to
Mrs. T.E. Knowlton
HANDBOUND
AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF
TORONTO PRESS
AN
HISTORICAL REVIEW
OF THE
STATE OF IRELAND,
1
FROM THE
INVASION OF THAT COUNTRY UNDER HENRY II.
TO ITS
UNION WITH GREAT BRITAIN
OK THE FIRST OF JANUARY 1801.
IN FIVE VOLUMES.
BT FRANCIS PLOWDEN, Esq.
V6L. II.
• . V
Pauci prudentia honesta ab deterioribug, utilia ab noxiis discernunt : plures
aliorutn eventis docentur. TAG. 4. Ann. 33.
Few are qualified by their own reflection to mark the boundaries between
vice and virtue. To separate the useful from that which leads to destruction
is not the talent of every man. The example of others is the school of
wisdom. MURPHY'S front. Vol. i. p. 273.
PHILADELPHIA :
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM F. M(LAUGHLIN, NO. 23
NORTH SECOND STREET, AND BARTHOLOMEW GRAVES, NO.
40 NORTH FOURTH STREET4
1805,
'*'- i
%vfc^£
-••V- •
.
CONTENTS
OF THE
CHAPTER IV.
THE REIGN OF GEORGE SECOXD.
THE Catholics present an address of congratulation to be trans-
mitted by the lords justices — Never answered — Boulter con-
tinues to maintain an English ascendency in Ireland - PAGE 1
Roman Catholics disfranchised— References and Extracts of
Primate Boulter's letters to the Duke of Newcastle - - 2
Boulter's pride to support the English interest £
The address causes a division among the Catholics - 4«
The wretchedness of the poor and accumulated national
debt - 5
The commons frame various resolutions, such as a national
bank, granaries, &c. — Lord Carteret's administration - 6
First coalition between Irish Protestants and Catholics dreaded
by government ----- 7
The disfranchising clause brought in by stealth - 7
The prime minister Boulter only occupied in encreasing the
wealth of the church, and keeping up an English ascen-
dency _._.__ g
Boulter acknowledges that the Catholics are five to one Protes-
tant - - 9-1O
Broderick appointed to a commission of the customs in Eng-
land - - - 11
Alarm of Boulter upon this nomination — The English interest
oppose the restoration of the Clanricard forfeitures — The
same interest get the commons of Ireland to vote an address
to the king beseeching him to withhold his disposition of
restoring any forfeitures whatsoever 12
iv CONTENTS.
Primate Boulter governs in reality during the whole of Lord
Carteret's administration - 13
Boulter gives a melancholy picture of Ireland and enlarges upon
the emigrations - 14
Great scarcity in the North, and corn purchased in Munster for
its relief, which occasions several riots - - 15
Great emigrations from the North — The Dissenting ministers
present a memorial - - - - 16
National debt of Ireland but 16,106/. 11** O^/.-^Continued
poverty of Ireland . - . - - 17
The patriots gain a superiority in the House of Commons - 18
The Duke of Dorset's administration continued - - 18
The Duke's testimony of the peaceable conduct of the Irish - 19
Administration of the Duke of Devonshire — Primate Boulter
still conducts the Irish cabinet f- 21-2
The cries against Papists and Popery in Ireland excited by the
self-interest of a few individuals • 23
Primate Boulter's letter to the Bishop of London 23
The Irish cabinet at variance with the English 24
Lord Clancarthy's attainder confirmed 25
Earl of Chesterfield, lord lieutenant .... 26
Irish regiments in the French service - 27
Moderation of the Earl of Chesterfield's government - 28
Not one Catholic in Ireland accused of rebellion during the
commotions of 1745 . ... 29
Primate Stone's testimony of Irish Catholic loyalty 30
Lord Chesterfield addresses the parliament - 30-1
He orders the places for Catholic worship to be opened - 32-3
Union of all sects and parties under his administration - 34
The good effects of abilities in the government exemplified 35
Earl of Chesterfield recalled soon after the battle of Culloden 35
Jiarl of Harrington appointed lord lieutenant — The question
about the privileges of the corporation of Dublin started 36
Doctor Lucas, O'Connor, &c. publish their opinions - 37
Lucas publishes his discoveries 38
Lucas declared an enemy to his country and flies — Upon a new
vacancy for Dublin he returns and is elected — Stone, Bishop
of Deny, succeeds Primate Boulter 39
This prelate's character - - - - 39
Trade of the country encreased — Discussion between the crown
and the patriots about tjie disposal of the surplus of the reve-
nues ...... 40
The patriots carry their point — Dispose of the surplus after-
wards yearly in public works, &c. without the consent of the
crown — Bad effects of this policy — This kind of vicious ad-
ministration removed by the union - 41
The Duke of Dorsets's speech from the throne - .42
CONTENTS. v
Mr. Nevil, Engineer General, accused of embezzlement of the
public monies, convicted and cashiered - 43
Primate Stone unpopular from his vices andpolicy — Lord George
Sackville appointed secretary — The haughty demeanour of
this young nobleman 44
Discussions of the session, 1753 .... 45
All servants of the crown who joined the patriots were dismissed
from office - 46
The Earl of Kildare petitions the king - 47
The speaker of the House of Commons promoted to a peerage
by the title of Earl of Shannon - 48
Primate Stone struck off the list of the council 49
Duke of Devonshire appointed lord lieutenant — Returns to
England, 1756, the ferment subsides - 5O
The House of Commons in a committee consider upon the
. heads of a bill for securing the freedom of that house against
the influence of the crown 5O
Resolutions of the said committee - ' - 51
Said resolutions presented to the lord lieutenant - 52
The Duke of Bedford appointed lord lieutenant — The appre-
hension of further persecutions engage some Catholic gentle,
men to meet — Diversity of opinions on their political rights 53
Declarations of the principles of the Catholics — A first meeting
of the Catholics where a committee is formed — Mr. Wyse's
plan presented - - - 54
Publication of Dr. Curry's Historical Memoirs - 55
The lord lieutenant's message to the house - 55-6
The Catholics of Dublin address the lord lieutenant - 57
The address graciously received and read at the bar of the
House of Commons by orders from the chair 58
Similar addresses from other parts of the kingdom — Mr. Arthur
Young's portrait of Irish landlords 59
The country not then ripe for an union - 59-6O
The French Brest Fleet vanquished by Admiral Hawke 61
Thurot lands at Carrickfergus and takes it 61
Plunders the town — Re-embarks — Is attacked near the Isle of
Man by Captain Elliot— Thurot killed 62-3
Thanks of the commons to Colonel Jennings for his good con-
duct at Carrickfergus upon the landing of the French - 63
Demise of King George the Second, 25th October, 1760, aged
77 vears - - - - - - 64
vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
THE REIGN OF GEORGE THE THIRD.
THE king's speech to the British parliament - 65
General state of Ireland in the year 1760 66
From the accession of the Hanover family the rigour of the po-
pery laws slackened by degrees 67"
First rising in the south of Ireland— White Boys - 68
Causes of the miseries of the people— Disproportion between
the price of provisions and that of labour 69
Arthur Young's observations on these insurgents - 69-7O
Sir Richard Aston, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas,
sent upon a special commission to try the insurgents — His
justice and humanity - - - - - - 71
An account of the trial of the Rev. Nicholas Sheehy acquitted in
Dublin, condemned in Clonmel ... 72-3
Attempts to throw the odium of the riots upon the Roman
Catholics ...-..-.74
The House of Commons appoint a committee to enquire into
the progress of the popish insurrection — Rupture with Spain
continued ..... 75
A message for further supplies — Granted — A vote of credit
for 500,OOO/. ..... 76
The various descriptions of insurgents under the titles of Oak
Boys, Hearts of Steel, Peep-of-Day Boys, and the causes of
their excesses - - - - - 77
Lord Halifax's government ended, 1762 - - 78
Change of the cabinet - - . - - 78
Mr. Burke's remarks upon the change of ministry, Note 78 to 81
The merchants of Dublin present an address to Mr. Pitt ex-
pressive of their gratitude - - 79 to 81
Doctor Lucas leads the patriots of Dublin — The septennial bill
rejected— the patriots lose ground - - 82
Resolutions of the merchants of Dublin, and Resolutions of the
House of Commons .... 83
The Earl of Northumberland appointed lord lieutenant, vice the
Earl of Halifax, recalled — His speech to parliament - 84
The insurgents in the south were mostly Catholic labourers —
The various denominations of insurgents in the north Pro-
testant manufacturers to a man — Every motion for enquiry
into the cause of the troubles rejected 85
A motion for regulating the pension list rejected - 86
Mr. J. Fitzgerald leader of the patriots in the debates on the
pension and civil lists 87
CONTENTS. vii
The court party accuse him of an attack upon the preroga-
tive ... .... 87-8
The military state of the country reported 88
Pensions lavishly granted 89
Remarkable opinion of Mr. Gore, solicitor general - 90 '
A motion for an address to the throne by Mr. Perry for a di-
minution of expences - ... 91-2
A statement of the late encrease of expences 93
Primate Stone's English ascendency supported by the Irish pu-
ritans— Mr. Mason's observations upon the Papists lending
security bills— Animadversions upon Sir James Caldwel's
pamphlet concerning the Papist security bill, vide Note 94
Mr. Bagnal brings in heads of a bill for better securing the
liberties of the subject - - - - 98
Both Primate Stone and the Earl of Shannon die — The Cheva-
lier de St. George, only son of James the Second, died at
Rome - - - 99-10O
Proofs of the venality of the Irish parliament - - 101
The heads of the bill for securing the freedom of parliament,
&c. stopped by the English privy council - - 102-3
An address to his majesty is carried by a majority of two —
The address answered not very graciously - 104-5
Two patriotic bills rejected - - 105
Abridged statement of the Irish revenue ... 106
Difference in point of law between aa English proclamation and
an Irish one — Doctor Lucas addresses the city of Dublin 107
Notwithstanding the alteration made in the bill by the English
privy council, the bill passes - - - 108
Doctor Lucas addresses his constituents - - 109-1O
Lord Hertford recalled and Lord Townshend appointed lord
lieutenant, 1767 - - - 111
Great changes under Lord Townshend — The leading grandees
govern in reality ... .. - 112
Primary object of Lord Townshend's government • 113
Long parliaments considered as a national evil - 113
Septennial bill transmitted and returned octennial — The bill for
the independence of judges returned with a material altera-
tion, and therefore rejected , - - - 114-
Effects of Molyneux's Case of Ireland - - 115
Draper's Letters — Faulkner's imprisonment — Doctrine of li-
bels ...... 116
Freeman's Journal, Hibernian Journal, Dublin Mercury, from
these papers Barratariana - - - 117
His majesty's message to the commons - - 118
The report of the committee in answer to the message 119
The first limited parliament meet, October, 1769 -f 12O
viii CONTENTS.
Even pensioners resist the right of the English privy council to
make money bills originate with them - 120-1
A bill of certain duties rejected because it was altered in Eng-
land ..... 122
The lord lieutenant enters a protest on the journals of the upper
house, which produces a serious debate - - 122
Woodfall's libel upon the Irish patriots - 123
Sir Charles Bingham's report from the pension committee 124
Address of the commons to his excellency - - 125
Answer delivered by Sir George Mac Cartney the secretary —
Parliament prorogued - - 125-6
The Honourable Boyle Walsingham's motion in the British
House of Commons on the prorogation of the Irish parlia-
ment ...... 127
Lord North replies .... 128
Encrease of the national debt - - 129
The lord lieutenant meets parliament, 26th of February, 1771 —
Mr. Edmund Saxton Perry, speaker - - 13O
Resignation of the chair by Mr. J. Ponsonby - ISO
A motion in the House of Commons for an address to his ma-
jesty, lost - - 131
Both houses address the king - - - 132
Protest of sixteen peers - - - -. 133
Names of the protesting peers ... . 134
Extract from the lord lieutenant's speech, 1771 - 135
An insurgent rescued from the barracks of Belfast by the Steel
Boys ... 136
None of the insurgents convicted either in Carrickfergus or
Dublin ...... 137
The conduct of the Protestants . - 138
An additional bounty to Popish priests converted - 189
An act for the reclaiming unprofitable bogs - 140-1
Lord Harcourt appointed, October, 1772 - 142
He meets parliament, 12th, 1773 - 142
Perry the speaker, speech at the bar of the lords - 143
Lord Harcourt adopts more moderation than his predecessor 144
An absentee tax proposed by government rejected - 145-6
The plan of tontine for raising the sum of 650,000/. - 147
Stamp duties introduced - - - 148
Heads of a bill for securing the repayment of monies advanced
by Papists to Protestants — Heads of a bill for granting leases of
lives to Papists — Both plans remain without any progress 148
A bill passes both houses entitling all and every of his majesty's
subjects to testify their allegiance - - 149
Mr. Rigby, Master of the Rolls in Ireland, opinion concerning
the right of England to tax Ireland - 15O
The effects of an embargo upon commerce - 151-2
CONTENTS. ix
The British minister moves for a committee of the whole house
to consider the Irish fisheries - - 153
The committee grant bounties for the whale fisheries — Take
off the duties upon oil, bone, and blubber 153
Lord lieutenant's message to the Irish commons 154
Admission of foreign troops rejected - 154-5
The additional duty bill upon beer, &c. rejected on account of
certain alterations in England — A motion to address his
majesty - - - - - 156
The above address lost - 157-8
An address to the lord lieutenant — The people of Ireland par-
tial to America from sympathy - - 159-6Q
Lord Effingham's resignation of his station in the army — The
city of Dublin vote him thanks, Note 161
State of the expences for the last two years — This octennial
parliament dissolved, only four years old - 162
Thomas Townshend's (Lord Sidney) motion in the English
House of Commons against the Earl Harcourt — This motion
rejected after a long debate - - 163-5
Sawbridge, mayor of London, moved in the House of Com-
mons, that the American colonies be put on the footing of
Ireland — Extraordinary promotion to the peerage - 166
Lord Buckinghamshire appointed lord lieutenant — Mr. Heron
his secretary — His lordship's speech to parliament in Octo-
ber 1777 - 167
Grievances described in the petitions of the cities of Cork and
Dublin - - - - 168
Increase of expenditure upon the civil list - . 169
Resolutions of the House of Commons - - 170-4
Official communication of the treaty between France and the
American colonies - - - 175-6
The answer of the commons to this message - 176
Resolution for raising 300,000/. per tontine - 177
A message from the lord lieutenant to the commons - ^77
First concession to Roman Catholics under Lord North's ad-
ministration - - 178
A committee of the English House of Commons examine the
acts of parliament relating to the Irish trade - 179
Debate upon Earl N agent's motion in favour of the Irish
trade - - 179
Mr. T. Townshend wishes for further indulgences to the Irish
Roman Catholics — Lord North acknowledges himself a
friend to any motion tending to their relief — Sir George
Saville moves for leave to bring in the heads of a bill to repeal
certain penal laws against Popery in England - ISO
Observations favourable to the Irish Catholics during the de-
bate - - 181-2
VOL. II. #• #
x CONTENTS.
Mr. Gardiner moved for leave to bring in the heads of a bill
for the relief of his majesty's Roman Catholic subjects of Ire-
land— Leave granted — A motion of Sir Edward Newnham
in favour of the Dissenters lost - - 183-4
After a severe contest the Catholic bill succeeds 185
The session terminates the 14th August — The Irish trade bill
is violently opposed in the English House of Commons 185
Mr. Burke's answers to all the objections against this bill 186-8
Lord Nugent describes the distresses of the common people of
Ireland - - - - 189
Lord Beauchamp joins Lord Nugent - - 190
Lord Nugent moves for the establishment of a cotton manufac-
tory in Ireland, and liberty to import cotton yarn into Eng-
land from the sister kingdom - - 191
Colonel Stanley and Sir George Younge appear hostile to the
measure — Mr. T. Tovvnshend supports Lord Nugent — Lord
Nevvhaven establishes the average of the imports and exports
from England to Ireland, and vice versa 192
Moves for leave, &c. to import West India sugars into Ireland
— Debates on the subject — Lord North communicates to the
English commons the king's proclamation confirmative of the
miserable state of Ireland — Sir George Younge states the
quantity of sugar imported annually into Great Britain 193
Debates upon the sugar importation bill - 194
Motion of Lord Shelburne in the English House of Peers for
an address to his majesty - - - 195
Lord Wey mouth opposes the motion as implicating the mi-
nistry - - - - 195
The amendment for deferring the address to the ensuing session.
— Carried after a long debate - - 196
Resolutions of the city of Dublin ... 201
Resolutions of the city of Waterford - - 201-2
First association of volunteers and progress - 203
The lord lieutenant's speech to parliament - - 203-4
Mr. Grattan's observations thereupon - - 205-6
Grattan's amendment to the address is carried after a warm
debate .... 2O7
The weakness of the Irish government - - 207
Important motion of Lord Shelburne in the British House of
Peers - ... 208
The misuse of the Irish hereditaiy revenues - 21O
Resolutions moved by Lord Shelburne - - 211
The resolution supported by the Earl of Hillsborough, Mar-
quis of Rockingham, &c. - - 212-14
Lord Upper Ossory's speech and motion in the British House
of Commons for a vote of censure, &c. - - 214
Lord-Middleton supports the motion - - - 215
CONTENTS. xi
Debate upon the motion continued - - 216
The motion rejected by 173 against 10O 217
Mr. Burke's remarks - 218-20
Resolutions of the Irish parliament for a free trade - 22O
A committee of the British House of Commons upon the state
of Ireland — The minister's speech and correct statement of
the restriction upon the Irish trade - 221-6
Two bills in favour of Irish trade pass — Force, discipline, and
political resolutions of the Irish volunteers — Mr. Grattan's
resolution on Irish independence moved to be entered on the
Journals of the commons - 227
The motion withdrawn — First Irish lottery - 227
Mr. Perry, speaker of the House of Commons, his* speech, Note
— The privy council in England alters the mutiny and sugar
importation bills .... 228
The borough of Newry petitions — General discontent — The
House of Commons resolves into a grand committee upon the
alteration in the mutiny bill ... 229
The resolutions of Dublin merchant volunteers - 23O
Censure of the commons upon certain public papers - 231
Great circulation of a pamphlet attributed to Mr. Grattan 232
Lord Buckinghamshire's speech to the lords and commons —
Lord Carlisle appointed to the government of Ireland — Mr.
Eden (now Lord Auckland) secretary - - 233
Speech of Mr. Fox in the British House of Commons upon the
report of the mutiny bill — Mr. Townshend seconds the mo-
tion .... 234-4O
The motion passes without a division . 24O
The reviews of the volunteers continue — the lord lieutenant con-
venes parliament — His speech - - 241
Mr. O'Neil moves the address, and Mr. Conolly moves thanks
to the volunteers - - - 242
Mr. Fitzgibbon (afterwards Earl of Clare) opposes at first the
vote of thanks to the volunters - 243
The vote of thanks passes unanimously - - 244
A habeas corpus bill moved for, and passes — A freedom of
trade with Portugal moved for by Sir Lucius O'Brien — Mr.
Eden the secretary opposes the motion — Debates there-
upon .... 245-9
Mr. Grattan moves for amending the mutiny act - 250
The motion rejected - - 251
The heads of a new mutiny bill proposed — Rejected by a large
majority - - 252
Intelligence of the. surrender of Lord Cornwallis's army 253-4
A remarkable speech of Mr. Yelverton on the occasion — Mr.
Grattan's report of the finances, and moves for the appoint-
ment of a committee thereupon • -• 255-7
xii CONTENTS.
Mr. Forster accuses Mr. Grattan's statement of error - 258
Mr. Eden joins Mr. Forster — Mr. Grattan's motion re-
jected -----_. ._ 259
Mr. Flood's speech on Poynings' law - 26O
Reference to the influence of the lords of articles in Scot-
land - - - - - 261-4
Mr. Flood's motion for a committee to examine this law — The
motion opposed by the provost and the attorney general, and
rejected . - - 264
Mr. Luke Gardiner proposes the heads of a bill for a further
relief from penal laws to the Roman Catholics 265
A long debate upon the motion — Deferred - - 265
Mr. Flood moves the question of Poynings' law 266
The speaker's speech to the lord lieutenant — Mr. Grattan's
speech previous to the recess upon the Catholic bill - 267
Mr. Gardiner gives notice of his intentions to bring in the heads
of a bill for the relief, &c. 268
Long debates upon the question ... 26'J
In the absence of Mr, Gardiner, Mr. Dillon presents heads of
a bill for the relief of the Roman Catholics — Debates
thereon .,....-. 27O
The order of the day for the Catholic bill — Mr. Fitzgibbons
opposes it — A long debate .... 271
The Armagh volunteer resolutions ... 272-4
Resolutions of the Ulster volunteers at Dungannon - 274
Names of the principal members for and against the Catholic
bill - - - - - - 275-8
Mr. Gardiner's bill not a government measure — Mr. Grattan's
speech on Irish legislative independence - 278-83
Makes a motion for an address to his majesty •» 283
The motion rejected - - 284-6
Mr. Flood moves resolutions upon same subject 286
The solicitor general proposes an amendment — The declaration
in the resolutions negatived .... 287
Mr. Gardiner proposes the relief for the Catholics by three
separate bills .... 288
The heads of two pass, the third, which related to intermarriages
between Roman Catholics and Protestants negatived by a
majority of eight - 289
An extract from Mr. Burke's letter to an Irish peer, during
these transactions, Note ..... 290
The Catholic bill though not perfected during, to be considered
however to belong to Lord Carlisle's administration 291-2
Lord Carlisle's resignation, and the Duke of Portland's appoint-
ment to the lieutenancy ... 293
Mr. Eden lays before the British parliament a view of Irish
politics for the last two years — Moves for leave to bring in a
bill for the independence of the Irish parliament 294
CONTENTS. xiii
Mr. Secretary Fox communicates a message to the house, re-
commending the state of Ireland - - 295-7
Colonel Fitzpatrick's declaration 297
The Duke of Portland's reception in Dublin upon the meeting
of parliament — Mr. Hely Hutchinson, principal secretary of
state, communicates the message from the throne - 297-8
Mr. Ponsonby moves a dutiful address to the king — Mr. Grat-
tan moves for an amendment - - 299
Error of Judge Blackstone respecting Ireland - 30O
Terms proposed by Mr. G rattan — The address as amended
by Mr. Grattan — Passes - 301
Great inconstancy of the late administration — Mr. O'Neil
moves for a congratulatory address to the Duke of Portland —
It passes - 302-3
Mr. Fitzgibbon moves a vote of thanks to the late lord lieute-
nant, which passes — First division upon the Catholic bills,
which pass by a great majority — Letter of Lord Carlisle in
answer to the vote of thanks, Note - - 304
Mr. Eitzgibbon's speech upon the independence of Ireland —
The attorney general's political opinions - 304
The parliaments of England and Ireland debate upon the Irish
independence cm the same day - - 306
The Earl of Shelburne moves in the English House of Lords
for a repeal of Gth Geo. I. &c. &c. - - 306
The Earl of Carlisle expresses his approbation of the motion,
which passes with only one dissenting voice - 307
Mr. Fox in the English House of Commons moves for a repeal
of the same act, &c. &c. ... 308-11
A correspondence between the leaders of the two countries 311
The Duke of Portland's speech from the throne to the Irish par-
liament - - - - - - -- 212
Mr. Grattan's speech - 313-15
He moves an address, which passes unanimously - 315
Reference to a correspondence between the Duke of Portland
and Lord Shelburne upon the state of Ireland, Note - 316
Mr. Bagenal moves for a mark of national gratitude to Mr.
Grattan - 317-18
A sum of 50,OOO/. granted to him — A proclamation for a day
of general thanksgiving — Mr. Flood's jealousy of Mr. Grat-
tan - - 319
Mr. Montgomery moves for a restitution of Mr. Flood's place,
then held by Sir George Younge ... 32O
Colonel Fitzpatrick opposes the motion — A conversation be-
tween Mr. Flood arfd Mr. Yelverton upon Poynings' law 321
An important debate upon the same law - - 322
The bill passes with Mr. Yelverton's amendment - 323-4
xiv CONTENTS.
The death of the Marquis of Rockingham occasions a change in
the cabinet — Members of the new administration, Note 325
Lord Temple fixed upon for the lieutenancy - 326
The Irish bank, Habeas Corpus, and dissenting Protestant sa-
cramental test bills pass, likewise the judges independence
bill - - - - 327
The lord lieutenant's speech from the throne 328-3O
The 6th of Geo. I. repealed in the British parliament — Provin-
cial meetings of the volunteers— Resolutions of the same —
National committee in Dublin - - 33O
Resolution of the Dungannon volunteers — Address of the
same .... 331-3
The province of Connaught addresses also — Munster was silent,
although the Deputies met - - 333
Address of the first company of Belfast volunteers - 333
A volunteer encampment-^An address moved to the reviewing
general — Debates thereupon - - 334
CONTENTS
OF THE
No. LVI. A LETTER from Primate Boulter to the Bi-
shop of London, relating to the Dissenters'
complaints of tithes - - page 1 to 4
LVII. The memorial of Dr. Lucas - 4 to 8
LVIII. The memorial of the Earl of Kildare 8 to 1O
LIX. The gentlemen who voted in support of the reso-
lution against this question, and for stifling the
resolutions from appearing before his majesty
1O to 13
LX. Exhortation of the Roman Catholic clergy of
Dublin read from their altars on the second of
October, 1757 13 to 15
LXI. Letter of Mr. O'Connor to Dr. Curry 15 to 16
LXII. Mr. Wyse's proposal to the first Catholic com-
mittee 16 to 18
LXIIL Letter of Mr. Saul to Mr. O'Connor of Belana-
gare - - - 18 to 19
LXIV. Letter of Mr. O'Connor to Dr. Curry. To the
same. The answer - 19 to 22
LXV. The humble address of the Roman Catholic gen-
tlemen, merchants, and citizens of the city of
Dublin to his Grace John Duke of Bedford-—
His Grace the Duke oi Bedford's answer to the
address of the Roman Catholics of Dublin in
his letter to the Right Hon. John Ponsonby,
Esq. speaker of the honourable House of Com-
mons - - 22 to 24
LXVI. Letter of General Strode to the lord lieutenant,
concerning the landing of Thurot 24 to 27
LXVII, The address of the Quakers 27 to 29
LXVIII. Exhortation read in the Roman Catholic chapels
on the day of public fast - 29 to 3O
xvi CONTENTS.
LXIX. The address of the merchants and traders of Dub-
lin in 1761 - - 30 to 31
LXo. Protest of the lord lieutenant, &c. 31 to 36
LXItf. Protest of five lords against the lord lieutenant's
right of protesting - - 36 to 38
LXIIa. Protest of sixteen lords against the entry of the
lord lieutenant's protest on the journals 38 to 4O
LXIIIa. The Catholics' test of allegiance prescribed by the
13th and 14th George III. chap. xxxv. 40 ta 41
LXIVa. From the debates in the British House of Com-
mons •- 41 to 62
LXVfl. Debate upon Irish affairs in the British House of
Peers - - - 62 to 74
LXVIa. Letter from Francis Dobbs, Esq. to Lord North
74 to 82
LXVIIa. Addresses and resolutions of different corps of
volunteers — The address published by the com-
mittee of the Ulster volunteers — The resolu-
tions agreed to at a meeting of the high sheriff
and grand jury of the county of Dublin, llth of
April, 1782 - - - 82 to 95
LXVlIIa. From the debates in the British House of Com-
mons - - - 95 to 1O8
LXIXa. An address from the Belfast first volunteer com-
pany to the officers and privates of the several
companies to be reviewed at Belfast, 31st of
July, 1782 — With an address from Francis
Dobbs, Esq. to the officers, &c. - 108 to 12O
AN
HISTORICAL REVIEW
OF THE
STATE OF IRELAND.
CHAPTER IV.
THE REIGN OF GEORGE THE SECOND.
UPON the demise of George the First, his son ascended
the throne without disturbance or opposition. Now for the first
time since tke Revolution did the Roman Catholics of Ireland
venture to approach the throne by a public act of their body.
The penal laws had been somewhat multiplied, and rigorously
executed during the late reign. It was still fresh in the minds
of the Catholics, that the severe laws of Queen Ann were said to
have been passed against them as a punishment for their having
neglected to address her on her accession to the throne. The
extreme virulence with which they had been recently calum-
niated from the press, the pulpit, and the senate, on account of
the rebellion of 1715, deterred them from offering any address
upon the accession of the Hanover family. At this juncture,
however, they drew up an address of congratulation, which in
a dignified manner expressed loyalty to their sovereign, and
pledged them to a continuance of their peaceful and quiet demea-
nour. It was presented to the lords justices, by Lord Delvin
and several respectable Catholic gentlemen ; but it was received
with silent contempt. The lords justices, who were humbly in-
treated to transmit it to his majesty, never condescended to make
an answer to those who presented it ; nor has it been known to
this day, whether it reached the hands of the sovereign, or were
strangled in its birth by the heads of the English interest, who
dreaded nothing so much as the united loyalty of the people of
Ireland. The severe ordeal, which Catholic loyalty had passed
VOL. ii. A
2 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
during the reign of George the First, had it seems so far blunted
the edge of calumny, that public vituperation was considered no
longer prudent. The great engine, patron, and supporter of the
English interest in Ireland, was Primate Boulter ; who well knew
that the opposite party, hitherto known by the distinction of To-
ries, which he affected to call the disaffected, and the ting's ene-
mies, were acquiring daily strength by the accession of all those
who, as patriots, preferred an Irish to an English interest in their
native country ; and sensible that the means of supporting the
English interest would not bear the light, his Grace effected, by
a coup de main, a bold measure, which would probably have
failed, had it been previously canvassed and openly debated in
the then prevailing temper of the public mind.
However grievous were the penal laws imposed upon the
Catholics during the reigns of Elizabeth and Ann, it is but jus-
tice to allow, that none of them had deprived them of the elective
franchise, that essential and firm armour of a free constitution.
By the 24th section of the most vexatious and oppressive of all
those acts, 2 Ann, c. 6. An Act to prevent the further Growth of
Popery, it was indeed enacted, u that from and after the 24th day
" of March, 1703, no freeholder, burgess, freeman, or inhabitant
" of that kingdom being a Papist, or professing the Popish
" religion, should at any time thereafter be capable of giving his
u or their vote for electing of knights of any shires or counties
*' within that kingdom, or citizens or burgesses to serve in any
" succeeding parliament, without first repairing to the general
*' quarter session of the peace to be holden for the counties, cities
" or boroughs wherein such Papists did inhabit and dwell, and
41 there voluntarily taking the oath of allegiance, and also the oath
*' of abjuration, and obtaining a certificate thereof from the clerk
" of the peace." Now as it was well known from the tried
loyalty and attachment of the Catholics to the family on the
throne, that they were generally ready to take these oaths, the
harsh plan was formed to shut them out of this only participation
of the constitution. The attention, which the nation now began
to pay to their civil rights, and the part which the Catholics took
in the elections, being the only occasion on which they could ex-
ercise any civil right that had weight in the state, awakened the
primate's jealousy and alarm, and drove him to the desperate re-
solution of upholding the English interest* in Ireland by disfran-
* As much of Primate Boulter's letters as the editor has favoured us with,
openly avows this prelate's principles upon the subject. Within three weeks
after the death of the king, he writes to the D'ike of Newcastle, (1 vql. page
177.) " every thing here is very quiet :" and on the same day he informs Lord
Townsend (p. 176,) " we have no other bustle amongst us than what arises
",from the warm canvass going on in all parts about the election of members
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 8-
chising above four fifths of its population. * The great opposition
to the English interest, \vhich it was the pride and boast of this
" for the ensiling parliament." He had three days before apprized Lord Car-
teret, then lord lieutenant, (p. 173,) "that the whole kingdom was in the ut-
" most ferment about the coming elections. I can safely appeal (said his
"grace) to your excellency for my having to the best of my power served his
" late majesty, and supported the English interest here : and I shall always
" serve his present majesty as faithfully : but to be able to do it with the good
'« effect I desire, I hope I shall be as well supported as I have been Your
" excellency knows I have nothing to ask : and I believe princes have seldom
" over many, that are disposed to serve them as faithfully on so easy terms. It
" would put a good spirit into the king's friends here, and particularly the En-
** glisb, if they knew, by your excellency's means, what they had to depend up-
" on. There is another thing I cannot but suggest to your excellency, though
" I am under no fear of the experiment being made, that any thing which looks
" like bringing the Tories into power here, must cause the utmost uneasiness
" in this kingdom, by raising the spirits of the Papists of this country, and ex-
" asperating the Whigs, who your lordship knows are vastly superior amongst
" gentlemen of estates here."
* " To an enquirer after the truth, history, since the year 1699, furnishes
"very imperfect and often partial views of the affairs of Great Britain and
" Ireland. The latter has no professed historian of its own since that xra,
" and it is so slightingly mentioned in the histories of the former kingdom,
" that it seems to be introduced rather to shew the accuracy of the accountant,
" than as' an article to be read and examined. (The Commercial Restraints <f
" Ireland considered, 1780, /». 37, written by the Right Hon. Hely JfutcJbinson, late
" Frowst of Trinity College, Dublin.} Pamphlets (continues he) are often writ-
" ten to serve occasional purposes, and with an intention to misrepresent, and
" pan*/ writers are not worth any regard. We must then endeavour to find
" some other guide, and look into the best materials for history, by considering
" the facts as recorded in the journals of parliament." The dearth of histori-
cal documents for the last century has driven the author to make researches
into all the speeches, that have been published upon the subject, to which those
historical facts have reference. In general such speeches must rank with the
party writers that are not worth any regard. It is painful to be under the ne-
cessity of guarding the reader against the misrepresentations (one hopes not
wilful, still less malevolent,) of men of talent, information, and personal respec-
tability. The Right Honourable John Foster, the speaker of the late Irish
House of Commons, in his speech in the committee of the Roman Catholic
bill, on the 27th of February, 1793, in his zeal for keeping the Catholics shut
out of this constitutional right to the elective franchise, not only maintains the
justice and equity of not admitting them to this participation of the constitu-
tion, but attempts to prove, that they had been excluded from it bylaw before
the passing of the 1 George II. and ever since the Revolution. The right ho-
nourable gentleman says, " the preamble of the 2d of Ann shews clearly the in-
" tent of the legislature was to exclude them, and for preventing Papists hav-
" ing it in their power to breed dissensions, by voting at elections of members
" of parliament, &c. Even the act of George the Second, which they say was
" the first that excluded them, says in its preamble, — and for the better pre-
" venting Papists from voting, Sir. — as if it were a known fact, that they were
" before excluded, &c " (p. 11 and 12.) The first preamble, upon which he
grounds his argument was to the particular section and not to the statute ; and
it is impossible to suppose that right honourable gentleman so ignorant of the
general construction of statutes, as not to kivw that -idiosa runt rcttrJHgenaa ,•
that the evil and remedy are to be commensurate : that the oath and abjuration
were but a test of submission to the reigning families, and that none refused
them but Jacobites, against whose attempts ali-ne to brf.ed dissensions among
Protestants the intent of the act was to provide : that if as Papists they were
prelate to support, was dreaded from those who assuming the
title of patriots, now solemnly protested against any foreign
ascendency over the native rights and interests of their country.
It was not natural, that the body of the Irish people should be
forward in supporting such foreign ascendency, whether Ejiglish
or Protestant. The Catholics having long been the unceasing
object of calumny and persecution to both paities, as it served
their several views, were palled with apathy, and had hitherto
found neither in Whig or Tory any principle of relief to their de-
graded and suffering condition. In point of fact they had suffer-
ed less from the family of Brunswick than that of Stuart. Hence
arose a dawn of hope that their miseries were on the wane, and
they came forward to address their new sovereign. This step
was not carried without a considerable division of the Catholic
body ;* of which the primate so dexterously availed himself in
the then pending elections, that on the 24th of August, 1727, he
assured the lord lieutenant, that the elections would generally go
before disabled to vote, it would have been nugatory to call upon them to give
this test of their loyalty, which was not incompatible with their religion : that if
it had been the intent of the legislature to exclude them from voting- at elec-
tions, they would have required a subscription to the declaration or the oath of
supremacy : he must well have known that the resolutions of one committee on
a controverted election, was not even a precedent for another committee, much
less the law of the land.
* On the 20th of July, 1727, the primate wrote to Lord Carteret : " I hear
" this day, that the address yesterday presented by some Roman Catholics,
" occasions great heats and divisions among those of that religion here." (1
vol. p. 183.)
f It long has been, and probably long will be a complaint, that the cause of
the king and constitution are frequently identified with the corrupt measures of
the king's servants. At this time the real interest of his majesty, was the
welfare and prosperity of Ireland ; not the maintenance of an English ascenden-
cy there, which had in view to keep down the native influence of Ireland. " I
' shall leave it to your excellency, what change you will think proper to make
' in the list of privy counsellors here. Your excellency knows as well as anv
k" body, who of the present list are enemies to England, and oppose the king's
' business on all occasions. I shall submit it to your excellency, whether it
' may be proper for the strengthening of the English interest here, to have the
< present archbishop of Cashell inserted in the new list." The whole tenor of
this prelate's correspondence proves the same ; and his editor assures us, that
these letters will ever remain the most authentic history of Ireland, for the
space of time in which they were written -, viz. between 1724 and 1742, during
which his grace was thirteen times one of the lords justices. It is at length
fitting to unmask our prejudices, and pay the just tribute to truth; we can no
longer dissemble, that the system of maintaining a. foreign ascemlencv in Ireland,
was a system in no shape conducive to the prosperity and welfare of that
kingdom. We cannot doubt of the existence of such a system, when we find
this prelate acklowledging his obligations to Lord Carteret/or the early care he
took of the English in Ireland (1 vol. p. 186.), and giving him a solemn pledge of
his past and future fidelity in this honourable service. " I am sensible of your
" goodness in acquainting his present majesty, that the supporting of me here
" will be for his interest, and I desire the continuance of your good offices with
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 5
Multifarious and extensive were the grounds of national dis-
content at this time in Ireland. The nation laboured under
grievances that restrained commerce, damped agriculture, and
checked every incitement to industry. The public mind still
rankled at the attempt of government to father Wood's base cop-
per upon them : the odium of that measure long survived its
failure : the wretchedness of the poor, (that infallible test of bad
government) which the Duke of Grnfton had in 1723 recom-
mended to parliament to relieve, had been daily encreasing : in
the same year 1723 a petition was presented from the woollen-dra-
pers, weavers and clothiers of Dublin on behalf of themselves and
the other drapers, weavers and clothiers of that kingdom, pray-
ing relief in relation to the great decay of trade in the woollen
manufacture,* since which time no relief had been afforded :
frequent speeches from the throne and resolutions of the House
of Commons had noticed the encreasing poverty of the nation by
the accumulation of the national debt : and Lord Garteret in his
speech from the throne in 1727 virtually acknowledged the melan-
choly and disastrous situation of the nation by recommending to
the consideration of the parliament such laws as might be neces-
sary for the encouragement of manufactures, the employment of
the poor, and the general good of the country.f Already that
scarcity^ began to be felt, which in the years 1728 and 1729 nearly
amounted to a famine. § Indicative of the national embarrass-
ments of Ireland at this period were the indecisive resolutions of
the commons, and the institution of a commission under the
*' the king." (Ibid.) And "while the same measures are pursued as In the
" last reign, we shall be all easy here : and it must be left to his majesty to judge
" what persons are most proper to .be employed in his service." And " 1 must
" request of your grace (i. e. Newcastle) as I have of his lordship (i. c. Car-
" teret), that you would both use your interest to have none but Englishmen
" put into the great places here for the future." (1 vol. p. 23.)
* Their petition contains these words, " The woollen manufacture of this
" kingdom, which is confined to our consumption, has of late been so consider-
" ably lessened, that several thousand families have been forced to beg alms
" and charity of good Christians, and a collection lately made throughout the
" whole city to relieve them from starving." 3 jfourn. Commons, p. 349.
t 3 Journ. Commons, p. 464.
$ On the 7th of March 1727, Primate Boulter wrote to his grace of New-
castle (p. 226.) " Since I came here in the year 1725, there was almost a fa-
" mine among the poor : last year the dearness of corn was such, that thou-
" sands of families quitted their habitations to seek broad elsewhere, and many
" hundreds perished. This year the poor had consumed their potatoes, which
" is their winter subsistence, near two months sooner than ordinary, and are
" already through the dearness of cora in that want, that in some places they
" begin to quit their habitations."
§ In the space of six months, ending on the 29th of September, 1729, it ap-
pears from the report of the House of Commons, that the import of com
amounted to 274.0GO/. an enormous sum when referred to the fiscal powers of
the kingdom at that time.
6 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
great seal for receiving voluntary subscriptions in order to es-
tablish a national bank for throwing into circulation a quantity of
paper, without money, trade or manufactures to support it : and
in the same session of parliament, the further resolutions of the
same commoners and their address to the throne, that such an
establishment would be greatly prejudicial to his majesty's service
and of most dangerous and pernicious consequence to the welfare
and prosperity of the nation.* Under the like impression of
remediless calamity did the commons resolve, though they never
acted up to their resolution, that public granaries would greatly
contribute to the encreasing of tillage and providing against such
wants, as had frequently befallen the people of that kingdom,
unless proper precautions should be taken against so great a
calamity.
Lord Carteret's administration lasted from 1725 to 1731, and
some have extolled his leniency to the indigent Catholics during
this period, in discountenancing the rigorous execution of the
penal laws against them. In that excess of national calamity, he
may have had the policy not publicly to aggravate their evils by
religious persecution, A real friend to Ireland could not have
coalesced with Primate Boulter in that systematic support of the
English interest ; for that was a system of dividing Ireland within
itself. f Fearful of an effectual opposition to a measure of such
unjust severity, though of the highest political import, not a
syllable in the speech from the throne could bear an allusion to
it : no heads of any bill transmitted imported any new penal law
against the Catholics : on the contrary, the lord lieutenant's
speech recommended expressly the consideration of such laws as
might be necessary to be made for the encouragement of manu-
factures and the employment of the poor ; but the enforcing the
execution of those for preventing Popish priests and regulars from
coming into the kingdom ; from which the nation must evidently
have been convinced, that no new penal law was intended to be
passed in that session against the great body of the Irish people :
and the more especially, as now for the first time the lord lieu-
tenant spoke of " }the gracious instances of his majesty's concern
*' for the happiness of his people, and the good opinion^ he had
* 3 Journ. Com. p. 289.
f This is verified by the primate's words in his letter to the Duke of New-
eastle on the 19th of January, 1724: " I fmdbv my own and others' enquiries,
that the people of every religion, country, and party here are ulike set against
Wood's halfpence, and that their agreement in this has had a very unhappy
Influence on the state of this nation by bringing on intimacies between Papists
and Jacob'tes, and the Whisrs, who before had no correspondence with them :
so that 'tis questioned whether (if 'here were occasion) justices of the peace
; could be found, who would be strict in disarming Papists."
4 3 Journ. Com. p. 463.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 7
" always had of the loyalty and affection of his subjects of
" Ireland'" without the invidious restriction of his majesty's
protection, grace and favour to his Protestant subjects,
The division, which the Roman Catholics' address occasioned
in that body, was by no means into the old party-distinction of
Whig and Tory j it was formed upon entirely new principles
arising out of the then peculiar circumstances of their countrj.*
A great part of that body began then to consider themselves
Irish-men, as well as Irish Catholics ; though deprived of most of
the civil rights, which their i'rotestant brethren enjoyed, they
sympathized wuh them in their efforts to preserve the rights of
Ireland, and in defiance of religious differences they now began
to make civil liberty a common cause with their Protestant breth-
ren. This novel coalition between Protestants and Catholics, in
support and defence of the interest of Ireland, became formidably
alarming to that party, whose sole mission was to keep up an
English interest in that kingdom. Government foresaw the ne-
cessary progress of this native coalition against the English inter-
est, and at one blow put an end to the political existence of at
least four fifths of the nation by depriving them of the noblest
birthright and invaluable privilege of the subject, t Thus with-
out any annunciation of such intention, without any notice to any
of the parties interested, without even a charge or accusation of
guilt, by the unexpected introduction of a clause into a bill, the
tide of which denounced no further severity against the Roman
Catholics, was a vital-stab given to the constitutional rights of the
bulk of the people of Ireland. Sect. VII. " And for the better
11 preventing Papists from voting in elections, be it further enact-
" ed b) the authority aforesaid, that no Papist, though not con-
" vict, shall be entitled or admitted to vote at the election of any
" member to serve in parliament as knight, citizen, or burgess,
" or the election of any magistrate for any city or other town
*' corporate ; any law, statute or usage to the contrary notwith-
*' standing." This truly sweeping clause at once brushed off
four fifths of the people of Ireland from any representation in
parliament : it was inserted by way of amendment without no-
tice, without debate, without council; thus did the commons sign
* Of these principles, Primate Boulter appears to have been fearfully ap-
prehensive, when he said, " There wants no accident here to furnish a bottom
" of popularity, every one having1 it always in his power to grow popular by
" setting up for the Irish in opposition to the English interest.'' (Letter to
the Duke of Newcastle, 1 vol. p. 54.)
f Thus did Lord Chief Justice Holt usually call the elective franchise. I
have adhered to this proportion of Protestants and Catholics, because Primate
Boulter in this very year avowed to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1 vol. p.
210.) "There are probably in this kingdom fire Papists at least to one Protest-
ant."
8 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the death-warrant of four fifths of their constituents, whose voices
had given them their legislative existence.*
The two grand objects, which engrossed the exclusive atten-
tions of Primate Boulter, who might properly be termed the
English minister in Ireland, were doing good in the Church and
supporting the English interest, " which said his grace to th,e
* In the debate upon the question of readmitting the Catholics to the elec-
tive franchise in the Irish house of Commons on the 4th of February, 1793,
Mr. Stanley, in reply to an envenomed Philippic of one of the two, who oppos-
ed the bill against the body and principles of the Catholics, in which he said
that they had been prohibited to vote at a much earlier period by the act of
Ann, which had annexed the oaths of allegiance and abjuration to the exercise
of their elective franchise, observed, that this was an additional argument
against the policy of the act of George II. for if those oaths " were univer-
' sally taken by Catholic voters during the reign of Queen Ann and George I.
' to qualify them to exercise their franchise, as it is well known it was the
' fact, their acquiescence and taking these oaths was the strongest test they
' could give of their attachment to the state, and should have entitled them to
' the confidence of the nation : and therefore it is clear they were not excluded
' from voting, nor was it intended they should be by those oaths, for it was
' well known, that the Catholics voted in the election of tbat very parliament of
' George II. which afterwards disfranchised them." The learned member, from
the general dearth of historical documents, and probably from a designed sup-
pression of facts in this instance, was obliged to resort to the traditionary re-
ports of that act to elucidate the history of its passing. " It was said that
" the Catholics having by their interest voted Lord Dunkellin out of the coun-
" ty of Gal way, returned his opponent. Lord Dunkellin had influence enough
'• with the minister of that day, to introduce that clause depriving the Catho-
" lies of their franchise into the act of George II." He himself discredited
the rumour, because he said that he had discovered, that there was no Lord
Dunkellin of that day capable of being a candidate for the county of Galway.
Unwritten reports of such transactions are not simply to bo relied on ; but
when they arc fairly canvassed in all their bearings upon facts, which are prov-
ed by undeniable documents, they often help mainly to the elucidation of the
history of those times. The interest of the Clanrickarde family has been al-
ways considered to carry the county of Galway, and if by the exertion of the
Catholics, another person had been returned, it was very natural that Lord
Clanrickarde and his son Lord Dunkellin who had been called up to the
House of Lords in 1710, should have resented it, and used their endeavours
with the -minister of tkc day (i. e. Primate Boulter) to punish and revenge
themselves of the Catholics, by whose influence in the late election the interest
of that noble family had been defeated. They were the first Protestants of
their family, and then supporters of the English interest ; strong reasons fop
the Catholics not supporting their interest in the county election ; strong rea-
sons for the primal e's crushing their and all the Catholics power to op-
pose the English interest in future. However inaccurate the report might
have been in confounding the person of Lord Dunkellin with the interest of
Portumna, the circumstances which are notorious all combine to prove the re.
maining part of the report to be strictly true : namely, that the disfranchising
clause was introduced by way of amendment, through ministerial influence for
a particular purpose and unavowed ends. On one and the same day (9th of
February, 1727,) Dr. Trotter reported from the committee of the whole house
that they had gone through and agreed to the bill with some amendments, (viz.
the disfranchising clause) which were also read and agreed to, and Dr. Trotter
was directed to attend the lord lieutenant with the said heads of the bill to be
transmitted into Great Britain in due form. 3 yourn. Com. p. 522.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 9
Archbishop of Canterbury1' labours under great disadvantages
in this country.* This is little to be wondered at, when it is
considered thatthe bulk of the nation was not of the established
Church,f nor in the occasion of participating of any of the
patronage of the English, interest : they were therefore estranged
from any prepossessions in the favour ot these two objects :
their miseries were alleviated by no substitution of favour or
indulgence. The stagnation of trade and want of employment
in the manufactures, in part occasioned and in part aggravated
the scarcity of the years 1723 and 1729. The first session of
the parliament under George II. which ended in May, 1728,
went over without opposition: insomuch that the lord lieutenant,
in closing the session took an opportunity of observing,^ that
all the public bills transmitted from thence had been returned
under the great seal of Great Britain; which distinguishing in-
stance of his majesty's regard for the parliament of Ireland, was
one of the happy effects of that remarkable application and una-
nimity, which had appeared in all their proceedings.
It is evident, that at this period Ireland was entirely ruled by
the principles of an English interest: Primate Boulter who
directed and supported that interest, admits that the Catholics
were then in the proportion of five to one Protestant: but they
were generally poor and indigent, consequently the more sensi-
ble to the national wants and calamities. So far then was this
great mass of the Iribh people from being soothed under the
general suffering, that they were surprised into the forfeiture of
their elective franchise, and an >act was made for ^preventing.
* 1 Vol. p. 175- " But (said he) the services I can do will be much lessen-
" ed, if I am not supported in my station."
f 1 Vol. p. 205. The primate was indefatigable in his efforts to mend the
state of the Church, by getting more glebes, churches, and chapels of ease,
that we may in time have churches and resident ministers to answer our
wants, for at present many of our people go off to the Papists or Presbyte-
rians for want of churches to repair to." And p. 223, " For want of which,
instead of getting ground of the Papists, we must lose to them, as in fact we
do in many places, the descendants of Cromwell's officers and soldiers here
being gone off to Popery."
\ 3 Journ. Com. p. 570.
*) Whilst this bill was pending, some Catholics of Dublin and Cork had set
on foot a subscription to defray the expences of raising an opposition to it :
when one Hennesy, an interdicted priest, gave information, that this collection
was made for the purpose of bringing in Popery and the Pretender. Upon
which the papers of these gentlemen were seized and submitted to the inspec-
tion of the House of Commons: and it appears from their printed report, that
the whole sum collected had not exceeded 51. : the1 committee however re-
solved, that it appeared to them, that under colour of opposing heads of bills',
great sums of money had been collected and raised and a fund established by
the Popish inhabitants of the kingdom, through the influence of their clergy,
highly detrimental to tiie Protestant interest ; and of imminent danger to the
present happy establishment : and therefore resolved further, that an humble
address should be presented to the lord lieutenant to issue his proclamation to
VOL. II. B
10 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Papists practising as solicitors; which was the only branch of
the law, they were then permitted to practise. In order to draw
the public mind from the consideration of this new penal rigour
imposed upon the Catholics in this hour of national calamity,
the lord lieutenant set forth in the most glowing terms of con-
gratulatory solace, " * his majesty's gracious condescension in
" departing from his own right by lessening his hereditary re-
" venue for the ease of his subjects and encouragement of trade,
" which shewed his majesty's concern for the welfare and hap-
u piness of the kingdom, as well as many other signal marks of
" his majesty's goodness, that must evince them, that his ma-
" jesty had nothing more at heart, than the interest and prospe-
*' rity of his people." He then enumerated or alluded to the
most popular acts passed in the session, as the foundation laid
for the encrease of tillage so necessary in the country, the new
advantages given for the improvement of the linen manufactory,
the care taken for regulating the assize of bread, the establishing
a fund ''for the work-house, and for employing the poor in the
populous city of Dublin, the relief given to unfortunate debtors,
the regulations made for future elections (by abolishing the right
of voting in four jifths of the nation}, the reducing the parlia-
mentary privileges of the members for the ease and benefit of
their fellow subjects, and those other excellent laws then passed
for erecting churches where they were most wanted,, for the
maintenance of the clergy, and for preserving and strengthening
the Protestant interest of that kingdom.
In the course of this session two instances occurred which
strongly prove how far the English and Protestant interests
were identifiedf in the words and actions of the Irish govern-
ment.
all magistrates to put the laws against Popery into execution. Cur. St. oftke
Catholic of Ireland, p. 257. This circumstance goes to prove, that the clause
for disfranchising the whole body of^Catholics was not in the heads of the bill,
or it is more than probable, that they would have instituted a collection to op-
pose a bill, that affected every individual of the body in so important a point,
rather than a bill, which could not have affected threescore of that descrip-
tion.
* 3 Journ. Com. p. 570.
•f Primate Boulter in giving an account of the session to the Duke of New-
castle, three days after it closed (1 vol. p. 242), says, " As my lord lieutenant
' did his purt towards procuring a quiet session of parliament, so I must do
' that justice to the rest of the English in power here to say, that we were not
' in the least wanting in our several stations to promote the same good." And
>efore the session was over, in giving an account of the opposition to the privi-
ege bill, the primate says : " the greatness of the opposition was owing to the
management of the Bishop of Elphin (Theophilus Bolton promoted to the
see of Cashell in 1729) who put himself at the head of those lords and others,
' who constantly oppose the government business here, and by misrepresen-
' tations drew in some other lords of no ill intention to engage their word and
' honour to each other to throw out the bill. His view no* doubt was to make
' himself considerable enough by being at the head of this strength to
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. U
It happened that a Mr. Allan Brodrick, son to the late chan-
cellor of Ireland (who held the seals from the 1st of October
1714, to the 1st of May, 1725), had been made one of the com-
missioners of the customs in England : and although the Bro-
dericks had never been charged with any affection to Popery or
to the Pretender (the chancellor had been appointed to succeed
Sir Constantine Phipps, as being of opposite principles), though
\vell wishers to Ireland, yet even this remote mark of royal fa-
vour gave so much offence to the primate, that he complained
in several letters on the same day both to the lord lieutenant and
the Duke of Newcastle, " that any thing which looked as if that
" family (the Erodericks) was in favour in England might give
" them spirit and engage others to join with them in perplexing
" matters the approaching session of parliament." And, " we
" are apprehensive it may give too much spirit to the Brodericks
*' here, and be made use of by them to engage others to obstruct
*' the king's business in parliament."
The family of Clanrickard had conformed to the established
religion in the days of Queen Anne : and the head of that noble
family, in dedicating his ancestors' memoirs and letters to King
George the lid. in 1757, did not scruple to boast of the cause,
for which his family had suffered. He had been educated at
Eton and Oxford, and was called to the upper house by the title
of Lord Dunkellin during his father's life, on the 3d of August
1711, and upon his father's death sat in the House of Peers, as
the tenth Earl of Clanrickard in the parliament of 1725. He
had made an application to the king to be restored to all that
had been forfeited by his ancestors, who had at all times been
conspicuous for their loyalty and attachment to their sovereign,
and the measure had been graciously assented to by his majesty.
But the reversion of so much landed influence into the hands
of an Irish family, though Protestant, was considered by the
English interest in Ireland to contravene their system, which
never could be long supported by the native interest of that
country. A most violent opposition was therefore raised against
the measure in the commons, which for the present completely
defeated all the influence of that noble family with the king, and
diverted his majesty from his benevolent disposition in their
regard. They artfully avoided wounding the feelings of the
noble lord, by pointing at his particular case, and formed a re-
off. ,One part of the push he now made was to get all the lay lords here to
confederate against the bishops, <iabo must always be depended upon for doing
the king's business. But as he has miscarried in his attempt, and has offend-
ed all sides, so as to be in no danger of appearing again at the head of so
many lords as he did now, I hope his behaviour will be remembered when
' he or his friends push for the archbishopric of Dublia for him." (Letter
to Lord fovinse ndtp. 240.)
x J2 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
solution upon a broader principle, " that he reversal of outlawries
•" of persons attainted of treason for the rebellions of 1641 or
" 1688 is greatly prejudicial to the Protestant interest in this
" kingdom, and dangerous to his majesty's person and the suo
" cession established in his royal house." They accordingly
voted an address to his majesty, setting forth the dangerous con-
sequences of such misplaced indulgence, which had the effect of
withholding for the present his majesty's benevolence and hu-
manity.*
* We cannot entertain a very sublime idea of the purity of the loyalty of
those persons, who tell their sovereign that nothing1 can so effectually make
them ready to support and defend his right and title to the crown, as the en-
joyment of the forfeited estates of the Papists. The address appears to im-
port more of menace and intimidation, than the effusion of genuine loyalty
and attachment to the establishment: and the answer of his majesty clearly
bespeaks that his compliance with the prayer of the address was the effect
rather of compulsion, than inclination. " We your majesty's most dutiful and
" loyal subjects, the Commons of Ireland, in parliament assembled, think it an
" indispensable duty, in this our first session held since your happy accession to
" the throne, most humbly to represent to your majesty, that the reversal of
" outlawries of persons attainted for the Rebellions in 1(541 and 1688, may be
" hL'ii'y prejudicial, and of dangerous consequence to your majesty's sacred
" person and government, and the succession established in your royal house.
" We are truly sensible of the man}' blessings we enjoy under your most
" auspicious reign, and are highly pleased with the agreeable prospect that
" we have, that the benefits of the Protestant succession will be continued to
" us and our posterity by your majesty and your royal issue ; and we assure
your majesty that we shall be always ready to support and defend your un-
doubted riuht and title to the crown of these realms with our lives and for-
tunes, which nothing can enable us so effectually to do, as the enjoyment of
' those estates which have been forfeitures of the rebellious Irish Papists, and
' are now in the possession of your Protestant subjects of this kingdom.
" We therefore beg leave to lay ourselves at your majesty's feet, and to im-
' plore your royal favour and protection against any attempts the Irish Papists
' or their descendants may make to reverse the outlawries of persons attainted
' for those rebellions, having reason to apprehend, if they should succeed,
' that they will not only endeavour to disturb your faithful subjects in the pos-
' session of those forfeited estates they have purchased, and now enjoy under
' the sanction of several acts of parliament, but do all in their power to sub-
' vert our happy constitution in church and state.
" We are fully assured that your majesty hath nothing more at heart than
" the welfare and prosperity of your people, and we rely entirely on yourroy.il
" wisdom and goodness, that you will be graciously pleased to discourage all
" applications or attempts, that shall be made in favour of such traitors and
" their descendants, go dangerous to your majesty and the Protestant interest
" of this kingdom."
Mr. Secretary Cluttcrbuck informed the house that he was commanded by
1'is excellency the lord lieutenant to acquaint the house that his majesty had
been pleased" to return a most gracious answer to the address of this "house
touching the reversal of outlawries of persons attainted of treason lor the re-
bellions of 1641 and 1688, which he read in his place, and after delivered at
the table, and the same was read again by Mr. Speaker, and is as follovreth :
GEORGE R.
" His majesty has received with great pleasure and satisfaction
" the assurances, which the House of Commous gave him in their address, of
" their zcul and fidelity to his person and government; and they may always
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 13
Although Lord Carteret continued lord lieutenant till the
year 1731, yet was Ireland properly governed during that whole
time by Primate Boulter,* to whom the support and extension
of the English interest in Ireland was solely committed. A
trust he effectually accomplished, by paralyzing the small vital
relics, that had been left more through shame than compassion
to the great body of the Irish people. From that quarter in-
deed he was thwarted in none of his projects; In parliament,
fthe chief opposition to any of his bills, was to the privilege bill
in the House of Lords,, several of whom that were embarrassed
in their circumstances might naturally be supposed to be against
it : but his grace attributed the greatness of the opposition, as
was before observed, to the management of the Bishop of
Elphin. Out of parliament, the soreness at the national calamity
became most alarming from the Protestants j notwithstanding
the Roman Catholics had been additionally aggrieved by new
penal laws, which gave the death blow to their civil existence.
Within six months from the delivery of that speech from the
throne, in which Lord Carteret had attempted to Jdelude the
people into imaginary bliss under the most pitiable sufferings of
universal calamity, distress, and oppression, Primate Boulter in
the private, and therefore the more sincere communications with
the Duke of Newcastle on the 23d of November 1728, has iefc
us a just portrait of one part of that unfortunate kingdom ; from
which the greater wretchedness of the whole must necessarily
be deduced. " I am very sorry I am obliged to give your
" grace so melancholy an account of the 'state of this kingdom,
" as I shall by this letter, but I thought it my duty to let his
*' majesty know our present condition in the North. } For we
" depend upon his majesty's favour and protection, and on his care and con-
" cern for the support of the Protestant interest of that his kingdom ; and that
" accordingly his majesty will effectually discourage all applications nrd at-
" tempts that shall be made for the reversal of outlawries of persons attainted
" for the rebellion in 1641 and 1688, in any case that may atiect the interest
" or property of any of his Protestant subjects there."
* So then his grace expresses himself to Lord Townsend on the 9th of May ,
1728, (p. 239) " On Monday our session ended, which has gone through with
" more quiet and unanimity than usual ; and in which more useful bills have
" passed, than for many sessions together before. And I hope both gentry
" and clergy will use those powers now given them gradually to plant religion
" and civility in this country." The Editor of his grace's letters assures us
he was the franier of most, if not all of these bills.
f Ibidem.
\ In this speech (3 Journ. Com. p. 570.) he represents the people as truly
sc'.jible of the bappinett they etijny under bis majesty's most gracious government,
uiul that nothing could be more acceptable to him, than to find by the ad-
dresses of both houses, that bis endeavours for the public service Lad been to their
tatiffaction. •
<: Why the archbishop here confine* his duty to the North, one cannot fairly
conjecture. When it was well known, that it was the most industrious, manu-
iucturinjr, and opulent part of the kingdom, which circumstances alone placed
U AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" have had three bad harvests together there, which has made
" oatmeal, which is their great subsistence, much dearer than
" ordinary." His grace then complains of American agents
seducing the people, with prospects of happier establishments,
across the Atlantic ; and adds, " they have been better able to
" seduce people by reason of the necessities of the poor of late.
" The people that go from hence make great complaints of the
" oppressions they suffer here, not from the government, but
" from their fellow subjects of one kind or another, as well as
" of the dearness of provisions, and say these oppressions are
" one reason of their going." The primate then assures the
duke, that 3100 had in the preceding summer been shipped off
from thence for the West-Indies, and he draws a lamentable
picture of the new miseries they voluntarily undertake to en-
counter rather than continue under the oppression they suffered
at home. One would naturally suppose, that the chief of these
unfortunate emigrants had been from that body of the people^
who not only felt the common hand of oppression upon them,
but who were groaning under an unprecedented code of severity,
from which the Protestants were wholly exempted. Yet continues
his grace, " the whole north is in a ferment at present (i. e. the
*' 23d of November 1728), and people every day engaging one
" another to go the next year to the West-Indies. The hu-
" mour has spread like a contagious distemper, and the people
" will hardly hear any body, that tries to cure them of their
** madness. The ivorst is, that it affects only Protestants, and
" reigns chiefly in the North^ which is the seat of our linen
" manufacture. This unsettled state puts almost a stop to trade,
" and the more so, as several, who were in good credit before
" have taken up parcels of goods on trust and disposed of them,
" and are gone off with the money, so that there is no trade here
" but for ready money."
It is lamentable to observe the Primate labouring to trace
these discontents even in the Protestant Irish from any other
than the real cause. " We have had under our consideration
" how to put some stop to this growing evil : we think by some
it in their power to resist or avoid distress and oppression by fmeans, which
the other more wretched and impoverished parts of the kingdom were unable
to command. For the sake of humanity I am loath to draw the conclusion,
which an unbiassed spectator of this state of Ireland cannot shut out from his
mind : that it was the ill-fated system of government at that time, to keep up
the English interest in the country by the extreme wretchedness and debase-
ment of the natives. Though I reluctantly view these inhuman principle*
heretofore acted upon in Ireland, I sympathize with that part of the British
empire, in the joyful conviction, that its incorporate union with Great Britain
lias eternally closed that infelicity of Ireland, and ensured her against the rue-
ful co-isequcnces of supporting any factitious ascendency over the people of
Ireland.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 15
" old laws we can hinder money being carried abroad, and stop
44 all but merchants that have not a licence from going out of
" the kingdom. By this post we have sent my lord lieutenant
44 the representation of the gentlemen of the North, and the opi-
" nion of our lawyers what can be done by law to hinder people
44 going abroad : but these are matters we shall do nothing *in
44 without directions from his majesty. But whatever can be done
44 by law, I fear it may be dangerous forcibly to hinder a number
44 of needy people from quitting us." As the Primate's accounts
of the temper and disposition of the people did not support that
general sense of their happiness, which was so fulsomely blazon-
ed forth in the speech from the throne, it behoves us to remark,
that in the spring of the year 1729 his grace informed the duke
of Newcastlef, that they were in a very bad -way there: that the
distresses of the North continued : that subscriptions had been
set on foot in Dublin to purchase corn from Munster, where it
was more plentiful and cheaper, and sell it at reduced prices in
the North : that there had been tumults at Limerick, Cork,
Waterford, Clonmel and other places to prevent the corn from
going to the North : that those at Limerick and Cork had been
the worst, where they had broken open warehouses and cellars,
and set what price they pleased on provisions : but that he had
given the necessary orders to suppress these riots. He admits,
that the buying up of the corn in Munster had greatly raised the
markets there : but that they were still a third cheaper than in
the North. His grace then makes an observation, which al-
ways has and ever will be made in all cases of riot of this nature.
44 There is one reflection these poor wretches have not made,
44 that by their riots the country are deterred from bringing
" them in provisions, which will make things dearer in those
44 places, than the exportation they are so angry at." Govern-
ment generally may secure the mob from soreness and irrita-
tion ; it never can give them reflection under those impressions.
Boulter had given orders to the several magistrates and the
judges of assize to have the rioters prosecuted and severely
punished in the South. In the North, the humour of going to
America still continued, and the scarcity of provisions certainly
made many quit them : there were then seven ships lying at
Belfast, that were carrying off about 10OO passengers thither:
* It has unfortunately, for Ireland in particular, been the baneful practice
of some servants of the crown to forward systems of unsound or corrupt
policy to such a height, that they have been unable to check the evil con-
sequences of their own conduct. The responsibility is then shifted from
their own shoulders as in this case, upon his majesty, who has probably been
adverse or not privy to the real cause of the existing evil. The king's per-
sonal interference in any degree whatever can not by our constitution coyer or
counteract the responsibility of his ministers.
t I Vol. p. 28r.
16 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
and if, said his grace, Ve knew how to stop them, as most of
them could neither get victuals or work at home, it would be
cruel to 'do it. The dissenting ministers at this time presented
a memorial of the grievances their brethren had assigned, as
the causes in their apprehensions of the great desertion in the
North, which were chiefly the oppression of the ecclesiastical
courts about tithes, the whole of which his grace denied or jus-
tified in a special letter to the Bishop of London.* Another
matter of complaint was of the sacramental test ; in relation to
which his grace told them: the laws were the same in England.
The other grievances they mentioned were the raising of the
rents unreasonably, the oppression of the justices of the peace,
senechals and other offices in the country. We learn also, that
the Primate was sensible of more discontent from another cause,
which has not hitherto been touched upon. " f I very much
" fear, (said his grace on the 10th of June, 1729) that notwith-
" standing all precautions, we are in danger of having a trouble-
" some session, as the debts of the nation are very much encr eased
" -within afeiv years"
Nothing can convey a more adequate idea of the financial
state of the nation, than to. consider the progress of the national
debt, and trace the effects, which it gradually produced on the
nation, j; The poverty of Ireland appeared in the year 1716 by
the unanimous address of the House of Commons to George I.
This address was to congratulate his majesty on his success in
extinguishing the rebellion; an occasion most joyful to them,
and 011 which no disagreeable circumstances would have been
stated, had not truth and the necessities of their country extorted
It from them. A small debt of 16,1067. 11s. O|</.§ due at
Michaelmas 1715, was by their exertions to strengthen the
hands of government in that year, increased at Midsummer
1717, to a sum of 91,537/. 17s. l%d* which was considered as
such an augmentation of the national debt, that the lord lieute-
nant, the Duke of Bolton, thought it necessary to take notice in
his speech from the throne, that the debt was considerably aug-
mented, and to declare at the same time, that his majesty had
ordered reductions in the military, and had thought proper to
lessen the civil list.
There cannot be a stronger proof of the want of resources in
any country, than that a debt of so small an amount should alarm
the persons entrusted with the government of it. That those
apprehensions were well founded, will appear from the repeated
* Vide the letter in the Appendix, No. LVI.
t 1 Vol. p. 313.
| Com. Restr. p. 38.
^ Com. Restr. p. 38.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. if
f
distresses of Ireland, from time to time, for many years after-
wards. In 1721, the speech from the throne, and the addresses
to the king and to the lord lieutenant, state in the strongest
terms, the great decay of her trade, and the very low and im-
poverished state, to which she was. reduced; that though the
debt of the nation were no more than 66,3 18/. 8*. 3-^/. and were
in fact less than in the last session, yet the commons thought it
necessary to present an address to the king, to give such direc-
tions as he, in his great goodness should think proper, to prevent
the increase of the debt of the nation.
The debt of the nation in the ensuing session of 1725 was
nearly doubled. In the speeches from the throne in 1727, Lord
Carteret takes notice of our success in the linen trade, and yet
observes in 1729, that the revenue had fallen short, and that
thereby a considerable arrear was due to the establishment. In
the year 1731, there,was a great deficiency in the public revenue,
and the national debt had considerably increased. The exhaus-
ted kingdom lay under great difficulties by the decay of trade,
the scarcity of money and the universal poverty of the country,
which the speaker represented in very affecting terms, in offering
the money bills for the royal assent. For above forty years,
after making several restrictive laws upon the trade of Ireland,
she was always poor and often in great want, distress and misery ;
though the linen manufactures had made great progress during
that time. In the war which terminated in the treaty of Aix la
Chappelle, she was not able to give any assistance. The Duke
of Devonshire, in the year 1741, takes notice from the throne,
that during a war for the protection of the trade of all his ma-
jesty's dominions, there had been no increase of the charge of
the establishment; and in the year 1745 the country was so little
able to bear expence, that Lord Chesterfield discouraged and
prevented any augmentation of the army, though much desired
by many gentlemen of the House of Commons, from a sense
of the great danger that then impended. An influx of money
after the peace, and the further success of the linen trade, in-
creased the national wealth, and enabled Ireland to reduce by
degrees, and afterwards to discharge the national debt. This
was not effected until the 1st of March, 1754. This debt was
occasioned principally by the expences incurred by the rebellion
in Great Britain in the year 1715: an unlimited vote of credit
was then given. From the lowness of the revenue, and the want
of resources, not from any farther exertions on the part of the
kingdom in point of expence, the debt of 16,106/. Us. Q\d. due
in 1715, was increased at Lady-day 1733, to 371,3127. 13*. 2£</.
That government and the House of Commons should, for such
/A length of time, have considered the reduction and discharge
18 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
of this debt as an object of so great importance, and that near
forty years should have passed, before the constant attention and
strictest ceconomy of both could have accomplished that purpose,
is a very strong proof of the weakness and poverty of Ireland
during that period.
Lord Carteret was succeeded in the lieutenancy by the Duke
of Dorset: a man of amiable private character: his government
however was too closely managed by the primate, not to have
created enmity in Ireland on account of his zealous and syste-
matic support of the English interest in contravention to the
native interest of Ireland. Under this system of government
the patriot party acquired so much strength, as to command a
majority in the commons on a most important question. During
the late administration the court party had moved in the com-
mons, that the fund, which had been provided for the payment
of the principal and interest, should be granted to his majesty,
his heirs, and successors for ever ; redeemable by parliament.
The patriots insisted successfully, that it was unconstitutional
and inconsistent with the public safety to grant it for a longer
term, than from session to session. An attempt was afterwards
made to vest it in the crown by continuing the supplies for
twenty-one years. When the affair came to be agitated, the
strength of the ministerialists or court party, and the patriots or
country party, was so nearly equal, that the former lost the ques-
tion by a single vote.*
* This patriotic question was carried by the voice of Colonel Tottenham, mem-
ber for New Ross, who had ridden post to town to be present at the debate, and
arrived immediately before the house divided. The great supporter of the
patriots at tills time in Ireland, was Mr. Henry Boyle. Mr. Conolly the speaker
of the House of Commons died in 1730: he had very unexpectedly risen to this
exalted station : and at first was under a sort of necessity to temporize with
the men in power, to whose influence he owed his rise : and he frequently so
far complimented his patrons, as to concur in things he did not approve of, in
order to keep up his interest with the court : however when once the patriot
interest, to which he naturally inclined, had been established in parliament on
a firm and respectable footing, he added to it his support, and ever after acted
up to it even in direct opposition to the court or English interest. On Mr.
Conolly's death, the patriots generally looked up to Mr. Boyle as the person
most worthy of filling this important office : he in the sincere fervour of his
primitive patriotism, regarding preferment only as a more efficient mean of
serving his country, reminding the house of Mr. Conolly's frequent declara-
tions, that Sir Ralph Gore was a proper person to succeed him in the chair,
proposed Sir Ralph Gore, whose personal merits eminently qualified him for
that station : and he was elected speaker : but he did not fill the chair two years.
Upon his death in 1732, Mr. Boyle was elected to the honourable situation,
which he filled with dignity and uprightness for many years. Sir Robert
Walpole was so convinced of the powerful interest Mr. Boyle commanded in
the Irish House of Commons, that he had previously to his election to the-
chair, declared, that he was a man of as much penetration as interest, and that
whatever scheme he was adverse to, it was no easy matter to carry in the
House of Commons of Ireland : and although that minister ever looked upon
Mr. Boyle with an envious eye, yet he generally spoke of him in his facetious
humour as the King of the Irish Commons.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 19
The Duke of Dorset, who was naturally humane, and very
sensible of the extreme hardships, which the Catholics of Ireland
then suffered from the existing laws, relaxed so far from the
usual style of addressing the parliament on this subject, that he
no longer recommended it from the throne to provide for fur-
ther severities upon the Catholics; but, as if the crown satiated
with rigour, benignly wished to put a stop to this unceasing
system of galling its faithful subjects, though still leaving them
to the merciless disposition of those, whose ascendency depend-
ed upon their depi-ession, told them* that he should leave it to
their consideration, whether any further laws might be necessary
to prevent the growth of Popery, and to secure them against all
dangers from the great number of Papists in that kingdom, The
commons in addressing his majesty did no more on this occa-
sion, than to keep alive the general alarm which the number of
Papists must at all times give to his loyal Protestant subjects,
and ensuring to his majesty their best endeavours to prevent all
dangers, which might arise from the Papists to the government
or peace of the kingdom. At the opening of the parliament
in 1733, his Grace of Dorset again relapsed into the ancient
style, by calling upon the parliament of Ireland to secure af
•firm union amongst alt Protestants, who have one common interest
and the same common enemy. This however appears to have
been preparatory to a measure, which had met with the consent
of the British cabinet, though it had not been so strongly re com-
mended to the Irish government, as to ensure the cordial co-
operation of the supporters of the English interest in carrying it.
It appears also, that the patriots were not then disposed to that
measure of toleration, in favour of the Protestant Dissenters,
which the Duke of Dorset had it in his instructions to propose :
and which from the decisive opposition, that was prepared against
the measure, the government thought proper to drop. It may
however be strongly surmised, that Primate Boulter's disinclina-
tion to the repeal of the test in favour of the Dissenters may hive
magnified the opposition to it in his own eyes, and exaggerated
it to the British minister, in order to ensure the dropping of the
measure in the first instance or its failure in the last.t The
* 4 Journ. Com. p. 9.
•j-4Journ. Com. p. 70.
\ In order that the candid reader may judge of the archbishop's earnestness
to second these instructions from England, I lay before him his grace's account
of the transaction to the Duke of Newcastle.
MY LORD, Dublin, Dec. IS, 1733.
" AS an affair of great consequence is just over with us,
" I mean the push for repealing the test in favour of the Dissenters, I thought
" it my duty to acquaint your grace how that affair stands.
" When my lord lieutenant first came hither this time, lie let the Dissenters
" and others know, that he had instructions, if it could l>e done, to get the test
20 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
honourable testimony which the Duke of Dorset rendered in
the next year, when he was about to quit the government of
*' repealed, and he has since spoke to all any ways dependant on the govern-
" ment as well as to others, whom he could hope to influence, to dispose them
" to concur with the design, and so have others done that have the honour to
" be in his majesty's service. But it was unanimously agreed, that it was not
*' proper to bring that affair into either house of parliament till the supply was
" secured. However as the design could not be kept secret, and as the Dis-
" senters sent up agents from the north, to solicit the affair among the mem-
" bers of parliament, it soon occasioned a great ferment both in the two houses
" and cut of them, and brought a greater number of members to town than ia
" usual. There came likewise many of the clergy from the several parts of
" the kingdom to oppose the design, and a pamphlet war was carried on for
" and against repealing the test, in which those who wrote for it shewed the
*' greatest temper. And thus the persons who came to town to oppose it, by
" degrees heated one another, and visibly gained ground, and the members of
" the House of Commons were by adjourned calls of the house kept in town.
" There were daily reports spread, that the bill would be brought in such or
" such a day ; and some in the opposition gave out, they would move for it,
" that the point might be decided one way or another : till at length after
" much impatience shewn on the occasion, on this day se'nnight a very un.
" usual, and I think unparliamentary, motion was made, that after the next
•" Friday, the house would neither receive bills nor heads of bills for repealing
" any parts of the acts to prevent the growth of Popery, in one of which the
" sacramental oath is enacted. There was some opposition made to the short -
" ness of the time, and the next Monday moved for, but the warmth of the
" h/msc, which was a very full one, against any further delay, and indeed
" against any repeal of the test, appeared so great and so general, that it was
" thought most prudent not to divide about that resolution. And upon consi-
" dcring what then appeared to be the sense of much the greater part of the
" house, and vviiat was found to be the disposition of the members by talking
•" with them, it was concluded at a meeting at the castle on Wednesday morn-
" ing, and another on Thursday morning, where some of the agents for the
" Dissenters were present, to be most for the credit of the government and
" peace of the kingdom, not to push for a thing which plainly appeared im-
•" practicable : and it was thought a very dangerous step to unite a majority of
" the house in opposition to the intentions of the government, since it was not
" so certain when such an union might be dissolved. And at a meeting of se-
" veral members of the House of Commons, who were disposed to repeal the
" test, it was agreed, that in the present state of affairs, it would be wrong to
" push for a thmg that would certainly miscarry. Whilst this affair has been
" depending, there have been great heats in the House of Commons, and a
" more than usual obstruction of public business, and the House of Lords has
" had their share in their coming to some resolutions though not on this sub-
" ject, which would scarce have been carried or moved at another time. And
•" I am fully of opinion, that though the repeal had passed in the commons, it
" would have miscarried among the lords : but I hope now this uneasiness
" and handle of discontent is over, things will gradually cool and return to
" their former course. I find some of the Dissenters now say, the thing ought
" to have been tried sooner in the session, but as I mentioned before, it was
" the opinion of his majesty's servants, that the supplies ought to be secured
" before any danger was run of raising heats in the houses and besides in the
" method of our parliament, no bill can be carried by surprise, because though
" the heads of a bill maybe carried on a sudden, yet there is time for a party
" to be gathered against it, by that time a bill can pass the council here and
" be returned from England, when it is again to pass through both houses for
" their approbation before what has happened here will probably the less Sur-
" prise your grace, because the archbishop of Dublin in London acquainted
•" the ministry, that such a repeal could not pass here, which has been my
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 21
Ireland, to the peaceable and steady conduct of the Irish nation,
ought to be recorded.* " I think myself happy, said his grace,
" that on return to his majesty's royal presence, I can justly re-
u present his people of Ireland, as most dutiful, loyal and affec-
" tionate subjects."
The Duke of Dorset was succeeded in the lieutenancy by the
Duke of Devonshire, whose administration was the longest and
most quiet of any, since the accession of the Hanover family.
His Grace was wholly devoted to the councils and influence of
the primate, who died in that administration.^ No lord lieute-
nant, since the first Duke of Ormond,had displayed such pomp,
state, and luxury as the Duke of Devonshire : no one had ever
applied so much of his personal patrimony to the gratification
or advantage of the Irish nation :| and upon the whole, his ad-
ministration, without being brilliant or glorious, had the nega-
tive merit of not having been turbulent. As it is unquestionable,
that the administration of the Duke of Devonshire was entirely
carried on by the direction of the primate, it materially affects
the history of those times, to ascertain the spirit and principles
" opinion from the beginning of this session. This I am sure of, that all pre-
" sent in the service of the crown \vere of opinion, that the push ought not to
" be made, where there was no probability of success."
* 4 Journ. Com. p. 152.
t So the primate expresses himself to this nobleman on the 28th of April,
1737 :...." The great character your grace has from every body, satisfies me
" we shall be happy under your administration, if it be not our own fault. I
" haAre made it my endeavour to serve his majesty faithfullv here, and shall
" always labour to promote his interest and honour, and the prosperity of his
( subjects ; and am glad that I and the other lords justices have been rightly
' represented to your grace on that head : and I dare answer for them, as well
' as myself, that we shall do our utmost to make your administration here easy.
' Beside those public letters you are pleased to encourage us to write, there
' will be occasions when it may be for the service of his majesty, and the
' good of this kingdom, that I should give your grace an account of my parti-
' cular sense of affairs, which I hope you will allow me the liberty to write to
' your grace. I can promise that I will never knowingly mislead you, and
' your grace will always be judge of what I propose." Upon which the edi-
tor of the primate's letters informs us, that " his grace's administration was
" the happiest, the longest, and perhaps the most useful that was ever known
" in Ireland since the House of Hanover came to the crown, which was greatly
" owing to the confidence he placed (advised so to do by his good friend Sir
" Robert Walpole) in niy lord primate. My lord primate died in this admi-
" nistration, but had gone through three sessions of parliament without losing,
" as it is best remembered, a single government question. But at the same
" time this is observed, be it also recollected, that his Grace of Devonshire did
c greatly strengthen his own hands, and by that means those of the govern-
' ment, by a double alliance in marriage with the powerful family of Ponson-
' by ; who then had great weight, and now are of still greater consequence
' in that kingdom. This alliance, no doubt, contributed to make things go
' easy again, as it did afterwards during the short administration of thatamia-
' ble, most worthy, and truly noble personage the last Duke of Devonshire."
4 At his own private expences he built the Quay in Dublin, which bears
the name of Devonshire $>uay, in grateful remembrance of this benefactor to
the Irish nation.
, 22
of that government, by which Ireland then was ruled. In writ-
ing to the Duke of Newcastle about the reduction of the gold
coin, the primate observes, that he had in a particular manner
been ill used on this occasion, and that monstrous stories had
been spread about to enrage the people.* At this remote dis-
tance from the action of Primate Boulter's principles upon the
people of Ireland, represented by their parliament, the impartial
observer will necessarily conclude, that every Irishman who
considered or felt the independence of his country, would resist
the fundamental position laid down by that political prelate, that
the council in Ireland, whose special mission was to keep up the
English interest there, by the constitution had a power to check
the proceedings both of the lords and commons. As persecution
and harhness were agreeable, neither to King George the Se-
cond, nor to his then favourite minister Sir Robert Walpole, the
Catholics of Ireland had enjoyed some few years of relative in-
dulgence, which was ill relished by the primate, as in his ideas
it had produced so much insolence in that body, and there was
so general a disposition amongst Protestants and Papists to in-
sult magistrates for doing their duty, that they thought it proper
for preserving the peace of the country, to prosecute any person
indifferently that demanded satisfaction of any magistrate for
putting the laws in execution.* No argument can so conclu-
* 2 Vol. p. 242. " It is possible (said his grace, in 1737), some discon-
«' tented people may endeavour to bring the affair into parliament, and make
" some reflecting votes on the council here, which by our constitution has a
" power to check the proceedings of both lords and commons, I think they
" will not be able to carry any vote on that point ; but if they do, I am sure
*' the only check here on their heat at any time will be taken away, except his
" majesty is pleased to support the council. In the whole affair I am satisfied
" the aim of several is to depress the English interest here, which the more
" some labour to depress, the more necessary will it be to support it here by
" his majesty's authority. As for myself I make no difficulty of retiring, if it
" may be of any use, and indeedhave of late been so ill used in this affair, that
" nothing but his majesty's service should hinder me from retiring. The
" heats of this town begin to cool, and would have been over by this time, if
" they had not been artfully kept up for a handle to another place." (Letter
to the Duke of Newcastle, September 29f/5, 1737.) The editor of Primate
Boulter's letters assures us, that such a malignant spirit had been raised on
this occasion by Dean Swift and the bankers, that it was thought proper to
lodge at the primate's house an extraordinary guard of soldiers. On no oc-
casion, however, were the Catholics to be supposed innocent of any misconduct
that happened in Ireland. It was certainly a singular combination of the most '
heterogeneous interests, to which the primate attributed this opposition to the
will of the English cabinet in Ireland. In this same letter the archbishop hints,
that the heats were artfully kepi up by Dean Swift and by the management
of the bankers and remitters, and the whole Popish party there, and that the
affair occasioned a great deal of heat.
* Letter to the Duke of Devonshire, 2 vol. p. 227. It certainly is a conclu-
sive avowal, that prosecutions were not before that time carried on indiffer-
jently in Ireland, when the first minister of national justice makes a desperate
and forced threat of administering it indifferently for the peace of the country.
His grace had before this artfully prepared the public mind for this new and
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 23
sively refute the charges incessantly urged from this side of the
water against the Irish for being by disposition turbulent and
savage, by principle inimical to England, and by religion dis-
loyal to a Protestant sovereign, than the simple fact, that Ire-
land raised not an arm against the government, when an exten-
sive and unsuccessful war on the Continent, the countenance of
a young Pretender to the British throne, and the absence of a.
compulsory armed force from Ireland, displayed the most se-
ducing incitements to disorder, disaffection, and rebellion, if
their roots existed in the land. It was then, with notorious
truth, that the Duke of Devonshire so frequently in his speeches
to parliament during this time congratulated them upon the
grateful and happy necessity he was under, of reporting favour-
ably to his majesty upon the aifection, zeal, and loyalty of his
Irish subjects.
Loud and vehement as were the cries and exertions against
Popery and Papists in Ireland, yet it is impossible for any tem-
perate man not to see, that they arose out of no other principle
thaivthat of self-interest. Lord Clancarty had, it appears, under
the Duke of Devonshire's administration, obtained the consent
of the British cabinet, that a bill should be brought into the Irish
parliament for the reversal of his attainder, which passed for
his adhering to the cause of King James in 1688. His estates,
which had been consequently forfeited, were, according to Pri-
mate Boulter's account, then of the annual value of 60,000/.
and the report of such a measure, together with the reflections
made upon the consequences of such a precedent, threw the
Protestant landholders into the greatest alarm and fermenta-
tion.* In proportion as they were attached to the possession
extraordinary administration of indifferent justice, by the lord lieutenant's
speech at the close of the parliament of that year. (4 yourn. Com. p. 280.)
' I have nothing particular to recommend to you upon your return to your se-
' veral countries, being well satisfied that you will in your respective stations
' put the laws strictly and impartially in execution, encourage an hearty union
' amongst Protestants, and discountenance and punish prophaneness and im-
' morality. I need not mention to you, that your maintaining the dignity of
' the crown, and a due submission to the magistrate, will be the surest means
' to preserve the public peace and tranquillity." The laws which were thus
recommended to be put in execution, were well understood at that time to be
the Popery laws, and thus by artfully substituting the general words propbane-
ness and immorality for the appropriate word Popery, which those laws were
framed to punish and persecute, this intriguing prelate acquired a plausible
reason for extending his favourite system of rigour to those Protestants, who
discountenanced the Popery laws and opposed the English interest, as objects
of more rancour and detestation to his grace than even the Papists themselves.
* 2 Boulter, p. 152.
TO THE BISHOP OF LONDON.
Dublin, 9tt> of February, 1735.
MY LORD,
THE bearer is the Rev. Mr. Cox, one of a very good family here,
and of a fair character. He goes over to England to oppose the reversing of
24 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
of the Catholics' lands, they were vehement in decrying the
principles and tenets of the Catholic religion. It had the ef-
fect to sharpen the edge of the law, by more rigorous execu-
tion, and of encreasing the acrimony of the Irish government
against the body of Catholics, notwithstanding their unshaken
loyalty and exemplary conduct. The nature of this alarm ap-
pears from the resolutions of the commons at the end of the year
1739, ^nearly four years after his majesty had in the year 1735
the Lord Clancarty's attainder, if any such thing1 should be attempted this
session. He is in possession of 400/. per annum, part of the Clancarty estate,
which his father bought under the faith of two English acts of parliament, the
Irish Trustee Act, and a particular act obtained by the Hollow Sword Blade
Company, who had bought great estates here of the trustees, to make good the
titles of those, who purchased under them. He will be best able to give
your lordship an account of these sereral acts. But as not only he, but great
numbers of Protestant purchasers, who have improved the Clancarty estate
to near 60.0GO/. per annum, think they may be affected by such a reversal, I
need not tell your lordship what a ferment the discourse of it has occasioned
in those parts where the estate lies. But I must further add, that as probably
two-thirds of the estates of Protestants here were Popish forfeitures original-
ly, the uneasiness is universal, since they think if the attainder of any family
be reversed now, another family may at another time obtain the same favour ;
and another at another season ; for that no possessor of such forfeited
estate can tell how long he or his may continue in the quiet enjoyment of what
they have bought under the faith of English acts of parliament, and on the im-
provement of which they have laid out their substance. The House of Com-
mons here have represented their sense of this matter to his majesty, as the
Hoase of Lords did two or three sessions ago, to which they then received a
most gracious answer, which was the reason they did not address now. As
a step of this nature would give great uneasiness to his majesty's Protestant
subjects here, I desire your lordship would, where you judge it proper, re-
present the importance of the case. I have wrote a letter on this subject to
his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, and sent it by the same hand.
I am,
My Lord, &c. &c.
* 1 Journ. Com. p. 336. Lund. 18th of February, 1739. Mr. Pigot re-
ported from the committee appointed to take into consideration the petition of
those, whose names are thereunto subscribed, in behalf of themselves and a
great number of other Protestant purchasers of the late forfeited estates in
the county of Cork, or deriving under them, and interested in the said estates,
that they had come to several resolutions in the matter to them referred, which
he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the table, where the same
were again read, and are as follows :
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the petitioners have
fully proved the allegations of their petition.
Resolved, That it appears to this committee, that seventy-eight suits have
been already commenced against the petitioners, and other Protestants, for
the recovery of lands forfeited by the horrid Rebellion of 1688, and purchased
by them, or their ancestors, under the sanction of several acts of parliament,
and that the said suits have been greaHy expensive and vexatious to the per-
sons so sued.
Resolved, That it is the opinion of the committee, that any attempt to dis-
turb the Protestant purchasers of the estates forfeited in the years 1641 and
1688, in peaceable and quiet possession of their just and legal properties under
such purchases, will be of dangerous consequence to his majesty's person and
government, the succession in his royal house, and highly prejudicial to the
Protestant interest of this kingdom, and contrary to several acts of parliament
made and provided for the security of such Protestant purchasers.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. v 25
assured them, in answer to their former address, that his ma-
jesty would always discourage any application or attempt, that
might be made for the reversal of outlawries of persons attaint-
ed for the rebellions in 1641 and 1688, in any case that might
affect the interest or property of any of his Protestant subjects
there. This still proves, that there was an interest in the Irish
cabinet, not in unison with all the dictates of the British cabi-
net : the former however prevailed on this occasion, and the
attainder of Lord Clancarty was not reversed.*
Several causes combined to protect the Irish Catholics at this
time, from being exposed to fresh rigor or persecution : the
personal feelings of the sovereign, the political views of the
English ministry, the humane disposition of the Duke of De-
vonshire, all conspired in a system of leniency and moderation,
as best calculated to ensure the affection of the Irish nation,
when it was well known, that the agents of the abdicated family
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that any person or per-
sons who shall promote, encourage, or assist any person or persons in carry-
ing on the said suits, will thereby endeavour to lessen the Protestant interest
of this kingdom, and discourage his majesty's loyal Protestant subjects from
making settlements or improvements therein.
The first and second resolutions being read a second time, were agreed to
by the house, nemine contradicente.
The third resolution being read a second time, was, with an amendment
thereunto, agreed unto by the house, nemine contradicente, and is as followeth :
Resolved, That any attempt to disturb the Protestant purchasers of the
estates forfeited in the years 1641 and 1688, in their peaceable possession of
their just and legal properties under such purchases, will be of dangerous
consequence to his majesty's person and government, the succession in his
royal house, and highly prejudicial to the Protestant interest of this kingdom,
and derogatory from the parliamentary security, under which such Protestants
have purchased.
Then the last resolution of the committee being read a second time, was
agreed to by the house.
* This nobleman sensibly resented the irresolution of the English ministry
in not carrying into effect their promises and engagements for passing this
measure ; on this account M'Allister in his letters, (p. 15) observes, that he
considered himself ill used by tke ministry of England, and therefore required
but a very slender invitation to join in any enterprise, that in his opinion might
distress them, and therefore with great alacrity and readiness he attended
the summons he had received from the old Chevalier to prepare for the in-
tended invasion of Great Britain in 1745. Lord Clancarty (says this author)
several years before he received the letter of invitation from the old Pretender,
had been in Ireland, where he brought ejectments for recovery of an estate
forfeited by his father, amounting to about 60,000/. per annum, which he
claimed under a settlement of marriage. The parliament of that kingdom
passed a vote, whereby it was resolved, that any lawyer, counsel, attorney, or
solicitor that should proceed in such suit, &c. should be deemed an enemy to
his country, &c. This resolution, which quieted the minds and interests of
the possessors of that large estate, enraged, the mind of the earl, who
thought himself entitled to the whole ; and disappointed in that expectation,
he sought any occasion for procuring to himself the prospect of possessing that,
great fortune, and would have joined the Grand Turk or Cham of Tartary to
obtain it.
VOL. ii. r>
26 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
of Stuart were busily employed in raising partizans within the
British empire, and Great Britain was engaged in a most im-
portant and unsuccessful war on the continent : and notwith-
standing the severity of the laws against Catholics bearing arms
either by land or sea, the British government had in defiance of
the law, been necessitated secretly to recruit both the army and
navy of Great Britain from the fertile nursary of the Catholics
of Ireland ; and it is obvious, that in a moment of such pressing
urgency, it would have been the extremity of rashnes to indis-
pose the Irish people from enlisting in the army and navy of
Great Britain. In the year 1 745, under the administration of
Mr. Pelham, who had succeeded Sir Robert Walpole, the British
government being embarrassed not only by the loss of the noted
battle of Fontenoy, but by the landing of the young chevalier
in the north of Scotland, who was immediately joined by many
of the northern clans, most wisely appointed the Earl of Ches-
terfield lord lieutenant of Ireland.* Notwithstanding there
* When political necessity forces government into wholesome measures, it
is to be regretted, when they are not softened with the popular unction of
pood grace. Nothing can so effectually absolve a minister from personal
gratitude and feeling for his appointment, as to be made sensible in the first
instance, that necessity, not favour, brought him to his situation. It makes
him feel himself rather the man of the people, than of the crown ; hence that
dislike to popular ministers, which has too frequently shewn itself in our
sovereigns. The gloom of the political horizon in Great Britain, under what
was then in derision called the drunken administration, had forced the king to
sacrifice his confidential and favourite minister Lord Carteret, to private
iealousy and public clamour. (Dr. Matfs Memoris of Lord Chesterfield, Sec.
IV. } "A treaty had been for some time negociating between the old part of
the ministry, and the members of the opposition ; but it was not concluded
before the close of this year (1744), it was called the coalition, or broad-bottom
treaty. Lord Chesterfield, who was at the head of that party, had long
declared for an honourable peace, or, till that could be obtained, for an ex-
clusive exertion of British forces on that element, where they are truly for-
midable. On this principle a league was formed between the two parties, to
drive out the minister, who was looked upon as their common enemy. This
was a matter of no small difficulty. Lord Carteret had got possesion of the
royal ear ; and the only way to effect it, was to persuade the king, that his
favourite measures woold be pursued, and carried on with greater efficacy, by
ministers of a more popular cast. Lord Chesterfield was proposed, as being
equal to the obnoxious minister in his political knowledge of the interests of
princes, and as the most likely person to prevail with the states to join heartily
in the common cause. Necessity alone could have induced George II. to em-
ploy a man whom, for a number of years, he had been taught to consider as his
personal enemy : (he often complained, that the king's ear had been poisoned
with lies against him) and whom, in return, he had not treated as a friend. He
had, however.no great objection to avail himself of the carl's interest in Hol-
land, nnd was even willing to send him from thence, as lord lieutenant to
Ireland, if for no other reason, to keep him still at a distance. But he wanted
to make the admission r.f the carl into the cabinet a reward for services,
rather than a condition of his being employed ; and persisted in delaying, at
least for a time, to receive him into the closet. Lord Chesterfield peremptorily
insisted upon both these circumstances. The audience was accordingly
granted ; but the monarch, ever superior to dissimulation, received him with
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 2?
then existed a corps of British Jacobites, consisting of seven
regiments of Irish, and two of Scots* in the pay of the French
great coldness. Ton have received your instructions, my lord, were the only words,
which he spoke in answer to the earl's application to be honoured with his
majesty's commands. This is not the only instance in this reign, of a subject's
forcing his way to his master, and obtaining or recovering his favour. Thus
was Lord Chesterfield, after an opposition of ten years to public measures,
called upon once more to take a part in administration. Admitted on his own
terms, and without being obliged to sacrifice either his friends or his princi-
ples, he had the satisfaction of being called by the voice of the nation : and
while one part of Europe dreaded the influence of so able a negociator, the
other loudly expressed the highest satisfaction at so judicious a choice.
* The six Irish regiments of foot, were Billon, Clare, Berwick, Roscommon,
Lally, and Bulkeley ; and Fitzjames's horse : the Scots were, the Royal Scots
horse, and Ogilvie's foot. Three of these regiments were at the battle of Fon-
tenoy, and deservedly claimed the merit of turning the fortune of that day
in favour of the French : on which occasion George the Second is reported to
have said with unusual emotion, cursed be the laws, which deprive ine <rf such
subjects. The learned and ingenuous Dr. Campbell gives this honourable
testimony of Irish bravery. (Ph. Sur<o. p. 274.) " The Irish troops I find
" lie under the imputation of generally behaving ill at home. And therefore
" Voltaire classes Ireland among those nations, which seemed formed for
" subjection, while he admits that her troops behave well abroad." This lively,
hut inaccurate writer, could not have forgot, that at the battle of Blenhiem,
Lord Clare's dragoons alone were victorious on the side of the French, having-
cut to pieces a German regiment commanded by Colonel Goore ; that the
like glory attended them at Ramillies ; and that the Irish regiments of Dillon
and Burk saved, not only Cremona, but the whole French army in Italy. This
action was attended with such eclat, that it was said in the British House of
Commons, that the Irish abroad had done more mischief to the Allies, than
they could have done at home, by being repossessed of their estates. They
tell you it was Ligonier's horse, to a man Irish, which preserved the king's
person, and thereby gained the battle of Dettingen. Many other cases are
adduced to the same purpose. It was probably, reflections of this nature which
produced the following lines of Swift :
Her matchless sons, whose valour still remains,
On French records, for twenty long campaings;
Yet from an Empress, now a captive grown,
She saved Britannia's rights, and lost her own.
After all ! Is It any thing more than to say, that the frequent insurrections of
a divided people whose war was undisciplined, as their peace was uncivilized,
were always suppressed by the regular forces of a great and powerful nation >
If the Irish had tamely acquiesced under that submissive faction struck be-
tween some of their chiefs and Henry II,. there might have been some grounds
for the censure of Voltaire.
Sir John Davis, among the many causes assigned .why Ireland was not
brought under obedience to the crown of England, before the reign of James
I. every where commends the prowess, and other natural endowments of the
people. A struggle, though unsuccessful for liberty, almost uninterrupted for
near 500 years, is certainly no symptom of a country formed for subjection.
But this struggle lasted much'longer ; and had Sir John come later into life, he
would have seen, that Ireland was at that time far from being subdued. The
being subdued does not argue the being formed for subjection. The Britons
were completely subdued by the Romans ; and if Britain had been formed for
subjection, we could not at this day, boast of being the most free people in
Europe. In the history of this country, I do not find any period in which it
discovered such despondence, as our ancestors did in that humiliating letter
to Aetius.
28 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
monarch, who considered themselves as auxiliary troops of
James Stuart, their rightful monarch of these realms, and that
frequent intercourse must have subsisted between those who
served the exiled prince at St. Germain's or in this brigade, and
their relatives in Ireland, yet so pure was the loyalty of the
great body of the-Irish in this critical juncture, that not even a
suspicion of .their rising in the cause of the Pretender, was har-
boured or acted upon by that prudent governor. True it is,
that before this wise nobleman had assumed^the reigns of the
Irish government, the usual means of alarming and irritating
the public mind from the senate, bench, and pulpit, had been so
effectually pursued, that upon a report of the Marshal Saxe's in-
tention to make a descent upon England, a serious proposal had
been made in council, that as the papists had began the massacre
on the Protestants in 1641, it was but just and reasonable in that
critical juncture to retaliate in like manner upon the Papists.
Although this barbarous proposal were indignantly rejected by
that honourable assembly, to which it was proposed, yet such
was the enthusiastic rancour of some of the lower orders of the
Protestant inhabitants of Lurgan, that such a horrid conspiracy
was actually entered into, and providentially prevented by the
discovery of a respectable merchant of Dublin, who happened to
be accidentally there upon his commercial concerns. Nothing
could exceed the coolness, moderation, and wisdom of the Earl
of Chesterfield's conduct on this trying occasion.* He had for-
But be this as it may, the behaviour of the Irish at home, even in the last
war, was far from contemptible. They were routed, it is true, at the Boyne,
in their first general engagement, by the best generals, and the best troops
then in Europe ; their king, in whose cause they bled, standing at ,a distance,
and shewing- himself thereby unworthy of wearing any longer that crown, for
which he contended.
At the conclusion of the war, " during the treaty of Limerick, a saying
' of Sarsfield deserves to be remembered, for it was much talked of all Europe
' over. He asked some of the English officers if they had not cdme'to a better
' opinion of the Irish, by their behaviour during this war ? And whereas they
' said, that it was much the same that it had always been, Sarsfield answered,
' though low as we are now, change but kings, and we will fight it over again
' with you.;'
* Every act of this excellent governor differed from those of all his prede-
cessors, and unfortunately too of most of his successors. ( 'Matji't Memoirs J
Before he left England, he was willing- to shew that he intended to govern
by himself. The office of principal secretary is not only a place of considera-
ble power, when the lord lieutenant is willing to throw upon another the toad of
public affairs. If the secretary be capable and enterprizing, he becomes the
principal ; the governor is eclipsed, and shares only the odium, but never the
honour, of his substitute's management. Several persons of great abilities as
well as experience, were accordingly proposed to the earl for that important
office. But faithful to the rule he had prescribed to himself in his two embas-
sies, he resolved to make superior abilities no part of the secretary's qualifica-
tions. He listened not to the intimations of favourites and ministers, and
even resisted the insinuations of friendship, which might have determined his
choice in favour of Mr. Mallet. The gentleman he preferred was the late
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 29
Innately been entrusted with a plentitude of discretion: and the
gratitude of the Irish, for the judicious and prudent use of his
extraordinary powers, has not even to this day, been effaced
from the lowest of their peasantry. Gratitude has ever a strong
hold upon the Irish nation. It required indeed the eminent
sagacity and address of that nobleman, to baffle the efforts and
importunities of the violent party in Ireland, with which they
daily assailed the castle, and demanded rigour and severity
against the Catholics, as the just tribute to the Protestant
interest, and the only means of supporting the establishment : by
these salutary measures, during the whole continuance of the
rebellion in Great Britain,* not a single Irish Catholic lay or
clerical, was engaged, or even accused of being engaged in that
cause. f
Richard Lyddel, Esq. member of parliament for Bassiny in Cornwall. That
gentleman, he says, in a letter to his son, <was a very genteel pretty young fellow,
but not a man of business. This was the circumstance, which dictated his
choice ; and on the first visit his secretary paid him, he told him ; Sir, you will
receive the emoluments of your place, but I will do the business myself, being
determined to have no first minister. In another instance he likewise chose
to be singular and peremptory. He openly declared, that if, during his stay
in Ireland, any person should make a successful application to the king, for
any place in his majesty's gift, through any other channel but his own, he
would immediately throw up the lord lieutenancy. Conscious of his integrity,
he certainly was right in making this declaration, which perhaps would neither
have been decent nor ea&ily attended to, if a man of less resolution and conse-
quence had at that time ventured to make it. On his landing he found the
high character he had acquired, of the greatest service to him. In an Island
esteemed not less boisterous than the element that surrounds it, he was par-
ticularly happy in quieting and captivating the turbulent disposition of the
inhabitants; and Cicero, whom he had constantly before his eyes as an orator,
became also the object of his imitation in his government.
* The Pretender landed in the summer of 1745, on one of the Hebrides, and
on the 19th of August, the Marquis of Tullibardinc erected his standard at
Glensignan ; and on the 16th day of April, 1746, the battle of Culloden was
won by the Duke of Cumberland, which properly put an end to that rebellion,
f This fact is folly proved by Dr. Curry, f 2 vol. p. 261, Dub. Ed. 1793 J
' In the year 1762, upon a debate in the House of Lords about the expediency
1 of raising five regiments of these Catholics, for the service of the King of
' Portugal, Doctor Stone (then primate), in an answer to some common place
' objections against the good faith and loyalty of these people, which were
' revived with virulence on that occasion, declared publickly in the House of
' Lords, that " in the year 1747, after that rebellion was intirely suppressed,
' happening to be in England, he had an opportunity of perusing all the
' papers of the rebels and their correspondents, which were seized in the cus-
' tody of Murray, the Pretender's secretary; and that after having spent much
' time, and taken great pains in examining them (not without some share of
' the then common suspicion, that there might be some private understand-
' ing and intercourse between them and the Irish Catholics) he could not
' discover the least trace, hint, or intimation of such intercourse or correspon-
' dence in them, or of any of the latters favouring, or abetting, or having been
' so much as made acquainted with the designs or proceedings of these re-
' bels; and what he said he wondered at most of all was, that in all his re-
' searches, he had not met with any passage in any of these papers, from which
1 he could infer, that cither their holy father the pope, or any of his cardinals,
30 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
When Lord Chesterfield met the parliament on the 8th of
October, his speech to them bespoke the wisdom of his con-
duct: he addressed himself to a feeling people with the authority
of a ruler and with the affection of a father. Conscious as he
was, that a very large part of them was still rancorously dispos-
ed towards the Catholics, he would not all at once shock their
inclinations and prejudices by a declaration of that indulgence,
which his political experience pointed out to him adviseable at
all times, but absolutely indispensable in that juncture: like a
great statesman he first assured them, that he was honoured
with the king's commands to meet them in parliament, and to
co-operate with them in whatever might tend to establish or
promote the true interest of that kingdom. Then referring
pointedly to the circumstances of the Scotch rebellion, and the
happiness they had enjoyed under the house of Brunswick, he
thus touched upon the old subject of invective to all his prede-
cessors on their meeting the parliament. " The measures, that
" have been hitherto taken to prevent the growth of Popery
" have I hope had some, and will still have a greater effect :
" however I leave it to your consideration, whether nothing fur-
" ther can be done either by new laws, or by the more effectual
" execution of those in being, to secure this nation against the
" great number of Papists, whose speculative errors would only
" deserve pity, if their pernicious influence upon society did
" not both require and authorise restraint." And " for my
" own part (he concluded) I make you no professions : you
" will, you ought to judge of me only by my actions."
" bishops, or other dignitaries of that church, or any of the Irish clergy, had
cither directly or indirectly, encouraged, aided, or approved of, the com-
mencing or carryiag on of that rebellion." There cannot be a more ho-
nourable testimony confirming this report of Primate Stone, than the charge
given to the grand juries of the citv and county of Dublin, by the Lord Chief
Justice Marlay, in which he thus addressed them : " When posterity read, that
in tnis age a rebellion was carried on in Great Britain without the least co-
lour, or pretence of oppression, nay, by many who had not even that false
pretence of religion to palliate their treason against a prince, one of the best,
the most merciful, just and most generous of our royal line, who has given
the fortunes of all criminals, whether forfeited for crimes against the state,
or for other offences, to their children or relations (a grace never practised
before) ; who has exposed his person at the head of his armies, in defence
of the liberties of his kingdoms, and of Europe; and that Ireland, where
much the greatest part of the inhabitants profess a religion, which some-
times has authorised, or at least justified rebellion, not only preserved peace
at home, but contributed to restore it among his subjects of Great Britain;
will they not believe that the people of Ireland were actuated by something1
more than their duty and allegiance ? Will they not be convinced, that they
were animated by a generous sense of gratitude, and zeal for their great be-
nefactor, and fully sensible of the happiness of being blessed by living under
the protection of a monarch, who, like the glorious King William, the Hen-
ries, and Edwards, his royal predecessors, lias himself led his armies to
victory, and despised danger in the cause of his people ; and one from whom
we not only expect, but are assured of, a race of princes, equally eminent
for their generosity, prudence, and courage."
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 51
* The lords on the same day resolved on an address to the
king, which should amongst other things express their great
thankfulness to his majesty for his goodness in placing over
them, at that critical juncture, his excellency, the Earl of Ches-
terfield, whose distinguished abilities often and signally exerted
in the service of his majesty, so eminently qualified him for the
important trust then reposed in him by his majesty for the secu-
rity and happiness of that kingdom. And on the next day the
commons voted an address to the throne, in which they assured
his majesty, that they could not have a stronger assurance of
his majesty's tender concern for them, than in the choice of a
governor for that kingdom, so eminent for great abilities and
distinguished merit as the Earl of Chesterfield, whose discern-
ing judgment had pointed out what was necessary for their con-
sideration and care, both with respect to the honour of his ma-
jesty's government, and their own true interest.
The Earl of Chesterfield found but an inconsiderable milita-
ry force in the kingdom : and had he given ear to the alarmists
of that day, who magnified external and fabricated internal dan-
ger, he would have drained Great Britain of her troops to quell
an ideal insurrection by measures, that probably would have
created a real one : had he trodden the beaten path of patronage,
he would have raised new regiments : had he pursued the old
system of the castle, he would have encreased the expenditure,
and trebled the supplies, under the hackneyed cries of Popish
risings for a Popish Pretender, and Protestant massacres : had
he continued the system of rigour and persecution he found
carrying on against the Catholics at his arrival in that kingdom ;
their places of worship would have remained shut, and the pri-
sons and scaffolds would have been crouded with their priests,
for disobeying the proclamation lately issued to oblige them to
quit the kingdom, and for enforcing the strictest execution of
the penal laws of Elizabeth and Anne. The conduct of this
wise viceroy was directly the reverse. Confiding in the steady
loyalty of the Irish people, instead of encreasing, as he was im-
portunately advised, the army by 400O men, he sent four bat-
talions to the assistance of the Duke of Cumberland, and encou-
raged volunteer associations to form in different parts of the
kingdom for the defence of their country. These battalions he
replaced by additional companies to the regiments already on
the establishment, without encreasing the expenditure of the
nation, the influence of the crown, or his own patronage or emo-
lument. The supply asked for by Lord Chesterfield was small :
it was raised with ease and expended with ceconomy : there was
* 3 Lords' Jonrn. p. 591.
