THE LIFE, TIMES, AND COTEMPORARIES

» °r
LORD CLONCURRY.

THE

LIFE, TIMES, AND COTEMPORA

LORD CLONCURRY.

WILLIAM JOHN FITZPATKICK,

JIF.MllER OF TUB KOYAL DUBLIN SOf'IKTT.

"I know Lord Cloncurry well; and, knowing him, I respect and admire him.
HE is A TRUE AND PEACTICAL PATRIOT. High in life, and possessed of a large and
independent fortune, he rejects the vicious and tasteless example of those who
dissipate their wealth in foreign countries. His fortune is spent at home. His
useful and honourable life is devoted to the good of Ireland, to the performance of
his duties as a nobleman, a citizen, and a magistrate."— Lord Charlemont, 1819.

" Ireland has not a better friend or one more devoted to her service than Lord
Cloncurry. He sets a splendid example ; possessing a munificent fortune, and
expending every shilling in his native land. The poor man's justice of peace ; the
friend of reform ; in private society— in the bosom of his family — the model of
virtue ; in public life worthy of the admiration and affection of the people."—
Daniel O'Connell, ZrdJune, 1824.

DUBLIN:

JAMES DTJFFY, 7, WELLINGTON QUAY.
1855.

DUBLIN :

PRINTED BT J. M. O'TOOLK,
13, HAWKINS'-RTREET.

TO
HIS GRACE

AUGUSTUS FREDERICK DUKE OF LEINSTER,

Sole Jh'ta ana |}rtmier fflarquis anb tfarl of |rrlanb,

WHO,
CO-OPERATING FROM HIS EARLIEST YOUTH WITH THE LABOURS

AS A CATHOLIC EMANCIPATOR, A RESIDENT LANDLORD,
AN ACTIVE MAGISTRATE, AND A GENEROUS EMPLOYER,

HAS LONG SINCE SECURED TO HIMSELF
THE HONOUR AND ESTEEM OF ALL GOOD IRISHMEN,

ARE, WITH HIS GRACE'S OWN PERMISSION,

AND IN THE HOPE
THAT THEY MAY NOT ALTOGETHER DISAPPOINT THE RESPECT

ENTERTAINED BY HIM
FOR THE MEMORY OF HIS DECEASED FRIEND,

^Itspxtifttllg |nscribxi>,

BY HIS GRACE'S VERY HUMBLE AND OBLIGED SERVANT,

WILLIAM JOHN FITZPATRICK.

PREFACE.

THE idea of writing this book was first suggested
to me by the following passage in a letter from Dr.
Richard Grattan,* an old friend and correspondent
of Lord Cloncurry, to the editor of the Nation
newspaper, shortly after his lordship's death:— "It
occurs to me," said Dr. Grattan, "that a memoir
of the public life and times of Valentine Lawless,
Lord Cloncurry, would be a valuable present to
Ireland. That this work will be forthcoming there
can be no doubt ; but our great object should be
to have it well done, and in a way, through him,
to diffuse generally the sound principles and the
enlarged and liberal views by which he was so
eminently distinguished. There can be no want
of materials ; Lord Cloncurry was a fluent writer,
and corresponded with almost every one who in-
terested himself in promoting the welfare of Ire-
land- The testimonial to Lord

Dloncurry should be the history of his own life,

' Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, and Ex-
King s Professor of the Practice of Medicine.

PREFACE.

read and studied by every Irishman, so as to im-
press Ms character, as much as possible, on the
public mind of Ireland."

I am sure there is no Irishman who will not
agree with the opinion expressed by Dr. Grattan.
Perhaps, no life of the last generation, except
O'Connell's, has so wide an historical interest.
That Lord Cloncurry was always foremost, from
1795 to 1853, in every movement tending to the
amelioration of our condition, or the increase of our
national spirit, is a fact well known, not only
to Ireland, but throughout Europe and America.
Identified by station and estate with the aristo-
cracy, yet his greatest pride was to take a lead in
the ranks of the oppressed people ; a man of ample
fortune, which he spent in the encouragement of
noble designs, or generous charities, and who passed
through every phase of a political career, from the
rebel's dungeon to the Viceroy's camarilla, yet
retained an unimpeached fidelity to Ireland through

all.

Having obtained access to a large mass of
unpublished and interesting correspondence rela-
tive to his lordship's life and times— finding that
no one else was likely to undertake the task, and
encouraged by the advice of several friends, whose
opinion I valued, I at last determined, though with
considerable diffidence, to weave the materials which
were rapidly accumulating in my hands into such
an unvarnished and, I trust, truthful and impartial

PREFACE. IX

narrative, as my untried abilities were capable of
producing.

I, of course, in the first instance, met with the
objection that a volume, entitled "The Personal
Kecollections of Lord Cloncurry," might seem to
have forestalled my undertaking ; but I do not
believe that any person who now goes to the trouble
of comparing the one book with the other will re-
main of that opinion. No two works upon the same
subject could well be more dissimilar in design and
construction. "The Personal Recollections" were
rather a series of reminiscences of his lordship's
early friends, and of fragmentary sketches of the
most important epochs of his own life until 183 2, than
a complete biography; and the modesty of a writer
who speaks of himself interfered with its fulness,
not less than the absence of lights from other
external and cotemporary sources. I have endea-
voured not merely to follow the direct line of Lord
Cloncurry's life, but to illustrate it by notices of the
events in which he bore a part, and by the charac-
ters and evidence of the men with whom he
associated. His lordship's times were eventful —
they were times of which we have, unfortunately,
little authentic history ; and their consideration
consequently occupies a much larger portion of my
work than is usual in the biography of an indi-
vidual.

The earlier chapters, with the exception of the
first, were written almost immediately after the

X PREFACE.

death of Lord Cloncurry. For the many blemishes
that I am well aware characterize them, I solicit
the reader's kind indulgence.

On the vast amount of new, and, I should hope,
interesting matter which this volume contains, I
shall not here expatiate. Of the letters, I will
merely observe, that out of one hundred and
seventy-two only four appeared in the "Personal
Recollections of Lord Cloncurry ," and those I have
always been particular to acknowledge. With,
perhaps, one half dozen exceptions, the entire
collection in his lordship's work were addressed
by different parties to himself. In the following
pages that arrangement has been reversed. A man's
private letters have ever been considered the true
lights of biography. As many as I considered
necessary to illustrate effectively Lord Cloncurry 's
patriotic career, and the very eventful times
through which he passed, I have given — some to
show the generous philanthropy which was a con-
stant characteristic of his life.

In addition to the interesting correspondence
referred to, further lights, in the shape of extracts
from the most effective of Lord Cloncurry's speeches,
have been brought to bear upon those portions of
his political career, which, from lapse of time, have
become either wholly or partially obscured.

In tracing the political and private life of Lord
Cloncurry, after his liberation from captivity in
1801, I have found the " Personal Recollections"

PREFACE. XI

little or no guide. His lordship's patriotic career
I carefully followed through the newspaper files
from 1797 to 1853; and I can with truth affirm
that not a single page escaped my scrutiny.
No man, save him who has travelled over the same
ground, could possibly form a just idea of the
labour and tediousness attendant on such an
undertaking.

Many of the letters introduced in my book ex-
hibit the characteristics si private communications.
But it must be remembered that they refer for the
most part, to political events which have long since
passed away, and are addressed to parties whose
connexion with the press rendered it expedient at
the time to stamp the word " Private" on them.

To those relatives of Lord Cloncurry, not of
his immediate family, who furnished me with
much interesting information for the work, and to
the friends and correspondents of Lord Cloncurry,
who placed a liberal selection from his lordship's
letters at my disposal, I beg to return my best
thanks. They will find the materials, it is hoped,
judiciously used. And as a new edition will
shortly be prepared, I take the liberty of here
suggesting to correspondents the expediency of
furnishing me at once with any unpublished letters
of Lord Cloncurry's that may chance to remain in
their possession.

WILLIAM J. FITZPATRICK.

SOUTH HII,L AVENUE, MOUNT MEBRIOS,
March 1st, 1855.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

CHAPTER I.

How Sir Hugh de Lawless came to Ireland, and what brought him thither
— Shanganagh — Provost, Guardian, and Bishop Lawless — Genealogy of
the Family— Their landed Property — King James the Second secreted in
Puck's Castle — Stands Godfather for his Host's Son and Heir — Walter
Lawless attainted — James Lawless of Shankhill — Pedre ac nuck — Robert
Lawless — His romantic and eventful History — Birth of Nicholas, first
Lord Cloncurry— Sent to Rouen University — Completes his College Course
and returns to Ireland — Purchases Galleville — Subjected to more Slights
than Courtesies — Marries Margaret Browne, of Mount Browne — Their
Offspring — Renounces the Roman Catholic Religion, and purchases an
Estate in Ireland — Death of Robert Lawless — His Commercial Establish-
ment— Data connected therewith — Singular Anecdote respecting the Con-
version of Nicholas Lawless — Elected M.P. for Lifford — His tardy
Appearance in the Field — Created a Baronet of Ireland — Critical Situation
of England in 1776 — The American War — Diffidence of Sir Nicholas
Lawless in the House — Governmental Bias of his Votes — The Marquis of
Buckingham Lord Lieutenant of Ireland — Regency Question — Unparalleled
Corruption practised — Peerages purchased — Anecdote — Elevation of Sir
Nicholas Lawless to a Barony — His Debut in the House of Lords —
Incident at Crow-street Theatre — Laughable Epigram on Lord Cloncurry
— The two Viceroys, Westmoreland and Fitzwilliam — Solicits the latter
for Promotion in the Peerage — Request declined — Consequent Revenge of
Lord Cloncurry.

IN the twelfth century, when Dermod Mac Murrough,
King of Leinster, triumphantly carried off the beautiful
Dcarbhforguill, wife of O'Rourke, Prince of Brefni, and
thereby incurred the indignation of that potentate — when
all Ireland vowed vengeance on his head for the out-
rage, and Roderick O'Connor, as the mightiest of its
kings, undertook the task of crushing the abductor —
when battle raged, and blood gushed fresh and scarlet
from the staunch old hearts of the Leinster soldiery —
when, driven to desperation, Dermod Mac Murrough
rushed panic-stricken from Ireland, and flung himself at

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the feet of King Henry the Second, craving his protec-
tion and swearing temporary allegiance — when his
Majesty, yearning in spirit to possess himself of Ire-
land, conjured MacMurrough to be composed, and assured
him that he might calculate on sufficient assistance to
enable him to recover the kingly position he had lost —
when these and other events were being enacted, an
armament, for the express purpose of invading Ireland,
and of rendering her thenceforward subject to English
domination, was actively in preparation at Milford Haven,
and awaiting only the preconcerted signal to crowd all
sail, and steer direct for Waterford.

The ambition of Mac Murrough blinded his mental
vision, and he saw not through the cajolery of King
Henry. Not confining his desires to the recovery of
Leinster, Dermod ambitioned to become supreme mo-
narch of all Ireland. Henry encouraged this feeling,
and gave him every reason to understand that his inter-
ference should not be otherwise than friendly.

On the 18th October, 1172, this disinterested and
valuable ally, with a fleet of some hundred ships, weighed
anchor from Milford Haven, and, after a short voyage,
glided almost unobserved into the harbour of Waterford.
The army of King Henry, on this occasion, consisted of
four hundred knights and several thousand men-at-arms.
Amongst the former was Sir Hugh de Lawless,* of
Hoddesdon, County Hertford, the ancestor of Valentine
Lord Cloncurry.

It does not come within the scope of this work to
follow the progress of King Henry's movements. Let it
suffice to say, that by means of cajolery, rather than by
force of arms, an English footing was permanently
established in Ireland. Perhaps the wiliest expedient
resorted to by his Majesty was the consummately inge-
nious manner in which he worked upon the Irish Synod,
at that time sitting in conclave atCashel. Henry's intimacy
with Pope Adrian (who was a brother-Saxon) stood him
in good stead, and by dint of producing certain Bulls

* The ancestor of Sir Hugh de Lawless was David, Duke of Normandy.

CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES. 6

from his Holiness, an almost bloodless conquest resulted.
" It is evident," observes Plowden, " that, through the
influence of the Synod, the whole nation was induced to
submit to Henry with a facility which no other means
would have secured to the invader."

No sooner had the Norman knights set their feet upon
the verdant island, and gazed around upon its golden
valleys and fertile pasture lands, than they at once found
themselves filled with an inordinate desire to become
possessed of something more than the mere vision of
such luxuriance. They smacked their lips at the glit-
tering prospect, and, in the abject subserviency of selfish
expectation, prostrated themselves before their gracious
and beneficent monarch. Henry received these advances
with complacency : he was desirous of rewarding the
services of his faithful knights; and, as he had no land
to spare in England, he gladly distributed amongst them,
with a lavish hand, the Irish manors, which he only
knew by name.

One there was, situated in the vicinity of Dublin, that
made the Norman mouth, of Sir Hugh de Lawless, water.
It went by the name of the Manor of Shanganagh, and
was, in sooth, a most ethereal spot. Slumbering beneath
the mountain parish of Killiney, and sheltered by the
umbrageous foliage of Old Connaught, the vale of Shan-
ganagh, with outstretched arms, while embracing a creek
of the dark blue ocean, grasped into a focus all the na-
turally picturesque beauty of that eminently rich district :

" How pleased, how delighted, the rapt eye reposes,
On the picture of beauty, this valley discloses,
From that margin of silver, whereon the blue water
Doth glance like the eyes of the ocean foam's daughter !
To where, with the red clouds of morning combining,
The tall "golden spears"* o'er the mountains are shining,
With the hue of their heather, as sunlight advances,
Like purple flags furled round the staffs of the lances !

Sweetest of vales is the vale of Shanganagh !

Greenest of vales is the vale of Shanganagh !

No lands far away by the calm Susquehannah !

So tranquil and fair as the vale of Shanganagh !"

Golden spears is the literal translation of an old Irish name applied to the
Sugar Loaf chain of mountains adjacent to Shanganagh.

4 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

So sings Denis Florence M'Carthy. He docs not over-
rate its beauties, and that is saying a great deal.

Sir Hugh de Lawless heard of the exquisite scenery of
Shanganagh. He resolved to test the truth of these re-
ports, and made a personal pilgrimage to the spot. To
modify the words of Caesar, he came, saw, and (was) con-
quered. Yes! the Norman found himself speechless with
admiration before its beauties. Shanganagh had taken
his heart by storm, and he would that very day wait upon
King Henry, and conjure him to make it his for ever-
more. His Majesty heard the request, complied with it,
and from that moment Shanganagh became the property,
or as the attorney said, who drew up the deed of settle-
ment— the "fee simple" of Sir Hugh.

We can imagine the knight, as he posted .off to see
King Henry, carolling away in the following style : —

" When I have knelt in the Temple of Duty,
Worshipping honour, and valour, and beauty —
When like a brave man, in fearless resistance,
I have fought the good fight on the field of Existence ;
When a home I have won by a long life of labour,
By the thoughts of my soul, or the steel of my sabre,
Be that home a calm home where my old age may rally,
A home full of peace in this sweet pleasant valley !

Sweetest of vales is the vale of Shanganagh !

Greenest of vales is the vale of Shanganagh!

May the accents of love, like the droppings of Manna,

Fall sweet on my heart in the vale of Shanganagh."

The old age of Sir Hugh de Lawless did find a home in
the vale of Shanganagh, and what is more, " the accents
of love fell sweet on his ears" the while. He married,*
erected a castle near the water's edge, and lived, and died,
after " a long life of labour," within it.

The dichotomised ruins of this old castle are still visi-
ble, and may be observed from a great distance.

* By a very old family escutcheon, which remains in the possession of the
Lawless family of Shankhill, we find that Sir Hugh had a son named
Richard. Beneath this heraldic device is an unfurled scroll, bearing the fol-
lowing inscription : — " Sir Hugh Lawles, Knight, sent a deede sealed with
his armes, dated ye first yeare of King Edward ye 3rd, unto his son Richard
Lawles, of all his lands of ye manor of Shanganagh."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 0

It would be tedious until we come to the seventeenth
century to trace, with any degree of accuracy, the genea-
logical descent from Sir Hugh de Lawless ; but we may
observe, en passant, that Richard Lawless, from 1310 till
1313, held the office of Provost or chief magistrate of Dub-
lin.* His adjudications appear to have been of a singular
character. In 1310, famine stalked throughout the land,
and a "cranoge of wlieat,"f as the Annals of Dublin
tell us, " sold for twenty shillings." The bakers entered
into a combination to impose on the public, by means
of using false weights, and to a great extent succeeded
in carrying out their object. The imposture, however,
came to the ears of Richard Lawless, and having had
the men of dough brought before him, he sentenced them
to be drawn on hurdles through the streets, tied at horses'
tails.

In 1347, we find that King Henry appointed Robert
Lawless (probably the son of Provost Richard Lawless),
one of the public guardians of the peace in Dublin, with
power to assess and array its military force as required,
and to head the municipal guard in resisting the hostility
and invasion of the native " Irishry."|

In 1354,§ Stephen Lawless was consecrated Bishop of
Limerick, and died on Innocents' Day, 1359. The fa-
mily were then in possession of large estates in Dublin
and Wicklow. " In the fourteenth and fifteenth cen-
turies," observes Dalton, in his History of the County
Dublin, " the Lawless family were in possession of Shan-
ganagh, Kilruddery, Corkagh, and Old Connaught;|| but

* It was not till 1665, that the chief magistrate became honoured with
the title of Lord Mayor — Sir Daniel Bellingham being the first who bore it

f In 1333, wheat was sold in Dublin at 6d. per bushel!

j Rot. Tat. in cane. Hib. (Dalton).

§ " Stephen Lawles, Chancellor of the Cathedral of Limerick, succeeded
Bishop Rochfort, and was restored to the temporalities by the king, on the
13th May, 1354. lie died on Innocents' Day, 1359." — The Whole Works
of Sir James Ware concerning Ireland, Revised and Improved. Entirely
translated from the original Latin, by Walter Harris, Esq. — 2 vols. folio.
Dublin. 1764.

|| From the Lawless family these townlands passed over to the Walshes,
who, as " Irish rebels and Papists," are frequently alluded to in the old
chronicles of Dublin.

6 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

in 1473,* the Vicars of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin,
petitioned Parliament, stating that they and their prede-
cessors were seised of the seigniory of Shanganagh from
time immemorial, had leased it to Thomas Lawless, and
had also leased eighty acres within said seigniory to Edmund
Walsh, who disowned their authority, and would pay no
rent."

Shanganagh, about this time, passed out of the family;
but the Lawlesses were too much attached to the old pro-
perty not to re-establish themselves as soon as possible in
its immediate vicinity. This they did by erecting a castle
at Shankhill, and a dwelling-house at Cherrywood — town-
lands situated within a stone's throw of Shanganagh. In
the fifteenth century, the Lawlesses were in possession of
considerable landed property in Kilkenny.

From an old family document we learn that another
branch of the family were, for upwards of a century,
seated at the Castle of Rawebuck, or Roebuck, in the vi-
cinity of Dublin, where they continued to reside until
about the year 1690.

On the 9th May, 1608, Walter Lawless, of Talbot
Inche, County Kilkenny, obtained from his gracious Ma-
jesty, King James the First, the princely grant of seven
manors, situated in the counties of Tipperary, Waterford,
and Kilkenny.f According to the old deed of transfer,
these manors " possessed the right of patronage, and were
to be held for ever, in capite, by knight's service." J Lin-
gard speaking of James's munificence in 1608 (vol. vi.
chap. 2), says, that his entertainments were of the most
costly description, and his presents to those who claimed
reward for their services, or had the good fortune to

* Inquisition in Cane. Hib.

t King James' Letters Patent were drawn up in the sixth year of his reign,
and dated at Dublin, 19th May, 1608. From them we find that his Ma-
jesty " granted the several manors following, to wit, the manor of Clonmell,
Killsheallane, Lisronagh, Killfiakill, Corketenny, Danagh, and Ballicallan,
with divers lands, tenements, rents, customs, services, and right of patronage,
to the said manors respectively belonging, and therein particularly recited
and mentioned, situate, lying, and being in the counties of Tipperary, Water-
ford, and Kilkenny. To hold to the said Walter Lawless, his heirs and as-
signs, for ever, in capite, by knights' service," &c.

J This tenure was abolished in England by 12 Charles II. c. 24 (Blackstone).

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 7

attract his favour, were valuable and profuse, beyond pre-
cedent.* Walter Lawless was one of those men who
are born to be lucky. He attracted the royal favour, and
received seven boons.

The wife of Walter Lawless was a daughter of Robert
Wrothe, Esq., of Kilkenny. By her he had one son,
Richard, a prominent member of the Supreme Council of
the confederate Catholics of Kilkenny, in the civil wars
of 1641. In this capacity Richard Lawless greatly dis-
tinguished himself, as some old historians tell us, by
warmly opposing the massacre of the Kilkenny Protes-
tants, when proposed to the Council by Torlogh Oge
O'Neil.f Richard married Margaret, daughter of Patrick
Denn, Esq., of Grenan, County Kilkenny, and died in
1670, leaving issue two sons Walter and Thomas. Walter,
the eldest, married a daughter of John Bryan, Esq., of
Jenkinstown, County Kilkenny, and had issue five sons.
If Walter Lawless, of Talbot Inche, was born to be
lucky, certes his namesake and grandson was doomed
to be unfortunate. In the Irish wars of 1689, he took
a leading part in favour of James the Second, was
attainted, and forfeited to the Crown all the valuable
manors he derived from his father in Tipperary, Water-
ford, and Kilkenny; but previously, on the precipitate
flight} of James from England, when all his army
rallied round William of Orange, and proclaimed him
their sovereign, we find that the royal plate of the fugi-
tive monarch was deposited with his staunch friend and

* Thus, for example, at Lady Vere's marriage he made the bridegroom a
present of lands to the yearly value of £ 1 200. At the marriage of Lord
Haddington with Lady Radcliffe, he paid off his debts amounting to .£10,000,
although he had already given him £1,000 per annum inland (Winwood, ii.
217), and sent to the bride a gold cup, in which was a patent containing a
grant of lands of £600 a year. (Lodge, iii. 254, 336; Boderie, Hi. 129).
— Lingard's England, vol. vii.

f " Turlogh Oge O'Neil, brother to the arch rebel Sir Phelim, and the
Popish citizens of Kilkenny, petitioned the rest of the Council, that all the
English Protestants there should be put to death ; whereupon Alderman
Richard Lawless, in excuse answered, that they were all robbed before, and
he saw no cause that they should lose their lives." — Note to the 7 vol. Edit tan
of Lodge. Dublin. 1789. P. 61, vol. iv.

J Macaulay mentions that the king, immediately before his flight, ex-
claimed— " None but the Irish will stand by me."

O CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

supporter, Walter Lawless, in the same manner that his
most important papers were entrusted to the care, as
Macaulay tells us, of the Tuscan minister. Probably,
when Walter Lawless was reduced to the necessity of
flying from Ireland, and became involved in the common
ruin of all James's influential followers, the deposited plate
was made a present to him by his master. Be this as it
may, the plate remained in the possession of his descen-
dants, and within a few years a portion of it, emblazoned
with the royal arms of the Stuarts, might be seen at
Lyons — the seat of Lord Cloncurry.

Richard, the eldest son of Walter Lawless, fell at the
siege of Limerick, in 1691. Patrick, his second son, served
with distinction in the armies of his SpanishMajesty, Philip
the Fifth, was appointed, during the Orleans Regency,
Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of France, created
Knight of the Equestrian Order, and finally, inaugurated
Governor of Majorca, which office he continued to fill,
with honour and reputation, until his death. The third
son, John, having manifested strong feelings of loyalty
towards James the Second, was attainted at the same time
as his father, Walter Lawless. The two younger sons
died before reaching their majority.

Immediately on the flight of James from England,
O'Neil, Earl of Tyrconnell, summoned together the
Irish loyalists, and not only exhorted but commanded
them to arm, at once, in defence of the inalienable rights
of their lawful sovereign. Thirty thousand trusty men,
officered by such staunch Catholic partisans as Walter
Lawless, were soon disciplined and organized. James,
from the Court of Louis the Fourteenth, sent Tyrconnell
constant assurances, that at no distant day he would
proceed to Ireland in order to take the personal com-
mand of this army. But time elapsed, and not till the
23rd March, 1689, did his Majesty arrive at Kinsale. Here
he disembarked with 1,200 members of the Irish Bri-
gade, who, mounted on their palfreys, escorted him to
Dublin. To say that James was received with kingly
honour in the metropolis, could convey no idea of the en-
thusiasm, pomp, and solemnity, which greeted his arrival.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 9

Everybody seemed to vie with every other body, in ex-
pressing the most unbounded manifestations of loyalty
and affection. At length, Duke Schomberg, with 40,000
Huguenots, joined the legions of Northern Protestants,
who had so intrepidly defended themselves at Derry*
during the previous summer, and with this effective
force marched straight to attack the hapless Stuart. Va-
rious engagements, with various fluctuations of fortune,
succeeded, until the arrival of the Dutch usurper, with
an overwhelming force, effectually terminated — at least
in James's estimation f — the unequal contest. After
the defeat at the Boyne, James retreated with the rem-
nant of his army to Loughlinstown, in the County Dublin,
where, according to history, they remained encamped lor
five successive days. Disguised successfully, and attended
by a trusty body guard, the monarch, while his army re-
mained bivouacking, made the best of his way to Puck's
Castle, then the seat of his faithful adherent, Thomas
Lawless.

This edifice stood, and still stands^ (but of course con-
siderably ruined), in the vicinity of Shanganagh and
Loughlinstown, and within about three-qiiarters of a mile
from Shankhill, where Thomas Lawless's family were, for
two or three generations, subsequently seated. The owner

* Mr. O'Callaghan, a gentleman who has toiled long and arduously to dis-
cover the real facts respecting the Williamite campaign, avers, that the so
often vaunted " Resistance of Derry" was, in a military point of view, rather
an affair of position and artillery, than of men and courage.

f Tyrcounell and his forces continued to offer a vigorous resistance till
October, 1691, when they honourably capitulated on their last bit of terra
firma — the city of Limerick. The violation of the Treaty, by Act of Parlia-
ment, is only of a piece with the entire history of British misrule in Ireland
since the master trick of 1170.

J The very peculiar state of Irish society in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and
sixteeth centuries rendered such strong frontier residences as Puck's Castle
nocossary. It was customary, at these periods, for hordes of men, under the
O'Tooles, to leave their territories and march on the palesmen of Loughlins-
town, Shanganagh, Shankhill, and Bray, very much, it may be supposed, to
their annoyance and discomfiture. These harassing incursions appear to
have been kept up until James the First ascended the throne. A flight of
stone steps leading to the roof Puck's Castle, is still in excellent preservation.
A fine view of land and sea is commanded from the summit.

Robert Cowley, writing to Lord Cromwell, hi 1537, speaks of the O'Tooles
as a sept " who most noyeth about Dublin."

B 2

10 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

of Puck's Castle was a younger brother of Walter Law-
less, of Talbot Inche, who, through his attachment to
James, lost, as has been already seen, divers valuable ma-
nors in Tipperary, Waterford, and Kilkenny. According
to the family account of the matter, which has been com-
municated to us by the only surviving daughter of John
Lawless of Shankhill, King James was received at Puck's
Castle with such thorough Irish hospitality, that in gra-
titude for the kindness and protection shown him he gra-
ciously volunteered to stand godfather for Mrs. Lawless's
then expected child. Being obliged, however, to leave
the castle before the birth of the little stranger, James
deputed his natural son, the Duke of Berwick (honourable
mention of whose name so frequently occurs in the
Jacobite chronicles), to stand as proxy on the occasion.
This his Grace did, and the long expected child having
turned out to be a son, was accordingly christened James
in compliment to the sovereign.

The version we have given of this interesting story is
that current amongst the old members of the Lawless
family. Of the veracity of its salient points there cannot
exist a doubt.

She who presented her lord with this interesting young
scion (who, as " King James the Second's Godson," has
long been remembered with pride in the family), was the
daughter of James Butler, of Kilkenny, a respectable
country gentleman, who held considerable landed pro-
perty in that county. That he was related to the out-
lawed Barons Dunboyne (whose patronymic is Butler)
there can be, we believe, little doubt. The maiden name
of Mrs. Lawless, of Puck's Castle, appears to have been
Elizabeth. Her husband, Thomas Lawless, died in 1704.

James Lawless" was their only son. He inherited the
entire of his father's property, and with a portion thereof
erected a castellated mansion on Shankhill, near Shan-
ganagh, of which the shell is still standing, and likely to
continue so.* Having arrived at the age of manhood, he

* On the death of old John Lawless, in 1790, Mrs. Lawless and her
family left Shankhill and removed to Dublin. Since then it has not been
inhabited by any member of the Lawless family. Up to the year 1851,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 11

led to the hymeneal altar Frances, daughter of John
Usher, of Crumlin, Esq., and had issue by her, two sons,
Peter and John. After this marriage dates the period at
which the Lawlesses adopted the rural church-yard of.
Crumlin as their family burial-place.

Having heard that some of their tombstones were still
to be seen at Crumlin, we lately repaired thither; but,
after a tedious search, were only enabled to discover two.
One, completely overgrown with moss, bears the fol-
lowing inscription : — " I.H.S. This stone and burial-
place belongeth to Mr. Edward Lawless, of Crumlin, and
his posterity. Here lyeth the bodies of two of his
brothers and three of his sisters — 1760." The second
tombstone, of more modern aspect, and several yards
distant from that just spoken of, informs " Old Mortality"
that it is " The family burial-place of John Lawless, of
Shankhill, whose remains are here interred. He departed
this life the 10th day of January, 1790, aged sixty-five
years." The old sexton informed us that some members
of the Cloncurry branch remained interred here likewise,
but were, in 1799, by a special order from the Consistorial

Court, removed to Lyons.

******

It comes neither within the limits nor objects of this
work to give a biographical account of each member of
the rather extensive family of the Lawlesses.* For this
reason we will not enter into any particulars concerning
how the scion of an old and respectable family found
himself a poor, forlorn, moneyless mountaineer, nobly
endeavouring to battle against his unpropitious fortune
by the pursuit of an honest, though not very aristocratic
calling. His story carries an excellent moral with it,
and should be studied by those who hope, through
integrity of purpose, to become happy and prosperous
men. We earnestly request the reader's attention to a

Shankhill Castle appears to have heen a board and lodging house. Shank-
hill is also known by the name of Rathmichael, and extends over 2,808
acres.

* Philip Lawless, of Warrenmount, alone, had twenty-one children, of
whom only two survive, viz. : Barry Edward Lawless, Esq., solicitor, and
Jane, his sister.

12 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

history that will not only instruct, but interest to in-
tensity.

The history of the boy Robert Lawless, and of his son
and heir, is perhaps one of the most romantic and extraor-
dinary that ever appeared in any work other than fiction.
In publishing it to the world, we consider ourselves per-
forming a good and an useful act. The life of Robert Law-
less will show what can be accomplished through untiring
industry, strict honesty, frugality, and moral rectitude.

The father of Robert Lawless, Pedre ac nuck, or " Peter
of the Hills" — a name by which he was, early in the last
century, known — left him an orphan at an early age.
From Pedre ac nuck it does not appear that Robert inhe-
rited so much as the value of one solitary farthing, either
in chattels or cash. Friendless and moneyless, he had to
shift for himself; and manfully he did so, as the sequel
will show.

Some vain and inflated intellects may perhaps consider
that, in making public the history of Robert Lawless,
we are lowering the prestige of the noble subject of
this memoir. What stuck-iip foppery ! what miserable
folly ! In our mind, the fairest chapter in Lord Clon-
curry's genealogy is the life of Robert Lawless, the poor
mountaineer. From the exertions of this honest man
originated that fortune which placed a coronet on his
less noble though more aristocratic son, in 1789. The
worth of Robert Lawless skipped a generation, and de-
scended to Valentine, whose life we shall chronicle.

We can safely aver that the history of Robert's early
life is now only known to very few parties. Our infor-
mation is derived from the descendants of the family of
Valentine Browne (whose daughter, Nicholas first Lord
Cloncurry married), and is confirmed by the Lawlesses
formerly seated at Shankhill Castle, County Dublin.
John Lawless, of Shankhill, was not (as Sharpe's and De
Brett's Peerages erroneously allege) the father of Robert,
the poor mountain boy. John's sons were: — William,
afterwards surgeon, and ultimately general in the service
of France ; Barry, of Cherry wood, near Bray, gentleman ;
and Philip, a respectable brewer in Warrcnmount, Dub-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 13

lin. All have long since been gathered to their father?.
Each edition of De Brett, from the first to the twenty-
second, contains this singular and glaring inaccuracy.

" Peter of the Hills," although the only brother of
John, never possessed any residence that could properly
be called his home. In early life he boarded and lodged
entirely with his brother. To follow the remainder of
his history would be foreign to our subject. It lies before
us as we write, but, on reflection, we do not consider
it necessary to insert.

The following are amongst the most prominent facts
in the early history of Robert Lawless. To modify the
words of Beattie, it both

"Points a moral and adorns our tale."

One fine frosty morning, in the year of our Lord 1720,
a little boy from the mountains, accompanied by a small
ass-load of turf and firs, might be seen wending his
way through the Liberty of Dublin, where three or four
of his principal patrons resided. His best customer,
however, was a respectable woollen-draper in High-
street, who not only bought his turf, but occasionally a
hare or two, which the boy was in the habit of setting
snares for, or otherwise catching in the hills. All ac-
counts agree in stating that Lawless was an extremely
intelligent youth, of strict morality, honesty, and recti-
tude, and, what was looked upon at the time as a singular
fact (considering his very humble sphere in life, and the
few opportunities in those days of receiving instruction),
he knew how both to read and write. That his relatives
at Shankhill never had the slightest intercourse with him
is certain. He was thrown completely on his own re-
sources, and he quailed not (to his praise be it spoken)
beneath the burden of an unpropitious fate. If any man
deserved to see his son made a noble, surely it was
honest, upright Robin Lawless !

The good woollen-draper, who had a personal know-
ledge of Robin for a considerable time, at length took
a most immoderate fancy to him, and proposed that he
should enter his service as a shop-boy, sleep at night

14 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

under the counter, open shop in the morning, and run of
errands during the day. That Robert Lawless was but
too happy to agree to the good woollen-draper's proposal
it is unnecessary to say. He thanked him heartily for
his benevolence, let both ass and turf go to the deuce,
and, rubbing his frost-bitten fingers until they glowed
congenially with the flush of satisfaction on his counte-
nance, plunged earnestly and at once into the work he
was engaged to execute.

The intelligence and ready parts of Lawless stood his
friend. He daily improved himself, and in a few years
rose to be foreman, and finally partner. On the death of
his principal, in 1731, he married the widow, who was
by many years the junior of her first husband. This
lady was the daughter of Dominick Hadsor, one of whose
ancestors had filled the office of Lord Mayor of Dublin.
She knew that Robert Lawless, though apparently of
humble birth, had good blood in his veins, and hesitated
not to accept his proposal as freely as Lawless did that
of her deceased husband. Up to the year 1784, one of
Hadsor's family (probably a son) may be found in the
" Commercial Directory." For instance, "George Hadsor,
lace-seller, Castle-street," appears in that for 1763. In
1784, however, the name of Hadsor vanishes in toto,
and during the seventy years which have since elapsed
has not once reappeared.

The alliance of Mary and Robert Lawless was, like
most other marriages, blessed with offspring. On the
30th October, 1733,* a little stranger made his bow upon

* Playfair's Irish Peerage, published during the lifetime of Nicholas Lord
Cloncurry, states the year of his lordship's birth to be 1735, and that of his
sister Mary, 1 736. Each party is thereby made two years younger than they
were in reality. Such trifling perversions of truth, during the lifetime of
certain parties, are we suppose venial, when that peculiarly delicate subject,
age, is in question ; but surely, when death has consigned them to the
winding-sheet, this absurdity ought to cease. In all the published editions
of De Brett, and other Peerages, the two years continue to be struck off their
respective ages. The only genealogical chart in which we find the births
correctly stated, is the remarkable old document already spoken of, and which
we will be happy to show any individual curious in such matters. It was
drawn up in 1789, and has all the appearance of having been in the pi>>.-t-s-
sion of Nicholas, first Lord Cloncurry. The writing (half text hand, and
half Roman) affords a fine specimen of caligraphy.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 15

the stage of life. This was Nicholas, first Lord Cloncurry.
In less than a year after (October 13th, 1734), another
little stranger, but of the softer sex, appeared, and was
speedily baptized by the style or title of Mary Elizabeth.
This, reader, was the mother of Margaret, first Countess
of Clonmel.

In 1740, the LifFey was completely frozen over by an
intense frost, which continued for near three months.
We can imagine Mr. and Mrs. Lawless, and the children,
participating in the festivities that took place upon the ice,
and immediately after sharing the universal gloom which
famine and pestilence produced throughout the land.

Although almanacs and registries annually appeared
in Dublin from the commencement of the eighteenth
century, still no directory of any kind whatever was
published till 1761. This is the first wherein the names,
occupations, and addresses of the merchants and traders
of the metropolis are given, and on page 41 of the work
referred to, we find " Robert Lawless, Woollen- Draper,
High-street."

Robert Lawless spared no expense upon the education
of his children. A self-taught man himself, he well knew
the inestimable advantages which a sound education is
so much calculated to produce ; and after having given
Master Nicholas what instruction the times permitted at
home, placed him under the care of a distinguished divine
in the Catholic College of Rouen, in Normandy. The
ruthless penal laws were then in the zenith of their
strength, and the fact of a Catholic undergoing instruction
in Ireland was a circumstance quite sufficient to rouse
the choler of our rulers, and bring down on the head of
the instructor a persecution as merciless as undeserved.

Nicholas Lawless inherited the ready parts of his father,
and the progress made by him through the University
was creditable and rapid. In 1755, he completed hiscollege
course, and with a good supply of French and general
lore in his head, returned a finished scholar to Ireland.

Nicholas had not seen his parents for a considerable
time, and with palpitating heart he repaired to the old
house in High-street. A cead mille afailthe greeted his ar-

16 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

rival He flung himself into the arms of his parents. He
was glad— very glad to see them, but his heart was

Rouen. . , c y,

Yes, his heart was in the old abbey church oi K<
his inclinations were entwined around the Gothic town,
its picturesque timber-framed houses, its tesselated pave-
ments, its graceful river, and its umbrageous walks, tt
yearned after the clear blue sky of France-absence f
those scenes only strengthened his affection i
country; he expressed a passionate desire to return, and
as he was an only son, and the idol, consequently, ot his
parents, Robert Lawless unhesitatingly acceded to the not
very patriotic wish of the impulsive young Celt. _

The splendid manor of Chateau Galleville, in Nor-
mandy, was just advertised to be sold. It stood m t
immediate vicinity of Rouen, and nothing could have
appeared better suited to the wants and wishes ol Mr
Nicholas Lawless. As a member of the proscnb
religion, Lawless was, of course, incapacitated from pur-
chasino- an estate in Ireland, and the combination <
inclination with necessity, in this instance, was consid
by the family as a most fortuitous and happy circumsts
The deeds of assignment having been perfected, Lawless
lost no time in establishing himself m the Castle ot
leville All went smooth at first — no one could be happier,
but after a time he found his pleasure doomed to become
mingled with alloy. The old gentry of Rouen, as some
accounts have it, regarded him in the light of an upstart
and an intruder. Chateau Galleville was long the res
dence of one of the first families in France ; but pecuniary
embarrassments having effectually immeshed them, d
possession resulted, and thus it was that the chateau
became advertised to be sold. It would appear, however,
that the quondam occupant had sufficient mnuer
remaining, despite his pecuniary difficulties, to prejudice
Mr Lawless's neighbours against him, and render his
position as irksome as possible. One of Lord Cloncurry s

oldest friends, the late Sir S B , was frequently

in the habit of observing, that perhaps the greates
annoyances to which the Normans subjected Lawle

CLONCtJRRY AND HIS TIMES. 17

while at Galleville, was the continual execution, almost
under the very windows of his drawing-room, of all the
capitally convicted criminals of the district. An array
of gibbets cannot be said to form a very agreeable or
interesting prospect, and no wonder is it that Mr. Lawless
should soon have become heartily sick of this abomi-
nable persecution. He abandoned the chateau for a
time, but did not give it up in toto yet. Weeks —
months elapsed, and he returned, but only to find himself

burned in effigy. Sir S B always told the

above anecdote with the utmost seriousness, and pro-
nounced it to be the account generally circulated and
believed at the time of Lawless's return to Ireland.

While the accompanying pages were passing through
the press, we incidentally learned some curious data,

calculated to throw considerable light on Sir S 's

extraordinary story respecting the executions at Chateau
Galleville. The late General Sir George Cockburn,
K.C.B., drew up, some years before his death, an un-
varnished but interesting history of the various members
of the Cloncurry family. From that document (which
never fell, nor ever will fall, into the clutches of a prin-
ter's devil) it appears that Nicholas Lawless, when pur-
chasing Galleville from the lord of the manor, neglected
a very important matter, namely, the purchase of the
SEIGNEURIAL RIGHTS connected with it. There are many
readers who will require to be reminded of the peculiar
nature of " seigneurial rights." In principle they may
be said to have been identical with the old Scotch local
jurisdiction, which it was agreed, at the period of the
Scottish Union, should be preserved unaltered and intact
by virtue of a compact expressly entered into. Years
elapsed — many denounced its continuance — many advo-
cated it ; and the stormy debates during the agitation of
tne question attest what a diversity of opinion existed on
the subject. The dissentients finally triumphed.

Attached to every French and Scottish manor were,
in the olden time, certain seigneurial prerogatives which
none but the lord of the seigniory could exercise. Should
the manor be disposed of for 90,000 francs, its seigneurial

CLONCtTBRY AND HIS TIMES.

ricrhts usually fetched about quarter that sum. To pur-
chase one without the other was considered a most
satisfactory and unbusiness-like bargain, and means were
^nerally adopted to annoy the man who bough
manor Lm/its rights. Nicholas Lawless purchased
Chateau Galleville, but declined acceding to the :
neur's terms for his jurisdiction, and hence the annoyances
of which he complained. During the period of Lawless
tenancy, Monsieur B - constantly exercised, to hi
no Wl discomfiture, those rights and prerogatives
inherent to a Gallic seigniory. He stopped at nothing c
culated to annoy him, even to the gibbeting of the county
criminals under the very windows of his Drawing-room

Even in Ireland, if we mistake not, the family of Lord
Talbot de Malahide possessed (if they chose to exercis(
it) the seigneurial right of trying and executing for nig
treason within the compass of their own estate

Extraordinary as may appear the causes we have
tioned, in ultimately inducing Mr. Lawless to turn
back on France for evermore, we consider I
much more plausible than the family account of the
matter, whidF Lord Cloncurry, by publishing it in his
« Recollections," would seem to have believed implicitly.
As the event happened six years before his birth, he, o
course, could not be supposed to have any personal
knowledge of it, and he, doubtlessly, communicated 1
the puttie that version which his father had commu-
ne ated to himself half a century before. From the
W0rk referred to, it would appear that his fathers
Galleville, and changed his religion, on account of having
as he thought, detected the Church making invidious
d stinctions in the distribution of her honours among he
faithful. One day, at Mass, in Rouen, the cure of 1
cathedral gave the honours.of the censer to a neighbour
ina seigneur, before bestowing them on Law ess, and
that gentleman considered that the seigneur had no ngh
to beLensed before himself,heflung up theFrenchest^e

in disgust, and returned a true blue Protestant to Ireland.
To use an abominable pun, he was incensed at what
conceived to be a studied slight, and resolved then and

CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES. 19

there to resent it. " He returned to Ireland," observes
his lordship, "conformed to Protestantism, and thereby
became qualified to hold a territorial stake in the
country."

In arriving at this stage of the proceedings, however,
we have been rather premature. The doings of several
years remain to be outlined, ere we continue our account
of his adieu to France, and to the faith in which he had
been born and reared.

In 1761, during one of Mr. Nicholas Lawless's visits to
Ireland, it was his good fortune to meet in society Miss
Margaret Browne, the only child of, perhaps, the richest
mercantile man in all Dublin, Mr. Valentine Browne,
of Mount Browne. Whether Nicholas Lawless became
enamoured of her person or her purse, tradition does not
state. Certain it is, he fell over head and ears in love
with her, and after a short acquaintance, contrived to
avail himself of a propitious opportunity to make a warm
declaration of love, and an offer of his hand and heart.
The young lady at first rejected his advances, but Lawless
was not a man to be daunted by ordinary obstacles, and
he followed up the original attack with address, deter-
mination, and spirit. In the prime of life, and possessed
of an attractive person, with manners glittering with
continental polish, and a tongue teeming with native
" blarney," but so far refined by intercourse with French
society, as to lose all vulgar coarseness, and gush forth
pure and crystalline — it may well be supposed that Mr.
Lawless was altogether a rather dangerous gentleman for
any young and inexperienced girl to test her strength
against. The result need scarcely be told. Margaret
Browne had never taken any vows of celibacy. She was
a woman, and like the generality of her kind, a little
susceptible to adulation and flattery. It was not in her
nature to resist such gallant overtures ; Mr. Lawless skil-
fully improved on the impression, and after a short con-
flict, found himself standing in the dignified position of
victor.

Miss Margaret Browne was very naughty. This all
went on unknown to her papa. He remained in tranquil

20 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

ignorance of the whole transaction, and never before felt
so happy, or fonder of his child. With a father's pride
he gazed upon her form ; and, as the old man's eyes looked
dirnly into the future, he saw, or fancied he saw, coro-
netted suitors prostrate before his child. He saw her
strolling through bright Utopian palaces — the rugged
paths of life receded from his vision. He was a happy
man, was Valentine Browne !

Margaret knew that it would be perfect folly to ask her
papa's consent ; he would never agree to it. Ally his
daughter to a woollen- draper ! — a dukedom would be
scarcely an equivalent for her fortune. Margaret was
knowing ; she determined to marry Lawless first, and ask
leave afterwards.

So she did. On All-Hallow's Eve, as some accounts
have it, in the year of our Lord 1761, Dublin was thrown
into a state of unparalleled excitement by ascertaining
for certain that " Robin Lawless's son" had actually had
the audacity to carry oif from her father's house the cele-
brated Catholic heiress, Miss Margaret Browne. It could
hardly be credited. To think of Mr. Nicholas Lawless's
presumption excited the indignation of old and young.
His namesake could hardly have attempted anything
more daring. Not since the unprincipled bakers were

iwn on hurdles through the city, by order of Provost
was the quiet region of Mount Browne and
James's-street thrown into a state of greater excitement.
What between expressions of commiseration for Mr.
Browne* on the one side, and groans of indignation for

* Mr. Valentine Browne was an opulent brewer. He resided in the neigh-
bourhood of Kilmainham. His brewery stood adjacent to that thoroughfare
well known by the title of Mount Browne.

During the last century, it was usual " to christen" streets after the most
respectable citizen or merchant who resided in it. In 1733, William Usher,
of Usher's Island, was Sheriff of Dublin. Byrne's-hill, in the Liberty, derives
its name from Edmund Byrne, an eminent brewer, whose house is still
standing at the extreme end. The derivation of Buck Jones's Road may be
similarly accounted for.

Playfair's Family Antiquity, vol. v., pronounces Valentine Browne to have
been a descendant of Lord Kenmare's family. If so, Sir Valentine Browno,
who was Auditor-General of Ireland in the reigns of Edward the Sixth and
Queen Mary, must have been an ancestor of his.

CLONCURRY AND EIS TIMES. 21

the abductor (for as such he was considered) on the other,
his house that night presented a singular scene. Mr.
Browne was oppressed with grief. We need scarcely say
that he peeled no apples or cracked no nuts that night.
It was the gloomiest All- Hallow's Eve he had ever
passed.

Mr. Thomas Callan, formerly of Prussia-street, brewer,
and afterwards of Osbertstown, County Kildare, gentle-
man, stood in the relationship of cousin-germain to Miss
Margaret Browne. He was an opulent merchant, like
his kinsman of Mount Browne, and entertained, in com-
mon with that gentleman, quite as lofty notions as to
whom the fair young heiress ought to connect herself
with for life. We have been informed by Mr. Callan's
daughter, that the indignation of her father at the intel-
ligence knew no bounds. How little he thought, and
how little did Valentine Browne think, that the woollen-
draper's son would one day become not only a baronet,
but a peer of the realm. Such is life !

But let us hurry over this. Browne, though somewhat
vain, and occasionally impulsive, possessed much of the
philosopher, and more of the politician. He saw no use
in keeping up a coolness towards his child, and, after a
time, forgave both herself and her gallant caro sposo.

Enlivened by the charming society of a young and
blooming wife, Nicholas Lawless returned to Normandy,
fully determined, for the time to come, not to notice any
of those slights or insults to which his Gallican neigh-
bours were in the habit of subjecting him. This ab-
sentee movement on the part of Lawless can hardly be
said to have arisen from any unpatriotic tendency. Most
gladly would he have purchased an Irish estate, and
thereon remained for the rest of his days ; but as Catholic
Ireland lay, at that time, prostrate beneath the burden
of the penal code and the hoof of English tyranny, there
was no course open to him but to seek in France, or
some other clime, those privileges of landed property, of
which a despotic law debarred him at home.

Of all the various members of the family, none appear
to have watched the approach of maternity in Mrs. Law-

22 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

less with a greater degree of anxiety than her worthy
father, Valentine Brown. With dismay, however, he
perceived that one, two, three, four, and five years elapsed,
and still no sign of what both himself and his son-in-law
daily offered up their prayers for. A jubilee, at length,
was celebrated — a child was born. Mary Catharine Law-
less, afterwards the wife of " Jerusalem Whalley," opened
her eyes to the world. This auspicious event took place
in the month of August, 1766. The ice having been
thus broken, numbers of little brothers and sisters followed
in rapid succession. On the 12th September, of the
ensuing year, Valentina Alicia Lawless made her appear-
ance. This was the Honourable Lady Burton of after
years. On the 21st January, 1769, Charlotte Louisa,
the subsequent wife of Edward Lord Dunsany, appeared.
In 1771, Master Robert Lawless, the son and heir, was
born; and on the 19th August, 1773, VALENTINE BROWN
LAWLESS, SECOND LORD CLONCURRY. Only the two elder
sisters, however, were born in France. In 1767, Robert
Lawless, of High-street, Dublin, expressed his desire and
intention of retiring forthwith from business. The old
gentleman was particularly anxious that his son should not
let so old and so respectable an establishment merge
into the management of strangers. Nicholas took the idea
up warmly, and having disposed of Chauteau Galleville
to advantage, returned with Mrs, Lawless and her two
little ones, to Ireland.

Our full conviction is, that Nicholas Lawless was glad
of any excuse to bid an eternal adieu to France. The
slights and annoyances which have already been adverted
to did not mitigate in earnestness as time progressed.

Their departure took place in 1767, soon after the birth
of little Valentina, and immediately after the death, at
Chateau Galleville, of Mrs. Patrick Lawless,* the wife of
a gentleman, who, in Thomas-street, Dublin, had been

* Mary Lawless was allied in marriage to Pat. Lawless immediately after
attaining her sixteenth year. The nuptials took place on the 30th September,
1752, while her brother Nicholas was at school in Normandy. Their only
daughter, Margaret, inherited an enormous fortune. It proved a valuable
windfall to John Scott, afterwards Lord Clonmel. Mrs. Lawless, however,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 23

for many years carrying on a bank, under the firm of
Coates and Lawless. Her demise occurred at the early
age of thirty-three, on the 13th October, 1767. It caused
a great shock to the family, and produced some tempo-
rary confusion amongst their affairs. Mrs. Lawless's death
was remarkable as occurring on her own birth-day, and
on the anniversary of her brother's marriage with Margaret
Brown — these three events having all, singular to say,
taken place on the 13th October.* People in those days
were much more disposed to superstition than at present.
The idea of such a tragic event happening at the very
moment that the anniversaries of Lawless's marriage, and
that of his sister's birth, were about to be celebrated with
suitable festivity and rejoicings, filled both master and
mistress with an amount of mysterious horror that is as
difficult to describe as it was on their part to overcome.
They regarded it in a sort of ominous light, and resolved
to remain no longer in France, hopelessly contending
with ill-luck, and the prejudices of an uncongenial people.
Old Robin Lawless, after having made the necessary
arrangements, retired from the bustling mercantile
region of High-street, to what, in these days, was consi-
dered a place of solemn dignity and grandeur — Chancery-
lane !| Here he passed the remainder of his days in

had two other children who died young. According to the peerages, her issue
consisted only of Margaret; but the family document, to which we have already
more than once made reference, distinctly mentions the original number to
have been three.

* The old MS. genealogical chart, whose details we believe to be much
more worthy of credence than De Brett, distinctly says, that the marriage
of Nicholas Lawless with Margaret Browne took place on the 13th October,
1761. De Brett, in every edition of his Peerage, alleges the nuptials to
have been celebrated on the 31st October, 1761. There is nothing more
usual in printing than an occasional typographical transposition, and we are
inclined to think that in this instance the " 31" should be " 13."

Since the above note was written we observe that Mr. Playfair, in his
" Family Antiquity," speaks of the marriage as having taken place on the
13th October.

t A more squalid, dilapidated thoroughfare than Chancery-lane is at pre-
sent it would be difficult to discover. How it ever could have been a fashion-
able dwelling-place appears strange, since its breadth, in some parts, is so very
narrow, that opposite neighbours might, if desired, give each other a cordial
shake bands from the windows of their respective drawing-rooms.

24 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

comparative retirement. On the 16th March, 1779,* his
honourable career was, at length, brought to a close by a
general disruption of the constitution, which a kick, re-
ceived a short time previously from a favourite horse, in
no small degree accelerated. Robin lived to see his son a
baronet, but not a peer. Pity that those honest old eyes
were unable to feast upon that golden coronet which,
in 1789, surmounted the escutcheon of his son.

But we anticipate. Nicholas lost no time in occupying
the position and premises vacated by his father, and by dint
of adhering to the old gentleman's advice and hints, had
little difficulty in setting the machinery of the place once
more in motion. He had objections, however, that the
High-street establishment should re-open in his own name,
and accordingly entered into partnership with a Mr. John
Lawless, a man possessed of much shrewdness, tact, and
practical experience, and related, moreover, to himself.
In this individual's name the woollen-drapery business
was carried on till 1796, as may be ascertained by refer-
ence to the old directories.

Everybody knew, however, that Nicholas Lawless was
the principal proprietor of the establishment, although
his private residence was in Merrion-square ; indeed,
he made no attempt to disguise it himself, for long after
Lord Harcourt created him a baronet, he personally
attended the fairs and markets in the counties of Wick-
low, Wexford, and Kildare, in the prosecution of his
mercantile speculations. It was no unusual sight to see
him with his three-cocked hat and courtly attire, standing
in the middle of a knot of country clowns, while he
endeavoured to conclude a hard-fought bargain with the
principal, for the purchase of half-a-dozen load of wool
packs.f

* " The said Robert Lawless having, for upwards of thirty years, carried on
the woollen-drapery business in the city of Dublin, on a very extensive scale,
acquired thereby a considerable fortune, with the fairest character ; and on
the 16th March, 1779, died at his house in Chancery-lane." — Old Genealo-
gical MS. of the Cloncurry Family.

f The late Lord Cloncurry never made any disguise about his father having
been engaged in commerce. In the second chapter of his Personal Recol-
lections, he mentions, that Nicholas, the first Lord, " entered to a large

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 25

It may, perhaps, be interesting here to insert some
data respecting the members of Lord Cloncurry's family
who engaged in commerce in Dublin. We are indebted
for it to Wilson's Directories.

The first Directory, as already mentioned, which
3ver appeared in Dublin, was that for the year 1761.
Therein we find " Robert Lawless, woollen-draper,
High-street," and his name and commercial occupation
nay be found in the succeeding Directories till 1767,
when Nicholas Lawless returned to Ireland. From the
year 1767 to that of 1787, "John Lawless, woollen-
draper, No. 2, High-street," appears. In 1788, the
address is No. 2, High-street, and 23, Dame-street. From
1 783, an asterisk (*) prefixed to the name distinguishes
Lawless as a wholesale merchant.

In 1789 (when Nicholas Lawless became an Irish
peer) " John Lawless, woollen-draper, 23, Dame-street,"
only appears. In 1790, " John Lawless, woollen-draper
and carpet manufacturer," is the designation. In 1791,
the Lawlesses once more return to the old locality.
From that year till 1796, the address is "23, Dame-
street, and 3, High-street." But in 1796 and 1797, John's
name disappears in toto, and " Mary Anne Lawless,
woollen-draper and carpet manufacturer, 10, Dame-street,"
is found in its stead. The commercial career of this
lady appears to have been a short one. Throughout the
following year her name may be searched for in vain.
The Dublin Directory underwent, during 1798, a sad
thinning. Amongst others, the family of Lawless bade
an eternal adieu to its pages, though not, we must add,
from the same causes that led to the withdrawal of
Oliver Bond, Napper Tandy, Addis Emmett, and Dr.
M'Nevin. No woollen-draper of the name of Lawless is

extent, and with considerable success, into the banking and woollen trades."
The Right Hon. John Wilson Croker, in the Quarterly Review, gave his
lordship a rather rough handling on the publication of these Recollections.
With their general tone and spirit he entertained little sympathy. For the
purpose of raising a laugh at the expense of his Lordship, he analysed several
of his sentences, and amongst the number the one above quoted. " For
banking and woollen trades," observed Croker, " read blanketing.1'

C

26 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

discoverable in the Directory for several succeeding years.
It may then be inferred that Lord Cloncurry's family
entirely relinquished business in 1798.

The reader must not jump at the conclusion that the
present house, No. 2, High-street, is that whilom inha-
bited by Robert Lawless. The numbers have undergone
some alteration since that period. About thirty years
ago, three old houses stood between Christ Church and
Michael's Church, at the top of Winetavern-street, form-
ing thereby a continuation of High-street. The central
one was the woollen-drapery establishment of the Lawless
family. About the year 1820, the three old houses were
taken down. Their venerable neighbour, Christ Church,
underwent some pseudo-improvements at the same
period.

It now behoves us, at a respectful distance, to follow
Nicholas Lawless through the uphill pathway of his most
eventful history. On his return from France in 1767,
he applied himself with much industry to business, and
not only took an active part in the management of the
High-street concern, but entered into partnership with
a Quaker banker of respectability, well known in his day
by the name of John Dawson Coates. With this gentle-
man, Patrick Lawless* had been for many years pre-
viously connected.

* Pat. Lawless lived in a large house on the Coombe, in Dublin, not far
from Mr. Byrne's, of Byrne's Hill. Although he never read his recanta-
tion, but on the contrary, to the day of his death, called and considered
himself a Roman Catholic, he was only nominally a member of that
persuasion. This observation will be illustrated by two facts. His children
(for he had three, although only one attained maturity) he got christened by
the Protestant Rector of St. Catherine's ; this was Margaret who became the
wife, in after years, of Lord Clonmel. The second proof of his lukewarmness
towards the Catholic faith was the indifference he manifested throughout his
life to frequenting its sacraments. For some weeks previous to his death, in
1784, he laboured under serious indisposition, and the anxiety of his Catholic
relatives for his salvation increased day by day. The Rev. Mr. Dunne, the
Parish Priest of St. Catherine's, Meath-street, entertained certain apprehen-
sions, in common with them, concerning his fate, and as he knew Lawless
intimately, did not hesitate to call personally upon him, and endeavour, by
means of exhortation and argument, to arouse him to some sense of the danger
of his position. Father Dunne had not much success on the first visit, or
even on the second, but odd numbers, they say, are remarkable for luck, and

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 27

The bank of Coates and Lawless (of which the walls
are still standing) was situated between Nos. 35 and 37,
Thomas-street, Dublin, and is the identical house now
occupied by Mr. Arthur O'Connor, a soap and candle
manufacturer. From his connexion with the banking
company, as also with the woollen-drapery establishment
in High-street, Nicholas Lawless realized a considerable
fortune. In 1778, his connexion with the former com-
pletely terminated, and from that year till 1793, we find
the business carried on under the solitary name of John
Dawson Coates. Since then it has become the alternate
residence of chandlers and haberdashers.

We have heard from some hoary-headed octagenarians,
that " Friend Coates's bank" (as they knew to their cost)
never completely discharged the entire of its agreements.
It does not appear to have become notoriously bankrupt,
but certainly, for a considerable period after the cessation
of its business, in 1793, the proprietors were busy paying
off both large and small sums to their multifarious credi-
tors.

The strangest proceeding in the life of Nicholas Lawless
remains yet to be told. It is a delicate matter to handle,
and many folk would probably be inclined to let it repose
unmolested ; but having promised in the first instance to
" deliver a round unvarnished tale," and neither extenuate
nor asperse, nothing shall induce us to gloss it over.
Too many historians wreck their reputations by falling
into this fatal, but most common error.

it appears that the third was in some degree successful. He promised Father
Dunne that he would on the next morning make his confession, and as soon
as permitted approach the Communion. The zealous pastor returned home
overjoyed. At an early hour next morning, he set out for the Coombe —
reached Lawless's house, entered it, and found him dead !

Pat. Lawless was a strange, incongruous character in all matters relative
to religion. He revolted at the idea of following his kinsman's example, by
becoming a Protestant ; but deliberately placed himself beyond the pale of
the Catholic Church by the non-observance of its sacraments and customs !
Such characters are not uncommon.

Of Pat. Lawless's branch was Robert Lawless, of London, concerning
whom some particulars, extracted from the Annual Register for 1806, may
be found in the Appendix.

28 CLOKCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

One morning, very soon after his arrival from France,
Nicholas Lawless, to the no small astonishment of his
friends, and the infinite horror of his Catholic relatives,
announced himself a convert to the Church of England.
Almost simultaneously with this proceeding, he pur-
chased, for what was considered a nominal sum, the
valuable estate of Rathcormac, in the County Cork, then
in the possession of Roger O'Connor's family. It was
designated in the rental as " the borough of Rathcormac,"
and proved a highly remunerative investment for Mr.
Nicholas Lawless. In connexion with this period of
Lawless's history a curious and interesting anecdote is
related, which, as it does not happen to be generally
known, we can have, of course, no hesitation in inserting.

It is, we believe, a fact, that some Roman Catho-
lics have read their recantation and become Protestants
from conviction ; but it is also indisputable, that num-
bers, for worldly objects, especially in the penal days,
became Protestants likewise. In the latter category, must
be placed Nicholas Lawless. We do not make this startling
assertion either flippantly or unadvisedly; it has been
the result of long and diligent inquiry on our part. In
renouncing the faith in which he had been born and
reared, Mr. Lawless was not actuated by conviction, but,
on the contrary, from motives of cold, calculating policy.
Although no honourable man can revere his principles in
this instance, it is impossible to deny his worldly sagacity.
Had he remained a Roman Catholic, it is not very pro-
bable he would ever have become Lord Baron Clon-
currv.

The precise position of Lawless's own feelings, shortly
after conforming to the Establishment, and purchasing
the very tempting borough of Rathcormac, in the County
Cork, will probably be best illustrated by the following
well-authenticated anecdote. It comes from Matthias
J. O'Kelly, Esq., a gentleman well known to, and de-
servedly respected by, the citizens of Dublin. We have
obtained full permission to mention his name in con-
nexion with it; and this fact will, no doubt, stamp — if
it needed any such proof — its authenticity. Nicholas

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 29

Lawless and the late Mr. O'Kelly were intimate friends,
and reposed much confidence each in the other.

Perhaps we ought to preface the anecdote by ob-
serving, that one of the principal articles of the Roman
Catholic belief is, that out of the pale of " Mother
Church," save in cases of invincible ignorance, there is
no salvation.

The father of our informant married Mary, daughter
of Mr. Thomas Flood, the proprietor of Gal way's Walk* —
a nice secluded plantation and pleasure-ground, which
at that time extended from Watling-street to Stephen's-
lane. On Mr. Flood's death, his son-in-law, Mr. O'Kelly,
became the proprietor of this property ; and it was while
one day sauntering through its shaded pathways, that the
following singular colloquy between Nicholas Lawless and
Mr. O'Kelly took place : —

" Lawless," said he, " I have to congratulate you on
the remarkably nice estate which you have just con-
trived to become possessed of. Upon my honour, it is a
beautiful thing, and many a man will be disposed to
envy you."

" Aye, aye," replied the future nobleman — " no doubt,
no doubt. I grant you it is a dainty spot; and you may
be very sure it took a pretty strong hold of my fancy,
when I absolutely ventured to risk body and soul for itf'^

This reply is so expressive, that any explanation on
our part would be almost unnecessary and uncalled-for ;
but we may observe, en passant, that if a Roman Catholic

* The origin of the name of " Galway's Walk" appears to have been as
follows : — John Lord Galway, for many years previous to his death, laboured
under either much bodily infirmity, or much bodily laziness. Whichever it
was, it matters little now. Whenever he left home, it was generally in a
palankeen borne on men's shoulders. For Mr. O'Kelly 's pleasure-grounds he
entertained a considerable penchant, and would not desire more agreeable
occupation than to pass three or four hours of the day in traversing " Gal-
way's Walk."

f We trust it is unnecessary to observe, that this fearful sentiment, and
the very harsh language which expresses it, are not in the least exaggerated ;
and that, in recording the anecdote at all, we merely pursue that course
which a biographer must pursue, if he chooses to discharge his duty impar-
tially. There will be noble traits enough recorded, Heaven knows, before
this work reaches its termination, in connexion with the representative of
Nicholas Lawless. — W. J. F.

30 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

in those days purchased an estate, he would run very im-
minent risk of losing it before the lapse of many weeks, by
the hateful " discovery" process, then of such lamentably
frequent occurrence.

The family of Lawless were outrageous at his apostacy,
— that of Valentine Browne equally so. Old Robin Law-
less, formerly of High-street, was still living, and he felt
the affliction — for as such it was regarded — acutely.
Whether Mrs. Lawless conformed with her husband we
have been unable decidedly to ascertain ; but when it is
recollected how thoroughly and completely they were
identified, both in thought and sentiment, the chances
are that she did. From the year 1768, Lawless's pros-
perity was of railway speed. In 1799 it reached its ter-
minus. Then it was that Nicholas Lawless departed to
the other world.

A simple but expressive anecdote will forcibly illus-
trate the burning sense of indignation which animated
every member of the Lawless family, as soon as their
kinsman flung off the Helot's chains. Mr. Luke Lawless,
of James's-street, brewer, was one of Robert Lawless's
wealthy relatives. We have been informed by Dr.

D , of Dublin, who for many years was on terms of

familiar intercourse with his (Luke Lawless's) family,
that he has heard them repeatedly declare, while chatting
over old family matters, that their father and mother, so
long as Nicholas Lawless remained a Catholic, constantly
boasted of the existing relationship ; but that, the
moment he apostatized, they indignantly — to use their
own phrase — " cut the connexion" for evermore, and

would never after acknowledge as relatives any members
c-,- i •, *

or his braiich.

Rathcormac was purchased by Nicholas Lawless on most
advantageous terms — in short, " a dead bargain." After a
few years, an eligible opportunity appeared for disposing
of it on equally favourable terms to himself. Lieut.-Col.
William Tonson, of the 53rd Regiment of Foot, Go-
vernor of the Cork garrison, and previously Member
of Parliament for the borough of Tuam, took a most
immoderate fancy to Rathcormac, and offered Lawless a

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 31

sum for his title thereto, which he appears to have had
very little hesitation in accepting. Colonel Tonson,
having become proprietor of the borough, had little diffi-
culty in getting himself elected its representative. In
1776, he was accordingly, at the general election, re-
turned therefor; and on the 13th October, 1783 (having
rendered the Crown important services throughout the
octennial existence of Parliament), we find him elevated
to the peerage by the title of Baron Riversdale of
Rathcormac.

With the proceeds of the sale, Mr. Lawless purchased
the valuable estate of Abington, in the County Limerick,
and the handsome villa and grounds of Maretimo, County-
Dublin. This delightful residence, situated at the Black
Rock, is well known to our citizens. Both properties still
remain in the possession of the family.

Lawless, however, possessed much too active and am-
bitious a disposition to content himself with solely exer-
cising the rights, and performing the duties, of a landed
proprietor. With Margaret Browne's dowry at his back,
with coffers brimming over with the profits arising from
his banking and agrarian speculations, not to speak of the
balance in favour of the woollen-drapery establishment, it
may well be supposed that Lawless was not altogether
unqualified to contest an election, and to defray the heavy
expenditure usually attendant thereon. Accordingly, we
find him, at the general elections of May, 1776, trium-
phantly returned with the Hon. Abraham Creighton* for
" the independent borough" of Lifford, in Donegal, and in
the Parliament which met on the llth of June, making his
first appearance as a senator. The idea of offering himself
a candidate appears to have been quite a sudden thoxight.
Upon reference to the file of the Freeman's Journal for
1776, the reader will find that numbers of addresses to

* This gentleman was a younger son of the Earl of Erne. He was born
in 1734, and filled for several years the office of Eegistrar of Forfeitures.
Sir Jonah Barrington honours (?) him with a niche in his " Black List" — an
enumeration of those who, in 1799 and 1800, voted against the Union, but
suddenly wheeled round at the eleventh hour, upon being offered money or
office. The Hon. Mr. Creighton (to use Sir Jonah's words) was " privately
purchased."

32 CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES.

the electors of each borough, town, and county, appear
for at least two months before there is any sign of Lawless
joining in the fight. Upon what chances and trifles do
the destinies of men hang, and the tide of fortune turn !
Had he remained quietly superintending the improve-
ments at Abington, instead of plunging into the noisy,
dusty bustle of an Irish election, it is very certain that
neither himself nor his descendants would ever rejoice in
being addressed as " My Lord."

Whatever course Mr. Lawless pursued to ingratiate
himself at once into governmental favour we know not.
If any understanding really did take place, a veil of
mystery obscures it from the glance of the biographer.
Lawless's ambition was effectually awakened. Golden
dreams enraptured him. How true it is that " coming
events cast their shadows before !" These he observed
advancing, and he bowed down and worshipped them.
He heard everybody talking of the approaching crea-
tions, and he took care it should not be his fault to omit
making every needful preparation for the winning and
wearing of title and honours.

If Lawless's object were really to find favour — which
is probable — in governmental sight, he succeeded in
securing it with a vengeance. Not ten days elapsed from
the date of his return until it was decided by both
British and Irish Cabinets that Nicholas Lawless should
be created a baronet. In the London Gazette of July 3,
1776, we find the following official announcement of the
creation : —

" St. James's, July 2.

" The King has been pleased to order letters patent to be passed under the
gre.it seal of the kingdom of Ireland, containing his Majesty's grant of the
dignity of a Baronet of the said kingdom, unto Nicholas Lawless, Esq., of
Abingdon in the County Limerick."

How the eyes of Mrs. Lawless must have glistened as
she read this flaming paragraph.

The situation of England at this period was critical in
the extreme. The hitherto apathetic American colonies
which, with pride and satisfaction, she had beheld for so

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 66

many years swelling majestically with strength and
wealth, suddenly started to their feet and girded them-
selves for battle.

" Hark ! hear ye the sounds that the wind on her pinions

Exultingly rolls from the shore to the sea,
With a voice that resounds through her boundless dominions —
'Tis Columbia that calls on her sons to be free.

" In the breeze of her mountains her loose locks are shaken,

Whilst the soul-stirring notes of her warrior-song
From the rock to the valley re-echo — ' Awaken —
Awaken, ye hearts that have slumbered too long!' "

Columbia's force was formidable, but Lord Cornwallis
blenched not. He gathered together what British arms
could be mustered, and, vowing vengeance for having
been put to so much trouble, marched ten thousand
strong to crush the rebel foe. Great was the slaughter
on the plains of Roxburgh and the heights of Winter
Hill. The English retreated, and established themselves
in Boston. But George Washington commenced a spi-
rited bombardment, and struck terror, as well as bullets,
into the hearts of his enemy. Boston, at length, became
too hot to hold them, and the British general determined
to evacuate it by sea. This he did, in the most undig-
nified manner possible, on Patrick's Day, 1776; and,
while his rear was embarking at one side, the Americans,
at the other, poured like an impetuous current of molten
lead into the town.

That day the thirteen colonies declared themselves
independent, and the star-spangled banner floated gaily
on the wind.

From April, 1775, till March, 1776, England and
America were in open war. The leading WThigs of Great
Britain and Ireland opposed its continuance upon prin-
ciple. They denounced the policy previously pursued
by England ; and in their discussions all but justified the
American revolt. Ireland was not slow in upraising her
threatening voice. The analogy between America and
that country was too striking not to attract the notice of

c 2

34 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

its patriots ; and speedily a change both in their attitude
and tone became glaringly observable to his Majesty's
ministers. Ireland had been long exhorted to bide her
time, — repeatedly reminded that England's difficulty
was her opportunity ; and at last that happy moment
seemed as though it had arrived. But, alas ! it was in
appearance only ; for rarely before was the condition of
poor Ireland more sadly depressed, or the tension of her
muscles so miserably unstrung.

The American war, although it tended considerably at
first to excite the Irish spirit, effected a reaction by im-
poverishing the country. Previous to the war Ireland
exported large quantities of linen to America. This
prolific source of wealth, however, which had so long
fertilized the land, now dried up, and the face of the
country became arid and unproductive. The pockets of
the people were empty, and their dishes little better. At
length some political economists decided on a plan for
increasing, in some degree, her national wealth. Ireland
prepared to send provisions to America. Had she suc-
ceeded in carrying out this most judicious project, not
only would approaching famine have been averted, but
an immense increase of wealth must inevitably have
flowed into her empty lap.

England, however, with cruel sang froid, laid an em-
bargo on the exportation, and this well-matured project
for national amelioration accordingly fell defeated to the
ground. The gloomiest results succeeded her veto.
Land, wool, and cattle fell in value to the lowest ebb.
When landlords felt the depression acutely, it is hardly
matter of wonder that tenants shoiild have declared them-
selves unable to pay their rent. Public credit was almost
extinct, and the ghost of famine again appeared. Minis-
ters were besought for aid, but they refused to hearken.
Lashed into energy by such repeated and studied in-
sults, the Irish Commons at length adopted the first
step towards attaining that glorious state of civil liberty
which, in 1782, was achieved by the bloodless show
of sixty thousand Volunteer sabres. Some of the oldest

CLONCURKY AND HIS TIMES. 35

ministerial members joined the opposition, loudly com-
plaining that the real grievances of Ireland were not
fairly made known to the King ; and calling upon the
Viceroy to represent them to his Majesty, as a duty
incumbent on him at all hazards to discharge.

The first octennial Parliament had been only in exist-
ence four years out of the eight to which the law re-
stricted it, Avhen the British Cabinet found it advisable,
on account of the spirit of independence of the members,
at once to dissolve it. The manly resistance to British
dictates, which characterized its last session, alarmed the
Government. There must be a new Parliament, said
they, and it won't be our fault if that body is not judi-
ciously constituted, now that we have the elements of its
manufacture fairly in our hands. The next must be a
pliant Parliament. Never was there one more urgently
needed.

The general election accordingly took place, and bri-
bery and corruption, as is usual on such occasions, stalked
unblushingly through the land. Government beheld the
returns with pride and satisfaction. The majority were
men whom they thought they could calculate on. To
enslave the members of both Houses, an unprecedented
quantity of promotions and creations were speedily de-
cided on, and almost as quickly effected. Ministers
beheld in the last session some of their oldest partisans
wavering, menacing, and " ratting" and now, in order
to infuse a fresh spirit into the new Parliament, five
viscounts were created earls, seven barons viscounts,
and in one day no less than EIGHTEEN new barons,
fresh and glittering from the herald's mint, ascended the
baron's bench ! Foremost amongst the baronets (who
were comparatively few in number) was " Sir Nicholas
Lawless of Abington, County Limerick," as the pompous
letters patent thought fit to style him. Not since the
famous promotion of twelve in the days of Queen Anne
was there anything like such creation or advancement.
The expedient was successful; and Government, with
pride and gratification, watched the salutary effect which

36 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

resulted from having set in motion this and other engines
of enslavement.*

Upon reference to the Irish parliamentary debates of
the last century, it is easy to perceive that the voice of
Sir Nicholas Lawless was rarely heard resounding through
the vaulted House of Commons. His votes were, for the
most part, recorded in silence, and his views of debated
topics expressed in whispers. Whenever he did rise to
speak he manifested no small diffidence. This may be
collected from the few parliamentary speeches delivered
by him which remain on record. For instance, on Febru-
ary 24, 1785, he observed, whilst advocating the dissolu-
tion of Lord Charlemont's Volunteers, " Sir, a plain man
like me rises with great disadvantage to deliver his opi-
nion after the eloquent gentleman who has just spoken,
or, indeed, most of those who have risen on the question.
What I shall say by way of excuse is, that I wont
detain the House beyond a very few minutes." Again,
he says, on another occasion — " Unaccustomed to speak
often in this House, I rise with some disadvantage after
the Right Hon. gentleman." It is quite true that Sir
Nicholas Lawless seldom spoke; but whenever he did
so, it was well done,t and to the purpose. Indeed his
speeches, taking them for all and all, read better than
many now-a-days delivered in the British House of Com-
mons. If pertinence and earnestness may be considered
recommendatory qualifications in an orator, Sir Nicholas
possessed them in a high degree. " His parliamentary
conduct," says The Gentleman s Magazine for September,
1799, "was always favourable to the measures of the

* Amongst them the system of pensioning was not forgotten. Early in
1778, we find the patriotic members of the House protesting warmly against
" the rapid and astonishing growth of the pension list."

By the way, no lexicographer with whom we are acquainted, save Dr. Noah
Webster, ventures to give that signification of the word Pension — which
is but too tiuly, in many instances, the correct one — to wit: " An allow-
ance or annual payment considered in the liijht of a bribe.''

f His best speech was, we think, on Feb. 18, 1785, when, while praising
the Volunteer army for their past sen-ices, he urged that Ireland should now
turn her thoughts to the cultivation of the arts of peace, lay aside the pomp
of military parade, encourage the artisan to set his loom in motion, and the
countryman to substitute the ploughshare for the sword.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 37

present Administration ; and he was a very respectable,
though not an eloquent speaker." We need scarcely
remind the reader that the Administration alluded to was
an essentially Tory one. It is not correct, however, to
assert that his conduct was always favourable to Tory
regime, as we in the sequel shall show. But, certainly,
from 1776 till 1789, when Lord Buckingham trans-
planted him to the House of Peers — not a particularly
green House, so far as nationality was concerned — Sir
Nicholas's votes and speeches were governmental alike
in substance and tone.

It is said by men of his day that after Sir Nicholas Law-
less's elevation to the baronetcy his demeanour was ob-
served to become haughty and imperious. Of the very
ridiculous extent of this pride more than one instance
might be related. The following anecdote is sufficiently
illustrative of it. In the summer of the year 1778, Sir
Nicholas and Lady Lawless engaged apartments in a
respectable lodging-house at Windy Harbour, near Dun-
drum, conducted by a Mrs. Dempsey. The locality was,
in those days, much more fashionable than at present,
and numbers resorted to it during the summer and au-
tumn months. Amongst others who engaged apartments
at Mrs. Dempsey 's in 1778, was the late Edmund Byrne
of Byrne's Hill, a gentleman well known and respected
in his time. During the period of his sojourn at Windy
Harbour, it seems to have been a favourite practice with
Sir Nicholas to saunter up and down the gravel walks of
Mrs. Dempsey's garden. Nothing was easier, however,
than to disturb him in this exercise, as should any other
lodger venture to cross the hallowed precincts of the
enclosure, it would be the immediate signal for Sir
Nicholas to beat a precipitate but majestic retreat to the
privacy of his chamber. Mr. Byrne derived some very
wicked pleasure in offending the dignity of the baronet.
" Bessie," he would often say to a member of his family
resident at Mrs. Dempsey's, '" do watch me from the
lobby-window till you see how I turn Sir Nicholas Lawless
out of the garden." Saying which, Mr. Byrne would
descend, scarcely able to suppress his laughter, and lei-

38 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

surely saunter through one of the pathways. But hardly
would he have time to advance half-a-dozen paces, than
the honourable baronet might be seen to suddenly wheel
to the right about, and, stiff as buckram, steer direct for
the house. This eccentric movement on the part of Sir
Nicholas reminds one of the barometrical man, who
always glided into his house directly that his lighthearted
neighbour strolled into the garden to enjoy the fine wea-
ther. The family of Mr. Byrne have repeatedly heard
him relate this anecdote.

In 1787, the Marquis of Buckingham, as Viceroy,
assumed the helm of Irish Government. " Little was it
supposed," observes Sir Jonah Barrington,* "that the
most important and embarrassing of all constitutional
questions between the two countries was to take place
during his administration." What man familiar with
Irish political history is there, who has not heard of the
celebrated "regency" commotion, which, during George
the Third's aberration of intellect in 1789, eventuated in
the expulsion of William Duke of Leinster, Lord Shan-
non, and other independent men from office; while it
placed barons' coronets galore on heads which strongly
developed the bump of enslavement. The Prince of
Wales at this juncture, and for many years previous,
professed a line of politics, and retained a class of ser-
vants, essentially different from those subsequently adopted
by him. As the husband of a Roman Catholic (Mrs.
Fitzherbert), the Irish helots entertained considerable
hopes that his Royal Highness would, sooner or later,
exert himself in knocking off their chains.

"Mr. Pitt well knew," says Sir Jonah, " that his own reign, and that of
the Cabinet he commanded, were in danger — that they could endure no
longer than some tatters of the royal prerogative and restraints on the Regent
should remain in his hands as minister, by which he could curb the regency,
which might otherwise be fatal to his ambition and his Cabinet He, there-
fore, resisted, with all his energy, the heir-apparent's right to the prerogative
of his father, and struggled to restrain the Prince from many of those essen-
tial powers of the executive authority."

Through a state necessity the Prince found himself
reluctantly obliged to submit to the restraints imposed

* " Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation." Paris edition, page 324.

CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES. 39

on him by liis own rather arrogant and overbearing ser-
vant. A large proportion of the Irish Parliament bridled
with indignation at the aggression, and refused to obey the
dictates of the British Minister. An address to his
Royal Highness, " from the Commons of Ireland in Par-
liament assembled," was drawn up. In respectful lan-
guage, it requested that he would be pleased to take
upon himself the government of Ireland during the con-
tinuation of the King's indisposition, and no longer ; and
under the title of Prince Regent of Ireland, in the name,
.and on behalf of his Majesty, to exercise, according to the
laws and constitution of that kingdom, all regal powers,
jurisdiction, and perogatives to the Crown and Govern-
ment thereof belonging." Ireland, with one voice, called
upon his Highness, in virtue of the federative compact,
to assume at once the sceptre of authority. Grattan
headed the independent party in the Commons, and the
Prince, as may be perceived, felt grateful to him for his
exertions.* Debates arose more noisy and embarrassing
than, perhaps, had ever before agitated the echoes of the
Irish senate house.

" The probability of his Majesty's recovery," proceeds Sir Jonah, " had a
powerful influence on placemen and official connexions. The Viceroy (Lord
Buekinghan) took a decisive part against the Prince, and made bold and
hazardous attempts upon the rights of the Irish Parliament."

In the recently published correspondence of Lord
Buckingham, f we find dozens of letters, daily addressed

* Mr. Pelham, afterwards Lord Chichester, in a private letter to Grattan,
after speaking of what he styles " the tricks and intrigues of Mr. Pitt's faction,"
says, " I have not time to express to you how strongly the Prince is affected by
the confidence and attachment of the Irish Parliament. I saw him for an
instant at Carlton House, and he ordered me to write to you ; but I have only
time to say in his own words, — ' Tell Grattan that I am a most determined
Irishman.' "

The Duke of Portland, writing to Henry Grattan on the 21st February,
1789, says: — "I beg most sincerely to congratulate you on the decisive effect
of your distinguished exertions. Your own country is sensible and worthy
of the part you have taken in defence and protection of her constitution. The
Prince thinks himself no less obliged to you ; and whenever this deluded country
becomes capable of distinguishing her true friends, she will contribute her
quota of applause and gratitude." The two interesting letters, of which the
above are extracts, appear in Mr. Grattan's Memoirs of his father.

f Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George III. from original Family
Documents, by the Dukeof Buckingham and Chandos, 2 vols., London, 1853.

40 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

to that Viceroy by his brother, Lord Grenvillc, the Eng-
lish Secretary of State — all giving the most decided ac-
counts of the Monarch's convalescence. This correspon-
dence extends from December, 1788, to February 24,
1789. There cannot exist a doubt, that the substance of
these bulletins must have circulated widely amongst
Lord Buckingham's friends in the Irish Parliament, and
so stimulated their hostility to the Regency. They were
of course well aware, that in the event of the question
falling, by the recovery of the King, promotions and
creations would recompense thyeir labours. And they were»
neither mistaken nor disappointed. Attorney-General
Fitzgibbon was openly promised the Seals if he succeeded
for Mr. Pitt. Each member of the Opposition* was
menaced, that he should be made the " victim of his vote."
Lures were held out to the waveringf — threats hurled
at the independent.

HALF A MILLION OF MONEY ! \ such was the sum which

* It was this unmanly threat that called into existence that spirited protest-
familiarly known as " the Round Robin." To this document the Duke of
Leinster, Lords Charlemont, Shannon, Granard, Ross, Moira, and a host of
other noblemen, at once affixed their signatures. They were backed by Cur-
ran's, Grattan's, Ponsonby's, Forbes's, Bushe's, Burgh's, and Hardy's. The
document dwelt much on the recent threat of making individuals " the vic-
tim of their votes," and stigmatised the pursuit of such a course " as a repro-
bation of their constitutional conduct, and an attack upon public principle
and the independence of Parliament ; that any Administration taking, or per-
severing in any such steps was not entitled to their confidence, and should not
receive their support."

f Mr. Wright, in his rather English History of Ireland, tells us that per-
haps the most able speech delivered on the side of the Government was Mr.
Johnson's. As a testimony to its ability, he transcribes it from beginning to
end. The speaker was no other than the "Ex-Judge, Robert Johnson," so
well known in after years. In 1831, Tom. Moore, had, as appears from his
Diary, a most amusing interview with the old judge. He adverted at some
length to the past history of his political life. Until the agitation of the
Regency question he was an ardent supporter of Henry Grattan. At that
exciting juncture he wheeled round, and forthwith became the recipient of
Government favours. "In fact," said the judge to Mr. Moore, with peculiar
naivete, " we were all jobbers in those days."

+ It was in allusion to the ministerial bribe and threat that Grattan some
years after thundered as follows : — " It is in vain to equivocate ; the words
were uttered; the minister may have forgotten, but the people remember
them. The threat was put into its fullest execution ; the canvass of the
ministery was even-where — in the House of Commons, iu the lobby, in the
street, at the door of the parliamentary undertakers, rapped at and worn

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 41

Fitzgibbon was deputed by Pitt to announce as remain-
ing in his hands for purposes of corruption. And as the
law officer of the Crown made this ingenuous avowal, he
casually observed that a solitary address of thanks to
Lord Townshend, some time anterior, cost the nation no
less than five hundred thousand pounds !

Lord Buckingham felt somewhat uneasy at the pro-
gress made by the Irish Parliament in asserting and
carrying into effect their wishes.* He, however, enter-
ained great hopes that his Majesty would, like King
Richard, be " himself again," before they could, in defi-
ance of England, proclaim the Prince their Regent.
Time was the great object, and he had recourse to every
stratagem calculated to protract it.f The shrewd advice
given by Lord Grenville to his brother, the Viceroy, at
this period, as appears from their recently published cor-
respondence, is most amusing. " I think," he writes, in
his letter of February 19th, " that your object will be to
use every possible endeavour, by all means in your power,
debating every question, dividing upon every question,
moving adjournment upon adjournment, and every other
mode that can be suggested, to gain time 1"

The address to the Regent having passed both the
Lords and Commons with an overwhelming majority,

by the little caitiffs of Government, who offered amnesty to some, honours to
others, and corruption to all; and where the word of the Viceroy was doubted
they offered their own. Accordingly, we find a number of parliamentary
provisions were created, and divers peerages sold with such effect, that the
same Parliament who had voted the chief governor a criminal, did imme-
diately after give that very governor implicit support."

* The noble editor of the Buckingham Correspondence admits that " the
Parliament of Ireland preserved the unquestionable right of deciding the Re-
gency in their own way." " The position of Lord Buckingham," he goes
on to say, "had become peculiarly embarrassing. What course should be
taken in the event of such an address being carried?*** The predicament
was so strange, and involved constitutional considerations of such importance,
as to give the most serious disquietude to the Administration." — Vol. ii.,
page 101.

f That clear-sighted character, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, saw at a glance

1 through this wretched policy. " I am perfectly aware," he writes in a

i private letter to the Prince, " of the arts that will be practised, and the

1 advantages which some people will attempt to gain by time ; but I am

equally convinced that we should advance their evil views by showing the

; least impatience or suspicion at present." — Life of Sheridan by THOMAS

HOORE, chap. xii. — Regency.

42 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

was presented to Lord Buckingham for transmission to
his Royal Highness. The Viceroy, however, declined
in the most peremptory manner to have anything to say
to it, and thus Parliament was reduced to the necessity
of forwarding the address by the hands of delegates.
Previous to their departure, Grattan moved and carried
as the opinion of the House, " That the answer of the
Lord Lieutenant in refusing to transmit said address is
ill advised, and tends to convey an unwarrantable and
unconstitutional censure on the conduct of both Houses."

It is not surprising that this vote of censure, coming,
as it did, from both Lords and Commons, should have
shook the Viceroy on his throne. Whether the Prince
assumed the Regency or not, it was utterly impossible he
could any longer hold the reins of Government. But
like a stag at bay, he resisted to the death. Every pos-
sible manoeuvre that could have the effect of vexing the
Opposition, he resorted to before his flight. He became
unpopular to loathing. It was intended to illuminate
the capital on the night of his departure, but some days
previous to that event he retired to Mr. Lees' villa, at the
Blackrock, and from thence escaped by sea to England,
unnoticed —

" Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung."*

The following events, however, occurred anterior to
his flight.

The King " was now" to use the words of Lord
Grenville, " actually well."^

The excitement and discussion consequent on the hos-

* Mr. Plowden, in his " History of Ireland," observes, that the Viceroy's
friends "gave out" at the time that his health was so impaired by the
fatigues of a troublesome Government, as to oblige him to undergo removal
to the ship, in a litter, on men's shoulders. " I told you two mouths ago,"
wrote his Excellency about this period to his brother, " that my friends
would not blush for me ; that I might be beaten, but that I would not be
disgraced. I write to you now, with the transports of the warmest exulta-
tion and of honest pride, to tell you, that on Saturday night I closed the
Session in the Commons, having thrown out every measure brought forwari
by Opposition." As the Viceroy was borne off in his litter, he might wel
have exclaimed, with Pyrrhus, "Another such victory and I'm undone!"

f " Buckingham Correspondence," page 115, vol. ii. (italics in original.)

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 43

tile attitudes assumed by statesmen and patriots accord-
ingly came to a dead full stop. All thoughts of creating
his Royal Highness Regent were now at an end. The
fire of triumph flashed and reflashed from the eyes of
Mr. Pitt's dependants, and their countenances might be
seen to glow in a precise ratio as the cold pallor of con-
sternation mastered those of the others.

While the mingled glories of triumph and revenge were
yet effervescing within the brains of those who had pros-
trated themselves in slavish subserviency before Pitt and
his colleagues during the late proceedings, Lord Bucking-
ham publicly announced that the strongest marks]of govern-
mental favour should be shown to them for their devotion,
proportionate as the Opposition would be made to suffer
acutely for the independent spirit of its tone and acts.
Accordingly, at the magic wave of his lordship's wand,
out marched from office the Master of the Rolls, the Vice-
Treasurer, the Clerk of Permits, the Postmaster-General,
the Secretary at War, the Comptroller of Stamps, and
many other important officers. The Duke of Leinster,
one of the most respected officers of the Crown, was dis-
missed,* also Lord Shannon. The influential family of
Ponsonby, long the unwavering supporters of Govern-
ment, biit who on this occasion joined the Legislature
in asserting their constitutional independence and rejec-
tion of all subserviency to the views or dictates of an
alien Parliament, were also cashiered. But the promo-
tions and appointments far more than counterbalanced the
dismissals. Of the former there were forty, while of the
latter only fifteen. Employments that had long remained
dormant were revived, useless offices invented, sinecures
created, salaries increased. The Board of Stamps and
Accounts, hitherto filled by one, became a joint concern.

* In the following sentences of a letter to the Viceroy, Grenville blows hot
md cold on the policy of the dismissals. " Nothing is clearer to my mind than
the propriety of the step you have taken in dismissing Ponsonby ; of the
intimation which you have given Lord Shannon of the necessary consequence
of his present conduct ; and of the measures you have adopted for securing
to yourself efficient assistance, by the removal of Fitzherbert, and by the
nomination of Hobart. But I must entreat you to reflect that this

fine of conduct is only to be justified on the supposition of your being to re-
Imain in Ireland."

44 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

The staff of officials on the Ordnance and Revenue Boards
was considerably augmented. The annual pension list
swelled in the proud possession of thirteen thousand
pounds additional, and what by right should have flowed
into the pockets of such old and active servitors as the
family of Ponsonby, filled to repletion the coffers of raw,
inexperienced men like Trant and Beresford. The office
of Weighm aster of Butter in Cork became divided, not
into two but three parts, the duties of which were per-
formed by deputies at the rate of about £'200 each. The
principals who received the gross amount held seats in
Parliament. This drew from George Ponsonby, as we
are reminded by Mr. Grattan,* the remark in one of his
speeches, that 110 placemen sat in tlie House, and out of
the gross revenue of the country, one-eighth was divided
among Members of Parliament.!

Lord Buckingham was proud of his victory. In a
private letter to Lord Buckley, published in " The
Court and Cabinets of George III. (London, 1853)," he
observes : —

" In the space, then, of six weeks, I have secured to the Crown a decided
and steady majority, created in the teeth of the Duke of Leinster,J Lord
Shannon, Lord Granard, Ponsonby, Conolly, O'Neill, united to all the re-
publicanism, the faction, and the discontents of the House of Commons ;
and having thrown this aristocracy at the feet of the King, I have taught to
the British and Irish Government a lesson which ought never to be forgotten ;

* Life and Times of Henry Grattan, by his Son, vol. iii.

t Speaking of these doings in 1796, the Hon. V. B. Lawless, afterwards
Lord Cloncurry, said : — " Places without number or utility have been created,
and pensions immoderate and indecent bestowed on those whose merit was
opposition to the good of the country, or notoriety in blasting the growth o
public or private virtue."

J In a previous letter he speaks of this unanimity as " an infamous com
bination." Pelham, in his letter to Grattan, speaks of " laying open the
tricks of Mr. Pitt's faction." It is most amusing to place the letters of tht
jarring parties in juxta-position. By Hardy's "Life of Charlemont " we
find that Edmund Burke, writing to his Lordship, on April 4, 178!», said
" I am charmed with what I have heard of the Duke of Leinster. I air
happy to find him add a character of firmness to the rest of his truly amiable
and respectable qualifications. Ponsonby then is, it seems, the proto-martyr
I never saw him until the time of your embassy, but I am not. mistaken ir
the opinion I formed of him, on our first conversation, as a manly, decidec
character, with a right conformation of mind, and a clear and vigoroui
understanding."

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 45

and I have the pride to recollect, that the whole of it is fairly to be ascribed
to the steady decision with which the storm was met, and to the zeal, -vigour,
and industry of some of the steadiest friends that ever man was blessed
with."

Amongst " the steadiest friends that ever man was
blessed with," we must not neglect to particularize Sir
Nicholas Lawless. He stuck to Mr. Pitt through thick
and thin. He flung the influence of his vote and his
example into the scale in favour of Lord Buckingham,
praised that Viceroy's virtues,* and censured those
who disapproved of the policy he thought fit to pursue.

[n short, Sir Nicholas found as much favour in govern-
mental sight, as disfavour in that of Grattan and Pon-
sonby, who, it will be seen hereafter, adopted measures

;o annoy him, in common with his brother barons,

jlentworth and Kilmaine.

The list of creations and promotions in the peerage,
made out by his Excellency, the Marquis of Buckingham,

jannot be said to have been of very limited dimen-
sions. Indeed such was its length, that apprehensions
were entertained lest the royal assent should have been,

n a moment of shame or indignation, withheld. But

Pitt undertook to urge, in his own persuasive man-
ner, their necessity on the sovereign, who, after some

lesitation, graciously signified his acquiescence. " With
respect to your peerages," writes Grenville to Lord Buck-
ingham, on the 15th May, 1789, " I have, as I promised

Mr. Bushe thought the present a bad time to place confidence in Govern-
ment. * * ' Sir Nicholas Lawless declared that Lord Buckingham's
virtues, his close inspection into public expenses, and his hatred of peculation
and fraud, had created more enemies than any part of his political conduct. —
Debates on February 25fA, 1789.

Sir Nicholas was on familiar terms with Lord Buckingham, and had him
frequently to dinner at Maretimo. In connexion with one of these enter-
tainments an amusing anecdote is related. Jephson, well known as the
author of the " Count of Narbonne," and soubriqued " Roman Portrait
Jeplison" hold, for a number of years, the offices of Viceregal Poet Laureate
and Master of the Horse ; and was invited with the Viceroy, on one of the
occasions referred to, to Maretirno. During dinner, Mr. Jephson, whose wit
was always bubbling over, had the singular daring, when he thought himself
unobserved by Lord Buckingham, to mimic his Excellency. A mirror in the
opposite wall proved a tell-tale. With a look of scathing indignation Lord
fcckingliam commanded the quailing laureate to begone, and henceforward
to consider himself dismissed from office.

46 CLONCCRRY AND HIS TIMES.

you, got Pitt to state them to the King, who has con-
sented to them, marquisates and all. You may now,
therefore, recommend them as soon as you please, and
1 will take care there shall be no further unnecessary
delay." A somewhat shrewd observation, for one of not
particularly sound judgment, was made by the King on
the occasion of this interview. " He is willing to en-
gage," continues Lord Grenville, " that these should all
be done without delay, but seems much to wish that the
promotions and creations should be separated, in order
that they may not, by coming together, appear to fill
too a large a column in the Gazette. There must, there-
fore, be an interval of a fortnight or three weeks. You
will judge whether the promotions or creations should
come first."

We have all heard of the political corruption that
characterized the days of Walpole and of Pelham ; but
it is a matter of considerable doubt to us if the system
of venality openly prosecuted in the British and Irish
Parliaments, during the close of the last century, did not
actually eclipse in enormity the Walpole intrigues.

That peerages were actually sold for money, so late as
1789, there cannot exist the shadow of a doubt. By this
proceeding his Majesty's ministers were guilty of an im-
peachable offence. They not only attempted to under-
mine the constitution, but actually and deliberately
violated the laws. Added to this serious misdemeanour,
they created fourteen new places for the purchase of
M.P.'s, which, as an eminent authority observed, was
virtually and indeed an overt act of treason against the
State. If precedents were necessary in order to the pro-
secution of the minister, mimerous instances might be
cited. In the reign of Charles I. his Grace of Bucking-
ham was impeached for the very crime of which the Pitt
Administration stood confessedly guilty. He sold a peer-
age to Lord Roberts for £10,000. Similar trafficking
took place in 1789.

Grattan,* Curran, and Ponsonby offered to prove this

* See Appendix.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 47

startling assertion upon evidence, and made that cele-
brated motion in the House which filled a profligate
Government with terror and dismay. Having offered
evidence of the most conclusive character, they begged
leave to move —

" That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire, in the most solemn
manner, whether the late or present Administration entered into any corrupt
agreement with any person, or persons, to recommend such person, or persons,
to his Majesty as fit and proper to be made Peers of this realm, in conside-
ration of such person, or persons, giving certain sums of money to be laid
out in procuring the return of members to serve in Parliament, contrary to
the rights of the people, inconsistent with the independence of Parliament,
and in violation of the fundamental laws of the land."*

Mr. Grattan, in his Memoirs of the Life and Times
of his father (vol. iii., page 291), tells us that the three
peerages which Grattan and Ponsonby offered to prove
had been sold, and the money laid out for the purchase
of members in the House of Commons, were those of
Kilmaine, Glentworth, and CLONCURRY.!

* Irish Parliamentary Register, vol. x., page 274.

t In 1739, a small pamphlet, supposed to have been written by Miss
Grattan, appeared. The object was to satirize the recent corrupt proceed-
ings of the Pitt and Buckingham Administrations, which it did by meaus of
(as they were then considered) witty parodies on the songs of " Love in a
"Village." The dramatis personce, and general dimensions of the composition,
are far too extensive to permit much more than allusion here. A portion of
the second Act we subjoin, as it introduces the name of Sir Nicholas Lawless.

" ACT II. — SCENE I. — Presence Chamber at the Castle,
Marquis solus. * * *

" For counsel I'll fly to Fitzgibbon too high,

To Th— r— t — n, Hobart, and Cooke ;
But to soften my cares, and forget State affairs,
I'll laugh with Brown, Lawless, and Luke."
(Kilmaine, Cloncurry, and Mountjoy.}

In a subsequent scene we find " folding doors, which open and discover
the levee room, with hacks, trimmers, runners, hirelings, &c., who advance
singing a chorus." * * *

1 Second Lord in Waiting (NICHOLAS LAWLESS, Lord Cloncurry) loquitur :

" Nor place, nor pension, is my plan,

Large sums I can afford, Sir ;
But, as I'm not a gentleman,

I fain would be a lord, Sir." (Nor place, &c., da capo.')

The piece (with some intermediate matter) concludes with " a grand
chorus of seven expectant lords."

48 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Was inquiry stifled? We rather think so. The i
tion of the patriotic triumvirate was crushed into nothi
ness by an overwhelming avalanche of placemen i
pensioners.

We are not in a position to state the exact sum wh
Sir Nicholas Lawless handed the British minister
his peerage; but we can have no doubt that it v,>
considerable. Had he not aided the Governmer
however, with his voice and his vote, the said sum
money, large as it was, would, doubtless, have bet

inadequate to its purchase. The late Sir S B

informed us that he heard him on one occasion expr<
the greatest indignation, upon receiving the intelligen
that his daughters, the Honourables Valentina, Mar
and Charlotte Lawless had not the precedence at certar
court balls and drawing-rooms during Earl Camden
viceroyalty. Our informant smilingly added, that h
lordship took occasion to refer, with some warmth
manner, to the exorbitant sum which the wily mini
extorted for his peerage, and exclaimed, that he did n
see why the d — 1 he should not, in common right and
decency, get every possible value, in the shape of ho
nours, out of whatever Administration occupied the Castle
In Lord Cloncurry's Personal Recollections, a letter fron
his father to the Duke of Portland, dated August 20
1799, appears. " If I have obtained any honours," sail
Nicholas, Lord Cloncurry, in that letter, " they have cosd
me their full value."

In the Journals of the Irish House of Lords (Januarii
21°, 1790), we find the following somewhat elaborate
account of Lord Cloncurry's debut as a Peer of the
Realm : —

" Sir Nicholas Lawless, Baronet, being by Letters Patent, dated the twenty \
second day of September, in the twenty-ninth year of King George III. creat«
Bart m of Cloncurry, in the County Kildare, was this day in his Robes inti>
duced between the Lord Wilks, and the Lord Earberton, also in their Rob
the Yeoman Usher of the Black-Rod, and Ulster King of Anns, in his O
of Arms, carrying the said Letters Patents preceding : — His Lordship p
sented the same to the Lord Chancellor,* on his knee, at the Woolsack.

Fitzgibbon, afterwards Earl of Clare.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 49

g^ ve them to the Clerk of the Parliaments, which were read at the Table;

, ! writ of summons was also read.

•' Then his Lordship came to the Table, and took the oaths, and made and

C bscribed the oath of abjuration,* pursuant to the statutes, and was after-

6T irds conducted to, and took his place at the lower end of the Barons'

]r mch."t

Soon after the elevation of Sir Nicholas Lawless to the

f .'teerage, he paid a visit to the Theatre Royal, Crow-street,

Jressed in the pink of the then fashion, and decorated

•-vith a star indicative of his rank. The piece was a

pantomime, and the subject, Don Quixote. At the very

"ludicrous scene where Sancho is tossed by the village
clowns in a blanket, Lord Cloncurry was observed to
laugh so heartily as to be well nigh in danger of tumbling
off his seat — rather a ludicrous proceeding, it must be

'confessed, when the buckram-like dignity of his lord-
ship's movements is taken into account. The idea was
indeed truly laughable, and in the prolific mind of the

'notorious Lady Cahir (who happened to be in an ad-
joining stall), it speedily took root, and threw out blossoms
of characteristic wit. Beckoning his lordship into her
box (at least, so the story has it), she exclaimed: —

"Cloncurry, Cloncurry,
Come here in a hurry —
And tell why you laugh at the squire ?
Now altho' he's tossed high,
I defy you deny
That blankets have tossed yourself higher."

Another account which has been furnished us of this
matter says, that a reporter for one of the morning papers,
who was seeing the pantomime in the pit, observed his
lordship's paroxysms of laughter, and mentally composed
the following version, which appeared, as we transcribe it,

in the Freeman's Journal of the ensuing morning. Both

o o

I

* Every reader may not be aware, that the oath of abjuration asserts the
' -ight of the present Royal Family to the Crown of England, and expressly

jlisclaims such right in the descendants of the Stuarts. Sir Nicholas eagerly
subscribed to the oath. Nice behaviour this, in a descendant of Walter Law-

./js, who lost seven estates by his attachment to King James.

y f The words in italics as well as the frequent capitals occur in the

'•vrunnal.

50 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

accounts are equally amusing, and do not in the least
blunt its epigrammatic point: —

" Cloncurry, Cloncuny,
Why in such a hurry
To laugh at the comical squire?
For though he's tossed high,
Yet you cannot deny
That blankets have tossed you still higher."

On 5th January, 1790, John Earl of Westmoreland
arrived in Ireland as Lord Lieutenant. The conduct and
policy of his Administration have been variously criticised;
some historians praising it, and others censuring. For
instance, Mr. H. Grattan* distinctly asserts, that his object
in /oming to Ireland was " to govern by corruption —
t/dat he both avowed it and practised it ;" while Sir Jonah
aiarrington,! on the other hand, avers that, although many
have charged the Westmoreland Administration with
jobbing, it really was less so than that of any of his pre-
decessors.

Lord Westmoreland was, perhaps, the most convivial
Viceroy that had ever been deputed to the Government
of Ireland. His table literally groaned beneath the weight
of luxury and splendour. Little economy crept into the
management of his Viceregal household. Unlike many
of his successors, the salary he received was spent in Ire-
land. His hospitality was proverbial, and those whom he
invited entertained him in return. In the latter category
we must not omit to classify Nicholas Lord Cloncurry,
who appears to have been honoured by his Excellency's
jovial company on one or two occasions in Mornington
House.

With the higher orders Lord Westmoreland was a
popular Viceroy, but in the estimation of the masses, he
held but a very indifferent position. They understood
not his courtly blandishment, nor did some of those who
basked in its sunshine, the craft that lay behind it.

Lord Cloncurry had frequent intercourse with Lord
Westmoreland. He appears to have construed his habi-

* Life and Times of Henry Grattan. Colburn, London, 1842, vol. iii.
page 441.

t Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation, page 338.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 51

tual smile into an evident sign of special favour. He was
once a baronet, 'tis true, and now a baron, but being
a baron was no reason why he should not like to be vis-
count, and when a viscount, perhaps an earl. Lord
Cloncurry yearned for promotion in the peerage. His
ambition was not yet appeased. He hoped Lord West-
moreland would recommend him for honour. His Ex-
cellency smiled, and smiling, left the country.

Lord Fitzwilliam succeeded the courtly Viceroy. Owing
to his avowed desire to emancipate the Catholics, Lord
Fitzwilliam was precipitately and insultingly recalled,
after a short administration of three months' duration. He
arrived on the 4th of January, and on the 8th we find
Lord Cloncurry importuning the new Viceroy for an
earldom or marquisate. That a matter of closet secrecy
like this, should, after the lapse "of more than half a cen-
tury, come to our ears, will possibly surprise many a
reader. It can be, however, satisfactorily accounted for.
Some of the papers of the late Lord Fitzwilliam have
found their way into the possession of a distinguished
member of the Royal Irish Academy, well known and
respected for the important services conferred by him on
the literature of his country. Amongst them is the " Precis
Book" of the Earl of Fitzwilliam. To this we have been
given access, and imder date the 8th January, 1795, we
find the following entry in the Viceroy's handwriting : —
" Lord Cloncurry desires a promotion in the Peerage.
Begs to know if recommended by Lord W.n Westmore-
land is the party referred to.

A few pages further on Lord Cloncurry is again dis-
covered importuning his Excellency. Official duties
required the attendance of Lord Fitzwilliam in London.
He went; and Lord Cloncurry followed! Among the
" Applications to the Lord Lieutenant in England" (as it
appears in the Precis Book), one is particularly underlined
as " Personal,'" and distinctly mentions the applicant to
be " Lord Cloncurry," and his object nothing more nor
less than " Promotion in the Peerage."

The applications were carefully recorded, but the
needful remained undone. Lord Cloncurry saw his

02 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

nephew,* from being plain John Scott, created Viscount
Earlsfort, and afterwards Earl of Clonmel. His lordship
thought that, from having so long supported Government,
he had quite as good a right, to receive promotion ; but
in this expectation he was doomed to be disappointed.
When he became, in 1789, plain Baron Cloncurry, he
had reached the zenith of his aristocratic honours.

It would appear that from the time he found it hope-
less to obtain the distinction which he had so long solicited,
the bias of his politics became much more democratic.
In May, 1797, the celebrated Requisition to the High
Sheriff of Kildare, calling on him at once to convene a
meeting of his bailiwick, for the purpose of praying the
King "TO DISMISS HIS PRESENT MINISTERS FROM HIS
COUNSELS FOR EVER," appeared. The tone was unusually
spirited for the craven times in which the document was
penned, and the conduct of the subscribers proportion-
ately so. The first signature is that of the patriotic Duke
of Leinster;f the second, "Cloncurry;" the third, Lord
Edward Fitzgerald; and the fourth, George Ponsonby.
An old proverb tells us, " Show me your company, and
I'll tell you what you are."

The sheriff slavishly fawned upon those ministers, and
refused to convene the meeting as requested. But the
original requisitionists, including Lord Cloncurry, were
not to be defeated, and announced their intention of
holding the meeting J whether he, Mr. Latouche, liked
it or no. Thereupon Government became alarmed, and
issued a proclamation, wherein they threatened to disperse
it W military force.

* So related from having been married to Margaret, daughter of Pat
Lawless, and niece of Lord Cloncurry.

t Father, of course, to the present peer.

J The reader will find this meeting noticed at some length in Chapter V.
The Hon. Valentine Browne Lawless, afterwards Lord Cloncurry, acted as
secretary to it.

CHAPTER II.

Birth of Valentine, Lord Cloncurry — His Delicacy in Childhood — Sent to
School, and at once inaugurated into the Office of " Fag" — Comes home
an Invalid — Dr. Burroughs — King's School at Chester — Mornington
House — Graduates in Alma Mater — The Historical Society — Dr. Elring-
ton — His Eccentricity of Intellect and Disposition — His controversial Con-
test with Dr. Doyle — Lawless visits Switzerland — Parson Meuron — His in-
ordinate Attachment to " worldly Dross" — Beckford — Lausanne — Geneva —
Its Drawbacks — Letter to his Mother — Altercation with Mr. Bailly — The
Irish Brigade.

THE year 1773, remarkable for having given birth to
Francis Jeffrey, Louis Philippe, Simonde de Sismundi,
and Madame de Cottin, also introduced to the light of
day Valentine Browne Lawless, the subject of this me-
moir. The town residence of his father was, until 1790
(when he removed to Mornington House), in Merrion-
square, Dublin, and here the Hon. Valentine was born, as
appears by the parish register, on August 19th, 1773.
His debut upon the great stage took place somewhat pre-
maturely, and, as not unusually happens, he continued to
be, for several years afterwards, a delicate and debilitated
child. Being a younger son,* however, this circumstance
does not appear to have given his parents that uneasiness
which might, under other circumstances, be expected, and
accordingly we find him, at the age of eight years, sent off
to a boarding seminary at Portarlington, where he was
treated with considerable roughness by his school-fellows,
and made to fill the not very enviable office of " fag."
Poor Valentine was not very long at this academy when
he found himself, one morning, shoved, with much dex-
terity, from off the top of a pent-house, by a youngster

* Robert, the eldest, was at this time living.

54 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

named Fred. Faulkner, whose exertionswere amply recom-
pensed by " Val's" discomfiture, and the wry faces atten-
dant on a dislocated elbow. Years after, when the rough
Portarlington schoolboy developed into manhood, and
inherited the honours of a patrimonial baronetcy, great
was the consternation of his friends, one morning, upon
discovering Sir Frederick murdered in his room —
murdered by the same* cruel hand that cast an inof-
fending child from the summit of a pent-house two-and-
forty years before.

Attributable, in some degree, to the confinement at-
tendant on this accident, Valentine's frame became a
Erey to a severe scrofulous complaint, which tormented
im unceasingly for four or five years, and finally left a
prominent mark upon his face which never, to the day
of his death, disappeared. The unremitting attentions of
his mother, during the existence of this protracted illness,
inspired him for ever afterwards with feelings towards her
of the most ar lent gratitude and affection.

As soon as Valentine's precarious state of health per-
mitted, Sir Nicholas placed him under the surveillance of
old Dr. Burroughs, an eccentric clergyman, whose semi-
nary lay in close proximity to the family villa of Maretimo.
It went by the name of Prospect House, and received a
fair amount of patronage from the Irish elite. Amongst
Lawless' school-fellows here was the late Lord Bishop
of Derry (Dr. Ponsonby), who only preceded him to the
grave by eight-and-forty hours. Lords Ponsonby and
Shannon, and the late Knight of Kerry, were also cotem-
poraries with Lawless at this school.

There appears to have been much more of the bon vivant
and gambler than of the Dominie Sampson in old Dr.
Burroughs' eccentric composition. A capon smothered in
oyster sauce presented far greater attractions to the Rev.
pedagogue than the choicest stanzas of Homer or Euri-

* His suicide took place at Naples, in 1823. As we have recorded a fact
not particularly creditable to the baronet, we shall, byway of counterbalance,
observe, that he voted manfully against the Union ; and although in com-
paratively straitened circumstances, refused every species of bribe, both
pecuniary and titled.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 55

pides ; and the rattle of roulette, or the tumult of the dice-
box, were sounds that fell far more joyfully upon his ears
than even the creditable answers of his own pupils at the
annual scholastic examinations at Prospect. The late
Lord Cloncurry, in his " Personal Recollections," says
that " he well remembers the anxious haste with which
the Rev. gentleman was wont to close the daily business
of the school, in order that he might be at liberty to re-
pair to Dublin, and there participate in somewhat more
congenial occupations." Crow-street Theatre, Ranelagh
Gardens, Lefevre's Lottery Office, orsome of the fashionable
club-rooms of the city, were proverbially favourite places
of resort with Dr. Burroughs.

This eccentric dignitary must not be confounded with
the Rev. Dr. Burroughs, Tom Moore's tutor, and spoken of
by him in his fragment autobiography.* Mr. Moore's
Dominie held a permanent appointment in Trinity College
at the time that Valentine's was " magister" of Prospect
Seminary. Wliich of the two were the more eccentric, it
would be a matter of some difficulty to decide. The
celebrated old slang song — " The Night before Larry was
Stretched,"f was written by Moore's tutor.

From Prospect Seminary, Master Valentine was trans-
planted, after a sojourn of two years, to the King's School
in Chester, Dr. Bancroft principal. Whilst here he re-
sided almost entirely with Bishop Cleaver, whose ac-
quaintance Lord Cloncurry cultivated during the admi-
nistration of his patron, the Marquis of Buckingham 4
Their acquaintance had, by this time, ripened into friend-
ship, and Valentine, no doubt in consideration of it, was
treated by the prelate with much kindness and attention.
With a view of being entered of Brazenose College, of

* Memoirs, Journal, and Correspondence of Thomas Moore, vol. i. 1852.
t The following remarkable couplet will possibly recall it to the reader's
mind : —

" Larry tipped him an illigant look,

And pitch'd his big wig to the d — 1."

Everybody may not know that the " him" alluded to was a Protestant
clergyman, who, in the act of administering spiritual consolation to Larry,
received the ungodly rebuff described in the text.
£ Dr. Cleaver was secretary to Lord Buckingham.

56 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

which the bishop had a short time previous been elected
principal, Valentine was brought by his lordship to
Oxford ; but naturally preferring to become a member of
the Irish University, he made application to his father,
who, after some dignified hesitation, complied with the
request. According to the entries in the College book
of admission, Lawless became a student of " Old Trinity"
at the age of 17, in 1790, and three years afterwards gra-
duated as Bachelor of Arts. This latter event occurred on
a day, long after alluded to with pride by Lord Cloncurry,
as that wherein he entertained, for the first time, at Mor-
nington House, the Earl of Westmoreland, when Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland. Amongst his Excellency's aides-de-
camp present on this occasion was Mr. Wesley,* a modest,
unassuming young subaltern, well known to Buonaparte,
in after life, as Arthur Duke of Wellington, and Prince
of Waterloo. Such was the mighty Iron Duke, before he
wreathed his brow with budding laurels by the subjuga-
tion of Tippo.Saib.

Mornington House, the scene of the festive entertain-
ment on the day that Valentine graduated in A Ima Mater,
was whilom the town residence of Mr. Wellesley's parents ;
and within its walls, we have every reason to believe,
their hopeful son first saw the light of day .f It was a
handsome mansion in Upper Merrion-street, abutting, as
a corner house, upon an expansive area, but long since
completely enclosed with buildings. Mornington House
was purchased by Nicholas Lord Cloncurry, in 1790,
for £8,000, and is now (1854) valued by Thorn's Ofii-
cialDirectory at £256 ; or for ten years' purchase, £2,560.
So much for " Ireland before and after the Union."

Whilst the arch-ministerial scheme was in contempla-
tion, and restlessly fermented, among the brains of
hungry placemen, Viscount Castlereagh, that most im-

* Up to the year 1797, " the Iron Duke" spelt his patronymic — WESLEY.
This, sounding, in all probability, too Methodistical for the soldier's taste,
he altered to the more aristocratic orthography of Wellesley.

t Dangan Castle, County Meath, so long pronounced to be his Grace's
birth-place, has of late years resigned in favour of the Merrion-street
mansion.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 57

maculate of statesmen, rented it from Lord Cloncurry
and, aided by his venal colleagues, concocted within its
walls that execrable conspiracy which eventuated in the
annihilation of our dearest liberties. Repeated con-
ferences, accompanied on each occasion by Bacchanalian
orgies, were held in Mornington House for three or
four years anterior to the passing of the Act of
Union.*

The progress of Valentine Lawless through the Uni-
versity of Dublin was not altogether couleur de rose. A
bitter personal hostility existed at that period between
the youthful patriotism of a large proportion of the
collegians and the intolerant bigotry of the academical
heads. They not unfrequently came into collision, and
the crash on such occasions fulminated awfully.

Lawless had little more than begun the noviciate of
his college course when he joined the interesting and
intellectual meetings of the Irish Historical or Debating
Society,! wherein the seeds of nationality, already sown
in his mind, speedily began to germinate and fling forth
blossoms. The objects of this excellent institution
were most commendable. It professed to nurture mutual
respect among the rising generation of Irishmen, to
stimulate the rivalry of their young ambition, and direct
it into proper channels; to suppress all anti-Christian
jealousies, stifle sectarian animosities, and put a stop to
those unfortunate prejudices of caste and creed which so
long contributed to retard the prosperity of Ireland and
to stunt the development of her energies.

Amongst the many friends for life whom the Hon.
Valentine Lawless enlisted in his favour at the Irish
Historical Society's meetings, may be noted the late
Edward Lawson, Barrister-at-Law, for whom he gene-
rously provided, in the evening of his life, a comfortable
competence many years after. Though of humble origin,
Lawson was regarded by his brother associates with the

* This house is now the office of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

f This excellent society has been recently revived by the present Provost,
who neither regards it, like Dr. Ellington, as a " Jacobite Club," nor appre-
hends that the collegians will become proficients in necromancy.

D2

58 CLONCDBBY AND HIS TIMES.

profoundest respect, as much for his remarkable talents
as for his intrinsic worth.

The Historical Society was virulently opposed by
every enemy to national progress. Foremost in the
phalanx of educated bigots strutted, with pompous infla-
tion, the Rev. Dr. Elrington, Valentine's college tutor,
and afterwards both Provost of Trinity College and
Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin. In language the most
earnest, he vowed that this nursery of genius, friendship,
and patriotism should be then and there " put down ;"
and ere the lapse of any very considerable period, the
influential D.D. had the satisfaction of witnessing its
complete annihilation. Cloncurry, in one of his retro-
spects, daguerreotypes Elrington as " a learned man, but
stupid and blockish, and thoroughly imbued with the
narrowest bigotries of his class and position." His
unequal controversial contest with the great Dr. Doyle
will, doubtless, be in the recollection of the reader.
Like the Kilkenny cats, nothing but the tails can be
said to have remained after this terrific combat. In
1834, while yet undecided, the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Kildare and Leighlin, and the Protestant Bishop of
Leighlin and Ferns, died. Nothing remained behind to
tell the tale of triumph beyond a couple of controversial
pamphlets.

The mind of Dr. Elrington appears to have been of
most peculiar mould. In 1810, if he did not completely
lock up the College Library, he certainly subjected the
graduates to such restrictions in their access to it, that
with difficulty a visit could be, once in a way, obtained.
This grievance having been brought forward at a visita-
tion, the Provost was called on for his defence. He
replied, that latterly the utmost circumspection had be-
come necessary, as the collegians were actually taking
to the study of the black art, and would, probably,
soon be trying experiments after the manner of Dr.
Faustus !*

* Doctor Madden, who obtained access to those papers of the notorious
Major Sirr, which were purchased by the Trustees of Trinity College, and
are now preserved in its Library, prints, in one of his appendixes, a letter

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 03

In 1 792, Valentine Lawless went to Switzerland, and
passed several months very pleasantly at Neufchatel, in
the family of a Protestant clergyman named Meuron.
He had but one fault to find with the worthy old parson —
an inordinate love of lucre, and the good things of this life.
During the period of his domestication with him he
found his finances somehow rapidly diminishing; and
this he very plainly gave his friends to understand in a
letter home, dated June 30, 1793. " I can't at present
think of making any tour," he writes, " Meuron having
so completely fleeced me before I left him that I came
off a third poorer than I expected."

What Valentine lost in money at Neufchatel he more
than gained in the acquisition of some rather distinguished
acquaintances. Whilst here he cultivated the intimacy
of that excellent and liberal Prince, the Duke of Sussex,
his Grace of Leeds, the Earls of Morley, Annesley,
Digby, and Cholmondeley, and, though last not least,
the vivacious cara sposa of Voltaire's old executor, M.
de Perou. At the house of this lady Lawless appears
to have been a frequent guest.

One morning about this period, the simple inhabitants
of Neufchatel were well nigh paralysed with wonderment
at beholding the arrival of a dazzling retinue of lackeys,
horses, and carriages, the property of Mr. William
Beckford, the popular author of Vathek. Modern tour-
ists, who consider themselves intensely bored if accom-
panied by even a solitary portmanteau, will open their
eyes wide with astonishment to hear that Beckford's
travelling menage, on this occasion, consisted of thirty
horses, about half-a dozen carriages, and a proportionately
large retinue of servants. Of all men, however, Beckford
could, perhaps, best afford to live in this princely style.

from Dr. Provost Elrington, wherein he gives a full description to the Major
of Robert Emmet's appearance and gait. "In 1798," observes his old pre-
ceptor, " he r. as near twenty years of age ; of an ugly, sour countenance :
small eyes, but not near-sighted ; a dirty brownish complexion ; at a dis-
tance looks as if somewhat marked with the small-pox ; about five feet six
inches high ; rather thin than fat, but not of an emaciated fitrnre : oft the
contrary, somewhat broad made; walks briskly, but does not swing his
arms !" The picture is a monstrous caricature.

60 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

At the time we speak of lie had just inherited from his
Hither, Alderman Beckford, a net property equal to
£100,000 per annum. Lord Cloncurry always spoke in
the warmest manner of Beckford's munificent hospitality
during the period of his stay in Neufchatel.

A very short time after their intercourse in 1793,
Beckford proceeded to Portugal, where he purchased the
estate of Cintra, and erected that magnificent mansion,
the desertion and ruin of which, some years afterwards,
Byron so beautifully describes in the first canto of " Childe
Harold"—

" There thou, too, Vathek ! England's wealthiest son,
Once formed thy Paradise."

After an agreeable sojourn at Neufchatel, Mr. Lawless
proceeded to Lausanne, a Swiss town picturesquely
situated on three steep hills which boldly project from
Mont Jorat, and command around a view of the neigh-
bouring country, which for variety of scenery and general
effect, is not to be surpassed in Europe. As, however, the
interior of the town is far from pleasing* — the streets
being narrow, steep, and ill-paved — it is not surprising
that Valentine Lawless should have taken up his quar-
ters in a rural cottage on the northern shore of the Lake
of Geneva, where he participated in all the advantages
arising from frequent access to a garden abounding in
trees that literally groaned from the weight of apricots and
peaches ; and whose branches, as if grateful for what they
bore, kissed that earth from which they derived vitality.
So enervating and oppressive appears to have been the
heat during Mr. Lawless' residence near Lausanne, that
he could do little else throughout the sultry summer's
day than remain quiescent in a bath, and gaze enrap-
tured on the lake beneath, imconscious of a ripple. At
night he found it unsatisfactory to go to bed, and impos-
sible to go to sleep, owing to the entire firmament being
one vivid sheet of flame from the reiterated flashes of

*_Gibbon, whom it was no easy matter to please in regard to the beautiful
and picturesque, resided in Lausanne, singular to say, for the ten last years
of his existence.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 61

forked lightning. " I believe," wrote Lawless in a letter
home, during his residence near the lake, " that I am the
only Englishman here that has not got a fever." Admit-
tedly a more delightful residence it would be impossible
to select than the neighbourhood of Geneva ; but, alas !
what serious drawbacks to its attractions were they —
heat, sunstrokes, lightning, and influenza !

From a letter he addressed to his mother about this
period we are induped to make the following extracts ;
chiefly, we confess, in order to show the warmth of that
filial love with which he ever regarded one of the most
estimable and amiable of parents. A painful malady that
gradually sapped her strength, and finally crushed her
spirit, had a short time previous made its insidious entry
into her frame, and to which, after repeated onslaughts
that gathered new strength at each attack, she at length
succumbed, on February 10, 1795.

THE HON. V. B. LAWLESS TO HIS MOTHER.

No. 1.] "Lausanne, June 30, 1793.

" In the midst of the pain, both of body and of mind, with which, spite
of your virtues, God has been pleased to visit you, you still have, dearest and
best of mothers, showed more anxiety for the well-being of me, to whom you
not only gave life, but whose health you have, by so many years of care and
difficulty, established, than for your own recovery ; for which if I did not
perpetually beseech the Almighty, 1 should be truly unworthy of such a
mother. How I wish for a letter in which you will yourself assure me of your
perfect re-establishment, and how I pray that on my return to Ireland, I may
see you stronger and happier than when I left you.

" Be not uneasy on my account ; for your parting advice made too strong
an impression on me to suffer me to transgress. '

" I hope I shall be able to clothe and feed myself without running into
debt — a thing I have not as yet done, though it is much the fashion here.
Mr. Annesley,* who my Lordf said had but £300 per annum, has £600, yet

* The Hon. William Eichard Annesley, afterwards Lord Annesley. He
died in 1838.

f Nicholas Lord Cloncurry had the reputation of being a man extremely
fond of his money. We do not believe that he allowed Mr. Lawless as much
as would appear from this letter. From the wording of the sentence it is
evident that he must have remonstrated at the small amount ; and this, pro-
bably, drew from his father the remark, that young Annesley had oiily £300
instead of £600 a-year. It is well known that Lawless, whilst a law student
in London, was kept rather low in regard to pocket money.

Sir Nicholas, although fond of his money, disliked above all things, to owe
any. It was his wish that all accounts should be promptly furnished. A

62 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

he owes upwards of £200 in this town, without having ever travelled. I had
already told you that £400 a-year would be enough for me whilst not travel-
ling, and so it will ; but for this I shall not be able to take one or two mas-
ters I would wish for. One of them is a Mr. Mortimer, acknowledged the
best master in Europe for finances, eloquence, and modern history. Twas he
that taught Isaac Corry. He now gives lessons to Lord Morpeth, who is my
neighbour, and a very accomplished, agreeable young man ; and also Mr.
Annesley, who, I am afraid, will not profit much. He costs a louis per week :
when I am a little richer I shall take him.

" Farewell, dear, dear mother ; may God strengthen, and bless, and reward
you for your goodness and kindness to me. Your ever truly affectionate
and dutiful son,

" V. B. LAWLESS."*

His personal adventures in Lausanne were of very
minor interest, and, to a biographer, most provokingly
limited in number. Perhaps the least insignificant was
an altercation that took place between him and a young
" cannie Scot," named Bailey, upon the superiority of
their respective countries, viewed morally, physically,
politically, and socially. Words grew high, and oph-
thalmic fire flashed as freely as the flint of an AfFghan
matchlock. An explosion should take place, sooner or
later, and accordingly Mr. Bailey flung his gauntlet on the
floor, and, with a countenance of purple ferocity, sug-
gested the propriety of bringing their quarrel to an issue
by duelling. An amiable young clergyman, however,
named Fowler, and much respected in after life as the
Lord Bishop of Ossory, benevolently undertook to act
the part of peace-maker, which he rilled so creditably,
that both belligerents were soon prevailed upon to shake
hands and separate. Fowler not only expatiated on
the unseemliness of two British subjects, in a foreign
country, proposing to fight a duel on such a ludicrous
and trifling pretext, but eloquently remonstrated with

tailor, long in the habit of supplying him with clothes, omitted to send in
his bill as soon as requested. Sir Nicholas despatched a special messenger
to beg he would make no further delay. The tailor smiled, and very sin-
cerely wished that all his customers were as certain to pay. Sir Nicholas
heard the tailor's reply with indignation. He sent back the messenger to
say that never while he lived would he (Snip) get another order from him,
and to consider himself from that hour dismissed. The bearer of this mes-
sage was Thomas Braughall, a well-known political character in his day.
He told the anecdote to a near relation of the writer.
* See " Personal Recollections of Lord Cloucurrv."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. bd

them on the gross and anti-Christian character of their
warmth.

It would appear, however, from what we are about to
add, that the Rev. Mr. Fowler did not make a habit of
practising what he preached. On one occasion, about
this period, when a revolutionary toast was proposed at a
public dinner-table at Geneva, we find the loyal church-
man starting fiercely from his seat, and hurling a glass of
calcavella at the head of the Gaul who occupied the
presidential post of dignity. The entire party, much to
their discomfiture, passed the remainder of the night in a
Genevese guard-house.

Added to the new acquaintances made by Mr. Lawless
in Neufchatel and Lausanne, we must not omit to men-
tion several officers of the Irish Brigade, who, in conse-
quence of the utter subversion of the family of Bourbon,
were compelled to emigrate, and " bide their time" in an
adjacent country. These men, who were invariably the
offspring of Irish fathers and French mothers, have been
described by Cloncurry as the finest models of men he
ever recollected to have seen. Their fathers, exiled for
loving the old land " not wisely, but too well," it may
be supposed that the sons were not altogether devoid of
sympathy for her afflictions, or that they hesitated to
express it to Mr. Lawless. Another class of men, Gallic
like the brigadiers, peopled Neufchatel at the period we
are describing. We allude to those nationalists — the
partisans of minor factions — who suddenly found them-
selves hurled far and wide by that revolutionary explosion,
which had just asserted itself with a shock that well-nigh
shook the \iniverse to Us centre. " Surrounded by such
society," wrote Lord Cloncurry, more than half a century
after, " it was natural that my thoughts should dwell
upon the rights of men, the abuses of party domination,
and especially of that form of the latter which had so long
held Ireland back in the progress of civilization. Thus
my residence in Switzerland sent me home to Ireland
more Irish than ever. I lamented her fate, ardently
desired to be able to aid in ameliorating it, and be-

64 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

came filled with a passionate love of country, which
neither persecutions nor disappointments, nor even the
efflux of time, have, I am happy to say, rooted out of
my heart."

After various flying tours, and various sojourns along
the banks of the Rhine and elsewhere, Mr. Lawless re-
turned to Ireland, and made a bold commencement of
that political career which in the following pages it shall
be our duty to chronicle.

CHAPTER III.

Tone establishes the Society of United Irishmen — James Napper Tandy —
The Northern Stai — Volunteer Convention — Whig Club — Roman Catholic
Apathy — Separation not the original Object of the Union — M'Nevin,
Emmet, and O'Connor — The Union Test — Prosperity of Ireland after
1782 — The Catholic mercantile Body — England at Peace in 1792— Catho-
lic Petition spurned from the House — England's Fears in 1793 — Catholic
Petition granted — Vampire Spies — Blood and Confidence sucked from the
People — Anniversary of the French Revolution celebrated in Belfast —
Address to the Republic — Dr. Drennau — Emancipation and Reform —
Protestant Sympathy — Alarm of Government — Faction Societies — Orange-
men, Peep-o'-Day Boys, and Defenders — Secret Committee ; its baneful
Effects — Newel — Orange Oath — Bond and Butler fined and imprisoned —
The Irish National Guard — The People cajoled — Gunpowder Bill — Con-
vention Act — Rev. Wm. Jackson — Escape of Hamilton Rowan — Wide-
spread Oppression — Arrival of Lord Fitzwilliam — The dark Horizon of
Ireland's Destiny for a Moment radiated — His Excellency recalled — Despair
of the People — Their fondest Hopes wrecked — Pratt, Earl Camden — Com-
mencement of the Reign of Torture — The Hon. V. B. Lawless joins the
Society of United Irishmen — Base Policy of the British Minister — Death
of Margaret Baroness Cloncurry — Battle of the Diamond — Reign of Ter-
ror— Licentiousness of the Troops — Rivers of Blood overrun the Country.

BEFOEE we enter on the connexion of Mr. Lawless with
the Society of United Irishmen, in 1795, it may be well
to take a retrospective glance at the political aspect and
position of Ireland for four years anterior to the recall of
Lord Fitzwilliam.

In October, 1791, Theobald Wolfe Tone, and a few
other spirited young nationalists, founded the Society of
United Irishmen. The germ of this formidable organi-
zation having been established in Belfast (where it
speedily took root), Tone repaired to Dublin, in order
to form there a co-operating club of Irish patriots. This
he succeeded in accomplishing, and James Napper Tandy*

* " Tandy was an opulent and influential merchant." — Autobiography of
HAMILTON ROWAN.

66 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

having been inaugurated Secretary, correspondence was
at once opened with their brethren in the North.

No one could possibly have displayed more untiring
activity than did Theobald Wolfe Tone, in 179-, whilst
labouring to effect a coalition between the Catholics and
Dissenters. That year was the busiest in his political
career. He knew no rest. Actuated by the creditable
motive we have spoken of, he was constantly repairing
from Dublin to the North, and from the North back
again to Dublin, not to speak of his frequent missions to
Connaught and Munster, in order to stimulate into action
the apathetic Catholics. Tone was likewise connected
with the Catholic Committee, then slowly progressing
under the auspices of Keogh and Braughall. The poli-
tical views of both societies may be said to have con-
verged at this period towards the one great object.

The friends of national progress, well knowing the
importance of the press as a vehicle for the dissemination
of opinion, entered into arrangements with Samuel
Neilson, a young Northern of considerable ability and
patriotism, for the editorial management of a morning
newspaper. To place so powerful an engine on a firm
basis, twelve spirited citizens of Belfast subscribed £250
each, or altogether the munificent sum of £3000. " On
its appearance," says Tone, " it instantly rose to a most
rapid sale; the leading Catholics through Ireland were,
of course, subscribers, and the Northern Star was one
great means of accomplishing the union of the two great
sects, by the simple process of making their mutual sen-
timents better known to each other."

Adhesions, though slowly at first, soon began to hurry
in, and Government, with concern and astonishment,
beheld the ranks of the confederation swell. They knew
not what to make of it, and in their anxiety to obtain
knowledge of the intended modus operandi, had recourse
to an old and favourite expedient. They collected from
the scum of society an unprincipled gang of ruffians, of
whom Jemmy O'Brien may be regarded as a type — men
who, for the sake of temporary lucre, were avowedly
willing to doom their souls, if necessary, by deliberate

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 67

perjury, so that the object of consigning a few national-
ists to the gibbet (no matter whether guilty or not guilty)
could be, by any stratagem, effected.

Two clubs, professedly of a national character, had
existed previous to the formation of the United Irish
Society. One was the Volunteer Convention of 1783;
the other the Whig Club. The former, with all its
display of patriotism and brotherly love, hesitated to
connect the question of Catholic Emancipation with
Parliamentary Reform ; and the latter, although
composed almost exclusively of Emancipators, in their
individual capacity, yet, as a body, contrived but too
successfully to exclude that most popular of questions
from the subject matter of their debates and confe-
rences.

The people, for a time, regarded the members of both
Volunteer and Whig Clubs as the legitimate guardians
of their rights. But eventually their eyes opened, and
all popular confidence became alienated from both bodies.
Other and more intrepid leaders rushed to the rescue.
They denounced the so-called Parliamentary friends of
the people, and upbraided them with having forgotten
their duty. As the tone and action of these leaders
suited the temper of the times, new disciples were
not slow in rallying round their standard of " Erin go
Bragh."

It was a spirit-stirring watchword — " Emancipation —
Reform — We ask no more, and will have no less !"

The higher order of Catholics, however, held aloof,
fearful of losing whatever little advantages they
possessed, and plunging themselves still deeper into the
dark and troublous sea of slavery and oppression. " Who
knows but King George may take pity on our misery,"
they would say ; " we will repose our confidence in the
benignity of his Government, and trusting that better
days are in store for us, inoffensively pursue the quiet
tenor of our way."

So far from separation being the ultimate object of
this league, when originally started in Belfast and Dublin,
we have very excellent authority for stating that nothing

68 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

was contemplated at the outset more treasonable in design
than Parliamentary Reform and Catholic Enfranchise-
ment. Our authorities for this assertion are Dr.
M'Nevin, Thomas Addis Emmet, and Arthur O'Connor —
men of unquestionable integrity and veracity.* This
respectable triumvirate have left upon written record
their conscientious belief, that no such object as separa-
tion from England was agitated either in public or private
debate, until the society was in existence for a consi-
derable period. " Its views," they added, " were purely
and in good faith what the test of the Society avowed."
Every Irishman who desired to become a member of the
union repeated this test; and that there was nothing
particularly sanguinary in it, will be evident to all upon
perusal. " I promise," so the test ran, " to aid in pro-
moting a union of friendship between Irishmen of all
religious persuasions, and to forward a full, fair, and
adequate representation of the people in Parliament."

The ten years which succeeded the Declaration of Irish
Independence in '82, were years of unusual prosperity,
both in Ireland and Great Britain. England, during that
decade, was at peace with all the world, and apathetically
dozed in the consciousness of snug security, whilst her
golden treasures were filling amain. In Ireland, as the
immediate result of the Dungannon Convention, national
amelioration was palpably evident, and Catholics every
day, to the no small horror of our rulers, rapidly increased
in wealth, number, and influence. The property daily
acquiring by that body stimulated their ambition to re-
cover the ancient rights of which they had been robbed,
and every hour found them more and more impatient for
some change of policy tending to affect their position in
the social scale.

Accordingly, early in 1792, we find a petition drawn
up by the Catholic body, humbly craving for the elective
franchise, and that the profession of the law might be
opened to them. Hardly one member of the House of
Commons could be found who would undertake to move
that this petition, signed as it was by three million of

* Memoir delivered to the Irish Government.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 69

names, should be laid upon the table. An equal difficulty
was experienced in procuring another to second it. At
length, after considerable delay, the preliminaries were
arranged, and the motion made. Pallid with consternation
at effrontery so daring, David Latouche, M.P. for Kil-
dare, started to his feet. We verily believe, that had a
sword depended from his side, he would have drawn it to
resist. In a short speech, he moved that the memorial
be spurned from the House ; and his friends, to a man,
having backed him in this hostility, the ill-starred petition
found itself expelled, with a degree of overt acrimony and
contempt that aroused even the indignation of the Pres-
byterians of the North. They knew, however, that it
would be indiscreet to show it, and accordingly confined
themselves to a moderate remonstrance. This having
been in due course presented, Sir Boyle Roche* called
upon the House " to toss it over the bar, and kick it into
the lobby, as coming from a turbulent and disorderly
set of people !" England, it must be remembered, was
now at peace with all the world, and feared no unplea-
sant Irish consequences from this little bit of insolence.

Things, however, were not destined to go on in this
way for ever. Towards the close of 1792, the scene,
amidst a peal of thunder, shifted. France was seen, in all
the grandeur of a distant tableau, crushing her adversaries
in every possible direction, while England, on the other
hand, apprehensive of approaching retribution, might be
observed quaking behind her national defences. The all-
consuming lava of republicanism threatened portentously
to overwhelm every European state. The cannon at
Gemappe, as it mowed down the Austrians in thousands
upon thousands, was heard reverberating at St. James's.
The wisdom of conciliating the Catholics was at length
felt and understood, and in the latter end of 1792 — in
the early part of which ministers had so contemptuously
rejected the petitions alike of Catholic and Dissenter —

* Sir Boyle Roche, if not a bully like Egan, was at least one of the great-
est bull progenitors in the House. On one occasion he announced, with
admirable gravity, that " he for one was quite prepared to give up, not
merely a part, but the whole of the Constitution to preserve the remainder."

70 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

those same ministers introduced a bill to relax the penal
code, and early in the following year another.*

The justice, however, as Mooref observes, that is wrung
from fear, but adds contempt to the former sense of wrong,
and the whole history of the concessions doled out to
Catholics in this, and the ensuing year, but exhibits in
its fullest perfection that perverse art in which Irish
rulers have ever shown themselves such adepts, of throw-
ing a blight over favours by the motive and manner of
conferring them — an art which unhappily has had the
effect of rendering barren, thankless, and unblest some of
the fairest boons bestowed by England upon Ireland.

By the bills we have referred to, Catholics might, if
they chose, become stuff-gowned barristers, but the dignity
of king's counsel was still reserved for the ascendancy.
The doors of the grand jury-box, and of the military mess-
room, were no longer closed against them — they might
append " J. P." to their name, and practise as attorneys,
and, though last not least, they became eligible to par-
ticipate in the advantages of the elective franchise. These
concessions were, of course, solely the abortive offspring of
fear, which the sanguinary achievements of the young Re-
public hurried to a head. A large portion of the United
Irishmen were now avowedly republican, whilst, on the
other hand, the general body discountenanced physical
force. The Government spies had amalgamated with them,
and became, as it were, blended into their very existence.
With avidity they entered into every plot, and willingly
took the oath of secrecy, in order the better to worm
themselves into the confidence of the conspirators. That
informations were daily lodged with the Secret Committee,
as to the progress of the treason, is not surprising ; and that
exaggeration invariably inflated them, still less so, since it
soon became an established motto, that the more alarming
the disclosure the more valuable the boon. In this way
the vampires sucked both confidence and blood from the
lips and veins of a too confiding people.

* O'Connell's " Memoir of Ireland," Philipps' " Curran and his Cotempora-
rias," Parl. Debs , &c.

t Life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald.

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 71

As the red flame of revolution extended throughout
Europe, Government gradually became more alarmed,
and in the above instalment of the debt of "justice to
Ireland," exhibited their anxiety to secure some portion
of Irish gratitude A few popular demonstrations too —
chiefly in the North — were not without effect in in-
spiring our rulers with a little wholesome dread of retri-
bution. That of the 14th July, 1792, is perhaps the
most important. The town of Belfast, by an imposing
feast and procession of her Volunteers, celebrated the
anniversary of the French Revolution. The mottoes
and devices were essentially democratic. One of them —
" Our Gallic brethren were born July 14, 1789, alas ! we
are still in embryo" — had nearly as much effect in
arousing governmental alarm as though a mine were
found laid beneath the Castle of Dublin. On the termi-
nation of the pageantry, the inhabitants, to the number
of 6,000, assembled in the Linen Hall, and voted an
address to the Gallic Republic. This, according to Tone,
was executed in admirable style by Dr. William
Drennan. Four years at least elapsed ere this revo-
lutionary spirit became generally blended into the
existence of Ireland.

Early in 1793 the members of the Union, in an
eloquent address, called upon all creeds and denominations
of Irishmen to rally round their bright green banner,
and resolutely co-operate with them in the great and
common cause. Parliamentary Reform and Catholic
Emancipation were conspicuously held up as the objects
to which their exertions should, with one grasp, converge.

It is not to be wondered at that a society, having
avowedly for its objects, political, religious, and national
enfranchisement, should soon have become in Ireland uni-
versally popular. With redoubled activity, men of all castes
and creeds forwarded their adhesions to the league, and
the concern of Government in an equal ratio increased.
Singular to say, a large proportion of the adhesions were
those of patriotic Protestants, and what is stranger still,
the greater number of the leaders in the insurrectionary
movement subsequently, as well as in 1848, were

72 CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES.

members of the English Church. How many British
bigots are there who ignorantly consider the names
" Rebel" and " Papist" as synonymous.

In order to in some degree counteract the benefi-
cial effect which the Union organization was expected,
by its members, to produce on the British minister, se-
veral adverse bands and societies, connived at by the ruling
powers, were observed, in 1793, to start into existence.
Of these, perhaps, the most destructive was that body of
armed miscreants known as Orangemen, whose object, ac-
cording to their oath, appears to have been the extirpa-
tion, by every means in their power, of the Irish Roman
Catholics.*

Another very mischievous association which made its
debut at the period of which we write, was that familiarly
designated " Peep-o'-day Boys." Scouring the Popish
districts at the dawn of morning, and earring off, sans ce-
remonie, any fire-arms which the " Papishes"^ might, for
personal protection, be possessed of, appears to have been
the usual occupation of this body. In vindication of their
rather intolerable conduct, they would occasionally pro-
duce an old mildewed penal statute, which prohibited
members of the Catholic communion from retaining arms,
even for self defence, in their possession.

On the other hand, a body of Catholic peasants, calling
themselves, and with some show of reason, " Defenders,"
now came unsolicited to the rescue ; and when we take
into consideration the maddening cruelties which were,
for some time past, being daily perpetrated by the Orange-
men and " Peep-o'-day Boys," it must be admitted that
the existence of this society was not altogether uncalled
for, had its members confined themselves to what they
were organized to effect, and not retaliated with cruelty
when favoured by opportunity.

* The Press newspaper of Oct. 17, 1797, pronounces the following to be a
correct copy of the Orange oath : — " I, A. B., do hereby swear, that I will
be true to the King and Government, and that I will exterminate, as far
I am able, the Catholics of Ireland."

f The manner in which the vulgar Orangemen of the North were in the
habit of pronouncing the word " Papist."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 73

Also, in 1793, was originated that unscrupulous inqui-
sition known as the Secret Committee, which having first
put the suspected parties on the solemnity of their oaths,
would then interrogate them with admirable sang fr 'oid,
as to the acts, desires, and intentions of their associates.
The examinations, however, of the suspected confederates
were productive of comparatively trivial disaster when
compared to those of such men as Newel and O'Brien.
As Mr. Cooke rewarded them munificently for their evi-
dence, it may well be supposed that they did not econo-
mize it. They swore on the Holy Evangelists, and then,
veracious and perjured, disgorged it indiscriminately.
Alas ! what a mass of murderous evidence was, by these
means, elucidated ; and, oh, what a sea of innocent blood,
as it surged around their councils, cried piteously to
Heaven that It might yet avenge ! The published nar-
rative* of John Edwaid Newel, a repentant reformer, is
well worthy the attention of all who doubt that perjury
polluted the witness table of the Secret Committee.

The component elements of this modern Star-chamber
appear to have been chiefly noblemen, opposed to the Ca-
tholic claims — noblemen who, during the summer of 1792,
contemptuously designated the Catholic Committee " The
Popish Congress/' Mr. Oliver Bond and other United
Irishmen, having had the daring to allege in public that
the researches of the Committee were not confined to the
professed purpose of its institution, but directed mani-
festly to the discovery of evidence in aid of prosecutions
previously commenced, and utterly unconnected with the

* " At two o'clock I was admitted to the room where the Secret Committee
were sitting. After the usual formularies I was placed in a high chair, for
the benefit of being better heard. 1 went through the subject of the exami-
nations, improving largely on the hints and instructions Cooke had given me ;
propagating circumstances which never had, or I suppose will happen ; in-
creased the number of the United Irishmen, tlieir quantity of arms and ammu-
nition; fabricated stories which helped to ter-rify them, and raised me high in
their estimation. I told them of laws framed to govern the Rejmblic when they
had overthrown the present Government, many of which they approved of
highly, though they had no foundation but the effusion of my own brain. I
embellished largely," <fc., $c. — See " Life and Confessions of John Edward
Newell, written by himself. London : printed for the author, 1798." Dr.
Madden pronounces the authenticity of the work to be unquestionable.

E

74 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

cause of the disturbances it was appointed to investigate,*
both he and the Hon. Simon Butler, Chairman of the So-
ciety, were sentenced, by the House, to pay each a fine of
£500 to the Crown, and undergo, in addition, six months'
imprisonment. Bond's counsel endeavoured to distinguish
the legislative from the judicial function of the House of
Lords, and denied its right to administer an oath, in the
former capacity. The fines imposed were defrayed by the
voluntary subscriptions of the United Irishmen.

Among the various expedients proposed by the Union-
ists for presenting a formidable front to Government, was
a revival of the old Volunteer system, which, under the
auspices of Flood and Grattan, had produced such bene-
ficial results to Ireland. This they successfully established
in Belfast. In Dublin, some attempts were made to ori-
ginate an armed body on a similar principle, to be called
the "Irish National Guard," or " Battalion;" but, on the
evening previous to the first meeting of the corps, a pro-
clamation from Government suddenly appeared prohi-
biting it.

The Parliamentary Session of 1793 opened with what
was very unusual — a smile of conciliation towards Ca-
tholic Ireland. A proposal, stated to have originated in
the bounty of the Crown, was made to Parliament, that
it should then and there take into consideration the con-
dition of his Majesty's Irish Catholic subjects. The plea-
surable feelings entertained by that much oppressed body
may be imagined upon beholding a deputation from the
" Popish Congress" amicably closeted with the minister
for several successive days, " negotiating," says Moore
" for their admission to power on a far wider basis than
that from which, but a few months before, the same mi-
nister had so contemptuously dislodged them."

With joy and gratitude the poor down-trodden Catho-
lics beheld the gladsome dawn of what appeared to be a
much more just and liberal policy than that which had
animated the previous conduct of their rulers. Catholic

* Its proposed object was to investigate the misdemeanours committed by
" Peep-o'-day Boys."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 75

Emancipation — unconditional and unfettered ! Oh, could
it be possible that the long-craved boon was at length about
to be conceded ? Poor helots ! they were well nigh over-
come with joy as they strained their eyes, blood-shot from
long and anxious watching, into the mists of the future.
And how much was this satisfaction augmented upon learn-
ing that the no less vital question of Parliamentary Reform
bid fair to pass triumphantly through Lords and Com-
mons. For the first time, Government appeared to see
the feasibility of such a measure, by formally appointing a
Select Committee, whose business itwould be to inquire into
the state of the representation. To discern its corruption
required no microscope ; and as the people were fully
cognizant of this, they awaited, with some anxiety, to
hear the upshot of the investigation.

Grief and disappointment, the overwhelming despair of a
"hope deferred, "crushed into atoms their expectant hearts.

A number of severe Acts were passed this Session. One
of them — the Gunpowder Bill — designed, as Mr. Grattan
said, to put down the Irish Volunteers, gave great um-
brage to the popular party. It was on this occasion that
Lord Edward Fitzgerald stood forth almost alone against
the Treasury benches, denouncing, with Demosthenic
energy, this iniquitous Act, which, strictly speaking, was
nothing more or less than a modern addition to the ancient
penal code. Another of the coercive measures of the
Session was Lord Clare's celebrated Convention Act, which
nearly twenty years afterwards was made subservient to
the overthrow of the Catholic Board. Its object on this
occasion was avowedly to suppress the Society of United
Irishmen. Such proceedings were not particularly qualified
to, soothe the ruffled spirit of Catholic Ireland, much less to
secure to King George the gratitude and affection of his
Irish subjects.

