Chapter LIX: {victoria. 1847} (1)

Colonial Affairs..... Foreign Relations..... State of
Ireland: Progress of Famine and Disease; Political
Agitation; Prevalence of Crime..... Death of O’Connell.....
Old Ireland and Young Ireland Parties..... General State of
Affairs in Great Britain..... Naval and Military Events.....
Home Incidents..... Decease of Remarkable Persons.....
Parliamentary Proceedings.

COLONIAL AFFAIRS.

{A.D. 1847}

It is convenient to notice first in order the colonial and foreign relations of the country, as home events derived their character from these; parliamentary and party proceedings, more especially, turned often, in a great measure, upon the prospects and condition of our colonies, and the relations which we bore to foreign powers. This was less the case in 1846 and 1847 than in most other periods, because the failure of the harvests, the consequent overwhelming distress through out the British Isles, and the disaffection in Ireland, demanded the most earnest attention of parliament and the ministry.

_India_.—The state of India, throughout this year, was one of prosperity and peace. The Punjaub, however, created some disquietude, and there were border disturbances within the acquired territory of Scinde.

It will be recollected that in the last chapter the appointment of a council of regency at Lahore was recorded. This body excited the ranee’s jealousy, whose disposition for intrigue was once more evoked; she endeavoured to neutralise the action of the council. Representations concerning this state of things were made to the governor-general, who signified his approbation of the policy proposed by the council for her exile from the capital. She was accordingly seized, and sent under escort to a distance, where she’ was detained, and Lahore and the Punjaub were exempt from troubles throughout the year.

In Scinde the border tribes were restless, and made frequent predatory incursions upon the British territory. On one occasion, a body of seven hunded infantry and a troop of horse, headed by several chiefs, made a foray. Lieutenant Merewether, of “the Scinde Irregular Horse,” was sent, at the head of about one hundred and thirty men, to observe, and, if possible, disperse them. This gallant young officer came up with the marauders in a locality unfavourable for immediate action; they were moving in a direction which would have afforded them the protection of some sand hills and jungle. Mr. Merewether rode along their front without charging them, in order to gain their flank, and compel them to keep the open plain, in a situation more favourable for the action of cavalry. They did not understand this manouvre, and supposed it to signify that the lieutenant did not deem it prudent to assail them. Encouraged by this idea they attacked him, coming on with great exultation. This gave the skilful and intrepid young officer the advantage he desired; he wheeled to the left, formed his men in an instant, charged, and cut up the enemy fearfully. The infantry endeavoured to retreat; such of the horsemen as were left galloped away. Mr. Merewether allowed their infantry no opportunity to retire to a position where they might receive cavalry advantageously; but still acting upon their flank, and keeping them in the open plain, he again and again charged, each time cutting them down as the mower cuts the ripe hay. They were offered quarter, but with great bravery stood to their arms, until not one-fourth of their original number remained; they then laid down their weapons. Of the whole body, except the few horsemen who became fugitives after the first charge, not one escaped destruction or captivity. Lieutenant Merewether lost very few men; he himself had miraculous escapes, for he was foremost in every charge, exposing himself with the utmost audacity. This gallant little action drew upon the young soldier the attention and commendation not only of his superiors in authority, but of the army of India. The exploit was recorded in the papers at home, and was the theme of every news-room and club. The English people are always more quick to appreciate and reward valour than their government.

Sir Charles Napier, after conquering Scinde by the highest military daring and skill, ruled it with a rare political sagacity. His attempts at military reform brought upon him the ill-will of the Indian military authorities, and the directors at home. The reforms introduced by the gallant general bore the impress of his genius and his indomitable will. His prophetic predictions concerning the evils that would certainly result from the state of discipline in which he found the Sepoy armies, were, unfortunately, all fulfilled. In the memoir of this gallant general, written by his brother, Lieutenant-general Sir William Napier, the merits of the case are amply, although it must be admitted, not dispassionately discussed. The material is, however, afforded for a just judgment upon the controversy. It can hardly be doubted the gallant general was insubordinate; that he assumed authority to which he was not entitled, and ruled with a glorious and intellectual tyranny, which was not the less a tyranny because of the genius by which it was directed. The general’s faults were, however, overlooked by his country, which was served by him through an eventful life, with much honour to himself; it is sad to say that his services as well as his errors were overlooked by the government.

The public appreciation of him was just; they regarded him as a hero, and a bold and skilful governor. His brother justly described the public opinion of England when he wrote—“His fame has been accepted by the British people as belonging to the glory of the nation.”

