IRELAND.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 380, 5 December 1849, Page 2

I RELAND.

According to the usual chequered course which the occurrences in Irish history seem, as if by some fatality, destined to present, we find the accounts of the preparations for the joyfully anticipated Royal visit, coming side-by-side with distressing representations of the character and probable consequences of that fatal collision between the Orangemen and the Roman Catholics in the County Down, of which we have already given a btief statement. Having now before us copious details of this tragical event, we select such portions of the narrative as will place our readers in possession of the principal facts, so far as they had been made public at our latest dates. A correspondent of the local journal, the Downpalrick Recorder, writes — "July 13.— Sud work yestcr.lay evening at Dolly's Brae, near Cistlewcllan. I hive been there to-day, and learned the following particulars :— -There was, as you know, an evident intention to attack ihe Orange procession at that place ; indeed, an anonymous challenge had been sent to Mr Shaw (Lord Anglesea's agent), a day or two previous, couched in the bitterest language, desiring to meet the ltodens, the ICeownß, the Skinners, the Pig-drivers (the police), and the handful of Holilieiv, lo protect the bit march that they (the Orangemen) shall ever have, in spite of all Her Majesty's forces to protect them, and they should see who would be uppermost.' Government, at you know, sent a troop of dragoons, with the compiny of the 13th Light Infantry, and abjut fifty police, the former under the command of Mujor Wulhouse, j the latter under Mr. Tabiteau, R.M. The Major diiposcd liis foicos so as to command the pans, and 10 far all went on quietly, on the Orangeman coming t > the place of rendezvous — Tollymore Park — though therewere plenty of Ribbonmen at the place armed tt the teeth, with every kind of weapon, guns, pikes, &c.

Nothing, however, look place except on incident that nearly proved fatal to Captain Skinner, Lord Downshire's ngent. He had gone a road to the kit, lowardi the townlaud of Leitrim, and met a large body of Ribbonmeii, whom he mistook for Orangemen. He accosted them, 'Well, boys, are you from Rathfriland ?" They mistook him for Lord Roden, and made a furious attock upon him, and lwd neaily succeeded in piking him, and would have clone =o, hut for one of the party, who stepped forward nnd saved his life, for there were many fiom that quarter, and other parts— • Ciossgar, IltlHown, and Lougliinisland. It was on the letum of the Ruthfriland, Ballyorrian, Ballyward, and olher lodges, at nix o'clock in the evening, at about h-ilf a iri'le beyond Dolly'u JJiue, where a large body of Ribbonmeii were posted, that this melancholy and distressing occurrence took place. Seeing the Oiangcmen coming up, they save an immense cheer ; one of the Orangemen returned the cheer by discharging his gun in the air, when, immediately, a volley was fired by Uießibbonmen, and a complete engagement took place, which lasted nearly half an hour ; when four Ribbonmen, one O range mnn, and a girl looking on, wore killed, and a considerable number wounded. Lieut Tlierry, of the 13fh, was attacked by a pikcman. lie parried off the blows, and, I believe, took the man piisoner. Sub-Inspector Hill was also attacked. A policeman, in defending him, nearly bayoneted hi* o/licor ; but (lie man was shot. There have been about forty prisoneis taken, who have been brought to Rathfii'and, where the inquest is being held. One young man lies dead in Castlewcllan ; another, and n woman badly wounded; and I am told many ait* found in the ditches, at the dam of ArLanna ; but thi real truth will not be known until the evidence at the inqticst Captain Skinnur, nothing daunted, went in the evening, on the return of the- Oinngemcn to Dolly'u IJrac, where he lost his hoise, and had to walk home. The Oningutnen of that neighbourhood wore escorted by the Clarkhill, Cloughiaiu, Clough, and Newcastle lodges, to put them past that place ; and it was a r tiT they had It-It them that they were attacked farther on, and this deplorable catastrophe occuned. Drs, 13rabiv/.on and Hunter went this morning to see the wounded men ; but a& they had the precaution to hare some police with them the people would not let them be seen. The worst feature on the part of the Orangemen is, that they set fiic to all the houses and burnt eleven, and nearly burned an old woman and a ciipple." As uiual in such cases there are conflictingstatements, which render it impossible — especially with the limited information which reache s us here, — to apportion its due share of blame to each respectively of the parties engaged in this deplorable affray. We must therefore, for the present at least, content ourselves with copying, in addition to the above, the account given at the conclusion of the inquest by the