At a meeting of Precursors, held subsequently to the Dublin
dinner to Mr. O'Connell last week, that gentleman took the opportunity of de- claring that his observations respecting the press in Ireland had reference to the conductors, not the reporters. He said-
" There was a singular imprudence in what occurred to-day, on the part of the reporters, for, in my observations, I made no allusion to them. I alluded to the proprietors. When I attack the reporters, I do so personally. There yes a shnilar demonstration made bethre, on the part of the Irish reporters, and I put them down. I also put down the English reporters ; and I am the only non in Parliament that ever succeeded in putting down the reporters. I did not attack them lest night ; hat I attacked the Liberal pi.ess of :Dublin. In the report in Saunders's News Letter, which was the only paper in slid' the proceedings were reported, I am made to attack the press in general. Thut is 0 mistake. I am sure it is a pure mistake, for the gentlemen who reported, in consequence of the press they are connected with, took lout short notes of the proceedings ; and, by the by, it' I attacked the reporters, they could have gone away as well as the rest. They all belong to the Sa 111‘ CI'aft ; ;111d, if my ob- servation's had reference to them, they ivould have gone away as well as those gentlemen 'oho thought proper to think offence was offered them ; nod. their staving must have shown, that what I said could not be Iteemed an attack on this reporters. It Nvas not my intention to do so. I have several Mends who are reporters, and I have known the most sincere and patriotic Irishmen, and best Catholics, to be reporters on the Times and Stembes/ mevspapers ; and I also have known men a high Tory principles to be reporters On the Morning Chronieb, and 3forning Advertiser. The business of a reperter is quite different from that of a conductor of the press. It was to those I alluded ; and, thr- moth, the reporters, whom I did not attack, take upon themselves the defence of the editors, whom I did attnek. It is a piece of political impertinence, on their part, to adopt this course ; but I am not surprised at it. IfI do a kind- ness to a man, the hrst thing he does in return is to take the first opportunity of acting with ingratitude. I say, the press must report the proceedings here to-day; or if not, the proprietors must dismiss their reporters." 'flu- reporters held it meeting ; and it was agreed that ir. O'Con- nell's apology was Sufficient. The .1.'reenten's Journd said that he had made the " amende honorable," Lind published a full report Of the pro- ceedings at the dinner. At another Precursor meeting, on Friday, Mr. O'Connell expressed his high gratification at the excellent report in the Freeman's Journal, but ridiculed the assumption of the " gentle- men of the press " that he had made the " amende honorahle,"—which expression being French, he said, the writer probably did not under- stand! He then gave notice, that on the fhllowing Monday he should move that the advertisements of the Precursor Society be withdrawn from the Morning Register ; the proprietor of which journal, Mr. Staunton, had refused to publish the report Of the dinner proceedings.
This notice produced an article in the iTorning Register of Saturday last, highly creditable to 'Mr. Staunton. It details the circumstances of the quarrel at the dinner, and mentions distinctly the cause of :Mr. O'Connell's anger- " I find that a paragraph penned by tote of the gentlemen now most in com- munication with Mr. O'Connell, and which, I am told, underwent his own perusal, was omitted in the illorning Register. I Iva:: no party to this neglect,' the duty of attending to the paragraph having devolved in in absence upon my representative. The paral.fraph appeared in the Pilot; :111d, aS it was 'th- ready before the public, my colleague wrote one in his own words, (a gratuitous and volunteer trouble on his part); and his 'note of preparation,' as the Pilot phrased it, was the following: Tut: Gas: Ii ETROPOLITAN DINNER To THE 1.111ETIATORe--T110 1111111011Se 1111111110Y of ,‘oxitois to so( I 0t tor the dinner, which takes plaeo this evenhc.r, made it impercive on the stewards to enlarge the accommodations; and table.: have lwen laid whi..11 are capable a banqueting I .■ou guests. It is to 1,.