Lord Hardinge did not long continue to govern India after Sir Charles resigned the government of Scinde. Upon his resignation Lord Dalhousie was appointed, through the especial influence of the Duke of Wellington. This appointment has been described as the only job which the illustrious duke ever perpetrated, and reasons were assigned for this unsuited to the pages of this history. Lord Dalhousie possessed many qualifications for his high office, but he was pedantic, had too jealous a sense of the dignity of his office, and often refused to listen to the advice of officers, well qualified to offer it, on military matters, which, whatever might be the noble lord’s opinions of his own parts, were rather beyond his knowledge. He entered upon his government under auspicious circumstances. The celebrated Akhbar Khan, the malignant enemy of the English during the unfortunate affair at Cabul, died this year, and made one less to the many opponents of British rule among the chiefs of India and the contiguous countries.

_The Cape of Good Hope_.—The disturbances of the previous year were not wholly quelled at the Cape. The Caffres continued to make forays within the colony, and to plunder cattle. They were pursued and punished, and considerable herds were recaptured. The feelings of all the Caffre tribes were utterly hostile, and peace was only attainable by the exercise of indisputable force.

_Our American Colonies_.—Peace and prosperity characterised the history of our American colonial possessions during this year. The failure of the potato crop caused some inconvenience and distress, but the general agricultural and commercial success compensated for this disadvantage. Security was also felt, as apprehension of a war with the United States had entirely passed away. In the legislatures of Canada and Nova Scotia there was, however, discontent with the measures of the governors of these colonies, and the imperial administration and legislature. This discontent found vent in orations, and through the columns of the press, but did not disturb colonial tranquillity nor interrupt the progress of government: those free countries were gradually laying the foundation for a future and a glorious period of wealth and greatness.

_Borneo_.—It was again necessary to chastise the Borneo pirates. On the 30th the British steam frigate _Nemesis_ engaged a fleet of Soluprahus, off Labuam The ship was crossing over to Labuan from Brune, with the rajah of Sarawak on board. When off the island of Moora the _Nemesis_ came suddenly upon a fleet of eleven pirate boats, pursuing a trading prahu. The _Nemesis_ chased the pirates to the shore, who drew up in line along the beach. The pirates first opened the combat. For about two hours the cannonade lasted; when the fire of the prahus was subdued, the marines and sailors proceeded in boats to finish the destruction of the pirate craft. Five of these war prahus were destroyed, and about eighty pirates killed, and perhaps as many wounded. The rest and their crews escaped, but the boats were much disabled. From the guns and other material captured, it was plain that a Dutch merchant ship of considerable value had fallen into the pirates’ hands. Some operations on shore speedily followed, from which the robbers suffered severely. One British seaman was killed, and seven wounded.

FOREIGN RELATIONS.

The conduct of the Chinese, ever since the peace executed by Sir Henry Pottinger, had been such as to show that the treaty was not intended to be kept by the authorities any longer than force constrained, and that with the people all intercourse with foreigners on equal terms was unpopular. During 1846 unoffending Europeans at Canton were frequently attacked, and on one occasion the factories were stormed, and only after a protracted conflict did the Europeans and Americans succeed in expelling the assailants. The government of Canton always affected to deprecate this violence on the part of the Cantonese, and as far as proclamations went there was a magnificent display of justice. Several Englishmen and other foreigners were murdered, and certain innocent Chinese were seized and executed by the mandarins, while the murderers were notoriously at large. In 1847 the merchants, who had often in vain called for protection and redress from the British government, drew up a memorial of their wrongs, which induced Sir John Davis, the governor of Hong-Kong, to interfere on their behalf. Sir Robert Peel and Lord Aberdeen seemed to adopt the policy of submitting to any indignities the Chinese government or people might offer, rather than interrupt commercial relations, or create any embarrassment at home. Possibly the state of parties and the general distress at home may have influenced the premier and the foreign minister to adopt this course, but its result was injurious to British interests and to humanity; it entailed a still greater interruption of commerce, and involved a larger sacrifice of human life.

The demands of the merchants were:—1. A distinct recognition of their rights to go such distance into the surrounding country as could be traversed, either by land or water, in one day out and home; and full protection during such period from attack or insult.—2. A space of ground of about fifty acres at Honan, or in some other convenient part of the suburbs, for the erection of warehouses and dwelling-houses.—3. A site for a church and church-yard* for British residents.

* By a “church yard” was meant a burial-ground attached to
the church, for Europeans only.

—4. A burial-ground for the Parsee community, either on Dares or French Island, of forty thousand square feet.—5. A bridge to be thrown over the passage of Hog Lane, to connect the two factory gardens.—6. A cook-house for Lascars in Hog Lane.—7. The railing in of Lower China Street and the lower part of Hog Lane, and the garden walls to be kept free from Chinese buildings, excepting the military and police stations already erected.—8. Removal of the stationary boats which at present encumber the avenue to the factory gardens at the river-side.