32 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
a considerable saving out of what was raised, and it was applied
to the improvement of the harbour of Cork. He rested the
support of his measures upon their rectitude, and chastely ab-
stained from gaining friends by the customary mode of rever-
sionary grants. He opened to the Catholics their places of
worship,* released their priests out of prison, and allowed them
the undisturbed exercise of their religious duties. This great
statesman well knew, that the Irish, above all other people, were
to be gained and secured by confidence, kindness and liberality.
Thus Protestants and Catholics, Whigs and Tories, English
and Irish interests, all stricken with the glare of rectitude of his
measures, united in contributing to render his government
agreeable and efficient. Neither in nor out of parliament was a
single measure of this excellent governor opposed, or clisre-
lished.f The lords almost immediately (viz. on the 9th of
* In many parts of the country the Popery laws were executed with the most
unrelenting1 rigour : it is however but an act of justice to several of the ma-
gistrates of that day to observe, that they were even ingenious to extend their
leniency to those, who they were conscious, did not deserve rigour at their
bands. Their humanity revolted against the power, which the law gave them :
when the Reverend Mr. Egan was prosecuted for being a Popish priest, the
witnesses swore they saw him celebrate the Mass, which in the eye of the law
was sufficient to convict him ; but the judge replied, that Garzia the Jew had
done the same in Dublin, in 1718, and thai nothing would do to prove Egan a
Popish priest, but to substantiate his ordination after the manner of the Romish
church ; " besides (said he) to my knowledge, a priest must know some Latin,
" but here is a booby that cannot read a word of English.*' The arrival of
Lord Chesterfield as viceroy served to mitigate the severity of those unsocial
times, and he availed himself of an accident, which was universally spoken of,
to soften the rage of persecution. A Mr. Fitzgerald happened to say M.iss in
the garret of a very old house, which gave way on account of the immense
crowd that was assembled ; the priest and nine persons were killed, and num-
bers wounded by the ruins. People in power were touched with a transitory
pity, which Lord Chesterfield's humanity took care to cultivate. The chapels
were allowed to be opened on St. Patrick's day, and were never after shut, not
even during the rebellion, which blazed in Scotland in the year 1745.
f Doctor Maty thus retails this governor's conduct (Mem. Sect. V.) Upon
the breaking out of the rebellion, the private Popish chapels in the metropolis
had been searched for, and ordered to be shut up, proclamations were issued
to compel the priests to leave the capital, and the refractory were imprisoned
afid threatened with severe punishments. The new lord lieutenant did not
want for advisors, who pressed him to follow this example. His enlarged no-
tions of humanity and true politics induced him to pursue a different and much
wiser course. He allowed the Roman Catholics the free use of their religion,
and far from attempting to shut up their places of worship, he rather wished
them to continue open ; and prevented any disturbance from being given to
those, who resorted to them. His view was to discover whether the people of
that denomination remained in the kingdom, or left it to go over to their sup-
posed friends in Scotland. To be informed of that material fact, he took care
to engage persons to attend at their chapels and fail's, and received with great
satisfaction, assurances, that they were both as much frequented as ever. A
certain proof of the confidence they placed in his promises, and of their desire
not to molest government. The deluded adherents to the exiled family were
treated with equal lenity and prudence. One of them, a Roman Catholic, who
bad an estate in the neighbourhood of Dublin, and was looked upon as. an agent
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 33
October 1745) expressed their satisfaction at the appointment
of this great statesman at so critical a juncture, in an address
to the Pretender, was privately sent for to the castle " Sir (said Lord Ches-
" terfield), I do not wish to inquire whether you have any particular employ-
" ment in this kingdom, but I know that you have a great interest amongst
" those of your persuasion. I have sent for you to exhort them to be peacea-
" ble and quiet. If they behave like faithful subjects, they shall be treated as
" such; but if they act in a diderent manner, I shall be worse to them than
" Cromwell." \Vriether he would have really been so, may be doubted ; but
this conversation, together with his watchful eye, had such an effect, that not
one of them stirred during the whole time of the rebellion, and all the infor-
mations against particular persons were found absolutely groundless. His ef-
forts to remove prejudices, and maintain harmony and benevolence, were se-
conded by writers, whom he encouraged to support the same cause. Dean
Swift was still alive, when Lord Chesterfield arrived, but reduced to a state of
total dotage and insensibility, which one month after ended in his death. This
short interval was laid hold of, to publish under his name a new letter of a
Drapier to the good people of Ireland, and particularly to the poor Papists.
It was so much in the dean's style, and was so greedily received, that it went
through a variety of editions in a month's time. Indeed the many strokes of
wit and humour, that it contained, would induce me to suspect, that his lord-
ship had some share in it. Berkeley, the bishop of Cloyne, employed himself
in the same cause, perhaps more usefully than in his recommendation of tar
water, or his dialogues against matter. His letter to the Roman Catholics of
Jus diocese was worthy of a Christian bishop. He endeavoured to dissuade
his fellow citizens and neighbours from falling into the same errors which had
been so fatal to their fathers ; and appealing to their reason, convinced them,
that their s.tuation was as advantageous as they could wish it to be, and that it
would be the height of imprudence to engage in a dangerous cause, to which
neither interest did invite, nor conscience did oblige them." Reason never
speaks in vain ; the most hardened are insensibly softened by its voice. The
Irish priests, sensible of the gentleness of the present administration, co-ope-
rated with their Protestant brethren to maintain order and tranquillity. These
pastoral letters, public discourses from the pulpit, and private admonitions,
were equally directed for the service of government. The ill-grounded appre-
hensions of the friends to the present system were not less to be guarded
against, than the enterprises of its enemies. This was by much the most dif-
ficult task, but Lord Chesterfield was equally successful in encouraging the
former and disarming the latter. By constantly appearing to be afraid of
nothing, he spread an universal belief that nothing was to be feared ; and by
the ridicule he threw upon the violent measures which were proposed to him,
he manifested his desire of abstaining from them till there was real danger.
Thus (Notes to the Memoirs, p. 29 and 31) the same author says, that a
zealous Protestant, thinking to pay his court to the lord lieutenant, came to
inform him, that one of his coachmen was a Roman Catholic, and privately
went to Mass. Does he indeed? (said his lordship) -well, I -will take care he
shall never carry me there. An instance of his lordship's calmness and pre-
sence of mind on this occasion has been given by the Bishop of Waterford.
" I cannot (says he) forbear to mention a pun of his lordship's, which shews
" his quickness at repartee, and that he had the best information of the dispo-
" sitions of the Roman Catholics, and was not afraid of them. The vice-trea-
" surer, Mr. Gardner, a man of a good character and a considerable fortune,
" waited upon him one morning, and in a great fright told him, that he was
" assured, upon good authority, that the people in the province of Connaught
" were actually rising. Upon which Lord Chesterfield took out his watch,
" and with great composure answered him, It is nine o'clock, and certainly
" time for them to rise ; I therefore believe your news to be true."
VOL. II. £
34 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
to the lord lieutenant ;* in which they expressed their sense of
his majesty's favour and goodness towards Ireland in sparing
from his councils in Great Britain, a person of his excellency's
known and tried abilities for the good and advantage of that
nation, f The commons were more tardy in expressing their
sentiments to the 'viceroy, though their address, which was
made on the 5th of April 1746, were more pointed, as being
founded in the happy experience, and not in the anticipated con-;
fidence of his administration. The earl of Chesterfield had the
satisfaction of seeing all his attempts to serve the kingdom he-
was sent, in that critical moment, to govern, requited by the
most peaceful demeanour and enthusiastic gratitude of the
Irish nation. He was universally admired on his arrival, be-
loved during his stay, and regretted upon his departure. To
perpetuate his virtues and the gratitude of the nation, his bust
was" placed in the castle of Dublin at the public expence.J
* •' Lords' journ. p. 594.
f 4- Commons Journ. p. 506.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUB. EXCELLENCY,
WE the commons of Ireland in parliament assembled, beg leave
to express our sincere and unanimous sense of the benefits which we have re-
ceived from your excellency's mild and prudent administration. His majesty's
gracious acceptance of the duty and loyalty of his subjects in this kingdom,
has been particn'.arly manifested by his committing1 them to your excellency's
care, in so critical a conjuncture, when your zeal for the present happy establish-
ment was of more immediate importance to our security, and your eminent
abilities could be more effectually exerted for our service. These uncommon
talents, by v.-hich your excellency Has been most justly distinguished, and which
did in all times excite our admiration, must now more sensibly affect us, when
we have seen them through your whole administration, so invariably directed,
and employed with so unwearied an application to support the dignity of his
majesty's crown, and to promote the true interest of his people. As upon the
first appearance of the rebellion in Scotland, our zeal for his majesty animated us
with a just resentment and indignation, and as our concern for the preservation
of our rights and liberties, so dear to the Protestants of this kingdom, could
not but raise in our minds some unquiet apprehensions ; we were ready, as we
shall ever be, cheerfully to concur in all proper measures, and to exert our
utmost strength for the defence of the king's government, and the support of
your excellency's authority under him. And we do now, with equal cheerful-
Bess, and with the utmost gratitude acknowledge, that the profound tranquillity,
which, without any extraordinary increase of public expence, we of this nation
have hitherto enjoyed, has been the result of a wise and vigilant administration
Over us ; an administration formed upon the principles and carried on by the
uniform exercise of lenity without remissness, and of firmness without seve-
rity. We receive it as a particular mark of your excellency's regard, that
when your assistance at his majesty's councils in this time of the most ardu-
ous and extensive deliberations there, must have been so necessary, you have
seemed to consider the business of this kingdom as the principal object of your
attention. Upon this account we think it almost superfluous to add our re-
quest, that your excellency would, on your return, represent us in the most
favourable manner to his majesty, since our experience of your past conduct
must sufficiently assure us of the continuance of the same good dispositions
towards us, and as we are most firmly persuaded that your presence has not
been more ccnducive to our safety now, than your influence will hereafter be
to our prosperity.
| Doctor Maty has elegantly and concisely painted the halcyon hours of
Lord Chesterfield's government. (Scct.V.}'" As it was owirg; to the lord
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND.
The short administration of the Earl of -
reflections highly important to the welfare of the Irish nali r.
It was a practical demonstration of the utility of a system of
lenity and liberality, not only to Ireland, but to the \vhole Bri-
tish empire. It was a conclusive evidence, that Great Britain.
well knew how at any time to ensure the happiness of her sister
kingdom, though unwilling at most times to promote it. The
danger of Great Britain drove her to do justice to Ireland for tae
few months during which that danger lasted ; and her security
brought with it repentance, at the momentary, though necessary
interruption of the ancient system. It is lamentably remarka-
ble how thriftily Great Britain dealt out this transient justice to
Ireland, as if she counted reluctantly the hours of its enjoyment.
On the 19th, of August, 1745, the standard of rebellion was
formally erected in the Highlands of Scotland : a courier was
dispatched to hasten the return of the king, who was then in
Hanover : he arrived in London before the end of August : and
on the 31st day of August, the Earl of Chesterfield was ap-
pointed lord lieutenant and chief governor of the kingdom of
Ireland. On the 16th of April, 1746, the defeat of the Preten-
der at Culloden by the Duke of Cumberland put an end to the
rebellion ; and on the ninth day after that event, Ireland was
deprived of her favourite viceroy ; for on the 25th of April,
1746, Primate Hoadley, Lord Chancellor Newport, and Mr.
Boyle, the speaker of the House of Commons, were appointed
lords justices, and vainly did Ireland sigh for the return of her
short-lived felicity : Great Britain was out of danger : and Ire-
. land could securely be put again under us former regime.* In
*' lieutenant's vig-ilance and resolution that the French and Spaniards did not
" attempt to land any troops in Ireland during the time of the rebellion, it was
," likewise an effect of his prudence and moderation, that the horrors of a civil
" war did not reach that country. Distinctions of parties seemed to be
" abolished, and animosities to be forgotton as well as prejudices and suspi-
" cions. Religion became what it ought to be, a bond of union instead of an
" instrument of discord ; superstition was enlightened, and fanaticks disarm -
." ed. Hence a phenomenon took place, not often beheld in times of tran-
" quillity. Protestants and Rojnan Catholics, natives and strangers, well-
" wishers and enemies to the Pretender, all alike influenced by the example
" of their benevolent governor, indulged, respected, and would have loved
" one another, if he had continued a longer time among them.
"It is the province of history to perpetuate the transactions of an admini-
" stration, which it will ever be the interest of future lord lieutenants to study
" and to imitate."
* It appears to have been a fatality peculiar to Ireland, thU: her greatest
civil blessings have been unexceptionably obtained under circumstances, that
to say the least of them, deprived Great Britain of the merit of voluntary,
cordial and gracious accession. Thus shall we have to note in proper time and
order, the situation of Great Britain, when the independence of Ireland was
recognised in 1782, which Mr. Burke observed, was the true revolution to the
Irish, and when she became united with Great Britain. For the honour of the
people of Great Britain, it were to be wished, that necessity had not forced,
but reason and liberality had proffered the boon : yet that very necessity proves
its excellency 5 and its excellency will ensure its continuance and success.
36 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
order effectually to cut off all hopes of the return of Lord Ches-
terfield to Ireland, on the 13th of September the Earl of Har-
rington was appointed the new lord lieutenant.
We are now arrived at that period of the Irish history at
which Mr. Burke observed,* the English in Ireland began to
be domiciliated, and to recollect that they had a country. The
English interest at first by faint and almost insensible degrees,
but at length openly and avowedly, became an independent Irish
interest, full as independent as it could ever have been, if it had
continued in the persons of the native Irish. The new lord
lieutenant, when he met the parliament in October, 1747, par-
ticularly complimented them on his majesty's continuance of his
paternal regard and affection to a dutiful and loyal people : and
recommended a continuance of the same good conduct and
vigilance, which, under God, had prevented the communication
of so dangerous an infection (i. e. the Scotch Rebellion) to that
kingdom.
A political question was about this time started in Ireland,
and carried on with extraordinary virulence by the contending
parties. Mr. Lucas, a medical gentleman from Cork, upon a
vacancy having happened in the representation of the city of
Dublin by the death of Sir James Sommerville, attracted the
notice and secured the warmest support of the patriots of that
day, by publicly attacking the abuses, that had lately prevailed
in the elections of members for the city of Dublin, by which
the commons were deprived of the power of chusing the city
magistrates, and that power was placed in the Board of Alder-
men, subject to the approbation of the lord lieutenant. The
press teemed with letters, answers, replies, addresses, appeals,
counter-appeals, and every engine, that could be employed to
add rancour, sting, and fuel to the heats of the contending parties.
It was no longer an electioneering squabble between two rival
candidates : it became a trial of strength upon popular princi-
ples of civil liberty between the patriots and government. It
kept the Protestantsf of Ireland in a flame of civil discord for
* Letter to Lang. p. 45.
t It was natural, that the Irish Catholics, who were formally excluded from
any active or passive representation in parliament, should be indifferent to
those contests for civil rights, which could not end in admitting them to the
enjoyment. The first periodical publication of Mr. Lucas was the Censor,
against which Sir Richard Cox (under the title of Anthony Litten) wrote hii
appeal to the public, abusing Lucas (he was a Presbyterian) as an incendiary
and a Papist ,• and treating the Catholic body of the Irish nation with the most
contemptuous and rancorous hostility.
Against this appeal of Sir Richard Cox, M. O'Connor wrote his Counter-
Appeal, to shew, that so far from being addicted to slavish opinions, the Irish
nation had, on the contrary, laboured long under a complication of evils result-
ing from licentiousness, and that it was their greatest political misfortune and
the source of all their calamities, that the excess of liberty, which prevailed
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 37
several years. Mr. James Digges La Touche, who had form-
erly been an intimate friend of Mr. Lucas, and strongly united
with him in political principles, on this occasion abandoned his
former principles, and proposed himself as a candidate for the
city of Dublin, in direct and violent opposition to Mr. Lucas,
then the popular idol of such of the nation, as took the liveliest
concern in the politics of that day.
Mr. Charles Lucas had some years before attracted the
notice of his fellow citizens by the strong powers of his mind,
and the independent firmness of his public spirit : he had been,
some time before admitted to the public council. Here he
resolved to exert himself in behalf of their privileges. The new
rules framed in the reign of Charles the Second, by authority
from a clause in the act of explanation, had, as in other corpo-
among them was not tempered by Aristocracy in such a manner as to afford a
solid support to monarchy on the one side, and freedom on the other. This
pamphlet was dated from the town of Londonderry, September 30th, 1749.
It was written in a hasty manner, merely for the contest and passion of the
day, and Mr. O'Connor never would acknowledge it to be his, until his corres-
pondence with Reily, the editor, obliged him to acknowledge it.
" Your inflammatory counter- appeal (says Reily) has
" been roared about the streets here all this day, and so inflaming it is, that
" Walter Harris, the historian, told the printer (Kelburne) he would be sum-
" monedto the Bar of the House, and sent to Newgate ; for that it is of a more
' dangerous tendency, than all Lucas's papers together. The best of it is,
' that Kelburne himself cannot guess at the author : some say it is Brooke,
' others Lucas himself; but let them guess on while you are safe. You must
' guard against all Sir Richard's friends, he is not only warm, but malicious
' against Lucas.
«' Yours, &c. &c.
Dublin, October 10th, 1749. " Civicus.
MR. O'CONNOR TO civicus.
" Your hints are friendly, and demand my thanks, but
" I am by no means interested, nor is any of our unfortunate people in this
" affair of Lucas, into which we are dragged by violent and wanton malevo-
" lence ; I have even some disgust to Lucas, on account of his Barber's let-
" ters ; a true patriot would not have betrayed such malice to such unfortunate
" slaves as we. But those boasters, the Whigs, are in search of liberty,
" just as Herod was of Clirist, to crush it in its infancy, and have to all them-
" selves.
Yours, &c. &c.
October 28th, 1749. " C. O'CONNOR.
It is observable, notwithstanding Harris's menaces, that the most objec-
tionable passage in the counter-appeal is this : " Can it at this time of day be
" a matter of doubt whether we Irish have a right to the laws and constitution
" of our fathers, or are we to live subject to the dictates of an incompatible
" legislation?"
The bugbear of Jacobitism, which was so successfully played in these
bigoted times, rendered all publications favourable to Roman Catholics very
dangerous to their authors ; any thing that could tend to soften the rigour of
the penal code was highly alarming, and every possible step was taken to pre-
vent the governing party's granting the smallest degree of toleration to their
Catholic countrymen.
38 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
rate towns, changed the powers of the city corporation. To
encrease the influence of the crown, among other innovations,
they deprived the commons of the power of choosing the city
magistrates, and placed it in the Board of Aldermen, subject in
its exercise on each election to the approbation of the chief
governor, and privy council. Of this injury Lucas loudly coin-
plained : but the law being absolute, could not be combated.
Suspecting, however, that in other respects encroachments had
been made on the rights of the citizens not justified by law,
he examined the city charters, and searched diligently into the
ancient records, by which he became convinced that his appre-
hensions were well founded. He published his discoveries, cx-
plainedthe evidence resulting from them, and encouraged the peo-
ple to take the proper steps for obtaining redress. In conse-
quence, a warm contest commenced betwixt the commons and
aldermen in 1741, which continued the two succeeding years.
Though the former struggled in vain to recover their lost privi-
leges, the exertions of Lucas in every stage of the dispute, were
strenuous and persevering. These services raised him so high
in the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens, that on the
death of Sir James Sommerville, they encouraged him to declare
lumself a candiate to represent them in parliament. Ambitious
of an office so flattering, which would give him an opportunity
of exerting his abilities to the greatest advantage in the ser-
vice not only of the city of Dublin, but of his country, he com-
plied with their desire. His speeches to the several corpora-
tions on this occasion, which were bold, nervous, and animated,
in favour of liberty, encreased their attachment to him. But a
number of addresses to his fellow citizens, which he wrote and
published, tended more effectually to encrease his popularity.
In these, among other subjects, he considered distinctly the
several branches of the constitution; pointed out to the electors
of Dublin, and to the nation the privileges of Irishmen, and the
various injuries they had sustained by the interference of the
British legislature. The firmness and perspicuity of his manner,
the popularity of his subject, and (perhaps) the justice of his ar-
guments, alarmed the Irish government, which had been little
used to such opposition. They determined to crush him by
the hand of power.* For this purpose, certain passages the
most obnoxious to the state, were collected from his publica-
tions, and made the foundation of a charge which was brought
against him before parliament. The rights of the commons,
* Without troubling the reader with any of Mr. Lucas's writings or argu-
ments, it may not be unfair to refer him to his general profession of political
faith, by winch he committed himself in his Address to the Earl of Har-
rington, on the 3d of October, 1749, which is to be seen in the Appendix,
No. I. VII.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 39
which with particular attention he had laboured to vindicate and
ascertain, had been one of the subjects of his free discussion.
Instead of protecting him in reward of this service, and of his
exertions in behalf of Ireland, the majority of that house listened
to the charge, voted him an enemy to his country, and addressed-
the lord lieuter.?.nt to order him to be prosecuted by his majes-
ty's attorney general. The hand of power was too prevailing:
the favour of the public was not sufficient to defend him from
the danger, by which he was threatened; therefore to avoid the
impending storm, Mr. Lucas fled from. Ireland. After he had
spent some time in banishment, the turn of fortune placed him
once more in an honourable situation. The exertions of his
friends rose superior to the influence, by which he had been
oppressed. Upon a new vacancy, he returned to Dublin, and
was elected one of the representatives of that city in parliament.
The same patriotic principles, and the same exertions in behalf
of the constitution, for which he had been hitherto so remarkable^
invariably distinguished his conduct in and out of parliament to
the day of his death.
The spirit of civil freedom and constitutional independence
had now become so prevalent in Ireland, that the English inte-
rest could no longer be kept up and carried on with that syste-
matic and uncontrolled ease, with which it had been managed
by Primate Boulter. Upon the death of Primate Hoadley who
had succeeded Boulter in 1747, the person to whom this interest
was committed was George Stone, then bishop of Deny, who
on several occasions had signalized himself by a most deter-
mined opposition to the Irish interest: immediately upon his
translation to the See of Armagh, he was put at the head of the
commission, with the chancellor and speaker, as lords justices.
This prelate was a man of talent, of a lofty and arrogant dispo-
sition ; resolute and determined ; and a thorough-paced cour-
tier : he was wholly devoted to politics ; and little attentive to his
pastoral duties.* At the head of those, who opposed him, was
* The confusion of the spiritual and temporal powers must ever be attended
with disadvantages to both. The prelate when in the cabinet, is as much out
of his element, as the statesman in the pulpit. Primate Stone was lavish of
favours to his creatures, and had therefore many supporters : but he was too
haughty and dictatorial not to have many enemies. He was a man rather of
mean birth: his grandfather had been gaoler at Winchester; and his perquisites
in that situation had enabled his son, the primate's father, to become a banker :
he was a non-juror, and his chief customers were the Jacobites. He was in
the flower of youth when promoted to the primacy; a station to which none
before him had been raised till in the decline of life. His person was uncom-
monly handsome ; which procured him the appellation of the beauty of Holiness.
It is not to be wondered at, that the rapid progress of this young ecclesiastic,
through the dignities of his order, and who was now at the head of the church
as well as of the state, should raise hatred and favour to an extraordinary
degree. He was inordinate in. his ambition, intemperate in his passions, and
40 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
his colleague in the commission Mr. Boyle the speaker of the
House of Commons. The late Lord Clare has left us too faith-
ful a portrait of this prelate, and has brought the consequences
of his and the British cabinet's conduct in Ireland, to too close
a bearing upon the Union, not to submit it to the reader in his
own words.
* u After the treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle, the trade of this
" country had so encreased, that the hereditary revenue was
*' amply sufficient for every public service, and a considerable
inexorable in his resentments. Like his predecessor Boulter, he was invested
with the arduous charge of marshalling- the English interest, or as the more
specious phrase then was of doing the king's (but in fact the minister's) bun-
ness. His entertainments and connections were suited to his youth ; and
however conducive he might render them to his ruling passion of ambition,
they had all the attractions of the most voluptuous refinement. His courtesy,
affability, and hospitality gained him many abettors in a country where
those qualities are supereminently appreciated : and it is admitted on all
hands, that his efforts to gain proselytes in parliament were indefatigable. Yet
with all these advantages of nature and power, the number of his enemies is a
strong presumption, that the charges of his enemies were not altogether
groundless. For the honour of the English nation, of humanity and religion,
I forbear to retail his enemies' account of his conduct. I take the less invi-
dious side of the question, and submit his defence to the reader from an avow-
ed encomiast, published in London, 1757, seven years before his death, which
happened in 1765, when he was succeeded in the primacy by Dr. Robinson,
afterward created Lord Rokeby. (Letter to the Duke of Bedford, p. \1.) Speaking
of a strong opponent of the primate's, the letter writer says : " Knowing, per-
chaps not entirely from all his own- experience, of what consequence the charac-
' ter of integrity and virtue is even to a statesman, he with great industry and
' secrecy spread about misrepresentations of the primate, as a man devoid of all
' principles of religion and honour ; as a monster swayed by unnatural appe-
' tites. To the first of these charges, it must be confessed, the primate gave
' some countenance, by a conduct a little too free for a person at the head of
' the ecclesiastical body. Having had a liberal education himself, and hav-
ing always lived with those who had, he could not confine himself within the
' narrow sphere of his profession. There was more foundation for the second
' than for any other part of the charge. He was not always as cautious in his
' promises as prudence required. Even when he did not promise, his answers,
' from a fear of offending, and a desire of uniting every body to him, were ex-
' pressed in such a manner, as drew in the persons, to whom they were given,
' to guess at more than he meaned. A practice often used by statesmen, but
' which seems as little agreeable to good policy, as it is to morality. Hence
* every body left him contented and assured of his friendship, receiving
' all his expressions of kindness as so many absolute promises of what they
' solicited. It is not then very extraordinary that he should be charged with
' many breaches of faith, and that the truth of those aspersions on this head,
1 with which he was so frequently bespattered, should be attested by many.
' To the last abominable charge his virtue gave rise. Whether from a cold-
' ness in his constitution, or what is more probable, out of respect to his ecclc-
' siastical function, he totally abstained from women. It was impossible, in
' a country which piques itself upon indispensable attachments to the fair sex,
' that this should not be taken notice of, and become a general topic of conver-
sation. His enemies laid hold of this opportunity to blacken his character,
' with the imputation of a vice, the more easily credited, by how much the
' more abominable ; and to which some of his connections, for which people
' could not easily account, did not a little contribute."
* Speech, on the 10th of February, 1800, p. 27.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 41
*' surplus remained in the exchequer, after defraying every
" charge upon it; so that in effect the crown was little, if at all
" dependant on parliament for support: and it is difficult to say
" how long this oligarchy might have kept its ground, if the in-
" trigues of the ambitious ecclesiastic, then at the head of the Irish
" church, had not laid the foundation of party heat and animo-
" sities, which have long disturbed and degraded our parliamen-
" tary proceedings. The great trial of strength between the
" primate and the then speaker of the House of Commons was
" made in 1753, when a bill was proposed for applying the sur-
" plus then in the exchequer to pay a public debt, which had
u been some time before contracted. The courtiers of that day
" ranged under the ecclesiastical banner, contended that this
" surplus belonged to the crown; and, therefore, that the king's
" previous assent to its application ought to be signified before
*' the commons could appropriate it. The patriots,* ranged
" under the speaker's banner, insisted that no such assent was
" necessary, and beat their political adversaries by a small ma-
" jority. Heads of a bill for the appropriation passed the com-
" mons without taking notice of the king's previous assent to it.
" They were rejected by the crown, and the surplus was applied
" by the royal authority, without the intervention of parliament.
" But the commons took effectual care, that the question should
" not occur a second time, by appropriating every future sur-
* True it is, that a very numerous party at this time ranged themselves
under the appellation of patriots, but it follows not, that the views of many of
the~n were truly patriotic : but as a standard of patriotism was then erected,
.and the victory was to be gained by numbers, it will readily be admitted, that
too scrupulous a test of sincerity was not required of those, who offered to en-
list under the banners of either party. Thus too frequently, alas, are private
and mischievous projects effected under the disguise of patriotism : whence
the very term has latterly lost its real, and'acquired equivocal import. There
is no question but that a certain party, whether they be termed an opposition,
antiministerial, country party or patriots, had acquired such an ascendency in the
House of Commons, that government could no longer ensure a question against
them. The primate had kept on terms with many of them ; but the manage-
ment of the king's business under such checks was incompatible with the ua-
controlable spirit of that prelate : he withdrew the mask, and openly avowed
lu's intentions of carrying every measure of the British cabinet, which he
speciously termed the ting's business, with a high hand, in spite of all opposi-
tion. Open war was proclaimed between the contending parties, and a standard
was erected by this aspiring prelate, to which all who expected preferment in
church or state, or who were dissatisfied with their own party, were invited
to resort. From subsequent events, the reports of certain disappointments
amongst the patriots in their negotiations with the primate appear not to have
been altogether groundless. Thus the blunt refusal of a reversionary grant of
the Mastership of the Rolls to Mr. Carter's son, drove the father into a most
determined and vindictive opposition. The primate, from the age and infir-
mity of Mr. Carter, considered the reversion of that lucrative employment
much nearer than it fell in ; for the master of the rolls lived to see the suc-
cess of his opposition to the primate end in that prelate's disgrace and confusion,
though he did not succeed in his own private view*.
VOL. II. F
42
*' plus to their private use, under the specious pretence of local
" public improvements. Wind-mills and water-mills, and canals,
" and bridges, and spinning gennies, were provided at the pub-
*' lie expence ; and the parliamentary patrons of these great
" national objects were entrusted with full discretionary powers
" over the money granted to complete them. From this sys-
" tern of local improvement, a double advantage arose to the
" Irish aristocracy : it kept their followers steady in the ranks,
" and by reducing the crown to the necessity of calling for the
" supplies, made the political services of the leaders necessary
" for the support of the king's government. But the precedent
u was fatal, and a system has gradually been built upon it, which
u would beat down the most powerful nation of the earth."
As one of the prominent objects of the Union was to remove
the possibility of that mal-administration of the Irish govern-
ment, which the noble earl said -would beat down the most power-
ful nation of the earth, it will be necessary to enter more fully
into the grounds of that opposition, which the patriots then
made against the English interest. It had been the invariable
usage, as it was the inherent duty of the commons, since the
Kevolution, to superintend the expenditure of the annual sup-
plies which they raised ; in order if there should be a deficiency,
that jhey might supply it ; if a surplus, that they might apply
it to the credit of the nation : and the received notion, was, that
they had a right to dispose of such surplus of the revenue, with-
out the consent of the sovereign : accordingly in the year 1749
they prepared a bill with the following preamble : " Whereas
. "' on the 25th of March last a considerable balance remained in
" the hands of the vice-treasurers or receivers general of the
" kingdom, or their deputy or deputies, unapplied ; and it will
" be for your majesty's service, and for the ease of your faithful
u subjects in this kingdom, that so much thereof as can be con-
u veniently spared should be paid, agreeably to your majesty's
*' most gracious intentions, in discharge of part of the national
" debt." This assumption of right in the Irish commons to
apply the unappropriated surplus of the revenue without the
previous and express consent of the crown, gave great offence
to the British cabinet, which in tenderness to the royal preroga-
tive instructed the Duke of Dorset, who had returned lord
lieutenant to Ireland in 1751, to assure the parliament,* that he
was commanded by the king to acquaint them, that his majesty,
ever attentive to the ease and happiness of his subjects, would
graciously consent and recommend it to them, ,that such a part
of the money then remaining in his treasury, as should be
thought consistent with the public service, should be applied to-
* Journ. Com. p. 91.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 43
wards the further reduction of the national debt. This declara-
tion, although it fell in with their intention of appropriating the
surplus, yet alarmed the commons as a reflex attempt upon their
privileges : accordingly in their address of thanks, which is
usually a mere echo of the king's speech, they omitted to notice
in any manner this consent of the crown ; and they acknow-
ledged, generally, his majesty's attention to their ease and hap-
piness, in recommending the application of the surplus. In con-
sequence of this, they resolved to apply 12O,OOO/. of that sur-
plus towards discharging the national debt : and in the preamble
of the bill framed for this purpose they made no mention of his
majesty's consent ; which studied omission was extremely re-
sented by the English ministry, as an intended and overt attack
upon the prerogative. The bill was sent back amended in the
preamble by an insertion of his majesty's consent, as well as his
recommendation. The House of Commons had then been for
some time deeply engaged in a most important investigation of
the embezzlement and misapplication of public money, by Mr.
Nevil, one of their own house, surveyor and engineer general,
who was found guilty of the grossest peculation, embezzle-
ment and fraud in his management of, and contracts for the bar-
racks.* Such abuses of public trusts had been long complained
of, and much longer felt by the Irish nation : but till the patriots
of that day had acquired sufficient strength to raise an effectual
opposition to the abuses of the Anglo-Irish government, all ad-
dresses, remonstrances, and efforts for redress had (as usually
is the case) but aggravated the evil, whilst the state delinquents
were shielded by that factious majority in parliament, which it
was the boasted policy of those times to support, under the ap-
pellation of an English interest. An insult and injury to Ire-
land which the Union can alone effectually repair. As this
public attack upon a servant of the crown for gross abuse of
public trust was the first effort of this nature, which seemed to
promise success from the daily accumulating strength of the
patriots and the glaring notoriety of the charges, the commons
were unwilling to embroil themselves further with government,
until they had ensured this first victory. They therefore pas-
sed the bill with the alteration, without even debating the ques-
tion. Having succeeded in convicting the surveyor and engi-
neer general of misapplying the public money and abusing the
public trust, and ordering by a resolution of their house, that at
his own expence,f and without any further charge to the public
he should render the barracks fit for the reception of the troops,
* For the different reports and resolutions against him vide 5 Com. Journ.
passim.
| Mr. Nevil was afterwards expelled the house, and his name ordered to bg
expelled out of the list. 5 Journ. Com , p. 165.
44 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
they now reserved themselves to make head against this en-
croachment of the crown upon their own privileges and uncon-
trolable right of raising and applying the surplus of the nation.
The duke of Dorset was sent a second time to assume the
government of Ireland, in the full expectation, that the popu-
larity he had gained in his first administration, would have been
successfully employed in stemming the progress of patriotism,
which not perhaps so much from its intrisic merits, as from the
popularity of Lucas, and the disgrace and punishment of Nevil,
had become highly alarming to the English cabinet. The fate
of that lord lieutenant, is an important lesson to the statesman,
of the evil and disgrace of prostituting principle to place and
favour. That nobleman was remarkable for his suavity of man-
ners, and when formerly governor, had manifested such modera-
tion, prudence, and caution, that nearly bordered upon timidity.
He had no personal enemy, and was really friendly to the wel-
fare and prosperity of Ireland. Upon his first arrival, he was
received by all degrees and ranks of men, with all the marks of
joy and gratitude, that could be manifested by those, who had
experienced the goodness and mildness of his former admistra-
ton, and who had long regretted his absence. The change of the
public disposition towards his grace was as sudden,as his devotion
to the English interest was determined. Primate Stone, to whose
nod the whole Irish government moved, was execrated in the
country for the detestable vices he was charged with : and
Lord George Sackville the lieutenant's son, the secretary, gave
general offence to the nation by the loftiness of his carriage : he
was disdainful and impetuous : and though eloquent was often
petulant and generally sarcastic jn his language. The patriots
complained loudly, that under these two, namely, an English
archbishop, (no very staunch model of morality or virtue) and a
young supercilious boy, giddy and intoxicated with power, the
Irish nation was governed without controul.* The duke was
* Ho\v general the national hatred of the secretary and the primate was,
appears from some of the standing toasts at that time used at the convivial meet-
ings of the patriots : May all Secretary Bashaws and lordly High Priests, be kept
to their tackle, the sword and the Bible. And may the importation of Ganymeaes
be discontinued in Ireland. These fixed public expressions of the sense of a
party, prove not the trwth but the prevalence of certain opinions, under which
they acted. In a country where the vice of drinking has at all times been
prevalent, and is the occupation of a principal part of the day, these convivial
hours were naturally rendered subservient to the political purposes, which
generally brought the parties together. Mr. Carter, the master of the rolls,
was eminent for his perseverance at the bottle, and keeping the table in a roar
of laughter by his archness, vivacity, and wit. To him indeed was ascribed
the facetious device of systematically conveying point and satyre in toasts,
which afterwards gained circulation through the newspapers, and found their
way to the heart by being frequently repeated in the effervescence of hilarity
and heat of intemperance. Thus did the most pointed apophthegms of politics,
unite the company and sharpen the wit and malice of individuals against their
common enemv.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 45
considered as the mere passive tool of government ; though he
had no enemies to his person, he now found a host against his
government. .
When in 1753, the Duke of Dorset opened the session, he
again informed the commons, that he was commanded by his
majesty to inform them, that he would graciously consent and
recommend it to them, that so much of the money remaining
in his treasury, as should be necessary, should be applied to the
discharge of the national debt, or to such part thereof as they
should think expedient.* They again omitted the word con-
sent out of their address, and resolved, in their bill of applica-
tion, not only to sink this odious term, but likewise to abate in
their complaisance to the crown, by leaving out the expression
of grateful acknowledgment, which had met with such a cold
reception above. By this time the contest had kindled up two
violent factions, and diffused a general spirit of resentment
through the whole Irish nation. The committee, who prepared
the bill, instead of inserting the usual compliments in the pre-
amble, mentioned nothing but a recital of facts, and sent it over
in a plain dress, quite destitute of all embroidery. f The mi-
* 5 Journ. Coin. p. 167.
\ The primate upon this occasion, summoned a few of his most intimate
friends, to consult what step should be taken. The only doubt was, whether
an amendment on these heads of a bill, should be proposed to the house upon
the report, or whether they should be permitted to pass in the shape they were
brought in, and the alteration of them left to be made in England : the latter
of these methods was resolved on, and followed up on this reasoning: if the
bill when altered in England, should upon its return lie passed by the com-
mons, the patriots must inevitably lose their interest with the people : if they
should oppose it, that would be a good pretence to deprive them of their em-
ployments, which they held at the will of the crown, and of which the primate
hoped to have the disposal. To make the game more secure, and to engage
the crown more deeply in the contest, a letter was procured to accompany the
bill to the privy council, signed by most of the officers of state in Great Britain,
declaring, that it was a point of prerogative, from whence his majesty would
never depart. As councils too subtil often produce contrary and unthought
of ends, so this, though it had the immediate effects, which had been fore-
seen, yet in the end it produced very different consequences from what he who
gave it expected. The bill was rejected in the commons by a majority of five,
in consequence of which, several of the principal members of the patriots
were immediately removed from their employments : at these violent proceed,
ings the whole nation took fire. The degraded members of the patriots ex-
alted by their disgrace, became the idols of the people, and were worshipped
as Martyrs for the liberties of their country. In this temper it was hazardous
to let the commons, who had been adjourned for a few days, meet. The par-
liament was suddenly prorogued, and several bills equally necessary to the
crown as to the subject, fell to the ground. The primate who was considered
as the author of all these measures, despairing to gain the affections of the peo-
ple, determined to awe them into submission by others still more violent : he
urged the Duke of Dorset to remove from their employments not only all,
who opposed him, but those whom he suspected to have any connection with
the opposite party. But the Duke had not the courage or vigour of mind,
equal to such an undertaking. He dreaded the tumults of the people ; every
shout of thp mob threw him into panics ; and this being known, they never let
46 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
nistry, intent upon vindicating the prerogative from such an un-
mannerly attack, filled up the omissions of the committee, and
sent it back with this alteration : " and your majesty, ever at-
" tentive to the ease and happiness of your faithful subjects, has
" been graciously pleased to signify that you -would consent, to
" recommend it to us, that so much of the money remaining in
" your majesty's treasury, as should be necessary, be applied to
" the discharge of the national debt, or such part thereof, as
" should be thought expedient by parliament." This, then be-
ing the crisis, which was to determine a constitutional point of
such importance, namely, whether the people in parliament as-
sembled, had a right to deliberate upon, and vote the applica-
tion of any part of the unappropriated revenue, without the pre-
vious consent of the crown ; those who were the most zealously
attached 'to the liberties of their country resolved to exert them-
selves in opposing what they conceived to be a violation of their
liberties ; and the bill, with alterations, was rejected by a majo-
•rity of five voices. The success of their endeavours was cele-
brated with the most extravagant rejoicings, as a triumph of
patriotism over the arts of ministerial corruption, and on the
other hand, all the servants of the crown, who had joined the
popular cry, on this occasion, were in a little time dismissed from
their employments. The rejection of the bill was a great dis-
appointment to the creditors of the public, and the circulation
of cash was almost stagnated.
In this contest for constitutional rights, the Earl of Kildare
was prominently conspicuous : he as well as the most conside-
rable men of fortune in Ireland, that were not under some spe-
cial tie or obligation to government, sided with the patriots. It
was, notwithstanding, most industriously circulated from the
castle, both in print and otherwise, that the majority of the
House of Commons of Ireland was a Popish and Jacobite party,
that was endeavouring to destroy the royal prerogatives, in
order to pave the way to his majesty's expulsion from the
throne : and such undoubtedly were they represented to the
him rest a moment. However for the present to rid himself of importunities,
lie promised the primate, that upon his return to England, which he wished
for witlv the utmost impatience, he would do ever}' thing- he could desire. The
Duke of Dorset soon after this, under the protectien of the guards and of a
mob hired and made drunk for the purpose, by a man who was amply rewarded
for that, service by a pension on the public establishment, made his escape out
of that kingdom. The primate, who was continued in the government, em-
ployed every expedient of menaces and promises to break the party. Threats
could not terrify those, who had so bold an example set before them by their
leaders, and who were secure of the protection of the people. Rewards would
not seduce those, who foresaw the downfall of the primate, and were made to
expect much greater, and more permanent rewards from the exaltation of the
patriots, which they now looked upon as certain. But what principally kept
men steady, was t'ae disgrace of becoming apostates from those principles,
which they had before considered with a kind of religious reverence.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 47
king and the ministry in England. Under these circumstances,
the Earl of Kildare presented with his own hand a most spirit-
ed memorial* to the king, in which, after referring to the he-
reditary loyalty of his family from the days of Henry II. he
assured his majesty, that he was the rather induced to lay that
memorial at his feet, as it was on good presumption surmised,
that all access to his royal ear was shut up, and his liege sub-
jects debarred the liberty of complaining : that as no notice had
been taken of several remonstrances lately made by his majes-
ty's liege subjects, it was humbly presumed, that such remon-
strances had been stopped and debarred in their progress to the
royal ear : that he ventured on that bold step at the request of
thousands : that in general the face of his loyal kingdom of Ire-
land wore discontent : a discontent not coloured from caprice
or faction, but purely founded on ministerial misapplication.
This strong, though necessary measure of the Earl of Kildare
gave great offence and some alarm to the British cabinet, though
they affected to treat it as an act of folly and temerity, which
nothing but the extreme mildness of government would permit
to pass unpunished.^
* Vide the memorial in the Appendix, No. LVIII.
f This appears from a letter written by the Earl of Holderness to the Chan-
cellor of Ireland.
MY GOOD LORD CHANCELLOR,
I AM not a little concerned that the noble Earl of Kildare
should take so bold a step as he may repent hereafter, and do assure you that
I think he has not shewn himself a person of discretion, be the act never so
popular..
He was but ill received, and very coolly dismissed, as indeed the presump-
tion well merited ; for why should his majesty receive any remonstrances con-
cerning his kingdom or government, but from the proper ministers, or through
the usual channel, viz. both houses in parliament. I desire my compliments
may attend his grace the Lord Primate, and wish him success in all laudable
endeavours for poor Ireland.
I am
Your excellency's most obedient servant,
HOLDERNESS.
Another letter upon the same subject came to light about the same time,
written by the Duke of Dorset to Primate Stone, viz.
Touching the Earl of Kildare's memorial presented to the king my mas-
ter, it has neither served him, nor injured us. It is looked upon, as it justly de-
serves to be, an act of presumption, and a step of faction. In a less mild ad-
ministration and under a reign less merciful, it would have proved an act full
of danger.
If the subjects of Ireland were discontented with the measures of govern-
ment, vas not the privy council open to receive the complaints ? were not your
excellencies accessible to complaints of grievances ? but for one man, because
the first peer of the realm, to take the kingdom's distresses on his shoulders,
and like another Hercules, to put his shoulders to tlie government, in which
he had neither place nor concern, was sure unworthy of his prudence, if he
had any. I am not for hot water, my design is pacific, and tending' to the pub-
lie good.
I am
Your lordship's friend,
DORSET.
48 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
The distressed and embarrassed situation of his country roused
the patriot attention of that illustrious nobleman, who truly re-
flected honour on nobility : his intrepidity suggested the reso-
lution of awakening the guardian care of the father of his country ,
by becoming a personal advocate for his peple, pointing out
their grievances, and the source of them, and opening again the
channel of communication, after its natural current had been
obstructed, on which the very life and being of public happi-
ness essentially depend. If it were without a precedent, so
was the occasion, that made it necessary. The good of his
country was at once its motive and its justification ; and the
rage and violence it excited evinced how great and unexpected
a shock it was to the English interest. It did not however lose
its effect upon the king. The popular clamour became so loud,
that government was terrified into measures, to which every
man will apply a quality according to his own political concep-
tions. The speaker of the House of Commons was promoted
to the dignity of an earl*: and several other patriots accepted of
* Viz. Of Shannon : he had also a pension of 2000/. per ann. for 31 years.
There was much intrigue in bringing about these changes in Ireland. The
Primate was over-reached by his own insincerity and ambition. He had pro-
mised the same appointments to several with the intent of disappointing each.
He entered into a close connection with the Earl of Besborough, who had
long wished, but had been baffled by the patriots, in setting up an independent
interest in the commons : his particular view was to place his son Mr. Ponson-
by, in the chair. In this union of the Primate with the Earl of Besborough, the
principles of each were, that the earl thinking the primate to be more attentive
to power than to riches, fed himself with the hopes of drawing the profits
to himself; the primate, inordinately ambitious, made no doubt of governing
the youthful speaker, and so bringing the whole power of the state into his
own hands. Desparing of the speaker's removal, the Primate endeavoured to
force him to a resignation by rendering his situation uneasy : this also failed,
and made him rally his friends in his own support, which raised him above the
efforts of his enemies to displace him. The speaker in fact was a deeper
politician than the primate. The simplicity and unaffected ease of his address
and a natural politeness of manner rendered him amiable even to his opponents.
In appearance he was most open, in reality most reserved : he had the art of
extracting the secrets of others, and of preserving his own without any shew of
art or constraint. He had been raised to the chair and supported in it by the
peoj^le, at least without the assistance, if not in opposition to the government.
He had shewn much firmness in resisting attacks upon him in carrying matters
'through the house, and had the uncommon address of preserving his popu-
larity even in supporting unpopular acts. The English cabinet alarmed at the
disturbances in Ireland resolved to sacrifice the Duke of Dorset to their fears ;
and his succesor, Lord Harrington, was appointed through the means Mr. Fox
(afterwards Lord Holland) then secretary of state, who was known to be in the
closest union with the Earl of Kildare. The sagacity and experience of the
Earl of Besborough led him to foresee the approaching downfall of the primate,
and to avail himself of the advantages of his situation whilst he could keep it:
so that to the very close of this prelate's career of power, all the new appoint-
ments were made with their joint assent. Nothing could be more favourable
to the political views of this earl, than the appointment of the new lord lieute-
nant ; through him he hoped to reconcile himself to the patriots, whom he had
greatly offended by his coalition with the primute ; and through them he
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 49
lucrative employments. Primate Stone, who had been the
.chief fomenter of the late disturbances, was by his majesty's
command strucken off the list of privy counsellors, and most of
those, who, by his intrigues had been displaced for voting for
the money bill, were reinstated with honour. The Marquis of
expected to place his son in the chair of the House of Commons. Before the
new lord lieutenant had arriyed in Ireland, a secret treaty was entered into
between him and the two leading patriots (Mr. Malone and the speaktr)
through the Earl of Kildare : and to this treaty the Earl of Besborongii was not
only admitted but consenting. The new lord lieutenant Immediately. upon his
arrival expressed the most gracious favour to all those, who had most violently
opposed his predecessor : and the conduct of the whole administration appear-
ed for some time mysterious. The patriots talked loudly of impeachments and
expulsions ; and the primate, whose chief supporters were placemen and pen-
sioners, found himself necessitated to adopt all the measures of the lord lieute-
nant, which he did with more zeal, than some thought either necessary or prudent.
Each party for obvious reasons appeared fearful of opposition. The primate
was intimidated out of the violent measures, which his imperious and vindic-
tive nature prompted him to: and the patriots naturally held back, till their
new arrangements were announced. Besides the promotion of Mr. Boyle to
the Earldom of Shannon, Mr. Ponsonby was elected speaker without opposi-
tion ; Mr. Malone was to succeed Mr. Boyle in the chancellorship of the exche-
quer ; Mr. Carter having been induced to accept of the secretaryship ; but
the outcry of the people against him, and particularly of his own connections,
forced him to decline it.; This however turned to his advantage, for Mr. Boyle
(theri Earl of Shannon) continued in the office, and Mr. Malone received Ihn
profits. This did not restore Mr. Malone to the favour of the people, though
it suspended their resentment against him. Mr. Stannard, a man in high
favour with the people, had been induced to undergo the odium of succeeding
Mr. Malone as prime Serjeant, by being told that his majesty had himself
nominated him to that office, ar.d had begged that he would accept of it
to oblige him. It was now too late in the session to form a party to make head
against the united force of so many chiefs ; yet many symptoms appeared of
growing discontents : some sharp things were thrown out against the lord
lieutenant ; alarmed at the symptoms of a rising storm, he resolved lo leave no>
time for mischief, and abruptly put an end to the session at the moment it was
expected, that the commons were about to pass a resolution to vindicate the.
honour of the nation.
The patriots had the support of the whole body of the Presbyterians, from
their natural antipathy to prelacy, not only in order to oppose the influence of
the primate, but also to crush the unnatural ascendancy of an English interest
in Ireland. And such of the Catholics as took an active concern i:i the poli-
tics of the day sided also with them through the influence of Mr. Malone, who
was the most respected and most entrusted by their body of any person in that
kingdom. He moderated their councils, and had publicly supported their
interest, whenever occasion required it. This species of coalition between,
the Dissenters and the Roman Catholics gave unusual alarm to the primfite:
in it he fully read the future triumph of the Irish over the English interest, by
the union of the Irish people amongst themselves : and the Duke of Devon-
shire, whose enlarged principles had overlooked the stinted monopoly of En-
glish power in Ireland, kept up so systematically by his predecessor, in his
farewell speech to the parliament, no longer con^aed his recommendations to
an union, between Irish Protestants against the common enemy ; but he (5
Com. Journ. p. 409. ) encouraged harmony and union amongst all his majes-
ty's faithful subjects. The laudable views of the new changes and coalition \\ ere
to engage the natural influence of Ire'and in the cause of fair civil libert
true constitutional grounds.
VOL. II. G
uO AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Harrington, afterwards Duke of Devonshire, went over as lord
lieutenant : upon his return to England in 1756, Lord Chancel-
lor Jocelyn and the Earls of Kildare and Besborough were ap-
pointed lords justices. Much of the popular ferment now sub-
sided, and the kingdom once more resumed the appearance of
tranquillity.
Loud as was the cry of patriotism, firm as was the stand made
by the patriots of 1753 against the encroachments of an English
interest, and strengthened as were supposed to be the constitu-
tional principles of civil liberty by the late appointments, yet
lamentable is it to reflect, that when the boasted purity of these
very patriots was called into action by some of the few sincere
supporters of the partyr, the majority of them became as recreant
from the cause of civil freedom and legislative independence as
the most venal prostitute to systematic corruption. On the
17th of March, 1756, the House of Commons according to or-
der resolved itself into a committee of the whole house, to take
into consideration the heads of a most wholesome bill to secure
the freedom of parliament, by vacating the seats of such mem-
bers of the House of Commons, as should accept of any pension
or civil ollice of profit from the crown : and after some time
spent therein, upon the report of progress, and motion for leave
to sit again on the next day, the house divided, 59 for the bill,
and 85 against it. This was a fatal warning to the Irish nation,
against the lubricity of their representatives, whenever their pri-
vate interest could interfere with the national welfare and pros-
perity.* The loss of this truly patriotic question too closely
bears upon the general system of governing that kingdom, not
to enter more fully into the detail of that transaction in order to
illustrate to the Irish nation the advantages, which the Union
must necessarily bring with it, by abolishing that power, which
had on so many occasions sacrificed the rights, welfare, and hap-
piness of the Irish nation to private lucre or British influence.
The patriots however raliied once more successfully upon a
most important question, namely, whether the great represen-
tative body of the nation should be deprived of access to the
throne by uny ministerial influence, through which channel the
* 3 Jonrn. Com. p. 38. On the day of this debate a list of the pensions
granted upon the civil establishment of Ireland \vas according1 to order given
in to tlie house : il amounted to 44.S93/. 15*. ;;nd is to be seen in the Appendix
to that volume of the Journals CCXCVI. In this list of pensioners su-e to be
read many of the first names of Ireland, m:niy foreigners, fe\v or no meritorious
servants of the public ; the Countess of Yarmouth stood upon it for '1000/. Mr.
ik-llm^hani Boyle had been added to it within twelve months for SOO/. during
ure, «r;l the Earl of Shannon closed it for 2000/. The constitution, by
kidgtng the source of remuneration in the crown, evidently did it for the wise
purpose of fiu-i)urnij;in:r /eal and industry for the public service : ami the con-
sideration of the royal favour and grace should ahvays form a distinct column
in the official schedules of such grants.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 51
petitions and grievances of the nation are most properly laid be-
fore the throne? The steadiness and resolution of the majority
who attended the business of their country on this occasion, and
particularly the firm zeal of Mr. John Ponsotiby, the speaker,
cannot be over-rated. Like true and sincere patriots, they im-
moveably supported the just prerogatives of the crown, the dig-
nity and privileges of parliament, and the liberties and known
rights of the people.
* Mr. John Bourke reported from the committee (appointed
to inspect the public accounts of the nation) the resolutions,
which the committee had directed him to report to the house,
which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the
table, where the same were read, and are as follows :
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the
several pensions and salaries placed upon the civil establish-
ment of this kingdom since the 23d of March, 1755, amount to
the annual sum of twenty-eight thousand one hundred and three
pounds.
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that seve-
ral of the said pensions are pranted to persons who do not reside
in this kingdom.
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that se-
veral of the said pensions are granted for long and unusual
terms.
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the
list of pensions returned as a charge upon this establishment
(exclusive of the military pensions) for two years, from the 25th
of March 1755, to the 25th of March 1757, exceed the whole
charges of the rest of the civil list twenty-two thousand tv.-o
hundred and fifty-eight pounds, four shillings and seven pence
three farthings.
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that an
improvident disposition of the revenue is an injury to the crown
and public.
To which resolutions, the questions being severally put, the
house did agree nemlnc contradicente.
Resolved, nemine contradicente, That the granting of pensions
upon the civil establishment of this kingdom to persons who do
not reside in it, is a prejudice to it.
Resolved, nemine contradicente, That the increase of civil pen-
sions for many years past, is a grievance to the nation, and de-
mands redress.
Resolved, nemine contradicente, That the granting of pensions
for a long term of years, is an alienation for so much of the pub-
lic revenue, and an injury to the crown and this kingdom.
* 6 Journ. Com. p. 21.
52 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Resolved, nemine contradicente, That the granting of so much
of the public revenue in pensions, is an improvident disposition
of the revenue, an injury to the crown, and detrimental to the
public.
Resolved, That the house, with its speaker, do attend his
grace the lord lieutenant, with the said resolutions, and desire
his grace will be pleased to lay the same before his majesty as
the sense of this house. •-j*"*^
On the 9th, application was made to know when his grace the
lord lieutenant would be attended in order to give an answer,
when he would transmit the resolutions to be laid before his
majesty, pursuant to the desire of the house.
On the llth, Mr. Secretary acquainted the house, that his
grace would be attended the day following, at two of the clock.
The 12th, the house with Mr. Speaker attended the lord
lieutenant, who was pleased to give them the following answer,
viz.
" The matter contained in those resolutions is of so high a
u nature, that I cannot suddenly determine whether it be proper
4t for me to transmit them to his majesty.1' On the speaker's
return, the answer being reported, Mr. Secretary moved, that
the same should be entered in the journal of the house as expli-
cit and satisfactory ; and being debated, and the question put,
Mr. Secretary apprehending the majority against the motion,
desired leave to withdraw it, which prevented a division at that
time.
On the 14th, the house being met, a motion was made, that
all orders, not proceeded on, should be adjourned to the next
day, the house not having received an answer from the lord lieu-
tenant relative to transmitting the resolutions of the Commons
on the 1st of November, in respect to pensioners.
Here the grand debate arose, as those who declared for the
adjournment were for supporting the resolutions, to have them
laid before his majesty, and those who were for suppressing the
resolutions, and preventing national grievances being laid before
the throne, were against the adjournment, the fate of which was,
in fact, a determination of the main question, which was of no
less importance in its consequences, than whether the people of
Ireland were to be deprived of the parliamentary means of laying
their grievances before the crown ? and the question being put,
upon a division, those for the adjournment carried it by a ma-
jority of twenty-one voices.
In consequence of the foregoing question, on the 15th Mr.
Secretary Rigby informed the house, that he was commanded
by his grace the lord lieutenant to acquaint the house, that their
resolutions of the 1st of November should be forthwith trans-
mitted to his majesty.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 5$
Had not this message been delivered to the house, serious
indeed might have been the consequences; but the instant it
was received the house proceeded to business ; and the money
bill, granting supplies to his majesty, passed unanimously on the
same day. * Happy would it have been for Ireland, had these
resolutions of the commons been acted up to, with the effect they
certainly merited.
The Duke of Bedford was appointed to be lord lieutenant of
Ireland in the year 1757 : and it is fitting to remark, that he was
the first chief governor of Ireland, since the revolution, who
ventured to profess a favourable disposition to the body of Ca-
tholics :f under his government did the first dawn of toleration
break in upon that suffering people: to his administration must
be allowed the credit of having restored suspended animation to
the members of that paralyzed body, which has since acquired
such health, vigour, and strength of constitution under the benign
reign of his present majesty. Several Roman Catholic gentle-
men had about that time devoted their thoughts to the most
effectual means of removing from their shoulders some part at
least of the oppression, under which they laboured. Heads of a
registery bill, prepared under the late administration of Ireland,
which, had it passed, would have operated as a ne,w and very
severe penal law upon the Catholics, were handed about and
created much alarm in that body.;}; Their fears drove them to
consultation, and consultation animated them to action : a com-
mon sense of the existing and fear of additional severities taught
them, that the surest means of preventing fresh laws from being
enacted would be to make some vigorous exertion for the repeal
of those, by which they were most galled. They held frequent
meetings, in which there was much diversity of opinion. It was
natural, that long habits of suffering and the exclusion from all
public concerns, should disqualify such a body from acting in
concert. They formed into two parties : one was headed by
Lord Trimbleston, the other by Doctor Fitzsimon. Although
neither party could for a considerable time bring themselves to
* As matter of historical curiosity a list of the gentlemen who divided upon
these resolutions is given in the Appendix, No. LIX.
f He was appointed lord lieutenant on the 25th of September, and had so
early intimated this humane disposition of government towards the Catholics,
that within ten days, viz. on the 2d of October 1757, a form of exhortation
was read from the altar by the Catholic clergy of Dublin, which noticed that
some very honourable personages had encouraged them to hope for a mitiga-
tion of the pewal laws. The whole is short, but appropriate to the situation
of their congregations, and is to be seen in the Appendix, No. LX.
4 Mr. Charles O'Connor of iSallenegare, th« celebrated Irish scholar and anti-
quarian, wns one of the most active of the Catholics. His letter to Dr. Curry on
this occasion, which is to be seen in the Appendix, No. LXI, will let the reader
into the spirit of the sense and feeling of the gentlemen of that persuasion at
that period < f'J.mc.
5.4 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
agree to the expediency of addresses or appeals, they were both
unanimous in adhering to their ancient principles. Doctor
O'Keefe, the titular bishop ct Kildare, proposed to Lord Trirn-
bleston's meeting a declaration of the principles of their church,
as far as they could bear upon their civil duties, to be signed by
the chief of their body, .ind published as an answer to the mis-
representations and calumnies they had laboured under since
the reformation of the national religion : the declaration was
unanimously adopted ; it was signed by many clergymen and
gentlemen of rank and property, and sent to Rome as the act
and deed of the Catholics of his diocese.* This was the first
public act of the Catholics for obtaining some relaxation from the
penal laws. In this same year, however, Mr. O'Connor, Dr.
Curry, and Mr. Wyse of Waterford first thought of establishing
a Roman Catholic committee in Dublin, in order to be able to
conduct the political concerns of the body with more order and
effect near the seat of government ; and their first meeting, at
which only seven gentlemen attended, was holden at the Globe
Tavern in Essex Street ; rind there Mr. Wyse delivered in a
written plan for their future proceed ings.f These movements
of the Catholics awakened the vigilance of government, and oc-
casioned a more rigorovs execution of the penal laws, which
* This declaration is to be seen in the Appendix, N"o. LX1. Audit \\ill be
hereafter remembered tl at it was llie same as that of the Catholic commit-
tee of 1793, which Mr. George Ponsonby so highly commended in his speech
upon the Catholic question.
f At this meeting were present Mr. O'Connor, Mr. Wyse, Dr. Jcnr.iu~5,
Mr. Anthony Macdcrmott. Mr. James Reynolds of Ashe street, and <>ru
This proposal which is still in existence in the hand writing1 of Mr. Wyse is
to he seen in the Appendix, No. LXII. The original is in the possess
Mr. O'Connor's grandson, together with a larjjc collection of letters and pajn TS
relating to the affairs of i!u- Roman Catholics of Ireland. The representatives
thus appointed adopted the measure, proposed to them by Dr. Curry and Mr.
O'Connor, of employing th-.: most leading liteiary men of the day to write in
favour of Catholic claims, and among others, the celebrated Dr. Johnson, who,
as appears from G. Faulkner's letters, often spoke of the Roman Catholics as an
oppressed and degraded people, for whom humanity loudly demanded that
something should he. done to elevate them to the dignity of human nature
There is a letter in the same collection from Faulkner to Dr. Jennings en-
gaging him to write pressinply to Mr. O'Connor to collect fifty guineas among
his friends to send as a douceur to Dr. Johnson, with ait abstract of the penal
laws, and Mr. O'Connor's own writings on the subject. " 1 send the doctor
ray last javelin, (says Mr. O'Connor, speaking of his maxims in reply to Jen-
nings) but I fear I have thrown it in vain ; men in power will not be con-
vinced, there is an obstinacy yoked with pride in this ca.se, and a phantom of
hatred stalks behind to cement the league between them. I am glad howe-
ver that I threw it, as Dr. Johnson will see, that a negative on the plan rela-
tive to our waste lands, will render our task-masters inexcusable ; it will
shew that they persecute merely for the sake of persecution, and that the
i'.iiurv they do us in not granting us leases of the red hogs of Ireland falls
ultimately on themselves." Why Doctor Johnson did not undertake the
task proposed in favour of the claims of the Irish Catholics, after having spo-
ken so favourably of them, does not appear.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 55
terrified the Catholics more, by how much more n.ildly they had
lately been executed. A private occurrence in the next year
gave rise to much public menace, and some additional severity
in executing the laws. A young lady of the name of Toole,
who was strongly importuned by her friends to conform to the
established religion, had taken refuge in the. house of a Mr. Saul,
a merchant in Dublin, in order to get rid of their importunities.
The affair was taken up with a high hand; Mr. Saul was prose-
cuted; and he was publicly assured from the bench, that the laws
did not presume a Papist to exist in the kingdom, nor coultl they
breathe zviihout the connivance of government.* The publica-
tion of Dr. Curry's Historical Memoirs of the Irish rebellion of
164lf though anonymously, in the year 1759, still further
awakened the attention of all, and the rigour of many towards
the Catholics. So little at that time was the public accustomed
to publications favourable to the Catholics, that the book created
a considerable ferment in the nation, and gave great offence to
most of the Protestants : it appeared at first to counteract its
own object by irritating rather than reconciling the minds of
men.
On the 29th day of October, 1759, the Duke of Bedford de-
livered a message to the parliament to the following effect :....
That by a letter from Mr. Secretary Pitt, written by his majes-
ty's express command, it appeared that France, far from resign-
ing her plan of invasion, on account of the disaster that befel her
Toulon squadron, was more and more confirmed in her pur-
pose, and even instigated by despair itself to attempt at all haz-
ards the only resource she seemed to have left for thwarting, by
a diversion at home, the measures of England abroad, in prose-
cuting a war, which hitherto opened in all parts of the world
so unfavourable a prospect to the views of French ambition :
that in case the body of French troops, amounting to eighteen
thousand men, under the command of the Duke d'Aiguillon,
assembled at Vannes, where also a sufficient number of trans-
* Mr. Saul's letter to Mr. O'Connor upon this subject, dated November the
I5i.li, 1759, gives an interesting account of this transaction, and of its conse-
quences to Mr. Saul, whom it drove out of the kingdom His family has been
ever shire settled in France. Vide Appendix, No. LXIII. The original is
in Mr. O'Connor's collection.
f The Memoirs were published with the utmost secrecy and caution. The
motives and reasons for their publication will bes'. appear from the correspon-
dence between Dr. Curry and Mr. O'Connor upon the subject, in the Appen-
dix, No. LXIV. The original letters being in the before mentioned collection.
Although these memoirs were no more than a mere compilation of original
and authentic, documents, ail from Protestant authors, yet the compiler of
them, when became to be known, was exposed to a torrent of the most viru-
lent abuse and invective. The probability or even certainty that truth will be
ill received, is no just excuse for suppressing it; especially when its publica-
tion becomes an act of justice to an individual and much more so to a nation.
56 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW^
ports V.T.S prepared, should be able to elude the British squadron,.
Ireland would in all probability be one of their chief objects ; his
grace thought it therefore incumbent upon him, in a matter of
such high importance to the welfare of that kingdom, to com-
municate this intelligence to the Irish parliament. He told them
his majesty would make no doubt but that the zeal of his faith-
ful Protestant subjects in that kingdom had been already suffi-
ciently quickened by the repeated accounts of the enemies dange-
rous designs, and actual preparations made, at a vast expence,
in order to invade the several parts of the British dominions.
He gave them to understand he had received his sovereign's
commands to use his utmost endeavours to animate and excite
his loyal people of Ireland to exert their well known zeal and
spirit in support of his majesty's government, and in defence of
all that was dear to them, by timely preparation to resist and
frustrate any attempts of the enemy to disturb the quiet aod
shake the security of -that kingdom. He, therefore, in the
strongest manner recommended it to them to manifest, upon
this occasion, that zeal for the present happy establishment, and
that affection for his majesty's person and government, by which
the parliament of that kingdom had been so often distinguished.
Immediately after this message was communicated, the House
of Commons unanimously resolved to present an address to the
lord lieutenant ; thanking his grace for the care and concern
he had shewn for the safety of Ireland, in having imparted
intelligence of so great importance ; desiring him to make use
of such means, as should appear to him the most effectual for
the security and defence of that kingdom ; and assuring him,
that the house would make good whatever expence should be
necessarily incurred for that purpose. That however they might
despise the attempt, yet should they not omit to pursue the most
speedy and effectual means to frustrate and defeat it : and to con-
vince the world, that his majesty's faithful people of Ireland
were subjects not unworthy of their glorious monarch. This
intimation, and the steps that were taken in consequence of it
for the defence of Ireland, produced such apprehensions and dis-
tractions among the people of that kingdom, as had nearly
proved fatal to the public credit. In the first transports of
popular fear, there was such an extraordinary run upon the
banks of Dublin, that several considerable bankers were obliged
to stop payment ; and the circulation was in danger of being
suddenly stagnated, when the lord lieutenant, the members of
both houses of parliament, the lord mayor, aldermen, merchants,
and principal traders of Dublin engaged in an association to
support public credit, by taking the notes of bankers in pay-
ment ; a resolution which effectually answered the purpose in-
tended.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 57
Amongst other delusive motives, which at this time actuated
the unwise councils of Versailles, in hazarding this rash inva-
sion of Ireland, were the false hopes holden out to them by some
of the expatriated Irish in the service of France, that an invad-
ing army would have been immediately joined by the physical
force of the country. That the bulk of the nation was dis-
contented with the government, sore at being excluded from
their native rights of citizens, and eager for an opportunity of
retaliating upon their oppressors nearly t\vo centuries of perse*
cution and slavery for the sake of their religion. The conduct
of the Catholics on this, as on every former occasion of alarm or
danger to the establishment, was that of the most exemplary
firmness to principle and duty. On the earliest alarm of the in-
tended invasion of Conflans, Mr. O'Connor and Dr. Curry
called a meeting of the Catholic committee for the purpose of
making a tender of their allegiance in times of danger, as well
as in times of peace. Mr. O'Connor drew up the form of an
address, which was unanimously approved of. It was dated
1st of December, 1759; and on the ensuing day at a meeting
of the most respectable merchants in Dublin it was signed by
about 300 persons. Mr. Anthony M'Dermott and Mr. John
Crump presented it to Mr. John Ponsonby, the speaker of
the House of Commons, to be presented by him to the lord
lieutenant. Mr. Ponsonby received it without making any
observation ; no direct answer was given from the castle ;
some days elapsed in awful and mysterious silence : without
any public notice taken of it, it was laid on the table of the House
of Commons for the inspection of the members. On the 10th
of December his grace gave a most gracious answer to the ad-
dress, which appeared in the Dublin Gazette on the 15th of De-
cember, 1759.* The speaker sent for Mr. Anthony M'Der-
mott and Mr. Crump, and from the chair ordered the former to
read the address to the house. Mr. M'Dermott, after having
read the address, thanked the speaker as delegate from the Ca-
tholics of Dublin for his condescension. The speaker replied,
that he counted it a favour done him to be put in the way of
serving so respectable a body, as that of the gentlemen, who
had signed that loyal address. The gracious acceptance of
this address was the first re-admission of the Catholic body over
the threshold of the constitutional freedom of their country.f
* The address, and the Duke of Bedford's answer are to be seen in the Ap-
pendix, No. LXV.
f To the unwearied zeal and perseverance, to the temperate and manly ex-
ertions of these respectable gentlemen of the first Catholic committee, does
the Irish nation owe peculiar gratitude, for having been the immediate in-
struments of opening the door to all the relief their long and sorely suffering
countrymen have since received from the benign sympathy of our present
most gracious sovereign. Notwithstanding this first successful' effort of the
VOL. II, H
58 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Immediately upon the welcome tidings being circulated of the
gracious acceptance of this address, the Roman Catholics
merchants' address, it is to be remarked, that a most determined, and not
altogether temperate dissension of the Catholic body had unfortunately taken
place, upon the propriety of addressing- the lord lieutenant. The clergy,
nobility, and landed interest were anti-addressers ; their fears or hopes, or
dependencies upon the castle convinced them, that as Catholics were not sub-
jects in the eye of the la\v, they had no right to address : that an address
therefore would be deemed presumptuous : and that the only plan for them to
pursue, was to express their obedience by letter, and not by address. Fortunately
for Ireland, this pusillanimous and weak delicacy of the anti-addressers was
overruled by the opposite party, who were guided by the sound sense and manly
policy of Mr. O'Connor, and Dr. Curry : the latter of whom in a letter to the
former of the 29th of December, 1759, informs him, that a great man was
heard to say at the castle : " By G...., I find that I was mistaken in thinking
" that Papists were led by the nose by their clergy. I have been assured, that
" the Dublin address was drawn up and signed against their advice and com-
" mand.*' This early triumph of the commercial interest over that of the
clergy and landed property, was a happy omen to the Catholics at large....
Reason connected Mr. O'Connor and Dr. Curry, both men of ancient family
and landed estates, with the former ; and reason shews, that the intermediate
concerns of the merchant and tradesman between the highest and the lowest
ranks of society amalgamates them more completely with the mass of the
community, and fits them better both in theory and practice for judging of
their rights, advantages, and happiness, than those who are exalted by rank
or station above the great mass of the people, are removed from immediate in-
tercourse with them, and consequently must be presumed ignorant of their
wants. It must also in historical candour be allowed, that there exists to this
hour more distance between' the rich and the poor in Ireland, than in any part
of the British empire : it partly proceeds from a national intemperate lust of
power, partly from the vicious system of mesne tenantry, which destroys all
privity between the owner and occupier of the soil, and partly as Lord TaafFe
complained in his Observations on the Affairs of Ireland in 1767 (p. 13), from
the expulsion of that useful body of people, called Yeomanry in England,
denominated Sculoags, in Ireland ; \vho were communities of industrious
housekeepers who in his own time herded tog-ether in large villages, cultivated
the lands every where, and lived comfortably, till some rich grazier negociat-
ing privately with a sum of ready money took the lands over their heads.
' The Sculoag race (continues that nobleman), that great nursery of labourers
1 and manufacturers, has been broke and dispersed, in every quarter, and we
' have nothing in lieu, but the most miserable wretches on earth, the cotta-
f gers ; naked slaves, who labour without any nourishing food, and live while
' they can without houses or covering, under the lash of merciless and relent -
' less task masters." It must be further allowed, without derogating from
the innate reverence, which the Irish have ever shewn to the ministers of their
religion, that in the pursuit and defence of civil rights, the clergy, from their
habit of life and dependencies upon the great, are of all men the least likely
to be prudent, firm, and vigorous.
If the portrait, which Mr. Arthur Young has given of the Irish landlord
amidst his tenants bears any resemblance to the original, we shall find in it a
host of reasons for disqualifying the m/bility and gentry from judging and act-
ing as fairly for the multitude, as the commercial interest. The landlord of
an Irish estate inhabited by Roman Catholics, is a sort of despot, who yields
obedience in whatever concerns the poor to no law but that of his will. To
discover what the liberty of a people is, we must live among them, and not
look for it in the statutes of the realm. The language of written law may be
thtxt of liberty, but the situation of the poor may speak no language but that
of slavery. There is too much of this contradiction in Ireland. A long series
of oppression, aided by many very ill-judged laws, have brought landlords.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 59
poured in addresses to the castle, from every quarter of the
kingdom, expressive of the most loyal, zealous, and active ar-
dour in defence of their king and country.
It is impossible for the historian always to fathom the secret
motives and views of the measures which it is his duty to
retail. It appears however not improbable, that one motive at
kast for shewing this new indulgent disposition to the Catholics
was to reconcile that body to the then crudely digested plan of
an Union. But the country was not then ripe for such a mea-
sure. It was the interest of too many persons in power then
to oppose it, and they artfully predisposed the mob against
it, without appearing to take an active part in opposing the
measure, which they then effectually strangled in embryo....
They also took advantage of those qualities of the Duke of
Bedford, which tended to estrange from him the personal af-
fections of the Irish nation, namely his pride, coldness and
(economy.* The outrages of this mob were attempted by some
into a habit of exerting a very lofty superiority, and their vassals into that of an
almost unlimited submission : speaking- a language that is despised, profess-
ing a religion that is abhorred, and being disarmed, the poor find themselves
in many cases slaves even in the bosom of written liberty. Landlords, that
have resided much abroad are usually humane in their ideas ; but the habit
of tyranny naturally contracts the mind, so that even in this polished age there
are instances of a severe carriage towards the poor, which is quite unknown
in England. Nay, I have heard anecdotes of the lives of people being made
free with, without any apprehension of the justice of a jury. But let it not be
imagined that is common : formerly it happened every day ; but law gains
ground The execution of the law lies very much in the hands
of justices of the peace, many of whom are drawn from the most illiberal class
in the kingdom. If a poor man lodges a complaint against a gentleman, or
any animal that chuses to call itself a gentleman, and the justice issues out a
summons for his appearance, it is a fixed affront, and he will infallibly be called
out. Where manners are in conspiracy against law, to whom arc the oppressed
people to have recourse ? They know their situation too well to
think of it : they can have no defence but by means of protection from one
gentleman against another, who probably protects his vassal, as he would the
sheep he intends to eat.
The colours of this picture are not charged. To assert that all these cases
are common would be an exaggeration ; but to say that an unfeeling landlord
will do all this with impunity, is to keep strictly to truth ; and what is liberty
but a farce and jest, if its blessings are received as the favour of kindness and
humanity, instead of being the inheritance of RIGHT. Toung's Tour, Dublin
edit. vul. ii. p. 40 and 41.
* 4 Smol. p. 469. Although no traces of disaffection to his majesty's fami-
ly appeared on this trying occasion, it must nevertheless be acknowledged,
that a spirit of dissatisfaction broke out with extraordinary violence among
the populace of Dublin. The present lord lieutenant was not remarkably
popular in his administration. He had bestowed one place of considerable
importance upon a gentleman, whose person was obnoxious to many people in
that kingdom, and perhaps failed in that affability and condescension which a.
free and ferocious nation expects to find in the character of him to whose rule
they are subjected. Whether the offence taken at his deportment had creat-
ed enemies to his person, or the nation in general began to entertain doubts
and jealousies of the government's designs, certain it is, great pain? were
60 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
persons in parliament to be thrown on the Catholics ; for the
attack on parliament happened on the very day after the address
to the lord lieutenant had been signed and presented. On the
4th of December, 1759, the commons resolved upon an address
to his grace the lord lieutenant, to return him thanks for his
seasonable interposition in using the most effectual means on
the preceding day to disperse a most dangerous and insolent
multitude of people assembled before the parliament house, in
order, most illegally and audaciously, to obstruct and insult the
members of both houses of parliament attending the public ser-
vice of the nation, in manifest violation of the rights and privi-
leges of parliament."*
taken to propagate a belief among the lower sort of people, that an union would
soon be effected between Great Britain and Ireland ; in which case this last
kingdom would be deprived of its parliament and independency, and be sub-
jected to the same taxes, that are levied upon the people of England. This
notion inflamed the populace to such a decree, that they assembled in a prodi-
gious multitude, broke into the House of Lords, insulted the peers, seated an
old woman on the throne, and searched for the Journals, which, had they been
found, they would have committed to the flames Not content with this out-
rage, they compelled the members of both houses, whom they met in the
streets, to take an oath that they would never consent to such an union, or give
any vote contrary to the true interest of Ireland. Divers coaches belonging to
obnoxious persons were destroyed, and their horses killed ; and a gibbet was
erected for one gentleman in particular, who narrowly escaped the ungoverna-
ble rage of those riotous insurgents. A body of horse and infantry were
drawn out on this occasion, in order to overawe the multitude, which at night
dispersed of itself. Next day addresses to the lord lieutenant were agreed
to by both houses of parliament, and a committee of enquiry appointed, that
the ringleaders of the tumult might be discovered and brought to condign pun-
ishment.
* The Duke of Bedford made the most honourable amends to the Catholics
lie could on this occasion, by directing Mr. John Ponsoby, the speaker, to read
from the chair his answer to their address ; which was an approbation of their
past conduct, and an assurance of his future favour and protection as long as
they continued in it. Thus clearing them from the foul aspersion in the very
place, in which it had been cast upon them. It is remarkable that no trace
of this whole transaction is to be found in the journals of the commons. And
yet so unusual a proceeding affecting the rights of the bulk of the Irish nation
should naturally have found its place in the parliamentary minutes of that day.
On the occasion of that malicious attack upon the Catholics, the Prime Ser-
geant Stannard, who had come in upon the late change, spoke warmly in reply
to some of the high-flying patriots, who most violently opposed the Duke of
Bedford's administration. Contrasting the riotous conduct of the Lucasians
(as they were then called after their chief,) with the quiet and dutiful behaviour
of the Roman Catholics, in that and other dangerous conjunctures, he gave
the following honourable testimony in favour of the latter. " We have lived
' amicably and in harmony among ourselves, and without any material party
' distinctions for several years past, till within these few months, and during
' the late wicked rebellion in Scotland, we had the comfort and satisfaction
' to see that all was quiet here. And to the honour of the Roman Catholics be
' it remembered, that not a man of them moved tongue, pen, or sword, upon
' the then, or the present occasion ; and I am glad to find, that they have
' a grateful and proper sense of the mildness and moderation of our govern-
' ment. For my part, while they behave with duty and allegiance to the pre-
" sent establishment, I shall hold them as men in equal esteem with others,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 61
The grand embarkation designed for Ireland was to be made
from Vannes in Lower Britanny. To cover it, a fleet was fitted
out at Brest, commanded by M. de Conflans. The execution
of this scheme was delayed by Sir Edward Hawke, who blocked
up that harbour with twenty-three ships of the line. But bois-
terous winds having driven the British fleet off their station, in
the month of November, Conflans embraced the opportunity,
and sailed with twenty-one large ships and four frigates. On
the twentieth, Sir Edward Hawke pursued and came up with
the French fleet. He had been reinforced by a few ships under
the command of Captain Duff, who had for some time been crui-
sing from Port 1'Orient in Bretagne to the Point of St. Gilles in
Poitou. In the neighbourhood of Belleisle the van of the En-
glish engaged the rear of the enemy about two o'clock in the
forenoon. Happy for Britain and to the unspeakable advantage
of this country, Providence favoured the English fleet with a
complete victory. In October, the squadron designed for the
North of Ireland had sailed from Dunkirk: it consisted origi-
nally of five ships : one of forty-eight, two of thirty-six, and two
of twenty-four guns each, and carried a thousand two hundred
and seventy land forces. The reputation acquired by M. Thu-
rot, as captain of a privateer, raised him to the command of the
naval department employed in this expedition. Adverse and
tempestuous winds drove the squadron to Gottenburgh. Having
continued here a few days, they set sail and proceeded to the
place of destination. Upon arriving on the coast of Ireland
they were overtaken by a storm, to escape which they attempted
to shelter themselves in Lough Foyle, but the wind changed
and continuing to blow tempestuously, obliged them to keep
the sea, two of the ships were separated from the rest by the
violence of the storm and returned to France. The remaining
three directed their course to the island of Hay, where they an-
chored, repaired some damages they had sustained, took in a
small quantity of fresh provisions, and to procure a supply more
adequate to their necessities, sailed for Carrickfergus. They
arrived here on the twenty-first of February, and about two
miles from the town, landed their forces now reduced to six
hundred men. Meanwhile an officer belonging to the small
number of troops of which the garrison consisted, advanced
with a reconnoitring party, and took post on a rising ground to
observe the motions of the enemy. Having made the best dis-
position of his men which the time and circumstances would
permit, and ordered them to make every effort to retard the
approaches of the French, he returned to communicate the ne-
" in every point but one ; and while their private opinion interferes not with
" public tranquillity, I think their industry and allegiance ought to be encou-
" raged."
62 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
cessary information to the commanding officer. The troops
were on parade, from whom detachments were sent to defend
the gates and all the avenues leading to the town. A number
of French prisoners, then in Carrickfergus, were sent off to
Belfast with all possible expedition. By this time the fire had
begun betwixt the reconnoitring party and the enemy, which
killed several of them, and wounded Brigadier General Clo-
bert, their commanding officer. This accident threw them into
confusion, and for some time retarded their approach. The
reconnoitring party having expended their powder and ball
were forced to retreat to their garrison, who, after having at-
tempted in vain to prevent the enemy from entering the town,
shut themselves up within the castle. Though they were not
in any respect prepared for such an attack, a number of them
being quite undisciplined, and there being a breach in the wall
fifty feet long, they defended themselves with spirit until their
ammunition was expended. They were now obliged to capi-"
tulate : it is supposed, that, previous to the surrender of the
castle, a hundred of the French were killed, among whom were
four officers, one of them a person of distinction, much regret-
ted for his courage and amiable qualities. Of the garrison not
more than three lost their lives. When intelligence of the
landing of the enemy reached different parts of the country,
volunteer companies flocked to Belfast from al^ quarters. By
the willingness which they discovered to risk their lives in the
service of their country they acquired much honour, but they
were strangers to discipline, and numbers of them unprovided
with arms. Had they proceeded to attack the enemy, as was
proposed by some, many would have been sacrificed, and the
probability of success was much against them. However the
French were alarmed and would have left Carrickfergus with-
out delay, had they not been detained by unfavourable winds :
having plundered the town, they re-embarked on Tuesday the
twenty-sixth of February. To avoid the imminent danger to
which they were exposed from the English ships of war, they
wished to return by the North of Ireland, but the wind was ad-
verse, and compelled them to attempt a passage through the
Channel. Very soon their hopes of escaping vanished. The
-day on which they re-embarked, Captain Elliot, of his majesty's
ship j£olus of thirty-two guns, received information from govern-
ment of the arrival of the French at Carrickfergus. Taking
with him the Pallas and Brilliant, each, of them with the same
force, with respect to guns, he set sail in quest of the enemy.
The twenty-eighth he discovered them, gave chace, and came up
with them near the Isle of Man. Having engaged with them
about an hour and a half, they struck, being much injured in
their masts and rigging, and three hundred of their men killed.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 63
Thurot lost his life in the action. Thurot had in die course of
the preceding year signalized his courage and conduct in a
large privateer, called the Belleisle, which had scoured the
North seas, taken a number of ships, and at one time maintained
an obstinate battle against two English frigates, which were
obliged to desist after having received considerable damage.*
In consequence of these events, it was resolved by the House
of Commons, " that the thanks of that house should be given
" to Lieutenant Colonel Jennings, for his prudent and resolute
" conduct at Carrickfergus, and for the gallant 'stand he made
" there against a much superior force, by which he gained time
" for the militia to assemble, and preserved Belfast from being
u plundered." It was also resolved, " that the zeal, courage,
" and activity, exerted on the landing of the French in this
" kingdom, by the counties of Antrim, Armagh, and Down, and
" by the citizens of the city of Londonderry, were highly ho-
" nourable and beneficial to themselves, and their .country."....
The inhabitants of Belfast presented Lieutenant Colonel Hig-
ginson of the 62d regiment of foot, with a large and elegant
silver cup, having an inscription expressive of their gratitude
* 4 Smol. p. 460. The ideal approximation of circumstances trivial and
remote, frequently leads to consequences of great importance and peculiar re-
levancy. On account of the penal laws then existing1, the author and several
other children of Catholic parents being sent abroad for a foreign education
in July 1759 were taken in the packet by Thurot, between Dunkirk and Os-
tend : and were actually prisoners on board the Belleisle when she was attack-
ed by what Mr. Smollet calls English frigates : the Belleisle mounted 40 guns,
and had another privateer in company with her of 36 guns. On the very day
of the capture of the packet three small English vessels mounting 20, 12 and
8 guns gave chace to and came up with the French privateers about midnight,
and engaged them briskly till about four o'clock in the morning, when they
were obliged to sheer off. Thurot's ship suffered so much, that it put in to-
Flushing to repair ; where his prisoners lay for several weeks before they
were exchanged. Here a mutiny happened on board the Belleisle, which
Thurot quelled by killing two of the ringleaders with his own hands, and cut-
ting off the cheek of a third. The three English vessels were commanded by
Captain (afterwards Commodore) Boys, upon which a marine muse produced
the following lines.
Conflans, De la Clue, and such brave men as those,
We send Hawke, Boscawcn, always to oppose.
But when that Thurot our island annoys,
We think it sufficient to send only Boys.
With unspeakable gratitude does the author contrast those times, when
onder a borrowed name he was necessitated to fly to a foreign country for edu-
cation, with the present, in which through the liberality of government he
has the happiness of giving that same education to his own children in their
native soil.
As this descent of Thurot was the only attempt of an enemy to land in Ire-
land for upwards of two centuries every particular concerning it may be inte-
resting to the Irish reader : we have therefore inserted in the Appendix, No.
LXVI. the official letter of General Strode, who then commanded at Belfast,
dated February the 23d, 1760, to the, lord lieutenant.
64
for the exertion of his great military knowledge, vigilance and
activity, for the security of the town of Belfast, on the landing
of the French troops at Carrickfergus, the like compliment was
paid to Colonel Jennings.*
On the 25th of October, 1760, his late majesty George II.
died at Kensington at the advanced age of 77 years ; none of
his predecessors on the throne lived to so great an age ; none
enjoyed a more happy or glorious reign ; it was a peculiar bless-
ing to this monarch, that the love and affection of his subjects
encreased constantly to the close of his reign. He was a prince
of personal intrepidity : upright and honourable in his conduct,
though not distinguished for any extraordinary brilliancy of
talent : he was particularly fortunate in the choice of his last
ministry, uader Mr. Pitt. His British subjects ilk-relished his
marked predilection for his German dominions, and complained,
that he visited them more frequently, than was consistent with
the welfare of the state.
* A List of the Militia that marched against the French on this occasion.
Antrim County ...
Temple Patrick ...
Randlestown ----- 120
Ballymcna - -
Boroughshane -
Clough - - -
Killylea - - -
Cumber - - -
Purdesburn
Grayabby - -
Newton - - -
Loughbrickland
Armagh - - -
Lurgan
Glenarm 100
Ballinere and Ballisten •
108
100
120
140
46
100
60
60
100
70
70
50
40
60
100
100
Belfast 3 comp.
... 300
- - - 70
- - - 40
- - 100
70
... 60
... 80
- - - 60
... 6
- - - 40
Kichhill light horse
--- 70
Total 2220
All clothed and armed at their own expence,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 65
CHAPTER V.
THE REIGN OF GEORGE THE THIRD.
From his accession to the Throne to the Declaration of Irish
Independence in 1782.
NO prince ever ascended the throne more to the joy and
satisfaction of his people than our gracious sovereign. Pleased,
said Junius, with the novelty of a young prince, whose counte-
nance promised even more than his words, they were loyal to
him not only from principle, but passion. It was not a cold
profession of allegiance to the first magistrate, but a partial ani-
mated attachment to a favourite prince, the native of their coun-
try. In his first speech to the British parliament, he said,....
" Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of
" Briton : and the peculiar happiness of my life will ever con-
*' sist in promoting the welfare of a people, whose loyalty and
" warm affection to me I consider as the greatest and most per-
" manent security of my throne : and I doubt not but their
" steadiness in those principles will equal the firmness of my
" invariable resolution to adhere to and strengthen this excellent
" constitution in 'church and state ; and to maintain the tolera-
" tion inviolable. The civil and religious rights of my loving
" subjects, are equally dear to me with the most valuable pre-
" rogatives of the crown : and as the surest foundation of the
" whole and the best means to draw down the divine favour on
" my reign, it is my fixed purpose, to countenance and encou*
" rage the practice of true religion and virtue." In these flat-
tering assurances of the new monarch to the people of Great
Britain, Lord Halifax, then lord lieutenant of Ireland, had it in
command to declare to the sister kingdom, that his subjects of
Ireland, were fully, and in every respect, comprehended.* Con-
gratulatory addresses to the throne flowed in from all descrip-
tions of persons : amongst which, none were more remarkable
than the addresses from the people called Quakers and the Ro-
man Catholics : the former, contained more moral sentiment
and less common place flattery, than are usually contained in
such addresses : the latter was strongly expressive of their loy-
* Com. Journ. vol. 7. p. 13.
VOL. II. I
66 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
alty: their acknowledgment of past indulgence, and their
earnest confidence of future favour.*
With respect to the general state of Ireland at this period,
the prospect is truly gloomy. It appears from the public ac-
counts, that at Lady Day, 1759, the nation was in credit
65,774/. 4s. \\d. ; however the arrears upon the establishments
had increased so considerably towards the conclusion of that
year, that it became necessary to order 150,000/. to be raised
at 4 per cent, upon debentures to be made transferable
This is to be considered, as the funded debt of Ireland : for
the payment of the interest of this sum, certain duties were
granted. In the beginning of 1760, his late majesty having or-
dered a considerable augmentation of his forces, it became ne-
cessary to recur to another loan to raise the intended levies ;
and accordingly a vote of credit was passed by the commons for
raising 300,OOO/. at 5 per cent, and as it was found difficult to
obtain the former loan at 4 per cent, an additional interest of
1 per cent, was ordered to be given for the 150,OOO/. before
mentioned.f
* These two addresses are to be seen in the Appendix, No. LXVII.
t The late respectable and patriotic Hely Hutchinson, gives the following
just account of the national distress on account of the decline of public credit.
{Com. Rest, p 59.) " The revenue, for the reasons already given, decreased
" in 1755, fell lower in 1756, and still lower in 1757. In the last year, the
" vaunted prosperity of Ireland was changed into misery and distress ; the
" lower classes of our people wanted food, the money arising from the extra-
" vagance of the rich was freely applied to alleviate the sufferings of the poor.
" One of the first steps of the late Duke of Bedford's administration, and
" which reflects honour on his memory, was obtaining a king's letter, dated
" 31st of March, 1757, for 20,000/. to be laid out as his grace should think
" the most likely to afford the most speedy and effectual relief to his majesty's
" poor subjects of this kingdom^ His grace, in his speech from the throne,
" humanely expresses his wish, that some method might be found out to pre-
" vent the calamities, that are the consequences of a want of corn, which had
" been in part felt the last year, and to which this country had been too often
" exposed. The Commons acknowledge, that those calamities had been fre-
" quently and were too sensibly and fatally experienced in the course of the
" last year ; thank his grace for his early and charitable attention to the neces-
" sities of the poor of this country in their late distresses, and make use of
* those remarkable expressions, " that they °ui ill most cheerfully embrace every
' practicable method to promote tillage." They knew that the encouragement
« of manufactures were the effectual means, and that these means were not
' in their power. The ability of the nation was estimated by the money in
4 the treasury, and the pensions on the civil establishment, exclusive of French,
" which at Lady Day 1755, were 38,003/. 15*. Qd. amounted at Lady Day
" 1757, to 49,293/. 15*. Od.
" The same ideas were entertained of the resources of this country in the
" session of 1759. Great Britain had made extraordinary efforts, and engaged
" in enormous expences for the protection of the whole empire. This country
" was in immediate danger of an invasion. Every Irishman was agreed, that
" she should assist Great Britain to the utmost of her ability, but this ability
" was too highly estimated. The nation abounded rather in loyalty than in
" wealth. Our brethren in Great Britain had however formed a different opi-
*' nion, and surveying their own strength, were incomplete judges of our
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND.
cr
It is an unexceptionable axiom, that a distressed peasantry
argues a corrupt or unwise government : the excesses therefore
of desperate wretchedness are to be immediately sought in the
soreness and irritation of the sufferers: though the efficient
cause of the suffering must be traced to an higher and less re-
sponsible source. From the accession of the Hanover family,
the execution of the Popery laws in Ireland had, as far as the
personal disposition of the sovereign could influence the conduct
of the Irish administration, been softened and mitigated. The
rebellions of 1715 and 1745 had been raised and suppressed,
without the slightest tarnish to the loyalty of Ireland ;* prone
as her enemies ever have been to invent and provoke cause of
persecution and punishment in that devoted kingdom. In the
general rejoicing of the British empire at the descent of the
crown upon a native monarch crowned with early laurels of vie-
weakness. A lord lieutenant of too much virtue and magnanimity to speak
what he did not think, takes notice from the throne, of the prosperous state
of this country, improving- daily in its mp.nufuctures and commerce. His
grace had done much to bring it to that state, by obtaining1 for us some of
the best laws in our books of statutes. But this part of the speech was
not taken notice of, either in the address to his majesty, or to his grace,
from a House of Commons well disposed to give every mark of duty and
respect, and to pay every compliment consistent with truth. The event
proved the wisdom of their reserve. The public expences were greatly
increased, the pensions on the civil establishments, exclusive of French, at
Lady Day, 1759, amounted to 55,4971. 5s. od. : there was at the same time
a great augmentation of military expence. Six new regiments and a troop
were raised in a very short space of time. An unanimous and unlimited ad-
dress of confidence to his grace, a specific vote of credit for 150.000/.
which was afterwards provided for in the loan bill of that session, a second
vote of credit in the same session for 300,000/., the raising the rate of inte-
rest paid by government one per cent, and the payment out of the treasury
in little more than 0ne year, of 703.957/. 3*. 1 l-2d. were the consequences
of those encreased expences. The effects of these exertions were imme-
diately and severely felt by the kingdom. These loans could not be sup-
plied by a poor country, without draining the bankers of their cash ; three of
the principal houses (Clement's, Dawson's, and Mitchell's,) among them
stopped payment, the three remaining banks in Dublin discounted no paper,
and in fact did no business. Public and private credit, that had been droop-
ing since the year 1754 had now fallen prostrate. At a general meeting of
the merchants* of Dublin, in April 1760, with several members of the House
of Commons, the inability of the former to carry on business was universally
acknowledged, not from the want of capital, but from the stoppage of all pa-
per circulation, and the refusal of the remaining bankers to discount the bills
even of the first houses."
* It is notorious that when Murray, the Pretender's secretary, gave up all
the letters and papers relative to the last rebellion in Scotland, a scheme which
had been planning and contriving for seven years before, it plainly appeared,
that the Jacobite party had no dependance upon or connection or correspon-
dence with any Roman Catholic in Ireland. The very name of that kingdom
not having been once mentioned throughout the whole correspondence. When
in March, 1762, a general fast was ordained by the government for the success of
his majesty's arms, the form of prayer and exhortation to the Roman Catholic
congregations in Ireland were as staunchly loyal as any of the establishment, as
may be seen in the Appendix, No. LXVIII.
68 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
tory in the wide extent of the war, in which he found his people
engaged, Ireland alone was doomed to weep. In the southern
provinc.- of that kingdom great misery, great soreness, and great
disturbances existed in the lowest class of the wretched peasan-
try. They being chiefly Catholics, religion of course was stu-
pidly and maliciously saddled with the cause of these riots. The
insurgents at first committed their outrages at night ; and appear-
ing generally in frocks or shirts were denominated tvhite-boys :
they, seized arms and horses, houghed the cattle, levelled the
enclosures of commons, turned up new made roads, and perpe-
trated various other acts of outrage and violence. These unfor-
tunate wretches, as is the case in all insurgencies, raised a
popular cry against the rapacity and tyranny of their landlords :
against the cruel exactions of titnemongers, and against the ille-
gal enclosure's of commons.
The only useful allusion to past riots, the. only seasonable
reflections, that arise out of them, the only fair historical pur-
pose, to which the details of them can be applied, are such as
tend to their future prevention. The most pointed exhortations
to the discontented mass, but tend to aggravate whilst their sore-
ness lasts ; little avails it in the moment of fermentation whether
their grievances be ideal or real ; whether the cause of their
irritation be just or groundless. Few, if any of the deluded
multitude will read the history of their own misconduct in the
pages, which fall under the perusal of those, who alone com-
mand the efficient means of prevention. Various causes about
this period concurred in reducing this forlorn peasantry to the
most abject wretchedness. An epidemic disorder of the horned
cattle had spread from Holstein through Holland into England,
where it raged for some years, and consequently raised the pri-
ces of beef, cheese, and butter to exorbitancy ; hence pasturage
became more profitable than tillage ; and the whole agriculture
of the south of Ireland, which had for some time past flourished
under the mild administration of the Popery laws, instantly
ceased; the numerous families, which were fed by the labour of
agriculture, were turned adrift without means of subsistence.
Cottiers being tenants at will were every where dispossessed of
their scanty holdings, and large tracts of grazing land were set
to wealthy monopolizers,* who, by feeding cattle, required few
hands, and paid higher rents. Pressed by need, most of these
unfortunate peasants sought shelter in the neighbouring towns,
for the sake of begging that bread which they could no longer
earn : and the only piteous resource of the affluent was to ship off
as many as would emigrate to seek maintenance or death in fo-
reign climes. The price then paid for the little labour, that was
* In the cant of these wretched rioters they were called land-pirate*.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 69
done, kept not pace with the rise of necessaries : it exceeded not
the wages given in the days of Elizabeth. The landlords de-
manded extravagant rents from their cottiers, and to reconcile
them to their lettings, they allowed them generally a right of
common, of which they soon again deprived them by enclosures;
the absolute inability of these oppressed tenants to pay their
tithes beside their landlord's rent, made them feel the exaction
and levying of them by the proctors, as a grievance insupporta-
ble.* These insurrections became daily more alarming to go-
* Consequences have flowed (says Mr. Young) from these oppressions, which
ought long ago to have put a stop to them. In England we have heard much
of White Boys, Steel Boys, Oak Boys, Peep of day Boys, c5*c. But these various
insurgents are not to be confounded, for^ they are very different. The proper
distinction in the discontents of the people is into Protestant and Catholic.
All but the White Boys were among the manufacturing Protestants in the
North. The White Boys Catholic labourers in the South. From the best
intelligence I could gain, the riots of the manufacturers had no other founda-
tion, but such variations in the manufacture as all fabrics experience, and
which they had themselves known and ^submitted to before. The case, how-
ever, was different with the White Boys, who, being labouring Catholics, met
with all those oppressions I have described, and would probably have continued
in full submission, had not very severe treatment in respect of tithes, united
with great speculative rise of rents about the same time, blown up the flame
of resistance ; the atrocious acts they were guilty of made them the object of
general indignation ; acts were passed for their punishment, which seemed
calculated for the meridian of Barbary ; this arose to such a height, that by
one they were to be hanged under circumstances without the common for-
malities of a trial, which, though repealed the following sessions, marks the
spirit of punishment ; while others remain yet the law of the land, that would,
if executed, tend more to raise than quell an insurrection. From all which it
is manifest, that the gentlemen of Ireland never thought of a radical cure from,
overlooking the real cause of the disease, which in fact lay in themselves, and
not in the wretches they doomed to the gallows ; let them change their own
conduct entirely, and the poor will not long riot. Treat them like men who
ought to be as free as yourselves; put an end to that system of religious persecu-
tion, which for seventy years has divided the kingdom against itself: in these
two circumstances lies the cure of insurrection, perform them completely, and
you will have an affectionate poor, instead of oppressed and discontented vas-
sals. C Young's four, vol. ii.p. 41, 42. ) The late Lord Taaffe, whose high
sense of honour, frankness, and independence had endeared him personally to
his sovereign, as well as to all who knew him, has spoken of these Minister
insurrections in a manner that cannot fail to carry full conviction to the unbiassed
reader. (Observations on the affairs of Ireland, 2 edit. 1767, />. 19^ "The
' and desperate from invincible poverty. The whole body of Roman Catholics,
' howeVer, have been reproached, and are in some degree reproached still on
' this account. It has turned put a very serious and tragical affair, and had it
' not proved so, it would be cause of mirth to consider, how keen the appetite
' for Popish plots must have been, which fed upon the idea, that France on the
' conclusion of a treaty of peace with Britain, and evidently interested in the
' temporary observance of it, should immediately employ here the prevailing
' plenipotentiaries of money, arms, and officers to conclude another private
' treaty with the Munster rabble, and all this with the view of exciting a
' Popish massacre and rebellion through every quarter of this kingdom. Such
ro
s
vernment:* they instituted a commission of some gentlemen,
of distinguish loyalty and eminence in the law, to enquire
«' is the idea that has been propagated, and so sillily have some played their
«' game, that they admitted every body to look into their hands. It is happy
«' that they did so. Others were less to be blamed for being seduced to think,
•' like Scrub in the play, that there must be a plot because they knew nothing
«< about it. But men of good sense, the friends of their country and of virtue,
«< went upon surer grounds, shewed no unwillingness to be well informed, and
«' are now very successfully pushing this affair into day-light. In and out of
" the parliament they are doing good; and may their country receive the full
' benefit of their moderation and patriotism. The Irish Catholics easily fore-
' saw that the disorders of the Munster levellers would affect them ; and on
' the first rising of that mob addressed the Earl of Halifax, then in the go-
' vemment, with the strongest assurances of their allegiance to his majesty.
' The superiors of the Catholic clergy in that province, were at the same time
' edifyingly active in pressing the duty of obedience and loyalty on their peo-
' pie. This is well known. He of Waterford exerted himself, by giving the
' government the best and earliest intelligence he could get of the intentions
' and motions of those miscreants. He of Ossory distinguished himself also,
' by excellent instructions (published in the public papers) for the civil con-
' duct of the people under his care. They issued excommunications, and de-
' nounced in vain the most tremendous censures of the Church against the in-
•' corrigible and obstinate."
* In the month of January, 1762, the White Boys first appeared, and in one
night dug up twelve acres of rich fattening ground, belonging to Mr. Max-
well, of Kilfinnam, in the county of Limerick. A special commission was im-
mediately issued to try them, when two of them were found guilty, Bangyard
and Carthy, and executed at Gallows Green, the 19th of June. (Hist, of Lim.
p. 129 J
Doctor Campbell makes the following observations upon the state of the
White Boys. Pb. Sur. p. 293. After considering all this, yet seeing at the
same time that the greater, and certainly the best part of what I have seen,
instead of being in a progressive state of improvement, is verging to depopu-
lation ; that the inhabitants are either moping under the sullen gloom of inac-
tive indigence, or blindly asserting the rights of nature in nocturnal insurrec-
tions, attended with circumstances of ruinous devastation and savage cruelty,
must \ve not conclude, that there are political errors somewhere ? Cruelty is
not in the nature of these people more than of other men ; for they have many
customs among them, which discover uncommon gentleness, kindness, and
affection. Nor are they singular in their hatred of labour ; Tacitus's charac-
ter given of the Germans, applies to them, and all mankind in a rude state,
mird divertitate nature, cum iidem homines, sic atnent inertiam, sic oderint
quietem. At present their hands are tied up, and they have neither the actions
of a savage, nor the industry of civilized people. There is no necessity fer
recurring to natural disposition, when the political constitution obtrudes upon
us so many obvious and sufficient causes of the sad effects we complain of.
The first is, the suffering avarice to convert the arable lands into pasture. The
evils arising from this custom in England, we're so grievous, that Lord Bacon
tells us, in the reign of Henry VII. a statute was enacted to remedy them. But
the mischief still increasing, Henry VIII. revived all the ancient statutes, and
caused them to be put in execution. Yet notwithstanding this care, so great
was the discontent of the people, from poverty occasioned by decay of tillage
and increase of pasturage, that they rose in actual rebellion in the reign of
Edward VI. and sharpened by indigence and oppression, demolished in many
counties the greatest part of the inclosures. Here you see an exact prototype
of the present disturbances in Munster, carried on by the rabble, originally
called leve/krs, from their levelling the inclosures of commons, but now White
Boys, from their wearing their shirts over their coats, for the sake of distinc-
tion in the night. There it was a rebellion, here it is only a star-light insur-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. n
upon the spot into the real causes and circumstances of these
riots, who reported, " that the authors of those riots consisted
" indiscriminately of persons of different persuasions, and that
" no marks of disaffection to his majesty's person or government
" appeared in any of these people :"* which report was con-
firmed by the judges of the Munster circuit, and by the dying
protestations of the first five of the unhappy men, who were
executed at Waterford, in 1T62, for having been present at the
burning of a cabin, upon the information of an approver, who
was the very person, that had set fire to it with his own hand.
Fortunately for the country, Sir Richard Aston,f lord chief jus-
tice of the Common Pleas, was sent down upon a special com-
mission to try great numbers of these rioters ; and so well sa-
tisfied with the impartiality of his conduct were the inhabitants
of those parts, that upon his return from Clonmel, where they
were tried, he had the satisfaction of seeing the road lined on
both sides with men, women, and children, thanking him for
the unbiassed discharge of his duty, and supplicating Heaven to
bless him as their protector, guardian, and deliverer.
rection ; disavowed by every body ; and the impotence of those engaged to do
any thing effectual drives them into wanton and malignant acts of cruelty on
individuals. Hopeless of redress, they are provoked to acts of desperation.
The rebellion in England did not remove the evil ; it was not however alto-
gether fruitless ; a commission was appointed to enquire into the cause of it,
and from a proclamation thereupon issued, it appears, that government be-
came possessed of the true state of the case. It is so remarkably apposite to
the present state of the South of Ireland, that I cannot forbear citing an ex-
tract or two from it. It sets forth " that the king, and the rest of the privy
council were put in remembrance by divers pitiful complaints of the poor
subjects, as well as by other wise and discreet men, that of late, by enclosing
arable ground, many had been driven to extreme poverty, and compelled to
leave the places where they were born, and seek their livings in other coun-
tries ; insomuch, as in times past, where ten, twenty, yea in some places two
hundred people have been inhabiting, there is nothing now but sheep and
bullocks. All that land which was heretofore tilled and occupied by so
many men, is now gotten, by the insatiable greediness of men, into one or
two men's hands ; and scarcely dwelt upon by one poor shepherd, so that
the realm is thereby brought into marvellous desolation, &.c." The case of
Ireland is now like that of England then. Some would insinuate that Popery
is at the bottom of what they call this dark affair ; and to give their opinion
an air of probability, they tell you, that the first rising of these deluded people
vv as in the very year that Thurot made a landing in the north of Ireland, and
that Conflans was to have attempted the like in the south, But I can find no
evidence that the French king employed any agents, at this time, to practise
on the discontents of the rabble of Munster.
* Vide Dublin Gazette, and also Tbt Enquiry into the Causes of the Outrages
committed by tbe Levellers per totum. \
f A more uncorrupt, firm, and humane judge never graced the Bench. The
extraordinary exultation of the Irish on this occasion, is a strong though me-
lancholy proof, that the chaste impartiality and independence, from which that
learned and revered judge never departed, had hithei-to been a novelty to the
Irish people. He has received the most honourable test of his uprightness in
the blame cast at him by the author of Tbe Memoirs r>f tke different Rebellions
in Ireland, p. 34.
72 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
The execution of scores of these unfortunate objects of mi-
sery and desperation would not answer the views of those, (and
too many there shamefully were) who from their own private
ends connived at and fomented these tumults. They sought a
victim of more renown ; and selected Nicholas Sheeny, the
parish priest'of Clogheen in the county of Tipperary, a district
then particularly infested by the White Boys, as a fit object for
their wicked, though ultimately ineffectual, purpose of implicat-
ing the Catholic religion, the Pope, the French, and the Pre-
tender in the tumultuary outrages of these wretched despera-
does. They had him proclaimed upon false informations ; and
a reward of 300/. was set upon his head. He, conscious of his
Innocence, immediately upon hearing of the proclamation, of-
fered to Mr. Secretary Waite to spare government the reward
offered, and surrender himself instantly to take his trial out of
hand ; not indeed in Clonmel, where he feared the malice and
power of his enemies would (as they afterwards proved) be too
prevalent for justice, but in the court of King's Bench in Dub-
lin. His proposal having been accepted, he was accordingly
brought up to Dublin, and tried there for rebellion, of which,
however, after a severe scrutiny of fourteen hours, he was ho-
nourably acquitted ; no evidence having appeared against him
but a blackguard boy, a common prostitute, and an impeached
thief, all brought out of Clonmel jail, and bribed for the purpose
of witnessing against him.
