The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-07-27 00:00:00

RETURN FROM CLONMEL

Having duly recorded our votes for the conservative candi-
dates, we prepared for home via those regions of bloodshed
and slaughter the " Rag" and " Borrisloleigh." From the
road, in every direction, we could perceive country people
pouring down, and straining every nerve to reach one point,
which was some distance in advance of us. We drove on
and left them behind, which caused great disappointment
and mortification. The different streams of persons now
mingled into one body, and pursued us hotly ; and from the
circumstances of our vehicles being heavily laden, and our
being frequently obliged to dismount to reconnoitre the
passes between the hills, our pursuers reached within the
range of a stone's throw of us, and occasioned us considera-
ble annoyance.

At the.'" Rag" we were attacked by one of the most savage-
looking hordes of villains that ever it was my fate to lay my
eyes on. They pursued us into Borrisloleigh, yelling and
hooting at us like devils incarnate, and keeping up a conti-
nual discharge of stones. At Borrisloleigh they were joined
by the mob of that village, and it was with the greatest diffi-
culty that we kept our rear clear of them, although it was
brought up by two jaunting-cars laden with police. We
several times. warned the mob to keep back, or that their
lives would pay the penalty of their temerity. Notwith-
standing all this they persevered, until we reached the cross-
roads, one of which leads to Coughlan's mills. You are
aware of the situation of this road. On your right the bar-
ren shaggy mountain impends threateningly over you, as if it
would the next moment topple down upon your devoted head ;
on your left a hoarse stream brawls along, whose opposite
bank is precipitous, and hilly in the distance. Having en-
tered this gloomy defile, we paused for a moment to recon-
noitre the path of danger.
Up to our right, and stand out in bold relief between us
and the blue heaven, we could perceive the shapes of savage
men, armed with every sort of weapon of offence. We then
divided ourselves into an advance and rear gaurd, leaving the
main body to proceed along the unsightly ravine. A party,
well armed, clambered up the hills, which had in a great
measure been already, in the possession of our wild and
ferocious-looking enemies. At this moment a huge rock
was sent bounding from the top of the mountain ; down it
swept with almost inconceivable velocity, like an overwelm-
ing avalanche, and would have smashed one of our carriages
to pieces, and crushed its passengers to atoms, had not the
merciful band of Divine Providence interposed in our be-
half, by giving a contrary tendency to its course. When we
ascended the hills we routed the guerillas with levelled guns,
and the cowardly scoundrels scampered from one rocky
shelter to another, hurling down stones on the passengers
below as they fled along. In spots from which we chased
groups of them, we found piles of large rocks and barrows
full of paving stones, just in readiness to be showered down
with deadly and fatal effect upon the devoted electors.
This course of proceeding which we had adopted was a
truly fortunate circumstance, for after chasing the mountain
assassins from rocky lair to rocky lair, we paused for a mo-
ment to see how our brave comrades were getting on in the
deep depth below us. The cavalcade had halted, and so well
it mighty for their progress was impeded by a barrier of im-
mense rocks, which must be removed before they could
proceed. To retreat was out of the question, even if they
were inclined to do so, for our rear was covered by an immense
mob, who had calcdated with a seeming certainty on our
immolation, or who, by their savage gestures and fiendish
yells, seemed to be exciting the others on to the work of
bloodshed and slaughter. Having removed the rocky barrier,
our cavalcade again proceeded : the excitement of the mob
now knew no bounds ; they seemed regardless of their lives,
and rushed to the charge like devils. I have been in many a
bloody conflict. It was mine to see death in many shapes,
and to behold the lips of brave men turning as white as that
of a timid maiden, but never before did such overpowering
sensations come over my spirit as there did at this awful and
trying moment. We looked into one another's faces, and
we became desperately resolved to do or die. I must con-
fess that I never saw a steadier or a braver band of heroes
than I beheld at this crushing moment in the noble gentle-
men of Ormond. One fine old veteran, upwards of eighty
years of age, and who is obliged to go on crutches, sat on
one of the carriages as undaunted and unconcerned as if he
had been in a " lady's bower." He was armed to the teeth,
and dearly would his life have been purchased, if destiny
had doomed us to terminate our earthly career in this savage
place. We fired ! Think you our fire was ineffectual ? The
best answer to that is our being all now alive and merry.
When every bullet finds its billet, the bullet-masters generally
pass unmolested. Having cleared this fearful defile, the
mob became stationary, and we left them the enchantment
of the distance. Whatever other interruptions we met,
after such scenes as the foregoing, must be but insignificant.
We were, it is true, hooted and pelted at by the degraded
rabble of our own locality ; and if we showed any symptoms
of annoyance, it was only such as the chafed lion would
evince at the stupid and senseless obtrusion of the ass.

