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(TWELFTH REPORT, APPENDIX, PART X.
THE
MANUSCRIPTS AND CORRESPONDENCE
OF
JAMES, FIRST EARL OF CHARLEMONT.
Vol. I.-1745-1783.
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Ill
CONTENTS.
Page
Introduction - - - - - * • v
I. Table of Contents of lord Chariemont's Memoirs of his
political life - - - - - t
Lord Charlemont's Memoirs - - - - » 5
II. Correspondence of lord Charlemont, 1745-83 — catalogue * 168
Appendix : Extracts from letters, etc* - 178
55741. Wt. 1745. a 2
MSS. AND CORRESPONDENCE OF JAMES, FIRST EARL OF CHARLEMONT, in the possession of The Royal Ikish Academy, Dublin, and E. Percival Wright, M.D., F.L.S.
James Caulfeild, viscount and subsequently earl of Charle- mont, occupied a conspicuous place in connection with public affairs, literature and art, in the second half of the last century. Born at Dublin in 1728, he was but seven years of age, when, on the death of his father, he inherited a peerage and considerable estates in Ulster, whieh his ancestors had acquired under grants from queen Elizabeth and James I. To complete his education and acquire a knowledge of foreign countries, Charlemont, while yet a youth, left Ireland and passed several years as a resident in Holland, Italy and France, and in travels in Spain, Sicily, Greece, Egypt, and Turkey. He took his seat in the house of peers at Dublin on the 7th of October 1755, and adopted the plan of keeping himself " wholly independent, as a standard to which men could resort," whether actuated by real principle or by other motives which might be rendered useful to the public cause. Lord Charlemont records that the emancipation of Ireland from the control of the parliament of England had from his early days been the dearest wish of his heart. That he had contributed towards this object by the introduction of Henry Grattan into parliament, as repre- sentative of his borough of Charlemont, was, he averred, the happiness and honor of his life. Although feeble in constitution, lord Charlemont engaged actively in public affairs, and acquired special prominence as the unanimously-elected commander-in- chief of the Ulster Volunteer force, which numbered twenty-five thousand men fully armed. Of portions of his public career lord Charlemont left a narrative under the title of memoirs of his political life. They open with a brief notice of affairs in
VI
Ireland in 1753, and from that period the narrative was con- tinued by him to November 1783, where it ends.
Much valuable and authentic information is embodied in these memoirs, which are now printed for the first time. They form an important contribution to the historical literature of the empire. It will be seen from them that lord Charlemont has not hitherto received the full appreciation due to him as an incorruptible statesman, animated by a sincere devotion to what he considered to be the true interests of his country.
The period over which the narrative by lord Charlemont extends was memorable for transactions of great importance in Ireland. Among these were the parliamentary contest of 1753, the passing of the octennial act, the defensive measures against apprehended invasion, the establishment of the Volunteer forces, the restoration of freedom of legislature and of trade, the partial amelioration of the condition of Roman Catholics, and the movements in favour of reform in the parliamentary re- presentation. The instruction of his sons was the object for which lord Charlemont primarily designed the memoirs.1 " A part of them," he wrote, " contains an authentic though im- perfect account of the most important transactions that ever happened in Ireland or, perhaps, respecting its own internal interests, in any country ; but they also contain, what will to you be still more interesting and, it may be, more instructive, an accurate, true and impartial account of your father's principles and conduct and, as it were, the political history of his heart."
The memoirs are entirely in the autograph of Lord Charle- mont, and form a folio volume of large size. The matter is continuous, but without table of contents, index or divisions into chapters or sections. The backs of the leaves were originally left blank, and on many of them the author made several entries in relation to matters mentioned in his text. These additions, when brief, are here printed as foot-notes,2 and the more lengthy are appended8 as supplementary to the main narrative. Among the latter are Charlemont's memoranda
1 See First Report of Royal Commission on Hist. MSS., Appendix, p. 126, where a succinct account is given of the Charlemont collection.
2 Indicated thus: [C]. 3 See pp. 136-167.
Vll
on the following subjects : — Creation of his earldom ; disturbances by Oak-boys and White-boys ; viceroyalties of lords Northum- berland, Halifax and Temple ; apprehended invasion ; Edmund Burke, William Eden, William Gerard Hamilton ; officers of " Fencible " regiments ; institution of the order of St. Patrick ; Hervey, bishop of Derry ; repeal and renunciation of English legislative jurisdiction over Ireland.
The first portion of lord Charlemont's correspondence now under notice extends from 1747 to theend of 1783. A catalogue in chronological order is subjoined, together with extracts from the more important letters, and elucidatory notes have been added. The correspondence, in which are included many letters from lord Charlemont, may be considered as having reference to three classes of subjects — public affairs, literature and art.
In the first of these classes are letters from the following peers and personages of note : — Aldborough, Arran, Bruce, Carysfort, Gosford, Halifax, Kenmare, Mornington, Mount- morres, Northampton, Pembroke, Portland, Rockingham, Nugent Temple ; Thomas Adderley, Topham Beauclerk, William Brown- low, sir John Burgoyne, Edmund Burke, Francis Dobbs, Henry Flood, Charles James Fox, Henry Grattan, Alexander Henry Haliday, M.IX, Richard Levinge, Charles Lucas, Richard Marlay, sir Capel Molyneux, sir Lucius O'Brien, Richard Rigby, James Stewart, George Stone, primate of Ireland, Thomas Townshend. There are also here several letters in relation to the organiza- tion and affairs of the Volunteers.
In connection with literature, the collection contains letters from Joseph Baretti, Richard Griffith, Robert Jephson, Thomas Leland, Edmond Malone, Rev. Edward Murphy, John Carteret Pilkington. There are also communications in relation to Chatterton, the " Rowley " controversy, and Philip Stanhope, to whom the letters of his father, the earl of Chesterfield, were addressed.
In relation to art are letters from the painter, John Parker, concerning pictures and art-objects acquired in Italy for lord Charlemont. Here also we have fuller accounts1 than have been hitherto accessible of the controversy with Piranesi as to the
1 See pp. 231-252.
Vlll
proposed dedication of his work on Roman antiquities to lord Charlemont. This dispute formed the subject of an illustrated publication issued by Piranesi at Rome in 1757. The letters of sir William Chambers, Cipriani, Vierpyl and Wilton furnish details in connection with architectural works, sculpture and art decorations. Charlemont's appreciation of and friendship for Hogarth are attested by letters here printed from the widow of that eminent artist.
Further details on the correspondence and manuscripts of lord Charlemont, and on portions of them referred to in 1810 by Francis Hardy, will appear in the next report on this collection.
John T. Gilbert.
Villa Nova, Blackrock, Dublin, 12 July 1890.
LORD CHARLEMONT'S MEMOIRS OF HIS POLITICAL
LIFE.
CONTENTS.
Page
Political parties in Ireland in 1753 - - - 5 Results of mediation - - -----6
Viceroyalty of lord Hartington ----- - 6
Necessity for change of political system in Ireland - - 7
State of the constitution in Ireland 8
Attempts at public speaking - 8
Viceroyalty of duke of Bedford. — Anticipated French invasion - 9
Landing of French at Carrickfergus, 1760 - - - 10
Movements against invaders - - - - - 11
Condition of Belfast. — Defensive movements - - - 12
Departure of French. — Death of Thurot - - - 12
Death of George II. — Observations on his character - - 13
Views on political and social duties - - - - 14
Viceroyalty of earl of Halifax. — Rights of Irish peerage - - 15
Coronation of George III. - - - - - 18
Lord Halifax. — William Gerard Hamilton - - - - 18
Condition of Irish Catholics - - - - 18
White-boy disturbances - - - - - 19
Causes of agrarian troubles 19
Disturbances in Ulster - - - - 20
Viceroyalty of earl of Northumberland . — Earldom of Charlemont 22
Viceroyalty of earl of Hertford. — Governmental system - - 22
Lord Hertford in Ireland - - - - - 23
Rockingham and Charlemont ------ 24
Viceroyalty of lord Townshend - - - - 24
The octennial act - - - - - 24
Charles Lucas. — Henry Flood - - - - - 24
Impediments to octennial act - * - - 25
Popular movements in Ireland - - - - - 25
Passing of heads of octennial bill - - - 25
Unexpected passing of octennial bill, 1768 - - - 26
Reception of octennial act in Ireland - - - 26
Views of the English cabinet - - - - - 27
Recommendation of perseverance in pursuit of rights - - 27
Lord Townshend. — Parliament in Ireland, 1769. — Money bill - 28
Movements by Charlemont and Flood - - - 29
Viceregal protest and prorogation of parliament in Ireland - 29
Opposition to lord Townshend - - - - 30
Unpopularity of lord Townshend as viceroy - - - - 30
Creation of unnecessary offices - - - - 31
55741. A
Page
Augmentation of army in Ireland - - - - 31
War with America. — Riots in London - - - 32
Proceedings in relation to army bill - - - - 32
Recall of lord Townshend. —Earl Harcourt appointed viceroy - 35
Administration of earl Harcourt.-2— Sir John Blaquiere, secretary 35
Proposed tax on absentees - - - - 36
Considerations on absentee-tax - - - - 36
Claims for commercial rights of Ireland - - - 38
Appointment of Flood as a vice-treasurer - - - 38
Party movements. — Resignation of John Ponsonby, speaker - 39
Appointment of Pery as speaker - - - 40 Decline of opposition - - - - - -41
Grattan enters parliament, 1775 - - -41
Embargo on Irish trade - - - - - 41
Earl of Buckinghamshire, viceroy. — Sir Richard Heron, sec- retary - - - - - - -42
Laws against Roman Catholics ------ 43
State of Roman Catholics m Ireland - - - 43
Opposition to relaxation of penal laws - - - - 43
Public opinion on penal laws - 44
Operation of penal laws - - - - - 45
Condition of Roman Catholics in Ireland - - - 45
Position of Protestants in Ireland - - 46
Views on toleration - - - - - - 47
Extent of concessions to Catholics - - - 48
Condition of Ireland in 1778 - - - - - 48
Governmental inaction - - 49
Promotion of native industries - - - - 50
Apprehended invasion from France. — Defence of Belfast - 50
Establishment of armed associations - - - - 51
Policy of English ministry - - - - 52
Viceroyalty of duke of Portland. — Colonel Fitzpatrick, secretary 53 Letters from marquis of Rockingham, Charlemont and Charles
James Fox - - - - - - 53
Duke of Portland. — Henry Grattan. — Declaration of indepen- dence of Ireland, 1 782 - - - - - 60
Edmund Burke - - - - - 60
Levy of Irish seamen for British navy - - - - - 61
Questions of repeal and renunciation - - - - 61
Positions of Flood and Grattan - - - - 62
Change in system of administration in Ireland - - - 64
Objections to Flood ------- - 64
Position of Grattan - - 64 Chagrin of Flood. — Doctrine of renunciation - - -65
Attempts to depreciate Grattan - - - - 66
Motion of earl of Abingdon in house of lords, England - - 66
Meeting of Volunteers at Dungannon, 1782 - - - 67
Address to the king - - - - - 68
Election of Charlemont as commander-in-chief in Ulster - - 68
Satisfaction of lord lieutenant - - - - - 69
Popularity. — National interests. — Public appreciation - - 69
Increase of discontent - - - - - - 70
Removal of troops from Ireland - - - 70
Project for provincial regiments - - - - 71
Interview with duke of Portland - - - - 72
Methods for augmentation of army - - ■ - - - 75
3
Page Establishment of " Fencible " regiments - - • 75
Disappointed politicians - - . - 76
Unpopularity of " Fencible " regiments - - - 77
Efforts to allay disquietude ------.77
Relations with viceroy and his officials - - - 77
Position of viceroys in Ireland - - - - 78
Affairs in connection with demand for renunciation - - 78
Position of Grattan - - - - - - 80
Principles and views - - - - - 81
Change in English ministry - - - - - 81
Resignation of Portland.— Earl Temple appointed lord lieu- tenant - - - - - 81
Publication ascribed to lord Beauchamp - - - 82
Cabinet council at Dublin - - - - 83
Interviews with lord Temple - - - - - 84
Movements of Dublin lawyers -.-.-. 84 Decision of chief justice Mansfield - - - - 85
Results of lord Mansfield's decision - - - 85
Interview with lord Temple - - - - - 85
Conduct of lord Temple - - - - 86
Act of renunciation. — Popular enthusiasm - - - 87
Duke of Portland and his relatives in Ireland - - - 87
Claims on lord Temple - - - - - 89
Letters from Rockingham and Charlemont - - - - 89
Viceroyalty of earl of Northington, 1783 - - -100
Relations with Grattan - - - - - 102
Viceregal cabinet councils - - - - 104
Transactions in parliament - - - - - 106
Plan of administration - 107
John Scott, attorney-general - 108
Projects against the Volunteers - - - - - -109
Position of Grattan - - - - - -109
Movements for reform in the representation of the people - 1 10 Condition of parliamentary representation in Ireland - - 111 Case of colonel Robert Stewart - - - - 1 1 1
Volunteer delegates at Lisburn, 1783 - - - 112
Meeting of Volunteer delegates at Dungannon - - - 115
Proceedings at meeting. — Addresses. — Plan for parliamentary
reform - - - - - - -116
Views on national convention - - - - 118
General election in Ireland, 1783 - - - - 119
Parliament in Ireland. — Secretary Pelham - - - - 119
Assembly of national convention of Volunteer delegates of
Ireland, November, 1783 ----- 120
Frederick Augustus Hervey, earl of Bristol, bishop of Derry - 121 Proceedings of convention of Volunteer delegates at Dublin - 123 Latter days of the convention ----- 126
Debate in house of commons, Dublin, 1783 - 127
Proceedings of convention of Volunteer delegates, November,
1783 130
Address to George III. — Conclusion of convention - - - 132 Observations on convention - - - - - 133
Affairs in house of lords, Dublin - 133
Conduct of Hervey, bishop of Derry - 134
Results of preceding transactions - - - - - -134
Considerations on movements for parliamentary reform - 136
A3
Page
l._ Creation of earldom of Charlemont, 1763 - - - 136
2— ^Disturbances in Ulster, 1763 - - -137
3.— Oak-boys.— White-hoys - - - - - 138
4.— iVieeroyalty of earl of Northumberland, 1763 - 142
5. — Movements in house of lords, Ireland - 143
6. — JPatent foe earldom of Charlemont. — The Linen Board - 143 7. — Viceregal administration. — Earl of Northumberland. —
Governmental " undertakers " - - - - 144
8. — Viceroyalty of earl of Halifax. — William Gerard Hamilton,
secretary - - - - - 145
9. — -Apprehensions of French invasion, 1781 - 146
10.— William Eden, secretary to lord Carlisle - - - 147
11. — -.Observations on Edmund Burke - 148
12. — Officers of " Fencible " regiments ... 149
13. — institution of the order of St. Patrick, 1783 - - - 151
14.— Administration of lord Temple - 156
15. — Views on repeal and renunciation ----- 159
16. — Hervey, bishop of Derry - - - 165
Lord Charlemont's Memoirs of his Political Life, 1755-1783.
" As some introduction to the following records, it may not be super- fluous that I should give a slight and succinct sketch of the earlier part of my political life, before I was called forth into activity by matters of superior importance. In the year 1755 I returned to England from foreign parts, where I had spent much too long a portion of my time, eleven whole years. In May of that year the marquis of Hartington,1 afterward duke of Devonshire, was appointed to the lieutenancy of Ireland, for which kingdom he soon after set out. With this nobleman I was well acquainted, but still more intimately with his amiable brothers, whom I had known abroad, and who accompanied him to Ireland. The outset of my politics gave room to suppose that my life would have been much more courtly than it afterward proved.
[Political parties in Ireland in 1753.]
" The bustle of the year 1753 is not yet forgotten, when, during the ad- ministration of the duke of Dorset,2 a formidable party, with Mr. [Henry] Boyle, then speaker, at their head, violently, and sometimes successfully opposed government, in appearance upon public and patriotic ground, but really and in fact from the private motive of keeping out of the hands of Stone,3 the never-to-be-forgotten political primate, and of the Ponsonby family, a power of which neither party was likely to make a profitable or temperate use. In. other words, the struggle was who should * under- take ' for government. While yet abroad, my guardian, Mr. Adderley,4 had carried on an election 6 in behalf of my brother 6 for the county of Armagh, which had cost me upwards of one thousand pounds, and was meant to support the opposition interest, a measure which had already in some sort enlisted me in that party ; but, upon my return to my native country, however young in years and politics, I was soon enabled to see through the intention and probable event of these violent factions, by which, without any possible benefit, the nation was distracted. As an instance of the extreme futility of this interested-opposrtion-I- shall only mention that immediately after the great question, whether a bill should pass, appropriating to the payment of national debt part of a very great surplus then in the treasury, which had been altered in England by the addition of certain words signifying the king's * previous consent/ was carried in the negative with the universal applause and joy of the nation, his majesty, by his letters, at once drew, and, by his own authority, appro- priated the whole sum.
1 William, lord Cavendish, marquis of Hartington, appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, by patent, 2nd April 1755. He entered upon office at Dublin on 5th of May in that year. After the death of his father, he returned to England on the 10th of May 1756.
2 Lionel Cranfield Sackville, duke of Dorset, lord lieutenant of Ireland from 1730 to 1735, and from 1750 to 1755.
3 George Stone, of Christ Church, Oxford, translated from Derry to Armagh in 1747. See Eighth Beport of Royal Commission on Historical MSS., App, L, p. 177, 1881.
4 See pp. 158, 212. * See p. 203. 6 Francis Caulfeild.
[Results of mediation.]
" My natural disposition, and my thorough conviction of the evil tendency of these interested broils, induced me to take upon myself the office of mediator, for which I was well suited by my intimacy with the lord lieutenant and my alliance with the Ponsonby family on one side, and on the other by an old family friendship with Mr. Boyle, and by my having expensively and essentially assisted his party in their efforts. My mediation, which, as I afterwards found, was strongly seconded by motives of personal emolument, succeeded to my wish, and peace was restored, the terms of which, however, an earldom and a pension of three thousand pounds per annum for thirty-one years to the speaker, and various other emoluments to his followers, were totally unknown to me and negotiated without my interference. And this was the first instance that occurred to me, among thousands to which I was after- wards witness, that the mask of patriotism is often assumed to disguise self-interest and ambition, and that the paths of violent opposition are too frequently trod as the nearest and surest road to office and emolu- ment. In one respect the pseudo-patriot1 resembles the Christian whose hopes are fixed upon an hereafter, and the death of patriotism is not unusually succeeded by a glorious resurrection into the paradise of court favour. My influence at the castle [of Dublin] was now consider- able, of which, however, I made not the smallest use, though the lord lieutenant, without my asking it, gave to my brother, who was intended for the army, a cornetcy without pay, the only lucrative favour, if such it can be called, I ever in my life received from government, and this also came unasked.
[Viceroyalty of lord Hartington.]
u Lord Hartington had been sent over merely to restore peace, a pur- pose for which his conciliatory temper and his near connexion with both parties well adapted him, and this point having been completely attained, his administration went on quietly. Little mischief was attempted, and I lived in friendship with his excellency, with his brothers, and with the good general Conway,2 who was his secretary. The struggles, however, of [17] 53, though certainly without any inten- tion in their promoters, produced an excellent, and, by me, I confess,8
1 " These frequent apostacies have been used by the corrupt as an inexhaustible source of ridicule, and even of argument, against true patriotism. The same species of false wit and false reasoning has been repeatedly urged against religion itself. But such flimsy prattle does not merit a serious confutation ; as well we might say that, because there are many hypocrites, men ought not to be moral or religious." [C]
3 Henry Seymour Conway, M.P. for county of Antrim in 1741 and 1761.
3 " This effect was, however, foreseen by English politicians, as we may perceive by the following passage extracted from lord Meloomb's useful, though whimsical ' Diary,' p. 172, Dublin edition: ' I waited on the princess, . . I endeavoured (by her order) to explain to her the present unhappy divisions in Ireland, and begged her to make the prince [now George III.] thoroughly master of them. I told her that though I did not doubt but that the present heats would, somehow, and in appear- ance be allayed, yet I was sincerely grieved at the consequences which might, from indisposing numbers of a rich and thriving people, most cordially attached to the family hitherto, arise in a new and young reign : that I did not like the prospect.' And afterwards, in the next page : ' The earl of Home, on Sunday night, brought the account from Ireland, that the Irish parliament had rejected the bill for the appropriation of the surplusses, (which was altered in council here, by the addition of the King's consent only,) by five voices. A dangerous event, and productive of
unforeseen effect. By them the people were taught a secret of which M|S. of the they had been hitherto ignorant, that government might be opposed Chablemoxt. with success, and, as a confidence in the possibility of victory is the best inspirer of courage, a spirit was cousequently raised in the nation, hereafter to be employed to better purpose. Men were likewise accus- tomed to turn their thoughts to constitutional subjects, and to reflect on the difference between political freedom and servitude, a reflection which for many years had been overlooked, or wholly absorbed in the mobbish misconception of Whig principle. They were taught to know that Ire- land had, or ought to have, a constitution, and to perceive that there was something more in the character of a Whig than implicit loyalty to king George, a detestation of the Pretender, and a fervent zeal for the Hanover succession — excellent qualities when they flow from principle, but trivial at best when every principle is made to flow from them. In a word, Irishmen were taught to think, a lesson which is the first and most necessary step to the acquirement of liberty.
