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O’Connell’s liberal rivals in 1843

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

Robert Sloan
Robert Sloan*
Affiliation:
The Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, Elstree
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Extract

In 1843 Daniel O’Connell’s campaign for repeal of the Act of Union won the support of millions of Irish Catholics. This movement, of which the famous ‘monster meetings’ were the most striking feature, greatly alarmed adherents to the union in both Britain and Ireland. This article is concerned with the response of those M.P.s who supported the union but repudiated ‘Protestant ascendancy’ and advocated removal of the grievances of Ireland’s Catholic majority. There were about forty such ‘liberal-unionist’ members then in parliament, their landed influence and popular sympathies having enabled them to emerge relatively unscathed from the Whig electoral disaster of 1841. They were a mixed bag of Protestants and Catholics, Whigs and liberals, and they had as little idea of party unity as the stereotypical independent member of nineteenth-century fame. This picture of unco-ordinated individual activity was to change dramatically in response to the momentous events of what O’Connell called ‘the great Repeal Year’.

Type
Research Article
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 30 , Issue 117 , May 1996 , pp. 47 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 1996

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References

1 On the repeal movement see Macintyre, Angus, The Liberator: Daniel O’Connell and the Irish party, 1830–1847 (London, 1965)Google Scholar; Nowlan, K.B., The politics of repeal: a study in the relations between Great Britain and Ireland, 1841–1850 (London, 1965)Google Scholar; Kerr, D.A., Peel, priests and politics: Sir Robert Peel’s administration and the Roman Catholic church in Ireland, 1841–6 (Oxford, 1982)Google Scholar; McDowell, R.B., Public opinion and government policy in Ireland, 1801–46 (London, 1952)Google Scholar; MacDonagh, Oliver, The Emancipist: Daniel O’Connell, 1830–47 (London, 1989).Google Scholar

2 Wyse, Thomas, Historical sketch of the Catholic Association (2 vols, London, 1829).Google Scholar

3 Angus Macintyre has written the only detailed account of the liberal-unionist campaign, but even he, having failed to use the Wyse papers, did not go much farther than a description of the publicly reported events (Macintyre, The Liberator, pp 272–5).

4 Wyse to George Wyse, 2 May 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

5 Ibid.

6 Hansard 3, lxviii, 1027 (28 Apr. 1843, O’Brien).

7 Wyse to George Wyse, 2 May 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

8 See also O’Brien to Lucy O’Brien, 9 May 1843 (ibid., Smith O’Brien papers, MS 432, f. 965); O’Brien to Bourke, 25 May 1843 (ibid., Bourke papers, MS 8477 (10)).

9 Wyse to George Wyse, 15, 16 May 1843 (ibid., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)); Wyse diary, 16 May 1843 (ibid., MS 15018 (4)).

10 Sheil to Anastasia Sheil, [May 1843] (ibid., Sheil papers, MS 11138 (4)).

11 Hansard 3, lxviii, 1011 (27 Apr. 1843, Eliot).

12 The bill was amended in several important aspects: the defining of arms as firearms only, increased restrictions on the powers of search, the reduction of proposed penalties, the omission of the blacksmiths clause, and the reduction of the duration of the bill to three years (in effect).

13 Wyse to George Wyse, 6 June 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 Graham to Peel, 6 May 1843 (B.L., Peel papers, Add. MS 40448, ff 290–91).

17 Freeman’s Journal, 10 June 1843.

18 Wyse to George Wyse, 6 June 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019, (10)).

19 Peel to Sugden, 31 May, 1 June 1843 (B.L., Peel papers, Add. MS 40529, ff 239, 305); Sugden to Peel, 2, 4 June 1843 (ibid., ff 309, 320); Graham to Peel, 1 June 1843 (ibid., Add. MS 40448, f. 303); Graham to de Grey, 2 June 1843 (N.L.I., Graham papers, 62 A); Graham to Sugden, 3, 7 June 1843 (ibid., 3 IR).

20 Wyse to George Wyse, 6 June 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 Wyse to George Wyse, 8 June 1843 (ibid.).

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

26 Wyse to George Wyse, 12 June 1843 (ibid.).

27 Wyse to George Wyse, 14 June 1843 (ibid.).

28 Ibid. Richard More O’Ferrall was the liberal-unionist member for Kildare.

29 Wyse to George Wyse, 17 June 1843 (ibid.).

30 Ibid.

31 O’Brien to Lucy O’Brien, 24 June 1843 (N.L.I., Smith O’Brien papers, MS 432, f. 1011).

32 Graham to de Grey, 27 June, 9 July 1843 (ibid., Graham papers, 4 IR, 9 IR); Peel to Farnham, 20 July 1843 (B.L., Peel papers, Add. MS 40531, f. 165).

33 Powell to O’Brien, 27 June 1843 (N.L.I., Smith O’Brien papers, MS 432, f. 1012).

34 Dublin Everning Post, 29 June, 8 July 1843.

35 Wyse to George Wyse, 3 July 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

36 Wyse to George Wyse, 3 July 1843 (second letter) (ibid.).

31 Hansard 3, lxx, 630–31 (4 July 1843).

38 Ibid., 1088–92 (12 July 1843, division). Benjamin Chapman voted against the motion, but subsequently explained that this was an accident (Dublin Evening Post, 15 July 1842).

