The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-03-25 00:00:00

STATE OF IRELAND

On Sunday, the 16th instant, a great meeting was held
at Nenagh, for the purpose of presenting to Tom Steele,
the head pacificotor, an opportunity of congratulating the
North Biding of Tipperary on the restoration of peace
and the suppression of crime. The meeting passed a re-
solution that they regarded the present state of the coun-
try with feelings of peculiar delight. On the following
day, Baron Letroy, 83 going judge of a-size, addressed
the grand jury of the Noah Riding of Tipperary, in a
charge, which, as officially representing the criminal bu-
siness to be brought before the court, may be considered
as at once an expose" of the moral condition of the baili-
wick, and a commentary on the " delight and gtatitica-
tion" of the Nenagh priest and his people. be charge
is to be found in the same columns with the resolutions
of the meeting ; and as the calendars (original and sup-
plemental) on which it is founded, record no crimes but
such as have been committed within the last six months—
i.e., since th- last assizes—it must be considered as re-
flecting exclusively a " present state of the country,"
which afforded the meeting in the chapel of Nenagh such
unqualified satisfaction. Baron Lefroy, in the course of
his charge, said—" The calendars of those in custody
contain the names of no less than one hundred and eleven
offenders, with an enumeration of aggravated crimes of
the most distressing character, and all of which, with the
exception of one, have been committed within the period
which has elapsed since the last assizes. Amongst the
offences which appear on the first calendar, we have no
less than nineteen homicides—l should not say homicides,
for of the nineteen cases, fourteen are stated as wilful
murder. There is one charged with conspiracy to mur-
der, and seven charged with firing at, with intent to mur-
der—making twenty•two cases, morally speaking, of
murder ; for the intention and carrying into effect, in a
moral point of view, are equal. Exclusive of these cases,
I find no less than forty crimes, stated to be committed
by patties of armed omen, which are offences of a serious
and aggravated character—involving, many of them, the
intention, and all of them leading to the probability, that
murder might have been committed in their perpetration.
The next class of offences is that of assaulting habitations
by night, armed—for which there are twenty-two persons
in custody—and for highway robbery, or attempts to steal
fire-arms, there are nine. Besides these, I find on the
face of the calendar all the crimes, which in an ordinary
state of society might be called the gradiora crimina;
but in this of the North Riding must be considered the
liviora crimina; outrages on females, and cattle stealing,
make the remainder of the calendar. What appears on
the face of your calendar does not constitute the entire
amount of crime committed in your district since the last
assizes. I have been furnished with a list of persons out
on bail, for offences which do not appear on the calendar,
and by it I find eighteen charged with homicides in addi-
tian to those actually in custody charged with the same
crime—others, for shooting at, appearing in arms, sending
threatening letters, and another offence which it is not
necessary to mention, amounting altogether to thirty-two
additional offences. Nor can I say that even this exhibits
a perfect picture of the crime that has been committed in
this division of your county, since last assizes. What I
have stated only gives us such criminals as have been
made amenable to justice, in custody, or out on bail. I
have seen a table of crime, which states that the number
of offenders within the last six months amounts to 653,
and of these only 164 persons have been made amenable."
At Mayo, Baron Richards, in passing sentence, a few
days ago, on the persons convicted before him, made
some very feeling and suitable observations, in consonance
with the censure which, a few years since, he found it his
duty, at the same place, to pass on those whose office it
should be to instruct the people in religion and morals :
" He regretted," he said, " to find that there was so
much crime in the county Mayo. It was true the lives
of none of the magistrates had been attempted—nor were
there such crimes as were perpetrated in some other coun-
ties; but the cause of regret was not the less. Though
the people did not take the lives of magistrates, or persons
in the upper walks, they attacked, dreadfully beat, and
murdered one another. This was not less heinous than
if they attacked and killed those above them—for the life
of a poor man and his person should be held as sacred as
that of the rich man, and should be protected. He re-
gretted also to find that the people were not improved by
the lessons they got in the house of God. But that was

