MEMOIR OF THE DUKE.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 707, 22 January 1853, Page 3

MEMOIR OF THE DUKE.

[From the "Atlas."] The family of the gre.at Duke is derived from that of the Colleys or Cowley's of Rutland, two of whom, Walter and Rohert, emigrated to Ireland, in the reign of Henry VIII., and settled in the county of Kilkenny. In 1531 they were presented to the clerkship of the Crown in] Chancery for their joint lives, and in six years! after Rohert was made Master of the Rolls, and Walter, Solicitor-General, Walter held his office for 13 vears, resigning it eventually for the surveyorship of Ireland. Under Elizabeth, his eldest son, Henry, held a captain's commission, sat for Thomastown, in Parliament, was knighted, md was sworn of the Privy Council. His son was also a soldier, and was knighted for liis tinguished services. He represented the borough of Monn.gl\ari in PavlliuYient. His eldest son, by his wife, a daughter of Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin, was succeeded by his son Dudley, a stanch royalist, who, under Charles 11., served in the army, and sat in Parliament for the borough of Phillipstown. His daughter married Garret Westley, of Dangan, Meath. These West leys, or Welleslevs (as they have at different times been called), derive their name from the manor of Wellesleigh, in Somersetshire, were the family (which was a Saxon one) settled soon after the Norman Invasion. A record in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, traces the line, as far hack as a.d. 1239, to Michael de Wellesleigh. The family seems to have been of high rank in the reign of Henry 1., and there is a tradition that one of the house was standard-bearer to Henry 11., during the Invasion of Ireland. In England, the male line becoming extinct, the family estates passed into other hands; but the Irish branch survived in Sir William de "VVellesley, who was summoned to Parliament, as a baron, by Edward 111. In the fifteenth century, Dangan Castle was obtained by marriage, and the prefix de was soon afterwards dropped. Henry, the second son of Dudley Colley, married Mary, the only daughter of Sir William Usher, by whom he had a numerous family. Of these, ißichard, the youngest son, was adopted by_ his kinsman, Garret Wesley, who bequeathed him| ihis estates, on condition that he should assume Shis name and arms. The patent to enable him 'to do this bears date 1728. Richard Colley jWesley, in 174G, was created by George 11. Baron of Mornington. He married Elisabeth, daughter of Dr. Sale, Registrar of the Archdiocese of Dublin, and was succeeded by his sou iGarrett, who in 1760, was created Viscount Wellesley and Earl of Mornington. The Earl married on the 6th of February, 1659, Ann, eldest

■daughter of the Right Hon. Arthur Hill Trevor ,■ ifirst Viscount Dungannon, byiwhom lie had! jissue six sons —namely, Richard (afterwards theN iMarquis Welleslev,) 'Arthur Gerald (who diedß 'in his infancy), William Pole (Faronß Maryborough), Arthur (Duke of Wellington)J Gerald Valerian, (Hector of Bishoj)wearmouth,« D.D..), and Henry (Lord Cowley)—besides three! daughters, Francts Seymour, Anne (who wxsS married to Henry, son of Lord Southampton ),■ and Mary Elizabeth (Lady Culling Smith), Arthur was bom on the Ist of May, 1769, at JDangan Castle, or as it has been asserted, in Dublin. Lord Mornington, who is probably best known by his graceful musical compositions, died in the [prime of his life, on the 22nd May, 1781, leaving 'his property in a very encumbered condition. The young marquis, however, in the most honorable manner, voluntarily assumed the payment of his deceased father's debts. The first part of his education, as well as that of his illustrious brother, was at Eton, whence he proceeded to Oxford, Arthur being removed to the Military College of Angiers, in the department of the Maine and Loire. Contrary to that of the marquis, the School career of the Duke of Wellington, though far from dull, was. not brilliant. On the 7th March, 1787, when in his 18th year, Arthur Wesley (for that was the form of name that he first adopted) was gazetted to an ensigncy in the 73rd Regiment, and on the following Christmas day was promoted to a lieutenancy in the 7Gth. In the succeeding month, he exchanged into I'.he 41st, and on the 25th of June was appointed to the 12th Light Dragoons. On the 30th of June, 1791, he was promoted to a company In the 58th foot, and on the 31st October, 1792, he obtained a troop in the 18th Light Dragoons. At the general election in the summer of 1790 he was returned for the borough of Trim, the patronage of which belonged to the house of Mornington. He occasionally addressed the house, and his speaking was already characterised by that terseness and force which stamp all his written and verbal communications. On the 30th April, 1793, Captain Wellesley was gazetted major of the 33rd Foot, on the resignation of Major Gore; and on the 30th of the following September he succeeded to the lieu-tenant-colonelcy of the regiment, vice Lieut-Col. Yorke, who quitted the servioe. At this period an expedition was planned