“. . . Now I have seen a real
Irish Protestant church. When I entered it, two parsons were sitting in a row
at the reading desk—one, the rector and Archdeacon of Ossory—the
other his curate. We
| 176 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch. VII. |
“Well, my visit to Hutch really was charming. Take him altogether—the very
prominent parts he has filled in life, in all quarters and upon all subjects,
coupled with the genuine simplicity and honesty with which he communicates his
knowledge—he is by far the most interesting and agreeable man I know. . .
. His position is very different from that of Duncannon. Here it is all quietness;
he—Hutch—tho’ only 17 miles off, is
in the very centre of disaffection. It is not surprising, under such
circumstances, that he feels more strongly the present state of Ireland, and is
less sanguine as to even Catholic emancipation setting it right. . . . His
notion, however, is that having land at greatly reduced rents and no tythes is
a feeling pervading the great Catholic body of the people, and encreasing
daily. Education (he said) has done great harm, for it is turned to no useful
purpose, and with a greatly overcharged population, and comparatively no
occupation for it, it produces nothing but speculation upon their own condition
and the means of amending it. The murder of his own tenant, a mile and a half
only from his house, was well calculated to make a most unfavorable impression
upon him against the Catholics. The particulars were these. A tenant of his was
in arrear £700, and without any means of discharging it, except as far as his
stock would go. Hutch said to him:—‘You are
getting from bad to worse in this farm, and are evidently incapable of
managing it. I excuse you your arrear: take all your stock with you to a
smaller farm of mine, and see what you can make of that.’—He did so, and Hutch
put into the larger farm a man out of the county of Cork—as respectable
and humane a man as Ireland
| 1828.] | IMPRESSIONS OF IRELAND. | 177 |
“Still, with all these feelings and impressions of Lord Donoughmore, when we got Lord Anglesey’s proclamation at breakfast yesterday against these Catholic assemblages in towns, he said:—‘I am damned sorry, Creevey, for this measure of Anglesea. He wrote to me a fortnight ago, asking my advice upon the subject, and I gave it—to let them alone. I have since been in communication with the Catholic bishop of the diocese, and received his positive assurance last night that these meetings were at an end. These villains of Orangemen will now very naturally conclude that this is a measure and an avowed opinion of the Government against the Catholics, and will be more eager to begin the work of blood than ever.’ . . .
“Amongst the opinions with which Lord Hutchinson favored me whilst I was with him were the following—‘Who do you dine with at Dublin, Creevey, when you are there?’—‘Why,’ says I, ‘Blake, I think, is my particular patron.’—‘Ah,’ said he, ‘he is a very agreeable fellow, but take care of him. There is not a greater lyar in all Dublin, and he’s as hollow as a drum.’—‘Then,’ says I, ‘there’s Mr. Corry of Merrion Square, who is mighty attentive to me.’—‘Ah,’ says he, ‘Secretary to the Linen Board, and wants to intrigue himself into Gregory’s place as Under-secretary of State—he’s a very good comedian, that fellow; I don’t know any other merit he has.’”
