John Methuen (diplomat)

John Methuen (1650–1706) was an English diplomat and judge. He held office simultaneously as Lord Chancellor of Ireland and English ambassador to Portugal. In the latter role he and his son Paul negotiated the Methuen Treaty for which he is chiefly remembered.

Early life and career

He was born in Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, eldest son of Paul Methuen (died 1667), said to be the richest cloth merchant of his time, and Grace Ashe. He attended St. Edmund Hall, Oxford but did not take a degree. He entered the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in 1674. He married Mary Cheevers, whose father like his own was a rich clothier. They had five children including the diplomat Sir Paul Methuen. The marriage was unhappy (John was notorious for infidelity) and ended in separation.

In 1685 he became Master in Chancery, a post he held for the rest of his life; he was elected to the House of Commons of England for Devizes in 1690 and served that constituency, with one short break, until his death.

He was appointed envoy to Portugal in 1691, to his delight, as he looked forward to a "not too onerous position in an agreeable climate". He established good relations with King Pedro II which were of value later in negotiating the Methuen Treaty, but was required to return to England on his appointment to the Council of Trade, his son Paul remaining in Lisbon to act as deputy envoy. John gained a powerful friend in James Vernon, Under-Secretary of State, who on the death of Charles Porter recommended him as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Although Lord Somers, the English Lord Chancellor, thought little of him, saying that he knew of "nothing that qualified him for such an office", he was duly appointed.

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Methuen's experience in Portugal did not adequately prepare him for the bitter and faction-ridden world of Irish politics. The Irish Parliament during his tenure as Chancellor dealt with issues of security, trade, whether to honour (even) in part the articles of the Treaty of Limerick, and the Penal Laws, all of which were the subject of intense controversy and heated debate. Methuen, as Speaker of the Irish House of Lords, was heavily involved, and claimed that on the Limerick articles alone he attended the House 22 times. He clashed with the powerful William King, Bishop of Derry, and was severely criticised in England for his handling of the debate. He was required to spend more and more time in England, leading to complaints that he was an absentee Chancellor; Elrington Ball in his history of the Irish judiciary remarked that though he held office he could hardly be said to occupy it. Methuen complained that his reputation had been ruined and contemplated resignation, due to his belief that King William III had lost confidence in him. He quarrelled with the hot tempered Thomas Fitzmaurice, 1st Earl of Kerry, who challenged him to a duel. The matter was complicated when Richard Ingoldsby, later one of the Lord Justices of Ireland, who carried the challenge, was arrested, but to avoid further embarrassment the King quickly ordered Ingoldsby's release

The Irish born writer John Dunton, visiting Dublin in 1698, left a valuable sketch of the Irish Courts. He described most of the Irish judges as being men of such high reputation that "no one complains of them"; but made a significant exception for Methuen, who he remarked seemed to be out of vogue.

Return to Portugal

He returned to Portugal as envoy and then ambassador, holding office with some intervals from 1702 until his death. Until 1703 he was permitted to retain the Irish Chancellorship. In 1703 he received the title Ambassador Extraordinary, but not without some difficulty. Initially Lord Nottingham, the Secretary of State, refused it to him, causing him to complain to Sarah Churchill, who in turn complained to Queen Anne. The Queen, whose long friendship with Sarah was wearing thin, partly due to Sarah's bad temper, replied wearily that "I always took it for granted that Mr Methuen was to have the title Ambassador Extraordinary".

Methuen Treaty

See main article: Methuen Treaty

In 1702 he persuaded the Portuguese Government to break with Louis XIV, and then began lengthy negotiations for an offensive and defensive alliance. Paul in his father's absence ultimately concluded the Treaty on 16 May 1703, a step of great significance in the War of the Spanish Succession.

John on his return from England concluded a commercial treaty on 27 December 1703, opening Portugal to the English cloth trade in return for preferential rates of duty on the import of wine. How beneficial to either country the Treaty was in the long run has been debated; possibly its most important result was the development of the port wine trade, and it was later referred to flippantly as "the Port-Wine Treaty".

Last years

Methuen increasingly suffered from gout and rheumatism; his health failed and he died, still in office, on 2 July 1706. His body was embalmed and he was buried in Westminster Abbey. Paul and his sister Isabella (died 1711) are buried close by.

Reputation

Despite his undoubted skill as a diplomat, Methuen was a controversial figure, who made many enemies, including Jonathan Swift who dismissed him as "a profligate rogue without religion or morals, cunning enough but without abilities of any kind". His much publicised affair with Sarah Earle, wife of a diplomatic colleague, damaged his standing. Even among his Whig colleagues, opinion varied: James Vernon thought highly of him, but Lord Somers clearly did not.

References

• G.F.R. Barker "Methuen, John (1650–1706) rev. Thomas Doyle Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004

• Francis Elrington Ball The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 John Murray London 1926

• Edward Gregg Queen Anne Yale University Press 2001