The Sun.
London, England, 1821-10-24 00:00:00

THE LATE 'LOItb:MAYOR OF DUI3LIN

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cessor, 'Mr. Alderman Jenks, in, the office of Lord Mayor,
' took place on the Ist inst. Such events are regular, constant,
. and familiar; and, upon their periodical occurrence, they sel-
dom attract attention beyond a limited, but respectable circle,
and as rarely leave any thing of deep public interest to be re-
corded by the diurnal historian, either as a particular subject
for general applause and gratitudb, or as a special example for
- indiCidual imitation. The- present instance, however, is a va-
luable exception to the ordinary changes of our Chief; Magis
trates ; and has outgrown, in importance as well as in perma-
nent interest, the mass of such occurrences.: fOrt while the cha-
.racter of the new Magistrate entitles his fellow-citizens to hope
for much, the conduct of his excellent predecessor, as a man and
as a Magistrate, will insure him, from the public gratitude, a
long, a respectful; and an affection,te recollection. In truth,
the civic . career of- Sir-Abraham lain,* is, upon the whole, so
brilliant in itself, so honourable to the Irish Metropolis, and so
serviceable to the Country at large, that a brief summary of it
cannot be an unsuitable topic at the present moment:
In 1802, Sir Abraham King filled the office of-High Sheriff;
in which capacity it devolved upon him to proclann that pre,'
carious taste Which is known by the Peace of Amiens. In 1805,
he was elected an. Alderman ; and, in 1313, he was chosen Lord
;k: ay-or. The dignity of this situation never had a more zea-
lous asserter ; and it was reserved foflaim, after asmanly, vigo-
rous, and effective *exertion,. personally made, to establish for
the City of Dublin en equal privilege with the City of London--
to present, by means of its municipal Officers, petitions at. the.
Bar of the House of Commons. The Letter of Sir Abraham
King being entered upon the Commons' Journals, rernains,an
honourable and a lasting record of his energy, as well as of his
success, in, vindicating.the rights attar City of Dublin:, While
his constancy and fidelity were conspicuous in discharging his
duty to the metropolis of Ireland at that juncture, his conduct
as a Gentleman procured many powerful friends in favour of
his purpose; and in compliment not less to his private charac-
ter than to his public station—not less to his . firmness and
courtesy. than to his high and just pretensions as the Lord
Mayor of Dublin—he, was honoured.by the particular notice of
the Prince Regent, of all the Members of the Cabinet, indivi-
dually, and of all the, public bodies and liberal institutions of 1
the sister metropolis.
After such. a display of good sense, sound liberality, manly
zeal, and generous fidelity to the cause he had espoused, it is no
wonder that sucli a tnan should have endeared himself to his fellow-
citizens; and we felt any thing but surprise, for our own parts,
when we learned that, in' 1820, he was a second time elected
Mayor of, Dublin.. The circiamstances .of this election were
novel and peculiar-Lwe have no desire to revive them ; but the
justice of history obliges us to state that, after a violent struggle
between the Aldermen and Common Council, the latter, dis-
tinguished not more for their loyalty than for high public spirit,
succeeded, upon a second appeal to the Privy Council, in as-
serting, their right to negative the nominee of the former, though
next in rotation of the Board. So fully possessed were the
. Common Council of the worth and merit of the object of their
• choice, and so resolved were they to prefer him, that they re-
jected, in succession, not less than nineteen of the Board of
Aldermen. The events which have shed a lustre upon that Mayor-
alty which is but just expired, are not yet consigned to memory
only—they ass- Still fresh, and possess a living influence. 'ln
the spring of the present year, when Revolutionary turbulence
troubled our Sovereign's peace, insulted the Royal abode, and
audaciously threatened the Throne itself,
_we saw our late Lord
Mayor, attended by his staunch and loyal colleagues, the De-
putation of the old and loyal Corporation of the City of Dublin,
go forth, to testify, to our Sovereign Lord the King, the horn-
age of the attachment of the City of Dublin to his person and
his Crown; and to lay at his Majesty's feet the congratulatory
Address of the Irish Metropolis on his Majesty's Accession to
Throne. We had the consolation to see that this Address
was most graciously received on the Throne ; and that
the City of Dublin had good reason to be proud of her
Lord Mayor, and . the loyal companions of his mission,
for the aunnratrie maatasr in which he and they discharged
their duty,," when in the presence of Majesty—for the tone
and spirit with which, upon all occasions, they upheld notoaly
the importance of the City, but of the country at large. We
saw', too, the moral effect of this noble example—the insolent
roar of Redicalism.soon became perceptibly lowered—the levity of
the thoughtless was reproved—the deluded began to recal their ,
scattem&thoughts, and to reform their, inadvertencies—a new
counter-tide of reflection and loyalty began to set in—tireswild
popular current swept less and less along with' it every 'day—
reason and principle began' at last, to make a stand, and loyalty
was heard again, recruited in heart; and full of sanguine cal-
culations. The Sovereign has a warns heart, and a clear dis-
tinguishing mind. Tlie contrast, for the moment, between the
Metropolis of his residence and that which sent forth her
chosen missionaries, to plight for all, their ardent allegiance. to
the Crown; and to avow their loyalty, even when the distem-
pered mobs of London were most ungovernable, must have
touched his Majesty sensibly ; ;and to those feelings, aided by
partialities of long standing towards the Irish nation, we owe
the late blessed occurrence of the visit of our revered Sovereign
to his .kingdom of Ireland. .
