IRELAND.

The Lord Lieutenant has appointed as one of his Chaplains the Reverend Henry Griffin, who is represented to be "a stanch Liberal in politics, and a decided supporter of the National system of education"•' and the Reverend Daniel Begot, Vicar of Newry, also a supporter of the National system, has received similar promotion. A parochial meeting was held at the Court-house in Hillsborough, on Thursday last week, for the purpose of taking into consideration certain injudicious and alarming changes in the mode of conducting the Church service, [by Archdeacon Mant, Rector of the parish,] and the propriety of petitioning the Queen and the Houses of Parliament against such objection- able innovations." The Marquis of Downshire occupieff the chair, and the meeting was very influentially attended. A correspondence on the subject was read.

The first letter was addressed to the promoters of the meeting on the 8th March, by the Earl of Hillsborough; who recorded his protest, in the strongest manner, against the innovations made and making in the celebration of the Church service, and total disregard of the feelings and wishes of the congre- gation."

The next letter was from the Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of Ireland, in reply to one from the Marquis of Downslare, asking the Archbishop's opinion of the changes lately .made in the churches of Down county. The Arch- bishop begins by saying that he is not invested with any power to in- terfere authoritatively. lie echoes the regret of the English Primate, Dr. Howley, that discussions of the kind should interrupt the harmony which ought to subsist between a pastor and his flock, because such con- troversies must draw away men's minds from more profitable and edi • g subjects; and the laity of the diocese of Down, in particular, have been distinguished for their efforts in the advancement of true religion—their munificent contributions for the establishment of churches and schools. "In the advancement of these great objects the counties of Down and Antrim have been foremost, and have set a laudable example to the rest of the country. It would pain me to think that such zeal was checked and such charity nter- rupted by disputes about:matters of little moment, and that the wishes and pre- dilections of persons who deserve so much respect, and have shown so great at- tachment to the Church of their fathers, were not treated with the utmost pos - Sible deference by their ministers. With regard to the introduction of changes in the manner of performing divine service, by restoring customs or modes of celebration which had long fallen into disuse, the greatest caution and forbearance ought, in my opinion, to be observed. The effect of usage in setting aside the obligation of the letter of a law is admitted in the ordinary concerns of life. • * • fn ascertaining whether any of the statutes of the land had fallen into this des- uetude, and thereby ceased to be imperatively binding, a person would look not to the wording of the statutes themselves, which are generally sufficiently clear and precise, but to the common opinion and custom of the nation. In this way only can such a point be ascertained. The laws which regulate the peculiar ceremonies belonging to our national Church are, in my opinion, no more exempt from the effect of long usage than are the laws of the land. • • • At va- rious times in my own diocese, clergymen have made changes, for the purpose of bringing the performance of public worship into nearer conformity with the di- rections in the Book of Common Prayer. But in all such cases it was with the concurrence and good-will of the people." He trusts that the example afforded by the dioeeses of London, Oxford, and Exeter, will be followed, and that the changes will be given up.

This letter the Marquis of Downshire offered to communicate to the Rector; seeking an interview for that purpose. Archdeacon Mant declined the interview, saying—" With the highest respect for his Grace the Lord Primate and for his opinion, I am not aware that I am bound to abide by it in any matter concerning the service of the Church, unless a question is referred to his Grace by my Diocesan, to whom only the law has made me responsible. I do not, therefore, see that my being made acquainted with his Grace's letter to your Lordship is likely to alter my opinion as to my duty of performing divine service in the manner prescribed by the law, and pointed out to me to be so prescribed by the authority to which I am answerable. The agitation which has since been excited and fermented in this parish (as well as in others) against me, does not incline me to enter into any discussion of the subject with your Lordship, as I feel convinced that I am acting upon right principles and conscientious motives; and as I am not likely to have my opinion changed, I run also without hope of changing yoifr Lw&hip's." The parish meeting was therefore held. Archdeacon Meat sent a " protest " "to the Chairman of the (so-called) parochial meeting"—

' I protest against the principle that the people have a right to censure their minister, only for doing his bounden duty as prescribed bylaw. I protest against the terms of the requisition, as quoted in the Churchwarden's notice, in which the words alarming changes' and ' innovations ' insinuate what is not true. I pro- test against the undue influence which has been exerted to excite and keep up this unseemly agitation in the parish, by the use of the landlord's name and au- thority, to bring in his tenants against their wills to pass sentence upon their taster. I have only to add, that I heartily and freely forgive both the authors and the instruments, and all who have taken part in this agitation, and that I pray God 'to forgive them and to turn their hearts I' " And he remained the

. 's "sincere friend in the Lord, Walter B. Mant."

- Resolutions were passed, strongly deprecating the recent innovations in -the Church service; and petitions to the Queen and both Houses of the -Legislature were unanimously adopted.

Mr. O'Connell had a monster meeting, though not of the very largest scale, at Kilkenny, on Tuesday. From Castlecomer, nine miles distant, he was escorted to Kilkenny in procession, by a host estimated variously from 20,000 to 50,000. He was accompanied bylVIr. John O'Connell and other "Repeal martyrs," Mr. Smith O'Brien, Mr. Dillon Browne, and more lead- ing Repealers. Mr. Thomas Steele posted from Tipperary to meet the party. The procession consisted mainly of peasantry, mingled with large bodies of artisans, preceded by banners and bands of music; all attempt- ing a military regularity in their march and bearing. Then came a, large.

