22 JULY 1848, Page 6

IRELAND.

The Government in Dublin is making rapid advances in its measures against the rebellions agitation: Dublin, Waterford, and Cork, have been "proclaimed"; but before stating the official proceedings, it will be well to relate the last provocatives.

The Cork Constitution reports a review of the Cork Clubs by Mr. Smith CYBrien, on Tuesday the 11th instant, that has both dramatic and political Interest.

"The place appointed as the review field was that piece of ground behind the Corn Market and adjoining the City Park, known by the name of the Monerea Marsh. At seven o'clock, the Clubs began to arrive at the end of the South Ter- race; and, having been passed by tickets into the salt and lime-works yard of J. J. O'Connor, were drawn up according to precedence. They

moved up, in sections of two deep, each section numbering from 40 to 100 flanked by persons apparently in command, and whose orders were given by signs. Each section, as it arrived at a certain point of the road, passed in review in front of its superior officer." By eight o'clock all the sections bad arrived. A band then advanced at quick-march playing a military air, and preceding a vehicle containing Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Denny Lane, Mr. Shea Lawlor, and Mr. Shine Lalor. Presently Mr. O'Brien ordered the sections to march to the Monerea Marsh, and draw up in line. " The order was quickly obeyed; they all drew up in military line; and he passed along with his staff, each man as he passed putting the index finger of the right hand to his hat or cap in salute. Mr. O'Brien then took up a prominent position; and the Clubs marched two deep in review before him, headed by their Presidents, flanked by the Secretaries, and closed by the Vice-Presidents. As each Club passed, the President announced its name, and all gave the salute. Mr. O'Brien watched cautiously to see that each man gave the salute; and whenever a party forgot to do so, he rebuked him, occasionally saying, Just touch your hats as you walk along.' The St. Patrick's Club having halted in front of him for a moment, he cried out, ' Do move along; and when you meet the other Club, turn to the East, as I want to see what kind of men the patriots of Ireland are.' On one of the Clubs passing, he remarked on the number of young boys in it; to which Town- Councillor Mullen replied, ' We are particular to enrol none under sixteen years of age, and all these will be found to come up to that.' Mr. O'Brien having dis- approved, of the order in which a club marched, one of the members said, We want a little discipline yet, Sir; but we are willing to learn.' Mr. O'Brien said, in an authoritative tone, ‘1Keep up your places, and be silent!' A woman rushed for- ward, and exclaimed,' Three cheers for the King of Munster Mr. O'Brien replied, Not yet—not yet—no shouting—no shouting.' The Clubs were composed of tradesmen with one exception, that of the Mercantile Assistants Club; the ma- jority of whose members were shop-clerks in the drapers' establishments in this city. The review having terminated, Mr. S. O'Brien and his staff mounted a heap of rubbish; and fronting the Lunatic Asylum, he was presented with an address from the Southern district. The address was read by Mr. Ralph Varian, Secre- tary of the Southern Council." Mr. O'Brien replied at considerable length. He thanked the Clubs for the extreme regularity, order, and precision the sections had observed, and enforced strongly the importance of subordination and sub- mission to control. The review then terminated, and the Clubs departed silently in marching order.

On Monday, Mr. Smith O'Brien was met at the Railway station of Drogheda by an immense assemblage of the trades and working classes of the town, who marched in procession carrying the banners of several town guilds. Mr. O'Brien spoke in guarded phrase; hinting that "the last means of justifying a great nation" were very near. As he ceased, ob- serving that the crowd was very dense and that many were suffering from pressure, he recommenced, and improved the occasion-

" I am anxious, from what I see here, to persuade you that it is of the utmost importance that you should observe the most perfect order at all your pnblic meetings. I met in Cork the other day above 10,000 people, of whom 2,000 be- longed to the Clubs. The 8,000 were pressing on each other, while the 2,000 took up their places in regular order, and really looked more numerous and im- posing than the mass who were so irregular; and they walked—for we must not say marched' in these times—in a manner that commanded the highest ad- miration."

