Tales of Jonah Barrington.

Sir Jonah Barrington

Sir Jonah Barrington, whose name we have frequently mentioned, published a work entitled “Personal Sketches,” containing many anecdotes illustrative of the Sham Squire’s times; but we have been sparing in our references to that book, for, however pleasant as light reading, it is not wholly reliable as historical authority. The truth is, that Sir Jonah was in needy circumstances when the “Personal Sketches” appeared, and no doubt exaggerated his already hyperbolical style, in order to raise the wind still higher, though he says in his introduction : “It was commenced by no means for mercenary purposes,” (vol i., p.1.) “It was remarked to us by the late Mr P. V. Fitzpatrick, who as a *bon raconteur *might be styled “Sir Jonah Barrington secundus,” that he heard him tell the stories very differently from the sensational style of their subsequent appearance; and that he knew Thomas Colley Grattan, the novelist, to claim the chief merit of the “Personal Sketches,” as having suggested the work and manipulated the MS.

But even in personal conversation, as we have been assured by the late John Patten, Sir Jonah’s statements were always distrusted; although a judge, he was not a man of truth or principle, and many pleasant anecdotes might be told illustrative of this remark, but the Blue took ordered by the House of Commons to be printed the 9th of February 1829, pillories Sir Jonah on the most legitimate authority. This volume has not been consulted by the writers who have hitherto noticed the eccentric knight. Before examining it we may observe that the result of the disclosures therein contained, was Sir Jonah’s dismissal from the bench. This was inconvenient, as the salary dropped at the same time; but his inexhaustible astuteness in a dilemma proved, as usual, wonderful.

Barrington bethought him of a letter which he had received, many years before, from the Duke of Clarence, who was now reigning as William the Fourth. Barrington had shown considerable kindness to Mrs Jordan, at a time when his bar contemporary, Gould, and others, had treated her slightingly, and even introduced her to his own family. The duke wrote a warm letter of thanks to Barrington, and expressed a hope that it might be in his power, at some future day, to attest his appreciation of kindness so disinterested.

Barrington overhauled his papers - which, by the way, he sold as autographs a few years later - and having found the old letter in question, forwarded it to the king. A rather stiff reply came by return of post, to say that no one knew better than Sir Jonah Barrington the very material difference which existed between the Duke of Clarence and the King of England, and that it was impossible to recognise, in his then position, every acquaintance whom he might have known when acting in a comparatively subordinate capacity. His majesty, however, who possessed a heart of unusual warmth, and a memory of past friendship singularly acute and retentive wrote a private letter to Sir Jonah by the same post which conyeyed the official answer, recognising the claim, and bestowing upon him a pension from the Privy Purse, exactly equal in amount with the forfeited stipend. [Communicated by the late P. V. Fitzpatrick, Esq.]

To come now to the Blue Book.

Referring to the ship Nancy and its cargo, which were sold by the marshal under a commission of appraisement in December 1805, we read:-” It appears that in this cause alone Sir Jonah Barrington appropriated to his own use out of the proceeds £482, 8s. 8d. and £200, making together £682, 8s. 8d., and never repaid any part of either; and that the registrar is a loser in that cause to the amount of £546, 11s. 4d.” [Eighteenth Report on Courts of Justice in Ireland, p. 9.]

In the ease of the Redstrand, Sir Jonah also netted some booty. On the 12th January 1810, the sum of £200 was paid into court on account of the proceeds in this cause, “and the same day,” adds the report, “Sir Jonah Barrington, by an order in his own handwriting which has been produced to us, directed the registrar to lodge that sum to his (the judge’s) credit in the bank of Sir William Gleadowe Newcomen, which he accordingly did. Subsequently a petition having been presented to the court by Mr Henry Pyne Masters, one of the salvagers, Sir Jonah wrote an order at foot of it, bearing date the 29th day of May 1810, directing the registrar to pay to the petitioner a sum of £40; and at the same time he wrote a note to Mr Masters, requesting that he would not present the order for two months; at the close of which period Sir Jonah left Ireland, and never since returned.” - Ibid., p.10.

