The poet Young, to whose very questionable claim to a
pension 4i in recognition," as the official Gazette announcing his pension put it, "of his services as an historical and agricultural poet in Ireland," we drew attention on November 17 last, gave rise to a -very amusing discussion in the House of Commons yesterday week. Mr. O'Reilly read long extracts from Mr. Young's absurd and violent Orange.cloggrel, to which Mr. Whalley turned -a moon-face of heavy approbation, and expressed by an emphatic "hear, hear," that he thought this stuff worthy of a great nation's _gratitude. Mr. O'Reilly, observing Mr. Whalley's sympathy, pro- mised the Member for Peterborough the reversion of the volume in his hand, "on condition that he would favour the House with poetic recitations." But the amusing point of the discussion was Mr. Disraeli's defence of Lord Derby, which was in its way very effective. Lord Derby had not looked at the book himself, said Mr. Disraeli, and is "perhaps rather too apt to believe what a person tells him," which means,—being translated,—is a little lazy in these matters. Lord Derby had acted in accordance with the appeal of "that wonderful and mysterious document which exercises such an influence on all the transactions of human life,—a memorial." In the Orange poetaster Young's case this memorial was signed by the Roman Catholic Bishop of that part of the country, by the- liberal and accomplished Lord Dufferin, who said- he should hear
of the grant of this pension "with satisfaction," and by Lord Cremorne, a high Whig, who also expressed his anxiety for the grant of this pension. Lord Derby would have been incredulous indeed to suspect a man thus recommended of being a violent and- almost vicious Orange partizan. Mr. Disraeli drew the moral, "Beware of testimonials." "In future," said he, "in dealing with an applicant of this sort; even if recommended by Bishops, Roman Catholic and Protestant, and Liberal Peers of all descriptions, I will, if I possibly can, read the works of a poet whom I- am asked to pension."
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