Weekly national intelligencer., 1848-10-07
NOTES on EUROPEAN AFFAIRS.


tnct of the real character Of events thus hastily
transmitted to them; the more especially as the
present rapidity of communication induces people
rather TO wait with expectation for fresh intelligence
than to sift and correct the old. Feeling constantly
of late this state Of things, and anxious to redress it,
we know not how better TO do il than by offering
to our friends, from time to time, a commentary
upon the aspect of things abroad, such as they APP
pear 10 ourselves.
The chief interest of the moment attaches itself,
through the revived reports of commotion in IRE
LAND, to the political prospects Of that unfortunate
country. In regard 10 it. we are in .he condition in
which we apprehend great part Of the people Of this
country to be: that is to say, we sympa,hize deeply
with all that Ireland suffers, and has so long suffer-
ed; but we doubt the possibility Of her liberation
except as work of peace and of time. Upon the
long agitation of O. CoNNELL, We have looked with
doubt and fear, as certain TO end in an attempt at
armed resistance and that we have constantly
thought hopeless, against the power Of the British
Empire. Thus far, we have proved to be right
nor do the last accounts of nsurrcction-accounts
which strike us as the manifest inventions of ru-
NOR founded on some slight local disturbance
only-in the smallest degree alter our presages of
the event. The British Government is too strong,
too well-prcpared, too polite and too resoue, no,
to be able to foil the readiness Of all these i'll
concerted Irish attempts, which to all other causes
of failure-want of means, want of discipline, want
of counsel-join fatal want of unity in the only
power THAT Of the Pries.hood) which might WELD
the Catholic population. 1t is evident that the
Government-far too wary for the party of Insur-
recton--has at last begun conciliate and to draw
to it the power, using for this purpose
overtures of endowment; while, on the other hand,
the spirit and many Of the avowals of the Young
Ireland men have taught the Priesthood to dread
the meditated revolution one which is too largely
French in its principles, and will, if once success
fu in the demolition Of the Civil power, speedily
60 on to uproot the Religious. II is clear, in short,
that the weight of the Catholic Church has been,
in the late conjuncture, thrown against the O'Bren
party, whom the Clergy either distrust as rash and
incapable or fear as radical and nfdel in their ten
denotes. Nor is it to the Clergy alone that their
temper has given alarm the men of property also
have grown frightened at the Agrarian doctrines or
threats of havoc and pillagc which the bad portion
Of the Revoutoniss are breathing into the infamcd
multitude. The O'Connell or Moral Force" party,
on the contrary, better advised, knew the necessity
of maintaining the most perfect union with the
Clergy and its leaders, as not only the most popular
but the best-inforsned and most capable influence in
Ireland; veatured no measures nor no doctrines
which might ALLEVIATE them, and were probably es-
pecialy on their guard against giving the Govern
ment any opportunity Of dverting from their move
ment either the Irish ecclesiastical body or the
Papsl control over it. From the moment when the
" Physical Force" (the Brien) party lost sight Of
this policy, broke this union not only with the
O'Connell men aud the landlords but with the
Church, and offered the English an opening for
tempting the Pope (who has an eye to the spread
Of Catholicism through the rest Of the British do
mnions) to reestablish friendly political relations
with them, $50 long unknown,) it not difficult to
see that nearly every thing which might have rem
dered resistance formidable was lost, and that
nothing could come of except useless bloodshed.
Meantime, another powerful cause-fanine--has
been at work, both TO infame the existing discon-
tent and to make ii abortve. The want of food
greatly aided Agitation, and Agitation has had some
thing to do with the want OF food for continual po-
liical excitement among people so cl,sely pressed
for subsistence has no doubt stolen much from the
hours OF labor OF great multitudes. But the scsci-
ty il il has made Ireland more desperate, has at the
same time made her more helpless. In like manner
of the disturbances and violences over the country
generally; they sprang partly from wretchedness,
partly from that unhappy proneness to bloodshed
which long national resentmcnts have engendered,
partly from the practices Of those who thought
setting on the population to acts Of vengeance and
death was the sure means of bringing about Liberia
ton, by rousing Rebellion but disturbance and
violence have only deepcned the popular misery,
by rendering life and property insecure, driving
away capital and employment, dsheartening the
efforts Of the humane, and diverting to mea-
sures Of repression that public care and those
public resources which might else have been
bestowed upon plans Of amelioraton. All these
things considered, and the manifest, the ascer-
tained impossibility Of Irelands a. present achev
ing her freedom by arms, we are, however reluc-
tantly, forced to conclude that continued nsurrec
ton there would be thing only to be deplored
that pacilication is to her the sole means of good
that the wise and patriotic part for those who love
o,I ,nN bnr loLo