IRELAND.

Lord De Grey, with the Countess, arrived at Kingstown, early on Friday morning, in the Queen's steamer Merlin ; accompanied by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and the Lord-Lieutenant's Private Secre- tary. Lord De Grey's return to Ireland was quite sudden. He was to have left London for his seat in Bedfordshire ; whence be meant to proceed to Yorkshire, for the purpose of training a regiment of Yeomanry of which he is Colonel : but, after an interview with Sir Robert Peel and Sir James Graham, on the Wednesday, he set out for Liverpool that night, on his way to Dublin.

The Earl of Cardigan and several other military officers received orders to join their regiments in Ireland early last week.

In the course of Friday, the Lord-Lieutenant remained for some hours in consultation with Lord Eliot, the Lord Chancellor, the Attor- ney-General and Solicitor-General ; the Crown Solicitor being in attendance. At ten o'clock next morning there was a meeting of the Privy Council—present, the Lord-Lieutenant, the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Donoughmore, Lord Eliot, the Master of the Rolls, the Com- mander of the Forces, the Attorney-General, and the Solicitor-General. The Council sat in deliberation until half-past one. At half-past three o'clock, the following proclamation was issued- " BY THE LORD-LIEUTENANT AND COUNCIL OF IRELAND. "A PROCLAMATION.

"DE GREY.—Whereas it has been publicly announced that a meeting is to take place at or near Clontarf, on Sunday the 8th of October instant, for the alleged purpose of petitioning Parliament for a repeal of the Legislative Union between Great Britain and Ireland : " And whereas adver:isements and placards have been printed and extensively circulated, calling on those persons who propose to attend the said meeting on horseback to meet and form in procession, and to march to the said meeting in military order and array :

" And whereas meetings of large numbers of persons have been already held in different parts of Ireland, under the like pretence, at several of which meet- ings language of a seditious and inflammatory nature has been addressed to the persons there assembled, calculated and intended to excite discontent and dis- affection in the minds of her Majesty's subjects, and to bring into hatred and contempt the government and constitution of the country as by law esta- blished :

"And whereas at some of the said meetings such seditious and inflammatory language has been used by persons who have signified their intention of being present at and taking part in the said meeting so announced to be held at or near Clontarf:

" And whereas the said intended meeting is calculated to excite reasonable and well-grounded apprehension that the motives and objects of the persons to be assembled thereat are not the fair legal exercise of constitutional rights and privileges, but to bring into hatred and contempt the government and constitu- tion of the United Kingdom as by law established, and to accomplish altera- tions in the laws and constitution of the realm by intimidation and the de- monstration of physical force: "Now we, the Lord-Lieutenant, by and with the advice of her Majesty's Privy Council, being satisfied that the said intended meeting, so proposed to be held at or near Clontarf as aforesaid, can only tend to serve the ends of fac- tious and seditious persons, and to the violation of the public peace, do hereby strictly caution and forewarn all persons whatsoever, that they do abstain from attendance at the said meeting : and we do hereby give notice, that if, in de- fiance of this our proclamation, the said meeting shall take place, all persons attending the same shall be proceeded against according to law : and we do hereby order and enjoin all Magistrates and officers intrusted with the preserva- tion of the public peace, and others whom it may concern, to be aiding and assisting in the execution of the law in preventing the said meeting, and in the effectual dispersion and suppression of the same, and in the detection and prosecution of those who after this notice shall offend in the respects aforesaid. " Given at the Council Chamber in Dublin, this 7th day of October 1843.

" EDWARD B. SUDDEN, C. E. BLAKENEY, DoNOUGSIORE, FRED. SHAW, ELIOT, T. B. C. SMITH.