For a considerable time that species of agitation, usually
known as " constitutional," was diligently pursued ; but it
required something more approximating to the intrepid
demonstrations of '82,* to wrest any right of moment

* It is needless to remind the reader, that not until the Volunteers brought
their cannon before the Senate-house, were the rights of Ireland conceded by
the British Minister.

76 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

from the grasp of such a Government. As the perfect hope-
lessness, however, of " talking agitation" became apparent
to them, a change gradually " crept o'er the spirit of their
dream."

Early in 1794, the Rev. William Jackson, a clergyman
of the Established Church, was arrested on a charge of
high treason, the first indictment of the nature preferred
against any Irishman since 1691. Having been commis-
sioned by the French Republic to sound the United Irish-
men as to their willingness to join them, should an inva-
sion be attempted, he repaired to Ireland, but executed
his mission on the way thither with such consummate in-
discretion that discovery resulted, and eventually death.
This catastrophe, however, was brought about by his own
hand. Having been convicted of high treason, and just
as his counsel was on the point of moving for an arrest of
judgment, Jackson, whilst standing in the dock, dropped
lifeless to the floor. By a post mortem examination, it
was ascertained that a large dose of poison had been swal-
lowed. Jackson's conduct throughout his long and pro-
tracted imprisonment was most heroic and exemplary. Tone
states it as his conviction that Jackson might, if he chose,
have undoubtedly saved himself by turning king's evi-
dence against many who were seriously compromised in
the matter. In fact a proposal of the nature was formally
made to him, but he spurned it indignantly, and hurled
it, reeking with corruption as it was, back in the tempter's
face.

It may be well to mention that exactly one year an-
terior, when France had declared war against her power-
ful rival, the Republican Government despatched a
similar emissary to Ireland, with a letter of introduction
to Lord Edward Fitzgerald. His lordship, as he referred
him to Air. Oliver Bond, gave him, it would appear, but lit-
tle encouragement. The embassy, accordingly, returned to
France, without having any very satisfactory intelligence
to communicate to the Comite de Salut Publique*

Jackson's reception a year later was essentially differ-

* Which Thomas Carlyle thus translates and expounds : — " A Committee
of public salvation, whereof the world still shrieks and shudders."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 77

ent — thanks to the paternal Government of the day. By
every system of imaginable coercion, a mercenary Execu-
tive employed its leisure hours in fomenting discontent,
and enkindling, with sardonic ecstacy, the slumbering
embers of that furnace which was soon to burst forth
with so much heat and fury. Many of the Union leaders
received the proposal with delight, entered into the spirit
of the scheme with avidity, and awaited the realization
of the project with that trepidation and anxiety of which
the peculiar circumstances of the case cannot fail to con-
vey a forcible idea.

Up to the year 1794 the meetings of the Union, or
Society of United Irishmen, were held openly ; but by
one of the recently introduced coercive statutes, the
military and police received strict orders, and full power,
to disperse them as illegal. " The whole body," says
Moore, "thus debarred from the right of speaking out
as citizens, passed naturally to the next step of plotting
as conspirators."

On the 29th January, 1794, Archibald Hamilton
Rowan, a Protestant gentleman of rank, was committed
for two years to Newgate, and fined the sum of £500.
Rowan's offence was, that he rejoiced in the appellation
of United Irishman, and unhesitatingly expressed his
views on two or three occasions. In striking the jury,
he urged strong objections against two, on the grounds
of their having been heard declare, that " Ireland would
never be quiet until Napper Tandy and Hamilton Rowan
were hanged."* In support of this allegation he offered
proof, but the Bench at once overruled the flimsy objec-
tion.

Aided by his faithful attorney, Matthew Dowling,
Rowan soon succeeded in escaping from Newgate. A
wherry, manned by two honest sailors, named Sheridan,
was at readiness for him at Howth. They did not know
Rowan, nor he them. In spite of turbulent billows, the
party were, before next evening, half-way to France.
On Rowan's disappearance, proclamations appeared, offer-

. * "Autobiography of Hamilton Rowan," Dublin, 1840. Page 189.

78 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

ing £1500 for his apprehension. One of them found its
way into Sheridan's possession, who, resting on his oars,
commenced to scrutinize the traitor. " You are right,
boys," said he, " I am Hamilton Rowan ; but you are
Irishmen." " Never fear," replied the noble fellow ; " by
, we will land you safe." And so they did.

From this date State prosecutions succeeded each other
with electrical rapidity. Juries were packed with more
than ordinary profligacy — iniquitous judgments pro-
nounced with unfaltering tongues. Oppression, robed in
the black pall of death, stood scowling in the market-
place, the field, the cottage, the bye-way, and the street.
With increasing pertinacity and aplomb, hired informers
wormed themselves into the secrets and homes of the
peasantry. A licentious soldiery, formidable in their
filth even to their own commander,* cast themselves on
the people, and for every mark of hospitality shown,
responded with an imprecation, and oftentimes something
worse. The reign of torture, however, had not yet com-
menced.

The memorable naval victory obtained by England
over her Gallic enemies, on June 1st, 1794, was not
particularly calculated to serve the interests of Ireland.
If Madame Britannia was haughty before, she now be-
came a hundred degrees more supercilious and unbearable ;
and with a flambeau in one hand, and a scourge in the
other, made preparations for her descent on the homes of
the peasantry. Flushed with a splendid triumph abroad,
she chuckled at the menacing attitude assumed by the
Irish republicans at home, and as their organization pro-
gressed, regarded it with some of that singular affection
which a great she-wolf might be supposed to experience
when gazing on a promising young lamb doomed even-
tually to be its prey.

We have now arrived at the year 1795. On the 4th
of January, a day of unusual rejoicing in Dublin, the
amiable and benevolent Earl Fitzwilliam, by a momentary

* Sir Ralph Abercrombie. Shortly after he threw up the command, dis-
gusted with their licentiousness.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 79

triumph of the Whigs, made his grand inaugural entry
as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. A gleam of hope and sun-
shine radiated for an instant the dark horizon of Ireland's
destiny. It did not require a clairvoyant's power to fore-
see that Lord Fitzwilliam was the man who, above all
others, might reasonably be expected to throw open to
Catholics the gates of the Constitution. The people
received the venerable peer with the most enthusiastic
manifestations of delight, for his estimable character had
been borne on the wings of Fame before him, not to the
perfumed salons of the great, but into the lowly dwellings
of the poor and oppressed. Many an old Popish Helot,
bedridden from infirmities, and patiently awaiting his final
summons from above, was seen to raise himself with reno-
vated energy upon his couch, and smiling in the proud
consciousness of having emancipated children, listen to the
intelligence almost too good to be credited. When the
Treaty of Limerick was deliberately violated by Act of
Parliament, these old Helots were babies in their nurses'
arms. Good Heavens ! what a life was theirs — what a
long, dark, troublous, miserable existence ! checquered
by hardly one spot of happiness, political or domestic — one
ray of sunshine to cheer them on their pilgrimage. Poor
Helots, at last you may rejoice. The century of bondage
is drawing to a close ; your time is nearly up ; the good
Fitzwilliam has arrived, and he bears in his hand the
scroll of your emancipation.

The policy of Lord Fitzwilliam was to conciliate
rather than persecute, and he privately determined that
it should not be damaged or interfered with by any
of the old agents of the English interest in Ireland.
He accordingly lost little time in dismissing from office
John Claudius Beresford, John Toler, afterwards Lord
Norbury, the " hanging Judge," and a few others. Those
men had made themselves obnoxious to the Roman
Catholics by their extreme sectarian views, and the
bigotry which animated their general conduct and de-
meanour. Duly empowered by the British Cabinet, for
what reason we know not, to complete the political
enfranchisement of Irish Catholicism, Lord Fitzwilliam,

80 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

with a smiling countenance and a firm grasp, assumed
the reins of Government in Ireland.

Grattan at once announced the purposes of Lord Fitz-
william's Administration. The call of that great com-
moner to the Councils of the Viceroy* was hailed by
every Catholic in the land as a certain earnest of the
boons which they so eagerly longed for and so confidently
expected. Lord Fitzwilliam at once proceeded to put
matters into train, and acted upon any suggestion of
Mr. Grattan's that appeared to him founded upon pru-
dence and justice.

It may be well imagined that the Catholics of all
classes and circumstances, after having endured, for seven
hundred years, every possible description of insult and
persecution, at length, in 1795, looked forward with
rejoicing hearts to the not far distant cessation of the
torture. With the full sanction of Government, and
unopposed by a single murmur of dissatisfaction from any
part of the country, Grattan obtained leave to introduce
a bill, having avowedly for its object the complete eman-
cipation of four million of Irish Catholics. Oh ! with
what joy unutterable did they look forward to the
cheerful dawn of morning, after that long, dark night of
slavery and horror, of incubus and troubled dreams,
which thrills even the historian as he gazes back upon
it through the vista of records, history, and tradition.
The bill was prepared ; with palpitating hearts the peo-
ple awaited the unloosening of their chains ; but, oh ! can
it be credited, just as Grattan was on the point of pre-
senting it, the British Minister stretched forth his hand,
and with demoniac cruelty, dashed the cup from their
lips. Intimation was conveyed to Lord Fitzwilliam of
his approaching recall. He in vain expostulated on the
danger of retracting the concession, and with some
warmth declared, that he at least would not be the
person " to raise a flame which nothing but the force of
arms could put down." His remonstrances being favour-
able to Ireland, were, of course, disregarded. Instead of

* " Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh," vol. i. page 11.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 81

endeavouring to conciliate the people, they preferred
goading them into insurrection, and the upright and
generous Fitzwilliam was replaced by him whom John
Magee incurred the vengeance of the law for designating —
" The cold-hearted and cruel Camden."*

Fitz william's earnest wish to conciliate the Catholics,
and the generous advances made by his lordship towards
that much-oppressed body, flings a lustrous halo around
his character and name, far more brilliant and enduring
than the dazzling honours and appliances which will long
be remembered as identified with the period of his vice-
regal rule in Ireland.f Long after these shall have faded
from public recollection, the bright old name of William
Wentworth, Earl of Fitzwilliam, will be found inscribed
in golden lines on the tablets of every Irish memory.

On the day of the good man's departure from Ireland
every shop was closed — all the wonted din of a populous
city stilled. In fact, the country was in mourning, and
its people in tears. The citizens of Dublin, anxious to
manifest their love and veneration, drew his carriage to
the water side, and invoked benedictions on his head.
Among those who paid him this flattering compliment
were some of the most opulent mercantile men in Dublin.
Thus terminated the short but memorable Viceroyalty
of Earl Fitzwilliam.

This sudden, unexpected, and capricious recall cannot,
we think, fail to excite some wonder in the minds of all
impartial readers. On what grounds was Lord Fitz-
william's Viceroyalty declared to have terminated?
Simply because, like the good Marquis of Anglesey, he

* This was one of the veracious but uncomplimentary epithets applied to
Lord Camden, by the spirited proprietor of the Evening Post, and which he
was subsequently made to expiate by a fine of £500 and two years' im-
prisonment in Newgate. The defence of John Magee was O'Connell's
greatest bar effort, and should be studied by every Irishman. It is a
masterpiece of historical retrospect, of forensic argument, and impassioned
eloquence.

t " During the short time Lord Fitzwilliam continued in the Lieutenancy
of Ireland, Dublin Castle exhibited a splendour which had never before been
displayed in that kingdom. The magnificence of all his appointments,
while they bespoke the dignity of the proprietor, furnished the means of
industry and of happiness to thousands." — Public Characters for 1799.

'E 2

82 CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES.

manifested more affection than was strictly British towards
the Catholic inhabitants of Ireland.

A few days after the above melancholy event, Pratt,
Earl Camden, who had just inherited the great title of a
greater father, arrived in Dublin. So violent was the
feeling of the people against their new ruler, as to be
found imperatively necessary to call out the military,
horse and foot, before he could venture to proceed to
Dublin. Little time was lost in reinstating to office
the Beresfordsand Tolers, and in expelling contemptuously
every Whig and Catholic who had crept into petty power
during the Fitzwilliam Administration. This, dear reader,
was one way of conciliating an angered people, and of
extinguishing the flame of Irish discontent. It is quite
invaluable, that Saxon recipe — a recipe in the possession
of the Hanoverian, Plantagenet, and Brunswick families
from time immemorial, and which they would not relin-
quish for the re-possession of America.

It is universally admitted, that the treacherous recall of
Lord Fitzwilliam had more effect than any of the pre-
ceding insults in bringing the Irish struggle to a crisis.
" Within three months after his dismissal," observes Bar-
rington, " Lord Clare had got the nation into full training
for military execution." The greatest excitement pre-
vailed, and the utmost fury characterized the movements
of the mob. The Chancellor in his carriage was assailed.
Amongst other missiles, a stone alighted on his lordship's
forehead, which, had it been hurled with somewhat
more force, would have rid the people, as Sir Jonah
Barrington said, of one of its greatest enemies. He escaped
in the melee, but the mob, foaming with fury, repaired to
his house in Ely-place, and threatened to reduce it to a
ruin. From thence they proceeded to attack the Custom-
house, where that most obnoxious individual, Mr. Com-
missioner Beresford, resided. Nobody was so blind as
not to see, at a glance, what sad disaster the recall pro-
duced. " Its natural effect," writes Mr. Moore, " was to
reinforce instantly the ranks of the United Irishmen with
all that mass of discontent generated by such a defiance
of the public will, and we have it on the authority of the

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 83

chief leaders themselves, that out of the despair and dis-
gust of this moment, arose an immediate and immense
accession of strength to their cause." Up to this period
neither M'Nevin, Fitzgerald, Emmet, nor O'Connor had
joined the ranks of the United Irishmen.

Mr. Pelham, afterwards Lord Chichester, accompanied
Lord Camden, as his Chief Secretary , to Ireland. On the
first night of his official appearance in the House, Henry
Grattan, though with considerable misgivings, brought
forward the Catholic question. The wary sentinel, true
to his colours, at once started to his feet, and emphasizing
every word, went on to say, that " what the Catholics
sought was incompatible with the existence of a Protestant
Constitution — that concession must stop somewhere — it
had already reached the utmost limit — it could not be
allowed to proceed — and here he would plant his foot,
and never consent to recede an inch further." " The
debate," observes the Castlereagh memoir, " was conti-
nued through the night, and until eight in the morning,
with most unusual warmth and eloquence, but the question
was lost. From that moment the popular feeling, with
its desperate decision, and a system of horrors com-
menced."

As we have elsewhere observed, it was just at the time
of Fitzwilliam's recall that the Hon. Valentine Browne
Lawless returned to Ireland. Amid such stirring and
exciting scenes he did not remain an idle or an uncon-
cerned spectator. His holiest sympathies were enlisted
in the cause of Ireland — he saw her people prostrated to
the dust, and an arrogant oligarchy riding roughshod over
them. He saw the injuries his country had received,
and the insufferable insults which followed up those
injuries. He heard of the national confederation of
Irishmen, and resolved to fling himself heart and soul
into its strength.*

* Lord Cloncurry, in after life, frequently declared, that when he gave in
his adhesion to the United Irish Society, he had no objects in view beyond
Parliamentary Keform and Catholic Emancipation. We have already men-
tioned, that during this year the tone of the organization materially and
ostensibly changed. It must, therefore, appear strange, that his lordship
should have openly lent his countenance to the movement, if not an advo-

84 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Lawless was one of those impulsive characters, who,
the moment they resolve, invariably act. Accordingly, we
find him in the summer of 1 795 regularly enrolled a mem-
ber of the Society of United Irishmen, and by every
means in his power labouring to further its objects. He
could find nothing objectionable in the Union Test, and
of course had no hesitation in repeating it.

We are assured by Lord Cloncurry, in his " Personal
Recollections," that up to 1795 " this liberal opposition,"
as he mildly defines it, " was altogether untouched by
treason." In this opinion his lordship was manifestly
mistaken. A very vast deal of treasonable spirit pervaded
the confederation at this juncture. Every hour found
them more and more disgusted with the policy of their
rulers. Every day fresh and gratifying accounts of the
wide-spread progress of the French Revolution came to
their ears. Its example stimulated their enterprise ; they
felt themselves renovated for a battle — they thought of
the triumphs of Benburb, Clontarf, andBeal Natha Buidhe,
and longed with unabating ardour to be free. Even
some sixteen months anterior, when Tone saw the hope-
lessness of achieving the mighty objects of his ambition,
by John Keogh's easy-going, and subsequently most
unpopular policy, he was heard to declare his republican
sentiments openly. What is still more conclusive, he
committed them to paper, where they may, to this day,
be found recorded: — "Ten thousand French," he sullenly
soliloquises, in his Journal of March 27, 1793, " would
accomplish a separation." But that nothing in the least
approaching unanimity prevailed on this momentous

cate for separation. Yet strange as it rnay seem, such, nevertheless, we
believe to be the fact. Lord Cloncurry, although an United Irishman, was
no separatist. Many, however imagined, from some ambiguous sentences to
which he subsequently gave expression, that although not a separatist in
1 797, he, at all events, was in 1849, when he expressed himself as follows : —
'• It was no prompting of vulgar ambition that impelled Lord Edward
Fitzgerald, but a strong conviction at first that Ireland could neither be free
nor prosperous unless her legislature were purified, and her people all made
equal in the eye of the law; and afterwards, when the hope of effecting
these reforms vanished — a belief that no remedy remained but a separation
from England, and a committal of her destinies for good or for evil. I shaml
at the time in his first-formed conviction, though in his more mature con-
clusion I did not THEN participate!" &c.. &e.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 85

question, will be evident from the following passage,
extracted from the same day's diary : — " War unpopular
here — trade very bad — credit rather better than in
England." This, it must be remembered, was written in
1 793. Matters had now assumed a much more formidable
aspect.

The spirit of faction never raged with greater fury
than in 1795, when Camden, scourge in hand, assumed
the reins of government.

The burnings, pitch-torturings,* half-hangings, pick-
etings, tarrings, and scourgings to which the unfortunate
people were notoriously subjected for long anterior to
the rising of '98, must be in the recollection of every
well-read Irishman. The goading system was daily in
requisition, ripening discontent into rage, and provoking
rage to retaliation. The people, driven from their homes,
were hunted as wild beasts, slaughtered sometimes, tor-
tured always. Whatever little property they possessed
fell into the hands of the despoiler. Fencibles, Hessians,
and Ancient Britons (so many monsters in human form),
were turned by their officers loose iipon the wives and
daughters of a virtuous peasantry, incited to the practice
of every infamy and outrage, and commanded to pitch-
cap, flog, and torture with gunpowder and fire, those
husbands, fathers, sons, or brothers, who ventured to
raise their feeble voices in opposition to the system.
Government afforded the people no protection, and there
was not one solitary magistrate — with perhaps a single
exception — who would take a deposition! against any of
the; licensed persecutors.

The UNION was of course the ulterior object of this

* This requires some explanation. A cap, well anointed with hot pitch,
was applied to the shorn head of the victim. When cold, the operator
dragged it oft' and (unless he failed most miserably) the scalp accompanied
it. Another torture consisted in shaving the hair close, in the form of a
cross, filling up the furrows with gunpowder and filings of iron, and then
applying a lighted match to the margin. This was considered a salutary
custom, inasmuch as it expressed a caustic sarcasm for Popery, and occa-
sionally led to confessions of apparently past transgression. Whether true or
false seems to have mattered little.

f This fact is stated by Madden, in his " Connexion between Ireland and
Great Britain Considered."

86 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

policy. Indeed the Duke of Portland himself very plainly
said as much, so early as 1795, when he recommended
Lord Fitzwilliam to retrace his steps on the Catholic
question.

The ministerial scheme, which was wily and deep laid,
may be thus epitomised. In secret conference it was
arranged to filch from poor Ireland, the very moment she
would be found prostrate and exhausted from a series of
ineffectual struggles for freedom — when too much stricken
down to entertain one atom of hope for future regenera-
tion— when so miserably debilitated from loss of blood as
to be unable to offer any resistance to the outrage— it
was then, we say, proposed to filch, with characteristic
treachery, from the breast of Ireland, her brightest and
most valuable gem — the possession of her domestic Par-
liament.

" Sir," exclaimed Lord Castlereagh, in an unusual
burst of candour, during M'Nevin's examination before
the Secret Committee, "means were taken to make the
United Irish system explode" A truer sentence never
emanated from his lips. In order to bring about the
UNION measure it was necessary that the flame of rebel-
lion should be fed; and that Government were not back-
ward in acting so will, we think, be tolerably evident to
any person who takes the trouble of reading those books
of Madden and Moore, which treat more particularly of
that eventful period of Irish history.*

In asserting that the people were driven into insurrec-
tion by a system of persecution encouraged by Govern-
ment, it is possible we may be accused by some of
partiality, and by others with a wanton exaggeration
of facts. " Even though you may produce authorities,"
may possibly exclaim some critic, " it will be found that
they are Irish ones, and doubtless partisans." It is with
no small satisfaction that we can, in reply, refer such

* The Secret Committee's Report for 1798 contains, amongst others, the
following pregnant passage : — " It appears, from a variety of evidence laid
before your Committee, that the rebellion would not have broken out so soon
as it did, had it not been for the well-timed measures adopted by Govern-
ment, (fc."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 87

parties to the recorded sentiments of some of the most dis-
tinguished cabinet ministers of England, amongst whom
the late Lord Holland and the present Lord John Russell
must not be overlooked. " The fact," writes Lord Hol-
land, " is incontrovertible, that the people of Ireland were
driven to resistance by the free quarters and excesses of
the soldiery, which were such as are not permitted in
civilized warfare, even in an enemy's country."* Lord
John Ri^ssell, on a late occasion, observed, in reference
to the rebellion, that " it was wickedly provoked, rashly
begun, and cruelly crushed."!

Heavy as these painful considerations weighed upon
the sensitive, susceptible, and patriotic mind of Valentine
Lawless, when in 1795 he returned to his native and
much suffering country, they were soon thrown into com-
parative insignificance by the occurrence of one of the
severest domestic calamities that could possibly assail a
young, unmarried, warm-hearted man. A sainted and
estimable mother, regarded by Valentine from his earliest
youth with a filial affection proportionate in ardour to
the maternal love for him, yielded up her spirit with a
fortitude and resignation worthy of no one more than the
Lady Cloncurry.

* " Memoirs of the Whig Party during my Time," by the late Edward
Lord Holland, 2 vols., 1853. His lordship goes on so say: — "Trials, if
they must so be called, were carried on without number, under martial law.
It often happened that three officers composed the court, and that of the
three, two were under age, and the third an officer of the yeomanry or mi-
litia, who had sworn, in his Orange Lodge, eternal hatred to the people over
whom he was thus constituted a judge. Floggings, picketings, death, were
the usual sentences ; and these were sometimes commuted into banishment,
serving in the fleet, or transference to a foreign sen-ice. Other less legal,
but not more horrible, outrages were daily committed by the different corps.
Even in the streets of Dublin a man was shot and robbed of £30, on the
loose recollection of a soldier's having seen him in the battle of Kilcalley,
and no proceeding was instituted to prosecute the murderer. Lord Wycombe,
who was himself shot at by a sentinel between Blackrock and Dublin, wrote
to me many details of similar outrages which he had ascertained to he true.
Dr. Dickson (Bishop of Down) assured me that he had seen families re-
turning peaceably from Mass assailed, without provocation, by drunken
troops and yeomanry, and the wives and daughters exposed to every species of
indignity, brutality, and outrage, from which neither his remonstrances, nor
(hose of other PKOTESTANT gentlemen, could rescue them.'"

f Preface to Memoirs of Thomas Moore, page 18, vol. i.

05 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

This was the master-trial of our hero's life. We doubt
if any of his subsequent afflictions — some of which were
painful enough, Heaven knows — ever equalled it in
poignancy and weight.

On the 21st of September that, in Ireland, celebrated
collision, known as " the Battle of the Diamond," occurred
between the Orangemen and Defenders. The latter were
defeated with a loss of forty-five killed and a vast number
wounded. Flushed with victory, and burning to realize
the enormities of their oath, the Orangemen were not
backward in following up the advantage. This they did,
literally with a vengeance. Blood-stained Ulster was soon
scoured clean of every bleeding Papist, and Orange lodges,
and Grand Masters, and Deputy dittos, began to start up
in every possible direction. Their homes no longer te-
nable, the poor Papists took to flight, and selected as
asylums the counties of Mayo and Sligo. Here they re-
mained, like stags at bay, Government, in the -distance,
with savage yells encouraging the pursuing bloodhounds
to fall mercilessly on their prey.

Lords Carhampton and Castlereagh exerted themselves
notably. The former seized upon every man who it
was conjectured entertained feelings of disaffection to-
wards the Government, and sent him off to the fleet* to
fight for King George ; while the latter-, less humane, em-
ployed his leisure moments in the more congenial occu-
pation of filling the cells of Irish gaols, not only with
patriot denouncers of British misrule, but with many
against whom not even the shadow of suspicion could be,
in equity, attached.

On the 28th December thirty upright magistrates of
the County Armagh, horrified at the Orange outrages
which were, under their very eyes, perpetrated with im-
punity, resolved — " That the county appears to this
meeting to be in a state of uncommon disorder; that the
Roman Catholic inhabitants are grievously oppressed by

* Lord Holland, in his " Memoirs of the Whig Party," mentions, what
we had heard repeatedly before, that numbers of poor Irishmen, suspected of
disaffection, were " sold at so much per head to the Prussians."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 89

lawless persons unknown, who attack and plunder their
homes by night, and threaten them with immediate de-
struction unless they abandon immediately their lands
and habitations." In the face of this earnest appeal to
Government — for as such it may be considered — the
Attorney -General had the consummate coolness to bring
in a bill on January 28, 1796, for "the more effectual
prevention of insurrections, tumults, and riots, by persons
calling themselves Defenders, &c." After having drawn
a rather laboured picture of the appalling state of districts
frequented by Defenders, he wound up by moving a
long string of resolutions. Grattan rose in reply. The
statement, he said, of the Right Hon. gentleman was
partial. He did, indeed, expatiate very fully and justly
on the offences of the Defenders ; but with respect to
another description of insurgents, whose barbarities had
excited general abhorrence, he was silent. He had omitted
Armagh. . Their object was the extermination of all the
Catholics in the country. It was a persecution conceived
in the bitterness of bigotry. Mr. Grattan moved the
addition of some words that would include the Orange-
men ; but he might have spared himself the trouble, for
his amendment was rejected.

In a work of this kind it would, of course, be impos-
sible to go through, in detail, the various movements,
defensive and otherwise, made by the popular party, and
the numberless aggressions on the part of the Govern-
ment. The atrocities committed under the ministerial
eye towards the latter end of the eighteenth century, and
allowed to proceed, unreprobated and unchecked, would
fill an encyclopaedia to enumerate. The reader, if he be
of a sensitive temperament, may congratulate himself
upon being spared the harrowing recital. If painful to
read, it would be a hundred times more painful to inves-
tigate and chronicle. We leave the doings of the lordly
Camden to his imagination, and trust that he may neither
exaggerate nor diminish them ! Should he require a more
accurate picture than the outlines of his own imagination,
we would beg to refer him to Plowden, Hay, Barrington,
or Teelinjj.

90 CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES.

We are, perhaps, wrong to identify the cruelties prac-
tised so much with Lord Camden personally, for his many
supporters, to a man, allege that he neither was ambi-
tious, wicked, nor unprincipled. An empty-headed pup-
pet— an ingeniously devised automaton in the hands of
Mr. Pitt, that simply acted as that great Dictator willed,
and danced away, so long as its machinery continued
wound, conveys, according to some writers, a tolerably
fair idea of his artificial lordship. But oh, he was a
dangerous tool. " From the day of his arrival," says Sir
Jonah Barrington, " the spirit of insurrection increased,
and in a short period during his lordship's Government
more blood was shed, as much of outrage and cruelty was
perpetrated on both sides, and as many military executions
took place as in ten times the same period during the
sanguinary reign of Elizabeth or the usurpation of Crom-
well or King William."

CHAPTER IV.

The Hon. Valentine Lawless commences House-keeping with his Grand-
father— Browne's penchant for an animated Political Discussion — His Pa-
nacea for Ireland's Ills — His Enrapturement at the Young Patriot's
Denunciations of Saxon Misrule — Lawless becomes successively a Yeoman
and a Special Constable — The Camp at Loughlinstown — Lawless's Visits
thereto — Hospitality of Colonel the Duke of Leinster — Lawless his Guest
beneath the Canvass — Sampson — Daring Attempt to enkindle the Flame of
Nationality^within the Heart of the Camp — William Aylmer — The Evening
Visiters at Valentine Browne's, Thomas Braughall, John Bume, and Mat.
Dowh'ng — Mr. Lawless studies for the Bar, and enters himself a Sttident
of the Middle Temple — John Macnamara — Lawless dines in Company
with William Pitt — Startling Announcement — The Legislative Union
Project exposed by Valentine Lawless — Mr. Cooke's Retaliation — Extracts
from " Thoughts on the Projected Union" — Flattering Encouragement to
young Pamphleteers.

WE cannot rightly understand how when Lawless re-
turned home from Switzerland, in 1795, he should have
selected his grandfather to reside with in preference to the
"governor," who kept a comfortable house and table
within a hundred yards of Mr. Browne's. This appears
the more extraordinary when we call to mind that the
family of Lord Cloncurry was not, by any means, a large
one. Certain it is, that immediately on his return he
commenced house-keeping in one of the small houses of
Merrion-row, with his old and venerable grandfather,
Valentine Browne, who had long since retired from busi-
ness, and now verging on his eightieth year, thought of
nothing but politics and prayers. Unlike the generality
of octogenarians, ne entertained a strong penchant for
sitting up late at night in debating a controversial point,
or talking over the various political events of the day. As a
proud, indomitable Roman Catholic, the untitled descen-
dant of nobility, but by nature ennobled, he naturally
smarted under the iniquitous oppression of the penal

92 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

hoof, which, in his case, only increased that spirit it
sought to crush out. Many were the interchanges of kin-
dred sentiment on Irish wrongs and grievances, that sym-
pathetically floAved from the patriotic kinsmen, as tete-a-
tete they sat of a winter's evening, brooding over the dark
and troublous past, and sanguinely hoping for future sun-
shine. The veteran politician dearly loved an argument,
and the moment grace was over, and the cloth removed,
he was ready for the fray. Browne saw through the base
but clumsily devised policy of England, and in what it
must, sooner or later, eventuate. This and other consi-
derations filled the good man with sorrow ; but the con-
templation of that discord and division which ever
characterized the Irish as a people, inspired him with
perhaps the gloomiest feeling. For the removal of this and
other grievances he had many pseudo-nostrums, some tole-
rably sound in theory, others vague and visionary. Among
the latter may be classified his constant saying, " curtail
the clergy." The reduction of that body he regarded al-
most in the light of a Catholicon for some of the many ills
that weakened his country. In this way numberless even-
ings wentover. Wheneverthe old Helot clankedhis chains,
by the enunciation of a long drawn sigh, or a guttural mur-
mur of impatience, it would be the immediate signal for
Lawless to hurl anathemas on Poyning's Statutes, Dermod
M'Murrough, De Ginkle, et hoc genus omne; or to launch
forth in an impassioned diatribe on Saxon misrule, trea-
chery, and domination. The Camden Administration was
not forgotten. With a Demosthenic eloquence and force,
that at once delighted and astonished the old gentleman,
he would denounce that mercenary Government which
was doing all that in its power lay to foment an insurrec-
tion, and submerge our unhappy country in a whirlpool of
blood.

It may, perhaps, appear somewhat inconsistent, and
excite a certain amount of astonishment, to hear that
Valentine Lawless, although § sterling son of Erin, and
an United Irishman to boot, entered as an officer in one
of the many corps of yeoman cavalry which started into

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 93

life about this period. As soon, however, as the Govern-
ment began to employ them in ransacking the houses of
liberal persons, he indignantly threw up his commission,
and joined a respectable corps of special constables,
known as the Rathdown Association, whose general con-
duct and demeanour were more consonant with his tastes.
Noblemen and gentlemen formed its ranks indiscrimi-
nately. The preservation of the peace throughout the
populous district between Dublin and Bray was their
avowed duty and invariable occupation.

On Loughlinstown Hill, contiguous to Bray, a military
camp had just been established, in order to prevent the
intercourse of the army with the disaffected of the metro-
polis. This Mr. Lawless was in the frequent habit of
visiting, chiefly with a view to enjoy the society of his
friends, William Duke of Leinster (then colonel of the
Kildare Militia), and General Crosbie, Commander-in-
Chief. His Grace, who had very little of the recluse or
ascetic in his composition, often sent our hero an invita-
tion to dine with him beneath the canvas. Nowhere, we
venture to say, were gayer messes than at Loughlinstown,
and in few places more agreeable reviews, balls, or soirees.
Long after the final dissolution of the County Kildare
Militia, and the departure of Lord Carhampton's forces
from Loughlinstown Hill, the neighbouring gentry — of
the fair sex especially — availed themselves of many op-
portunities to express their pleasurable reminiscences in
connexion with the camp.

Lawless, upon one of his periodical pilgrimages thither,
was accompanied by Counsellor William Sampson, a
friend of his, and one of the most ardent revolutionists of
the period. Sampson, who appears to have had two
motives in escorting Lawless to the field, watched his
opportunity, as he carelessly indulged in an after-dinner
saunter through the mazes of the camp, to distribute
a quantity of ultra-national ballads, tracts, and essays
amongst the soldiery. This was a daring act, and, had
he been detected, he would, most assuredly, have paid a
heavy penalty for his temerity. The first meeting be-
tween Sampson and William Aylmer took place on this

94 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

occasion. Aylmer was, at the time of which we write,
a lieutenant in the militia, but inclining somewhat more
towards his country than his king. Two years after-
wards he headed, in the capacity of rebel general, one of
the sections of the United Irish army, which he furiously
hurled at the British column from the summit of the
Hill of Ovidstown one fine day in June, 1798. What
passed between him and Sampson on the occasion of their
introduction we know not — but it would seem as if the
persuasive arguments of the lawyer were attended with
all the success which a revolutionist of his stamp could
possibly desire.

Amongst the guests whom Valentine Browne was in
the habit of entertaining in Merrion-row, may be men-
tioned Thomas Braughall, a respectable silk merchant ol
Dublin, well known in his day, and Matthew Dow ling,
who, it will be recollected, assisted in the respective
escapes of Rowan and Tandy. Dowling, a liberal Pro-
testant, was Lord Cloncurry's solicitor, and Braughall, a
Roman Catholic, his land agent. Both one and the other,
without being guilty of sedition, were sterling nationalists,
and ever foremost in any popular movement. The
Catholic Committee, when under the auspices of John
Keogh, claimed Braughall as one of its most gifted
members. He drew up their petitions, and acted as
secretary, until death, in 1803, deprived the Board of his
services. The high opinion entertained by Theobalc
Wolfe Tone of Braughall's abilities and worth may b
gathered from numerous passages in his diary.

In constant communication with Matthew Dowling
and Thomas Braughall, Mr. Lawless's democratical opi
nions became every day more decided in their ton*
and character. Braughall and Dowling, although no
actual rebels, approximated to it ; and, on the bursting
forth of the insurrection in May, 1798, were seized a
dangerous characters, under the Habeas Corpus Susper
sion Act. Upon examining a file of the Dublin Ereninl
Post lately, we were amused to observe two short succe
sive paragraphs, having immediate reference to th
gentlemen in question. These appear in the numbe

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 95

bearing date May 26, 1798, and speak volumes for the
light in which Government viewed their political acts
and sentiments.

" Mr. Thomas Branghall, late a merchant of this city, is taken into cus-
tody. Papers of a very seditious and inflammatory nature were, it is said,
found in his house."*

" Mr. Matthew Dowling, an attorney, was arrested on Thursday night.
He was afterwards liberated."!

Another individual, who formed a constant link of
the family after dinner circle (if such it may be called)
at Valentine Browne's, was John Burne, barrister- at-law,
and subsequently one of His Majesty's Counsel of Ireland.
In early life he lived in Bride-street (not far from Robin
Lawless'); but in 1791, probably to be near his patron,
Lord Cloncurry, removed to the more aristocratic, though
less legal region of Merrion Row, where he established
himself in the next house but one to that inhabited by

* A most egregious falsehood, as we are assured by the representatives of
Mr. Braughall. The papers were of a most innocuous character. That
which Government appears to have considered the most alarming was a letter
from the Hon. Valentine Lawless, full particulars concerning which will be
given anon. Had the emissaries of the Castle confined themselves to taking
Mr. Braughall's correspondence, he would not, vexatious as was the act,
have allowed it to annoy him; but they abstracted other and more valuable
matters, even to money, which we have authority for stating were never
returned. Braughall died in 1803 from the effects of cold caught on the
top of a French diligence. For many years he carried on the silk trade in
No. 9, Bridge-street, Dublin, the house now occupied by Messrs. Vance and
Beers. In 1787 he removed to No. 7, Eccles-street, where he continued to
reside until his death. An old water spout, still attached to the Bridge-
street house, bears the inscription — "Thomas Braughall, 1755." Braughall
was a man of sufficient note in his day, to be thought worthy by
Walker's Hibernian Magazine (a Conservative journal) of a niche in their
portrait gallery. The picture is well executed, and represents a handsome,
gentlemanly man, iu a bob-wig, poring over some sheets of manuscript.
Lord Cloncurry, in his " Personal Recollections," spoke of Braughall as " a
faithful servant and a good friend of his father's." The former expression
gave offence to Braughall's family ; the latter failed to qualify it.

f Dowling, while in Newgate, addressed a letter to Lord Henry Fitz-
gerald, touching the situation of his unfortunate brother. " I am a prisoner
for a few days," said the postscript, " on what charge I know not." The
letter appears in Mr. Moore's Memoirs of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Poor
Dowling's ruling weakness was a partiality for the bottle. Having drank
an immoderate quantity of French brandy, he died of its effects in Paris,
August, 1804. A near relative of the author's was one of the few Irishmen
who followed him to the tomb.

96 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Brown and his grandson. This circumstance rendered
their intercourse, if possible, more frequent, and their in-
timacy still closer. Mr. Burne was, moreover, the con-
fidential friend and lawyer of Nicholas Lord Cloncurry,
an office which he continued to hold under the subject
of these pages until 1829, when death snatched him away
from his deeds and conveyances. A Protestant, like
Dowliiig, he entertained nought but liberal views towards
his Catholic fellow-countrymen. In 1820 he acted a
rather intrepid part with Valentine Lord Cloncurry in
resisting some unconstitutional attempts made by the
High Sheriff of Dublin to dissolve a legal meeting. Full
particulars of this exciting scene will be found recorded
in their proper place.

Before the expiration of the year 1795 Lawless repaired
to London, and entered himself a student of the Middle
Temple. From that date until 1797 he periodically di-
vided his attentions between the great metropolis and
Dublin. Amongst the numerous parties with whom
he became acquainted at Neufchatel, in 1792, was Mr.
John Macnamara, the bitter personal opponent of Fox.
From that period until his visit to London, in 1795,
Lawless had completely lost sight of him. They met by
chance, and Macnamara, delighted to see his old acquaint-
ance, would not let him go until he promised to join a
dinner party in Baker-street, Portman-square, which it
was his intention to give on the day following. The party
went off as pleasantly as the generality of gentlemen's din-
ner parties. Toasts and wine were freely drank, jokes and
filberts cracked, and politics and grapes discussed. The
lion of the evening appeared to be a little, cocknosed,
gouty man, exceedingly loquacious, and rather remark-
able in his attentions to the claret and champagne. What
was Lawless's surprise upon discovering that this little,
cocknosed, gouty toper was no less a personage than the
Right Hon. William Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Lord of the Treasury, and Prime Minister of England,
who, conjointly with some half dozen colleagues of infe-
rior capacity, had been long devoting his energies in
labouring to mature that calamitous conspiracy which has

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 97

branded with eternal infamy the Irish names of Clare and
Castlereagh. Mr. Pitt, in the course of the evening, be-
came communicative, and divulged, probably when under
the influence of wine, the grand ministerial scheme now
so soon to be realized. Lawless was thunderstruck. In
one short second his mind stretched far into th'e future,
and beheld the progress, achievement, and consequences
of the Union. He saw the grave yawning to receive his
bleeding country, and England, in the distance, making
preparations for the burial. What was he to do ? Assail
William Pitt with a storm of wrath, and dare him, at his
peril, to persist in the fell intention ? No ! he would
quietly return home, and write a book against the project ;
expose the atrocious nature of the measure, and call upon
his countrymen, of every creed and class, to rally round
him and repel, by every constitutional means, so intole-
rable an aggression on their dearest liberties. Lawless
went to work in right good earnest. In the course of a
few weeks he had his pamphlet ready, and having en-
trusted its publication to John Moore, of College-green,
Dublin, withdrew from the busy throng of men, and, with
palpitating heart, watched what effect it should produce.
A manifest sensation was the immediate result. Copy after
copy disappeared from off the bookseller's counter with
pantomimic rapidity. " Thoughts on the Projected
Union" being admittedly the first blow at the ministerial
scheme, it was taken the most flattering notice of by Mr.
Under-Secretary Cooke, who, in a pamphlet of some fifty
pages, laboured hard to demolish his adversary's points.
Cooke's Essay was, of course, written by command, and
like the generality of commanded performances, histrionic
or otherwise, not particularly clever, lively, or interesting.
Believing that to see some extracts from the Essay will
afford the Irish reader as much interest as we ourselves
derived from their perusal, we make no apology for in-
troducing in this chapter some of the most creditable
portions. These will be read with increasing interest
when remembered that Lawless was little more than
emerging from his 'teens at the period of their compo-
sition.

98 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

"The author of the following pages," he preambles, "animated by an
,71xio Hereof saving his country from an attempt he has long foreseen

d d^a eiUs vet conscious of his inability to place the picture in Us strongest
IMU He hopes, however, to succeed so far as to put the matter in a way
of being discussed by persons more equal to the important t

Having made his bow, and conjured the parliamentary
corruptionists not to prove unfaithful to their country m
the coming crisis, he plunges into that work which a sense
of duty imperatively calls on him, at all hazards, tc
ecute : —

"There are certain periods in political, as well as in moral opinion, when
the man who is born free, as well as the philosopher who has spent Ins life
fnt^nvesUgation of truth, feels himself equally called upon, by^n^fe,

t0 ™Tt %S£E£* when every native of this island should f.x 1
attention1! one of the most important subjects that has ever «V^J
mind of an Irishman-to wit, an Union between this country and tb

t look on

man-o w,
ritain. I know there are many who, even yet^ look on e

virtue."

Gradually the tone of the pamphlet becomes bolder :—

« Rut what " he says, " can the most illustrious courage effect, darkened

Wta and comforts of life; fortified by the ocean, garrisoned with Ir
and stored by the united hands of Han and C

In the following paragraph he grapples with his sub-
ject, and advances with seven-leagued strides
point : —

"To , i- rid at once then of the Parliament of Ireland, which is found
too ^ra^/venTitap^ent imperfect state, the British minister is at

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 99

this instant engaged not (as in former Parliaments) in learning the sum that
may be necessary to influence the next delegation of the people in favour of
British interest?, nor in procuring votes for or against a particular question
but in finding the fej-simple of your liberty and property by a permanent
purchase of the Parliament of Ireland."

Was there nothing of prognostication in all this? —

" I know there is no cause so bad to which private interest will not pro-
cure public advocates. T have no doubt, then, that an Union, fatal as it
must be to the welfare of this country, will find its supporters and defender*
even among Irishmen."

Having argued, retrospected, speculated, and antici-
pated at considerable length, he next applies himself to
the task of exposing, piece by piece, the shallow and de-
lusive terms on which it was natural to suppose Govern-
ment would treat with us for our national independence.
He laughs them to derision, and then exclaims :

, " fTs for tThe ,other ingredients that may compose this pleasing cement
ot a Union, I take it for granted that they will be made up of such suppu-
ative materials, as will not only draw out the present- symptoms of partial
inflammation, but extract the very blood and life from the entire kingdom."

Here Lawless stares into the future. He sees the com-
paratively _ few representative peers and commoners that
it will be in the power of Ireland to send to the Imperial
Parliament, and what trifling influence their votes must
have on any question affecting Irish interests. He sees
regiments of absentees pouring into England, and the
mama for London life daily strengthening in its grasp
round the fashion-led victims.

From the few extracts we have quoted, it will, we ap-
prehend, be tolerably evident that Lawless gave the subject
he was handling the most mature deliberation, and left no
stone unturned to find out the intentions and machinations
of the minister. With untiring industry he investigated
every crevice of the .future, thought carefully over the
alleged advantages of a Union, weighed them in the ba-
lance, and found them— need we say it— wanting. So far
from increased prosperity resulting, he saw nothing before
us but prostration and inertia. Dublin, the second city in
the empire, and which had promised, in a few years, to vie

100 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

even in wealth, with the first in Europe, he beheld sink-
ing into ruin, the fine arts drooping, its manufactories idle,
its Exchange deserted, the current of wealth and fashion
stemmed, and the residences of its nobility converted into
public offices, iron stores, and mendicities.

We doubt if Cloncurry, in any of his subsequent writ-
ings, ever produced a more ingenious figure than the
following. Who would have thought that so unpictu-
resque an object as a boat canal, only second in hideous-
ness to a railroad, would ever lend its aid to a graceful
metaphor?" —

" Our canals, formed at such an immense expense, and not yet finished,
would be rendered useless, for our capital being the heart from whence these
nourishing veins spread through the body of the nation, the breaking of that
heart must bring inevitable destruction on the commercial circulation of the
whole island. I Wish I could here finish the sad and tedious catalogue of our
impending dangers ; but the brief plan of these few pages, and what is a still
greater impediment, alas ! the state of my own feelings, will not suffer me to
dwell minutely on the ruin of my country."

In the following we have an Irish Marius mourning
over the ruins of his country : —

" What a grievous sight will then present itself to your man of science
when he looks on the map of the world, and fixing his eye on the delightful
spot that gave him birth, observing its happy situation for trade to every
part of the world, and its peculiar commercial advantages with respect to all
the western hemisphere ; its numerous harbours, superior to any in Europe,
its many and deep rivers — in short, its singular and entire requisites for the
most sovereign independence — I repeat it, what will be his sorrow when he
reflects that this island, the most delightful in the universe, had, within his
own memory, enjoyed the blessing of its own Government, was fertile for its
own inhabitants, traded for its own profit, and grew rich for its own magni-
ficence!— but now, alas ! its harbours useless, its fields uncultivated, its towns
depopulated, and its capital in decay ! Will my independent countrymen
resign for ever the power of taxing themselves, the final adjustment of their
litigations, the framing and enacting of their own laws, the majesty of the
nation ? * * * * *

"All our great men (it matters not whether that greatness is applied to
title or fortune, or to the uncommon power of genius) — I say all the great
men would settle in England, either to seek for honours, to challenge re-
wards, or even to look for the humble comforts of society. * * * But
let me not calculate ; your destruction is too plain to require demonstration,
for the most dimsighted can perceive the ruin of your country through such
an alliance.

" To prevent, as far as lies in my power, this Union, which I cannot think
on without feeling the destruction of my country, I have taken the liberty of
publishing the foregoing pages, that the genuine lovers of Ireland may not

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 101

be wholly ignorant of a measure that will certainly and shortly be brought
forward. My object is to make my countrymen unanimous, and unanimous
in time, in an unanimous opposition to so fatal a proposal, come in what
shape it may."

In the sequel we find him anticipating the bubble
promises of Pitt : —

" I am well aware that allurements of a very attractive nature will be held
out to my brethren, the Roman Catholics — motives of seduction, which I
entertain no doubt they will resist — nay, abhor, when they know they will
be offered as the price of the sovereign independence of their country."

Poor Lawless ! you were young and inexperienced
when these hopes were breathed. A year sufficed to show
how miserably you were deceived.

He continues his exhortations to the deluded Catholics,
He conjures of them not to be so foolish in regard to
their interests, and so treasonable to their country as to
sell the fee-simple of Irish independence for the anticipa-
tion of their approaching civic franchise. His advice was
disregarded. Fools ! that would not deign to hearken to
it — we had almost said you deserved to suffer.

" I would, therefore, earnestly recommend every Irishman to put aside
religious distinctions ; but I would particularly conjure all those who at pre-
sent in city, county, or borough, enjoy the shadow of elective franchise,
to instruct* their representatives to oppose, with all their might, so de-
grading and disastrous a measure as an Union. This will be the only effec-
tual way to save the country, and to counteract the designs of the British
minister ; for every freeman should know that the Parliament is only a
delegation of the people. The people, speaking thus to their representatives,
cannot fail to be obeyed ; for no Parliament that sought its election from
the people can cease to obey the voice, the undoubted voice, of its electors."

Miserably deceived again! Representatives of the
people ! — what a mockery of name I

" I shall no longer," observes Lawless, in conclusion, " intrude with my
anxieties and my fears, but conclude with reminding my readers of the
motto with which I set out, ' nous perdons la patrie, si nous nous divi-
sons.'1 Faithful and steady to a connexion with England, which we prize,
still let us not sacrifice our country for her aggrandizement- Whatever dis-
advantages we at present labour under spring from an English Administra-

* County meetings could not at that time be held, as the military had
orders to disperse them, with powder and ball if necessary.

102 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

tion ; let us not, then, add an English Parliament. In spite of oppression,
in spite of martial law, let the people of Ireland be united as one man to
oppose the fatal attempt ; and let the people of England be assured, that if
they suffer themselves to be made the instruments of enslaving us, they will
in turn be themselves enslaved. * * *

" The trying moment approaches. I beseech the great Ruler of the Uni-
verse to give us unanimity, and to inspire every Irishman with this great
truth — that his individual welfare is inseparably connected with, and de-
pendent on, that of his country."

The foregoing extracts will possibly be objected to by
some readers, as unnecessarily numerous. To this we
have only to say, that our principal reason for making
such liberal use of the composition was in consideration
of its being Mr. Lawless's first essay in pamphleteering,
and not only to show how respectably he acquitted him-
self of the task, but that all may appreciate the extraor-
dinarily perfect foresight that characterizes it throughout.
As already observed, this pamphlet of Cloncurry's, if we
may be permitted to style him so, created on its appear-
ance a most marked sensation, and was promptly honoured
by a shower of special counter-arguments from the pen
of Mr. Cooke. Lord Cloncurry was repeatedly heard de-
clare, in after life, that Government never forgave him for
this singular display of daring. From that hour the eagle
eye of the Castle detective clung to him unceasingly.*
In secret council it was at length decided that, to get out
of the way so troublesome an enemy during the coming
" Union struggle" of might against right, would be most
judicious and essentially desirable. To accomplish this
desideratum ministers were not indolent in putting their
common shoulder to the wheel.

So you see, dear reader, his essay in pamphleteering
cost him something more than the expenses of publishing
and printing.

* Mr. Lawless was perfectly well aware of this fact. We have heard that,
when spending the evening at a friend's house, he would sometimes apol
jokingly, for an early departure, on the grounds of the inhumanity of longer
keeping his poor spy shivering outside in the cold night air.

CHAPTER V.

The Horizon of Ireland still clouded — Fiendish Policy of England — Lord
Moira's intrepid Speech in the British House of Peers — Unparalleled
Coercion — The Organization of United Irishmen assumes a more formidable
Aspect — Lord Edward Fitzgerald nominated Commander-in-chief — The
French Expedition to Ban try Bay — Tone's Diary — Critical Situation of
Ireland — In imminent Peril of being lost irrevocably to England — Ingenious
Ruse of Theobald Wolfe Tone— Obstacles to the Advance of the Britisli
Troops — Panic in Dublin — Application by Government to Lord Cloncurry
for a Loan of £45,000 — His Lordship purchases Lyons from Michael
Aylmer — Another John Macnarnara — Mr. Lawless rescues Lord and
Lady Russell from the Hands of Banditti — John Home Tooke — Lawless
his frequent Guest — John Reeves — Mr. Lawless supports The Press by
his Pen and his Purse — Constantly associates with the Leaders of the
popular Movement— Indignation of Nicholas Lord Cloncurry — Eng-
land spurns contemptuously some peaceable Overtures made by the
United Irishmen — Thomas Addis Emmet — Renewed Coercion — Free
Quarters — Grattan and Catholic Emancipation — Dr. Patrick Duigenan —
Lord Moira — Charles J. Fox — Mr. Pelhain — Lake's Proclamation —
Manifesto from the Men of Ulster — Tragic Story of William Orr — Law-
less elected an Executive Director — A mischief-maker in the Family — •
The Monster Petition of May, '97 — Exchange Meeting — Secession from
Parliament of the National Members — Lord Edward Fitzgerald's Address
to his Constituents — Murder of Dixon — Alarm of Lord Clonmel for the
Fate of Lawless — His Departure for England by Command of Lord Clon-
curry— Philipps's Portrait of Lord Clonmel — Olympic Pig Hunt

MEANWHILE affairs were anything but " looking up" in
Ireland ; goading, insult, and persecution continued to be
the order of the day. The people hunted down, tortured
capriciously, their habitations burnt, where were they to
run for shelter save into the phalanx of the confederation ?
Once within its magic circle, they considered themselves
secure, although then it was that danger more than ever
imperilled them.

The fiendish system of" picketing" — making men stand
barefooted upon a pointed stake, until syncope ensued —
was one of the most favourite stratagems resorted to for
extorting a confession. This inhuman torture was, in
many instances, pursued towards the same party, gene-

104 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

rally on the ground of mere suspicion, for two, three, and
four consecutive times, producing invariably the worst
physical results to the unfortunate sufferer.

Lord Moira stated this, and many other awful facts, in
the British House of Lords, on November 22, 1797. He
could vouch for their veracity from personal knowledge,
and added, that they were not particular acts of cruelty
exercised by men abusing authority, but formed part of a
wide-spread system. Nor was picketing the only species
of torture. " Men have been taken and hung up," ex-
claimed his lordship, " till they were half hanged, and
then threatened with a repetition of this cruel torture
unless they made a confession of the imputed guilt /*" Lord
Moira dwelt particularly, and at considerable length, upon
the invariable absence of proof, even a well-founded sus-
picion of delinquency. Every man was at the mercy of
a soldier's caprice. To this remarkable speech we will
again have occasion to refer.

There were many harrowing sights to be witnessed in
those days, but few, we venture to say, more terrific
than to glance around of an autumn night, from the sum-
mit of some commanding eminence, and observe the
countless house conflagrationsf which would burst upon
your vision. The probability of some unfortunate inmates
becoming calcined, whilst they yelled for mercy, did not
render the contemplation less harrowing and awful. No
matter in what direction the spectator chose to look, a
dwelling, crowned by a diadem of golden flame, was sure
to rise, in grim magnificence, before him. Had Rosse's

* It too often happened that men, to put an end to the torture, and dread-
ing approaching death or syncope, absolutely invented conspiracies, and
made disclosures, which, when too late, received a contradiction upon oath.

t " If it was thought that any district had not given up all the arms it con-
tained, a party was sent out to collect the number at which it was stated ;
and in the execution of this order thirty houses were sometimes burnt down
in a single night. Thus an officer took upon him to decide the quantity of
arms which were contained in a particular district, and upon the judgment
thus formed, the consequences he had described followed. These facts he
could bring evidence to their lordships to prove. Many cases of a similar
nature he might enumerate. He wished for nothing more sincerely than to
be examined upon oath as to the state of Ireland, and to the facts which he
had brought forward. He had stated them before God and his country." —
Lord Muira's Speech in the British House of Lords, Nov. 22, 1797.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 105

night telescope existed in those days, and the spectator
been fortunate enough to hold one, it would no doubt have
led to the discernment of a ring of Orange rioters, danc-
ing with demoniacal exultation round the blazing ruins of
the Papist's dwelling.

We have said that a night view from the summit of
an eminence would send a chill of horror through the
hardest heart. Upon consideration, we apprehend that
a survey of the kind would, to other than a " true blue,"
be utterly impracticable, insomuch as martial law was in
full operation at the time, and any person not specially
licensed, who dared to venture out after nine o'clock at
night, ran very imminent risk of being either hung or
embowelled. With respect to the curfew, it was enforced
in many districts with such cruel rigour, that a father was
known to plead in vain for permission to light a candle,
in order that the mother might be enabled to attend her
little daughter who lay struggling in the agonies of death
adjacent.

Well done, Jeffreys Earl Camden ! You quake within
the folds of your viceregal robes if a farthing rushlight
is ignited to minister relief to a dying girl ; but, oh ! sin-
gular inconsistency, we find you basking before that sheet
of flame, which cries to Heaven for vengeance from the
summit of the peasant's cottage.

Before the recall of Lord Fitzwilliam gave to the na-
tional movement that additional impetus which dragged
along thousands who would have otherwise remained in-
active, the modus operandi was essentially different from
what it afterwards became. Anterior to 1795, it merely
consisted of imperfectly organized individual societies,
very much scattered, and communicating with each other
by delegates. The vast augmentation of adherents in '95
and '96, and the increasing power of the Union generally,
demanded the establishment of a more solid and systematic
plan of action. Accordingly, district, city, county, baronial,
and provincial committees were set on foot, all admirably
disciplined in their way, and dovetailed into each other
with a neat mechanical precision that extorted even the
admiration of its enemies. Crowning this organization sat

F 2

106 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the Irish Executive Directory, a select body of men re-
markable for their patriotism, judgment, discretion, and
humanity. From this council an order could be trans-
mitted through the entire range of the Union with a tele-
graphic celerity and accuracy little inferior to the more
scientific system of electric communication. The com-
mittees possessed the right of nominating all officers save
the commander-in-chief. The privilege of this nomina-
tion appears to have been reserved by the Directory to
themselves. In 1796, the commander-m-chief was de-
clared to be Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a brother of the J
ofLeinster, and one of the most popular men of the day.
The organization, when once under the auspices of
this noble officer (who had already served with distinc-
tion in the American war), progressed with Herculean
vigour. Its aspect, moreover, grew daily more fascinat-
ing, the tone of the leaders loftier and prouder, and at last
it became almost unfashionable not to join its ranks
" The spirit of the Union," says Rowan's 'Autobiography,
" passed through every class of society, lighting on the
bench and the pulpit, on the desk and the anvil, shooting
like an electric shock through whole ranks of the militia,
animating the breasts of women with heroic daring, and
infusing courage into the hearts, and vigour into the arms,
even of boys and children."

It was not until February, 1796, that any regularly
authorized communication was opened between the Irish
Executive and the French Directory. Few men appeared
better fitted for the office of negotiator than Theoba
Wolfe Tone, both in point of natural daring and diplo-
matic adroitness. Fraught with the importance of his
mission, he repaired to France one fine spring morn-
ino- and at once put himself in communication with the
M?nister of War. To this dernier resort Ireland was
driven by the increasing persecutions which pursued her
people. Two most oppressive enactments, plausibly
designated the Indemnity and Insurrection Acts,* came

* When George Ponsonby heard that this Act was occupying the minds of
^misters, he exclaimed— " Sir, that bill, if persevered in, will be the grave

of the constitution.'

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 107

into force about this period. When one of the most
distinguished members* of the Irish Directory found
himself, two years afterwards, in the grasp of an angry
Government, and rigidly cross-questioned by the Secret
Committee, he informed that body, upon oath, that not
until the passing of these iniquitous enactments were the
Directory disposed to open any communication with
France.

There have been two most interesting volumes pub-
lished at Washington, and pirated in London, entitled
" The Diary and Life of Theobald Wolfe Tone." It
throws out into bold relief the salient points of that
period of Irish history which lies between March, '96,
and November, '98 ; and in all sooth we would strongly
recommend the reader to see it. In a work of this nature
we durst not even epitomize the mass of interesting
matter which Tone's Diary embodies.

Most Irishmen are cognizant of the thousand vexatious
contre-temps which seemed, as it were, to form into con-
spiracy in order to annihilate the French expedition to
Ireland in 1796. Concerning them we will not now
enter into further particulars than to quote a passage from
Tone's Diary of December 25th. He wrote it while the
remnant of the French fleet lay tossing about in Bantry
Bay:—

" Certainly we have been persecuted by a strange fatality, from the very
night of our departure to this hour. We have lost the Commander-in-Chief
(Hoche) ; of four admirals, not one remains; we have lost one ship of the
line that we know of, and probably many others of which we know nothing.
We have now been six days in Bantry Bay, within 500 yards of the shore,
without being able to effectuate a landing; we have been dispersed four times
in four days, and at this moment, out of forty-three sail, we can muster, of
all sizes, but fourteen. There only wants our falling in with the English to
complete our destruction.''!

* Thomas Addis Emmet.

f At the very moment that Tone was scribbling the above paragraph, Dr.
Moylan, R. C. Bishop of Cork, was penning a pastoral letter to the faithful of
his diocese, wherein he implored of them, as Christians, on no account to
fraternize with the Gallic invaders : — " At a moment," observed his lordship,
•• of such general alarm and consternation, it is a duty I owe to you, my
beloved flock, to recall to your minds the sacred principles of loyalty, alle-
giance, and good order, that must direct your conduct on such an awful

108 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Had those unsubsidized allies of England, the winds,
permitted Grouchy to effect a landing, Cork must infal-
libly have fallen, with little more than the mere sem-
blance of resistance. It is a striking fact, that at that
very juncture, as Mr. Whitebread declared, stores existed
in the city to the amount of a million and a half — the
great supply for the British navy during the ensuing
year. While Tone and Grouchy were tossing in the
bay, 3,000 regular troops could with difficulty be mus-
tered to oppose a hostile landing.

The unaccountable desertion of the Irish shore by Sir
John Borlase Warren and his Agamemnons, at the very
period that their presence was most urgently needed, lias
oftentimes elicited bursts of loyal indignation and astonish-
ment. The fact of an English admiral leaving Ireland so
long exposed to the mercy of this formidable enemy must
appear little short of madness. The secret is shortly this.
England, though long cognizant of the preparation of an
armament at the port of Brest, remained quite in the
dark as to whether Ireland or Portugal was its intended
destination. Several thousand copies of a proclamation,
addressed to the Irish people, were, by command of
General Hoche, printed at Brest for general distribution
in Ireland, whenever a landing should be effected. One
of the British spies heard of this proceeding, and called
at the printer's for a copy. Tone, with his wonted tact
and sagacity, at once directed the compositor to have
the words "Portugal" and "Portuguese" introduced
wherever "Ireland" and "Irish" chanced to occur. The
idea was inimitable, and the ingenious substitution read
most plausibly. Supplied with a copy of the fictitious
proclamation, the spy posted off to the admiral of the
British fleet, who no sooner perused it than he declared
no time was to be lost, and forthwith started with all
hands for Portugal, where he calculated — to use a most

occasion. Charged, as I am, by that blessed Saviour ( whose birth with
grateful hearts we this day solemnize) with the care of your souls, interested
beyond expression in your temporal and eternal welfare, it is incumbent on
me to exhort you to that peaceable demeanour which must ever mark his true
and faithful disciples."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TI3IES. 109

unnautical metaphor — upon receiving the French ad-
vance on the point of his bayonet.

From the quantity of snow which strewed the public
thoroughfares, it was a matter of no trifling difficulty to
establish rapid communication between Cork and Dublin.
Owing to this circumstance, a very considerable period
elapsed ere the news reached the metropolis. The reader
may probably inquire why communication was not opened
by water. The turbulence of the wind, as it dashed the
vast Atlantic billows with deafening roar upon the beach,
will, we think, be sufficient answer for that inquiry.

The earthquake felt throughout Ireland on the night
of the 10th November, 1852, was not more unexpected
and unwelcome than the arrival of the French squadron in
Bantry Bay. Every Protestant in Ireland at once grasped
his musket, put his trust in God, and kept his powder
dry. The Roman Catholic priesthood denounced the expe-
dition as a powerful temptation of the devil. They con-
jured of their respective flocks not to allow themselves to
be seduced from their allegiance, and threatened them
with sacerdotal displeasure should they violate it. The
people obeyed, and not only refrained from co-operating
with Tone and Grouchy, but absolutely aided the advance of
the British troops, by clearing away those vast impedimenta
of snow which rendered transit along the roads almost
impossible. When the news reached Dublin, the greatest
possible delight and the greatest possible consternation
ran electrically through the various phases of society.
The loyalists were, of course, awe-stricken — the dis-
affected elated. Not all the soporifics in the Apothecaries'
Hall could bring one twenty minutes' sleep to poor Lord
Camden that night, or any of his voluminous staff of
officials. Never before did they eat their Christmas
pudding with a mind so ill at ease. Bells rang, drums
beat to arms, and the distant din of many voices rose and
fell like the surging of a mighty ocean. Men that never
ailed before suddenly found themselves afflicted with
palpitation of the heart, and a singular disposition to
feverish restlessness. Never dreaming of the insurmount-
able impediments which cast themselves gratuitously in

110 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the way of Tone's expedition, they only thought of the
tantalizing obstacles which threatened to oppose their
own hostile movement towards the South. Four feet of
snow lay in flakes upon the ground, and so potent was
the cold that the knees of several Highland soldiers
became lacerated from the friction of their own kilts,
which, owing to the great frost that prevailed, were
stiffened into a state of unusual rigidity.

We have already adverted to the encampment on
Loughlinstown Hill. Its object was to provide against
any hostile descent on Dublin from the County Wicklow,
and at the same time to prevent communication between
the disaffected citizens and the wavering militia. The
encampment was extensive, and of course no easy matter
to remove, all circumstances considered, to the seat of
danger in Munster. So ludicrously unprepared were the
Castle authorities for a foreign hostile visit, that actually
not one solitary tenpenny could be found at this critical
moment within the four oaken walls of the military chest.
A pleasing dilemma truly !

All this time poor Theobald Wolfe Tone was cursing
his stars, one hundred and twenty miles away, and
earnestly protesting in the face of heaven and earth that
never before did a conspiracy of contre-temps assail an
even temper with greater malignity and determination.
Reader, is it not a picture of human life? Little he
thought of the numerous impediments which flung them-
selves with formidable stubbornness before the advance of
his Anglican enemy.

The greatest alarm prevailed. Dublin was in a fer-
ment. A council of war precipitately assembled. Hoary-
headed privy councillors, with an energy that appeared
incompatible with their years, might be seen rushing
frantically to the Castle, and there putting their sapient
heads together, in order to decide on the best course to be
pursued at the present conjuncture. All agreed unani-
mously, after a short but clamorous consultation, that the
dilemma was anything but agreeable, and that Ireland
stood in most imminent peril. " As the army must
march in an hour," said they, " it is indispensable that we

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. Ill

obtain the wherewithal forthwith. Not a solitary camac*
remains in the military chest." Names were mentioned
as parties likely to advance sufficient money for the pur-
pose, but none appeared so eligible as Nicholas Lord
Cloncurry. A deputation accordingly waited upon that
nobleman, to request that he would oblige His Majesty's
Government with a loan of £45,000 — the sum required
to break up the camp, and draft the army down to Bantry
Bay. His lordship received the deputation graciously,
and unhesitatingly drew a cheque for the amount. By
the time the principal was refunded to Lord Cloncurry,
an amount of interest had adhered to it almost equal to
one-eighth of the original sum advanced.

It was immediately after making the above pecuniary
advance to Government, that Nicholas Lord Cloncurry
entered into and concluded arrangements with Michael
Aylmer, Esq., for the purchase of the castle and extensive
demesne of Lyons, County Kildare, so justly and widely
celebrated for its picturesque and natural magnificence.
The sale took place in the last week of December, 1796,
as appears from the original deed, now in the possession
of Michael Valentine Aylmer, Esq., of Baggot-street,
Dublin, the representative of the Aylmer family, formerly
seated at Lyons. The antiquity of this sept is remark-
able. Lodge speaks of Radulph and William Aylmer,
as resident at Lyons so far back as the year 1300. " The
Aylmer family," says the Abbe M'Geoghegan, in his
History of Ireland, " were seated at Lyons, in the County
Kildare, about the end of the thirteenth century, and
deduce their origin from Ailmer, Earl of Cornwall, in
the reign of King Ethelred." The parent trunk, esta-
blished at Lyons, gave out, in the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries, the collateral branches of the Ayhners
of Donadea, now represented by Sir Gerald Aylmer,
and the Ayhners of Balrath, represented by Lord
Aylmer.

Mr. Lawless, meanwhile, divided his attentions equally
between Dublin and London, to which the pursuit ofhis

* A species of Irish halfpenny, well known to our fathers and grandfathers.

112 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

forensic studies now rendered frequent visits necessary.
His heart, however, was always in Ireland, and with the
organizers of the national movement. He corresponded
regularly with them, and daily devoured those newspapers
that dared, in spite of intimidation, to publish Govern-
ment atrocities, and speak the retributive resolve of
Ireland. Generous pecuniary aid proved, in a substantial
manner, his ardent sympathy with the progress of the
organization.

We have already mentioned Mr. John Macnamara as
one of Lawless's associates in London. This gentleman
must not be confounded with another of the same name,
by profession a conveyancer, and one of his most intimate
friends. Although an Irishman and a Papist, he was,
singular to say, habitually patronized by several members
of the Government,* both in his professional capacity,
and in that of " gossip-agent," or news correspondent.
It is amusing to think that, from Lord Cloncurry's
nephew, Chief Justice Clonmel, he enjoyed no less a
salary than £400 per annum, for merely communicating
to his lordship regularly and in detail, the progressive
march of political events. By Lord Cloncurry he was
paid for services of a similar nature, though not so volu-
minous, the sum of £100 a-year. Another branch of his
profession was that of land agent, which he filled with
much credit and emolument under Francis Duke of
Bedford. Valentine Lawless, as the son of one of his
respected patrons, received some attention from Mr.
Macnamara. His residence, situated near Croydon, was
a bond fide liberty -hall, where some of the best London
society might daily be seen seated round an ample

* Macuamara is frequently alluded to in the recently published Bucking-
ham and Grenville correspondence. In a " most secret" communication from
the latter, dated Whitehall, Oct. 22, 1780, he says: — "You will have seen
by my last the delay which has arisen in examining Lord Nugent's papers,
on account of the absence of Macnamara." Occasionally further on, we find
him spoken of playfully as J/Wa. " He is the very person," writes Lord
Grenville, on May 15, 1789, "who has most strongly urged Thurlow on the
propriety of an English appointment, and who has suggested this curious
notion of Fitzgibbon's unpopularity. But I mention this, relying upon your
honour that you will not repeat it to any one, but particularly not to Fitz-
gibbon (Clare)."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 113

dinner-table, regaling on the good things which no one
could provide in better style or in more luxurious plenty
than this salaried newsmonger.

" Hospitality,
No formality,
All reality,

There you would ever see."

We are assured by Lord Cloncurry in his " Personal
Recollections," that it was no unusual event for the
Prince of Wales to drop in uninvited to these re-unions,
as well as men of the highest position in both Houses of
Parliament. To think of an Irish Roman Catholic, with
the chains of slavery still clanking to his heels, enter-
taining, in those penal days, not only the Royal Heir
Apparent, but the Lords and Commoners of Parliament,
is a phenomenon that will not fail to amaze some readers.

One Sunday night, on his return home from Croydon,
an incident occurred to which it may be well to give a
passing reference. Lord and Lady William Russell
were amongst Macnamara's guests, on the day we speak
of, but took their departure some twenty minutes sooner
than the rest of the company. Ere the metropolis
could be reached, it was necessary to brave Blackheath,
with its formidable band of foot-pad captains. Lawless
arrived on the Common most opportunely. He came up
in time to rescue from periF the noble lord and his lady,
who, after a feeble resistance, were about to submit them-
selves meekly to a digital examination at the hands of
the Turpins. Hearing the noise of approaching footsteps,
which their guilty consciences at once converted into the
tramp of a patrol, the robbers took precipitately to their
heels, leaving Lord ancbLady Russell, with the conco-
mitant booty, in undisputed possession of the field. We
believe it was this nobleman, who, many years after, died
by the hands of Courvoisier, his favourite valet.

One of the most noted acquaintances whom Mr.

Lawless formed, during the period of his residence in

.London, was John Home Tooke. Their subsequent

intimacy, strange to say, sprung from a quarrel. Mr.

114 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Lawless having consented to act as president at one of the
political dinners of the day, Tooke, in a sudden burst of
characteristic petulance — possibly through jealousy at not
having been himself invited to preside — proceeded to
discharge at him a series of caustic observations, which
soon provoked from the honourable president a retaliative
shower of the bitterest sarcasm. Words grew high, and
unpleasant consequences had begun to be apprehended,
when all of a sudden the disputants hoisted the white
flag, and proceeded right cordially to shake each other's
hand. Ever afterwards the veteran and youthful poli-
tician remained linked together by the strongest ties of
good-fellowship and affection.

Mr. Tooke, like Sheridan, possessed a most amiable
penchant for giving pleasant little dinner parties in his
villa on Wimbleton Common. Here Valentine Lawless
was a frequent and a welcome guest. The vivid flashes
of Curran's wit, the sparkling anecdotes and mots of
Perry,* and the eloquent bursts of republican sentiment
from Sir Francis Burdett, contributed in no small degree
to enliven these reunions.!

John Reeves ! no, we must not forget you, honest John,
Though always mistaken, occasionally unreasonable, and
as stubborn as a mule, yet your heart was in the right
place ethically and anatomically, and that we know of a
certainty, John. Years ago you died ; years ago your
flesh amalgamated with the churchyard clay, and, like
every other bit of mortal flesh, was soon forgotten amid
the daily growth of new — but not the less incorruptible
on that account — human substance. But while ultra-
Toryism exists, surely your name deserves to live. With-
out the aid of you and Arthur Young, it would most pro-
bably have tumbled into fra^nents in 1795. By the
labours of your mind, and the unceasing activity of your
pens, you succeeded in propping the tottering party. It
lived, and you died.

The political opinions of John Reeves were, to say the

* Editor of the Morning Chronicle.

f See " Personal Recollections of Lord Cloncurry."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 115

least of them, peculiar. In his celebrated pamphlet on
the Government of England, he advanced the rather
startling doctrine that it (the Government) was purely
monarchical, and could continue in all its functions, to
the end of time, without the existence of either Lords or
Commons. Both, he declared, derived their authority
from the King. He compared the Government to " a
goodly tree," whose stem was the Sovereign, and its
branches the Parliament. The latter might, he said, be
lopped off without injury to the tree.

For his sentiments on this subject the Whigs had him
prosecuted, but not to conviction. Acquittal stimulated
the Tory to additional exertion.

We will soon be approaching a period of Lawless's
career, with which Mr. Reeves is inextricably interwoven.
Most welcome is his name to a corner of this work, if
for no other reason than that he was the friend of Clon-
curry.

Mr. Lawless, as has been already seen, was a writer
of no ordinary vigour and ability. It is therefore not
surprising that his pen shoidd have contributed as ex-
tensively to the columns of the Press newspaper (the
accredited organ of Irish independence) as did his purse
to its funds, and that by so doing he drew upon himself
the suspicions of a watchful Government. His name
having been eagerly seized upon by the subsidized spies
of the Castle as an important element in the manufacture
of one of those remunerative conspiracies which their fer-
tile minds were soaufait at concocting, it soon became
a familiar word throughout the Secret Committee, and to
no small extent stimulated the dreams of ambition which
excited and enraptured the " Battalion of Testimony ."

Valentine, when in Ireland, passed his time almost ex-
clusively in the society of the popular leaders — a circum-
stance that occasioned Lord Cloncurry much umbrage
and uneasiness. Many a time the old gentleman warned
him to desist, and many a time his advice was disregarded.
By degrees Lord Nicholas waxed more and more wra'thful,
and at length vowed, in a paroxysm of rage, that in the
event of his son's persisting in the line of conduct objected to,
he would disinherit him as sure as his name was Valentine.

116 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

These menaces, however, alarming though they were,
appear to have been attended with but partial effect. If
his connexion with the Union for a moment relaxed, it
was only again to grasp it with a strong reaction of love
and determination. Never was he more thoroughly
happy than when conferring on the state of Ireland with
O'Connor, Sampson, Fitzgerald, Addis Emmet, Bond, or
M'Nevin. With each of these single-minded men he
remained on terms of the closest intimacy, until " circum-
stances, over which he had no controul," as apologists love
to say, put it completely beyond his power to continue
it. Lawless also knew poor Robert Emmet intimately,
and little thought, as he gazed upon the enthusiastic
countenance of the schoolboy, that six years more would
find him organizing an insurrection, and as a penalty,
pillowing his head on the block of the executioner. With
the somewhat more cautious patriots of the day — Grattan,
Ponsonby, Curran, and Plunket — Mr. Lawless was also
familiarly acquainted.

Can a more mercenary Government be conceived,
reader, than that which, towards the close of the last
century, sat legislating for Ireland in Dublin Castle?
After the failure of Hoche's expedition to Bantry Bay,
Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and some other influential
leaders of the organization, resolving to give their rulers
one more chance of cicatrizing the wounds they had so
deliberately opened, made formal proposal to his Majesty's
ministers that if, in the event of their conceding even a
modified reform, no exertions would be spared, on the
part of the leaders, in endeavouring to reclaim the alle-
giance of the people. As a deep-laid scheme, however,
was already concerted for the forcible effectuation of the
Legislative Union, this proposal met with nothing but in-
solent contempt. Can aught be conceived, we say, more
atrociously deliberate than calmly looking forward,
through the mists of years, to the extirpation, by fire and
sword, of fifty thousand* people, and all to accomplish a
disreputable purpose?

* The number of people slaughtered, according to the official calculation,
in 1 798. That the rebellion was the prelude to the Union, and intended aa
such by the British minister, few, now-a-days, venture to deny.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 117

Thomas Addis Emmet, a member of the Executive
Directory, and one of the brightest ornaments of the Irish
bar, was interrogated rigidly by the Secret Committee,
in 1798. There were few voices more influential in the
national councils than that of Thomas Addis Emmet.
Humane, disinterested, warm-hearted, zealous, he glided
through the meetings of the Irish Union, remonstrating
with some, suggesting to others, and advising all. In
the course of his examination, he observed, parenthe-
tically, in reference to some question from Lord Clare,
" Will you permit me to add, upon my oath, that it was
my intention to have proposed to the Executive, and
I am sure it would have been carried, had there
existed any reasonable hope of reform, to send a mes-
senger to France, who would apprise the Council of the
difference between the people and the Government
having been adjusted, and not to attempt a second in-
vasion." England, however, had a deeper game to play
than the bloodless suppression of Irish disaffection. It
" knew a trick worth two of that," and therefore resumed
the work of torture with redoubled vigour.

The Habeas Corpus Act was suddenly declared sus-
pended, and martial law became more general in its
operation. As a necessary result of the former measure,
thousands of men, wholly innocent of all treasonable
intents and practices, suddenly found themselves loaded
with fetters, and thrust into prison in common with
the guilty. Those whom it was found impossible to
" convict by the ordinary course of law,"* were trans-
ported, without even the mockery of a drum-head trial,
and consigned, with ruthless barbarity, to the hulks.

"The work of repression," observes an English writer,! " was now carried
on by the military with great violence. The soldiers exceeded their duty to
a shameful extent, plundering and demolishing the homes of respectable and
loyal people, ill-treating women and children, and sometimes putting them
to death in a spirit of wanton and savage cruelty. Persons unarraigned were
arrested and sent on board tenders, others were flogged and tortured to extort

* In the "Castlereagh Correspondence" appear various clever expedients
for punishing " offenders who cannot be convicted by the ordinary course of
law." See vol. i. p. 163, &c., &c.

t Cassell's History of Ireland, vol. iii. p. 35.

118 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

confessions ; men were mutilated, women violated, and whole villages and
populous districts were desolated with impunity. A regiment of cavalry,
called the Ancient Britons, under the command of Sir Watkins William
Wynne,* particularly distinguished themselves in the work of destruction, in
which they rioted like incarnate fiends."

" Mr. Pitt," says Sir Jonah Barrington, " counted on the expertness
of the Irish Government to effect a premature explosion. Free quarters
were now ordered, to irritate the Irish population. * It rendered

officers and soldiers despotic masters of the peasantry, their houses, food,
property, and occasionally their families.'"

On Feb. 17, 1797, the question of Catholic Emanci-
pation was, for the last time, brought before the Irish
Parliament by Grattan, who, in a speech of more than
ordinary power, moved that the admissibility of Catholics
to seats in Parliament was consistent with the safety of
the Crown, and the connexion of Great Britain with
Ireland. Ponsonby, Langrishe, Knox, and others, se-
conded his exertions ; but Dr. Duigenan, as Plowden has
it, " launched into a diffuse and infuriated philippic
against Popery, and abused all his Catholic countrymen
collectively." A division took place, when Grattan's
motion was found to be negatived by a large majority.

A speech of Lord Moira's in the British House of
Peers, on the 21st March, occupied much attention:
" It became the more interesting," observes Plowden,t
" as that noble lord was known recently to have come
from Ireland; so that his judgment could not be misled,
from seeing the real state of that kingdom, nor his can-
dour and loyalty be suspected of misrepresenting it."
He drew a vivid picture of the coercion and cruelty
practised by the Anglo-Irish Government on the people

* Mr. Wright, an Englishman, in his " History of Ireland," p. 632,
relates the following interesting trait in the Ancient Briton character : —
" Information having been lodged that a house near Newry contained con-
cealed arms, a party of the Ancient Britons was sent to it, and found the
information to be false : yet they set fire to the house. It was the first mili-
tary conflagration in that part of the country, and the peasantry, supposing
that the fire was accidental, assembled from all sides for the purpose of
extinguishing the flames. As they came up in different directions, they were
attacked and cut down by the soldiers, and thirty of them were killed,
including a woman and two children. An old man of seventy fled from the
slaughter ; but he was pursued, and when overtaken, at a distance from the
scene of outrage, his head was deliberately cut off with a blow of a sabre,
while he was on his knees imploring mercy."

t Page 632.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 119

of Ireland, and concluded a most affecting oration with a
motion based upon the grounds that no possible good
could arise from the prosecution of the present system.
It was by temper, equity, and good faith, that the dis-
tractions of Ireland were to be appeased, and their
affections conciliated. The motion was negatived by a
majority of seventy-two.

Charles J. Fox,* a few days later, headed the forlorn
hope in the Commons. " About nine years ago," he
proceeded, " a regular system was devised for enslaving
Ireland. A person of high consideration was known to
say that £500,000 had been expended to quell an oppo-
sition, and that as much more must be expended in order
to bring the Legislature to a proper temper. This
systematic plan of corruption was followed up by a suit-
able system of coercion." Mr. Fox concluded a long
speech with an enumeration of Ireland's grievances, and
a denunciation of England's favourite policy.f In the
course of this debate, it was alleged by Colonel Ful-
lerton that General Hoche would surely find, in Ulster
alone, 50,000 United Irishmen, armed to the teeth, and
busily employed in secret discipline, in order to qualify
themselves for reinforcing the French army of invasion.

On the 3rd March, Mr. Secretary Pelham addressed a
long-winded document to General Lake — the notorious
butcher of '98 — declaring that some stringent measures,
in addition to those already employed for preserving the
public peace, were become imperative. A long series of
coercive mandates followed, by order of his Excellency.
All meetings from that date were strictly prohibited;

* Fox moved on this occasion that the King be petitioned to take into
his royal consideration the disturbed state of Ireland, and to adopt such
healing measures as might appear to his wisdom best calculated to restore
tranquillity. One of Lawless's most valued friends, Sir Francis Bur-
dett, seconded the motion, but the result was as unsatisfactory as in
that in the Lords. Mr. Pitt, and his strong party, hurled 220 against
84.

f As soon as the London morning papers, which contained a report of
these proceedings, fell under the observation of that violent champion of the
English interest, Dr. Duigenan, he repaired to College-green, and, with
characteristic ruffianism, pronounced Mr. Fox's allegations to be " lying and
malicious."

120 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

armed or unarmed assemblages, both were equally trea-
sonable in the estimation of Lord Carnden. Thenceforth
General Lake became empowered to take the adminis-
tration of the law into his own guileless hands.

A proclamation forthwith appeared, from the pen of
that generalissimo, stigmatising the national Union as an
organized system of murder and robbery, and placing
every district over which he exercised the slightest au-
thority under the operation of martial law. All arms,
in the possession of parties not serving in a military
capacity, he commanded should be surrendered up ; and
in conclusion, declared that, for the encouragement of
such as chanced to be cognizant of the concealment of
arms, and were willing to approve, he would engage
to remunerate handsomely, and observe inviolable se-
crecy.

Lake's proclamation was promptly answered by a
popular manifesto, addressed by the men of Ulster to
their united brethren throughout Ireland : —

" Irishmen," it began, " our best citizens are entombed in bastiles, or
hurried on board tenders — our wives and our children are become the daily
victims of a licentious foreign soldiery ! Ulster — one of your fairest pro-
vinces, containing one-third of the population of the land — Ulster, hitherto
the pride and strength of Ireland, is proclaimed and put under the ban of
martial law ! The Government of the country has sentenced us to military
execution without trial, and the Legislature has sanctioned this illegal act
without inquiry.

"We are united in an organized system — not to promote murder,
but peace — not to destroy persons and property, but to save both from
destruction. Lastly, beloved countrymen, we are most solemnly pledged to
co-operate with you in every temperate and rational measure for obtaining
the freedom of our country, by a full and adequate representation of all the
people of Ireland, without regard to religious distinctions. These are the
crimes of Ulster — they are the common crimes of Ireland. * * * Our inten-
tions have been, and still are, to obtain the great objects of our pursuit, through
the means of calm discussion and their own unquestionable justice. The com-
mon enemy knows that these are the most powerfid and irresistible weapons. It
is therefore that they have practised on us a system of reiterated aggression,
unparalleled in the history of civilized nations, for the purpose of goading us
into insurrection, or driving us to despair."

On the 10th May, Lord Castlereagh, while recom-
mending further severe enactments for the complete sup-
pression of disaffection, proposed to an overflowing House
that an address be presented to the Throne, thanking his

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 121

gracious Majesty for the measures which had been already
taken for restoring the due observance of the laws. In
a speech of Demosthenic vigour, it was clearly proved by
Henry Grattan that their system of coercion only stimu-
lated the growth of treason throughout Ireland.

Military government, in all its fearful rigour, was now
long established in the northern districts. Outrages of
the most barbarous nature — outrages which we hesitate
to name — were inflicted with brutal deliberation on the
people. Every shade of hope for future amelioration
expired within their breasts. Murder — real, cold-blooded
murder — was perpetrated before them, around them.
Women young, women old — wives, sisters, mothers —
babes who scarcely knew what passed, were not ex-
empted from the torture, and in some, alas ! in many
instances, glided into death beneath the reeking knife of
the licensed assassin.

The only newspaper, previous to the Press, which ven-
tured to give a detailed account of the governmental
atrocities committed, was the Northern Star. An enemy
of this kind was extremely troublesome, and the Camden
Administration came to the conclusion of crushing it
accordingly. The proprietors having been, under the
Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, consigned to dungeons,
a detachment of military proceeded to the printing-office,
and utterly demolished every portion of it. As the
commanding officer " looked again, and looked exulting
at the ruin he had made," he is reported by Mr. Plowden
to have said: — " We may now do as we please, for as
the Star has ceased to twinkle, no other paper dares to
publish any act we do." This act of barbarity is believed
to have been provoked by the editor refusing to insert an
article at the request of the Government.*

The judicial assassination of William Orr, at the Car-

» The outrages committed upon property in Belfast baffle all description.
Amongst the most flagrant was the attack upon the house of Cunningham
Gregg, Esq., which Plowden and other impartial historians aver, was without
the slightest pretext or provocation. Every article within its walls fell a
victim to the rapacity of the King's troops. To deny, however, that the
populace, in some instances, retaliated by the perpetration of outrage and
\vanton cruelty, would be most preposterous and unfair.

G

122 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

rickfergus Assizes, in August, 1797, has, by establishing
a dangerous precedent, dropped a blot of indelible black-
ness on the annals of British and Irish adjudication.
Amongst the many new laws that came into force about
the period of this event, was one which rendered it
felonious to administer the United Irish oath. The first
victim that suffered beneath the operation of this Statute
wus Mr. William Orr, an industrious farmer of worth
and respectability. The only witness against him was a
soldier named Whately, who solemnly swore in the
presence of his Maker, that an illegal oath had been deli-
berately administered to him by Orr, a short time
previous to the pending investigation.

The trial excited an imusual amount of interest. A
vast deal hung upon the decision of the jury, and many
an anxious countenance appeared in court that day. A
general impression seemed to get abroad that the prose-
tion of Orr was an experiment of strength on the part of
the Government against the people. Some of the best
counsel were accordingly retained for Orr, and great
hopes were entertained that the State prosecution would
fall, innocuous, to the ground. These hopes, however,
were doomed to be disappointed, and men beheld the
well-packed jury retire from the scene, with something
of an ominous expression in their countenances. The
doors of the jury -room having been locked, its inmates
were left to consider their verdict. Whately 's evidence,
notwithstanding the solemnity of his asseverations, ap-
peared to many as extremely questionable, but few had the
courage to give expression to their misgivings. Com-
mittal for contempt of Court was of much more common
occurrence in those days than in the present.

The Court was up betimes next morning. At six
o'clock, at the magic touch of the tipstaff, the bolts of the
jury -room receded from their sockets, and twelve legal
murderers swaggered into the box. " How say ye,
gentlemen — guilty, or not guilty ?" The answer was in
the affirmative, accompanied by a recommendation to
mercy.

On the subsequent morning, Orr was brought up to

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 123

receive the sentence of the Court. As this was about to
be pronounced, one of his counsel (Mr. Sampson, of
Loughlinstown memory,) started up, and declared that a
matter had just come to his knowledge in connexion with
the verdict that could not fail to place his client in a
very favourable position. Sampson then produced a pair
of affidavits, signed by two of the most upright of the
jurors, protesting that during the night of their captivity
in the jury -room, spirituous liquors had been supplied to
them, and that at the period of " the finding," several of
the twelve were intoxicated to a most scandalous extent.
A few other jurors who disliked the formality of an
affidavit, made admissions to the same effect. One, even
went further, and declared that a prosecution for treason
was threatened to be commenced against him, if he did
not concur in a verdict of guilty. " At length," said his
advocate, " worn out by fatigue, overcome by drink, and
subdued by menaces, he did, contrary to his judgment, con-
cur in that verdict. This, for the time, proved a terrible
shock to the Crown, but, with characteristic fortitude,
they contrived to bear up against it. Judge Chamberlain,
true to his post, interrupted the counsel in his impassioned
appeal, declared that such a statement ought not to be
permitted — that it was evidently calculated to throw dis-
credit on the verdict, and therefore could not be the
foundation of any motion to the Court. The defence
thus overruled, fell to the ground, and Orr was re-
manded.

A painful duty devolved on Barry Yelverton, Lord
Avonmore, on the 30th August, 1797. It was to pro-
nounce sentence of death and execution on William Orr,
whom the British Government, for reasons of their own,
were resolved to immolate. During the enunciation, his
lordship's voice was heard to falter, and finally to become
barely audible. It did not require any great physiog-
nomical discernment to perceive that a mighty tumult
was raging within his breast His lordship was pro-
nouncing an iniquitous judgment, and he knew it in his
heart. With an effort, however, he contrived to finish
it, but had no sooner done so, than the smouldering

124 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

volcano burst with a thunder of sympathy, and the frame
of the old justice vibrated beneath the shock. The
workings of his internal system triumphantly achieved
the mastery. As genuine tears as ever sprang from
anguish rushed hurriedly adown his cheeks; and with
mute astonishment men beheld Lord Yelverton sob upon
the bench.

The firm demeanour of the prisoner, and the unwonted
sensibility of the judge, produced a singular sensation
in court. A cold thrill of horror ran through every
heart. Some of the least stoical of the jurymen under-
took to plead their victim's cause, and others, less honour-
able and humane, slunk criminally from the scene.

The denouement of the tragedy has yet to come. The
man who, for some paltry promotion, and still more petty
lucre, undertook to swear away the life of William Orr,
became suddenly oppressed beneath the weight of his
crime, and, flinging himself on his knees before a magis-
trate, acknowledged with shame and humiliation that the
entire amount of his testimony against Orr was FALSE.
Thunderstruck, the magistrate listened to his tale. He
put Whately upon his oath, and in the presence of God
made him confirm the truth of this startling announcement.

Petitions from every quarter of the land poured into
the viceregal chamber. Facts were put in their strongest
light, and language the most supplicatory was employed
to back them. The admissions of the witness — the evi-
dence of the jury — what power on earth could refuse the
prisoner mercy ? All to no effect, however. The law,
irregular as was the route, should take its course. A
respite — a wretched, miserable respite — was grudgingly
conceded, and on its expiration another; but nothing
further. The hopes of his family, which had just begun
to blossom, withered, and drooped, never again to rise.
Quick beat the pulse of an ardent people as the arrow of
despair rushed madly through their hearts.

A week or two of torturing suspense rolled over the
patient head of the hapless legal victim. While his
friends were praying the British Viceroy that the holiest
prerogative of the Crown might be extended to him, Orr
was employed in making his peace with Heaven. He

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 125

did not deign to supplicate with " lying lip" for mercy,
but silently communing with the great Omnipotent,
prepared his -spirit for a plunge into mortality, and a
resurrection to eternal life.

The uplifted arm of the executioner, now stayed in its
downward course for several days, gradually began to tire,
and at length an early day was fixed upon for the judicial
assassination. Hearts beat quick as the day approached, and
the good old town of Carrickfergus mourned for her son.

Lord Camden having been earnestly memorialized that
his clemency should be extended towards William Orr,
he directed Secretary Cooke to communicate to the
anxious friends and relatives, that patent but consolatory
forensic phrase — -that threadbare cant in British courts of
judicature—" the law must take its course." It accord-
ingly did take its course, and on the 14th of October,
1797, this hapless victim to governmental caprice was
launched into eternity.*

Oh, England, England, where be your vaunted equity !
You tell us it exists, but, alas ! we see it not. Whenever
you hear allusion made to the memory of Orr, reflect with
shame and humiliation on that celebrated axiom, so long
the boast of your immaculate lawgivers, that it were
better nine hundred and ninety-nine guilty persons es-
caped than that one innocent man should suffer. " Never,"
exclaimed Orr, after reading his dying declaration, " was
I a traitor to my King. I DIE INNOCENT — a persecuted

* The Press newspaper (No. 9) says : — " The inhabitants of Carrick-
fergus, man, woman, and child, quit the town this day, rather than be present
at the execution of their hapless countryman, Mr. Orr. Some removed to
the distance of many miles ; scarce a sentence was interchanged during the
day, and every face presented a picture of the deepest melancholy, horror,
and indignation. The military who attended the execution consisted of
several thousands, horse and foot, with cannon, and a company of artillery,
the whole forming a hollow square." What a contrast does this account pre-
sent to Charles Dickens's description of the English people at the execution
of the Mannings. " I believe," he writes, " that a sight so inconceivably
awful as the wickedness and levity of the immense crowd collected at
that execution on this morning could be imagined by no man, and could
be presented in no heathen land under the sun. * * * Fightings,
faintings, whistlings, imitations of Punch, brutal jokes, and tumultuous de-
monstrations of indecent delight when swooning women were dragged out of
the crowd by the police, with then- dresses disordered, gave a new zest to
the general entertainment." — Dickens's Letter to the Times, Nov. 13th, 1849.

126 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

man for a persecuted country."* And so every man in
Ireland, with a few insignificant exceptions, firmly be-
lieved him in their hearts to be.|

Ulster was the first place where the germ of the Union
organization took substantial root. Its progress in that
mighty district was rapid — electrical. Having conside-
rably the start over the other provinces in the race for
nationality, it, of course, reached the goal or zenith of its
excitement long before the baronial and County Com-
mittees of Leinster, Connaught, and the south. Had the
growth of the Union been strictly in unison — had their
every act and movement towards progression been simul-
taneous— what a different upshot would have resulted.
At the very moment that the confidence of Leinster was
beginning to blossom, and their determination to display
itself, Ulster was losing heart. When the French expe-
dition arrived in Bantry Bay, nothing could be more apa-
thetic in their regard than the peasantry of the south.
Not content with manifesting the greatest lukewarmness
towards their Gallic visiters, they made it a point to show
the British army the most marked hospitality as they pro-
ceeded on their march ; and, what is still more remarkable,
exerted themselves, notably, in clearing away the snow,
so that the roads might afford as few obstacles as possible
to the advance of the troops. Had the armament of *96
effected a landing in Belfast, Ireland would, in all proba-
bility, now be an independent republic.

The spirit of the Northerns, though at first awakened,
drooped by degrees beneath this load of oppression.
Their irritation at accumulated wrong, from a tone of
indignant remonstrance, subsided into " the composure
of settled despair." A well-timed proclamation offering am-
nesty, with some exceptions, to the disaffected, suddenly

* Plowden, vol. ii. p. 399.

t The London Courier of December 25th, 1797, contains the following
paragraph : — " MURDER MOST FOUL! — The Irish papers which arrived this
morning contain the affidavits of the Rev. George Macartney, D.L., Magis-
trate of the county Antrim ; the Rev. James Elder, Dissenting Minister ; and
of Alexander Montgomery, Esq., stating that Hugh Whately, one of the
witnesses brought forward by the Crown against Mr. Orr, lately executed in
Ireland, had confessed that he had been gnilty of perjury and murder .' ."'

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 127

found an extensive circulation. Its appearance was op-
portune, for the greater body of the people, harassed by
persecution, were beginning to look forward to death as a
happy release from the evil power that pursued them.
Provided they gave security for future good behaviour,
and surrendered up to Lake their arms and ammunition,
a pardon was guaranteed. Thousands of broken spirits,
hurried by previous persecution to the precipice's brink,
clutched convulsively at the straw. Ten thousand stand
of arms rattled in amain, and protestations of allegiance
dinned the royal ear. From the moment that Hoche's
expedition failed, the ardour of the northern United
men declined. Their hopes, from being tuned to the
highest pitch of tension, suddenly became unstrung. An
utter prostration of the system took place, and General
Lake, wreathed with bloody laurels, stood dignified, and
inflated, on the ruins of the Union. Meanwhile the organi-
zation, though dead, or nearly so in the North, extended
throughout Leinster, Munster, and the West.

We have already adverted to the Irish Executive Di-=
rectory. None but men of the most sterling patriotism,
expanded intellect, and unimpeachable integrity, were
elected members of this body. Deliberating on every
step, and forming every project in connexion with its
progress, the Directory was, in more than one sense, the
head of the vast popular organization. To modify our
anatomical simile, it was the cardiacal seat of life — the
heart of the Union, which, when stabbed, deprived it of
vitality and strength — the life-blood which, so long as
circumstances permitted to circulate unruffled and unmo-
lested, purified the organization, and kept it free from,
every particle of irregularity or disease. Whilst the
United Irishmen remained under the control of the
original Directory, their progress was sure and steady ;
but from the moment that its members were snatched
from their position, and either crushed into death or
consigned to dungeons, the contrary result, as might
naturally be expected, ensued. Hot-tempered, inexperi-
enced, headstrong men jumped eagerly into their place,
and, as Emmet observed before the Secret Committee,

128 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

consented to that partial insurrection which unfortunately
followed.

In the autumn of 1797 the Hon. Valentine Lawless
was, by the unanimous consent and desire of his country,
elected a member of the original Executive Directory.
The election took place, it appears, without his own
knowledge or even desire. Be this as it may, he attended,
in the month of October, for the first and only time, in
the capacity of Director, a meeting of the Executive,
hoi den at Henry Jackson's iron and brass foundry, No.
159, Old Church-street, Dublin. He freely expressed
his views on this occasion, but there is, unfortunately, no
existing record of their substance. How the wisdom of
Thomas Addis Emmet could ever have sanctioned such
an irregular election as the above, we cannot, for the life
of us, conceive.

Mr. Lawless, so far from making any disguise of his
innate nationality, gloried, it would appear, in displaying
it. Many, at the time we speak of, were rebels in their
hearts, and shrank from suspicion, but the subject of these
pages was not of the number. He never once thought of
appearing in public, either in London or Dublin, without
a complete outfit of " the colour of the true ;" even, as we
were assured by one who knew him well, to his very neck
handkerchief and stockings. In the present enlightened
days of black dress coats and Nichol paletots, this fashion
must appear somewhat ridiculous, but towards the close
of the last century there was nothing more usual among
the ultra-nationalists than publicly appearing in the ob-
noxious colour — green. That the custom, whenever
indulged in, gave great umbrage to all loyal subjects, is
exemplified in the well known anecdote related of Lord
Edward Fitzgerald and the military gentlemen of the
Curragh. Such incautious proceedings on the part of
Mr. Lawless produced the result that might naturally
have been expected. His " overt act of treason" became
public talk, and furnished the topic for calumny at many
an old countess's teapot conversazione. It was some con-
solation, however, that in proportion as one party abused,
the other panegyrized him. Benedictions and maledic-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 129

tions alternately descended on his head. Repeated inti-
mation was conveyed to his father that the evil eye of
Government was fixed upon him. Lord Nicholas ex-
pressed himself outrageous at the intelligence. He sum-
moned Valentine to his presence, and warmly rebuked
him. The old threat of disinheritance fell gloomily upon
his ears, and the propriety of immediate expatriation to
England was delicately hinted at by the infuriated old
gentleman.

One or two of the stories retailed to his father having
chanced to come second-hand to the ears of the young
nationalist, his blood flew up, and he declared that they
should not with impunity continue. He had his own
suspicions as to the identity of the tattlers. One was,
doubtless, Mr. Secretary Cooke, the gentleman who had
laboured to crush the strength of his anti-Union essay,
and to him he addressed a rather tart communication on
the rascality of " attempting to sow disunion in a private
family." " My conduct and my thoughts," said Lawless,
"have at least the merit of being open and above-board;
I never concealed them from my father or any other
person, and I shall always be forthcoming if Government
thinks proper to make further inquiry into them."

By the following post a bland and cringing answer
arrived from Mr. Cooke, who, though frigidly addressed
by Lawless as " Sir," now returned good for evil, by
commencing with a " Dear." He bitterly deplored not
being fortunate enough to see Mr. Lawless, when he
called at the Castle. Anything he had said arose from
personal regard and friendship for Mr. L. He begged
leave to assure him, very sincerely and very unaffectedly,
that he (Cooke) would be the last person to injure him
in the opinion of his father or any one else, and that it
would afford him much happiness to be of any service to
him in his power. In conclusion, he begged his Dear
Sir would ever believe him to be his most faithful ser-
vant, Edward Cooke.

This extremely plausible letter was the elaborated effu-
sion of an extremely plausible hypocrite. We have good
reason to believe that Mr. Secretary Cooke, although

130 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

professedly a friend, was one of the most dangerous ene-
mies that Lawless, during the earlier part of his career,
had to contend with. As there is no antagonist so deadly
in his aim as he that deliberately fires from behind an
ambuscade, so, in social life, the most dangerous enemy
is the man who, under the mask of friendship, endeavours,
in your absence, to subvert you in the estimation of your
dearest relatives and friends.

An interesting letter from ^Miss C. Lawless to Lord
Moira, and which we shall make use of at the fitting
time, expresses pretty freely her suspicions in respect to
the existence of some very gross duplicity on the part of
Mr. Cooke.

The first personal collision between the Hon.V. Law-
less and his Majesty's Government took place in the
month of May, 1797. The Legislative Union conspiracy
had been divulged, and the policy of torture seen through
by the people. Although much and deeply irritated, the
wise heads announced that they would not fight. " We
will prove a more formidable enemy," said they, " by pre-
senting an unshaken and dignified front, than in resorting
to the alternative of ineffectual retaliation. It is only in
our power to wound, while Government possesses the
license and the capability of slaying. We will throw no
stones or fire no shots, but, by the organized agitation of
influential opinion, harass them in their stronghold." This
view of matters appears to have been taken by a large
proportion of the County Kildare gentry in the summer of
1797. They endeavoured to organize a series of meet-
ings, petitions, and remonstrances. The Hon.Valentine
Lawless having been appointed secretary, unflinchingly
and ably discharged its duties. In the month of May he
took an active part in inciting the inhabitants of Kildare
to the preparation of such an aggregate petition against
the dreaded Union as was never before, for length or in-
fluence, produced in Ireland. It began, however, on an
humble scale, and in the following manner. A memorial,
signed by sixty-three names, addressed to Robert La-
touche, in his capacity of High Sheriff of Kildare, wa-
presented to that worthy (?) in May, '97. Its signatures,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 131

as we perceive by the papers of the day, embraced those
of " Leinster," " Cloncurry," " Val. Lawless," " G. and
H. Ponsonby," " Lord Edward Fitzgerald," &c., &c., and
requested Mr. Latouche to convene a meeting of his baili-
wick in order to pray the King to " dismiss his present
ministers from his councils for ever, and to adopt such
measures as may once more secure to these countries the
blessings of interior peace." The High Sheriff replied
that such a meeting as they proposed to hold would tend
to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the country, and
that he could not, consistently with his duty, comply with
the requisition.

Lawless felt this insult, in common with his brother
requisitionists, but quailed not beneath the humiliating
retort. He conferred with Lord Edward, General Cock-
burne, and others, and the upshot was, their decision not
to be defeated by Latouche. In his capacity of secre-
tary, Lawless exerted himself with zeal and energy. He
travelled through the country organizing a monster peti-
tion, calculated not only to crush the arrogance of La-
touche (who essayed to strengthen his position by pub-
lishing a counter-petition, signed by some five-and-twenty
parties long since dead and forgotten), but to act effec-
tively on his Majesty's Government. The result of his
labours was, that on the 27th of May, 1797, a new and
spirited requisition appeared, signed by SIXTEEN HUNDRED
of the magistrates and inhabitants of Kildare, and headed
by no less a personage than the County Governor, Wil-
liam Duke of Leinster. In this capacity his Grace an-
nounced that meeting which Mr. Latouche slavishly
declined to do.

The Anglo-Irish Government became alarmed. They
dreaded the organized agitation of opinion, and issued a
proclamation wherein they " forewarned all persons from
meeting in any unusual numbers, under any pretence
whatsoever." What was Lawless and his confreres to do?
They published a Remonstrance : —

" The liberty of complaining," said they, " is not only a natural right, but
the exercise of it ought to be allowed from motives of policy. In countries
where the rigour of a severe despotism bridles the mouths of the people to

132 CLOSCDRRY AND HIS TIJ^ES.

that degree that a sigh is imprisonment and a murmur death, one dreadful
explosion has generally formed the beginning and the end of revolutions !
whereas where the popular voice is allowed to express itself, much of the
public resentment evaporates in words. * * * On this ground, there-
fore, the people of England, in their constitutional and legal capacity, have
always been allowed to petition their Sovereign. The Constitution has never
been safer than when the people have been clamorous ; and the people have
never long persevered in any opinion which the event did not prove to be
right."

Notwithstanding the prohibition, the day for meeting
was, we believe, fixed ; but as it drew nearer and nearer,
a report, believed at first to have been without foun-
dation, gradually assumed a more alarming aspect and
complexion. Government, resolving to stifle this ex-
pression of public opinion, despatched a large military
force, under the command of Major John O'Connor, to
the seat of danger in Kildare. O'Connor, like the Em-
peror Aurelian, of canine notoriety, vowed direful ven-
geance on the rebellious town, and declared that the
simple fact of two County Kildare puppy dogs engaging
in personal conflict, on the day of the projected meeting,
would be the signal for him to make an instantaneous
hash of the populace and conspirators.

Having heard those reports, Lawless, unaccompanied
by a single friend, waited personally on Mr. Pelham,
Chief Secretary for Ireland, in order to ascertain from
the fountain-head whether it were really the intention of
Government to pursue so arbitrary a course as to disperse,
with powder and ball, a meeting peacefully assembled
for a legal purpose. " Horse, foot, and artillery," said
Lord Cloncurry, in one of his speeches at the Irish
Council, in 1847, " were poured into Naas ! I asked
Mi. Pelham what all those preparations were for; and he
said the preparations were made to prevent the meeting
taking place."

It appearing evident to Mr. Lawless and his distin-
guished colleagues that nothing but bloodshed and mis-
fortune could result from holding this meeting in defiance
of Lord Camden's prohibitory proclamation, it was ad-
journed to Dublin, where the parliamentary Reformers
and And- Unionists fell into position, some weeks later,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 133

beneath the ample cupola of the Royal Exchange. At
this meeting, as appears from the newspapers of the day,
the Hon. Valentine B. Lawless presided. Parliamentary
Reform, Catholic Emancipation, and the Legislative
Union, were the subjects that elicited the eloquence of
the meeting. Half a century afterwards, Lord Cloncurry
made his conduct on this occasion the subject of reference
at the Irish Council: —

" I believe," said his lordship, " it is really within but a very few days of
fifty years since I presided at the first meeting of a political nature ever
attended by me in Ireland. There was at that time a meeting called in the
Koyal Exchange, of the citizens of Dublin, and great excitement, great
anxiety, and a great disposition to despotism in the Government of the day
prevailed. We were surrounded by bayonets and muskets in the Royal
Exchange, when we met to petition against the proceedings that were
expected to take place for the purpose of carrying the Union."

Surrounded by muskets, we find the Hon. Mr. Lawless
taking the chair and opening the proceedings. The
papers of the day inform us that his conduct as chairman
was " spirited and determined." Mr. Wills was the
first speaker, and addressed Lawless in the following
words : —

"Sir, in these fearful times, when the electors of this city can only
assemble by the sufferance of the minister, by which you, Mr. LAWLESS,
well know they are now assembled — and, Sir, when it is doubtful whether
this meeting may not be dispersed by military force, I think it would be
ill-judged in me to trespass long upon your indulgence. I shall, therefore,
without further preface, propose to the consideration of my fellow- citizens
certain resolutions, which, I trust, are fully expressive of the sentiments of
a manifest majority of the electors of the metropolis." These he read.

The papers of the day tell us that Grattan was present
at this meeting, but did not speak. If he did not, Mr.
Joseph Leeson, M.P., did, and with much spirit too, as
will be evident upon a perusal of the following extract : —

" He had heard it stated that the virtuous minority of Parliament had
asserted with apathy the cause of their country. He had also heard that
vile and flagitious advantage would be taken of that apathy, and an attempt
made to effect AN UNION WITH GREAT BRITAIN* — in aid of which purpose
so many hordes of foreign troops had, for a considerable time past, been
poured into this country. * * * If he could not defeat so base, so
insidious, and so ruinous a measure in Parliament, he would resist it out ol

* Capitals in the original report of the proceedings.

134 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

doors ; and so long as he had blood in his veins, or a fellow-citizen to join
him, that blood should freely flow in the cause of his country. * *
He was fully aware that, for what he was now saying, he might be walked
into the next court-yard,* but nothing should deter him from declaring his
sentiments, or the severities of a Court prison shake his firmness therein."

It is tolerably certain that, had Ireland many such
men as Mr. Leeson,t ministers would not have succeeded
in effecting a Union.

On the 10th of May, 1797, took place that celebrated
withdrawal or secession from the Commons of all the
uncorrupted representatives of the people. Disgusted
with the foetid venality of Parliament, and jaded to ex-
haustion from the effects of a long series of energetic but
ineffectual struggles against corruption and state influ-
ence, Henry Grattan, Philpot Curran, George Ponsonby,
and others, at length consented to the discontinuance of
their attendance at the Irish Senate. This they were
mainly induced to do at the instance of a deputation,
consisting of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the Hon. Valentine
Lawless, and Arthur O'Connor, who gave it as their
opinion, that any further visit to the House was nothing
but a mischievous mockery, a waste of precious time, and
a source of derision to their enemies. A few evenings
after, Grattan availed himself of a fitting opportunity to
inform the House of Commons generally, of the deter-
mination that he and his colleagues had unanimously
come to. " We have offered you our measure," said he
— "you will reject it; we deprecate yours — you will
persevere. Having no hopes left to persuade or dissuade,
and having discharged our duty, we will trouble you no
more, and, after this day, shall not attend the House of
Commons" (17 Parl. Deb. p. 570). Such was the perora-
tion of Grattan's memorable speech on Mr. W. Ponsonby 's
motion for parliamentary reform — a measure which that
gentleman and his colleagues considered the only effec-

* The Castle-yard.

t This Mr. Joseph Leeson was, if we are informed rightly, the father of
the present Joseph Leeson, Earl of Miltown, who, in 1807, succeeded to the
family peerage on the death of his lordship's grandfather, Brice, third Earl.
Less than a year from the date of the Exchange meeting, Mr. Leeson
married Emily, daughter of Archibald Douglas, Esq.. who became, in 1811,
the second wife of Valentine Lord Cloncurry.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 135

tual means of ensuring the restoration of peace and
confidence among the people.

This was the last effort of the popular members to
bring forward the golden measure of Reform. An over-
whelming and clamorous majority defeated them, and
that great question, which whilom received the cordial
support of Blackstone, the eloquent approval of Chatham,
the helping hand of Flood, and the countenance of
Saville, found itself rejected by the House of Commons
with a degree of contempt that nothing but a popular
motion could succeed in evoking. Upon the dissolution
of Parliament, a short time subsequent to this event, we
find the somewhat questionable policy referred to above
still animating the minds of the national party. Amongst
those who declined offering themselves as candidates at
the new election were Lord Edward Fitzgerald and
Mr. Henry, of Straffan. Singular to say, the addresses
of both, on bowing their retirement from the representa-
tion of Kildare, were written by Mr. Lawless, who, since
the publication of his Anti-Union pamphlet, enjoyed the
reputation, amongst his friends, of possessing much
fluency in literary composition. Fitzgerald, although a
man of vast depth of comprehension, had but an indif-
ferent command of his pen.

Subjoined is the noble Geraldine's address. It does
not appear in any published memoir of his lordship ; and
our efforts to discover it (so many years having elapsed
since the period of its composition) were attended with
some delay and difficulty. The principal interest, pro-
bably, which the reader of this work will derive from its
perusal, is based on the knowledge of the fact that
Valentine Lawless wrote it: —

" TO THE ELECTORS OF THE COUNTY OF KILDARE.

"I take this opportunity of thanking my fellow-citizens for the favour
they conferred on me at the last general e'ectioii. I hope the conduct I have
pursued since met with their approbation ; it was dictated by the purest mo-
tives and most fervent wish for the welfare and happiness of Ireland. I shall
not offer myself at present a candidate, feeling that under the present circum-
stances there can be no free election in Ireland; any return made will be
only by sujfrance of the nearest military commanding officer. What is to be
expected from a Parliament returned under martial law ? Looking to the

136 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

true spirit of the English Constitution, I doubt if a body elected under such
circumstances can be called a Parliament, or its acts reckoned binding. I
hope rny fellow -citizens of the County Kildare wiD not look on my declining
to stand a candidate now as abandoning their interests. I trust to see the
day when I shall offer myself to represent them in a Parliament that will be
freely and fairly elected, and can be venerated by all honest men.

"Though not your representative, believe me always your faithful ser-
vant, " ED. FITZGERALD.

" Kildare, July 14, 1797."

This singular step* on the part of Fitzgerald and his
colleagues was not an original idea. During the previous
year Mr. Fox and his party seceded from the British
Parliament, on similar grounds. Lord Holland, one of
themselves, and the nephew of Fox, pronounces this pro-
ceeding to have been " ill advised. "f " That measure,"
says his lordship, " in which Fox acquiesced more from
indolence than from judgment, originated chiefly with
Mr. Grey, Lord Lauderdale, and the Duke of Bedford."

It was not our intention to have pained the reader's
feelings by any further description of the heartless cruel-
ties practised during the years '96 and '97 on the peasantry
of Ireland. We find, however, on reflection, that we
would be scarcely justified in silently passing over one
flagitious instance of military tyranny which some time
about this period fell under the notice of Valentine Law-
less, in his capacity of magistrate for the County Kildare.

The Insurrection Act, with all its maddening tenden-
cies, had long domineered despotically over the inhabi-
tants of Carberry, Cappagh, and Clonard. Temporarily
established in the centre of the proscribed circle was a
" flying encampment," swarming with Fencibles and other
dangerous vermin of the military tribe. Perpetually
stinging the hapless peasantry of the district with unpro-
voked and wanton tortures, this camp might be figura-
tively likened to a vast hive of hornet wasps, making

* The patriotic Charlemont was one of the few influential Irish politicians
who ventured to go against the popular feeling by disapproving of the seces-
sion.— See Hardy's " Life of Charlemont," page 386, vol. ii.

t Lord Lansdowne was outrageous. " Pray," said he, addressing Lord
Holland, " is yonr uncle aware of what he is doing. Secession means rebellion,
or it is nonsense." — Lord Holland's Memoirs of </*« Whig Party, vol. i.
London, 1853.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 137

constant and uncalled for onslaughts on the inoffensive
passers by. Captain Simon Frazer, on his return to the
" Hive," on the evening of July 9th, 1797, from Kilcock,
where he had been indulging his appetite in the pleasures
of a hospitable table, found it necessary to pass through
the village of Cloncurry, which, as the reader has no doubt
already surmised, was part of Mr. Lawless's father's pro-
perty. Cloncurry and the neighbouring districts being
proverbially peaceable, were not declared under the ope-
ration of either martial law or Insurrection Act, and the
inhabitants had therefore full license to do as they pleased,
in respect to whatever hour they chose to rise or -retire
to bed.

The summer sun, jaded after fifteen hours' active duty,
was just upon the point of sinking into the rosy arms of
the west, when Captain Simon Frazer, attended by John
Ross, his faithful orderly, might be seen trotting their
palfreys into the quiet village of Cloncurry. With gesture
and expression not unlike Don Quixotte previous to his
. valorous charge of the windmill, the gallant captain, fol-
lowed by his squire, proceeded to where an aged carpen-
ter, named Christopher Dixon, was engaged in repairing
an ass's cart. Amid much interruption, from maudlin
hiccough, the captain requested to be informed how he
(Dixon) dared, after sunset, to be out of doors. The old
man remonstrated with his interlocutor on the unreason-
able nature of the attack, and assured him that the district,
so far from being proclaimed, was proverbially peaceable.
To this the gallant officer replied that he (Dixon) was a
liar, and his prisoner, and calling for the assistance of
Ross, succeeded in strapping him to the crupper of his
horse. The trio then proceeded along to the distance of
some twenty perches, when the interposition of Cloncurry
turnpike gate necessitated a halt. Michael Finn, the
gatekeeper, not being at his post, but on the contrary in
bed, Captain Frazer thundered at the door, and swore
that if he did not open it instanter he would convey him
to Clonard, for being " a Defendering dog." The threat
had no need to be repeated, and the door was thrown
open. Dixon at once appealed to Finn for a confirmation

138 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

of his statement. The gatekeeper was thunderstruck at
Frazer's display of tyranny, and endeavoured, but in vain,
to persuade him that Cloncurry and its neighbourhood
were altogether unoppressed by any such incubus as the
ruthless Insurrection Act. Availing himself, in the mean-
time, of the darkness and the confusion, Dixon contrived
to descend, unobserved, from the horse, and proceeded to
make his way homewards with as much celerity of gait
as an octogenarian is usually capable of employing. Ross
soon missed him, gave chase, and captured the fugitive.
Not content with capriciously torturing him, Ross, aided
and abetted by his captain, inflicted upon the venerable
frame of Dixon no less than sixteen dirk and sabre
wounds, of which eight were mortal, and then rode off to
the camp, in the proud consciousness of having achieved
a high moral duty, which could not but redound to the
credit alike of master and man.

The body having been found by Finn and another
man, they conveyed it to the house of a farmer named
Gahagan. Here a coroner's inquest assembled on the
morrow, and after a careful investigation the verdict of
" WILFUL MURDER" was unhesitatingly returned. Mr.
Thomas Ryan, a respectable magistrate, and for many
years land agent to Valentine Lord Cloncurry, prepared
a warrant for the apprehension of Frazer, and proceeded
to the camp in order to see it executed. The soldiery,
however, dearly loved their captain, and drove off the
obtrusive magistrate at the point of the bayonet. Foiled
in his endeavour to arrest him, Mr. Ryan applied to
Nicholas Lord Cloncurry to know what course it would
be advisable, in his judgment, to pursue. His lordship,
thus appealed to, suggested the propriety of applying to
Lord Carhampton, the Commander-in-chief of the Irish
Forces, and offered to send his son Valentine with him,
should he (Ryan) so desire it. He cheerfully accepted
the proposal, and both set off together for Lord Car-
hampton's residence. On the way thither they were
joined by Colonel, afterwards General, Sir George Cock-
burne, who felt much interested in the matter.

Having succeeded in obtaining an interview with Lord

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 139

Carhampton, Mr. Lawless at once produced the warrant,
Avbile Colonel Cockburne and Mr. Ryan endeavoured to
place in the most striking points of view the provisions
of the Insurrection Act, and the monstrous behaviour of
Captain Frazer, in first arresting an inoffensive labourer,
and then depriving him, in the most wanton manner, of
his life. Carhampton, who, there is little doubt, rather
relished the perpetration of an occasional cruelty upon
the Irish peasantry, positively refused, point blank, to
surrender up the bodies of either captain or orderly. " In
the presence of my friends, Colonel Cockburne and Mr.
Ryan," said Lawless, "I demand the person of Captain
Frazer, in pursuance of the provisions of the Mutiny
Act." Lord Carhampton bowed, and regretted his ina-
bility to interfere. " You may refuse to give him up,"
said Lawless, as he left the room, " but I tell you Captain
Frazer is, ipso facto, cashiered."

Several days elapsed. The Fencibles* formed a hollow
square around their captain, and still resisted at the bay-
onet's point everything that had the semblance of a
magisterial advance. Determining, however, not to dis-
play " the white feather," in addition to his military one,
or, what is still more probable, anxious that the world
should see and appreciate the fearless intrepidity of con-
scious rectitude, the Fencible announced his intention of
delivering himself up to justice at the ensuing assizes.
These having been held at Athy, he marched straight for
that town at the head of his army, the band, the while,
belabouring on their kettle-drums, and roaring through
their trombones, as only a Fencible band could roar and
belabour. As the air they ^selected was " Croppies, lie
down," it would appear that Captain Frazer intended his
entry should have more the appearance of an ovation
than a subjugation. In this absurd manner he strutted

* Amongst the many popular ballads that came into vogue about the
peiiod of the rebellion was one exclusively devoted to satirizing the Inverness
l-Vncibles. It chorused thus : —

" Oh, did you see the Fencibles,
Commanded by insensibles,
Devoid of all good principles ?

Detestable they are."

140 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

into Athy, determined, at all events, to overawe, as the
inability to obtain a prepossession in his favour began to
assail his guilty conscience with some potency.

The trial came off. Many witnesses were examined
as to the good and peaceable character of Dixon- — his
general habits of morality and industry, and complete
exemption from all treasonable intents or practices. There
were also witnesses upon the other side, who gave a cha-
racter for all the virtues under heaven, especially the mi-
litary virtues, to Captain Frazer and his orderly. Amongst
them the Rev. Thomas Knipe, a parson magistrate, occu-
pied a prominent position. He knew Captain Frazer
long and intimately, and " solemnly declared him to be
a man of very great humanity." Counsellor Antisell
asked him if he believed Frazer to have been in liquor?
" I never saw him so," replied the parson, " but I certainly
heard he was what is generally called hearty."

Mr. John Toler, afterwards Lord Norbury, happened
to be the presiding Judge of Assize. The facts of the
case were soon dealt with, and proved to the satisfaction
of everybody; but Toler's charge to the jury shot a red-
hot arrow of indignation through the heart of every friend
of poor Dixon or of Ireland. A more extraordinary
charge was, probably, never uttered in that or any other
court of law. Toler charged home for an acquittal.
" Gentlemen," said he, " Captain Frazer is a gallant
officer and a stranger, who in his recent ebullition of zeal
has merely committed a mistake. If Dixon was as good
a man as those witnesses have represented him to be, why
it is deuced fortunate for him to be out of this wicked
world ; but if, on the contrary, his political bias was as
bad as many others in the neighbourhood (and here he
looked very significantly at Lawless, who, in his magis-
terial capacity, sat beside the judge), it is undoubtedly
well for the country to be rid of him." Juries, generally
speaking, find a verdict in accordance with the judge's
charge. The captain's ovation was complete: the jury
ACQUITTED him.

John Ross, the orderly, was then placed in the dock.
Reader, who think you was the first witness sworn to
give evidence on his behalf? No less a person than

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 141

Captain Simon Frazer. Ross had been in his service for
a considerable time ; he knew him to be a man of unex-
ceptionable character.

Toler having summed up, and once more charged home
for an acquittal, the jury brought in their verdict — NOT

GUILTY.

The number of the Press newspaper, which recorded
this singular trial, wound up its report* of the proceed-
ings with — " We could not obtain the judge's charge from
our brachographer, who said he was afraid to bring the
vengeance of power on him."

Meanwhile Valentine continued to identify himself
thoroughly with every movement tending, as he thought,
to the amelioration of his country, and on no occasion
shrank, either in public or in private, from expressing
his liberal and philanthropic sentiments. Chief Justice
Scott, Earl of Clonmel, a sort of ancient nephewf of Va-
lentine's father, regarded with a nervous and observant
eye those highly objectionable proceedings. Treason,
with a degree of aplomb, altogether unprecedented in
Ireland, stalked undisgiiisedly through the land. It
forced its way through prison barriers, fired the turnkeys,
dived into the loathsome hovels of the poor, strode through
the gilded corridors of the great, visited the church, the
senate, and the bar, and penetrated into nooks and corners
where nothing but the plague was ever known to reach.
Eleven cases of high treason " to be worked off" during
the ensuing term, remained in " mems" upon his Lord-
ship's tablets.^ Clonmel trembled for the fate of Valen-

* From the report referred to, and from a letter addressed by Lord Clon-
cuny, in 1844, to W. J. O'Neil Daunt, Esq., M.P., containing a statement of
the facts, we have been enabled mainly to compile the above account. The
substance of his Lordship's letter is introduced by Mr. Daunt into " Ireland
and her Agitators," page 18.

t Lord Clonmel married the only daughter of Pat Lawless, and niece of
Lord Cloncurry. In the event of the death of Lady Clonmel's children, Philip
Lawless, of Warrenmount, brewer, was, under the will of Lord Clonmel, be-
queathed a considerable sum of money.

J " Lord Clonmel continues to invigorate in the cool sea breezes. The ap-
proaching labours of the ensuing term call for renovation. The trials of
eleven persons for high treason will require strength of body and extension
pf lungs." See the Press neAvspaper of December 21, 1797.

142 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

tine. A red revolutionary tide rolled turgidly on, re-
ceiving in its progress, day by day, and hour by hour,
the aids of numberless tributaries, which at first only
approached slowly and doubtingly, but suddenly, as they
neared the tide, rushed, with singular fascination, into its
embrace. Clonmel, perceiving intuitively through the tele-
scope of his foresight, the bloody vortex to which the red
revolutionary tide was gradually tending — but which he,
fortunately, never lived to see* — expostulated, begged,
and conjured Lord Nicholas f to lose no time in forcing
away Valentine from his treasonable associates. His
lather, alarmed by the ominous expression of old Clon-
mel's countenance, insisted on Valentine's immediate de-
parture for London, in order, as he said, to keep his term
at the Temple, and devote himself, heart and soul, to the
study of the law. Disgusted, as Lawless was, at the system
of misgovernment pursued by the Anglo-Irish adminis-
tration, and at the reign of terror attendant on it, it did
not require any very great exertion of parental authority,
on the part of his lordship, to induce him to leave Ireland
for the present. Accordingly, early in November, 1797,
we find all arrangements complete for the instantaneous
departure of Mr. Lawless. Before setting off, however,
Lord Cloncurry impressed upon him the necessity of
paying his devoirs to Lord Clonmel.

The mansions of Lords Clonmel and Cloncurry were
situated in close proximity to each other. To all tra-
vellers by the Kingstown road, the villa of Maretimo is
well known, and Temple Hill House, now the princely
residence of Mr. Robert Gray, hardly less so. Here old
Lord Clonmel in the evening of his life resided. Sur-
rounded by the stately elms of Seapoint and Temple
Hill, crowned by the clear blue sky above, and che-
rished by an amiable and fascinating wife, his lordship, to
use a vulgar but expressive phrase, would not call the Bri-
tish King his cousin. Clonmel had put over him a busy and

* He died on the 22nd May, 1798, a few hours previous to the com-
mencement of the insurrection.

f Nicholas Lawless. Lord Cloncurry. Many of his friends recognised him
by no other name.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 143

an eventful life — a life not " full of kindness and bliss," but
of legal drudgery, intrigue, wordy conflicts, and abject
subserviency to the powers that were. To say that, far
away as he was now removed from the busy hum of men,
and the unsalutary vapours of a crowded city, he should
have nestled, with a keen perception of enjoyment, into
the bosom of the country, would be to assert a platitude
as palpable as that he lived. The south side of Dublin
was, in those days, essentially different from what it
has since become. No house with any pretensions to
respectability dotted the landscape, from Temple Hill to
Dunleary. The dingy village of Black Rock, with its
old stone cross, was certainly in existence, but save
" Frescati," the charming residence of Lord Edward
Fitzgerald and his beautiful Pamela, there was no really
handsome country seat for miles around. A chaste,
soothing quietude, broken only by the occasional cawing
of a rook, the surging of the dark blue ocean, or the
buzzing of a bee in quest of honey, reigned glorious and
supreme throughout the rustic portion of the district.
No roaring locomotives, polluting the fresh atmosphere
with steam and smuts, rushed frantically to and fro at
the expiration of each quarter hour. No dense white
clouds of stale old dust, that alternately assumed the
shape of mud and powder every week for the last five-
and-twenty years, disported along the thoroughfare in
fiendish glee, blinding the unwary, and enveloping in
one vast sheet of mist the countless vehicles, cocks and
hens, furniture vans, asses' carts, dogs, horsemen, and
pedestrians, that seem to have, every day of their ex-
istence, some business of importance to transact upon the
Kingstown road. To sum up all, the honest denizens of
the district were, in those days, rarely scared by the
awful apparitions of county cess, poor rate, income, and
metropolitan police tax collectors, tugging energetically
at their door-bells, and intimating, in discordant accents,
that, if payment be not made within eight days, pro-
ceedings would be unrelentingly commenced.

On the morning of his departure for London, Valentine
repaired to Temple Hill House — or, as it was designated

144 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

in those days — " Neptune," for the purpose of taking an
affectionate farewell of the watchful guardian of his
worldly interests. We are inclined to think, however,
that a neighbourly feeling, and the consideration of
Clonmel being a near relative of his family, had more
weight in inducing Valentine to pay him this visit than
the lively interest taken by the old lawyer in keeping
him out of harm's way.

While Valentine is walking up the hilly road from
Maretimo to Temple Hill, we cannot employ the interval
better than by laying before the reader an amusing
sketch of Lord Clonmel, which appears in Mr. Phillips's
interesting work, " Curran and his Cotemporaries :" —

•• Amongst those who were most distinguished when Mr. Curran came to
the bar, and with whom, afterwards, as Chief Justice, he not unfrequently
came in collision, was Mr. John Scott, afterwards Lord Clonmel. This
person sprang from a very humble rank of life,* and raised himself to his
subsequent elevation, partly by his talents, partly by his courage, and,
though last, not least, by his very superior knowledge of the world. During
the stormy administration of Lord Townsend, he, on the recommendation of
the then Chancellor, was elected to a seat in the House, and from that
period advanced gradually through the subordinate offices to his station on
the bench. In the year 1770, and during the succeeding sessions, he had
to encounter, almost alone, an opposition headed by Mr. Flood, and com-
posed of as much effective hostility as ever faced a treasury bench. His
powers were rather versatile than argumentative ; but when he failed to
convince, he generally succeeded in diverting ; and if he did not, by the
gravity of his reasoning, dignify the majority to which he sedulously
attached himself, he, at all events, covered their retreat with an exhaust-
less quiver of alternate sarcasm and ridicule. Added to this, he had a
perseverance not to be fatigued, and a personal intrepidity altogether invin-
cible. When he could not overcome, he swaggered ; and when he could not
bully, he fought. Successful as Lord Clonmel was in his political career, he
by no means looked back on it with satisfaction. It is recorded of him that
he said, on his death-bed, ' As to myself, if I were to begin life again, I
would rather be a chimney-sweeper than connected with the Irish Go-
vernment.' "

Here we take the liberty of interrupting Mr. Phillips
in his interesting reminiscences of Lord Clonmel, for the
purpose of introducing — rather obtrusively, we fear — an
observation of our own. The anecdote of his lordship's

* Mr. Phillips does less than justice to the pedigree of Lord Clonmel.
His lordship's father was the Rev. Michael Scott, and his grandfather a mili-
tary captain under William the Third, who fell in the act of leading on liis
troops to victory. — W. J. F.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 145

penchant for the chimney- sweeping trade, in preference
to a connexion with the Irish Government, is indis-
solubly connected with the subject of this memoir. That
very extraordinary observation was not made upon his
lordship's death-bed, as Mr. Phillips supposes, but ad-
dressed to Valentine on the identical morning that he
waited vipon his cousin at Temple Hill, preparatory to
his departure for England.* We make this allegation

1 O O

upon the authority of Lord Cloncurry himself.

The correct version of the anecdote is as follows.
In the course of the last conversation that ever took
place between Clonmel and Valentine Lawless i.e., on No-
vember 17th, 1797, his lordship suddenly exclaimed, in a
burst of not very characteristic candour — " My dear
Val., I have been a fortunate man in life. I am a chief
justice and an earl; but, believe me, I would rather be
beginning the world as a young sweep."

Apologising to Mr. Phillips and the reader for this
interruption, we will now beg leave to resume the broken
thread of his narrative : —

" The asperities of his public conduct were, however, invisible in private.
He was stored with anecdote — seldom, certainly, very delicate in the selec-
tion ; but his companionable qualities were well seconded by the fidelity of

* There is an interesting anecdote related in " Grattan's Memoirs" (vol.
ii. p. 146) of some curious revelations made by Lord Clonmel at this period.
Finding ill health oppress him, he sent for his nephew, Dean Scott, to exa-
mine his political correspondence, and destroy any portion of it that it would
lie indiscreet to preserve. There was one letter, in particular, which Lord
Clonmel felt extremely anxious should be discovered by Dean Scott, and as
soon as possible committed to the flames. It completely revealed the base
policy of England in encouraging the growth of United Irishmen, in order
that the ministerial Union bark might, on a vast rushing sea of Irish blood,
be carried triumphantly along. The document was soon found, and by an
easy process reduced to ashes. Dean Scott, years after, communicated this
fact to Mr. Grattan, in order that it might be used for the purposes of his-
tory, but he refused to give the writer's name or more of the contents, than
that " they allowed the United Men to go on, in order to carry the Union,
and that such was their design.'" Lord Clonmel, some eighteen months pre-
vious to his death, called on the Viceroy, and told him that as Government
were well acquainted with the extent of the united organization, it behoved
them at once to crush it, and thus avert the sanguinary horrors of an insur-
rection. His Excellency received him coldly, and from that day Lord
Clonmel was never summoned to the Privy Council. His lordship detailed
this circumstance to Dean Scott, early in 1798. — W. J. F.

H

146 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

his friendships ; and it is told of him, that he never made an insincere pro-
fession, or forgot a favour. * * *

" The death of Lord Clonmel is said to have originated in a very curious
incident. In 1792, Mr. John Magee, the spirited proprietor of the Dublin
Evening Post, had a fiat issued against him in a case of libel, for a sum
which the defendant thought excessive. The bench and the press were
directly committed ; and in such a case, had a judge ten- fold the power he
has, he would be comparatively harmless. The subject made a noise — was
brought before Parliament — and was at last, at least politically, set at rest
by the defeat of the Chief Justice, and the restriction of the judges in future,
in such cases, to an inferior and a definite sum. Discomfited and mortified,
Lord Clonmel retreated from the contest ; but he retreated like a harpooned
leviathan — the barb was in his back, and Magee held the cordage. He
made the life of his enemy a burden to him. He exposed his errors, denied
his merits, magnified his mistakes, ridiculed his pretensions, and continually
edging, without overstepping the boundary of libel, poured upon the Chief
Justice, from the battery of the press, a perpetual broadside of sarcasm and
invective. ' The man,' says Dr. Johnson, challenging Junius, ' who
vilifies established authority is sure to find an audience.' Lord Clonmel too
fatally verified the apothegm. Wherever he went, he was lampooned by a
ballad-singer, or laughed at by the populace. Nor was Magee's arsenal
composed exclusively of paper ammunition. He rented a field bordering
his lordship's highly-improved and decorated demesne : he advertised, month
after month, that on such a day he would exhibit in this field a grand
Olympic pig hunt : that the people, out of gratitude for their patronage of
his newspaper, should be gratuitous spectators of this revived classical
amusement ; and that he was determined to make so amazing a provision of
whiskey and porter, that IF any man went home thirsty it should be his
own fault. The plan completely succeeded. Hundreds and thousands as-
sembled ; every man did justice to his entertainer's hospitality ; and his lord-
ship's magnificent demesne, uprooted and desolate, next day exhibited
nothing but the ruins of the Olympic pig hunt.* The rebellion approached —
the popular exasperation was at its height ; and the end of it was, that
Magee went mad with his victory, and Lord Clonmel died, literally broken-
hearted with his defeat and his apprehensions. The Chief Justice, towards
the close of his life, was delicate in health, and frequent reports of his death
were circulated. On one of these occasions, when he was really very ill, a
friend said to Curran, ' Well, they say Clonmel is going to die at last. Do
you believe it ?' 'I believe,' said Curran, ' he is scoundrel enough to
live or die, just as it suits his own convenience ! /' "

* The pigs were declared to be the property of those who were sufficiently
fortunate as to catch them. The tails of the most agile having been carefully
soaped, the chase began. Judge of the ecstasy of Magee to find the usually
perverse quadrupeds doing exactly as he wished, by steering direct for Lord
Clonmel's parterres and shrubberies. The mob that followed in their wake,
the yelling and screaming, may be easily imagined, but with difficulty
described.— W. J. F.

CHAPTER VI.

Lord Clonmel flings his Cousin on Charybdis while endeavouring to keep
him clear of Scylla — Lawless, Curran, and Bonham establish a Society -of
United Irishmen in London — Generosity of Mr. Lawless towards the Irish
• Refugees — Chairman of the Meeting to compliment Lord Moira — His
Lordship's Letter to Mr. Lawless — Editorial Article from the Press in
Praise of Mr. Lawless — Mortification of Lords Clonmel and Cloncurry at
his democratic Bias — Benevolent Society of St. Patrick — Awkward Incident
— Father O'Coigly — He waits upon Mr. Lawless in London, and obtains
.Money from him — Arrested with O'Connor at Margate — Exertions made
by Mr. Lawless to obtain Money for his Defence — John Joseph Henry's
munificent Remittance — O'Coigly hung at Pennenden Heath — Lord Hol-
land on the Execution of O'Coigly — Arthur O'Connor's Conduct open to
Censure — Mr. Lawless acquires a Feeling of Distrust in him — Duel with Mr.
Huband — Extract from Letter of W. J. O'Neil Daunt, Esq., M.P., to the
Author — FiuTiival's Inn — English Spies in France — Bonham — Colonel
Despard — Arrest of the Leinster Delegates at Bond's — Reynolds, the In-
former— Arrest and Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald — Lady Fitzgerald
concealed by the Sisters of Mr. Lawless — The New Directory — John and
Henry Sheares — Their Labours in endeavouring to hurry the Insurrection
to a head — Betrayed by Captain Armstrong — Their Execution — Arrest
of Neilson — Commencement of the Rebellion — Detailed Narrative of its
Progress — Lawless arrested and entrusted to the Care of a King's Mes-
senger— Repeatedly examined by the Privy Council — Letter to the Duke
of Portland in reference to Lawless — Liberated from Confinement — Forms
a Matrimonial Alliance — Letter from Colonel Cockburne.

To the infinite horror of the wary lawyer — Lord Clonmel,
and the infinite chagrin of the fidgety father — Lord
Cloncurry, they soon found that Master Valentine, on his
arrival in London, had, to use a vulgar but significant
Irish form of expression, " dropped out of the frying-pan
into the fire." In short, he at once connected him-
self with several ardent young patriots, not only of the
" United Irish," but of the " London Corresponding So-
ciety," and was, in the conception of many sapient loyal-
ists, rapidly earning the axe of attainder. How far his
treason extended, the reader will see anon.

148 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

It would appear that the proverbially generous and
patriotic disposition of Mr. Lawless was not less known
in London than in Dublin. From the day of his arrival
he found himself hourly importuned for pecuniary aid —
sometimes to further the ends of nationality — sometimes
to relieve the necessities of certain compatriots of his that
during this period, and long anterior to it, thronged into
London before the reeking sabres of the Ancient Briton
cavalry, or the goading prods of the yeomanry bayonets.
The sword of extermination was at work in Ireland,
and thousands of unfortunates ran, panic-stricken, from
before it.

With a generous and patriotic object in view, a body
of young Templars, headed by Mr. Lawless, formed
themselves into a club or society, which, having been duly
inaugurated, they agreed to designate by the somewhat
alarming term — " United Irish." This done, a fund was
at once established in connexion with it, for the relief of
those unfortunate Irish refugees, who, there was reason
to apprehend, were in a state of great destitution. Pro-
minent amongst the associates stood Mr. Stewart, of
Acton — an Irish gentleman of large landed property,
Mr. Agar, nephew to the Archbishop of Dublin, Richard
Curran, eldest son of Philpot Curran, John Bonham,
afterwards Master of the Ordnance, and Mr. Tranor, the
intimate friend and private secretary of Lawless. This
club was not united by any bonds of connexion with the
Irish Executive Directory, or the vast organization over
which it presided. Poro curante and vive la compagnie
appear to have been its motto, and not Mourir pour le
Patrie, or Ca Ira.

It would, of course, be, at this distance of time, impos-
sible to ascertain the amount of money, or anything like
it, distributed by Lawless amongst his destitute fellow-
countrymen when resident in London during the winter
of '97. We have reason to know, that he never gave
except munificently, and that his acts of benevolence
were of as frequent occurrence as a pious old lady's dis-
bursement of halfpence to the objects of charity casually
encountered. One of his first acts of generosity, on

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 149

arriving in London, was to make up a subscription for
Peter Finnerty, the publisher of the Press, who, by an
adverse verdict, shortly before, had been reduced to a
state of misery little short of utter ruin.

Lawless, as already observed, arrived in London during
the month of November, 1797. In a public journal, now
rarely met with, we find honourable mention of him as
one of several barristers who assembled at the Temple Inn
on the 29th November, for the purpose of complimenting
the good Lord Moira. We allude to the Press news-
paper, which, had it not remained in the author's family
since the year of its suppression, would be no easy matter
to procure just now. In its impression for December
12, 1797 — bless us! what imperfect telegraphic commu-
nication they had in those days — we find the resolutions
passed at the meeting of the 29th ult., together with an
editorial article in reference to Lawless, written, most
probably, by Arthur O'Connor.

The Earl of Moira, on the 22nd November, made, as
has been already stated, a powerful speech before the
British House of Lords, wherein he called the attention
of his hearers to the terrific system of oppression and
extermination which, like a desolating plague, swept
through Ireland. Several Irish gentlemen (principally
Templars), anxious to thank the noble lord for his manly
and patriotic speech, convened a meeting at the Temple
Inn, London, and at the conclusion of their proceedings
passed a t series of resolutions. The Hon. Valentine
Browne Lawless presided as chairman. We extract Lord
Moira's letter, and the editorial article succeeding it, from
No. 33 of the Press newspaper, a journal whilom ho-
noured with the personal attentions of the common
hangman.*

LORD MOIRA TO THE HON. VALENTINE LAWLESS.

No. 2.] "Donnington, Dec. 2, 1707.

" SIE, — I have been honoured with the letter in which you transmit to
me the resolutions of the Irish gentlemen, students at the Temple. It gives

* Like Molyneux's " Case of Ireland Stated," it was sentenced to be burnt
by that personage. Peter Finnerty passed some time in the pillory for pub-

150 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

me peculiar gratification to find myself supported by such an opinion as to
the expediency of the statement which I made in the House of Lords.
Conversant as you respectively are with the situation of Ireland, your testi-
mony Avill sufficiently answer, that no time was to be lost in making publio
the condition of that kingdom. You have truly observed, that in my recital
I suppressed many of the grossest instances of outrage, with the details of
which I could not but be acquainted. My object was not to move indig-
nation, but to force Ministers to a due consideration of an interest the most
important to the British empire of any ever yet hazarded. That they
should attempt a vindication of the oppressions exercised, when they could
not venture to deny the facts, did not surprise me ; because, I could not ex-
pect a ready confession of an error so serious in its nature. My hope rested,
and rested here, that their reflection will tell them how impossible it is for
the people of England to regard with an indifferent eye a perseverance in
that frantic system.

" The generous spirit of this country will not wait to calculate the fatal
effects which those violences may produce upon every relation that subsists
between the two kingdoms. It will decide from another statement ; it will
spurn a concurrence in this oppression, from a consciousness that the nation
which could with apathy see a capricious despotism established over a
neighbouring country must become near the point of inviting such a domi-
nion over itself. Now that the sufferings of Ireland have been made known
to the public, Ministers will foresee the consequence, and they will thence, I
trust, be induced to adopt a tone of conciliation, which, I doubt not, will
still be effectual * * * *

" I have the honour to be, &c.,

"M01RA.

" //ore. V. B. Lawlest."

"We are happy to find from the above article of intelligence, that the
exertions of Mr. Lawless in the cause of his country have not ceased on hia
passing into another. This distinguished young patriot, though the son of a
nobleman, is an honest, independent citizen, capable of judging for himself,
and seeking distinction where it is only desirable, in the field of generous
emulation. We congratulate our country on the prospect of so great an
accession of spirit and good sense to the profession of the law." * * *

From the foregoing it will be seen that Valentine,
upon his arrival in London, lost hardly a day in plunging
into the work expected at his hands by O'Connor and
Fitzgerald. In proportion as they felt gratified at his dis-
play of patriotism, his family were mortified. We can
well imagine old Lord Clonmel, upon hearing of his
cousin's proceedings across the water, sending frantically
for the newspaper which contained the report, and, with

lishing it. The paper itself, one of the most talented that had, previous to
1797, appeared, shared the same fate as the Nation, Tribune, and United
Irishman, in '48.

CLONCURRY ^ND HIS TIMES. 151

fingers trembling with nervous apprehension, adjusting
athwart his nose his gold-mounted spectacles preparatory
to an investigation for treason, in the recorded conduct of
his " giddy friend."

It was and is usual with " the Benevolent Society of
St. Patrick," annually to give, on the feast day of the
Irish apostle, a grand banquet in the Freemason's Tavern,
Great Queen-street, London. On its eighteenth anni-
versary (March 17th, 1798), an incident occurred, with
which our hero is identified, that gave rise at the time to
much censorious gossip at his expense. The Earl of
Moira and some other members of the Whig aristocracy
promised to attend the entertainment on this occasion.
Lawless was invited also, but as he happened to be labour-
ing under an attack of influenza, endeavoured to persuade
the stewards to accept his apology. This they refused
to do, and the valetudinarian was obliged to promise that
he would make an exertion and go. When the day
arrived, he found himself, as the story has it, if anything,
worse, and wavering as to whether he would go or stay.
Matters were precisely in this position, when Lord Moira,
on his way to the dinner, called on Lawless, at his lodg-
ings in St. Albans-street, and bore him off in triumph.

After dinner, several healths were proposed, and,
amongst the number, the Queen's. Lawless sat at the foot
of the table, and was observed to rise from his seat with
an effort the very reverse of alacrity. His dress, which
was, as usual, green, and, in consequence, more or less
obnoxious to a certain party, stimulated the slumbering
suspicions of some very loyal gentlemen present, who
immediately raised the war-whoop of " Put him out" —
" Chair" — " Order," &c., &c., to the no small discom-
fiture of Mr. Lawless,* who, according to his own account —
and we should be sorry to disbelieve it — was totally inno-

* An influential paper, the Freeman's Journal, shortly after the death of
Lord Cloncurry, in 1853, published a biographical sketch of the patriot peer.
It appeared to throw some doubts on the verity of Lord Cloncurry's own
version of the incident " Making some mistake," says the Freeman, " when
the Queen's health was proposed, not satisfactorily cleared up by his lordship
some fifty years after — we suspect, because he could not — the Government
grew more intense hi its suspicions, and he was soon after arrested."

152 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

cent of any intentional disrespect towards her Majesty. As
soon as the storm of indignation had in some degree abated,
he rose from his seat, and, addressing the Earl of Moira,
assured him that there was nothing further from his
thoughts than to manifest contempt to the Queen of
England — that his tardiness in rising was to be attributed
to indisposition, and not to disrespect; and that even
supposing he were disposed to show it, he would not
select an opportunity for such a display when his valued
friend, Lord Moira, as the proposer of the toast, could
not but feel very naturally hurt.

What Irishman is there who has not heard of Father
James O'Coigly, who, in 1798, paid the usual penalty of
patriotism ? As the history of his latter days is indisso-
lubly connected with the Hon. Mr. Lawless, we may,
perhaps, be permitted to introduce here a few observations
in reference to them.

Descended from an ancient and distinguished sept,
O'Coigly was born in the hot-bed of Orangeism — the
County Armagh — in 1762. Here he continued to reside
until 1785, when his inclinations led him to enter, as a
divinity student, the Irish College in Paris. In 1796 his
family were reduced, in common with many another, to
the hard necessity of flying from their homes by the
sword of the exterminator, which, under the vaunted
sanction of Government, was daily at its work, fleshing
unto death, and torturing to madness. The active and
naturally intrepid spirit of Father O'Coigly led him to
head the forlorn hope of Ireland, in endeavouring to
bring to justice the " Peep-o'-day" and " Immortal Me-
mory" banditti, whose atrocities we have already more
than once referred to. This line of conduct, no doubt,
accelerated the descent of their vengeance on his house.
In 1796, as we are informed by his own narrative,* a
body of Orange wreckers marched to his father's dwelling,
and signified their intention of reducing it to ruin.
O'Coigly 's aged and helpless parents, observing their
approach, immediately threw open both windows and
doors, in order to avoid the slightest semblance of

* The Life of the Rev. James Coigly, written by himself. London : 1798.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 153

resistance. Their visitors, however, were more chagrined
than pleased at this proceeding, and gave rein to their
indignation by discharging one hundred rounds of ball-
cartridge into the house. This done, they proceeded to
drag from his chamber the prostrate body of old O'Coigly,
and with blunderbusses aimed at his head and breast,
threatenened him with instantaneous death, if he did not
consent, then and there, to renounce the fatal delusions
of Popery, and conform to that religion which they them-
selves professed. Seeing little of the meekness of the
Gospel, or of true brotherly love in the general demean-
our of those watchful guardians of his spiritual interests,
it may readily be supposed that the staunch old Papist
rejected with indignation their proposal, and in the lace
of death declared that never would he consent to be
aught but a Catholic. The saints shook their heads,
declared it to be a bad case, and transferred their godly
labours to the house.

They sacked it mercilessly. Plate, cash, clothes, and
every portable article of value they removed. Furniture,
pictures, books, and manuscripts, formed the elements of
a mighty bonfire. Among the latter, were some valuable
autograph writings of James II., Tyrconnell, Sarsfield,
and others, which young O'Coigly had, with much
expense and labour, collected for materials to form a
history of the rebellion of 1741. After completely
gutting the place, the wreckers defiled off to the residence
of another member of the family, and there commenced a
series of similar outrages. Father O'Coigly rushed like
a maniac in quest of some upright magistrate who would
take his depositions, but, alas ! such men were rare, and
all his labours to bring the Orange perpetrators to punish-
ment proved unavailing. Maddened by the unrelenting
sting of persecution, and driven to desperation, O'Coigly
connected himself, in a moment of impulse, with the
Northern Society of United Irishmen. In his capacity
of delegate, he visited France in 1797. How far his
treasonable views extended, we are not in a position to
say ; but that he was more incautious than anything else,
is, we believe, highly probable. Early in '98, business

i. 2

154 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

demanded a second visit on his part to Paris. He set out
thither, but, as time will show, never reached it.

We beg particularly to call the reader's attention to the
following paragraphs, which we take the liberty of ex-
tracting from Dr. Madden's " United Irishmen," Vol. II.,
Third Series: —

" Coigly, on his way to France, passed through London. He brought a
letter of introduction to an Irish gentleman then residing in London, in
which he was described as a priest who had rendered himself conspicuous in
the North, in resisting the persecutors of the Catholic peasantry, and was
then flying to France to escape the fate of all those who interfered with their
outrageous proceedings. The account I am now giving was related to me
by the gentleman in question, a person whose veracity is not better known to
his countrymen, than his unfailing services to his country, whether in the
senate, on the magisterial bench, or in his capacity of a landlord, and pro-
moter of every measure useful to his country.

