The Northern Whig, of Belfast, refers to Mr. O'Connell's recent
declaration that Ministers were desirous of taking the Lyndhurst Cor- poration Bill for Ireland, as an unquestionable confirmation of the truth of their own statement, in the beginning of October last, to the same effect. The 'Ministerial journels ate reminded of their positive contradiction of that statement. The Morning Chronicle said- .. In is utter'y false, that the Mitiisters, or any of them, contemplated, for a momeut, the acceptance of the Irish Municipal Bill, shorn of every popular provisiou. awl a HAL its very heart plucked out, as it eaule from the butcherly hands of Lord Lyndhurst. The story is as absurd and as wicked a farication as that of the Ribbon conspiracy, which the Standard /MUMS Iris gulls in the country has branches iu the Castle of Dublin, awl ramilkatious in the Muse of Commons. We acquit the Northern Whig of the invention ; but we cannot so easily excuse it 1hr opening its columns, nail such facility, to statements a Welt a journal like the Standard devours with so keen an appe- tite. Nobody that recolkcts the speech of Lord John Russell, alien the ntutilated and murdered measure came dos in from the House of Mischief, would give an instant's credence to the tale in question. We repeat, again, that the Ribbon plot, or soy given assertion of the most unscrupulous parson at a Tory tlittuer, is not more destitute of foundation, or a shadow of foundation A statemeut mere vowelless has not appeared in the culumns of the Standard ascii', for the last taelventouth; and now we have exhausted our poners of expressing the degree of variance that subeists between the story of the Northern Whig, and the real state of facts."—Afurnine Chronicle.
The Exantiner vouched for the Chronicle's truth- " We cement with the Morning Chronicle itt considering the statement of the Northern Whig, eagerly caught at by tie-Standard, that ' Mittisters had made Up their minds to accept the Irish Municipal Bill of last session, as returned by the blouse of Lords,' to
be utterly tb stitute of foundation."—London Examiner.
Now what says Mr. O'Connell?— I much apprehended that some fatality would have attended this bill of Jackson's, or I feared the spirit of ceucession and conciliation which the Ministry have exhibited to their opponents. For you. Mr. Maher, may renietuber—for you were present—that it was owing to my intervention the miscalled Corporate Reform Bill tons not accepted by the Oorerament, as it came down in alt its odious iniquity from the House of Lords. lint that I attended at the Home Office, aatt absolutely threw myself upuu the corn- passion of the English and Scotch Liberal Members, the abuses of that unreformed bill would have been perpetuated."—From the Freeman's Report (I Atr. O'Connell's Speech.
The Northern Whig, thus fortified, turns upon the Ministerial journalists, and hits them hard- .. What sill the hacks say to this? Is this as absurd and wicked a fabrication' tts the assertion, that there are Ribbon lodges iu Dublin Castle ? Will the Chronicle again ' exhaust its puwers of expressing the degree of variauce that subsists between the story and the real state of facts?' Ant will the credulous autl geutle Eraminer concur in believiug the %hole to be 'utterly destitute of foundation? ' We suspect nut. We luau Mr. O'Cuutiell's distinct declaration. Mr. Maher, also, who was appealed to, is an assenting witness; and two other Liberal Members, Messrs. Power and Talbot, who, there is no doubt, knew all about the matter, were present and heard the statement in silence. We sty, then, that our evidence is complete; and we now direct against our accusers, or those who crammed thent for the occasion, the charge of wilfhl fiatehood! Either outs party or the other, if uot bath, must have been imam of the truth ; aud they eau appropriate the honour of the fraud acandiug to their merits."
The denial of the Ministerial " hacks," as the Northern IVhig very appropriately terms the journals, was the more impudent as at the time it was notorious that Ministers did endeavour to prevail upon their supporters to take the Lyndhurst bill. In the first page of the Spectator of August the 4th, the fact was thus stated- " It is understood that at a confidential meeting of Irish Members with Lord John Russell, the Whig leader endeavoured to prevail upon his usually unscru-
pulous supporters to accept, with little alteration, the measure as it came from the Lords. But he only partially succeeded."
We do not recollect that the slightest contradiction was given at the time; but two months afterwards falsehood was considered safe, and the vehement denial of the" backs" appeared.
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