Sir John Davis determined upon seeking redress for the various insults and outrages which had been inflicted, whatever might be the propriety of requesting the concession of such advantages as the merchants sought. In the opinion of Sir John, who knew the Chinese well, no demand would meet with attention which was not backed with military force. Orientals comprehend only that argument which Europeans regard as the _dernier resort_. The Chinese authorities were taken by surprise, or they would have prepared for resistance, and met the military demonstration of the English governor with defiance or stratagem. Major-general D’Aguilar commanded the British troops. As soon as he received the directions of the plenipotentiary, he consulted with Captain M’Dougall in command of her majesty’s ship _Vulture_. These officers agreed that the force at their disposal was inadequate to the enterprise, but that, as audacity and promptitude were the best weapons with oriental nations, it would be well to act at once with such forces as they could employ. General D’Aguilar considered it also important to impress practically upon the mind of the Chinese authorities the possibility of the garrison and the naval force at Hong-Kong being sufficient, without aid from India or England, to chastise any affronts or injuries offered to British persons, honour, or interests. It had been well if, in subsequent events, similar views had been entertained by British officers and British governments. The promptitude of the general’s action harmonised with the wisdom and boldness of his opinion. By midnight of the day on which he received his orders, the troops were embarked; and at nine o’clock the following morning the squadron arrived at the Bocca Tigris. The _Vulture_ then lowered her boats, into which the general ordered two detachments, the one under Lieutenant-colonel Brereton, the other under his own immediate orders. On landing, all the batteries were seized, the guns spiked, the ammunition destroyed, and the garrisons sent, unmolested, away. This bold measure was necessary to the safety of the general’s small force, for had he left these batteries in his rear, his return would have been endangered. At six o’clock, the squadron arrived at Whampoa. As the _Vulture_ was of too large a draught to proceed higher, the troops were placed on board the steamers _Pluto_ and _Corsair_. Sir John Davis accompanied the general in the _Pluto_. At eleven o’clock the squadron arrived before several forts, which were attacked. Lieutenant-colonel Brereton, landing, took two of them by a _coup de main_, blowing in the gates with gunpowder, and instantly seizing and spiking the guns. General D’Aguilar and his party were received by the other two forts with round and case shot, but the boats pushed in, blew open the gates, and spiked the guns, the garrison retreating by the rear. The expedition then proceeded to the French Folly Fort, a stronger place than any of those already captured, and situated on one of the narrowest bends of the river. The British swooped down upon this place as an eagle upon its prey, and their rapidity was rewarded by its immediate capture, for a few minutes delay and the guns of the work would have given our troops a reception more warm than welcome. Four other batteries were taken and spiked on their way up river by the general and commodore, and by six o’clock in the evening the troops were landed in the factories. Eight hundred and seventy-nine pieces of Chinese cannon had been spiked, to the amazement of the enemy, who had no time to recover from the panic into which so sudden an incursion threw them. The general, upon landing, placed the factories in a state of efficient defence by barricades, and such other means as were at his immediate command. The Chinese commissioner, Keying, now waited upon Sir John Davis, but refused to comply with his demands; the next day, however, the high commissioner requested another day’s delay. This was granted, and the terms demanded were ultimately agreed to by the commissioner. General D’Aguilar withdrew the troops, except a company of sappers, and the light company of the 18th royal regiment of the line. These were ordered to remain until what was promised should be fully executed. This feat of the English general’s was one of the most dashing ever executed with so small a body of men. The whole military force did not amount to one thousand men, and the naval force could only afford a few hundred sailors and marines for land operations. Audacity and rapidity carried the day—the grand secret of success in Asiatic warfare.

The Chinese, however, had no intention of observing the treaty; and when all appeared to be adjusted, six British subjects, who made a short excursion, in agreement with one of its clauses, were barbarously murdered. They were attacked by the whole population of the place which they visited. The Englishmen, when at last compelled to defend themselves, slew one and wounded several of their assailants. It required much negotiation to secure the punishment of some of the murderers, four of whom were decapitated, and a few others received minor punishments.

Whenever the French found that the British displayed vigour towards the Chinese, they made out a grievance, and sent an armed force to demand redress somewhere. Their object seemed to be to show that France also was a great nation, and could enforce respect. Two French ships of war appeared in the Bay of Touron during this year, to demand redress from the government of Cochin China, for injuries alleged to have been inflicted upon French Roman Catholic priests. Their demand not having been at once complied with, and some treachery on the part of the natives having been detected, the French ships opened fire upon the war-junks, sinking and destroying many, and slaying more than a thousand men.

