The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-10 00:00:00

of a party. If it were that all Government
was experimental, and therefore progressive, how
happened it that for 672 years Government made
no progress in the sister kingdom ? The Government
of Ireland was administered by three principal officers,
the Lord-Lieutenant, the Lord Chancellor, and the
Chief Secretary. Up to the time of the union, there
was only one Irish Lord-Lieutenant, namely, James,
Duke of Ormond, and since the union there was only
one--the Marquis of Wellesley. Since 1760 there
were twelve Lord Chancellors, three of whom only were
Irishmen. During the same period, there were
42 Chief Secretaries, seven of whom only were Irishmen.
There were besides several minor officers, each of whom

had their several cliques. There was the Under Secre-
tary with his clique ; the Attorney-General with his
clique ; and there was another officer who acted in the
Castle like the prompter of a theatre—one who, though
never seen, was heard in whispers, and who, he be-
lieved, was a greater source of mischief than all the •
others put together—he meant the law adviser to the
Crown. The Lord Lieutenant had indeed " the like-
ness of a kingly crown," but he was under the control
of the Home Secretary, an officer in which the interests
of Ireland were indeed not best understood.
was not even a member of the Cabinet Ministry.
—(Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman then quoted from a
speech of Mr. Shaw, delivered on the 30th of May,
1843, who said that the Lord-Lieutenant had not the
responsibility of the Crown nor the power of a Minister,
that he was constantly controlled and was often blamed
for that for which he was not responsible.— (Hear,
hear.) This was an opinion which was prevalent among
the higher classes in Ireland, and the Duke of Leinsier
looked upon the office as one remote cause of the agita-
tion for the repeal of the union.—(Hear, hear.) It had
been said that it would be impossible to carry out the
measure, in consequence of the oppositions of the Dublin
tradesmen, but they might abolish the office and continue
the grant, which they might apply towards the removal
of the local taxes of the city of Dublin.—(Laughter.)
He only suggested it. might be applied to public works,
or to the moral and religious education of the people.
But at all events this argument was no defence
for continuing the office of Lord-Lieutenant. The
true element of a country's greatness depended
on the internal resources of the country, and
if Ireland relied on these, she had nothing to apprehend.
—(Hear, hear.) It had been said that the office was a
bond of union. Now he had spent seven years in Dublin,
and he was certain that, so far from the office being a
bond of union in Dublin, it was a fertile source of
jealousy and discord.—(Hear, hear.) In fact, this mimic
' representation of royalty tended to bring the monarchi-
cal principle into contempt. It had been objected to
Lerd Normanby's Government that he had not the
'aristocracy of the country at his levees. Now, he
begged to read to the House an advertisement which
appeared in a Dublin newspaper, of the Ist of March,
1844. That was during the present viceroyalty.
The advertisement was from Saunders's News Letter,
and was to this effect :—" Notice.—Gentlemen who pur-
pose attending the approaching levee will be supplied
with a brown claret court-dress at 2s. 6d. the suit. The
strictest secresy will be observed.—(Laughter.) This
being the lowest charge made for claret-brown suits to
the humbler classes on occasion of teetotal and repeal
processions, there can be no deviation from it.' ---
(Laughter.) The House would at once gather from
this, that in the estimation of a tailor, the levees of the
Lord-Lieutenant were placed en the same footing with
repeal and teetotal processions. The same claret-brown
suit was to answer for both, and, what was of more inif: s
portance to the wearer, the price was the same. "
might be asked if they were to do away with the office
of Lord-Lieutenant, how wire his duties to be per'
formed ? The Home-office was employed with a num'
bes of Bills, which would be got rid of—God knows when.
But what objection could there he to the ap
pointment of a fourth Secretary of State for Ire'
land, with a seat in the. Cabinet? By that
plan they would obviate the necessity of placing the Se:
cretary in the Cabinet, and thus raising him above b's
superiors. Grattan had defined the true genius of the
Irish nation to be affectionate. He (Captain B.) need
not refer to her past history to recal, in proof of tb!",
assertion, their desperate fidelity to a fallen monare°'
The Irish people had, up to this century, never see°,
their sovereign but in arms. The three first Princei 0'
the House of Hanover bad never visited that countriA
and at the time of the visit of George the Fourth, so glo'
were the Irish to see a bona fide live King, that the ire'
pression of his footsteps were cut in the rock where ee
landed. He would suggest to the Right Hon. Gentlente
at the head of her Majesty's Government, to advise hif
Royal Mistress, in the event of the abolition of the Lore;
Lieutenantcy, to pass a portion of her time in Ire's'''.
every year. He would 'then see the realization of tfeli
peroration which the Right Hon. Gentleman declared
some time ago—his Royal Mistress visiting Ireland as to
angel of peace ; and, like her Royal predecessor, two
would leave, not her footsteps engraven on a bane
rock, but her memory living in the hearts of aloyal,
grateful. and devoted people.—(Cheers.) so
Lord ELIOT said that this motion referred n°t
much to a question of party politics as to one of gen_eret
policy. The system which it was proposed to do "de-
with existed for 400 or 500 years, and the Hon. Gent
man who introduced the motion was bound to show, n°
only that some great evil was inherent in that syste??s
but that that which it was proposed to substitute in it!
stead was well adapted to serve the purposes of the Lord'
Lieutenantcy. It appeared that both the Hon. Gentle-
men vvhd had spoken on the subject had overstated 1116
objections to the office and understated its advantages'
The Hon. Gentleman who introduced the motion najf
referred to debates on the subject, and to the Opinions °
Mr. Pitt as favourable to his proposition. But the 0,",
pressed opinions of several Irishmen were opposed La
the abolition of the office of Lord-Lieutenant.
when the subject was on a former occasion before t'!..