F. BLACKRURNE, "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN."

As soon as the issue of this proclamation was known, Mr. O'Connell called a special meeting of the Repeal Association ; which was nume- rously attended. Mr. O'Connell was loudly cheered. Speaking with marked calmness, he stated, that in consequence of the step taken by Government, there would be no meeting at Clontarf next day— He would disappoint their views. He should feel obliged to every individual to prohibit, in every possible way, the assembling of any persons, however few, at the intended place of meeting tomorrow. There should be no meeting; and therefore, if any one speculated in the blood of the people, they would be dis- appointed. Let no one imagine that the Repeal would be stayed in its course by this foolish step. He would emphatically say, that a more base or imbecile step had never been taken. They knew well that the Clontarf meeting was to be the last. lle wondered they did not issue their proclamation on the last day, when it would have been all over. But no; they waited until three o'clock that day. (Mr. John O'Connell—" Oh! the murderers in intent !") Sl far from being displeased by this Ministerial mancauvre, it accommodated him; for it gave him some relaxation. This was really the last meeting that was to have taken place : he might have had some few on his way to Darrynane, but that was all. They issued this proclamation when it was nearly useless; while the step showed the tone, the disposition, and the temper of the British Minis- try towards this country. Did they think they would make one Repealer the less for it ? No; but many more by that step would become Repealers. Out

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of respect to his friends, and those in particular from Manchester and Liver- pool, he bad called this meeting to inform them of the course he would pursue. Every mean interference with the national right to petition was but a stimulant to every honest Irishman to exert himself for national independence.

The following counter-proclamation was adopted by the meeting-

"NOTICE.—Whereas there has appeared under the signature of E. B. Sag- den, C., Donoughmore, Eliot, F. Blackburne, E. Blakeney, Fred. Shaw, T. B. C. Smith, a paper being, or purporting to be, a proclamation drawn up in very loose and inaccurate terms, and manifestly misrepresenting known facts, the object of which appears to be to prevent the public meeting intended to be held tomorrow, the 8th instant, at Clontarf, to petition Parliament for the Repeal of the baleful and destructive measure of the Legislative Union : " And whereas such proclamation has not appeared until late in the after- noon of this day, Saturday the 7th instant; so that it is utterly impossible that the knowledge of its existence could be communicated in the usual official channels, or by the post, in time to have its contents known to the persons intending to meet at Clontarf for the purpose of petitioning as aforesaid ; whereby ill-disposed persons may have an opportunity, under colour of said proclamation, to provoke breaches of the peace, or commit violence on persons intending to proceed peacefully and legally to said intended meeting: " We, therefore, the Committee of the Loyal National Repeal Association, do most earnestly. request and entreat, that all well-disposed persons will, im- mediately on receiving this intimation, repair to their own dwellings, and not place themselves in peril of any collision, or of receiving any ill treatment what- soever.

" And we do further inform such persons, that, without yielding in any thing to the unfounded allegations in said alleged proclamation, we deem it prudent and wise, and above all things humane, to declare that said meeting is aban- doned and is not to be held.

"Signed, by order, DANIEL O'CONNELL. " Saturday, 7th October, 3i p. m., 1843."

A number of persons volunteered to take their stations in the ap- proaches to Clontarf, early on Sunday morning, to intercept the Re- pealers on their way to the rendezvous.

