and the love of order; unassailable to the approaches of power, of profit, or of titles; he annexed to the love of freedom a veneration for order, and cast on the crowd that followed him the gracious light of his own accomplishments; so that the very rabble grew civilized as it approached his person. For years did he preside over a great army without pay or reward, and he helped to accomplish a great revolution without a drop of blood. "Let slaves utter their slander and bark at glory which is conferred by the people; his name will stand. And when their clay shall be gathered to the dirt to which they belong, his monument, whether in marble or in the hearts of his countrymen, shall be resorted to as a subject for sorrow, and an excitation to virtue. "Should the author of this pamphlet pray, he could not ask for his son a greater blessing than to resemble the good Earl of Charlemont." 198 CHAPTER VII. Mr. Fitzgibbon appointed Attorney-general-The part Mr. Grattan took in that transaction (note)-Mr. Grattan's and Mr. Burke's praise of Hussey Burgh-Letter to Mr. Day-Annual Parliaments-Mr. Flood's motion for Reform, March, 1784-Aggregate meeting-Mr. Tandy's letter to the Sheriff-Attempt to form a National Congress-Mr. Fitzgibbon's peremptory letter to the Sheriffs-Mr. Orde's letter to Mr. Grattan respecting the meeting and address-Meeting of Congress in October-Its failure-Proceedings against the sheriff by attachment—Mr. Fitzgibbon's defence thereof-Meeting of Parliament, January 7, 1785-Mr. Grattan's Speech on the Address-His advice to the people—Mr. Orde's letter to Mr. Grattan respecting his speech, and the thanks to the Volunteers-Lord Charles Fitzgerald's and Mr. Brownlow's motion as to the attachment-Mr. Fitzgibbon's haughty and overbearing manner-Mr. Corry and Mr. Curran's attack-Mr. Flood renews the subject of attachments-Mr. (afterwards Lord) Erskine's opinion against them-Mr. Brownlow's motion-Injurious tendency thereof-Discussion as to the right of the Catholics to carry arms-Note-Lord Charlemont's answer to the Volunteers respecting the granting the elective franchise to the Catholics-Mr. Flood's amendment—Mr. Fitzgibbon's eulogium on Mr. Grattan. Ar this period an event occurred, which proved to be the most unfortunate that could have befallen the country, and which was the cause of her greatest calamity and her final degradation. It is painful to be obliged to admit, that Mr. Grattan in some degree contributed thereto, and most singular it was that the individual who had but just assisted to restore the constitution of his country, should have been the unconscious instrument of bringing about its destruction. The circumstance alluded to was the appointment of Mr. Fitzgibbon to the office of AttorneyGeneral. On the death of Chief Baron Burgh,* Mr. Yelverton was promoted to the Bench as his successor, and Government was anxious to get an active law-officer in his place. The country had been thrown into great ferment by the Volunteer Convention; an active and powerful party were still threatening, and seemed disposed to overawe the Government as well as the Parliament. Ministers in both kingdoms, as is apparent from Mr. Fox's letter, were alarmed; and they sought for a person possessed of spirit and boldness-a man who would support strong measures, a ready speaker, and a daring mind. Unfortunately for Ireland, the elements of such a * Mr. Grattan, speaking of him, said, "I moved for this pension,-I did it from a natural and instinctive feeling. I came to this house from his hearse. What concern first suggested, reason afterwards confirmed. Do I lament that pension?-Yes. Because in it I lament the mortality of noble emulation, of delightful various endowments, and above all, because I feel the absence of him, who, if now here, would have inspired this debate, would have asserted your privileges, exposed the false pretences of prerogative, and have added an angelic voice to the councils of the nation."-Debates in the Irish Parliament. 2,000l. was the amount of the annual pension granted among five of his family. Mr. Burke said of him, "He was one of the most ingenious, and one of the most amiable men, that ever graced yours or any House of Parliament."-Edmund Burke's Letter to Thomas Burgh, Esq. character were to be found in the person of Mr. Fitzgibbon. Mr. Grattan was consulted as to this appointment, and in an evil hour he gave an opinion favourable to Mr. Fitzgibbon-" ibi omnis effusus labor." Mr. Grattan had known him at College, and when at the Temple. He had been a visitor at his favourite retreat at Sunning Hill, near Windsor; and the support that Mr. Fitzgibbon gave him on his proposition for restoring the final judicature of Ireland, and his speech on that occasion, had still further increased their acquaintance, and perhaps even their friendship. Mr. George Ponsonby thought that Mr. Metge (afterwards Baron of the Exchequer) was the fittest person to succeed Mr. Yelverton. This certainly would have been a wiser selection; and Mr. Metge a fitter man; but he was an indifferent speaker. Mr. Yelverton, Mr. Daly, Mr. Ponsonby, and Mr. Grattan, were consulted. Yelverton was for Fitzgibbon; Daly was against him; he was a better judge of men, and used these remarkable and prophetic expressions"You are quite mistaken; that little fellow will deceive you all." But Government required a bold speaker, and Mr. Fitzgibbon was in consequence named Attorney-general. Mr. Fox did not augur well of the selection, and in his letter to the Lord-lieutenant he says, in reference to the appointment-and like Mr. Daly, almost in a spirit of prophecy-"Take care you do not strengthen an enemy, instead of gaining a friend." Lord Northington replied, that Mr. Grattan "had been consulted, and had no objection to act with him." There is no doubt that Mr. Fitzgibbon's talents alone would have raised him, and that he would have got forward by mere dint of professional knowledge and personal ability; but that he would have been promoted under a popular Government, is another question; and that a man who had so strongly from the outset opposed Irish freedom, should have been appointed by a Government who gained it in despite of his efforts, is much to be wondered at. Mr. Grattan had the misfortune of being concerned in this transaction, and the demerit of speaking in his favour, and thus destroyed the noblest work that had just been created- "From his slack hand the garland wreathed for Eve He was, however, requited in a most extraordinary manner, and in a way not usual among Irishmen, who, though their passions are strong, possess feelings in which ingratitude seldom takes a share. The bitterest malignity and the most venomous hostility that ever existed was displayed by Mr. Fitzgibbon, as will hereafter appear. He left no means untried to blemish the character of his former friend and patron-to |