House, the Hon. and Learned Member for Cork esli,
pressed himself as decidedly opposed to it. ,she
John Newport was equally opposed to it. iss,
Hon. Gentleman who had seconded the motion bad'
vested to his own experience during the time he was ss
Ireland. He (Lord Eliot) could not, of course,
what was the state of things in Dublin Castle at °es
time, but, for himself, he knew nothing of the e
intrigeo
of which the Hon. Gentleman had spoken. His N° h
es
Friend the Lord-Lieutenant and himself held tbenssel;
responsible for all the acts of the Government, and t s
e;
were not influenced by any of the representations °e.„ oho
authorised persons. He believed that those persons ;hi
held office under the Irish Government were actuate ° of
the purest motives, and he repudiated the insinuaticlies
the Hon. Gentleman against them. The Hon. Gen
man proposed that there should be a fourth SecretaFlted
State. He presumed that a new office was to be apPclese
for him, for the Hon. Gentleman said, that, licw the
were the interests of Ireland less understood than hip,
office of the Secretary of State for the 1101120,„ of
partment. Now, if they abolished the 01"` est
Lord-Lieutenant, every Irish Act of Parliament t° hi
be carefully revised. Various powers were givelltse
different Acts to the Lord-Lieutenant himself, of t°,..ite
Lord-Lieutenant in Council. It would be a sourcee`os.
calculable diflicalty if all these powers were to be irds of
ferred en masse, without consideration, into the bola to
the new Secretary of State. How did they prod
vest these powers ? All transfers of licenses, anldl
matters of detail, such as transfers of places for' the
rot;
quarter sessions in assizes, were made by consent c'ceo.
Lord-Lieutenant. It would be matter of serious jilt to
venience if the parties should be obliged to resorte4
England in order to have business of this sort trae'nocolch
Then, with regard to the Secretary's office. He It-ifsr
in'order to give the House some notice of them° f tot
ions duties of that office, read to the House a listoeiej
establishment, and describe the duties which de fed of
upon each branch of it. The establishment cons's to
a chief secretary, an under secretary, one chief cferl‘'
senior clerks, seven senior assistant clerks! siott
eight junior assistant clerks. The first lathe/
comprehended one senior and six other clerks, an wit,
conducted all the correspondence which took plat vets 0'
magistrates, with clerks of the Crown, with cleroe
the peace, all ecclesiastical matters, and prepared
returns to be laid before 'Parliament. This latterf heir
tion of their duties occupied a considerable part 0 r and
time. The second division consisted of one sep°„-oess
seven other clerks. They conducted all the b°""tlje
relating to the judicial departments, the TreaserJo'seS•
Crown Solicitor's-office, and the remission of se° en°
•
This was no light duty in Ireland, every Andere
almost was submitted to the Lord-Lieutenant, 045
. he
made the subject of the most minute inquiries. ,c, the
no less then 1,270 sentences had been submittedilbo it
d
Lord-Lieutenant, and considerable injury wool", d
flitted upon the country if the people were denied the
access to the officer who exercised the authority br tbr.
Crown. Then there were the duties exercisea_.4 tb;
law adviser of the Crown, who was connected ;10 Nil
Secretary's-office. It was the practice in irleo in I°,
the magistrates to refer to the Crown for ad'
stoeso.e,
cases of difficulty. These references were so
that it would be impossible for the Attorney iii!rx,„,
egor-Generals to attend to them, and therefore it weef„,otielv.,
nary to have an official law officer to answer thos,_srfelso
tions. If the Hon. Gentleman proposed-merelyl°.„,et ft
the Lord-Lieutenant, and leave the establishlor,
clerks, as it was at present, he (Lord Eliot)
rlefeete;
abuses would soon creep in which were now' pfd be se
by the executive authority, and the change Ousee.
tended with great detriment to the public sern, ec4o
Hon. Gentleman had talked, in the course et nTooseiso'.
of the case of Scotland, as though that were aliTs7, 11,h
the case of Ireland. He begged leave to tell; ,t
out
Gentleman that the case of Scotland Was.lesa chars
in point. The lion. Gentleman said a grenD",i
identity of institutions. Why he must b.e_weerej *6.0_4
that the laws and institutions of Scotland t Tjois
It was "
different from those of England. d°int°
lately that trial by jury was introducedat
ea
country ; and in many other respects S
t° ect
ferences had existed, and still entire would 000,
ist, between the two countries. 11 tbe ,OUld
touch on the many extraneous topics whicheh he VI
ibe
Gentleman had introduced into his speech 'bee°retit t°
confine himself to the immediate question_
argotoenot,
House. It was, however, he contended °
Lord-LieAtilkeere°t"
say that Scotland did not require
essentially' —be to
They far
as te
uld net g° verse `lv
was the rule • and though he w°
old revintend!g
TThheestitanteewoftltahte tinwoticteouonntreiecsaas-easoebsesdeienc_o.o
withous
the case in Ireland, still he must say,
peep °` Irelandsj i
ss
to reflect in the least degree on t
ceto the e and
say—God forbid that he should—that A
trSigeS' •
the people of Scotland. -
more freVen fore, $
violations of the law, were much
that they did not pay the
Ireland, there
on it.
land than in Scotland. In
to take, 1113 rrhef°
t6Damisteu°rbbaendcleens, " tin Ire
local executive was required,ediate authorities ties 'll
self the responsibility of imin the auteo.-obe
no time to consult
pwcnie,rees.n.° (coriueolis ooff citsay7
air"'
Nice sunnt,
was Waite P -te.
London ; and he believed the P DoslsLl
haa sPtheofghtht
offire
divide.") The Hon. Gentleman
ogrrenaotlyoffiencedrantigoeldreindgifsitmhielraer
tin ullatince ° offic°
Apply W the
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-Lieutenant,
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