The Political Journal of Sir George Fottrell
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE POLITICAL JOURNAL OF SIR GEORGE FOTTRELL 13 Jany. 1885 I think it may perhaps at some future stage of Irish politics prove useful to have from an eye witness some notes of the events now passing in Ireland or rather some notes of the inner working of the Government and of the Irish party.I have rather exceptional opportunities of noting their working. I have since I attained manhood been a consistent Nationalist and I believe that the leading men on the national side have confidence in my honour and consistency. On the other hand I am a Crown official & I am an intimate personal friend of Sir Robert Hamilton,1 the Under Secretary for Ireland. My first introduction to him took place about 18 months ago. I was introduced to him by Robert Holmes,2 the Treasury Remembrancer. At that time Sir Robert was Mr.Hamilton & his private secretary was Mr.Clarke Hall who had come over temporarily from the Admiralty. Mr. Hamilton was himself at that time only a temporary official. Shortly afterwards he was induced to accept the permanent appointment as Under Secretary. From the date of my first introduction to him up to the present our acquaintance has steadily developed into a warm friendship and I think that Sir Robert Hamilton now probably speaks to me on Irish matters more freely than to anyone else. I have always spoken to him with similar freedom and whether my views were shared by him or were at total variance with his I have never concealed my opinion from him. I was in last October appointed Clerk of the Crown for Dublin City & County & I believe my appointment was the result of Sir R. Hamilton’s intervention. I had not asked for the post. My first interview with Lord Spencer3 was that at which he offered me the post. A note of the conversation on that occasion is in my locked note book which I had when in the service of the Land Commission. In December 1884 Sir R. Hamilton sent for me to ask me my opinion as to the best tribunal to deal for Ireland with the question 1 See appendix. 2 Robert William Arbuthnot Holmes (1843–1910), Treasury Remembrancer and Deputy Paymaster for Ireland (1882–1908). 3 See appendix. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 30 Sep 2021 at 23:53:56, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960116308003242 82 THE POLITICAL JOURNAL OF SIR GEORGE FOTTRELL of Boundaries under the Redistribution of Seats Bill.4 He told me his notion was to make the Irish Boundaries Commission out of exactly similar elements to those out of which the Scotch Boundaries Commission5 had just been formed, viz. Sir J. Lambert,6 the Head of the Ordinance Survey Dept., Sir F. Sandford,7 the Chief English Boundaries Commissioner & 1 barrister. I agreed in the wisdom of this. He then asked who would be the best barrister & he said Naish8 had recommended Piers White QC.9 I cordially agreed. He subsequently told me he had been asked by Lord Spencer to get me to ascertain my views of Gray MP10 &SextonMP11 on the subject & he asked me had I any objection privately to make the inquiry. I replied that my position of mind was that I would not on any account ‘pump’ the Irish members & then detail to the Government anything which I thought the members might wish to conceal nor would I pump him or any other member of the Government & then detail to the Irish members anything which he might wish to conceal but that I would willingly undertake any trouble with a view of making each side acquainted with the views of the other so as to promote harmony between them. Gray was in London & so was Sexton. I saw Tim Healy MP.12 He preferred Carton13 to Piers White but he admitted that White would command confidence on all sides for his integrity and high character. I arranged to lunch with Sir R. Hamilton on the following Sunday. When I had lunched he said that Lord Spencer wished to see me. I walked over to the Vice Regal Lodge & had a long talk about the 4 Bill for the Redistribution of Seats at Parliamentary Elections: PP 1884–5,IV,85. 5 Report of the Boundary Commissioners for Scotland: PP 1884–5,XIX,499. 6 Sir John Lambert (1815–1892), Permanent Secretary to the Local Government Board (1871–1882). 7 Sir Francis Sandford (1824–1893), first Baron Sandford (1891), Secretary for the Education Office (1870–1884). 8 John Naish (1841–1890), Attorney-General (1884–1885) and Lord Chancellor of Ireland (1885, 1886). 