Letters from Henry Seymour Conway to William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington

These letters from Henry Seymour Conway [referred to as Mr Conway in related letters] concern Irish political affairs in 1755. They concern chiefly the affairs dealt with by Conway after being appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland by Lord Hartington. In these letters he writes to Lord Hartington and his father the 3rd Duke of Devonshire of the issue of the conflict between the Speaker and Primate of Ireland which forms a large part of Lord Hartington's Irish business in 1755.

He also writes to give Lord Hartington practical information regarding carring out Hartington's commands and his own business including: his movements between England and Ireland; the sending of post and packets and his communications with other relevant government individuals and meetings with the 3rd Duke and the Duke of Newcastle.

To Lord Hartingon he also mentions: the encounter between Boscawen and the French off the coast of America and his anticipation of a war; tents for an encampment in Ireland; seeing Lord Hartington's family; his conversation with the Duke of Newcastle; getting the Primate to request to be left out of the next government; the tension between the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Hartington; the Duke of Newcastle's opinion that there is a dispute between Ponsonby and the Primate; leaving the Speaker out of the commission; Mr Fox and Lord Kildare; duc de Mirepoix leaving in the night; securing Lord Hartington's power; voluntary renunciation of the Primate less likely to disgrace him; the affair of Mr Malone's precedency; Sir H Canvendish; a transcription of L George's letter to Sir Robert Wilmot; the Speaker's pretence of supporting Lord Hartington; the Primate and Ponsonby deciding not to speak to the Speaker and his friends at all due to their unreasonable behaviour in the past; Monckton's taking of Beau Sejour; differing in opinion on a small point with Lord Hartington; party politics; concern over Mr Ponsonby keeping the terms of Lord Hartington's plan secret; selecting Lord Justices; the benefits to government of having the Primate and the Speaker out of government; Lord Hartington's scheme for the declaration of a deputy; Lord of the Admiralty buying beef on behalf of Lord Hartington; General Braddock's defeat; Lord Hartington's speech.

To the 3rd Duke he writes concerning: keeping the Primate's request to be left out of the Government confidential so as to not make it seem that the idea came about from England; Lord Hartington's wish for his father's approbation about certain points of Irish business; letters being tampered with; his concern over Lord Hartington trusting Mr Ponsonby with his plan.

To Sir Wilmot he provides a brief update of news from Ireland and gives him information regarding affairs conducted on Sir Wilmot's behalf.

Henry Seymour Conway (born 1721—died July 9, 1795, Park Place, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, Eng.), military commander and prominent British politician who urged moderate treatment of the American colonies.

Conway began his military career while still in his teens and fought in the War of the Austrian Succession. After receiving the command of a regiment in 1749, he served in Ireland and was successively promoted to major general in 1756 and to lieutenant general in 1759.

[Source: Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Henry Seymour Conway." Encyclopedia Britannica, January 1, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Seymour-Conway.]

As Chief Secretary for Ireland it was hoped that he would resolve the conflict in Irish politics between the Speaker, Henry Boyle on the one side and George Stone, Archbishop of Armagh and John Ponsonby: ultimately, he reached a compromise, acceptable to the British Ministry, in which Boyle was 'bought off' with an earldom and John Ponsonby became Speaker.