The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-09 00:00:00

ANOTHER CLONTARF MEETING.

Mr. O'Connell said in his address from the balcony
on Saturday evening, that they were not done with
the Clontarf meeting yet, and, with the blessing of
God, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE IT ON THE BTH OF
NEXT :MONTH.

GREAT EXCITEMENT IN DUBLIN.
DUBLIN, FRIDAY NIGHT.—The burst of popular
enthusiasm and joy that issued forth was the most
heartfelt and boisterous display of the gladness of the
Irish heart that ever was heard within the city of
Dublin.

Mr. Purdon, at the request of Mr. O'Connell, ad-
dressed the crowd outside the gaol, and requested
them to disperse quietly, which they did.
Soon after dark tar barrels were set on fire at
Irishtown and Ringsend, amid the rejoicings of the
peasantry. At Rathfarnham and Roundtown the
cottages were illuminated, and as the news spread the
fires became more frequent. A bonfire was also
lighted in Roper's Rest, round which the inhabitants
—men, women, and children—danced with genuine
Irish animation.

With the rapidity of lightning the intelligence of
the judgment traversed all parts of the city—con-
temporaneously with the proceedings of Burgh-quay,
large bodies of the citizens had congregated in the
neighbourhood of the Liberator's residence, Merrion-
square, anxious to give vent to the feelings of grate-
ful joy which actuated all classes. Here, too, the
cheering was most enthusiastic—each man seemed
determined to outvie his neighbour in demonstrations
of attachment to their " deliverer and friend"—and
here, too, the vast multitudes, after a short time,
quietly dispersed.
From Merrion-square to Stephen's-green, and
through Grafton-street, the same enthusiasm was
observable. At every corner placards were posted
announcing the reversal of the judgment; and at
every corner the popular joy was embodied in loud
and hearty cheers.
What we have stated in reference to the other
localities is applicable to Dame-street. Several men
paraded the street, bearing on their shoulders placards
similar to those already described. The cheering of
the populace here lost nothing of the vigour which
marked it on Burgh-quay.
A new feature was given to the national rejoicing
in Capel-street. The majority of the houses were
brilliantly illuminated. In Mary-street, Bolton-
street, North King-street, &c., illumination was also
general, nor was there an absence of the other indi-
cations of triumph in these places.
In Sackville-street the fervour of the people's
gratitude was most signally marked ; the street was
lined at either side with immense crowds, who occa-
sionally allowed their feelings to have vent in enthu-
siastic acclamations. The neighbourhood of the
General Post-office, particularly, was rendered almost
impassable ; and the departure of the Irish mails,
being the medium through which the news of the
liberation was to be conveyed to all corners of the
land, was attended with loud cheering. In a word,
the state of feeling above described is applicable to all
parts of the city ; the same enthusiasm was every-
where observable, and the same desire to testify public
gratitude was evinced by all. Nor was it the least
attractive in the general jubilee that the splendid
bells of St. Paul's Roman Catholic church, on Arran-
quay, rang out a merry peal, the first time since the
incarceration, on the occasion.
The illumination was very general. The houses in
Britain-street, Denmark-street, Moore-street, and
that entire neighbourhood, were lighted up ; Domi-
nick-street, too, was partially illuminated ; but
amongst the houses in this street which exhibited
their rejoicings none was more conspicuous than that
of the Duke of Leinster. In the Duke's residence
every window, every pane of glass, bore an indica-
tion of national triumph.
A meeting was held in the Conciliation Hall, at
eight o'clock. The Hall was almost instantaneously
filled with Repealers, and it is utterly impossible
to convey even the most faint idea of the ardent joy
and enthusiasm that pervaded the vast assemblage that
congregated within its walls.
W. SMITH O'BRIEN, Esq., M.P., entered the Hall
about half-past nine o'clock, and was received with
loud cheers and waving of hats and handkerchiefs,
which continued without intermission for several
minutes. He addressed the meeting at some length,
telling them that it was intended to have a large pro-
cession to accompany the State traversers from the