not the case. In many instances, at this and other assizes
here, he found that the course of proceeding was for the
people to come hot from the house of worship to the
house rf whiskey near it, and from that begin to fight
on the public highway, and with sticks and stones attack
their fellow-creatures who had knelt with them in the
same chapel a few minutes before, and to pursue that
system until they deprived each other of life. On a for-
mer occasion he had alluded to this unfortunate custom,
and was sorry to find that it still continued. He did not
know what to attribute it to unless to the unfortunate
propensity which distinguishes this county from all others,
a propensity to indulge in the use of ardent spirits. Every
other county had, to a great extent, given up that abomi-
nable practice. It seemed that in Mayo this reformation
had made little way, if any. There were here the stun"!
drunken habits that existed in Ireland half a century be-
fore, and the high and glorious examples given in other
parts of the country had no weight here. He was ex-
tremely sorry for it, when he saw what it brought so many
men to. There was scarcely one of those murderous cases
that did not originate in it. But he hoped in God that
the day would soon come when the people would be as
free from those abominable habits as they were now un-
fortunately addicted to them."
We regret to have to add to those illustrations of a
state of the country which some people regard with feel-
ings of peculiar delight and gratification, that Leitrim is
rapidly progressing in the Tipperary fashion of peace,
quietness, and security for life and property; and that the
border districts of Roscommon and Galway exhibit an
alarming alacrity in the same course.

PROGRESS OF PROTESTANTISM IN IRELAND

On Thursday, the Rev. Mr. Gayer, rector of Ventry,
recovered at the Kerry Assizes £4O damages against the
Xerry Examiner for a series of gross libels in that paper.
We give the following evidence with a view of showing on
testimony the most convincing the progress which the re-
formation is making in the county of Kerry :
The Rev. Thomas Moriarty examined—ls a clergyman
of the united Church of England and Ireland ; is so seven
years; has been officiating as curate at Ventry and Dun-
quin ; Mr. Gayer is the rector of Ventry; knows the pa-
rish of Kilrnalkeader ; Mr. Gayer is the curate of Kil-
malkeadee and assistant curate of Dingle : has been resi-
ding in the neighbourhood of Dingle ; knows the Blaskett
Islands ; they belong for all practical purposes to the pa-
rish of Dunquin; Iss formerly a Roman Catholic; it is
thirteen or tourteen years since I ceased to be a Roman
Catholic; is about 32 years of age; is married ; recollects
when Mr. Gayer came to Dingle; he was then a clergy-
man ; came as assistant-curate to Lord Ventry ; it is over
eleven years since be came there first ; there was then but
a very small church in Dingle it has been since three
times enlarged ; two churches have since been built in that
district; there were no churches then in several parishes
(which witness mentioned); school-houses have been
erected ; adults and children attend these schools and are
freely taught; there are six beautiful school-houses, the
finest in Munster; there are proper schoolmasters and
mistresses appointed to these &chools ; they have been
built by funds collected by Mr. Gayer; all were built by
contributions but one, to which the Ecclesiastical Com-
tnissioners gave help; the moneys were expended under
Mr. Gayer's superintendence, and Mr. Thompson's, and
my owl, ; I believe on my oath that Mr. Gayer is incapa-
ble (as charged by one of the libels) of appropriating these
collections to his own use; I know that Mr. Gayer has
suffered in his own means by these expenses; I know he
has given much attention and extraordinary labour to the
building of these churches and schools ; several persons,
Protestant and Roman Catholic, as well as converts, were
employed in these buildings; converts, who, because they
were such, could not get eueployment any where else, were
engaged at these works ; the Roman Catholic people of
the !Mask, tt Islands were prevented from working at these
buildings ; all my services are performed in Irish ; I preach
in Irish ; baptize in I. ish. bury the dead in Irish, and I
am myself an Irishman ; is aware that persons who were
Roman Catholics are now members of the Irish church—
I mean the Established Church ; to my belief there are
now in the whole district more than 800 souls who have
been added to the Protest ut Church within the last ten
years ; attended the deathbeds of many of them—of six-
teen of them within the last six years—who died to all ap-
pearance sincere professors of tile Protestant faith : this
change has been amongst persons of all classes ; was ac-
quainted with Mr. Brasbie ; he cane there first as a Ro-
wan Catholic priest ; was present when he conformed to
the Protestant Church ; 'tis six or eight months'

