The Express.
London, England, 1859-09-02 00:00:00

THE ROMANCE OP AM IRISH .ESTATE.

(From the /Aram Whig.)
The death of Lord Henry Seymour, brother of the
Marquis of Hertford, lease one ethos. beaks in the direct
ho. of beirehip which so frequeuly occur in the tranarnisaion
of loge properties. Lord Henry wee the heir apparent of
his elder brother, and when be died was in his 66th year.
He resided Welly in Paris, bet, while the late marchionem,
his mother, lived, be spent alerts portion of his time with
her at Boulogne, where her ladyship rented spacious apart-
moats In the Hotel de Bans. The late nobleman, we
understand, had never set foot on British soil, having,
it is said, had a presentiment that if he ventured to crone
the straits which divide Gaul from Britain, be would
assuredly be drowned. In Paris, Lord Seymour was a
groat favourite with the lovers of sport, whether on the
tad or in the Ileld. He wee the means of introducing a
manlier course of exercise to the juvenile aristocracy of
that capital ; and, comideting the class of perdu
with whom he delighted- ter eseochotek held, high
position with the Issilbassiss of the Tree* mtarepal a. It
Is mid be has left some veer prtnoelylifllletemthaltamber of
more than quotiomble cheractere,• Lott Attu maven millions
of Duos to the Paris hospitals. Of bib 1441610*e ckarauer
es I public man little ie known. ReMeMed to have so taste
he politico; melee to religioulaith, whatever
...toesessed
was the of the Italian rather than the high cb Soma
years ego agenda= fromthe neighbourhood of fast bad
cameos to melt a favour of•Lord.Sey incur. He called et his
lordship's reeidente, and was fuelled with great studios,
his idea tban being that, should Lord Henry become heir of
the Hertford property, he would be a good landlord. The
• late marquis did nos folly recognise Lord Ihrystour, and left
some notice in his will to that rem; that point, howevhr,
D now settled without the intern:dim of a Chancery
salt. The early history of the Hertford estate has about
It much cd that " truth " width the proverb tells up!, is
" stranger than Idiom." Ia those times of free and rimy
morals, when Padlmen Macphad, Redmond O'Hanloo, and
other worthies of the eame due, performed their feats of
financial legerdemain on the open highway, they were oily
• following the excellent scam* eat them by the " higher
orders," whose glorious Confiscations of property proved their
direct affinity to Berretee of old as artaildy as if, instead of
concerting their plans in cabinets, they had, with pistols and
tasks, math their raids on the mad. According to the
peculiar phraseology of Leadentoll-sirest, hurling en Eastern
monarch from his throne was merely" deposing • king," acid
robbing him of kis righfal domisions was a simple act of
" annexation?' During the reign of Elizabeth, the slightest
expression of discontent rude against the tyranny of the
Roglish deputies was construed into covert rebellion, and
✓olts:foe of property, with loss of lite, frequently followed
the daring sot of complaint, no matter bow fully such mar-
muriap were joed by the conduct of the usurping au-
thorities in the geraral wrestle, the properties of Hugh
O'Nial, Berl of Tir Owen, and those of his brother the
King of Kill-id-Ugh, were duly swept away. As a toward
for his bravery in lie= the English army against the
trooped Tir-Owns, and other " rebel' leaders, Sir
Falk* Camay, a Welsh onset, received the rumor of Kil-
laitagh from the first flume • and meaty years afterwards
the tome fortunate denhen date land of leeks was presented
with the manor of Deerlalgie, another portion of the prin-
cipality once held by the Nine. Shortly attar having
received his patent, the heir of the first pro-
states, Sir Edward Conway, an English Secretary of State,
commenced the building of a Madura mansion at Lisburn,
where, to the present day, • portion of the wall still
remains. The marauding disposition cultivated by the sum-
mary mode of traaderring property, in those days, never failed
to show itself mall possible oeoeeiona. A dependant of the
former owner of the estate having made a descant on Liana-
mough, in 1646, a me of Baron Conway led on the English
fovea *gala* what was called the "rebel" army, headed by
Owen Roe O'Nial. Colonel Conway routed the "invaders,'
and permed them to the county Monaghan, from whence,
by guy of compeuation for his journey, he brought off twelve
hundred cows and four Modal horses, and a thousand
sheep. Had any of the Monaghan farmers from whom
the stock was then takes attempted to grumble at the
rapid transfer, no doubt they would have been de-
nounced as rebels of the most desperate character.
As the Conway family had, however, made them-
selves very popular with the tenantry, the castle was
always open for ell gases. Jeremy Taylor, who resided in
the vicinity of Lisburn, having bean a frequent 'leiter as well
at the castle there es at the one built by Baron Conway,
at Port More. By a very romantic incident, the Conway
estates fell into the hands ofd branch of the Seymour family
during the reign of William the Third, the first of the new
dummy tan a Colonel Seymour, who had held office as
Secretary of Stated England, and on getting Into pommel=