[Necessity for change of political system in Ireland.]
" Even in this friendly administration I found myself, though contrary to my wish, sometimes obliged to oppose the measures of government, and thus early formed my opinion, which time and experience have strengthened into a certainty, that, in Ireland at least, a permanent and respectable opposition is absolutely and essentially necessary. If in Great Britain, the seat of empire, where the constitution has been long settled upon the most apparently secure and firm basis, and where there exists an internal strength, which appears sufficient at all times to check the encroachments of the crown, opposition has, by the wisest politicians, been ever deemed necessary to public safety, how much more so must it be in a country comparatively feeble, fluctuating in its constitution, and which has not only to struggle with the crown, but with a powerful neighbour, always willing and ready to encroach, and whose encroach- ments are facilitated by inevitable circumstances too obvious and too numerous to be here detailed. In a country thus beset freedom can only be maintained by constant alertness, and the sentinel must never be for a moment off his guard. Sensible of this, my plan was already formed of keeping one individual at least of rank and property wholly independent, as a standard to which, upon any emergency, men might resort, whether actuated by real public principle, or, as is too often the case, by motives of an interested nature, which last species, base as it is, may however often be rendered useful to the public cause.
more mischiefs than I shall live to see remedied.' What these mischiefs were, which were feared by an English statesman, such as Dodington, may be easily conceived, and, thank heaven, he was a true prophet. And having now mentioned this strange, and, I believe, singular production, I cannot omit most strenuously to recommend the careful perusal of it, as it contains, to a good mind at least the best antidote to the dangerous desire of becoming a man of influence, and, by laying open the tricks of statesmen, guards the honest and unwary against putting too much confidence in them. It may indeed not unaptly be called the statesman's cabinet unlocked, and it were to be wished that every man of that description had been obliged to keep and to publish such a diary. But, as we probably may never meet with another who shall wish so completely to expose himself, I must again recommend the perusal of this valuable and unprecedented performance, which, besides many other excellent and useful purposes, will infallibly answer one, which I think inestimable, since it will clearly show what a pitiful, paltry, dirty animal a statesman is." [C] Dodington held under patent the sinecure office of " clerk of the pells " in Ireland. The edition of the " Diary " here quoted by lord Charlemont was published at Dublin in 1784.
/
MbSIr°lFoTfH* [State of the constitution in Ireland.]
— " Another motive power fully co-operated. I saw and deplored the
miserable state of the Irish constitution, if such it deserved to be named. Notwithstanding the boasted freedom of individuals, the State was actually enslaved ; and even thus early I formed in my mind some vague ideas of a future possibility of emancipating my country, and indulged a distant hope, which, I well knew, could never be realized but by keeping up a respectable opposition, ready at all times to receive such aids as lucky occurrences and some unforeseen fortunate train of events might bring to concur in that great and happy revolution, of which I even then saw, or thought I saw, some distant and obscure prospect. As a proof of this original bent of my mind, I will mention one fact. The priva- tion of judicature in the house of lords was one of our badges of servi- tude, and in order to endeavour its removal, I had, in the early part of my political life, determined to frame with some confidential friend a fictitious lawsuit, in which being cast, I would appeal to the lords of Ireland. They, who had never relinquished their judicature, but, on the contrary, had strongly and nobly protested against the abrogation of their inherent right, must, I imagined, receive my appeal, and thus the matter would be brought to a trial. Fortunately, however, I was pre- vented by a long course of illness from proceeding in this my favourite and splendid, though perhaps imprudent and boyish scheme. Fortu- nately, I say, as most certainly matters were not at this time ripe for any such attempt. The people were not yet thoroughly sensible either of their grievances, or of their strength. England was too strong, and Ireland too weak ; neither was the upper house of parliament most certainly the ground upon which to begin an attack, the right honour- able personages of which that house is formed, having been in these latter times, of all the members in the community, the least tenacious of their constitutional rights, and the most of their private interest. But, above all, neither Grattan nor Flood were then in parliament ; and I have mentioned this circumstance merely to show, at the expense of my character for prudence, that, many, many years before the emancipation of our constitution my heart was set, and my endeavours turned towards an object, of which it has been the happiness of my life to have seen the attainment.
[Attempts at public speaking.]
" As the principal wish of my heart was to serve my country in that station to which my birth had called me, I now eagerly desired to become a public speaker, sensible as I was of the high importance of this talent. Nature however strongly opposed my attempt, and perhaps also the course of my education, though certainly liberal, had not been properly conducted, or calculated as it ought to have been, for the attainment of this necessary accomplishment. No man was ever, I suppose, born with a greater degree of nervous diffidence, and proper means had not been pursued to correct this natural defect, which was now grown almost insurmountable. I had however at this time deter- mined, if possible, to get the better of my constitutional weakness. With the assistance of lawyers I had prepared a bill for the better regulation of juries, which I meant to introduce in the house of peers ; and had prepared myself to speak to it, when all my favourite schemes were at once dashed by a violent rheumatism, which for the space of two years and a half totally disabled me from every sort of business,
during all which time I was an absolute cripple, and went through an MSS. of the excruciating course of pains and physicians, until I was at length charlemoitt. restored to health by the tender care and effectual abilities of the excellent doctor [Charles] Lucas.1 To this fatal interruption I principally attribute my never having been able to speak in the house of lords. The opportunity of a resolution supported by youth and vigour had been lost. My nerves were rendered still weaker, and my constitutional diffidence was grown inveterate. Often have I tried every possible method to conquer a weakness of which I was ashamed. I have carefully studied such points as were to come before us. I have perfectly understood them. T have gone down to the house deter- mined to speak. Nay, I have often gone so far as to write my speech, and to get it by heart. But all in vain. When I attempted to rise, every effort of my mind was baffled by my bodily weakness. My recollection was lost, my courage was gone, and the aggregate of those very men, whom singly and individually I despised, was sufficient to terrify me from my purpose. What can be the latent cause of this strange defect ? Is it modesty ? Or is it rather vanity, and a foolish fear of lessening ourselves in the opinion of the world by acting below the character we have already obtained ? Should this latter be the real cause, which is not improbable, our efforts should be made in the earliest youth, and previous to the establishment of any character. Once or twice indeed I have been forced up in my own defence, and anger has so far prevailed as to enable me to utter a few words, which my friends have assured me were not inadequate. But for this I must depend upon their assurances, as I spoke at random, and never could recollect what I had said. I have the longer dwelt upon this singular weakness as an admonition to those for whose instruction I write, that, reflecting on their father's defect, they may labour to counteract a constitutional infirmity (which may perhaps be hereditary to them), by exerting themselves in time, and by combating this foolish and fatal weakness before it shall become inveterate, and consequently unconquerable.
[Viceroyalty of duke of Bedford. — Apprehension of French invasion.]
"During the greater part of the administration of the duke of Bedford,2 in the years 1757, '58, '59, and '60, I was precluded by my disorder from taking any part in public affairs, till in his last years,3 having at length recovered my health and limbs by the assistance of
1 Charles Lucas, M.D., member of parliament for city of Dublin, 1761-1771.
' John, duke of Bedford, appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, by patent, 3rd January 1757. He arrived in Dublin on the 25th of the following September.
3 " As illness prevented my attendance, I have omitted to mention in the text that in the first year of the duke of Bedford's administration, 1757, an effort was made in parliament which clearly showed that neither the spirit nor the parties of 1753 were yet entirely subdued, a set of spirited resolutions against pensions passed the commons unanimously, and were sent up to the lord lieutenant to be by him laid before the king. The warm temper of his grace was exasperated by this measure, and he peremptorily refused to transmit them. The house met. The answer was reported, and the commons, instantly adjourning, refused to do any business until their desire should be complied with. When at length, after a perseverance on the one side, and an obstinacy on the other of two days, Rigby acquainted the house from the lord lieutenant ' that their resolutions of the first instant should be forthwith transmitted to his majesty.' They were transmitted, but without effect. Parliament had been impelled by party spirit, not by national strength, and the representative body was neither influenced nor supported by its constituents. Ireland was not yet strong." [C]
10
MSS. of the heaven through the means of doctor Lucas, I was again enabled to Charlemont. take my seat in Parliament, where I ranged myself with opposition, the
measures of the chief governor, notwithstanding the excellent qualities
of which he was possessed, being rendered pernicious by evil counsellors, whose artful conduct profited of that facility, which was the great blemish of his character; neither shall we doubt of the artifice which was used to ensnare and pervert him, nor of the evil tenor of the advice he received, when we reflect that [Richard] Rigby 1 was his secretary, and [George] Stone his principal minister. In the last year of this administration, 1760, an event happened which, though unattended by any important consequences, I will briefly mention, as it serves to evince not only the necessity, but the facility also of strengthening Ireland against the attacks of her enemies by the arms and discipline of her citizens. To restore the reputation she had lost in the war, France was determined to make one vigorous effort, and a triple in- vasion was prepared to overpower the resistance by dividing the strength of these islands. England was to be invaded from Havre de Grace, but this enterprise was speedily frustrated by the destruction of the flat-bottomed boats which had been assembled in that port, and admiral Rodney began his career of victory with this exploit. The south of Ireland, which from its numerous Catholic inhabitants appeared the easiest of access, was the great object of the second invasion, which was to be executed by a body of 12,000 men, escorted and covered by a powerful fleet under the command of monsieur de Conflans ; and, in order to divert the attention of our government from the grand attack, five frigates, carrying upwards of 1,200 land forces, sailed from Dunkirk, destined to invade our northern coasts.
[Landing of French at Carrickfergus, 1760.]
" The grand design was totally defeated by the brave Hawke, who gained a complete victory over the fleet of Conflans on the coast of Britanny; and of the armament designed for the north three ships only, under the command of Thurot, whose experienced bravery and thorough knowledge of our shores, which he had long frequented both as a privateer and as a smuggler, rendered him a dangerous enemy, entered the bay of Belfast on the 21st of February; the two remaining vessels having been separated from their companions by violent storms,
1 " This man, the profligacy of whose principles would have scandalized the court of Tiberius, was so prosperous in his trade of secretary, that, after a few years he was enabled to redeem his large English estate which had been mortgaged for more than it was worth, a fact which my residence at Harwich in the neighbourhood of his mansion house, Mistley, has put it in my power to ascertain ; and this he accom- plished, though his expenses in Ireland were politically profuse, conviviality and a good cook being his only virtues. Bred in the most corrupt and corrupting school of English politics, he even surpassed his masters in that execrable science. . . Yet by this man was the fine understanding of the duke of Bedford implicitly led, and his excellent heart overruled ; closely connected with the duchess, they united their artful endeavours, in every sense, to the dishonour of the husband. The duke, a man of excellent parts, though deficient in common sense, was in the highest degree passionate, but perfectly good-natured. By thwarting his temper, her wily grace was wont to provoke him, which was not difficult, to hasty, rude, and even savage expressions of anger, well knowing that his subsiding passion would give way to unbounded penitence ; and in those moments of contrition her powers were without limits. Of this lady (the most artful and dangerous of women) I am almost afraid to speak." . . . [C] It may be added that Rigby held the lucrative sinecure post of Master of the Rolls in Ireland.
11
which had considerably damaged the whole squadron. In a council of mss. of tb% war the judgment of Thurot insisted that the forces should land, and, chaelbmont. without regarding the ruinous fort of Carrickfergus, proceed directly to Belfast; but, luckily for us, the opinion of monsieur de Flobert, general of the embarkation, prevailed, who with much military learning, des- canted upon the impropriety and danger of leaving behind them * a strong place.' Luckily, I say, for had the six hundred men, to which number the force was now reduced, immediately assaulted Belfast, they would have found that commercial city wholly defenceless, and rich in money, and in great quantities of linen cloth. Much spoil would have been obtained. The troops might have re-embarked, and, the wind being then favourable, they might have pursued their intended course without danger of being intercepted, and the expugnation of the ' grande ville de Belfast ' would have made no inconsiderable figure in the Bruxelles gazette. The stand made by the wretched castle of Carrickfergus, whose whole defence consisted in a half -ruined wall, and a few undisciplined recruits, could not be long, yet was it manfully protracted till the ammunition was consumed, and time was given to alarm the country. Neither was the country alarmed in vain.
[Movements against invaders.]
" The national spirit was instantly roused. From every neighbouring county great bodies of manufacturers and of peasants hastily marched with such arms as they could collect, and in the space of four and twenty hours Belfast was secured from insult.1 The news of this in- vasion speedily arrived in Dublin, and, as it always happens, the danger was magnified tenfold. The three shattered frigates were increased into a formidable fleet, and the six hundred weather-beaten soldiers became six thousand veterans. That a great metropolis should by these ex- aggerated reports be thrown into confusion is by no means surprising, but the alarm of the castle [of Dublin], where the intelligence either Was, or ought to have been, authentic, was ridiculous indeed. Orders were instantly dispatched for the march of troops from every part of the island, and the south was left totally defenceless ; the whole train of artillery was ordered to the north. Lord Rothes, commander-in-chief,
1 " As lords lieutenant are not usually apt or willing to acknowledge the services of those who do not receive the king's pay, the following extract from the duke of Bedford's speech at the close of the session, 1760, is the strongest possible testimony to the spirit of the country, and its salutary consequences : ' And I have farther in command to add that, after by the blessing of God upon his majesty's arms, and through the vigilance and bravery of his fleet, the great plan of invasion was defeated, and only a very small disembarkation of French troops was effected in the north of this kingdom, the spirit of his subjects in those parts was so effectually applied as to prevent any considerable damage to be done by them till the regular troops, which were at a distance, could be brought up ; whereby the enemy was intimidated from advancing beyond the walls of Carrickfergus. This his majesty sees with great pleasure, and approves the spirit exerted on that occasion.' We may add that had it not been for the spirit exerted upon that occasion, the town of Belfast could not have been saved from plunder, as the regular troops did not arrive until after the re-embarkation of the French. In justice, however, to the duke of Bedford, I must say that he gratefully recollected those services, and even the trifling part which it had fallen to my share to take. In the year 1763, when directions were given in the English council to the earl of Northumberland to offer me an earldom, the duke of Bedford arose, testified his satisfaction, and expatiated upon what he was pleased to call my merits, and this too though I had uniformly opposed his administration." [C.J
12
Mss. op thb instantly set out with positive orders to give the duke the most frequent
CharSmont. intelligence, orders which were so punctually executed that a light
— dragoon was dispatched to the castle from every post ; and the viceroy,
as he himself assured me, was determined immediately to follow, and to
put himself at the head of the army.
[Condition of Belfast. — Defensive movements.]
" As I was lieutenant of the county of Armagh I thought it my duty to repair to the invaded country, and, waiting on his grace to learn his commands, was surprised and scandalized by his positive declaration that he would meet me there. Arrived at Belfast, I saw with pleasure the situation of the town, which was crowded with defenders. The appear- ance of the peasantry, who had thronged to its defence, many of whom were of my own tenantry, was singular and formidable. They were drawn up in regular bodies, each with its chosen officers, and formed in martial array ; some few with old firelocks, but the greater number armed with what is called in Scotland the Loughhaber axe, a scythe fixed longitudinally to the end of a long pole, a desperate weapon, and which they seemed determined to make a desperate use of. Thousands were assembled in a small circuit, but these thousands were so thoroughly impressed with the necessity of regularity, that the town was perfectly undisturded by tumult, by riot, or even by drunkenness. The few soldiers who had been here quartered, were commanded by a colonel Stroud, who did not most certainly upon this occasion efface the blemishes of the former part of his unmilitary life. The guards had formally rejected him, and his present conduct evinced the justice of such rejection. Unused to command, his orders were confused and contradictory. Upon the first arrival of the country auxiliaries, he had ordered a body of the best armed among them to march towards Carrickfergus, with the avowed intention of attacking the French. They instantly and cheerfully obeyed, but, by the time they had gotten half way, his mind had changed, and he sent his orders to them to halt. In this also he was obeyed, and the corps lay upon their arms the whole night, unsheltered, and exposed to all the inclemency of the season. In the morning he was asked by a brother officer what he had done with this body of men ; he replied that he had forgotten them, and desired that they might be recalled. This fact I mention to show the peculiar aptness of Irishmen for military service. A body of undisciplined peasantry, who, in obedience to command, could remain inactive and exposed to the inclemency of a long winter's night without any desertion, was certainly capable of any duty ; and though their want of discipline might have subjected them to a defeat from the regular troops they so cheerfully marched to attack, yet it is evident that they possessed all the necessary materials of a perfect soldier ; and totally undisciplined they were, for though the old militia laws were at that time still in force, we all know the futility of the old militia laws. But the conduct of the people upon this occasion was a foretaste of what has since happened, and from such men the renown of Irish Volunteers might even then have been foreseen.
[Departure of French. — Death of Thurot.]
" On the day of my arrival at Belfast the French troops had been re-embarked, and when I came to Carrickfergus the ships only were to be seen waiting for a favourable wind. Yet was not my presence wholly
13
useless. Flobert } and about twenty of his men were left behind MSS. of thb wounded, and my care to provide them with proper lodgings and chabSmXtx. assistance was not unnecessary or ineffectual. The town had been —
pillaged, to the loss of the inhabitants rather than to the gain of the invaders. . . After a few days' stay I returned to Dublin, and beheld with concern the inefficiency of our preparations in a number of cannon which had been broken down after the march of a few miles, and of shattered carriages, by which the road was so thoroughly obstructed as to oblige me to make my way through the adjacent fields. The event of this trifling invasion was happy and glorious. By the spirit of the people the French had been prevented from making any mischievous progress. Their commander was wounded and a prisoner, and the squadron, having been prevented by contrary winds from pursuing its safer course to the northward, was met in the channel by the brave Captain Elliot with three frigates, who, after an engagement of about an hour and a half, and the death of Thurot, had the glory and satisfaction of bringing into the English ports the whole force.
[Death of George II. — Observations on his character.]
[1760.] " This year, on the twenty-fifth of October, in the midst of a rapid succession of victories, which had exalted the British name to the highest pitch of glory, died George the Second, unregretted by the multitude, ever fond of change, but much lamented by those who inti- mately knew his character, and the education and connexions of his successor. Whatever his weaknesses may have been, he was a man of strict honour, and of genuine Whig principle. A friend to liberty, he was yet tenacious of his regal dignity, and his demeanour always pre-
1 " When, in company with lord Rothes, I visited Flobert at Carrickfergus, his eager appeal to the general appeared rather whimsical to us who knew the miserable state of what he called a ' place forte :' ' Vous, milord, qui 6tes du metier, auriez vous laisse en arriere une place forte ? ' But the truth was, as he himself afterwards told me, that, from their first setting out, animosity and contradiction had taken place between the land and sea commanders. Never, sure, was an expe- dition more uncomfortable. The men and even the officers were so closely packed that they had scarcely room to breathe. Their provisions failed them. The winds were violent and contrary. The two commanders quarrelled, and, pent up together as they were, their whole time was spent in minuting down articles of accusation against each other, to be preferred at the court of Versailles. In this pleasant occupation they were only interrupted by desperate storms, in which the ships were shattered, separated, and well-nigh lost. At the first conflict the general was wounded in the leg by a musket ball, and though the wound was but slight, he was happy in a pretence for quitting the ship and his disagreeable companion. Flobert, after much intreaty, obtained leave from the duke of Bedford to go to France upon his parole, and, as his gratitude for the trifling services I had been able to do him had made him particularly fond of me, he begged that I would suffer him to accompany me to England, whither I was then going. His wonder at the dexterity of our seamen on board the yacht was to me entertaining and satisfactory : ' Ah, milord, par mer nous serons toujours battus.' At Chester, he delivered to me hig whole stock of money, intreating that I would carry it for him to London, as he heard there were robbers on the road, who would not, he imagined, attack me. In London I saw him often, and cannot avoid mentioning one fact, as it appears characteristic of his country. Being one day with me at breakfast, a gentleman came in, and told me that the day was appointed for the execution of earl Ferrers. I saw my friend's surprise, and, upon the departure of the gentleman, he eagerly said : ' Mais, comment? Est-ce vraiment un milord qu'on va pendre pour avoir tue un bourgeois ? ' To increase his wonder, I replied, ' Oui, vraiment, et non seulement milord, mais parent du roi.' ' Parbleu,' dit-il, < cela est singulier, et cepen- dant, cela est beau.' Flobert was afterwards killed in Germany." — [C]
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mss. of the served that air of conscious superiority so necessary in the first magistrate Ch^blemont. °f a mixed monarchy. Constitutionally brave, he loved and cherished — that virtue in others, and possessed all those qualities which usually
accompany courage. His temper was warm and impetuous, but he was good-natured and sincere. Unskilled in the royal talent of dissimulation, he always was what he appeared to be. He might offend, but he never deceived. His loss was, however, speedily obliterated, and even his memory lost in the sanguine hopes which were conceived of a prosperous and glorious reign under the auspices of his grandson, who ascended the throne with every possible advantage, crowned with victory, guarded by union and popular favour, of English birth, and with William Pitt for his minister. According to the trite phrase, men adored the rising sun, and surely never sun arose with a clearer promise of a bright day. But aerial prognostics are often fallacious, and the brigbtest morning is frequently followed by clouds and storms.