Extensive military precautions were taken on Sunday. The guards at the places where they are usually stationed in the city itself were doubled; and, with the exception of the soldiers required for that pur- pose, and for a reserved force stationed in Aldborough House, by ten o'clock the whole garrison was drawn up at Clontarf; and the guns of the Pigeon-house, which was garrisoned by several companies of foot and artillery, were turned so as to sweep the road to Clontarf. The infantry on the ground were commanded by Colonel Fane, the cavalry by Lord Cardigan, and a troop of Horse Artillery by Colonel Gordon Higgins. The approaches to Conquer Hill were crowded by people from Dublin, Westmeath, Kildare, and the adjoining counties. At every dead-wall or post was gathered a knot of persons reading the Lord-Lieutenant's proclamation and Mr. O'Connell's notice. The troops, however, were so arranged as to prevent any bodies of people from passing off the road, to which all passengers were strictly confined ; and all persons were compelled to keep moving, so that no accumulation of crowds was permitted. The scene was striking and peculiar- " On coming to the sheds of Clontarf, about two miles from Dublin and half a mile from the place of meeting, the multitude became very dense indeed; and the many cars and vehicles proceeding to the scene of action made their way, though with much difficulty. Advancing a few hundred yards further, the brass helmets of the Dragoons glittered in the sun, and orderly Police, en- deavouring to clear the path and keep an open space along the road, were visible over the dense mass of frieze and broad-cloth that occupied it. The picket was supported by all the disposable force of their regiment—the Fifth Dragoon Guards, about 150 strong, who were drawn up in double files on either side of the road. Beyond them were placed two pieces of artillery sur- rounded by their gunners and drivers, with Oar muzzles pointed towards Dublin, their matches fizzing, and with all other necessary preparations. In support of these appeared the whole of the Fifty-fourth Infantry, who, their arms beingpiled, lounged along the parapet-wall, [which protects the road from the sea,] or amused themselves by throwing pebbles into the sea ; while their officers were taking it easy, and smoking their cigars on the kerb-stones. "Then appeared the red and white tufts of the Fifth Fusileers; the majority of whom, judging from their physiognomies and the touch of the brogue in their conversation, I should say were Irishmen, as indeed many of the men both of the Dragoons and Fifty-fourth Foot also appeared to be. The full force of this regiment was also on the ground ; and directly opposite to them were the whole amount of the County Constabulary, to the number of 300 or 400, with musket, bayonet, and thirty rounds of ball-cartridge. These green-coated gendarmerie seemed to incur the particular hostility of the populace • the ma- nifestations of which they bore with great good humour. Immediately in rear of the Fusileers)awned the months of two more pieces of artillery, (twelve- pound howitzers,) around which some fifty of the mounted Artillery in blue and red calpacks were stationed, and in support of which were drawn up the whole of the Eleventh Light Dragoons, (Prince Albert's,) en bivouac, under the command of Lord Cardigan. " The place selected for the meeting was a large field, with a gentle elevation, lying to the left of the seaward wall of Clontarf, and said to have been the place whereon the great Irish Solon, Brian Boroilime, defeated the Danes and their,frials allies, though with the ioss of his own life. It lies a little below the position taken by the Eleventh Dragoons, but is only accessible by the road occupied by the military, unless by some narrow paths through the fields. There were but few persons on it, and the platform and tents were taken down precipitately last night. " The appearance of so large a force, numbering at least 2,500 or 3,000 men, is extremely imposing; but the people assembled do not seem to fear them much—the better to suppress any signs of their disappointment, I suppose : indeed, many of them seem highly delighted at having an opportunity of 'teasing the Army ' by jeers and laughter; and if the soldiery, in all the aban- don of a stand-at-ease,' venture to indulge in any jocular retaliation, they are scouted at and abused instantly for 'insulting the people ' " In the midst cf the people, in a car, escorted by a number of " gos- soons," rode Mr. Thomas Steele, " Head Pacificator of Ireland," bearing a green branch, vice an olive branch, and reiterating emphatically the words "Home, home !" He was obeyed by the parties, who continued to move off as they arrived; and there was so little noise or confusion that he bad no difficulty in making himself heard and understood. Such was the state of matters until about five o'clock ; when there was among the spectators who still remained a general move towards Dublin. As soon as the place was cleared, the troops also were drawn off; and soon after six o'clock they were again in their barracks. There was no riot or disturbance of any kind throughout the day.

The Thirty-fourth Regiment of Infantry arrived in the course of Sunday, in two divisions.

A great meeting of the Repeal Association was held on Monday. As it was in some sort a substitute for the Clontarf meeting, not to disappoint Repealers who bad come over from Liverpool and Manches- ter, it was held, not at the Corn Exchange, but at a more spacious building, in Abbey Street, called Calvert's Theatre. The theatre was Crowded to excess, and the meeting is said to have been the largest yet held by the Association. Mr. John O'Connell was called to the chair. Addresses were presented to Mr. O'Connell from Manchester and Staleybridge. The resolutions which were to have been submitted to the meeting at Clontarf—or at least passing for such—were produced now, and were moved by the Reverend Mr. Tyrrell. They express loyalty to the Queen, concurrence in the principles set forth at Mullagh- mast, and confidence in O'Connell. But the most distinctive clause is this one- " Resolved, That we, the clergy, gentry, freeholders, and other inhabitants of Fingal, in public meeting assembled, declare and pronounce, in the presence of our country, before Europe and America, and in the sight of Heaven, that no power on earth ought of right to make laws to bind this kingdom, save the Queen, Lords, and Commons of Ireland : and here, standing on the ever- memorable battle-field of Clontarf, the Marathon of Ireland, we solemnly pledge ourselves to use every constitutional exertion to free this, our native land, from the tyranny of being legislated for by others than her own inhabit- ants."