of the Irish property toot the surname of Conway. From
that date the seemeive proprietors became partial absentees,
the more recent heirs gradually absolving themeless from
all local sympathy with the estate and its people.
There la not in the United Kingdom • Boer property
than that of the Marquis of Hertford. The extent
is nearly seventy thouaaad statute ache, mountain and
water included ; the rental is about fifty-six thousand a
year of • well-id revenue. Very swam. “no plaint& are made
oa the subject of leans for building, which it appeared the late
marquis, as well as his father, were precluded from granting
to their tenants. The more marquis proposes to act on the
privilege he enjoys of residing bathing leases in perpetuity;
and as, with all hie apparent apathy and indolence, he appears
quite an adept in the art of monetary accumulation, much
publicgood most result from an enteridedatercieeot thepower
of leasing, while large additions will be made to the rent roll.
Of course, where non-residence forme the sole rule of
baronial administration, the local government must be car-
ried on by an agent, who, in this cam, is rather a vice-land-
lord than oho mere receiver clients. From 1817, and up to
a very recent period, when his son was appointed to the
situation, the Dean of ROM held the sceptre of local power,
and in his hands the estate has undergone ounaidarable im-
provements. In ell the time of his agency, the three mac-
menu owners of the estate only paid one visit to it. Fifty-
six thousand a year to regularly drawn from the estate and
rent to France, the adopted home of the pedant proprietor.
In this free country, whets liberty rusts la such lusty
etreogrh, the lord sad the labourer are equally free to choose
their own plan of residence ; and if the noble marquis wishes
to dwell far away from the land that yields ltina suck • princely
revenue, he has • perfect right to inde has fancy. Some
equivalent, however, should be rendered to make up for the
evil effects of nott.roidenos; and, so far es we tin learn, this
h • pieced patriotic duty which Richard Earl of Yarb trough,
Viscount Conway, Marquis of Hertford, has yet to put in
practice. The visits ef the poor-rate collector and comp-
troller of Income to are not like those of angels, but regular
and eystematio. Ia former days the oust of supplying the
paupers and keeping up the state fell solely on the shoulders
of rdidents, while awakes could carry off all their incomes
without contributing • single azpeece to such funds. It is
well known that in them Una the names a those persona
are sad down in the books of the taxgatbereee remembrance.
Were voluntary aid the only mnde of reachiag the pockets of
such men as the Marquis of Hertford, the sum total of their
contributions towards the relief t.f indigence or the advance-
ment of local institutions would be easily carried off. Sacs
hie entrance into possession of the family title and estates, in
1812, Lord Hertford, se we have stated, paid only one visit*
the property. IN father, the late marquis, invor visited
the estate during hi. day of poareesion. A vast amount of
=I UM was beeped the head of the Monmouth of
on
gsby;" but webers always heard that in many cases
he was very much superior to his successor. As • patron of
literalism and the fnead of literary men the late marquis
had law equals; and his kindness toward. Theodore Iltok,
when the famous novelist had been brought to grief about the
Mauritius affair, wee really worthy of the noblest character
of • British peer. Tha present liszquis of Hertford has never
takes any decided part in the politica of England. When
the corn laws wen in course of discussion, the Duke of Wel-
lington held his proxy, but then, as he has dons since, he
continued to reside an Paris, where, it is stated, hie sole ex-
pAiditure dose sot equal one-fourth of his income. A large
proportion of his immense manal savings is said to be in-
vested in the French funda, In all probability as the fortune
of kis lordship's son, whom the laws of this country would
sot permit to inherit the landed property. The marquis
is duty years of age, and unmarried• toeprobability, there-
fore, of his leaving legitimate issue h. dim and distant. His
lordship's father was the only son of Francis, the second
marquis, and consequently the estate and the title are
likely to go to the next descendant of hie grandfather's
brothers. Of the three eldest of these there is net any wale
descendant ht being. The fifth son of the first marriage woe
Admiral Seymour, who died in 1801. His eon, Sir George
Francis fieymour;Admiral of the White, sad l'ort Admiral
of Plymouth, is, therefore, nest heir to the marquisets. He
was married to • daughter of Admired Berkley, sod ha
eldest ma, born in 1812, la Colonel Francis &olio.r, ,
of
gallant gentleman has seta
aiith of tM Legion of Honour.
E:74.l3Co.:,l4s.Fernrorddlitteo:ditsrdatt,irT.Bber., end Mars the dsanratioa
laid Mansfield, and hassevenkl ethhierlderfe.ne little . sonThneueliedeLtof
this
siztesn yeah d age. Then i.. .
azdam.

OPENING OF THE NEWTowN AND LLANIDLOES
RAILWAY.-1110 fewaal °perdue of ittiof railway was cote-
Instal at both Newton and Llanilloes on Wednesday and
yesterday with great *Wit.