The Precursor Society is likely to prove a failure, notwithstand-
ing Mr. O'Cosistsm.'s vehement exertions to make it numerous and formidable. Few Members of Parliament have joined it ; and the lawyers, who have their eye on the Castle, shun all con- tact with the new agitation. At an O'Connell dinner in Carlow this week, a letter was read from Mr. JOHN PoNSONBv, High Sheriff of the County, and Lord DUNCANNON's son, in which dis- approval of the Tithe-agitation and of the Precursor Society was dryly expressed. O'CONNELL, sorely galled, declared that if the Precursors were to be thrown overboard, the Ministry would go the same way, and Mr. P0N33NBIL' might write to his father to resign. But notwithstanding this tone of bravado, Mr. O'Cosr- NELL in Dublin, the very next day, proposed an alteration in the rules of the Precursor Society, to meet the objections of such scru- pulous persons as Mr. PONSONBY on the subject of tithes. He also intends to erase all indications of a tendency to fraternize with the Universal Suffrage people in England. When rid of Repeal, Tithe agitation, and Universal Suffrage, the Precursor Society will be a very harmless and Whiggish affair; and we think Lord PLusixterr himself might join it. But though the Precursor Society is a failure, the prospects for the " rent " are good. The collection in Dublin considerably ex- ceeds that of last year, and it is expected that the sum total will not be less than 15,0001. As yet, however, the returns from the provinces are comparatively few.