His enemies, who had failed in their first attempt, were pre-
determined upon his destruction at all events. One Bridge, an
informer against some of those who had been executed for these
riots, was said to have been murdered by their associates, in
revenge, although his body could never be found,* and a con-
siderable reward was offered for discovering and convicting the
murderer. Sheehy, immediately after his acquittal in Dublin
for rebellion, was indicted by his pursuers for this murder, and
notwithstanding the promise given him by those in office on sur-
rendering himself, he was transmitted to Clonmel, to be tried
there for this new crime, and upon the sole evidence of the same
infamous witnesses, whose testimony had been so justly repro-
bated in Dublin, was there condemned to be hanged and quar-
tered for that murder.
The night before his execution, which was but the second
after his sentence, he wrote a letter to Major Sirr, wherein he
declared his innocence of the crime, for which he was next day
to suffer death ; and on the morning of that day, just before he
* It was positively sworn, by two unexceptionable witnesses, that he pri-
vately left the kingdom some short time before he was said to have been
murdered. See notes of the trial taken by one of the jury in Exshaw's Maga-
zine for June 1766.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. rs
was brought forth to execution, he, in presence of the sub-sheriff
and a clergyman who attended him, again declared his inno-
cence of the murder ; solemnly protesting at the same time, as
he was a dying man, just going to appear before the most awful
of tribunals, that he never had engaged any of the rioters in the
service of the French king, by tendering them oaths, or other-
wise ; that he never had distributed money among them on that
account, nor had ever received money from France or any other
foreign court, either directly or indirectly, for any such purpose ;
that he never knew of any French or foreign officers being
among these rioters ; or of any Roman Catholics of property or
note being concerned with them. At the place of execution he
solemnly averred the same things, adding, that he never heard
an oath of allegiance to any foreign prince proposed or adminis-
tered in his life-time j nor ever knew any thing of the murder of
Bridge, until he heard it publicly talked of: nor did he know
that there ever was any such design on foot. The prompt sur-
render of Mr. Sheehy when he commanded the readiest means
of escape, his accquittal before a Dublin jury of the rebellion
charged in the proclamation, and his being afterwards found
guilty of the murder of Bridge upon the evidence of those very
suborned wretches, whose testimonies had been rejected on his
former trial in the King's Bench, and were afterwards also re-
jected on the trial of a Mr. Keating for another pretended mur-
der at Kilkenny, when coupled with other circumstances of
atrocious violence, intimidation, and injustice attending the trial
of Sheehy, known to and testified by hundreds of eye witnesses,
many of whom are still living, leave no doubt upon the mind of
every unbiassed man, that Mr. Sheehy was the devoted victim
of the rankest malice and perjury.*
* On the day of this man's trial, a party of horse surrounded the court, ad-
mitting and excluding whomsoever they thought proper, while others of them
\vitha certain knight at their head, scampered the streets in a formidable
manner, forcing into inns and private lodgings in the town, challenging and
questioning all new comers, menacing his friends, and questioning his enemies.
During the trial, Mr. Keating, a person of knovrn property and credit in that
country, having given the clearest and fullest evidence, that, during the whole
night of the supposed murder of Bridge, the prisoner, Nicholas Sheehy, had
lain in his house, that he could not have left it in the night time without his
knowledge, and consequently that he could not have been present at the mur-
der; the Reverend Mr. H. an active manager in these trials, stood up, and
after looking on a paper that he held in his hand, informed the court, that he
had Mr. Keating'* name on his list, as one of those that were concerned in the
killing a corporal and Serjeant in a former rcScue of some of these levellers :
upon which he was immediately hurried away to Kilkenny jail, where he lay
for some time loaded with irons in a dark and loathsome dungeon. By this
proceeding, not only his evidence was rendered useless to Sheehy, but also
that of many others was prevented, who came on purpose to testify the same
thing, but instantly withdrew themselves, for fear of meeting with the same
treatment. Mr. Keating was afterwards tried for this pretended murder at
the assizes of Kilkenny, but was honourably acquitted ; too late, howerer, to
VOL. ii. $
f4 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
In vain from the beginning of these insurrections did a certain
party attempt to fix the body of Roman Catholics with the trea-
son and disloyalty attending them. The plain truth is, that
these oppressed wretches being too ignorant to know the law,
and too poor to beur the expence of it, betook themselves to vio-
lence as to their only resource. Fatal experience teaches us that
mobs seldom rise, till they have suffered some grievance ; and
seldomer disperse till they have occasioned great mischief. The
very occasion, which such risings afford to private, and secret,
and generally unwarrantable engagements with each other, is
one of the most pernicious evils, that can befal society. Linked
by common ties, they acquire gregarian firmness, but seldom
coalesce upon a specific ground of grievance. Yet whilst these
White Boys continued to exist, they were generally consistent in
the nature of their complaints ; of which however the loudest
and most lasting were against the extortions of the tithe proc-
tors ; the landlords and graziers, in order to divert the irritation
of this wretched and oppressed peasantry from themselves, did
not scruple to cherish, or at least connive at their resistance to
the ever unpopular demands of the clergy. This suffering and
misguided people bound themselves to each other by an oath.*
be of any service to Mr. Sheehy, who had been hanged and quartered some
time before Mr. Keatiiig's acquittal. The very same evidence, which was
looked upon at Clonmtl as good and sufficient to condemn Mr. Sheehy, hav-
ing been afterwards rejected at Kilkenny, as prevaricating and contradictory,
when offered against Mr. Keating. James Prendergast, Esq. a Protestant
of the established church, a witness for Mr. Edward Sheehy, deposed, that
on the day and hour on v hich the murder of Bridge was sworn to have been
committed, viz. about or between the hours often and eleven o'clock on the
night of the 28th of Oct.>V>er, 1764, Edmund Sheehy, the prisoner, was with
him and others in a distant part of the country; that they and their wives had
on the aforesaid 28th of October, dined at the house of Mr. Tenison, near
Ardsinan, in the county of Tipperary, where they continued till after supper ;
that it was about eleven o'clock when he and the prisoner left the house of
Mr. Tenison, and rode a considerable way together on their return to their
respective homes ; that the prisoner had his wife behind him, that when he
(Mr. Prendergast) got home, he looked at the clock, and found it was the
hour of twelve exactly. This testimony was confirmed by several corroborat-
ing circumstances, sworn to by two other witnesses, against whom no excep-
tion seems to have been taken, : and yet because Mr. Tenison, although he
confessed in his deposition, that the prisoner had dined with him in October
1"64, and does not expressly dj-ny, that it was on the 28th of that month, but
says, conjecturally, that he was inclined to think that it was earlier than the
28th, the prisoner was brought I in guilty. This positive and particular proof,
produced by Mr. Prendergast, with the circumstances of the day and the hour,
attested upon oath by two other witnesses, whose veracity seems not to have
been questioned, was overruled iind set aside, by the vague and indeterminate
surmise of Mr. Tenison. SeeExshaw's Gentleman's, and London Magazine,
for April and June, 1766.
* Of which the following is said to have been the form, and which the most
wilful traducer of the Irish caiiiiot distort into any engagement to the Pope,
French, or Pretender :
" I do hereby solemnly and siuicerely swear, that I will not make known
" any secret now given me, or thi.t hereafter may be given me, to any one in
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 7$
The public mind was much agitated by these proceedings,
and many undue means \vei*e used to exaggerate the evil, and
convert it into a Popish plot to overturn the government, to mas-
sacre the Protestants, and to favour our enemies in their dreaded
invasion. Acts of popular outrage are committed generally by
the lower order of the people j and as that order principally coru
sists in this kingdom of Roman Catholics, it was in some respect
a natural consequence to attribute the misdemeanours of the
Southern insurgents, indiscriminately, to persons of that per-,
suasion. The House of Commons therefore appointed a com-
mittee " to enquire into the causes and progress of (what was
termed) the Popish insurrection in the province of Munster."
* On the 23d of January, 1762, Mr. Hamilton, secretary to
Lord Halifax, communicated to the House of Commons the
message from the lord lieutenent, by which he informed
them, that he had it in command from his majesty, that after
the most conciliatory efforts which his majesty's moderation
could dictate, or his royal dignity permit, affairs had been
brought to an unhappy, though on his side inevitable, rupture
with the court of Spain : that in consequence his majesty had
directed an immediate augmentation of five battalions to the
establishment, which would render some further supplies un-
avoidably necessary beyond those which they had already
so liberally granted. And although in this address to par-
liament there be an exclusive and particular application to
his majesty's Protestant subjects of Ireland, it was not as
before had been the usual style of the castle, to call upon
them to make head against, to resist, or punish the common
enemy ; but as none but Protestants were members of the
house which he was then addressing, and none but they could
affect the revenue, his majesty having in all exigencies the most
full and firm reliance on the experienced affection and loyalty of
his faithful Protestant subjects of Ireland, entertained no doubt
that they would concur with their usual cheerfulness and unani-
mity in raising the additional supplies. The commons imme-
diately resolved on an address of thanks to the lord lieutenant,
'' the world, except a sworn person belonging to the society called White Boy»t
" or otherwise. ...Sive Ultagh's Children.
" Furthermore I swear, that I will be ready at an hour's warning, if possible,
" being properly summoned by any of the officers, Serjeants,, or corporals be-
' ' longing to my company.
" Furthermore I swear, that I will not wrong any of the company I belong
" to, of the value of one shilling; nor suffer it to be done by others, without
" acquainting them thereof.
" Futhermore I swear, I will not make known, in any shape whatever, to any
" person that does not belong to us, the name or names of any of our fraternity,
" but particularly the names of our respective officers.
" Lastly I swear, that I will not drink of any liquor whatsoever, whilst on
" duty, without the consent of one or other of the officers, Serjeants, or cor-
" porals ; and that we will be loyal te one another as far as in our power lies."
' 8 Journ. Com. p. 136.
76 , AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
to return thanks for the very important communications he had
been pleased to make them ; and to assure his excellency of the
entire satisfaction which they had received from his prudent and
just administration, during the course of which he had fully
maintained the dignity of the crown, and at the same time gained
the affection and esteem of the ivhole kingdom.* In consequence
of this message, the augmentation was accordingly ordered, and
another vote of credit passed for the raising of 50O,OOO/. at five
per cent. The House of Commons also shortly after resolved,
that an address should be presented to the lord lieutenant, re-
questing that he would represent to his majesty the sense of that
house, that the entertainments and appointments of the lord
lieutenant of Ireland had become inadequate to the dignity of
that high station, and that it was the humble desire *of that house
that his majesty would be pleased to grant such an augmentation
to the entertainments of the lord lieutenant for the time being, as,
with the then allowances, should in the whole amount to the
annual sum of 1G,OOO/. which measure was also effected.
At the close of the session of 1762, Lord Halifax, in his
speech to the parliament, thus alluded to the insurrections of
the White Boys :"\ " I must with concern observe, that not-
44 withstanding the exemplary behaviour of all ranks of people
" in this metropolis, and throughout the greatest part of this king-
44 dom, some distant quarters of the country have been unhap-
" pily disturbed with tumults and riots of the lower sort of peo-
44 pie. I have on this occasion been reluctantly obliged to call out
4' the military power, which is sometimes the necessary, but
44 ought always to be the last resource of government. The
44 officers ordered on that service have executed their duty with
44 activity and discretion. These tumults are, I hope, wholly
44 suppressed. Many of the persons concerned in them are in
44 custody, and await the punishment of their offences. Others
44 are fled from justice, and seem to want only an occasion
44 of returning to their respective habitations with impunity."
Amongst the various duties of the historian, it is not the last
or least, to point out the sources of disorders, as the best and
most efficient antidotes and remedies against their repetition.
Although the White Boys were generally suppressed, yet the
spirit of insurrection was not eradicated : the roots of the evil
had spread wider than the province of Munster; for elsewhere
also the lower orders were "wretched, oppressed, and impover-
ished.
As one insurrection has frequently proved to be an encourage*-
inent or prelude to another, so Ireland was soon after disturbed
* This would not have been the language of the commons, had there then
in reality existed a Popish conspiracy against the government of the country,
as the malevolent party was endeavouring to make the public believe.
\ 7 Journ. Com. p. 173.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 77
by risings in other parts, but grounded on different principles ;
Oak Boys and Hearts of Steel Boys made their appearance suc-
cessively, in the northern countries.
The highways in Ireland were formerly 'made and repaired
by the labour of housekeepers. He who had a horse, was obliged
to work six days in the year ; himself and horse : he who had
none, was to give six days labour. It had been long complained,
that the poor alone were compelled to work; that the rich had
been exempt ; that instead of mending the public roads, the sweat
of their brows was wasted on private roads, useful only to over-
seers. At length in the years 1763 and 1764, they shewed their
resentment. In the most populous, manufacturing, and conse-
quently civilized part of the province of Ulster, the inhabitants
of one parish refused to make more of what they called job-
roads. They rose almost to a man, and from the oaken
branches, which they wore'in their hats, were denominated Oak
Boys.
The discontent being as general as the grievance, the conta-
gion seized the neighbouring parishes : from parishes it flew to
baronies, and from baronies to counties, till at length the greater
part of the province was engaged. The many-headed monster
(as Dr. Campbell observes) being now roused, did not know
where to stop, but began a general redress of grievances, whether
real or imaginary. Their first object was the overseers of roads;
the second the clergy, whom they resolved to curtail of their
tithes ; the third was the landlords, the price of whose lands
(particularly the turf bogs] they set about regulating. They had
several inferior objects, which only discovered the phrensy of
insurrection.
The army was hereupon collected from the other provinces ;
for till then the province of Ulster was deemed so peaceful, that
scarcely any troops were quartered in it. The rabble was soon
dispersed, with the loss of a few lives ; and the tumult was to
appearance quelled in a few weeks. In the ensuing session of
parliament, the matter was taken into consideration ; the old
act was repealed, and provision made for the future repairs of
the roads, by levying a tax on both rich and poor. The cause
of the discontent being thus happily removed, peace and quiet
returned to their former channels. The rising of the Steel Boys
was not so general, but it was more violent, as proceeding from
a more particularly interesting cause ;....the source of it was
this : An absentee nobieman, possessed of one of the largest
estates in the kingdom, instead of letting it when out of lease,
for the highest rent, adopted a novel mode, of taking large fines
and small rents. The occupier of the ground, though willing to
give the highest rent, was unable to pay the fines ; and therefore
78 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
dispossessed by the wealthy undertaker, who not contented with
a moderate interest for his money, racked the rents to a pitch
above the reach of the old tenant.
Upon this the people rose against forestallers, destroying their
houses, and maiming their cattle, which now occupied their for-
mer farms. When thus driven to acts of desperation, they knew
not how to confine themselves to their original object, but be-
came like the Oak Boi/s^ general reformers. The army however
soon subdued them, and some who were made prisoners, having
suffered by the hands of the executioner, the country was re-
stored to its pristine tranquillity. Both these insurrections being
in the north, the most opulent, populous, and civilized part of the
kingdom, we may observe have no similitude to that of the
White Boys in the south, either in their causes or in their effects,
except in the general idea of oppression. The cause which
generated the one being removed, and that of the other being
only temporary, the duration of neither was long : the rise and
fall of each was like that of a mountain river, which swelled by
a broken cloud, at once overwhelms all around, and then shrinks
down as suddenly into its accustomed bed.
The government of Lord Halifax ended with the session of
1762 : this year was an eventful sera to the British empire. Mr.
Pitt*, and afterwards the Duke of Newcastle, retired from his
majesty's councils to make room for Lord Bute's administration,
who is now generally admitted to have brought with him the
highest sublimation of Tory principles (with the exception of
facobitism}, and to have commanded more personal influence
over his sovereign, than a Buckingham or a Clarendon. This
change in his majesty's councils was the first check given to the
Whig interest, by a prince of the house of Brunswick.
No part of the British empire was more sincerely and deeply
affected by the success of his majesty's arms and the security of
his government than Ireland. Upon the resignation of Mr.
Pitt, and the consequent decline of the Whig interest,! to let
* Mr. Pitt, whose vigorous and successful administration had much endeared
him to the people, having- in October 1761 proposed in the cabinet an imme-
diate declaration against Spain, which he knew had recently entered into an
alliance with France against Great Britain, and being only supported by his
brother-in law, Earl Temple, he immediately resigned, in order, to use his own
words, not to remain responsible for measures, which be was no longer allowed to
guide. The king granted him a pension of 3000/. which with some difficulty
and risk of his popularity he accepted : though he then refused the peerage,
which he afterwards accepted. But his lady was created Baroness of Chat-
ham, with remainder to her heirs male.
f The truly masterly strokes of Mr. Burke upon this subject cannot fail to
instruct and delight the reader. In his Thoughts on the present Discontents,
\vritten in 1770, whilst the nation was sensibly alive to the consequences of
this new system, he analizes it from its source ; and although it operated only
by rebound, and perhaps imperfectly upon Ireland, yet in the uncontrolled
dependance of the Jrish administration on the British cabinet, his observations
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 79
in the Earl of Bute with new and opposite, but worse than the
old Tory principles, the merchants and traders of Dublin in a
cannot be irrelevant to Ireland. " The power of the crown," says he, " almost
dead and rotten, as prerogative, has grown up anew with much more strength,
and far less odium, under the name of influence. At the Revolution the crown,
deprived, for the ends of the revolution itself, of many prerogatives, was
found too weak to struggle against all the difficulties, which pressed so new
and unsettled a government. The court was obliged therefore to delegate a
part of its powers to men of such interest, as could support, and of such fidelity,
as would adhere to its establishment. Such men were able to draw in a great
number to a concurrence in the common defence. This connection, necessary
at first, continued long after convenient, and properly conducted, might indeed
in all situations be an useful instrument of government. The powerful mana-
gers for government were not sufficiently submissive to the pleasure of the pos-
sessors of the immediate and personal favour ; sometimes from a confidence
in their own strength, natural and acquired : sometimes from a fear of offend-
ing their friends, and weakening that lead in the country, which gave them a
consideration independent of the court. Men acted as if the court could
receive, as well as confer an obligation. This method of governing by men of
great national interest or great acquired consideration was viewed in a very
invidious light by the true lovers of absolute monarchy. It is the nature of
despotism to abhor power held by any means but its own momentary pleasure ;
and to annihilate all intermediate situations between boundless strength on its
own part, and total debility on the part of the people. To get rid of all this
intermediate and independent importance, and to secure to the court the un-
limited and uncontrolled use of its own vast influence, under the sole direction
of its own private favour, has for some years past been the great object of
policy. If this were compassed, the influence of the crown must of course pro-
duce all the effects, which the most sanguine partisans of the court could pos-
sibly desire. Government might then be carried on without any concurrence
on the part of the people ; without any attention to the dignity of the greater,
or to the affections of the lower sorts. A new project was therefore devised,
by a certain set of intriguing men, totally different from the system of adminis-
tration, which had prevailed since the accession of the house of Brunswick.
This project I have heard was first conceived by some persons in the court
of Frederick Prince of Wales. The earliest attempt in the excecution of
this design was to set up for minister, a person in rank indeed respectable, and
very ample in fortune ; but who, to the moment of this vast and sudden eleva-
tion, was little known or considered in the kingdom : to him the whole nation
was to yield an immediate and implicit submission. But whether it was for
want of firmness to bear up against the first opposition, or that things were not
yet fully ripened, or that this method was not found the most eligible, that idea
was soon abandoned. The instrumental part of the project was a little altered
to accommodate it to the time, and to bring things more gradually and more
surely to the one great end proposed. The first part of the reformed plan was to
draw a line which should separate the court from the ministry. Hitherto these
names had been looked upon as synonimous, but for the future, court and
administration were to be considered as things totally distinct. By this opera-
tion, two systems of administration were to be formed; one, which should be
in the real secret and confidence ; the other merely ostensible, to perform the
official and executory duties of government. The latter were alone to be re-
sponsible, whilst the real advisers, who enjoyed all the power were effectually
removed from all the danger. Secondly, a party under these leaders was to-
be formed in favour of the court against the ministry : this party was to have,
a large share in the emoluments of government, and to hold it totally separate
from, and independent of ostensible administration. The third point, and that,
on which the success of the whole scheme ultimately depended, was to bring
parliament to an acquiescence in this project. Parliament was therefore to
be taught by degrees a total indifference to the persons, rank, influence, abili^
80 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
body, not indeed legally representing, but well known to speak
the sentiments of the great majority of the people of Ireland,
ties, connections, and character of the ministers of the crown, by means of a
discipline, on which I shall say more hereafter; that body was to be habituated
to the most opposite interests, and the most discordant politics. All con-
nections and dependencies :imong subjects were to be entirely dissolved. As
hitherto business had gone through the hands of leaders of Whigs or Tories,
men of talents to conciliate the people, and engage to their confidence, now
the method was to be altered; and the lead was to be given to men of no sort
of consideration or credit in the country. This want of natural importance was
to be their very title to delegated power. Members of parliament were to be
hardened into an insensibility to pride, as well as to duty. Those high and
haughty sentiments, which are the great support of independence, were to be
Jet down gradually. Point of honour and precedence were no more to be re-
garded in parliamentary decorum, than in a Turkish army. It was to be
avowed as a constitutional maxim, that the king might appoint one of his
footmen, or one of your footmen, for minister ; and that lie ought to be, and
that he would be, as well followed as the first name for rank or wisdom in the
nation. Thus parliament was to look on, as if perfectly unconcerned ; while a
cabal of the closet and back stairs was substituted in the place of a national
administration. With such a degree of acquiescence, any measure of any
court might well be deemed thoroughly secure. The capital objects, and by
much the most flattering characteristics of arbitrary power, would be obtained.
Every thing would be drawn from its holdings in the country to the personal
favour and inclination of the prince. This favour would be the sole introduc-
tion to power, and the whole tenure, by which it was to be held : so that no
person looking towards another, and all looking towards the court, it was im-
possible, but that the motive, which solely influenced every man's hopes, must
come in time to govern every man's conduct ; till at last the servility became
universal, in spite of the dead letter of any laws or institutions whatsoever.
In the first place, they proceeded gradually, but not slowly, to destroy every
thing of strength which did not derive its principal nourishment from the im-
mediate pleasure of the court. The greatest weight of popular opinion and
party connection were then with the Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Pitt. Neither
of these held their importance by the new tenure of the court ; they were not
therefore thought to be so proper as others for the services which were re-
quired by that tenure. It happened very favourably for the new system, that
under a forced coalition there rankled an incurable alienation and disgust be-
tween the parties, which composed the administration. Mr. Pitt was first at-
tacked. Not satisfied with removing him from power, they endeavoured by
various artifices to ruin his character. The other patty seemed rather pleased
to get rid of so oppressive a support; not perceiving, that their own fall was
prepared by his, and involved in it. Many other reasons prevented them from
daring to look their true situation in the face. To the great Whig families it
was extremely disagreeable, and seemed almost unnatural, to oppose the ad-
ministration of a prince of the house of Brunswick. l)ay after day they hesi-
tated, and doubted, and lingered, expecting that other counsels would take
place ; and were slow to be persuaded, that all which had been done by the
cabal, was the efiect not of humour, but of system. It was more strongly and
evidently the interest of the new court faction, to get rid of the great Whig
connections, than to destroy Mr. Pitt. The po\\'er of that gentleman was vast
indeed and merited ; but it was in a great degree personal, and therefore tran-
sient. Theirs was rooted in the country. For with a good deal less of popu-
larity, they possessed a far moie natural and fixed iniluence. Long posses-
sion of government; vast properly ; obligations of favours given and received-;
connection of office ; t*es of blood, of alliance, of friendship (things at that time
supposed of some force) ; the name of Whig, dear to the majority of the peo-
ple ; the zeal early begun and steadily continued to the royal family: all these
together formed a body of power in the nation, which was criminal and de-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. ei
presented a most grateful address to Mr. Pitt, expressive of their
admiration of his principles and conduct, and their sincere con-
dolence that his country was deprived of his services.* The
voted. The great ruling principle of the cabal, and that which animated and
harmonized all their proceedings, how various soever they may have been, was
to signify to the world, that the court would proceed upon its own proper forces
only ; and that the pretence of bringing any other into its service was an affront
to it, and not a support. Therefore, when the chiefs were removed, inorderto
go to the root, the whole party was put under a proscription so general and se-
vere, as to take their hard-earned bread from the lowest officers, in a manner
which had never been known before, even in general revolutions. But it was
thought necessary effectually to destroy all dependencies but one, and to shew
an example of the firmness and rigour with which the new system was to be
supported.
. " 1 rest a little the longer on this court topic, because it was much insisted up-
on at the time of the greatchange, and has been since frequently revived by many
of the agents of that party : for, whilst they are terrifying the great and opulent
with the horrors of mob-government, they are by other managers attempting
(though hitherto with little success) to alarm the people with a phantom of
tyranny in the nobles. All this is done upon their favourite principle of disunion,
of sowing jealousies amongst the different orders of the state, and of disjoining
the natural scrength of the kingdom, that it may be rendered incapable of re-
sisting the sinister designs of wicked men, who have engrossed the royal
power.
" It must be remembered, that since the revolution, until the period we are
speaking of, the influence of the crown had been always employed in support-
ing the ministers of state, and in carrying on the public business according to
their opinions. But the party now in question is formed upon a very different
idea. It is to intercept tlie favour, protection, and confidence of the crown in
the passage to its ministers ; it is to come between them and their importance
in parliament ; it is to separate them from all their natural and acquired de-
pendancies ,- it is intended as the control, not the support of administration.
The machinery of this system is perplexed in its movements, and false in its
principle. It is formed on a supposition that the king is something external
to his government, and that he may be honoured and agg. andized, even by its
debility and disgrace. The plan proceeds expressly on the idea of enfeebling
the regular executory power. It proceeds in the idea of weakening the state
in order to strengthen the court. The scheme depending entirely on distrust,
on disconnection, on mutability by principle, on systematic weakness in every
particular member ; it is impossible, that the total result should be substantial
strength of any kind."
Then having given a most pointed sketch of this new court corporation, he
says : " The name, by which they chuse to distinguish themselves, is that of
king's inent or the king's/fiends, by invidious exclusion of the rest of his majes-
ty's most loyal and affectk/nate subjects. The whole system, comprehending
the exterior and interior administrations, is commonly called, in the technical
language of the court, double cc.binet. This system has not risen solely from
the ambition of Lord Bute, but from the circumstances which favoured it, and
from an indifference to the constitution, which had been for sometime grow-
ing among our gentry. We should have been tried with it, if the Earl of Bute
had never existed ; and it will want neither a contriving head nor active mem-
bers, when the Earl of Bute exists no longer." Thus spoke this great man in
the unchecked vigour of his mind, ere he had yet discovered the difference be-
tween an Old and a New Whig.
* It has often been said, that the late Earl of Chatham was a Tory at heart,
notwithstanding his boasted avowals of Whiggism. That in his youth he was a
Tory appears more than probable ; but it would bi too harsh a censure to pass
VOL. II. J.
82 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
merchants, traders, and citizens of Dublin at this time being the
most opulent and considerable body of men in the kingdom, ap-
pear to have taken the lead of all their countrymen in watching
and forwarding^ according to their rights and abilities, the civil in-
terests of the nation ; in which they were encouraged and direct-
ed by the famous Dr. Lucas, who (after having triumphed over
all his enemies and persecutors) now represented them in par-
liament.
On the very first day of the session of the last parliament (viz.
22 Oct. 1761) the commons ordered, that leave be given to bring
in heads of a bill to limit the duration of parliaments : and Dr.
Lucas, Mr. Perry, and Mr. Gorges Lowiher were ordered to
bring in the same.f This favourite and constitutional measure
had been most strongly recommended by Dr. Lucas, in imitation
of the English septennial bill : he accordingly presented accord-
ing to order, on the 28th of October, heads of a bill for limiting
the duration of parliaments, which were received, read, and
committed : several amendments were proposed and adopted
in the committee. On the 9th of December, 1761, Mr. Low-
ther, according to order, reported from the committee of the
whole house, to whom the heads of the bill had been commit-
ted, that they had gone through the same, which he read in his
place, and afterwards delivered in at the table ; and they were
accordingly read and agreed to. But when a motion was made,
and the question put, that the speaker with the house should at-
tend his excellency the lord lieutenant with the heads of the
bill, and desire the same might be transmitted into Great Britain
in due form, and that his excellency would be pleased to recom-
mend the same in the most effectual manner to his majesty ;
the house divided, 43 for the motion, and 108 against it. This
majority of 65 upon a question so reasonable, so necessary, and
so constitutional, shews the rapid decline of the patriotic interest
in Ireland after the late changes : the reduction of which was
very artfully effected by the two first of the lord justices, Pri-
mate Stone, the Earl of Shannon, and Mr. John Ponsonby, the
speaker. The house however ordered, that Mr. G. Lowther
should attend his excellency the lord lieutenant with the said
heads of a bill, and desire the same might be transmitted into
Great Britain in due form. Thus was Mr. Lucas's first patri-
otic bill lost, to the no small disappointment and mortification of
the people out of doors. It is highly material to observe, that
in proportion as patriots fell off in parliament, they sprang up out
of it. This ministerial triumph was followed by no popular dis-
on so great a statesman, to conclude that his conversion to Whiggism was
the effect of interest, and not of conviction. Vid. the address. App. No.
LX1X.
t 7 Com. Journ. p. 14.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. S3
turbance, but great discontent : it produced a more alarming ef-
fect upon the castle : riot and insurrection they could easily have
subdued, and the quelling thereof would have justified the very
measures, that had excited them. But the people's cool, con-
siderate, and firm conduct in investigating and peaceably fol-
lowing up their rights and interests, was truly to be dreaded by
those, who were attempting to invade and thwart them. After
much canvassing the conduct of their popular representatives in
parliament on this important occasion, in March 1762 the mer-
chants, traders, and citizens of Dublin having assembled, came
to the following resolutions, viz.
" Resolved, That we shall ever retain the most grateful re-
" membrance of the several lords and commons, who, in their
" respective stations, have so eminently distinguished them-
" selves in support of the Septennial Bill.
" Resolved, That although we rest secure against common
" enemies, under the protection daily given us by Great Britain,
" our protection against domestic invaders depends wholly on
u the limitation of parliaments.
" Resolved, That the clandestine arts which are usually prac-
" tised (and have been sometimes detected) in obstructing of
" bills tending to promote the Protestant interest, ought to make
" Protestants the more active in supporting the Septennial Bill ;
" the rather, as no doubt can remain, that a septennial limitation
" of parliaments, would render the generality of landlords assi-
" duous in procuring Protestant tenants, and that the visible
u advantage accruing, would induce others to conform.
" Resolved, That these, our resolutions, be presented to the
" representatives of this city in parliament, intreating they will
" immediately take into their most serious consideration, the
" state of the Septennial Bill, now five months in its pi-ogress ;
u- the session of parliament near its end ; all aids within the
" ability of this nation given with unanimity and cheerfulness to
" the crown ; and nothing yet known, with certainty, touching
" this act of redress."
These resolutions, and other popular expressions of the gene-
ral discontent at the failure of the Septennial Bill raised an aw-
ful alarm in government : and they most unwisely rivetted the
convictions of the people, that the British ministry was against
the measure, by a counter-declaration wrapped up in the follow-
ing resolutions of the House of Commons.*
" Resolved, That the suggestions confidently propagated, that
" the heads of a bill for limiting the duration of parliaments,
" and ascertaining the qualifications of members to serve in par-
" liament, if they had returned from England, would have been
* On the 26th«of April 1762. Com. Journ. vol. 7, p. 166.
8-4 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" rejected by this house, though in nowise materially altered,
" are without foundation." Loudly as the public called for
such a law, several years past, and imperious circumstances
arose, ere Ireland obtained it. The failure in this attempt did
not abate the patriotic efforts of Dr. Lucas. He presented
heads of a bill for securing the freedom of parliament, by ascer-
taining the qualifications for knights, citizens, and burgesses of
parliament, and also of another bill for better securing the free-
dom of parliament, by vacating the seat of such members of the
House of Commons, as should accept of any lucrative office or
employment from the Crown, or any person on the establish-
ment of Great Britain or Ireland : neither of which succeeded :
such was the ascendancy of the court party over the patriots :
It was now no longer called the English interest, for Primate
Stone was too good a politician to keep up that offensive term,
after he had so successfully brought over some of the leading
patriots to his side, who in supporting all the measures of the
British cabinet, affected to do it, still as 7mA Patriots.
The Earl of Halifax had been recalled to England to succeed
Mr. G. Grenviiie as secretary of state :* and the Earl of Nor-
thumberland came over as lord lieutenant to Ireland to meet the
parliament, in October, 1763. His speech to the parliament, on
this occasion, was expressive of his majesty's just and gracious
regard for a dutiful and loyal people: he congratulated them on
the happy effects of so glorious a peace, and the birth of the
Prince of Wales, and also of another prince. The remainder
of his speech, referred to the disturbances in the province of
Ulster, of which mention has been before made. " Not only,"
said his excellency, " my duty, but my earnest good wishes for
" the prosperity of Ireland, oblige me to take this opportunity
" of mentioning to you, the only unpleasing circumstance, which
" has occurred since my entrance upon this government ; the tu-
" multuous risings of the lower sort of people, in contempt of
*' all laws and magistracy, and of every constitutional subordi-
" nation, must, if not early attended to, be productive of the
" most fatal consequences ; they are a disgrace to a country of
" liberty ; they are ruinous to a country of commerce ; and
" must be particularly fatal here, where the least check to the
" rising spirit of industry is so very sensibly felt, and so very
" difficult to be relieved ; no means can serve more effectually
" to prevent these disorders for the future, than the encourage-
" ment of such institutions, as tend to impress on the minds
" of the lower order of the people early habits of industry, and
" true principles of religion."
* This happened on the 14th of October, 1762, which situation he held till
July 12, 1765, when he was succeeded by the Duke of Grafton.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. «$
I It has been before observed,* that the chief of the Munster
insurgents, called White Boys, were Catholic labourers : and
that the chief of the Ulster insurgents called Steel Boys, Oak
Boys, Peep of Day Boys, were chiefly manufacturing Protes-
tants in the north : but as religion was no ingredient to these
tumultuous insurrections, it was certainly something more than
hasty or inconsiderate prejudice in the House of Commons,
when in 1762f they appointed a committee to enquire into the
causes and progress of the subsisting Popish insurrection in the
province of Munster : J and when in 1 764 they appointed a si-
milar committee to enquire into the causes of the late tumultu-
ous risings in the province of Uslter ; so far indeed was the
house from calling them Protestant insurrections, which in fact
they were, as much as those in Munster were Popish, that when
a motion was made and the question proposed, that it should be
an instruction to the committee to enquire into the causes of
those risings, and into the means used to suppress them, and
also to enquire into the causes of the insurrections in the south,
and to report the whole matter, as it should appear to them spe-
cially, it was negatived in a division upon the previous question
of eighty against twenty-six : thus was the door shut against en-
quiry, probably from apprehension, that the truth should be re-
corded, and an effectual stop put to the system of converting
popular discontents into the engines of state intrigues, to the
palpable detriment of the nation : for to know the source of a
disorder, is the first step to its cure. When the majority of the
house rejected this most necessary motion for enquiry and re-
port, § they received from their committee several resolutions,
which Mr. Bagwell reported to the house, and these they palmed
upon the nation, as an efficient check upon the various tumultu-
ous rioters. They were truisms in form of resolutions, that
riots existed, that unless checked they would be attended with
fatal consequences, that the laws if properly executed were suf-
ficient to restrain the rioters, that it was the duty of magistrates
to enforce the law, that to tender oaths, (not being lawfully au-
thorized) with threats and violence in case of refusal, was a high
offence punishable by law, and that it would tend to suppress
and prevent the like disorders, if the abhorrence in which go-
vernment and parliament held these treasonable offences, were
made known to the deluded people. Such unmeaning gene-
ralities could produce no effect. They gave no information :
they furnished no redress : they supplied no means : they af-
forded no security : they effected no restraint.
* On the impartial authority of Arthur Young.
t Journ. Com. vol. 7, p. 161. \ Ibid. p. 293. ^ Ibid.
86 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Notwithstanding the patriots had so often failed in their par-
liamentary efforts to bring measures into some constitutional
consistency, they still persevered, particularly in their attempt
to reduce and regulate the pension list. The commons resolved
themselves into a committee of the whole house to take into con-
sideration the state of the pensions upon the civil establishment
of that kingdom, and how the encrease of them might be pre-
vented : but the motion for addressing his majesty on the sub-
ject was negatived on a division of 112 against 73. So weak
were now the patriots in the commons.* Pensions continued
to be lavished with unchecked profusion. The debate on this
* This motion being very special and important, will let the candid reader
into the spirit, which at that time, (8th of November, 1763) directed the
councils of the Irish administration. 7 Journ Com. p. 198. " A motion was
" made, that an humble address be presented to his majesty, to represent in
" the most dutiful terms, that the debt of this kingdom is become very great.
" That the pensions now in being, that have been placed on the establishments of
" this kingdom, are one of the causes of the encrease of the public debt. That
those pensions have been paid, and continue to be paid out of all the reve-
nues of this kingdom without distinction. That it appears to this house to
' be worthy of his majesty's royal consideration, whether the grants that have
' been made of those pensions are agreeable to or warranted by the laws of
' this kingdom, and whether the revenues of the crown, that have been given
' for public uses, ought, or can by law be applied to pensions : and therefore
' most humbly do beseech his majesty to order it to be made known, as his
' majesty's royal will and command, to the officers of the treasury of this king-
' dom, that no part of the revenues of excise, customs, poundage, hearth money,
' quit rents, ale licences, wine, or strong water licences, or of the additional
' duties granted or to be granted in this kingdom,' for any limited term, be
' paid or applied to any pension or annuity granted or to be granted out of, or
' which may any ways charge or effect the said revenue of excise, customs,
' poundage, hearth money, quit rents, ale licences, wine, and strong water li-
' cences, and additional duties, or any of the said revenues, till it shall first
' be determined by a court of justice of competent jurisdiction, that the crown
may grant annuities or pensions out of the said revenues ; and that his ma-
jesty may be graciously pleased to give his royal orders to the officers of the
treasury, that no pensions be paid out of the said revenues, in any other man-
ner than the judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction shall
determine to be just, and agreeable to the laws of this kingdom ; and that
his majesty be graciously pleased to order his majesty's servants of the law
' in this kingdom, to make that defence that the laws of this kingdom
' shall warrant, to every suit that shall be commenced or carried on by any
' pensioner or annuitant, claiming any part of the said revenues, till it shall
' be judicially determined in the most solemn manner, and by the dernier
' resort, that the crown may grant pensions or annuities out of the said reve-
' nues. That his majesty's faithful commons nevertheless do by no means
' intend,, that the crown shall be deprived of the means of rewarding merit
or conferring those bounties on proper occasions, that the honour and dip-
nity of the crown may require ; but that his majesty's faithful commons, on
the contrary, will be ready to provide a revenue such as the condition and
' circumstances of this kingdom shall admit of, to enable the crown to reward
' merit, and on proper occasions to confer those bounties that may be suitable
' to the honour and dignity of the crown, if it shall be determined, that the
present revenues of the crown, that have been given for public uses, ought
not to be applied to pensions. Provided those revenues be reserved and
applied to the support of Ins majesty's government in this kingdom only,"
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 8f
question was rather warm. *Mr. J. Fitzgerald took the lead
on the patriot side. He stated, (and was not contradicted) that
the pensions then charged upon the civil establishment of that
kingdom amounted to no less than 72,OOO/. per ann. besides the
French and military pensions, and besides the sums paid for old
and now unnecessary employments, and those paid in unneces-
sary additions to the salaries of others : that the pensions there-
fore exceeded the civil list above 42,000/. : that not only since
the house in 1757 had voted the encrease of pensions alarming,
had they been yearly encreased ; but that in the time of a most
expensive war, and when the country had willingly and cheer-
fully increased a very considerable national debt ; and when the
additional influence of the crown from the levying of new regi-
ments might well have substituted the necessity of new pen-
sionary gratifications. He then drew a piteous portrait of the
country ; not one third peopled ; two thirds of the people unem-
ployed, consequently indolent, wretched and discontented ;
neither foreign trade, nor home consumption sufficient to dis-
tribute the conveniences of life among them with reasonable
equality, or to pay any tax proportionable to their number ; what
new mode of taxation could be devised ? Would they tax leather,
where no shoes were worn, or tallow where no candles were
burned ? They could not tax the roots of the earth and the water
on which the wretched peasantry existed ; they could tax no
commodity, that would not defeat itself, by working a prohibi-
tion. He then entered into the legal and constitutional rights
of the crown over the public revenue, and strongly resisted the
assumed right of charging the public revenue with private pen-
sions. The crown, he contended, had a public and private reve-
nue ; the public it received as a trustee for the public ; the private
it received in its own right ; the former arose out of temporary
duties, and was appropriated by parliament to specific public
purposes, and was not left to the discretionary disposal of the
crown. The latter did not in Ireland exceed 7000/. per ann.
and the pensions amounting to 7200O/. exceeded the fund, which
could alone be charged with them by 6500O/. per ann.
The court party strenuously resisted these arguments, as an
unconstitutional and indecent attack upon the prerogative ; in-
sisting that the regal dignity should be supp6rted by a power
to reward as well as to punish ; that the king was not to hold a
sword in one hand and a barren sceptre in the other ; that the
two great springs of all actions were hope and fear ; and where
fear only operated, love could have no place ; that a people
stimulated only by fear, however free, and whatever advantages
of government they might boast, were in a worst state, than the
« 1 Cald. Deb. p. 213, 14,15.
88 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
subjects of a despotic prince. In a word, that an enquiry into
the legality of these grants would restrain the king's power of
doing good. What the opinion of the government was upon the
question, was very explicitly set forth by the regular law-officer
of the crown, Mr. Philip Tisdal, the attorney-general ; he was
of opinion, that the king had an indefinite and uncontrolled right
to charge the money brought into the treasury with pensions
arising from the words of the preamble of the statutes, by which
the several duties were laid : and that the crown had this power
with respect to duties raised by the very statutes, that declare
them not chargeable with pensions ; for that the barring clauses
with respect to the hearth money and ale licences could affect
them only before they were brought into the treasury, and that
the moment they became part of the aggregate fund, they were
indiscriminately a supply for the exigencies of government and
its support.
On another *day, when a motion in the house was carried for
taking into consideration the state of the pensions, Mr. R. Fitz-
gerald took occasion to state to the house, what was not contra-
dicted by those, whose duty as well as disposition it was to
correct any false statement, upon matters of so much importance
and notoriety. It lamentably proves, that the poverty and de-
pendance of Ireland were wished to be continued by those, who
then governed her. Instead of 30 regiments upon the establish-
ment, there then were 42, with the same number of men, viz.
12,000 :. this augmentation of 12 regiments, besides a large addi-
tion of court influence, created an additional expenditure of
15,OOO/. per annum, so that the military establishment then
amounted to 100,000/. per annum, more than in the height of
the war, besides military contingencies and barracks, which
amounted to a very considerable sum : that in fact the military
vand. civil establishment with the pensions would only leave
30,OOO/. out of the whole revenue of the country ; which sum
would be more than swallowed up by the artillery and laboratory,
an amphibious institution, that might be carried on without
control : that the staff of general officers in Ireland amounted to
22,000/. per annum, though in England it did not exceed
11,OOO/. and notwithstanding, there were seldom general officers
sufficient in Dublin to form a board.
The patriots had so managed the enquiry into the pensions,
that they had on the 9th of the month brought the house to agree,
that the pensions on the civil establishment were an intolerable
grievance: on the same day they passed an unanimous resolu-
tion, that on the Tuesday following, they should take that griev-
ance into consideration, which they deferred to the next day,
• 12 Nov. 1763. 1 Cald. Deb. p. 308.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 89
when a most violent and angry debate ensued, upon the attorney
general's moving, that the question should be adjourned to the
1st of July next: the division for putting off the enquiry was
126, against it 78.*
The tenacity and perseverance, with which the patriots pur-
sued this abuse of pensions extremely annoyed the court party:
they could not have taken more popular ground. A pension of
WOOl. had been granted to Mr. De Verois, the Sardinian am-
bassador (in the name of George Charles), for having negoti-
ated the peace, which had been lately concluded with the minister
of France. On this ground Mr. Pery moved the house, that
* 8 Com. Journ. p. 227. In this debate Mr. Pery, member for Limerick,
spoke thus : 1 Cald. p. 324. " I am sorry to say that, notwithstanding these
resolutions, I have but too much reason to believe the sitting of such a com-
mittee was never intended ; and I think it my duty to communicate such rea-
son of my belief to the House. As I was coming last Monday from the four
courts, in my chair, I was stopped by a particular friend, a gentleman of great
worth and consequence, who asked me, whether I intended to go that day to
the House. I answered, that I did not, as I knew of nothing that made my
attendance necessary; and that, as I' had been much fatigued by business of
the House, and by the courts, I intended to make that a day of rest." He
replied, " You may not only take your rest this day, but every other day of
" the sessions, for things are now fixed so as to admit of no alteration ; no en-
" quiry will be made into the state of the pensions, nor any thing else done,
" but what has been agreed upon with those, who are to take the lead." To
this I answered with great surprise, that I could scarce think what he told me
was possible : that the House had been unanimous for examination, and had
actually appointed a committee for that purpose, but a few days ago ; that the
public expected it, and to disappoint them in an expectation so reasonable, and
on an occasion so important, would be wholly inconsistent with the dignity, as
well as the duty of the House, as the members would then appear to be no-
thing more than state puppets, with wires In their noses ; by which they were
turned first one way, and then another, just as those, who had the management
of them thought fit."
Mr. Pery was interrupted by the attorney general, who addressed himself in
a very angry strain to the House. " I hope every gentleman in this House
feels a proper disdain at being represented as a puppet, moved by dictates of
another's will, and sufficient spirit to shew, by his conduct, that he acts upon
principles of freedom and independence, by the determination of his own judg.
ment. As to the enquiry in question, I shall, for my own part, oppose it from
a full conviction, that it is unnecessary ; what could we hope more from this
enquiry, than an assurance from his majesty, that he has considered the grie-
vance, and will redress it ? And this assurance he has been graciously pleased
to give us already. It is indeed true, that this assurance has not come before
the House, with the solemnity of a formal message ; but gentlemen seem to for-
get that his majesty could not communicate it in that manner, consistent with
his character and dignity. The intimation to the lord lieutenant is a favour,
und, if his majesty is graciously pleased to wave his prerogative in our behalf,
are \vc to expect, that he should do it in a way, that would imply a conscious-
ness of his having abused it ? His majesty has, in this instance, treated us
with condescension and kindness, of which, I may venture to say, we have no
precedent ; and shall we return it with remonstrance and complaints ? Shall
we refuse a favour from our gracious prince, merely because it is not offered
in a manner that would degrade himself?''
VOL. II. M
90 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
an humble address* should be presented to his majesty, strongly
expressive of the impropriety and mischief of such grants, which
produced a still more impassioned debate than the former ; the
address was negatived by 124 against 58. The prevailing argu-
ment on the court side was used by Mr. Gore, the solicitor
general. " The voice," said he, " of the majority, is the voice
*' of the nation, and in that once given we ought to acquiesce.
*' Give me leave, Sir, to add, that the majority, by which the
*' late question has been determined, consists of gentlemen of
" rank and abilities ; gentlemen, who have great property to se-
" cure, and great characters to maintain ; and I think there never
u sate in any national assembly of any age, or any country, per-
*' sons, who had more the constitutional rights of the people at
" heart, or knew better how they were to be maintained." The
prominent zeal of Mr. Gore in supporting the court party was
soon rewarded ; he was raised over the head of Mr. Tisdall, the
attorney general, to the head of the King's Bench, and was soon
after created Lord Annally. With unrelenting perseverance
the patriots followed up this popular ground of opposition. On
the 13th of December Mr. Pery again came forward, and al-
though he had been very unfortunate in the proposals, that he
had made with a view tathe public advantage, yet, said he, it
was his duty to persevere ; let the current therefore run ever so
strongly against him, he was determined to strive against it to
the last ; and though he might not be able to stop, or turn its
* 7 Com. Journ. p. 239. 24 Nov. 1T63. A motion \vas made, andtheqviestion
being put, that an humble address be presented to his majesty, to assure his
majesty of the inviolable attachment to his royal person and family; that we
have the firmest reliance on his majesty's wisdom, justice, and tender regard
for his subjects of this kingdom ; but that we should fail in our duty to his
majesty, and desert the trust reposed in us by those we represent, should we
longer defer laying before his majesty the real state of this kingdom, which
we have some reason to fear may not yet have been fully presented to his ma-
jesty's view. That we presume to do so from a firm persuasion, that his ma-
jesty will not believe, that we are prompted to it by the spirit of faction, but
impelled by the necessities of the kingdom ; and that we have nothing in
view but his majesty's honour and prosperity of our country. That during the
late successful war we exerted our utmost efforts for the support of his ma-
icsty's government, aiv.l to raise such supplies as his majesty thought necessary
for his service, though it was with the greatest difficulty we could even provide
for payment of the interest of the sums we were obliged to borrow for that pur-
pose. But at the same time we could not without the utmost concern observe,
'though we lamented it in silence, the great continual encrease of pensions,
and that a considerable part of the sums, which were destined for public uses,
were diverted to private purposes. That this is one great cause of the heavy debt,
which oppresses the kingdom, and which we can scarce ever hope to discharge,
deprived as we arc of those resources from trade, with which the other parts
of his majesty's domains are blessed. That any considerable addition to this
burthen must depopulate this kingdom, already much exhausted of its inhabi-
tants. That we presume with all humility to lay these our circumstances
before his majesty, not doubting, that they will excite in his royal breast these
sentiments, which are so natural to his princely disposition.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 91
course, his resistance to it would at least prevent his being car-
ried away before it.* He accordingly moved', though with
* Mr. Pery's introduction to his motion is so illustrative of the history of
his country at this critical period, that the reader will thank me for subjoining it.
2 Cald. p. 578. " I have greater reason to hope for success in my present
proposal, than in any that I have yet made, for it is a proposal to do what
his majesty has, in the most gracious and emphatical manner, recommended
to he done in his speech from the thrcne, the practice of ccconomy, and the
reduction of our debt." The words of the speech tire these, " The situation
of public affairs will permit a very considerable diminution of the pubiic
expence, and I am only to thank you for your past efforts, without again
having- recourse to the experienced liberality of parliament, I have nothing to
ask but a continuance of the supplies, for the support of the ordinary estab-
lishment, which, it is hoped, will not exceed the produce of the ordinary
revenue, and I recommend to you a proper attention to the reduction cf the
public debt." I am sorry there should be any occasion to enforce an address,
with which it is so manifestly both our interest and duty to comply, yet certain
it is, that we have so far neglected it, that a conduct directly opposite to that
here recommended has already brought us to the verge of ruin, and, if con-
tinued, will plunge us to the bottom. That I may not appear to create evils,
which I do not find, I shall represent the present situation of this country by
n series of facts, too notorious not to be believed, and too formidable not to be
feared; by which it will appear, that we have tamely and silently acquiesced
in the violation of these assurances, and totally neglected this advice. We
have been so far from being relieved from the burthen of taxes, which, when
they were indispensably necessary, we were little able to bear, that an unex-
pected requisition of supplies has been made with a long train of pensions,
which exceed the expence of all other branches of the civil establishment, by
above forty-two thousand pounds. The number of military officers is en-
creased, not only far beyond what it has ever been in time of peace, but even
beyond what it has ever been during the most dangerous war. We have two
more regiments of dragoons, and four regiments of foot, more than ever ;
besides four old regiments of horse; the expence of general officers is encreased
no less than thirteen thousand pounds a year, though there were not a sufficient
number of them in this kingdom, to attend the last reduction of forces ; the
expence of the ordnance is, in two years, swelled from ten thousand six hun-
dred pounds, to above forty-five thousand pounds, though the whole artillery
of the kingdom is not equal to the ordnance of a frigate of thirty guns, and
every other branch of the civil and military establishment is encreased nearly
in the same proportion, so that the expence of the nation for these two years
appears, by the most exact calculation, to exceed its whole revenue more than
three hundred and fourteen thousand pounds, which deficiency being added to
the national debt, we must at the next meeting of parliament owe more than
one million. It appears also by calculation, that the present establishments in
time of peace exceed the establishments during the last war more than ninety-
seven thousand pounds. Let us now, sir, pause a moment, and consider what
we have been doing ; and how we have availed ourselves of a situation of
affairs, which admits a considerable diminution of the public expence ; how
we have fulfilled his majesty's gracious admonition to attend to the reduction
of our public debt ? We have granted all the supplies, that have been demand-
ed for tlie support of these establishments, however unsuitable to the circum-
stances of the kingdom, however unsupportable to the people, however con-
ti-ary to the declarations fr.im the throne, however incompatible with an atten-
tion graciously recommended from it. Let our zeal and affection for his
majesty be our apology, and an unlimited confidence in his goodness be our
praise ; but let us at least apprize him of the sacrifice we have made ; let
us with all humility represent the danger we have incurred ; let us solicit his
protection, and though we have given up our all, and even more than our all,
he will not keep it to ow destruction. We have read of a prince, who, when
92 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
his usual want of success, that an humble address should be pre-
sented to his majesty on the state of the nation, and respecting
the encreased expence of the civil and military establishments ;
and as that address contains an authentic statement of the real
situation of Ireland at that time, it follows in the very words
of the motion : " #1 move that an humblea ddress be presented
*' to his majesty, to acknowledge with the utmost gratitude his
" majesty's most gracious acceptance of our past services. To
" assure his majesty of our firm resolution to pursue such mea-
" sures, as shall tend most to promote the real interest and ho-
11 nour of the crown. To express the general satisfaction and
" joy, with which his majesty's most gracious declaration com-
" municated by his excellency the lord lieutenant to both houses
" of parliament at the opening of the session was received, viz.
" That by the conclusion of a general peace we were at length
-" relieved from those burthens, which were unavoidable during
" a war. That the situation of public affairs would permit a
" very considerable diminution of public expence, that nothing
" was to be asked, but the continuance of supplies for the
" support of the ordinary establishments, and that his majesty
" thanked us for our past efforts, without again having recourse
" to the experienced liberality of parliament."....That from these
u assurances, we drew the most flattering expectations of reduc-
" ing the national debt, and relieving the impoverished people
" from the burthen of those taxes they were so little able to
" bear : but that these pleasing hopes were soon blasted by the
" unexpected requisition of supplies, to support a civil establish-
*' ment, loaded with a long train of pensions, the amount of
" which, exclusive of the French and military, exceeded the
" expence of all the other branches of the civil establishment, in
" the sum of 42,627/. 195. 2d. many of which were publicly
" bought and sold in the market. That the number of officers
" upon the military establishment is encreased, not only far
" beyond what it ever was in time of peace, but even beyond
" what it was in the time of the most dangerous war, and would,
" under any reign but that of his majesty, raise just apprehen-
" sions for the constitution, not only of this kingdom, but that
" of Great Britain. That instead of six regiments of dragoons
he was fainting with thirst, and water was brought him at the risk of life,
refused to drink it, " God forbid (said he) that I should drink the blood of
these men ;'' can we then imagine that our gracious sovereign will drink the
blood of this nation, that he will use his power, which he has derived from the
ardour of our affection to our ruin ? Our duty both to him, and ourselves, re-
quires that we should at least apprize him of what we have done, that we may
not be left to perish, merely because our danger was not known, nor suffer by
a sacrifice, of which the value to us is infinite, but to him, who receives it
nothing, for ultimately his glory and prosperity is ours.
* 7 Com. Jotirn. p. 255.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 98
** and twenty-six of foot, (the most ever before seen in this
" kingdom) there are eight regiments of dragoons, and thirty of
" foot, besides the four old regiments of horse. That the ex-
u pence of general officers is raised from 30,000/. in two years to
" 45,0007. though there was not sufficient number of them in the
" kingdom to attend the last reduction of the forces. That the
" expence of the ordnance is swelled from 10,600/. in two years
" to 45,0707. independent of its extraordinary charges, which
" are very considerable, though the whole artillery of this king-
" dom is not equal to the ordnance of one of his majesty's ships
" of thirty guns. That every branch of the military and civil
" establishment is advanced nearly in the same proportion.
" That from principles of duty and affection to his majesty, we
" granted the supplies which were demanded from us in his
" majesty's name, for the support of these several establish-
" ments, however insupportable to the people. But though
" the warmth of our zeal and affection for his majesty induced
" us thus liberally to grant those supplies, our duty to him and
" those we represent will not permit us to conceal from his
" majesty or the public the real state and condition of this king-
" dom, which we shall lay before his majesty with all humility,
" and cast ourselves at his majesty's feet, to implore his royal
*' protection against his ministers. That the expence of the
" present military establishment amounts in two years to the
" sum of 980,955/. 195. The civil establishment to 242,956/.
" 10s. 9d. ; to which must be added at the most moderate
" computation 300,0007. for extraordinary and contingent expen-
" ces of government. That these sums added together amount
" to the sum of 1,523,9127. 9*. 3d. That to answer this
" expence, the whole revenue of this kingdom, the additional
" as well as hereditary duties, exclusive of the loan duties,
" which are but barely sufficient to pay the interest of 650,0007.
" the present national debt, amount to the sum of 1,209,8647.
" at a medium for fourteen years ; so that the expence of the
" nation for these two last years, must exceed its whole revenue
" in a sum of 314,2487. 9*. 9d. which deficiency being added to
" the national debt, must leave this kingdom at the next meet-
" ing of parliament near 1,000,0007. in debt. That the highest
" establishment we ever had in time of peace in this kingdom,
u were those in the two years ending in March 1755, and yet
" the present establishment exceeds them in the sum of 283,0287.
" 9*. 9d. That during the late expensive war, the establish-
u ments amounted at a medium, only to the sum of l.,125,7907.
" for two years, so that the present establishments in a time of
" peace, exceed the establishments in the last war in the sum of
At 97,5227. 9*. 9d. That we have already contracted a new debt
94 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" debt of 100,000/. though we expected to have discharged part
" of the old. That the imports, exports, and home consump-
" tion of this kingdom are already taxed to the utmost they can
*' bear. That any addition to these taxes, instead of encreasing,
" must lessen the revenue. That nothing now remains to be
" taxed but our lands, which are already loaded with quit-rents,
" crown rents, composition rents, and hearth money. That if
" the present establishments are to continue, the debt of the
" nation must constantly increase, and in the end prove the utter
" ruin of the kingdom. That such is the true, but melancholy
*' state of this country, which nothing but his majesty's most
*' gracious declarations, signified to us by his excellency the
" lord lieutenant, could have given us confidence to have laid
" before him, and which we do, that his majesty may judge
*' how far his most benevolent intentions have been pursued.
*' That we presume not to point out any particular method of
" redress, fully persuaded as we are, that when his majesty shall
" have been thus fully informed of our real circumstances, his
" wisdom, his justice, his humanity, will not permit the utter
" ruin of a dutiful, a loyal, an affectionate people."
In tracing, combining, and reflecting upon the events, which
fall to the lot of the historian to retail in their order and suc-
cession, it is often impracticable to deduce particular effects
from their real causes. The great mass of the people in Ire-
land, the Roman Catholics, who by their exemplary forbear-
ance and unsullied loyalty since the revolution, had not only
borne up against the severest persecution, but defeated the
keenest provocation, were thereby secured in the affections and
confidence of all impartial and unprejudiced Protestants : and
the eminently paternal indulgences of our gracious sovereign to
that body forbid us to harbour a doubt, whether his Irish Ca-
tholic subjects did not ever possess an extraordinary share of
his royal tenderness and affection. But there then was, and it
is feared, still is in Ireland, a certain description of persons, (it
would be little flattering to the established church to admit them
in any manner in to their pale, by calling them Protestants) whose
innate acrimony and vindictive cruelty, hold the place of huma-
nity, sympathy, and Christian charity: who professed themselves
at all times enemies by principle, and persecutors by disposition
of their Catholic countrymen : these were ready instruments in
the hands of the ambitious prelate, to whose intrigues Lord Clare
attributed all the party heats and animosities, that so long dis-
turbed and degraded their parliamentary proceedings. As long
as Primate Stone lived,'* he pursued the Machiavelian policy
of keeping the Irish a divided people, and by that wicked sys-
* He died the 19th of December, 1764.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 95
tern of supporting the English interest by reducing each party
beneath the court party ; to encrease which he set ceconomy,
delicacy, and justice at defiance. To the prevalence therefore
of his influence, is to be attributed the failure of the first modest
effort in favour of the Catholics, during the present reign.
On the 25th of November, 1763, Mr. Mason rose in his place
and reminded the house, that in the List session of parliament,*
* One laments that the journals of parliament are to be so little relied on,
when matter relating to the Catholics is the subject of entry. My former re«
marks on that subject are confirmed, but not explained by this unaccountable
omission to notice the passing of that bill, upon a division in the last session,
or of Mr. Mason's notice to bring in similar heads of a bill for the same pur-
pose on a future day. In this particular, it is wholly improbable, that Sir
James Caldwell should not be accurate in his report of this matter (2 vol. p.
511) as he had entered so deeply into the question, as to have published a
pamphlet of great acrimony against it, entituled A brief Examination of the
Question, whether it is expedient either in a Religious or Political F/ew to pass an
Act to enable Papists to take Real Security for Money <iobicb they may lend. So
anxious was this knight for the success of his pamphlet in prejudicing the
minds of the public against the heads of the bill, that he published it only at
eight o'clock in the evening of the Saturday preceding the Monday, on which
the heads of the bill wer^ Appointed to be taken into consideration : too late
certainly for a question of tjjiat importance to the nation to be fairly replied
to, had it been the wish of the author to have the question impartially can-
vassed. The pamphlet was a hasty and virulent compilation of all the calum-
nies, that had been thrown upon the Catholics, since Protestants existed ;
\vith a most barefaced invention of his own, that the pope's legate, who always
resides in Ireland, had interdicted seven Roman Catholic bishops, for having-,
when the insurrections of the White Boys were at the highest, ordered his
majesty to be prayed for in all the Roman Catholic chapels of their dioceses,
and that these seven bishops had sent in a paper to the lord lieutenant to com-
plain of this legatine interdict, and that they afterwards entreated the lord
lieutenant to return their paper, which his excellency refused. There had
been no pope's legute or any person vested with legatine authority in Ireland
for above a century : and it is matter of notoriety, that the king was prayed for
in every Roman Catholic chapel throughout Ireland : nor did one of the whole
body of Catholic bishops refuse to concur with the rest in enjoining this duty
to their flocks: nor was any such paper presented to Lord Halifax, that could
by the most artful malice be distorted into an instrument of the tendency,
which that over zealous knight had imagined. Besides this incredible fiction,
he hazarded a most malicious assertion, which the experience of all times fal-
sifies : viz. that no Papist has ever as yet been knovan to take the oath of allegi-
ance ; when it was notorious, that the Roman Catholic gentlemen of Ireland-
did take the oath of allegiance to King William and Queen Mary, which wa»
all they required of them as a test of their fidelity : and which they most re-
ligiously observed, as has been seen. This active knight discovered the most
dreadful consequences', and predicted the infallible ruin to the constitution, if
Papists were by law enabled to have real security for their money lent : not
reflecting at the same time, that for the space of .Ifty years, during which the
Catholics had invested money on real securities and sued out elegits, it never
had been doubted, till lately, that they had not a legal right so to do : and
more especially, as many of the legislators of the laws ot Anne were then
living, many of them gentlemen at the bar, and some of them, after the pass-
ing of those laws, judges on the bench, who should naturally be well able to
interpret those laws, and it is to be presumed would not have permitted them
to be so misunderstood and violated. This knight was one of the instruments
privately used by Primate Stone t? prevent any precedent being set of a relax-
90 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
a bill had passed without a division for empowering Papists to
lend money on the mortgages of real estates, that it had been
lost in England, for what reason he knew not, as he thought the
passing of it would have been of great advantage to that king-
dom. He contended that at present, Papists could take only
personal security for money they lend, which was certainly a
great hardship upon them, and, he should endeavour to shew
that it was also a great disadvantage to the public. As the pub-
lic was nothing more than an aggregate of individuals, the suf-
fering of an individual, is a disadvantage to the public in the
proportion, which that individual bears to the whole, supposing
the suffering of the individual to terminate entirely in himself ;
now Papists making one part, and a very considerable part too,
of that community, it was certain, that the community must
suffer with them, supposing their peculiar disadvantages to affect
only themselves ; but, in this case, their disadvantage affects
other parts of the community ; if the Papists be prohibited from
lending upon such security, as is thought a sufficient indemnifi-
cation, which, with respect to mere personal security, in such
a country as this, cannot be the case, it is certain, that the Pro-
testant is continually restrained from borrowing, and yet bor-
rowing, and lending are mutual advantages. It might, perhaps,
be replied, that though the disadvantages, under which the Pa-
pists are laid, by what are called Popery laws, are, indeed, dis-
advantages to the public, yet the disadvantages to the public
would be greater, if the Papists were admitted to all the privi-
leges and immunities of Protestants ; that they had in that case
the power only of chusing the least of two evils, the different
religious opinions of the inhabitants of that country making a
certain degree of evil inevitable. But, in answer to this, he
observed, that, with religious opinions, any farther than they
include political principles, affecting civil government, they had
nothing to do. The Protestant religion was -founded upon the
right of private judgment. They renounced the infallibility of
the pope, and it would be absurd, indeed to set up, instead of it,
an infallibility of the state ; as Protestants they must therefore
upon their own principles, admit that the opinions of those, who
ation in the Popery laws, his grace foreseeing in that the probable coalition of
Protestant and Catholic in the interests of Ireland, and consequently the sure
and immediate overthrow of the English Interest, which he and his predeces-
sor Boulter, had so effectually reared, cherished, and supported, in direct op-
position to the native or country interest. The liberality and paternal affection*
of our gracious sovereign for his Irish subjects, threatened immediate demoli-
tion to th:tt factitious £ind monstrous fabric, which under that primate had
been supported with the most corrupt buttresses ; it is said, that his despair
of maintaining the system he hud so long and so arbitrarily controlled, contri-
buted not a little to his dissolution, which \vas premature, considering1 his age
wid extraordinary strength of constitution.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 97
differ from them may possibly be true ; and opinions, that may
possibly be true, they had certainly no right to punish- They
might indeed, and they ought to keep the power of hurting out
of the hands of those whose principles would lead them to exert
it ; but he thought the Papists a much more formidable enemy,
as an inmate, in the possession of ready money, than in the pos-
session of a mortgage deed. Money was always power, and
that money which is placed in Protestant hands, upon mortgage,
is power in favour of the state ; the same money, in the hands
of the Papists unlent, supposing the Papist to be an enemy to
the state, was power against it. Besides money was not a lo-
cal, but transitory property ; a Papist, possessed only of money,
has no local interest in the country, but a Papist mortgagee had ;
he would be engaged to support the government in point of in-
terest : his security for his money was good, while government
subsisted, and in the convulsion, that always attends the sub-
version of government, it would at least become doubtful ; be-
sides, the greater the advantages, which the Papists receive
under the present constitution, the more they must desire its
continuance, and he would venture to say, that if the Papists
were to be admitted to all the privileges of Protestant subjects,
there would scarce be a practical Jacobite among them-, what-
ever there might be in theory. I should therefore be glad, that
the bill should have another trial, and shall therefore move for
leave to bring in heads of a bill, to impower Papists to lend mo-
ney, on the mortgage of land, and to sue for the same.
Mr. Le Hunte said, that he thought the bill proposed, would
eventually make Papists proprietors of great part of the landed
interest of the kingdom, which would certainly extend their in-
fluence, and that it was dangerous trusting to the use they would
make of it, upon a supposition, that their interests would get
the better of their principles. That the act mentioned to have
passed the last sessions, did not pass without a division, there
being a majority of no more than twelve in its favour, ard that
it would not have passed at all, if it had not been for some art-
ful management, it being brought in the very last day of ses-
sions, when no more than sixty-two members were present. He
therefore begged, that the honourable gentleman would post-
pone his motion till Monday, as the house was then thin, and
gentlemen would thus have time to consider the subject, which
was of very great importance. He added, that as there was
reason to suppose it to be the general sense of the house, that
such a bill should not pass, he thought it would be better, that
no heads of such a bill should be brought in, as it was cruel to
raise expectations, which would probably be disappointed.
YOL. II. N
$8 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Mr. Mason consented to postpone his motion. Accordingly
on the 3d of February, 1 764, Mr. Mason presented to the house,
according to order, heads of a bill, to ascertain what securities
may be taken by persons professing the Popish religion, for mo-
ney lent or to be lent by them ; and also what remedies they
may have recourse to, for recovery thereof; which were receiv-
ed and read. When a motion was made, and the question be-
ing put, that the said heads of a bill be rejected, the house di-
vided, 138 for the rejection, and 53 against it. Another motion
was then made, and the question being put, that leave be given
to bring in heads of a bill to enable Papists to take securities
upon lands, but in such manner, that they might not meddle
with the possession thereof, which was immediately negatived
by a majority of 44. I have been the more particular in de-
tailing the failure of this first effort to break in upon the penal
system, in order to draw the reader's attention the more closely
hereafter to the rapid and wonderful progress of the public
mind, when once the dense fogs of bigotry, prejudice, and fear
had been cleared away»
We are now fast approaching to that period in the Irish his-
tory, to which Lord Clare alluded in his memorable speech for
the Union, when he said, that the system built by the intrigues
of that ambitious ecclesiastic would beat down the most power-
ful nation of the earth, when the government of England at length
opened their eyes to the defects and dangers of it ; -when they
shook the poiver of the Aristocracy, but rvere unable to break it
down. Whilst Primate Stone,* whose primary view was to
realize his own system of politics, lived, the party, which he
commanded could ensure any question whatever. Thus they
often tantalised the public by consenting to preliminary popular
motions, which it was intended ultimately to resist and reject:
so upon the motion oi Mr. Bagnall, leave was given to bring in
heads of a bill for better securing the liberties of the subject, f
* Of this prelate and of his political situation, power, and system, the Rev.
Dr. Campbell, an ingenious and enlightened author, thus spoke, in 1777 ("Sur-
vey of the South of Ireland, p. 53} : " Stone was a man of considerable abili-
" ties, but more of the politician, than the prelate ; he devoted his life to the
" supporting a party in the Irish parliament. It is said, that when he went
" over to London, to consult the gentlemen of the faculty on his state of health,
" he very candidly said to them, ' Look not upon me as an ordinary churchman,
" or incident to their diseases, but as a man, who has injured his constitution
" by sitting up late, and rising early, to do the business of government in Ire-
" land.'
" They consider his death an sera in the polity of this kingdom ; for had he
" lived till now, he would have been always one of the lords justices, with the
•' power of the whole ; and of course business would have been conducted in
" the usual way. Administration would have continued to throw all its power
" into his hands."
•j- Such rejections of the most constitutional and necess^.y proposals for the
civil liberty of the subject were no novelties to Ireland ; for soon after
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 99
What those heads were, no where appears : nor do we find the
patriotic sentiment ever after followed up ; although the non-
resistance of the motion in the first instance occasioned an intem-
perate effusion of public dissatisfaction. Inexpressible, though
silent, were the grief and disappointment of the Catholics at the
failure of this application to the favour of the legislature, not in
fact for any new favour or indulgence, but for assuring to them
a continuance of a capacity to take real security for their mo-
ney, which the astute attempts some of their enemies had only
lately began to question. Thus was the healing draught of
leniency and mercy dashed with relentless harshness from their
eager lips ; and all their flattering prospects of being received
into the fostering arms of their king and constitution at once
defeated. Their despondency was not of long duration : their
oppression formed the base of the then Anglo-Hybernian system
of government : the deaths of Primate Stone and the Earl of
Shannon, in December, 1764, put an end to that system; and
from thence a new scene opens itself to our view. To this mo-
ment of Irish history it is, that Lord Clare alluded, when he
said, " the government of England at length opened their eyes to
" the defects and dangers of it : they shook the potver of the Arts-
t(l iocracy,* but -were unable to break
'
the Bill of Rights had passed in England, the following heads of a similar one
for Ireland were- presented for transmission by the Irish parliament to Lord
"Capel, then Lord deputy of Ireland, on the 14th of October, 1659, of which no
JDore was heard :
Heads if a Bill of Eights.
" 1. That the pretended powers of suspending of laws by regal authority,
" without consent of parliament, is illegal.
" 2. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the execution of
" laws by regal authority, as hath been assumed or exercised, is illegal.
" 3. That levying money for, or to the use of the crown, by pretence of pre-
" rogative, without grant of parliament, for longer time, or in other manner
" than the same is, or shall be granted, is illegal.
" 4. That it is the right of the subject to petition the king, or the chief go-
" vernor or governors of the kingdom, for the time being, and all commit-
" ments or prosecutions, or threats for such petition, are illegal.
" 5. That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their de-
" fence, suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law.
" 6. That the freedom of speech, and debates on proceedings in parliament,
" ought not be impeached, or questioned, in any place out of parliament.
" 8. That juries ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and juries which
" pass upon men inti-ials for high treason, ought to be freeholders.
" 9. That all grants and promises, fines, forfeitures of particular persona
" before conviction, are illegal and void.
" 10. That for redress of all grievances in this kingdom, and for amending,
•" strengthening, and preserving the laws, parliaments ought not to be dis-
" solved, as they have been in the late reigns.
" 11. That the free quartering of soldiers on any of this kingdom, in time
" of peace, is arbitrary and illegal."
* This Aristocracy is thus described by Dr. Campbell (Phil. Surv. p. 56 J .-
" In this nation are three or four grandees, who have such an influence in the
100 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Although the deaths of two of the lords justices made an
opening to many great events, no immediate effects ensued of
sufficient importance to arrest the reader's attention. The Lord
Chancellor Bowes, and Mr. Ponsonby, the speaker of the House
of Commons, were created lords justices, to whom afterwards
the Earl of Drogheda was joined ; and from the change of sys-
tem they were the last lords justices ever appointed. Lord
Viscount Weymouth was appointed lord lieutenant, but he ne-
ver went over. The Earl of Hertford met the parliament in
1765.
In December, 17'65, died, at Rome, the famous Chevalier de
St. George, only son of James II. he was the subject of the
political fable of the Warming Pan : he supported a long life of
misfortunes, sufferings, and retirement with great Christian for-
bearance and equanimity. As his attempt to recover the Bri-
tish throne, in 1715, and his son's effort to the same end, in
1745, had made no sensation in Ireland, little is it to be won-
dered, that his death was scarcely known or thought of in that
country ; although many of the then existing generation, through
every part of the British empire, had taken an active share in
the attempts to replace him on the throne of his ancestors.
Although by the management and power of the British cabi-
net the number of the patriots in the Irish parliament had been
greatly reduced, their spirit was not subdued : they again re-
turned to the charge of the pensions ; *and on the 6th of De-
cember, 1765, a motion was made, and the question being put,
" That an humble address be presented to his majesty, to assure
•" him of their inviolable duty and zealous attachment to his
" person and government. That it affected them with the deep-
" est sorrow to find, that the pensions in general on the estab-
" House of Commons, that their coalition would, at any time, give them a clear
" majority upon any question. It has, therefore, always been a maxim of go-
" vernment to disunite these factious chiefs. And, still further to disable op-
" position, it has been thought expedient to disengage, as much as possible,
" the followers from their leaders. This was attempted by Lord Chesterfield,
" so early as the year 1745, but his stay was too short to effect it.
" Formerly, these principals used to stipulate with each new lord lieutenant,
" whose office was bien mal, and residence but for six months, upon what
' terms they would carry the king's business through the houses ; so that they
' might, not improperly, be called undertakers. They provided, that the dis-
' posal of all, court favours, whether places, pensions, or preferments, should
' pass through their hands, in order to keep their suite in an absolute state of
' dependence upon themselves. All applications were made by the leader,
' who claimed, as a right, the privilege of gratifying his friends in proportion
' to their numbers.
" Whenever such demands were not complied with, then the measures of
"government were sure to be crossed and obstructed; and the session of par-
" liatnent became a constant struggle for power, between the heads of parties,
" who used to force themselves into the office of lord justice, according to the
" prevalence of their interest."
* 8 Journ. Cora. p. 64.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 101
" lishment of that kingdom had greatly increased of late years,
" insomuch as to have amounted to the sum of 158,685/. 4?. 8^d.
" in the two years ending at Lady Day, 1765. That many of
11 those pensions had been granted for long terras of years, and
" for lives, and had been made payable out of the revenue at
" large. That they had long been the causes of silent disquie-
u tude ; and were of late become the subjects of universal mur-
" mur and complaint. That they should think it a breach of
" the trust reposed in them, longer to conceal from his majesty
u the grievances of his faithful subjects, and by such omission to
" postpone for a day that redress, which with the utmost confi-
" dence they expected from the dictates of paternal affection,
" and the suggestions of royal justice." This motion was ne-
gatived by a majority of 119 against 41.
It is, even at this distance of time, lamentable to behold the
vigorous exertions of the British cabinet to secure an English
ascendency in the Irish parliament, and at the same time an
imperious reluctance to use that very ascendency for the welfare
of the Irish nation. Indigence and distress pervaded the whole
kingdom: the encreasing tumults, insurrections, and outrages of
the Steel Boys and other insurgents in the North, created serious
alarm in the minds of all those, who really looked to and felt for
the well-being of their country. Accordingly on the 23d of May
a motion was made, and the question was put., *" That an hum-
" ble address be presented to his majesty, expressing, in the
" strongest terms, the full confidence of his ever loyal subjects of
" Ireland, in his majesty's justice and parental affection for
" that kingdom. And representing to his majesty, that his
u faithful commons of Ireland apprehending that it was a part of
" their bounden duty to lay before his majesty, for his consi-
" deration, such grievances of his people, as they judged might
" be most deserving of his notice, and as they feared he might
*' not otherwise be fully informed of, from a sense of their duty,
" presumed to acquaint his majesty, that in many instances the
" laws of their land were less resorted to, revered, and observed
" by the lower class of people, at that time, than had been usual
" theretofore in that kingdom, or than was becoming a people,
" who enjoyed the blessing of a free government, of which the
" commotions in several parts of that kingdom, were but too
" plain and striking examples. That one principal source of
" these evils consisted in the appointing persons of mean abili-
*' ties and totally unacquainted with the state and municipal
" constitution of Ireland, to the ministration of justice in the
" supreme courts of law in that kingdom ; by the means of
" which, all law suits were protracted to an excessive leng'.H,
* SJourn. Com. p. 141.
102 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
44 and the expences of them were rendered intolerable, the se-
44 curity of persons, of life, and of property, were daily dimi-
44 nished and made more precarious ; the laws, instead of being
«' considered as the protection, were become the oppression of
«' the people, and in the place of being obeyed and loved, ap-
44 peared too often contemptible or disgusting from the incapa-
" city, which sometimes was found in those, who were entrust-
" ed with the execution of them. That his majesty's faithful
44 commons, in that humble representation, were by no means
u desirous of making any distinction between the subjects of
u different parts of his dominions ; with gratitude they acknow-
44 ledged, that in former times judges of the most illustrious
" abilities had been sent from Great Britain into that kingdom,
44 to the furtherance of justice, and the manifest advantage of
4i Ireland ; particularly in the instance of that great man, who
44 had so long and ably presided in his majesty's High Court of
" Chancery, to the universal satisfaction of all ranks of people ;
44 neither could they, with justice, omit expressing their appro-
44 bation of such of their present judges as were natives of that
44 kingdom, whose conduct and abilities were, in their opinion,
44 irreproachable. That his majesty's faithful commons did not
" presume to point out to his majesty any remedy for those evils,
" relying, with the firmest confidence, on his majesty's wisdom,
44 and experienced affection for his whole people."
This address spoke too much truth, not to be opposed : on a
division it was negatived by a majority of 71 against 35. The
decrease of the numbers of the patriots on this division roused
those, who had not yet been bought off, to bring forward instant-
ly some motion, which should at least convince the nation of
the corrupt means, by which their rights and interests were
sacrificed by a venal majority to the English interest.
On the very next day* a motion was made, that an humble
address be presented to his excellency the lord lieutenant, re-
presenting to his excellency, that the Commons of Ireland, with
hearts full of the sense of their miserable condition, yet sup-
ported with the hopes they had of his administration, had cheer-
fully contributed to all such supplies as had been demanded from
jhem, and that they did not despair of his goodness being ex-
tended towards them in such a prudent and gracious manner, as
might afford them relief, according to their present exigences
of their condition ; and therefore humbly requested his excel-
lency would be graciously pleased to lay, or order to be laid"
before that House all the proceedings of the privy council in
March last, relative to the suppression of heads of a bill, enti-
tled, A bill for the better securing the Freedom of Parliament, by
* 24 May, 1767. 3 Journ. Com. p, 145.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 103
ascertaining the Qualification of Knights, Citizens, and Burges-
ses in Parliament; and humbly requested, that his excellency
would order all the patents granted in reversion or in possession
during that administration to be laid before the House ; and that
his excellency would use his influence, that no more reversionary
grants should be disposed of in that kingdom, inasmuch, as they
debilitated the crown in present, and might be attended by the
imposition of new burdens upon the public. On which the
court party moved, and of course carried their motion, that in
lieu of the words, the sense of their miserable condition, they
should insert the words, their happy condition under his majes-
ty's auspicious government. The heads of the bill alluded to in
this motion were for septennial parliaments, an object, to which
the whole Irish people then most earnestly bent their thoughts.
In a limitation of parliaments, they saw the only remaining
check against the open and gigantic system of venality, under
which all parliamentary process was then carried on. Through-
out every part of the kingdom resolutions and addresses were
carried in their county meetings in favour of that measure.
The citizens of Dublin publicly and pointedly declared their
sentiments in theii1 spirited instructions to their representatives
to support the measure.* All these efforts of the patriots in
parliament, and of the people without, -were ineffectual. The
heads of the bill were introduced, agreed to, and transmitted,
but arrested in their progress by the English privy council.
Here again the vice of the old system of governing Ireland was
manifested in the answer given by the lord lieutenant to the
address of the Commons.f " I have," said his excellency,
" received information of the most authentic nature, that the
" bill for limiting the duration of parliaments will not be re-
" turned during this session. I shall however fully lay before
* The Merchants, Traders, Freeholders, and Citizens of Dublin, presented
the following Address to their Representatives.
" GENTLEMEN,
" HAVING authentic intelligence, that the bill, upon which
the Protestant interest and freedom of this kingdom depend, 19 dropped in
Great Britain : and finding, that every attempt made by the Commons of
Ireland, strengthened by the united and general voice of all ranks and denomi-
nations of Protestants, to obtain a law for limiting the duration of parliaments,
has hitherto proved ineffectual, we cannot but think, the Commons of this
kingdom will stand justified in following the example given by the Commons of
England on a similar occasion, at the late glorious Revolution, that grand aera
of British liberty. We, therefore, as citizens and freeholders of this metro-
polis, thinking ourselves bound to stand foremost in all national measures, have
taken the earliest opportunity to declare our sentiments upon this most inte-
resting event, and tointreat, that you will never give your assent to any money
bill of longer duration than three months till a law passes in this kingdom for
a septennial limitation of parliament."
(Signed by William Rutledge, Richard French, Esqrs. High Sheriffs, and
upwards of 800 merchants and traders.)
t 8 Journ. Com, p. 132.
104 'AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" his majesty the sentiments of the House of Commons, con-
" tained in this address, and shall renew the representations,
" which I have already made in the strongest and warmest man-
" ner, in favour of such a law." It was an insult to the under-
standing and respectability of the people of Ireland, that the lord
lieutenant should pretend to act in opposition to the British
cabinet, and recommend a measure, which they avowedly op-
posed.* The patriots moved for a very strong and pointed
address to be presented to his majesty, which spoke a language
of too much firmness and independence to be relished by the
court party, and it was negatived upon a division of 117 against
29.f A more moderate address was however moved for by the
* By natural effect, the Union must put an end to the unwarrantable, but too
frequent and successful practices of shifting responsibility and playing off the
different wills, powers, and commands of the sovereign and his vicegerent, the
British cabinet and the Irish administration, the Irish legislature and the Irish
people, against each other, as the political juggle of the moment required.
The principles of union must now direct the powers of government to a com-
mon focus.
•f- 8 Journ Com. p. 132. A motion was made, and the question being put,
that an humble address be presented to his majesty, testifying, in the strongest
terms, our inviolable attachment to his person, family and government, and
lamenting, that we are obliged to mingle with the effusions of our zeal and
loyalty our solicitude for the return and our concern at the delay of the bill for
limiting the duration of parliaments in this kingdom : a delay which we con-
ceive to arise from some misrepresentation, inasmuch as we have the firmest
reliance and the fullest confidence in his majesty's royal beneficence and jus-
tice ; virtues which in their own operation must incline his majesty to listen
graciously to the universal voice ; and to the most fervent prayers of his loyal
people ; more especially, when they desire nothing new or doubtful ; when they
desire only that they may not be deprived of a reasonable frequency of election
with respect to their own representation, of which no other part of his majesty's
subjects, not in the meanest of his colonies, is deprived, when they desire not a
parliament once every year or oftener, to which they are entitled by a constitution
of six hundred years establishment, and by the express statute of Edward, the
Third never repealed, and of above four hundred years antiquity; but that no' one
parliament should continue above seven years, which is the longest period, to which
it was found possible to extend the duration of parliament in a neighbouring king-
dom; an extension grounded upon circumstances there, which never existed in this
country; when therefore their application in this particular is, strictly speaking,
not to limit but prolong parliaments ; not to abridge but to increase preroga-
tive, by giving the crown a power to continue the same parliament seven years,
which it has not now by the laws arid constitution ; when they desire only,
that an unconstitutional and illegal custom may not be perpetuated upon them,
or continuing the same parliament for the life of the reigning king, which
there have been but two instances of from the beginning of time in this king-
dom, and which was tolerated in these two instances only from the most un-
limited and overflowing loyalty and attachment to his majesty's royal house,
which induced our ancestors to suffer their most sacred rights to be in this
particular suspended, rather than expose the recent establishment of his
majesty's auspicious family to the most imaginary hazard ; when they hope,
that this their conduct, which might well be rewarded with an increase, will
not be punished by a deprivation of privileges ; and that their just, humble,
temperate, and legislative desires, their most reiterated and ardent supplica-
tions will not be neglected, whilst the less regular applications and even resis-
tance of some of their fellow subjects in a case far different have been attended
with, satisfaction and redress.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 105
;
patriots on the next clay, testifying their ardent and inviolable
attachment to his sacred person and government, and imploring
his majesty, that he would suffer the universal prayers of his
loyal people of Ireland to assist the representations and endea-
vours of his chief governor of that kingdom towards inducing
the best of princes to return his most faithful subjects the bill
transmitted to Great Britain for limiting the duration of parlia-
ments; which the patriots carried by a majority of two voices,
there being 90 for and 88 against the address. His majesty's
answer to the address did not appear very gracious to the ad-
dressers. " His majesty has received the address of the House
" of Commons on the subject of a bill some time transmitted
" for limiting the duration of parliaments. The sentiments of
" his faithful commons were already known to his majesty by
" their passing the heads of that bill : nor can any solicitation
" add weight to that ancient and constitutional way of signifying
*' their desires on the like occasions. His majesty will always
" have the highest satisfaction in complying with the wishes of
" his faithful commons : but no consideration can prevail with
" his majesty to swerve from that indispensable duty, which
" the constitution prescribes to him of concurring in such pro-
" visions only, as on mature deliberation and advice of his
" council appear to him at the time calculated to promote the
" true interest and happiness of his people." From the spirit,
which dictated this answer, and the further conduct of the Bri-
tish cabinet at this time, it appears, as if they had selected this
particular juncture for a trial of strength between the English
and the Irish interest. A bill for better securing the liberties of
the subject was this session passed in the commons, and trans-
mitted, but was not returned. Another bill of a patriotic ten-
dency was introduced this session, to prevent the buying and
selling of offices, -which concern the administration of justice, or
the collection of his majesty's revenue : but it miscarried in the
commons. Thus failed every effort of the patriots to remedy
the system of venality, which now openly prevailed, and to
bring back the constitution to its primitive principles of freedom
and independence.*
* As this was the time and this the system, to which Mr. Burke alluded
in his incomparable political chef d'ceuvre, on the Cause of the present Discon-
tents, I will favour the reader with some of his thoughts peculiarly applicable
to this juncture. P. 56. " The court party resolve the whole into faction.
Having1 said something before upon this subject, 1 shall only observe here^
that when they give this account of the prevalence of faction, they present no
very favourable aspect of the confidence of the people in their own govern-*
ment. They may be assured, that however they amuse themselves with a
variety of prospects for substituting something else in the place of that great
and only foundation of government, the confidence of the people, every at-
tempt will but make their condition worse. When men imagine, that their
VOL. II. O
106 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
In the year 1765 the revenue of Ireland, although considera-
bly increased upon the whole receipt, still fell so far short of
the expences of government, that 100,OOO/. were directed to
be raised at 4 per cent, and the principal due upon the different
loans was ordered to be consolidated into one sum, making in
the whole 595,000/. at five per cent, which remained due at Lady
Day. The debt of the nation then amounted to 508, 874*1. 5s. 9±d.
There was this year a great scarcity of grain, as likewise a
general failure of potatoes, which was still more severely felt
by the lower ranks. The legislature found it necessary to inter-
pose: they passed an act to stop the distilleries for a certain
time, which consequently produced a decrease in the Excise,
and also an act to prevent the exportation of corn ; in both of
which acts it is recited, that it was apprehended, there was not
sufficient corn in the kingdom for the food of the inhabitants
until the harvest. In the latter of these acts is contained a pro-
viso, that it should be lawful for his majesty, his heirs, and suc-
cessors, by his or their order in the privy council of Great Britain,
or for the chief governor or governors and privy council of
\ Ireland for the time being, by their proclamation, to permit the
exportation of any of the kinds of corn, grain, meal or flour
therein mentioned, any thing therein contained to the contrary
notwithstanding. The heads of the bill had been transmitted
over without any dispensing power to the king in the British
council: this was an alteration introduced by the British cabinet,
and was violent!)', though ineffectually opposed by the few re-
food is only ." cover for poison, and when they neither love nor trust the hand
that serves it, it is not the name of the roast beef in Old England, that will
persuade them to sit down to the table, that is spread for them. When the
people conceive, that laws, and tribunals, and even popular assemblies, are
perverted from the ends of their institution, they find in those names of dege-
nerated establishments only ne\v motives to discontent. Those bodies, which
when full of life and beauty, lay in their arms, and were their joy and comfort,
when dead and putrid, become but the more loathsome from remembrance of
former endearments. A sullen gloom, and furious disorder, prevail by fits ;
the nation loses its relish for peace and prosperity, as it did in that season of
fu'mess, which opened our troubles in the time of Charles the First. A species
of men, to whom a state of order would become a sentence of obscurity, are
nourished into a dangerous magnitude by the heat of intestine disturbances' ;
and it is no wonder that, by a sort of sinister piety, they cherish, in their turn,
the disorders, which are the parents of all their consequence. Superficial
observers consider such persons as the cause of the public uneasiness, when,
in truth, they are nothing more than the effect of it. Good men look upon this
distracted scene with sorrow and indignation. Their hands are tied behind
them. They are despoiled of all the power, which might enable them to recon-
cile the strength of government with the rights of the people. They stand in
a most distressing allernaUve. But in the election among evils they hope
better things from temporary confusion, than from established servitude. In
the mean time, the voice of law is not to be heard. Fierce licentiousness be-
gets violent restraints. The military arm is the sole reliance ; r.nd then call
your constitution what you please, it is the sword that governs. The civil
pov/cr, Jike every other, that calls in the aid of an ally stronger thau itself,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. ior
main ing patriots in the Irish House of Commons. The two
grounds, upon which the now dwindled patriotic party in the
Irish House of Commons resisted these alterations were un-
doubtedly constitutional : 1°. That even under the restrictions
of Po> ning's Law (which though perhaps prudent when passed,
considering the then preponderancy of the Irish oligarchy had
been latterly execrated by all Irish patriots), the king only had a
power of assent or dissent : not a power of alteration, which from
its nature must import a deliberative power, which could exist
no where, but in the Lords and Commons of Ireland. 2°. That
if it be expedient or necessary to lodge a dispensing power in
the executive for the occasional benefit of the kingdom, such
power to be executed by proclamation with the advice of the
privy council in Great Britain, where the king personally resides,
the proclamation issues directly from the king, with the advice
of his privy council of Great Britain : but in Ireland, where the
executive power is vested in such substitute or deputy as the
king appoints, it issues in the name of such appointee, with the
advice of the privy council of Ireland. The practice is evi-
dently bottomed in reason : otherwise the council of Great
Britain would have a control over the legislative acts of the
independent kingdom of Ireland. The patriots attributed the
precipitancy,* with which the court party pressed this bill through
the Houses, to the most unworthy motives of driving the people
to the desperate alternative of famine, or the subversion of their
constitution.
On the 22d day of December, 1765, Dr. Lucas, as one of
the representatives of the city of Dublin, published an address
to the lord mayor and aldermen, sheriffs, commons, citizens and
freeholders of Dublin, on the passing of this bill, in which he
perishes by the assistance it receives. But the contrivers of this scheme of
government will not trust solely to the military power, because they are cun-
ning men. Their restless and crooked spirit drives them to rake in the dirt
of every kind of expedient. Unable to rule the multitude, they endeavour
to raise divisions amongst them. One mob is hired to destroy another ; a
procedure which at once encourages the boldness of the populace, and justly
increases their discontent. Men become pensioners of state on account of
their abilities in the array of riot, and the discipline of confusion. Govern-
ment is pxit under the disgraceful necessity of protecting from the severity of
the laws that very licentiousness, which the laws had been before violated to
repress. Every thing partakes of the original disorder. Anarchy predomi-
nates without freedom, and servitude without submission or subordination.
These are the consequences inevitable to our public peace, from the scheme of
rendering the executory government at once odious and feeble ; of freeing
administration from the constitutional and salutary control of parliament, and
inventing for it a new control, unknown to the constitution, an interior cabinet;
which brings the whole bod}7 of government into confusion and contempt."
* Vid. 8 Com. Journ. p. 70. The Journals very unfairly have suppressed
the nature of the alteration made in England. They merely state that a com-
mittee was appointed to examine the transmiss with the heads of the bill sant
from that House, and that it afterwards passed without amendment.
jog AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
gave the following succinct history of its progress. " On Thurs-
day (viz. 19) this bill was first presented to the House and read.
As soon as the fatal alteration was discovered, it filled one part
of the House with horror and detestation of the measure, and a
motion was made to reject it. But, it passed in the negative ;
and it was ordered, and accordingly did receive a second read-
ing on Friday last. It was then ordered to be committed on
Saturday, passed the committee, was reported the same day,
and ordered to be ingrossed, though in every step of its pro-
gress, in which there were not one third of the members in the
House, it met with constant, uniform, though fruitless oppo-
sition, with many divisions of the House and the committee, in
all which, I gave my utmost opposition to the measure, but had
the misfortune to be always of the minority. I could not sus-
pect, a bill with any, specially with such an alteration, could be
permitted to make so rapid progress, through any part of the le-
gislature. Its fate now depends upon a single question in
the House of Commons : when it will be put, or how deter-
mined, I cannot inform you ; but the presumption is, it will be
to-morrow."
In fact the question for the bill's passing with the inserted
alteration was put on the next day, viz. Monday the 23d of
December, 1765, and was carried by a majority of twenty-nine
against fifteen.*
* 8 Com. Journ. p, 71. One of the most strenuous supporters of this bill with
the alterations, was' the late Lord Clare, then Mr. J. Fitzgibbon, member for •
Newcastle ; to whom the following passage in Mr. Lucas's address referred.
«' Since I have mentioned precedents, you may see by the votes, that lawyers
" have not let a worm-eaten parliament roll, nor an obsolete musty statute,
" escape the most diligent research. If one happier than the rest should
" think he found a case in point, in times, indeed, the most fit for the bla*ck
" purpose, under the auspices of the direst foe to the liberties of Europe and
" of Britain, the Spanish tyrant Philip, the worthy consort of bloody Queen
" Mary, that, horrid firebrand to the religion and the laws of her country ; for
" it is in sncli a tyrannic reign alone, that any one could hope a precedent for
" the purpose of this innovation might be found ; what use could be made of
" such a precedent in our happy days ? It is indeed true, that an act passed in
" this kingdom, in the third and fourth years of that abominable reign, for re-
' ducing certain waste lands to shire grounds ; giving however, a power to
' the crown, for seven years, to suspend or repeal the whole act or any part
' thereof. Thus far the act proves a case in point : but upon reading the
1 whole section through, it appears that the ends, for which alone it could be
' cited and read, were utterly frustrated: because, however evil and unjust
"the power granted in that statute may appear, it was not, as some favourers
" of this innovation may contend, to make it serve as a precedent ; it was not
' left to a private order, conceived in the council of Great Britain, but it wa$
' expressly provided, " that every suspension, repeal or revocation of the
' statute should be made in writing under the great seal of Ireland, and pub-
' lie proclamation thereof made." If those who raked through much obscu-
' rity, and rubbish, and filth, thus serve their country, had found a better pre-
' cedent, no doubt their commendable zeal would have produced it. But
1 you see how little this question can answer the purposes of such favourers
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 109
From the frequent defections of the patriots and the conse-
quent reduction of their numbers, it became the policy of the
castle, at this time, to throw all possible disrepute upon the few,
who still earnestly espoused that cause. Upon this subject Dr.
Lucas explained himself very pointedly in another address to
his constituents :* but it would be uncandid to leave the reader
in the vulgar prepossession, that because this eminent and true
patriot stood firm to the last hour of his life in the honourable
cause of his suffering country, therefore he was unacceptable
either to his sovereign or his vicegerents. The Earl of Hertford
had particularly noticed Dr. Lucas when he was in England,
and was esteemed by him in return : he boasted also of his kind
treatment from the Lords Chesterfield and Harrington, Halifax
and Northumberland. He bore affection as well as loyalty to his
majesty.f The unremitted and faithful attention to his parlia-
' of innovation as may produce it. In the innovation in these heads of a bill,
' an order conceived in the council in England, which from its known appella-
' tion must be secret, is to repeal a statute passed in the parliament of Ire-
' land, without any proclamation or publication in Ireland, or perhaps without
' its being at all known in the kingdom, till it comes to be executed in the
' ports. Yet this is attempted to be introduced, after the enlivening spirit of
' the revolution, and the consequent Hanover succession, broke the illicit
' bonds of the never-enough-to-be-detested race of Stuarts, and bade us all live
' and be free."
* Patriot and patriotism, are now no longer considered as real, but ideal
characters. That they were once otherwise, our author thus confesses. I
hope, he is taught by his own heart to believe, that there are yet some men in
the world, who are ready and willing to sacrifice, upon a proper occasion, their
time, their fortunes, their healths, their lives, to the service of their country.
That designing men have often laved hold of trifling, as well as weighty oc-
casions, to set forth their own importance, to gain their private ends ; and that
great and important subjects taken up apparently, with just and public-spirited
views, have been given up and forsaken, when the ministry have thrown out
the" proper lure, are notorious, as they are hateful.
That the royal consent was once anti-constitutionally, yet without opposition,
inserted in an act of parliament, and that at another time, the proposition was
constitutionally spurned at, and rejected in the same parliament, is certainly
true. That many patriots arose upon this great occasion, while the fund's
were redundant in the treasury, is true. But that these were short lived pa-
geants is true. That some lost their places, some their pensions, for a while
is certain ; but that the chapping and changing, placing and pensioning, and
replacing and repensioning these patriots, cost the nation about half a million,
is certain : As it is, that while they justly contended for the right of parlia-
ment to the disposal of the redundance of the funds in the treasury, they after-
wards peaceably suffered it to be drawn out of the treasury by the sole man-
date of the crown. And thus, it must be confessed, that ours, like other pa-
triots, have been the pageants of a day, each acting their parts like the poor
player, who frets and struts his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more,
•f You know I am no flatterer : you know how often and in what terms I
have testified my disinterested love and loyalty to his majesty, and my zealous
and inviolable attachment to his royal house. That I have always looked up-
on him, as not only politically, but actually free from blemish or imperfection ;
that I know his heart overflows with pure love and benevolence to all his sub-
jects, and that I have myself sensibly shared of his royal clemency, in rescuing
me from the oppressive hands of that detestable hoary tyrant, a long parlia-
110 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
mentary duties, with the discouraging prospect of failing in
every exertion, forced from him a confession, that he was weary
Tnent, with a wicked ministry, and certain iniquitous rulers of this city. His
royal touch healed the wounds and bruises given my country, through my
sides. You know my words, my writings, the tenor of my whole life and con-
duct, proclaim my invariable gratitude, affection, and duty. And when I for-
get the deliverer of my country, let my right hand forget its function, and my
tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. In his royal goodness, I repose the
most boundless confidence.
But why is his sacred name and character to be hauled into this controver-
sy ? Is it to be imagined, that he can look into matters of this nature ? Are
they not all left to his council ? Does not the council refer them to one or two
servants of the crown, who after report or reject them at pleasure ? I honestly
and openly confess, I have not the fullest confidence in all those, that arc put
an authority under him, in either kingdom.
My lord, my character is known to all, and thank God ! approved by all that
flare be honest and free. I challenge my direst foe to charge a single instance
of flattery upon me, to kings, or even to more mighty ministers. You know
my invaried love and loyalty to my king, and you know my declared motives.
Had I not had these, I should have scorned to prostitute the offered incense.
A just proportion of the regard due to the sovereign, I have ever been
ready to pay to his representative ; unless the conduct of the substitute pro-
voked me to say, with the insulted free apostle, God shall smite thee, thou
whited wall ; for I should not be provoked more than the holy man, had I not
the same apology, might I not say, as he did, when rebuked, brethren, I wist
not that he was God's high priest ; because he stripped and degraded himself
of the power and dignity of his office, by commanding a free citizen to be smit-
ten, in open court, contrary to law, justice, and decency. What good and
worth}' vicegerent of the crown, wanted my poor applause ? What bad and
•unworthy lieutenant escaped my poor censure ? You see then, I have ever
loved, respected, and revered, those great officers of the crown, or hated, de-
spised, and condemned them, according to their well proved merit or demerit.
My conduct in private and public life, always did, and always shall, prove these
truths. Witness the different treatments, by me given to the Lords Chester-
field and Harrington, Halifax and Northumberland. In all which, you know,
I acted upon invariable principles. My conduct in these instances will con-
vince you, that I always shall act as a person, who for himself has nothing
to ask, and nothing to fear, which must always keep me a free agent. -To
stand quite clear of all suspicion of adulation, I should have declined express-
ing my sentiments of the present lord lieutenant, till the expiration of his office.
But, as I am called upon, I must explain myself, in mine own justification. I
could not have lived as long as I did in London, without being well acquainted
\vith the character of our present viceroy. I confess, I honoured and admired
it, before I had the honour of being known to him, and when I petitioned his
present majesty, against his wicked ministers and judges in Ireland, I had the
good fortune to find myself, from the justice of my cause, patronized by this
great good man, who then knew no more of me, than my character, and who
did me the honour to present me, and saw me make my complaint to the royal
car. To him, I confess myself indebted for that share of the royal clemency,
with which I now stand distinguished. If my return to my native country, be
grateful to my countrymen and fellow citizens, the obligation is due to the
Lord Hertford, who, in spight of great and mighty powers, made my case
known to our patriot king, wlio embraces every opportunity of testifying his
parental love for his faithful subjects. His excellency has since deigned
to confer marks of his favour on seme of my family. So that your lordship
ruid honours see, that I stand under singular obligations for my country, my
family, and myself, to the lord lieutenant. It may possibly be suspected, that
from principles of gi atitude for private favours, I may have been blinded to,
or prejudiced in favour of the great man's public conduct. I hope my character
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. ill
of his task, because he laboured incessantly in vain.* Lord
Hertford not having supported, as zealously as the British cabi-
net expected, their alterations in the corn bill, was recalled.
The old lords justices filled their stations for the last time until
the appointment of Lord Towr.sendto be lord lieutenant on the
14th of October, 1767.
This nobleman was selected to introduce a very important
changQ in the system of governing Ireland. The choice was in
many points judicious. In order to attempt the arduous task
of supplanting the deep-rooted influence of the Irish oligarchy,
it was requisite, that the lord lieutenant, to whom that power
was to be transferred, should be endowed with those qualities,
that were most likely to ingratiate him with the 'Irish nation.
The new lord lieutenant excelled all his predecessors in that .
convivial case, pleasantry, and humour, so highly prized by the
Irish of every description. The majority, which had been so
dearly bought in the Commons, by those who had heretofore had
the management of the English interest, was nov/ found not
altogether so tractable, as it had heretofore been. There were
three or four grandees, as Dr. Campbell observed, who had such
an influence in the House of Commons, that their coalition
is too well known to full under this imputation. I have never yet been able
to pay my devoirs in person to his excellency ; consequently I could never have
said what the author pleased to say of me, that I acquit him of closetings,
squeezings, and such like customary arts. Let placemen and pensioners, a
band in which I shall never inlist, testify this. I hope every man can ; I hope
they are arts, which no lord lieutenant will ever dare to practise on this virtuous
parliament, and I verily believe, the present ruler detests such practices as
much as I do. In public and in private, I have thought myself bound to jus-
tify this great character. Without having had any intercourse with him or
his ministers, I saw many proofs of his public spirit agreeable to the hopes I
had conceived from his general character, and his being more interested than
any of his predecessors, in the freedom and happiness of this kingdom.
These, I confess, gave me confidence in his excellency, and I gladly laid
hold on two instances, that proved in my judgment, his conduct, when an un-
asked for, not to say unncessary, vote or act of credit was offered, and when-
the alteration in the corn bill came over. Here I confess myself, in the only
instances of my life, under some degree of what you may call court influence,
for, this was such a conduct as raised him still higher in my esteem, and I
did him the justice to declare my sentiments, as I also should, and shall do, if
his future conduct should possibly, as I hope it shall not, induce me to change
my sentiments.
* I have, said he, quitted a comfortable settlement in a free country to em-
bark in you» service. I have attended constantly, closely, strictly to my duty.
I have broke my health, impaired my fortune, hurt my family, and lost an
object dearer to me than life, by engaging with unwearied care and painful
assiduity, in this painful, perilous, thankless service. All this might be tole-
rable, if I could find myself useful to you or my country. But the only benefit,
that I can see, results to those, whom I cannot look upon as friends to their
country, bands of p'acemen and pensioners, whose merit is enhanced and
whose number has been generally increased, in proportion to the opposition,
g-iven to the measures of ministers. I dare not neglect, much less desert my
station, but I wish by any lawful or honourable means for my dismission.
112
would, at any time, give them a clear majority upon any ques-
tion. To gain these had been the chief anxiety of former go-
vernors : they were sure to bring over a proportionate number
of dependants, and it had been the unguarded maxim to permit
subordinate graces and favours to flow from or through the
hands of these leaders, whom experience now shewed to be as
irritable and versatile as the most insignificant of their followers.*
Formerly these principals used to stipulate with each new lord
lieutenant, whose office was biennial and residence but for six
months, upon what terms, they would carry the king's business
through the House : so that they might not improperly be called
undertakers. They provided, that the disposal of all court
favours, whether places, pensions, or preferments, should pass
through their hands, in order to keep their suite in an absolute
state of dependance upon themselves. All applications were
made by the leader, who claimed as a right the privilege of
gratifying his friends in proportion to their numbers. Whenever
such demands were not complied with, then were the measures
of government sure to be crossed and obstructed : and the ses-
sion of parliament became a constant struggle for power between,
the heads of parties, who used to force themselves into the
office of lord justice according to the prevalence of their interest.
This evil had been seen and lamented by Lord Chesterfield : and
his resolution and preparatory steps for undermining it probably
contributed not a little to his immediate recal upon the cessation
of the danger, which his wisdom was thought alone competent
to avert.
This was the system, which Lord Clare said, the government
of England at length opened their eyes to the defects and dangers
of: they shook the power of the aristocracy, but zvere unable to
break it down. The monopoly of civil power long survived
the administration of Lord Townsend : no small share of it
rested with that noble earl, who thus faithfully describing it,
practically knew the inability of the English government to
break it down. The primary object of Lord Townsend's ad-
ministration was to break up the monopolizing system of this
oligarchy. He in part succeeded, but by means ruinous to the
country. The subalterns were not to be detached from their
chiefs, but by similar though more powerful means than those,
by which they had enlisted under their banners. The streams
of favour became not only multiplied, but enlarged, consequently
the source of remuneration the sooner exhausted. Every indi-
vidual now looked up directly to the fountain head, and claimed
and received more copious draughts. Thus, under colour of
destroying an overgrown aristocratic power, all parliamentary
* Phil. Surv. p. 57.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 113
independence was completely secured by government. The
innovation naturally provoked the deserted few to resentment :
but they were bereft of their consequence when left to their
individual exertions.* They took refuge under the shelter of
patriotism, and they inveighed with less effect against the ve-
nality of the system, merely because it had taken a new direc-
tion, and was somewhat enlarged. The bulk of the nation, and
some, though very few of their representatives in parliament,
were earnest, firm, and implacable against it.
The arduous task, which Lord Townshend had assumed was
not to be effected by a coup de main : forces so engaged, so mar-
shalled, and so commanding rather than commanded, as he
found the Irish parliament, were not to be dislodged by a sud-
den charge : regular, gradual, and cautious approaches were to
be made : it was requisite, that the chief governor should first
be popular, and then powerful, before he could be efficient and
successful. His lordship therefore to those convivial fascina-
tions, to which the Irish are supereminently sensible, super-
added as many personal favours,, as the fiscal stores could even
promise to answer, which in a people of quick and warm sensi-
bility creates a something very like momentary gratitude ; and
in order the more completely to seat himself in that effective
power, which was requisite for his purpose, he judiciously fixed
upon a favourite object of the wishes and attempts of the pa-
triots to sanction with his countenance and support.
The patriots had long and loudly complained, that although
in early times the parliament of Ireland continued but for the
year or session, and then the popular representatives having dis-
charged the duties required of them for that period, resigned
their delegated authority and powers into the hands of those,
from whom they had received them, to be again at their free
option and disposal : yet in latter times their parliaments were
prolonged from the beginning of each reign to the demise of
the sovereign, unless he chose by an extraordinary exertion of
prerogative to put an earlier period to their existence by disso-
lution. This they considered as a flagrant violation of the
rights of the people : as from them, the representatives derived
their political character, its continuance ought to be commensu-
rate with the will of the people, not that of the crown : from the
moment their power exceeded their delegation, it was usurpa-
tion : the nation might in that case number several self-created
* Under various pretences these gentlemen endeavoured to spirit up the
people to adopt their resentments, and they affected to take refuge in the arms
of patriotism. The contest produced a series of political letters, replete with
wit and humour, inferior perhaps to nothing of the kind, except the letters of
Junius. They have been since published in an octavo volume, under Uie title
»f Baratariana. Phil. Surv. f, 59.
