The Rebellion
During the United Irishman rebellion of 1798, Beresford led a yeoman battalion which fought against the rebels with a particular ferocity. He kept a riding school in Dublin, which acquired an evil reputation as the chief scene of the floggings by which evidence was extorted from the United Irishmen. As such, he became identified as one of the leading opponents of the rebellion, and the rebels deliberately burnt the banknotes issued by his bank. His reputation for persecuting political opponents survived throughout his political career.
He took a prominent part in the Irish House of Commons, where he unsuccessfully moved the reduction of the proposed Irish contribution to the imperial exchequer in the debates on the Act of Union. He was to the last an ardent opponent of the union (taking the opposite position to his father); he resigned his post at the port on 25 January 1799 so as not to be tainted by it or by the suggestion that his actions were motivated by a desire to retain it.
Read more about this topic: John Claudius Beresford
Famous quotes containing the word rebellion:
“Scholars planning a rebellion could never succeed even in three years.”
—Chinese proverb.
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—Richard Louv (20th century)