The conduct of the Chinese to Europeans generally, during the year 1847, kept them, the British more especially, in a constant sense of danger. Applications were made for reinforcements, but, notwithstanding the prodigious armaments of England in India, and her resources elsewhere, it was with extreme difficulty that any additional force could be obtained. The following parliamentary papers show the perilous routine necessary on every occasion when our officers require even the most paltry reinforcement. General D’Aguilar applied to Major-general Smelt, the officer commanding at Ceylon, for two guns and a few artillerymen. In a month after, General Smelt wrote to Lord Fitzroy Somerset, the military secretary at the Horse-Guards, informing him that if he (General Smelt) _heard again_ from General D’Aguilar that the reinforcement was necessary, he would send it! but that, in doing so, he should leave Ceylon all but utterly unprotected, so far as artillery was concerned. Lord Torrington, the governor of Ceylon, at the same time communicated this “great fact”—that two guns and a few men were wanting at Hong-Kong—to Earl Grey, the colonial minister, who, at the latter end of November, sent a despatch to General D’Aguilar, telling him not to do anything against the Chinese without authority from home! The discretionary power in the hands of Sir John Davis, and the promptitude, energy, and enterprise of the general, obtained, with less bloodshed than frequently occurred in a street riot in Canton, redress of grievances, a recognition of rights, and a series of important concessions. If it had been necessary to refer these disputes to the Colonial Office at home, everything would have been frustrated. Possibly a grand expedition, at an enormous expense, would have gone out in a year or so afterwards, and an expenditure of British as well as Chinese life on a large scale have resulted. In spheres so distant, men thoroughly competent to act ought, in both civil and military matters, to be appointed, and the honour of the country should be committed to their hands. With a small force, complete in itself, at the disposal of such men, more could be effected at the moment for the honour and interests of the country than by long and roundabout despatches, passing through so many hands that one fool in authority nullifies all, as a bad link in an otherwise good chain renders the whole useless. Omitting the other portions of the correspondence, the following letter from Major-general D’Aguilar, dated Hong-Kong, August 21, 1847, to Major-general Smelt, reveals sufficiently the incompetent arrangements for British interests in China, in 1847:—

“Although I have not the pleasure of your personal acquaintance, your character and services are so well known to me, that I venture to address you without form or ceremony. I have every reason to hope that things will settle down here peaceably, but I have no positive assurance of it; and if circumstances should occur to oblige me to go to Canton again, I am but badly off for artillery. I can never hope to surprise the Chinese defences a second time; and whatever I do must be done in form, and with reference to the altered position of things.

“Under these circumstances, I write to ask if you can spare me half a company of artillery, with their proportionate number of field-guns and ammunition complete. I should only want them for six weeks, and I promise you to send them faithfully back the moment the service is over.

“Should the contingency—the possibility of which is on the cards—occur, I shall endeavour to avoid taking the field before the end of November, when the cool weather will add strength to our exertions; and I will take care to give you the earliest notice of my intention. In the meantime, perhaps, you would kindly prepare Lord Torrington for this request on my part, and afford me your interest in giving effect to it, should circumstances render it necessary.

“A couple of 9–pounders, with the half-company of artillery, would be the best; but if they are not to be had, then anything your people are supplied with.”

On receipt of the above, Major-general Smelt wrote as follows to Lieutenant-general Lord Fitzroy Somerset.

The letter was dated Colombo, Ceylon, September 22nd, 1847:—

“I have the honour to inform your lordship that I received, two days ago, a letter from Major-general D’Aguilar, commanding in China, informing me that it is likely that he would require a reinforcement of artillery in the event of operations being carried on at Canton towards the end? of this year, and requesting me, if I could spare it, and circumstances rendered it necessary, to afford him a half company of artillery, with two 9–pounder guns complete, with ammunition, &c.

“I shall therefore be prepared, should I hear again from General D’Aguilar that their services would actually be required, to send such force as, in the present strength of artillery in this command, would be in my power. But your lordship is aware that the whole amount of artillery throughout this island only consists of two weak companies, reduced in their number of Europeans in consequence of a proportion of gun-lascars; and the only ordnance that I could spare, at present equipped for service, are 4 ⅖ inch howitzer guns, having neither 9–pounder nor 6–pounder guns, excepting two of the latter, which have no carriages.

“Under these circumstances, and with the recommendation of his excellency the governor, I should be able to afford a detachment of one officer and twenty-five gunners, with a proportion of non-commissioned officers and the two howitzers above mentioned. I am informed by General D’Aguilar, who will give me the earliest notice of his plans, that he would only require this force for six weeks, and that it should be sent back to me immediately the service is over; in the meantime, as this draft would reduce my strength of European artillerymen in this island by about one-third, I shall, in order to repair the deficiency, cause a portion of the soldiers from the line regiment, equal to about five men per company, to be trained and exercised at the gun drill.

“I have to add that a draft of one hundred and twenty men of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment are under orders, and will probably sail the end of this month for Hong-Kong, to complete the six companies at present serving there to their full complement of one hundred rank and file; these companies having been sent to China so much under their establishment with a view to their being completed by recruits sent from Singapore, but the uncertain state of things there rendering it quite necessary now that trained soldiers should be sent from this place, which I trust will meet with the approbation of his grace the commander-inchief.”

