Whatever its political effect, the closing of the Irish Parliament was a blow to the prestige of {209} Dublin as the metropolis. The viceroyalty remained, but it was shorn of some of its glory. With the death of the Irish House of Commons and the admittance of Irish peers to the English House of Lords, there was no longer any need for the native nobility to maintain expensive houses in Dublin. London became their centre, and they made their country houses their headquarters while in Ireland. Gradually the social power fell into the hands of the professional classes and the higher-grade civil servants; doctors, lawyers, officers in the army, and others of the professions dominated Dublin society. The viceroy's court saw less of the aristocracy, and the levees degenerated into a meeting-place for those of doubtful pedigrees or persons anxious to make new ones. Merrion Square and St. Stephen's Green attracted wealthy barristers and doctors, and prosperous tradespeople moved from the 'other side of the bridge' to the desirable regions surrounding Merrion Square. Knighthoods and baronetcies were given to doctors and lawyers, and the wives of the men who could not have been 'received' at the viceregal court previous to the union were now the leaders of fashion and frequenters of the Castle and the Lodge. The energetic viceroy meanwhile pressed for Catholic emancipation, which he declared would save Ireland from self-destruction. The state of the country was pitiable, and Dublin looked all the more wretched and squalid by reason of its patches of gaiety and wealth. Trade was stagnant and education at a standstill. Almost every viceroy {210} had to contribute to funds for starving peasantry. Cornwallis was not deceived by the carelessness of his immediate circle. He protested again and again against the laxity of the Government, and called aloud for the emancipation of the Catholics. He was informed that the Government dared not bring in such a Bill, for it would be thrown out instantly, and when they wished to commit political suicide the ministers would follow the viceroy's advice. [Illustration: Marquis Cornwallis] Tired and disgusted, Cornwallis resigned in February, 1801, and in May took his departure. In 1805 he died in India, two years after he had, as the English plenipotentiary, signed the disastrous Treaty of Amiens. [Sidenote: Lord and Lady Hardwicke]