The history of Ireland must have a strong influence on men's hearts, for nobody can speak or write of it without exhibiting the feelings of the partisan. The unstudied inaccuracies of the phlegmatic Froude show that historian to be capable of emotion when dealing with Irish affairs. Froude had no sense of humour, and, therefore, no sense of proportion, and his detestation of the Celtic temperament caused his prejudices to run riot in his pages on Ireland. On the other side are the painfully sincere patriots whose efforts to divide humanity into sheep and goats wrong both parties. Perhaps one of these days it will be agreed that any event more than fifty years old shall be considered outside party politics. As it is, the rebellion of '98 is a subject strong enough to-day to arouse as much passion as the latest proposal of a vote-bidding Government, Conservative or Liberal.
It would be as easy as it is tempting to dwell upon the doings of the year 1798, but the 'rebellion' has its own historians. One example of Castle methods must be given. Among the lawyers who enjoyed a more or less fashionable practice was a man named McNally. He was friendly with the leading patriots and also with the Government, and he approved in a purely intellectual manner of the rebellion. When, therefore, a batch of important rebels were in need of a barrister to defend them, they sent for McNally, and as their counsel he was told everything, including certain information which the wily lawyer knew would be of immense value to the Government. This was his opportunity, and he never hesitated. To the Castle he went, and sold his clients for a life-pension of £300 a year. But this was a venial sin compared with some others which could be cited.
The Act of Union introduced
The surrender of General Humbert to Cornwallis marked the termination of the rebellion, and, in the opinion of Pitt and Portland, the Home Secretary, the most favourable time had arrived for the introduction of the Act of Union. In November, 1798, the duke sent to Cornwallis the first articles of the Bill. These were introduced into the House of Commons in Dublin in the certain hope that they would be accepted. To the astonishment and dismay of the executive, the Bill was rejected by 107 votes to 105. Castlereagh was furious; Cornwallis indifferent. Both men advised Catholic Emancipation as the price for Parliamentary surrender, but the Government was averse to placing the majority in power.
It was resolved to return to the old methods, the methods that had always proved effective when dealing with the Irish aristocracy and ruling class. Castlereagh was given a free hand, and places, pelf, and peerages were promised with reckless lavishness. There was a rush to be first in the field of favours, but Castlereagh was so ready to promise anything that the bribed became suspicious. The English Government in Ireland had a reputation for treachery that was not undeserved, and the place and peerage seekers went to Cornwallis to seek endorsement of Castlereagh's offers. The viceroy gave his personal guarantee that they would be fulfilled, and, satisfied with this, the ready-made majority went to the Commons, and with a force numbering one hundred and fifty-three persons overwhelmed the opposition of eighty-eight. Many of the latter had refused heavy bribes; as many had endangered their political lives.
The Union accomplished, the Duke of Portland endeavoured to postpone, with an ultimate view to cancellation, the bestowal of the promised peerages and the payment of the monetary bribes, and only the threatened resignation of Cornwallis brought about the fulfilment of the Government's side of the bargain.
Society after the Union
The new nobility were received with derision in England and Ireland, and the wits of the day satirized them unmercifully. There is a story told of John Philpot Curran, who had gained the admiration of the patriotic party by his fearless advocacy of the '98 rebels in the law courts. The famous wit was accosted by one of the new peers outside the defunct Irish Parliament in College Green with the query as to the intention of the Government with regard to the empty building, adding, 'For my part, I hate even the sight of it.' 'I do not wonder,' retorted Curran, 'I never yet heard of a murderer who was not afraid of a ghost.' Curran had been a bitter opponent of the Union, and had proved himself incorruptible.
Whatever its political effect, the closing of the Irish Parliament was a blow to the prestige of Dublin as the metropolis. The viceroyalty remained, but it was shorn of some of its glory. With the death of the Irish House of Commons and the admittance of Irish peers to the English House of Lords, there was no longer any need for the native nobility to maintain expensive houses in Dublin. London became their centre, and they made their country houses their headquarters while in Ireland. Gradually the social power fell into the hands of the professional classes and the higher-grade civil servants; doctors, lawyers, officers in the army, and others of the professions dominated Dublin society. The viceroy's court saw less of the aristocracy, and the levées degenerated into a meeting-place for those of doubtful pedigrees or persons anxious to make new ones. Merrion Square and St. Stephen's Green attracted wealthy barristers and doctors, and prosperous tradespeople moved from the 'other side of the bridge' to the desirable regions surrounding Merrion Square. Knighthoods and baronetcies were given to doctors and lawyers, and the wives of the men who could not have been 'received' at the viceregal court previous to the union were now the leaders of fashion and frequenters of the Castle and the Lodge.
The energetic viceroy meanwhile pressed for Catholic emancipation, which he declared would save Ireland from self-destruction. The state of the country was pitiable, and Dublin looked all the more wretched and squalid by reason of its patches of gaiety and wealth. Trade was stagnant and education at a standstill. Almost every viceroy had to contribute to funds for starving peasantry. Cornwallis was not deceived by the carelessness of his immediate circle. He protested again and again against the laxity of the Government, and called aloud for the emancipation of the Catholics. He was informed that the Government dared not bring in such a Bill, for it would be thrown out instantly, and when they wished to commit political suicide the ministers would follow the viceroy's advice.