VOL. II. - P
114 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
law-givers, not one representative. A national evil, which called
loudly for redress. Under this baneful system, from the mo-
ment of their election, the commons became almost wholly inde-
pendent of the people ; and under the refined improvements of
Sir Robert Walpole, in the management of parliamentary inte-
rest, the seduction became too powerful for most men, when
they were at liberty to treat for life. The patriots anticipated
the cure of venality in the frequency of their parliaments, the
people hailed the welcome return of their power and control
over their representatives, and government sensibly felt, that
they could not longer withhold from Ireland what England had
so long and so reasonably enjoyed.* Dr. Lucas had several
times failed in his endeavours to procure a bill for limiting the
duration of parliament. Now however a septennial bill was
transmitted, and was returned with an alteration in point of time,
having been changed into an octennial one. There appears to
have been some unfair manoeuvring in the British cabinet, in
order by a side wind to deprive the Irish of that, which they
dared not openly refuse them. At the same time a transmiss
was made of another popular bill for the independence of the
judges, in which they had also inserted some alteration. It
was expected, that the violent tenaciousness of the Irish com-
mons for the privilege of not having their heads of bills altered
on this side of the water, would have induced them to reject
any bill, into which such an alteration had been introduced. In
this the English cabinet was deceived : the Irish commons
waved the objection as to the limitation bill, in order to make
sure at last of what they had so long tried in vain to procure,
and considered that they surrendered no part of their privilege
by objecting on this very account to the judges bill, which was
transmitted at the same time with alterations : for although this
latter bill had been particularly recommended in the speech of the
lord lieutenant, it was on account of an alteration inserted in it
in England, upon the report of the committee appointed to com-
pare the bill with the heads of the bill, unanimously rejected. f
No sooner was the octennial bill returned, than the commons
voted a respectful and grateful address to the throne, beseeching
his majesty to accept their unfeigned and grateful acknowledg-
* Our parliaments have continuance for seven years, by 1 Geo. 1. c. 38.
f Vid. 8 Journ. Com p. 270. The committee appointed to compare the bill
with the heads of a bill for making the commissions of judges to continue
quamdiu se bene gcsserunt have accordingly compared the same, and found that
the following alteration hath been made therein. In the last sheet, at the end
of the last clause, after the word Parliament, the following words are added,
" Certified by the lord lieutenant and council there under the great seal of
" Ireland, in like manner as bills are usually certified, or upon the address of
" both houses of the parliament of Great Britain." Resolved, That the bill
be rejected.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 115
inents for the condescension, so signally manifested to his sub-
jects of that kingdom, in returning the bill for limiting the dura-
tion of parliaments, which they considered not only as a gra-
cious mark of paternal benevolence, but as a wise result of royal
deliberation. And when the royal assent had been given, the
action was so grateful to the people, that they took the horses
from his coach, and drew him from the parliament house to the
castle with the most enthusiastic raptures of applause and exul-
tation. * But his lordship's"]" popularity did not last long. By
diverting the channel of favour, or rather by dividing it into a
multitude of little streams, the gentlemen of the House of Com-
mons were taught to look up to him, not only as the source, but
as the dispenser of every gratification. Not even a commission
in the revenue, worth above 40/. a year, could be disposed of,
without his approbation. Thus were the old undertakers given
to understand, that there was another way of doing business
than through them. It was not, however, without much vio-
lence on both sides, that he at length effected his purpose. The
immediate sufferers did not fail to call this alteration in the sys-
tem of governing, an innovation, which they artfully taught the
people to resent as a national grievance.
It is not a very extravagant system, that all men are born with
equal powers of mind, and that special circumstances and occa-
sions draw forth this general mental aptitude into the various
degrees of energy and excellence, which we witness in the inde-
finite variety of times, climates, religions, governments, changes,
and affections of different portions of the human race. When-
ever a great change takes effect upon the public mind of a na-
tion, it is a primary duty of the historian to trace and faithfully
to retail the causes, which have brought it about. We have
before remarked, that a spirit of patriotism had begun soon after
the Revolution to manifest itself in Ireland: and the first public
effort of resisting English oppression upon the true principles
of the Revolution itself, was the publication of Mr. Molyneux's
Case of Ireland being bound by Acts of Parliament in England
stated.
The English House of Commons, finding the arguments
unanswerable, ordered the books to be burned by the hands of
the common hangman ; a circumstance very remarkable, as
they were the very commons of the Revolution parliament ;
* Dr. Campbell, who made his philosophical tour through the south of Ire-
land, during the administration of Lord Harcourt, Lord Tovvnshend's immediate
successor, said, (p. 58) " That notwithstanding that deed were so pleasing to
the people, yet they then began to think, that that favourite law was of no other
use, but to increase the vakie of boroughs ; a single seat in one of which then
sold for 2000/. at least.
t Ibid.
116 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
and could not deny the truth of its principles, without shaking
the basis of their own liberty, which must have upset the whole
superstructure of that government they had just raised. This
conduct in the Commons of England raised jealousy and sus-
picions in the Commons of Ireland. They saw that the very-
principles of liberty, which Englishmen admired and revered
in Locke as the foundations of the freedom of England, were
reprobated in Molyneux, and condemned as seditious, when
brought to bear upon Ireland. In that moment they most sen-
sibly felt the galling situation of an arbitrary subordination.
This execution instead of degrading, increased the character of
the book. It had suffered political martyrdom ; and, as in all
other cases of martyrs, its disciples increased by persecution.
The people of Ireland sought after and read Molyneux with
avidity. The book has ever since been in the widest circula-
tion, and its doctrines have been deeply engraven on the hearts
of all true Irishmen. The politics of Molyneux are not less
revered by the Irish, than the morality of Confucius by the Chi-
nese. The writings of Dean Swift went still further in opening
the minds of the Irish, and preparing them to nurture the seeds
of freedom, and to vindicate those rights, which Heaven has
bestowed upon the human race. He wrote to be understood by
the common people, and made use of the cheapest mediums for
distributing advice. The Draper's letters were cried about the
streets of Dublin, and sold for a penny each. Every man who
could read, read the Draper's letters. They were dispersed
through the kingdom, pasted up in alehouses and cottages all
over the country, and their influence was very suddenly per-
ceived. Swift was the first person, who pointed out to the Irish
the necessity of associating against wearing foreign manufac-
tures : and to that non-importation association must be attributed
the successful advances, which the nation was then making
towards civil liberty. A prosecution was instituted against the
printer of Swift's Essays, which terminated in the imprison-
ment of the printer (Alderman Faulkener), who peremptorily
refused to give up the writer. This prosecution, like the burn-
ing of Molyneux's book, increased the popularity of the Essays
and the author. It stimulated the satiric genius of the Dean,
who literally wrote some of his enemies out of the world. It
brought the doctrine of libels into discussion in the courts of
Ireland ; and the arguments of the council for the defendants
convinced the people that the liberty of speaking, thinking, and
writing, was one of the great principles of the constitution.
The universal estimation, in which Mr. Molyneux's book, as
well as the Draper's letters have been since holden by all that is
respectable throughout the British empire, most irrefragably
condemns the impolicy and injustice of the conduct of the Bri-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND.
tish cabinet towards Ireland in both these instances. So proper,
so beneficial to the country, so constitutional in their tendency
did Lord Chesterfield consider the Draper's letters, that in or-
der to reconcile the minds of the public to a desirable measure
during his administration, he himself framed a letter in the ex-
act style of Swift, then in his melancholy state of dotage, and
had it published under the signature of the Draper, and circu-
lated in the same way, in which those letters formerly had been.
No nation on earth naturally takes a more lively and active in-
terest in the political events of the day than the Irish : none
holds the efforts of wit, humour, and talent in higher estima-
tion : none more justly appreciates the benefits and advantages
of civil liberty. Upon principles arising out of these facts very
soon after the accession of his majesty had the Freeman's Jour-
nal keen set up in Dublin.
This paper was soon followed by another public print, called
the Hibernian Journal. The gentlemen of the university of
Dublin supplied these papers with ample matter for entertain-
ment and information. Dr. Lucas was the director of the
Freeman's Journal ; and from the elegance of composition and
strength of political argument, which marked several of the
essays, it was known that they had also support from Mr. Flood,
Mr. Burgh, Mr. Yelverton, Mr. Grattan, and other gentlemen,
then generally esteemed. In the administration of Lord Vis-
count Townshend, another public paper appeared, called the
Dublin Mercury^ avowedly patronized by government. It
was the business of this paper to turn every serious argument of
the adversary into ridicule. Men of extensive learning and
attic genius sported their wit in print ; among whom were Mr.
Courteney, Captain Jephson, and Dean Marl ay. The press
transplanted those shoots of liberty to all parts of the country.
Newspapers appeared in every town, and tended -to sow the
seeds of that ardour for civil freedom, that ended in the estab-
lishment of Irish independence in the year 1782.
Very early in the session, the attention of parliament was
drawn to the consideration of the army upon the Irish establish-
ment. This was a subject, upon which the nation was most
justly sore : and it it the more material to touch upon it, as out
of the misconduct of the British cabinet, with reference to the
military establishment of Ireland, arose that important and won-
derful Revolution in the political system of Ireland, which will
hereafter be noticed in its appropriate time and order. The
following message was sent to the House of Commons from his
excellency by the hands of the Right Hon. Sir George Macart-
ney, who delivered it to the speaker, and he read it to the House.
* In these different papers appeared the several letters and essays, that we
have before remarked made up the collection of Baratariana.
118 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
(TOWNSHEND.)
" GENTLEMEN,
" I am commanded by his majesty to inform you,
that his majesty, upon die most mature consideration of the
state and circumstances of his kingdom of Ireland, judges that
a number of troops not less than twelve thousand men, commis-
sion and non-commission officers included, should be constantly
kept therein, for the better defence of the same ; and that his
majesty finding, that, consistently with the general public ser-
vice, the number before mentioned cannot always be continued
in Ireland, unless his army upon the Irish establishment be aug-
mented to 15,235 men in the whole, commission and non-com-
mission officers included, his majesty is of opinion, that such
augmentation should be immediately made, and earnestly re-
commends it to his faithful Commons to concur in providing
for a measure, which his majesty has extremely at heart, as ne-
cessary not only for the honour of his crown, but for the peace
and security of his kingdom j and I have his majesty's special
commands to assure you expressly, in his name, that it is his
determined resolution, that upon such augmentation, a number
of effective troops, not less than 12,OOO men, commission and
non-commission officers included, shall at all times, except in
the cases of invasion or rebellion in Great Britain, be kept with-
in this kingdom, for the better defence thereof. I have ordered
a plan and estimate of the immediate charge, and of the annual
expence, which will be incurred by this measure, to be laid be-
fore you ; and if, by the strictest oeconomy and the non-effective
funds, any savings can be made, you may be assured, that, of
the sums which shall be granted, no greater part shall be used
than shall be indispensably necessary for this service. And I
have it further in command from his majesty to acquaint you,
that his majesty has been pleased to determine, that as the seve-
ral general officers who now compose the staff upon the military
establishment of this kingdom, shall happen to die, or be pro-
vided for, the number shall be reduced, and consist of no more
than a commander in chief, and five general officers." It was
ordered to be entered on the journals, and at the same time a
committee was appointed to enquire into the state of the mili-
tary establishment, and also into the application of the money
granted for its support from 25th March, 1751. The result of
this enquiry shewed manifest misconduct, as appears from the
report at large, and the returns thereunto annexed: part of
the report is to the following effect :
" Your committee beg leave to take notice, that the entire
reduction of the army, after the conclusion of the peace, did not
take place till the latter end of the year 1764 j and that it appears
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 11
from the return of the quarter-master-general, that there were
great deficiencies in the several regiments then upon the estab-
lishment, at the several quarterly musters comprised in the said
paper, which precede the month of January, 1765; the full pay
of such vacancies must amount to a very large sum, and ought,
as your committee apprehends, to have been returned as a saving
to the public, especially as it appeared to your committee, that
orders were issued by government, not to recruit the regiments
intended to be reduced." Upon the whole, it was resolved that
an address should be presented to his majesty, to lay before him
the report of the said committee, to acknowledge his constant
attention to the welfare of the people, to express the utmost
confidence in his majesty's wisdom, that if upon such repre-
sentation any reformation in the said establishment should ap-
pear necessary to his majesty, such alteration would be made
therein as would better provide for the security of the kingdom,
and at the same time reduce the expence of the establishment,
in such a manner as might be more suitable to the circumstance
of the nation. Whatever be or have been the unsound policy
to suppress or misrepresent the actual state of facts, when we
look to Ireland with impartiality, from what has been stated, we
have melancholy but indisputable proof of the impoverished
state of the kingdom at this juncture. She was oppressed by a
rapidly increasing debt, burthensome taxes, unnecessary expen-
ces, places and pensions, and evident misapplication of the public
money ; and under these circumstances the representatives of
the people made some ineffectual efforts for the relief of their
country ; but the majority was secured, and vainly did the
efforts of patriotism encounter the exertions of the new system,
to keep individuals steady to their post on the treasury bench.
The unusual interval of 16 months between the dissolution of
the old and the meeting of the new parliament was carefully
employed by the lord lieutenant in forming the particular ar-
rangements with the new members for carrying on the work of
government upon the new system of the immediate influence of
the chief governor : and considering the length of possession,
the nature of the power, the struggle of the former holders to
retain it, and their personal weight and influence upon their
dependants, his efforts were uncommonly successful for a first
essay.* On the 17th of October, 1769, the lord lieutenant met
• Painful and discouraging as it is to contemplate the frequency and facility,
with which the Irish (like too many other) patriots were drawn over, yet if
their patriotism, whilst it lasted, whether affected or sincere, were founded
in reason and truth, we must honour, revere, and commend the virtue, although
we lament the profligate recreancy of those, who abuse and desert its cause.
The number of the wicked but enhances the merit of the good. It is an humi-
liating conclusion, which lias been often, perhaps not without reason, drawn by
120 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the new parliament. Mr. John Ponsonby was unanimously
elected speaker of the House of Commons. The lord lieute-
nant's speech pointed only at three things, namely, the encou-
ragement of the charter school, the linen manufacture, and the ,
prevention of running contraband goods, by which the revenue
was much injured. His lordship however did the nation the
justice so to mention the late popular act for limiting the dura-
tion of parliaments, as to justify the exertions of the patriots, who
had so eagerly urged, and condemned the opposition of the court
party, who had so obstinately resisted the passing of that bill. u It
" is," said his lordship, " with particular satisfaction that I meet
" the first parlijiment limited in duration, that ever assembled in
" this kingdom. I am confident, that you are come together
" with the justest sentiments of duty and affection to our excel-
" lent sovereign, who has gratified the earnest wishes of his
" faithful subjects of Ireland with that great improvement of
" their constitution."
This first session of the first octennial parliament of Ireland,
under all the peculiarity of its circumstances, stands unprece-
dented in the Irish annals. Lord Townshend, whose special
mission was to renovate the court system of government in that
kingdom, after having ceded to the Irish party, with ungracious
reluctance, the octennial bill, and laboured with unabated industry
and contrivance through the long interval of 16 months to
create a new junto in support of the English interest^ indepen-
dent of their former leaders, had not so matured his plan as to
nave ensured the whole game. He had not altered the nature,
but only raised the price of accommodation : and lavish as
the Irish have generally been of their voices in parliament to
the highest bidder, there ever appear to have been some cases
reserved out of the bargain. Such had been the reservation of
right to vote for limited parliaments, in some of the most obse-
quious devotees to the measures of the castle : and such now
was a similar exception in some of his pensioned supporters
to resist the right of the English council to make money bills
originate with them, and not with the commons of Ireland. On
this point the British cabinet and the Irish house of commons
came fairly to issue.* The judges bill and the octennial bill
real well wishers to their country, in support of the union, that Ireland is better
without any parliament at all, than to be cursed with a corrupt and venal one.
* It had long1 been the avowed and boasted maxim of all Irish patriots to
decry Poyningjs Law as a most unconstitutional national grievance. The
union having now rendered its observance impossible, it behoves us, notwith-
standing1, to consider the effect, which its execution and resistance have here-
tofore respectively produced upon the Irish nation. It was an act passed in
the 10th Hen. VII. c. 4. This statute is called Poyning's Law, from Sir
Edward Poyning, the viceroy, who is generally considered to have obtained it
by a manoeuvre. The major part of the lords and commons were drawn from
their attendance in parliament by stratagem, and in their absence this law was
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 121
had both been qualified on this side of the water to bring on the
trial ; and now another formal attack having been made upon
passed ; a law to which the poverty, calamity, and discontent of Ireland, have
generally been attributed by the patriots. It enacts as follows, that " no par-
' liament be holden hereafter in the said land, but at such season as the king's
' lieutenant and counsaile their first do certifie the king-, under the great seal
« of that land, the causes and considerations, and all such acts as them seem-
' eth should pass in the same parliament, and such causes, considerations, and,
' acts affirmed by the king and his counsail to be good and expedient for that
' land, and his licence thereupon, as well in affirmation of the said causes and
' acts, as to summon the said parliament under his great seal of England had
' and obtained; that done, a parliament to be had and holden after the form
' and effect afore rehearsed ; and if any parliament be holden in that land here-
' after, contrary to the form and provision aforesaid, it be deemed void and of
' none effect in law."
As this statute precluded any law from being proposed, but such as were
preconceived before the parliament was in being, which occasioned many in-
conveniences, and made frequent dissolutions necessary, it was provided by
statute the 3d and 4th of Philip and Mary, chap. 4. that any new propositions
might be certified to England in the usual forms even after the summons and
during the sessions of parliament. To remedy in some measure the inconve-
nience arising from these laws, the Irish lords and commons had adopted a
mode of originating laws in their own houses. A lord or commoner applied
to the house, of which he was a member, for leave to bring in heads of a bill,
which leave being granted by the majority of the house, the heads of the bill
were proposed, received after regular discussion, alteration, and amendment,
and having passed through all the forms of parliamentary order, paragraph by
paragraph, and being perfected to the satisfaction of the house, where they
originated, they were sent to the Irish privy council, in order to be transmitted
to the King of England. If these heads of bills were transmitted to England
by the Irish privy council (which was not always the case), and were assented
to by the king, they were then re-transmitted to Ireland, and if not negatived
by one of the houses of parliament, they received a formal royal assent from
the viceroy. This statutable authority of the Irish privy council was often
complained of by the people of Ireland as an unwholesome medium between
the king and his Irish subjects, and under its baneful influence, laws of the
most salutary nature often perished. When heads of bills prepared by the
Irish lords and commons, militated against the sentiments of the council, or
the wishes of the viceroy, such bills-jK-ere arrested in their course to the throne,
and in the technical'language of the council, they were " put under the cushion,"
from whence they never reached the ear of majesty. By Poyning's law, all
bills must originate in the Irish privy council, and receive the assent of the king
and council in England, previous to their being presented to the legislative
bodies of the Irish parliament ; in consequence of which process, all bills that
came certified from the Irish council to the king in England, Were immediately
on their arrival delivered to the attorney general of England, to be perused,
and settled by himself or the solicitor general, but which in fact was generally
done by some chamber council, who had leisure to attend to it. The inconveni^
ency of this was illustrated by a bill returned to Ireland altered in 74 places,
which had been successively revised by Lord Thurlow, when attorney general,
Lord Roselyne, when solicitor general, and the late Mr. Macnamara, a cham-
ber council. The bill so metamorphosed was rejected by the commons of
Ireland. These various corrections by an English, Scotch, and Irish lawyer,
were of serious consequence to government. The temporary dut'es of Ireland
expired in a few days after the rejection of the bill. Several weeks elapsed
before a money bill could be perfected, sent over to England, returned, and ap-
proved by the Irish commons and lords. ...and in the interim the merchants im-
ported duty free. The commissioners of" the revenue, though no law existed,
VOL. II. Q
122 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the legislative powers of Ireland for the same purpose by the
origination of a money bill in the privy council, the commons
resolved fairly to meet the question : accordingly it was moved
in the House of Commons, that a bill, intituled, " An Act for
" granting to his Majesty the several Duties, Rates, Impositions,
" and Taxes, therein particularly expressed, to be applied to the
" Payment of the Interest of the Sums therein provided for,
" and towards the Discharge of the said principal Sums," should
be then read a second time on the day following. This motion
was negatived ; and it was resolved, that such bill was rejected,
because it did not take its rise in that house.
The lord lieutenant, though he thought proper to allow the
Irish parliament to grant their own money in their own way,
protested against the right claimed by the House of Commons,
and endeavoured, but in vain, to enter his protest upon their
Journals. The house would not submit to this encroachment
upon their privileges : the lords were less inflexible, and after
much opposition and debate, his excellency's protest was so-
lemnly recorded on the Journals of the House of Peers. But
before that wat done, it having been generally suspected, that
such was his intention, the following motion was made in the
House of Peers, " That the speaker of this house be desired
" that no protest of any person whomsoever, who is not a lord of
" parliament, and a member of this house, and which doth
" not respect a matter, which had been previously in question
" before this house, and wherein the lord protesting had taken
" part with the minority, either in person or by proxy, be enter-
" ed on the Journals of the house." After a warm debate upon
this motion, the question was negatived upon a division of 30
against 5.*
Although only two bills passed in this singular and short
session of parliament, it did not go over without incident : be-
sides what we have already remarked, the patriot party, not
having been satisfied, that the papers delivered in from the trea-
sury, were sufficient to bring the whole appropriation of the
public money since the last parliament under their examination,
moved for an address to the lord lieutenant, apprizing him of
what papers had been actually delivered in, and requesting, that
by which they could levy the duties, seized the goods, and lodged them in the
king's stores. The merchants replevied, the commissioners opposed the
sheriffs of Dublin, raised the posse comitatus, broke open the stores, and the
goods were conveyed to the merchants houses in triumph. Certain it is, that
the British constitution knows not any law, that gives power to any person or
set of persons, distinct from the great council of the nation, to frame, propose,
originate, or suppress bills intended to be statutes; which must be injurious
to the legislative power of the state, and subversive of the constitution thereof.
* Vid. App. No. LX. the protest of the five dissentient lords, and also the
protest of the lord lieutenant, and the whole proceeding thereupon from the
Lords Journals.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 125
his excellency would be pleased to inform the house, if those
were the only estimates and accounts intended by his excel-
lency's most gracious speech : and a motion was made and the
question put, that an amendment be made to the said address,
by inserting the following words, *" being the only papers usu-
" ally laid before this house at the beginning of a session, in
" consequence of the chief governor's speech and in pursuance
" of the address of this house." Upon which a division took
place of forty-seven for, and sixty-five against the motion. This
was the first trial of the strength of the lord lieutenant's newly
marshalled phalanx. It was not upon any of the excepted ques-
tions, and he was far from being satisfied with his victory.
The 21st of November, 1769, was the day appointed for the
grand experiment of the new artillery, which his excellency
found only to be defective, from the scantiness of the priming :
accordingly after this failure he deferred any further experi-
ment, till he had more fully ascertained the calibre of each piece
of ordnance, and he took care to have it charged accordingly.
f" A motion being made, and the question put, that a bill
" entitled, an act for granting to his majesty the several duties,
" rates, impositions, and taxes therein particularly expressed, to
" be applied to the payment of the interest of the sums therein
" provided for and towards the discharge of the said principal
" sums, in such manner as is therein directed, be now read the
" first time," it was carried in the affirmative : and the bill be-
ing accordingly read, a motion was made and the question put,
that the bill be read a second time to-morrow morning : the
house divided : ayes sixty-eight, noes eighty-seven. Then the
motion, that the bill be rejected was put and carried by ninety-
four against seventy-one : and it was resolved that the said bill
•was rejected because it did not take its rise in that house. The
lord lieutenant took this defeat in the commons so much to
heart, that he resolved to bring no more government questions
before them during that session : or until he could, as the castle
phrase then was, make more sure of the king's business. The
representations, which were made of this transaction in Eng-
land, soon found their way into the newspapers, and the light in
which Mr. Woodfall placed the majority of the Irish House of
Commons on that important division in the Public Advertiser,
fully proved the general sentiments entertained at that time in
England upon the whole system of the Irish government. jOn
the 18th day of December, 1769, a motion was made and car-
ried without opposition, that a paper entitled the Public Adver-
tiser, by H. S. Woodfall, London, December the 9th, 1769,
might be read. It contained the following words : " Hibernian
* 8 Journ. Com. p. 295. f Journ. Com. vol. 8, p. 323. J Ibid. p. 344.
J24 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" patriotism is a transcript of that filthy idol worshipped at the
" London Tavern ; insolence, assumed from an opinion of im-
*' punity, usurps the place which boldness against real injuries
" ought to hold. The refusal of the late bill, because it was
*' not brought in contrary to the practice of ages, in violation of
" the constitution, and to the certain ruin of the dependance of
" Ireland upon Great Britain, is a behaviour more suiting an
" army of White Boys than the grave representatives of a na-
*' tion. This is the most daring insult, that has been offered to
" government. It must be counteracted with firmness, or else
"• the state is ruined. Let the refractory house be dissolved ;
*' should the next copy their example, let it also be dissolved ;
" and if the same spirit of seditious obstinacy should continue,
" I know no remedy but one, and it is extremely obvious. The
" parliament of Great Britain is supreme over its conquests, as
" well as colonies, and the service of the nation must not be left
" undone, on account of the factious obstinacy of a provincial
*' assembly. Let our legislature, for they have an undoubt-
*' ed right, vote the Irish supplies ; and so save a nation, that
" their own obstinate representatives endeavour to ruin." These
paragraphs having been read, it was resolved, that they were a
false and infamous libel upon the proceedings of that house, a
daring invasion of the parliament, and calculated to create
groundless jealousies between his majesty's faithful subjects of
Great Britain and Ireland : it was therefore ordered, that the
said paper should be burnt by the hands of the common hang,
man. And on the Wednesday following, viz. the 20th of De-
cember, the said paper was burned before the gate of the House
of Commons by the hands of the common hangman, in the pre-
sence of the sheriffs of Dublin, amidst the indignant shouts of
an immense croud of spectators, who loudly, though without
outrage, resented the insult offered to their representatives.
*On the same day (viz. 18th of December, 1769) Sir Charles
Bingham, according to order, reported from the committee, to
whom it had been referred, to enquire into the state of pensions,
the matter, as it appeared to them, with the resolutions of the
committee thereupon. The ministerial party well knowing, that
it was then his excellency's intention to prorogue the parliament
within the week, and being sensible, that the subject of pensions
was too green a wound to be then probed in that temper of the
house, moved, that the further consideration of the said report
should be adjourned until the first Monday after the Christmas
holidays : on this tender subject many of the ministerialists, who
had quitted their ranks on the former questions, rallied accord-
ing to their engagements, and outvoted the patriots : ninety-
* Journ. Com. vol. 8, p. 345.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 125
eight being against the agitation of the pension list at that time,
and eighty-nine only for it. So trifling a majority did not en-
courage the lord lieutenant to hazard any more questions before
the prorogation : although no hint or suggestion had been thrown
out by the ministry, that it was the intention of government to
prorogue the parliament, yet so fully convinced of it were the
patriots, that on the 20th of that month (of December) the
commons resolved, that it was their undoubted privilege to ad-
dress the chief governor, to know whether he had any instruc-
tions or entertained any intentions to prorogue the parliament
at an unusual season : an address was therefore agreed upon,
whereby it was requested, his excellency would inform the
house, whether he had any instructions or had any intention to
prorogue the parliament sooner than usual. Here again the
lord lieutenant found his deficiency in doing the king's business :
for upon a division on the main question the minister was left
once more in a greater minority than ever : there being 106 for
his excellency's making the declaration, and 73 only against it.*
On the very next day, however, Sir George Macartney, the se-
cretary, reported to the house, that his excellency had returned
the following answer.
GENTLEMEN,
" I shall always be desirous of complying with
" your request when I can do it with propriety. I do not think
" myself authorized to disclose his majesty's instructions to me
" upon any subject, without having received his majesty's com-
" mands for so doing. With regard to my intentions, they will
" be regulated by his majesty's instructions and future events."
This answer was neither ambiguous, nor gracious : past events
had provoked it : and the lord lieutenant awaited only his jus-
tification from England of the measure, which his own judg-
ment and disposition had predetermined him to adopt. On the
day after Christmas day his excellency put an end to the ses-
sion.
A message was sent by the gentleman usher of the black rod
to the commons to attend his excellency in the House of Peers,
where after the royal assent was given to two money bills, the
speaker Mr. John Ponsonby made the following speech at the
bar of the House of Peers. "j*
* Journ. Com. vol. 8, p. 353.
f It is remarkable that the Journals of the Lords take no notice of the
speaker's speech to the lord lieutenant ; that appears only in the Journals of
the Commons (8 vol. p. 354) and the Journals of the Commons make no men-
tion of the lord lieutenant's speech to the commons : that appears in the vol.
4 of the Lords Journals, p. 538, the whole of which, with the proceedings and
protest are to be seen in the Appendix, No. LXI.
136 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" His majesty's faithful commons having, upon
*' all occasions, given the strongest, and most distinguished
" proofs of their loyalty, duty, and affection to his sacred per-
u son and government, do now attend your excellency, to present
*' you, for the royal assent, two bills of supply granted by them
*' this session of parliament ; one for granting unto his majesty
44 an additional duty on beer, ale, strong waters, wine, tobacco,
" hides, and other goods and merchandises therein mentioned ;
" and for prohibiting the importation of all gold and silver lace,
" and of all cambricks and lawns, except of the manufacture of
" Great Britain ; the other for granting to his majesty the seve-
" ral duties, rates, taxes, and impositions therein particularly
" expressed to be applied to the payment of the interest of the
" sums therein provided for, and towards the discharge of the
" said principal sums, in such manner as therein directed. The
" commons are pleased with every opportunity of testifying
" their zeal for his majesty's service; and as they always have,
" so they ever will continue, to support and maintain his govern-
" ment with dignity and honour. They think themselves per-
" fectly secure under a prince, who considers it as his highest
*' glory to make all his subjects happy ; they humbly presume,
" that their loyal and dutiful behaviour will entitle them to the
" continuance of his majesty's favour and protection, and they
" are persuaded, from their knowledge of your excellency's re-
" gard to justice, that they shall be represented as a dutiful, a
" loyal, and a grateful people."
Whereupon his excellency made a very pointed speech to the
commons, setting forth his reasons for protesting against their
conduct. Then the lord chancellor, by his excellency's com-
mand, delivered the said protest to the clerks of the parliaments,
which he read at the table, and kept, in order to enter it in the
Journals of the lords : after which the chancellor, by his excel-
lency's further command, declared the parliament prorogued to
the 20th day of March next. The commons upon their return
to their house gave orders, that their clerk should not enter the
lord lieutenant's speech in their Journals.
The lord lieutenant having experienced so much inflexibility
and difficulty in the management of the commons in the first
session, fully resolved to meet them no more in parliament, till
they were more properly marshalled, and thoroughly broken
in to every manoeuvre of the new tactics. His excellency ac-
cordingly by proclamation on the 12th of March, 1 770, prorogued
them to Tuesday the 1st of May following: on the 20th of
April, 1770, he further prorogued them to the 28th of August,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 127
and by three other successive proclamations he farther prorogued
them to different periods, and ultimately to the 26th of February,
1771, and then to sit for the dispatch of business. This mea*
sure of depriving the nation of all benefit of their representatives,
because a majority of them had stood up firmly for their privi-
leges, coupled with the effect produced on the nation by some
cavalier and angry expressions, which had escaped the secretary
in debate, kept the public mind in a state of soreness and irrita-
tion, which was not merely confined to Ireland. On the 3d of
May, 177O, as soon as conveniently could be, after the second
prorogation, a motion was made in the British House of Com-
mons, by the Hon. Boyle Walsingham,* on the late extraordi-
nary prorogation of the Irish parliament, which he introduced
by a speech, wherein he said, that the state of Ireland was most
deplorable; that, in consequence of the last unexpected pro-
rogation, the following temporary laws had expired; the act for
assigning judgments, by which the Roman Catholics could
alone obtain landed security for their money ; that the tax upon
hawkers and pedlars had ceased, which had been appropriated
to the support of the incorporated society for building Protestant
charter schools ; that 2800/. granted for public works, &c. would
remain unappropriated in the treasury ; that many useful laws,
regarding the late insurrections, and the tillage and improve-
ments of the country, had expired ; and concluded with moving,
" That an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he
" would be graciously pleased to give directions, that there be
" laid before that house, a copy of all instructions given to the
" lord lieutenant of the kingdom of Ireland relating to the late
" sudden prorogation of the Irish parliament, at a time when
" affairs of the greatest national importance to that kingdom
" were depending in the said parliament, together with the pa-
" pers, on which the said instructions were founded, and his
" answers thereto; and likewise a copy of a message of the
" 16th of November, last from the lord lieutenant of Ireland to
" the House of Commons of that kingdom, relative to the aug-
" mentation of the forces there," which motion was second-
ed by the Hon. Constantine Phips ; upon which the right
Hon. George Grenville said, that the late prorogation was
unconstitutional; that the Stuarts had ever been desirous of
ruling without parliaments ; that prorogations always followed
grants of money, as was the case lately in Ireland ; that admi-
nistration had given up the prerogative of the crown to obtain
the augmentation in Ireland; that Lord Townshend's message,
and the king's 'promise, were contrary to two English acts of
parliament, the act of the last sessions repealing the 10th of King
William, and to the 13th of Charles the Second vesting the
* Parliarn. Deb. 5 vol. p. 309.
128 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
power and disposition of *all the land and sea forces in the
crown ; that if this promise were observed, it would be in con-
tradiction to those two statutes : he believed deceit and delusion
had been hung out to the Irish parliament, to induce them to
come into the augmentation.
He then moved, that the papers relative to the augmentation
also might be laid before parliament.
Lord North, in reply, said, that the prorogation of the Irish
parliament was unavoidable ; the minister would have been im-
peachable, if he had advised otherwise : the resolution of the
House of Commons was contrary to Poyning's law, the grand
bond of the dependance of Ireland upon England, and war-
ranted by the precedent of Lord Sidney in 1692 ; that, founded
upon that, he advised the lord lieutenant's protest, and the pro-
rogation of the Irish parliament; that he affirmed his majesty's
bounty from his privy purse would be extended to the incorpo-
rated society ; that the augmentation could be obtained from
Ireland upon no other consideration, than the king's promise of
12,000 men being stationary at all times in that country. Sir
William Meredith reverted to the original proposition of his
honourable friend ; the consideration of the prerogative of the
Irish parliament ; and in order thereto, he entered into a sum-
mary view of Poyning's law, and those statutes, which aro
derived from it ; strongly urging that the Irish House of Com-
mons had a right to give their reason for their votes, which did
not impugn in the least the validity of the statute in question.
He continued, that he would not then comment upon the vio-
lation of the privileges of both houses of parliament by Lord
Townshend's protest, but content himself with observing, that
in a speech of Sir George Macartney's, pfinted as it appeared to
him in justification of that measure, he said, that this council
money-bill was a fine, which they paid for the renewal of parlia-
ment, and pointed to a man of great abilities in that country ;
telling the house at the same time, that he had lost his place of
Chancellor of the Exchequer, for impeding the progress of a
similar bill at the commencement of his present majesty's reign,
recommending it to others to avoid a like fate. He then con-
tended, that the proceedings of administrations in Ireland had
been most arbitrary and oppressive. Their house had a coer-
cive power over ministers in every part of the British empire ;
and he hoped, that the afflicted country of Ireland, would obtain
from the British legislature, that reparation, which her own par-
liament could no longer give her; and that their policy and inte-
rest would induce them to do that, which justice loudly demanded
from them.
The house at length divided upon the question, when GG were
for it, and 178 against it.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 129
The augmentation of the army had very considerably aug-
mented the debt of the nation, which for two years ending at
Lady Day, 1769, amounted to 628,883/. 17-s. W±d. and the pen-
sions during the same period amounted to 177,0527. Us. 5±d.
The national distresses called loudly for the interference of the
legislature. All were dissatisfied : some publicly complained.
The corporation of the city of Dublin, on the 29th of October,
1770, transmitted an address under their common seal to his
majesty, wherein they humbly informed him, that from some
defects in the laws relative to corn, flour, and other necessa-
ries of life, and in the laws affecting the police of that city (a
situation from which they could only be relieved by the meeting
of parliament), his majesty's subjects there experienced many
and great difficulties, and apprehended yet greater; and there-
fore besought his majesty to grant them such relief, as in his
royal wisdom he should think fit. During this cessation of par-
liament, the lord lieutenant redoubled his efforts to complete
his operose system of ensuring a majority of individuals. This
necessarily exposed him to numberless applications, to which he
neither had the means nor the will to accede. Anxious to per-
fect his system with all possible dispatch, he frequently found
himself thwarted by the slenderness of his means, but had
the address to accompany the disappointment or refusal with
some trait of humour, which ingratiated rather than offended the
Irish.*
The dearth of political virtue in Ireland has long been the
theme of lamentation to most men, of derision to some, and
even of boast tojothers : the historian has but to shew, who at dif-
ferent times have supported, who have deserted, and who have
resisted her cause. During the long interval of 14 months, that
Ireland, greatly distressed and impoverished, was kept without
a parliament, the lord lieutenant did not labour in vain to bring
over a considerable portion of the opposite party ; at the head of
which shone conspicuous, the great quondam patriot, Mr. Sex-
ton Pery, who was first seated in the chair of the house of com-
mons, with a promise of being soon after raised to the peerage.
With this accession of force the lord lieutenant, on the 26th of
February, 1771, faced the parliament in full confidence ; he told
them in his speech, it was with the truest satisfaction that he
obeyed his majesty's commands to meet them again in parlia-
ment. He observed in his speech, that the then high price of
corn was an object of the first importance, and demanded the
* It has been generally supposed, that this noble lord had sketched and
published a caricature (in which he excelled) of himself, with his hands and
feet fettered : he had one of them in his study, and would often humorously
point to it byway of apologizing for a refusal.
VOL. II. R
130 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
most serious attention ; at the same time he recommended the
continuance or revival of such laws, as should be found to be
immediately necessary for the general good of that country.
Addresses wei*e passed as usual to his majesty by both houses,
and also to the lord lieutenant ; and the commons, in their ad-
dress to the former, acknowledged, with the most perfect sub-
mission, that they were ever tenacious of the honour of granting
supplies to his majesty, and of being the first movers therein,
as they were the voluntary tribute of grateful hearts to the best
of monarchs ; and they most humbly besought his majesty, that
he would not permit their zeal in this particular to be construed
into an invasion of his royal authority, than which nothing was
more distant from their thoughts : they likewise returned their
most humble thanks to his majesty, for continuing his excellen-
cy, Lord Townshend, in the government of that kingdom. This
address was carried by 132 against 107. In consequence there-
of the speaker wrote the following letter, which was communi-
cated to the house by the clerk on the 4th of March, 1771.
u To the Honourable the House of Commons of Ireland.
" GENTLEMEN,
u When I had the honour of being unanimously elected to
" the chair of the house of commons, I entered on that high
u office full of the warmest sentiments of loyalty to his majesty,
" and firm determination to dedicate my whole endeavour to
" preserve and transmit to my successor, inviolate the rights
" and privileges of the commons of Ireland. But on the last
a day of the last session of parliament, his excellency the lord
" lieutenant was pleased to accuse the commons of a great crime,
" which I am confident was far from their intentions, as it ever
" was and ever shall be far from mine, that of intrenching upou
" his majesty's royal power and authority, and the just and un-
" doubted rights of the crown of Great Britain ; and as it has
*' pleased the house of commons to take the first opportunity
" after this transaction, of testifying their approbation of his
u excellency, by voting him an address of thanks this session ;
" and as the delivery of such approbation to his excellency is
" incidental to the office of speaker, I beg leave to inform you,
" that as such thanks seem to convey a censure of the proceed-
" ings, and a relinquishment of the privileges of the commons,
" my respect to them must prevent my being the instrument of
" delivering such address ; and therefore I request you may
u elect another speaker, who may not think such conduct in-
" consistent with his honour. I am, gentlemen, your most
" obliged and most humble servant, John Ponsonby, speaker.'*
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 131
' The commons having hereupon proceeded to elect a new
speaker, Edinond Sexton Pery,* Esq. had a majority of four
votes, and was appointed in the room of Mr. Ponsonby.
Mr. j. Ponsonby on this occasion was as much applauded by
the people for his dignity of spirit and purity of principle, as the
conduct of Mr. Pery was reviled and execrated. As the lord
lieutenant had now secured a majority in parliament^ his grand
manoeuvre was to do av,ray the effects of the votes of the last
session, and justify his conduct in the sudden and continued
prorogations of the parliament. Nothing was permitted to pass
without a division ; upon each of which successively the patriots
fell off. They were however resolved to leave to posterity upon
their Journals a faithful portrait of their suffering country in
that state of decline ; they moved and put the question, which
was lost by a majority of 123 against 68, " That an humble ad-
" dress be presented to his majesty, expressing, that his faith-
u ful commons of Ireland have been always most ready to re-
" pose the utmost trust in the persons employed in high autho-
" rity under his majesty; that therefore his faithful commons
11 did confidently hope, that a law for securing the independency
u of the judges of this kingdom would have passed : such a law
" having been recommended, and promised by his excellency
" the lord lieutenant, in the speech .from the throne, in the first
" session of his excellency's government. That, in like man-
" ner, as his excellency had recommended to that house, in his
" speech from, the throne, in that session of parliament, an atten-
* The conduct and speech of Mr. Pcry on this occasion bespoke the for-
ward zeal of anew proselyte.
" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" THE commons in parliament assembled, have, in obe-
' dience to your excellency's command, proceeded to the election of a speaker,
1 and have elected me, and now attend to present me to your excellency. It
' would give your excellency no favourable impression of my sincerity, if I
' were to pursue the usual form, and affect to decline this important office.
1 I confess it is the highest point of my ambition, and if I have the honour of
' your excellency's approbation, I shall endeavour to prove by my conduct,
' that I have not been more solicitous to obtain, than I shall be anxious to dis-
charge the duties of it." The lord chancellor receiving directions from his
excellency the lord lieutenant, said, " Mr. Pery, 1 am commanded by his ex-
cellency the lord lieutenant, to declare his full approbation of the choice,
which the commons have made of you for their speaker, and he has the
strongest confidence that your knowledge of the laws and constitution of
' your country, your experience in the business of parliament, and your loyalty
' to the king, which so eminently qualify you for that important office, will
' carry you through it with honour and universal satisfaction." Then Mr.
Speaker said, " Since your excellency has been pleased to approve the choice
of the commons, permit me to make my most humble and grateful acknow-
ledgments to your excellency, for having expressed your approbation in a
manner so gracious, and in terms so honourable to me ; and to assure your
excellency that I shall endeavour to merit the continuance of your excellen-
cy's favour, by the faithful discharge of my duty."
132 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" tion to the high price of corn, his majesty's faithful commons
" did flatter themselves, that the tillage of the kingdom would
" have received encouragement ; but that, on the contrary, in a
" session professedly called for the making and receiving useful
" laws, his majesty's commons had the unspeakable griet tofind,
" that two laws heretofore enacted, and transmitted, in order to
" be continued and revived, for the benefit of tillage, one for
" the restraining of distilleries, the other for a bounty on the
*' carriage of corn coastways, had not been returned, though
*' calculated to meet and correspond with the wishes of govern-
" ment, expressed from the throne, respecting that important
" article to the community, whereby that kingdom has been de-
" barred of the benefit of two useful laws ; the salutary effects
" of which they had formerly experienced, and which the then
u existing circumstances of that country, and the morals of the
" people, peculiarly required. That the suppression of those
" bills, and the unexpected alteration of others, whereby the hopes
*' of that country, founded in the declarations of his majesty's
" servants there, had been frustrated, tended to weaken the con-
" fidence of the public in his majesty's ministers, so essential to
" the dignity of the crown, and to the happiness of the subject.
" That both public and private credit was in a very low state,
u that govern irent securities, which used to bear a considerable
" premium, could not then be circulated at par. That money
u could scarcely be obtained, and that the price of land was fall-
*' ing. That the circumstances could not fail to be attended by
" melancholy and anxious apprehensions in the most loyal of
" his majesty's subjects j and imploring that his majesty would
" be graciously pleased to take such steps for the remedy there-
u of, as his royal wisdom and paternal dignity should suggest."
In the address of the commons to the lord lieutenant, which
'was moved for and carried on the 16th of May, two days only
before the prorogation, the patriots objected to the thanks con-
tained in it for his excellency's just and prudent administration;
but on a division they were outvoted by 106 against 51 : this
address together with the king's answer* to the address of the
* 2nd of May, 1771. Journ. Com. vol. 8, p. 383. The Right Honourable
Sir George Macartney informed the house, that he was commanded by his ex-
cellency the lord lieutenant, to acquaint them, that his majesty had been
pleased to return a most gracious answer to the address of this house, which
he read in his place, and after delivered in at the table, and the same was read
by Mr. Speaker (all the members being uncovered) and is asfolloweth :
" GEORGE R.
" His majesty thanks the house of commons for the many warm
' ' expressions of affection and loyalty contained in their address, and for their
'•' congratulations on the increase of his family.
" His majesty is extremely glad to find that the opportunity he has given
" them of consulting together, at this time, for the general good of his king-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 133
commons to the throne, was considered, by the castle, to have
completely counteracted the whole effect of the successful efforts
of the patriots in the last session, and to have given the express
royal sanction to every part of the viceroy's conduct.
The address of the lords to the king contained the following
paragraph : " We have the truest sense of the many instances,
** which your majesty has been pleased to afford us of your pa-
" ternal care, and particularly your continuing the .Lord Viscount
*' Townshend in the government of this kingdom, of which, as
" his experience enables him to form the truest judgment, so
" his candour and integrity will, we doubt not, move him to
u make the justest representation." A warm debate took place
upon the question being put, that the said paragraph do stand
part of the address ; which was carried by thirty against fifteen.
The protest entered by sixteen lords on this occasion, is an au-
thentic and very precise historical document of the grounds and
nature of the opposition made in parliament to that lord lieute-
nant's administration.
* Dissentient.
1° Because the repeated proofs we have of his majesty's pa-
ternal tenderness towards his people, convince us, that a misre-
presentation of his faithful commons could alone have determined
his royal breast to exert his undoubted prerogative of proroguing
his parliament at a crisis, when the expiration of laws essential
to the well-being of this kingdom, seemed peculiarly to point
out the most urgent demand for the assistance of the legisla-
ture: at a time, when the commons had given a recent efficacious
testimony of their unremitting zeal for his majesty's service,
by voting an augmentation of his majesty's forces ; a measure,
which had been represented to parliament as highly acceptable
to the king ; at a season too, when the suddenness of this unex-
pected mark of royal displeasure, rendered its consequences
almost irretrievably fatal to the nation, insomuch, that we see,
with the deepest concern, an extraordinary deficiency in his
majesty's revenue, proceeding from the declining state of our
credit, trade, and manufactures, thereby occasioned.
2° Because the unbounded confidence we repose in his majes-
ty's inviolate regard to the fundamental principles of the consti-
dom of Ireland, has been received by them with so much satisfaction, and
he trusts it will be productive of every benefit to the public that they could
desire.
" His majesty is well pleased with the assurances given by the house of
commons, of their regard for his rights and those of the crown of Great
Britain, which it is his indispensable duty to assert, and which he shall ever
think it incumbent upon him to maintain.
G. R?'>
* Lords Journ. vol. 4. p. 545.
134 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW -
tution, assures us, that the attempt, which has been lately made,
to infringe that balance, indefeasibly inseparable from its very,
formation, by entering upon the journals of this house a protest,
animadverting upon the proceedings of the house of commons,
was the result of pernicious counsels, insidiously calculated to
alienate the affections of the most loyal subjects, from the most
amiable of princes : an opinion, in which we conceive ourselves
by so much the better founded, as this unconstitutional extension
is unprecedented; (save only in one instance) which was fol-
lowed by just disapprobation of the sovereign, testified by the
immediate removal of the chief governor. We further conceive,
that as the constitution of this kingdom is, in respect to the
distinct departments of the crown, the lords, and the commons,
one and the same with that of Great Britain ; we should depart
not only from our duty to our king, and to this our country,
but likewise from that, which we owe to Great Britain, if in
pur high capacity of hereditary great council of Ireland to the
crown, we should acquiesce under an attempt, which manifestly
tends to subvert that reciprocal independence of the three estates,
which is the basis of its security.
3° Because the justice and piety, which shine conspicuous in
our sovereign, as well in his domestic life as on the throne, do
not suffer us to suppose, that this dismission of trusty nobles
and commoners from his majesty's privy council, the former
only, because they made a just exercise of their hereditary
birth-right as peers of the realm, the latter, on account only of
their parliamentary conduct, can have proceeded from the truly-
informed intention of so great and good a prince.
4° Because moderation, firmness, consistency, a due distinc-
tive regard to all ranks of persons, a regular system of admi-
nistration, being, as we conceive, indispensably requisite to the
support and dignity of government, and to the conduct of his
majesty's affairs, we cannot, without violation of truth and
justice, return thanks to the king for continuing a chief governor,
who in contempt of all forms of business and rules of decency,
heretofore respected by his predecessors, is actuated only by the
most arbitrary caprice to the detriment of his majesty's interests,
to the injury of this oppressed country, and to the unspeakable
vexation of persons of every condition.
Leinster, (by proxy) Baltinglass,
Westmeath, Mount-Cashell,
Lanesborough, Moira, (by proxy)
Shannon, Longford,
Mornington, Louth,
Lisle, Bective,
Powers court, Moles worth,
Charlemont, Bellamont.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 135
And when on the same clay it was resolved, that the address
to the lord lieutenant, then before the house, should stand the
address of that house, the same sixteen peers* protested against
it. Because the address to the lord lieutenant having contained
acknowledgments of thanks to his excellency for his conduct in
the government of that kingdom, to which they were conscious
he had not any just claim, they had therefore conceived it to be
their duty to withhold even that accustomed compliment. No
policy is more unwise, than to attempt to suppress from a nation
(as from an individual) in debt the real state of its finances. It
appears evident, from the arguments of the still uncorrupted
patriots of the house of commons, from the protests of the six-
teen peers, from the state of the national accounts still upon
record, and from other historical documents, that the national
debt of Ireland very heavily accumulated during the administra-
tion of Lord Townshend : yet we find, that after the experience,
which two years and a quarter had given him of the inadequacy
of the fiscal resources of that kingdom to answer his new plan
of keeping up the English interest, he refrained from calling on
the commons for any supplies, alleging in his speech to par-
liament, on the 26th of February, 1771, that with veiy strict
ceconomy, the duties granted last session would be sufficient to
answer the expences of his majesty's government ; and therefore
he would ask no further supply.
The confidence, with which Lord Townshend met the parlia-
ment in October 1771, was strongly depictured in his speech.
" My experience" said his excellency, " of. your attachment to
•" his majesty's person, and of your zeal for the public service,
" affords me the best grounded hopes, that nothing will be want-
" ing on your part to co-operate with his majesty's gracious
" intentions to promote the welfare and happiness of this king-
" dom, and when to this consideration I add my remembrance
" of your kind regard for the ease and honour of my adminis-
" tration, I feel the most sensible pleasure in the present oppor-
" tunity, which his majesty has given me of meeting you a
u fourth time in parliament."f Notwithstanding his boasted
ceconomy, which prevented his application to the commons for
any further supply in the last session, he now told them, that it
was with concern, that he must ask a sum of money to discharge
the arrears already incurred on his majesty's establishments,
but that they would find, they had been unavoidable ; for
that the strictest ceconomy had been used, not only in the
* These same lords also protested against the motion for entering the lord
lieutenant's protest on their journals : it is also a well considered, well worded
and truly constitutional representation of that extraordinary and illegal mea-
sure of Lord Townshend's ; which see in the Appendix, No. LXII.
t Journ. Com. vol. 8, p. 403.
136 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
charges of the Late augmentation, upon which a very large saving
had been made, but in the reduction of the staff, which was
then diminished to the number directed by his majesty,*
Another part of the lord lieutenant's speech referred to the
illegal associations and audacious outrages committed in divers
parts of the kingdom, but especially in the north, which deserved
their most serious attention, being as destructive to commerce,
as disgraceful to liberty : the parliamentary proceeding upon
this recommendation, was a still stronger illustration of the
unconstitutional tendency of the measures and general system
of that nobleman's administration. One of the insurgents,
charged with felony, had been apprehended and carried to Bel-
fast, and there confined in order to be transmitted to the county
jail. Provoked by this treatment of their associate, several thou-
sands of them proceeded to Belfast, to rescue the prisoner.
When intelligence of this reached the town, it being resolved
not to give him up, he was removed to the barrack, and placed
under a guard of soldiers. The Steel Boys pressed forward to
the barrack, firmly determined to effect a rescue. The conse-
quence in all probability, would have been fatal to many on both
sides and to the town, had not a gentleman of commanding
influence, interposed, at the risque of his life, and prevailed with
the military to set the prisoner at liberty. Being delivered up
to his associates, they marched off in triumph. One house only
experienced the effects of their resentment. Many, who were
engaged in this enterprise, returned home, and had afterwards
no further connection with the rioters : yet their numbers daily
• Very strong objections have been made to the unconstitutional system of
Lord Townshend's administration both in and out of parliament : but he had
now so completed his system of managing the house of commons, that he was
sure on all occasions of one third majority on any question : and it is remarka-
ble, that by such majority did he carry the question on seventeen different divi-
sions, which took place in the house of commons on the two first days of the
session. Most of these questions arose upon the eulogies contained in the
addresses upon the lord lieutenant's conduct and administration. Some how-
ever turned upon mere matters of fact, which the patriots charged him with hav-
ing designedly misrepresented in order to deceive the people. One of the
questions, upon which they divided, was upon a proposal to insert in the ad-
dress the following words : " notwithstanding that the said resolution was propo-
' sed to obviate the tendency of that part of the lord lieutenant's speech where-
' in he insinuates, that the deductions made from the revenue for payment
' of grants, for premiums, bounties, and public works, were the cause of the
' great arrears mentioned in his excellency's speech." Another division took
ilace upon a motion for adding the following words to the address : " notwith-
' standing we must observe, that two of the gentlemen, who resigned the staff,
1 are aged and infirm, so that the public are not likely to receive so much
' benefit from that alteration, as was graciously intended by his majesty : and
' that a pension of 200/. a year has been granted to General Lambert and 300/.
' a year to his wife, in consideration of his long and faithful services, making
' in all 500/. a year, which is within 47/. 10*. of the saving accruing to the pub-
' lie from his resignation." Vide Com. Journ. vol. 8, p. 408.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 137
encreased, and their spirit extended to the neighbouring coun-*
ties. Besides the oaths, which they exacted, they ill treated in-
dividuals and destroyed houses : and several were guilty of
other flagrant acts of inhumanity. Some of them were taken
and tried at Carrickfergus ; but whether from want of evidence^
from fear of incurring the resentment of the populace, or from
partiality in the witnesses and the jury, they were acquitted.
On this account the legislature passed an act, by which all per-
sons indicted of such offences were ordered to be tried in coun-
ties different from those, in which the excesses were committed*
In consequence, several of the Steel Boys against whom exami-
nations had been taken, were carried to Dublin and put upon
their trial. But so strong was the prejudice conceived against
this new law, that no jury there would find any of them guilty.
But when the* obnoxious act was repealed, reflection took
place, and the pernicious consequence of the principles and the
* Tim act 11 and 12 of Geo. III. c. v. was entituled, " An Act for the more
" effectual Punishing tuicketf and disorderly persons, iaho have committed, or shall
" commit violences and do injuries to persons or properties of any of hit Majesty's
" subjects in the counties of Antrim, Down, Armagh, City and County of London-
" derry, and County of Tyrone, or any of them; or who shall deliver or publish
" Threatening Letters, or who resist or oppose the levying the public Taxes in the
" said Counties, or any of them ; and for the more effectual bringing to Justice
" certain Offenders therein mentioned." And the sixth section of it is to the;
following effect, " and whereas there is great reason to believe, that such
" wicked persons have been greatly encouraged in the commission of such
" enormous crimes by their hopes of being acquitted, if to be tried by the
" petty juries of their respective counties : for the more impartial trial of all
" persons so as aforesaid offending, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid.
" that if any indictment or indictments for offences committed, since the first
" day of January last, or which shall be committed against the said acts of
41 the twenty -ninth reign of his late majesty George the Second and the fifth
" of his present majesty, herein before mentioned, or either of them, or for
" high treason or murder committed since the first day of January last, or to
" be committed hereafter, or for any offence or offences, which shall hereafter
" be committed against this act, shall be found in any of the said counties,
*' where such offences shall be committed, the offender or offenders to be men-
" tioned in such indictment or indictments, may be proceeded against and
" tried upon indictment or indictments for such offences before such commis-
" sioners of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery, as shall be sssigned
" by the king's majesty's commission under the great seal of this kingdom of
" Ireland, by the good and lawful men of the body of the county of Dublin,
" or of the county of the city of Dublin, as respectively shall be appointed in
" such commission, and at such place within the said counties or either of
" them as shall be appointed in said commission ; and such proceeding shall
" be valid and effectual in the law, as if the offence had been done within the
" county, where the same shall be tried ; and such indictment or indictments
41 in such cases, shall be certified unto such commissioners upon his majesty's
" writ of certiorari, to be issued for that purpose ; and that in all such cases
" no challenge to the array or the polls shall lye, or be allowed, by reason that
" the jurors do not or have not come fram the proper county or place, where
" the offence was committed, or by reason, that the trial is out of the county or
" place, where such offence was committed; but nevertheless upon the trials
" of sucli offences the challenge to any juror for want of freehold in the county
VOL. II. S
138 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
conduct of the insurgents began to be viewed by the people in
the true light. Once more some of them were tried in their
respective counties. The indictments were proved, and they
we're condemned and executed. These examples, with proper
exertions of the military, extinguished the commotion ; though
the consequences of it produced effects that were permanent, and
highly prejudicial to the country. In a short time, many thou-
sands of its inhabitants emigrated to America.
The great ground of opposition to Lord TownshendTs admi-
nistration was, that in supporting the government by unconsti-
tutional means, he deprived the country of that basis of freedom
and happiness, to which by the fair enjoyment of its constitution
it was entitled. When therefore the address of thanks to the
king was reported to the house by Mr. Foster, of which the
second paragraph began in these words, " We are fully per-
" suaded, that the support of your majesty's government is the
11 great and firm basis of the freedom and happiness of this coun-
" try" an amendment was proposed, that before the word sup-
port, the word constitutional should be inserted ; it was nega-
tived by a majority of 88 against 36.*
The baneful example of the chief governor's marshalling the
ranks of parliament encouraged the already too deeply rooted
principle of despotism throughout the nation. Not only the
great lords and real owners of land exercised in general a most
ferocious rule over their inferiors : but that obnoxious race of
self-created gentlemen, whose consequence and virtue consisted
in not being Papists, and whose loyalty was mere lust for perse-
cuting and oppressing them, were uncontrollable in their petty
tyranny. Even the lord lieutenant was so sensible of it, that
being resolved to pardon a Catholic gentleman unjustly found
guilty, he withdrew the hand of mercy, with this reflection : /
see them resolved upon his blood ; so he may as well go nozv.
The remainder of Lord Townshcnd's administration went
over without any further incident worthy of notice, either from
" where the same shall be tried by virtue of this act, and all other due chal-
" lenges to jurors shall be allowed, any thing in this present act contained to
" the contrary in any wise notwithstanding."
* During this administration we find by the Journals mentioning the tellers,
upon the different divisions, that three of the most forward and constant sup-
porters of every government question were Mr. Monk Mason, Mr. Foster,
and Mr. Fitzgibbon : and historical justice obliges us to remark, that the truth
or falsity of the propositions little availed, provided it were made, a govern-
ment question. Thus besides the instances already adduced, we find upon
the Journals (8 vol. iii.) the following resolution negatived on the 8th of March,
1766: " That it be resolved, that the office of a commissioner of his majesty's
" revenue would be better executed by a person resident in this kingdom,
f< than by an absentee." During this session of 1771, died Dr. Lucas, whom,
from his first entrance into political life, no promises or offers could seduce
from untainted patriotism ; in this particular he has been more admired than
imitated by his countrymen.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 159
the opposition of the patriots within, or the disturbance of other
persons out of parliament. It is remarkable, that the whole of
this lord's administration should have p'assed without any public
act, or the agitation of any question concerning the Roman Ca-
tholics. Lord TownshencVs natural humanity and benevolence
concurring with the known disposition of his gracious majesty
to lenity and liberality, softened as much as possible the rigour
and sharpness of the existing laws. His lordship could not how-
ever retire from a situation, which he had holden for near five
years, without having given some proof of his zeal for promoting
the Protestant religion. Having been so successful in prosely-
tizing for the state, he recommended to parliament his own spe-
cific in gaining converts to the church. Such efficacy did he
annex even to the smallest pension, that he conceived an addi-
tional 10/. per ann. a more powerful lure to bring over the Ca-
tholic clergy, than any of the means of rigour or intimidation
enacted by former statutes. A provision had been made by the
8th of Anne, that every Popish priest, who had or should be-
come Protestant, and be approved of as a convert, should have
307. yearly for his maintenance, until provided for by some
ecclesiastical preferment beyond that amount. But by an act*
of this session it was recited, that it had been found by experi-
ence, that the former act had not answered the purposes intend-
ed, especially as the provision made as aforesaid for such Popish
priests is in no respect a sufficient encouragement for Popish
priests to become converts ; it was therefore enacted, that 407.
should in future be allowed annually, in lieu of 30/. to every Po-
pish priest converted from the Popish to the Protestant religion.
The multiplication of these allowances up to the height of the
most proselytizing zeal could not interfere with the civil list of
pensioners, as these spiritual douceurs were to be levied on the
inhabitants of the district, wherein the convert last resided, j
This act for the encouragement of converts to the Protestant
religion was also in some measure deemed necessary to counter-
balance the effects of another act made in the same session, sup-
posed to be very favourable to the Catholics, and which in
times of less liberality had been repeatedly thrown out of parlia-
ment, as tending to encourage Popery to the detriment and pre-
judice of the Protestant religion. This was An Act to encourage
the reclaiming of unprofitable Bogs.^ This act recites, that there
were large tracts of deep bogs in several counties of the kingdom,
* 11 and 12 Geo. III. c. xxvii.
I The consequence, which by this act appears to have been annexed to the
paltry sum often pounds per annum, rather justifies the wit of the Irish (they
will be witty on the gravest subjects) upon the efficacy of foixnsben d's golde n
drofs; upon which, songs, squibs, toasts, and epigrams were endless.
| 11 and 12 Geo, III. c. xxi.
140 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
which in their then state were not only unprofitable, but by their
xlamps rendered the air unwholesome ; and it had been found
by experience, that such bogs were capable of improvement,
and of being converted into arable or pasture land, if encourage-
ment were given to the lower class of people to apply their in-
dustry to the reclaiming of them. It therefore enacted, that
notwithstanding the laws then in force, any Catholic might be
at liberty to take a lease of fifty plantation acres of such bog, and
one half an acre of arable land adjoining thereto, as a site for a
house, or for the purpose of delving for gravel or limestone, for
manure, at such rent, as should be agreed upon between him
and the owner of the soil, as also from ecclesiastical or bodies
corporate ; and for further encouragement, the tenant was to be
free for the first seven years from all tithes and cesses ; but it
was provided, that if half of the bog demised were not reclaimed
at the end of twenty-one years, the lease should be void ; and
no bog was to be considered unprofitable, unless the depth of it
from the surface, when reclaimed, were four feet at least ; and
no person was to be entitled to the benefit of the act, unless he
reclaimed ten plantation acres ; and the act was not to extend to
any bog within one mile of a city or market town.*
When Lord Towhshend met the parliament for the last time,
after the common place topics of congratulations and thanks for
* I have been rather particular in detailing- the substance of this act, in order
to give legislative proof of the unnatural .and unaccountable parsimony, with
which the Irish government heretofore dealt out justice even to themselves
and country. Such extreme bigotry could not be credited, if the public
records of the nation, even as late as 1771, did not proclaim it in every line
of the above-mentioned act. The liberal and philosophical Dr. Campbell has
given us a striking instance of the backwardness of government, in earlier days,
to encourage or promote the advantages, which nature has lavished on that
country. Writing from Cashell in 1775, he says, that the first place he stop-
ped at in the province of Minister, going from Kilkenn)', was a little village
called Killinaul; there he entered into conversation with his landlord. (P. 120.)
Upon my supposing-, in my turn, that the clear fire before me was -of Kil-
kenny coal, his answer was somewhat indignant, yet fraught with informar
tion.1' " Arrah no ! my d.ear jewel, for by Shasus we have as good coal as
Kilkenny ourselves, ay and better too. The devil an inch you rode to day
but upon coal pits. Sure it is we, that serve all Munster with coals, and
Connaught too. Did not the Dutch boors offer to their countryman, King
William, that, if he would let them live by the laws of Holland, that they
would make meadow ground of the whole bog of Allen, and carry the coals
of Killinaul, through their canals, all over Ireland, ay and England too. For you
see, that our coal is the hottest coal in the universe, and the only coal for
drying malt with, because it has no smoke, and therefore gives the beer
neither taste nor smell." He then touched upon the affair of the White Boys,
to whom he was no friend. He said they had been in that town the very night
before. You have heard of these banditti. I am not yet in possession of the
true state of their case. For it is so variously represented in this country,
that one must listen with attention, and assent with caution. But the* whole
country round Killinaul bears upon the very face of it an evident and sufficient
pause for their insurgency ; if insurgency it maybe called, where each house,-
Jt^eper disclaims all connection with the wretches concerned.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 141
their long and close attention to public business ; he particularly
assured the commons, that he should faithfully apply the sup-
plies granted at the beginning of that session to the support of
his majesty's establishment, and to the advancement of the pub-
lic service. Yet that the arrears incurred before their meeting
xipon his majesty's establishment civil and military had made it
necessary for him to borrow 100,000/. immediately after the act
was passed; and that that sum not sufficing, he had since been
obliged to raise the remaining 100,OOO/. being the full extent
of the credit entrusted to him by that act. We have seen that
some fruitless divisions were made, upon the different concep-
tions, which the patriots had of the lieutenant's applications of
the revenue, to the advancement of the public service ; they did
not consider the public purse liable to any of these appropria-
tions by way of bargain or remuneration, by which they openly
charged the lord lieutenant with having obtained a majority of
the members, in his support, and kept them steady in their ranks.
Every effort to countervail the system so successfully established
by this lord lieutenant became not only negatively fruitless, but
positively mischievous by encreasing the evil and extending the
infection. As this governor had completely succeeded in his
arduous attempt of reducing the parliamentary influence of
Ireland to the uncontrollable direction of the castle, he took
care in this farewell speech to leave such a portrait, as he wished
to hand down to posterity of his administration of the kingdom
of Ireland.
" His majesty gave it in express command to me, to make
" your interest and prosperity the great object of my adminis-
*' tration, and my own inclination incited me to a strict and zea-
" lous performance of that duty. I 'have upon every occasion
u endeavoured, to the utmost of my power, to promote the public
" service, and I feel the most perfect satisfaction in now repeat-
" ing to you my acknowledgments for the very honourable
" manner, in which (after a residence of ruear five years amongst
" you) you have declared your entire approbation of my conduct.
" Be assured that I shall always entertain the most ardent
" wishes for your welfare, and shall make a faithful representa-
" tion to his majesty, of your loyalty and attachment to his royal
" person and government."
How far this chief governor of Ireland did in reality promote
the interest and happiness of the people of Ireland, the unbiassed
observer of past scenes will judge more accurately than the
chief actor himself. His lordship however has the credit of
having ably performed the part allotted to him ; as Dr. Camp,
bell observed in the year 1 775, his successor Lord Harcourt then
142 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
found the parliament of Ireland as obsequious as that of Great
Britain.*
When Lord Harcourt assumed the government in October,
1772, he had little to do, but to continue the system, which his
predecessor had with so much perseverance, difficulty and charge
to the 6nance regularly established according to his instructions
from the British cabinet. In order therefore to give continu-
ance and stability to the new English interest, which had been
raised upon the pai-tial destruction of the Irish oligarchy, as
Lord Clare observed, a man was chosen of amiable character,
easy disposition, and of no other ambition than to move by
the direction, and thus acquire the approbation of his immediate
employers. With the active labour of office he considered, that
he also threw the burthen of responsibility upon his secretary.
He had been nearly twelve months in the government of Ireland
before he met the parliament, on the 12th of October, 1773.
Nothing particularly commands attention in his excellency's
speech : he assured the commons, that he had it in command
from his majesty, to lay before them the public accounts and
estimates, by which they would be able to judge of the provi-
sions necessary to be made for the honourable support of his
majesty's government, and to ask the necessary supplies for that
purpose; which on his part he pledged himself should be faith-
fully applied and frugally administered. The address, thanks
and other proceedings usual at the commencement of a session
passed without opposition. The first stand made by the patriots,
was upon an alarm at the intention of government, in laying the
accounts before the house, to hold back several of the docu-
ments, which would too palpably bring to light, the means used
in the late administration of ensuring a majority to do the king's
busincss.'\ After the house had ordered the different accounts
and estimates to be laid before them,J a motion was made for an
address to his excellency, that he would be pleased to give direc-
tions to the proper officers to lay before the house the estimates ;
and an amendment was proposed to be made to the question,
by adding the following words, as far as there are materials for
that purpose: upon which a division took place, and the amend-
ment was carried by 88 against 52. Thus was it left in the
discretion of the clerks, or rather of their patrons, to bring for-
ward or hold back what materials they chose. §
On the 24th of December, 177^3, the commons were sum-
moned to attend the lord lieutenant at the bar of the house of
• Fhil. Surv. p. 59.
t Or rather, as Lord Clare observed, the Minister's.
\ Journ. Com. vol. 9. p. 16.
\ By this division we see the proportionate strength of the opposite parties
in the house.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. US
Peers, when his excellency gave the royal assent to some money-
bills, and to the repeal of that unconstitutional act for the trial
of offenders out of their own counties, passed in Lord Towns-
hend's administration. Mr. Pery had too long sided with the
patriots, not to see the real state of distress and difficulty, into
which the country was then plunged : and having himself gone
over upon terms to the court party, he found it difficult to take
any step or suggest any measure to the House of Commons,
that could effectually check the ruinous system, in which the
patriots would not cordially join ; and this would have been con-
sidered by the people out of doors either as concession, or coa-
lition. A middle plan was therefore devised, by Avhich the
feeling and sense of the representatives of the people should be,
in part at least, handed up to the throne through the lord lieute-
nant, without weakening the majority by hazarding the steadi-
ness of individuals on questions too palpable for plausible con-
troversy. To accomplish this half measure, calculated to com-
mit ministers, no further than to the uncertain result of con-
sequences, Mr. Pery, the speaker, delivered the following
speech at the bar of the House of Lords.*
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" The commons have exerted their utmost effort*
"" to answer your excellency's expectations, not only in providing
" for the discharge of an arrear of 265,000/. but also in making
" an addition to the revenue of near 100,0007. a year. Difficult
" as this task appeared in a kingdom so destitute of resources as
" this is, yet it was undertaken with cheerfulness and prosecuted
" with vigour ; but if the means they have employed shall prove
" inadequate to the liberality of their intentions, it must be
" imputed to the inability of the kingdom not to any disinclina-
" tion or unwillingness in them to make ample provision for his
" majesty's service, to which they have sacrificed their most
" favourite objects. The moderation and temper, with which
" all their proceedings have been conducted during the course
" of this session, afford the clearest proof, not only of their
" gratitude for his majesty's attention and condescension to their
" wishes, but also of the just sense they entertain of your excel-
" lency's effectual intercession in their favour, to which they
" attribute those measures of ceconomy, which have been lately
" adopted, and which they doubt not will be continued ; and
" they have the fullest confidence, that the same humane and
" benevolent disposition will induce your excellency to represent
" to his majesty in the strongest light, not only their duty and
" affection ta him, but also the state and circumstances of this
* Com. Journ. vol. 9. p. 73,
AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" kingdom : from which, and from your excellency's credit and
" influence, they conceive the most sanguine hopes, that those
" restrictions, which the narrow and short sighted policy of
*' former times, equally injurious to Great Britain and to us,
*' imposed upon the manufactures and commerce of this king-
" dom, will be remitted. If Great Britain reaped the fruits of
*' this policy, the commons of Ireland would behold it without
" repining, and submit to it without complaining ; but it aggra-
u vates the sense of their misfortunes to see the rivals, if not
" the enemies of Great Britain, in the undisturbed possession
" of those advantages, to which they think themselves entitled
" upon every principle of policy and justice. It is the expecta-
" tion of being restored to some, if not to all of those rights,
u and that alone, which can justify to the people the conduct of
" their representatives in laying so many additional burdens
" upon them, in the course of this session ; and no time can be
*' more favourable to their wishes, than the present, when the
*' public councils are directed by a minister, who has judgment
" to discern, and courage to pursue, the common interest of the
" whole empire, and when the throne is filled by a monarch, the
" sole object of whose ambition is to render all his people
« nappy."
Lord Harcourt's administration at Erst promised so much
moderation and fair intention to promote the real interest of
Ireland, that it met with the support of several most respectable
and popular characters, which afterwards opposed it, when they
found it carried forward entirely upon the principles and plan
'of the administration of Lord Townshend. There was an af-
fectation of correcting some of the defects, errors, and extrava-
gances of the last administration ; thus was the insurgent act
repealed : thus was the board of excise,* created in the former
administration, abolished, and thereby some saving made to the
* The following1 proceedings in the commons were had upon this subject. f9
yourn. Com. 28 j
" The house being- informed that Mr. Vaughan Montgomery attended at
" the door, lie was called in, and at the bar presented to the house, pursuant
" to their order :
" No. I. An account of all charges that have attended tlie new boards of
" excise and customs, distinguishing each expence, and for what paid, from the
" 3d of February, 1772, to the 26th of October, 1773.
" No. II. An account of all charges that have attended the appointment of
" the four new surveyors general, from their respective appointments to the
« 26th of October, if 73.
" No. III. An account of all new offices and additional charges on the estab-
" lishmont of the commissioners of excise during the period of Lord Viscount
" Townshend's administration.
" The titles whereof were read, and the accounts ordered to lie on the tabla
" for the perusal of the members.
" A motion was made, and the question being proposed, that it be resolved,
«' that the present expences of government ought to be greatly retrenched ;
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 145
nation. It must however be allowed, that this lord lieutenant
had the exclusive merit of having proposed a measure, which
the interests of Ireland had long called for, and which the in-
fluence of the great land owners in the country had always op-
posed. At the beginning of the first session under Lord Har-
court, an absentee tax was offered on the part of government,
and wonderful to say, was rejected. In the then distressed and
empoverished state of Ireland, it will be neither rash nor harsh,
to conclude, that the patriotism of the majority, which rejected
this seasonable i-elief to their country could have been neither
disinterested nor pure. It was proposed, that a tax of two
shillings in the pound should be laid upon the net rents and
annual profits of all landed property in Ireland, to be paid by all
persons, who should not actually reside in that kingdom for the
space of six months in each year from Christmas 1773 to Christ-
mas 1775. This measure though so equitable in itself, so de-
sirable for the country, which was drained of its own produce to
be spent in another country, could not so decently be pressed by
the representatives of the English government, as left to the free ,
disposal of the Irish parliament, whose interest it more imme-
diately concerned. It was not therefore made a government
question, all their connexions* were understood to be left at
perfect liberty, and most of the servants of the crown voted
" An amendment was proposed to be made to the question by inserting be-
" tween the word " resolved," and the word " that," the following words ;
" that it is necessary and parliamentary at this time to declare."
" And the qustion being put, that the words proposed, stand part of tliQ
" question :
" It was carried in the affirmative, Nem. Con.
" An amendment was proposed to be made to the question by inserting be«
" tween the word " declare," and the word " that," the following words ;
" notwithstanding the reduction of expences lately made by government, and
" though the report is not yet made from the committee of accounts."
" And the question being put, that the words proposed stand part of the
" question :
" It was carried in the affirmative, Nem. Con.
" A further amendment was proposed to be made to the question by insert.
" ing between the word " accounts," and the word " that," the following
" words ; " and notwithstanding we have the utmost confidence in the present
" chief governor."
" And the question being put, that the words proposed stand part of the
" question :
" It was carried in the affirmative, Nem. Con.
" And the question so amended, is as follows :
" Resolved, That it is necessary and parliamentary, at this time, to declare,
" notwithstanding .the reduction of expence lately made by government, and
" though the report is not yet made from the committee of accounts, and not-
" withstanding we have the utmost confidence in the present chief governor,
" that the present expences of government ought to be greatly retrenched."
" And the main question put :
" The house divided, when the ayes were 83 and the noe? 112, It passed
" therefore in the negative."
VOL. II. T
146 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
against the question. Considering the powerful interest, that
was made against the tax by the most considerable land owners
en this and the other side of the water, the small majority, by
Avhich it was rejected, is rather to be wondered at, there being
102 for and 122 against the measure.*
* The following letters to and from Lord North will fully and fairly display
the grounds of the failure of this desirable measure for Ireland.
" MY LORD,
" It is publicly reported, that a project has been communicated to
" the king's ministers, for proposing1 in the parliament of Ireland, a tax of re-
" gulation, which is particularly and exclusively to affect the property of those
" of his majesty's subjects, who possess lands in that kingdom, but whose or-
" dinary residence is in this. It is in the same manner publicly understood, that
" this extraordinary design has been encouraged by an assurance from admi-
" nistration, that if the heads of a bill proposing such a tax, should be trans-
" mitted from Ireland, they would be returned with the sanction of his majes-
" ty's privy council here, under the great seal of England. My lord, we find
" ourselves under the description of those, who are to be the object of this un-
" precedented imposition. We possess considerable landed property in both
" kingdoms ; our ordinary residence is in England. We have not hitherto
" considered such residence as an act of delinquency to be punished ; or, as a.
" a political evil, to be corrected by the penal operation of a partial tax. We
" have had, many of us, our birth, and our earliest habits in this kingdom ;
" some of us have an indispensable public duty, and all of us (where such duty
" does not require such restriction) have the right of free subjects, of choosing
" our habitation in whatever part of his majesty's dominions we shall esteem
" most convenient. We cannot hear, without astonishment, of a scheme, by
" which we are to be stigmatized, by what is in effect, a fine for our abode in
" this country, the principal member ef our British empire, and the residence
"of our common sovereign. We have ever shewn the utmost readiness in
" contributing with the rest of our fellow subjects, in any legal and equal me-
" thod, to the exigences of the public service, and to the support of his ma-
" jesty^s government. We have ever borne a cordial, though not an exclusive
" regard, to the true interest of Ireland, and to all its rights and liberties : to
" none of which we think our residence in Great Britain to be in the least pre-
" judicial, but rather the means, in very many cases, of affording them a timely
" and effectual support. We cannot avoid considering this scheme as in the
" highest degree injurious to the welfare of that kingdom as well as of this;
" its manifest tendency is to lessen the value of all landed property there, to
" put restrictions upon it unknown in any part of the British dominions ; and
" as far as we can find, without parallel in any civilized country. It leads di-
" rectly to a separation of these kingdoms in interest and affection, contrary
" to the standing policy of our ancestors, which has been, at every period,
" particularly at the glorious Revolution, inseparably to connect them by every
" tie both of affection and interest. We apply to your lordship in particular.
"' This is intended as a mode of public supply; and as we conceive the trea*
" sury of Ireland, as well as that of England, is in a great measure within your
" lordship's department, we flatter ourselves we shall not be refused authentic
" information concerning a matter in which we are so nearly concerned ; that
" if the scheme, which \ve state to your lordship doth exist, we may be ena-
" bled to pursue every legal method of opposition to a project in every light
" unjust and impolitic. We have the honour to be,
" Your lordship's most obedient and most humble servant"?,
" Devonshire, Rockingham,
" Bcsborough, Milton,
" Upper Qssory.
" London, October the 16th, 17W
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 147
One of the next schemes of finance was to raise the sum of
265,000/. by tontine annuities with benefit of survivorship at six
pounds per cent, and the second reading of the bill for this pur-
pose produced a division of a majority of 103 against 49.* The
plan of the tontine was this. The sum of 650,0007. was divided^
into shares of 100/. each, and for every share one life was allow-
ed to be nominated ; the lives were divided into three classes.
No dividend of the interest arising from the shares of those,
who died in each class, was to be made, until it yielded a clear-
one half per cent, among the survivors ; and the increased in-
terest never was to be more, than the principal originally ad-
vanced by each subscriber. The remainder of the interest as
it occurred, to be applied to the credit of the nation. This
scheme was holdcn forth by the secretary of the day, as a mas-
ter-piece inf finance, as being little less than an actual gain of so
much, without adding in the least to the debt, as the principal
was never to be refunded. The revenue being this year consi-
derably short of the expences of government, stamp duties were
granted upon all parchment, vellum or paper, on which any
legal proceeding or private instrument, of- almost any nature,
should be written or engrossed, according to the nature of the
article, stamped; the duties were at first granted for one year
and nine months from the 25th of March, 1774; at the expira-
Anstxcr from Lord North to the Duke of Devonshire.
" MY LORD,
" Your grace, and the Lords Rockingham, Besborough, Milton and
" Upper Ossory, having in your letter of the 16th desired authentic informa-
" tion concerning a project of proposing to the parliament of Ireland, a tax
" upon the landed property of such persons, whose ordinary residence is out of
" that kingdom, I will endeavour to state in a few words, what has passed upon
M the subject. In the course of the summer, the lord lieutenant of Ireland
' sent over several propositions for restoring the credit, providing for the
' debts, and putting upon a proper footing the finances of that kingdom ; at
' the same time he informed his majesty's servants here, that he had reason
' to believe, that among other modes of supply, there would probably be a
' tax of the nature mentioned in your grace's letter. The answer, which was
' returned to his excellency, by those of his majesty's servants, to whom this
' communication was made, was to the following effect : that if the Irish par-
' liament should send over to England such a plan, as should appear to be
1 well calculated to give effectual relief to Ireland, in its present distress, their
' opinion would be, that it ought to be carried into execution, although the
' tax upon absentees should be a part of it. I beg leave to trouble your grace
' to communicate this information to the other lords, and have the honour to
' be, with great respect, &c. &c. &c. North."
On account of this answer, circular letters were written by Lord Rocking-
ham, to the sevei-al gentlemen who might be affected by this measure, pro]
posing a general meeting for the purpose of adopting the most eligible and
effectual means of defeating it. But as it was rejected by the parliament, any
further opposition became unnecessary. A melancholy instance of the pre>-
valence of self-interest over that of the country in some of the most plausible
patriots.
* Journ. Com, vol. 9, p. 109.
148 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
tion of which period they were continued, and have been to
this day, from time to time, raised very considerably. The
stamp duties have been found by experience one of the most
efficient resources of the financier. It was confidently promis-
ed, that these duties would so far increase the revenue, as to be
equal to the expences, when they had undergone the economi-
cal reduction thus intended, so that the pernicious practice of
running in debt would be no longer pursued. The public ac-
counts of the next session, however, clearly displayed the falla-
cy of those promises. As to the national debt, it amounted at
Lady Day, 1773, to 994,89O/. 10*. lOd. and the total of pen-
sions to 172,4647. 14^. 3|</. for the two years then ending. A
bill for the improvement of the agriculture of that kingdom
having passed, and being duly returned, the commons voted an
address of thanks thereupon to his majesty, considering it as a
signal instance of his paternal regard for his people of Ireland.
To the further credit of Lord Harcourt's administration must
be laid the meritorious account of opening the door of that civil
liberty, through which the great body of Irish Catholics were
afterwards admitted to the rights of subjects. True it is, that
the British ministry began about this time to be alarmed at the
too well grounded discontents of the king's American subjects :
the constitutional maxim, no representation, no taxation^ was
fully considered and carried into action on the other side of the
Atlantic ; the fatal and ill-advised resistance ended in the avul-
sion of that bright western gem from the imperial diadem. It
was impossible, that a man of Lord North's penetration should
not foresee the inversion of many constitutional maxims, when
brought practically to bear upon the bulk of the Irish nation ; he
wisely therefore, though silently, instructed the lord lieutenant
to endeavour by all means to sooth and engage the affections of
the Catholics by gradual relaxations of the rigorous code of
penalties, pains, and disabilities, under which they had so long
and so patiently suffered. As early therefore in the session as
the 10th of November, 1773, Cleave was given to bring in the
heads of a bill to secure the repayment of money, that should
be really lent and advanced by Papists or persons professing
the Popish religion to Protestants on mortgages of lands, tene-
ments, and hereditaments ; and that it might be understood to
be a government measure of grace, Mr. Mason, Sir Lucius
O'Bryen, and Mr. Langrishe, great and determined supporters
of government, were ordered to bring it in. fOn the preceding
day leave had been given to bring in heads of a bill to enable
Papists upon the terms and subject to the provisoes therein
mentioned to take leases of lives, of lands, tenements, and
* 9 Com. Journ. p. 28. f Ibid. p. 27.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 149
hereditaments. But neither one or the other of these bills at
that time proceeded. The Irish antipathies to Popery, * and
the reluctance of most men in place or power in Ireland to do
justice to the Catholics deterred the easy mind of Lord Har-
court from pushing forward, what they persuaded him would
create difficulties and disturbances in parliament, and interrupt
that easy and quiet majority which government then enjoyed,
and which he had it strongly in command to keep up by all
possible and prudent means. Although the managers of the
English interest in Ireland (this lord lieutenant was but their
passive tool) had blasted these two scions of indulgence in their
first shoot, yet the British ministry sent over positive and un-
controllable orders, that some act of the legislature should
positively be passed in that session of a soothing and conci-
liatory tendency to the Catholics : well imagining, that the
breadth of the Atlantic would-not prevent the infection of poli-
tical discontent in persons equally suffering a deprivation of that
nutriment and support, which their constitution required for the
preservation of their existence. On the 5th, therefore, of
March, 1774, leave was given to bring in a bill to enable his
majesty's subjects of whatever persuasion to testify their allegi-
ance to him ;f and as the bill remitted no part of the then ex-
isting code of severity, but purported merely a permission to the
Catholics of expressing their allegiance to their sovereign, which
before they had not, it passed both houses without obstruction
or oppcsition.J It gratified the Catholics, inasmuch as it was a
formal recognition, that they were subjects ; and to this recog-
nition they looked up as to the cornerstone of their future eman-
cipation. To this act and the well known and long "tried alle-
giance of the Catholics, the lord lieutenant in his speech to the
parliament at the close of the session thus alluded : $u This reci-
u procal intercourse of duty and protection, which has for so many
* Thus Mr. Burke expressed himself upon this subject in a letter to a peer
of Ireland in 1785, (p. 28) : " From what I have observed, it is pride, arro-
' gance, a spirit of domination, and not a bigotted spirit of religion, that has
' caused and kept up those oppressive statutes. I am sure I have known
' those, who have oppressed Papists in their civil rights, exceedingly indul-
' gent to them in their religious ceremonies ; and who wished them to con-
' tinue in order to furnish pretences for oppression ; and who never saw a
' man by conforming escape out of their power, but with grudging and re-
' gret. I have known men, to whom I am not uncharitable in saying, though
' they are dead, that they would become Papists in order to oppress Protes-
' tants ; if being Protestants it was not in their power to oppress Papists. It
' is injustice, and not a mistaken conscience, that has been the principle of
' persecution, at least as far as it has fallen under my observation."
t 9 Com. Journ. p. 114. Mr. Robert French, and Sir Lucius O'Bryen.two
ministerial members, were ordered to bring it in.
\ 9 Journ. Com. p. 160. 13 and 14 Geo. III. c. xxxv. For the form of this
oath or test, vide Appendix, No. LXIII.
$ 9 Journ. Com. p. 160.
150 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" years happily prevailed, and from which so many salutary
44 consequences have been derived during his majesty's auspi-
44 cious reign, holds out to e-very part of his majesty's empire,
" an example reflecting the highest honour upon the virtues of
" a most amiable and excellent sovereign, and the wisdom and
" good conduct of affectionate and loyal subjects. In the high
44 station, in which his majesty has placed me, I claim no merit,
*' but a faithful execution of his majesty's gracious purposes for
41 the happiness of his people of Ireland, and the most just, and
44 therefore the most favourable representations of their loyal,
" dutiful, and affectionate conduct, which cannot fail to entitle
" them to the continuance of his royal favour and protection."
At the commencement of the next session in October 1775,
the lord lieutenant observed, that, since the last meeting of par-
liament, his majesty's tender concern for the welfare of that
kingdom had induced him to pass several laws in the British
parliament highly beneficial to the commerce, manufactures,
and agriculture of Ireland. " By the act, which extends the
44 great advantage of British fisheries to Ireland a source of
u industry and wealth (said he) is opened to you, which has
4' made other nations great and flourishing. That act, which
i4 allows the clothing and accoutrements necessary for his
44 majesty's forces paid from the revenues of this kingdom to
*' be exported from Ireland, is a particular mark of the royal
44 favour ; and even that, which allows the importation of rape
" seed into Great Britain from this kingdom, under certain
4' regulations, connected with those salutary laws passed in our
44 last session, form such a system of agriculture and improve-
*' ment as will, I trust, secure riches and plenty to the people of
4' Ireland. A bounty granted by Great Britain, upon the im-
41 portation of flax, is so marked a recommendation of the
" linen manufacture, that it becomes needless for me to urge
44 the most persevering application to that sthple of the country."
The allusion, which the lord lieutenant made to the proceed-
ings of the British parliament, during the recess of the parliament
of Ireland, calls upon us to submit to our readers, what passed
on this side of the water during that interval. The opinions of
the British legislators upon Irish incidents are strong illustra-
tions of Irish history. On the 16th of December, 1774, upon
Mr. R. Fuller's calling for papers relative to our military forces
in America, a desultory, though interesting conversation took
place, in which the late Governor Johnstone took occasion to
make several pointed applications to Ireland : they originated
out of the confident and unequivocal declarations made in the
course of the last session by Mr. Rigby (master of the rolls in
Ireland), that the parliament of Great Britain had a right to tax
Of THE STATE OF IRELAND. 151
Ireland in all cases whatsoever as well as America*. Mr. Fox
observed, that it was certainly proper to include Ireland in
all the debates upon American taxation, in order to ascertain
the parliamentary right of taxation over every part of the British
empire.
As Great Britain never hitherto had been known to overflow
with liberality and kindness to her sister kingdom, it becomes
proper to trace the true and genuine sources, out of which this
new disposition to favour Ireland arose. The differences be-
tween America and her mother country had now broken into
open war. Most of the leading members of the opposition in
both countries (who afterwards composed that administration,
which put an end to the American war) opposed the war upon
principle : they inveighed against the unconstitutional exactions
of the ministry, and in their debates went very little short of
formally justifying the American rebellion. The analogy be-
tween America and Ireland was too close to pass unnoticed ;
and the defection of the American colonies produced strong
effects upon Ireland. The exportation of Irish linen for America
had been very considerable ; but now this great source of national
wealth was totally shut up, by an extraordinary stretch of
prerogative. Under the pretext of preventing the Americans
* 1 Par. Deb. p. 19. " The kingdom of Ireland (said Governor Johnstone),
" within our own dominion, is a proof of what these learned gentlemen assert
" to be impossible. A worthy member, in my eye, being pressed with this
" argument in the last session of parliament, from the fairness of his mind,
" avowed, as his opinion, that we could tax Ireland. I remember there were
" some gentlemen in the gallery when this declaration was made, whom I
' immediately perceived by the contortions in their countenance to be Irish
' members, Next day the worthy member chose to make some apology to
' his friends. He said, no parallel could be drawn between Ireland and the
' colonies ; for Ireland had a paraphernalia ; and this satisfied both the English
' and Irish members. For my part, I do not see what difficulty can occur, in
' leaving the different colonies on the same footing of raising money by requi-
' sition, as from the people of Ireland. Lord Clare (Nugent) jocularly com-
' plimentecl Mr. Rigby on the exceeding popularity, reverence, and esteem,
1 that gentleman was held in by the whole Irish nation ; that there was no man
' in England or Ireland more loved or revered. Mr. Rigby said, he acted in
' that country as secretary to the lord lieutenant ; which, on many accounts
e was rather an invidious and critical situation ; that the sentiments now
1 alluded to, he maintained upon general principles; that his opinion was not
' singular, for he was supported in it by a statute passed in the reign of George
* the First : that he begged to be understood, according to the obvious con-
' struction of that statute ; and that, according to that sense of it, he still con-
1 tinued to be of opinion, that the legislature of Great Britain had a right to
" make laws to bind Ireland, and all the other members and dependances of
" the British empire. Sir William Mayne drew a melancholy picture of the
"sufferings of the Irish ; said that all promises had been shamefully broken
" with them; that pensions to the amount of 10.000/. per annum had been
" lately granted on that miserable, ruined and undone country ; and that the
" castle was an asylum to every needy, servile, cringing apostate, that would
" bow the knee, and barter every thing which should be deur to him, for
" emolument and court favour.
152 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
from being supplied with provisions from this country, an
embargo was laid on the exportation of provisions from Ireland,
which, in prejudicing that kingdom, served only to favour the
adventures of British contractors. This embargo, combined
with other causes, which were invariable and permanent, produced
the most melancholy effects. Wool and black cattle fell con-
siderably in value, as did also land ; and rents in many places
could scarcely be collected ; so much was public credit essen-
tially injured. It has already been observed, that the parliament
of Ireland had declared the general sense of the kingdom
respecting its distressed situation, and the illiberal restrictions
thrown on its commerce : it had even defended its constitutional
privileges ; and though the voice of the nation were only thus
conveyed through the speech of the speaker of the House of
Commons, the public mind was not unknown in Great Britain.
As the American fisheries were now abolished, it became neces-
sary to think of some measures for supplying their place, and
particularly to guard against the ruinous consequences of the
foreign markets either changing the course of consumption, or
falling into the hands of strangers, and those perhaps inimical
to Great- Britain. The state of public affairs in Ireland it now-
seemed necessary to take some notice of, and to pay some greater
considerations to her interests, than had been hitherto practised.
The question between England and her colonies, particularly in
the manner it had been argued, was not calculated to quiet the
kingdom of Ireland : and the repose of such parts of the empire
as were still at rest was never more necessary. In the crisis, to
which matters were now evidently tending, little doubt remained,
that every assistance would be requisite from Ireland j besides,
her patience, her sufferings, and her forbearance, might be
holden up as a mirror, in contrast to America: and though
these merits had long, passed unregarded, this did not seem a
fit season to encourage an opinion, that a similar conduct would
never obtain any reward. The nature of the benefit, however,
was to be considered, and nothing could seem better adopted,
than a donation, which would be an advantage instead of a loss
to the giver. It was not itself very considerable, but it might
be considered as a beginning ; and small benefits carry weight
with those, who have not been habituated to great favours. It
had been shewn to the British parliament, that the exports from
England to Ireland amounted then to 2,400,000/. annually ;
besides the latter supported a large standing army, at all times
ready for the deience of the former ; and immense sums of
her ready cash were spent there by her numerous absentees,
pensioners and placemen; yet by oppressive restrictions in trade,
Ireland was cut off from the benefit of her great natural staple
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 153
commodity, as well as excluded from the advantage, which she
might derive from the peculiarity of her situation.
The British mink-cer on the llth of October, 1775, moved
for a committee of the whole house, to consider of the encou-
ragement proper to be given to the fisheries of Great Britain
and Ireland. This attention to Ireland was generally approved
of, and after some conversation on the hardships that country
suffered, it was proposed by Mr. Burke to extend the motion,
by adding the words " trade and commerce ;" and thereby af-
ford an opportunity to grant such relief and indulgence in those
exports, as might be done without prejudice to Great Britain.
The minister objected to this ; however, the committee in its
progress granted several bounties to the ships of Great Britain
and Ireland, for their encouragement in prosecuting the New-
foundland fishery ; and it was farther resolved in favour of Ire-
land, that it should be lawful to export from thence, cloaths and
accoutrements for such regiments on the Irish establishment, as
were employed abroad : and also, that a bounty of five shillings
per barrel should be allowed on all flax seeds imported into Ire-
land. This last resolution was passed, to prevent the evils, that
were apprehended there, from the cutting off their great Ame-
rican source of supply in that article. Another resolution was
also passed, by which Ireland was allowed to export provisions,,
hooks, lines, nets and tools for the implements of the fishery.
The committee also agreed to the granting of bounties for en-
couraging the whale fishery, in those seas, that were to the
southward of Greenland and Davis's Straits fisheries : and
upon the same principle took off the duties, that were payable
upon the importation of oil, blubber, and bone, from Newfound-
land, Sec. They also took off the duty, that was payable upon
the importation of seal skins.*
* 1 Parl. Deb. p. 436. Mr. Burke thanked his lordship (North) for the
friendly disposition he had now shewn towards his (Mr. Burke's) native coun-
try ; observing1 at the same time that however desirous he might be to promote
any scheme for the advantage of Ireland, he would be much better pleased,
that the benefits thus held out should never be realized, than that Ireland
should profit at the expence of a country, which was, if possible, more op-
pressed than herself. Mr. Thomas Townshend condemned, in the most
pointed terms, the narrow, weak, and ill- founded policy, which had directed
the English councils in respect to Ireland, ever since that country had become
a part of the British dominions ; and recommended very warmly an enquiry
into the state of Irish commerce and manufactures, in order that such of them
as did not immediately interfere with those of Great Britain, might receive
every possible encouragement consistent with the general interests of the
whole empire. Mr. Conolly drew a very melancholy picture of the present
state of Ireland, and recapitulated many instances of the eminent loyalty of
that country, and of the repeated proofs she had given, for a series of years
back, of her readiness to contribute much beyond her ability, to the common
support. Besides the merits she had to plead on these grounds, lie pointed
out the absurdity of several of the restraints laid upon the Irish commerce ;
VOL. II. U
154 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
As scon as prudence would admit, after the lord lieutenant
had called upon the gratitude of the Irish parliament for the
favours granted by the English legislature, his excellency sent
through his secretary, Sir John Blaquire, a message to the
House of Commons to the following effect :
(" HARCOURT.)
" I have his majesty's commands to acquaint
" you, that the situation of affairs in part of his American do-
" minions is such as makes it necessary, for the honour and
" safety of the British empire, and for the support of his majes-
" ty's just rights, to desire the concurrence of his faithful par-
" liament of Ireland, in sending out of this kingdom a force not
" exceeding 4000 men, part of the number of troops upon this
" establishment, appointed to remain in this kingdom for its'de-
" fence ; and to declare to you his majesty's most gracious in-
" tention, that such part of his army as shall be spared out of
" this kingdom, to answer the present exigency of affairs, is not
" to be continued a charge upon this establishment, so long as
*' they shall remain out of this kingdom. I am further conri-
" manded to inform you, that as his majesty hath nothing more
" at heart, than the security and protection of his people of Ire-
" land, it is his intention, if it shall be the desire of parliament,
" to replace such forces as may be sent out of this kingdom, by
*' an equal number of foreign Protestant troops, as soon as his
*' majesty shall be enabled so to do ; the charge of such troops
" to be defrayed without any expence to this kingdom."
The message having been referred to a committee, they re-
solved, that this force of 400O men might at that juncture be
spared, provided they were no longer a charge upon the estab-
lishment, than they i-emained in that kingdom. Upon which
resolution being reported to the house, the patriots determined
not to let an opportunity go by, without manifesting to their
constituents their persevering attention to the rights and welfare
of the nation. They saw through this first opening the gross
inattention of the British cabinet to the internal defence and
welfare of Ireland.
An amendment was accordingly proposed to be made to the
resolution, by inserting after the word " Resolved," the follow-
ing words, viz. " That having in consequence of his majesty's
" gracious recommendation, and of our mature consideration of
" the state of this country, repeatedly declared our opinion, that
" 12,000 men are necessary for the defence of this kingdom ;
and endeavoured to shew that some of those were as unkind as impolitic ; and
that there were some branches of trade, particularly that to the Levant, which
might he laid open, much to the advantage of both countries, and to the com-
plete rivalship of the French.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 155
*' being sensible, that it would be a violation of the trust reposed
w in us, should we have subjected our constituents to a very
" heavy expence, in times of perfect tranquillity, for the purpose
" of providing a force, which we are to part with in times of
" danger, and being convinced that since the time, at which
" we first declared 12,000 men to be necessary, the probability
" of a war has increased and not diminished ; it is now the opi-
" nion of this house that"....
This proposed amendment was negatived upon a division of
103 against 58. Yet much to the surprise and embarrassment
of government, the second proposition of introducing foreign
troops into that kingdom was negatived by nearly as large a ma-
jority as the first was carried ; namely, by 106 against 68. The
house accordingly voted an address to his excellency, expressive
of their sense and resolution upon this subject.*' This conduct
of the Irish commons is of singular importance in the history of
Ireland, inasmuch as it was the first patriotic step taken by the
representatives of the people towards attaining that state of civil
liberty, which was obtained by the nation in what Mr. Burke
* 9 Com. Journ. p. 223.
To liis Excellency, Simon, Earl Harcourt, Lord Lieutenant General and Ge-
neral Governor of Ireland. The humble address of the Knights, Citizens,
and Burgesses in parliament assembled.
" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" We his majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the
commons of Ireland, in parliament assembled, deeply impressed with a sense
of the many blessings we enjoy under his majesty's government, humbly re-
quest, that your excellency will be pleased to assure his majesty of our zeal
at all times for the support of his just rights, and for the honour and safety
of the British empire. That your excellency will be pleased to express the
ready and cheerful concurrence of his majesty's faithful commons in send-
ing out of tli'.s kingdom a force not exceeding 4-000 men, part of the troops
upon tins establishment appointed to remain in this kingdom for its defence.
That your excellency will be pleased to assure his majesty, that we acknov. -
ledge his paternal regard to the ease and relief of this country, manifested
in his majesty's most gracious intention, that such part of his army as may
be sent out of this kingdom during the present exigency, shall rfot be con-
tinued a charge upon this establishment, so long as they shall remain out of
this kingdom. That your excellency will be pleased to return his majesty
our most grateful thanks for his gracious declaration, that his majesty hatli
nothing more at heart than the security and protection of his people of Ire-
hind, of which his majesty has given a signal proof, by his offer, if it shall be
the desire of parliament, to replace such forces as may be sent out of this
kingdom, by an equal number of Protestant troops, the charge thereof to be
defrayed without any expence to this kingdom. And we entreat your ex-
cellency, that you will be pleased to assure his majesty, that, full}' sensible of
his majesty's benevolent attention to his faithful commons, after mature de-
liberation, they have agreed not to desire that the 4000 troops, which may
be sent out of 'this kingdom in the present exigency, should be replaced, as
mentioned in your excellency's message ; confiding in the vigilance and care
of government, and trusting, that with its assistance, his majesty's loyal
people of Ireland may be able so to exert themselves, as to make such aid
at this juncture unnecessary."
156 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
called their revolution of 1782. Once the spirit of patriotism
had regained an influence upon the ministerial ranks, many of
them rather sought than shunned opportunities to unfetter their
shackles, and some of them probably created occasions of
opening, with a view to improve the terms of their bargains.
A more favourable opportunity could not have presented itself
to resist the mandates of the British cabinet, than a renewed
attack upon their favourite privilege of originating money bills
in the commons. The heads of a bill for granting additional
duties on beer, ale, &c. being transmitted, were returned with
certain alterations, for which reason, the bill was rejected, and
a new one framed. The like circumstances also attended the
bill for granting stamp duties. As there was by these means
for some short time no law there for collecting the additional
duties on tobacco and other goods imported into that kingdom,
great exertions were made by the importers to procure supplies
of such articles, before a new bill could receive the royal assent.
An opportunity, which proved of some advantage to several
individuals, and no inconsiderable detriment to the finance.
The patriotic party having on some great national questions
been supported by several of the opposite side of the house,
resolved, ere the session closed, to afford another opportunity
of calling forth their exertions upon the general and melancholy
state of the nation.* A motion was accordingly made two days
before the end of the session for an address to his majesty, " to
express their inviolable attachment to his royal person and
government, humbly to assure his majesty, that they felt a
conscious happiness in the ample and liberal discharge of duty
to a sovereign so ready to express his gracious approbation of
the loyal endeavours of his people. To return their unfeigned
thanks for his majesty's paternal solicitude at the burdens sus-
tained by his people ; a solicitude repeatedly communicated to
them from the throne by his majesty's representatives, and
suggesting to them an attention to the diminution of their ex-
pence, and the discharge of their national debt : that they met
the wishes of his majesty, and would not, by an inexcusable
silence, conceal from his majesty the real distresses of his people
*. of Ireland. That at the close of the last war, the debt of that
nation did not exceed 521, 161/. 16s. 6^d. which was then deemed
so considerable, that his majesty's paternal care thought itself
called upon to direct the attention of his faithful commons to the
discharge of their national debt, and to signify his gracious
wishes for a very considerable diminution of their national
cxpence. That after a peace of ten years, the debt of the nation
* 9. Journ. Com. p. 280. What the division was on this occasion the Jour,
p.als do not disclose.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 157
appeared to be so increased, that it was voted by his faithful
commons in the last session of parliament, to be a sum not
exceeding 994,8907. 105. I0\d. a circumstance so alarming and
insupportable to his people, that they determined with one voice
to put an end to the pernicious practice of accumulating debts,
and they thought it their duty to accomplish that necessary end
by first endeavouring to raise the revenue of the kingdom to an
equality with the establishment. That they adopted every pro-
position of his majesty's ministers, and accepted their promises
of cecononvy with unbounded confidence, vainly expecting, that
it would be ever after unnecessary to afflict their gracious sove-
reign, by enumerating either the complaints or the distresses
of his people. That as they wished to second the promised
ceconomy of his majesty's ministers by every effort on their pail,
they had considerably diminished the sum usually granted by
this house for the purposes of national improvement. That in
order, that there might be no remnant of any arrear upon any of
his majesty's establishments, they had departed from the usual
custom of discharging the arrears to the 25th of March only,
and had raised the sum of 265,OOO/. to pay them up to the
29th of September, 1773 ; and to prevent the necessity of any
arrear for the future, they had consented to a stamp duty,
and several other taxes, which their predecessors, in the times
of the most expensive wars, had never thought proper to impose.
That the calculations of his majesty's ministers were admitted,
their promises were relied upon, the taxes they proposed were
voted, and their projects were uninterrupted by any opposition
from his faithful commons. But that they were then reduced
to the melancholy necessity of informing their gracious sove-
reign, that those unquestionable proofs of their zeal had been
equally proofs of their inability. That the new taxes had fallen
short of the estimates made by his majesty's ministers, and
unequal, as they were to the effects, which were hoped for, they
had served only to shew, that they had arrived at that point of
taxation, where the imposition of new lowered the old duties.
That the debts and incumbrances of his faithful subjects had
increased with such alarming rapidity, that they had in that
session been reduced to the unfortunate necessity of raising
175jOOO/. to defray the arrears incurred in one year and six
months only. That the perseverance of his faithful commons
was not yet exhausted, and they had again endeavoured in that
present session, to support his majesty's establishments, by new
burdens upon themselves. But that the experience of his ma-,
jesty's ministers, assisted by the best efforts of his faithful com-?
mons, had been able to devise one new tax only, a tax upon
spirits ; a tax the last, which they proposed for his majesty's
service, because it was of the most doubtful nature ; a tax,
158 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
which proved their despondency as well as their zeal, and con-
cerning which they knew nothing certainly, except that it could
not produce enough. That they saw before them the necessity
of borrowing, session after session continued. They saw the
funds, on which they used to borrow nearly exhausted. They
saw the new duties, which they raised with the hopes of pro-
viding a sufficient revenue within the year, mortgaged in part
for the payment of incumbrances ; and that they saw his majes-
ty's ministers relapsing into their former despondency of supply-
ing the exigencies of the state, in any other manner, after every
effort, made on their part, and seconded by them, and with a
dreadful increase of debt incurred during the experiment. That
if an indulgence to his majesty's ministers could induce them to
suppress these truths, they should be guilty of a criminal deceit
towards the best of sovereigns. That could they neglect the
most essential interests of themselves, their constituents, and
their posterity, still their duty to his majesty would prevent them
from suffering the resources of his majesty's power and dignity
to dwindle and decay; and that they were the more necessitated
to make that earnest application, because the evils they suffered
were not temporary or occasional ; because they could not attri-
bute them to any physical evil, or proud national exertion,
but to a silent, wasting, and invisible cause, which had injured
the people, without adding strength to the crown. That they
therefore performed that indispensable duty of laying their
distresses at the foot of the throne, that history might not report
them a nation, which in the midst of peace, and under a gracious
king, equally ready to warn and relieve, proceeded deliberately
to their own ruin, without one appeal to the wisdom, which
would have i-edressed them. And that they did appeal from
the temporary expedients of his majesty's ministers, to his own
wisdom and virtues, and to that permanent interest, which his
majesty had, and ever would have, in the welfare of his people.
And if supplication could add force to the pleadings of their
common interest, and of their persevering loyalty, they suppli-
cated that his majesty would graciously turn his royal attention
to the reduction of their establishments, which they were unable
to support, and which they would support if they could. That
they did not presume to point out more particularly what his
royal wisdom would more properly and effectually distinguish.
That after all their efforts, and all their disappointments, they
had one sure resource in his majesty's royal justice and wisdom,
and they did rest assured, that their gracious sovereign would
not suffer the strength of his crown to be impaired, or the glories
of his reign to be sullied by the unaccountable and entire ruin
of a loyal people."
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 159
In order to get rid of this motion, the ministerial party put
and carried the question, thai the motion should be adjourned
to that day se'nnight; and upon its being thus negatived, another
motion was made, and also carried, that an humble address of
thanJcs be presented to his excellency the lord lieutenant, for
his prudent, just, and wise administration. The majority of
the votes for adjourning the consideration of this motion took
off none of the fatal truth and resemblance of the portrait, which
it exhibited of the nation at that melancholy juncture. An
address* was framed in the committee, and upon the second
reading of the fourth paragraph thereof an amendment was
proposed to be made by adding thereto the following words..
" At the same time, that we pay your excellency every perso-
*' nal respect, and make you the same acknowledgments, which
" we have not refused to any of your predecessors, we do not
" mean, that it should be understood, that the situation of this
" country is less deplorable now than it was upon your excel-
" lency's arrival ; a period in which her situation was admitted
" to be desperate. On the contrary, we must lament, that every
" proposal, which the wishes or abilities of your administration
4' suggested, supported by the most perfect conformity of parlia-
" ment, in the course of four years has had no other effect, than
<l to leave this country more exhausted than ever, more incum-
" bered with taxes, more loaded with debt, and more oppressed
" with unnecessary establishments. That in the first session of
" your excellency's government, we were induced to grant new
" taxes in time of profound peace, under a persuasion, that the
* 9 Journ. Com. p. 282.
" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" We his majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the commons
" of Ireland, in parliament assembled, observe with pleasure the harmony,
" which subsists between our chief goyernoi* and the people, the natural result
" of mutual good wishes. The additional strength which our happy constitu-
" tion, the envy of foreign nations, has lately received, fills our hearts with
" gratitude towards his majesty, and must ever reflect honour upon your
" excellency's administration.- Freedom of election seems to be effectually
" secured by those salutary laws, at length obtained by your exellency's stre-
- " nuous interposition, which place our constitutional rights upon a firmer
*' basis than ever they stood before. When the liberties of tiie people are
" secured, industry prevails, and commerce survives. We acknowledge with
" gratitude, that in return for the liberality of the commons, new objects of
" trade, through your excellency's interposition, are presented to us, and new
" sources of commerce are opened, of which we persuade ourselves, that v/e
*• shall in time reap the good effects. We depend with the utmost confidence
*' upon the continuance of the same benevolent disposition towards us, and
'.' that your excellency will take every opportunity of representing the advan-
" tages, which nature has bestowed upon this island, peculiar to it in situation,
." climate, and soil, which by proper attention and encouragement may prove
" a fund of wealth and strength to Great Britain, where the riches of this
" kingdom must ultimately centre. We concur with the wishes of the people,
" that your excellency may continue our chief governor : their affections are
" the surest testimony both of your private and your public virtues."
