The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-02-27 00:00:00

TIIE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

alarm on the subject of the tariff. The government was
charged with allowing the meetings to proceed for the
purpose of entrapping the agitators. He solemnly de-
nied that purpose. They had not thought it wise—nay,
he thought it could be seldom wise, to apply to parliament
for extraordinary powers, the effect of which was generally
to impair the credit and efficacy of the ordinary law. The
whigs had taken a different course; they had applied for
a coercion bill; and he himself, instead of making a
Lichfield-house compact with the opponents of that mea-
sure to turn out the whig government, had given his sup-
port to the bill. He read some of the provisions of that
measure, which created new offences, and made them
triable by court-martial. He had instructed the Lord
Lieutenant, if any meetings should be announced, with
respect to which there should be affidavits from firm and
voluntary deponents stating it to be of such a character as
to endanger the public peace, that a proclamation should
be issued to forbid such meeting ; that, if necessary, the
ground should be pre-occupied, and that, in the last re-
sort, it should be dispersed. Notice had not been want-
ing. The dismissal of the magistrates, and the Queen's
speech on tne prorogation, had been sufficient warnings.
For a while the government had abstained from directly
interfering, not without some hope that the agitation
might subside. But the meetings became more dan-
gerous; the day selected for one of them was the anni-
versary of the Irish rebellion ; the scenes of others were
those of events associated with national exasperation.
The Clontarf meeting had these distinguishing features—
that it was attended with military array, that it was con-
vened in military language, and the troops of repeal ca-
valry were summoned to attend it. The law advisers of
the crown were of opinion that these circumstances dis-
guished that from the previous meetings, and rendered
it of itself illegal. The government then decided to issue
the proclamation, to occupy the ground, and to appeal to
the law. He justified that appeal ; and denied all inten-
tion of disrespect to the Roman Catholics. He read evi-
dence of the excitement then prevailing throughout Ire-
land, manifested even in the night by signal fires upon the
hills of many counties ; and asked, whether these things
were for the purpose of petition? The government had
had no alternative but to call upon the law. A conviction
was obtained, without bloodshed—without collision; and
then the government were assailed by a powerful party,
and arraigned, sometimes for too great forbearance, and
sometimes for too great vigour. If they had taken any
different course, this house would have rung with far other
taunts—taunts for premature interference, or for a cow-
ardly
disposition to spare the powerful and pursue the
weak. It remained for him to deal with a much more
important subject—the future policy of government in !
Ireland. He wondered it had not occurred to Mr. O'Con-

nell, that if wealth and intelligence were of any import-
ance in a constituency, the extensive pauperism which he
had mentioned as amounting to 70 per cent. on the whole
agricultural population must be a strong argument against
the extensive franchise demanded. He explained and
vindicated the course which had been taken with respect
to the Landlord and Tenant Commission. As to the

franchise, he admitted that there ought to be, not identity
between the two countries,which was impossible, but sub-
tantial equality. That was the principle which we ought
to endeavour to establish throughout Irish affairs. Now
as to the church. The legislature had given to the Pro-
testants at the union an assurance for the preservation of
their establishment; and as far as national compact could
have force, that establishment was protected. As autho-
rities for this protection, be cited Mr. Burke, Mr. Grattan,
Mr. Plunket, and Sir John Newport. He would not say
that the compact must bind the parliament in all possible
circumstances, bnt he held that it ought not to be lightly
disturbed. But there was a still higher ground—that of
the welfare of Ireland itself. There must be some
Church Establishment in that country, and it could
not be Catholic, because the Catholics refused to ac-
cept endowments in connexion with the State. What
then could be more unreasonable than to take from a
Church which submitted itself to the State five-sixths of
its property, for the purpose of transferring that propor-
tion to a Church which refused any such connexion? He
could conceive nothing more likely to raise a spirit of the
widest discord. His determination, therefore, was to
uphold the Protestant Church in its full integrity, not
excluding such reforms as might improve its usefulness.
He proposed to give facilities for the endowments of
private benefactors to the Roman Catholic Church and
to increase very largely the grant for public education
He referred with emotion, to the sacrifices which he had
made for Ireland, when in order to carry emancipation,
and, as he had hoped, to insure her tranquility, he hart
risked private friendship and political connexion, and for-
feited the cherished representation of that university
where his earliest ambition had been gratified. He hoped
that if party did not mar the endeavour, Ireland might
yet be governed by the ordinary law. He expressed his
belief that there was a growing disposition to discard
mere party feeling ; and concluded with an eloquent aspi-
ration for the day when the Sovereign of these kingdoms,
alighting like some benevolent spirit on the shores of
Ireland, might lay the foundation of the temple of
peace. - -

