but lamentably rash to deprive the country
of the fullest participation in the choice of the
system to which France is to bind her future action ?
Let the situation of certain countries in Europe be
painted in the most gloomy colours ; let the respon-
sibility of the French Government in the events
foreseen be enlarged. It will then be demonstrated
with more force that it was never more necessary
for the country to become perfectly informed on its
affairs, and to exercise its influence on the conduct
of the Government by means of all its natural
organs. We have arrived at one of those periods
when the government of the country by the country
is a necessity—when self-government is the vital
interest as well as the undoubted right of a people.
We may be placed in a position when it may become
necessary for us to exercise our will, and in that
case we should know the motives of these acts and
the consequences they may produce. To know and
to will !—a nation cannot resolve this problem,
except by the regulation and practice of its insti-
tutions.

" We are consequently not of the number of those
who would think they were doing an injustice to
Government by supposing that in its opinion the
programme of the 24th November, notwithstanding
its deficiencies, responded, at least in part, to that
necessity which the state of Europe has created in
France. That performance is in our eyes a signal
—it is of the greatest importance that that signal
should be understood. The programme refers to
little but to the Parliament. We do not deny what
it has done for the Chambers by giving them
the right to publish their debates—the right of
presenting an address, and the participation of
some of the Ministers in the deliberations of the
legislative body. To speak only of foreign affairs,
we shall certainly derive valuable information from
that quarter. It is impossible but that the Govern-
ment will be seriously interrogated on foreign
affairs during the debate on the Address in the
Legislative Corps and in the Senate. We should
not be surprised even were the Government, in
order to give the debates a solid and substantial
basis, and by a wise imitation of the English Go-
vernment, to communicate to the Chambers tho
principal documents of its diplomatic negotiations.
Three Ministers may speak in the Corps Legislatif,
but, 12 members of the Cabinet out of 13 being
senators, nearly all the Ministers may give explana-
tions in the Senate. It will depend, therefore, on
the members of the Senate and of the Corps Legis-
latif to obtain not only partial information on some
details of the foreign policy of the Government,
but an explanation of the great lines—of the gene-
ral tendency of the system of that policy. The
foreign policy being thus laid open, the public will
obtain something more than useful and accurate
information. The communications made by the
Government with respect to past events will assume
the character of an engagement for the future. It
will be easy for public opinion to deduce log/cal
consequences from the principles laid down_,:
d
from the explanation of what has been one. I.n
voluntarily
necessity which the Government has
public publ
its at a
accepted to express and to explain y
given moment the idea and the acts of
foreign
policy will be tv,eful to itself in the carrying out of
that policy. It w
ill compel the Ministers to pay
a more vigilant attention in the conception and
execution of their acts, knowing that they will
have to render public account of what they have
clone. Such, particularly as regards foreign affairs,
is the result which may be obtained from the pro-
gramme of Nov. 24 if the senators and deputies per-
form their duty. Thtt the publicity of the debates
of the Chambers, though it may supply the best in-
formation to the public, is not sufficient to supply
the constant and universal want of information
which civilised society feels in the present period.
Society cannot find this constancy and univer-
sality of information except in a Press stimulated
by competition and vivified by liberty. Among a
people where all citizens are called by universal
suffrage to participate in the Government political
duties are not confined to the exercise of legislative
functions, and are not exclusively imposed on mem-

bens of the Chambers. The electors have to fail
duties with regard to the Parliament, in the elec-
tion of deputies and in their relations with them,
analagous to those which the deputies have to fulfil
towards the Government. Now, after and with the
programme of the 24th of November the press has
to recover its liberty ,end it remains for the public
to conciliate univ,rs suffrage with liberty. The
people and th., i)res• .ur vast society, where in-
dividuals are separak,: ,by an immense territory,
but providentially brought. close by those conquests
of human genius, the art of printing, steam, and
electricity,—the people and the press, in order to
place themselves on, a level with the new Parlia-
mentary life, have new rights to establish and to
exercise. Why should not the citizen at an election,
why should not the journalist in his political con-
troversy, see the circle 'of their activity increased in
the same proportion as the prerogatives of Parlia-
mentary discussion are enlarged, and consequently
the responsibility of the representatives of the
people with respect, to those from whom they dew
rive their seats ? To extend the inquiry and the
discussion which must emancipate the press from
the administrative system, and to restore the legal
regime, to elucidate the theory of the Constitution
of 1852—t0 prepare oneself by an attentive exami-
nation, and every time an opportunity presents
itself, by serious trials of the liberal practice of
universal suffrage, is to labour at placing the coun-
try in a state to give its opinion with discernment
and certainty on the grave-problems which Euro-
pean events may propose to it. And it is, at the
same time, to respond seriously to the signal given
by the programme of the 24th of November."

RAPID PROGRESS OF THE 111E21?,OPOL1TAN
UNDERGROUND RAIL WAY.

The intricate works in connection with this line
of railway intended to connect the western and
northern districts with the city of London, are pro-
ceeding very rapidly. The contractors, Messrs.
Smith and Knight, and Mr. John Jay—the former
firm having the western portion from Paddington
to Euston-square, and the latter the eastern part
from St. Pancras New Church to the City—are
indefatigable in their labours, as are also Messrs.
Johnson, the engineers, and Mr. John Fowler,
F.R.S., the engineer-in-chief. Several hundred
men are daily engaged on different parts of the
line, especially at Baker-street, King's-cross and
Coppice-row works. The junction of the line with
the Great Northern Railway, and its passenger
station at King's-cross, has been completed, and the
roadway over it was some time since paved over in
order to facilitate the surface traffic. A spectator
of those works cannot fail of being struck with the
greatness of the undertaking and the amazing
difficulties which must have beset the engineers
at this critical portion of the line. The main
line of sewer along the Euston-road has been di-
verted, and just at the junction it has been carried
by an immense iron tube over the line of rails and
immediately underneath the handsome elliptical
arch of the railway. The following authorised
description of the works at this point, and which
may be taken as a sample of the nature of the
whole of them, will probably be interesting :—The
arch, which forms a true ellipsis, is, in section, ex*
tremely graceful, and withal, viewed from the base
line, it has a very bold and solid appearance. It
is formed of six 44-inch ways of brick work, 'set
in hydraulic lime and Portland cement, where it
has been considered necessary to protect the tun-
nelled portions of the way. At the Great Western
end, at Paddington, there will be a tunnel leading
to the main line of the Great Western Railway,
and another to the hotel, upon the same principle
as those already constructed at King's-cross. The
" bell mouths" of these tuneels are constructed of
wrought iron. Up to the present time upwards
of 5,000 level feet of arching have been constructed,
and about 14,000 feet of sewerage have been
diverted. The station at Baker-street, and indeed
the whole of them, will be erected in the Italian
style of architecture, and there will be provided
the customary conveniences for railway passengers.
The faces will be cased with substantial brickwork,
and the various dressings of the doors and windows
will be of Portland cement, and the copings, cor-
nices' and string-courses will be of a simnel. mate-
rial. The lower level of the:stations will b roofed by
a legitimate arch, to be formed in rings of brick, and
will-have a diameter at its springing of 44 feet. At
Coppice-row the works are steadily progressing,
and the roadway over Ray-street, Ulerkenwell, is
being extended City wards daily. By the spring
of 1862 it is anticipated the whole line will be
opened for general traffic.