James's Place, May 25th, 1783.

My dear Lord,

Your Excellency has not been able to remove those unpleasant and
mortifying ideas I entertain at the thoughts of being obliged to
pay either no attention to a day, to which all honour and
respect is due, or to do it in a manner unbecoming, and not
suitable to the occasion. Indeed, my information by numerous
Irish gentlemen now here, tells me that, although it may not be
expected that I should give (what your Lordship says) _a dinner_
on the occasion, it will be expected I shall hold a Court, and
that I shall give a ball. Then I understand likewise, from your
letters, as you declare your positive and fixed resolution not
to hold a _Court_ on that day in the despatch, the last but one
which I had the honour to receive, and that from strong reasons
of delicacy, both public and private, which, as your Excellency
does not explain, at this distance and in my state of ignorance
at present I am at a loss to conceive.

I have the honour to be, my dear Lord,
Your faithful and obedient humble servant,
Northington.

Lord Temple's administration was too brief to enable him to develop the
plans he had laid down for the benefit of Ireland; but the most
conclusive testimony that can be adduced in favour of his policy is the
assurance he received from Lord North, that no intention of deviating
from it was entertained by the new Ministers. Although, however, Lord
Northington did not openly deviate from the main points of his policy,
he followed it up with a luke-warmness and insincerity that rendered it
to a great extent inoperative. His Lordship appears to have betrayed,
not only in his measures, but in the spirit and tone in which they were
brought forward, an unworthy desire to discredit the influence and
reputation of his predecessor, who pursued a line of conduct after he
left Ireland which--putting aside all obligations to the
public--entitled him at least to protection against such sinister
attempts to undermine the confidence his zealous services had acquired.
Having resigned the Government into the hands of Lord Northington, to
whom he frankly offered all the assistance and information his
experience enabled him to bestow, he strictly avoided all interference
in Irish affairs that might be likely--even remotely--to embarrass his
successor. Numerous applications were made to him on a variety of
subje