Sir Jonah’s circumstances at this time were greatly embarrassed, and his last act on leaving Ireland was one of a most unscrupulous character, as shall appear anon. In the Dublin Patriot, then edited by Richard Barrett, we read the following paragraph, which is quite in Sir Jonah’s style, having evidently for its object the diversion of suspicion from the real grounds of his exile. “His chest,” it is true, was not in a satisfactory state, but it was the money chest rather than the bodily trunk which seems to have been chiefly affected.

“Sir Jonah Barrington has resided at Boulogne for the last three years. His health, we regret to state, is by no means perfect but, on the contrary, has for some years been very precarious. Under his patent he has the right of appointing surrogates to act for him - a right of which he cannot be deprived. The duties of his situation have been, and continue to be discharged, in his absence, by the very competent gentlemen who have been appointed, Mr Jameson, Mr Mahaffy, and Mr Holwell Walshe.” [See *Patriot *of December 29, 1822, and Carrick’s *Morning Post, *January 1, 1823.]

The commissioners requested Sir Jonah’s attendance in Dublin in order to give him every opportunity of vindication; but he declined on the plea of infirmity and the difficulty of transit, for which, in 1828, he may have had some excuse. The commissioners, before closing their report, strained a point, and enclosed to Sir Jonah copies of the evidence. On the 2d August 1828, after acknowledging the receipt of the minutes, he wrote:-

“Be assured, not one hour shall be unnecessarily lost in transmitting to you my entire refutal; and I am too impatient to do away any impression that such evidence must have excited, that I cannot avoid anticipating that refutal generally, by declaring solemnly, ‘So help me God,’ before whom age and infirmity must soon send me, that the whole and entire of that evidence, so far as it tends to inculpate me, is totally, utterly, and unequivocally false and unfounded.”

“This, and passages of a similar tendency in subsequent letters,” observe the commissioners, “are, however, the only contradiction or explanation of the foregoing facts given by Sir Jonah; and undoubtedly, although unsworn, so distinct and unqualified a contradiction would have had much weight with us, had the alleged facts been supported by the parole testimony only of the officer. But when *we find the handwriting of Sir Jonah himself supporting the statement of the witness, we cannot avoid giving credit to his evidence, and must lament that the judge did not adopt measures for reviving his recollection, previously to committing himself to a general assertion of the falsehood of the entire evidence of Mr. Pineau, *so far as related to him, which is all that on this subject his numerous and very long letters have afforded us.”

Some of Sir Jonah’s defalcations in the Court of Admiralty were made good at the tune by the registrar, Mr Pineau, hoping to screen the judge from exposure, and trusting to his honour for reimbursement at a moment of less embarrassment. Mr Pineau wrote to remind him of the liability; and in a letter dated Boulogne, 4th August 1825, we find Sir Jonah coolly saying: “I have no doubt you will believe me, I have not the most *remote recollection *of the circumstance in question.” [Report, p.154. Italics in orig.] And again : “Age (closing 70) and much thought has blunted my recollection of numerous events.”

The registrar drew up an elaborate statement of the circumstances, with facts and figures, but Sir Jonah’s memory was still unrefreshed. In a letter dated 5 Rue du Colysée, Paris, 3d Oct. 1827, he writes: ” It is not surprising that (after closing 20 years) the concern you mention is totally out of my memory.” [Report, p.156. Sir Jonah goes on to say: “The Irish Government have NO ***sort of authority *to order any returns from the officers of my court, and I decline such authority.”]

