27 JANUARY 1849, Page 4

IRELAND.

At the prize-distribution meeting of the Royal Dublin Society, on Saturday last, the Lord-Lieutenant, the Archbishop of Dublin, Lord Roden, Sir William Hamilton, and a numerous assemblage of other distinguished persons were present. The Lord-Lieutenant himself presented the prizes to the pupils; and after having completed that part of the day's business, delivered an address, in his usual style of hearty stimulus to independent exertion.

He hoped that the effects of the winos mirabilis of disaster were now passing away, and trusted that the succession of the reign of order to that of terror on the Continent was now gradually creating an improved demand for Irish products. Lord Clarendon made a pleasing announcement. "It may be in your recol- lection, that in the course of the few remarks which I last year made in this room, I expressed those feelings of regret which I believe to be common to us all, that no Schools of Design had yet been established in Ireland. I stated to you, that on various occasions the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been applied to, and that his answer was `no effects'; and I likewise promised that every • exertion of mine should be used for securing that object which we all have so much at heart. My pledge has been redeemed; and although the Chancellor of the Exchequer might, I believe, with equal or even with greater truth have this last year returned the same answer as before, yet effects have been found, and schools of design are about forthwith to be established not only at Dublin but at Belfast and at Cork. And as the arrangement consequent on this determination has been confided by the Government to me, I will take this opportunity of an- nouncing that I propose to place the Dublin School of Design in connexionwith the Royal Dublin Society. The accommodation which I have no doubt will be afforded to it in this noble edifice—the successful school of drawing which already exists here—the library, the museum, the botanical gardens, the statue gallery, the

• collection of casts, to which an important addition has been this year made by -Government—but above all, the liberality with which the interests of art and science are here promoted, give this society a claim to the preference It is not as an unmeaning compliment that I say that the Irish are, in my opi- nion, far more apt to learn—they possess much greater ingenuity and much more natural taste than the English. And yet when I see the improvement that has taken place in England—the greater beauty of form and purity of design that have been introduced into our various manufactures—when I observe that which may be called the renaissance, the regeneration of taste in England—and when I know how ranch that is attributable to the Schools of Design or rather, perhaps, to the acknowledgment ot our deficiencies, they tend to produce,—I think it is not too much to expect that Ireland, although deprived of the advantage of a fair start, will not be behindhand in the race of competition, where application and in- genuity, correctness of eye and facility of hand, are indispensable to successfully uniting beauty and utility, and adapting them to objects for which there is a con- stant demand. And I think that, considering the great attention that is paid in various establishments in Dublin to drawing, we possess here peculiarly good paterials with which to assist that work: with proper arrangements we may

hope to be able in the first place, to avoid the many grievous errors that have been committed elsewhere, and that the School of Design here will be not a mere drawing-school, nor the students mere copyists, but that they will be what they ought tob be—original

inventors and designers."

ttrusthen,tiatfom these industrious schools of art, as well as from those in Belfast and Cork, competing with each other in honourable rivalry, there may issue artists who will not alone do credit to themselves and their country, but will find opening before them new and profitable fields of employment ; because with the increasing taste for decoration, and the absolute necessity for improved designs in all our manufactures, there has arisen a demand for skilful designers, which as yet is far from being satisfied."

He stated that the whole of the manufacture of embroidered muslin, which employs 200,000 persons in and near Belfast, is supplied with designs from abroad; and 80,000/. a year go from that great centre of industry in simple payment for the "ornaments in which linens are made up." He enumerated the many in- dustrial products peculiar to parts of Ireland—the linen of Belfast, the lace of Limerick, the poplins of Dublin—to show how Irishmen were already able to unite perfection of workmanship with cheapness of price, and to prove that manufac- tures could be carried on in Ireland to a far greater extent than at present. If they were not so, it was not because they had been feloniously purloined by Eng- land, but it was owing to that want of perseverance, energy, and indomitable re- solution to succeed and overcome all obstacles without which nothing good Of great was ever accomplished in any branch of art or any occupation of life, and which was more necessary than ever in times of destitution and depression and competition such as at present exist.

The meeting of the " majority " of the Irish Representatives on the Poor- law, which Mr. Henry Grattan promised himself, was held in Dublin on Tuesday; and consisted only of the following ten Members—Mr. H. Grat- tan, Mr. Fagan, Mr. Meagher, Mr. Keatinge, Mr. Scully, Alderman O'Brien, Mr. Green, Mr. St. George Mr. Sadlier, and Colonel Dunne. Mr. Grattan having taken the chair, he and some others expressed extreme regret that more Members had not attended. Mr. St. George feared the Irish Members were become apathetic to the interests of their country. Most of the gentlemen present expressed their opinions on the defects of the present system; but it was finally agreed to adjourn till Thursday, in hopes of a larger attendance. Mr. Grattan declared—

It was his determination to vote against every Government, be it Whig or Tory, and to oppose it in every manner that the rules of the House allowed, which did not attend to Irish affairs. That had been long ago Mr. O'Connell's idea, and it was not then approved of by him; but now the times were such that no induce- ment whatever would prevail on him to deviate from that plan; and therefore he would vote against any Government, right or wrong, that did not attend to the interests of Ireland, because he thought that those interests had been most cul- pably neglected.