He told a circumstance which suggested a new and important office for the Club organisation- " In the county of Cork last week, a member of a club in Bantry rode forty miles in one night for the purpose of conveying a letter to me. It would appear to me that the time is coming, or has perhaps arrived, when communication by post may become unsafe. I am not sure that my own letters are not opened. I believe the letters of others are. Therefore, if I wanted to send a letter from Dublin to Donegal, I should wish to see such an establishment of Clubs through the country, that it could be passed from hand to hand without giving any man the tremble of going ten miles with it, or causing him any inconvenience or ex- pease."

Mr. Meagher and Mr. Doheny have been as busy in Tipperary as Mr. O'Brien in Limerick and Drogheda. A true bill having been found on the 13th, bythe Limerick Grand Jo:yr against Mr. Meagher, for sedition spoken at Rathkeale, be attended be court, proeured a copy of the indictment, and obtained time to plead or. traverse. [Subsequently he slid traverse; • which defers his trial till March. next.] Sir Colman O'Loghlen and Mr. Butt were retained as his coun- sel. In the evening, an-immense crowd gathered in,front of Cruise's Hotel, where he lodged, and solicited a speech. Mr. Meagher complied. Alluding to the hostility shown to him, and to one now an illustrious exile, on A late occasion, he said lie would hold out his hand to every man who would strike the common foe, and would recognize no common foe but the English Government. For his own part, he felt his position to be very secure; and he was resolved it should continue to be so; for it would not do to have all the leaders inside New- gate and all the people outside. Ireland should not lose his help through any in- discretion of his.

He gave a graphic narrative of his arrest and imminent rescue by the people at Waterford. "When I was arrested in Waterford, I was engaged for four hours endeavouring to prevent a most desperate attempt to rescue me. The people of Waterford were to a man, ay, and to a woman, with me. I was obliged to give a passport to the Chief of.Police who so politely arrested me—the people were gra- ciously pleased to accept it, and received it as a genuine document, and did it all honour by allowing that gentleman to pass. (Cheers and laughter.) In my way from Waterford, I was honoured by an escort of her Majesty's troops—a few troops of dragoons and a company of the Fifth Fusiliers. That is a greater guard of honour than the Judges have. (Laughter.) When I arrived at the bridge of Waterford, a barrier, which I by no means anticipated, presented itself to my further progress. On coming to the first gate, I saw the barricades. (Vociferous cheering.) They were constructed of large beams of timber, piled over one another, and placed across the bridge. At my solicitation these were removed. On arriving at the other side of the bridge, I found the peas ige completely block- ed up by the people. The women were there and the young girls, with bare arms, ready to defy death—ready to brave the Sa;on sabre and bayonet. (Loud cheers.) They clung round the carriage, caught hold of the spokes and wheels, and en- treated me to let them at them, and swore in the face of Heaven that I should not leave Waterford. (Loud cheering.) However, I prevented the rescue and its consequences, though that noble people would have been regardless of blood and life in effecting this object. On the part I acted on that trying occasion I look back with pride and pleasure; it gives a contradiction to the imputation cast upon me, that I wished to shed the blood of the people." Mr. Meagher ended with this propitiation of Limerick—" If in the beginning of my career I have been opposed to the great head of the Repeal movement, the only reparation in my power to make him—the only tribute I can cast in the grave of our illustrious countryman, is the ambition I feel to plant upon his coffin the green flag of Irish independence." (Cheers.) On Friday week, there was another gathering and speechmaking; in the course of which Mr. Meagher described the beautiful scenery of the neigh- bourhood. He invoked the spirits of the former occupants of some ruins he had seen; and contrasted their poeition with the scathed slaves who were now its proprietors.

A Voice—"Norbury is dead." Mr. Meagher—" Did you ever hear of the resurrection of the damned?"

On Sunday, Mr. Meagher attended a review of " sections " in the Shia- vaaamon mountains. He was accompanied by Mr. Doheny, who had been liberated from Nenagh prison the day before, on bail. Mr. Doheny came Upon the ground in a barouche and four, with his wife: he was dressed in a showy uniform of green and gold, and mounted a charger to review the Clubs. Thence Mr. Meagher made a sort of progress, by Carriok-on-Suir, to Waterford; the populace displaying a turbulent sympathy.

