The work of agitation progresses in the sister kingdom; but
it is agitation only, not fermentation. There is a want of the vinous principle. The fluid is shaken and bubbles; but it remains, not- withstanding the froth on its surface, cold, weak, and worthless.
• Mr. O'CONNELL had an Aggregate Meeting at Dublin last Sa- turday, but it came pohrly 'off.- The attendance was small ; the respectables scanty ; the infinentials limited to 111r O'CONNELL himself.: Mr. WysE could not attend the meeting, and so he put • his _speech in a letter' and sent • it by post. Mr. Wyss was held forth, before, he entered Parlianient, as a second GRATTAN in little. Hear hohe'plays with periods- -." If fairly ,represented, we shall have fair government; if not, we shall only found injustice, consolidate abuse, and bring about a state of things, to be got rid of Mrlybyopen foree or revolution. This, then, is no ordinary case. It is the vely question of the 'cases firderis ' between' the two countries. It is to decide whether :We are to be treated as a portion of this United Empire, or a dependency. We await our answer. 'Whatever it may be, I hope it will be unequivocal. Once received, we shall know how to act."
The Protestants—so called because they protest against Re; form---have had two- meetings, one at Armagh, another at some place in the terra incognita of Ulster, called Rathfriland; Both of thein were very grand, much grander than O'CoNNELL's Aggro- , . gate; 4nd Mr. HOLT W-kRING was at both. Lord MANDEVILLE told'the Protestants of Armagh to sell their clocks and buy. guns; and Lord RODEN 'assured ' the 150 Orange Lodges that assembled at Rathfriland, that their cause was the cause of God. If, after this, they do not sell both &with and -watches, they are a most unpersuadable set of men.
It must be -admitted, that of the two" sets of clamourers, the stronger party:- are the more definite in 'their demands. Let Ire- land- have twenty more members,* says O'CONNELL, and then she will he- on an equality with England. . Equality is all we ask,; says Mr.-WySE.- Now, 'twenty members is- a large demand, yet it t May be answered.: but what.would. the Orangemen have? Amidst the cloud of,words in which they wrap up their grievances, one thing - only is clearly seen—that equality is what of all things they most deprecate. The -Reform Bill will destroy the Protestant influence in the boroughs, because it will give power to wealth and respectability;. the new Jury Bill, [the extension to Ireland of Sir ROBERT will put an end to all justice, because jurie.s. will he indifferently chosen. The plain English- of this is, that 4.iia present political system, the Orangemen have power w , have neither wealth nor numbers; and under the present; system, they gain the suit which, were justice im
ministered, they would lose. It is very natural for the
to like such a system; but it is very foolish tor a party numeri cally so weak to bluster about 'fighting for it. 'For, laying aside the inconsiderable fragments of the empire called England and Scot- land, what is the number of-these doughty appellants to the wager of battle? There are about 8,000,000 of souls in Ireland : of these, 1,650,000 are not Catholics; and of this latter number 850,000 are Orange men, women, and children. Taking the ordi- nary ratio of able-bodied men to the whole of the population, the entire Orange force of Ireland would be 170,000,—had every man of them a clock to exchange, and did every man of them exchange his clock for a gun. To this force would be opposed the whole of the Presbyterians-160,000—who have clocks as well as they ; the -whole of the Catholics-1,270,000! who have not clocks indeed, but who have a good many guns notwithstanding. How are they to combat this small odds of 10 to 1? Will itbe by their characteristic descent from the heroes of 1989, as the Standard of last night gives it?
The truth is, all this "chaffing" is not worth a moment's con- sideration to a sober man. Both these noisy sections—the O'Con- - nellites and the Rodenites—of our noisy neighbours, are mad enough in all conscience, north-north-west; but both of them know a hawk from a handsaw when the wind is southerly. Let the Minister keep the even tenor of his way—let him be just and fear not, and we engage that the clocks of the Ulster heroes will continue to click in their accustomed nook in peace and quietness.
As a sort of by-play to these grand demonstrations, we must notice a paper war between Lord 'WESTMEATH and O'CoNNELL, very much in the style of HUNT and COBI3ETT. The Peer calls names nearly as well as the Blacking man, and in rather better English; but he is not at all equal to DAN.
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