mbers for Roscommon, and a lord of the Treasury, died.
He was a patriotic Irishman, of superior education and intelligence, and
much respected, not only by the county he represented, but in Ireland
generally. In the province of Connaught he was regarded with the
reverence paid to a Celtic chief.

Parliament having been dissolved, writs were at once issued for the
election of members for a new one. The especial feature of this election
was the want of a definite policy on the part of the great body of the
candidates. The Whigs seemed to have no clear notion of what they ought
to propose to themselves or to the country. Lord John Russell, as has
always been his custom, referred to his past life as the standard by
which the electors should judge his future policy. A suspicion existed
in the electoral body in Great Britain that it was the intention of
government to endow the Roman Catholic clergy, and this injured the
cause of such Whig candidates as were not very explicit on this matter.
The previous parliament had added to the influence of the church by
increasing the number of bishops, and by their education plan; this
prejudiced many of the Dissenters against Whigism in general, and the
government leaders of that school as its most prominent advocates.
There was a general expectation that, whatever the complexion of the new
parliament, Sir Robert Peel would of necessity be in power before
its dissolution. The energy of the country party was, however, mainly
directed against the Peelites, and their strength was sufficient to bar,
for a time at all events, the approaches to power against Sir Robert.

The elections proceeded throughout Great Britain with fairness, except
that the landlords in some places exercised an influence which was
unconstitutional and unjust. Tenants were evicted because they voted
according to their conscience; and the tradespeople in country towns
were menaced with loss of custom by the neighbouring landowners. In
Ireland the landed interest also exercised an undue influence, and many
cases of extreme hardship occurred. The Boman Catholic clergy used the
power of their office for electioneering purposes, in a way injurious to
their own moral influence, subversive of the rights of the people, and
dangerous to law and order.

The elections terminated by the return of a majority, ostensibly in
favour of government, but there was little earnestness of principle or
purpose to give consistency or conti