The foregoing offer of assistance was finally countermanded by Earl Grey, in a despatch to Major-general D’Aguilar, dated Colonial Office, November the 24th, 1847:—

“The governor of Ceylon has communicated to me an application which you have made to the major-general commanding her majesty’s troops in that island, for a reinforcement of half a company of artillery, with two guns, and a proportionate supply of ammunition, to be held in readiness to be forwarded to Hong-Kong, should circumstances render it necessary to undertake any further military operations at Canton.

“I have desired the governor of Ceylon not to send to Hong-Kong the detachment for which you have made application; and I have further to signify to you that her majesty’s government peremptorily forbid you to undertake any further offensive operations against the Chinese without their previous sanction. Her majesty’s government are satisfied that, although the late operations in the Canton River were attended with immediate success, the risk of a second attempt of the same kind would far overbalance any advantage to be derived from such a step. If the conduct of the Chinese authorities should, unfortunately, render another appeal to arms inevitable, it will be necessary that it should be made after due preparation, and with the employment of such an amount of force as may afford just grounds for expecting that the objects which may be proposed by such a measure will be effectually accomplished without unnecessary loss.”

Lord Grey was right, that a similar expedition, if made with the same force, would probably fail. General D’Aguilar knew that rather better than Lord Grey, and did not need a pompous despatch from the Colonial Office to inform him of it. But the general did not mean to attempt the same thing with the same force, and therefore sent for aid where he might naturally have expected to derive the little he sought. There can be no doubt that if matters had been left to the general’s own discretion, and his forces been adequately strengthened, he would have performed what was proper to the occasion, and, perhaps, all that English safety and interests required, and thereby have averted future conflict, as well as the humiliations which Englishmen had to endure, and to punish at a great cost of treasure and immense sacrifice of blood.

_France_.—The Spanish marriages caused stormy debates in the French chambers, which reflected much moral discredit upon the King of the French, his minister Guizot, his ambassador M. Bresson, the queen and queen-mother of Spain, and Narvaez, the chief abettor and tool of the faction of Christina. The eloquent denunciations of M. Thiers against Guizot and his policy told upon the French mind, and led to modifications in the cabinet; but this clever invective was purely in the spirit of party: the honour of France and the love of truth were as little considered by the one leader as the other. The British government maintained an attitude of coldness to that of France, but it was not possible to act independently of it: in many of the affairs of other countries to which England stood related, and in every instance, the influence of the French king was prejudicial to the interests and moral influence of England. On the completion of the Spanish marriages M. Bresson returned to Paris, and had the impudence to demand, as his reward for his share in that transaction, the embassy to London. This was refused, on the ground that the relations of France to Great Britain were too delicate to be committed to the minister who had the chief part in producing the coldness which existed. He then demanded the embassy to St. Petersburg, but this post required higher qualifications than were conceded to M. Bresson by his government. He was nominated to the French ministry at Naples, and proceeded to his destination reluctantly, considering the appointment a slight after sustaining French affairs with the government of a superior country. Soon after he arrived at Naples, perceiving the evil consequences of the Spanish marriages, his chagrin was so increased that he put an end to his own existence.

_Spain and Portugal_.—Spain passed a year of disorder and bad government, but, excepting as regarded the affairs of Portugal, England had no especial connection with the proceedings of the Spanish government. The state of Portugal was desperate. The Miguellites and liberals continued to maintain the civil war against the queen. The former were repeatedly defeated. Their leader, M’Donnell, perceiving that all hope of inducing the party to adopt measures sufficiently bold were at an end, collected around him a chosen band, and precipitating himself upon the queen’s cavalry, fell fighting sword in hand. The radical or constitutional party made their head-quarters at Oporto, where they set at defiance the queen’s government. Meanwhile the French and Spanish governments were desirous to interfere on behalf of the queen, whose opinions and sympathies were despotic, and in harmony with those of the French king and the Spanish queen. To prevent such an interference the English government reluctantly consented to a joint interference of England and Spain only. Accordingly, the British navy co-operated with a Spanish army for the purpose of putting down all armed opposition to the queen’s government, at the same time obtaining indemnification for all in arms against her majesty, and a guarantee on the part of her majesty, by her solemn promise and the dismission of her reactionary ministry, that she would respect the constitutional rights of her people. This was effected, and Louis Philippe was balked of his desire to interfere in Portugal to promote a reactionary policy. The queen, however, did not keep faith with her allies; she did not dismiss her government until the English minister made such demands as compelled compliance. Peace was by these measures restored to Portugal; but no party within or beyond the bounds of her kingdom had any confidence in the good faith, good sense, or good feeling of the queen.

Lord Palmerston was much censured as the originator of the British policy in Portugal, but an impartial examination of the course he took will show that it was politic, and that by it he enforced upon Portugal the only plan possible to secure her independence of foreign despotic interference, and her release from internecine war. Portugal was saved for the time, and the designs of Louis Philippe were permanently baffled.