correspondent of the (London) Morning Herald. Dublin, Wednesday, July 18th 1849The proceedings at the inquest on the dead bodies of the peisons shot at Dolly's Urea were resumed yesterday, and after further evidence was adduced, the jury found a verdict to the following effect :— ■ " The deceased Hugh King died on the morning of P. iday, the 13th day of July inst, at the town of Castlewellai), in tho county of Down, from n gunshot wound inflicted on him by gome person unknown, in a party procession, in the townland of Magheraiuayo, in said country, on Thursday the 12th instant. The deceußed Pntrick King, John Sweeny, and Anne Traynor, died on Thurslayihc 12th day of July instant, in the toxvnlind of Maghcrmayo, in this country by certain violent injuries indicted on the afoiebaid day by some persons unknown, of a paity piocession passing by said townland on said day." r J he report in the Roman Catholic organ, the Freeman's Journal) fully sustains the communications forwaided by me to the 1 lei aid on Saturday. The Roman i-t paity begun the affray by hi ing upon the police from their ambuscade. They fought while they conceived they wae pretty safe, and only fbd to their houses when they discovered their error. From their houses they fired upon the processionists, who, by way of retaliation, burned about a dozen of them. There i.s no attempt here to juitify the conduct of the Orangemeni They s;iy they can do that themselves— but this much they are entitled to — they wero not the aggressors, and although they ought in mercy to have ceased firing ufter the (light of their intended murdeiers, the state of excitement in which both parties wero is offered as an excuse for the outrages which followed the defeat of the assailants. We gladly turn from this melancholy transaction to some of the brighter points in the journals before us. We have more than ouce referred with pleasure to the lecently propounded scheme of the Corporation of London for the improvement of Ireland, by the purchase and cultivation of waste lands. The following communication on the subject, addressed by Lord Ci-arenoon, (the Lord Lieutenant), to the Loud Mayor of London, is full of weighty truth, and affords an additional evidence of the enlightened zeal with which that patriotic and universally esteemed nobleman devotes his energies to the promotion of the welfare of the countiy of his Vice-royalty. 11 Viceregal Lodge, June 26th. "My Lord,— As I feel the deepest anxiety respecting any measure that has for its object the benefit of lii'land, I hope I may be permitted to express to your Lordship the feelings of satisfaction, I could almost say of delight, with which I read the report of a meeting held on Friday last, at the Mansion house, under the auspices of your Lordship. The speeches delivered on that occasion were so excellent in their tone, and exhibited so much prudence as well as genuine philautlirophy, that I cannot but consider the meeting as likely to be productive of the happiest results to Ireland, and through Ireland to tue United Kingdom. " I have long been desirous that English capitdj ihould be invested in Irish land, because I think that some change in the pyoprietavy chas is indispensable to the progress and prosperity of this couutry, and will be beneficial to those propiietors who are now in in a state of hopelesi einbarrasment, and struggling against difficulties which it must, I fear, be impossible for them to overcome. Howeycr good the intention of a landlord may be, he cannot fulfil his duties to himself and to those dependent upon him, if, as is too often the case, his property be mortgaged to its full value, that value being frequently calculated on the extravagant rents, that potato cultivation and the reckless competition for land hava produced. "In fact, the whole social system of Ireland has been based upon the potato, and the failure of that root has consequently entailed universul distress. Hence so many lauded proprietors are now unable to keep «lovvn the interest on their mortgage!. Tenants, can no longer pay their rents, and the peasants, for want of employment, are drivm upon the rates, of

which the collection becomes daily more difficult. Such a state of things contains within itself no germ ot amelioration, it cannot even remain stationary; it must go from bad to worse, for the means of improvement are altogether wanting, and the national resources are gradually wasting ; and even if the potato weie to revive, (and to that all clauses are now clinging with desperate hope,) it would only bring back the evils under which the country has been so long labouring, " It is manifest, then, that a complete change, of system as regards agriculture, the tenure of land, and the social habits ot the people, has become indispensable, and that change can only he effected by the introduction of English capital, cnterpiise, and skill in the manner contemplated by the meeting at the