Mr.Cleaver was a man of moderate fortune, who could be hospitable without pinching, and he was acquainted with the best Protestant society in Ireland.

Public affairs were discussed in his house with full knowledge, and without the frivolity affected by public men.

O'Connell was at that time supreme in the government of Ireland, though his reign was drawing to a close.

The Whigs held office by virtue of a compact with the Irish leader, and their Under-Secretary at Dublin Castle, Thomas Drummond, had gained the affections of the people by his sympathetic statesmanship.

An epigrammatic speaker said in the House of Commons that Peel governed England, O'Connell governed Ireland, and the Whigs governed Downing Street.