STATE OF IRELAND.—PROGRESS OF FAMINE AND DISEASE.

The year 1847 opened upon Ireland in many respects as gloomily as that which preceded. During the early months of the year the weather was very severe, and this added materially to the miseries of an already famine and disease-stricken people. The most heart-rending events connected with these disasters occurred everywhere throughout the country. The government continued its efforts for the mitigation of the prevailing evils; but the plans put forth for this object were not always wise, and the conduct of the people, high and low, baffled the projects of relief. All the mischievous proceedings of a social nature narrated in the previous chapter continued, and many of them were aggravated. The result was that great numbers perished in all parts of the country, especially in the south and west; and philanthropic men in Europe, in America, and throughout the whole world where civilised man dwelt, perused the records of Ireland’s sufferings and infatuation with horror and awe. This state of matters continued even to the harvest, and although there was then the prospect of abundant crops, that circumstance neither revived the hopes, nor assuaged the political rancour, of the people. Late in the month of June a clergyman addressed a letter to a Dublin newspaper, describing the condition of the peasantry in his locality, and it but too faithfully depicts the sufferings prevalent in most other places. It was as follows:—“The population of the district for which I would plead amounted at the last census to eight thousand seven hundred souls, but, owing to the dreadful ravages of famine and disease, it is generally considered that two thousand have perished during the past brief season of unexampled horror. Notwithstanding the relief administered through the medium of public works, and the subsequent distribution of rations, many instances have recently occurred of horses being stolen and destroyed for human food, and great distress still extensively prevails. During previous years, every available spot of land was alternately cultivated with potatoes and wheat or oats; but this year, owing to the utter destitution of the farmers, generally speaking, it is computed that one-third of the land last year under the potato crop still lies waste, while almost all the stubble ground remains untouched. If then, after the harvest of last year, when all the existing tillage was cultivated, and some proportion of the potato crop, such as it was, was available for food, such wholesale destruction of human life has taken place in this district, under circumstances of such a character that their mere recital fills the mind with horror and dismay—if, after two thousand have been swept away by the devastating power of famine and disease, four thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine of the survivors are at this moment kept from impending death by the daily distribution of rations,—what are we reasonably to anticipate for the time to come, unless prompt and energetic measures are adopted to provide means for sustaining those who may be spared?”

CONTINUED POLITICAL AGITATION.—DREADFUL PREVALENCE OF CRIME.

Unfortunately, the progress of crime and outrage kept pace with that of famine and pestilence, until the moral condition of the people seemed to be worse than their physical. Men were murdered in the open day, in the presence of numbers who made no effort to stop the deed of blood, and who would make no revelations to the officers of justice calculated to bring punishment upon the coldblooded assassins. The motives for these sanguinary outrages were various: sometimes it was purely agrarian; sometimes for the purpose of plundering food or money. Some were murdered from purely political hostility, and others on account of their prominence in religious movements distasteful to the people. Intolerance, contempt for law, a sense of wrong under the influence of the laws of landlord and tenant then in existence, and despair caused by their sufferings, constituted the incentives to atrocities which threw a hue of blood and gloom over the pages of Irish history.

The political differences which had long rent the country were exasperated, although men of all sects and parties united with equal zeal for the relief of the poor. No charities seemed to soften the heart of the Irish peasant towards those who entered strongly into political or religious combinations to which he was averse.

The new political disputes gathered strength; the different sections of repealers waged not only a wordy war with one another, as in the previous year, but the “Old Irelanders” frequently committed outrages upon the “Young Irelanders,” characterised by insolent intolerance and ferocity.

Foreign nations saw, with admiration, the magnitude of the scale upon which government extended relief. By an act of parliament a loan of eight millions sterling was contracted by government for the purpose of mitigating the wants of Ireland. On the first of March it was adjudicated; Messrs. Barings and Rothschilds having coalesced, they were declared the contractors. The loan was in 8 per cent. Consols; the bidding was 89 ½. The total amount of stock created by the transaction was £8,938,548. The annual charge for the dividend was £268,156 8s. 10d. The scrip, which opened at 2 premium, rapidly fell to discount, and gradually declined, showing the feeling of the monied interest regarding the monetary prospects of the period as affected by Ireland. The commercial distress in Ireland, partly consequent upon the famine and partly upon the general causes then operating in England, was extensive and profound. Heavy failures, in connection with houses of much reputation, shook the general credit, and aggravated the other existing influences by which suffering was originated or increased.

