his services to France in organising the Irish ambulance aid to that country during the Franco-German war.
In 1870 Smyth made an unsuccessful attempt to enter parliament as a member of Isaac Butt's home-rule party. In June of the following year he was returned as M.P. for Westmeath, and sat for the constituency uninterruptedly till 1880, when he became M.P. for Tipperary. In parliament Smyth's oratorical gifts were highly appreciated. A speech delivered by him on home rule on 30 June 1876 was published; but he disapproved of the extreme policy of Charles Stewart Parnell [q. v.], and became an unsparing and bitter enemy of the land league, which he described as a ‘League of Hell.’ His popularity in Ireland consequently waned, and he retired from parliament in 1882. At the close of 1884 he was appointed secretary of the Irish Loan Reproductive Fund, but survived his appointment only a few weeks. He died at Belgrave Square, Rathmines, Dublin, on 12 Jan. 1885, leaving his widow and family in straitened circumstances. A fund was raised for their support. Smyth published:
- ‘Australasia,’ a lecture; 2nd edit. Dublin, 8vo, 1861.
- ‘France and European Neutrality,’ a lecture, Dublin, 1870.
- ‘The Part taken by the Irish Boy in the Fight at Dame Europa's School;’ 3rd edit. Dublin, 1871.
- ‘A Plea for a Peasant Proprietary in Ireland,’ Dublin, 1871.
- ‘Materialism,’ a lecture, Dublin, 1876.
- ‘The Priest in Politics, by the late P. J. Smyth,’ 4to edit. Dublin, 1885.
[Mitchel's Jail Journal; Pigott's Reminiscences of an Irish National Journalist; Duffy's Four Years of Irish History; Freeman's Journal, 13 Jan. 1885; Evening Mail (Dublin), 14 Jan. 1885; information from Mr. John O'Leary, Dublin.]
SMYTH, RICHARD, D.D. (1826–1878), Irish divine and politician, son of Hugh Smyth of Bushmills, co. Antrim, by Sarah Anne, daughter of J. Wray, was born at Dervock, co. Antrim, on 4 Oct. 1826. He was educated at the university of Bonn and at the university of Glasgow, where he graduated M.A. in 1850, and received the honorary D.D. and LL.D. degrees in 1867. For eight years he was assistant-collegiate minister of the first presbyterian church of Londonderry, and in 1865 was appointed professor of oriental languages and biblical literature in Magee College, Londonderry. In 1870 he became Dill professor of theology in the same college. He was a supporter of Mr. Gladstone's policy of disestablishment in Ireland, and in 1869 was raised to the moderatorship of the general assembly of the presbyterian church. In 1870 he was re-elected moderator, and took an active part in settling the financial affairs of the church in connection with the withdrawal of the regium donum. He was one of the trustees incorporated by royal charter under the Presbyterian Church Act for administering the commutation fund. He supported the Irish University Bill of 1873, and, as a liberal, was elected member of parliament for co. Londonderry on 16 Feb. 1874 to support the general policy of Mr. Gladstone's administration, especially with respect to land tenure and grand jury reform. He sat until his death, which took place at Antrim road, Belfast, on 4 Dec. 1878. He was buried at Dervock on 6 Dec.
Besides numerous pamphlets, he was the author of:
- ‘Philanthropy, Proselytism, and Crime: a Review of the Irish Reformatory System,’ London, 1861, 8vo.
- ‘The Bartholomew Expulsion in 1662,’ Londonderry, 1862, 18mo.
[Men of the Time, 1875, p. 912; Debrett's House of Commons. 1875, p. 220; Illustrated London News, 1874, lxv. 52; Belfast News Letter, 5 Dec. 1878 pp. 1, 5, 7 Dec. p. 8.]
SMYTH, ROBERT BROUGH (1830–1889), mining surveyor, son of Edward Smyth, a mining engineer, was born at Carville, near Newcastle, Northumberland, in 1830. He was educated at Whickham in the county of Durham. Soon turning his attention to natural science, especially to chemistry and geology, he began work about 1846 as an assistant at the Derwent Ironworks. There he remained over five years. In 1852 he emigrated to Victoria, Australia. After some experience on the goldfields, he entered the survey department as draughtsman under Captain (afterwards Sir Andrew) Clarke, R.E. Subsequently he acted for a brief period as chief draughtsman, and in 1854 was appointed to take charge of the meteorological observations. In 1858 he was appointed secretary to the board of science, which included the charge of the mining surveys of the colony. In 1860 he was appointed secretary for mines, with a salary of 750l., and acted for some time as chief inspector of mines and reorganised the geological survey, of which he became director. At the beginning of 1876, owing to the result of an inquiry into his treatment of his subordinates, he resigned all his offices. He subsequently went to India, where he helped to promote the disastrous ‘boom’ in Indian gold-mines. He died on 10 Oct. 1889. He had been elected a fellow of the Geo-
