AND TEE DUKES OF RICHMOND. 177 



set foot upon our shores ! The Government would 

 immediately enter into treaties with other countries, 

 and when they sought the re-establishment of the 

 navigation laws, they would be met by the Minister 

 of the day with the excuse, ' I wish I could go back 

 to the old system, but I cannot, because I have 

 entered into treaties with other countries.' . . . 



" It became every man to resist so destructive a 

 proposal. There were some people who told us we 

 were to have universal peace associations, and that, 

 therefore, our navy would not be wanted any longer. 

 Was there ever such humbug ? 



" Before he trusted these universal peace associa- 

 tions, he would give them a little experiment to try 

 their hands upon. 



*' Let them just go to Ireland and see if they could 

 keep the diflferent factions from fighting at Donny- 

 brook Fair. Come what would, he for one would 

 never vote for the destruction of the wooden walls 

 of old England." 



I fear I am digressing too much from my account 

 of his Grace's political life by introducing a few 

 examples of his utterances at public meetings, which 

 he was frequently invited to attend and preside over. 

 I will therefore not weary my readers by recalling 

 too many of them, but there are some incidents of 

 the kind that are very interesting, denoting the 

 patriotic and sterling character of his Grace, and I 



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