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The Life of the Right Honourable John Philpot Curran, Late Master of the Rolls in Ireland

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The Life of the Right Honourable John Philpot Curran, Late Master of the Rolls in Ireland This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the information in books and make it universally accessible. https://books.google.com - / f f - //l // // t -- - - / - - w n * ! * t - - * º - - w - - * º t - - * º - * º : * - w w a \ * ... e. * - * º | f * - - - - * º * * t - - : <366 1045,56500 13 <366 1045,56500 13 Bayer. Staatsbibliothek º THE LIFE or THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN. 2 9. on/…/ %/1 4. || LONDON : PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISON, whiteFRIARs. wºod … …-- __ __-__---- *% *… *// // */º// / Z// Az /7. /2. (/2 '6/ø/ 4% /* 7 r”.” yº/? ×/.Y.2/ THE LIFE of - - - THE RIGHT HONOURABLE º - • - •ºy - JOHN PHILP9f CURRAN, LATE MASTER OF The ROLLS IN IRELAND. t BY HIS SON, WILLIAM HENRY CURRAN, BARRISTER AT LAW. IN TWO VOLUMES. WOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH, LoNGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BRow N, AND HURsr, RoRINson, AND co. LoNDoN. 1819. BIBLIOTHECA, "REGLA Bayer'sche Staatsbibliothek - München C O N T E N T S To WOL. I. CHAPTER I. Mr. Curran's origin—His parents—Early education— Originally intended for the church—Enters Trinity College—His ardour for the classics—Letter to Mr. Stack—Anecdote of his mother—Her epitaph—While in college fixes on the bar—Anecdote connected with the change of profession—His character in college— Addicted to metaphysics—Anecdote on the subject— Verses to Apjohn - - page 1 CHAPTER II. Mr. Curran leaves College—Enters the Middle Temple —Letter to Mr. Weston—Letter to Mr. Keller–His first attempts in oratory fail—His own account of the failure, and of his first success—A regular attendant at Debating Clubs—Anecdotes—His Poem on Friendship —Dr. Creagh's character of him—Mr. Hudson's pre dictions and friendship—His early manners and habits —Subject to constitutional melancholy—Letters from London—His society in London—Anecdote of his in terview with Macklin–His early application and at tainments—Favourite authors—Early attachment to the Irish peasantry—His marriage-Remarks upon English law . - 97 vi - CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. Mr. Curran called to the Irish bar—Dissimilarities be tween that and the English bar—Causes of the dif. ference - º - page 97 CHAPTER IV. Mr. Curran's early success at the bar—His contest with Judge Robinson–His defence of a Roman Catholic priest—His duel with Mr. St. Leger—Receives the dying benediction of the priest—Lord Avonmore's friendship—His character of Lord Avonmore—Monks of St. Patrick, and list of the original members— Anecdotes of Lord Avonmore—Mr. Curran's entrance into parliament - - . 119 CHAPTER W. The Irish House of Commons in 1783—Sketch of the previous history of Ireland–Effects of the revolution of 1688—Catholic penal code—System of governing Ireland—Described by Mr. Curran—Intolerance and degradation of the Irish parliament—Change of system —Octennial bill—American revolution—Its effects upon Ireland—The Irish volunteers—Described by Mr. Curran—Their numbers, and influence upon public measures—Irish revolution of 1782—Mr. Grat tan's public services—Observations upon the subse quent conduct of the Irish parliament 154 CONTENTS. vii. CHAPTER VI." Mr. Flood's plan of parliamentary reform—Mr. Curran's contest and duel with Mr. Fitzgibbon (afterwards Lord Clare)—Speech on pensions—His professional success—Mode of life — Occasional verses—Visits France—Letters from Dieppe and Rouen—Anecdote —Letter from Paris—Anecdote—Letter from Mr. Boyse—Anecdote of Mr. Boyse–Letters from Hol land - - - page 194 CHAPTER VII. His majesty's illness—Communicated to the House of Commons—Mr. Curran's speech upon the address— Regency question—Formation of the Irish Whig op position—Mr. Curran's speech and motion upon the division of the boards of stamps and accounts— Answered by Sir Boyle Roche—Mr. Curran's reply —Correspondence and duel with Major Hobart— Effects of Lord Clare's enmity—Alderman Howison's CaSe - - - . 239 CHAPTER VIII. State of parties—Trial of Hamilton Rowan—Mr. Cur ran's fidelity to his party—Rev. William Jackson's trial—Conviction—and Death—Remarks upon that trial—Irish informers—Irish juries—The influence of the times upon Mr. Curran's style of oratory, 299 viii - CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. Mr. Curran moves an address to the throne for an inquiry into the state of the poor—Other parlia mentary questions—Mr. Ponsonby's plan of reform rejected—Secession of Mr. Curran and his friends— Orr's trial—Finnerty's trial—Finney's trial—The in former James O'Brien - - page 351 - APPENDIX. Fragment of a religious Essay • . 409 Mr. Grattan's Letter to the citizens of Dublin . 