160 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
u promised frugality of administration would justify the unu-
44 sual bounty of parliament, and put an end to the pernicious
" practice of running in debt. That in the same session we set
" the example of ceconomy to your excellency's administration,
*' by abridging our own expences ; and we provided for the
44 payment of a great arrear, including a fifth half year, a libe-
" rality without precedent, but which we adopted to take away
44 all pretence of presenting us with a future arrear. That the
44 failure of those projects of finance proposed under your ex-
" cellency's administration, as it was a testimony of the poverty
44 of the kingdom, so it was an additional reason for adminis-
44 tration to preserve inviolate the solemn engagements of osco-
44 nomy. That we cannot but lament, notwithstanding the libe-
44 ral confidence of parliament, the solemn professions of admi-
" nistration, and the authenticated poverty of the kingdom, our
4C sagacity cannot discover any visible retrenchment. On the
44 contrary, we have been in the course of this session surprised
44 with a new arrear, not less in proportion than that incurred in
44 the two last years of the administration of your predecessor.
44 We behold the old burdensome establishments, which we
44 know to be unnecessary, and feel to be insupportable, conti-
44 nued, and increased ; and we see the old spirit of profusion,
44 which has long wasted us in time of peace, opposing every
44 project of retrenchment, whether conceived in the shape of
44 parliamentary resolution, or humble address to the throne,
*4 with fatal success under your excellency's administration,
44 which has been candid enough to acknowledge public dis-
44 tresses, but not fortunate enough to relieve them. When we
44 state these facts, we do not mean to attribute them to your
44 excellency's intentions, nor do we attribute to those intentions
44 the alarming and military powers given to the lowest officers
44 in the revenue ; as little do we attribute to those intentions
" the flagrant violations of our constitution in the course of
*' the last four years. We are convinced the alteration of
44 four money bills, that breach of constitution, and insult on the
44 dignity and bounty of this nation ; the questioning the validi-
44 ty of the augmentation compact by subtleties as dangerous as
41 unintelligible ; the involving this country in a civil and unna-
44 tural war, the leaving her exposed to any invasion by sending
44 away her necessary and stipulated defence in prosecution of
u that civil war ; the attack made on her law, and the interrup-
4' tion of her trade in the course of that civil war ; the refusal of
44 a militia bill, always eligible, now rendered necessary for our
44 security, and so qualified as not to alarm the arbitrary spirit
44 of the times, were measures adopted not in pursuance of your
44 councils, but in total disregard of them : and we are the more
" ready to acquit your excellency's intentions of all those mea-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 161
M sures, because if they did insult this country, they did not
44 less insult and violate the dignity of its chief governor. And
*' when your excellency shall return to the royal presence, and
u lay before our sovereign the unhappy state of this kingdom,
" you will please to represent us as a nation unable to exist for
44 ten years under such a system of management as has unfortu-
41 nately been pursued during your excellency's administration j
44 as a people not insensible to an earnest of a favourable dispo-
" sition shewn to us in some late acts respecting our trade, con-
44 sidering that in process of time they may become a national
u benefit ; but you will please to inform his majesty, that our
44 condition is misunderstood, if it is thought that such acts do
*4 atone for the total want of ceconomy hitherto, or can support
44 us under future profusion. We entertain no doubt your ex-
44 cellency will make such representation, conceiving the facts
44 to be melancholy truths, and the representation of them in-
44 cumbent upon you as an indispensable duty, because the mea-
44 sures, which have perplexed our revenues, increased our debt,
44 and insulted our country, though we must suppose not agree-
44 able to your sentiments, have all taken place under your ad-
" ministration,"
So much analogy existed between the cases of Ireland and
America, that it became the fashion both in and out of parlia-
ment to put them on a parallel, and to argue indifferently from
one and the other : the American war never was popular either
in Great Britain or Ireland ; but in the latter of those kingdoms,
the people assumed the cause of America from sympathy ; in
the former they abetted it upon principle. Government was
seriously alarmed at the honourable light in which the American
rebellion was generally viewed,* and found it incumbent upon
* The American dispute, which so much engaged the attention of every
part of the British empire, most naturally attracted the consideration of the
citizens of Dublin. In 1775, the Earl of Effingham, findingthat the regiment
in which he served was destined to act against the colonies, thought it incon-
sistent with his character and unbecoming of his dignity to enforce measures
with his sword, which he had condemned in his legislative capacity. He
therefore wrote a letter to the secretary at war, resigning his command in the
army, and stating his reasons for it. This conduct rendered that nobleman
extremely popular, and the city of Dublin, at the Midsummer quarter assem-
bly, voted public thanks to Lord Effingham, " for having consistently with
" the principles of a true Englishman refused to draw his sword against the
" lives and liberties of his fellow-subjects in America." Soon after an ad-
dress of thanks, in fuller terms, was presented to him from the guild of mer-
chants of Dublin : the latter also presented an address of thanks to the several
peers, who (as they said) " in support of the constitution, and in opposition
" to a weak and wicked administration, protested against the American Re-
•' straining Bills." This address, with the several answers of the lords to
whom it was presented, appeared at that time in the public papers, and pro-
duced a very strong sensation throughout tiie nation. The sheriffs and com-
inons of Dublin had for sorau time endeavoured ty obtain the concurrence of
VOL. II. X
162 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
them to discredit and debase the cause of America to the ut-
most. Lord Harcourt, in closing the session, assured the par-
liament, that it must give sincere pleasure to every friend of
Ireland to reflect, that whilst a great part of his majesty's do-
minions in America was torn and convulsed by a most unnatu-
ral rebellion, that kingdom wisely and affectionately persevered
in its duty, enjoyed the blessings of tranquillity and abundance,
and cultivated the arts of peace, and the improvements of com-
merce, agriculture, and manufactures. This flattering picture
of the country, however admired by some, evidently bore no
resemblance to the original. The fiscal resources, and finan-
cial state of a country's credit, ever weigh heavy in the scale of
national prosperity. The expences of the two preceding years
ending at Lady-Day, 1775, exceeded the revenue by 247,797/.
Qs. 10A</. The national debt then amounted to 931,690/. Is. 9$tf.
and the pensions for the same time to 158,685/. 4s. 8±d. Par-
liament had again recourse to the ill-judged plan of raising
175,000/. by another tontine, although they had already felt the
inconveniency and disadvantage of that mode of borrowing.
The greatest part of the subscriptions to the first tontine had
been made out of the nation, so that not only the expence of
agency was incurred for the payment of the annuities in London,
but the amount of those annuities being remitted out of the king-
dom became an additional drain to its specie, and consequently
an increase of the evil arising from absentees.
The first octennial parliament had scarcely lived four years,
when the British cabinet found it expedient, that it should be
dissolved. This parliament had during the last session in two
instances opposed their mandates, and when summoned to at-
tend the House of Peers, the commons through their speaker
the then lord mayor and board of aldermen, in a petition to the throne, against
the measures pursued with respect to the colonies, but were answered by the
latter, upon their first application, that the matter was of the highest impor-
tance, and therefore expedient. Upon a subsequent occasion, however, a.
committee of six aldermen, with as many of the common council, was appoint-
ed-to draw up a petition and address; which after several weeks preparation
or delay, being at length accomplished, the petition was arrested in its further
progress, by a negative from the lord mayor and aldermen. Upon this disap-
pointment, the sheriffs and commons entered into resolutions, which they pre-
faced as follows : Anxious to preserve our reputations, from the odium, that
must remain to all posterity on the names of those, who in any wise promote
the acts now carrying on in America ; and feeling the most poignant grief, as
well on account of the injured inhabitants of that country, as on that of our
own brave countrymen, sent on the unnatural errand of killing their fellow sub-
jects : " Resolved, That it is the duty of every good citizen to exert his ut-
most abilities to allay the unhappy disputes, that at present disturb the Bri-
tish empire." «' Resolved, That whoever would refuse his consent to a
dutiful petition to the king, tending to undeceive his majesty, and by which
it could be hoped that the effusion of one drop of subject-blood might be
prevented, is not a friend to the British constitution."
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 163
made a just but ungracious and ineffectual representation of the
state of the nation. These symptoms of independency alarmed
government, and created a diffidence in the steadiness of those,
who had enlisted under their banners. They looked to more
steady submission in a future parliament, and dissolved the
present. Mr. Pery was re-elected speaker by a majority of 141
to 98. The lord lieutenant did not meet the new parliament,
which was convened in June, 1776, proforma^ and by several
prorogations went over to the 14th of October, 1777.
It has been already mentioned, that in the session of 1775 a
message from his majesty had been sent to the commons, re-
quiring the use of 40OO men out of the army of Ireland for fo-
reign service, and proposing to replace them by foreign Protes-
tant troops, without any expence to that country. The first
part of the proposal was complied with, but the acceptance of
foreign troops refused. The engagement for the disposal of the
public money, included in the foregoing message, without the
consent or knowledge of the British House of Commons, ren-
dered this subject a matter of discussion in that body. On the
15th of February, 1776, Mr. Thomas Townshend (afterwards
Lord Sidney), there introduced it as a breach of the privileges
of that house, and stated his complaint in the following words :
" That the Earl of Harcourt, lord lieutenant general and gene-
" ral governor of Ireland, did, on the 23d of November last, in
" breach of the privileges, and in derogation of the honour and
" authority of that house, send a written message to the House
" of Commons of the parliament of Ireland, signed with his
" own hand, to the following effect ;" having then recited the
message, he moved that a committee be appointed to enquire
into the matter of the said complaint, and to report the same, as
it should appear to them, to the house. This gentleman support-
ed his motion with great ability, and was equally well supported
by his friends. They maintained, that the privileges of the
house, though applied to themselves individually, or collectively
in a more refined sense, were the indubitable right of all the
commons of England, who had one general interest in them.
That though each of these were an object of consideration, they
all sunk to a very inferior degree of importance, when at all
placed in opposition to, or compared with that inestimable pri-
vilege, the power of granting money, of holding the purse of
their constituents, and of guarding it from the hands of violence,
art, or fraud. This was a trust of the first magnitude, which,
in fact, included every other ; for while that was preserved invio-
late, the crown would remain under the constitutional control
of parliament ; but whenever that was wrested by open force,
defeated by indirect means, or done away by fraud, the liberties
and privileges of the people would be for ever annihilated.
164
They pointed out the wise, commendable, and well-founded jea-
lousy shewn by the commons, when at any time, even the other
house had interfered in the smallest degree with that great pri-
vilege; but that when any attempts of this sort were made
by the crown, or its ministerial agents, they immediately caught
the alarm; and however they were before divided, had, at all
times, uniformly united, as if actuated by one soul, in resisting the
smallest encroachment upon their power of granting or refusing
their own money and that of their constituents. They said, that the
message in question presented facts, and contained matters of the
most suspicious and alarming nature. That if the conditions it
held out had been accepted, the parliament of England would have
been pledged to that of Ireland for the payment of 8000 men, only
to have the use of 4000; so that Ireland was to be bribed into an
acceptance of this insidious bargain, by retaining her usual estab-
lishment as to number, while she was to be eased of one third of
the burthen. That such a proposition could only have originated
from the worst designs, as the absurdity, they said, was too glaring
to be charged to any degree of folly. But that the nature of the
bargain was a matter oi little consequence, when put in compe-
tition with that double violation of the constitution, that daring
temerity, of engaging for the payment of sums of money, and
venturing to propose the introduction of foreign forces, without
the consent of parliament. Some gentlemen went as far as to
say, that no doubt could be entertained of the designs, from
whence these propositions originated. One was an experiment
on the Irish parliament, to try if it could be induced to consent
to the reception of foreign troops, thereby to establish a prece-
dent, which might be afterwards applied to other purposes.
The other had also its fixed object : it was a scheme, they said,
however deep, formed on very simple principles, and went di-
rectly to vest in the crown a virtual power of taxing, as oppor-
tunity might serve, both Great Britain and Ireland. In Ireland,
the minister was to be taught to ask some favour ; then England
was to be pledged. In England again, when such circum-
stances occurred, as rendered the attempt impracticable, Ireland
was to be taxed, to maintain the supremacy of the British legis-
lature. In the mean time, it prepared the minds of the people,
and habituated them to such notions, as would by degrees be the
means of reducing the parliament of each to be the mere instru-
mental agents of the crown, without the least degree of will or
independency whatever. Administration seemed in an odd
situation upon this attack. The matter was serious ; the offer
of introducing foreign troops without the previous consent of
parliament, indeed to introduce them at all as a permanent part
.of our establishment, could not be a matter of indifference to
the constitution and safety of this kingdom. On this occasion,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 165
no small marks of the want of concert and system appeared in
the grounds, upon which this measure was explained and de-
fended in the debate. The minister disavowed those specific
instructions, upon which it was supposed the message must have
been founded ; but acknowledged his general co-operation, in
matters relative to the government of Ireland. Both he, and
another lord, then lately come into administration, disclaimed
all responsibility whatever, for the conduct of his majesty's ser-
vants in that kingdom. They said in general or separately, that
the viceroy might have mistaken, or exceeded his instructions ;
that he might not have conveyed his meaning in the clearest
terms ; but that there was no relation between the British
ministry and the king's servants in that country, which rendered
the former in any degree accountable for these matters, and
consequently they could not be affected by any censure grounded
upon them. Some of the gentlemen in opposition considered
the business as of somewhat a less dangerous nature, from the
schemes not being carried into execution. They held, that
the spirit and magnanimity of Ireland, in rejecting the foreign
troops, and in refusing to accept the offer for lessening her own
.burthen by throwing a part of it upon Great Britain, had already
obviated the mischievous tendency of that measure ; so that
the only object of censure now remaining, was the evil intention
from which it originated. They also held, that the whole
weight of the censure would fall upon the lord lieutenant, who
was merely ministerial in the business, while those who were
really culpable would not only pass untouched, but very possibly,
from some crooked motive of policy, might rejoice in the ill-
placed effect. After very considerable debates, the question
being put, near twelve at night, the motion for a committee was
rejected upon a division, by a majority of 224 to 106. A motion
was then made for laying the votes of the Irish commons, of
some specified dates, and relative to this business, before the
house, which passed in the negative without a division. This
was succeeded by the following motion, " That it is highly
" derogatory to the honour, and a violent breach of the privi-
" leges of this house, and a dangerous infringement of the
" constitution, for any person whatever to presume to pledge his
" majesty's royal word to the house of the parliament of Ireland:
" that any part of the troops upon the establishment of that
" kingdom shall, upon being sent out of that kingdom, become
" a charge upon Great Britain, without the consent of this house,
" or for any person to presume to offer to the House of Com-
" mons of the parliament of Ireland, without the consent of this
" house, that such national troops, so sent out of Ireland, shall
" be replaced by foreign troops, at the expence of Great Britain."
166 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
The motion for this resolution was lost, by putting the previous
question, without a division.*
The British cabinet was little satisfied with the administra-
tion of Lord Harcourt: the easy and delicate turn of his mind
ill qualified him to support, much less to improve upon the
system of his predecessor : but by which alone, to the infamy
and misfortune of Ireland, the legislators of that kingdom were
to be kept steady in their ranks to the jfatf of the castle. Although
government upon the whole still retained a considerable majo-
rity, yet several of their adherents had occasionally, during the
last session, proved recreant from their instructions ; some had
deserted their ranks, many amongst them wavered, menaced,
and complained of the terms of their engagements. It was
therefore resolved to invigorate the new system by the election
of a new parliament. For this purpose an unusual, and till that
time unprecedented, number of promotions in the peerage took
place in one day.f Many other engines were in the mean time
put in motion for the same purpose. Shortly before this gene-
ral promotion took place, Mr. Sawbridge, then lord mayor of
London, moved in the British House of Commons,! that his
majesty's colonies in America be continued upon the same foot-
ing of giving and granting their money, as his majesty's sub-
jects in Ireland were, by their own representatives : on which
occasion, the Honourable Temple Luttrell^ observed, that such
esteem had he for the right honourable magistrate's disposition
and talents, that if he were to form a constitution for the colonies
to satisfy his own mind, he would have their interests and hap-
piness better provided for, than by giving them a constitution
on the model of that of Ireland. A people so wretched, so
oppressed were scarcely to be found in any civilized part of the
globe. || Too many and too crying were the proofs of the national
* The violence of party spirit will often render it difficult for the historian to
extract the impartial spirit of a debate : to avoid therefore any imputation of
partiality or bias, the candid reader is referred to the whole debate on this
subject in the Appendix, No. LXIV.
f It far exceeded the famous promotion of twelve in the days of Queen
Anne. Five viscounts were advanced to Earldoms, seven barons to be vis-
pounts, and eighteen new barons were created in the same day. The usual
terms of such modern peerages are well understood to be an engagement to
support the cause of their promoters by their individual votes in the House
of Peers, and by those of their substitutes in the House of Commons, whose
seats are usually settled and arranged before they vacate them upon their pro-
motions.
J Viz. on the 10th of May, 1776. § 3 Parliamentary Debates, p. 392.
|| Then with allusion to the intended creation of Baron Macdonald he ob-
served : " Nor could a more substantial injury, or a more humiliating insult be
" offered by a paramount nation to one of its dependences, than what Ireland
" would experience at the hands of a British ministry within forty-eight hours,
" if his information proved authentic. An English minister had abused the
fi confidence of his royal master so far, as to prevail with him, in his character
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 167
calamity and distress of the Irish, to place this saying of Mr.
Temple Luttrell to the account of declamation or the heat of
party.
The English ministers became daily more embarrassed and
perplexed by the encreasing difficulties of carrying on the Ameri-
can war, which hourly became more unpopular at home, and
less successful abroad. The analogy of the cases of America
and Ireland necessarily drew their attention to this latter coun-
try, and forced them to smooth the way for a new viceroy,
implicitly devoted to their whole system. Lord Buckingham-
shire went over the sworn servant of the British cabinet ; and
lest there should be a knot in the thread of subserviency, he took
over his attorney, Mr. Heron, for his secretary. The critical,
alarming, and embarrassed situation of Ireland at that juncture
certainly called for a larger share of political knowledge, expe-
rience, and address, than either that lord lieutenant or his
secretary carried over. And we must not dissemble, that a
modest consciousness of his own inadequacy to fill the arduous
situation appeared in his speech to the new parliament in Octo-
ber, 1777.* " His majesty," said he, " has been graciously
*4 pleased to honour me with a most distinguished mark of his
" confidence in appointing me to the government of Ireland ;
" of king of Ireland, to create hereditary legislators for that island from the
" clans of the mountains of Scotland. Men, who in their private characters,
** he believed to be not only irreproachable but amiable and praise -worthy,
•' of authority and high descent amidst their own thaneships, yet whose public
«« pretensions in the year 1715 and 1745 (for he never heard of any other) now
" construed loyalty, were still in the eye of our constitution, acts of infamy and
«' rebellion. He should be told, perhaps, that this power was a part of the
«' rightful prerogative of the crown; an idea, to which he could never subscribe,
«« while he remembered the wise and sterling definition of prerogative given
" us by Mr. Locke, who says, " 'tis a discretionary power of acting for the
«' public good, where the positive laws are silent; if that discretionary power
" be abused to the public detriment, such prerogative is exerted in an uncon-
" stitutional manner." Was this acting for the public good ? To bestow those
<• privileges and pre-eminences, which are attached to a peerage of a kingdom,
" on persons whose names and families are utterly unknown to the natives of
" such kingdom, and without any ties of property, of local services or affec-
" tion ? Barons whose blood has been tainted by an open violation of the laws
" of their own country, are, in preference to the best gentlemen of Ireland,
" sent over to possess the most honourable seats in the senate, to enact public
" statutes, and judge upon personal inheritances in the dernier resort." Mr.
Rigby, who had advised the right honourable magistrate to define the consti-
tution of Ireland, before he proposed it to be adopted by the colonists : re-
marked, that with respect to the Scotch peers, the mountaineer lords, as they
were called, he believed the creation would do no harm, if it did no good : what
good it would do them, was best known to themselves : but he must observe,
that the case was not without more precedents than one. It must be admitted,
that the defence of Mr. Rigby, as the organ of government, against the charge
of depreciating the Irish peerage, by lavishing it on persons no way connected
with or interested in the welfare of that kingdom, was not very satisfactory
at least to the Irish.
* 9 Com. Jourrr. p. 309.
168 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" with ease he might have found an abler minister, with diffi-
u culty one more anxiously solicitous to justify his choice in
" meriting your approbation. Influenced by that benevolent
" spirit, which may justly command the affections of all his
" subjects, his instructions to me are to co-operate with hispar-
" liament in every measure, which can promote the improve-
" ment, insure the happiness, and cherish the true interests of
" this kingdom. I decline making any professions relative to
" my future conduct ; it is by the tenor of my actions, that the
" character of my administration must be determined."
When the commons addressed to his excellency their thanks
for his speech, they very significantly assured him, that they
founded their hopes of his administration upon better omens,
than those of mere assurances, and they were happy in having a
chief governor, who chose rather to rest his character upon
his conduct than his professions. Certain it is, that when
Lord Buckinghamshire assumed the reins of government, he
found the country in a most deplorable state of calamity and
distress/* In Dublin, numbers of wretched manufacturers had
* Stronger proofs cannot be adduced of national distress than the petitions
of certain bodies of men, who were fallen from opulence and prosperity into
the common calamity. Thus a petition was presented to the House of Com-
mons, from the merchants and traders of Cork, setting forth that about the
month of November, 1770, an embargo was laid on all ships laden with pro-
visions, and bound from that kingdom to foreign countries, which was still
continued by government, and had been very strictly enforced : that in conse-
quence of that long embargo, an extensive beneficial trade, carried on for se-
veral years by that kingdom to France, Spain, Portugal, and Holland, for the
supply of provisions, had been not only interrupted, but was in danger of being
entirely lost; the petitioners being informed, that the merchants of these
countries were respectively stocked and provided from Russia, Sweden, Den-
mark, and Hamburgh, whereby the usual returns to that kingdom were dis-
continued, new enemies to our commerce were raised, and our commodities
rendered useless and unprofitable. That great quantities of salt beef, not fit
for the use of government or the sugar colonies, being made up in that city,
and also great quantities of beef and butter being annually brought to that
market, these commodities of a perishable nature were there decaying for
want of a free export, to the great injury of the proprietors in particular, and-
of the kingdom in general. That in support of these assertions, there then re-
mained on hand, since the preceding year, a very considerable quantity of pro-
visions, the property of several merchants in that city, not wanted, by govern-
ment, and therefore without opportunity of sale ; and although a considerable
part of the season, in which those articles were made up and exported, had
already elapsed, no demand whatsoever then existed for them, except for such
quantities as wei-e required by government alone. That his majesty's revenue,
which before had received large and constant supplies from the Customs of
the city of Cork, had decreased in proportion to the decay of their trade. That
the embargo, therefore, at that time not being warranted by any great sub-
stantial necessity, but on the contrary, restraining and preventing the diffusion-
of trade, was pregnant with the most ruinous consequences, not only to the
commercial, but also to the landed interests of that nation ; and therefore the
petitioners prayed redress.
The manufacturers in Dublin also petitioned parliament that session, stating,
that Lcir.£ jua.de acquaiiitc J \y itli tiie extreme distress of the working maiiufac-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 169
been reduced to extreme indigence, and would have absolutely
perished, had they not been supported by public charity : nor
was government able to make grants, either to promote industry
or to relieve the national calamities. Every branch of the re-
venue failed, and such was the poverty of the nation, that the
militia law could not be carried into effect. Ireland could not
pay her forces abroad, and was obliged to borrow money from
England to pay those at home. The parliament was necessi-
tated to raise money at an exorbitant interest ; the expences in
1777 having amounted to above 80,000/. more than the reve-
nue : 166,0007. were therefore borrowed, and attempted to be
raised in the old manner upon debentures at 4/. per cent.
So truly desperate was the financial state of Ireland, that like
desponding bankrupts, the commons undertook to grant, what
tuners ancl their families, consequent to the want of employment, had for some
time past associated themselves, in order to advise and administer the most
effectual relief in their power ; that, aided by the liberal benefactions of many
others, they had daily supplied the craving1 necessities of above twenty thou-
sand persons, numbers of whom must else have actually perished for want of
food. That the petitioners, well aware how ranch more desirable it was in
every respect, to enable the poor to earn their own livelihood, than to support
them in idleness, early directed their attention to that important object, and
resolved to apply as much of the fund, which the public liberality had supplied,
as could be spared from the immediate relief of present urgent necessity, to
the purpose of bounties oji manufactures purchased by wholesale buyers within
a short time, hoping that measure might have created a useful demand ; but
they presently found the cause of the distress to be of too great a magnitude
to be affected by their feeble efforts. From the best information that had been
obtained, and the most probable calculations that could be formed, the peti-
tioners had reason to believe that there were manufactures in Dublin of wool,
worsted, silk, linen, and cotton, to the amount of at least 300,000/. lying on the
hands of makers, for which there was not any demand, the shopkeepers and
retailers being already loaded with very heavy stocks; whereas at that season
of the year the usual demand for most of these manufactures had been so great
as entirely to take off the goods from the makers. The petitioners, therefore,
begged leave to observe, that such unhappy circumstances utterly incapaci-
tated the Manufacturers from proceeding in their respective branches of busi-
ness, and giving employment to the poor. That it would be an indignity to
the wisdom and humanity of the house, for the petitioners to attempt to expa-
tiate on the importance and necessity of furnishing employment to the lower
orders of the people, or on the present affecting miseries of the poor of the
city of Dublin ; and it would as ill become them to presume to point out modes
of relief. That it was only for the petitioners to bring that great subject to
the view of the house, to state the facts, which had come to their knowledge,
and when required to support them by evidence ; having a most perfect confi-
dence, that such relief as should appear necessary and adequate, would not
be less freely granted than it was earnestly wished and prayed for by the pe-
tioners. Another petition was also presented from the manufacturers of silk,
-wool, linen, and cotton, in the city of Dublin and liberties adjoining ; setting
forth, that the petitioners from want of trade, were overloaded with goods for
which there was no demand, amounting to upwards of 300,000/. That having
worked up their capitals and credit, and linding no sale for their goods,
they had been under the painful necessity of discontinuing employment to the
working people, whereby they and their families, to the number of nuny thou-
sands, were reduced to extreme poverty.
170 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
they knew they had not the means of paying. Even the mi-
nisterial party could not be blind to their situation. They would
not however permit any question to be brought forward upon
the state of the country in the commons, lest too strong resolu-
tions upon it should be carried, or their opposition to them,
should appear even too rank for their own system. They ac-
cordingly had again i*ecourse to the half measure of conveying
their imperfect sense of the distressful state of the country
through their speaker, who in presenting the first four money
bills passed in that sessions addressed himself to the lord lieute-
nant in the following manner :
" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" The same principle of duty, which directed
" the proceedings of the last parliament, has eminently distin-
" guished the present in this their first session of business, a
" certain proof, that it is not confined to any class of men, but
" actuates the whole mass of the people in this kingdom. The
" commons, however disappointed in their hopes, that the large
" sums, which had been raised to discharge debts successively
" incurred, and the great addition of taxes, which had been im-
" posed to prevent any future deficiency, would have proved
" effectual for those purposes, have now made provision for a
" new arrear of 166,000/. which they could not accomplish with-
" out a new loan ; to pay the interest of which, they have been
" obliged to engage the scanty remnant of the former loan du-
" ties, the only fund now left ; in this they have consulted more
" the honour of his majesty's government than the ability of
" the nation. But, however discouraging the present state of
" affairs may be to them, it will afford your excellency a favour-
" able occasion, which they doubt not you will improve, of do-
" ing a signal service to this country, by laying before his ma-
jesty the difficulty, under which it labours, and by explaining
" the necessity either of limiting the expence, or of extending
u the trade of this kingdom. They place unbounded confidence
u in his majesty's wisdom, justice, and paternal care of all his
" subje:ts, and they rely on your excellency's candour and hu-
" manity to make a faithful representation to- his majesty of
" their unshaken loyalty, duty, and affection."
Although the House of Commons had through the organ of
their speaker conveyed these sentiments to the lord lieutenant,
which it should seem ought to have committed them to follow
up the spirit of them with effect ; yet in the division, which took
place on the 6th of February, 1778, of 143 against 66, we read
the melancholy perversity of a system, which binds the mem-
bers to vote against, what on any other occasion than that of a di-
vision of their house, they individually and collectively admit and
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 17L
approve of. Thus were the approved principles, spirit, and
substance of their speaker's address to the lord lieutenant, when
carried into detail and practice, rejected by the very persons,
who were supposed to have spoken through the mouth of the
approver. The patriots however, although sensible, that no
motion from their side of the house would ever be adopted by
the majority, who in Lord Clare's phrase were kept steady in
their ranks, yet they resolved, that their zealous, though ineifec-,
tual exertions to heal the wounds of their expiring country
should be handed down 10 posterity, whose impartial judgment
no interest would sway. After the speech of the lord lieutenant
to both houses of parliament had been read by order, a motion
•was made, and the question put (though afterwards negatived by
a majority of 77), " *That an humble address be presented
to his majesty, humbly to lay ourselves at his majesty's feet, to
assure him of our unshaken affection to his person and govern-
ment, to lay before him the state of this nation, declaring our
readiness and zeal to support, in the most honourable manner,
the necessary expences of his government, and the dignity of
his crown ; that, however in the present session of parliament
we have granted the supplies which were asked for the support
of the present establishments, yet we should deceive his majesty
if we suffered him from thence to conceive, that the expence of
those establishments could meet with the continued support, or
entire approbation of his faithful commons. That the expences
of his majesty's government have so increased in the course of
twenty years, that the charge of the civil list alone has nearly
doubled in that period. That one of the many causes of that
increase is the rapid and astonishing growth of the pension list,
now more than ever an object of universal complaint; a list,
which does now greatly exceed the expences of all other charges
of the civil list, even in its present state, and does considerably
exceed the whole civil list at Lady-day, 1 775, and is nearly dou-
ble the charge of the pension list at that period, when it was
so extravagant, that the commons, sensible of its weight, entered
unanimously into the following resolution, which, with many
others against it, were laid before his late majesty :
" Resolved, That the granting of so much of the public reve-
" nue in pensions, is an improvident disposition of the revenue,
" an injury to the crown, and detrimental to the public." That
this increase in the pension list is more severely felt by his
majesty's subjects, when they consider that its present extrava-
gance docs not appear to have any foundation or excuse in the
public service, or private want of those, who principally compose
it ; and his majesty's faithful subjects have reason to believef
-* 9 Com. Journ. p. 406.
Ua AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
that in a list so greatly augmented in favour of such persons,
and in times of accumulating debt, the real names of some of
those pensioners, and the merits of more, have not been truly
laid before him. That another cause of this increase is, a number
of new, great, and additional salaries in the nature of pensions,
annexed to lesser offices, mostly sinecures, or of so insignificant
a trust, that the frugality of former times allotted to them small
salaries. That another cause is the creation of new employ-
ments, or the annexing great salaries to old offices, that became
obsolete, because they were useless. That offices so created,
or revived, or endowed with great additional salaries, are become
a heavy charge upon his majesty's faithful subjects, unnecessary
to the dignity of his crown, and under a prince of less virtue,
dangerous to the constitution.... That his majesty's predecessors
were graciously pleased to confine military contingences and
cone or datum to certain bounds ; but in the last two years, during
a considerable part of which time a great proportion of the army
was not on the establishment, the exceedings on military contin-
gencies were greater by far than in the two former years, and
greater than ever was known in Ireland, of which unexampled
excess, a very considerable part does not appear to be expended
for military purposes, but is an inferior pension list, applied to
the use of persons, many of whom, from their occupation or sex,
cannot be comprehended within the meaning of a military
contingency. That the charge for exceedings on concorda-
tum, like that of military contingencies, has greatly exceeded its
limit, and in its excess and application is a grievance. That the
original establishment was 10,000/. that the exceeding of Lady-
day, 1777, was above 50,OOO/. an exceeding greater than ever
was known before, part of which was for secret service, an
expence suspicious from its nature, and alarming from its
growth. That the exceedings on military contingencies and
concordatum are the more an object of our jealousy, as we pre-
sume they are the more unbounded, because they do not come
under the previous inspection of his majesty, and to this we
attribute the abuses which have prevailed in both, and the appli-
cation of great sums of public money to purposes, which do not
seem to belong to said establishments, or to any branch of the
expence of government.
That in 1773, his majesty's faithful commons did grant seve-
ral new duties; that they were induced to such grant by a reli-
ance then had on the faith of his majesty's ministers, plighted
by the most solemn assurances publicly made to his commons,
thatthe thenexpencesof government should be greatlyretrenched,
so that the new grants of the people, and the stipulated retrench-
ment by the ministry, should unite to establsh a system of
equalization, and put an end to the ruinous practice of running
in debt. That his majesty's faithful commons have performed
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND, 173
their part of the engagement, by raising the revenue; but that the
expences of this government, irfetead of being diminished, have
been beyond example increased, insomuch that the commons
did, in this session of parliament, come unanimously to the fol-
lowing resolutions : " Resolved, That the nett produce of the
" unappropriated revenue for the two years ending at Lady-day,
" 1777, as stated in the accountant-general's paper, No. 5,
" including occasional payments, exceeded the produce of the
" said revenue for the two years, ending at Lady-day, 1775, in
" the sum of 214,297/. 5s. il$d." " Resolved, That the charge
" of the military establishment from Lady-day, 1775, to Lady-
" day, 1777, was less than the charge of that establishment in
44 the two former years, in the sum of 98,2407. 16s. 4^//*
" Resolved, That it appears from the accomptant-general's paper,
" No. 3, that the total amount of public charges, exclusive of
44 appropriated funds, and deducting the charge on account of
" Duncannon Fort, for the two years ending Lady-day, 1777,
44 was 1,629,0737. 5*. 2±d. and exceeded the produce of the reve-
44 nue applicable thereto, in the sum tof 82,1307. 195. !</." " That
it appears, that the highest revenufc ever known in this coun-
try does not equal the expences of government, even when a
great proportion of the army is not on the establishment. That
the bounty of his majesty's commons has had little effect,
other than to encourage new and unnecessary expences, whereby
his faithful commons are subject to a still accumulating debt ;
and likewise to those taxes granted for the sole purpose of putting
an end to so ruinous a practice. That as the expences of govern-
ment when the army return, will be considerably greater, so the
revenue upon an average calculation, will be probably less than
in the two last years : that the revenues have already gone back
in the half year ending last September, above 100,0007. And
accordingly his majesty's ministers, finding themselves unable
to support the present charges of government, without increas-
ing the debt of the nation, though aided by all the new taxes,
and though a great proportion of the army was not upon the
establishment, did apply for a loan of 160,0007. bringing down
the arrear to the 29th of last September, a method which has
not been the usual resort of his majesty's ministers, and which
bespeaks their sense of the state of the nation.
That, at the conclusion of the last war, his majesty was gra-
ciously pleased to order the then chief governor of Ireland, to
recommend to his faithful commons a diminution of the then
debt, and a reduction of the then expences of gqvernment,
that the debt of the nation, as resolved, was then 521,1617.
16*. O|</; that the debt of the nation at Lady-day, 1777, was
not less than 834,0867. 19s. Zd. ; and the nation is likewise
subject to the pay of certain life annuities, at the rate of 67. per
174 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
cent, for the sum of 440,0007. besides 166,0007. "provided for by-
loan this session of parliament; in all 1,440,0867. 19*. 3d. of
which the greater part has been accumulated since the peace, and
more particularly within these few years last past, notwithstand-
ing the new tax granted to put an end to the ruinous practice of
running in debt. That the loan duties were the last session of
parliament increased ; and when the loan of the present session
shall be resorted to, will in all probability be exhausted. That
the expences, which have out-run the abilities of the people,
appear the more alarming, because his majesty's faithful com-
mons cannot be apprized what bounds are intended to be put t6
them. That even though we could be induced to think that
such expences were the objects of support, not of retrenchment,
yet an attempt to lay new duties upon import, export, or home
consumption, would probably depress the old duty, and hazard
Or destroy the weakly remains of the trade of Ireland. That
we humbly hope his majesty will forgive us for having delayed
so long to lay before him the real state of this country, a country
labouring under the severest restrictions in trade, and under a
heavy weight of taxes, which are yet exceeded by her expence.
That we have waited as far as was consistent with our duty to
his majesty, or to those whom we represent, confiding in the
solemn and repeated assurances of ceconomy from time to time
received from his majesty's ministers ; that at length harassed
by a course of unnecessary expence, we can no longer refrain
from laying the state of this nation at the foot of the throne ; and
without presuming to point out any particular method of re-
dress, we do most humbly rely upon his royal virtues, and
implore his protection."
It was now currently believed, though not officially known in
Ireland, that France was about to abet the cause of the American
colonists ; upon which, as on all occasions, the Irish were
prominently forward in giving proofs of their attachment, duty,
and loyalty to their sovereign. The commons therefore pre-
pared an address to his majesty, and sent it up to the lords for
their concurrence.* But within four days from their having
* The form of the address was to the following effect : 9 Com. 'journ. p, 451.
" To the King's Most Excellent Majesty. The humble Address of the
" Ki\ights, Citizens, and Burgesses in parliament assembled.
" MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,
" WE your majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects,
* the and commons of Ireland, in parliament assembled, in the
' present critical situation of affairs beg leave humbly to approach your ma-
' jesly with the most unfeigned assurances of loyalty, duty and attachment to
' your majesty's royal person and government ; and to declare, that at a time
' when the public tranquillity is in danger of being further disturbed by the
' interposition of a foreign power, we feel ourselves called upon to take the
' earliest opportunity of expressing our zeal for the dignity of your majesty's
' crown, and our earnest wishes and warmest regards for the prosperity of
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. irj
voted that address, Mr. Secretary Heron informed the House
of Commons, that he had in command from his excellency to
communicate to them the following message:*
(" BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.)
" I have his majesty's commands to acquaint you,
" that his majesty, having been informed, by order of the French
" king, that a treaty of amity and commerce has been signed
" between the court of France and persons employed by his
" majesty's revolted subjects in North America, has judged it
" necessary to direct, that a copy of the declaration delivered by
" the French ambassador to Lord Viscount Weymouth, be laid
" before the House of Commons : and at the same time to
" acquaint them, that his majesty has thought proper, in con-
" sequence of this offensive communication on the part of the
" court of France, to send orders to his ambassador to with-
" draw from that court. That his majesty is persuaded that
" the justice and good faith of his conduct towards foreign
" powers, and the sincerity of his wishes to preserve the tran-
" quillity of Europe, will be acknowledged by all the world ;
" and his majesty trusts, that he shall not stand responsible for
" the disturbance of that tranquillity, if he should find him-
" self called upon to resent so unprovoked and so unjust an
u aggression on the honour of his crown, and the .essential
" interests of his kingdoms, contrary to the most solemn as-
" surances, subversive of the law of nations, and injurious to
" the rights of ever}' sovereign power in Europe. That his
u majesty, relying with the firmest confidence on the zealous
" and affectionate support of his faithful people, is determined
" to be prepared to exert, if it shall become necessary, all the
" force and resources of his kingdom, which he trusts
" will be found adequate to repel every insult and attack, and
** to maintain and uphold the power and reputation of his do-
" minions."
After this message had been read, it was ordered to be
entered on the journals, and a motion was immediately made
and carried, that an humble address should be presented to his
excellency, to request that he would be pleased to return his
majesty their thanks for the important intelligence his majesty
had been pleased to communicate to them. That they had
read with the utmost indignation and resentment a copy of the
Great Britain. We think it at this time peculiarly incumbent on us to
assure your majesty, that your majesty may rely with the greatest confidence
on the entire affection of your faithful subjects of Ireland, and depend on
their co-operating cheerfully with your majesty to the utmost of their ability,
in asserting the honour of your majesty's government, and establishing
the security of your dominions."
* 9 Com. Journ. p. 453.
176 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
delivered by the French ambassador to Lord Vis*
count Weymouth ; and that they could not but applaud the
measure taken by his majesty, in consequence of that offensive
communication on the part of the court of France, in sending
orders to his ambassador to withdraw from that court: that
confiding in his majesty's paternal attachment to the welfare
of his people, and his spirited regard for the honour of his
crown, they made no doubt, but he would pursue such measures
as might effectually preserve and assert those great objects ;
and, that as they were conscious no part of his majesty's do-
minions could exceed his faithful subjects of Ireland in the most
loyal attachment to his person and government, so were they
persuaded, that his majesty would extend his royal care, and
attention to the effectual protection and defence of that king-
dom ; and that they entreated his excellency to assure his ma-
jesty, that in so doing, he might rely on the most zealous and
affectionate support of that house, and that they would cheerfully
make good whatever expence should be necessarily incurred
thereby; sincerely lamenting that their abilities were not equal
to their zeal for the honour of his majesty's crown, and the real
interests of Great Britain. That the justice and good faith of
his majesty towards foreign powers were too conspicuous, and
the sincerity of his wishes to preserve the tranquillity of Europe
too well "known, to admit of his being responsible for the dis-
turbance of that tranquillity, if his majesty should find himself
obliged to resent so unprovoked and so unjust an aggression on
the honour of his crown, and the essential interests of his king-
doms. That they made no doubt but his majesty would find
abundant resources in the strength of his kingdoms, and above
all, in the hearts of his people, to repel every insult and attack,
and to maintain and uphold the power and reputation of his
majesty's dominions ; and that they could not but rejoice, that
his majesty's loyal subjects of Ireland had had an opportunity of
anticipating the present occasion, by unanimous and uncalled-for
assurances of their affectionate zeal and loyalty to his majesty's
person and government.
Although artifice and power combined to varnish the appear-
ances of the political state of the country, and to bolster up a
false credit, the delusion did not last even three months.*
* 9 Journ. Com. p. 463. Mr. Foster, according1 to order, reportedfrom the
committee of the whole house, to whom it was referred to take into further
consideration the message from his excellency the lord lieutenant, the resolu-
tion, which the committee had directed him to report to the house, which he
read in his place, and after delivered in at the table, where the same was read,
and is as follows :...." Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that
" for all and every the sum or sums of money not exceeding1 the sum of
" 300.000/. to be subscribed in shares of 100/. each, that shall be paid by any
•' person or persons, natural-born subjects or foreigners into his majesty's
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 177
Three hundred thousand pounds were ordered to be raised on
the 30th of March, 1 778, by a tontine at G/. per cent. And such
was the assurance of government upon the proposal of this loan,
that when the patriots, upon the conviction of the inability of
the country to raise it, moved for reducing it to 150,000/. the
proposed reduction was immediately negatived upon a division.
Such, however, was the depressed state of public credit at that
time, that on the 3d of June Mr. Secretary Heron had the mor-
tification to communicate the following message to the House of
Commons.
(" BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.)
" GENTLEMEN,
" IN pursuance of a resolution of the
" House of Commons, entered into on the 31st day of March
" last, for raising upon a scheme of life annuities, in the manner
" therein mentioned, a sum not exceeding the sum of 300,0007.
" to be paid into his majesty's treasury, to be applied towards
" the necessary expences of government, in putting and main-
" taining this kingdom in a state of defence, I have given such
" directions as appeared to me most proper to carry the same
" into execution: and I am sorry to inform you, that it is foundj
" after the most diligent endeavours exerted for the purpose,
" that the sum intended to be raised by that resolution cannot be
" obtained upon an interest of 6/. per cent, with benefit of sur-
" treasury, at the instance of bis excellency the lord lieutenant, or other chief
" governor or governors of this kingdom for the time being, to be applied to-
" wards the necessary expences of government, in putting and tnaintainingthis
" kingdom in a state of defence, upon one or more tontine or tontines, scheme
" or schemes of life annuities, this house will make good to the person or per-
" sons so paying and advancing such sum or sums respectively, or to any per-
" son lawfully authorized to receive the same, annuities of 61. by the year for
" every 100/. subscribed and paid, for and during the lives of the persons to
be nominated by the persons subscribing and paying the said sum or sums
respectively, their executors, administrators or assigns, the said annuities to
be made good in the same manner as annuities granted by an act of parlia-
ment passed in the session holden on the fifteenth and sixteenth years of his
present majesty, intituled, ' An Act for granting Annuities' in the manner
therein provided, to such persons as shall voluntarily subscribe towards the
raising a sum not exceeding 175.000/. and to be payable at such place 01*
places, and in such manner, with such benefit of survivorship upon each and
every such tontine or scheme of life annuities, and with all and every such
rights, benefits and advantages, and subject to all and every such regulations
and restrictions as in and by the said act were granted, enacted, made, and
provided concerning the annuities in the said act mentioned, the said annui-
ties upon the sum or sums so to be advanced, to be payable half yearly itt
equal proportions, on such days in every year, and to commence on such clay
or days, and the shares or subscriptions of 100/. each, to be paid at such
times and in such proportions ; and the lives for which such annuities shall
be granted, to be nominated within such time ortimes before the 29th day of
Sept. 1779, as his excellency the lord lieutenant, or any other chief go-
vernor or governors of this kingdom, for the time being, shall publicly declare
and appoint."
VOL. II. 7.
178 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" vivorship. I therefore thought it incumbent on me, that this
" house should be made acquainted therewith, not doubting
" that the commons of Ireland, attentive to the honour of his ma-
" jesty's government, and to the safety of this kingdom, will take
" such measures as shall be most prudent to carry the intention
" of that salutary resolution into immediate effect."
Pressed as was the British ministry with the unpopular and
ruinous contest with the American colonists, now backed and
openly supported by France ; losing their influence and credit at
home ; and greatly embarrassed for the ready and efficient means
of raising the supplies, Lord North found it incumbent upon
him to devise some public measures, that should at least substi-
tute a share of that popularity, which he was now daily losing,
and relieve these fiscal difficulties, by facilitating the means of re-
cruiting the navy and army. He was not ignorant of, though he
betrayed no public alarm at the diffusion of the American spirit
of liberty through all ranks of people in Ireland. He also too
well knew the national grounds of discontent and misery, which
stretched over the whole surface of that kingdom. It may have
been uniformly remarked throughout this history, that the Irish
have been ever profusely grateful for every thing, that had come
to them in the form of concession and kindness ; but the reluc-
tant boon wrung out of the grasp of power by extreme distress,
can never be received, or returned with fair sensibility. The
blame of having long withholden ought not however to efface
the whole merit of late or partial concession. To the admini-
stration of Lord North must be given the singular and impor-
tant credit of having first opened the door of liberality to the Irish
Roman Catholics, in the face of a very powerful and determined
opposition. It fell to his lot, to experience the fatal effects of
former emigrations from Ireland to America : it being a fact be-
yond question, that most of the early successes in America
were immediately owing to the vigorous exertions and prowess
of the Irish emigrants, (chiefly from the North) who bore arms
in that cause. He accordingly adopted the wise policy of en-
gaging the affections and gratitude of the Irish people, by allevi-
ating in some degree the immediate cause of their soreness and
discontent.
The progress of the American contest had afforded a strong-
practical lesson to ministry of the importance of national harmo,
ny at home. It was resolved therefore in the cabinet, that some
popular measure of toleration should be brought forward in each
parliament. But the mind of the public was not yet sobroken in
to this liberality, that the minister dared to submit it to parliament
as a government measure. He well knew, that the patriots in
both parliaments would support the proposition, and that it
would be carried by the natural and unbiassed majority, from the
moment that the minister's assent gave freedom of voting to all
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 170
his adherents. *The English House of Commons being in a
committee to take into consideration the acts of Parliament re-
lating to the Irish trade, the Earl of Nugent observed, that from
a long series of unshaken loyalty the Irish were entitled to every
encouragement which good and faithful subjects could deserve,
and a wise and grateful government could give ; oppressive laws
had hitheno been their only reward ; he did not, however, mean
to complain ; if he did, his generous countrymen would disa-
vow his complaints: they then saw Great Britain in distress ;
that silenced their resentment ; and, forgetful of their wrongs,
unsolicited they now made a tender of their lives and fortunes
for the service. If the narrow policy of Great Britain had not
kept them low, they would have sent over something more sub-
stantial than addresses ; their armies would arrive here for our
de-fence. Would the Parliament of Great Britain suffer every
sentiment of gratitude and justice to be inactive in their breasts ?
Would they become deal to the voice of policy ? He trusted,
he was sure, they would not ; and he had not a doubt but the
house would give ample proof, that they were not void of dis-
cernment to see, nor of inclination to reward merit. He had
taken a view of all the laws, which bore hard on Ireland, and,
trusting to the justice and humanity of the house, he had drawn
up a few resolutions which he hoped the committee would adopt.
His lordship then moved, that the Irish might be permitted to
send on board of British vessels, navigated according to law, to
the coast of Africa, and our settlements abroad, all sorts of Irish
manufactures, woollen and woollen clothes excepted.f Mr.
Pelham professed himself a well wisher to Ireland ; and said,
that no man had a greater respect for that kingdom than he had;
he was not, however, without his doubts, that the present mea-
sure would be highly detrimental to the manufactures of this
country : the taxes in Ireland being low, and labour cheap, the
Irish would be able to undersell us, and thereby ruin several of
our trading towns.
Lord Beauchamp begged leave to set the honourable gentle-
man right. The taxes in Ireland were many and high ; and,
proportionally to the means of paying them, considerably great-
er than in England. Some gentlemen who had travelled into
* 8 Eng. Deb. p. 205. This committee sat on the 7th of April, 1778.
f 8 Eng. Deb. p. 208. Lord Nugent then made another motion, That the
Irish miirht be permitted to import all sorts of ware and merchandise from the
•coast of Africa, and plantations abroad, indig-o, tobacco, and sugar only except-^
ed. The word sugar was inserted by his lordship, merely to prevent an oppo-
sition from the West-India merchants ; but on the motion of Lord Newhaven,
it was left out, and the motion passed Nem. Con. Lord Nugent again moved,
that glass jnanufactured in Ireland might be exported by the Irish, except in-
to Great Britain ; and that Irish cotton might be imported duty free into
Great Britain. These motions passed unanimously. Mr. Burke then moved,
that Irish sail cloth might be imported into this kingdom duty free. This
motion likewise passed Ncm. Con.
180 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Ireland, had, from the opulence of its metropolis, and the un-
bounded hospitality of the people of fashion, formed very un-
just ideas of the real state of the kingdom : it was reduced by
oppressive laws to a wretched situation ; their loyalty was, how-
ever, superior to every other selfish consideration ; they saw
nothing but our danger ; and though our acts had banished into
foreign countries numbers of their brethren, and left them in a
miserable state, still they were willing to strain every nerve to
serve us in the moment of distress : a braver, more generous,
and more loyal people was not to be found ; he flattered him-
self, therefore, that they would be treated by the house according
to their high deserts.
Mr. T. Townshend expressed his warm approbation of the
motion ; was happy to see the mist of prejudice begin to dis-
perse ; would be happy to give the measure a broader bottom ;
though as steadfast a Protestant as any gentleman in the house,
he declared he should be glad to see some means adopted to
grant such indulgences to the Roman Catholics of Ireland, as
might attach that great body of men to the present government:
their affections had been alienated ; he wished to recal them by
indulgent behaviour.
Lord North, adverting to what Mr. Townshend had said, de-
clared he would with all his heart concur in any measure, that could
tend to answer so desirable an end ; but it was not their pro-
vince ; it was the province of the parliament of Ireland j the
laws which were so severe against the Roman Catholics had
originated there, and redress of domestic grievances should of
right originate likewise from them ; and he was of opinion, that
the Irish parliament would see where the grievance lay, and re-
dress it, for there was not any where a people of more liberal
sentiments than the Irish, The penal laws of Ireland were the
consequences of apprehension, which, however groundless, al-
ways adopts the most cruel and severe policy. The Irish com-
plained, and complained with justice ; but it must be left to the
candour of their own parliament to grant such indulgence to the
Roman Catholics as their loyalty deserved : he requested the
house would agree to that, which was in their power, and their
province : to relax the trade laws would benefit the Irish, and
ultimately enrich ourselves ; embarked in the same cause with
us, they cannot be called our rivals in trade, but their rivals
were our rivals. The exceptions of woollen cloth he would say
nothing to ; it might not, perhaps, be just; but it was a point
given up by the Irish, and confirmed by an ancient compact : if
it should be found in the course of the proceedings on this bu-
siness that any other exceptions were necessary, the house no
doubt would make them. Upon the whole, the motion should
meet his hearty concurrence.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 181
Thus did the British minister in the most public manner de-
clare his cordial and unequivocal wishes, that his majesty's Ca-
tholic subjects of Ireland should be relieved from what he
admitted they complained of with justice : but it was to be
effected by the Irish parliament, in which it is lamentable to say,
bigotry and prejudice still held a sway, long since banished
from the walls of St. Stephen's. The principle of toleration,
applied both to Great Britain and Ireland ; but the political
necessity of reducing that principle into action operated upon
the two kingdoms in the inverse ratio of the respective disposi-
tions of the two parliaments to effect it. In Great Britain
scarcely one hundredth part of the population professed the
Roman Catholic religion : and that body had long enjoyed a
sort of tacit protection from the rigour of the penal laws. *Yet
as Lord Ashburton observed on seconding the motion of Sir
George Savile, " the mildness of government had hitherto
" softened the rigour of the law in the practice, but it was to be
*' considered, that the Roman Catholic priests were still left
" at the mercy of the lowest and basest of mankind ; for on the
u complaint of any informing constable, the magisterial and
" judicial powers were bound to enforce all the shameful penal-
" ties of the act." On the 14th of May, 1778, Sir George
Savile moved for leave to bring in a bill for the repeal of certain
penalties and disabilities provided in an act of the lOth.and llth
of William III. intituled, " An Act to prevent the further growth
" of popery." In proposing this repeal, the honourable baronet
observed, that he meant to vindicate the honour and assert the
principles of the Protestant religion, to which all persecution
was foreign and adverse : that the penalties in question were
disgraceful not only to religion, but to humanity : they were
calculated to loosen all the bands of society, to dissolve all social,
moral, and religious obligations and duties : to poison the
sources of domestic felicity, and to annihilate every principle
of honour. Such was the liberality of the house, that the
motion was carried without a dissentient voice. Lord Ashbur-
ton, then Mr. Dunning, seconded the motion with his usual
ability, and Mr. Thurlow, the attorney general, explained and
strongly supported the bill. Lord Beauchamp, in expressing
his extreme satisfaction at the motion, observed that it gave him
the more pleasure at that time, as he thought the commercial
advantages, which parliament then meant to bestow on Ireland
* 8 Eng. Deb. p. 228. Speech of Mr. Dunning. Some time before this
period the penal laws had been enforced against two priests, a Mr. Malony, and
Mr. Talbot, the brother of the Earl of Shrewsbury. But to the humanity of
the British nation it must be recorded, that these proceedings had been
resorted to by a solitary individual, one Pain, a carpenter, who having two
daughters, little business, much bigotry, and more covetousness, had formed
the singular speculation of acquiring 20.000/. apiece for his daughters fortunes
by informations under the penal statutes against the Catbolicg.
182 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
would be of very little use to that country, unless they were
accompanied by a repeal of the penal laws, which had long
depressed three fourths of the people there ; and that bill he
hoped would, when passed, be an example to the Irish parlia-
ment, in whose power it was to give that relief to their bre-
thren ; and he was sorry to say he thought, though their faith
were in some degree pledged for the effect of some such mea-
sure, nothing had yet been done for that people. They had beg-
ged to have a test of loyalty and obedieriee to the government
given them : that test was made, and taken by a large and re-
spectable number of Roman Catholics ; yet nothing had been
granted them in return. Nay more ; when a bill had been
brought into the Irish parliament to allow Papists to take build-
ing leases in corporate towns, that most reasonable indulgence
was ungenerously refused them. Something, he said, might be
suggested in excuse with relation to the late disturbances in the
south west part of Ireland ; but he assured the house, that he
never knew a Roman Catholic of property in that country who
did not express the greatest abhorrence of those violences ; and
he was convinced, that it was want of employment, want of
industrv, and want of reward for labour, that caused them ; and
he concluded with a declaration, that he did not think the little
indulgence, which was then proposed to be given to the Roman
Catholics of this kingdom, should be accompanied by any test,
cs he was sure, that any member, who read over the act of
King William (which he then held in his hand) would think
that in repealing it he was not so much employed in confer-
ring favours on the Catholics as in rescuing the statutes from
disgrace.
The real policy of relaxing the penal code of the Irish had
universally pervaded not only the British cabinet, but the
British senate ; not one morose, bigotted, or fanatical voice was
heard in discord, to this truism advanced by Mr. Burke on
Lord Nugent' s first motion for a committee to consider the
trade of Ireland, That Ireland -was now the chief dependance of
the British crown, and that it particularly behoved this country
to admit the Irish nation to the privileges of British citizens •.*
For although a considerable opposition were afterwards made
to the bill for opening the trade, the strongest opposers of that
measure admitted the necessity of passing a bill for the relief of
the Roman Catholics in Ireland. f On the eleventh day after
the British House of Commons had given the liberal example
* S.Eng. Deb. p. 185. viz. 1 April, 1778.
t Tims Sir Cecil Wray, one of the most violent opposers of the extension
r,f Irish trade said, he well knew the grievances of Ireland, and lamented
them ; amonjrst which were the Irish Pension Bill. ...the sinecure offices, the
Rom-fin Catholic Bills, the" Absentees, and various others ; and assured the
house he would gladly join the house in redressing them.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND.
of universal assent to Sir George Savile's motion in favour of
the Roman Catholics of England, Mr. Gardiner on the 25th of
May, 1778, made a motion in the Irish House of Commons,
and the question being put, that leave be given to bring in
heads of a bill for the relief of his majesty's Roman Catholic
subjects of Ireland, and that Mr. Gardiner, the Hon. Barry
Barry, and Mr. Yelverton, do prepare and bring in the same,
and it was carried in the affirmative.'}" At the same time the
Presbyterians of Ireland bearing in mind, that the sacramental
test had been imposed upon their ansestors by their lying by,
when new severities were imposed upon their Roman Catholic
brethren, came forward on this occasion to partake of the first
symptoms of tolerancy in an Irish parliament. In order not to
be excluded from the indulgences about to be dispensed to the
Catholics, Sir Edward Newnham on the same day moved, that
leave might be given to bring in heads of a bill for the relief
of his majesty's subjects the Protestant Dissenters of that king-
dom : and Sir Edward Newnham and Sir Boyle Roche were
ordered to prepare and bring in the same. But whether from
a conviction, that the relief to the Dissenters was not of equal
urgency with that proposed to be granted to the Roman Catho*
lies, or that the British cabinet had hitherto expressed no opi-
nion or inclination in their favour, the measure was remitted to
another session.
The great object and important consequence, which the
Catholics of Ireland obtained by this bill was the legislative
avowal contained in the preamble of it, of those facts and asser-
tions, which some few years back, it would have been considered
little short of treason to have advanced : namely, that the severi-
ties of the act of Anne ought to be relaxed, that the Roman Catho~
lies of Ireland were excluded from and ought to be admitted to
the blessings of our free constitution, and that it would promote
the prosperity and strength of all his majesty's dominions, that
the Catholics should be bounden to the Protestants by mutual
interest and affection.^ The establishment of this principle
gave them a footing to stand upon in every future application to
t Journ. Com. p. 475. The division is not given in the Journals,
j 17 and 18 Geo. III. c. 49. An act for the relief of his majesty's subjects
of this kingdom professing1 the Popish religion. " Whereas by an act made
in this kingdom in the second year of her late Majesty Queen Anne, in-
tituled, An Act to prevent the further Growth of Popery, and also by another
act made in the eighth year of her said reign for explaining and amending
the said act, the Roman Catholics of Ireland xre made subject to several
disabilities and incapacities therein particularly mentioned : and whereas
from their uniform peaceable behaviour for a long series of years, it appears
reasonable and expedient to relax the same, and it must tend not only to
the cultivation and improvement of this king-dcm, but to the prosperity and
strength of all his majesty's dominions, that his subjects of all denomina-
tions should enjoy the blessings of our free constitution, and should be bound
to each other by mutual interest and mutual affection :"&c.
184 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the crown or parliament for a full participation of every blessing
of our free constitution. The advantages granted by this act
were, that any Roman Catholic taking and subscribing the oath
of allegiance and declaration prescribed by the 13th and 14th
of Geo. III. c. 35. might take, enjoy, and dispose of a lease for
999 years certain, or cleterminable on the dropping of five Irves,
and that the lands then seized by Catholics should in future be
descendible, deviseable, or alienable as fully, as if they were in
the seizin of any other subject of his majesty : and that it should
no longer be in the power of a child to fly in the face of his
parent by demanding a present maintenance out of the father's
personal estate, or by depriving him totally of the inheritance
of his real estate, as he before had been enabled to do by the 2d
Anne, c. 6. This was a qualified admission over the threshold
of property, and the more welcome to the Catholics, from their
conviction, that a breach once made in that penal fortress, it was
impossible it should hold out much longer.*
Although less were in fact granted by Mr. Gardener's bill to
the Irish, than by Sir George Savile's bill to the English Ro-
man Catholics, yet widely different was the progress of each
through the houses. The former was contested in every stage
through the Irish House of Commons: on the 5th of June,
1778, five divisions took place upon it, though each were
carried in the affirmative : and on the 15th of the same month
three divisions in like manner were had.f On the 16th Mr.
Dillon, who took a very active part jn the bill, reported progress
from the committee, where it was warmly debated, and upon
the motion for the house's resolving itself into a committee of the
whole house to take the said heads of the bill into further con-
sideration, on the 18th of June the house divided, 56 against 47.
Mr. Tottenham and Mr. William Handcock were prominent in
their opposition to the bill. On the 18th the house in commit-
tee sat in debate till three o'clock in the morning, and on the
* Among other warm supporters of this bill \vas Sir Hercules Langrishe, to
whom Mr. Burke thus wrote with reference to it (p. 87) " It is a thing humi-
' Hating enough, that we are doubtful of the effect of the medicines we com-
' pound. We are sure of our poisons. My opinion ever was (in which I
' heartily agreed with those, that admired the old code) that it was so con-
' structed, that if there was once a breach in any essential part of it, the ruin
« of the whole, or nearly of the whole, was, at some time or other, a certainty.
" For that reason I honour, and shall for ever honour and love you, who first
' caused it to stagger, crack, and gape. Others may finish, the beginners
' have the glory ; and, take what part you please at this hour, (I think you
« will take the best) your first service will never be forgotten by a grateful
' country."
f 9 Com. Journ. p. 493. One of these vas upon admitting a clause for
repealing that part of the statute of Queen Anne, which requires the sacra-
mental test as a necessary qualification for holding offices and places of trust
and profit under the crown. On this day also a petition from the mayor,
sheriffs, common council, freemen, freeholders, and other Protestant inhabi-
tants of the city of Cork, was presented against the bill.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 185'
19th till four o'clock in the morning upon these heads of a bill ;
and on the 20th Mr. Gardner was ordered to attend his excel-
lency the lord lieutenant with the said heads of a bill, and desire
the same might be transmitted into Great Britain in due form.
Thus after the severest contest, with the full- and unequivocal
approbation of government, the general support of the patriots,
and the unanimous accord of the British legislature in a similar
indulgence to the Roman Catholics of England, were these
heads of a bill carried through the Irish House of Commons
by the small majority of nine. Upon the third reading of this
bill in the House of Lords, the contents with their proxies were
36, and the not contents were 12. On the 14th of August the
lord lieutenant put an end to the session. After having compli-
mented both houses upon their long and faithful attendance, he
assured the commons, that their grants should be faithfully
applied, and that it should be his endeavour, that the welfare
and security of the people might amply compensate for those
charges, which the exigency of public affairs had unavoidably
occasioned.* He then addressed himself to both houses, and
said, he flattered himself that the regulations, which had taken
place that session, would prove essentially serviceable to that
valuable branch of commerce, the fisheries of Ireland. It was
with pleasure, that he saw an act passed for establishing a
militia, which by enabling his majesty, when he should think
proper, to call forth that part of the national strength, might
.materially contribute to the protection and defence of the king-
dom. The law for relieving the Roman Catholics from some
of those disabilities, under which they had hitherto laboured,
would, he hoped, attain the desirable end of promoting and
establishing good will and mutual confidence among his majes-
ty's subjects, and by rendering them more united at home, make
them more formidable to their enemies abroad. He congratu-
lated with them on the late extension of the trade and com-
merce of that kingdom ; it was a circumstance peculiarly for-
tunate to them, that an event which promised such advantages
to Ireland should have taken place during his administration.
While they justly enjoyed the approbation and gratitude of their
country, for having promoted so many useful laws, he was
persuaded, they would not forget what was due to the paternal
care of an affectionate sovereign, and the kind disposition of
Great Britain towards that country ; they would cultivate jointly,
as in sound policy they were inseparable, the true interests of
both kingdoms.
We have seen, that the alarming distresses of Ireland had
roused the British House of Commons to afford them some
commercial relief. When the bills to this effect were to be read
a second time, several members for trading towns violently
opposed them, and the table of the house of commons was
covered with petitions against any extension of commercial
» 9 Journ. Com. p. 520.
186 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
advantages to Ireland, by which the trade of Great Britain
should be in any manner affected. So violent indeed were
the towns of Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow, that they
menaced to be no longer loyal, if these bills should pass: and
Lord Middle ton observed in the debate, " that these towns
" were experienced in rebellion so abundantly, that the transition
u would be an object of easy accomplishment, and the Avorld
" would entertain little surprise, if they threw aside their new-
" fangled opinion." Lord North was of opinion, that as the
expectations of the Irish were raised from what the house
had already done, it would be unwise to protract the business
to another session. The gentlemen, who opposed the bill,
seemed all to agree in one point, that somewhat ought to be
done for their relief, though they differed about the nature and
extent of what ought to be done. He saw no reason, however,
why the present bill should not pass, since the house might,,
notwithstanding, appoint a committee to enquire into the state
of the trade, that from their report a plan might be formed and
adopted. He did not see the mighty difficulty, that was said
to exist, in calculating the difference necessarily to arise in the
annual imports, by the effect of the bill before the house. It-
would create small difference, comparatively speaking, in the
revenue, since the diminution in the imports of one place would
give an additional increase to those of another, as the difference
of duty on the enumerated articles was very trifling. He held
it as the duty of Britain to give Ireland a degree, at leastT of
recompence for the exertions she had made, were we not in-
clined by policy, to give her relief from the restrictions she
laboured under ; and he hoped the house would agree on the
present bill, as a test of their intention and inclination to be-
friend her in future more substantially.* Mr. Burke answered
the arguments of the honourable gentleman who opposed the
bill. The bills before the house, he said, were no more than
restorations of what the wisdom of a British parliament had,
on a former occasion, thought proper to invest Ireland withr
In the 12th of Charles II. the navigation bills passed, extending
to Ireland as well as England. A kind of left-handed policy
had, however, deprived her of the freedom she enjoyed under
that act, and she had ever since remained under the most cruel,
oppressive, and unnatural restriction. Deprived of every in-
centive to industry, and shut out from every passage to wealth,
she had inwardly lamented, but she had never complained of her
condition. She had gone the most forward lengths in serving
the interest and defending the rights of Great Britain. She had
assisted in conquests, from which she was to gain no advantage,
and emptied her treasury, and desolated her land, to prove her
* In all the affairs of Ireland Mr. Burke lias ever evinced the most accurate
historical knowledge, the most unbiassed judgment, and the most constitutional
spirit of any member in either parliament. The historian cannot therefore
dispense with favouring the reader with the historical views from that masterly
hand as they occur.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 187
attachment and loyalty to the government of this country. Such
had been her conduct, and her reward had been restriction and
bondage of the most cruel nature. He did not mean, by describ-
ing her situation, to engage the humanity of the house in her fa-
vour. The people of Ireland would not accept favours flowing
from the humanity of the house. They called for justice, nojt
for pity. They requested Britain to be wise, not to be generous ;
to provide for her own good, and secure her own interest ; sen-
sible that wisdom and prudence would dictate, that to accomplish
these, a contrary conduct towards them was necessary. The
honourable gentlemen, who opposed the bill, had drawn into col-
lection the arguments and ivasons they maintained to exist
against all the bills, meaning, no doubt, thereby to prejudice
the house the more by their aggregate effect. Though he de-
tested this inequitable mode of proceeding, he would not evade
the combat even on that ground ; nor wish to engage the house
in favour of the bills, it he could not, in the fullest manner, an-
swer every objection they had brought to every part. The ho-
nourable gentleman, who had moved the amendment, wished to
reconcile the people of Ireland to delay, by pledging the honour
of parliament, that something effectual should be done in their
favour next session. He knew the temper of the Irish too well, to
believe, that they would sit down satisfied with such an assertion.
They would conclude within themselves, depending on expe-
rience lor their guide, that the promise of something to be done
next session, would alone produce the repetition of a promise
for the session following ; and promise, repetition, and promise,
from session to session, would be the only benefit they would re-
ceive. He did not conclude, that the denial of what even jus-
tice demanded of us in their favour, would produce rebellion
and disturbance in that countiy ; their loyalty and zeal were su-
perior to complaints ; they might despair, but they would not
resist. Other places experienced in rebellion, had determined,
it seems, to enter or not to enter into it, according as these bills
were determined; but Ireland regarded more the welfare of the
empire at large, than the interest of itself in particular. They
-were patient and loyal, and therefore, he supposed, they were
crushed ; for it was the policy of the present day to forego the
excellent and noble maxims of the Romans, parcere snbjectis et
debellare tsuperbos., for the infamous proverb of British growth,
*' proud to the humble, and humble to the proud." He then went
into a particular detail of the arguments of the honourable gen-
men relating to commercial advantage. The annual revenue of
the two kingdoms had been exultingly, but most inequitably
drawn into comparison, to prove that Ireland paid no propor-
tion of tax. It was not the number of inhabitants, that consti-
tuted the different specific in the article of taxation between two
countries ; but the distinction of internal opulence and external
advantage. Compare the two countries by that line, and it will
be .found that Ireland is taxed in a quadruple proportion more
188 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
than England. The internal wealth, and external advantage of
trade and commerce, is forty times greater in England than in
Ireland. There is, therefore, no ratio of proportion preserved
in the mode of taxing the latter. She is taxed, without enjoy-
ing the means of payment. She is debarred the use of shoes
and stockings, and yet she is made to pay for them. Restricted
from trading, she enjoys no opportunity of acquiring wealth to
discharge the taxes imposed upon her. Enlarge her means of
payment, and in proportion to her ability enlarge her taxes. An
equality of commercial advantage could not be established -be-
tween the two countries. The opulence of the one is a barrier
insuperable by the other. The great disproportion of capital
effectually destroys the possibility of an equality. The one can
extend her mart of trade through every different channel of
the universe ; the other, restrained in her ability, cannot prose-
cute the same track ; and as the ability of the proceeding in-
creases in the same proportion, in the progress of one as well as
the -other, the same proportion of advantage will still remain.
The Irish will be able to follow the English at equal distance,
in every stage, both in the outset and in the continuance ; but
they never will be able to accelerate their motion in order to
overtake them. The lowness of labour is a nugatory argument;
for until the instant that the price of labour is equal, the supe-
riority of manufacture will remain with the English. The price
of labour rises with the growth of manufacture, and is highest
when the manufacture is best. The experience of every day
tells us, that where the price of labour is highest, the manufac-
turer is able to sell his commodity at the lowest price. The
difference of duty of the imported enumerated articles, is so
abundantly overbalanced by the other advantages enjoyed by
this country, that without it there could not be the smallest de-
gree of competition in manufacture. Not one, however, of the
enumerated articles is less taxed in Ireland than in England, ex-
cept those already permitu-d to her. For though the petitions on
the table are most, if not all, tending to express their fears of the
consequences of granting a free exportation of sail cloth and
iron to the Irish ; it is a fact, that they already .enjoy a free ex-
portation of these articles : and particularly he would remark of
manufactured iron and steel, as he did on a similar occasion of
sail cloth, that the petition served to shew the foundation on
which they all were laid, namely, merely conjecture. They had
not felt from the reality what they dreaded from the idea ; for
an act existed at this time permitting the free exportation of
manufactured iron ; which, however, had not been prosecuted,
because of the advantages enjoyed by the English. The only
article imported under that act into England, was a quantity
of cork screw?, which, though it might be an evidence of their
luxury in living, was but a feeble proof of their excellence of
manufacture. But, indeed, every other instance, as well as this,
served to prove how erroneously they had formed their opi-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. is9
nions on the subject. Some years ago, when a bill was brought
in for the free importation of woollen yarn into England, peti-
tions were received from every different part of the country,
complaining of the injury it would create ; but now that they
had experienced its effects, they felt and acknowledged i«:s be-
neficial tendency. It was absurd to think that a participation
of manufacture would be detrimental to this country. Had we
not seen the woollen manufacture planted in different parts of
this country ; and had we not also seen that the competitions
had served to advance both ? He concluded with lamenting,
that in one instance he should be directed by his conscience to
take a part against his constituents. It had been his invariable
aim to protect their rights and interests, and to act at all times
as became the senator and representative of the people. In this
instance he had dared to act contrary to the wishes, but not, he
was sensible, to the interests of his constituents.* He differed
in opinion from them on the noblest principle, namely, from his
being in the right ; and if, from his conduct in this business, he
should be deprived of his seat in that honourable house, it
would stand on record an example to future representatives of
the commons of England, that one man, at least, had dared to
oppqse his constituents, when his judgment assured him they
were in the wrong.
The national distresses of Ireland were too alarming to the
British empire to permit the legislature of either country to sleep
over them. During the recess of the Irish parliament, we find
that of Great Britain as frequently and as earnestly employed
•upon its interests, as if that kingdom had been within the juris-
diction of its legislative powers. On the 16th of December,
1778,* Lord Nugent described the inhabitants of his native
country as suffering every species of misery and distress human
nature was capable of bearing ; a people, nine-tenths of whom
laboured for four-pence a day, whose food in summer was pota-
toes and butter-milk, and in winter potatoes and water ; he gave
notice, that in consequence of what passed the last session, it
was intended to propose to take off some of the restrictions of
the trade of Ireland. He said, the people of Ireland expected
some relief: that kingdom was oppressed and ruined; they
would emigrate to America ; they wquld carry the woollen and
linen manufacture thither ; they would soon rival those of this
country : in short our restrictions would transfer the trade and
manufactures of Ireland to America.
Among the other hardships suffered by the people in general,
the landed part of them had their share. There was now an
uninterrupted embargo, .which still existed, on the exportation
of the only staple commodities they had, beef and butter; the
lands were fallen one third in value ; the graziers were become
bankrupts, the full proof of which he experienced himself; for
ihough he possessed a very considerable property, situated in
* The Electors of Bristol. t 10 Eng- Debates, p. 176.
196 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
different parts of that kingdom, he could pledge his honour, that
he had not received a shilling rent for the last two years ; and
the case was the same with several noble lords and gentlemen
of his acquaintance.
It might become a question of a serious and difficult nature,
what indulgence ought to be given, supposing this country were
inclined to recede. He believed the general ideas, that pre-
vailed last year, would be proper to be again taken up. The
woollen manufacture, to be sure, was in some measure sacred ;
but, in his present indigested ideas, all he could venture to spe-
cify was, a full exportation of all cotton goods, mixed and un-
mixed. His lordship threw out several other hints ; said that
the question would be, whether Ireland should have a little in-
dulgence, or the Irish and the manufactures of linen, woollen,
&c. be transferred to America. It is true, Manchester might
Buffer ; but a nation composed of a loyal, brave, though an op-
pressed people, was not to be sacrificed to one single town or
the monopoly of a particular district. He hoped, however,
there would be no cause for rivalship. One thing on the whole
was certain, that whatever benefited or enriched Ireland, or tend-
ed to give employment to her wretched inhabitants, would be
beneficially felt in this kingdom, to whom, as the centre, every
advantage Ireland experienced Great Britain must profit by.
Lord Beauchamp confirmed the greater part of the noble
lord's arguments, painted the distresses of the Irish in lively
colours, and gave the house to understand, that a general expor-
tation, except in the articles of woollens, was expected, or meant
to be procured.
Lord Newhaven said, that he would move for a general ex-
portation, woollens excepted ; and an importation of several
commodities enumerated in the course of the last session.
* As soon as the British parliament had met after the holi-
days, the same noble earl, who was ever steadfast to the real wel-
fare of his country, on the 19th of January, 1779, moved in the
British House of Commons, that an account be laid before the
house of all exports, and their amount ; of merchandise exported
from this country to Ireland ; and of all imports from Ireland
into this kingdom, from the first of January, 1778, to the 1st of
January, 1779 ; which motion was agreed to. His lordship ex-
plained his meaning for making this motion, by saying, that it
was preparatory to the motion for leave to bring in a bill for
granting further relief to the trade of Ireland, notice of which
he had given before the holidays. He represented the inhabi-
tants of Ireland as being in a famishing condition, and appealed
to two noble lords in administration for the truth of his asser-
tion ; and he said, that a secretary of the viceroy was just come
over, expressly to lay before government the deplorable state of
Ireland : he referred to a letter he had received from Dr. Wood-
ward, Dean of Clogher, mentioning, that all had been done, that
* 10 Deb. Pai-1. p. 218.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 191
could be effected by contribution, to relieve the starving poor,
but in vain ; employment alone could remedy the evil. He ap-
pealed to the noble lord at the head of the treasury for the truth
of another observation ; that the revenue of Ireland is so dimi-
nished, that it now yields little more than the expences of its
civil establishment. These facts pointed out the necessity, as
we had lost our trade with our American colonies, of taking care
we did not lose Ireland next, by a separation or invasion. If
our impolitic restraints were not removed from the trade of that
country, we should lose our best customers for many articles of
merchandise. He said, good estates in Ireland were offered to
sale at sixteen and fourteen years purchase, yet no buyers ap-
peared even at that low price.
He expected to be opposed by those, who had particular in-
terests to support against the national welfare intended by his
bill ; but he remembered many similar oppositions to bills, which
had, after they had passed, and the good effects had been expe-
rienced, been highly applauded ; for instance, the bill for im-
porting bar iron from America, was strongly opposed by the par-
ties concerned in mines and iron-works at home ; yet it was
found that Great Britain did not produce a tenth part of the iron
wanted for consumption. He declared himself as warm a friend
to England as any man in the house ; and if he did not think it
was promoting the interest of this country to grant Ireland relief
to her trade, he would not move it ; neither did he ever choose to
move any thing in that house which he was not sure of carrying*
He concluded with a kind of prophecy, that if Ireland were not
assisted in her commerce, it might become a question there to
vote a sum for the support of that country, from the insufficiency
of its own revenue.
The establishment of a cotton manufactory, and leave to ex»
port the manufacture to Great Britain ; with leave to export and
import to and from America, the West- Indies, and Africa, were
the points he had in contemplation ; and he concluded with say-
ing, if all he wished could not be obtained, he must be satisfied
with a part.
Colonel Stanley desired Lord Nugent would give as long no-
tice as possible of the day he should bring in his bill, that his
constituents might be early apprized of it; as not only the town
of Manchester, but all the manufacturing towns in the country,
concerned in the cotton branches, were alarmed.
Sir George Yonge intreated the noble earl not to hurry on a
bill of such consequence, but wait for better information. He
could not consider the state of Ireland in the melancholy light
it had been described ; but if the people really were famishing,
it was not owing to the trade laws of this country, but to mis-
management in their own internal police, and desired that might
be enquired into.
Mr. T. Townshend reminded the house, that by a narrow
policy America had been lost, and bid them beware of losing
Ireland. He declared himself impartial, not having any proper-
!92 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
ty in Ireland ; yet he considered his property in England as de-
pendant in a great measure on the prosperity of Ireland ; and, ar>
a. member of the community, he wished to remove those partial
restraints on her trade, which certainly were the cause of her
distresses.
* Again on the 10th of March, 1779, did the distressed situ-
ation of Ireland come before the British House of Commons,
when Lord Newhaven hoped, as a spirit of toleration and libe-
rality had gone forth in the house, that the relief he had proposed
for Ireland, would not want for success. His lordship stated,
that on an average of the last ten years, the exports from England
to Ireland were decreased about six hundred thousand pounds ;
and in the two last years they had decreased seven hundred and
sixteen thousand pounds : that the exports from Ireland in the
two last years had decreased one hundred and fifty-five thousand
pounds ; on which decrease seventy-five thousand pounds were
on the staple of linen; that the exports from England into Ire-
land, on an average of ten years, were two millions fifty-seven
thousand pounds ; that the imports from Ireland into England
were but thirteen hundred and fifty-three thousand pounds ; so
that the balance in favour of England, on an average of ten
years, was seven hundred and four thousand pounds sterling per
annum, which, multiplied by the ten years, plainly shewed that
England gained by the trade of Ireland alone seven millions and
forty thousand pounds in that time.
He moved that the house should, on the 19th, resolve itself
into a committee, to take into consideration the acts of parlia-
ment relating to the allowing the importation of sugars from the
West-Indies into Ireland.
Governor Pownall said, he was not against the motion for
relieving Ireland; he did not object to it on that ground; but
said, the motion would raise alarms here, and do no good to
Ireland ; therefore he wished to see the motion extended to
something that would give a real and substantial relief to Ireland,
and that too upon the ground and principle of system.
Sir George Yonge, Sir Philip Jennings Clerke, Mr. Cruger,
&c. were against the proposition, on the ground, that though
Ireland may have suffered in her trade since the American war,
yet this nation had suffered infinitely more ; if she had lost five
thousand pounds a year, England had lost almost as many mil-
lions ; and, that upon the whole, to give Ireland any further in-
dulgences, than those she at present enjoyed, might very possi-
bly endanger this kingdom or the sovereignty she held over her.
"Mr. T. Townshend, Lord Nugent, Lord Beauchamp, Gene-
ral Conway, Mr. Welbore Ellis, &c. contended for the propriety,
the expediency, and the policy of the motion, maintaining that it
was a specific simple proposition, and could not be of any one
disadvantage to Great Britain ; besides, that the prosperity of
Ireland was too essential to this country, not to give her every
encouragement that could possibly be given.
* 11 Parl, Debates, p. 198'.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 193
The question was then put: for it, 47.. ..against it, 42.
In melancholy confirmation of the representations of Ireland,
»o frequently and so warmly made by the Earl of Nugent, and
others, on the 18th of March, 1779, Lord North communi-
cated to the commons the following message from his majesty.*
(" GEORGE R.)
" HIS majesty having received information from
" the Earl of Buckinghamshire, his lieutenant-general, and
" general governor of his kingdom of Ireland, that the revenues
u of that kingdom have of late proved greatly deficient and inade-
*' quate to the purposes for which they were granted ; and his
u majesty, moved with concern and compassion for the distresses
" of his loyal and faithful subjects of that kingdom ; and being
" anxious, that some immediate and effectual relief should be
" afforded to thein, thinks it necessary to recommend to the
" consideration of this house, whether it may not be proper, in
" the present circumstances of Ireland, that the whole charge of
" the regiments on the Irish establishment, now serving out
" of that kingdom, should be paid by Great Britain. G. R."
Lord North moved, that his majesty's message be referred
to the consideration of the committee of supply, which was
agreed to : then, upon the order of the day for going into a com-
mittee on the importation of sugars into Ireland.
Sir George Yonge objected to the speaker's leaving the chair,
because the bill would produce consequences no less fatal to this
country, than the total loss of the colony trade. There were
annually, he said, imported into Great Britain, 150,000 hogs-
heads of sugar, valued at 3,759,0007. annually. The whole
imports from the West-Indies, were 4,500,0007. annually ; and
that the trade employed 500 ships, of 100,000 tons burthen, and
10,000 seamen. The duties arising from the trade were up-
wards of 400,0007. a year ; and that this great sum, he said,
we were dashing away by the present bill : he objected to it, and
therefore would vote against the speaker's leaving the chair.
Mr. Sawbridge was against all the monopolies of trade, and
commercial interdictions ; he declared there was trade enough
for every nation on earth, if all impolitic restrictions were
repealed ; and asserted, that no nation, nor corporate body, nor
individual, had a right to deprive another of the benefit of manu-
factures, trade, and commerce.
Mr. Burke declared, that if the mover of the bill meant to
modify it any degree, he would give his vote against going into
a committee, for he would not enter into any composition; it
was for the interest of Great Britain to throw open even the
woollen trade to Ireland ; and if it were not done now voluntarily,
the French would soon oblige us to do it.
General Conway and Sir Cecil Wray wished for a full enquiry
into the distresses of Ireland, and a mature deliberation on the
means of applying general relief.
On the 26th of May Lord Beauchamp moved, that an humble
*11 Parl. Debates, p. 177.
VOL. II. E b
104 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
address be presented to his majesty, praying that he would be
gi aciously pleased to order accounts to be laid before parliament
of the state of the trade and commerce of Ireland.
His lordship prefaced his motion with a very sensible speech
on the wretched state of Ireland, and the necessity of holding
out a promise to the Irish, that ths commercial laws, of which
they complained, should be revised by parliament, and such
redress granted to them as Great Britain was able to bestow.
Lord North declared he would promote every possible
enquiry, and obtain all the information in his power ; but as to
producing a plan for settling matters in a commercial line to the
satisfaction of both countries, it was too bold an undertaking for
him, since it was hard to say what would satisfy Ireland, and
thai England could grant, consistent with her own interest.
He thought the complaints of Ireland rather ill timed, as more
had been done for that kingdom within these three or four years
than for thirty years before.
Mr. Conolly was of a different opinion ; he attributed the
present distresses oi Ireland to the wretched system of govern-
ment'carried on by the present ministry, by whose means the
debts of that kingdom had been increased from about 600,0007.
to near a million and a half.
Mr. James Luttrell did not disapprove of the motion, as it
had first been made in the other house by his noble friend the
Marquis of Rockingham ;* but in that house he could not but
consider it as a kind of ministerial compromise, a lame apology
for doing nothing for the relief of Ireland that session. He
asked why the parliament of Ireland had not been called together
in time, to deliberate, and send over their state of the nation
to the British parliament earlier in the session ? Why had not
the noble lord moved that address months ago ? It was then
too late, and the loss of Ireland might probably follow that of
America.
Sir George Yonge desired not to be thought inconsistent in
voting for the address, as the most likely method of getting at
the true state of the matter ; but he thought the state of the
Irish revenue should have been added : that was incumbent on
the noble lord at the head of the treasury ; but he doubted if the
Irish would have much hopes of a ministry, who had reduced
landed estates in England from 33 to 25 years purchase, and
funded property from 89 to 60. The address was agreed to.
The warm part and interest, which the British senate took
in the concerns of Ireland did credit to her liberal sympathy for
her sister kingdom, and justified the claims, which Ireland urged.
The opinions of the illustrious characters, which then stood
most prominently forward in favour of that kingdom will be
handed down to the latest posterity as testimonies of the exem-
* The motion of the Marquis of Rockingham, to which Mr. James Luttrell
alluded, was made in the British House of Peers on the llth of May, 1779,
and occasioned the most interesting1 debates upon the affairs of Ireland till
then ever known in that house. It exhibits a most melancholy view of the
situation of that country, and is given in t/je Appendix, No. LXV.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 195
plary loyalty of the Irish nation under the severest trials and
provocations. On the 2d of June, 1779, Lord Shelburne (now
Marquis of Lunsdowne) stated to the British House of Peers
the following proposition relative to the state of Ireland :* That
an humble address should be presented to his majesty, request-
ing that his majesty would be graciously pleased to order to be
laid before that house, an account of such steps as had been
taken in consequence of the address of that house of the llth
of May, and of his majesty's most gracious answer thereto ;
'and humbly to recommend to his majesty, if his royal preroga-
tive, as vested in his majesty by the constitution, be not adequate
to the relief of the acknowledged distressed and impoverished
state of'his majesty's loyal and well-deserving subjects'of Ire-
land, that he would be pleased to continue the parliament of that
kingdom, as then assembled, and give immediate orders for
calling forthwith his parliament of Ireland, that their just com-
plaints might be fully considered and remedied without delay,
that the wanted union of affection might be preserved between
both kingdoms, always desirable, but in the present situation
of public affairs, absolutely essential and indispensable to the
preservation and welfare of both, and that the united strength of
Great Britain and Ireland might in due time, and with due
effect, be exercised under the blessing of God against the com-
mon enemy.
This proposition the noble earl prefaced with a speech of
great political information and unusual energy and brilliancy.
He was severe upon the ministers, to whose account he laid the
distressed situation of his country, and on that ground avowedly
was the first part of the proposition opposed; Lord Weymoutlvj*
" disapproving of the proposition, because it contained an
" implied censure on government, which they by no means
" deserved." Amongst a great variety of political topics, which
the noble earl's speech embraced, not immediately relevant to
the state of Ireland, we gather from the mouth of that great
statesman several most valuable documents illustrative of the
history of that critical period. His financial view of that king,
dom was, that in the year 1750 the public debt of Ireland was
under half a million, that since that she had contracted 1,000,0007.
funded, and 600,000/. unfunded, besides the 300,OOO/. borrowed
upon public faith, for which no taxes had been yet appropriated;
so that the whole debt amounted to full three millions in twenty
years ; fifteen of which contained a period of a peace establish-
ment, and, of course, a peace expenditure : but contrary to every
idea of good government, and national (Economy, by much the
greater part of the debt was contracted during the latter period,
till at length the new taxes were unequal to the annual out-
goings, and at that time the receipts at the Irish treasury were
short to the amount -of 30O,000/. per annum.
The internal critical state of the country at that moment next
drew his attention, which he urged, had been grossly overlooked
by the king's ministers, and he expressed his astonishment at
* 13 Parl. Dab. p. 337. f 13 Pavl. Deb. p. 390.
196 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
hearing from the noble lord at the head of the council (Gower,
now Marquis of Stafford) that nothing could be done for Ireland
till the next session. Situated, said his lordship, as affairs were,
it would be dangerous to delay the business ; that the necessities
of Ireland called for immediate relief, and that it would he ab-
surdity in the extreme to let the Irish remain unsatisfied for
seven or eight months longer. He considered the matter in a
variety of different points of view, and said, that leaving the
whole to rest upon a resolution so vague and indeterminate as
that, which had been carried in both houses, and which, in fact,
prescribed no specific line of procedure, might be construed into
an intention to do nothing, but a mere design to get over the
summer, to set the war upon its legs, and then to suffer the
distresses of Ireland to remain unattended to, and unredressed.
When the amendment to the noble marquis's motion was first
proposed, he declared he was very far from having this opinion
of it himself ; on the contrary, he thought that ministry shewed
rather more readiness than became them, and seemed willing
to do too much ; he appealed to their lordships in whose memory
he stood, whether he had not on that day been the single peer
to cry out, doucement, whether he had not stood up alone and
said, " Gently, take care what you do, don't promise too much,
44 for fear you should not be able to perform all that you say
" you'll do ; if your performance fall short of your promise, de-
4C pend upon it you will do more mischief than good, and exas-
" perate Ireland more than ever." The resolution carried on that
day had already got over to Ireland, and there would certainly
be two opinions upon it, the severe and cautious men, naturally
prone to doubt, would say immediately, " This is nothing, this
44 is mere fallacy, government being afraid of us just now, have
*' done this with a view to quiet us for the present, and when
44 they have at all surmounted the difficulties in which their
" affairs are involved, they will, as usual turn a deaf ear to our
" complaints, it being evidently their intention to give us no re-
44 lief, if they can possibly avoid it." Another very different
opinion would doubtless prevail with those who were inclined to
think better of government and this country : they would say,
" Stop, don't go so fast, read the resolution again ; good God!
*' was it not carried unanimously in both houses of parliament?
4' Did England ever do so much for us before ? Only see the
44 drift of it, see the wording of it, and consider, that the whole
" has been done in the most kind and flattering manner possible."
His lordship placed these two opinions in contrast, and appealed
to the house, whether in common policy and prudence it would
not be right to encourage and support the latter, and give as
little room as possible to warrant and countenance the former?
What would prove most faithful to this, he declared, was the
language of a noble lord in another place. The premier had
said, that no individual could form a plan for the relief of Ire-
land ; that it was out of his power ; that next session the proper
accounts should, be laid before both the English and Irish par-
liaments, and the business must be done by them; but that the
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 197
did not think the complaints of Ireland well timed, for that this
country had done more for her within the last three years than
had been done for her nine years before. His lordship said he
had turned this language again and again in his mind, and he was
yet at a loss to divine the meaning of the noble lord. He was
sure, however, it would give most serious alarm to the other
kingdom, that they would construe it as an indication, that no-
thing would be done for them ; that the two parliaments would
be suffered to rub against each other, prejudice and jealousy to
meet prejudice and jealousy, and that the minister, whose essen-
tial duty it was to reconcile all differences of opinion between
the two countries, to smooth the minds of those who were in-
clined to be ruffled, and to pacify and quiet the uneasy, only
took upon himself the office of clearing the stage, and letting
them dispute it out among themselves. He called upon the house
to recollect, that the American war had commenced upon less
provocation than this country had given Ireland. The simple
idea of the right ol taxation had caused it. Let their lordships
reflect, that from the time of the remonstrances of America, to
her declaration of independency, was only eleven months: let
them look at the language of Ireland at present, they would find
it much higher, than that of America had been at the time he
mentioned; let them consider, that in every point of view, Ireland
stood more forward now than America had done immediately
previous to the origin of the war, and let them ask themselves,
if it were wise to suffer Ireland to remain in discontent for
seven months longer ?
True it is, that the Marquis of Lansdowne, as well as the late
Earl Nugent, the Marquis of Hertford, and several other great
personages, who took a lead in the debates upon the Irish con-
cerns, had considerable interest in that kingdom ; a circumstance,
which must have drawn their observation the more closely to
the real interests of that country, without abandoning those of
Great Britain, in which they had as great or larger stakes : but
their opinions, however interested they may have been, were in
perfect unison with those of the greatest statesmen and most
constitutional characters of that day in both our houses of par-
liament, who had no personal interest in or concerns with Ire-
land. Thus the late Lord Camden doubted much, whether the
learned lord on the woolsack understood the motion he had so
fully commented on. Circumstances had altered since the last
day ; the people of Ireland were in a ferment, he would not say
ripe for insurrection. Something had been promised, nothing
had been done. The language of ministers, particularly of the
noble lord in the other house, at the head of the finances, is,
" nothing can be done in time." The learned lord confesses it,
though he has not used the very words. What then will be the
probable result of such a conduct ? The patient dies, while the
physicians are consulting what to prescribe : the people, in the
last stage of anguish and despair, call for immediate redress.
What, on the other hand, does the present motion ultimately
end to ? That the parliament of Great Britain, instead of empty,
108 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
general promises, a hundred times violated, and on which, of
course, Ireland cannot depend, call for some substantial proof
of British or ministerial sincerity. " Give us some one instance,
" to shew that you arc sincere and in earnest," say the people of
Ireland. " Call the parliament of both kingdoms, to consult
*' and deliberate in their respective assemblies," echoes the ad-
dress, " in order to come to some specific proposition, before it
" be too late ; or if that be thought too much,'' says the address,
" let us make some progress ; let the necessary documents on
" both sides the water be procured ; and let us, at a season of
41 more leisure, proceed upon some certain specific propositions,
*' intended as the basis of all future proceedings, by which means
** Great Britain may determine on the great line, though not the
" detail, of her intended concessions ; and Ireland may know
" what she will have good reasonable grounds to expect."
The late Duke of Manchester, on this occasion, evinced a
most remarkable penetration into the continental politics of that
day ; and were his speech now rLjad without a date, it would be
supposed to have been spoken rather at the close of, than ten
years previous to the French revolution. His Grace said, he
had the highest opinion of the loyalty of the people of Ireland,
in case the French landed as an enemy come to conquer. He
.had no fears, that the 12,000 men now illegally armed in that
country, would join with a foreign invader: by every thing he
could learn, they were too brave, too loyal, and too much at-
tached to sentiments of humanity, ever to tamely submit to a
foi-eign yoke, much less assist in forging and riveting their own
chains. The alarm created in his mind was of a very different
nature. It was the new adopted policy of France, not to appear
as an invader of the rights and liberties of others, but the
protector of them, the friend of human kind and of the public,
at least, of municipal liberty. The French creed, respecting the
dependances of the British empire, was independency, freedom,
no restrictive laws upon trade, an exercise of natural rights, re-
strained only by law and liberal policy. On this system, the
great outline of French politics had been newly modelled: and
he had certain information, that French emissaries had been in
Ireland for some time past, endeavouring to alienate the minds
of the people there, as they had so effectually done in America.
Whatever the real intentions of France might be, if she should
effect the landing of a considerable force in that kingdom, he
had every reason to be persuaded that it would not act as an
enemy, however it might be received ; in his opinion, therefore,
it was indispensably necessary for that house and parliament to
adopt such speedy measures as might promise to defeat impres-
sions, which, if not timely counteracted, might, from circum-
stances of actual misery, and the despair arising from it, be
productive of the most fatal consequences.
Of ail the lords who took a part in this debate, Lord Towns-
hend was certainly the best qualified to speak the most pointedly,
fairly, and instructively, upon the state of Ireland at that critical
period. His lordship spoke in favour of the motion j described
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 19*
the disposition of the people of Ireland; the sentiments of the
established church, the dissenters, and the Roman Catholics ;
the state of the army ; the number of people illegally armed
there ; the face of the country; its rivers, fortresses, &cc. : from
all which he shewed the imminent danger of the alternative, of
the French landing there in a hostile or friendly manner.
He then drew a comparison between our conduct towards
Ireland and America. The first, loyal, affectionate, patient
under the greatest miseries and oppressions ; the latter, factious,
rebellious, ungrateful, and perfidious, in the midst of plenty, and
after receiving a series of accumulated favours.
What was our conduct toward them ? They only sue in the
most humble and dutiful manner, to loosen the fetters that gall
them, and rankle by their intolerable weight, and eat to the very
bone. What is our answer ? Break your chains if you can, or
perish. What is the answer to the haughty and insolent de-
mands of the traitorous Americans, leagued with an inveterate
and ambitious enemy for our total destruction ; who have alrea-
dy drawn so much of our best blood, and have been the cause of
our spending so many millions of our treasure, wrung from the
very vitals of the people ? You shall be free ; you shall pay no
taxes ; we will not interfere with your internal government ;
you shall be bound by no restrictions on your trade and com-
merce.
After contrasting those circumstances in a very pointed man-
ner, he shewed the impolicy and injustice of delaying to grant
with a good grace, what, if refused, must be the consequence of
even an accommodation with America ; namely, that after the
conclusion of the present war, the people of Ireland would mi-
grate to America in pursuit of a free trade, and a milder and
happier constitution of government ; that they would carry thi-
ther their manufactures which wanted nothing, but the circum-
stances he had mentioned to bring them to the utmost perfec-
tion ; that of course, the only single question was, whether trade
and commerce, a fruitful soil, and numerous inhabitants, bound
to this country by every motive of affection and interest, were
preferable to the same riches, industry, and effective strengthr
just as much in our power to every good or wise purpose, as if
they resided within the island of Great Britain.
His lordship then entered into particulars, and deprecated the
consequences, which, he foresaw, would immediately follow a re-
fusal on our part. Supposing we were able to spare such a force
as might promise to keep the people there in awe, twelve or fif-
teen thousand men encamped in the southern, centre, or nor-
thern part of that kingdom ; if, for instance, the importation of
all commodities of British growth or manufacture, should be pro-
hibited ; or suppose, on the other hand, that the people should
resolve not to permit the exportation of beef or butter, what
would our manufacturers do in one instance ; what would our
fleets and distant armies do in the other, if a general defection
among the body of the people, even among the very magistrates,
should prevail ? Why, while your army in the north may be cm-
200
ployed in quelling insurrections there, your imports and exports
would be suspended : or while you are favouring, by a military
aid, the export of provisions in the south, your import in the
north and centre would be stopped ; and so vice versa.*
Lord Shelburne, after several of the ministerial party, and par-
ticularly Lord Chancellor (Thurlow,) had opposed the proposi-
tion on the ground of informality, took it off the table, and
moved it regularly, when the question being put, it was nega-
tived by a majority of 61 against 32.
No further debate took place during that session in the British
parliament concerning the affairs of Ireland. The ministers of
that day were too fatally addicted to their pernicious system of
indolence and procrastination. They had before them the ex-
ample of America, now triumphant in their own successes, and
supported by the whole house of Bourbon. These alarming cir-
cumstances were constantly brought before their eyes in the
warmest colouring, by an opposition of the greatest weight,
numbers, and talents, ever combined in the British senate. Mi-
nisters, however, remitted the great objects of Irish grievances
to the next session, upon the flimsy pretexts of want of infor-
mation upon the subject matter of them, and a fear of a rebellion
in the trading towns of Lancashire, in case the British parlia-
ment should pass a law, that might abridge the profits of their
trade with Ireland, or the colonies. They passed several unim-
portant lawsf during the session, which had no other effect, than
to create contempt or disgust for the government, which they
conceived was attempting to play them off with delusive pro-
mise and delay. Whilst the British parliament was sitting, the
feelings of the Irish nation were suspended by the hopes of re-
lief ; but when they found, that the British ministry had aban-
doned their cause, they were sorely exasperated, and their dis-
contents became formidably alarming. Associations were en-
tered into against the importation of British commodities, and
for the encouragement of Irish manufactures. At an assembly
holden at the Thobrel of the city of Dublin, the following reso-
lutions were agreed to, viz.
* It is difficult to reconcile this liberal, patriotic, and politic speech of the
noble lord, with his conduct towards Ireland, when the office of chief governor
of that kingdom afforded the means, and imposed the duty upon him of doing1
that good to Ireland, which he now warmly recommended to others.
•f Such was the 18th of Geo. III. c. 45. For continuing the bounty on the im-
portation of flax-seed Such the 18th of Geo. III. c. 55. For permitting the
exportation of certain goods directly from Ireland into any British plantation in
America, or any British settlement on the coast of Africa, and for further
encouraging the fisheries and navigation of Ireland ; by which it was also pro-
vided, that from the 24th of June, 1778, all ships built in Ireland, and owned
by his majesty's European subjects, should be deemed British built. Such the
18th of George III. c. 61. For repealing so much of two acts of Queen Anne,
concerning the forfeited estates in Ireland being sold or set to Protestants, as
far as they prohibited, disqualified, or disabled Papists from taking or enjoying1
any right or interest therein, or which inflicted any penalties on persons mak-
ing or accepting any interest therein. Such the 19th of George III. c. 83. For
repealing several acts, that prohibited the growth and produce of tobacco in
Ireland; and to permit the importation of it into Great Britain upon the like
duties as from America. Such the 19th of George III. c. 37. For granting a
bounty oaths importation of hemp into Great Britain from Ireland for a limited
time.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 201
" Resolved, That the unjust, illiberal, and impolitic opposition
11 given by many self-interested people of Great Britain, to the
" proposed encouragement of the trade and commerce of this
" kingdom, originated in avarice and ingratitude.
" Resolved, That we will not directly, or indirectly, import or
" use any goods or wares, the produce or manufactures of Great
" Britain, which can be produced or manufactured in this king-
" dom, till an enlightened policy, founded on principles of jus-
" tice, shall appear to actuate the inhabitants of certain manufac-
" turing towns of Great Britain, who have taken so active a part
tc in opposing the regulations proposed in favour of the trade of
" Ireland ; and till they appear to entertain sentiments of respect
" and affection for their fellow subjects of this kingdom."*
Shortly after the assizes at Waterford, the high sheriff, grand
jury, and a number of the most respectable inhabitants, assembled
for the purposes of taking into consideration the ruinous state of
the trade and manufactures, and the alarming decline in the value
of the staple commodities of the kingdom ; and looking upon it as
an indispensable duty that they owed their country and them-
selves, to restrain, by every means in their power, these growing
evils, they came to, and signed the following resolutions :
" Resolved, That we, our families, and all, whom we can influ-
" ence, shall from this day? wear and make use of the manufac-
" tures of this country, and this country only, until such time as
" all partial restrictions on our trade, imposed by the illiberal and
* During this century, said the Right Honourable Hely Hutchinson, (Com.
Rest. p. 215) Ireland has been, without exaggeration, a mine of wealth to
England, far beyond what any calculation has yet made it. When poor and
thinly inhabited, she was an expense and a burden to England ; when she had
acquired some proportion of riches, and grew more numerous, she was one of
the principal sources of her wealth. When she becomes poor again, those ad-
vantages are greatly diminished. The exports from Great Britain to Ireland,
in 1778, were less than the medium value of the four preceding years in a sum
of 634, 444/. 3*.; and in the year 1779, Great Britain is obliged, partly at her
own expense, to defend this country, and for that purpose has generously be-
stowed out of her own exchequer a large sum of money. Those facts demon-
strate, that the poverty of Ireland ever has been a drain, and her riches an in-
flux of wealth to England, to which the greater part of it will ever flow, and it
imports not to that country through what channel : but the source must be
cleared from obstructions, or the stream cannot continue to flow.
Such a liberal system would increase the wealth of this kingdom, by means
that would strengthen the hands of government, and promote the happiness of
the people. Ireland would then be able to contribute largely to the support
of the British empire, not only from the increase of her wealth, but from the
more equal distribution of it into a greater number of hands among the various
orders of the community. The present inability of Ireland arises principally
from this circumstance, that her lower and middle classes have little or no
property, and are not able, to any considerable amount, either to pay taxes, or
to consume those commodities that are the usual subjects of them ; and this
has been the consequence of the laws which prevent trade, and discourage
manufactures.
VOL. 1,1. C C
vK>;> AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" contracted policy of our sister kingdom, be removed ; but if in
" consequence of this our resolution, the manufacturers (whose
" interest we have more immediately under consideration) should
" act fraudulently, or combine to impose upon the public, we shall
" hold ourselves no longer bound to countenance and support
" them.
" Resolved, That we will not deal with any merchant or shop-
" keeper, who shall, at any time hereafter, be detected in iinpos-
" ing any foreign manufacture as the manufacture of this coun-
try."
Resolutions of this kind became general, in consequence of
which efforts, the manufactures of Ireland began to revive, and
the demand for British goods in a great measure decreased ; a
circumstance which tended to produce a disposition in Great
Britain to attend to the complaints of that country, different in-
deed from that which Ireland had hitherto experienced.
It is more matter of calculation, than of reasoning, to ascertain
the grounds which Ireland had at this period to press Great Bri-
tain to support her in her struggle for commercial freedom. The
annual balance of exports and imports returned from the entries
in the different custom-houses in favour of Ireland, on all her
trade with the whole world, in every year from 1768 to 1778,
when compared with the remittances made from Ireland to Eng-
land in each of those years, was as follows : the balance in favour
of Ireland on her general trade by those returns was in 1776,
606,190/. 11s. Od. ; in 1777, 24,2037. 3s. lOet. ; in 1778, 386,3847.
5s. 7d. -, and taken at a medium of eleven years from 1 768 to 1778
both inclusive, amounted to the sum of 605,0837. 7*. 5d. ; the
sums remitted from Ireland to Great Britain for rents, interest of
money, pensions, salaries, and profits of offices, amounted at the
lowest computation from 1768 to 1773, to 100,0007. yearly ; and
from 1773, when the tontines were introduced, from which pe-
riod large sums were borrowed from England, those remittances
were considerably increased, and in 1777 they amounted to no
less than between twelve and thirteen thousand pounds yearly.
Ireland, therefore, at that period, paid to Great Britain double
the sum that she collected from the whole world in all the trade
which Great Britain allowed her.
We find no historical document to account for the policy of
not convening the parliament of Ireland in the pressure of their
national distress : the ministry in Great Britain was frequently
called upon by the opposition to account for this extraordinary
conduct, but no answer was ever given to the summons. It
now appears unquestionable, that the length of the recess, coup-
led with the peculiar circumstances of Ireland's failing in their
expected redress from the refusal of the British parliament, and
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 2O3
the want of an Irish parliament to apply to, gave rise to the
exertions of those native energies, to which an oppressed and
injured people never fails in extremity to resort. During this
recess the system of associating and volunteering took its rise,
and had made considerable progress* ere the parliament met on
the 12th of October, 1779. On this occasion the lord lieutenant
in his speech took notice of the general state of affairs in the fol-
lowing words ;-\ " At a time when the trade and commerce of
u this kingdom are in a more particular manner the objects of
" public attention, it were to be wished, that the general tran-
" quillity, ever desirable, had been restored, so as to have left
" you entirely at leisure to deliberate on those great and impor-
" tant subjects ; but I am persuaded you will not permit any in-
u terests, however dear to you, to impede your efforts, or disturb
*' your unanimity at this most important period ; and I have it
* The progress of the volunteers during the recess of the Irish parliament
in 1779 is thus described by one of the most prominent of that corps in his
History of Irish Affairs from the 12th of October, 1779, to the 15th of No-
vember, 17S2, by Francis Dobbs, Esq. p. 36. " An expedient free trade and
" the fallacy of it \vas soon understood. The plain and simple doctrine, that
*' \ve could not be free, if any power on earth could make laws to bind us,
" save our Jung-, lords, and commons, quickly prevailed. This became the
" sentiment of almost every man. It could not be openly, but it was insidi-
" ously attacked. These attacks raised many powerful advocates for Irish
" liberty. The public mind became enlightened ; and it was in vain, that the
" supporters of administration pressed them to attend to their free trade, and
" relinquish their freedom. With their information, the power of the people
" was also increasing. A variety of causes all tended to add to the volun-
" teers. The gentlemen who had hitherto taken the most active part, were
" mostly of what is called the country party. Government not able to suppress,
" wished its supporters also volunteers. On this principle many new corps
' were raised, differing much in political sentiment, but who were to become
' equally useful to their country. Another cause operated strongly : it became'
' highly fashionable. Volunteer rank was an object of ambition, and it was
' considered as the most glorious destination of a gentleman, to be at the
' head of a well-appointed corps. Among the lower orders of men, the
' smartness of those, who had enrolled themselves became an object of envy
' and emulation. The idea of glory, which attended it, also had its weight ;
' and every able young man felt ashamed, that he was not amongst the
' guardians of his country, The fair also, materially served the volunteer
' cause. Countrymen from being slovenly in their dress, and aukward
' in their manners, became neat in their persons, and comparatively polished
' and refined. They were also to be the protectors of their mistresses, and
' obtained from the softer sex in return an envied precedence. In short, these
' various causes operated so powerfully, that almost every man who could,
' became a volunteer. But the volunteers, though powerful, had no fixed ob-
' ject ; no bond of union ; no communication. Detached in separate com-
' panics, they as yet wanted that connexion, which alone could make them
' truly beneficial." This gentleman (he was a barrister) about this time
wrote a letter to Lord North, on the crisis of affairs in Ireland, which is to be
seen in the Appendix, No. LXVI. it was written in the spur of the moment,
and is a faithful index of the general spirit, which had then seized the Irish
nation.
f 10 Journ. Com. p. 11.
204 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" expressly in command from his majesty to assure you, that
" the cares and solicitudes inseparable from a state of hostility
*' have not prevented him from turning his royal mind to the in-
*' terests and distresses of this kingdom with the most affection-
*' ate concern, of which, the money remitted to this country for
" its defence, when England had every reason to apprehend a
" most formidable and immediate attack, affords a convincing
" proof. Anxious for the happiness of his people, his majesty
" will most cheerfully co-operate with his parliaments in such
" measures as may promote the common interests of\ all his
" people.
" It is with great concern I have to inform you, that on ac-
" count of the extraordinary decline of the revenues, the very
" liberal supplies of the last session have proved inadequate to
" the exigencies of government, so that, contrary to my most
" sanguine expectations and most earnest endeavours, there is a
" considerable arrear now to be provided for.
