(Most Private.) Dublin, Sackville Street, Feb. 7th, 1795.
MY LORD,
I am to thank your Lordship for your most friendly and flattering
letter; and as you seem curious to know the feelings of myself and
colleagues on our removals, as well as the nature of our
compensations, I will endeavour to detail them as well as I can.
With respect to Mr. Wolf, the first act was to claim the reversion
recommended for him by Lord Westmoreland, and promised above a year
ago by Mr. Pitt, and which the King had actually signed, as a
measure for negotiation. Wolf _in vain_ argued that the reversion
was not a subject for negotiation. They offered him a Peerage for
his wife, and a Chief Judge's place. Wolf, in addition, asked
precedency at the Bar. After some days, the precedency was refused,
and the promise of a Chief Judge's place was retracted. Wolf
insisted on the promise. He was threatened that if he insisted, he
should be superseded. He did insist, and the promise was at length
renewed, in case a vacancy should happen.
Mr. Wolf gains nothing but the Peerage for his wife, for the
reversion was actually his own, and had been signed by the King;
the promise of a Chief Justiceship is very precarious, and he is
degraded in his profession.
Mr. Toler, having in his pocket the promise of succeeding to the
Attorney-Generalship, is to be superseded for Mr. Curran. He has
asked for a Peerage to his wife, and for the succession to Lord
Carleton. Upon his first demand, nothing has been said to him; upon
his second, it has been intimated that he may _look_ for any seat
on the Bench short of Chief Justiceship. Your Lordship must guess
that Mr. Toler feels himself _gratified_, especially when he
recollects that, after having boldly and manfully, at the risk of
his person, set himself against all the seditious and levellers in
and out of the House, he is sacrificed to make way for Mr. Curran,
who has been the most seditious incendiary in Ireland ever since he
became a public character.
Mr. Beresford your Lordship may have probably seen. He, it seems,
was dismissed because he was king of Ireland, as Bowes Daly
authoritatively informed him in his Excellency's name. The object
with respect to him was to publicly degrade him, give him a
provision during pleasure, then attack him, and have a pretext to
ruin him, if he should defend himself with spirit. He has been
acquainted that, in pursuance of a resolution of the House of
Commons, he is to have his salary of L2000 a-year on Excise
Incidents--not for his services, but his long and laborious
_attendance_. The attempt has been to stigmatize him, to degrade
him, and to make him dependent. I hope the last will not be the
case--the two former cannot.
Mr. Hamilton had merely fifty years of the most laborious and
faithful service to plead, under all Administrations, whether
adverse to each other or combined. He loses L1200 a-year by
removal; he loses the comforts of settlement, he loses the prospect
of providing for his sons; he is, however, informed that something
will be done for one of them!
I am equally removed from a station of much advantage and
opportunity. If I do not resort to my bargain with Thornton, I lose
L1800 a-year; if I do, I lose L1300 a-year. I am told that I am not
to expect compensation for my losses, but that his Excellency, on
review of my situation, will make compensation for my services.
As, however, Lord Milton was pleased to state to me that his
Excellency did not mean to cast in any degree any imputation on my
conduct, and that he removed me merely on the principle of
_accommodation_, and to make room for arrangements which he thought
necessary for his Government, I thought it my duty to claim
compensation, not for my services, but for my losses, and to throw
myself upon his Excellency's justice and honour.
I have heard that my having ventured not to appear satisfied in my
dismissal, has given offence; and it has been intimated, though not
from authority, that there is not an intention to compensate me at
all, but merely to indemnify Thornton for what, by agreement, he is
in honour obliged to pay me.
When Lord Fitzwilliam seized upon the Provostship and the
Secretaryship of State, the patronage of which absolutely belonged
to Lord Westmoreland, his Lordship was obliged to forced measures,
in order to extricate himself from specific promises; he therefore,
on this principle, included Lord Glentworth in Sir L. O'Brien's
patent of Clerk of the Hanaper. Sir L. lately died. Lord Glentworth
felt the luckiest of men; in a few days, Lord Fitzwilliam sent for
him, and acquainted him that he could not suffer him to remain in
that office; that, however, he had a high respect for him; that he
had been particularly recommended to him by Mr. Pitt, and that he
should hope to do something for him. The Duke of Leinster, being
very hungry, has swallowed the office.
With regard to coalition here, or the slightest appearances of it,
there are none. Parnell is the only old servant of the Crown who is
at all consulted, and he only so far as concerns his situation. The
whole is very strange. The Ponsonbys are all-powerful, and appear
to direct everything. I know not at all what measures are intended,
or whether an opposition will start up; but the giving up all the
powers of the State to one family does not please.
The idea of removing all the remaining restraints from the
Catholics is not relished; the worst is, that an appeal has been
made to the Catholic democracy, and I know they are not to be
depended upon; they look to the abolition of tythes and a reform of
Parliament on numerical principles. Ever since the first movements
of the Roman Catholic Committee, the lower classes have been in a
state of fermentation, and they continue their disorders and
insurrections.
I write this _confidentially_, and beg your Lordship to accept my
best acknowledgments for your kind sentiments.
Ever most respectfully, your Lordship's most faithful and obedient
servant,