[Views on political and social duties.]
" During this time and long after, I had a house in London, where I usually spent the intervening year between the sessions of Parliament. As I had left Ireland when almost a child, I had few or no acquaintance there — at least none of that class, which, holding a place between friend- ship and acquaintance, are in a high degree interesting to the heart. With the exception of one, who was worth a million, my ever dear Marlay,1 all my connexions and friendships had been formed among Englishmen, the attractive force of which circumstance I quickly per- ceived, and being thoroughly sensible that it was my indispensable duty to live in Ireland, determined by some means or other to attach myself to my native country ; and principally with this view I began those improvements at Marino,2 which have proved so expensive to me, and consequently so injurious to those for whom I write. My health, to which sea bathing and the social neighbourhood of a metropolis were absolutely necessary, would not allow me to settle on my estate in the north, and, without some pleasant and attractive employment, I doubted whether I should have resolution enough to become a resident; and residence I must here inculcate as the first of political duties, since without it all others are impracticable. Let it not be said that Ireland can be served in England. It never was ; and, even though we were to hope, a vain hope, for the power of serving her there, we are but too apt to lose the desire. It is the nature of man to assimilate himself to those with whom he lives, or at least to endeavour such assimilation, especially where his adopted countrymen, exalted in his own private opinions above himself, affect to deride his native manners and partiali- ties. The Irishman in London, long before he has lost his brogue, loses or casts away all Irish ideas, and, from a natural wish to obtain the goodwill of those with whom he associates, becomes, in effect, a partial Englishman. Perhaps more partial than the English themselves. In the East it is well known that Christians meet no enemies so bitter or so dangerous as renegados. Let us love our fellow subjects as our brethren, but let not the younger brother leave his family to riot with his wealthier elder. Let us at all times act in concert for the universal good of the
1 Eichard Marlay, son of Thomas Marlay, chief justice, king's bench, Ireland, was appointed dean of Ferns in 1769, bishop of Clonfert in 1787, and bishop of Water- ford in 1795.
2 At Clontarf, near Dublin. See p. 335.
15
empire ; but let us consider that we are best enabled to perform that -mss^of^thb duty by contributing to the prosperity of our own country, which forms charlemont. so capital a portion of that empire. What can the unconnected Irish- man perform in England ? Whatever his consequence may be at home, it is lost in the vast circle of English importance. The resident Irish- man may be of consequence even in England. The English Irishman never can. He gets into Parliament, and by so doing takes upon him- self a new duty, independent of, and perhaps contrary to, that to which he was born, the service of his constituents. He connects himself with a party, and great abilities may render him useful. But where is the English party that is not, more or less, hostile to the constitutional and Commercial interests of Ireland ? Whatever may be his pious wish, can he hope for influence sufficient to alter this interested prejudice? Or can his single vote avert impending mischief ? He may enrich himself as a courtier, or gain applause as a patriot. He may serve his party. He may serve himself. But Ireland must be served in Ireland. The man who lives out of his country is guilty of a perpetual crime, and even his more splendid qualities, when displayed to the advantage of a foreign soil, turn to vices. It is being liberal of that which we hold in trust for a parent. It is the unnatural son who profusely assists in the luxurious maintenance of a beloved alien at the expense of his mother's jointure.
" But I have dwelt perhaps too long upon this favourite topic. My advice, my exhortations are, I trust unnecessary ; I cannot doubt the patriotism of my children, it was their father's passion. The love and service of our country is perhaps the widest circle in which we can hope to display an active benevolence. Universal philanthropy is no doubt a godlike virtue, but how few are there who can hope or aspire to serve mankind ? Like circles raised in the water by the impulse of a heavy body, our social duties, as they expand, grow fainter, and lose in efficacy what they gain in extent. Self-love is the point of impression, and ex- pands itself into family affection, thence into friendship, charity, patriotism, universal benevolence. All these are duties, and rise in merit in propor- tion to their distance from the centre, but patriotism seems to be the largest sphere, the widest compass to which our abilities are usually suited, and, though our fervent wish ought always to extend to the service of mankind, our endeavours ought to be more particularly pointed to the practice of that most extended duty to which they are adequate. If every man were to devote his powers to the service of his country, man- kind would be universally served.
[ Viceroy alty of earl of Halifax. — Rights of Irish peerage.]
" The duke of Bedford was succeeded in October, 1761, by the earl of Halifax,1 at the time of whose appointment I was in London, and had occasion to exert myself in asserting the honour of my country. The khjg's marriage had been negotiated, and the future queen was daily expected. Several Irish peeresses, who were then in London, had been taught to believe that they were to walk in the wedding procession, and had accordingly provided expensive dresses for the occasion, when, a few days previous to the expected landing, the duchess of Bedford was ordered to inform them that they were to be excluded from the cere-
1 George Montagu Dunk, earl of Halifax, appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, 3rd April, 1761, entered on office on the 6th of October in that year. In April, 1763, he was succeeded as viceroy by Hugh, earl of Northumberland.
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mss. of the monial. Vexed at this disappointment, and fearful of the ridicule to Chaklhmont. which their costly preparations would subject them, they applied to me, : — ■ and desired that I would interest myself in vindicating and asserting the
rights of the Irish peerage. At my age the commands of ladies were not to be disputed, and, though sensible that the business was of a trifling nature, I could not, however, but perceive that any degradation of her peerage was in effect a dishonour to Ireland, and that ' lias nugae seria ducunt in mala.' I therefore willingly undertook the task assigned me, and began by soliciting such Irish peers as were then in London to assist my operations. But I found them strangely supine. They had no doubt of their right, and anxiously wished for the honour, but feared to controvert the king's pleasure, which had already been made known. In a word their English prejudices got the better of their Irish wishes, and the honour of their country was an idea totally foreign to their thoughts. One alone, lord Midleton,1 took up the matter as I wished, and promised his assistance ; accompanied by him I waited on lord Halifax, who had just then been appointed to the government of Ireland, and resided at Bushy Park. I told him that we waited on his excellency as, by his office, protector of the rights of the Irish nobility ; that, not- withstanding numerous precedents in our favour, we were now denied the honour of walking at the royal wedding, and that we relied upon his interference and representations for the acknowledgment and restoration of our right. His answer was polite and proper. He assured us that he would instantly set out for London, wait on his majesty, and exert himself to the utmost in favour of our claim. That evening I received a letter from his excellency, which, I confess, gave me no small disquiet, and reduced me to a situation which my inconsiderate folly in suffering myself to be hurried into an undertaking, to the nature of which I was a perfect stranger, had perhaps deserved. He informed me that his majesty had graciously received the claim of his Irish nobility, and had ordered that a council should be summoned for the next day to examine into precedents, and report their opinion ; adding that I was desired to furnish him, for the inspection of council, with such prece- dents as might tend to establish the right to which I had laid claim. This was to me a thunder-stroke. I had in general been told that such precedents existed, but what they were, or where to find them, I was totally ignorant. I was however pledged, and by the next morning matter sufficient must be prepared for council, while the rights of Ireland, in this respect, were not better known by me than those of China. The time pressed, and I was at my wits' end, when at length a lucky thought occurred. I was well acquainted with lord Egmont,2 and, from his general course of study, he appeared to me a likely person to extricate me out of this dilemma. After an uneasy night, at seven in the morning I waited upon him. He was yet in bed, and his servant was loth to waken him at that early hour. My peremptory instances however pre- vailed, and I was shown into his bed-chamber, where, after some time passed in surprise on his part, and apologies on mine, I related to him the subject of my premature visit, and was at once made happy by his assuring me that I could not have applied to one more willing and able to serve me; that he had long since studied the point in question, and had even written a pamphlet3 upon the precedency of the Irish peerage,
1 George Brodrick, viscount Midleton.
3 John Perceval, second earl of Egmont.
3 " The question of the precedency of the peers of Ireland in England, fairly stated : In a letter to an English lord by a nobleman of the other kingdom." Dublin, 1739.
17
and would immediately show me in his library a list of precedents strong MSS. op the enough to confound the endeavours of all our opponents ; who, he was charlbmont. well aware, would be numerous in council. He greatly praised the part I had taken, instantly arose, and accompanying me into his library, from various records which he produced, I nastily copied a long list of pre- cedents, which, not having time to transcribe it, I was obliged to send to lord Halifax, roughly drawn as it was, and in a character scarcely intelligible. The council met, and this important matter was violently, not to say virulently, debated. Many English lords, with the old lord Delaware at their head, rancorously disputed our claim. Some also, supported principally by the earls Talbot and Halifax, declared themselves satisfied with the precedents, and convinced of our right. Parties how- ever were so equally divided that the council rose without any decision, and the matter was referred back to the king, that he might act therein according to his pleasure. This was precisely what he wished to avoid, and many other councils were convened without effect. Such was the inveteracy of our opponents that, notwithstanding the clear evidence of precedent, no decision could be had, till at length his majesty, tired with the indecision of his council, issued an order, which was posted in all the places of public resort, that the Irish nobility should walk at the ensuing procession according to their respective ranks, the earls after British earls, and so on. Though at the first not very anxious about this busi- ness, the inveterate opposition it had met with made me, I confess, warmly interest myself in its success, and, determining that this pre- cedent should be complete, I contrived that some of every rank should walk, and that their names should be individually inserted in the records of council. During the course of this negotiation, which made a consi- derable noise in London, an offer was made to me which deserves to be mentioned. I was at that time much connected with the celebrated lady Hervey,1 whose house I often frequented, and who was intimately ac- quainted with lord Bute, the favourite and all-powerful minister. Calling me aside one evening towards the conclusion of the controversy, she informed me that she had had much conversation with his lordship on the claim which I had instituted in behalf of the Irish nobility ; that he greatly approved my conduct, and believed the claim well founded, but did not see why we should not also lay claim to the right of walking at the approaching coronation ; that he had reason to believe that point also might be carried, provided we were content to walk in a separate body, as a distinct peerage after the British peers. To this I answered that the matter was of too great importance for me to hazard any opinion ; that I would, however, mention it to my brethren then in London, and know their sentiments ; that one objection immediately occurred : In all court ceremonials the established etiquette was that the Irish peerage should walk intermixed with the British, every rank immediately after those of the same class of nobility ; and that possibly an acceptance of the proposal now made might be construed into a yielding our right of precedence, and might be used against us on other occasions as a prece- dent. This objection, she assured me, had struck her also, and she had mentioned it to lord Bute, who had entirely obviated its force by an assurance that a saving for all other processions, the coronation only excepted, should be inserted in the council books. This measure, though proposed by lord Bute, and possibly with a view to the precedence of the Scottish peers, was not I confess, disagreeable to me, and I thought that walking at the coronation upon those terms, as a distinct peerage,
1 Mary Lepell, wife of John, lord Hereey. 55741. B
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MSS. op the was by no means unfavourable to Ireland, since a distinct and separate
Charlemont legislature was thereby strongly marked. Neither was it difficult to
— account for the difference in the mode of walking between this and other
processions, the coronation being, strictly speaking, a state ceremonial,
while all others were merely court ceremonies.
[Coronation of George III.]
" In this procession, which was essential to royalty, and which was instituted to receive the royal oath, the sacred pledge of our liberties, we walked as an independant body representing a separate kingdom, whereas in all others we joined with our fellow peers in complimentary attendance. — At all events a point was gained without yielding in any other respect. — Impressed by these arguments, yet by no means obstinate in my opinion, I mentioned the proposal at a meeting of the Irish peers, by whom it was disapproved, principally through the influence of the marquis of Kildare,1 who chose, perhaps, to walk as an English viscount,2 rather than as an Irish marquis, and possibly might be proud of that distinction, which, upon this occasion, his rank in England gave him over his brother peers of Ireland. I say possibly, because his subsequent conduct would rather incline me to suppose that he gave his opinion from conviction, un warped by any silly prejudice of vanity. This contest I have the rather thought it proper to detail as it clearly evinces the propensity of England, in those days, to dispute, and, if possible, to subvert the rights of Ireland, even in the most unim- portant particulars.
[Lord Halifax. — William Gerard Hamilton.]
"The administration of Lord Halifax was, as usual, hostile to the interests of the country. He was sent to govern, and was rendered more formidable, though certainly more entertaining, by the great parliamentary abilities of his secretary, my old acquaintance, "William Gerard Hamilton.3 Mj plan of opposition was accordingly continued, and, though our members were not considerable, we contrived, however, to keep government in awe, and consequently to prevent mischief.
[Condition of Irish Catholics.]
" One measure, however, proposed by this administration, was not, I confess, so disagreeable to me, as it certainly was to the majority of Irish Protestants. The situation of the Catholic gentry of Ireland was, at this time, truly deplorable. The hostile statutes enacted against them, however their necessity may have ceased, were still unrepealed, and, respecting devise and inheritance, they laboured under the greatest hardships. Jn time, however, it might be hoped that these difficulties would be palliated, or perhaps removed; 'but they were subjected to one inconvenience, which seemed to be so interwoven with the existence of a Protestant interest and government, that sound policy, and indeed necessity, must for ever prevent it's being remedied. Their sons were
1 James FitzGerald, created duke of Leinster in 1766. 3 Viscount Leinster of Taplow, Buckinghamshire. 3 See p. 145,
19
j destitute of profession, and were equally and necessarily excluded from j I MSS. of the the church, the bar, and the army. The only occupation left them was Charlemont. foreign service, and of this they availed themselves, but as the French . —
service, in which a national brigade had been formed for their reception, was that to which they most frequently resorted, they often found them- selves compelled to fight against their king and country, and to exercise their native valour to the destruction of that soil from whence it was derived. At this time, when we were involved in a war with Spain, the Portuguese, then esteemed the natural allies of Great Britain, had warmly solicited some effectual and permanent aid from the English court, and a plan was formed to comply with their request by suffering them to raise, among the Catholics of Ireland, six regiments, to be officered with Irish gentlemen of the same persuasion, and taken into the pay of Portugal. To this effect a motion was made in the house of commons by secretary Hamilton, and supported by a torrent of eloquence, which bore down all before it. Never had such an oration been uttered within those walls, and if, in the more Attic times of our rising state, it may have been surpassed, the superior dignity and importance of the subjects have assisted our more modern orators full as much as their superior abilities. The measure, however, was warmly opposed, and the argu- ments urged against it were strong and weighty. The danger was alleged of suffering so great a number of Catholics to be arrayed, armed, and disciplined, who, though in a distant and friendly service, might, at some unforeseen but possible crisis, return to their native land, to the manifest danger of the Protestant interest in church and State. It was also said that Ireland could not spare so many of her inhabitants ; that the south and west, where these recruits would principally be raised, were thinly peopled, and that the cultivation of these countries would be hereby checked, if not entirely annihilated. Though I strongly felt the weight of these arguments, the liberality of the plan was so pleasing to a youthful heart free from prejudice, and deeply impressed with the wretched situation of my Catholic countrymen, that I could not help wishing it's success ; and the bigoted zeal, which evidently appeared to be the real basis of the opposition, undoubtedly added strength to my wishes. The force of the first and most important argument was in some decree lessened by the consideration that of those intended regi- ments the officers at least would be no very considerable accession to the Popish array, since it was more than probable that the majority of them would consist of gentlemen already disciplined, who would willingly quit the Irish brigades for a friendly and legal service, and thus far the measure would operate favourably, as we should be hereby enabled to recall our brave countrymen from the service of our natural enemies, and at least to direct the coarse of that valour, which our unfortunate circumstances forbad us to employ in our own behalf. The loss of inhabitants was not much. The defalcation of three thousand men could scarcely be supposed capable of annihilating the cultivation of two great provinces; neither did they seem well entitled to the benefit of this argument by whose oppression double the number was annually compelled to emigration; and it was but too evident that a •principle of the most detestable nature lay hidden under this specious mode of reasoning. The Protestant bashaws of the south and west were loth to resign so many of those wretches, whom they looked upon and treated as their slaves. When abroad, I had been intimately acquainted with many of my countrymen in foreign service, and never knew one who did not regret the horrid necessity of bearing arms occasionally against his country. My most particular friend, the brave
B2
20
MSS. op the and truly amiable general O'Donell,1 when speaking on this subject, Earl of j^g 0ften wept. These circumstances may certainly have biassed my — judgment, and, though in some degree contrary to my wish, it was not,
perhaps, imprudent or impolitic that the measure, which undoubtedly might have been carried, was finally given up by government. Yet, whatever may have been the prudence of a concession so unusual in Irish administration, I cannot give them much credit for it, since the real cause of their forbearance most certainly was that of the great * undertakers ' for government in the house of commons. Some of the most powerful were southern bashaws, whose prejudices were to be respected, and whose wishes were not to be controverted.
[White-boy disturbances.]
"During the administration of lord Halifax, the island was dan- gerously disturbed in its southern and northern regions. In the south, principally in the counties of Kilkenny, Limerick, Cork, and Tipperary, the White-boys now made their first appearance, — those White-boys who have ever since occasionally disturbed the public tranquillity, without any rational method having been, as yet, pursued to eradicate this disgraceful evil. When we consider that the very same district has been for the long space of seven and twenty years liable to frequent returns of the same disorder, into which it has continually relapsed in spite of all the violent remedies from time to time administered by our political quacks, remedies which have harassed and injured the constitution of the patient without in any degree contributing to his cure, we cannot doubt but that some real, peculiar, and topical cause must exist; and yet neither the removal, nor even the investigation of this cause has ever once been seriously attempted. Laws of the most sanguinary and unconstitutional nature have been enacted. The country has been disgraced and exasperated by frequent and bloody executions, and the gibbet, that perpetual resource of weak and cruel legislators, has groaned under the multitude of starving criminals. Yet, while the cause is suffered to exist, the effects will ever follow. The amputation of limbs will never eradicate a peccant humour, which must be sought in its source and there remedied.
[Causes of agrarian disturbances.]
" As the insurgents were all of them of the Catholic persuasion, an almost universal idea was entertained among the more zealous Protestants,2 and encouraged by interested men, that French gold
1 Count Manus O'Donell, major-general in the service of the emperor of Austria. He died in Ireland at the age of eighty, in 1793, and was buried at Straid Abbey in Mayo.
2 " The furious and bigoted zeal with which some Protestants were actuated was shocking to humanity, and a disgrace to our mild religion ; yet, in behalf of the latter, it must be confessed that religious zeal was in many instances assumed to serve as a decent veil under which motives of a still worse nature were concealed. The bashaws could not brook opposition to their established despotism, and the resist- ance of Papists was looked upon as the rebellion of slaves. The idea also of French interference, readily conceived and eagerly embraced by those who wished to catch at every plausible pretence for their interested violence, and to hide, if possible, even from themselves the more inexcusable source of their conduct, strongly co- operated ; and these three motives, mutually supporting and excusing each other, were powerful enough to induce even some men of decent character to act in a manner unbecoming Christians. The hunting of White-boys was the fashionable chase. . . [C]
21
and French intrigue was at the bottom of these insurrections. The real causes were indeed not difficult to be ascertained. Exorbitant rents, low wages, want of employment in a country destitute of manu- | facture, where desolation and famine were the effects of fertility, where the rich gifts of a bountiful mother were destructive to her children, and served only to tantalize them, where oxen supplied the place of men, and, by leaving no room for cultivation, while they enriched their pampered owners, starved the miserable remnant of thinly scattered inhabitants. Farms of enormous extent let by their rapacious and indolent proprietors to monopolizing land-jobbers, by whom small portions of them were again let and relet to intermediate oppressors, and by them sub-divided for five times their value among the wretched starvers upon potatoes and water. Taxes yearly increasing, and, still more, tithes, which the Catholic, without any possible benefit, unwill- ingly pays in addition to his priest's money, and by whose oppressive assessment the despairing cultivator, instead of being rewarded for his industry, is taxed in proportion as he is industrious. Misery, oppression, and famine, these were undoubtedly the first and original causes, obvious to the slightest inspection, though resolutely denied, and every public investigation into them impudently frustrated by those whose sordid interest opposed their removal. Misery is ever restless, and the man who is destitute both of enjoyment and hope can never be a good or quiet subject. In our unchristian plantations of the West Indies was any doubt ever entertained concerning the cause of a negro insurrection ? The wretch who cannot possibly change for the worse, will always be greedy of innovation.