415 ERRATA. VOL. I. Page 28, line 14, for Henry Weston, Esq., read the Rev. Henry Weston. 54, note, for Frenchoy, read Frenchay. 65, line 25, for tempest, read tempests. 104, note, for savages, read savage. 209, note, for Newbery, read Newberg. 214, line 23, for peferred, read preferred. WOL. II. Page 17, line 6, for their, read his. 22, line 22, for secured, read received. 57, line 3, for skirmishes, read skirmishers. 78, line 12, for natural, read the natural. 92, line 25, for or, read to. 212, line 10, for feel, read I feel. 250, line 3, for remin, read remain. 382, line 1, and page 385, note, for James Thompson, read Thomas Thompson. 422, line 2, }: their, read the. (%/// // %, , … - // 2. - - 22.2%.2 ~~ º .* - * . ºzº. 232 -º *:::: Ac-z-z-z-z-4” ~~~~~ 22 - . … 2 2^*-z-z-z - * - ..… . ~~ 4 3:… _2 /* *//~/ // 2. /*, ozzz. %. ///~. ** 2:… 2-2 evºz-7 22:22-24: ~~~~~2%. 232.2%.2 44. 2^z. 22. <-2-, *~<rzºza- - -º,-------.2%. … -ezzzzz… 2. — 22. ^%/ ('%, ///r/ ar//,”, ZA, /. 24/ %. zºzoo/” - º - a & º A Z W. & CºA, ºwn/.. L I F E OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN. CHAPTER I. Mr. Curran's origin—His parents—Early education-- Originally intended for the church—Enters Trinity College—His ardour for the classics—Letter to Mr. Stack—Anecdote of his mother—Her epitaph—While in college fixes on the bar—Anecdote connected with the change of profession—His character in college— Addicted to metaphysics—Anecdote on the subject— Verses to Apjohn. - John PHILPot CURRAN was born on the 24th day of July, 1750, at Newmarket, an obscure town of the county of Cork, in Ireland. In several accounts that have been published of his origin and advance ment, it has by a general consent been asserted that the one was very low and the other unassisted;—that he was the sole WOL. I. B 2 LIFE OF CURRAN. architect of his own fortune, and the sole collector of the materials which were to raise it: and lovers of the marvellous im plicitly believed and repeated the asser tion. Let not, however, the admirers of what is rare be offended at being told, that, no matter how much praise may be due to his personal merit (and the allow ance unquestionably should not be scanty), a portion must still be given to the institu tions of his country, and to those relatives and friends whose industry and protection placed him in a condition of sharing their advantages. It is of far more importance to the intellectual interests of men to diffuse a rational confidence in the efficacy of in struction, than idly to excite their wonder, and perhaps their despair, by insinuating that there are persons who by nature are above it. It is not by hearing that the subject of the following pages was a heaven-taught unaided genius that others can be encouraged to emulate his mental excellencies, but by learning the real, and to him no less creditable fact, how he stu LIFE OF CURRAN. S died and struggled—what models he se lected—what deficiencies he corrected— by what steps he ascended: to tell this is the duty of his biographer, and not to amaze his readers by uninstructive pane gyric. The lowness” of his origin has been much exaggerated. His father, James Curran, * When Mr. Curran had risen to eminence, many ta bles of his pedigree were sent him, all of them varying, and the most of them, he conceived, too flattering to be au thentic. Among his papers is the latest of these, tendered to him while he was Master of the Rolls, and made out by a resident of his native place. In the paternal line it ascends no higher than his grandfather, who is stated to have been “a north-countryman, of the county Derry, from which, having met with disappointments, he came and settled in the county Cork:” it adds, that “his only son, Mr. Curran's father, was educated at a school in Newmarket, then kept by the Rev. Mr. Dallis, and after wards by the Rev. Mr. Morduck, by whom he was con sidered the best Greek and Latin scholar in their school.” In the maternal line, it presents a long list of ancestors, among whom are judges, bishops, and noblemen; but Mr. Curran has marked his incredulity or his indifference by indorsing this paper with “Stemmata quid faciunt.” Some other pedigrees derived his descent from the En glish family of Curwen in Cumberland. B 2 4. LIFE OF CURRAN. who has been represented as an unlettered peasant, was seneschal of a manor-court at Newmarket. It is confidently asserted, by those who knew him, that he possessed a mind and acquirements above his station; that he was familiar with the Greek and Roman classics, which he often cited in conversation; that he delighted in dis putation, and excelled in it; and, among his other favourite subjects of discussion, it is still remembered, that, after his son's return from college, the old man was fre quently to be found in ardent contention with him upon the metaphysical doctrines of Locke.
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