Both still exist, but the school has been deprived of its house, and the Fitzwilliam family, who now own the lands, still continue to pay only £10 a year.
As early as 1794 the government had information that placed Lord Edward under suspicion; but it was not till 1796 that he joined the United Irishmen, whose aim after the recall of Lord Fitzwilliam in 1795 was avowedly the establishment of an independent Irish republic. In May 1796 Theobald Wolfe Tone was in Paris endeavouring to obtain French assist ance for an insurrection in Ireland.
In 1762 he was appointed agent to the Earl Fitzwilliam, and held that office to within two years of his death.
He was unseated, and afterwards returned for Malton, a borough in the interest of Lord Fitzwilliam.
The Catholic question had rapidly become of the first importance, and when a powerful section of the Whigs joined Pitt's ministry in 1794, and it became known that the lordlieutenancy was to go to Lord Fitzwilliam, who shared Grattan's views, expectations were raised that the question was about to be settled in a manner satisfactory to the Irish Catholics.