prison, but that, as the traversers were not disposed
to accept even the semblance of a favour from the
present Government, they would not leave for their
residences until a formal communication had first
been made that they were at liberty so to do. As
this order could not be received until late on Friday
evening, they had thought it better to remain in prison,
unless they were forcibly expelled from it, until Sa-
turday morning. It was then announced that the
windows belonging to Mr. Murphy, a Liberal town-
councillor, had just been broken.
Mr. D.O'CONNELL, jun., said he had some news
from the prison, from which he had just come, and
that he had to proclaim to them, in the words f his
father, " that this was the first triumph that Ireland
ever had over England."
It was then arranged that there should not be any
public illuminations.
The Liberator himself received the intelligence of
the reversal of the judgment with the utmost com-
posure. It must have come upon hint unexpectedly, but
he was not surprised. The same calmness and col-
lectedness—the same self-reliance which have ever
characterised him in great conjunctures, were never
more thoroughly his own than on this, the most stu-
pendous epoch of his eventful life. He was thought-
ful and unexcited—perfectly imbued with the as-
tounding importance of the event; but while his heart
beat responsively to the triumph he had obtained, it
was for Ireland's victory, not O'Connell's. The re-
versal of the judgment O'Connell recognised as the
commencement of the fortunes of Ireland. He at
once pronounced it to be THE GREATEST TRIUMPH
WHICH IRELAND VIER HAD GAINED IN HER CONSTI-
TUTIONAL CONTROVERSIES WITH ENGLAND. But with
a prophetic and forecasting mind lie foresaw that it
was also the forerunner of other and more crowning
triumphs.
As to the effect of the decision upon the public
mind there has as yet been too little time for it to
operate upon the repeal question. Only one journal
in the repeal interest has been published since the
receipt of the cheering intelligence—it is the Free-
man's Journal, which is the property of Dr. Gray,
one of the " martyrs," and from it we may form a
pretty good guess as to the way in which the recent
proceedings in the Lords are viewed by the Irish
population. The Freeman, by the way, has altered its
motto over the leading articles.
The reluctant admission that dropped from Lord
Chancellor Lyndhurst, and which he has attempted
to withdraw, is exchanged for the following trium-
phant vindication of the trial by jury, which has issued
from the lips of Lord Denman If such practices
as have taken place in the present instance in Ireland
shall continue, the trial by jury will become a
mockery, a delusion, and a snare.
The Freeman says—" We have got justice by ac-
cident, for by accident only were the Cottenhams,
the Campbells, and the high-minded Denmans con-
stituted a majority over the Lyndhursts and the
Broughams. Right and justice were overwhelmed at
every previous stage by prejudice, bigotry, and
alienage of views; only at the last moment, when
their cause seemed utterly desolate and hopeless,
right and justice are saved, as by a miracle, and their
enemies covered with discomfiture. Nay, even at
that last moment they encountered a life-struggle
that well nigh proved a death-struggle. The Tory
lay Lords, who had not heard the:case—and if they
had heard, had not the knowledge to judge of it—
rose, in the very passion of bigotry, to outvote the
law Lord, ; and would have done so on the spot, had
not Lord Wharncliffe, from very shame, arisen, and,
in the name of the Ministry who had fathered ' the
frauds,' entreated them to forbear, and deprecated the
disgrace with which they, were about to cover
England's last court of judiciarapPeal.
"We have no doubt but the English papers, for
this decision, will make a claim upon our gratitude,
and demand acknowledgments of the unswerving
rectitude of English feeling. We make no such ac-
knowledgments. 'Tvvas English feeling that de-
prived.the judgment of the whole English bench, so
that they could devise us no remedy for the admitted
wrong of a fraudulent jury.' As to thanks, both the
English and we owe great thanks to Providence
—we that having suffered the one-third of a sentence
fraudulently' procured, we are, by happy accident and
narrow escape, rescued from the remainder—they,
that their country is saved the infamy of a decision,
which judicial ,judgment, depraved by excess of