The vote of confidence in O'Connell is in these terms-

" Resolved, That forty-four years of devoted and successful labour in the Cause of his country, have justly earned for O'CONNELL—THE LIBERATOR of Ireland—the UNBOUNDED CONFIDENCE of the Irish people ; and that we, relying upon his supreme wisdom, discretion, patriotism, and undaunted firm- ness, hereby pledge ourselves, individually and collectively, to follow his guidance, under any and every circumstance that may arise ; and, come weal come we, never to desert the constitutional standard of Repeal which he has raised."

These resolutions were adopted by the assembled Association.

Mr. 9-Connell then delivered a long speech on the state of Repeal. He denounced the Lord-Lieutenant's proclamation, as calculated, he did not say that it was intended, to entrap the people into a massacre. He exhorted the Repealers to render the most perfect obedience to every thing bearing the form of legal authority ; dwelling long on the point, and repeatedly recurring to it, with the further expla- nation, that they must not examine into the actual legality, but obey what purported to be legal authority. They must have Re- peal, and he wanted to carry it without shedding one drop of blood. The intended meeting at Clontarf, lie said, was peculiarly marked for peace; because, unlike all which had preceded it, and which had been suffered by Government, it was convened on the requisition solely of Roman Catholic clergymen. He asked bow Government could account for passing over Friday, the usual Gazette day, and not publishing the proclamation until three o'clock on Saturday ; when it was impossible to prevent the vast multitudes from taking their departure from Meath, Louth, Kildare, and Wicklow ? He commented on the several passages of the proclamation, and contrasted it with that issued in Wales, point- ing cut its "damning diversity." He maintained that it was illegal, its object being to deprive the people of all legitimate means of obtain- ing those rights of which they bad been plundered by the grossest crimes that ever soiled the annals of history ; and he declared that all who had signed it ought to be impeached. He described his future plans- " My course is manifest. That proclamation has done nothing to alter my course of conduct, except in so far as my attendance at the meeting yesterday was concerned. It certainly did prevent me attending that ; but there all its influence was at an end. I did intend before Parliament sat to have had a simultaneous meeting of every parish throughout Ireland, on the same day, to petition them ; and those petitions were to be signed regularly by all the resi- dent Repealers, commencing with the clergymen. I cannot now name a day for this great simultaneous assembling of the Irish nation ; for 1 wish the ex- citement and indignation raised by this foolish and mad proclamation in the breasts of the people to be assauged before we venture to do so. I give notice of my plan; and on a certain day, yet to be appointed, every parish in Ireland shall meet to seek the restoration of their native Legislature. Before the next sitting of Parliament, it will be necessary to hold two of these simultaneous parochial meetings of universal Ireland. The first, for the due exposition of their grievances, and the drawing up of petitions to the Imperial Parliament ; the second, to have these petitions adopted and signed man by man. These meetings will take place after mass ; and the necessary business will be trans- acted in the little yards or enclosures attached to every chapel. 1 want to know how they will prevent our meeting to petition simultaneously through- out Ireland, although they may prevent our meeting in'multitudes. " To arrange this, was one of my reasons for giving up monster meetings : but I have still something more to work out. I shall also carry into operation the plan of our Arbitration Courts universally. In this I believe the procla- mation will give us no small help; and soon all over Ireland there will be gentlemen dispensing justice to all who seek it. "I have also another plan—it is to prevent Irish estates being overloaded with mortgages, the interest of which is handed over to persons in England. The object is to buy up the debts due on Irish estates ; and the plan is most promising. It would be carried into effect by a company of gentlemen with 1001. shares ; and from the number of anticipated subscribers, that would be amply sufficient ; and this company would be embodied for the purpose of taking up the debts due in England and to Englishmen from Irish estates. Thus, the interest of the debts or mortgages would be paid and spent in Ireland, instead of in England."

