by the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant for Ireland. In March 1804, Beresford was appointed to the Irish currency committee, and therefore resigned his seat by accepting the Escheatorship of Ulster, a sinecure office of profit under the Crown (see Resignation from the British House of Commons for details of the procedure). Impact on Irish politics After the death of his father on 5 November 1805 Beresford returned to Parliament by winning the by-election to replace him as MP for Waterford County (6 January 1806). Politically, he allied to a family faction of the Marquess of Waterford, under the leadership of Henry de La Poer Beresford; the faction aimed at trying to stop the government from giving power in Ireland to the Ponsonby family. Beresford was the chief spokesman for his group in their meetings with Ministers. Although expected to go into opposition in 1806, Beresford in fact supported the government, because a run on funds at his bank left him in need of government support for credit. His support led to his re-election at the 1806 general election in a contested election. This was a controversial decision within the government, with the Duke of Bedford admitting that Beresford had been guilty of persecution but believing he was now loyal, while Lord Howick believed it unlikely that he could be relied upon. Howick turned out to be correct. In 1807 Beresford did not support the government, and became a supporter of the Duke of Portland before his accession to the premiership later that year. He was unopposed in the 1807 general election. He was however erratic, and some of his speeches were reckoned as doing more harm than good to the government's cause. He strongly supported government against the proposal that peace negotiations with France be begun in 1809. Later life In January 1811 Beresford suffered a further severe financial crisis which prevented his attendance at Parliament for some months. In June he resigned his seat through appointment as Escheator of Munster, being succeeded by his kinsman, Major General Sir William Carr Beresford. The next year, Beresford attempted to get a government appointment but was refused as he already had a good pension. Beresford served as Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1814–15, where he was known for his "princely hospitality", but thereafter withdrew from public life. References Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish