IRELAND.
The Lord-Lieutenant has continued his tour. This week he has been at Athlone and Ballinasloc, and at both places met with a cordial public reception.
The Tenant League held an aggregate meeting, called a conference, in their rooms in Bercsford Place, Dublin, on Tuesday. Thirteen Members of Parliament were present; conspicuous among whom were Mr. Lucas, Mr. Duffy, Mr. G. H. Moore, and Mr. Sergeant Sheo. The Presbyterian contingent from Ulster, represented by Dr. M•Knight and the Reverend Mr. Rogers, were not very cordially welcomed. Mr. Sharman Crawford was also there, but he had not been invited, and in making a speech ho apologized for the "intrusion." The conference ended in a violent dis- pute between Mr. Lucas, Mr. Duffy, and Mr. G. H. Moore, on the one part, and Dr. M'Knight on the other. Charges of treachery were reci- procated, and the " lie " freely given. Dr. M`Knight's authority for the accusations of intriguing with Government, made against Mr. Moore, was certainly not good—that of a "Parliamentary cor- respondent, who gathers up chit-chat." The resolutions agreed to were the same as those adopted in 1852,—that no Tenant-Right Bill not em- bodying the principles of Mr. Sharman Crawford's measure would be satisfactory ; and that Members of Parliament should "hold themselves aloof from and independent of every Government that would not make Sharman Crawford's Bill a Cabinet measure." Mr. Bowyer M.P. moved to substitute the word "Government" for " Cabinet " : a Cabinet mea- sure means a measure on which a Ministry stakes its existent:* and such dictation to Government would prevent the great body of the Liberals from supporting the Irish Tenant-Right party. This amendment was rejected.
The second meeting of the conference took place on Wednesday. Dr. MKnight and Mr. Rogers entered their protest against the policy voted on Tuesday, because they deem it prejudicial to the cause, calculated to delay a valuable " instalment " of industrial justice, and unreasonable in itself. They desire to meet the present Liberal Administration in a spirit of justice. An attempt was made by a frantic young priest to vote the expulsion of Dr. Milinight and Mr. Rogers; but the attempt was un- successful.
The Galway Vindicator applauds the initiative taken by English capi- talists in the improvement of the county of Galway. One instance of the improved spirit of landlordism is narrated. Mr. J. C. Harte of Broughton Hall, near Manchester, bought the estate of Esker, near Banagher. He also bought up the old arrears due by tenants, lest they should be harassed by the old landlord ; and then he passed the sponge over them, so that his tenants might begin life anew. Since August 1852, he has exten- sively drained his estate, erected new fences, cleaned and repaired old cottages, and paid liberal wages. A few days ago he visited the estate, dined with his tenants, and was received everywhere with great enthu- siasm. He stated that he should receive an adequate remuneration for the capital invested.
The Model Lodginghouse for working men, which was originated some time since by Sir Edward Borough, is about to be followed up by the establishment of larger abodes on the same principle for married working men and their families. The Queen's subscription of 5001. will go towards the expenses ; Mr. Vance has given premises and 2001.; and Miss Burdett Coutts has forwarded 1001. The sum wanted, however, is 20001.
The escape or rather evasion of Mr. John Mitchell from Van Diemen's Land does not appear to have been an honourable proceeding. He had a ticket-of-leave, and was at large on parole. He went to the office of the Police Magistrate, and handed in a letter surrendering his ticket-of-leave and parole. Before the official had time to read the document, Mr. John Mitchell ran out of the office, mounted a horse, and was away to the sea- coast ; whence a boat conveyed him to an American vessel, and he sailed off.
It is stated that a field-officer of the Ninetieth Light Infantry, now in garrison at Dublin, has placed his commanding-officer under arrest for drunkenness.
Some miscreants entered the stables of Mr. Judge, a merchant at Boyle, and administered poisoned balls to four horses ; and three died, after en- during great agony. Three carmen of the town are in prison on suspicion : Mr. Judge had used his own horses for conveying goods from Sligo and other places, and the carmen were incensed at this.
