WELLESLEY, RICHARD COLLEY WELLESLEY, Marquis, N.G., English statesman, was b. at the town residence of his family, Grafton street, Dublin, June 20, 1706. The family of Wellesley was one of Saxon origin, belonging to the county of Sussex, and was among the most ancient in Ireland, one of them having goue from England as standlird-bearer to Henry IL, who gave him large grants of land in Meath and Kildare. William de Wellesley was in 1384 summoned to parliament as baron Noragh, and was high in favor with Edwards II. and III. The name (originally Welesley or Welseley) was written Wellesley till the 16th c., when it became abbreviated into Wesley. Mr. Garrett Wesley of Daugan, county Meath, married Miss Colley of castle Carbery; and on the decease of his son without issue the estates were bequeathed to his cousin, Rich anl Colley, who thereupon assumed the name of Wesley. The Colleys, originally Coweys, were also of on ancient descent, and came originally from Rutlandshire. Rich and Colley, who thus succeeded to the Wellesley estates, though in no way related by blood to the earlier Wellesley family, was created baron kornington. His eldest sou received (1760) the dignities of viscount Wellesley and earl of Mornington, and enjoyed the still more enviable distinction of being the father of the marquis Wel lesley, the subject of this notice, and of Arthur, first duke of Wellington, by his marriage with the eldest daughter of Arthur, first viscount Dungannon. Welles ley's father, the first earl of Mornington, although chiefly known for his talents es a musical composer, was a man of great abilities. Wellesley received his education at Eton, and afterward at Christchurch, Oxford, at both which seats of learning his fame stood high. An eloquent speech was made by him at Eton as early as 1778; and in 1780 he.gained the university prize for the best composition in Latin verse, in which he excelled through life. His father having died in 1781, Wellesley, on attaining his majority, took his seat in the Irish house of peers, took upon himself the pecuniary obligations of his father, and placed the estates under the man agement of his mother, who survived her husband for nearly half a century. The debts of the first earl were liquidated, but Wellesley was unable to preserve the family possessions. He was one of the original knights of St. Patrick when the order was founded by George III. in 1783. It appears, from a correspondence between Pitt and the duke of Rutland, that at the age of 24 he had convinced both statesmen that he was destined to distinguish himself, and to render the public essential service. Dissatisfied with the limited field of distinction which Ireland afforded he obtained in 1784 a seat in the British house of commons as member for Beeraiston. In 1786 ho became one of the lords of the treasury, when he was elected for Saltash. Being unseated on petition, he obtained a seat for Windsor, and became a favorite of George III. Acci dent directed his attention to India, and in 1795 he became one of the unpaid members .of the board of control. In Oct., 1797, he received a seat in the house of lords us baron Wellesley; and, at a most eventful period, was selected to go to India as governor-,gen eral. Four powers then divided the sovereignty of India—the British; Tippoo nizam; and the Mahrattas, comprehending Scindiali, Holkar, and the rajah of Berar; and the w. of India was the scene of invasion by Zemaum Shah. Tippoo hated the English, and meditated their expulsion from India; and the troops in the service of the Nizam and the Mahrattas were officered by Frenchmen. When Wellesley arrived at Calcutta, in :May, 1793, Egypt had been conquered by Bonaparte; and the native powers of India, incited by the French, were unfriendly to British rule. His first operation was one of great boldness. Disregarding the remonstrances of the Madras council, he ordered the nizam to disband 14,000 men, surrounded them with a British force, secured the 124 Frenchmen by whom they were officered, and sent them instantly to Europe. Having annihilated French influence, he began the reduction of the empire of Mysore. On Feb. 3, 1799, he ordered gen. (afterward lord) Harris to march with an army of 20,000 men direct from the coast upon the Mysore capital. He himself removed to Madras, to be near the scene of this eventful operation. In one short month the fortress of Seringapatam was taken, Tippoo Sahib slain and his doniinions partitioned. Having thus in fifteen months destroyed French influence, struck terror into the native princes, and overthrown the most inveterate enemy of British rule in India, he returned to Bengal. tip to this period lie had been the earl of Morningtou; he was now (Dec., 1799) created by the king marquis of Wellesley, and received the thanks of parliament. The East India company offered him £100,000 of the prize money realized at Seringapatam, but lie refused, disdaining to be enriched out of mili tary spoil. He afterward accepted an annuity of £5,000 voted him by the court of pro prietors. His next step was to place the territories of the nabob of the Carnatic under the administration of the company, in consequence of the treachery of that prince. He also con cluded a treaty with Persia, to which he attributed " the fall of Zemaum Shah, the confu sion of the Afghan government, and the repression of the annual project of invading Hin dustan from Cabul "—then, as since, the nightmare of Indian statesmen. In 1801 he sent a