" Coigly was in great distress ; he was assisted by this gentleman, and
invited to his house on two or three occasions. Arthur O'Connor, who had
recently arrived in London, dined with this gentleman, when Coigly and
O'Connor met at his house, at dinner, for the first tune. * * *

"At this period, the gentleman referred to, and every Irishman who fre-
quented his house, were vigilantly watched by agents of a higher department
than the police. That gentleman was well aware that he never went abroad
that he was not followed, at a convenient distance, by a special spy appointed
to watch his movements, as well as those of every person who visited him.
This circumstance throws some light on the nature of the clue which caused
the Bow-street runners to be in the footsteps of O'Connor and his party,
when they were arrested at Margate."

The anonymous gentleman alluded to by Dr. Madden,
in the foregoing paragraphs, was — need we say it — the
Hon. Valentine Browne Lawless. And, reader, who,
think you, was the writer of O'Coigly's letter of intro-
duction? No other than honest Mathew Dowling, who
aided Rowan in his escape from prison, and two years
after gave the wink to Napper Tandy, at Carrickfergus,
to be off.

Lawless was forcibly- struck with the imposing appear-
ance of O'Coigly. He never remembered to have seen a
finer-looking man, and every word of the harrowing nar-
rative of his afflictions poured deep and scalding into his
feeling heart. The eyes of Lawless suffused with tears.
The priest saw the impression he had produced, and im-
proved on it. He told him how his hoary -headed parents
had been hunted, by the lash of persecution, from

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 155

Armagh ; how he took shelter in Dundalk, but was soon
reduced to the necessity of abandoning it, in consequence
of the implacable hostility with which the Orange yeo-
manry pursued him, that now he was desirous of reaching
Douay, where erst he had been a professor in the Univer-
sity, and would require some pecuniary assistance to
defray the expenses of the journey. The letter from Mat.
Dowling corroborated these statements, and informed
Lawless, in conclusion, that a case of more genuine
distress could not possibly be met with.

Lawless not only placed ample assistance in O'Coigly 's
hands, but hospitably invited him to partake of his
bachelor's dinner on the day following. He thankfully
accepted it, and gained, by so doing, a very reputable,
although a somewhat dangerous, acquaintance.* Arthur
O'Connor, editor of the Press, was one of the guests. He
and the priest took to each other warmly in the course
of the evening, and, two or three days after, left London
together for Margate, en route for France, accompanied
by Benjamin and John Binns. Mr. Lawless, it would
appear, was wholly ignorant of the arrangements entered
into between the clergyman and O'Connor. He laboured
under the impression that O'Coigly merely accompanied
him to France in the capacity of private secretary. That
they had some deeper project in perspective than what
appeared to our young templar will, we think, be evident
from the sequel.

* "Before that period, I never saw O'Connor in my whole life. This can
'be proved by the very person, now in London, who introduced him to me." — Life
of the Rev. J. Coigly. London, 1798.

Appended to the first volume of the third series of Madden's " United Irish-
men," is a narrative drawn up by Mr. Binns, one of the party arrested at
Margate. At page 416, he writes : — " Coigly was acquainted with most of

the leaders of the United Irishmen. He was no stranger to L ; he made

him a United Irishman in his father's house, in Merrion-street, Dublin."
That Lawless is the party alluded to by Mr. Binns, there can be, we believe,
little doubt. His father's house, now the office of the Ecclesiastical Commis-
sioners, was situated in Merrion-street. The suppression of the name is also
a proof, Lord Cloncurry having been living at the time of publication. But
Mr. Binns is under error ; if we are to credit the word of Lord Cloncurry, he
saw O'Coigly, for the first time, on his presenting the note of introduction from
Mat. Dowling.

156 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Messrs. Fugion and Rivett, two notorious Bow-street
officers, having dogged, with unerring scent, O'Connor
and the priest to Margate, came to the conclusion that
decisive preparations lor their immediate capture ought
then and there to be entered into. No time was to be lost,
as less than three hours would probably land them on the
shores of France.

O'Coigly was partaking of some breakfast at the King's
Head Inn, when the Bow-street runners rushed into the
apartment. Having been seized and searched, a dirk
was found upon his person. He manifested great cool-
ness, and requested that the constables would permit him
to finish his meal ere they subjected him to any further
examination. Rivett turned the pockets of a great coat
belonging to O'Coigly inside out, but nothing of im-
portance came to light beyond a memorandum book,
which contained, amongst some Latin certificates apper
taining to his studies, a very extraordinary paper, headed,
" An Address of the London Corresponding Society to
the Executive Directory of France." The tenor of this
document was, according to the laws of England, un-
doubtedly seditious. In O'Connor's portmanteau, a sum
of money, amounting to £900,* a military uniform, and
some papers relating to Lord Edward Fitzgerald, were
discovered. Suffice it to say, that enough transpired to
make Government suspect the loyalty of the travellers.

Binns, O'Connor, and the priest, having been escorted
to London by a strong guard, they were examined by
the magistrates, who considered the evidence of a suffi-
ciently conclusive character to warrant their committal.t

* See " Madden's Lives and Times of the United Irishmen," Third Series,
vol. ii., page 18.

f In connexion with the imprisonment of Arthur O'Connor, at Maidstooe,
in 1798. we beg to refer the reader to our Appendix, wherein an interesting
and well authenticated story, never before published to the world, appears. The
writer (Major Scott, of the 91st Kegt.) is perhaps the only person now living
who could tell it. His father, ^Yilliam Scott, was the barrister who defended
O'Connor and Binns at Maidstone. Scott's eldest sister married Lord Ox-
ford, and was mother of Lady Charlotte Harley, the " lanthe" of Childe
Harold. Scott himself was a political disciple of Home Tooke.

Major Scott has written the story precisely as he used to hear his father

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 157

The heavy tramp of the turnkey, after locking up his
prisoner, had hardly ceased to echo through the vaulted
passages of Maidstone jail, than the unfortunate O'Coigly
proceeded to indite a most affecting letter to the same
benevolent gentleman who had so generously aided him
on the recommendation of Mat. Dowling. The applica-
cation was now for funds to enable him to retain efficient
counsel for his defence. Reader, was the appeal unsuc-
cessful, think you ? Listen to what B. P. Binns, one of
the men of '98, says, in the course of a letter on the death
of his venerated friend, O'Coigly, published forty-two
years after that event. The blanks may safely be filled
up with the name of Lawless.

" I well recollect at the time antecedent to the trial of O'Coigly and others,
being present myself during the short period often days, between my libe-
ration by the Privy Council, and second arrest, that gave 300 guineas

to defend him, by a check on his banker, in the Chamber of Councillors, in

the Temple. Well, sir, Billy Pitt had arrested by his lettres de cachet,

and sent to prison, where he remained for three long years. In fact, the
personal liberty of every man was then at the caprice of Billy Pitt."

The sum of 300 guineas is, doubtless, an exaggeration,
as Lawless was living at the time upon a very moderate
allowance from Lord Cloncurry. He gave, however,
generously, by a cheque on his banker, and engaged the
professional assistance of a skilful attorney named Foulkes,
to whom he promised to be accountable for all incidental
expenses in the matter. The sympathies of Lawless were
awakened with a vengeance. Not satisfied with giving
the clergyman promises, and ipso facto gifts of personal
assistance, he addressed a touching letter to our old ac-
quaintance, Thomas Braughall, wherein he called upon
him, as an Irishman, and a Catholic, to subscribe for
the relief of a patriotic and distressed member of his priest-
hood, who lay ironed in the dungeons of Maidstone jail.
Lawless did not confine his applications to Roman Ca-
tholics. He wrote to his esteemed friend, John Joseph
Henry, of StrafTan, Esq. (brother-in-law of Lord Edward

tell it. O'Connor compromised the safety of a friend by detaining a sword
cane. The story does not redound very much to his credit, but is merely a
proof of thoughtlessness, not of treachery.

158 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Fitzgerand), expressing a hope that he (Mr. Henry)
would kindly send him something, however small, in aid
of the unfortunate clergyman. Mr. Henry's reply con-
tained somethingmore substantial than words or sympathy.
That generous and patriotic Irishman placed at his friend's
disposal the munificent remittance of FIVE HUNDRED
POUNDS. This exceeded, by a very considerable amount,
the most sanguine expectations of Mr. Lawless, and not
considering it necessary to retain a larger sum than £50,
enclosed him the overplus by return of post.

In a subsequent letter to Mr. Braughall, Lawless more
than alluded to the generous act ; and in a half playful,
half affectionate manner, spoke of the donor as " little
Henry." Braughall was an old associate of Wolfe Tone's,
and incurred, in common with many other patriotic gen-
tlemen, the suspicions of Government. His house in
Eccles-street was, in May '98, searched, and his papers
seized, amongst which turned up Lawless's letter to him
on the subject of Father O'Coigly. The phrase, "little
Henry," after due analysis by the quid nuncs of the Castle,
was considered to allude to Henry Grattan, to whom the
epithet was, in some degree, applicable. The result was,
that Grattan, one fine morning, found himself placed under
arrest. But of this anon.

Of all the prisoners arrested at Margate, none appeared
to the English Government so scarlet with crime as the
Catholic clergyman, and they resolved to crush him sig-
nally and effectively, come what would. Arthur O'Con-
nor, although a much more dangerous character, they
appear to have been comparatively easy about. Both
John and Benjamin Binns had a good deal of treason in
their composition too, but Mr. William Pitt rushed fran-
tically past them in his hungry anxiety to seize upon the
priest. Ere O'Coigly could be prosecuted to conviction,
however, it was necessary that some person should be pro-
duced who would undertake to swear positively to his
handwriting. The means employed to procure this de-
sideratum were, we much fear, not particularly scrupulous.
O'Coigly, in his own autobiographical narrative, written

CLONCURRY AXD HIS TIMES. 159

in the interval between his conviction and execution,
expressed himself as follows : —

" Fugion and Rivett swore that the paper in question was found by the
latter in a pocket-book, in the pocket of that great coat, which I declare most
solemnly, in the face of my country and my God, was false, unless one of
them, or some other person, put it there. * * The last of these witnesses
was the notorious informer, Button, of Newry, who swore to my handwrit-
ing, and had the audacity to say that he had frequently seen me write, which
I declare to God is false."

These solemn protestations must be regarded as the
dying declaration of a dying man. To suppose that any-
one, much less a minister of the Gospel, would, at such
an awful moment, dye his immortal soul in the crimson
guilt of perjury, is altogether so improbable, that readers
of every creed and party will, no doubt, unhesitatingly
credit O'Coigly's statement.

The anxiety on the part of Government to ensure his
conviction is evident from the following private letter
addressed by Secretary Wickham to Lord Castlereagh,
and which we take the liberty of culling from that valu-
able collection of State papers recently published under
the auspices of Lord Londonderry : —

" Whitehall, April 11, 1798.

" MY LORD, — * * * * * * It is most exceedingly to be lamented
that no person can be sent over from Ireland to prove O'Coigly's handwriting.
Proof of that kind would be so extremely material, that I have no doubt that
the law officers would think it right to put off the trial, if they could have
any hope of any person being found in a short time who could speak dis-
tinctly to his handwriting."

The source of bitter lamentation to his Majesty's law
officers was effectually removed by the appearance of
Dutton, one of the mercenary informers of the north.
This man swore in the most positive manner that some
very ambiguous, and, to all intents and purposes, ex-
tremely innocent letters were in the handwriting of
O'Coigly ; and that he was enabled to do so from having,
while resident in Dundalk, seen him (O'Coigly) affix
his signature to some cards in connexion with a raffle
which had been set on foot for the relief of a distressed
family.

160 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Mr. Plumer professed to be the leading counsel for
O'Connor and O'Coigly, and made a speech of nearly five
hours' duration ; but the defence of the wretched priest
occupied scarcely as many minutes. The little that
Mr. Plumer did say in his favour ( ?) operated more to his
prejudice than anything else.

At the conclusion of the Attorney-General's speech,
O'Coigly addressed the Court, and solemnly protested that
the paper to which so much importance was attached
never belonged to him. It certainly did not belong to
O'Coigly, but he was, to a certain extent, culpable in
having it in his possession at all. At the request of his
friend, Dr. Crossfield, as Mr. Binns assures us, he con-
sented to oblige him by carrying the address of the Cor-
responding Society to France. Of the sentiments con-
tained in it O'Coigly was as innocent as the child in the
womb. The indictment charged him with being an emis-
sary from the English Corresponding Society, detected in
the act of going to France, in order to open treasonable
communication with the Executive Directory. For this
act of treason O'Coigly was found guilty on weak and in-
conclusive evidence. Whatever his connexion might
have been with the Irish, he certainly had nothing to do
with the English Union Club.

But to return to the trial. " Mr. Justice Buller," says
Dr. Madden, " leaned heavily on O'Coigly, throwing
out many doiibts of a favourable kind to the other pri-
soners." The consequence was, that the jury returned a
verdict of guilty against the priest, and not guilty against
his five fellow-prisoners — O'Connor, B. and J. Binns,
Leary, and Allen.

Previously to undergoing execution, O'Coigly was visited
by the Catholic chaplain of the gaol, who, according to
the narrative published in 1798, was commissioned by Go-
vernment to make certain overtures to the prisoner, which
he (O'C.) could not without dishonour meet. A Catholic
clergyman putting himself in confidential communication
with the King's ministers, before yielding spiritual assist-
ance to prisoners under sentence of death, commits an
outrage on decency and honour that could not be too

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 161

strongly reprobated. O'Coigly, in his narrative, speaks
of the chaplain's conduct in most unmeasured terms, but
with hardly less severity than it deserved. The great
object which the rev. gentleman had in view was to
prevail on his penitent to criminate O'Connor and the
other prisoners, by private information to Government
of their acts and intentions. He told him that, in case
he did as proposed, his (O'Coigly 's) life would not only
be spared, but himself, his parents, brothers, and family,
handsomely remunerated by a grateful Government;
while, on the other hand, if he refused, the vengeance of
that same Government would never cease to pursue them.
The chaplain dwelt at much length on the duty he owed
to his parents, but all to no avail ; the political fidelity
of O'Coigly could not be shaken. The rev. comforter
(whose name we purposely refrain from mentioning)
visited the prisoner on four successive occasions. It was,
we believe, on the last but one, that he conjured of him
to tell what would place his friends upon the scaffold.

" On my declaring," writes O'Coigly, " that I could not give him the
wished-for information, he said, in a very significant manner, that he was
very sorry it was not in his power to promise me a reprieve, or even a respite.
I answered, that the first I did not expect, and the latter I did not wish
for."

On the 7th June, 1798, this singularly heroic man
was removed on a hurdle to Pennenden Heath, with the
halter of death thrown across his shoulders, and an iron
chain encircling his waist. O'Coigly's behaviour was
most edifying. He looked neither to the right nor left,
but, with eyes rivetted on the sacred book of consolation,
thought only of preparing to meet his God. With his
last breath he protested his innocence of the crime for
which he was convicted, and declared, by the hopes he con-
fidently felt of salvation, that his life was " falsely and
maliciously taken away by perjury and subornation of
perjury." He forgave his enemies, and felt that justice
would be hereafter done to his memory. The gaol chap-
lain attended him. O'Coigly begged his pardon for
anything he might have said to his prejudice, and calling
upon Providence to have mercy on his soul, delivered

162 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

himself up into the hands of the executioner. The drop
fell — O'Coigly swung into death — the liberated spirit, no
longer bound by English shackles, rushed through oceans
of space, and at length stood, paralysed and dazzled, in the
presence of that GREAT JUDGE, the omnipotent Maker of
Heaven, Hell, and Earth.

The head was cut off, and held aloft in triumph.
The body was interred on the place of execution. Re-
quiescat in pace.

We cannot more appropriately conclude the foregoing
melancholy episode than by laying before O'Coigly '3
sympathisers the following reflections on his trial and
execution. They come from the pen of that eminent
statesman and minister, the late Lord Vassall Holland,
one of Lord Cloncurry's best and oldest friends. His
lordship wrote a work in 1806, and revised it in 1824,
entitled, " Memoirs of the Whig Party during My Time."
For obvious reasons, he felt, during his lifetime, a deli-
cacy in giving it publicity. Eleven years subsequent to
the noble author's death, after reposing for nearly half a
century in the family escrutoir of Holland House, we at
length find his " Whig Party" emanate from its ob-
scurity, endorsed by the respectable firm of Longman,
Browne, Greene, and Longman : —

" As to the specific charge," says Lord Holland, " there was certainly not
sufficient proof against O'Connor. O'Coigly, with whom he had fallen in by
accident, furnished the only evidence, in a paper which he imprudently
carried about him, and which was, to the full, as remarkable for its uselesu-
ness and nonsense as for its treason. The poor man, feeling that he had thus
endangered the companions of his journey, generously entreated them to
sacrifice him without scruple, if in any way it could contribute to their
defence. O'Coigly was condemned on false and contradictory evidence. I
do not mean to aver, as Lord Chancellor Thurlow assured me he did to
Judge Buller, who tried him, that ' if ever a poor man was murdered it was
O'Coigly^ but simply to allude to a circumstance, which, in the case of a
common felon, would probably have saved his life. The Bow-street officer
who swore to finding the fatal paper in his pocket-book, and remarked in
court the folding of the paper as fitting that pocket-book, had sworn before
the Privy Council that the same paper was found loose in O'Coiyly's great
coat, and, I think, had added that he himself had put it into the pocket-book.
An attorney of the name of Foulkes gave me this information, and I went
with it to Mr. Wickham, then, I think, Under- Secretary, who assured me

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 163

that the circumstance should be carefully and anxiously iuvestigated before
the execution. But the order had gone down, and while we were conversing,
the sentence was probably executed."

In the foregoing observations on Father O'Coigly's
arrest, trial, and execution, we have been induced to
outstrip somewhat our usual limits, in consideration of
the Hon. Mr. Lawless having taken such an active and
remarkable part in collecting money for his defence,
ministering to his wants, and sympathizing with his
afflictions. His assistance to the priest gave considerable
umbrage to the Government. In a short time after, he
was arrested, and the first question put to him by Mr.
Pitt, at the Privy Council, was, why he should have
given pecxiniary relief to O'Coigly.

The only affair of honour in which Valentine Lawless
ever engaged himself took place at this period. In one
of the newspapers of the day, an article on the festive
and general proceedings of the United Irish Society of
England appeared. Whatever the tone of the article was
we know not, but from the fact of Lawless expressing
himself in strong terms against the publication in conse-
quence, we are decidedly inclined to think that it could
not have been very complimentary. Mr. Huband, an
Irish barrister, and a frequenter also of Furnival's Inn,
chancing to overhear these expressions, waxed wrathful,
and resented them, it appears, as a personal insult. His
actual motive for doing so has not, as far as we know,
transpired. A challenge ensued, which, it may readily
be supposed, was promptly accepted. The belligerents
met at Norwood, exchanged four innocuous shots, and
declared themselves satisfied.

The above is, in its salient points, identical with the
version given by Lord Cloncurry, a few years previous
to his death, of the transaction. After the lapse of half
a century, it is often difficult to recollect the precise cir-
cumstances of a personal adventure. We are inclined to
think that his lordship's memory failed him, to a certain
extent, in this retrospect. The duel took place about the
same period as the Maidstone trials. O'Connor's conduct
thereat was animadverted on by many. We have seen,

164 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

from the paragraph written by Lord Holland, that when
O'Coigly begged of his associates to sacrifice him without
scruple, if doing so would in any way relieve them or
further their cause, Arthur O'Connor unhesitatingly — or,
as Lord Holland has it — " religiously complied." We do
not go quite so far as his lordship, but we are certainly
of opinion that Mr. O'Connor's conduct was, more or less,
open to animadversion.

The following is the paragraph that, during the first
week of May, 1798, went the rounds of the newspapers.
It is descriptive of the duel ; and we need not point out
to the reader how much more plausibly it sounds than
the version given fifty years after the transaction, by
Lord Cloncurry, in his " Personal Recollections:" —

" On Sunday morning, the Hon. Mr. Lawless and Mr. Huband, accom-
panied by Mr. Agar, of the Temple, and Mr. Smith, met at a field near
Norwood, to settle an affair of honour, which had arisen between them in
consequence of a dispute respecting the political conduct of Mr. Arthur
O'Connor, when, after each party had discharged a brace of pistols without
effect, the business was happily accommodated through the intervention of
the seconds."

On the 3rd May, 1854, the author of this work re-
ceived a letter from W. J. O'Neil Daunt, Esq., of Kil-
cascan (formerly M.P. for Mallow), which tends to throw
some light upon the causes which led to the hostile
meeting between Lawless and Mr. Huband. The following
is an extract from Mr. Daunt's letter : —

" It was, I think, in May, 1 845, that I had a kind note from Lord C.,
asking me to dine at Maretimo, and ' talk over the past affairs of Ireland.'
Our conversation turned on the period of the rebellion. I told him the pre-
parations made by Roger O'Connor at Connorville pretty much as you
have them in 'Ireland and her Agitators.' I also told him (what does not
appear in that book) that the gentleman from whom I had the detail was
my father, then a youth of seventeen or eighteen, who was Roger's cousin,
and a constant guest at Connorville. Speaking of Roger's brother, Arthur,
I said I always looked on him as a perfectly honest politician ; and that his
deliberate forfeiture of Lord Longueville's title and inheritance demonstrated
his honesty. Lord Cloncurry's words in reply, as nearly as I can recollect
them, were these : — ' Arthur O'Connor and I had been then very intimate ;
but I afterwards acquired a feeling of great distrust in him.' ' On what
grounds?' asked I. 'Really, at this distance of time,' replied Lord C., 'I
cannot recollect the exact details, but I thought he unfairly sacrificed
O'Coigly ; and without being able to give you the precise grounds of that
impression, I must say that the impression still remains.' It would appear,
however, from his work, that he afterwards thought otherwise."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 165

There was an apartment in Furnival's Inn, London,
much frequented about this period, by the patriotic sons
of Erin, and the English sympathisers with their move-
ment. " It was the customary place of resort," says a
writer, " for those who were most deeply engaged in the
conspiracy : and secret consultations were here carried on,
with a view to projects deemed too dangerous and despe-
rate to be brought forward in any of the larger societies."
This description is somewhat exaggerated, and so is
the Secret Committee's ; but it is, at all events, certain
that sufficient treason characterized their proceedings to
afford " the detectives" a pretext for espionage, and the
Government of laying their interdict upon them. Lord
Castlereagh, in his "Report of the Committee of Secrecy,"
thus adverts to the rendezvous in question. " The lead-
ing members of the disaffected societies were in the habit
of frequenting an occasional meeting, which was held at
a cellar in Furnival's Inn, and was first formed for the pur-
pose of reading the libellous and treasonable publication
called the Press."

There was a vast deal more than reading the Press,
and talking politics, done at Furnival's Inn. Singing and
carousing, joking and merry-making, were, on many oc-
casions the order of the evening, and not conspiracies for
the subversion of the empire, or the assassination of the
king. Lawless repeatedly assured his friends that when
he dropped into Furnival's Inn, at the closing of the thea-
tres, or the dissolution of a dinner party, he had no more
treasonable object in view than to hear a good song, or a
" rnerrie conceit ;" and that if treason were broached, it cer-
tainly was not with his knowledge, consent, or approval.
It is curious to think how Lawless could have been un-
conscious both of the character of the place, and of the
very imminent danger he ran in frequenting it. Yet,
such, nevertheless, we believe to be the fact. There cannot
be a doubt but that treason did occasionally pervade
the conferences of Furnival's Inn, and that to no incon-
siderable extent.

The frequenters of this club-room soon became marked
men, and were individually honoured by a special police

166 CLONCURBY AND HIS TIMES.

spy, who daily reported to Government their movements
and proceedings. Of all the party thus dogged and scru-
tinized Lawless received perhaps the most unremitting
attention. Nor can it be wondered at, when he openly
and deliberately took such an active part in ministering
to the wants of the United Irish refugees. His ostenta-
tious display of green apparel, too, had considerable
effect in stimulating the suspicions of Government.

Pitt had his foreign spies as well as his domestic ones.
France was literally alive with them, and secret de-
spatches were daily forwarded to Whitehall and Downing-
street. A few of these mysterious documents have recently
seen the light of day in " the Castlereagh Memoirs and
Correspondence ;" but the names of the dishonourable
writers have been, in accordance with the dictates of edi-
torial judgment, suppressed. Mr. Pitt's detectives, with
a view to worm themselves into the confidence of the sus-
pected, feigned, with inimitable tact and dexterity, to be
emissaries from the Union. From a paper written about
this period, we cull a few extracts, in order to show with
what astonishing success the spies contrived to elucidate
every little fact, important and unimportant, connected
with the refugees. In the last paragraph will be found
an allusion to the subject of these pages. The patronymic
Lawless is written at full length, although in most of the
other references to him (with which the first volume of
Castlereagh is sprinkled), he is never spoken of otherwise
than as the Hon. Mr. L

" Teeling had a letter from , whom he met in London. * * *

O'Finn's wife is coming over, and will bring some papers. * * Muir
got 10,000 livres, almost gone; expects to be sent over in three weeks on
mission by the French Government. * * Lewins has no money. *
J. Orr has received a remittance of £500. M'Skicky, an officer of some
merit, was under Tone, but they fell out. He is gone to Toulon with Lewis.
Tone is at Rouen, where there's 4, 000 men, and ten gunboats building. Ten-
nent received £2,500 of remittance; and when the French heard of this,both
Buonaparte and Barras sent for him. Part of the money belongs to the
Simses of Belfast, part to his brother, and £700 to himself. * * O'Mely
went with Lewins to the Hague. * * Colonel Despard, a Mr. Bonham,
YOUNG LAWLESS, and Robert Simms, are the only persons in whom the
Irish at Paris said I ought to place any confidence, in case I either wrote or
came to England or Ireland."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 167

Mr. Bonham, it will be remembered, was one of the
frequenters of Furnival's Inn. In consequence, he rarely
went abroad without the attendance of a special spy.
Ample line was given him for a while, but suddenly the
" wind-up" commenced, and, much to his astonishment,
Bonham found himself one morning lodged in Cold Bath
Fields jail. With respect to Colonel Despard, his history is
somewhat better known. Few, however, seem to be
aware that he wras actually driven, nay, whipped, into
disaffection by perhaps the most insulting treatment ever
received from a Government.

Colonel Edward Marcus Despard was a native of the
Queen's County, in Ireland. Having received an ex-
cellent education, he entered the army, and served with
distinction in the American war. For his services in that
campaign, he was created, without purchase, lieutenant-
colonel, and, in 1 784, elevated to the dignity of superin-
tendent of the English affairs at Honduras. Despard also
attained just celebrity as an engineer. He fortified
Jamaica with a degree of skill that elicited universal
approval. He may be said to have been popular with
everybody save the Spaniards, many of whose establish-
ments he captured triumphantly along the Musquito
coast.

Whilst co-operating with Nelson at the storming of
Honduras, he advanced, from his own private purse, large
sums of money, in order to further England's efforts to
reduce it. Parliament returned him a vote of thanks for
his generosity, but withheld, for reasons best known to
themselves, the reimbursements to which he was, in law
and equity, entitled. Some alleged, in extenuation, that
his public conduct, while at Honduras, was disapproved
of; but how this may have been, we cannot say.

Despard hurried over to England and pressed his
application on the notice of the House. His claims were
spurned with indignation and contempt. Stung with
rage, and maddened by disappointment, he expressed
himself in terms of unmeasured harshness against the
Legislature. Meanwhile his pecuniary affairs became
immeshed amid a complication of embarrassments, and

168 CLONCDRRY AND HIS? TIMES.

Despard well nigh lost his reason with vexation. Believing
that allegiance to a Government which had so cruelly
maltreated him could not longer, in reason or equity, be
expected, he flung himself cordially into the ranks of the
United Irishmen, and hurled the defiance of his military
experience at the State. Little time was lost in preparing
a warrant under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act,
and in consigning him, ironed, to Cold Bath Fields' prison.
Here it was that Valentine Lawless first beheld Colonel
Despard. He visited him in the company of his fast friend,
John Reeves. The time was mid-winter, and the day one
of the coldest that ever blew. Judge of his surprise to
find this accomplished gentleman and eminent military
commander lying in a miserable stone cell, with barely
sufficient space to turn in, devoid of all furniture or ac-
commodation, save a wretched truckle bed, and destitute
of even the advantages of a furnished fireplace or glazed
window. Poor Despard ! How he, who had passed the
greater portion of his existence beneath the scorching rays
of a tropical sun, must have smarted beneath this cruel
treatment.

During the debates, some months afterwards, on the
propriety of continuing the suspension of the Habeas
Corpus, Mr. Courtney read a letter aloud from Mrs. Ca-
therine Despard.

" I think it necessary to state," she writes, " that he was confined near
seven months in a dark cell, without fire or candle, chair, table, knife, fork,
a glazed window, or even a book. I made several applications in person
to M r. Wickham, and by letter to the Duke of Portland, all to no purpose.
The 20th of last month he was removed into a room, with fire, but not until
his feet were ulcerated by the frost. For the truth of this statement I appeal
to the Hon. Mr. Lawless and John Reeves, Esq., who visited him in prison,
and at whose intercession he was removed. The jailer will bear witness that
he never made any complaint of his treatment, however severe."

The sympathies of Valentine were, as usual, awakened.
He expressed the greatest commiseration for Despard's
sufferings, and resolved to provide for his wife and family
at Lyons, whenever circumstances suggested the propriety
of doing so, and certain other circumstances permitted
it. We trust it is not unpardonably^ anticipating, to

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 169

observe, that Lawless subsequently did afford Mrs. Des-
pard a comfortable asylum within the bosom of his own
family at Lyons. Less than five years after his visit to
poor Despard's dungeon, the wretched inmate was no
more. On the 21st February, 1803, a London mob were
edified by the executioner elevating vauntingly the
bleeding head of an ungrateful traitor to his country.
Thus inauspiciously terminated the career of Edward
Marcus Despard, which, at the outset, appeared so
radiant with promise.

We have been a complete absentee for some time. As
an Irishman, born and bred, we must not lose sight alto-
gether of our native country.

The ruthless minister, with merciless determination,
continued whipping the people from a trot into a canter,
and from a canter to a gallop. Matters were ra-
pidly hurrying to a crisis in Ireland, and Government
watched the growth of treason, not with affright, but
with a smile of placid self-complacency. Should the
Earls of Moira or Dunsany denounce that fatal policy, as
it rolled headlong forward, they were immediately put
down by an overwhelming avalanche of Treasury oppo-
sition. In proportion as the friends of Ireland denounced,
the friends of England eulogized. Chancellor Clare
declared that such speeches as Lord Moira's were encou-
ragements to treason. He spoke exultingly of the success
attendant on the coercive policy, and declared it to have
been extorted from the Lord Lieutenant by the ministry.
The success attendant on the coercive policy was,
certainly, very remarkable. Plans for immediate revolt,
with or without French assistance, grew into embryo,
and from embryo to maturity. The people were drilled,
disciplined, and organized. The leaders, calm and col-
lected, sat in council, brooding over the thunder-cloud
which was soon, amid a hurricane, to burst asunder.
Tone, Lewins, Tennant, and Lowry, as delegates from the
Union, were actively engaged in hurrying to completion,
the French expedition ; and the London Corresponding
Society, assuming every day a more formidable aspect,
communicated sympathetically with their brethren in the

I

170 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

West. Whenever the Irish people should rise en masse,
they promised to create a diversion in their favour, by a
simultaneous attack on the King, Lords, and Commons.

The outburst of the rebellion received a serious check
by the arrest of the Leinster delegates at Bond's, in
Bridge-street, March 12, 1798. As fourteen men sat in
council, talking over the mighty work which lay be-
fore them, Major Swan, attended by a strong posse of
constables, rushed into the apartment, and succeeded in
effecting an easy capture, not only of their persons, but
of several important documents, that furnished Govern-
ment afterwards with a key to the eclaircissement of as
many deep-laid plans. Having obtained the pass-word
by means of private information, Swan had little diffi-
culty in effecting an entrance. That night, Thomas
Addis Emmet, Dr. M'Nevin, and the brothers Jackson,
drooped beneath the weight of their chains and their
reflections.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Lord Edward,
and another for Sampson, but both contrived, for a time,
at least, to baffle pursuit. A proclamation appeared.
Ministers offered ONE THOUSAND POUNDS as a premium
for treachery.

The reader probably requires not to be reminded that
the capture at Bond's was the result of, perhaps, one of
the most diabolical strokes of treachery that ever fell to
the lot of an historian to chronicle. THOMAS REYNOLDS !
Oh, would that we could write his name in letters of
blood! Were every disgusting epithet of opprobrium
collected from the refuse of our vocabulary, and hurled
in one foetid mass at the reputation of this Judas, 'twould
be only a speck to the dung-hill of obloquy under which
his character ought to be, for all eternity, buried.

A more deliberate and cold-blooded piece of treachery
(with the exception, perhaps, of Sheares' betrayal) is not
upon record in the Irish memory. By this act alone,
Reynolds consigned to the gibbet thirteen men, wholly
innocent of any moral crime, not to take into account at
least a dozen others, whose opinions were revealed by the
discovery at Bond's of their papers and memoranda.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 171

Reynolds was originally a silk-mercer in Dublin, but
having acquired, by the death of some relatives, a landed
property in the County Kildare, he took up his abode in
Kilkea Castle, near the Town of Mageney.* " He so
completely wormed himself," says Plowden, "into the
confidence of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Bond, that in
1797 he was appointed a colonel, then treasurer and
representative of Kildare, and, at last, delegate for the
province of Leinster." A day rarely elapsed that he
was not ingratiating himself with Fitzgerald, partaking
of his hospitality, eagerly drinking down those secrets
too confidingly imparted, strengthening them in his recol-
lection by careful note-taking when the momentary
absence of his entertainer from the room afforded an
opportunity, and, in the privacy of his own closet after-
wards, stringing them together into the form of a connected
narrative, in order, when the fitting time arrived, to lay
it before Lord Castlereagh and his colleagues.

It was fully expected that Fitzgerald would have been
present at the great Delegate Meeting of the 12th March,
but, owing to some circumstance — fortuitous or unfortu-
nate, it is impossible to say which — he was prevented
from attending. Mr. Thomas Reynolds, for the purpose
it would appear, of continuing to wear the mask of
friendship, and thus still further ingratiate himself into
the confidence of those whose bright red blood he had
already sold for brighter gold, entered into an express
stipulation with his employers, that the channel through
which the information came should remain, for the
present, at least, an inviolable secret. A few days sub-
sequent to the Bridge-street arrests, we find the wretched
Judas, calling in a friendly manner on the lady of him
whom he had already marked out for the axe of the
executioner. In the course of this interview, he con-
trived to glean many new facts, not previously in
his note-book, and having cordially bade adieu to Mrs.
Bond, retraced his stealthy steps to Dublin Castle, where
that same hand which but a few moments before had

* " £6,000 and a consulship rewarded his virtues, but could not increase
his dignity." — Thomas Davis.

172 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

been extended in the semblance of friendship towards the
rebel's wife, might now be seen claiming the stipulated
price for her husband's betrayal. Bond, however, did not
die a traitor's death. One morning, soon after his arrest,
he was found lifeless in his cell. Well-founded suspicions
attach to the jailer.

The seizure of the Delegates, and of so many important
members of the Executive Directory, proved a mortal
blow to the national organization. It was like aiming a
herculean stroke at a lion's head. The people who, a short
time previously, were all but ready for revolt, now remained
prostrate, paralyzed, and dismayed. Their fingers re-
laxing, muskets and pikestaffs fell, with panic-stricken
clash, to the ground. However, as the vacant berths in the
Executive were filled by Henry and John Sheares,
and other fardent, impulsive young nationalists, the cou-
rage of the people returned — they grasped once more the
pikestaff and the musket, vowed vengeance on their
oppressors, and yearned for the fray. Meanwhile, Lord
Edward's locale remained, save to half a dozen favoured
followers, a profound mystery.

Whilst Fitzgerald lived to guide the rebellion he had
organized, great hopes were entertained of its ultimate
success. His military experience was considerable, and
he possessed a degree of intrepidity, disinterestedness,
foresight, prudence, and determination, rarely found com-
bined in any one individual. For years anterior to the
insurrection he was regarded by the people literally as
their idol. They venerated his name, adored his senti-
ments, drank down his words, and bowed before his man-
dates. Such a person could not fail to be eminently
qualified to lead the massive columns of a popular army.
The Government, well knowing his engineering skill, his
cool determination, his dauntless intrepidity, and the
mighty power exercised by him over the minds of the
people, left no means unemployed, whilst the fever of
disaffection hastened to a crisis, in endeavouring to have
his lordship placed under arrest. From the 12th of
March to the 19th of May, by a series of romantic ad-
ventures and hairbreadth escapes, he contrived success-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 173

fully to elude pursuit. The house wherein he slept the
night before, would be searched by Major Sirr and his
myrmidons the day after. Detachments of military, and
posses of police, with warrants for his apprehension, would
march in grim array under the very windows of his bed-
room. On the 17th May he slept at Mr. Moore's, in
Thomas-street. On the night following, disguised as an
old countryman, he repaired to Murphy's,* in the same
street, from whence he observed, next day, a sergeant-
major and a party of soldiers halt before Moore's door,
previous to instituting a search within. This circumstance
occasioned his lordship great uneasiness, for it showed
him, alas ! that treachery, its source still unknown, was
toiling for his overthrow.

The general rising was now arranged to take place on
the night of the 23rd. Government were perfectly cog-
nizant of this fact, and, as the day approached, their
anxiety for the capture of Lord Edward increased. At
length the tempting lure of one thousand sovereigns did
its work. Late in the afternoon of the 19th May,
certain information of his lordship's hiding-place was
communicated to the Government. The moment that
Major Sirr received intimation, he hurried off to Thomas-
street, accompanied by Major Swan, a Mr. Ryan, and
some half dozen soldiers, in coloured clothes. Having
placed pickets round the house, Swan and Ryan glided
stealthily upstairs, to where his lordship (who happened
to be suffering from cold and sore throat) lay reclining,
half dressed, upon the bed. Swan was beginning blandly
to explain the object of his visit, when Lord Edward
sprang at him like a tiger, and, with the aid of a stiletto,
which he had secreted beneath his pillow, made one or
two stabs at the intruder, but without inflicting much
injury. The Major and his friend, finding that the cap-
ture could not be effected as easily as they at first sup-

* It was Surgeon William, afterwards' General, Lawless who engaged
lodgings for Lord Edward in Murphy's house. One thousand pounds was at
the time offered for his apprehension. Murphy well knew his lodger's
name and rank, but being of the order of patriots — sincere patriots — he urged
no objection against receiving him. Lawless stood in the relationship of
cousin to the subject of these pages.

174 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

posed, proceeded to give battle. Swan fired, and Ryan
attacked hia lordship with a sword-cane. But such on-
slaughts only acted as stimulants to Fitzgerald's ferocity.
He closed on his assailants, hurled them to the ground,
and attempted to escape from the apartment.

Swan and Ryan, however, fastened on his legs with the
strength of a vice and the determination of a rattlesnake ;
and, notwithstanding the repeated wounds inflicted on
their persons by Lord Edward, persisted in clinging to
him, until the arrival of Major Sirr and a party of soldiers
rendered escape hopeless, and further resistance impos-
sible. Sirr, who remained at the bottom of the house, in
order to take precautions against any attempt at rescue
by the mob, hearing the report of Swan's pistol, hurried
up stairs, and having there seen his colleagues covered
with blood, and prostrate at the feet of their powerful
enemy, he deliberately cocked his pistol, drew the trigger,
and lodged the contents in Lord Edward's right shoulder.
This, however, served as a mere momentary check. The
Geraldine staggered for a second ; but his courage making
one giant plunge within him, he snapped asunder the
encircling chains of approaching death, and flung himself
with redoubled intrepidity against the enemy. In the
struggle, a dastardly drummer contrived to creep behind
his lordship, and thus, comparatively secure, inflicted a
wound which contributed, more than any other, to em-
bitter the few remaining days of his existence. Mean-
while Ryan relaxed not a muscle, but clung with despe-
rate pertinacity as before. When his hands, from repeated
laceration, fell useless to the ground, he grasped Lord
Edward with his legs. Wound after wound, to the
number of fourteen, Fitzgerald inflicted on this trouble-
some enemy; and not until a detachment of soldiery
pressed his lordship violently to the ground, by laying
their heavy firelocks across him, could he be bound in such
a manner as would render further resistance impossible.

Soon after, poor Lord Edward fortunately died in New-
gate. We say fortunately, for, had he lived a few days
longer, it would be only to have undergone the pain and
humiliation of a public execution.

CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES. 175

Thus perished one of the noblest, best, and dearest
friends that the Hon. Mr. Lawless ever had the happiness
of possessing. Throughout a long life afterwards he well
loved to make allusion, both in public and in private,
to the friend of his youth — Lord Edward Fitzgerald.

At the moment of her husband's arrest, in Thomas-
street, the Lady Pamela was secreted, unknown to Lord
Cloncurry, in Mornington House, Merrion-street. Hither
Lady Fitzgerald repaired, at the hospitable instance of
Mary, Valentina, and Charlotte Louisa Lawless, who re-
ceived their fair visitor with a truly Irish welcome. The
police spies followed in the wake of Lady Pamela, re-
ported her locomotion to Government, and maintained a
brisk espionage on Mornington House. Soon tiring of an
external scrutiny, they gruffly demanded permission to
search the place for papers. Pamela observed their ap-
proach, and hastily secreted in a bedroom some harmless
documents that chanced to remain in her possession, but
which she, in her innocence, considered it the more pru-
dent to conceal. As a matter of course, the papers were
found, and amongst them an ambiguous seal device,
designed by no less a person than Valentine Lawless. It
represented Britannia removing the Irish crown, with one
hand, from the summit of the national harp, and substi-
tuting in its stead a dagger; while with the other she
industriously demolished the strings — an outrage which
the presence of two gigantic Irish wolf dogs (who fell
asleep most inexcusably at their post) appears to have
been unable to prevent. The sages of the Castle, ever
noted for jumping at conclusions, at once pronounced
Mr. Lawless's device to be the intended great seal for the
Irish Republican Protocol, and got it carefully copied by
a skilful draughtsman, in order to embellish the English
report of the Committee of Secrecy, then about to issue
from the press. The " key,"' or, more properly, the false
key, to its elucidation, was extremely amusing. Britannia
they pronounced to be Hibernia; the Irish crown an
imperial diadem; and the wolf dogs — PIGS. "In a
circle," says the Report, " Hibernia holds in her right
hand an imperial crown over a shield ; on her left hand is

176 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

an Irish harp, over it a dagger, and at its foot lie two
hogs." The work observes, that this treasonable device
was found in the custody of Lord Edward Fitzgerald —
perhaps as accurate as most of its other statements. Mr.
Lawless, for many years of his life, continued to use the
seal in ordinary epistolatory correspondence. It was
engraved from the original sketch by Strongitharm, of
London.

In October, 179 8, the royal assent was given to the bill for
attainting Lord Edward Fitzgerald. The moment Lawless
heard of it, he addressed a series of letters to the tenantry
on his (Fitzgerald's) estate, wherein he implored of them
not to give Government the satisfaction of paying one
shilling rent. The tenants took his advice, and held
out so long and so resolutely, that at length the attainder
was reversed. This latter event took place when Lawless
had inherited the honours of the peerage. He was
declared trustee for Lord Edward's children, and the
estate became vested in himself and his executors.

After the arrests of the Leinster Delegates at Bond's,
sundry warrants were issued for the apprehension
of those who took a prominent part in the national
movement. Amongst the rest we must not omit to men-
tion William Murphy, the celebrated Irish millionaire,
who, it will be remembered, has only disappeared from
amongst us within the last few years. Both he and
Lawless knew much of the secret working of the organi-
zation, and, were they so disposed, could have brought
many a head to the scaffold. We have been assured by
those who possess accurate recollections of '98 that it was
generally rumoured at the time, and frequently whispered
since, that Murphy received the hint of a warrant
being out against him from the Hon. Mr. Lawless, and
through his exertions he was enabled to elude pur-
suit. Of the truth of this report we entertain considerable
doubts. When the tardiness of locomotion in those days
is remembered, and that Mr. Lawless was then living in
St. Albans-street, London, it must appear to all as highly
improbable that any communication could have taken
place between him and Murphy on the subject of the

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 177

warrant. Be this as it may, an honourable intimacy
between them sprung into existence about the period of
'98, and continued daily increasing in strength and soli-
dity until the scythe of death suddenly dissevered it in
1849.

Among the members of the new Executive Directory,
John and Henry Sheares occupied a prominent position.
Brothers by birth, and both barristers by profession, they
possessed considerable talents, forensic and otherwise,
that must have eventually placed them, had they lived,
in very exalted positions. But, young and ardent, like
Robert Emmet, they were hasty in their plans, and un-
guarded in their conduct. The great object with them
appears to have been, to seduce as many militia officers
as possible from their allegiance, and to prevail on them
to accept commissions in the army*of Ireland. In this
apparently chimerical task they succeeded to an extent
that even astonished many of their own partisans. A
meeting of delegates from almost every militia regiment
in Ireland assembled in the house of Surgeon Lawless,
early in May, for the purpose of holding a conference
on the projected insurrection. The conclusion come to
on this occasion was, that the United Irishmen of Dublin,
Wicklow, and Kildare should, on the night of the 23rd
May, advance by three separate lines on the metropolis,
capturing in their progress the camp at Loughlinstown,
and the artillery at Chapelizod.

One of the many Irish militia officers whose conver-
sion the Sheareses looked upon as certain, was Captain
John Warnford Armstrong. This person, for the same
disinterested motives which induced Mr. Reynolds to pur-
sue, for several months, a train of systematic treachery,
to the prejudice of his confiding countrymen, procured
an introduction to the brothers, and having " acted well
his part," soon had the satisfaction of possessing their
confidence and their friendship. By them he was fre-
quently favoured with an invitation to dinner, and as an
object of no trifling importance would be probably gained
by accepting it, it would appear that he did so with much
alacrity. Amongst other matters they acquainted him with

i2

178 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

their plans for attacking the camp at Loughlinstown, and
succeeded ia obtaining from him a promise of assistance.

On one of the days that Armstrong partook of Sheares'
hospitality, it is recorded of him by Mr. Curran, that he
deliberately took his entertainer's children on his knee,
and proceeded to caress them with every manifestation of
affection.* Armstrong, however, has recently denied this
statement.

Base and treacherous as was Warnford Armstrong's con-
duct on this mournful occasion, it assuredly does not equal
in enormity Reynolds' deliberate betrayal of Bond and his
associates. Armstrong, a Protestant and a loyalist, took the
United Irishman's oath, not from conviction, but solely
with a view to worm out the secrets of John and Henry
Sheares. " Reynolds, the accursed," as Davis forcibly styles
him, was a Roman Catholic, and became " united," in the
firm belief, that he was, in so doing, performing a duty
to his country and to his God. So zealous did the
wretch appear to be for the spread of the organization
that we find him in high favour with Lord Edward, and
elevated successively by him to the ranks of colonel,
treasurer, representative, and delegate. This course Lord
Edward pursued with a view to reward him for his
exertions in the cause. Reynolds was for a considerable
time sincere ; but the tempter would not permit him to
continue in this upright course. A talismanic word was
whispered in his ear, and, lo ! the just man of yesterday
became the Judas of to-day. Base, we repeat, as was
Armstrong's behaviour, that of Mr. Reynolds surely
eclipsed it.

John and Henry Sheares were Protestants, and in
comfortable circumstances.

" Captain Armstrong," says Sir Jonah Barrington, " became acquainted
with the two brothers, pledged to them his friendship, persuaded them that
he would seduce his own regiment, gained their implicit confidence, faithfully
fulfilled the counterplot, devised secret meetings, and worked up sufficient
guilt to sacrifice the lives of both. They were arrested, tried, on his evi-
dence, convicted, and were hanged and beheaded in the front of Newgate.
They came hand and hand to the scaffold."

* Captain Armstrong is actually not yet dead ! He resides at Ballycumber,
near Clara, in the King's' County. The writer of these pages, curious to
know if Armstrong were really living, wrote to a King's County gentleman

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 179

The execution of the brothers followed with rapidity
upon their conviction. With them the last of the gifted
leaders may be said to have disappeared. A wide-spread
gloom clung round the city before and after the event.
Byrne and M'Cann, two other members of the new
Directory, were swinging lifeless on the gallows a few
days later.

Notwithstanding the frustration of almost every pre-
concerted arrangement made by the Popular Executive,
the storm of insurrection burst forth with awe-in-
spiring fury, on the night of the 23rd May, 1798. It
was confined. to three counties, Kildare, Wicklow, and
Dublin. Away went the revolutionary bark, without
helm or rudder, dashing along the ocean of turbulence,
occasionally " running down" disciplined obstacles, but
much oftener shattering its own bulwarks against those
fatal rocks and quicksands, which an experienced helms-
man like Lord Edward Fitzgerald would have taken
every careful precaution to avoid.

Samuel Neilson, the once spirited editor of the "Northern
Star" had still his liberty. Fitzgerald, Emmet, M'Cann,
Byrne, Sheares, M'Nevin, gone- — to whom, if not Neilson,
had the people to look? This man, though possessed of
great firmness, patriotism, and courage, was singularly
excitable, flighty, and incautious. It is recorded of him
by Mr. Moore, that on the day of Lord Edward Fitz-
gerald's arrest in Thomas-street, Neilson stalked up to
Murphy, who was standing within his gateway, and in a
loud voice inquired, "Is he safe ? Look sharp !" with
some other incautious exclamations of the same nature.

Neilson's great object was to begin the insurrection by
a vigorous attack on the prisons, and, if possible, setting
at liberty the members of the Executive, who lay ma-
nacled within. At this time neither Byrne, M'Cann, nor

for the desired information. He received a reply from him on the 30th of
May, 1854, and the following is an extract from it: — "Captain Arm-
strong is still on the land of the living, and conies to Dublin to draw his
pension as regularly as clock work. He is upwards of ninety years of age ;
but as hale as some of the youngest amongst us. He is a magistrate, and
twice a week attends the petty sessions of Ballycumber. He has two
daughters, both of whom are married."

180 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the Shearescs, had fallen victims to the axe of the execu-
tioner. In his usual incautious manner, Neilson ventured
under the very walls of Newgate on the night of the
23rd May, between the hours of nine and ten o'clock,
in order personally to reconnoitre the premises. Gregg,
the jailer, who was likewise reconnoitering from the
grated windows of an upper cell, at once recognized the
countenance of Neilson, hurried down, and collared him.
Neilson drew forth a pistol, and resisted. A violent
struggle took place, and both rebel and loyalist came to
the ground. Gregg shouted for help, and had not long
to wait before two burly yeomen waddled to the
rescue.

In the course of Neilson's examination, it transpired
that, previous to his visit to Newgate, he had estab-
lished some formidable lines of pikemen* in its vicinity,
and who only awaited their leader's word of command
to overpower the sentinels, to make a furious rush at the
gates. But the expected mandate came not, and the
hearts of the insurgents sank within them.

All the city lamplighters appear to have been con-
cerned in the treason. During the entire of the anxious
night of May 23, not one solitary lamp was lighted.
Few ventured abroad except on treason bent. An
ominous stillness pervaded every street. The city might
be likened to a slumbering volcano.

As the Government had reason to suppose that the
northern insurgents would make their descent on Dublin
by Dorset-street and Constitution-hill, all the available
militia and yeomanry of Dublin received commands to
establish themselves within the ample area of Smithfield.
The papers of the day inform us, so closely were they
packed, that hardly one man more could be stowed
into the market-place. " The cavalry and infantry," says
a writer, " were in some places so completely interwoven,
that a dragoon could not wield his sword without cutting
down a foot soldier, nor a foot soldier discharge his
musket without knocking down a trooper."

* Neilson's greatest force lay, awaiting his orders, in the " Barley fields,"
now known as "Mountjoy-square."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 181

In Steplien's-green was stationed another force. To
such an extent did disaffection plough through the ranks
of the military camp at Lough linstown, that it was
deemed advisable to place the corps most distinguished
for its ultra-loyalty, together with some artillery, in
Stephen's-green, in order to intercept any aid of militia
or otherwise, that might perchance flow from the en-
campment. The corps alluded to was the City of Cork
Regiment.

According to a hastily concerted plan, a large body of
the Wicklow rebels were to form into column at Rath-
farnham,* on the 23rd May, and, at a given signal, to
march on Dublin and storm the Castle. Government,
however, having received private information of this
design, they concentrated* their best military energies on
Rathfarnham, and, in a short engagement, routed the
insurgents. On the same night, it was arranged that the
rebel force on the northern side should assemble at
Santry, march on the metropolis, and, simultaneously
with the co-operating descent upon the seat of Govern-
ment, attack the barracks. The Lord Lieutenant re-
ceived, of course, private information of this scheme, and
the result was, that Lord Roden, at the head of his heavy
cavalry, and a detachment of infantry, were dispatched
to Santry. The rebel force were, upon the arrival of
his lordship, in a state almost bordering on despair.
Not one, out of a series of preconcerted signals, arrested
their attention. Nevertheless, they fought bravely, but
were eventually obliged to retire with loss. Several
dragoons fell in the melee, and a musket ball flattened
itself against Lord Roden's helmet.

During the skirmish, several prisoners were taken by
his lordship, and marched as trophies into Dublin. Those
who escaped the sabres of his dragoons hurried to the
assistance of the Wicklow insurgents. The Rathfarnham
party retreated on Kildare, where the peasantry had
already risen en masse.

* The populace were certain of victory. A body of insurgents lay in
ambush, behind a wall in New-street, for the purpose of attacking the
military on their retreat from Rathfarnham.

182 CLONCURRT AND HIS TIMES.

The Lord Lieutenant and Mr. Secretary Cooke were
gratified by a pleasing exhibition on the morning of the
24th May. All the dead bodies of the Santry men were,
by command of Lord Roden, crammed into carts, and
conveyed triumphantly to Dublin. The good peer,
instead of giving directions to have the mutilated trunks
interred, as was customary, on Arbour Hill, commanded
his myrmidons to stretch them out, as trophies of the
victory, on the pavement of the Upper Castle-yard.
" There they lay," says Sir Jonah Barrington, " during
a hot day, cut and gashed in every part, covered with
clotted blood and dust, the most frightful spectacle that
ever disgraced a royal residence."

The exhibition on the bridges was not less repellant.
There temporary scaffolds were erected, exclusive of the
ordinary lamp-post apparatus, and all the Santry and
Rathfarnham prisoners might be seen expiating their
offences on the following morning.

Meanwhile, the fire of insurrection spread like an
ignited train of gunpowder, through Wicklow, Kildare,
and Dublin. The Belfast coach was stopped and burnt
in Fingal. The Connaught and Cork mails experienced
the same fate at Lucan and Naas. The interruption of
the mails appears to have been a preconcerted signal for
general insurrection.

There are men and women yet living who shudder
with horror at the recollection of the cruelties perpetrated
by Captain Richard Longueville Swayne. This man
was only quartered, with his army, for the space of two
days, in the village of Prosperous, yet in that short rule,
he burned, hunted, tortured, flogged, ill-used, and ter-
rified more, according to Duggan,* than any of his mili-
tary cotemporaries. His motto ought to have been the
well-known line from Hudibras —

" Fire, and sword, and desolation."

Swayne and his men, after a busy day, retired to rest
on the night of the 23rd May. An eye-witness tells us

* See narrative furnished to Dr. Madden, by Bernard Duggan, one of the
leaders of the attack on Prosperous (" United Irishmen," vol. ii. Third Series,
p. 96). This man is the Barnaby Dougal spoken of by Musgrave.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 183

that he not only on that day burned fifteen houses, in-
cluding the chapel, but conveyed numbers of wretched
creatures home with him, to undergo execution on the
morrow. The peasantry, maddened with rage, resolved
that S wayne's atrocities should terminate then and there.
Five hundred of them, under the command of Doctor,
brother of Sir Thomas Esmonde, Bart., made a night
attack on Prosperous barracks. Having dispatched the
sentinel, they rushed into the guard-room, piked twelve
men, and shot the captain. Duggan tells us that the
cowardly wretch, seeing intuitively the approach of retri-
bution, offered to fight henceforward in the ranks of the
people. After an energetic struggle, which terminated
in their favour, the insurgents came to the determination
of burning the barracks to the ground. This they com-
menced by setting the doors on fire, and hurling in
blazing faggots of furze and straw. The career of the
consuming element was a short one.

Dr. Esmonde remained standing with his aide-de-camp,
during this harrowing scene, at several hundred yards'
distance. The latter was a sergeant in the Sallins Yeo-
manry, but feigned to be a friend to the national cause.
The beginning of his treachery was the circulation of a
false report. He told Esmonde that a large body of
cavalry was rapidly approaching, and that no time
should be lost in sounding a retreat. Esmonde ac-
cordingly withdrew the insurgents from Prosperous.

As soon as morning dawned, the faithful aide-de-camp
repaired to Captain Griffith, of the Sallins Yeomanry, and
gave information against his commander. Esmonde was
placed under arrest, conveyed to Dublin, and hung on
Carlisle-bridge. He was a man throughout life uni-
versally beloved and esteemed ; and he would have died
so, had not his connexion with the United Irishmen
given the Government party a disgust to him personally.
It is unnecessary to say that, in the popular estimation,
he never stood really high until the hangman's halter
attested his uncompromising love of country. According
to O'Kelly's narrative of '98, his body found interment
beneath a barrack-yard dung-heap.

184 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

On the 24th May was fought the battle of Old Kilcullen.
Erskine was an officer of the Swayne school. He rioted
in the ecstasy of free quarters, pillage, and spoliation.
Men heard him declare that neither himself nor his army
would eat a mouthful of breakfast until they made a meal
off the Croppies of Ballyrnore. Quite " cock-a-whoop,"
he was proceeding to perform the threatened exploit,
when a body of insurgents flung themselves before him.
Erskine, at the head of his dragoons, charged the ob-
stacle. It was, however, fenced like a chevaux-de-frise,
and his advances were received on the points of 600
pike-heads. The cavalry retired without making any
impression, but speedily commenced a second onslaught.
The rebels rushed down the hill, and, meeting their
assailants half-way, applied the pike so vigorously, that
only one sergeant and four privates escaped with their
lives. Erskine fell into a pool of water, and fought upon
his back, chopping away, with the fury of a dying tiger,
at the vef y pike-staff which impaled him to the earth.

Flushed with victory, the rebels proceeded to attack
Dundas, at Kilcullen Bridge. His force was a strong
one. Having heard of the fate of Erskine's party, they
thirsted in spirit for blood to quench the flame of their
vengeance. Fatigued and jaded after their recent exer-
tions, the rebels had the consummate folly to attack an
army of comparatively fresh soldiery. The fight waged
for a time with great fury, but at length the assailants
were necessitated to fly. Not, however, as Sir Jonah says,
till lanes were repeatedly cut through them with round
shot.

On the morning of the 24th, a segment of the insur-
gent force proceeded to attack the town and jail of Naas;
but as the guard had, in anticipation, been augmented,
the assailants were repulsed. For twenty minutes, how-
ever, the issue of the battle was extremely doubtful. At
length the King's troops drove them into a narrow
avenue ; and here this undisciplined and comparatively
meagre force sustained, for a considerable time, charges
da capo from the Ancient Britons and Armagh Militia.
Throughout the rebellion, it was a notorious habit of the

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 185

Government to exaggerate the number of deaths on the
popular side, as well as to stigmatize the people with
outrages which they never committed. Accordingly, we
find the rebel loss on this occasion to have been 110,
whereas not more than eleven lives were in reality sacri-
ficed. Some hours after the engagement, the troops
assassinated, in cold blood, fifty-seven of the inhabitants.
Many were dragged out of their beds and shot — others
cut down while endeavouring to escape from the flames
of their own dwellings. Among the victims to military
vengeance and caprice was a most respectable landholder,
named Walsh. After having undergone the torture of
half hanging, his heart was extracted, roasted, and eaten
by three of the Suffolk Fencibles.

Next day, 400 insurgents, under the command of
Keogh and Ledwidge, marched on the village of Clon-
dalkin — a daring act, when remembered that it is hardly
distant four miles from the seat of Government. Lord
Roden, who had already wreathed his brow with laurels
by the Santry massacre, volunteered his services. Such
a petty force of undisciplined men as Ledwidge's could
hardly be expected to withstand a charge from the King's
cavalry. Their lines broke, each man consulted safety
in flight, and the sabres of the pursuing " Fox-hunters"
were not remiss in their duty. Keogh and Ledwidge
were captured, tried by court-martial, and executed.

On the day of the Naas defeat, a proclamation from
Generalissimo Lake appeared, ordering every citizen of
Dublin to be in bed after nine. All the courts of justice,
with, perhaps, one exception, were closed. That excep-
tion furnished a strange scene. Baron Metge sat on the
bench equipped in regimentals, and furnished with pistol,
sabre, and dirk. The jury looked like so many lines of
riflemen. The counsel pleaded in uniform, with their
side-arms.

The 24th May witnessed several skirmishes. Amongst
them may be mentioned those of Hacketstown, Carlow,
Clane,* and Monasterevan. Owing to the want of

* At Clane, the military were near getting the worst of it. A large
body of the assailants, having equipped themselves in the uniforms and

186 CLONCDERY AND HIS TIMES.

leaders, unanimity, discipline, and a preconcerted modus
operandi, nothing but failure resulted. At Monasterevan
the parish priest was " hung, drawn, and quartered."
The magistrates accused him, on what authority we know
not, of participation in treason.

At Carlow, frightful carnage marked the now vic-
torious course of Government. According to the official
version, nineteen carts were constantly employed, for a
day and a half, in removing the dead to Graiguebridge.
Here 417 bodies were interred in three gravel pits.
Among the victims to governmental fury who fell during
the insurrectionary movement at Carlow, there were
none whose fate deserves more tearful commiseration
than that of the unfortunate Sir Edward Paul Crosbie,
Bart.* Throughout life he was a liberal and philan-
thropic man ; but of any treasonable, or even seditious
intent or practice, the child in the womb could not have
been more innocent. Sir Edward was dragged from his
fire-side and slaughtered, in cold blood, at the request of
some ultra-loyalists. To Sir Edward Crosbie's grand-niece,
the Hon.Mrs. Leeson, Lord Cloncurry was married in 1810.

Meanwhile, every exaggeration — every elaborated fic-
tion of Popish cruelty, perfidy, and superstition, were, as
Plowden assures us, eagerly collected, improved upon,
and circulated through the military ranks, for the pur-
pose, manifestly, of deadening humanity, and of stimu-
lating the ferocity of the troops.

accoutrements of the Cork Militia and Ancient Britons — spoils achieved on
the night of the Prosperous triumph — proceeded quite cavalierly to enter the
town. This very nearly proved a fatal deceit.

* It is the intention of the present Sir Edward William Crosbie to publish,
at no distant day, a conclusive refutation of the calumnies on his father's
memory, which Musgrave, Maxwell, and other Protestant historians of the
rebellion, have so industriously put forward in their respective works. He
holds in his possession important documents for the purpose, which must
render the task a matter of no great difficulty. The Dublin Journal, of June
1st, 1798, appears to have given the first promulgation to the slander. We
extract the paragraph : — " From Carlow, we learn that Sir Edward Crosbie,
Bart, having been accused, tried, and convicted of an intimate and criminal
connexion with the rebel army, has suffered the punishment of death, under
martial law." In the Evening Post, of June 7, 1798. we read: — "Sir
Edward Crosbie was executed at Carlow, on Tuesday evening, and his head
has been placed on the top of the gaol." If ever any man fell a victim to
injustice and the malice of party, it was Sir Edward Paul Crosbie, Bart.

CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES. 187

On May 26 was fought the battle of Tara. About
4,000 United Irishmen established themselves on the
hill, and awaited the approach of " the Sassenagh." But
the wary foe knew a trick worth two of attacking the
rebel army at that juncture. From their pickets they
ascertained that the rebels had mustered unusually strong.
A cunning plan for their dispersion was, after a short coun-
cil of war, decided on. Gunpowder and ball could not dis-
lodge them, but possibly whiskey might. Accordingly,
a cart, containing some puncheons of that spirit, was
prepared and sent on. The road ran, and still runs,
immediately under the hill. No sooner did the insur-
gents observe the whiskey puncheons, than they de-
scended en masse, and bore them off amid shrieks of
exultation. To their shame be it recorded, they drank
to drunkenness. Of this the king's troops were not slow
in taking advantage. They deluged them with bullets,
and mowed them down with grape. The rebels made a
rally, but, alas ! a fatal one. With stupid ferocity they
charged, pike in hand, through the lines of their own
friends, killing some and wounding others.

The Meath insurgents were at this engagement at-
tacked at least fourteen hours before they anticipated.
They sanguinely calculated on the men of Louth, Wick-
low, and Wexford, coming promptly to their assistance. The
bold design of attacking Trim and Naas, and the still
bolder one of laying open the communication of the
metropolis with Ulster, was by this defeat completely
disconcerted.

But another train of treason was laid, and on that
same 26th May (having been successfully fired) it rushed
with electrical ignition along the borders of Wicklow,
until, reaching the village of Boolavogue, in Wexford, it
suddenly asserted its vitality, with an explosion which
struck terror into many an anti-separatist's heart. On the
day of the rising, twenty farmers' houses, the chapel, and
the Catholic curate's residence, were burned. That all
this should have accelerated thelocal insurrection is not sur-
prising. From Boolavogue, where the people encountered
the Camolin Yeomanry, and killed their commander,

188 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Lieutenant Bookey, they proceeded in considerable force
to Oulart Hill, " headed by a man," says Cloney, " hi-
therto the least likely of any other priest in that county
to appear in arms — a quiet, inoffensive man, devot-
ing his time and energies to the spiritual instruction of a
peaceable flock; but whose resentment was so justly
raised by the sanguinary persecution of his people."*

Expresses were speedily sent for troops to check the
progress of the movement, and accordingly the North
Cork Militia, commanded by seven officers, proceeded to
attack the Irish army on one side, while a body of yeoman
cavalry advanced on the other. Our limits do not permit
us to go into details. Suffice it to say, that so great was the
havoc made amongst the regular troops, that only the
colonel, a sergeant, two privates, and a drummer, escaped
with their lives.

Next day the insurgents marched on Camolin, and
effected the capture of a quantity of arms. From thence
they advanced to Scarawash Bridge, where they halted
for some time to obtain an accession of strength. Their
ranks soon swelled, and with an army of 6,000 pikemen,
and 1,000 musketeers, they proceeded in good order to
Enniscorthy.

But whilst triumph glowed in the countenances of the
Wexford men, the pallor of fear blanched the cheeks of
Perkin's force on the Curragh of Kildare. This body of
insurgents amounted to 2,000. Their commander, fore-
seeing nothing but defeat, sent a message to General
Dundas to say that his men would deliver up their arms,
provided they might return home unmolested, and that
the system of burning and free quarters should be
slackened, if not abolished. " The general," says Plow-
den, " sent for advice to Dublin Castle, and received per-
mission to assent to their terms." Thirteen cart loads of
pikes were accordingly delivered up. Immediately after
another rebel body made similar overtures. Major-Ge-
neral Duff undertook to receive their surrender.

* " Personal Narrative of the Transactions of '98," by Thomas (General)
Cloney. Dublin: 1832.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 189

The Curragh is a vast expanse of ground. Neither
ditch, hedge, tree, nor house, dots its surface for at least
three English miles. Duff commanded the rebels to
throw their arms in a heap, and then kneel down and beg
the King's pardon. Both mandates were complied with.
A dead silence prevailed. At length General Duff broke
it. " Charge," said he, " and spare no rebel." Havoc and
consternation spread themselves on all sides. To cut down
an unarmed multitude was no difficult task. The troops
consisted almost entirely of cavalry — Lord Roden's " fox-
hunters," General Dunn's black horse, and Captain
Bagot's yeomanry. "The number of victims who fell,"
writes a personal actor in '98, " were 325. In one street
alone of Kildare, there were reckoned eighty -five widows
the following morning."

But to retrace our steps to Wexford. Government left
no available means unemployed to resist an attack on
Enniscorthy. Captain Snowe and his North Corkians oc-
cupied the bridge, two regiments of yeomanry remained
within the town, while, at the cross roads, near Duffry-
gate, Captain Pounden's infantry took up position.

The insurgents wasted not their time in reconnoitering
or talking, but at once grappled with their powerful
enemy. One thousand men waded through the Slaney,
under a galling fire from the garrison above. A shower of
hailstones, however, could not have intimidated them less ;
and having gained the fortified acclivity, attacked Poun-
den's corps with such determination as to compel them to
retire, with loss, from their position. Other divisions ad-
vanced with similar tact and spirit, accomplishing, as they
did so, similar results. At length, after a hot conflict, of
four hours' duration, the garrison found themselves com-
pletely routed. Amongst the slain were three command-
ing officers. The rage of the yeomanry was intense.
They set fire to the town in several places, and proceeded
to the jail, fully determined to murder, in cold blood, the
prisoners within it ; but the turnkeys had fortunately fled
to Wexford, taking with them, in their precipitation, the
keys of the prison.

After the acquisition of Enniscorthy, the insurgents

190 CLONCURBY AWD HIS TIMES.

encamped on Vinegar Hill ; but the greatest division in
resolve pervaded their councils. Some were for attack-
ing Newtownbarry, others Wexford, and others for re-
maining statu quo. Intelligence promptly sped to Wex-
ford, that the " Croppies" were marching in thousands
upon it. Hostile preparations were accordingly made.
On the 29th Colonel Maxwell, with 200 men and artillery,
arrived from Duncannon Fort. Despatches came from
General Fawcett to say that he would be in Wexford
himself on that evening, accompanied by the 13th Regt.
and Meath Militia. The general set off for Wexford, as
arranged, but did not venture beyond Taghmon, seven
miles from his destination. He, however, sent on, rather
incautiously, in advance, a detachment of infantry, with
artillery, howitzers, and ammunition. Midway between
Taghmon and Wexford, the advance of his party became
suddenly intercepted by a large body of the rebels, who,
in less than twenty minutes, cut them all to pieces.

General Fawcett hearing of the calamitous fate of his
advanced guard, retreated rapidly to Duncannon Fort.

Colonel Maxwell, who had crossed the country to unite
his forces with those of the general's, was within an ace
of meeting with a similar catastrophe. The insurgents
watched him, and almost surrounded his army ; but re-
sorting to a ruse de guerre, he eluded their grasp, and
succeeded in reaching the town of Wexford. In this
skirmish Lieutenant-Colonel Watson fell. Eager to re-
connoitre, he proceeded to the summit of a hill, and was
shot down by one of the insurgent outposts.

Unanimity at length prevailed in the rebel camp, so
far as was exemplified in their determination to attempt
the capture of Wexford. With this object in view, they
took up position on the Three Rock mountain, an emi-
nence overhanging the town. The movements of the rebel
force were cautious. Amongst its members a very ge-
neral impression existed, that Wexford was inhabited
by a formidable garrison. Such, however, was not the
fact; and the yeoman, military, and militia regiments
which garrisoned it, began, on their side, to exhibit some
symptoms of incipient nervousness. A council hastily

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 191

assembled, excited tongues argued, and counter-argued ;
the hopelessness of resistance became apparent, and a de-
cision, humiliating to the dignity of King George, was
arrived at, and carried out. A deputation of officers, in
full uniform, proceeded to the camp to announce the sur-
render of Wexford ! *

They had hardly more than left, when the greater bulk
of the garrison fled precipitately from the town. " Officers
and privates," writes Edward Hay, who was a witness of
the scene, " threw off their uniforms, and hid themselves
wherever they thought they could be best concealed.
Some ran to the different quays, in the expectation of
finding boats to convey them off, and threw their arms
and ammunition into the water. All such as could accom-
plish it, ran on board the vessels in the harbour, having
previously turned their horses loose. Some ran to the
jail, to put themselves under the protection of Mr. Harvey.
Officers, magistrates, and yeomen thus severally endea-
voured to escape popular vengeance ; and in the contriv-
ance of changing apparel, as there was not a sufficiency
of men's clothes for all those who sought safety by these
means, female attire was substituted for the purpose of
disguise."

At this, to them, gratifying intelligence, the insurgents
poured into the town. The prison was, as usual, the first
point of attraction. Within it Beauchamp Bagenal Har-
vey, of Bargy Castle, a Protestant gentleman of con-
siderable fortune, lay immured. They insisted on his be-
coming their commander.

The flying troops from Wexford committed fearful
depredations. Cabins were burnt, farm houses wrecked,
the peasantry shot, female innocence outraged. In fact,
the only chance a poor man had of his life was to fly into
the insurgent phalanx, or leave the kingdom, an alterna-
tive not always practicable. Gorey being no longer
tenable, its garrison and inhabitants retreated on the next
morning to Arklow.

We have now arrived at the 31st May. On that day
the Hon. Valentine Lawless was arrested in London on
suspicion of HIGH TREASON, and of having aided and

192 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

abetted certain United Irishmen, by association in their
meetings, councils, and conferences ; connivance 'at their
designs, and occasionally assisting them with pecuniary
aid. To what extent Mr. Lawless was really guilty, the
reader is, we think, already aware.

Mr. Lawless's generosity towards Father O'Coigly may
be said to have placed the coping stone on his treason.
In fact, it was a matter of some doubt to the Government
which of the two were the greater criminal — he who in
person solicited French aid, or the man who encouraged
the proceeding with money and complacency. They re-
solved to extinguish both species of delinquency, and, on
the 31st May, 1798, we find the Hon. Mr. Lawless, by
virtue of a warrant signed by the Secretary of State,
arrested on a charge of suspicion of high treason. Fortu-
nately for Lawless, his place of confinement was neither
Cold Bath Fields nor Horsemonger-lane jail. A King's
messenger resided in Pimlico, and to the care of this func-
tionary the person of Mr. Lawless was, after having under-
gone a few hours' imprisonment in Bow-street, entrusted.

The Dublin Evening Post of June 5th, 1798, contains
the following paragraphs : —

" YESTERDAY ARRIVED A MAIL.

"London, June 1.

" Between eight and nine o'clock yesterday morning Tounsend, M'Manus,
and other officers arrested Mr. Agar, barrister-at-law, at his chambers, in the
Temple, on a warrant from the Duke of Portland.

" About 11 o'clock Mr. Curran called on Mr. Agar, and he was also taken
into custody.

" Mr. Stewart, a gentleman of considerable property in the north of Ireland,
who gave evidence on the trials at Maidstone, was about the same time arrested
in his lodgings.

" THE Hox. MR. V. B. LAWLESS, son of Lord Cloncurry, was also appre-
hended at his lodgings, No. 31, St. Albans-street, Pall Mall.

" The valet of Mr. Lawless was likewise taken into custody.

" About six o'clock in the evening, Mr. George Henry Trenor (Mr. Law-
less's secretary) was taken upon similar warrants in the Temple.

" These gentlemen are all from Ireland. Mr. Curran, Mr. Lawless, and
Mr. Trenor are, we believe, students of law.

" The gentlemen were all guarded by officers. MR. LAWLESS and his
servant were confined at the Bow-street office. They were all in very good
spirits.

" All their papers and letters were seized, and are this day, with the pri-
soners, to be examined before the Privy Council."

CLONCUBRY AND HIS TIMES. 193

How Lord Cloncurry, in his " Personal Recollections,"
could ever have fallen into such a singular mistake as to
imagine himself arrested on the 30th April, instead of the
31st May, appears to us inconceivable. It is to be pre-
sumed that an incident of the nature ought to make a
rather permanent impression on the mind of the ex-
periencer. Nevertheless, we find in the reprint of Lord
Cloncurry's petition to the Commons in Parliament as-
sembled, " That your petitioner was arrested on the 30th
day of April, 1798, by virtue of a warrant signed by the
Duke of Portland, one of his Majesty's principal Secre-
tarys of State." At page 63 of the " Personal Recollec-
tions," second edition, his Lordship writes — " During the
short period of my detention, in May and June, 1798,
the crisis of the Irish rebellion had passed." Lord Clon-
curry is under error. As we observed before, his arrest took
place on the 31st May, and it was not until the month
of June that Pitt and Portland virtually placed him in
confinement. Another irrefragable proof that the arrest
was made on the 31st May, and not the 30th April, may
be found in the Castlereagh Papers and Correspon-
dence. In a letter from Mr. Secretary Wickham, bear-
ing date the 8th June, 1798, we find Mr. Lawless's arrest
officially announced. That letter is interesting, if it were
only for its allusions to Valentine Lawless.

[No. 3.] TO LORD CASTLKREAGH.

" Whitehall, June 8th, 1798.

MY LOUD — * * * His Majesty's confidential servants have found it
necessary to take into custody and detain several natives of Ireland now resi-
dent here, of whose intimate connexion and correspondence with the leaders and
inctiers of the present rebellion in Ireland there was no room whatever to
doubt. But as many weighty reasons have occurred to render it expedient
that the examinations of these persons before the Lords of the Privy Council
should be defered for some days longer, his Grace has directed me to inform
your lordship, and to desire that you would communicate this information to

the Lord Lieutenant, that the Honourable Mr. L , M. S., of Acton, and

Messrs A., C., and T., of the Temple, have been apprehended here. * * *
It appears, as well from the secret information of which his Grace has long
been in possession, as from a late confidential report from Paris, with which I
have good reason to believe that your lordship is acquainted, and from most
secret though accurate intelligence received from Hamburgh, the whole
confirmed by the testimony of the two gentlemen recommended to Mr.
Cooke, that all these persons were more or less deeply implicated in the

194 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

treasonable conspiracy in Ireland ; that they had all knowledge of the con-
nexion between the traitors in that country and the French Directory, or its
ministers, and had given aid and countenance to'jhe agents who have at differ-
ent times been sent over from one country to the other ; that some of them
were engaged in direct correspondence with the enemy ; and that they were
all of them endeavouring to propagate their detestable principles among their
own countrymen here, with a degree of activity and zeal that rendered it a
duty incumbent on his Majesty's confidential servants, for the safety of both
countries, from the instant that the rebellion in Ireland had broken out, to
take effectual measures for preventing them from doing any further mischief
to either the one or the other.

" It is evident, under the present circumstances, and with the evidence of
the nature of that of which Government here is in possession, strong and de-
cisive as it is, that none of the persons can be brouffht to trial without exposing
secrets of the last importance to the state, the revealing of which may implicate
tfte safety of the two kingdoms. * * There are some papers found in Mr.
Lawless's possession that tend directly to show his connexion with some of the
most desperate of the Republican party here, as well as with those who are in
habitual communication with the French agents at Hamburgh ; and his Grace
is in daily expectation of some material evidence from that place, tending more
directly to implicate that gentleman in a treasonable correspondence with
the enemy. * * *

" I have the honour to be, <fcc.,

"WILLIAM WICKHAM."

As no treasonable papers existed, of course, none were
found. With the exception of a visiting ticket of Arthur
O'Connor's, and a perfectly innocuous note from O'Coigly,
no documents fell into the hands of Government, con-
nected directly or indirectly with the United Irish So-
ciety, or the French agents at Hamburgh. We make this
assertion on the authority of Lord Cloncurry.

The first examination of Mr. Lawless is thus adverted
to by the English correspondent of the Evening Post,
who writes from London, on June 16, 1798. The im-
pression of the journal bears date the 21st inst. — five
days being the average consumption of time in those days
ere London news could appear in a Dublin publica-
tion : —

" Tuesday afternoon a council was held at the Duke of Portland's office
which lasted from two o'clock till six in the evening, for the examination
of the Hox. MR. LAWLESS, Mr. Agar, Mr. Treanor, and Mr. Curran. The
three first underwent a long examination, when Mr. Treanor was discharged,
and Mr. Lawless and Mr. Agar were remanded to the care of messengers.

" On Wednesday, Messrs. Agar, Stewart, and Curran were brought up for
examination. Mr. Curran, after a short investigation, was discharged, and
the others remanded. The Hon. Mr. Lawless, being indisposed, was not I
brought up."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 195

A week subsequent to this, i. e., the 23rd June, the
London correspondent of the Evening Post writes : —

" The Hon. Mr. Lawless, Mr. Agar, and Mr. Stewart, who were, about
three weeks ago, taken into custody on warrants from the Secretary of State,
on suspicion of high treason, were, on Saturday (16th June), discharged on
their recognizances. The other gentlemen were discharged the week before
last."

If Lawless received his discharge at this time, it was
only to undergo immediately after the inconvenience of a
second arrest. He was no sooner liberated, than a Bow-
street runner blandly requested him to return, and make
the house of a king's messenger his home. This capri-
cious conduct on the part of Government appears to us
quite unaccountable. We are distinctly told by the Even-
ing Post, of June 30th, 1798, that on —

" Saturday, the Hon. Mr. Lawless, Mr. Agar, and Mr. Stewart were
brought up to the Secretary of State's office, to be examined, when they
were, again remanded into the custody of messengers. Mr. Agar was ad-
mitted to bail in the evening."

Lawless must have been immediately after discharged.
Until the month of April, in the year following, we find
no mention of his name in the newspapers.

So much for the public accounts of his examinations ;
come we now to the private ones.

Lawless had no sooner been captured in St. Albans-
street, than the Lords of the Privy Council expressed an
anxious desire to examine him. To their presence he was
accordingly summoned. There before him scowled the
solemn visage of Lord Chancellor Loughborough, after-
wards Earl Rosslyn, and whilom " Lawyer Wedder-
burne," his Grace the Duke of Portland, Mr. William Pitt,
and one or two others. After a few words of preamble
the examination commenced. Loughborough was the
principal and most skilful interlocutor; but Lawless, very
much to the astonishment of the Board generally, refused,
point blank, to answer one of his lordship's queries. Ap-
preciating the old aphorism — " You may bring a horse to
! the water but you cannot make him drink," and finding
Mr. Lawless to be as stubborn as a mule, the Privy Council

196 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

gave the matter up, for the present at least, as a bad
job. Under these circumstances, he was removed, escorted
by a strong guard, to the house of one of his Majesty's
messengers.

Lawless had hardly been an entire week in durance
when John Reeves (to whom the reader has been already
introduced) paid him a friendly visit, and, in his capacity
of Bow-street magistrate, mentioned to him, on the part
of Lord Loughborough and colleagues, that they would
consent to liberate their prisoner on bail. This not un-
reasonable proposal Mr. Lawless peremptorily declined,
observing, that besides the injustice of demanding bail
from a person who could not be charged with crime, he
had a large fortune depending on his father's good opi-
nion, and would not submit to pursue any course which
might tend to convey a doubt of his innocence or loyalty.
Reeves, finding it hopeless to fight him out of this obsti-
nate determination, withdrew.

It was not once or twice that Valentine was brought
before the Lords of the Privy Council. They repeatedly
summoned him to their awful presence, and, with a view
to entangle his replies in the meshes of personal crimina-
tion, interrogated him rigidly. Another object was, no
doubt, by the elucidation of " unguarded admissions" to
inculpate, if possible, his friends and associates. Their
endeavours, however, proved futile. He remained as
obstinate as a mule ; and once more the King's messenger
was intrusted with his care.

At length, during the last week of June — having
now been in detention for nearly three weeks — Lawless
was, for the last time, conveyed to the Council Chamber.
One final effort was made by Portland and Loughborough
to extort some satisfactory answer from the prisoner. All
to no effect, however. He was, if anything, even more
reserved. At last, the Privy Council, heartily wearied
with his obstinacy, came to the determination of discharg-
ing him.* Mr. Reeves, who happened to be in an adjoin-
ing room, was called in, and he, at the Chancellor's

* Vide " The Petition of Lord Cloucurry to the House of Commons."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 197

suggestion, volunteered himself as bail for " the traitor."
This was, of course, accepted; and Valentine Lawless
became once more a free man.

Having thus succeeded in winning the battle, Mr.
Lawless now descended — in familiar language — from off
his high horse. He advanced to the Lord Chancellor,
and offered to communicate to his lordship, candidly and
fully, whatever information it was in his power to furnish ;
that, in fact, he knew no secrets, and had, ergo, nothing
to conceal. Prompt advantage was taken of this conces-
sion, and one of the first interrogations put to him was, if
he were a member of that body denominated United Irish-
men. To this Mr. Lawless replied, that he certainly was,
before any law had passed tending to incriminate the acts
of the society. Among the other questions, eagerly put,
were, why he had given money to defend O'Coigly at
Maidstone ; what he knew about him ; and whether any
intimacy existed between him (Lawless) and Mr. John
Bonham. In the course of the examination, the Council
animadverted with considerable severity on his visits to
Furmval's Inn. The investigation at length closed by
Lord Loughborough assuring Mr. Lawless that he con-
sidered him more incautious than criminal ; advised him
to be more careful for the time to come, and added that
Lord Cloncurry felt highly displeased at his having in-
curred the suspicions of Government. Mr. Pitt and the
Duke of Portland, with some suavity, observed, that they
regretted what had happened ; that he (Lawless) was evi-
dently led into indiscretion by an excess of good nature ;
that they had a respect for his father ; and hoped nothing
would transpire to prevent them from entertaining a
similar feeling for him.

Nicholas Lord Cloncurry, chancing to hear inci-
dentally of Lord Loughborough's friendly speech at the
Council, at once sat down and indited a letter of thanks
to that nobleman, wherein he expressed his grateful
acknowledgments to him for having addressed some
words of advice to his son, "a young man who he much
feared had been led into great indiscretion by the influ-
ence and example of those with whom he associated."

198 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Simultaneous with the arrest of Lawless, on the 31st
May, his private secretary, Mr. George Trenor, was
thrust into confinement, and the hardship he was neces-
sitated to undergo eventuated, though not for some time
afterwards, in death. Trenor acted as professor of elo-
cution in Dr. Burroughs' school, at the period of Lawless's
sojourn at that establishment. They appear to have
taken a mutual fancy to each other. Lawless showed
great benevolence to Trenor, and presented him with a
large sum of money, a short time previous to his death.
Christian Serry, an old and faithful Swiss servant of Mr.
Lawless's, was likewise seized on the memorable 31st
May, and treated with cruel rigour. He was expatriated
soon after, under the authority of the Alien Act, and
never heard of more.

But the 31st May witnessed arrests of a more important
nature than Christian Serry's, or Mr. Secretary Trenor's.
John Philpot Curran, William Duke of Leinster, and
Henry Grattan happened to be paying the Hon. Mr.
Lawless a morning visit at his lodgings in St. Albans-
street, when the Bow-street runners rushed into the
apartment with a warrant for his arrest. " Show me the
company you keep, and I'll tell you who you are ;" and,
on the strength of this aphorism, the constables ventured
to lay their ruffian hands upon the persons of the Duke
of Leinster and his patriotic friends. It is unnecessary
for us to observe, that Lawless, Curran, and Grattan were
regarded by the Tory party as so many traitors to their
king.

The letter written by Lawless, and addressed to Mr.
Braughall, wherein the phrase " Little Henry" occurred,
stimulated considerably the suspicions of Government.
We have already had occasion to make reference to this
letter. It will be remembered that the writer panegy-
rized Mr. Henry's act of generosity, and spoke of him
playfully as "little Henry." Grattan, whose stature
never exceeded five feet four, was immediately set down,
in ministerial minds, as the party who enclosed £500 to
Lawless, in token of sympathy for Father O'Coigly.

Mr. Grattan, the supposed abettor of O'Coigly, was

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 199

accordingly summoned before the Privy Council. His
examination made a good deal of noise at the time ; but,
like a blank-cartridge, only ended in smoke. " Circum-
stances transpired," observed a newspaper of the day,
" which showed that Mr. Grattan had been mistaken for
an Irish gentleman of distinction, from whom some ex-
planations were required." Under those circumstances,
they permitted him to withdraw.* With respect to the
Duke of Leinster and Mr. Curran, their detention did
not exceed an hour in duration.

The moment that Lawless found himself a free man,
he came to the resolution of leaving London. The most
agreeable part of the summer season had, during the
period of his detention, rolled over. Debility — the
invariable attendant on confinement — sapped his strength,
and nothing appeared so likely to restore it to its pristine
tone and vigour as a trip to the country. His natural
patriotism would, no doubt, have induced him to give a
preference to the picturesque parts of Ireland ; but as his
father, who felt greatly incensed, commanded him not,
on any pretext, to show his face within its boundary,
there was no course open to him but that which he
adopted. In the month of July he set out on an equestrian
excursion through England, which, not until the middle
of October following, can he be said to have brought to
a termination. At first, he visited some intimate acquain-
tances in Yorkshire, and afterwards, the fashionable
watering-places of Scarborough and Harrowgate. Scar-
borough, towards the close of the last century, was in the
zenith of its popularity, as the fact of Sheridan making it
the subject of one of his satirical dramas can attest.
During the happy period of his stay here, Mr. Lawless met,
for the first time, Mary, the beautiful and accomplished
daughter of Phineas Ryal, Esq., an eminent banker,f

* The Dublin Evening Post of June 5th, 1798, thus notices the same
matter : — " In consequence of a mistake committed by the persons employed
to execute a warrant against a person of consequence from Ireland, Mr.
Grattan was taken into custody, and brought to the Duke of Portland's
office. The moment the mistake was discovered, a proper explanation was
made to Mr. Grattan, and he was, of course, liberated."

f There were three brothers, partners, in the bank. Two still survive.

200 CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES.

long resident in Clonmel. Her fascinating manners soon
placed in thraldom the heart of the ardent young Celt ;
and their acquaintance gradually ripened into friendship,
and from friendship into love, until at length a matri-
monial engagement crowned the reciprocity of feeling
which existed between them. But when Lawless be-
thought him of the determined hostility which his father
would be sure to urge against the celebration of the
nuptials, his heart sank within him. Weeks elapsed,
however, and his hopes became brighter. Several influ-
ential friends undertook to intercede with Lord Cloncurry,
and, after a voluminous correspondence with his lordship,
the marriage was at length sanctioned, on condition that
Lawless should complete his terms at the Temple, and be
called to the bar. To carry out this arrangement, he
accordingly, at the close of 1798, returned to the dull
region of Gray's Inn, looking forward through a long
black tunnel of time, to a bright little speck in the
future.

Amongst those who took an active part in endeavour-
ing to overcome the disinclination of Lord Cloncurry to
the contemplated marriage, was Colonel, afterwards
General Sir George, Cockburne, whom the reader will
remember in connexion with Lawless's efforts to bring
Captain Frazer to justice, for the murder of Dixon, in
1797. Sir George Cockburne has only within the last
few years deported from amongst us. Throughout his
long and busy life, he ever acted in the same honourable,
disinterested, and consistent manner, winning for himself
the love of a warm-hearted people, and the respect of a
large circle of friends and acquaintances. The public
and private letters which General Cockburne has left
behind him, are all pervaded by a spirit of patriotism,
independence of tone, and manly contempt for the arch-
artificers of the Union, and their vile utensils, rarely to
be met with in the writings of a man who so long
received the pay of Government, and fought against his
countrymen in 1 798. We have the written permission
of General Sir George Cockburne's son and representa-
tive, Phineas Cockburne, Esq., to introduce in this work

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 201

one of the letters relative to the contemplated marriage
of Lawless with Miss Mary Ryal. The young lady
stood in the relationship of sister-in-law to General
Cockburne.

[No. 4.] COLONEL COCKBURNB TO MR. LAWLESS.

"Dublin, llth April, 1799.

" MY DEAR LAWLESS — * * * I have seen Burne ;* and I understand
from him that your father has positively consented ; but Bume says, has
never varied from \\isjirst declaration of the year. He thinks violence will not
do, and you must either submit to wait the end of the year, or try what
coaxing will do. As to your marrying without his leave, I hear from the best
authority, that he has made the most positive declaration to resist such a
step in the strongest manner ; and the year is so nearly out, that it really
would not be acting with your usual good sense, if you ran any risk of his
displeasure. Burne tells me he is determined to have you called to the
English bar, and therefore insists on your remaining in London till June ;
that you are then to come over to him, by which time he will have deter-
mined what property he will settle on you ; and Burne thinks that your
submission to his will in these particulars will certainly bring matters to a
conclusion by July. * * *

"Yours,

'•G. C."f

Poor Lawless ! it did not require any stem exercise of
parental authority to insist on his remaining in London
till June. For six weeks before the arrival of that
month, the jaws of the Tower held him firmly between
its teeth. " Matters brought to a satisfactory conclusion
in July"— alas ! that time never came, and the lovely,
interesting girl to whom he was on the eve of being
allied with every human prospect of happiness, died of a
broken heart ! But we must not anticipate.

* The confidential friend and lawyer of Lord Cloncurry.
f Personal Recollections of Lord Cloncurry.

K 2

CHAPTER VII.

Startling Revelation — Private Official Letter to Lord Castlereagh — Mr.
Lawless stands unconciously on the Brink of a Precipice — Progress of the
Rebellion in Ireland — Defeat of the King's Troops — Beauchamp Bagenal
Harvey — Pr ecipitate Evacuation of New Ross by the Military — Death of
Lord Mountjoy — Harvey succeeded in the Command by Father Philip
Roche — Excitement in Dublin — Battle of Arklow — Wexford held for
twenty-one Days by the People — The Rebel Camp on Vinegar Hill —
Attacked by General Lake, with 20,000 Men — Valour of the People —
Lake's Horse shot under him — " The Rascals make a tolerable good fight
of it" — Lord Kingsborough taken Prisoner — Dishonorable Conduct of
General Lake — Murder of Father Roche — Defeat of the Wexford Mili-
tia— Skirmish at Castlecomer — Sir Charles Asgill — Appalling Scene at
Gorey and "Wexford — Cornelius Grogan — A. Sister's feelings brutally
outraged — Aylmer fights the Battle of Ovidstown — Lord Cornwallis arrives
as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland — Theobald Wolfe Tone — The second French
Expedition to Ireland — General Humbert — Killala captured by the French
— Battle of Castlebar— General Lake and Lord Hutchinson defeated with
great Slaughter — Lord Jocelyn taken Prisoner — Humbert's Army over-
powered by 20,000 Men under Lord Cornwallis — Valorous Resistance of
"La Hoche" — Theobald Wolfe Tone taken Prisoner — His Trial and
Death — Termination of the Rebellion — Active Official Preparation to carry
the Union — Mr. Pitt's three Agents — Lords Castlereagh, Clare, and Corn-
wallis— Mr. Lawless opposes the Union with his Pen and his Tongue —
Delicate State of Health of Lord Cloncurry — Second Arrest of the Hon.
V. B. Lawless — His Committal to the Tower — Cruel Rigour observed —
Letter to his Sister — Months of Anxiety and Suspence — Lord Cloncurry's
Death accelerated by Slights received from Government — Alters his
Will — Memorials to the Duke of Portland, and Refusals ad libitum —
Lawless persecuted in his Dungeon with unexampled Rigour — A wily
Visitor — Letter from Mr. Cookc — Apathy of the Irish National Press.

" THE publication of the Castlereagh papers," observes
the Dublin University Magazine for October, 1849,
" reveals that the Government believed Lord Cloncurry
to be so deeply implicated in the worst treasons of the
United Irishmen, that it was actually proposed to except
him by name from the act of amnesty."

Startling and incredible as this assertion may sound,
it is true, nevertheless. On the 29th July, 1798, Lord
Castlereagh addressed a letter to Mr. Wickham, the
Under Secretary of State, wherein he enclosed the draft

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 203

of a bill of pardon, for the perusal of his Majesty and
the Duke of Portland. A list of several persons, whom
it would be desirable to indemnify, or exempt from
punishment, accompanied the bill. - Full as many blarks
as names appeared, and those, it was presumed, would be
filled up by his Grace, who possessed, or was supposed
to possess, a vast deal more of secret information respect-
ing the Irish persons arrested in England, than either
Lord Castlereagh or his faithful official — Edward Cooke.
The Duke, however, felt some delicacy in filling up the
blanks, and before he would think of introducing the
names of any Irish gentlemen who were arrested under
warrants bearing his signature, he gave directions to Mr.
Wickham to write for all the secret information that
could be collected in Ireland to their prejudice.

By the following letter it will be perceived that his
Grace regarded Mr. Stewart, of Acton, who was taken
into custody simultaneously with Lawless, as a confirmed
rebel to king and'country (although in reality he was not),
and suggested the propriety of exempting him from
pardon : —

[No. 5.] MR. SECRETARY WICKHAM TO LORD CASTLEREAGH.

" Private and Secret.

" Whitehall, August 9th, 1798.

" MY LORD, — I have received the honour of your lordship's several
letters of the 28th and 30th ult, all of which I have communicated to the
Duke of Portland, together with the draft of the bill for his Majesty's most
gracious pardon." [Here a large portion of Mr. Wickham's letter is occupied
with reflections on the supposed disloyalty of Mr. Stewart, of Acton. " From
the secret information in the Duke of Portland's possession," writes Mr. Wick-
ham, " his Grace can have no doubt that this gentleman is a very proper
person to be excepted from his Majesty's pardon." It was not the fault of
the Government that Mr. Stewart did not suffer in 1798. They endeavoured
to follow out the preliminary steps to attainder, but found that too many
difficulties flung themselves before their path to permit its accomplishment.
The chief one appears to have been, that Mr. Stewart was then at large in
the country. After dwelling at considerable length on the difficulty of
excepting him from pardon, the Secretary goes on to say:] — "The Duke of
Portland desires me to observe, that Mr. Lawless and Mr. Bonham appear
to stand nearly in the same situation with Mr. Stewart, as far, that is, as
their respective cases are known to the Government, and as far as they are
affected by the circumstance of their having been taken into custody here on
a charge of treason, and afterwards admitted to bail ; and his Grace is of
opinion that the decision with respect to each of these three persons ought
to be governed by the same rule. They have all been the active agents of the

204 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

United Irishmen in this country, and as such are extremely proper objects of
punishment. But unless they, or some one or more of them, have com-
mitted some overt act D? IRELAND, which may be proved by such evidence
as is required by the regular course of law, or at least by attainder in
Parliament, it is thought thai it would be too much to except them, or any
of them, from an act of pardon ; nor, indeed, would it answer the end re-
quired ; as, conscious of the want of evidence against them, they would
probably come forward themselves and demand a trial; and, in every case,
the inserting the name of any of them in the exceptions of the bill must be
preceded by their being taken into custody, and sent over to Ireland to be
tried. * * * It is to be observed, that Benjamin Binns being in actual
custody, the objection made in the case of Messrs. Bonham, Lawless, and
Stewart, will not hold good with respect to him. * * * A bill of indem-
nity is liable to this obvious objection, that it would open a way to much
unpleasant discussion in Parliament, which it has hitherto been a principle to
avoid. * * *

" I have the honour to be, &c.,

"WILLIAM WICKHAM."

[NO. 6.] LORD CASTLEREAGH TO MR. WICKHAM.

"Dublin Castle, August J2tf, 1798.

"SiR, — * * * After a full consideration of Mr. S(tewart)'s case, his
Excellency is of opinion that the evidence against him in this country will
not warrant his being transmitted to Ireland ; consequently, that is most
eligible, under all the circumstances, that his name should be omitted. Mr.
L^awless) and Mr. B(onham) stand, as you observe, in the same predica-
ment in point of criminality : and I am sorry to say, we are equally desti-
tute of evidence to prove their guilt. * * *

" I have the honour to remain, &c.,

" CASTLEREAGH."

How little did poor Lawless think when, care-worn
and haggard, he sprung into the saddle, and flung his
weakened constitution into the bracing air of the country,
that Lords Clare, Castlereagh, Cornwallis, and Co., were
putting their sapient heads together in Ireland in order
to determine whether the Hon. V. B. Lawless ought to
be included amongst those whose offences rendered it a
matter of prudence and propriety to exempt from the
benefit of his Majesty's pardon. Little did he think,
when tranquilly gazing upon the undulating landscapes
which rose on every side before him, that his movements
were a source of inquietude to ministers, and the circum-
stance of his then position* the subject of a voluminous

* The great difficulty which the Duke of Portland experienced in exempt-
ing Stewart and Lawless from pardon was the fact of both having been for
uorce time at large on bail.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 205

correspondence between Whitehall and the Castle of
Dublin.

Meanwhile we must not forget to draw our wonted
outline of the progress of Irish political events generally.
When last we heard from the Wexford rebels, they had
everything their own way. It is now the 4th of June,
and their success progresses. On that day the insurgents
posted themselves in great force on Corrigrua Hill. A
strong corps of the king's troops, with five field pieces,
for the purpose of making them evacuate their position,
arrived in Gorey. This force it was considered judicious
to divide evenly, and accordingly 750 men, under Gene-
ral Loftus, and an equal number under Colonel Walpole,
marched by different routes on Corrigrua. Just as Wal-
pole (who was a relative of the Viceroy's) reached Tub-
berneering, he found himself, to his no small consternation,
assailed, " fore and aft,'v by a perfect avalanche of high
treason. He fell upon the first onslaught, and the troops,
disheartened by the loss of their commander, fled in the
utmost disorder, leaving three pieces of ordnance in the
hands of the enemy. General Loftus, hearing in the
distance the din of battle, sent a reinforcement across the
fields to the assistance of his colleague. They were in-
tercepted, and never returned to tell the tale. Loftus,
appalled at the valour of the insurgents, abandoned the
district, and retreated on Tullow.

The acquisition of New Ross was now regarded by
the popular leaders as the great desideratum. It would
have opened the communication with their united bre-
thren of Cork, Waterford, and Tipperary. Barrington
tells us that the southern insurgents were prepared to
rise en masse the moment their friends should occupy
New Ross. To carry out their resolve, a large body of
men, under the command of Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey,
of Barguy Castle, marched to Corbet Hill, an eminence,
situated within a mile from New Ross. Harvey was a
Protestant barrister in good practice, and one of the most
respectable men in the country. Being small of stature,
however, and tiny of voice, he was badly fitted to act as
commander. His military experience was nil; but he

206 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

possessed a sound understanding and considerable resolu-
tion. To General Johnson, the commander-in-chief, he
despatched, by Mr. Furlong, a flag of truce, requesting
that he would, as a friend to humanity, surrender the
town, and thereby avoid rapine and bloodshed. Fur-
long set off upon his honorable mission, but had no
sooner come within gun shot of New Ross, than a sentinel
elevated his musket, and brought him lifeless to the
earth. Plow den says, that to shoot all persons carrying
flags of truce from the rebels appears to have been a
maxim with the regular troops. How different fcheir
conduct from that of the insurgents ! The reader will
remember with what complete safety the deputation of
officers from Wexford negotiated with their foe.

Exasperated at this wanton outrage, the insurgents,
without waiting for Harvey's orders, poured down like a
stream of lava on the town. Both infantry and cavalry
made a feeble resistance, and fled with precipitation,
leaving ordnance, baggage, and ammunition, behind
them. Amongst the slain was found the body of Lord
Mountjoy. Most of the officers made the best of their
way to Waterford. The rebels, intoxicated with victory,
proceeded to give themselves up to a less elevated species
of intoxication. All the gin shops and public houses of
the town were broken into. Drunken uproar reigned
supreme. General Johnson ascertained this fact and re-
turned to the fray. Surprising the rebels, he drove them,
panic-stricken, like a flock of geese, from the town. But
presently recovering their presence of mind they returned
to the assault, and attacked the garrison with such spirit
and determination as to necessitate once more their eva-
cuation of New Ross. Sanguinary experience ought, one
would think, to prove a salutary lesson. But it did not.
With consummate insanity the rebels returned to riot
and intoxication. " Again dislodged," says Plowden,
" by the same exertions as before, and a third time
rallied, but still more disabled by their intemperance,
they were at last finally repulsed, after a contest of about
ten hours." In this engagement 300 of the king's troops
were slaughtered, and 1,200 of the insurgents.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 207

It was after the battle of New Ross that some of the
run-away rebels are said to have set fire to the barn of
Scullabogue, where several Protestant prisoners were
confined. If they really committed this act, it is a blot
of blood upon their escutcheon that never can be wiped
away. The leaders knew nothing of it. Binns, in a
narrative furnished to Dr. Madden, declared most posi-
tively that he has reason to know it was perpetrated by
Government incendiaries, in order to give the insurrection
the name of a " Popish rebellion." He offers proof, but
our limits warn us not to enter into it.

Disgusted with the insubordination of his army, Harvey,
after this engagement, resigned the command. He was
succeeded by Father Philip Roche, who possessed un-
bounded influence over the minds of the peasantry.
Cloney, one of the Wexfbrd generals, deplores this change.
He is of opinion that it rendered the cause henceforward
a religious one. No Protestant, he says, would be disposed
to place himself under a priest's command.

Having been foiled in their endeavours to open com-
munication with Tipperary and Munster, by the subju-
gation of New Ross, the insurgents next decided upon
attacking Arklow. Had they succeeded in capturing
this town, nothing could have prevented them from
marching straight* on the metropolis, where 30,000 orga-
nized United Irishmen, drilled and armed, remained
watching their opportunity. Government were perfectly
well aware of the importance of this holding ; but, never-
theless, its garrison was limited, and the amount of their
ammunition and provisions small.

On the 8th of June 30,000 insurgents, under Father
Philip Roche, assembled at Gorey, a town situated within
a few hours' march of Arklow. With consummate impru-
dence, they vowed vengeance on the Arklow garrison,
and openly declared their intention of proceeding thither,
en masse, in the morning. Word to this effect sped to
Arklow, and the garrison immediately despatched an

* It must also be considered that numbers of the disaffected of both Wick-
low and Kildare would join them in their march to Dublin.

208 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

express to Dublin. The alarm in the metropolis, at the
intelligence, was intense. Everybody knew that an im-
mediate reinforcement could alone save Arklow, and
prevent that metropolitan explosion which they had so
much reason to dread. Drums beat to arms, and several
regiments rushed frantically to the seat of danger. Every
expedient calculated to expedite their progress was had
recourse to. Carts, drays, floats, low-backed and jaunting
cars, were in requisition ; and Barrington tells us that even
the sumptuous carriages of the nobility were seized, or
tendered for the occasion.

The rebel force, having proceeded from Gorey to Cool-
greny, marched in two dense but irregular columns on
Arklow. The military had, of course, ample notice of
their approach, and were posted to the best advantage, on
rising ground. Each wing was terminated by two pieces
of heavy ordnance, which kept up a murderous fire
throughout the entire day. The insurgents disposed them-
selves in a parallel line, behind a small fence, and were
also provided with cannon ; but indeed these were little
better than an incumbrance, as their ammunition scarcely
lasted forty minutes. After a brisk interchange of fire,
without any hostile advance on either side, the insurgents
charged, captured one of the royal cannon, and despatched
the gunners. Hereupon the aspect of the battle assumed
a doubtful hue. The military receded from their posi-
tion, and shouts of victory from the rebels were begin-
ning to rend the air, when Father Michael Murphy,
while in the act of leading on a huge body of pikemen,
fell to the earth, torn into pieces by a cannon ball. His
followers, regarding this catastrophe in an ominous and
superstitious light, fell back appalled to their original
position. The royal ammunition chest was, at this junc-
ture, on the point of exhaustion, and there cannot be a
doubt but that if a spirited and simultaneous charge had
been made by the pikemen, utter defeat would have re-
sulted to his Majesty's forces. Long before the death of
Father Murphy, the insurgents' ammunition failed, and
sixteen hundred men who had no arms but firelocks,
finding themselves useless, proceeded to march, in an

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 209

irregular column, from the scene of action. The pike-
men soon followed their example. Hay tells us that at
the moment of this senseless panic some of the King's
forces had actually retreated. May it not, therefore, be
presumed that a signal triumph would have crowned the
popular effort, were it not for the reverend leader's death,
which caused more consternation amongst the ranks of
the people than if a thousand mines had opened beneath
their feet.

The loss of Arklow proved a fatal blow to the national
cause. Like Hougoumont on Waterloo, it might be aptly
styled " the key of the British position." Sir Jonah
Barrington considers this engagement a drawn battle.
The fate of Ireland was decided by the battle of Arklow.

From the 30th May to the 21st June, Wexford re-
mained in the possession of the people. One Dixon, a cap-
tain of a trading vessel, who happened to be lying just then
in the harbour, left no means unemployed to stimulate
the popular vengeance against the Protestant garrison and
inhabitants. The consequence was that numbers suffered
death.

Since the 28th May a rebel camp had been established
on Vinegar Hill. This picturesque acclivity stands in
the vicinity of Enniscorthy, and commands a noble view
of the surrounding district. After the withdrawal of the
national force from Arklow, it was decided that the next
engagement should be fought on Vinegar Hill. Of this
decision Government received timely intimation, and
potent measures of a hostile character were resorted to, in
order to annihilate, with one energetic blow, the Wexford
effort at independence. Almost the entire available mili-
tary force of Ireland was draughted to the forthcoming
scene of action. Sir Jonah Barrington says that General
Lake would not hear of attacking them with less than

" TWENTY THOUSAND REGULAR TROOPS, AND A CONSIDER-
ABLE TRAIN OF ARTILLERY !"

A small earthen defence had been raised by the insur-
gents around the base of their position. Behind this two
thousand gunsmen remained posted, together with a few
pieces of half disabled ordnance. On the summit of the

210 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

hill the peasantry might be seen in one black surging
mass, awaiting, with anxiety, the onslaught from General
Lake. " A great many women," says Sir Jonah, " min-
gled with their relatives, and fought with fury. Several
were found dead amongst the men, who had fallen in
crowds by the bursting of shells."

The news of General Lake's near approach well nigh
paralyzed the people with terror. During the short period
of his rule in Ireland he had acquired for himself the
name and character of " the People's Butcher." His ad-
vent sent a thrill through many a stalwart frame. Mean-
while men-of-war were suddenly observed cruising along
the coast, as well as gun-boats blocking up the entrance
into Wexford harbour. In short, Government were de-
termined to assail the rebel position from both sea and
land. The peasantry hurried in scores to the camp,
believing that it were better to die fighting for their
country than to be slaughtered or burnt at home by au-
thorized military assassination or incendiarism. Plowden
observes, that from the summit of the Three Rock Moun-
tain, where many of the insurgents remained posted, the
house conflagrations, progressive and parallel with Lake's
advance, was, for fourteen hours, clearly perceivable. Sir
John Moore, who accompanied him, did all in his power
to prevent these atrocities, and even went so far as to put
to death some of the perpetrators. " This humane con-
duct," writes Plowden, " ill suited the intentions and
views of the terrorists. He was instantly ordered to
Wicklow."

At seven o'clock on the morning of the 21st June the
attack began with a brisk discharge of cannon and mor-
tars. According to Lake's preconcerted plan, all the
points of the rebel position were to be attacked simul-
taneously. Owing to either accident or design, General
Needham's division did not come up until the battle was
over. " It was astonishing," says Barrington, " with what
fortitude the peasantry, uncovered, stood the tremendous i
fire opened upon the four sides of their position. A stream J
of shells and grape was poured on the multitude ; the
leaders encouraged them by exhortations, the women by

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 211

their cries ; and every shell that broke amongst the crowd
was followed by shouts of defiance." General Lake had
a narrow escape. His favourite charger, amid a volley
of bullets, sank lifeless to the ground. In this engage-
ment the general himself fell — but only to rise again.

An uninterrupted descent, for hours, of shells and
rockets on the rebel army, soon did its work. Their
lines broke, and a precipitate retreat commenced. Lake's
plan was to surround completely the insurgent position,
and this he would, no doubt, have been enabled to do, had
General Needham's division arrived in time. Not having
done so, however, a gap or opening occurred in the mili-
tary circle. Through this fortuitous avenue the rebels
were enabled, on the breaking of their line, to escape
to Wexford. In consequence of the hilly and wooded
nature of the adjacent country, neither the cannon nor
cavalry of General Lake were successful in crushing the
flying column.

In the Castlereagh Correspondence several letters appear
from General Lake. One, written the day after " Vinegar
Hill," says : — " I have taken Hay, one of their com-
manders. He will be tried this evening, and, most pro-
bably, executed. If I hear of any assembly of men you
may depend upon their having a complete drubbing ; but
I strongly suspect they will not try the chance of another.
The carnage yesterday was dreadful. The rascals made
a tolerably good fight of it."

When Lake admitted that the rascals made a tolerably
good fight of it, the determined character of their resist-
ance may be imagined. Mr. Hay did not suffer the
penalty of death. Had he done so, Ireland should have
been without one of its most valuable histories of the
rebellion.

Since the latter end of May, 1798, Wexford may be
regarded as the only county in Ireland virtually under
arms against its sovereign. When twenty thousand re-
gular troops were required to extinguish, in one solitary
county, the flame of rebellion, it may well be imagined
that, had the entire kingdom risen en masse, as originally
arranged, six hundred and forty thousand effective troops
could with difficulty have suppressed it. Ireland contains

212 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

thirty-two counties, and that number, multiplied by
twenty thousand, amounts to, we believe, the above com-
putation. And it must be borne in mind that Wexford
is not by any means the largest county. In fact, it would
have been utterly impossible for England, in 1798, to
garrison Ireland with even forty thousand regular troops.

After the slaughter on Vinegar Hill the insurgents
retreated, with few exceptions, to Wexford. They had
many prisoners here, and amongst the number, Lord
Kingsborough. This nobleman undertook personally to
guarantee the acceptance of any reasonable terms which
the rebel garrison should propose to General Lake. It
was accordingly decided that proposals should be sent
from the inhabitants to surrender the town, and return to
their allegiance, on condition that life and property were
spared. Lord Kingsborough considered this a fair stipu-
lation, and answered for its acceptance by General Lake.
Be this as it may, Lake declined contemptuously to enter
into any terms with rebels, but promised mercy to the
" deluded multitude," on their surrendering their arms
and leaders into his hands. In a letter from the General
to Lord Castlereagh, and published amongst his lordship's
correspondence, the former complains most bitterly of the
very unpleasant situation in which he has been placed by
Lord Kingsborough.

Relying implicitly on the noble prisoner's promises —
viz., that complete protection should be shown to person
and property — numbers remained in the town of Wex-
ford, unconscious of any reason to apprehend danger.
Melancholy experience soon undeceived them. The ,
gibbet and the dungeon respectively clutched its victims. I
Father Roche met his death in an appalling manner.
Such implicit confidence did he repose in Lord Kings-
borough's assurances, that he left his army at Sladagh,
and proceeded, unarmed and unattended, to Wexford, in
the expectation of receiving, as he thought, a confirma-l
tion of the conditions. Father Roche advanced for a!
considerable distance within the lines before he was re-j
cognized. Suddenly the cry of " Popish priest" resounded!
on every side, and the unhappy man was, in the most!
violent and ignominious manner, dragged from his horse,!

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 213

pulled by the hair, kicked, buffeted, carried to the camp,
and from thence hurled down to the gaol, in such a con-
dition as to be barely recognizable by his own parish-
ioners. The armed multitude whom he had left in the
expectation of being permitted to return unmolested to
their homes, now abandoned all idea of peace, and set
off, under the command of Father J. Murphy, to the
County Carlo w. The Rev. Mr. Gordon, the Protestant
historian of the Wexford rebellion, pronounces Father
Roche to have been, while in authority, both generous
and humane.

Meanwhile the remnant of the Wexford forces, under
Father Murphy, proceeded through Kilkenny, until they
came to within a stone's throw of Goresbndge. Here
their advance was resisted by a party of the Wexford
Militia, who, after an ineffectual struggle, retreated with
loss both of lives and prisoners. After this triumph the
rebels steered their course in the direction of the Queen's
County. On the way several of their prisoners were
barbarously put to death, with a view to gratify that
spirit of deadly hatred which the proverbial cruelty of
the Irish militia regiments had implanted within their
breasts. " It is lamentable," says Cloney, " to think that
men righting for liberty should have disgraced themselves
by such barbarity." The executions referred to were
perpetrated contrary to the solemn prohibitions of the
reverend commander.

Next day his little army was effectually dispersed,
after a futile but determined attack on Castlecomer.

The murder of the Wexford Militia was avenged on
the 25th June, in Kilcomney, a peaceable and picturesque
district. Nearly 200 of the rustics were sabred, by command
of Sir Charles Asgill. Neither age, sex, infirmity, nor in-
nocence could obtain exemption from the common fate.

In Gorey, and other places, the system of extermina-
tion progressed with no less vigour and effect. Pigs preyed
upon the bodies of half- hanged men — in some the vital
spark still flickering irresolutely. Corpses strewed the
ground in every direction. As the insurgents advanced
through the country, their slumbering vengeance became
aroused by discovering along the roads men with their skulls

214 CLOXCURBY AND HIS TIMES.

split in twain — their bowels ripped open — their throats
severed from ear to ear, and the habitations which for
years sheltered themselves and families, smoking, from the
effects of recent conflagration. The dead bodies of
women were not unfrequently discovered ; and Hay, an
eye-witness, tells us, that the children of the dead parents
might be seen clutching at their mangled arms, and be-
wailing them with piteous cries.

In Wexford a frightful scene was also being enacted.
Harvey, Grogan,* Colclough, Prendergast, Kelly, and
Keogh, having been led out of their cells, were subjected
to tortures of the most fiendish exquisiteness, preparatory
to undergoing half-hanging and decapitation. After this
proceeding, their trunks were stripped of covering, treated
with brutal indecency, and then flung over the bridge.
The head of Kelly having been conveyed to the street
wherein his sister resided, was kicked about in foot-ball
fashion, and then elevated in the air before the windows
of her bed-room.

An act of of attainder was subsequently passed against

* Amongst the victims on this occasion to military vengeance, there were
none whose loss was more universally deplored than Mr. Cornelius Grogan,
of Johnstown Castle. This gentleman was upwards of seventy years of age,
of a considerable personal estate, and of irreproachable reputation. " The
semblance of a trial," observes Sir Jonah Barrington, "was thought expedient
by General Lake, before he could execute a gentleman of so much impor-
tance. His case was afterwards brought before Parliament, and argued for
three successive days, and evidence was produced clearly exonerating him
from any voluntary error." Lake, in one of his letters to Lord Castlereagh,
flippantly alludes to Mr. Grogan. On the next day but one succeeding the car-
nage on Vinegar Hill, i. e. June 23rd, he tells his lordship, amongst other bits
of sanguinary gossip, that "a Mr. Grogan, a man of £6,000 per annum, is just
brought in. What there is against him I don't well know. I imagine sufficient
to convict him." The general was "glorious" in jumping at conclusions.
Bagenal Harvey, upon being led out of his condemned cell, met Grogan, and
shook him warmly by the hand — " Ah !" said he, " you die an innocent man.
at all events." In the Parliamentary investigation it appeared that the mem-
bers of the court martial had not been sworn ; that they were only seven, in-
stead of the usual number, thirteen ; that his material witness was shot down
by the military, whilst riding post-haste to give evidence of Mr. Grogan's entire
innocence ; and that " while General Lake," as Sir Jonah says, " was making
merry at dinner, with his staff and some members of the Court that con-
demned him, one of the first gentlemen in the country (in even- point far his
superior) was hanged and mutilated almost before his windows. n Poor Gro-
gan, from age and infirmity, could with difficulty walk to the place of execu-
tion.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 215

the above parties by Parliament, not-withstanding that, on
inquiry, it transpired, that the court martial which tried
them had not been even sworn !

After the massacre of the Curragh, there were few col-
lisions between the king's troops and united men in Kil-
dare. The only one deserving of notice here was that of
Ovidstown Hill. William Aylmer, of Painstown, Esq.,
a lieutenant in the County Kildare Militia, and one of
Mr. Lawless's most intimate friends, undertook to head
a section of the Kildare force. From his high respectabi-
lity and family influence, few men appeared better quali-
fied for the task. Upwards of 3,000 men flew to his
standard ; but unfortunately they were as unruly and un-
disciplined as their commander was an accomplished and
skilful tactitian. So far from being prepared to receive an
onslaught from the king's troops, they were about sitting
down to breakfast when the alarm was sounded. Ayl-
mer and Ware,* the two principal commanders, lost no
time in endeavouring to throw their self-willed and un-
disciplined force into some sort of order. The directions
of the former were, that the pikemen should make a
furious and compact charge wherever the cannon would
be seen to play from. Instead of obeying, they wheeled
behind a quick set hedge, from which the royal ordnance
soon effectually dislodged them ! The grape shot mowed
down the hedge, as a scythe* would a meadow. Panic
ploughed its way through the courage of the people, and
more backs than faces were soon turned to the foe. In
this engagement 200 of the united army perished. O'Kelly
tells us, that he has heard many intelligent men, who
fought at Ovidstown, declare, that had the pikemen acted
in accordance with Aylmer's advice, the battle would un-
doubtedly have been lost to the British. Ovidstown is
situated within about an Irish mile from the Aylmer re-
sidence of Painstown.

Amidst the shrieks of the dying, and the roaring of
artillery, Lord Cornwallis arrived as Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland. Camden, whom Pitt considered as a person

* Both Aylmer and Ware entered the Austrian service in after life. The
former rose to the rank of colonel.

216 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

no longer useful to carry out the ulterior objects of his
ambition, was recalled. Castlereagh being a most handy
tool for excavating in political mire, was continued in the
office of Chief Secretary for Ireland.

Since the failure of the Bantry Bay expedition, the
active mind and body of Theobald Wolfe Tone knew no
rest. He was constantly on the foot, negotiating with
ministers, and endeavouring to stimulate the progress of
the promised armada. His mind was continually at work,
plotting ruses and expedients for the surprise and over-
throw of a mercenary enemy. At length, by dint of
incessant importunity, Tone succeeded in getting a new
armament prepared, under the command of an Irishman,
General Kilmaine. By the impatience of General Humbert,
who scorned all preparation, the French expedition was
again frustrated. Without waiting for the entire squadron
to be ready, Humbert started prematurely from Rochelle,
and with 1,000 men proceeded to Ireland. His little fleet
escaped the vigilance of the British frigates, and entered
Killala Bay, unmolested and undetected, by means of
hoisting English colours. The feint succeeded capitally,
and ten hundred Frenchmen captured the town with-
out even the shadow of resistance on the part of its garrison.

Thousands of the miserable, starved, ragged, and un-
armed peasantry of Connau^ht flocked round the Gallic
standard. General Humbert regarding this reinforcement
in a more important light than it deserved, decided upon
inarching — via Castlebar — into the heart of the country.
He clothed the insurgents, and furnished them with arms.

Lord Hutchinson commanded the garrison at Castle-
bar. It was a numerous one, well armed and artilleried ;
and he laughed to scorn the idea that a handful of French
would presume to attack him. He intended on the mor-
row to proceed to Killala and exterminate them. And
to take his place General Lake arrived at the head of
6,000 men that evening.

In the grey of an autumnal morning, the drums beat to
arms, and the cry of" the French are upon us," resounded
upon every side. The British forces evacuated Castlebar,
and took up position, with nine pieces of cannon, on an
eminence adjacent.

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 217

The battle began. Cannons roared, swords gleamed,
voices yelled, bayonets clashed. The British line waver-
ed, and a retreat, by order of General Lake, was sounded !
Barrington says, that the flight of their infantry was
as that of a mob. Lord Jocelyn's light dragoons made
the best of their way, like so many " Tarn O'Shanters," to
Tuam (upwards of forty miles), pursued by such of the
French as could get horses to carry them. His lordship
himself was taken prisoner. All the royal artillery were
captured. The battle has been satirically christened " the
races of Castlebar."

Humbert, however, soon began to see his consummate
folly in leaving Rochelle before the remainder of the
squadron was ready to accompany him. He had now but
900 men left, and an army of 20,000 troops, under Lord
Cornwallis (the military viceroy), was already in full
march upon him. Accordingly, after a rather sanguinary
skirmish with Lord Gort, and another with Colonel Craw-
ford, the general and his army surrendered themselves pri-
soners of war to the united forces of Lake and Cornwallis.
How so small a force could ever penetrate one hundred
and fifty miles into a country garrisoned by nearly 80,000
troops, including yeomanry and militia, and remain therein
seventeen days, appears to us little short of a miracle.
Yet so it was. Forty thousand insurgents were about to
assemble at the Crookedwood, in Westmeath, for the pur-
pose of effecting a diversion in their favour, when the news
reached them of an overwhelming force having necessi-
tated the surrender of their friends at St. Johnstown.

This dispiriting intelligence had not reached the shores
of France when General Hardy sailed from the Baye de
Carnerat, with a reinforcement of 3,000 soldiers. The
principal vessel was " La Hoche," a seventy-four gun-
ahip, of which Wolfe Tone and Commodore Bompart may
be said to have had the immediate command. There
were besides eight frigates and a schooner. As usual,
Ireland's dark destiny triumphed. Adverse winds, as in
1796, came on, and the French armament was, fora second
time, dispersed. The " Hoche" and its companions, fell
under the surveillance of Sir J. B. Warren, and his

218 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

" Agamemnons," and chase was immediately given.* Com-
modore Bompart, resolving to perish as dearly as possible,
prepared his ship for action. Six British ships of the line,
and three frigates bore down on him and opened a mur-
derous cannonade. Broadside after broadside poured into
the " Hoche." For six long hours it resisted. " At length,"
says Tone, " her masts and riggings swept away ; her
scuppers flowed with blood ; her wounded filled the cock-
pit; her shattered ribs yawned at every new stroke,
and let in five feet water in the hold ; her rudder was
carried away." " And thus," adds Mr. Phillips, " barely
floating on the waters, a dismantled wreck she struck.
Honour to Bompart, honour to the brave."

The officers of the French fleet were immediately
seized, conveyed to Lough Swilly, and marched from
thence, under a strong escort, to Letterkenny. Tone,
who held in the service of France the rank of Chef de
Brigade, was not at first recognized, and passed amongst
the rest as a French officer. England is indebted to
an old school-fellow of Tone's, Sir George Hill, ofDerry,
for revealing his identity. Lord Cavan invited the French
officers to breakfast. Tone accompanied them, and was
sitting at table, unknown and unscrutinized, when his fel-
low-student entered with two constables. " Mr. Tone,"
said the false friend, " I am very happy to see you." Tone
was of course instantly arrested, and conducted from the
room. Patiently he submitted to the taunts and insults
levelled at him by the English officers, and opened not his
mouth until they proceeded savagely to place him in
irons. At this outrage he flung off his uniform, and
exclaimed indignantly, " Fetters ! no ; they shall never
degrade the revered insignia of the free nation I have served.
For the cause which I have embraced, however, I feel
prouder to wear them than if I were decorated with the
star and garter of England."

* On the approach of Warren's fleet, a boat from the French schooner put
out for Tone, in order to take him out of harm's way ; but that lion-hearted man
refused to go, notwithstanding that his brother officers earnestly besought
him to avail himself of so favourable an opportunity for escape. " No," said
he, in reply to their importunities, "never shall it be said that 1 fled, while
the French were fighting the battles of my country."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 219

From Letterkenny he was hurried to Dublin, and tried
by court martial, in the Royal Barracks. A Mr. Patter-
son acted as judge. To save time and trouble by the
examination of witnesses, Tone admitted himself a traitor
in its most extended sense. He made a noble and a
brilliant speech, vindicatory of his acts, and in conclusion
advanced only one request, viz. : that he might die a
soldier's death, and be shot by a platoon of grenadiers.
The mock judge indignantly scouted the request, and
gave directions that his prisoner should be hung, drawn,
and quartered.

Tone, on the night of his condemnation, recoiling at the
prospect of a halter execution, contrived, with a small
penknife, to inflict a very ugly wound across his throat
and windpipe. The gaol physician examined the wound,
and pronounced it to be not mortal, as the carotid artery
chanced miraculously to escape. Tone smiled a ghastly
smile. " I am sorry," said he, " to find that I have been
so bad an anatomist." For seven days he lingered in the
greatest pain. At length, death put a period to his
sufferings.

Thus terminated the Irish rebellion of 1798. "The
cost of exciting and prematurely exploding it," observes
Dr. Madden, in his Connexion between Ireland and
England, " is estimated at eighteen millions and a-half.
Some Avriters estimate the amount at twenty-one millions. '
The loss of life was terrific. According to Plowden,
50,000 creatures were either shot or sabred by the
military. Moore says that the fact of so much money
and arms having been necessary to crush the partial rising
which took place, leaves awful room for conjecture as to
what might have been the result had the whole organized
mass, under its original leaders, been set in motion.

" It was," writes Plowden, in the Special Commission
from the British Cabinet, "for Lord Cornwallis to avail
himself of every rising circumstance to forward and bring
about a UNION with Great Britain." Having exhausted
the muscular strength of Ireland by that system of phlebo-
temizing which we have already dilated upon at perhaps
too much length, and thus rendered her energies against

220 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

aggression powerless, the first and grand step towards the
accomplishment of a Legislative Union was achieved. Mr.
Pitt, however, had the adverse voices of a large mass of
the people yet to contend with. He racked his brains for
the best expedient to mitigate the storm of popular indig-
nation which it was not unreasonable to suppose would en-
sue on the first official promulgation of his scheme. To in
some degree conciliate the people was therefore NOW his
object. After executing hundreds in cold blood, Lord
Cornwallis, on the suppression of the rebellion, proclaimed
a general armistice to all concerned in the " conspiracy,"
leaders, as a matter of course, excepted, The ruse, to a
certain extent, succeeded. Thousands of grateful hearts
invoked benedictions, ad libitum, on the heads of Mr.
Pitt, and his Viceroy, Cornwallis.

Lord Camden, in one of his private letters to Castle-
reagh (p. 375, vol. i.), alludes confidentially to this change
of policy. " In order," he says, " that the appointment
of Lord Cornwallis should have as little as possible the
appearance of a change of system, Pelham was permitted
to remain in office, in the same manner he did with me ;
and your continuing to do the duty, seemed quite necessary
to that arrangement."

Immediately after the surrender of Humbert, in Sep-
tember, 1798, the long projected act of UNION began to
engross the exclusive attention and consideration of
ministers. In an important private letter from St. James's,
dated Sep. 26, 1798, Lord Castlereagh is informed that
the leading points of the Union were actually at that
moment under cabinet consideration. The writer then
epitomizes the Union articles, and adds — " I mean them
only for your lordship's eye, in the strictest confidence."
In a letter from Camden to Castlereagh, endorsed, Oct.
11, 1798, he says — " Mr. Pitt is eager and anxious to the
greatest degree about Ireland, and it is the subject on
which he contemplates most, and is the most uneasy"

The instruments which Pitt employed to work out his
darling project of a UNION, were Lords Clare, Castlereagh,
and Cornwallis.

Cornwallis began his military life by crushing Tippoo

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 221

Saib. His principal act in India was undoubtedly a
victory, but that in America proved, as England knows
to her cost, a dead and humiliating failure. Her colonies
were lost to her, and the British arms sunk into the fetid ,-
quagmire of disgrace. Soldiers and commanders sur-
rendered themselves to Washington, prisoners of war.
" Weary of the sword," says Sir Jonah Barrington, " he
was sent as a diplomatist to conclude the peace of Amiens ;
but out-manoeuvred by Lucien Buonaparte, his lordship's
treaty involved all Europe in a war against England." All
his public measures failed except one — the Legislative
Union.

John Fitzgibbon, afterwards Earl of Clare, was the
younger son of a wealthy father, who would have be-
come, in his youth, a Roman Catholic priest, had not an
unforeseen circumstance occurred to prevent it. John
Fitzgibbon studied for the bar, and was called to it in
1772. His father and elder brother having made sudden
exits from this world, Fitzgibbon came in for a consider-
able fortune. This circumstance, combined with an ex-
tensive connexion, an unlimited amount of aplomb, some
solid professional attainments, and a slavish subserviency
to Government, soon thrust him forward through the
drudgery and subordinate gradations of the law, and finally
placed him squatted, in all the comfort and luxury of
£8,000 per annum, upon the Irish woolsack. And to
whom was Fitzgibbon indebted for his first legal elevation ?
To no less a person than Henry Grattan. When Fox heard
of this mark of kindness, he shook his head shrewdly,
saying, " Take care, Grattan, that in seeking to make a
friend, you are not strengthening an enemy." Fox's
prognostication was verified. Fitzgibbon became attorney -

feneral, " and, from that time forth,'' says Grattan, " both
is country and myself were the two peculiar objects of
his calumny."

Once upon the woolsack, his able, arrogant, ruthless
bearing knew no bounds. The House of Lords quailed
before him, and he became literally despotic in that im-
becile assembly. " Forgetting their high rank," says
Barrington, " their country and themselves, they yielded
unresistingly to the spell of his dictation."

222 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Perhaps the most remarkable letter in the entire body
of the Castlereagh correspondence* is that written by the
Earl of Clare, on the 16th October, 1798, toiiis unprin-
cipled coadjutor in the dirty work. It is a matter of
history that tempting but delusive promises were held out
to the Catholics in the event of their submission to the
measure of a Union. The Duke of Wellington himself
admitted this in the great debate of 1828. According to
the express promises and stipulations entered into at the
time, the Catholics were entitled to a total, unqualified,
and immediate emancipation, if they aided the Govern-
ment, or even remained inactive during the agitation and
progress of the measure. With what good faith these
promises were kept, Catholic Ireland needs not to be
reminded.

Until comparatively lately it remained a profound
mystery to whom Ireland was mainly indebted for having
cajoled her out of the stipulated bribes. It will be a
source of astonishment to many to learn that it was not
owing to his Majesty's coronation scruples, as popularly

* Mr DEAR LORD, — I have seen Mr. Pitt, the Chancellor, and the Duke
of Portland, who seem to feel very sensibly the critical situation of our
damnable country, and that the Union alone can save it. I should have
hoped that what has passed would have opened the eyes of every man in
England to the insanity of their past conduct, with respect to the Papists of
Ireland ; but I can plainly perceive they were as full of their Popish projects
as ever. I trust, and I hope, that they are fairly inclined to give them up,
and to bring the measure forward unincumbered with Emancipation. Lord
Cornwallis has intimated his acquiescence on this point, and Mr. Pitt is de-
cided upon it. : * If I have been in any manner instrumental in persuad-
ing the ministers to bring forward this measure, unincumbered with a propo-
sition which must have swamped it, I shall rejoice very much in the pilgrim-
age which I have made." Mr. Elliot (an otlicial of importance), writing to
Lord Castlereagh, on October 24, 1798, says — "The leaning of the opinion of
the Cabinet is against extending the privileges of the Catholic body at the
present conjuncture." [He then goes on to say that this sentiment proceeds
mainly from the' difficulty which Government would experience in opposing
the prejudices of its Irish friends, and adds] — " It is the argument chiefly relied
on by Lord Clare, and I plainly perceive it has operated powerfully on Mr.
Pitfs mind. Mr. Pitt, however, says that his judgment is not yet formed on
the subject, and that some months ago it WAS favourable to the pretensions of
the Catholics." Lord Clare's wily argument triumphed. Ere three days Pitt
became completely converted to his way of thinking. On October 27, 1798,
Lord Camden, writing to Lord Castlereagh, says: — "Mr. Pitt is inclined
most strongly to a Union on a PROTESTANT basis."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 223

believed, that Emancipation remained unconceded, but
simply in consequence of the strong and unwavering an-
tagonism of Lord Chancellor Clare. How this letter of
his lordship's has been suffered to see the light of day,
when the collection otherwise betrays evidence of such
frequent suppression, appears to us singular.

It was generally believed, and statements to this effect
may be found inscribed upon the page of history, that Mr.
Pitt resigned office in consequence of the non-performance
of the Emancipation promises. Is it not evident, from
this letter, that Mr. Pitt acquiesced in the views of Lord
Clare? The Chancellor, on his death-bed, informed
those about him that he had but one request to make :
" My correspondence must be burned," said he ; " should
it be found after me, thousands may be compromised."
Lady Clare obeyed his wish implicitly. How little he
thought that one of his own " most secret" letters would
see the light, after the grass of half a century had grown
and withered, and grown again above his grave.

The third, and certainly the most important, instrument
in effecting the annihilation of Ireland's prosperity, was
Lord Castlereagh. This young nobleman had passed up-
wards of seven years in the Irish Parliament, but without
creating the slightest sensation, or attracting one particle
of notice. In private life his conduct was gentlemanly
and honourable ; in public, venal, artful, despicable, and
ruthless. It is a positive fact, that the commencement of
Lord Castlereagh's parliamentary career was patriotic.
" His first public essay," says Sir Jonah Barrington, " was
a motion to reform the Irish Parliament, and his last, to
annihilate it." It would have been impossible for Mr.
Pitt to select a better tool for effecting seduction than
Lord Castlereagh. Possessed of one of the handsomest
countenances in Ireland, his smile was fascination, and his
words persuasion. " The affability of his manner," writes
his brother,* " at once dissipated that timidity which in-
tercourse with high rank sometimes produces. In stature

* " Memoirs and Correspondence of Lord Castlereagh," vol. i. page 82.

224 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

he was nearly six feet — his manners perfect — his features
commanding."

Aided by this most accomplished triumvirate, Mr. Pitt
proceeded to execute his work.*

But let us not forget to look after Mr. Lawless.

He was up and doing. The Union scheme ceased not
to agitate him. The intellect that in 1795 dictated the
first anti-Union pamphlet that ever emanated from the
press, was again at work, and on the same subject.t He
knew full well, in common with his friends, Grattan,
Curran, and Plunket, that such a measure was pregnant
with mischief to Ireland. He felt that it was the para-
mount duty of every honest man to speak his mind openly
and fearlessly upon a subject of such vital moment to the
interests of his country. Both friend and foe admitted
its importance, and sunk in more than criminal apathy
must that Irishman have been who could, amid such ex-
citing scenes, remain an idle or an unconcerned spectator.
The Rev. Dr. Hussey, afterwards Roman Catholic Bishop
of Waterford, and who officiated, singular to say, in the
capacity of private secretary to the Duke of Portland,
gave Mr. Lawless a kindly hint that any noisy mani-
festation of anti-Union sentiment would be rigorously
punished by his Majesty's ministers. Lawless, although
he expressed himself in language strongly deprecatory of
the Union, sedulously refrained, for two reasons, from
doing so with vehemence, or even with warmth. The
first, and unquestionably most cogent, arose from the

* Pitt's project was first openly announced through the medium of an official
pamphlet, entitled, " Arguments for and against the Union considered."
Above one hundred others, on the subject of a Union, followed; but that written
by the Hon. Valentine Lawless, in 1796, had the start of them all.

f Although living in London, he addressed various anti-Union letters,
through the medium of the Irish newspapers, to his fellow-countrymen. One
of them he alludes to in a letter to his sister, dated Feb. 16, 1799. " I have
sent a short address," he writes, " to the people of Kildare, whom I saw called
by their rascally sheriff." [In answer to a subsequent communication from
Charlotte Lawless, respecting the nervous excitability of her father, ho says] : —
" If you think I should not say a word at all of politics, my letter to Kildare,
which I sent to Mr. Dillon, should be stopped ; but it is so mild and gentle,
I hardly think it can do harm or vex the poor invalid."

CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES. 225

nervous horror that Lord Cloncurry entertained of Valen-
tine taking any part in politics, lest the impulsive nature
of his patriotic temperament should carry him beyond
prudence, as on a former occasion, and thereby furnish
Government with a pretext for placing him in captivity.
Lord Cloncurry was at this time in a very delicate state
of health, and his nervous excitability throve apace on
this delicacy. Lawless's second reason for not making
himself remarkable in the political clubs and re-unions of
the day, was simply attributable to that natural dread lest
Government should, a second time, treat him as a male-
factor or a felon. The moment he received Dr. Hussey's
intimation, he wrote to the Duke of Portland, and to his
friend, John Reeves (who acted as one of the clerks of
the Privy Council), to say that from the time of his libera-
tion, in June, '98, he had studiously abstained from taking
any part in those proceedings for which Lord Lough-
borough, Mr. Pitt, and the other members of the Council
so severely rebuked him, on the occasion of his final
examination by that body. How far this explanation
pacified the vindictive Duke of Portland, was soon evi-
dent to Lawless, and will be to the reader.

Towards the latter end of December, 1798, Mr. Law-
less, as we have already chronicled, returned to London,
after a most agreeable sejour with the lovely object of his
affections, at Harrowgate and Scarborough. During the
period of his absence, the crisis of the Irish rebellion had
passed away. Either the axe of the executioner had
closed on its principal leaders, or the ponderous doors of
Fort St. George. The French expedition was scattered
to the winds. Ireland had fallen into a sleep of exhaus-
tion from her energetic but fruitless efforts to achieve
liberty and independence. Every gleam of hope was, for
the present, lost to her. All dread of a renewal of hos-
tilities ceased to agitate the royal mind. She had just
arrived at that stage of prostration and inertia when every-
thing— anything would be submitted to. Mr. Pitt saw
this, and at once made arrangements for the robbery of
her greatest prize, her most valuable gem.

Considering that the rebellion, the society of United

L 2

226 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Irishmen, and the French expedition were now numbered
amongst the things that were — in short, crushed effectu-
ally, and for ever, it will be to many a source of astonish-
ment to learn that the Hon. Mr. Lawless should have
been again arrested, and not only imprisoned in the house
of a King's messenger, as before, but formally committed,
under a strong guard, to one of the most loathsome dun-
geons of the Tower.

In the Dublin Evening Post of the 21st April, 1799,
we find the following morceau respecting the second arrest.
It comes from the English correspondent of that journal,
and is dated London, April 16 : —

" Mr. Lawless, Lord Cloncnrry's son, who -was arrested on Sunday by
Rivet, the Bow-street officer, was examined, we understand, yesterday, by
the Privy Council. He is now hi the custody of a king's messenger."

Rivet was the " 184 B" of the last century. A more
" efficient constable," in the ordinary acceptation of that
term, it would be difficult to find. It is Rivet that Lord
Holland alludes to in the extract we have given from
his lordship's work relative to O'Coigly.

Lawless was confined to bed from a slight attack of
fever when Mr. Constable Rivet paid him an early visit
on the morning of the 14th April. The necessity for
immediate arrest appears to have been of such a pressing
nature, that no day but the Sabbath would answer his
Majesty's ministers to carry their arbitrary scheme into
effect. According to the petition presented by Lord
Cloncurry to the Commons some eighteen months sub-
sequent, it appears that the constable actually " dragged
him from his bed." The state of Mr. Lawless's feelings
upon once more finding himself immured within the close
four walls of a messenger's room, may be imagined. At
the very time of this detention he was under appoint-
ment to join his betrothed at Cheltenham. He felt
cruelly mortified, and justly. To think of all the time,
trouble, and expense, which were consumed in endea-
vouring to counteract the baneful effects of his former
imprisonment, proved likewise a maddening reflection,
health was far from good. And at the very moment

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 227

that he may be said to have succeeded in dispelling the
anti-matrimonial prejudices of his father, and had received
the parental approbation to lead his adored one to the
altar, the Duke of Portland issued a warrant, in virtue
whereof he was dragged from a fever bed, and consigned
for the space of TWO YEARS to a dungeon, from which
he would not even then have been liberated were it not
for an accidental occurrence, which no one more bitterly
deplored than his Grace the Duke of Portland himself*
Although it was clearly seen that no possible motive,
save the gratification of an old and sour malice, led to
this second arrest of Mr. Lawless, the Lords of the
Privy Council thought it judicious to go through the
form, at least, of examining their prisoner. When brought
before that dignified tribunal, Mr. Pitt at once opened
fire upon him, requesting to be informed why he should
have lent pecuniary assistance to Father O'Coigly, and
to what extent his acquaintance with John JBonham
reached. He was then taxed with having been in com-
pany with Colonel Despard at a certain remote period,
and reprimanded for visiting so foul a den of treason as
Furnival's Inn. In conclusion, Mr. Pitt assured him,
as we learn from a letter addressed by Lawless to Mr.
Burne, that he had positive information of his having
been an active participator at a meeting in February,
1797, where plans were laid down for extending the
Union organization to London, by instituting United Irish
Societies, and other objectionable creations, in that city.
To the latter charge Lawless replied in the negative.
He begged to be confronted with his accusers, or libe
ated forthwith, as his prospects in life, he said, would be
seriously damaged by the nonfulfilment of certain en-
gagements, which he was then pledged to meet. Other
queries were put to him, but he refused to answer further.
In pursuing this course, he acted wisely. His counsel
advised him to answer no questions, as whatever he said

* See letter from the Duke of Portland, in Castlereagh Memoirs, &c.,
vol. iv. page 74.

228 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

would be so twisted and distorted, as to be made subser-
vient to his crimination.

After having undergone much " catechetical instruc-
tion " from Mr. Pitt, Lawless was remanded into the cus-
tody of messengers. Next morning we find him brought
before two sapient Bow-street magistrates, whose talent,
experience, and tact in cross-examination, were admit-
tedly unequalled. Nothing, however, beyond "yes,"
or "no," could be wormed out of their prisoner; and
after a short delay at the police office, he was again re-
moved under the paternal care of Constable Rivet. Up
to this Lawless had not been imprisoned in a more
obnoxious manner than the apartment of a king's mes-
senger. He now became a state prisoner, and was com-
mitted to the Tower, as Desmond, Wallace, and Raleigh,
were before him. The " Morning Chronicle' of May 11,
1799, favours its readers with the following little para-
graph in reference to the committal : —

" Mr. Bonham and the Honourable Mr. Lawless were on Thursday sent to
the Tower. The latter occupies the apartment in which Mr. Biuns resided
when first taken up."

The " apartment" alluded to was the room belonging
to the lamp-lighter of the Tower. Although Benjamin
Binns (a very humble man) might have considered it
as comfortable as any that could be for one in his station,
and under the peculiar circumstances of the case, pro-
cured for him, it was scarcely the place, we think, to
domicile the heir apparent to a peerage. He soon be-
came thoroughly disgusted with his quarters. Lawlessdrew
up a petition to Colonel Smith (the Governor of the
Tower), praying to be removed to some apartment more
in keeping with the accommodation he had ever been
accustomed to receive. The colonel's bowels of compas-
sion were moved. He summoned the turnkey to his
presence, and gave directions that a more comfortable
apartment should be provided. A change was made;
but, whether it proved a change for the better, time will
show. If we are to credit the memorial of Lord Clon-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 229

curry to the Commons in 1800 — and we certainly see no
reason to throw a doubt on any of its allegations — this
so called comfortable apartment was a low garret room,
either enervating the inmate with summer heat, or chill-
ing him with downpours of winter rain. " In this
room," proceeds the memorial, " your petitioner has been
confined, with two other persons, for nearly two years,
and treated with greater severity than any prisoner in
the Tower ever has been."

To attempt any elaborate description of the persecu-
tions, sufferings, and privations, which the Hon. Valentine
Lawless was compelled to undergo throughout that pro-
tracted and iniquitous imprisonment, would prove a
painful and a difficult task. Suffice it to say, that he was
thrown, as though he were some hardened malefactor,
into a loathsome cell, subjected to every species of intru-
sion, gene by the continual companionship of a pair of
snarling warders, even during his hours of rest, deprived
not only of the society of his nearest relatives, but of the
other political prisoners of distinction ;* capriciously for-
bidden the use of pen, ink, and paper ; tyrannically com-
pelled to forego every kind of reading, even to a news-
paper; and subjected to a degree of contumely and in-
sult almost impossible to credit in the present refined
days of prison humanity. Even a physician durst not
visit Mr. Lawless without a special warrant from the
Secretary of State — a document which it was oftentimes
a matter of some difficulty to procure. The order touch-
ing the admission of Mr. Lawless's law advisers, appears
to have been even more stringent. On the 26th June,
nearly ten weeks after the second arrest, Mr. Foulkes,
the attorney, wrote to his client to hope that the fact of
his being denied access to him did not occasion incon-
venience or injury to his private affairs. As this letter
happened to be unsealed, and addressed to the Governor,
it reached Mr. Lawless. It is unnecessary for us to say
that all sealed communications became food for Colonel
Smith's fire.

* Two common persons, " a Manx and a Swede" — were his fellow-pri

soners.

230 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

As the well-barred windows of our prisoner's cell
looked out upon the Tower ditch, the view need not be
supposed to have been particularly pleasing. Further
on, Tower Hill, with all its metropolitan concomitants,
rose before him ; and often, no doubt, led his mind into
a train of meditation on the fate of those men, who, like
himself, were once state prisoners within the walls of the
old fortress. He thought of the various victims to sedi-
tion whose blood had flowed in rivulets down that hill,
and wondered if the unrelenting vengeance of Govern-
ment would pursue him to the death, as it did in the
case of Lords Lovet, Surrey, and Essex. Such an exe-
cution could not have been in principle more unjust than
his imprisonment by order of the Duke of Portland.

The air in the neighbourhood of Thames-street and
Fish-street Hill had never the reputation of possessing
much salubriousness. On this occasion it was downright
malarious, being occasionally loaded with effluvia much
more favourable to the progress of typhus, than to ex-
pedite an invalid's recovery. The warders, or as they
were familiarly designated " Beef-eaters," who strutted by
day through Lawless's cell, and at night squatted them-
selves in the immediate vicinity of his pallet, not being
considered by the Duke as a sufficient guarantee for his
prisoner's safety, a colossal grenadier, armed to the teeth,
was deputed to promenade at all hours of the day and
night before the open door of the apartment. Poor
Lawless ! The only exercise they permitted him to take
were a few paces to-and-fro upon the leads above his prison ;
but even this trifling indulgence he was soon obliged to
decline, in consequence of the unseemly shouts of " bloody

Irishman," " d d rebel," &c., with which the mob

below invariably greeted him, when brought out for
exercise in the custody of his guards.

The following letter to his sister is one of the first
written by Mr. Lawless from the Tower. The spirit of
Christianlike resignation which pervades it could not be
extolled too highly, nor the laudable endeavours on his
part to make the circumstances of his position appear
to Mary Ryal as little irksome as possible : —

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 231

[NO. 7.] TO HIS SISTER VALENTINA.

" Tower, Sunday, May 19th.

" It will be as unwelcome a novelty to you, my dear sister, to receive, as
it is to me to write, a letter from a prison ; we must, however, submit to
necessity, and I endeavour to do so with the best possible grace. This day
ends the fifth week of my confinement, and you should have heard from me
before, were it not that I was under great restrictions. * * * I cannot
express to you the pain I feel for the situation of my poor M(ary). '
Write to her, I beg of you, my dear Valentina ; assure her that I am quite
well, and full of hope that we shall soon meet. Tell her that I have got a
good and aiiy room, with books* to read, and that I never cease to think of
her ; but I will not write, because my letters should be inspected, which
would be an injury to her, in case she should withdraw her affection from
a poor branded rebel. * * * Let my father know that it will be the
greatest relief to me if he will rest assured that in word or act I have never
said or done anything illegal or unworthy of him.f In case I am tried I
shall make this appear ; but I am chiefly afraid of a long confinement. * *
I think Government owes it to his services, if not to justice or
humanity, to bring me to trial or to liberate me. * * * I get on
pretty well in the day time, but am very feverish at night. I am not
allowed newspapers, which to me is a great, as it is certainly a very useless,
privation. I hope the desire of getting me out will not induce my father to
do anything he would otherwise not approve of. I owe it to him, and to
myself, to prove the rectitude of my conduct.

" If he had allowed me to follow my own plans, this would not have

happened ; but I am now so deep, that like Macbeth I must go through.

' I yesterday saw the captain, £ and one or two friendly faces under

my window, but they deigned not to look up at the poor prisoner. Adieu

my dear V., let me hear from you soon, and believe me ever yours."§

Lawless's apprehensions that his father, in the hope of
pacifying the wrath of the Duke of Portland, would
vote against the interests of Ireland, were soon but too
truly verified. Although Lord Clon curry, from the
year 1796, leant much more strongly towards the
national party than to Mr. Pitt's, he committed in 1799
an act, in his parliamentary capacity, of which it is, we
regret to say, impossible to absolve him. He drove a
nail into the coffin of his almost exanimate country, by
depositing a vote in Lord Castlereagh's ballot-box. Ere

* Books were at first permitted, but afterwards withheld altogether.
The use of pen, ink, and paper, was also granted for a time — newspapers
never. Caprice appeared entirely to rule the course of his persecutors.

t We can easily collect that any movement of Mr. Lawless in the poli-
tical world could not fail to fret and irritate Lord Cloncurry, whose health
was declining with the prosperity of his country.

f Captain Manly, a friend of the Cloncurry family.

§ Personal Recollections of Lord Cloncurry.

32 CLOXCURBY AND HIS TIMES.

the Act of Union passed, Lord Cloncurry was dead ; but
in the preliminary stages of that measure, he lent his
countenance to it cordially. The object, as we believe,
was to conciliate the Pitt and Portland party.

The ridiculous cause of his arrest, as currently reported
in Ireland, is referred to in one of the Hon. Charlotte
Lawless's letters to Lord Moira. " Since my brother's
arrest," she writes, " I have endeavoured to discover
whether there was any information, true or false, against
him, suspicion being all that was alleged, and his sup-
posed offence said, in this country, to relate to the mutiny
of the fleet; and in England, that information was sent
from this side the water ; and that being a United Irish-
man, and implicated in the rebellion, was imputed to
him. He undoubtedly gave offence by his inter-

ference in regard to Coldbath Fields, and by making
public his sentiments on the Union."* She then goes on
to say, that Lord Cornwallis, at her request, got all the
secret reports examined ; and the result was, the assurance
that no official information had gone from Ireland against
her brother. " This," said she, " directly contradicts an
assertion Mr. Cooke made to me." Cooke acted in the
capacity of Under Secretary, and was, perhaps, more con-
versant than any other official with the private commu-
nications between the Castle and the informers. This man
appears to have fattened on duplicity.

