The Late Visit Of Mr. Can...
The Times, 1824-10-04T00:00:00

DUXJLII, WaD91-5DAY, SEPT. 2W. lome days having now elapsedl singe Mr. Canning took' his depa.rfure for England, you will beg probably curious to learn what are the results anticipated by the good people of Dublin from the Right Hon. G:entkeman's visit amongst them. In truth, however, these arc so various, and many of them so wild, that it would be quite ridiculous on mY part to attempt communicating a tenth of them; but i shall endeavour to inention a few of the least extrava4ant notions speculated upoU by persons possessing pretensions to intelligence. In the first place, there are some who think that Mir. Canning, after Ihaving been an eye-witness of the appalling state ot desolation an(d poverty in which this once busv metropolis is plunged, cannot possibly avoid, if he really has the interests of this country at heart, exerting his powerful influence forthwith in procuring a repeal of the act of Union. He must see, they say, that thlis, and this alone, by bringing back her landlords, and compelling them to spend at least a portion of their rents at hoTne, can save the island from sinking into total decay. This notion is rejected by otlhers, who argue, that even if there were no other objection to such a rneasure, the certain ma- jority which the Irish nmembers always enable the Minister to commanm in the Imperial Parliament whenever he is de- sirous of carrying an unpopular question, would be a reason sufficiently potent to prevent the English Cabiiet from ever assenting to such a proposition. But then, say these persons, this objection does nnt apply to an ex- pedient which would be attendcd with effiects quite as be- neficial, or more so, to the people here-namely, that of procuring the Imperial Parliament to hold its session in Diblin once in three years or so. This would not only have the effect of retaining in Irelaud much Irish property which would otherwise have been withdrawn from it, but also of producing a periodical influx of English wealth to combine with it in once more giving life and spirit to the drooping trade and manufactures of this country. Then, again, this idea is met with the observation, that it is quite absurd to suppose that the people of London would ever submit to forego the ad-:antages derived by themn from the presence of' the Leg,islatre, in favour of a people who,when they had a Parliament of their own, did not know how to retain it. The Catholics flatter themselves with a hope of the speedy annibilation of the Orange party, in conse- quence of their offensive display before Mr. Canning in 'ollege-green, and their rejection of tne Lord Mayor's proposal to presant a complimentary a(ldress to the Foreign Secretary upon his arrival, which cannot fail, they think, to draw down the vengeance of the Right Honourable Gen- tleman upoIn their heads, in the shape of a bill next session, requiring every person, before he can be installed in any office of power or emolument, to swear that he is not a mnemnber of any Orange Association. To be sure, it could not well be proposed without the appearance of gross par- tiality, to exClude the members of Orange Associa- tions, without also excluding the members of the Ca- tholic Association; but I assure you there are very many respectable and zealous Catholics here, who would most willingly purchlase the extirpation ef the for- mer,- even at the expense of the extinction oe the latter. The Orangemen, on the otber hand, are quite triumphant at the opinion expressed by Mr. Canning in disapprobation of 4Os. votes, which,were any measure to be founded upoII it, would be nearly altogether confined in its operation to Ca- tholic electors, nine-tenths of the 40s. frecholders being members of that persuasion. In short, it would be quite endless to go through the various anticipations grounded upon an occurrence which, after all, may turn out to be productive of no ether efFlct than that of having furnished food for much idle conjecture. If any more important con- sequence flow from it, it is likely to be that looked for by the more sensible and unprejudiced persons here; and that is, that Mr. Canning will feel a stronger disposition than before to seize every occasion of increasin- the commercial a(lvantages of Ireland, and particularly or Dublin, as well as take a deeper interest in the general prosperity of this important but neglected branch of his NMaster s dominions. le has now, thanks to the consideration anti attention of lMIr. Ablerman Fmith, witnessed such scenes of poverty and wretchedness in the very heart of the metropolis of the most fertile islanil of Europe, as no description could have conveyed to him an adecquate conception of; he has beheld the numerous inanufactories of the Liberty,once the seat of wealth and industry, fast crumbling into ruin, whilst the poor tradesmen, to whom they formnerly gave employment andl bread, are existing (not living), six or eight, with their families, in each shattered old room, upon the miserable fruits of mendicaney; lie has observed the streets desertcd, and the shops empty; he has seen the Orange Lodges bul-; lying, and almost heard the Catholic Association bellowinig; and if all this does not awaken his strongest compassion for this unhappy counitry, it would be difficult to say what could. The new Lordl Mayor's dinner takes place to-morrow; but he professes an anxiety to avoid&every thing calculated to give it a political complexion. I have seen the list of toasts, and " The Glorious iMemory" is omitted. Amongst them I observed the names of the Lord-Lieutenant, the Attorney-General, iMr. Canning, Mr. Blake, &c., wvhichi so far argues an intention on the pait of the Liord Mayor to act upon liberal principles. His Lordship, however, is by no rmeans an intelligent, although he is a wealthy man; and hc has already contrived to fall out wilth one of the Sheriffs, by refusing him a dlinner-ticket for one of his friends-a want of courtesy of which he has been also guilty towards the gentlemeni connectedl with the London press. TItE LAkE ViSIT OF M2. CA NlVCY.