" Yet, though such were the undoubted sources of the riotous spirit which prevailed, and still unfortunately prevails, in many of our southern . counties, I will not pretend to assert that French intrigue may not sometimes have interfered to aggravate and inflame the fever already subsisting. "We well know the usual policy of that court to seek and to increase disturbance. We have reason to believe that secret service money is never refused where there is a possibility of its producing any, even distant and precarious effect, neither can we suppose that there is a country upon earth where agents may not be procured for money, and more especially in the south of Ireland, where religious prejudice, present distress, and the sanguine, though fallacious, hope of relief, co-operate with avarice, and almost serve as an excuse for venality. In a country so circumstanced it is by no means improbable that the court of France may have been tempted to tamper with an unhappy and discontented people, and one fact, the truth of which I cannot doubt, would almost induce me to believe that, upon one occasion at least, a small sum of French money was hazarded in Ireland. During the course of these insurrections a very considerable number of French crowns were received at the custom-house, which could not well have been the result of trade, since little or no specie is imported from France in exchange for our commodities, and more especially since they were all of the new crowns, of the same date, and coined after any possible importation could be made by the course of commerce.
MSS. OP THE
Earl of Charxemont.
[Disturbances in Ulster.]
" In the summer of 1763, while, the earl of Halifax being returned to England, as was usual in the intervening year between the sessions of parliament, the kingdom was governed by lords justices,1 another
1 George Stone, archbishop of Armagh, Henry Boyle, earl of Shannon, and John Ponsonby, speaker.
22
MSS. or the insurrection, proceeding from causes of a very different kind, and the Charlemont. more formidable as the rioters were almost all of them Protestants, disturbed many of our northern counties, and alarmed every well-wisher to his country by the danger which was to be apprehended from disorders in those parts which must ever be esteemed the vitals of Ireland. It began in the county of Armagh, where I was lieutenant, and where my principal property lay, and quickly spread itself through Tyrone, Derry, and Fermanagh. In the quelling these disturbances I myself took a leading part, and have the satisfaction to say that in the counties of Armagh and Tyrone, where my exertions were made, the country was in a very short time perfectly pacified, and tranquillity restored without a shot fired, or the death of a single man. But, as I shall treat at large of this transaction in the course of these memoirs, it is needless that I should expatiate further upon it in this place.
[ Viceroyalty of earl of Northumberland. — Earldom of Charlemont.]
"In the year 1763 the earl, afterward duke of Northumberland.1 a nobleman of importance both from character and property, and with whom I had had some previous intimacy, was appointed to the government of Ireland. As a reward for the active and successful part I had lately taken in quelling the disturbances above mentioned, his majesty was graciously pleased, without any the smallest application or expectation on my part, to signify to me through the lord lieutenant, his royal pleasure that I should be promoted to the rank of earl,54 an honour which I did not accept until after much hesitation, and after having expressly declared that my acceptance should have no influence on my parliamentary conduct, and stipulated its perfect freedom ; a stipulation of which I found it necessary to make a speedy use by continuing to oppose, and the measures pursued, notwithstanding the private good qualities of the chief governor, well justified my opposition. Stone was still principal adviser, and the earl, though honest, was by no means proof against the artifice of that refined politician. But all the circumstances and con- sequences of my promotion will be detailed hereafter. During the former part of this administration my friend Hamilton continued to be secretary, but was, through the intrigues of the primate, removed from that office, and strangely replaced by my cousin, lord Drogheda.3
[Viceroyalty of earl of Hertford. — Governmental system in Ireland.]
"In 1765, lord Northumberland was succeeded by the earl of Hert- ford, * of whose administration, though not perfectly satisfied with his character or politics, I had formed some hopes, as he had been sent over by my ever dear friend, the marquis of Rockingham, then prime minister of England, the best man and the honestest statesman that ever directed the British counsels. But, in countries relatively cir- cumstanced like these, the best English minister is not always equally good in Ireland. Removed to a distance from our scene of action, he sees with the eyes of others, and his information can seldom be true, v because it is always interested. This island had not, in those days, as
1 Sir Hugh Smithson Percy, earl of Northumberland, appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, by patent, 27th April 1763. He was created duke of Northumberland in 1766.
3 See p. 136.
3 Charles Moore, sixth earl of Drogheda.
4 Francis Seymour, earl of Hertford, appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, 7th August, 1765 ; he entered on office 19th October.
23
yet attained that pitch of importance, which rendered it an object MSS. of the worthy the accurate investigation and serious attention of a minister chaelemo*nt. busied and wholly occupied by matters seemingly of far greater moment, and certainly of nearer concern. Our interests were little understood, and seldom, if ever considered, and the orders given to a lord lieutenant /_ on his departure for his government, were usually no other than these : by procuring a majority in parliament to preserve inviolate the ascen- dancy of English government ; to employ for this purpose, and gratify that set of ' undertakers ' which had already been approved in England ; to keep the kingdom quiet, that is to say, in its state of dependency, by quashing all troublesome bills, either in parliament or in council ; to prevent the monarch or his ministers from being teazed with, and to deliver them from the odium of refusing the petitions of the people ; to load the establishment with unmerited pensions and new places, and to get as much money as would defray all expenses necessary and unnecessary, and bribe the representatives from the scanty purses of their wretched constituents. Such, by prescription seems to have been, in those ' fearless ' days, the settled mode of governing Ireland, and the minister who had presumed to depart from this method would have been thought to innovate the constitution. Neither was it always in the power of the minister to choose the person whom he should send to Ireland. Party recommendation was not to be refused. Poverty and a broken fortune were qualifications not to be rejected, and the indigence of Ireland was considered as the appropriated fund to compensate the losses of the gaming-table. Nay, the getting rid of a troublesome and craving associate has often been the only reason that could be assigned for disgracing or plaguing Ireland with knaves or fools.
[Lord Hertford in Ireland.]
" The designation however of lord Hertford was, in all appearance, free from objection. His birth and station were in the highest degree illustrious. His property was immense, and as a great portion of it lay in this country, it might well be supposed that even his avarice, the vice most objected to him, would operate in our favour, and that he would be a friend to the soil from which he drew his beloved wealth. The love of money only excepted, his character was negatively good, and he was at that time closely connected with the Whig party. All these circum- stances were certainly sufficient to justify the minister by whom he was sent. But alas, even though the dispositions of lord Hertford, and of his more odious son l and secretary had been far better suited to the office than they were, Ireland was then in a situation which rendered it scarcely possible that it should be well governed ; and heaven grant that, even at this day, every obstacle to good government may be entirely removed. My sanguine expectations were accordingly frustrated, and I was still compelled to oppose.2
1 Lord Beauchamp. See pp. 82, 279.
2 " The constant and unalterable tenor of my sentiments respecting the rights of Ireland, and my unremitting view to the emancipation of her constitution, may be seen in the fifth clause of a protest, entered, during this administration, against an act for restraining the exportation of corn, lord's journals, vol. 4, p. 360. In the framing this protest I was considerably assisted by Flood, who wrote the greater part of it. And here it may be proper to mention that till the defection of Flood in the time of lord Buckinghamshire, almost all the protests to which my name is affixed were written with his powerful assistance, from which unfortunate period, being deprived of his political friendship and support, I was compelled to trust to my own weak abilities, and am wholly answerable for all such subsequent protests as are signed by me." [C]
u
Mss. of the [Rockingham and Charlemont.]
Earl of
Chaklemont. " And here I cannot avoid mentioning a trait of lord Rockingham's never-failing goodness towards me, and of that excellent character every part of which does honour to his memory. Happening to be with him one day in London, when one of the company, between jest and earnest, mentioned the singularity of my having opposed my friend's adminis- tration in Ireland : ' Let him alone, said he ; he is our very good friend here ; in Ireland, he ought to act as he thinks most for the advantage of his country.'
[ Viceroy alty of lord Townshend.1]
" In October 1767, lord Townshend was sworn into office, certainly the most whimsical character that ever was sent to preside over a great nation. His singularities, however, many of which were humorous and entertaining, and his conviviality, rendered him in this jovial and convivial country a not unpleasant chief governor, and procured him many friends. But his irregular caprice, by which the dignity of government was perpetually degraded, disgusted all men of sense and feeling, while his servile connection with lord Bute, and consequent political profligacy, the evil effects of which were only averted or mitigated by a total want of system, and his headstrong impetuosity, uncurbed either by principle or by prudence, alarmed the friends of their country, and rendered his administration at once dangerous and contemptible.
[The octennial act.]
" In his first session, however, was passed the great and salutary law for limiting the duration of parliaments, that root from whence all our subsequent acquisitions have sprung, that basis upon which the frame of our renovated constitution has been raised. And here it may not be superfluous briefly to mention the whimsical manner in which at length this long sought for law was obtained in direct contradiction to the ardent, wishes of a great majority in parliament, and beyond the most sanguine hopes of those who desired it most, and had been for many years ineffectually labouring its attainment.
[Charles Lucas. — Henry Flood.2]
" Neither is it possible to speak of this law without feeling and ex- pressing the warmest gratitude to my excellent friend, the truly patriotic doctor Lucas, who in every session from his first sitting in parliament had, with a manly and unwearied perseverance, renewed his endeavours towards the attainment of this great point, and whose conduct, influence, and writings had raised a spirit in the people without which all our labours would have been fruitless. My friend Flood, also, whose powerful co-operation was never ineffectual, in this particular, as in many others, merits the thanks of the latest posterity.
1 George, viscount Townshend, appointed 19th August, 1767, entered on office, 14th October.
2 See p. 29.
25
[Impediments to octennial act.] M^ar°l of**
Charlemont. " Session after session this act had been brought forward, session after session it had been rejected in the commons, stifled in the council, or refused in England by the strength of a great and interested majority, by the efforts of those leaders at whose unnatural influence it aimed a great and deadly blow, or by the domineering spirit of English adminis- tration, who feared an increase of trouble and difficulty in the momen- tous business of corruption, dreaded the renewal of intercourse between the Irish commons and their constituents, and perhaps foresaw, not without reason, that through the operation of this law, their darling object, the arrogated supremacy of British legislature might be shaken.
[Popular movements in Ireland.]
" The people, however, were at length taught to feel the degradation under which they had so long laboured, and to consider the limitation of parliaments as a restoration of those rights of which they had been robbed. The feelings of a people roused from a long state of apathy are usually violent, and never silent, and their wishes were strongly con- veyed to their representatives in peremptory instructions, and to Parlia- ment in spirited petitions.
[Passing of heads of octennial bill.]
" The commons, perceiving and dreading a national agitation, the novelty of which rendered it more alarming, and fearing to resist the rapid violence of the current, thought it best and safest to give way to the impetuous desires of their constituents, certain as they thought themselves that the heads of a bill, which they might pass merely ' ad captandum vulgus,' would be unanimously thrown out by the privy council, where they well knew that the influence of England, and of those 'whose interest would be most particularly affected by the measure, was at all times not only predominant, but indeed all-powerful ; and in this persuasion they were the more fortified by the recollection of what had happened upon a similar occasion when they had suffered a bill of the same nature to pass through their house under the certain assurance that it would not be permitted to proceed any farther. In consequence of these fears and of these hopes a considerable majority consented to a measure which in their hearts they detested, and the heads of a bill passed the lower house 1 with the universal applause of the nation. The privy council, irritated against the commons for having thus taken to
1 " Another cause strongly co-operated with the hopes and fears of the majority. At this time it was more than suspected that one principal object of lord Town- shend's mission was to endeavour the depression of that oligarchical party through which Ireland had for many years been governed, and of which English administra- tion began to be weary, convinced at length that the support they received from the leaders of the faction was far overpaid by the thraldom in which they themselves were held. To distress, therefore, lord Townshend's government was a favourite, though hitherto concealed, object of the great ' undertakers,' who willingly suffered their followers to join with the patriots in carrying a measure which they were con- vinced would be stifled elsewhere; thus securing to themselves, as they imagined ,/ without the smallest risk, a high degree of popularity, while the Obnoxious lord lieutenant would alone incur the odium of rejection." [C]
26
Mss. of the themselves the popularity of assent, and thrown upon them the odium of Earl of rejection, alarmed also at the clamours of joy which resounded through — * ' every part of the kingdom, confident that English administration would stifle the measure, and that the obnoxious bill would never more be heard of, instigated by resentment, and influenced by fear, certified it over to England. The same resentments there took place both against the council and the commons, and, as the best means of revenge and punishment, it was resolved that the bill should be sent back, to the end that the commons, instead of popularity, might incur an additional odium by rejecting that, which, from the basest motives now made clear to the world, they had passed ; and in order to secure rejection, a clause was added by which the present Parliament was immediately dissolved.
[Unexpected passing of octennial bill, 1768.]
" On the day when this unexpected account arrived from England I happened to dine with Mr. Ponsonby, then speaker of the house of commons, and the principal * undertaker ' for government. The company was numerous. His English letters were brought to him while we were yet at table. He opened them. His countenance fell. He turned pale, and it was visible to every one that some fatal news had been received. * What is the matter ? ' * By heavens, the limitation bill is returned, and parliament is dissolved.' Never did I see in one group so many doleful faces, nor to me so laughable a sight. I presently left the company, where I was the only person pleased, and hurried to Flood, to commu- nicate the good tidings. Care was now taken that the public exultation should be made manifest, and the city [of Dublin] was one continued bonfire. The country was also immediately informed that the favourite law was returned, and the whole kingdom resounded with acclamation. Neither was this without its effect.
[Reception of octennial act in Ireland.]
" The bill was now brought back to the house of commons, where the real sentiments and wishes of the majority were evidently and comically visible in their embarassed countenance. Detesting the measure with all their hearts, and sensible that in passing it they voted against ail their darling interests, they saw in the exultation of the people the imminent danger of rejection in the present stage, and were forced by their fears into an apparently heroic act of self-denial, a virtue which they had never before practised, and which was of all others the most foreign to their hearts. But the people were assembled in crowds at the doors. Their shouts were heard within the walls. The danger pressed, and cowardice assumed the semblance of virtue. Thus did the bill pass the commons and was sent up to the lords, where it was received with undissembled joy, not from any spark of public principle, — my brethren were, I fear, incapable of it, — but, as many of their lordships were possessed of boroughs, the octennial sale of this precious commodity appeared to them a circumstance most highly gratifying, and they saw with pleasure an increase of dependency in what was usually styled their following. The few real patriotic friends of the measure found therefore no difficulty to get the bill read thrice on the same day, and passed with the honourable distinction of the following resolutions :
27
" ' Kesolved, that the reading of the bill for the limiting the duration of parliaments a second time, committing it, reporting, and reading it a third time, and passing it in the same day, was done as a distinguishing mark of the approbation of this house of that bill, and is not to be drawn into precedent.
" * Kesolved, that an humble address be presented to his majesty to express our grateful acknowledgments for returning the bill for limiting the duration of parliaments in this kingdom, so essential to the constitu- tion, so beneficial to the Protestant religion, and so universally desired by the nation, and to testify, by this early tribute of our thanks, the great satisfaction which we feel from an event which equally contributes to the joy of the nation, and to his majesty's glory.'
" Thus by the manly perseverance of a few, in direct opposition to the interested wishes, and powerful efforts of an immense majority, headed by all the great leaders in the house of commons, and supported by English government, was this great and salutary measure finally carried, and Ireland thenceforth begran to be a nation.
MSS. OF THE
Earl of Charlemont.
[Views of the English cabinet.]
" It must, however, be confessed that another circumstance, not yet mentioned, most probably contributed to the success of this measure. English administration had, for some time past, been weary of that oligarchical faction, through the medium of which they had hitherto governed this kingdom, and now at length perceived that the ease with which their business was carried on, was far overpaid by the thraldom in which they themselves were held by a rapacious party, in whom all emolument was centred, and through whose hands all offices were dis- tributed. A change of ministry had also lately taken place, by which the personal favour of these wholsesale ' undertakers ' had been considerably lessened, and with a view to their depression lord Townshend had been sent over with orders to reside during the whole time of his viceroyalty, by which measure, for the future to be adopted, the influence they had obtained by being left lords justices in the absence of the lord-lieutenant was effectually put an end to. The long duration of parliaments was also well known to be a principal source of their authority, and the wish for their diminution co-operated not a little with the indignation which arose in the English cabinet at finding the odium of rejection thrown upon them by those who might with ease have stifled the bill, either in the commons or in the council. To this cause also, as well as to a desire of vengeance and punishment, the immediate dissolution of parliament, a measure in itself just and proper, but certainly pernicious to the leaders, may perhaps be ascribed. Neither, when we consider the usual conduct of the English cabinet respecting Ireland, will it appear un- charitable to suppose that their proper and constitutional concession upon this important occasion proceeded rather from the co-operation of interest and resentment than from any motive of justice or public utility.
[Recommendation of perseverance in pursuit of rights.]
" And here I will stop for a moment to inculcate to those for whom I write, a maxim, which, as far as my experience goes, appears to me infallible, that every measure intrinsically just and good will finally be carried by virtuous and steady perseverance. In the pursuit of that which is salutary and right let no patriot be discouraged by defeat,
28
mss. of the
Earl op Charlemont.
since, though repeated efforts may prove ineffectual, the time will come when the labours of the virtuous few will finally succeed against all the efforts of interested majorities, — when a coincidence of favourable circumstances will conspire with the justice and utility of the measure, and, beyond the reach of human foresight, carry into execution even that which, by the weak and timid, was deemed most impossible. ■ Nil desperandum ' is a maxim in patriotism which I solemnly recommsnd to the observance of my children. Let them always endeavour after what is right, how difficult soever it may appear of attainment, since, even though they should not live to witness success, they will lay a foundation for the success of their survivors. The man who lays the first stone of the temple of liberty, has as much, and perhaps more, credit with posterity than he who lives to complete the edifice.
[Lord Townshend. — Parliament in Ireland, 1769. — Money bill.]
" The obtaining this important law conferred a great degree of popu- larity on the otherwise contemptible administration of lord Townshend, and the principal drift of his mission, namely the depression of the oligarchy, which was long since grown hateful to the nation, was so universally pleasing as to draw a veil over his numerous absurdities, and to conciliate the minds of a people, grateful to excess, and naturally fond of that humorous extravagance which formed a principal feature of his whimsical character. When, in December 1769, an event happened, which at once blasted all his popularity, and must for ever render his viceroyalty one of the most odious in the more degrading pages of the Irish parliamentary annals. At this period the last great effort of English usurpation was exerted. Previous to the calling a new parliament, the old one having been dissolved in consequence of the limitation act, a money-bill, pursuant to unconstitutional usage, grounded upon a forced but received interpretation of the law so well known and so detested by the name of Poynings, had been framed in the privy council, and transmitted to England as a cause and considera- tion for holding a parliament. When this bill was, on the 21st of Novem- ber [1769] sent to the commons, it was, by the efforts of the patriots, strongly supported by the silent concurrence of the discontented party, rejected with indignation, the following reason being assigned for such rejection, and recorded in the votes : ' because it had not taken rise in that house.' Government was exceedingly alarmed at this procedure, by which it was supposed and asserted that the supremacy of England and the royal prerogative were deeply affected. Had the commons confined themselves to a simple rejection of the bill, they would not, it was alleged, have exceeded their powers ; but the reason assigned was deemed an attack on the constitution, as established by the law of Poynings, that great palladium of English power, and an infringement upon the prerogative of the king in his kingdom of Ireland. It was therefore determined that, as soon as the king's business was clone, the session should be put an end to by an angry prorogation, and that the lord lieutenant should solemnly protest against the procedure of the commons, and cause such protest to be entered upon the journal of the house of lords ; an illegal and unconstitutional measure, for which, however, two precedents were produced, though by no means agreeing in all circumstances, one of lord Strafford in the year 1633, another of lord Sydney in 1692. But where is the unconstitutional measure for which precedents may not be found in the Irish, or even in the English, journals of parliament ?
29
[Movements by Charlemont and Flood.] ^blV**
" This nefarious intention was not however kept so secret, but that I —
had previous intimation of the purposed mischief, and determining as far as possible to weaken its force, with the advice and assistance of Flood 1 my friend and constant counsellor in all matters of public import, the following measures were adopted and pursued : A few days previous to the intended unnatural close of the session, a motion was made in the house of lords, ' that the speaker of this house be desired to direct that no protest of any person whomsoever, who is not a lord of parliament, and a member of this house, and which doth not respect a matter which has been previously in question before this house, and wherein the lord protesting had taken part with the minority, eithei in person or by proxy, be entered on the journals of this house.'
