IRELAND.
At a weekly meeting of the Repeal Association in Dublin, on Mon. .day, Mr. Thomas Steele, who has dubbed himself " Head Pacificator of Ireland," delivered the following opinion to the people of Ireland : it was received with loud cheering.-
" I would say that they (the people of Ireland) while they acted peaceably and legally towards the people of England, should also act peaceably towards the enemies of England. I give it as my opinion that no Irishman should inliat in the British Army. The man who does so, while such injustice has been done his country, should be let go forth without the tears or farewell of his family or friends, without the prayers of his clergy, and with the male- diction of his country."
Mr. Clements, however, the chairman on the occasion, declared that Mr. Steele's remarks were not to be taken as expressing the sense of the meeting.
The Nonintrusion deputation from the Anti-Patronage Society of Edinburgh, consisting of the Reverend Thomas Guthrie, the Reverend Charles J. Brown, and Mr. James Bridges, held a public meeting on the 18th, at the first Presbyterian Church of Armagh. There was a numerous attendance. Letters were read from the Earl of Gosford and from Mr. Leonard Dobbin, excusing the absence of the writers on account of indisposition, but expressing entire concurrence in the ob- jects of the meeting. The deputation had it all their own way. A re- solution was passed for a subscription towards the cost of building a church at Marnoeh, for the use of parishioners during the suspension of Divine service in the parish-church.
Father Mathew continues his work of social reformation. On Sa- turday, at Carrickmacross, he administed the pledge to about three thousand persons; on Sunday, to five thousand all at once, besides others during the day ; and on Monday, to a great multitude besides, including " a large number of respectable ladies." An Irish paper es- timates the total number who took the pledge in the three days at one hundred and twenty thousand.
At the Monaghan Assizes, on Friday, Mr. Samuel Gray was tried for the murder of Owen Murphy, on the 26th November. About that time, a suit had been determined, in which a man named Radford Stewart had been successful in recovering certain premises in the town of Ballibay from several persons, one of whom was James Gray, the son of the prisoner. Owen Murphy was a witness at the trial against the interest of Gray. On the 26th November, the Sheriff delivered possession of the premises to Stewart ; and a great number of persons, the friends of both parties, assembled on the occasion. Among them were two men named Cunningham and Saunderson, and Murphy. Gray was passing by, and approaching the three men, he asked, "Is it you, James Cunningham and Droney ?" and being answered in the affirmative by Owen Murphy, he drew a pistol and fired ; when the ball passed close by the head of Cunningham, but did not take effect. He drew a second pistol, and fired at the deceased ; and the ball entering the right side of the chest, he fell dead on the spot. Cunningham, after this, ran away, and a third shot was fired after him. There were ten witnesses for the prosecution. The defence was an alibi: to prove which, the prosecutcr called fifteen witnesses; and his counsel offered to produce a Presbyterian clergyman, who attended a man since dead, who confessed that he bad shot Owen Murphy : but the Court refused to admit this evidence. The Jury returned a verdict of" Not Guilty." At the sitting of the Court on Saturday, Gray was arraigned on an- other charge of attempting to shoot the Sheriff of Monaghan. Gray put in an affidavit, stating that he was totally unprepared for his trial. After some discussion, the Court ultimately decided on sending the case before the Quarter-Sessions for adjudication ; the prisoner being liberated on entering bail to the amount of 500/. for himself and two sureties of 2001. each. There were great rejoicings in Monaghan and Ballibay, among Gray's friends, at his acquittal.
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