Method For The Union Project
Above : Picture Of James Fitzgerald
From what has been said it will be clear that Ireland, so far from desiring a Union, was, on the whole, very decidedly opposed to it, and that, in order to carry the measure, Pitt would be obliged to make use of every means at his disposal, if not to alter the opinion of the country, at least to gain the votes of those who were supposed to represent it! Efforts were made to influence the public by means of the Press’ Merchants were assured that trade would increase, that English capital would flow into the country. To the Catholics it was suggested that since in a Union Parliament they would be always in a minority, the one great objection to their emancipation would vanish of itself • while Protestants ware reminded that England was their only defence against the Catholic majority, and that, therefore, it would be advisable for them to bind Ireland as closely to her as possible.
It is doubtful whether much was gained by these methods. They would be of little value in obtaining votes, and on the votes of the actual Members of Parliament the fate of the measure would depend, since Pitt absolutely refused to ” go to the country ” by means of a General Election. He saw that, in order to achieve success, he must resort to coarser means of persuasion, and this he proceeded to do with a thoroughness and steady purpose which knew no scruple or hesitation.
Individuals who had made themselves prominent by writing or speaking against the proposed Union were marked out for punishment, when to punish lay within the power of the Government. This punishment was not limited to their own persons, but was extended to all their relatives, friends or proteges who had obtained a public office, however humble, through their influence. James Fitzgerald lost his Prime Sergeancy ; Sir John Parnell the Chancellorship of the Exchequer. Rewards were lavished on supporters with as liberal a hand. Posts in which the salaries were often high and the duties nominal, peerages and ” steps ” in the peerage, fell to the lot of those who adhered to the Government side. Of thirty-two barristers who, at the meeting of the Irish Bar in December 1798, voted for the Union, twenty-seven received places within two years. Of twenty-three lawyers who spoke in the Commons in favour of the measure, six were appointed judges. The legal knowledge of some of these ” Union Judges ” was so small that ” able coadjutors ” had to be provided to supply their deficiencies. The (State) Church Establishment itself was not sacred. Clerical ” jobs,” small and large, appear on the list of ” Union engagements I which, after the measure had been passed, the Lord Lieutenant forwarded to the London authorities. George Beresford, of whose private character the Primate, Dr. Stuart, gave the worst account, was made Bishop of Kilmore. Livings were bestowed on the sons and sons-in-law of Government supporters, quite irrespective of the abilities or the personal character of the recipients.
Cornwallis, the Viceroy, heartily detested the work which he had been set to do, but, nevertheless, he bribed and punished as consistently as did the cold and cynical Castlereagh, who seems to have felt no scruples either of conscience or of taste. It is but fair to add that both of these men appeared to have honestly believed that the Union would promote what they considered to be the real good of Ireland—as a part of the British Empire.