Lord John RUSSELL replied at some length ; and the
House divided—
Against the motion
For it .

..324
.. 225

IRELAND.

We are sorry to hear that a baronet of a neighbouring
county, and his lady, have been threatened with the fate
of the lamented Mr. Waller.—Limerick Chronicle.
At Six-mile Bridge, county Clare, some vindictive
miscreants disfigured a horse of the royal circus stud,
exhibiting there, as they conceived the proprietor was an
ally of Mr. Bond Hughes, the English reporter, in the
prosecution of Mr. O'Connell and his associates.
SPRING ASSIZES.—There are 73 persons for trial at
the assizes to be held for the north riding of Tipperary,
and up to Friday 49 for the south riding. In the calendar
for the north riding there are 17 charged with murder, 5
with aiding in murder, and 3 with conspiracy to murder.
MALICIOUS INJURY.—On Th ursday night some vil-
lains entered the garden of Joseph Weld, Esq., of Bag-
nalstown, and destroyed all his vines and valuable plants,
and committed other damage of irreparable injury to his
premises.—Carlow Sentinel.
REPEAL ASSOCIATION.—Nothing of any moment oc-
curred at the meeting of this association on Monday.
The liberator, of course, was not present. The rent for
the week amounted to £562 6s. 3d. The most important
announcement made was the severance of the connection
between the Arbitration Courts and the Repeal Associa-
tion, and a recommendation that the members should
settle their disputes amongst themselves.
SAD OCCURRENCE.—Mr. W. Milward, of Waterford,
whilst loading a double-barrelled gun placed a cap on the
nipple, when he incautiously cocked it. The other barrel
was then about being charged by him when the piece
slipped in some way, and caused the loaded barrel to be
discharged. The contents took effect immediately over
the eye, and actually blew away part of his skull, causing
instantaneous death.
ARREST OF EIGHT RIBBONMEN.—CharIes M`Kelvey,
sub-inspector of the Glasslough police station, having
received information that several ribbonmen still held
meetings in different parts of the country, took measures
to have them arrested, and on Monday night last eight of
them were taken into custody and lodged in Monaghan
gaol. Three of them were arrested for the same offence
a short time since, and escaped for want of sufficient evi-
dence to convict them. Papers connected with the sys-
tem were found on the prisoners.—Northern Standard.
NEWS FOR THE " NATION."—Two cart loads of ord-
nance stores, containing 500 stand of arms, arrived here
under a strong escort of the 16th. from Roscroa, on Satur-
day last, and proceeded on route on Monday morning,
under the escort of an officer's party of the 52d for Killa-
loe. On Tuesday, there arrived from Killaloe, under the
escort of the 52d, a quantity of ammunition to the amount
of 20,000 rounds of ball cartridge for the use of the troops
in this depot, and a like quantity to proceed to Temple-
more and Roscrea.-2Venagh Guardian.
OUTRAGE.—Two large ricks of hay, the property of the
Rev. Messrs. Grogan and Chapman, Protestant clergy-
men of Bagenalstown, were set on fire by some incenda-
ries on Thursday evening, and entirely consumed. The
fires burst out simultaneously, although both gentlemen do
not reside nearer than a quarter of a mile to each other
—strong proof of the outrage being premeditated. Pro-
videntially the night was calm, otherwise the residence of
one of the Rev. gentlemen, Mr. Chapman, and all his
chattel property would have been burnt to the ground
No reason can be assigned for the perpetration of this
horrible outrage, as both gentlemen were singularly re-
markable for their benevolent disposition—their charity
to the poor, and their kindness to their neighbours.—
Cork paper.
THE TRAVERSERS AND THE JURY.--Three out of
eight of the-traversers have taken an oath denying the
doctrine of transubstantiation, and declaring the sacrifice
of the mass to be superstitious, and are, therefore, Pro-
testants. The oath was taken voluntarily, at a mature
period of life, and with a full and perfect cognizance of its
solemnity and its stringency; and we merely advert to
the circumstance to show that it is unfair and unjust to
vilify and malign the jurors, or to describe them as men
influenced by religious animosity against persons of a
different creed—as Protestants straining points, and per-
verting facts injurious to parties, because they were Ro-
man Catholics—when three out of eight of the traversers
declared, on their oaths, sentiments and opinions much
more exclusive in thair nature and character, tha❑ any,
we understand, such as were ever expressed by the mem-
bers of the jury in the same proportion.—Dublin Mail.

