Item 4 - Letter from Lord Altamont, Dublin to Richard 2nd Earl, [England]

5pp

Letter from Lord Altamont, Dublin, to Richard 2nd Earl, [England], assuring him that he 'made a great error in respect to Castlebar'. It was a pity if the Earl could not be there himself that he 'did not leave a discretionary power here. The price of boroughs now is £20,000'. The Union makes progress, with most of the anti-unionists having left Parliament. There has been 'a great noise and babal'(sic) about Luke White, who has forfeited his deposit of £75,000 on the loan 'The antis are very conscious to hang it on the union peg'. The election for the return [of Irish Representative Peers] is to take place the same day as the Act of Union receives the royal assent, which will be within a fortnight in his estimation. He asks 'What do you mean about the return, do you wish to be of the number'. He has heard that Dillon has changed his politics in the hope of being included. He writes of a scarcity of food, many are near starving and there is another 8 weeks before the new potatoes will be ready. He discusses their relative situations with regard to the Bishop [of Tuam]'s lease. The farming society, which he hopes the Earl will join, wants to establish an experimental farm 'on the plan of Sir John Sinclair' and to 'have accommodations built' at the Botanical Gardens for exhibition animals. The country is quiet except for Wicklow and Wexford ' a body of military is to move there' and [Sir John] Blaquiere has had a house burnt. The crops look good.

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See also James Hardiman Library Archives: POL3 - Blaquire, Notebook on Irish MPs by Sir John,

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03/01/2017
29/07/2025