440 POLITICAL CAREER, 



it ill a letter to Mr Croker, " of the Queen's cousin," 

 which, if sent at once to New York, might have 

 brought back 100,000 quarters of grain, and saved 

 a large proportion of a million Irish lives, sacrificed 

 through the laches of the Government. 



Undoubtedly Lord George, if he had ever held 

 high office, would have been a favourite with the 

 Irish. It was his earnest desire, following the lead 

 of Mr Pitt and Mr Canning, to provide stipends 

 for the Eoman Catholic clergy in Ireland ; and, as 

 I have already stated, he proposed to advance 

 £16,000,000 to be expended in Ireland on railways 

 and other public works. 



In 1848 the parliamentary session opened with 

 a motion, brought forward by Lord George, asking 

 for a Select Committee to " inquire into the present 

 condition and prospects of the interests connected 

 with and dependent on sugar and coffee planting 

 in her Majesty's East and West Indian possessions, 

 and in Mauritius ; and to consider whether any, 

 and what, measures can be adopted by Parliament 

 for their relief." The Committee was granted, and 

 witnesses of every class connected with the subject 

 — merchants, planters, distillers, brokers, members 

 of Parliament, Secretaries of State, and East India 

 directors — gave evidence before it, with the result 

 that Lord George, who was Chairman, carried his 

 report, and greatly enhanced his reputation as a 

 laborious and able leader. 



" He did so," writes the anonymous author of 



