Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 57.djvu/30

 and ill-filled purse. They spent some of their evenings in devising a scheme for the establishment of a military colony on one of the South Sea islands, the object of which was 'to put a bridle on Spain in time of peace and to annoy her grievously in that quarter in time of war.' The scheme, drawn up in the form of a regular memorial, was delivered by Tone at Pitt's official residence, but failed to elicit any notice. Tone's indignation was not mollified by a mild rebuke from his father on the misuse of his time, and in a transport of rage he offered to enlist in the East India service. His offer was declined by the company. His brother, William Henry Tone, however, re-entered the company's service in 1792. Subsequently, in 1796, William went to Poona and entered the Mahratta service. He wrote a pamphlet upon 'Some Institutions of the Mahratta People' which has been praised by Grant Duff and other historians. He was killed in 1802 in an action near Choli Maheswur, while serving with Holkar (see, Military Adventurers of Hindustan, 1892, p. 417).

Meanwhile a reconciliation was effected between Wolfe Tone and his wife's family on condition of his immediate return to Ireland. He reached Dublin on Christmas day 1788, and, taking lodgings in Clarendon Street, purchased about 100l. worth of law books. In February 1789 he took his degree of LL.B., and, being called to the Irish bar in Trinity term following, joined the Leinster circuit. Despite his ignorance of law, he managed nearly to clear his expenses; but the distaste he had for his profession was insurmountable, and, following the example of some of his friends, he turned his attention to politics. Taking advantage of the general election, he early in 1790 published 'A Review of the Conduct of Administration, addressed to the Electors and Free People of Ireland.' The pamphlet, a defence of the opposition in arraigning the administration of the Marquis of Buckingham, attracted the attention of the leaders of the Whig Club. Tone, though holding even at this time views much in advance of theirs, listened to their overtures and was immediately retained in the petition for the borough of Dungarvan, on the part of James Carigee Ponsonby, with a fee of a hundred guineas. But, perceiving that his expectations of obtaining a seat in parliament through the whigs were not likely to be realised, he soon severed his connection with them.

Coming to the conclusion 'that the influence of England was the radical vice of' the Irish government, he seized the opportunity of a prospect of war between England and Spain in the matter of Nootka Sound to enunciate his views in a pamphlet signed 'Hibernicus,' arguing that Ireland was not bound by any declaration of war on the part of England, but might and ought as an independent nation to stipulate for a neutrality. The pamphlet attracted no notice.

About this time, while listening to the debates in the Irish House of Commons, Tone made the acquaintance of [q. v.], who perhaps more than himself deserves to be regarded as the founder of the United Irish Society. The acquaintance speedily ripened into friendship, and the influence of Russell, who held a commission in the army, led to a revival of Tone's plan for establishing a military colony in the South Seas. The memorial, when revised, was forwarded to the Duke of Richmond, master of the ordnance, who returned a polite acknowledgment and suggested that it should be sent to the foreign secretary, Lord Grenville. A civil intimation from the latter to the effect that the scheme would not be forgotten convinced Tone that he had nothing to hope for in that direction, and satisfied him that it only remained for him to make Pitt regret the day he ignored his merits. During the winter of 1790-91 Tone started at Dublin a political club consisting of himself, [q. v.], [q. v.], Peter Burrowes [q. v.], Joseph Pollock, [q. v], and several others. But the club, after three or four months' sickly existence, collapsed, leaving behind it a puny offspring of about a dozen essays on different subjects—a convincing proof, in Tone's opinion, 'that men of genius to be of use must not be collected together in numbers.'

Meanwhile the principles of the French, revolution were making great progress, especially among the Scottish presbyterians in the north of Ireland. On 14 July 1791 the anniversary of the capture of the Bastile was celebrated with great enthusiasm at Belfast, and Tone, who was becoming an ardent republican, watched the progress of events with intense interest. He had recently convinced himself that, if Ireland was ever to become free and independent, the first step must be the laying aside of religious dissensions between the protestants and Roman catholics. 'To subvert the tyranny of our execrable government, to break the connection with England, the never-failing source of all our political evils, and to assert the independence of my country—these were my objects. To unite the whole people of Ireland, to abolish the memory of all past dissensions, and to