" This motion was, as we expected, negatived by a very great and courtly majority, neither had it been made with the most distant hope of its being carried, but merely to give ground for a strong protect, by which we were determined that the obnoxious measure should be immediately preceded, as we knew that by the intended prorogation we should be precluded from the possibility of a subsequent protest. Our protestation was accordingly solemnly made and entered.2
[Viceregal protest and prorogation of parliament in Ireland.]
"This proceeding happened on Friday the 22nd of December [1769], and on the Tuesday following the lord lieutenant came down to the house, and, having in his speech inveighed against the procedure of the commons, entered his protest, and parliament was immediately prorogued, to the infinite detriment of the country ; all the important business of which was left undone. Neither was any method pursued to remedy this inconvenience, which might easily have been done by suffering parliament to meet on the day to which it was prorogued, namely, on the 20th of March 1770. But on the contrary the time of meeting was deferred by subsequent prorogations to the 26th of February in the year 1771.
"The prorogation was immediately succeeded by an exertion of power, which, though perhaps it may not be deemed absolutely illegal, must however be allowed of all other acts of prerogative the most hostile to the freedom of parliamentary proceedings, and consequently the most abhorrent from the constitution. Several
1 Henry Flood, of Farmley, Kilkenny, born in 1732, son of Warden Flood, chief justice, king's bench, Ireland, was elected member of parliament for county of Kilkenny ia 1759. He married Frances Maria Beresford, daughter of sir Marcus Beresford, earl of Tyrone.
2 The lords who signed this protest were Louth, Charlemont, Mountmorres, Powers- court, and Longford. In reference to the precedents above mentioned, they wrote as follows : " We conceive that the earl of Strafford, who first attempted, and that but in a single instance, to enter his protest, as chief governor, upon the journals of this house, was a person of such an arbitrary spirit, and the times in which he lived, of so bad an example, and his said protest so informal and faulty in itself, that such his proceeding ought not to be considered as a precedent. We apprehend that the only subsequent instance, to wit, the protest of lord Sydney, which was made in heat by that governor, whose conduct was disapproved, on his recall to England, which soon followed, and founded upon the former example, which ought not to have been imitated, was still more irregular and improper, inasmuch as it related to a matter which had never been before this house, and respected the privileges and proceedings of the other house of parliament."
30
MSS. of the gentlemen lost their places evidently for their conduct in parliament, Charlemont. and many of the first distinction were dispossessed of their seats at the council board, — a measure uncommon, violent, and, in its tendency, certainly unconstitutional, and which was the more likely to agitate the public mind, as the vacant places were filled by the most abject and detested slaves of government.
[Opposition to lord Townshend.]
" On the 26th of February, 1771, lord Townshend again met the parliament, where he found the opposition both to his measures and to his person greatly increased ; not, I fear, from any increasing prevalence of patriotic principle, but from the resentment of that faction which he laboured to depress, the leaders of which, finding that their depression was resolved on, now openly united themselves with those who had uniformly opposed upon principle, and augumented the party to a formidable minority in both houses, a minority, which from its numbers, and from the superior abilities, rank, and property of its members, was not to be withstood. The country was also, as might well be expected, discontented and irritated. The city, not, as now, under the influence of government, and well informed of every thing which passed to the public detriment through the means of its excellent and active re- presentative, doctor Lucas, was in a flame, and riotous mobs assembled about the avenues of the house, swearing and otherwise insulting the more obnoxious members. For my own part, I uniformly and firmly proceeded in the system which I had predetermined of pursuing every means to invalidate and counteract the noxious tendency of the late alarming measures, and with this view, when, in the address to the king, the usual paragraph of returning thanks to his majesty for the continuation Of the lord lieutenant was inserted, it was violently opposed and protested against by no less than sixteen peers, our numbers having, from the cause already mentioned, increased from five to sixteen. In this protest, which will be found in the journals, page 545, the noxious measure was bitterly censured, and the character of the chief governor strongly marked. Not content with this, and with another short pro- test to the same purpose in a different stage of the address, a motion was made 'that an entry in the journals of last session, beginning with the word Townshend, and ending with the words Great Britain, may be expunged from the journals.' Which motion, after a long debate and much violent invective, being negatived, a strong protest was entered and signed by seventeen lords. And thus this noxious and unconstitutional entry appears upon the journals with every possible guard and antidote, being preceded by one protest, and immediately followed by two others, while the constitution is, as far as might be, vindicated by the recorded sentiments of so many peers ; and posterity will readily perceive the genuine sense of the nation respecting this desperate and nefarious encroachment on their dearest rights, as well as their just resentment against the agent and perpetrator of such encroachment.
[Unpopularity of lord Townshend's viceroyalty.]
" From what has been already said the unpopularity of lord Towns- hend's administration may be clearly inferred, and fully justified ; yet to this effect many other causes concurred, some of which I will briefly mention.
31
"A gracious and very popular concession having lately been made by MSS. of the the crown in England respecting the independency of the judges, lord chaelemgnt. Townshend, in his first speech from the throne,1 had strongly recom- —
mended to the Irish parliament the same salutary measure in the following explicit words : ' Nothing can be more conducive to these great ends [the honour of the crown, and the just rights and liberties of the people] than the independency and uprightness of the judges of the land, in the impartial administration of justice. I have it in charge from his majesty to recommend this interesting object to parliament, that such provision may be made for securing the judges in the enjoyment of their offices and appointments, during their good behaviour, as shall be thought most expedient. I shall be happy to co-operate with you in this great work so graciously recommended by the king,' etc.
"A recommendation of this sort from the throne is always considered as an absolute and sacred promise from the king, which the viceroy is pledged to perform under the penalty of being accounted either faithless or impotent, of being thought to have wilfully deceived the nation, and to have disgraced the throne by falsehood and imposture, or to have been himself duped and sacrificed by his employers, an alternative which must render him either an object of national resentment and detestation, or of utter contempt. To tins despicable or odious situation was lord Townshend reduced shortly after his arrival in Ireland ; for when, in his first session, a bill to secure to the judges their offices during good behaviour, copied precisely from the British law, had passed in parliament with universal approbation and applause, it was, in direct breach of promise, returned from England so mutilated and changed as entirely to defeat, and even to counteract the purposes for which it was intended, and to compel the parliament, which had passed it in its original form, unanimously to reject it in its altered state.
[Creation of unnecessary offices.]
" In this administration also the public expense, and the undue in- fluence of the crown in parliament, were considerably and dangerously increased by the erection of new, expensive, and unnecessary offices, and particularly of a board of accounts, consisting of five commissioners,2 all of whom were members of the house of commons, and many of them actually purchased from opposition by the present appointment. Against this measure, as unconstitutional in its circumstances as in its spirit, a long protest was signed by nineteen peers.
[Augmentation of army in Ireland.]
"But the great object of lord Townshend's mission, and that in which his employers were principally interested, assuredly was to pro- cure the consent of parliament to an augmentation of the Irish army ; and, as on this occasion I thought myself obliged to take a part differing
1 In house of lords, 20 October, 1767.
2 The five commissioners and the places represented by them in the house of commons were as follows : Charles O'Hara, Armagh ; Gervase Parker Bushe, Granard ; Henry Loftus, Clomines ; Edward Tighe, Wicklow ; James St. John Jeffries, Middleton. These commissioners were entitled to ten pounds for every account audited, stated and certified by them, in addition to a salary of five hundred pounds per annum to each. The grant was under privy seal, St. James's, 31st October 1771.
32
mss. of the from my usual line of conduct, I shall enter into a somewhat larger CharSmont. detai* uPon tne subject in order to account for this apparent change. — ' Immediately after the passing the octennial law it was thought prudent by administration to seize the present fleeting instant of popularity, and, before the sudden swell of gratitude should ebb, to bring forward this their favourite, but, in its nature, unpopular measure. Many causes, besides the general detestation which free countries must ever entertain against the increase of a standing army, concurred to make the measure at this time peculiarly distasteful and difficult.
[War with America. — Riots in London.]
" The unfortunate and fatal American contest was already begun, and Ireland, justly, naturally, and wisely favourable to her oppressed brethren, saw with disgust and apprehension the use which was making, and likely to be made of the British forces ; and could not but be sensible that every augmentation of her own army was in effect raising troops against those to whose cause she must be partial,1 since it, in some degree, resembled her own. The riots also, which had lately taken place in London, had been quelled in a manner which could not but add to her dislike of the military, and this country, the security or restoration of whose rights entirely depended on the spirit of her people, was naturally averse from every measure which could in any degree tend to the depression of that spirit. The season likewise, though apparently propitious, was ill chosen by government. The unexpected disappoint- ment of the public respecting the judges' bill, and their just anger at this flagrant breach of royal promise, had greatly indisposed the public mind, and more than balanced the popularity accruing from the octennial law.
[Proceedings in relation to army bill.]
" The necessity of repealing an English act, by which the king was restrained from maintaining on the Irish establishment a force exceeding twelve thousand men, had taken up so much time that the motion for an augmentation could not be made in the parliament of Ireland till after the committee of supply, by which alone the expense could be regularly provided for, was closed; and the approaching dissolution, in consequence of the limitation act, rendered the members of the house of commons dependent upon their constituents, and unwilling to disoblige those who must so soon have it in their power to repay the disobligation. The degraded, and therefore disgusted aristocracy were happy to seize the advantage-ground which the imprudence of administration had given them, and, cheerfully joining the popular cry, increased the opposition by the important and effectual accession of all their well- disciplined pack.
1 This subject was referred to as follows in a protest from lord Charlemont and five other peers, in 1778 against removal of troops from Ireland: — " Because that though America be not specially mentioned in his majesty's message, or in the resolution founded thereon, we conceive that as Great Britain is not at present engaged in any foreign war, the troops now required can be destined only for the American contest, a service in which we would not choose to engage our country. As we cannot approve of the motives upon which this war was commenced, so we would not wish to contribute to its continuation, — the wasting of the British strength, the sufferings of her commerce, and all the increasing calamities of civil war, being, in our minds, strong and melancholy arguments against persisting in an unnatural contest, whose object has not as yet appeared to us to be either just or productive."
33
Under circumstances like these success seemed to be impossible ; and mss. of me yet, such was at that period the power of government in the Irish chaklemont. house of commons, that when a motion was made to increase the army —
on this establishment by the addition of 3,235 men, it was negatived by four only. Such a defeat was not likely to discourage government, and in the next session the same measure was again brought forward, but in a shape far different, and so coloured by the addition of constitutional stipulation that its complexion, at least, was wholly altered. 12,000 men were on all hands allowed to be necessary for the defence of Ireland, yet it seldom happened that much more than half that number were left in this kingdom, the remainder being usually, though unjustly, employed in foreign service. Great complaints had from time to time been made against this grievance ; the royal promise to rectify it had been often pledged and broken, and, upon the late occasion, had been again offered, though, from the experience of its insufficiency, it had been offered without effect. A proposal was now made, that if the additional number of 3,235 men were paid by Ireland towards the necessary defence of foreign garrisons, etc., the original 12,000 should be at all times kept in this island, and that, as a perfect security, this stipulation, together with his majesty's promise, should be inserted in the bill of supply, by which insertion the contract would stand upon parliamentary record, and his majesty would be positively and legally bound to the strict performance of his promise, nor ever would have it in his power to withdraw any portion of the 12,000 men, without the actual permission of parliament first obtained. This was, I confess, a lure scarcely to be withstood. A restriction of royal prerogative, in so essential a point, by an Irish act of parliament was too creditable, as well as too useful to the nation, too expressive of the importance of a parliament, which had hitherto been an object of ministerial contempt, to be easily refused. Neither ought we to be too much elated, or blinded by our late success. The former measure, it is true, from a concurrence of favourable circumstances which would probably never again happen, had been defeated. But it had been defeated by four only ; and nothing appeared more certain than that, at some future and perhaps not distant period, when no such fortunate coincidence existed, it must be carried, and carried uncon- ditionally. We owed the present offer to the strength of opposition — to the weakness of government. How long might opposition be strong or government weak ? Party, not principle, had been the efficient cause of our boasted victory ; and of party, especially of Irish party, perpetual fluctuation is the peculiar attribute. An interested hatred to the present chief governor had procured us a powerful band of auxiliaries, but the next lieutenant would probably give our new and unnatural friends the wished for opportunity of returning to their old and beloved banners ; nay, the former system of government might be renewed. English ad- ministration, alarmed by the difficulties which had attended their new plan, might again have recourse to the old ' undertakers,' and from that instant our allies would become our inexorable enemies, and assist in combating the very cause they had so lately asserted. For inconsistency, at least among Irish politicians, is seldom deemed either criminal or dis- graceful. But, even though no such occurrence should happen, the ardour of our new friends would, of itself, soon grow cool. Unaccus- tomed to the profitless side on which they had lately fought, they would quickly return to their old habits. Constrained and awkward in the plain and scanty livery of freedom, they would long for the rich and ample trappings of court service. Upon the first change of general, they would eagerly recur to their former party and principles, and, in order to compensate their late tergiversation, they would probably go farther 55741. C
34
MSS. of the in offensive warfare even than those obedient slaves who had remained
Charlemont. implicitly faithful to the royal standard. Such would undoubtedly be
— the conduct of our allies, neither was our own original force entirely to
be relied on. Troops who serve without pay will seldom be subservient
to discipline, and a premium held out to desertion will usually produce
its effect.
" These reasons prevailing with me, and being further fortified by the irresistible opinion of Flood, (either given upon real conviction, or, possibly, for I will not say probably, because he then meditated the future change in his politics, and was therefore more easily convinced,) I acceded to the proposition of government, and voted, the first and last time in my life, for a measure which, in itself, I disapproved, but to which I deemed it more prudent to give way, qualified as it then was, than to oppose it now, under the moral certainty of its being hereafter carried in a manner far more offensive, unguarded by stipulation, un- sweetened by those flattering concomitants, which tended so greatly to restrain the powers of the crown, and to add dignity to the parliament and to the nation.
" The same opinion being formed by many other members of the opposition, the measure was carried, though so little to the honour of government, and so much to the displeasure of England that Mr. Pitt was heard to declare that the man who had advised the king to suffer such a disgraceful infringement of his prerogative deserved to lose his head.
" Upon this important transaction I have thought it necessary to be more circumstantial than, in this short sketch, I have usually allowed myself to be, as well to account for my conduct as because that conduct may possibly contain some matter of instruction to my children, and show them, at least, their father's opinion that no personal dislike to administration, however well grounded, no public resentment for public injuries, nor even the dread which an honest mind will anxiously feel, of being thought to waver in our politics, or to deviate from the path we have usually trodden, should compel us to push our opposition beyond the bounds which are marked by the real interest of our country. By that alone our actions should be guided and determined, and, if at any time we find that service may be done, or mischief prevented by a temporary acquiescence with government measures, it is the duty of a patriot to seize the opportunity, and to sacrifice his private feelings to the public good, hazarding even that popularity which is the sole reward of his labours, but which he may be assured he will never lose while the general tenor of his life evinces that public, not private advantage, is the object of his conduct. * Utili praeferre honestum ' is a just and noble sentiment, but then we should consider that by the ' utile ' of Horace is meant not public utility but private interest. Yet, on the other hand, it must be allowed that the path which I have here recommended is a slippery path. Every deviation from the straight and beaten road must be made at our peril, and therefore none such ought ever to be hazarded but upon the most sure and certain ground, as it is dangerous in the extreme, and naturally leads to remorse. In proof of which I must fairly confess that, though in the transaction above related I acted from the best, purest, and most conscientious motives, though I then was and still am convinced that I acted not only prudently, but justly also, I can not help at this instant regretting that I was ever obliged to vote for a measure which my conscience did not fully approve.
" Let then that incomparable, though trite and vulgar maxim, that * honesty is the best policy ' never be forgotten, and seldom, very
35
seldom, be in any degree departed from. In following the plain and open road of strict rectitude, even though our conduct may appear erroneous to the political eye, our error will be sanctified by the sacred object of our pursuit ; but when we venture to deviate into the winding paths of worldly wisdom, the smallest mistake (and where is the wise man who is not often mistaken ?) must be fatal. Honesty is a principle firm and permanent. It is the polar star which can never deceive us in our course. Political prudence must necessarily be uncertain as the human understanding. It is the ship's reckoning which, though it ought always to be kept, can never be solely or with certainty depended upon. The best and most skilful mariner is often deceived into destruction by mistaking a vapour for firm land.
mss. of the
Earl of Ckarlemont.
[Recall of lord Townshend. — Earl Harcourt appointed viceroy.]1
"The administration of lord Townshend was now become so uni- versally odious, and the opposition to his measures so strong, that, after having permitted him for five years to plague us with ill-government, and divert us with his absurdities, the English ministry now at length thought it necessary to recall him ; and in his stead was appointed earl Harcourt, an old courtier of abilities more suited to the drawing-room than to the cabinet, who was sworn into office on the 30th of November, 1772.
[Administration of earl Harcourt 1772. secretary.]
-Sir John Blaquiere,2
" Over this administration, his excellency performing little more than the ceremonies of levees and balls, sir John Blaquiere the secretary, presided, a man of low birth, of no property, and of weak genius, yet possessing in an eminent degree those inferior abilities which are more prized by and perhaps more useful to an evil government than the greatest mental powers, the sublime faculty of exciting venality, and of making proselytes to their country's ruin by corrupting individuals with the public treasure, and thus inducing parliament lavishly to comply with the most exorbitant demands of its corrupters, a manoeuvre which may be compared to the common method of extracting a supply of water from a scanty spring by pouring a portion of that necessary fluid into the pump. Cajoling and jobbing were this secretary's principal talents, and consequently the whole period of lord Harcourt's viceroyalty was a continued job.3 One mischievous transaction, the more mischievous as~itr has been a precedent for many subsequent exactions, deserves particularly to be recorded. Upon a representation, which the extreme prodigality of government had rendered too true, that the national expenditure greatly exceeded the annual revenue, new and burthensome taxes were invented and granted to equalise the revenue to the expense, in order to prevent the perpetual and ruinous accumulation of debt ;
1 Simon, earl Harcourt, appointed 29th October 1772, entered on office on the 30th of the following month. His speech to both houses of parliament at Dublin, at opening of his first session, was on 12th October 1773.
2 See Third Eeport of Koyal Commission on Hist. MSS., 1872, p. 4o3.
3 Lord Harcourt left a private memoir, as yet unprinted, on his administration. In this manuscript he entered the names of the members of the houses of lords and commons in Ireland, with memoranda on their political characters and particulars of the emoluments and appointments which many of them solicited and obtained from him.
c 2
/
36
MSS. of the and this was done under a positive and solemn promise from govern- Charlemont. ment that there never should be any future exceeding, a promise which — was kept as, in Ireland, government promises always are.
[Proposed tax on absentees.]
" A. tax upon absentees, which ever since the days of Swift had been the popular and almost universal wish of the nation, was allowed to be proposed in the house of commons with the approbation, or, at least, the acquiescence of the omnipotent secretary, who hoped by this measure to gain popularity, and was greedy of any new tax of what description soever ; another reason strongly co-operating, both with him and with his employers, was that by far the greater proportion of the absentees, whose properties would be thereby affected, were strenuous opponents to the administration in England. This popular measure which was strongly supported by Flood, with my hearty concurrence, aud violently opposed by the friends and partizans of those absentees who Avere likely to suffer, was therefore, to the astonishment of all who did not know the cause, approved of by a government which in this instance alone appeared to solicit popularity, but pretended to yield to this as a compensation for the other taxes, which had been so lavishly granted ; a whimsical compensation indeed, where the permission of a new tax is brought forward as a boon to compensate old and scarcely tolerable burdens. Thus supported it was on all hands hoped or feared that the measure would be carried, when, on the eve of decision, an express arrived from England, (where the absentees,1 though in opposition and consequently out of power, were strong enough to prevail over the wishes of this prostrate kingdom,) with positive orders that the bill should be thrown out; in consequence of which, administration suddenly and indecently changed sides, and the tax was negatived by a considerable majority.
[Considerations on absentee- tax.]
" Though in this transaction, perhaps in some degree prejudiced by the popular cry, and by the weight of great authorities, I was, at that time, extremely zealous, yet must I confess that upon more mature consideration I have begun to entertain some doubt of the propriety or expediency of an absentee tax. The reasons for it are obvious and striking. That a set of gentlemen should for ever draw their rents out of a poor country without in any sort contributing to its support is undoubtedly most unreasonable, and that they should be obliged to pay a sort of land tax as some equivalent for those ■ duties upon consumption to which, if residents, they would have been liable, appears to be highly fair and equitable. The man who, for his
1 The proposal was that a tax of two shillings in the pound should be laid upon the net rents and annual profits of all lands in Ireland, to be paid by all persons who should not actually reside in that kingdom for the space of six months in each year from Christmas 1773 to Christmas 1775. On the division there were 102 votes for and 120 against the tax. An application against the proposed measure was in October 1773 addressed to lord North, then minister, by the duke of Devonshire, lords Rockingham, Besborough, Milton, and Upper Ossory. They mentioned that, while possessing considerable landed property in both kingdoms, their ordinary residence was in England, and that such residence ought not to be regarded as an act of delinquency to be punished, or as a political evil to be corrected by the penal operation of a partial tax. They intimated to the minister their determination to pursue every legal method of opposition to a project which they stated to be in every light unjust and impolitic.