A new form of lawlessness appeared along the Irish coasts. Piracy had not been known there for a great length of time: the coast-guards and revenue cutters prevented that crime, as well as smuggling; but, early in the spring, formidable piratical attempts were made along an extended line of coast. Generally such attempts were frustrated when any weapons of offence were possessed by the attacked; for these enterprises, although furtive and made by considerable numbers, were seldom conducted or maintained with spirit. Thus, in April, the _Christian_, while on her passage from Liverpool to Westport, with a cargo of Indian corn, was suddenly boarded, seven or eight miles off Broadhaven, by three boats’ crews, who broke up the hatches, and carried away thirty-three bags of corn. On the following day they again approached, but the circumstance of the master presenting a gun was sufficient to deter them from any attempt to board. The men effecting these robberies seem to have been actuated by distress; they seldom committed violence, and bore all the aspect of famine and despair.

DEATH OF O’CONNELL.

The political events of the year were much influenced in every way by the absence of Mr. O’Connell from public life, and by his death. Early in the year his powers of mind and body became so much enfeebled, that his physicians insisted upon his leaving London, and upon his excluding all intelligence concerning Ireland. In obedience to these directions, he took up his abode at Hastings; but, although some intervals of apparent recovery occurred, he sank gradually until the imminency of his danger became evident to his friends and to himself. He had a wish to live, probably that he might continue the struggle for the great object of his life—the ascendancy of his religion, and the greater political power of his country. As the spring advanced, his friends were of opinion that a journey to Italy might benefit him; he, believing that his illness was fatal, wished to go to Rome, that he might die there with the blessing of the pope to sanctify the closing scene. His illness increased so rapidly that he was not able to reach Rome, and died at Genoa. A _post mortem_ examination revealed that his brain was extensively diseased, accounting for the melancholy which pervaded his illness. Old age, the failure of his hopes, prophecies, and schemes after the Emancipation Act, and deep mental anxieties about the distress of his country, the divisions in the repeal party, and the hopelessness of his agitation, caused his death. He had attained a good old age (seventy-four), and departed this life on the 15th of May. His latest anxieties were lest he should be buried alive, and he gave to his confessor, physician, and servant, constant and peculiar directions to guard against such a casualty. His heart he bequeathed to Rome! The tidings of his death reached Dublin on the 25th. Immediately placards were issued from Conciliation Hall, and were posted in town and country, announcing the event. The people gathered in crowds wherever a placard was seen, and perused it with deep sorrow, the men moving silently away, or gathering in groups to talk earnestly concerning the deceased and the prospects of their country—the women in many cases uttering loud lamentations. The bells of the Roman Catholic chapels tolled mournfully, and arrangements were made to offer public prayers for the soul of the deceased. Probably there was not a Roman Catholic in Ireland that did not privately offer such petitions upon the reception of the intelligence. The Repeal Association summoned an especial meeting to prepare an address to the people of Ireland suitable to the occasion. The corporation met and adjourned for three weeks as a mark of respect. The Roman Catholics of Ireland, and such Protestants as were considered liberal, made every manifestation of respect for the memory of the great leader. Ireland, in the midst of her starvation and sickness, felt a still deeper sorrow—the whole land appeared in mourning.

The mortal remains of the great popular chief were conveyed to Dublin, and on the 5th of August they were interred in the Glassnevin Cemetery. The day preceding the Reverend Dr. Miley preached his funeral sermon at the Metropolitan Chapel, Marlborough Street. It was an eloquent eulogy upon the character of the departed; his errors, personal and political, were passed over, and the idea pervaded the discourse that the departed was a martyr and saint.

The funeral procession was one of the most remarkable which had ever been witnessed in Ireland,—when the character of the deceased, his influence upon public affairs, the national feeling, the intense curiosity excited, and the conduct of the ceremonial, were considered. At twelve o’clock the corpse was removed from the Metropolitan Chapel. The procession was a mile and a half (Irish) in length, composed of the Trades’ Unions on foot, followed by the triumphal car which had been used to convey him from Richmond Penitentiary to his house in Merrion Square, when his acquittal of the charge upon which he had been incarcerated was pronounced by the House of Lords. The coffin was placed on a large open hearse, constructed with very little regard to taste. The hearse was covered with rich Genoa velvet. It was immediately followed by the family of the deceased, his personal and political friends, and a large assembly of the Roman Catholic bishops and clergy. All along the route to Glassnevin, multitudes were assembled in the streets and windows, and even upon the house-tops. Persons came from very great distances in the country to be present at the interment, or take some part in the ceremonial. At the cemetery the services appropriate to the Roman Catholic religion were conducted, and the coffin was consigned to a vault prepared for its reception. The site selected for the place of sepulture was the best which the cemetery afforded, and the whole scene was solemn and impressive. It was a public funeral, worthy of a great man, by a people whom he had zealously, faithfully, and disinterestedly served. It was computed that one hundred thousand persons were present. There was a deep gloom upon the people when the ceremony was over. The religious ceremonies prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church for eminent persons deceased, were continued for a considerable time.

