Star.
London, England, 1831-01-21 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

Cuaosnct.r.--The arrest of Mr. O'Connell will gin great satisfac-
tion in England. where various causes concur to produce an impatience
of the agitation in Ireland. We are. in the first place. dissatisfied that
the Irish should pursue a course ealcuLted to embarrass Ministers, at •
time when their whole attention ought to be bestowed en reform ; and
we view the conduct of the Irish as betraying a want of consideration
for the welfare of their English brethren. In the next place we are
opposed to the repeal of the Union, from an apprehension that it might
lead to a separation. In the third place, the people of England cannot
easily divest themselves of the feeling of masters in the case of the Irish,
and conceive they have no right to be dissatisfied when they themselves
are satisfied. Hence, the English newspapers, which must represent
English feelings, are somewhat dangerous counsellors to Ministers In
the case of Ireland ; for the Irish. befog the weaker and poorer people,
are peculiarly, on that account, the more sensitive to any thing like
slight, and popularity is to be gained in England, by whatever threatens
to repress the Irish, and put an end to their importunity, from which
we wish to be freed. The misfortune is, that the feeling of the
English only tends to increase in the Irish the desire of separation.
We really fear, taking all things into consideration, that the steps
pursued with regard to Ireland, however popular in England, will only
add to the difficulty of the crisis. We have already exprastted our
rooted conviction, that peace and tranquillity in Ireland see hopeless, so
long asa einem= Church is allowed to receive it) large a share of the
produce of that country. To this conclusion we must at last come—the
Church of Ireland, as an establishment, cannot subsist. Pine Laws,
coupled with some measure for the relief of landlords, where the popu-
lation is redundant ; so that relief of destitution may not act as conlina-
tion—and the fining the Catholics from what will ever be to them the
cause of heart-burning—a Church kept up for the mere purports of con-
suming their wealth, may go far to quiet the country. and render im-
provement possible. But till the Irish have a hope of these measures,
the dlssatis of will continue.

Tuns.—Matters In Ireland seem to be on the point of reaching
that crisis to which they have tended toe some months past. Whe-
ther the present step taken by Lord Anglesey is a wise one, must
depend on more than a single coneldseadon. It involves the nature
of the charge against the arrested parties, which, if trivial, ought
not to have been made. It involves, secondly, the amount of evi.
dew by which the prosecution can be supported, which, if other
than overwhelming, ought sot to be at all relied upon. Thirdly,
It embraces the important question, what is the temper of that
body of the community out of which juries are likely to be
empanelled ? and if favourable to the impartial administration of jua.
tie*, is there much chance of their being intimidated ? Blender evi.
done, a faltering jury, a slight canoe. a trifling punishment, would,
any one of them, much more if taken all together, demonstrative of
great imprudence In the Irish Government for adopting this =
tort policy. But, doubtless, the above palms have been well d
ad the consequences es well se principle of the arrest been looked at in
ail their bearings. We have no doubt that, hand-in-hand with every
sere to upheld and vindicate the law, the King's Ministers are already
:leaved on securing to Ireland the most ample measure of redress for
all her real grievances ; nor is there any reason to apprehend that much
of the present session will pass away without affording proof to the Irish
=of the active and generous seal with which their interests and
have been espoused by those who, if die present Ministry en.
dues but fora short time, as beat carry into execution such bene-
ficent rejects.

Htnatn.—We took occasion. some time ago, to recommend the
Oen of allotting smell portions of land to Onagers, as a wane of re.
deeming that doss of people has the degradation and ekes of rope-
rbm, and of restoring them to their forma state of comfort, morality,
end content. We bad nedeed that before the late disturbances in the
agricultural districts, some fettering and benevolent proprietors, who
had mere faith in the efficacy of remedial inessures than in the terrors of
penal law, to reserve public order from the turbulent visitations of pe-
nury sod despair, set the good and wholesome example of affording to
the distressed pasantry in their respective neighbourhoods this port of
Agrarian relief, which in every instance, as far as we mph) learn, was
followed by the happiest consequences, thus realising by experiment the
truth of the beetled lines of the poet—
"A time there was, ere England's griefs begot,
When every rood of ground maintained its man."
Among the individuals who thus distinguished themselves by acts of
rational beneficence and permanent relief to the industrious poor, was
the Bishop of Bath and Wells I a man who is an ornament to his wed
calling, and who, while too many mitred heads are glittering in the sun.
shine of high places, stoops to the lowly hovel, where he can best enjoy
the "luxury of doing good," and make thecae* of the Christian Pastor
ge:tby the influence of the virtues of which the religion of mercy
Ilith and holy source. Not content with his nations to relieve
distress, the Right Key Bishop has availed himself of the agency of the
press to communicate his opinions to the public on the causes of it, and to
recommend the adoption of those remedies which are as much to be pre-
ferred to Special Commissions, and their spectacles of bleed, as mercy is
better than secrifice. His Lorthhip, after touching with fame and bre-
vity en the several causes of the wretched and degraded condition of the
agricultural leboorer, goes on to point out the remedies, which are, first
an assignment of a small poetise of land to each cottager who has a fa-
mily. Another measure which be maiden imperatively called fur to
meet the exigencies of the present times, is the summoning a vestry
meeting in each parl.ll to ascertain the number sod description of the
&milks wanting relief. In conelusioa. his Lordship recommends a dif-
ferent mode of taxation. to relieve the peer one from vexatious and op-
pressive assessments. and subedtate, tf _-eery, • property-tat, which
would east the burden more properly upon the rleb. We would raven.
mond the perusal of this pamphlet to all who have at heart the interests
of their country.