Three Club leaders were arrested by the Police at Carrick-on-Suir, on Monday; but released under intimidation— "Two gentlemen, Messrs. O'Donnell and Mandeville, went armed before the Magistrate, and told him that the country was rising, and that if he wished to avoid a rebellion he had better liberate the prisoners, who would come forward at any time to stand their trial for any charge that might be made against them.

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As n twenty minutes a force would arrive in Carrick which would annihilate the garrison it was deemed prudent to comply with the request, and the prisoners were restored to their homes; and thus alone was Carrick, and perhaps Ireland, saved from bloodshed for the present."

At Cork, on Tuesday, three leading Confederates—MeIsaac S. Varian, Mr. J. W. Burke, and Mr. John O'Brien—were arrested on a charge of "uttering seditious words against the government of our Lady the Queen"; but were admitted to bail. They were escorted home from the Police- office by a crowd of admirers.

A report that Dr. Kane, a leader of Confederates at Kilkenny, was to be arrested, caused a commotion in that city on Monday. A mob assembled to prevent the execution of the warrant, and "barricades" were erected at some points. When the report was found to be erroneous, the commotion sttbsicled.

On Monday it was understood in Dublin that the Lord-Lieutenant was about to pay the customary visit for the season to London; but on Tues- day a Privy Council was hastily summoned, and the visit was understood to-have been deferred: it is now said that Lord Clarendon will not leave Ireland at all. The result of the deliberations in Council appeared on Tuesday evening, in the shape of proclamations declaring the districts in the subjoined list to be placed under the operation of the Crime and Out- rage Act.

The county of the city of Dublin; to take effect from Thursday, the 20th instant. The county of Dublin; from the same day. The baronies of Kilculliheen, Middlethird, and Gaultiere, in the county of Waterford; from the 22d instant 'Ile City of Waterford. The county of the city of Cork; from the 22d instant. The baronies of Cork, Fermoy, and Condons, and Clongibbons, in the county of Cork; from the 22d instant The county of the town of Drogheda; from the 22d instant

Some light is thrown on the appearance of these proclamations by a statement in the Dttblin Evening Post— "In the course of the last five months, from every part of the country, from England as well as from Ireland, and, above all, from an immense number of our own citizens, the utmost pressure has been applied to induce the Government to proclaim Dublin. This pressure has been steadily resisted, because the Govern- ment, having means of complete information at their command, deemed that such a Step was not called for." * • * "We know, and our readers will under- stand that we speak from authority, that the Government has information of the conspiracy meditated by a few desperate men, not only to defeat the ends of justice, but by force to subvert all law and order, and to engage this country in a deadly social struggle—in a word, by means precisely identical with those em- ployed in France, to bring about in Ireland the same ruin, and anarchy, and bloodshed, as at Paris."

A revolutionary document which has come within range of the Cork Constitution further explains the movement: it was a circular read at some Clubs in Cork, and probably addressed to the Clubs throughout the coun- try; and the journalist states that the information from which he wrote had been transmitted to the Lord-Lieutenant "The circular bears the signature of one of the 'felons' now in custody. It was directed to the President of each Club; gave sundry instructions respecting the organization; and exhorted all to be ready against, we understand, the 8th of Atigust. Some of the ' Confederates ' deny, we are told, that the 8th of August was specified, but admit that the circular intimated that a day would be appointed. At present there are said to be 182,000 of them armed, ammunitioned, and dril- led, and waiting but the word tense. "When the signal for slaughter is raised, each Club is to fall to, in its own neighbourhood, in order to baffle the military and police, who will necessarily be 80 concentrated as to be unable to meet the rebellion at every point; and when any Club has conquered resistance in its district—that is, assassinated all the Loyalists who dwell there—then it is to assist any neighbouring Club in want of aid. Some thousands of the rebels, it is calculated, will be cut down in this sort of warfare; but the extent of the insurrection, they expect, will notwithstanding insure its triumph—in their own language, they may fail in hundreds of places; but they will succeed in thousands."

