Talk:Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall

Latest comment: 7 years ago by Ebonelm in topic Baron Fisherwick

Baron Fisherwick

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The article has since its creation stated that Chichester was created Baron Fisherwick in 1790 in order for the Government to obtain his support in the Irish House of Commons. This is exceptionally unlikely for the following reasons: (1) from 1765 Chichester, as Earl of Donegall, was a member of the Irish House of Lords and therefore would have been ineligible for a seat in the Irish House of Commons; (2) even if he was a member of the Irish House of Commons no other reference is ever made to his election there (Chichester was elected as an MP for the House of Commons of Great Britain in 1768 but that is a completely different [non-]issue, and anyhow he left his seat there in 1774, 16 years before being made Baron Fisherwick, so it is unlikely that this is where the confusion has arisen); (3) Baron Fisherwick was a title in the peerage of Great Britain and so would have entitled Donegall to sit in the House of Lords of Great Britain, it is unclear how giving Chichester the right to sit in a far more prestigious Parliament 'overseas' would have encouraged him to remain in Ireland and vote there rather than going to sit in this more prestigious Parliament. If a source exists which can both (a) verify this claim, and (b) explain why these rather unorthodox forms of 'patronage' were employed great, otherwise I propose removing the dubious parts of this claim. Ebonelm (talk) 20:47, 26 May 2017 (UTC)Reply