in England to assist the remnant of the royalists in France, the command of which was placed in the hands of the Earl of Moira. Amongst other regiments, the 33rd received orders to be in readiness. The failure, however, of the Duke of York, in the Netherlands, caused a change in the destination of the troops, which were already in the transports. They sailed for Ostend, and after repulsing the French, who attacked them on the 6th of July, 1794, at Alost, they joined his highness on the 12th in front of Mechlin, and enabled him to hold his ground for some time against the enemy. In April, 1796, Colonel Wellesley embarked with his regiment for the East Indies. Soon after his arrival in Calcutta, in February, 1797, his brother, Lord Mornington, was appointed Governor-General of India. On the 22nd of February, 1799, war was proclaimed against the Sultan Tippoo. The British army, which was unusually effective, was placed under the unrestricted command of General Harris, who was assisted by a political or diplomatic commission consisting of Colonels Wellesley, Barry, Close, and Agnew, and Captain Malcolm, and Captain Macaulay as Secretary. A march on Seringapatam, Tippoo's capital, was determined on; and the result is well known. Seringapatam was taken ; Tippoo Saib was killed in the assault, and Colonel Wellesley was appointed commander of the city. While India was the theatre of his exploits, Malvelly and Seringapatam were followed by Conaghall, and by the Mahratta wars in 1803, where, at Assaye, he crushed the fierce and hitherto invincible cavalry of central India. Honours were now showered on the victorious General Wellesley. The inhabitants of Calcutta presented him with a sword of the value of 1000 guineas, a gold vase, and a service of plate ; and in 1805 the thanks of the King and the Parliament were voted for his services in the Deccan. The same year he returned to England, and on the 10th of April, 1806, married Catherine, the third daughter of the second Earl of Longfor 1. In the same year, he commanded a brigade in Lord Cathcart's Hanoverian expedition ; but the battle of Austerlitz had crushed all hope of a junction with the Austrian and Russian armies, and Augereau was hastening with 40,000 men to meet us. Cathcart called a council of war, whereat the young Indian general was almost the junior officer. He, in the face of all the older officers, delivered his opinion, that beating enemy was practicable, at the minimum of risk,! with the sea open. His rashness was censured,! and his advice rejected. S >on afterwards, he was! returned for Newport. In 1807, his trative career opened by his appointment to the! Chief Secretaryship for Ireland. In the same| year, in the expedition against Copenhagen under| Lord Cathcart, he was second in command. The| result was, after an attack planned in the most* strategic manner, the complete overthrow of the ! Danes, and surrender of their fleet, of sixteen* sail of the line, nine frigates, fourteen sloops, and| numerous smaller vessels, with ninety transports,! filled with naval stores. | As minute facts relating to the great possess" interest, we may here state, that a favourite mare* of Lord Rosslyn's proving in foal while before! the Danish capital, her colt was named Copen-| hagen, and presented to the illustrious Duke.l This " gallant grey" has shared a portion of hisl owner's fame, and wtfl long live on canvas, in| brass, and in marble, as the bearer of the " herof of a hundred fights" on the deathful d ty of| Waterloo. " Copenngen" died in peaceful retire-f ment in 1834, at Strathfieldsaye at the advanced* equine age of twenty-eight years. | In 1808 Sir Arthur Wellesley again received, the thanks of Parliament, and on this occasion made a brief and manly reply. After a few! months of administrative activity in Ireland, the Government, considering that the determined, though ill-conducted resistance of tire Spaniards to the French invasion deserved assistance, des • patched Sir Arthur to Cor-unna with an auxiliary force. The treaty of Cintra, which concluded this campaign, excited in England the utmost wonder and disgust, Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had strenuously opposed its principal provisions, in a fit of indignant chagrin had immediately after its completion returned home. Sir Arthur resumed his official duties as Irish Secretary, and had taken once more his seat in Parliament, when both Houses, in January, 1809, passed a very flattering panegyric upon his first services in the Peninsula. After the defeat of Sir John Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley transmitted to the Ministry so able and encouraging a memorandum on the defence of Portugal, that they determined on another effort. A strong reinforcement was sent out, and Sir Arthur was named to the chief command. He, therefore, resigned his Irish office, vacated his seat in Parliament, and embarked on the 16th of April, arriving at the Tagus on the 22nd. The Portuguese named him Marshal-General of the native forces. The brilliant exploits of the Duke and his army in the Peninsula are well known. The passage of the Douro, the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, of Badajoz and San Sebastian, the battles of Salamanca and Toulouse, and the formation of the lines of Torres Vedras are achievements which in their results equal the battles of Napoleon himself, and speedily brought about tie downfall of the latter, The fnvasion of France followed Wellington's successes, and Bonaparte abdicated and was sent to Elba. Lord Wellington was named Ambassador to the Court of France, and reached Paris on the 4th of May. His reception everywhere was most| flattering. At home, besides being thanked by

