"Ely Place, Dublin,
"March 5, 1806.
"My dear Sir,—I rely upon your letter, desiring to know whether there was any establishment in this country by contribution to which you could forward its civilisation, for excusing my sending you 'observations on the necessity of publishing the Scriptures in the Irish language,' by Dr. Stokes, of the College, who is engaged in such a work, without any view of emolument, but merely to promote the civilisation of the country, and the propagation, as much as possible, of the Christian religion in its purity. He is supported by contribution of the college, and some private contributions; but such is the temper of the Irish that even their charities, liberal as they frequently are, are more the result of pride and vanity than of any of the true feelings of the charitable mind. I think Dr. Stokes's work will be very useful; and that in spite of all the arts of the priests, the circulation of the Scriptures will prevail amongst the lower orders, and must reform even the Irish Catholic Church, which I take to be the most corrupt now remaining of all the members of the Church of Rome. It will also have the effect of enabling the Protestant clergy of the Establishment to perform their duty; namely, to endeavour to instruct those who do not understand the English language; and I think it will also enable the gentlemen of the country to gain so much of the Irish language as will give them some intercourse with their poor neighbours, where the English language is not spoken; and I think it will also contribute to diffuse the English language, which I think is a most important advantage. I have thought it my duty to subscribe ten guineas for the encouragement of Dr. Stokes, and I believe a few subscriptions with what the College proposes to give him, will encourage him to proceed with activity; as I have strong assurances that he seeks for nothing but indemnity and desires no compensation for his time or his labour. I yesterday gave up the Great Seal, in consequence of Lord Spencer's having thought fit to advise His Majesty, after he had signed a warrant for Mr. Ponsonby's appointment, to sign another for putting the Great Seal in commission, and then to send it by express, directing the Lord Lieutenant to lose no time in procuring the Commission to pass the Seal. This has been done in so much hurry that I have great doubts of its regularity; and if it had been the case of any man but myself, I should have refused to put the Great Seal to the patent, without further consideration; and I find the Lords Commissioners are very much puzzled how to act. But this I feel principally as a marked and gross personal affront to me, and through me to the Lord Lieutenant.
"I could do nothing (without the Lord Lieutenant's warrant) but despatch the business of the Court of Chancery; and yet I am not to be trusted with the Great Seal for a few days till the arrival of Mr. Ponsonby for that purpose; and the suitors of the Court of Chancery were to be equally injured; for the Commissioners being the Chief Justice and Chief Baron, who have too much business in their own courts to sit in the Court of Chancery, and the Master of the Rolls who cannot (from the state of his health) do more business than he does as Master of the Rolls, very little of the business which would have been dispatched by me can be done till the arrival of Mr. Ponsonby; and by that time all the counsel will be gone the circuit. I must confess I resent this wanton and childish insult (for I have no doubt the affront was intended by Lord Spencer) much more than my removal from my office, and nothing could be more insulting than the terms of the letters written by my old friend C. W. Wynne, by order of Lord Spencer, with the directions to have the patent to the Commissioners sealed forthwith. From Lord Spencer and from Wynne I had certainly a claim at least to personal civility. But it is the miserable effect of party violence to blind all those who suffer themselves to be led by it. I have the satisfaction of knowing that all those persons here whose good opinion is of any value regret my removal, and have given me most affectionate testimonies of their regard. I am sorry to add that the conduct of His Majesty's ministers, in various instances, has raised in the Protestant inhabitants of this country great and serious alarm. The expressions of Mr. Fox on the subject of the Union have sunk deep into their minds; and though it has been contrived to quiet those adverse to the Union for the moment, with a view to prevent alarm, the poison is working in their minds, and you will probably soon perceive its effects. Mr. Fox's answer to Lord Shrewsbury and Mr. Scully, as stated in the papers, has also had a very unfortunate effect. It is a libel on the Government of the country in all its parts; imputing to it gross partiality even in the administration of justice, and it promises the Roman Catholics a different order of things; not by the interposition of the legislature, but by the influence and favour of the executive government; and it applies itself directly and particularly to the army, as if it were intended to frighten the Protestants into acquiescence. It should be recollected that Lord Shrewsbury is not connected in any way with Ireland, except by a claim of peerage; and that Mr. Scully is the author of a pamphlet in which he writes of James the Second as the lawful King of Ireland at the battle of the Boyne, and King William as a Dutch invader. You can have no conception of the gloom which prevails in the minds of thinking people in this country. Our Chief Justice and Chief Baron, both very sound men and highly esteemed, are very strongly affected. The Chief Justice forebodes every species of mischief. Lord Norbury, who is Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, is of a lighter turn of mind, and irritated by a gross and ridiculous affront in omitting his name in the Commission for custody of the Great Seal—evidently a mere piece of party malice. But he also is full of gloomy apprehensions of the result of the measures likely to be adopted.
"But my apprehensions are greatly increased by observing that Lord Grenville and Lord Spencer are mere dupes to the other party in the Cabinet with respect to Ireland, if not generally so. Lord Grenville and Lord Spencer perhaps imagine that they may have some influence in Ireland through Mr. Elliott and Sir J. Newport. Most certainly they will have none. The Ponsonby family will govern Ireland through the Lord Lieutenant, who is completely in their hands. Lord Grenville and Lord Spencer seem also to have put Scotland and India out of their control; and with the influence of all the great appendages of the Empire against them, and a majority in the Cabinet to contend with at home, what can they hope for? As the least of two evils, I shall yet feel it my duty to support them against their rivals in the Cabinet, though the personal insults I have received have come through them, and their rivals have been comparatively civil. I shall get rid of my property here as soon as I can, and with the miserable remains transport myself to England for the rest of my days.
"I have had enough of office, and especially in my last change, which has had the effect of making me pay a fine of at least twenty thousand pounds for the honour of serving four years in a laborious office, separated from my family and all my old friends, I shall return to England, however, with pleasure; for though I shall be reduced to practise an economy to which for thirty years I have been a stranger, I shall return to my old friends, and to a country where my life will probably be in no greater danger than that of any other person, and where Lady Redesdale will be relieved from the fear and anxieties which have long agitated her mind, and made her ardently wish that I had never taken the office of Chancellor of Ireland; a wish in which I most heartily concur. The remainder of my life I trust will be passed more quietly than the last three years. Lady Redesdale begs to join in respects to Mrs. Wilberforce, and I am
"Truly, my dear sir,
"Your faithful, humble servant,
"Redesdale."
Sydney Smith writes in 1807 with regard to the Yorkshire election, and the state of Ireland: his letter is marked "characteristic" by Wilberforce.
"Dear Sir,—If Mrs. S. remains in her present state of health I hardly know how I can go down to Yorkshire at all. It is eight weeks since her lying-in, and she cannot yet stand upon her feet. If I do come I will certainly vote for Lord Milton and for you. I hope now you have done with Africa you will do something for Ireland, which is surely the greatest question and interest connected with this Empire. There is no man in England who from activity, understanding, character, and neutrality could do it so effectually as Mr. Wilberforce—and when this country conceded a century ago an establishment to the Presbyterian Church, it is horrible to see four millions of Christians of another persuasion instructed by ragged priests, and praising their Creator in wet ditches. I hope to God you will stir in this great business, and then we will vote you the consulship for life, and you shall be perpetual member for Yorkshire.
"In the meantime I remain, with great respect,
"Your obedient servant,
"Sydney Smith."