John Courtenay (1738–1816)
John Courtenay(22 August 1738 – 24 March 1816)[1][2]was an Irish officer in theBritish Armywho became a politician in England. He was aWhigmember of Parliament(MP) atWestminsterfrom 1780 to 1807, and again in 1812.
Courtenay was the second son of Henry Courtenay, a revenue officer fromNewry,County Downin theKingdom of Ireland.He was educated atDrogheda Grammar School. [3]
He was MP forTamworthfrom 1780 to 1796, and then forApplebyfrom 1796 to 1807. He was re-elected for Appleby at the1812 general election,but resigned his seat shortly after Parliament met in December.[3]
A member both ofBrooks'sandWhig Club,Courtenay aligned withCharles James Foxagainst theFirst Pitt ministry.As such, he supported reform measures, favouring the repeal of theTest Actin Scotland in 1791, abolition of the slave trade, and parliamentary reform; helped manage theimpeachment of Warren Hastings;and, inA Poetical and Philosophical Essay on the French Revolution(1793), assailedEdmund Burkefor his inveterate hostility to constitutional innovation and popular sovereignty.[3]
With SirFrancis Burdett,in 1798 Courtenay supported the campaign ofCatherine Despardto publicise and protest the conditions under which her Irish husband ColonelEdward Despardand other political radicals were held following the suspension ofhabeas corpuswhich Courtenay had opposed. In aHouse of Commonsdebate on the continued suspension, Coutenay read a letter from Catherine detailing the harsh conditions under which her husband was confined at inColdbath Fields Prison.[4]Edward Despard, a member of theLondon Corresponding Societyand aUnited Irishmanremained in prison for three years. In 1803 he was tried and executed for treason.[5]
After theActs of Unionin 1800 he welcomed the new Irish MPs to the Commons, but protested the parliamentary oath of allegiance which continued to prevent members of Ireland'sRoman Catholic majorityfrom being seated in the House.[3]
Courtenay was thesurveyor-general of the ordnancefrom 1783 to 1784, and alord of the treasuryfrom 1806 to 1807 in theGrenville ministry.[3]
References[edit]
- ^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
- ^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)
- ^abcdeThorne, R. G. (1986). R. Thorne (ed.)."COURTENAY, John (1738-1816), of 11 Duke Street, Portland Place, Mdx".The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820.Boydell and Brewer.Retrieved26 June2014.
- ^"Parliamentary Intelligence".Oracle and Daily Advertiser.27 December 1798.
- ^Evans, Chris (2006).Debating the revolution: Britain in the 1790s.I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. p. 177.ISBN978-1-86064-936-3.
External links[edit]
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