The Irish Court of Queen's Bench gave a decision on Wednesday, against the Attorney-General in the minor State prosecution of Patrick Gogarty, for drilling and training. The prisoner had been sentenced to transportation, but sueed a writ of error; and his indictment has been quashed, on the ground that it did not set forth the matter charged with sufficient legal distinctness under the Drilling Act. Gogarty was released, and walked out of court. Fifteen other cases are governed by this decision.

The prevalence of incendiary crime in the hitherto orderly and tranqiiil districts of the comity Down has attracted the attention of Govemuent; and Major Brownrigg, of the Constabulary, has been sent thither on a commission of inquiry into the subject.

Two young women in the North of Ireland have defended their father's house from incendiaries with a stubborn courage and prowess of which the tale reads like romance. The Belfast News Letter' thus describes the affair- " On Wednesday evening, a farmer in respectable circumstances, Mr. Orr M'Veagh, residing at Ballylenaghan, in the vicinity of Newtonbreds, rather more than three miles and a half from Belfast, had seen about eight o'clock, two men, respectably dressed, in a field adjoining his stack-yard. His two daughters, Grace and Margaret, were with their father at the time; these three individuals, with a servant, comprising the whole of the family. The eldest girl, Grace, a fine handsome, high-spirited girl, at once challenged the men, asking them what they were doing there? One of the men replied, 'I beg pardon; we are watchmen, and going in the direction of Knockbreeken. You may go to bed, and kel quite safe, for we will keep watch for you.' 'We cannot do that,' said Grace M'Veagh, 'for we too are paid for watching, and must remain up.' Her sister Margaret also said, We are much obliged to you, and we may probably go to bed by and by, since we know that there is a watch out.' However, suspecting the appear; ance and intentions of the fellows, the family did not go to bed, but continued an active look-out until midnight; when the father, feeling that, went to bed, leaving his daughters, who had armed themselves well, to watch the premises. About one o'clock the girls heard the sound of a jaunting-car coming almag the Belfast and Saintfield Road, and stopping nearly opposite M'Veagh's house, which is distant about fifteen perches from the road side. In the course of a few minutes they heard a number of persons speaking together in an adjoining field. One of the party said Watch! watch! David Catherwood's and David Musgrove's stacks are in flames.' Miss M'Veagh immediately suspected this to be a ruse to withdraw them from their watch, or to ascertain whether any watch was really being kept; so the two girls never uttered a word, nor stirred a step from the spot where they stood concealed. Two of the party then approached the stack-yard. One very large stack of hay was so close to the ditch which divided the yard from the field, that it could be set on fire easily by a paity standing in the latter, without crossing over into the stack-yard. The fellow who was foremost then took out a match-box and proceeded to strike a light ; but he did not succeed. He tried another, with no better success. He then went into the ditch, pulled down an old harrow which was on the top of the hedge, and stood upon it, and proceeded to strike a number of matches at once All these movements were distinctly visible to the two girls, from the place of their concealment; and just as the ruffian was about to apply the light he had at last succeeded in striking to the haystack, Grace BI'Veagti (we had almost writ- ten Grace Darling) exclaimed, What is this? what are you doing?' The fellow made no reply, but drew back. Miss M'Veagh cried out Stand ! ' and imme- diately fired with the musket with which she was provided and which was double charged with swan-drops, slugs, and small pebbles. The man fell back without uttering a groan. His comrade, who had left the rest of the party with him to fire the stack, then rushed forward, crying, If the Devil himself was there, I would set it on fire!' As he came over towards the stack, Margaret M'Veagh met him full front, armed with an old yeomanry bayonet Lasteied at the end of a pole, and made Several thrusts at his face, wounding him severely. Be too fell back, 'exclaiming, 'Damn you, damn you, I will not leave a stapple of thatch but I will buint"rhe rest of the party, seven in number, then made a rash towards the young heroines, who still bravely stood their ground; and one of the miscreants discharged a pistol at Miss M'Veagh, just as, suspecting his in- tention, she had drawn herself within the temporary cover which she had used for the purpose of keeping watch; but she was so near the shot notwithstanding, that one of her hands is so deeply marked with the stain of the powder that she bas since been unable to wash it out. The party then raised up their fallen com- rades and dragged them to a heap of stones. Miss M'Veagh, who still kept her position cried out, Stand, or I will fire again ; I have a brace of pistols !' Hear- frig this, the entire party fled from the field, leaving the dead or dying man be- hind them on the heap of stones." Fearing the quick return of the party, the young women entered the house, aroused their father, and alarmed the neigh- bours. Before the neighbours could be assembled, however, the incendiaries re- turned and carried off their two wounded companions. The cap of the one shot by Miss M'Veagh was found riddled with the charge, and soaked with blood ; and pools of blood were found in a track from the house to the road. The police are abroad in pursuit, but no person is particularly suspected.