I Parliament at various times for each of his prin-f cipai victories, lie was elevated to the Duke-] dom. On the 28th of May, he took his seat in 1 the House of Peers for the first time. The Lord] Chancellor addressing his Grace in a glowing panegyric, conveyed to him the following reso-3 ration :—" That the thanks of this house given to Field Marshal the Duke of on his return from his command ahroad, for his ' eminent and unremitting services to His Majesty J Hand to the puhlic." His Grace made a suitable] W reply and soon afterwards retired. f HI On the 10th of May, the Prince Regent had] HFsent to the House of Commons a message, re-] them to grant the Duke such anj B annuity as might support the high dignity of the! Bltitle conferred, and prove a lasting memorial of J lithe nation's gratitude and munificence. On the| |jl2th, the Speaker moved that the sum ofj If £IO,OOO be annually paid out of the Consolidated* Fund for the use of the Duke of Wellington, tol Rbe paid at any time commuted for the sum ofj »£300,000, to be laid out in the purchase of an J Kestate. At the suggestion of Mr. Whitbread,] ■Mr. Ponsonhy, and Mr. Canning, the proposed* EsuTii was unanimously increased £IOO,OOO ;] ■making, in all, half a million granted to his I Grace.—ln the House of Lords, the pension was 1 plikewise passed mem. dis. On the first of July Ibis Grace attended at the House of Commons to thank them for their bounty. The I Duke's admission having been resolved upon, and I a chair being set for him on the left hand of the jibar, towards the middle of the House, his Grace centered, making his obeisance, while all the rose from their seats. The Speaker I [then informing him that a chair was set for his I repose, he sat down in it for some time covered, I —the Sergeant standing on his right hand, with ' the mace grounded, and the members resumed jj their seats. He then rose and made a short i speech uncovered, expressive of his gratitude to j the House, not only for its liberal grant, but for | having sent a deputation of members to congratulate him on his return home. The Speaker ] having addressed him in return, he withdrew, I conducted by the Sergeant to the door of the ] House. I The peace of Paris was concluded on the 80th ■of May, but the Duke of Wellington was not left ■long to repose upon his laurels. One more victory H(Waterloo) remained yet in store for him, his Bantagonist being no other than his great rival, with ■whom he had never yet measured swords. ! The news of Waterloo was brought on the 20th ffiof June, by Mr. Sutton, the proprietor of a number Hof vessels plying between Colchester and Ostend, fflwho made the voyage at his private cost for that ■special purpose. The Duke's despatches arrived ■two days later, and were immediately conveyed to Hjthe two Houses of Parliament. They produced gjthe most rapturous expressions of joy. A vote of jlthanks to the Duke and his army was carried by in the Lords, on the motion of the ■Earl Bathurst; and in the Commons, the Minister • l(Lord Castlereagh) brought a message from the jlPrince Regent, in consequence of which an additional grant of 200,000/., accompanied by the ggmost flattering enconiums, was made, to purchase ffa mansion and estate for his Grace. Illuminations liwere general throughout the country, and almost ■every steeple rang out its merriest peals. A sub||scription, amounting to upwards of a hundred ■thousand pounds, was made for the widows and ■orphans of the slain. The Duke also generously re||linquished, for the same purpose, half the Parlia■mentary compensation due to him for the PcninMsular prize property. On the 29 th of June, 1816, his Grace set out ■for London. In the mean time Apsley-house, in HHyde Park, had been purchased by the British ■Government, and rebuilt, by Mr. Wyatt, for the HDuke; and on tic 19th of November the ParliaHmentary Commissioners purchased the estate of KStrathfieldsaye, in Hampshire, for 260,000/. His ■Grace was made a Field-Marshal in the Austrian, ■Russian and Prussian services immediately after ■the Congress of Aix ; and on the 2Gth December »he was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance wat home. ■M. In 1825, when a mania for joint-stock companies, similar to the railway hallucination of 1847, raseizedthe public mind, his Grace exerted himself Rgreatly to restrain the infatuation of the English ■capitalists. ! H 18vi826 the reaction attendant upon this com■flmercial infatuation burst upon the country. At ■the Duke's suggestion, small notes were re-issued