9 A Roman Catholic barrister and liberal, later Chairman of the Liberal Union of Ireland: see Hamilton to Spencer, 5 December 1884:AP,AddMS77060; The Times, 15 March 1888,p.9. 10 Edmund Dwyer Gray (1845–1888), Nat. MP for Co. Carlow (1880–1885)andforSt Stephen’s Green Division, Dublin (1885–1888), owner of the Freeman’s Journal. 11 Thomas Sexton (1848–1932), Nat. MP for Co. Sligo (1880–1885) and for Sligo South (1885–1892), Lord Mayor of Dublin (1887–1889). 12 Timothy Michael Healy (1855–1931), Nat. MP for Co. Monaghan (1883–1885), for Londonderry South (1885–1886), and for Longford North (1887–1892), Governor-General of the Irish Free State (1922–1928). 13 Richard Paul Carton (1836–1907), Commissioner of National Education, Chairman of the Queen’s Colleges Commission (1884–1885). Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 30 Sep 2021 at 23:53:56, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960116308003242 THE POLITICAL JOURNAL OF SIR GEORGE FOTTRELL 83 Boundaries Commission. I strongly urged the importance of making the Scotch & Irish Commissions identical. I told Healy’s opinion but I said that personally I had a much higher opinion of Piers White’s ability than of Carton’s.14 On that evening Lord Spencer sent Mr. Courtney Boyle,15 his private secretary, specially to London to arrange if possible for the appointment of the Commission on the suggested lines & the Commission was next day appointed consisting of the following – Sir J. Lambert – Sir F. Sandford Piers White QC – Major McPherson16 &RichardBurke[sic],17 Local Govt. Board Inspector. All the Irish papers Whig, Tory & Nationalist approved of the Commission.18 One day in December last Sir R. Hamilton went with me to Bray for a long walk. On our way out in the train we discussed the question of the renewal of the Crimes Act. I opposed its renewal except under the direst necessity. He admitted that his own view was that most of the provisions of the Act might be allowed to lapse but that it would be requisite to re-enact the change of venue clause & the special jury clause.19 I urged the pressing importance of bringing in a County Government Bill for Ireland. He admitted this – we discussed the details as to the multiple vote & as to giving some supervising power to the Local Government Board.20 14 Spencer informed Sir Charles Dilke, ‘From sources independent of Sir R. Hamilton I hear that a row is getting up about the question’: Spencer to Dilke, 10 December 1884:AP, Add MS 76924. 15 Courtenay Edmund Boyle (1845–1901), private secretary to Lord Spencer (1868–1874, 1882–1885), Assistant-Secretary to the Local Government Board (1885) and the Board of Trade (1886). 16 John Cosmo Macpherson (Farquharson) (1839–1905), officer of Royal Engineers (1859– 1896), Executive Officer of the Ordnance Survey of the United Kingdom (1887–1894). 17 As inspector for Dublin, Bourke had represented the Treasury in the settlement of arrears. Spencer claimed that he and White were the ‘most influential’ men available and that their impartiality was guaranteed: Spencer to Edward Gibson, 16, 19,and26 December 1884, repr. A.B. Cooke and A.P.W. Malcolmson (eds), The Ashbourne Papers, 1869–1913:a calendar of the papers of Edward Gibson, 1st Lord Ashbourne (Belfast, 1974), pp. 179–180. 18 See The Times, 3 December 1884,p.12. For findings, see Report of the Boundary Commissioners for Ireland: PP 1884–5,XIX,499. 19 In the belief that ‘anything that makes punishment more certain aids the prevention of crime’, Hamilton recommended that these clauses become permanent laws: ‘Memo. on the renewal of the Prevention of Crimes Act’, 18 January 1885:AP,AddMS77331. 20 The Local Government Board, established in 1872, assumed responsibilities for medical treatment and public hygiene formerly vested in the Poor Law Commissioners. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 30 Sep 2021 at 23:53:56, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960116308003242 84 THE POLITICAL JOURNAL OF SIR GEORGE FOTTRELL Some days afterward he read for me at the Castle two memoranda which he had written for Lord Spencer – one on the subject of state advances & the other on the subject of County Government.21 Gray returned from London some time in Dec. I spoke to him on the subject of the Crimes Act renewal22 & the introduction of a County Government Bill. He quite agreed with my view that if the latter bill was introduced & pushed on by the Government it would do more than anything else to quiet the country.