Government have despatched 200 of the Police to Waterford, by steam- ship; and they have chartered a steam-ship to convey troops to Belfast and Cork.

The following is an official return of the Army at present in Ireland, with the stations of the regiments.

First Dragoon Guards, Cahir; Sixth Dragoon Guards, Dundalk; Second Dra- goons, Athlone; Fourth Light Dragoons, Newbridge; Sixth Ditto,Zublin; Se- venth Hussars, Dublin; Eighth Hussars, Ballincollig; Twelfth Lancers, Cork; Thirteenth Light Dragoons, Longford.; Seventeenth Lancers, Dublin; First Foot, Second Battalion, Birr; Second Ditto, Dublin; Third, Belfast; Sixth, Second Bat- talion, Youghal; Thirteenth, Newry; Twenty-sixth, Cork; Thirty-first, Ath- lone; Fortieth, Galway; Forty-first, Buttevant; Forty-third, Templemore ; Forty- seventh, Clonmel; Forty-eighth, Dublin; Forty-ninth, Dublin; Fifty-fifth, Dah- lia; Fifty-seventh, Enniskillen; Fifty-ninth, Templemore ; Sixty-fourth, Lime- rick; Sixty-eighth, Mellinger; Seventieth, Cork; Seventy-first, Dublin; Seventy- fourth, Dublin; Seventy-fifth, Dublin; Eighty-third, Kilkenny; Eighty-fifth, Dublin; Ninety-second, Limerick; the depot companies of the Seventh Foot, Waterford; the Nineteenth, Castle bar; the Tri;rty-fourth, Nenagh: Thirty-eighth, Boyle; Sixty-sixth, Kinsale; Seventy-third, Birr; Seventy-seventh, Fermoy; Seventy-ninth, Mullingar; Eighty-eighth, Tralee; Ninety-fifth, Londonderry. In addition to the preceding, there are detachments of Artillery Pensioners, Sappera and Miners, &c., which, with the armed Police, would give a force of about 45,000 men.

The Orange processions in Ulster on the 12th, the anniversary of the battle of the Boyne, passed off peaceably. They were held in all parts of the Northern province, chiefly with the object of exhibiting hostility to the Repeal agitation. On some of the banners were inscribed, "No Repeal— Queen and Constitution—No Surrender."

At the close of the election for the borough of Sligo, the numbers polled were—Somers, 102; Hartley, 90; Ball, 87. Mr. Somers, a professed Re- pealer, was declared duly elected.

Rather alarming accounts of the spreading of the potato disease have been received in Dublin from Cork and other districts. The Cork Ex- aminer mentions various instances of the blight in a decided form; but adds, "As yet, the public have no cause for alarm."

At Roscommon Assizes, on Saturday, Patrick Hasty, convicted of conspiring to murder Major Mahon, and Owen Byrne, convicted of conspiring to murder the Reverend John Floyd, were sentenced to be hanged on the 8th of August. At the same Assizes, James Commies was tried for taking part in the con- spiracy to murder Major Mahon. The same evidence was given tor the prosecu- tion and the defence as in Hasty's case; but the Jury could not agree, and they were locked up all night. Next day they remained unchanged and discordant in opinion; and the Foreman being ill, they were discharged; but Commies was detained in prison.

In the latest edition of last week's Spectator we mentioned that a prosecution for sedition, instituted against Messrs..M‘Ghee, of the Nation, and Mr. Holly- wood, a Club emissary, had fallen through, from some neglect or insufficiency of evidence, which caused the Grand Jury to ignore the bill of indictment. The case now appears in a light still more discreditable to the persons officially con- cerned. The seditious speeches on which the prisoners were charged were ut- tered on Sunday the 2d July; but the informations were not lodged till Wednes- day the 12th. The arrest was made on that evening; and the prisoners were bound over to take trial next day at Wicklow, thirty miles off. They appeared at Wicklow next day, and found that the Grand Jury had been discharged the day before—seven hours before themselves were taken into custody !