Immediately on the news of the second arrest reaching
Ireland, Lord Cloncurry addressed a letter to his Grace
on the subject. Its tenor was regret at the intelligence,
and anxiety for the fate of an only son. " God forbid,"
he wrote, " that I should ever allow myself to consider
him as criminal. That he may have entertained vain

* Mr. Lawless pursued other courses, exclusive of the publication of
" Thoughts on the Projected Union," to manifest his determined feeling of

hostility towards Mr. Pitt's measure. We have heard from Mr. S , an

octogenarian citizen of Dublin, that he was an eye-witness, in 1797, of Mr.
Lawless leading on an unarmed body of the populace, in order to force open
the door of the Royal Exchange, where some Orange champions of the
English interest had assembled, with a view to express their approval of the
Union. Mr. Lawless put his own shoulder effectively to the door. Our
informant speaks quite positively of this circumstance.

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 233

and idle notions of liberty and reform, I am perfectly
aware, from the principles of certain persons with whom
he kept company, and which I always disapproved of."
In conclusion, his lordship hoped that the Duke's warrant
for confining him was merely a measure of precaution,
and not of intended punishment ; and expressed a hope
that ministers would, in the belief that their prisoner had
undergone sufficient chastisement, allow him to return to
the bosom of his afflicted family.

Three months of anxiety and suspense rolled slowly
over, and still no answer from that usually fluent corres-
pondent, the Duke of Portland.* This apparently studied
slight weighed heavily on Lord Cloncurry, and his health
broke down beneath the load. On the 20th August,
nine days before his death, he wrote a second letter,
wherein he begged to recall to his Grace's recollection
the previous communication he had addressed to him.
Lord Cloncurry felt mortified at the Duke's silence. He
reminded him with what cordial activity he had sup-
ported the Administration of his Grace when Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, and added, that he had some
reason to hope for, at least, the favour of an answer.
" Your Grace may know," said Lord Cloncurry 's preg-
nant postscript, " that I voted in the House of Lords
for receiving the proposition for a Union. I also gave it
my interest in the County Limerick, where I have some
property, and ivhich, perhaps, few would have done, treated
as I have been." The Secretary of State received the
letter, but withheld a reply. The highly-wrought sensi-
bility of Lord Cloncurry underwent a second and still
more mortal stab. He rallied for a day or two, but only
to sink still deeper into a fatal reaction. From this mo-
ment his decline was down a precipice. On the day pre-

* Lord Holland, in his " Memoirs of the Whig Party," speaking of the
Duke of Portland, says: — "When he was at the head of the Opposition, his
talent was confined to letter-writing ; and when that talent is accom-
panied (as it was with him) by a great propensity to the practice of it, it is
a blemish — not an ornament, a misfortune — not an endowment." His
Grace tergiversated. We have seen, in page 39 of this work, how warmly
he co-operated with Grattan on the Regency question. He was now (1799)
only second to Pitt in the great Tory Administration.

234 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

vious to his demise, Miss Lawless wrote, in great agitation,
of mind, to John Reeves, apprising him of her father's
approaching end, and the anxious wish, so repeatedly ex-
pressed by him, to see his son. She asked him if he were
not of opinion that the Duke of Portland would, upon
being informed of Lord Cloncurry's critical situation, per-
mit the prisoner, on proper security, to leave the Tower,
and pay the last duties of filiality to a kind and aged
parent. She added, that surely his Grace, in punishing
a little imprudence, did not ambition to destroy the hap-
piness of a private family. The rapid decline of her
father's health she attributed to anxiety on his son's ac-
count. On the following morning (Thursday, 29th Aug.),
at five o'clock, Lord Cloncurry died. His death, which took
place at Maretimo, Black Rock, was materially accelerated
by a sudden attack of dysentery, which defied every effort
of medicine to check. He died in considerable pain, but
retained to the last his mental faculties.

Almost the first notification that Mr. Lawless received
of his father's death was contained in a respectful but
laconic epistle from the Duke of Portland, enclosing an
abstract of the bequests made in Lord Cloncurry's will,
and some papers drawn up by his lordship's attorney.
The natural affliction of Lawless, at suddenly finding
himself fatherless, swamped, of course, all other consider-
ations. As soon as the first paroxysm of grief had sub-
sided, a matter immediately connected with the disposal
of the property contributed to cause him much chagrin
and uneasiness. Lord Cloncurry, who was, on most points,
headstrong and self-opinionated, decided, a few days pre-
vious to his death, that a large portion of the family pro-
perty should not revert to Mr. Lawless, notwithstanding
that he stood in the relationship of only son. Lord Clon-
curry was, in the late rebellion, an eye-witness to the con-
fiscation of property belonging to men, who both in Court
and Parliament were proved not to have been voluntarily
guilty of any " treasonable practices." He saw his friend,
Cornelius Grogan, fall a victim to military fury and des-
potism ; his estates attainted, and his memory held up to
execration and contempt. " What if they should attaint

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 235

Valentine, too," soliloquised the old peer, as lie dashed
his pen over certain bequests he had previously made in
favour of his son, and left away from him a sum of be-
tween sixty and seventy thousand pounds. Lord Clon-
curry was a fortunate man through life. His suspicions,
surmises, views, and conclusions were, generally speaking,
shrewd ; but we need not tell the reader that in this in-
stance he proved himself mistaken.

To the application fiom Miss Lawless that the poor
prisoner should be allowed to visit Ireland for a few days,
and pay the last tribute of affection to a dying father, the
Duke of Portland returned a frigid and unexplanatory
refusal. " The wish you have expressed for your brother's
enlargement," wrote his Graee, " cannot possibly be com-
plied with." Nothing daunted by this refusal, Miss Law-
less addressed a second application to his Grace, praying
that the release of her brother might, on another account,
be granted. She adverted to his health, and dwelt feel-
ingly upon its delicacy. " We have," said Miss Lawless,
" serious ground for alarm ; the painful feelings he has
had to combat during six months' confinement, preying
on a constitution which has made the most attentive care
necessary from his childhood, may be very fatal to him.
If permission to go to Lisbon, with whatever precaution
may be deemed necessary of bail, &c., could be granted,
I am convinced such an act of kindness would be of essen-
tial service to his health. Placed now at the head of his
family, he will be guarded in his conduct, and cautious of
the connexions he makes." A feeling allusion to his
matrimonial engagement concluded the letter.

His Grace's reply was, like the generality of official
letters, prompt, curt, and frigid. " Under the present
circumstances of Lord Cloncurry's case," said he, " it is
impossible that he can be liberated on the conditions you
mention." The Duke, however, in consideration, doubt-
less, of the gentle sex of his correspondent, so far relaxed
the muscles of his dignity, as to assure Miss Lawless, in
conclusion, that nothing but a desire not to increase her
late father's uneasiness could have prevented him from

236 CLONCDRRY AND HIS TIMES.

acknowledging his letters. The reader will judge what
value is to be placed on the Duke's vindication. It strikes
us that the harrowing suspense, oflong awaiting and never
receiving an answer, and the crushing consciousness of
experiencing a studied slight, would much more strongly
tend to fret and irritate, than a polite letter declining to
grant the supplicated request. " I sincerely hope," said
Lord Cloncurry, in his last letter to the ducal secretary,
" that your Grace will honour me with an answer, how-
ever short."

A third application craved that Counsellor John Burne,
would be allowed, temporarily, to have access to the noble
prisoner. This request was granted, on condition that
Mr. Burne confined his conversation to subjects connected
with the private affairs of his- friend. This trifling suc-
cess appears to have inspired the family of LORD CLON-
CURRY (for as such we must now continue to designate
him) with renovated hope. The Duke of Portland was
evidently not dead to every feeling of humanity. Embol-
dened by this reflection, we find a fourth application ad-
dressed to his Grace (but on this occasion by Mr. Burne),
soliciting permission for Lord Cloncurry to visit that pro-
perty in Ireland of which he had recently become the
owner. " The peculiar situation of this estate," proceeded
the lawyer, " and of his lordship's affairs, in consequence
of the death of his father, renders his presence in Ireland,
at this period, essentially necessary." Having dwelt
upon the rigorous confinement and restrictions which
were daily doing their work on his lordship's constitution,
Mr. Burne concluded with an apology for making an ap-
plication which want of pen, ink, and paper prevented
the prisoner from making for himself.

The Duke regretted that his duty to the public would
not suffer him to consent to any such request.

A fifth application ! The petition for his lordship's
temporary enlargement having failed, Lord Cloncurry
commissioned Mr. Burne to apply for the indulgence of
pen, ink, and paper, the monthly magazines and news-
papers, provided that such accommodation could be

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 237

extended to him consistently with the Duke of Portland's
duty to the public. To this letter we find no reply.

His petition for " leave of absence" having been refused,
Lord Cloncurry decided upon sending to his sister, Char-
lotte, a power of attorney, vesting the entire management
of his affairs in her. This lady, afterwards the wife of
Edward Lord Dunsany, possessed a most massive intel-
lect, and proved herself of more substantial use to Clon-
curry, in his present dilemma, than would a room full of
land agents, conveyancers, and lawyers. Upon receiv-
ing the document alluded to from her brother, Miss Law-
less inserted an advertisement in the newspapers ordering
the tenants to pay their rents to certain agents whom she
named, and requesting all communications relative to
Lord Cloncurry to be addressed to her.

If Counsellor Burne was permitted to have an inter-
view with Lord Cloncurry on matters connected with his
private arrangements, it was granted in such a manner as
to deprive it of the name and nature of a private inter-
view. " I remained with him near three hours," wrote
Mr. Burne to Miss Lawless, " and during the whole time
two beefeaters and the jailer remained in the room." In
the course of this interview Lord Cloncurry expressed a
wish that his friends Reeves and Burne should dine with
him some day during the ensuing week. Mr. Burne at
once communicated the invitation to Reeves, and that
gentleman made it his business to see Colonel Smith (the
Governor) on the subject. It is scarcely necessary to add,
that the application was spurned with true official con-
tempt. And the reader must bear in mind that all this
merciless persecution was levelled at an untried and inno-
cent man, against whom, as the Castlereagh papers now
undisguisedly affirm, no criminatory evidence could, by
possibility, be adduced, notwithstanding ample investiga-
tion, both at home and abroad, on the part of the Go-
vernment. To be placed in the felon's dock, arraigned
for high treason, and tried by a jury of upright men,
would have been a source of unfeigned gratification to
his lordship. We say gratification, for as Lord Clon-
curry knew perfectly well that he had never dabbled his

238 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

fingers in the basin of sedition, much less dyed his hands
in treason, he could expect nothing but acquittal from an
honourable tribunal.

The extremities of prison discipline soon did their
work on poor Cloncurry's frame. His health, day by
day, gave way, and the heads of friends and foes were
seen to oscillate despondently, as certain grave probabili-
ties occurred to them. Pending this, his lordship's grand-
father, Valentine Browne, died. His death, as may well
be supposed, was materially accelerated by the conscious-
ness of the unrelenting persecution to which his noble-
minded nephew — whom he dearly loved — was subjected,
and the humiliation attendant on that proceeding.

Amongst the few peers who kindly undertook to make
intercession with the ruling powers in favour of the
young nobleman, we must not omit to mention Barry
Yelverton, Lord Avonmore. He called personally on
the Duke of Portland ; pleaded Cloncurry's cause, as he
alone could plead ; but, alas ! fcll to no effect. His
Grace was inexorable, and so was the minister whom he
served. With respect to the King, he was, at this time, a
harmless lunatic, and knew just as much about Lord Clon-
curry's case as that of Jack Myars, who lay immured in
the dudgeons of Horsemonger-lane Gaol, on a charge of
pickpocketing under unusually aggravated circumstances.

Weeks rolled over, and still the consuming fire of his
persecution abated nothing in its fury. That health,
which it cost him so much time, care, and anxiety to
re-establish, only a few months previous to his second
committal, was even now more cruelly shattered than
when he had before been liberated from confinement.
Mr. Burne advised his lordship to procure the medical
assistance of Sir John Hayes, one of the most eminent
physicians of the day. The baronet was sent for, and,
having obtained leave to see Lord Cloncurry, examined
him. He at once declared that both air and exercise
were essentially necessary, but, at the same time,
expressed a wish that Dr. Turton (one of the Tower
physicians) should be likewise obtained. This desire
Avas acceded to. Dr. Turton felt his lordship's pulse,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 239

sounded his chest, tested the respiration auricularly,
and looked sagacious. " Although," said Mr. Burne, in
one of his letters to Miss Lawless, " Sir J. Hayes was
anxious to give such a certificate as, I think, must have
procured your brother's liberation, yet Dr. Turton posi-
tively refused /" Sir J. Hayes then said that he
could not sign a certificate to which Dr. Turton refused
to put his name ; and thus a very important part of my
plan has been defeated, to the great gratification of some
professed friends here."

The professed friends alluded to were, as we believe,
Mr. Lees and Under-Secretary Cooke. In the letter
from the Hon. Charlotte Lawless to Lord Moira, which
we have already alluded to, that clear-sighted and esti-
mable woman thus spoke of the false friends of her
brother : —

" Mr. Lees, * and Mr. Cooke,t I do believe to be the decided, though con-
cealed, enemies of my brother. They had been intimate in our family as long
as I can remember ; and, until my brother was of age to see their views and
character, always affected to lead my father's opinions, and direct his deci-
sion-; on every political question. I need not say how opposite was the part
my brother urged him to take. He succeeded for a time ; but by alarming
insinuations, and false construction of his opinions, they so irritated my father
against him, that, aware of their conduct, he went to them separately, and
told them that if they persisted to interfere he would resent it. * * Mr.

* Government was not unmindful of Mr. Lees' services. Secretary Cooke,
in a letter to Lord Castlereagh, dated March 23rd, 1801, says: — "My Lord
Lieutenant has ordered Lees' son to be joined with him, and Hatton to be
coun-cl of accounts."

f Newel, the repentant informer, in his published narrative, more than once
refers to Mr. Cooke. In one place bespeaks of having been " hurried to the
chamber of seduction, to that arch-betrayer of every honest heart, the insi-
nuating Cooke !" " There," said he, " 1 met with all that sweetness of recep-
tion, that cringing servility, and fulsome flattery, such sycophants ever use
(to those whom they wish to seduce to their own ends. To open the soul, to
give the tongue an unrestrained command, the wine was freely circulated.
i! The Secretary set his pens and papers ready for the work. * * During
nine hours I sat with Cooke : he drew out my examinations, the theory of
which was mostly true, but which his inventive genius highly embellished * *
i Mr. Cooke, I call upon you is this not true ? Did you not make me enter in
my list men with whose very names I was unacquainted? Did you not make
mi 'arrest the friend of the poor, the comforter of the afflicted, Dr. Crawford, of
Lisburn, only because I mentioned having once dined in his company?" A
striking likeness of Mr. Cooke may be found in the Paris edition of Sir
•l"iiah Harrington's "Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation."

240 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Cooke acted, I believe, from resentment, and, perhaps, apprehension of my
brother's threat. Both, I am convinced, represented him to Government
as too dangerous to be left at liberty, and gave such a turn to the few acts of
imprudence his generous disposition led him into, as might, in some measure,
justify his arrest. Knowing we had no friends who had any interest to cause
an inquiry, they supposed he would remain forgotten in his prison ; but when
they found that the zealous affection of sisters, fondly attached to the best
of brothers, of whom they have ever been justly proud, would make every
exertion to procure his liberation, they adopted the plan of appearing to
serve us."

Mr. Cooke paid Lord Cloncurry frequent visits during
his confinement. His lordship often declared, in after
life, that he believed that gentleman's view in doing so
was to betray him into " unguarded admissions." Hav-
ing heard so much about Mr. Cooke, the reader, doubt-
less, will peruse a letter of his with some gusto. Surely,
" La Tartuffe" appears peeping out of every line of it: —

[No. 8.] TO THE I1ON. CHARLOTTE LAWLESS.

" London, 6th November, 1799.

" DEAR Miss CHARLOTTE, — I was much flattered by your letter, because
it proved your conviction that I should ever be disposed to interest myself
where your wishes were engaged. It is, of course, a subject of real mortifica-
tion to me that my representations respecting your brother have not been
successful. Several circumstances have arisen, even since I have been in
London, which have contributed to increase the reluctance felt to grant him
his liberty. * * You may have'; this consolation, that however Lord
Clonourry's confinement may be irksome, it has not yet, in any degree,
affected his health. * * * With the most sincere regard, dear Miss Charlotte,
yours most faithful and humble,

" E. COOKE."*

If Mr. Pitt and his colleagues were determined to
harass their prisoner with persecution, he was resolved,
in return, to worry them with petitions. At his lordship's
request, Mr. Burne drew up a memorial, addressed to the
Lords of the Privy Council, giving a detailed account of
his sufferings from the commencement, and requesting
that, in consideration of Lord Cloncurry 's sudden deatl
and the consequent confusion which encircled his affairs,
memorialist would be permitted to go to Ireland for a few
weeks on bail, in order to throw matters into some sort of

* This and the other letters, relative to his lordship's imprisonment, from
which we have culled the foregoing extracts, appeared some years ago, in the
"Personal Recollections of Lord C'loncurry."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 241

order. Etiquette demanded that the petition should
pass vthrough the hands of the Duke of Portland, as Se-
cretary of State, and custom required that his Grace
should notify to petitioner the intentions of the council in
his regard. " They are of opinion," writes his Grace,
" on duly considering your memorial, that it is not ad-
visable, under present circumstances, that the prayer of
it should be complied with."

So within the walls of a gloomy prison poor Lord
Cloncurry was doomed to waste the vigour of his young
existence, till such time as the Privy Council did consi-
der it advisable to relax the pressure of his shackles.
Poor Cloncurry ! there he lay, vmconvicted and untried ;
neglected and forlorn ; and treated with a severity of rigour
unexampled on any former occasion in the case of a person
imprisoned for security, and not for punishment. Were
even public expressions of sympathy made in his regard,
it might have contributed, in some degree, to smooth the
pillow of his affliction. But nothing of the kind took
place. The Irish newspapers were dumb ;* they feared
to open their lips in depreciation of the Portland policy ;
the people were paralysed. They stood inert and as-
tounded before the ministerial burglars, Clare and Castle-
reagh, who made daily inroads on the liberty of the consti-
tution, and who, with countenances of brass, and hearts of
remorseless adamant, offered bribes and coronets to cor-
rupt the sentinels stationed to protect from robbery the
virtue and independence of their country. Why there
, was not some effort made, by even the friends and rela-

' Long before and long after this period, the Dublin Evening Post was the
organ of the national party in Ireland. We have in vain searched the pages
of this paper for some expression of sympathy with Lord Cloncurry's suffer-
ings. Since the little notice in reference to his arrest by Rivett, in April,
1799, until the 14th January, 1800, his name is never even once alluded to. In
November, the Sun (ministerial paper) circulated a report that his lordship's
health was fearfully on the decline. This appears to have been the signal
for the Post to break silence — "We are happy," it says, "to contradict a
report some time since published in the London papers, that Lord Cloncurry
has been dangerously indisposed. His lordship is in perfect health, and has
continued so since his imprisonment in tre Tower, not withstanding the severity
of his confinement." This paragraph contained as much truth as the majority
of newspaper paragraphs, which certainly is not saying much in its favour.

M

242 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

tives of his lordship, to awaken the torpor of a people
proverbially hostile to injustice, we cannot satisfactorily
account for. The rebellion of '98 was long ago suppressed.
Lord Cloncurry enjoyed his liberty during the greater
part of that inflammatory period. But now, forsooth, lest
he should raise his voice still higher against the ministe-
rial scheme, and expose the duplicity of Mr. Pitt and
his agents, we find him thrown into a humid dungeon —
all intercourse of his family cut off — and despotically
denied the means of any occupation which would contri-
bute to while away one tedious hour of his existence.
And all this crushing persecution " on suspicion" as the
Portland warrant said, " of treasonable practices /" How
any Irishman could be supposed (in England especially)
to be guilty of treasonable practices, at a time when
every ray of hope for national independence had been
shut out from Ireland's vision by the black thunder-clouds
of ill-success, appears to us inconceivable. The first anti-
Union pamphlet was not yet forgiven* — forgotten it could
never be.

* Lord Cloncurry was always of opinion, that his prolonged imprisonment
was solely attributable to his exposure of the Union project, in 1796.
Statements to this effect may be found in his lordship's letter to the Rev.
Mr. O'Malley, in 1847, which see.

CHAPTER VIII.

Progress of the Legislative Union — The Irish People awaken at the eleventh
Hour, and, with a Shriek of Defiance, start to their Feet — Great Bar
Meeting in Dublin — Opposition from a Handful of briefless Barristers —
Anti-Union Resolutions — Debate in Parliament — Unblushing Tergiver-
sation of Mr. Trench, of Woodlawn, afterwards Lord Ashtown — Noble
Behaviour in Parliament of the uncorrupted Portion of the Representation —
Dismissals as in 1789 — Infamous Avowal of Lord Castlereagh — Sixty-one
new Titles — An uninterrupted Stream of Corruption pours along —
Grattan's determined Burst of Oratorical Resistance — Ambition of Lord
Clare — at first averse to the Union — His intemperate Language in the
English Parliament — Called to Order — His Attack on the Opposition —
Crushed by John Duke of Bedford — His Humiliation — Abandons the
House of Lords for ever, and proceeds to Ireland, broken-hearted and
dismayed — Death of John Fitzgibbon, Earl of Clare.

IT now behoves us to look after Lord Castlereagh, who,
radiant with smiles, and beaming with urbanity, is aiming
a deadly stab at the heart of his country.

Not until December, 1799, did the people of Ireland
awaken from that fatal lethargy into which Mr. William
Pitt had so adroitly plunged them. Just as the old year
was on the point of expiring, the people started up,
rubbed their eyes, and shrieked forth a shout of in-
dignation and defiance. Their sleep was too long, how-
ever, and their resistance came too late. Perhaps the most
important public meeting on the subject of a Union was
that of the gentlemen of the Irish bar, on the 9th De-
cember. It was convened in order to discuss its merits
and demerits. Saurin, who had unbounded influence in
his profession, opened the debate. He made an anti-
Union speech, and moved an anti-Union resolution. The
attack was followed up by Burroughs, Plunket, Burton,
Sankey, Bushe, Barrington, Joy, and a host of other
eminent King's counsel, who rose, in after life, to high
forensic positions.

244 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Lord Clare sent several briefless barristers to speak in
favour of a Union, and, amongst the number, his nephew,
Mr. John Beresford. Their arguments were, for the most
part, vapid and unpointed. The last speaker on the
side of Ireland was Mr., afterwards Master, Goold.
His peroration produced a tempest of applause. " The
great Creator of the world," said he, " has given our be-
loved country the gigantic outlines of a kingdom. The
God of Nature never intended that Ireland should be a
province, and by G — she never shall? A division then
took place, when 32 votes appeared in favour of the
Union, and 166 against it.

Every man of this contemptible minority was, soon
afterwards, promoted by Lord Clare to the rank of judge
or commissioner, with salaries verging from £3,000 to
^6,000 per annum. A munber of these notoriously parti-
san, vulgar, and incompetent justices were, for thirty years
after, familiarly known and ridiculed as " Union Judges."

Ireland was at last aroused to the perilous nature of
her position. On the 17th December, the Lord Mayor,
sheriffs, commons, and citizens met, and announced their
intention of resisting the contemplated aggression. On
the next day, the bankers and merchants of Dublin
assembled, and declared, that since the renunciation, in
1782, of English legislative power, our commerce anc
prosperity had eminently increased. These blessings
they attributed to the wisdom of the Irish Parliament ;
and they regarded with abhorrence any attempt to
deprive them of its services. The Fellows of Trinity
College, the gentry of the County Dublin, and the free-
holders of Westmeath, had also meetings respectively,
and protested against the Union, as hostile to the rights,
liberties, and independence of Ireland. The Gal way
resolutions were particularly strong. They denied the
power of the representatives of the people to vote away
the independence of the realm, and condemned the
transfer of the right of legislation to any foreign country,
without the general consent of the people, as equivalent
to a dissolution of the existing Government. But to
attempt to epitomize one-fourth of the anti-Union reso-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 245

lutions would be utterly impracticable in the limits of
this volume.

Parliament opened, and the Union debates came on.
During the recess, Lords Clare and Castlereagh had an
anxious and a busy time of it, corrupting, bribing, inti-
midating, and seducing. They had secured many votes,
but still barely enough to accomplish their detestable
purpose. A very remarkable instance of public tergi-
versation and seduction occurred during the first night's
debate. It turned a majority of ONE in favour of the
minister. Folk long suspected that Mr. Trench, of
Woodlawn, had been in negotiation with Lord Castle-
reagh. From his behaviour, however, on the night in
question, it was supposed that his conditions were too
extravagant for that nobleman. Mr. Trench declared,
in presence of a crowded House, that he would vote
against Pitt, and support Ponsonby's amendment. "This,"
observes Sir Jonah Barrington, who was an eye-witness
of the transaction, " appeared a stunning blow to Mr.
Cooke, who had been previously in conversation with
Mr. Trench. He was immediately observed sidling from
his seat, nearer to Lord Castlereagh. They whispered
earnestly ; and, as if restless and undecided, both looked
wistfully at Trench. At length the matter seemed to
be determined on. Mr. Cooke retired to a back seat,
and was obviously endeavouring to count the House —
probably to guess if they could that night dispense with
Mr. Trench's services. He returned to Lord Castle-
reagh ; they whispered, and again looked at Mr. Trench.
But there was no time to lose; the question was ap-
Droaching. All shame was banished; they decided on
;he terms, and a significant glance, obvious to everybody,
sonvinced Mr. Trench that his conditions were agreed
to. Mr. Cooke then went and sat down by his side ; an
;arnest but very short conversation took place ; a parting
smile completely told the House that Mr. Trench was
satisfied. These surmises were soon verified. Mr. Cooke
went back to Lord Castlereagh ; a congratulatory nod
announced his satisfaction. But could any man for one
moment suppose that an M.P. of large fortune, of re-

246 CLOXCUREY AND HIS TIMES.

spectable family, and good character, could be publicly,
and without shame or compunction, actually seduced by
Lord Castlereagh, under the eye of two hundred and
twenty gentlemen? In a few minutes, Mr. Trench rose
to apologise for having indiscreetly declared he woxild
support the amendment. He added, that he had thought
better of the subject; that he had been convinced he was
wrong, and would support the minister." In less than six
weeks from that date, Mr. Trench rejoiced in the title of
Lord Ashtown.

Oh, that our volume were not an octavo but a folio,
in order that we might cull the beauties of those masterly
anti-Union orations, which in 1799 awakened the echos
of the Irish Parliament. Speeches of equal power, point,
and brilliancy were never before heard within those
walls. Some of the greatest constitutional lawyers —
Pluuket, Saurin, Bushe, Ponsonby, Curran, Ball — flung
the weight of their powerful influence into the scale in
favour of Irish legislative independence. The minions
of Government cowered and shrank before their burning
eloquence, like so many weeds in presence of a scorching
furnace. Mask after mask fell from the countenances of
the political dissemblers. The national party denounced
them. They exposed their perfidy, their tergiversation,
and their dishonour. They proved, on every principle
of law and justice, the utter incompetence of an Irish
Commons to pass, or even to receive, any Act of Union
extinguishing their own existence, and betraying the
trusts they were delegated to protect. Among the patriots
not in the profession of the law, who spoke against the
Union, were Grattan, Parsons, Forbes, O'Hara, Cony,
Clements, Caulfield (now Earl of Charlemont), Kings- 1
borough, Cole, M'Donnell, &c. This latter gentleman,
who was a colonel in the army, resisted every species of
bribe. A peerage would, no doubt, have rewarded his
tergiversation had he forgotten the duties of an Irishman
and a Christian. Roused by Lord Castlereagh 's violent
language in the House, he started up and " disclaimed al
future allegiance, if a Union were effected. He held il
as a vicious revolution, and avowed that he would take

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 247

the field at the head of his regiment to oppose its execu-
tion, and would resist rebels in rich clothes as he had
done the rebels in rags." We need scarcely add that
before next evening he found an official dismissal from
the King's service awaiting his return home.

The Right Hon. J. Fitzgerald, who held the highest
law post — i. e. the Prime Sergeantcy of Ireland — was also
unceremoniously dismissed from office. He refused, point
blank, to support the Union, and he suffered for his
honesty. St. John Daly, a briefless barrister, strutted
into his berth. The Right Hon. J. Parnell was Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer. Having been offered bribes of
every form and hue in vain, he was requested by Lord
Castlereagh to vacate office, which he did.

Sir Jonah Barrington held the office of Judge of Ad-
miralty. Need we say that he flung the full force of his
eloquence and logic against the measure, and that by BO
doing he lost his place. But it would be perfectly hope-
less to enumerate all the cases of this kind that occurred.
The creatures who voted against their country and their
conscience were rewarded in proportion as the indepen-
dent were punished. Titles were given to some, pensions
and place to others, and cash in hand to those who pre-
ferred it. Well might the immaculate Castlereagh ex-
claim, in a burst of unguarded candour, on this occasion,
" half a million was expended some time since to break
down an opposition. Tlie same, or perhaps more, may
be necessary now."

The million and a half, the Peerage, and the Bench,
soon accomplished what the touch of the magician would
be hardly able to effect ; and on the 6th of February,
1800, we find the Act of Union carried, or, rather,
forced, by a majority of forty-nine in the Lords, and
forty -three in the Commons. Most of the noblemen (?)
were, to their shame be it recorded, thanked with hard
cash — most of the Commoners with titular honours.
SIXTY-ONE NEW TITLES recompensed their valuable ser-
vices. That is to say, four new titles of Marquis, six
new Earls, thirteen new Viscounts, three new Viscount-
esses (women have more political influence than might,

248 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

perhaps, be imagined), thirty-three new Barons, and
twelve new Baronets.

An uninterrupted stream of corruption poured along.
From the highest pinnacle of society it flowed, besmear-
ing every grade downward, even unto the very beggars
in the streets and the felons in the gaols. All means
were resorted to to swell a petition in advocacy of the
Union. The paupers were bribed with halfpence to affix
their signatures — the felons with promises of pardon.

No wonder for Earl Grey to declare, when Prime Mi-
nister of England, that " no means could have been more
corrupt than those by which the Union was carried."

Reader, it did not come within the scope of this volume
to trace, even with an outline touch, the progress of that
glorious national movement which eventuated in the
bloodless revolution of 1782. To the spirit and intellect
of Henry Grattan, Colonel of the Volunteers, Ireland
was indebted for that memorable achievement. A grateful
people styled him " the Father of his Country's Inde-
pendence." To use his own metaphor, he watched over
its cradle in '82, defended it from danger in '89, and at
length followed its hearse to the grave, in 1800. What
must have been the feelings of the great man when, dis-
gusted at the scenes of venality and perfidy which met
his eye on every side, and despairing of the sacred cause
which brought him thither, he sank, exhausted, into his
seat, after one of the most determined bursts of oratorical
resistance that had ever reverberated within the walls of
an assaulted Parliament.

We have been often asked, what could have induced
Lord Clare to exert himself so energetically in promoting
the Act of Legislative Union, when, by so doing, he was
rapidly bringing to a termination that gorgeous reign of
power, pride, and splendour which he created, with so
much labour, for himself in Ireland, and whose conti-
nuance, it was natural to suppose, he would like to luxu-
riate in. The answer is simply this. His ambition was
of colossal magnitude. It knew no bounds, and it saw
no goal at which to terminate the journey. The Earl,
however, knew, that it was only by certain steps or gra-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 249

dations that any progress of importance could ever be
achieved. We are enabled to state, on the most unques-
tionable authority, that Lord Chancellor Clare was at
first averse to a Union. He, however, thought better of
it, as the restless plunges of the devil within him — his
own demoniac ambition — carried him away. The entire
face of Ireland he had long covered with his partisans.
Every lord in the House was his automaton. The move-
ments of every official in the Castle were guided by his
hand. The Viceroy bowed down before him, and the
Commons worshipped him. Deluded by the ignis fatuus
of his own ambition, he conceived that he might even-
tually rule the BRITISH COUNCILS, as he had contrived to
govern those of Ireland. The Union carried, and a
splendid and more expansive field was opened to him.
" Let my influence be transferred," he soliloquised, " and
who knows but I may succeed in placing the King of
England beneath my thumb, with as little trouble as I
did his representative in Ireland. Stimulated by such
reflections, every scruple vanished, and the ambitious
Chancellor applied himself, " tooth and nail," to the ac-
complishment of a Union.

" If I live," said Lord Clare, when the measure was
brought before the House of Peers, " if I live to see the
Union completed, to my latest hour I shall feel an honour-
able pride in reflecting on the little share I may have had
in contributing to effect it."

Had his lordship used the words, " the torment of a
guilty conscience," instead of " an honourable pride" it
would have been nearer the truth. Poor humanity !
Wretched, foolish man, whilst he imagined himself
weaving the purple garment of wealth and authority, he
was, in reality, preparing the winding sheet for his own
corpse, his splendour,* and his power. Eager to grasp the
scroll and mace of British authority, the Earl of Clare no
sooner succeeded in prostrating his country to the earth,
than he rushed, with seven leagued strides, to join the

* An idea may be formed of the pomp in which he lived, by the fact of
his carriage alone costing £4,000.

M 2

250 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Imperial Parliament. His first appearance there was in
the month of February, 1801. He met with nothing but
rebuffs. The man who for years knew not what it was
to hear the slightest difference of opinion in antagonism
to his own, felt himself humbled to the dust by being
called to order twice in the course of fifteen minutes.

We extract the following epitome of the parliamentary
proceedings, on this occasion, from the Dublin Evening
Post, of Feb. 14, 1801. The Irish reader will observe,
with disgust and indignation, the but too successful
attempts of his lordship to cajole the Roman Catholics out
of their expressly stipulated Emancipation : —

" Lord Moira condemned the whole of the conduct of Government with
regard to Ireland. * *

" Lord Clare declared that there was no country in the world composed of
more combu.stible materials than Ireland, and that the Catholics did not care
one jot about Emancipation.*

" As he was proceeding on this subject, he was called to order by Lord
Suffolk, and the Lord Chancellor admitted that it was proper to call him to
order!"

Upon referring to the Parliamentary Register, we find
that his lordship was AGAIN CALLED TO ORDER before the
lapse of five minutes after Lord Suffolk's interference.

After a few crest-fallen appearances in the Upper
House, Lord Clare, finding the ground rapidly slipping
from under him, resolved to make one energetic effort,
like the wild and random grasping of a man tumbling
down a precipice, to recover the lost position, and bully
and browbeat those Saxon peers who twitted him. Ac-
tuated by desperation, he made a furious onslaught on the
Opposition in the Lords, and insolently stigmatized that
respectable body as "Jacobins" and " Levellers." John, Duke
of Bedford, started to his feet. " We would not bear this
insult," said he, " from an equal, and shall we endure it
at the hands of upstart nobility?"

* The speech, of which this was a summary, abused Ireland and Irishmen
violently. Even Mr. Pitt was disgusted with his own utensil's excess of
rascality. "Good G — d," said he, addressing Mr. Wilberforce, who was
standing near him, " did ever you hear, in all your life, so great a rascal as
that?" Mr. Grattan mentions, in the memoirs of his father, that this anec-
dote was stated by Mr. Wilberforce to Mr. North.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 251

Dismayed, humiliated, and chagrined, his splendid
visions of power and prosperity dashed into atoms of mist,
he slunk from the House, and returned to end his days in
Ireland, a broken-hearted man.

Immediately on his return, he found the knocker of
his hall-door assailed as usual by hundreds of applicants,
craving for place and pension. " Ah," said he, as for the
first time in his life he began to calculate his influence
and found it wanting, " /that once had all Ireland at my
disposal, cannot now nominate the appointment of a
ganger."

His already broken heart split into a thousand fragments
at this reflection, and on the 28th January, 1802, John
Fitzgibbon, Earl of Clare, yielded up his spirit.*

On his death-bed, he bitterly deplored, to his' surround-
ing relatives, that he should have ever taken hand, act,
or part in effecting so ruinous a measure as the Union.

This fact is given on the authority of his lordship's
nephew in Grattan's memoirs, and Dr. Madden stamps it
with authenticity, by the statement of having heard it
from his lordship's niece.

Poor human nature ! What a pitiable contrast does the
peroration of Clare's Union speech on the Woolsack form
to the peroration of that delivered on his death-ljed of
down.

The fate of his colleague, Lord Castlereagh, is well
known. The wretched Judas put a period to his own
existence.

On the day of Clare's funeral, Lord Cloncurry re-
turned, a free man, to Ireland. " And thereby hangs a
tale," which, when the fitting time arrives, we shall lay
before our readers

* Plowden states, that after Lord Clare understood his case to be hopeless,
he thought only of devotion, and, three times on the same day, partook of
the Sacrament, from the hands of his brother-in-law, the Archbishop of
Tuam. As his dissolution approached, the Earl vainly expressed an anxious
desire to be attended by a Catholic priest. This was the man who, in 1787,
attempted to introduce a Bill for demolishing Catholic chapels!

CHAPTER IX.

Still in the Tower — Why the Members of the Peerage were silent in Lord
Cloncurry's Regard — Lord Cornwallis declares his Inability to interfere —
Lord Moira and Mr. Ponsonby modify Lord Cloncurry's Petition — The
Latter loses his Temper and his Patience — Subjected to extraordinary
Intrusions — Affection of the Hon. C. Lawless for her Brother — The Duke
of Portland again petitioned — Cruel Rigour observed — Death of Mary
Ryal — Happy Night Dreams dispelled by the cold Reality of Morning —
A happy Day, but not a Wedding — George III.'s Insanity — Its Conse-
quences— Manly Conduct of Despard and his Friends — Mr. Bonham's
Tergiversation — Festivity — Marriage of Lord Cloncurry's two younger
Sisters — His Lordship arrives in Dublin — Frightful Scene at Lord Clare's
Funeral — Lord Cloncuny requested by Lady Clare to soothe the foaming
Indignation of the People — Lord Cloncurry filled with Melancholy at the
Prospects of his Country — Starts for the Continent — Paris — Nice — Be-
holds Georgiana Morgan for the first Time — Falls inextricably in Love
with her — Matrimonial Engagement — Incident at Leghorn — The Eternal
City — Love Making — " Marry in Haste, and Repent at Leisure."

THE year 1800* opened, and found his lordship still a
state prisoner in the Tower of London. The excitement

* The name of Lord Cloncurry had now become indissolubly connected
with that of his prison. He was rarely alluded to unless as " Lord Cloncurry
of the Tower." In one of Tom Moore's letters to his mother, speaking of
the subscribers to "Anacreon,'' he says: — "Do not be diffident in your appli-
cations. Hume has given me the name of Lord Cloncurry of the Tower."

We have referred, in page 166 of this work, to the mam- anonymous
ooimnnnications from spies and informers, which appear among the Castle-
reagh papers. As the following extract from one of the more absurd is
chronologically in place, and contains, moreover, a familiar reference, we
insert it. The writer is said to have been a friend of Mr. Cooke's : — " I
have received information from a Papist. He hinted the business in acciden-
tal conversation, and I invited him to dine. Over a bottle of champaigne I
received the following information. * * In about two weeks there is likely
to be great confusion. Says Popish women are to take an active part, and
be armed ; thinks a massacre of all rich heads of families may be the object.
* * Say.«, that for some time back he is afraid to sleep at his farm, which
is near the demesne of Mr. Henry, of Straflan, and near LORD CLONGURRY'S
house. Says that Cloncurry house, and Henry's house, is the grand place
for nightly meetings. Both houses are only in the care of servants." It
never occurred to Mr. Cooke's friend, that the Papist might have been
" chaffing" him. — See Castlereagh Memoir and Correspondence, vol. ii.
p. 417.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 253

and bustle, consequent on the approaching Union, pre-
vented the Irish representative peers from taking up
Lord Cloncurry's case, and demanding an investigation
into the strange circumstances of his imprisonment. As
a member of the Irish peerage, that body were called
upon, by etiquette and right, to interfere ; but the all-
absorbing subject of a Legislative Union excluded, com-
pletely, every other topic of debate.

The Hon. Charlotte Lawless, hoping that an interfer-
ence, on the part of Lord Cornwallis, in her brother's
behalf, would be productive of satisfactory results, memo-
rialized his Excellency (who had the reputation of being a
benevolent man) to intercede for him. She entered into
all those explanations concerning his acts and intentions,
and the treatment he met with, which have been already
laid before the reader, and, therefore, need not now be
repeated. The Viceroy, in a courteous letter, expressed
lis concern that it was wholly impossible for him to
.nterfere.

George Ponsonby, early in this year, consented, at the
solicitation of Lord Cloncurry's family, to present to Par-
liament a petition from the noble prisoner. This, which
was at first drawn up by Lord Cloncurrv himself, con-
fined many passages written under the influence of strong
irritation, which, if read aloud to the House, could not
:'ail to be productive of unfavourable results. Ponsonby
laving pared the memorial of these objectionable passages,
consented to chaperon it. The worthy Earl Moira also
examined the petition. He made particular objection to
one paragraph, wherein Lord Cloncurry requested per-
mission to reside, temporarily, at Lisbon. " From that,"
said Lord Moira, " it would appear as if my friend classed
iiimself with Neilson, Emmet, and M'Nevin, who acknow-
ledged criminality, and compounded for the penalty of
xpatriation." The wisdom of Lord Moira's observation
appeared to Mr. Ponsonby. The objectionable proposal
was, accordingly, expunged.

Whilst Lord Moira and Mr. Ponsonby were engaged
in modifying the petition, Miss C. Lawless received a
letter from her brother, enclosing the drafts of one to Mr.

254 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Pitt, and another to the public, both for insertion in the
public journals. The letter to Pitt was a furious diatribe,
branding him, amongst other accusations, as the arch-
corruptionist of the day. So intemperate was the tone that
no good could result from its publication. That addressed
to the public was, likewise, in many respects, ill-judged,
and Miss Lawless, with her usual good sense, came to the
determination of suppressing both, notwithstanding that
her brother declared, if she declined to do as requested, he
would authorize a person in London to have his wishes
fulfilled. For the first time, since his committal, Lord
Cloncurry lost both his temper and his patience.

The rigour of his confinement was, if anything, upon
the increase. Though the use of books and newspapers
was occasionally granted, he knew not the moment
Colonel Smith would capriciously withdraw them. Ex-
cept under pressing circumstances, the companionship of
his family and friends was strictly prohibited. Mr.
Edward Cooke, however, appears to have had easy and
frequent access to him. The evident motive of these
visits has already been referred to. But others besides
Cooke obtained admission. One morning, two notorious

ladies of the time, Mesdames J and P , subjected

him to an intrusion of a very extraordinary nature. After
a few words of gentle commiseration, they gave our
noble hero to understand that they had thus been enabled
to obtain an interview with him through the instrumen-
tality of a kindred spirit, who stood in the dignified posi-
tion of chere amie to the Duke of Portland, and who,
most probably, could effect his liberation, if appealed to
with becoming fervour and sincerity. After this preamble,
it was delicately insinuated, that the moderate considera-
tion of £500, in hand, would be the means of bringing
about his lordship's enlargement. It is scarcely necessary
to add, that the proposal was rejected with disdain and
indignation.

Their hunger for booty did not terminate in the
Tower defeat. No sooner had they left his lordship's
cell than they repaired to the lodgings of the Hon.
Valentina Lawless (who was then in London) and produced

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 255

a pencilled scrap of paper, purporting to be in the hand-
writing of Lord Cloncurry. The document requested
that Miss Lawless would present £500 to bearer, and
please to debit " Cloncurry" with same. The forgery was,
at once, detected, and the fair visitors, with as much dig-
nity as could be mustered for the occasion, withdrew. A
report was immediately circulated by them to the effect,
that had Lord Cloncurry 's sisters been generous, he might
then have been free.

Were it not for the balmy words of affection and con-
solation with which the Hon. Charlotte Lawless constantly
endeavoured to heal the wounded sensibility of her bro-
ther, and soothe his irritation by advice and caresses, the
rigour of his imprisonment would have been well nigh
calculated to drive him mad. " If anything," wrote that
estimable ^v oman, in one of her natural and ingenuous
letters, " could afford me a moment's pleasure, whilst your
persecution continues, it was the sight of a letter written
by you. O, my Val., do not let your admirable fortitude
forsake you ; something must, something shall be done,
ere long, depend upon it." Twelve months' incessant
captivity had now elapsed. His lordship was not without
hope that ministers would now consider him sufficiently
punished, were a touching and temperate statement of
his afflictions, insults, and privations submitted to them.
Lord Cloncurry, accordingly, petitioned the Duke of
Portland, but nothing more consolatory than the old
answer came. His Grace's reply fell like a deadening pall
upon the prisoner's hopes. Did they want to kill him
outright? Verily, it looked extremely like it.

Early in June, John Reeves, having obtained the
necessary warrant of admission, visited his lordship. He
wished to cheer his drooping soul with the intelligence
that some movement at Whitehall towards a reconsidera-
tion of the habeas corpus cases of confinement was, as he
had heard, in progress. " I should have been glad,"
said Mr. Reeves, in a note to Miss Lawless, " to com-
municate this to him, but there are always persons in the
room while I am there, who convey to persons they like

256 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

to gratify, everything I should say that looks a little in-
teresting." Mr. Reeves added that his lordship was desi-
rous to forward a congratulatory address to the king on
his escape from assassination, but, having no pen or ink,
could not, of course, do so.

Seventeen long and dreary months rolled over in this
way. Memorials were drawn up, presented, spurned,
and trampled upon. At length the Hon. Charlotte Law-
less undertook to plead her brother's cause in person,
and, as a preliminary, addressed some communications to
the Duke that ought to have softened a heart of adamant,
In one of these she mentioned that the amiable and in-
teresting girl to whom her brother was to have been
" married on the eve of his arrest," and who, from that
day, had gradually wasted away, was now pronounced
almost past recovery. " Her friends strongly hope," she
wrote, "some benefit from change of air. It is hardly
necessary to suggest, that seeing my brother at liberty
would be much more likely to save her life." The
petition was refused. Poor Mary Ryal fell beneath this
accumulated weight of sorrow, and ere many weeks
elapsed, the churchyard grass budded fresh above her
grave !

Counsellor Burne had, in September, 1800, business
of importance to transact with Lord Cloncurry. Imme-
diately on his arrival in London, he wrote to the Duke
for permission to see his prisoner. Not until after the
lapse of some days, and a second application having been •
addressed to his Grace, was any acknowledgment re-]
ceived. At length, the coveted licence was conceded. .
" I remained with him three hours," wrote Mr. Burne to
Miss Lawless, " and read to him all the papers you gave
me, but he declined keeping any of them, for if he had,
they must have been inspected by the governor, with
whom he is much displeased." We merely mention this
trivial circumstance to show how truly miserable was
Lord Cloncurry 's position when every private letter, or
family document, had necessarily to be submitted to
Colonel Smith's scrutiny. It is but fair to add that,

CLONCURKY AND HIS TIMES. 257

betore the expiration of a month after Mr. Burne's arrival
in London, he obtained, in consideration of his calling,
a general order of admission to see Lord Cloncurry.

About this period Mr. Burne took upon himself to write
to the Secretary of State, without the authority or know-
ledge of Lord Cloncurry. He considered it too favourable
an opportunity for softening the obduracy of ministerial
hearts to be neglected. He expatiated with great feel-
ing upon the sad — the master calamity which had recently
befallen his lordship. "It is not easy," said Mr. Burne,
"to conceive a situation so truly pitiable as that of the
wretched young man who has sustained this irreparable
loss, embittered as it is by the reflection that he was the
involuntary cause of all." Mr. Burne might have spared
himself this trouble. The " enlargement" of his friend
could " not possibly" be granted. That Lord Cloncurry
knew nothing of this correspondence was fortunate.
Knowledge of its existence could not fail to enkindle in
his breast considerable irritation and resentment. Some
time previously he had come to the determination of
making no further effort at obtaining his liberty. His
pride could not brook another refusal.

Before he started for Dublin Mr. Burne visited Lord
Cloncurry in his cell, and urged him strongly to take
care of his health. This advice was unnecessary, for his
lordship assured him that the more he suffered the more
anxious he would be to take the care suggested, in order
that, at some future day, he might be able to assert his
innocence and show his resentment.* Mr. Burne en-
couraged this sentiment, in the belief that it would be
the means of preserving him.

On the evening of December 15th, 1800, the sinking
hopes of Lord Cloncurry once more started into bright

* This sentiment, in a milder form of expression, is embodied in his lord-
ship's petition to Parliament: — " A very largo portion of his landed property is
out of lease, and uncultivated. His confinement has cost him above
£100,000 sterling, the life of a kind father and a betrothed wife. In short,
life would be no longer supportable to him if he did not hope for an oppor-
tunity to vindicate his character and to prove his wrongs." His lordship
added, that so great were his sufferings he would prefer the death of a traitor
a thousand times before them.

258 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

vitality upon receiving the intelligence that a very ani-
mated discussion had on that day been entered into
relative to the propriety of continuing the suspension of
the Habeas Corpus Act. On the 19th December it was
renewed.*" A division took place. The popular motion
was negatived, and the heart of his lordship fell again.

The cold grey dawn which enveloped the birth of
January 1st, 1801, still found Cloncurry, as it sluggishly
pierced through the loopholes of his dungeon, a hapless
prisoner in the Tower of London. Nearly two long years
had now elapsed since he had tasted the sweets of liberty
in the companionship of his friends, his relatives, and his
affianced one. A convict at the hulks could hardly have
been treated with greater severity of rigour. At night
he dreamt that happier bygone days had come again.
Morning broke, and the illusion was destroyed. " Oh,
Mary, Mary, my bride, where art thou? Father —
best of fathers, tell me if you live ! Grandfather, dear
grandfather, who early instilled into my youthful mind
a hatred of British misrule and oppression, look upon your
poor kinsman, and brighten the solitude of his prison with
your cheering voice."

Such, or such like, were the exclamations which
thronged to the threshold of poor Cloncurry's utterance

* Mr. Martin on this occasion observed, that " he had once given a vote
for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, upon the presumption that the
power granted to ministers would be properly exercised ; but he thought
that power had been abused by keeping persons in prison for years together
without assigning any reason for so doing." Richard B. Sheridan said that
he believed there scarcely ever was a period when the loyalty, the temper,
the moderation, and the forbearance of the people were greater than at the
present. * * * He could not see what right the House had to detain
the persons in prison for a single hour longer. Mr. Jekyl took the same
view as Mr. Sheridan. Jacobinism, he said, was dead, although ministers
might insist it was alive, by confounding it with that discontent which then-
misconduct had produced, and which must continue while they remained in
office. In the Upper House Lord Eldon defended the continuance of the
tyrannic measure. Lord Holland opposed it Their ancestors, he said, ever
regarded this Act as the greatest security of British liberty. The present
ministry had converted it into an instrument of oppression, and under its
suspension immured persons against whom they could allege no guilt, and
who, under the rigour of solitary confinement, without knowing their crime
or their accuser, languished for now near three years, without once being
able to obtain the benefit of a trial.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 259

during that intermediate state of sleeping and waking
which usually succeeds for a moment a happy — a deli-
ciously happy, dream.

Well might his lordship sing, in the translated words
of the German minstrel : —

" Begone them flaunting day,

Night come with all its sadness,
That I again may stray

Through such sweet dreams of gladness."

Meanwhile the friends of Lord Cloncurry were not
inactive. It was decided to memorialize the Privy
Council as a last resource; and this they did. Mr. Fal-
kiner, however, who filled the office of Head Clerk to
that body, at once wrote to say, that as Lord Cloncurry
was committed under the Secretary of State's warrant,
he could not take any other notice of the petition than
by placing it in the hands of the Duke of Portland.
From the specimens of his Grace's humanity, with which
the reader is already acquainted, it need not be expected
that he exerted himself very energetically in his lordship's
favour.

Two dreary winter months of suspense and anxiety
elapsed, but no glad tidings came to cheer the drooping
heart of the persecuted prisoner. Were it not for the
bright auxiliary flame of hope which burned unceasingly
within his lordship's breast, the vital spark would proba-
bly long since have died out from bodily exhaustion.
Of all the days in Lord Cloncurry's life (wedding ones,
as a matter of course, excepted) the 3rd of March,
1801, was, perhaps, the most happy and auspicious.
Owing to a governmental centre temps, not less vexatious
than unexpected, ministers found on the day in question,
that to procure a renewal of the Act for suspending the
writ of Habeas Corpus would be utterly impossible.
Mr. Pitt had just retired from office, on the plausible pre-
text of discountenancing the already violated promise,
viz., that Catholic Emancipation should immediately
succeed the Union. Mr. Addington clutched the reins
of Government, and smiled complacently as he saw in
the distance approaching the Sidmouth peerage. Mean-

260 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

while the madness of George III. suddenly assumed a
most decided character. Upon the promulgation of this
startling intelligence the attention of ministers became
exclusively directed towards the effectual " carrying on
of the Government." To procure a renewal of the Habeas
Corpus Suspension Act was found to be impossible, and
accordingly all the unfortunates whom the Duke of Port-
land buried in dungeon sepulchres, during the years '98
and '99, found themselves, to their no small satisfaction,
free, on agreeing to enter into recognizances for the sur-
render of their persons whenever and wherever called
upon by the Crown. Several of the Duke of Portland's
victims remained languishing in the dungeons of Fort
George and the Tower. Amongst the latter, exclu-
sive of his lordship, were Colonel Despard, Bonham,
Hodgson, and Lamaitre. Bonham was arrested simul-
taneously with Lord Cloncurry, and endured throughout
his imprisonment similar acts of petty tyranny and
oppression. All the prisoners having been brought up
before Mr. Richard Ford, of the Public Office, Bow-
street, were requested to produce their respective recog-
nizances. Despard, with his friends Hodgson and La-
maitre, indignantly refused to enter into any terms with
a Government who had acted towards them with such
brutality and injustice. " To make any promises," said
they, " would be to admit ourselves in error. Let us
manifest our burning sense of indignation at having
been subjected in the heart of ' the metropolis of British
freedom' to an imprisonment so unconstitutional and
unmerited." Those lion-hearted men were accordingly
entrusted to the care of messengers.

Lord Cloncurry, however, having repeatedly during
his imprisonment made a voluntary proposal for entering
into recognizances, did not hesitate to go through the
forms preparatory to liberation. Depressed as were his
spirits, and broken down as was his health, it would have
been in the highest degree criminal in him not to take
advantage of so excellent an opportunity for restoring
both. No one could possibly stand in greater need of
country air, exercise, and society, than Valentine Lawless

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 261

at this juncture. His constitution was literally shattered.
Yet he triumphed both over mortality and the Duke of
Portland. One year more — perhaps one month, of siich
merciless persecution, and it is more than probable he
would have died beneath the lash. The Dublin Evening
Post thus chronicles his lordship's liberation : —

" It is with much pleasure we learn that Lord Cloncurry is among the
number of those who are at last relieved from imprisonment. The appear-
ance of his lordship indicates a suffering mind, which the numerous misfor-
tunes he has sustained, owing to his long confinement, may well account
for."

The magistrate offered to permit Bonham's enlarge-
ment, provided he could procure him two sureties for
£500 ; but Lord Cloncurry 's would not be listened to on
lower terms than a personal bail of £5,000, and two
sureties in £2,000 each. Nothing illustrates more strik-
ingly than this the preposterous apprehensions entertained
by Government at Lord Cloncurry regaining his liberty.
They trembled to think how his lordship would comport
himself now that the turnkey's surveillance ceased to
restrain him.

The first joyful tidings received by Lord Cloncurry of
the termination of his imprisonment, were conveyed in a
polite but laconic note from Lord Castlereagh, who hap-
pened to be on business in London at the time. Full
license was given to his lordship to proceed to Ireland
whenever it suited his convenience to start.

On the morning of the memorable 3rd March, 1803,
when it became evident to ministers that a further sus-
pension was totally impracticable, the Duke of Portland
seized his pen, and wrote to Lord Cornwallis, the viceroy,
apprising him of the fact : —

" MY LORD, — Various events having rendered it impossible to apply to
Parliament for a renewal of the Act for suspending the Habeas Corpus, your
Excellency must be sensible that the traitors who are confined in Fort
George will be entitled to require to be remanded to Ireland. You will,
therefore, not be surprised at hearing of their return. I must not, however,
omit to apprise your Excellency that it is intended that a bill should be
brought into Parliament as soon as circumstances will permit, for the further

202 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

renewal of the suspension ; and, from the favourable account which has this
day been received of Ms Majesty's health, I trust this measure will not be
long delayed. " I am, &c.,

" PORTLAND."*

How little did Lord Cloncurry think, when elevating
his withered heart in thanksgiving to God, on the for-
tuitous termination of so iniquitous an Act, that it was the
full intention of ministers, the moment circumstances
proved propitious, to introduce a bill demanding its further
renewal. Thank God, circumstances did not prove pro-
pitious for seven-and-forty years after, notwithstanding
the fond hopes of William Duke of Portland, that " the
measure would not be long delayed."

One of Cloncurry 's first steps, upon finding himself
free, was to give instructions to Mr. Folkes (O'Coigly's
attorney) to commence legal proceedings against his per-
secutors : not so much with a view to obtain redress for
the irreparable injuries inflicted, as for the purpose of
bringing the whole affair before a discriminating public,
and thus clearing his character from the political stains
with which he had reason to suppose loyalists considered it
darkened. His powerful enemy, however, proved, as
usual, too many for him. The actions for false imprison-
ment against the two Williams (Pitt and Portland)
received an effectual quietus by a bill indemnifying those
magnates from all the consequences of their arbitrary acts
— a bill which strode through both Houses of Parliament
in a single night.

A change had by this time come o'er the spirit of John
Bonham's dream. During the period of his confinement
in the Tower, he was treated with equal rigour as his
friend Cloncurry. Passionate, ardent, patriotic, and im-
pulsive, he entered it. A crushed and broken spirit
John Bonham left it. Sensitive from his childhood, he
withered beneath insult and oppression ; and, on the
rising of the Tower curtain, on March 3, 1801, his friends
and enemies could scarcely recognize in Bonham the
ghost of his former self. His manner had become sup-

* See the Correspondence of Lord Castlereagh, &c., vol. iv. p. 74 (con-
densed from original letter).

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 263

plicatory — his appearance crest-fallen. In short, to use
the words of Lord Cloncurry, " Bonham was a simple-
minded man, upon whose temperament Tower discipline
was calculated to make a lasting impression." Soon after
his discharge, Cloncurry wrote him a long letter, full of
sympathy, encouragement, and kind advice. Months
elapsed, and no acknowledgment came from Mr. Bonham.
At length the postman's knock was heard, and a letter,
bearing one of Bonham 's superscriptions, was handed to
his lordship. " Alas !" said he, after thanking Lord Clon-
curry for his " truly kind and generous letter," " I am
compelled to own I was afraid to correspond with you.
Is it possible, then, that fear should have had such an
effect on a mind once not the weakest? Not fear of
death — for death I have suffered a thousand times ; but
fear of what must ever be intelligible to those who have
suffered the tortures of ' that many-chambered tomb.' "
Mr. Bonham concluded with an allusion to his " miserable
despondency and broken spirit."

Poor Bonham ever afterwards trembled to identify
himself with any party other than the Tory ! He shunned
popular politics as so many infernal machines on the point
of exploding. As whipper-in to the Conservative Op-
position, he succeeded Mr. Holmes in 1831. Not long
after, however, he fell a victim to the ascerbity of party.
Having supported a certain railway bill in Parliament,
he foolishly accepted as a gift some railway shares from
the company thus complimented. Years after the Whigs
charged him with corruption on the above grounds, and
the exposure which ensued terminated in his dismissal
from the Mastership of Ordnance. Sir Robert Peel felt
himself called upon by a sense of public duty to cashier
Bonham, but he accompanied the act, as report has it, by
settling a life annuity on him out of his own private
purse. The baronet was a schoolfellow of Mr. Bonham's,
and remained throughout life much attached to him.

Cloncurry's liberation was celebrated among his friends
by a general jubilee. In the midst of the festivity Sir
Francis Burton, twin-brother to the Marquis of Conyng-
ham, made love to the Hon. Valentina Lawless, popped

264 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the question, and was elevated to the highest pinnacle of
terrestrial happiness by hearing a whispered affirmative
emanate from her lips. As little delay as possible suc-
ceeded the soft negotiation. On the 4th June, 1801, the
nuptials were celebrated with fitting pomp and festivity.
In his capacity of Lieutenant-Governor of Canada. Sir
Francis Burton was in after life much respected. During
the previous summer Lord Cloncurry's sister, Mary, was
led to the Hymeneal altar by Thomas, better known as
Jerusalem Whalley,* of Whalley Abbey, Co. Wicklow.
Their married happiness was not of long duration. On
2nd Nov. 1800, Mr. Whalley died of rheumatic fever, at
Knutsford, on his way to London. His lady survived
him thirty years.

Lord Cloncurry passed several months in England
endeavouring to recruit his shattered health. From the
cheerful society of John Reeves his spirits received no
trifling stimulus. He was a constant visitor at his house,
and there met, for the first time, the subsequently cele-
brated Win. Cobbett. Between the latter and Lord Clon-
curry an intimacy continued ever afterwards to exist.

On the 26th January, 1802, his lordship started for
Dublin, which since the morning he bade farewell to
Lord Clonmel, he had not once visited. Here he arrived
on the day of Lord Clare's funeral, viz., the 31st January,
and witnessed in connexion with it a strange scene. The
populace were perfectly well aware whom Ireland was
mainly indebted to for the murderous Act of Legislative
Union, and resolved, by a disorderly demonstration, to
mark their profound contempt for the memory of " Union
Jack."f Accordingly, when the richly decorated hearse
proceeded to shake its sable plumes through the public
streets, it was suddenly assailed from every side by a
perfect volley of dead cats, which the bad taste of a mob
selected as the most fitting mode of execrating the me-
mory of their deadly enemy. After much opposition

* Several amusing anecdotes of this most extraordinary character will be
found in the "Gentleman's Magazine," for Dec., 1800, page 1210, vol. Ixx.
f A slang nickname for John Earl of Clare.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 265

(there were no efficient policemen in those days to make
obstructions " move on") the hearse reached its destina-
tion, and preparations were made to inter the corpse of
Lord Clare. We have heard , but whether the statement
is true we cannot pretend to say, that no sooner was the
coffin lowered than a further volley of dead cats poured
into the churchyard, and, ere a shovel-full of earth had
been cast by the sexton, well nigh filled the grave. The
family of Lord Clare having heard of this indecent out-
rage, began to experience some apprehensions lest the
mob should make an attack upon the dwelling-house in
Ely-place ; and no sooner did the countess hear of Lord
Cloncurry's arrival, than she despatched a messenger with
a written request that his lordship would kindly come
and show himself from the balcony to the indignant mass
of people which surged beneath it. The Irish populace
have ever been notorious for their thorough knowledge
of politics ; and considering this, it is not surprising that
Lord Cloncurry should have stood particularly high in
their estimation. With his imprisonment, from the first
to the last day, they were familiar. They knew the
many efforts made by him to promote the amelioration
of their condition ; they knew that his " heart was in the
right place," and knowing it, they venerated him. It is
scarcely necessary to add, that no indignity was offered
to the house or family of Lord Clare.

Cloncurry lost little time in joining his sister Charlotte
at Maretimo. Passing through the village of Black
Rock, his reception was most gratifying. The news of
his approach had circulated through the neighbourhood.
Hundreds of the populace surrounded his travelling
carriage, which they insisted upon escorting into the court-
yard of Maretimo. At the hall-door stood William
Duke of Leinster, waiting to receive his patriotic friend ;
and when he descended from the chariot, and advanced
up the steps, the honest old nobleman fell upon his neck
and wept aloud before the people. They had not met
since the occasion of their arrest in 1798; and since that
period poor Edward Fitzgerald — -Leinster's favourite bro-
ther— had yielded up his spirit in the cause of Ireland.

N

266 CLONCURBY AND HIS TIMES.

After a short sojourn in Ireland, his lordship became
filled with an intense melancholy. Numbers of men
whom he had left bright with hope at the rapid advent,
as they thought, of liberty and independence, were now
nowhere to be found. The unadorned head-stone told
the fate of some — the Banishment Bill of others.

" It is now half a century," wrote Lord Cloncurry on
the 29th August, 1852, in a private letter to Father
Maher, " since my first act, as a landlord, on coming to
Ireland from the Tower of London, was to give three
acres of Abington for a school, feeling that an educated
people never could be slaves." In addition to this act of
generosity, Lord Cloncurry handed the parish priest one
hundred sovereigns towards the erection of a new Roman
Catholic chapel adjoining the school.

The prolonged confinement his lordship had endured,
and the severity of the restrictions which accompanied
it, induced a painful local complaint that contributed
much to embitter his existence. As soon, however, as
he contrived to throw his deranged affairs into some
sort of order, he resolved upon trying a very excellent
remedy, namely, a lengthened continental trip. Carry-
ing out this resolution, we find him, accompanied by his
sisters Charlotte and Valentina, en rof'e for the French
capital, in July, 1802. Amongst tl^' fellow-passengers
were Kemble, the actor, and Lord Va^sall Holland, the
subsequent statesman. Both made themselves agreeable
to the noble party, and from that day Cloncurry might
date the commencement of an intimacy betwixt Lord
Holland and himself, which continued cordial and unin-
terrupted until the scythe of death dissevered its bonds
eight-and-thirty years afterwards.

Napoleon Buonaparte, as First Consul of the Republic,
was now in high popularity. His name had long since
become a familiar "household word" throughout the
length and breadth of Europe. Lord Cloncurry had
been for years hearing of his spirited conduct and achieve-
ments, and expressed to the British Embassy a wish to
be permitted the honour of paying his devoirs to the
Consul. The ambassador politely declined to introduce

CLONCDRRY AND HIS TIMES. 267

him, stating as his reason, that unless he (Lord C.) were
already presented at the Palace of St. James's, it was
impossible he could think of making his bow in the
Tuilleries. It was continental etiquette, he said, and the
Consul would foam with indignation were it violated.
We need scarcely remind the reader that, as a State
prisoner, it was incompatible with the restraints imposed
on his lordship to frequent the court-yard of the Tower,
much less the Court of St. James's. What was Clon-
curry's astonishment, some days after this colloquy, to
receive an invitation from Napoleon himself to inspect
certain military evolutions in the Champs de Mars, and
afterwards dine with him, sans ceremonie, in the Tuil-
leries. His lordship soon discovered that to Marshal
Berthier he was indebted for this flattering mark of
official attention. That officer acquainted Napoleon
with the circumstances of his lordship's then position,
and entered into an animated description of the various
trials and persecutions to which a not over-scrupulous
Government had thought fit to subject him, from 1798
to 1801. Napoleon, interested in his history, expressed
a wish to see him, and the invitation went accordingly.

Chaperoned by his relative, William Lawless (then
a French officer of some years' standing), Lord Clon-
curry soon obtained access to most of the fashionable
receptions and re-unions in Paris. Those given by Helen
Maria Williams were perhaps the pleasantest. The com-
pany present on such occasions consisted usually of one
part republicans, and two parts Irish refugees. During
his residence here, Lord Cloncurry became on terms of
intimacy with Kosciusko.

After a most agreeable sojourn in the Gallic capital,
the noble trio moved on to Switzerland, and from thence
to Nice, where the mildness of the climate induced them
to remain, statu quo, for the winter. Rome was their
ultimate destination, and thither they proceeded, via
Genoa, Leghorn, and Florence, as soon as the weather
permitted the resumption of their journey.

Their arrival at Nice was in December, 1802, and
their departure for Rome on the 1st February following.

268 CLONCURRT AND HIS TIMES.

We recur to this matter because the period of Lord
Cloncurry's stay in Nice involved a very remarkable
chapter in the history of his life. It was there he met,
for the first time, Elizabeth Georgiana, youngest daughter
of Major-General Morgan — a gentleman of considerable
rank and fortune, and for many years Commander-in-
Chief in the East Indies. Added to an exterior of
seraphic beauty, Miss Morgan possessed a highly culti-
vated mind, and manners peculiarly fascinating. The
reader knows enough of Lord Cloncurry to be well
aware that his heart was not composed of very lapideous
materials. The bright halo of light which encircled
Miss Morgan was irresistible — the warmth of its rays
soon ripened their acquaintance into love, and Valentine
Lord Cloncurry fell on his knees before the beautiful
enchantress. The attachment was mutual. Miss Morgan,
who had barely turned sixteen, presented her lover with
all the ardour and devotion of a fresh young heart. He
felt the value of the possession, and was filled with pride
in the contemplation of it.

General* and Mrs. Morgan and their blooming daughter
had only arrived in Nice thirty-six hours before Lord
Cloncurry. On what trifling circumstances do the desti-
nies of men and nations sometimes hang. Had his
lordship left Paris two days sooner than he really did, it
is more than probable he would never have been married
to Elizabeth Morgan.

The indisposition of the Hon. Charlotte Lawless, and
her anxiety to see the Eternal City, led to their departure
for Rome at a somewhat earlier day than was at first
intended. In the proud consciousness of having won the
hand of one of the most beautiful and accomplished
creatures in existence, but more or less depressed at the
idea of even a temporary separation, his lordship left Nice.
The consideration, however, that the short month of Fe-
bruary only would intervene between the lovers' farewell
and the lovers' meeting, served to support his drooping
heart, and he braved disinclination to perform a duty.

* General Morgan was son to Nathaniel Morgan, Esq., of Warton Wythe,
Co. Carnarvon.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 269

On the 1st of February he left with his two sisters for
Rome. Early in the March following, General Morgan
and his family, according to promise, followed.

At Leghorn, on his way to Rome, Cloncurry received
a friendly hint from his friend Clarke, Duke de Feltre, to
lose no time in reaching the Papal States, as orders had
just been conveyed to him from head quarters to send all
the English prisoners to Verdennes, until France and
England ceased to stare so fiercely at each other across
the British Channel. This friendly hint, together with
the intelligence that banditti infested, to a more than
usual extent, the roads, expedited the hitherto slow pro-
gress of our travellers. The whips of the postillions and
the hearts of the ladies knew no rest. At length they
came upon the outskirts of the Campagna. Joy radiated
every countenance. The Eternal City, in all its massive,
classic grandeur, rose majestically before them.

February rolled over, and March arrived. Oh, that we
had the pen of Shakspeare to describe the lovers' meeting.
Not being so fortunate, however, we must leave it to the
reader's imagination. Peradventure he has had some
experience himself in love-makings, leave-takings, and
returns; if so, the grouping and colouring of his own
imagination will even prove more happy than would the
delineations of that master hand. A fertile mind can, at
a moment's warning, produce a gallery of paintings that
the Louvre could not emulate. Let us hope our reader
rejoices in such a possession.

They poured forth their love by the hour, and each
hour appeared but the fragment of a second. Lord
Cloncurry awaited their alliance with impatience. He
told the General so; but difficulties arose calculated
to retard it for a time. Marriage settlements — dispeller of
Hymeneal illusions ! — that unseemly intruder on connubial
bliss and sanctity — had to be talked over, decided on, and
copies of the rough draughts transmitted to Ireland, in
order to their execution with all due attention to legal
formula. In consequence of the distance, however, and
the absence from Dublin of the principal parties to the
agreement, considerable delay appeared likely to en-

270 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

sue. This was no agreeable prospect for the lovers.
" Cloncurry," said General Morgan, observing his disap-
pointment, " if you trust to my honour, I will trust to
yours." Between two such men this was sufficient. Lord
Cloncurry promised, on his arrival in London, to make an
adequate provision for the companion of his existence ;
and General Morgan, on the other hand, gave Lord
Cloncurry his word of honour that the dowry should be
transferred to his lordship's name as soon as both should
arrive in London.

This understanding proved highly satisfactory to all
parties. The day was fixed for the celebration of the
nuptials. It was the 16th April, 1803 * The Rev. Mr.
Burgess, chaplain to the Duchess of Cumberland (who
was then in Rome), officiated. The parties present at the
wedding, as we know from unquestionable authority,
were the Earl of Mountcashel, and his brother, the Hon.
William Moore ; General and Mrs. Morgan ; Mr. Jackson,
the English minister to the King of Sardinia; Mrs.
Whalley, and the Hon. Charlotte Lawless.

There is an old aphorism which says, " Marry in haste
and repent at leisure." By the sequel we shall see how
sadly it was verified.

* Almost immediately after this event, his lordship's sister, Charlotte
Lawless, was led to the Hymeneal altar by Colonel Plunket, afterwards Lord
Dunsany.

CHAPTER X.

William Conyngham Plunket before he -was Chancellor — Robert Emmet
labours to organize an Insurrection — Buonaparte promises him Assistance —
Skirmish on the Night of the 23rd July — Murder of Lord Kilwarden —
Execution of Robert Emmet in Thomas-street — Lord Cloncurry's Residence
at Lyons searched for Wounded Rebels — Letter to the Author from the
last of the United Irishmen — Lord Cloncurry cognizant of Emmet's Trea-
sonable Mission to Ireland — His Lordship's Occupations at Rome — Stands
for the first Time in the dignified Position of aFather — Effects the Liberation
of five poor United Irishmen sold by England to the Prussian Govern-
ment— Journey Homeward — A Thunderbolt hangs precariously above the
Heads of Lord and Lady Cloncurry, and threatens to annihilate for ever
their domestic Happiness.

PREVIOUS to the introduction of a remarkable letter
connected with Lord Clone urry, and recently addressed
to the writer of this work by a man who once rejoiced in
being Robert Emmet's confidential agent, and who now
holds the rank of Chef de Brigade in the French service, it
will be expedient to take a glance at the insurrection of
1803, and at the events which immediately succeeded and
preceded it.

During the memorable debate on the Legislative
Union, speeches were enunciated by some of the ablest
lawyers in the kingdom, wherein they denied the com-
petency of the people's representatives to vote away the
existence of that Parliament which they were delegated to
protect. Plunket, the subsequent Chancellor, and sundry
other massive intellects, proclaimed resistance to be a duty.
" For my part," said Plunket, " I will resist it to the
last gasp of my existence, and with the last drop of my
blood ; and when I feel the hour of my dissolution ap-
proaching, I will, like Hannibal, take my children to the.
altar, and swear them to eternal hostility against the
invaders of my country's freedom. I warn you, do not
dare to lay your hands on the constitution. I tell you,
that if, circumstanced as you are, you pass this Act, it will

272 CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES.

be a nullity, and no man in Ireland will be bound to
obey it."

Robert Ernmet, an ardent and patriotic youth, listened,
with beating heart and burning cheek, to language like
the foregoing. He registered a vow in heaven that no
means would he leave unemployed to promote an organi-
zation capable of resisting the operation of a measure,
which, to quote the words of one of our greatest lawyers,
" no man in Ireland would be bound to obey." Led by
every plausible assurance to expect prompt and powerful
military aid from France, Emmet exerted himself, notably,
in endeavouring to accumulate arms,* and to organize a
force capable of wielding them.

Several Irish refugees resided in Paris for years before
and after 1803. Some of the most influential opened
negotiations with Talleyrand Perrigord, for the imme-
diate outfit of a third Irish Armada. Every encourage-
ment appears to have been given them, both by
Buonaparte and his minister. In October, 1802, Emmet,
full of projects for the subversion of British power in
Ireland, set sail for Dublin. Napoleon, previously to his
departure, assured him that hostilities with England
would surely commence before August, 1803, and that
the long projected invasion might confidently be expected
in the course of that month .f Both countries, from the
middle of March,! 1803, were busily engaged in prepara-
tions for war. Every English shire sent forth its regiment
of militia. The masts of formidable armaments appeared
above the walls of the Brest and Calais Dockyards. Mr.
Pitt rushed frantically down to Walmsley and raised a
regiment of his own. Lord Castlereagh embodied a
yeomanry corps in Westminster. The greatest panic

* The principal arsenal was situated at the rere of the White Bull Inn, in
Thomas-street, and now forms a portion of the extensive soap manufactory of
Messrs, J. and J. Fitzpatrick. Upwards of 11, 000 pikes, ball cartridge, hand
grenades, signal rockets, cannon powder, and false beams, were discovered
within its walls.

t Life of Robert Emmet, by R. R. Madden, M.D.

j " I have had a letter from Lord Forbes. From what he says, his uncle's
opinion seems to be that war is inevitable." Extract of a Letter from Thomas
Moore to his mother, dated March 24, 1803. — Memoirs, Journal, and Cor-
respondence. Vol. i. 1852.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 273

filled the English nation. Lord Grenville, ever noted
for the shrewdness of his foresight, almost feared to
direct his eye into the future. In a letter of his to the
Marquis of Wellesley, dated July 12, 1803, and inter-
cepted by the French Government, he expresses his fears,
lest the noble marquis (who was then from home) might
never again have a country to revisit.

Whilst Government was busily employed in making
military and engineering preparations for the protection
of England, Robert Emmet was, at the other side of St.
George's Channel, engaged in swearing in clubs of reso-
lute men. He formed two extensive arsenals in the heart
of the metropolis, and so perfect was the secrecy observed
in respect to them, that not until the failure of his insur-
rectionary attempt, was Government in a position to point
at them the finger of suspicion. It was Emmet's inten-
tion not to have applied the hostile match to the explosive
train of his conspiracy till August, when the French
frigates would have commenced their fire on the British
defences ; but, owing to a small depot in Patrick-street
having accidentally blown up on the 14th July, he
resolved upon making the attempt at once. This was the
first intimation which Government received of the brood-
ing rebellion. Their fears became aroused, though not
to the extent which Emmet imagined, and he felt that any
further delay, on his part, would be extremely hazardous.
He, accordingly, gave notice to a few trusty followers
that the 23rd instant would witness their attempt on
Dublin. Word to this effect was conveyed to the adjacent
counties; but nothing could have been more imperfect
than the organization of the popular force. Half of the
insurgents were not disposed to credit the report. Divi-
sion split their councils into fragments. Some were for
running at once to the attack — others for procrastinating.
Some laughed derisively at Emmet's abilities and re-
sources— others placed the most implicit confidence in
his tactics, arrangements, and advice.

The 23rd July came, and not more than eighty men
rallied to his standard. Poor Emmet's surprise may be
imagined upon beholding such a pitiful handful surround

N 2

274 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

him. Another would feel despair in such a situation,
but that was a sentiment not more foreign to his tempe-
rament than the existence of one ray of hope in the
breast of a doomed soul. A more sanguine disposition
never animated the heart of man. He accumulated
all the chances of success into one brilliant pris-
matic pyramid, but took no account of its instability,
or of the countless difficulties which lay between him
and the attainment of his wishes. Should one, perchance,
occur to him, he ran from its presence, as though it were
a hideous phantom sent by Satan to disturb him.

Emmet's greatest dependence for support was on the
Wicklow men, under Bernard Dwyer. The messenger
deputed by Emmet to bear the order to this man
neglected his duty, and never delivered it ; and for want
of means it was found impossible to convey a precon-
certed signal to Ulster. Emmet was standing in the
depot, surrounded by his men, when a false alarm, that
the army were upon them, was sounded. " If so," ex-
claimed he, " we will sell our lives pretty dearly," saying
which, he sallied into Bridgefoot-street, at the head of his
little party, expecting to be joined by several hundreds
before he reached the seat of Government, on Cork Hill.

A more disorderly body than followed him it would
be impossible to conceive. Whatever their commander
bade them do, they were sure to disobey. If he ordered
them to act, they would remain quiescent ; if commanded
to refrain, they would perform. Before his party reached
the end of Thomas-street, the carriage of Lord Kilwarden
suddenly appeared in the midst of them. The wretched
rabble — to their eternal shame be it recorded — notwith-
standing the frantic entreaties of Emmet to the contrary,
dragged the noble inmate forth, and, in the presence of
his nephew and daughter, piked him through the body.
A worthier private character, or a juster judge, never sat
beneath the canopy of the Court of King's Bench.

As Emmet witnessed this outrage, his heart sickened
within him, and, for the first time, the flame of his san-
guine temperament was observed to flicker. Disgusted
at the brutal conduct of the men who accompanied him —

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 275

we could hardly say followed — lie fled from the scene to
the Wicklow mountains, where he decided upon remain-
ing until the insurrectionary movement assumed a less
impracticable aspect. Treachery, however, was in the
camp, and in the ensuing August Major Sirr arrested
him. His dying speech, upon being asked what had he
to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon
him, is altogether unequalled for eloquence and in-
tensity in the annals of Irish forensic oratory. We defy
any man of ordinary sensibility to read it, without drop-
ping a tear on the melancholy record. On the eve of his
long anticipated alliance with Sarah Curran, he expiated
in Thomas-street — the site of his visionary attempt — the
crime of loving Ireland, " not wisely, but too well."

Poor Robert Emmet ! In the veriest trifle (provided
he hoped for success) a wild and irresistible impulse
bore him impetuously onward. Those scales, which every
wise projector balances, in order that he may be enabled
to test the preponderance of either his probabilities of
success or evil fortune, he rejected the use of altogether.
Confident in the strength of his own abilities (which
certainly were of no mean order), he laughed to scorn
the man who ventured to dissent from any project he
might have generated. Poor Emmet ! Well he loved
to spend a day erecting, in the supposed future of his
country , gorgeous chateaux d'Espagne, and bright Utopian
palaces, which, the longer he contemplated, the more
magnificent grew their halo. Every adverse considera-
tion which might have the effect of throwing a shade of
dimness upon its brilliancy, he excluded from his
thoughts. Wrapt in an ecstasy, he gazed enraptured on
Success, and, with eyes averted, shut out the grim shape
of Failure from his vision.

" In 1803," says the Nation newspaper of November 3,
1853, " Robert Emmet made his attempt on Dublin.
In his memorable speech before his judges, he declared
that men beside whom he was as nothing were engaged
in that movement. Lords Meath, Wycombe, and Clon-
curry were surmised to be of the number, but we know
not on what authority." There is seldom smoke without

276 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

fire. Lord Cloncurry, though not a conspirator in
Emmet's plot, was, nevertheless, fully cognizant of his
intentions. The two brothers, Thomas and Robert,
dined with him in Paris on the day previous to the
latter's departure for Ireland. His chances of success
appeared, on examination, meagre ; and various attempts
were made to dissuade the young enthusiast from plung-
ing into an undertaking so replete with bloodshed and peril.

Soon after the skirmish between Emmet's men and
the king's troops, information appears to have been con-
veyed to Mr. Clinch, one of the County Kildare magis-
tracy, that some arms, as well as several of the wounded
rebels, remained concealed in Lord Cloncurry's mansion at
Lyons. This person was a tenant of Lord Cloncurry's
own, but much more attached to the Castle than to his
landlord. Believing that to hurt the feelings of one
whom the Government thought proper to persecute
would be a judicious mode of finding favour in its eyes,
he strutted off at the head of some soldiery, and having
burst open the library door, plundered it of four fowling
pieces, a handsome silver tea-urn, and a quantity of
family papers, amongst which were some title-deeds, and
au interesting correspondence between his lordship and
Mr. Kir wan the geologist. The loss of this Lord Clon-
curry much deplored when preparing for publication his
" Personal Recollections."

After rifling the study, Mr. Clinch urged the propriety
of a visit to the wine cellar, and was about to tear down
the door of this apartment also, when the officer in com-
mand (Colonel Coleman) interposed, and declared that
he at all events would not be privy to so uncalled-for an
outrage. Mr. Clinch, feeling the force of the observation,
withdrew. Restitution for the stolen property his lord-
ship never received, notwithstanding that Lord Hard-
wicke, when apprised of that fact, gave orders that every
article removed by Mr. Clinch and his myrmidons should
be at once restored.

The following letter to the author, from the last in-
fluential member of the society of United Irishmen, will
be read with interest : —

CLONCUKRY AND HIS TIMES. 277

[No. 9.] COLONEL BYRNE" TO WILLIAM JOHN FITZPATRICK.

"Paris, Rue Montaigne, 18, Faubourg St. Honore,
2-2 >id February, 1854.

" DEAR SIR, — I received your letter along with Mr. 's note of the

5th. I shall always fed great pleasure if I can make myself useful to the
friends of that excellent Member of Parliament in any way, and now more
particularly to yourself, engaged, as you are, in the noble task of writing
the history of the late Lord Cloncuny, one of the truest patriots Ireland ever
had, and one who, to his last moment, never shrank from identifying himself
with those brave but unfortunate men, who sacrificed fortune, and everything
most dear to them in life, seeking to make Ireland independent.

" I first arrived at Paris in the month of August, 1803. Mr. Thomas
Addis Emmet had just been chosen by the greater part of the Irish refugees
then in France, to represent them with the First Consul. The latter desired
Mr. Emmet to furnish him, in twenty-four hours after my arrival, with a full
and detailed account of the state of Ireland. I dined with Mr. Emmet that
day, in company with his great friend, Dr. MacNeven. We spent the
evening and the greater part of the night together : I telling all I knew or
could recollect, and vouching for the facts that came within my own know-
ledge, and answering, of course, all their queries about men and things the
best way I could. Thus ended my mission. After this, Mr. Emmet desired
to know how my money matters stood. I not only told him, but showed
him the few guineas I still had ; which were few indeed, having had to pay
an exorbitant price for my passage from Dublin to Bordeaux, besides my
journey from thence to Paris. I had only thirty-nine pounds, some shillings
(and that by chance) in my pocket, the evening that the American ship in
which I left Dublin, set sail suddenly. The captain had intended to remain
three days longer hi port ; but a favourable wind tempted him to be off. It
was fortunate for me that he took this resolution, for we arrived by it in
three days safely at the mouth of the river below Bordeaux. By the delay
of a day, I might have had all my preparations completed, and a larger sum
of money in my pocket ; but, then, I might not have got so soon to France.

" One day, about the beginning of December, 1803, previous to my
leaving Paris for Brest, to join the expedition which was expected to sail
forthwith for Ireland, I went to take leave of Mr. and Mrs. Emmet, and
their young interesting family. Mr. Emmet kindly asked me if I should not
want'some money before setting out. I thanked him, and showed him four
or five half-guineas which I had still remaining ; and I told him, besides,
that I did not owe one sou in Paris. I had now my commission as a French
officer, and had nothing to dread. He then told me that he had been that
morning at the banker's, to get the amount of another remittance sent to
him by that truly generous, patriotic Irishman, LORD CLONCURRY, for the
use of the Irish Kefugees,* many of whom stood in the greatest want of it.
Mr. Emmet then opened a trunk, and showed me two small bags, containing
fourteen or fifteen hundred francs, in French silver five-franc pieces. Mr.
Emmet distributed that sum of money the same day, and, of course, took
receipts from those who received it. Many of them were the bravest of the

* The Irish refugees were, at that period, and for some months anterior to
it, endeavouring to expedite the departure from Brest of Napoleon's long-
promised Irish armament — we will not say expedition, since its progress was
so slow.

278 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

brave; and, had they been living when LSrd Cloncurry published his
' Recollections,' they would, I doubt not, have gladly acknowledged their
obligation to him ; finding, too, that though a British peer, he did not con-
ceal the generous part he had taken in the struggles and sufferings of poor
Ireland, from 1797 down to his last hour.

" Lord Cloncurry committed a mistake in the work referred to, respecting
the late General Lawless having lost his leg at Flushing, in August, 1809.
He lost it at the battle of Lowenberg, in August, 1813. It appeared ridi-
culous that a colonel with but one leg should be put at the head of a regiment
of infantry in a campaign by Napoleon. General Lawless's son, being
personally acquainted with Lord Cloncurry, I told him that I thought he
should write to his lordship on the subject of this error. He replied, that
he thought it would come better from me, as I knew the dates and the cir-
cumstances. I wrote to Mr. Duffy, as a sure mode of having the mistake
corrected. * * * With great pleasure I saw, in the second edition of
Lord Cloncurry's work, that he made all the corrections required, particularly
that concerning the brave William Aylmer. Indeed, it was only what
might be expected from so upright a man as his lordship.

" I met Lord Cloucurry sometimes at Paris, at Mrs. Putland's, and I
thought him a most unassuming, well-bred gentleman. I always considered
him an United Irishman, and thereby bound in honour to endeavour to
obtain a full and adequate representation of Irishmen of every religious
persuasion. But the history of the United Irishmen has never been written,
and perhaps it never will be fully known. Its principal leaders are dead,
and those still alive cannot meet to consult one another on their common
recollections, and to check the faults of memory, so as to make a clear, full,
and consistent story. Before Dr. MacNeven left the Irish Legion, in 1805,
to go to America, he took notes from the officers who had been concerned in
the affairs of 1798 and 1803. He intended to publish, at New York, a
history of those two epochs ; and he certainly possessed all the patriotism
and talents necessary for such an undertaking. To my own knowledge, he
collected, whilst in Paris, 'quant ides of materials for the accomplishment of
such a work. The probable reason why he did not publish it in so free a
country may have been, that he thought it could not be productive of any
good to Ireland, in her distracted and unhappy condition.

u I have made notes of the principal events and transactions that came
within my knowledge, during the insurrection of 1798, as well as that of
1803. If I thought their publication could in any way tend to benefit my
native country, I would cheerfully get them printed ; but I am well aware
that the present time is not a propitious moment I trust a time may come
when the publication of such documents will be encouraged. They will
show the efforts and sacrifices that were made to procure the independence
of Ireland. I hope, now that the Christians of Turkey are likely to be
emancipated, that those of every denomination in Ireland may be placed on
a perfect footing of equality, and that the Protestant ascendancy, which has
been so long the curse of Ireland, driving the best and bravest of her children
to the hard alternative of abandoning their religion or their country, may be
so modified as to give fair play to all sects.

" As letters are occasionally liable to miscarry, I shall be anxious until I
hear that j'ou have received this.

" I am, dear Sir, &c.,

" M. BYEXE,
" Chef 'de Brigade, Officiere de la Legion d'Harweiir."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 279

Cloncurry's generous enclosure to Thomas Addis Em-
met, in aid of the patriotic Irish refugees, came from his
lordship while resident in Rome. This substantial mark
of patriotism, accidentally disclosed, is, doubtless, only of
a piece with many other similar ones, which, perhaps,
a mistaken sense of propriety considers it prudent to
conceal.

His lordship kept a characteristically hospitable table
during the eight-and-twenty months he spent in Rome.
Guests, he had galore, from the worthy Abbe Taylor,*
to the Prince Massimo. With most of the Cardinals,
York, Gonga, Erskine, and Gonsalvi, he was familiarly
acquainted. From Pope Pius VII. he received many
acts of kindness. When his Holiness was summoned to
Paris, in order to perform the coronation ceremony for
Napoleon Buonaparte, Cloricurry, and his brother-in-law,
Colonel Plunket, with a view to testify their respect to-
wards him personally, and to manifest their gratitude for
the kindness and attention shown them, accompanied his
Holiness on horseback as far as Viterbo, where he bade
them an affectionate farewell.

Amongst his lordship's varied occupations at Rome,
we must not omit to mention that he derived much re-
creation from excavating among the baths of Titus, and
elsewhere, in the hope of finding some old articles of
virtu. His exertions were, in a great degree, successful ;
but some of the most valuable of the discoveries were,
unfortunately, lost by shipwreck, in Killiney Bay, within
two hours' sail of the Irish metropolis. A portion of the
collection may now be seen at Lyons, the seat of Edward,
present Lord Cloncurry. Here the antiquary may like-
wise find a portico supported by four polished red granite
pillars, which the late lord, at considerable expense, re-
moved from Rome. They originally adorned the golden
house of Nero.

Lord Cloncurry's neighbours, on the Palazzo delle tre
Canelle, at Rome, might have observed his countenance
wearing an unusually important aspect, on the morning of

* Dr. Taylor was President of the Irish College of St Isidore. There are
many still of opinion, that the marriage between George IV. and Mrs.
FitzHerbert was solemnized through his agency.

280 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

April 7th, 1805. Then it was that his lordship stood,
for the first time, in the dignified position of a father.
For the Hon. Master Lawless, Anne, Duchess of Cumber-
land, graciously consented to stand sponsor. As the sister-
in-law of George, King of Great Britain and Ireland, Lord
Cloncurry, some time previously, suggested to the authori-
ties, the propriety of having her Highness's hotel protected
by a guard of honour. This appears to have been a for-
mula occasionally observed at that time, on the Continent,
in all cases where parties" had royal blood in their veins.
His lordship, who possessed much influence with the
Pope, was at once informed that a royal guard would
be mounted, henceforth, at the residence of her Royal
Highness.

So grateful did the Duchess feel for this kind interfer-
ence of Cloncurry 's, that she volunteered to become
godmother to the little stranger, provided he should
assume, notwithstanding his being of the coarser sex, her
own cognomen of Anne. Two of perhaps the happiest
years in his lordship's existence were passed in Koine.
He nestled into the pleasures given him by God with a
still keener perception of enjoyment, as he thought of his
miserable time within the Tower, and contrasted the
past with the present. But, much as he loved the Eter-
nal City, he loved old Ireland better; and, in June, 1805,
we find him making preparations for departure. His
journey homeward was circuitous. The Gallic cock and
the British lion scouled at each other fiercely ; and British
travellers in France, or French travellers in England,
ran imminent risk of finding their locomotion placed under
restraint. Proceeding along the coast of Italy, towards
the Adriatic Sea, he visited, accompanied, of course, by
Lady Cloncurry, the am phi theatrical town of Ancona,
and the ruins of Diocletian's palace, in Dalmatia. From
thence they moved on to Venice, and from Venice, across
the Austrian frontier, to Vienna. Here his lordship arrived
very opportunely to render an important service to five
unfortunate United Irishmen, whom the English Govern-
ment had sold, for hard cash, to the King of Prussia, as
soldiers. Feeling little sympathy with the Prussians, or
their cause, the poor fellows watched their opportunity

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 281

to desert, and arrived almost simultaneously with his
lordship in Austria. The Prussian Commander-in-Chief
at once made application for their persons to the civil
authorities of Vienna, and were it not for the active, zea-
lous, and benevolent interference of Lord Cloncurry in
their regard, they would most certainly have been sent
back to servitude. Having waited personally on the
British Ambassador, in the hope of being able to mollify
his heart, Lord Cloncurry so far succeeded as to procure
a passport for his poor compatriots, which would have
the effect of protecting them in the course of their journey
homeward. This was a great triumph. The poor men
accompanied their benefactor to Ireland ; and through his
humane exertions were enabled, free of molestation, to fly
into the outstretched arms of their wives and families.
Oh ! with what joy was the return of those husbands and
brothers greeted. You can imagine it, reader, and so
could Cloncurry.

From Vienna, his lordship's party (which had now
swelled to no insignificant extent)* proceeded to Dresden,
in order to avail themselves of a hospitable invitation from
Prince Xavier. Berlin was next visited, where, after a
short sojourn, we find them in full march through Den-
mark. From one of the northern seaports they embarked,
some for London, some for Ireland, all pleasurably antici-
pating the cead mille a failthe which awaited their arrival,
and little dreaming of the existence of that thunderbolt
which hung invisibly above the heads of Lord and Lady
Cloncurry, but was so on to fall, and rend into ten thousand
fragments that domestic felicity which had extorted, for
nearly three years, the bad man's envy and the good
man's admiration.

f The party consisted of General and Mrs. Morgan, Lord and Lady Clon-
curry, their two children, and servants, the five United Irishmen, and Signer
Gaspare Gabrielli, an Italian fresco painter, whose services his lordship had
engaged for beautifying Lyons House. On the day succeeding their arrival
in London (Nov. 2nd, 1805), Lord Cloncurry fulfilled, with honour and
punctuality, the engagement he had entered into with General Morgan, by
settling a jointure of £1,000 per annum on Lady Cloncurry. General
Morgan was equally prompt and honourable in the discharge of his promises,
He handed Lord Cloncurry a cheque for £5,000, with a request to regard
it as merely a prelude to more.

CHAPTER XI.

The Bubble Promises of Mr. Pitt — Curious Statement of the Knight of
Kerry — Mr. Cooke's Arguments in Favour of a Union — Ireland's Downward
Progress — Fearful Increase of Bankruptcies — Lord Cloncurry returns to
end his days in Ireland — His Lordship insulted by an English Chancel-
lor— Cloncurry's Retort — Interference of Lord Hardwicke — Cloncurry's
Revenge over Lord Redesdale complete — The Irish Administration of John
Duke of Bedford — Lady Cloncurry admired, respected, and beloved.

CATHOLIC Emancipation,* the endowment of the Catholic
and Dissenting clergy, and an adjustment of the Tithe
system, were the inducements held out to deluded Ireland
as the immediate result, if not the accompaniment, of a
Legislative Union. All three were violated. That a
general enfranchisement of Catholics was guaranteed, any
person who takes the trouble of glancing at the journals
of the time, or the many historical works on the subject
since, may at once perceive. If he prefers to rest his
judgment on the private official documents of our rulers
themselves, he will find abundant evidence in the Castle-
reagh correspondence.

That an adjustment of the Tithe system was to accom-
pany the Union is not so generally known. " The evils

* In lately glancing over a report <Jf the proceedings which took place at
the Kerry election of 1818, we considered the following paragraph worthy of
transcription: "The Knight of Kerry thanked his friend, Mr. O'Connell,
for giving him an opportunity of explaining his conduct on the Union ques-
tion. He bitterly regretted it ; and his only consolation was that he had
acted from honest motives, however mistaken. The mistake was occasioned
by the grossest and most unexpected violation of good faith : he had been
induced to vote for the Union by the solemn pledge of the British Cabinet to
attend to the rights and happiness of the Irish people. Lord Cornwallis had
shown Mm a distinct promise, written and signed by Mr. Pitt, in tchich it was
expressly and unconditionally stated that the Union should be followed by a
total and unqualified emancipation of the Catholics of Ireland, and by an entire
and radical alteration of the Tithe si/stem, by substituting a different provision
for the Established clergy."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 283

proposed to be cured by a Union," wrote Lord Castle-
reagh, in one of his letters to the Duke of Portland, " are
religious divisions. * ' Additional motives in favour of
the measure have arisen, from an expectation that it
would lead to a regulation in respect to tithes, the most
comprehensive cause of public discontent in Ireland, and
an arrangement in favour of the Catholic and Dissenting
Clergy."

It would appear, however, that the evil, par excellence,
to be cured by a Union was the rapidly increasing pros-
perity of Ireland. Mr. Cooke committed to paper, at the
request of Lord Castlereagh, some of his most cogent
arguments in favour of this measure. They appear in the
third volume of the Castlereagh Papers (p. 54), and com-
mence as follow : —

"Will a Union make Ireland quiet? Who can judge for the future?
Yet, although we cannot command futurity, we are to act as if futurity were
in our power. We must argue from moral causes to moral effects. If, then,
we are in a disadvantageous situation, we must look to these causes which
have brought us into that situation. What are they ? First, the local inde-
pendent acting of the Legislature. Second, the general prosperity of the
country, which has i/roduced great activity and energy.'"

There is no denying that a certain amount of progress
was made by Ireland after the Union. We allude to
that sort of progress which is exemplified in the precipi-
tate descent of a body down an inclined plane. Every
month brought fresh tidings to England of the misery
of the country. In 1801, famine stalked through the
land, and thinned the ranks of the people. So fearfully
scarce did wheat and other grain became, that Lord
Cornwallis circulated a proclamation forbidding, under
pain of governmental displeasure, the use of flour in patties,
pies, and puddings ! Lord Moira set the example ; none
but food of the commonest quality he permitted on his
table.

The withdrawal of wealth from Ireland, by the system
of absenteeism, produced, in very few years, a grim dis-
play of bankruptcies. No calculation has, we believe,
been made to ascertain their relative proportion, before
and after the Union, except one. In 1810, a liberal

284 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

movement, headed by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, started
into active vitality, and demanded, in no craven phraseo-
logy, an immediate repeal of the Legislative Union. Mr.
F. W. Conway, afterwards editor of the Dublin Evening
Post, and whose correspondence with Lord Cloncurry
we will have occasion to use before the termination of
this work, acted as Secretary. Amongst other statements
tending to prove the destruction of trade, by the Union,
he gave the following: —

Bankrupts in 1799, and Bankrupts in 1810.

Jan., 1799, .... 0

Feb., 1799, .... 2

March, 1799, .... 1

April, 1799, .... 0

May, 1799, .... 2

June, 1799, .... 1

Jan., 1810,
Feb., 1810,
March, 1810,
April, 1810,
May, 1810,
June, 1810,

10
18
18
23
47
36

152

From the Parliamentary Reports it may be seen that
insolvency in Dublin has since been on the increase. And,
when the seat of Government has gone so sadly to decay,
how much must not Ireland, in general, have suffered
by the operation of the Union. In one year alone, 5,000
names appeared on the Bankrupt list. In the course of
five years, 20,000 took, in every sense of the word, the
benefit of the ACT ; and, to the citizens .of Dublin, the
Act of Union and the Insolvent Act very soon became
convertible terms.

When Lord Cloncurry returned to Ireland, in Novem-
ber, 1805, her downward progress became glaringly ap-
parent to his lordship, and filled him with feelings of the
most exquisitely painful nature. Every prognostication
expressed by him in " Thoughts on the Union" was
sadly verified. He wept in the contemplation of his
country's ruin. Sickened at the scene of hunger and
destitution, the rich moved off, in myriads, to England.
Thus, absenteeism, with its ill-effects, became daily on
the increase. Lord Cloncurry saw the evils which that
system was productive of, and resolved that HE, at all
events, would live and die in the bosom of his country ;

CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES. 285

and thus, by setting a good example, check, in some
degree, the vast outflood of aristocracy.

Full of the idea of devoting the remainder of his life to
the unostentatious discharge of his duty as a quiet country
gentleman, Lord Cloncurry returned, with his wife and
family, to Ireland. He built1 large additions to Lyons
House, and commenced active operations as an agricul-
tural improver. Being desirous of becoming a magis-
trate, as the neighbourhood possessed but comparatively
few, a communication was addressed by Counsellor Burne
to Lord Chancellor Redesdale, expressive of his lordship's
willingness to accept the commission of the peace.
Redesdale succeeded Lord Clare as Guardian of the Irish
Seals. He was successively Solicitor and Attorney-
General of England, at the time that Lord Cloncurry
lay immured in his Tower dungeon, and probably owed
him a little of that extraordinary pique celebrated in the
lines : —

" Those who injure us we freely may forgive,
But those we injure, never while we live."

The Chancellor replied in a stiff and sneering commu-
nication, stating, that when one of the law officers of the
Crown, his duty compelled him particularly to attend to
the conduct of Lord Cloncurry, and that he could not
think himself justified in putting any power into the
hands of such a "person." He added, that if he had
seen the errors of his conduct, the application should
come immediately from himself, with a candid avowal of
the change wrought in his sentiments. Cloncurry saw
this letter, and his answer was one of withering force.
" I own," said he, " I considered that a peer might, when
he pleased, become an acting magistrate ; and, if respect
be no longer due to the Irish peerage, my property in the
country made it your duty to comply with my desire,
unless I had forfeited my rights by ill conduct, which, I
believe, you know I never did. I think it necessary to
state, that I have not changed my sentiments, and I hope
I never shall. They are, and always were, loyal and
patriotic sentiments, full of abhorrence for the men and
the measures which, in 1798, drove the unfortunate

286 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

people of this country into rebellion — measures for which
the minister was indemnified by Parliament, as well as
for his treatment of me, the illegality and inhumanity of
which are not, I believe, unknown to your lordship."
[Here Cloncurry entered into a history of the various
steps of that oppression which pursued him so unre-
lentingly for such a length of time. He likewise vindi-
cated his conduct, and completely refuted the many lying
calumnies that sought to crush him beneath their weight.]
" I should feel myself debased," said he, in conclusion,
" by thus entering into explanation with your lordship,
did I not believe that your power is near its end. The
reign of bigotry and prejudice is over. I shall remain in
my country, from which you would have driven me, and
I shall cherish those sentiments you would have me
renounce."

In the course of the ensuing month, private communi-
cation was made, through influential channels, to the
Viceroy (Lord Hardwicke), though without Cloncurry 's
knowledge, expressive of the noble lord's desire to become
a magistrate of the county. His Excellency did not
hesitate to pursue that course which his own sense of
justice and propriety prompted. Lord Redesdale was forth-
with ordered to insert in the commission of the peace the
noble applicant's name, whether he (Lord R.) liked it or
no ; and the Chancellor's letter to Lord Cloncurry, an-
nouncing the needful as having been done, forms a strange
and amusing contrast, when placed in juxta-position with
his previous communication — one so pregnant of asperity,
the other overflowing with such obsequious politeness.
Cloncurry, however, who was always a very proud, as
well as a very vain man, no sooner read the letter, than
he sat down and concocted, with the assistance of John
Philpot Curran and George Ponsonby, a remarkably
trenchant reply to the Chancellor, wherein he em-
phatically declined to accept of any favour at the hands
of that officer.

The Viceroy availed himself of an opportunity, about
this period, to assure Lord Cloncurry of his thorough
sympathy with him in all the trials he underwent, and

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 287

offered, with a view to render some slight compensation
for such injustice, to use his great influence across the
water in recommending him for promotion in the peerage.
This Lord Cloncurry, with characteristic taste, declined.
How different from his craven father, who, personally and
by letter, supplicated the Viceroys Westmoreland and
Fitzwilliam for " promotion in the peerage."

Lord Cloncurry's glimpse into the futurity of Lord
Redesdale's political life proved perfectly correct. In
less than eight weeks from the date of his insolent refusal.
Lord Redesdale was removed from the Irish Chancellor-
ship. One of Cloncurry's best friends succeeded him.*
We allude to honest George Ponsonby, to whom the
Great Seal was delivered on March 1st, 1806. This
appointment formed an element in the composition of
Lord Bedford's Administration of " all the talents," which,
in 1852, was imitated by the Earl of Aberdeen in his
Coalition Cabinet. He was the second scion of the
Bedford family that wielded the viceregal sceptre. In
1762, his father was inaugurated Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland.

The national party entertained great hopes, upon the
accession of John Duke of Bedford to power, that some
boons of importance would be conceded to Ireland.
Their expectations, however, were doomed to be dis-
appointed. In 1807, on the recall of his Grace, the Duke
of Richmond assumed the helm of Government. His

* The usually impartial Plowden, in his " History of Ireland" (vol. ii.
p. 288), speaking of the removal of Lord Redesdale from the Chancery
bench, at Fox's instance, writes : — " It was an inchoate act of justice to the
Irish population to put an early and an unequivocal mark of reprobation on
the man who had calumniated and insulted them with an ignorant and
malignant bigotry, which has not been experienced on any European theatre
for centuries." On the 4th March, 1806, his lordship appeared in court for
the last time, and took advantage of that opportunity to assure the Bar, that
when he came over to Ireland he thought he should probably have spent the
remainder of his days there. " I proudly hoped," said he, " to have lived
and died amongst you, but that has not been permitted. * I have

been informed that a peremptory order has come to the Lord Lieutenant wit
to suffer a moment to elapse in preventing the Great Seal longer remr'.J, i:i
my hands. I know not whence this jealousy of me has arisen." Lord
Redesdale was much chagrined and agitated, and burst into tears several
times in the course of his address.

288 CLONCDRKY AND HIS TIMES.

heraldic motto — " En la rose je fleuris" — was an appli-
cable one. In opinion and sentiments he was English
to the back bone. He, however, possessed an easy grace
and familiar suavity — qualities which have ever charac-
terized the house of Lenox, although never very strikingly
the English as a people. In short, to use the words of
Captain Mulligan, in reference to his friend Pendennis,
he was a viceroy of " polite manners, engaging affability,
and princely fortune."

Had the Duke of Bedford continued as Viceroy,
Dublin would, no doubt, have derived much benefit from
his presence. Few men entertained a more sovereign
contempt for money.* He scattered it with a lavish hand,
but he economized promotion — a grievous offence in
certain dead and gone conceptions.

Lord and Lady Cloncurry were frequent visitors at the
Bedford Court. The beauty of the one, and the dignity
of the other, soon obtained for both a large circle of
admirers. Lord Cloncurry spared no expense on the
decoration of his lovely wife. Folk who would otherwise
have remained at home, hurried to the Castle ball-room,
in order to catch a glimpse of the exquisite enchantress.
Rich in gold, in precious gems and jewels — rich in the
halo of her own natural magnificence, Georgiana Clon-
curry leant gracefully on her lord. The light of the
throne-room — the theme of every tongue ; at home the
loving motherf — the domestic wife, Lord Cloncurry
felt the inestimable value of the possession, as proudly
he gazed on the companion of his life.

* As an instance of his liberality in England, we may mention that i
upwards of £40,000 was expended by him in rebuilding Covent-garden
Market

f It was on the morning following one of the Castle balls, that a venerable
friend of the author's met Lady Cloncurry and her two children at the house
of Dr. Clarke, an eminent physician, whither she had gone in order to consult
him on the propriety of weaning the youngest, afterwards Baroness del
Roebeck. Our informant was much struck at the interesting affection of the I
young mother for her child, and the evidence it gave of such solid domestic!
virtues.

CHAPTER XII.

A TRAGEDY.

" The woman who deliberates is lost." — ADDISOK.

EARLY in the year 1806, the greatest calamity that could
possibly befall a young and honourable man fell upon
the home of Lord Cloncurry. He lost the idolized
partner of his existence — not by the visitation of God,
but by a death infinitely more awful. With the history
of this mournful transaction many men still living are
familiar. Gladly would we drop the veil of oblivion
over its details, could we think that in doing so we were
discharging our duties as a faithful biographer.

Sir J — n P (in mercy to his descendants we sup-
press the name) was educated at the same school with
Lord Cloncurry, and both baron and baronet appear to
have been connected with each other by the bonds of

close and early friendship. P , though a man of

large fortune, contrived about the year 1800 to involve
himself, owing to his habitual improvidence, in embar-
rassments of a pecuniary nature. He had heard of the
proverbial generosity of his noble friend, and he resolved
to put it practically to the test. To Lord Cloncurry he
accordingly applied for a sum, which it is unnecessary to
assure the reader, was no sooner asked than granted. It

jlwas considerable, and Sir J — n P gave Lord

Cloncurry his bonds for the amount. In 1802, when
Lord Cloncurry was about to leave with his sisters for

I the Continent, he deposited P 's bonds in the hands

of Mr. Willoughby, his lordship's law agent, with posi-
tive injunctions never to incommode Sir J — n by the
slightest application for the payment of them.

o

290 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Some breasts would have been animated by a sense of

gratitude for such favours ; but, alas ! Sir J — n P 's

was not of the number.

During the two years' residence of Lord and Lady
Cloncurry at Rome, nothing could exceed in ardour the
mutual attachment which subsisted. The climax of this
world's joy was reached by the connubial felicity which
illumed their souls. In April, 1803, they had been married ;
in 1805 they bade adieu to Rome. During that interval
two lovely children sanctified their alliance. Those Lady
Cloncurry nursed herself. In fact, few in her exalted
station possessed more remarkable or more solid domestic
virtues.

The noble example she set in devoting to these, and
other domestic duties, the most brilliant moments of her
youth and beauty, excited the admiration of all who
knew her. Amongst those who were particularly struck
with it may be mentioned the Earl of Montcashel and the
Hon. William Moore. Both gentlemen resided, for the
entire time that Lord and Lady Cloncurry remained at
Rome, in the immediate vicinity of their dwelling. On
the memorable trial of February 19, 1807, Lord Mont-
cashel was summoned as a witness. A portion of his
evidence we subjoin, as it redounded to the credit of
Lord and Lady Cloncurry : —

Q. Were you in habits of familiar intercourse in the family of Lord
Cloncurry while he remained in Italy ?

A. I was, very much. I saw them constantly. There were not many
English there, and we were much together.

Q. Had they any children at Rome?

A. They had two children.

Q. Can you state, my Lord, from the intercourse which you had with
Lord Cloncurry "s family, upon what terms they appeared to live ?

A. They appeared to live upon the most happy terms. He was very
much attached to her — shewed her every attention possible, and she ap-
peared fond of him and sensible of his kindness.

Q. They were happy together ?

A. Exceedingly so ; and for a young woman, she was extremely domestic
and attentive to her husband and her children.

Q. Are you able to say that they appeared a peculiarly happy couple ?

A. They appeared as happy as a couple considered happy could possibly
be. 1 never could hear of any difference between them.

Q. Do you recollect whether Lady Cloncurry happened to have any
severe illness during the time you were at Rome ?

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 291

A. I recollect her accouchement, but nothing more.

Q. Had you an opportunity of observing the attention of Lord Clonourry
to his lady upon that occasion ?

A. I observed it to be that of an affectionate husband to his wife.

Q. Had you an opportunity of observing Lady Cloncurry's deportment
in public and in private?

A. I had, in the familiar intercourse that friends have, and I saw nothing
but what was perfectly and uniformly correct.

The Hon. Mr. Moore, who had similar opportunities
of witnessing Lord and Lady Cloncurry's general de-
meanour during their sojourn in the Eternal City, was also
interrogated. Among other questions he was asked : —

Q. Upon what terms did they appear to you to live together ?
A. Perfectly happy ; very much attached to each other.
Q. What was Lord Cloncurry's conduct towards his lady ?
A. Extremely attentive and affectionate.
Q. What was the conduct of both towards their children ?
A. They were both very fond of their children.

The Hon. Colonel Burton was next examined. The
evidence of this gentleman went principally to show that
after Lord and Lady Cloncurry's arrival in Ireland, the
same affection and happiness continued to exist between
them.

Q. Were you frequently at Lyons since that time ?

A. Very frequently.

Q. Were they often at your house ?

A. Very often.

Q. Had you an opportunity of observing the conduct of Lord and Lady
Cloncurry to each other ?

A. I had. * * * *

Q. As far as you observed, was, or was not, the conduct and disposition
of Lord Cloncurry that of a man remarkably fond of his wife ?

A. He was remarkably fond of her.

Q. Were they during that time what you would call an extremely happy
couple ?

A. They were so, to the best of my judgment.

John Joseph Henry, one of Lord Cloncurry's most
intimate friends, gave similar evidence. " They were
extremely happy," he said, " and could not possibly be
more so."

Q. Did you happen to see Lord Cloncurry after the affliction had befallen
him?
A. I did.

292 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Q. How soon after ?

A. I cannot particularly state the day, but as nearly as I can recollect it
was a fortnight.

Q. Did it appear to make much impression upon his mind ?

A. Very much. He was in deep distress.

Q. What was the state of his mind ?

A. I will not call it distraction, but it was a debility of intellect, as well
as I can express it.

Q. You visited him after hearing of this matter ?

A. I did, at Lyons.

Q. Was your intimacy such as induced Lord Cloncurry to communicate
with you on the subject ?

A. He did, most freely.

(The counsel for the defendant objected to the witness being interrogated
relative to what passed between him and Lord Cloncurry.)

Caspar Gabrielli, the artist whom his lordship brought
from 'Rome, was also examined. Among other questions
he was asked: —

Q. Have you dined at Lord Cloncurry's table at Lyons ?

A. Every day.

Q. What was the state in which Lord and Lady Cloncurry lived together

A. The greatest felicity in all extents.

Her ladyship's maid was next summoned. She had
been in General Morgan's family for many years, and
lived with Lord and Lady Cloncurry since the period of
their marriage. In the course of a rigid examination,
she was asked, what was Lord Cloncurry's general con-
duct as a husband ? " There never was a man more
attached," she exclaimed, " and he was one of the best
husbands I ever saw." Other answers given by her to
the Solicitor-General reflected equal honour on Lady
Cloncurry's character, as a wife and a mother.

Our motive for introducing the foregoing extracts from
the evidence is, or ought to be, obvious. Repeatedly
have we heard it alleged, and, perad venture, the reader
too, that his lordship soon, very soon, indeed, had cause
to regret his alliance with Miss Morgan. A blacker
calumny was never uttered. From April, 1803, to April,
1806, there could not exist on the face of the globe a
happier or more devoted couple. Had the thousand
tongues of rumour which so industriously circulated the
above, ceased to wag its slanderous aspersions here, it
might have spared some pain to the already deeply

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 293

wounded feelings of Lord Cloncurrj. But it could not.
The itching inclination of concanniers to erect a plausible
story on so tempting a basis, must needs be gratified.
Cloncurry — so said they — repenting of his hasty and ill-
judged alliance, suddenly bethought him of an expedient

to dissever it. He invited Sir J — n P to his

house (albeit that he knew him to be a dangerous man) ;
invited him again — yea ! after Lady Cloncurry had con-
jured him to let him come no more; and, finally, unac-
companied by his wife, left Lyons for Dublin.

For nearly half a century this wretched slander has
possessed a dull, irresolute vitality. Although repeatedly
contradicted, it has not yet died out. The body of a
worm, chopped and re-chopped into a hundred particles,
could not be more difficult to deprive of life. Within
the last few months we have heard the vile calumny of
1807 sent adrift once more upon the world, with its
primitive deformity so much concealed by decoration, as
to lose in a great degree the repulsive aspect of its first
appearance, but nevertheless possessing beneath a plausi-
ble exterior all the intrinsic hideousness of the original.

On the arrival of Lord and Lady Cloncurry in Ireland,
their society was immediately courted by the first aristo-
cracy of the country. Lady Cloncurry was admired — he
was beloved. The wooded domain of Lyons was a bliss-
ful region. The two long years of cruel persecution
which his lordship but a short time previously passed
within the cold grasp of a humid dungeon, lent an
additional zest to his present felicity. How marked the
contrast ! — how complete the transition ! What a happy
life was his !

Rejoice, ye fiends and devils of darkness, for the eyes
of the lord of Lyons will soon be bathed in tears, and
his nuptial couch hung in mourning !

The old schoolfellow and early friend of Valentine
Lawless, who erst had tasted the sweets of his salutary
advice and munificent generosity, contemplated with
envious eye the happiness we have described, and like a
wolf hungering for prey, yearned to have even a particle

294 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

of the elements of such felicity in his clutches. A
more unlikely person than Lady Cloncurry to prove
unfaithful to him whom she had vowed to " love, honour,
and obey," did not exist perhaps in Christendom. Can
it be believed that such was the character which Sir

J — n P resolved by every art of hell to wither

and destroy. A bet, or agreement, was entered into, as
we have heard, between the monster and some kindred
spirit, that in the event of the utter and complete ruin of
Lord and Lady Cloncurry 's domestic happiness, a sum of

money would be placed to the credit of his (P 's)

account in a certain Dublin bank. In case of failure,
the operation was, of course, to be reversed.

We freely confess that so consummately diabolical and
deliberate does this proceeding appear to us, that we can
hardly bring ourselves to credit it. More than one party,

however, has vouched for its veracity.

***** *****

We cannot follow the destroyer through the hideous paths
of his progress. We essayed to do so, but have turned
back in horror.

We, therefore, gladly pass over the repeated visits

of Sir J — n P to the house of his benefactor.

Gladly do we refrain from portraying the studied dis-
simulation of the serpent previous to effecting his mur-
derous design.

When forbidden the house by Lady Cloncurry, P

sought means to importune her with letters. Instead of
treating these with silent indifference, Lady Cloncurry
foolishly, we might say madly, replied to them. What
she, in her youthful innocence, considered most calcu-
lated to repel the insidious advances of the libertine, only
had the effect of giving him renewed encouragement.
Her letters to him teemed with virtuous indignation.
She spurned his vile overtures. Her attachment to her
husband she declared to be inalienable. She was the
happy mother of two children — the happy wife of an
honest man.

O blind, deluded, headstrong creature ! what consun>

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 295

mate infatuation to keep from the knowledge of your
natural protector the advances made by this assassin of
your peace !

It behoves us to touch this portion of his lordship's life
with as light a pencil as possible. Let it suffice to say,
that a very few weeks witnessed the utter annihilation of
Lord and Lady Cloncurry's domestic felicity. We can-
not, however, in common justice to his lordship, refrain
from giving Charles Kendal Bushe's eloquent description
of his generous conduct on hearing from Lady Cloncurry
the confession of her criminality. We extract it from a
work in very extensive circulation, and one that has
passed through several editions — " Curran and his Co-
temporaries," by Charles Philipps: —

" Gentlemen, it requires obdurate and habitual vice, and practised
depravity, to overbear the natural workings of the human heart. This un-
fortunate woman had not strength further to resist. She had been seduced —
she had been depraved — her soul was burdened with a guilty secret ; but
she was young in crime, and true to nature. She could no longer bear the
load of her own conscience ; she was overpowered by the generosity of an
injured husband, more keen than any reproaches; she was incapacitated
from any further dissimulation ; she flung herself at his feet — ' I am un-
worthy,' she exclaimed, ' of such tenderness and such goodness : it is too
late — the villain has ruined me, and dishonoured you : I am guilty.' Gen-
tlemen, I told you I should confine myself to facts. I have scarcely made
an observation, and will not affront my client's case, nor your feelings, nor
my own, by common-placing upon the topic of the plaintiffs sufferings.
You are Christians — men ; your hearts must describe for me, — I cannot.
I affect not humility in saying that I cannot — no advocate can : as I told
you, your hearts must be the advocates. Conceive this unhappy nobleman,
in the bloom of life, surrounded with every comfort, exalted by high honour
and distinctions, enjoying great property, the proud proprietor of an elevated
rank and a magnificent mansion — the prouder proprietor, a few hours before,
of what he thought an innocent and an amiable woman— the happy father
of children whom he loved, and loved the more as children of the wife whom
he adored — precipitated in one hour into an abyss of misery, which no
language can represent— loathing his rank, despising his wealth, cursing the
youth and health that promised nothing but the protraction of a wretched
existence — looking round upon every worldly object with disgust and
despair, and finding in this complicated woe no principle of consolation,
except the consciousness of not having deserved it. Smote to the earth,
this unhappy man forgot not his character : he raised the guilty and lost
penitent from his feet ; he left her punishment to her conscience and to
heaven — her pardon he reserved to himself. The tenderness and generosity
of his nature prompted him to instant mercy,* he forgave her — he prayed to

* We believe there can be no necessity for longer withholding the fact,
that Lord Cloncurry would have forgotten and forgiven, and reinstated Lady

296 CLONCUKRY AND HIS TIMES.

God to forgive her. He told her she should be restored to the protection of
her father — that until then her secret should be preserved and her feelings
respected, and that her fall from honour should be as easy as it might. But
there was a forgiveness which she supplicated, and which he sternly refused.
He refused that forgiveness which implies the meanness of the person who
dispenses it, and which renders the clemency valueless, because it makes the
man despicable ; he refused to take back to his arms the tainted and faithless
woman who had betrayed him. He refused to expose himself to the scorn
of the world and his own contempt ; he submitted to misery ; he could not
brook dishonour."

Lord Cloncurry lost no time in writing to General
Morgan. Lady Cloncurry continued to be received at
the table of her lord ; and every one, save themselves,
remained in complete ignorance of what had passed.
Not even Lady Bruton, his lordship's sister, who was
stopping at the time at Lyons, received even a hint of
the catastrophe. In a few days Colonel Kyd, Lady
Cloncurry 's uncle, arrived from England by her father's
desire. She immediately left Ireland under the protec-
tion of that gentleman, and, to use the words of Bushe,
" her broken-hearted husband took leave of her for ever-
more."

We have said much on this subject, but nmch more
Knight, with propriety, be said. When the prevalence
of the wretched slande?, already adverted to, is taken
into consideration, the most fastidious ought not to com-
plain either of the prolixity of these details, or the un-
reserved nature of their language. So far from his lord-
ship encouraging the visits of Sir J — n P to Lyons

after having heard that his manner was offensively
familiar towards Lady Cloncurry, he pursued a course
diametrically opposed to it. Early one morning, during

the visit of P to Lyons, his lordship awoke, and to

his surprise found Lady Cloncurry weeping. He at first
imagined that this was merely occasioned by a frightful
dream, and thought nothing of it ; but soon the existence
of a substantial sorrow became apparent to him. Lady
Cloncurry besought him (and this she did for the first

Cloncurry in that position, which through her foolishness, she had forfeited,

were it not for his well-beloved friend, J n P 1 C n, who urged

him, in strong and persuasive language, to the contrary. — W. J. F.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 297

time) to close the door of his hospitality against P

for ever. Although the hour was only half-past four, he
rushed like a maniac from his chamber to that occupied
by Sir J — n P . He thundered at the door, en-
tered the room, but found it empty. A fowling-piece,
which usually remained behind the door, was gone — the
baronet must therefore be out shooting. Cloncurry de-
scended the stairs, and, quivering with agitation, left the
house. Aided by the grey dawn of a summer's morning,*
he searched the thickly wooded demesne of Lyons. At

length, in a retired part of the grounds, Sir J — n P ,

gun in hand, rose before him. Ere Lord Cloncurry gave
expression to his feelings, he procured, with admirable

presence of mind, the fowling-piecef from P , lest

the hot and ungovernable temper of his false friend
should lead him, in a moment of revengeful impulse, to
discharge it.

With a breast heaving with indignation, and eyes
heavily charged with big hot tears, Cloncurry gazed
upon the form of his deadly enemy. At length he spoke ;
P quivered like an aspen leaf before him. Clon-
curry was calm. " If you value the reputation of Lady
Cloncurry," exclaimed his lordship, "you will begone
from our sight for evermore. May God forgive you,
P ; I did not look for this."J

At this time Cloncurry was totally unconscious of the
extent of his false friend's criminality. He firmly be-
lieved that Lady Cloncurry was innocent, and that Sir
J — n P had merely, on one or two occasions, for-

* It was the morning of the 25th May.

f Lord Cloncurry procured the fowling-piece from P on the pretext

of desiring to fire at a rabbit.

J Some ultra-moralists may possibly censure the writer of these pages for
introducing a subject of buch delicacy into the life of Lord Cloncurry. But
we heed not their animadversion. Should this book be sufficiently fortunate
as to reach a second edition, we promise them the details shall be repeated,
and in all probability some new ones added.

It is our duty to do justice, and to see justice done, to the character of
Lord Cloncurry. We are not aware how this could be effected, and omit
the refutation of a calumny, which, if permitted to circulate uncontradicted,
could not fail to compromise seriously his lordship's personal honour.

o 2

298 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

gotten himself, by an extreme Q£ gallantrie, in casual
drawing-room conversation.

After a few turgidly-articulated expressions of injured
innocence, the guilty, confounded, self-convicted* criminal
fled. " Lord Cloncurry," says Bushe, " returned to the
chamber where he had left his wife. With warm tender-
ness and noble generosity he besought her to be tranquil,
soothed her by his caresses, and assured her that the
villain who had disturbed her repose was banished for ever."

All this, it must be borne in mind, occurred previous
to the scene described in " Curran and his Cotempo-
raries."

Lord Cloncurry, it is true, had permitted Sir J — nP

to pay more than one, two, three, or even four visits to
Lyons. Nay, with his characteristic hospitality, he invited
him to come. But Lord Cloncurry had not the slightest
suspicion of him ; he had no reason to suspect his wife —
he had none to suspect his friend. He had no conception
that the man with whom he had been intimate from his
childhood, who was under personal obligations to him,
who had ever been hospitably and cordially received and
treated in his family, would violate every moral duty and
honourable principle. In his lady Lord Cloncurry had
the utmost, and, as he thought, the most deserved confi-
dence. Her excellent education, her extreme youth, her
devotion to her children, her antecedent passion for her
husband, the rank to which he had exalted her, the dis-
tinction by which she was honoured, the happiness of
every kind by which she was surrounded, would appear
to the most suspicious and jealous mind sufficient security
for her innocence. f

Aspiring to add the blood of the husband to the ruin

* The letters addressed by Sir J — n P to Lady Cloncurry, aiid

afterwards to his lordship, on discovery having ensued, could not fail to
prove intensely interesting to a certain class of readers. Verbatim copies of
those letters remain in our possession, but little inclination have we to pander
to prurient tastes and vicious curiosity, by making this work the vehicle of
their dissemination. We do not conceive that any good object could be
gained by doing so.

t See the Solicitor-General's speech in the Court of King's Bench, Feb.
19, 1807.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 299

of the wife, Sir J — n P wrote to Lord Cloncurry

to say, that he would be ready and willing to engage
him in mortal combat at any moment's notice, should
he so desire it. The baronet knew enough of law to
know that he had subjected himself to an action, the
consequences of which could not fail to affect both his
character and his pocket. If Lord Cloncurry fell, which

was not improbable (P being a practised duellist),

the lawsuit would, as a natural sequence, fall to the
ground likewise.

This aggravated aggression on the part of Sir J — n

P having become known, informations were sworn,

and the baronet was arrested. He entertained some rather
natural feelings of distaste to " durance vile," and offered
bail in a considerable sum. This Chief Justice Downes
accepted, and the roaring lion was once more let loose
upon the world. But haunted by the near approach of
retribution, he packed his portmanteau, and precipitately
fled to that refugium peccatorum — the Isle of Man. By
this proceeding his recognizances became, of course, for-
feited to the Crown.

By permission of the Court, Lord Cloncurry filed his
declaration, upon a common appearance, against him as
a fugitive, and on the 19th February, 1807, the memo-
rable trial of " Cloncurry versus P " came on before

Lord Chief Justice Downes and a respectable jury of
Dublin citizens. Lord Cloncurry had a strong bar re-
tained in his favour. Amongst them stood Charles Kendal
Bushe, afterwards Chief Justice, Sergeant Ball, John Burne,
K.C. (the old lawyer of the Cloncurry family), Mr. Quin,
K.C., Mr. Burton, K.C. (afterwards judge), and John Phil-
pot Curran, subsequently Master of the Rolls. Foremost
in the ranks of Sir J — n P 's counsel stood the redoubt-
able Peter Borrowes, and Mr., afterwards Baron, Joy.
Messrs. Scriven and Johnston completed the bar. The trial
extended over two days. Damages were laid at £100,000.
The utmost interest prevailed. The court, each day, was
crowded to suffocation. Not for years had there been
seen an equal array of learned advocates. The speeches
of Bushe and Borrowes, the antagonistic counsel, were

300 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

masterpieces of eloquence and forensic argument.* Bur-
ro wes made the very most of the defence. He endea-
voured, in the first place, to prove that a host of preju-
dices against Sir J — n P 's character had been

raised by calumny and misrepresentation for the pur-
pose of preoccupying the mind of the jury with a per-
suasion of his guilt. This, he said, combined with the
artful statement of Mr. Bushe, acted but too successfully.
Peter Burrowes, however, had not the aplomb to defend
the character of the baronet. His conduct he admitted
to be in itself highly reprehensible. Any lawyer will
readily understand the delicate nature of the defence into
which Burrowes entered after that preamble. It was the
defence usually made on such occasions. We do not
consider ourselves called upon, for many reasons, to
examine it.

Lord Downes, towards the conclusion of his charge, leant

heavily on P . He declared himself to be " totally

unable to point out a single circumstance in the defendant's
conduct to go in mitigation of damages" — a strong decla-
ration coming from such a judge.

On the other hand, he extolled the conduct of Lord
Cloncurry. From beginning to end, he pronounced it
to be full of kindness and considerateness towards Lady
Cloncurry ; that the whole history of their married state,

until the evil eye of Sir J — n P alighted on her, had

been one continued, uninterrupted current of mutual
affection. He called upon the jury to estimate the in-
jury which the noble plaintiff had sustained, and to com-
pensate him, as far as that could, in reason, be done.

The jury left the box, and returned, after half an hour's
conference, with a verdict for the plaintiff of £20,000
damages, and 6d. costs.

Having been, at length, secured by the strong arm of
the law, Sir J — n P gave what he could (but re-
luctantly enough), and his bond for the remainder. Up

* Two full reports of the trial were, in the spring of 1807, printed and
published in pamphlet shape, by two rival Dublin publishers. Their sale was
immense.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 301

to the year 1837, the damages do not appear to have been
entirely paid off.

On Wednesday, 8th March, 1837, we find a motion
made in the Rolls Court, by Mr. Litton, applying to have
the receiver extended over the defendant's estates, as the
sum of £7,250 15s. was due to Lord Cloncurry. The
following report of the proceedings appears in the Dublin
Evening Mail, of March 10, 1837: —

"MR. WARREN, K.C., objected to the application, and contended that
Lord Cloncuny, having accepted a deed for the sum of £5,000, could not go
back upon the original judgment, which he had abandoned. * *

" THE MASTP.R OF THE ROLLS decided that the receiver should be ex-
tended ; but the creditors of Sir J — n P , who opposed the motion, get

their costs."

One of the Tory journals of the day,* in reference to
this motion, discharged a rather offensive leader at Lord
Cloncurry. Had it confined itself to honest abuse, we
should not have considered the matter worthy of notice ;
but it descended to an unworthy and unwarrantable
falsehood. The damages, said this print, " were £5,000,
and the balance is an accumulation of interest arising
out of principle/"

Thomes Ryan, J.P., of Ballinakill, County Kildare,
Esq., succeeded Mr. Braughall as the confidential agent
of Lord Cloncurry. For years after Lady Cloncurry 's
separation from her husband and her children, she was in
the habit of addressing, to this gentleman, most anxious
letters of inquiry respecting them. Of this circumstance,
we believe, Lord Cloncurry was, to the day of his
death, ignorant. Mr. Ryan died in 1814, but his papers
are still in existence, and, amongst them, may be found
the interesting correspondence referred to. Were we
permitted to make historical use of it, nothing would more
completely redound to the honour and credit of Lady
Cloncurry ; but a mistaken feeling of propriety pre-

* In consequence of Lord Cloncurry's unfashionable politics, the journal
referred to opposed him, on all occasions, virulently. We allude mainly to the

four-and-twenty years during which R S continued to edit it. Mr.

S was originally a Roman Catholic.

302 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

vents the representatives of Mr. Ryan from sanctioning
its publicity, and the reader must, therefore, for the
present, make up his mind to the loss. In some future
edition of this work we hope to be in a position to
give it.

Nothing can be more painfully interesting than this
correspondence. Our eyes suffused with tears as we read
it. It breathes the holiest sentiments from the first to the
last, fond inquiries after the health of her children, their
juvenile progress in knowledge and religion; whether
they ever speak of their poor, poor mother ; anxious aspi-
rations that they may be good and happy. Such is the
tenor of a correspondence which appears to have extended
over several years. In more than one letter, Lady Clon-
curry beseeches Mr. Ryan to endeavour to steal for her a
lock or two of Valentine's* and Mary'sf hair, in order
that she may place it next her heart, and sigh and cry
over it.

On returning to England, Lady Cloncurry at once
assumed her maiden name of Morgan. She associated with
her family, and a select circle of acquaintances, who loved
her for her sweetness and amiability of disposition. About
the year 1812, on the death of her uncle, Colonel Kyd,
who never had any issue, Miss Morgan became entitled
to a considerable property. Of this, a large portion was
disbursed by her in ministering to the wants of the poor,
who prayed that God would make her life a long and
happy one.

In 1819 J (her marriage with Lord Cloncurry having
been previously dissolved by Act of Parliament) the Rev.
John Sanford, Rector of Nynehead, Somerset, made an
offer to Miss Morgan, of his hand and heart. He was
accepted, and the nuptials took place on the 2nd June,
1819. It is with no small pleasure we have it in our power

* The Hon. Valentine Anne Lawless. He died in 1825, aged twenty.

f Afterwards Baroness de Roebeck.

J The dissolution of the marriage, by Act of Parliament, took place on
April 7th, 1811, the birth day, singular to say, of her first born child, by
Lord Cloncurry. We allude to Valentine Anne, born in Rome, April 7th,
1805.

CLONCUKRY AND HIS TIMES. 303

to say, that uninterrupted happiness and serenity have
crowned this alliance. One child, a daughter, sanctified
it. In 1844, Miss Anna Horatia Caroline Sanford was
led to the Hymeneal altar by Frederick Henry, Lord
M n, an English nobleman of much worth, and con-
siderable fortune. His lordship is now (1854) the
happy father of six blooming children.

Sir J — n P survived until the 20th July, 1845.

Although twice married, he left no son to inherit his
title.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Duke of Richmond Viceroy of Ireland — Lord Cloncurry's Hospitality —
Anecdote — His Lordship's Second Marriage — Foundation of the Catholic
Association in 1747, and its progressive Gradations frou that Date — John
Keogh — Protestant Co-operation — Lord Fingal — Lord Cloncurry's Speech
at the Kildare Meeting of 1811 — Wogan Browne — Dr. Duigenan made a
Privy Councillor — Lord Cloncurry's Speech at the Catholic Banquet of
Dec. 17, 1811 — He sets in Motion the Machinery of Petty Sessions — Letter
to the Author — Narrow-minded Bigotry of Lord Chancellor Manners —
Lord Cloncurry subjected to a studied Insult — Banquet to Tom Moore in
1818 — Moore's Father — Amusing Anecdote — Death of the Hon. Charlotte
Lawless — Sir Thomas M 'Kenny — The Iron Duke and the Tin Case —
General Devereux's Mission to Ireland in 1819 — Lord Cloncurry's Address
to his Recruits — The venal Flatterers of George IV. in 1820 — Sir Richard
Steele — Exciting Scene at Kilmainham — Spirited Behaviour of Lord Clon-
curry— The Hon. Mary Lawless allied in Marriage to the Baron de Roe-
beck — George IV. visits Ireland in 1821 — Infatuation of the People — An
Orange Lord Mayor — Lord Cloncurry's Letter on Police — Robert Owen's
Philanthropic Mission to Ireland in 1823 — Lord Cloncurry's Private Let-
ters to him — Martial Law — Anecdote — The Kildare-place Society — Lord
Cloncurry a watchful Sentinel over the Interests of the Irish Catholic
Church — His Project for the Reclamation of Bogs — Letters to Messrs.
O'Beirne and O'Connell — Death of Lord Cloncurry's eldest Son — Lord
Cloncurry's Letter to the Catholic Association in 1824 — Letters to O'Con-
nell, Father Sheehan, and Mr. Coppinger — The Wellesley Administration —
Extraordinary Advertisement — Lord Cloncurry's Donation of £100 to the
distressed Weavers of the Liberty — Forged Letter from Lord Cloncurry —
Its History — Lord Cloncurry's Labours to establish Inland Navigation —
Birth of the Society for the Improvement of Ireland — His Lordsliip's
Speech at the Inauguration — Dinner to Lord Killeen — "The Poor Man's
Magistrate" — Letters from Lord Cloncurry to the Duke of Manchester and
others.

LORD CLONCURRY frequented the Bedford Court, but on
the arrival of the Duke of Richmond, his visits to the
Castle ceased. He appears to have been prejudiced on
political, not personal grounds, against that vivacious
Viceroy. His Kxcellency, however, for what motive we
knoAv not, insisted upon making the acquaintance of Lord
Cloncurry, and privately came to the determination, that

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 305

in the event of the mountain declining to come to
Mahomet, Mahomet would go to the mountain. Ac-
cordingly, having previously met his lordship visiting
at Mr. Henry's, of Lodge Park, the Viceroy, with that
entire absence of formality for which he was remarkable,
signified his intention of calling next morning upon the
hospitable occupant of Lyons Castle. This he did, and
from that day henceforth both Duke and Baron continued
on terms of friendly intimacy. Little his lordship thought
in 1807, when shunning the Viceregal Court and person
of the Duke of Richmond, that a few years after would
find him standing in the relationship of father-in-law to
his Grace's brother, Lord Sussex Lennox.

The duties of hospitality, conjointly with those of the
magistracy, may be said to have engrossed the greater
part of his lordship's time for four or five years after his
return from Italy. In politics he did not, to any extent,
interfere.

Amongst the wits and worthies whom Lord Cloncurry
collected round him at this period, may be mentioned
Henry Grattan, Patrick Lattin, John Philpot Curran,
Chenevix the chemist, and Robert Jephson. When the
opinions of the two celebrated wits, Curran and Lattin,
clashed together in conversation, the shower of sparks
that fell was brilliant and electrical. In the society of
such men time passed swiftly, and certainly not unpro-
fitably.

Those whom we have named above as the frequent
guests of Lord Cloncurry at Lyons were, we believe, all
members of the Protestant Church. His lordship's hospi-
tality, however, appears to have been equally extended
to Catholics. The president and professors of Maynooth
College, the neighbouring pastors and prelates of the
Church of Rome oftentimes passed days, occasionally
weeks, within the castle. Connected with one of the
Maynooth " visitations," there is an amusing anecdote
related. We find it reported in the Dublin Evening Post
of January 12, 1811: — "At a time," said that journal,
" when it is so much the fashion to calumniate our
unhappy and persecuted country, and to make her appear

306 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

to strangers in the most disadvantageous light, this true
and recent anecdote will be read with pleasure by all
good Irishmen." Dr. Everard, President of Maynooth
College, and afterward R. C. Archbishop of Cashel, was,
in December, 1810, together with four of the professors,
on a visit with Lord Cloncurry. " Although a good
Irishman," proceeded thePost, "the Rev. Doctor had lived
too long in England not to give some credit to the stories
so plausibly related to the prejudice of his countrymen,
and was deeply engaged in an argument with Bishop
Delaney on the subject of our inferiority to the sister
kingdom, when Messrs. Atkinson, the great manufacturers
of Celbridge, waited on this much-esteemed and highly
respected nobleman, to inform him of their severe losses
by the fire which recently destroyed a portion of their
extensive factory. His lordship inquired particularly
into the cause of the conflagration, and the conduct of
the townspeople on the occasion. ' Although we were
strangers in the town,' replied Mr. Atkinson, ' the whole
people left their beds in the dead of night, and assisted
us with the zeal and anxiety of brothers. To their
activity and honesty we are indebted for the large portion
of our property which has been saved. When a similar
misfortune befel our great establishment in our own
country (England), the people were indifferent, or rather
joyful spectators.' "

The triumphant aspect of Bishop Delaney 's counte-
nance at this intelligence may be imagined. " Ah !
generous and maligned people," exclaims the Post, in
conclusion, "is it not enough to rob you of your rights,
without daily adding insult to the injury ?"

At this time (1811) the Grand Canal, then regarded
as a Herculean undertaking, was set on foot. Lord Clon-
curry laboured warmly to advance its objects. On the
llth February we find him, amidst shouts of acclamation,
elected one of its directors.

Thomas Moore observes in reference to Brinsley She-
ridan, that he paid that sort of tribute to the happiness
of first marriage which is implied by entering on a
second. In Lord Cloncurry 's case this observation is

CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES. 307

hardly applicable. That his first alliance was unhappy
in its most extended sense there cannot exist a doubt ;
yet, nevertheless, in the summer of 1811, we find his
lordship becoming a Benedict again, by allying himself
in marriage to Mrs. Emily Leeson, mother of Joseph,
present Earl of Miltown. Mrs. Leeson was an old flame
of Lord Cloncurry's. Previously even to his acquaintance
with Mary Ryal, he knew her and loved her. Whether,
however, he entertained at that time any serious matri-
monial thoughts has not transpired. The year 1811
found Valentine Lord Cloncurry without a wife, and the
quondam* Emily Douglas without a husband. On the
20th June of that year (the union of 1803 having been
two months previously dissolved by Act of Parliament),
his lordship considered himself free to marry whom he
pleased, and accordingly led to the Hymeneal altar his
youthful love.

Immediately after this auspicious event, his lordship
appears to have been filled with renewed hope for Ire-
land. During the Tower martyrdom, his heart had sunk
within him, and for the ten years which succeeded it, he
felt but little hope in the regeneration of his countrymen.
With a fervent aspiration to heaven for success in the
good work, he now plunged heart and soul into the
sacred cause of Ireland. In October, 1811, we find his
spirited speech at the great Kildare Catholic meeting, and
on the 17th December following, another at the grand
banquet to the friends of civil and religious liberty, in
the Rotundo. Before submitting either to the reader, it
will not be out of place to glance at the previous progress
made in the bloodless struggle for Catholic Emancipa-
tion.

In 1747 the germ of the subsequently powerful Ca-
tholic Association was sown by Dr. Curry, Thomas Wyse,
and Charles O'Connor, of Ballinagar. Nothing could be,
at first, more paltry and vapid than their elements for

* Her father was Archibald Douglas, Esq., of Darnock, eldest son of
Lieutenant-General Douglas, who represented Dumfries in Parliament for
some time. To Charles Douglas, Marquis of Queensberry, he stood in the
relationship of cousin.

308 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

organizing a formidable agitation. The Catholic aristo-
cracy sneered at their efforts as wild and chimerical. The
clergy, pious, moral, and resigned, declined to interfere.
They had seen worse days, and feared lest any act of
indiscretion on their part should bring a return of them.
Well they remembered the time, when in the sight of the
gibbet, they disseminated the Gospel, and notwithstanding
its terror, instructed their flocks. It only appeared as
yesterday since bloodhounds pursued them to their
mountainous retreats, and dragged them forth bleeding at
the call of the exterminator. They trembled at the pos-
sibility of plunging still more deeply into persecution the
suffering Church of Ireland, and bowed their heads meekly
to the passing visitation.

Both clergy and aristocracy not only held aloof from
the movement, but deprecated it as idle and visionary.
Had it not been for that powerful and wealthy body, the
Catholic mercantile men of Dublin, Emancipation would
probably still remain secure in the hands of the obdurate
and defiant minister. Place-hunting in the eighteenth
century was, amongst Catholics, an unheard-of, because
an impossible recreation. Moneyless Papists had no
alternative but to plunge into honourable business, and,
by the sweat of their brow, earn for themselves a substan-
tial competence. Men of the first Catholic families were
reduced to this necessity. Under God it was the means
of accomplishing the regeneration of their race. Having no
favour to expect at ministerial hands, the Catholic mer-
cantile classes of Dublin, towards the end of the last cen-
tury, flung themselves into the existence of the Associa-
tion, and swelled it with their strength. Day by day
they hurled their massive reclamation at the Government.
Volley after volley poured against them, until at length,
in 1793, a breach was made, and Catholic grand jurors,
barristers, and justices rushed eagerly through it amid
shouts of exultation.

Foremost in the ranks of the mercantile agitators stood
John Keogh, of Mount Jerome. Singularly gifted by
nature, bold, deliberative, and judicious, he guided the
movement with a master-hand, and may be said to have

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 309

wrung from Mr. Pitt the first of that series of small con-
cessions which, in 1793, gradually restored the hopes of
the Catholics. Just at the time when age and bodily
infirmities rendered Keogh's visits to the Association few
and far between, Daniel O'Connell marched opportunely
to the rescue, and from that day became the leader of the
Irish Catholics.

Under the auspices of the giant agitator, the Catholic
cause daily assumed a more defined and formidable com-
plexion. The aristocracy, who, from contemptuously
sneering, suddenly admired and revered, began one by
one to drop into its ranks. If some prominent members
of that body merit to be spoken of slightingly, the Earl
of Fingal must not be included in the number. If
O'Connell was the animating spirit of the Board, the Earl
of Fingal may be said to have been its substance. Never
was the good peer known to have been absent from his
post. As chairman of the Association, his respected name
ever lent an air of dignity and importance to their
councils. Heart and soul he devoted himself to that
sacred cause, and if, some years afterwards, he should
have advocated a modification of the Veto, it undoubtedly
arose from a conviction that it was the wisest and the
best course of policy to pursue under the very peculiar
and trying circumstances of the time.

To the Catholic bar of Ireland the Association also
owed much. Knowing that promotion was impossible,
no mercenary feeling of slavish timidity or homage
startled into pestilential life within the healthy organiza-
tion of their fresh, young minds. As eloquent speakers,
logical debaters, and vast repositories of Celtic lore, their
influence was tremendous, and the effect of their decla-
mation startling. Several Protestant barristers, too, to
their eternal honour be it spoken — men who felt acutely
for the unjust treatment to which their Roman Catholic
brethren were subjected — who saw them robbed deli-
berately of their rights, and their humble petitions for
restoration spurned contemptuously, advanced in a column
one morning to the Association, and declared themselves,
from that day, labourers in the good work. With what

310 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

joy were they received ! What a cead mille failthe was
theirs ! Amongst those single-minded Irishmen who,
spurning the allurements of place, pension, or promotion,
rallied to the relief of their suffering fellow-countrymen,
we should not be justified in omitting to make particular
mention of John Finlay and Denis Scully. Had they
and others slavishly fawned upon the Anglo-Irish adminis-
trations, instead of fearlessly asserting the wrongs of their
countrymen, horse hair and ermine would probably have
long since dignified their heads and decorated their
shoulders.

The oratorical thunder of the Catholic Committee so
far operated on the nervous system of ministers, as to
draw forth a pompous Government proclamation, stig-
matizing it as a treasonable and illegal convention. On
the 12th February, 1811, this document appeared, and
letters, addressed to every sheriff and magistrate in Ireland,
calling upon them thenceforward to disperse all branch
meetings of the Catholic Committee, were forwarded by
the Irish Secretary, Mr. Wellesley Pole. The Catholic
body had incautiously nominated county delegates to
draw up and present a petition to the King. Eighteen
years before, Lord Clare introduced and passed his Con-
vention Act, in order to effect the disorganization of the
United Irishmen. Never for a moment dreaming that
Government would dare to assimilate the objects of the
two confederacies — one being for many years as noto-
riously treasonable as the other was legal — the Catholics
met, and unhesitatingly expressed their views on the
propriety of forming a corps of delegates. Lord Fingal
took a prominent part in the debate, and was, finally,
himself elected, with several others, to the office under
discussion. Warrants having been issued, five delegates,
including his lordship, were brought before Chief Justice
Downes,* who, on the receipt of large bail for their

* This event occasioned considerable noise at the time. Several squibs on
the subject appeared. The following was the Dublin Evening Post's : —
" Five delegates are taken UP. In Merrion- square,

Judge DOWNES, accepting bail, soon ends the strife.
At what the d — 1, then, do people stare?

These are the common OPS and DOWNS of life."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 311

appearance when called upon, allowed them, unattended,
to depart. Their trials soon came on, and delegation
was, from that day, annihilated.

Government considered that, by the suppression of the
Catholic Committee, the strength and voices of its ele-
ments would be effectually stifled. Not so, however.
Lord Whitworth had accomplished nothing beyond
altering the name of the confederacy from Catholic Com-
mittee to that of Catholic Board. Many new adhesions
thronged forward. County meetings, sympathetic with
the parent one in Dublin, were holden. Amongst those,
that of the County Kildare freemen and magistracy, in
1811, deserves particular mention. Here Lord Cloncurry
made his debut as a Catholic Emancipator. The triumph
of the people and of the popular press, at his adhesion,
was exuberant.

Several Protestant gentlemen of great respectability
were present. We have only to mention the names of
Wogan Browne, Robert Latouche, M.P. ; Col. Fitzgerald,
of Geraldine ; and of John Joseph Henry, to substantiate
this assertion. It was at first intended that the meeting
should take place in one of the hotels of Naas ; but so
great was the number of those in attendance, that they
soon found it necessary to assemble in the Courthouse.

Dominick William O'Reilly, of Kildangan Castle,
Esq., occupied the chair. He no sooner observed Lord
Cloncurry (whose appearance was quite unexpected)
enter the room, than an ill-disguised expression of con-
sternation completely mastered his countenance. In
fact, Lord Cloncurry had become so notorious as a victim
to governmental persecution, that Mr. O'Reilly enter-
tained grave apprehensions lest his lordship's presence at
the meeting should bring down on his (Mr. O'R.'s) head
a State prosecution for participation in treason. It will
be observed, that Lord Cloncurry, in his speech, endea-
voured to remove the feeling of alarm from the chairman's
mind.

Mr. Henry, of O'Coigly memory, was one of the first
speakers, and deprecated an expression which had fallen
from Mr. Wogan Browne. Mr. Browne, in his speech,

312 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

contended that, as the claims of his Roman Catholic
countrymen were founded upon strict right and justice,
" restoration" and not " concession," was the proper word
to be employed. This appears to have given some
umbrage to Mr. Henry. He maintained that it would
be quite impossible, except through mild and conciliatory
language, to obtain the great object of their wishes.