" The united efforts and great military preparations of the
" house of Bourbon seem only to have roused the courage, and
" called forth the exertions of his majesty's brave and loyal sub-
" jects of this kingdom ; and I have only to lament, that the ex-
" hausted state of the treasury has hitherto put it out of my power
" to give those exertions the most extensive and constitutional
" operation, by earn ing the militia law into execution."
As soon as the lord lieutenant's speech had been read in the
House of Commons, Sir Robert Tilson Dean arose, and after an
exordium in a high strain of panegyric on the lord lieutenant's
administration, and the good dispositions of his majesty and the
British ministry toward that kingdom, moved for an address to
the throne, expressing in the warmest terms the grateful sense
the house entertained of those dispositions, and, in the usual
language of these addresses, echoing the speech. The motion
was seconded by Mr. R. H. Hutchinson, who said this was a
great, critical, and important period, in which the declarations of
the king, the best of princes, and the British legislature, left no
room to doubt but every good was designed for Ireland ; that his
majesty's speech in the British house, at the close of the last ses-
sion, wTas the harbinger of good tidings and great events, which
was on that day confirmed by the lord lieutenant's speech, who
said he had it in command to declare his wish to co-operate in
such measures, as might best promote their interests, which, in
the hands of their administration, must be well managed, as their
designs were pure ; that under such an administration, the gene-
ral benefit of the empire would be attended to, above all partial
and selfish considerations ; and the veil of calumny, which had
so long traduced them, would disappear, and the factious calum-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 205
niators, touched with truth, as with the spear of Ithuriel, would
start into shape. What thanks were due to the chief governor,
who so respectfully mentioned the societies of armed patriots
throughout the kingdom. What must their opinion be of a chief
governor, who spoke so honourably of that great bulwark of con-
stitutional liberty, a national militia ? Though their distresses
were great, from them prospeixms days might spring.
Mr. Grattan said, the speech contained nothing explicit, nothing
satisfactory : it meant to quiet the minds of the people, without
any declaration whatever. After his majesty had been addressed
by his Irish subjects for a free export trade, did such addresses
require no answer ? Were the people of Ireland undeserving the
notice of the British ministers ? Was there no respect for the in-
terests of these kingdoms among the servants of the crown on
that side of the water? Were not these servants of the crown also
representatives of the people ? Why not then speak out ? Were
their distresses of so private a nature, that they must not be men-
tioned ? Here he gave an eloquent and pathetic picture of the
miserable condition of the kingdom. It was plain they had no-
thing to expect, since applications from the people, backed even
by the officers of the crown, were not attended to. Ireland then
had nothing to depend upon but her own spirit ; no redress of
grievances, no extension of trade, but from the efforts of her peo-
ple ! and would it be politic, would it be safe, here or elsewhere,
to oppose these efforts ? Why does not the address also speak
out ? Why had they less spirit than the people ? Should the com-
mons of Ireland shew less spirit than the most insignificant cor-
poration ? The distresses of Ireland were twofold, the beggary
of the people, and the bankruptcy of the state. The kingdom
was ruined by a balance of trade against her for so many years, ,
and the drain of absentees ; the prevailing spirit of associations
was but a temporary expedient, and something more effectual
must be done.
The bankruptcy of the state was the consequence of a system
of boundless prodigality, profligacy, and violence. The peace
establishment of that poor country amounted to one-sixth of that
of England ; and what proportion was there in their means ? What
was that establishment ? Infamous pensions to infamous men !
(Here he launched into personalities.) And would those men,
whom they paid, vote against an extension of their trade ? Vote
against the means of supporting them ? To what pass had admin-
istration reduced that kingdom ! To be insulted with their po-
verty in the speech from the throne ; to be told of their beggary ;
that the officers of the crown there had begged 50,0007. from Eng-
land, or the troops could not have marched into camp ; when it
206 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
was known, that it was that proi^igacy, that has unnerved the arm
of government, and made the sword of defence fall in its hands.
He then moved an amendment to the address, to be inserted
in the following words :
" That we beseech your majesty to believe, that it is with the
utmost reluctance we are constrained to approach you on the pre-
sent occasion ; but the constant drain to supply absentees, and
the unfortunate prohibition of our trade, have caused such calami-
ty, that the natural support of our country has decayed, and our
manufactures are dying away for want. Famine stalks hand in
hand with hopeless wretchedness, and the only means left to sup-
port the expiring trade of this miserable part of your majesty's
dominions, is to open a free export trade, and let your Irish sub-
jects enjoy their natural birth-right." Lord Westport seconded
Mr. Grattan's motion for the amendment. Mr. Flood considered
the address as inexplicit. Sir Henry Cavendish declared he
would vote against the amendment, apprehending that this busi-
ness would be better effected by opening a committee on purpose,
or rather following a precedent in the year 1661, when the lords
and commons of Ireland appointed commissioners to attend the
king, to supplicate the redress of grievances.
Mr. Ogle reprobated the idea of entering into a committee on
the subject of grievances : he was sick, he said, of the mode of
trifling with the nation in order to gain time ; if they did not
mention something in the address, the ministry might again shelter
themselves under the old excuse, that truly they did not know
what the Irish wanted, as their parliament was silent on the head ;
and so went on wilh the old system of duplicity.
Sir Edward Newenham conjured the house, by all they held
dear, to resume their wonted dignity and power, charged the Bri-
tish ministry with contempt and neglect to the nation, and called
on their warmest advocate to deny the assertion ; said he per-
fectly agreed with Mr. Flood, that the address did not go far
enough, and that he thought the original address a servile echo
to the speech.
The Provost drew a most pathetic picture of the melancholy
situation of his native country, declaring, on that question, that
no administration should bias him from the welfare of his
country.
The Attorney General delivered a studied eulogium on the
sensibility of the king, and the humanity of his minister.
The debate now took a new turn ; several of the ministerial
party declared, that though they thought this business might have
come more properly otherwise, yet, that there might be an unani-
mity, they would not oppose the amendment.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND.
The Rt. Hon. Henry Flood declared for the amendment, and
entered largely into a justification of his political conduct, which,
he said, had unfortunately been much misrepresented ; that the
office he held was the unsolicited gift of his sovereign, which he
had received with gratitude, and held with honour, that when a
time came, that he could no longer do it, he would gladly throw
the bracelet into the common cauldron.
Mr. Prime Serjeant, (Hussey Burgh) after expatiating on, the
necessity of immediately laying, in an unequivocal manner, the
state of the distresses at the foot of the throne, moved in lieu of
the amendment proposed, " that it is not by temporary expedients,
*' but by a free trade alone, that this nation is now to be saved
" from impending ruin."
The amendment was carried Nem. Con. as was also the address
to the lord lieutenant.
So crying were the distresses of Ireland at this period, so im-
potent was the hand of government to relieve them, that the most
important change of disposition, sentiment, and action in the peo-
ple took place under the eye, in defiance and with the acquies-
cence of government. By the melancholy consequences of the
American war, our fleets had become inferior to. the combined
forces of the enemy : our own coasts were insulted, those of
Ireland wholly unprotected : the military establishment had been
so drained to recruit the regiments in America, that there were
not 500O forces in that kingdom to defend the sea-ports even
from the crews of single vessels. Hence arose the necessity of
volunteers ai-ming in defence of their abandoned country. Go-
vernment affrighted at the situation, into which they had thrown
or permitted the country to be thrown, delivered out to the people
16,000 stand of arms, thereby encouraging and increasing the
number of volunteers, without any stipulation, regulation, or au-
thority for organizing or subjecting them to subordination. The
commercial face of the country exhibited a still more desponding
view : her vessels taken within sight of her ports : her trade
shackled in almost every branch by British restrictions : an em-
bargo on the exports of her provision trade : her linens lying up-
on their merchants' hands : her imports and her absentees swal-
lowing up all her currency : and slight or no returns to supply
an exhausted treasury. Wretchedness, desperation, and ruin
presented themselves at every point of view, and in the debate
upon the speech from the throne, once more dissolved the minis-
terial phalanx, and imperiously called upon the staunchest sup-
porters of the castle interest to quit their ranks, and vote for a
free trade. The nation rejoiced at this glorious opening of the
session, and poured forth its gratitude to parliament ; they in
their turn paid their tribute of thanks to the volunteers, who it
208
appears now amounted to 42,000 men. It is singular, that this
formidable body, armed and organized by no other authority or
sanction than the great law of self-defence, was neither charged
nor questioned by the Irish government or parliament as to the
legality of their commission or delegation. Government had so
wasted its vigour, that it could not raise its arm in self-defence.
Whilst this debate was going forward, the populace assembled
round the parliament house, and with full impunity menaced the
members, and demanded oaths of them to support the measure,
committing several acts of outrage and intimidation. To this
juncture did the late Lord Clare refer in his memorable speech
on the Union (p. 49) when he said, u The imbecility of Lord
" Buckinghamshire's government had arrayed the volunteer ar-
4t my, and the address to his majesty voted in 1779 by the com-
" mons, demanding a free trade as the right of Ireland,* was fol-
" lowed instantly by a resolution of thanks to that army for their
" array."
The rights of Ireland appear to have been more warmly com-
bated in the British, than in the Irish senate. The Irish parlia-
ment had been convened about five weeks before that of Great
Britain, in order that the objections pressed by the opposition
against the long recess of the Irish parliament, might be done
away, and some specific demands might be submitted by the Irish
to the British parliament, which the most plausible of the minis-
terialists had frequently called for. On the 1st of December,
1779, Lord Shelburne moved in the British House of Lords,
that the address of that house, which passed unanimously on the
llth of May last, recommending to his majesty's most serious
consideration the distressed and impoverished state of the loyal
and well deserving people of Ireland, and to direct that there be
prepared and laid before parliament such particulars, relative to
the trade and manufactures of Great Britain and Ireland, as to
enable the national wisdom to pursue effectual measures for pro-
moting the common strength, wealth, and commerce of his ma-
jesty's subjects in both kingdoms, and his majesty's answer of the
following day, that he would give directions accordingly; and
likewise the motion to address his majesty, which he took the li-
berty to trouble their lordships with on the 2d of June, re-stating
* When the speaker carried up the address to the lord lieutenant, the streets,
from the Parliament-house to the Castle, were lined by the Dublin volunteers,
commanded by the Duke of Leinster, drawn up in their arms and uniform. —
The acclamations of the people as he passed along, expressed their wishes and
their joy on this very singular occasion : the pulse of the nation beat high. A
general expectation of redress was now diffused ; at the same time, anxiety and
suspicions were entertained, that there was danger of being disappointed, from
the same spirit, in which England had hitherto kept that country, in a state of
humiliating and oppressive bondage.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 209
the necessity of giving speedy and effectual relief to Ireland, and
offering the full co-operation of that house towards giving relief to
that kingdom ; and if his royal prerogative, as vested in him by
the constitution, were not adequate to administer the wanted re-
lief, that his majesty would be pleased to continue the parliament
of this kingdom, and give orders forthwith for calling the parlia-
ment of Ireland, that their just complaints might be fully con-
sidered, and remedied without delay ; which last, his lordship
observed, had been negatived by a considerable majority, no less
than by 61 to 32 ; these documents being read at the table, his
lordship proceeded to explain the grounds of his intended motion,
which would, if carried, amount to a vote of censure upon minis-
ters, whose conduct he most severely reprobated ; he then advert-
ed to the consequences, which that conduct drew after it j exactly
what every thinking man must have clearly foreseen. Ireland
disclaimed any connexion with Great Britain ; she instantly put
herself into a condition of defence against her foreign enemies ;
oppressed at one time by England, and at length reduced to a
state of calamity and distress, experienced by no other country
that ever existed, unless visited by war or famine ; and perceiv-
ing, that all prospect of justice or relief was in a manner finally
closed, and that she must perish, or work out her own salvation,
she united as one man to rescue herself from that approaching
destruction, which seemed to await her. The people instantly
armed themselves, and the numbers armed soon increased to up-
wards of forty thousand men, and were daily augmenting. This
most formidable body was not composed of mercenaries who had
little or no interest in the issue, but of the nobility, gentry, mer-
chants, citizens, and respectable yeomanry : men able and willing
to devote their time, and part of their property, to the defence of
the whole, and the protection and security of their country. The
government had been abdicated, and the people resumed the
powers vested in them ; and in so doing, were fully authorized
by every principle of the constitution, and every motive of self-
preservation ; and whenever they should again delegate this in-
herent power, they firmly and wisely determined to have it so
regulated, and placed upon so large and liberal a basis, that they
should not be liable to suffer under the same oppressions in time
to come ; nor feel the fatal effects and complicated evils of mal-
administration ; of calamity without hopes of redress ; or of iron-
handed power without protection.
To prove, that these were the declared and real sentiments of
•the whole Irish nation, he should not dwell upon this or that par-
ticular circumstance ; upon the resolutions of county and town
meetings ; upon the language of the associations ; upon the gene-
ral prevalent spirit of all descriptions of men of all religions : mat-
VOL. II. D d
210 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
ters of this kind, however true or manifest, were subject to, or
might admit of controversy. He would solely confine himself to
a passage contained in a state paper ; he meant the address of
both houses of the Irish parliament, declaring, that nothing but
granting the kingdom " a free trade," could save it from certain
ruin. Here was the united voice of the country conveyed through
its proper constitutional organs, both houses of parliament, to his
majesty, against which there was but one dissenting voice in the
houses, and not a second, he believed, in the whole kingdom.
Church of England men, and Roman Catholics, Dissenters, and
Sectaries of all denominations ; Whigs and Tories, if any such
were to be found in Ireland ; placemen, pensioners, and country
gentlemen ; Englishmen by birth : in short, every man in and out
of the house, except the single instance mentioned, had all united
in a single opinion, that nothing would relieve the country short
of a free trade.
After stating, in a variety of instances, the misconduct, incapa-
city, but, above all, the shameful inattention of ministers to the
affairs of Ireland, by which we were driven to the melancholy
terms of submitting to whatever Ireland might think proper to
dictate, or to the loss of Ireland as well as America, his lordship
proceeded to point out several existing grievances in that coun-
try, as well arising from its particular constitution, as interior
government. He observed, that there was one gross defect in the
former, and that too of the first magnitude ; he meant the power
the crown being invested with, or arrogating to itself the disposal
of the hereditary revenue, which amounted to full two-thirds of
the whole monies raised vipon the people. This could be dis-
posed of at the king's pleasure, or its produce in part be antici-
pated by royal grants, called the king's letters. Such a general
grant, he allowed, was not to be supposed or feared ; but as long
as the claim was contended for, it must continue a dangerous
claim, because it invested the whole produce in the king, and
with it consequently the power of the sword. It had, however,
this immediate effect, that the ministers were at all times at li-
berty to give pensions, create places ; and the salaries and sums
granted or annexed to them, being charged upon the hereditary
revenue, it in fact amounted to a power to tax ; because, if that
revenue fell short, other taxes must be laid on the people, and
other burdens incurred, in order to make good those eventual
deficiencies. This power, and the use made of it, was a source
of endless mischief to the people of Ireland, and in its conse-
, quences to the people of England ; because it afforded ministers
on both sides the water, the means of corruption, and rewarding
those, who supported them in their views, and gave a sanction to
their measures. It was doubly mischievous to Ireland } for while
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 211
it impoverished the people there, it at the same time furnished
the means of future oppression, and repeated public rapine.
It was a matter of notoriety, when Ireland had applied for
some trifling iavour in the last session, some few days only be-
fore the noble marquis moved the address read that day at the
table, that the minister in the other house, (Lord North) under-
standing, that the house was about to relax, and that the favour
was upon the point of being granted, came down, and by his sole
influence threw out the bill by a majority of three only ; and, not
contented with giving a silent vote, spoke with his usual energy
and success against it. This act of declared hostility against the
people of Ireland, with the subsequent neglect of administration,
in not attending to the united sentiments of the British legislature,
was, in his opinion, the cause, that Ireland was not now in a per-
fect state of tranquillity and obedience to the government of this
country ; and that, instead of ten or twelve thousand associators,
there was now, he believed, full four times the number, well
armed and accoutred, and daily improving in discipline. The
Irish saw what they must trust to, and they took their option.
The honor and dignity of the crown were disgraced ; the sword
was dropped, and the people had taken it up on the double mo-
tive of defending themselves against a foreign enemy ; and com-
pelling that justice with arms in their hands, that had, as with
America, been denied to their humble applications, and the
repeated narratives and representations of their calamities and
distress.
After disclaiming all personal resentment in the act of duty,
he undertook to perform, his lordship then moved the following
resolution :
" That it is highly criminal in his majesty's ministers to have
" neglected taking effectual measures for the relief of the king-
*' dom of Ireland, in consequence of the address of this house of
" the llth of May, and of his majesty's most gracious answer :
" and to have suffered the discontents of that kingdom to rise to
" such an height, as evidently to endanger the constitutional con-
" nexion between the two kingdoms, and to create new embar-
" rassments to the public councils, by disunion and diffidence, in
" a moment when real unanimity, grounded upon mutual confi-
" dence and affection, is confessedly essential to the preservation
" of what is left of the British empire."
Earl of Hillsborough arose, and admitted, that he thought Ire-
land was entided to a free trade with equal taxes, or, as he had
before expressed himself, to an equal trade. So far his opinions
went, and on that ground he thought himself well warranted in re-
commending to his majesty, and proposing to the consideration
of parliament the granting Ireland an equal trade. As to the
212 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
event of this measure, all he could positively say, was, that it
perfectly accorded with his ideas of policy and justice : and from
the temper and disposition of the people of both kingdoms, he
had good grounds to hope, that an equal trade, with the condi-
tions to be annexed, would give perfect satisfaction and content,
as well to the British, as the Irish nation.
The Marquis of Rockingham said, the non-importation agree-
ment in Ireland had not been general, but had been entered into
only by some counties and towns, at the time his motion was
made ; but as soon as the Irish perceived, that no relief was to
be expected from ministers, though every branch of the legisla-
ture had promised it, the non-importation agreement became
general, and the spirit of military association, which was directed
solely to defence against a foreign enemy, soon assumed a differ-
ent form ; and looked forward to compel that relief, which, with
good will and good intentions on our part, had before no exist-
ence in the minds of the people of Ireland. Had something
been done when he first moved, or if parliament had been kept
sitting, according to the propositions of his noble friend, of the
2d of June, neither the associations, nor the non-importation
agreement, would have ever existed in their present extent.
Could their lordships, then, with such self-evident proof before
them, refuse, when it was, perhaps, the only measure which
could effect the salvation of their country from the innumerable
perils which encompassed it on every side, to pass a censure
upon those men, who, by such base neglect, or complicated folly
and treachery, had forced the Irish not only to those measures
already mentioned, but had driven them to the last necessity,
that of taking up arms to redress themselves, and forming into
associations, which, however well intended, most clearly amount-
ed to a suspension, if not a subversion, of all the power of legal
government ; and which, if speedy measures of conciliation were
not adopted, might terminate in a civil war.
Among the grievances complained of by the people of Ireland,
his lordship mentioned the expressions of disapprobation, on the
shameful abuse and scandalous waste of the public revenues,*
and the pension list.
* As an instance of this charge, he mentioned the purchase made of the office
of Clerk of the Pells in that kingdom, from the then possessor of that place, an
honourable member of the other house, who was an ornament to his country,
(Mr. Fox) who held it by virtue of a patent for thirty-one years. In describ-
ing the whole of this accommodation, he observed, that the net profit of the
place was but 2300/. a year; that the minister gave 30,0001. in hand, and a
pension of 1700/. per annum ; but for what purpose did he make this usurious
contract ? Not to oblige or serve that gentleman ; not to relieve that kingdom
from an enormous annual charge of a sinecure place, which required no attend-
ance , but to qualify for the place on the spot, a custom long fallen into disuse,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 213
Earl Gower said, he had the good fortune to unite the house
last session, upon the terms of the address to the throne. He
was in hopes, that something effectual for the relief of Ireland,
would have arisen from the unanimous concurrence of their lord-
ships, in the amendment that he had the honour to propose. If,
however, nothing had been done for the relief of that country,
which he was pretty sure was the case, he assured the house he
had done every thing in his power to keep his word, which he had
solemnly pledged to their lordships, he was ready to acknowledge ;
but he must add, in his own justification, that his efforts had
proved totally unfruitful. It was not in his power, nor in the
power of any individual, to effect any such purpose.
He had presided, he said, for some years at the council table,
and had seen such things pass there of late, that no man of honour
or conscience could any longer sit there.
The times were such as called upon every man to speak out :
the situations of those two kingdoms, particularly at present, re-
quired sincerity and activity in council.
Lord Stormont, said he was of opinion with the noble earl who
spoke early (Hillsborough) that no part of the charge contained in
the motion had been proved ; nor were the parties accused, ad-
mitted to their defence.
Lord Camden said, the motion was so fully proved and sub-
stantiated in all its parts, that there was not a proposition in Eu-
clid, the demonstrative proof of which might not, with equal
justice, be controverted or denied. Ministers had been desired,
by the first authority in this country, the king, lords, and com-
mons, to give Ireland relief; to inquire into the nature of their
distresses and remove the ground of their complaints. The
question was, had they done so ? If they had, the motion must
fall to the ground : if they had not, did not the onus lie upon the
ministers to state the reasons why they had not, or were unable
to perform what they were entrusted to execute ?
He spoke highly of the Irish nation ; of their loyalty and affec-
tion ; their wisdom and their public spirit. He hoped and be-
the very form, upon every occasion, having1 for many years, and upon most
occasions, been dispensed with, by the aid of a British act of parliament, but
merely to accommodate Mr. Jenkinson, (now Earl of Liverpool) secretary at
war, and to load the sinking- revenue of that country with a still heavier bur-
den, by increasing the income of this sinecure place from 2300/. per annum,
which it was when the honourable gentleman held it, to 3500/. per annum, on
Mr. Jenkinson's appointment ; besides 1700/. a year given to the former gentle-
man on the pension list ; by which means Ireland was loaded with a burden of
5200/. a year, or an addition of 2900/. a year, as long as the patentee, the
grantee, and the children of the former, included in the patent, should live ;
and 1900/. a year in perpetuity, in addition. Nothing could be more usurious
....nothing more ungenerous, 'than this job of the minister.
214 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
lieved, notwithstanding the ill treatment they had received ; the
cruel burdens imposed upon them by this country ; and the suc-
cession of neglects and harsh measures they had felt, which had
at length brought on an accumulation of distresses and calamities ;
that yet, all circumstances considered, they would still retain their
affection and attachment for England.
Nothing should be done by halves ; nothing niggardly, or ap-
parently accompanied with reluctance.
He lamented the state of public affairs, and the baneful con-
sequences of the American war ; yet he did not entirely despair
of, at least the friendship and good will, though perhaps, we had
no great right to hope for the sovereignty of America. Ireland
was still ours, and devoted to us. This island, with the aid of
that kingdom, was still equal to make a most respectable figure
among the powers of Europe ; and if nothing better could be
procured, he was persuaded, that, with Ireland, rendered useful
to herself, and of course, to us, we should still be a match for any
confederacy which might be formed against us. The question
being put, was negatived by a majority of 82 against 37.
The critical and alarming situation of Ireland was debated more
diffusely and warmly in the British House of Commons, than in
the Peers. *On the 6th of December, 1779, Lord Upper Os-
sory rose, and prefaced his intended motion with a short speech
in its support, which he confessed, when moved, would appear
to amount to a vote of censure upon ministry, for their total in-
attention to the affairs of Ireland, towards the close of the last
session, and during the whole of the prorogation of parliament.
They had, he said, totally abandoned the government of that
kingdom to chance ; they neither felt for its distresses, nor pro-
vided against its possible, nay, probable and natural resentments.
They turned a deaf ear to its moderate requests ; and had the pe-
culiar merit of transforming the last stages of national misery and
public despondency, into vigour, strength, spirit, and every means
which could concur to draw forth a most formidable resistance,
and all the time stood by unmoved, as unconcerned spectators,
or as if giving countenance to the measures taken by Ireland, in
order to compel a full and effectual redress of all her real and
ideal grievances. He contended, that the spirit of resistance di-
rected towards independency, which had manifested itself in Ire-
land, was imputable, and solely imputable, to the shameful inat-
tention and criminal neglect of ministers, who might have, in the
early stages of the miseries of that kingdom, granted the Irish
substantial relief, and prevented the seeds of those disorders,
which now threatened a dissolution of all constitutional govern-
* 15 Parl. Debates, p. 99.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 215
ment, from growing up suddenly to their present state of matu-
rity : such relief too, as being founded in justice, and dictated by
motives of sound policy, would have operated preventatively.
The Irish would have rested content with the compliance of re-
quests, far short of what they were fairly entitled to expect : no
man could answer, at that instant, by what bounds their demands
would be limited : no man could say on what conditions they
would be satisfied ; or upon what basis the interests and respect-
ive rights of both countries could be fairly established, without
either a total separation, or consenting to throw too great a weight
into the scale of Ireland. As, therefore, the unhappy dilemma
this country stood in, respecting that kingdom, arose entirely and
exclusively from the inattention of administration^ he begged
leave to make the following motion, to be proposed by way of
resolution.
Resolved, " That it is highly criminal in his majesty's ministers,
" to have neglected taking effectual measures for the relief of the
" kingdom of Ireland, in consequence of the address of this house
" of the llth of May last, and of his majesty's most gracious
" answer ; and to have suffered the discontents of that kingdom
u to rise to such an height, as evidently to endanger a dissolution
" of the constitutional connexion between the two kingdoms, and
" to create new embarrassments to the public councils, by division
" and diffidence, in a moment, when real unanimity, grounded
" upon mutual confidence and affection, was confessedly essential
"^to the preservation of what was left of the British empire."
Lord Middleton seconded the motion, and repeated several
instances of the inattention of the noble lord in the blue ribbon,
and of his having set his face against the desired relief to Ireland ;
he spoke of the part he had taken the two preceding sessions
respecting Irish affairs ; that the first, they had been put off by
mutual consent, to be more fully investigated the succeeding
session ; and the last, when he had the honour to preside in the
chair of the committee, where some resolutions, for the purpose
of granting some small favour to Ireland, passed without any
considerable opposition ; he said, the noble lord, when he found
the house in a temper to acquiesce, came down professedly to
defeat the measure, and threw out the bill on the second reading.
The defence of administration was, on this occasion, ably
conducted. It was contended, that the distresses and miseries
of Ireland, could not with justice be attributed to the present, or
any late ministers ; that her grievances existed many years before,
in the general system of trade laws ; that the restrictions then
laid on arose from a narrow, short-sighted policy, which, though
conceived in prejudice, and founded on ignorance, was yet so
strengthened by time, and confirmed by the habits of a century,
216 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
that it seemed at length wrought into, and become even a part of
the constitution. That the prejudices on that ground were so
strong, both within the house and without, that the attempts made
in the two preceding sessions, only to obtain a moderate relaxation
of the restrictions, with which Ireland was bounden, met with
the most determined opposition : the few, who had undertaken
that task, found themselves obliged to encounter prejudice without,
petitions and counsel at the bar, and to be at last overborne by
numbers within the house. Thus ministers were fully exculpated
from the charge, that was brought against them ; and it was
demonstrable, that they had no share whatever in drtiwing on the
calamities of Ireland : and it was as clearly evident, that it was
not in their power to have afforded that timely redress to her
grievances, a supposed or imputed neglect in which had been
made the ground of so much ingenious, but unfounded, and there-
fore, unjust invective. It was farther alleged, that it would
have been highly unfitting, and might have been attended with
obvious ill consequences, for the British parliament to have at all
entered upon the affairs of Ireland, until they were properly in-
formed what the nature of her wants, and the extent of her de-
mands were ; as it was from these circumstances only, that any
true judgment could be formed as to the measure of relief, which
it would be fitting to afford to that country. That now, by hav-
ing convened the parliament of Ireland first, its sentiments were
properly brought forward, and came fairly within the cognizance
of the British legislature ; and all they had now to consider was.,
how far it would be advisable to comply with the requests made
by Ireland ; and with what terms and conditions it might be
thought proper to charge the favours granted. That the present
ministers, instead of being inimical to Ireland or inattentive to
her interests, had been her best and warmest friends. That they
had done more for her than all their predecessors during a cen-
tury past. That not only the nation at large, but parliament,
were till then adverse from granting any concessions to Ireland,
which could afford her either content or redress : and conse-
quently if any blame were due for not affording more early re-
lief to Ireland, it was imputable only to the prejudices and tem-
per of the people and parliament of England, and not by any
means to the ministers, who, as they had no share in the causes
of her distresses, were equally guiltless as to their continuance.
These arguments were opposed by the supporters of the mo-
tion, who reprobated in terms of high indignation the imputation
of prejudice laid to that house, by which ministers (they said)
according to their established, but daring practice, attempted to
father all their blunders and misdemeanors on parliament. They
laughed at the pretended weakness and inefficiency with respect
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 217
to the transactions of the house, which ministers then affected, in
order thereby to shield their own neglect with respect to Ireland.
They however absolutely denied, that the minister had been pas-
sive, neutral, or inefficacious as to the affairs of that country ; on
the contrary, they charged him with having taken a very active
part in the business during the preceding session. For a bill
having been brought in to afford relief to Ireland by admitting
the direct importation of sugars for her own consumption, and he
having (as they said) for some time suffered things to take their
natural course in that house, the bill was accordingly coolly and
deliberately canvassed and debated in all its pans, and by the
strength of its own intrinsic merit worked its way through re-
peated divisions, until it had nearly arrived at the last stage of
its progress. But at that inauspicipus moment, the minister hav-
ing by some means been roused from his slumber, most unhappily
re-assumed his activity, and departing at once from that neutral-
ity, which he had hitherto professed, came down with all the pow-
er, and surrounded with all the instruments of office, in order to
defeat the measure, and accordingly succeeded in throwing out
the bill. That when the people of Ireland saw, that the minister
had thus openly set his face directly against them, and found af-
ter, that every effort in their favour was rendered abortive by his
influence or management, until they saw themselves at length
totally abandoned by the rising of the British parliament, it was
no wonder, that they should become desperate, and that they
should seek in themselves for the means of that redress, which
they found denied both to favour and to justice.
Ministers, they said, boasted, that the distresses of Ireland had
not originated with them ; it could be readily admitted, that she
was not without grievances previous to the fatal period of their
administration ; but her immediate calamities sprung principally
from the same grand source of all those general evils and dan-
gers, from the American war. By that Ireland, like England,
lost a valuable part of her commerce, with less ability to support
the loss, and the corrupt expenses of a feeble government in-
creased, as all the means of supplying them diminished.
In this severe manner was the minister's defence treated by
his opponents ; but no part was handled with more spirit than the
plea for not affording timely relief to Ireland, because the parlia-
ment of that country was not then sitting. The debates on this
occasion were long, various, and interesting ; but the question
being at last put, at a very late 'hour, -the motion was rejected
upon a division, by a majority of 173 to 100.
In the course of this debate most of the leading men in the
commons delivered their sentiments very fully ; none more so
VOL. ii. E. e
218 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
than Mr. Burke. The people of Ireland, said he,* have reasoned
fairly and justly : the colonies, they knew, had been offered the
most, that their own most sanguine expectations could aspire to,
a free trade with all the world. America, for her revolt, has had
a choice of favours holderi out to her. That was the reward of
rebellion. Ireland, for her loyalty for almost a century, and her
forbearance under accumulated oppression and internal distress-
es, had been refused the mighty indulgence of importing her
own sugars. The Irish justly conceived, that their merit ought
not to be imputed to them as demerit ; and that the first principles
of all good government would be departed from, if their deserts
were to be weighed in the political scale, as only entitling them
to punishment, not reward. At all events, without taking any
peculiar merit with the British government, for their loyal, faith-
ful, and peaceable demeanour, they thought they were at least en-
titled to meet the colonies upon equal terms, and with equal
expectations of favour and relief, to those which America had
spurned at with contempt.
These were the grounds, on which the people of Ireland pro-
ceeded, when all hopes of redress from this side of the water had
vanished. What was the first resolution they adopted ? Like
America, to consume no more British manufactures. The
next ? To enforce this resolution, by rendering it operative and
extensive, and for that purpose, entering into a non-importation
agreement. What next ? To arm and array themselves to the
number of forty thousand men. What next ? A parliamentary
declaration, that nothing short of a free trade could afford them
effectual relief ; and as the last act, in order to secure a due and
faithful performance of what they claim, they pass a money bill
for six months. Ministers have but six months credit with the
parliament of Ireland. What then was the true state of both
kingdoms ? Ireland insisting on a free trade, or determined to
break off all political connexion with this country.
The noble lord endeavoured to legalize the associations in
Ireland, with remarkable ingenuity, under the sanction of two
acts of parliament. One of them was out of the question, he be-
lieved, by any possible interpretation that could be put upon it
[ths bill of rights as not extending to Ireland, we presume] the
other was, in fact, not less so. He meant the act passed in the
Irish parliament in the year 1745, during the rebellion in Scot-
land. Did the noble lord mean to say, that by that act men had
a right to arm themselves, and elect their own officers ? And that
those officers were legally commissioned to act without an autho-
rity from the crown ? If he did, the idea was preposterous, and
* lo Pail. Deb. p. 11.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 219
to the last degree absurd, and as such, he presumed the noble lord
had not expressed himself agreeably to his real intentions : the
great dispute, which brought on the civil war, and which had
been so often between the king and parliament, and on which
their disputes at the commencement chiefly turned, was the very
particular point then under consideration, so far as it related to
the assertions of the noble lord ; and he believed it was a princi-
ple ascertained by the constitution, and confirmed by positive law,
that, let men be armed by the state, or by themselves, they can-
not act or assemble but under a commission from his majesty.
He had a most respectable authority to support him in this
opinion, no less than the lord chancellor of Ireland, Lord Lifford;
who, when a vote of thanks was moved and agreed to by the ma-
jority of the House of Lords of Ireland, to the associators of that
kingdom, refused to give his assent, honestly stating his reasons,
that he could never join in a vote of thanks, as a peer of parlia-
ment or a lawyer, to any set of men, be their motives ever so
laudable or patriotic, who were acting in a military capacity con-
trary to law.
Not only was Ireland at this time associated in arms,*" but
united in principle ; and a spirit of patriotism carried the people
and their representatives to one and the same object. Colonel
Barre had faithfully depicted the real and well founded conviction,
under which that people were then acting ; namely ,f that it was
their loyalty and affection, which encouraged ministers to oppress
0 15 Deb. p. 128.
| The volunteer uncommissioned army of Ireland was so extraordinary a
phenomenon in all its relations, that the opinions of the great statesmen of that
clay upon it must be interesting to erery British subject. In the debate on
Lord Ossory's motion, Mr. Fox thus expressed himself upon the subject (15
Parl. Deb. p. 129). " The Irish associations had been called illegal ; legal
' or illegal, he declared he entirely approved of them. He approved of that
' manly determination, which, in the dernier resort, flies to arms in order to
' obtain deliverance. When the last particle of good faith in men is exhaust-
' ed, they will seek in themselves the means of redress ,• they will recur to
' first principles, to the spirit as well as letter of the constitution, and they caw
' never fail in such resources, though the law may literally condemn such t.
' departure from its general and unqualified rules, truth, justice, and public
' virtue, accompanied with prudence and judgment, will ever bear up good
' men in a good cause, that of private protection.
" God knew, that he sincerely lamented the cause, which produced this sad,
' he could not but say, this perplexing and humiliating alternative. He most
' heartily lamented that any cause had been administered, which seemed to
' justify violence or resistance ; he dreaded the consequences, however justi-
' fiable in their origin, or moderately or judiciously conducted : but whatever
' the effects might be, he was ready to acknowledge, that such a power was
' inherent in men ; as men and citizens it was a sacred trust in their hands,
' as a defence of the possible or actual abuse of power, political treachery, and
' the arts and intrigues of government ; and when all other means failed resist*
' ance he should ever hold as perfectly justifiable."
220 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
and neglect them, so it was a proper sense of those oppressions
and neglects, that produced their present resentments, and had
provoked them to arms. In neither house of the British parlia-
ment were the desperate distress and calamity of Ireland even .
doubted ; all were of accord as to the existence of the evil : the
only differences were, who had created, and who had counte-
nanced or fomented, who had negatively or positively given con-
tinuance to it, and how was it then to be remedied.*
in the Irish senate a new scene was opened, and the voice of
patriotism re-echoed from each side of the house with equal ardour.
Encouragement had been given to them by the gracious answer
from the throne to the address of the House of Commons, com-
municated to the house on the 1st of November, 1779 ;t in
which his majesty assured them of his sincere concern for the
distresses of his kingdom of Ireland, of his affectionate attention
to their interests, and of his constant readiness to concur in such
measures, as should upon mature consideration, appear most con-
ducive to the general welfare of all his subjects.- The parliament
of Ireland now used serious exertions in behalf of their country ;
the House of Commons, with a view of obtaining an enlargement
of their commerce, spiritedly resolved to grant the supply only
for a short period, and accordingly agreed to a six months money
bill, which was transmitted to England, where, however mortify-
ing to the minister, it reluctantly passed. The house likewise
resolved unanimously, " That the exportation from that kingdom
** of its woollen and other manufactures to all foreign places
" would materially tend to relieve its distresses, increase its
*l wealth, promote its prosperity, and thereby advance the welfare
" of Great Britain, and the common strength, wealth, and com-
" merce of the British empire.
" That a liberty for that kingdom to trade with the British
" colonies in America and the West Indies, and the British set-
" dements on the coast of Africa, in like manner as trade is car-
* Mr. Fox in his speech on the debate upon Lord Ossory's motion pointedly
asked, What was it that armed 42,000 men in Ireland with the arguments
earned on the points of 42,000 bayonets? The American war (15 P. D. p.
125 and p. 127). " It was the general calamities of the empire, which had
' made Ireland poor ; but it was the incapacity and negligence of government
' that had rendered her bold and daring. It was therefore incumbent upon
' parliament, to shew their fullest disapprobation of that indolence and inca-
' pacity, and convince Ireland, that they are as ready as themselves to resent
' and punish the cruel and improper treatment, which she has received from
' ministers. Ireland would see by such a conduct, that it was not this country,
' but its ministers, who were blameable ; which would, in his opinion, prove the
' surest means of once more binding both countries in the strongest and most
' indissoluble ties of friendship and affection. That, in his opinion, was the
' motive, which ought to operate with Britain at the present minute."
f Com. Journ. p. 17.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 221
" ried on between Great Britain and the said colonies and settle-
" ments, would be productive of very great commercial benefits,
" would be a most affectionate mark of the regard and attention
" of Great Britain to our distresses, and would give new vigour
" to the zeal of his majesty's brave and loyal people of Ireland,
" to stand forward in support of his majesty's person and govern-
" ment, and the interest, the honour, and the dignity of the
" British empire."
So determined was the Irish House of Commons to assert their
rights, and bring the British government and parliament into a
full recognition of .them, that on the 24th day of November the
question was put, that it be resolved, that at this time it would be
inexpedient to grant new taxes, and it was carried in the affirma-
tive by a majority of 170 to 47.* As soon after this disposition
of the Irish House of Commons was known in England, as con-
veniency would permit, Lord Shelburne in the British House of
Peers, and Lord Ossory in the British House of Commons, made
their motions ; on which occasion Mr. Fox afterwards observed,f
his friends and he had openly, and without the least degree of
reserve, given their thoughts on the subject, alleging, that al-
though that motion had been unfortunate, yet it fully expressed
the sentiments of those, with whom he had the honour to act.
On the 13th of November, 1779, the British House of Com-
mons being in a committee on the affairs of Ireland, Lord Drog-
heda in the chair, Lord North opened his three propositions re-
lative to the allowing Ireland a free export of her wool, woollens,
and wool flocks, a free exportation of glass, and all kinds of glass
manufactures, and a freedom of trade with the British plantations
on certain conditions, the basis of which was to be an equality of
taxes and customs upon an equal and unrestrained trade. The'
minister stated in a speech of considerable length, and with equal
ability and knowledge of the subject, the propriety and justice, as
well as the necessity, of affording relief to Ireland ; and entered
fully into her claims, as well with respect to her natural and inhe-
rent rights, as to those arising from her particular connexion with
Great Britain. He likewise expatiated largely on the mutual and
respective interests of both countries, and very happily collected
into one point of view, almost all those questions of commerce
and policy, that had been before agitated on this subject. He
gave the following correct and interesting history of the commer-
cial restrictions of which Ireland so justly complained.
The commerce, import and export, was holden in common by
both kingdoms, till the reign of Charles the Second. Even the
* 10 Com. Journ. p. 34.
f Viz. on the 13th of December, when Lord North brought forth his three
propositions, 15 Par. Deb. p. 187.
222 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Act of Navigation, the great foundation of our plantation laws,
put England and Ireland upon exact terms of equality ; nor was
it till two years after the first commercial restriction was laid on
Ireland, and that not directly, but by a side wind, and by deduc-
tive interpretation. When the act first passed, there was a gene-
ral governing clause, for giving bonds to perform the conditions
of the act ; but when the act was amended, in the 15th of Charles
the Second, the word Ireland was omitted, whence a conclusion
was drawn, that the acts of the two preceding parliaments, twelfth,
thirteenth, and fourteenth of Charles the Second, were thereby
repealed, though it were as clearly expressed in those acts, as it
was possible for words to convey, that ships built in Ireland, navi-
gated with the people thereof, were deemed British, and qualified
to trade to and from the British plantations ; and that ships built
in Ireland, and navigated with his majesty's subjects of Ireland,
were entitled to the same abatement and privileges, to which im-
porters and exporters were entitled by the book of rates. Ireland
was, however, omitted in the manner he had mentioned. The
giving bond being omitted in the act of the fifteenth of the same
king, the very condition, which was to give it a general operation,
namely, confining the liberty to trade only with Great Britain and
Ireland, and vesting the power in Ireland to trade with the colo-
nies on the same footing as England, having been left out, Ire-
land was thereby as much excluded from trading with the British
colonies as France, Spain, or any other strange nation, in the way
of a direct export or import trade, except in a few instances, which
were by subsequent acts declared exceptions to the general rule,
such as the export of servants, horses, and victuals ; and in the
reign of King William, of linen, and some few enumerated arti-
cles since that period.
There were anecdotes still extant, relative to the real causes of
those harsh and restrictive laws. They were supposed to have
originated in a dislike or jealousy of the growing power of the
then Duke of Ormond, who from his great estate and possessions
in Ireland, was supposed to have personal interest in the prospe-
rity of that kingdom. Indeed, so far was this spirit carried, whe-
ther from personal enmity to the Duke of Ormond, from narrow
prejudices, or a blind policy, that the parliament of England pass-
ied a law to prohibit the importation of Irish lean cattle.
The wool export and woollen manufactures still remained in
the possession of Ireland, to restore which was the object of this
present motion. In 1692, from jealousy, or some other motive,
the two houses of the English parliament addressed the crown,
recommending a kind of compact between both kingdoms, the
terms of which were, that England should enjoy the woollen man-
ufacture /Exclusively, and Ireland the linen. If, however, solemnly
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 223
this compact were observed by the latter kingdom, the truth
was, that England carried on the linen manufacture to full as great
an extent as Ireland, while the monopoly of the woollens remain-
ed totally with England. The first step Ireland took in conse-
quence of this compact, was to lay an export duty upon wool and
woollens of all kinds equal to a prohibition j and when the act ex-
pired, for it was but a temporary one by way of experiment, the
British parliament, without consulting that of Ireland, by the 10th
and llth of William the Third, passed a similar act, and made it
perpetual. That was the act, which at once put an end to the
woollen trade of Ireland. The next act was a law of the fifth of
George the First ; the next the fifth and twelfth of the late king,
which last went so far even, as to prohibit the export of a kind of
woollen manufacture called wadding, and one or two other articles
excepted out of the tenth and eleventh of King William ; but these
three last acts swept every thing before them.
His lordship next proceeded to state some facts relative to the
trade of that country. He said, upon an average of the six years
from 1766 to 1772, the export of Ireland was somewhat more than
two millions ; and in the succeeding six years, ending in 1778,
about as much more, one half nearly British manufacture or pro-
duce, the other half certificated articles, of which this country was
the medium of conveyance, out of the native produce, which was
something more than 90O,000/, per annum, on the average, only
200,000/. were woollens ; so that in this light, supposing every-
thing, that any man could wish to conclude from the fact, he sub-
mitted to the house, whether it would be sound policy to risque a
million export of native produce for a woollen export of 200,0007.
He then turned to reconsider the state of the linen trade, which,
however prosperous it might appear, was still capable of great im-
provement. It was a pamphlet written by the celebrated Sir
William Temple, that first suggested tha idea of extending and
improving the manufacture of Ireland, and gave rise to the com-
pact, which he had alluded to. It was an opinion, which pre-
vailed with many, he believed, that as the compact was now to be
dissolved, should the Irish be permitted to enjoy a free export of
woollens, that the bounties paid on the importation into England
of certain species of fabrics of Irish linens, ought to be discon-
tinued. In this he should differ greatly from gentlemen, who
might reason in that manner, and he would support his difference
of opinion by the following authentic documents, which he had in
his hand.
From those it appeared, the number of yards of linen manu-
factured for foreign consumption, or exported in the year 1751,
was twelve millions ; the next year the British bounty was discon-
tinued, and it fell to ten millions ; in 1756 it was no higher dian
224 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
eleven millions ; and in the next year, 1757, when the bounties
were again granted, the number of yards entered for exportation,
suddenly rose to fifteen millions, and so continued to .increase
for several years so high, he believed, within a period of fifteen
years, (1771) as to amount to twenty-five millions of yards.
This was sufficient ground for him to conclude, that the Brit-
ish bounty operated as a great encouragement. ft was not a
large sum that was appropriated for this purpose, the whole not
being, in the highest year, above 13,OOO/. or thereabouts. He
said that a trade with our colonies, of any kind or of any extent,
from Ireland, must be considered as a matter of favour to that
kingdom. Considering her even as an independent state, she
could set up no claim to a commercial intercourse with the Brit-
ish colonies. These colonies had been settled, established, and
raised to the present strength and opulence, by the blood, trea-
sure, and industry of Great Britain. By every principle of jus-
tice, of the law of nations, and the custom of the other powers
of Europe who had settlements and distant dependencies, the
mother country had an exclusive right to trade with, and to for-
bid all others from having any intercourse with them. Such an
exclusive right was of the very essence of colonization ; for what
nation under the sun would spend their blood and treasure in es-
tablishing a colony, and protecting and defending it in its infant
state, if, after, other nations were to reap the advantages deriva-
ble from their labour, hazard, and expense ?
The colony trade laws, so far as they related to Ireland, were
full of restrictions, though, as he had more than once observed,
the colony trade was open before the 15th, 22d, and 23d of
Charles If. in which the word Ireland was omitted ; after that
period, several statutes were passed, some general, others parti-
cular, to restrain, and in many cases to prohibit, the trade of Ire-
land with America and the West Indies. By the act last men-
tioned of Charles II. 7th and 8th William III. 3d and 4th Ann,
chap. 5 and 10 ; 8th Geo. I. 4th Geo. II. and 4th Geo. III.
By these several acts, the following articles, being the growth,
product or manufacture of any British plantation in Africa, Asia,
or America, cannot be imported into or landed in Ireland, except
they are first landed in Great Britain, viz. sugar, tobacco, cotton,
wool, indigo, ginger, fustic or other dying woods, speele or Jamai-
ca wood, r:ce, molasses, tar, pitch, turpentine, masts, yards and
bowsprits, beaver skins and other firs, copper ore, cofiee, pimento,
cocoa-nuts, whale-fins, raw silk, hides and skins, pot and pearl
ashes? and gum Senegal. But by the acts of the 4th of Geo. II.
and 7th of Geo. III. all other goods (except hops) of the growth,
product, or manufacture of the British plantations, may be import-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 223
ed from thence into Ireland, in British shipping, whereof the
master and three fourths of the mariners are British.
By the 15th of Chailes II. and 7th of William III. his lord-
ship observed, that goods, the product of Europe, cannot be im-
ported into any British plantation, unless shipped in Great Bri-
tain, and carried directly from thence in British-built shipping,
except salt for the fisheries, horses, and victual and linen cloth
from Ireland, provisions and implements for the fisheries, cloth-
ing and accoutrements for the army, and other articles of manu-
facture permitted to be exported from thence into the British
plantations, by the 3d and 4th of Ann, 3d cf Geo. 1. 15th and 18th
of Geo. III.
His lordship enumerated several other acts, of the same tenor,
directed to particular articles of import and export, not necessary
to be particularly mentioned, but all framed upon the same prin-
ciple. Having laid down these premises, as the foundation on
which he was to rest his intended proposition, he declared that in
his opinion, it was the interest, and consequendy the duty of
Great Britain, to do every thing in her power, which might pro-
mise to advance, promote, and extend, the interest and commerce
of Ireland, upon the broadest and most extensive ground and
firmest basis ; and as one of the "most certain means of rendering
that country useful to herself, and truly valuable to this, would be
to open new sources of commerce to her, and such as it would be
impossible for Ireland to obtain without the liberality and indul-
gence of this country, though she had been totally an independent
nation. This he said would prove the only wise and prudent
means to afford our sister kingdom relief, and that species of re-
lief, too, that would serve more to convince her of the sincere and
affectionate desire we have to render her happy, contented, rich,
and prosperous. It would be an unequivocal proof of the can-
dour and sincerity of Great Britain, and he made no doubt but
Ireland would receive it as such, and that the whole would have
a happy termination.
He condemned local prejudices and national partialities, very
warmly ; though under different legislatures, he maintained that
Great Britain and Ireland had but one conjugal interest, and
were in the genuine sense of the phrase but one people. He ac-
knowledged that Great Britain ought to be no sufferer by her
bounty to Ireland. The latter would, it was certain, gain much,
but this country would be no loser. But even if the sister king-
dom should be enabled to rival us at foreign markets, in a few
commodities of native growth, cheapness of labour, and other
incidental circumstances, we should not forget that Ireland form-
ed a part of the British empire, and the only part too out of this
island to which we could look for assistance in the moment of
VOL. II. T f
226 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
peril or distress. He wished every person out of it, who turned
his thoughts to the subject, would look at it fairly, and consider
it without partiality or prejudice, not upon a narrow or contract-
ed, but upon a liberal and extensive scale. It was a duty every
man owed his country, to look attentively and gravely to our
present situation, and to reflect, that as the superlucration of all
the commerce of Ireland, let it arise from the profit of which
branch of trade it might, would necessarily centre in the seat of
empire ; if not the whole, at least much the greatest part, and
might be well estimated as forming a part of the accumulating
wealth of Great Britain.
Such was the happy temper now prevailing, that no opposition
•was given to these resolutions, the firm measure of a six months
money bill ; the non-importation agreement and the armed asso-
ciations had produced a wonderful change in the public mind
throughout Great Britain with reference to the affairs of Ireland.
Bills founded on the two first propositions were accordingly
brought in, passed both houses with the utmost facility, and re-
ceived the royal assent before the recess. The third being more
complex in its nature, requiring a variety of enquiry, and being
subject to several limitations and conditions, was suffered to lie
over during the ensuing holidays in its state of an open proposi-
tion, not only to afford time for consideration in England, but for
acquiring a knowledge of the effect, which the measure was like-
ly to produce in Ireland.
To such an alarming crisis was the political state of Ireland
now brought, that the people began to look up to the armed asso-
ciation for redress, rather than to their representatives in parlia-
ment. But hitherto, these bodies having acted only in detached
companies, knew not their own strength. They found it neces-
sary for their grand project, to form themselves into regular bat-
talions, and establish a system of communication with each other.
Long had the original cause, or occasion of the volunteers arming
in self defence against a foreign enemy, been sunk into the more
interesting object of asserting their constitutional independent
rights, and procuring a free and open trade for their country.
As far back as at the close of the year 1778, the armed associ-
ations in Ireland were computed to amount to 30,000 men :
and they had been increasing from that period : they clad and
armed themselves voluntarily ; they cheerfully learned the use
of arms, and freely submitted to the most exemplary discipline :
but their transcendent attention was to instil into each other an
uniformity of political sentiment and determination not to quit
their arms, till they should have accomplished the complete
liberation of their country from the sovereignty of the British
parliament. In the beginning of the year 1780, they entered
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 227
upon the plan of general organization : they appointed reviews
for the ensuing summer ; and chose their exercising officers and
reviewing generals ; and thus the foundation of Irish union was
laid. They now openly declared their opinions upon the state
of public affairs ; and the newspapers teemed with resolutions of
the different corps, all in unison declaring, that Ireland was an
independent kingdom, and fully entitled to all the uncontrouled
rights, privileges, and immunities of a free constitution: that no
power on earth but the king, lords, and commons of Ireland,
could make laws to bind them : and that they were ready with
their lives and fortunes to resist the usurpations and encroach-
ments of any foreigmlegislature. Such were at this period the
universal sentiments of the Irish people, if the will of a people
can be known. The government, and their parliamentary ma-
jority, were alarmed at, and consequently inimical to the propo-
sitions. Mr. Grattan, however, on the 19th of April, 1780,
after a most animated speech, moved, that the house should re-
solve and enter on its journals, " That no power on earth, save
" the king, lords and commons of Ireland, had a right to make
" laws for Ireland" After a most interestingxlebate, that lasted
till six o'clock in the morning, in which every man but one, ac-
knowledged its truth, either expressly, or by not opposing it,
Mr. Flood, who well knew that the ministerial members were
committed to negative the motion, if it came to a division, re-
commended, that no question should be put, and no appearance
of the business entered on the journals ; to which Mr. Grattan
consented.
Upon the appearance of some active sincerity in the British
cabinet and parliament, the Irish House of Commons proceeded
to take into serious consideration, the regulations necessary to
place the commerce of that kingdom on a footing of stability and
advantage. It is characteristic to that nation, to be prodigally
grateful for benefits even intended. The supplies were granted
for a year and a half longer ; and 260,000/. were ordered to be
raised by treasury bills, or by a lottery, as the lord lieutenant
should direct.* On presenting the money bills, to which his
excellency gave the royal assent, Mr. Pery, the speaker of the
* This was the first time that the expedient of a lottery, to aid the raising
of the loan, was resorted to in Ireland. Two hundred thousand pounds be-
ing wanted, a lottery, consisting of 42,000 tickets, was proposed, 40,000 of
those were paid for at five pounds each ; and one ticket given as a douceur,
to every subscriber for twenty. Debentures, bearing interest at four per cent,
for 210,000/. were ordered to be ma-.'e out for the payment of the prizes ; and
it being necessary to borrow 140, OOO/. more, treasury bills, for the first time,
were ordered to be issued, at an interest of three-pence per day for each 100/.
being 4/. 11*. 3d. per cent, per annum.
228 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
House of Commons,* made a speech to the lord lieutenant,
which was highly satisfactory to all parties, for which the house
thanked him, and desired him to print it.
Notwithstanding the general elation of the Irish upon the flat-
tering prospect of a free trade, their joy was but of short dura-
tion : upon maturer consideration, the generality of the commer-
cial interest in Ireland was dissatisfied with the proposed system
of equalizing the duties between the sister kingdoms, and the
British ministry was so imprudent at that time, as to irritate and
inflame the distrust and disaffection, that had so long rankled in the
public mind of Ireland, which then, with arms in her hands, had
earnestly turned her thoughts to the assertion of her independent
* 10 Journ. Com. p. 142. The speech was to the following1 effect:
" The Right Honourable Mr. Speaker's Speech to his Excellency John Earl
" of Buckinghamshire, Lord Lieutenant General, and General Governor
«* of Ireland.
" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" During1 the vicissitudes of a foreign, and still
" more dangerous, civil war, which has wasted a great extent of the British
" empire, it has been the peculiar felicity of 'this nation to preserve the public
' tranquillity : and though long depressed by the narrow policy of former
' times, still to retain such vigor, and at the same time such temper and can-
' tion, as animated it to claim, with honest confidence, its rights; and yet
' restrained it from transgressing the bounds of its duty, or hazarding the
' loss of that inestimable blessing, the British constitution. To this state of
' union and moderation, unexampled in any age, or in any country, under
' similar circumstances; to your excellency's judicious conduct and faithful
' representations; to his majesty's benevolent disposition and tender concern
' for the sufferings of his people ; to the wisdom of his minister, however
' questioned in some instances, in this acknowledged by all ; to his resolution,
' and constancy in combating established habits and rooted prejudices ; and
' to the justice and generosity of the British nation, must be ascribed the
' happy restoration of that equitable system of equality in commerce, which
' lias silenced, I trust for ever, those pernicious suspicions and jealousies,
** which lately threatened the peace of both kingdoms. But, whatever ad-
" vantages this change in our condition may promise, it will avail us little if it
" inspires false hopes and vain expectations of sudden affluence; the future
' prosperity of this kingdom will depend upon our industry and oeconomy,
' public as well as private, the effects of which, though certain and perma-
' nent, are ever gradual and slow; and unless our expenses are regulated by
' our acquisitions, disappointment will be our portion, and poverty and dis-
1 tress must be the consequence of our conduct. Notwithstanding these con-
' siderations, and the reduced state of this kingdom, the commons have
" granted to his majesty much larger supplies than in any former session ; they
" have borrowed a sum of 610,000/. to discharge the arrears of the establish-
" ments ; and in order to provide against any future deficiency, they have made
" an addition to the revenue, estimated at above 150.000/. a year. Nor have
" they been less attentive to the interests of the people, than to the honour of
" the crown. The public good has been the object to which all their efforts
" have brea directed; and their conduct through the whole of this session,
" has alike entitled them to the confidence of their sovereign, and of their
" constituents ; and will leave to all future parliaments a memorable and in-
" structure example of fortitude, moderation, and wisdom."
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 229
constitutional rights. The bill for punishing mutiny and deser-
tion in the army for a limited time, had been transmitted, as usual,
and was returned with the most alarming alteration from the
English privy council: it was made perpetual: and very maurial
alterations were also made in one of the commercial bills relating
to the article of sugars. Provocation and harshness to Ireland
were now peculiarly ill-timed. Discontent and resentment ran
through the kingdom. The borough of Newry presented a
petition to the House of Commons, stating, that the petitioners
had heard with deep concern of alterations then said to have
been made in the bill for laying a duty of twelve shillings per
hundred weight on imported refined sugars ; and also in the bill
for the better regulation of the army : that the duty of twelve
shillings appeared to be the lowest, that could possibly be admit-
ted, with the appearance of justice to that country ; and that a
perpetual bill for the regulation of the army, or of any other dur-
ation than from session to session, was a daring attack on the
constitution of both countries. That they humbly prayed, that,
by an equal distribution of justice, the mutual cordiality between
Great Britain and Ireland might be ensured ; and the necessity
for that country to resolve to consume her own manufactures on-
ly, might be 'removed ; and that a parliamentary army might be
maintained in Ireland, regulated upon principles such as Great
Britain could approve of, and Ireland submit to. Several other
petitions were also presented to the like purport.
On the 16th of Aug. 1780, the House of Commons resolved
itself into a grand committee, to take into consideration the al-
tered mutiny bill. It was contended, in support of that measure,
that if parliament had an intention to preserve the peace of Ire-
land, they must pass the bill in its present state. That as long
as parliament held the purse of the nation, they could, by refusing
to pay, annihilate the army. That the hereditary revenue never
could be applied to the payment of the army, because it would
destroy itself in the very ends it should be employed for. That
if the king were granted the liberty of raising an army, he should
also have the perpetual power of regulating that army.
On the other side it was argued, that the present bill tended
to the subversion of all public liberty. That it would not be wise
to grant to the crown a dictatorial power over fifteen thousand
men for ever. That it was the wish of the kingdom to be gov-
erned by its own laws. That they considered the power of
originating this very act as a declaration of rights : they were
consequently contending with the minister of Great Britain, not
for any concession, which might wound the interest or pride of
the English, but for a measure, which would bring every man in
Britain on their side, as they could not wish to see the power of
230 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the crown rendered so dangerous to the constitution of both
kingdoms, with a perpetual army, which might invest his majesty
with too great an influence over the laws ; and that any articles
of war, which the king might hereafter make, would be articles
of war for that kingdom ; for the act extended a power over all
his majesty's forces, by which means Ireland would be under the
controul of an English statute, and the kingdom would become
a place of arms.
The debates on this subject continued till near midnight. Sir
Henry Flood took a principal part on the side of government,
who carried the question by a majority of 69 against 25, and the
bill was passed. This, together with the circumstances respect-
ing the sugar bill, increased the public discontent ; and several
resolutions were entered into at different public meetings, that
were assembled on this occasion. Amongst others, a meeting
of the merchants' corps of volunteers was convened at the Royal
Exchange, Dublin, when the following resolutions were passed,
and ordered to be printed in the public papers.
" Resolved, That the late decisions of the House of Commons,
" (so destructive, in our opinion, to the constitutional rights, and
" injurious to the commercial interests of this kingdom) demand
u the most serious attention of every Irishman.
" Resolved, That we consider their consent to the mandate of
*' the British minister, by which the bill for the regulation of the
** army is made perpetual, and the controul thereof for ever vested
" in the hands of the crown, as a subversion of the constitution,
" and a stab to the liberty of the subject.
" Resolved, That considering the army of this kingdom as a
* body of men embarked in the cause of their country, and equal*
" ly entitled with ourselves to the protection of its legislature, we
w cannot but feel for their situation, who, by this law are in dan-
" ger of being made, at a future day the unwilling instruments of
" despotism, to violate the liberties of Ireland.
" Resolved, That we consider the compliance of that house with
w the alteration made in the sugar bill by the English privy coun-
" cil reducing the proposed duty on lump sugars, as an overthrow
" to the refinery of this kingdom, and a total obstruction to the
" extension of its manufactures, by an export to the British colo-
44 nies and West-Indies.
" Resolved, That we will concur with the volunteer corps of
" this kingdom, and the rest of our fellow subjects, in every ef-
" fort which may tend to avert the dangers we are threatened
" with.
" Resolved, That the strenuous, though unsuccessful efforts, of
" the minority of the House of Commons, in defence of the con-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 231
* stitution, merit the thanks and firm support of every friend of
" his country."
Similar resolutions were entered into by other volunteer bodies,
particularly the Independent Dublin and Liberty corps ; as also
by the citizens of Dublin in general.
The language now holclen by the popular prints, bespoke at
once, as well as increased the general and inveterate discontent
of the people. The Hibernian Journal-, or Chronicle of Liberty,
and The Public Register, or Freeman's Journal, were peculiarly
obnoxious to government. The House of Commons passed a
vote of censure against the printers and publishers of these two
papers,* and addressed the lord lieutenant to give orders for ef-
fectually prosecuting the printers and publishers, and also the
authors and contrivers of certain articles in those papers. The
former contained the resolutions of several corps of volunteers,
and others : the latter gave peculiar offence, by the publication
of the following paragraphs :
" We are happy to find, that a general meeting of the indepen-
" dent merchants and volunteers of this city is fixed for Tuesday
" evening next, at the Music Hall. It is hoped, that their spirit
" and example may animate the kingdom to rise in support of
" the violated rights of Ireland ; and that the nation may be re-
" stored by their means to those inherent privileges, which their
" treacherous representatives have basely sold to the infamous
" administration of Great Britain."
" It is thought, that the measures, which will be adopted on
" Tuesday next, by the merchants and volunteers, will be direct-
" ed to effect the destruction of the betrayers of our excellent con-
" stitution ; and as it is feared, that the Music Hall will not be
" large enough to contain them, it is expected that the next meet-
" ing will be in the Park, or in St. Stephen's Green."
Whereupon it was
Resolved, nem. con. " That the said paragraphs contained mat-
" ters that are false, scandalous, seditious, and libellous, grossly
" aspersing the proceedings of parliament, and most manifestly
" tending to create discontents amongst his majesty's subjects, to
" withdraw them from their obedience to the laws of this realm,
*' and to subvert the authority of the legislature of this king-
" dom."
This vote of censvire was not so much directed against the
printers and publishers, as it was aimed by the ministry at the
volunteer corps, whose system and influence had become truly-
alarming to government. Yet such was the ascendancy which
the armed associations then commanded over the minds of their
MOJourn. Com. p. 195.
232 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
countrymen, that it was found more prudent not to cast a direct
censure upon, or even shew a disrega»d to any of those corps.
No nation on earth enters into a cause with more eagerness
and cordiality than the Irish : no nation sets a higher value upon
works of genius : none delights more in reading, hearing and
discoursing upon the political events of their own country. Dur-
ing (what Lord Clare called) the imbecility of Lord Buckingham-
shire's administration, the popular mind was worked up to a de-
gree of enthusiasm upon their rights and claims to uncontrouled
civil freedom and independence : several publications helped to
quicken and extend this flame ; the letters, under the signatures
of Owen Roe CPNiel, and Gttatmozin, were distinguished by their
boldness of thought and expression ; by a warmth of patriotism,
and a cast of original genius, peculiarity adapted to the general,
as well as peculiar disposition of the Irish people at that juncture.
A pamphlet, attributed to Mr. Grattan, containing great part of
the substance of that great orator's speech on the 19th of April,
in the House of Commons, against the right of foreign legislation,
and the unconstitutional clause of perpetuity in the mutiny bill,
was read with avidity, and circulated with astonishing effect.
The people were on one hand encouraged by these publications
to insist upon their independence ; and on the other they were
goaded into soarness and irritation, by the determined opposition
given in parliament to the different attempts made to bring it
to bear : thus Mrere they incensed at Mr. Grattan's resolutions
against foreign legislation not finding admission to the journals :
they were provoked at Mr. Yelverton's failure in procuring a
modification of Poyning's law : and irritated at the ineffectual
effort of Mr. Forbes, to procure a bill for the independence of
the judges. They were, in a word, desperate in the conviction,
that a majority in their own parliament was purchased with the
wealth of Ireland, to negative every question or motion, that
could tend to promote their independence upon the parliament
of Great Britain.
The session had been protracted to an unusual length ; on the
2d of September, 1780, Lord Buckinghamshire put an end to it,
by a most gracious speech from the throne. He had on the pre-
ceding day been addressed in a very adulatory style by the com-
mons ; and the return of the incense appears upon the face of his
address to both houses of parliament.
" MY LORPS AND GENTLEMEN,
" I am happy at length to congratulate you on
" the conclusion of this session of parliament, though the import-
" ant measures under deliberation must have made your attend-
" ance less irksome to vou.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 233
u If your long absence from your several counties has been
" productive of any inconvenience, such inconvenience is fully
" compensated by permanent and solid benefits, the successful
" consequences of your labours."
" GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
" I THANK you in his majesty's name, for the
" liberal supplies you have granted : your cheerfulness in giving,
" and your attention to the ease of the subject in the mode of rais-
" ing them, must be very acceptable to his majesty : on my part,
" I assure you they shall be faithfully applied."
" MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
" THE' satisfaction, with which the heart of
" every Irishman must exult, at the fair scene of prosperity now
" opening to his country, may equal, it cannot exceed the glow of
" my private feelings ; and whilst you applaud the conduct of
" Great Britain in removing the restrictions upon the trade of this
" kingdom, you cannot but particularly acknowledge the un-
" equivocal demonstrations of her sincere affection in admitting
" you upon the most liberal plan, to an immediate, free and equal
" intercourse with her colonies.
" The wise and salutary laws, which you have framed, natural-
" ly lead to the most beneficial enjoyment of that intercourse :
" and when I reflect on those great objects, and on your meri-
" torious attention to the trade, agriculture and manufactures of
" this kingdom, so conspicuously manifested by the laws passed
" for granting ample bounties on the export of your corn, your
" linen, and your sail cloth, by the .premiums for encouraging
" the growth of hemp and flax-seed, and by the judicious provi-
" sions for the better regulation of your manufactures, I feel a
" conscious satisfaction, that the commerce of -this kingdom has
" been established upon an extended, firm, and lasting basis ; and
" that Ireland must, in the course of her future prosperity, look
" back to this era, the labours of the present parliament, and the
" diffusive indulgence of his majesty, with a most grateful vene-
" ration.
" Your own discreet judgment will naturally suggest the ex-
" pediency, when you return to your several counties, of impress-
" ing upon the minds of all ranks of men the various blessings of
" their present situation. Demonstrate to them, that every effec-
" tual source of commercial wealth is now their own, and invites
" that industry, without which the wisest commercial regulations
" remain a dead letter, aud the bounties of nature are lavished in
" vain. Cherish such a spirit of industry, and convince them of
rt the essential advantages they derive from their free and excel-
" lent constitution, the maintenance of every branch of which in
VOL. II. G g
254 Atf HISTORICAL REVIEW
" its just vigour and authority, can alone secure their liberties,
" and preserve their happiness."
Thus ended a session, that had vainly promised in its opening
the brightest prospects to Ireland. The disappointed people felt,
and expressed their resentment.
At many of the different reviews, which afterwards took place,
the volunteers expressed their political sentiments, and freely
condemned the conduct of parliament. They were, however, far
from being unanimous. They were not yet as completely united
in sentiment, as they were drilled to the use of arms. It was
Lord Buckinghamshire's fate to be disapproved of by the minis-
ters of England, as well as to have dissatisfied the people of Ire-
land. The power of the volunteers had infused real fear into the
British administration : they trembled, and condemned Lord
Buckinghamshire for effects, which it was not in his power to
prevent ; and which, in fact, were to be immediately traced up
to their dilatory, irresolute, and pernicious councils. Lord Buck-
inghamshire was recalled, and Lord Carlisle* was appointed in
his stead on the 23d of December, 1780.
In the dearth of historical documents of the affairs of Ireland
during the latter end of Lord Buckinghamshire's administration,
there is an advantage in being able to resort to a very interesting
and delicate representation made by the most eminent statesmen
in the British parliament, of the early spirit, conduct, and conse-
quences of the Irish volunteers, before they had formed them-
selves into that compact and formidable body under Lord Char-
lemont, by means of which was brought about the Irish revolu-
tion of 1782, which according to Mr. Burke j- most intrinsically
and substantially resembled the English revolution of 1688.
JOn February 23d, 1781, Mr. Jenkinson, (now Earl of Liver-
pool) secretary at war, moved in the British House of Commons,
that the order of the day for the further consideration of the re-
port on the Mutiny Bill be read ; when Mr. Fox rose agreeably
to his intimation to the house, to move for the recommitment of
that bill,$ for the purpose of correcting a very material and im-
* Lord Carlisle took over with him as sccretaiy, his protege and friend Mr.
Eden, (now Lord Auckland) who had published several letters upon political
subjects to his patron; and amongst others, one on The Representations of Ire-
land respecting a free trade, of which Mr. Dobbs, in his History of Irish Affairs,
\>. 42, writes thus : " From a letter written by Mr. Eden, the secretary to Lord
" Carlisle, on the subject of Irish affairs, and which had been answered by
" Counsellor Richard Sheridan, we had no great reason to rejoice in this
" change."
f Letter to Lang-, p. 46.
J 1 Parl. Deb. p. 522.
§ 1 Parl. Deb. p. 433. Mr. Jenkinson, secretary at war, informed the house,
fbat there were some alterations made in the Mutiny Act, tv.-o of which beinjr
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 235
portant alteration, that had taken place in it. He began his speech
with stating, that if he had not been sensible of the difficulty and
delicacy of his situation, in the question which he was about to
agitate, the observation that had fallen from a gentleman high in
office, and an old well-informed member of that house, would
have opened his eyes, and convinced him, that he was treading
upon ground at once difficult and dangerous. The honourable
gentleman had said, that the house ought not to attempt to do
that, which it could not fully and perfectly accomplish, and had
advised them rather to overlook the attack upon their dignity, by
the presentment of a frivolous petition, than attempt a punish-
ment, which they could not enforce. This was his sentiment,
it was at all times so, since he constantly was of opinion, that
prudence ought at all times to be consulted in measures of dig-
nity, and that they ought not to assert powers of authority at a
season when from weakness they were unable to support their
claim. To agitate a question therefore, respecting the powers of
supremacy and superintendency, which this country asserted over
a sister kingdom, at a time when that kingdom was disposed to
militate the principle, must certainly be dangerous ground, and
particularly -so at a moment, when the country was involved in a
scene of complicated calamities, and was threatened with the
most decisive ruin. He trusted that the house would forgive
him, if, in the situation he then stood, he should take up a few-
minutes of their time in stating his sentiments of the question ;
since he knew from experience, that pains would be taken to mis-
represent what he should say, in order to place him in a light un-
favourable to the people of Ireland. The insidious pains, that had
been exerted on a former occasion to misrepresent both him and
other gentlemen on the same side of the house, had not altogether
failed producing the intended effect, of making them odious in
material, he thought it right to state what they were, as no alterations ought to
be made in an act of so much importance, without the concurrence of the house.
The first alteration was the total omission of the word " Ireland," in the act,
an omission, which the learned gentleman appointed to draw up and prepare
the bill, had judged proper, because the Irish legislature had last year intro-
duced clauses in their Mutiny Act, tending to govern and regulate the manage-
ment of the quartering of soldiers, and other matters relative to military dis-
cipline, when at a distance* from the capital ; the continuing to extend the Bri-
tish Mutiny Act to Ireland was therefore no longer necessary.
Sir George Yonge said, that what the secretary at war liad dropped con-
cerning the omission of the word." Ireland" in the bill, appeared to him to be
of very serious importance, and required very mature consideration before it
was agreed to. If it was intended, that this country should give up all claim
to legislation over Ireland, he thought i± would be better to declare such an
intention, and do it at once. He could never approve of the idea of giving it
up bit by bit, by incidental acts of parliament He therefore wished the house
would not hastily settle the question, but go into it, examine it with the atten.
tion due to its importance, and make a solemn decision upon the subject.
236 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the eyes of a people, whom they loved and honoured. Difficult
and dangerous as the situation was, he could not be induced from
any apprehensions of personal consequence to permit a matter
charged with so much apparent danger to pass unnoticed ; at the
same time he was not insensible of the unfavourable opinions of
his fellow citizens.
He had many reasons of friendship and affection for wishing to
stand well in the eyes of the people of Ireland ; and it was not his
purpose to attack the claim, which they had set up to legislative
independency. They had not a friend in that house more warmly
attached to their interests than himself. He wished to share the
dangers and the alarming tendency of this bill both to the liberties
of England and of Ireland, and he thought, to be silent on such
a subject would be tacidy to assist in taking away from the peo-
ple, in order to enlarge the prerogative of the crown, in demolish-
ing and subverting the liberties of the subject, in order to give
the prince a means of becoming absolute. He had been held out,
he was aware, as the enemy of Ireland, and the first lord of the
treasury had been declared to be the best friend of that country,
though he had uniformly endeavoured to support the rights and
liberties of the Irish, and to give them all they requested long
ago, and which the noble lord had positively denied them till they
had armed themselves, and then by three specific propositions had
given more to force, than he had before denied to supplication.
In better times than these, Mr. Fox said, he should probably have
entered upon the topic in a manner and in language widely dif-
ferent from that he meant to adopt, and to use on the present oc-
casion. In better times than these, he should have talked of the
superintending power of the British parliament over Ireland, and
over every part of the British monarchy ; but such was the miser-
able situation, to which the king's servants had reduced this
country, that the question was of a very delicate nature indeed,
and it was by no means a matter easy to be handled without dis-
turbing what ought not to be disturbed, and without producing
consequences, which every man, who wished well to his country,
must wish to avoid. In the present question, he wished to speak
and act agreeably to the sentiments of some of the first and best
men in the parliament of Ireland. The powers of supremacy and
superintendency of this country over her distant connexions were
topics, which he knew were at that time dangerous to be touched,
but which had never been so at any former period of our history.
Ten years ago it would not have been considered as improper or
dangerous to talk on these topics, because then they were consid-
ered as necessary to the liberties and the well-being of the empire.
They were not only considered by that house in this light, but by
every part of our extended empire they were allowed and acknow-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 23r
ledged the same. It was the weakness of administration, that had
given rise to different ideas. America had never complained of
these powers till her culm and sober requests were refused, and
Ireland had not asserted the contrary till relief was denied, when
her grievances were manifest. But now the topics were danger-
ous to be touched. The weakness and the wantonness of minis-
ters had introduced into that house difficulties and embarrass-
ments, new and unprecedented, and he must yield to the disa-
greeable necessity of submission. But he might say, that if he
had been speaking on this subject ten years ago, he would have
found no difficulty in saying, that the superintendency and supre-
macy of this country was necessary to the liberty of the empire,
for many great, and, in his opinion, unanswerable reasons, and
that in particular they ought to be careful never to give out of
their own hands the power of making a mutiny bill. He would
have been able to have advanced various reasons for retaining
this privilege, the first and most powerful of which would have
been, a reason of apprehension, lest at some future moment of
negligence or corruption, the parliament of Ireland, the assem-
blies of any of the colonies of America, or of any other of our
foreign connexions, should be tempted or prevailed on to grant a
perpetual mutiny bill. If he had advanced this argument, he
knew that it would have been immediately said of him, that
he pushed speculation to excess, that he was chimerical and
libellous in his ideas, for that no house of representatives could
be so negligent or corrupt as to grant such a bill, and no people
so blind and supine as to bear it. Might he not then now say
this when it was not an argument of speculation but experir
eiice, and when the parliament of Ireland had actually granted a
perpetual mutiny bill to the crown, by which they had invested
the sovereign with the power of a standing army, unlimited in
point of numbers or duration. There were in the passing of
this. bill, so granted, also several circumstances of a suspicious
nature, which implied in pretty plain language, that it was im-
posed upon them by the cabinet of England. It originated in
the privy council of this country, and was sent over at a time,
when Ireland was loud in their claim of independent legislation.
The cabinet took advantage of the heat and the inflammation of
Ireland, with respect to independence, and granted them the one
thing, provided they would purchase it at the price of the other.
They applied to the passions of the country ; they seized on par-
liament in the moment of their warmth, and appealing perhaps
to other passions than those of patriotic phrenzy, they procured
the consent of parliament to this, and received a perpetual stand-
ing army, in defiance of the declaration of rights. Many of the
first members of the Irish parliament were sensible of the shock,
238 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
which that bill gave at once to the liberties of Ireland and Eng-
land. Mr. Grattan called upon the people of this country to
stand forward and protect the liberties of both, by preventing
the dangers and effects of a law so violent and contradictory to
the constitution. It was therefore a business, in which both na-
tions were equally affected, and in which they ought equally to
unite. It was a species of conspiracy between the cabinet and
that part of the people of Ireland, who, anxious for independence,
were intoxicated with the idea, and inclined to purchase it at any
price. A conspiracy to give a mutiny bill of their own to Ire-
land, in return for a grant from Ireland of a perpetual army to
the crown, a thing wholly unwarranted by the constitution. It
was curious and alarming, that in the Irish mutiny bill, the pre-
amble was left out, which recited the declaration of rights. What
could be the inducement of that omission? It contained no enact-
ing law, and consequently was in no ways an attack on the legis-
lative independence of Ireland. It was merely declaratory, and
as the constitution and the rights in both countries were the same,
the declaration of those rights was equally applicable to both.
But it was found expedient to leave out the preamble, because
the words, " Whereas it is illegal in the crown to keep a standing
*' army in times of peace" were in direct contradiction to the
bill, which had been granted. The danger of the bill would
appear in its full magnitude, when gentlemen reflected that all
that was necessary now to the maintenance of a standing army in
Ireland, unlimited in number and duration, was the power of
the purse. He considered the statute of King William, com-
monly called the disbanding statute, reducing the number of
troops to 12,000, and which by a late act had been raised to
15,000, to be still in force with respect to this country, but it
was not so agreeable to the present ideas of the people of Ireland,
so that there was no power sufficiently restrictive on ministers
against maintaining in that country an army to any extent. But
it might be argued, that without the power of the purse, the
power of the army \vas nothing. It had been the policy of Britain
to keep them both in her own hands, and had granted them only
for one year. As there was no responsibility in the ministers
under the existing laws, and as it was not in the power of either
kingdom to bring them to a legal parliamentary conviction, the
ministers, who advised the perpetual mutiny bill, were guilty of
high treason. The act giving the crown a perpetual mutiny bill,
in direct violation of the declaration of rights, was high treason
against the constitution of the realm. But how could he get at
the authors of the treason in the present circumstances ? It was
perfectly impossible, for there was no responsibility to be estab-
lished against them. This difficulty had Ijeen incurred by a sys-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 239
tern of negligence and incapacity. Any other minister would
have softened, when it could have been done with propriety ; or
resisted, when it could have been done with success: but the
noble lord had acted contrary to every expectation. When Ire-
land, in a decent sober style, applied to parliament for relief from
restrictions, which were at once impolitic and illiberal, the noble
lord attended more to the representations of individual members,
influenced by their constituents, the manufacturers of trading
towns, than to the unanimous call of a whole country. The
minister was obliged, on account of the American war, to court
the votes of individual members, and when the gentlemen on
that side of the house had carried a decisive question, he came
down two days afterwards, and resisted their anxious endeavours
to redress the grievances of the Irish, when they were temperate
in their requests. The honourable gentleman then stated the pow-
erful and the rapid effect of the resolution and the spirit of Ire-
land. Their associations had done more in a moment than all
the effects of friendship in their favour. All false reasoning had
vanished; all little partial motives of resistance had ceased; local
considerations died away instantly, and the noble lord in the blue
ribbon, who had shewn himself the last man to listen to suppli-
cation, was the first man to give way to force. The noble lord
came down to that house, and by three lumping propositions, did
more for Ireland than she had ventured to ask : not that he blamed
the noble lord for the concessions : he had acted wisely, and had
properly told the house, that commercial considerations ought
not to be taken up on a narrow illiberal scale, but should be look-
ed at as great objects. All that he blamed in the noble lord was,
for having done that meanly, which he might have done with
grace and dignity. An army might thereafter be raised and
maintained in Ireland under that law, which, though legal in Ire-
land, would be illegal in England, and not be the less dangerous,
from being illegal. Soldiers raised, enlisted, and attested in
England, might be sent to Ireland, and placed under the military
law, which in one instance at least was different from the law of
England, since it gave the king a power over them in every thing
short of life and limb. Though an enemy to the dangerous in-
fluence of the crown, he was a friend to its just prerogative ; and
he considered the power vested in his majesty, of sending troops
to whatever part of his dominions, that might require their as-
sistance, a most valuable prerogative. It was on this ground,
that the Earl of Chatham said, that retrenching the number of
troops to be employed in Ireland, was " tearing the master-feat her
from the eagle's wing" That bill therefore, containing different
laws, became dangerous to the prerogative. Many more things
he had on his mind to offer on the subject, but he saw the impro-
240 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
priety of urging all that had occurred to him. He was restrained
by the consciousness, that every thing which he said would be
misrepresented in Ireland, and that tor the basest of purposes.
He reminded the house again, that the Irish mutiny bill had origin-
ated in this country, and that it had passed under the most suspi-
cious and alarming circumstances. He concluded with saying,
that he should move for the recommitment of the bill, when the
present question was settled.
Mr. T. Townshend seconded the motion.
The secretary at war spoke in very guarded terms of the ex-
treme delicacy of the subject. It had been a great object in
former reigns to endeavour to induce the legislature in Ireland
to pass a mutiny bill, which had not been accomplished till the
time of Queen Anne. The objects of that bill were the raising,
paying, and due government of the army ; the bill of Queen Anne
went only to the first two objects, but it was a perpetual bill. In
the year 1688 the first mutiny bill was passed in England, at
which time an attempt was made to pass a similar bill in Ireland,
which failed. In 1692 a bill passed the House of Lords, and was
sent thither. The great Lord Somers was then attorney general ;
and every one knows how much the attorney general has to do
with Irish bills in that stage. The great authors of the Revolu-
tion were anxious, that Ireland should have a mutiny bill of their
own ; and though many attempts were made to introduce one, it
was not until it was known that they would not admit of one,
that the word Ireland was inserted in the English mutiny bill.
This bill was on the same principles, as that now the subject of
debate ; like that, it obliged the army to obey certain rules and
articles of war, published, or to be published, and authorized by
his majesty, and like that, it was perpetual ; yet Lord Somers,
and all those warm defenders of constitutional liberty, who were
then in power, approved the bill. Those who had been deeply
concerned in settling the Revolution, in framing the bill of rights,
and all the measures of that most respectable period of our histo-
ry, had concurred in their advice iu council to approve their bill.
It had been sent over to the Lord Deputy Sydney, with an in-
junction to endeavour to prevail, that it should be passed in both
houses. It failed in the commons. The perpetuity of this bill
in Ireland, he considered as necessary for the very reasons, that
had been urged against it. It was certainly proper to prevent
the great inconveniencies, that would arise from the army's being
subject to different mutiny acts in different situations of service ;
yet it would be impossible to avoid it, if the mutiny bill were con-
sidered as annual, and subject to alterations in both countries.
Lord Mahon said, he was aware of the delicacy of touching
upon the question of the superintendency of the British parliament
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 241
Over Ireland, and of the danger of opposing it in contradistinction
to the superintendency of the Irish parliament.
Mr. Burke observed, that in the then divided and distracted
state of the empire, when every thing seemed to be faffing to
pieces, it became men to be firm, and to look on the preservation
of what yet remained as their first duty. The question being put,
it passed in the affirmative without a division.
Notwithstanding the Earl of Carlisle was sent over on pur-
pose to give firmness and energy to the Irish government, which
was considered on this side of the water to have been greatly
enfeebled by the administration of his predecessor, he found him-
self wholly incapable of checking the spirit of volunteering, which
now knew no other object, than the attainment of a free and in-
dependent constitution. The reviews in 1780 had pointed out the
utility of forming regiments : it was clearly perceived, that com-
panies acting separately could never attain military perfection.
In the spring of 1781 reviews were again fixed on, and in summer
when they assembled, the improved state of the volunteers was
obvious to every eye ; the reviews were every where more numer-
ous, more military, and more splendid. That of Belfast, which
in 1780 was the largest, had in 1781 nearly doubled their number :
5383 men then appeared in review, with a train of thirteen field
pieces ; other reviews had proportionally increased and improved ;
the volunteers engaged the affection and commanded the admira-
tion of all their countrymen. The inhabitants of the different
places where they were reviewed, behaved with unbounded hos-
pitality, and entertained with emulous profusion their countrymen
in arms. Lord Charlemont was again particularly distinguished
among the reviewing generals, and reviewed a very considerable
part of the volunteer army. The addresses and resolutions after
the reviews in 1781, were greatly diversified ; some contained
politics, and spoke bold truths ; others avoided political discus-
sion : all felt that Ireland was not free.
*On the 9th of October, 1781, the Earl of Carlisle met the
parliament, when after the common place recommendations of
the charter schools, linen trade, tillage, fisheries, and general
commerce of the country, his excellency assured them, that his
majesty ardently wished the happiness of his people of Ireland,
in whose affection and loyalty he placed the firmest reliance.
" And although," said his excellency, " I am not directed to call
*' upon you for any extraordinary supplies in this time of general
*' hostility, when these kingdoms are exposed to an unnatural
" and dangerous combination of enemies, I have not the smallest
" doubt, but that I shall be enabled to assure his majesty of your
* 10 Journ. Com. p. 210.
VOL. II. H h
242 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" cordial disposition to give him every assistance compatible?
" with your means and circumstances.
" No event could more contribute to the public security than
" the general concurrence, with which the late spirited offers of
" assistance were presented to me from every part of this king-
" dom ; and I am fully convinced, that if necessity had arisen, it
" was in my power to have called into action all the strength and
" spirit of a brave and loyal people, eager under my direction to
" be employed in aid of his majesty's regular forces, for the pub-
" lie defence.
u I trust that every part of my conduct will demonstrate how
" much it is the wish of my heart to engage your confidence : I
" shall claim it only in proportion as I shall be found to deserve
" it, by an unwearied endeavour to promote the prosperity of Ire-
" land ; and I am sensible, that this is the best method of recom-
" mending my services to our sovereign, and of obtaining your
" concurrence toward the ease and honour of my administration."
It had now become notorious, that government wished to check
and disarm the volunteers ; but they were frightened into acqui-
escence ; they had before reluctantly distributed amongst them
16,000 stand of arms, and it was now found politic to soothe and
court the power they could no longer control.
Mr. O'Neil moved the address to the throne, which was as
usual an echo of the speech ; to which no opposition was given.
He felt himself called upon to explain, that the words liberality
of the British parliament were merely confined to the grants of
their late extended commerce to America and the West Indies.
Mr. Grattan, after having made some reflections upon the li-
berality of the last parliament in voting 50O,OOO/. and the incom-
petency of the nation to support Great Britain in the prosecution
of the American and French war, took notice of the extreme
caution, with which the address avoided mentioning the word
volunteer, that wholesome and salutary appellation which he wish-
ed to familiarize to the royal ear ; he would not, however, insist
on having it inserted, as he had reason to believe the right hon-
ourable mover did intend to make a proper mention of those
protectors of their country. s
Mr. O'Neil declared, he was not deceived in this opinion, tha^S
the motion to which he had alluded, was intended to thank the
volunteers of Ireland for that glorious spirit, unexampled in all
history, with which they had so eagerly pressed forward, when
the nation was thought to be in danger. He then moved, that
the thanks of the house should be given to all the volunteers of
Ireland, for their exertions and continuance, and for their loyal
and spirited declarations on the late expected invasion.
Mr. Conolly seconded the motion.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 243
Mr. Fitzgibbon (afterwards Earl of Clare) thought the vote
unnecessary and improper, after the censure which had been pass-
ed upon part of that body last session. They were totally incom-
patible, and could not stand together in the records of one par-
liament. He therefore moved, that the former censure should be
read, before the present motion should receive its decision.
Mr. Bradstreet the recorder observed, that almost at the lime
the resolution mentioned was passed, parliament relented, and be-
came itself a mediator. He was exceedingly averse from renew-
ing any jealousy between parliament and the volunteers. Error
was the common lot of human nature : it was not inconsistent
with the tenor of human occurrences, to censure at one time, and
give due praise at another ; and therefore requested that Mr.
Fitzgibbon would withdraw his opposition.
Mr. Conolly found himself so much interested in that affair,
that he could not decline expressing his sentiments. He was the
person, who had the honour of first moving the thanks of that
house to all the volunteers of Ireland, for taking up arms at a
critical period. He was happy to be the harbinger of such a to-
ken of national gratitude ; but when the papers alluded to were
published, by some few volunteers, he thought it incumbent on
him to get up again, for the honour of the whole, and move the
vote of censure, which remained upon the journals, against the
dangerous resolutions that had been published. The same spi-
rit that prompted him to applaud the virtuous and patriotic con-
duct of the great body of volunteers, obliged him to condemn
whatever appeared derogatory from that character, in a few ; yet,
notwithstanding all the misrepresentations, that had been made
of his conduct in the public papers, his love and attachment to
the volunteers was still the same. The few who had fallen into
error, had gloriously repaired the fault ; and he would now, with
as much pleasure as ever he felt in his life, support the vote of
thanks, and move to expunge the vote of censure.
Mr. Fitzgibbon declared, he did not rise to oppose the motion
of thanks to the volunteer corps, for whom no man entertained a
higher respect than he did ; but he rose to preserve the dignity
of the house, to prevent their proceedings from falling under the
charge of inconsistency. He hoped the conduct of the house
would ever be marked by a dignified uniformity, which could not
be the case, if they entered into a resolution of thanks to all the
volunteers, while the journals of the house contained matter of
the highest censure against some particular corps. Those reso-
lutions he therefore wished done away, before the house could
proceed to a vote of thanks.
Mr. Scott (attorney general, afterwards Lord Clonmel) assert-
ed, that the resolution had been only intended against the printers
244 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
and publishers of inflammatory paragraphs, and not aimed at the,
volunteers ; that if the honourable gentleman, who now made the
objection, had been present last session, he would have joined in
the resolution. He had as high a veneration as any man in the
kingdom for the armed associations, or call them by what name
they \\Tould, (said he) a virtuous armed people. If any blame lay
for want of prosecution, it in a great measure lay with him, as
the proper officer of the crown. But he could not help thinking
that the parliament, last session when the respectable name of
volunteer was abused, shewed a peculiar dignity in taking up that
affair, and then generously relinquishing every idea of resentment,
lest it should be considered as extending to the whole body.
After a long debate, Mr. Fitzgibbon withdrew his objection,
(indeed, every member wished it ne*rer had been started) and
the house passed the resolution of thanks with the most hearty
and unanimous good will, at the same time ordering the sheriffs
of the different counties to present them.
At this critical juncture, the patriotic body of Ireland may
with truth be said to have consisted of the minority in parliament,
and the whole mass of the people, high, middle, and low, without.
They were determined to go hand in hand ; to act in concert, and
never to desist, till they were free and independent, as was Great
Britain. On the 10th of October, 1781, Mr. Bradstreet, the re-
corder, a very staunch patriot, moved in the House of Commons*
for leave to bring in heads of an Habeas Corpus Bill, prefacing
his motion by observing, that the liberty and safety of the sub-
jects of Ireland were insecure until an Habeas Corpus Act should
take place ; that arbitrary power had made great strides and in.-
novations on public liberty, but was effectually restrained by that
law which had its full operation in England, but did not exist in
Ireland. It was, he said, the opinion of a great and learned judge,
that this law was the grand bulwark of the constitution. Leave
was granted ; and Mr. Yelverton and the recorder were ordered
to prepare and bring in the same.
Mr. Grattan said, he was willing never to condemn an admin-
istration until he thoroughly knew he had sufficient grounds.
The ministry of England had offered America the regulation of
her own armies ; he could not see any reason, why the loyal peo-
ple of Ireland should be denied that benefit. He would, he said
in due time, bring forward the mutiny act to be agitated up-
on that subject ; and if it were opposed, it would at least have
the constitutional freedom and spirit of the country to contend
with. A bill for rendering the judges independent during good
behaviour, and some other bills, were spoken of. When Sir
* Parl. Debates, p. 10,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 245
Lucius O'Brien arose, and said, that a matter of the utmost im-
portance to the nation, had too long remained undecided, our
freedom of trade with Portugal, where goods of Irish manufac-
ture had been stopped, and were not permitted to be sold.
Mr. Eden arose, and agreed with Sir Lucius, that a great deal
of time had been spent about this very embarrassing business ;
but assured the house, that the utmost exertions had been used
both on this and the other side of the water, to bring it to a hap-
py termination.
Mr. Yelverton thought there had been some design in the
speech, to lead their imaginations away from this important ob-
ject; it had, indeed, talked of Protestant charter schools, making
of roads, digging of canals, and carrying of corn ; and contained
half a dozen lines that might be found in every speech for fifty
years past ; subjects more proper for the inquiry of a country
grand jury, than for the great inquest of the nation ; but not one
word of our trade to Portugal ; that had been designedly omitted.
On the subsequent day, after some conversation upon the pro-
per time for adjourning, and a strong recommendation from the
speaker to bring in the money bills before the close of the ses-
sion, Mr. Yelverton declared, that he was determined to profit
by the excellent advice the speaker had given the house. He
gave notice, that immediately after the recess, he would move
the house for leave to bring in heads of a bill to regulate the
transmission of bills from that kingdom to England. At the pre-
sent, their constitution was the constitution of England inverted.
Bills originated with the British minister, and with that house it
only remained to register, or reject them. Such was the misera-
ble state of Ireland, and in that state it would remain, as long as
a monster, unknown to the constitution, a British attorney gene-
ral, through the influence of a law of Poyning's, had power to
alter their bills. So generally had this been admitted by every
member of .the house, that last session, when he moved for a
modification of Poyning's law, gentlemen urged, that though that
power lay in the hands of the English attorney general, yet it
was never exercised to any bad purpose ; but the declaration was
scarcely made, when an altered sugar bill annihilated our trade
to the West-Indies : annihilated might be thought too strong an
expression, but it surely injured it in a very high degree.
After a recess of three weeks, the house met on Monday, Oc-
tober 29, pursuant to adjournment, when the recorder presented
a petition from the guild of merchants, stating, that the great ad-
vantages, which that nation was promised by a freedom of trade
to all the world, were likely to prove merely imaginary, as from
the present almost universal war, our commerce was confined to
very few nations, and amongst diem, the kingdom of Portugal,
246 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
from which the greatest hopes had been formed, had refused to
receive our manufactures, quantities of which were now actually
detained in the custom-house of Lisbon ; and praying the house
to interfere for redress.
The subject, he said, was nice, and not so proper for the deli-
beration of a popular assembly, as for the ministerial intervention,
which was going forward. He wished, therefore, that the sub-
ject might be postponed ; and though he were riot disposed to
pledge himself for a specific measure, or unforeseen circum-
stances, he would readily promise, at the proper period, to take
the lead in the mode which might best vindicate the just expec-
tations of Ireland, if those expectations should be disappointed.
Sir Lucius rose again. From what Mr. Eden had last said,
he understood, that if Portugal did not grant the redress de-
manded, it was intended to lay a further duty on her wines ; this
he did not think was a mode proper to be adopted ; it was for
ever cutting off their trade to that kingdom, and increasing taxes
upon the subject. But he thought, that granting the supplies for
six months only, would be the most likely method of bringing
the, business to a happy issue. He was sorry to see the business
conducted in a timid manner, and in the hands of persons not in-
terested in their welfare, but with a secondary view, who, at most,
would only promote it when it did not clash with the convenience
of a neighbouring nation. They even doubted whether they were
acquainted with the foundation of their right to trade with Por-
tugal. They erred, if they supposed it rested on the treaty be-
tween England and that kingdom in 1703 ; he therefore thought
parliament should enter into an immediate investigation of the
subject ; that if the minister intended to give a strenuous support,
he might find himself backed with the whole weight of the Irish
nation ; but if not, every man would see what was intended, by
throwing difficulties in the way of the enquiry, and damping it
with cold delay. Mr. Eden appealed to the house, whether he
had appeared to throw any difficulty in the way of this important
business. With regard to what had been intimated respecting a
noble earl, it was a suggestion utterly unmerited, that nob.le earl
being a true and steady friend to Ireland, having shewn himself
peculiarly so upon the present occasion, and being in every in-
stance incapable of making a distinction between the interests of
his majesty's kingdoms.
The activity of the Castle to ensure a majority in parliament,
kept pace with the increase of patriotism out of it. But this
system in the new ferment of the public mind, became daily less
efficient, and was ill suited to the existing disposition of the.
country. The people had arms, had power and a determination
to be free : they knew the use of their arms, and had imbibed a
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 247
uniform and steady resolve not to quit them, till they had attained
the object of their wishes, a free and independent constitution.
It was obvious, that a parliament marshalled as that was, to resist
the demands of the people, might irritate, but could not controul
the wishes of their constituents. Administration confiding in
their number, set all the patriotic attempts at defiance, and frus-
trated or negatived all their demands and claims. Had they 'so
far temporized, as to have made some concessions, though they
had resisted others with a good grace, they would have divided
and thereby destroyed the power of the people. The contrary
conduct pitted this factitious majority of the senate against the
mass of their armed countrymen, who now beheld them with in-
dignation, and considered them in fact the only enemy they had
to encounter in Ireland.
In parliament, there appeared but little cordiality between the
leaders of the patriotic party, and Mr. Eden, the secretary, who
spoke for, and headed the court party. Mr. Eden was a man of
information and talent, and conducted the business of parliament
in a manner widely different from his predecessor in that office.
Yet such a general prejudice against every thing British at that
time pervaded every rank throughout the kingdom, that scarcely
a debate occurred, in which some personal reflections were not
made on the lord lieutenant and his secretary's partiality and bias
for England. During the whole of Lord Carlisle's administra-
tion, the numbers of the two parties in the House of Commons
continued nearly, as they had been left by his predecessor. Some
of the leading men of each party had shifted sides. It has been
the melancholy and degrading fate of Ireland, that although there
have always been a standard of patriotism erected in their House
of Commons, few indeed have been those, who have rallied
round it from a pure and disinterested love of their country ; stilt
fewer, who have persevered in their patriotism through their
political career of life. Early in the present session,* Mr. Flood
declared, that when he had quitted the house last session, he had
left them the most dignified and virtuous assembly on earth ; he
expected now to find them such. And he said, that the fate of
the nation depended on the -motion then before the house (for
going into the consideration of the Portugal trade) : that they
should not trust to any minister, that countenanced a perpetual
mutiny bill : and that they would be execrated by posterity, if they
abandoned that motion.f On the other hand, we find Mr.
George Ponsonby declaring, that now he saw the minister acting
• Viz. on the 1st of November, 1781... .1 Parl. Debates, p. 30.
t Which was negatived by a majority of 117 against 44. 1 Parl. Debates,
p. 30.
248 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
obviously for the honour and interest of Ireland, he thought it
his duty to support him, and he would ever assist him while he
acted upon the same principle. He said, he thought this was the
time, that all gentlemen of rank and property in the country,
should support government ; it was to men of that description
that administration applied, and by them he trusted they would
be supported.*
The debate, which brought forth Mr. Flood in opposition to
the minister, was on the supplies, and it involved the question
upon the state of the nation.^ It was amazing, how differently
that state was represented by the different parties. On one side
of the house, it was holden forth as the most flourishing of any
country under heaven, and that nothing was wanting to make the
people the most happy in the universe, but a contented resignation
to the present measures of administration ; on the other side, you
might have heard it represented as the most injured nation on
the earth, despised as an alien, insulted by pensions, oppressed
by taxes, and fettered in commerce. Mr. Ogle painted the
miseries of the common people in a most affecting manner.
* Sir Frederick Flood severely reprehended the honourable gentleman, for
declaring that he would support a ministry, that could be so base, so infamous,
so corrupt, as to take away gentlemen's employments, merely because they
acted according to the dictates of their conscience. Mr. George Ponsonby
had admitted, that nothing but public spirit could induce him to risk the loss
of one of the best appointments government could bestow. 1 Parl. Debates,
p. 41.
f Dr. Campbell, who was present at the debate, gives this account of it.
P. 458, Phil. Surv....The same author favours us with the following observa-
tions upon some of the speakers in that debate :....Mr. H. Hutcheson has a
mellifluous voice, and pleasing elocution. His exordium gave me hopes of
great matters ; but his oratory is of that wordy, ostentatious kind, which must
sometimes disappoint your expectations. He is here called Prancer, from
some similitude they find in him to a horse in the menage, curvetting at the
height of his mettle, without making any progress forward.
Mr. Scott, the solicitor general, is one of the most powerful supporters of
government. He does not affect making long speeches, though one of the
ablest advocates of the bar ; his talent lies in promptitude of reply, in dilu-
tion of objections, and in turning the arguments of his adversaries against
themselves.
Mr. Hussey is a fine speaker; his expression is clear; his language flow-
ing ; his action graceful ; and his manner persuasive. Mr. Yelverton is vehe-
ment and forcible. But the greatest pleasure I received, was from a very
voung man, a Mr. Denis Daly, whose sentiments were such as became a
country gentleman, and whose manner was vastly engaging. He was clear,
he was manly, he was copious. His invective against the secretary was so
keen, and so poignant, that Demosthenes, at his age, would not have been
ashamed of it. He lifted up his voice, he said, in hchalf of his oppressed
country, which he had just heard represented in such an opulent condition. I,
who had so recently seen the scenes lie so pathetically bewailed, could not help
going along with him in every thing he said, that was not personal. Yet,
what was advanced by the friends of administration, was, in some degree true \
the kingdom being certainly, upon the whole, in a progressive state of im-
provement. What must it then have been, if things arc so much mended :
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 249
. Mr. Flood spoke, for the first time, on the opposite side of the
question ; but he confined himself to calculation, and affected
rather to demonstrate than persuade. But there was no spark
of that flame remaining, wherewith he is said heretofore to have
set the galleries in a blaze. It would, to be sure, have been ex-
tremely embarrassing for him, to have played the orator in behalf
of measures, which, for a series of years, he had employed every
art of rhetoric to stamp with infamy.
It was in this debate, that Mr. George Ponsonby said, that he
rejoiced to see the right honourable gentleman, after an eclipse
of seven years, burst forth into such a blaze of eloquence ; to
which Mr. Flood, in rising to answer what the attorney general
had said concerning the prosperous state of the kingdom, thus
replied : an honourable gentleman (Mr. Ponsonby) says, I am
emerged from a seven years eclipse ; it is true I supported Lord
Harcourt's administration ; but was I eclipsed, when, on several
occasions, I went not- with them, and gave my reasons for so
doing ? I also supported the last administration ; but on that
great day when a free trade was demanded, was I eclipsed?
When a declaration of rights was the subject of debate in this
house, did I shrink from the question ?
Probably, as the gentleman says, ministerial resentment may
deprive me of the place I hold, for I am not near enough to my
royal master to take shelter in his virtues. Gentlemen speak of
the prosperity of this kingdom from our free trade, as an instant-
aneous operation ; but the growth of a nation, like the oak tree,
is slow, though gentlemen think they see it vegetate. They have,
indeed, seen wonders, but they were of another kind. They
have seen their country defended against France and Spain, whea
the minister had abdicated its defence ; when, after borrowing
i,203,000/. he was not able to protect them : the volunteers,
50,000 freemen, at their own expense, armed and disciplined,
stood forth ; the chosen men of the land approved, they gave them
an example of firmness and moderation.*
* What Mr. Flood said of himself on the 10th of November, shews how
much he took to heart the loss of his appointment; and it justified what Sir
Edward Newnham, in the debate on the 8th, had remarked, lamenting, that
gentlemen should lose their places for acting1 conscientiously : but that it ever
would be so, until placemen and pensioners were by law excluded from par-
liament. (1 Parl. Debates, p. 47.) Mr. Flood arose : he recapitulated what he
had said on Thursday last, concerning1 the state of the national finances, and
the ruin that must necessarily ensue, if the same destructive mode of running*
in debt was still continued. Within the last years, the country, says he, has
advanced tc destruction with unexampled rapidity. The loudest declaimev
that ever made your walls re-echo, never ventured to suggest such an accumu-
lation of debt. But if you have outgone example, if you have outgone the
boldness of declamation, in your career to ruin, will any man say, that the
prosperity of this country has likewise outgone the power of declamation, when
VOL. II. I i
250 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
On the 13th of November, 1781, a very warm and important
debate took place in the Irish House of Commons respecting the
mutiny bill. Mr. Grattan made a motion for bringing in heads
of a bill to explain, amend, and limit an act to prevent mutiny
and desertion in the army ;* \vhichvvas seconded by Mr. Flood.
the expense of your military establishment alone is equal to the whole of your
revenue ? Do you call this prosperity ? Do you call running in debt prosperity J
I do not now speak to retard your proceeding in business. I do not intend to
divide the house upon the question ; nor am I at all ambitious of applause ; but
I thought, and still think, that my proposal of going into a committee on the
state cf t!»e nation, where some mode of retrenchment might be devised before
we granted a supply, ',vss a^ moderate, a reasonable plan; and I did hope, that
after twenty years experience of my conduct, I should not be told in this house,
that I was urged on by disappointed ambition. I have been gratified by al-
most the highest and most lucrative office that my sovereign can bestow ; and
the secretary knows whether ever I requested any favour of him. Is this then,
disappointed ambition ? It cannot be supposed, that I am not satisfied, because
I am not invited to take a lead upon the treasury bench, for I do not wish to
take a lead upon that bench. There is no man in the kingdom to whom the
words of disappointed ambition, are less applicable than to me. 'Tis a hard
measure indeed, if, after twenty years service, I meet with such treatment.
The house can testify, that before I entered into office, I was uniform in my
desire of extricating the nation from debt ; when in office, I attempted to doit
even by the disagreeable expedient of proposing new taxes ; and if now I am
about to lose my employment, which I regret only as it deprives me of the
power of serving my sovereign, shall I be told that I am actuated by disappoint-
ed ambition, because I do not wish that the nation should run in debt more ?
My ambition has been, when out of office, not to be factious : and when in office,
not to be venal.
* This great patriotic orator thus prefaced his motion ; (1 Parl. Deb. p. 51.)
he said, that in the 18th century, however astonishing it must appear, he rose
to vindicate Magna Charta, sanctified as it was by the authority of 600 years.
He Called upon gentlemen to teach British privileges to an Irish senate. He
quoted the laws of England, first, because they were laws ; secondly, because
they were franchises ; and they were the franchises of Irishmen as well as
Englishmen. He was not come to say what was expedient, he oame to de-
mand a right ; and he hoped he was speaking to men, who knew and felt their
rights, and not to corrupt consciences and beggarly capacities. He begged
gentlemen to tell him why, and for what reason, the Irish nation was deprived
of the British constitution? He said, that the limitation of the mutiny bill was
one of the great hinges of the constitution; and ought it then to be perpetual in
Ireland ?
No man could doubt as to the point of right respecting the army ; he would
even resort to the question of necessity. We want not an army as Great Bri-
tain does ; for an army is not our protection. Was your army your protection
when Sir Richard Heron told you, you must trust to God and your country ?
You want it not for defence. You want it not for ambition. You have no
foreign dominions to preserve, and your people are amenable to law. Our du-
ties are of a different nature. To watch with incessant vigils the cradle of the
coHStitution, to roar an infant state, to protect a rising trade, to foster a grow-
ing people. We are free, we are united, Persecution is dead. The Protest-
ant religion is the child of the constitution ; the Presbyterian is the father.
The Roman Catholic is not an enemy to it. We are united in one great na-
tional community. What was our situation formerly ? We were a gentiy with-
out pride, and a people without privilege. The British constitution lay upon,
the ground like a giant's armour in a dwarf's custody.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 251
On this occasion some few of the more independent members
of the ministerial party sided with the opposition ; the division
being 7T for and 133 against the motion. Of this circumstance
Mr. Eden took notice, by expressing his concern to differ that
day in opinion from some gentlemen, with whom he wished and
hoped in general to concur ; but it was a consolation to differ on
a point of mere speculative reasoning, and not of permanent
importance. As a servant of the public, and filling a very re-
sponsible situation, he was determined, at all times, to guard
against the enthusiasm of the- day, whatever it might be ; and to
preserve coolly and respectfully the even tenor of his way, on such
principles as seemed to be calculated for the advantage of the
At length the nation asserted itself, and though the declaration of rights was
not carried, which I proposed as a measure safe and innoxious; yet our spirit
made us a nation. British supremacy fell upon the earth like a spent thunder-
bolt. The minister feared to look at it. The people were fond to touch it.
Yet though we have no necessity for an army, and have asserted our free-
dom, we have followed that assertion by erecting martial law, and a perpetual
dictator for ever. I laugh at the argument, that this law is the charter of our
freedom. Is the 6th of George I. repealed ? Why does not the minister come
forward and declare our rights ? No, all is mystery, all is silence. Besides,
the present mutiny law is defective, no enacting part, and articles of war are
become the law of the land ; by which there is no safety left either to England
or Ireland. We have suffered an armed prerogative to issue out of a claim
of right.
Besides, the power of the purse is given up already by the hereditary revc.
nue, that original sin of your ancestors, which visits you from generation to
generation. This is the very alarming consideration to those, that love liberty
better than the profits of office. Yet we have added the tide of power to the
sink of influence, and have bid majesty to govern by either. The power of the
purse you have long lost. You have now lost the power of the sword. The
question is, will men prefer a biennial to a perpetual mutiny bill ? Will men
lay their hands upon their hearts and decide the question ?
Suppose that a company of British merchants should petition an English
.parliament to restrain your trade again, and that the requisition should be ac-
ceded to ; what woidd you do without any resources to support your rights ;
without a navy ? You could not resist such a mandate ; and every idea of
coping with such tyranny would be in vain, when you have resigned the sword.
When two thirds of your revenue are granted in perpetuity, the power of par-
liament cannot preserve the free trade of the kingdom. Be assured that Eng-
land will never grant to your meanness what she refuses to your virtue. In
the infancy of this very act, why did not the advocates of its present form come
forward, and propose it a perpetual mutiny bill ? No, they knew such lan-
guage would ill suit the ears of parliament, as it then stood disposed in tlie
public service.
