alterations made by the English Privy Council at once thrown out.[1]
This was the last proof of their supremacy which Shannon and Ponsonby were able to give, for the Administration, on hearing of the vote on the Augmentation Bill, directed the Lord-Lieutenant to prorogue the Parliament with a view to instant dissolution. Marked distinctions were simultaneously conferred on those who had been most conspicuous in the recent contest on the side of Government. But these distinctions were not in themselves sufficient to have much effect, and if frequently repeated would have become a fresh source of corruption. More was needed. Shelburne and Townshend both agreed that it was necessary to strike off the roll of the Irish Privy Council all those corrupt persons who had attempted to traffic on their Parliamentary influence, and to remove the exercise of the patronage of the Government entirely from the control of the Lords Justices, vesting it in a resident Governor subject to the control of the English Treasury.[2] But before this change could be adequately discussed, and before the new Parliament assembled, Shelburne had ceased to have any but a private connection with the affairs of Ireland.