37
pleasure or his profit, chooses to defraud his country not only of mss. of the those civil services to which every citizen is bound, but also of the charlemont. expenditure of that revenue which arises out of the soil, and from the labour of the husbandman or artizan, ought undoubtedly to make some retribution. The expenditure of that wealth which arises from an estate appears to be, like manure, the natural due of the land which feeds the beast ; or, to use a less homely comparison, it is the just return in fertilizing rains of those vapours which the sun exhales ; neither will the amazing sum remitted out of Ireland to her absentees without any prospect of return perhaps appear the worst effect of non-residence, when we reflect on the various ill consequences which necessarily follow the absence of gentlemen from their estates, and on the sad exchange of agents for landlords. These truths are glaring and undeniable, and yet are the objections on the other side strong and weighty, setting aside that it appears somewhat illiberal, and perhaps not altogether consistent with the strict idea of natural or constitutional liberty, to compel any man under a penalty to a residence from which he is averse, there is certainly an extreme degree of danger in giving a beginning to that ruinous mode of taxation, a land tax, which, were it to be general, would infallibly ruin the kingdom, since, besides many other pernicious consequences with which it would be attended, it possesses exclusively one property that in Ireland must be fatal, that, whereas all other taxes limit themselves, and, if made to exceed their due proportion, become unproductive, the land tax alone knows no self- limitation, but may be productively extended to the full value of the pound. Against this destructive evil one of our principal securities has ever been the power of the absentees, whose interest, for upon their inclinations I lay little stress, has at all times prompted them to exert their great influence in England in opposition to a measure by which they must so essentially suffer ; but of which, if they were already made liable to its oppression, and that too in an invidious and hostile manner, instead of opposing, they would wish and labour for the extension, as well from resentment, as because it is too much the nature of man to wish for fellow-sufferers. The difficulty also of ascertaining the value of estates, which has hitherto been one fortunate impediment to a land tax, would by a tax on absentees be in a great measure obviated, since to carry it into execution the de- vising some method to come at such valuation must necessarily be a preliminary step. But it is idle to expatiate any farther upon this subject, or to tire my readers by producing other arguments against a measure which our present altered and improved situation both in commerce and constitution has rendered, in my opinion, not only inexpedient, but perhaps inadmissible. Enjoying, as we now do, our commercial rights upon an equal footing with the sister kingdom, it would be to the last degree illiberal to prevent our people from migrating thither at their pleasure by laying a sort of embargo upon our gentry ; neither, in our present state of constitutional independency, would it be politic in those who wish, as I do most ardently, a perpetual and inseparable connection between the two nations, to check by violence that intercourse which so greatly tends to their mutual union, affection, and brotherhood. The duty of residence I have already inculcated, and, like all other duties, its own advantages, with all but fools, will enforce its performance. Let it be practised, but practised voluntarily, and let its breach be punished only by those penalties which naturally and inevitably follow the crime. The practice of it will daily become more general, more easy. Men of property will naturally wish to reside where their constitutional rights are entire ; and as our country grows rich it will every day grow more and more an object of resort. Amuse-
38
MSS. OF THE EAKL OF
Charlemont.
ments, and in all great countries such must be provided, will draw the affluent and idle. The love of gain, where trade flourishes, will attract the merchant. Learned institutions, and such must be encouraged, will decoy the literate. In a word, let us coax, and not compel our people to their duty.
[Claims for commercial rights of Ireland.]
" During this administration, from causes which I shall hereafter endeavour to explain, the powers of opposition daily decreased, and our divisions grew weaker and weaker. Yet still I did not despond, and various circumstances induced me to hope that better times were not far distant Our apparent strength, it is true, was lessened, but the stamina still remained unsubdued, and the people, who had been in some degree roused by the late exertions of the popular party, began a little to feel their importance, and to be thoroughly sensible of their poverty. The new taxes, which had been granted under the prospect and promise of preventing any future accumulation of debt were grievously and impatiently felt, and all men began clearly to perceive that, in its present unjustly and tyranically restrained state of commerce, the country could never exist. In this state of the public mind, well adapted to receive and to retain impressions, Mr., now lord, Pery,1 who upon the resignation of Mr. Ponsonby had succeeded to the speaker's chair, had the honour of being the first who openly and in the face of government laid claim to the rights of Ireland in point of trade. Taking advantage of the increased revenue which, as speaker, he brought up and presented to the throne, he addressed the lord lieutenant from the bar of the lords in a speech which deserves to be remembered by the latest posterity, announcing the commercial rights of Ireland, and the impolitic injustice of Great Britain with a manliness of thought and of expression which had long been a stranger to the office he filled. Upon this, however, I will not expatiate, as his words will best speak for themselves.
A
[Appointment of Flood as a vice-treasurer.]
" But, while from the hopeful circumstances above mentioned, I endeavoured to console myself for the daily, but not unforeseen, defec- tions of the party, and to strengthen and encourage my mind by the sanguine expectation of future success, an event happened which almost drove me to despair, and a defection took place, ruinous, irreparable, and to me most grievous. Flood, the champion of his country, the bulwark of her liberties, her strong tower of defence against all assailants, — Flood, my friend Flood, — the dear partner of my heart and of all its councils, — anchor of my hope, and pillar of my trust, — Flood gave way, and deserted the glorious cause in which he had been for fourteen years trium- phantly engaged. At the end of this ill-omened session he accepted a vice-treasurer's place,2 and was lost to his country, to his friend, to him- self. Some time before this lamentable change I had reason to suspect it, and left no means untried to prevent its taking place, but all in vain, - the die was thrown, and ruin ensued. To this ever-to-be-lamented
1 He was elected speaker on 7th March 1771. For correspondence and papers of Edmund Sexten Pery, see Eighth Report of Royal Commission on Hist. MSS., 1881, p. 174.
2 Rohert Nugent, viscount Clare, Wellhore Ellis, and Henry Flood were appointed vice -treasurers under privy seal, St. James's, 14th October 1775.
39
event many causes contributed, but above all the incessant falling off, and perfidious conduct of those with whom he acted, and his thorough persuasion that by accepting the place of vice-treasurer, a great and apparently ministerial office, he should be enabled more essentially to serve his country than by continuing to oppose with a set of men, upon whose probity of principle he could ill depend, and to whose daily deser- tions he was a melancholy witness. But upon this I will not here further expatiate, as the subject will be more fully treated in another place, contenting myself for the present with endeavouring to account for that rapid decrease of numbers in the country party, which was most undoubtedly one principal cause of this fatal disaster.
KM. OF THE
Earl of
CfJARLEMOJIT.
[Party movements. — Eesignation of John Ponsonby, speaker.] " Lord Townshend, as we have already seen, came over to Ireland with full purpose and powers to destroy the oligarchical faction. This naturally drove the leaders of the party into an interested opposition, and principally gave occasion to that spirited conduct, and to those successful efforts, which were exerted against him ; but, as, notwith- standing these precarious successes, the power of the leaders was now likely to be diminished, and their patronage reduced if not annihilated, they quickly began to perceive a fatal desertion of their followers, even among those whom they had deemed their fastest friends. Mr. John Ponsonby, a weak and timid man, well formed by his »ood nature and social qualities for making a party, but, from his want of understanding and political courage, ill-qualified to conduct or to retain it, who was now, with the earl of Shannon, at the head of the faction, had long filled the speaker's chair, and had derived from thence a great degree of weight and influence. This gentleman, in the latter end of lord Townshend's administration, under the pretence of weak health, but in reality terrified by the threats of government, and fearing, from the defection of his friends, which had already commenced, that he should be forcibly turned out of his seat, a fear, which in this country where personal friendships are as strong and binding as public principle is weak, was absolutely groundless, in spite of all the persuasions of his best friends, and of those who wished to make use of his influence for the public benefit, resigned the chair, and consequently gave up the principal source of his remaining power, though in answer to the entreaties of his friends want of health was his only excuse. To the public he chose, it is true, to assign a more popular motive for his conduct, giving, in his letter to the commons, as the sole reason for his resigning, his aversion from carrying up, as speaker, an address of thanks to a lord-lieutenant, who, in his late protest, had unjustly accused the commons of a criminal entrenchment upon the royal prerogative. But his pretended delicacy gained him little credit, as it was easy to see through this flimsy popular veil that fear not principle was the source of his conduct. His carrying up the address was an act merely ministerial, and by wilfully parting with his remnant of power, and divesting himself of a station which alone could, and still did, render him formidable, he foolishly, and even criminally, served those, whom, according to his own doctrine, he was bound to oppose, and to combat ' a toute outrance.' To prevent this mischief I myself took an active part. Being nearly related to Ponsonby I willingly complied with the request of the duke of Leinster, then a zealous opponent, and ever steady in all he under- took, to try whether by my influence, fortified with his grace's assurance of persevering support, I could prevail on him to revoke a determination, which must be so injurious to himself, and so fatal to the party. On
f
40
mss. of the
Earl of Charlemont.
the night preceding the day of final decision I waited on him, urged every argument of honour and advantage, prolonged the debate till two in the morning, while the duke, whose weak health could ill bear such exertion, waited impatient the result of our conversation. At length he yielded, thanked me for having convinced him of his error, and authorized me to assure his grace that he would drop all thoughts of resignation. But, such was the weakness and irresolution of the man, before I had gotten half way to Leinster House, a messenger overtook me with a letter from my unfirm proselyte declaring and excusing his relapse into his former sentiments. Such was the man who led the most numerous party of this kingdom, who had long guided her councils, distributed her honours and emoluments, and ruled her rulers ; and such are the wretched tools which patriotism is often compelled to employ in her nicest and most important works. Yet must they not be refused ; while they are useful they must be used. The capitol was once saved by geese.
[Appointment of Pery as Speaker, 1771.]
" The speaker now resigned, and government gained a most advan- tageous victory by the advancement of Mr. Pery to the chair, having wisely brought forward a gentleman, whose superior abilities were perfectly well suited to the office, and whose connections with opposi- tion, (among whom, though now esteemed a courtier, he had long taken a leading part,) by dividing that party ensured his success. This pusillanimous dereliction of Ponsonby was, as had been foreseen, a fatal blow to opposition. All those, who, from the decline of his court favour, had been wavering, immediately fell off. and many of the more steady, who had hitherto adhered to him as a leader, who, from his power and consequence, was likely to force his way, finding that he had now given up the great remaining source of that power and consequence, began to waver and to meditate their retreat. A new administration had commenced, and every new administration, as yet unpledged by promises, is sure of many friends. A new market was opened where parlia- mentary ware was likely to sell at the highest price, and the profuse corruption and perpetual jobs of Blaquiere were premiums upon traffic, and promised the most profitable and speediest sale of all merchantable commodities. The personal enemies of lord Townshend were satisfied by his removal, and when this their only point was gained, all those, who having been their whole lives used and habituated to the curb and harness of the court manege, found themselves awkward, and even unsafe, in the unbridled freedom of opposition, willingly held out their necks to the accustomed collar, and thought it high time to return to their mangers. A new and glittering prospect was laid open to ambition and to avarice. Splendid promises were profusely lavished. Pensions, the badge and inexhaustible source of Irish beggary and castle influence, were distributed with a prodigality, even in this kingdom, unexampled. New and tempting schemes were projected for raising money. But, above all, the revenues were increased beyond all former idea, and consequently the corrupt saw with greedy eyes their fund augmented to the utmost pitch of their ravening expectation. Like Milton's ' Death,'
1 With delight they snuff'd the smell, and upturned
Their nostrils wide into the murky air,
Sagacious of their quarry.' 1
1 " Paradise Loot," Book x.
41
and were easily reconciled by sin to Satan in the gluttonous hope of M!SiR°F0TFSB filling their insatiate maws. Charlemoni.
[Decline of opposition.]
" Such were the causes of the rapid decline of opposition, and such the situation of the party in earl Harcourt's time,1 and to this situation may principally be attributed the unhappy defection of my friend Flood — a defection which, on his account, on my own, and on that of my country, gave me the most heartfelt concern, and which, by every possible method, I had laboured to prevent, availing myself of that liberty which friendship authorized and facilitated, to warn him against a danger, which his knowledge of my heart had prevented him from confiding to me, exerting all my argumentative powers to influence his judgment, and even to soothe and bribe his passions ; nay, condescending, in the hope of biasing him by public opinion, to write in the newspapers, and state my opinions as those of the people. But all was in vain. The archangel fell, and corruption triumphed in the fall of virtue :
1 Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit, Nulli flebilior quam mini.'
[Grattan enters parliament, 1775.]
" To compensate however this grievous loss both to me and to my country the goodness of Providence interfered, and the same vice-royalty, which, by every patriot, must ever be remembered with grief for the defec- tion of Flood, will be marked as an era of exultation for the election of Grattan into parliament, while as an ample compensation to my private misfortune, I was made the happy instrument of bringing forward to active life and to the service of the public a gentleman whose great talents, whatever his subsequent conduct may have been towards me, have undoubtedly been a principal source of the emancipation of Ireland, an event, which had been, even from my boyish days, the dearest wish of my heart. Yet did this happiness and honour of my life, such are the inscrutable ways of heaven, take its rise from a most signal and trying calamity. My poor brother2, who had served for the borough of Charle- mont, was lost on his passage3 from England, and, in his room, Henry Grattan was, by my influence, chosen to represent that borough, and sworn into parliament on the eleventh of December 1775. But of this important event, which was to me a source of so much pleasure and of so much pain, I shall here say no more, as its high importance in my life will afford me frequent occasions to dwell on its various and opposite consequences in the course of the following sheets, where perhaps I may find it necessary to give it a separate article.
[Embargo on Irish trade.]
" In the latter end of this administration, 1776, a measure took place, which, though of the most oppressive, illegal, and destructive tendency, though by its effects it was productive not only of the impoverishment of individuals, but had well nigh produced the ruin of Ireland, may however at the present period be looked back to with much pleasure, since, by driving the nation to despair, it was undoubtedly one great
1 1772-1776. 2 Francis Caulfeild. * In November, 1775.
42
mss. of the cause of those successful efforts by which the commerce of this country Chablemont. nas at lengtn Deen freed from the cruel and galling fetters under which it had so long languished, and to burst which despair alone could probably have given us strength. Under the pretence that the American colonists, then termed rebels for their heroic struggles in vindication of their natural rights, were clandestinely assisted with provisions from the southern ports of Ireland, and that their allies the French might also obtain a like assistance, but in reality in order to enrich by monopoly a few English contractors, an embargo was laid by proclamation on the provision trade of Ireland. This arbitrary and tyrannical measure was highly resented by every honest man in Parliament. The base iniquity of its origin was laid open, its illegality was unquestionably proved, and its fatal tendency foreseen and ascertained. But alas the honest men in parliament were few, and the influence of corruption obtained majorities even against the real interest of the corrupted. That the numerous needy adventurers, who crowded and disgraced the house of commons, and whose only rents were the salaries of their offices, should be heedless of the public distress, and should lend a hand to that ruin in which no property of theirs could be involved, is, when we consider the excess of that depravity which ever accompanies the slavery to which men sell themselves, by no means amazing; but that gentlemen of real landed property should be induced to betray that interest of their country, with which their own is essentially and inseparably joined, is a phenomenon in human nature extraordinary indeed, and can only be accounted for by the difficulty of counteracting the vicious habit of slavish dependence, or of thinking for ourselves after having been long habituated to suffer others to think for us, and by that strange and foolish preference which is so frequently given by the corrupt and extravagant to present emolument over every degree of future profit. The justice of heaven has, in almost every instance, made our crimes effectual to their own punishment, and it often happens that, as the wages of sin is death, so those of corruption
[Earl of Buckinghamshire,1 viceroy. — Sir Richard Heron, secretary.]
On the 25th of January, 1777, lord Harcourt was succeeded by the earl of Buckinghamshire, a weak man, who, to the infinite benefit of Ireland, brought with him a much weaker man for his secretary ; neither is it necessary that I should delay my readers by attempting a sketch of this contemptible character, since the stupidity and igno- rance of sir Richard Heron, as well from their excess as from their salutary consequences, are too deeply engraven on the minds of my countrymen to be hastily forgotten. Though the corrupt profusion of the late secretary,2 transgressing even the wide bounds which his own extortion had set himself, compelled the present administration to a sort of negative economy, the general system of government remained unaltered, and their intentions were still the same, so that opposition continued equally indispensable; and, as their means of carrying those intentions into execution were weak in proportion to their own imbecility, the efforts of their opponents were proportionably effectual, and the minority increased in strength and in numbers, so as not only
1 John H chart, earl of Buckinghamshire, appointed Viceroy of Ireland on 7th December 1776.
2 Sir John Blaquiere.
43
by overawing government to prevent mischief, but by raising the hopes mss. of the and spirits of the people to prepare the public mind for the great and charlemoitt. wonderful exertions which were soon to be made. —
[Laws against Roman Catholics.]
" The first session of this administration was remarkable for a great and singular change not only in the laws of this kingdom, but in the minds of its inhabitants. The oppressive disabilities, under which the Catholics of Ireland had long groaned are too well known to be here detailed ; yet, harsh and tyrannical as they were, it must be confessed that they had been unfortunately expedient, or perhaps necessary. I will not enter into the question of right, nor pretend to decide how far the governing few may be entitled, either naturally or politically, to impose restrictions of rigour on the majority of their countrymen. The question is nice and difficult ; and many arguments of weight may be urged on both sides. But it is the nature of man, when possessed of power or of property, to endeavour io retain them; and when the loss of power puts his property in hazard, and involves with it the most imminent danger to his constitutional liberty and personal safety, we cannot be surprised that he should pursue all possible means to preserve that by which alone he can live and be free. A proportionably few Pro- 1 j / testants could only keep their ground against a body of Papists ten times their number by the most severe and violent restrictive laws. It was absolutely necessary that the armed few should prohibit and proscribe among their numerous antagonists the possession and use of arms, and of every thing in any wise appertaining to military strength or array, since their inferiority in numbers could only be compensated by such a superiority in arms and discipline as might j make one man equal in force to ten. An exclusive legislative. power was also obviously indispensable, and therefore every possible influence in the legislature was sedulously to be kept from the Papists by laws restrictive on their landed property, and both policy and religious zeal concurred in advising that every temptation should be held out to encourage, and even in some sort to enforce conformity. Such were the principal sources of the penal code, and when we consider the usual and natural effect of party hostility, and of a confirmed discrepance and contrariety in manners and in religion, and reflect that the governing few had been recently terrified and irritated by frequent rebellions ami bloody massacres, though we may lament that they carried their tyrannic expedients too far, we shall not be surprised at their want of charity or constitutional forbearance.
[State of Roman Catholics in Ireland.]
" The relative situation however of the hostile sects by degrees changed. From the natural operation of the laws, and from many other concomitant causes, the Protestants increased in strength, and the Catholics, though still retaining a great superiority of numbers, grew weaker. The greater part of the old Catholic gentry had, either from conviction or convenience, conformed to the established and ruling religion, and the quiet behaviour of the oppressed people had, or ought to have, well nigh obliterated the memory of their former excesses.
[Opposition to relaxation of penal laws.]
That hard necessity which had dictated the measures of oppression, and by which alone the\ could be justified, no longer existed in equal force,
44
MSS. or the yet still the venom of party survived its original cause and excuse, and Charlkmont. *ne detestation of Popery seemed interwoven with the nature of an Irish Protestant. A few old members yet survived in parliament, in whom the traditionary spirit of their ancestors still prevailed, and whose fathers had remembered the day of violence. By these, and by the implacable fury of religious zeal, still farther exasperated by interested motives, every attempt in the smallest degree to relieve the oppressed Catholics was not only defeated, but rejected with indignant scorn. An effect like this, bigotry alone was fully equal to produce, but in the present instance its baneful influence was strengthened and redoubled by the habit and love of rule ; and the aversion in Ireland from any relaxation of the Popery laws was partly founded upon the same reasons which render the West Indian planters averse from admitting the emancipation of their negroes.