flat the Bank of England, and this, joined to the ■large amount of new coin minted, at last put an Rend to embarrassment. M His Grace was also appointed, with Sir Rob I Bgert Peel, and other members of Parliament, one ofj ■the Commissioners for Indian affairs. The Dukel ■of York dying on the sth of January, the Dukel gof Wellington was appointed on the 24th his suc-| Hcessor as Commander-in-Chief and Colonel ofthel ffllst Grenadier Guards. On the 10th of March! Hhis Grace was installed in the office of High Con-i ■stable of the Tower. The Prime Minister, Lord! HLiverpool, having died of apoplexy, on the 17th Sof February, after holding office smce the 9th of ■June, 1812, the King, on the 10th of April, nomiinated Mr. Canning as his successor. Upon tin's Ithc D'ike of Wellington, and six others of the! ■principal members of the old Cabinet, retired, hisg ■Grace resigning the command of the army on thel 1.30 th. This secession caused the failure ofCanning's ■ministry, and was succeeded by Lord Goderich jjlwhosc government was very short-lived. When Ihe resigned, the Duke of Wellington wasinstructled to frame a Cabinet. This he accordingly did, Iresigning the command, on the 15th of February, Tin favour of Lord Hill. His late Majesty, (AVil-3 ■Ham IV.), taking offence at the remonstrance] ■ made by the Duke of Wellington, upon the ex-j Igpensivenepsof his habits, resigned his office of Lords Stlligh Admiral. His Grace's mode of life as Primes HLMinisterwassuchas mighthave been expected froma raids previous career. He slept on a mattress spread 1 Bon an iron camp bedstead; rose regularly at seven,| ■ breakfasted at eight, and immediately commenced ■ds official duties. He was the terror of the idlers ■iu Downing-street. On one occasion the Treasury ■clerks told him that Rome mode of making up acHcounts was impracticable : they were met with the ■curt reply, " Never mind, if you can't do it I'll Bsem! you half-a-dozen pay-sergeants that will," — Sa hint they did-not fail to take. H One of the reforms with which the Duke of ■ Wellington's name is indissolubly connected, is ■ the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, ■which he triumphantly carried during the Jf session of 1828, in spite of the fierce opposition «of Lord Eldon, and other Tories of the old ■school. H Another measure of a similar nature was the ■Roman Catholic Relief Bill. On the 19th of ■March, the Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, ■a determined opposer of the bill, offered the Duke fflwhat -his Grace considered an insult. The Duke ■demanded a retractation, which his lordship de■clined to give, and the two peers had a hostile ■meeting in Battersea-fields. His Grace fired ■without effect, the Earl discharged his pistol into ■the air and the parties then left the ground. Lord ■ Winchelsea afterwards published the retractation ■demanded of him by his Grace. : On the 20th of January, 1829, his Grace was ■appointed Governor of Dover Castle, and Lord ■ Warden of the Cinque Ports. ■ In 1830 the Duke's Government fell. The new SKing, William IV., had intended to have been ■present at the city feast at Guildhall, but the ■Ministers had received such information as not ■only induced them to advise His Majesty not to ■attend it, but caused the Duke of Wellington to gitave the Tower moat filled, and to put that ancient II fortress in a state of defence. The Duke's account Mof the matter puts his Grace's character in a most ■amiable light. " I would have gone," said he to HSir Wm. Knighton, "if the law had been equal to Bprotect me, but that was not the case. Fifty Edragoons on horse would have done it; but that §|was a military force. If firing had begun, who

could tell when it was to end ; one guilty person* [would fall, and ten innocent be destroyed. Wrtuldj Ithis have been wise or humane for a little bravado] 'or that the country might not be alarmed for a| day or two ? It is all over now and in [week or two will be forgotten." | On the 15th of November, 1830, Ministers were] 'defeated on Sir Henry Parnell's jnnendment,! [appointing a select committee to inquire into the! Civil List, by a majority of 27 ; and on the fol-J •lowing evening his Grace and Sir Robert Peel [announced the resignation of the Cabinet. Lord' iGrey was nan ed as his successor, Lord Hill, how-; ever, continuing at the Horse Guards. Earl Grey] was succeeded by Lord Melbourne, but the Reform Ministry did not last long, being broken up by the resignation of Lord Althorp. On the 15tn] of November his Grace was directed by the King: to form a new Administration, and he at once re-| commended the appointment of Sir Robert Peel to the Premiership. As Sir Robert was then in Italy, his Grace was at first intrusted with the whole. charge of Government and the seal of the three; Secretaries of State; but when the Cabinet was; filled up, he took the direction of the foreignj affairs. The lower House, however, commenced! hostilities, and having carried the Speaker, they defeated the Ministry by passing a clause for ( appropriating part of the Irish Church property to purposes of education. In consequence of