39 Graham to de Grey, 12 July 1843 (N.L.I., Graham papers, 9 IR); Hansard 3, lxx, 745–52, 779-80 (7 July 1843, Cochrane, Lascelles), 866–9 (10 July 1843, Rous), 919–24 (11 July 1843, Smythe), 1060–61 (12 July 1843, Manners).

40 Wyse to George Wyse, 11 July 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)). His expectations regarding Gregory and company were not realised.

41 Ray to O’Brien, 7 July 1843 (ibid., Smith O’Brien papers, MS 432, f. 1021); Powell to O’Brien, 9 July 1843 (ibid., f. 1025); John O’Connell to O’Brien 17 July 1843 (ibid., f. 1030); O’Shaughnessy to O’Brien, 18 July 1843 (ibid., f. 1031).

42 Wyse to George Wyse, 17 July 1843 (ibi d.. Wy se papers, MS 15019 (10)).

43 Ibid.

44 Dublin Evening Post, 25 July 1843.

45 Wyse to George Wyse, 17 July 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)); Russell to Lansdowne, 19 July 1843 ( The later correspondence of Lord John Russell, 1840–1878, ed. Gooch, G.P. (2 vols, London, 1925), i, 64)Google Scholar.

46 Russell to Palmerston, 15 July 1843 (P.R.O., Broadlands MSS, GC/RU/74); Dublin Evening Post, 25 July 1843; Dublin Evening Mail, 21 July 1843; Russell to Lansdowne, 19 July 1843 (Later correspondence of Lord John Russell, i, 64).

47 Peel to Brougham, 21 July 1843 (B.L., Peel papers, Add. MS 40531, f. 264); see also Peel to de Grey, 24 July 1843 (ibid., Add. MS 40478, f. 119). Even F. S. Murphy, another liberal-unionist, quipped that ‘the penalties are bad, but the Clementcy worse’ (Holland to son, 3 July 1843 ( Elizabeth, , Lady Holland to her son, 1821–1845, ed. earl of Ilchester, (London, 1946), p. 209 Google Scholar)). On Wyse, see Wyse to George Wyse, 31 July 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

48 Wyse to George Wyse, 29 July 1843 (N. L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

49 Wyse to George Wyse, 31 July 1843 (ibid.).

50 George Wyse to Wyse, 1 Aug. 1843 (ibid., MS 15020 (6)); Hansard 3, lxx, 1404, 1450–51 (28 July 1843, Russell).

51 Wyse to George Wyse, 31 July 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

52 Wyse to George Wyse, 1 Aug. 1843 (ibid.).

53 Wyse to George Wyse, 4 Aug. 1843 (ibid.).

54 Ibid.

55 N.L.I, Smith O’Brien papers, MS 433, f. 1048c. The completed Remonstrance is to be found here; for a published version see Dublin Evening Post, 8 Aug. 1843.

56 Wyse to George Wyse, 4 Aug. 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

57 Wyse to George Wyse, 4 Aug. 1843 (second letter) (ibid.).

58 Ibid.

59 Ibid.

60 Wyse to George Wyse, 4 Aug. 1843 (first letter) (ibid.).

61 Ibid.

62 Wyse to George Wyse, 8 Aug. 1843 (ibid.).

63 Ibid.

64 Ibid.

65 Dublin Evening Post, 8, 10 Aug. 1843.

66 Wyse to George Wyse, 15 Aug. 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)). Henry Grattan (youngest son of the prominent politician of the old Irish parliament) and Sir David Roche were probably the two repealers to whom Wyse referred.

67 Many of the responses are in N.L.I., Smith O’Brien papers, MS 433, ff 1049–60.

68 Dublin Evening Post, 8, 26 Aug. 1843; Dublin Evening Mail, 9 Aug. 1843; Northern Whig, 8 Aug. 1843; Freeman’s Journal, 8 Aug. 1843; Pilot, 11, 28 Aug. 1843; Morning Chronicle, 10, 24 Aug. 1843; Globe, 9 Aug. 1843.

69 Duffy, C.G., Young Ireland (London, 1896), p. 335 Google Scholar.

70 Wyse to George Wyse, 15 Aug. 1843 (N.L.I., Wyse papers, MS 15019 (10)).

71 Ibid.

72 Ibid.

73 Davis to Wyse, 10 July 1843 (ibid., MS 15026 (4)).

74 O’Brien to Martineau, 18 Aug. 1843 (ibid., Smith O’Brien papers, MS 18310 (2)).

75 O’Brien to Ray, 20 Oct. 1843 (Dublin Evening Post, 24 Oct. 1843).

76 Macintyre, The Liberator, p. 273.

77 See Whyte, J.H., The Independent Irish Party, 1850–59 (Oxford, 1958).Google Scholar

78 Sloan, R.C., ‘Irish issues and Unionist M.P.s, 1832–1846’ (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Glasgow, 1982), ch. 9Google Scholar.

79 See, for example, Peel’s report of the cabinet meeting that decided against coercion (Peel to de Grey, 12 June 1843 (B.L., Peel papers, Add. MS 40478, ff 79–84)).

80 See above, pp 54, 56, 58.

81 Cabinet memoranda, 11, 17, [28] Feb. 1844 (B.L., Peel papers, Add. MS 40540, ff 19–25, 40-53, 230-37); see also Kerr, Peel, priests & politics, esp. pp 110–22.