IRELAND.

The Dublin Monitor states that Government have actually issued the Commission to inquire into the tenure of laud in Ireland; and it adds some particulars- " The Freeman states that the Chairmanship of the Commission was offered to Richard More O'Ferrall, Esq., M.P., and declined by him; but this is not correct. No such offer was made. The Commission consists of five persons— two Tories and two Whigs, with the Earl of Devon as Chairman, Who is of Tory politics, but, we believe, a just and excellent landlord. We are anxious to hope that this Commission will be productive of much good. Undoubtedly, there is a large field of usefulness open before them; and if they conduct their inquiry in an impartial and candid spirit—if they enter fully into the Tenure question, and consider it in all its bearings, social, moral, and political—if they be single-minded and searching in their investigations, and let the report faith- fully reflect the evidence—we entertain sanguine hope that great good will result to the country."

In a subsequent number, the Monitor states the names of the Com- missioners—Mr. George Alexander Hamilton, M.P., and Mr. Wynne, of Hazlewood, both Tories ; Mr. William Tighe, of Woodstock, and Mr. More O'Ferrall, M.P., both Liberals. Mr. O'Ferrall had declined to act, principally on account of delicate health; and his substitute had not been named-

" To the composition of this Commission," says the Monitor," we look with much confidence. With the exception of Mr. Wynne, they are all known public men, well qualified, in point of experience and ability, to discharge the onerous and highly responsible duties imposed on them : and if, as we confi- dently trust they will, they discharge their duty with impartiality and upright- ness, the result must prove beneficial to our country."

It is given out that Mr. Thomas Steele intends to defend himself' and that he means to subpcena as witnesses, Sir Robert Peel, Mr.Frede- rick Bond Hughes, the Government short-hand-writer, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Lyndhurst, Sir James Graham, and, if convenient to the veteran himself, Lord Plunket.

It is said that the Earl of Lucan and Mr. St. Clair O'Malley, who had been removed from the Commission of the Peace in consequence of a personal altercation in court, have both been reinstated.

The usual weekly meeting of the Repeal Association was held on Monday, in the Conciliation Hall. Dr. Slattery, titular Archbishop of Cashel, was enrolled a member of the Association ; Mr. O'Connell declaring that he was proud to rank Michael of Cashel beside John of Timm Handing in 100/. from Quebec, Mr. O'Connell took occasion to praise the wisdom of British counsels in Canada— He wished to give Lord Stanley the full meed of praise for the course he had adopted towards the American Colonies, by giving them a Legislature and full control over their own affairs. Canada had forfeited much of her claims, by having had the folly to turn out in armed rebellion to assert her rights. Ire- land also claimed the privilege of self-legislation, but would never rebel: and he proclaimed it then, on the authority of that Association, with which the people were thoroughly identified, that there was not the least danger of an outbreak. (Continued cheering.) In any event, there should be no rebellion in Ireland ; and there would then be presented the strong contrast, that rebel- lious Canada had free institutions and a local government, and that Ireland, which did not rebel, was refused even an inquiry into her grievances.

Mr. John Smyth, one of the law-agents of Dublin Corporation, was expelled from the Association for having been guilty of "extermination." Some conversation arising on the subject of land-tenures, Dr. Gray spoke disparagingly of the Government Commission—" From the cha- racter of the present Government, they could partly imagine the kind of persons who would be placed upon it; but it was, nevertheless, their duty to prepare all the information they could, and force it upon the

