THE ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY 151 



meetings had been very small, on some occasions only 

 two being present. Frequent complaints were also 

 made of the vice-presidents being constantly absent, 

 important business, which could only be transacted 

 when one of them was in the chair, having to be held 

 over, and the meetings proving abortive. From the 

 time that the Society proceeded to take active steps 

 as to arrears of subscriptions, a period of decline 

 seemed to set in. Ballots had to be postponed, and, in 

 addition, applications for membership fell off consider- 

 ably, while many members retired from the Society. 

 A great improvement in every respect began to mani- 

 fest itself from the year 1800 onwards, when the 

 attendance became more satisfactory, and applications 

 for admission to the Society more numerous. 



On the 9th of December 1773, Mr. Agmondisham 

 Vesey moved that, as a mark of the Society's sense of Mr. 

 Secretary Blaquiere's great attachment to its endeavours, 

 a gold medal, with suitable inscription, should be pre- 

 sented to him. On the vote, this motion was rejected 

 the necessary two-thirds majority not having been 

 obtained. On the 27th of January 1774, Mr. Blaquiere 

 was elected an honorary member, and in 1780, on pay- 

 ment of twenty guineas, he became a life member. 



John Blaquiere, born in 1732, was son of a French 

 emigrant who settled in London. He acted as secretary 

 of legation in France under Lord Harcourt, 1771-2, 

 and when Harcourt became lord lieutenant of Ireland 

 in the latter year, Blaquiere went with him as chief 

 secretary. From time to time, he represented in the 

 Irish Parliament, Old Leighlin, Carlingford, Charleville, 

 and Newtownards. He was created a baronet in 1784, 

 and Baron De Blaquiere in 1 800. Many of the principal 

 improvements in Dublin in his time were carried out 

 under his fostering care, and he may be said to have 



