IRELAND.
THE GALWAY LINE.
Lord Eglinton received a deputation on Thursday of persops interested in promoting the material prosperity of the new line of paatet steamers from Galway. Lord Eglinton in reply said-- " There are three departments of Government which have to be consider- ed in this matter—the Treasury, the Post-office, and the Admiralty ; and I may say there is still another cdepartment of Government more important, which is that very important body the House of Commons ; therefore, it is not only what I think best, or what I think expedient, but what the Trea- sury, the Post-office, and the Admiralty think -best, and what is likely the House of Commons will consent to. It is quite evident that the feeling of the present day is against bolstering up any commercial enterprise ; there- fore, it would be contrary, of course, to all the principles of the present day that this company should receive the assistance of Government, for its own sake; that it should be brought into existence by the assistance of Govern- ment. We can only look to it with a view to assist in the public service. Already some little assistance has been given to it, that is to say, so far as the public service is concerned, by the colonial mails being given to it. I cannot conceive that the Post-office could by any possibility refuse to give the company conveyance of the Irish mails. It seems to me quite impos- sible that if the thing was properly laid before the Post-office that it would insist on the Irish letters going to England, and thereby taking an extra time in their transit to America ; therefore I think there can be no doubt that, if it were properly laid before the Post-office the payment for the Irish letters, which, I understand, is between 20,006/. and 30,000/. a-year, would not be refused."
The Galway Vindicator of Wednesday has been give nto understand, on good authority, that the report of the Commissioners has been pre- sented to the Lords of the Admiralty, and that it is highly favourable to the port of Galway as a Transatlantic packet station. Sir Allan M'Nab, one of the directors of the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company, arrived in Galway on Wednesday evening.
A movement has been made in Belfast for the establishment of non- sectarian intermediate schools— that is standing between the National schools and the Queen's colleges. Gentlemen of all sects except one— the Roman Catholics, have joined in the preliminary proceedings.
By some unexplained means the Cork Examiner obtained and pub- lished a full note of the evidence taken before the Cork Magistrates, at a private sitting last week, in the affair of the Phcenix Club. It consists mainly of the statements of Daniel Sullivan, alias Gould, the informer, extracted from that worthy under direct and cross-examination. His story is this. A process server in Kerry, he attended a fair at Bantry in August last to "buy lambs." There he was induced to join a secret society and to take the oath of secresy and the oath of brotherhood, and to attend the meetings of the society. He stated that the object of this society was to be ready to take up arms, as the Americans were expected before Christmas, and they would be joined by the French, and Ireland was then to be made an independent republic. By the oath witness was bound over to secresy and to take up arms at a moment's warning, and to yield implicit obedience to his leaders.
He described two night meetings at the Priest's Leap, a lonely spot on the borders of Cork and Kerry where duels were formerly fought. At one of these meetings seven were present at a second fifteen or twenty. There they met to make "arrangements to rise when the Americans should land." Each person had to sing a national song or make a speech telling how they would take the country and make it a republic. He had attended meetings at Kenmare and Skibbereen. By this time one Father John had refused the fellow absolution because he belonged to a secret society. This, said Sullivan,. led him to think of turning informer to save his soul although he had previously declared be would rather beg his bread than tiirn informer and thus stain the blood of his ancestors! He resolved, however, to lay informations and to become a spy : and he admitted that he went to Skib- bereen "to get at the secrets of the society," and the names of its members. Keeping in constant communication with the police he looked up his old Mends, and vowed himself into their confidence. He played at cards with them. "I gave some coppers to one of the little children in Morty Down- ing's house. May have kissed the child and called her My little Kerry pet.' Came over at that time to get information to swear agains t the father."
Sullivan was subjected to a scathing cross-examination from which he did not come out overwell. His evidence is direct against some of the prisoners, but it is not quite coherent. The Reverend Mr. O'Hallaran of Bantry deposed that he saw four of the prisoners firing at a target on Newtown Strand. Mr. Patterson saw at sword exercise.
A number of the prisoners were admitted to bail.
Mr. Smith O'Brien has publicly proclaimed his sympathy for the 70 men under arrest. The fundamental requisites of justice have been viola
in their case, and the mode of treating them reminds him of Austriu tyranny.
Mr. William Wilson, a farmer residing near Lisburn, has been assaulted in his homestead by one of his labourers. Being a strong man, though his assailant gave him one severe blow on the head, Mr. Wilson succeeded in arresting his would-be assassin.
It is stated by the correspondent of the _Dublin Evening Mail that the Earl of Kenmore has transmitted to Dr. Moriarty, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Kerry, 1000/. to be distributed among the most needy of the plundered saving's bank depositors in the town of Killarney.
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