of
"100 wild Irishmen"; and he deemed the arrival of 75 quite sufficient,
if staid country gentlemen were not to be scared away from St.
Stephen's. By way of compromise the Cabinet fixed the number at 100 on
or before 25th November 1798.[549] At that date Portland also informed
Cornwallis that the number of Irish Peers at Westminster must not exceed
32.

Meanwhile, the tangle at Dublin was becoming hopeless. There, as
Beresford warned Pitt, the report of the proposed Union was the letting
out of water. Captain Saurin, an eminent counsel who was commander of a
corps of lawyers nick-named the Devil's Own, insisted on parading his
battalion in order to harangue them on the insult to Ireland and the
injury to their profession. His example was widely followed. On 9th
December the Dublin Bar, by 168 votes to 32, protested strongly against
the proposal to extinguish the Irish Parliament. Eloquent speakers like
Plunket warned that body that suicide was the supreme act of cowardice,
besides being _ultra vires_. The neighbouring towns and counties joined
in the clamour. The somnolence of Cornwallis, his neglect to win over
opponents by tact or material inducements, and the absence of any
Ministerial declaration on the subject, left all initiative to the
Opposition. On 24th December Cooke wrote to Auckland in these doleful
terms:[550]

... Our Union politics are not at present very thriving.
Pamphlets are in shoals, in general against a Union; a few for
it; but I do not yet see anything of superior talent and effect.
The tide in Dublin is difficult to stem. In the country
hitherto, indifference. We have no account from the North, and
that is the quarter I apprehend. The South will not be very
hostile. The Bar is most impetuous and active, and I cannot be
surprized at it. The Corporation have not sense to see that by
an Union alone the Corporation can be preserved. Most of the
best merchants are, I know, not averse. The proprietors of
Dublin and the county are violent, and shopkeepers, etc. The
Catholics hold back. They are on the watch to make the most of
the game, and will intrigue with both parties.... In the North
they expect the Dutch fleet. If we had a more able active
conciliating Chief, we might do; but the _vis inertiae_ is
incredible. There is an amazing disgust among the friends of
Government. The tone of loyalty is declining, for want of being
c