The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-09-05 00:00:00

to them in their own

these circums

provisions have become plentiful, and the popula-

tion is so diminished in numbers that there

n a difficulty in obtaining• men to get

harves

t without diverting labour from railway
It would appear, therefore, that

Irishmen have every inducement to remain in

their country

and yet what is the fact ?

The same restless desire for change still ani-

mates them

,nd, should emigration continue

for any length of time at the same rate, it will no
longer be Ireland for the Irish, but Ireland for the
English or Scotch settlers, who are supplying the
places of the absentees. It appears an anomaly
that a country possessing so many natural advan-
tages, a fertile soil, beautiful rural scenery,
navigable rivers, convenient harbours, and produc-
tive fisheries, should thus be forsaken by the
natives, and many ingenious theories might be
hazarded on the subject. We have, however, to
do more with the fact than the cause, and it may
be in some degree interesting to speculate on the
probable consequences of this vast emigration of
the population. It should be observed that it
differs altogether in kind and in degree from the
movements of our own people who have been
tempted to leave their homes in order to reap the
golden harvests of Australia, or become landed
proprietors in the fertile districts of Canada.
With us the attraction has been at the other end
of the voyage ; with them the repelling power
appears to have been at this end. They have in-
dulged in no dreams of future wealth or happi-
ness, but have fled from the land of their birth,
reckless where they went, and apparently address-
ing the vessel in the words of Childe Harold,
" I care not where thou bear'st me to,

So not again to mine."
While, however, a land being thus robbed of
her people is in itself the most direct evidence of
national decay, we have no cause for dismay, but
rather of hope, for the future which dawns upon
us. The great curse of Ireland has been that
awful Incubus of Romish superstition which kept
down the .people in a state of debasing ignorance,
a-id, tacitly suctioned by a treacherous Govern-

perpetuated a state a

eland a p.

aisery which rendere

by her popular idols as the brightest jewel in the
British Crown, she was in reality the drag-chain
which had often rendered government imprac-
ticable, and produced more Ministerial changes
than all the political squabbles with which Eng-
lishmen were ever engaged. It was the traitorous
compact with Irish rebels which enabled Lord
MELBOURNE to retain office so long, in defiance of
a majority of English Conservatives, and to the
disgrace of British legislation ; and, within the
last two years, a similar league with the enemies
of our religion and our monarchy enabled the fac-
tious coalition which now occupy the high places
of the State to overthrow the Government of Lord
DERBY. The prospect, then, is highly favourable
for the best interests of the United Kingdom.
Ireland will form a far more advantageous field
for emigration from England than either of our
colonies ; and, with the land in the possession of
Protestant settlers, we may anticipate a speedy
termination, not only to the presence of a Romish
Brigade in the House of Commons, but also to the
existence of that treasonable Romish hierarchy in
Ireland which has so long been a foul disgrace to
our national religion. Already are the Romish
priests losing the flocks upon which they relied
for their political influence and means of subsist-

the mass-houses are being deserted ; and,
as it is well known that the Church of Rome cares
little for the souls of men except so far as they
contribute to her temporal power, her insatiable
ambition, and her grasping avarice, we may shortly
expect to see the priests following the example of
their flocks. In America, however, they are shorn
of their power, for the spirit of liberty has inocu-
lated those who, in Ireland, were the most abject
tools of superstition ; and, therefore, they may
wait instructions from Rome for some new field in
which to exercise their craft, unless, indeed, in
despair of further success, they should throw off

the mask, and turn to honest labour for a main-
tenance. We have every ground for hope, if our
rulers do their duty. The grant to Maynooth
College should be withdrawn, the National Church
should be placed in a state of efficiency, in all the
schools the Holy Scriptures should be taught in
their entirety, and the act forbidding the as-
sumption of ecclesiastical titles should be rigid-
ly enforced. It is high time that we got
rid of the monstrous absurdity of admitting
the Church of `Rome to be dominant in Ireland ;
and when we have performed the obvious and im-
perative duty of putting down the gross idolatry
which is the distinguishing characteristic of Romish
worship, we may then, and not till then, indulge a
reasonable expectation that Ireland, no longer a
curse, will prove ft blessing to the United Kingdom
—our strength instead of our weakness.

THE OPENING OF ST. GEORGE'S HALL

IN the words of an old farce, " there is nothing
moving bat stagnation" in the political world, in
domestic or in foreign affairs. All that can afford
recreation are now, enjoying it to the full ;--the
public offices are shut, the lawyers are delighting
in the long vacation, the Court-martial on Lieut.
PERRY is over, and, until the verdict is declared,
the public cease to think about it ; and even the
war is in a state of lull since the exciting news of
the capture of Bomarsund. If we were to consult
our own inclinations, we should follow the example
of many of our readers, and recruit our minds and

bodies in rural retreats, as it would appear that
our London contemporaries are partially doing,
for the morning papers contain little of interest.
The English press, however, has not yet reached
that happy state in which the Americans are so
conspicuous, where an editor announces that, in
consequence of his being about to visit the Falls,
or some other autumn attraction, he shall not
publish for two or three weeks. We may fancy
the look of blank dismay with which such an an-
nouncement would be received by the readers of
the Liverpool newspapers ; but fortunately we are
not called upon to make the experiment, for, while
all the rest of the world are suffering from the
listless apathy which is, perhaps, only a consequence
of the warm weather, the public of Liverpool are
looking forward with feverish excitement to the
grand ceremonial with which the opening of St.
George's Hall will be distinguished, as one of
the most important events in the history of
the town. It is true that circumstances have
occurred to deprive us of the expected pre-
sence of our gracious SOVEREIGN, and thus
an opportunity will have been lost of display-
ing that affectionate loyalty which is the pecu-
liar characteristic of the great capital of British
commerce ; but, notwithstanding this loss, the
exquisite beauty of the magnificent building, and
the preparations which are being made to give due
to the affair and render the event memorable,
will attract thousands from all parts of the empire
to the brilliant assemblage which will be present
on the occasion. Few will be

able to conceive
)f this

without witnessing the exquisite beaut

finely-proportioned hall, while its appearance at the
opening, when filled with the elite not only of
Lancashire but of the kingdom, will far surpass
ling which has previously taken place in
Liverpool.