The man who committed suicide at Dublin has been at length identified. Two gentlemen from 3 edburgh, Mr. Mein and Mr. Grainger' having seen the body, have discovered that the so-called " Webster " was James M'Farlane, clerk to Messrs. Mein, wool-merchant at Jedburgh. In August last he forged the signature of his employers to a check on the British Linen Com- pany's branch bank, for 7151.; which he got cashed, and then absconded. He was traced to Liverpool, and then lost sight of. The property left by M'Farlane, including 108 sovereigns, has been delivered up by the Police to Mr. Grainger, the manager of the bank at Jedburgh.
The Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland has now the palm in horrible railway slaughter. An "accident" occurred on Wednesday night, near Straffan, within a few miles of Dublin, which throws into the shade all the recent occurrences of the kind. A passenger-train was journey- ing to Dublin ; near to Straffan the engine came to a stand. A cattle-train coming up behind was visible in the distance, and a man with a red lamp was despatched to stop it. Some of the passengers who got out of their car- riages believed that the cattle-train, which continued to advance, "was only walking up " ; but it came at full speed, dashing through the hindmost car- riage, leaving the rest a wreck of mingled wood and iron and mutilated human beings. The two front carriages, however, were freed by the con- cussion; the roof of one was cut off; and, impelled forward with the engine and tender before them, they were sent along the line for three-quarters of a mile. The story is told in an interesting way by Captain Collie; who states that he saw fourteen dead bodies, and helped to extricate somefifty wounded persons from the wreck ! This is his afflicting narrative. "After passing the Sullins station, the engine went slowly, and stopped about half a mile short of the Straffan station ; it remained stationary about fifteen minutes. Five passengers got out with me,—Mr. Jelly, of Mary- borough, a very fine-looking, tall, portly gentleman ; Mr. Connor, of Now- bridge; Mr. Kelly, of the same place ; a Scotch gentleman, Mr. Leitch, from Armagh ; and an English gentleman, whose name I did not ascertain. He was in too much tronble for me to ask him after all was over, for he That his pretty young wife and his sister. Mr. Croker Barrington, the solicitor to the company, who was riding in a first-class carriage next the engine, got out and sent one of the railway servants (the stoker I think it was) down the line with a red lamp to stop the luggage and cattle train, that we knew WAS about half an hour behind us. We were, however, eleven minutes behind our time at Sullins. He had been gone about ten, or from that to fifteen minutes, when we saw the lights of the cattle-train approaching. We all thought, of course it was coming along quite slow. Mr. Jelly stepped into his carriage, stopped in the doorway, and looked out. The English gentleman's wife and sister were behind Mr. Jelly, and they wanted to get out ; but he bid them not stir, and he was himself going to get in. Mr. Kelly was going to step into his carriage also, when I said, 'Stop a little' there is no hurry ; the train won't go without some warning, and, at all events, you and tare active enough to jump on if it should. But just wait till this train comes up." Oh,' said he, 'it is merely walking up to 118 '; but, nevertheless, he waited. I stepped close to the line and cast my eye along ; when I saw by the reflection of the light upon the shining rails that it was coming at full speed, and I heard by the beat of the engine that the steam was not eased off. I at once shouted out, Good God ! she is coming at full speed—look out, look out !' and I jumped over the wire fence into the field, and looked round me. I saw the cattle- train run right into the last carriage of the passenger-train, indeed through it. In an instant all was a pile of ruin. I ran back, and saw the driver of the cattle-train ; who seemed horrified at the frightful calamity. I asked him was he hurt ? He replied, 'No, but I'll never get over it.' He then proceeded to assist the wounded passengers. I perceived that the steam was being generated, and that in a minute more we would all be blown away by the explosion of the engine; and I sang out for the engineer, and bid him blow off the steam. He did so; and then we set to work. The first sight I came on was the bodies of two women, quite dead ; they lay on the bank as if they had been shot out of the door. 'Near them was a priest, or friar, or monk : he was quite dead, lying close to the rails' as if he had been thrown against the embankment and had rebounded back. I next saw a man, both of whose thighs were broken, across Messrs. Kelly and Connor and I pulled him out from under the ruins of the carriages; he was living, and we laid him upon the bank. We were then attracted by the cries of a lady, whose hand was jammed between the carriages. Her sister lay
