The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-20 00:00:00

IRELAND.

9.17 AT: VISIT =i liiC, 7LT URAL SOCIETY.—
THE BANQUET AT 'THE THEATRE.
Dtjuurc, AUG. .17.---This really splen•lid banquet took
place in the Theatre Royal, Cri Thursday everribg. Th.-:
house was fitted up in a very striking and picturesqne
manner, and was very brilliantly lighted. Dire
hundred parsons, including, an immense num::, of coun-
try gentlemen,-st down to dinner. The was tal;en
soon after six o'clock by the Duke of Leinster, the Earl
of Erne being Vice-President. Amongst those present
were—the Marquis of Dowushire, the Marquis of Kil-
dare, Lord Crofton, Lord Castlemaine, Lord Cloncurry,
Earl of Miltown, Lord Clancarty, Sir Percy Nugent,
Bart., Sir John Power, Bart, Sir R. Bateson, Sir Lucius
O'Brien, Bart., Sir Nicholas Fitzaimon, the Hon. P.
Ponsonby, Right lion. the Recorder, Henry Grattan,
Esq., M.P.; W. S. O'Brien, Esq., M.P.; N. Maher, Esq.,
M.P.; James Power, Esq., M.P., D.L.; G. A. Hamilton,
Esq., M.P.; Christopher Fitzsimon, Esq., D.L.; George
Roe, Esq., D.L. ; J. L. Naper, Esq., Colonel Munroe,
i Colonel Henry White, Colonel J. White, Hon. J. Law-
' less, Peter Purcell, Esq., Daniel O'Connell, jun., Esq ,
lingls Morgan Tuite, Esq , J. Finlay, Esq., LL.D. ;
Nicholas Doylan, Esq., James Grattan, Esq., Surgeons
O'Reilly, Surgeon Carmichael, Surgeon Round, J. A.
Knipe, Esq., C. Roper, Esq., Edward Lucas, Esq.
After the usual loyal toasts had been disposed of,
Lord CLONCURRY gave " The Royal Agricultural Im-
provement Society of Ireland."
The Secretary, Mr. 13un.EN, here proceeded to read
the list of prizes, which occupied a considerable time,
and the enunciation of some of the premiums, especially
that to the little Kerry hull (Paddy Blake) caused much
merriment.

The next toast was " The Highland and English
A,gricultural Societies," which was acknowledged by the
Marquis of Downshire.
The Earl of ERNE, who proposed the next toast, spoke
at some length. His Lordship said he was well aware
that the Irish landlords had been grossly maligned and
vituperated. It was too much the fashion in England to
cry them down, and abuse of them had now become a
popular cry in Ireland. It too frequently happened that
the landlords were abused and vilified by men who had
neither property nor character of their own, and, there-
fore, were at liberty to say whatever they supposed would
best suit their purpose ; but he asked those gentlemen,
did they understand the question upon which they had
undertaken to express their opinion so flippantly, or had
they, before they commenced their attack, taken the pre-
caution of visiting the property of the resident landlords,
and ascertaining by personal obseivation the real and
actual condition of the tenantry upon their estates I.!'
Improvements, and great improvements, had been re-
cently effected in the condition of the tenant classes in
Ireland. He made the assertion fearlessly, for he was
in a position to vouch fur its veracity. Great improve.
ments had, he repeated, been effected in their conditon,
and by what agency, he asked, had these "salutary
changes been brought about? By:whom werethey effected
but by the landlords ? By what other agency could
they be effected ? Surely it was not the large sums
of money which were collected from year to year, from_
month to month, and from week to week, that could
have done this ! [The enunciation of this sentiment
produced a marked sensation amongst the company—
some cheered loudly, others hissed and groaned, and,
amid loud cries of " order, order," from all parts of the*.
house, Mr. Smith O'Brien, who was seated in the vicinity
of the chairman on the right-hand side, rose from his
chair and walked out of the theatre. He was followed
immediately by Mr. Nicholas Maher. the Member for
Tipperary, and both the Honourable Gentlemen were
cheered loudly by the great number of those who were
sufficiently near them to observe their movement.] The
vice-chairman continued his address unconcernedly, and
again repeated his conviction that it was to the resident
landlords alone that the country was indebted for those
salutary changes which he described as having taken.
place in the condition of the tenant classes.
The next toast was, " The
labourers of Ireland." tenantry and agricultural.

