Star.
London, England, 1820-02-28 00:00:00

IRELAND.

RIBBONMEN.
From The Timm _Gazette, of the 21st inst. we ex-
tract the following paragraph, which gives some view
of the immediate object of the Ribbontnen, as far as
external circumstances can make it apparent :••••
" The progress of these enemies to peace is still 'un-
checked, and their numbers nightly increasing.—
Their audacity exceeds anything we know of; and
• as they are getting formidable in numbers, their acts
are becoming more barefaced. The have adopted a
plan of, late days of compelling shepherds and herds
to throw up their places and quit their masters.. We
understand a number of them were obliged to com-
ply with this unjust mandate, during last week, and
are now, with their poor families, driven from their
comfortable dwellings, reluctantly, fearing the visits
of these villains, in case they remained. They have
also, we hear, issued an order to the tenantry of the
different Gentlemen, that they remain from work,
unless they are allowed double, their present day's
wages, manly of whom have already complied with
it. They have unanimously resolved not to allow
snore than.five pounds to be paid for corn acres, and
to have no second landlord. We have been assured
by the person who stated these few facts to us, that
they mean, at all risks, to establish these rules and re-
gulations, with various ot}!ers. The Catholic Cleigy
throughout this Diocese, have, in every manner, ex-
erted themselves to put down this-system, but so de-
termined were they in their proceedings, that they
disregarded the pious admonitions of their Pastors.
We fear that they have been too well ooked in their
planning to be easily deterred from persevering ; the
villages that have not yet been sworn, dread their
visits, and all their inhabitants would willingly fly
from them if they could get shelter in any other
quarter. Many have been forced, through dread of
losing life and property, to enter their abominable
a;sociations, and it is by that means alone their num-
ber has so much increased. If a few of their leaders
were detected, and made examples of, we are certain
their present plots would soon fall to the ground, as
most of the country people are acting now entirely
contrary to their wishes, but spirited up to it by some
broken down dissipated wretches, and their depraved
followers."
Extract of a letter, dated Mountrath, Feb. 18.—
" A young man, of the name of Martin Humphrays,
was most inhumanly murdered here on Saturday
last. One of the miscreants, concerned in this bar-
barous transaction, tiled a pistol at the deceased, the
contents of which he teccived in the left side, and
immediately fell, another leaped on him, and a third
stabbed him with a bayonet. A party of the town's
people, however, instantly pursued the villains, and
of er swimming a deep and rapid. part of the river
Note, and undergoing a great deal of hardship, suc-
ceeded in securing four of them, who have been com-
mitted to the jail of Marlborough, for trial:'

SLAVE TIM te.—Extract from die Sierre-Leone
Gazette, of the 21st of August last:
We congratulate our friends on the return to this
harbour, on the' 17th inst. from her first cruise, of
his Majesty's ship Piteasawr, B. M. KELLY, tsq.
Commander, with a prize, viz. the slave schooner
Novo Felicidade, of Prince's Island, the property of
Illustrissinio Signor 11-... n Jose Ferraro Gorpas, go-
vernor of that island. On the 18th came in his
Majesty's ship MORGIANA, C. B. STRONG, Esq. Com-
mander, with a Spanish schooner, having only one
slave on board.
As the circumstances attending the capture of the
Novo Felicidade may tend to expose in its true light
the present mode of carrying on the traffic, we shall
c mmunicate the following particulars:
The PirtassNr fell in with the Novo Felicidade
on the 30th July, lat. 2 deg. 28 min; north; long.
9 deg. 50 min. east. She had then on board seventy-
one slaves, and a crew consisting of one master and
ten sailors. The schooner measures eleven tons. In
his declaration, Capt. KELLY, with true feelings of
humanity states :
4, I do further declare, that the state in which these unfor-
tunate creatures was found, Is shocking to every prinaiple of
humanity. Seventeen men, shackled together in pairs, by the
legs, and twenty boys, one on the other, in the main hold, a
space measuring eighteen feet is length, seven feet eight inches
main breadth, and one foot eight inches in height; and under'
them the yams for their support. One of these unfortunate
creatures was in the last stage of a dysentery, whose natural
evacuations ran involuntarily from him amongst these yams,
creating an effluvia too shocking for description. On their
being released from irons, their appearance was moat distress-
ir.r, scarcely one of them could stand on his legs, from cramp
and evident stuvation. The space allowed for the females,
thirty-four in number, was even more contracted than that for
the men, measuring only nine feet four inches is length, four.
feet cilia inches main breadth, and two feet siren inches In
height, but not being couhned is irons, and perhaps allowed
dining the day to come on deck, they did not present so 4liii•
tressing an appearance as the men."
This wanton act of cruelty against imoffendint
individuals, is performed for the benefit of a monster
holding the high rank of Governor, entri sacra fame:.
We glory in the difference between true Britons and
slave-dealers. Captain KrLt.y found these Africans
in the very lowest state of degradation and misery;
he not only Isroke their fetters, but be, his officers,
and crew, by their humane care and attention, pre-
served their lives for freedom—only one died on the
passage.
From the non-arrival of the Portuguese Commis-
sioners, the commission being incomplete, the trial
of the vessel did net take place. After going through
a regular examination of the witnesses, the seventy-
one ci-devant slaves were landed on the 20th inst. in
good health, and sent to the town of Bathurst.
With respect to the Spanish schooner, she was
taken off Little Bassao ; the Captain was on shore
p irchasing the remainder of the cargo, and declined
coming to Sierra-Leone to defend his property. One
day before, tbe MORGIANA, Captain STRONG, fell in
with a large schooner off Grand Bassao; she was at
anchor off a ledge of rocks; on perceiving the man
of war, the slaver used every exertion to land the
slaves, and being aided by nearly forty- canoes, she
would probably soon have completed her purpose ;
however, two boats being sent from the MOROIAMA
to intercept the canoes, although the ruffian ordered,
in English, his people to fire on the British boats,
which order they obeyed. Not conceiving his 'Vessel
perfectly secure from capture, he attempted to push
on further, got into the surf, and was upset : the
masts were soon seen overboard, and a great number
of slaves running to the woods--but how many
per' Media Me hold?