Lichfield House Compact of 1835

Lichfield House Compact of 1835 

a secret understanding reached by the leader of the Irish opposition, D. O’Connell, and representatives of the Whig Party. The negotiations were conducted in early 1835 at the home of the Whig figure Lord Lichfield. In return for the Whigs’ promise to make certain small concessions to the upper elements of the Irish bourgeoisie (which was done by the Whig government of Lord Melbourne that came to power in April 1835), O’Connell pledged to work to curtail the mass anticolonial movement in Ireland and promised the Whigs the support of Irish deputies in the British Parliament. However, even in 1840 the fear of losing influence over the Irish masses prompted O’Connell to resume his opposition.