• re,,iretted that the l'ireas will not anl.rd rootlet. aceonnoodation, :Is large numbers or the citizens er reason its thus eseinded, whu wondd eseity avail theme.' N es or this occasion to pay the I,j/ct, 4 t 'air honavr, 1,1,1 grat.ttole I.. JR. 0 (lomat, tr his untiring g,cretces to this city, and to the whole of' Then followed the " bill of fare," in a paragraph twice as long as that quoted ; but it scented that Mr. O'Connell was grievously offended that his own paragraph was not inserted, and he would not be satisfied with any substitute. We give the conclusion of Mr. Staunton's letter, stating the means taken to procure the insertion of the report in the Freentan's Journal- " The reporters resolved to suppress the proceeding:, in vindication of what they regarded their personal independence, and in resentment of an affront not, untortunately, for the first time put nom the laborious and invaluable class to which they belong. In this way it happened dot tlwre was no publication of' Tuesday evening's proceeding.,/, in Wednesday's ..1/i■rniaq Registcy. I say the reporters were wrong in principle—they themselves declared at the Precursor meeting of Wednesday that they yielded to mere feelings of indignation which they could not control. It was at that meeting announced that reporting was to be resumed permanently and unconditionally ; and I really flattered myself that an unflortunate _occurrence which I think Mr. O'Connell has far less reason than any of us to wish to keep in the pubic recollection, had paseel away not to be thought of more. Me. O'Connell, however, ' put down the press 'itt London, and he put down the press' here before—and he wished it to be felt told remembered that he down the press' again ; all which feats against the press I KNOW to have been achievements against the in- terests' of Ireland licre and elsewhere. Having this feeling, 31r. O'Connell was not soisfied with the concessions of Wohmsday ; and on yesterday I was in- timed by the editor of the Freeman's Journal that pernms were communicat- ing with Mrs. Lavelle, of whom the Frecoun's Jourfor/ is the property, vial tint they operated so upon her fears ter that property r. O'Connell having, in effect, threatened confiscation on the day preceding), that she insisted upon the publication dot report. Both est:Orli-hoe:1es were embarked in the same bottom before—here was a course proposed l, one contrary to that which either ought, under the circumstances, be call I
. upon to pursue ; but this was avowedly the
effeet of fear operating upon the mind of a woman and a widow, whose property was opody stated on the day mentioned to have been entirely at stake. I did no ;oldish on yesterday, though very p0 puny made acquainted with, all the fiwts as to the Frwman. One reason was, that a gentleman connected with Ine was in Drogheda on the public service, and my respect for the feelings of all upright :Ind well-intentioned men would not allow me to do any thing in his absence which he regarded as affecting his personal honour. He is DOW ill e and the other gentlemen connected with me say that they will tbr one day do any thing I require in this matter ; but that, ifI publish, they will, on the next, retire from the Morning Mvister—feeling that there is now no sulstantial ohjete to be gained for the piddle, a$ the principle required is con- (mica—is IRA erell diSlIllted—ana is in actual operation never to be ittintrted from again—and feeling dot the only end in view is to give to what Mr. O'Connell considers his new triumph nu eclat, certainly illustrative of his great, and, I think, increasing power over the people of this country, but humiliating to the last degree to what he regards the fallen foe, I said to them, and I now announce to the public, that Colder such circumstances as these detailed, I would lot out an affront upon them, or force them to an extremity, to secure to myself the advantage of the Precursor advertisements, or to preserve the very existence of this journal. " Monism, STAUNTON. " P.8.—I should hope that the editors who have copied any portion of the proceedings of the Precursor Society affecting the Morning Register, will feel the justice of inserting this explanation."
Reports having been circulated that Mr. Staunton was under pecu- niary obligations to Mr. O'Connell, and that he had received large sums from the funds of the ( 'atledie A ssociaticon, that gentleman has published an explicit denial of their tru,b. Ile says that be only re- ceived a dividend on his claim for telvertisemeuts from the Catholic Association.
On Tuesclov, Mr. O'Connell withdrew hie motion for depriving the Register of Precursor advertisemeete becaese be found that Mr. Staunton admitted that the rejunsers were wrong in principle, and had published a report of his speed' in the Weekin Register. lie wished "bygones to he bygones."
A Policeman obtained a summons against a Mr. rynn for an assault at the dinner ; but when the case came fim adjudication before the Magistrates, the complainant se id that tile Po! !vv Ctmenissioners had ordered him to willarow Hie cloorge. This imerferenee caused some remarks; the defendant linving distingeished himself by O'Connell par- tisanship.
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