Afterwards, again exhorting the people to obey his advice and break no law, he said-

" I will take the necessary steps fur carrying out my plan for the formation of the Irish House of Commons, which I trust I shall be enabled to lay before Parliament in the very first week of the next session." Alluding to the dispersion of the people who came to Clontarf, he praised their conduct, and that of the soldiers— "1 have to express my delight at the conduct of the people yesterday : they were good-humoured, and attentive to our instructions. I have also to express my admiration at the exemplary conduct of the soldiery : nothing could be more proper than their behaviour; but nothing could be more cruel than to keep the poor fellows standing together all day for nothing. And then there was the pride and pomp of the Lord-Lieutenant going to review the army ! (Laughter.) They assail us with the charge of desecrating the Sabbath ; but wonder what the Lord-Lieutenant was doing on Sunday mounted on his pony, prancing down the road ? I speak well of the people and of the soldiery, and my swelling heart beats high for the consummation of the liberty of Ire- land."

Mr. O'Connell finished with a " Hurrah, then, for old Ireland and the Repeal !" The call was answered by "tremendous cheering, which continued," says the Freeman's Journal, " without intermission for nearly a quarter of an hour." In the midst of it, Mr. O'Connell sat down ; but when it subsided, he rose again, and moved a resolution- " That whilst we repeat to the people of Ireland our conviction that who- ever commits a crime gives strength to the enemy,' and while we pledge them and ourselves to a perfect obedience to the law, we at the same time avow before the inhabitants of the British empire, and before the inhabitants of the civilized world, that we never will desist from the legal and constitutional pur- suit of the Repeal of the Union, until an Irish Parliament is in College Green again." This was carried with great cheering. During the proceedings, several sums were handed in towards the Repeal rent, under the name of " pro- clamation-money," Mr. O'Connell beginning with 5/. ; 6001. had been collected that day ; and at the close the total of the week's rent was 1,1051.

After the meeting, the dinner which was to have been held at Clon- tarf was held at the Rotunda; all the rooms of which were engaged for the occasion. It was one of the most numerous meetings of the kind ever held in Dublin. Mr. O'Connell presided : he entered the principal room at half-past five o'clock, accompanied by several members of the Corporation, in their robes ; the band playing, " See the conquering hero comes." The first toast, " Our excellent Sovereign, the Queen, God bless her," led the Chairman to contrast the allegiance of the Irish people with that of the Tory party-

" From the moment she came on the throne she was made the victim of their calumnies. The Tory press teemed with abominable accusations ; and the feel- ing of hostility was crested in the breasts of young creatures, who speculated in firing shots at her Majesty ; and even in the case of Oxford, the Jury was so formed that they had a difficulty to find the unfortunate youth guilty of having fired at the Queen. In addition to that, when her husband was to have the establishment voted to him, the Tories struck off 20,000/. a year; and that very party that took off 20,000/. from Prince Albert, gave to the beastly bigoted monster the King of Hanover. That was the contrast between them and the Tories; and nothing could possibly prevent the Continuance of their allegiance." Afterwards he made a supplementary allusion to the simultaneous meetings— He hoped, before the lapse of a fortnight, that the excitement produced by that proclamation would be so abated that they would be able to have a simul- taneous meeting in every parish in Ireland, to petition her Majesty to remove the Administration that had placed the lives of her Majesty's Irish subjects in such jeopardy.

The rest of the speeches were of little mark.

At another meeting of the Association, on Wednesday, a long address to the Cincinnati Irish Repeal Association, in the United States, was adopted ; rating the said Association, in what may be called scolding rather than controversy, for its views in favour of Negro slavery. Mr. O'Connell stated that it was his own composition, dictated to Mr. Daunt, while sitting to Mr. Hogan for his bust ! A committee was appointed to prepare an address to the People of Ireland in reference to the present circumstances ; and the Catholic clergy were requested to report on the state of feeling in their respective districts, in order to arrangements for the simultaneous meetings. Mr. Morgan, a solicitor, made a "contrite apology " for issuing the notice respecting the " Repeal cavalry," of which he was the author; his object being solely to promote order at the Clontart nivetiag. Mr. O'Connell said the apology was proper and satisfactory. He also no:iced the omission of his own name in the requjsition calling the present meeting—which some might think looked like shrinking : he supposed the omission was accidental ? Mr. Ray said it was.

A variety of rumours have been current in Dublin : that Mr. O'Con- nell had been arrested,—which was repeatedly proved to be false by the appearance of the man himself in perfect freedom ; and that there were to be divers Government prosecutions ; but, says the Dublin Monitor of Wednesday, "nothing definite has transpired on this subject as yet."