Any person who has read the works of Sir Jonah Barrington cannot fail to have been struck with the marvellous retentiveness of his memory for minute details. “The Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation” was published in 1831 - six years after his letters to Mr Pineau - and in 1830 appeared the memorable “Personal Sketches of his own Times,” in which, after alluding to a misunderstanding between Messrs Daly and Johnson, Sir Jonah adds: “One of the few things I ever forgot is the way in which that affair terminated: it made little impression on me at the time, and so my memory rejected it.” [*Ibid. *Personal Sketches, vol. i., p.405] The embezzlement of considerable sums could only be rejected by an eminently treacherous memory, although Sir Jonah in his memoirs tells us: “I never loved money much in my life.” [*Ibid,, *vol i., p. 227]

Barrington’s habitual exaggeration in story-telling would appear to be an old weakness. Describing the events of the year 1796, he says that “Curran and he” coined stories to tell each other; the lookers on laughed almost to convulsions. [Personal Sketches, vol. i., p 381.] An indulgence in exaggeration, Sir Jonah seemed to regard both as a predominant passion and a venial sin. Sir Richard Musgrave, we are told, “understood drawing the long bow as well as most people.” [*Ibid., *vol. i., p.211.] Sir Jonah possessed a large share of “cheek,” and both as a startling story-teller and successful negotiator in money transactions, this quality stood his friend. So early as 1799, the author of “Sketches of Irish Political Characters” says: “He is supposed to have pretty much the same idea of blushing that a blind man has of colours.”

One very amusing illustration of Sir Jonah’s astuteness as a trickster is not included in the Blue Book. He had pledged his family plate for a considerable sum to Mr John Stevenson, pawnbroker, and member of the Common Council. “My dear fellow,” said the knight, condescendingly, as he dropped in one day to that person’s prinite closet, ” I am in a d---l of a hobble. I asked, quite *impromptu, *the Lord-Lieutenant, Chancellor, and Judges, to dine with me, forgetting how awkwardly I was situated; and, by Jove, they have written to say they’ll come! Of course I could not entertain them without the plate; I shaall require it for that evening only; but it must be on due condition - that you come yourself to the dinner and represent the Corporation. Bring the plate with you, and take it back again, at night.” The pawnbroker was dazzled; although not usually given to nepotism, he obligingly embraced the proposal. During dinner, and after it, Sir Jonah plied his uncle” well with wine. The pawnbroker had a bad head for potation, though a good one for valuation; he fell asleep and under the table almost simultaneously; and when he awoke to full consciousness, Sir Jonah, accompanied by the plate, had nearly reached Boulogne, never again to visit his native land!

Sir Jonah made another “haul” before leaving Ireland. Mr Fennell Collins, a rich saddler, who resided in Dame Street, lent “the Judge” £3,000, on what seemed tolerable security; but one farthing of the money was never recovered. A hundred similar stories might be told. [See Life of* *Thomas Reynolds, by his Son, p. 353, vol. ii., &c.] Everybody has heard of Barrington, the famous pickpocket; but the equally dexterous though more refined achievements of his titled namesake will be new to many.

“The unrighteous borroweth, but payeth not again,” saith Psalm xxxvii 21. Sir Jonah could not even return a book. To assist him in his work on the Union, the late Mr Conway lent him, for a few weeks, the file of the *Dublin Evening Post *for 1798; but it never could be got back, and was afterwards sold with Sir Jonah’s effects.

We wish we could be sure that Sir Jonah’s dishonourable acts were no worse than pecuniary juggling. Dr Madden is of opinion that Barrington, although a pseudo patriot deserves to be classed among the informers of ‘98. In April 1798, he dined in Wexford at Lady Colclough’s, and on the following day with B. Bagenal Harvey. Popular politics were freely talked; and on Sir Jonah’s return to Dublin, as he himself tells us, he informed Secretary Cooke that Wexford would immediately revolt. Nearly all Sir Jonahts friends whom he met at the two dinner parties - one a relation of his own - were hanged within three mouths; and on his next visit to Wexford, he recognised their heads spiked in front of the jail!

Colclough and Harvey were Protestant gentlemen of very considerable landed property in Wexford. Their discovery in a damp cave on the Saltee Islands, through the bloodhound instinct of an old friend, Dr Waddy, a physician of Wexford, is invested with a painfully romantic interest George Cruikshank has executed an effective sketch of this tragic incident.

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