near her, either rti sensible. Afterlabouringver! ardforoatime, we faded to e%ztoturntoahes.tmoreatanee
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of ruins, where we saw shawls, hats, and , greatly disfigured, but still alive. We which could hardly be recognized, his
head being torn and smashed off, his legs both cut off, his body torn up, and his clothes torn all off him. I adjusted his clothes, and we put the body aside ; and from near him we got out the bodies of the English gentleman's wife and sister. Poor fellow ! he threw himself frantically upon the body of his wife, and kissed her frantically ; and then we got the little baby from under her and the aunt's clothes, alive. We then went to the first-class carriage that had been first struck by the engine ; and there we saw the bodies of two ladies, apparently cut in two at the waist. They were so jammed in that we could not get at them. Near them was the body of another lady, whose dress only we could see, she was so buried in the ruins. The cries of a little boy then attracted me : he was about eight years old ; he was lying under the axletree of a carriage which had broken both his little legs, and was lying across them; with great difficulty we got him out by raising the axle with a crowbar. I then returned with more help to the two ladies, one of whose hands was jammed ; and we got them out I don't know whether the insensible lady was dead or not, but I think she was : we laid her on the bank : the other was not much hurt. We next discovered the body of a very large man under the train : his head was cut off and gone—we found no trace of it ; both his legs were cut off also from the thighs down. We got out the remains and placed them on the bank. I was at this time a good deal exhausted, having worked very hard. Sir Edward Kennedy now came up ; he had been a passenger in the carriage next the engine which had been shot on by the collision past Straffan station. He had escaped un- hurt, and had rendered every assistance to the passengers in those two car- riages, which, with the engine, had been sent on by the concussion; he then returned down the line to help there, and took the command from me, to my great relief, for I was quite worn out. I cannot tell you how hard he worked, as also did those gentlemen whose names I have mentioned, and in- deed every one, railway people, country people, and all. I broke off a piece of a carnage and helped to make a litter of it, on which we placed a lady who had her two legs broken, and the English gentleman's little child, and took them to a house convenient. Sir Edward Kennedy sent for a doctor and a priest at once. Seeing that some people were picking up carpet- bags, I- suggested the necessity of the luggage being guarded; which was at once done. Messrs. Kelly, Connor, Leitch, and I, then walked on to Straffan, thinking we had seen all the damage, and not knowing about the two carriages that had been shot away. At the station we found a Mr. Roe, who had escaped in one of those carriages, and who was very active in rendering assistance. In the station-room eight or nine people were lying side by side ; one of them seemed dead ; I placed my hand upon his forehead, and found that he was dead ; he was a Mr. Egan, of Birr. I said he was dead, and his body was at once removed ; and the gentleman died soon after. A priest was hearing the confession of another, who evidently had very few moments left him in this world. The dead bodies were re- moved from the room. Mrs. Barrington was lying in another room in the station, very badly hurt, I heard. One of the ladies I saw at the station had her chest broken in ; I don't think she would live till morning. Several had their legs broken. One servant-boy, who was very badly hurt, had been sent by Sir Edward Kennedy on his own car to some hospital in the neigh- bourhood. There was a medical gentleman present, who was doing all in his power to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded. I believe there were several medical gentlemen, but I am not sure of more than one. The Ho- nourable E. Lawless was there, working very hard ; and there was one young man, a dealer, named john Rooney, who was going down in the Kil- kenny train when he heard of the accident at the station. He at once threw up his passage, quitted the down-train, and set to work to help the sufferers in a most extraordinary manner: such vigour, and kindness, and gentleness as he exhibited, could not be surpassed. A train was got ready about half- past ten o'clock, and by it I came to town ; we arrived at the King's Bridge terminus about twelve o'clock. Neither the driver nor stoker of the cattle- train was injured."
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