Mansion house. "Desirous though I am, however, that capital should bo thus employed, nothing could induce me to recommend it if I did not conscientiously believe that the investment would be remunerative, as it would be worse than useless to expend large sums of money without a fair prospect of return, and if those prospects were not realised, all such speculations must cease for the fu> ture ; but upon this point I entertain no donbt, for if good land is lobe bought at a cheap rate, if secure titles can be obtained at small expense ; and if capital is available for improving the toil and rendering it pioductive, such an investment cannot fail to be profitable ; but it is under these circumstances when the Encumbered Estates Bill is passed that purchasers may come into the market. The oonntiy, too. is eminently propitious for the undo taking, brciusc political excitement ia at un euJ, ugianun outrage consequent upon the competition for laud is nov very r*re, and the only anxiety of thu people is to obtain employment, or the means of emigrating: : but, with reipcct to the latter, encourag ment ihould not be given as a general rule, nor without due enquiry ; and I was glad to observo that such appeared to be the opinion of the meeting at thu Mansion house ; for although there are districts where, owing to the minute subdivision ot land, find other circumstances, the population has manifestly become redundant, and can not, in the absence of the potato, find the means of subsistence, emulation is the most desii able ; yet Ihci care others where emigration is at this moment looked upon as the "only remedy for existing distress, but in which there arc actually not able-bodied men enough for the cultivation of the soil undu* a proper system of agricuUure ; and it ts a mistake to suppose th.it the Iribh people will not work. Tticy are both willing and desirous to work, and when in regular employment are always peaceable and orderly, and, as they have lost their confidence in the potatoes, there will not now be the same difficulty as in former limes in inducing the occupant of three or four acres of land to become a labourer for money wages, punctually paid ; on the contrniy, there is cveiy ireason to think they would greatly prefer it. I may add, too, that the tenant farmeis now no longer adhere to their old and vicious system of cultivation, but .are eager to learn, and are grateful (or instruction. " In short, from a concurrence of circumstances I do not think that there is uny country in the world where change could be so beneficially effected as in lie land by the judicious application of capital, while ordinary attention to the comforts of the people and the improvement of tbeir habits would pioduce contentment and confidence, and render the appeals of aelfish agitutors innocuous. "Of the po itical and social advantages tliat England would derive from such an altered state of things I need scy nothing to your Lordship, and with respect to the many commercial benefi's to be looked for from the investment of capital, I will only mention that for the rearing of cattle no country cm compute with Ireland, and that we annually pay upwards ol 4,000,000/. stcihng foi foreign flux, the whole of which might with the utmost facility be produced in this country. " It the Corporation of London should now turn tbeir attention lo Ireland, and prove that in the opinion of the creates! capitalists and best men of bnsiness in the world investments in liish land are considered safe and advantageous, their example would be gencially followed, and the well boing of thU countiy, involving as it iijwajs must do, that of the United Kingdom, woul.l then lor tbe first time be placed upon atolid and permanent basis. " 1 must apologizo" to your Lordship for tbe length to which this letter has extended, and in conclusion, beg to state that there exists here the mobt minute and accurate statistical information upon eveiy matter connected witli laud, population, and local expenditure, the whole of which shall be placed at tbe disposal of jour committee in any way that may be thought most useful ; and I need hnrdly add, that the assistance of every official person here will be freely given, and that no effort of my own shall be wanting in furtherance of the project which, as 1 venture to hope, iB about to be realized by the corporation of London. "I have tbe honour to be, my Lord, " Your Lcidship's most faithful servant, " CLARUNDON. ; u The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor." A richer and nearer promise of good to Iteland, however, than even that which this plan holds out, is presented in the discovery of the strange and unexpected means of realizing Avealth to an almost indefinite extent, described in the following extraordinary facts, brought forward in the House ol Commons, on the 27th of July. We copy the report which has reached us, at a length which its importance will justify.