L'Etoile once said, during the agitation of the Catholic question, that the British government was supported in Ireland by a perpetual encampment. The assertion was fiercely combated by the government party, but the existence of the encampment was not denied.It matters little whether soldiers are quartered under canopies of canvas, or lodged in more substantial cantonments—if they are designed to operate either by force or intimidation. L'Etoile was perfectly justified in the assertion. The dominion of England is enforced in Ireland by means of the co-operation of the British army. When laws are framed by those who legislate for Ireland, the success of their execution depends not upon the principles which might ensure them popularity and obedience-these objects are haughtily discardedpopularity is unnecessary, where obedience can be only attained by compulsion; and hence the aid of a considerable brute force is required to maintain the dignity and decorum of the law in Ireland.

Almost all the legal proceedings in Ireland are now invested with a mixed character, half civil, half military. The bayonet bristles in the jury-box, and the naked sabre flashes amid the hustings. Now the sword of justice is no longer a mere emblem of power, no more than her scales are of impartiality.

The presence of a military party during an election for a representative in England, has always been considered so much at variance with constitutional principles, that custom requires and obtains its removal to such a distance as will entirely preclude even the suspicion of military interference. This arrangement is jealously required by the English electors, and conceded by those in authority. So different, however, are the circumstances under which the franchise is exercised in Ireland, that, amongst the preparations for an election, a military force is rarely omitted.

A most extraordinary correspondence has been recently published in most of the Irish papers, purporting to emanate from the head quarters of the Irish Government. From the tone of triumph it assumes, a stranger would be induced to suppose that the army employed in this country had achieved some splendid victory. The LieutenantGeneral begins the new year with the following epistle :—

"GENERAL ORDER.

"Adjutant-General's Office, Dublin, Jan. 1, 1893. "The exemplary conduct of the troops demands, from the Lieutenant-General command. ing, the strongest expressions of his approbation.

"Called upon, during the late election, and for a considerable time before, to perform the most harassing duties, and necessarily dispersed in small parties throughout the country, scarcely any irregularity has occurred, nor has the smallest complaint been preferred; whilst, on all occasions when required to support the civil power, and often exposed to insult, sometimes even to outrage, they have united temper with firmness, and discipline with forbearance. In the exercise

of these qualities, the troops have reflected honour on themselves, and acquired the respect and admiration of the people of Ireland.

"The Lieutenant-General commanding desires to express to the Major-Generals commanding districts, his acknowledgment of the judicious arrangements they have every where made to meet the exigencies of the service.

"His best thanks are due also to the officers and men under their orders, for the zeal and activity with which these arrangements have been carried into effect, and for their exemplary behaviour in the arduous and difficult situation in which they have been placed.

"To Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney, on whom the distribution of the troops, during the elections, has exclusively fallen, in the absence of the Lieutenant-General, Sir Hussey Vivian begs most especially to express his entire satisfaction.

"By command of the Lieutenant-General commanding,

"GEORGE D'AGUILAR, Deputy Adjutant-General."

We cavil not with the artificial pomposity which characterises the foregoing epistle; the ludicrous gravity with which it puts forth the writer's congratulations too nearly resembles the boasting of Bobadil, to give rise to a serious or indignant feeling. The allusion to the services rendered by the military at the elections is justified by the fact, but either the ignorance of the writer would not permit him to know that it was not a legitimate interference, or else he held such a consideration in contempt. If even absolute necessity required military expedients to be employed upon such an occasion, any reference to the event is unnecessary, but congratulation is not alone indecent, but mischievous.

The Commander-in-Chief asserts, that scarcely any irregularity has occurred, nor had the smallest complaint been preferred, and yet it is only a few weeks since a Major-General was convicted for a wanton assault, committed on an unarmed gentleman; but perhaps this circumstance is included in the "irregularities," which the qualifying adverb "scarcely" comprehends-and if this be the case, the application of the words "temper, firmness, discipline, and forbearance," as qualities (is discipline a quality ?) is totally out of cha

racter..