" Lord Cloncurry rose and said — Mr. Chairman, I did not come hither in-
tending to take any share in your debate, nor am I a person who would
countenance any improper proceedings. This meeting was convened for the
purpose of claiming those rights, of which the Catholics have been deprived,
and sorry I am to find that one of the best men, whom I, and every person
who know him, most highly esteem, has cavilled at the expression of my
respected friend, Mr. Browne. I concur in his sentiment, and I say, ' Do
not call it concession, but demand your right? It may be said. Would you
use compulsion ? I am not a man likely to be disposed to agitate the people.
My stake in the country would prevent me from disturbing the peace of that
country in which I am so deeply interested; but I will maintain, that a man
demanding his rights cannot be said to use compulsion. [Hear, hear.] The
Catholics had that right confirmed by the treaty of Limerick. THE CATHO-
LICS OF IRELAND WKKE ROBBKD OF THEIR RIGHTS. [l>oud applause for several
minutes.] With the greatest humility, with modest respect, they have often
approached the Legislature for a restoration of their rights. Their petitions
were sometimes unheeded, sometimes listened to, sometimes rejected with the
greatest indignity ; and those few privileges which they now possess were
given through fear rather than a sense of justice. [Hear, hear.] The expression
of my friend (Wogan Browne) is justifiable when the insult he sustained is
considered. I know not Lord Manners ; I do not wish to know him. I do
not aspire to know that man, one of whose first official acts was to remove
from the Commission of the Peace one of the most enlightened, most correct,
and most respectable resident magistrates in Ireland, to make room, 1 sup-
pose, for what HE considered genuine loyalty. I hope that my heart cannot
be exceeded in that spirit of genuine loyalty. But what is now called
loyalty is the seeking after place to satiate avarice, men obtaining office, to
tyrannize over their fellow-citizens, to pillage their neighbours, — that is loyalty.
[Peals of applause for several minutes.] Here his lordship adverted to
the recent proceedings of the Catholics, and asked — Did not the history of
every country point out the policy of suffering the discontent of the people
to evaporate in freedom of speech, instead of resorting to restraint, which
only increased, not removed, the danger. ' I think,' continued his lordship,
'the Government proclamation unjustifiable, and that it is only worthy of
such a man as Dr. Duigenan.* It certainly showed bad taste to make a Privy

* Doctor Patrick Duigenan was, beyond all doubt, the most ruffianly of
that formidable band of no- Popery denunciators which, under the maternal
wing of Castle patronage, poured forth volumes of insult and invective, when
the Catholic Committee was beginning to assume an aspect of importance.
One of the Duke of Richmond's first acts, upon becoming Viceroy, was to
make a Privy Councillor of " Paddy Duigenan." The popular indignation

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 313

Councillor of him. It was worse to put his name to the proclamation. But
look to the persons who signed it. There are but few who are not living on
the industry of the people. [Hear, hear.] As an individual I shall support
the Catholic cause, and I am happy to think that the time is not far distant
when the complete emancipation of my countrymen will take place. [Repeated
peals of applause.]

In explanation of Lord Cloncurry's observations rela-
tive to his friend Browne's ill-treatment by Government,
a few words are necessary. Wogan Browne, of Castle
Browne (now the Jesuit College of Clongowes), was a ma-
gistrate of three counties, until Lord Chancellor Clare
visited him with a supersedeas, for having, on one occa-
sion, kicked foot-ball with a party of peasantry, of whom
the greater number were tenants of his own. Chancing
to pass a field where this harmless amusement was going
forward, he alighted from his horse, and, in a moment of
good-natured impulse, gave the ball one or two energetic
kicks. The chief offence was, we believe, that it hap-
pened on a Sunday. Browne, although an exemplary
Protestant, had very little of the Biblical in his composi-
tion, and thought that his tenantry might do much worse
upon the Sabbath than pass an hour in so innocent a
recreation. Chancellor Ponsonby, during the Bedford Ad-
ministration, restored Browne to his old position ; but that
blind and rampant bigot, Lord Manners, had no sooner
squatted his person on the Woolsack, than resolving to
follow punctiliously in the footsteps of Lord Clare, he
visited Browne with a second supersedeas. Death
snatched away poor Wogan Browne at a trying moment.
He died almost immediately previous to the achievement
of Emancipation.

at this insulting appointment was only equalled by that which, in 1830, con-
vulsed each grade of Catholic society, on the elevation of " Long Jack
Doherty" (as O'Connell used to call him) to the Irish Bench. The Eight
Hon. Doctor Paddy Duigenan did not long enjoy his Privy Councillorship.
He died in the act of sucking an orange, at his lodgings, in Parliament- street,
London, on the 12th April, 1816. It is a singular fact, that this man, one
of the most violent denouncers of Catholicity that ever lived, led to the Hy-
meneal altar a staunch Roman Catholic, in the person of Miss Mary Cusack,
of the County Galway. In appearance, Doctor Duigeuan was coarse, vulgar,
and ruffianly. An excellent likeness of him appears in Sir Jonah Barring-
ton's " Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation."

P

314 CLONCUKRY AN7D HIS TIMES.

The grand banquet given by the Catholics of Ireland
to the friends of civil and religious liberty in the Round
Room of the Rotundo, on December 17, 1811, is an
epoch in the annals of the Catholic Emancipation struggle.
Upwards of eight hundred sat down to dinner. Amongst
the company were, Meath, Dunsany, Downshire, Granard,
Rossmore, and, though last not least, CLONCURRY. Henry
Grattan was, of course, present, as also Sir George Cock-
burne and General Mahon. The following is the best
report of Lord Cloncurry's speech on this occasion : —

" I do not know that I ever, in my life, felt so happy as in being thus
kindly noticed by so great a number of my beloved and very dear countrymen.
When I address my Catholic brethren, I feel that I address the people of
Ireland, as they have just been appropriately termed by an honourable and
enlightened gentleman [Mr. Stanhope]. I have heard this day the firing of
guns for the taking of Java, and will venture to assert, that its first article
of capitulation is a security for the free exercise of the religion of the con-
quered ; and if this be the case, why not extend the same benefits to the
conquerors [loud applause] ? Had the Catholics of Ireland, instead of five
millions, been but five hundred thousand, and lent themselves as an instru-
ment to oppose the welfare of their country, their religion would have been
left the religion of the State, but as a whole people could not be traitors to
themselves, the Catholics have been excluded ; the strong arm of power has
been uplifted to depress you, but if you are true to yourselves, fear nothing.
Your cause is the cause of the empire [loud applause]. I am happy to hear
such deserved testimony borne to your merits and long-sufferings ; but my
advice is, that you shall never for any man, or set of men, relax in your
exertions. Persevere firmly and constantly, for by such means only you
will succeed [applause]. Perseverance, too, would accomplish a Repeal of
that infamous measure, the UNION [unbounded applause^. No man should
have influence to induce you to desist from a powerful constitutional appli-
cation until you are released from civil degradation. Much, 1 believe, is
expected from that excellent nobleman, and distinguished Irishman, Lord
Moira ; but, surely, you cannot forget the Administration of Lord Fitz-,,
william [hear, hear]. You must remember how that respected nobleman
was duped ; may not, then, the good, unsuspecting nature of Lord Moira be
also deceived ? It is, then, to your own persevering constitutional exertions,
supported as you are by the Protestants of Ireland, that you are to look for
triumph. But whatever may be your lot, / will be found to the end of my
life your affectionate and attached friend and countryman. And never will I,
in any peril, or under any circumstances, desert the cause of my Catholic
countrymen. — [This speech was received with enthusiastic applause.]" —
Evening Post.

The experience of near half a century has shown the
people of Ireland that Lord Cloncurry's noble and patri-
otic promise was no oratorical squib of the moment ; no
empty, vapid, prismatic bubble, swelling magnificently

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 315

this minute, and bursting into nothingness the next. Oh,
ye modern perjured pseudo-patriots, compare those broken
vows of yours, which stifle, like broken foetid eggs, the
nostrils of all virtuous men, with the pure and incor-
ruptible ones of Lord Cloncurry. We have often heard
of consistent patriots, but none appear to us so deserving
of the title as the naturally ennobled nobleman who forms
the subject of these pages.

It may not be generally known that the system of
petty sessions, which, during the last thirty years, has
been so extensively adopted throughout the length and
breadth of Ireland, owes its origin mainly to the exertions
of Lord Cloncurry. On his return from the Continent,
in 1806, he spared no pains to remedy, as far as in him
lay, some of the many abuses which polluted the admi-
nistration of justice in Ireland. Until placed in the
commission of the peace, however, by Chancellor Pon-
sonby, in 1807, his lordship had few opportunities of
effecting any radical improvement. None of the abuses
alluded to appeared to him more urgently to demand
reform than the practice of magistrates adjudicating
singly in their own closets and sitting-rooms. It is tole-
rably well known that the constant occupations of such
chancellors as Redesdale and Manners consisted in super-
seding liberally disposed magistrates, and investing
bigoted ones with the commission of the peace. Their
authority, thus delegated for party purposes, produced,
too often, results of the most fatal and vexatious nature
to the interests of the poor man, and of the country
which gave him birth. Secure from the indignant frowns
of virtuous men, and proof against judicial interference
of any kind, those partisan magistrates pronounced what
decisions they chose in the tranquil seclusion of their
own closets. The issuing of summonses was a formula,
in those days, altogether unknown. Should a labouring
man receive ill-treatment from a master, he had no means
of securing his presence, for an investigation into the
case, but by obtaining a note from one of the said master's
brother magistrates, requesting that he (the master) would
kindly favour him with the honour of his company for

316 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the space of ten or fifteen minutes, whenever it would
suit his convenience to attend. The letter was, in many
instances, thrown aside unnoticed, and thus the unfor-
tunate complainant lost both his time and temper in
dancing attendance, day after day, on him whose business
it should have been to watch over and protect the interests
of the poor. There were many variations in the incon-
veniences attendant on the absence of a public sessions-
house. " When a poor man was ignored," said Lord
Cloncurry, at the Irish Council, on June 22, 1847, " he
went to the nearest magistrate, and, perhaps, was obliged
to walk up and dov/n for several hours before his hall-
door ere he could obtain an interview ; and when he did
make his complaint, there was very often great difficulty
in obtaining justice, the magistrate, perhaps, being a
friend of the person of whom the poor man complained."
Magisterial interference, so far from being a disinterested
duty, was, in the majority of instances, a matter of favour
and affection. No sort of honour or regularity charac-
terized the commission. Every man to his humour
appeared to be their motto.

Such a state of things could not continue, and Lord
Cloncurry 's was the first blow which fell upon the rotten
but leviathan fabric. By dint of indefatigable labour, he
contrived to get as many abuses abolished as improve-
ments introduced. After one or two nights' lucubration,
he devised the admirable system of petty sessions,* the
machinery of which his lordship was the first to set in
motion, at the village of Celbridge, in the County Kil-
dare. Lord Cloncurry experienced some difficulty at
first in prevailing on his brother-magistrates to co-operate
with him in the good work ; but soon the depth and
wisdom of his project became evident to all thinking
men. They dropped in one by one, and, stimulated by
the good example of Augustus Duke of Leinster (who

* " The merit of introducing this system," says the University Magazine
of Oct., 1849, " Lord Cloncurry claims. If he be correct in this — and we
have no reason to doubt the correctness of the claim — he may confidently
assert his title to be considered as the author of the greatest and most
important reform in the law."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 317

on reaching his majority, in 1812, at once joined Lord
Cloncurry at the weekly sessions), they attended with
regularity, and conducted themselves with uniform temper
and impartiality* Forty-three years have since elapsed,
but throughout that long period his Grace was rarely
missed from the Monday meeting of magistrates at Gel-
bridge. Lord Cloncurry, however, was always regarded
as the Father of the Court; and often would the Duke
jokingly address his notes to him as the Lord Chief
Justice of Celbridge and Lyons.

To expatiate on the advantages of open court investi-
tigations would be a waste of time and paper. They
are well known and appreciated. Since the establishment
by Lord Cloncurry of the system of petty sessions, less
than half-a-dozen magistrates rarely sit and adjudicate
together. Those red-hot bigots who, in cases of a party
or sectarian nature, would fain pronounce a partial
opinion, hesitate to do so from the sense of public shame.
That malevolent Orange bigotry, which would rage
imchecked in the closet, is, in common decency, sup-
pressed before a public tribunal. Some one has said that
the presence of an enlightened auditory, swallowing with
eagerness the words that fall, operates more powerfully
in keeping the unpaid justice in order than the scruti-
nizing eye of an invisible Almighty. The saying is a
startling one, but not altogether devoid of truth.

Soon after the establishment of Lord Cloncurry's
system of petty sessions in Celbridge, he had the satis-
faction of seeing it authorized and ratified by several
successive Acts of Parliament. The stamp of govern-
mental approval having thus been placed upon the budding
tree, its branches soon rapidly extended through the
land, producing, as they did so, salutary fruits. The
vineyard, however, will probably require to be watched
by the eye of a Cloncurry, lest weeds may, from neglect,

* Lord Cloncurry, in a letter to Nicholas Purcell O'Gorman, Esq., Q.C.,
dated Dec. 25, 1824, says that, when the magistrates first held the petty
sessions at Celbridge, their conduct was much animadverted on by certain
parties, for " giving a ready hearing to the complaints of the vulgar."

318 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

creep into it, or its crop of good fruit gradually dege-
nerate.

Lord Cloncurry long entertained another project on
the petty sessions principle, which he never had the hap-
piness of seeing realized. He much wished that all
agreements between landlord and tenant should be made
in open court — in short, at the weekly petty sessions of
the district. In presence of those magisterial landholders,
who should necessarily be in court, the landlord would
hardly have sufficient brass to ask an unreasonably large
rent, or the tenant to offer an unreasonably low one. In
Scotland, if we mistake not, all agreements between ser-
vants and masters are made in open court. The following
letter from Lord Cloncurry, although not chronologically
in place here, we insert, because of its immediate refe-
rence to the subject in question: —

[No. 10.] TO DR. EICHAKD G RATTAN, EX-KING's PEOFESSOR OF THE
PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.

"Maretimo, April 9th, 1848.

" MY DEAR DOCTOR, — * * * The subject of Tenant Right is chiefly
discussed by middlemen, and by those who don't understand it. Why
should not bargains of land be made like any other bargains ? During
fifty years, I have had no disputes with tenants, and never refused a lease,
or charged for their improvements. If all lettings took place in open court,
landlords would be ashamed to charge too much, and tenants to break their
engagements. And then '• law to prevent a lessee from sub-letting at a
higher rent than he himself paid, would protect those who most want pro-
tection, viz. : the poor cottiers and the labouring classes. In open court, the
landlord and the proposed tenant could state what buildings and improve-
ments were wanted on the farm, and what each was to pay towards them.
If neither had the necessary funds, a third party might lend them, making
this loan a first charge on the farm, and let the entire arrangement be
registered by the Clerk of the Peace. You could easily prepare a bill which
would protect all parties, and cover the land with decent homesteads. * *
" Your faithful servant,

" CLONCURP.Y."

From the year 1812 to .1818, Lord Cloncurry does
not appear to have taken any prominent part in politics.
His reasons for pursuing this course will be found in the
speech delivered by him at the Moore Banquet, in 1818.
The exercise of his magisterial duties, his princely hospi-
tality, his agricultural tastes, and his munificent private

CLONCDRRY AND HIS TIMES. 319

charity, engrossed his almost entire attention. With
respect to hospitality, his lordship carried it to a true
Hibernian pitch. In a letter, which shall presently
follow, the reader will see that, at this period, less than
forty individuals (servants, of course, included) rarely sat
down to dinner at Lyons Castle.

At Clondalkin, within four miles of Lyons, stands the
well known monastery and collegiate school of Mount St.
Joseph. Lord Cloncurry is identified with its early
history. As the following letter to the author, from the
respected prior, is illustrative of his lordship's philan-
thropic life at this period, we make no apology for intro-
ducing it: —

[No. 11.]

" DEAR SIR, — It is praiseworthy to hand down to posterity the name and
virtues of such a character as the late Lord Cloncurry. It is to be regretted
that he has left uo one of his class to take his place in asserting the rights of
poor Ireland. When this establishment was commenced, in 1813, Lord
Cloncurry took an active part in every way which was calculated to promote
its interest by his own liberal donation, and his influence with the public.
At that time there was no school nor opportunity for the poor in this district
to be educated, nor indeed for miles around it. In the course of a short time
this school was in full operation ; his lordship was elected, and consented to
act as president. After a short time he had the satisfaction of seeing two
hundred boys attending the school, and a hundred and five of the most destitute
and deserving clothed. The good peer was known frequently in public and
in private to remark with satisfaction the improvement he perceived in the
people of the neighbourhood. He laid the first stone of the chapel attached
to this monastery, and subscribed liberally towards its erection. His lord-
ship has also frequently sent pupils to our seminary and boarding school.
You can make use of any part of this communication you might wish, and
believe me, dear sir, yours sincerely, " GEORGE H. LYONS."

In 1814, his lordship, conjointly with the Duke of
Leinster and some of the resident gentry, established that
excellent institution, " the County Kildare Farming So-
ciety." Its object was to excite a profuse spirit of emula-
tion amongst the farmers, and to remove those prejudices
in favour of a bad system of husbandry still so fatally
prevalent throughout Ireland. In afield near Monastere van
the society was in the habit of occasionally giving some
agricultural fetes. Ploughing matches took place, and a
handsome silver cup was declared the property of the
winner. This, at that time novel sight, excited great

320 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

merriment and wonder. Farmers came from all quarters
to witness it, and at the conclusion of the day's performance,
returned home buoyant with satisfaction, and determined
to profit by the agricultural improvements they had
witnessed.

The Grand Canal, from Dublin to Ballinasloe, of which
Lord Cloncurry was early a director and proprietor, may
be regarded as one of the most useful and national under-
takings that had been for many years set on foot in Ireland.
Just as it had begun to make some return on the vast
pecuniary outlay which its formation occasioned, his
Majesty's ministers announced their intention of establish-
ing a parallel canal, which was calculated to withdraw
much strength and substance from the national undertak-
ing. In the following letter Lord Cloncurry speaks of its
powerful rival as an "unnecessary canal;" and, so far as
we are capable of judging, his lordship was correct in
that assertion. In some parts of the country — Lucan
for instance — the distance between them did not exceed
three-quarters of a mile. Anxious, as usual, to consult the
native resources of his country, the good peer devotes a
portion of his letter to panegyrizing the Queen's County
collieries. " It were much to be wished," observed a paper
of the day, " that these noblemen and gentlemen, who hold
estates in Ireland, and spend their income out of it,
neglecting and impoverishing the country from which
that income is derived, would imitate the example set
them by the noble writer of the following letter, with
whose consistent patriotism the Irish public are well ac-
quainted :" —

[No. 12.] " TO THE EDITOR OF CARRICK's MORNING POST.

" Lyons, August, 1816.

" SIR, — * * I think it not only the duty, but the interest of every Irishman,
as well as of every canal proprietor, to encourage the national work ; and I
am sincere when 1 assert, that the Queen's County coal, brought by the canal,
is better, and, if well managed, much cheaper, than any brought from Eng-
land. In my kitchen, constructed by our very intelligent countryman, Air.
Bellingham, and where dinner for thirty or forty persons is daily provided,
the smallest quantity answers every purpose.

"The carriage of all goods by the canal is now as safe and expeditious as
it is cheap ; this is, indeed, more owing to the spirit and energy of the Messrs.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 321

Berry than to any regulations or laws we could make. Laws are very
good things, but without the exertions of resident and national gentry, they
will either be abused or evaded. As a mode of conveyance, I have travelled
in every part of Europe, and do not know of any so safe or pleasant, and so
cheap, as our boats, with so much cleanliness, civility, and good cheer.

" The canal, like all other property, must feel the effects of a twenty-three
vears' war against the rights of humanity ; it is also much injured by the
Government carrying on a parallel and unnecessary rival within a few miles,
at the public expense ; but in the canal the creditor will have some security
for his money in the worst of times, which may not be the case with other
debentures. — Sir, your humble servant, " CL.ONCUKRY."

Reader 1 we see you comfortably reclining on the
amply-cushioned seats of a first-class railway carriage as
you skim the sentences of his lordship's letter. We see
you smile at the consummate absurdity of your fathers for
thinking the canal boat, in point of comfort, cleanliness,
speed, and good cheer, superior to any other mode of
conveyance, not only in Great Britain, but on the Con-
tinent of Europe. We see you laughing heartily, at the
everlasting security of canal share debentures.

It will be remembered that Lord Cloncurry, in 1811,
allied himself in marriage to Emily, third daughter of
Mr. Archibald Douglas. This lady, who was a widow,
married, on April 28, 1798, the Hon. Joseph Leeson, son
of Brice, Earl of Miltown. Their alliance, though fruitful,
was of short duration. It pleased Providence, in the year
1800, to summon to eternity Mr. Joseph Leeson ere he
inherited the honours of his father's peerage. Although
the period of their married life did not exceed twenty
months, three children sanctified the alliance. The
youngest (Cecilia Charlotte) did not appear until 1801.
The two others were boys, — Joseph, now Earl of
Miltown, and Henry Talbot, a cornet in the Guards.
Both resided with Lord Cloncurry, who treated them
with uniform tenderness and affection. As their father
had died before succeeding to the peerage, they were not,
strictly speaking, entitled to enjoy the honours of earl's
children. Lady Cloncurry, naturally anxious to see them
take that place in society to which, by every principle of
equity, they were entitled, deputed Mrs. Douglas, her
ladyship's mother, conjointly with the Countess Dowager
of Miltown, to wait personally on Lord Chancellor Man-

p 2

322 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

ners, who it was considered durst not hesitate to con-
cede the coveted indulgence. Mrs. Douglas obtained
an interview with his lordship, and requested that, as
their guardian, he would kindly interfere in favour of the
Messrs. Leeson with the Viceroy, whose acquiescence in
the matter was now alone necessary, as the English Go-
vernment had already expressed themselves disposed to
further, as far as possible, the wishes of Lord Miltown's
family.

The Lord of the Great Seals listened for some minutes
to Mrs. Douglas's statement, and at length replied, much
to the astonishment of his fair visitors — " Madam, I can
do nothing in this business ; Lord Cloncurry is a Catholic
Emancipator, an enemy to the Protestant ascendancy, and
a most violent opposer of the Government/' " But, my
lord," she expostulated, " the favour is not for Lord Clon-
curry, but for the minor Earl of Miltown." " Lord Mil-
town, madam," rejoined the Chancellor, " is under Baron
Cloncurry 's protection; the favour would therefore be
granted to him." " Permit me to state it, as my opinion,"
continued Mrs. Douglas, " that Lord Cloncurry would
not give a crown piece for the indulgence, as it is natural
to suppose he would not particularly enjoy the notion of
his wife's children being placed above his own." " The
public," said Lord Manners. " are not to know that. The
favour would still appear as granted to him. Government
would be happy to oblige Lord Miltown, but as he is at
present living under the protection of Lord Cloncurry, it
would seem as though the obligation were conferred upon
him." Disgusted at the spirit of narrow-minded bigotry
displayed by Lord Manners, Mrs. Douglas was about to
withdraw hastily from the 'room, when the Countess of
Miltown addressed his lordship, and referred to the very
unpleasant situation wherein she had left Lady Cloncurry,
from illness brought on through anxiety of mind on her
children's account. " When a woman," said the gallant
old nobleman, warmly, " marries to injure her children's
prospects for life, she must submit to the consequences."

Lord Cloncurry was outrageous when apprised by Mrs.
Douglas of the Chancellor's avowed disinclination to grant

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 323

any favour to so " violent an enemy to Protestant as-
cendancy. Of all men he was perhaps the least disposed
to solicit favours from a Government constituted as the
Earl of Whitworth's. Smarting beneath the cutting re-
tort, his lordship addressed a long letter to Lord Man-
ners, wherein he observed that the only way he could
account for his marked hostility towards him was the
fact of his (Lord C.) having alluded, at the County Kildare
meeting, to the arbitrary and insulting removal of Wogan
Browne from the commission of the peace. Lord Clon-
curry, in conclusion, eloquently but trenchantly remon-
strated with the Chancellor on the gross injustice and
extreme offensiveness of his observations. This drew
forth a rather warm reply from Lord Manners. Lord
Cloncurry's letter, he said, was in the matter of it so
utterly unfounded, and in the manner of it so extremely
offensive, that he did not feel himself called upon to take
any further notice of it than by pronouncing it to be a
gross misrepresentation ! His veracity thus deliberately
impugned, Lord Cloncurry saw no other course open to
him but to get Mrs. Douglas, who previously informed
him of what had passed at the interview, to certify by
affidavit the truth of her allegations. The singular dia-
logue already detailed was accordingly, under Mrs.
Douglas's direction, committed to paper, and that lady
felt no hesitation in making oath before Lord Cloncurry,
in his magisterial capacity, as to the general accuracy of
her statement. Duly signed and attested, a copy of the
affidavit was forwarded, under cover, to the Chancellor.

Those who had the felicity of knowing the late Lord
Manners are, we believe, in a position to affirm, that he was
not a man likely to withdraw an assertion, or apologise
for language spoken in the heat of passion. " I stated,"
said his lordship, " that the language imputed to me, in a
conversation with Mrs. Douglas, was a gross misrepre-
sentation, and I persist in that assertion, notwithstanding
the affidavit made before your lordship, as a magistrate,
by Mrs. Douglas."

These, and other observations of the Chancellor,
Lord Cloncurry communicated to Lord Donoughmore,

324 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the well known friend of the Catholic claims. The counte-
nance of thehonest old peer flushed with indignation when
he heard them. " To have an opportunity," said he, " of
giving vent to those feelings, in my place in Parliament,
would be to me most gratifying; but, alas ! cui bonof In
this high prerogative time it is a worse than fruitless task
to kick against power. I therefore advise you not to go
to the trouble of striving to interest Parliament, in any
case of individual oppression, where the party playing the
tyrant, or the mis-administrator of justice, happens to be
an Orangeman, and a member of the faction who have so
long held the reins of power in their hands."

Lady Cloncurry , nothing daunted by these defeats, made
application to Lord Aylmer, a friend of her's, and a
nephew of his Excellency, to request that he would kindly
exert himself in her favour. Lord Aylmer cheerfully
undertook to do so, and full of hope, departed on his
mission. After a short absence he returned to Lyons
with the dispiriting intelligence, that owing to Lord

Cloncurry 's " d d politics," the application had failed.

Not until a somewhat juster Viceroy, Earl Talbot, took
up his position in Dublin Castle was the empty compli-
ment conceded to the children. Although a Tory in
principle, he did not consider it necessary to be avenged
on Lord Miltown's unoffending grandchildren, because
their step-father happened to be a Catholic Emancipator,
and an enemy to Protestant aacendancy.

On Monday, 8th June, 1818, Thomas Moore, then in
the zenith of his popularity, was entertained at a public
dinner in Morrison's Hotel, Dublin. Lord Charlemont
presided as Chairman. Some of the highest in the land,
as well as the most gifted, assembled to do honour to
Ireland's bard. In the latter category were Richard L.
Sheil, Charles Phillips, Daniel O'Connell, Peter Bur-
rowes, Charles Maturin, W. H. Curran, and Michael
Staunton.* Lord Cloncurry was, of course, present, and

* Moore's father was present, and sat between the distinguished guest
and Michael Staunton, Esq., then Editor and Proprietor of the Weekly Register,
and now well known and respected as the Collector-General of Taxes. Mr.
Staunton has recently told us an amusing anecdote respecting a saying of

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 325

responded eloquently to that high panegyric passed upon
him by Lord Charlemont, which serves to adorn the
title-page of this volume. His health having been drunk
enthusiastically, with three times three,

" Lord Cloncurry rose to return thanks. He said :— My Lord and Gentle-
men, I feel at once distressed and gratified by this unexpected mark of your
kindness. To receive such a tribute from such hands, I feel to be an honour
of no ordinary character. I am grateful for it ; I shall ever cherish in my
memory the recollection of this night. Your generous partiality binds me,
if possible, closer to a country for whose good I would think no sacrifice too
great. Lord Cloncurry then went on to say that he professed and he felt
a warm attachment to Ireland. It was a sentiment he had cherished
through life, and would sedulously retain, until the curtain of death fell
upon his labours. Of late years he rarely, if ever, mixed in public meetings,
lest his motives might be misrepresented, and his presence prove an injury
to the object sought ; but his wish was decidedly to join heart and hand
with his countrymen, in paying a tribute of respect and affection to the
poet whose genius shed so much glory on the literature of his country, and
to the man whose exalted patriotism* could sympathize with no party but
the ardent friends of Ireland. He was happy to see around him so much of
the talent, worth, and patriotism of the country. His lordship concluded a
concise and animated address by proposing the health of the noble chairman
and the company."

Little did Cloncurry think, when participating in the
festivities of the Moore banquet, on June 8, 1818, that
his idolized sister, Charlotte Louisa, lay at that moment
dangerously ill at Pisa in Italy. The Hon. Charlotte
Lawless was, from her earliest youth, the favourite sister
of Cloncurry. His senior by four years, she may be said

the old gentleman's on this occasion. Throughout the entire evening com-
pliments and congratulations from rank and talent ceased not to pour on Mr.
Moore, senior. Unmoved and impassive as a statue he received them. The
keen eye of a Lavater might have vainly endeavoured to catch the slightest
movement of a facial muscle. His health was drunk ; but had Mr. Moore
been composed of Carrara marble, instead of Irish flesh and blood, he could
not have received it with greater imperturbability. Mr. Staunton, amongst
the rest, expressed to the father how proud and happy he ought to feel at
seeing his son so distinguished and so honoured. To these and other com-
pliments he listened unmoved for some time, and at length enunciated in
Blow and measured accents, and with the utmost gravity, " lie's a daycint
boy, sir — a daycint boy " The well-written letters which appear from Mr.
Moore, senior, in the Memoirs of his son, and the occasional traits of his
tact and address, related of him by the bard, must elicit a smile when Mr.
Staunton s amusing anecdote is recollected.

* Had it been in Lord Cloncurry's power at this period to glance over
the leaves of Moore's Diary, he would hardly, we think, have given expres-
sion to this sentiment.

326 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

to have given him his first instruction, and to have
directed his youthful ambition by the wisdom of her
precepts. The active and discreet part taken by Char-
lotte Lawless to relieve the sufferings of a persecuted
brother, and to throw her father's deranged affairs into
some sort of order, will be in the recollection of the
reader. Her affection for Valentine Lawless was re-
ciprocated. As already said, he idolized her, and to the
day of his death remembered her advice and her exer-
tions in his regard with mingled feelings of pride and
gratitude. In 1803 Charlotte Lawless became the wife
of Colonel Plunket, eldest son of Lord Dunsany. She
never lived to enjoy the honours of the peerage. On
June 10, 1818, death snatched her away, and in April,
1821, Plunket succeeded his father as Baron Dunsany.

On the llth February, 1819, a great Protestant meet-
ing was held in the Rotunda, in order to petition Parlia-
ment to extend to Roman Catholics " an equal participa-
tion in the privileges of this free constitution." Sir
Thomas M'Kenny, Lord Mayor of Dublin, a man uni-
versally respected and esteemed, was called to the chair.
On his arrival, a deputation, consisting of the Duke of
Leinster, Lords Cloncurry, Charlemont, and Meath, and
the Right Hon. Henry Grattan, advanced to meet and
welcome him. The cause of Catholic Emancipation was
eloquently advocated on this occasion. Thousands filled
the Round Room, and applauded the speakers enthu-
siastically. An attempt was made by a few infatuated
bigots to disturb the harmony of the meeting. Promi-
nent in their ranks stood two police magistrates, and a
Master in Chancery, who, by their exertions, succeeded
in raising a perfect hurricane of opposition. Few Lord
Mayors in those days ventured to espouse the popular
cause — perhaps none, with the exception of Sir Thomas
M'Kenny. His conduct throughout the storm was ad-
mirable. Attempts were made to compel him to vacate
the chair; but, "Truth prevailed, and virtue w as tri-
umphant." Defeated ultimately, the vile disturbers with-
drew in a body. Lord Cloncurry pronounced a brilliant
eulogium on Sir Thomas M'Kenny at this meeting, and

CLONCUBRY AND HIS TIMES. 327

concluded by saying that it must be considered a rather
extraordinary circumstance, that while the people of
England were petitioning the Legislature for a revision
of the penal code, in order to ameliorate the condition of
the guilty, they should never cast a look to this country
with a feeling of kindness, or with a wish to relieve the
innocent.

The meeting here dissolved. Sir Thomas M' Kenny
found himself necessitated to leave by a private door, as
the people, in gratitude to his lordship for past services,
were congregated around the chief entrance for the avowed
purpose of taking the horses from the carriage, and by
the strength of their own muscles conveying him home.
The Lord Mayor, who was a man of quiet habits, dis-
liked this boisterous formula, and gave his friends the slip
most dexterously, by retreating through Rutland-square.
It fell to the Duke of Leinster's lot to transmit to Govern-
ment the petition agreed to at this meeting, and, in order to
preserve it from injury, a tin box enclosed it. The Duke
of Wellington, with characteristic curtness, acknowledged
the enclosure. " I have received," said his Grace, " your
petition, accompanied by a tin case." Whether this, or a
counterfeit letter from his Grace, which appeared in
Punch, many years after, were the most ludicrous, it
would be difficult to decide. " I have received," wrote
the Duke, " your letter, as also the envelope in which that
letter was enclosed."

In October, 1819, Lord Cloncurry published the first
of that excellent series of political letters which, through-
out his after life, he was in the habit of throwing off
periodically. A certain evening paper attempted, by a
sneering analysis, to bring the noble writer into disrespect.
Amongst other offensive epithets it accused Lord Clon-
curry of " an obliquity of understanding," and with being
" coarse, vulgar, and malevolent." It further asserted,
that his letter was " libellous of past times, slanderous of
times present, and absurd of times to come ;" that it had
" nothing of a gentleman's sense or feeling ; but, on the
contrary, breathed the spirit of a mechanic." The letter,
which was an address to the English Reformers, displayed

328 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

considerable tact and ability. His lordship could not avoid
referring to the corrupt practices of Government in effect-
ing a Union, and thereby drew down upon himself the
slanderous outpour of the Government print. During
this year Lord Cloncurry generously erected, at his own
expense, a Roman Catholic chapel and schoolhouse at
Lyons.

In 1819, an Irish legion, under the auspices of General
Devereux, who had been deputed to this country to
organize it, started into vitality and vigour. Its object
was to aid the patriotic exertions of South America in
endeavouring to shake off the Spanish yoke. Devereux,
notwithstanding that his name savoured somewhat of
Gallic orthography, was an Irishman born and bred. His
appearance was hailed with enthusiasm, and hundreds of
stalwart young Celts, with beating heart and kindling
eye, flocked to his standard. The General appeared in
all but regal splendour. Levees were daily holden in
Morrison's Hotel, and never does he appear to have left his
quarters without the attendance of an ample staff of aides-
de-camp. General Devereux was one of " Liberator
Bolivar's'' most distinguished officers.

On Monday, July 19th, 1819, a grand banquet was
given in Dublin, with a view to compliment Devereux
and the cause of South American freedom. Lord Clon-
curry presided as Chairman, Counsellors O'Connell,
Finlay, M'Nally, Phillips, and Scully were present, and
delivered, in the course of the evening, eloquent ad-
dresses. Several of the General's Irish recruits were also
present. His lordship had a long list of toasts to propose.
Each of them he prefaced by a concise and animated
speech. Among the first was that of " Major General
Devereux, and may success crown his exertions to pro-
mote the freedom of another hemisphere." The General
returned thanks, and concluded a long oration on the
noble work which he and Bolivar had in hand by propos-
ing the health of Lord Cloncurry. It would be needless
for him to attempt to pronounce any eulogium on the
virtuous and patriotic nobleman who presided. " His

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 329

claim to our respect," said General Devereux, emphati-
cally, " is not that he is a lord, but a noble man."

" Lord Cloncurry rose — He said that it had ever been his first thought
how best to serve his country, and it was a source of the greatest satisfac-
tion to him to reflect, that however humble his efforts, they were nut altoge-
ther without effect. He preferred a residence in Ireland to all the allurements
which the most favoured foreign countries could possibly hold out, ' and, '
said his lordship, ' I have been doubly repaid in the regard and affection of
my countrymen testified on this, and, indeed, on many other occasions.' He
was highly flattered at being called on to preside at so festive a meeting as the
present, where so large a portion of the talent, virtue, and respectability of
his countrymen were concentrated ; but it was particularly grateful to him
from the occasion of it. The object which they had met to celebrate was
one which should have called him from his tomb, were it possible for the
mouldering clay to be reanimated — it was the cause of liberty ; it was to
forward and sanction the endeavours now making by the youth of his country
to promote the liberties of another hemisphere. Here his lordship referred
to a measure recently introduced to check the spirit of enterprise in his brave
fellow-countrymen — the Foreign Enlistment Bill. ' Born a peer of this
realm,' said his lordship, ' I have been robbed of my birthright, and of the
privileges which the British constitution guarantee to the peerage, otherwise
I should have raised my voice in the Legislature against the passing of this
law.' * * Lord Cloncurry concluded by addressing a few words to the
young men of Ireland, who had embarked in the cause of South American
freedom. 'Inculcate,' exclaimed • his lordship, emphatically, 'upon the
minds of the inexperienced people you are going to assist the necessity of
UNIOX amongst themselves — without it they perish. We have, alas ! seen
and experienced the fatal consequences of disunion in our own green isle. Do
you warn them, from such an example, to avoid the causes which it has
produced. If, unfortunately, your efforts be unsuccessful, if they will not
themselves preserve the freedom of their country, remember that you are
countrymen and freemen, be true to one another, be united, and preserve that
liberty for them, which they cannot do for themselves.' Lord Cloncurry re-
sumed his seat amid whirlwinds of applause."

In 1820 Grattan died. Soon after this sad event the
Dxike of Leinster, Lord Cloncurry, and other friends of
the gifted patriot, assembled in the Exohange, and came
to the resolution, that " as the life of Henry Grattan was
devoted exclusively to the public good, his immortal ser-
vices during half a century, as the first patriot of his
country, and founder of her liberties, should be comme-
morated by a permanent testimonial.1' A subscription
list was opened, and Lord Cloncurry, as might have
been expected, contributed handsomely to the fund.

George IV. was, during the existence of his regency,

330 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

in high favour with the Irish people, because of the coun-
tenance which it was supposed he gave to the Catholic
claims; but from the moment that he instituted legal
proceedings against his wife, he fell rapidly and ignobly
into well-merited unpopularity. This observation applies
mainly to the feeling prevalent amongst the national party
in Ireland. Hungry placemen and venal flatterers
abounded quite as much in 1820 as in 1855. Ere the
judicial proceeding against Queen Caroline had been well
concluded, the daily papers teemed with nattering adu-
latory addresses to his Majesty. Nothing could be more
transparent or fulsome. It smelt in the nostrils of all
virtuous and honourable men, and excited feelings of
disgust and indignation. Expecting to reap a golden
harvest they laid it on heavily, like agriculturists spreading
manure.

In December, 1820, a few days subsequent to what
Lord Liverpool designated " the delicate investigation,"
Sir Richard Steele, High Sheriff of Dublin, convened a
meeting for the purpose of complimenting his gracious
Majesty. The place of assembly was Kilmainham Court-
house. He left no means unemployed to fill it with
partisan friends ; but a large number, nevertheless, of the
popular party, including Lord Cloncurry, contrived to
take up position too. Their object was to move a counter-
address, pregnant with truth, but not necessarily with
disloyalty.

The High Sheriff, in a deep, sonorous voice, opened the
proceedings by reading and proposing his sycophantic
address. This was the signal for the popular party to
appear with theirs, and John Burne, K.C., begged leave
to move it. It is unnecessary to insert this document.
It condemned the late proceedings in the House of Lords
as dangerous and unconstitutional; censured the civil
councils of his Majesty's ministers, but expressed every
sentiment of loyalty towards the King himself. Sir
Richard Steele rather rudely interrupted Mr. Burne, and
with some warmth declared that he would hear no more
from him. He would put the question on his own address
and dissolve the meeting-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 331

We regret that it is only in our power to give a mere
outline of the proceedings on this interesting occasion.
The report loses much of its effect from the rather un-
merciful mutilation we have given it: —

" Messrs. Burne, O'Connell, and several other gentlemen insisted upon
addressing the meeting ere the question could be put. But the Sheriff was
inexorable, and exclaimed — ' As many as are of opinion that this address do
pass, say aye!' A few voices shrieked forth 'aye ;' but each was instantly
drowned beneath at least a hundred noes. The Sheriff, however, declared
that he did not put the question in the alternative, and announced the meet-
ing as dissolved. All the ultra-loyalists accordingly withdrew, but strange
to say, the meeting, in point of numbers, appeared to suffer little diminution.

" Mr. O'Connell observed that the chairman had abdicated his post. He
had no right to dissolve the meeting until they had completed the business
for which they were convened, for which purpose he should move that Lord
Cloncurry do take the chair. The motion was immediately seconded, and put
and carried with acclamation.

" Lord Cloncurry came forward, amidst the enthusiastic plaudits of the
freeholders.

" The Sheriff said he would oppose Lord Cloncurry's taking the chair.

" LORD CLONCURRY. — The freeholders of the county of Dublin have done me
the honour to call me to the chair, and 1 will cheerfully obey their commands.
I most solemnly protest against the illegal and unconstitutional conduct of
the Sheriff this day; he has assumed to himself the controul of the meeting
at which he was merely ministerial : he has endeavoured to stifle the public
voice and public opinion ; his conduct is inconsistent with every notion of
law or liberty, and I am happy to obey the call which directs me to give all
the resistance in my power to proceedings so arbitrary and unconstitutional.

" Here the Sheriff was understood to threaten to commit Lord Cloncurry if
he persisted in keeping the chair.

" MR. O'CoNNELi,. — Prepare your prison, then, if it be large enough to
contain us all ; we will all accompany him. * *

" The Sheriff intimated that he would call in the military. He called
upon Lord Cloncurry at once to withdraw.

" LORD CLONCURRY. — I will not withdraw ; this is the freeholders' house,
built with the freeholders' money ; at their call I have taken the chair ; I am
a magistrate of this county ; no man shall use illegal violence in my presence,
unless he has a force superior to the law. In support of the law I am ready
to perish in this chair, and nothing but force shall tear me from it.

" The Sheriff said that the meeting was an illegal meeting, and that he
would disperse it.

" MR. O'CONNELL. — The meeting is a perfectly legal meeting ; let every
freeholder who values his rights remain, and if any man is prosecuted for
remaining here, let me be that man, for I have, and shall everywhere avow
that I have, advised and counselled you to continue the meeting.

" The Sheriff here withdrew ; the most perfect order and decorum still
prevailed. The Courthouse then exhibited one of the most crowded and
respectable meetings we have ever witnessed.

"Mr. Burne addressed the chair, but had not uttered many sentences when
a side door was thrown in with a violent crash. Soldiers, commanded by
one officer, entered, and were soon seen at every side of the meeting. They

332 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

ordered the freeholders, in the most peremptory manner, to disperse. Violence
was offered to some individuals.

" Lord Cloncurry kept his seat ; Mr. Curran placed himself by his side ;
two soldiers, with bayonets in their hands, ascended the bench close to Mr.
Curran, who goodhumouredly, but firmly, put the weapons aside. The
officer, standing on the table, ordered Lord Cloncurry to withdraw.

" Lord Cloncurry replied that he was a magistrate, presiding over a legal
meeting of (he King's subjects, that he would remain until the proceedings
were regularly brought to a close, unless he were removed by actual force.

" The officer said he must use force, and drew his sword, and force was
actually applied to Lord Cloncurry's person before he left the chair.

''The freeholders being thus dispersed by open violence, assembled in im-
mense numbers in the hotel opposite. A chair was procured for Lord Clon-
curry. Mr. Burne moved the address, which was read and seconded by Mr.
O'Connell. The question was then put upon it by Lord Cloncurry, when it
was adopted amidst the acclamations of the freeholders that filled and sur-
rounded the house.

"Mr. O'Connell then moved that a committee should be appointed to lay
before the Lord Lieutenant the outrageous and illegal conduct of the Sheriff
on that day. He prefaced the motion in a short and animated speech, in
which he congratulated the freeholders on their triumph, which the very
violence of their opponents was the strongest proof of their having obtained
* * The motion was seconded and carried with acclamation.

" It was then moved that Counsellor Burne should take the chair, and the
thanks of the meeting were voted, amidst the most enthusiastic cheering, to
Lord Cloncurry for his resolute, manly, and constitutional conduct that day,
and for the uniform and undeviating patriotism of his whole life. The meet-
ing then broke up.

" As Lord Cloucurry was departing there was an universal cry to chair
him into town, and he was surrounded for that purpose by a large group of
gentlemen near the gate of the Old Man's Hospital ; but his lordship succeeded
in preventing them from carrying their intention into execution by addressing
them in a short speech.

" He entreated them to forbear. They owed him no compliment, or, if
they did, their thanks amply repaid him. The approbation they had uniformly
bestowed upon his conduct was, to his mind, a reward superior to any monarch
could bestow. He would always live in Ireland. He was early attached to
the principles of liberty, the foundation of the British constitution. The
miseries of his native land only rendered those principles more dear to him,
and the events of that day served but the more to convince him of the value
of law and liberty, by showing how abject was the state of man when de-
prived of those blessings. A chairing, however innocent, might be construed
into a riot, and that construction might be written in blood. ' Let us,' said
his lordship, ' by our orderly conduct, furnish the strongest contrast to our
opponents, and not tarnish the victory we have gained this day by affording
them the slightest pretence for censure. Let us, my friend*, depart in peace,
and not give a handle to our enemies for any additional act of violence.'
The people then gave his lordship three cheers, and retired, exclaiming,
1 Your advice shall ever be considered by us as a command.' "

The indignation of the people at this daring attempt
on the part of Sir Richard Steele to outrage their feelings
with impunity knew no bounds. Lord Cloncurry and

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 333

his friends, who had been driven from the Courthouse
at the bayonet's point, were advised to take law proceed-
ings against the Sheriff. In March, 1821, his lordship
published an address to the freeholders of Dublin, wherein
he explained his reasons for not considering such a course
advisable : — " First," said he, " the proceedings might
easily be protracted far two years, at an enormous ex-
pense to you or me, whilst the taxes would probably
furnish means to defend the Sheriff. Secondly, it must
be recollected that juries are selected by sheriffs, and
they have not lately been in the habit of trying consti-
tutional questions, and to force such a study on any
judge in his old age would be altogether ill-natured.
Suppose some sly lawyer was to make the following
defence, how could I rebut it: — ' Either Lord Cloncurry
is a good or a bad man ; if the former, it was right of
the Sheriff to wish him out of this troublesome world ;
if the latter, it would be his duty to free the world from
him. I remember such a defence once made in a case
of murder, and the defendant was acquitted."* Other
reasons, expressed in a more serious spirit, followed. He
observed that if he thought it could at all tend to any
good result, he would straightway commence legal pro-
ceedings against the Sheriff at his own sole expense and
inconvenience.

So much for politics and public meetings. An occur-
rence connected with the private life of Lord Cloncurry
now claims our attention. On the 30th September,
1820, the hand of his lordship's favourite daughter, Mary
Margaret, by Eliza Georgiana, first Lady Cloncurry,
was clasped in wedlock by John Joseph Henry, Baron
de Roebeck. The nuptials took place at Lyons, and
were celebrated with much pomp and solemnity. After
the ceremony, the happy pair started for the Continent.
While spending the honeymoon in Paris it was the good
fortune of Tom Moore to meet them at the house of Mr.
Archibald Douglas, a relation by marriage of Lord
Cloncurry 's. We are informed by the bard, in his Diary

* Lord Cloncurry alluded to Toler's extraordinary charge on the trial of
Captain Frazer and his orderly for the murder of Dixon hi 1799. See page
140 of this work.

334 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

of January 24th, 1821, that himself and Mrs. Moore,
Washington Irving, and Lord Miltown, were present at
dinner, and that the Baroness de Roebeck joined them
in the evening. " She is a young bride of seventeen,"
writes Tom, " with the most perfect Hebe eyes and
cheeks I have seen for a long time " — a great deal from
Mr. Moore, who was a profound connoisseur in female
beauty. Little it was then supposed that three years
more would see an Act of Parliament dissevering that
union which appeared in 1820 so pregnant with the
elements of present and future happiness.

Meanwhile George the Fourth's popularity was rapidly
on the ebb. His English subjects began literally to
loathe him. Regarding Queen Caroline as a maligned
and persecuted woman, they looked upon him as the
maligner and persecutor. His Majesty felt the English
ground slipping from under him, and as a dernier resort,
he announced his intention of establishing at least a firm
footing upon Irish soil. That the royal visit to Ireland
in 1821 was more from motives of policy than affection,
is as evident as the day. Full well he knew the impul-
sive disposition of the Irish people, and how easy it would
be to deceive them by plausible acting. His Majesty's
advent was heralded across the Channel by ten thousand
trumpets, and the announcement was received with
shouts of enthusiasm and delight. The heart of every
Catholic beat quick and loudly, in the firm conviction
that his visit was the harbinger of great and happy poli-
tical changes. No English monarch had, since the days
of King James, visited poor Ireland, and George IV.
was the first who came to her in the spirit of of concilia-
tion. Joy was universal — unanimity animated every
heart. Setting the hope of political amelioration aside,
nothing was thought of but how to give his Majesty a
genuine Irish cead mille failthe. Triumphal arches were
erected, processions organized, deputations rehearsed, and
glowing accounts of his arrival written in advance for
the newspapers. At length he came. Booming of can-
non tore the air. His public entry was unquestionably
the most magnificent spectacle ever witnessed in Ireland.
The warm autumnal air resounded with the cheers of a

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 335

warmer hearted people. A sea of heads surged around
on every side. Poor people ! One of the most finished
actors that ever played upon the credulity of mankind
appears amongst you ! With a countenance radiant with
smiles, and to all appearance beaming with philanthropy,
George, King of England, received the plaudits of his
subjects. In the royal button-hole an enormous bunch
of shamrocks — almost equal in dimensions to a head of
cabbage — was ostentatiously inserted. Anon he would
point to it and smile urbanely on the people.

On his arrival in the Phoenix Park, a deputation of
well-oiled marrow-bones at once prostrated themselves
before him. Addresses were read, and congratulations
offered on his Majesty's safe arrival. The royal hypo-
crite smiled, expressed an innate affection for his Irish
Catholic subjects, and declared that in return for their
kindness he would drink their healths collectively in a
glass of good Irish whiskey punch ! The people, daz-
zled with his splendour — captivated with his urbanity,
forgot all grievances and dissension, and effervescing
with loyalty, invoked blessings on his head. Never were
people more dexterously cajoled. No one appeared to
be exempt from the contagion. Even O'Connell — per-
haps the most clear-sighted intellect that ever shone upon
Ireland — was deceived. He offered pecuniary assistance
towards the erection of an Irish palace for His Majesty,
which, in the madness of the hour, the Irish public
seriously proposed to undertake. He suggested the for-
mation of a " Loyal Georgian Club," panegyrized the
king for his benevolent intentions towards us; and, when
the hour of his Majesty's departure arrived, whom do
we find presenting a crown of laurels a genoux to the
monarch, but the future Liberator of Catholic Ireland —
Daniel O'Connell.*

The royal yacht glided from the harbour. " He stood
upon the deck," said Sheil, " and thence looked back and
saw the hills by which he was encompassed crowded to
the tops by hundreds of thousands who sent their bene-

* See "Fagan's Life of Daniel O'Connell," vol. i. p. 26G.

336 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

dictions along with him. Is it possible that at such a
moment his heart should not have melted within him ?
Did not the tears of a generous sensibility rush into his
eyes ; and as the shouts of his people came from the re-
ceding shores across the waters, did he not exclaim — ' I
will do something for Ireland.' " All, however, he did for
her was a letter from Lord Sidmouth, written by com-
mand, wherein conciliation was recommended, and nothing
promised. Ah ! poor deluded Irish people, when will
sad experience teach you sense?

Lord Cloncurry, although he expressed every feeling
of loyalty towards his Majesty, refused to join in the sub-
scription to erect an Irish palace. Ireland was in a state
of the greatest misery at the time, and his lordship, when
applied to, said, that if he had any money to spend, with-
out going into debt, it would, he was sure, best accord
with the wishes of the King if he were to give useful
employment to his starving people. " There are now
near £12,000 collected," said his lordship, " from the
officers of the Preventive Service and others. I would
recommend three ways of employing it; the two first
would do permanent good, and give bread for a year to
five or six hundred people; the third would much tend
to restore peace to the country. First," said he, " remove
the fords in the Shannon, and make it a river instead of
a chain of lakes, bottling up the water within the country.
Secondly, make main drains through the Bog of Allen.

And, thirdly, build a palace on the Gold Coast for the

and the ,* and by a proceeding the reverse of ostra-
cism, get them to inhabit it."

A most flattering address from the High Sheriff, the
Lady Ponsonby, the gentlemen, clergy, freeholders, and
landholders of Kildare, was presented to Lord Cloncurry
in June, 1821. Men of all parties, who were eye-witnesses
to the important services conferred by his lordship on the
poor, in his capacity of magistrate, employer, and resident

* In the autograph letter of Lord Cloncuny's, which furnished us with
materials for this paragraph, his lordship makes use of blanks precisely as
they occur in the text.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 337

landlord, eagerly affixed their signatures to the document.
Lord Cloncurry 's countenance glowed with satisfaction.
" Accept my warmest thanks," said he, " for your affec-
tionate and truly gratifying address. A man who is loved
by all his neighbours, of all ranks and of all persuasions,
may well be proud; he must have some good in him.
He might be covered with ribands and orders, and be
worse than worthless."

In December, 1821, Lord Cloncurry was induced to
accept an invitation to the grand inaugural banquet of
Sir J. K. James, Lord Mayor of Dublin, who thought fit,
in the course of the evening, to propose, notwithstanding
the presence of several Roman Catholic guests, a certain
well-known Orange toast, eulogistic of the memory of
William III. Cloncurry, disgusted at the bad taste of
this proceeding, turned down his glass and remained
seated. In acting thus, his lordship drew upon himself
a fierce discharge of vituperation from the Conservative
press, which he vainly endeavoured to lighten by the
publication of a moderate but argumentative public letter.
Individually he respected William III., as he was a liberal
Dutchman, and intended much good to Ireland, but as
corporators are not necessarily historians, they generally
give this toast from party motives, and hence he disap-
proved of it.

In January, 1822, Lord Cloncurry addressed his cele-
brated letter to the Duke of Leinster, " On a Stipendiary
Police, and the present State of Ireland." Not being, at
that time, a representative peer, he had no more respectable
a mode of communicating his opinions to the Legislature
than through the medium of a piiblic letter. It appeared
in all the newspapers of the day, and was afterwards, if
we mistake not, reprinted as a pamphlet. A more elabo-
rate document had never before emanated from his lord-
ship. Having begun by exposing the hitherto but too
successfully concealed corruption, and inconsistencies, ex-
isting in a large portion of the then system of Irish law
administration, from the barony constable and tithe
proctor to the custos rotulorum and justice of the peace,
his lordship entered into a careful investigation of various

Q

338 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

minutiae, requiring correction, and interwoven with the
commission, that would hardly have occurred to other
than a profound thinker, and one who had the advantage
of his country and countrymen entirely at heart. Unlike
those empty, spouting demagogues, who pour forth de-
nunciations by wholesale on the working of certain sys-
tems, of which they may chance professedly to disapprove,
but, at the same time, respectfully decline the trouble of
suggesting such modifications as would effectually remove
the objection, his lordship, for every grievance and abuse
exposed, pointed out a safe and easy remedy. To attempt
an enumeration of them would be impossible. We do not
think they were less than thirty.

A senseless panic pervaded, at this time, the ranks of
his Majesty's Government, in England and Ireland, owing
to some grossly exaggerated reports that had reached
them, relative to the spread of Ribbonism. They firmly
believed three-forths of the country to be in an actual state
of organized revolt. Although a crime had not been
committed for many years within its limits, the Lord
Lieutenant thought fit to place his lordship's county
(Kildare) under the operation of the Insurrection Act.
Lord Cloncurry referred to this aggression, and, by means
of irrefragable proof, succeeded in convincing every un-
prejudiced understanding, that crime never prevailed to
a less extent, not only in Kildare, but throughout Ireland
generally.

Who were the peasantry indebted to for having circu-
lated these slanders ? Orange squireen magistrates in
quest of Castle favour. " No person," observed his lord-
ship, " not in the secret, can imagine the love our inferior
magistrates have for the Castle yard. Though the secret
service money can no longer be so freely lavished on the
contriver of a good plot, there still remains a SMELL of it
which possesses most attractive properties. Nothing
tends so much to keep away English capital, and to in-
crease the number of absentees, than the lies told of the
country by those who fatten on its misery and degrada-
tion." '

The plan which his lordship carefully outlined for the

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 339

establishment of a stipendiary police, or constabulary, in
country parishes, their number, the style and formation of
their barracks, &c., excited much admiration. Towards
the close of his letter, he took a rapid but searching glance
at the wretched post office regulations, the tithe,* ab-
sentee, taxing, and excise systems, the objectionable
Education Society of Kildare-place, and other institutions
long since either abolished or modified. Altogether, a
more able or a more useful letter had not, for a consider-
able time, appeared. The greatest proof of the success
attending it was the shower of official reactionary para-
graphs and pamphlets that greeted its appearance. Their
vulgar and scurrilous tone could not fail to disgust any
dispassionate reader. Lord Cloncurry headed his letter
with a Latin motto — a frequent habit with him.f This
was clumsily satirized by a Government pamphleteer,
who offered " Some Remarks on Lord Cloncurry 's Letter
on Police." " Where," he says, " Lord Cloncurry found
the motto he made use of, or whether it is not one of his
own creation, it is impossible not to give him credit for
its very close connexion with the letter which it heads.
' De omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis1 — on everythin
and something else — was a well-chosen miscellany in whic
his lordship appears to have emptied his lumber-room for
the purpose of presenting a new year's gift to his Grace
of Leinster."

The visit to Ireland, in 1823, of the celebrated English
philanthropist, Robert Owen, is, doubtless, 4 in the recol*-
lection of our Irish readers. The peculiar views of this
most kind-hearted and benevolent man are so well known
that to more than allude to them would be unnecessary
here. Mr. Owen is now in the eighty-fifth year of his

* In connexion with this subject his lordship strongly condemned the in-
creased power recently given to the magistracy of hearing tithe cases. The
bloodshed which constantly took place, when endeavouring to enforce pay-
ment of that cruel tax, is well known. Clerical magistrates adjudicating in
favour of their own tithe proctors was, for years after, of lamentably frequent
occurrence. Full particulars of the anti- tithe movement, in 1831-35, will
be found in their proper place.

f "Jam satis Irce" surmounted his letter to Smith O'Brien, in 1847.
Similar instances might be cited.

340 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

age, and for nearly sixty of that period lie has been
periodically pressing under the notice of a prejudiced
world, his mighty but somewhat Utopian project, for the
establishment of a " new existence of man upon the
earth." Mr. Owen is of opinion, that men should labour
in hundreds together, on the principle of the bee, or the
ant. In endeavouring to realize this scheme, Mr. Owen
expended nearly half his fortune at New Lanark, in
Scotland. The result gave him cause to hope that his
vast machinery and plan of working might, with beneficial
effects, be extended to Ireland. At that period, andfor long
anterior to it, she was overwhelmed with poverty, oppressed
with discontent, and torn by party animosities. An im-
mense quantity of unproductive wasteland, an da superfluity
of good soil, existed in the country. There were labourers
galore; Mr. Owen addressed them, and proved that capital
was created by labour judiciously applied to land. He pro-
duced his authorities for the allegation, that 1,000 people,
by healthy and pleasant employment, when their powers
and industry were properly combined and directed, could
produce a most comfortable living, in all respects, for 3,000.
" A stranger," said Mr. Owen, " possessing an experience
of more than thirty years practically devoted to the sub-
ject, offers to assist you with his time and his money ;
and he offers this assistance without even the desire of
any return, except the satisfaction of seeing or knowing
that you are in the actual possession of the happiness
which itishis highest wish you should permanently enjoy."
Many shrewd intellects approved of Mr. Owen's scheme.
Aided by them lie established the Hibernian Philan-
thropic Society. General Brown and Mr. Owen contri-
buted each £1,000 to its funds. Others offered tracts of
land for the purposes of the Society. Lord Cloncurry
was fascinated with Mr. Owen's project. He drew a
cheque in favour of the Society for £500. Hamilton
Rowan, Sir C. Molyneux, Sir F. Flood, Sir W. Braba-
zon and Dr. Macartney, put down their names for £100
each.

-Previously, however, to the first meeting of the " Hi-
bernian Philanthropic Society," in May, 1823, Mr. Owen

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 341

visited Ireland, with a view, mainly, to sound the
opinions of Lord Cloncurry and other influential patriots,
in reference to the practicability of his scheme. He
came to Ireland for the first time in Octoher, 1822. He
had frequent interviews with Lord Cloncurry, who gave
him much and cheering encouragement. Whatever cor-
respondence passed between them, from that period until
1848, Mr. Owen has kindly placed at our disposal. The
first letter in the collection runs as follows : —

£No. 13.] LORD CLONCURRY TO ROBERT OWEN, ESQ.

" 20th October, 1822.

" DR. SIR, — I forgot to ask you where you are to be waited on in Dublin
in order that I may join my friends in paying our respects to you next
Wednesday, which I shall do with great sincerity.

" I am to preside at a charity dinner in Dublin, on the 25th. Any time
after that, suiting your convenience and that of Captain M'Donnell to give
me the pleasure of your company for a few days at Lyons, I shall endeavour
to present to you a tew gentlemen well acquainted with the state of this fin«
but unhappy island.

" With great respect, your humble Servant,

" CLOXCURRY."

Mr. Owen accepted the invitation, and passed a week
with his lordship at Lyons. Soon after, he left for
England, but not until Lord Cloncurry promised to
watch over the young institution with a fatherly eye.
The following interesting letter will serve to show how
warm an interest his lordship took in its welfare and
growth : —

[No. 14.] LORD CLONCURRY TO ROBERT OWEN, KSQ.

" Poor Ireland ! Lyons, Celbridge, January 2n</, 1823.
" MY DEAR SIR, — Our progress is slow— I wish I could add, sure. We have
been at considerable expense printing and distributing. We have met some
extraordinary instances of good sense and zeal amongst the middle and lower
orders. Some of their letters, descriptive of the present state of the wretched
peasantry, we will publish. Of our noble or wealthy subscribers, the number
has not increased one ; yet to them it is of the greatest and most vital impor-
tance to alter the condition and the feelings of the country at large. Depra-
vity, and a determined spirit of vengeance, seem to have taken firm root in the
breasts of the despairing multitude. Our rulers think of no other remedy than
the sword and the halter. The whole revenue of the country will be swal-
lowed up to maintain a force which, after all, \s totally inadequate to the
end in view. One would suppose that you would have been hailed in Ireland
as the true projjhet, that you would have aided the saints in mitigating
Popery, the Catholics in blunting the fury of Orange insolence and cruelty,
half converting each to good will and industry. But, as yet, our parties only

342 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

think how they can inj are their opponents, not how they can serve them-
selves or their country. You have zealous and grateful friends, but unless
Parliamentary or private munificence of the British public assist us, nothing
effectual can be done, and ruin stares us in the face. When you were here,
the country was quiet for some miles round Lyons. It is now proclaimed to
a short distance of my hall-door. I was in Connaught since I saw you.
There the military were giving out small portions of potatoes to the starving
multitude, at the same time the bayonet ready to prevent a rush. All this
in a country the powers and the facilities of which you well know.

" Our petition went on as you directed. You, of course, have it before
now. I trust it may produce something; but Goulburne vill oppose.
He prefers giving £50,000 or £60,000 to convert our Papists, not one of
whom is converted, and the money is divided amongst the saints and the
hypocrites. Not a penny is expended to educate the ignorant Papist unless
lie be first converted — not a penny to promote industry or useful labour, in
a country where each penny so expended would repay tenfold. You know I
am in less danger than most others, yet am I full of fears, if not for myself,
at least for my children and grandchildren.

"All unite in best wishes for you and yours with your affectionate Friend,

" CLOXCUBRY.

" P.S.— Mr. Secretary Groves is very attentive and useful — the committee
seldom well attended — Alderman M'Kenny, Sir Wm. Brabazon, Hamilton
Rowan, and Dr. Macartney the chief labourers. Circulars have been sent out
pretty generally."

In the foregoing letter, Lord Cloncurry informs Mr.
Owen that, since lie last had the pleasure of seeing him,
the County Kildare was proclaimed to within a short
distance of his own hall-door. In connexion with the
arbitrary law that trampled down a peaceable people in
1823, there has been an interesting anecdote related by
Lord Cloncurry, which we should not consider ourselves
justified in altogether overlooking. In May, 1846, the
Irish Coercion Bill passed through both Houses. Lord
Cloncuvry, in the earlier stages of its progress, published
a public letter, from which we cull the following ex-
tracts:— " It was my fate, as a magistrate," wrote his
lordship, " to be obliged to assist in the administration
of a law of nearly equal atrocity, some years ago. I will
mention one or two circumstances which occurred during
the first Administration of Lord Wellesley, not only a
great statesman, but a scholar of a most cultivated and
enlarged understanding, and a man of experience and
humanity, no way inclined to deny or to despise our
country. The barony of North Naas happened to be
proclaimed about 1823. It joined the barony in which

CLONCUR11Y AND HIS TIMES. 343

I resided, and of which I was the only magistrate. It
was, however, not proclaimed. The demesne lands of
Bishopscourt, where Lady Ponsonby resided, were in
my unproclaimed barony; and amongst her ladyship's
tenantry was a very respectable man named Kenny. He
was employed in hay-making on a summer's evening;
and wanting change to pay his men, Kenny left his own
unproclaimed barony, and while in the act of getting the
change, the police came in and arrested him for being
out of his house after sunset, though at that time broad
daylight. He was brought before me. I immediately
bailed him, though I doubted nay right to do so. He
was tried at the next special sessions of Naas, before a
full bench of justices, Mr. George Bennett presiding.
Only one magistrate joined me in refusing to convict.
Mr. Bennett told me how important it was that the
magistrates should act with unanimity — that, strictly
speaking, Kenny was from home after sunset; and that,
if I would preserve the unanimity of the court, he would
wait on the Lord Lieutenant, and have the prisoner libe-
rated. He did wait on his Excellency ; but Lord
Wellesley, instead of using his prerogative, reprobated
the verdict, said that it was contrary to the spirit of the
law and to common sense, and that they must reconsider
it. Meantime, Schoales, Assistant-Barrister, went his
circuit to the North, and next special sessions did not
take place for many weeks. When they did come on,
the magistrates refused to alter their verdict, and poor
Kenny remained in jail, and there might have stayed,
had not his good fortune brought Lord Fitzwilliam to
Bishopscourt. He accompanied me to the Castle, and
we obtained the liberation of Kenny. I write this to
show what can be done, even in a good county. I
believe I have accurately stated what had occurred, not
even suppressing my own shameful cowardice: mais (as
my friend Judge Perrin knows) il faut hurler avec les
loups.

" That event took place many years ago, and I am
still ashamed of it. At the same sessions, an old tailor
was sentenced to transportation for being out of his own

344 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

dwelling at night. It was proved that, according to the
custom of his trade, he was boarding and lodging at the
house of an employer, a respectable person. He would
have been acquitted, only some magistrate recollected
his having been active in 1798, twenty-five years before."
Meanwhile we must not forget to look after Mr.
Owen. In February, 1823, he returned to Dublin, and
found to his satisfaction that, under the auspices of Lord
Cloncurry, much work had been done. He at once made
arrangements for an aggregate meeting to be held in the
Rotundo, for the purpose of fully expressing and explain-
ing his views. This came off on the 18th March. The
Duke of Leinster was present, as also Lords Cloncurry
and Meath, Archbishops Troy and Murray, Sir P. Cramp-
ton, Lady Rossmore, and the Lord Mayor. It was in-
tended that the meeting should have been promptly fol-
lowed up by a banquet, but some unforeseen circumstance
occurred to prevent it. Apropos to this contre-temps we
find the following amongst Mr. Owen's letters : —

[No. 15.] LORD CLOXCURRY TO ROBERT OWEN, ESQ.

"3lst March, 1823.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I am, on the whole, better pleased that the dinner should be
postponed ; but I hope that it will take place with triumphant unanimity
after the 12th. The Duke's engagements, I fear, render his stay impossible.
Will you cool yourself by breathing the fresh air of Lyons for a while before
or after the meeting? It will much oblige your sincere and very attached
Friend, '

Like all public men, Mr. Owen was soon abused
to his heart's content. The priesthood, Protestant and
Catholic, protested that his system of amelioration would
strike at the root of revealed religion, and ought, in con-
sequence, to be reprobated by all virtuous men. Secular
sages asserted that his scheme was wild and visionary.
Lord Cloncurry gave the subject deep and anxious con-
sideration, and vainly endeavoured to see the grounds
on which those mighty objections were erected. He was
now much attached to Mr. Owen. Boldly he came for-
ward before an indignant public, and on his own buckler
received many of the blows originally intended for that
gentleman. Several clergymen, especially Dr. Singer,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 345

afterwards one of the Protestant Episcopacy, expressed
themselves in very harsh language against Mr. Owen,
while endeavouring at the Rotundo meeting to develope
his plans for the amelioration of the labouring and other
classes. Lord Cloncurry was indignant at what he con-
ceived to be an unseemly interruption, and with some
warmth observed that Mr. Owen's conduct appeared to
him more consonant to the Word of God than that of the
reverend gentlemen who attacked him. On the 7th
April, 1823, his lordship addressed an excellent public
letter to the Dublin Evening Herald, calculated to miti-
gate, if not allay, the storm of wrath which had now
begun to assail Mr. Owen with peculiar potency. " I
have had many conversations," said Lord Cloncurry,
" with that excellent individual, and as few persons are
more conversant than myself with the situation of the
people of Ireland, I think I may venture to give some
opinion as to the practicability of his system. The age
of theory, of enthusiasm, and of ardent hope, is pretty
well over with me — not so the love of country, the
desire of serving her, or the deepest gratitude to those
who wish her well. My first sentiment, therefore,
towards Mr. Owen, is that of respect and thankfulness.
He had heard of our almost hopeless misery ; of our divi-
sions, and our blind and factious violence ; lie left his
happy home, not to profit of our folly, or to live on our
labour, our tithes, or our taxes, but to give, according to
his means, relief, advice, and (he hopes) a remedy. I
have seen him inquire, with patient and earnest solici-
tude, into the circumstances of the poor and the indus-
trious, and I have observed the liberality with which he
ministered to their wants." Lord Cloncurry went on to
say that it is impossible for any man to turn his entire
thoughts for a length of years to one particular project,
without mingling a little enthusiasm with judgment, and
theory with practice. Some of Mr. Owen's views, he
admitted, were open to objection, but the greater number
of those intended to confer a benefit on Ireland had been
practically proved, and bore the test of close and arith-
metical examination. Lord Cloncurry concluded with

Q 2

346 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

an elaborate but simple exposition of Mr. Owen's plans
for the amelioration of Ireland. Mr. Owen presided at
three successive meetings in the Rotundo, previous to
the formation of his " Irish Philanthropic Society." The
crowds who congregated within and around that capacious
edifice, in order to hear him develope his plans for popu-
lar amelioration, baffle all description. Hundreds were
obliged to return to their homes without being able to
obtain a glimpse of the platform. Ladies fainted even
in the reserved seats, and were obliged to be removed
on chairs through the windows and skylight. The first
meeting of the society was well attended. Numbers soli-
cited the honour of becoming life members, and spoke
warmly in favour of Mr. Owen's plans. At the close of
the proceedings Lord Cloncurry rose, and in a most feel-
ing and impressive speech entreated every lady and
gentleman present, who had been admitted members of
the Philanthropic Society, to diffuse in their respective
circles a knowledge of its principles, and of those vast
and permanent advantages which the labouring classes
must derive from its success.

In the foregoing pages we have adverted to many
benevolent, public and private, acts of Lord Cloncurry ;
but a vast number in the latter category will probably
never come to the knowledge of his biographer. We
have reason to know that a day never passed without
witnessing some generous and philanthropic proceeding
on the part of his lordship, which might vainly be searched
for among newspaper records. A few come to light
by chance occasionally. Thomas Moore, on August 21,
1823, dined at Lady Morgan's, in Dublin. Lord Clon-
curry and his brother-in-law, Dunsany, were present, as
also Hamilton Rowan, and John Burne, the barrister.
" Lord Cloncurry," writes Moore, in his Diary, " men-
tioned his having (successfully) interceded with Lord
Wellesley for the pardon of a man who had been, with
several others, found guilty of a murder at Athy, but
who, there was every reason to believe, was completely
innocent. A priest riding up to Dublin, for the same
purpose of intercession, died on his arrival from the over-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 347

haste with which he had travelled." This little trait,
accidentally disclosed, is doubtless merely a specimen of
many million acts of humanity and benevolence which
characterized the routine of Lord Cloncurry's daily life,
and which, except to a few parties, have not been made
public. Were we as fond of exaggerated metaphor as a
certain Irish orator, laughed at by Moore in his Diary,
we would probably add that the trait alluded to may be
regarded as the accidental falling of a stone from the in-
visible summit of that lofty column of private charity
which the good man built to elevate his soul to heaven.

In 1820 the machinery of the once celebrated Kildare
Place Society was set in motion. Professing to instruct
for nominal remuneration the humbler classes of the Irish
people, it was the forerunner and basis of the National
System of education. The Roman Catholic hierarchy,
on condition that the religious tenets of the pupils were
in nowise to be tampered with, cheerfully gave the
society their countenance and support. Thousands of
schools at once started into existence. A large Parlia-
mentary grant crowned the institution. For a time its
proceedings gave very general satisfaction, but at length
the Catholic clergy were reduced to the necessity of
raising their voices against the modus operandi of Kildare
Place. Some time previously the heads of that society
thought fit to pass a resolution expressive of their deter-
mination, that the schools to which they extended aid
should have the Bible, without note or comment, daily
read aloud by the pupils, or else cease to receive support.
That Roman Catholics emphatically disapprove of the
system of interpreting the Bible according to individual

/• T • • i T mi

tancy and caprice is, we believe, notorious, ihey insist
upon the authorized interpretation of the Church. Hav-
ing heard of the startling decision come to at Kildare
Place, it is hardly matter of wonder that the Catholic
pastors of those parishes wherein the schools were situated
should have declared on their part that the Bible, from
its occasional ambiguity of tone, was not the book exactly
suited to the simple and undeveloped intellect of a school-
boy. The priesthood strongly -expressed their disapproval

3-48 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

of Catholic pupils continuing to attend these schools.
The children obeyed, and thus the poor Catholic, for
whom the legislature designed its benefaction, ceased to
derive benefit from a grant given for the general purposes
of education.

^The objections at that time urged against the indis-
criminate circulation of the Bible, and its private inter-
pretation, were not confined exclusively to Roman Catho-
lics. Several dignitaries of the Established Church, with
the Lord Primate at their head, withdrew from the
councils of Kildare Place. They felt that the daily mul-
tiplication of sects in Great Britain, almost beyond the
number of texts in the Scripture, was mainly attributable
to its indiscriminate circulation, and the capricious inter-
pretation of ignorant and unreasoning intellects.

Disgusted at the gross violation of the promises ex-
pressly made by the heads of Kildare Place, a few
disinterested and upright men opened a subscription list
for the establishment of an Irish National Society, which
would diffuse the blessings of moral education without
interfering with the religious tenets of those whom it
instructed. The list of subscribers was published in the
newspapers, and we find the name of Lord Cloncurry
heading the list with the munificent donation of
£50. Not, however, for many years after did Govern-
ment place the coping-stone on this philanthropic under-
taking.

On Tuesday, May 7, 1824, was held the first great
meeting of the Irish National Society. Lord Cloncurry,
Archbishop Troy, SirT. Esmonde, O'Connell, Hamilton
Rowan, and others, were present, and protested eloquently
and forcibly against the gross inconsistencies of Kildare
Place. Lord Cloncurry delivered an excellent speech
at this meeting. He observed that it was sometimes
customary with him to read aloud the Bible for the edifi-
cation of his family. From the fact of having repeatedly
on such occasions been necessitated either to close the
sacred volume, or pass on to another chapter, in conse-
quence of the likelihood of its language sometimes to
prove offensive to modest ears, he argued the unfitness

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 349

of placing it as a school-book in the hands of youth.
Having expressed his disgust at the breach of agreement
already referred to, and the insolent unfairness of the
society in attempting to vindicate so disgraceful a pro-
ceeding, his lordship descanted on the inutility, not to
say the danger, of even adults deducing their own con-
clusions from scriptural language. In the following ex-
tract we find his lordship calling upon Government to
establish the National System of education. His cries,
although for eight years unheeded, were ultimately not
in vain.

" I have great hope that Parliament will do some-
thing towards the education of the poorer classes in this
country. It is melancholy to contemplate the state of
wretchedness of a large portion of the Irish peasantry ;
and I am fully convinced that the great expense which
Government is put to for the maintenance of an armed
force in this country would be totally unnecessary, if
Catholic clergymen had the facilities of imparting the
blessings of education to their respective flocks. Well I
know the benefits to be derived from education, for in
the neighbourhood where I reside an address of Mr.
O'Connell's was published and circulated among the
peasantry, with the best possible effect. Reason will do
much with the Irish people. Kindness will do every-
thing— violence or cruelty nothing. A system of violence
and cruelty has been too long pursued to wards 'Ireland."

Lord Cloncurry, on the first establishment of the Kildare
Place Society, desirous of giving it every support, applotted
a portion of his estate for the purpose of erecting thereon
as many of their new schools as possible. Having soon,
however, understood that the Bible was ordered to be
read aloud during school-time,* without note or comment,

* Lord Cloncurry appears to have watched over the interests of the Roman
Catholic Church at this period, like a wary sentinel. O'Connell, who always
enjoyed the reputation of being quite au fait in this capacity, knew nothing
of the breach of faith, on the part of Kildare Place, until his attention waa
called to it by Lord Cloncurry. On 8th March, 1824, the future Liberator
•poke as follows, in the Catholic Association : — " I was myself a subscriber
for many years without attending the meetings, because they put forward
a notice, that their object was to facilitate education, without interfering

350 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

and that such was in antagonism to the principles of
Roman Catholics, he applied to the Committee of Kil-
dare Place to know whether this extraordinary order
had really been issued. The gentlemen composing that
body replied that a recently introduced rule enforced the
observance of Bible-reading in schools. " If Roman Ca-
tholics," said his lordship, " consider private scriptural
perusal dangerous for adults, how much more so would
they for children. To obey your rule would be to violate
one of their own." A few days subsequent to this, Lord
Cloncurry, accompanied by the late Earl of Fingal, and
Mr. Randal M'Donnell, proceeded to the society's house,
and pointed out to the assembled Biblicals one of their
own resolutions, which declared that the benefits of edu-
cation should be extended to all Christians, without
interference with their religious principles, and another
ordering the Bible to be used as a school-book, at certain
hours every day. " The one," said Lord Cloncurry,
" appears to me incompatible with the other. May I beg
that you will expunge this offensive regulation, and pro-
mise not to interfere with the religious principles of the
children." His lordship reasoned, for some time, with
the Biblical Committee, but soon was obliged to give up
the argument in despair, as, like Hudibras, for every why
they had a wherefore.

In the course of a few days, however, he felt himself
filled with renewed courage. Lord Cloncurry again
waited on the members of the Committee. He calmly
explained to them the regulations of the Catholic Church,
in respect to the private interpretation of Scripture, and
requested that, once for all, they would adhere to the ori-
ginal agreement. The Committee begged leave to assure
Lord Cloncurry, that Dr. Troy, the Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Dublin, approved of the system. Lord
Cloncurry, astonished, withdrew, and, accompanied by the

with the religious tenets of any. My attention was at last aroused by the
best of Irishmen, and one far beyond my eulogism. Lord Cloncurry in-
formed me, that in his neighbourhood the institution was perfectly useless,
relief having been refused to any school in which the Bible was not received
as a school book, without note or comment."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 351

Duke of Leinster, waited on Dr. Troy, in order to ascer-
tain from that prelate whether such an opinion had really
been expressed by him. Dr. Troy, in reply, distinctly
assured his noble visitors that he neither gave, nor durst
give, any such approbation. Lord Cloncurry returned to
the Committee, and stated the result of his visit to Dr.
Troy. Judge of his astonishment at being informed that
it was not Dr. Troy, but another Catholic Archbishop,
Dr. Everard, who sanctioned their system. Lord Clon-
curry again withdrew. As Dr. Everard resided in Water-
ford, a personal interview was, of course, out of the ques-
tion, and, under these circumstances, his lordship requested
O'Connell to write to him on the subject. " The answer,"
said Lord Cloncurry,* " denying, most positively, the
assertions of the Committee, was produced to them, to the
Duke of Leinster, and to myself. After such equivocal
conduct, I thought it my duty to state the case at a ge-
neral meeting of the society. The persons employed by
the Committee on that occasion, and their conduct, is in
the recollection of the public ; as also, that a scurrilous
and indecent pamphlet, abusing me, was offered at the
door of the school-house to all persons who attended the
meeting. That this infamous libel was printed with the
funds of the society, I cannot say, but as it was distributed
within their precincts, it is natural to suppose it had the
approbation of the Committee, whom I had very unin-
tentionally convicted of falsehood." Disgusted at their
inconsistency, their duplicity, and their cant, Lord Clon-
curry at once proffered his resignation as a member. The

* See Lord Cloncurry's letter to the Catholic Association, dated Decem-
ber 25, 1824. His lordship concluded in the following words : — " I con-
clude by reiterating my opinion, that common fair play is all that is neces-
sary to secure the peace and good conduct of the people of Ireland. As the
Union has taken away all the chief proprietors, their absence must, as far as
possible, be compensated by furnishing employment and food to the people,
by a system of drainage and tillage, the building of villages, the institution
of modified poor-rates, the abolition of tithes, of corporation laws, of every
society giving a power to the few to oppress the many for religion sake.
Let tlic rudiments of education be put within the reach of the poorest, on
moderate terms, and in accordance with the t eligious feelings of their parents.
By such regulations peace will be secured, and what is called our overgrown
population will be our greatest blessing."

352 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Duke of Leinster, who had been, for two years, president
of the institution, withdrew from the same causes. Num-
bers imitated their example.

Lord Cloncurry 's name was much before the public in
1824. On February 16th, he wrote a letter to the High
Sheriff of Dublin, on the subject of city tolls, which he
considered " to the full as oppressive in their nature, and
the mode of collection, as tithes." On 13th March, we
find him convening a meeting in the Commercial Build-
ings, to inquire into the practicability of draining and culti-
vating the several bogs of Ireland. The resolutions passed
at the conclusion of the proceedings show us that nearly
three million acres of unproductive bog soil existed, which
might, at a moderate expense, be converted into the pur-
poses of agriculture, pasturage, or planting. Furthermore,
there appeared to be two millions of acres of waste lands,
comprehended chiefly in mountain districts, and conver-
tible to similar purposes. At the conclusion of the meet-
ing it was resolved — " That the reclamation and improve-
ment of these immense tracts would afford an extensive
field for the profitable outlay of capital ; for the useful
occupation of a redundant, growing, and unemployed
population, and would mainly contribute to the tranquil-
lity and prosperity of the country."

Impressed by these considerations, and in the hope of
receiving the sanction of Parliament, and a helping hand
from Government, Lord Cloncurry and his colleagues
commenced the formation of a Joint Stock Company, for
the purpose of reclaiming the bog soil and waste lands of
Ireland. They decided that their capital stock should be
£500,000 in 20,000 shares of £25 each ; and that no
person should subscribe for more than twenty. A com-
mittee, consisting of Lord Cloncurry, Baron de Roebeck
(his son-in-law), William Murphy, John Burne, K.C.,
Peter Brophy, and other men of practical experience,
was formed in order to carry out the object of the meet-
ing.

For a time nothing could progress with steadier pros-
pects of success, but the British Government declined
extending towards it a helping hand, and after a deter-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 353

mined resistance this laudable and ingenious project fell,
vanquished, to the ground.

In April, 1824, we find it announced by the public
papers that Lord Cloncurry had just offered a premium
of £20 to the first person who should bring one hundred
tons of potatoes by canal and the Shannon to Limerick ;
and to a second (conveying a similar quantity) £10.
" Why," said the Evening Post, " does not Lord Clon-
curry find more imitators? Government will lend the
money if they can get security." The counties of
Limerick and Clare were at this time in a fearful state
of destitution.

In 1823 the old Catholic Board underwent an entire
remodelling by O'Connell and Shiel. To the massive
intellect of O'Connell the Association may be considered
as mainly indebted for its strength. The men of Ireland,
who appreciated his invaluable services, resolving to show
him some mark of their esteem and admiration, decided
upon entertaining their gifted countryman at a public
dinner. Lord Cloncurry took an active part in the
arrangements, and at once consented to occupy the chair.
But in consequence of a sudden and grievous domestic
calamity — we believe the unhappy married life of his
only daughter — Lord Cloncurry was obliged at the
eleventh hour to send an apology to his friend, Michael
O'Brien : —

[No. 16.] "June 1, 1824.

" MY DEAK SIR, — A very heavy and unexpected domestic calamity will
prevent my meeting our respected friends on Thursday. Pray apologise for
me.

" At the best I felt very unequal to the situation in which their kindness
would have placed me, and which nothing but my paramount love for Ireland
could have induced me to accept. Feelings, if possible, more strong and
more painful, render me now incapable of the exertion. Dear Sir, your faith-
ful Servant, " CLONCURRY."

The dinner took place, nevertheless. Three hundred
sat down, and Colonel Butler occupied the chair.

Towards the close of the year 1824 Lord Cloncurry
left Ireland for Devonshire, where he passed some weeks
very pleasantly in the house of a noble and respected
friend. Ireland was still the all-engrossing subject of his
thoughts. As a souvenir of Lord Cloncurry's visit to

354 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Devon we print the following short note, which we find
amongst a large body of correspondence sent to us for
publication : —

[No. 17.] LORD CLONCTJRRY TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ.

" Torquay, Devon, December 24, 1824.

" MY DEAR O'CONNELL, — I have received a letter from London to say,
that some friends of Ireland, of high rank, wish to meet you in that city, and
they pay me the compliment of asking me to be of the party. Tell me when
you are likely to be in London, and nothing shall prevent my meeting you.
Perhaps you will visit Devon. The Cliffords, Currys, &c., &c., of this
county, are amongst the oldest and most respectable Catholic families in
England, and have truly Irish feelings. Ever most truly yours,

" CLONCURRY."

O'Connell took the hint. He, together with Sir
Thomas Esmonde, The O'Gorman Mahon, Mr. N. P.
O'Gorman, Mr. Richard Lalor Shiel, and some others,
formed a deputation and proceeded to London. The
Catholic Association had been much calumniated, and
their main object in undertaking the pilgrimage was to
furnish any member of either House of Parliament with
information who might favour them with his inquiries
respecting the object, origin, and general proceedings of
the Catholic Association of Ireland. The deputation had
interviews with Sir Francis Burdett, Henry Brougham,
and many other influential men, and was altogether pro-
ductive of the best results.

On Lord Cloncurry's return from Devon a sad scene
presented itself to his view. Valentine Anne Lawless,
his first-born son, lay dangerously ill at Baron de Roe-
beck's residence, near Leixlip. In this manly youth the
fondest hopes of the venerable parent were concentrated.
His mind appeared completely fashioned after that of his
father. His soul glowed with patriotism, and as the vital
spark gradually died out, the white flame of nationality
blazed the stronger within, him. In college he had dis-
tinguished himself by the pursuit and attainment of prizes
seldom sought by the nobiles of Alma Mater. His habits
were domestic, and unstained by any of those fashionable
vices which too frequently dilapidate the fortunes and
destroy the character of the rising aristocracy. After
a resolute resistance against the encroaching grasp of death,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 355

Valentine Anne Lawless at length yielded up his spirit
to Him who gave it on January 24th, 1825.

" Our readers, on learning this melancholy event," ob-
served the Evening Post, while recording his death, " will
mingle with their sympathies for the excellent and worthy
father, thus severely stricken, a personal regret for the
loss of one whose inheritance was patriotism, and whose
talents and assiduity promised to give effect to his love
of Ireland. To him we were accustomed to look with
hopes not unmixed with pride, as to one reared and nur-
tured in principles and practices favourable alike to the
political and economic regeneration of our country. In
this heavy and unexpected affliction, we trust that Lord
Cloncurry will find some consolation and support in the
recollection, that not one genuine friend of truth, honour,
or integrity in the land will be insensible to his suffer-
ings, or indifferent to the event which he has such
peculiar cause to deplore."

A few weeks previously to his departure for Devon,
Lord Cloncurry addressed that celebrated letter to the
Catholic Association, in which he recommended O'Connell
and Shiel to cease their agitation of the Catholic question
for a time, and join in a universal demand for Legislative
Independence. " If all Ireland," said his lordship, " were
polled, I do not believe, that out of the seven millions
one hundred votes would be against the repeal of that
finishing act of Ireland's degradation. In that repeal I
place my best, my almost only hope, of her regeneration."
For some time anterior to the achievement of Emancipa-
tion, Lord Cloncurry was of opinion that no Parliament but
an Irish one would ever concede either it or a modifica-
tion of the tithe system. He did not consider it possible
that the greatest warrior statesman of the age would
tremble on the pinnacle of his power lest the indignant
clamour of the Catholics around him should bring him
prostrate to the earth. Emancipation was granted in a
moment of panic. The trembling minister flung it as he
would a lump of meat to a ferocious dog. The conces-
sion arose from fear, not from a generous or benevolent
feeling. " To have withheld it longer," confessed the

356 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

great captain of his age, " would have cost me a civil
war."

Of the course of policy counselled by Lord Cloncurry
in 1824 we cannot approve. O'Connell would not hear
of acceding to his proposal ; neither would Shiel. Less
than five years more sufficed to show them that Lord
Cloncurry was wrong, and that they were right.

In the letter, however, to which we have referred,
Lord Cloncurry took occasion to assure the Association
that " a more constant or ardent friend to Emancipation"
did not exist. In pi-oof of the sincerity of his sympathy,
he enclosed a generous subscription, but at the same time
expressed a hope that the Catholic rent and Association
would be employed in giving equal happiness to the Pro-
testant and the Catholic, to the liberal Dissenter, and
even to the often honest, but ever mistaken Orangeman.

On the recall of Lord Talbot, in 1822, his Excellency,
the Marquis of Wellesley, assumed the reins of Irish go-
vernme.nt. Of all the viceroys that had exercised sway
in Dublin Castle since the gentle, but wily Administration
of Lord Cornwallis, none were so popular as the Marquis
of Wellesley. From him the rampant Orange faction
received little encouragement. He was a calm, moderate,
clear-sighted man, and saw with one glance the evil results
which their fanatical demonstrations and atrocities had so
repeatedly provoked. The Orange party were outrageous
at this novel line of policy. They nursed a deadly enmity
against their Viceroy, and whenever opportunity favoured,
squirted at his Excellency some unmistakeable samples of a
large existing supply within. On December 14, 1822, he
visited the Theatre Royal in state. By the great bulk of
the audience, his Excellency's reception was warm and
enthusiastic ; but with the Orange faction, who constituted
the minor portion, the case was different. From groans
and hisses, and thunders of Kentish fire, the malcontents
proceeded to open violence, and a large quart bottle was
hurled at the person of Lord Wellesley. This attempted
assault was followed up by another. A watchman's rattle
flew, groaning, into the Viceregal box. Both missiles
fortunately missed their object.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 357

Four years went over, and 1826 still found the noble
Marquis an object of contempt and hatred with the
Orange ascendancy. On February 17th, the following
hoax advertisement appeared in the Dublin Evening Mail*
We transcribe it verbatim : —

>J< " PRIVATE CHAPLAIN'S OFFICE,
"PHCENIX PARK, FEB. 17, 1826.

" THERE WILL, BE A ' ROSARY' AT THE LODGE ON THE EVENING OF
MONDAY, THE 20TH INST.

" THE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WHO ATTEND ARE REQUESTED TO BRING
THEIR OWN BEADS, MUCH CONFUSION HAVING ARISEN IN CONSEQUENCE OF
THEIR NEGLECTING TO BRING THESE NECESSARY ARTICLES ON FORMEK

OCCASIONS."

With Lord Wellesley, throughout the six years of his
viceroyalty, Lord Cloncurry was on- terms of close inti-
macy. The noble Marquis had been long known to his
lordship, as also to Nicholas, first Lord Cloncurry. Well
he loved to pass a day in the rustic seclusion of Lyons or
Maretimo, discussing with his hospitable host the various
political events of the time. Their communications were
not merely oral. The noble lords corresponded exten-
sively.

Lord Cloncurry meanwhile was not altogether oblivious
of his friend, Robert Owen's projects for ameliorating the
Irish popular condition. He now clearly saw, however,
that some Utopianism existed in the scheme, but never-
theless not enough to sink it. By a little judicious modi-
fication he entertained great hopes that one of Mr. Owen's

* The Evening Mail was first started in 1823. One of its prospectuses has

just come into our possession. Amongst other absurd, but plausible promises,

it vows to support the Administration of Lord Wellesley, whom it dignifies by

the term of excellent " Chief Governor." "Our business," it then goes on to

say, " shall be to soften all political asperities, not to provoke the acerbity of

party. \Ve shall not excite the passions of one class, nor awaken the dormant

prejudices of another. \Ve would unite, not divide, a people whose hearts

are naturally susceptible of every social and benevolent impression." What

amount of truth animated these promises time has shown. From the first

day of its appearance until a comparatively late period, the course pursued by

the Ereidiiy Mull has been quite the opposite. Irishmen will probably not

soon forget the truculence of pronouncing the lamentable tithe massacres of

1831 "salutary blood-letting," with a host of other phrases calculated to

'•unite, not divide," Irishmen, and to completely soften down " the acerbity

of party.'1

358 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

co-operation plans could be made subservient to the welfare
of an impoverished population. On the 28th Feb., 1826,
we find him addressing the Dublin Co-operation Society
as follows: — " Without adopting in their full extent the
almost Utopian ideas of the benevolent Owen, I am now
more fully convinced than I was four years ago of the
great advantage it would be to Ireland to establish co-
operation villages on his plan.

" I know by long experience that our people only re-
quire remunerative labour to be a most contented, indus-
trious, and well-regulated people ; I know that for their
comfort, for the purposes of education, of police, and of im-
provement, they should be gathered into villages ; and I
know of no villages so well contrived as those projected by
Owen ; and I am certain that the population collected in
such would, by spade husbandry alone, support themselves
and pay a fair rent for land, with interest for the money
expended in their establishment. * * When we con-
sider the nature of our soil, the absence of all great pro-
prietors, and the present situation of our abundant and
scattered population, it is to me a matter of astonishment
that the Government don't prefer an experiment of the
kind, to the system of colonization, or to intrusting large
sums of money to pretended education societies, consisting
of fanatical dissenters, who perpetuate the ignorance and
irritation of the people."

Famine at this time strode through the land. On
April 25, a meeting of the inhabitants of Dublin was held
in the Royal Exchange, in order to devise some measures
to alleviate the appalling distress which so generally pre-
vailed. After stalking through the provinces, and con-
signing body upon body to the hungry jaws of the grave-
yard, the awful apparition marched straight on Dublin,
and proceeded to enthrone itself in the poorest part of
that impoverished city. Hunger and pestilence ravaged
the Liberties of Dublin. Messrs. O'Connell, Rowan,
Grattan, Latouche, &c., attended the meeting, but Lord
Cloncurry was the only peer present. His lordship spoke
at some length. He thought the Irish the most suffering
people in the universe, and the most undeserving of that

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 359

cruel fate. Ireland, so far from only possessing sufficient
resources for the support of seven millions, it could, if
fairly worked, give ample support to twenty millions.
Lord Cloncurry adverted to the English poor laws.
They were, he said, no doubt abused ; but still he would
go on his knees for their introduction into this country.
He would lose one-third of his rent by the repeal of the
corn laws, still he would willingly accede to the repeal of
these laws, to keep the food of Ireland within the bounds
of Ireland.

It is easy to spout forth sympathy for the distressed.
While famine decimated the land in 1826, the tongues
of demagogues wagged in every direction, denunciating
England, and expressing frothy sympathy with Ireland.
The actual contributors of pecuniary relief were compara-
tively few. On the morning subsequent to his appear-
ance at the Exchange meeting, Lord Cloncurry addressed
a letter to the Lord Mayor, which, according to the
Evening Post of that day, "contained much invaluable
information on the best means of affording permanent
employment to the Irish people." What was the satis-
faction of the worthy Mayor upon turning over the leaf
of his lordship's letter to find a Bank of Ireland note for
£100. " Though small," wrote Cloncurry, " in compa-
rison to the exigencies of the sufferers, a similar contribu-
tion from the peers of Ireland, proportioned to their rank,
will secure present relief."

In August, we find Lord Cloncurry again active.
After attending a dinner with the Earls of Leitrim and
Bective, given by the Catholics of Ireland to their Pro-
testant advocates, he convenes a public meeting for the
purpose of raising funds to support the unemployed and
destitute weavers of the Liberty. In his lordship's speech
on that occasion, he dwelt at much length on the imposi-
tions practised on the people in consequence of the recent
change of currency.

In 1825, a general election took place in Ireland. Mr.
Henry Grattan, junior, then a very young man, an-
nounced himself a candidate for the city of Dublin. The
name of Grattan acted like a talisman upon the people.

360 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

They remembered the glorious triumphs which were iden-
tified with it ; and with one acclaim they cheered the
young patriot on to victory. He was returned, but with
only a trifling majority; and, to the delight of the whole
country, succeeded to his father's constituency.

By one of those irregular, unlooked-for twists which
occasionally occur in the machinery of Government,
Parliament was, in 1826, dissolved, and a general election
became once more necessary. Orangeland, during the
interval, foreseeing the probable course of things, spared
no labour to increase, by fair means and foul, the number
of its electors and freemen. Mr. Grattan, on his part,
was not inactive. He had recourse to every allowable
expedient for bettering his chances in the forthcoming
contest.

Mr. Patrick Andrews, of Dublin, was an old partisan
of Henry Grattan. He could bring five freemen (depen-
dents of his) to the poll at a moment's warning. Mr.
Grattan, junior, knew and appreciated his value. In the
election of the previous year he experienced some service
at his hands ; and it was a source now of more or less
awkwardness to the young commoner when a slight mis-
understanding between them led to the estrangement of
Mr. Andrews' support. In 1826, on the approach of the
second general election, Mr. Grattan made application
to Mr. Andrews for his vote and interest. This the latter
refused to give, and as six votes at that particular junc-
ture were of no trifling importance, Mr. Grattan felt him-
self awkwardly and unpleasantly situated.

Mr. Andrews and his father held, in the County Kil-
dare, a tract of land under Lord Cloncurry. As a bene-
volent, and considerate landlord, both entertained a high
respect for his lordship. Lord Cloncurry was well known
to be a staunch supporter of the Grattan family; and,
considering this, it did not much surprise Mr. Andrews
to receive the following letter, duly .signed and sealed
a la Cloncurry. Mr. Grattan's partisans were numerous
— some of them most active and persevering; and from
one who knew every iota that passed calculated to affect,
however remotely, Mr. Grattan's prospects of success in

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 361

the coming struggle, the forgery we allude to must be
presumed to have come. It was delivered to Mr. Andrews
soon after his refusal to assist Mr. Grattan with his vote
and interest : —

[No. 18.] LETTER PURPORTING TO BE FROM LORD CLONCUKRY TO
PATRICK ANDREWS, ESQ.

" Merrion-square, 8tk June, 1826.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I beg leave to trouble you for your interest and sup-
port at Green-street, on Saturday next, on behalf of Mr. Henry Grattan.
Your kind compliance shall be always gratefully recollected and acknowledged
to you and your father, by, dear Sir, yours very truly,

" CLONCURRY."

That this letter never came from Lord Cloncurry the
reader, doubtless, needs not to be told. It was an auda-
cious and daring forgery. Mr. Andrews, however, did
not view it in this light ; and, fearful of provoking the
displeasure of a benevolent landlord, at once mustered
together the automaton freemen whose votes he com-
manded, and, on the day specified by his imaginary
lordship, proceeded to Green-street and voted for Grattan.
On his return home, he addressed the following letter to
Lord Cloncurry, with whom, although connected by the
ties of landlord and tenant, he never was on terms of the
slightest intimacy : —

[No. 19.] SIR. ANDREWS TO LORD CLONCURRY.

" 5, Usher's Island, June \5th, 1826.

" Mr LORD, — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your lordship's note
of the 8th instant, requiring my interest and support on behalf of Mr.
Grattan ; in answer to which, I beg leave to say, that your wishes were
punctually attended to by me. I now beg to apprise your lordship that I
have a similar interest in the County of Dublin, which, if desirable by you,
is equally at your command.

" Awaiting your answer, I have the honour to be, my Lord, your lordship's
very humble and obedient Servant,

" PATRICK ANDREWS."

His lordship's admirable answer led to an eclaircisse-
ment. The forgery he alludes to is written in a most
unaristocratic, round, caligraphical hand, with the ex-
ception of the signature, which has all the appearance of
having been affixed by Lord Cloncurry. To counterfeit
it so well, the forger must have been well acquainted
with his lordship's autograph : —

362 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

[No. 20.] LORD CLONCURRY TO BIR. ANDREWS.

" Lyons, 27th June, 182G.

" SIR, — In answer to your very obliging favour of the 23rd, I beg leave
to thank you for your kindness towards me, and, at the same time, assure
you that some person has very improperly used my name to impose on you.

" My wishes in favour of Mr. Grattan and Mr. Talbot* are most sincere
and respectful, but I never in my life attempted to influence a tenant of my
own in his vote, much less should I do so by a gentleman with whom I
have not the honour to be acquainted.

" I love my friends and my country, but I respect the law which forbids
peers to interfere in elections to the Commons.

' ' Sir, your obliged, humble Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

In July, 1826, we find " Honest Jack Lawless" pro-
posing Lord Cloncurry president]" of a new political so-
ciety, entitled the " Liberators of the Forty Shilling
Freeholders." The recent electioneering triumphs of
that body, no doubt, generated its existence. Apropos
to it we find the following amongst some letters to Mr.
O'Connell. It will be observed that his lordship reite-
rates the noble sentiment which he expressed, a few
weeks previously, to Mr. Andrews : —

[No. 21.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ.

" 26th July, 1826.

" MY DEAR O'CONNELL, — I enclose my freehold rent as a mark of my
anxious desire to promote the freedom of election.

" Though fond of my rights as a landlord, I never presumed to dictate to a
tenant on that subject. On the contrary, I would extend that sacred and
necessary privilege, make it of frequent recurrence, and by ballot render
unfair influence impossible. I see by the newspapers that I have refused to
be one of the order of Liberators, before I was invited to be so — a piece of
foppery of which my friends know me to be incapable. When I refuse to
join my countrymen in their endeavours to promote general union and
happiness, it must be from a consciousness of incapacity, not from want of
earnest, though very humble, good wilL

" Most truly yours,

" CLONCURRY."

As the following letter from Lord Cloncurry, which
has been found amongst the papers of the late Father
Sheehan of Waterford, is chronologically in place here,

* Mr. Talbot was the candidate for the County of Dublin, and Mr.
Grattan for the city.

t His lordship was afterwards elected Knight Grand Master of the same
Society.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 363

we insert it. It breathes a fine spirit of patriotism and
philanthropy : —

[No. 22.] LOED CLONCURRY TO FATHER JOHN SHEEHAN, P.P.

"Zyo/w, August 24th, 1826.

" REV. SIR, — I am most grateful for the civility of the Catholics of
Munster. There is not an individual who participates more joyfully than I
do their approaching emancipation, achieved by their own virtue and con-
stancy, in spite of the hypocritical manoeuvres of pretended friends, or the
more honourable hostility of sworn foes. At any other time I should most
gladly accept the invitation, and join in the patriotic exertions of the
Catholics of Munster, and the triumph of the forty-shilling freeholders ; but,
as a landlord and a citizen, I can now have no thought but of endeavouring
to mitigate the dreadful sufferings and more dreadful prospects of the poor
people of this deserted land. Of oats and potatoes, the only food which they
can aspire to, there is a smaller crop than I have ever known ; but it would
still be sufficient for their wants if exportation and distillation for the benefit
of the absentees and the excise did not enhance the price beyond the means
of those even who have employment. Disease and penury extend in every
quarter, and without hope of amelioration ; even England, to which we have
a right to look for assistance — seeing she is the cause of our suffering — even
England, that once happy and glorious island, is now p^ing in wretched-
ness the debt of Pitt's atrocity and vain desire of extinguishing the spirit of
liberty in every quarter of the world, but particularly in Ireland.

" To you, dear Sir, I return my best thanks for the obliging manner in
which you communicated the invitation of the Catholics of Munster. ' Un-
wearied and uncompromising' my exertions have been for near forty years,
and, though hitherto unsuccessful, I am more fully than ever convinced of
their propriety. England can only be saved by a radical reform, whilst
Ireland requires a perfect regeneration — a resident legislature, and a full, fair,
and adequate representation of all the people, without religious distinction.*
This is, and always was, my panacea ; but then, there are good and useful
palliatives — emancipation, education, remunerative labour, lopping off sine-
cures and unmerited pensions, calling in all arrears of the voluntary contri-
butions to the war against France, and equitable adjustment with the
fundholders, an absentee tax, and if the hands into which its management
might fall did not lead to more oppression, and plunder, a poor rate.

" Ever your faithful Servant,

" CLOSCUKRY."

Lord Cloncurry does not appear to have paid his first
visit to the Catholic Association until December, 1826.
He was wholly unexpected, and a perfect hurricane of
applause greeted him. Mr. Ronayne was deep in the
peroration of an eloquent and impassioned speech when
the patriotic peer entered the room. " I am rejoiced,"
said he, " at the interruption. I am glad to see one of

* Lord Cloncurry did not forget, nor was he ashamed of, his United Irish-
man's oath. See the Union Test, page 68.

364 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the most independent, and decidedly the most honest
nobleman in Ireland, come forward amongst us."

The following letter to Counsellor Coppinger forms
a good companion to No. 22. The occasion that drew it
forth was similar. In tone the letter is not less patriotic ;
but its views hardly equal in soundness those expressed
in the previous communication. The reader will be
amused to see that Lord Cloncurry's " unalterable con-
viction" at this period was, that emancipation never could
be obtained, nor would it be worth obtaining, save from
an Irish Parliament. In his letter to Mr. Sheehan he
congratulates the Catholics on their approaching emanci-
pation. As the following extracts from a letter of Mr.
Coppinger's to the author are introductory to his lord-
ship's communication, we subjoin them : — "In the autumn
of 1827 a great provincial meeting of the Catholics of
Munster was Jield in Cork, to which I was appointed
secretary, an<J subsequently a grand public dinner at
which the present British ambassador at Athens, Mr.
Wyse, presided. As secretary, I sent invitations for the
meeting and dinner to several Protestant noblemen and
gentlemen, M. P.s and others, who were most distin-
guished for their support of Catholic Emancipation ; and,
foremost among those friends of civil and religious
liberty, was the late patriotic and lamented subject of
your forthcoming memoir, to whom I addressed a warm
invitation, and received in reply the letter which I now
enclose. If, by so doing, I can aid you, in however
trifling a degree, in preparing a work which in your
hands, I doubt not, will prove highly interesting to the
admirers of the late noble Lord of Lyons, I shall be
gratified."

[No. 23.] LORD CLOXCURRY TO 3. COITIXGER, ESQ., BARRISTER-AT-LAW.

" Lyons, Celbridge, 28th August, 1827.

" DEAR Sns, — I am sorry to be so circumstanced that 1 cannot avail
myself of the kind invitation of the Catholics of Munster for the 30th inst.
Pray make my most grateful acknowledgments to them, and assure them
of my unalterable devotion to their cause as founded in justice, and vitally
essential to the best interests of my country.

" Ireland can no longer be despised ; she can no longer be plundered with
impunity of her wealth and her rights. Her voice will be heard, and her cause

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 365

respected, in every quarter of the globe. How glorious will it be to the
Catholics, if to them their country shall owe her restored prosperity ! if,
forgetting whatever is personal, they demand their own rights an part only
of what is due to Ireland. Does any man doubt that a resident legislature
would long since have emancipated the Catholics? Does any man recollect
famine, contagion, or death by starvation in the midst of superabundance,
whilst we had to resist Parliament, corrupt as it was ?

" I am an enemy to half measures. That they are not only dishonourable
but useless is, I am certain, at this moment felt, and will be so by the great
statesmen of England, who have lately sacrificed so much to the hope of
doing good. Much as I love my Catholic countrymen, I would not have
voted for the Union as the price of emancipation ; and I am strongly of
opinion that emancipation never can be obtained, or be worth obtaining,
but from an Irish Parliament.

" These, my unalterable opinions, have, under every circumstance, given
me the comfort of an approving conscience, and have gained me what I
value above all earthly possessions, the love of my countrymen.

" I beg leave, my dear Sir, to return very many thanks for your most
obliging letter, and remain, with great respect, &c.,

" CLONCURRY."

The year 1827 is remarkable in the life of Lord Clon-
currj, inasmuch as it was then he made public, for the
'first time, his justly celebrated project of a ship canal
between Galway and Dublin. On the 29th November a
most numerous and influential meeting was held for the
purpose of considering its practicability and advantages.
The peer, the landholder, the merchant, the practical
and the professional man, assembled on that occasion.
Although some differences of opinion prevailed, all ap-
peared animated by one feeling — an anxiety to benefit
the community of which they formed a part. Lord
Cloncurry spoke well, and at more than ordinary length.
Limited as is the space to which this volume necessarily
confines us, we cannot, in justice to the good peer, avoid
giving some extracts from his speech : —

" It is generally admitted," said he, " that want of employment, or of
honest means of subsistence, is felt by the labouring classes in Ireland more
heavily than in any other country with which we are acquainted ; and that
in spite of a most productive soil, and of a very charitable population, famine
is no longer a stranger in our land ; but that, Tantalus- like, our poor, though
surrounded by abundance, are martyrs to the most abject want. Famines
from dearth we have heard of, but a famine in a plentiful country is like
some other peculiarities only to be met with in Ireland, and only since the
Union." * * Referring to the projected ship canal, his lordship said : —
" It will tend to the improvement of the great central boggy district, con-
sisting of 884,000 acres, and nearly half as much waste land in Galway and
ilayo. It would, while doubling the fisheries and coasting trade of our
western shores, make them entire part and parcel of Great Britain. On the

366 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

other hand, it would pay England by giving facility and security to her
trade, opening new mines of wealth, by the awakened industry of the people,
and by giving a naval station to the windward of all Europe. These are
my opinions, and they are not unsupported by other and abler men, many of
whom I am happy to see around me. * * I do not pretend to say that,
as a speculation, this canal would speedily pay ; neither have individuals the
capital to venture ; but I think that under our unhappy circumstances, seeing
that the yearly drain cannot be continued without some return, seeing that
misery and consequent insecurity increase yearly and daily, I know no means
so likely to palliate the evil as the employment of a large body of the people.
The bayonet or the spade being the alternative, I prefer the latter. Let us
not imagine that things can go on as they are. The constables now cost one
hundred times what they did when I was a boy, yet security is diminished.
No man can lament more than I do the necessity of calling on the people of
England at this moment for one farthing ; but as they favoured us with the
Union, they should share its consequences, and give us back, in some shape,
a part of the four millions annually sent to our absentees."

Lord Cloncurry then proceeded to demolish some
weak objections urged against the practicability of his
project, and to read aloud several letters he had received
from eminent nautical men, expressive of their opinion
that a ship canal was deserving of serious consideration.
Lord Cloncurry also submitted the estimate of Mr.
Killaly, a distinguished engineer, for erecting the mighty
work proposed. Amongst the speakers were Lords
Llandaff, Miltown, and Killeen, General Cockburne, the
Lord Mayor, Messrs. O'Connell, Finlay, Grattan, Curran,
and Leader.

A respectable Committee was at once selected, to con-
sider and report upon the expediency of the scheme.
After mature deliberation, they submitted the result of
their inquiry to the public. They dwelt upon the
advantages of increased intercourse with America, the
augmentation of arable and productive land by drainage,
the considerable amount of time gained in an American
or West Indian voyage by means of the ship canal, the
cessation of danger in the Channel, whether arising from
storms or privateers, the employment of the starving
peasantry in forming the work, and lastly, its importance
as affording a most useful resource for national defence in
case of war. In conclusion, they solicited Government
to award them an annual grant, should the entire sum
necessary for its construction prove at that time incon-
veniently large.

CLONCUKRY AND HIS TIMES. 367

The estimate, which amounted to nearly five millions,
alarmed the minister. Deputations w,aited on him, and
petitions were presented, but each was invariably dis-
missed with an assurance that nothing could be more vague
and impracticable than the project. He refused to aid
them with one solitary sou, and buttoned his pockets as
he bowed each deputation frigidly to the door. Scotland,
about this period, received liberal Parliamentary aid to-
wards coast improvement and inland navigation. To the
Caledonian Canal alone a million of money was awarded
by England. But what right had poor Cinderella Ireland
to hope for aught from her haughty sister kingdom ?

For some months after the great Dublin meeting, both
governmental spokesmen and popular declaimers were
busily occupied in giving expression to their respective
opinions on the practicability of a ship canal between
Galway bay and Kingstown harbour. The ministerial
organs do not appear to have been particularly nice in
their selection of words relative to Lord Cloncurry and
his proceedings. The Morning Herald, with a shout of
defiance at Johnson's Vocabulary, severely censured Lord
Cloncurry for " bothering"" the public. It was apropos
to this and other offensive expressions, that his lordship
addressed the following letter

[No. 24.] TO THE EDITOK OF THE " MORNING HERALD."

" Fenton's Hotel, Dec. 14, 1827.

" SIR, — Will you allow me, in answer to some observations in your paper
of Tuesday, to trouble you with a very few lines on the subject of the Dublin
and Galway ship canal ? When first I endeavoured to turn public attention
to that undertaking, I exerted myself to procure the best information in my
power from scientific and professional men, engineers, naval officers, and
masters of vessels, acquainted with the navigation of the Channel, and of
the Atlantic. * *

"I should be sorry ' to bother' any person. No Irishman has ever com-
plained of me on that score. The only object I have in view is to serve my
own country, with the least possible cost to England. You know, Sir, by
general report, how severe and universal are the distresses^of the working
classes in Ireland. That distress has increased every year since the Union,
and if it be not now checked the most ruinous consequences must result.
Ireland can, at present, do nothing for herself. I am heartily sorry to call on
England, under her present difficulties, to assist us. She must, however,
feel that she is deeply interested, and, perhaps, she may also acknowledge
that she is somewhat to blame. Let her consider and determine what
remedy, or, if you will, what nostrum she will administer to her suffering

368 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

sister — emigration of a million, at a cost of twenty millions ; an army of
sixty thousand bayonets, with some doubt of its efficiency ; or the employ-
ment of thirty thousand «pades, at the expense of a million, to form the
proposed canal. I favour the latter, because I believe it would greatly serve
both countries ; but I only solicit investigation and inquiry in the first in-
stance. As a speculation, it may be as amusing and more useful than the
depth of the Polar Sea, or the generative powers of the elephant.

" In promoting quiet discussion, I have no selfish object in view, and
sincerely lament the circumstances which have prompted me either to intrude
on the time of the public, or the space of your journal. — I am, Sir, &c.,

" CLONCURRY."

Months elapsed. Lord Cloncurry, ardent and impul-
sive, still agitated bis favourite project, and pressed its
advantages on the attention of an unmoved and imper-
turbable Legislature. His arguments were laughed at,
and his petitions spurned. They declared themselves
unable, from the extent of the national debt, to bestow the
smallest pecuniary trifle on Ireland, and vindicated this
proceeding with so much plausibility that even Lord Clon-
curry himself saw, or fancied he saw, the impracticability
of the ship canal, under existing circumstances. In the
Freeman s Journal of March 24, 1828, we find an able
letter from Lord Cloncurry on this subject, wherein, after
defending himself from some aspersions of the Morning
Herald, which declared that " knaves were goading on
his lordship to agitate the ship canal," he writes: — I
did hope that so much of it would been begun this very
year, as would have connected Dublin with Kingstown,
and Galway with Ballinasloe. But, on contemplating the
financial embarrassments of England, I ceased to urge
the subject, though fully convinced of its paramount im-
portance to both countries ; and I gave way to gentlemen
of greater talent, who brought forward less costly mea-
sures of relief, and of which I entirely approve, without
giving up my own opinion as to the greater project. I
rejoice, Sir," he continued, " that from my humble endea-
vours on that subject has arisen the ' Society for the Im-
provement of Ireland,' and I arn not without hope, that
from the exertions of that society much good will arise,
by pointing out to my countrymen the extent of their
own resources, if properly directed ; and to the people of
England, the advantages she must gain by the prosperity
of Ireland."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 369

The project of a ship canal was accordingly abandoned
by Lord Cloncurry ; but it took such a grasp of some
speculators' minds, that, for long after, we find modifica-
tions of the idea periodically suggested by them. Perhaps
the most ingenious was that mooted by a Mr. Dawson.
We may observe that the cost of executing the plans,
maps, and surveys connected with the original scheme,
amounted to £300, which, with the exception of £50,
contributed by the Duke of Leinster, emanated entirely
from Lord Cloncurry 's private purse.

The Society for the Improvement of Ireland may be
regarded as the offspring of Lord Cloncurry 's Herculean
project, and its birth may be dated from April, 1828.
Some of the ablest intellects in the coxmtry formed its
Committee. They decided that it should sit in Dublin
at stated periods, and in particular for some weeks before,
and frequently during the sitting of Parliament, so as to be
prepared to inform and assist the Legislature and Govern-
ment upon means of procuring encouragement and relief
for the people of Ireland, as might seem best suited to
preserve domestic tranquillity, ensure national happiness,
increase the strength, and consolidate the resources of the
empire at large.

A special Committee of peers and gentlemen, headed
by Lord Cloncurry, having drawn up the views of the
society, and laid them before the Lord Lieutenant, his
Excellency observed that the more comfortable the people
could be made, the more the laws would be respected.
He hoped that his Administration might be the means of
extending domestic tranquillity by adding to the pros-
perity of the country : and, in conclusion, informed the
deputation, that in the event of their excmding politics
from their councils, the society should not be interfered
with by Government, Nay, more, he promised to pro-
mote their object, in any manner consistent with his
official station. We may add, that in those days very
few associations of a national character were permitted to
exist in Ireland.

There was thus a constitutional communication esta-
blished between the Government and the people, and the

R 2

370 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

most beneficial results were confidently looked forward
to by all true Irishmen. The society at once went to
work, and soon devised and recommended such means as
might be capable of increasing Irish capital, from new
and untouched resources, without having recourse to
foreign aid. It was not many weeks in existence when
Lord Rossmore addressed a letter to the Committee, on
the subject of the Catholic question; but they informed
his lordship, in reply, that however important to the
permanent improvement of Ireland its settlement might
be, the Society considered they were precluded, by their
established plan, from entertaining any such political
question. Lord Cloncurry knew well, and he declared
so, that their only chance of success was in the exclusion
of politics. Introduce the Catholic question as one of
their topics, and they would become, in algebraic phrase,
an evanescent quantity. Those members opposed to
Emancipation would resign, and they who were its advo-
cates very soon merge the character of the patriot economist
in that of the political partisan. Every week regularly
the society met in the Mansion House, Lord Cloncurry
almost invariably occupying the chair, and addressing to
his colleagues short but animated speeches of shrewd sug-
gestion and able argument. For more than two years Lord
Cloncurry was at his post, suggesting to a deaf, but not
dumb, minister, such practical measures as were calculated
to encourage agriculture, foster and support our manu-
factures, aid the fisheries, reclaim the waste lands, extend
inland navigation, and open communications into remote
and hitherto neglected districts.

Lord Cloncurry 's speech at the inauguration of the
society deserves to be given: —

" Ireland," said his lordship, " wanted no assistance to promote her welfare,
unless the union of her own people. It would benefit Ireland, and convey
great assistance to England too. He would call the attention of Irishmen
to those great sources of wealth which Ireland so pre-eminently possessed —
her rich soil, and her navigable rivers and seas. [Cheers.] He would rather
call the attention of his countrymen to these, than look to England fbr the
establishment of trades, which she might, as she did, take away at her own
pleasure or caprice. There were twelve millions of acres in Ireland ; two of
these were reclaimable bog, more than two millions were entirely neglected,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 371

and not one acre of the entire was well cultivated or tilled. He had himself,
in his own hands, eight hundred acres, and, although he kept one hundred
men continually employed, yet he could not say that one acre was properly
cultivated. If England gave only fair play, Ireland would remove the neces-
sity of receiving foreign corn. If there were any defalcation in the crops,
she would meet the demand. [Cheers.] The poor people who were to be
transported, or turned out on the roads, there to rob or die, constituted
a mine of wealth that ought to be properly worked. If their exertions
tended to produce any good, they would not only be rewarded in this life by
an increase of riches, but bring with them, before their Maker hereafter, the
consoling reflection of having saved their country. [Loud cheers.]"

To the Society for the Improvement of Ireland we will
shortly again have occasion to advert.

Amongst those Englishmen who fearlessly advocated
the cause of Catholic Emancipation was Lord Morpeth,
now Earl of Carlisle. Lord Cloncurry, the Duke of
Leinster, and other friends of civil and religious liberty,
resolved to entertain him at a public dinner. His Grace
presided, and, at the close of the proceedings, proposed,
in most complimentary terms, the health of Lord Clon-
curry. " I really feel so happy," said his lordship, " as
to be unable to speak. I feel, however, that I ought to
say a few words in such an assembly of my countrymen.
I shall acknowledge some of my political sins, for I re-
member, on a former occasion, to have said, that England
had never considered this country as worthy of any fur-
ther notice than as an object for plunder, and when left
worth little, to be abandoned a prey to men whose interest
it was to perpetuate her calamities. We have had two
specimens* from the sister country, who are an honour to
the land that has given them birth, and whose names will
be a tower of strength to the cause of Ireland. Their
sympathies for my unfortunate country have entirely won
my heart. We must, my Lord, second our English friends,
by avoiding everything that may excite the angry pas-
sions of those who are opposed to us ; but we will continue
to say, that we are determined to persevere in calling for
the full restoration of those rights which have been so
long withheld from Ireland."

Af a public banquet to Lord Killeen, a warm advocate

* Lords Anglesey and Morpeth.

372 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

of the Catholic claims,* on the 18th February subse-
quently, Lord Cloncurry took occasion to return the Duke
of Leinster's compliment, by proposing, in an animated
speech, his Grace's health. " Grattan, Curran, and Pon-
sonby," said he, " are now in the mansions of bliss; but
they have left behind them, on earth, worthy representa-
tives, who will still sustain the character, and defend the
rights of old Ireland. When he mentioned the name of
Leinster, it would, he was sure, be well received in a com-
pany of Irishmen." Lord Cloncurry concluded a long
speech Avith an affectionate allusion to " his dear friend,
Lord Edward Fitzgerald." " The applause," observed the
Freeman's Journal, " which ensued at the mention of this
name, lasted for several minutes."

To enumerate all the patriotic and philanthropic meet-
ings which Lord Cloncurry attended throughout this year
would be impossible. He was continually before the
public, as maybe ascertained by reference to the journals
of the day. Meanwhile the good peer was not idle in
endeavouring to extend the benefits of Education. This
we may pronounce to have ever been his favourite
" hobby ;'' and rarely was he known to relinquish its reins.
The Kildare-place Society was still dragging out a linger-
ing existence ; biit nevertheless assuming a bold front,
and shouting periodically, " Never say die !" In February,
1829, they upbraided Lord Cloncurry for his absence, and
vauntingly asserted that he was one of their first associates.
His lordship made a good speech in vindication of his
conduct. " It has been stated," said he, " that I was an
early supporter of this charity. My rule always has been
to support every charity that my means will permit, and
I should extend that rule equally to the Dissenters of

* Lord Cloncurry's political speech on this occasion was fervent and effec-
tive. " It was," he believed, "unnecessary for him to trespass on the meet-
ing, by making many observations. His feelings were too well known ; he
was long in public life, and his sentiments were not changed. He had, for
many years, entertained a bias for liberality and justice — for liberality and
freedom were only justice. [Cheers.] He was now in his age, yetf he felt
all the warmth and enthusiasm of youth in the cause of Ireland. [Cheers.]
No Catholic ever was, or could be more anxious, for the Emancipation of
Ireland, than he," &c.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 373

Strand-street and to ray Catholic neighbours. I cheerfully
supported this society at the onset, because I was led to
believe, from its name, that it would be productive of
great practical utility in the dissemination of education ;
but if 1 could have foreseen, that by any regulation the
majority of the poor would be prevented from enjoying
the blessing it was calculated to afford, that if, instead of
being a source of charity and good will, it was to become
the prolific cause of religious strife, I certainly should not
have given it my countenance."*

While the National School system remained in un-
promising embryo, a new education society, on a Catholic
basis, started into existence. On the 21st April, 1829, it
held its first annual meeting in Marlborougli-street Chapel,
and unanimously passed a vote of thanks to Lord Clon-
curry for his exertions in the cause of secular education.
The secretary, on communicating this to his lordship,
received the following reply : —

[No. 25.] "Maretimo, BQth April, 1829.

"Siu, — I am extremely obliged by the very complimentary allusion of the
Education Society, and to you for your expressions of civility. There are
few things for which I am now more anxious than for the extension of the
blessings of education to the poor of Ireland.

" I have laboured rather successfully in that good cause ; but I have now
better hopes, from the exertions of the Catholic hierarchy and the good feel-
ing of the Government. — 1 have the honour to be, &c.,

" CLOXCURRY."

We have seen, by the observations which fell from
Lord Cloncurry at the Exchange meeting, in 1825, that
he was a warm advocate for the extension of a system of
poor laws to Ireland. Throughout the five following
years he continued to speak in their favour. In 1828
his lordship said: — " The prosperity of England arose, in

* One of Lord Cloncurry' s ablest pamphlets was apropos to this subject.
In 1826 appeared his " Letter to the Marquis of Downshire on the Conduct of
the Kildare-place Society and the Employment of the Poor." Of this his
lordship presented eight copies to the Dublin Library. The other pamphlets
by Lord Cloncurry, exclusive of his "Thoughts on the Union," are — "Sug-
gestions on the Necessity, and on the best Mode of levying Assessments for
local Purposes in Ireland," " Letter to the Duke of Leinster on Police and
State of Ireland," &c.

374 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

my opinion, out of the poor laws. But because there
have recently been discovered some abuses in their ad-
ministration, it is improperly argued that the system is
intrinsically bad. If the poor laws were a check on po-
pulation, I for one would oppose their introduction into
Ireland. It is not the population, but the poverty of the
population, that is injurious to a country. The rich can
now close their gates against the calls of the poor, and
they are thus thrown for maintenance on the lower orders.
But if there was an equitable system of poor laws, both
parties would be more comfortable, and the rich more
secure."

The late lamented George Evans, of Portrane, High
Sheriff for the Co. Dublin, was a connexion, by marriage,
of Lord Cloncurry. General William Lawless, his lord-
ship's cousin, stood in the relation of son-in-law to Mr.
Evans. Between the latter and Lord Cloncurry a warm
intimacy had long subsisted. They loved to converse
iipon the political condition of Ireland, and when cir-
cumstances rendered that impracticable, they corres-
ponded. By the annexed letter we find that MrT Evans
differed with Lord Cloncurry on the subject of poor laws.
The letter is characteristic of its excellent author, and
contains many sound views.

[No. 26.] GEORGE EVANS, ESQ., D.L., TO LORD CLONCCRRY.

" Portrane, May 23r<f, 1829.

" DEAR LORD CLOKCCRRT, — * * Your views do not quite agree with
mine. When I differ from a person so distinguished for his attachment to
his country, and for his unwearied exertions for its welfare, I should, perhaps,
be inclined to mistrust my own opinion and defer to his ; but as yet T am not
convinced, and I thus inflict on your lordship a view of my scepticism.

" It is an easy task to declaim with warmth and pathetic eloquence on the
hardships that the Irish poor endure, and to adduce as further crimes against
the Irish landlords the Sub-letting Act and the Disfranchisement of the
Forty-shilling Freeholders. To oppose these topics, which naturally excite
sympathy, may be invidious, and in some degree difficult, by the excitement
produced by the very discussion itself; yet, when so imminent a scourge, as
I conceive the Poor Laws to be, are advocated by many well-meaning and
influential persons, I did think that perhaps my humble, and, I trust, dis-
passionate view might not at this time be entirely irrelevant. I believe that
public opinion is running in a current too strong to be well directed, and that
we lose sight of the disadvantages attending the introduction of the system,
which, from English experience, are not problematical, to adopt what in itself
is no way adapted to the civil or political state of the country.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 375

" Your society are eagerly employed in furthering what is strictly the work
and advantage of the English landlords, who are themselves writhing under
the infliction of the Poor Laws. It is certainly not from love and affection
that they wish to introduce them into Ireland, but in the vain hope of alle-
viating their own evils ; but I affirm, that they must fail in this, without
they are able to impose upon the rental and capital of Ireland a rate equiva-
lent to their own, otherwise the temptation of high wages in England will
induce the Irish labourer still to leave the Irish shores. Now, I should be
glad you would pause a little, and calculate what amount would be required
to raise the price of labour in this country to a par with that in England,
and if you think you can afford the introduction on these terms, why then
there is an end to my objection. But, you will say, we only want the intro-
duction of the system, such as it was in the time of Queen Elizabeth — we
only want to support the old and infirm. I do not think that many are
prepared to go further, and would shudder at the idea of introducing the
English system ; but let us pay due attention to the opinions of the English,
both in and out of Parliament. They, no doubt, talk of a provision for the
old and infirm, but this is only incidental with their other arguments ; they
do not rest their advocacy on this point ; they do not hesitate to declare, that
they want to be relieved from the competition, not of the old and infirm, who
never emigrate, and who are maintained by the benevolence of their own
countrymen, but from the competition of the able-bodied Irish labourer, to
whom, if you do not pay eighteen pence or two shillings a day at home,
must still enter into competition with the English labourer. Suppose we are
to have the Rates introduced into this country, independent of the expenses
I have alluded to, what a system of petty litigation will arise — what myriads
of small attorneys will people all the villages in the kingdom. I wish some
unbiassed person would pass the summer months in England, and after
visiting the different parts of it, report to your society the blessings of the
Poor Rates. ********
" With much esteem, &c.

" GEORGE EVANS."

Lord Cloncurry was, we believe, disappointed at the
inadequate relief afforded by the working of the Poor
Law machinery when afterwards set in motion. He knew
that the Royal Commissioners proved two million three
hundred thousand persons to be in a state of destitution,
and was much mortified to find, that after all that had
been said and promised, the Poor Houses only afforded
shelter to 80,000.

The following correspondence, which has recently been
forwarded to us, will show how feelingly alive Lord
Cloncurry ever was, in his magisterial capacity, to the
applications of the poor, and how energetically he exerted
himself to serve them, although, as often happened, un-
known to him previously, even by name. Well might
Lord Charlemont, at the Moore banquet, in 1818, and

376 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

O'Connell, at the Catholic Association, in 1824, warmly
panegyrize his lordship as " the poor man's magis-
trate :" —

[No. 27.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE DUK.E OF MANCHESTER.

"Lyons, 12th October, 1829.

" MY LORD DUKE, — I solicit your Grace's attention to the enclosed letter,
being a copy of one of several written by me in behalf of William Girty, of
Dublin, stable-keeper and dealer, who, having embarked at Milford, on the
19tb. of May last, on board the "Crocodile," post-office steamer, Captain
Xuttall, was by him forced to pay state-cabin fare for himself and one
Murray, a person in his employ ; Nuttall threatening to put them from on
board if he did not submit to the imposition.

" Satisfied that the money would have been instantly repaid, on the mis-
take being ascertained, I wrote, in the first instance, to Secretary Freeling,
instead of intruding, on so trifling a matter, on the time of your Grace ; and
this lias given me much trouble, to which I have only submitted in the hope
of obtaining redress for a deserving person, who complains to me of a trans-
action appearing to me arbitrary and oppressive in the extreme, if not
dishonest. I have to apologise for thus troubling your Grace, and have the
honour to be, with great respect, my Lord, your Grace's faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY.

" Legal fare, Girty, £0 15 0

" Murray, artisan, . . . 050

£100

" State cabin fare, £300

" Girty offered to pay for Murray, being in his employ, the same as for
himself." '

[No. 28.] LORD CLONCURRY TO SIR FRANCIS FREELING, SECRETARY
TO THE GENERAL POST-OFFICE, LONDON.

"J/areft'roo, October, 1829.

" SIR, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
3rd instant, and am happy to think that the correspondence, which I fear
must have been troublesome to a person so occupied in the public service as
you are, and which has been extremely so to me, is drawing to a close ; for
I am convinced that, on a review of the case, his Grace the Postmaster-
General will order the overcharge of Captain Nuttall to be repaid to the
complainant, Mr. William Girty. The affidavits of Girty and of Murray
remain uncontradicted, and are probably unanswerable. I went to Dublin
purposely to inquire into the truth, and I believe these persons have not in
any instance departed from it.

" The case stands thus : — Girty and Murray having crossed in the usual
cheapest manner, from Tenby to Milford, sought the captain of the packet ;
not finding him they went to the agent's office, and described themselves,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 377

Girty as a horse-keeper and dealer, Murray as a mechanic and artisan ;
they were entitled to their passage, Girty for 15s., Murray for 5s., but
Girty having taken Murray in his service, was willing to treat him as he
did himself, and to make him a deck passenger at 15s. After they were on
board, Captain Nuttall threatened to force them out of the vessel unless they
became state cabin passengers, at double the fare agreed to in the office.
The reason assigned by the captain is, that from what he heard and saw, he
took them for gentlemen. What he heard has been contradicted on oath,
and as to what he saw, an old and good sailor is not necessarily a judge
of gentlemen. He has evidently made a mistake, and thereby deprived these
poor men of nearly their last shilling, at above an hundred miles from home.
I say nothing as to the oddity of the regulations vesting such power in the
captain, nor as to the possibility of the mistake being wilful. Mistakes are
every day made — if a letter be overcharged, there is a remedy at the Post-
Office ; these persons being overcharged, seek from his Grace the redress,
which 1 doubt not he will afford. I am really ashamed to be so trouble-
some— a sense of justice alone impels me to it — I would rather pay the loss
ten times over than take the trouble I have done. Murray I do not recollect
to have ever seen. Girty I only know from going occasionally to his
stables, or his father's, for very many years. He complained to me as a
magistrate, and a person not unwilling to serve the poor ; he says he has
been arbitrarily and cruelly treated. If by falsehood he has induced me to be
unjust to Captain Nuttall, I will apologise; but let the truth be inquired
into. I wish to refer the case to an excellent public servant and gentleman,
Sir Edward Lees, of the Post Office, or to Captain Skinner, of the Holy head
station. Girty will be found attending his stable in Merrion Row, Dublin,
and Murray working as a glazier in the same premises.

" Though it was a high compliment to dub these persons gentlemen, I
think Captain Nuttall had no right to charge so highly for his diploma.
Many magistrates would interpret it into an extortion of money under false
pretences ; or to putting into dread and fear ; for if they did not submit to
the arbitrary and illegal demand, they had no alternative but to spend their
few remaining shillings at the Milford Inn, and if they had not credit at
Waterford, they must have walked or begged their way to Dublin.
" I am, Sir, your humble Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

That the poor men never received compensation will,
we think, be evident, upon perusing the following
extract from a letter addressed by Lord Cloncurry to
Mr. F. W. Conway, exactly one month subsequent to
the date of the above: — "An industrious and humble
citizen of Dublin," said his lordship, " has been most
shamefully defrauded, and redress refused by the salaried
servants of the English post-office, both high and low.
Has the Duke of Manchester any right to dictate to a
traveller what part of the mail or of the packet he is to
go in?"

A short time anterior to Lord Cloncurry 's diatribe on

378 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the English postal officials generally, some reports of the
Irish post-office were, for the first time, published. The
London ministerial journals accused the Postmaster and
his assistants of gross mismanagement, and endeavoured
to prove that reformation was badly wanting in the car-
riage of the Irish mails. Lord Cloncurry bridled at what
he conceived to be an insult, and was not sorry at the
opportunity afforded him of retaliating.

CHAPTER XIV.

The Anglesey Administration — His Excellency for Fifty Years a Tory —
Catholic Demands to be met, not by Concession, but by Powder and Ball —
Three thousand simultaneous Meetings — Lord Anglesey introduced to Lord
Cloncurry — Commencement of their Intimacy — Miraculous Conversion of
his Excellency — " Billy" Murphy exercises unbounded influence over
him — The celebrated Letter to Primate Curtis — Interesting Correspond-
ence between Lord Anglesey and the Duke of Wellington — Letter from
Sir Robert Peel — Recall of Lord Anglesey — Lord Cloncurry's Speech on
this Event — A universal Gloom throughout Ireland — The People accom-
pany their Viceroy to the Water-Side — Emancipation wrested from the
British Minister — Lord Keuyon exhorts his Orange Brethren to Resist-
ance— Brunswick Meeting in Dublin — " Protestants, up now, or sink for
ever" — The Rev. Sir Harcourt Lees' extraordinary Petition to Parlia-
ment— Death from Politics of the Society for the Improvement of Ireland —
O'Connell unfurls, for the first Time, his Standard of Repeal — The
Leinster Declaration — Intense Excitement — A Modification of the Union
discussed by Ministers — Michael Staunton and the Morning Register —
Private Letters from Lord Cloncurry to Mr. Staunton — " Honest Jack
Lawless" — Letter to J. D. Mullen — The Victory at Ballybay — Lord
Cloncurry offers Prizes of £100 each for original Essays on Irish Politi-
cal Subjects — His Lordship's Address to the Irish Members — Downfall of
the Wellington Cabinet — Second Viceroyalty of Lord Anglesey — Un-
popular Appointments — Indignation of the People at the Elevation of Mr.
John Doherty to the Bench — Letter of the Viceroy to Lord Cloncurry —
Miserable Position of the former — Lord Cloncurry refuses to join O'Con-
nell in the Repeal Agitation — Indignation of O'Connell — His three Public
Letters to Lord Cloncurry — The Algerine Act — Arrest of O'Connell —
Anecdotes — Lord Cloncurry appointed Chairman of the Commissioners of
Education — He organizes a Series of Reform Meetings — Created a British
Peer and Privy Councillor — His Lordship's Conduct misconstrued — Letters
to Mr. Stauuton.

THE Administration of General Henry William Paget,
Marquis of Anglesey, forms an epoch in the history of Ire-
land. Forhalf a century this nobleman had been a starched
and bigoted Tory, averse to the removal of Catholic dis-
abilities, inflated with senseless political prejudices, and
filled with some most preposterously false notions concern-
ing Ireland's condition, and the character of her people.

380 CLONCURR.Y" AND HIS TIMES.

At Waterloo and the Peninsular campaign he learned the
art of arms ; *in the narrow-minded circles of English so-
ciety he imbibed his prejudices. Displaying his profes-
sional passion for the one, while avowing the unhealthy
existence of the other, Lord Anglesey went so far as to
declare, in the House of Lords, that he would drown the
clamour of the Catholic Association beneath the thunder
of English artillery, and tram pie thedemagogues of Ireland
under the hoofs of his own regiment of hussars. " If the
Irish are for war," said he, " the sooner they draw the
sword the better." In 1826, his lordship voted against
Emancipation, and, with an energetic declaration, that
the rebellous threats of the Catholics were to be met,
not by concessions, but by powder and ball. To this
speech, and that vote, he is said to have owed his eleva-
tion to the Irish Viceroyalty.

On the accession of the Red-coated ministry, or as others
designated it, the Fighting-cabinet, to office in 1828,
Henry Marquis of Anglesey was, at once, selected by
the Duke of Wellington, as his Lord Lieutenant-General
and General Governor of Ireland. The Catholic organi-
zation had, at that time, assumed a most formidable
aspect; and the policy of deputing a military Viceroy
to the Government of Ireland was recommended, and
appreciated by the British Cabinet. Simultaneous meet-
ings, to the number of three thousand, were frequently
held, after the sacrifice of the Mass, in every parish
church throughout the length and breadth of Ireland.
Thus, five millions of a brave, determined people de-
manded, at the same moment, a restoration of those rights
of which more than a century before they had been trea-
cherously robbed. The hearts of the Brunswickers beat
quick, and terror blanched their countenances, as millions
of Catholic aspirations ascended to the Throne of heaven,
beseeching the great Omnipotent that He, in His cle-
mency, would promote their cause.

Lord Anglesey arrived with his hand upon his sword
hilt. He gazed around upon the long-suffering, long-
enduring people, whom he had been deputed to dragoon.
He felt his prejudices, one by one, evaporate. The heart

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 381

of the old soldier softened ; his grasp of the sabre gradually
relaxed ; and, at length, a smile of benevolence and con-
cord animated his countenance. Soon after the Viceroy's
arrival in Ireland it was his good fortune to meet, at
the house of Captain Burdett, Valentine Lawless, Lord
Cloncurry. What passed between them on this occasion
we know not; but, certain it is, their acquaintance
speedily ripened into an intimacy that continued cordial
and uninterrupted for twenty years after. That Lord Clon-
curry succeeded completely in converting the noble
Englishman to his own way of thinking there can be, we
believe, little doubt. Clearly discerning sincerity in
Cloncurry's honest face, and well knowing that he had
nothing to expect at his (Lord Anglesey's) hands, the
Viceroy, at once, declared himself open to conviction,
and anxious for any useful information regarding the in-
terests of Ireland. Lord Cloncurry advised him to form
opinions for himself, and not to receive them as all his
predecessors, save Lord Wellesley, had done, second-hand
from the false reporters who stood between the country
and the Castle. After the lapse of a short period, Lord
Anglesey informed Lord Cloncurry that he had resolved
to set aside the bloated staff of lawyers, jobbers, and
privy councillors, usually attached, in more than one
sense, to that establishment, and requested his lordship
would introduce to him, at once, some person of sound
common sense, and practically acquainted with the wants,
resources, and evils of the country. Lord Cloncurry ad-
vised him to send for the late William Murphy, or as he
was better known, Billy Murphy, a gentleman who for
intelligence, and thorough knowledge of business, could
not possibly be excelled. This his Excellency did, and
with the best results. For a considerable time after, Mr.
Murphy exercised over Lord Anglesey almost unbounded
influence, to the no small annoyance of the Orange clique,
the High Church party, and the Castle corruptionists.

Weeks elapsed, and Lord Anglesey still pursued his
inquiries. Like the English family of Geraldine, who
were said to have soon become more Irish than the Irish
themselves, it would be difficult to decide whether Lord

382 CLONCDRRY AND HIS TIMES.

Anglesey or Lord Cloncurry was, in 1828, the greater
patriot. After lending his countenance to various patri-
otic movements, he issued an order that every member of
the viceregal household should be clad in Irish manu-
facture; and publicly announced that the moment the
7th Regiment of Hussars, of which he was colonel, should
arrive in Ireland, he would make every man of them
clothe himself completely in the product of the Irish
loom. What was still more welcome news to the Irish
people, he pledged himself that every penny of his vice-
regal salary should be spent in Ireland.

In 1828 the strength of the Catholic Association
reached its climax in the return* of O'Connell for the
County Clare, although Roman Catholics were at that
time, and for a century before, inadmissible to Parliament.
O'Connell, however, who detected loopholes in every
law statute that he chanced to go to the trouble of
examining, insisted that he could and would get into th
Imperial Parliament, notwithstanding certain ministerial
teeth which grinned defiance at him across St. George's
Channel. And so he did. This great and unexpected
triumph terrified the English Government, who knew
not where the power of the Association was to end. A
scarlet stream of troops poured day after day into the
country, until it at length assumed the appearance of one
monstrous barrack.

Lord Anglesey, partly from conviction and partly from
policy, saw the expediency of granting Catholic Emanci-
pation. The Most Rev. Dr. Curtis, R. C. Primate of all
Ireland, having been introduced to his Excellency, com-
municated with him freely, both personally and by letter,
on this now all-important, all-engrossing subject. The
Duke of Wellington, in a private letter to Dr. Curtis,
recommended that the Catholic question should for a time
be buried in oblivion, and gave it as his opinion that
under such circumstances he would not despair of seeing
it satisfactorily terminated. Dr. Curtis enclosed this

* To defray the expenses of the election, £14,000 were raised in one week
among the citizens of Dublin.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 383

extraordinary communication to Lord Anglesey, who
appears to have at once seen through the plausible cajolery
of his Grace. He addressed a friendly reply to the
Primate. " I differ," said he, " from the opinion of the
Duke, that an attempt should be made to ' bury in ob-
livion' the question for a short time. First, because the
thing is utterly impossible ; and next, because if it were
possible, I fear that advantage might be taken of the
pause, by representing it as a panic achieved by the late
violent reaction, and by proclaiming that if the Govern-
ment at once and peremptorily decided against concession,
the Catholics would cease to agitate, and then all the
miseries of the last years of Ireland will be to be re-
enacted. What I recommend is, that the measure should
not be for a moment lost sight of, and that anxiety
continue to be manifested." Lord Anglesey said much
more, but the paragraph we have given will serve as a
fair specimen of the general tone of his excellent letter.
He expressed his conviction, that a final settlement of
the " great question could alone give peace, harmony,
and prosperity to all classes of the King's subjects in
Ireland." A miraculous conversion, truly! This was
the man who, sixteen months before, voted against the
question, and declared, that powder and ball, and not
concessions, ought to silence the Catholic Association.

The Viceroy's letter was headed " private and confi-
dential ;" but, like most other letters bearing this super-
scription, its contents soon became known to more than
a third party — possibly owing to what Lord Hatherton
called " Lord Anglesey's incautious habit of showing his
correspondence." Early in the month of January a ver-
batim copy appeared in every newspaper in the kingdom,
and at once occasioned considerable ferment and annoy-
ance at the opposite side of the water. The Evening
Post, in order to make every line the more emphatic,
printed it from beginning to end in italics. This novel
and unexpected proceeding on the part of Lord Anglesey,
the intimacy that was well known to exist between him
and Lord Cloncurry, as well as the manly hesitation of
his Excellency to suspend O'Gorman Mahon and Thomas

384 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Steele from the commission of the peace, although dicta-
torially called upon by the Premier to do so, furnished the
ostensible grounds of his recall ! But, even previously
to the appearance of" the highly improper" letter to Dr.
Curtis, Lord Anglesey's Irish Administration had begun
to become peculiarly obnoxious to the King and his
ministers.

In October, 1828, the subject of these pages visited the
Catholic Association, and addressed a short but animated
speech to his numerous auditory. On the day preceding,
Lord Anglesey paid Lord Cloncurry a friendly visit at
Lyons Castle, in company with Sir Anthony Hart, the Irish
Chancellor. This short preamble is necessary ere we
introduce the following most interesting correspondence
between the Duke of Wellington and his Viceroy : —

[No. 29.] THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TO LORD ANGLESEY.

" London, Nov. 1 1, 1828.

"Mr DEAR LORD ANGLESEY, — I have been very much disappointed by
the decision to which you have come, not to take any steps to remove Mr.
O'Gorman Mahon and Mr. Steele from the commission of the peace. '•
They both appeared in Ennis on a day on which a riot was expected, and
preparations were made by the High Sheriff to prevent it, or to mitigate it,
decorated with green ribbands, known to be the insignia of an order estab-
lished by the Koman Catholic Association, and followed by a mob.
I cannot express to you adequately the extent of the difficulties which these
and other occurrences in Ireland create in all discussions with his Majesty.
He feels that in Ireland the public peace is violated every day with impunity
by those whose duty it is to preserve it : and that a formidable conspiracy
exists ; and that the supposed principal conspirators, those whose language
and conduct point them out as the avowed principal agitators of the country,
are admitted to the presence of his Majesty's representative in Ireland, and
equally well received with the King's most loyal subjects.

" I will not conceal from you, likewise, .that your visit and those of the
Lord Chancellor to Lord Cloncurry, and the attendance of Lord Cloncurry
at the Roman Catholic Association, immediately subsequent to the period
at which he had the honour of receiving the King's representative in his
house, are not circumstances calculated to give satisfaction to the King, and
the public in general. * * *

" Believe me, my dear Lord, &c.,

" WELLINGTON."

[No. 30.] LORD ANGLESEY TO THE DOKE OF WELLINGTON.

" Phoenix Park, Nov. 14, 1828.

" MY DEAR DUKE OF WELLINGTON, — I have received your letter of the
llth ; nothing can give me greater distress than to learn that my conduct
in carrying on the government of Ireland is displeasing to the King, and
embarrassing to his Majesty's ministers.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 385

" Deeply as I deplore it, I nevertheless rejoice in being made acquainted,
now for the first time, with the view that is taken of it. Up to this time,
I have been left entirely in ignorance, not only as to your intentions in re-
gard to this country, but also as to your sentiments in regard to my policy.
They are now developed, and I shall know how to act.

u * * * it seems yOU disapprove of my not having directed the Chan-
cellor to dismiss Mr. Mahon from the magistracy, in consequence of his in-
decorous conduct on this occasion. Indecorous it certainly was ; but I deem
that if I had visited it with the severity of dismissal, I should have been
guilty of an act of unjustifiable harshness. It was the opinion of the law
officers that this breach of decorum was not indictable. It was that of the
Chancellor, that if the deposition upon oath had been sent to him, he could
not legally have acted upon it. Upon what ground, then, would the Lord
Lieutenant have stood — if, in opposition to these opinions, he should have
determined upon the dismissal of Mr. Mahon.

a * * * j never saw these gentlemen in my life ; and peremptorily
deny that the avowed principal agitators, or that any agitators whatever of
the country, are admitted into my presence, and equally well received with
the King's most loyal subjects. But, to whom can you possibly allude ? I
positively am unable to guess at your meaning. Is it of Messrs. O'Connell,
Sheil, Lawless, O'Gorman Mahon, and Steele, of whom you speak ? These
I can easily dispose of. Mr. Sheil, and the two latter, I have never seen ;
Mr. O'Connell once asked for an audience ; it was granted. I mentioned
the circumstance to Mr. Peel, even before it occurred ; and I afterwards
informed him of Ihe business upon which he came, and 1 never met him
since. I have seen Mr. Lawless three times. Upon the first occasion he
came with a deputation of manufacturers, within a few days after my arrival.
I next met him at a ball at the Rotundo, and bowed to him, as I invariably
do to all persons who make me an acknowledgment. It was in a very
crowded room, at Kingstown, that I met him a third time ; when, observing
him and Sir Harcourt Lees squeezed together, and unable to pass on. I
jokingly said, ' That I was glad to observe such characters could breathe
in the same atmosphere.' My next and last communication with that
gentleman was sending to have him arrested.

" The next subject of reproof is, that I, together with the Lord Chan-
cellor, paid a visit to the Lord Cloncurry. When I went to his house, all I
knew of him was, that he was an active and intelligent magistrate, an ardent
lover of Ireland, an indefatigable supporter of her interests, and a zealous
friend to Catholic Emancipation. During the time I was at Lyons (his
residence), I learned his earlier history : — That he had been strongly sus-
pected of Jacobinism at the commencement of the French revolution ; that he
had been arrested upon suspicion of being implicated in O'Connor's treason ;
that he had been liberated for want of proof, but that he had subsequently
been sent to the Tower, upon the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, from
whence he had been again liberated without trial, and, therefore, I have
a right to suppose, without guilt.

"Lord Cloncnrry has, within a few days, attended the Catholic Associ-
ation. This is the first time he has done so since my arrival ; and so little
is he in the habit of attending, that I positively did not know, until I saw
his speech, that he belonged to the Association. From all I can learn, and
from all I have seen, I believe Lord Cloncurry to be a sedate, loyal subject.
and one of the best and most impartial magistrates in Ireland.

" If those who arraign my conduct will obtain information from an

386 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

untainted source, I feel the most perfect confidence that I shall obtain the
applause of my Sovereign, and the good opinion of his Majesty's ministers,
with whom I serve.

" I am willing, and, indeed, extremely anxious, to put my measures to
the test, being fully satisfied that the more they are investigated, the more
favourably they will be judged ; and I have the strongest conviction on my
mind, that the course I have pursued is that alone which could have kept
this country in the state of tranquillity it now enjoys. * * * *

" It remains for me only to add, that I have no object in holding my
present post, but that of pleasing my King and serving my country.
" I am, my dear Duke of Wellington, yours very sincerely,

" ANGLESEY."

[No. 31.] THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TO LORD ANGLESEY.

" London, November 19th, 1828.

" MY DEAR LORD ANGLESEY, — I did not receive till yesterday your letter
of the 14th, in answer to mine of the llth. You tell me that you have, up
to this moment, been left entirely in ignorance as to my intentions in regard
to your policy. I thought that, since your appointment to the Government
of Ireland, there had been the most unreserved communication of the opinion
of the King's servants, as to the practical course to be pursued under the
various contingencies that have arisen ; assurance given of the most cordial
support, throughout any difficulties that might occur, and of a willingness to
bear the full share of any responsibility." [Here a large portion of the duke's
letter is occupied with animadversion on the conduct of O'Gorman Mahon
and Thomas Steele. Having strongly recommended their dismissal, he goes
on to say :] — " In respect to Lord Cloncurry, I did not advert to his former
history, only to his being a member of the Roman Catholic Association, and
to having attended the Association shortly after the Lord Lieutenant and
Lord Chancellor had honoured him with a visit. He made a speech in the
Association that day — one which, to say the least of it, is worthy of an
agitator and of a partisan, but quite unworthy of a nobleman who deserves
the honour of receiving the Lord Lieutenant at his house — a Lord Lieutenant
and Lord Chancellor presiding over an important system of Government

" But I am still of opinion that, considering the condition of the Associa-
tion, the speeches that have been made there, and the doubts entertained of
the legality of such assembly (to say the least of it), the members are not
exactly the persons to be encouraged by the Government of Ireland, which
intends to conduct its administration impartially.

