hope, however, that I shall be in a condition to acknowledge the good services you have done me, and you may depend upon it I shall earnestly seek occasions to do so. It ought to be some satisfaction to you, in the just resentment of what concerns you, that nobody could blame your conduct; on the contrary, all appeared satisfied with it; and the vote, which passed in anger the last day, concerned you but indirectly. And I can assure you, that you were in no way the occasion of it. There have been so many intrigues in this last session, that, without having been on the spot and well informed of everything, it cannot be conceived. It will be impossible for me to continue the commission of the Lords-Justices in Ireland as it is at present; so I have resolved to send thither the Duke of Shrewsbury as viceroy, and that you command the army under him. Do not think this will be a degradation; nobody here will take it to be so, and I know that every one wishes it and believes it absolutely necessary for my service. I am fully persuaded, as I hope, that you will not refuse to accept of this command, nor relinquish my service. I assure you I never had more occasion than at present of persons of your capacity and fidelity. I hope I shall find opportunities to give you marks of my esteem and friendship; and I would not engage you in this, were I not assured that no hurt can happen to you from it; but I know it will meet with a general approbation, and doubt not your friends will say the same, and I am glad to tell you you have a great many, and among all parties.
Lord Galway, whose loyalty nothing could shake, acquiesced in the king’s resolution. His most excellent Majesty, being unable as King of England to reward him, put forth his generosity as Prince of Orange. Luttrell says, 27th June 1700, “The Earl of Galway is made General of the Dutch forces and Colonel of the blue regiment of foot-guards lately commanded by the Duke of Wirtemberg, now general of the Danish army.” The king also wrote to him:—
“Of all the proofs you have given me of your attachment to my service, I do not reckon as the least the spirit of resignation you evince to me with respect to your office in Ireland. I assure you that you could not have done me a greater service at this juncture, and one which I shall regard as quite a particular favour. You will have doubtless heard that the Duke of Shrewsbury has excused himself from going to Ireland. I shall make no change in the government till after my return from Holland, whither I set out the day after to-morrow.
“It is some time since I received your letter of the 13th of July, in which you desire to know on whom I have cast my eyes for the government of Ireland; and as I am sure that what I write you will be secret, I scruple not to tell you that I intend to give it to Lord Rochester, and to declare it at my return to England; but he will not go to Ireland till the next spring. You will easily conceive the reasons of it. I shall expect your thoughts of a matter that concerns you, and you may always rely on my friendship.
On the occasion of the loss of his Irish estate, the author of “Jus Regium” in 1701 specially mentioned the Earl of Galway — “the services of that noble person in Piedmont and Ireland, his piety towards his distressed countrymen, the greatness of his title, and the smallness of the fortune which he has to support it” (page 60).
Lord Galway, with the greatest urbanity and cordiality, did everything in his power to prepare the way for the Lord-Lieutenant and for his personal comfort in entering upon the government. Along with Lord Berkeley, he carried on the civii government until April 1701, and as long as it was necessary he did the duties of the Commander of the Forces. Lord Rochester having written to him in such terms as were no more than due to his signal ability and fidelity, Lord Galway replied in a letter,[1] dated from the “Chateau de Dublin,” 23d January 1701:—
“My Lord, — I have received the two letters with which your Excellency has been pleased to honour me. I esteem myself happy that you are kind enough to approve of my conduct; it is a mark of the friendship which you have accorded me for many years, and which I hope you will continue to me. I could justify my intentions during the whole time I have served the king, and particularly in this kingdom; but I confess I have not the same opinion of my capacity, the defects of which I have endeavoured to compensate by great application to business, and by willingly listening and attending to the advice of such as I thought capable of giving it. I was greatly assisted by the counsels of Major-General Erie while he was here. I am persuaded that the two brigadiers will take great care in all things, and that they will act with intelligence; they are good officers, zealous for the king’s service. We shall together make provision, as we believe to be most proper, for maintaining the army in such order as may satisfy your Excellency when you arrive in this kingdom, whereof I will render you an account when I have the honour of seeing you.
- ↑ The Earl of Rochester being the brother of the second Earl of Clarendon, the papers relative to the Irish government of the former are printed along with the Diary of the latter.
