IRELAND.
The Dublin Exhibition was finally closed on Tuesday, by the Lord. Lieutenant, in the presence of about twenty thousand persons. Lord and Lady St. Germans, preceded by Mr. Alderman Roe, Mr. Dargan, and the Committee, entered the building soon after three o'clock; the spectators cheering lustily. A grand orchestra of five hundred performers executed selections of sacred music ; Mr. Cum Patrick Roney was knighted, and Lady Roney was introduced to the Countess of St. Germans. The Lord- Lieutenant closed the proceedings with this formula--
cannot declare the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1853 to be closed without expressing an earnest wish for the health, happiness, and prosperity of the man to whom we are all indebted for the instruction we have received from the many productions of art and nature which are contained within these walls. I also desire to acknowledge the liberality of the owners of those treasures for permitting them to be exhibited. Let me also pay a tri- bute of praise to the committee, the secretaries, and the other officers con- nected with it, for the zeal, the assiduity, and the intelligence with which they have discharged their many duties. Lastly, let me, in the name of this assembly, offer to Almighty God our heartfelt thanks for having blessed and prospered this undertaking. I now declare this Exhibition to be closed." "Three cheers for Mr. Dorgan!" exclaimed the Lord-Lieutenant ; and the cheers were given with one accord. Then, with the accompaniment of the National Anthem, the gay throng left the building. .Later in. the day, certain of the exhibitors met to petition the Com- F4tee .tci keepthe Exhibition open for six months longer ; but the ma- jority of theLeishibitors were adverse to the proposal ; and the Committee decided against
The dinner to Mr. Dargan was celebrated on Wednesday, in the King's Room at the Mansionhouse. There was a goodly gathering of men of all ranks and parties. The Lord-Lieutenant sent an apology. The principal speakers were the Lord Chancellor, Mr. Roe, and Mr. Du- gan.
The Bishopric of Derry and Raphoe is vacant by the death of Dr. Ponsonby, who expired on Thursday week, aged eighty-three. Ho was the third son of William Brabazon, first Lord Ponsonby.
Lord Cloncurry, one of the most popular of Irish Peers, died on Fri- day last, at Blaekrock. He was in his eighty-first year ; and is suc- ceeded by Edward Lawless, his eldest son. Lord Cloncurry played a conspicuous part in Irish politics; and he has left behind him a name not only for his public conduct but for extensive private benevolence.
Through the exertions of Mr. Pollard Urquhart, a letter has been ob- tained from the Income-tax Commissioners apologizing for the rudeness of the local officer who addressed the Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath as "the Reverend John Cantwell," and instructing him to send in a new Income-tax paper properly superscribed. Mr. Pollard Urquhart for- warded this soothing news to Dr. Cantwell; but the Roman Catholic Bishop says that he did not want soothing, for be had not taken offence, and that his difficulties are not a whit removed by the directions of the Commissioners to their servant to repair a want of courtesy.
The stoppage of work in so many mills in England has given a stimulus to the cotton-trade of Belfast : there is much firmness " in yarns, little anticipated a short time back.
There has been a long and exciting trial in Dublin all about a few inches of velvet riband. The accused was Miss Margaret Cantwell, one of six sis- ters who keep a Roman Catholic school in Dublin. The charge was, that she put a piece of velvet riband into her reticule while making purchases at Cannock and White's, a great Dublin house. The trial lasted five days. Hosts of witnesses were produced to make out that the theft had been com- mitted. But the first witness for the defence, a lady who accompanied Miss Cantwell to the shop, clearly and unmistakeably showed that nothing of the kind bad occurred ; that the bit of riband had been taken by mistake.The Jury deliberated a moment, and then returned a verdict of "Not guilty." The crowded court was instantly mad with delight; all were up, ladies standing like the rest in conspicuous positions, and cheering vehemently. The crier failed to stop the outburst. Miss Cantwell left the court in a covered car, cheered in the street also.
The South of Ireland has been extensively flooded ; some lives have been lost, and great damage done to property. At Cork, the river Shannon, rush- ing with violence, bore away part of the pier of a bridge ; and the people, recklessly watching the flood there, were drowned. The quays were much damaged, and when the report was despatched on Thursday, the waters were not abated, and more mischief was expected. Soldiers were employed to keep rash spectators out of danger. The country for thirty miles round was inundated. A blacksmith whose house had been washed away was borne along the stream clinging to a bed, and thus passed through Cork : great efforts were made to save him, and at length he was dragged on shore by means of a rope thrown from a ship ; his wife and child had been drowned.
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