He then resorted to the other argument with regard to the unity of disci-
pline, &c. which having stated, he said, if you are competent to regulate your
commerce, why not competent to regulate your own army ? Commissioners
have been sent to America, to offer a branch of the British empire, in arm*
against the parent state, unconditional terms to tax themselves, and regulate
their own army. Two of the commissioners have been sent over to govern
this kingdom. Will his excellency, or the right hon. gentleman his secreta-
ry, say, that Ireland is not entitled to the terms offered to America ? That the
loyal and affectionate sister of England is not entitled to the indulgence, holden
out to the enemy of England, to the ally of France ? It is impossible.
252
public. He concluded with saying, that having doubts on th«
foundation of the question, and no doubt of its present unimport-
ance, he would resist the motion. He had found the mutiny law
recently established on solemn discussion, and by large majori-
ties ; the execution of it had passed immediately through his
hands, almost from its commencement, and he had found it full
of expediency, and void of mischief. It was the act of a session,
of which all within those walls ought to be proud, it was the act
of a session, to which all out of those walls ought to feel reverence
and gratitude.
The heads of the new mutiny bill were most violently supported
by the heads of the patriotic party, and as violently opposed by
the ministry. Much intemperate language passed in the house,
but the proportion on the division remained nearly the same ; on
that which took place upon this question on the 29th of Novem-
ber, the numbers were 66 to 146. On which occasion, just as the
question was about to be put, Mr. Eden rose, and said that he
gave that interruption, not from any anxiety about the decision,
which was easy to be foreseen. It had been avowed, he said,
that the object of the bill then proposed, was substantially the
same as that which had recently been negatived by a large ma-
jority : it would therefore be an unmanly and unworthy idea, if
it could be supposed, that the house would adopt a bill under
one title, which upon the fullest discussion had been rejected
under another. His anxiety was on another point ; he was
anxious for the order of parliament, and especially when that
order entrenched on the barriers of the constitution. Where
would be the end of parliamentary discussion and debate, if
points fully agitated and decided, might be thus resumed in the
same session ? Where would be the safety of the constitution, if
the practice should be established, that a measure rejected to-day
upon a fair hearing, might be brought forward again to-morrow,
or whenever the disappointed party on either side of the house
could frame a majority to carry it either by surprize or by in-
fluence ? He wished for a decision on the point of order ; if how-
ever it should not be agreeable to the speaker to give that deci-
sion, he would not urge it ; but having stated the objection, would
give his negative to the question. Upon which Mr. Grattan
replied : It is very odd, that the same chorus of voices, which
formerly said, this was not a mutiny bill, should now admit that
it is ; but rest their defence on its not being like to that of Eng-
land. The right hon. member thinks, that without a flagrant
violation of the rules of parliament, he cannot now bring in the
heads of a bill proposed ; but I desire he will consider, that those
heads are only to explain and amend. The right hon. gentle-
man says, he has no anxiety as to the fate of this question. I am
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 253
forty he has no anxiety. I am sorry he can state this to parlia*
ment. But is this security founded in the potency of the argu-
ments that were used on a former night ? If it be, it was not even
then asserted that a perpetual mutiny bill is better than a limited
one ; for even then his friends gave up the principle. I have a
note, a faithful record of that night's proceeding, and I find, that
no man in the house said it was better ; but though it may be
against established form, yet I think the powerful arguments that
have been used should plead for another hearing. If gentlemen
be not afraid that the public mind should receive constitutional
truths from one side of the house, and perceive the contemptible
shifts of the other side, they will not oppose the motion. There
is not a man in the house, but knows that it is the wish of, there
is not a man but knows, that the nation will be gratified ; that the
nation will carry this law as it carried the octennial bill ; that bill,
which was debated session after session, but which at last was
conceded to the voice of the people.
Mr. Flood asserted, that the example of parliament in recon-
sidering the absentee bill was a sufficient precedent, and should
be followed. That bill, he said, had been reconsidered, and Mr.
Malone, that most experienced senator, though before he came
to the house, he had declared against the propriety of reconsider-
ation, yet afterwards made a most animated speech in favour of
it ; but common sense (says he) tells us we should seldom con-
sider any subject so seldom as once ; why, therefore, should we
stifle a matter of such importance ? Do gentlemen think that sup-
pressing the evidence of truth will give content ? Do they think
that they are of so much consequence, that their mandate will
quiet the people ? I would, stud he, speak upon this subject till I
fell prostrate upon your floor, had I any hope of being success-
ful ; but if what has already been offered should fail of its effect,
how shall I hope to change your resolution ?
Upon the receipt of the melancholy news of the surrender of
Lord Cornwallis's army to the French in America, Mr. (after-
wards Lord) Yelverton rose in the House of Commons on the
5th of December, 1781, and thus addressed them:
* " I had determined this day to bring on a motion, which I
think it my indispensable duty, at a proper time to pursue ; a mo-
tion of which I will never lose sight, until a mode of legislation,
utterly repugnant to the British constitution shall be done away ;
but the melancholy intelligence received from America has, for
* 1 Parl. Deb. p. 124. This speech of Mr. Yelverton is so fraught with
true patriotic and constitutional spirit, and so pointedly appropriate to the
union of the two kingdoms, that I cannot forbear calling the attention of the
reader to its relevancy to the then as well as since existing circumstances of
Ireland.
254 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the present, diverted my attention from that object, and turned
my thoughts into another train ; and I think it but decent to de-
fer the consideration of Poyning's law, and for the present devote
my whole faculties to the momentous situation of the public af-
fairs of the British empire.
I have always looked upon the true interest of Great Britain
and Ireland as inseparable, and I thank Heaven we have now
more reason to say so than ever. Great Britain cannot experi-
ence a misfortune which we shall not feel. She cannot gain an
advantage which we shall not partake. It would then ill become
the approved generosity and unshaken loyalty of the Irish people,
to remain in silent apathy, or sullen insensibility on so great an
occasion, when Britain, surrounded with enemies, and struggling
with magnanimity against a warring world, becomes the object of
admiration of every generous mind. But when, as Irishmen, we
consider our connexions with England, what ought to be our
feelings ? We are called upon to testify our affection, and unal-
terable attachment to that country, and to convince foreign na-
tions that we do not despair of the commonwealth, but that the
British empire still has power and resources to render her formid-
able to her numerous enemies, and to convince them that the
dismemberment she has suffered, has only served to draw the
remaining parts into closer union and interest.
I will therefore move, that an humble address be presented to
his majesty, to express our unalterable loyalty and attachment to
his majesty's royal person, family, and government, and to assure
his majesty that in the present critical situation of affairs, when
his majesty's dominions are exposed to a powerful and dangerous
combination of enemies, we think it peculiarly incumbent on us
to declare our warmest zeal for the honour of his majesty's crown,
and our most earnest wishes for the British empire.
That conscious that our interests are become inseparably united
with those of Great Britain, we feel that the events of war in-
volve both countries in a common calamity ; and to entreat his
majesty to believe, that we hold it to be our indispensable duty,
as it is our most hearty inclination, cheerfully to support his ma-
jesty to the utmost of our abilities, in all such measures as can
tend to defeat the confederacy of his majesty's enemies, and to
restore the blessings of a lasting and honourable peace."
Several friends of Mr. Yelverton's conceiving, that his motion
would commit them into an approbation and support of the Ame-
rican war, on that account alone declined supporting it : the ques-
tion however being put, the motion was carried by a majority of
167 against 37.
Or* the 7th of the month Mr. Grattan being called to by the
house, rose to state to them the financial situation of the country ;
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 255
but previously entreated them not to give a Rake's ear to a sub-
ject necessary for their consideration, though painful to their pa-
tience. Your debt, said he, including annuities, is 2,667,6007. ;
of this debt, in the last fourteen years, you have borrowed above
1,900,OOO/. in the last eight years above 1,5OO,OOO/. and in the
last two years 910,090/. I state not only the fact of your debt,
but the progress of your accumulation, to shew the rapid mortal-
ity of your distemper, the accelerated velocity, with which you
advance to ruin ; and if the question stood alone on this ground,
it would stand firm ; for I must further observe, that if this enor-
mous debt be the debt of the peace establishment, not accumu-
lated by directing the artillery of your arms against a foreign
enemy, but by directing the artillery of your treasury against your
constitution ; it is a debt of patronage and prostitution.
The next quantity I shall consider is," the growth of your ex-
penses for the last fourteen years ; I will consider all your expens-
es, that you may see the whole of your situation ; I will consider
the expenses of collecting the revenue, of bounties, of establish-
ments, of extraordinary charges, and the interest of the public
debt ; and I say, on a comparative view of expenses of two years,
ending Lady-Day, 1781, the increase in the latter was above
55O,OOO/. a sum astonishing, if you consider that the whole bien-
nial revenue and estate of the nation is not 2,000,OOO/. and that
the whole additional supply is not 520,0007. so that the mere in-
crease of national expense, in the course of fourteen years, has
exceeded one fourth of the nation's estate, and the whole of her
additional duties. Let the right hon. gentleman high in office,
who calls these expenses ordinary expenses, who calls the supply-
ing them by new loans the ordinary supply, justify this enormous
increase ; let him prove, that the scale of the expense of govern-
ment was too small in 1767 ; let him shew what exertions we
have made by sea or land ; let him produce some nobler monu-
ment than secretaries provided for by Ireland, or than their crea-
tures satiated by Ireland, or their supporters paid by Ireland, to
justify this rapid accumulation. I can produce the record of par-
liament, to prove that in 1767, you thought your expenses too
great, for you refused the first proposition for an augmentation in
1 767, and gave as a reason that you were then overburthened,
and in 1769, you complied with a second application, upon a
promise of reduction, which promise was broken ; and in 1771,
you resolved, that the then expenses of government ought greatly
to be reduced, though incomparably less than at present.
I have considered the growth of your expenses, I will next
consider the growth of your revenues ; you made since 1767 two
efforts to raise them, one in 1773, when you granted in new taxes
about 180,0007. and another in the last session, when you granted
256
what was estimated at near 300,000/. for the two years, but in
our experience has produced something less than 50,000/.
The revenues of the two years ending 1781, including loan
duties, and aided by new taxes, have produced 1,908,000/. In
the two years ending 1767, without new taxes, the revenues, in-
cluding the loan, produced 1,846,000/. Increase of revenue in
the two years ending 1781, 60,000/. Increase of expenses
550,OOO/. a sad disproportion this ! The cause of it is obvious »
we are governed by a succession of ministers, who have no inter
est in this country, but that of raising themselves from those
beggarly difficulties, to which they reduce the king and kingdom.
I know not how it is, but at first we are charmed with them, we
admire their affected consequence, and easy effrontery. They
find in the private indulgence of the gentlemen of the country,
public support ; the nation becomes implicit, and from a course
of bad and profuse policy, is periodically convulsed ; we were so
in 1779, and from distress, the effect of our bad policy, became
for that time virtuous. I speak of the session of 1779, with diffi-
dence, because I had some share in its proceedings : I shall
therefore only give it negative praise. I will say of the early part
of that session, that no man then talked of the public with con-
tempt, nor of liberty as a matter of speculation, nor did gentle-
men of property affect to join government in the putting a nega-
tive on all constitutional questions. The secretary at that time
left parliament to itself, and the people to themselves ; he did not
pension a press to write against the liberty of the subject ; he did
not connect himself with libellers, nor was he himself a traducer
of men ; he could neither corrupt nor answer, nor did he take
into his venal hand a lifeless pen to propagate the poison of his
prostitute principles ; but such times are over, we are now more
aristocratic and abject, and we argue on public subjects, as we
did before on the freedom of our trade, with the same confidence
and indifference.
I have stated the growth of your expense and your revenues.
I will state the excess of the latter, it is 484,000/. in the two last
years : how will you supply such a deficiency ? Not by borrowing
session after session on lotteries and loans, nor by adding to your
taxes, for then you must nearly double your additional duties,
which are little more than the deficiency. Nor can you wait un-
til the increase of population and manufactures, which certainly
will increase, but will not increase with a rapidity sufficient to
supply the biennial deficiency of 484,000/.
It was said in a former debate, that we were adequate to our
present expense ; and we were taught to believe, that the ability
of the nation had in the last year greatly increased. I deny the
fact : on examining the exports of the manufactures of cotton.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 257
Woollen, and linen, we shall find the exports of the two former
have been next to nothing, and the export of the latter greatly
declined ; and on examining the import of cotton and woollen,
we find the increase prodigious ; and on the whole I do say, that
the year 1781 was above half a million in these very articles less
in your favour, than in the year 1780, so much better was the
non-consumption agreement than the free trade hitherto has
been. The gentleman, and particularly one right hon. gentle-
man, has mis-stated our state of commerce, but he has been much
more inaccurate in the state of our revenue ; for I remember in
the last session he stated the new taxes as adequate to produce
260,OOO/. in the two years, but in the experiment, they have not
produced 5(>,000/. He stated the new tax on sugars at 55,000/.
a-year, which tax has not produced more than 20,000/. He
stated the tax on wine at double the produce. He stated a
saving under the heads of pensions and of exceedings, and also
a new revenue by the establishment of a post-office under our
own law. This promised saving, and this post-office, would have
amounted to 9O,000/. which is a greater produce than all his
taxes ; and to shew how apt the most intelligent man is to be de-
ceived in a ministerial situation, when he speaks on the subject of
revenue, 1 will state a very remarkable transaction which relates
to the right hon. gentleman in Lord Buckinghamshire's adminis-
tration, in 1777. A motion was made to resolve, that in every
session of the present reign, we had added to the public debt ; the
right hon. gentleman voted for the resolution, and gave this
reason, " that Lord Buckinghamshire's administration should be
" contrasted with his predecessors, who had added to the public
" debt," inasmuch as under Lord Buckinghamshire the practice
of accumulating debt was to cease; but in the ensuing March we
borrowed 3OO,000/. and in the next session 610,0007. I state
these things, not to reflect on the right honourable member, but
to shew his fallibility on the subject of trade and revenue.
I have stated your expenses as exceeding your income, 484,OOO/.
and as having increased in fourteen years above half a million.
As to the application of your money, I am ashamed to state it :
let the minister defend it ; let him defend the scandal of giving
pensions, directly or indirectly, to the first of the nobility, with
as little honour to them who receive, as to the king who gives.
Let him defend the minute corruption, which in small bribes and
annuities, leaves honourable gentlemen poor, while it makes them
dependent. When you go into the committee, you will find abun-
dance of matter ; the biennial charge of barracks, equal to the lodg-
ing money of the army, and you will find the resident army not
more than nine thousand, though stated at some thousands more ;
you will find waste as well as corruption ; you will find the mere ex-
VOL. II. K k
258 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
pense of furnishing the Castle, ridiculously extravagant; but I should
be ashamed to enter minutely into these items ; let a committee be
appointed. He adverted to the late administration, and the promise
of Sir Richard Heron, not to add or supply a pension, which pro-
mise had been broken. He addressed himself to Mr. Eden and
Mr. Foster, to warn them against expensive measures, and from,
falsely estimating the abilities of the nation ; he inveighed strongly
against every species of expense and venality, of unaccountable
waste, and ill-directed profusion ; and moved that a committee
should be appointed to examine the expenses of the nation, and
to consider of such retrenchments as should seem necessary.
Mr. Foster said, that unprepared as he was, he was able to re-
fute every position the honourable gentleman had adduced : he
observed, Mr. Grattan had taken a period of profound peace, and
compared it with a period of war. From su£h a comparison no
inference could be drawn, which could be fair or conclusive. He
said, that asserting they had borrowed 91O,000/. in two years, was
uncandid, for that sum was to answer the expenses of at least
four years, and in some measure, of six years. That the manner
of stating the expenses in 1767 and in 1781, had been uncandid;
for the whole aggregate charge of, including bounties, &c. and
loan interest, had been stated as the expense of government;
whereas the payment of bounties, &c. (which were granted by
parliament) the government could not control, and the interest
of the loans the parliament could not diminish. Now, said he,
the bounties in two years, ending Lady-day, 1767, amounted to
about 34,000/. whereas the bounties in two years, ending Lady-
day, 1781, produced 20O,OOO/.; and if we further deduct from
our present expenses, the salaries of the vice-treasurers, and clerk
of the pells, amounting to near 30,000/. in two years, which were
not on the establishment in 1 767, and for which they gave up
their fees in favour of the public, the increase of our expenses
will not appear very enormous, if we consider how much the na-
tion has risen in consequence, and that we are in a state of war.
He said, there were other errors in Mr. Grattan's account, and
that the increase of our expenses was by no means alarming, or
so extraordinary as had been represented. That the expenses of
government were not greater in the last two years, than in the
two years ending Lady-day, 1777 ; and that they were less than
in the two years ending Lady-day, 1779, by a considerable sum.
He said, if Mr. Grattan ha 1 been candid, he would have taken
two periods of war, but that he had declined ; he would there-
fore state the expenses of government in the two years of the last
war, ending Lady-day, 1763: the civil and military list, and ex-
traordinary charges, amounted at that period to l,679,043/.....the
civil and military list, and extraordinary charges in the last two
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 259
years, amounted to 1,683,162/. ; the excess in the last two years
is therefore only 41 19/. a sum, which he thought could not justly
alarm the nation : 4000/. increase in the course of twenty years !
He then adverted to Mr. Grattan's assertions, respecting the
taxes he had proposed in 1779. The honourable gentleman had
said, he had estimated the taxes at 130,OOO/. a-year, and that they
had produced only 50,OOOA in the two years ending Lady-day,
1781. What kind of argument was this, to say they had pro-
duced only 50,0007. in two years, when they had been in opera-
tion only nine months ? He had, as it was fair to do, estimated
the taxes on an average produce of the six last years, and in some
his calculation had proved true. He could not have divined that
the sugar bills would have combined and ceased working, in
hopes of monopoly ; nor have divined the loss of the West-India
fleets, the capture of our islands, the danger of navigation from
the war, and the increased price of the commodity. He should
have calculated otherwise. Respecting the post-office, he never
proposed it as an actual fund : but as an Irish post-office was then
in contemplation, he thought it better that the kingdom should
rest in the hopes of such a fund, than lay duties in the place of it,
which might be unnecessary.
What the honourable gentleman has said respecting the balance
of trade, would really alarm him if it were true. (Mr. Grattan
said, he confined himself to the articles of linen, cotton, and wool.)
Mr. Foster proceeded. The balance of trade must be taken
upon the whole of our trade. We never have had such large
exports of beef as of late ; those of pork had been incredible.
If their linen markets were bad last year, the markets of the pre-
sent year were uncommonly good ; and in the first year of our
free trade, they had exported woollen goods to the value of
4OO,OOO/. Who could think, that under these circumstances,
the balance of our trade had declined ? (Mr. Grattan here inter-
rupted Mr. Foster, and said, I admit that the nation is rising fast
to prosperity, if ministers do not oppress her.) Mr. Foster gave
other advantageous views of the situation, both of the expenses
and revenues ; and he concluded by saying, that as he had re-
futed every position Mr. Grattan had adduced, as reasons for
going into a committee ; and as he saw no one of any kind, which
could induce him to think a committee necessary, he should op-
pose this motion. In asserting the necessity of economy, he said
he had ever been, and ever should be, its warmest advocate.
Mr. Eden observed, that an inquiry into the state of the pub-
lic expenses, would shew he was using his best industry and ex-
ertions to promote an efficient collection of the revenue, and to pre-
vent improper expenditure. He would not however admit a propo-
sition resting upon assertions of public poverty, which was not felt.
260 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
upon abuses, which did not exist ; and upon charges employed
against the late administration, which deserved and possessed the
grateful regards of that kingdom. \Vith respect to the biennial
accounts of 1767, which had been compared with the biennial
accounts for 1781, in order to shew an exceeding in the latter to
the amount of 520,000/. he said, that when proper deductions
were made for the parliamentary bounties, the loan duties, the
vice-treasurer's salaries, and the absentee taxes, the exceeding was
less than 10O,000/. which was matter of fact, not of calculation :
and it should be also recollected, that the latter being a period of
war, must necessarily be attended with various expenses, Irom
which the former period was exempt. With regard to the Portu-
gal business, which had been incidently mentioned as decided,
Mr. Eden said, that it was not yet brought to a conclusion, but
had ever}7 appearance of ending in the most satisfactory manner.
At twelve o'clock the house divided upon Mr. Grattan's motion ;
when there were 65 for it, and 143 against it.
On the llth of December, 1781, *Mr. Flood entered upon the
important subject of Poynings' law, with great erudition and elo-
quence. He said, that it was highly unconstitutional for any of
the three estates, king, lords, or commons, to intrench upon the
privileges of either of the other : that each had its separate and
distinct province. The deliberate authority of the state resting
with the houses of lords and commons, the executive with the
king. That the constitution had invested the two houses with
the deliberate authority of propounding and framing laws, by
which the people were to be governed ; because they themselves
were the people's representatives, and had given the king only a
negative on the laws when proposed ; because he was the execu-
tive officer, and had no occasion for any right of interference in
the business of legislation, but just so much as was necessary to
defend his own prerogative from the encroachments of the other
estates, which he was sufficiently enabled to do, from a power of
negativing any law which he thought might be injurious to that
prerogative. But this, which' was the beauty and strength of the
British constitution, and to which the people of Ireland were fully
entitled, as participating in that constitution, had been wrested
from them, not by the act of the 10th of Henry the Vllth, com-
monly called Poynings' law, nor by the explanatory acts of Philip
and Mary, but by the corrupt and vicious construction and inter-
pretation given to those acts, by the twelve judges of England,
but more especially by the decision of nine judges of Ireland*
* Parl. Debates, p. 153. Mr. Flood's speech on this important law to Ire-
land, is a most solid and explicit statement of the nature, spirit and operation
of it ; and the best historical clue to the developement of the many political
manoeuvres carried on under its sanction.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 261
whose names that decision had consigned to everlasting infamy.
Yet corrupt and venal as that decision was, there were two sub-
sequent authorities generally urged in support of this false con-
struction of the law, that went further than even the judges had
ventured to go. Here, he observed, that the reigns antecedent
to the coming of the family of Stuart, had produced the worst
precedents for the English, and the reigns since, the worst for the
Irish constitution. The first warp and perversion was given in
the reign of James I, who came from the throne of Scotland to
that of England and Ireland, filled with Scottish prejudices, and
entertaining a very exalted notion, indeed, of royal prerogative.
In very early times the Scottish parliaments enjoyed the full pow-
er of enacting all laws ; the king only put them in execution, but
had not even a negative on their passing. This was much less
power than a king ought to have ; and in time the Scottish kings
contrived to acquire more ; for at the period that parliament en-
joyed this plenitude of power, attendance on public business was
thought a very great hardship. There are many instances of
boroughs, &c. praying to be eased of the burden of sending repre-
sentatives. This reluctance and disinclination to attend, gave
rise to an alteration in the constitution ; for in order, as much as
possible, to ease the members of parliament, that their term of
attendance might be shortened, and that they might only have to
decide upon such laws as were to be passed, a committee was
selected under the name of Lords of Articles. The office of this
committee, was to prepare all the laws which the parliament was
to pass, consequently it became an object of great importance to
the Scottish kings to have the selecting of the persons who were
to sit in this committee ; and this object they found means to at-
tain. Then began that favourite doctrine, " that the parliament
" could not take any matter into consideration till it had been
" propounded on the part of the crown ;" and though in the worst
times, it was never fully obeyed, so as to make the king absolute
master of the parliament, yet the power acquired by the king in
nominating the Lords of Articles, put the parliament down as
much below its natural dignity as the king had formerly been.
King James attempted to introduce this practice into Ireland,
and with but too much success ; for when some opposition was
made to it in parliament, he sent over for a committee of the
members, whom he ordered to attend him in England ; and hav-
ing lectured them upon the sublime authority of kings, and the
mysterious art of legislation ; and having informed them, that it
was a subject above the capacity of parliament, those gentlemen
came home much better courtiers than they went, and consented
to a resolution soon after proposed, " that parliaments were but
" humble remembrancers to his majesty." Another attempt was
262 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
made to divest parliament of their authority, which, indeed, had
Yio weight as a precedent, being under the infamous administra-
tion ot Lord Stratford. The Lords of Ireland he had reduced
so low, as to make their own journals the record of their shame ;
and the Commons, (whom at his first coming he had called to-
gether, and irom \\ horn he had demanded a supply) pleading the
poverty and inability of the nation ; he told them, that he stood
there in the person of the king, not to supplicate, but demand his
right ; and if it were refused, he would think himself bound to
use the army to enforce it. Mr. Flood then went back to an
early period of the English history, and proved the manner of
originating laws in parliament, on which the king had only a ne-
gative, and that even during the most despotic reigns, till the per-
nicious principles brought in by the Stuarts, were attempted to
be enforced against the people's rights ; and the unfortunate
Charles fell a victim to his own ambition ; as did Lord Strafford
to the corrupt and tyrannic disposition which influenced his con-
duct in Ireland.
He then returned to the law of Poynings itself, part of which
he read, to shew that it was never intended to take away the
right of the parliament, but merely to prevent the governors of
Ireland from giving the royal assent to laws, that might be injur-
ious to the king. That during the civil wars of York and Lan-
caster, this had frequently happened : that the adherents of the
York family were numerous in Ireland, having been planted there
chiefly in the reign of Henry VI. who sent the Duke of York,
with great power and gi'eat revenue, to govern the kingdom for
no less than ten years, during which time, and afterwards, it be-
came an asylum to the partizans of that house. That Lord
Gormanstown, who preceded Poynings, had given great cause for
suspicion ; nay, it was even thought, that when Symnel was crown-
ed in Dublin, if there had been a parliament sitting, that parliament
would have acknowledged him as rightful king. That voyages
between England and Ireland in those days, were much less fre-
quent than between Europe and America at present, consequently-
many things happened there that were not known till long after
in England, for which reason, Henry VII. who derived his right
from the house of Lancaster, when he chose that trusty servant,
Poynings, to be his deputy in Ireland, though he had the utmost
reliance on his fidelity, yet would not entrust even him with the
power of giving the royal assent to laws, till they had been noti-
fied to the king himself in England, under the sanction of the
great seal of Ireland ; but, that this was considered only as a re-
straint on the governor, not on the parliament of Ireland ; which,
by making authentic records, he proved had been the constant
practice of originating such bills as they thought proper, and send-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 263
ing them engrossed on parchment, sometimes through the vice-
roy, sometimes by special messengers of their own, to receive
the royal assent. He also produced the evidence of the par-
liamentary roll, in the reign of Elizabeth, to confirm this opinion,
and to shew the sentiments the parliament then entertained of
the law of Poynings', by the reluctance with which they consented
to a temporary suspension of its effects in favour of Lord Sydney,
and the great compliment they paid that nobleman in the words
of that consent. From this he inferred, that parliament had con-
sidered this as a popular law, guarding the nation against evil
governors, but in no wise restraining the power of either house
of parliament. He said, that a very unjust stigma had, there-
fore, been affixed to the name of Poynings, who was an able and
upright governor, and from whose administration that kingdom
had derived the greatest advantages, and whose laws were intend-
ed for its defence, till perverted by the corrupt opinions of the
judges. It was no wonder, that people had received an ill im-
pression of the law of Poynings', as the very text of that law had
been falsified, by those who had the charge of its publication :
for instead of saying that the imperial crown of Ireland was in-
separably annexed, and appendant to the imperial crown of Eng-
land ; they had used the words, dependant on, the most invidious
perversion that could possibly be introduced. Lord Bacon, who
wrote the history of the reign of Henry VII. and who particu-
larly mentioned Poynings, would not have let so great a matter,
as a total inversion of our constitution, pass by the accuracy of
his penetrating genius. He mentions the law of Poynings*, in-
deed, but not this law. He says of Poynings, " But in parliament
" he did endeavour to make amends for the meagreness of his
" service in the war, for there was made that memorable act,
" called Poynings' Act," (not the act they were then debating
on) but that " whereby all the statutes of England were made to
" be of force in Ireland, for before (says Lord Bacon) they were
" not, neither were any so that had been made in England
" since."
It was astonishing, that the law of Poynings' should ever have
received such a false and vicious interpretation. Its meaning
could not be understood at the distance of three hundred years,
better than by the people in whose days it was passed, or those
who succeeded for an hundred years after. By them it was con-
sidered as a boon and a favour ; but its operation now destroyed
the constitution of Ireland : that constitution, which growing on.
the same stem with the constitution of Britain, it was formed to
protect. The law was not in fault : the vile interpreter only was
to blame. An interpreter placed between the king and people :
a monster unknown to the constitution, whose office was to stifle
264 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
the voice of the people, and to prevent the king from hearing ; td
render the people dumb, and the king deaf. He would there-
fore, in order to restore the constitution to its native vigour, and
to obviate the evil effects of misinterpretation, move two resolu-
tions, the first of which he then proposed, viz
" That a committee be appointed to examine the precedents
" and records that day produced, and such others as might be
" necessary to explain the law of Poynings'."
If this were granted, he would follow it with another, to declare
from the report of that committee, what the law of Poynings', and
what the constitution of that country actually were.
The Provost answered Mr. Flood in a very learned and tem-
perate speech, but insisted chiefly on the advantages of that law
having been so long practised, not only without abuse on the part
of England, but infinitely to the benefit of Ireland. He consid-
ered it a great blessing to his country, to be united to England by
three bands ; the law of Poynings', as explained by the statute of
Philip and Mary, united the constitution of both realms : the
statute of Henry VIII. united the regal crowns of both realms :
and the practice of appeals, united the jurisprudence of both
realms. The attorney general opposed the resolution with more
than his usual vehemence. At a late hour Mr. Flood's resolu-
tion was negatived, by a majority of 139 against 67.
It may be observed, that from the time the public mind had
expanded itself so largely to the contemplation of civil freedom,
little had been attempted to be done for the great mass of the Irish
people, who were Roman Catholics. The necessary effect of the
Protestants and Catholics uniting in the common pursuit of na-
tional freedom and independence, was, that ancient prejudices*
* It may be imagined by some, that religious prejudices had long ere this
time been eradicated from Ireland, as well as from most other countries of
Europe. The existence of the unnatural and ferocious code of popery laws,
at this time almost in their whole extent, proves the reverse : and although the
increasing liberality of the higher orders bad for some time, particularly under
the happy reign of a most mild and indulgent monarch, greatly discountenanced
the rigorous execution of those laws : yet the general habits of education,
and the still more powerful workings of self-interest, had, for more than *
century, sown, fed, and fostered, fear and hatred, rather than unanimity, affec-
tion, and charity, amongst the inhabitants of that unfortunate country. The
legislative code of laws, religious and civil institutions, annual exhortation*
from the pulpits, daily catechistical instructions at school and at home, taught
Protestants of every denomination from their earliest youth, to understand the
terms Popery and Papists, as terms of enmity, reproach, contempt, guilt, horror
and detestation. The wonder is, that these first impressions, inculcated into
the pliancy of youth, as civil and religious duties, should, at any period of life,
wear out or be laid aside ; more especially in a country where it is painful to
avow tiie slightest elevation above the lower order of the community, has at
all times been attended with an unwarrantable spirit of tyrannical domination
and despotic rule over their fellow creatures. It is the keenest policy of per-
verted man, from Mahomet to Mach.is.vel, to render sacred the maxims, that
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 265
wore out, familiarity bred confidence, and patriotism diffused a
general ardour for the emancipation of every loyal Irishman, that
suffered hardship, oppression, or servitude. A spirit of religious
toleration pervaded every rank of those who had enlisted under
the banners of civil freedom and Irish independence; and as
many had engaged in that cause as commanded the means of
arming and equipping themselves for the rank of volunteers.
Mr. Luke Gardiner, (afterwards Lord Mountjoy) who had
lately returned from his travels on the continent, had often lament-
ed, that Ireland was the most intolerant country in all Europe,
which he considered as a high disgrace to the reformed religion.
*On the 13th of December, 1781, a conversation took place on
the heads of a bill for giving further relief to his majesty's sub-
jects of Ireland professing the Roman Catholic religion, when
Mr. Gardiner said that he was taking the utmost pains to bring
it forward in such a shape as he hoped would render it acceptable
to every gentleman in the house, as in a case of such great im-
portance unanimity was earnestly to be desired.
Sir Richard Johnson declared he would oppose any bill by
which Papists were permitted to carry arms. It was a matter
in which the nation was deeply concerned, and it was too late in
the session properly to consider it.
The attorney general (Scott) found the subject so connected
with religion, with interest, with prejudice, with all the most in-
flammable passions of the human breast, that it ought to be spoken
of with the utmost coolness and moderation ; that it was neces-
sary, in the present temper of affairs, to use such means as would
conciliate and draw together in closest union, the minds of all
are most congenial with the vicious inclinations of those, on whom they are
meant to operate, as meritorious services, or obligatory duties. Through the
greatest part of Ireland, the lowest class of the people were Catholics ; they
were therefore not only subject to the native despotism of their superiors in
rank, but the privileges of the Protestant ascendancy bore heavy upon them,
from the peer to the squire, and down through every gradation of trade and
mechanics to the forty shilling freeholder or common soldier. The national
lust for rule was shamefully encouraged by abuse ; and impunity, for most
misdemeanors and assaults against Papists, was generally and in practice con-
sidered as a part of the privilege of the ascendancy. Long after the senate
had ceased to call and treat the Catholic as a common enemy, was the term
Popish retained in the country by the squirearchy and other abusers of their
rank and fortune in society as the head of the climax of contempt, contumely,
and indignation. This is not said ad invidiam, but to convince the most numer-
ous part of the Irish nation, that they receive by the Union the incalculable
blessing of seeing that much abused ascendancy removed, and themselves
raised to a level with their neighbours in social life. The historian is not
entitled to claim credit for general assertion upon long past facts : and to
prove modern abases by particular charges is too ungracious a task for him to
attempt. Experientia doceat.
* I Parl. Deb. p. 175.
VOL. II. L 1
266 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
their fellow subjects, and therefore he hoped the house would
manifest the greatest unanimity on the subject.
Mr. Fitzgibbon animadverted upon the inconsistency of the
laws, and recommended one well-digested law on the subject,
adding, that something ought to be done for the relief of so great
a part of their fellow subjects, whose dutiful and loyal behaviour
had rendered them deserving objects of attention.
Mr. Daly declared the same sentiments, but he thought it in
vain to hope for unanimity in any thing for the relief of Roman
Catholics ; for there was a spirit which actuated some members
in that house, and which never would coincide in any thing that
could be proposed to their advantage.
Mr. Gardiner said, that he would not offer to the house, iirthe
heads of a bill which he was preparing, any clause permitting
Roman Catholics to carry arms. His first intention, he said, was
to attach a right of carrying arms to a certain possession in land ;
but for his own part, if he thought it would tend to produce
unanimity, he would relinquish that idea.
Mr. Holmes said, the penal laws of Ireland were a disgrace to
the legislature, and a reproach to humanity ; that now when the
liberal spirit of toleration had spread itself over almost all Europe,
was the proper time to transplant it into this country, where he
hoped to see it take root and flourish. Every author of great
and manly genius who had considered the subject, had reprobated
religious persecution as the scourge and bane of the human race.
Every enlightened politician had endeavoured to destroy it. The
Emperor of Germany, that friend to mankind and father to his
people, had set an example of toleration fit for the imitation of the
world. Throughout the extent of his vast dominions, Protestants,
who through the narrow prejudices of former times, lay under
many incapacities (though by no means to be compared with those
suffered by Irish Roman Catholics,) were now raised to the en-
joyment of every right possessed by their fellow subjects; and it
would well become the wisdom and generosity of that house to
grant such relief to their fellow subjects, who differed from them
only in points of faith, but by no means in loyalty and love of
their country, as would be a reward for long suffering merit.
On several other days* did Mr. Flood bring forward the ques-
* On ono of these, viz. the 18th of December, he used the following- strong
language : " As nine tenths of the present inhabitants of this kingdom are al-
" lowed to be descendants from those English settlers, and the nativ
M from time to time were permitted the use of the English laws, it is c
es who
clear be-
4 yond contradiction, that we were as free as the English during 500 years.
' Our liberties were first infringed by the detestable Straff brd, but the cries
' of this oppressed country had pursued and overtaken him : and he earnestly
' prayed, that a like vengeance might light upon the head of every future
' tyrant who should attack the constitution with the high hand of prerogative,
' or the slower sap of corruption." 1 Parl. Deb. p. 184.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 267
tion of Poynings' law, in which he insisted the very vitals of the
constitution were concerned. He expressed his astonishment,
that this opinion was combated by the whole bar, though they al-
ways professed themselves ready to support the constitution.
He complained with some soreness, that this question had been
wrested out of his hands, after he had made it his study for twenty
years ; but as the honourable gentleman (Mr. Yelverton) was
erecting a temple to liberty, he hoped at least he should be allow-
ed a niche in the fane. Notwithstanding the extension of trade,
and the new additional duties granted in the last session, the ex-
penses of the establishment, &c. for the two years ending at Lady*
day, 1781, exceeded the produce of the revenue by above 480,000^
•It was therefore ordered that 3OO,000/. should be raised as follows :
260,000/. at 4/. per cent, and the remaing 400,0007. upon trea-
sury bills as before. The debt of the nation amounted now to
1,551,704/. 7s. Sd. and the pension list to 183,745/. Ws. 2±d. On
presenting the money bills the 22d of December, 1781, the speak-
er delivered his sentiments as follows:
" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
" Though no material change in the circum-
*' stances of this kingdom has taken place since the conclusion
*' of the last session, it ought to be, and I am persuaded is, a sub-
" ject of general satisfaction to reflect, that amidst the horrors of
" war, it has shared none of its calamities ; that the public tran-
u quillity has been preserved within, and that the dangers, with
*' which it was threatened from without, have been averted by
*' his majesty's paternal care, by your excellency's vigilance and
•" judicious conduct, and by the voluntary and virtuous exertions
" of its own loyal and brave inhabitants: nor is the future pros-
" pect less pleading than the view of what is past. Several at-
" tempts have been lately made, and with some success, to estab-
u lish in this kingdom new manufactures, to revive and improve
** the old and to extend its commerce ; the lower orders of the
" people are recovering from their former indolence and igno-
** ranee, and the spirit of enterprise and industry, the great spring
" of national happiness,'begins to diffuse itself through the nation.
" From these dispositions in the people, and the generous en-
u couragernent given to every useful undertaking by those of
" higher condition, it seems not too much confidence to hope,
" that the time is not far distant, when this kingdom will emerge
" from that state of inaction and languor into which it was sunk,
" and that it will assume that rank in the empire which belongs
41 to it, and become one of its principal pillars. The commons,
" sensible of the benefits they enjoy under your excellency's just
" and wise administration, have, with unusual despatch, granted
" all the supplies which were required, and have also made pro-
268 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
*' vision for the discharge of an arrear of 30O,000/. incurred since
" the last session ; and though they have not imposed on the
" subject any new or additional tax, except for the purposes of
*' regulation, they are not without hopes, that the revenue will
" hereafter prove adequate to the public service, and that the
" augmentation made by such regulation, and the reformation
" already commenced in the collection and management of it,
*' will prevent any future deficiency."
The House of Commons met for the last time before their
adjournment on Christmas-day, when Mr. Gardiner observing,
that many members had expressed their anxiety to know the pur-
port of his intended bill for the relief of the Roman Catholics,
and as the house had given no orders for printing it, he would
have it printed and distributed at his own expense, that gentle-
men might have an opportunity of maturely considering it during
the recess. On which occasion Mr. Grattan said, he did not rise
to oppose the going into a committee, or to promote it, he only
intended to observe, that it was granted on all sides that some
indulgence should be granted to the Roman Catholics ; the only
difficulty was, how that indulgence should be granted ; for his
part, he wished the house to do it handsomely, for the merits and
sufferings of the Roman Catholics claimed it from them. They
were not to be judged by their creed, as understood by their ad-
versaries, their actions proved them dutiful and loyal. They
were for a long time not supposed attached to the constitution,
and with good reason, because they were known not to enjoy its
benefits ; yet that Roman Catholics might be attached to a con-
stitution they could enjoy, was obvious ; Catholics had formerly
wrested Magna Charta from King John ; and recently on two
trying occasions, when the country was threatened with invasion,
and when last session she was struggling for a free trade and con-
stitution, their behaviour then was in the highest degree praise-
worthy ; they did not catch the opportunity to make terms, but
liberally and unconditionally joined with their Protestant fellow-
subjects in every effort to serve their country; by these, and by
a continual course of good behaviour, they had merited the favour
of parliament. But this favour ought to be granted with some
regard to the prejudices of Protestants; for even Protestants (he
spoke with respect and reverence of the faith which he professed)
had their prejudices. With some regard to the prejudices of
Presbyterians, whose political principles he preferred before all
others, parliament should endeavour to make the indulgence
agreeable to every party, and beneficial not only to the Catholics,
but to the nation ; it should be the business of parliament to unite
every denomination of Irishmen in brotherly affection and regard
to the constitution. It had been well observed, by a gentleman
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. S69
of first-rate understanding, (a member of the British parliament,)
that Ireland could never prosper till its inhabitants were a people ;
and though the assertion might seem strange, that three millions
of inhabitants in that island should not be called a people, yet the
truth was so, and so would continue till the wisdom of parliament
should unite them by all the bonds of social affection. Then, and
not till then, the country might hope to prosper.
Immediately after the adjournment of the House of Commons,
viz. on the 31st of January, 1782, Mr. Gardiner gave notice of
his intention to bring in heads of a bill for the relief of his majes-
ty's subjects in Ireland professing the Roman Catholic religion :
and as no part of die modern history of Ireland is more interest-
ing or curious, than the progress, variations, shillings, and con-
clusions of the public mind upon the rights and franchises of the
Roman Catholics of that kingdom, I shall endeavour to trace it
as fairly, as the public documents and records of the nation will
admit of.* The hon. John Burke said, he would ever oppose
the introduction of a bill, that with a single dash of a pen, abolish-
ed all the restraints which the wisdom of their ancestors had laid
Upon that people; that he wished to grant them some indulgence,
but that the clause which gave them power to obtain perpetuities
in land, was, in his opinion, much too extensive.
Mr. St. George also conceived it necessary, that the Protest-
ants, who were so much inferior to the Papists in numbers, should
have some check over them, which would be entirely taken off,
if the clause granting perpetuities to Papists were to pass.
Mr. Conolly gave his firmest and most zealous support to the
bill, as being founded in justice, good policy, and true religion.
God forbid ! that after having proved the loyalty of the Irish
Catholics for an hundred years, they should fear to emancipate
them from the oppression of laws, which the humanity of their
countrymen disdained to enforce. No law should stand on the
Statute Book, but such as every friend of his country would assist
to enforce.
Sir H. Langrishe did not suppose, that the house would for a
moment hesitate to receive a bill, whose object was to liberate
one million and a half of loyal Irish subjects, suffering under
laws, that presented the highest picture of excessive malice. He
asked, did the conduct of the Irish Catholics deserve such treat-
ment ? If not, said he, in the name of God, let the bill come for-
ward : let us consider what is due to our own dignity, what is
due to the merits of our suffering countrymen ; they are a people,
that deserve our favour, and therefore let us not shew an unwil-
lingness to naturalize such a multitude, who are aliens in their
own country.
• 1 Parl. Deb. p, 199.
2rc AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Mr. Ponsonby thought it would be extremely wrong to
any unwillingness to receive the bill. A people of such exem-
plary loyalty had his best wishes.
Mr. Brownlow said, that whatever could tend to unite the
people of the country, and strengthen their attachment to it, de-
served the most serious attention of the legislature. The most
free and unrestrained toleration in all religious matters ought to
be granted to every man ; a good subject should never be ques-
tioned as to his articles of faith, but should enjoy the full benefit
and protection of the law. There was no other country on the
face of the earth, where seven tenths of the whole people were
excluded from the benefits of the law, and the privileges of their
fellow subjects, merely because they differed in religious opinions ;
yet, under this oppression, the Roman Catholics had retained their
loyalty and love to their country, and it was but justice to grant
them relief. Leave was given to bring in the heads of the bill
without any opposition.
On the 5th of February, Mr. Gardiner being indisposed, Mr.
Dillon presented heads of a bill for the relief of the Roman Ca-
tholics, which brought on a debate, in which several other lead-
ing members of the house declared their sentiments and disposi-
tions upon the subject. Sir Hercules Langrishe and the provost
were strongly for the measure. Mr. John Burke finding that he
could not effectually oppose the bill, moved, that it should be an
instruction to the committee, to introduce into the bill a full re-
cital of ail the acts or clauses of acts intended to be repealed ; in
which he was supported by Mr. Mason and Mr. Parnell, and op-
posed by Mr. Fitzgibbon and the rest of the house. Sir Boyle
Roche said, that whenever the subject was mentioned, he was
always struck with the greatness of the object, no less than the
delivering millions of his fellow subjects, who for a hundred
years had groaned in bondage, and restoring them to the enjoy-
ment of liberty in their native country. He said, that no man in
the nation denied, that upon every principle of justice, honour,
truth, and public good, the Roman Catholics of Ireland ought to
be set free, and asked whether they could ever be a great and
happy people till it were accomplished. He hoped no man would
think himself interested in still fomenting division and dispute ;
and though allowance must be made for prejudice, yet he hoped
no man in the nation was malignant enough to gratify his spleen
by the ruin of his country. The poor unhappy Roman Catholics,
for a hundred years had laboured under the most cruel hard-
ships that prejudice could impose ; yet such was their love of
their country, that even oppression could not shake their fideli-
ty ; they scarcely uttered their distress, or if a sigh escaped, it
was directed to the compassion of their generous countrymen,
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 271
whose love of liberty, they hoped, would at last impart that bles-
sing to them.
Mr. Hussey Burgh protested, that when the house was about
to repeal all the laws that oppressed Roman Catholics, he should
never chuse to look back upon that cruel code which would stand
as an impeachment to the Protestant name, whose greatest glory
was universal toleration and benevolence.
On the 15th of February, the order of the day for going into
the Catholic bill having been called, a conversation took place
upon the propriety of its being then committed, when the house,
which was uncommonly crowded with strangers, was appalled by
Mr. Fitzgibbon's apprizing them,* that till that morning he had
never considered the bill as dangerous ; but on reading it over
carefully, the first clause had struck him as a repeal of the Act
of Settlement, the Act of Forfeiture, and the Act of Reassump-
tion ; that if so, it must destroy the new titles under the Popery
laws, and entangle the whole kingdom in a maze of confusion.
He therefore entreated the friends of the bill to agree with him
in putting it off, till those doubts, which had arisen from the first
clause were done away ; or till that clause could be modified, so
as to grant relief to the Catholics without injuring the persons
holding under the new titles. He declared himself a firm friend
to toleration, and he wished to allow the Catholics a power of
obtaining perpetuities, but thought that three or four days delay
could not injure their prospect of relief ; though by allowing time
to make the bill more perfect, it might save trie nation from much
distress.
Mr. Metge expressed the same opinion ; upon which Mr.
Grattan observed, that though the bill were incomplete, it was
no cause for not going into a committee ; it was that very cause
that rendered a committee necessary. He then went into a de-
tail of the sundry delays and interruptions the bill had met with
in its progress to maturity, and finished with declaring, that if it
were not ripe then, it never would be so. Mr. Grattan disclaim-
ed every intention of disturbing property, and was willing to al-
ter the clause complained of, in any way that the learned gentle-
men of the bar might think would make it safe.
The attorney general, adverting to the importance of the,
subject before the house, said, that tne opinion expressed by Mr.
Fitzgibbon, of the dangerous tendency of the sweeping clause,
had struck the house with a panic, and if the bill were then to
come forward, it would inevitably fail of success. Many liberal
and generous sentiments had been -expressed on the subject of
giving toleration to Roman Catholics. He heartily subscribed to
the wisdom and humanity, from whence those sentiments arose.
* 1 Parl. Deb. p. 241.
272 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
He was particularly happy in hearing those sentiments from
gentlemen who represented the northern counties ; on that sub-
ject, their opinions should have the greatest weight, and as there
were no men who valued liberty higher, there were none would
be more forward to bestow it on their countrymen. He had him-
self been a witness of their wisdom and the spirit of toleration
that reigned amongst them. He had seen in Monaghan, at the
same moment, three prodigious large congregations flowing out
from a meeting-house, a church, and a mass-house ; and as the
individuals that composed them had joined in the street, they
have blended and united into one body, with every mark of affec-
tion and good will : that was true religious toleration ; and the
most striking examples of it were to be found in the north. He
would not then proceed further than merely to commit the bill,
to shew the people that the house was sincere, and fully resolved
to give them the utmost that could safely be granted.
The house then went into a committee on the bill, when it was
read, and the further consideration of it adjourned to a near day.
On the 18th of the month, Mr. Gardiner, who had been ab-
sent on the 16th, stated in the house, that the objection taken by
his friend, (Mr. Fitzgibbon) which had prevented the business
from going on, had been examined by the most eminent gentle-
men at the bar, both in and out of the house, who were unani-
mously of opinion, that it did not contain any of that mischief an-
nounced by Mr. Fitzgibbon, which had spread so much alarm.
Mr. Walsh, a barrister, and Messrs. Dillon, Grattan and Mason,
expressed their satisfaction, that the objection to the progress of
the bill had been happily done away. Even Mr. Fitzgibbon
abandoned his own opinion.
The awful and critical situation of the great body of the Irish
people with arms in their hands, and freedom in their hearts,
calls our attention to what was going forward out of parliament.
We have traced the volunteers rising gradually into the use of
arms, organized into discipline, and almost united in one common
object, which had now resolved itself into the simple determina-
tion of attaining an unequivocal legislative independence. In
this situation, the officers of the southern battalion of Lord
Charlemont's Armagh regiment, took the lead, and gave move-
ment to the important measures of the volunteer army : they met,
and came to the following resolutions :
TIRST ULSTER REGIMENT, COMMANDED BY THE EARL OJ
CHARLEMONT.
" At a full meeting, holden at Armagh, on Friday, the 28th
" day of December, 1781, of the officers and delegates, of the
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 273
" southern battalion of the said regiment, consisting of eleven
" companies, pursuant to adjournment.
" Francis Evans, Esq. in the chair. The following resolutions
" were unanimously agreed to, and ordered to be printed in all
" the newspapers published within the province of Ulster, and in
" the Volunteer Journal of the city of Dublin.
u Resolved, That with the utmost concern, we behold the lit-
" tie attention paid to the constitutional rights of this kingdom,
" by the majority of those, whose duty it is to establish and pre-
" serve the same.
" Resolved, That to avert the impending danger from the na-
" tion, and to restore the constitution to its original purity, the
" most vigorous and effectual methods, must be pursued, to root
" out corruption and court influence from the legislative body.
" Resolved, That to open a path towards the attaining of this
" desirable point, it is absolutely requisite that a meeting be held
" in the most central town of the province of Ulster, which we
" conceive to be Dungannon, to which said meeting every volun-
" teer association of the said province is most earnestly requested
" to send delegates, then and there to deliberate on the present
" alarming situation of public affairs, and to determine on, and
" publish to their country, what may be the result of said meeting.
" Resolved, That as many real and lasting advantages may
" arise to this kingdom, from said intended meeting being held
" before the present session of parliament is much farther ad-
" vanced, Friday the 15th day of February next, at ten o'clock
" in the forenoon, is hereby appointed for said meeting, at Dun-
" gannon as aforesaid.
" Resolved, That as at said meeting it is highly probable the
" idea of forming brigades will be agitated and considered, the
" several corps of volunteers who send delegates to said meeting
" are requested to vest in them a power to associate with some
u one of such brigades as may be then formed.
" FRANCIS EVANS, Chairman."
The meeting, in consequence of this requisition, was one of
the most important transactions in the modern annals of Ireland.
As soon as this bold call appeared, the Castle took the alarm.
Captain Evans was the ostensible man, but to take him up might
bring things to immediate extremities ; to take no notice of it
might also be dangerous ; a middle course was determined on,
and ever}' possible means were used to suppress the meeting ;
the words of the requisition were animadverted on ; and many,
even of the best friends of their country, wished no meeting had
been called.
VOL. II. M m
374
As the awful 15th day of February, 1782, approached, doubt
and anxiety appeared in every countenance ; men of every de-
scription were deeply concerned in the event ; and perhaps there
never was a period more critical to a nation.
The administration was considered by them all to have hitherto
treated the demands of the people with scorn : and they charged
the parliament with having leagued with administration against
them : the people with arms in their hands, was bent upon one
object, but had no chain of correspondence.
Unanimity among the volunteers could alone give efficacy to
their resolves ; and thus circumstanced, a meeting was formed,
at which Lord Charlemont, Mr. Flood, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Stew-
art (member for Tvrone,) and Mr. Dobbs, a barrister, attended,
at which the following resolutions were settled and arranged, both
as to the order and the persons by whom they should be re-
spectively moved.
ULSTER VOLUNTEERS.
" At a meeting of the representatives of one hundred and forty-
" three corps of volunteers of the province of Ulster, held at Dun-
" gannon, on Friday the 15th day of February, 1782, Colonel
44 William Irvine in the chair.
" Whereas it has been asserted, that volunteers, as such, can-
44 not with propriety debate or publish their opinions on political
44 subjects, or on the conduct of parliament, or public men :
44 1. Resolved unanimously, that a citizen, by learning the use
44 of arms, does not abandon any of his civil rights.
44 2. Resohed unanimously, that a claim of any body of men
" other than the king, lords, and commons, of Ireland, to make
44 laws to bind this kingdom, is unconstitutional, illegal, and a
44 grievance.
44 3. Rcsohed, (with one dissenting voice only) that the pow-
ft ers exercised by the privy council of both kingdoms, or under
44 colour, or pretence of the law of Poynings', are unconstitutional,,
44 and a grievance.
44 4. Resohed unanimously, that the ports of this country are
44 by right open to all foreign countries not at war with the king ;
44 and that any burthen thereupon, or obstruction thereto, save
44 only by the parliament of Ireland, are unconstitutional, illegal,
44 and a grievance.
44 5. Resolved, (with one dissenting voice only) that a mutiny
44 bill not limited in point of duration from session to session, is
44 unconstitutional, and a grievance.
44 6. Resolved unanimously, that the independence of judges
i4 is equally essential to the impartial administration of justice in
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 275
44 Ireland as in England ; and that the refusal or delay of this
44 right to Ireland, makes a distinction where there should be no
44 distinction, may excite jealousy where perfect union should pre-
" vail ; and is in itself unconstitutional, and a grievance.
*' 7. Resolved^ (with eleven dissenting voices only) that it is
" our decided and unalterable determination to seek a redress of
44 these grievances ; and we pledge ourselves to each other and
44 to our country, as freeholders, fellow-citizens, and men of hon-
44 our, that we will at every ensuing election, support those only
44 who have supported and will support us therein ; and that we
" will use all constitutional means to make such our pursuit of
44 redress speedy and effectual.
44 8. Resolved, (with one dissenting voice only) that the right
" honourable and honourable the minor111'' in parliament, who
44 have supported these our constitutional "rights, are entitled to
" our most grateful thanks ; and that the annexed address be
u signed by the chairman, and published with these resolutions.
" 9. Resolved unanimously, that four members from each coun-
*' ty of the province of Ulster, (eleven to be a quorum) be, and
44 are hereby appointed a committee till next general meeting, to
44 act for the volunteer corps here represented, and, as occasion
" shall require, to call general meetings of the province, viz.
44 Lord Viscount Enniskillen, Colonel Mervyne Archdall,
44 Colonel William Irvine, Colonel Robert M'Clintock, Colonel
" John Ferguson, Colonel John Montgomery, Colonel Charles
44 Leslie, Colonel Francis Lucas, Colonel Thomas Morris Jones,
44 Colonel James Hamilton, Colonel Andrew Thompson, Lieut.
44 Colonel Charles Nesbitt, Lieut. Colonel Alexander Stewart,
44 Major James Paterson, Major Francis Dobbs, Major James
44 M'Clintock, Major Charles Duffin, Captain John Harvey, Cap-
44 tain Robert Campbell, Captain Joseph Pollock, Captain Wad-
4' dell Cunningham, Captain Francis Evans, Captain John Cope,
u Captain James Dawson, Captain James Acheson, Captain
44 Daniel Eccles, Captain Thomas Dixon, Captain David Bell,
44 Captain John Coulston, Captain Robert Black, the Rev. Wil-
44 liam Crawford, Mr. Robert Thompson.
44 10. Resolved unanimously, that said committee do appoint
~44 nine of their members to be a committee in Dublin, in order
44 to communicate with such other volunteer associations in the
44 other provinces, as may think proper to come to similar resolu-
44 tions, and to deliberate with them on the most constitutional
*4 means of carrying them into effect.*
* In order to let the reader into the general spirit of the volunteers, and how
faithfully the patriots represented it to the parliament, and also how fully aware
of what then was the voice of the people, several of the members were, who,
notwithstanding1, resisted it in the senate j several addresses and letters from
276 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" In consequence of the above resolutions, the committee have
" appointed the following gentlemen for said committee, three to
*' be a quorum, viz.
" Colonel Mervyne Archdall, Colonel William Irvine, Colonel
" John Montgomery, Colonel Thomas Morris Jones, Major
" Francis Dobbs, Captain Francis Evans, Captain James Daw-
" son, Captain Joseph Pollock, Mr. Robert Thompson.
" 11. Resolved unanimously, that the committee be, and are here-
" by instructed to call a general meeting of the province, within
u twelve months from this day, or in fourteen days after the dis-
" solution of the present parliament, should such an event sooner
" take place.
" 12. Resolved unanimously, that the court of Portugal have
" acted towards this ^g'ngdom, being a part of the British empire,
" in such a manner as to call upon us to declare, and pledge our-
" selves to each other, that we will not consume any wine of the
" growth of Portugal ; and that we will, to the extent of our influ-
" ence, prevent the use of said wine, save and except the wine at
" present in this kingdom, until such time as our exports shall be
" received in the kingdom of Portugal, as the manufactures of
*' part of the British empire.
" 13. Resolved, (with two dissenting voices only, to this and the
" following resolution) that we hold the right of private judgment
" in matters of religion, to be equally sacred in others as in our-
u selves.
" 14. Resolved, therefore, that as men, and as Irishmen, as
" Christians, and as Protestants, we rejoice in the relaxation of
" the penal laws against our Roman Catholic fellow-subjects j
" and that we conceive the measure to be fraught with the hap-
11 piest consequences to the union and prosperity of the inhabit-
" ants of Ireland.
" 15. Resolved unanimously, that the Dundalk Independent
" Troop of Light Dragoons, commanded by Captain Thomas
" Reed, having joined a regiment of this province, the First
" Newry Regiment, or Newry Legion, and petitioning to be re-
" ceived as part of this body, and under its protection, is accord-
" ingly hereby received.
" 16. Whereas a letter has been received by the chairman of
" this meeting, from the united corps of the county of Cavan,
" Colonel Ennery in the chair, declaring their readiness to co-
different volunteer corps, to the minority in parliament, and other individual
members, with their answers, may be seen in the Appendix, No. LX VII. They
are authentic documents of the then prevailing spirit of the Irish nation. A
complete collection of the resolutions of the volunteers, grand juries, &c. of
Ireland, which followed the celebrated resolves of the first Dungannon Diet,
v. as published at Dublin in 1782, by Mr. C. H. Wilson, a gentleman univer-
sally esteemed for his liberality, wit, humour, information, and learning.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 277
44 operate with their brother volunteers in every constitutional
" support of their rights :
44 Resolved unanimously, that the thanks of this meeting be
" presented to the said united corps of the county of Cavan, for
" their spirited resolution ; and that a copy of the proceedings of
" this meeting be inclosed by the chairman to Colonel Ennery, to
44 be by him communicated to the said united corps ; and that
44 they shall have a right, if they choose, to associate with the
44 corps represented at this meeting, to nominate four members
" to act with those already appointed as a committee, by the de-
" legates at this meeting.
u 17. Resolved unanimously, that the thanks of this meeting
44 be presented to Captain Richardson, and the Dungannon Light
" Company, for their politeness in mounting guard this day.
44 18. Resolved unanimously, that the thanks of this meeting
44 be presented to the southern battalion of the First Ulster Regi-
44 ment, commanded by the Earl of Charlemont, for that patriotic
44 zeal which we are convinced induced them to call this meet-
44 ing.
44 19. Resolved unanimously, that the thanks of this meeting be
" presented to Colonel William Irvine, for his particular propri-
44 ety and politeness of conduct in the chair.
44 20. Resolved unanimously, that the thanks of this meeting
" be presented to Captain James Dawson, for his readiness in
44 undertaking the office of secretary to this meeting, and for his
44 particular attention and ability in the laborious duty thereof.
44 21. Resolved unanimously, that these resolutions be pub-
" lished.
44 To the Right Honourable and Honourable the Minority in both
44 Houses of Parliament.
44 MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
" WE thank you for your noble and spirited, though
44 hitherto ineffectual efforts, in defence of the great constitutional
44 and commercial rights of your county. Go on ! the almost
44 unanimous voice of the people is with you ; and, in a free coun-
44 try, the voice of the people must prevail. We know our duty
" to our sovereign, and are loyal. We know our duty to our-
44 selves, and are resolved to be free. We seek for our rights,
" and no more than our rights ; and, in so just a pursuit, we
" should doubt the being of a Providence, if we doubted of suc-
44 cess.
" Signed by order,
41 WILLIAM IRVINE, Chairman.
278 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" In committee.
" Resolved unanimously, that the corps of this province, not
*' represented at the meeting held this day, be, and they are
" hereby invited to join in the resolutions of said meeting, and to
" become members of the said association on the most equal
" footing.
" Resolved unanimously, that such corps as may choose to join
" the said association, be, and they are hereby requested to com*
" municate their intentions to our secretary, Captain Dawson,
" Union Lodge, Loughbrickland, who will lay the same before
" the chairman and committee.
" WILLIAM IRVINE, Chairman."
Thus ended the business of that ever memorable day. The
place they met in was the church ; and when the account of it
reached Dublin, the friends of their country rejoiced at the tem-
per and firmness of the proceedings : their enemies were disap-
pointed in every expectation; none of that violence appeared
which distinguishes faction from real public spirit: they were
astonished and confounded with that noble benevolence and tol-
eration, which must at once convince the Roman Catholics, that
the supposed hatred of the Protestants of the north, existed only
in the minds of the malevolent. To divide and conquer, had
been too long the odious policy of that country : that of Dun-
gannon, was to unite and be victorious.
As these resolutions made their public appearance, they were
admired even by their enemies. The volunteers from every
quarter paid their tribute of applause, and erected them as the
standard, to which all repaired: from east, west, north, and south,
they were re-echoed. Committees of correspondence were form-
ed, and the national committee crowned the business.
Within five days after the passing of the Dungannon resolu-
tions, when the Roman Catholic Bill was in the committee,* Mr.
Gardiner said, that he was happy to find that liberal spirit of
toleration which had originated in that house, had so universally
diffused itself through the whole kingdom ; and he rejoiced, that
where ill-nature had supposed that prejudice would prevail, be-
nevolence was seen to flourish. The delegates at Dungannon
had manifested that the people of the north were as forward to
grant toleration as the Catholics could be to receive it. An ob-
jection, he said, had been started to the bill, as originally intro-
duced, which had so much weight with the house as induced
him to postpone it to that day. He hoped, by an amendment,
• Viz. on the 20th of February, 1782. 1 Pad. Debates, p. 148.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 2/9
which he now intended to make, to obtain the unanimous appro-
bation of the house ; and though he did not in it recite all that
multifarious code, through the long and dark labyrinth of which,
unenlightened by any ray of mercy, he deemed it impossible to
find his way ; yet, by simplifying the clause objected to, he con-
ceived that the wishes of every gentleman would be gratified;
they would clearly see what was granted to Catholics, and he
hoped would think the grant but reasonable.
It was further urged, that if this law should pass, there would
be no longer any restraint on Roman Catholics. But was it not
a restraint upon a man, that he could hold no trust or office in
the state? That he could not be a member of parliament, a justice,
or a grand juror of the peace ? That he could not serve in the
army of his country ; have a place in the revenue ; be an advo-
cate or attorney ; or even become a freeman of the smallest cor-
poration ? If gentlemen laboured under these incapacities them-
selves, would they think them no restraints? He had divided the
indulgencies, which he thought ought to be granted to Roman
Catholics, into five heads, four of which he intended to move as
amendments to the clause. The first, and that which he then
intended to propose to the committee, respected their enjoyment
of property : the second, the free exercise of religion : the third,
education : the fourth, marriage : and the fifth, which, from the
disposition of the committee, he did not then think expedient to
agitate, regarded self-defence.
Mr. Fitzgibbon exerted himself in supporting the cause; he
explained the nature of the privileges which were going to be
granted ; and concluded, that though it would be improper to
allow Papists to become proprietors of boroughs, there was no
good reason why they should not possess estates in countries, or
why Protestant tenants holding under them, should not enjoy a
right of voting for members of parliament. The attorney general,
Sir Hercules Langrishe, Sir Henry Cavendish, Mr. Ogle, the
Provost, Mr. Walsh, Mr. D. Daly, Sir Boyle Roche, and Mr.
Bagnal, spoke warmly for the bill : Mr. St. George, Mr. Wynne,
and Colonel Wynne opposed it. Mr. Flood said, that he always
wished to embosom the Roman Catholics in the body of the
state ; yet without courting praise on one hand, or fearing censure
on the other, he would deliver his free opinion on this great sub-
ject. About five years ago, said he, a law was passed, granting
the Roman Catholics infinitely less than was then proposed : the
day was celebrated with rejoicing, and it was thought they had
reconciled every party. He was sorry to hear gentlemen speak
as if nothing had been done for them. In the former laws, leases
for years were granted to them upon the avowed principle of re-
straining them from any influence in elections. This law went
280
beyond toleration, it gave them a power, and tended to make a
change in the state. If they gave them equal power with the
Protestants, the present constitution could not survive. Though
they wished to extend toleration to Roman Catholics, they did
not wish to shake the government ; they should allow them to
purchase lands, but should carefully guard against their possess-
ing any power in the state.
Mr. Grattan said, u I object to any delay which can be given
to this clause; we have already considered the subject on a larger
scale, and this is but a part of what the clause originally contained.
We have before us the example of England, who four years ago
granted Catholics a right of taking land in fee ; the question is
merely, whether we shall give this right or not, and if we give
it, whether it shall be accompanied by all its natural advantages?
Three years ago, when this question was debated in this house,
there was a majority of three against granting Catholics estates in
fee, and they were only allowed to take leases of 999 years. The
argument then used against granting them the fee was, that they
might influence elections. It has this day been shewn, that they
may have as effectual an influence by possessing leases of 999
years, as they can have by possessing the fee ; at that time, I do
declare I was somewhat prejudiced against granting Roman
Catholics estates in fee, but their conduct since that period has
fully convinced me of their true attachment to this country.
When this country had resolved no longer to crouch beneath the
burthen of oppression that England had laid upon her; when she
armed in defence of her rights, and a high-spirited people demand-
ed a free trade, did the Roman Catholics desert their country-
men? No: th&y were found amongst the foremost. When it
was afterwards thought necessary to assert a free constitution,
the Roman Catholics displayed their public virtue ; they did not
endeavour to take advantage of your situation; they did not
endeavour to make terms for themselves, but they entered frankly
and heartily into the cause of the country ; judging by their own
virtue, that they might depend upon your generosity for their
reward. But now, after you have obtained a free trade, after the
voice of the nation has asserted her independence, they approach
this house as humble suppliants, and beg to be admitted to the
common rights of men. Upon the occasions I have mentioned,
I did carefully observe their actions, and did then determine to
support their cause whenever it came before this house, and to
bear a strong testimony of the constitutional principles of the
Catholic body. Nor should it be mentioned as a reproach to
them, that they fought under the banner of King James, when
we recollect that before they entered the field, they extorted from
him a Magna Charta, a British constitution. In 1779, when the
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 281
fleets of Bourbon hovered on our coasts, and the Irish nation
rouged herself to arms, did the Roman Catholics stand aloof?
Or did they, as might be expected from their oppressed situation,
offer assistance to the enemy? No: they poured in subscriptions
for the service of their country, or they pressed into the ranks
of her glorious volunteers.
" It has been shewn that this clause grants the Roman Catho-
lics no new power in the state ; every argument, therefore, which
goes against this clause goes against their having leases for 999
years: every argument which goes against their having leases
for 999 years, goes against their having any leases at all : and
every argument which goes against their having property, goes
against their having existence in this land. The question is now,
whether we shall grant Roman Catholics a power of enjoying
estates, or whether we shall be a Protestant settlement or an Irish
nation? Whether we shall throw open the gates of the temple of
liberty to all our countrymen, or whether we shall confine them,
in bondage by penal laws ? So long as the penal code remains,
we never can be a great nation; the penal code is the shell in
which the Protestant power has been hatched, and now it is be-
come a bird, it must burst the shell asunder, or perish in it. I
give my consent to the clause in its principle, extent, and bold-
ness, and give my consent to it as the most likely means of obtain-
ing a victory over the prejudices of Catholics, and over our own.
I give my consent to it, because I would not keep two millions
of my fellow subjects in a state of slavery; and because, as the
mover of the declaration of rights, I should be ashamed of giving
freedom to but six hundred thousand of my countrymen, when I
could extend it to two millions more."
Fortunately for the Catholics, Mr. Gardiner's bill was not made
a government question, or otherwise it would probably have
fallen before the same majority that had uniformly opposed every
constitutional question that had been brought before them since
the commencement of the American war. The nearer that fatal
ministry drew to its dissolution, the more violent were its agoniz-
ing struggles against the patriotic efforts of Ireland to obtain a
free and independent constitution. Within the octave of the
great civic festival at Dungannon, Mr. Grattan, as the herald and
oracle of his armed countrymen, once more addressed the House
of Commons.* u After the ample discussion," said he, " in this
house, of the present question of right on the 19th of April, 1780,
and the universal reprobation of the assumption of the British
parliament, to bind this kingdom, then received, I' had been silent
on that subject, if that parliament had not since that time conti-
* On the 22d of February, 1782. 1 Parl. Deb. p. 266.
VOL. II. N n
282 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
nued its tyrannical and unconstitutional assumption, by enacting
several laws to bind Ireland, which I have in my hand, as also a
proclamation in the Irish Gazette, where the execution of a Brit-
ish statute is enforced : measures that evidently shew, that the
British nation, so far from relinquishing the claim of usurped
authority in this kingdom, have still the same spirit of making
laws for us, which they keep alive by renewing their claim on
every occasion. These fresh instances of British usurpation,
added to that disgraceful and unrepealed act of the 6th of Geo.
I. which declares Ireland bound at all times by the legislature of
Great Britain, makes it necessary at this time for the parliament
of Ireland to come to an explanation concerning its privileges,
arid the injured rights of the nation. And what are the boasted
relaxations Britain has granted to us? The first was in 1778, as
contemptible in principle as in effect ; for after a bar of lawyers
had been brought to plead against Ireland in the English House
of Commons, we are permitted to export every thing except our
manufactures. Their favour was an insult and aggravation to
our misery. The minister sends over to know the causes of our
distresses, and he is answered from his agents here, that it was
done away, and that we were satisfied, by being permitted to
cultivate tobacco. The second period was in 1 779, when govern-
ment abdicated the defence of Ireland, and Ireland appeared in
arms ; the minister now changed his tone, he glanced a tempo-
rary gleam of hope upon our shields ; he gave us every thing, but
kept the power of taking it back ; he retained a mutiny bill and
the post-office act. The third period was a ministerial address
of thanks, evidently calculated to dissolve the union of the peo-
ple ; it had its effect in a paroxysm of ease, and when it was
known, that the strength of this house was dissolved, and that the
glory of 1779 was no more, an order comes over to oppose on
every occasion the latent claims of Ireland ; to oppose an Irish
mutiny bill, to alter the sugar bill ; and when Lord Hillsborough
found you had lost all veneration for yourselves, he lost it for you
likewise. The reprobated measure of a perpetual mutiny bill
followed ; but you have not done with it yet, you have stabbed
your country, and the wound is festering. Emboldened by your
dissolution, English acts binding Ireland were passed last winter.
Is the claim of the British parliament to legislate for this king-
dom given up, as I have heard some gentlemen say in this house ?
How futile and ridiculous now do these arguments appear, that
declared the return of the Irish mutiny bill was a renunciation
of legislation on the part of England. How futile and absurd
are all the arguments that teemed on that occasion from the gov-
ernment press ? I am for tranquillity ; it is for honourable tran-
quillity ; but when I see an administration, unable to make a
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 283
blow against an enemy, tyrannize over Ireland, I am bound to
exert eveiy power to oppose it.
" Ireland is in strength ; she has acquired that strength by the
weakness of Britain, for Ireland was saved when America was
lost : when England conquered, Ireland was coerced ; when she
was defeated, Ireland was relieved ; and when Charleston was
taken, the mutiny and sugar bills were altered. Have you not
all of you, when you heard of a defeat, at the same instant con-
doled with England, and congratulated Ireland?
" If England were for a moment awake to her own interests,
she would come forward, and invite us to her arms, by doing
away every cause of jealousy. How, but by the strictest domes-
tic union, can Great Britain, with only eight millions of people,
oppose the dreadful combination of seven millions in Spain, with
twenty-four millions in France, and two in Holland ? Will she
cast off three millions of brave and loyal subjects in Ireland, at so
critical and eventual a time ?
" An Irish army, the wonder of the world, has now existed
for three years, where every soldier is a freeman, determined to
shed the last drop of blood to defend his country, to support the
execution of its laws, and give vigour to its police. The enemy
threaten an invasion, the Irish army comes forward, administra-
tion is struck dumb with wonder, their deputies in their military
dress go up to the Castle, not as a servile crowd of courtiers at-
tending the lord lieutenant's levee, but as his protectors, while the
cringing crowd of sycophants swarm about the treasury, and,
after having thrown away their arms, offer nothing but naked
servitude.
" You are now losing the British constitution, which by com-
pact you were to possess ; two councils, with more than parlia-
mentary power ; dependent judges, a mutiny bill lost, and gov-
ernors like the Roman pro-consuls in distant provinces are sent
over to fleece you.
" A general election is shortly to take place ; what will be your
answer to those who have sent you hither, when you resign your
delegated trust, and they ask you, Where are our rights ? Where
is our sugar bill ? Where our mutiny bill ?
" What will be the consequence of your not explaining your
rights now ? When a peace happens it will then be too late ; your
island will be drained of its people, the emigrants will say, let us
E refer freedom in America to slavery at home, and cease to be
is majesty's subjects here, to become his equals there. Let us
not therefore suffer the same men, whose infamous arts were re-
probated in America, to succeed here." He then made his mo-
tion for an address to his majesty.
284 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" To assure his majesty, of their most sincere and unfeigned
" attachment to his majesty's person and government.
" To assure his majesty that the people of Ireland were a free
" people ; that the crown of Ireland was a distinct kingdom, with
" a parliament of her own, the sole legislature thereof.
" To assure his majesty, that by their fundamental laws and
" franchises, which they on the part of this nation claimed and
*' challenged as their birth-right, the subjects of that kingdom
*' could not be bound, affected, or obliged, by any legislature, save
" only the King, Lords, and Commons, of that his majesty's
" realm of Ireland ; nor was there any other body of men, who
" had power or authority to make laws for the same.
" To assure his majesty, that his majesty's subjects of Ireland
" conceived, that in that privilege was contained the very essence
" of their liberty, and that they tendered it as they did their lives,
" and accordingly had with one voice declared and protested
" against the interposition of any other parliament in the legisla-
" tion of that country.
" To assure his majesty, that they had seen with concern, the
" parliament of Great Britain advance a claim to make law for
" Ireland, and their anxiety was kept alive, when they perceived
" the same parliament still persist in- that claim, as might appear
" by recent British acts, which affected to bjnd Ireland, but to
" which the subjects of Ireland could pay no attention.
" To assure his majesty, that next to their liberties, they va-
" lued their connexion with Great Britain, on which they con-
" ceived, at that time most particularly, the happiness of both
" kingdoms did depend, and which, as it was their most sincere
" wish, so should it be their principal study to cultivate and ren-
" der perpetual. That under that impression, they could not
" suggest any means, whereby such connexion could so much
" be improved or strengthened, as by a renunciation of the claim
*' of the British parliament, to make law for Ireland, a claim
" useless to England, cruel to Ireland, and without any founda-
" tion in law.
" That impressed with an high sense of the unanimity and
u justice of the British character, and in the most entire reliance
" on his majesty's paternal care, they had set forth their right
" and sentiments, and without prescribing any mode to his ma-
" jesty, throw themselves on his royal wisdom."
Mr. Brownlow seconded the motion, and said, the people
know their rights, and it is needless for government to pretend
to oppose what must at last be obtained.
Mr Hussey Burgh spoke also in favour of the address.
The attorney general rose to oppose the address : he observed,
that they were desired to address the king, that he would interfere
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 285
with his parliament of Britain, to renounce any claim of autho-
rity over Ireland. The time was most improperly chosen to
agitate that question, and the object of the motion utterly im-
practicable. He said, he did not mean to agitate the question of
right ; the act of the 6th of George the First was certainly of lit-
tle ornament upon the statute book, and of still less use ; yet if
it gave nothing to England, it certainly took away nothing from
Ireland. The question answered itself. Were they to agree to
the address, and the British parliament should declare, that they
never had any right to bind Ireland, in what a miserable situa-
tion would that country be placed. He had looked over the
papers of the forfeited estates, and found that there was scarcely
a man in the house, that did not enjoy some portion of them, nor
a county in Ireland, of which they did not make a considerable
part. A worthy representative of the county of Cavan holds a
large property, formerly forfeited, and afterwards granted by an
English law. Would he doubt the validity of his title ? many
gentlemen who heard him were in the same situation. Some
days ago the observation of a learned friend of his (Mr. Fitz-
gibbon) electrified the house, when he told them, that they were
about to disturb all property derived under the laws of forfeiture,
&c. &c. What then must be their feelings, when desired to
loose all the bands which unite society, and leave almost the whole
property of the kingdom to be grappled for by the descendants
of the ancient proprietors.
The honourable gentleman had said, that now when Great
Britain was hemmed in by enemies on every side, when sinking
under a load of debt, and the repeated strokes of ill fortunes, no
resistance could be feared from her, when Ireland was in full
vigour, expert in arms, and almost certain of success now was
the proper time for demanding from Britain the relinquishment
of what their ancestors had handed down from age to age ; to
make the British parliament eat up their words and humble them-
selves; to make them disclaim a power which they had exercised
for the benefit of Ireland, and to plunge the nation into an armed
anarchy. If an ambassador from France or Spain, or if the
boldest agents for the rebels of America were at the bar to urge
the house in language such as that, he should not be much sur-
prised; for it ill accorded with the loyal and liberal feelings of
Irishmen, who scorn to take advantage of an enemy in distress,
but always remember acts of friendship with gratitude ; he was
therefore against the address, because it would give the world
an opportunity of saying, Ireland had made demands on Great
Britain, and was in arms to enforce them. He was against it
because it was a challenge, though couched in terms of civility ;
because it tended to anarchy and misrule; because the thing con-
86 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
tended for could never gain strength but by struggle ; and because,
if obtained, it would shake all the property in the nation. Upon
those principles he thought it an honour to oppose the address in
any way ; but from respect to the honourable mover, he would
not give it a direct negative, but move to have it put oft" to the
first of August; upon which motion the house divided, 137 for
the attorney general's motion, and 68 against it.
As government affected, that the late division against the ad-
dress did not involve the question of right in Great Britain to
bind Ireland by legislative acts, the patriots resolved to return to
the charge, and force, if they possibly could, an acknowledgment
from a majority of that house, of the independence of Ireland
upon the British legislature. On the 26th of February, 1782,
*Mr. Flood, in a short but elegant speech of about fifteen mi-
nutes, stated the rights of Ireland, and then moved the two fol-
lowing resolutions :
1st. " That the members of this house are the only represent-
" atives of the people of Ireland."
2d. " That the consent of the commons is indispensably neces-
" sary to render any statute binding."
The second, he said, he would not move till the first was de-
termined upon.
The solicitor general opposed the motion as unnecessary, and
what every man allowed. He moved an amendment after the
word resolved, " That it was not now necessary to declare."
This brought on a debate, as he declared the amendment was
proposed in order to negative the motion if the amendment
passed.
The amendment was supported by Mr. Fitzgibbon, Mr. Ma-
son, Sir Boyle Roche, and other gentlemen. The resolution was
supported by Mr. Ogle, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Brownlow, Mr.
Forbes, &c.
Mr. Yelverton openly challenged any man. The attorney
general repeated his former opinion. He observed, that he had
before declared he would not go into the question of right, and
that, therefore, it was unfair and uncandid in any gentleman to
extort his expression, or assume for granted positions not under
debate. He then rose to deliver his political creed. England
had assumed and exercised a power of making laws to bind Ire>-
land ; she had repealed some of them that were oppressive, and
that house had returned thanks for the repeal; but he should
shake all the property of the land by declaring that the laws
under which it was holden had no authority ; and, therefore, it
was best to leave those statutes as they were : yet, as an Irish-
* 1 Parl. Debates, p. 279.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 287
man, and a friend to Great Britain, he would say, that if Great
Britain should attempt to make any new laws, they would not be
obeyed. He was the depositary of the laws of Ireland, not of
England; and it is absurd to suppose, that an officer delivering
his opinion, could give away any right that did exist : the legis-
lature alone, that made laws, had power to repeal them.
Sir Hercules Langrishe said, that universal coincidence of
opinion on this subject, and the universal acknowledgment of the
great truth which was the substance of the resolution, made the
motion unnecessary, and if it were necessary, it was unadvisable.
The honourable member knew there was but one opinion on that
subject through the nation : the nation to a man, from the ma-
gistrate who was to enforce, to the people who were to obey the
laws: they had all declared it; and that conviction impressed on
the minds of a spirited people, was a security an hundred times as
strong as any parliamentary declaration of their own, which could
give no strength to the great charter which they read in their
statute book, or the great enforcement they felt in themselves.
If they complained of the laws, they seemed to feel them. If
they neither acknowledged nor obeyed them, they could not feel
them. He concluded that it was not necessary to make that
declaration.
Mr. Daly and the Provost spoke in support of the independence
of Ireland, but did not see the necessity of making a declaration,
at that time on a subject which was not contested ; so when the
house divided there appeared for the declaration only 76, and
against it 137.
The heads of the Roman Catholic bill in their progress through
the committee occasioned several debates, in which most of the
speakers in the house delivered their sentiments : all unexception-
ably avowed principles of toleration, but many differed upon par-
ticular topics arising out of the general subject. Mr. Flood,
professing himself a friend to the bill, and declaring that he loved
and admired the Roman Catholics, wished them to have perma-
nent property, but not political power ; but conceived that the
possession of the fee simple would give political power, by com-
manding influence in elections. Mr. Montgomery supported
Mr. Flood's objection, as did also Mr. Warburton, Mr. Rowley,
Mr. John Burke, Mr. Coote, and particularly Mr. St. George.
Mr. Fitzgibbon, Mr. Mason, Mr. Bushe, and several others,
were strenuous against Catholics receiving foreign education,
and were for their being admitted to the University. Several
members objected against their being permitted the open and
public exercise of their religion, and still more against allowing
the same toleration to the regular clergy, as to the secular priests.
Mr. Yelverton, the Provost, General Cunningham, Mr. Grattan,
288 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Mr. Forbes, Mr. D. Daly, Mr. Hussey Burgh, Mr. Dillon,
Captain Hall, Sir Lucius O'Bryan, and Mr. Mossom, declared
themselves warm advocates for removing the whole penal code
from the Catholics, and zealously espoused their cause, not only
in justice to them, but for the general benefit and welfare of the
country. Mr. Gardiner, wishing to avail himself of the general
disposition of the house to grant some relief to the Catholics,
moulded the matter he had brought before the house into the
form of three separate bills, the first of which afterwards passed
into an act, entitled An Act for the further Relief of his Majesty's
Subjects of this Kingdom professing the Roman Catholic Religion.*
The act recites, u that all such subjects as had taken the oath of
allegiance prescribed by the 13th and 14th of Geo. III. c. 34.
ought to be considered as good and loyal subjects, and that the
continuance of several of the Popery laws affecting them, was un-
necessary, and injurious to the real welfare and prosperity of
Ireland." It then enables Catholics to take, hold, and dispose of,
lands and hereditaments in the same manner as Protestants:
except advowsons and manors, or boroughs returning members
for parliament. It removes several penalties from such of the
clergy as shall have taken the oath and been registered ; it con-
^fines its operation to the regular clergy then within that kingdom,
(by which the succession of other regulars from abroad might be
prevented) it deprives any clergyman officiating in a church or
chapel with a steeple or bell of the benefit of the act, and repeals
several of the most noxious parts of the acts of Ann and Geo. I.
and Geo. II. t
• 21 and 22 Geo. III. c. 24.
t Such as the power given to a magistrate to fine and imprison every Papist
refusing- to appear and declare upon oath when and where he had last heard
mass, vv ho celebrated and assisted at it, and the residence of any Popish eccle-
siastic : such as prohibited a Papist to have a horse of the value of 51. under
certain penalties, and which enabled the chief governor to seize all their horses
upon any invasion or intestine war likely to happen: such as enabled the grand
Jury to present the reimbursing of all robbericy and depredations of privateers
in time of war upon the real and personal estate of the Catholics within the
county: such as subjected every Catholic to certain penalties, who did not
provide a Protestant watchman to watch in his turn: and such as subjected
to certain penalties every Catholic, who should take or purchase a house in
Limerick or Galway, or the suburbs thereof.
Inthe course of these debates (1 Parl. Deb. p. 311.) Mr. Bushe expressed a
desire, that a clause should be inserted in the bill to ease the Roman Catholics
from a meet oppressive law then in being, which compelled them to make good
the depredations committed by robbers in the country in which they resided.
He instanced a transaction which happened within his own knowledge, in the
county of Kilkenny: a number of villains, under the denomination of White
Boys, assembled a few years since, and did considerable mischief; the grand
jury, from the affidavits of the sufferers, granted a presentment accordingly;
a short time after, one of the offenders was apprehended, who proved to be a
Protestant, £jid \vas executed for the oftence. He said, there was no other
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 280
The second bill was for providing for the education of the
Catholics, which afterwards passed into a law, entitled* An
Act to allow Persons professing the Popish Religion to teach
School in this Kingdom, and for the regulating the Education of
Papists, and also to repeal Parts of certain Laws relative to the
Guardianship of their Children. The act repeals as much of the
acts of William and Ann as imposed on Catholics teaching school,
or privately instructing youth in learning, the same pains, penal-
ties, and forfeitures as any Popish regular convict was subject to;
but excepts out of its benefit, any person who should not have
taken the late oath of allegiance, who should receive a Protestant
scholar, or who should become an usher to a Protestant school-
master. The act also enables Catholics (not being ecclesiastics)
to be guardians to their own or any Popish child. When Mr.
Gardiner proposed his third bill, which was for establishing inter-
marriages between Protestants and Roman Catholics, the house
divided upon it, and the bill was negatived by a majority of
eight, f
Mr. Gardiner's bill, which in its original form was one, had
been long drawn and considered by men of eminence on both
sides of the water, before it was brought forward in the Irish
House of Commons. Much previous negociation was requisite
ere Mr. Gardiner dared venture to the discretion of the house.
• The great opposition to it ',vas given from the Archbishop of
Cashell's interest: several others, who held places under govern-
ment, were also adverse. Certain it is, that government gave no
direct countenance or support to it, though several supporters of
government cordially favoured the measure. These bills were
viewed in very opposite lights by different descriptions of per-
sons. Some considered them as ruinous to the Protestant as-
cendancy in Ireland, and therefore opposed them in every stage :
others considered them too liberal, although some encourage-
ment ought to be given to the long tried and then much wanted
fidelity of the Catholic body : a third was disposed to grant even
more than these bills imported; though they still maintained,
that the great body of the Irish Catholics were to be kept in a
proof required by this iniquitous act, to obtain a presentment on the Roman
Catholic inhabitants, than to swear that the plunderers spoke with the Irish
accent.
Another hardship that the people of that persuasion laboured under from
that oppressive la'.v, was, that an individual could be compelled to pay the
whole sum, notwithstanding he lived in a distant part of the country from the
place where the offence was committed.
One of the members instanced a gentleman who resided within a mile of his
mvn house, and near thirty miles from where the offence was committed, on
whom they levied the amount, by virtue of an execution taken out of the Crown
cffice, and that he and his family were beggars about the counUy ever after.
* 21 and 22 Geo. III. c. 62. t 10 1°"™- Com. p. 317.
VOL. II. O O
290 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
civil subordination to the privileged order of Protestants. And
a fourth openly and unequivocally declared, that national justice
and national policy demanded the complete emancipation of the
Catholics, and a perfect civil amalgamation of the whole Irish peo-
ple. There is no question, but that the slightest interference
of government would have procured at that time much larger »
concessions than those which the bills imported. The public
mind had not as yet shaken off its old trammels of prejudice.*
* The enlightened mind of Mr. Burke saw things as they really were through
the mists and clouds of invete ate habit, prejudice and bigotry, which disfi-
gured them to others. In a letter he wrote to a noble peer of Ireland upon this
bill (printed in London 1785) he says, " To look at the bill, in the abstract, it
" is neither more nor less than a renewed act of universal, unmitigated, in-
" dispensable, exceptionless disqualification. One would imagine that a bill
" inflicting such a multitude of incapacities, had followed on the heels of a
" conquest, made by a very fierce enemy, under the impression of recent ani-
" mosity and resentment. No man, on reading that bill, could imagine he was
" reading an act of amnesty and indulgence. This I say on memory. It re-
{ cites the oath, and that Catholics ought to be considered as good and loyal
' subjects to his majesty, his crown and government: then follows an universal
' exclusion of those good and loyal subjects from every, even the lowest office
' of trust and profit, or from any vote at an election ; from any privilege in a
' town corporate ; from being even a freeman of such corporations ; i'rom
' serving on grand juries; from a vote at a vestry; from having a gun in his
' house, from being a barrister, attorney, solicitor, or &c. &c. &c.
" This has surely more of the air of a table of proscriptions, than an act of
" grace What must we suppose the laws concerning those good subjects to
" have been, of which this is a relaxation ? When a very great portion of the
" labour of individuals goes to the state, and is by the state again refunded to
" individuals through the medium of offices, and in this circuitous progress
" from the public to the private fund, indemnifies the families from whom it is
" taken, an equitable balance between the government and the subject is es-
" tablished. But if a great body of the people who contribute to this state
" lottery, are excluded from all the prizes, the stopping the circulation with
' regard to them must be a most cruel hardship, amounting in effect to being-
' double and treble taxed, and will be felt as such to the very quick by all the
' families high and low, of those hundreds of thousands, who are denied their
' chance in the returned fruits of their own industry. This is the tiling meant
' by those who look on the public revenue only as a spoil; and will naturally
" wish to have as few as possible concerned in the division of the booty. If a
" state should be so unhappy as to think it cannot subsist without such a bar-
" barous proscription, the persons so proscribed ought to be indemnified
' by the remission of a large part of their taxes, by an immunity from the
' offices of public burden, and by an exemption from being pressed into any
' military or naval service. Why are Catholics excluded from the law ? Do
' not they expend money in their suits ? Why may not they indemnify them-
' selves by profiting in the persons of some for the losses incurred by others ?
' Why may they not'iave persons of confidence, whom they may if they please,
'employ in the agency of their affairs? The exclusion from the law, from
' grand juries, from shcriffsbips, under-sherifiships, as well as from freedom in
' any corporation, may subject them to dreadful hardships, as it may exclude
' them wholly from all that is beneficial, and expose them to all that is mis-
" chievous in a trial by jury. This was manifestly within my own observation,
" for I was three times in Ireland since the year 1760 to the year 1767, where I
" had sufficient means of information, o.iicerning the inhuman proceedings,
'•' among which were many cruel murders, besides an infinity of outrages and
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 291
Many cried loudly against persecution, who still voted for the
disabilities, pains, penalties, and forfeitures of their fellow sub-
jects. The rejection of the ^intermarriage bill, by the commons
of that day, evidently demonstrates the wishes and determination
of the majority of their house to keep Ireland a divided people,
in order to support the oligarchy of a privileged order over the
rest of the community, as a vilified and degraded cast.
Although these, and some other bills did not receive the royal
assent during the vice-royalty of Lord Carlisle, yet having been
brought forward under him, they may be considered as acts of
his administration. Such also was the buTf for establishing a
" oppressions unknown before in a civilized age, which prevailed during that
" period in consequence of a pretended conspiracy among the Roman Catholics
" against the king's government. I could dilate upon the mischiefs that, may
" happen, from those which have happened upon this head of disqualification, if
" it were at all necessary.
" The head of exclusion from votes for members of parliament is closely
" connected with the former. When you cast your eye on the Statute Book,
" you will see, that no Catholic, even in the ferocious act of Queen Anne, was
" disabled from voting on account of his religion ; the only conditions required
'* for that privilege were the oaths of allegiance and abjuration, both relative
" to a civil concern. Parliament has since added another oath of the same
" kind; and yet an House of Commons adding to the securities of government
" in propoi'tion as its danger is confessedly lessened, and professing both con-
" fidence and indulgence, takes away, in effect, the privilege left by an act full
" of jealousy, and professing persecution.
" The taking away of a vote is the taking away the shield which the sub-
" ject has, not only against the oppression of power, but that worst of all op-
" pressions, the persecution of private society and private manners. No can-
" didate for parliamentary influence is obliged to the least attention towards
" them, either in cities or counties. On the contrary, if they should become
" obnoxious to any bigotted or malignant people, amongst whom they live, it
" will become the interest of those who court popular favour, to use the num-
" berless means which always reside in magistracy and influence, to oppress
" them. The proceedings in a certain county in Munster during the unfortu-
" nate period I have mentioned, read a strong lecture on the cruelty of depriv-
" ing men of that shield, on account of their speculative opinions."
* Mr. Burke has also spoken strongly of the act prohibiting the intermar-
riage of Protestants and Catholics, which was passed in the short administra-
tion of Lord Chesterfield " Mr. Gardiner's humanity (says he, p 25) was
" shocked at it, as one of the worst parts of that truly barbarous system, if
" one could well settle the preference, where almost all the parts were out-
" rageous on the laws of humanity, and the law of nature. This man, (Lord
" Chesterfield) while he \\ an duping the credulity of Papists with fine words
" in private, and commending their good behaviour during a rebellion in Great
" Britain, as it well deserved to be commended and rewarded, was capable of
" urging penal laws against them in a speech from the throne, and stimulating
" wii.h provocatives the wearied and half exhausted bigotry of the then p'rtia-
" ment of Ireland. They sat to work, but were at a loss what to do ; for they
" had already almost gone through every contrivance, which could waste the
" vigour of their country : but, after much struggle, they produced a child of
" their old age, the shocking and unnatural act about marriages, which tended
" to finish the scheme fir making the people not only two distinct parties for
" ever, but keeping them as two distinct species in the same land."
f 21 & 22 Geo. III. c. xvj.
2S2
national bank of Ireland, with some other beneficial bills of regu-
lation. As the Irish administration was but a subordinate part
of that of Great Britain, it was natural, that the lord lieutenant
and his secretary should carry on matters with a less high hand,
when once they perceived the opposition in Great Britain daily
gaining ground, and hastening the downfal of that ill-fated* min-
istry, which had weakened the British empire by the loss of her
American colonies, the useless sacrifice of one hundred thousand
lives, and the accumulation of above a hundred millions of na-
tional debt.
* The first unequivocal symptom of the downfal of Lord North's adminis-
tration, was the resignation of Lord George Germaine (3 Eels. Mem. Geo.
III. p. 244). The unpopularity of the American secretary was so great and
manifest, that he now thought it expedient, seeing parliamentary censures
likely to become again in fashion, to resign the seals of that department, and
for his eminent services, he was, by his majesty, raised to the dignity of the
peerage. But before the great seal was affixed to the patent, the Marquis of
Carmarthen moved in the house of peers, •' That it was highly derogatory to
" the honour of that house, that any person labouring under the sentence of a
" court-martial, styled in the public orders issued by his late majesty, a ccn-
" sure much worse than death, and adjudged unfit to serve his majesty in any
" military capacity, should be recommended to the crown as a proper person
" to sit in that house."
The motion was evaded by the question of adjournment ; but Lord George
Germaine having actually taken his seat in the house under the title of Lord
Viscount-Sackville, the Marquis of Carmarthen renewed his attack, and urged,
" That the house of peers being a court of honour, it behoved them to preserve
" that honour uncbntaminated, and to mark in the most forcible manner their
" disapprobation of the introduction of a person into that assembly who was
" stigmatized in the orderly books of every regiment rn the service."
Lord Abhigdon, who seconded the motion, styled the admission of Lord
George Germaine to a peerage, " An insufferable indignity to that house, and
" an outrageous insult to the public."
The motion was powerfully supported by the Duke of Richmond, Lord South-
ampton, the Earl of Shelburne, the Marquis of Rockingham, and other distin-
guished peers. On the division, nevertheless, it was rejected by a majority of
93 to 28 voices: a protest, however, was entered on the journals of the house,
declaring the promotion of hi* lordship to be " A measure fatal to the interests
" of the crown, insulting to the memory of the late sovereign, and highly de-
* rogatory to the dignity of the house."
Mr. Fox, on the 20th of February, 1782, again brought forward his motion
of censure, somewhat varied, on Lord Sandwich, which was negatived by a
majority of 19 voices only, in a house consisting of 453 members ; but to the
astonishment of the nation, the noble lord still daringly kept possession of his
office, although 217 members of the House of Commons had pronounced him
" Guilty of a shameful mismanagement of the naval affairs of Great Britain.'*
And on the 22J of February , General Conway moved " For an address to the
" king earnestly imploring his majesty that he woukl be graciously pleased to
•* listen to the humble prayer and advice of his faithful Commons, that the war
" on the continent of North America might no longer be pursued, for the' im-
" practicable purpose of reducing that country to obedience by force." This was
opposed in a long speech by Mr. \V~elhore Ellis, (now Lord Mendip) the rew
secretary for the American department ; and on the division, the minister had
the fearful majority of one voice only. On Mr. W. Ellis Mr. Burke was pow-
erfully severe in his answer. " This war," said he, " had been amazingly
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 29S
One of the last acts of Mr. Eden's, in the commons, was the
communication of his majesty's gracious answer to their address
relative to the* affairs of Portugal, on the 5th of March, 1782.
Lord Carlisle now foreseeing in the change of ministry a total
ehange of principles and measures with reference to Ireland, and
" fertile in the growth of new statesmen ; the right honourable gentleman was
" indeed an old member, but a young secretary. Having, however, studied at
" the feet of Gamaliel, he had entered into full possession of all the parliamen-
" tary qualifications, by which his predecessor had been so conspicuously dis-
" tinguished ; the same attachments, the same antipathies, the same extrava-
" gant delusion, the same wild phantoms of the brain, marked the right hon-
" ourable gentleman as the true ministerial heir and residuary legatee of the
" noble viscount : and notwithstanding the metamorphosis he had recently
" undergone, he was so truly the same thing in the same place, that justly
" might it be said of him, ' alter et idem nascitur,' being of the catterpillar
" species, he had remained the destined time within the soft and silken folds
" of a lucrative employment, till having burst his ligaments, he fluttered forth,
" the butterfly minister of the day,"
On the 15th of March, 1782, a resolution was made by Sir John (now Lord)
Rous, a man once zealously attached to Lord North's administration, that the
house, taking into consideration the debt incurred, and the losses sustained in
the present war, could place no further confidence in the ministers, who had
the direction of public affairs. A violent debate ensued ; on the division, the
numbers were, 227 for, and 236 against the motion. And on the 19th, the
Earl of Surrey (now Duke of Norfolk) had proposed to move a similar reso-
lution ; but when his lordship was about to rise, Lord North addressed him-
1 self to the speaker, and said, " That as he understood the object of the noble
" lord's motion to be the removal of ministers, he wished to prevent the neces-
" sity of giving the house further trouble, by an explicit declaration, that his
" majesty had come to a determination, to make an entire change of adminis-
'•' tration ; and he and his colleagues, only retained their official situation till
" other ministers were appointed to occupy their places."
* The answer was to the following effect : " His majesty has received the
" address of the House of Commons with that affectionate satisfaction which
" their professions of duty, loyalty, and zealous attachment to his person and
" royal family, never fail to excite in his majesty's breast ; and his majesty
" does not admit a doubt, that those principles will continue to constitute, as
" they have hitherto invariably done, a most distinguished part of the charac-
" ter of his people of Ireland.
" His majesty gives his faithful commons the strongest assurances, that the
•' confidence they so dutifully repose in his paternal protection, which has been
*' constantly exerted during the course of his reign, in promoting and estab-
" lishing the prosperity of his kingdom of Ireland, is most justly founded, as
" no purpose is nearer his majesty's heart than to afford them every solid proof
" of that protection.
" His majesty is not surprised, that his faithful commons, always attentive
" to the true interest of this country, should have observed with alarm and
' concern, the obstruction given in the ports of Portugal to the importation of"
' Irish woollen and printed linen manufactures into that kingdom ; and the full
' satisfaction, which the House of Commons express in his majesty's solicitude
' upon this important subject, and in his unremmitted endeavours to open the
' eyes of Portugal, not only to the true sense of the treaties between the two
' crowns, but to a just understanding of her own real interests, is graciously
* accepted by his majesty.
" His majesty applauds the temper and moderation of his commons upon
" this occasion j such a conduct is always becoming- of their prudenc
294 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
having received no fresh instructions or support from the British
cabinet, wished only to carry some of the then pending bills up
to the lords, on the 14th of March, 1782, adjourned the parlia-
ment to the 16th of April. By that time i general change having
taken place in the British ministry, Mr. Eden went to London
with Lord Carlisle's resignation of the lieutenancy of that king-
dom, desiring only time to make some necessary arrangements,
and to close the session of parliament. On the 14th of April,
his Grace the Duke of Portland arrived in Dublin, and imme-
diately took upon him the chief government of Ireland. Mr.
Eden, very speedily after his arrival in England, laid before
the British parliament,* a view of the political history of Ireland
during the two last years ; acquainted the house with the mea-
sures which (he said) were then forming for rendering it totally-
independent of the British legislature ; and concluded with mov-
ing for leave to bring in a bill to repeal so much of the act of the
6th of George I. as asserted a right in the king and parliament
of Great Britain to make laws to bind that kingdom. The pre-
cipitation, with which a business of such magnitude and import-
ance was thus attempted to be forced on the house, without pre-
vious communication from any of his majesty's ministers, or
knowledge of their intentions, was severely censured, and the
more especially as it appeared, that the right honourable gentle-
man had refused to give any official information to government
relative to the state of the country he had just left. Mr. Eden,
though loudly called on to withdraw his motion, persisted in
urging its necessity ; and in vindication of his own conduct, stated,
that the reason of his refusing to have any communication with
his majesty's present servants, was the great want of attention to
the Earl of Carlisle, which they had shewn in the mode of ap-
pointing his successor, and in his removal from the lord lieute-
nancy of the East Riding of Yorkshire. This apology served
rather to increase the displeasure of the house ; a motion of cen-
sure on his conduct was threatened ; and it was with great diffi-
culty he was at last brought to comply with the general wish of
" dom, but particularly so in the present instance, as it affords time for fur-
" ther exertions towards bringing this business to a happy conclusion ; and the
" House of Commons may rest assured, that his majesty will persevere in
" every possible effort for the attainment of that desirable end."
* The debate on the situation of Ireland on the 8th of April, 1782, in the
British House of Commons, is so illustrative of the ancient system of govern-
ing' Ireland ; so explanatory of the views and motives of the different measures
imposed upon that kingdom by the British cabinet ; so demonstrative of prin-
ciples opposite to those of the Union and mutual prosperity of both, kingdoms,
that the reader will be happy to learn from the mouths of the actors themselves
a complete narrative of this great revolution in the kingdom of Ireland : for
which, vide Appendix, No. LXVIII, where the whole debate is g-iven.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 295
the house in withdrawing his motion. Mr. Fox informed the
house in the course of this debate, that the ministers of the crown,
during the short time they had been in office, had actually holden
three or four councils, solely on the affairs of Ireland : and that
he hoped very soon, perhaps within the next ibur-and-twenty
hours, to lay some preparatory measure before them.
On the the very next day, viz. April 9th, 1 782,* Mr. Secretary
Fox communicated the following message to the house :
" GEORGE R.
." His majesty being concerned to find, that dis-
" contents and jealousies are prevailing among his loyal subjects
" in Ireland, upon matters of great weight and importance, ear-
" nestly recommends to this house, to take the same into their
" most serious consideration^, in order to such a final adjustment
" as may give mutual satisfaction to both kingdoms. G. R."
Mr. Secretary Fox said, that he hoped the house would give
credit to his majesty's ministers on the subject of Ireland, and
believed that they had not, during the short interval they had been
in office, in any shape neglected to take into their consideration
the very serious and alarming condition of that country ; nor
should they suspect, that the present message from the throne
was brought down in consequence of the very singular motion
made in that house the day before. His m?jesty was most ear-
nestly desirous of settling the discontents and jealousies that sub-
sisted in the minds of his subjects of the kingdom of Ireland;
and surely they deserved the name of discontents and jealousies,
for they had risen to be very dangerous and alarming. The
measures, which his majesty's ministers conceived necessary to
be taken in the present instance, and which he was to propose to
the house, would require a great deal of most serious discussion.
He intended to move for an humble address to his majesty, to
assure his majesty that they would, without delay, take into their
most serious consideration this important subject; and endeavour
to assist his majesty's earnest and most gracious wishes to restore
confidence and harmony between the two kingdoms. The right
honourable gentleman said, that though the words " without de-
lay," were introduced into the motion for the address, it was by
no means his intention to urge the house to any hasty or prema-
ture measure, which might heal the differences for a time, with-
out putting a final stay and conclusion to the business. The
house would perceive, that in the pretensions of the Irish, ex-
pressed by the parliament and people, the matter contained no
* 7 Parl. Debates, p. 24. And on the same day, a message to the same
effect was delivered to the lords, the first day of their meeting', and addresses
were unanimously voted bv both houses.
296 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
less than the constitution of the kingdom ; that it comprehended
not only the commercial rights and privileges of the kingdom,
but also the legislative powers and royalty. The most important
objects were therefore embraced, and both nations were most
materially concerned in the discussion and settlement of the mat-
ter. The)* were topics, upon which the house would see his
majesty could not decide, without the assistance of his parlia-
ment ; nor, indeed, could it be done without the concurrence and
operation of both parliaments. To come to the business, there-
fore, with propriety, and in a manner which would give effect to
their proceedings, they must have full and authentic information ;
and both parliaments must take time in their deliberations, and
assist each other in the progress and conclusion of the business.
The hasty step promised yesterday by a right honourable gentle-
man, would have been most unwise and impolitic. It was the
duty of government to come to the matter for posterity, as well
as for the present day, and in quieting the existing jealousies, to
establish such a principle of relation and constitution as should
prevent future discontents from arising. He believed it would
be easy for the king's ministers to do as their predecessors had
done, to patch up a temporary cessation of claims, and leave to
those who were to come after them, all the dangers of an unset-
tled constitution, for the mean advantage of clearing themselves
from difficulties which they had not the courage to meet with
fairness; but they considered it as their duty to come with deter-
mined minds to the main question, and settle the true quality
and nature of the relationship which subsisted between the two
countries, to ascertain their distinct constitutions, and to establish
such an union between them as should endure for ages. He
hoped, from what passed yesterday, from the message of his ma-
jesty this day, and from the address to the throne in consequence
thereof, declaring, that they were determined to enter seriously
and without delay into the discussion of this business, it would
be clearly understood, that his majesty's ministers, and, what was
much more essential, the parliament, were disposed to settle this
business. This being carried over to the people of Ireland by the
new lord lieutenant, and communicated to that parliament, under
the most sacred assurances from the throne, would, as it ought,
have its effects upon our sister kingdom, and incline them to meet
this country with the same disposition to an amicable settlement
of the differences. When the lord lieutenant was settled in his
administration, the government of this country would not be de-
nied that information which was essential to the knowledge and
discussion of the subject; and he assured the house, that when-
ever his majesty's ministers should be in possession of that infor-
mation, they would lay it before parliament, to assist them in
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 297
their deliberations on the important point. This was the plan
which they intended to pursue in the setdetnent of this business ;
and they hoped to have the assistance of all the ability, zeal, af-
fection, and honesty of both kingdoms, in bringing it to a happy,
a speedy, and a permanent conclusion. He then moved, tiiat an
humble address be presented to his majesty, to return his majesty
the thanks of that house, »or his most gracious message ; and to
assure his majesty, that the house, feeling with his majesty the
deepest concern, that discontents and jealousies should have
arisen among his majesty's loyal subjects in Ireland, would, with-
out delay, take the same into their most serious consideration, in
order to such a final adjustment as might give mutual satisfac-
tion to both kingdoms.
The honourable Colonel Fitzpatrick begged leave to say a few
words upon his leaving this country to take upon himself a most
important office, for which, he said, he felt himself very unquali-
fied, that of secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland. He de-
clared, that he had been prevailed upon to accept of that office,
in the firm persuasion and confidence, that his majesty's present
ministers were sincere in their professions, and that they were
earnestly disposed to make such concessions to Ireland as should
quiet their jealousies, and give satisfaction to their minds. If
he had not had this opinion of the king's ministers, no circum-
stance upon earth could have induced him to take a situation,
which, at any time, he would not have coveted, and which only
such opinion and confidence could make him endure. He thought
and believed, that it was the wise policy of this country to make
those concessions, as from the establishment of a firm and friendly
relation, founded upon a clear and known constitution, the most
happy consequences would be derived to both countries. He was
just on the point, he said, of leaving England, and he thought it
incumbent upon him to say thus much, that it might be known
upon what ground he was going to Ireland ; and it gave him
great pleasure to have it in his power, to communicate to the
House of Commons of that country, that this house expressed
the most zealous desire of coming to an amicable settlement of
all differences.
The Duke of Portland, on his arrival in Dublin, was reo. ived
with demonstrations of the most enraptured joy. When the par-
liament met according to adjournment, on the 16th of April, the
galleries and bar of the House of Commons were crowded, and
expectation was raised to enthusiasm. As soon as the speaker
had taken the chair, Mr. John iiely Hutchinson, his majesty's
principal secretary of state, arose, and announced to the house,
that he was charged by the lord lieutenant to communicate to
them a message from his majesty, of the same tenour as that
VOL. II. P p
298 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
which had been communicated to both houses of the British par-
liament. He begged to say a few words, not as an officer of the
crown, but as a gentleman of the country. As to the right of
that kingdom to be bounden by no other laws, but those made by
the King, Lords and Commons of Ireland, he had always asserted
it from the seat of judicature as a judge, and in that house as a
representative of the people. He should be glad that eveiy man
in Great Britain understood, that the claim was not new, it was
as old as the invasion of the right ; the principal Lords and Com-
mons of Ireland, in the year 1641, complained of it asjan innova-
tion unknown to their ancestors. Soon after the restoration, the
speaker of the House of Commons, in an address to the lord
lieutenant, and in the presence of both houses, stated the right of
Ireland to be governed only by laws made by her own parlia-
ment ; and soon after the revolution, this question was placed out
of the reach of controversy, by the work of a great scholar and
philosopher.