" I will not now enter farther into the discussion of the legality of the
Roman Catholic Association, or whether there is not a conspiracy in Ireland.
Upon the first point, I hope we shall soon have the opinion of the law officers
of the Crown in Ireland. I admit that there is but little legal proof of the
existence of a conspiracy, but there is much of moral proof, which I cannot
but think deserves the attention of Government. * * * I might have,
at an earlier period, expressed the pain 1 felt at the attendance of gentlemen
of your household, and even of your family, at the Roman Catholic Associa-
tion. I could not but feel that such attendance must expose your Govern-
ment to misconstruction. But I was silent, because it is painful to notice
such things; but I have always felt, that if these impressions upon the
King's mind should remain — and I must say that recent transactions have

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 387

given fresh cause for them — I could not avoid to mention them to you in a
private communication, and to let you know the embarrassment which they
occasion. I may be blamed for not communicating sooner that they existed ;
but, considering their continued existence, and the renewed cause for them,
I should be more blamed if I did not mention them at alL
" Ever, my dear Lord Anglesey, &c.,

" WELLINGTON."

[No. 32.] LORD ANGLESEY TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.

" Phoenix Park, Nov. 23rd, 1828.

" My DEAR DUKE OF WELLINGTON, — I have received your letter of the
19th. It is not necessary that I should reply to it at great length ; for, after
very carefully examining and comparing it with the letter of the llth, I
find little in it beyond a repetition of accusations already amply answered and
refuted. I have also attentively read the copy of my letter of the 14th, and
there is not in it a sentiment expressed, or a word written, to which I do not
strictly adhere. * ' That the mere circumstance of Mr. Mahon and Mr.
Steele riding about the country in green ribands, is to be considered to justify
their dismissal from the magistracy, I cannot admit. Have they appeared
upon the seat of justice in these party colours? No. When they do the
Chancellor will know how to deal with them. In the case I quoted, of Mr.
Johnstone, who, decorated with an Orange riband, actually harangued a
mob (and that immediately after the passing of the Act, now extinct, in
which party badges were forbidden,) the Chancellor, Manners, did not feel
himself justified in taking any step.

" I have little to add to what I have already said concerning Lord Clon-
curry. I believe him to be a loyal subject, a good man, and an exemplary ma-
gistrate ; and I cannot consent to abandon the exercise of my own discretion,
in selecting those with whom I may deem it expedient and prudent to hold an
intercourse. But even if I were mistaken in the character of my Lord Clon-
curry, and that he is not what I supposed him to be, I am sure I shall not
be thought arrogant in expressing a conviction that there is something in
my own character, and in my well-known devoted and affectionate attach-
ment to the King, which ought to shield me from the imputation of having
selected and encouraged, as acquaintances, those who are ill-affected to his
Majesty's person and Government

" Your observation upon the circumstance of my son, and some of the
officers of my staff, visiting the Catholic Association, has hurt and sur-
prised me.

" A. short time after my arrival, three or four of them strayed into their
debating room from curiosity. They were unexpected, and they imagined
they were unobserved. They were, however, recognized ; the occurrence was
mischievously commented upon. I admonished them not to repeat their
visit, and to avoid*all clubs or meetings of a political character, and it cost
them nothing to obey the injunction. Yet this is remarked upon as a stain
upon me, as if I had sanctioned the measure. * * Believe me, &c., &c.

"ANGLESEY."

[NO. 33.] TIIE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TO LORD ANGLESEY.

"London, December 28th, 1828.

" MY DEAR LORD ANGLESEY, — I have been very sensible, since I received
your last letter, that the correspondence which that letter terminated had

388 CLONCTJRRY AND HIS TIMES.

left us in a relation towards each other which ought not to exist between the
Lord Lieutenant and the King's Minister ; and could not continue to exist
without great inconvenience and injury to the King's service. I refrained
from acting upon this feeling till I should be able to consult with my col-
leagues, and I took the earliest opportunity, which the return to town of
those who were absent afforded, to obtain their opinion, which concurred with
my own. Under these circumstances, having taking the King's pleasure
upon the subject, his Majesty has desired me to inform you, that he intends
to relieve you from the Government of Ireland. I will shortly notify the
arrangements which will become necessary in consequence.

" Believe me ever your*s most sincerely,

" WELLINGTON."

[No. 34.] LORD ANGLESEY TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.

"Phoenix Park, 30th Dec., 1828.

" MY DEAR DUKE OF WELLINGTON, — I have received your letter of the
28th, informing me of the King's intention to ^relieve me'from the Govern-
ment of Ireland.

" I will hold myself in readiness to obey his Majesty's commands the
moment I receive them.

" Believe me your's most sincerely,

" ANGLESEY."

At this time neither the King nor his Premier had seen
or heard of Lord Anglesey's letter to Doctor Curtis. Im-
mediately on its appearance, Sir Robert Peel addressed
the following letter to his Excellency. Lord Anglesey
observed, in the House of Lords, that it contained a
stronger reproof than was, perhaps, ever before given to
a public officer: —

[No. 35.] SIR ROBERT PEEL TO LORD ANGLESEY.

" Whitehall, Jan. 10, 1829.

" MY LOHD, — It is my duty to acquaint your Excellency that his Ma-
jesty's Government have taken into their consideration a letter which has
been published in the newspapers, purporting to have been addressed by your
Excellency to the Rev. Dr. Curtis, of the authenticity of which there can be
no question. It appears to his Majesty's Government, that in addressing
that letter to Dr. Curtis, your Excellency acted in a manner inconsistent
with your duty as his Majesty's representative in Ireland ; and they have
advised his Majesty to signify his pleasure to your Excellency, that you
should return to England, placing the Government of Ireland, for the present,
in the hands of Lords Justices. — I have the honour to be; with great truth
and regard, &c., " ROBERT PEEL."

Lord Anglesey had, of course, nothing for it but to
obey the summons of his Majesty's Government. He
bowed a dignified acquiescence, and, at once, commenced
preparations for departure.

When it became rumoured that his Excellency was

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 389

about to be recalled, eight peers, and several baronets
and members of Parliament, drew up a requisition, pray-
ing the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of Dublin to call a
meeting, and beseech his Majesty that he would be
pleased to continue Lord Anglesey in the Government of
Ireland, " as well for the encouragement of the trade and
commerce of Dublin, as for the impartial protection of all
classes of his Majesty's faithful subjects in Ireland." The
Lord Mayor and his Sheriffs observed, in reply, that
should the recall of Lord Anglesey be decided on, they
concluded it must be " the result of the wisdom of his
Majesty's councils," and begged leave to decline conven-
ing the meeting. In consequence of this stiff and unex-
pected rejoinder, the noblemen and gentlemen who
signed the requisition determined — Lord Cloncurry in the
chair — to assemble in aggregate meeting on the 16th
January following.

The meeting came off, but ere the 16th inst. arrived,
Lord Anglesey's recall was certain. Notwithstanding
this, however, the Duke of Leinster, Lords Cloncurry,
Clements, and others, met at the appointed rendezvous.
Their speeches were alike effective and affecting. Lord
Cloncurry said, that the recall of Lord Anglesey was a
physical injury to Ireland, and especially to the city
of Dublin. He considered that the causes of this unfor-
tunate event ought not then to be discussed, first, because
they were uncertain ; and, secondly, because it was not
the place. Their object was to address the Lord Lieu-
tenant, to express their sorrow for his removal, and to
give his Excellency that meed of gratitude which his im-
partiality, his munificent expenditure, his liberality to
all, his courteous demeanour, and his regard for the
welfaie of Ireland, eo justly merited. He (Lord Clon-
curry) would not now urge the adoption of a petition
against the recall, because it was, alas ! too late to prove
effectual. (" Here the noble and patriotic lord," adds the
Evening Post, " who was sensibly affected, read a graphic
draft of a splendid petition he had drawn up, but he de-
clined submitting it to the meeting, although loudly
solicited to propose it.")

390 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

On the 19th. January, 1829, the melancholy event
took place. The good man's funeral could hardly have
inspired greater grief. The people, anxious to pay their
last tribute of respect and gratitude to their venerable
Viceroy, assembled in crowds from the hour of eight
o'clock, A.M., along the route which it was expected the
cortege would take. Banners, edged with black crape,
and displaying in gold characters several sentences from
the Curtis letter, towered at intervals above their heads.
Before his departure from the Castle, Lord Anglesey re-
ceived a deputation, consisting of the Duke of Leinster,
Lord Cloncurry, and several other peers; all of whom
were deeply and visibly affected. With tears standing in
their eyelids, the populace followed the benevolent
Viceroy to Kingstown, cheering and vociferating his
name until the man-of-war which carried him assumed
the appearance of a tiny speck on the blue sheet of water.

Thus terminated the first and ever-memorable viceroy-
alty of Henry Paget, Marquis of Anglesey. Since Lord
Fitzwilliam assumed the reins of Government in Ireland,
there never sat upon the viceregal throne of Dublin
Castle a more liberal Lord Lieutenant, or one who more
fully understood the Irish character. He made it his
study in the first instance, and, like an active and in-
quiring physician, left no symptom unexamined to dis-
cover the hidden causes of the multifarious ills which
weakened and distracted the land. Not satisfied with a
superficial investigation, he went to the very seat of the
disease. By dint of a long series of private letters,* in

* On the llth June, 1828, Lord Anglesey wrote thus to Sir Robert Peel : —
" I continue to feel confident that tranquillity will not be disturbed. Yon
will have time to deliberate ; but I repeat that we must not long attempt to
remain as we are." On July 25th, his Excellency wrote as follows to the
*=ame party : — "You will, I am sure, appreciate the motives that engage me
to revert to the GREAT QUESTION? Few, even of the Orangemen, dispute
the necessity of an adjustment. / conjure you to take the state of Ireland
into consideration before the meeting of Parliament." In September Lord
Anglesey's alarm increased considerably. On the 8th of that month, writing
to Sir B. Peel, he says : — " It seems agreed on all sides that the public feeling
was never at so high a pitch of excitement as at present. The language of
both parties is violent in the extreme, and both appear ripe for action. The
organization of the Catholics is very complete. They carry banners ; they
form and they march by word of command, and in good order."

CLONCUBRY AND HIS TIMES. 391

which we can easily trace the influence of Lord Clon-
curry's opinions, he at length succeeded in seriously
modifying the Irish policy of his Majesty's Govern-
ment. Lord Anglesey's Administration was impartial in
spirit and in truth. He smiled at the blatant ferocity of
Brunswick Associations, and when seditious Catholics
hinted mysteriously at overt acts of rebellion, he laughed
them goodhumouredly out of the consummate folly of
such vapouring. By these means Lord Anglesey suc-
ceeded in ruling the' people he was deputed to dragoon,
with a rein of silk and traces of caoutchouac. The times
were almost as difficult of government as those of 1797;
but how different the policy of his Administration when
placed in juxta-position with that of Lord Camden !
That nobleman's nostrum for popular disaffection was (as
has been already seen) a daily dose of goading and per-
secution. It did its work — the work of an empiric;
and Lord Anglesey's regime did its work too — that of an
enlightened and skilful physician. Health in the one
instance ; death in the other. Lord Anglesey accom-
plished what Fitzwilliam projected.

Wellington and Peel beheld with dismay the union
between Ireland and England weakening. To strengthen
that union was now their policy. We must, said they —
there is nothing for it but to do so — we must throw
open the gates of the British Constitution to the Irish
Papists, who are at present conspiring to tear them down
by force. We must connect their ambition with English
objects, and thoroughly imperialize their lofty aims.
And at last they came thoroughly to the conclusion, that
there was no cure for the evil but Catholic Emancipa-
tion!

For several weeks after the noble marquis's recall,
aggregate meetings of the people were held in various
parts of Ireland, for the purpose of publicly expressing
their admiration for his Excellency's impartial rule, and
of passing a vote of confidence in him. On February
14, 1829, while acknowledging the receipt of a flattering
address, which had been transmitted by Mr. Robert
Cassidy, on behalf of the inhabitants of Mountrath, his

392 CLONCDRRY AND HIS TIMES.

lordship wrote — " If in my assiduous efforts to administer
the affairs of Ireland with an impartial hand, I have won
the affections of her sons, I can conscientiously declare
that in proportion as I knew them better I valued them
higher. I went to that kingdom a warm admirer of the
character of the people — I came away an enthusiast.
Ireland is about to reap the benefits of her patient for-
bearance, coupled with her determined perseverance.
That she may prosper is my fervent prayer."

With Lord Cloncurry he kept up an almost uninter-
rupted correspondence. On the 12th March he wrote
as follows from Uxbridge House : — " You can have no
idea of the intense interest this Catholic question excites
in England. Not another subject is ever broached in
any society, male or female. * I have not the least

doubt that it will pass triumphantly ; and excepting a
few trifling and silly points, whichgive the appearance of the
measure being adopted against the grain, I do think it is
a handsome production, and must please the Catholics."

A truer saying never emanated from Lord Anglesey's
lips than that the Catholic Relief Bill had all the appear-
ance of being adopted against the grain. It was conceived
in fear and trembling, and born in a panic. The effer-
vescing bigotry of Lord Wellington got the better of his
characteristic tact, and in a moment of unministerial
candour, he openly proclaimed that it was not to the just-
ness of the claim he succumbed, but to his apprehensions
lest public opinion in Ireland should call to its aid the
ally of physical force, and forthwith tumble in one irre-
sistible avalanche on the British Constitution. He who
blenched not amid the smoke of a hundred fights,
trembled before the organized agitation of opinion.

To enter into an enumeration of the various indications
of Catholic Emancipation having been conceded grudg-
ingly, would fill more pages of this work than we can
afford to spare. Perhaps the most miserable display of
petty spite was that of refusing to let O'Connell take his
seat as Member for Clare, although authorized to do so by
the Act of Emancipation. There was also much ill-
natured feeling shown by rendering Catholics inadmis-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 393

sible to participate in the honours of the University and
municipal corporations.

The friends of civil and religious liberty resolving to
push a wavering foe, assembled in the Rotunda on the
20th January, and gave intrepid expression to their sen-
timents. This was followed up on the 22nd inst. by a
banquet. Two hundred noblemen and gentlemen parti-
cipated in its sweets. At both demonstrations Lord
Cloncurry was present.

In March, 1829, when Emancipation became certain,
the leaders of the Catholic Association decided upon dis-
solving it. Previously to this step, however, a series of
resolutions, highly complimentary to Lord Cloncurry,
were passed with acclamation. These expressed the
grateful acknowledgments of the Catholics of Ireland
towards his lordship for the persevering support afforded
by him to their cause, and " looked back with pride on
the number of years wherein they had been cheered by
his countenance, oftentimes under circumstances of great
and trying difficulty."

On the 13th April, 1829, the " Roman Catholic Re-
lief Bill," as our rulers contemptuously styled it, received
the royal reluctant assent.* The sweeping minority of
105 in the Lords, a few days previously, attested the extent
of that precipitate, panic-stricken impulse which eventu-
ated in its birth. The " virtuous horror" of the Orange
faction, when Catholic Emancipation became a matter of
strong probability, exceeds all belief or description. There
was something excessively ludicrous in it. Lord Kenyon,
in his address to his English Protestant brethren, besought
them, as Christians, as independent Britons, to look around
them. " Rescue your Sovereign," said his lordship, " and

* How inconsistent must not the joint behaviour of the Duke of Wellington
and Mr. Peel be considered. In January, Lord Anglesey is ignomiuiously
dismissed from office by Peel and Wellington, because, in addition to other
pro-Catholic tendencies, he encouraged Dr. Curtis to hope for a settlement
of the Catholic Question ; and in the ensuing March we find the same Duke
of Wellington and the same Mr. Peel bringing into Parliament the very
Relief Bill which Lord Anglesey and Dr. Curtis so eagerly desired to see.
Can there be a stronger proof adduced that the proceeding arose from fear and
not from love ?

s 2

394 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

this free country from the foulest disgrace that can befall
this Protestant island. Rescue your King from a state by
which the succession of the Throne, in the House of
Brunswick, must, ere long, be endangered. I call on
you to come forth, to awake from your lethargy, and not
to allow the Papists to deprive our brethren in Ireland of
their freedom. If you awake not from your

slumbers, Protestantism will soon be extirpated from Ire-
land. My countrymen," said Lord Kenyon, in conclusion,
" now or never is the time for you to declare yourselves,
and prove yourselves true to your King, your country, and
your God."

In Ireland Protestant bigotry was not less active. The
great Brunswick meeting in Dublin came off, according
to the Evening Mail, with gorgeous eclat. Every gentle-
man present was bedizened from top to toe in ribands of
orange and blue; and lest the flame of his malignity
should for one moment droop, exciting placards, of which
the following is a specimen, completely covered the walls
of the apartment: —

"NO POPERY!

" Protestants stand up in support of the Constitution !
• "R(.member 1688 and 1798.

" PROTESTAKTS, DP sow, OE SINK FOK EVKR !" *

At another meeting, the Lord Mayor in the chair,
Sir Abraham B. King declared that he and his friends
had not assembled to whine over the funeral pile of the
Constitution, but had come there, one and all, determined,
every man, to support with their lives (cries of yes ! yes !)
the Protestant Constitution in Church and State.

The Rev. Sir Harcourt Leesf conjured the Government

* Verbatim. See the Evening Post of February 19, 1829.

f We are tempted to give a verbatim copy of the petition. It will show to
what an extent Protestant fanaticism was carried in 1829. — " To the Right
Hon. the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, — The
humble Petition of the Rev. Sir Harcourt Lees, of Black Rock, Co. Dublin,
Baronet, most humbly proclaims : — That petitioner, hi the name, and in the
behalf of all the SOUND Protestants of Great Britain, most earnestly implores
your Right Hon. House not to proceed to the last step towards passing the
dangerous and unconstitutional ' Romish Ascendancy BUL' now under the
consideration of your House, until you hear petitioner at your bar disclose

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 395

to hear him at the bar of their Honourable House, where
he undertook to disclose Popish projects that would make
the hair of every Hon. Member stand on end. A short
time before he proclaimed that Peel and Wellington had
been guilty of treason, in treacherously acceding to the
Catholic claims.

But to return to the Society for the Improvement of
Ireland, which in 1828 started into existence under the
auspices and direction of Lord Cloncurry. From that
period until the winter of 1830, this valuable and zealous
association of the friends of Ireland kept up, almost with-
out interruption, their weekly meetings at the Mansion
House. Politics still continued to be excluded, and the
best results were beginning to be observable. O'Connell
at length sent in his adhesion, and from that time com-
menced addressing to the chairman and members some
very excellent speeches on the physical amelioration of
his country and the people. No ghost or goblin dire
could well have proved more appalling than did the
colossal form of the prime agitator to the High Church
members of the society, when he volunteered his services
in the advocacy of their demands. Messrs. Leader, La-
touche, and other highly respectable Protestant^ one by
one dropped off; and to fill the vacuum caused by their
secession, some of O'Connell's followers dropped in. On
the 17th November, 1830, O'Connell openly proposed the
propriety of a positive admixture of politics in their dis-
cussions, declaring that without such their proceedings
were merely milk and water. Lord Cloncurry at once
concurred, and expressed his opinion that the society
should take a somewhat bolder stand than that previously
occupied, but at the same time strongly deprecated the
introduction of polemics into their councils. They ac-

the important information he received from a hired emissary of a treasonable
conspiracy existing in these British islands, in conjunction with the American
revolutionists, the objects contemplated being the possession of the Canadas
by General Jackson, the exciting a simultaneous insurrection in the north of
England and in Ireland, the extirpation of the Protestants, and the re-
establishment of Popery in the latter country. — And petitioner will ever
pray, " HARCOURT LEES."

396 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

cordingly did so. From that moment, however, the
original founders of the society dropped out, the proceed-
ings were all down hill, and before the accession of the
Grey ministry to power, the Society for the Improvement
of Ireland had ceased to exist.

The manner in which Emancipation was granted pre-
vented it from proving a healing balsam for the wounds
of Ireland. The dullest intellect perceived at a glance
that the so-called " relief" came reluctantly from the hand
of his Grace. Observing this, Ireland manifested little
gratitude beyond a few congratulatory resolutions, passed
at a London meeting to compliment Lord Wellington.
O'Connell, in one of his addresses to the electors of Clare,
referred bitterly to the grudgingly conceded boon. " Pre-
cautions," said he, " are necessary against the insidious
policy of men, who, false to their own party, can never
be true to us, and who have yielded, not to reason, but
to necessity."

The consequence was that .agitation, under the aus-
pices of O'Connell, recommenced with sullen but deter-
mined vigour. From the days of his youth O'Connell
rejoiced in being a staunch anti-unionist. So early as
the 13th- January, 1800, we find him hurling his massive
arguments from the steps of the Exchange against the
Union plot, which Clare and Castlereagh were then about
to unmask.

In 1830, Daniel O'Connell raised, for the first time, his
standard of " Repeal." It was like a match applied to a
train of gunpowder. The minds of the people fired at its
name. With a loud defiant stamp they proclaimed their
strength, and once more the organized agitation of opinion
shook the British throne.

In the midst of this excitement appeared a declaration
signed by the Duke of Leinster,* twenty-four Irish peers,

* In justice to the Duke of Leinster we cannot omit the following pa-
negyric on his character, which appears in the report of Lord Cloncnrry's
great Reform speech in 1831 : — "The Duke of Leinster, who is one of the
purest and best men I know of — who is descended from one of the first fami-
lies in Ireland — who is the nephew of Edward Fitzgerald — a man whom I
have ever loved, and I know who loves me, and who has suffered on my

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 397

seven baronets, and a column of gentry, expressive of
their conviction that Repeal was totally impracticable,
and that the agitation of it was peculiarly injurious to
the prosperity of Ireland, by diminishing public confi-
dence in her tranquillity. The declaration concluded
by saying that its subscribers, nevertheless, deemed it a
duty to declare that Parliament ought at once to tran-
quillize the country by adopting some measures calcu-
lated to ensure the general and permament improvement
of Ireland.*

From the thirty -two noble signatures we miss one influ-
ential member of the aristocracy — honest Lord Cloncurry.
That he had some shrewd reasons for declining to affix
his signature will be presently obvious.

The utmost excitement prevailed. With the excep-
tion of the last days of 1828, agitation was rarely ever at
a greater height. The pages of the liberal press daily
teemed with anti-union resolutions from men of every
grade and calling; and, while the Irish aristocracy
were publicly declaring this agitation to be most
injurious to national prosperity, and that Repeal
itself was a measure altogether impracticable of achieve-
ment, we find the propriety of conceding a modification
of the Union to have been actually under discussion by
the King's ministers. This is a little Cabinet secret which,
until the publication of these pages, was never before
made known to the public.

A portion of our grounds for the above assertion will
be found in the following private letter to Mr. jStaunton.
As editor and proprietor, foi more than twenty-five years,
of perhaps the best conducted paper in Ireland — the
Morning Register — Mr. Staunton was well known and
respected. The letter we allude to has been placed at
our disposal, with several others, by Mr. Staunton.

behalf — that man signed the declaration against the agitation of the Repeal
question ; he thought that the time was gone by for its agitation ; that a
good Government would render a domestic Parliament unnecessary, or that
the question should be postponed for future legislation upon it."

* As the assembly at which these resolutions were passed, was a strictly
private one, it earned for itself the contemptuous appellation of " Hole and
corner meeting" — a name which pertinaciously clung to it for many years
after.

398 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

The Marquis of Anglesey, in his retirement among
the heights of Cannock Chase, in Staffordshire, main-
tained an anxious vigil over the destinies of Ireland. In
September, 1830, Lord Cloncurry received a friendly
invitation from his noble friend to spend some time with
him at Beaudesert. Cloncurry wrote to say that he
would accept the compliment, and at once commenced
preparations for departure. While at Beaudesert, near
Cannock Chase, he wrote the following letter to Mr.
Staunton. The " Hints to Hardinge," therein alluded to,
were a series of papers written in the Morning Register*
by its editor, and addressed to the newly appointed Chief
Secretary, Sir Henry Hardinge. Like Wakefield, Shef-
field, and many other thinking men, Mr. Staunton
warmly advocated that the Irish secretaryship should
be a permanent office. It generally happens that
this official no sooner begins to understand the multi-
farious duties of his situation, than we find him trans-
planted across the water, and an inexperienced green-
horn imported in his place. On the appointment of Lord
Melbourne, three years before, Mr. Staunton wrote a
popular series of articles, entitled " Lessons for Lamb,"
with a view to aid him in obtaining that knowledge
which it was, as we believe, his wish as well as his duty
to acquire. A similar object gave birth to the " Hints
to Hardinge." Both works were subsequently reprinted
in two small volumes.

* The Westminster Review, speaking of the Morning Register, says : — " Its
editorial department had the aid of some of the best writers of the day ; and
a novelty in the Irish press was introduced by Mr. Staunton, in the shape of
an effective corps of reporters, modelled after the London system." Mr.
Staunton, at an early age, became attached to the literary corps of the
Freeman's Journal, in which capacity he soon greatly distinguished himself.
Solely aided by his talents, for family influence or interest he had none, Mr.
Staunton gradually rose, until 'the sole editorship of the Freeman became
invested in him. This he held, enjoying a salary of £.500 a-year, until,
with a view of advancing himself in the world, he undertook the publication
of the Weekly Register, the first number of which appeared in 1815. Among
the young scribes whom Mr. Staunton collected around him during the
hey-day of the Morning Register, were several men who have since risen to
distinction — i. e., C. G. Duffy, M.P., and editor of the Nation, Thomas
Davis, M.R.I.A., Carew O'Dwyer, kte M.P. for Drogheda, John Quinlan,
Editor of the Evening Post, W. B. M'Cabe, editor of the Telegraph, and
author of various literary works.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 399

[No. 36.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. STAONTON.

[Franked by Lord Anglesey, " Lichfield, October 9th, 1830, to Michael
Staunton, Esq., Suffolk-street, Dublin. — Anglesey." Postmark — "Free."]

[" Confidential.]

" Beaudesert, Lichfield, October 9th, 1830.

" MY DEAR SIR, — The excellent ' Hints to Hardinge' have followed me
from place to place through England, and I think they enabled me on
different occasions to make good battle for our unfortunate country. Noa.
7 and 8 I received here. They gave great pleasure and information to my
excellent host, than whom Ireland has not a truer friend, nor one more
likely to serve her. You will much oblige me by sending the preceding
numbers* to Lord Anglesey. If they, the ' Lessons for Lamb,' and your
other economico-statistic writings, could be had in pamphlet shape, they
would do more good than twenty meetings and fine speeches, even though
each meeting was to be followed by half a dozen duels.

" I assure you that I do not despair of some good being done for Ireland,
even this next session. / have met some of the working men much in the
Duke's^ confidence, and the subject even of a modification of the Union has
been discussed by ministers. It is, however, a total mistake to believe that
any treaty was on foot between Mr. Huskisson and the present ministers.
The contrary is the fact, and Mr. H. went to Liverpool for the express
purpose of attacking the Duke at the public dinner. No part of the present
opposition have any idea of joining under present circumstances. They look
upon the case as too forlorn. My excellent host could command almost
anything he pleased, did not a high and justly indignant feeling keep him
aloof. But he will shortly have the means of serving us, as you always
knew he had the inclination, and whilst he has leisure here, I would gladly
furnish him with any good information we could procure. Neither O'Connell
nor any other man alive is more averse to the Union than myself. In 1795
1 published the first and I believe the worst pamphlet ever written on the
subject,f but, however faulty the style, the sentiment remains unchanged.
But, even with those feelings, 7 would not disdain urging such modification as
would give us vantage ground. It is generally acknowledged that the Duke
of Wellington added insult to injury in his manner of refusing us aid last
year. He should have professed sorrow at his inability to assist us, but if
we are united we will not want his aid.

" Will you give my regards to your excellent and talented neighbour, Mr.
Conway. His mention of 'owr own Lord A(nglesea')S in the Evening Post
of 25th September, was grateful and well taken. The kind recollection of
the poor Irish delights his heart. Though as exempt from vanity as any
man I ever met, still dear bought and golden opinions are a reward and a
consolation in privacy, and at the moment of corporeal pain.§

" I conclude by assuring you that I have the best hopes of our cause, and
that I think our best engine is the press.

" Most truly yours,

" CLONCCRRY."

* 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.— C.

f Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister of England,
j " Thoughts on the projected Union." See page 97.
§ Lord Anglesey was suffering much from lumbago at this period, and for
long afterwards.

400 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Lord Cloncurry alludes to the venerable statesman,
William Huskisson. He assures Mr. Staunton that the
report was wholly without foundation of any treaty being
on foot between him and the " Red-coated Cabinet," and
adds, that so far from making overtures to them, he went
to Liverpool for the express purpose of attacking Lord
Wellington at the public dinner. " Thereby hangs a
tale." On the 13th September, 1830, Mr. Huskisson
left London, in order to be present at the grand inaugural
opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which
the Company resolved to celebrate by a banquet. On the
arrival of the train at Manchester, Mr. Huskisson left his
coupe for a few moments ; but, having incautiously stood
in the middle of the road, he was, without a moment's
warning, crushed to death beneath a ponderous steam-
engine. Thus perished the Right Hon. Wm. Huskisson,
and with him a host of projects, which, had he lived to
mature and carry out, could not fail to have been pro-
ductive of as beneficial results as the celebrated Free
Trade measures which, during the Canning Adminis-
tration, he brought before Europe.

Almost immediately after the above letter was written,
Lord Cloncurry took leave of his noble host, and wound
his way homewards. In the following communication
we find Mr. Staunton's " Hints to Hardinge " again
referred to. " The domestic calamity" was the death of
his lordship's sister, Mrs. Whalley : —

[No. 37.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. STAUNTON.

" Maretimo, 22nd October.

" MY DEAR SIR, — Whenever the letters appear in pamphlet form, I beg
you will reserve twelve copies for me. They are excellent, and free from all
violence or personality — rocks on which some friends of ours too often run,
and thereby injure the best and most sacred of causes, which in all other
respects they so ably support. I intended calling in person to pay my
account, but am prevented by a domestic calamity. — Very truly yours,

" CLONCURRY."

Next to O'Connell, perhaps the most active and intrepid
leader in the Catholic Association was " honest Jack
Lawless" — a title freely awarded to him by men of every
creed and party. He was a fluent and a graceful speaker,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 401

but scorned to cultivate the rhetorical flowers of Richard
Lalor Shiel ; he was a wit, but never could approach the
rich, mellow Irish humour of O'Gonnell, which took the
congenial hearts of his countrymen by storm. His elo-
quence, in a word, was energetic, forcible, and convincing.
After the achievement of Catholic Emancipation, those
friends of civil and religious liberty who knew Lawless's
heart to be in the right place resolved to present him
with a handsome mark of their esteem. In connexion
with this period of John Lawless's history, we find the
following letter from Lord Cloncurry among our papers.
It is addressed to Mr. Joseph Denis Mullen, the late
respected Governor of the Four Courts Marshalsea : —

[No. 38.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. J. D. MULLEN.

" Maretimo, 2nd March, 1830.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I beg leave to enclose my contribution of £25 to the
fund for John Lawless.* As one of those Protestants who laboured earnestly
and incessantly in favour of my Roman Catholic countrymen, I do not feel at
all called upon to pay them for helping themselves, but I willingly proffer a
small mark of my respect for the urbanity and honesty of Mr. Lawless
throughout the entire contest. Avoiding all personality or acerbity, he
never forgot the gentleman or the citizen in the religionist ; he demanded
rights on principle, and refused to barter what was not his to give, j" Whilst
I speak thus of the worthy individual, I must repeat my opinion, that no
sacrifice was too great for the unbounded benefit obtained. Each day proves
this ; the road to all that is desirable for Ireland lies before us ; let us work
together for our common country, and she must prosper.

"Some friends of liberty say that the Catholics are already become too
courtly, and that they may, with advantage, take a leaf from the book of the
honest Presbyterians of the North. Those who have long thirsted are fain
to drink deep. Let them beware a flap of the lid. The cornucopia of
corruption fortunately runs low. Loaves and fishes will only be had by the
honest and the useful.

" I take this opportunity, Sir, to thank you for the manly part you have
taken in the late discussions on the poor laws. It is a matter where feeling
and even justice must be tempered by discretion — it may, in our circum-
stances, be 'fiat justitia mat ffibernia.' To catch the heartless absentee, we
must not ruin the patriotic resident, more particularly if the adoption of a
cheap and beneficial substitute can justify the postponement of what, in

* " Honest Jack Lawless" was grandson to John Lawless of Shankhill
Castle (see page 12), and eldest son of Philip Lawless of Warrenrnount. He
was a distant cousin of Lord Cloncurry's. The same year gave birth to both.

t This alludes to the intrepidity with which Mr. Lawless opposed the
Government proposal to grant Emancipation on condition that the Catholic
clergy were paid by the State, aud the forty shilling freeholders dis-
franchised.

402 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

strict equity, cannot be refused. I am convinced that, in the improvement
of our bogs and wastes, ample provision can be obtained for more than
twenty years for the unemployed and destitute, by the creation of new wealth,
at a cost of not sixpence to the nation.

" To return to our honest friend, John Lawless, I hope he may long con-
tinue to serve the public by speech and by pen ; but I trust he may never
again have occasion to draw that sword, which, at Ballybay, appears to hare
confounded the hero of Waterloo, and achieved a victory far more valuable
than those for which the nation has paid so dearly to his great rival.
" Your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

Mr. John Lawless's ovation at Ballybay requires some
explanation. It was customary with the Catholic Asso-
ciation to send Lawless periodically on missions to the
distant parts of Ireland, in order to animate the lukewarm to
exertion, and to see that the moral organization grew. On
his arrival at Clogher, preparations appeared to be making
by the Orange faction for a hostile party demonstration
on the principle of Dolly's Brae. Lawless exhorted the
people to avoid giving provocation, but, at the same
time, assured them that they were not bound by any
law, human or divine, to stand up as targets for Bruns-
wickers to fire at. Before the lapse of an hour, the
apprehended attack commenced, but the people, having
kept together, returned it with interest; and from that
day the factious flag of Orangeism was never raised in
that part of Tyrone.

The great Lawless demonstration at Ballybay took
place in 1828, when Catholic agitation had reached the
zenith of its strength. The ascendancy party having
boasted that a dozen co-operators in the Popish work
could not be found in the North, vauntingly declared
that Orange covered the length and breadth of Ulster, and
that, if any green did exist, it was invisible. To test the
truth of this allegation, Mr. Lawless left Dublin; and
before he had far advanced into the North, found himself
at the head of 140,000 men. The Brunswickers, armed
to the teeth, posted themselves in great strength at Bal-
lybay. These were soon joined by the royal troops,
under General Thornton, who, having reconnoitred the
number of his opponents, decided upon negotiating, and
accordingly rode out to meet "honest Jack Lawless."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 403

They conferred together for some time, and the result
was, that Lawless induced the people to separate and
quietly return home. " General Thornton's report of the
events of that day," observes an American writer, " was
mainly relied upon by the Duke of Wellington in the
House of Lords, as his justification for granting Catholic
Emancipation the following year."

In the summer of 1830 we find Lord Cloncurry in a
new character — the munificent encourager of the litera-
ture of his country. On June 17, he addressed a mani-
festo from Lyons to the literary men of Ireland, offering
two prizes of £100 each for the best original essays, to be
produced before the 1st June, 1831, on — First, " Absen-
teeism : the Union reconsidered after thirty years." Second,
" The Population and Territory of Ireland, with a view to
Improvement." Dr. Sadlier, Provost of Trinity College,
Dublin, and Chief Baron Smith, were appointed judges.
Several manuscripts were sent in. The judges examined
them carefully, and the £200 was finally awarded to Mr.
W. Stanley, the present Secretary to the Poor Law Com-
missioners.

The year 1830 was one of sad distress in Ireland.
From Emancipation the wealthy Catholics derived much
benefit, but the people little or none. The greatest
dearth of food prevailed, not only in the western, but in
the midland counties. The wisdom of Lord Cloncurry's
project for establishing inland navigation was felt by
men who, in the first instance, scoffed at its prospects,
and many were heard to regret that Government did not
extend to it a helping hand. When appealed to for aid
in 1830, the Duke of Wellington, as Prime Minister,
flippantly declared, that as starvation was quite periodical
in Ireland, no measures for its relief were in contempla-
tion. That this distress was attributable to governmental
mismanagement, few will deny. In the midst of it addi-
tional imposts were levied. The annual grant to Kildare-
place still continued. It had now received out of taxes
extorted from an impoverished people, upwards of
£250,000, and it must be recollected that since the year
1821 the same people had ceased to participate in the

404 CLONCTJRRY AND HIS TIMES.

advantages — if such they may be called — of the Bible-
without-note- op-comment system of education.

In the autumn of 1830 Lord Cloncurry published,
through the medium of the Morning Register, his series
of letters addressed to the Irish Members of Parliament.
They were productive of good results, and secured to the
noble lord, if possible, an increased share of popular con-
fidence and love. " You have to plead the cause of your
country," said he, in his Introductory Letter, " before an
unwilling audience — apathetic, if not hostile; ignorant,
if not prejudiced. In the very act of electing you, the
people of Ireland have proved their lively sense of the
indifference and neglect with which they have ever been
treated in the English Parliament; and you are called
upon to raise your voices to a tone somewhat louder than
entreaty ; to a tone that will command attention, however
ungraciously it may be yielded.

" The liberty of this address, coming from a peer, may
seem anomalous and unconstitutional ; but it is known
that the peers of Ireland having sold their birthright,
are as a dead body, and can only be reanimated through
the process of corruption, or the trump of a private
secretary, whose selections have been hitherto unfortu-
nate, if we may judge from the conduct of our representa-
tives in the Upper House.* An humble member of the
peerage, but one who has never for a moment faltered in
identifying himself with the people — one who knows
them, and who is known to them — addresses you at a
moment as interesting and important as has occurred in
the history of this ill-fated country."

Having preambled thus far, Lord Cloncurry threw out
some excellent original suggestions for Irish remedial
measures, and worthy of the most serious attention of the
legislature. These he followed up in some succeeding
letters. The press awarded them an extensive meed of
praise. They were written, if we mistake not, during
his sojourn with Lord Anglesey.

* His lordship little thought, when penning this paragraph, that less than
a year would see himself an English peer, and a member of the Upper
House.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 405

After long and anxious watching, incessant preaching,
and untiring perseverance, Lord Cloncurry at length
perceived advancing, in 1830, the vanguard of that
powerful moral organization — the National System of
Education. For its establishment he laboured long and
ardently.

His lordship, in a public letter, dated Dec. 17, 1830,
refers to this happy consummation of his toils. It is
addressed to Mr. William Fitzpatrick (not the author of
this work, whose age was only nine weeks at the time),
but to the Secretary of St. Bridget's Orphan Society.
" I know nothing," said his lordship, " more deserving
our anxious attention than the education of youth — a
blessing so long withheld by law from Ireland, and,
down to the present year, so cruelly paralysed by suc-
cessive Administrations, and by the injustice of entrusting
to prejudice and bigotry the national fund, which should
be equally and honestly distributed for the benefit of the
people. I believe, however, that I may now safely con-
gratulate the founders of all our useful schools, the bene-
volent promoters of charity, and, above all, O'Connell,
your excellent president (long my fellow-labourer in the
cause), that the reign of proscription is at an end; and
that in education, as in every other measure likely to
benefit the country, honesty, impartiality, and fair play
may reasonably be expected."

In December, 1830, the Wellington Administration
fell, after a talkative resistance, and tottered out with the
old year. Earl Grey became Premier, and Lord An-
glesey was, to his no small satisfaction, apprised that the
reins of Irish Government awaited his grasp. The noble
Marquis bowed, and expressed himself but too happy to
resume his old position amongst a people whom he
loved.

The usual appointments were announced in a few days.
Lord Plunket became Irish Chancellor ;* Mr. Joy, Chief

* Sir Antony Hart, a most popular Chancellor, was dismissed, against, as
has recently transpired, Lord Anglesey's express desire.

406 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Baron; Mr. Doherty, Chief Justice;* and Counsellors
Blackburne and Crampton, Attorney and Solicitor-Ge-
neral. Nothing could exceed in vigour and intensity
the storm of popular indignation which swept through
the country, as soon as the names of the promoted were
officially announced. Lord Anglesey's popularity became
seriously damaged. His principal offence consisted in
promoting Mr. John Doherty to the vacant Chief Jus-
ticeship of the Common Pleas.f This gentleman had, on
various occasions, made himself extremely obnoxious to
the national party in Ireland. Between O'Connell and
him a deathless enmity, of many years' standing, had
existed — originally called into life, we believe, during
some forensic cross-fires in which Mr. Doherty came
off considerably the worse. At the celebrated trials of
the Doneraile conspirators, the previous year, their old
wounds were roughly re-opened, as any reader of Mr.
D. O. Maddyn'sJ amusing sketch of the " Set-to between
O'Connell and Doherty" will understand. If O'Connell
was the idol of the people, it may well be imagined in
what light the sworn and determined enemy of that idol
was regarded by them.

With respect to the appointment of Mr. Joy, when
the reader is informed that he (Joy) has been pronounced
to have been " one of the bitterest bigots ever nurtured
by Irish Toryism,"^ it will not be supposed that the popu-
lace were much gratified by the selection. Joy, however, -
was a sound and practical lawyer, which Doherty was
not. Few men elevated to the bench within the last
half century — even " Union judges" — were more noto-
riously incompetent for the office than Mr. John Doherty.

* Mr. O'Callaghan, author of the " Irish Brigade," speaking of the judicial
promotion of Mr. Doherty, says that " he had no claim to such advancement
but that of his having been the miserable parliamentary tool, the senatorial
cur dog, employed by the Tories to annoy Mr. O'Connell, as the representative
of the Irish people, during the interval between Emancipation and the acces-
sion of the Whigs to office."

f John Toler, Earl of Norbury, had just retired.

j " Ireland and its Rulers since 1829," vol. i. page 81.

§ " Ireland and its Rulers," voL L page 58.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 407

The term " briefless barrister" has often been applied to
men with far more pretensions to forensic knowledge and
practice.* In fact, " Long Jack Doherty from Borris-
okane," asO'Connell loved to designate him, was remark-
able for little beyond the liveliness of his anecdotes, and
his own personal stature of six feet two.

Ireland knew well that the Liberal bar in 1830 pos-
sessed men of the first rank in the profession. The names
of Perrin, Wallace, O'Loghlen, Pigot, Holmes, and
Finlay, were well known and revered. That the Whigs
should have passed such men over in contemptuous
silence, and selected from the ranks of Orangeism an
inexperienced barrister for the dignity of the bench —
that the new Government, we say, should have stooped
to this, surprised as many, in 1830, as a similar act, at the
present day, would probably fail to do.

The elevation of Mr. Blackburne to the Attorney-
Generalship was likewise a source of popidar irritation.
As a staunch Tory, it surprised all parties that he should
have been selected by a Whig Government for promotion.
Mr. Crampton, the Solicitor-General, was, we believe, a
sort of undecided Whig.

The odium of those very unpopular appointments fell
upon Lord Anglesey. People jumped at the conclusion
that he, as a matter of course, had the nomination of the
staff of Irish officials. It has within the last few years
transpired, that his Excellency, in so far as Doherty was
concerned, merely bowed acquiescence to the wishes of
Earl Grey (!) He thought to form a medley Govern-
ment, but failed most miserably in the attempt. After
superintending the progress of the cookery for some
days, Lord Grey at length found that the proportions
were about one-fourth Liberal and three-fourths Conser-

* The following epigrammatic lines, in reference to this extraordinary pro-
motion, appeared in one of the journals of the day : —

" In debate, for a Sampson may Doherty pass,
For the weapon of both was the jaw of an ass ;
But, how happy it is to have interest and friends,
Since the likeness between them no farther extends.
The Jew lost his power with the hair of his head,
But the Gentile gained his by a wig in its stead."

408 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

vative. In short, Toryism immensely and alarmingly
predominated. It was admitted by the noble Marquis
to Lord Cloncurry, during one of their many tete-a-tete
conversations, that Lord Grey's great object was to tran-
quillize, by genial appointments, the old Ascendancy
party, who had regarded him (Lord A.) with an eye of
the fiercest malignity since his avowed pro-Catholic ten-
dencies in 1828. They, however, over-did the thing.
It was, as events afterwards proved, only out of the
frying-pan into the fire ; or, to use more classical language,
whilst endeavouring to avoid Scylla, Lord Anglesey
wrecked himself upon Charibdis. He arrived in Ireland
on December 23, 1830, to occupy for the second time
the viceregal throne. But, oh, how different was his
reception during the last days of 1830, and the first days
of 1829 ! The reader will recollect what a tempest of
enthusiasm greeted the good Viceroy on the 19th of
January, in that year, when obeying the summons of
Arthur Duke of Wellington. Peals of derisive cheers
now heralded his approach. The booming of the royal
cannon almost fell into nothingness before the tempest.
Groans rent the air, and denunciations of " Long Jack
Doherty " resounded on every side. & ,,-'. ^j

Poor Lord Anglesey braved this storm of wrath
heroically. His friends apprised him several days in
advance of the reception he might expect. What he
thought of it, and how he intended to act, appear in the
following letter to Lord Cloncurry, and published in the
" Personal Recollections:" —

[No. 39.] THE MAKQUIS OF ANGLESEY TO LORD CLONCURRY.

" Beaudesert, Dec. 19th, 1830.

" MY DEAR LORD CLONCCRRT, — * * * I am perfectly prepared for
the worst that may happen, and shall present myself amongst you in all the
consciousness of not deserving unkindness, whatever may be my lot ; for if
ever there was a sacrifice made for the benevolent intention of conferring
a public benefit, I am making such a sacrifice. It seems, however, that I
have miscalculated my means ; and consequently the public, as well as
myself, must suffer for the indiscretion. * * * ' I have set my life upon
a cast, and I must stand the hazard of the die.' This is not obstinacy — it
is a fatality. I have had various kind and even affectionate letters, warning
me of what I may expect, and suggesting to me the lauding where I am not
expected, and proceeding quietly and secretly to Dublin. They might just

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 409

as well propose to me to consent to mount a balloon for the purpose of
seeking the moon. No ! '.no ! I will land at Kingstown, and proceed un-
ostentatiously to the Castle. * * * What I insist upon is this (and I
charge you, my clear Lord, very particularly on this subject), let no friend
of mine come forward, and mix himself up with my unpopularity — what a
term for me to make use of amongst Irishmen ! ! ! Let me alone. I shall
like to meet their hostile ebullitions alone and unattended. Even my
curiosity is excited. I am anxious to see the thing. It will be curious to
contrast the first days of 1829 with the last days of 1830 — and the whole
change of sentiment to be on the plea of a solitary law appointment !
Amazing ! Yet such is human nature. But I have done. In three words
you will understand me. My desire is, neither to attract notice, nor to
avoid it; and most particularly that not one single friend shall put himself
forward to share with me the fortunes of the day ; and, therefore, my dear
good Lord, stay at home, and you shall hear that I am not less patient and
-. enduring with a hostile and deluded people, than I am feelingly alive to the
cheers of an affectionate one.

" Ever yours,

" ANGLESEY."

Lord Cloncurry, however, bore too strong an affection
for Lord Anglesey to remain in the back ground. Like
a pilot weathering the strength of a storm, he rode at
the head of the procession, and, in consequence, came in,
(as might have been supposed, for some bitter side-winds
of popular indignation.

Poor Lord Anglesey ! If ever man deserved commi-
Iseration it was he. During the entire period of his second
jviceroyalty the Orange press ceased not to assail him ;
jwhile O'Connell, on the other hand, as the mouthpiece
pf an angered people, spoke what he felt, and that in no
courteous language either.

Lord Anglesey found, on his arrival, the voice of the
people loud for Repeal. The recent anti-Repeal decla-
ration had in nowise damped the popular ardour. It sti-
mulated O'Connell to increased exertion. He conjured
ploncurry to join the ranks of the people, and with his
Influential voice to swell the vociferous demand for legis-
htive independence. But the old lord would not, much
ID the chagrin of Daniel O'Connell.

His reasons appear to have been as follow : — He had
Ireat hopes that this, the second Administration of Lord
knglesey, would do great things for Ireland. He wished

listen patiently and respectfully to the intentions of
[inisters towards this country, and their proposed plans

T

410 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

for our relief (which the ensuing session of Parliament
would probably develope), ere he consented to pursue
any course calculated to add to the embarrassment and
difficulty of their situation.* " The present Government,"
said his lordship, " is the best I ever saw in power — in
fact the only one from which I ever hoped GOOD for
Ireland." We do not wonder that Lord Cloncurry re-
posed considerable confidence in the good intentions of
the Viceroy. His Excellency's antecedents — with the
exception of the Doherty appointment — would seem to
justify it. But, nevertheless, it struck hundreds of
Irishmen as a little inconsistent, that while no anti-Union
agitation prevailed, Lord Cloncurry should have been
always speaking and writing in advocacy of Repeal
but when the subject was really snatched up in th
powerful grasp of O'Connell, he would damp his ardou
by not only holding himself aloof from the nationa
councils, but in condemning the movement as indiscree
and ill-timed.

This he did. O'Connell had no mercy on Lor
Anglesey, and spoke of his Government contemptuously
Cloncurry " took up the cudgels" for his noble friem
and maintained a dignified reserve towards O'Connel
who retaliated by condemning the " grossly inconsistem
conduct of Lord Cloncurry. Previously, however,
this, Messrs. Hull and Reynolds, at the request
O'Connell, addressed a private letter to his lordship, re

* O'Connell himself, six years later, pursued a not unsimilar course,
the Queen's ministry he repose unbounded confidence. Better intentione
men towards Ireland never, he thought, legislated in Downing-stree
Everybody knows that for thirty years he agitated earnestly. But in 183
he deemed it more expedient not to embarrass with importunity so benevo-
lent a Government. At this juncture Sharman Crawford addressed foi
able letters to O'Connell. He described him as having more power thai
ever was possessed by monarch, and called on him to use his influence for
the purpose of pressing forward the measures which he himself so powerful]
advocated. " Having the vast power he possessed," observes his biographa
(Mr. Fagan), " we do think OConnell placed too much confidence in the goodw
tentions of the Government." Again, he says, p. 654, " O'Connell, in order sti
further to testify his confidence in the Queen's Government, moved an<
carried on the 1st of November the demolition of the General Association.'
\mple particulars concerning this formidable confederacy will be found ii
their proper place.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 411

questing him to occupy the chair at a great Repeal
meeting then about to come off. Lord Cloncurry pub-
lished the letter together with his reply. This proceeding
gave great offence to O'Connell, as he had no wish that
the world should be acquainted with any of the respect-
fully declined invitations connected with his meeting,
and accordingly he addressed to Cloncurry three long epis-
tles through the medium of the public press, animadver-
sive on his lordship's then political line of conduct, and full
of copious reference to the unfortunate letter written in
1824, which called upon him (O'Connell) to abandon the
pursuit of Catholic Emancipation, and raise an organized
shout for Legislative Independence. Over and over in
this series of letters O'Connell besought his lordship to
fling himself repentant into the ranks of a warm-hearted
people^ once more — assured him that a " cead mille a
failthe" awaited him, and that, if he would only consent
to lend his countenance to their labours, Repeal was
certain.

It would appear from some observations which fell
from Lord Cloncurry at a meeting, convened in Dublin
on April 28, 1840, for the purpose of opposing Lord
Stanley's bill, that his lordship had actually begun to
waver as to whether he would join Q'Connell in the
Repeal agitation, when Lord Anglesey confirmed him in
;he course he would pursue by exclaiming, during one of
;heir closet conferences, " Now, Cloncurry, will you give
me a trial, and if I don't do what is right for Ireland, I
will join you in the Repeal question?" " It's a bargain,
said I." We quote the dialogue verbatim from his lord-
ship's speech.

The first of O'Connell's series of letters to Lord Clon-
Jurry began and terminated as follows : —

°- 40.] TO LORD CLONCURRY.

" ' Open your mouth, and shut your eyes,

And Heaven will love you and send you a prize.'— Old Wife's Song.

" Merrion-square, VZth January, 1831.

" MY LORD,— Having been one of the persons who appointed Messrs
me, Hull, and Reynolds to inquire, in a respectful manner, whether you

412 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

would preside over a meeting of Irishmen, to petition for the Repeal of the
Union, I am authorized, by your lordship's conduct on that occasion, to
a.lilress you through the public papers. I should not take this liberty if vou
had not felt yourself justified in publishing the correspondence on that occa-
sion. You published it without the assent of Mr. Browne, or of any of us, and
plainly with a view to disparage the intended meeting, at which you had
been courteously invited to preside.

" I do not, my Lord, arraign your conduct in so publishing it. That is a
subject on which I am not now called on to give any opinion. But I do
insist that I have a right, without any disrespect, to canvass the sentiments
contained in your letter, to discuss the advice you have volunteered, and to
consider whether you pursue a course to be followed, or afford an example to
be avoided.

" My Lord, I can do all this, not only in an amicable spirit, but preserving
that respectful deference to which you are so justly entitled. There are
many reasons why the people of Ireland should listen to advice coming from
you. There are, indeed, more than I could enumerate. But I feel pleasure
in recounting some of them.

" First — Although belonging of right to the aristocracy, you have never
preferred ' your order ' to the good of the people. You have never taken
part against them, and whilst others of our lordly advisers were familiar with
the u^e of the torturing triangle, the slashing sword, and the gallows, you,
my Lord, were mitigating the horrors of a dismal period, and uniting in sym-
pathy with a tortured and maddened nation.

" Second — Your sincerity in the cause of the people was recognized and
proved by their enemies. They immured you, on suspicion of being suspecte<
of loving Ireland too well, within the walls of a gloomy prison, where for
many, many long months you had, when the warm blood of youth boiled in
your Irish veins, to endure the emaciating torture of solitude, or the more
disgusting association of the beastly keepers of an English dungeon.

" Third — In a country in which, according to Lord Redesdale, ' there was
one law for the rich and another for the poor, and both were equally ill-
administered,' you, of all the justices in Ireland, vindicated for yourself, by
your strict impartiality and discreet wisdom, the glorious title of the ' Poor
man's magistrate.1 You bear that title during your life, and when — oh, may
the period be remote — you descend to your honoured grave, the sublime, but
simple epitaph, will be engraved on your tomb, amidst a nation's tears —
' The poor man's magistrate.'

" Fourth — You have been always, as you are, a resident landlord. You
had and have too much conscience, humanity, and honesty, to spend amongsl
strangers the money produced by Irish land and Irish labour. Your conduct
to your tenants has, more than once, preserved your estates in perfect tran-
quillity, whilst the surrounding country was blazing with the midnight con-
flagration, and stained with human blood. You never were an absentee.

" These are powerful claims on the admiration, confidence, and affection ol
your countrymen ; an affection which is enhanced even by the rarity of objects
deserving of it.

" You have, indeed, suffered persecution for Ireland, and ought, therefore,
to love her ; you have been, as it were, outlawed in your caste, and one Lord
Chancellor has persecuted a most amiable and exemplary person, because
she was most justly dear to you. The military glory of Lord Wellington—-
of that littlest, allow the word, of great men — descended to scold a Lord
Lieutenant for presuming to entertain you, and a most valuable Lord Chan-

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 413

cellor has been threatened with dismissal for the crime of sharing the elegaut
hospitality of your mansion.

" All these are claims which you have on the love and confidence of the
Irish people. You have been persecuted simply because you had the audacity
to love Ireland ; for —

' It is treason to love her, and death to defend.'

" With all these claims, it is my duty to proclaim how much you deserve
the gratitude and affection of your countrymen. It is also my painful duty
to add, that whilst they recognize the patriotism and purity of your inten-
tions, they cannot place confidence in the wisdom of your counsels."

[Here a large portion of the letter is devoted to animadversion on the
policy of Lord Cloncurry's advice in 1824. " If we had followed it," wrote
O'Connell, " the Protestant Dissenters of England would still labour under
degradation — the Catholics of Ireland would still be unemancipated."]

" I will close this first address with your letter. I pray you, my Lord,
read it attentively, and see whether the man who wrote it can stand excused
for endeavouring to palsy the efforts of his countrymen in the sacred cause
of legislative independence. *

* ********

" I will not weaken the effect of your powerful letter with one single
observation of mine ; but I cannot close this, my first letter to you, without
imploring you to believe that no man holds you personally in higher respect
and regard than I do — no man is more solicitous than I am to have you
uphold a character for patriotic consistency. I hope I shall preserve unim-
paired in your mind the conviction, that if I address to you unpleasant
truths, I do so without any intentional disrespect, and only out of my un-
feigned love for Ireland.

' Return to us, Lord Cloncurry ; you are too good, too Irish, too honest,
to belong to any Englishman or Englishmen. Come back to your own
principles. He who sleeps now, is dead. Revive, my Lord, revive. If you
join us now, the Repeal of the Union is inevitable. The fate of Ireland is
now in your hands. Take your natural, your proper station, as leader. Oh,
your destiny is glorious, if you do not sport with it unwisely, or fling it at
the feet of courtiers and strangers. Take the lead now, and Ireland will
have another tearless, stainless, bloodless revolution ; a revolution equally
beneficial to the stability of the throne and the prosperity of the people.

" I have the honour to be, your respectful Servant,

" DANIEL O'CONNELL."

A few days afterwards the coping-stone was placed on
the tottering fabric of Lord Anglesey's popularity, by the
introduction of an Act manifestly intended as the ex-
tinguisher for Repeal. Proclamation after proclamation
for the subversion of O'Connell's power appeared ; all of
which he dexterously contrived to elude with the ex-
ception of the sixth, which was so cautiously worded
that not one loop-hole could be found by him who sub-
sequently boasted his capability of driving a coach-and-six

414 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

through, all judge-made law. " The Man of the People"
was accordingly placed under arrest, brought before
Alderman Darley, the informations read, and requested
to produce bail — himself in £1,000 and two sureties in
£500 each.

The statute which succeeded in grasping O'Connell
went by the name of Algerine Act. Under it the Lord
Lieutenant had full power to suppress, as illegal, any
association having, in his judgment, the remotest tendency
towards a violation of the public peace. Sullenly de-
manding Repeal, the people surged in masses. A procla-
mation appeared. O'Connell had recourse to the old
expedient of changing the name and remodelling the
structure of his national confederacy ; but all to no effect.
The Algerine Act was too many for him. " From the
comments of the press on these transactions," observes
Fagan's "-Life of Daniel O'Connell," "it is evident the
feeling prevailed, that the struggle was one directly be-
tween despotism on the one hand, and liberty on the
other." It is now known for certain that Lord Anglesey
was well-intentioned towards Ireland; but in 1830 this
feeling did not generally prevail. The Doherty appoint-
ment and the prosecution of O'Connell cannot be said to
have indicated a disposition to please the people, although
Lord Anglesey probably considered both courses un-
avoidable. Be this as it may, we are not much surprised
that O'Connell should have sorrowed at a change having
come over, as he thought, the spirit of the Viceroy's
dream.

Poor Lord Cloncurry had a difficult card to play. He
knew his Excellency — what the public did not — to be
full of the best intentions towards Ireland. Sooner or
later they would, he was sure, be carried into effect.
Anglesey, in the privacy of the closet, opened his mind
to Cloncurry. He told him to wait awhile and see what
he would do for Ireland.

O'Connell, stung by a prosecution which he neither
expected nor deserved, violently denou need Lord Anglesey,
and bitterly satirized Lord Cloncurry for daring to con-
tinue on terms of such close intimacy with so unpopular

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 415

a Viceroy.* Cloncurry felt liis own popularity on the
ebb. The reflection galled him acutely. It smarted him
in the marrow of his bones. He was extremely unhappy.
Since his imprisonment in the Tower, as he acknowledged
years after, he had never felt more so. To attempt to con-
vince O'Connell, or the mass of people whom he wielded,
of Lord Anglesey's good intentions was hopeless. They
could not understand Lord Cloncurry's sanguine expec-
tations, and sneered at him as a duped and hoodwinked
man. Cloncurry had several good things in view for
poor Ireland. One in particular he never for a moment
lost sight of — the establishment of a National System of
education. The necessity of this he continually impressed
upon Lord Anglesey.

After the lapse of a few months, Irishmen beheld all
the necessary arrangements for this great organization
perfected. Lord Cloncurry was appointed Chairman of
the Commissioners of Education. So the second vice-

* It may readily be supposed that Lord Cloncurry did not feel particularly
grateful to O'Connell for all this. We find by Moore's Diary, p. 1 76, vol. vi.
that his lordship took occasion to provoke a laugh or two at O'Connell's
expense. In his Diary of 18th_Feb. 1831, Tom Moore speaks of having
dined at the Castle with Lord Anglesey, who, in the coarse of the evening,
became conversible : — " Told me not a bad anecdote of Lord Cloncuny,"
writes Moore, " who, in coming to town the other day, was upset in the
snow, and some fellows on the road lending their assistance, he was quickly
set right again, on which he said to them, ' Thank you, my lads. Now I
shall treat you as O'Connell does.' ' Oh, long life to your honour for that,'
they exclaimed, with great joy, but were rather taken aback when Lord
Cloncurry, holding out his empty hand to them, said, ' I'll trouble each of
you for half-a-crown. O'Connell takes more from you, but as you have been
such good fellows I'll only ask half-a-crown.' The fellows felt the fun of
this, and, of course, got something else into the bargain. * * * * Saw plainly
he (Lord A.) was very nervous about the state of Ireland." Pity that Lord
John Russell should have suppressed the interesting conversation between
Moore and Lord Anglesey on the excited state of public feeling in February,
1831. Four stars is but a sorry substitute. Lord Cloncurry, in reality,
however, entertained a most kindly feeling towards O'Connell, notwithstand-
ing the sledge-hammer blows of abuse which fell upon him (Lord C.) daily.
He fought nobly behind the curtain for O'Connell at this juncture. Mr.
Attorney-General Blackburne insisted upon prosecuting him. Lord Clon-
curry strongly opposed the law officer's opinion, and defended O'Connell with
the energy of an advocate. Words grew high, and Cloncurry and Black-
burne fell out. The altercation, if such it may be called, took place in pre-
sence of Lord Anglesey.

416 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

royalty of Lord Anglesey was not altogether unproductive
of fruit. In England his Excellency's colleagues were
up and doing. The two great measures — Parliamentary
Reform and the Abolition of Slavery — were carried amid
the lusty plaudits of a grateful nation.

It is, we believe, not generally known that Lord
Anglesey kept a back-stairs cabinet, composed of Mr.
Anthony Blake, the Hon. George Villars, now Earl of
Clarendon, Mr. W. H. Curran (Commissioner of Insol-
vency), and though last not least, Lord Cloncurry. The
Viceroy entertained the highest opinion of the soundness
of Cloncurry's views, and on almost every hand's turn
summoned him to his councils. Indeed, as we learn from
his " Personal Recollections," so often, and at such un-
certain times was this assistance called for, that it was
customary with him to have post-horses constantly ready
at Lyons, in order that he might be enabled instantly to
obey his Excellency's summons.

Throughout the year 1831, Lord Cloncurry was active
in organizing an Irish reforming party. He convened
four meetings for the purpose, of which two were in the
County Kildare, and two in Dublin. On each occasion
the Duke of Leinster co-operated with him zealously.
A portion of his lordship's speech at the last of the series,
that on December 5, 1831, we transcribe : — " I am a sup-
porter of his Majesty's ministers," said he, " not because
benefit has been done to Ireland, but because I expect
that great benefit will be done to her by them. 1 look
to them as men of sound sense and cultivated minds, and
I think the greater part of them are advocates for REFORM
and the rights of human nature. It is thirty-six years
since the United Irishmen asked Parliament for nothing
but Emancipation for the Catholics and Reform for the
people. That was afterwards made an illegal society by
Act of Parliament ; but it really had no other object in
view but these. The whole people are now resolved to
have that for which hundreds and thousands were
butchered, because they sought for it." Referring to the
recently introduced National School system, his lordship
said : — " The education of the Irish was at one time

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 417

capital offence — it was then a transportable crime — it
was at least a misdemeanour to educate them, and still
they were taught, imperfectly, to be sure, within the
wretched hovel or beneath the hedge. I am convinced
that the new organization will be the means of effectually
putting down that sycophantic, hypocritical, swindling
system which robbed the country under pretence of pro-
moting general education. Our new system, too, will
make the people of Ireland fit for freedom. But much
as I love freedom, much as I regard liberty, I would
sooner see .all my countrymen in chains than find them
madly attacking, for the mere pleasure of doing so, the
constituted authorities or one another." Immediately
anterior to the meeting of the new Parliament, a splendid
dinner was given in the King's room to celebrate the
triumph of Reform. Lord Cloncurry presided.

In September, 1831, a source of old* and bitter com-
plaint on the part of Lord Cloncurry was, in some degree,
removed by Earl Grey creating him a British peer. The
exclusion of Irish peers from the councils of the Upper
House Lord Cloncurry frequently deplored. He thought
that at least after having been robbed of their native
Parliament, England, thus enriched, ought not, injustice,
to refuse them admission. Lord Cloncurry 's complaint
on the score of exclusion did not arise from any selfish
feeling, but was based upon an innate love of justice and
fair play. He neither solicited nor ambitioned the British
peerage. When offered him he refused it, and nothing
but the repeated exhortations of Lord Anglesey induced
him ultimately to accept the honour. There are few
points in the history of Lord Cloncurry's life which have
been so grossly misconstrued as his conduct on this
occasion. It is confidently believed by many to this day
that Lord Cloncurry importuned the King, through Lord
Anglesey, for the honour, and from the moment he re-
ceived it, took his place amongst the ranks of the silenced

" See his lordship's speech at the Devereux Banquet, July 19, 1819,
p. 329, his " Letter on Police, and the present State of Ireland, to the
Duke of Leinster," p. 337, his address to the Irish members, p. 404, &c.

T 2

418 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Irish patriots! A letter dated September 16, 1854, and
written by an Irish privy councillor, for many years
identified with the national movements of his country,
lies before us as we write. " I am not an ardent ad-
mirer of Lord Cloncurry," observes Mr. O . " He

advocated the Repeal humbug for years, but remained
silent from the day Lord Anglesey got him made an
English peer." This belief, as well as that he craved the
elective peerage, is unfortunately general ; but after the
publication of these pages we trust it will cease to be so.
Within the last year we learned incidentally that the
honour was, unknown to Lord Cloncurry, solicited and
obtained for him by his well beloved friends, the Duke
of Leinster and Lord Anglesey. The author wrote to
his Grace for a confirmation of this report, and was much
gratified to receive the following assurance : — " I can
have no hesitation in saying," wrote the Duke on Sep-
tember 27th, 1854, " that the English peerage was con-
ferred on Lord Cloncurry unlocked for and unexpected
by him." To this we may add, by way of postscript,
some sentences of a letter from one of Lord Cloncurry's

oldest friends, Dr. Richard Grattan. " Mr. O greatly

mistakes both Lord Cloncurry's character and his feeling
in regard to the worthless English peerage which the
Whigs sent him, without solicitation, or even knowledge
of their intention on his part. This I can testify from
his lordship's own assurance to me. The honour, if such
it may be called, died with him ; and for this he had to
pay, m the sixtieth year of his age, nearly £800 in fees,
a most confoundedly dear bargain in my mind, and one
that I am quite sure he considered such. Pray try and
place Lord Cloncurry in a proper light before the public
with regard to his English peerage."

In 1830 the Grey Administration decided upon invest-
ing some members of the Irish nobility with English
honours. Lord Anglesey was deputed by his noble col-
league to ascertain from Lord Cloncurry the names of (
those whom he would recommend for that promotion.
His lordship asked a day to consider, and during that
interval, by a process of mental winnowing, contrived to

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 419

select all that was liberal and noble from the vast mass of
chaff which constitutes Irish aristocracy. His suggestions
were acted upon. Lord Grey expressed himself pleased
with the list, and entertained every intention of placing
Lord Cloncurry's name at its head, had not the inter-
ference of George the Fourth frustrated this resolve. In
September, 1831, matters wore a different aspect. A
new king ascended the throne, and the wishes of Lords
Grey and Anglesey remained unthwarted. Lord Clon-
curry was not only created a representative peer, but a
privy councillor. The honours came upon him unex-
pectedly. He wrote to Lord Grey to request that he
would convey, in suitable terms, his gratitude to King
William. " The favour," said he, " is doubly valued, as
a proof of the royal approbation of the zeal and perseve-
rance with which I have through life endeavoured to
advocate the interests of his loyal and faithful subjects,
the people of Ireland."

Lord Cloncurry at once took up position in the House
of Lords. Like a watchful sentinel he continued at his
post, denunciating in the bud every measure hostile to
the interests of Ireland, and pressing under the notice of
the Legislature those wise, humane, and salutary ones
which he was so long in the habit of periodically sug-
gesting through the comparatively ineffective medium of
newspaper addresses.

In October, 1831, the once popular Lord Anglesey
added another to his funeral pile of unpopular appoint-
ments. He elevated to the paltry dignity of an assistant
county barristership a man whose extreme Orange princi-
ples hadlong excited the disgustand indignation of Catholic
Ireland. The Evening Mail, as the organ of Ascendancy,
crew exultingly over the Catholic bar, but did not thank
Lord Anglesey. Mr. Staunton, in his Morning Register,
opened a broadside on his Excellency. Hardly three
days elapsed until the appointment of Mr. John Finlay,
the eloquent supporter of the Catholic claims, as assistant-
barrister for the County Louth, was officially announced.
Lord Anglesey endeavoured to smile on both parties,
but his smiles met with nothing but surly rebuffs.

420 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Finlay, at this time, acted in the capacity of seneschal
to Lord Cloncurry; and Mr. Staunton, presuming that
in consequence of his new appointment he would resign
this office, wrote to Lord Cloncurry suggesting his friend,
Mr. Carew O'Dwyer, since M.P. for Drogheda, as a fit
and proper person to succeed Mr. Finlay.

[No. 41.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. STAUNTON.

[" Private.']

"Lyons, 13th November, 1831.

MY DEAR SIR, — When I have had a little time to look about me, I shall
endeavour to see Mr. O'Dwyer, of whom I have always heard good report.

" I agree with you, that John Finlay deserves well of every friend of
Ireland. He has always supported the good cause from principle, without
one selfish consideration. I therefore rejoice at the unsolicited mark of
respect paid to him by the honestest and most thoroughly Irish Viceroy
Ireland ever saw. What can be the intention of endeavouring to worry
such a governor from his post I know not. You, gentlemen'of the press, are,
of course, better informed ; and you know somebody, who, yielding to
Messrs. Melbourne and Stanley, and their subordinates, would give us the
advantage of an Orange Government, and of party played against party,
without one thought of justice, or of the future welfare of the country. For
thirty or forty years the Tories were submitted to, with few and occasional
efforts at opposition ; but the moment the only decent Government which
Ireland ever saw has succeeded to crippled power and exhausted finance, the
sot-distant patriots aid the despots of Europe for their overthrow, and, like
Hunt in England, counteract the exertions of all good men to make some
beginning in favour of Ireland. Had the year's truce which I solicited been
granted, we would already be far advanced on the road to reform of the pro-
vincial abuses which form the chief curse of this country ; and all good men
would be able to judge whether the time was come when we should insist on
self-government, or be satisfied to form a really integral part of a great,
wealthy, and wise commonwealth. — Very truly yours,

" CLONCURRY."

The succeeding letters bear no date, but were written,
we are aware, during the second viceroyalty of Lord
Anglesey.

[No. 42.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. STAUNTON.

[" Private.']

" DEAR SIR, — I was for many years served with your Register by the
canal boat, leaving Portobello at two o'clock P.M. The Messrs. Johnston
told me this year that I could get it more speedily by the Rathcool early
post ; but 1 found that one or two papers per week were purloined, either in
their office or the Post-office of Dublin. * * * I was then informed that
Saunckrs would be let pass when the Register would not This savoured so
much of the good old times, that I would try it ; but I cannot digest your
worthy cotemporary.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 421

* * * "I lament the opposition to poor laws, though I differ entirely
from Mr. Nichol and Mr. Stanley. If the idle arms were usefully employed,
under Colonel Burgoyne, no poor laws would be necessary, except for the
aged and helpless, and the assessment would enrich, instead of impoverishing
the country.

" Mr. Nichol allowed to me that the impost would fall heaviest on those
who had most improved. Why not make it fall autrement, and improve the
states of absentees at their own cost ? — Your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 43.] LORD CLOXCURRY TO SlA. STAUNTOX.

" Maretimo, 2nd June (no year).
["Private.]

" MY DEAR SIR, — I called on you a few days ago, to state that I had,
happily, succeeded in putting an end to the annoyances* of which you spoke
to me when last I had the pleasure to meet you in Suffolk-street.

To me this is a great and most gratifying success, and, I hope and trust,
the beginning of good prospects to our country. — Most truly yours,

"C.

" P.S. — There was a mistake in all the morning papers as to the list of
toasts on Tuesday. I sent them, as given to me by the committee, to Mr.
Conway. The Duke of Leinster was, as of right and justice, put at the head
of the reforming peers of Ireland."

* Note in Mr. Staunton's Handwriting. — "The dressing of the statue in
College-green, and the midnight disorder and outrage usually attendant upon
the ceremony."

CHAPTER XV.

Tithes! Tithes! Tithes! — The Comet Newspaper — Massacres at Newtown-
barry and elsewhere — Extraordinary Manifesto — Triumph of "passive
Resistance" — Lord Cloncurry's Debut in the House of Peers — Called to
Order by the Earl of Wicklow — Melbourne Administration of 1834 — Its
short Career — Letter of Lord Cloncurry to Mr. Conway — His Lordship's
Dissent — Melbourne again Premier — The Mulgrave Viceroyalty — His
Excellency's Love of Popularity, and his Strides to achieve it — Orangeism
well-nigh uprooted — Reconciliation between Cloncurry and O'Connell —
Interesting Letters to Messrs. O'Connell, Bagot, Crawford, and Conway —
Strange Proceedings at the great " Protestant Meeting" of 1837 — General
Election — Exciting Struggle — Death of William IV. — Queen Victoria —
Hanoverian Plot exposed — Letter to "Billy Murphy" — Spottiswoode
Conspiracy — Letters to and from O'Connell — Lord Cloncurry's Speech at
the Temperance Soiree — Poor Law Meeting and Municipal Reform
Banquet of 1837 — Exhumation of the Body of Philpot Curran — A crazy
Mathematician — Sir Isaac Newton an Impostor ! — Letters to Robert
Oweu and Mr. Conway — The Ebrington Viceroyalty — Lord Cloncurry
hissed in the Theatre Royal, but not for " bad Acting" — Open Air
Meeting — Railways — Letter from Hogan the Sculptor to his Lordship —
Lord Stanley's Attempt to repeal the Irish Reform Bill — Lord Cloncurry
active — The "Wounds incidental to his former Collision with O'Connell
re-open — Leinster and Charlemont Address to the People of Great Bri-
tain— Earl De Grey Viceroy of Ireland — Letters to Mr. Hogan — The
Repeal Agitation — O'Connell's Power in 1843 — Four Hundred Thousand
Men on Tara Hill — Arrest, Trial, and Imprisonment of O'Connell — Letter
from Lord Cloncurry — Judgment reversed, and Liberation of O'Connell —
General Jubilee — Precursor Petition — Letters .to Mr. Haughton — Endow-
ment of Maynooth by Sir Robert Peel — Federal Parliament — Lord Clon-
curry has some Thoughts of becoming a Benedict for the third Time —
The Famine — Lord Cloncurry's Warnings disregarded — Secession from
Conciliation Hall — Lord Cloncurry's Public Letter to Smith O'Brien — His
Lordship a Member of the Irish Council — Letters to the Very Rev. Dr.
Spratt and Dr. R. R. Madden — Amelia Curran — A false Report.

THE political history of Ireland, throughout the years
'32, '33, and '34, may be described in three words —
Tithes ! tithes ! tithes ! Nothing else was talked about,
thought about, or read about. It formed the dream of
men by night, and the all-engrossing subject of their
thoughts by day. Like a mighty epidemic did this tithe

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 423

fever prevail, striking down some in death, and paralysing
the business energies, if we may so say, of others. In
repeated instances, labourers deserted their work in
myriads, and, maddened with indignation, resisted, even
unto death, the unhallowed encroachments of a pampered
Church Establishment. The sanguinary scenes at Gur-
troe, Wallstown, Newtownbarry, and Castlepollard, are
not likely soon to be effaced from the Irish memory.

The Comet newspaper was established in Dublin during
the year 1831. It had perhaps more effect in opening
previously closed eyes to this enormous abuse than any
other engine of anti-tithe agitation. It commenced by
hebdomadally pouring forth a corrosive stream of acrid
satire on that Irish Church Establishment which Lord
Brougham pronounced to be the " foulest practical
abuse that ever existed in any civilized country," and
Macaulay,* as " the most utterly absurd and indefen-
sible." Having succeeded in securing the attention of
the kingdom, it gradually warmed in its tone, fearlessly
exposed the inconsistencies, hypocrisy, and manifold
abuses of the Establishment, declared that they should be,
at all hazards, exterminated, root and branch, and, with
crushing eloquence, denounced its pillars, from the bishop
to his curate, as plunderers deriving their revenue by

* Mr. Macaulay added : — " There is but one country in the world that
presents to you the spectacle of a population of 8,000,000, with a Church
established and richly endowed for only 800,000 of that population." Lord
Campbell said: — "I believe the Protestant Church in Ireland to be one of
the most mischievous institutions in existence. I believe it is so considered
now ; I believe it will be so considered by posterity ; and it is only because
your lordships are familiar with it that you are not shocked by the picture."
Lord Grey said : — " I regard the Irish Church, in the actual condition of
that country, and upon the footing on which it is placed, to be opposed
alike to justice, to policy, and to religious principle." Lord John Russell
pronounced it to be " an anomaly and a grievance ;" and Sir George Grey,
•as " unjustifiable in its establishment, and indefensible in its continuance."
But the admirable writings of Sydney Smith on the subject are worth all
their opinions bundled together. That they did as much, if not more good,
there cannot be a doubt. Poor Sydney ! although a parson yourself, you
•could enjoy a joke at the expense of " the well-paid Protestant clergyman,
preaching to stools and hassocks, and crying in the wilderness!" "For
advancing such opinions," he observed, on one occasion, " 1 have no doubt I
•shall be assailed by Latimers, &c. ; but I don't care a straw. Why? Be-
cause I'm in the right"

424 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

compulsion from an uncongenial Catholic population,
who owed them nothing but ill-will, and who, of course,
never could expect to obtain, in return, the slightest
value for the money so bestowed. " As to religion,"
said Doctor Doyle, " what I wish is, to see her freed
from the slavery of the State and the bondage of mam-
mon— her ministers labouring, and receiving their hire
from those for whom they labour."

The next step made by the editors of the Comet was
to write such prescriptions as they considered calculated
to remove ultimately, if duly attended to, this cause of
complaint from Catholic Ireland. They recommended
that " passive resistance" should, by every possible means,
be given to the hostile advances of all tithe-seeking par-
sons. This advice fell upon fruitful soil. An organised
system of confederacy, whereby signals were, for miles
around, recognized and answered, started into latent
vitality. In short, true Irish " winks" were extensively
exchanged ; and when the rector, mounted on his palfrey,
at the head of a detachment of police, military, bailiffs,
clerks, and auctioneers, would make his descent on the
lands of the Catholic peasantry, he generally found the
cattle removed, and one or two grinning countenances
occupying their place. A search was, of course, promptly
instituted, and often two entire days were consumed in
prosecuting it. When successful, and that the cattle did
come to light, the parson's first step was to put them u|
to auction, in the presence of a regiment of Englisl
soldiery ; but it almost invariably happened that, either
the assembled spectators were afraid to bid, lest by doing
so they should incur the oft-threatened vengeance of the
peasantry, or else they stammered out such a miserably
low offer, that, when knocked down, the expenses of the
sale would be found to exceed it. The same observation
applies to the crops. Not one man in a hundred had the
hardihood to declare himself the purchaser. It occa-
sionally happened that the parson, disgusted at the timi-
dity of bidders, and thinking by a ruse to remove it,
would order the cattle twelve or twenty miles away, in
order to their being a second time put up for auction.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 425

But the locomotive progress of the beasts, on such occa-
sions, was always closely tracked by men deputed for that
purpose, and who adopted certain means to prevent either
driver or beast receiving the slightest shelter or suste-
nance throughout the march. This harassing system of
anti-tithe tactics, of which an idea is merely given here,
soon accomplished the most satisfactory results for Ireland.

Meetings, avowedly to oppose the old tithe exaction,
were held continually under the auspices of O'Connell
and his brother agitators. All magistrates who attended
them were furnished by Government with a supersedeas
and those who did not, received from the peasantry a notice
embellished with death's head and cross bones. Of the
two alternatives the former was generally preferred, and
the consequence was, that not only the vox populi, but
that of the major part of the magistratcy, resounded in
tithe denunciation throughout the land. Soon the
mighty old abuse became completely undermined, and
threatened, at no distant day, to come tumbling down.
It had grown old in its iniquity, and proportionately
obese. Owing probably to these bodily infirmities it
was quelled with much less trouble than would have been
required for the purpose, when young and hale, eighty
years before.

Determined to cast off, by physical means, the incubus
of a pampered Church Establishment, several hundred
men, previously linked together by ribbon bonds, formed
themselves into an illegal confederacy, notwithstanding
the threats of the law to hang, and of their clergy to ex-
communicate them. The men thus enrolled went by the
name of Terryalt boys and Whitefeet ; but their organi-
zation was far from being general or perfect. When the
reader is informed that in some counties they had the
daring to walk in military order, it may well be supposed
that their existence proved a source of unfeigned alarm
to the Government. The greatest excitement pervaded
those counties where their number was supposed to muster
strongest. In July a great aggregate anti-tithe meeting
was held in Kilkenny, and Lord Cloncurry occupied the
chair. The speeches were of rather a violent character,

426 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

and the resolutions, to say the least of them, strong.
Government expressed alarm at the spirit manifested,
dismissed a vice4ieutenant, who attended, from office,
and warned Lord Cloncurry, for the first time since 1798,
to be cautious lest he might incur their indignation and
its consequences. A number of minor offenders were
apprehended, tried, and convicted.

In 1833, the Irish parsons resolved unanimously to
make one great and signal effort to recover their lost
position. Tithes they should and would have, no matter
if a Rubicon of human blood had necessarily to be waded
through to clutch them. Accordingly sundry rounds of
ball cartridge were distributed amongst the police and
yeomanry preparatory to every descent on the habitations
of the peasantry. Should the cattle, in the meantime, be
removed, potatoes, sheeting, wearing apparel, blanketing,
and whatever the house afforded was, in default of better,
usually secured. The people, in some instances, stung
with rage, offered a something more than mere passive
resistance by flinging stones and other missiles at their
military intruders. This happened at Newtownbarry,
where frightful bloodshed and rapine ensued. Mr.
O'Callaghan, speaking of this in his excellent " Green
Book," tells us that the cattle of a farmer named Doyle
was, on June 23, seized for tithe by the Rev. Mr.
M'Clintock, and although the sum claimed did not ex-
ceed £2 6s. (which, moreover, was not legally due till
November), the cattle were advertised to be sold by
auction, in the parson's name, on Saturday 18th June.
Being market day, a large crowd assembled to attend
the sale. The cattle were " put up," and 190 yeomanry,
provided with fifty rounds of ball cartridge each, formed
into line adjacent. It has been said that no stones were
thrown on this occasion by any except children, and
from the credible nature of the authority, we are not
disposed to disbelieve it. That stones were thrown is]
certain, and that the soldiery fired equally so. Whei
the smoke of the volley had cleared away, fourteen inc
viduals were found stretched lifeless on the market pla
and twenty-six wounded. Perhaps the most horrible

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 427

incident in the tragedy was the case of a woman named
Mulrooney, through whose body, including that of an
unborn child, a musket ball tore its way, leaving the
bleeding remains of both exposed to the public eye.

The massacre of Skibbereen, under the auspices of
Parson Morrit, was not less horrible. Famine decimated
the land, and boiled nettles and seaweed constituted the
food of many. Of this, however, Mr. Morrit took no
heed, and the bowels of his compassion remained un-
moved. At the head of a company of infantry he marched
on Skibbereen, and gruffly demanded tithe. The pea-
santry replied that the tenth perch of every ridge was at
his service ; but the man of God, abhorrent of trouble,
declared that he had no notion to squander away the
public time in digging them, and insisted on his right to
extract tithe from some potatoes which had been stored
up within a barn. We cannot discover any details of
attempted resistance on this occasion, in the account fur-
nished by Mr. O'Callaghan, which we believe to be the
best. He tells us that the benevolent pastor, on being
refused admission, ordered the yeomanry to fire. This
they did, and twenty-nine persons and a child fell dead
in the street. One of the most effective series of stanzas
in the Comet newspaper, was suggested by some words
said to have been uttered by Parson Morrit before leaving
his glebe-house for Skibbereen. " My tithes or blood,"
exclaimed that dignitary.

Similar scenes occurred at Carrickshock, Dunmanway,
Castlepollard,Rathcormac, and Gurtroe. God grant that
we may never see such days again !

Notwithstanding that Might was determinedly opposed
to Right (the issue of which engagement is so often un-
favourable to the latter), we find that the people fin ally suc-
ceeded by means of outmanoeuvering, menacing, and
thwarting the operation of the system, in rendering it an ad-
visable and judicious step on the part of Government to
obliterate for ever that unnatural law from their statute
book which encouraged the perpetration of murder and
outrage. Never was the determination of Ireland more
fixed. Her people were in earnest, and what is still

428 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

better, unanimous. In illustration of the menacing
system, and how effectively it told, we may subjoin the
following notice which, early on the morning of October
1st, 1835, was extensively posted through the city of
Limerick. We find it reported in an ancient number of
the Evening Post: —

" TITHES,

" Stained with the blood of Irishmen !
" Parson Croker has distrained for Tithes the cows and sheep of

"MR. O'FLAHERTY, OF GROOM,

" which are this day to be sold by public auction, in Henry-street.
" Will any one purchase, and thereby uphold this iniquitous impost ?

" THE BLOOD SHED AT RATI^ORMAC ANSWERS

" THAT NO MAN WILL."

" The auction, "says "the Limerick Times, took place at
the specified hour. Many clerical and other gentlemen
were present to witness the proceedings. The various
lots, however, found no bidders, and, in the end, the
Rev. Mr. Croker himself purchased the whole at nominal
prices, and made them a present to the House of In-
dustry."

The anti-tithe ruses succeeded inimitably. Mr. Secre-
tary Stanley, now Earl of Derby, declared at this period
in the British Senate, that after repeated attempts on the
part of Government to levy tithes with the assistance of
both military and police, they were only enabled, from
an arrear of £60,000, to collect the value of £12,000,
and that at an expense of more than £27,000.

With such savage barbarity, and overbearing insolence,
did the Anglo-Irish pillars of the Church establishment
comport themselves towards their humble Catholic parish-
ioners throughout, and for long anterior to the tithe
crusade, that their lives actually became uninsurable.
And it is with sorrow we feel ourselves necessitated to
add, that many of the despotic churchmen fell victims!
to the wrath of those whom a sanguinary order, when I
enforcing payment of tithes, had deprived of the affec-1
tionate protection of a father, or, perhaps, the cherished|
companionship of a brother.

From the moment that Valentine Lawless may be sale
to have arrived at the age of reason, he was an ardei

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 429

and disinterested tithe abolitionist. So early as the
year 1806, we find him pressing the subject on the Duke
of Bedford during his Lord Lieutenancy, and giving it
as his opinion that a settlement of it was downright
essential to the general good of Ireland. Lord Cloncurry
was, himself, the lay rector of several parishes — in other
words, a tithe owner — and might be, therefore, supposed
to regard the Church question in a Conservative point of
view.

The first words uttered by his lordship in the British
Parliament were in denunciation of tithes. His debut
there took place on December 7, 1831. Having given
notice that he had several petitions for the abolition of
tithes to present, Cloncurry was proceeding to launch
forth into an impassioned diatribe on their oppressive
character, when the Earl of Wicklow (an old senator)
started from his seat, and blandly calling " the noble
Baron" to order, begged to remind him that it was quite
irregular to enter into statements on giving a notice.

The more regular course," observed Lord Wicklow,
" would be to defer your observations until you have
brought forward the petitions." Poor Lord Cloncurry,

little crest-fallen, sat down. By degrees he learned
the etiquette of Parliament.

Lord Cloncurry's opposition to the tithe system in the
Lords was, throughout the following year, unwavering,
constant, and remarkable. On the 3rd March, 1833, he
pronounced it to be the main grievance of Ireland, and,
if not then attended to, would render acts of coercion and
the effusion of blood continually necessary. " The
; people," said his lordship, " are heavily taxed to support
a Church with which they have no communion, whilst
the zealous ministers of their own Church are left en-
tirely to depend upon the scant charity of their flocks."
[For the remainder of that year Lord Cloncurry took
Ilittle or no part in politics. He may be said to have
[passed it in dignified retirement — part of the time at
|Carton, on a visit to the Duke of Leinster.

In the summer of 1834, " The Irish difficulty" splin-
3red the Grey Administration into fragments. That of

430 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Lord Melbourne succeeded it ; but its career was a short
one. A determined, harassing, and uninterrupted opposi-
tion from the Conservative side of Parliament, coupled
with the personal antagonism of the King, effectually
did its work, and, in the month of November, the Ad-
ministration of Lord Melbourne had ceased to exist.
The Duke of Wellington was sent for in post-haste by
his Majesty, and requested to form a ministry at once.
Like a true soldier, he bowed submissively to the wishes
of his commander, and lost no time in assuming the
custody of all official seals. But, without the aid of Sir
Robert Peel, it was agreed on all hands that no Tory
Government could be formed, much less complete. As
that Right Hon. Baronet, however, was recreating in
Rome, some delay should necessarily intervene. Mr.
Hudson, in his capacity of King's Messenger, was de-
spatched to fetch him. He travelled night and day, and
in an incredibly short space of time reached his destina-
tion. Not a moment's delay took place, and Mr. Hudson
returned with the Right Hon. Baronet in triumph to
London. On his arrival he found the Duke of Welling-
ton occupying the position of Dictator, which he con-
tinued to fill until the downfall of the Administration.

A feeling of disappointment at the resignation of the
Melbourne Cabinet was extremely general, especially in
Ireland. At the very moment that the King dismissed
his ministers, plans were rapidly advancing to maturity
in the Cabinet for the adoption of a more liberal system
of rule in Ireland than had even characterized the Ad-
ministration of Earl Grey. Consternation at the announce-
ment pervaded all classes, save one. Triumph, in all the
vigour and intensity of gratified passion, marked the
conduct of the Orange faction.

At this crisis, Lord Cloncurry addressed the following
letter to Mr. Conway, the late talented editor and pro-
prietor of the Post, with whom he was long in the habit
of corresponding. His lordship entertained an old and
cordial friendship for Mr. Conway, which remained un-
impaired until death put an end to it in 1852 : —

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 431

[No. 44.] LORD CLOXCCRRY TO FREDERICK. WM. CONWAY, ESQ.

"Lyons, 1st Dec. 1834.

" MY DEAR SIR, — You are, as usual, taking the straightforward, disinte-
rested, and fearless part in the good cause, and assuredly it is the only wise
one.

" No man should now be neutral. * * The liberty, the property, and,
I believe, the personal safety of every individual in the three kingdoms
depend on the speedy discomfiture of the Tories, and of their great captain.
The people of England and of Scotland have acted on this conviction with a
spirit and unanimity which prove them worthy of the franchise they have
wrung from the usurpers, and to dispossess them of which is a chief motive
of the present desperate, but I trust vain attempt. If we in Ireland have
been less prompt, we will not be less persevering, for against Ireland
chiefly is the conspiracy directed. * * *

'When the great right of Catholic Emancipation was achieved for Ireland
by Leinster, Anglesey, Fingal, and O'Connell,* and when the cause of ge-
neral reform seemed all triumphant, I thought it impossible that enmity or
oppression could ever again distract us. My own attention I would have
willingly confined to the physical improvement of our country — drainage,
cultivation, employment, food, clothing, and comfort ; but the moment I was
put upon the tithe committee, the moment I found that to extinguish meant
to double, that moment I perceived that the chief benefit of Emancipation
was to be withheld. Indeed that the tithe project, coupled with the dis-
franchisement of the great body of our freeholders, filled me with disgust and
apprehension ; still, however, I resolved to wait patiently, and to work quietly.
* I explained the nature of our real grievances, the facility by which
a small meed of justice would satisfy the people of Ireland; and, above all,
I believe I proved that the Protestant Church of Ireland, without tithe, might
be rendered richer, more useful, and more respectable than it ever was, by a
proper application of her possessions in land.

" The great body of our people must be thought of, must be respected and
enabled to respect themselves ; they must not be flattered, and still left in a
state of degradation and of want ; the public income must be devoted to the
service of those who create it ; the land must support the bee in preference to
the drone ; we must have education for the young, certain and remunerative
employment for the industrious, and support for the helpless. The state
must know no difference of religion ; the people must be fairly and fully re-
presented in short parliaments ; and to prevent improper influence of any kind,
I recommend the ballot.

" What has a government or a statesman to answer for, who, instead of
healing our wounds and uniting our energies, inflames our passions and re-
tards our hope, giving us the alternative of coercion bills on one hand, and
club law on the other. Let us pray for a wiser future, let us cry with one
voice, " Out with the Dictator, fair play for the people." — Your Friend and
Servant, " CLONCURKY."

The Marquis of Anglesey, in a letter to Lord Cloncurry
from Rome, at this period writes: — " Can the Peel and

* Had Lord Cloncurry been reconciled to O'Connell at this period, his
lordship would hardly have made him what Rory O'More would call "Paddy

Last."

432 CLONCURBY AND HIS TIMES.

Wellington government stand? I am sure it ought not,
and if there be common honesty and fair dealing in man,
it will not."

The House of Lords, in March, 1835, addressed, with
some exceptions, a vote of confidence in the ruling Ad-
ministration ! Lord Cloncurry, amongst others who
thought fit to hold themselves aloof from participating in
such mockery, was applied to for his signature. But
this he respectfully declined to give, for reasons which
appear in the following well conceived and forcible pro-
test : —

LORD CLONCURRY'S DISSEXT,
(As entered upon the Journals of the house of Lords.)

" 1. Because it is essential to the dignity and security of the throne, and
the welfare and peace of the empire, that the people should have well-
grounded cause to rely upon the wisdom, consistency, and stability of the
Government.

" 2. Because the nation has been justly disappointed and alarmed by the
ominous dismissal of his Majesty's late ministers, at a period of profound
tranquillity, and by the unconstitutional assumption of several of the highest
offices of the crown, by a military nobleman who had long since admitted
his own unfitness to act as the head of the civil Government of the
country.

" 3. Because those who have since been induced to join that nobleman in
the formation of the ministry, as now composed, are men whose political
principles are held in just reprobation by the most numerous and the most
intelligent classes of the community.

" 4. Because the ministers, to whom the destinies of the British empire are
now committed, are the remnants and successors of that class of statesmen
who, forty years ago, and subsequently by their sinister policy abroad and
at home, involved the nations of Europe in a destructive general war, and
repressed, as far as in them lay, the domestic growth of liberal opinion ;
and who, at the termination of that war, waged on their part, and prosecuted
at a ruinous expense, against the liberties of their neighbours, brought dis-
credit on the name of England, by sanctioning the transfer of many states
entitled to independence, to the sway of hostile and despotic powers, by per-
mitting the bravest amongst the marshals of France to be executed under
an unjust and unnecessary sentence, and by consigning the greatest man of
the age to exile and death on the miserable rock of St. Helena.

" 5. Because those ministers have, in the spirit of their predecessors, uni-
formly resisted all measures of reform in our political institutions ; and
because they still hold, and openly profess, doctrines of government in rela-
tion to pending questions of deep public interest, which renders is impossible
that they can obtain the confidence and cordial support of the British people,
expressing their sentiments through a reformed House of Commons.

" 6. Because the abrupt reaccession of those ministers to power has occa-
sioned peculiar rand well-founded disgust and discontent in the great majority
of the people of Ireland, who, reverting to the scenes through which they

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 433

passed under the rule of the political predecessors of those ministers, and
justly alarmed at the exclusive spirit already manifested by the local
Government of Ireland, are impressed with fearful apprehensions that so
long as that Government, as now constituted and advised, shall last, the
Irish people will have to maintain a renewed struggle against the domina-
tion of a faction ; and that the persecuting efforts of that faction will be to
re-establish for itself a hateful political ascendency, to check the spread of
popular education upon a sound and practical system, to repress the
urgently required reforms in the municipal corporations of Ireland, and to
impede the speedy settlement of those questions relating to the Established
Church, which, remaining unadjudicated, prove a constant source of internal
animosity and contention, and have already produced many dreadful
sacrifices of human life.

" CLONCURKY."

The Tory Administration was not destined long to
stand. In corruption it acquired its life ; and throughout
the short, miserable span of that existence nought but
ill-health and deficiency of moral vigour marked its
movements. At length the highest tribunal in the
empire — a Parliamentary Committee — pronounced the
practices by which their temporary triumph was ob-
tained to have been fraudulent, illegal, and unconstitu-
tional. In April, 1835, a majority of thirty-six defeated
them on the Church question, and down fell the Tory
Cabinet, with a crash, to the ground.

Again Lord Melbourne was Premier. The Earl of
Mulgrave, as Lord Lieutenant, accompanied by his Se-
cretary, Lord Morpeth, proceeded to Ireland. Morpeth
was an old favourite with the Irish people, and they
received him with enthusiasm. The reader may remem-
ber the banquet in his honour, and Lord Cloncurry's
words on that occasion.

The new Viceroy, shortly after his arrival, was hos-
pitably invited on a visit by Lord Cloncurry, a request
which his Excellency cheerfully acceded to. The Cur-
ragh races were just about to come off, and Lord and
Lady Mulgrave expressed a wish to see them. Accord-
ingly, on June 11, their Excellencies, accompanied by
Lord Cloncurry, proceeded to the race-course, escorted
by a troop of the 1st Dragoon Guards; and having
remained until half-past six in the afternoon, returned in
the same order to Lyons. Their reception by the pea-
santry was truly gratifying.

434 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

During the same month we find Lord Cloncurry
writing a public letter, with a view to reconcile Messrs
G. P. Scrope, George Ensor, and General Cockburne,
who 'had had an angry controvei'sy on that prolific sub-
ject of contention, Poor Laws. The tone of his lordship's
letter was, as usual, favourable to that measure.

Lord Cloncurry invariably attended the anmial exa
minations at Clongowes Wood College, the quondam seat
of his old intimate, Wogan Browne. At the banquet
celebratory of this event, in August, 1834, we find the
services which his lordship had been periodically con
ferring on it, for more than twenty years, acknowledgec
impressively by Dr. Esmonde, on the occasion of his
proposing the noble lord's health. " Lord Cloncurry,'
observes the Morning Register, " returned thanks with
considerable feeling and eloquence. The company pre
sent amounted to 350."

Popularity was the idol of Constantine Earl of Mul
grave ; and it must be admitted that he neither spared
time, pains, nor money, to secure that happiest o
possessions. He saw how simply Lord Anglesey sacri
need his, and this consideration made him doubly
watchful to preserve it undiminished and intact. It has
been said that Lord Mulgrave was too fond of display
and indulged his passion for popularity to a greatej
extent than ought to characterize the conduct of one
who wielded the sceptre of viceregal authority. One
act of his, in particular, became the subject of much
severe comment in the Upper House. Like his prede
cessor, the Duke of Richmond, Lord Mulgrave made i
tour through Ireland, from Antrim to Kerry, and froir
Dublin to the wilds of Connemara. As he proceeded along
he liberated from the county bridewells the prisoners
charged with larcenies, and basked in the sunshine of theii
smiles and benedictions. Another act of his Excellency';
furnished the topic for much Conservative animadversion
He refused to sanction the inauguration of Mr. Deane a;
Mayor of Cork, simply because he was a sworn Orange
man, although in private an amiable character. In factj
the rule of Lord Mulgrave was a continued warfar*

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 435

against Orange organization, and ascendency arrogance.
Serious apprehensions were entertained by many of the
fraternity that their sway was approaching to a termi-
nation in Ireland. This feeling can hardly be said to
have diminished when his Excellency dismissed from the
commission of the peace Colonels Verner and Percival,
two of die most furious champions of the Orange interest
in the kingdom. Both occupied high positions in the
great Brunswick Society, under King Ernest of Hanover.
Colonel Verner, at a public dinner, spoke in harsh lan-
guage against the Administration, and concluded by
proposing the violent party toast of " The Battle of the
Diamond." This engagement between the Orangemen
and Defenders, in 1795, has been elsewhere described.
The bloodshed was frightful, and the cruelties committed
by the victors, sickening to contemplate. Colonel Verner,
however, forty years after, rioted in the pleasing con-
templation of both, and gave bland expression to his
partisan glee before a bowl of wine and some hundred
congenial spirits. His dismissal from the magistracy ex-
cited an unprecedented sensation throughout Orangeland.
The utter annihilation of that once rampant faction was
now looked forward to as a highly probable event. In
the midst of these surmises, the well-known equestrian
gtatue of William Prince of Orange, in College-green,
was one night suddenly blown into fragments by the
combined operation of fulminating silver and Popish gun-
powder. This was considered typical of Protestant sub-
version. Many a countenance blanched with conster-
nation at the intelligence. The writer of these pages
was only a child at the time, but he well remembers the
intensity of the excitement which this explosion occa-
sioned. Men of every creed and party, on the morning
after the catastrophe, hurried in knots to College-green,
and, speechless with astonishment, stood gazing at the
blackened horse, unconscious of a rider. That statue,
which " braved for two hundred years the battle and the
breeze" — which underwent, perhaps ten thousand times,
the alternate daubing of almost every imaginable colour,
except green, and the showy equipment of orange

436 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

mantles, scarfs, ribbons, and lilies — to think of the dignity
of that statue outraged in a manner at once so deliberate
and audacious, was a reflection which astounded no one
more than tire Roman Catholics themselves.

In referring to the Catholic bias of Lord Mulgrave's
Administration, we must not omit to mention that
O'Connell's first invitation to partake of Viceregal hospi-
tality came from his Excellency. It was on one of these
occasions, we believe, that the Viceroy offered O'Connell
the Mastership of the Irish Rolls — a favour which the
great Agitator at once declined. Lord Melbourne, in the
House of Lords, acknowledged at this period that the
Government were most desirous to conciliate, without
compromise, a man who wielded such enormous power
over the people of both countries.

The popular party in Ireland Lord Mulgrave tran-
quillized with a vengeance. But he became, on the
other hand, an object of bitter hate amongst the Orange-
men.

It is a matter tolerably notorious, that Lord Cloncurry
and O'Connell were, for some years subsequent to their
collision of opinion in 1831, on terms of but indifferent
intimacy. The estrangement arose from their conflicting
views on the policy of agitating the Repeal question
during the second Viceroyalty of Lord Anglesey. The
only blot on the page which recounts to posterity
O'Connell's claims to Irish gratitude and respect, was his
invariable tendency, on the slightest provocation, to
retaliate in terms of violent invective. For this Lord
Cloncurry frequently came in, throughout the years '31
and '32. That the fact of Cloncurry holding himself
aloof from all political agitation was calculated to irritate
O'Connell cannot be denied ; but that the old peer was
otherwise than sincere no one ever yet dared to contro-
vert. In noticing this matter, we cannot avoid adding,
that in reply to each broadside opened by O'Connell,
Cloncurry discharged a shot calculated to wound, though
not to slay.

In 1835 O'Connell repented of these ungenerous at-
tacks, and having made known his sentiments to honest

CLONCTJRRY AND HIS TIMES. 437

" Billy Murphy" and Mr. David (now Chief Baron)
Pigot, those gentlemen undertook to effect a reconcilia-
tion between the long estranged rival patriots. O'Con-
nell, knowing himself to have been in fault, wrote a
most apologetic letter to Lord Cloncurry, wherein he
expressed his sorrow that he should ever have forfeited
the good peer's esteem. One of the most interesting
letters in the " Personal Recollections of Lord Clon-
curry" is that addressed on this occasion by O Connell to
his lordship. He attributed his " irritation" to a prose-
cution which he " neither expected nor deserved," and
to the appointments made by the Whig Ministry in
Ireland. But the main source of O'Connell's distaste
towards Cloncurry arose from the close intimacy which
subsisted between " Algerine Anglesey" and his lordship.
He considered that the Viceroy had blindly fallen into
the snares, and even into the arms of the mortal enemies
of Ireland.

The Reform party (then a formidable organization)
were most desirous that the hitherto disunited exertions
of O'Connell and Cloncurry should be fused into one iron
nerve ; and when the report of the reconciliation reached
them it was hailed with joy. " Need I add," observed
O'Connell, as he concluded his letter, " that if you will
accept of my co-operation, you shall command it with a
sincerity written on my heart's core." Messrs. Murphy
and Pigot undertook to take custody of this letter. They
delivered it to Lord Cloncurry, at Lyons, who expressed
the utmost gratification at its tone. He resolved to
become oblivious of the past, and generously met O'Con-
nell in his advances. He retired to his study, and wrote
a most kind and sensible letter to O'Connell.

Mr. Murphy delivered the letter. In a note to Lord
Cloncurry he observed, that never did he see a man more
delighted than he was with itsfteidmirable tone. " On
finishing the first paragraph," wrote Murphy, " he struck
the table, and exclaimed in a loud voice — ' May God
bless him !' He said it was a letter he should keep
carefully by him as long as he lived. At another time
he said — 'Good God! how could I ever have quar-

438 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

relied with sucli a man?' Pigot says that it is one of
the best letters he ever read, and that it could only have
been written by the best of Irishmen."

The letter, however, which forms the theme of Mr.
Murphy's epistle, and Mr. Pigot's eulogy, does not appear
in the " Personal Recollections." We have successfully
inquired after it; and, as the letter is in all respects
highly creditable to Lord Cloncurry, we can have no
hesitation in annexing it to this account of the trans-
action : —

[No. 45.] LORD CLOXCURRY TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P.

"Lyons, October 13th, 1835.

" MY DKAK O'CoNNELL, — I thank you for your letter ; it has given me
the sincerest pleasure. If you had done me a serious injury I should deem
it an atonement If you did not atone I should now feel it my duty to
co-operate with you in the service of our country.

" I have not, indeed, the vanity to imagine that my co-operation could
be otherwise valuable than from the affection borne to me from the friends
of liberty, of justice, and of Ireland ; from their belief in the singleness of
my devotion to their cause.

" It is not now necessary to inquire whether I was premature, or O'Connell
tardy, in hailing the improved prospects of our country. There was reason
for you to doubt, as there was for me to hope. I saw the noblest, the most
single-minded.* and the most enthusiastic of mankind, anxious to do us justice,
and pledged to our regeneration ; but I saw him unsupported and counter-
acted by his colleagues, his misplaced confidence betrayed, and his wise and
statesmanlike intentions frustrated. This distracted my peace, and destroyed
my health ; but I did hope that, by the support and co-operation of all good
men, he would have been so strengthened in his power and his purposes, fls
to have accomplished the object of his every wish — our permanent prosperity.
Whether that co-operation was by some wisely withheld, or hostility justly
proclaimed, I shall not now inquire ; I will look only to the future. After a
long separation, you and I can come together in perfect unity of purpose,
and in oblivion of all minor interests, think only of bringing to maturity the
too often blighted hopes of our country.

" A period has now, fortunately, arrived when there is no longer a point
' of difference between reformers. We understand each other ; may we not
hope to draw to us the well-informed and the honest of our hitherto oppo-
nents. I do verily believe that, even in the Lords, many of those who have
sinned against Ireland have done so more in ignorance than enmity ; and
as in the first step of reform th^ yielded to conviction, let us hope that in
measures of not less paramount importance they will in future be guided
rather by reason and justice than by party feeling, or the dictation of a
corrupt and abominable faction.

* In allusion to Lord Anglesey.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 439

" Can any just man agreeing to corporate reform in England hesitate to
allow its more urgent necessity in Ireland, when he knows the materials of
which her corporations are composed ? Who will say that we want not
a police bill* for the counties and for the metropolis, and the application of
tithe to the relief, the education, and the employment of the people ? It
woiild be as tedious as unnecessary in a letter, and to you, to dwell on these
subjects. * * *

" I conclude by again most sincerely thanking you for your letter. Con-
tinue long to exercise your unrivalled talents to the advantage of Ireland
and of mankind, and be assured of the hearty, though very humble,
assistance of,

" My dear O'Connell,

" Your faithful and obliged,

" CLONCURRY."

The next document which claims a place in this
memoir is a characteristically written letter from Lord
Cloncurry to Mr. Bagot, of Castle Bagot. No date
appears to be attached to this letter ; but that it was
written in the year 1836 we have every reason to know.
The meeting therein alluded to (which Mr. Bagot took
an active part in organizing) was one convened for the
purpose of demanding a full, final, and satisfactory settle-
ment of the tithe question. Lord Lyndhurst had, a short
time previously, in the House of Lords, stigmatized the
people of Ireland as aliens in blood, in language, and in
religion. The effect produced by this insolent assertion
was startling. O'Connell withered the Chancellor with
invective. It drew forth one of Shiel's brightest speci-
mens of oratory.

It will be perceived that the first two sentences of Lord
Cloncurry's letter is in satirical allusion to Lord Lynd-
hurst's diatribe: —

[No. 46.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JOHN JAMES BAGOT, ESQ., D.L.

" MY DEAR BAGOT, — 1 am sorry that I am prevented meeting you this clay.
The cause which brings my countrymen together is not alien to my heart, to
my religion, nor to the language of my life.

" But if the people of Ireland, instead of my loved neighbours and fellow-
subjects, were as little known to me as they must be to Lord Lyndhurst, it
would not excuse me to my conscience, if, as a legislator, I refused them
justice.

* S>>on after, Lord Cloncurry had the gratification of witnessing the in-
troduction of the new police into Dublin.

440 CLONCDRRY AND HIS TIMES.

" The man must be hardened in ignorance or in malice, who denies our
right or our necessity for corporations. By no other means can the property
plundered from our towns and cities be recovered ; but if, as has been falsely
stated, there be no property, still corporations are necessary for the moral,
physical, sanatory, and political interests of the people, the first institution
which the philosopher or the missionary would wish to establish for the
civilization of a barbarous nation.

" When the corporate lands of our towns and cities are recovered from
the dishonest patrons who leased them to themselves at nominal rents, there
will be ample means for paving, watering, and cleansing, without additional
taxation ; and the bequests of worthy and benevolent persons to their native
towns will, from time to time, enable them to add to their beauty and their
comfort.

" The allusion to plunder reminds me of the second though chief subject
of your assembling — tithes. "Was there ever in any country plunder, rapine,
or injustice, equal to the tithe system in Ireland ? The most wanton plunder,
the most hardened cruelty, the most bullying injustice — all in the name of
religion and of charity — and to support a Church possessing in neglected land
more than an acre for each communicant ; a Church known to the body of
the people by its enormous, abused, and ill-managed wealth. Though my.-elf
a Protestant and a tithe proprietor, it is more than forty years since I first
wrote and spoke against a system unchristian, degrading, destructive of all
good feeling, of all charity, and of all desire of improvement. To remedy
which evil Lord Stanley's Act would substitute landlord for tithe proctor,
widen the breach between the ranks of society, and add to the complex diffi-
culties of an embarrassed, shifting, and most unpopular proprietary.

" Most faithfully yours,

" CLOXCDRRY."

Well knowing from experience what vast influence the
old Catholic Association was long capable of wielding, it
is not surprising that Daniel O'Connell should have set
in motion the massive machinery of another league at a
time when the voice of his country, in piteous and im-
passioned language, called for the redress of grievances
whose name was legion. The National Association was
a powerful confederacy, and, there is no denying, great
national benefit resulted from its labours. " There were,
however," saysFagan's "Life of O'Connell," "unpleasant
drawbacks to these discussions. It was, to the Irish
nation, a painful thing to see O'Connell and Sharman
Crawford in personal collision." Mr. Fagan goes on to
say, that Mr. Crawford was, in the abstract, right in most
of the opinions he maintained at the Association.

It pained Lord Cloncurry to see the strength of the
national councils shaken by collision of opinion. He

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 441

resolved to do his best to coalesce the jarring elements of
agitation, and addressed Mr. Crawford some letters on
the subject. One of them is so racy of its author that
we should be sorry to deny it a place in this me-
moir : —

[No. 47.] LORD CLONCURRY TO W. SHARMAN CRAWFORD, ESQ., M.P.

" Maretimo, Oct. 10, 1836.

" Mr DEAR SIR, — Since ever I had the honour of your acquaintance, yonr
conduct as an Irishman and a politician has commanded my sincere respect.
Since I have known O'Connell, now upwards of thirty years, in times of diffi-
culty and of storm, I have seldom differed from him in opinion, and when I
did so, it was with grief and pain for the cause in which all good Irishmen
are bound to act as by one impulse. Though the prospects of Ireland are
now, thank God, better — oh ! how far better than when first I devoted myself to
her cause ! — we have still much to do, and we are at a moment of our fate so
critical that our undivided, our most earnest attention, is required to our
duty. The enemy is most active — I believe, desperate and bloodthirsty. Let
not our disputes, like those of the Christians of Constantinople, give the fortress
to the foe. * * * * Do not imagine that my admiration of D'Connell,
my feeling for him at the present moment, or my conviction of the sacred
duty of all good Irishmen to be now more than ever united — do not imagine,
my dear Sir, that these truly coercing circumstances prevent my being angry
with O'Connell on many occasions, and angry with myself, for suffering that
feeling to damp those exertions which I still owe to Ireland. Why did I not
subscribe to the ' Justice Rent ?' Because, in his inauguration letters on the
subject, O'Connell accuses Lord Anglesey of re-arming the Orange yeomen.
Now, I know that the urgent advice and direction of Lord Anglesey was to
disarm them. It is true that that most excellent of men may be held
accountable for the acts of others, whilst he nominally governed Ireland ;
but his strong sense of justice, already made known by one of his despatches,*
fraudulently obtained — his conduct in Parliament, as contrasted to that of
his Secretary f — and the reconciliation, so sincere on my part, which took

* This alludes to Lord Anglesey's celebrated letter to Earl Grey, which,
by means never satisfactorily explained, found its way into the public papers,
notwithstanding ministerial precautions to the contrary. The document
called upon Lord Grey to take the amelioration of Ireland at once in hand.
His Excellency stated it as his deliberate opinion, grounded upon an
experience of four years' exercise of the viceregal sceptre, that internal
peace could never be established until ministers came to some definite
arrangement about the Church question, whereby the ecclesiastical property
of the Establishment would be made subservient to the general good of the
community. Lord Anglesey also called for a system of poor laws, labour
rates, the organization of special constables, the suppression of party proces-
sions, a satisfactory arrangement of juries, and an endowment of the Roman
Catholic clergy.

t Lord Stanley, now Earl of Derby. Speaking of him in a letter to Lord
Cloncurry, published in the " Personal Recollections," Lord A. says, that

442 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

place between O'Connell and me, would, I had hoped, have long since put an
end to all exhibition of hostility to one whom I had the honour to call my
friend, as he was the friend of my country — a man whose wisdom and
honesty as a statesman would have secured our prosperity had he not been
counteracted. The history of his sojourn ill Ireland I will leave to an abler
pen. * * * *

" Corporations should not only be reformed and preserved, but increased
in number, and armed with a power to recover the plundered property. The
whole system of the magistracy should be changed, and a further reform
effected in the constabulary ; the public roads vested in a public board— one
great line of railroad, to be executed by them before the ground be pre-
occupied by bubble companies ; and the poor provided for by the remunerative
employment Ireland can so abundantly supply. When that is exhausted it
will be time enough to talk of workhouses or of emigration, to the benefit
of rival nations, or the increased growth of transatlantic corn, to the depre-
ciation of our own. For all this, it will be said, we must have peerage
reform. Most anxious I am for it ; but can it be obtained by Act of Par-
liament ? I fear not. Why not urge a creation ? and, to dimmish as little
as possible the dignity of the Upper House, add, ' pro hoc vice,1 as many life
j>eers as would carry those necessary measures recommended by his Majesty,
or desired by his people. Amongst those, I must say, I think the ballot by
far the most important.

" I must now terminate this too tedious letter, somewhat indecorous, per-
haps, from a peer and privy councillor ; but time presses. The most insulting
calumnies have been vented against our people, to justify the atrocities of
their enemies ; we must forget every petty difference, and unite as one man
in the expression of our indignation, and of our determination to recover our
rights.

" My dear Sir, with great respect and regard, yours most truly,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 48.] WM. SHARMAN CRAWFORD, ESQ., M.P. TO IX)RD CLOXCURRY.

" Crawfordsbum, October 14, 1836.

" MY DEAR LORD, — * * * * You allude to the difference of opinion
which has been exhibited between Mr. O'Connell and myself on certain
important questions affecting the interests of Ireland ; and your object is to
reconcile those differences which you deem might prove injurious to the suc-
cess of that great struggle now impending.

"My Lord, I agree with you that we should all be united in a common
effort ; and my object in broaching these questions is, that by a free and
full discussion of the points of disagreement, a common principle of action
should be decided on, previous to our entering that great arena where the

he (Stanley) " would probably prefer a more submissive master. I work at
great disadvantage. He knows all my schemes, and I know few of his.
Thus all my projects, when laid before the Cabinet, if he does not go the
whole length with me (and half measures are worse than useless), are, pro-
bably, thwarted by him. He tells his own story, and I have no one to back
my views."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 443

battle is to be fought. My object, by discussion now, is to avoid disagree-
ment hereafter. I wish to have principles of action decided on by the voice
of the nation. To that voice I am willing to yield ; but I hold it, that no
system of action can have weight or respect which is founded solely on the
dictation of any one individual, however distinguished, or on the adhesion of
a party for party objects, or on such a h'ne of conduct as can give pretext to
our opponents to impute to us such motives. *

"Your lordship's object is union of reformers. In this object 1 cordially
join you. I will give up all allusions to the past— let us open a new leaf,
and prepare for the future. And how is this to be done? 1 unhesitatingly
say that we must look to Mr. O'Connell as the leader, to assert the rights of
Ireland ; but in that capacity, I claim from him a distinct declaration of the
principles on which we are to act, that the accordance of those who are to
act with him shall be founded on the conviction of reason, and not on the
dictation of authority. There are great questions to be debated, vitally
affecting the particular interests of Ireland. It is time we should understand
a definitive course of action on those questions." [Here Mr. Crawford
adverted, amongst other matter, to the refornV of the Lords, and the power
of effecting it.] "I assert, my Lord, we have power to obtain these, or any
other measures to which the united power of the nation shall be directed, on
the foundation of a necessity arising from justice and practical utility. In
my opinion, Ireland has now a greater means of asserting her particular
rights than ever she had before, or ever she may have again. By the
present balance of parties in the Imperial Parliament, her representatives
have an extraordinary power ; and the National Association, by its funds,
and combination of talent and influence, can give effect to that power. Under
such circumstances, I affirm that the word ' impracticable' should be blotted
out of the vocabulary of freemen. The man who bears this motto on his
breast enters the field of combat with the certainty of defeat. It was not
thus that our British ancestors extorted Magna Charta and the Bill of
Rights. It was not thus that the Irish patriots of a former day established
the independence of their Legislature. It was not thus that the great leader
of the Irish nation contended for and accomplished the Emancipation of his
countrymen. No, my Lord ; he contended against difficulties discouraging
and insurmountable, apparently, to any other person but one possessed of his
transcendant powers. And whilst I have honestly expressed my disagree-
ment from parts of Mr. O'Connell's late policy, I, with equal honesty and
sincerity, declare, that for these exertions, and for the accomplishment of this
great benefit to Ireland, he is entitled to the everlasting gratitude of his
country.

" Let us then learn, from experience of past events, to regulate our
conduct for the future — let us not despond about impracticabilities — let ns
inquire what justice to our country demands — let us put forward our claims,
and on those claims let us take our firm, deliberate, and constitutional stand.

" I am, my dear Lord, with every feeling of respect and esteem, yours
sincerely,

" WM. SHARMAN CRAWFORD."

The earnestness and energy latterly manifested in the
proceedings of the popular party excited, to a still higher
pitch, the alarms and jealousies of the Orange faction.

444 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Early in the year 1837, a requisition, signed by eight
peers, convened a " true blue" meeting in the Mansion
House. Twenty noblemen and sixteen members of Par-
liament attended, and with elevated fists, flushed cheeks,
blazing eye-balls, and stentorian lungs, vowed that the
encroachments of the nationalists should be resisted unto
death, and a fierce opposition to the Government organ-
ized. " I tell you," exclaimed Lord Glengall, " if you
do not win the battle which you are fighting under the
banners of Wellington, the days during which you can
hold your Protestant estates are numbered." The speeches
were of a highly inflammatory character, and no pains
were spared to stimulate the flame of party. Lord Roden
displayed a purple and orange handkerchief, and fourteen
hundred of the same colour sympathetically waved in
rampant anti-Catholic defiance above the heads of his
auditory. Thunders of Kentish fire shook the old build-
ing. Peals of party cheers resounded lustily through
Duwson-street. The fiercest invective, and the bitterest
sarcasm, were alternately hurled and squirted at Lords
Mulgrave and Melbourne. Altogether a more determined
or defiant Orange demonstration was never before seen in
the good city of Dublin.

The Protestant population of Ireland, apprehensive
lest England should confound them with the sworn
Orangemen (that body having denominated their display
" a meeting of the Irish Protestants"), published a protest
against it, signed by thirty-four peers and fifty-seven
members of the British Parliament.

Meanwhile the popular exertions for Corporate Reform,
and other salutary measures, were in nowise diminished,
and Lord Cloncurry, in his place in Parliament, backed
them with his rapidly increasing influence. Apropos to
this, we here subjoin one of the many letters addressed
to the late Frederick Win. Conway by his lordship. It
contains some little scraps of information touching the
etiquette and formula to be observed in reference to par-
liamentary petitions, which are not, we think, generally
known : —

CLONCURBY AND HIS TIMES. 445

[No. 49.] LORD CLONCURBY TO MR. COJfWAY.

"Brookes' Club, 22nd Feb., 1837.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I fear I cannot be of the service I could wish to those
of my countrymen who have paid me the compliment of entrusting their
petitions for Corporate Reform to me.

"Their indignation at being called 'aliens' causes a reference in their
petition to a speech said to have been delivered in the House of Lords, and
that reference is contrary to rule.

" I wish to God that libels and insults on Ireland were equally inadmis-
sible ; but as that unfortunately does not appear to be the case, we must
patiently bear what cannot at present be remedied, and so word our petitions
as to prevent their being rejected on a point of order. * * *

" Petitions should be left perfectly open for inspection at the Post-office, and
only confined by a string, with the member's direction, and the word ' petition'
endorsed, and on no account a letter or other paper enclosed.

" My dear Sir, very faithfully yours, " CLONCURRY."

The meetings on both sides continued in Dublin with
vigour. The ranks of the National Association swelled
with adhesions, and so formidable had it now become,
that even Lord Melbourne shared some of the Tory
apprehensions regarding the aim of its power, Men of
every creed enrolled themselves its members. Of Pr< >-
testants alone their number was one-third. Oblivious o£
religious differences they thought only of the regenera-
tion of their common country. It was a national associ-
ation in spirit and in truth.

The approaching electioneering struggle did not di-
minish the excitement. The Tories openly proclaimed
that it was to be with them a life and death one ; while
the people, on the other hand, answered, that never until
then were they resolved to conquer or perish in the
attempt.

At length the general election came on. For weeks
the battle waged with fiercest fury, and apprehensions
were for a time entertained that by means of extensive
bribery the Tory faction would soar triumphant. The
panic, however, was shortlived. Festivity and rejoicing
throughout Catholic Ireland soon announced the triumph
of the green, and the prostrate humiliation of Orange
land.

Touching the Kildare election of 1837, we find the
following note to Mr. Conway. Mr. Edward Ruthven,
therein alluded to, was the successful candidate for the

446 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

county. Lord Cloncurry, as may be perceived, stands up
for the Geraldines : —

[No. 50.] LORD CLOXCURRY TO MR. COXWAY.

[Aro date.~\

" MY DEAR SIR, — "With reference to the paragraph in Mr. Ruthven's
letter to the men of Kildare, in which my name is introduced, the intention
there attributed to the Liberator, or to a higher personage, was to me and 1117
son a profound secret.

" I think that every sentiment of honest pride, of patriotism, and of gra-
titude should determine the men of Kildare always to seek at least one re-
presentative from the house of Fitzgerald. Amongst many others deserving
their confidence, from the Duke to the labourer, I hope is my son. If I
know him, his ambition is not personal.

" I trust that the men of Kildare will recollect that much remaias to be
done for Ireland, and that to have weight in a British Senate, a representative
must be of unblemished character.

" Your faithful Servant, " CLOXCURRY."

In the month of June of this year, William the Fourth
died. This event must be considered somewhat mal-
apropos so far as Ireland was concerned. The Church,
Poor Law, and Municipal Bills, were at that juncture
progressing steadily through Parliament, but his Majesty's
•hearse chancing to come in collision with them, they
capsized, and for a considerable time after did not regain
their lost position. Other bills, of not less importance,
were, in consequence of the king's death, withdrawn.

William lost much of his popularity previous to this
event. There were not many tears shed on the 20th
June, 1837. This change in the popular feeling was
attributed to his most capricious dismissal of the Mel-
bourne ministry in 1835. It appeared inexplicable, and
the affectionate designations of " Sailor King," and "Billy
the Reformer," ceased to roll from the lips of his people.

Lord Cloncurry .and O'Connell supported with might
and main the Melbourne Cabinet. " If," said Lord John
Russell, " the supporters of the present Administration
continue their present confidence in it, the ministry will
NOT desert them." This declaration, coming from so in-
fluential a member of the Cabinet, stimulated Lord Clon-
curry to increased exertion.

Amidst hearty cheers and joyful greetings the youth-
ful Victoria ascended the British throne. Never did
monarch clutch the sceptre of royalty with a greater ;

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 447

likelihood of swaying it long and potently. Her acces-
sion was hailed with more enthusiasm, generally speaking,
than was witnessed since the days of Elizabeth. The
Whigs of England, and nationalists of Ireland, appeared
to vie with each other in making protestations of alle-
giance. The fact of her Majesty having been called at
the age of seventeen to rule over the destinies of a
mighty empire excited an interest and a prejudice in
her favour which would not, under other circumstances,
have existed. In Ireland she was regarded as the bright
star of hope. Everything was expected from her. Poor
Cinderella Ireland felt quite confident that many good
things, hoped for long and earnestly, were to be thence-
forward showered, unsolicited, into her lap. The Orange
faction, feeling that the days of their ascendency were
numbered, directed an uninterrupted fire of venom at the
fair young ruler. On the very day of her accession the
abuse of the Times was perhaps the most truculent and
ungallant that ever disgraced the columns of that singu-
larly able journal. That the Duchess of Kent, her*
Majesty's mother, should have come in for her quantum
may readily be supposed. " Never" exclaimed the
Times, " will the British nation suffer under irresponsible,
selfish, backstairs tyranny — especially inintriguing , sordid,
female, foreign tyranny." As a reactionary movement,
O'Connell organized a democratic association, entitled
the " Queen's Friends."

A general, and not altogether unfounded feeling of
alarm soon pervaded the popular ranks, that it was in
contemplation by the Orangemen of Ireland to attempt
deposing Queen Victoria, and placing his Hanoverian
Majesty, Ernest Augustus, on the throne. The name
of this monarch had long been identified with the fiercest
ebullitions of Orangeism, and the mere mention of
it sent a thrill of terror through many a heart. A very
general feeling likewise prevailed, that blood would track
the progress of the struggle, and ready and willing was
every Paddy to measure strength with his ancient foe in
so loyal a cause. " When O'Connell," writes Mr. Fagan,
" barely hinted at the prospect, and asked the assembled

448 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

thousands would they fight for the Queen, it is not pos-
sible to describe the enthusiasm which the suggestion
produced. Every man in the vast multitude absolutely
bounded with delight."

While the foregoing pages were passing through the
press, the author of this work received a letter from Dr.
Grattan, the old friend and correspondent of Lord Clon-
curry, requesting that we would make particular reference
to " the conspiracy entered into by the heads of the Orange
Lodge in England, to set aside a successor to the throne
by proclaiming the Princess Victoria unfit to reign, and
making the Duke of Cumberland King — all," writes Dr.
Grattan, " under the pretence of upholding inviolate the
principles of William, of pious and immortal memory — of
protecting the Established Church, and of re-enacting
the penal code. Mr. W. F. Finn, M.P. for Kilkenny,
and brother-in-law to O'Connell, dragged the plot to
light. The Orange secretary, Colonel Freeman, refused
to produce the minutes of the proceedings at the Grand
Lodge, and fled to Hanover. The affair was hushed up,
for too many persons of rank and influence were impli-
cated in it, to render it safe to proceed with the in-
quiry."

The electors of Kilkenny, in gratitude to Mr. Finn,
decided upon presenting him with a handsome testimonial.
Circulars were sent to a number of the nobility and
gentry of Ireland requesting subscriptions towards that
object. Lord Cloncurry, unlike a great many of his
noble brethren, who threw the document aside unno-
ticed, wrote on October 17, 1837, to Dr. Bradley, of
Castlecomer, as follows: — "I beg," said his lordship,
" that you will inform me where, in Dublin, I can pay
the tribute of my respect for Mr. Finn, to whom I con-
sider my country and the empire indebted for a most
important service."

Lord Cloncurry was long in the habit of correspond-
ing with the celebrated Dublin millionaire, William
Murphy. The following interesting extracts will servaj
as a specimen of a correspondence which may be said to
have extended over thirty years : —

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 449

[No. 51.] LORD CLONCURRY TO WILLIAM MURPHY, ESQ.

" Lyons, 29th July, 1837.

"Mr DEAR MURPHY, — I see that you are making a collection for the
city election, and I send £10 from Cecil,* which he wishes to be so applied.
Others from this town have sent £105 to the general election fund. * * *
* The attention of Parliament will probably be called to
Ireland early in the next session, and I think our new members and our
friends should, as far as possible, be put in possession of our opinions and
wishes on the chief subjects of discussion — corporations, poor laws, and
tithes. Indeed I am of opinion that a preparatory meeting in Dublin of the
peers and commons of Ireland would be very desirable. * * * We have
a common point of union in our admiration and respect for our Sovereign.
We know that she approves of whatever may contribute to the happiness of
her subjects, without distinction of sect or party. She has distinctly ex-
pressed her desire to 'compose animosity and discord.' * * * * Our
prospects are, I tliink, bright and shining. We are on the eve of an excel-
lent harvest of every kind of produce. The country is peaceable, and it is
evidently the interest of all parties to have it so, for if coercion should be-
come necessary, we have a Government that will administer it indifferently ;
punishment will no longer be for one side only ; in short, we have time to
look about us. The Duke of Wellington has declared for Corporate Reform,
so, I dare say, will Lord Lyndhurst in a short time, though his lordship is
at present of opinion that corporations were established in Ireland for Pro-
testant purposes only, and that if they have been a nuisance, their abolition
is all we can desire. Calm inquiry will satisfy him that although additions
have been made to our boroughs for Protestant Parliamentary purposes,
corporations were originally established in Ireland, as in all other countries,
to protect the industrious from the powerful, the townsmen from the LORDS.
They had privileged guilds for the protection of trade and the exclusion of
unqualified persons; and they had the management of considerable pro-
perty— the police, the tolls, cleansing, &c., &c, of the towns. Almost all of
our old towns have estates of more or less value belonging to them ; and
these estates certain great neighbouring proprietors have in general succeeded
in fraudulently leasing to themselves, at nominal rents, and thus after ruin-
ing, at the time of the Union, sold the right of election of the Protestant
iburgesses, and put the mone^ in their own pockets — most noble protectors of
Protestant interests ! How justly are baroni and birboni synonymous in
Italian! The question at present is to place under the protection of the
[great body of the citizens, burgesses, and townsmen, their remaining rights
and property for the common benefit, according to the original constitution,
and for the original purpose of protecting, improving, policing, and cleansing
their towns, and which neither ought nor can have any connexion with re-
ligious distinctions. The robbery complained of was committed by pretended
Protestants on Protestants and Catholics. The Protestants and Catholics
now unite in a desire to protect and take care of themselves. When I use
the terms " Protestant" and " Catholic," I mean the sincere Christians of
Ireland who, though they go to different places of worship, adore the same
God in nearly the same words. I do not mean those soi disant Protestants,
who, never going to church themselves, cannot live at peace with those who
[go to Mass ; but, with the hope of exclusive advantage, the warfare will
:uusc. * * * — I am, my dear Sir, yours very faithfully,

" CLONCURRY. "
* Hon. Cecil Lawless.

450 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

It will be recollected that Lord Cloncurry, in his letter
to William Murphy, suggested a meeting of the Irish
liberal peers and members of Parliament, preparatory to
the approaching session of Parliament. The suggestion
appeared to Mr. Murphy a wise one. He mentioned it
to some of the active patriots of the day, who were of
opinion that worse courses might, under existing circum-
stances, be pursued. A voluminous correspondence passed
between Lord Cloncurry and his friends on the subject.
The letters of Messrs. O'Connell and Grattan we select,
as illustrative of the times, and therefore suitable for the
purposes of this memoir.

There is a matter introduced in Mr. O'Connell's letter
which requires some explanation. " The Spottiswoode
Conspiracy," although it created at the time a deep sen-
sation, has been, for many years, almost forgotten. The
Parliamentary session of November, 1837, promised to
be one of stirring interest. The Tories, by every avail-
able means, resolved to harass the Irish liberal members,
and if possible drive them, paupers, from the senate. To
effect this object, Mr. Spottiswoode, the Queen's printer,
and perhaps one of the wealthiest men of his caste in
England, established a fund to petition indiscriminately
against every Irish member who had been returned on
the liberal interest. The ruse was, to a certain degree,
successful. It made deep inroads into the coffers of many
upright men, whom the people deemed best qualified to
attend to the protection of their properties, lives, and
liberties in Parliament. " Robbery it is," exclaimed
O'Connell, "plain, palpa,ble robbery; because, no matter
how unfounded a petition may be, he who is petitioned
against must necessarily expend a large sum in his
defence." Large subscriptions were entered into, and
violent language inveighed against Ireland. Of the
numerous utensils employed to execute this part of the
work, the Times and Standard were, perhaps, the most
important. " The Spottiswoode Conspiracy" assumed a
formidable hue. -To give an idea of the expense attend-
ing one election petition, we may observe that that
against O'Connell alone amounted to £40,000, of

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 451

which the greater portion was defrayed by the joint-
stock purse of the Carlton Club.

[No. 52.] DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P., TO LORD CLONCURRY.

" Derrynane Abbey, Oct. 12.

" MY LORD, — I have seen, some time ago, in one of the public papers,
an opinion of yours, or at least an opinion attributed to you, expressive of
your conviction that the Irish peers, and Members of the House of Com-
mons, of the liberal party, ought to meet in Dublin some days previous to
the commencement of the session, in order to concert and agree upon such
measures for the good of Ireland as ought to be pressed upon the attention
of the Government and of Parliament. I readily believed that this opinion
was yours, because it is one which, in my humble judgment, is full of good
sense and wisdom. * *

" There never was a period at which it was so necessary for the " heredi-
tary bondsmen" of Ireland to exert themselves. We are involved in a
desperate, but I trust a last, struggle, to put an end to the domination of
faction in this country, and to procure for the Irish nation an identification
of rights and franchises with the English people.

" We have formidable, merciless, and unceasingly active enemies. The
English Tories place their last hope of power in fomenting English prejudice
and bigotry to the highest paroxysm of maddened exertion. The same
spirit which actuated the English Parliament in the days of the Cromwellian
war, when the total extermination of the Irish race was resolved upon, and
nearly perpetrated — that very spirit still presides over the Peel- Wellington
councils, and animates the efforts of nine-tenths of their Tory partisans ; I do
not hesitate to declare my thorough conviction that many of the Tory party
in England are equally desirous for the slaughter of the Irish Catholics, as
were the more valiant but equally merciless soldiers of Cromwell, and that
they would desire to see our exertions for political liberty smothered in our
blood. * *

" Already the ' signs of the times' cheer me on. One of the most decided
adversaries to ' the repeal,' Lord Ebrington, has himself avowed that there
were indications of such atrociously criminal hostility to Ireland amongst
the English Tories as, if successfully persevered in, would justify, and even
require, the Irish people to insist on the Repeal."

[Here Mr. O'Connell adverted to the calamities prophesied by Bushe,
Plunket, and Saurin, in 1800, as likely to flow from a Union with Great
Britain. After which, he went on to say :] —

" But, my Lord, not one of them singly, nor all of them combined, did or
could possibly conjecture, that so base, so aggravated, so swindling — for that
is its right name — a calamity could possibly arise from that Union.

"Yet here it is in full life and hateful operation. Here it is — the Spot-
tiswoode gang have realized it.

" Recollect, my Lord, that it is candidly and manfully admitted by Lord
Ebrington, that if this conspiracy shall be successfully persevered in, it in
itself would justify ' the Repeal.'

"What, then, is to be done? I, whose political integrity and personal
honour are both committed to work out fully my present experiment of
rendering the Repeal unnecessary, have a right to call upon you, my Lord,
and particularly upon those also who signed the Leinster declaration, to come
forward and consult and arrange what steps should be taken to vindicate

452 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

the representation of the people of Ireland from the foul pollution of the
Spottiswoode conspiracy."

[Here Mr. O'Connell proposed that the contemplated meeting of peers and
M.P.'s should be at once called. Among the measures that he suggested
they should adopt were the following: —

" An address of allegiance to Her Most Gracious Majesty, respectfully
claiming from her the protection which her royal prerogative can bestow on
her faithful people of Ireland.

" Another address to her Majesty, praying specifically that she may order
her Attorney-General for England to prosecute the members of the Spottis-
woode gang for a dangerous and unconstitutional conspiracy against the freedom
of election and the privileges of the Commons' House of Parliament.

" To arrange the mode and time of bringing forward in the House of Lords
a suitable motion on this subject.

" To prepare an address to her Majesty from the people of Ireland, praying
her to continue in office her present Ministry, as being the first the people of
Ireland ever found honestly disposed to administer equal justice to all.
***#*****

" I have the honour to be, my Lord, your very faithful Servant,

" DANIEL O'CONNELL."

The Spottiswoode conspiracy was such a manifest
breach of privilege that Mr. Smith O'Brien, while pre-
senting a reactionary petition, brought the matter under
the notice of Government. A discussion ensued, when
the petition was ordered to be printed. Mr. O'Brien,
following up his advantage, moved for a select committee
of inquiry. This the Government opposed, notwith-
standing that the principal law officer of the Crown
emphatically declared that the Spottiswoode subscription
list was in principle illegal. Annexed is Lord Clon-
curry's answer to Mr. O'Connell : —

[No. 53.] LORD CLONCCRRY TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P.

" MY DEAR O'CONNELL, — I have always considered a meeting of the
Irish members in Dublin, on their way to Parliament, most desirable, as a
means of obtaining information, and establishing that mutual understanding
so necessary for the common good ; and, in this most auspicious year, graced
by the personification of peace and loveliness, I did hope that, laying aside
all party feeling, we should have calmly discussed the all-important measures
of national improvement likely to be brought before Parliament — poor laws,
reclamation of wastes, railways, canals, and fisheries. As far as lay in my
power, I should have avoided every subject likely to produce angry discus-
sion.* I was fully satisfied with the explosion of Kildare Place by itself,
and with the triumph of national education by the instrumentality of the
enemy ; I was satisfied by the pledge of the Duke of Wellington as to cor-
poration reform, and felt certain that ministers would obey their royal
mistress, by extending to us the full benefit of the laws and institutions of
Britain. I should have respectfully solicited confidential communication

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 453

•with the different commissioners of poor-law inquiry, of railroads, of fisheries,
of Shannon improvement, public works, education, and police. Thus, the
representatives of Ireland in both houses would have carried with them the
information necessary for legislators, the facility of co-operation, a union of
spirit, and the respect of the people, who would entrust to them their ex-
pression of love and duty to their Queen, their humble and justifiable ex-
pectations, their wishes and their wants. Such useful, friendly conference
can hardly now be hoped for. The enemies of Ireland and of peace, in the
fury of despair, have infringed the law and braved their sovereign, in the
vain hope to retard legislation, and to withhold justice ; they have violated
the constitution, and, by insult and violence, endeavoured to excite the bad
passions of the multitude.

" This has greatly diminished my hope of the practicability or benefit of
theproposed meeting, but I feel it my duty to attempt it, and, for the first
dawi of November, I shall attend in Dublin to confer with all the members
of Parliament and of public boards, and to receive such petitions for presen-
tation as may be entrusted to me.

" We have seen our countrymen, by their energy and determination, wrest
from a corrupt and bigoted Legislature — from the old and unwilling Georges
— the great portion of their long withheld rights. Can we doubt that, under
present and happy auspices, the remainder will be cheerfully and wisely
granted, to the equal benefit of both countries, and the eternal gratitude of
ours ? Delay is all we have to fear ; but how mischievous is delay ! *
Why does the Admiralty charge fifteen shillings for a passage to Holyhead,
sixty miles, and twelve to Liverpool, one hundred and twenty ?

" Why does my Irish paper cost postage, and my English come free, one
hundred times the distance? Why are the letters of the poor charged
double postage, until the half be given back, let its importance be what it
may ? Why can a set of party magistrates refuse a petty sessions to a large
town (Bray, for instance), and establish it at privacy in a gate-lodge ? * *
"Your faithful Servant,

" CLONCUKRY."

[No. 54.] DANIEL o'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P., TO LOKD CLONCURRY.

" Derrynane Abbey, 21st Oct., 1837.

" MY LORD, — I, for one, cheerfully accept your invitation to be in Dublin
from the 1st to the 8th of November, ready to confer on the state of affairs
interesting to Ireland. I cannot doubt that you will find many others
equally ready to meet you. Thus the meeting will certainly take place.
Everything else may, until then, be safely committed to the deep interest
which all the friends of Ireland must take in this approaching session. That
session must terminate our present struggle ; but that struggle can only
terminate in our complete success. '

" I have the honour to be, my Lord, your faithful Servant,

" DANIEL O'CONNELL."

Mr. Grattan addressed a long letter to Lord Cloncurry.
We regret that we have only room for a few extracts : —

454 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

[No. 55.] HENRY GKATTAN, ESQ., M.P., TO LORD CLOXCURRY.

" Hotel du Congres, RueRivoti, Pans, Oct. 27, 1837.

" MY DEAR LORD, — * * As the House of Lords have decided that there
should be one law for Ireland, and another for England,* thereby condemning
the Union project of Mr. Pitt, aud giving additional proof of its failure, I
highly approve of the suggestion, and should attend, if illness in my family
had not brought me to a milder climate. * * *

" What is the condition we behold? Society cut up by the roots, poverty,
absenteeism, civil discord, religious strife, a partisan magistracy, and pecu-
lating bigoted corporations ; the churches of the Protestants half empty, the
chapels of the Catholics, in number and accommodation, shamefully deficient ;
the religion of 600,000 upheld by funds nearly equal in annual value to a
million of money ; the religion of six millions left to the chances of voluntary
contributions, and the tithes of the Established Church collected at the point
of the bayonet ; large tracts of territory held by a nobility and gentry who
seldom reside, and who spend their rents in another country ; the most fer-
tile soil in Europe but half cultivated, though the people are laborious, and
labour got for six-pence a day, and human life sustained for three-halfpence
a day ; yet, notwithstanding these advantages, upwards of two millions of
the inhabitants (as in the report of the House of Commons) are left in a
state of absolute starvation for six months every year ! ! ! I exclaim that
those evils must be remedied at every hazard, and I assert that mankind
should execrate the Tory governments who have reduced so fine a country
to so wretched a state, and all mankind must wonder that the Irish are so
tame and so enduring. * *

" Turn, I repeat, to Belgium, Nassau, Hesse, Baden, France — no war of
religion, no tithe conflicts, no Bible battles, no absentees, no necessity for
poor laws — almost every one is educated, most of the people have land — all
are well fed, well clothed, well housed — municipal bodies, selected by and
from the people, regulate their local affairs, and controul the public expen-
diture— information is spreading rapidly — religious bigotry has vanished,
and in the very town where Luther's defence of Protestantism remains, and
signed by his own hand, these prejudiced Tories may see, in the same build-
ing, Protestant and Catholic kneeling to their God, and worshipping Him
as the common father of mankind, without ' envy, hatred, or malice' towards
their neighbours ! How different this from Ireland, where the Tories ruled
for the last fifty years, and the cry of their ' hell hounds never-ceasing barked?
But there is, in addition, one distinguished feature in the French system,
which I press upon your attention — that is, the National Guard — a cheap
defence of nations presiding over and protecting the fate and fortune of their
country. A people hi arms are a tower of strength ; the armed citizen,
conscious of his power, controuls its exercise, casts a shade of moderation
over all his actions, and adds an embellishment to civic virtue. It is this
that will secure to France her freedom, it is this that has immortalized the
name of La Fayette — a similar institution procured for Ireland her liberty —
such an institution may be necessary again. The Volunteers of 1782, led on

* The Legislature had just conceded Municipal Reform to England and
Scotland, but sternly refused to extend it to Ireland. Sir Robert Peel's
unwavering opposition to it was based upon anxiety for the Irish Church Es-
tablishment. He opposed the abolition of an abuse, for the purpose of up-
holding a greater abuse.

CLONCDRRY AND HIS TIMES. 455

by Lord Charlemont and my father, struck off at a blow the chains that for
centuries had bound the nation, and effected for Ireland, in an hour, what
parliaments took half a century afterwards to do for the Catholics, so much
more efficient is the straightforward proceeding of the people, than the double-
faced friendship and policy of the ministers. * * If they
pursue in Parliament the system of again rejecting all popular measures, and
nullifying the action of the House of Commons, they recruit for the Volun-
teers of Ireland, they decide that Ireland must be in arms if she seeks to be
free, and THEIR RETURN TO POWER WILL BE THE SIGNAL.

" Let the Tories beware how they resort again to their dangerous courses
and their rash leaders. Let them reflect that the National Association of
Ireland comprises 25,000 members and associates, that we are united by a
sense of injury and insult. Backed by the mass of the Irish people, and
bound by a national oath of honour never to desist till tee place the humblest of
our Irishmen on a level, in point of law, with the proudest of the English, this
Association, perhaps, may dissolve, relying on the virtues of our gracious
Queen and the good intentions of a Liberal ministry ; if we succeed, ' why
then we shall smile ;' if we fail, meet we must, and meet we shall, to show to
the world that Ireland may be injured, may be insulted, but cannot be ter-
rified into submission ; that Ireland may be disqualified, but cannot be de-
graded ; and that if she has hitherto had patience and philosophy enough to
endure her wrongs, she still possesses spirit and courage to avenge them. —
I remain, my dear Lord, very truly yours, "HENRY GRATTAN."

[No. 56.] DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P., TO LORD CLONCURRY.

" Merrion- square, Nov. 1, 1837.

" MY LORD, — On my arrival here I discover that under existing circum-
stances, it is impossible to have so effectual a meeting of the Irish Liberal
members of both Houses of Parliament as the all-important crisis of our
affairs imperatively requires. Not a few of the Irish peers and commoners,
whose presence would be most desirable, are already gone to England, and
some arc actually on the Continent. Having communicated these matters
to your lordship, I anticipate the readiness with which you will sanction a
postponement of the intended meeting until the 16th of this month, and the
change of place to London. * * * — I have the honour to be, &c.,

" DANIEL O'CONNELL."

[NO. 57.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P.

" Afaretimo, November 2nd, 1837.

"MY DEAR O'CONNELL, — I entirely agree with you. My sole object was
to procure for the friends of Ireland in Parliament accurate information on
the spot, to diminish their legislative labours, and to secure unanimity on
measures likely to be brought fonvard for her benefit. The recorded acts
and sentiments of the Government render any marked demonstration on our
part unnecessary, and the dissolution of the National Association proves this
to be the opinion of the people of Ireland, a mark of devoted confidence not
likely to be misunderstood by the generous nation on which it is conferred. —
Most truly yours, " CLONCURRY."

456 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

The Temperance movement, headed by Judge Crampton,
had just begun to march prominently forward. Father
Mathew's teetotal organization was quite an after thing.
On October 28th, Lord Cloncurry attended an influential
meeting on the subject in the Rotunda. Amid peals of
Catholic cheers, and thunders of Kentish fire, he gave
expression to his sentiments. It was impossible, he said,
to estimate the immense benefit which would arise to
Ireland by the total avoidance of the use of ardent spirits.
As a master of servants, and an employer of labourers, he
could appreciate the vast advantages arising from the
propagation of temperance. He was an advocate for the
principle that Irishmen should govern themselves. He
was the friend (some, perhaps, would say, too much the
friend) of liberty ; but it was not liberty for a man to
possess the faculty of brutalizing and of ruining himself
by intoxication. Patriotism, and every other noble feel-
ing, should be enlisted in our exertions to remove and
overcome that evil. America was the land of all others
where liberty flourished most, and it was the first country
where temperance was promoted by the Legislature. A
temperance society, formed exclusively of members of
the Congress, existed there. Ardent spirits were no
longer a portion of the soldier's rations nor of the sea-
stores of a ship of war.

Lord Cloncurry terminated the year 1837 well. In
December we find him enclosing to the Rev. Mr. Walsh
the generous donation of £50, for the benefit of the
poor of Kingstown. "This," said the Evening Post, "is
only one of the numberless instances in which the excel-
lent nobleman has devoted a large portion of his private
fortune to the improvement of the condition of our hum-
ble population." ,

Meanwhile the Irish Municipal Reform movement
went bravely on. Its champions advanced with steady
precision, and the tramp of their column was heard afar
off. In January, 1838, Lord Cloncurry attended, and
spoke at the Grand Reform Banquet to O'Connell and"
Hutton. In the course of the evening the venerable]
Earl of Charlemont panegyrized Cloncurry as " the friend

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 457

of mankind, the poor man's magistrate, and an ornament
and example to the Irish magistracy."

February came, and found his lordship still active.
From the year 1817, when John Philpot Curran died, it
was constantly a source of pain and regret to him that
the ashes of his brother patriot and friend should be
allowed to repose in the uncongenial soil of an English
churchyard. In 1838 he loudly complained of what
appeared to be the insensibility of his countrymen to-
wards the memory of Curran, and opened a subscription
list for the purpose of removing the remains, and building
a monument above them. Foremost in this subscription
list we find his lordship's name, for £150, as well as £10
from his son, the present Lord Cloncurry. Of this sum
we believe £50 was handed in by his lordship as the
subscription of anonymous parties.

Neither Lord Cloncurry's exertions nor his money
went for nought. An ample fund soon enabled the Irish
people to remove from Paddington Churchyard the bones
of that incorruptible patriot who, throughout the Irish
reign of terror, was always the active and intrepid as-
sertor of the liberties of his native land. An order from
the Consistorial Court was obtained, and the land of his
birth became the final resting-place of Curran.

While the necessary burial arrangements, however,
were being made at Glasnevin, the coffin was temporarily
deposited in Lord Cloncurry's family mausoleum at Lyons.
A public funeral was strongly advocated by Curran's
friends; but his eldest son and representative, disliking
the pageantry of a national procession, forbade it. A
private interment was accordingly decided on. "It was on
a very gloomy day of November," writes one who took
an active part in the proceedings, " that the remains
were removed, with strict privacy, to Dublin. Towards
night, and as we arrived in the metropolis, the weather
was marked by peculiar severity. The rain fell in tor-
rents, and a violent storm howled, whilst the darkness
was relieved occasionally by vivid lightning, accompanied
by peals of thunder. This added much to the solemnity
of the scene, as we passed slowly through the streets,

x

458 CLONCURRi' AND HIS TIMES.

from winch the violence of the night had driven almost
all persons."

The monument is of Irish granite, and chiselled after
the manner of Scipio's tomb. The eloquence of the in-
scription is admirable — nought but the solitary word
" Curran." Almost simultaneously with the erection of
the sarcophagus at Glasnevin, an exquisite monument of
Curran, with a medallion likeness in relief, took up its
position in one of the niches of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The expenses were defrayed by a public subscription.

