IRELAND.
The nomination of the Lord-Advocate of Scotland, and of his antago- nist Mr. Roger Smyth, for the borough of Lisburn, took place on Wed- nesday. Both the candidates are Conservative. The election is under- stood to be decided by the influence of the Marquis of Hertford.
Four Members of Parliament and eight Justices of the Peace for the county of Clare lately signed a requisition to Mr. Edmund Armstrong, the High Sheriff, calling upon him to convene a meeting for the purpose of petitioning Parliament to enable voters to vote by ballot. The High Sheriff declined to accede to their request, as "such a meeting pending the trials arising out of the late lamentable occurrence at Six-mile Bridge would be most inappropriate, causing excitement, and tending to no pos- sible good result." But, stimulated by this refusal, the requisitionists held their meeting and agreed to petition for the ballot.
The spread of Protestantism in the West of Ireland, hitherto asserted only by the Protestants, is now admitted by the Roman Catholics. The Nation says, that systematized proselytism has had " immense success in Connaught and Kerry." " The altars of the Catholic Church have been deserted by thousands born and baptized in the ancient faith of Ireland." Galway and Mayo are suffering from the " foul and abominable traffic" of Catholic tenets in exchange for Protestant alms. The Homan Catholic clergy are summoned to arms to stop the inroads of the enemy. " Shall the soupers and tract-distributors accomplish the work which all the force of England for three hundred years has been unable to effect ?"
Previous page
