Arthur French (politician)
Arthur French (1764 – 24 November 1820) was an Irish Whig politician.
In 1783, he was elected a Member of Parliament (MP) for Roscommon County in the Irish House of Commons. After the Act of Union in 1801 he represented Roscommon in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He was alleged to have been offered an Earldom if he would support the Union of Ireland with Great Britain but refused the honour. Later he also refused a Barony with no strings attached. A critic of the policy of collective fines as a deterrent to the illicit distillation of poteen, he incurred the wrath of Chief Secretary of Ireland Robert Peel who called him "an Abominable fellow". He also criticized the continuation of martial law in Ireland. One report at the time states that he had died "from excessive fox hunting".
References
- Mosley, Charles (editor). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage: 107th Edition.
- French, Maurice. The Frenchs of French Park. Warminster: Maurice French, 1999.
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- 1764 births
- 1820 deaths
- 18th-century Irish people
- 19th-century Irish people
- Politicians from County Roscommon
- Irish MPs 1783–90
- Irish MPs 1790–97
- Irish MPs 1798–1800
- Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Roscommon constituencies (1801–1922)
- UK MPs 1801–02
- UK MPs 1802–06
- UK MPs 1806–07
- UK MPs 1807–12
- UK MPs 1812–18
- UK MPs 1818–20
- Irish (UK) MP stubs
- Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) MP stubs