CAREW, Robert Shapland (1787-1856), of Castleboro, Enniscorthy, co. Wexford of Woodstown, co. Waterford

Carew had sat almost uninterrupted on the family interest for County Wexford since 1812 as a firm but moderate Liberal. He remained personally popular for the efforts he had made to open the representation of the county which his father, an opponent of the Union, had represented from 1806-7.1HP Commons, 1790-1820, iii. 407; HP Commons, 1820-1832, iii. 913-9. Carew’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather had each represented Waterford City in the Irish parliament in the period 1713 to 1800. He was also a nephew of Sir John Newport, MP for the city, 1803-32, and brother-in-law to Robert Power, who sat for the county, 1831-2: E. Johnston-Liik, History of the Irish Parliament 1692-1800 (2002), iii. 365-8; Dod’s Parliamentary Companion (1834), 98. Like his father, Carew had long been regarded as a sincere advocate of religious freedom and an enthusiastic reformer.2Morning Chronicle, 5 June 1856, quoting Dublin Evening Post. Prior to the 1832 general election he furnished Edward Smith Stanley with regular reports from Ireland, with particular reference to the general reform of the church establishment. Having spoken at a county meeting against tithes, 10 Aug. 1832, he yielded to a general wish that he continue in Parliament that November, yet was unable to avert a contest at the general election.3HP Commons, 1820-1832, iv. 581-4, at 583-4; Morning Chronicle, 2 Nov. 1832. He was, however, able to rely upon the united support of the county’s Liberals and was returned at the top of the poll.4C.A. Walker to D. O’Connell, 8 Nov. 1832, O’Connell Correspondence, ed. M.R. O’Connell, iv. 466-9.

Carew declared his intention to ‘assist in restoring peace’ to Ireland and as an active magistrate felt unable to attend O’Connell’s National Council meeting in Dublin in January 1833.5Morning Chronicle, 14 Jan. 1833; Freeman’s Journal, 29 Jan. 1833. Although he did not consider himself to be a fluent speaker, Carew made some significant contributions to debate in this period and urged the House to accept that more could be done in Ireland ‘by kindness and firmness than by coercion’. Explaining his support for the Irish coercion bill, 28 Feb. 1833, he argued that the measure should not be applied to ‘unoffending districts’, such as his own county of Wexford, and not be employed to assist with the collection of tithes. He also endorsed the Whig ministry’s proposals for Irish church reform, including the abolition of the vestry cess, and advocated the re-organisation of the Irish grand jury and constabulary systems.6Hansard, 28 Feb. 1833, vol. 15, cc. 1351-4. Although he was not a regular attender in this period, he voted for the second reading of the Irish coercion bill, 11 Mar. 1833, and divided against Robinson’s motion on taxation, 26 Mar. 1833. Having voted against Hume’s motion to discontinue military and naval sinecures, 14 Feb. 1833, he sat on the select committee on army and navy appointments that May.7PP 1833 (650) vii. 1.

Carew voted for Lord Althorp’s motion on church rates, 21 Apr. 1834, and divided against O’Connell’s repeal motion, 29 Apr. However, although he refused an appeal from fellow Irish Liberals to move the postponement of the second reading of the government’s Irish tithes bill, 2 May, he did propose that further discussion of the measure be delayed for one week so as to allow the Irish members to examine its provisions, and consider how best the payment of tithes could ‘be fairly levied’. Despite enlisting the backing of the repeal party and other advanced Liberals for his motion, it was defeated by 74-241.8Hansard, 2 May 1834, vol. 23, cc. 430-1, 470. The division has also been recorded as 52-248: Standard, 7 May 1834.

Rumours that Carew was about to be raised to the peerage circulated for almost a year before the Grey ministry rewarded him with an Irish barony in June 1834. He does not appear to have sought a return to the Commons as an MP for a constituency outside Ireland, and in July 1838 his barony was upgraded to a United Kingdom peerage, when he took his place in the House of Lords.9Morning Chronicle, 13 July 1833, quoting Dublin Morning Register; Caledonian Mercury, 26 Oct. 1833, quoting Dublin Evening Post. He remained a ‘consistent Liberal’ and became noted for his ‘judicious exertions to improve his estates’, which consisted of more than 20,000 acres, chiefly in county Wexford, but with smaller holdings in counties Waterford and Queen’s.10HP Commons, 1820-1832, iv. 584; J. Bateman, The Great Landowners of Great Britain (4th edn., 1883), 77. The annual valuation of the estate was more than £10,000 in 1842: Johnston-Liik, History of the Irish Parliament, iii. 367. Throughout his service as lord lieutenant of county Wexford from 1831 until his death he is said to have acted in ‘the most impartial and useful’ manner.11Morning Chronicle, 5 June 1856, quoting Dublin Evening Post.

Carew died at Castleborough in June 1856 after a long illness and was buried in the family vault in Killegney church.12Royal Cornwall Gazette, 13 June 1856; Morning Chronicle, 5 June 1856, quoting Dublin Evening Post. His will was proved in May 1857, and he was succeeded in the peerage by his eldest son Robert Shapland Carew (1818-81), Liberal member for county Waterford, 1840-7, and colonel of the Wexford militia.13The Times, 4 June 1856. His wife died in November 1901, aged 102, her life having spanned three different centuries: G.E.C., Complete Peerage, iii. 22. A collection of Carew’s correspondence with Lord Derby is held at Liverpool Record Office.14Derby mss 920 Der (14) 128.