" To prove and exemplify the existence of this intolerant spirit even so late as in the times immediately preceding those of which I now write, I will here mention one instance as some slight alleviation to the sufferings of the Papists, and to encourage the peasantry of this per- suasion to benefit the country by building cottages. Heads of a bill were prepared to enable them to take leases for ninety years of the tenement on which their cabbin was to be built, and of a small portion of ground to serve as a potato garden. This bill had been repeatedly moved in the commons, and repeatedly rejected. In 1772 I resolved to try it in the lords, and so far prevailed as to get it read twice, and committed. But all in vain ; the house had hitherto been thinly attended, and to this circumstance I owed my success. But the trumpet of bigotry sounded the alarm. To give the wretched cottager a permanent interest in his miserable mud-built habitation was said to be an infringement on the penal code which threatened the destruction of church and state. A cry was raised that the Protestant interest was in danger. The lords were summoned to attend. The house was crowded with zealous supporters of orthodoxy and oppression, and I was voted out of the chair, not wholly unsuspected of being little better than a Papist.
[Public opinion on penal laws.]
u This fact I have the rather mentioned as a contrast to that which follows, and to show the sudden and extraordinary change, which in the short space of six years took place in the minds, or at least in the actions of the same body of men ; for in the session of 1778, heads of a bill were, with little or no contest, allowed to be brought in for the relief of his majesty's Catholic subjects of Ireland, and by this law, Papists were enabled to take leases of lands to any extent for 999 years, every real advantage of property being hereby afforded them, the right of freehold only excepted. This was indeed a momentous alteration, and a direct attack * upon the very spirit of the popery laws, and yet the same house of commons, which had so lately, with contempt and indignation, repeatedly refuse^ and spurned at the trifling concession above mentioned, grunted this real and important boon with little debate, and by a considerable majority; and the same house of lords which had a few years before voted me out of the chair, which I had taken merely from motives of charity, now passed this bill with a
1 " Such it undoubtedly was, not only on account of the faculty hereby granted to Papists of taking long leases, but especially by a clause therein contained disabling the eldest son of a Popish family from making his father tenant for life by his conformity." [C]
45
minority of five peers present, or of twelve including proxies ; and here, Mss. of the
though I must confess myself unequal fully to account for a phenomenon charlemont.
so very singular as this sudden change in the public opinion, it may not
be superfluous that I should endeavour to investigate the possible sources
from whence it may have derived, and communicate to my readers such
causes as have suggested themselves to me, however inadequate they
may seem to produce the effect.
" Whether derived from real Christian principle, or, what is much to be feared, from that indifference to all religion which the prevalence of infidelity had produced, the spirit of toleration was lately gone abroad, and had spread itself through all the polished nations of Europe. The effect was excellent from whatsoever cause it arose, but, as it was now grown fashionable to be tolerant, I should rather suppose that it took its rise from fashionable deism than from Christianity, which was now unfortunately much out of fashion. But be this as it may, toleration prevailed, and perhaps a portion of this excellent spirit may have reached our western isle, and in some degree concurred to disarm bigotry by making men ashamed of that persecuting spirit with which they had hitherto been possessed and actuated. I say * in some degree/ for I cannot so far flatter my contemporaries as to ascribe their change in any great degree to so honourable and virtuous a cause.
[Operation of penal laws.]
" The restrictive laws which were meant to operate to the diminution and impairment of Catholic property, had amply produced the desired effect, and by far the greater part of those Papists who possessed large estates had, in order to rescue themselves and their families from the destructive operations and galling yoke of those tyrannic institutions, become converts to the established religion. Many of these had now seats in parliament, and, however we may be inclined charitably to suppose their conversion real, the close connection, both by blood and friendship, which still subsisted, must naturally have induced them to love, assist, and protect as far as in them lay, their former brethren, whose faith and principles, most probably, many of them had deserted from motives, to say the least, of a mixed nature. These gentlemen likewise, whose estates lay in the more Popish counties, where lands are let in very large portions, had tenants under them of that persuasion, and consequently found it their interest, as well as their inclination, to procure for their tenantry such immunities as might the better enable them to pay the great rents to which, from the enormous extent of their farms, they had subjected themselves. Neither were they without some distant hope that the present projected relief might be a step to future perfect enfranchisement, by which possible event, not only their interest, but their influence in their respective counties would be increased even to the exclusion of the old Protestant landlords. Thus by degrees was a Popish party formed, not wholly inconsiderable even in the house of commons.
[Condition of Roman Catholics in Ireland.]
" The kingdom also, and more especially those southern parts of it where the provision trade had, in spite of English jobs, necessarily flourished during the French and American wars, was growing into wealth, a great portion of which naturally devolved upon Papists, who being precluded from purchasing, and having no other way to dispose of their money, turned it into trade, and became wealthy merchants.
46
MSS. op the This circumstance, principally in the southern and western counties, .Charlemont. could net fail to raise a considerable Catholic party, strong from that — union which among the oppressed is ever the consequence of civil
oppression, and, even in elections on account of its riches and consequent influence of importance sufficient to be courted by one or other of the candidates. Hence arose a sort of Popish patronage in both houses of parliament, where the members were influenced not only by this motive, but by another still more cogent, many of them being deeply indebted to Papists, for obvious reasons the principal money lenders, and con- sequently in a great degree dependent on them. Nay, it has been asserted, and positively asserted, that in the present instance, Catholic money had an effect still more immediate than any I have yet men- tioned. With these causes another concurred, which had certainly a great and singular effect. The emancipation of Ireland from the fetters of English tyranny was now in contemplation, and the virtuous few from various symptoms perceived that the hour was approaching when every effort must be exerted to produce this great end, all legal means were to be pursued, and none appeared more essentially necessary than that the whole nation should be united, and by such union rendered strong and formidable. It was vain to hope that the Catholics would sincerely join their efforts to forward the emancipation of their oppres- sors, of those whom they could not but regard as their implacable enemies, of those who would probably make use of any additional power and importance still more to oppress them ; that they whose prejudices usually leaned the other way, would be ardent in the pursuit of freedom (in which they could not hope in any degree to participate,) of a free constitution, the effects of which would in no degree alleviate their sufferings. Concession and kind treatment, by raising their hopes and dissipating their fears, could alone conciliate their affections, and the only way to induce them to love and to serve their country was to make that country really theirs by giving them a real and substantial stake in it. The unhappy divisions among our people had been the principal source of our long servitude. Ireland was naturally strong ; her inhabitants were brave, hardy, and numerous, amounting to more than three millions. But of these a small minority by artificial force despotically governed an immense majority of unwilling subjects, whom they treated as an inferior race, their slaves by conquest, and whose claims, however antiquated, were a perpetual source of restless impatience on the one side, and of anxious distrust on the other. Thus did we possess many inhabitants, but few citizens.
[Position of Protestants in Ireland.]
" The Protestants, ill confiding in the paucity of their numbers, had been long accustomed to look up to England for support, and were ever fearful of offending that kingdom, from whose powerful interference, in case of emergency, they hoped for protection. Nay, there were not wanting among them wretches who were base enough to crouch to, and even to encourage English usurpation as a means of strengthening their party, and who, with the usual propensity of tyrants, willingly suffered themselves to be enslaved that the exercise of their tyranny might be continued to them. In the course of time, however, and of favourable events, their comparative strength had considerably increased, and was daily increasing, but their invincible prejudices, their habitual terrors still retained an inveterate dominion over their minds, prejudices and terrors that had from time to time been artfully fomented according to the
47
suggestions of that well-known principle of Machiavellian policy, ' divide et irapera.' This artifice, which had so long been successfully practised, was now however either forgotten, or had perhaps been superseded by the fears of a weak and embarrassed administration, who, finding the Protestants growing into strength, dreaded their spirit, and wished per- haps to temper it by Popish connection ; or, what is still more probable, because less refined, government was now induced to court the Papists by their fear of the Protestants, and wished to oblige and to strengthen that party, which, as well from the influence of a servile religion, as from its precarious situation in the country, was likely, they thought, to be wholly dependent on them, thus raising what they deemed a necessary barrier against those encroachments which they now began exceedingly, and not without reason, to dread. For of late, from various causes, a genuine spirit of liberty, and consequently of resistance, had diffused itself among our citizens, and had brought with it, as must ever be the case, a train of liberal sentiments, which not only silently operated towards their own emancipation, but more immediately produced a re- laxation of bigotry, and of that implacable hatred with which they had hitherto pursued their oppressed fellow subjects. Taking advantage of this spirit among our people, and of these fears by which the usual policy of our rulers had been superseded, and in order to remove, as far as might be, the impediments to union, Mr. Grattan took an active and effectual part in the Catholic question, and his transcendent abilities, together with the efforts of many who were connected with him in principle, and the acquiescence of all, contributed not a little to its success. Thus have I endeavoured to assign some probable causes for this important and unforeseen event; an event by which, I must confess, my heart was more completely satisfied than my understanding.
MSS. OF THE
Earl op Charlemoht.
[Views on toleration.]
" Toleration has ever been with me a predominant principle, and I clearly saw the necessity, previous to our intended efforts, of conciliating the affections of a body of men so very considerable from their numbers, and of dividing at least between government and parliament that attach- ment, which, for obvious reasons, had hitherto been confined to the former. But then it appeared to me that this great and necessary end might have been gained by concessions of a nature somewhat less ex- tensive. In a country unfortunately circumstanced like Ireland, where the many are to be governed by the few, where a rooted antipathy has long subsisted between the parties governing and governed, grounded on mutual injuries, and nourished by antiquated and abortive claims on the one side, and on the other by a perpetual dread that these claims might one day be successfully asserted, — where the great mass of the people profess a religion perfectly distinct and even averse from that by law established, and not only in its principles and tenets hostile to civil liberty, but, intimately connected with the claims above mentioned, and from its identity with that of the surrounding nations, likely on every struggle to be protected by them from motives both religious and political, — in a country, I say, so circumstanced, there are two points which never can with safety be ceded by the governing few ; namely, the free and uncontrolled use of arms, and a share in the legislature. Neither of these points were, I allow, ceded* by the act in question, but by this, and by another act passed in the year 1782, of which mention will be made hereafter, every thing short of these fundamentals was given to the Catholics. Now it is the nature of man, when all is granted to him excepting only that which must be withheld, ardently to wish
48
MSS. of the for and eagerly to endeavour the attainment of that one forbidden thing. Chablkmott. Possessed of all that Eden affords, he will long for, and even to his own destruction, snatch at the forbidden fruit.
[Extent of concessions to Catholics.]
" Our liberality, in the paroxysm of its fever, was madly profuse. We gave too much at a time, never reflecting on the necessary prudence of reserving something to satisfy future cravings, something which might without ruin be still conceded. By giving all we put every future con- ciliation wholly out of our power, and we might have equally pleased, and, for the present, contented our Catholic fellow subjects without this hasty and precipitate grant of all that ever could be granted. A time might possibly have arrived when long and friendly intercourse, sweet- ened by boons from time to time accumulating, and joined with that polish and refinement of manners which is the necessary effect of good government, and of increasing property, might have entirely effaced all prejudices, and have made it practicable, consistently with constitutional safety, to have rendered all the inhabitants of Ireland perfect citizens. But that time was not yet come, and our too hasty and premature con- cessions may possibly have postponed, if not prevented, its arrival. Such was at this important period my opinion, and time has shown, as will appear in the following memoirs, that my opinion was not without foundation. This weighty and delicate subject I have, however, here but slightly touched on, as I shall hereafter have occasion to enter fully into it ; but as it is a matter which will, I fear, for a long time yet, be liable in this country to be repeatedly discussed, I could not avoid, even here, expressing my sentiments for the information of those to whose lot it may probably fall to decide upon questions of a similar nature.
[Condition of Ireland in 1778.]
"The time was now big with events. The Irish annals of 1778 will be famous in the history of mankind, but in Ireland they must ever be remembered with wonder, reverence, love, and thankfulness. To this year the Volunteers of Ireland owe their origin. I shall not however in this place enter into a circumstantial detail of the auspicious insti- tution, of the rise and progress of those illustrious associations to which my country owes its liberty, prosperity, and safety, and I, if after my country's obligations I may mention my own, the principal and dearest honours of my life. The subject is too great to be circumscribed within the narrow limits of a prefatory discourse, and can only be treated, if there it can be treated, in a separate essay. I shall here therefore content myself with relating the circumstances of their first appearance, and with a short account of that distressed situation of our affairs, which not only gave rise to their first formation, but, in a great measure insured their establishment, and subsequent success. Notwithstanding the lavish grants which during the administration of lord Harcourt had been made with the view and promise of equalising the revenue to the annual ex- penditure, the exchequer was, in that of his successor, reduced to a state of absolute beggary, insomuch that the few troops, which the necessities of England had left for our defence, could not otherwise be paid than by a remittance of fifty thousand pounds from the English treasury. This poverty might well enough be accounted for by the ruinous and corrupt extravagance of government ; yet, in the present instance, other causes contributed to produce this near approach to bankruptcy. With
49
the stagnation of our slender stream of commerce the revenues had sunk mss. of the and declined. The .unnatural and wicked war with America still raged <<„*'£ "£M(0JxT. with unabated rancour, and one great vent for our linens was conse- ' quently cut off. France had taken part in the contest, and under the ji s pretence of excluding her from purchasing our provisions, that nefarious job the embargo had been laid, and still continued the first and funda- mental cause of all our misery. Our black cattle, in consequence, every- ' where fell in their value, and even at the lowest price could not be sold. Our wool remained upon our hands. Its clandestine exportation, that necessary effect and only remedy of tyrannic restriction, from various causes was now at an end, and the madness of our gentry for English cloths prevented its being worked up at home. Remittances from Ireland daily increased, as well from the increasing number of our absentees, who redoubled our poverty while they fled from it, as on account of the forces which were now paid abroad. Luxury, however, which always survives that opulence which can alone excuse it, still remained undiminished, and the importation of every sort of manufacture from England, while it deprived the poor of the only benefit that can accrue to them from the follies of the great, drained the country of its small remaining cash, and starved our native artists. The streets of our metropolis were filled and disgraced by crowds of famishing wretches, riotous from want of employment, and desperate through hunger. Charitable subscriptions, a miserable and temporary resource, alone kept them from death or rapine. Dublin was, what it ought not to be, the principal seat of the woollen manufacture, and therefore was a principal seat of misery. In the country the price of land was fallen to nothing. The farmer was undone, and rents remained unpaid, while our estated gentry were at length taught by sad experience a truth, which they acknowledged with regret, that to the poor alone they owed their sub- sistence. Unpractised in distress, they also began to want, though not the necessaries of life, at least those superfluities, which long habit made them mistake for necessaries. Even they were roused from their lethargy, and, for the first time, began to feel.
[Governmental inaction.]
" Meanwhile in England our situation was known. Our loud com- plaints were distinctly heard, and could not fail to make some impres- sion. In her parliament efforts were made to relieve or to mitigate our distress. Many members there had estates in Ireland, and sensibly felt the effects of our poverty. Some few also, from more liberal motives, concurred, and all agreed that something ought to be done towards relaxing the chains of our commerce. Many resolutions passed unanimously, which, though by no means importing what we had a right to expect, bore at least some semblance of relief, and of a departure from those arbitrary and monopolising principles, which, in defiance of sound and liberal policy, had hitherto prevailed. But, alas, a few manufac- turing towns took the alarm, and, in the English political scale, a few manufacturing towns will ever outweigh Ireland. The minister was not firm in his seat. The American war, whose infamy was only felt in its ill success and exorbitant expense, was grown unpopular, and members were not to be disgusted. Lord North had been apparently our friend ; perhaps his good sense had induced him to be really so, but a single vote in the English house of commons was in those days of more consequence to the minister than the kingdom of Ireland. Peti- tions, founded in insolence and folly, were presented against the bills which had been prepared in consequence of the resolutions, and in
55741. d
50
mss. of the spite of all the efforts of our few real friends, among whom theforemost Chablemont. was my dear l°r(l Rockingham, then unfortunately out of power, our — sanguine hopes were frustrated, and nothing was granted that was
worth our acceptance.
[Promotion of native industries.]
" In Ireland distresses daily increased, and, made desperate by our late disappointment, a liberal and angry spirit began to show itself. No longer able to flatter ourselves with any hope of relief from our hard- hearted sister, we began to be sensible of the infallible truth of that maxim, that national grievances will never be removed but by national efforts. Our first spirited exertion was an association to wear our own manufactures, and to prevent, by every possible method, the importation of English commodities. This effort naturally produced a double effect. It gave employment and consequent bread to our own starving manu- facturers, and it taught the English that their market in Ireland might be lost through the spirit of our people in spite of all their restrictive laws, which being thus proved to be nugatory would consequently be less anxiously contended for. The association was general and effectual, numbers even of our gentry entered into it, some from feeling, others from fear, and many because they were weary of charity. Importers were compelled to quit their injurious traffic by the dread of infamy, and, still more, of popular fury, while the necessary consequence being immediately felt throughout England, especially in the clothing towns, our monopolising competitors began to fear the effects of a resentment which, by carrying too far their tyrannic oppression, they had at length excited, and the opposition to our wishes was likely to become less violent because less effectual to the unjust and rapacious purpose for which it was intended. But this effort alone would not have been sufficient ; our spirit would have relaxed. We should have been fooled by promises, and intimidated by threats. The artifices of former times would have been renewed, and we should have again been told, and even taught to believe, that the wearing our own manufactures was in effect to separate ourselves from England. Our association would have been dissolved, and we should speedily have returned to poverty, famine, and importation.
[Apprehended invasion from France. — Defence of Belfast.]
i" But an event now took place far more effectual to our relief, and of a higher and more dignified nature, which quickly changed our prayers into demands, our humble petitions for redress of grievance, into proud claims of right. By the courtly permission of parliament the twelve thousand men which were destined to the defence of Ireland had been so drafted for foreign service that scarcely more than one-third of them remained in this country, and the fleet of England was too much occu- pied to be suffered in any degree to attend to the inconsiderable object of our protection. In consequence of this unprotected state not only our merchant ships were taken by French and American privateers, j'which swarmed in our seas, but our coasts were threatened, and even H insulted. Serious invasion was hourly looked for, and we had neither force internal nor external to repel it. From want of money government had been prevented from embodying the militia, as enabled by act of parliament, and our standing army was so reduced as to be scarcely equal to the common garrison duty. At this critical period the town of Belfast, which had, not many years since, experienced the dangers of
51
invasion, from intelligence received of an intended attack took the alarm, and applied to government by memorial for a sufficient number of troops to defend it from those perils which were then deemed imminent. The answer of Sir Richard Heron1 to the mayor's letter is in the memory of every man, ' that no other assistance could be afforded than half a troop of dismounted horse, and half a company of invalides.' With men of spirit and resolution an intimation of this kind could not fail to pro- duce its natural effect. Abandoned by government in the hour of danger, the inhabitants of Belfast were left to their own defence, and boldly and instantly they undertook it ; associations were formed, arms were purchased, uniforms were provided, officers were chosen, parades were appointed, and every diligence was exerted towards the necessary acquirement of military skill and discipline. The fire was now kindled, and rapidly spread itself. Almost at the same instant many companies were formed throughout the neighbouring counties, among which mine at Armagh was one of the foremost, and my correspondence upon this memorable occasion with my friends of that town will be produced in its proper place. Soon the whole province was in arms, and shortly after the whole kingdom. The dragon's teeth were sown, and the fertile soil everywhere produced a plenteous crop of soldiers.
! MSS. OF THE
I; a i: I. OF CUARI.EMONT.
/
[Establishment of armed associations.]
" The natural effect of this exertion was quickly perceived both by administration and by those few who panted after the prosperity and emancipation of their country. The latter accordingly, having soon got over those patriotic fears, which the novelty and possible tendency of an event so unprecedented could not fail to excite, and which were best removed by their taking part themselves in the armament, with all their influence protected and encouraged the salutary idea, which by strength- ening the people, had, beyond their utmost hope, strengthened their hands towards the effecting the great designs then in contemplation. And not only they, who acted from principle, but many others, amount- ing to a great majority of the gentlemen of Ireland, from interested, and more especially from electioneering schemes, joined in the popular ferment, and put themselves at the head of the several companies. Government, on the other hand, dull as it was, could not but perceive the impending danger. A great army, wholly independent of the crown, self-raised in times of grievance and of universal complaint, in a country deemed and affectedly styled subordinate, when England was weak beyond all former example, beset on every side by enemies whom her own arbitrary follies had brought into action, would certainly have been an object of terror even to the wisest and strongest administration, and the present was neither wise nor strong. Neither had they any means of resisting the impetuosity of a torrent which hourly gathered strength and rapidity. A spirit was raised which nothing could quell, a spirit the more formidable as it was temperate. A nation was in arms ; a nation, too, naturally brave, irritated by oppression, and des- perate of relief but by their own exertions, who had little to lose and everything to hope from courage and perseverance. The use of arms and military discipline can make even cowards valiant, what then must it have done to Irishmen associated in the best of causes, the defence and protection of their country ? The dread of invasion had first arrayed
1 Chief secretary to earl of Buckinghamshire, lord lieutenant of Ireland, 1777, created a baronet in 1778. See p. 42.
D 2
.52
/l
mss. of the them, but was it to be expected that an aggrieved people, armed and Chablem°oFm. disciplined, would stop at simple safety ?
