The Age of John Bates

T HE first election after the Reform Act (which doubled the Irish electorate) marked the emergence all over the country of political clubs and societies characterised by their devotion to political principles, but also by the more utilitarian purpose of managing the registration system at its first trial. Two main parties emerged generally, but not uniformly. I The Liberals, or Reformers, were prevalent throughout the three southern provinces and to a lesser extent in Ulster. They had been agitating for Catholic emancipation and parliamentary reform, and the agitation over the previous fifteen years for these objects had provided them with a rudimentary organisation. The conservatives relied on family influence and patronage. But it is incorrect to label all the non-Liberal borough proprietors as Conservatives or Tories. Some had pursued an eclectic course in the years before 1832 — Lord Donegall, for example, voted against Catholic emancipation but in favour of parliamentary reform, and it was not until the late 1830s that such great Ulster families as the Downshires and Ranfurlys were definitely aligned with the Tories. They wished to conserve their family influence but were otherwise independent. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

BATES · Borough · Emancipation · Irish · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Reform Act · Sociology · Irish and British Studies · Law · Philosophy · Public Administration

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