A public meeting was held in Limerick, on Sunday, several members of the Corporation taking the lead ; and resolutions against the recent proclamation and in support of O'Connell were passed almost unani- mously.

To the last, before the issue of the proclamation, the talk of the Repeal papers about the contemplated meeting at Clontarf breathed of war and battle. On the Friday, the Dublin Pilot began its "leading article" thus— "This is the REPEAL YEAR. Among the many things that have been done in it to awaken an Irish spirit among the inhabitants of this country, and to teach them a self-confidence and a self-respect, nothing has been more effectual than the holding of meetings on particular spots where their ancestors had- suffered some great disaster or obtained some signal advantage. It is, as it were, treading over the days that are past, or reading the history of Ireland anew. It is recalling to our minds, as in a picture, the calamities that our fathers experienced, or the feats they achieved. For this reason, it was wise that meetings should have been held at Tara and Mullaghmast ; and for this reason it is particularly wise that another should be held at Clontarf. In the whole range of Irish topography no spot is more celebrated than this. It was here that Irishmen, under a commander as prudent as brave, taught a lesson to their Danish invaders that has never been forgotten. Would to God that there had been soldiers of equal spirit, and commanders of equal prudence and bravery, to meet the plundering and bloodthirsty Saxons, in subsequent years, when they first set their feet upon our soil! Oh! if there had, what a world of misery Ireland had been spared ! Should the game of subduing us be attempted now, 'however, such a people exists, and such a commander could be found. Some say our Leader is too old for the camp or the field. It is false. Ile is of herculean frame, buoyant in spirit, and youthful in constitution. His age. is only sixty-eight years. That of Brian Boroihme, when, on Good Friday in 1014, he fought and conquered the Danes at Clontarf, was eighty- eight years. This should serve to warn our rulers against wantonly attacking O Connell. Clontarf—they should remember Cleated! " [Then follows a long extract from a book about the battle of Clontarf, where Brian Boroihme beat the Danes. Subsequently the Pilot observes—] " In those days every petty chieftain was called a king • and had, no doubt, his passions and his jealousies, as well as greater monarchs. Brian, stern and vigorous, was a man of such consummate judgment and bravery that be awed some and conciliated others into submission to his authority. Had Ireland been unanimous in his time, or in the subsequent time of Henry the Second, neither the Danes nor the Saxon serfs, headed by the Norman robbers, would have dared to set their foot on her shores : but it was the destiny of her children to be always disunited among themselves; and through that means they be- came a prey to the tyrants and plunderers, by whom they were attacked. A new spirit bas, however, arisen in our days. Ireland is becoming united—for we make little count of the few paltry bigots that are keeping aloof. Educa- tion is doing its work—prejudices are melting before it. It is an indisputable fact, that the people of this country were never so much under the command of any one man, or so manageable, as they are at present. Neither were they ever so sober, so intelligent, or more brave. From this it follows, that they never were so formidable if wantonly attacked; and the physical, the moral, the intellectual position of them—together with the coolness, the courage, and the great capacity of their leader—should, as it will, protect them from aggres- sion. All that could be required of them, if they were attacked, would be to imitate the conduct of their ancestors, the Dal-Cassians, who never entered a field without being resolved '.ro CONQUER on DIE!' • • • May the Irish people of the present day, should they be driven to it, imitate the conduct of the heave Tipperary men, or former Dal-Cassians."

The Dublin Evening Packets computes the army in Ireland at 28,000 men.

The death of Major George Bryan. of Tenkinstown, who had long been ill, creates a vacancy in the representation of Kilkenny County. The Major was a Liberal, but not a Repealer. Mr. Daniel O'Connell junior is mentioned as a probable candidate.

The Dublin Evening Post reports of Ballinasloe great sheep and -cattle fair-,-" Saturday's fair was better than was generally anticipated, prices being higher than before the tariff came into operation : the de- mand for every kind of stock was more brisk than on many similar occasions."

The Dublin Evening Mail publishes a letter from officers of the Queen's ship Lynx, totally denying the story recently promulgated by the Cork Reporter, that Cork had' been threatened with bombardment from orders given by Lieutenant Burslem, the commanding-officer, during a fit of mental aberration : the tale is said to be quite unfounded.