Commission." Mr. O'Connell was not inclined thus to anticipate the course to be taken by the Commission— He was disposed to give the present Government its due for having issued it; and this advantage, at all events, would be derived from it, that landlords would see that the question of tenure was about to be inquired into. Sir Ro- bert Peel and Lord Stanley had declared there must be some alteration in that tenure; and he thought it would he unwise to throw cold water on the exer- tions of the Commissioners. (Cheers.) Mr. O'Connell read a letter from Mr. Joseph Sturge, calling for "a clear and full explanation of the objects of the Repeal Association " ; and deprecating any hostile feeling between the people of the two countries, as both have to contend against the oppressions of the same oligarchy. If the object were to make Ireland a separate and inde- pendent nation, Mr. Sturge said, it was not to be expected that there ever would exist in England any general cooperation in favour of such a measure— "But if it be clearly and distinctly understood that Ireland only seeks to have the control of her own affairs, leaving the decision of all questions in- volving. the interest of the United Kingdom to the Imperial Legislature, the object is so just in principle and so needful in its application to Ireland, that I am persuaded it would, if properly placed before the English people, soon com- mand their support." Mr. O'Connell replied in a long and discursive speech. He asked what sympathy the people of England had shown for Ireland 2—what demonstrations there had been at any of the great towns, except Bir- mingham and Preston ? He repudiated Separation ; but he wanted to prevent it, by getting Repeal. Ireland merely wanted the ma- nagement of her own affairs' without taking any thing from the Crown prerogatives. He asked Mr. Sturge to explain what Im- perial questions are. If he meant the management of the Colonies and dependencies, they were fiefs of the Crown. Making war was a Royal prerogative, and the only thing an Irish Parliament could do would be to refuse the supplies ; of which he should be glad, as it would diminish the chances of an unjust war ; while, if there were just cause of war, there would be no tear of the Irish people being backward in supporting it. As to the Army and Navy, that would be a mere question of length of purse : the number of men paid by England should belong to England, and those paid by Ireland should be Ireland's. Thus, treaties, dependencies, colonies, the making of war and peace, the Army and Navy, could not be considered Imperial ques- tions. Having ridiculed the Federalists and the small support they were likely to obtain, and descanted upon many other topics, Mr. O'Connell moved a series of resolutions in answer to Mr. Sturge's letter ; declaring that the object of the Repeaters was, that the Irish Par- liament should have legislative control of the affairs of the Irish nation ; that the basis of Repeal should be, perpetual connexion with Great Britain by means of the common Sovereign, and perfect equality of civil rights and franchises to all Christian sects and all classes ; and that Mr. Sturge "be requested to specify what questions involving the interest of the United Kingdom exclusively' are other than those which come within the range of the Royal prerogative ? "

The rent for the week was announced to be 1,143/.

The Banner of Ulster publishes a letter intended to counteract the effect of those in the Morning Chronicle signed " Philalethes," and attributed to Mr. Trevelyan of the Treasury. The Banner says, it knew the statement that the people of Ulster were anxious for a quarrel with their brethren of the South to be "utterly, recklessly, and scan- dalously false " ; and therefore the editor applied for information, to Mr. Godkin, an Independent minister, who had been travelling as a Protestant missionary, for the last six months, in the Southern counties. Mr. Godkin, who describes himself as "an earnest Protestant, and no Repealer," replies with a counter-statement ; which is subjoined, stripped only of the introductory matter— "First, then, I can assure you, that in most parts of the South and West, the peasantry, and the town population too, are deeply discontented. The former are, to a great extent, unemployed, rack-rented, half-naked, and half-starved, while the latter are universally complaining of the want of business. The blame of this state of things is partly laid on the Government, but chiefly, and in my opinion justly, on the landlords. Their neglect of their tenantry is almost incredible. I was lately among the mountains of Clare, and my heart was saddened with the information I received from a Protestant gentleman, and with what I saw around me. Their absenteeism is a curse, but their re- sidence is seldom a blessing. If they do not corrupt the community by their example, they rarely improve it. Of course there are exceptions, and they de- serve credit for doing their duty. But it is a mistake to suppose that resident landlords, as a matter of course, spend their money in the country. So in- tensely Anti-Irish are some of them, that they import every thing—every ser- vant, every steward, every yard of cloth, every ounce of groceries—every article, in short, that is consumed, except what grows on their own demesnes! They give their field-labourers, indeed, Bd. a-day ; but that is all of their money that circulates through the country. They complain of Irish servants and stewards as inferior ; but why don't they look out among their tenantry for decent young men and women, and train them for situations ? Why not send a few of them to England or Scotland, that they may cultivate the habits required, and then help to raise their relatives and neighbours by their example ? No, no, our gentry toss the nose at every thing Irish. "In utter hopelessness of any relief from landlord or legislator, and sinking under intolerable burdens, the poor people have, I admit, thrown their whole louts into the Repeal movement. This is certainly the fact, and a painful fact it is : but remove the cause, and you remove the effect. The priests go with them—some of them reluctantly—but many heartily, enthusiastically. They look for the separation of the Church from the State as a sine qua non; and should the Establishment be obstinately maintained, they are not without hopes that some lucky turn in the affairs of Europe will transfer the tempo- ralities to themselves as the national priesthood.