• cavalcade of equestrians—:the poor farmers of the surrounding district, each mounted on the best-looking of his plough horses; and finally, some hun- dreds of overloaded vehicles of every kind. Mr. O'Connell was expected to address the meeting in the open air; but that characteristic of a monster meeting failed. In the evening he was entertained at a banquet. An un- finished chapel was handsomely fitted up for the purpose, with hangings, transparencies, and the usual kind of decorations. Mr. Cane, the Mayor of . Kilkenny, presided; and about six hundred gentlemen surrounded the ' board. The Chairman and the leading Repealers appeared in the green uniform of the '82 Club; to the military aspect of which more than one "speaker alluded with undisguised satisfaction. Mr. Smith O'Brien and Mr. Dillon Browne spoke of it as the dress of "officers" for the Irish people. Mr. O'Connell delivered one of his stereotyped monster-meeting speeches. For example, in answer to the declaration in the Royal speech, that agita- tion in Ireland had abated, he vaunted the assemblage of that day as dis- proving the untruth; and went on in this strain- " We want to show that the physical force as well as the mental energy which the movement had acquired still remain. Yes, we hold the monster procession today as an answer to the Queen's Speech; and if they give us the opportunity, ' and provoke us to its exercise, we will give twice as many. To be sure, I have ' no just affection for John Bull—now, don't be angry with me—I confess I have no great love for the English nation—I don't know why I should love them." There was a good deal about the " Cromwellian cruelty" of the Wex- ford massacre °Males, surviving in the unfair rancour of the State prose- cution. However, he hinted at something comparatively new—a modified form of the long-advertised project, the "Preservative Society of Three Hundred."

He came there to talk among other things of the Club of '82. When a man of his age ventured to wear such a dress, it was not unlikely that younger men would soon be generally clothed in it. For his part, he wanted to see five hundred of the young blood of Ireland attired in the same costume; and he would leave it to the jury of ladies present to say whether it would become them or not. And out of that club of five hundred he expected to be able to select a Conservative Senate of three hundred gentlemen, to act as mediators between the Repealers and their opponents. The "Repeal Martyrs" were duly toasted; and they returned thanks. The spiciest oratory was that of the Reverend Matthew Tierney—

Imprisonment of O'Connell had created a deep feeling of hatred in the Irish Mind—an undying thirst of vengeance. It was an insult offered to a whole people

in the person of their chieftain and liberator—an insult never to be effaced. Although his enemies did not redden the scaffold with his blood, yet they thought that a twelvemonth's imprisonment would .prove his martyrdom. But the hand of Providence had protected him from thew fell design. Let them recollect that Jezebel decorated herself with her choicest jewels when she showed herself at the windows of her palace, but that the neat morning she was thrown into the street, and her flesh became as filth upon earth. He trusted that the fate of that wretched being might prove a salutary warning to her followers in blood and in- famy. (Loud cheers, and cries of " Amen! ")

The toasting and speaking were kept up to a late hour.

A number of gentlemen chiefly members of the Royal Irish Academy and of the Society of Ancient Art, in Dublin, have presented Miss Helen Faucit with an address and a handsome ornament, in token of admiration for her performance of the Greek drama. "The fibula or brooch is entirely of Irish gold, nearly four inches in diameter; the form is circular, and composed of an outer rim, which is a wreath, divided by a narrow fillet from a concave circle. In the centre a me- dallion, highly embossed, exhibits a figure of Antigone crouching in grief over the funeral vase of her brother Polynices. The figure is in rich gold, on a ground of white enamel. On either side of the centre medallion is a tragic mask; the one that of Creon, the other of Antigone. These and the medallion are enveloped in the coils of a serpent, the Cadmian dragon, whose head and twining tail rest be- low and above upon the external wreath. The wreath is of the sacred olive, the Olympian prize. In the concave circle which is richly. chased, three emeralds are set, intended to mark the country of the contributors."

At Cork Assizes, on the 19th instant, Miss Dorothea Forrest obtained damages in an action for breach of promise of marriage against Captain Donogh O'Brien, of the Seventy-second Regiment of Highlanders. The plaintiff is about eighteen years of age, and is second daughter of the Rector of Mitchelstown. Captain O'Brien is about forty years of age. While quartered in the neighbourhood, he paid the usual attentions to Miss Forrest as a suitor; and he persevered although cautioned by Mrs. Forrest to discontinue his pursuit of the young lady unless he had made up his mind to marry her. His regiment being ordered to other quar- ters, he grew cooler in his suit; declared to the mother that his circumstances would not enable him to support a wife in the rank that he could wish, as he had no resources but his pay; and being ordered to Gibraltar, he broke off the con- nexion. Some military gentlemen were examined as to the possibility of sup- porting a wife on a Captain's pay: about which they differed; some thinking it absolutely impossible, others practicable unless there were a large family. The Jury gave 2501. damages; adding, that if the defendant had had anything beyond his pay, they would have awarded a much larger sum.

A notorious and determined robber, John Reilly, who escaped from Trim Gaol in January last, has been captured near Kilcullen, after a desperate resistance. He was armed with a pistol and a short double-barrelled gun, end. provided with balls and cartridges, a knife, chisel, matches a piece of candle, lamp-black, and red paint, prepared apparently to commit ar:obbery in the neighbourhood in which he was seized. Thus accoutred, he was found by a gardener on the lawn of a Mr. O'Keefe, and questioned as to his intentions. He replied by firing the pistol at the querist; the report brought assistance; and Mr. O'Keefe 's groom, a Scotch girl, and the gardener, after a fierce battle, secured the ruffian.

Daring a merry-making in a barn at Banruikry, in Tipperary, one evening last week, two men, Ryan and Brien, accompanied by four or five strangers, entered the place, and endeavoured to pick a quarrel with the steward of the lady whose people had met together: the intruders, however, were quietly ejected. But they were bent on blood; and having soon afterwards met an uno&nding man, they murdered him. The murderers were known, and are in custody.