Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 42.djvu/367

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Ouseley
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Ouseley

Christianity against Papal Novelties,’ 5th ed. enlarged and improved, including a review of Dr. Milner's ‘End of Controversy,’ Dublin, 1827. Ouseley also wrote: 1. ‘The Substance of a Letter to the Rev. Mr. Fitzsimmons, Roman Catholic Priest, of Ballymena, Ireland, on some chief Pillars or prime Articles of his Faith, especially Transubstantiation, Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass, and Divine Worship of the Host,’ 2nd ed., Leeds, 1816. 2. ‘Rare Discoveries: a calm Reply to a Roman Catholic Prelate and his Confreres,’ by G. O., Dublin, 1823, 12mo. 3. ‘Five Letters in Reply to the Rev. Michael Branagan,’ Dublin, 1824, 12mo, which were answered in ‘The Methodists and Bible Societies Refuted,’ by W. J. Battersby, Dublin, n.d. 4. ‘Letters in Defence of the Roman Catholics of Ireland, in which is opened the Real Source of their many Injuries and of Ireland's Sorrows,’ addressed to D. O'Connell, Dublin and London, 1829. 5. ‘Three Letters to the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, and Peter Augustin Baynes, D.D., Catholic Bishop of Liga,’ Dublin and London, 1829.

[Life, with portrait, by Rev. W. Arthur, 1876; Memoir of the Ministerial Life of Ouseley by W. Reilly, 1847; Methodist Mag., October 1839, p. 849; Cat. of Trin. Coll. Library, Dublin; London Quarterly Review, April and July 1876, p. 485; Burke's Peerage and Baronetage.]

C. F. S.


OUSELEY, Sir GORE (1770–1844), diplomatist, second son of Captain Ralph Ouseley of Limerick, by his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Holland of the same city, was born on 24 June 1770. He was educated at home with his brother William [q. v.] and his cousin Gideon [q. v.], under the care of a tutor, one Dr. Robinson (Arthur, Life of Gideon Ouseley, 1876, p. 8), and in 1787 left Limerick for India, where he engaged in commercial pursuits. In 1792 he was living 'at Bygonbarree, in the Dacca province, on the banks of the Burhampooter,' where he 'established a manufactory of baftas much cheaper than in any other part of the province,' and occupied his leisure time in the study of 'Persian, Bengalese, Hindu, and a little Arabic and Sanskrit' (Memoir, p. xxiii). He subsequently went to reside at Lucknow, where he became the friend of Saadut Ali, the nabob vizier of Oudh, in whose service he obtained the appointment of major-commandant. His conduct 'during the time of his residence at Lucnow was most useful to the British interests, and was warmly approved by the governor-general,' who sanctioned his appointment as aide-de-camp to the nabob vizier, in which 'situation he availed himself, with judgment and wisdom, of every opportunity to cultivate a good understanding between the state of Oude and the British power' (Despatches of the Marquess Wellesley, 1837, iv. 679). Ouseley returned to England in 1806, and was created a baronet on 3 Oct. 1808. On account of his intimate acquaintance with the language and customs of Persia, he was appointed in 1809, on Wellesley's recommendation, to the office of mihmandár to Mirza Abul-Hasan, the Persian ambassador, during his visit to this country. On 10 March 1810 Ouseley was appointed ambassador-extraordinary and minister-plenipotentiary to the Persian court. Accompanied by Mirza Abul Hasán, he left England in July 1810, and arrived at Shiraz in April 1811. In November following he reached Teheran, where he was received by Fath Ali Shah. After a long and tedious discussion, a definitive treaty between England and Persia was signed on 14 March 1812, and Ouseley was presented by the shah with the decoration of the Persian order of the Lion and Sun, set in diamonds. In June Ouseley had an interview with the prince royal at Tabriz. A treaty of peace having been concluded between England and Russia, Ouseley now received instructions to mediate between Russia and Persia. Though he succeeded in obtaining an armistice, the negotiations were at first unsuccessful. Ultimately, through his mediation, the treaty of Gulistan was signed on 13 Oct. 1813, which put an end to the war between Russia and Persia. Taking leave of the shah at Teheran on 22 April 18 14, Ouseley set out for St. Petersburg, where he arrived in August, and received the thanks of the emperor for his services in the peace negotiations between Russia and Persia. On 31 Aug. he was presented by Count Nesselrode, on behalf of the emperor, with the Grand Cordon of the Russian order of St. Alexander of Newski and a snuffbox set in brilliants and adorned with a portrait of the emperor. Ouseley returned to England in July 1816. In consequence of some informalities, Ouseley's treaty between Great Britain and Persia was never ratified, and the treaty of Teheran was signed by Morier and Ellis, the British plenipotentiaries, on 26 Nov. 1814. Ouseley obtained a pension of 2,000l. a year, and retired into private life. Though he failed to receive the peerage for which he had been recommended both by the emperor and the shah (Despatches of the Marquess Wellesley, iv. 680), he was admitted to the privy council on 10 Oct. 1820, and on 5 Aug. 1831 was made a knight grand cross of the order of