Awl when The King had come, was ever conduct more wor-
thy of the public esteem and gratitude, .than that of the Lord
Mayor ? Supported by the spirit of the Corporation, the exer-.
tions which were made to receive our most gracious Monarch,
transcended any thing that a sanguine fancy, provided with the
most abundant resources, could have imagined or attempted.
The arduous part of the exertions which were necessary, and
the difficulties of the execution of what was designed, laybun-•
disclosed—all that was visible was revealed in taste and splen-
dour, and denoted grandeur and affluence. We quote the
words of the accomplished Monarch; for whom those noble tesa
timonies of public love and zeal,were designed—" Never was
Monarch yet entertained with greater magnificence"—We can.
not add any thing to their effect.
With the late-Lord Mayor, and the other Members at the
head of the Corporate Body, has commenced the patriotic ex-.
periment of National Conciliation. The invitation to peace and
harmony issued from them—and theirfellow-countrymen, of all
descriptions, have responded to it : and for the manly and me-
ritorionsapirit in which this most important of all measures wits
undertaken, posterity will reverence the late. Lord Mayor, and
will applaud him 'far beyond' what the jealousy of contemporary
prejudice will allow. He,. and those who acted with him in
this righteous work, of discountenancing and suppressingevery
foolish and pernicious attempt to divide the people, by the pubs
lie practice of "periodical insults to any portion of them, have
commenced a work that must terminate well in the long run.'
Obstacles there will be to mar its progress ; and sometimes it
may, perhaps, be driven back a little ; sometimes forced to one
side, and sometimes to another, out of the right path • but pro- '
ceed it will, notwithstanding, in spite of temporary difficulties,
though they look incorrigible ; for no description of men can be
so blind as not to see, that it is impossible for any country ever •
to attain a•condition of prosperity, or to obtain a reputation
among enlightened nations, where thefonienting of discord and
contention constitutes one of its public ceremonies.
The honours bestowed upon the late Lord Mayor by his So-
vereign have been striking, and conferred in a manner,• and,
under circumstances, especially flattering to the object of them.
Such a Sovereign well knows how to appreciate, in a public
station, which gives the qualities of a man's character room to
act, such a subject as the late Lord Mayor of' Dublin. A uni-
form firmness, a manliness and consistency in
,his loyal devo- ,
tion to his Sovereign. and the Constitution, have ever disfin- :
pushed his public life, and those who know of his private life
much less than we happen to know, are satisfied, that a more
faithful, disinterested friend does not exist—that • a more muni-
ficent
spirit—one more exalted above pecuniary considerations, 1
or the influences of interest, under any such shape as connects
it with lucre, never lived in any age or country. In his na-
tural character there is not to be found one mean spot, one low- :
minded desire, one sordid inclination. It is the happy fate of :
his honourable and independent disposition, to be fairly ap- •
preciated—the City of. London has bestowed her civic ho- i
nours upon hini—there is scarcely a City or Town-Corporate
'of Ireland which has not done the same ; the several Corpora-
tions of this City have not been wanting in testifying their ap-
probation and esteem ; and repeatedlyhas hehad the honour of ,
receiving the unanimous thanks and approbation of the Corpora- •
tion of Driblin, in whose hall his portrait hes been placed as e
permanent testimony of esteem. Such is the value in which the
late. Lord Mayor is held by his fellow-citizens, that, upon the
last vacancy for a 'Representative in Parliament for this city, he
was importuned earnestly and zealously to take a place among
the Candidates. Although he declined she invitation, the
weight of his influence was manifested in the successful result
of the contest which then took place.
Sir Abraham King now returns to comparative private life,
attended by the respect, esteem, and approbation of ail ranks