Thus passed away a man whose name will long remain upon the pages of his country’s history, and whose influence upon the whole empire of Great Britain was greater than was publicly recognised at the time, and than historians have since recorded.

The fate of the reform bill very much depended upon the support accorded to it by Daniel O’Connell. It is probable that the bill would have been lost without the support of the Irish liberals, led by the agitator. To the repeal of the corn laws he also rendered effective aid, although his oratory in favour of that measure appeared to be less hearty than that on behalf of the reform bill. The impression prevailed very extensively among the great body of the free-traders that, while O’Connell agreed with their theory, and deemed it politic to co-operate with them, he did not regard it as immediately beneficial to Ireland, and did not feel personally cordial to the movement. On many local church questions, also, and to a very great extent, on colonial matters, the influence of the Irish leader was felt in parliament by the parties most interested, and by the governments. For a time the scale of office was held in his hand; he made and unmade ministers. He was not corrupt, or place, power, and pension might have been obtained by him and his. After his death some members of his family did receive government situations, and even before his death connexions of his obtained such advantages; but they were in all cases fit for the posts to which they were appointed, and filled them with honour—nor was the emolument much, in any case. On the whole, the Whigs did not treat the family of O’Connell with gratitude. He had more than once put them into power, and frequently, when the certainty of their losing office without his aid occurred, he gave them the requisite assistance. He was often—indeed, always—in some measure their opponent; but this rather strengthened them in Great Britain, while on great party divisions “the tail” was always to be relied upon by the Whig cabinet. Never had a public man such opportunity of raising himself to the most elevated offices, and securing emolument for himself and his family—never were these temptations more faithfully resisted. Yet O’Connell did not disdain office, and he especially valued promotion and honours in his own profession: but these things were nothing to him in comparison with what he regarded to be his mission. He was fully convinced that God had raised him up for the especial purpose of serving the Roman Catholic religion, and, in connection with that of serving his country, he pursued this object with unswerving fidelity. If he could have obtained high office, and thereby have inflicted no injury upon the cause which he espoused, he would have eagerly sought a position in the cabinet or on the bench; he would have been as much opposed to the repeal of the union as Mr. Lucas, the editor of the _Tablet_, and other English Roman Catholics, if he had believed that it would injure the Roman Catholic religion. Many supposed that he was never sincere in prosecuting repeal; while others, whose opportunities of judging were ample, believed that he was most honest in that agitation: in fact, both were right. As an Irishman, he had a desire that his country should cease to be a province, and he probably believed that her resources, moral, intellectual, and material, were sufficient to maintain the dignity and power of a nation; it was also his conviction that the repeal of the union would be a means of improving the government and social condition of Ireland, but he chiefly regarded it as an instrument for the aggrandisement of his religion. It would enable the Roman Catholic party to suppress the distribution of Protestant tracts and bibles, to silence Protestant controversialists, and to treat bible-readers and circuit-preachers as vagabonds and disturbers of the peace. O’Connell’s speeches abound with expressions of opinion, that it was the duty of the British government to do all these things in deference to the wishes of the Roman Catholics, they being a majority. He invariably held up all attempts to “proselyte the people” as a crime which ought to be punishable by law; and where the government failed “to protect the people from the bible men, saints, soupers, and fanatics” (the names which he generally applied to earnest Protestants in his abusive and bigoted polemical speeches), then the people should use all means within the law—a sort of qualification never intended to be accepted by those to whom it was addressed—“to put down” all persons obnoxious to the religious hostility of the priests. In the earlier part of his career he was accustomed, with the assistance of Brick, O’Dwyer, and others of his followers, to disturb the religious public meetings called by Protestants, especially associations for the distribution of the bible. O’Connell and his colleagues would intrude upon such meetings, often attended by a violent rabble, whose language and behaviour on these occasions were coarse and brutal. The intruders would propose amendments to the resolutions submitted to the members of these societies, and make violent speeches at the meetings, full of ridicule and abuse, which were loudly applauded by the mob, who forced their way in to support these proceedings. When the advocates of the resolutions attempted to reply, they were met by hootings, and sometimes by violence. There was always a perfect understanding between the mob who intruded below, and the gentlemen who made their way or were invited to the platform. The latter affected to protest against the tumult while it went on, but afterwards extenuated or denied it in the newspapers, or in speeches elsewhere, averring that the clergymen and laymen, who convened the meeting, were unable to answer the arguments of the Catholic champions. In many of these meetings free discussion was secured, and faithful reports of the arguments on both sides were published in newspapers and pamphlets, with the result of shaking the faith of many Roman Catholics in various parts of the country: the agitators, under O’Connell’s advice, then gave up this mode of procedure, and shunned all such meetings. O’Connell also perceived that he had created a prejudice against himself, his country, and his creed in England, by the violence he connived at, and the bigotry which he uttered.