THE NEW POOR LAW.-DESTITUTION IN
THE BRENTFORD UNION.

A correspondence of considerable public importance has,
within the last few days, been carried on between the Com-
missioners of Police and the Poor Law Commissioners, re-
lative to the refusal of the board of guardians of the Brent-
ford Union to receive into the union workhouses persons in
a state of destitution who were picked up by the police wan-
dering in the open air at nights. The circumstances are as
follows:—A short time since an Irish woman was found
wandering about at night by a policeman of the T division,
who, on being questioned as to the cause of her being house-

less, stated, that she was without the means of paying for
a bed ; that she had been to the overseers and relieving-
officers to request assistance until the next morning, (Sun-
day), when she could obtain an advance from a person for
whom she was going to work on Monday morning. On her
being taken to the station-house, she repeated her story to
the inspector, who sent the policeman with her to the union
workhouse for shelter for the night, but the master refused
to admit her, because it was past ten o'clock. The in-
spector made a report of the circumstance to the superin-
tendent, by whom it was reported to Scotland-yard, and
thence to the Poor Law Commissioners at Somerset-house,
in consequence of which a special meeting of the hoard
of guardians was called to take the subject of the admission
of destitute persons into consideration, when, after a
lengthened discussion, contrary to the advice of the clerk
to the union, the majority of the board rescinded the rule,

which previously existed, of not admitting cases of destitu-
tion after ten o'clock at night, and passed another resolution
not to admit such cases at all. On the result becoming
known, the inspector forwarded information through the
superintendent to the Police Commissioners, who again ap-
plied to the Poor Law Commissioners on the subject,
urging the necessity of some place of refuge being provided
in the union for persons in a state of destitution, in conse-
quence of which another special meeting of the board of
guardians had been held, at which the last resolution bad
been rescinded, and admission will now be afforded to desti-
tute persons at all hours. Before, however, that was done,
three boys were found sleeping in an out house on the work-
house premises, and on being taken to the station-house
declared that they had applied for shelter and relief to the
overseers and relieving-officer, and they had been refused.
The next morning they were taken before Mr. Baillie, one
of the local magistrates, and an ex officio guardian of the
union, who took down their statement on oath in writing
and forwarded it to the Poor Law Commissioners, who have
directed a full inquiry into the whole affair.

A PIRATICAL VESSEL.—The following report has been
picked up in a sealed bottle in the Downs :—" At sea off the
coast of Africa in a hard gale, June 1, 1841, lost three masts,
and got out of the gale under jury-masts, ship Murray. We
were pursued three days by a pirate ; we being a very fast
Bailer, soon got clear of him in latitude 42 47 N, longitude
42 50. Mr. Inksland, captain of the said ship. Dear friend,
whoever receives this take compassion on us.
ANTI-MONOPOLY.—That great Whig Chief, Earl Fitz-
william, is continually boasting that he is an Anti-Monopo-
list ! But how is the fact ? Inquire in the West Riding of
Yorkshire; the boroughs of Malton and Peterboro' ; the
counties of Northampton and Wicklow! Some of these
have done their best to put this "Anti"-Monopolist in his
true position--and greviously does he feel degraded. It is
to be hoped that the retirement of Milton will bring the con
viction that this boast of Anti-Monopoly is too glaringly
false to be tolerated any longer either in him or his beggarly
coadjutors.