IRELAND.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 235, 30 August 1848, Page 3

IRELAND.

Establishment of an Irish National Defence Fond. Already the Confederates have opened a subicription to defend Mr. Smith < I'Brien anil Jus brother travei'Eers. At a meeting of tho " Trades and Citizens' Commit* tee" held in Westmoreland Street, last night, Mr. John Lawless in the ch-iir the following resolution was passed with acclamation : — 41 That this committee has heard with equal surprise and indignation the announcement in the Government ojgan (the Dublin Evening Post,) of this evening, that Messrs. William Smith OBrien, M P., T F. Muagher, : and John Mitchell, have been this day notified by the ! imperial authorities, that they are to be prosecuted for sedition, or some such offence against them, for their recent manly and noble assertions of the rmht of Ireland to an independent Legislature — and that to maik our abhorrence of this species of tyranny, a bubseription list be forthwith opened, to be called the ' National De« fence Fund.' " A subscription list was opened, and upwards of £50 was subscribed on the spot. Dr West was appointed Treasurer to the National Defence Fund, mid the committee adjourned to this evening, at 8 o'cloik.

Orange Address to tub Lord-Lieutenant. The following is the reply of his Excellency to tbo address of the Orangemen of the Ponadown district, forwarded a few day§ since :—: — " Dublin Castle, March 18, 1848. 11 To Wilson Flavell, Esq., District Secretary of Loyal Orangemen of the Portadown District, County Armagh. Sin,— l am directed by the Lord-Lieutenant to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the address of the Loyal Orangtmen of the Portadown district, and to assure you that his Excellency receives with satisfaciion and with confidence the declaration of their loyalty to the Sovereign, tkeir attachment to the constitution, and of t ieir determination to uphold the authorises in tho maintenance of peace and order. *' I have the honor to be Sir, " Your obedient sfrvant, "CORBY CoNNELLAN."

Working of the Pooh. Law. The Grand Jury of the County of Mayo have una. nimonsly adopted the following resolution t — " Tnat although the abstract principles of political economy may properly apply to nocieiy in an ordinary stale, we fetl it right to declare it ai our decided and unanimous conviction, that tuch principles cannot be suited to « country involved, as th s country at present is, in a state of desolation und ruin, by an awful visitation of Providence. We consider unprofitable labor, as a labor-test in ducli a slate of things to be ruinous, t ndmg only to make bad worse — but we consider the cultivation of the suii to be the proper and legitimate channel for giving employment to the poor, to assist in restoring society from a state of utter prostration to a slate of indu->iri I and healthy action, nud we request the foreman to convey the expres»iou of our unanimous conviction to the Lord-Lieutenant. (Signed) " GEOFJWEY Browne, " Foreman."

Force in Dublin. — One troop Royal Horse Artillery ; live companiei Royal Artilleiy; 2nd Dragoon Guards, two troops, and Field-Officer ; Gth Diagoon Gaards, two troops and Field-Officer ; Gth Light Dragoons, six troops and head-quarters ; 7th Hussars, six troops and head-quarters ; 17th Lancers, six troops and hca'l quarters ; 7th Depot, three companies and head quarters ; 49th, ten companies and head-quarters ; 55th nine companies and Field-Officer ; 75th, ten companies; 74th Highlanders, eigat companies and head-quarters; 85th, ten companies iind head-quarters ; 800 Enrolled Pensioners. Total, 60t>0 runk and file. A circular letter has been issued from the WaraOffice. dated 29th ultimo, to the effect that all soldiers discharged last year to the out-pcnsion 1-st shall be examined by the staff officers of pensioners, in order that such as arc still capable of bearing arms may bu added to the strength of this useful corpi. It is well known that tliis veteran force, oiganiscd early in 1841 by Viscount Ilaidiuge, then Secretary at War, perJouns dou« ble service to iti country : after having served it in every part of the world, these out-pensioners are ready in their various districts to aid the civil power in maintaining order ; and, as was recently the case in Scotland, proved, by their forbearance, firmness, and good conduct, how useful they are in this, their Becond period of service* to the state.

WIIAT CAN BE DONE WITH IRELAND ? — Of nil questions that is the moat difficult to answer. We have sent it to the editor of Bell's Life, and every other sporting paper, but have received no satisfactory reply. Several plans have been proposed. Some have recommended the cold water cure ; otheri, an earthquake ; and one or two bold persons have hinted at its being presented a free gift (if such a donalion can be called a gift) to Joinville, or Louis Philippe, or its being told for what it would fetch, to the Emperor ot Russia. None of these plans, however, have been tried, or 8t all events have succeeded. The place is as incurable as ever. O! that a second St. Patrick would rise nnd drive all tbe vermin out of the countiy I Ireland is not only England's difficulty, but also her own. Her serpents and snakes in the grass make it impossible for any one who is fond ofcontinual hissing and stinginir, to live in such a place. Now we propose forfthe beutfit of Ireland, that a plan of emigration be tr ed on in the most extensive scale. If some of the inhabitants could only be removed, we are Mire the country will flourish. Conciliation Hall might be shipped 10 Botany Bay, and young Ireland be exporttd

in a body to the Hotel dc Ville. Premium* shou'd be offered to every agitator, corresponding with Uic amount of mischief he is likely to &o, to induce the race of Meaghers and Mitchells to prove their real love for Ireland by Jeivlng it. We hope Government will appreciate our hint by instantly starting a General Irish Emigration Society. Ireland! looks upon England ns her natural enemy. We beg to say she is no one's enemy but her own. The sooner that enmity is buried ; the better for her, and the plsasanter for us.— Punch.