force of 7,000 men up the Red sea to assist in wresting Egypt from the French. The expe dition, under gen. Baird, reached Egypt, and effected a junction with the army from Eng land; but the French had already surrendered. In 1802, in consequence of differences with the court of directors, he tendered his resignation; but was induced to continue in office until January, 1800. The 3lahratta war broke out; the battles of Laswaree, Assaye, Arganni, and Delhi were fought; and Scindiah, the B tar rajah, and Holkar were stripped of their dangerous influence and reduced to submission. A large accession of territory rewarded the gallantry of the army, and in 1805 Wellesley returned to Eng land, after the most brilliant administration ever known in India. He had outshone even the native princes in the pomp and splendor of his progresses. He built the palace of Calcutta; founded and patronized the college of Indian literature; stimulated every attempt of natives and Europeans to bring to light the vegetable, mineral, and physical treasures of the "golden peninsula;" and inaugurated those important financial reforms which in a brief period raised the revenue of the company from 7 to more than 15 millions sterling. On his return he was received with every mark, of respect and approval by the directors; but as matter of course there were many complaints that his administration had been oppressive, especially toward the native powers; and arti cles of impeachment were even presented to the house of commons, though they were rejected with contempt. He now prepared to enter anew upon a parliamentary career. George III. wished him to be one of the secretaries of state in the Portland cabinet, but Ire declined the offer. He went to Spain as ambassador-extraordinary in 1809; landed at Cadiz on the day the battle of Talavera was fought, and on Nov. 2 met his brother, the duke of Wellington. at Seville. In Dec., 1809, he was appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs; and in 1810 was elected a knight of the garter. He was favora ble, both in and out of office, to the repeal of the penal laws affecting the Roman Catholics; and when, in Jan., 1812, the prince regent refusdd to agree to a conces sion of Roman Catholic claims, Wellesley resigned his seat in the cabinet: During the first ten years of the administration of lord Liverpool he remained in opposition. He protested against the insufficiency of the means placed at the disposal of the duke of Wellington, and did not cease to demand that he should ha assisted to the utmost extent of the national credit and resources, until the duke had crossed the Pyrenees at the head of his victorious army, and brought the war to an end before Toulouse. When the settle ment of the affairs of Europe was being arranged in 1815, Wellesley protested against the neglect of commercial interests, but without effect. He now began to ally himself with the more liberal section of the conservatives, who looked up to Mr. Canning as their leader, and accepted the office of lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Conciliation was to be the principle of his government, but he held office for 5 years without effecting any material amelioration, owing to the difficulties arising out of the state of the penal laws. Ile was i recalled from Ireland by his brother when lie took office n 1828. In 1830 Wellesley accepted the post of lord-steward of the household from earl Grey; and in 1833, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, he again proceeded to Ireland as viceroy, where he remained until sir B. Peel's administration of 1834. In 1835, on the restoration of the whig party, he accepted the pest of lord-chamberlain, which he only held for a few months. In 1837 it became known to the directors of the Last India company that he i was in straitened circumstances and deriving little, if any, advantage from their annuity of t'5,000 per annum; they therefore resolved that a solo of £20,000 should be vested in trustees for his benefit. In 1841 it was further resolved that his statue should be erected in the courtroom, as a mark of the admiration and gratitude of the East India company. Ile died at Kingston house, Knightsbridge, on Sept. 25, 1842, and, in compliance with his will, was buried in the vault at Eton college chapel. An authentic record of his Indian administration was undertaken by Mr. Montgomery Martin, under the direction and at the expense of the East India company, and published, I i II 1836, in o vols. 8vo, entitled, Dispatches, Minutes, and Correspondence of the Marquis Wellesley, during his Administration in India. A thin 8vo vol., issued in 1838, contains Dispatches and Cor respondence of the Marquis Wellesley daring his Mission to Spain. The marquis published several pamphlets on various occasions: Substance of a Speech in the House of Commons On the Address in 1794; Notes Relative to the Peace Concluded with the Mahrattas; Letters to the Government of Fort George Relative to the New Form of Government established there; Letters to the Directors of the East India Company on toe India Trade ; etc. He was twico married, but left no issue, and the marquisate became extinct at his death; the earldom, etc., went to his next brother, but afterward reverted to the second duke of Wellington, as son of the great duke, who was third brother.