IRELAND.
The Nation has an article enumerating the stations of the "English garrison in Ireland," now less than 5000 soldiers, and commenting on their weakness, inefficiency, and bad distribution ; adding that comment on such a state of things may be judiciously spared. "But none of us can tell the day when a Russian privateer may swoop down upon our coast ; and, as a mere measure of self-defence, we throw out the sugges- tion that every man who can ought to get a gun, putting his trust in God and keep his powder dry." "The necessity of keeping powder dry,'" says the Dublin correspondent of the Times, "will be better under- stood by the Queen's Government when they learn the astounding fact,' that copies of a document written in New York, in very indifferent Eng- lish, have been forwarded, prepaid,' to some of the Irish journals, 'call- ing upon all Irishmen to prepare for an invasion of Ireland immediately upon the capture of Constantinople.'"
The appointments at the Queen's Colleges to fill up the vacancies occasioned by the loss of those Professors who have accepted chairs in Australia have been made. Mr. Bagley, of Cork, takes the Professorship of Latin, in Galway ; Mr. Thomson, at present filling the chair of Na- tural History in Cork, takes the Professorship of Geology, Belfast Col- lege; Mr. Tait, of Cambridge, Senior Wrangler of the year 1862, takes the Professorship of Mathematics, Belfast.
At a meeting of the Monkstown auxiliary branch of the "Society for the Protection of the Rights of Conscience," Archbishop Whately, speak- ing from the chair, defined the object of the association.
"It is not a proselytizing society ; it is not a society for conveying spiritual knowledge or spiritual instruction of any kind. To such a society I do be- long, because I am a member of the Established Church, and that is a society which has for its principal object the conversion unto truth of all persons who are in error. This particular society has nothing to do with conversions, but merely with the support of those who should be exempt from persecution and allowed to follow the dictates of their own conscience, be it a well or an ill directed conscience ; and it should be ready to support the rights of a person in maintaining the dictates of his conscience, even if they be errone- ous, provided he come forward to profess what he really believes to be true. It is for conscience as conscienee, and not for truth as truth, the society was established. It does so happen, however, that all the cases of persecution with which we have had to deal were cases of the persecution of those who, having held what we conceive to be dangerous errors, embraced what we believe to be the truth ; it is a society for the protection of conscience as con- science, and not of true religion as true religion. I believe, on account of supporting this society, I have been arraigned by some persons as most in- consistent on the very point on which I hold myself to be most consistent. I am an opponent of resorting to penal laws in order to bring men to renounce what I hold to be a false religion. I hold it to be consistent to come for- ward and support those who adopt an opinion, whatever that may be, and openly state their conviction in the truth of it, even when threatened with persecution or coercion to induce them to deny their real convictions. The detestation which I have to all kinds of coercive measures in matters of re- ligion will of course lead me to support those whom I consider to be holdhig the truth, because I am an opponent to the persecution of those whom I believe to be in error."
The Archbishop further explained, that the Society is intended to be permanent ; and he urged them to give it their strenuous cooperation.
Londonderry was the scene of a grand Orange demonstration on Friday week. A body of Enniskilleners 900 strong, headed by the Earl of En- niskillen, paid a visit to the Maiden City. They were greeted at the railway station by a salute of artillery from the Apprentice Boys ; and were received by Sir Robert Bateson, the Dean of Derry, Mr. Henry Darcus the Mayor, and a host of local notables. Having entered the city by the Ferrygate—" which one hundred and sixty-five years ago was shut in the face of Lord Antrim's men "—they paraded round the wall to Walker's Pillar, "on which was unfurled a beautiful crimson banner, with the talismanic figures 1688' in the centre, surrounded by four smaller flags, on which were respectively inscribed, 'Derry,' Enniskillen,' Aughrim,' 'Boyne.' The cathedral was also gaily decorated with crim. son banners, 'which were seen to advantage frem the pillar." Here a platform was erected ; and here, Sir'Rebert Bateson taking the chair, Mr. B. Gregg read an address "to the loyal inhabitants of Enniskillen" from the Apprestice Boys and other Protestant citizens of Londonderry"— ' full cff in'aisetof "the valiant Walker" and the men who defended Derry in 1688-'89, and ending with a pledge, a:Mutts-should ever any other occasion offer in our time tending to deprive us tf,. the legal- rights and privileges achieved by our ancestors in 1688-'9, by the Division of foreign influence or domestic internal treaohery, we shall not 1 '
hesitate, in defence of civil and religiouli freedom, and the Protestant Crown of Great Britain, to unfurl and rally round our common banner of No sur- render."
Lord Enniskillen made a speech; more guns were fired, and cheers given for "No surrender and the Derry boys.". At luncheon the speeches were repeated, to the immense delight of speakers and listeners ; and about four o'clock the Orange excursionists departed.
On its way back to Enniskillen, the train narrowly escaped destruction. Near the Trillick station, on the top of an embankment, it was suddenly checked : one of the two engines by which it was propelled started off and ran down the embankment; the second engine, arrested in its course, came into collision with the carriages; and Lord Enniskillen, who rode on the engine, was jammed between it and the foremost carriage. One engine- driver was killed, and other two were greatly hurt. It WU dark; the con- sternation was general; and there were only two lamps to light the fright ened crowd. "The cause of the accident," says the Fermanagh Mail, "was found to be several stones—One of them weighing close upon three hundredweight—which had been placed by some fiendish miscreants upon the line ; and these were preceded by a few smaller ones evidently designed to throw the engines off the rail before coming to the ones, block, in the hope that the latter would then the better turn them down a precipitous steep of about thirty or forty feet in depth, caused by the earth which had been thrown in at this spot to raise the line to a proper level, and at which there is no parapet or protecting wall. As a train had passed along the line about twenty minutes previously, it is manifest the fiendish conceders of this diaboli- cal scheme were lying in wait some time to accomplish their purpose, and that the object of their deadly intention was the more numerously freighted train containing the Derry visitors ; and, so solicitous were they that failure should not attend them, that about a mile further on the line was similarly ob- structed. Happily, at the time of the collision the engines were proceeding rather slowly : to which may be attributed, in a great measure, the slight nature of the casualties ; for had they been going at a rapid rate, and turned off down the embankment, taking the carriages along with them, few could have escaped with their lives." It is stated that the Country-people who assembled were very unwilling to render aid to the crowd of passengers, who were helplessly- left twelve miles from their homes. They found their way to Ballina Mallard, a village near by, and got home in detachments late next morning. Several railway labourers have- been arrested on suspicion ; and an inquest has begun; but the Coroner declines to let the proceedings be made public.
The atrocity is variously ascribed to the Roman Catholic Ribandmen, and to discontented railway labourers. The line was again obstructed on Sunday, but the " guards " to the Wheels swept the rails.,
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