Extravagant society

The viceroyalty of Lord Harcourt, which lasted from October, 1772, to the last days of 1776, was distinguished for its social magnificence. The Lord-Lieutenant was no politician, and he left that part of his work to Lord de Blaquerie, his chief secretary. He set the fashion for costly entertainments until to be economical was to confess oneself a social failure. Dozens of families of note, in their wild efforts to imitate the example of the viceroy, beggared themselves, spending in a few years the income of a whole generation. Thus the Lord-Lieutenant would be invited to a great dinner and dance given on a most lavish and extravagant scale. Within twenty-four hours the scene of the festivities would be stripped of everything of value to pay for the previous night's excesses.

There is a story told of an Irish gentleman who had been compelled to pawn every piece of family plate to meet the expenses of a visit from the viceroy. Of course, this misfortune was kept a profound secret, and when Lord Harcourt intimated shortly afterwards that he would like to be invited again, the would-be host was placed in a most embarrassing situation. His mansion in Stephen's Green was well furnished and staffed, but there was no plate, and, of course, he would not think of refusing the honour of a visit from the king's representative. There was only one thing to do: the pawnbroker must be induced to lend the plate for the occasion. Now, it happened that the pawnbroker was a man with social aspirations; his one ambition was to mix with the gentry, and as he possessed considerable wealth he had almost as much assurance. Finding that he would not lend the family plate, the viceroy's host had to make the pawnbroker one of his guests for the occasion, and, being a sensible fellow, the tradesman enjoyed discreetly the novel experience without adding to the worries of his patron.

This is only one story of many, all illustrating the stupendous folly of the period. Dublin literally danced, drank, and gambled itself into penury, whilst the Castle set, contemptuous and indifferent to public opinion, robbed and oppressed the country, and prepared the way for the ghastly year of 1798. Harcourt was indifferent, careless, and somewhat contemptuous of Ireland and its affairs, and as his viceroyalty was marked by numerous visits to England, he was never on the spot long enough to become conscious of the defects and shortcomings of his administration.

The free trade question

In 1775 Henry Grattan was elected to Parliament, and sat with Henry Flood, but Harcourt was replaced by the Earl of Buckinghamshire at the time when these two Irishmen began their great campaign for the freedom of Irish trade. England's policy had been to restrict Irish commercial enterprise, and only men of the calibre of Grattan and Flood could have succeeded in compelling the Government to remove the embargo on Irish trade. Lord Buckinghamshire, who had been Ambassador to Russia, carried out a policy of concessions, and he was able to give the royal approval to the bills for relieving Irish Dissenters from the sacramental test, and also grant some much-needed reforms in the franchise.

It must have been during the viceroyalty of Lord Buckinghamshire that English statesmen first thought of a legislative union with Ireland, for the reforms initiated by the viceroy undoubtedly pointed that way, reading their history in view of subsequent events. The rise of the Irish volunteer movement must have convinced the English Government that if Ireland was permitted to have its own legislation much longer the country would seek to break away from the monarchical union. Lord Buckinghamshire, however, was never informed of the Government's intentions. When he left in 1780, recalled by the Prime Minister, he was succeeded by Frederick Howard, fifth Earl of Carlisle, one of the commissioners who had failed to conciliate the American rebels a few years earlier. Lord Carlisle was a typical product of his age, when to graduate as a statesman one had to be at school or university with the reigning minister and have gambled one's way recklessly into favour. Every gentleman was a gambler, and Lord Carlisle was no exception to the rule. Before his sudden desire to shine as a politician he ruined himself at the card-tables, generously backing Fox's debts of honour, and, of course, paying them. It was the influence of Fox that led to his appointment to Ireland.

Lord Carlisle, with the easy assurance of a great nobleman whose position was secure, took over the government of Ireland in the spirit of the dilettante. The chief secretary, Sir William Eden, afterwards Lord Auckland, supervised the more arduous work, while the viceroy and his wife—a daughter of the Marquis of Stafford—gratified Dublin society by patronizing the card-table and the ballroom. In 1781 the present Viceregal Lodge was purchased for the use of the Lord-Lieutenant. Lord Carlisle's common sense, however, was not nullified by his native prejudice against Ireland. He came to Dublin prepared to administer laws made in England, but it was not long before he had to confess to his masters in London that it was utterly futile to attempt to govern Ireland by English-made laws. This testimony from a man whose honour was never doubted had enormous effect in winning for the Irish Parliament the famous Declaration of Independence, though it would not have been accomplished had not men like Henry Grattan and Flood devoted themselves to it.

Public opinion in Ireland gave Grattan the full credit for the victory, and some enthusiastic patriots brought forward a resolution in the Irish House of Commons with the object of securing for Grattan and his heirs the viceregal desmesne in Phoenix Park. This was very properly rejected, and nothing more was heard of the matter.

The Volunteer movement