Page:Biographia Hibernica volume 2.djvu/495

 PONSON BY. 491 acquired and displayed a l l his skill i n debate, and where his manner and his talents were better known and admired, yet h e distinguished himself i n the British senate with n o diminished estimation. The stile o f his eloquence par took o f his character. I t was polished, clear, forcible, and comprehensive; always full, but never redundant; his language was elegant; his irony grave, but strong; his deportment courtly; and, although h e avoided a figurative diction, his arrangement was strietly logical, and his argu ments s o plain, intelligible, and convincing, that they rarely, i f ever, failed t o captivate and decide his auditors. He was eminent for his candour and moderation. He pos sessed a n accurate and powerful memory, and was con stantly known, although b e never took notes, i n replying, a t the conclusion o f a long and arduous debate o n a question introduced by himself, t o sometimes twenty opponents, t o single out i n the order o f their speaking, and o n the benches where they sat, the precise arguments o f each, which h e proposed t o refute, seizing skilfully o n the stronger o r weaker points, a s best suited his purpose. As a leader o f Opposition, Mr. Ponsonby was o f course generally opposed t o ministerial measures; and but rarely succeeded i n his own. On the 4th o f March, 1817, h e brought i n a bill, both useful and necessary i n the then state o f his late majesty's health, t o prevent the necessity o f renewing certain civil and military commissions, o n the demise o f the crown. I n the same month h e supported the motion o f his friend Sir John Newport, for retrenching fees i n the courts o f justice; and i n a debate upon the regulation o f the Welch judges, h e maintained that the funetions o f a chief justice o f Chester, and the duties o f a n attorney-general, were incompatible. The last time h e spoke i n the House, was t o recommend t o his majesty's ministers t o alleviate the general distress, a s that, and that alone, had produced i n the country anything like tumult or disaffection. His health had begun visibly t o decline, and probably there was a correspondent declension i n the tone and