[Policy of English ministry.]
" Some cavils indeed might be raised against the strict legality of the associations. But how would these cavils be supported ? The necessity of arming for our defence was self-evident, and, unless we were embodied and disciplined our arms were useless. The more dis- tant consequences indeed of this spirited measure were clearly seen, but every honest man saw them with exultation, and many causes concurred to make honesty at this period more fashionable than usual. The representatives of the people were likely to be honest because the exchequer was empty, and government had therefore nothing to hope, nor the Volunteers to fear from parliament ; from the same cause dis- union could not be sown among them by purchasing off any of their less steady leaders ; neither could country gentlemen be consoled and com- pensated for the defalcation of their rents, and this formidable body would therefore be steady to the cause into which they had entered. To support the legal cavils by force was still more desperate. There were scarcely troops in the kingdom sufficient to oppose the new levies even in their infancy, and the rapidity of their progress soon rendered all opposition impossible, especially as England, in her present situation, could afford no assistance. Under these circumstances we shall be the less surprised at the acquiescence of our affrighted rulers, and, when we consider the matter in another point of view, we shall perhaps be of opinion that their conduct, however apparently timid, was still, from the necessity of their situation, excusable even to their English employers. The measure of military association in its more distant consequences was certainly of the most alarming nature to the main- tamers of English usurpation, but then, on the other hand, its imme- diate effects were highly beneficial, and, at the present critical period, even necessary to government. Ireland was hourly threatened with invasion. The enemy was at our doors, and administration had no pos- sible means of resistance. Unsupported by England, and destitute both of men and money, they shuddered at the idea of the most trifling incursion. They feared and consequently hated the Volunteers, yet to thern alone they looked up for assistance, for safety ; and they saw, with a mixture of grief and joy, the country, which they were unable to defend, completely protected by its own efforts, without that expense to which they were wholly unequal. All their faculties had been inadequate to the arraying even a small and weak militia, but now a militia was arrayed through- out the whole kingdom, in strength far exceeding any armament of the kind ever yet thought on, not only self-raised, but self-clothed, self- paid, and, in a great measure, self-armed also. Thus circumstanced, government pursued the best course, perhaps, that was left them. After having made some feeble efforts in the south where their strength principally lay, and where by their connivance some of their most assured friends had taken a leading part in the associations, to prevail on the officers to accept of commissions from the king, under pretence that, in case of action, such commissions would protect them if made prisoners, and ensure their exchange (an idea which, though brought forward by the earl of Shannon,1 was universally spurned at), they determined to steer with the current which they could not stem,
1 Richard Boyle, earl of Shannon, succeeded to that title on the death of his father, Henry Boyle, in September, 1764.
58
to make use of the Volunteers aa a sure protection against invasion, and to take every possible method of gaining their confidence, for which pur- pose, as well as to enable them the better to defend their country, and to repel those foreign enemies, which, at this period, were still more dreaded by administration than the Volunteers themselves, sixteen thousand stand of arms were issued from the arsenal and divided amon£ the lieutenants of the several countries, to be by them distributed to the associated corps throughout the whole kingdom.
MSS. OF THE
Earl of Chaxlbmovt.
[Viceroyalty of duke of Portland.1 — Colonel Fitzpatrick,2 secretary : — Marquis of Rockingham.3]
" In the month of April of the never-to-be-forgotten year 1782, when, by the successful efforts of the people, animated and supported by a few honest men, ardent and zealous lovers of liberty and of their country, parliament had at length been brought to a sense of its duty, and immediately previous to that ever-memorable address of grievances, by the operation of which Ireland was finally emancipated, the duke of Portland was appointed lord-lieutenant. This designation of a noble- man, who, from his birth and family, from his education, his connections, and, above all, from his acknowledged and tried principles, was known to be a steady and warm friend to general freedom, inspired the well- wishers to their country's cause with the most sanguine expectations of success in those persevering endeavours, in which, spite of all obstacle, unallured by favour or emolument, unawed by power, and undismayed by the consideration of private danger, they had so long and so firmly persisted, and which were now brought near to a crisis, when our rights must be either safely, honourably, and quietly ceded to us, or extorted by the unanimous efforts of a brave, armed, and injured nation. Their hopes were also still further animated by the appointment of Mr. Fitzpatrick, brother to the earl of Upper Ossory,4 to be secretary. This gentleman, with whom I was well acquainted, and whose political character rendered him an agent well adapted to the feelings and intentions of his noble principal, preceding the duke, arrived in Ireland some days before the necessary preparations would permit his grace to attend the duties of his high office, and preventing my visit by calling upon me, delivered to me a letter from my ever dear, and ever lamented friend the marquis of Rockingham, then first lord of the treasury, and prime minister of England. Of this virtuous, accomplished, and truly amiable man I will say nothing, as whatever even friendship might inspire me to say, would fall far below not only my own feelings, but the love, gratitude, and respect of every good citizen, of every good man throughout the British dominions :
" cui pudor et juslitise soror
Incorrupta fides, nudaque Veritas,
Quando ullum invenient parem ?"
" The following is a faithful transcript5 of his letter to me : —
1782, Tuesday, April 9, London. — " ' The long and pleasing friendship which has so mutually and so cordially existed between your lordship
1 William Henry, duke of Portland, appointed 8th April 1782.
2 Kichard Fitzpatrick, M.P. for Tavistock, member of privy councils in England and Ireland.
3 Charles Watson Wentworth, earl of Malton, K.G., second marquis of Rockingham.
4 John Eitzpatrick, second earl of Upper Ossory and baron Gowran.
5 Here printed from the original in this collection.
54
mss. of the
Earl of Charlemont.
and me for many, many years, may now, I trust, facilitate what I am sure has been the object of our public conduct, th> mutual advantage and prosperity of our countries.
"'National distrusts and jealousies will not have the smallest weight in either of our minds. It is the most pleasing consideration to me, that your lordship possesses the confidence of the persons in Ireland, who having been the foremost in liberating their country from unjust and ill-judged shackles or restraints which had been laid upon it, may perhaps till this moment have been inclined to take some steps, under the idea of securing its freedom, which by being precipitated might rather endanger all government whatsoever, than produce a new system between Ireland and England which might settle all disputable matters, on a plan calculated, for the reciprocal interests and for a cordial connection between the two countries.
" ' The duke of Portland being appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, is, I think, my dear lord, a pretty good pledge of the fair intentions of his majesty's present ministers.
■* ' His grace's character and disposition of mind, as well as the principles on which he had long acted, are well known to your lordship, and I cannot but hope, that many advantages will arise from a trust and confidence in his character, which may produce the happiest effects, both in the commencement and progress of such plans as may be suggested. I can assure your lordship, that his majesty's present ministers have not, nor will not loiter in a business of such magnitude.
" * Mr. Secretary Eden1 arrived a few days ago, in much warmth ; your lordship will soon hear of the whole of his conduct. He thought proper to decline giving information to his majesty's ministers, and yesterday in the house of commons, without any notice, he thought proper to move the repeal of the act of the 6th of George the First. The house of commons were much offended at the manner of his proceedings. Mr. Secretary Fox answered him with the greatest ability and sharpness and informed the house that a few hours more would have shown, that his majesty's present ministers were active in the preparation of measures, that would prove their attention to the state of Ireland.
'"This day, his majesty sends a message to the house of commons, stating that distrusts and jealousies have arisen, and that it is highly necessary to take them into immediate consideration in order to a final adjustment.
" ' The duke of Portland will set out for Ireland to morrow evening. His grace is empowered to send the same message to the parliament in Ireland. I should hope that an adjournment of the house of commons of Ireland for a fortnight or three weeks, in order to give the duke of Portland the opportunity of inquiring into the opinions of your lordship and of the gentlemen of the first weight and consequence wiil be readily assented to. I can not think, that it would be good policy in the house of commons of Ireland to carry on measures, at this juncture, which should appear as measures to extort. It would be an ungracious method of behaviour towards persons, who, I trust and am confident, will show every desirable disposition.
" 'Matters so obtained might also not be secure. In truth, my dear lord, I think the time is come, when a new system and new arrange- ment of connexion between the kingdoms must be settled, to the mutual satisfaction and the reciprocal interests of both. Let us unite our endeavours in so good a work. I cannot conclude without expressing to your lordship how anxious I shall be to hear from your lordship.
See p. 147.
55
I write in much hurry as I expect colonel Fitzpatrick to call for this MSS. op the letter every moment. He sets out from hence.'" Cu arlemoxt.
" This letter, coming from the man in the world whom I wished most to oblige, and containing a request, clearly its principal object, which at the first glance appeared plausible, could not fail of making some impression upon a heart truly devoted to the amiable writer. Hut, a moment's consideration having demonstrated to me the fatal effects usually produced by postponement in matters of high national concern,
[Letter from Charlemont to Rockingham.]
I consulted with Grattan, gave my opinion against the adjournment, in which he concurred, and immediately after the meeting of parliament on the 16th answered his lordship in the following words :
" ' As in writing to your lordship I find it indispensably necessary that I should follow and communicate the immediate feelings of my heart, I cannot at this conjuncture begin a letter to you without expressing my joy and exultation at the late happy change of administration, a change in which I rejoice as a patriot and as a friend. For since the welfare of the empire at large is, I trust, one of my warmest wishes, can anything be more truly pleasing to a mind so impressed than to find that empire rescued from ruin principally by the man whom I have been so long used in the most eminent degree to love and to honour. The gratification of another darling passion, indeed the ruling passion of my soul, intervenes also to complete my satisfaction, and my love to my country. My ardent wish for its emancipation and consequent prosperity induces me to exult in the exaltation and power of a man whose well-known love of general liberty gives me the best grounded reason to hope, and confidently to expect, that he will employ that power in restoring the invaluable blessing of freedom to every part of those dominions which liberty herself has intrusted to his care. From what I have now said, your lordship will readily conceive that no greater misfortune could possibly befall me than to be in any way prevented from giving my whole support to an administration which is in every respect so dear to me ; but, thank heaven, I have little reason to dread any such event, confident as I am that such measures will be pursued as, by perfectly restoring the uncontrovertible rights of this much injured nation, will enforce support from every honest man, and will particularly enable me to take the wished for part by reconciling the dictates of my heart to those of my conscience, and yet unfortunately a diffi- culty occurs at the first setting out. The adjournment proposed by your i lordship was absolutely impracticable, and a thorough knowledge of the state of this country would, I am sure, convince you that it would ■ have been extremely imprudent to have hazarded the proposition. The parliamentary declaration of right was universally looked up to as an essential and necessary preliminary. It was a measure pointed out by the people from which nothing could ever have induced them to recede, and, if an adjournment had been proposed, the new administration would undoubtedly have been defeated at their first setting out ; whereas the carrying the declaratory question must necessarily be accounted a defeat of the old ministers, who had uniformly opposed all such questions, and of them only. The message sent to parliament rendered an immediate proceeding still more indispensable. The king desired to be informed of the causes of discontent, and those causes could not have been too soon ascertained and declared in order to their speedy removal. The nation was to the last degree anxious, and the minds of all men were attentively fixed on the event of the sixteenth,
56
MSS. of the and so decidedly was the sense of the people against any adjournment CharJfmont tnat> by givmg way in a matter so very repugnant to their wishes, we, — whose power of support consists principally, if not wholly, in our popu-
larity, might have endangered that influence, which, upon the expected and necessary redress of all our grievances, we wish to employ in your behalf. These reasons, and many others too tedious to be now detailed, induced me to think the measure proposed not only improper and im- practicable, but highly imprudent also ; and they seemed to have some weight with the duke of Portland, who honoured me with a long conference upon the subject, and who, with great prudence, as well as goodness, gave up the point ; neither will he, I am confident, have any reason to repent his concession. At the same time, lest it should be thought that our aversion from postponement concealed under it any the least distrust of the present administration, I think it necessary to declare to your lordship, as I did to the lord-lieutenant, that my mind is incapable of harbouring any such principle ; that I have every degree of confidence in the good wishes of the present ministers, and in their sincerity ; and that, if my life were at stake, and they should desire the postponement of a question upon the decision of which my being depended, I should not hesitate to consent to it. But for the nation I could not venture so far, for a nation whose sense I was to speak, and whose wishes I was to represent ; my intimate knowledge of you must naturally and necessarily banish all distrust. Yes, my dearest lord, I look up to you with the most unbounded confidence, a confidence founded upon a thorough knowledge of your principles, and of your wisdom ; nor, can I entertain the smallest doubt that you, to whom the empire looks up for her salvation, will hesitate to restore the blessing of liberty to this injured country. We ask but our rights, our uncontro- vertible rights. Restore them to us, and for ever unite in the closest and best rivetted bonds of affection the kingdom of Ireland to her beloved, though hitherto unkind, sister. Bind us to you by the only chains that can connect us, the only chains we will ever consent to wear, the dear ties of mutual love, and mutual freedom. So shall you gain a kingdom in the place of those provinces which your predecessors have lost, a kingdom strengthened by liberty, and endeared by every bond of amity ; strengthened by your means, and consequently engaged and bound by every tie of gratitude to the support of your administration. But I have already detained you much too long. Pardon this unconscionable letter. I shall hasten to conclude by returning you my most sincere acknow- ledgments for the honour and favour of yours, and by assuring you that, as I loved you out of office, my affection still equally continues, even though you are 'a great minister,' a rank of men with which my heart has not often been much connected.'
[Charles James Fox.]
" Immediately previous to the receipt of lord Rockingham's letter, I had received by the post the following letter from Mr. Charles Fox, secretary of state for the home department, a gentleman with whom I had the honour and pleasure of an old acquaintance, and whose wonderful talents and astonishing parliamentary exertions will be remembered with the highest applause as long as oratory is held in estimation, that is to say, as long as the constitution exists :
1782, April 4, Grafton-street, London. — " 'If I had had occasion to write to you a month ago, I should have written with great confidence that you would believe me perfectly sincere, and would receive any thing that came from me with the partiality of an old acquaintance, and one
57
who acted upon the same political principles. I hope you will now MSS. or the
consider me in the same light, but I own I write with much more chaklbmoht.
diffidence, for I am much more sure of your kindness to me personally,
than of your inclination to listen with favour to any thing that comes from
a secretary of state. The principal business of this letter is to inform
you that the duke of Portland is appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland and
colonel Fitzpatrick his secretary, and when I have said this I need not
add that I feel myself on every private as well as public account most
peculiarly interested in the success of their administration. That their
persons and characters are not disagreeable to your lordship I may
venture to assure myself without being too sanguine, and I think myself
equally certain that there are not in the world two men whose general
way of thinking upon political subjects is more exactly consonant to
your own. It is not therefore surely too much to desire or to hope that
you will at least look upon the administration of such men with rather
a more favourable eye, and incline to trust them rather more than you
could do most of those who have been their predecessors. Why should
not the complete change of system which has happened in this country
have the same affect there that it has here ? and why should not these
who used to compose the opposition in Ireland become the principal
supporters of the new administration there upon the very grounds upon
which they opposed the old ones ? In short why should not the Whigs
(I mean in principle not in name) unite in every part of the empire to
establish their principles so firmly that no future faction shall be able to
destroy them ? With regard to the particular points between the two
countries I am really not yet master of them sufficiently to discuss them,
but I can say in general that the new ministry have no other wish than
to settle them in the way that may be most for the real advantage of
both countries where interests can not be distinct. This is very general
indeed, and if this language came from persons whose principles were
less known to you, I should not expect you to consider it as any thing
but mere words ; but when it comes from those of whom I know your
good opinion, I trust it will pass for something more. All we desire is
favourable construction and assistance as far as is compatible with your
principles, for to endeavour to persuade men to disgrace themselves
(even where it is practicable, as in this instance I know it is not) is very
far from being a part of the system of this ministry. The particular
time of year at which this change happens is productive of many very
great inconveniences, especially as it will be very difficult for the duke
of Portland to be at Dublin before your parliament meets, but I can not
help hoping that all reasonable men will concur in removing some of
these difficulties and that a short adjournment will not be denied if y
asked. I do not throw out this as knowing from any authority that it
will be proposed, but as an idea that suggests itself to me and in order
to show you that I wish to talk with you and consult with you in the
same frank manner in which I should have done before I was in this
situation so very new to me. I have been so used to think justly ill of
all ministers whom I did know and to suspect those whom I did not,
that when I am obliged to call myself a minister I feel as if I put myself
into a very suspicious character ; but I do assure you I am the very
same man in all respects that I was when you knew me and honoured
me with some share in your esteem, that I maintain the same opinions
and act with the same people. I beg your pardon for troubling you
with so long a letter, but the great desire I feel in common with my
friends that we should retain your good opinion must make my apology.
Pray make my best compliments to Mr. Gratian and tell him that both
the duke of Portland and Fitzpatrick are thoroughly impressed with the
58
MSS. OF THE
Earl of Charlemont.
consequence of his approbation and will do all they can to deserve it. I do most sincerely hope that he may hit upon some line that may be drawn honourably and advantageously for both countries, and that when that is done he will show the world that there may be a government in Ireland of which he is not ashamed to make a part. That country can never prosper where what should be the ambition of men of honour is considered as a disgrace.'
[Charlemont to Fox.]
" To this letter I immediately returned the following answer, which the reader will observe was written previous to the meeting of parlia- ment :
"'Give me leave, in the first place, to return you my most sincere thanks for the honour and favour of your letter. Your finding leisure at this busy period, when every moment of your time is precious to yourself and to the empire, for the recollection of an old friend is a kindness which I had no reason to expect, and for which I shall ever be grateful. You do me also honour and justice in supposing that I should at all times receive anything that comes from you with a great degree of partiality, and though your idea of the difference between the man and the minister be, in some respects, a just one, my thoughts, respecting ministers in general, being nearly similar to what yours were, yet still I can conceive that a man in high ministerial office may be perfectly an honest man. Indeed the arrangement of the present administration would alone be sufficient to persuade me of this possibility ; and such is my regard and affection for many of the members of which it is com- posed that any doubt upon this head would render me truly miserable. ISo man can be more rejoiced than I am at the late happy, though tardy, change. I rejoice in it as a friend to individuals, but more especially as a member of the empire at large, which will probably be indebted to it for its salvation. I hope also, and doubt not, but that I shall have reason to rejoice in it as an Irishman ; for I cannot conceive that they who are intent upon the great work of restoring the empire, should not be ardently attentive to the real welfare of all its parts, or that true Whigs, genuine lovers of liberty, whose principles I know, honour, and strive to imitate, should not wish to diffuse this invaluable blessing through every part of those dominions whose interests they are called upon to administer. The appointment of the duke of Portland, and of his secretary, is a good presage. I know and respect their principles, and should be truly unhappy if anything in their conduct, respecting this country, should prevent my perfect co-operation with them. For, my dear sir, with every degree of affection for our sister kingdom, with every regard for the interests of the empire at large, I am an Irishman. I pride myself in the appellation, and will, in every particular, act as such ; at the same time declaring that I most sincerely and heartily concur with you in thinking that the interests of England and Ireland cannot be distinct, and that therefore in acting as an Irishman I may always hope to perform the part of a true Englishman also. With regard to what you hint, respecting an adjournment, I sincerely hope it will not be desired, as the matter seems to me to involve some great, not to say insurmountable, difficulties. The eyes of all the nation are eagerly fixed on the meeting of the sixteenth.1 The house is convened for that day by this very particular summons, ' that every member should
Of April, 1782.
59
attend as ho tenders the rights of parliament.' The declaration of MSS. of the independent legislature is, on that da/, to be agitated. It is expected charlmoni. by the people with the most anxious impatience ; and the minds of all men are so fixed upon the event of that day, which they have every reason to imagine will be favourable to their wishes, that I should greatly fear the consequence of any postponement, especially as, from sad experience, the people have been taught to suppose that a question postponed is, at the least, weakened. This, too, is an act of the house, and of the house alone. Government has nothing to say to it, nor will any popularity be gained to the administration which may happen to be present at the carrying this question. On the contrary, success will be looked upon rather as a defeat than as voluntary acquiescence.1 Such are the difficulties which occur. However, though they appear insuper- able, so strong is our wish not to throw any unnecessary obstacle in the way of the present administration, that we shall wait to be determined by events.
'« I have seen Grattan, and have communicated the kind paragraph in your letter respecting him. He desires his most sincere thanks to you for your goodness and friendly opinion of him. We are both of us precisely of the same mind. We respect and honour the present administration. We adore the principle on which it is founded. We look up to its members with the utmost confidence for their assistance in the great work of general freedom, and should be happy in our turn to support them in Ireland in the manner which may be most beneficial to them, and honourable to us; consulted but <