this, the Ministers resigned in the April of 1834. On the 29th January, 1834, his Grace was unanimously elected Chancellor of Oxford, in the room of Lord Greville, deceased. The passing of the Reform Bill may be said to have formed the termination of his Grace's political life, for, though he continued to be a warm and a consistent supporter of the Conservative party, he never again aspired to the Premiership. After this, his old popularity returned, and, at the coronation of the Queen in 1837, his reception by the crowd was most enthusiastic. At the resignation of Lord Melbourne, in 1839, the Queen sent for the Duke, and at his suggestion commissioned Sir. R. Peel to form a Ministry; but the Whigs returned to office her Majesty refusing to dismiss the ladies of her household. When Lord Hill resigned the command of the army, in consequence of the state of his health, the Duke once more succeeded to that important office, and has held it ever since. For the last few years of his life the Duke still continued to be consulted by Ministers, and indeed, by her Majesty herself, who is understood to have liked to take Ins opinion on all matters of importance. His last appearance in state was on the occasion of the dissolution of Parliament, I when it became his duty to be bearer of the Sword of State. The venerable Duke, feeble with age, was accordingly seen in his due place carrying the iheavy and venerable weapon ; nay, even playfully pointing it at Lord Derby, who was jesting with him about his difficulty of carrying it. His latest remarkable speech was in the House of Lords, when he emphatically came forward to signify his approbation of Sir Harry Smith's conduct of the Caffre war. This speech was remarkable for its clearness, and a certain air of demonstration—as if his Grace wished, as was natural enough, to give all the weight of his authority to aid a brave soldier who had been treated by the Government equally unjust and ungenerous. Generally he continued to perform the customary routine of his life with his notable punctuality. He had gone to Walmer Castle; and that his general health was still good we may learn from the fact that, on last Saturday afternoon, he rode over on horseback to Dover, and, in his capacity of Lord Warden, inspected the works in progress in the Harbour of Refuge and other departments. He then seemed in excellent health, and spirits. For some years he had been subject to brain attacks, and had undergone the inconvenience of using " counter irritants" to repel them. The cause of his death was natural decay ; but the immediate agency described in the word "fits," was doubtless an effusion of water upon the brain. Gradual stupefaction would be the result, and also convulsions, but it is probable that death was without pain. The private life of the Duke was simple, methodical, and familiar in most of its features to all inhabitants and visitors of the metropolis. His attendance at the early service of the Chapel Royal and at the Whitehall sermons, his walk in the park in former years, and of late times his ride through the Horse Guards, with his servant behind him are incidents which every newspaper has long chronicled for the information of the country. His personal habits were those ol military punctuality, his daily duties were discharged systematically as they recurred, and his establishment was as thriftily regulated as the smallest household in the land. This economy enabled him to effect considerable savings, and it! is believed that the property of the title must have been very largely increased. He married in 1800 the Hon. Catherine Pakenham, third daughter of the second Baron Longford,—a lady for whose hand, as Arthur Wesley, with nothing but the sword of an infantry captain to second his pretensions, he had previously, we are informed, been an unsuccessful suitor. The Duchess died in 1831, 'and the Duke's name was recently coupled with! that of numerous ladies who were successively! elected, by report, as the objects of his second choice. He died, however a widower, leaving two I sons to inherit his name. The titles of the deceased are perhaps the most .numerous and varied ever bestowed on an indivi-| idual. Diike of Wellington, and of Ciudad Roderigo, and de Victoria, Prince of Waterloo, Mar[quis of Torres Vcdras, Condc Vimiera, and Field Marshal of England (date 1817); also a Field! [Marshal in the Armies of Russia, Prussia, Portu-J rgal, and the Netherlands ; Captain-General ofj [Spain, and Grandee of the First Class; Colonel-! fin-Chief of the Rifle Brigade; Constable of the] [Tower and Dover Castle ; Lord Lieutenant ofj [Hampshire and of the Tower Hamlets; Chancellor [of the University of Oxford ; Lord Warden of the [Cinque Ports ; Master of the Trinity House ; i President of the Military Academy ; Governor of King's College, &c. &c.; Commander or Knight of seventeen foreign orders, and D.C.L. His I Grace completed his 83rd year, on the Ist May last. The Duke is succeeded by his son Arthur, Marquis of Douro, who was born in 1807. He is! Fa Colonel in the army, and married in 1839 a [daughter of the Marquis of Tweeddale.