"I am, however, persuaded that the policy of peaceful agitation is deeply rooted as a first principle in the Roman Catholic mind of Ireland. They are a patient people. Can Roman Catholics who send sour butter-milk eight or ten miles to market, in order to pay tithes to an absentee Rector, be blamed for sometimes complaining over the dinner of 'dry' lumpers? Yet, except the very lowest and most ignorant, (who will be always led by those above them,) no one thinks of insurrection, rebellion, or massacre, unless it be to laugh at it as a dream of a madman. They allude, indeed, to war—use martial language, and talk of their military resources : but the design of this is to raise the spirit of the people, to give them the feeling of conscious strength, and to make their riders uneasy. Further they have not the slightest intention of going. The priests are not for rebellion ; they know; it would be impolitic—ruinous to their cause. Nor are the people for massacre. Let no one dread a Bartholomew in Ireland. No; I believe a gracious Providence is over- ruling this agitation for good, fraught as it it may be with present evil. The be-

e- nign nprinciples of PEACE are inculcated and warmly cherished ; temperance and

self-control are established in the national character; nor do I think it is in vain that the leaders of the Repeal movement urge the suppression of religious mosities. Certainly toleration is fast gaining ground among the people; and I am assured by Protestants thinly scattered among Roman Catholics, that they find them more civil and neighbourly than formerly. In a large parish in Clare there are only thirty Protestants. I asked one of them lately, an intelligent young farmer, whether he was annoyed on account of his religion. He assured me he was not in the least—that the people made no more difference with him than if be were one of themselves.' In this same county, I was rowed nearly three miles on a lake on a dark and stormy night by Roman Catholics, after preach- ing a controversial sermon, to which several ventured to listen, though under the surveillance of a Repeal Warden. Surely if any man should dread a reli- gious war—a massacre of Protestants—I ought And yet, so thoroughly am I acquainted with the feelings of the people, and so great is my confidence in them, that I travel as securely and sleep as soundly among the wildest moun- tains and in the loneliest habitations as if I were in London.

"For the sake of my country's character, which has been vilified beyond any other on the face of the earth, and in order, if possible, to quiet the fears of Protestants, who I know are in many places labouring under distressing alarm, I have felt called on to give you thus candidly my impressions ; which I hope will be found more in accordance with facts than the nervous apprehensions of Philalethes.' Let not Protestant Ulster, therefore, draw the sword against the Catholic South ; but let its comparatively happy population generously pe- tition Parliament for a redress of practical grievances, and our beloved country shall ere long have peace and prosperity within her borders."

A correspondent of the Dublin Monitor who calls himself a "Federal- ist " avows that he is at the same time a member of the Repeal Asso- ciation; whereupon the Monitor shows that the pursuits of the Federal- ists and Repeaters differ not only in degree, but in final objects ; re- marking— "W e look upon 'unconditional Repeal' as a project that never will be realized till England's resources are exhausted, and England's power prostrate in the dust. Theo, by fighting for it, and conquering in the fight, we may obtain it—and not till then. Thus believing, how could we join the agitation or sanction it ? How could we tell the warm-hearted, enthusiastic, and too credulous people of this country, never to rest satisfied till they had obtained the Repeal ?—that all other improvements, all other reforms, all remedial measures, of whatsoever kind or degree, are to be considered as nothing, for that all is vain and useless short of Repeal? This is Mr. O'Connell'. language ; this is the staple of his weekly preachings; and as long as he con- tinues entranced in such a delusion, we have little hope of Federalism making much way as a national question; and what is worse, we have less hope of seeing a speedy termination to Tory ascendancy, and a union of Liberals effected to procure rational and substantial measures of reform."

The fires which were lighted on the 19th October in the counties of Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Clare, and Tipperary, have now been attributed to reports among the peasantry that Mr. O'Connell had gained some signal success : one account, for instance, was that he had procured the Lord-Lieutenant to be fined 30,0001. for issuing the "illegal" Clontarf proclamation ; another, that "the war was over," and that Government were about to make very great concessions to the Repeaters.