Considering the service in which the military have always been employed in Ireland, acting as the obedient instruments of a power inimical to the popular feeling-ever ready, upon the word of command, to scatter death amongst her unarmed inhabitants, yet an extraordinary reciprocity of good feeling subsisted between the soldiers and the people. The latter seemed to feel that the soldier was deprived of all discretion, and hence he was exempted from their hostility.Let those who would now endeavour to destroy that amity on the part of the soldier, by reminding him that he has been receiving insult and outrage from the people, consider the consequences which may arise from the subversion. The ties of sympathy which connect different orders of society are easily severed ;-men, who have lived together upon terms of mutual good will, have often met in deadly strife, which originated, perhaps, from a source as trifling as the insidious circular of some commanding officer.

The General commanding the civil departments, resolving not to be outdone by the Lieutenant-General commanding the military, issued the following

GENERAL ORDER.

Adjutant-General's Office, Dublin, 5th Jan. 1833. "The Lieutenant-General commanding has great pleasure in communicating to the Army in Ireland the following very flattering and highly gratifying letter, (which he has this morning had the honour to receive,) expressive of his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant's approbation of its discipline and good conduct :--

(Copy.)

'Castle, 5th January, 1833.

'MY DEAR GENERAL-I cannot allow the moment to pass of the return to quarters of the

troops who have been lately employed, under most difficult circumstances, in protecting life, and in preserving the tranquillity of the country, without expressing, with the warmest feelings, my admiration of the perfect conduct of those on whom these duties have devolved. The judicious arrangements of the General Officers, the calm bearing, and the high intelligence evinced by the officers, (many of them acting as magistrates,) the uniform attention and assiduity of the non-commissioned officers, and the patient and exemplary forbearance of the men, harassed, insulted, and even attacked, as they have sometimes been, have called forth the approbation of all who have observed their conduct.

In war, great exertions are generally requited by honor and glory-and this is an ample reward to a high mind-but in the unhappy domestic strifes the army is now daily called upon to quell, less stimulating inducements to exertion are in view; the greater then is the merit of those who act thus virtuously, under very aggravating circumstances. Great as is the attachment I have ever felt to the service, my admiration of it is infinitly increased since I have so closely watched and witnessed the general conduct of the Army of Ireland; and to all Idesire to express my approbation and increased attachment.

'To Lieutenant-General the Right Hon. Sir R. H. Vivian, Bart., K.C.B., &c. &c. &c.' "By command of the Lieutenant-General commanding, "GEORGE D'AGUILAR, "Deputy Adjutant-General."

There is little difference between the two documents, except that the latter surpasses the former, in hyperbolical compliments to the conduct of those upon whom it is intended to act, The calm bearing and high intelligence of the officers,-the attention and assiduity of the non-commissioned officers, the exemplary forbearance of the harassed, insulted, and attacked men, all are entitled to the encomiums of his Excellency.

The concluding sentence of the foregoing letter contains an allusion to a body, which is designated "The Army of Ireland." Napoleon, who was, we believe, as high an authority upon military matters as the Marquis of Anglesey, named the force which he intended for the conquest of England, "the Army of England ;" and we must suppose that in a similar spirit we are to interpret the same arrangement of language, as applied to that part of the British army which Lord Anglesey thus distinguishes as "the Army of Ireland!" Whether, like Napoleon, he anticipates splendid victories to be achieved upon the plains of Ireland, associating their feats of arms with her subjugation, we know not; but unless such be the case, the applica tion is false, and the adoption of it ridiculous.

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL.

