The Sun.
London, England, 1828-08-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

It appears from a letter which comes from a
highly respectable quarter, that one of our Irish
correspondents was mistaken when he ascribed
to Lord Anglesea an intention of disarming the
yeomanry of the northern counties. There was
a second erroneous statement, also, from the
same correspondent, which we feel at least equal
confidence, and far more pleasure, in now cor,-
T-ecting, because it imputed to Lord Anglesea
sb
:is viz.ch art e rabhaandd
ohnitilliieelit,
to,
.vieoaokdnesesmfiriolemritsiNtl. fiefrheel
ifitotrgh political fear, pf a policy which he had
embraced on deliberation. It was asserted in
our Irish letter of the '2oth instant, that the
Lord-Lieutenant had indeed entertained the
design, but had been deterred from carrying it
into e7;ctition by threats that the order to dis-
arm the yeomanry would have been resisted by
force. This latter allegation is flatly denied by
the friends of the Lord-Lieutenant, nor does it

square with the probabilities of the case, any
more than with his Lordship's history. The ge-
neral good intelligence and accuracy of our cor-
respondent's letters are admitted by the autho-
tity which attributes to him this particular error.
But it sarns no forced construction of the case
to conclude, filet had the determination to dis-
arm the yeomanry been at any time adopted, it
must have been with such a knowledge of
the overhearing fury which has long dis-
tinguished a portion of the Orange yeomanry
of the North, as must have prepared the
Government for every excess of violence and
oiof
aluigdtriartgeocct
appeal
tflaicetitro t oppositionhaartm dui
snst
woo
idianit
oiaois.rstet
the
no
on
his
dangerous body has ever been designed by his
Majesty's Government, it is not easy to express
our uneasiness at the avowal of a truth so omi-
nous and unwelcome. We have long since al'
firmed, that in the Northern Yeomanry were to
be found the chief incendiaries of the Orange
faction ; and the thing is notorious every. where.
It may further be taken as a well-known fact,
that few, if any, of the yeomen still embodied
are other than sworn Orangemen. Is it then,
let us ask, the intention et. our Government to
arm an equal proportion of red-hot Catholics,
reeking from the Association, or from the " si-
multaneous meeting" rooms ? And if such be
net the Ministerial purpose, where is the system
of neutrality between factious ?-I,Yhere the
even-handed justice ?—where the equal favour
to all the King's servants, whether Protestant, or
Catholic, for which credit has been emphatically
claimed ? Here are two sets of men in Ireland,
one of whom confines itself on principle to such
means of asserting and establishing its rights as
are prescribed by the forms of the constitution,
congenial to its spirit, and preservative of the
'rublic tranquillity. The opposite party never
meets or moves without denouncing vengeance,
by armed violence against the Catholics ; chal-
lenging its enemies to open combat, and ex-
claiming against the King's Government for
persecution of the Protestants, and treason to
the State, the moment it ceases to go all lengths
with these " exclusive loyalists, as they call
themselves, in their hatred and oppression of the
great majority of the people. Thus the Catho-
lics who cry out for peace, whose necessary po-
licy is a strict adherence to the law, and a scru-
pulous, though vigorous exercise of a lawflil pri-
vilege for a purpose in which the most en-
lightened and exalted of the Protestant body abet
them—the peaceful Catholic is deprived of the
use of arms—the Orangemen, who have no
(Tame left but that of war, are equipped Neitit
musket, bayonet, and ball-cartridge ; and this is
to pass upon mankind as a system of equal jus-
tice and paternal government ! Verily the Ca-
tholic is but a step-child ! It is said, however,
that Lord Anglesea, will be able to carry on the
Government and administer the laws in spite of
any or all who may seek to disturb by arms
the peace of the community. We doubt not,
that the Noble Marquis will enforce the
executive authority, like a brave and up-
right representative of the King. But -
there is no wisdom in weighing well the bur-
den of embarrassment which surrounds a king-
dom, and no prudence in diminishing its pres-
sure ? If Lord Anglesea be competent to keep
down the armed violence of the Orange faction,
would he not be still more competent to repress
the same violence if unarmed Would not in-
deed the spirit of outrage be apt to evaporate in
mere noisy demonstration, if the implements of
a more noxious species of atrocity were once
taken away ? We are more decided than ever
in our belief that no means of actual warfare
ought to be suffered to exist in Ireland, except in
the hands and under the control of Government,
and on the responsibility of thoodsifiewc,teioalslwsalyiaosinlii?t—lbicy
idaewfocioc
fiodf theai public
.It
is npeaceot
not,—need
for the detached welfare of nitsehee Catholic body,
that these observations are offered to the people
evle
of Great Britain. The line of demarcation
deepens every day between the two classes of' the
quar-
rel assumes every hour a character more com-
plex, inveterate, and appalling. It is not merely
King'ssubjects
religion by itsteslf in
or the
civil silist liberty
is Thetstake,
a but the contest is one for Catholicism, embit-
tered by Hibemi is c m, and fermented by the
growing leaven of democracy against Protestant
pride—Protestant power—Protestant avarice—
Protestant insult—Protestant menace : at last,
rendered desperate, it is aimed against Protes-
tant heresy,—all painted more hideous to the
Hiberno-Catholic eye, because they wear the
colours'of England, the traditional and irreclaim-
able oppressor. To this complexion things move
onward rapidly. The 40s. freehold—that God-
send of 1793—has left one chance of saving
the empire, by showing the Catholics that they
hold in their grasp a weapon w
mes hich cuts mor-
tally, but sheds no blood.—
i.
The situation of affairs in northern Turkey is
daily becomingmore
embarrassing to other par-
ties than those actually engaged in the conflict.
as time rolls on the views of men change, the
interests of nations are developed in different
and confidence is
phases, transformed into sus-
picion by circumstances. eyes -
i All leave been
turned towards the invasion of the Ottoman em-
P'
Those who love peace have looked on in
silent fear—those who have abstract interests at
stake have also been •
silent from fear—those who
are jealous of all n •
atonal encroachments have
lingered passively
over events in order to ascer-
tain whether what
they dreaded should or should
not be confirmed—all have intuitively placed re-
straint upon their
apprehensions, for no other
purpose than that they might be enabled to esti-
mate the value of promises, not by renewed pro-
fessions, but by positive acts. When Greece
was in the infancy of her later struggles, the
tranquillity of Europe was sufficiently exposed
to danger without courting additional dis-
quietudes. France and England generously, we
do not say unnecessarily, interfered to mediate
peace, and preserve the tranquillity of Europe.