Among the Irish Poor Law meetings of the year
1838, that of the 10th March was perhaps the most
important. Cloncurry's speech on the general destitution
that prevailed was energetic and affecting. " Some poor
law," he exclaimed, " is necessary. The proposed bill is
a bad one ; but I would rather submit to its operation
than have my feelings harrowed by the constant recur-
rence of such scenes of destitution. I am actually
ashamed to drive into the city with a decent equipage.
Is not the foreigner who visits our isle driven back when
he sees, in the very first village he comes to, the hordes
of wretched objects that beset him, craving a halfpenny
as the wherewithal to satisfy their hunger? I want to
repress this appalling mendicancy — 1 want to employ the
idle arms upon the waste lands [hear, hear]. Some time
ago, there was an English valuator over in this country.
I was acquainted with him. He travelled through all
Ireland, and afterwards exclaimed — ' Oh ! it is not eight,
but thirty millions of people, that could be supported in
this country.' "

Whilst we are on the Poor Law subject, it is as well
that we append a short letter to Mr. Conway, that has
just found its way to the surface of our papers. From
the nature of its allusions, there cannot be a doubt that
the document is in perfect chronological order : —

[NO. 58.] LORD CLONCURKY TO MR. CONWAY.

"Lyons, 27th April (no year).

" MY DEAR SIR, — I received the enclosed from one of the best men of rny
.acquaintance. It agrees in many points with my own opinions on the I'oor
Law subject, also with those of the Koyal Commissioners.

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 459

" If you can at any time give it a place in the Post, it will be a good act.
The Government hill is certainly very faulty; hut the opposition of our old
ta.-k masters, the Grand Jury, jobhing landlords, &c., makes me suspect some
essential virtue that I have not fully discovered. •

" My dear Sir, very faithfully yours,

" CI.ONCURRY."

The document referred to was entitled, " A safe,
cheap, and efficient plan for relieving the destitute Poor
of Ireland." ,,

As an illustration of the strange variety of his lordship's
correspondence, let us here glance at the career of an ob-
scure but singularly gifted individual, the late John Walsh,
of Cork. In the " Philosophical Magazine," for November,
1851, an ample and interesting account of this strange
character, from the pen of Professor Boole, may be found.
It is compiled in the form of a letter to the eminent
mathematician and philosopher, Professor de Morgan, of
London, and forms, as Mr. Boole himself says, " a remark-
able and a melancholy story." Walsh was a man en-
dowed by nature with great talents, and greater perseve-
rance; and had his mind been constructed with some-
what more strength, the science of mathematics would,
doubtless, have derived some service from his labours.
An overtasked brain and unstrung nerves, however, soon
rendered his past and present studies fruitless, and his
opinions on mathematics (which he loved to express con-
tinually) absurd. The last thirty years of Walsh's life
were almost exclusively consumed in writing and speak-
ing on his favourite topic. From morning till night he
protested that the differential calculus was a delusion;
that Sir Isaac Newton was a shallow sciolist, if not an
absolute impostor ; and that the universities and academies
of Europe were engaged in the interested support of a
system of error. The indifference and disdain with which
the learned societies of Great Britain and France treated
his startling announcements maddened to a still further
pitch the already crazy intellect of the poor enthusiast.
After his death, piles of manuscript volumes and tracts,
written with an extraordinary dash of genius, but all,
nevertheless, pervaded by a thread of absurdity, were

460 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

found. Some, during his lifetime, he got printed, and, at
great expense, distributed gratuitously. He finally died,
a ruined, broken-hearted man, in the Cork Union Work-
house.

But to explain this digression. On the 16th Septem-
ber, 1854, the author of this work received a letter from
Professor de Morgan, of the London University, enclosing
a copy of an extract from one of Walsh's manuscripts.
" If you wfeh," wrote Professor de Morgan, " to be as
minute as Boswell. you may even be glad of the following.
It will illustrate the manner in which good-natured men
are apt to commit themselves to more than they intend.
The conversion of Lord Cloncurry's general proposition
into a particular one is amusing."

EXTRACT FROM LETTER III. TO DR. PROVOST SADLIER.

" In conclusion, I will take the liberty of adding here a copy of a note
which I received from Lord Cloncuny. I am emboldened to do so from its
easy and elegant style, from the very important and instructive sentiments
it contains, and its direct bearing on the intense controversy in which I have
been so long engaged with the whole of the philosophical world, but which,
despite all their power and prejudice, and moral delinquency, is now set at
rest for ever.

[No. 59.] LORD CLOXCDRRY TO MR. JOHN WALSH.

" ' 8th April, Lyons, 1838.

" ' SIB, — I have received, and beg leave to thank you, for the letters you did
me the favour to send ; nothing can tend more to the benefit of true science
than free and candid discussion. I believe that the too great timidity so
generally incident to talent, retards our progress in the higher branches of
mathematics, and leaves much of uncertainty and danger in the struggles of
genius for the advancement now daily making in mechanics, navigation, and
astronomy.

" ' I have the honour to be, Sir, your obliged Servant,

" ' CLOXCURRY.'

"Nothing can lead more to the advancement of true science, as Lord
Cloncurry so justly observes, than free and candid discussion. But free and
candid discussion is totally unknown to the geometers and philosophers of
England and France. They have impugned the known truth, because it
suited their interests and their prejudices to do so ; and the same spirit that
animated the persecutors of Gallileo, animates them all at the present moment.
No one, except myself, ever had the daring to call in question the truth of
the mathematical philosophy of ancient and modern times, and to assert that
it was all wrong. And yet true it is that it is so ; and this is what sorely
vexes the lads. But if I had been more timid, and had more respect for
•what the world considers authority in philosophic reasoning ; if I had not

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 461

known as a truth, that the judgment of the world itself in these matters wa*
of no value — seeing that it had suffered itself, almost from the creation, to be
enslaved by as malicious falsehood as was ever introduced into physical
science, not having perception, judgment, or reasoning sufficient to remove
from before its eyes the thin veil that shaded the mathematical sophistry of
the ancient Greeks ; if 1 were so timid as not to think, and judge, and reason
boldly for myself, why then, as Lord Cloncurry remarks, with great accuracy
and depth of judgment, greater 'uncertainty' would exist in physical inves-
tigations, greater 'danger' would come to be apprehended from the results ;
and the progress of the higher mathematics would be seriously retarded ;
fluxions, differentials, and all that sort of things, which everywhere obtrude
themselves into natural philosophy, would still continue th-eir mischievous
sway ; and error may for ever maintain its dominion over the human mind,
as it has done during those last 2,000 years. Truth clearly demonstrated is
the only authority I recognize and respect ; these things are now all dead ;
error and false philosophers are detected and exposed ; nor could they exist
for a moment in presence of exact science, whose reign is now eternal, any
more than could the midnight gloom exist in presence of the mid-day sun."

In the following letter to Mr. Owen, we find traces of
a renewal of th'at correspondence, which promised in
1823 to continue long and warmly. Mr. Owen* felt
pained at the prejudices which existed against himself
and his philanthropic project. He courted inquiry, but
nobody would take the trouble to inquire. In one word,
it was condemned — " Utopian !" Mr. Owen drew up a
petition in 1838, praying for inquiry into his principles
and plans for popular amelioration, and sent it to Lord
Cloncurry for presentation in Parliament. The following
is his lordship's answer: —

[No. 60.] LORD CLONCURRY TO ROBERT OWEN, ESQ.

" Lyons, Rathcool, 13th July, 1838.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I presented the petition, but I fear to no good effect,
The House is not willing to suffer discussions of the kind sought for to the
bar, and I did not feel myself equal to combat their prejudices.

" The time is not yet come, but may be nearer than many suppose, for the
general adoption of more rational systems than have hitherto prevailed, to the
general destruction of human happiness.

" I remain, with best wishes, most truly yours,

" CLONCURRY."

* In Lady Morgan's " Book of the Boudoir," vol. ii. p. G2, a peculiarly in-
teresting and amusing dialogue between her ladyship and Mr. Owen may be
found. She speaks of him as " the most benevolent, amiable, and sanguine of
philanthropists," and concludes the report of the conversation thus : — " ' My
dear Lady Morgan, where the human race is to be benefited no sacritic-e
is too great.' This sentiment, which is the governing principle of Mr. Owen's
life, may serve for his epigraph."

462 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Lord Cloncurry had a habit of, and a fancy for, now
and then dropping in unawares on his Limerick tenantry.
lie had often heard it stated, that " when the cat's away
the mice do play," and he resolved to test the truth of the
aphorism. " On the 9th of October, 1838, the tenants of
Abington," writes a paper of the day, "were agreeably
surprised by the unexpected arrival of Lord Cloncurry,
who, after going over a large portion of it, signified his
approbation of the improvements made. Such of the
tenants who were apprised of his lordship's sudden arrival
waited on him, and were received with the greatest kind-
ness and affability. The tenants, in the evening, made a
large bonfire at the cross of Abington, near Mr. Ryan's
house, who had the superintendence of the festivities."

The good Earl of Mulgrave not only captivated the
hearts of a warm-hearted people by the mildness and
generosity of his Government, but appears to have found
especial favour in the sight of his employers. In February,
1839, he was raised to the Marquisate of Normanby, and
having accepted the office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs,
resigned the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland. Viscount
Ebrington, previously known as Lord Fortescue, suc-
ceeded this popular and vivacious viceroy.

Lord Ebrington had the reputation of being an ami-
cable and a liberal nobleman, and great things were
expected by Ireland at his hands. But long before the
termination of his viceroyalty, it was unanimously agreed
by the national party, that many a day would probably
elapse ere Ireland saw the like of Lord Mulgrave again.
Lord Ebrington disappointed the people, and especially
the Repeal party, as will be seen hereafter.

In March, 1839, his Excellency grasped the helm, and
at once plunged into the boisterous sea of Irish viceregal
turmoil. For a tyro in the art he mastered it pretty
sternly. On the morning of his arrival in Kingstown
harbour, the Duke of Leinster and Lord Cloncurry waited
on the Viceroy while yet on board, and accompanied him
to the Castle, where they remained, in their capacity of
Privy Councillors, during the formula of inauguration.

Some weeks subsequent to the retirement of Lord

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 4 (.).')

Normanby, the nobility gentry, and freeholders of Kil-
dare, headed by Lord Cloncurry, assembled in Naas, for
the purpose of addressing, in complimentary terms, that
most popular nobleman. After expressing his approba-
tion of the measures introduced and carried by the Mel-
bourne Cabinet, Lord Cloncurry observed that he had
conversed with the Marquis of Normanby since his de-
parture from this country, and that his whole anxiety was
to serve Ireland, and to preserve intact that station which
he so justly held in the hearts and in the affections of
Irishmen. Lord Cloncurry 's diatribe on corporate trickery
was delivered at this meeting. He said that on the
passing of the Relief Act, in 1829, the members of the
Corporation put their heads together and vowed they
would prevent their Catholic countrymen from having a
fair participation in the rights, privileges, and immunities
from which they had been so long debarred, but to which
they had been at length made eligible. Lord Cloncurry
branded this proceeding as a " conspiracy against the
Sovereign and her Irish subjects."*

On the retirement of Lord Mulgrave from power, the
Tories made an energetic attempt to regain possession of
the government, and to re-establish the domination of
Orangeism in Ireland. The Reformers, on the other
hand, entered into a compact to resist this encroachment,
and on the llth of April, 1839, made the first of their
demonstrations in the Theatre Royal. " The meeting
of this day," observed the journal which recorded it, " is
a manifestation ^of the gigantic strength and well-dis-
ciplined energy of the Reformers of Ireland, which must
carry confusion into the camp of the enemy." The Duke
of Leinster occupied the chair, and Lords Headford,
Charlemont, Cloncurry,! Fingal, Listowel, Miltown, and
Southwell, were amongst the speakers. From an early
hour, knots of Orangemen took up position in the pit,

* It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that not until 1841 did the
" conspirators" succumb. From that year Roman Catholics became admis-
sible to corporations.

t The Hon. Edward Lawless, now Lord Cloncurry, was likewise present
at this meeting.

464 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

fully resolved to disturb, by every possible means, the
harmony of the meeting. After several able speeches had
been delivered, Lord Cloncurry came fonvard to the front
of the platform. His appearance, however, was the
signal for a hurricane of groans and Kentish fire from the
Orange party. They refused to hear him, and openly
avowed their determination. His voice, however,
thundered above the storm. " I never, in the whole
course of my life," he exclaimed, " as a magistrate, or a
country gentleman, refused a hearing to any man. [Great
cheers from the Nationalists.] I listened to the poor
man as well as to the rich [hisses], and it is not because
I have come forward to perform a duty to my country
that I am to be intimidated by the fragment of an arro-
gant faction. I will remain upon this platform FOR EVER
until you choose to hear me." [Great cheering, and roars
from the Orangemen to " hear Alderman Archer."*

Finding it useless to attempt intimidation, the Orange
clique at length permitted Lord Cloncurry to read his
resolution. This was received by the Liberal party with
loud acclamation. " Now, gentlemen," continued his
lordship, " I have administered the laws of this country
as a magistrate, during thirty years of Tory ascendancy,
and let me see the man, of whatever opinions he may be,
that can say I ever refused to give him justice." [Here,
writes the Evening Post, the uproar became so great that
it was impossible to hear a word.] As soon as silence
had been in some degree restored, Lord Cloncurry related
several anecdotes not at all redounding to the credit of
English and Anglo-Irish Tory administration. Adverting
to the misery and poverty of the people, his lordship said : —
" Remedies without end have been proposed [cheers
and hisses, reports the Morning Register^ ; but I ask you
was there ever any other than the gibbet and the bayonet
administered by a Tory Administration? [Cheers, cries
of " no, no," and loud expressions of applause.] Even
the mere proposition of the introduction of railroads into
this country, which would be serviceable to all parties,

* Alderman Arcber was a prominent member of the old Corporation.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 465

was scouted at by the Tories, lest the present Adminis-
tration should have the benefit of it." [Great cheering.]
Amongst his lordship's " Tory anecdotes," he mentioned
that a certain Co. Kildare magistrate had told him that
he was some time previously bribed by a Tory Adminis-
tration to excite insubordination in the rninds of the
people. Here Lord Cloncurry was groaned and hissed
vehemently. Having heard the words "false! false!"
enunciated, his lordship repeated the assertion, and ap-
pealed to the Duke of Leinster and to the Marquis of
Wellesley for a confirmation of every fact he had stated.
" I mention these anecdotes," said Lord Cloncurry,
" merely to show what the feelings of the Tories were
towards Ireland, and that I could not, as a man of feeling
[tremendous cheers] , but oppose them."

The second of the organized Reform demonstrations of
1839 took place on the 23rd May, in the open air, at
Beresford-place, for the purpose, as stated in the requisi-
tion, " of adopting an address expressive of their grati-
tude to her Majesty, for the wise, firm, and constitutional
exercise of her royal prerogative on a late memorable
occasion, and of their determination to support the
ministry of her choice — the friends of the people." A
grand review in the Pho3nix Park came off on the same
day, but it was evident from the attendance of the people
at the meeting — 40,000 — that it possessed no attractions
for them, whose duty to their country, their devotion to
the Queen, their detestation of Hanoverian and Irish
Orangeism, were motives superior to pleasure or busi-
ness. Lord Cloncurry was, by acclamation, moved to
the chair. He made an able speech, and concluded,
amid loud cheering, in the following words : — " 1 have
to apologise for detaining you so long ; but it is impos-
sible, when I find myself amongst you, to refrain from
giving expression to my feelings. I wish to tell you how
anxiously I go with you, how I love you, and wish that
your cause and the cause of our country may be pros-
perous."

The success of this meeting was probably best attested
by the abuse levelled at it by the entire of the Tory

x 2

4G6 CLOXCURttY AND HIS TIJIKS.

journals. The Packet literally foamed with indignation.
The Mail, in a dull diatribe, vowed that the meeting of
the 23rd inst. Avas not to address the Queen, as plausibly
stated, but in reality to celebrate the anniversary of the
rebellion, which first broke out on the night of May 23rd,
1798. Lord Cloncurry, as chairman, was violently
assailed. Bygones were raked up, and garnished anew.
In answer to one of these assaults his lordship published
a letter in the Evening Post. " I am told,'' said he,
"that one or two of the Tory journals, in treating of the
late aggregate meeting in Dublin, comment on the chair-
man having been in the Tower of London forty years
ago. They should have added that Mr. Pitt was fain to
seek from a Tory Parliament an act of indemnity for that-
illegal imprisonment of twenty-six months (not ten, as
stated by O'Connell) ; and also that, in 1802, advance
in the peerage, as a compliment and compensation, was
offered me by Lord Hardwicke. They might also state
that every Tory viceroy, from Lord Hardwicke down,
had thanked me for preserving the peace in an extensive
district, in the midst of Tory aggression, and of distur-
bances promoted by party magistrates." Lord Cloncurry
concluded with a word of parting advice to the Orange-
men:— " They never will again be suffered to rule as a
party in this country. Plunder, or exclusive patronage,
they will not have ; but, if they give fair play to their
Catholic countrymen — if they join honestly in the deve-
lopment of our great resources — in the encouragement of
honest industry, sobriety, and Christian charity, there is
wealth enough for us all in Ireland, and, I doubt not,
something to spare."

Nothing daunted by the attacks referred to, we find his
lordship in the ensuing month signing a requisition to
the High Sheriff of Kildare, requesting him to convene a
meeting of his bailiwick for the purpose of expressing to
the Queen their gratitude for her approval of a ministry
to which Ireland was indebted ibr impartial justice.

From the moment that the recently introduced svstem
of Railway appeared to Lord Cloncurry as a judicious
mode of transit, and not (as many old gentlemen ther

CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES. 467

regarded it) an invention of the devil, he was an anxious
and a zealous advocate for the construction of an extensive
line from Dublin to Berehaven. " The expense," said
he, " would, I think, be amply repaid by post-office and
passenger traffic, as well as by the toll to be paid by all
private companies taking advantage of it by branches to
the different towns right and left of its line." We have
seen, in Letter No. 47, how anxious his lordship was that
some substantial line of railway should be established
ere bubble companies preoccupied the ground. He
directed his eye into the future, and observed the Diddle-
sex Junction Lines, and its ample staff of stags, which so
often formed, in 1845, the subject of Punch's sarcasm.
Throughout the years 1836, '37, and '38, letters on this
subject, from his lordship's pen, appeared in the news-
papers. Mr. Hamilton warmly advocated that a line
should be at once commenced from Dublin to Drogheda.
Lord Cloncurry's opinion on the feasibility of this pro-
ject may be found recorded in the journals of the time.
" Inland lines," said he, " are to be preferred." His
advice was disregarded. That the inland lines have been
as successful, as the Drogheda one was the reverse, the
citizens of Dublin require not to be reminded.

Lord Cloncurry, on the 1st February, 1839, attended
a meeting of gentlemen anxious to establish a line of
railway in Ireland. He adverted to the general apathy
which prevailed to furthering the work, and the mer-
cenary light wherein many viewed it. " He was sorry to
see that in great national undertakings, men seemed to
care more about their own private interests than the
general welfare. He had recently attended a railway
committee of the Lords, and what its members seemed
most anxious about there was, how much they could get
for such portions of their lands as the railway might
happen to pass through. Their sole aim appeared to
be, how they could best mulct the spirited undertakers
of a national work." The remainder of his lordship's
speech was equally racy and forcible.

The following letter, which we transcribe from the
original autograph, has been placed at our disposal by a,

468 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

man whom Ireland is proud to have given birth to, and
prouder to possess. We allude to John Hogan, perhaps
the most gifted sculptor that has appeared in Europe since
the days of Canova. The favourite pupil of that eminent
statuarist, Hogan, has served to perpetuate his fame, by
adopting, in every minutia, the purely classic style of his
gifted master. By these means, while building a pedestal
for himself, he wreathes with additional laurels Canova's
head.

The letter was written in 1839. It is hardly necessary
to say, that Mr. Hogan was then not the celebrated man
he is now, although well known to, and deservedly
respected by, the artistic world generally. The very
work Avhich forms the subject of this letter was amongst
the first of those that raised his fame, as a sculptor, to the
highest pinnacle : —

[No. 61.] JOHN HOGAN, ESQ., TO LORD CLOXCURRY.

" 24 Vicolo dei Greci, Roma, 8th June, 1839.

" MY LORD, — I take the liberty of addressing your lordship as Chairman
of the Committee for the Erection of a Monumental Statue in memory of
the late Right Rev. Doctor Doyle. It is with infinite pain and regret that
the awkward situation in which 1 am so cruelly placed by the neglect of the
Committee, compels me to solicit the weight of your lordship's personal
influence in this matter. The agreement made with me by that body has
not been maintained. In fact, its non-observance well-nigh tends to over-
whelm me with disaster.

" Having, in May, 1837, successfully competed for the work, the Com-
mittee advanced me £300 ; an agreement was then entered into to pay me
£200 more on completion of the model, in clay, and the remaining £500 when-
ever the ' group ' was finally finished, and placed in the Carlow Cathedral.
After casting the model, and procuring a valuable block of Cairara marble,

I wrote to the Rev. Mr. M , of Carlow, in January, 1838, requesting

that he would kindly exert his influence to have the second instalment
remitted for me, on Torlonia & Co., Rome, in order that I might be enabled
to prosecute the work. To this letter, I never received any answer. 1

repeated my application, on the 28th April following, to Dr. F (joint

treasurer), but never received an answer. On the 19th July, 1838, as also
on the 2nd February, 1839, I wrote to Mr. R. C , Secretary to the Com-
mittee, stating in my last, that the group was nearly finished, and renewing
the previous application ; but to both those letters I have never been honoured
with a line in reply. On the 20th October last, I wrote to Mr. Vigors.
M.P. (joint treasurer), referring to the subject of my previous letters, but
never received an answer. As a last resource, I wrote, on the 29th January
lost, to Messrs. Ball, Bankers, from whom I originally received the £300,
stating the facts of the case at full length, and enclosing an affidavit drawn
up by the British Consul, vouching for the veracity of my statement.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Messrs. Ball expressed their regret that 1 should have such cause of
complaint — protested their ignorance of every circumstance connected with
the transaction, and ' could only assist me' by forwarding my letter to
Mr. Vigors.

" Mr. Vigors promptly and politely replied. He felt much concerned that
any ' inconvenience' should have arisen to me in consequence of their dilato.-
riness in getting in the subscription for Dr. Doyle's monument, and concluded
with an assurance, that I might depend on his best exertions, as an indivi-
dual, to render the agreement complete and satisfactory.

" I acknowledged his letter by return of post, and in reply to a concluding
inquiry, stated that by the time I could possibly hear from him again, the
work would be ready for shipment, repeating that I had exhausted all the
pecuniary resources I had received for other small works, and, on the assurance
that I should receive the second instalment at the stipulated period, Messrs.
Torlonia generously offered me an advance, till, in common decency, I could
ask no more — that I had subsequently received pecuniary aid from other
gentlemen, to whom it is impossible I could make any further applica-
tion ; thereby showing my situation was not one of mere ' inconvenience,' as
Mr. Vigors called it, but of severe pressure ; and, that I could not leave with
'the group' until I received the promised sum, and to which I am so justly
entitled. Although three months have since elapsed, I never received the
slightest communication from any of the gentlemen connected with the busi-
ness. I therefore trust that your lordship will do your utmost to relieve me from
a dilemma in which I never was before, and exert your influence to have
the second remittance forwarded as soon as possible, in order that I may be
enabled to reimburse Torlonia and friends, and defray expenses of freight,
insurance, &c., on the ' group ' to Ireland.

•' I have the honour to remain, your Lordship's very humble Servant,

" JOHN HOGAN.''

All who possess the slightest knowledge of Lord
Cloncurry's character can, we believe, affirm, that to
omit to answer or acknowledge a letter was a discourtesy
he never, under any circumstances, stooped to. In the
following reply Lord Cloncurry expresses his generous
sympathy for Mr. Hogan, in his truly embarrassing posi-
tion, and severely animadverts on what appeared to him
as a want of gentlemanly respect and honourable prin-
ciple.

The letter is remarkable, as neither possessing a date,
address, or signature.

[No. 62.] LOKD CLONCURRY TO JOHN HOGAN, ESQ.

[Post-Mark, London, 26th June, 1839.]

" SIR, — I have had the honour of your letter. I sincerely lament the very
shameful and unfeeling treatment which caused you the trouble of writing
to me. The moment I return to Ireland, I shall write to Mr. Cassidy on the
subject. As to myself, I had nothing whatever to do with the management of
the undertaking. I had a sincere respect and regard for Doctor Doyle, and

470 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

I love the Arts ; consequently, when applied to, I at once paid a subscription
towards his monument, and I attended one only meeting of his admirers.
My countrymen, warm and generous in their feelings, are bad calculators,
and I fear, often name what they cannot afterwards perform. You seem to have
been the victim of their want of principle, and I am sorry and ashamed for
it, Sir.

" // Cavaliere Inglese H»ffan, Roma"

Lord Cloncurry interfered as he promised to do, and
in a short time had matters put completely to rights.
Want of funds, a little negligence, and a good deal of
indolence on the part of the Doyle Committee, occasioned
that very awkward dilemma of which Mr. Hogan so
bitterly complained.

Lord Cloncurry 's address to the small farmers of Ire-
land, amongst whom the mania for emigration had just
begun to strike root, was written in October, 1839. The
good peer did not absolutely ibrbid them to emigrate, but
he warmly advised that they should remain at home, and
cease to hearken to those lying stories which represented
Ireland as over-populated. " My opinion," said Lord
Cloncurry, " is, that Ireland is not over-peopled — that
her people have been the victims of absenteeism, injustice,
and bad government — that, under the mal-administration
by which for centuries she was cursed, the oppression was
in an inverse of the population — that it was the millions
who achieved Emancipation, and who will, in good time,
achieve all we want." This letter gave rise to a volu-
minous public correspondence between Colonel Torrens,
the South Australian Colonization Commissioner, and
his lordship. The former, of course, expatiated on the
advantages of emigration, especially to Australia, and the
Jisadvantages attendant on remaining statu quo. Lord
Cloncurry observed, on grounds that appeared plausible,
that if an Irishman must emigrate, it would be better to
go to Canada, New Zealand, or Van Dieman's Land.
Amongst other objections against Australia, he urged the
•want of a regular Government and law tribunals. Colonel
Torrens elaborately analyzed every assertion made by
his lordship, and endeavoured to prove that there was
no foundation for them.

This correspondence drew forth some public letters

CLONCURUY AND HIS TIMES. 471

from Dr. Rolfe, an ardent admirer of Torrens and the
Colonization Society. Dr. Rolfe made some reflections,
not of a deliberative nature, on the star-spangled banner
of America, to Lord Cloncurry's infinite chagrin. " In
the bad opinion entertained by Mr. Rolfe," wrote his
lordship, " 1 am happy to say that I by no means agree.
I think it altogether the happiest country on the globe.
Slavery and immigration, the excitement of the still, and
perhaps of the too plentiful flesh-pot, are, no doubt, its
drawbacks ; but of crime in general it does not produce
two-thirds as much as does the old world."

The Loyal National Repeal Association, which, in
1843, swelled into such importance as to cause one or
two sleepless nights to the British Minister, was first
formed in the latter part of the year '39. Its growth, from
this period, was so rapid, that Lord Ebrington, in 1840,
made a bold effort to arrest the progress of the agitation,
by announcing that no member of the National League
should be appointed to any office in the gift of the Go-
vernment. This novel declaration effectually scared.the
large band of Irish place-hunters, which Ireland is never
without, from joining in the movement, and thus pre-
served it, as Mr. Daunt observed, from a good deal of
rascality. From the day that Lord Ebrington expressed
himself to the above effect, he lost irrevocably what little
popularity he had possessed with the national party.

The daring attempt of Lord Stanley, in 1840, to
repeal the Irish Reform Bill, will, doubtless, be in the
recollection of the Irish reader. Meetings were convened
to oppose this aggression ; and the speeches that remain
on record as having been delivered thereat, bear evidence
of the energy with which our people were determined to
resist it. On the 27th April, a great public demonstra-
tion of popular feeling against tlie " Bill for Disenfran-
chising the Irish Constituencies" took place in Dublin.
The attendance was highly respectable, but no peer came
forward, with the exception of Cloncurry. His lordship
commenced by saying that he had left the privacy of his
home in the hope of being able to promote the interests
of Ireland upon the present momentous occasion, and

472 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

nothing should ever induce him to refrain from raising
his voice in the defence of Irish rights, when assailed, as
they now were, in the most nefarious manner. It was
his lot to be acquainted more particularly with Irish
affairs when Lord Stanley was Secretary for Ireland.
His hostility towards Ireland was then suppressed, to some
extent ; but it had since blazed out in the shape of a bill,
which no man could read without being conscientiously
and determinedly opposed to. It would have the effect
of diminishing, in the most shameful manner, the people's
right of voting for their representatives. One reason
which induced him to come amongst his fellow-country-
men on this occasion was, lest it should be for one
moment imagined that he was capable, at any period of
his life, young or old, of deserting their interests. No :
he was determined to stand by them. No adamant could
be more immutable than his sincerity towards Ireland
[tremendous cheering] — nothing could be more difficult
than to make him swerve one iota from the path of
love for Ireland.

The following letter, chronologically in place here, is
one of the many addressed by his lordship to that able
penman and shrewd politician — the late Frederick Wil-
liam Conway: —

[No. 63.] LORD CLONCCRRY TO MR. CONWAY.

"Lyons, May 4, 1840. i

"Mr DEAR SIR,— * * We progress, though perhaps slowly, in'

the acquisition of our rights. * * If good laws cannot at once be carried]
their frequent discussion in parliament will so strengthen them in public
opinion as to insure speedy success. No honest man can doubt or disputel
the imperfections of the Reform Act. * * *

" In Church matters the appropriation clause should be again and again
brought forward. When it passes, the Saints may have some possible excuse
for attacking Maynooth — at present their demurrer is as foolish as it is dis-
honest. The safety of the Protestant minority in Ireland, and their comfort,
is mainly to be attributed to the moral and spiritual influence of the priests,
in number not far short of 3,000 men, devoted to their duties, learned, patient,
and benevolent. Is £10,000 per annum ill applied in the education (if these
men ? Should it not rather be £50,000, as recommended by Lord Angle-

[Here Lord C. adverted to his former battle with O'Connell, the wounds
incidental to which threatened at this time to re-open, like a cicatrix, afresh.]

il He allows that he differed from me on the subject of Repeal in 1826 ; he

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 473

does not accuse me of opposing him now, or at any other time ; on the con-
trary, nine times out of ten I approved of and supported his views. An
intimacy of very many years was weakened, not on account of any attack on
myself, but on those I loved and respected. He thought it better for the
cause of Ireland to have the co-operation, even of so humble an individual
as myself. A common friend, of the highest honour and good sense, conveyed
to me the assurance that the two names of the men I most respected should
be held sacred. There must be some mistake, or this promise has been
violated. But my presumption, in attempting to defend such highland noble
beings, deserved this check— Hand tali auxilio; but too much of self; we
have enemies enough, and should be united amongst ourselves. : * Your
faithful Servant, "CLOSCURRY."

We have already dwelt upon the quarrel between
Cloncurry and O'Connell in 1831. What were believed
at the time to have been the causes of it appear in
chapter XIV. of this work. It would seem, however,
from some passages in Mr. Fagan's life of his distinguished
kinsman, that othermotives,not generally known, impelled
him to the task of denunciating Lord Cloncurry. His
lordship stood high as a popular leader, and the idea of
any rivalship greatly irritated O'Connell. Mr. Fagan
observes that one of O'Connell's objects in 1831-2 was
to deprive Lord Cloncurry of his popularity — in
short, to demolish the pedestal which elevated the good
peer in the affections of his countrymen. In 1835,
through the agency mainly of the late William Murphy,
their broken bonds of friendship became re-united. But
in 1840, symptoms of returning feud were manifest.
O'Connell renewed an old attack on Randal Plunket,
afterwards Lord Dunsany, who stood in the relationship
of nephew to Lord Cloncurry. To his mother, Charlotte
Lawless, the reader has been already introduced.
Plunket professed fierce Orange principles, and drew
down upon himself repeatedly the indignation of O'Con-
nell. Lord Anglesey came in for a frequent dash of irony
from the same quarter. Such are the two parties whom
Lord Cloncurry in the foregoing letter refers to. O'Con-
nell's conduct hurt his lordship, and he told him so. From
this date until the latter's death, in 1847, no cordial co-
operation took place between them.

It is, however, incorrect to suppose that Lord Clon-
curry entertained the slightest feeling of resentment to-

474 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

wards O'Connell. The contrary is the fact. We will
shortly see, by a confidential letter from his lordship to
the Very Rev. Dr. Spratt, in 1852, that although he had!
sometimes occasion to find fault with O'Connell, he always
loved him in his heart. Lord Cloncurry's reason fotfi
remaining aloof from the Repeal Association may be
found in a private letter to the Rev. Mr. O'Malley, in 18471

In February, 1840, the Marquis of Kildare attained his
majority. The tenants on the Leinster property, desirous
of celebrating this event with becoming festivity, proposed
to entertain the noble young Geraldine at a banquet in/
Maynooth. This they did. Lord Cloncurry was present!
and after passing a high eulogium on the Leinster family!
drank the memory of the living as well as the dead
members of that sept.

The Leinster and Charlemont addresses to the peoples
of Great Britain, which appeared in the spring of 1840,
is an historical document of too much importance to be
overlooked by him who professes to outline the eventful
times of Lord Cloncurry. That Catholic EmancipatioxJ
was reluctantly conceded, never appeared more evident
than in 1840. The Tories gave vent to the most extraB
vagant ebullitions of party and sectarian rancour toward^
Ireland. This, from having been for some time suppressed!
now burst forth with the greater fury. Because a few RomaJ
Catholics had been appointed to office, nothing could exl
ceed the indignation which they manifested. EnglisM
prejudices that had long been dead, they endeavoured tol
reanimate. Since 1780 the no-Popery howl was nevefl
at a greater height. If the fanatics of England had non
Lord George Gordon to head them at this juncture, the™
at all events possessed a substitute in the pen-on of Edward
Lord Stanley. Men blinded by ignorance and pre-
judice were led on by this young nobleman and his asso«
ciates to wage a wicked crusade against the liberties of
Ireland. The Duke of Leinster and Lord Charlemont
possessed not only hereditary names but hereditary repu-
tations, and on this occasion they nobly came forward
from that retirement which they loved, to perform a sacred
duty to their country. With Lord Charlemont and the

CLONCURKY AND HIS TIMES. 475

Geraldine Lord Cloncurry cordially co-operated. By
voice, action, and example, the noble trio gave an impetus
to that cause with which their public lives were ever
identified. The document appeared in all the journals of
;he time, and began as follows: — " The efforts which have
late been made in England to revive exploded prejudices,
and to raise an outcry against her Majesty's Government,
because in some instances Roman Catholics as well as Pro-
testants have been appointed to office, appear to us so unjust
ind mischievous in their effects on the connexion between
re at Britain and Ireland, as to impel us to the step we
take in addressing ourselves to you."

The document then went on to say that according to
;he last census the population of Ireland amounted to
ight millions, of which a million and a half were Pro-
estants of all denominations, and six millions and a half
oman Catholics. It drew an able picture of the evil
onsequences of sectarian strife, and of the monstrous
njustice of intolerant domination. In conclusion, the
ubscribers declared it to be their bounden duty to oppose
e continuance of any Administration drawing aid from
uch poisoned sources as would attempt to inflict political
xclusion on any class of men on account of their religious
pinions, or which would desire to withhold from the
.rish Catholics their fair portion of those honours and
jmoluments of the State which, while they share its duties
md its burdens, they are entitled alike in law and in
ustice to enjoy, on terms of perfect equality with all
)tlier classes of their fellow-subjects. A list of signatures
bllovved, which, for respectability and extent, was alto-
•ether unparalleled. The dignified address, and the
lense column of names which formed into line behind
t, struck terror and dismay into many an " ascendant"
art. The signatures comprised those of seventy peers
d sons of peers, thirty baronets, fifty-six members of
e Lower House, exclusive of those in office and absent
in England, sixty-five lieutenants or deputy-lieutenants
if counties, 350 magistrates, 450 members of the learned
rofessions, 1,000 merchants, twenty-six dignitaries of
Catholic Church, and a large body of clergymen of
ivery religious persuasion, including in all between three

476 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

and four thcmsand names of the highest rank, the greatest
influence, and the most extensive wealth and property in!
Ireland.

In August, 1841, a general feeling pervaded the Tory
Lords of want of confidence in ministers, because of theii
recent policy in respect to the corn-law question. An excii^
ing debate, and adivision, ensued. Some were forcondemn;
ing the ministry, and addressing Sir Robert Peel in
complimentary language. Lord Cloncurry published a
protest. He had many reasons for declining to append hil
name to this address; amongst others, " because that pan
of the policy of those ministers to which such condemnajj
tion most pointedly applies has been merely an endeavouil
upon their parts practically to enforce the enlightened
and intelligible principle, that it is more just and wise^
with a view to the provision of a sufficient publili
revenue, to remove restrictions upon commerce, and thul
extend its operation, than to perpetuate monopolies, and
increase taxation." Adverting to the political par
from which successors to the ministry in power must, a
ejected, be chosen, his lordship went on to say: — " Ba
cause that political party has, either by the actual enforcaj
ment, or the constant attempt to enforce its own vicioul
principles of Government, made itself justly odious to tha
large majority of the Irish people. Whatever may be
the temporary professions of an Administration, composeii
of members of that party, by the Roman Catholics o|
Ireland it can only be regarded as a Government of theii
inveterate enemies, who, to the very last, approved and
defended the iniquities of the penal code, and who, since
its extorted repeal, have been foremost in every attempt
to curtail their social and political privileges. TnJ
Catholics must feel, if for no other reason, that the party
which insulted, when it could not injure, will be sure tfg
injure whenever it can."

It was in the spring of this year that Lord Cloncurry
expressed to John Hogan, the eminent Irish sculptor,
his intention of presenting the Dublin Library Society
(of which he had been for many years President) with
some substantial mark of his esteem. He gave Mr. Hogan,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 477

n the first instance, a hint of what he wished, and after
,hat left everything to his judgment and good taste.

Hogan went to work, and speedily moulded to his
satisfaction the rough sketch of that magnificent piece

statuary which excited so much enthusiasm at the
rish Exhibition of 1853, and which, with his permission,
has been lithographed by Forster, of Dublin, for a frontis-
iece to this volume. The original " group" is one of
ogan's sublimest conceptions, and every lover of art,
nd every admirer of Lord Cloncurry, should see it and
tudy it. The drawing, we regret to say, conveys but
i slight idea of its beauties.

Hogan, at this period, prosecuted his studies and his
mdertakings at Rome. Surrounded by the masterpieces
f Niccolo Fisano, Bandanelli, Canova, Ricci, and Tor-
ettii, he hourly improved himself; and that native genius,
phich was born to immortalize him, increased, if possible,
a strength and vigour. Immediately after giving Hogan
he outline hint alluded to, Lord Cloncurry left Rome
,nd proceeded to Naples, from whence he communicated
iy letter with Mr. Hogan on the 8th March.

0. 64.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JOHN HOGAN, ESQ., MEMBER OF THE
INSTITUTE OF THE PANTHEON, AT ROME.

" Vfttoria Hotel, Naples, 8th March, 1841.

" DEAR SIR, — My return to Rome depending entirely on circumstances,
will thank you to let me know whether you have been able to pick up the
,tues for which I was commissioned by my friend, Mr. Curran. * *
" With respect to the statue for the Dublin Library Society, please send
le a sketch, and a word as to probable cost, that 1 may consider and deter-
nine. I shall stay here three weeks, and then return to Rome, or go by
ea to England, as the business of Ireland in Parliament may require.
" Dear Sir, your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

Mr. Hogan, in reply, said: — "Gladly would I send your

ordship an outline as desired, but a sculptor can give no

dea as to his intention on paper. One glance at the

•ough sketch in clay of the round figure would be worth

"ty outlines." To this his lordship replied, in a letter

ted March 20th: — " I hope to be in Rome shortly, and
hall take an early day to call on you. We shall have
o shuffling in my commission, if I like the model."

478 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

This appears to have been a satirical allusion to th(
silence with which the Doyle Committee treated Mr
Hogan's application for part payment.

Lord Cloncurry soon arrived in Rome, saw the model
and was so well pleased with it, that, in addition to thi
sum which his lordship engaged to pay fbr its execution
he handed Mr. Hogan a free gift of fifty dollars.

In May the good peer left Rome, and proceeded i
Paris. Previous to his departure, however, he conj
missioned Mr. Hogan to take an accurate model of Lad]
Cloncurry's foot (which was perhaps one of the inoJ
exquisitely symmetrical that ever graced a woman's form]
and execute it in white Carrara marble. A touch™
allusion to this relic, on her death, two months aftel
wards, will be found in a succeeding communication
From Paris his lordship wrote the following letter: — j

[No. 65.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. HOGAN.

"Paris, May 26, 1841J

" DEAR SIR, — Since I left Rome, I have observed some sitting figures!
much genius and beauty, but they were of men — as Rousseau, at GeueV
and different senators at the two Chambers in this city.

" Poor Hibernia cannot be placed quite so much at her ease as Agrippim
but I am certain you will do all that is possible in her favour. If you con
tinue in the opinion of giving her a few books, let them be Boyle, Sw«
Goldsmith, and Moore. You know that all my reliance is on your gooj
taste, judgment, and skill

" I will thank you for a few lines, directed to Rathcool, Ireland. PJ

inquire and let me know how Lady C does, as also Colonel and Ma

C 11. * * *

" I expect to be in London the 5th June, and shall soon proceed to IrelaJ
The heat here is very great and inconvenient, provisions dear and bad. j
" Dear Sir, very truly yours,

" CLONCURRY.™

Soon after the date of the above letter, Lady Cloif
curry, whilst present at a concert in London, suddena
felt the chill of death steal over her, and had bareS
time to return home to die. Lord Cloncurry, througho^
a long life, idolized her as a deity.

[NO. 66.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. HOGAN.

"London, 19tft August, 1841. '

" DEAR SIR, — I enclose to you an old coin with the Irish harp upon it
Ireland 1 have left for a time, to attend Parliament ; but I shall be back ii

CLONCURBY AND HIS TI3IES. 479

e to receive you and your work, which, somehow or other, is already
ken of in that poor but lovely country.

' I hope you have kept the model you took of the foot for me. It will be
of the few things I shall now value in this world. How true it is, that
,he midst of life, of health, and of happiness, we are in death. * * *
" Your faithful Servant,

" CLONCUKRY.

'P.S. — -In packing the statue, pray enclose a pair of the largest polished
nan ox horns, for which I shall pay, with thanks."

B. 67.] LOKD CLONCUKRY TO MR. HOGAN.

"London, September llth, 1841.

' MY DEAR SIR, — I return to Ireland next week, to prepare a proper site
poor Hibernia. Before g"ing, I write to say that I leave money with my
ikers, Paget, Bainbridge and Co., to meet your drafts. If you happen to
my respected friend, Father Esmonde, give my best compliments, and
him I have lately seen his brother* and Mrs. L. ; both quite well.

' I sent to Mrs. P n and Mrs. Colonel C— — specimens of Irish

inet, which I hope have arrived safe. If you know of any person going
Naples, pray get him to inquire of Messrs. Turner, the bankers, after a
•eel of tiles I bought from Guistiniai for my dairy, and which were to have
m forwarded by them to Dublin.

'This change of ministry, greatly and justly lamented in Ireland, has had
i good effect of uniting all the Liberals of every shade and of every class,
magnificent dinner given to Lord Morpeth gave an opportunity for this
st desirable demonstration of public opinion. — Yours truly,

"C.
" II Signer Hogan, Scultore Irlandese, a Roma."

On the question as to whether the Constitution of
unaica ought to be suspended in consequence of the
arming differences which had arisen between its Gover-
>r and Legislature, Lord Melbourne's ministry were
jfeated, and Sir Robert Peel became Premier. He
>eedily arranged the Cabinet, but much to his astonish-
;nt her Majesty refused, in the most decided manner,
part with two Whig ladies of her household — the
archioness of Nonnanby and the sister of Lord Mor-
th, the popular Irish Secretary. Sir Robert Peel felt
newhat nettled at the refusal, and observed, that as he
ither possessed, nor could obtain, the full confidence of
3 Crown, without which it was vain to hope he could
er, as Premier, manage public affairs, he saw no other

* The Right Hon. Sir Thomas Esmonde, Bart.

480 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

course open to him but at once to tender his resignation
to her Majesty.

Accordingly, Lord Melbourne was, for the third time,
installed as Prime Minister. Sir Robert, however, la^
in ambush, determined to issue forth and eject him whefl
ever an opportunity presented. In September, 1841J
the Baronet took advantage of the convulsing agitation
which then prevailed in reference to the contemplate*
admission of all foreign corn into the British markets, ti
move a resolution of want of confidence in ministers]
This was carried by the overwhelming majority of o
solitary vote, and Sir Robert Peel once more assum
the reins of Government. Earl de Grey, as Vicero
proceeded to Dublin, accompanied by his Secret;
Viscount Elliot, now Earl of St. Germans, and Lo;
Lieutenant of Ireland.

The triumph of Orangeland at the appointment
Earl de Grey knew no bounds. His Excellency w
notorious partisan of the Ernest-of- Hanover-school,
he beheld with complacency the rejoicings in his favo
On his arrival, a " Grand Command Night" was
nounced at the Theatre. We remember having
companied some friends to see the spectacle. As a chi
the scene left an indelible impression upon our mi:
We were paralyzed with dismay at the Orange turn'
which shook the building. We had never before h
the Kentish fire. Every seat in the pit was occupied
a Conservative partisan. This, we imagine, must h
been a previously concerted arrangement, for, from
hour of four o'clock that evening, a dense crowd I
" true blues" was observed congregated around tfl
doors. For one half second, from seven o'clock unt3
midnight, the thunder never flagged in its deafeniitf
intensity. One of the most exquisite of Shakspeardl
compositions, " As you like it," was the play, and dm
of the most laughable of modern farces, " The Lotteij
Ticket," the afterpiece. So deafening was the din, thffl
not one word of either drama found its way to any othei
ears than those of the ever-watchful prompter, or, per-
haps, the actors themselves. Lord de Grey neither carec

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 481

[for Shakspeare nor for Coleman. A smile of dignified

[complacency irradiated his countenance, and a perpetual

Jbo\v of gratitude encouraged the rioters.

The dinner to Lord Morpeth, alluded to by his lord-

Iship, was certainly a brilliant affair. Three hundred of
lis admirers decided upon entertaining him inDewsbury ;
Greorge Roe and Carew O'Dwyer, Esqrs., were the secre-
taries. They addressed invitations to many individuals
whose politics were known to have a liberal tendency.
Lord Cloncurry's name was not the last on their list.

[No. 68.] " Worthing, 4th Sept, 1841.

" GENTLEMEN, — Your favour of the 16th nit., following me in my pil-
grimage, only overtook me yesterday. Alas ! I cannot have the honour
personally to join in the tribute of respect to the excellent and admirable
ruest.

" The knowing ones of Yorkshire have played a losing game in rejecting
Lord Morpeth. They seem to have forgot their former losses from backing
;he Tories against justice and liberty in America and in France, incurring
;hereby a debt of 800 millions, and planting in the hearts of those nations
deep feeling of hostility ever ready to break forth. Will the new war
n favour of aristocratic monopoly be more successful ? I hope not, though
h>m us (Irish) they cannot take bread, for we have it not. They will,
lowever, endeavour to rob us of the right of conscience, and of the privilege
at representation. But fear not, our cause is founded on justice and on
ruth — it is the cause of humanity, of virtue, and of her Majesty, God bless
tier. " Your faithful Servant,

" CLONCCRBY."

The progress of the Repeal agitation Lord Cloncurry
chronicles in the following letters. He appears to have
considered the movement chimerical from the first.
Certain it is he never took any part in O'Connell's Her-
ulean agitation of 1842-3-4. But when the cecession
from Conciliation Hall, in 1846, filled the countenance
of every Repealer with dismay, he offered in a public
letter to join the national movement, if the scattered
elements of agitation could be induced to re-unite. Cf
this, however, anon.

[No. 69.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. HOGAN.

"Dublin, November 13th, 1841.

"My BEAK SIR, — I thank you, by anticipation, for your most kind atten-
tion as to the foot, for which I shall inquire from time to time of Mr. Sp^are.
&.bove you have a copy of my good friend John Finlay's rejoinder to your
letter di Corona. All th-.it I leave to your good taste and judgment. You

Y

482 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

know WE Irish are as proud as we are poor, and it is because we are poora
that we are ill-treated ; but that will, I hope, pass off.

" How is Lady C ? Her husband is in a mad-house. How is Father J

Esmond ?* \Ve had a bad and a wet summer, but now the weather is
delightful.

" The Repeal question gains ground daily amongst the people — the gentry!
alone adverse — the present Government unpopular to a great degree, an<u
doing little good ; but, on the whole, the situation of our people ameliorates!

daily, owing to their own spirit and sobriety, improved education andf ••

I have received the cases from Xaples, but, like those from Rome, the con-1
tents have suffered much from bad packing.

" My dear Sir, truly yours,

" 77 Slynor Hogan, Jrlandese, " CLONCUEBY. ]

24, Vicolo del Greci, Roma."

[No. 70.] " 69, Lowndes-squareJ. London, July 27th, 1842.

" DEAR SIR, — I have to thank you very much for the foot and the oxj
horns, which have arrived quite safe, and are very handsome. I hear fror
Mr. Grattan and others, who wintered in Rome, that you are getting 01
well, and that there are good hopes of Hibernia.

" I shall remain here about six weeks longer, after which I shall becom^
a wanderer, whether towards the Eternal City I cannot say, though I shoui
hope so.

" This country is in a state of very great distress and consequent agita-j
tion, of which nobody can foresee the end, but which all dread and deplor
Ireland, also, suffers, but comparatively less than England, and there is i
prospect of a most abundant harvest. I hope that his Holiness and
friends in Rome continue welL

" Very truly yours,

" CLONCUERY."

Tke Repeal movement rapidly gained ground; bi
Lord Cloncurry held aloof. Nay more, he left Irelai
altogether, and proceeded " alone wanderer," as he calle
himself, to the Continent. On the 26th of Deceml
1842, we find him addressing a letter to Mr. Hogan froi
No. 18, Rue de Rivoli, Paris, expressive of his uncertaint
as to whether he would wend his way towards the Et
nal City. It would also appear from this letter, that hi
lordship was now undecided about sending " Hibernia" tl
Ireland. The reason will be shortly evident.

During Lord Cloncurry's absence from Ireland, then
Repeal agitation had reached its highest point, and
threatened to fall like a mighty avalanche on those whdl

* Brother of the Right Hon. Sir Thomas Esmond, Bart., and son of Dr.
Esmond, whom the reader will remember as identified with the rebellion of
1798. See p. 183.

t The word is completely obliterated by damp.

J Lord Cloncurry's private residence in London.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 483

steeled their hearts against all concession. The entire
stock of the long disused machinery of the old Catholic
Association was reproduced, under the direction of O'Con-
nell, and, after due preparation, set in motion once more.
Repeal wardens were substituted for the old chapel war-
dens, Repeal Rent for the Catholic Tribute. An associa-
tion hardly less powerful was established. Simulta-
neous meetings were holden as before — processions, with
banners marched in military order and array. Mission-
ries went through the country to animate the lukewarm
— Pacificators followed in their wake, to preserve an im-
pulsive people from wrecking their cause on the breakers
of the law. No one, save him who possesses a most accu-
rate recollection of the eventful year '43, can form the
remotest conception of the intense state of excitement to
which the public mind was raised. O'Connell possessed
power which no other man was ever known before to
possess. He had but to say " strike !" and four millions
3f a brave, determined people would have struck. For
Irighteen months, those masses awaited, in anxiety and
•uspense, for the talismanic question — " Are you ready ?"
» answer " We are !" They fully expected that some
at struggle was at no distant day to take place. Illi-
;erate as they were, they knew that England was rarely
cnown to concede aught of value to Ireland, save from
ihe effects of force or fear. He never spoke but thousands
mng delighted on his words, and when with a coun-
ienance radiant with manly animation he would exclaim,
that he could not see why a man should not be able to
ight as well in a frieze coat as in a red,* it is impossible
;o describe the peal of enthusiasm and acclaim which
ent the air around him. The faintest hint to the people
ivas amply sufficient to act instantaneously as cause and
jffect. It is our full conviction, that had Daniel O'Con-
lell so willed it, he possessed sufficient authority, and

Whenever O'Connell gave expression to a spirit-stirring expression like
lis, he almost invariably so qualified it, in a subsequent one, as to deprive it
'all admixture of treason. The people were always told in conclusion to
turn home peaceably, and that the man who committed a crime gave
rength to the enemy.

484 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

sufficient numbers at his disposal, to have swept, almost!
bloodlessly, the island clear. Certes, equal popularity!
will never again be gained by Irishman, or equal poweii
wielded.

There cannot be a doubt, that much greater likelihood
appeared to exist in 1843, that Repeal would be triuml
phantly extorted, than was the case with Emancipation
at a similar stage of the proceedings. The weekly
Catholic Rent, at its highest pitch, never approaches
anything like the amount of the Repeal Rent in 184«
and 1844. At one time £2,000 a- week was considered
the average sum. In 1828, defiant as was the posturJ
assumed by Ireland, no one ventured to suggest the prc
priety of holding monster meetings. In 1843, however]
more determination existed, and seven hundred thousanc
men, from every quarter of Ireland, assembled on the sit
of the Battle of Tara.

Lord De Grey having received due instructioi
from his Cabinet, at length decided upon arrest
ing O'Connell, and delivering him up to the hands
justice. It was a bold stroke, and few Lord Lieutenant
would have ventured to make it. Warrants were issuec
and the Liberator and seven of his associates found thei
selves, one fine morning, in the grasp of the law.

Of all charges, the most extravagant and barefac
was brought by the Attorney-General against hii
O'Connell was accused of conspiracy, a crime of whic
he scorned to be thought capable. In his agitation fq
Repeal, everything was " above-board." He struggled
by moral force alone, to achieve the restoration of 01
legislative independence. " I did so in the open day]
said O'Connell, "in presence of the Government, in pr
sence of the magistrates — nothing was secret, hidden,
concealed." Yet, on this absurd charge he was founJ
guilty, by a packed jury and partisan judges. WitH
unblushing sang froid, they sentenced him to one yearn
imprisonment, in Bridewell, and imposed a personal fine
of £2,000.

Men were struck dumb at the unexpected issue of the
prosecution. Public opinion condemned the trial as a

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 485

huge mockery, from beginning to end. The House of
Lords was appealed to, on the plea of a Writ of Error.
Lords Campbell, Denman, and others of the highest judi-
cial station in the land, discussed the propriety of the
recent decision. Postponements, however took place, and
not until O'Connell had undergone four months' incarce-
ration, was that celebrated verdict pronounced in the
British House of Lords, which contemptuously set aside
the decision of a Dublin jury, and the sentence of a Dub-
lin Judge. " If such practices," exclaimed Lord Denman,
" as have taken place in the present instance, in Ireland,

ihall continue, the trial by jury will become a mockery,
delusion, and a snare. On these grounds, I would re-

erse the judgment !"

Great was the triumph at the liberation of O'Connell.
Nothing was thought about but festivity,, processions,
triumphal cars, joy bells, sky rockets, bonfires, banners,
and bands. Men who were never Repealers before, an-
nounced themselves from that moment converts to the
cause. Everybody, save the Orange faction, seemed to
participate in the jubilee. The almost entire neighbour-
hood of Britain-street was illuminated. In Dominick-
street, however, but a partial illumination was observable.
Amongst the few houses lighted up none was more con-

picuous than that of the Duke of Leinster. " Every
window," observed a journal of the day, " was brilliantly
illuminated, thus giving evidence, that the love of Ireland,
which has always characterized the Geraldines, still glows
in the breast of the present noble representative of this
ancient family." Lord Cloncurry participated in the ge-
neral feeling of triumph and jubilee. He suggested to

is old friend, the Rev. Dr. Ennis, of Booterstown, that a
.dsome jet d'eav, or fountain, should be at once erected
i the Black Rock, which, in addition to celebrating the

iriumph of truth and justice over fraud and venality,
Would henceforward prove an ornament to the village,

,nd an important convenience to the humbler portion of
e inhabitants. His lordship offered a munificent sum
wards liquidating the outlay, if his wealthy neighbours
ould only meet him half way in the matter. "From this

486 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

day forward," wrote his lordship, " we should all join!
heart and hand in a generous brotherhood of affection, and!
oblivious of the prejudices of caste and religion, seek]
for the regeneration of our common country."

O'Connell once more breathed the fresh air of liberty,!
but the object, nevertheless, of Lord De Grey was gained.!
During his imprisonment, the Repeal agitation, from
having lost its Agitator, drooped. For, at least, two!
months previous to his liberation, the flame of excitement!
had flickered, and sunk. Within the walls of Richmond!
Bridewell matters were no better. The spirit of O'Con^
nell had broken in twain. He left his dungeon the mora
skeleton of him who entered it. Softening of the brain
had set in, and to its insidious efforts to slay body and in
tellect, coupled with the gloom of political disappointment
he, at length, succumbed in less than three years after.*

At the moment of O'ConnelFs arrest in Dublin, Lore
Cloncurry was in the city of Versailles. His eye, how
ever, still rested on Irish interests, and Irish affairs gene*
rally. He read the sworn informations against O'Connell
and his brother conspirators, and before the commencemen
of their trials, published the following letter. He had bu
an indifferent opinion of the ruling Administration, and
expressed his fears, lest the law officers of its appointmenJ
should not conduct the prosecution with justice and im«
partiality. " Time," he says, "will show." And so it did :-^

[No. 71.] TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING HERALD.

" Versailles, October 25, 1843.

" SIR, — In your paper of the 21st, you set forth the advantages a porsor
accused of sedition or libel, in Ireland, has over a person similarly circunfr
stanced in France. Few persons will dispute the accuracy of your statement
or yield unwilling praise to the beauties of the British constitution, as thto
retlcally extended to Ireland.

" But, Sir, what was the practice in Ireland ? When, before the time
Perrin, and the lamented O'Loghlen, was an unpacked and impartial jurj
heard of, when the Crown was the prosecutor? Was not that a?gis of free
dom, that palladium of liberty, converted into the direct engine of oppression
when a Catholic was a party ? For the last ten or dozen years impartia
juries have been first known in Ireland, with some exceptions in the North
and the people, accordingly, began to have a respect for the law. But cai

* The reader is referred to the Appendix, where some extracts from Di
I.acour's paper on the/w«< mortem examination of O'Connell appear.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 487

the same be expected from the present Government, and with officers of their
appointment?

" In the case of Mr. O'Connell, and others, do the Government themselves
imajrme that an impartial jury will convict, on the sworn informations as
published in the newspapers. There may, however, be other and stronger
evidence : time will show. * * * *

" Your obedient Sen-ant,

" CLOXCUKUY."

For a considerable time previous to the State prosecu-
tions of 1843, the deadliest rancour pervaded all sections
of the Tory party against anything, or anybody, con-
nected directly or indirectly with the Repeal movement.
Through the medium of their organs — the Conservative
press — they gave expression to the impotent malice that
sought for utterance. Some clothed their odious and
deformed sentiments in the garb of poetry. One editor,
who approved of the goading policy so successfully worked
out under the Irish rule of John Lord Camden, sang forth
his specifics for Ireland's grievances in the following
words. They appeared in the Mail, Warder, and Packet,
during the first week of November, 1843: —

" These, these, are the secrets

Of peace in the laud —
The scourge for the back,

For the forehead the brand ;
The chain for the neck,

And the gyves for the heel,
Till the SCAFFOLD lets loose

The base blood of Repeal !"

The glee of Lord de Grey, at having placed the
Lion Agitator in chains, knew no bounds. He was heard
to boast of having been the first Viceroy who succeeded
in caging the wary old bird. This proceeding may be
said to have given the finish to that unpopularity which
had now approached a state of the fiercest intensity.
Lord de Grey found himself, not in hot water, but in
boiling water. Indeed, it appeared to some as if his
Excellency desired to make himself as unpopular as
possible. Shortly after his arrival the Mendicity Institu-
tion made their accustomed Christmas application for
some benevolent assistance, which it was usual with
Viceroys to award. Instead of sending, as some of his

438 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

predecessors had done, half a dozen oxen for the use of
the poor, he forwarded, with much ostentation, a — SHIN
OF BEEF ! Ireland never forgot this to him, and ever
afterwards he went by the uncomplimentary soubriquet
of "Shin of Beef de Bray."

Having lodged O'Connell in Richmond Bridewell, his
Excellency soon found that the indignation of the country
had become too hot and too general to permit him much
longer to enjoy his Viceregal salary in comfort. Exe-
crated, he left the land as Lord Camden had done before
him. The streets through which he passed were lined
with military. The people yelled contempt at him. The
dragoons pointed to their sabres, and scowled behind
their beards. All to no effect, however; the indignation
of the populace increased. At Westland-row, just as the
noble Earl was alighting from his carriage, a laughable
incident occurred. " Three athletic young men," ob-
serves a journal of the day, " were seen rounding the
corner of Brunswick-street, each armed with the leanest
possible sldn of beef. Never did the priests of Juno, in
olden times, carry offerings to the goddess with more
solemnity than that with which these modern hero
worshippers were distinguished as they slowly wended
their way to the terminus, along the dense array of war-
like dragoons, to present the consecrated shins." The
guards could hold their countenances no longer, and
actually shook upon their saddles with laughter. Thus
terminated the Viceroyalty of Earl de Grey.

But, in the mean time, we had well-nigh forgot to
chronicle a very daring and important anti-Repeal pro-
ceeding resorted to by Earl De Grey, previous to either
his arrest or trial of O'Connell. We allude to the cele-
brated Viceregal proclamation forbidding an advertised
monster meeting to take place on Conquer Hill, Clon-
tarf, the site of Brian Boroihme's successful efforts to
rid the old land of Danish domination. Seven hundred
thousand men had already assembled on Tara Hill. The
Clontarf meeting promised, in point of actual numbers, to
exceed it. The harvest had been reaped — the meadows
had been mown — both had been drawn home. The

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 481)

peasantry had now no engagements of importance to
attend to. O'Connell looked forward to his Clontarf
meeting as the Repeal demonstration par excellence,
which must inevitably hurry ministerial determination to
the highest point of tension; and, unable to hold out
longer against so great an engine of strength, suddenly
snap, as was the case in 1829. Lord De Grey arrived
at the determination of smothering in blood the struggles
and the cries for Repeal of the Union. We make this
startling allegation advisedly and without metaphor. The
Clontarf meeting was advertised for a fortnight. Thou-
sands, from every quarter of Ireland, had arranged to be
present. Men were on their way to it, and processions
in full march, when the De Grey proclamation, for-
bidding the meeting, appeared. This was to have taken
place on Sunday, October 8. The proclamation appeared
so late on the afternoon of Saturday, the 7th inst., that it
was quite impossible the knowledge of its existence could
have been communicated in time through the usual
official channels, or by post, to the thousands who in-
tended to swell the ranks at Clontarf. Lord De Grey's
proclamation " strictly cautioned and forewarned all
persons whatsoever, that they do abstain from attendance
at said meeting." What was to be done ? Tom Steele,
as we have heard him repeatedly say, mounted his horse,
and galloped to the distance of eighty miles into the
•country, beseeching the people to remain at home, and
not to put themselves in collision with the Queen's forces.
O'Connell drew up a manifesto exhorting the people to
the same effect ; but, by the time it came from the hands
of the printer, night-fall had set in. Notwithstanding
these disadvantages, however, thousands of copies were
extensively circulated amongst the peasantry, and with
much better success than many shrewd intellects at first
•expected. The intelligence spread like wildfire, the
people had got the habit of discipline, and a com-
paratively small number flocked into Dublin. At the
Lucan cross roads, two venerable priests, bare-headed and
vested, in order, doubtless, to render their exhortations
•the more impressive, stood, as we have heard, conjuring

y 2

490 CLONCtTRRY AND HIS TIMES.

the people to return with all expedition to their
homes.

At Clontarf every warlike preparation was made by
Earl de Grey to resist an assemblage of unarmed people.
With the exception of a reserve corps stationed in Aid-
borough House, on the Clontarf road, the entire military
force of Dublin was drawn up by ten o'clock, A.M., on
Conquer Hill. The canon and mortars at the Pigeon
House were turned so as to sweep the road clear between
the metropolis and Clontarf. Lord Cardigan commanded
the cavalry, General Fane the infantry, and Colonel
Higgins the horse artillery. The guard usually mounted
at the Bank, Castle, and other public edifices, was
doubled. The Royal Barracks presented an almost im-
pregnable aspect, and every arrangement was made at
the Magazine in the Park, and the Martello Towers com-
manding the bay, to co-operate, in case of need, with the
Pigeon House guns.

On the afternoon of the day previous to the projected
collision at Clontarf, a Privy Council assembled in
Dublin Castle. Lord Cloncurry, surmising the inten-
tions of Earl de Grey, attended. With all the energy
of which he was master, he insisted upon ample notice
being given, even at that late hour, of Lord de Grey'.^
determination to oppose, with grape and canister, an
assemblage of the people. His lordship's influence pro-
duced the desired effect, and at half-past three o'clock a
proclamation, drawn up, as O'Connell said, " in loose
and inaccurate terms," was issued. The good peer pub-
lished a forcible letter soon after, wherein he pronounced
Earl de Grey's coup d'etat to have been " A PROJECTED
MASSACRE."* Verily, Ireland owes much to Lord Clon-
curry.

i

* Even in England Lord de Grey's unconstitutional measures towards
Ireland met with reprobation. When the news of the proclamation reached
London, several able articles appeared. One, in that influential journal, the
Morning Chronicle, begun as follows : — " Ministers have at length determined
to act in Ireland. It is not their fault if even while we write the streets of
Dublin are not deluged with blood. The efforts of Mr. O'Connell, of the
popular leaders, and the priests, may have succeeded in preventing an out-
break ; but, we repeat, it will have been no fault of the Irish Government

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 491

We have latterly lost sight of Lord Cloncurry's patriotic
exertions in the House of Peers. Whenever any question
affecting Irish interests came upon the tapis, he was sure
to be at his post, and both by voice and vote lending
important service to fallen Ireland. The Parliamentary
speeches which remain on record as having been delivered
by his lordship are full of cogency, sound sense, and
patriotism. His old and favourite project for the recla-
mation of Irish bogs and waste lands he frequently
pressed under the attention of the Legislature. In May,
1844, we find Lord Cloncurry reminding them that many
years before the Royal Commissioners suggested a method
of draining nearly 8,000,000 acres of good Irish soil,
now, unfortunately, left unproductive. " The sum of
money yearly abstracted from Ireland," said his lordship,
" in absentee rents, does not fall short of £6,000,000.
An immense portion of its floating capital is also drawn
from the country in the shape of taxes. If part of this
amount were restored to the country, for the employment
of the population in the construction of public works, it
would be amply repaid to England, and would, moreover,
have the effect of keeping the people from listening to
political agitators. * It has hitherto been the policy

of England to discourage every attempt at domestic
industry in Ireland. Her woollen manufactures have
been entirely destroyed, and the exportation of wool
strictly prohibited. Lord Cloncurry's exhortations did
not meet with much attention. Nothing daunted, how-
ever, he continued for years after to preach the necessity
of drainage. Many members approved of his views, and
amongst the number Mr. Osborne, as we can easily col-
lect from the following little paragraph in the report of
the Parliamentary proceedings on April 3, 1848 : — " Mr.
Osborne gave notice that on Monday next he should

if the soldiery and the people have not been already brought into deadly
conflict."

A verbose article in the Quarterly Review (from the pen, it was said, of
an illustrious ex-senator) protested against Irish nationality as the symptom
of a fever which stood in need of blood-letting, and accordingly defended most
vehemently the probable phlebotomy of Clontarf.

492 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

move for the appointment of a Select Committee to in-
quire into the subject of waste lands in Ireland."

In August, 1844, the Irish Precursor petition, signed
by eight peers, was laid before Parliament. Lords
Leinster, Miltown, Gosford, Meath, Arran, Leitrim,
Charlemont, and Anglesey, conjured the Government to
consider and redress the chief grievances of Ireland.
They complained that a universal spirit of discontent
pervaded the people, and that soldiers and steam frigates
were the only response to their murmurs. They justified
the existence of that discontent from the conduct of the
Legislature. They pronounced it to be unjust that Ire-
land should have few, and England many electors ; and
that while the latter with fifteen millions had 471 repre-
sentatives, Ireland writh eight millions possessed but 105.
They also stigmatized as unjust, that the Irish corporate
franchise should be, in a country so poor, considerably
higher than in wealthy England; that the religion of
the few should be dominant, and that the Catholics
should be, with few exceptions, excluded from the higher
offices of the law and the state.

The petition was passed by in silent scorn by the 471
Members of the British Parliament. Well Lord Clon-
curry knew, when his noble friends went to the trouble
of drawing up this document, that insult, and not con-
cession, would be the response. The experience of
seventy years had taught him what to expect from
English generosity. He was not the man to brook con-
tjrnpt, and therefore refused to append his name to the
memorial.

On the return of Lord Cloncurry from the Continent,
in 1844, he took an active part in remodelling the Royal
Agricultural Society of Ireland. In August, the great
cattle show was held, and at its conclusion, the banquet.
The company present on the latter occasion were com-
puted at 900 persons. The Duke of Leinster, in his
presidential capacity, occupied the chair. On his left
sat Lord Cloncurry, who, in the course of the evening,
proposed the toast, amidst loud cheers, of " The Agri-
cultural Improvement Society of Ireland, its noble Pre-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 493

si dent, and the hundred local Societies in connexion with
the central one."

Father Mathew, after having conferred on Ireland the
most important service that it was possible to render it,
found himself, in 1844, overwhelmed with pecuniary
difficulties. Drunkenness was a demon that had long
possessed his country; and, through the agency of God,
he completely drove it out.* Whilst he fought the good
fight against its debasing influence, Father Mathew made
sacrifices of health, time, and money, that few other men
would have had the spirit and the single-heartedness to
make. Innocent of worldly matters, lavish of expense in
the prosecution of his object, unconscious of all pecuniary
liability, confiding in those whom he ought rather to
mistrust, he looked neither to the right nor the left, but
followed enthusiastically his onward course. He acted
as an apostle sent from heaven to regenerate, and was
happy; he did not act according to the dictates of worldly
prudence, and was sorry. " The liabilities that oppressed
me," wrote the good man at this period to Dr. Hayden,
" were not the accumulation of many years, but incurred
amidst the excitement and enthusiasm of '39 and '40, the
two first blessed years of the sacred temperance move-
ment." An unavoidable expense attends, of course, every
great popular movement. During its existence, from
1839 to 1844, Father Mathew never received a single
shilling to defray it, with the exception of £100 from
the Marquis of Lansdowne. Other large sums were
offered him while in England, but he wished to act
independently, and refused them. We have heard, and
believe it, that Father Mathew's only creditors were the
medal manufacturers.

In October, 1844, Father Mathew reluctantly con-
sented to have his pecuniary difficulties made public by
the Ilev. Mr. Hincks. editor of the Cork Inquirer. The

* Can it be credited, that, when this holy movement had first advanced
into full activity of operation, many Protestants denounced it as " pro-
ceeding from the devil, and insulting to the majesty of God ?" They com-
pared it to the Trojan horse, within whose body a phalanx of enemies lay
concealed. The Kev. Mr. Sewell, of Oxford, in an article on " Romanism,"
published in the Quarterly Revif.ic, asserted that murder was the ulterior
object of Father Mathew's teetotal organization.

494 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Irish are a grateful people; and it required little per-
suasion to induce them to open a fund for the relief of
their regenerator. Lord Cloncurry was the first Pro-
testant who forwarded his subscription. It was a cheque
for £50.

In the month of January following, the Duke of
Leinster, James Haughton, Esq. (the well-known Dublin
philanthropist), and the late Right Hon. Antony Blake,
expressed to Father Mathew their willingness to form a
committee, and endeavour, as practical, experienced men,
to put his deranged affairs in order, provided he con-
sented to place in their hands his private papers and
memoranda, for the purpose of having it ascertained
precisely how he stood in relation to his creditors.
Father Mathew, who appeared to think as if this pro-
posal indicated the existence of some suspicion, replied,
that nothing would induce him to let a single document
of his go before a committee for examination. He, how-
ever, thanked Mr. Haughton, as spokesman, warmly for
the kind and friendly manner in which his Grace and
others had come forward on the occasion.

Next morning, the Duke of Leinster, Mr. Blake, and
one or two others, assembled, by appointment, in the
study of Mr. Haughton's house. The latter at once
apprised his visitors of the substance of Father Mathew's
reply. The Duke of Leinster appeared surprised and
disappointed. " I will have nothing to say," exclaimed
that nobleman, seizing his hat and leaving the house,
" to any business involved in the slightest mystery."

Mr. Haughton, in the course of the evening, apprised
Lord Cloncurry, by letter (who took a lively interest in
the pending movement), of his Grace's observation relative
to it. The following is his answer, which, however
confidential it was at the time, may now, without scruple,
be given to the world: —

[No. 72.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JAMES HAUGHTON, ESQ.

["•Private.]

"Maretimo, January 17fA, 1845.

" MY DEAR SIR, — The view taken by the Duke of Leinster, at your house,
on Monday, of the Mathew affairs, is the same taken by Mr. Blake, myself,
and many other zealous friends of the good apostle whom I have had tho
pleasure to meet.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 495

" His Grace, though so much younger than I am, has, fortunately, a firm-
ness of character which I have never been able to attain, and without which,
in hi.s exalted station and most feeling heart, he never could make any dis-
tinction between the many tales of distress, whether true or false, with which
he is constantly assailed. At the same time, whilst I lament that Father
Mathew does not follow the course recommended by his Grace, and many
other sincere and munificent friends, I look upon the apostle as so mere a
child in mundane affairs, and so entirely absorbed in the duties of his hea-
venly mission, that I see the inutility, if not the indelicacy, of diverting his
attention to money accounts, and am most willing and anxious to fly to his
relief on his own terms.

" I am much afraid that there is an active party desirous to counteract
the temperance movement as a Catholic affair. The writings, in many papers,
look very like it.

" I lately saw in the report of the Adelaide Hospital, Bride-street, that
PROTESTANTS ALONE are to have the benefit of that charity, supported chiefly
by persons drawing their large incomes from the public of every persuasion.
How different from the conduct in St. Vincent's Hospital, Stephen's -green,
where the sisters of charity extend their Samaritan aid to sufferers of every
persuasion ! How long will religion, the foundation of all good, be perverted
in Ireland to the injury of our notfle and suffering people?
" Your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 73.] IX)BD CLONCURRY TO JAMES HAUGHTON, ESQ.

" Maretimo, 19th January, 1845.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I shall at any time attend a committee for the good
purpose of aiding temperance and its holy apostle. I should not wish to be
very prominent in this labour of mercy, my political conduct being distasteful
to many of the aristocracy or High Church party.

" I have the honour to be, my dear Sir, very faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY.

" P.S. — Many thanks for the newspapers. I admire and approve of the
Mechanics' Institution, and I believe was an early subscriber to it both in
Dublin and in Limerick. I endeavoured to imitate it by a Labourers' Insti-
tute at Lyons, which is productive of much good in that locality. ' Parvo si
licet componere magnis.'1 "

Lord Cloncurry considered that the Mathew money
poured in sluggishly enough, and it pained him to think
that there was not more gratitude in the country. Three
days after we find his lordship again addressing Mr.
Haughton. It is the late, not the present Lord Meath,
to whom he alludes in the following letter : —

[No. 74.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JAMES HAUGHTON, ESQ.

" Maretimo, January 22, 1845.

" MY DEAR SIR, — We want money for the good man. Most of the Li-
berals, at least of the old party, have subscribed. With them I have some

496 CLONCURRY AXD HIS TIMES.

influence. The aristocracy and Young Ireland mu«t, if possible, be called on
by those most active amongst them. I really fear my name would do more
harm than good ; but if the committee think otherwise, I am entirely at their
service. I do not believe there are a full dozen of peers who have as yet sub-
scribed. The outstanders would gladly say, — ' There is no account given iu,
and the committee put in their chair a man who has so often opposed us.'
Lord Cliarlemont or Lord Meath would be less obnoxious to the wealthy of
the High Church party. I ,*ay all this to show my fear of doing mischief, for
though I have passed the age of pride or ambition, I shall be really proud of
joining in this good work whenever or wh.-rever called upon. Give me two
days' notice and I shall obey your summons.

" Politics should have nothing to do in this case, and yet my name has for
sixty years been mixed up with the politics — stormy politics, of my unfortunate
and ill-treated country.

" My dear Sir, very faithfully yours, " CLONCURRY."

The only movement on the part of O'Connell between
his liberation and death, that may be said to have indi-
cated any of his old intrepidity of spirit, was the establish-
ment, in 1845, of the '82 Club. It was a sort of perpe-
tuation of the old Volunteer system. Each member
equipped himself in a suit of green and gold regimentals,
but eschewed, as a matter of course, the use of arms.
There existed considerable doubts at first as to whether
the organization could be legalized; but the opinion of
some of the greatest jurists in the land finally set that
question at rest. In the teeth of English defiance, of
scorn, and contumely, of bad reasonings and worse jokes,
the Eighty-two Club was at length declared inaugurated,
and on the 16th April, 1845, its first great meeting and sub-
sequent banquet were holden. The peal of thunderous ap-
plause that greeted the announcement of Lord Cloncurry's
accession to their ranks, will never be forgotten by those
who were present on that occasion. His lordship had been
for some years comparatively dead in politics. With the
Repeal agitation he entertained little sympathy. Ad-
vanced age, and domestic sorrows also, contributed to
hold him aloof. " We are glad," said the Nation, " of]
his accession, for his patriotism, his rank, and his reputa-
tion; but still more, because he is an old nationalist^
long estranged, but now restored to hope and exertion."

A great demonstration in favour of Repeal took place
at Dundalk on May 1st, and was characterized by much
of the zeal and enthusiasm which the people manifested

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 497

at the monster meetings of '43. At this banquet (for such
it was) O'Connell received complimentary addresses from
some of the most Orange districts of the North. The men
of Dcrry, Armagh, Dungannon, and Belfast, travelled
distances varying from twenty to seventy miles in order
to do homage unto the " the man of the people." Ban-
ners depended in gorgeous drapery from the galleries,
and displayed sentences of an unusually " Young Ireland"
nature. Amongst them were — " O'Neill and Sarsfield ;"
" Clontarf, Bealanath-a-buidhe, Dungannon, and Ben-
burb ;" " the besiegers driven from the walls of Limerick
by women, Aug. 1690, the maids and matrons of the
North are ready to emulate their example." On a shield
immediately over O'Connell's chair, some poetical lines,
commencing, " If again the sword we draw" attracted
general observation.

The secretaries of the dinner were desired to invite
Lord Cloncurry. He replied as follows : —

[No. 75.] "Maretimo, April 26th, 1845.

" GENTLEMEN, — I am truly grateful for the honour of your most kind
invitation to the banquet of the 1 st of May. To find myself amongst my
noble and much loved countrymen has ever been my greatest pride, and to
join them in wringing tardy justice, a most sacred duty. I feel and know
that its achievement is in rapid progress, and cannot long be withheld.

" But for the present I am forbid to encounter the excitement of a large
assembly or a heated room, and this alone forces me to decline many invita-
tions I would otherwise enjoy.

"I have the honour to be, with greatest respect, Gentlemen,
" Your obliged and faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

By a judicious stroke of policy, Sir Robert Peel and
his brethren of the Tory Cabinet lost a large portion of
their unpopularity by introducing, in May, 1845, their
celebrated bill for the endowment of Maynooth College.
Their object, almost avowedly, was to endeavour, by plac-
ing the Irish Catholic Church under a sense of pecuniary
obligation, to disconnect its priests from participating in
political agitation. O'Connell repeatedly declared that
without the co-operation of the hierarchy he could do
nothing, — that they were the life that animated the muscle
of his strength. The failure of Smith O'Brien's attempt

498 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

in 1848 to rouse the Tipperary peasantry to general insur-
rection, was directly attributable to priestly opposition.

After one of the fiercest efforts of resistance that was
ever yet offered to the passing of a bill, Maynooth gained
the day, and £30,000 per annum became its endowment.
From that day forward Sir Robert Peel occupied a much
higher position in Catholic estimation than ever he did
before. Men long identified with the democratic move-
ments of the country frankly admitted that their acerbity
to Toryism was considerably softened.

Lord Cloncurry had long entertained the opinion that the
training at Maynooth, and its general system of education,
were much too monastic, circumscribed, and austere. This he
considered as in a great measure attributable to its scarcity
of means. Since 1795, it was, no doubt, " the Royal
College of Maynooth ;" but nothing could be more un-
princely than the amount of the yearly grant. His lord-
ship once observed to the late Mr. Conway, that Great
Britain was bound, in common equity, to replace the
funds for the education of Irish Catholics which were
confiscated as British property during the French war.
The views of Lord Cloncurry on this subject will be
found in Letter 45. In 1835, Lord Cloncurry repeat-
edly pressed on the attention of the Melbourne Go-
vernment the propriety of additional grants to May-
nooth. Lord Holland, in a private letter to his lordship,
said that the recommendation quite took him by surprise,
as he thought that that project had failed long ago.
" However," added he, " your opinion is quite sufficient
to make inquiry and re-consideration advisable, and
Melbourne, and Mulgrave, and Morpeth shall all be
aware of it." So they were. Lord Melbourne, after
due deliberation, wrote to Lord Cloncurry, perfectly
agreed with him as to the undoubted legitimacy of
his views, but added, that he must be sufficiently aware
of the feelings of England to be persuaded that such a
proposition would fail in Parliament, and that the bring-
ing it forward would be of the utmost prejudice to the
Government.

What William Lamb (the Whig) timorously shrank

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 499

from doing, Robert Peel (the Tory) resolutely achieved.
He was pretty well execrated for it, no doubt, but then
the number of Catholic benedictions which descended on
his head more than counterbalanced that annoyance.
What is more, he partially succeeded in gaining his
object.

O'Connell, to the last, refused to compromise Repeal.
But some of the more moderate members of the Hall com-
menced, in the year 1845, a movement for a federal Par-
liament, which they considered England had not the
same insuperable objections to concede as unlimited, and
unconditional, legislative independence. They talked, in
glowing language, of the federal unions of antiquity, of the
Etrurian confederacy that whilom extended from the
Alps to the Tiber, of the JEolian and Achaean leagues,
and of the republics of the Boeotians and Lysians, which so
often formed the theme of Montesquieu's praise. Modern
examples were not overlooked. They descanted on the
federal principle so long established, with beneficial re-
sults, in Holland, Switzerland, and North America.

The tone of the English ministerial journals in re-
ference to the movement was not that of a defiant and
sneering nation, such as had arrayed itself in strong an-
tagonism against O'Connell's previous demand for a com-
plete Repeal. Ireland firmly believed for a time that
a federal parliament would be conceded. Some wise old
heads were of this opinion, too, and amongst them we
may particularize William Murphy of Dublin. When
the grave closed over him, in 1849, — when he left behind
him an honourable name and the largest private fortune
ever realized in Ireland, it became publicly known, for the
first time, that he had exerted the entire amount of his great
influence with Government to obtain for us the substantial
compromise of a periodical Parliament. A senate with
only municipal powers was no doubt a sorry substi-
tute for complete Repeal ; but then where were we to
look for the achievement of that measure, and federalism
was surely better than nothing.

During the nine years through which the Repeal As-
sociation lived, Lord Cloncurry, although a Repealer,

500 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

had little or no communication with it. Upon inquiry,
we find that the only letter ever addressed by him to the
secretary was in acknowledgment of a literary present,
which, by order of O'Connell, was forwarded to his lord-
ship. In 1845 the Association offered pecuniary prizes
for all essays on Repeal that should appear to them, on
examination, to be written with sterling ability. Many
were produced, but one bv Mr. M. J. Barry having eli-
cited most praise, a boon of one hundred sovereigns was
handed him. The second best emanated from the pen
of Michael Staunton. For this he received seventy
pounds. A careful selection from the essays was made,
and at the expense of the Repeal Association printed.
A handsome presentation copy having been sent to Lord
Cloncurry, he promptly acknowledged it in the following
words : —

[No. 76.] LORD CLONCURRr TO T. M. RAT, ESQ.

"Maretimo, Oct. IQth, 1845.

" DEAR SIR, — I beg you will thank the Loyal National Eepeal Associa-
tion in my name for the very handsome volume they have so kindly pre-
sented to me, assuring them that I will preserve it, as containing the most
ahle exposition of the wants, wishes, and just claims of the great body of my
countrymen, loved by me, if not wisely, at least full well.

" I have the honour to be, dear Sir, your obliged and faithful Servant,

" CLOXCURRY."

Meanwhile, Lord Cloncurry continued to encourage
every charitable institution, not only with his generous
donation, but by participating personally in their meetings
and demonstrations. The following' note is addresed
to the saintly proprietor of Olive Mount Institution, whose
exertions in restoring fallen innocence to peace and purity
could not be extolled too highly : —

[No. 77.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. DR. KIRBY.

" Maretimo^ July 21s£, 1846.

"VEi'.Y REV. SIR, — I was prevented from attending your festival on'
Sunday by the heavy rain which overtook me on the road, and gave me a
large dose of Father Mathew's favourite beverage,

" Your very faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY.''

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 501

It would appear that Lord Cloncuny about this period
entertained some serious notions of becoming a Benedict
for the third time. The lady, whose name we refrain
from mentioning, possessed more substantial attractions
than title or dowry. His lordship knew her long — but not
long enough to make her an old maid — and esteemed her
highly. In 184(5 this esteem merged into love, and
Lord Cloncurry made an offer of his hand and heart.

Miss accepted the proposal, and arrangements were

at once entered into for the speedy celebration of the
nuptials. At the eleventh hour, however, it transpired
that Georgiana, first Lady Cloncurry, was still living;
and, although a divorce in the Protestant Church is con-
sidered equal to a death, and no obstacle to subsequent
marriage, Roman Catholics sternly refuse to regard it in,

this light. Of the latter persuasion was Miss .

Horrified at the intelligence, she shrank from her engage-
ments with Lord Cloncurry, and, on religious grounds,
justified the step. Not having any personal knowledge,
however, of this transaction, we hesitate to vouch for
the accuracy of its details; but, from the reliable
nature of our authority, we should be sorry to disbelieve
them.

We now approach one of the saddest epochs in the
history of Ireland — the famine of 1847. In October,
1845, the alarming intelligence was circulated far and
wide that the entire potato crop of Ireland — the people's
only food — had become, by some mysterious means,
utterly destroyed ! The consternation produced by this
announcement baffles all description. Clear-sighted men,
like Lord Cloncurry, saw at a glance that famine was in-
evitable. But they did not give way to despair, or con-
sume precious time in unavailing lamentation. They
endeavoured to devise means to mitigate the evil, and
formed a committee for that purpose. On All-Hallows
Eve, instead of spending their time unprofitably in fes-
tivity at home, the Duke of Leinster, Lord Cloncurry,
Messrs. O'Connell, Grattan, and others, assembled in the
Music Hall for the purpose of considering the awful con-
dition of the potato crop, and to adopt such measures as

502 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

might be deemed advisable for averting the calamity that-
threatened them. Lord Cloncurry, alter describing the
fearful prevalence of the potato blight, of which he had
personal cognizance from having recently travelled through
the South of Ireland and the midland counties, observed,
that the crop of oats, at the present moment, happened
fortunately to be unusually abundant. He would at once
wait upon the Lord Lieutenant, and assure him that if
he did his duty in closing the ports, and stopping the dis-
tillation of spirits, there was yet ample provision to which
the people could have resource. They should not suffer
the corn to be sent to England, and for himself he would
say that he would give every farthing he possessed to
preserve the people. Lord Cloncurry observed, in conclu-
sion, that the periodical famine in Ireland could have been
prevented years ago, if his plan for the reclamation of
bog soil and waste land had been adopted. Six million
acres of it, according to an official return, existed.

A project more deeply rooted, or more strengthened
by conviction, never clung to human mind. Almost from
his youth Cloncurry sorrowed to behold his country pos-
sessing an expanse of waste and unproductive land, which
a little industry and a little enterprise would have long
since converted, and could yet convert, into golden ferti-
lity, and of course into a source of golden revenue. We
are enabled to assert without the fear of contradiction,
that many acres of this bog soil, which, previous to recla-
tion, was bought for one penny each and twenty years'
purchase, became, before the lapse of four years, value forJ
thirty shillings. And yet, Lord Cloncurry rarely gavej
expression to his views on this subject that he was not
accused of uttering Utopian theories ! It was Lord
Devon, if we mistake not, who, in answer to Lord Clon-j
curry, exclaimed in the House of Peers that the wastesl
and bogs of Ireland were not worth reclaiming.

On his return from the conference on All-Hallows Eve,4
his lordship wrote at considerable length, and privately,!
to Sir Robert Peel, stating the very perilous situation off
Ireland, and the fears generally prevalent amongst the
people. The Right Honourable Baronet replied that hes

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 503

had taken measures to mitigate the evil " by the importa-
tion of bread-stuffs."

Next morning Lord Cloncurry waited upon Mr. La-
bouchere, the Chief Secretary , and not only recommended
the cessation of distillation, but urged the necessity of
restricting the exportation of corn, as a measure essential
to the preservation of the people's lives. He produced,
as he said so, an old Act of Parliament which empowered
the Privy Council to effect these desiderata; but the
Secretary, with admirable sang froid, replied, that if the

ourse advised by Lord Cloncurry were pursued, the
Government would not keep office for eight-and-forty
hours. " If these be your sentiments, then," rejoined his
lordship, warmly, " the sooner you are all packed off,
bag and baggage, the better." The Russell Government
remained comfortably in office, and the people perished.
From that day Cloncurry never entered the Privy
Council.

Although verging on his eightieth year, and residing
several miles from Dublin, there was not a more active
member of the Famine Committee than Lord Cloncurry.
This body met twice a week, and Lord Cloncurry was
always at his post. On the 19th November he occupied
the chair, and assisted to draw up a long series of
resolutions. These went on to say, that they felt it an
imperative duty to discharge their consciences of all
responsibility regarding the approaching famine and
pestilence, which could be obviated only by the most
prompt and efficacious measures for procuring food and
employment for the people ; that they arraigned in the
strongest terms the culpable conduct of the Administration
in refusing to adopt any efficacious measures for alleviating
die existing calamity, and in keeping the ports closed
against the importation of foreign provisions ; thus, either
abdicating their duty to the people or their sovereign,
whose servants they were, or involving themselves in the
enormous guilt of aggravating starvation and famine by
" eeping up the price of provisions. How cruelly the
arning voice of Cloncurry was disregarded time has

hown. Before the lapse of a year mothers ate their own

501 CLOXCUItRY AND HIS TIMES.

children amid 16,000,000 tons of grain, which a paternal
Government permitted its starving people to look upon
but not to touch. A circumstance occurred at the time
that the foregoing resolutions were passed that gave great
pain and offence to Lord Cloncurry. The meeting of
Parliament was inhumanely postponed until the fol-
lowing year.

One of the earliest letters written by Lord Cloncurry,
on the first appearance of the potato blight, appears to be
the following: —

[No. 78.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. CONWAY.

" 25th August, 184G.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I have read with attention your able and most satis-
factory article of last Thursday, on the potato, and the steps to be taken in
consequence of the failure. I agree in the whole, excepting, perhaps, the
averages, which are rather high, as our soil is at present cultivated. I hope
that after a time they may be thought low ; but the present average I believe
to be eighteen of oats and eight and a half barrels of wheat per acre. I have
often eaten rye bread and meslin bread ; the latter I think excellent, and
more wholesome than all wheat bread. Rye is easy of cultivation, prolific,
and hardier than most other grains.

" I fear we have done with the potatoes. I almost see them decay as the
men dig them ; the sound ones brought from market one day are bad the
next. The potato has deteriorated in Ireland, at least in the poor man's
garden. For many years I remember apples succeeded by blacks, blacks by
cups, and cups by lumpers. It is more than twenty years that the late Lord
Wellesley, being on a visit at my house, I urged this as one reason fur reclaim-
ing the bogs of Ireland, as recommended in the able report of the commission
that cost so much money, and has never been acted upon. * * *

" Piers and fishing stations, with their necessary appendages, are most
worthy of consideration ; but the piers should be substantial and permanent,
and not such miserable jobs as were accomplished some years ago. "We
well know in Ireland what it is to be penny wise and pound foolish. How
many vessels are yearly lost in Kingstown harbour, for want of that finish
which could be better and cheaper done in ten years than in twenty ? We
farmers don't like to lose a sheep for a half-penn'orth of tar. Was there evei
heard of such a thing as the almost yearly famines of this country, abound-
ing in all the necessaries of life, and endeavouring to beg or borrow some o!
its own money to escape starvation ?

" My dear Sir, faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

The year '46 expired, and '47 arrived, but still the
Government did little or nothing. The prospect of famina
and pestilence became every day more glaring, and their ad-
vent more inevitable. It was, however, not yet too late to

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 505

avert a large portion of the attendant horror if the Legis-
lature would humanely set on foot some species of repro-
ductive employment for the famishing poor of Ireland.
Lord Cloncurry well knew that the only chance of elicit-
ing the slightest assistance from Government was by
such earnest and incessant importunity as could not fail
to arouse them to some sense of the awfulness of our
position. Conjointly with several other nobles, and the
entire of the Irish Parliamentary party, he convened a
meeting of the peers, commoners, and landed proprietors
of Ireland, on January 14th, 1847. It was a really
influential meeting, and this even England acknowledged.
In addition to a large staff of Irish pressmen, reporters
from the Times and other London journals were present.
When the reader is informed that the resolutions passed
at the termination of the proceedings numbered twenty-
four, he will at once perceive how inconsistent with our
limits it would be even to epitomize them.

During the general prostration of strength and spirit
which characterized the year 1847 Lord Cloncurry endea-
voured, by his example, to stimulate the manufactures of
Ireland. He gave constant orders to the principal manu-
facturers of Irish cloth, tabinet, and carpeting. Mr.
Sheridan, of Dublin, supplied his lordship with the latter
article, and received a considerable sum in payment. The
good peer also endeavoured to give some impetus to the
glass manufactures of Dublin. On May 5th we find him
attending a meeting of the glass company, in Dame-street,
inquiring if any steps had been taken to increase their
capital, so as to enable them to proceed more exten-
sively.

The secession of Young Ireland from the later policy
of Conciliation Hall is probably too fresh in the reader's
recollection for him to require, or expect from us, more
than a passing reference. Lord Cloncurry, although
never a member of the Repeal Association, sorrowed
to behold the national party sundered. Knowing
union to be strength, and that England's policy was
always " divide et impera" he grieved to behold the Con-
federation,in the Rotunda, and the Association on Burgh-

z

506 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

quay, labouring separately for a similar object. This
unfortunate division his lordship regarded in silence for
some months ; but, unable any longer to appear uncon-
cerned, he addressed a public letter to Mr. Smith O'Brien,
wherein he offered for the first time to occupy the chair
in Conciliation Hall (" if the voice of an old man — older
than O'Connell — would be of any use") on condition that
he, and the other Confederates, should forget bygones,
and return to the fold. O'Connell had at this time left
Ireland for the Continent, never to return.' Bent with
decrepitude, his frame was no longer the stalwart colossal
one of former years, nor did his intellect possess any of
that freshness and activity that for half a century charac-
terized the man. His spirit was crushed by a series of
afflictions — the mortal blow which crippled the Repeal
movement, by the imprisonment of the leaders — the
desertion of the people, who formerly idolized him — the
famine and pestilence which decimated their ranks, and
the failure of his own great political project. " The
lamentable illness of O'Connell," observed Lord Clon-
curry, in the letter we speak of, " has, I verily believe,
been chiefly caused by his fears and his anxieties for his
country. For the sake of Ireland, and for the

sake of him whom we may never see again, you will
resume that position wThich you alone can adequately
fill. Never was union and brotherly love so necessary."
It caused a great and universal feeling of consternation
when, in the midst of famine and scarcity of employment,
the Government intention was announced of dismissing
many thousands of the peasantry previously engaged on
various public works. Some affected incredulity, and
smiled at the extravagance of the idea. A few days,
however, served to confirm the intelligence. The men
were dismissed. " If the magistrates of Ireland," said
Lord Cloncurry, in reference to the subject, " were an
independent body, would they quietly, and methodically,
suffer any Government to devote a million of the people,
intrusted to their care, a sacrifice to mercantile avarice ?
Would they not at every sessions remonstrate at thej
stoppage of public works, at the dearest and idlest time

CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES. 507

of the year ?" Lord Cloncurry had reason to feel dis-
pleased with some of his brother magistrates for their
slothful indifference to the interests of the people. He
declared that all justices of the peace should be hence-
forward elected. Lord Cloncurry was himself "a Magis-
trate for All the Counties," an honour conferred upon him
in consideration of his successful labours to establish the
system of petty sessions.

On the 8th May, 1847, Lord Cloncurry, in his public
letter to O'Brien, prophesied that Ireland would probably
never see her Liberator again. Six days after he died at
Genoa. The sad event happened somewhat unexpectedly.
Even his own family had no idea that death was so close.
The public papers, for some days previous, were filled
with contradictions, " upon authority" of certain gloomy
reports circulated by Galignani. They went further, and
announced the cheering news of O'Connell's convalescence.

The black pall of mourning which hung over famine-
stricken Ireland, the thousands who fell lifeless beneath
the touch of the plague, and the wailing and lamentation
amidst which the news of O'Connell's dissolution fell upon
the land, sends a thrill through the chronicler as he gazes
on the past. The people, long sunk in an apathy of in-
difference to the many important services rendered them
by O'Connell, suddenly awakened to a sense of their
orphaned position ; and, with tears standing full in their
eye-lids, and voices almost too choked for utterance,
wondered and wondered again, how ever they could have
been so foolish and so ungrateful as to abandon him who
struck their chains off, in favour of those young and
inexperienced spirits who, disowning all authority,
aspired boisterously to unsheath that parent's sword,
which, throughout a long life of hot excitement and trying
difficiilty, never for a moment left the scabbard.

The Irish, however, are a fickle people, and that day
six months found them the most ardent partisans of
Meagher and Mitchel.

As the grisly form of famine came closer, a " General
Central Relief Committee of all Ireland" was established,
of which Lord Cloncurry became both trustee and a
member. As every Irish institution or movement must

508 CLONCURHY AND HIS TIMES.

divide sooner or later, it did not surprise many that an
exclusively Catholic Relief Committee should soon have
been set on foot. Of this the Very Rev. Dr. Spratt may
be said to have been the head. It effected much good,
and mimbers of Protestants sent in their adhesion to it,
in preference to the General Central one. Upon recently
examining the weekly subscription lists of this charity,
we were surprised not to observe the name of Lord
Cloncurry. Dr. Spratt, however, soon explained to us
the reason of his lordship's apparent indifference to the
Catholic Relief Fund. As one of the trustees of the
Central Committee, he felt a natural delicacy in allowing
his name to appear mixed up with the proceedings of its
rival. He, however, handed Dr. Spratt, anonymously,
the siim of £150.

The Irish Council of 1847 was a phenomenon in poli-
tics. It had no prototype. Men of every class, section,
and profession, without distinction of wealth, or title, or
creed, or principle, met together, for the assertion (to use
their own words) of national rights, and to consult upon
the pending fate of Ireland. One year of famine and
plague, like a poisonous reptile, and the pestilential slime
it leaves behind, had crawled over the land. Another
impended, with its weary cycles of pauperism and cala-
mity. It was no time to measure the differences of opinion
between Protestant and Catholic — Liberal and Conserva-
tive— nobleman or artisan. The time was come for Ire-
land to act, and she did so. In June this council for
national protection was inaugurated. Lord Cloncurry
and some other able Irishmen modelled it so as to suit
the perilous and growing necessities of the time. Two
of the principal subjects which lent life and purpose
to their discussions were Irish Manufactures and Tenant
Right. Never were these questions more ably dis-
cussed, or shrewder suggestions in connexion with them
urged.

Some twenty meetings of this excellent League were
held ; but on no occasion was Lord Cloncurry known to
be absent from the council board. He occupied its
chair on June 22nd. " I avow myself a new member,"
said his lordship, " although rather an old man; but I

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 509

think it my duty to do this Association the justice of
saying, that, since I joined it, I have heard more good
sense, moderation, and forbearance, than are generally to
be met with in any society in this country." His lord-
ship's speech at the Council, on November 4th, was un-
usually interesting. He let his memory travel back to
its earliest starting-post, and then, laden with recollec-
tions, accompanied it homeward, in order to their distri-
bution amongst the host of anxious listeners who hung
delighted on his words. " I beg to recall your attention,"
said his lordship, "to a few circumstances which I
recollect to have happened in the course of my long life,
and everybody can deduce therefrom such opinions as
they may think proper to adopt." He then went on to
say that it was exactly fifty years since he first presided
at a political meeting. He entered into full particulars
of the Naas and Royal Exchange meetings of 1797
(already noticed), and the perilous circumstances at-
tending them. He told his auditory what he remem-
bered Dublin before the Union, and drew an effective
parallel between its present and past position. Many an
eye became dimmed with tears, as the old man, gradually
warming with his subject, depicted, in vivid colours, the
wealth, brilliancy, and fashion that characterized Dublin,
until robbed of her luxuriance by the British Minister.
In breathless silence the meeting listened to his speech.
They felt too deeply interested to clamour forth cheers.

But all this was, strictly speaking, foreign to the sub-
ject which called them together. Lord Cloncurry, ere
he left the meeting, spoke earnestly to the point.
" They were met to see what was to be done to avert
approaching famine. They could not recall the hundreds
of thousands that were snatched away by the horrible
visitation of last year ; but perhaps the sufferings of the
coming season might be mitigated, and the occurrence
of so many deaths from poverty prevented. He could
not say that the people appointed to act for their benefit
were so thoughtful or so wise as they ought to have
been. He conceived that the conduct of many of the

510 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

public boards was negligent and ignorant. A ministerial
man of great renown had once said, that if the people of
England were in want, they should be employed; and,
if there was nothing else for them to do, they should dig
holes one day, to fill them up the next. On a recent
occasion, they had certainly dug the holes, but they
never filled them up." Lord Cloncurry concluded a long
and able speech by saying that he was sorry to find that
those who ought to be the principal actors at the Irish
Council had left the duty of occupying the chair to a
person of such minor ability. To the eternal shame of
the Irish nobility be it recorded, that not one peer worked
at the Irish Council Board but him, who was never known
to shrink, even in his age and decrepitude, from the per-
formance of a patriotic and laborious duty.

The meetings of the Irish Council terminated with
the old year. " 1 hope, gentlemen," said Lord Clon-
curry, " that this day will bring us to a conclusion of the
chief matters which induced the Council to call together
the friends of the country." Thus terminated the year
1847. Were all the suggestions of remedial measures
which found expression at the Council Board acted upon,
Ireland would now be wealthier, and England more
respected.

It would be most unjust towards the English people to
omit recording that large sums of money were collected
amongst them, and applied to the alleviation of Irish
famine. In amount, however, it was greatly dispropor-
tioned to what India and America liberally sent. The
English gentlemen who gave the money cannot be
branded as ungenerous, but those who had the dispensing
of it unquestionably were. " How many millions," ex-
claimed Lord Cloncurry, in a letter to Mr. Smith O'Brien,
" were put into the pockets of English merchants at our
expense. Even the charitable collections made by the
people of England they have endeavoured to make sub-
sidiary to their service. They resolved that nothing J
should be given but food or clothing bought in London ; j
they pretended that if they gave us money, we would

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 511

buy arms ; and it required all the influence of persons
high in office to induce them to give some money for the
purchase of provisions spoiling in our harbours."

In a conversation with Dr. Grattan, at this period, his
lordship observed, that of the money subscribed in Eng-
land for the relief of Ireland, a large sum passed into the
hands of speculators in corn, who paid themselves liberal
prices for what was damaged and unsaleable, which they
shipped for Ireland, instead of throwing into the Thames.
" Just like them," exclaimed his lordship ; " they refused
to send us money, that could have been of use, because,
indeed, it would have been made an Irish job of; but
they jobbed the money themselves, and sent us corn that
was only fit for pigs !"

When the appalling intelligence of so many thousand
deaths by famine reached America, a considerable quan-
tity of corn was collected together at New York for the
relief of our famishing and dying peasantry. Lord John
Russell refused to allow an English frigate to proceed to
America for the corn so generously contributed, assigning
as a reason, that " a ship of war could not be made
available for such a purpose without extensive alterations,
involving much loss of time and expense." America, as
if in derision of this assertion, in forty-eight hours loaded
with corn the " Macedonia," once a British ship of war,
and sent her to Cork. Few other ministers would have
been so destitute of prudence as to exhibit, at a moment
so critical, such a reckless disregard of the interests of
Ireland, or of Irish opinion ; nor would they have ex-
posed the English people to the humiliation of witnessing,
in an Irish port, a ship of war captured from them, and
bringing to the people of Ireland that assistance which
England's chief minister refused to aid us in obtaining.

Notwithstanding the food contributed by India, Eng-
land, and America, one million of people, at the lowest
official calculation, perished by the famine of 1847.

Lord Cloncurry was always a warm advocate for spade
cultivation. He considered that it both improved the
ground and increased the amount of produce. He fre-
quently impressed its advantages on his tenantry of both

512 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Kildare and Abington; but finding them more indif-
ferent to the suggestion than he could have wished, he
commenced offering prizes, which appear to have at once
produced the desired effect. In the Limerick Reporter of
October 4th, 1847, we find a manifesto signed by his
lordship, promising the farmer on his estate holding 100
acres, who should have the greatest quantity of land
cultivated by the spade, not less than nine inches deep,
and sown before March 20, 1848, a prize of £50; to the
second largest quantity, £20 ; to the farmer holding forty
acres, £20; and for the second largest quantity, £15.

In connexion with Lord Cloncurry's exertions, in
1847, to bring about a coalition of the jarring elements
of Irish agitation, we find the following note to the Very
Rev. Dr. Spratt — the first, we may observe, of a long
series of private letters periodically addressed to that
dignitary, until his lordship's death, in October, 1853.

The more Lord Cloncurry knew of Dr. Spratt, the
more he loved and respected him. We can have no
hesitation in saying that Dr. Spratt possessed more of
Lord Cloncurry's confidence, during the last three years
of his existence, than any other Roman Catholic friend,
or many Protestant ones. The reader will himself observe
how the phraseology of each letter becomes, by degrees,
less cumbered with the shackles of restraint and formality.
It is pleasing to see this, and to observe the gradual
warming of its tone in the expressions of respect, admi-
ration, gratitude, and love, which it is well known the
good peer entertained for his Reverend correspondent.
Few Irish readers will require to be reminded that the
Very Rev. John Spratt is a Catholic clergyman of the
Order of Mount Carmel. His labours in the cause of
temperance rank next to Father Mathew's; and, now
that disease has rendered that clergyman incapable of
further ministration, Dr. Spratt may be regarded as his
authorized representative and successor. His exertions,
however, in other missions of philanthropy, are inferior 1
to none of his clerical cotemporaries. Perhaps the best
criterion of the good man's worth is to be found in the 1
general feeling of respect and esteem with which Irish- i

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 513

men of every creed and party regard him. In the second
letter, Lord Cloncurry recommends to Dr. Spratt's notice
a young Scotch lady, a connexion of his lordship's, who
had, a short time previously, read her recantation, and
been received into the Roman Catholic Church.

[No. 79.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DK. SPRATT.

"IGth May, 1847.

" DEAR AND REV. SIR, — I thank you very much for your kind and en-
couraging letter. I am not without hopes that a reconciliation of the jarring
elements of our patriotism may be brought about. My feeble efforts shall
not be wanting to point out the rocks on which the hopes of our unhappy
country have ever been wrecked — feeble they must be ; but I hope much for
the aid of yourself and the many good men who listen to you.
" With thanks and respect, faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 80.] "Maretimo, 29th September, 1847.

•' VERY REV. AND DEAR SIR, — I take the liberty to recommend to your
kind offices Madame la Chanoinesse Murray, a lady of one of the first families
in Scotland, and connected by marriage with Mrs. Douglas,* the Fitz-Patrick,f
M.P. for the Queen's County, and myself.

" Though a young woman, she has long thought for herself, and from
conviction, has embraced the Roman Catholic faith. As such she is much
thought of in France and Germany, where she holds a distinguished station.
She is also a writer, and has come amongst us to find out the true state of
matters in Ireland. If you will make her acquainted with some of your
venerable brethren, their institutions, and the good Sisters of Charity, it will
greatly oblige, dear and Very Rev. Sir, your faithful Servant,

" CLOXCUKKY.

"P.S. — If the Chanoinesse pleases to see our new church, or my villa, I
shall be most happy to receive you both at dinner or lunch."

" Our new church" is that very beautiful stucture de-
signed by Byrne, which stands almost immediately oppo-
site Lord Cloncurry's residence at the Black Rock.
Although a Protestant, Lord Cloncurry contributed £150
to the building fund, and constantly watched the progress
of the works with a fatherly eye. On the completion of
the sacred edifice, he regarded it with a fatherly pride,
and derived much pleasure when able to secure the atten-
tion of some friend of architectural taste to its beauties.

* Wife of the Rev. Archibald Douglas, brother-in-law to Lord Cloncurry.
t The Right Hon. John Wilson Fifcs-Patrick.

z 2

514 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

The large, handsome stained glass window, emblazoned
with his lordship's arms, and worth at least 120 guineas,
was the present of Lord Cloncurry. He also contributed
handsomely towards the interior embellishment of the
church. He presented some handsome oil paintings to
the Rev. Dr. Ennis, P.P., of which one (a Virgin and
Child, after Murillo) was considered so finely executed,
that Lord Cloncurry sent it for exhibition to the Dargan
Industrial Palace of 1853. On a later occasion, when
he gave the order to Mr. Sheridan for his handsomest
Irish carpeting, and saw how well it looked on his own
drawing-room, he sent to Dublin for a corresponding
quantity, which he presented to Dr. Ennis for the cover-
ing of the altar steps and a portion of the sanctuary.

Another clergyman who exerted himself notably in
endeavouring to effect a reunion between the disciples of
O'Connell and O'Brien, was the Rev. Thaddeus O'Malley.
The only letter he received from Lord Cloncurry in re-
lation to this subject was the following characteristic
" private" one. It throws some light on his lordship's
reasons for never joining the ranks of Conciliation Hall.
Mr. O'Malley is one of the most accomplished scholars in
the Irish Church : —

LOUD CLOXCCRRY TO THE REV. THADDEUS C/MALLEY, EX-RECTOR OK
THE UNIVERSITY OF MALTA.

[No. 81.] "Maretimo, May 25&4, 1847.

[" Private.']

" REV. SIR, — Dr. Gray had the kindness to send me on Sunday an extra-
ordinary Freeman, with your letter, and I have this moment received your*
of yesterday, marked ' Private.'1

'' I agree with you that, for the present, general grief must render all good
Irishmen incapable of active exertion ; but, after a few days, 1 for one will
be most happy if I can in any way contribute to the union and reconciliation
of the young and ardent friends of their poor country's rights.

'' Much allowance, however, should be made for my age and incapadtude
for the warfare of violent discussion, and I fear that any further offer on my

part of mediation might draw down from Mr. J. O'C some further |

assertions relative to me, which, however unfounded, would hurt my feeling.
When I publicly addressed Mr. O'Brien, it was in the hope of reconciling
men whom I respected, as true friends of their country, and I spoke of them
as such. Mr._J. O'C taunted me as recreant and tardy in adopt-
ing national feelings — as one who was slow in ' knocking at the Union' Nowj
Sir, I knocked at the Union before he was born, as I believe, and certainly

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 515

before his lamented father did so. I wrote and published against the ' Pro-
jected Union' in 1796. It was one chief cause of the vengeance of Pitt and
George III., and cost me upwards of £60,000, and twenty-six months'
imprisonment. I invited O'Connell and Sheil, in 1824, to struggle for
Kepeal, as the surest road to Emancipation. I never for an hour, for the
last forty-seven years, ceased my warfare against the Union ; but I did not
join the (Repeal) Association, because in it some of my best friends were
undeservedly and imprudently held up to public odium ; and I thought I
could work better in my private capacity than in an assembly where I would
have daily to contradict accusations made against men whom I know to be
devoted to their country. Neither could I now listen patiently to hear young
and talented persons, though strangers to me, held up to the vengeance of
Government for a rash word, perhaps uttered in the heat of debate. Ireland
can only be saved by mutual forbearance, love of one another, and incessant
exertion ; avoiding to offend anybody, but laying before the world the simple
and undeniable facts of our cruel persecution by unjust government and
foreign controul.

" I think Mr. O'Brien quite right in demanding publicity for all accounts,
and a pledge against acceptance of office by the members of a national union
for themselves or their friends ; and I think the giving of the Church revenues
to the poor, on death of present incumbents, should be made a sine qua non
with these fundamental rules. I think there should be no rivalry, unless in
doing good ; and as to leadership, there will be no dearth of young men who
will rush fresh to the battle. Amongst these O'Brien and J. O'Connell must
stand prominent, but other ardent spirits will soon come forward to their
aid. They will be certain to have enemies enough without quarrelling with
each other.

" I am, in great haste, Reverend Sir, your faithful Sen-ant,

" CLONCUKRY."

Dr. R. R. Madden, the eminent Irish literateur, was at
this time appointed to a Government situation in the East.
He would have preferred, if possible, a home appointment,
and wrote to Lord Cloncurry, in the hope that his lord-
ship would exert what influence he possessed with Lord
Clarendon in endeavouring to get something more con-
genial to the tastes of a patriot Irishman. " The books"
alluded to by Lord Cloncurry embraced the third series
of Dr. Madden's " United Irishmen," which was, by per-
mission, dedicated to his lordship. That license we find
conveyed in the following note to Dr. Madden's nephew,
Mr. William Cogan, now M.P. for Kildare. It was written
fifteen months previous to the succeeding communica-
tion : —

[No. 82.] LORD CI-OXCURRY TO W. F. COGAX, ESQ., M.P.

" 29, King-street, St. James's, 15^/t May, 184C.

" SIK, — Your favour of yesterday I have just received at the Reform. I
shall be very happy to accept the compliment intended me by your worthy

516 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

uncle, Dr. Madden. I beg you to remember me very kindly to him when
you write to Lisbon.

" I have the honour to be, very truly, your humble Servant,

" CLONCURKY."

[No. 83.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DU. R. R. MADDEN, M.R.I.A.

"31s/ August, 1847.

" DEAR DOCTOR MADDEN, — I am greatly obliged for your most interest-
ing books, and indeed feel truly sorry at the idea of your expatriation. What
could make me so happy as to keep good men in this good though unhappy
land, if it were in my power? Would I not be most dishonest if I pretended
to have interest when I have it not?

" I know, from the Lord Lieutenant himself, how he is worried by his
colleagues, as well as by county members, for everything that falls. What
chance could I have, who, though I personally respect the man, never call on
him but to express my dissatisfaction at the Government — dissatisfaction
which I have expressed for fifty years, at great loss and detriment to myself,
but from motives, I hope, truly disinterested.

" I shall endeavour to say a word in conversation, but I know it will be
vain. A friend who supports the Union, the chief curse of the land, will
certainly have far more chance of that success which I very anxiously wish
for.

" My dear Sir, faithfully yours,

"CLONCURRY."

The following letter is so clear as to need no editorial
preface : —

[No. 84.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JOHN HOGAN, ESQ.

" Maretimo, Dublin, September 18th, 1847.

" DEAR MR. HOGAN, — Amelia Curran has paid the debt of nature in the
Eternal City. She was the most witty and agreeable woman I ever knew,
full of talent and of kindness — a musician, a painter, and a writer. I lovuil
and respected her sincerely. She was the eldest daughter of my steady friend,
John Philpot Curran, a true and fearless patriot.

" I wish some memorial of her to be placed in the Church of St. Isidore,
at an expense not exceeding fifty pounds, which, if you undertake, you will
enhance my obligation to you.

" I am most interested for the life and success of your truly good and
valiant Holy Father. In the midst of our misery we exult in his success ami
his virtues. Even to us he extends his charity, which will bring a blessing
with it. We are truly deserving of pity.

" Let me hear from you. Every day your Hibernia is admired more and
more. It is a splendid work of an honest Irishman.

" Yours very faithfully,

" CLONCURRY.

Here his lordship wrote the inscription which he
wished to be inscribed on Miss Curran's monument.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 517

"AMELIA CUKEAN

WAS THE MOST TALENTED AND VIRTUOUS DAUGHTER OF
THAT FIRST AND ABLEST OF IKISH ADVOCATES,*

JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN,

WHO FEARLESSLY PLEADED THE CAUSE OF HIS COUNTRY AND HIS
OPPRESSED FELLOW-CITIZENS, BEFORE CORRUPT JUDGES

AND HOSTILE JURIES.
THEY WERE TRUE PATRIOTS.

TO THEIB MEMORY THIS TABLET IS INSCRIBED BY THEIH

SURVIVING FRIEND, VALENTINE, SECOND

LORD CLONCU11RY."

This proceeding on the part of Lord Cloncurry lost
little time in achieving notoriety. The Roman corres-
pondent of the Daily News was the first to circulate the
intelligence. " Lord Cloncurry," he wrote, " has just
commissioned our great Irish sculptor here to erect a
fitting and classic memorial, in the national church of St.
Isidore, over the grave of the daughter of John Philpot
Curran. It is no secret that about the year 1798, the
Honourable Mr. Lawless was an unsuccessful suitor for
her hand: and his lordship's present directions are alike
creditable to the veteran's patriotism, and the love that age
has not extinguished. — His saltern accumulem donis et
fungar amoris muneref

At the above romantic bit of gossip, his lordship was,
or affected to be, much displeased. In a letter to Mr.
Hogan, he commissions him to put an extinguisher, as
far as possible, on the reports. He denies that Amelia
Curran was ever in his house, unless after his marriage,
and we are not aware that there is any evidence of a
previous attachment.

[No. 85.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JOHN HOGAN, ESQ.

" Maretimo, 29th October, 1848.

" DEAR MR. HOGAN, — Doctor Ennis has brought me your letter of the
4th instant, and the accompanying daguerreotype, which I have sent to
Dublin to be draughted. I doubt not it will answer my intentions, and sus-
tain your high character as an artist. Each day gains new admirers for Hibernia.
I really have not seen anything more perfect, as to the marble, or the execu-
tion. Would that the original was as fortunate as her statue is beautiful.
Do not allow the inquisitive public to fabricate loose stories as to Amelia
Curran. She never was in my house, but when I was a married man, with

* This line his lordship thought fit subsequently to omit.

518 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

her father, and other good, and true Irishmen who felt for their country, and
were most indignant at the cruelty and injustice with which she was treated.
" Draw on my bankers at twenty-one days' sight. They are either
Latouche and Co., Dublin, or Puget, Baiubridge and Co., St. Paul's, London.
The state of this country is very wretched, and our prospects grow darker
every day.

" I am, very faithfully yours,

"CLONCUKRY."

Well might Lord Cloncurry sorrow at the wretched
state and prospects of the country. Famine tore its way
through the ranks of the people, and the survivors fled
in panic from the land.

To mitigate the poverty of his tenantry at Abington,
Lord Cloncurry placed £200 in the hands of Mr. George
Duhig, to be by him distributed according to his discre-
tion.

In January, 1848, while famine still raged, we find
Lord Cloncurry, in a published address to his Limerick
tenantry, complaining that nothing had been as yet done
to improve the resources of Ireland. " The only attempt
at public improvement," said his lordship — " the Shannon
— has been a miserable failure from the ignorance of the
engineers. Your county, and others bordering on that
noble river, have paid dearly for that slave-begging ex-
periment ; even the new islands of Arran with difficulty
escaped the tax, their Atlantic being mistaken for the
Shannon." Lord Cloncurry concluded with an expression
of his long established conviction that had justGovernment
expended a little money on "our most improveable wastes,
it would have greatly mitigated the existing famine. By
no private understanding," proceeded his lordship, " cun
the bogs be reclaimed until the main drains be executed
as a public work. Those who deny the virtue of re-
claimed bogs, should measure the oaks constantly dug out
of them, fifty and sixty feet tall, and three feet in diame-
ter. Cobbett would tell you that ' such trees could not
grow in bad land.

CHAPTER XVI.

Influence of the French Revolution on Irish Politics — Smith O'Brien's Mis-
sion to France — Lord Cloncurry refuses to accompany him — Father
Corkran — A National Congress — Lord Cloncurry's Letters on that and
other Subjects — Generosity of his Lordship — Unpopularity of Lord
Clarendon — Transportation of Mitchel — Lord Cloncurry sends £100 to
the Convict's Wife — Great Excitement — Pikes manufactured by Order of
the Government — Lord Ffrench's Letter — Habeas Corpus Act suspended —
Battle of Ballingarry — A False Alarm — Arrest of O'Brien — Letters to
Dr. Grattan, Mr. Owen, Mr. M'Kenna, and the Very Rev. Dr. Spratt — Pros-
tration of the Country — Jury Packing — Death-Bed of Lord Dunsany —
" The Personal Recollections of Lord Cloncurry" — Letter to Dr. R. R.
Madden — His Lordship finds himself in a Hornet's Nest — Mr. Aylmer's
Letter, and Lord Cloncurry's Reply — Letter from the Duke of Leinster to
Lord Cloncurry — Letters to C. G. Duffy, J. Burke, Drs. Gray, Madden,
Spratt, Grattan, &c. — Extraordinary Dissolution of a Political Society —
Letter from S. Ferguson — Dr. Graves — Appalling Destitution — Royal
Visit — " Illuminations in the midst of Death" — Lord Roden and Dolly's
Brae — Proposed American Packet Station at Galway — £500 offered by
Lord Cloncurry to encourage it — Letters to his Steward — Louis Napoleon
in Debt — Interesting Correspondence — Lord Cloncurry's Generosity to the
Dublin Library — Private Charity — Dargan Banquet — Letters to and from
the Earl of Carlisle, Sir John Bradstreet, &c., &c. — Lord Cloncurry's last
Dinner Party and last Letter — Fatal Illness — Funeral — Impressive Scene
— Death of the Hon. Cecil Lawless.

THE bold and defiant attitude assumed by the French
people from the summit of their national barricade in
February, 1848 — the abdication and flight of Louis
Philippe — the proclamation of the Provisional Govern-
ment— the establishment of a republic, and the successive
revolutions which shook down the Governments of
Europe — all served as so many fresh breezes to fan into
a flame the already heated embers of Irish disaffection.
Smith O'Brien at once announced his intention of wait-
ing personally on Ledru Rollin and Lamartine with an
address of sympathy and congratulation. It will be per-

520 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

ceived by the following letter that Mr. O'Brien ventured
to throw out a hope that Lord Cloncurry would form a
member of the proposed deputation. The old peer, how-
ever, was no advocate for separation, and expressed his
determination of continuing at home in that dignified
retirement which his advanced age would seem, even of
itself, to demand. Almost immediately after, the deputa-
tion left Ireland, and, on their arrival in France, at once
obtained interviews with the principal members of the
Provisional Government. In addition to the address of
sympathy and congratulation on the " successful vindica-
tion of their liberties," Mr. O'Brien and his colleagues
went so far as to solicit military aid for the establishment
of an Irish Republic, in the same manner as WolfeTone,
Fitzgerald, and O'Connor had executed a similar mission
exactly fifty years before. Lord Cloncurry was a man
of much shrewdness and foresight; and although no men-
tion of the treasonable part of the intended expedition
appears in Mr. O'Brien's letter, he suspected what was in
the wind, and sagely held aloof.

[No. 86.] \VILI.IAM SMITH o'CRIEN, ESQ., M.P., TO LOED CLON'CUKKY.

"London, February 28fh, 1848.

"MY DEAR LORD CLONCURRY, — The present moment appears to be a
favourable opportunity for making a national demonstration in favour of
Repeal ; and as you did me the honour to write me a letter last year, sug-
gesting a union of the different sections of Repealers, I am encour
answer that appeal by expressing to you my opinion, that the time has come
when Old and Young Ireland may at last unite in public demonstration, in
order to prove that whatever may be their differences, they are both re-
solved that the Union shall be repealed.

" Reserving until a future occasion a development of ulterior measures, I
am inclined to think that such a meeting as I have contemplated ought to
adopt an address to the Queen, declarator}' of the reasons which induce us
to seek a Parliament, accompanied by a firm but respectful demand. Second,
an address to the French nation, congratulating them upon their recent suc-
cess in vindicating their liberties, to be conveyed to Paris by a deputation,
of which your lordship would probably be one member.* Third, a declara-

* The Confederates, who were sanguine of success, settled in their ov
minds that Lord Cloncurry should be the Dupont de 1'Eure of the Nation
Government. His lordship, early in the year 1848, asked Messrs. v)T.rie
Mitchel, and Duffy to dine with him at Maretimo. He spoke encouraging
of their recent labours to promote popular amelioration, and referred to tt
objects of the Confederation as hi principle legitimate. But beyond t!i

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 521

tion of unceasing arid uncompromising hostility to every Government which
shall oppose Repeal, and an instruction to that effect to the representatives.
Fourth, an address to the Irish people, recommending them to preserve order
as the basis of liberty, and to hold themselves prepared to take every legiti-
mate advantage of whatever circumstances may arise to facilitate the acqui-
sition of the legislative independence of Ireland. In case your lordship and
others, who hitherto occupied a neutral position, should be of opinion that
such a united meeting is, under present circumstances, desirable, I shall
avail myself of an early opportunity of addressing to you & public letter upon
the subject. * * *

" I remain, my dear Lord, yours very sincerely,

"WILLIAM SMITH O'BRIEN. "

After the congratulatory mission to France, those po-
pular leaders who professed the O'Connell policy publicly
renounced all connexion with Young Ireland for evermore,
and reprobated them as Republicans in principle and
infidels in religion. The benevolent exertions of Dr.
Spratt and Father O'Malley to coalesce the jarring elements
of patriotism went for nought, and the two great rival
parties were in stronger antagonism than ever. Another
lergyman came to the rescue, the Rev. Cornelius Corkran,
Roman Catholic Pastor of Tracton, in the County Cork.
He acted a part as arduous as it was noble. Far removed
from the seat of strife — Dublin — he sacrificed his health,
his interests, and his time, in endeavouring at once to
lischarge his parochial duties at home, and act the man
pf peace, and mediator, abroad. Whilst this work was in
progress, we wrote to Father Corkran for copies of any
;orrespondence that had passed between him and Lord
ploncurry on the subject of the attempted reconciliation.
pThe letter which follows was the result of our application.

On the 17th March, 1848, Father Corkran's parishioners
issembled in Tracton, and passed some resolutions ex-
pressive of their grief at the disunion then exhibited among
,he leaders of the Repeal movement as being calculated
;o aggravate the horrors of famine, to annihilate the pros-
>ect of Ireland's independence, and establish misrule on a
arm basis. It was also resolved that Lord Cloncurry (as

ympathy which Lord Cloncurry frequently manifested in the acts and the
Jate of the Young Ireland party, he was committed to nothing that was said
r done by them. The invitation to Maretimo at so critical a moment ap-
icars to have been regarded by the confederates as a most favourable omen. —
W. J. F.

522 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

its vice-president), be solicited to convene, at a public
banquet, the '82 Club, and that a prudent selection frorai
that body be instructed to perfect a lasting reconciliation
between Young and Old Ireland. The transmission of
these resolutions fell to Father Corkran's lot. " In con-
juring your lordship," said he, " to comply with the
request expressed, I will offer no apology to one whose
love of liberty is purified by his allegiance, and whose
nobility is ennobled by his patriotism. To heal the
bruises of your smitten country, to pour oil into her
wounds, to restore to her impaired energies a healthful
action, is a task worthy of your lordship. Dignus vindice
nodus."

[NO. 87.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. CORNELIUS CORKRAN, P.P.

"Maretimo, 29<A March, 1848.

" REV. DEAR SIR, — Tour very kind letter, announcing the resolutions at
Tracton, being directed to Lyons, had some delay in reaching me here. I
sincerely thank the good people of that locality for their high estimate of me,
aed which estimate was still enriched by the polished medium through which
it passed. Heaven knows that disunion was ever the curse of Ireland, and
I fear ever will be. The conflict between the Young and Old Irelanders would
be silly under any circumstances, but ruinous at this crisis, when the poor are
perishing for want of food, and the landed interest remorselessly crying outl
for protection against foreign corn again.

" I fear the grand question of Repeal will be seriously damnified by thill
schism. It ever was, and is, my opinion and desire, that Great liritain and!
Ireland should be linked together for mutual support under one crown, eacdi
having a distinct and independent legislature, Ireland having a responsible!
minister, and the Lord Lieutenancy (that nucleus of corruption) abolished foil
ever. The salvation of both countries depends upon their reciprocation of I
friendship and justice.

" If a meeting of the Volunteers be called for the purpose of establishing I
peace and unity among the conflicting parties, I will gladly attend ; but as I
many of the belligerents are young, hot men, unknown to me, I do not feel I
myself in a position to take the initiative in calling the '82 Club together. I
" I have the honour to be, yours very truly,

"CLONCURRY." j

The exposition of his lordship's political creed in thJJ
foregoing letter is worthy of attention. It forms a COM
elusive refutation of the charge so often preferred by 'thJJ
Tory party, that Lord Cloncurry was in principle 41
separatist and a republican. Much as he had reason to I
find fault with the British minister for his most cruel an4|
tyrannic conduct towards poor Hibernia, he neverthelesf

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 523

resolved to give him a very long and patient trial before
disowning all further allegiance, and insisting on a separa
don. The same prudence and circumspection observable in
Lord Cloncurry's stern refusal to co-operate with Smith
O'Brien after February, 1848, pervades his letter to the
Rev. Cornelius Corkran. He looked into the future of
iiis country, and saw its horizon reddened, not by the
rising sun of prosperity, but with unavailing blood-
shed!

With Dr. Richard Grattan, J.P. and Ex-King's Pro-
fessor of the Practice of Medicine in the Royal College

Physicians in Ireland, Lord Cloncurry for years cor-
responded on public matters confidentially, and he, on
lis part, fully expressed to him, at all times, whatever

thought. It is to be regretted, however, that none of
lis lordship's letters have been preserved by Dr. Grattan,
wdth the exception of the half-dozen introduced into this
work, and which were accidentally discovered amongst
some papers referring to the famine.

The two following letters were written in the eighth
nonth after the lamentable re-occurrence of the potato
listemper, and when it had become perfectly plain that
;he pretended remedial measures introduced by the Eng-
ish minister were sure to aggravate the evil, and plunge
;he country into irretrievable ruin. Under this impres-
sion Dr. Grattan conceived that perhaps the surest way
)f saving the lives and properties of the Irish people
svould be to call together a meeting of all classes, and of
ill sects and parties, so constituted in every respect as to
yive a strictly national character to the expression of their
"eelings and wishes. " With this view," writes Dr. Grat-
;an, " I suggested to Lord Cloncurry the expediency of
nviting each county to nominate six persons, who, with
iheir county members, should meet a similar deputation
Tom every other county; the boroughs nominating, in
iddition to their representatives, so many as would make
Jie entire number equal to three hundred. I proposed
;hat the Irish members should be directed by their con-
stituents to attend, or failing in this, to be declared un-
worthy of confidence, and required to resign forthwith."

524 CLONCUKKY AND HIS TIMES.

Dr. Grattan supports that a body thus constituted
(after serious deliberation on those measures which reason
truth, and justice call for as essential to the propel
government of Ireland) could, with some prospect o:
success, demand from the English minister the recognition
of our right to beneficial legislation, or in the event o:
refusal, then, by declaring him the enemy of Ireland
give him every imaginable opposition, and eventually
drive him scathed from office. " I would thus compe
him to feel," writes Dr. Grattan, " that an Irish partji
in the English House of Commons was no longer 8
mock embarrassment, but a real and insurmountable
difficulty."

Dr. Grattan is a man of peculiar political opinions
He never approved of any agitation confined exclusively
to Ireland. He always thought that he observed the
people, and especially the unfortunate freeholders, victim*
to this proceeding, while the leaders of the agitatioi
invariably derived profit from it. He aspired to originate
useful measures for Ireland, in Ireland, and to clothi
them with the authority of a great national congress!
He was, and is satisfied, that by this mode alone no use!
ful, or even honest legislation, could be obtained fol
Ireland. " We must put forth our strength at home,!
he often said, " deliberately and constitutionally, but im
great struggle should be made in England, to thwart
harass, and oppose the minister, in order to render
impossible for him to conduct the affairs of the empin
until our demand for justice shall have been first com
plied with." Lord Cloncurry approved of Dr. Grattan
plan, but he considered the public mind not sufficient^
ripe for its adoption, and that the attempt, for this reason!
would prove a failure.

[No. 88.] LORD CLONCURRY TO RICHARD GRATTAN, ESQ., M.D., J.P.

" Maretimo, Qth April, 1848. 1

" DEAR DOCTOR GRATTAN, — From the productions of your pen, I always
gain useful information. It is guided by good sense and true patriotism}
but I much fear that neither you nor any man can save poor Ireland from '
further diminution by war of those who have escaped from famine and pesti- 1
lence. Both parties seem to me to be quite demented — the Government and i

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 525

masses. The former I think most in the wrong, and with far less excuse
in the poverty-stricken people.

" I beg you will propose me for your club. Several addresses and declara-
ns have been sent about for signature. You have, of course, seen them,
e only one I could bring myself to sign, I enclose. If the three hundred
1 be legalized it would be most useful ; but Government would not per-
t us to exist a week. In fact, they are now resolved to rule whilst they

by the sword, and to exclude us from every benefit save that of clergy,
ith more than sixteen months' provisions in the country, we have mothers
ing portions of their dead children, whilst the produce of our fruitful soil is
ported under the escort of foreign bayonets. If even now justice was done

I would preach forgiveness and peace ; but I "see no hope.
" Yours most truly,

" CLOXCURRY."

The County Kildare Independent Club, of which Lord
Loncurry requested his friend Dr. Grattan to propose him
member, was established in August, 1847, for the pur-
>se of securing by law the Tenant Right, improving the
>ndition of the people, upholding the freedom of elec-
, and procuring the return to Parliament of members
illing and competent to represent the feelings and in-
rests of their constituents. In March, 1848, the first
eport of the County Kildare Independent Club was pub-
shed. Dr. Grattan, who drew it up, transmitted a copy
Lord Cloncurry. His lordship read the pamphlet
tentively, and took such notes from it as he considered
orty of transcription. There were, however, some pas-

£es which he could not agree to, and amongst them the

lowing : —

0. 89.] LORD CLONCURRY TO RICHARD GRATTAN, ESQ., M.I)., J.P.

"Maretimo, April Vith, 1848.

1 MY DEAR DOCTOR, — In the first Report of the County Kildare Indepen-
nt Club, page 8, line 10 (from bottom), are these words : —

For example — if a tenant shall take one hundred acres of land for a
finite time, at the yearly rent of £1 per acre, and that it shall be found on
e expiration of the term that the value of the land had been increased by
ainaye, manuring, by the erection of useful buildings, or in any way by
neral good management, to the extent of 10s. per acre, or £50 yearly, the
uant's property or right hi the farm would at twenty years' purchase amount
£1,000.'

" Now, I believe the good effects of manuring in tillage land never last
rer three years, and drainage, as ordinarily practised, not more than seven ;
id as the tenant gets an immediate, and very great advantage from both, it
ould be very unjust to charge the landlord twenty years' purchase for either ;
iereas, buildings may last for fifty or one hundred years ; and if a special

526 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

agreement be made in open court at the time of leasing, as to what should b
built, what should be the cost, and how much each party should pay towaflj
it, there could be no after dispute. If neither had the necessary funds, le
third party lend them as a first charge on the farm. T, in general, char
ten per cent on buildings, and so did my father, and neither of us ever ;
had a dispute with one of our tenants. If I give a thirty-one years' le
have a right to my land at the expiration of this time. In honesty I
give a preference to the resident tenant if he was an improver, otherwise '
good works would be lost to him if I was unjust or embarrassed. It is the
fore to prevent the great hardship to tenants, that I think the bargain •
all particulars should be made in open court. — ' Coram judice, et vulgi sti
corona.'1

" The poverty of the landlords is one great evil in Ireland, and the Te
Right would increase that poverty and the poverty of the labourer. Shar
Crawford endeavoured to explain his plans, and did not do it after all.

" Suppose you took a farm from me and built kennels and stables on
the valuators might be years disputing whether I should pay for such usel(j
things or not, but if we agreed before-hand in open court there could be {
dispute, whereas, if you build barns and cow-houses without previous
ment, you would offer a premium to a necessitous or dishonest landlord to i
possess you. The tenant should not underlet at an increased rent on ;
account. Such arrangements would, I think, give security to all par
which could be greatly facilitated by an arrangement of corn rents, wl
would enable landlords to give perpetuities without possible injury to
successors. Of all things, every landlord interfering directly or indirectly \
his tenants' political rights at elections, should be subject to the penalties oft
demeanour. It is, however, vain to endeavour to better our condition as Ifl
as the great drain of absentees and taxes for imperial purposes contii
We have now mothers eating their own offspring, while there are sixt
millions of grain in the country, and eight million tons of nutritive vege
bles, independent of amount of foreign food. And of 147 paupers in a
house, 142 are from the estates of absentees, and five only from these
residents. I fear you will not be able to read this scrawl of

" Your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

Immediately after the above correspondence, Lc
Cloncurry started for London. He considered that
attendance in Parliament at that juncture would condi
to the interests of Ireland.

[No. 90.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY KEV. DR. SPRATT, M.S.T.

" Gth May, 18

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, — I shall send you £3 for the, St. Peter's Schools
soon as I get home, which I much wish was to-morrow. Our own folly
daily to the rancorous and most unreasonable prejudice aud hatred of _..
rulers against our unfortunate country. God, in his own good time, will send
us relief.

" I remain, dear and Rev. Sir, with much respect, yours,

" CLONCUUKY."

CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 527

His lordship had a tedious to-morrow to wait for. On
2 17th May he got home, and at once enclosed Dr.
yratt not only the promised donation of three pounds,
it sixty in addition.

0. 91.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERT KEV. DR. SPKATT, M.S.T.

" Maretimo, ISth May, 1848.

VERY REV. AND DEAR SIR, — I send you sixty-three pounds, which,
ay, distribute as follows : —

" Sisters of Mercy, .... £20 0 0
" Sisters of Charity, . . . 20 0 0

" Father Kirby, . . . .2000

" St. Peter's Schools, . . . .300

£63 0 0

' Pray forgive this trouble from, with great regard and respect, Very
v. Sir, your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

We have seen by Lord Cloncurry's writings, through-
it a long life, what an implacable enmity was his
gainst Tories and Toryism. The English Russell and
ish Clarendon Whig Administrations, however, filled
m with feelings not distantly akin to it. O'Connell
anded the Whigs, in his own forcible style, as " base,
oody, and brutal." In May, 1848, Lord Cloncurry,
a wonder, agreed with him in this opinion. His
rdship thought their policy murderous, first, for ne-
ecting a starving people, secondly, for suspending the
rit of Habeas Corpus, instituting the " Gagging Act,"
id making it felony, and a transportable crime, to speak

write in denunciation of English misrule. From that
ne forward his Excellency fell, never to rise again, into
e dark slough of Irish unpopularity. As the Hon. Mr.
illiers, a member of Lord Anglesey's back-stairs Ca-
net, the Earl of Clarendon enjoyed, for a considerable
aie, the good-will of Ireland.

On the 26th May, 1848, Mr. John Mitchel, editor and
•oprietor of the United Irishman, was found guilty of
lony by — to quote his own alliterative diatribe — " a
,cked iury, a partisan judge, and a perjured sheriff."

•r. . J J *. -, . J 1 V 1 • V ' -1

is crime consisted in publishing seditious articles
uffh the medium of the United Irishman. Lord

528 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Clarendon had converted, a snort time previously, genteel
sedition into vulgar felony, for no other object than to
render the punishment the more severe. His Excellency
appears to have reposed great hopes, and great faith, in
the salutary effect of the humiliation attendant upon
irons, prison diet, solitary confinement, removal in the

Eick-pocket caravan, convict dress, the transport, and the
ulks ; and when Mr. Jphn Mitch el, a respectable Pres-
byterian, and professional gentleman, was sentenced to
fourteen years' imprisonment for seditious writings in his
own newspaper, it is impossible to conceive an adequate
idea of the wide-spread sorrow and indignation that
prevailed. Lord Cloncurry, as a matter of course, shared
in it; and, as the best mode of proving the substantial
nature of his sympathy, sent, through the Very Rev. Dr.
Spratt, one hundred pounds to the convict's wife.

[NO. 92.] LORD CLOXCURRY TO TUB VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

" May 29, 1848.

" VERY REV. AND DEAR SIR, — I pray you to tender the enclosed]
acceptance to Mrs. John Mitchel, for herself and children. The miserable
state to which the country has been reduced by the Union, and the different
phases of bad government to which we have been subjected, prevent my
offering more to that unhappy lady.

" Very sincerely and respectfully yours,

" CLONCCRRY."

The transportation of Mitchel, and the humiliating]
treatment to which he was, by order of Lord Clarendon,
subjected, vastly increased the flame of Irish discontent.
Wm. Smith O'Brien, M.P., the second son of Sir Edward!
O'Brien, of Dromoland, County Clare, and brother to I
Sir Lucius, the present baronet, openly set himself at the!
head of the revolutionary movement. He preached thel
doctrine of armed resistance to British tyranny, and threa-J
tened to raise all Ireland in insurrection if Repeal of thel
Union continued to be withheld. Ireland regarded him|
as the Fitzgerald of the nineteenth century ; and he, in
return, looked upon each "Confederate" as a United
Irishman, resolved to do or die.

In the midst of this excitement, the Protestant Repeal

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 529

Association started into existence. The first meeting was
held on May 9th, 1848, George Washington Vance in
the chair. The speaking, though moderate, was marked
by determination. This Protestant confederacy alarmed
the Government. Its appearance was about the last thing
they expected. It drew from Lord John Russell the
assertion that he would oppose Repeal to the death. By
way of a reactionary movement, each peer in Ireland,
exceptLords Cloncurry, Wallscourt, Miltown andFfrench,
signed a declaration condemnatory of the agitating system
then in progress. The signatures numbered about two
hundred. The country was indignant at this patrician
interference with the great plebeian movement. The
Nation, as its mouthpiece, literally thundered. " The
Irish peers," it said, " have declared for the Union. They
have acted madly in provoking the attention of the people
in their present temper. They might, if it had so pleased
their lordships, kept under hatches, and slept out the
storm, and found themselves little the worse of it when
it had blown over."

It is hardly possible for any man, who does not retain
a most vivid recollection of the Irish events of 1848, to form
an adequate idea of the state of excitement which agitated
the public mind, and what a general impression appeared
to prevail, that British domination would, at no distant
day, be eradicated, root and branch, from the land. Some
of the shrewdest intellects in the kingdom participated in
this feeling — peers, lawyers, commoners, citizens. Sepa-
ration was very generally regarded as absolutely inevi-
table. On the 25th March, Lord Ffrench, a venerable
Irish peer, put upon record the deliberate opinion of one
whose experience it was considered could not be deceived,
and whose station was a guarantee against any desire on
his part to exaggerate the peril in which Ireland appeared
to be placed. In his letter to Mr. J. O'Connell, he de-
clared that Repeal or separation, an Irish Parliament or
an Irish insurrection, followed by an Irish Republic, were
the only alternatives that then remained. " If England,"
observed his lordship, in conclusion, " do not anticipate,
by concession, the determination of united millions, a

2 A

530 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

severance of legislatures will not be the only object con-
templated. Our demands, therefore, if not now
granted, a civil war is the inevitable consequence, which
will probably end in a total separation from England, and
in the establishment of a Republican form of government."
Almost everybody, even stock jobbers, believed his lord-
ship. The public funds, both in England and Ireland,
began to. tumble down with unusual precipitancy. The
Bank of Ireland was besieged for gold, and paper money
threatened to become valueless.

It would seem as if the Government, looking upon in-
surrection as inevitable, desired to force it to a premature
head. The Camden policy was once more resorted to.
Lord Clarendon followed up a stimulating course of coer-
cion. He even endeavoured to suborn the manufacture
of pikes. On March 31, a man bespoke six pike-heads
from a smith named Hyland, residing in Charles-street.
On his calling for them the next day, and taking away
three with him, the smith, who did not like the appear-
ance of the matter, followed his patron and traced him to
the Castle ! He appeared to have free egress into the
seat of Government. The sentries on duty did not hinder
his entry, whilst, on the other hand, they rudely repulsed
that of 'the smith. The suspicions of Hyland now became
so strong, that he acquainted Dr. Gray and other special
constables with a history of the transaction, and when the
fellow came next day for his three remaining pikes, they
at once removed him to Church-street police office.

In Limerick the same discreditable policy was pursued.
Two men (by their own account from BrufF) waited on
Mr. Thomas Ahern, and gave an order for ten pike-heads,
at 3s. each. Having obtained them, they left the shop.
Mr. Ahern, suspecting how the land lay, pursued both
one and the other to the city police office, where they
at once were seen to enter into confidential communication
with an official attached to that establishment.

In reference to these discoveries, the Dublin Evening
Mail, long the unwavering supporter of " law and order,"
observed : — " It will do more to damage the cause of the
Government, and, as we think, the cause of order in

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 531

Ireland, than all that could be spoken in Conciliation
Hall, or the Confederation, or written in the United
Irishman, or in the Nation during the ensuing twelve
calendar months." The provocations to insurrection daily
increasing, the Council of the Irish Confederation at
length found it necessary to issue a sedative address to
the people. " Fellow-citizens," it commenced, " seeing
the incentives that are daily applied to hurry you into
fatal indiscretion, we dare not shrink from the duty of
giving you that counsel which the interests of our cause
demand. Within the last few days very plain indications
have been given by the agents of the British Government
in this city, of a desire to provoke you to a collision with
the troops. On last night several thousand men were
under arms in the University, and a strong body of police
were sent out into the streets for the purpose, as we con-
scientiously believe, of creating a riot, and thereby furnish-
ing the Government with a pretext for shedding your
blood. Fellow-citizens, do you trust us? Do you deem
us men, honest, bold, and prudent enough to advise you
in those days of peril ? If you do, hear us now. Under
no circumstances suffer yourselves to be provoked into a
collision at this moment. The game of the enemy is
slain, and so is yours. Theirs is to hurry you into a
ight, when they are prepared and you are not. Yours
is to bide your time."

Smith O'Brien sat in the House of Commons on Tory
principles until 1836. In the " Repeal year," he iden-
tified himself with O'Connell's agitation, and was visited
by Government with a supersedeas in consequence. Dis-
approving of O'Connell's later policy, he seceded from
him in 1846. His singularly daring speeches as leader of
the Irish Confederation drew down on his head a State
prosecution. The jury disagreed, O'Brien was discharged,
and the agitation recommenced with renovated vigour
Disciplined clubs were extensively established throughout
the country ; but before a thorough organization could
take place, the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, and
proclamations, offering £500 for O'Brien's apprehension,
and £300 for Meagher's, O'Gorman's, and M'Manus's, ap-

532 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

peared. No time was to be lost, and O'Brien, accom-
panied by his colleagues, repaired, with every possible
secrecy and expedition, to the County Tipperary, and
there endeavoured to instigate the people to rise en masse.
The priesthood, however, opposed them with the most
determined hostility, and as no popular movement in
Ireland can derive strength without their aid, the insur-
rection was only a partial one, and, when too late to
retract, it became evident to Mr. O'Brien and his friends
how fatally they had been deceived. With the handful
of men that did flock to their banner, O'Brien deter-
mined upon making a beginning, and at once repaired
to Ballingarry* in the hope of inducing some police who
had fortified themselves in a farm-house, to fraternize.
Sub-Inspector Trant entertained little sympathy with the
popular movement, and ordered his men to fire. Several
of the rebel party fell, and after discharging a few volleys
the rest withdrew. Sickened at the apathy shown by the
people, his spirit crushed, and callous to all consequences,
Smith O'Brien may be said to have " surrendered himself
up to justice." On the 5th August he walked into the town
ofThurles, which was literally swarming with military and
police. A railway guardnamed Hulme seized him ; and Mr.
O'Brien was in a special train removed to Dublin. Hulme
received the proclaimed reward of £500, and almost im-
mediately after died. The late Maurice Leyne, Messrs.
Meagher, M'Manus, and O'Donoghoe, were arrested a
few days afterwards in the vicinity ofThurles. Next to
clerical antagonism they attributed their failure to the
prostration of national spirit by the recent visitations of
famine and pestilence.

* It is a curious fact that the inhabitants of Ballingarry, who co-operated
with O'Brien in such a contemptibly petty manner when the moment for
acting came, avowed themselves years before as his most devoted servants.
On the 17th May, 1846, during Mr. O'Brien's temporary imprisonment in the
cellar of the House of Commons, we find the voice of this little Tipperary vil-
lage, which scarcely knew O'Brien, or he them, expressing, perhaps, the loudest
sympathy. They held a meeting, and passed a series of resolutions. " The
imprisonment of Mr. O'Brien," said they, "is not only an act of tyrannical
oppression, but a gross insult and a grievous injury to his constituents and
to Ireland. Mr. O'Brien is entitled to our highest respect, our intense regard,
and our fullest confidence."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 533

O'Brien possessed few of the necessary qualities for a
rebel leader. Humane, generous, honourable, gentle-
manly, and refined, he shrank from those acts which
achieved such successes for the Murphys, Roches,
Dwyers, and Cloneys of '98.

On the 27th July, strange news reached London. A
telegraphic despatch from Liverpool went so far as to
assert that O'Brien was triumphant. All the late editions
of the London morning papers contained it, and few
ventured to throw a doubt on the veracity of the state-
ments. In Parliament that night it formed the all-en-
grossing topic of conversation. The following is a copy
of the false despatch. It appears to have been a piece of
stock-jobbing trickery: —

" OUTBREAK OF THE REBELLION THURLES, CI.ONMEL, AND KILLKENNY

"IN ARMS.

" Half-past six o'clock.

" I had scarcely despatched the above, when I was informed that most im-
portant intelligence had reached the Castle. I set out to make inquiry, and
I find that the crisis has at length taken place.

" The railway station at Thurles is on fire, and for several miles along the
line the rails have been torn up.

" Dreadful fighting is going on in Clonmel, and the people are armed iu
masses. The great leaders of the Dublin clubs are there. The troops are
said to have been overpowered, and some to have refused to act. The mili-
tary force at Carrick, which manifested disaffection, is driven back, and their
quarters fired. The contest is also going on in Kilkenny, and there also
the insurgents are said to have been successful.

" No reliable accounts later than the mail have reached Cork, but it is
believed rebellion has there also broken out, and all through the south.

" The policy of dividing the troops into such numerous small divisions is
very much questioned.

" The Queen's messenger is just started with despatches for London."

A few days after the arrests at Thurles, Lord Clon-
curry, while thanking Doctor Grattan for a public letter
addressed to his lordship, made some feeling allusions to
the unfortunate prisoners.

[No. 93.] LORD CLONCURRT TO RICHARD GKATTAN, M.D., J.P.

"Maretimo, \2th August, 1848.

"Mr DEAR DOCTOR GRATTAN, — Many thanks for your most excellent
letter. It appeared in the Pilot, Register, and Mail. I shall endeavour in
a few days to revive the subject, by an answer ; but, during the present
fever and excitement, I am alive to nothing but a struggle for mercy to the
poor captives.

534 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

" There is to be a meeting at two o'clock on Monday at Dr. Cannichael's,
in Portland-square, on the subject of periodical Parliaments in Ireland.
Will you attend ? I can give you bed and board.

" Yours truly,

" CLONCURRY."

In September Robert Owen heard from his old friend,
Lord Cloncurry, for the first time since 1838.

[NO. 94.] LORD CLONCURRY TO ROBERT OWEN, ESQ.

" 18tk September, 1848.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I have received papers from various places which tell
me of your existence, and I hope of your well being ; but as to your where-
abouts, your projects, or your hopes, I know nothing.

" I wish you were equally ignorant of the situation of Ireland ; but her
misery and her madness are too well known to the world. You can't conceive,
nor I describe, anything so wretched, so ill-treated, and so hopeless. I sup-
pose that a knowledge of our state has prevented your promised visit for
this fall ; and, indeed, with your feelings and your heart, we have no com-
fort, no pleasure to promise you.

" Your affectionate Friend,

" CLONCURRY."

The trials for high treason of Messrs. O'Brien, Meagher,
M'Manus, and O'Donoghoe, took place in October, 1848,
at Clonmel. All were found guilty, and sentenced to
be hung, drawn, and quartered. Mr. Meagher, on his
trial, bitterly complained that only eighteen Catholics
were returned on a panel of nearly 300 jurors. In what
light this and other abuses appeared to Lord Cloncurry
will be evident from the following letter : —

[No. 95.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MICHAEL Jl'KENNA, ESQ.