DIABOLIOAL ACT.—Saturday se'nnight some evil-
disposed person, at Cork, endeavoured to injure the cargo
of the Severn steamer, the property of the Cork Steam
Company, which, however, was fortunately discovered
before going to sea, as it was intended she should sail the
next morning. The crew of the vessel observed a large
quantity of water during the morning in the hold of the
•essel, the canse of which was quite unaccountable, as she
had bee calked but a few days before, and on closer ex-
amination they remarked that it was becoming higher
every moment ; the pumps were immediately set to work,
and after great exertion they succeeded in drawing off the
water. At ebb tide, after a strict scrutiny, a large augur
hole was discovered in the after part of the vessel, and it
is conjectured that the hole was bored the night before,
the perpetrator being connected with a combination at
present existing.
A STRANGE FACT.—A soldier of the 46th depot at
Boyle, whose term of service would entitle him to a good
pension, resolved to look out for a wife, to make his even-
ing of life happy, so lie choose one, and the day for their
nuptials had been named. The young woman lad a female
friend for whom she entertained much affection, as they
had been together from infancy, and she imparted to her
the tidings of the approaching marriage. An evening or
two after they both met the intended bridegroom, and the
expectant bride remarked upon a striking resemblance
between the features of him who was to be her husband
and her young friend. The other girl became agitated,
asked the soldier a few questions, which he answered, and
then falling into his arms, exclaimed—" My father !"
It appears that twenty years ago he enlisted and left his
wife and daughter (then an infant) behind—both were
forgotten. But by looking for a wife he has found a
daughter.--Limerick Chronicle.
ABDUCTION OF AN INTENDED BRIDE.—On Sunday
night last a party of men, about five in number, went to
Vie house o' a farmer in the neighbourhood of this town,
whose daughter was betrothed, and whose marriage was
to take place before the Lent. They heat the old man of
the house very severely, and cut his hands with some
sharp instrument, and carried away the intended bride.
When about forty yards from the house, the party were
stopped by a stout young fellow from Nenagh, named
Ryan, who had been apprised of the intent, and with the
aid of a small boy, on hearing the car approaching, Ryan
knocked down the horse and spilled the whole party on
the road. They then threw the young girl over a wall
into a field for safety, and after some show of resistance,
on Ryan crying out, " come on boys, I have caught the
villains ;" they made off in various directions. Some of
the fellows are known : one has been apprehended, and
the young girl was on Monday married to her own and
her father's choice. Ryan deserves much credit for his
gallantry on this occasion.--Nenagh Guardian.