ecorated by many of the allied sovereigns.

[v.02 p.0017]

In 1818 the marquess was made a knight of the Garter, in 1819 he
became full general, and at the coronation of George IV. he acted as
lord high steward of England. His support of the proceedings against
Queen Caroline made him for a time unpopular, and when he was on one
occasion beset by a crowd, who compelled him to shout "The Queen,"
he added the wish, "May all your wives be like her." At the close of
April 1827 he became a member of the Canning administration, taking
the post of master-general of the ordnance, previously held by
Wellington. He was at the same time sworn a member of the privy
council. Under the Wellington administration he accepted the
appointment of lord-lieutenant of Ireland (March 1828), and in the
discharge of his important duties he greatly endeared himself to
the Irish people. The spirit in which he acted and the aims which
he steadily set before himself contributed to the allaying of party
animosities, to the promotion of a willing submission to the laws,
to the prosperity of trade and to the extension and improvement of
education. On the great question of the time his views were opposed
to those of the government. He saw clearly that the time was come when
the relief of the Catholics from the penal legislation of the past was
an indispensable measure, and in December 1828 he addressed a letter
to the Roman Catholic primate of Ireland distinctly announcing his
view. This led to his recall by the government, a step sincerely
lamented by the Irish. He pleaded for Catholic emancipation in
parliament, and on the formation of Earl Grey's administration in
November 1830, he again became lord-lieutenant of Ireland. The times
were changed; the act of emancipation had been passed, and the task of
viceroy in his second tenure of office was to resist the agitation for
repeal of the union carried on by O'Connell. He felt it his duty now
to demand Coercion Acts for the security of the public peace; his
popularity was diminished, differences appeared in the cabinet on
the difficult subject, and in July 1833 the ministry resigned. To the
marquess of Anglesey Ireland is indebted for the board of education,
the origination of which may perhaps be reckoned as the most memorable
act of his viceroyalty. For thirteen years after his retirement
he remained out of office, and took little part in the affairs of
government. He joined the Russell administrati