Part Ii

in 1732 1 and educated at Eton and then Trinity College Dublin. 2 He entered the Irish house of commons in 1766, 3 and came over the Irish Sea in 1768 when he was given the seat of Lostwithiel in Cornwall by Lord Edgecumber, who was loosely described as his 'cousin'. In the Commons, he was part of the marquess of Rockingham's faction, and sat on the opposition side of the chamber, 4 and save in respect of America and the occasional Irish issue, he remained on the opposition lists, 5 which ultimately led him to lose his seat when his sponsor became a supporter of the administration. Cavendish then returned to Irish politics, re-entering the Irish parliament in 1776, whereupon his allegiance swung for and against the administrations in London and Dublin. 6 Cavendish was said to be mediocre but while 'steady to his interest, his politics were elastic' so that he 'changed his politics with different governments'. 7 While this comment might represent his conduct in the 1780s, from 1790 onwards he was a staunch government supporter and remained so until his political career ended with the Irish Parliament ceasing to be. 8 Cavendish was a frequent speaker who was conspicuous and verbose; 9 he spoke at least 165 times, 10 almost always on the opposition, 11 but was not held in high esteem, being 1 His father was said to have ruined Ireland as he was a teller of the exchequer and died owing the exchequer 67,000 -a debt which passed to his son: P

Sociology · Historical Studies of British Isles · Irish and British Studies · Scottish History and National Identity