Mr. NAPER, Lotoicrew, a most excellent landlord,
responder! co this toast, and, in the course of his obser-
vaticnA, said that he hated the idea of raking up old
feuds. The hour had come when they should forget
the past, and look nobly to the future. They should
commence upon a. new system ; they should reorganise
their agricultural interests, and he who would desire that
success should attend his projects as an agriculturist in
this country, should make it his study to apply not only
to the hands, but to the sound head and the warm heart
of the Irish peasant.—(Cheers.)
Other toasts followed, which were responded to by the
Marquis of Kildare, Lord Crofton, Mr. Stewart Blacker,
&c. The company separated at eleven o'clock.
LORD ERNE AND MR. SMITH O'BRIEN.
The offensive allusion of the Earl of Erne to the Re-
peal Association, noticed in the preceding report, in-
duced Mr. Smith O'Brien to address the following letter
to the secretary of the Agricultural Society immediately
after he had retired from the dinner :
"82, Lower Mount-street, Aug. 15, 1844,
" Sir,—A circumstance occurred this evening, at the
dinner of the Agricultural Society, of such a nature as
to render it necessary that the subscribers of the insti-
tution should be informed upon what principles it is
founded.
" For my own part, I Lecame an original member of
the society, under t'ae impression that every successful
effort to augruP:ot the amount and value of the agricul-
tural iTc'd':.ce of Ireland could not fail to confer benefits
classes of our population.
"I attended the dinner this evening, under the belief
that the political opinions of the managers of the society
would not be allowed to manifest themselves in such a.
manner as to wound the feelings of any section of the
subscribers. The speech, however, of the Earl of Erne,
one of the vice-presidents, was of a character so offen-
sive to those who, like myself, seek to secure the welfare
of their native land by procuring for it a national legis-
lature, that it left me no alternative but either to quit my
seat or to convert the meeting into a political debating
society.
" I preferred the former course, even at the risk of
appearing to shrink from the vindication of my own
opinions, and of those with whomit is my pride to concur.
" I have now to ask, respectfully, whether the council
sanction the language used this evening by Lord Erne ?
"If his Lordship's conduct meet their approval, I take
the liberty to request that you will remove my name
from the list of subscribers.—l have the honour to be
your obedient servant, " WM. S. O'BRIEN.
" To the Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society."
"P.S.—As I propose to leave Dublin to-morrow
evening, I shall feel obliged if you will transmit your
answer to me, addressed to Cahirmoyle, Rathkeale,
unless you are enabled to send it to 82, Lower Mount-
street, before five o'clock to-morrow."
This admirable letter—so remarkable for manliness,
good temper, and forbearance, for the sake of a Society
established to promote and foster agriculture in Ireland
—caused a meeting of the council of the Society yester-
day, at which Lord Erne attended, and in a manner
highly creditable to him, expressed his unqualified
sorrow for the offensive expressions which he had uttered
on the previous evening. Immediately after the meet-
ing of the council, the subjoined abstract of their pro-
ceedings was transmitted to Mr. Smith O'Brien, by Mr.
Bullen, the Secretary :
" Dublin, 37, Upper Sackville-street, Aug. 16,
" Sir,—l beg to acknowledge the receipt of yours of
the 15th inst., which I laid before the council this day,
when the enclosed resolution was agreed to, a copy of
which I have been directed to send you.—l have the
honour to remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
" EDWARD SULLEN, Secretary.
" William Smith, O'Brien, Esq., M.P.,
82, Lower Mount-street.
" ROYAL AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY Or
IRELAND—MEETING OF TUE COUNCIL.
" Friday, 16th of August, 1344.
" The Marquis of Downshire in the chair.
" The council having been specially called together in
consequence of a letter from Iry S. O'Brien M.P., in
reference to some expressions used by the Earl of Erne,
at the banquet yesterday, at the Theatre Royal, and
Lord Erne having come forward and • expressed in the
promptest and most handsome manner his regret that
any observations should have fallen from him of a poli-
tical tendency, and calculated to offend the feelings of
any member of the Society, and which expressions were
contrary to one of its fundamental rules E--
"It was unanimously resolved—That it is a matter of'
'the greatest gratification to the council that so satisfac-
tory au explanation has been given by the Noble Earl,
retaining as they did the strongest conviction that the
security and prosperity of this great society can only be
preserved by a complete abstinence, at all its meetinge,
from allusions of a political tendency.
" Resolved—That a copy of the above resolution be
forwarded by the secretary to Mr. Smith O'Brien, in
answer to his letter, and that these resolutions be pub-
lished in the newspapers of this evening.
"DOWNSIIIRE, Chairman.
" The following members of the Council were present
on this occasion :
" The Marquis of Downshire in the chair ; the Duke
of Leinster, the Earl of Erne, Sir R. Bateson, Bart. ;
Mr. C. Fitzsimon,Mr. C. Roper, Mr. D.Wilson, Mr. F.W.
Barton, Mr. John Sharman Crawford, Mr. George Roe,
Sir James Stronge, Bart. ; Mr. Naper, Mr. Wade, Mr.
Peter Purcell, Mr. George A. Hamilton, M.P. ; Mr.
Andrew Ball, Mr. Archbold, M.P. ; Sir John Kennedy.
Bart. ; Mr. William Tigh, Mr. Charles W. Hamilton,
Mr. Thomas Hutton, Mr. William Owen, Mr. Thomas
Ball, the Hon. Frederick Ponsonby, Mr. Denis Kirwin,
Mr. F. Donough, Mr. William J. Armstrong, Mr. J. B.
Baakhead, Mr. Thomas Butler, and Mr. Thomas R.
Hardy."
Mr. Smith O'Brien, in the following communication,
accepted the explanation of Lord Erne, conveyed
through the society, in the spirit in which it had been
offered :

"82, Lower Mount-street, Aug. 16, 1844.
"Sir—l have bad the pleasure of receiving your
obliging communication of this date, in which you
transmit a copy of the resolution passed by the council
of the Royal Agricultural Society, in reference to the
occurrence which gave occasion to the letter which it was
my painful duty to address to you last night.
" I trust that the prompt, honourable, nand explicit re-
paration which has been offered by Lord Erne to those
whose feelings may have been hurt by his unguarded ex-
pressions, will be deemed us satisfactory by others as it
is by me, and that this incident may prove serviceable
rather than injurious to the interests of one of the few
national institutions in regard of which Irishmen of
every class, creed, and party are enabled to co-operate
for the common good of all.--I have the honour to be
your obedient servant, W. S. O'BRIEN."
" To the Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society.'

THE AUCTION IN THE SHOW-YARD,
some instances
Yesterday there was an auction upon a very large
scale at the Coburg-gardens, of a portion of the stock
h
i beenne( wereexb i br
ei tme du,n
cra. and, v generally speaking, the
very high. In the class of bulls the sums obtained were
not in general more than an average, but the cows and
pricesw icll
ohbattla
breeding stock brought large sums. Priddy Blake, the