THERE is no more fatal defect or error of the human mind, than its imperception of the nature and progress of circumstances in their origin. It is in general only when they become of sufficient magnitude to give, rather than receive, impulse and direction, that the bulk of mankind appreciate their influence, and investigate their causescauses too often mistaken, or undiscovered. The injury of this is twofold: the germs of evil are suffered to spread and grow up unnoticed, until their destructive vitality defies restraint, and the principles of good are left unheeded and exposed, without protection or support, to perish or prosper, as chance may determine. Many a pernicious custom-many an oppressive privilege-many an unjust law-many a despotic violation of liberty, against which we now exclaim as intolerable grievances, would have been crushed in the very bud, almost without an effort, had men perceived their true tendency, or anticipated their consequences; but are now too powerful to be removed without endangering the very system which they deform and vitiate. On the other hand, how often have the patriot, the sage, and the statesman been repulsed, perhaps reviled, by the millions for whom they toiled and suffered?-the earnest fears--the daring zeal of faithful hearts despised-the lessons of wisdom neglected-the bold designs, matured by deep reflection and consummate skill, frustrated by the blind and giddy multitude, who were too ignorant and heedless to perceive and esteem their benefits! It is the exigency of immediate suffering that ensures to remedial measures the public support; it is oppression that too frequently goads men to the pursuit of freedom, rather than any abstract perception of its blessings. How truly do mankind realize in their political conduct the parable of Scripture !-the seeds of science, the doctrines and instructions of the learned and wise, are trodden down in the highways, and the tares spring up in the fields and choke them; but when they become necessary to man's existence and happiness, then they are cultivated and cherished. The great evil of this is, that the tyrant who fears the extension of knowledge as an encroachment on his dominion, and feels in the intelligence of the people a power greater than his own, is often enabled to repel and punish the dreaded innovation, with impunity-nay, sometimes, to array the people themselves against their benefactors. If men were sufficiently attentive and sagacious to estimate the force and foresee the operation of hidden causes in their earlier indications-did they recognise the giant in his cradlethey could not thus become the instruments of their own wrong. In proportion, therefore, as they exercise these useful faculties do they deserve respect and confidence. When a nation begins to evince this sensitive anxiety, and discriminating judgment, respecting its affairs, no wile of the enemy, however delusive, can deceive, and no movement of its friends, however cautious, can be neglected or mistaken. Every action will be marked, and every word considered. All that

VOL. I. NO. X.

4 R

can form opinion, and should govern conduct, will be carefully examined and implicitly obeyed. Should the circumstances demand a crisis, and PEACE be its watchword, the vigilance of the people will be increased, for the tempter will be doubly active. No people deserve freedom who cannot thus control and guard themselves. The first duty, the chief difficulty, of an oppressed people, is the exercise of this power;-the peaceful defeat of tyranny is the greatest triumph of self-government. In Ireland the period of probation is now nearly expired, and the people approach rapidly the moment when they must assume the full possession of their rights. The madness of faction, the violence of intemperate zeal, can alone prevent their success. No measure has tended more to accelerate it than the assemblage of the National Council, lately held in Dublin. The public will hereafter learn to view its proceedings with a deeper interest than they excite even at the present moment.

When an effort was made last year to procure a meeting of popular Irish representatives in Dublin, it failed; perhaps in some degree because individuals regarded it as the act of one man, and refused acquiescence in it, without reference to its merits, in the silly wish to maintain what they deemed their personal independence, but principally because the temper of the people was not then so well understood, or their feelings so decidedly expressed as they are now. On the present occasion the measure has been more successful;—it has accomplished all that could be expected by its most zealous advocates, save the general participation of our representatives in its proceedings. Undoubtedly a great majority of those over whom the popular will could exercise sufficient control have testified their conviction of its utility; but the recognition of its propriety should have found no exception, where the people possessed the power to enforce it. If the desires of the people in this respect have been imperfectly fulfilled, it is altogether owing to that insensibility of men to the importance of the greatest designs of which they do not at once perceive the immediate and palpable consequences. Had the objects of this great assembly been fully considered and understood, while the choice of their representatives by the people was still suspended, we make no doubt the result would have been infinitely more decisive. Deeply impressed with the opinion that the measure was calculated to effect much immediate benefit, and to prepare the way for ulterior advantages of a higher nature, so long since as the month of September last, we recomended the people to demand a pledge on the subject from their representatives. Had our suggestion been adopted we are convinced that not a single liberal popular constituency in the country would have failed to enforce it, even where the majority did not support Repeal. We should not then have heard the absurd and insolent objections of some stupid and saucy crea tures who have unfortunately contrived to thrust themselves into the

See an article on " Parliamentary Pledges" in No. V, page 346, in which is the following passage: No reason can justify a refusal to require and concede a pledge to attend a Council of Irish Members in Dublin, previous to each session of the Imperial Parliament, until Repeal shall be obtained."