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OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY.

SECOND SERIES.-No. 30.

SIR BERNARD BURKE, C.B., LL.D., M.R.I.A.,

Ulster King of Arms and Knight Attendant on the Order of St. Patrick; Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland, Member of the Society of Antiquaries, Normandy, &c., dc, &c.

SIR BERNARD BURKE belongs to a class of writers and workers which, in an age like ours, runs the risk, with the general public, of not being adequately appreciated. To many amongst us, heraldry, with its attendant lore relating to the rise and progress of patrician orders, is only so much antiquated lumber. Presuming on the privilege of living in an enlightened age, many persons regard crests and pedigrees as relics of barbarism, and all literary labour bestowed upon such trifles simple waste of time. We entertain a very different opinion in holding that Sir Bernard Burke has, with other authors of the same type, kindled a torch in our midst which, by enabling us to compare present acquisitions with those of our ancestors, has so far accelerated social progress. The genius of the true student in heraldry constitutes, therefore, a formative power in the production of modern cultivation. Sir Bernard Burke has given the world, in his works, an exquisite master-key for deciphering, in the history of our national and æsthetic development, a variety of otherwise illegible inscriptions.

The subject of our memoir was born in London in the year 1818, and is the second son of the late John Burke, Esq., of Dublin, by Mary his wife, daughter of Bernard O'Reilly, Esq., of Ballymorris, Co. Longford. Sir Bernard's grandfather was Peter Burke, Esq., of Elm Hall, Co. Tipperary, and his only surviving brother is Mr. Serjeant Burke, of the English bar, who has gained distinction as a legal and general writer. Sir Bernard Burke married, in 1856, Barbara Frances, second daughter late James MacEvoy, Esq., of Tobertynan, Co. Meath, and grand

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daughter of Sir Joshua Meredyth, Bart. Lady Burke's brother, many of our readers will remember, was formerly member for the Co. Meath. Sir Bernard was educated at Dr. Armstrong's academy at Chelsea, and afterwards at Caen College, Normandy, where he carried off first honours in Greek composition, Latin poetry, and mathematics, and, in general, gave earnest of that cultivation and ability which signalize all his writings and official acts.

He was called to the English bar in 1839, and soon acquired a good practice in peerage and genealogical cases. He continued to hold briefs for some time after his appointment to Ulster King of Arms and Knight Attendant on the Order of St. Patrick, which was in 1853. In the year following he received the honour of knighthood, and in 1855 succeeded the Earl of Stanhope as Keeper of the State Papers of Ireland. In 1862 the University of Dublin conferred on him causa honoris the degree of Doctor of Laws, while in 1868 he was raised to the dignity of a Companion of the Bath.

As Sir Bernard Burke came first prominently before the public in Ireland, in consequence of the duties arising out of the office of Ulster King-at-Arms, we may state that this office takes cognizance of and regulates all points connected with the genealogies, the court, the ceremonials, and the peerage of Ireland. Here has been for centuries the chief repository for the preservation of evidence on questions of family descent affecting property. Ulster King of Arms is, therefore, a very ancient appendage to the Irish executive. In the earliest Plantagenet era, the chief of the heraldic officers in this country bore the designation of Ireland King of Arms. On the accession of Henry VIII., or at least during the reign of Edward VI., we find the office called Ulster King of Arms. Some improperly associate this expression with the Northern Province, and so localize the office; the truth being that the term is derived from the earldom of Ulster, then vested in the Crown, and inherited from the great sept of the De Burghs. From this great and powerful family Sir Bernard himself is descended, so that we have the curious coincidence that the arms of the office are nearly identical with those of its present respected occupant.

In December, 1853, Sir Bernard Burke was, in succession to the late Sir William Betham, appointed, by patent under the Great Seal, Ulster King of Arms, and, at the same time, Principal Herald of all Ireland and Knight Attendant on the Order of St. Patrick, together with the responsible position of Keeper of the Records in Dublin Castle. We believe that in no part of his official life has he displayed his characteristic qualities of mind and his aptitude for system than in his care and management of the State Papers. When he entered upon his duties at the Castle he found the genealogy and heraldry of Ireland in quite a

neglected state, and the Records literally in utter confusion. No one could follow up with even tolerable certainty a genealogical or heraldic inquiry. If a document were asked for, its existence could only be determined after a tedious search, which often might end fruitlessly, and scarcely ever with an entirely satisfactory result. The truth is, that it would be impossible for any one, who had not actually inspected the receptacles for these documents, to realize the condition in which the great historical papers of Ireland in the Record Tower, Dublin Castle, were at the period we are speaking of.

Sir Bernard at once saw the work before him, and entered upon it with earnestness, and to some purpose, indeed, though it took ten years' incessant toil thoroughly to examine, cleanse, and restore to a proper classification the precious contents of this State repository. During this process each document was carefully examined, and, after being dusted, was tied up in its own particular bundle, indexed, and placed in a niche on the shelf appropriated to it. The fruit of such promptitude and method is now apparent, as the records in Birmingham Tower are accessible at a moment's notice, and the eager inquiries, whether of literary men, legal practitioners, or antiquarians, can be replied to almost at once. This confers an enormous benefit on the public, if we remember that the archives thus rescued from a sort of chaos contain parliamentary documents and ancient rolls of superlative interest, including, among others, the State Papers of Ireland and the Privy Council Books.

The effect of this revolution vibrated beyond the confines of Birmingham Tower, and led to very salutary changes. With a view to ulterior legislation, Sir Bernard was commissioned by the Government to proceed to Paris, in order to render himself conversant with the record system of France. On his return in September, 1866, he addressed a most circumstantial report to Lord Naas, afterwards Earl Mayo, in which he explains the organization, as well as concentration, of the French records as finally achieved under Napoleon III. Sir Bernard's report is admirable, as not only are the details grouped with perspicuity, but, as Lord Brougham said of Chief Justice Bushe's forensic addresses, all the facts of the case are given in the smallest compass imaginable. It led the Government to effect much needed reforms. The then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Wodehouse, selected one of the most practical and intelligent public men of Ireland in the present century-General Sir Thomas Larcom-who bent the energies of a keen mind into the fulfilment of the instructions he received, and left the question in such an advanced and favourable position as subsequently enabled Lord Mayo to carry through Parliament the Record Act of 1866, which has been most diligently and successfully carried out by Dr. Samuel Ferguson, Q.C., who was appointed Deputy Keeper of the Records under the Master of the Rolls.

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