1830.] 



Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Persons. 



123 



On the 23d of June, 1789, Mr. Mitford 

 obtained leave to bring in a bill " to relieve, 

 upon certain conditions, and under due res- 

 trictions, persons called Protestant Catholic 

 Dissenters, from certain penalties and dis- 

 abilities to which Papists, or persons pro- 

 fessing the Catholic religion, are by law 

 subject." Men of different parties in Par- 

 liament approved of this measure ; yet, in 

 consequence of certain technical objections, 

 a period of nearly two years elapsed before 

 the provisions of the bill were carried into 

 a law. 



Soon after the meeting of the New Par- 

 liament, in the winter of 1792, a question 

 was stated with reference to Mr. Hastings, 

 and argued with great ability on both sides, 

 " Whether an impeachment ought not to 

 abate by the dissolution of Parliament ?" 

 Mr. Mitford contended, and we think justly, 

 " that the House had no power to revive 

 an impeachment, since it is an acknowledged 

 principle of the Constitution, that the Par- 

 liament should die, and all proceedings de- 

 termine with its existence." 



On his promotion to the office of Solicitor 

 General, in 1793, Mr. Mitford received the 

 honour of knighthood. In his official ca- 

 pacity he was employed by the ministry to 

 conduct the state trials of Hardy, Tooke, 

 and Thelwall, under Sir John Scott. After 

 a long and elaborate argument on the law of 

 treason, and an application of its specific 

 provisions to the case before him, Sir John 

 Mitford thus closed a speech which occupied 

 many hours in its delivery : " And now, 

 Gentlemen of the Jury, I have nothing 

 more to offer. I have discharged, God 

 knows, with much pain, the harsh duty 

 imposed upon me. You will now do yours. 

 If your verdict shall discharge the prisoners, 

 I know you will give it with joy ; if the 

 contrary, yet it must be given. The cup, 

 although it may be bitter, must not pass 

 away from you. I have had a duty to per- 

 form beyond my strength and my ability : 

 I have discharged it faithfully and satisfac- 

 factorily to my conscience." Sir John was 

 so much affected on the occasion, that, as 

 he resumed his seat, the tear was seen to 

 roll down his cheek. 



In the course of the war with France, Sir 

 John Mitford gave his cordial support to 

 Government, and spoke upon almost every 

 public subject that occurred. In 1799, 

 when Sir John Scott, now Lord Eldon, was 

 raised to the Common Pleas, he succeeded 

 him as Attorney-General. When Mr. Pitt 

 retired from office, and the Chair of the 

 House of Commons was vacated by his 

 successor, Mr. Addington, Sir John Mit- 

 ford, who had been recently returned M.P. 

 for the borough of East Looe, was deemed 

 a fit person to sustain the important office 

 of Speaker. He was accordingly elected on 

 the 18th of February, 1801. He was pro- 

 posed by Lord Hawksbury, who was second- 

 ed and supported by Mr. J. H. Browne, 

 Mr. Pitt, Mr. Martin, and others. 



Higher honours were In store for him. 

 It was determined that he should receive the 

 Great Seal of Ireland, and be invested at 

 the same time with an English peerage. 

 In consequence of these arrangements, he 

 vacated the chair of the House of Com- 

 mons on the 9th of February, 1 802 ; re- 

 ceived his appointment ; and, on the 15th 

 of the same month, he was created Baron 

 Redesdale, of Redesdale, in the county of 

 Northumberland, and a member of the Privy 

 Council of Ireland. To that kingdom his 

 lordship soon afterwards repaired, and con- 

 tinued to preside in the Court of Chancery 

 till the month of March, 1806; when, in 

 consequence of the death of Mr. Pitt, and 

 the accession of the Fox and Grenville party 

 to power, he yielded his high office to Mr. 

 George Ponsonby. It was on the 5th of 

 March, that, in a most feeling, dignified, 

 and impressive style, his lordship delivered 

 his farewell address to the Irish Bar. 



Lord Redesdale was always a staunch 

 and determined advocate of the paramount 

 rights and privileges of the Protestant 

 Church. In 1805, on the presentation of a 

 petition from certain Irish Roman Catholics 

 to both Houses of Parliament, when Lord 

 Grenville delivered a long and able speech 

 in favour of their claims, Lord Redesdale 

 rose, and observed, that the object of the 

 petitioners was clearly pointed out by them- 

 selves to be, ' an equal participation, upon 

 equal terms, with their fellow subjects, of 

 the full benefits of the British laws and 

 Constitution.' " His lordship, however, 

 contended, " that the maintenance of 

 the Protestant, as the established religion 

 of the Government, and the exclusion of 

 the Roman Catholic faith from the adminis- 

 tration of that government, had become 

 fundamental principles, long deemed essen- 

 tial to the preservation of the liberty, both 

 religious and political, of the country." 



While Chancellor of Ireland, Lord Redes- 

 dale usually came over once a year to 

 England during the sitting of Parliament ; 

 but the greater part of his time was passed 

 either at his house in the capital, or his 

 country residence at Kelmacap, in the county 

 of Dullin, where he built, planted, and 

 effected several other improvements. With 

 the Roman Catholic party he was of course 

 unpopular ; but his conduct as a Chancellor 

 was always free from the suspicion of bias, 

 and the business of his court was distin- 

 guished by its propriety and decorum. 



Besides the tract mentioned in the early 

 part of this sketch, Lord Redesdale pub- 

 lished a few years since, " Observations 

 occasioned by a Pamphlet entitled c Obser- 

 vations on the Project of Creating a Vice 

 Chancellor of England.' " His lordship 

 was always considered as a profound lawyer, 

 and his judgment was much valued in the 

 Upper House, especially in appeals. 



Lord Redesdale married, on the 6th of 

 Juce, 1803, the Lady Frances Perceval, 

 daughter of John, second Eirl of Egmont, 

 Q 2 



