Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 45.djvu/457

 success of which was now almost assured; and when it passed, in 1829, it was felt that no protestant had done more for it than he.

Politically his work was now almost done, though in later years he voted and not unfrequently spoke on Irish questions. On 23 Dec. 1830 he was appointed by Lord Grey lord chancellor of Ireland. The change was not popular with the bar, as his reputation in the common pleas was that of a hasty and imprudent judge (Greville Memoirs, 1st ser. ii. 91). Politically his influence was still great, and his advice was highly esteemed by successive lord lieutenants, Lords Anglesea, Wellesley, and Mulgrave; and in 1839 he made a powerful defence of Mulgrave's administration in the House of Lords. As a judge he proved himself patient, bold, and acute; and whatever may be said of his deficiency in learning—and his decisions certainly were frequently reversed on appeal—his practical efficiency is not to be gainsaid. The numerous legal appointments he from time to time bestowed on his relatives excited comment, and even scandal (see Hansard, x. 1219). Early in 1839 a report was put about that he was to be replaced by Sir John Campbell (see, for example,, Correspondence of O'Connell, ii. 175), and overtures were made to him to lend himself to the job. He refused. It is alleged in Lord Campbell's ‘Life’ (ii. 142) that he gave a written undertaking in 1840 to resign whenever required; but of this statement there seems to be no confirmation. Lord Melbourne sounded him again in June 1841, without result. The lord lieutenant then asked for his concurrence as a personal favour to himself, and on 17 June Plunket yielded and resigned. Plunket bore this ill-treatment, which Lord Brougham (see preface to, Life of Lord Plunket) has stigmatised as gross, and public opinion has ever since considered unjustifiable (Greville Memoirs, 2nd ser. ii. 14), with dignified and uncomplaining silence. He retired altogether from politics, travelled in Italy, and lived a peaceful country life at his seat, Old Connaught, co. Wicklow. At last his mental faculties failed, and he died on 4 Jan. 1854, and was buried in Mount Jerome cemetery, Dublin. In 1791 he married Catherine, daughter of John McCausland of Strabane, then M.P. for Donegal. He left six sons and five daughters, and was succeeded in the title by his eldest son, the Right Hon. Thomas Spen Plunket, D.D., who was in 1839 appointed bishop of Tuam, Killala, and Achonry, and who died 19 Oct. 1866.

Plunket was in person tall and robust, with a harsh but expressive countenance; in manner cold to strangers, though he was a devoted husband and a constant friend. He was of great physical strength and a keen sportsman, but indolent—rising late, hating to put pen to paper, and leaving till the last moment the preparation of his cases. A deep-read lawyer he was not, but he had a tenacious grasp of principle, a masculine power of reasoning, a ready apprehension, and a persuasive and lofty mode of address. His reputation for bright and instant wit stood high. His parliamentary eloquence was in its kind unsurpassed. Conviction rather than passion, close and comprehensive reasoning rather than appeals to sentiment, a lofty range of thought and a copious and polished expression, were its leading characteristics. As Sheil said (Hansard, xcvi. 273): ‘Plunket convinced, Brougham surprised, Canning charmed, Peel instructed, Russell exalted and improved.’ As a statesman his fame rests on his service to catholic emancipation. There is a bust of him by Charles Moore, engraved in his grandson's ‘Life’ of him. An engraving by S. Cousins, from a portrait by Rothwell, is in the National Portrait Gallery, Dublin.

[Hon. D. Plunket's Life of Lord Plunket; O'Flanagan's Irish Chancellors, ii. 405; Dublin Univ. Mag. xv. 262; Legal Review, xxii. 233. For a detailed appreciation of his eloquence at the bar see R. L. Sheil's Sketches of the Irish Bar, W. H. Curran's Sketches of the Irish Bar, and in parliament Lord Brougham's Preface to D. Plunket's Life of Lord Plunket; Early Sketches of Eminent Persons, by Chief-justice Whiteside, p. 157; Croker Papers, i. 230; Ann. Reg. 1854; Lockhart's Scott, vi. 57.] 

PLUNKETT, ELIZABETH (1769–1823), translator. [See under .]

PLUNKETT, JOHN HUBERT (1802–1869), Australian statesman, was the younger of the twin sons of George Plunkett of Roscommon and Miss O'Kelly of Tycooly, co. Galway. Born at Roscommon in June 1802, he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated B.A. with some distinction in 1824. He was called to the Irish bar in 1826, and joined the Connaught circuit. He soon threw himself vigorously into politics; and, as a catholic whose family properties had been confiscated under penal laws, he earnestly advocated the catholic emancipation. To him was largely due the return to parliament of O'Connell's supporters, French and the O'Conor Don, for Roscommon in 1830—an admitted blow to the Orange party. 