some of the converts were of the humblest class ; some of
them have suffered a great deel ; myself and Mr. Gayer
have administered to them temporal relief, and to num-
bers of the Roman Catholics; cottages have been erected
for the protection of the poor converts; is aware of the
great difficulty which the converts experience in support-
ing themselves ; James Gloster is my scripture reader in
the parish of Dunquin, and at. Dunerlin James Sullivan ;
some of the poor converts are cottiers who used to get
their living by planting con-acre; they as converts, ha ,re
not been able to get the con-acre to plant their potatoes,
and are in consequence reduced to great poverty ; I know
a man iaho was a shoemaker and a convert, and he bought
twenty-five pounds' worth of leather to make shoes, and
to follow his trade, but he could not get custom in his
trade, and be has been obliged to conform to the Roman
Catholic religion again ; I can state on oath that he
bought the leather with his money, and could not get a
sale for it in his tr,de ; I know another man and his ap-
prentice who were kept idle and unable to get leather to
buy, because they were converts; I know horn my own
knowledge and experience that a convert can't get em-
ployment ; my own life and the lives of the 'converts were
often in danger; we were pelted with stones because we
were converts; we were hooted and hissed at, and called
opprobrious names for the same cause; gave no provoca-
tion whatever, but we were so pelted at and treated when
passing along the road ; I am called Thomaush un Neaugh,
or Tom of the Lies ; we are called " soupers;" my family
are called names; we are called "devils" and that it is a
pity to let us walk the road : Mr. Gayer has been often
abused in my own company ; I have seen some of the
converts much injured ; never saw them give any provo-
cation; was not present at the pelting of Mr. Brasbie;
was present when they shouted after him Brashie un
Eneauch, or Brasbie the Liar ; in the parish of Ventre
there are 38 families of converts, they consist of about 190
son's; in Dunquin and Blasketts there are 25 families,
maki og, 120 souls; in all over 300 souls; some of the con-
verts have gone back to the Church of Rome ; three fami-
lies in my charge have gone back ; several have emigra-
ted ; over 150 children at end my schools; I think the
knowl:dge of the people has much improved these six
years past; the converts have free communication with
their relatives, except when the latter are ashamed to
speak or be seen with them ; Mr. Gayer has Roman Ca-
tholics in his employment; I assisted him for three years
in giving relief to all Protestants and Roman Catholics ;
there are now 350 or 360 more Protestants in Dingle alone
than there were when I was there.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

BETTING AT TATTERSALL'S-THUKSDAY

CHESTER CUP.
12 to 1 agst Mr. A. Johnstone's Obscurity (taken)
12 1 Mr. Jacques's Serniseria
13 1 Mr. W. H. Johnstone's The Era
13 1 Mr. W. Scott's Cataract
25 1 Mr. Bell's Winesour
25 1 Duke of Richmond's Strahsphey
30 1 Mr. Stebbings's Celeste
33 1 Mr. Davis's Yheoman ac Knuck (taken)
40 1 Mr. Hesseltine's Fitzallen
40 1 Mr. I. Day's Portrait
40 1 Mr. Cuthhert's Queen of Tyne
40 1 Mr. Irwin's Ould Ireland
50 1 Mr. Ongley's Mystery
60 1 Mr. Plummer's Alice Hawthorn
66 1 Mr. Irwin's Faugh.a.Ballagh (taken)

THE DERBY

10 to 1 agst Mr. Greville's Alarm (taken to £2OO, and
afterwards offered)
15 1 Lord Stradbroke's Idas
15 1 Mr. Ferguson's Clear the-way (taken)
16 1 Colonel Anson's Kedger
20 1 Col. Peel's Cobweb colt (taken, and after-
wards offered)
20 1 Lord Chesterfeld's Pam
22 1 Lot d Chesterfield's Newsmonger
25 1 Lord Glasgow's Miss Whip colt (taken, and
afterwards offered)
30 1 Mr. St. Paul's Mentor
30 1 Mr. Mostvn's Pantasa
33 1 Mr. A. W. Hill's Ironmaster (all in. taken)
40— 1 Mr. Gully's Old England (taken to £150)
40 1 Mr. A. Johnstone's Annandale (taken)
50 1 Mr. Lintoff's Cabin 13ov (taken)
50 1 Mr. Coleman's Young Eclipse (taken)