" Maretimo, 27th October, 1848.
["Private.]

" MY DEAR SIR, — I think the trials of those very foolish and very unfor-
tunate gentlemen at Clonmel were conducted without any respect for decency,
or in one instance for Jaw, and I hope the House of Lords may set them
aside. We must, however, feel that the active opposition of the Whig law
lords cannot now be expected, and the Tories will be, as usual, for severity.

" I can hardly conceive any law that will now save the landowners
of the West and South from utter ruin. Those of the East and North may
struggle a little longer before they meet the fate they deserve. After that
the cultivation of our soil and our wastes, and the prosperity of American
intercourse, will probably place this country amongst the first of the earth,
but neither you nor I can hope to see it.

" I never see any of our great men — disgust seeks privacy.

" Very truly, your obliged

" CLONCURRY."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

True it was that Lord Cloncurry felt disgusted at the
policy of the Whigs. We have seen how often he supported
them — how long he reposed confidence in their benevolent
intentions. He felt cruelly mortified from the conscious-
ness of having been in his old age betrayed. Disheartened
and disgusted he held himself aloof. He remained in the
retirement of Maretimo, with arms folded, and mourning
like Marius over the ruins of his country. People won-
dered how it was that the voice of Cloncurry could remain
dumb, and see his well-beloved countrymen trampled
down, roughshod, by ministerial despotism. Prostrate
and inert, they submitted without a murmur. Their
spirit was crushed from the combined effects of famine
and pestilence, failure and humiliation. The grasp of an
angry Government held its victims tight. Advantage was
taken of this wide-spread apathy to revive the foul system
of jury packing. The men and the times of Tone and
Toler, of Sheares and Castlereagh, appeared suddenly
restored. Every great social and political triumph since
1798 was forgotten, and Ireland within a short interval
had retrograded with railway speed. A reign of darkness
and gloom hung over the people. They had gone fifty
years back, and stood paralyzed and dismayed, within the
black cavern of the eighteenth century. A sectarian
ascendancy was established. All the old engines of des-
potism resumed their work. The entire proceedings on
the part of the Government — the entire proceedings on the
part of the people, belonged to the close of the last century,
and not to the middle of this. Nothing could be more
foreign to the era of popular light and liberty than the
principle which guided the movements of the legislature
and the law. The latter, in theory, abjures all tampering
with juries as a desecration of the sanctuary of the British
constitution. Six-eighths of the population of Ireland
are Catholic. Can it be believed that not one Catholic
was allowed to remain on Mitchel's jury? According as
each Catholic juror appeared, the law officers of the Crown
set him aside. This observation applies to almost every
State prosecution throughout that year and the next.

Prostrate, humbled, and inert, the people held their

536 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

peace. Scarcely a voice was raised even in remonstrance.
Not until December did they awaken from their lethargy.
Then it was that a forlorn-hope of Dublin citizens issued
a protest. Lord Cloncurry instantly joined them in a
letter of thrilling indignation. " Petitioning against ex-
clusive juries !" he exclaimed, "Is it not like petitioning
against highway robbery? Taking the best horse of a
Roman Catholic for five pounds, is nothing to taking away
his chance of justice by packing the jury which is to
decide on his life or liberty."* The effect of such a
declaration, at such a moment, was startling. A noble
example exercises an electric influence on our people.

Charles Gavan Duffy's was the last of the State Trials.
Every means had been employed by an unscrupulous
Government to ensure his conviction. One of the most
subtle and dangerous was libelling him day after day, in
a shower of official pamphlets and journals, as a Red
Republican and a destructive. " No man who witnessed
it," wrote Duffy himself in reference to this matter, " will
ever forget the scene, when the venerable peer entered
the crowded court, took his seat beside the judges on the
bench, and tendered himself to be examined on the cha-
racter and policy of the prisoner in the dock. These
were among the first strokes that restored the courage of
the people."

* Simultaneously with the appearance of his public letter, Lord Cloncurry
addressed the following private one to the Very Kev. Dr. Spratt : —

[No. 96.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERT REV. DR. SPRATT.

" Maretimo, 12th December, 1848.

"DEAR AND VERY REV. SIR, — I am careless as to an acknowledgment
from the Mendicity, provided there be a certainty of the money being applied
as intended. Of this there could be no doubt with the good Sisters. 1 think
the publication of one's charity is a minor sin, and it brings its own punish-
ment in the shape of multiplied applications.

" On other occasions I greatly lament my frequent appearance in print,
but where (there) is so much wrong, I cannot avoid raising my cry, however
feeble, against it. I sincerely hope that you are perfectly convalescent. I
hear that fever is very rife at present, but thank God, not amongst the very
poor.

" Dear and Rev. Sir, your faithful and obliged

" CLOXCURHY."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 537

On the llth of December, 1848, Lord Cloncurry sus-
tained a severe shock in the death of his well-beloved
brother-in-law, Baron Dunsany. The same year gave
birth to both. Lord Dunsany on his death-bed expressed
a wish to see a Catholic priest. The Rev. Dr. Esmonde,
S.J., an old friend of Lord Cloncurry's, was sent for, and
arrived in time to perform the impressive ceremonial.
His lordship's ancestor, Edward, twelfth Baron Dunsany,
was the first member of that sept who conformed to Pro-
testantism.

From this period, Lord Cloncurry employed his leisure
hours in stringing together a series of what he has him-
self termed " Personal Recollections." These he handed,
with a selection from his political correspondence, to

, a gentleman for many years connected with the

Conservative Press of Dublin, but who, in 1845, wrote a
pamphlet favourable to federal parliaments, and thereby
received the thanks of the national party. Lord Cloii-
curry knew him intimately, and entertained a high
opinion of his literary talents, judgment, and industry.
set to work, and at length produced that

markable work, known as the " Personal Recollections of
Lord Cloncurry." Those acquainted with the writings
of the venerable peer had little difficulty in at once
detecting that occasional incongruity of style and senti-
ment, which soon obtained for Lord Cloncurry, in his
capacity of " Recollector," more enemies than friends.
By the English Reviews the work was roughly handled.
In the University Magazine, Nation, and other Irish
journals, favourable critiques appeared; but many of them,
nevertheless, gave expression to a feeling of dissatisfaction
at the " confused arrangement," frequent introduction of
uninteresting documents," "imperfect autobiographical
information," " failure in historical completeness," " disre-
gard of chronological order," &c., &c., which disfigured
he work.* The Irish people Avere disappointed with

In answer to some of the Reviews, Lord Cloncurry observed, in the pre-
ace to the second edition of his Recollections, that " it was not his intention
o produce a complete story of his own political life."

2 A2

538 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

what they innocently dubbed " The Life of Lord Clon-
curry," and which many, even yet, with ludicrous per-
versity, insist upon styling it. Imperfect as his lordship's
" Recollections" are, they cannot be said to extend beyond
the recall of Lord Anglesey. The Nation, while review-
ing the work, expressed a hope and a surmise, that the
various political and social movements in which he had
since been engaged would be found faithfully chronicled
in another volume.

Lord Cloncurry sent several presentation copies to his
friends.* The following is his letter to Dr. R. R. Madden,
a gentleman not less known in the literary, than Lord
Cloncurry was in the political world : —

[No. 97.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DR. H. R. MADDEN, M.R.I.A.

" Maretimo, 21st September, 1849.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I was made happy by hearing of your recovery. We
cannot afford to lose more good men, and a better than our friend William
Murphy he has not left after him.

" In looking over my poor book, you will observe that there are scant
authorities or correspondence in the early part of my eventful life. A little
reflection explains the cause. My voluminous papers were seized in 1798,
and again in 1799, and a third ransacking took place at Lyons, in 1803, by
my magistrate tenant, Clinch, whilst I was in Italy.

" In this latter robbery was an interesting correspondence with Lord
Hardwicke and Mr. Kirwan.

" The most interesting State papers (Lord Anglesey's letters), never revised
by himself, I obtained his unwilling permission to publish. They show his
honesty, his talent, and his desire to save Ireland, to do which he was, I
think, more fit than any other living man. If Ireland could be saved, it
would have been by Bun.

" Very faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

Lord Cloncurry 's old friend, Michael Staunton, whose
correspondence with his lordship the reader will re-'
member, was not forgotten. " To Michael Staunton," heJ
wrote, " whose able pen has so often pointed out safe,
and easy remedies for the manifold evils by which his
country is oppressed. August 25th, 1849."

Among the enemies whom we have referred to asn
having been created by the appearance of Lord Clon-j

* For the letter which accompanied hi lordship's presentation copy to Drl
Gray, editor and proprietor of the Freeman's Journal, see page 555.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 5B9

curry's Recollections, was Gerald Aylmer, Esq., of
Painstown, one of the most respectable grand jurors and
magistrates of the County Kildare. The following is his
letter to Lord Cloncurry : —

[No. 98.] GERALD AYLMER, ESQ., J.P., TO LORD CLONCURRY.

"Painstown, 8th October, 1849.

" MY LORD, — It is with much concern I conceive myself obliged to notice
some objectionable and offensive allusions you have made in your lordship's
recent publication, with regard to my many years' deceased brother, William
Aylmer.

" Although he did not enjoy in the Tower that ' otium cum dignitatd which,
like the Roman philosopher, your lordship preferred to the dignity of consul,
or even the power and privileges of a commander ; yet I believe his field ex-
ploits were of a character that reflect higher honour on his memory than the
imprisonment, of which you are so proud, does on your lordship. Allow me
to observe that my brother's conduct on all occasions was above suspicion,
and that any measures which the minister of the day might have thought
proper to adopt with respect to him, an act of parliamentary indemnity
would never have been required to have borne the Government harmless.

" Now to specially refer to a few of what I must term the invidious inac-
curacies of your lordship's work.

" In the first instance, by stating that my brother was the son of a tenant
of Mr. Wogan Browne, you obviously wish to convey to the reader that
my father had been of no higher grade in society than a tenant farmer, whereas
the Aylmer family, unlike your lordship's, have been for many generations
seated in this county, and our branch of it seized in, and possessed of, the
very domain from which I now address you. I have never spoken much of
the accidents of birth, and have always regarded ' an honest man as the
noblest work of God.' * * * So much for one difference between us.
Your lordship then goes on to mention that my brother, 'after lying in jail,'
&c., &c. Allow me to tell you that my brother never was in jail, nor am I
aware that during his sojourn in his native country his constitutional activity
led him into a quarrel with the Duke of Leinster's game-keeper. He wa
likewise too much of the gentleman, and knew too well the usages of society,
to pay a morning visit to Carton, ' attired in his full Austrian uniform, witli
sabre and helmet — a display which,' your lordship quaintly observes,
somewhat surprised his Grace.' No incident of the sort occurred ; and on
his behalf, and as his only surviving brother, I repudiate with scorn and in-
dignation your lordship's concluding assertion and base calumny, that my
brother died from the effects of intemperance — '•an ancient love for new rum
in South America.' With respect to his death, I take leave to quote an ex-
tract from a private letter written at the time (midsummer, 1820), and now
before me: — ' He fought bravely at the battle of Rio de la Hache, on the
Spanish Mam, where he received a wound in his arm, above the elbow. He
and several others were conveyed in a small vessel to Jamaica, during the
raging heat of June, in the torrid zone. This, united to the closeness of the
ship, caused the wound to mortify, and he died a few days after his arrival.'

" Your lordship is, of course, at liberty, in those days of materialism and

540 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

profane speculation, to turn your own stock to the most advantage ; but I
really do not think making an unauthorized and wholesale use of other
persons' names speaks much in favour of your present scheme, or to the credit
of a peer and privy councillor.

" I am, my Lord, your lordship's obedient Servant,

" GERALD AYLMER."

It might very naturally have been supposed that the
tone of the foregoing letter would agitate his lordship's
temper, and provoke a hot reply. Not a bit of it.
Immediately on its receipt, he indited to Mr. Aylmer the
following temperate answer, which we print, for the
purpose, mainly, of showing the admirable equanimity of
his lordship's disposition.

We can readily understand the irritation of Mr. Ayl-
mer's feelings, when reading, for the first time, that a
near and dear relative had died from the effects of drun-
kenness, when, in reality, he died from wounds honour-
ably received in battle ; that he was the son of a tenant-
farmer, when, on the contrary, the representative of a
sept seated for many successive generations in Kildarc ;
that he was thrown into jail, when he never was in jail,
&c., &c. But, however just and called for Mr. Aylmer's
indignation was, there are very few men who would brook
being told of their faults with the meek equanimity of I
Lord Cloncurry. Everybody knows that —

" Forgiveness to the injured does belong ;
But they ne'er pardon who have done the wrong."

[No. 99.] LORD CLONCURRY TO GERALD AYLJIER, ESQ., J.P.

" Maretimo, Oct. 9th, 1849.

" SIR, — However intemperate your letter of yesterday may be, it is my j
duty to do all in my power to redress the wroug which your brotherly]
feelings have provoked you to vindicate. If William Aylmer were alive, he
should be my advocate. I am certain our love was mutual and sincere,
the habits of youth, and of the times, at all diminished the success of hia
reckless valour, I should not be the person to proclaim it. I assure you
had not the most remote idea to write slightingly of one of Ireland's brave
men — my valued friend.

" I am told I must prepare a new edition. In it I will endeavour to
justice to the memory of William Aylmer, and effectually correct any error '.
may have heedlessly fallen into.

" Asking pardon for my unintentional offence, I have the honour to
Sir, your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURKY."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 541

There was one reminiscence connected with William
Ay Imer which Lord Cloncurry felt quite confident he could
not possibly have been mistaken in. Mr. Gerald Aylmer
supposed thathis brother knew the etiquette of society better
than to pay a morning visit in full military uniform.
" Nothing of the sort," he said, " occurred." Lord Cloncurry
could scarcely bring himself to believe that his memory
was so defective, and wrote to the Duke of Leinster, re-
questing to be informed by his Grace whether Aylmer's
appearance was or was not as he had alleged. The Duke at
once replied in the following note : —

[No. 100.] THE DUKE OF LEINSTER TO LORD CLONCURRY.

" Carton, Maynooth, Oct. 24tth, 1849.

" MY DEAR LORD CLONCURRY, — I have received your letter of the 23rd
October, and, in answer, beg to state that I have a perfect recollection of
your bringing Mr. Aylmer to Carton to introduce him to me, and that he
was in uniform.

" I am, my dear Lord Cloncurry, yours very sincerely,

" LEIXSTER."

The family of the late Sir Frederick Faulkiner were not
less displeased with Lord Cloncurry than Mr. Aylmer.
His lordship spoke of the baronet in immediate connexion
with some rudeness shown him at school, and attributed
a painful local complaint to the confinement attendant
on a personal accident to which Sir Frederick Faulkiner
was privy. But this was only a weak objection. The
same family will probably have just as much reason to
feel displeased with ourselves.

The irritation of Lord Anglesey at the publication of
his private letters was, we think, uncalled for. One of
Cloncurry 's first acts, in his capacity of literary " Recol-
lector," was, to forward under cover to Uxbridge House
a large package of the noble marquis's letters, in order
that he might at once examine them, and, if necessary,
notify to Lord Cloncurry any passage or passages which,
as an influential member of a recently existing Cabinet,
he could not feel himself justified in publishing to the
world. The package arrived inopportunely at Uxbridge
House. It came into the Field Marshal's hands at a
moment when his lordship was not in the very best

542 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

humour, from the effects of a more than ordinarily severe
attack of tic doloreux, which had chronically tortured his
existence, and without even breaking the seal of the
wrapper, he returned it to Lord Cloncurry, with a peevish
assurance that he never in his life wrote one single line
that he cared if the whole world were to sit in committee
upon. Lord Anglesey was at all times extremely care-
less about his correspondence. His celebrated letter to
Lord Grey, in 1834, and his not less celebrated letter to
Dr. Curtis, in 1828 — both of which, although marked
" Private and confidential," found their way into the
public journals — attest sufficiently this observation of
ours. " Lord Anglesey's incautious habit of showing his
correspondence" has been already made the subject of
complaint by Lord Hatherton. When Viceroy, he never
placed a letter, no matter how important, in his escritoir.

For many years after his return to England, Mr. C

continued to be the sole depository of all his papers, and
may still be so for aught we know to the contrary.

When the " Recollections" appeared, and Lord An-
glesey read his confidential letters for the first time in
print, he expressed himself in terms of annoyance ; Lord
Clarendon was also rather wroth ; and their dissatisfaction
was not mitigated when the University Magazine, Nation,
and Freeman's Journal chuckled, with unaffected satisfac-
tion, at certain political revelations which took them
avowedly by surprise.

One interesting letter from Lord Melbourne, a few
from Sir Francis Burdett, and several from Lord Holland,
appeared in the book. The representatives of each (for
all three were deceased) expressed themselves as not less
irate. The Right Hon. John Wilson Croker, in the
Quarterly Review, attacked Lord Cloncurry with con-
siderable asperity. Among other charges, he accused
him of not asking the leave of either his surviving cor-
respondents, or the representatives of his dead ones, to
publish these letters. " Has he got leave from their
heirs?" asked Mr. Croker. " We can undertake to
answer that question with a direct negative, for we have
been distinctly informed by some of them that no such

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 543

leave was asked, and never would have been given it
asked. This is an offence which cannot be too strongly
reprobated."

The manner in which O'Connell was spoken of in the
" Recollections" excited a general feeling of surprise.
His funeral had but a short time previously traversed the
streets of Dublin. The people wept as it passed, and
thought only of the good qualities of the great deceased.
His failings were crushed into nothingness beneath a
mountain of gratitude. His most inveterate foes through
life now honoured his memory, and elegies instead of
diatribes rolled from their lips.

It therefore excited some astonishment, not unmixed
with pain, when O'Connell's series of expedients, in 1831,
to avoid the lasso of Lord Anglesey's rapidly pursuing
Algerine Act, were pronounced by Lord Cloncurry " to
have assumed a character of ludicrous absurdity that
rendered it impossible for an Irishman who loved his
country to look upon without sorrow and humiliation ;"
when O'Connell was stated to have " worked his battery
of abuse with his accustomed vigour ;" when it appeared
that the coolness between Lord Cloncurry and O'Connell
" was now and then warmed up by a burst of vitupera-
tion on his (O'Connell's) part ;" when the three public
letters to Lord Cloncurry, in 1831, were pronounced to
have been " specially devoted to the business of vitu-
perating" his lordship ;* — these and other observations in
reference to the dead patriot, surprised many, and
occasioned some pain to the family and admirers of
O'Connell.

As their tone, however, is somewhat at variance with
the sentiments elsewhere expressed by Lord Cloncurry,
the feeling we allude to, in consequence of them, ought
not to exist. In his lordship's public letter to Smith
O'Brien, some time previous to O'Connell's death, he
speaks of him as " illustrious ;" and in reference to the
occasional peals of thunder which marked tlie past sum-

* The first of the three letters referred to appears on page 411 of this
work. The greater portion of it is, we think, highly complimentary to Lord
Cloncurry.

544 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

mer of his life, added, " those outbreaks were a part of
his nature, otherwise so kindly and so good." In a
private letter to Dr. Spratt (published in this work) he
assures his reverend correspondent that although he had
sometimes reason in past life to find fault with O'Con-
nell, he ^always loved him, and he (O'Connell) knew it.
The good peer also mourned at the thought of Ireland's
Liberator having been " forgotten."

The Roman Catholic Church, for which Lord Clon-
curry always manifested a marked respect, felt hurt, and
justly so, at some contemptuous expressions in " The Per-
sonal Recollections." The solemn exercise of the censer, for
example, which forms a remarkable feature in the impres-
sive and sacred ceremony of High Mass, Lord Cloncurry
spoke of as "fumigating!" This offensive word, was in
the second edition, expunged, and the more respectful and
correct one, " incensed," substituted. We have seen, on
page ninety-five of this work, how hurt the friends of
Thomas Braughall expressed themselves at Lord Clon-
curry's reference to him as " a zealous and faithful servant
of his father."

The errors of date and fact were numerous enough,
though hardly of a very serious nature. It is our intention
to allude to one only ; and that cannot be well avoided,
because a note of Lord Cloncurry's, apropos to it, claims
insertion at our hands.

Lord Cloncurry spoke of General William Lawless as
having lost his leg at the battle of Flushing. Colonel
Byrne, an officer in the Irish Legion, and an old friend
of Lawless, contradicted the statement, with an elaborate
detail of the real circumstances of the catastrophe. In a
letter of Colonel Byrne's to the author, at page 278,
further reference is made to this matter.

[No. 101.] LORD CLOXCURRY TO CHARLES G. DUFFY, ESQ., M.P.

9 "3rd November, 1849.

" DEAR SIR, — Thank Colonel Byrne for me. His account of the loss of

General Lawless's leg must be the most accurate, as he was on the spot when

the casualty occurred.

" Dear Sir, very faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 545

Meanwhile the correspondence with Dr. Spratt con-
tinued : —

[No. 102.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

" Maretimo, bth April, 1849.

" MY DEAR AND VERY REV. DR. SPRATT, — Having some business which
I think will be likely to take me, though very unwillingly, to England, 1
take the liberty of troubling you with a commission of the kind you so amia-
bly and willingly undertake, and beg you will privately distribute the
enclosed to the following charities : —

" Sisters of Charity (St. Vincent's) . . £1000
" Sisters of Mercy (Baggot-street) . . 10 0 0
" Father Kirby (Olive Mount Institute) . 10 0 0
" Room -keepers' Charity, . . . . 700

"St. Peter's Schools, ' 300

£40 0 0

" A thousand thanks for your excellent Essay on Temperance. Tour
labours in that cause are invaluable and now doubly useful, as I am sorry to
say the necessities of the good Father Mathew placing him in the category
of Government pensioners, has lessened the prestige of his respected name.

" Misery drives men in despair to drink. When we better our condition
we will have few drunkards.

" With great respect and regard, yours faithfully,

" CLONCURRY."

At this time we find the Very Reverend gentleman
labouring hard to organize the National Conference. It
was proposed to form it of the remnants of both Young
and Old Ireland. He toiled unceasingly to fuse them
into one, and in doing so called upon Lord Cloncurry for
his co-operation.

[No. 103.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

" 13th April, 1849.

" MY DEAR SIR, — With thanks for your kind letter of the 12th, I would
ask what can anybody do for Ireland at present, and particularly a man of
my age and of my sorrows ? I have not seen Mr. Percival's letter — have
•ou it ?

" I observe in yesterday's Freeman the credit given to ' Anonymous,' for
donation through you to the Roomkeepers, is 15s. instead of £5. I do not

low Mr. , do you think him very accurate ?

' Pray forgive this trouble to one so much and so usefully employ^.
" Dear and Very Rev. Sir, faithfully yours, " CLONCURRY."

3RD CLONCURRY TO THE SECRETARIES OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

[No. 104.] " 28th October, 1849.

ENTLEJfEN, — I am really inclined to hope that much good may come
om the National Conference, and I feel that something is much needed to

546 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

relieve our people ; but I am so circumstanced at present, that I could not
attend any meeting, and consequently will not request any one else to do so.

" Your faithful Servant,

" CLOXCURRY."

[No. 105.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERT REV. DR. SPRATT.

" VERY REV. DEAR SIR, — Most sorry am I that your wise and bene-
volent exertions to bring about unanimity amongst the contending factions,
who so deeply injure the cause of our country at this crisis of her fate, have
not been successful. May they open their eyes to the irreparable mischief
they are labouring to accomplish. You have the good wishes and thorough
respect of all good men, and in particular of

"AN ENGLISH PEER AND REFORMER.

" May I beg of you to distribute the enclosed mark of my sympathy to
the following excellent charities : —

"Sisters of Mercy, . . . £10 0 0

" Sisters of Charity, . . . 10 0 0

" Roomkeepers, . . . . 10 0 0

" Father Kirby, . . . . 10 0 0
*' Mankstown Parish, December \%th, 1849."

In many of the letters addressed by Lord Cloncnrry
to Dr. Spratt, anonymous signatures like the above ap-j
pear. Dr. Spratt, however, never experienced the!
slightest difficulty in determining whom they came from, j
Some of the letters have no signature at all. This appa-l
rent eccentricity is easily explained. Those so written]
generally enclosed a sum of money which his lordshipj
wished to be applied anonymously.

Beneath is a chance relic of Lord Cloncurry's volu-|
minous correspondence with Dr. Grattan, ex-King's!
Professor in the College of Physicians.

[No. 106.] LORD CLONCURRY TO RICHARD GRATTAN, M.D., J.P.

" June 2nd, 1849.

" MY DEAR DOCTOR, — My son Cecil has written to Colonel Dunne
Mr. Napier on the subject of your examination by the Poor- Law Committ
They probably will not issue any new summonses. Cecil himself goes ove
in a few days. Lord W. F. seems to have got enough for the present of i
societies, and, indeed, until the fate of the poor State prisoners be decidt
and until the restoration of the law of habeas corpus, I think we should
fine oujr labours to the Cabinet,* and a very select one too.

" It is said that R , our great leader of Rotatorys,f got money for di

* Note by Dr. Grattan. — " His lordship's rather obscure allusion to
Cabinet refers, I suspect, to those persons whose opinions were in unison witj
his own, and with whom he was accustomed to communicate confidentia
on public matters."

t Rotatory or Periodical Parliaments in Ireland.

CLONCURRT AND HIS TIMES. 547

age under the Act, and employed it in slating his offices. I hope it is not true,
but every day brings to light our propensity for jobbing, and the intense
hatred of the English towards the best of our people.

" Specimens of diseased potatoes of the young crop have been sent up
from almost all quarters to the Lord Lieutenant.

" The two Belief Committees are at private war, to the destruction of
useful energy and of the small hope of the famishing poor. One set is for
aiding the Pope, and putting down the Godless Colleges ; the others for aid-
ing the landlords and not the tenants. I see little or no room for hope, but
will not be the less anxious to aid, as far as an old man can, every exer-
tion to better our condition.

" I think Maunsell's examination before the committee must be of great
use, and one of yours in the same direction would greatly tend to elucidate
our case. England has brought us to ruin. How can she now contrive
to relieve us, or save herself ?

" Most truly yours,

" C."

The party whom Lord Cloncurry alludes to in the
foregoing letter as Lord W. F., is Lord William Fitz-
gerald, brother of his Grace the Duke of Leinster. He
was Chairman of the Society for promoting the Annual
Meeting of Parliament in Dublin,* of which Lord Clon-
curry, Dr. Grattan, Dr. Hayden, and one or two others,
were invited to become members, in order that they
might, in some degree, popularize the Society, which ori-
ginated with persons of decidedly Conservative opinions.
This they well knew ; but Lord Cloncurry decided on
joining it, simply because he considered it a move in the
right direction, although, as he avowed to Dr. Grattan,
he felt convinced it would end in no useful result. The
truth of this remark was very soon confirmed by the dis-
solution of the Society, in a manner the most unprece-
dented and irregular. It was effected in this way. The
Lord Lieutenant expressed to Sir Montague Chapman,
and to another leading member, that their proceedings
were not approved of by the Government, and would
materially interfere with measures of the " greatest uti-
lity" to Ireland, which ministers were preparing to bring

* There were several meetings of this Society held. Dr. Grattan has as-
sured us, that the language uttered by its principal members fully equalled,
in seditious intensity, the most furious of the speeches delivered at the Irish
Confederation. " It is an evidence," said he, " of the latent but widespread
spirit of discontent that prevailed." The press was excluded, and, of course,
no reports of the treasonable speeches appeared.

548 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

forward in the approaching Session of Parliament. His Ex-
cellency requested them, therefore, not to create an addi-
tional difficulty by continuing their agitation, but to con-
fide in the good intentions of the ministry, and leave the
question in their hands. Accordingly, Sir Montague
Chapman, and the other member, on the next day of
meeting, attended half an hour before the appointed time,
when, in the absence of Lord William Fitzgerald, and of
every other associate except the Secretary, he took the
Chair, and resolved, with the assistance of his colleague,
" That this Society do now adjourn its meetings until
after the next Session of Parliament."

There never was another meeting of the Society, the
object of which, even from the first, was absurd and chime-
rical. The originators and promoters of it, though Con-
servatives, were dissatisfied with England, and, at heart,
Repealers, but afraid to acknowledge themselves such.
However, they adopted this half way course of obtaining
justice for Ireland, not unmixed with a little personal ad-
vantage to some of the members, who, trading on their
newly invented scheme of " Irish agitation," disposed of
their entire stock to the Castle, at a small premium.

[No. 107.] LORD CLONCURRY TO RICHARD GRATTAX, ESQ., M.D., J.P.

"Maretimo, 8th July, 1849.

" DEAR DOCTOR GRATTAN, — A man of your cloth, Doctor Graves, dind
with me on Thursday next the 13th inst. He is a good man and a Repealer]
He meets two or three of the same way of thinking, and I much wish that
you could be of the party, and remain with me the following day. I dine
half-past six, but come early if you can.

" Very truly yours,

" CLONCURRY."

Doctor Robert Graves was, with perhaps one exce
tion, the most deservedly eminent medical practitioner
Dublin. He revered Lord Cloncurry for his unswervi
patriotism, and loved him for his benevolence. He a
mired alike the stern sincerity that characterized the m
and the uncompromising attitude which, throughout
long life, it was his pride to assume. Lord Cloncurry,
his part, venerated Graves for his kindly feeling tow
the people. In principle he was a democrat. The flame

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 549

of nationality burned within the breast of Graves, but not
resplendently. It was hidden. Lord Cloncurry loved
to fan it. He would often ask Graves to Maretirao of an
evening, and discuss with him until midnight the politi-
al posture of Ireland, and plans for her amelioration.

Dr. Graves died from a complication of most distressing
diseases in 1852. Almost every portion of his body
Became disordered, and Robert Graves died a martyr's
death. That giant mind, however, impregnable against
the assaults of disease, remained to the last vigorous and
nimpaired. Shortly before his dissolution, he composed
tiis own epitaph, and requested that it should be engraven
on his tomb. It was short and simple, and ran as fol-
lows : — " Robert James Graves, son of Richard Graves,
Professor of Divinity, who after a protracted and painful
disease, died in the love of God, and the faith of Jesus
Christ."

A certain physician, now at the head of his profession
in Dublin, numbered Graves amongst his most intimate
friends. " Ah," said he to us within the last few months,
" no one appears to know what a loss that man has been
to the medical profession. G — d," he added earnestly, after a
moment's thought, " I can compare those he has left after
him to nothing save so many little children." No traces
of Lord Cloncurry 's correspondence with Dr. Graves can
be found amongst the papers of the latter.

Lord Cloncurry woiild seem to have been fond of
gathering the doctors about him. We remember on one
occasion to have heard of the following party dining at
Maretimo: — Dr. Gray, editor of the Freeman s Journal,
Dr. Maunsell of the Evening Mail, Dr. Grattan, ex-King's
Professor of the Practice of Medicine, Surgeon Carmi-
chael, of Rutland-square, Dr. Nuttal, a radical cosmopolite,
Dr. Spratt, D.D., S.M.T., Dr. Robert Graves, Dr. Wilde,
and Dr. R. R. Madden, M.R.I.A.

With the latter, Lord Cloncurry 's correspondence was
for the most part of a very trifling character. We place
upon record the two following notes, solely because of
their reference to his lordship's old and fast friend — Billy
Murphy — who died of cholera in the autumn of 1849.

550 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

[No. 108.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DR. R. R. MADDKN, M.R.I.A.

" Maretimo, July 9^, 1849.

" MY DEAR SIR, — The first time you called on me you did not leave your!
direction. When you called yesterday I was at home, as I always am on]
Sunday.

" The misfortunes of the country have quite upset me, and made me more!
invisible than our friend W(illiam) M(urphy), but if you can come here at half-
past six or before it on Thursday next, the 12th, I shall be most happy to|
see you.

" My dear Sir, yours most faithfully, " CLONCURRY."

["NO. 109.] LORD CLONCURHY TO DR. R. R. MADDEN, M.R.I.A.

" Maretimo, 3rd September, 1849. I

" MY DEAR SIR, — I was only next door when you called, visiting a sickfl
friend. 1 have heard of the death of my dear friend, William Murphy, ona J
of the best and honestest of men. Pray dine with me to-morrow or Thursday

" Yours, very truly,

" CLONCURRY."

The famine which decimated Ireland in 1847 conti-
nued, though in a mitigated form, throughout the tw<
following years. The people, foolishly imagining that the!
aphis vastator was but a temporary visitation, sowed theia
potatoes as before. We have seen in Lord Cloncurry'a
letter to Dr. Grattan, dated June 2nd, 1849, that specin
mens of diseased potatoes of the young crop had beerd
forwarded from almost every quarter of Ireland to the!
Lord Lieutenant. The consequences of the catastrophi
were similar with those in 1848. Men died in hundred^
in the distant country districts, and as no public works
at that time existed, the people had no employment on
relief to hope for but what the resident gentry coul<
afford them. In the midst of this distress Queen Victorii
visited Dublin. Since 1821, Ireland had not bee]
honoured by the tread of royalty. A similar spirit oj
infatuation now prevailed. Nobility and gentry, h
for presentation, poured from every quarter of Irelani
into the metropolis. Forgetful of the axiom that " p:
perty has its duties as well as its rights," they left th4J
starving peasantry to die from neglect, and radiant with
smiles, fluttered around the brilliancy of the castle. Thd
papers teemed with " fashionable arrivals." Every hotelj
in Dublin was full. Titled families were repeatedly, and
much to their astonishment, refused admission. Every

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 551

second dwelling-house became an inn. Any terms were
asked, and any acceded to.

When the first fever of triumphal arches, cannon
booming, banners, and platforms* had in some degree sub-
sided, levees, balls, and receptions were holden. Nothing
now was thought aboutbut Court waistcoats, knee-breeches,
silk-stockings, ruffles, dress-swords, and the order of pre-
cedence. The file of the Freeman s Journal for 1849
lies open before us. In the very impressions which record
the progress of the pageantry,f and the strange infatuation
that animated the Court smitten gentry, columns of letters
appear from Roman Catholic and Protestant pastors, the
Archbishop of Tuam, and other dignitaries, calling in
piteous language on the wealthy to forward some relief,
however trifling, for the poor unemployed, starving, and
plague-stricken peasantry. Only one citizen of Dublin
appeared exempt from the fashionable contagion. Mr.
O'Reilly, of George's-street, on one of the nights that Dub-
lin blazed with illumination, hung from his drawing-room
window a black flag, with the words " Famine and Pes-
tilence" inscribed in skeleton characters. The police
seized it, and Mr. O'Reilly paid the penalty for his mis-
demeanour.

Lord Cloncurry sickened at the heartlessness of his
countrymen, and held aloof from participating in what

* Several platforms were, in every street, erected for the purpose of
affording those who wished to pay, a comfortable view of her Majesty. The
prices of admission varied from five shillings to a guinea. A general mania
prevailed for the erection of platforms. Even Baggot-street convent was
not exempt from it. For years six lofty elms flourished beneath the win-
dows of the House of Mercy. These, in the excitement of the moment,
were mutilated by order of the nuns, and a platform capable of accommo-
dating 500 persons erected on the trunks. Their unsightly remains still
exist.

t In the impression which records the names of the nobility, gentry, and
aristocratic squireens, who thronged to the levee, the following epitome of
the proceedings of the Relief Committee appears : — " Several letters were
|read from different parts of the south and west, representing the state of
(the people there to be most deplorable, and beseeching the Committee, in the

st earnest manner, to give them some assistance. Owing, however, to the
•want of funds, the Committee were unable to make any grant ; but it is to be
hoped that when the charitable are made aware of the absolute necessity of
continuing their support, they will not be long until they are supplied with
the means of doing so."

552 CLONCURBY AND HIS TIMES.

appeared to liim as unseemly pageantry. His name may
vainly be searched for amongst the myriads of nobles who
thronged to the throne-room through the private entree.
He received letters from several, desiring that his lord-
ship would present them at Court. To these he returned
such courteous answers as the following : —

[NO. 110.] LORD CLONCURRY TO W. J. O'NEIL DAUNT, ESQ.,

" Maretimo, August, 1849.

" MY DEAR SIR, — I shall be happy to receive your friend, Mr. Charles
Glendouwyn Scott I do not myself intend to go to Court, but I have the
privilege of presentation, •which is much at your service.

" Dear Sir, your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

In a private letter to Dr. Gray, dated July 25th, and
which will be found a few pages further on in extenso,
his lordship says: — "Only think of ordering illumina-
tions in the midst of death and suspended laws. Illumi-
nations will cost more than all that has been collected by
the two Relief Committees — about £8000."

The three following most interesting letters, ad-
dressed by Lord Cloncurry to the talented Editor of the
Freeman, belong, properly speaking, to a somewhat earlier
portion of this work, and had they reached us sooner
they would have been inserted with all due attention to
chronological accuracy. They were written immediately
after the appearance of Lord Cloncurry's public letter to
Smith O'Brien, and before the sad intelligence of O'Con-
nell's death at Genoa had reached Ireland : —

[No. 111.] LORD CLONCDRRY TO JOHN GRAY, ESQ., M.D.

" May 12, 1847.

''MY DEAR DR. GRAY, — In the Freeman of last Tuesday Mr. J. O'C —
is reported to have said of me : — ' It is said that Lord Cloncurry would join
us if we threw certain considerations overboard. * * Let him not ask us
to jeopardize the legal safety of the Association, or peril the very existence
of the Repeal cause.' And again : — ' He has kept a long time without
knocking (at the Union).'

" Now I don't recollect ever having asked anybody to throw anything
overboard, or to jeopardize anything; and I never recollect to have ceased
for one moment knocking at the Union for the last forty-seven years.

" I did not attend at Conciliation Hall because I could not tamely hear

CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES. 553

the Duke of Leinster and other friends of mine libelled. They never ceased
to love Ireland, but were driven to silence by ill- treatment, to the great loss
of the cause. I believe that out of above two hundred Irish peers, there are
not a dozen liberal and patriotic. These dozen have been more abused than
the other two hundred. All this annoys me, only because I know how it
injures the cause of the country.

" I wrote to O'Connell and Sheil in '27 or '28, that no Emancipation worth
having could be carried but in an Irish Parliament. Sheil said, he was a
beggar, and a sufferer, and that he sought relief wherever he could get it.
O'Connell said, that if he agitated Repeal, he would lose Emancipation. I
answered, that Emancipation, at the cost of the forty-shilling freeholders,
would not be worth two pence. My letter to Mr. O'Brien, which appeared in
the Freeman of last week, was merely to ask him to return to the Hall ; and, to
carry that point, I would have gone myself, though very unfit for such a place.

" I feel with great pain and sorrow the impossibility of accomplishing a
union of Irishmen, and I fear that J O'C 's manner is one great im-
pediment, and that the treatment of the seceders has been unfair, though I
wished them to pass it over. Alas ! poor Ireland !

" Yours truly, " CLONCURRY."

[No. 112.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JOHN GRAY, ESQ., M.D.

" nth May, 1847.

" DEAR DR. GRAY, — Lord Wellesley being my personal friend, and a
good, though rather vain man, I rather supported his Government ; but
even in his time my hostility to the Union was concentrated, as you will
perceive by the letter herein enclosed. I never for one moment gave up
Repeal, though. I often proposed palliation to dimmish the sufferings of the
people. Many were the offers made to me to induce me to give up my
opposition. I always refused. The Duke of Leinster often said, ' I agree
with you on all subjects but that of Repeal.' I verily believe that if he had
not been unfairly abused, he would have joined us in that. Lord Anglesey
said to me, ' Join me in striving to do good to your country, and if I disap-
point you, I will join you for Repeal.' My answer was, ' I will help to do
good, but will not give up Repeal.' I never gave up knocking ; but I could
not stand by to hear our best men abused, and now without ever thinking of

asking Mr. J O'C to risk the existence of the Association, I would

not join it whilst younger, better, and more able men are abused 6r unfairly
dealt with. /

" P.S. — The ruin of this country is the love of place-seeking. Since Cecil
has been in for Clonmel, I am daily tormented by persons insisting that I
should get them places.* I apologised to the poor Ld. Lt. for not dining
with him, lest the moment it appeared in the paper I should be overwhelmed
with solicitations. In that respect the Confederates are quite right."

[No. 113.] LORD CLONCORRY TO JOHN GRAY, ESQ., M.D.

" 18th May, 1847.

" MY DEAR DR. GRAY, — Out of sixty years of energetic labour in behalf
of my suffering country, I was for about three a friend of the Government of

* For a curious letter to Mr. Lawless, offering him a bribe of JE300, see
Appendix.

* 2 B

554 CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES.

the day, viz., two when Lord Anglesey was here, and once whilst Lord
Normanhy was Viceroy. I enclose you the only letter I recollect to have
written in favour of the Government. You will see what I said of the Union
by the enclosed, which I beg you to return, with the letter to O'Gorman
already sent. Excuse this trouble, but I wish to show you how false the

accusation of Mr. J O'C .

" Yours very truly, " CLONCURRY."

In 1849 we again find Dr. Richard Grattan pressing
under Lord Cloncurry's notice his favourite plan of a
national congress. Lord Cloncurry did not lack the
will to rise and act, but the chains of bodily infirmity
bound him to his seat : —

£No. 114.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DR. RICHARD GRATTAX, J.P.

" Maretimo, 8th October, 1849.

" MY DEAR SIR, — The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. You may
remember me a never-failing attendant on the Society for the Improvement
of Ireland, though living at the time at Lyons. I can now seldom leave my
own chimney-corner, and though I altogether wish for, and approve of, the
formation of such a body as you project, I would not for worlds make
promises of utility by which I would probably disappoint better men. There
was a dinner at Mr. Duffy's on Saturday, at which I hear that several young
men of spirit, talent, and good figure entered into resolutions to form a society
for the practical education of the people.

" I have been for many years President of the Dublin Library Society ;
a most valuable institution, which has gradually and most unfortunately gone
to decay. It has been suggested to revive and improve it ; to have evening
meetings, conversations, and lectures, which I really think might be pro-
ductive of great good, and, perhaps, lead to the reunion you so wisely and
ably recommend. If you would come here on Saturday for a day or two I
would get Maunsell to meet you, and, perhaps, we might strike out some-
thing useful ; but to be candid with you, I never possessed so little of hope
•or energy — shall I say of reliance — on public men as I do at present. This,
however, may be the effect of age and disappointment. A prospect of better
things might revive me. All the rest of the world — happy America ex-
Vepted — is in as bad a state as can be. The only Christian in Europe is the
•Grand Turk !

" Very faithfully yours, " CLONCURRY."

In spite of rapidly increasing bodily infirmities, Lord
Cloncurry never relinquished his old habits of hospitality.
The kind spirit expressed in the following note pervaded
his language on all occasions to those about him : —

[No. 115.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DR. R. R. MADDEN, M.R.I. A.

" Maretimo, 4th November, 1849.

" DEAR DR. MADDEN, — Will you do me the favour td dine with me on
Thursday next, the 8th ? It is cruel to ask you to come so far in November
fcut I am always glad to see you.

" Very truly yours, " CLONCURRY."

CLONCURBY AND HIS TIMES. 555

The following letter to Dr. Gray accompanied a pre-
sentation copy of his lordship's " Recollections," which
was very favourably reviewed in the Freeman s Journal a
lew days subsequently. The earlier portion of the letter is
almost verbatimvrith No. 115, addressed to Dr.Madden:—

[No. 116.] LORD CLONCUREY TO DR. GRAY.

" 2\st September, 1849.

" DEAR DR. GRAY, — In the book I venture to publish, it will appear that
there are scant authorities or correspondence of my early life. This can be
readily accounted for by the fact, that all my papers were seized in 1798,
and again in 1799 ; and whilst I was in Italy, in 1803, my tenant, the
magistrate Clinch, stole everything from Lyons ; amongst the rest, an inte-
resting correspondence of Earl Hardwicke and of Kirwan the geologist. I
am somewhat surprised that so many letters have escaped, my habit being
to destroy letters as soon as answered. Lord Anglesey's letters, never revised
or corrected by himself, I value as most able and honest state papers, and
I with difficulty prevailed on myself to seek his permission for their publica-
tion. He loved justice and he loved Ireland ; if she could be saved he was
the man to do it. Sed diis aliter visum.

" Yours very faithfully, " CLONCURRT.

" P.S. — I take this opportunity to state to you some circumstances relative

to the '82 Club, of which you were, I believe, Secretary for a tune. S

O'B asked me to become a member. I said I was too old and too blaze

for it, and that I could not wear the dress. He urged me in presence of my
brother Douglas ;* I told him I would consider. He got me elected without
further notice, and contrary to the rules of the Club.

" He again proposed me as ambassador to France, without any consulta-
tion ; and of this the Government had notice, as if it was not merely to
congratulate the French on their revolution, but to concoct treason. Now.
much as I loved S. O'B., these were mischievous liberties to take with a man
of seventy-four years, who had already suffered so much, and who had
entirely disapproved of all his plans, as far as he knew of them. I think the
'82 Club might still be turned to useful Irish purposes."

" The Irish Alliance," accomplished mainly through
the instrumentality of Dr. Spratt, held an aggregate meet-
ing, on November 20th, 1849. In principle it was
neither an Old nor a Young Ireland body, but pertained
of the qualities of both, without the marked characteristics.
All loud allusion, however, to physical force, as an
instrument for the work, was sedulously excluded from
their councils. Mr. M. R. Leyne declared that to talk of
waging war in their then distracted and almost exanimate
state, would be braggart buffoonery, of which he was in-
capable. At the unanimous call of the meeting, Dr.
Grattan was moved to the chair.

* Rev. A. Douglas, brother to Emily Lady Cloncurry. He died at Qui Si
Sano (a residence adjoining Maretimo), Feb. 13, 1855.

556 CLONCURRi* AND HIS TIMES.

A general feeling of sympathy, at that time, existed
for the fate of Smith O'Brien and his fellow-prisoners
whom a cruel verdict was about to consign for ever (as
people then imagined) to the hulks. There were many
of their friends and ex-colleagues present at the aggregate
meeting of the Irish Alliance. In the course of the even-
ing some warm allusions were made to their fate. Dr.
Grattan did not feel himself called upon to interrupt them.
The attempt would have created confusion. His business
was to preserve order.

' Dr. Grattan was never an O'Connellite ; he was never
an O'Brienite. Personally he knew neither Meagher,
Mitchell, nor O'Brien ; but he was not altogether devoid
of sympathy for their sad transition from affluence and
comfort to the cold, dreary atmosphere of a felon's cell.

Robert Jocelyn, Earl of Roden, and "the brothers Beers,"
three rampant Orange magistrates of Ulster, had just been
dismissed by Lord Clarendon for personally aiding and
encouraging " True Blue" processions, as they strutted to
Dolly's Brae, with a view to celebrate in blood the
Twelfth of July. A large body of Orangemen, panting
to retaste the pleasures of " the Diamond," marched, as
a preliminary step, to Tollymore Park, the seat of Lord
Roden. His lordship does not appear to have been taken
by surprise. Refreshments for hundreds lay spread upon
the lawn. The hundreds arrived and partook of meats,
wines, and alcoholic drinks galore. Lord Roden contem-
plated the disappearance of his good things with truly
Irish hospitality. He gazed upon the prostrate feeders,
gloated over their strength, and addressed them from his
windows in accents of bland approval. With appetites
for beef appeased, but not for Popish blood, the Orange
band formed into line once more, and proceeded on their
march. Though considerably out of their way, they
insisted on passing through the village of Dolly's Brae
(where the Catholics had congregated in large numbers), ,
and the consequence was a sanguinary collision. Women
were murdered, children assassinated, idiot boys immo- '.
lated at the shrine of Orangeism. A frightful scene
ensued. The Catholics fled, they knew not whither,

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 557

panic-stricken and defeated. The ground was strewn
with slain. From the summit of each Papist's cottage a
sheet of flame shot forth. The military and police,
sufficient to disperse the assailants, looked on paralysed
and inert. Advantage was taken of this apathy with a
vengeance. The scenes of '97 were once more enacted.
Never was triumph more exuberant or complete.

In the following letter to Dr. Gray, the reader will find
a reference to this subject. The royal visit to Ireland
had been just announced: —

[NO. 117.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DR. GRAY.

"29th July, 1849.

" DEAR DOCTOR GRAY, — I approve greatly of the address to the people
of Great Britain, the memorandum, &c. ; but as long as the Union lasts there
can be no well-grounded hope for Ireland. I forward your letter to Cecil,
and am certain he will be grateful if you act for him ; he has gone to Gleu-
gariff.

" Only think of ordering illuminations in the midst of death and suspended

laws. I have no doubt that Lord knew and approved of Lord Roden's

gathering. He (Lord 7?.) had incited my nephew, Dunsany, logo to Tollymore
Park that day, but he came to Maretimo.

" Illuminations will cost more than all that has been gathered by the two
relief committees, about £8,000. lam almost ashamed to belong to both :
the one favouring bad landlords, the other the massacre of the poor Romans.
However, there will be plenty of potatoes for all except the poor con-acre men.
We are an abject, wretched people.

" Yours very truly, " C."

The Orange faction vowed vengeance on Lord Cla-
rendon for his dismissal of their idol. Twenty Orange
magistrates resigned the commission. His Excellency,
in order to demonstrate the thorough impartiality of his
Administration, resolved to visit Dr. Richard Grattan
with a supersedeas. This was done, and he accordingly
ceased to exercise magisterial authority over the King's
County and the County of Kildare. How inferior in
magnitude must his offence be considered when placed in
the balance with the Earl of Roden's.

Dr. Grattan's able answer to Lord Chancellor Brady
(who addressed a communication to him animadversive
on his conduct) appeared in all the public journals of 'the
day. Voluminous in extent, it was a masterpiece of
eloquence, and of calm but forcible argument.

558 CLONCTJRRY AND HIS TIMES.

" Should you, my Lord, consider," said Grattan, in
conclusion, " that I have forfeited my claim to hold the
commission of the peace, you best know what course it
is your duty to pursue. I never solicited the commis-
sion. It was, to a certain extent, forced upon me. By
accepting it, I by no means considered that I was bound
to support any political party, or to eschew any line of
political action that might be displeasing or inconvenient
to the party in power. I do not undervalue the

commission of the peace, as it is a useful and constitu-
tional office, but in any other point of view I care
nothing for it. Its acceptance gave me no additional
rank — the deprivation of it can impart to me no degra-
dation."

Lord Cloncurry no sooner read the correspondence,
than he addressed the following note to his old friend : —

[No. 118.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DR. GRATTAX.

" Maretimo, 6th Dec., 1849.

" MY DEAR DOCTOR GRATTAN, — I have read your very true and very
admirable letter, and subscribe to almost every word it contains. I am
sorry for the country and for the honour of the magistracy, that you are no
longer of that body ; but I congratulate you on the occasion offered you for
speaking your ever honest opinion.

" Had your advice been followed when we were fellow-labourers years ago
in " the Society for the Improvement of Ireland," we should not now be i»^
the wretched state to which bad government and bad men have reduced usr
With respect and regard, most faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

The " almost" has reference to some severe strictures
on O'Connell's later policy, and introduced by Dr. Grat-
tan in his letter to the Chancellor.

The question of Tenant Right reached the zenith of its
agitation in the spring of 1850. Nothing else was spoken
or written about in Ireland, until the appearance of Lord
John Russell's famous Durham letter. Government, at
length, brought forward a Tenant Bill, but nothing could
give less satisfaction to the country. In such bad odour
does it appear to have been held, that a deputation pro-
ceeded to London for the purpose of opposing it. The
Ulster journals, ever distinguished for their advocacy of
Tenant Right, acceded to the proposition of the Nation

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 559

that there should be a general coalition of the four pro-
vinces on one wide and common platform, to demand a
satisfactory settlement of it. In August the great Tenant
Right Conference met in Dublin. Presbyterian clergy-
men and Catholic priests went hand in hand in the
national labour. Amongst the Tenant Right editors
present were Messrs. Duffy, Godkin, Gray, Maguire,
Lucas, and M'Knight. They promised never to relax
in their exertions one iota until Ireland should receive
the full measure of her demand for social justice. The
conference sat for five successive days, and the una-
nimity that pervaded it (being a perfectly new feature in
Irish discussion) excited much astonishment, and no
small satisfaction. From the labours of this council re-
sulted the Irish Tenant League. In connexion with it
a tenant charter was established, and a plan of action
drawn up for organizing the counties. Efforts were made
to raise ,£10,000 with a view to extend their working
machinery; but, from that day to this, the requisite fund
has remained almost in embryo, and the number of ad-
herents have hardly increased. Let us hope that Ireland
will arouse itself to a perception of the necessity for at
once demanding the redress of a grievance which has
been the cause of almost every species of Irish disturbance
and calamity.

The following letter, bearing upon the then all-engross-
ing subject of conversation, was written during the spring
of 1850. It comes from the pen of Samuel Ferguson,
Esq., the distinguished poet, and ex-editor of the Uni-
versity Magazine. We regret to be only able to make
room for a few extracts : —

[No. 119.] SAMUEL FERGUSON, ESQ., M.B.I.A., TO LORD CLOUCIJRRY.

" 9, Upper Gloucester-street, April 13tft, 1850.

" MY DEAR LORD CLOJJCURRY, — I willingly comply with your lordship's
desire that I should put on paper my views respecting the landlord and
tenant question. Your lordship is already familiar with those opinions, from
the repeated discussions they underwent when I used to have the pleasure of
acting with your lordship in the Irish Council.

" The evils, under the apprehension of which that body came together, are
now realized. Few owners, at the present day, can tell how long they are

560 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

to continue proprietors of their estates ; and the mass of the occupiers, uncer-
tain who are to be their landlords, and having no legal interest in their
holdings except from year to year, venture on no improvements in husbandry,
and are rapidly returning to a scrambling and precarious cultivation of the
potato. * * *

" It is simply whether compensation for improvements should be limited
to the value of the improvements themselves, or be measured by the increased
value conferred by them on the land. An expenditure of £100 might make
a farm worth £200 more in the market. Ought the tenant who makes that
expenditure be satisfied to get his £100 back again on giving up the land,
or ought he to be allowed the whole £200 due to the improvements effected
by him? There is no landlord organ of any weight or influence but admits
that, if the improvements have been so judicious as largely and permanently
to raise the value of the laud, the tenant ought to be compensated to the full
value of the work done. But, on the other hand, most of the tenant-right
organs whose opinions, I apprehend, these deputations represent, insist that
he ought to get the full increased value of the land due to his improvements,
and be at liberty to ascertain that by the simple method of selling his interest
to the highest bidder. * * *

" A tenant is one who hires the use of land. Whatever improvement he
makes upon that land, the law now unjustly declares shall cease to be his on
the expiration of his tenancy. The question is, how best to correct that
injustice? If his improvements were moveable, it is evident that he woidd
be entitled to carry them away, as he carries away his farming stock or
household furniture. If he could detach his buildings from the surface, and
lift up his drains from the body of the soil, he would be entitled, in natural
justice, to take them with him, and leave the land without buildings, and
undrained, as he found it. * * *

" It would seem, therefore, that, agreeably to the laws of natural justice,
the full cost of the improvements should be the maximum of compensation.
* * * "I have the honour to be, my dear Lord, &c.,

" SAMUEL FERGUSON."

In the spring of 1850, the good citizens of Dublin
were thrown into a state of much agitation, in conse-
quence of a well-authenticated report which had pro-
nounced the days of the Irish Viceroyalty to be num-
bered. Perhaps the greatest amount of consternation
overspread the countenances of briefless barristers, hungry
placemen, deputy-lieutenants, and the swarm of profes-
sional and would-be professional men who throng St.
Patrick's Hall and the throne-room. To these the mock
court presented attractions of no common order. Lord
Cloncurry observed this, and it filled him with a feeling
of disgust towards the Castle. We have seen, in Letter
86, how his lordship speaks of the Irish Viceroyalty as
" the nucleus of corruption."

Dr. Gray had a long correspondence with Lord Clon-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 561

curry, in March, 1850, on the subject of the threatened
abolition of the Lord Lieutenancy. Dr. Gray advocated
its continuance, because he considered that the trade of
Dublin would derive benefit from it. The following
letter grew out of the correspondence : —

[No. 120.] LORD CLONCURRY TO DR. GRAY.

" Thursday, 28<A March.

" MY DEAR DOCTOR GRAY, — I should have said Tuesday, the second of
April, instead of the third. Can you conveniently make it so ? If you are
otherwise engaged, come the 3rd (Wednesday), for I wish much to see you.
This is a time when to recover the two portions of the constitutional Legis-
lature of which we were robbed in 1800. They would be worth fighting
for ; and as the good citizens are so awake to the threatened privation of the
peel of the orange, which they cannot arrest, perhaps they may look for the
recovery of the fruit. There is some appearance of unanimity North and
South. Will the East join? All the colonies have now Assemblies.

" Yours very faithfully, " CLONCURRY."

The Irish manufacture movement, which lived and
died in 1841, became resuscitated with some prospect of
longevity in 1850. Dr. Spratt, Dr. Hayden, and a few
other active and philanthropic men, formed its chief
pillars of support. Lord Cloncurry contributed hand-
somely, through the medium of his reverend friend, and
ordered twelve Irish tabinet vests and half a dozen car-
pets. The fatherly anxiety with which his lordship, even
unto death, watched the tottering progress of this move-
ment (which soon split, by the way, in true Hibernian
style, into two or three segments), will be evident from
several forthcoming letters.

In Lord Cloncurry native manufacture always found a
warm friend. No foreign fabric, when Irish could be, at
any price, procured, ever entered Maretimo. So far
back as the year 1829, we find his lordship presenting
Messrs. Willans with a prize of £100 for superfine black
cloth. When in Rome, the mother of classic sculpture,
he found an Irishman to execute " a group" in Carrara
marble, and erect a statue in a Roman church.

In October, 1850, a deputation from the Manufacture
Board waited on Lord Cloncurry with an eloquent
address.

56J CLONCURRT AND HIS TIMES.

" We recognize in you." it began, '' the Irish patriot of three generations.
In youth ardent and uncompromising, suffering the martyrdom of a lou«i
imprisonment with fortitude, and with fidelity to your country ; in manhood
the consistent statesman, the enlightened magistrate, and the poor man's
friend : in advanced years, the calm and patient sage, counselling your
countrymen by your example, enlightening them by your experience, re-
warding and encouraging them by your generous patronage ; during a long
life a resident among us, mitigating by your interference the harshness of
unfit laws — often standing between the distant throne and the suffering
people.

'• HISTORY WILL DO YOCR CHARACTER JUSTICE. To be approved and
patronized by such a one is a reward to us for many anxieties and some
labour which the revival of our native manufactures has cost us. Your
lordship, ever the unvarying patron of Irish manufacture and enterprise,
saw Ireland comparatively a manufacturing country, and saw that manu-
facture dwindle away year after year, until nothing remained of the manu-
factures of other days but the linen weavers of Belfast, and about one
hundred silk ^reavers in Dublin. At such a disheartening period in our
country's history have we commenced our humble labours, and early in this
effort have those labours been recognized encouragingly by your lordship's
generous donation to our little treasury."

[Lord Cloncurry replied at some length.] " Let bygones be bygones," he
went on to say — "let us forgive, though we cannot forget. After the
thousands who have been starved in this most plentiful hind, the thousands
who have emigrated, the thousands who have perished by shipwreck and
disease, let us see what we can do with those who remain. Let ug manufac-
ture. The first manufacture is farming — in the land we have the best raw
material. The best artisan is the bold and intelligent denizen of the soil.
You have shown me what could be done by girls and children. Their em-
broidery is beautiful, but I could wish to vary their labour by some active
occupation. Constant sedentary confinement injures the health of females,
and on their health depends the strength of future generations. Could not
your industrial schools be made more perfect by including in their course
instruction in the work of the dairy, the laundry, the kitchen, and the
general household ? * * *

"The battle for Ireland has been lost at the bottom of Pandora's box.
However, hope remained. I have hope, great hope, of your resurrection,
and of your filling that place in the civilized world to which you are entitled.
My hope shines from the west, and eschews bad advice, whether it come
from the south or from the east. But I must avoid politics ; yours is a safer,
and, I trust, a more successful pursuit — to revive and extend the trade of
Ireland. This is your humane and useful object ; may none be so wicked
as to endeavour to counteract you."

The following letters are chronologically in place, and
require no introduction.

[No. 121.] LORD CLONCCKRT TO DR. R. R. MADDEX, M.R.I. A.

" Maretimo, 25th Monk, 1850.

" DEAR DOCTOR MADDEN, — When I, yesterday, asked you to come to
me next Sunday. I forgot that it would be Easter, and that perhaps you
might wish to observe the festival by a family reunion, in which case I will

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 563

beg to substitute Tuesday, April 2nd, when I purpose asking llaunsell and
Gray to meet you. If you like both days you will give me greater pleasure,
and be certain of your Easter game of whist I assure you I am most happy
at your comfortable restoration to your own poor and well-loved country.

" Very faithfully yours,

" CLONCPBBY."

[No. 122.] LOED CLO1CCDBBY TO DR. E. B. MADDEN, M.B.I.A.

" Maretimo, 2$th July, 1850.

" MY DEAR DOCTOR MADDEN, — I wish you could dine with me to-
morrow, and talk over matters : nobody but Maunsell.

" I went to England to vote for the £5 franchise, and found minister!
willing to concede to their enemy a j£10, so I came off re infecta.

" Yours very truly,

" CLONCOBBY."

[No. 123.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. DR. SPBATT.

" Maretimo, 7th Oct. 1850.

" MY DEAR DOCTOR SPBATT, — I enclose my mite for your most
laudable undertaking, and hope your labour of charity will have its reward
and due success.

" I intended to have had some conversation with you on the very interest-
ing and vital subject of education. I laboured for many years to establish
the National System as a means of bringing up our children to manhood in
mutual love and knowledge of each other. Of that good undertaking I
believe there are twenty Catholics who now profit, for one Protestant I
had in view to open Trinity College, where I was myself brought up, and to
free it from all the theological differences, and had no doubt that in a very
few years the Catholics would predominate in that wealthy establishment,
as far as any sincere Christian would wish them to do, and as far as the
illustrious Doyle desired : that is, in proportion to their relative numbers.

" Fas est et ab hoste docere. That is, ' Take from the bigots what you
can, and let there be national union, if not uniform religion,' Even of this
last, many of the best men I ever knew entertained good hopes, and Doyle
said that the differences were too small for men of sense or patriotism to
fight for.

" I am sorry to say that I now apprehend melancholy retrogression on
the part of many Catholics, justifying the worst predictions of the Orange
party, and throwing back the country three or four centuries. it
b most melancholy. Oh, cannot you, and some good and wi«e man.
step out and save our country ? I am in great distress at the death of my
friend and agent, William Lewis, so can write no more. Pray, if any ac-
knowledgment of the enclosed be necessary, let it be ' from anonymous,' or
' from an old friend to united education,' — no more !

'* Faithfully and respectfully yours,

" CLONCUBBY."

Poor Lord Cloncurry's frame had been for some time
past " falling into the sear and yellow leaf," but his heart

564 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

was still young, and the spirit of patriotism blazed as
brightly as ever. In February, 1851, Dr. Madden re-
quested that his lordship would join the Celtic So-
ciety.

[No. 124.] LORD CLONCURRT TO DR. R. R. MADDEN, M.R.I.A.

"19<A February, (1851.)

" DEAR DR. MADDEN, — I am totally unfit for any society, and never go
out of an evening. I have taken my name out of all clubs, &c.

" But, as far as inclination to do good to poor Ireland I am still willing,
so when I see you shall pay my subscription.

" I believe 1 should also pay you for the two books you kindly bought for
General (Arthur) O'Connor, which I return.

" Yours very truly, " CLONCURRY."

In the Summer of 1851, when the Catholic Defence
Association was in progress of formation, Lord Cloncurry
and other liberal Protestants received invitations from
the Secretary to co-operate as far as possible in resisting
the threatened encroachment on religious freedom. Seve-
ral Protestants came forward, but Lord Cloncurry stated
that he would prefer not acting with any movement that
had an exclusively sectarian hue. The Honorary Secre-
tary, Mr. James Burke, communicated by letter with
Lord Cloncurry, and observed that though the movement
had superficially such an appearance, it was intrinsically
in defence of the principle of religious freedom. His
lordship's answer was not published with the other
correspondence appertaining to the movement, and now
appears in print for the first time.

[No. 125.] LORD CLONCURRY TO OAJ1ES BURKE, ESQ., A.B., BARRISTER AT LAW.

" Maretimo, ISth July, 1851.

" SIR, — With thanks for your polite note of last evening, I must refuse to
change my resolution. I have proved my love of all my countrymen of
every class and creed for more than three-quarters of a century ; we are
hated as Irish, not as Catholics or Protestants, and our constant division is
the strength of the enemy. Will we ever meet as Irishmen ? I trust to
time and the mercy of God to enlighten and relieve our good, but most
unfortunate people.

" Your very faithful Servant, " CLONCURRY."

Simultaneous with the sectarian movement of 1851,
a social question, amply calculated, if successfully worked
out, to serve the interests of Ireland, started into life.
We allude to the project for establishing a direct com-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 565

munication by steam between some of the Irish ports and
North America. The superiority of many of these, over
any of the English ones, no writer has, we believe, ven-
tured to controvert. Never was more conclusive evidence
uttered, than in 1829, before the Commons, and in 1836,
before the Lords. Some enterprising Irishmen laboured,
in 1851, to establish a packet station at Galway, which,
from its geographical position, as regards the Western
world, could hardly fail, even in one voyage, to effect for
England a considerable saving of time and expense.
Lord Cloncurry saw that American intercourse must
materially aid in raising up our fallen and poverty-stricken
country. He appealed to the British Minister for assist-
ance, but no assistance came.

At length a small pamphlet was published at the Office
of the Commercial Journal, offering " Suggestions for the
establishment of a direct system of steam communication
with America, without the aid of the English Govern-
ment." The pamphleteer concluded by saying, that it
was vain to hope for assistance from a British minister ;
and therefore it was, that he suggested the propriety of
opening communication at once with the proprietors of
some of the American first-class steam boats, in order to
induce them to run two or more vessels between Galway
and New York. He furthermore proposed, that a public
subscription should be set on foot, with a view to the
creation of a fund sufficient to indemnify those who would
embark in the enterprise, against any loss which might
result from its partial, or total failure.

Lord Cloncurry enclosed the pamphlet, in a letter to
Dr. Gray. Neither it, however, nor his lordship's truly
spirited proposal, appeared in the Freeman.

[No. 126.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JOHN GRAY, ESQ., M.D.

" Maret imot 31st July, 1851.

" MY DEAR DR. GRAY, — As the battle has been fought and lost for justice
to Ireland, I think you could do very great good by extending your ex-
cellent arguments on the all-important subject of American intercourse; I
know no other chance we have of regaining our position amongst the nations
of the earth.

" What have not those men to answer for, who made the cry of Repeal
the ladder to paltry place-hunting and selfish display ?

566 CLONCURRT AND HIS TIMES.

" I do not know whether you have seen the enclosed ; I admire it greatly,
but though I take the Commercial Journal I have not seen it therein.

" Your circulation is so great, that if etiquette permitted, I would most
willingly pay for its insertion ; but at any rate, the motive is well worthy
your pen, and I believe, accords with your best feelings.

" Lord Anglesey was so angry with the Pope,* that he sent back my
proxy too late to be transferred. I am not sorry for it.

"The most determined enemies of Ireland, irrespective of religion, are the
English Catholics. I know them all, and would not give them a pinch of
curry powder.

"Yours very faithfully, " CLOSCURRY."

SUBSCRIPTION TO BUY OR HIRE A FIRST-CLASS AMERICAN
Steamer, to go from Galway to New York, from New York to Lime-
rick, and back ; from New York to Valentia, and back, and from New York
to Berehaven. First voyage, 1st October, 18.51, to be advertised so as to
give time for passengers and freight to be collected.

£ s. d.

000

000

000

An Irish Peer, . . . 500 0 0

We find a very characteristic manuscript note, in Lord
Cloncurry's handwriting, attached to the pamphlet. The
writer referred to Ireland's commerce in former days.
" Our woollen manufactures," wrote his lordship, " put
down by King William, the favourite of the Orangemen
and of Prince Albert? The Royal consort's speech in
praise of William III., at this period, will probably be in
the recollection of the reader.

[No. 127.] I.ORD CLONCURRY TO DR. GRAY.

" Afaretimo, Saturday, 3 o'Clock, 1851.

" DEAR DR. GRAY, — I have read with great pleasure your short speech
at the Stoneybatter dinner. If we get a good packet station we owe it not
to Downing-strcet.

" My son Cecil comes here on Monday; if you will meet him any one of
the holidays, I shall be most happy ; bat I don't want to canvass, nor will I
do so. There is now an opportunity to say a word in favour of our poor de-
ported, so very cruelly and shamefully used.

" I am interrupted by the American Stewart, who has just come from the
north ; he stays to dinner. Come and meet him if you can to-day at half-
past six. " Yours very truly,

" CLONCURRY."

The existing records of Lord Cloncurry's correspon-
dence with the Very Rev. Dr. Spratt are, we regret to say,

* The nomination of a Catholic Episcopacy in England.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 567

imperfect. Any letters, however, from his lordship, which
that clergyman chanced to preserve, have been placed at
our disposal. The sums of money for charitable purposes
usually enclosed were in amount truly munificent. Lord
Cloncurry was no ostentatious donor. Whenever pos-
sible he shunned the open glare of popular acknowledg-
ment, preferring the silent approbation of his God to that
of the world. The number of poor families he rescued
from ruin will never be known ; the full extent of the
good he did remains alone on record in the book of life.
In short, to use the figurative language of Holy Writ, his
right hand knew not what his left hand gave.

The few letters to Dr. Spratt which in these pages have
chanced to see the light, will serve to give the reader a
faint idea of Cloncurry 's charity, but no more : —

[No. 128.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

" 12th November, 1851.

" VERY REV. AND DEAR SIR, — Permit me again to beg of you to convey,
at your leisure (anonymously), the following small tokens of my good will
and respect for the subjoined, amongst many of the great charities supported
by my fellow-citizens at this time of continued distress : —

" St. Vincent's Hospital, .... £20 0 0
" Sisters of Mercy, . . . . . 10 0 0

" Eoomkeepers, . .... 10 0 0

" Benevolent Samaritan, . . . . 10 0 0

£50 0 0

" As the untiring advocate of temperance, of national and general educa-
tion, I take a liberty with you only allowable from my knowledge of your
virtues, and I beg of you, if possible, to put an end to the unfortunate division
which impedes the advance of the great manufacture movement, than which
I know nothing more likely to benefit Ireland, unless perhaps a western
packet station and a domestic legislature.

" Your faithful and very obliged Servant,

"Ax IRISH PEER."

To introduce here a bundle of short notes from Lord
Cloncurry to his steward will not, we think, be deemed
out of place. As contrasted with the political letters
which have preceded them, they are curious and inte-
resting. The following begging-letter (verbatim with the
original) will serve as a fair specimen of many hundred such
productions which constantly pursued Lord Cloncurry.
The good peer rarely turned a deaf ear to a petition : —

568 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

[No. 129.]

" Lyons, January 3, 1847.

" My Lord I beg Leave to Address you at this Holy Festival and Unpre-
cedented Time your Lordship May Remember me a Labourer at Lyons and
eight years ago I Was Afflicted by Divine Providence with severe pains
And I am bedridden for the last month I have also convulsions as your
Lordship was always a benefactor To the needy I hope You will not forget
Me your Lordships Humble servant michael mahon."

[No. 130.] LORD CLONCURRY TO HIS STEWARD.

" Afaretimo, January 5, 1847.

" MR. JOHN HOWE, — Please give three or four shillings per week of the
enclosed to old Mahon as long as it lasts. I hope your mother and family
are well. I have a few newspapers for her whenever I have an opportunity
to send them."

(The enclosure was, we believe, a three pound note.)

[No. 131.]

" Maretimo, 21st July.

" JOHN HOWE, — I have given permission to the Queen's Messengers of the
Chief Secretary's Office to walk about Lyons on Sunday next, and to dine
on the HilL I hope your mother and sisters are quite well, and that the
potatoes may turn out better than your master and many other good farmers
think they wilL Most of the crops that I see look extremely well."

[No. 132.]

"Maretimo, Wth December, 1847.

" DEAR MRS. HOWE, — Pray ask your son John to let me have a list of the
men and boys employed at Lyons. He can put a little mark (X) to the old
set who worked in my time. I hope that all are well with you. There is
much illness and poor hereabouts."

[No. 133.]

"29<A January, 1850.

" MR. JOHN HOWE, — When you sent me the last cow from Lyons, you
said she would soon be changed for another. If you can make the change
now, I shall be obliged, for the fine Lyons cow is dry. I was sorry to be
prevented by the rain on Friday from visiting your mother. I hope she and
the family are welL

" As to Rudd, I heard from Mr. Lawless that he kept forcible possession,
which deprives him of any claim on me. However, I enclose a pound which
may be given in four shillings at a time. I think they would be better off
in the poorhouse. I have put the theft of the crucifix in the Hue-and-Cry."

[No. 134.]

" Maretimo, 30th December, 1850.

:' DEAR MR. HOWE, — Please order for me a ton or two of hay. If Hancet
has no more, some other tenant of mine probably has. I will thank you to

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 569

let me know what men and boys are at present employed by Mr. Lawless,*
and approved of by him. Remember me to your mother ; I hope she and
her family are well. 1 wish you and yours many happy years."

[No. 135.] LORD CLONCURRY TO HIS STEWARD.

" Maretimo, July 15, 1851.

"DEAR MR. HOWE, — Though I believe that you see the Farmer's Journal,
which I think Mr. Lawless takes, still I think it right to send you the last
number, in which is given particulars of the arsenic cure, for the prevalent
disease amongst black cattle. I believe it to be nearly infallible, and wish
you to let the neighbours see it.

" I project a visit to the children whilst their mamma is away, but am
more afraid of ten miles and St. Swithen than I used to be of a hundred ;
however I will strive to pay you a visit. We have had violent winds here,
which I fear must have done mischief. With best regards to my good friend,
your mother, yours most humbly,

" CLONCURRY."

Lord Cloncurry continued to correspond with Dr.
Gray. Writing to him at this period, he says: — " I hear
from Paris that the President is so involved in debt, that
if he don't gain the Imperial Crown, he must end in a
prison. He has no time to lose, and he is negotiating
with Russia on the emergency !" We have reason to
believe that Lord Cloncurry's informant was Arthur
O'Connor. For some time previous to his death (a year
afterwards) he enjoyed the dignity of President of the
National Assembly. The bit of gossip about Louis
Napoleon was, it is said, perfectly correct.

The principal landed property of Lord Cloncurry was
the very extensive estate of Abington, in the County
Limerick. For some years Father John Maher has been
the respected parish priest of the district. That he con-
stantly corresponded with his lordship is well known.
The following selection from Lord Cloncurry's letters to
Father Maher, during the years '50 and '51, will be found
both interesting and instructive. Father Maher 's paro-
chial flock were nearly all tenants of the noble land-
lord : —

[No. 136.] LORD CLONCURRY TO TIIE REV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABINGTON.

" Maretimo, December 12, 1850.

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, — I have this morning received your very obliging
and rational letter of the 8th. To understand any subject, it is necessary to

* Edward, present Lord Cloncurry.

570 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

consider fully and patiently the arguments on both sides. I am, therefore,
grateful for the honest opinion of all my friends, and feel myself so circum-
stanced that I can look to results without fear or one selfish feeling.

" Twenty, or more years ago, O'Connell and I were the founders of a
society for the " Improvement of Ireland," and our published proceedings
show that we generally agreed pretty well, but our chief difference arose from
the non-alienation clauses inserted by many considerate landlords, my father
amongst them, to prevent sub-letting without permission.

" My father in letting land always said, ' This farm is for you and your
family, and no one else ; if you underlet without my written permission, you
must pay double rent.' On this condition, signed by both parties, he gave his
land on most reasonable terms, and engaged to give timber and slates for any
buildings the tenant pleased to erect. He kept his agreement. Some of the
tenants broke their's, and to most so doing I refused to renew in 1803, giving
the land to the occupiers who lived for many years in comfort, and I may
almost say, wealth. After a time they began again to subdivide, and bring
strangers on the land, and I supported an Act of Parliament, forcing all
parties to abide by the agreement signed and sealed by themselves, until both
agreed to connect it. O'Connell objected to the plan, and suffered his tenants
to divide and subdivide as they pleased. His very nice property has been
rendered totally worthless by the neglect ; and when I, absentee like, did not
prevent subdivision, my beautiful estate has suffered, orchards have vanished,
cabins have replaced houses, and poor, instead of happy farmers, cry out for
Tenant Right. I was one of the earliest supporters of the Tenant League,
discussed its merits and clauses with Mitchel, Duffy, and other most strenuous
innovators. Though they had no property in land, they agreed to most of
my propositions. Had they been adopted, there would have been no quarter
acre clauses, no crowbar-brigade, no misery unrelieved, but when a twenty-
one years' lease was to be equal to a perpetuity, and fancy valuators to regu-
late the private affairs of proprietors, I left things to find their level from
experience, and sad experience I fear it will be, for the landlords being legis-
lators, any law passed will rather be against than for the tenants; whence
if my proposition was agreed to, and all bargains for land were made at a
public sessions, and every way binding on all parties, few unjust bargains
could be entered into. As to the Education question, you know how the bad
old laws deprived our whole people of education. For twenty years I fought
against the Charter Schools, and against the Kildare Place Society ; and I
had the support of, I believe, the entire Catholic hierarchy in establishing the
National System. It may be put down by the very people, who for a long
time have supported it, and me, in spite of the Protestant bigots ; but can
they substitute anything better, or can they afford to go to war with England,
and with the Orange party in this country? I fear not — I fear we will go
back to the ignorance and vice of sixty years ago. I am very sorry, but I
can see no hope for better. The English hate us not as religionists but as Irish-
men. An English Catholic would resist education, tenant right, labour rate,
or any kind of improvement in Ireland, just as ardently as Lord John Russell
or Lord Clarendon.

" However, these are the dreams of an old man. I shall not live to see
any improvement. The best hopes of Ireland must rest on America. That
great nation will, in time, enrich and instruct the most westerly point of
Europe.

" With respect, I remain your faithful Servant,

" CLONCCRRY."

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 571

[No. 137.] LORD CLONCUKRY TO THE REV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABINGTON.

" Maretimo, Lccember 23rd, 1850.

"REV. AND DEAR SIR, — I am truly pleased at your desire to establish a
National school. When I first got possession of the Abington property, I set
apart three acres of land for that purpose. The differing opinions of the two
clergymen, Jebb and O'Brien, rendered the school abortive.

" I will gladly contribute land and money for your good purpose, as the
only certain means of obtaining and fitting to enjoy their rights, by our good
and intelligent people. * I shall at all times be most happy to have

your opinions, on that and other subjects ; if we differ we need not quarrel ; it
may elicit good, and end in unity of spirit, the bond of peace and righteous-
ness of life. * * I will not take up more of your time, which is now so
fully occupied, but am, with best wishes for your happiness, dear Sir,

" Your very faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRT."

[No. 138.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE KEV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABINGTON.

"Marelimo, March 27th, 1851.

" DEAR AND REV. SIR, — The fact as to the great mass of the poor tenants
of my Limerick property is, I found them in the year 1 801-2, under mid-
dlemen, mostly absentees from the land. I put out the middlemen, and
gave their farms to the occupiers at greatly reduced rents. They went on for
a few years pretty well, but soon discontinued to pay their rents, until I was
forced to order the first steps towards ejectment to be taken against them.
Twice I forgave all arrears, and left myself so bare of my most rightful and
moderate rents, that if I had not some other means of living, I should either
have sold the estate, or starved with my large and charitable family. On
mature consideration and consultation with my son, and agent, I ordered
ejectments against all who owed more than three years' rent ; this order I will
not recall. I was as kind to my tenants as if they were my own children, and
when they wrote to me, I answered their letters with such relief as I could
afford, but the greater part determined not to pay, and paid me no more
attention than if I was a robber, or an impostor. * * Up to 1846-7, my
tenants had no excuse. I doubt not their present distress, but the fault is
not mine ; one-third of the oats or butter crops would have paid all due to
rae in 1847.

"I write in a great hurry, having much to do. I enclose five pounds
which you can dispose of as you think best, in aid of the emigration of the
Harty family, though I think emigration a bad speculation for the individual,
or" the country.

" I have paid Sir Matthew Barrington £90 for the new National school,
and beg your kind assistance in the progress of the work.

" I remain, dear and Rev. Sir, your faithful Servant,

" CLONCORRY."

[NO. 139.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABINGTOS.

" 1th September, 1851.

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, — When you advocate the cause of your poor
parishioners and neighbours, you perform, in my opinion, a sacred duty —

572 CLONCUKRY AND HIS TIMES.

charitable and professional, for which I always feel most respectfully
thankful. I only wish that you should make yourself fully acquainted
with all the circumstances of the parties soliciting your aid. Persons
buying estates in this country, generally expect four or five per 100 for
their money; and can get much more on mortgage or other securities,
when they escape the expense of agents, sub-agents, and other heavy taxes
on the landed proprietor. The property which I possess, not by purchase,
but by inheritance, I valued when a young man on the same principle, and
finding that middle or wealthy classes let the lands they held from me for
more than its value to occupying tenants, as to whose interests they were
perfectly indifferent, I refused to renew their leases, and let to the re-
sident tenants at half or two-thirds what they paid to the middlemen,
contenting myself with two-and-a-half or three per cent, purchase money of
the land. For a time the tenants seemed grateful and happy, though very-
far from industrious or improving : and having myself embarked in politics,
in the hope of serving my unfortunate country, I was forced to employ
goodnatured, but careless agents, who allowed arrears to accumulate, which
I twice forgave. Again, when the potato failure occurred, I took the loss
on myself, though the increased price of oats made up his loss to the general
farmer. Since that time a combination has been formed to pay no rent at
all, and I have been forced to eject all who owed more than three years'
rent ; I dare say that you may have heard of some who, owing me more
than three years' rent, have forced their under-tenants to pay the lust May
rent. Others having above 800 acres for £60 per annum, paid no rent at all,
and are suspected of killing the cattle of a poor man, who put them to
graze on the land. All these circumstances force me to act in my own
behalf, and in that of my family. If I had been an extravagant man, I
must have starved, or gone with my family into the poorhouse ; but
unless towards thepoor, I am a miser, and I make more inquiry than could
be expected for so aged a person. I assure you, that a most respectable
priest in this vicinity was in dread and fear of his own brother, who wanted
to obtain from him money belonging to a charity, of which he was a
manager, and this man had his recommendations. I never got a farthing
from the public ; my fortune was honestly earned, and of a large portion of
it I was robbed by our bad Government, yet, thank God, I can still afford
to be just, and also, I hope, charitable.

" Yours, my dear and Rev. Sir, most faithful and obliged,

" CLONCUKRY."

Lord Cloncurry,at this period, was necessitated to pursue
a line of conduct towards one of the Abington tenantry

very foreign to his wont. C , a farmer, took the

holding of Fuskela. "The rent," wrote Lord Cloncurry
to Father Maher, " was low, and the farm large, and of
a kind not at all affected by the potato failure. The
rent was withheld without excuse, or even offer of part
payment — the consequent proceedings were inevitable,
and to me very costly." In short, it was found necessary
to serve C with an ejectment. His family (plain

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 573

farming folk) vowed vengeance on Lord Cloncurry, if
he persisted in his intention. Father Maher, in one of
his letters, apprised Lord Cloncurry of Mr. C.'s indig-
nation. A correspondence ensued: —

[No. 140.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABINGTON.

"Maretimo, '2bth March, 1852.

" DEAR AND REV. SIR, — I am greatly obliged by your letter of the 26th
instant, and hope that our present full explanations will prevent any future
misunderstanding. Be assured, I will always treat with sincere respect any
communication you may please to make to me. * * *

" My son mixes more in the world, and has imbibed a few of the prevalent
prejudices of the aristocracy, but a more humane man, a more just magis-
trate, or a better neighbour to the rich and the poor does not exist. I should
much prefer an assassin who would take my life, not worth six months' purchase,
than his, the father of a young and innocent family, and the husband of one
of the most charitable and lovely of her sex.

" It is a great misfortune to landlords and tenants, when the landlords are
absentees, or a very inactive old man, and I often thought of an Act of Parlia-
ment compelling residence, and giving power to exchange estates. I could
live out of Ireland, with every comfort of society, but a sense of duty makes
me reside, though almost always in hot water, from the badness of the
Government, and unsteadiness of the people.

" Dear and Rev. Sir, faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

A portion of the omitted matter in the foregoing letter
refers to some attacks made on Lord Cloncurry in a
certain provincial newspaper. He attributes the editor's
malevolence to his having discontinued, some time pre-
viously, subscribing to the print.

Meanwhile, Lord Cloncurry was not unmindful of
Drummond's apothegm — that " property has its duties,
as well as its rights."

[No. 141.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

"Maretimo, 12th April, 1852.

" VERY REV. AND DEAR SIR, — I enclose fifty pounds to distribute with
your usual kindness to the following charities: —

" Sisters of Mercy, £10 0 0

" Sisters of Charity, (St. Vincent's), . . 1000

" Roomkeepers, 10 0 0

" St. Peter's Schools, .... 10 0 0

••Samaritan, 10 0 0

*50 0 0"

574 CLOXCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

" Again, thanking you for your constant and untiring exertions in favour
of our poor country, and of impartial and general education for her suffering
people,

" I remain, your faithful and obliged Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 142.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

" Maretimo, 27th December, 1852.

" DEAR AND VERY RKV. DR. SPRATT, — I am certain, that if anybody could
have made peace it would have been you, and that I should have received
the good news from you.

" I enclose £40, to be given at your convenience to the following chari-
ties:—

" Roomkeepers, £10 0 0

" St. Peter's School, . . . . 10 0 0

"Samaritan, 10 0 0

" Private Charity, 10 0 0

£40 0 0

" Wishing you every happiness, I remain your obliged Friend,

" CLONCUKHY.
" P.S. — I have already sent to the Convents."

The Board of Irish Manufacture had, at this time,
divided, and a rival one, modelled on the principle of
the original, started into life. Dr. Spratt, at Lord Clon-
curry's earnest solicitation, undertook to act the part of
peacemaker; but his labours, unfortunately, met with
no success.

The system of proselytizing in charitable institutions
found little favour with Lord Cloncurry. The following
letter establishes that fact : —

[No. 143.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

" Maretimo, 1st March, 1852.

"VERY REV. AND DEAR SIR, — T take a liberty with you, that nothing
but my fear of doing wrong, and my very high opinion of your charity can
excuse. "

" I have been in the habit of giving more or less for many years to the
Coombe Lying-in Hospital, thinking it one of the poorest quarters of our
very poor city, and have just received the enclosed application from the
directors thereof.

" One of them — the Rev. Mr. S , has been accused of proselytising

habits, which I do not think should be suffered in a charitable institution.
Will you, at your leisure, tell me what you may know on the subject ? If
all be right, give the enclosed donation in my name, but if the accusation be
true, return the money to, my dear Sir,

" Your very faithful and obliged Servant, " CLONCCRRY."

CLONCUERY AND HIS TIMES. 575

In July, 1852, Parliament was dissolved, and a gene-
ral election took place throughout Ireland. Men who had
represented constituencies for upwards of a quarter of a cen-
tury were put out, and men little known to the people put
in. Foremostamongst the latter returns stoodMr. Frederick
Lucas, an Englishman of much talent; and great integrity.
As editor of the Tablet — an able organ of Catholicism —
Mr. Lucas was received by the priests with open arms.
He canvassed for Meath, and successfully. Mr. Henry
Grattan, the old representative, canvassed also, but he
met with little encouragement. The priests and the
people were tired of him. A vote and speech of his in
favour of a coercion bill for Ireland, some time previously,
were never forgiven, and forgetting the Grattan of '82
and 1800, they denounced his son in terms of unmea-
sured harshness.

Lord Cloncurry was one of the few who gratefully re-
membered Mm who sat by his country's cradle in '82, and
followed her hearse in 1800.

[No. 144.] LORD CLONCCJKRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT, S.M.T.

" Maretimo, llth August, 1852.

" DEAR AND VERY EEV. DOCTOR SPRATT, — You have possessed my
respect and my confidence ever since I have had the pleasure of your ac-
quaintance, and, together with a few of your discriminating and most
Christian brethren, have alone prevented my giving up the cause of Ireland,
and of her ever persecuted people, who, under the guidance of, I must say,
either mad or wicked advisers, have forgotten all the best interests of
Ireland, of their families, and of themselves, in favour of ignorant or of
hostile strangers. All the good we ever had in Ireland, we owed to Grattan.
All the good we struggled to recover, was pointed out by O'Connell. The
son of Grattan has been spit upon, reviled, and rejected in Meath, in favour
of a stranger. Repeal, the only remedy for our evils, pointed out by
Grattan and by O'Connell, has been forgotten. The noble and most inde-
pendent son of Grattan, who, even if he had not such a father, was deserving
of all our love and all our confidence — whom we should have loved for
his father's Bake, if not for his own — at the very moment that he and his
most amiable and talented wife mourned the loss of their only son, he has
been insulted, and O'Connell has been forgotten. What reward can patriot-
ism expect amongst the abject, place-hunting, flattering, degraded popula-
tion ? I had sometimes occasion to find fault with O'Connell, but I loved
him, and he knew it, and made me every atonement in his power. Far
more fault had I to find with O'Brieu, who endeavoured to compromise me
in his mad scheme in my age and decrepitude ; but he was an honest man
and a lover of his country, and, before he went mad, he delivered in Par-
liament the speech I got reprinted. It was statesmanlike, modest, and full

576 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

of proper views. That man should not be punished for error?, caused by
high-wrought feelings, driven to madness by the sufferings of his country-
men.

" Dear and Reverend Sir, in great haste, most faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

Lord Cloncurry could not refrain from telling Father
Maher his sentiments too. The following letter, and
those that succeed it, explain themselves. The ?Rev.
Mr. Maher's note at the end of the third should not be
overlooked.

[NO. 145.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABINGTON.

"Maretimo, 1th August, 1852.

"DEAR AND REV. SIR,— About a year or fifteen months ago a benevo-
lent lady in this neighbourhood set up a school for needle-work, embroidery
&c., where poor girls were taught nothing but work, as thev had an excellent
National school for other purposes. The curates, not the P.P., ordered the
children away, as she was a Protestant. I was very sorry for it ; but the
lady had the good sense to give up the point, in order to preserve the peace
and Christian charity of an extensive district. I would most anxiouslv re-
commend the example to the kind consideration of the Messrs. Barrington.
If, therefore good sense and humane feelings have not the power to induce
them to yield, I much fear I cannot. * * *

'; I am sorry to say I feel far less cordial to my friends the priests since
their ill-treatment of Grattan, the son of the man to whom Ireland owes
every right or liberty she may possess ; and for whom was this most honest
and consistent patriot sacrificed ?

" Dear and Reverend Sir, yours very faithfully,

" CLONCURRY. "

[NO. 146.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABiNGTON.

" Maretimo, 22nd August, 1852.

" DEAR AND REV. SIR,— Since the receipt of your letter relative to the
Murroe schools, I have made inquiry and find that there is a Catholic
master in the boys' school, and that Sir Matthew Barrington had
written for a Catholic mistress for the girls' school, awaiting whose arrival
a Protestant mistress was employed to teach embroidery, lace-making &c
without any reference whatever to other branches of education.

This, I think, a satisfactory explanation of a circumstance which gave

you some alarm, but which, 1 hope, has now subsided ; as, however anxious

I am for the education of the people, I would not, on any account, wish to

have their religion tampered with. I know, with sorrow, the foolish spirit

ot proselytism which possesses many good persons of both Churches, but

jyer heard Sir Matthew Barrington accused, or suspected of such folly

L shall be truly grieved if you withdraw the children from the schools •

do not dispute your power nor, the suspicion which all Catholics must

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 577

feel, after the injustice and cruel treatment they have, for so long a period,
been subjected to in their own country. — With respect, dear and Rev- Sir,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 147.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. J. MAHER, P.P. OF ABINGTON.

" Afaretimo, 29th August, 1852.

" DEAR AND REV. SIR, — It is now half a century since my first act,
as a landlord, on comL.g to Ireland from the Tower of London, was to
give three acres of Abington for a school, feeling that an educated
people never could be slaves. Immediately after I was obliged to go abroad
for the recovery of my health, after my long imprisonment. On my return
I found that the school was sacrificed to the demon of discord. Some few
years after, the present Judge Jackson, and some other well-meaning gentle-
men, came to me to Lyons, and asked me to subscribe to the Kildare-place
Society Schools, intended for general education, without any interference
with the religious opinions of any Christian. They, however, broke faith
with me, and introduced the Protestant Bible, as a sine qua non, into their
schools. I had a tedious controversy with them, and withdrew from the
society ; so did the Duke of Leinster, Mr. Curran, Daniel O'Connell, and
many other lovers of their country. I projected the great National System ;
and at the great meeting in the Rotunda Doctors Troy, Murray, Doyle,
Everard, and, I believe, the chief Prelates of Ireland, without a dissentient,
agreed to it. A mixed moral and secular education in the schools for five
days in the week — each sect to have one day, exclusive of Sunday, for
religious instruction by their separate pastors. The Protestant clergy, or a
majority of them, disapproved ; but the Catholics, so long insulted and
oppressed, gladly embraced the olive of peace, and of future hope for
Ireland. Under that system many hundred thousand children are educated ;
and I received a letter only two days ago from Dr. Spratt, one of the best
men and priest of my acquaintance, saying, that he has 400 boys and 500
girls in national schools, which I enabled him to found. I am, politically,
an Irish Roman Catholic, such being the religion of my ill-treated country ;
but I do not like their reviving a religious war, which I took every pains to
put an end to. I never saw the young gentlemen, Barringtons — their
father I believe to be sensible and liberal. I hope he may get such a
mistress of the school as may satisfy you ; but it will be a departure from
the National system and from common sense to discharge a poor woman,
merely because she is of his own religion and of mine. I respect you, but
think you were in too great a hurry to withdraw the girls from the school,
where, I hope, you could not think their salvation in any danger. Would
it not be better to see and talk to the young mistress, and find out whether
she was an improper person ? You are too good a man to believe that the
blessing of an octogenarian Protestant can do you any harm, and, there-
fore, you have it most heartily from, Rev. and dear Sir, yours faithfully,

" CLONCURRY."*

[Note by the Rev. J. Maker, P.P. of Abington.—" I feel I owe it to
myself to state here, that in withdrawing the Catholic children of my
parish from the Murroe National Female School at the period referred to by

* This letter was written by an amanuensis. His lordship was confined to
bed extremely ill at the time,

2c

578 CLONCURRY AKD HIS TIMES.

the late Lord Cloncurry, I did so not because there was a Protestant work-
mistress employed to teach the pupils fancy work, but because there was
not then any Catholic mistress in the school to teach the Catholic children
their Catholic catechism and Catholic prayers. I acted on that occasion,
not from a narrow feeling of bigotry, but from a stern sense of duty, as the
Catholic pastor of Murroe. — J. MAHER."]

[No. 148.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. J. MAHER, P.P.

" 2nd September, 1852.

" DEAR AND REV. SIR, — Until I received your letter of yesterday, I had
entirely forgot the statutes of Thurles, recent though they be, and your ne-
cessary obedience to them. As Mr. W. Harrington told me that his father
had written to the Board to recommend him a R.C. mistress, I hope you and
lie may come to some agreement, but it is entirely out of my power to inter-
fere any further. — With great respect, Rev. Sir, your faithful Servant,

"CLOXCURRY."

It is amusing to see, in the following letter, Lord Clon-
curry's reference to the foregoing correspondence. He
had, however, a worthier motive in writing to Dr. Spratt
than the mere pleasure of expatiating on passing events : —

[No. 149.] LOBD CLONCOKRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT, M.S.T.

" Maretimo, 8th September, 1852.

" I trouble my respected friend with the enclosed, but I must say with
some misgivings. By some means my connexion with you is suspected,
which does away with the chief merit of charity, and besides subjects me to
more applications than justice to my large family would permit me to satisfy.
The uncharitable are angry with those who think differently from themselves,
and attribute to bad motives what they ought rather to imitate.

•' Mr. Mooney having left the Parent Board of Manufacture, they have to
struggle to keep alive a very useful body of citizens, though as yet most un-
fortunately disunited, like everything Irish. I try them with ten pounds.

" A very useful school was set up in the village of Murroe by Sir Matthew
Barrington, whose estate in Limerick joins mine in that district. It was con-
nected with the National Board, and had 120 boys, chiefly — almost entirely —
Catholics, and a Catholic master. He wrote to Marlborough-street for a
mistress for the girls, but waiting her advent, the Miss Barringtons, very ex-
cellent young ladies, as I am told (I do not personally know any of the
family), engaged a Protestant lace maker to teach needle work to seventy or
eighty girls of both creeds ; but of course in Limerick, chiefly Catholic.
Father Maher, the P.P., has laid his interdict on the schools, and ordered all
the scholars out of them. Thus £90 of my money is lost, and more of Sir
Matthew's, a wealthy man, Crown Solicitor of Munster, and I believe sensible
and liberal Father Maher, who lives on my estate here, and has always
been on the best terms with me, now tells me that the statutes of Thurles put
it out of his power to permit any of his flock to learn sewing from a Pro-
testant mistress. It is more than thirty years ago that the hierarchy ap-
proved of the National System as proposed by me — 'tantarce animis c&lestibus
irn !'

': This day Dublin will ring with the advocacy of Tenant Right, by meu

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 579

who do not understand one atom of the subject, and who in general have no
land. If they and others followed O'Connell's advice, and struggled for a
domestic parliament, all other matters could be safely arranged by the legi-
timate representatives of the people.

[No. 150.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

" October 27, 1852.

" REV. DEAR AND WORTHY SIR, — If you can persuade the two divisions
of the movement in favour of our manufactures to amalgamate and work to-
gether, 1 will give £100 to set up rooms. I believe Doctor Hayden, of
Harcourt-street, is desirous of such reconciliation, but have some doubts of
Anglesey-street. Forgive me the trouble I give you, and believe me, faithfully
yours, " CLONCURRY."

[No. 151.] LORD CLONCDRRY TO THE VERY REV. J. MAKER, P.P.

" Maretimo, Qth Januury, 1853.

" REV SIR, — As soon as 1 can see my agent, who is now in the North, I
shall direct him to answer the letter of David H y.

" With every wish to pay respect to a recommendation from your
Reverence, who must know the truth of the case, I cannot avoid expressing

my surprise at the course pursued by the H ys, my kindness to whom,

as well as to some other defaulters, may be known to you.

" They offer a low or very moderate rent for my lands, and I let it
to them on their own terms ; they break their promise, and discontinue to
pay the rent, on which I and my family must depend for our very existence ;
and when my agent calls upon them, they forthwith employ some low
attorney to put me to a very heavy expense by dishonest excuses for not
paying what they had engaged to pay, and knew in their conscience were
justly due and leniently exacted. When they at length find that they are
overtaken by justice, after putting me to great expense, and can no longer
defraud me, or keep my land without paying, they then apply to your Re-
verence, or, perhaps, their brother, a priest of my own making, and they appeal
to the mercy of a man whom they did everything in their power to injure.

" Is this the morality or the religion enforced at Thurles ? and teaching
them to dread the contamination of a Protestant fellow-creature.

" I have the honour to be, with best wishes, your faithful Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 152.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE REV. J. MAKER, P.P. OF ABINGTON.

" Maretimo, 17th January, 1853.

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, — Your letter of the 14th, by Mr. William Lewis,
has given me very great pleasure.

" We, mere Irish, have enemies enough without quarrelling amongst
ourselves. Education will help to unite us all.

" I remain, dear and Rev. Sir, very faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

In a letter on the public affairs of Ireland, addressed
by Lord Cloncurry, in March, 1852, to W. J. O'Neil
Daunt, of Kilcascan, Esq., his lordship animadverted

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

bitterly on the conduct and character of brawling patriots,
whose blatant zeal for Ireland's rights evaporated on their
appointment to the paltriest places. He also censured the
conduct of the cities then competing for a packet station,
which he said were doing all the mischief in their power
to each other and to the country. Not content with
proving the fitness of their own roadsteads or harbours,
they published falsehood upon falsehood to counteract the
hopes and exertions of their rivals. Lord Cloncurry con-
cluded his remarks with these words : — " Of the good and
happiness of this wretched country I have less hope than
I ever had before ; and if I did not love it in dotage,
should seek another home." As a number of living
parties are severely spoken of in this letter, we did not
feel ourselves justified in publishing it.

Lord Cloncurry purchased, at this period, contrary to his
wont, a ticket in one of the extensive German lotteries.
Several months elapsed, the time for drawing was procras-
tinated, but at last it arrived. The servants' hall of
Maretimo rang with exclamations of satisfaction and sur-
prise when the result became known. Their good master,
contrary to general expectation, succeeded in winning
from the cunning Germans no less than 67,000 thalers, or
£10,000. Matters, however, appeared better at first sight
than they did a few weeks later. The proprietors of the
lottery swore that they found some flaw in the manner in
which his lordship's ticket was drawn, and objected to give
him his £10,000. Lord Cloncurry saw through the ruse,
and would not be defeated. He instituted legal proceedings
against the proprietors, and after a considerable amount
of litigation, bother, and expense, at length succeeded in
getting four thousand out of the ten to which he was, in
equity, entitled.

We have said that Lord Cloncurry 's frame, in 1851,.
exhibited symptoms of " falling into the sere and yellow
leaf." Previous to that time, however, no man of his]
age could have been more active or stronger. He waa -
always on the foot, visiting his tenantry, applauding their
labours, seeing after the improvements, or taking cogni-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 581

zance of the agricultural prospects of the country. In
1850, he went to Paris, and visited at Bignon the old
acquaintance of his youth, Arthur O'Connor. " My
father," said the Hon. Cecil Lawless to Mr. Daunt, when
one day at Kilcascan Castle, in the autumn of 1850 —
" my father is as strong and as animated as I remember
him for a long time. I expect he will come to see me at
Glandore. [This he never did.] He ran over to Paris like
a boy."

His lordship's first symptoms of bodily infirmity were
drawn into existence under unusual circumstances. Early
in 1851, business brought him to visit the Royal Dublin
Society House, Kildare-street. Mr. Colles, the librarian
of that institution, offered to s-how Lord Cloncurry the
museum, library, and any other portions of the establish-
ment likely to interest his lordship. Whilst descending the
grand staircase, in company with Mr. Colles, Lord Clon-
curry's foot suddenly slipped, and he came with consider-
able force to the bottom. The only personal injury,
however, which resulted from the fall was a fracture of
the fibula bone of the leg, and so much uneasiness did it
occasion his lordship for several days after, that he at length
founditadvisable to apply for medical relief — a proceeding
which he rarely appears to have resorted to, except in
cases of very pressing necessity. Indeed few people en-
tertained a more lively horror of the faculty, in their

professional capacity, than Lord Cloncurry. Dr.

having been applied to, ordered a succession of wet
bandages to be applied to the ancle, and strictly enjoined
Lord Cloncurry, if he valued his recovery, to continue
constantly in a recumbent posture. Lord Cloncurry
attended, and with benefit, to the physician's directions ;
but soon found, much to his mortification, that in endea-
vouring to avoid Scylla he struck upon Charybdis. The
wet applications cured the pain, no doubt; but then,
on the other hand, they more than counterbalanced
that advantage, by inducing a heavy cold, which eventu-
ated in a swelled throat and a deafness of the right ear.
From the latter very awkward and inconvenient infirmity
Lord Cloncurry was never afterwards for one moment free.

582 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

He did not attach any blame to the physician, but solely
attributed the mishap to some unnecessary exposure,
while attending to his directions.

Thank God, Lord Cloncurry lived to see the Great
Irish Industrial Exhibition of 1853. It was a glorious
sight, and one amply calculated to make an Irishman feel
proud. His lordship saw its inauguration on the 16th
May ; but alas, lay cold and stiff in Lyons churchyard by
the first November following, when Lord St. Germans,
in his viceregal capacity, formally announced the cessation
of its existence. Lord Cloncurry, as all who knew him
may well suppose, took a warm interest in its progress
and success. The following letters are not irrelevant to
this subject: —

[No. 153.] LORD CLONCURRY TO JOBS HOGAN, ESQ.

" I8tk February, 1853.

" DEAR MR. HOGAN, — 1 have been requested to send some objects of art
to the Exhibition. Do you •wish me to send Hibernia, and on what terms ?
If you can dine with me on Sunday we can talk over the subject."

[No. 154.]

" 28iA April, 1853.

" DEAR MR. HOGAN, — Here I am, tired and sorry. I hope to see you
soon. Will you dine with me on Sunday ? Any news about the Exhi-
bition ?"

[No. 155.]

" Maretimo, Nth May, 1853.

" DEAR MR. HOGAN, — I enclose £20 to cover the expenses of new revolv-
ing balls and platform for Hibernia. I am delighted to have sent her to the
Exhibition, for I think she will cause your Came to stand unrivalled in your
own country. Pray do all that you can to defend her from injury, as also
the other objects furnished from Lyons."

[No. 156.]

"Maretimo, 24th August, 1853.

" DEAR MR. HOGAN, — I was delighted to see your nice family and Mrs.
Hogan yesterday. Will you give her the enclosed as a prize for her gift to
poor Ireland, and very small proof of my respect for her and her good man.
Do not come here to-morrow. I have a reason for it. I hope some fine
holiday to get you to bring the family to see Maretinio, and

" Your faithful Servant, " CLONCURRY."

The " prize" was a cheque for £20.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 583

The good man one morning about a fortnight before
his death drove up in his carriage to Mr. Hogan's door,
and expressed a wish to see him. The sculptor appeared.
" Hogan," said he, handing him a basket containing a
quantity of pine apples, apricots, and peaches, " pray
share these among the children, after taking as many as
you fancy yourself. Accustomed as you have been to
the cookery of an Italian sun, I much fear that these
won't be likely to please you ; but had I any better you
should have them."

Meanwhile his lordship's anxiety to see the rival
Boards of Manufacture coalesce continued unabated : —

[No. 157.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT, M.S.T.

" Afaretimo, 2lst Februm-y, 1853.

" MY DEAR AND VERY REV. SIR, — I would feel greatly obliged if you
can dine with me on Thursday next. I wish much to speak to you on the
subject of the fighting Manufacturing Boards.

" Dear Doctor Spratt, very truly yours, " CLONCHRRY."

Here we shall bundle together a few notes which do not
appear to have any regular date, but from the nature
of their allusions must have been written about this
period : —

[No. 158.] LORD CLONCCRRY TO JOHN HOGAN, ESQ.

"Maretimo, 14th March.

" DEAR MB. HOGAN, — Interest is making to erect some kind of Testimo-
nial to Moore — perhaps a statue.

" His namesake has great influence with Sir Philip Crampton and others,
and for a bust his is first-rate. I, however, think that no person but you
could do justice to a statue for the Poet of Ireland; therefore stir yourself.
I will give £100 if you get the job — only £50 for any one else.

" Yours — though I so seldom see or hear of you —

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 159.] LORD CLONCURBY TO THE VERY REV. DR. SPRATT.

"20th August.

" MY DEAR DOCTOR SPRATT, — I send an order on Mr.Browne, the printer,
for the copies of Smith O'Brien's Speech.

" I hear that both the Manufacturing Associations are at a stand. Is there
any hope of amalgamation?

" The Education Board and the Manufacturing Board are the foundation
of my only hope.

" Very faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

584 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

[No. 160.] LORD CLONCURUY TO JOHN GEAY, ESQ., M.D.

" MY DEAR SIR, — In the Evening Packet of last evening I am said to have
cheerfully signed Lord Glengall's petition [in favour of high rents]. This is
a mistake. I lost not a moment in refusing to sign it ; a requisition, calling
a meeting to discuss the matter, I cheerfully signed, as discussion, in my
opinion, tends to elicit truth.

" My dear Sir, very truly yours,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 161.] LORD CLONCURRT TO W. J. o'NEIL DAUNT, ESQ., M.P.

"MY DBAR SIR, — Will you give me the favour of your company to dinner
on Thursday next, if not otherwise engaged, and talk over the past affairs of
Ireland?

" Dear Sir, yours truly,

" CLONCURRY."

[No. 162.] LORD CLONCCRRY TO JOHN GRAY, ESQ., M.D.

" DEAR DOCTOR GRAY, — Cecil is at Glandore, not very well. I expect
him about Christmas, if better.

" Faithfully yours,

" CLONCCRRY."

With the objects and tendencies of the Dublin Library
Society Lord Cloncury was always an ardent sympa-
thiser. Believing it calculated to keep alive an en-
lightened national spirit in the metropolis, he placed in
the hands of the trustees, a few days before his death,
a generous donation towards its rapidly sinking fund.
This was Lord Cloncurry's last public act.

In 1853, the prospects of this excellent institution
appeared disheartening in the extreme. The number of
its members, from upwards of three thousand, had gra-
dually diminished to between three or four hundred.
The once proverbially literary taste of Dublin seemed as
though it were dead, and the national spirit of its people
almost exanimate. The members fell away one by one ;
if asked why or wherefore, they could hardly them-
selves give a reason. The Dublin Library Society _
was once an essentially national institution. Of late
years it had degenerated into a spiritless nothing. When
Lord Cloncurry engaged the services of Hogan, in 1841,
to execute the figure of Hibernia, he fully intended it
as a present for the Dublin Library. Two years elapsed
ere the final touch of Hogan's chisel gave the finish to
its perfection. During the interval, Lord Cloncurry's

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 585

original resolution changed. " Ah !" said he, " its mem-
bers have manifestly wandered away from their ancient
landmarks of nationality. Hibernia shall never leave
Lyons." Some twenty years previously Lord Clon-
curry presented the Library Society with a magnificent
carved oak chair, supported by two Irish wolf dogs of
the same material. It may be seen in the reading-room
of the institution, immediately beneath Mr. B. Mul-
rennan's life-like portrait of the noble president. This
beautiful and justly celebrated painting was generously
presented to the society a few months since by its gifted
artist.

In May, 1853, the prospects of the Library Society
were dark and gloomy. It had battled for years with
an unpropitious fortune ; but the conclusion of the strug-
gle now seemed approaching. Neglect and want of
means daily sapped its strength. At length, those hard-
working and disinterested men who constitute its coun-
cil-board decided, that unless the retreating members
rallied and fell into line once more, the Dublin Library
Society could not exist another year.

In their hour of need, the Committee of the Dublin
Library resolved to make application for assistance to
Lord Cloncurry, the father of the Institution. The
late Mr. John Raper, Librarian and Secretary, was
deputed to communicate with him. That gentleman,
in his letter, expressed to Lord Cloncurry how grateful
the Committee would feel by his kindly undertaking to
interest Lord Carlisle in the welfare of a society, whose
objects could hardly fail to enlist his sympathies. Lord
Cloncurry promptly replied : —

£No. 163.] LORD CLONCURKY TO MR. RAPER.

" Maretimo, lith May, 1853.

" SIR, — I have just received your letter of the 13th inst. I shall have
much pleasure in doing anything in my power to serve the Dublin Library,
for which purpose I will send some such letter as you will find on the other
half of this sheet. Perhaps the Committee, who recollect the names of the
former Presidents, will kindly correct the phraseology of an old hand long
out of the habit of paying compliments.

" Your very faithful Servant,

" CLONCUBRY."

2c2

586 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

[No. 164.] IX)RD CLONCURRY TO THE EARL OF CARLISLE.

Dublin, May, 1853.

" MY DEAR LORD CARLISLE, — The poor people of the fair city of Dublin
do not forget your kindness and philanthropy. They honoured you whilst
amongst them, before you came amongst them, and since you have left
them. They depute me, as their humble representative, to ask a great
favour, which I sincerely hope it may be in your power to grant.

" I write at the desire of the Dublin Library Society, of which I am the
unworthy President ; a great and accomplished scholar, Dr. Mac Donnell
(who has succeeded your excellent friend, the late Dr. Murray), being my
chief support. He is the Provost of Trinity College. Our predecessors were
Charlemont, Curran, &c., &c. The Society, now of more than sixty years'
standing, possess an extensive house and library in D'Olier-street ; but they
are not without fear that, like most of our public establishments, they may
feel the pressure of the times. And they pray from the respected Lord
Carlisle the timely aid of his eloquence and taste, as we all expect you to
visit our magnificent Exhibition."

Mr. Raper returned the letter to his lordship with a
suitable expression of gratitude. The good peer wrote
it anew, and in a few days received the following kind
reply from Lord Carlisle : —

[No. 165.] THE EARL OP CARLISLE TO LORD CLOXCURRY.

" Castle Howard, May 21st, 1853.

"Mr DEAR LORD CLONCURRY, — I must beg you to receive yourself, and
to convey to your colleagues in the Dublin Library Society the assurance
how very sensibly I feel the honour and distinction conferred upon me by
your joint request. Whether or not I should have been bold enough to
assume the responsibility of complying with it, I need not now discuss, as
my almost immediate departure for the East of jiurope will put -even the
shortest visit to Dublin wholly out of my power during the present year.

" It is very pleasant, my dear Lord, to find you taking unabated interest
in the pursuits and objects which have distinguished your whole career.
" Believe me, your very faithful Servant,

" CARLISLE."

Lord Cloncurry felt that the Dublin Library Society,
in its then prostrate condition, required a president of
more activity, and influence, to raise it once more upon
its feet, and infuse a renovated spirit through its general
organization. He feared that his great age incapacitated
him from discharging the duties inherent to the presi-
dential office as they ought to be. He came to the con-
clusion of paying a parting subscription, and resigning in
favour of a younger and more active man. He commu-

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 587

nicated with Mr. Raper on the 23rd May, but did not

yet apprise him of the determination he had come to.

»

[No. 166.] LORD CLOJf CURRY TO MR. RAPER.

" Maretimo, 23rd May, 1853.

" DEAR SIR, — It grieves me that I am so very useless a President of so
excellent an institution as the Dublin Library Society. The loss of our
Parliament has entailed on our beautiful city more serious ills than the
diminution of the number of those whose circumstances enable them to
devote any portion of their time to the pleasures of literature, or, indeed, of
pursuits more profitable, though less noble.

" CLOXCUKRY."

Four months elapsed, and the librarian heard nothing
from Lord Cloncurry. At length, on the 25th Septem-
ber, the following letter arrived in answer to a circular
issued by the committee : —

[No. 1 67.] LORD CLONCURRr TO MR. RAPER.

" 25th September, 1853.

" DEAR SIR, — At a time when public libraries and literary associations
are springing up in every corner of civilized society, it grieves me to think
that the ancient and most excellent institution of which I have the honour
to be President, should be neglected. I have often blamed myself for having
accepted, and continued to hold, an office to which my general residence in
the country, and my age, have prevented my paying the attention due to so
admirable an institution in my native city.

" I am so circumstanced that it will scarcely be in my power to attend
the meeting on the 3rd proximo ; but if the gentlemen of the Committee, or
some of them, will allow me the honour to meet them at the Library, at
three o'clock on Thursday, I shall be particularly obliged. Deeply aud
dearly interested as I am for everything Irish, I am ready to pay a parting
subscription, and to resign an office which I do not feel myself worthy to
hold.

" I have the honour to be, dear Sir, very faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

Lord Cloncurry was up to time on the appointed day.
As the Post Office clock chimed the hour of three, his
lordship's carriage drove up to the Dublin Library. The
venerable peer, unaided and alone, mounted the steep
stone staircase, advanced to the chair, and at once entered
freely into conversation with the members of the com-
mittee. He feelingly expressed his sympathy for the
gloomy prospects extended before them, and, in token of
its sincerity, counted down upon the table one hundred

588 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Bank of Ireland notes. This was Lord Cloncurry's last
public act.

He continued, however, to give anonymously as be-
fore.

[No. 168.] LORD CLONCURRY TO THE VERY REV. DB. SPRATT.

" -27th May, 1853.

" MY DEAR AND VERY REV. DR. SPRATT, — Will you kindly distribute
the following remembrances to the useful institutions named on the other side?
And pray renew your wise and most paternal exhortations to the rival Boards
of Manufacture, and call their attention to an excellent letter of ' a Celt' in
this day's Freeman.

" The good people who have aided your humane exertions in favour of
Mr. Smith O'Brien claim my sincere respect.

" AN EXHIBITOR AND ADMIRER.

' Sisters of Charity (St. Vincent's),

' Roomkeepers' Charity,

' Sisters of Mercy,

' Samaritan,

' Mechanics' Institution,

' Sailors' Home, .

' Schools of St. Peter, .

' Boards of Manufacture (WHEN UNITED),

£20 0 0

10 0 0

10 0 0

10 0 0

10 0 0

10 0 0

20 0 0

10 0 0

"£100 0 0"

[No. 169.] " Maretimo, August 22, 1853.

" DEAR AND RESPECTED FRIEND, DR. SPRATT, — Your anxiety on the
subject of the schools of industry, so successfully carried on in Dublin,
induces me to request you will pay for me £10 for the Dargan Industrial
Institute. * * * *

" Your faithful and obliged, " CLONCURRY."

Lord Cloncurry's parting subscription of £100 saved
our metropolitan library from utter dissolution. Had he
not flung that heap of faggots on its dying embers, it
would, doubtless, have long since died completely out.
The good man's contribution fed its flame into fuller
light; and new members, attracted by it, thronged for-
ward in numbers. The treasury of the society gradually
filled — its spirit revived — its vigour of operation re-
turned— its healthy tone became restored. Clouds of
gloom were no longer seen to traverse the countenances of
the committee, as, seated around their oval table, they

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 589

investigated hebdomadally the posture of the accounts.
The demeanour of that body, and the newly painted and
decorated board-room, evidenced their complete pros-
perity and satisfaction.

Lord Cloncurry did not survive long enough to wit-
ness the complete success attendant on his generous sub-
scription to the Dublin Library. Whilst he lived, he
watched its progress anxiously, and as only a father could.
In October — the month he died — we find him addressing
Mr. Raper on the still all-engrossing subject of his
thoughts.

[Nb. 170.] LORD CLONCURRY TO MR. BAPER.

" 3rd October, 1853.

" DEAR SIR, — I enclose a list of subscribers to the Limerick Athenaeum.
Perhaps we might gain assistance by adding some second name and object
to the one we already use, as ' Dublin Library' and ' Hibernian A thenceum.'

" Faithfully yours,

" CLONCURRY."

One morning, about this period, Lord Cloncurry called,
in his carriage, at Mr. Hogan's residence in Wentworth
Place. " Hogan," said he, " Hibernia must be my
tomb-stone. It was my original wish. In my will, I
will bequeath £300 to cover the expenses of a handsome
pedestal for it ; and I am sure, when I leave the design
and execution to your good taste, the work will be done
classically and well !" Poor Lord Cloncurry did not
think his dissolution was so close. He returned home,
but added no codicil to his will. He probably considered,
like many others, that there was no necessity to hurry.

In gratitude to William Dargan, a large circle of his
admirers decided upon entertaining him at a public ban-
quet. The price of tickets was fixed at a guinea each.
Lord Cloncurry, of course, received one of the earliest
invitations. The following reply was written six days
prior to his dissolution : —

[No. 171.] TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE DARGAN BANQUET.

"Maretimo, October 22nd, 1853.

" GENTLEMEN, — In answer to your favour of the 13th instant, I am sorry
to say that I have not a guinea in the world, and that I have long given up

590 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

any attendance at large parties, such as I hope yours will be ; but if a pound
can be accepted, as proof of my respect for Mr. Dargan, I shall be most
willing to pay it

" Your most humble Servant,

" CLONCURRY."

One of Lord Cloncurry's oldest and most attached
friends was the late Sir Simon Bradstreet, Bart. He was
the second son of Sir Samuel Bradstreet, Recorder of, and
Member for, Dublin in the Irish Parliament, and after-
wards Judge of the Court of King's Bench. With the
national movements of his country Sir Simon ever
thoroughly identified himself, and in so doing strength-
ened to a still further extent the repeatedly-expressed
friendship of Lord Cloncurry for him. Their ages closely
assimilated. Lord Cloncurry was born in 1773, and Sir
Simon Bradstreet in 1772. The year 1853 proved fatal
to the earthly existence of baron and baronet. In the
full vigour of a green old age, both suddenly withered, and
" died in October." Lord Cloncurry's demise took place
on the 28th, and Sir Simon's on the 25th. The baronet,
at his residence near Clontarf, became seriously attacked
with bronchitis. The news reached Lord Cloncurry on
Thursday the 20th. He was visibly affected, and sent
several successive messages of inquiry after the health of
his old friend. On Sunday morning he wrote to John
Bradstreet, Esq., the present baronet. From this letter
we cull the following extracts. Expressing, as it does, a
sort of presentiment of his own approaching dissolution,
although unconscious at the time of any unusual amount
of debility, or indisposition, the letter will doubtless be
read with interest. The tenderness of his lordship's heart
breathes through every line of it : —

[No. 172.] LORD CLONCCRRY TO MR. NOW SIR JOHN BRADSTREET, BART.

" Maretimo, October 23rd, 1853.

" MY DEAR BBADSTREET, — I hope that my dear old friend is free from
much pain, though I fear that is almost impossible from the nature of the
attack. Like myself, he cannot expect a long respite. ******

" Give my affectionate respects to your dear lady, and be assured of the
friendship of " CLONCURRY."

A few days previously Sir Simon Bradstreet had been
received into the Roman Catholic Church, by the Rev.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 591

Mr. Kennedy, C.C., of Clontarf. Throughout his life he
enjoyed the reputation of being a benevolent man, and a
liberal Protestant, and when we recollect what a con-
stant attendant he always was at the Catholic Association,
and how thoroughly he identified himself with the pro-
ceedings of that body, it cannot be considered as surprising
that he should have died in the profession of that faith
towards which he ever showed so kindly a disposition.

Lord Cloncurry rarely sat down to dinner of a week
day, and never of a Sunday, without the society of a few
congenial friends. On Sunday, October 23rd, his lord-
ship had a larger dinner party than usual, and never
before appeared more cheerful. Ireland — her present
prospects, and her past calamities — formed the chief topic
of conversation. Lord Cloncurry regarded the great
Dublin Exhibition, than about to close, as the harbinger
of an important industrial movement, and spoke of Mr.
Dargan's design with liberal praise, and confident hope.
It was the last occasion on which he presided at that hos-
pital board, around which the greatest patriots of three
generations of Irishmen had discussed the fortunes of Ire-
land— at which Grattan's splendid fancy, and Curran's
glittering humour, and O'Connell's masculine sense, and
Shiel's diamond wit, had so often flashed and flowed —
at which the Viceroy and the Rebel, Whig, and Tory,
Catholic and Protestant, Old and Young Ireland, had all
found some strange and fascinating centre of union. It
was the last time the old lord was destined to sit among
his friends ; and as he turned away to die, the last words
they remembered were hope for Ireland — the hope that
had never flickered throughout eighty years.

At twelve o'clock Lord Cloncurry retired to rest, in
excellent health. Equally well he rose* next morning,

* Although far advanced in years, Lord Cloncurry, unlike the generality
of octogenarians, never required the slightest assistance to dress or undress.
Up to a short time before his death he was as erect as possible, and as regular
in his hours for rising and retiring to rest as the most rigid disciplinarian
could desire. He never breakfasted in bed, and on no occasion left his bed-
room without using the razor. In respect to the neatness of his appearance,
no petit maitre could have been more scrupulously particular.

For the pleasures of reading Lord Cloncurry always showed a marked

592 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

and having some business to transact which took him a
few miles away, ordered his carriage to the door. The
day was piercing cold, and by the time he got home, it
had far advanced.

Comfortable fires awaited his lordship's return; but
they could not warm him. He complained of a violent
shivering, accompanied by inflammatory pain in the left
side. He endeavoured to remain up, but could not. At
seven o'clock he retired to bed, cramped with pain, and
benumbed with cold.*

We have said that his lordship entertained an aversion
to medical interference or prescription. Surgeon Le
Clerc of the Black Rock was the only physician whom,
in his professional capacity, he could at all tolerate of late.
But on this occasion his lordship would not even permit
Dr. Le Clerc to be sent for. Lord Cloncurry's illness,
however, increased so much, as the night advanced, that
those about him became seriously alarmed. At two o'clock
on Tuesday morning a messenger was privately de-
spatched for Dr. Le Clerc.

inclination. He never was without a book, and his fund of general informa-
tion was, in consequence, considerable. Should he even waken for half an
hour in the night, he would instantly procure his reading lamp, book, and
pencil. This marked taste for the society of a book appears to have been
first formed during his lordship's protracted inprisonment in the Tower.

* Up to the very day that Lord Cloncurry became attacked with fatal ill-
ness, he continued to dispense his unostentatious bounty. The actual extent

of this exceeds all belief. Nor was it confined to Ireland. Miss S , his

lordship's housekeeper, was continually in the habit of finding letters lying
about from the most distant parts of England, some soliciting relief, and others
thanking the good man for his generous remittance. " What do you know
of these people ?" she would sometimes say. " Can you be certain that they
are deserving objects?" " Oh, the poor people are in great distress," was the
invariable answer. " Had you read their petition it would have made your
heart bleed for them. I trust in God that I have alleviated their misery."
There were several families hi Dublin, whose names could not be mentioned,
that he regularly supported. Any person in distress had but to apply to him
to receive relief. Of all men living, he had, perhaps, the most sensitive heart.
Benevolent to a passion, he could not think of standing a minute proof against
the voice of supplication ; and having filled the outstretched hand of want,
would fly, scarcely able to repress his tears, from the scene. In fact, Lord
Cloncurry was the great centre of refuge for all beggars indiscriminately —
those who had the wickedness to play upon his generosity, and those who
were really deserving of his bounty.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 593

Dr. Le Clerc found his lordship laboiiring under pleu-
risy, accompanied by a most virulent and harassing cough,
which contributed more than any other uneasiness to em-
bitter the few remaining hours of his existence. This
attacked him so often, and so violently, that his lordship's
countenance would become almost purple with the exer-
tion. Dr. Le Clerc at once put him under the usual
medical treatment for such cases.* His lordship made a
momentary rally, but nothing more. The disease gra-
dually strengthened in its grasp, and it became evident to
all that the good man's dissolution was rapidly approach-
ing.

On Wednesday the cruel malady called an ally to its
aid. Diarrhosa tore roughly at his lordship's already en-
feebled constitution.

His lordship only spoke once after. He suffered much
from debility, and lay stretched at full length with eyes
closed. Whispering his physician in a voice barely
audible, he at length said, " Ah, Le Clerc, the closing
scene !"

On Thursday the Hon. Cecil Lawless arrived from
Cork, and had an affecting interview with his dying father.

At two o'clock, A.M., on Friday morning, disease con-
summated its work, and the saddest affliction which had
befallen Ireland since O'Connell's death, fell upon the land.

The family of Lord Cloncurry decided that the funeral
should be a private one, and appointed twelve o'clock on
Tuesday, November 1st, for the removal of his lordship's
remains to Lyons. Long before that hour, however, the
carriages of the immediate friends of the illustrious de-
ceased began to arrive, as well as large numbers of the
peasantry, who, loving Lord Cloncurry while living, re-
vered his memory now that he was no more.

In addition to the personal friends of Lord Cloncurry,
the entire of the committee, and many of the members, of
the Dublin Library Society, were in attendance. Edward,
present Lord Cloncurry, the Hon. Cecil Lawless, the

* Dr. Le Clerc cupped his lordship plentifully, applied a blister, and ad-
ministed calomel in small doses.

594 CLONCUREY AND HIS TIMES.

Right Hon. J. W. Fitz-Patrick, D. Kirwan, J. Burke,
H. D. Burke, and W. Lewis, Esqrs., acted as chief
mourners.

Shortly after one o'clock the remains of Lord Cloncurry
were borne, in presence of many weeping eyes, from his
villa to the hearse. We are informed by the papers of
the day that three coffins enclosed the good man's bones.
The inner one was of cedar wood, and lined with white
satin. The second was of lead, and the third of fine
grained oak, highly polished, and mounted with richly-
gilt handles and escutcheons. On the lid the follow-
ing inscription, surmounted by a baron's coronet, ap-
peared:—

" THE RIGHT HON. VALENTINE BROWNE LAWLESS, BAHON CLONCURRY.

BORN 19TH AUGUST, 1773.
DIED 28TH OF OCTOBER, 1853. AGED 81 TEARS."

The coffin having been covered with a silk velvet pall,
deeply fringed with black gimp and heavy tassels, the
mournful cortege moved from Maretimo, and proceeded
slowly on its way through the village of Black Rock,
where most of the shops were completely closed. A large
concourse of the poor from the surrounding neighbour-
hood, who, during very many years, had been the recipients
of the good old lord's unostentatious bounty, lined the
road-way at either side, and, despite the rain which fell in
torrents, followed the procession until the trees of Lyons
hid it from their view. The Irish peasantry, superstitious
as they are warm-hearted, have always regarded wet
weather, in immediate connexion with a funeral, as a
circumstance that augured well for the salvation of the
deceased. They rejoiced upon the present occasion, and
as the black hearse-plumes drooped, saturated and weep-
ing, over the dead man's coffin, many a poor old woman's
voice might have been heard enunciating, " Happy is
the corpse that the rain rains on."

As the funeral train passed through the villages of
Inchicore and Clondalkin, numbers of labourers clustered
in knots together, whose demeanour testified at once their

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 595

sincere respect for the memory of Lord Cloncurry, and
their sorrow at having lost a generous employer and a
warm friend. The greater number fell in with the pro-
cession.

On arriving at Newcastle, the bell of the Catholic
chapel began to toll, and crowds of his lordship's tenants,
and the peasantry of the surrounding districts, swelled the
moving human mass.

At four o'clock the coffin was borne to the Great Hall
of Lyons Castle,* and placed on tressels prior to its final
removal, by torchlight, to the family vault adjacent. This
solemn ceremony was fixed for half-past seven, but long
before that hour a large number of the County Kildare
magistracy, the resident gentry of the district, and the
tenantry and labourers on his lordship's estate, began to
arrive. The latter body wore scarfs and hat-bands, and
amounted to upwards of three hundred persons. Punc-
tually to the appointed time, the funeral procession formed,
and the remains of Cloncurry, reposing on a bier, were
conveyed, with much solemnity, in the direction of the
crypt. A more picturesque or impressive scene it would
be impossible to conceive than was presented on this
occasion, as the long, black procession, thrown boldly into
relief by the yellow blaze of sixty torches, slowly wended
its way through the thickly wooded paths and avenues,
which led to the last resting-place of Valentine Lawless.

At eight o'clock the dense cortege reached its destina-
tion. Within the ivied ruin of an old and time-stricken

* Lyons Castle is constructed of granite, and castellated. It consists of a
spacious centre, connected by semicircular colonnades, with a stately pavillion
at each extremity. Of these one is entirely filled with specimens of first-
class sculpture, and originally intended by Lord Cloncurry as a study for
native artists. The ancient village of Lyonstown, from which the mansion
derives its name, was burnt in the war of 1641, and, with the exception of an
old tower and the ruined chapel wherein the ashes of Lord Cloncurry sleep,
no traces of it remain. The entire inhabitants of the parish of Lyons do not
exceed 158. Yet, for the accommodation of this comparatively small popula-
tion, Lord Cloncurry, on his return from Italy, toiled to erect a Roman Ca-
tholic chapel, which, thanks to his influence, his zeal, and his purse, was
creditably effected in 1810. A large bronze crucifix, and holy water font of
white marble, which at present decorate the chapel, were brought from Rome,
in 1805, by Lord Cloncurry. Of these the former was a personal gift from
Pope Pius VII.

596 CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES.

Christian temple they laid their burden down. Lord and
Lady Cloncurry, the Hon. Cecil Lawless, and Denis
Kirwan, Esq., stood immediately around the grave. The
assemblage were deeply and visibly affected. A death-
like silence prevailed, and tears fell thick and fast upon

the good man's coffin.

******

Early on the following morning the Hon. Cecil Lawless
returned by the Great Southern Railway to Cork. Before
his father's coffin-plate had tarnished beneath the clay, the
young man was himself struck down.

The disease which proved so suddenly fatal to Mr.
Lawless was violent inflammation of the brain. He long
entertained a presentiment that, sooner or later, he would
die insane, and repeatedly expressed his apprehensions
on this score to those who possessed his confidence and
his friendship. The inflammatory affection of the brain
terminated fatally on the second day. Edward Lord
Oloncurry arrived in Cork a few hours after the com-
mencement of the attack, and remained beside his brother's
bed until death snatched him away. On the 9th No-
vember Mr. Lawless's remains were removed, in a special
train, to Lyons, and deposited privately in his father's
grave. Young and hale he had gazed upon it exactly one
week before.*

And as we chronicle this gloomy fact, Lord Cloncurry's
observation to Mr. Hogan, in his letter of August 19,
1841, rushes to our mind — " How true it is that in the
midst of life, of health, and of happiness, we are in death."

And so we come to the close of this noble and eventful
career. The mortal part of Cloncurry rests in the se-
pulchre of his race. Feebly, we fear, but with good will
and true reverence for all that was generous and heroic
in him, we have essayed to make his countrymen familiar
with the acts which shall keep his name immortal in
Ireland. Where shall we see his like again ? is the question

* Mr. Lawless was born Oct., 1820, and represented Clonmel in three
Parliaments. He married, in 1848, Frances Georgiana, daughter of Maurice
Tcrvrasend, Esq., of Shepperton, Co. Cork, and widow of John William Digby,
Esq., of Landenstown, Co. Kildare.

CLONCURRY AND HIS TIMES. 597

which every age asks and answers, as the dynasty of the
great and good now and then pauses for an instant by
some fresh grave. But it is more than proverbially hard,
indeed, to hope that we shall ever see the like of Valen-
tine Lord Cloncurry in Ireland again — the man who
was an Irish Peer and an Irish Patriot, when the words
had their noblest meaning, and all whose LIFE was faithful
to the ambition and devotion of his youth. We have
traced him in the rebel's cell, in the Viceroy's sanctum,
in the public forum, in that home which was, as it were,
a laboratory of patriotic designs, a centre of great and
good men, a fount of gracious charities. Through all
the great triumphs, and greater afflictions of his life, and
through its calm even day course, in which we see the
love of his country acting like some quiet industry, there
is a perfect harmony, there is but one idea — IRELAND.
There is a monument of him in every act that was done
for the good of this country in his days, on every bench
where justice is administered in Ireland, on every wall
reared to worship God or shelter the poor that rose to
heaven within his neighbourhood, in the artist's studio,
whom his generous patronage fostered, in the good men
whom he befriended, in the good causes to which his
name lent a new sanction. To portray a character so
noble in every respect might well task a pen more
brilliant and expert than ours. It has been the pleasant
occupation of a year's leisure. May it not be altogether
unworthy of its aim ! May its many shortcomings be
excused in consideration of its good purpose ! No light
thrown upon a good man's character is wholly lost.

APPENDIX.

SOME ACCOUNT OF EGBERT LAWLESS OF LONDON, EXTRACTED FROM
THE ANNUAL REGISTER FOR 1806.

(See Note on page 27.)

AT his apartments in Dean-street, Soho, at the advanced age of 82, Mr.
Robert Lawless, who, for considerably more than half a century, had been
so well known to, and much distinguished by, the notice and regard of many
of the most eminent literary characters of his time, as one of the principal
assistants to Mr. Andrew Miller, formerly bookseller on the Strand ; after-
wards to his successor, the late Mr. Alderman Cadell ; and since, till very
lately, to Messrs. Cadell and Davies, the present conductors of that extensive
business.

Mr. L. was a native of Dublin, and related not very distantly, to the
respectable and recently ennobled family of the same name, as well as to the
Barnwells and Aylmers. He was a Roman Catholic, and strictly observed
the duties and obligations of his religion, yet perfectly free from the bigotry
and uncharitableness which have, on too many occasions, marked the con-
duct of members of the Romish Church. In his character were united the
soundest integrity of mind, with a simplicity of manners rarely equalled.
His reading had been extensive ; his judgment was remarkably correct; his
memory uncommonly strong, and the anecdotes with which it was stored
often afforded gratification to his friends, who delighted to draw him into
conversation. One remarkable instance of his singleness of heart we can add,
on the most indisputable authority. Not very long before Mr. Cadell ob-
tained the scarlet gown, on taking stock at the end of the year, honest Robin
very seriously applied to his master to ask a favour of him. Mr. Cadell, of
course, expected that it was somewhat that might be beneficial to the appli-
cant But, great indeed was his surprise to find, that the purport of the
request was, that his annual salary might be lowered, as the year's account
was not so good as the preceding one ; and Lawless really feared that his
master could not afford to pay him such very high wages. On retiring from
business, the benevolent master had a picture of the faithful servant painted
by Sir William Beech, which he always showed to his friends as one of the
principal ornaments of his drawing-room.

GEATTAN ON THE SALE OF PEERAGES, AND HIS DEFIANCE OF
THE GOVERNMENT.

(Seepage 46.)

Mr. Grattan's speech on the above snbject was, in vigour and intensity, in-
ferior to none ever delivered by him. The celebrated passage : — "Rank majorities

APPENDIX. 599

may give a nation law, but'rank majorities cannot give law authority," occurred
in it. Lord Clare, who sat in the Upper House, took notice of the speech, and
made it the subject of a series of diatribes. Grattan fired with indignation
at this breach of etiquette (we suppose it is unnecessary to remind the reader
that the proceedings of one house should never form the subject of debate or
censure in another), and repeated, in still plainer and more telling lan-
guage, his sentiments. " Sir," said he, "I have been told it was said that I
should have been stopped — should have been expelled the Commons —
should have been delivered up to the bar of the Lords — for the expressions
delivered that day. I will repeat what I said on that occasion. I said that
his Majesty's Ministers had sold the peerages, for which offence they were
impeachable. I said they had applied the money for the purpose of pur-
chasing seats in the House of Commons for the servants or followers of the
Castle, for which offence I said they were impeachable. I said they had
done this, not in one, or two, but in several instances, for which compli-
cation of offences, I said his Majesty's Ministers were impeachable — as public
malefactors, who had conspired against the common weal, the independency
of Parliament, and the fundamental laws of the land; and I offered and
dared them to put this matter in a course of inquiry ; I added, that I con-
sidered them as public malefactors, whom we were ready to bring to justice.
I repeat these charges now ; and if anything more severe was on a former
occasion expressed, I beg to be reminded of it, and I will again repeat it.
Why do not you expel me now ? Why not send me to the bar of the House
of Lords ? Where is your adviser? Going out of this House, I shall repeat
my sentiments, that his Majesty's Ministers are guilty of impeachable of-
fences ; and advancing to the bar of the Lords, I shall repeat these sentiments ;
or, if the Tower is to be my habitation, I will there meditate the im-
peachment of these Ministers, and return, not to capitulate, but to punish.
Sir, I think I know myself well enough to say, that if called forth to suffer
in a public cause, I shall go further than my prosecutors, both in virtue
and in danger."

Curran's speech on the same subject (February 20th, 1790) was more
ironical than fierce. " The sale of peerages," said he, " was as notorious as
that of the cast horses in the Castle yard — the publicity the same — the
terms not very different — the horses not warranted sound — the other animals,
warranted rotten. The former destined for honest and useful labour ; the
latter for vile and base drudgery. We offered evidence of the fact — I pledge
myself to prove that fact. I know the power of this House. I know the
consequences of a malicious and false accusation. Let it fall upon me if I
deserve it." — Parliamentary Register, vol. x. p. 290.

SINGULAR CORRESPONDENCE. ATTEMPT ON THE PART OF ME. J.

R TO CORRUPT THE HON. CECIL LAWLESS, M.P., WITH

A BRIBE.

{Seepage 553.)

" Clonmel, 25A January, 1850.

" HON. SIR, — As one of your constituents, permit me to request your kind
attention to the following: — I have been in the corn trade here for the past
eight years, which business I am obliged to relinquish, in consequence of the
very prostrate state of the times, and the fatal operation of free trade upon
all branches of industry in this country. I am a single man, about thirty-

600 APPENDIX.

nine years of age, able and willing to fulfil the duties of most situations, having
a lot of cash in bank, and not being able to convert it to any profitable
account at present. I thus most respectfully and confidentially solicit your
kind influence with your friends to obtain for me some decent situation under
Government (however so humble), for which favour I pledge myself to hand
the friend the sum of £300 the instant I get the appointment. I detest being
idle, and love employment ; would have no objection to country, and woule
prefer England.

" I am well aware how much I ask for; but let the result be favourable or
otherwise no mortal upon this earth shall ever be the wiser of it, so far as ]
am or will be concerned.

" Should you be so good as to grant this request, I would wait upon you
at any time or place you think proper — it would be the prudent and most
discreet plan — or would have no objection to meet your friend in London or
elsewhere.

" I understand all the civil situations of the military department, having
served as sergeant-major of Artillery upon the Island of St. Helena for fiv
years; and beseeching your confidence once again, and begging your kim
indulgence for this trouble, I subscribe myself, Hon. Sir, your obedient and
very humble Servant, " JAMES R .

" Hon. Cecil Lawless, M.P., &c., &c.

"A reply in due course, if you please, as I intend to try elsewhere. Ad
dress James R , Merchant, Clonmel."

THE HON. CECIL LAWLESS, M.P., TO MR. JAMES R .

" Glandore, Ross Carberry, Feb. 1, 1850

" SIR, — Your letter of January 25th having been directed to Dublin, has
only just reached me. I regret this, as I should have wished you to hav
received my answer as soon as possible, in order that you might be at liberty
to make your offer elsewhere, as you say you intend doing ; and I should fee
obliged by your informing me with what success you try elsewhere. I hav
been more than once disgusted by seeing our members truckling to the presen
Government, who have worked more mischief to Ireland than any of ou
former rulers since the terrible Union. But yet, Sir, I will not believe tha
you are likely to succeed better with any one of them ; I doubt whether th
blackest sheep of the flock will have courage to promote your interest fo
even double the bribe you offer me.

" I think it may be just possible that your object was to try me, in ordei
that you might expose me should I fail, and so you might cause so iniquitou.'
a member to be removed from the representation. * * * * This is th
first tune that I have been requested to sell myself (and I must admit th
price was handsome,) since I had the honour to be their representative; ani
if I believed that any three of them could have advised you to the step yoi
have taken, I should to-morrow request them to look for a member witt
whom they might make their bargains.

" In this matter I am neither your faithful nor obedient Servant,

" CECIL LAWLESS.

"Mr. James R , Merchant, Clonmel."

[We are perfectly well aware of the applicant's name, and purposely refraii
from more than initialing it. About a week previous to the date of the abovi

letter Mr. R addressed a similar application to John O'Connell, Esq., M.P.

who took no further notice of the fellow than by placing his letter in th
hands of the Attorney- General. — W. J. F.]

APPENDIX. 601

LORD CLONCPRRY 9 CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. GRAY.

We insert the following letter from Dr. Gray, Editor and Proprietor of the
Freeman's Journal: —

" February Wth, 1855.

"My DEAR SIR, — The greater number of the letters with which I had
been from time to time favoured by the late Lord Cloncurry were written with
that entire freedom from restraint which impresses me with the conviction,
that I am bound to look on them as confidential utterances of his lordship's
opinions, which I could not, with propriety, hand you for publication. I
regret this the more, as, on looking over them in reference to your request, I
can with truth affirm, that while the conduct of public men and the objects
of public measures were freely canvassed in many of them, there is not a
single sentence in any one, the publication of which would not reflect the
highest credit on the judgment and patriotism, as well as on the heart of the
lamented dead.

" I send you a few of his lordship's letters which may perhaps prove useful
to you. Though manifestly not written for publication, I feel that in
placing in your hands a few letters which illustrate his ever vigilant anxiety
for the material improvement of the people, and his never-flagging hope in
the ultimate destiny of this nation, I am but assisting your praiseworthy
effort to do justice to the memory of one of the most generous of men, and
the most disinterested of patriots.

"Yours truly, " JOHN GRAY.

'• WM. JOHN FITZPATRICK, ESQ."

Nine highly interesting letters from Lord Cloncurry were enclosed with
Dr. Gray's communication.

Dr. Gray permitted us to see some of the letters which he did not feel at
liberty to give for publication. Many of them show that Lord Cloncurry was
a careful observer of all passing events, and not a few contain elaborate and
very able comments on the topics discussed in the last Times, Freeman, or
• Nation* We requested leave to publish the letter No. 127, page 516, in
which allusion is made to the " Stoneybatter dinner," by which is meant the
dinner given by the Midland Great Western Railway Company to Lord
Clarendon, on the completion of their splendid terminus at the Broadstone.
The dinner was given shortly after Lord Clarendon's connexion with the
World newspaper had been made public by the celebrated trial of Birch and
Somerville, and the speech delivered by Dr. Gray, to which allusion is made,
was in reply to the toast of " The Press," in the course of which he adminis-
tered a severe rebuke to Lord. Clarendon on his illicit intercourse with a
venal and corrupt press, in a manner so happy as not to offend propriety,
while it wounded to the quick, and yet so direct as to elicit from the leading
journals of the day, of all politics, the most handsome expressions of thanks
for the vindication of the honour of the press in the presence of the Vicferoy
who sought to dishonour and degrade it. This circumstance explains the
use of the word " Stoney-ftafter" in his lordship's letter.

DR. LACOUR ON THE POST MORTEM EXAMINATION OF o'cONNELL.
(Seepage 486.)

Dr Lacour, who accompanied O'Connell to Genoa, and attended him
during his last illness, read, in November, 1847, a paper before the Societe

2 D

APPENDIX.

Medicale (^Emulation of Lyons, on the actual cause of the great man's death,
as ascertained by post mortem examination. From this document it would
appear that O'Connell laboured under ramollissement of the brain for upwards
of two years previous to his dissolution ; that it produced " the uncertain gait
and failing intellect to which," remarks Dr. Lacour, " the fatal termination
was entirely attributable." Dr. Lacour*s paper contained an elaborate state-
ment of the diagnosis of the case. In reference to the condition of the brain,
he observed, among other details solely intelligible to a medical man : — " A
space which might have contained a wallnut, was transformed into a greyish
thick fluid, in the midst of which there was a little blood. The cerebral
matter around this softened part reassumed its normal firmness. There was
a high degree of congestion in all the other parts of the brain, just as if it had
been thickly sprinkled with blood." Dr. Lacour's interesting paper may be
found at full length, in the Lancet for December 4th, 1847.

ARTmm O'CONNOR AND THE SWORD CANE.
(Seepage 156.)

[The following curious anecdote concerning the imprisonment of Arthur
O'Connor, at Maidstone, has never before been published to the world, and
comes from the pen of perhaps the only man qualified to tell it, viz., Major
Scott, of the 9 1st Regiment, the son and representative of Mr. William Scott,
who defended one of the state prisoners arrested with Arthur O'Connor, at
Margate, in 1798. The document was recently drawn up by Major Scott,
at the request of W. J. O'Neil Daunt, Esq., by whom it has been placed at
our entire disposal. — W. J. F.]

The Rev. Mr. O'Coigly, Arthur O'Connor, and O'Leary, servant to O'Con-
nor, were to be tried at Maidstone for high treason. Mr. Scott was counsel
for O'Leary ; but for O'Connor no counsel had as yet been appointed.

At a meeting of the counsel who were to be employed in the defence, it
became a serious question whether Mr. Erskine should be employed as
counsel for O'Connor, or whether his services might not be more useful as a
witness. To ascertain this it was most desirable to communicate with
O'Connor, a matter of extreme difficulty, as all access to the prisoners was
forbidden, except to their counsel.

Mr. Scott agreed to make the attempt. He had also another reason for
wisliing to see O'Connor. Mr. Scott, on visiting his client, O'Leary, could
get no information from him. O'Leary suspected Mr. Scott might be a Go-
vernment spy, frankly told him that he suspected him to be such, and
positively refused to tell him anything until Mr. Scott should bring a token
from his master, that he might be confided in.

The following morning Mr. Scott went to the prison, and in ascending the
stairs towards O'Leary's cell, offered the turnkey five guineas to admit him
to O'Connor. The man was staggered, but the money tempted him. He
said that the great door of the prison, when opetied and shut, slammed with a
great noise that was heard all over the prison, and that if Mr. Scott would
promise to leave O'Connor and run to O'Leary's cell the moment he might
hear the door slam, he would admit him as there would be ample time for
him to gain his client's cell before any one could ascend the stairs. This
being agreed upon, Mr. Scott went to O'Leary, who was as dumb as before ;
not one word would lie utter till Mr. Scott should have seen his master. The
turnkey soon arrived, and saying the coast was clear, conducted Mr. Scott to
O'Connor. O'Connor, on seeing Mr. Scott, whom he had previously known.

r • «;

APPENDIX. 603

rushed with open arms to embrace him. O'Connor then told Mr. Scott that
when they were apprehended on their way to France, their papers were seized
' and tied up in bundles. O'Connor heard the officers inquiring for the
bundle tied in " the red hankerchief," which, for some time, could not be
found. O'Coigly whispered to O'Connor, " If the red handkerchief be lost,
we are safe." O'Connor said, " How so ?" O'Coigly — " There is a paper in
it that would hang us." What that paper was O'Connor could not say ;
but it afterwards turned out to be an invitation to the French to land a
force in England, purporting to be given by a party in England ; but, in
reality, merely written as a squib in a coffee-house in London, by a friend of
O'Coigly's, and given to him to put in the newspapers on his arrival in
France, in order to frighten Mr. Pitt This paper O'Coigly took, and un-
fortunately put in his pocketbook along with his letters of Ordination.

Mr. Scott's conversation with O'Connor was frequently interrupted by the
slamming of the door, when he ran to his client's cell. O'Leary was now
quite communicative. Among other things he told Mr. Scott that on their
being arrested he managed to conceal a number of papers about his person,
and feigning a sudden bowel complaint, was allowed to retire, when he threw
them into the privy.

The last time Mr. Scott was admitted to O'Connor, the turnkey said that
the interview would be the last for that day, as it would be soon time to
shut up the prison. After being with O'Connor some time, the door
slammed, and Mr. Scott got up to take leave. He then missed his cane, but
was not sure whether he had left it in O'Connor or O'Leary's cell. He
said — " Did I leave my cane here ?" O'Connor — " My dear friend, it is the
very thing I want." Mr. Scott — " I insist upon having the cane [it was a
sword cane] immediately." Mr. O'Connor — " I must keep it." Mr. Scott —
" Mr. O'Connor, this is most unhandsome conduct ; give me my cane at
once." Mr. O'Connor — "No." Mr. Scott — "Well, Sir, if you escape being
hanged, you shall answer to me for this with your life, for I consider it a
personal matter." O'Connor bowed assent, and Mr. Scott retired as fast as
he could, for the door now slammed some time.

The next morning Mr. Scott was early at the prison, in hopes of inducing
O'Connor to give up the cane. The countenance of the turnkey was fero-
cious, and on ascending the stairs he turned on Mr. Scott, and shaking at him
his ponderous bunch of keys, in a threatening manner, said — " Now, are you
not a pretty fellow, to go and ruin a poor man like me, with your damned
five guineas'?" Mr. Scott — "My good man, what do you mean?" Turnkey —
" Was it not you that took to O'Connor that long dagger?" Mr. Scott — "I
should have been, I assure you, the last person to have done the like ; tell
me what you mean and all about it?" The turnkey, pacified a little, said
that, during the night, O'Connor had made an attempt at escape, and had
used a dagger, by the description of which Mr. Scott recognized his sword.

On going to O'Leary's cell, Mr. Scott was informed by O'Leary that there
had been a terrible noise at night and the whole prison roused, but he could not
tell the reason. He was now no longer to be allowed to go to help his
master to dress as heretofore. Mr. Scott now went to consult with his
friends. He found the whole town alarmed — reports that arms had been
conveyed to the prisoners, rescue apprehended, &c., &c. He also ascertained
that before day-light, a messenger had been despatched to London in a chaise
and four with a sword.

All Mr. Scott's friends agreed in assuring him that it was useless for him
to do anything ; that his expulsion from the Bar was certain, and that he

APPENDIX.

£86062

said that there had been a great co Thp8 IS* ^ttomey-General

had been brought up in a cha?se andZ r H , K d belonginS to a cane

spread, that the Government could In £' ^ m°St exa^erated reports

another word about it " ThP whnio j \T that >T°U never hear

ic whole hubbub was quashed.

J. SCOTT, 91st Regt.

THE DINJfEU PARTY AT MR

* — — *-•* "y ^^-x*-UUiFHJL

CLOJfCTTRRY IN LETTER JfO. 114.
(See page 554.)

£Si^""a-- r-°t £22 :,f = s

Museum of Irish

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DA 950.23 .C64 F5 SMC

Fitzpatrick, William John
The life, times and
contempories of Lord

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