The rise of the Irish Volunteer movement during the viceroyalty of Lord Buckinghamshire had created a new problem in Irish affairs. The Government in London, not understanding the crisis, magnified the Volunteers into a national army preparing to drive the English into the sea, and successive viceroys, well aware that the army in Ireland was in a disorganized and undisciplined state, regarded the Volunteers with a dismay their dignity compelled them to disguise. For the time being Henry Grattan was a greater power than the Lord-Lieutenant, and whenever the Irish statesman appeared at the Castle he was received with a favour that plainly indicated the respect he had gained in official circles. Grattan represented in his person the new Ireland. He was not a patriot in the sense the word is used nowadays; he did not fight the battles of all Ireland or advocate principles for the benefit of the whole country. He was the representative of the Anglo-Irish class which had risen to place and power by reason of its English origin.
When the Government in London realized that the descendants of the English colony and the 'undertakers' were becoming too powerful for their masters, they made a determined effort to cripple them. Lord Townshend's attempt was one of many, but fortunately for themselves the Anglo-Irish possessed in Grattan and Flood the two most powerful advocates in Parliament. Edmund Burke, having sought the more respectable and more remunerative English Parliament for the display of his talents, was driven to express his sympathies with the efforts of his fellow-countrymen to secure an unhampered trade for Ireland. This cost him his representation of Bristol, but the man who gave to mankind what was meant for Ireland might have done more for his native country and not diminished his political reputation.
Lord Carlisle admired Grattan, who, from a fashionable buck, had developed with extraordinary facility into the statesman, and during his occupancy of the post the Irish orator led the country. The solid qualities of Flood were obscured by the brilliance of Grattan, and the senior Parliamentarian had to give place to his youthful colleague. Grattan had the gift of social popularity, which Flood lacked. In his youthful days the famous orator was one of the most noted men about town who seemed to overrun Dublin. He was seen everywhere, and society ladies, anxious to shine in amateur theatricals, always came to Grattan for advice and specially written prologues. Dolly Munroe obtained this service of him, and when her reign as queen of beauty was over, and a new star in Elizabeth la Touche arose to dazzle Dublin, Grattan supervised some private theatricals for the fair Elizabeth, and wrote a prologue for her to recite before the then viceroy. Elizabeth eventually became Countess of Lanesborough, and remained Grattan's friend and supporter throughout her life.
Lord Carlisle's departure
Lord Carlisle was highly esteemed in official and society circles in Dublin, and there was genuine regret when, in April, 1782, the state of English politics compelled him to place his resignation in the hands of the Marquis of Rockingham, the Prime Minister. The Irish Houses of Parliament, in resolutions couched in the most generous language, thanked the departing viceroy for his services. He acknowledged their gratitude gracefully, but did not convey his private opinion that the sooner the great farce of their posing as an Irish Parliament was ended the better it would be for the country. In later years he spoke several times in the House of Lords, advocating the legislative union with Ireland, and his opinions must have been genuine, because the idea was undoubtedly Pitt's, and we know that Carlisle was bitterly opposed to that great statesman on every possible occasion.
Lord Carlisle's later life does not belong to the history of Ireland, although he lived for twenty-four years after the Union, and always took an interest in Irish affairs. Apart from his viceroyalty, he is best known as the guardian of his kinsman, Lord Byron, and the dedication of the second edition of 'Hours of Idleness' is only a reminder of the subsequent quarrel between the two noblemen.
The successor to Carlisle was William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, third Duke of Portland. Born in 1738, he married when he was twenty-eight Lady Dorothy Cavendish, a daughter of the fourth Duke of Devonshire, adding to his wealth and power by the union. His appointment to Ireland was most momentous for that country, although his term of office began in April and ended the following September. He had no great gifts of statesmanship, and owed his political advancement to his birth and his friendship with Lord Rockingham, but his few months' experience of Ireland imbued him with a passion for Irish affairs and an ambition to settle that disturbed country. Portland, as Home Secretary from 1794 to 1801, had to deal with the Irish rebellion of 1798 and the carrying of the Act of Union. He worked very hard in both instances, but it is only fair to his memory to record the fact that he was opposed to the policy of bribery and corruption which terminated the existence of the Irish Parliament, and he allowed Castlereagh to do the dirty work.
Little is to be said of his brief administration as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. He arrived in Dublin with a large retinue, and opened his season in Dublin Castle with a levée followed by a ball, where the official classes welcomed him because of his rank and birth. Dublin loved a lord, but was passionately devoted to dukes, and had Portland remained in the metropolis he would have been successful, as all mediocrities are who possess sufficient good sense to let difficult problems solve themselves. A sudden crisis in England, however, recalled Portland from Ireland. The Marquis of Rockingham had died suddenly, and the king had appointed Lord Shelburne to the premiership. This annoyed Fox, and he resigned, carrying Lord John Cavendish, the brother-in-law of the viceroy, Burke, and Sheridan with him. When he heard of this development, Portland added his resignation, and Lord Shelburne, after a gallant attempt to defeat the malcontents, advised the king that the only possible solution was the elevation of the Duke of Portland to the premiership. It is an historical fact that when great men differ mediocrities come into their kingdoms, and Portland as Prime Minister was a figurehead.
The Portland period