THE IRISH TROUBLES.

Auckland Star, Volume XII, Issue 3383, 31 May 1881, Page 2

THE IRISH TROUBLES.

AGKAUIAN OUTIUGE.-TIIL QUEEN

TlililSATliNED.

New York, April lOtb

A Cable special to the " World " from London says! It \u no secret that Chamberlain and other Radicals hope to strike a blow before long at English laud-owners. If the present Land bill is rejected by the Lords, the Uadieals beliovo that there will be tj great uprising in the country and that ii new Parliament will be elected, specially charged with the task of making a clean sweep of all landed proprietors. Various threatening notices concerning the Queen, which came to the knowledge of the Home Oflicc, led to extraordinary precaution being taken in her recent journey to Osburne in the Isle of Wight. Personally the Queen has no fears, but those responsible for her safety, believe that there is much cause for uneasiness. Foreign socialists are believed to be at the bottom of these threats.

AN INNOCENT GIKL KILLED,

At Callilea, near Kiltuuagh, County Mayo, Constable Roche aud a. party of

his men were protecting a process-server, whan he was attacked and compelled to beat a retreat in the direction of Kiltunagh police barracks. A crowd of men, women, and children followed him, stoning, taunting, and jectiug the police. Roche sent his mcii ahead with the process-server, while lie stiiyed behind and endeavoured to stay the aggressive crowd, but his efforts were unavailing. He threatened to lire, and showed tlie people a cartridge* as he loaded liia rille, but this had no effect. They shouted that he dared not lire without a

magistrate beside him to read the Riot Act, Koche, however, fired among the crowd, and the first shot mortally wounded, it is feareJ, a girl named Bime, who is believed to have been only avon-looker, When, the crowd gathered about the wounded girl the police succeeded iv reaching the barracks.

15KUTAL MURDER OF SERGEANT AKMSTRONG.

The " Herald " says : Our Dnbliu corres-

pondent telegraphs as follows :—lt cannot bo denied that the bill comes before Ireland at a time when she is neither in the spirit

nor temper to give it. calm consideration. From a condition of apparent tranquility the week has plunged great sections of the

the country into v state of excitement described as little short ot civil war. Law and order, which seemed about to resume their sway, have received a rude shock. The first blow was dealt in a sanguinary affray near Ballaghadereen, on tlie borders of Sligo and Mayo. The. whole wretched business sprang, it may be said, from nothing. A process-seiver, who was being escorted by the police under Sergeant Armstrong, who 10-<t hia life, was not in the act of discharging his duty. He w.i-i passing along a country road to a part of the country at :i considerable distiinee from the scene of the attack-, when he was assaulted, with the result which ,is so

deplorable. When Armstrong fired the first

shot, which killed a peasant, he was felled to the ground by a blow from a stone, aud after his comrades had been

beaten oil', the wounded man was treated iv a most horrible manner. At the inquest the doctors described hia bead as having been beaten into a perfect jelly. His skull was fractured in every direction. His brain was softened to n pulp. Mow the man survived this treatment for four days is a mystery. It is feared that this dreadful occurrence will put an end to the muchvaunted forbearance of the constabulary, among whom the brutal affair has already born evil fruits.

DEMONSTRATIONS OF JOY,

| The death of Sergeant Armstrong has been made the subject of a demonstration almost unequalled in the history of Ireland. '. When the ratal result was announced the , country, for miles around, was lit up by bonfires burning ou every eminence in cclo- , bratiou of the event, From Ballajjhadcroen to French Park, and from Ologher to Loughlin, the whole population turned out to . celebrate iv this fashion the sad occurrence. The authorities are doing all they can to , qujll the excitement, which is springing up ] and spreading with dangerous rapidity, Military aud police, iv large bodies, are being drafted into tho locality, and when- ' ever the people gather in menacing crowds a counter demonstration of force is made. AN AGENT'S NARROW ESCAPE. At Limerick station, Croker, agent to Viscount Gtiillamore, would certainly have fared badly had not the engineer iiad enough presence of mind to take him ou the locomotive and escort him out ot danger. The whole affair was unpremeditated, The crowd waiting there was under the impression that Miss Paruell was to pass the station, but tho incident shows sufficiently a spirit of daring and recklessness among the people | and how a trivial incident may lead to the most deplorable results. All of their affrays have sprung; directly from the serving of processes which aic being applied for aud obtained by thousands at the various quarters where sessions lire now being held throughout the country. Iv a few Iweeks evictions, unless they are stayed by the retrospective action of Gladstone's bill, must follow, and we may then look for a repetition of the scenes so familiar in Ireland. It must be stated, iv justice to the landlords and their agents, that in almost all cases of recent evictions the teuauts have beeu allawed to resume possession of their holdings, as caretakers. But there are exceptions to this rule, aud !these exceptions are to be found in the remote, poverty-stricken districts of the west and south, wheuce come many touching stories of events familiar enou»ii in the history of land-holding in Ireland. It is some consolation to kuow that, in all probability, though there is no saying what might happen, all the people evicted now or within the last two months, will have a chance of regaining posses-ion of their holdings by appealing to the Lund fommis-iou. THK ARMS ACT. Meanwhile the Arms Act has conic into operation, almost unnoticed. The pro claimed district embraces all of Conmmght; more than hair of Munater, and much of Ulster, with one county iv Leiuster. The result is not likely to be very satisfactory to the authorities. The people have hud pleuty of time to make the most elaborate preparations, and as midnight outrages with lircaruis are now abandoned iv favour of more daring and more destructive demonstrations in daylight, the probabilities are that the people will not feel the want of their guns and rei volvers,