He then mentioned Mr. Grattan in terms of the highest re-
spect, and said, he must ever live in the hearts of his countrymen ;
but the present age and posterity would be indebted to him for
the greatest of all obligations, and would, but he hoped at a great
distance of time, inscribe on his tomb, that he had redeemed the
liberties of his country. He said, that whatever mode should be
proposed for the declaration of this right, in terms the most un-
equivocal and explicit, whether by vote, address, or bill, should
receive his strongest support, provided it contained such senti-
ments of duty and loyalty to the king, and affection to our fellow-
subjects of Great Britain, as every man in that nation felt. When
this point was fully established, it would let in new light on other
parts of the constitution. He had considered those statutes
called Poynings' law, as containing strong arguments in support
of the independence of the Irish legislature ; but this indepen-
dence being established, or at the eve of being so, he should
agree to a bill for the modification of Poynings' law, so as to pre-
vent the stopping or altering their bills in their privy council, or
the alteration of them elsewhere ; for he never could agree to give
any other privy council a power, which was taken from their
own.
He thought it necessary, that the mutiny bill should be made
triennial. He voted for it as such on its first introduction. The
consequence was, his having been represented very unjustly, as
inimical to the government, which he had so long served with
zeal and constancy. He voted for the present act to prevent that
disturbance of the public tranquillity, which the rejection of it
would have immediately and unavoidably occasioned : but had
declared, at the same time, his opinion in favour of a limited bill.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 29S
He observed, that there were objects of such national concern, as
could only be obtained by the spirit of the people ; that spirit
was now become universal, and it was the duty of the represent-
atives of the people, to repeat the public voice, and to conform
their conduct to the determined spirit of the nation. He recom-
mended to proceed with unanimity and firmness, with that duty,
loyalty, and attachment, which they owed to their sovereign, and
with that regard to the inseparable connexion between the two
kingdoms, which the constitution of Ireland and the mutual in-
terest of both kingdoms required.
Mr. George Ponsonby moved, that a dutiful and loyal address
should be presented to his majesty, thanking him for his most
gracious message, and assuring him, that his faithful commons
would immediately proceed upon the great objects he had re-
commended to their consideration.
Mr. Grattan said, he would state to the house his reasons for
changing, in some measure, the form of the address proposed by
the honourable gentleman, and hoped to induce the house, rather
to declare that they had considered the causes of jealousy, and
that they were contained in his original motion for a declaration
of rights, which he would then move as an amendment to the
address. He said he had nothing to add, but to admire by what
steady virtue, the people had asserted their own rights. He was
not very old, and yet he remembered Ireland a child. He had
watched her growth ; from infancy she grew to arms ; from arms
to liberty. She was not now afraid of the French ; she was not
now afraid of the English; she was not now afraid of herself.
Her sons were no longer an arbitrary gentry ; 'a ruined common-
alty ; Protestants oppressing Catholics ; Catholics groaning under
oppression: but she Was now an united land.
This house agreeing with the voice of the nation, passed the
popery bill, and by so doing got more than it gave, yet found ad-
vantages from generosity, and grew rich in the very act of charity.
Ye gave not, but ye formed an alliance between the Protestant
and the Catholic powers, for the security of Ireland. What sig-
nifies it, that three hundred men in the House of Commons :
what signifies it that one hundred men in the House of Peers
assert their country's liberty, if unsupported by the people ? But
there is not a man in Ireland ; there is not a grand jury ; there is
not an association ; there is not a corps of volunteers ; there is
not a meeting of their delegates, which does not maintain the in-
dependence of the Irish constitution, and pledge themselves to
support the parliament in fixing that constitution on its rightful
basis. Gentlemen will perceive, that I allude to the transaction
at Dungannon: not long ago the meeting at Dungannon was con-
sidered as a very alarming measure, but I thought otherwise ; I
300 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
approved of it, and considered the meeting of Dungannon as an
original transaction. As such only it was matter oi surprise.
What more extraordinary transaction than the attainment of
Magna Charta? It was not attained in parliament, but by the
barons, armed, and in the field. A great original transaction is
not founded in precedent, it contains in itself both reason and
precedent; the revolution had no precedent.
In this country every man has his share in the government;
and in order to act or speak, they must confer. Now, did not
necessity compel them to act? Did not necessity compel them
to speak? And will not their resolutions tend to restore the
rights of their country ? They resolve, u that a claim of any body
u of men, other than the King, Lords and Commons of Ireland, to
" make laws to bind this kingdom, is unconstitutional and a
" grievance."
is there any man who will deny it, for what were volunteer
associations formed, but for the maintenance of the law ? What
is Poynings' law, and the unconstitutional power of the Irish or
English privy council, but a grievance ? What is a perpetual
mutiny bill, but a grievance ? Is there any man who will deny it,
or say that we have not cause to complain of this execrated stat-
ute? And if you feel the injury, the people are ready to support
you. They protest against an independent army ; against a de-
pendent legislature ; against the abomination of a foreign legisla-
ture ; against the assumed authority of council, they were more
constitutional than more formal assemblies ; they have protested
only against what parliament ought to redress ; and pray, sir, have
not the constituents a right to inform their representatives? If
England wishes well to Ireland, she has nothing to fear from her
strength. The volunteers of Ireland would die in support of
England. This nation is connected with England, not by allegi-
ance only, but by liberty. The crown is one great point of union,
but Magna Charta is a greater. We could get a king any where,
but England is the only country from which we could get a con-
stitution. We are not united with England, as Judge Blackstone
has foolishly said, by conquest, but by charter. Ireland has Bi itish
privileges, and is by them connected with Britain: both countries
are united in liberty. This being the decided sense of the na-
tion, the men who endeavoured to make our connexion with
England quadrate with this sense, are friends to England. We
are friends to England on perfect political equality. This house
of parliament knows no superior ; the men of j reland acknow-
ledge no superiors ; they have claimed laws under the constitu-
tion, and the independence of parliament under every law of God
and man. He then spoke upon the appellant jurisdiction of the
House of Lords; and he thought that in order to eradicate eveiy
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 301
cause of jealousy, the final judicature should reside in the peers
of Ireland.
He again returned to the mutiny bill and Poyxungs law, v/hich
he condemned in the most forcible manner. He said, that he
wished to become the decided friend of the Duke of Portland,
for removing every cause of complaint from Ireland, and that these
were the terms on which he was ready to support his govern-
ment :
A repeal of the 6ih of George I. including a restoration of the
appellant jurisdiction to the lords of Ireland.
An abolition of the unconstitutional power of privy councils.
And a repeal of the mutiny bill.
A judge's bill he refrained from mentioning, as he had heard
it was returned.
" I cannot imagine (continued he) that the present ministers of
England will oppose those rights of the Irish nation ; they have
been for many years advocates for the liberties of England and
of the colonies ; it was the great rule of their opposition, and it is
impossible that men who are ready to grant independence to
America, can oppose the independence of Ireland."
Mr. G rattan then moved, v/hich was resolved Nem. Con.
" That an humble address should be presented to his majesty,
"' to return his majesty the thanks of that house for his most
" gracious message.
u To assure his majesty of their unshaken attachment to his
" majesty's person and government, and of their lively sense of his
u paternal care, in thus taking the lead to administer content to
" his subjects.
" That thus encouraged by his royal interposition, they should
" beg leave, with all duty and affection, to lay before his majesty
" the cause of their discontents and jealousies. To assure his
" majesty, that his subjects of Ireland were a free people ; that
u the crown of Ireland was an imperial crown, inseparably an-
" nexed to the crown of Great Britain, on which connexion the
" interests and happiness of both nations essentially depended :
" but that the kingdom of Ireland was a distinct kingdom, with a
u parliament of her own, the sole legislature thereof; that there
" was no body of men competent to make laws to bind this
" nation except the King, Lords and Commons of Ireland; nor
" any other parliament, which had any authority or power, of
" any sort whatsoever, in that country, save only the parliament
" of Ireland. To assure his majesty, that they humbly conceived
" that in that right the very essence of their liberties existed: a
" right which, on the part of all the people of Ireland, they claim-
" ed as their birth-right, and which they could not yield up but
" with their lives. To assure his majesty, that they had seen
302 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" with concern certain claims advanced by the parliament of
u Great Britain, in an act, entitled An Act for the better securing
" the Dependency of Ireland; an act containing matter entirely
" irreconcileable to the fundamental rights of that nation. That
" they conceived that act, and the claims it advanced, to be
" the great and principal cause of the discontents and jealousies
" in that kingdom. To assure his majesty, that his majesty's
" commons of Ireland did most sincerely wish, that all the bills
" which became law in Ireland, should receive the approbation of
" his majesty under the great seal of Great Britain ; but that yet
" they considered the practice of suppressing their bills in the
" council of Ireland, or altering the same any where, to be ano-
" ther just cause of discontent and jealousy. To assure his ma-
" jesty, that an act, entitled An Act for the better Accommodation
" of his Majesty's Forces, being unlimited in duration, and defect-
" ive in other instances, but passed in that shape from the parti-
" cular circumstances of the times, was another just cause of dis-
" content and jealousy in that kingdom. That they had submit-
" ted these the principle causes of the present discontent and jea-
" lousy of Ireland, and remain ia humble expectation of redress.
" That they had the greatest reliance on his majesty's wisdom,
" the most sanguine expectations from his virtuous choice of a
" chief governor, and great confidence in the wise, auspicious,
" and constitutional councils, which they saw, with satisfaction,
" his majesty had adopted. That they had, moreover, a high
" sense and veneration for the British character, and did there-
" fore conceive, that the proceedings of that country, founded as
" they were in right, and tempered by duty, must have excited
" the approbation and esteem, instead of wounding the pride of
u the British nation. And they begged leave to assure his ma-
" jesty, that they were the more confirmed in this hope, inasmuch
" as the people of that kingdom had never expressed a desire to
" share the freedom of England, without declaring a determina-
" tion to share her fate likewise, standing and falling with the
" British nation."
Although the short space of six weeks had scarcely elapsed
since the House of Commons had triumphantly boasted of their
steady adherence to the dictates of the Castle in rejecting every
effort of the patriots to attain that constitutional liberty which
they had been labouring at for years ; although no change had
taken place during that short interval in the internal policy or sit-
uation of the country, unless the love and desire of liberty were
increased by resistance ; although the prevalence of example in
the recognition and successful establishment of American inde-
pendence had added to the enthusiasm for Irish freedom, the
ductile and instantaneous versatility of that very majority in sup-
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 3O3
porting the propositions which they had before rejected, is a politi-
cal phenomenon, worthy of the most serious observation. All
the ministerial members of independent fortune started up in ra-
pid succession to purify their past conduct by disclaiming the in-
fluence of place or emolument : the chastest motives of patriot-
ism had induced them hitherto to oppose that very system, on
which by the magic of new appointments they now discovered
the salvation of their country depended : they even professed,
that they held and believed those constitutional questions which
they had so steadily and uniformly opposed when they were re-
peatedly brought forward by the patriots. On the delivery of
this message, and after Mr. Grattan's speech to the house, Mr.
Fitzgibbon defied the house to charge him with ever having as-
serted the supremacy of the British parliament ; though he con-
fessed he had voted with ministers against the declaration of rights,
as judging it then improper to be moved ; and more especially
as he knew Lord Carlisle was then labouring with his utmost
interest and influence to procure the repeal of the 6th of Geo. I.
This gentleman spoke the language of his friends, and boldly
declared in the house,* that as the nation was then committed to
obtain a restoration of their rights, it behoved every man to stand
firm. A congratulatory address to the Duke of Portland was
proposed by Mr. O'Neil, and unanimously voted ; which had no
sooner passed, than Mr. Fitzgibbon observed, that as the sudden-
ness of Lord Carlisle's departure had rendered it impossible to
convey to him the opinion entertained of his administration in the
way of address, he should move a resolution of that tendency ; f
which was seconded by Mr. Daly.
" 1 Parl. Debates, p. 342.
•j- Lord Carlisle returned thanks to the speaker of the House of Commons in
the following letter :
" SIR, Dublin, 17tb April, 1782.
" I have received your letter, communicating1 a vote of the House of Com-
' mons, acknowledging in terms highly flattering to me, the uniform and un-
' remitted attention with which I have endeavoured during my administration,
' to promote the welfare of this kingdom : I request you to offer to that house,
' where you so worthily preside, my most sincere thanks, for this mark of
' national approbation. It is with cordial pleasure, that I shall ever reflect on
' the fortunate combination of circumstances, if by them I have been enabled
' to encourage the commercial interests of the kingdom, to promote the great
' improvements of this metropolis, to give a new spring to the public credit,
' to see the liberty of the subject secured by law, to add weight and dignity to
' the administration of justice, conciliate to his majesty's government every
' persuasiontand description of men, and finally to mature the measures of unit-
' ing a loyal people in general harmony and happiness. Permit me to offer
' you my best thanks, for the very obliging expressions with which you have
' accompanied this communication. I have tile honour to be, &c.
\ " CARLISLE."
301- AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Mr. O'Neil said, he was happy in paying his tribute to the
late lord lieutenant : he had acted in his support, he admired his
character, he approved his government.
Mr. Grattan could not agree to the motion, however Lord
Carlisle might be respectable in character. Many of his measures
he had disapproved and opposed; and as he could not support
the motion without implying an approbation of the government,
he felt himself bounden to resist it ; as did Mr. Forbes and some
other members.
Mr. Toler, Mr. John Beresford, the attorney general, Mr.
Clements, the recorder, Mr. Gardiner, the provost, and most
of the leading members of the late administration, spoke in the
highest strain of panegyric upon Lord Carlisle's administration ;
and the resolution was carried without a division, there being
about five noes.
The first division which took place in the commons under the
administration of the Duke of Portland, was on the Roman Ca-
tholic bills, when there appeared 57 for and 11 against them.*
On the 4th of May, 1782, the house adjourned for three weeks,
in order to give time to the determination of the British ministry
in respect to the claim made by the parliament of that kingdom
for a declaration of rights. The length of adjournment was ra-
ther opposed by Mr. Martin, which brought on an interesting
conversation, in which Mr. Fitzgibbon and Mr. Scott, the at-
torney general, spoke on the independent rights of Ireland with
as much enthusiasm as the highest flying patriot under the late
administration. They both pointedly reprobated the appellant
jurisdiction to the House of Lords in Great Britain, and follow-
ed Mr. Grattan in calling upon their countrymen to renounce it
for ever. It is but justice to those noble patriots, by whose per-
severing and undaunted efforts Ireland regained her rights, to
hand down to posterity some of the avowals and honourable tes-
timonials of those very persons who marshalled the ranks, who
stimulated the spirit, who led on the charge of their opponents in
the long unavailing struggle for liberty.
Mr. Fitzgibbon, referring to his former declaration, " that as
he had been cautious in committing his country, so now that it
was committed, he would be firm in supporting its rights ;" said,
that as the right of making laws to bind Ireland lay in their King,
Lords, and Commons, to the total exclusion of all foreign inter-
ference, it was idle to suppose that any appeal ought to lie from
the law courts there : and the attorney general said, he was per-
suaded, that if after what had passed and been pressed by so many
gentleman of consideration and distinction he should remain si-
* 1 I'arl. Deb. p. 35.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND.
lent, there was not a man in that house who would not attribute
tt to fear, paltry fear of losing his office and situation ; he had, he
confessed, heretofore protracted, postponed, palliated, and en-
deavoured to sooth that country from declarations or acts of ex-
tremity; his sentiments had been much misrepresented to his dis-
advantage ; but he was not surprised or offended, that the nation,
eager in the pursuit of a great and favourite object, should have
considered any man who seemed to differ from them in senti-
ment, as an object of detestation and resentment. He thought it
better, that every object of those British laws should be doomed
to destruction, than that his country should longer even be sup-
posed to be in a state of slavery ; he therefore called the attention
of the house to bear witness, that by holding a mysterious or equi-
vocal silence longer upon the subject of right, he should do equal
injury to the interests of Great Britain and Ireland. He did conse-
quently, as a lawyer, a faithful servant to the crown, a well-wisher
to both countries, and an honest Irishman, in the most unqualified,
unlimited, and explicit manner, declare his opinion, that Great
Britain had no right whatsoever to bind that country by any law;
and that such acts as had been passed for that purpose in Great
Britain, were founded in usurpation or th$ necessity and confu-
sion of the times ; that he never had a doubt upon the question of
right, though from motives of prudence and a desire of peace, he
had heretofore thought it necessary not to declare any opinion
upon the question of right. Their conduct during the present
American war, entitles them, he said, to more than they asked.
Another event which had lately happened, and made it necessary
for him to speak out, was Mr. Wallace's bill, offering freedom to
America. This act operated as an act of pains and penalties to
the loyalty of Ireland ; for if America be declared free, and Ire- ,
land left in slavery, no man of either spirit, sentiment, or proper-
ty, would remain in the country an hour after America should
have been declared independent. Ireland would become the ab-
solute sink of the universe, the only part of the British dominions,
which could not boast the freedom of the British constitution.
As the friend of Great Britain and Ireland, he thought it neces-
sary to express these sentiments boldly ; for if in his situation he
were longer to continue silent, it might be thought in Great
Britain, that there was yet a diversity of opinion in Ireland.
The situation of Ireland was now fairly brought under the full
consideration of his majesty's servants;* and the necessary con-
* We are informed by Lord Clare (Sp. 33) that on the 6th of May the Duke
of Portland wrote to Lord Shelburne, " recommending1 to the British cabinet
" concession of all the points demanded by the Irish addresses," but " stating
*' his perfect confidence in the readiness of the Irish parliament to co-operate
" in the most effectual measures either with the king's confidential servants, or
" by commissioners to be appointed, or through the medium of the chief gov-
VOL. II. Q_q
3o6 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
sequence of it, was a proper sense of the spirit, strength, and
importance of Ireland, and of the necessity of a cordial co-opera-
tion of the two countries for the prosperity of the British empire,
By accord the whole powers of the state were brought to bear
Upon the point on the same day (17th May, 1782) in the houses of
both parliaments. The Earl of Sheiburne (now Marquis of
Lansdown) in the British House of Peers moved to have the
king's message, the addresses of the Lords and Commons of Ire-
land in return to it, and the 6th of George I. for the better secur-
ing the dependence of Ireland on the crown of Great Britain,
read ; and when they had been read, in a most liberal, instruc-
tive, and constitutional speech, he displayed the powers of the
accomplished orator and statesman. He proposed to lay before
their lordships his sentiments without the least reserve, to make
a full discussion of one of the most important subjects that ever
came before them, and to observe in that stage of the business
that same open, frank, and strict conduct which he had ever ob-
served in his communication with Ireland. It always had been,
and it always should be the line of his conduct, to act openly and
without disguise, trusting that as he spoke his own sentiments
freely, and never should attempt to deceive parliament, other
lords would express theirs with as little reserve; for he wished
to invite an open discussion of great national questions. Ireland
had demanded by the papers on the table, four things ; the first
and the most essential to them was a free constitution, which
they would not be said to enjoy while they were subject to
laws not made with their own consent. But this had long been
a subject of complaint ; and it was one of the great grievances
required to be redressed by every part of the Irish in the war
which began in 1640.
The claim had at all times been made, and now that Ireland
was united, religious disputes all composed, growing in wealth
and strength, and fast improving in all the arts of peace, it was
impolitic, it would be unjust, and he believed he might appeal to
their lordships' conviction, that it would be impossible to resist
the claim: he should therefore move a repeal of the act he had
desired to be read, which would give quiet and satisfaction to the
' ernor; to settle the precise limits of the independence which was required,
' the consideration which should be given for the protection expected, and the
' proportion which it would be proper for them to contribute towards the
' general support of the empire; in pursuance of the declaration contained in
' the concluding1 paragraph of their own address. The regulation of the trade
' would make a very necessary article of the treaty." This communication
was made by the Duke of Portland before the claims of Ireland were brought
into discussion in the British parliament : and plainly on the faith of this repre-
sentation made to the British cabinet, of the readiness on the part of Ireland to
settle every question of imperial policy or regulation which might thereafter
arise, the subject of the Irtish claims was brought on in the British parliament.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. SO,'
minds of the Irish, and leave no cause to check the affection and
^eal they felt for this country, whose fate they had declared them-
selves willing to share. There was in this act another matter,
the judicature of the lords, which he was aware would be thought
by some to be distinct from the legislature. It happened, that
the two subjects were clearly connected in the act he had moved
to repeal ; the history of which he fully went into.
That was all he meant to propose, as matter of parliamentary
decision ; but there were other points for the executive power,
which he did not mean to dissemble, for in all affairs he desired
to be plain, open, and direct. The condition of the Irish parlia-
ment was singularly clogged by ancient statutes, framed for the
times, and which, though softened by practice, were still a great
ch^ck to their freedom. Their lordships would see he meant
Poynings' law ; of the unreasonableness and inconveniency of
which he spoke very fully. The people of Ireland wished to be
relieved from it, and either by a repeal, or a modification, he
thought it was sound wisdom to comply with their desires. The
perpetuity of the mutiny act was another subject of complaint, in
which he thought, as it was a matter of internal regulation, it was
just to comply with the desire of Ireland, that there should be no
distinction between that country and Great Britain. He conclud-
ed with expressing his strong reliance on the affection and grati-
tude, which such fair and liberal concessions would excite, and
strenuously urged the necessity of union at that moment with cur
sister kingdom, and that she might be made to feel in the language
of our holy prayers, that our service is perfect freedom,
He concluded with reading two motions:
First, " That it was the opinion of that house, that the act of
" the 6th of George 1. entitled An Act for the better securing the
" dependency of Ireland upon the Crozvn of Great Britain, ought to
** be repealed."
Second, " That it was the opinion of that house, that it was
" indispensable to the interests and happiness of both kingdoms,
" that the connexion between them should be established by mu~
" tual consent, upon a solid and permanent footing, and that an
" humble address should be presented to his majesty, that his
" majesty would be graciouslv pleased to take such measures as
" his majesty in his royal wisdom should think most conducive
ft to that important end."
When he had moved the second,
The Earl of Carlisle, in an elegant speech, expressed his appro-
bation of the motions. He bore ample testimony to the zeal and
loyalty of the Irish, and particularly stated the honourable conduct
of the volunteers, and the liberal offers made of their service,
when Ireland was threatened with an attack. He said, that had
S08 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
he been more persuaded than he was, that Ireland had ever relin-
quished its right of free legislation, which he knew they neither
had, nor could give up, he should still have thought it wise to
accede to their claim ; because he knew, that from the gratitude
and affection of the country, and the wisdom of the parliament,
much more advantage would arise to this country, than by main-
taining any offensive and ill-founded pretensions to control over
them.
Lord Camdtn, Lord Ashburton, the Dukes of Richmond and
Chandos, and indeed the whole House of Peers eagerly assented
to Lord Shelburne's motions, except Lord Loughborough (now
Earl of Roselyn) who tenaciously opposed them ; and he alone
prevented them from passing Nemine Contradicente. *On the
same day the House of Commons resolved itself into a com-
mittee upon the Irish addresses, when Mr. Fox, with his usual
liberality, candour, and power, said, he would speak as plainly, as
roundly, and intelligibly as he could. He considered the same
four points, to which Lord Shelburne had confined the demands
of Ireland, and spoke minutely to each : and first, on the 6th of
Geo. I. it had always been his opinion out of office, that it was
downright tyranny to make laws for the internal gavernment of
a people, who were not represented among those by whom such
laws were made. This was an opinion so founded in justice,
reason, and equity, that in no situation had he, or would he ever
depart from it. Ireland had reason to spurn at the power of ex-
ternal legislation, because it had been hitherto employed for the
purpose only of oppressing and distressing her. Had Ireland
never been made to feel this power as a curse, she never would
have complained of it ; fatally for this country, the power of ex-
ternal legislation had been employed against Ireland as an instru-
ment of oppression, to establish an impolitic monopoly in trade ;
to enrich one country at the expense of the other. When the
Irish first complained of this monopoly, about four years ago, and
asked as favours what they might have claimed as a right, they
were opposed in that house, and their demands, which were no
less modest than just, were disregarded. The demands were re-
jected, when the then first confidential servant of the crown came
down to vote against them ; the influence of the minister was
exerted perhaps for the purpose of preserving a few votes on
other occasions, and the rights and distresses of Ireland were
consigned to oblivion.
It was his intention not to pursue the footsteps of his predeces-
sors ; and therefore he would agree to the demands of the Irish,
•relative to the 6th of Geo. I. not because he was intimidated, and
* 7 Parl. Deb. p, 1(15.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 309
afraid to oppose them ; but because he believed them to be found-
ed in justice ; for his part he had rather see Ireland totally sepa-
rated from the crown of England, than kept in obedience only by
force ; unwilling subjects were little better than enemies ; it would
be better not to have subjects at all, than to have such as would
be continually on the watch, to seize the opportunity of making
themselves free. If this country should attempt to coerce Ireland,
and succeed in the attempt, the consequence would be, that, at
the breaking out of every war with any foreign power, the first
step must be to send troops over to secure Ireland, instead of
calling upon her to give a willing support to the common cause.
As the people of Ireland had one and all declared, that they
would not execute or obey any order of any English tribunal, it
would therefore be nugatory and absurd to maintain the appellant
jurisdiction to Great Britain ; and consequently it would be bet-
ter to give it up with a good grace, than to keep it as a bone of
contention between the two countries. He came next to the mo-
dification of the law of ^Poynings' , which he was free to confess
appeared to him improper : and therefore he -could have no ob-
jection to advise his majesty to consent to the modification, that
they required of that law ; but he was convinced, that like the
6th of Geo. I. this power of altering might have still remained, if
an improper use had not been made of it ; but to his knowledge
it had been grossly abused ; in one instance in particular, a bill
had been sent over to England two years ago, granting, and very
wisely and very justly granting, indulgencies to the Roman Ca-
tholics ; in that same bill there was a clause in favour of the Dis-
senters for repealing the sacramental test ; this clause was struck
out, contrary in his opinion, to sound policy, as the alteration
tended to make an improper discrimination between two descrip-
tions of men, which did not tend to the union of the people. It
was by such conduct, that the Irish were driven to pronounce the
interference of the English privy council in altering their bills, a
grievance, though in his opinion, the power would never have
been complained of, if it had never been abused. He came lastly
to the mutiny bill, and he freely confessed, that it was no matter
of surprise, that the Irish should object to a clause which gave a
perpetual establishment to a military force in their country ; and
so hostile did he deem such a clause to the constitution of Eng-
land as well as of Ireland, that if the Irish had never mentioned
this law among their grievances, he would have held it to be his
duty, as an Englishman, to have recommended the repeal of it.
Ireland had spoken out, and clearly and plainly stated what she
wanted ; he would be as open with her, and though he might
perhaps have been better pleased, if the mode of asking had been
different, still he would meet her upon her own terms, and give
310 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
her every thing she wanted, in the way which she herself wished
for it. She thereiore could have no reason to complain ; the
terms acceded to by England, were proposed by he-self ; the
manner of redress had been prescribed by herself, and all her
wishes would now be gratified in the way which she herself liked
best : but as it was possible, that if nothing more was to be done
than what he had stated to be his intention, Ireland might per-
haps think of fresh grievances, and rise yearly in her demands ;
it was fit and proper that something should be now done towards
establishing, on a firm and solid basis, the future connexion of the
two kingdoms. But that was not to be proposed by him in par-
liament ; it would be the duty of the crown to look to that ; the
business might be first begun by his majesty's servants in Ireland ;
and if afterwards it should be necessary to enter into a treaty,
commissioners might be sent from the British parliament, or from
the crown, to enter upon it, and bring the negociation to a happy
issue, by giving mutual satisfaction to both countries, and estab-
lishing a treaty which should be sanctified by the most solemn
forms of the constitutions of both countries. He entertained no
gloomy thoughts with respect to Ireland : he had not a doubt but
she would be satisfied with the manner in which England was
about to comply with her demands; and that in affection, as well
as in interest, they would be but one people. If any man enter-
tained gloomy ideas, he desired him to look at the concluding
paragraph of the Irish addresses, where he would find, that the
Irish people and parliament were filled with the most earnest de-
sire to support England, to have the same enemy and the same
friend ; in a word, to stand or fall with England. He desired
gentlemen to look forward to that happy period, when Ireland
should experience the blessings that attend freedom of trade and
constitution; when, by the richness and fertility of her soil, the
industry of her manufacturers, and the increase of her population,
she should become a powerful country : then might England look
for powerful assistance-in seamen to man her fleets, and soldiers
to fight her battles. England renouncing all right to legislate for
Ireland, the latter would most cordially support the former as a
friend, whom she loved ; if this country on the other hand, were
to assume the power of making laws for Ireland, she must only
make an enemy instead of a friend ; for where there is not a com-
munity of interests, and a mutual regard for thoss interests, there
the party, whose interests are sacrificed, becomes an enemy.
The intestine divisions of Ireland were no more ; the religious
prejudices of former ages were forgotten, and the Roman Catho-
lics being restored to the rights of men and citizens, would be-
come an accession of strength and wealth to the empire at large,
instead of being a burthen to the land that bore them. The
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 311
Dissenters had tasted of the liberality of the legislature, and now
in common with their Roman Catholic brethren would enjoy that
happy toleration, which does not confer more happiness on those
who are the objects of it, .than it does honour to those who estab-
• lish it.
Upon the whole he was convinced, that the Irish desired
nothing more ardently than proper grounds for being most cor-
dially united to England ; and he was sure, that they would be
attached to this country, even to bigotry. Of the volunteers, he
must speak respectfully : they had acted with temper and moder-
ation, notwithstanding their steadiness : and he must in justice to
them, and to his own principles, declare, that they had not done
a single act, for which they had not his veneration and respect;
and whatever blame there might be discovered in the course of
the business, he did not impute a particle of it to Ireland, but
laid it all at the door of the late administration. He concluded
by moving, a That it is the opinion of this committee, that the act
" of the 6th of George I. entitled An Act for better securing the
" dependence of Ireland on the crown of Great Britain, ought to be
" repealed." He just observed, that this would be a pledge to
the Irish of the sincerity of his majesty's ministers to deal fairly
and openly with Ireland, through the whole of this important
business. Mr. T. Pitt, and several other gentlemen who had
before taken a part against Ireland, spoke in support of the mo-
tion : even Mr. Eden was forward in supporting it. The ques-
tion was carried unanimously.
Mr. Fox then moved for leave to bring in a bill for repealing
the 6th of George I. and then, that an address should be present-
ed to his majesty, praying, that he would be graciously pleased to
take such steps as should tend to render the connexion between
the two kingdoms solid and permanent. And lastly, that it was
the opinion of the committee, that the interests of the two king-
doms were inseparable, and that their connexion ought to be
founded on a solid and permanent basis ; which motions and re-
solution were unanimously agreed to.
In the meanwhile, a correspondence between the members of
the two countries was kept up. A letter was written on the 20th
of May, 1782, by the Duke of Portland, to Mr. Fox, in answer
to a despatch received from him. " I should be very glad to hear
" that Lord Charlemont was inclined to accede to any part, or
" even to the idea of such a plan as you have communicated to
" me ; I should think it a material step to that situation, in which
" it is the clear interest of both kingdoms to be placed, being con-
" vinced, that what is most like union, is the most probable bond
u of connexion to restore and perpetuate the harmony and pros-
u perity of the two countries." The Marquis of Rockinghatn
312 Ak HISTORICAL REVIEW
wrote about the same time to the same effect. His letter is dated
the 25th of May : " The essential points on the part of Ireland
44 now acceded to, will, I trust, establish a perfect cordiality be-
44 tween the two countries : and as there cannot now exist any
44 ground of contest or jealousy between them on matters of right,
44 the only object left for both will be, how finally to arrange, settle,
" and adjust all matters,whereby the union of power, strength, and
44 mutual and reciprocal advantage will be best permanently fixed.
44 I observe, in Lord Shelburne's letter to your grace of the 1 8th
•* of May, he states more reluctance to the idea of commission-
44 ers than I should judge to be the general opinion of his majes-
11 ty's servants ; the measure may be doubtful ; but if approved
*4 by the leading gentlemen of Ireland, might be productive of
ft much good."
On the 27th of May, 1782, the parliament of Ireland met ac-
cording to adjournment, when his grace the Duke of Portland
made the following speech from the throne :*
44 MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
44 It gives me the utmost satisfaction, that the first
" time I have occasion to address you, I find myself enabled, by
44 the magnanimity of the king, and the wisdom of the parliament
44 of Great Britain, to assure you, that immediate attention has
" been paid to your representations ; and that the British legisla-
** ture have concurred in a resolution to remove the causes of
" your discontents and jealousies, and are united in a desire to
" gratify every wish expressed in your late addresses to the
44 throne. ,
44 If any thing could add to the pleasure I feel in giving you
44 these assurances, it is, that I can accompany them with my
" congratulations on the important and decisive victory gained
44 by the fleets of his majesty, over those of our common enemy
41 in the West Indies, and on the signal advantage obtained by
44 his majesty's arms in the island of Ceylon, and on the coast of
*' Coromandel.
44 By the papers, which in obedience to his majesty's com-
44 mands, I have directed to be laid before you, you will receive
" the most convincing testimony of the cordial reception, which
44 your representations have met with from the legislature of
44 Great Britain; but his majesty, whose first and most earnest
" wish, is to exercise his royal prerogative in such a manner as
44 may be most conducive to the welfare of all his faithful sub-
44 jects, has further given me in command, to assure you of his
44 gracious disposition to give his royal assent to acts to prevent
" the suppression of bills in the privy council of this kingdom,
* Parl. Debates, p. 355.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 313
w and the alteration of them any where ; and to limit the duration
41 of the act for the better regulation and accommodation of his
" majesty's forces in this kingdom to the term of two years.
" These benevolent intentions of his majesty, and the willing-
** ness of his parliament of Great Britain to second his gracious
" purposes, are unaccompanied by any stipulation or condition
" whatever. The good faith, the generosity, the honour of this
" nation, afford them the surest pledge of a corresponding dispo-
" sition on your part to promote and perpetuate the harmony,
" the stability, and the glory of the empire.
" On my own part 1 entertain not the least doubt, but that the
" same spirit which urged you to share the freedom of Great
" Britain, will confirm you in your determination to share her
" fate also, standing and falling with the British nation."
After the speech was read, Mr. Grattan called the attention of
the house to a subject of the highest importance, and then spoke
as follows :* — u I should desert ever}7 principle upon which I
" moved the former address, (requiring a restoration of the rights
" of Ireland) did I not bear testimony of the candid and unquali-
" fied manner in which that address has been answered by the lord
" lieutenant's speech of this day. I understand that Great Britain
*' gives up in toto every claim to authority over Ireland. I have not
" the least idea, that in repealing the 6th of George I. Great Britain
" should be bounden to make any declaration, that she had form-
" erly usurped a power* No, this would be a foolish caution ; a dis-
" honourable condition. The nation that insists upon the humilia-
" tion of another, is a foolish nation. Ireland is not a foolish nation.
" Another part of great magnanimity in the conduct of Britain is,
" that every thing is given up unconditionally. This must for
" ever remove suspicion. On former occasions, when little acts of
" relief were done for Ireland, it was premised, that it was expe-
" dient to do them ; no such word is now made use of. Never
" did a British minister support such honourable claims on such
" constitutional arguments. \Vith respect to the writ of error,
" though not mentioned in our address, he took it up in the most
" effectual way ; and indeed the whole tenour of his conduct to-
" wards us has been most generous and sincere ; we had one
" advantage, he entertained an opinion, that Ireland was not in-
" satiable, though it had been asserted, that Ireland was insatia-
w He. But we are bound to prove the falsehood of that asser-
" tion ; for as the nation was pledged to itself to obtain a restora-
" tion of her rights ; so now that her rights are restored liberally
" and unconditionally, she is pledged to Great Britain, who, by
" acceding to our claims, has put an end to all future questions.
* 1 Parl. Debates, p. 855.
VOL. IT. R T
314 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
u We have now recovered a constitution, and our business is not
" to advance, but to maintain it. Ireland will manifest as much
" magnanimity in the moderation, by which she maintains her
u constitution, as by the exertions, through which it has been
" recovered. The unanimity with which- the British House of
" Commons acceded to our claims, must for ever do them hon-
" our ; and the single negative in the Lords, whilst it in no wise
" diminishes their praise, has its use ; it serves to discover, and
" for ever to exclude from trust or confidence in either nation,
" the man, who could not only oppose the interest and happiness
" of both, but also the ardent wishes and desires of his sovereign
" to make his people happy. We ought not to forget the able
" support given by those persons who composed the late admin-
*' istration of Ireland ; it must be highly agreeable to those wh»
" compose the present.
" The things so graciously offered by our sovereign, are, the
" modification of Poynings' law ; and not only the abridgment of
a the mutiny bill, in point of duration, but the forming it on the
" model of the English mutiny bill, and prefacing it with a de-
" claration of rights.
" As Great Britain and her ministers have unconditionally
" agreed to the demands of the Irish, I think the spirit of the
" nation is called upon to make an unconditional grant to Eng-
u land. The sea is the element to which nature points, as the
" scene of British glory ; it is there we can most effectually assist
" her. Twenty thousand seamen would be a noble support; and
" we, who have been squandering the public money in all the
" waste of blind extravagance, cannot surely now deem 100,000/.
" too large a sum, when applied to the common defence of the
u empire : the sum is trifling, but the assistance of 20,000 Irish-
" men would be great ; and gentlemen will now, when they retire
a to their different counties, have a full opportunity in assisting"
" to raise those men, and of maniiesting their zeal for the common
" cause of Great Britain and Ireland. There are also other means
" of support in our power to give to Britain, though they cannot
" immediately be entered upon. This country is most happily
" situated for the construction of docks, and the rendezvous of
" shipping ; whatever expense might be incurred by such neces-
*' sary works, would be repaid by the expenditure of the money
" amongst ourselves, and might be supported by a prudent and
w economical management of the public revenues, in the savings
" of the army, and in every different class of extraordinaries.
" An expense of 1 7/. per cent, in the collection of the revenue,
" cannot be justified ; the commissioners will now see, that money
" is to be paid for labour, not for prostitution ; therefore let us
'•' now enter, heart and hand, into the great work of reformation.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 315
** by giving our support to that ministry which has rescued this
" country from oppression, and will rescue it from corruption.
14 On this principle I shall move you an address, devoid of all
44 that fulsome panegyric so commonly offered to his majesty ;
u for I think that truth will be the highest compliment to him."
Mr. Grattan then moved,
" To assure his majesty of our unfeigned affection to his royal
" person and government; that we feel most sensibly the atten^
<; tion, which our representatives have received from the magnani*
" mity of his majesty, and the wisdom of the parliament of Great
*' Britain.
*4 To assure his majesty, that we conceive the resolution ibr an
" unqualified, unconditional repeal of the 6th of George I. to be a
41 measure of consummate wisdom and justice, suitable to the
44 dignity and eminence of both nations, exalting the character
" of both, and furnishing a perpetual pledge of mutual amity.
44 To assure his majesty, that we are sensibly affected by his
" virtuous determination to accede to the wishes of his faithful
44 people, and to exercise his royal prerogative in a manner most
" conducive to their welfare ; and accordingly we shall imme*
44 diately prepare bills, to carry into execution the desires of hig
44 majesty's people, and his own most benevolent purposes.
44 That gratified in those particulars, we do assure his majesty,
" that no constitutional question between the two nations will any
4' longer exist, which can interrupt their harmony ; and that Great
44 Britain, as she has approved of our firmness, so may she rely
" on our affection. That we remember, and do repeat our de-
44 termination, to stand and fall with the British nation.
44 That we perceive with pleasure the magnanimity of his ma-
" jesty, to disdain the little policy of making a bargain with his
" people ; and feeling with pride the confidence he reposes in the
'' good faith, generosity, and honour of the Irish nation, we an-
*' swer with all humility, that his majesty entertains a just sense
" of our character. Common interest, perpetual connexion, the
44 recent conduct of Great Britain, a native affection to the British
44 name and nation, together with the constitution, which we have
44 recovered, and the high reputation which we possess, must ever
44 decide the wishes as well as the interest of Ireland, to perpetu-
14 ate the harmony, stability, and glory of the empire. Accord-
" ingly, we assure his majesty, that we learn with singular satis-
4t faction the account of his brilliant successes in the East and
44 West Indies, gratified at one and the same instant in our dear-
44 est wishes, the freedom of Ireland, and glory of Great Britain.
44 That we cannot omit expressing our gratitude to his majesty,
44 for appointing the Duke of Portland to the government of this
44 kingdom.
316 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
"That we are convinced his representations were faithful, vigor-
" ous, and beneficial. We are acquainted with his character;
" and reiving on his upright and frugal administration, make no
" doubt but a free people, and uncorrupt parliament, will unite to
" give a constitutional chief governor decided support.
" That we have presumed to lay before his majesty our genu-
" ine sentiments on the change of our situation. His majesty
" will receive them as the voluntary unstipulated tribute of a free
" and grateful people."
Mr. Brownlow expressed his extraordinary satisfaction in
seconding the motion. Both nations were now one people united
by every tie, enjoying in common the same liberty, the same con-
stitution, and the same sovereign. He had heard several addresses
moved for in that house, and he might safely add, not one of which
conveved truth : but that address spoke the sincere language of
the nation, where Protestant, Roman Catholic, all religions press-
ed forward with gratitude in the present moment to hail the na-
tion's acquisition of a constitution. Almost the whole house rose
successively to make public profession of their joy and gratitude
on the happy event. Two gentlemen only differed upon the pro-
priety of the following words in the address, viz. That there will
no longer exist any constitutional question between the trvo nations^
that can disturb their mutual tranquillity. The house divided upon
the words objected to; when there were for the address as it
stood 211, and the noes were the two tellers, the Recorder and
Mr. Walsh.*
* Although these two gentlemen only out of the whole House of Commons
in Ireland were of opinion, that any constitutional question between the two
nations was still outstanding; yet Lord Clare, in order to prove that the trans-
actions of 1782 between Great Britain and Ireland were not considered as final,
tells us, that on the 6th of June the Duke of Portland thus wrote to Lord Shel-
burne; " I have the best reason to hope that I shall soon be enabled to trans-
mit to you the sketch or outlines of an act of parliament to be adopted by the
legislatures of the respective kingdoms, by which the superintending- power
and supremacy of Great Britain, in all matters of state and general commerce,
will be virtually and effectually acknowledged j that a share of the expense
in carrying on a defensive or offensive war, either in support of our own do-
minions, or those of our allies, shall be borne by Ireland in proportion to the
actual state of her abilities, and that she will adopt every such regulation as
maybe judged necessary by Great Britain for the better ordering' and secur-
ing her trade and commerce with foreign nations, or her own colonies s.nd de-
pendencies, consideration being duly had to the circumstances of Ireland I
am flattered with the most positive assurances from and of their
support in carrying such a bill through both houses of parliament, and I
think it most advisable to bring it to perfection at the present moment." And
he happened to know from an official quarter, that the sketch of such an act of
parliament was then drawn. He knew the gentleman who framed it, and he
knew from the same quarter, that blank and 'blank and blank and blank did un-
equivocally signify their approbation of it. This communication was received
with the satisfaction which it demanded by the British cabinet. On the 9th
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. sir
No sooner had this motion been disposed of, than Mr. Bage-
nal,* a man of sterling sense and independence both of mind and
of June Lord Shelburne wrote to the Duke of Portland in answer to his la'st des-
patch : " The contents of your grace's letter of the 6th inst. are too important
•' to hesitate about detaining the messenger, whilst I assure your grace of the
" satisfaction, which I know your letter will give the king. I have lived in the
" most anxious expectation of some such measure offering itself: nothing- pre-
" vented my pressing it in this despatch, except having repeatedly stated the just
" expectations of this country, I was apprehensive of giving that the air ofde-
" mand, which would he better left to a voluntary spirit of justice and foresight.
"No matter who has the merit, let the two kingdoms be one, which can only
" be by Ireland now acknowledging the superintending power and supremacy
" to be where nature has placed it, in precise and unambiguous terms. I am
" sure I need not inculcate to your grace the importance of words in an act,
" which must decide on the happiness of ages, particularly in what regards con-
" tribution and trade, subjects most likely to come into frequent question."
This bright prospect of peace and happiness was however very soon cloud-
ed; for on the 22d of June the Duke of Portland wrote to Lord Shelburne:
" The disappointment and mortification I suffer by the unexpected change in
" those dispositions, which had authorised me to entertain the hopes I had per-
" haps too sanguinely expressed in my letter of the 6th inst. must not prevent me
" from acquainting you, that for the present these expectations must be given
" up : I trust and am inclined to flatter myself they are only suspended, and
" that they will be revived when the temper of this country has recovered its
" tone, andrequired that degree of composure, which must give it the firmness
" necessary for effectuating so wise and salutary a measure By the accounts
" of the events of these three or four days, and by the timidity and ealousy of
" the first people in this country, it is clear that any injudicious or offensive
" measure may be prevented, but that any attempt to conciliate the minds.. of
" this nation to any such measure as I intimated the hope of, would at this
" moment be delusive and impossible."
* His speech was as follows : 1 Parl. Deb. p. 371. " I beg leave to con-
" gratulate this country. We have at last got the freedom which all the world
'* should have : it is our birth-right; but in our meridian there is no life with-
" out it ; our existence now begins, and will depend upon what use we make of
" the population and wealth that will result from the advantages of a free con-
" stitution.
" I will beg leave to congratulate England: instead of a nominal, or a repug-
nant dependent, she has now a powerful faithful ally, one that she can never
" exist without.
" I will beg leave to congratulate his majesty : he has conciliated three
" millions of such subjects as must make him happy; men willing to be loyal,
" as they are determined to be free.
" I will congratulate his ministers also : they may now depend upon such
" support as they ought always to look for. And to whom does the empire
" owe all this ? To a man principally, who is resolved to take no reward from
" government. I will not pretend to say he was wrong, though I know that
" such merit ought to be distinguished in every manner possible. Shall every
" body have what they ought to have, except him alone, to whom every indi-
" vidual in this empire is so much indebted, and by whose example every indi-
"' vidual in the universe may be so much benefited ? He has saved this empire
" from an iron age, and has restored an unequivocal golden one. By our afi'ec-
" tionate alliance with England we shall not only be benefited ourselves, but
" shall see a beloved sister revive, without any painful repining, or apprehen-
" sions for her prosperity. »
" In these happy circumstances, in which he has placed us (though I honour
" every private compliment as I may call those tluit I see paid to our illustrious
318 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
fortune, a steady and true patriot, and whose genius like his coun-
try owed more to nature than to art or cultivation, rose, and after
congratulating his country, Great Britain, his majesty, and his
ministers, for having obtained the greatest of all political bless-
ings, he called upon the house to confer some signal mark of a
great and grateful nation upon their illustrious benefactor Mr.
Grattan, whose efforts in procuring them these blessings htid been
timed and conducted with so much wisdom ; and considering
this great and good man as the father of his regenerated country,
he further called upon them to look upon him as the special in-
" benefactor) I believe there is no man that would not blush to think that a
" Grattan's child might point at a statue or monument, that has often been dedi-
" cated to slender or problematical merit, and say, that was my father's, your
" benefactor's only reward. I have therefore a motion to make you, which
" might appear like presumption in me, as it is of so much importance to the
" glory and interests of this kingdom, if I could suppose that any member of
" the British empire could give it a negative : the purport of it is, that we
" should take into consideration what sum we should grant for the purpose of
" purchasing a seat, and building a suitable mansion for our great benefactor,
" in testimony of our gratitude for the unequalled services that he has done for
" this kingdom. Were we to omit this, or should we do it in a manner unsuit-
" able to tlie situation he has raised us to, we should be very ungrateful indeed,
" and never might we expect, that a blessing could attend it.
" It must be needless to say any thing in favour of such ameasure, or I would
" not dare to be the mover of it. I will only add, that as he has left nothing
" undone that is material to the prosperity of this kingdom, it can no more lay
" a precedent for hurtful grants of the same nature here, than Blenheim did
" in Great Britain.
" Far be it from me to compare even the services of Marlborough to those
" for which we stand indebted ; we have no deductions to make from our gra-
" titude : without protracting, or any public expense, his efforts have been
" timed and conducted with so much wisdom, and the appearance of such a
" being on earth was so essential to the establishment of liberty at this most
" critical juncture, that without superstition, men may well record him amongst
" the most propitious interpositions of Heaven.
" He has crowned his work, and under his auspices the throne of freedom
" is fixed upon so certain a basis, and will probably be always so well supported
" by the due influence the public are likely to acquire under his system, that
" with the blessing of God, there is no danger of parliament itself ever being
" able to shake it ; nor shall parliament I trust, ever again be profanely styled
" omnipotent. I am conscious I must have anticipated men infinitely better
" qualified to bring such a measure forward ; one excuse I have ; for it is not
" the impatient wish, that every body must have to see such a character ex-
" altcd ; not any little vanity to distinguish myself; but as I never had any pri-
" vate acquaintance, nor private conversation with our great benefactor, I
v thought it might come as well from one from whom he could not have any
" claim, as from the most distinguished personage, that he is intimate with.
" Virtue, to be sure is its own reward; and we know that our generous be-
" nefactor is in his own sphere of happiness, content. But shall we be content
" without doing our duty ? shall we be ungrateful ? God forbid !
" Gratitude seems to be a virtue peculiarly adapted to nations that have
" received such benefits as ours. It is often neglected by individuals, because
" it is often out of their power to be as grateful as they wish ; we, I trust, shall
" never have such another opportunity of exercising ours. God forbid ^ve
" should let it slip."
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 319
strument which benign providence had used to convert the op-
pression and bondage of their country into freedom and indepen-
dence. He therefore gave notice, that on the morrow, after the
grant to his majesty should have been settled, and a proper
thanksgiving offered to Heaven for the recovery of their rights,
he would move, that the house should resolve itself into a com-
mittee to take into consideration what sum they should grant for
the purchasing an estate, and building a suitable mansion for
their illustrious benefactor Henry Grattan, Esq. and his heirs for
ever, in testimony of their gratitude for the unequalled service
he had done for the kingdom of Ireland : which was afterwards
fixed at the sum of 50,OGO/.* in the committee, which resolution
the house unanimously agreed to, and resolved, that an address
should be presented to the lord lieutenant, that he would be
pleased to lay before his majesty, the humble desire of that house,
that he would direct that sum to be laid out in the purchase of
lands in the kingdom of Ireland, to be settled on Henry Grattan,
Esq. and his heirs, in testimony of the gratitude of that nation
for his eminent and unequalled services to that kingdom, and that
the house would make good the same.
Now for the first time might it be truly said did the Castle
speak the real, genuine, undisguised language of the Irish people :
such was happily to be read in the proclamation issued by the
lord lieutenant in consequence of the address of the commons on
the 29th of May, 1782, that he would be pleased to order a proc-
lamation to be issued tor appointing a day of general thanks-
giving throughout this nation, to return thanks to the Almighty
God, for the many blessings bestowed on the kingdoms of Great
Britain and Ireland, particularly for that union, harmony, and
cordial affection, which hud been happily brought about between
these two kingdoms, whose interests were inseparably the same ;
by the wrisdom and justice of his majesty and his councils in form-
ing and re-establishing their mutual rights, by which the strength,
honour, happiness, and glory of the whole empire were greatly
augmented ; and for the providential and great success of his ma-
jesty's arms against their natural enemies, which they trusted
would tend to bring about a happy, stable, and lasting general
peace to these kingdoms.
Thus publicly and universally were expressed the joy and con-
gratulation of the nation : and for the moment, happiness pervad-
ed every corner of the kingdom. But it appears, as if it had been
written in the book of fate, that the felicity of Ireland, whilst in-
dependent and separate from Great Britain, should be short-lived,
precarious, and unstable. Ere the rejoicings of the people were
* V\7.. on 27th May, 1782. 9 Journ. Cora. p. 357-
320 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
concluded, the demon of discord was busy in sowing discontent,
jealousy, and envy both within and without the parliament. The
two great rival orators, Messrs. Grattan and Flood, who appeared
equally bent and determined upon acquiring and securing the
civil freedom of their country, had different pleas of merit for
their conduct: Mr. Flood had for seven years enjoyed one of
the most lucrative offices under government, which he sacrificed
to his patriotism in the present hour: Mr. Grattan never had
been in place, and now that he might have come in, through his
patriotism he declined it. But the honourable tribute of grati-
tude shewn to Mr. Grattan by the vote and address of the com-
mons appears to have been productive of jealousy and resentment
in the breast of Mr. Flood and some few of his most intimate
friends and admirers, which in some degree tarnished the lustre
and denied the purity of his most patriotic efforts.
The grounds of this unfortunate jealousy fully appeared within
three days after Mr. Bagenal's motion in favour of Mr. Grattan,
when Mr. ^Montgomery (of Donegal) called the attention of the
house to an honourable gentleman, the best, the most able, the
most indefatigable, the most sincere, that had ever sacrificed
private interest to the advantage of his country. After such a
description, he said, he need not name Mr. Flood, who had re-
linquished the most lucrative office of the state, rather than de-
sert the constitution of Ireland: and as he knew the present ad-
ministration intended to raise its glory by acting on the most
liberal principles of freedom, he gave notice, that he did intend
to move for an address to his majesty, that he would be graciously
pleased to restore the right hon. Henry Flood to the office he
lately held, and in this he hoped for the concurrence of the minis-
ter. He would not, he said, move for any pecuniary reward, as
he knew the right hon. gentleman in question was above re-
ceiving any alms from his country. He was called upon to name
a day.
Colonel Fitzpatrick observed, that the place of Mr. Flood was
no longer vacant: when Mr. Montgomery replied, that it was
filled by Sir George Yonge, whose ill offices to Ireland might
possibly at some time be properly rewarded. Mr. Walsh strong-
ly supported the motion in favour of Mr. Flood ; and they were
both illiberally abusive of Sir George Yonge, whose character was
warmly defended by Sir Henry Cavendish. Colonel Fitzpatrick
maintained the impropriety of breaking in upon the discretionaiy
exercise of the prerogative ; and suggested, that if the gentleman
meant to persist in his intention, the regular method would be to
« 1 Parl. Deb. p. 381. on 30th May, 1782.
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 321
move first for an address to remove Sir George Yonge from
his employment.*
When the house was in a committee on the bill for the modi-
fication of Poynings' law on the 6th of June, iVir. Yelvcrton re-
marked, that as the bill then stood, the privy council were obliged
to certify all bills which originated in parliament, and no other,
without any alteration; which Mr. Flood contended was not
perfectly adequate to the idea entertained by the nation, or what
seemed necessary to do justice to the constitution. They ought
either to declare against all usurpation, or by an effectual repeal
to annihilate those pretensions in future. It was the general
opinion that this act took away the power of originating bills, and
gave it to the privy council. That should certainly be repealed,
lor he did not see, by any effect in the present bill, but the privy
council might recall this power under a corrupt ministry, and it
was not to be supposed that the breed of the Straffords in political
principles, was yet extinct: and an arbitrary government might
at some future period take advantage of the negligence of the
present hour. He understood, and the nation understood, that
all they aimed at was a similar constitution with England, but
the bill by implication cut them off from that bent-fit. He under-
stood it to be the constitution of the land, that the whole business
of legislation was to be done in public ; but there was no provi-
sion made by this bill, which could prevent the smothering of
bills, or explain the reasons of a silent negative.
Mr. Yelverton said, that the right hon. gentleman most cer-
tainly agreed in principle with him, and they differed only in
mode. Their sentiments were the same. He confessed the bill
did not entirely restore what the constitution of England enjoy-
ed, but circumstanced as Ireland was, it was the best calculated
that could be devised. The features of the two kingdoms were
not exactly alike ; some little difference might be discovered in
the traits, but they were actually and in fact the same. To re-
store the constitution of Ireland as it once stood, would in a great
measure be restoring tumult and disorder, and going back to the
necessity of laws, when a lord lieutenant had the same power as
the king, made peace and war, and exercised all the privileges of
sovereignty. History furnished instances, when in the disputes
* To this Mr. Montgomery observed, that if the crown had been misinform-
ed, and led to bestow an honourable employment upon an unworthy object, it
would be right to undeceive it, and address the king to bestow it on one that
was deserving of it. And on the 1st of June he declared that Mr. Flood knew
nothing of his application, or he would not have permitted it to have been made;
but, although he should defer his motion, lie still persisted that it %vas most
disgraceful in the late administration to displace, and in the present to permit
a gentleman to suffer the loss of 3500/. per ann. for his attachment to the coir-
stitution and interests of his country.
VOL. II. S S
AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
af the houses of York and Lancaster, two lord lieutenants and
two parliaments were in this kingdom, one arraigning and con-
demning the acts of the other. They should consider in how liber-
al and unqualified a manner they had received that constitution.
The king sent a message to his parliament in Ireland, to know
what was the cause and nature of their discontents: they pointed
out, in answer, three things : first, they demanded a renunciation
of binding that kingdom by English laws, (and probably the work
was effected, while he was yet speaking;) secondly, the modifica-
tion of Poynings' law, by cutting off the power of the privy coun-
cils of either kingdoms to alter their heads of bills ; and thirdly,
an abridgment of the duration of the mutiny bill.
In consequence thereof both houses of the British parliament
passed a resolution consenting to the repeal of every law which
comprehended them as hitherto bounden. And the question which
then remained, was, whether the bill then under consideration
were comprehensive enough to meet the general wish. They
had overturned the power of the privy council ; and it only re-
mained to know whether bills should come back, to notify ta
parliament the royal dissent. The manner of giving the royal
dissent in England, was a gentle denial. Bills were never ex-
pressly negatived ; but the king said, he had the bill under con-
sideration. He thought the sending such bills over was a suffi-
cient notification of dissent. It was certainly fairer to infer that
a bill was under consideration than to receive an express nega-
tive.
Some few members supported Mr. Flood ; but the decided
majority of the house appearing to be for Mr. Yelverton's bill as
it stood, the question was put and carried without a division.
On the next day, when the engrossed bill for the repeal of part
of Poynings' law was read, Mr. Walsh returned to the objections
made on the day before, which brought on a debate, in which Mr.
Flood spoke with unusual eloquence and energy, and moved* an
* The proposed amendment was, to insert after the word Whereas, the fol-
lowing words:...." doubts have arisen on the construction of the law commonly
" called Poynings', and of the third and fourth of Philip and Mary, explanatory
" thereof: Be it enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with
cl the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in
" this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the
" said law of Poynings', and the said third and fourth of Philip and Mary, be
" and stand repealed, save only as follows: that is to say, Be it enacted, that
" no parliament shall be holden in this kingdom until a license for that purpose
" be had and Obtained from his majesty, his heirs and successors, under the
" great seal of Great Britain ; And that all bills, considerations, causes, orcli-
rt nances, tenours and provisions, of either, or both houses of parliament, shall
" be of right certified to his majesty, his heirs and successors, unaltered,
" under the great seal of Ireland, by the Lird lieutenant, or other chief governor
u or governors, and council of this kingdom, for the time- being ; and that such
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 32<-
amendment to the bill, which, as the Prime Serjeant. (Mr. H,
Burgh) observed, was in fact a new bill, in lieu of that which had
received the sanction of that house on the preceding day ; and it
would be against all the rules of parliament to receive it. The
chief contest of this debate lay between Mr. Flood and the Prime
Serjeant.* Mr. Yelverton declared, that when he introduced
the bill, it was to take away every grievance which had been
complained of. In his own apprehension that end was answered,.
He had no objection, however, to terms more amplified. He
then moved, "that to prevent delays in the summoning of parlia-
ft ments, be it further enacted, that no bill shall be certified into
* bills and no others, being- returned unaltered, under the great seal of Great
" Britain, shall be capable of receiving the royal assent or dissent in parlia-
•"* ment, according to his majesty's commission, either for giving his assent or
rt dissent to the same respectively."
* On this occasion Mr. Grattan said, he thought the bill itself an answer to
all the arguments brought against it : he should, however, rather remain s
•silent admirer of the great talents of those two gentlemen, than take a decided
part in it. In the course of this debate, Mr. Ogle threw out an opinion, that a
promptness to appeal to the majesty of the people, upon every trivial occasion,
weakened the efficacy of such appeal at times when it might be of real advan-
tage : to which Mr Flood thus replied:....
" I take notice of what my honourable friend has said, only that he may have
£' an opportunity of doing honour to the benignity of his own feelings. But
** ministers, popular ministers, will always be ready to appeal to the people,
f< when they are conscious that their measures are right. By an appeal to the
«' people, the present ministry were called into office. And when men of con-
dition, to whom their country is dear for every reason, appeal to the people,
they cannot be supposed to appeal to turbulence or commotion, but to the
sober judgment of the public. What was the fate of all our constitutional
claims, 'till the voice of the people thundered for redress ? Majorities. ..rank
majorities. . 'till a voice from America exhorted you to claim your rights,
and the desires of the people prevailed. If ever there be a moment when
the opinion of the people ought to have a tenfold weight; it is now, when
" they have lined the cause of argument, and encouraged you to speak a lan-
guage, which I will not say you feared to speak, but which certainly you
' were unwilling to speak before. The bill was proposed twenty years ago,
when parliament was weak and impotent: it was then rejected with disdain.
And will you now, when you have your constitution in your hands, when you
have your constitution in your arms, will you HOW accept of such a humiliating
' condition, and. disgrace the cause of your country by such a pitiful ex-
' pedient."
And after he had made his motion, concluded his speech in the following1
manner:...." And now, Mr. Speaker, rf I have a feeling in the utmost pulse
" of my heart, it is that which tells me, that this is a great and awful day ; it
" is that which tells me, that if, after twenty years service, I should pass this
" question by negligently, I should be a base betrayer of my country ; it is that
" which tells me, that the whole earth does not contain a bribe sufficient to
" make me trifle with the liberties of this land. I do, therefore, wish to sub-
" scribe my name to what I now propose, to havethem handed down together to
" poster ty, that posterity may know th^re was at least one man, who disap-
" proved of the temporising bill now before the house; a bill that future par-
" liaments, if they have power, \viH reform ; if they kavc »»t, will v/itl.
'' deplore."
324, AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" Great Britain as a clause or consideration for holding a parlia»
" ment in this kingdom, but that parliaments may be holde n in
" this kingdom, although no such bill shall have been certified,
" previous to the meeting thereof." The question being-put
that the bill should pass with Mr. Yelverton's amendment, was
agreed to without a division.
The grand and critical opposition which Mr. Flood and his
few adherents in the House of Commons made to the proceed-
ings then going forward to accomplish the demands ol the Irish
parliament, xvas grounded upon a most ungracious suggestion of
the insincerity and duplicity of Great Britain, in } ielding under
her embarrassments to the repeal of the declaratory law of Geo.
I. that by seeming to yield unconditionally to Ireland, she seized
on the generous credulity of her nature, and took lull advantage
of a change in her own administration : that Great Britain retain-
ed the full principle of her right to legislate tor every part of the
empire : the mover for that repeal in the British House of Com-
mons, held it externally,* and the seconder of the motion held it
both externally and internally. That a repeal, he insisted, with-
out an express renunciation of the right, would leave Ireland pre-
cisely where she was. That as the declaratory act made no alter-
ation in the pre-existing law, so the repeal of that declaratory act
would also make no alteration in the pre-existing law : and that
without some positive renunciation of the right to legislate inter-
nally and externally on the part of Great Britain, their work would
be but half done, and Ireland might again be enslaved b^ the first
corrupt minister, who should choose to avail himself of the un-
suspecting and too liberal conduct of Ireland. Mr. Flood's doc-
trines gained more proselytes out of doors, than in the parliament.
Mr. Grattan, and by far the greater part of the house confided
implicitly in the good faith of Great Britain, and contended, that
the simple repeal went the whole length of their own demands,
and gave full redress to the grievance they had complained of;
and they opposed any further attempt at procuring concessions
from Great Britain: conceiving what had already been done and
was about to be done to be complete!} satisfactory in establishing
the freedom and independence of Ireland. It must however be
acknowledged, that the arguments of Mr. Flood were very pow-
erful, and had they been urged in their proper season would have
carried much more weight in the house. As it was, both Mr.
Yelverton and Mr. Grattan declared in the house, that if they
could be convinced, that the simple repeal was insufficient, they
would most cordially join Mr. Flood in his motion. Never was
contest more fiercely fought, than this between the two rival pa-
triots Messrs. Flood and Grattan. It ended on the division cf
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 325
the house upon Mr. Flood's motion oh the 19th of July, 1782,*
for leave to bring in the heads of a bill for declaring the sole and
exclusive right of the Irish parliament to make laws in all cases
whatsoever internal and external ior the kingdom of Ireland.
The death of the Marquis of Kockingham had occasioned dis-
sensions in the British cabinet, which obliged Mr. Fox, Lord
John Cavendish, Mr. Burke, and other of his friends to resign.
He could not submit to remain in a cabinet, in which he and his
friends, who had come in and acted uniformly upon an opt- n prin-
ciple, were outvoted ; he had declared before the death of the
Marquis, that if certain measures were carried in the cabinet, he
should resign ; and as they had been carried since his death, he
did resign, disdaining to be responsible for measures he disap-
proved of, or to lend his name to a system, in which he had no
share. j- In the new arrangement of Lord Shelburne's adminis-
* 9 Joum Com. p. 3^8. The journals merely say, it passed in the nega-
tive. Mr. Dohhs says in his history, p. 121, " that the minority on that day
consisted only of six."
f The new arrangement was as follows :
The Earl of Shelburne — To be first lord of the Treasury, vice the Marquis
of Rockingham.
Lord Grantham ? Principal SecVetaries of State, wee the Earl of Shel-
Thomas Townsend, Esq. 3 bu ne and Mr. Fox.
Hon. William Pitt — Chancellor of the Exchequer, vice Lord John Ca-
vendish
H. Jackson, Esq. "> Lords of the Treasury, vice Lord Althorpe and
E James Elliot, Esq. } Frederick Montagu, Esq
Hon J. Jeffries Pratt ?Lohtebfthe Admiralty, vice Lord Duncannon and
John Aubrey, Esq. 3 rion- J- Townsend.
Colonel Barre — Paymaster of the Forces, vice Edmund B'irke, Esq.
Henrv Dundas, Esq. lord 7 -^ u »
advocate \ treasurer of the Navy, vice Colonel Barre.
Sir George Yonge, Bart. — Secretary at war, vice T. Townshend, Esq.
Earl Temple — Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, vit.e the Duke of Port-
land.
Hon. William WyndhanO c r^ /- i i T?-* * • i
Grenville C Secretary to ditto, vice Colonel Fitzpatrick.
The following account of this change of administration, from the Annual
Register for the year, is attributed to a principal member of the late adminis-
tration, Mr. Burke. The short space of- time that intervened between the
death of the Marquis of Rockingham and the prorogation of parliament,
afforded no opportunity of discovering in what manner the House of Com-
mons stood affected towards the changes that had taken place in the adminis-
tration of public affairs, in consequence of the former event. The wcig'it of
the new minister in that assembly, either from political connexion, from
private friendships or public favour, was known to be very inconsiderable ; and
the support which he might otherwise have derived from the power of the
crown, was likely to be much reduced by the operation of the bill of reform,
and bv the steady attachment of most of those members, who either osved
their seats to the influence of government, or were led by a sort of principle
to give a general support to administration, under the auspices of a noble
lord, one of his predecessors in office. The recess of parliament was there-
fore considered as a circumstance highJy favourable to the minister, and was
326 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
tration, which took place on the 13th of July, 1782, Lord Temple
(now the marquis of Buckingham) was fixed upon to succeed the
Duke of Portland in the viceregency of Ireland. Every possible
doubtless employed in endeavouring to form such alliances amongst the
parties out of power as might ensure some degree of strength and permanence
to his adminis ration.
A reunion of tlie Whigs was the favourite expectation of the public, and
anxiously looked for by those who equally dreaded the reviya' of the old
system, and the mischiefs of a weak and unsettled government It does not
however appear, that any advances were made towards efiectii-g such an
accommodation ; to which there appear indeed to have been Insuperable diffi-
culties, from the industry with which the friends of each party laboured to
throw the blame both of the schism and failure on the other.
On the part of those who had retired from the service of government, it
was urged, that as the appointment of the noble earl to the highest office in
administration was one of the principal causes of the division that ensued, so
it continued to be the chief obstacle to a reunion. It was indeed absurd to
expect, that his complaisance to his enemies should carry him so faj as to
enter into a treaty, of which he was himself to be the first sacrifice ; and it
was not more reasonable, they said, to suppose that those who continued to
act with him, how much soever they might disapprove of his principles, or
censure the measures he was carrying on, (a conduct which some of them did
not scruple to pursue) would be willing to descend from situations, in which,
bv the removal of their former friends, they stood as principals, in order to
act subordinate parts again in conjunction with them.
These insinuations were combated, on the other side, by studiously repre-
senting- the Cause of dissension to have been a mere personal contest for
power; and by charging their opponents with holding opinions of a dangerous
nature, trenching on the most undoubted prerogative of the crown, that of
choosing its. own ministers, and consequently having a direct tendency to sub-
vert the constitution.
But whatever weight may be allowed to these charges or surmises, it was
generally agreed, that, though the parties themselves had been ever so well
disposed towards an accommodation, yet the countenance and approbation of
the court would hardly ha- e been lent to a measure so diametrically opposite
in its principles to that favourite system of politics, which had the disunion of
all party connexions for its basis. In opposition to this system, after a long
and an arduous struggle, by no mean exertion of abilities, and by the concur-
rence of many important events, the late administration had arrived at a kind
of adverse possession of power, which being submitted to from necessity, it
could not be expected would be suffered to remain, whenever the means of
destroying it could be found. These, by an unfortunate event, soon after
offered themselves. The appointment of the Earl of Shelburne to succeed the
Marquis of Rockingham, it was easily foresei -n, would disgust those indi-
viduals of the party, whose principles were the most inflexible and obn >xious ;
and the probability of gaining over many others, who might wish to make
themselves some amends for the long proscription they had undergone, by the
advantages of a more accommodating line of conduct, was reckoned on v. ith a
confidence that proved not ill-founded. Add to this, that the firmness of the
party had hitherto stood the trial of defeats and mortifications only; that
power and emolument will sometimes be retained on terms and by means,
through which they would not have been sought ; and lastly, that many of the
members, wearied and grown old in opposition, would naturally feel disin-
clined, from the diminution both of their vigour and prospects, to embark in a
fresh contest with the court
The design appears to have been planned wi*h great political sagacity, and
the success went beyond even what the most sanguine hopes could have
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 32r
despatch was therefore given to the parliamentary business in
Ireland, in order that the Duke of Portland might close the ses-
sion, and as far as conveniently could be, adjust all the arrange-
ments, then pending between the two kingdoms, respecting the
legislative independence and commercial freedom of that king-
dom. Lord Shelburne had been ftuly as explicit, open and li-
beral in his speech to the lords, with reference to Ireland, as Mr.
Fox, in his speech to the commons. It was therefore generally
at first presumed, that the change in the British administration
would cause no alteration in the system of concession to Ireland.
Amongst the several acts, which received the royal assent un-
der the Duke of Portland's administration, was Mr Eden's act
for establishing the national bank. This met with some opposi-
tion, but the measure was carried, and the bank opened the \ ear
following. By this act (21 and 22 Geo. III. c. 16) the bank was
established by the name of The Governor and Company of the
Bank of Ireland. The subscribers to it were to pay in 600,OOO/.
either in cash or debentures, at 4 per cent, which were to be taken
at par, and considered as money. This sum was te be the capital
stock of the bank, and the debentures to that amount, when re-
ceived, were to be cancelled by the vice treasurers. For these
an annuity of 24,000/. was to be paid to the company, being equal
to the interest payable upon these debentures ; the stock was to
be redeemable at any time, upon twelve months notice, after the
1st of January, 1794. Ireland obtained likewise an important
acquisition by a bill, " for better securing the liberty of the sub-
ject," otherwise called the Habeas Corpus act, similar to that
formerly passed in England.
expected. Not only a change of ministers was effected, and a cabinet formed
more agreeable to the views of the court; but sev; ral of those, whose former
conduct had been marked by extraordinary violence were gained over ; and
these, not satisfied to embrace their new principles with all the zeal and
eagerness of converls, seemed to regard with an unusual degree of malignity,
that inflexibility of their old colleagues, which appeared no less than a tacit
reproach to their own conduct. Tims a decisive blow was given to the very
existence of the party, and which seemed even to preclude all future attempts
to form a systematic opposition.
Such were the obstacles, which, from every quarter, appear to have rendered
a reunion of the Whigs under the auspices of the new minister, totally imprac-
ticable. A coalition with the noble lord, who had formerly been at the head
of his majesty's government, seemed more feasible, and was certainly free
from the most material objections that lay to the former measure. Overtures
accordingly are said to have been made by the minister, and various terms
offered him: but whether from a confidence in his own strength, and the hope
of rising again, on the divisions of his adversaries, to the possession of undi-
vided power ; or from resentment of former indignities; or from some change
in his political sentiments, and a conviction of the impossibility of serving the
public with fidelity on the terms proposed, the business fell to the ground-
328 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
The sacramental test, by which the dissent-ing Protestants were
excluded from offices of trust under the crown, was also repealed,
and the nation was gratified by the repeal of the perpetual muti-
ny bill, and by that long desired act for making the commission
oi the judges of that kingdom, to continue (juamdiitse bent: gesse-
r'/nt. An act was also passed to render the manner of conlorm-
ing from the Popish to the Protestant religion more easy and ex-
peditious. Another for sparing to his majesty, to be drawn out
of this kingdom whenever he should think fit, a force not exceed-
ing 500O men ; part of the troops appointed to be kept therein lor
its defence.)
On the 27th of July, 1782, his excellency the lord lieutenant
concluded the session with the following speech from the throne :
" XY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
" THE great and constitutional advantages you have
" secured to your country, and the wise and magnanimous con-
" duct of Great Britain, in contributing to the success of your
*' steady and temperate exertions, on the close of a session, must
" ever reflect the highest honour on the national characters of
" both kingdoms.
" It must be a most pleasing consideration to you, to recollect,
" that in the advances you have made towards the settlement of
" your constitution, no acts of violence or impatience have marked
" their progress. A religious adherence to the laws confined
" your endeavours within the strictest bounds of loyalty and good
" order; your claims were directed by the same spirit that gave
" rise and stability to the liberty of Great Britain, and could not
" fail of success, as soon as the councils of that kingdom were
" influt- need by the avowed friends of the constitution.
" Such a spirit of constitutional liberty communicating itself
a from one kingdom to another, must naturally produce that re-
" ciprocal confidence and mutual affection, of which we already
" begin to feel the most salutary effects. A grateful zeal and ge-
" n< rous ardour have united this whole kingdom in the mostcor-
" dial and vigorous exertions, which promise effectually to frus-
" trate the designs of our common enemy, and to re-establish and
" secure the glory of the whole empire."
" GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
" WHEN I consider the very active and
" liberal part you have taken in contributing to these great and
<l glorious events, I must as distinctly express to you his ma-
" je sty's sense of the last effusion of your generosity for the de-
" fence of the empire, as I must return you his most gracious
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 329
u thanks for the supplies which you so cheerfully voted at the be-
" ginning of this session. His majesty's royal example not only
" secures to you a most just and economical application of the aids
" you have granted him, but affords you a most solemn pledge of
" attentive investigation into every means which the circum-
" stances of this country will afford to alleviate the burdens of
" his loyal and grateful people. To co-operate with you in carrying
" into effect this most benevolent disposition of his majesty, will
" afford me the highest gratification, and manifest to you the sen-
" timents I shall ever entertain, in return for the confidence you
" have reposed in the sincerity of my professions for your welfare."
" MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
" In contemplating the services which your
" unremitting assiduity has rendered to the public, I must indulge
" myself in the satisfaction of .specifying some very important
" acts, which will most materially strengthen the great consti-
" tutional reform you have completed, and which will for ever
" distinguish the period of this memorable session. You have
" provided for the impartial and unbiassed administration of
u justice, by the act for securing the independency of judges.
" You have adopted one of the most effectual securities of British
" freedom, by limiting the mutiny act in point of duration ; you
" have secured that most invaluable of all human blessings, the per-
" sonal liberty of the subject, by passing the Habeas Corpus Act:
" you have cherished and enlarged the wise principles of tolera-
" tion, and made considerable advances in abolishing those dis-
" tinctions which have too long impeded the progress ol industry,
" and divided the nation. The diligence and ardour with
" which you have persevered in the accomplishment of these
" great objects, must ever bear the most honourable testimony of
" your zeal and industry in the service of your country, and
" manifest your knowledge of its true interests.
u Many and great national objects must present themselves to
" your considerations during the recess from parliamentary busi-
" ness ; but what 1 would most earnestly press upon you as that
" on which your domestic peace and happint ss and the prosper-
" ity of the empire at this moment most immediately depend, is
" to cultivate and diffuse those sentiments of affection and con-
" fidence which are now happily restored between the two king-
" cloms. Convince the people in your several distri- ts, as -/oil
" are yourselves convinced, that every cause of past jealousies
" and discontc nts is finally removed ; that both countries have
" pledged their good faith to each other, and that their best secu-
" rity will be an inviolable adherence to that compact; that the
" implicit, reliance which Great Britain has reposed on the honour,
" generosity and candour of Ireland, engages your national charac-
VOL. II. T t
AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
rt ter to a return of sentiments equally liberal and enlarged : con-
44 vince them, that the two kingdoms are now one, indissolubly
" connected with unitv of constitution and unity of interests; that
" the danger and security, the prosperity and calamity of the one,
" must equally affect the other; that they stand or lall together.*
The parliament was then prorogued to the 24th ot September
following.
The parliament of Great Britain, in compliance with the pro-
posals and demands of Ireland, by the 22d of Geo. ill. c. 53.
simply repealed the 6th of Geo. I. and the several matters and
things therein contained. The armed bodies of the volunteers
had now too long been enured to arms, as well as to the agita-
tion of political subjects, not to partake of the spirit ot enthu-
siasm, with which the questions of simple repeal and renuncia-
tion were contended for in parliament: frequent appeals to the
volunteers were made by persons in parliament : and the volun-
teers assumed a consequence little short of legislative control.
Several provincial meetings were called to take into consideration
addresses suitable to the occasion. On the 17th of June, 1782,
the national committee met prior to the meetings of the prov inc-
es. The avowed intent of their meeting was to canvas the pro-
ceedings of their representatives in parliament. A spirit ot dissent
had created discontent; and the immediate object of their con-
sideration was, whether there existed or not just cause of com-
plaint. At their first meeting nothing was agreed upon: at their
next meeting the following resolution was unanimously carried.
VOLUNTEER NATIONAL COMMITTEE.
44 At a meeting of the Volunteer Committee, at Dublin, on
" Tuesday the 19th of June, 1782,
44 The right honourable Lord Kingsborough in the chair,
44 Resolved unanimously, '1 hat the addresses oi the Irish par-
" liament having disclaimed any power or authority of any sort
" whatsoever, in the parliament of Great Britain over this realm,
" we shall consider a repeal of the 6th of George I. by the British
" parliament, made in pursuance of the said addresses, a complete
" renunciation of all the claims contained in the said statute, and
" as such, we will accept it, and deem it satisfactory.
(bigned) " Mervyn Archdall, Francis Dobbs, Joseph Pol-
" lock, for Ulster.
44 Lewis Francis Irwin, Charles O'Hara, John
44 Geoghegan, for Connaught.
4-4 Richard Talbot, William Burton, John Parnell,
44 R. Nevill, for Leinster.
" Kingsborough, R. Sh. Carew, W. T. Monsel,
44 Samuel Jacob, A. Blennedpasset, William
" Godfrey, George Stackpoole, for Munster."
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 331
The great object of the national committee was, if possible, to
preserve unanimity : most of the members were to attend their
respective provincial meetings, and it was thought, that the only-
chance of unanimity was, to fix on one point, that they would
support and recommend in their particular provinces. On the
same day Leinster met, and agreed with the national committee,
as appears by their addresses to his majesty and viceroy. On
the 2 1st of June, Ulster met, and gave fatal proofs of the mali-
cious industry with which discontent had been propagated. False-
hoods of the most glaring nature had filled many of the papers,
and misrepresentations disgraced the freedom of the press. Eng-
lish perfidy was inculcated, and the insufficiency of what had beeu
obtained, asserted. Without any change whatsoever on the part
of Great Britain, a number of men, who were even ready a few
days before to cross the channel to the aid of England, became
unhappy and discontented, and the evening preceding the 21st of
June, wore a verj melancholy aspect.
It fell to the lot of Major Dobbs to open the business. How-
ever, he explained his reasons for being fully satisfied, and moved
the following address to his majesty :
ULSTER VOLUNTEERS, IRELAND.
Dungannon, June 21, 1782..
" Colonel William Irvine in the chair.
" AT a meeting of three hundred and six companies of this
*' province, pursuant to public notice, the following address was
(l unanimously agreed upon, and ordered to be presented to his
" majesty by the chairman, Major Francis Dobbs, Captain James
" Dawson, Captain Francis Evans, and Colonel Thomas Morris
" Junes.
" To the King's most excellent majesty. — The humble address of
" the Volunteers of Ulster.
" MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,
" With the most unfeigned attachment to your
" majesty's person and family, we approach your throne. You
" are our true and lawful sovereign ; and we trust that every act
" of ours will evince, that we are your faithful and loyal sub-
" jects.
" The addresses of the Irish parliament having disclaimed any
" power or authority, of any sort whatsoever, in the parliament
" of Great Britain over this realm, we shall consider an unquali-
" fied and unconditional repeal of the statute of the 6th of George
" I. by the British parliament, made in pursuance of the said
332 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
" addresses, a complete renunciation of a principle hostile to the
44 rights of Ireland, and of all the claims contained in the said
" statute ; and as such we will accept it, and deem it satisfactory.
44 Thus united by the sacred bond of freedom, we request our
" gracious sovereign to assure our sister kingdom, that we will
" be sharers in her fate, standing or falling with the British em-
" pire.
" We humbly beg leave to express our gratitude for the ap-
44 pointment of his grace the Duke of Portland to the government
" of Ireland. Prevented by situation from enjoying the presence
44 of our benevolent sovereign, we rejoice in a viceroy, whose
44 character assures us, that he will faithfully discharge the duties
44 of his station.
" The economy and retrenchment which your majesty has been
44 graciously pleased both to recommend and practise, will, we
44 humbly hope, be extended to Ireland. Should a more equal
" representation of the people be also adopted, our prosperity
" would be for ever secured, and your majesty's reign most hon-
" ourably distinguished in the annals of mankind.
44 We rejoice in the great and signal success of your majesty's
11 a; ms : even enemy must yield to the efforts of a great, a brave,
" a free, and an united people. Your majesty's choice of those,
" whom } ou have entrusted with the administration of public af-
41 fairs, gives us the most heartfelt satislaction ; public confidence
44 is revived ; and we doubt not but your majesty's crown and
44 empire will speedily be raised to the highest pinnacle of human
44 glory.
u We have ever beheld with admiration your majesty's do-
44 mestic virtues. May your majesty, and the truly great and
44 amiable partner of your throne, long, long live to bless each
44 other ; may the offspring of your happy union reward your pa-
44 rental fondness, by a display of every grace and every virtue ;
" and when, at length, the immutable law of nature shall demand
" that tribute, which even kings must pay, may your mourning
" subjects with one voice lament, that the great, the benevolent
u father of his people is no more.
44 WILLIAM IRVINE, Chairman.
4k JAMES DAWSON, Secretary."
It passed unanimously, and with a loud tribute of applause.
Captain Pollock then moved an address to the Duke of Port-
land, which was curried unanimously ; as was also an address
to Lord Charlemont, appointing him general ol the volunteers
of Ulster, moved by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart, and
an address to Mr. Grattan, expressing the highest satisfaction at
OF THE STATE OF IRELAND. 333
the vote of 50,000/. moved by Captain Pollock. A resolution
moved by Colonel Knox, for assisting in raising the 20,OOO sea-
men, and a resolution for erecting a monument at Dungannon,
in which Lord Charlemont and Mr. Grattan were to be particu-
larly distinguished, moved by the Rev. Mr. Crawford, were also
carried unanimously.
The province of Connaught likewise expressed its satisfaction,
in addresses to his majesty and the lord lieutenant, as appears by
those addresses : Munster met, but did nothing.
The gentlemen who were appointed to present the addresses to
his majesty, immediately sailed for England. Lord Shelburne
treated them with the greatest politeness ; and his majesty was
pleased most graciously to receive their addresses, and every mark
of attention was paid through them to the volunteers of Ulster.
But scarcely had their addresses been presented, when the pack-
ets from Ireland announced the dissatisfaction of two corps in
the town of Belfast, which had been represented at Dungannon ;
they, who were executing their commission, were vilified and
traduced in the news-paper ; and Mr. Grattan, who had been ad-
dressed from every quarter as the saviour of his country, who
had been voted a statue by a full meeting of the lawyers of Ire-
land particularly convened, and 50,000/. by the House ot Com-
mons of Ireland, had become the object of the most illiberal
abuse.
The Belfast review was approaching ; those who were dissat-
isfied determined there to make their stand : and it had been for
the two preceding years distinguished as the greatest in Ireland,
and therefore its decision must carry considerable weight. The
1st Belfast company had taken the lead, and was indefatigable in
the pursuit of its object, that dissatisfaction should be expressed
at Belfast : this company sent a very strong address* to the corps
who were to assemble at the review ; which was ably drawn up,
and very fully expressed the grounds and particulars of their dis-
satisfaction. Major Dobbs also addressed the same corps on the
opposite side of the question by way of reply to their address.
The 31st of July displayed a truly glorious exhibition. A vo-
lunteer encampment of near three thousand men, and the volun-
teer garrison of upwards of one thousand, all completely clothed,
armed, and accoutred. Their military knowledge and appear-
ance struck the veteran with wonder.
Anonymous papers in thousands were dispersed through the
camp and garrison. Every private was taijght that he was com-
petent to legislate, and consequently to express his sentiments on
* Both these addresses are expressive of the different opinions circulated
abroad upon the question, and are to be seen, Append. No. LXIX.
334 AN HISTORICAL REVIEW, &e»
the most speculative points. Declaration, renunciation, simple
repeal, legal security, better security, and bill of rights, were all
before them, and they were to instruct their delegates on these
important points. The delegates assembled on the odol August,
and Colonel Stewart (member tor the county of Down) was una-
nimously called to the chair ; and Major Dobbs, as exercising
officer, moved an address to the Reviewing General Lord Charle-
mont, in which he inserted a clause of their being fully satisfied.
A debate commenced whether it should not be expunged ; at
the end of eleven hours a division took place, when there ap-
peared for expunging 31, against it 29.
The address thus altered, passed unanimously.
Thus by the efforts and exertions of a wise and liberal admin-
istration were the liberties of Ireland restored ; peace, unity, and
content diffused through a revived nation, and the prosperity and
glory of the British empire increased by adding strength, vigour,
and felicity to that important part of it.
END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
APPENDIX.
No. LVI.
A LETTER FROM PRIMATE BOULTER TO THE BISHOP OF LON-
DON, RELATING TO THE DISSENTERS COMPLAINTS OF
TITHES. ...PAGE 16.
MY LORD, Dublin, March 13, 1728.
AS we have had reports here that the Irish gen-
tlemen in London would have the great burthen of tithes thought
one of the chief grievances, that occasion such numbers of the
people of the north going to America, I have for some time
designed to write to your lordship on that subject.
But a memorial lately delivered in here by the Dissenting
ministers of this place, containing the causes of this desertion,
as represented to them by the letters of their brethren in the
north, (which memorial we have lately sent over to my lord
lieutenant), mentioning the oppression of the ecclesiastical
courts about tithes as one of their great grievances: I found
myself under a necessity of troubling your lordship on this oc-
casion with a true state of that affair, and of desiring your lord-
ship to discourse with the ministry about it.
The gentlemen of this country have ever since I came hither
been talking to others, and persuading their tenants, who com-
plained of the excessiveness of their rents, that it was not the
paying too much rent, but too much tithe that impoverished
them: and the notion soon took among the Scotch Presbyte-
rians, as a great part«of the Protestants in the north are, who
it may easily be supposed do not pay tithes with great chearful-
ness. And indeed I make no doubt but the landlords in Eng-
land might with great ease raise a cry amongst their tenants of
the great oppression they lye under by paying tithes.
What the gentlemen want to be at is, that they may go on
raising their rents, and that the clergy should still receive their
VOL. Hi
2 APPENDIX.
old payments for their tithes. But as things have happened
otherwise, and they are very angry with the clergy, without
considering that it could not happen otherwise than it has, since
if a clergyman saw a farm raised in its rent e. g. from 1O to 20/.
per annum, he might be sure his tithe was certainly worth dou-
ble what he formerly took for it. Not that I believe the clergy
have made a proportionable advancement in their composition
for their tithes to what the gentlemen have made in their rents.
And yet is is upon this rise of the value of tithes that they would
persuade the people to throw their distress.
In a conference I had with the Dissenting ministers here some
weeks ago, they mentioned the raising the value of the tithes
beyond what had been formerly paid, as a proof that the people
were oppressed in the article of tithes- To which I told them,
that the value of tithes did not prove any oppression, except it
were proved, that that value was greater than they were really
worth, and that even then, the farmer had his remedy by letting
the clergy take it in kind.
And there is the less in this argument, because the fact is,
that about the years 1694 and 1695, the lands here were almost
waste and unsettled, and the clergy in the last distress for te-
nants for their tithes, when great numbers of them were glad to
let their tithes at a very low value, and that during incumbency,
for few would take them on other terms : and as the country
has since settled and improved, as those incumbents have drop-
ped off, the tithe of those parishes has been considerably advan-
ced without the least oppression, but I believe your lordship
will think not without some grumbling. The same, no doubt,
has happened where there have been careless or needy incum-
bents, and others of a different character that have succeeded
them.
I need not mention to your lordship what I have been forced
to talk to several here, that if a landlord takes too great a portion
of the profits of a farm for his share by way of rent, (as the tithe
will light on the tenants share) the tenant will be impoverished:
but then it is not the tithe but the increased rent that undoes the
farmer. And indeed in this country, where I fear the tenant
hardly ever has more than one third of the profits he makes of
his farm for his share, and too often but a forth or perhaps a
fifth part, as the tenant's share is charged with the tithe, his
case is no doubt hard, but it is plain from what side the hardship
arises. j
Nor need I take notice to your lordship of what I have been
forced to talk very fully here, that if the land were freed from
the payment of tithe, the tenant could not be the better for it, but
the the landlord, who would in that case raise his rent accord-
ingly, and would probably receive 15 or 20*. for additional rent,
APPENDIX.
where the clergyman now receives 10.?. for tithe; and that it
would be the same in proportion if the tithes were fixed to some
modus below their real value, which I am apprehensive the gen-
tlemen may attempt to do by a bill next sessions. As for the
complaints of the oppressions in the ecclesiastical courts, your
lordship knows the dilatoriness andexpensiveness of suits there.
And yet till within seven or eight years all suits for tithes, &c.
were there; since that time by degrees the clergy have sued, in
cases of consequence, in the Exchequer; but lor dues of small
value, they still are sued for there. But in the main nobody
sues in those courts that can by fair means get any thing near
his due; since, when the clergy have put persons into those
courts, the defendants either give them all the delay and trouble
they can, or else stand under contempt for never appearing, and
let things go to the last extremity, and stand excommuni-
cated ; and possibly when a writ de excommunicato capiendo is
taken out, and they find they have 7 or 8/. to pay, they run away;
for the greatest part of the occupiers of the land here are so
poor, that an extraordinary stroke of 8 or 10/. falling on them is
certain ruin to them.
I can assure your lordship that every visitation I have held
here, which is annually, the clergy have made as great com-
plaints of the hardships put upon them by the people in getting
in their tithes, especially their small dues, as the people can of
any oppression from the clergy. And to my knowledge many
of them have chose rather to lose their small dues, than to be at
a certain great expence in getting them, and at. an uncertainty
whether the farmer would not at last run away without paying
any thing. And I can affirm to your lordship, that the laity here
are as troublesome and vexatious as they can be in England ;
and from time to time fight a cause of no great value through
the bishop's court, then through the archbishop's, and thence to
the delegates, where the clergy sue for what is most evidently
their due.
I would not be understood by this to deny that any clergy-
man or farmer of tithes ever did a hard thing by the people,
but that there is not frequent occasion of complaint against
them.
However last sessions we passed a bill here for the more easy
recovery of small tithes, &c. which I believe will remove this
cause of complaint, since I believe very few will spend some
pounds to recover than in a spiritual court, which may be re-
covered for some shillings in another way.
Upon occasion of the conference I had gome weeks ago with
the Dissenting ministers here, I have enquired of several of the
clergy, that are understanding and fair men, who haye assured
4 APPENDIX.
me that as far as their knowledge reaches, they believe that ge-
nerally the farmers do not pay more than two-thirds of the real
value of their tithes.
Another thing they complain of in their memorial is, the
trouble that has been given them about their marriages and their
school-masters. As to this I told them, that for some time they
had not been molested about their marriages ; and that as to their
school-masters, I was sure they had met with very little trouble
on that head, since I had never heard any such grievance so
much as mentioned till I saw it in their memorial.
Another matter complained of is the sacramental Test, in rela-
tion to which I told them, the laws were the same in England.
As for other grievances they mention, such as raising the
rents unreasonably, the oppression of justices of the peace, sene-
chals, and other officers in the country, as they are no ways of
an ecclesiastical nature, I shall not trouble your lordship with an
account of them, but must desire your lordship to talk with the
ministry on the subject I have now wrote about, and endeavour
to prevent their being prepossessed with any unjust opinion of
the clergy, or being disposed, if any attempt should be made
from hence to suffer us to be stript of our just rights.
I am, &c.
No. LVII.
THE MEMORIAL OF DR. LUCAS. ...PAGE 38.
TO his Excellency William Earl of Harrington, Lord Lieute-
nant General and General governor of Ireland.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY !
THE love and duty I owe my sovereign, and the
regard I bear his governments and dominions, in general, those
of this my native country, in particular, which are most inti-
mately and inseparably connected and linked together, in one
common bond of affection, interest and allegiance, prompt me
to use all just and lawful means to obtain an effectual redress
of the capital grievances of this kingdom, and city, which no
good subject, or good governor can overlook or slight, consis-
tent with the principles of his moral, religious and political obli-
gations to our system of civil society.
These motives, which your excellency must be too wise and
just to condemn, or discourage, first induced me to contend
APPENDIX. 5
with my fraternity, for a reformation of my profession in the
years 1735, and 1741, and since, with my superiors, for the res-
toration of the rights and liberties of the commons and citizens
of this broken and reduced metropolis.
If your excellency will take the trouble of perusing this and
the following address to the lords justices, with the dedication to
the king, I flatter myself, you will see such causes assigned for
the courses, I have taken, to obtain some redrtss of the heavy
grievances of which I complain, that, I must hope, you will not
only pardon the presumption of once more addressing, or at-
tempting to address your excellency in this manner, but allow
there is some degree of merit in struggling through the many
dangers and difficulties that have been opposed to me, for the
bringing or endeavouring to bring such important truths to the
royal ear, as, if regarded must tend to the unspeakable honour
and advantage of the king and people of these realms, in the secu-
rity and welfare, of each of which, I look upon myself to be
equally interested and concerned.
However, my Lord, as the same necessity which first urged
me to lay our complaints before you, still strongly subsists, I
should be wanting in the duty of a citizen, and a subject, and
fall short of the character I have endeavoured to establish in
life, if I should slacken in my just application to obtain a restora-
tion of our rights and liberties ; and therefore, regardless of
the manifold disadvantages of station, birth and education, under
which I labour, and of the numberless misrepresentations made
of me, by designing men, I presume to make one effort more
to bring the complaints of Dublin before my royal sovereign; of
the greatness and integrity of whose soul I am so fully convinced,
that I am firmly persuaded he wants but due information to re-
dress the grievances of his subjects.
I am well aware, my lord, that some of those great men, who
have thought fit to represent me to your excellency, heretofore,
as a madman, will now set me forth in more hateful colours. It
is become much the fashion, of late, to vilify me, to represent
me as a riotous, tumultuous, incendiary, a disaffected person, a
condemner of government, of magistracy, even of majesty.
To acquit myself of these foul imputations, I must beg your
excellency will permit me to lay before you a short review of the
course I have taken to obtain justice and law, the common
benefits of the constitution of this my country.
When I first discovered the invasions made on the rights and
privileges of the commons and citizens of this city, I tried all
just and moderate means to set things to rights within the city;
and though the invaders gave me all manner of unjust, forcible,
and cruel opposition, and have now scarce left so much of the
6 APPENDIX.
races of our constitution as might demonstrate we had any, I
still preserve the respect due to the magistracy of the city,
though I can look upon it only as de facto, not de jure.
Failing of redress within the city courts, I had recourse, with
my fellows, to the courts of law, and though we were attended
with no better success there, I can defy mine enemies to shew
the instance, in which I failed to pay due respect to the judges
of our courts.
I have it is true, my lord, taken the benefits our constitution
admits, of appealing against, or complaining of, the proceedings
of some of these judges, to an higher power, to your excellency,
as the representative of his majesty ; whether or no the terms
in which I did so, were wrong or injurious, I humbly submit to.
your excellency's recollection.
One of the most sensible happinesses of our system of go-
vernment is, that every person who does but think himself ag-
grieved by any branch of the subordinate administration, has the
privilege of appealing, or complaining, to a superior, in a regu-
lar gradation from one to another, even to the supreme magis-
trate. This is a privilege too sacred for any loyal subject to
give up, for any good governor to suppress.
When I fh'st claimed the benefits of this privilege, and layed
before your excellency the complaints of Dublin, it must be con-
fessed, you heard me with patience, with humanity, with a tender
feeling of the sufferings of the king's subjects, and some pain for
the shocks given our constitution. What unhappy misrepresen-
tations of facts, or person, or what unauthorised arrogance or
insolence of servants, prevented your excellency's taking the
steps in this affair, that your wisdom and justice promised, or
afterwards excluded me the access to your excellency's presence,
I cannot take upon me to point out; but, as the same principles
of justice and law bind alike the small and the great; when I
judged it expedient, and my bounden duty, to appeal to our
sovereign, I thought it necessary to let him see, that I had re-
course to the highest power here, before I presumed to trouble
his majesty, which then, not before, gave me the subject's right
to apply for relief to the throne.
I addressed the lords justices of this kingdom, in your excel-
lency's absence. I presented them with the charter and dedica-
tion, which I now lay before your excellency, and pi'ayedto have
it transmitted to his majesty; but their excellencies thought fit
to decline granting my petition.
Thus your excellency may see, the same necessity still sub-
sists, the same principles prompt, and the same motives that
before prevailed, still strongly induce me, with all respect and
humility, to address your excellency, and to supplicate you on
APPENDIX. *
behalf of myself, and the rest of my suffering fellow-subjects
and fellow-citizens, to forward the summary state of our case in
the following charter and dedication, to the royal presence.
There is another reason, to me, no less cogent, for begging
this favour with greater earnestness of your excellency ; my re-
putation is dearer to me than life ; that is rigorously, severely
struck at : The most violent, the most lawless, the most inhu-
man threats are daily uttered against me ; for none other crime
that I know of, than that of complaining of public injuries,
dangerous and destructive to the king and to his people. I have
appealed to Csesar. Shall Caesar's servants obstruct the laying
my complaints before the throne ? and even punish me for com-
plaining ? Shall this be done under the administration of a
Stanhope ? God forbid !
My Lord, to sum up all my desires and intentions in a few
words ; I only wish to discharge the end of my creation, in ful-
filling the duty of a subject, in every station, to which it shall
please all-wise, all-ruling Providence to call me, with due sub-
mission and subjection to every loyal and good governor and
subordinate magistrate, and an equal right to oppose, by law,
and to complain of the misconduct of all those, who endanger
our connstitution by invading the rights of the subject, or ne-
glecting to discharge the duties of their stations.
If in all that I have hitherto attempted, with this intent, I
have done wrong to any man, I am open to conviction, and
ready to make the fullest atonement. Therefore, if I have ad-
vanced anything repugnant to the principles of our government,
or inconsistent with the rights and privileges of the subject, -I
humbly conceive my intentions ought to be considered, and I
should be properly examined, before the threatened weight and
fury of power be let loose upon me. It is not to be deemed
beneath the dignity of good governors to inform active and well-
meaning subjects of errors in their conduct ; if such can be
made to appear in my transactions I shall from the same prin-
ciple, that I mean to advance truths, in my judgment, conducive
to the happiness of this city, and these kingdoms, as readily, as
publicly, retract errors, or mistakes.
My lord, I must beg your excellency's indulgence to make
one declaration more. At a time, when ministerial influence
of court dependence is rather sought than avoided, by men of
independent fortunes, it may be suspected, that one of my low
sphere may have some private or selfish views in thus attend-
ing upon your excellency. To obviate such an imputation, I
thus solemnly declare, that though I wish to be always well un-
derstood, and upon occasion, well heard, by the government ;
yet, even that, is only for the public good ; because, that for,
myself, I have nothing to ask, nor any thing to fear from the
8 APPENDIX.
highest powers ; my sole ambition is to discharge the duties of
my station. And, in so doing, I shall ever take care to approve
myself, his majesty's most unfeignedly loving and loyal subject,
as well as,
May it please your excellency,
Your excellency's most dutiful
And most faithful humble servant,
C. LUCAS.
Dublin, October the 3d, 1749.
No. LVIII.
THE MEMORIAL OF THE EARL OF KILDARE....PAGE 4<7.
To his Most Serene and August Majesty King George the Se-
cond, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender
of the Faith, and so forth.
The most humble Memorial of James Fitzgerald, Earl of Kil-
dare, Baron Offaly, Lord Leinster in England, &c. and one
of his Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council of the King-
dom of Ireland,
MOST HUMBLY REPRESENTETH,
THAT your memorialist is the eldest peer of
the realm, by descent, as lineally sprung from the ancient and
august blood of the noble Earl of Kildare, who came over un-
der the invincible banner of your august predecessor Henry the
Second, when his arms conquered the kingdom of Ireland.
That your memorialist, on this foundation, has the greater
presumption to address your august majesty, as his ancestors
have ever proved themselves steady adherents to the conquest
of that kingdom, and were greatly instrumental in the reduction
thereof, by their money, interest, and forces.
That though they were first sent over with letters patent, un-
der Henry the Second's banner, to conquer that kingdom, yet
by the inheritance of lands, by intermarriages with princesses of
the kingdom, they became powerful, and might have conquer-
ed for themselves, notwithstanding which, their allegiance was
such, as that, on that sovereign's mandate to stop the progress
of war, we obeyed, and relinquished our title of conquest, laid
down our arms, and received that monarch with due homage
and allegiance, resigning our conquests as became subjects, and
APPENDIX. 9
also prevailed with the sovereign princes, bishops, nobles,
clergy, and gentry, to acknowledge him right and lawful so-
vereign of Ireland, and of the seas, sea-ports, and other domains
of the kingdom.
That on this presumption, your memorialist has, in the most
humble manner, at the request of the natives of Ireland, your
majesty's true liege subjects, not only the aborigines thereof,
but the English colonies, sent over by Henry the Secoad,
Richard the Second, Elizabeth, Charles, Cromwell the l/surp-
er, William the Third of glorious memory, and other kings,
your majesty's predecessors, and the conquerors of Ireland,
made bold to lay before your majesty the true state of their se-
veral and respective grievances, a burden now become almost
too heavy to bear.
And your memorialist was rather induced to lay this memo-
rial at your august majesty's feet, as it was on good presump-
tion surmised, that all access to your royal ear was shut up, and
your liege subjects debarred the liberty of complaining, a right
ever allowed to your majesty's liege subjects of what degree or
condition soever.
That no notice being taken of several remonstrances hereto-
fore made by your majesty's liege subjects, it was humbly pre-
sumed, that such remonstrances had been stopped, and debarred
in their progress to your royal ear.
That your memorialist, at the request of several thousands of
your liege subjects, as well the nobles as the clergy, the gentry,
and commonalty of the kingdom, has ventured on this bold
step, for which he humbly craves your majesty's pardon, as
nothing but the distress of his countrymen, your most loyal sub-
jects, could have drawn him to this presumption.
That in general the face of your loyal kingdom of Ireland
wears discontent, a discontent not coloured from caprice or fac-
tion, but purely founded on ministerial misapplication.
That though several persons, particularly N. G. was called
to account for the public money, which he had drawn out of the
treasury, and deposited in the banks, yet this inquisition came
to nothing by the mediation of party, and the interposition of
power.
That the Duke of Dorset's son Lord George, though in high
and lucrative employments already, not satisfied therewith, has
restlessly grasped at power, insatiable in his acquisitions.
That the primate, who is now on the pinnacle of honour, con-
nected with the said noble lord, has made use of his influence to
invest himself of temporal power, and like a greedy churchman,
affects to be a second Wolsey in the senate.
I'OL. II. B
10 APPENDIX.
That influences being so predominant, corruption so formida-
ble, and elections so controlled by the mighty power of those two
statesmen, your loyal kingdom of Ireland feels the sad effects of
it, and dreads this duumvirate as much as England did that of
the Earl of Stafford and Archbishop Laud.
That your other ministers, officers, subjects, and servants,
being cut out of dignity and power by this formidable monopoly,
can scarce perform the proper functions of their ministry, as all
measures are determined by fatal and influenced majorities in
the houses.
That the citizens of Dublin have for a long time laboured
under an unprecedented slavery in subjection to the bankers
of administration, who act in a despotic manner, raising and
disposing the public revenues of the city, just as to them seems
fitting.
That your majesty's interest in the hearts of your loyal sub-
jects is likely to be affected by those arbitrary measures, as the
landed interest is very much injured thereby, and as few care to
represent their country in parliaments where a junto of two or
three men disconcert every measure taken for the good of the
subject, or the cause of common liberty.
That your memorialist has nothing to ask of your majesty,
neither place, civil or military, neither employment or prefer-
ment for himself or friends, and that nothing but his duty to
your majesty, and his natural hatred to such detestable monopoly,
could have induced your memorialist to this presumption,
Who is,
In all respects,
Your most loyal
And dutiful subject,
J. FITZGERALD.
No. LIX.
THE GENTLEMEN WHO VOTED IN SUPPORT OF THE RESOLU-
TIONS....PAGE 53.
[Marked thus, * spoke in the Debate.]
Tellers for the Ayes.
Lord Moore, Lieutenant Colonel of Horse.
*Edmond Sexton Pery, Esq.
Hon. Hugh SkefEngton, Lieute- James Smyth, Esq. Collector
nant of Horse of Dublin
APPENDIX.
11
Charles O'Neile, Esq.
William Richardson, Esq.
^William Brownlow, Esq.
Hon. John Caulfield, Esq.
Arthur Upton, Esq.
James Hamilton, Esq.
Sir Richard Wolesley, Bart.
*Lord Newtown
Hon. Barry Maxwell
John Cramer, Esq.
Richard Ponsonby, Esq.
Denham Jephson, Esq.
William Forward, Esq.
Abraham Creichton, Esq.
Bernard Ward, Esq.
Alexander Hamilton, Esq.
Robert Scott, Esq.
Matthew Ford, Esq.
Francis Leigh, Esq.
Sir Charles Burton, Knt.
*Philip Tisdal, Esq. Solicitor
General, and Judge of the
Prerogative
Edward Bolton, Esq.
Hon. John Butler, Esq. Clerk
of the Pipe
Henry Brooke, Esq.
*Nicholas Arehall, Esq.
*Robert French, Esq.
Robert Fitzgerald, Esq. Judge
Advocate
Sir William Founds, Bart.
Packer, Searcher, and Gau-
ger, in the port of Cork
Maurice Keating, Esq.
John Bourke, Esq. Commis-
sioner of the Revenue
Walter Weldon, Esq.
Richard Dawson, Esq.
James Agar, Esq. senior
lion. Redmond Morris, Esq.
Hon. Joseph Leeson, Esq.
Edward Herbert, Esq.
Hon. Richard Ponsonby, Esq.
Secretary to the Commis-
sioners
Henry Lyons, Esq.
Sir William Parsons, Bart.
Richard Trench, Esq.
Boleyn Whitney, Esq. Com-
missioner of Appeals
John Pomeroy, Esq. Lieute-
nant Colonel of Foot
Hugh Crofton, Esq.
Charles Smyth, Esq.
Hercules Langford Rowley,
Esq.
Richard Edgworth, Esq.
Right Hon. William Henry
Fortescue, Esq. Privy Coun-
sellor
John Ruxton, Esq.
Thomas Fortescue, Esq.
James Fortescue, Esq.
Thomas Tenison, Esq. Com-
missioner of Appeals
Anthony Forster, Esq.
Townley Bellfore, Esq.
Sir Thomas Taylor, Bart.
Richard Moore, Esq.
Georges Lowther, Esq.
Henry Monck, Esq.
Thomas Dawson, Esq.
Jonah Barrington, Esq. Pen-
sioner
Robert Cunningham, Esq. Ad-
jutant General
Nehemiah Donellan, Esq.
Right Hon. Sir Thomas Pen-
dergast, Post-Master Gene-
ral and Privy Counsellor
Kinsmill Penefather, Esq.
W'iljiam Stewart, Esq.
Thomas Knox, Esq.
Nehemiah Donellan, Esq. jun.
Richard Georges, Esq.
John Rochfort, Esq.
Robert Percival, Esq.
Andrew Ram, Esq.
^Thomas Le Hunte, Esq.
John Leigh, Esq.
James Stopfort, Esq.
Charles Tottenham, Esq. Sur-
veyor General of Excise
12 APPENDIX.
Hon. Henry Loftus, Esq. Richard Chapel Whaley, Esq.
Thomas Loftus, Esq. John Strafford, Esq.
"Walter More, Esq. Judge Ad- Stephen Trotter, Esq.
vocate
Against the ^ucstion^ and for Stifling the Resolutions from op»
pear ing before His Majesty.
Tellers foi* Noes.
*Sir Richard Cox, Bart. Pensioner.
Thomas Carter, Esq. junior.
Edward Smyth, Esq. John Graham, Esq.
Hon. Hungford Skeffington, Robert Standford, Esq. Captain
Pensioner of Horse
Sir Richard Butler, Bart. John Eyre, Esq.
Right Hon. Richard Rigby, Henry Bingham, Esq. Pen-
Principal Secretary sioner
Sir Edward Obrien, Bart. William Crosby, Esq.
Murrough Obrien, Esq. Sir Kildare Burrowes, Bart.
Ercanuel Pigot, Esq. Robert Harman
Hon. James Obrien, Esq. Col- Agrnondisham Vesy, Esq. Ac-
lector of Cork comptant General
Eellingham Boyle, Esq. Pen- James Agar, Esq.
sioner Ralph Gore, Esq. Pensioner
Sir John Freke, Bart. *Warden Flood, Esq. Attor-
Lord Limerick, Chief Remem- ney General
brancer John Gore, Esq. Counsel to
John Magill, Esq. the Commissioners
William Harvvard, Esq. Edmond Malone, Esq.. Coun-
Edward Barry, Esq. State Phy- seller at Law
sician William Scot, Esq. Prime Ser-
General Dilkes, Governor of jeant
the Hospital Alexander Nesbit, Esq. Pen-
John Lysaght, Esq. junior sioner
Andrew Knox, Esq. Anthony Marlay, Esq. Corn-
Sir Ralph Gore St. George, missioner of Appeals, and
Bart. Pensioner
Right Hon. Sir Arthur Gore, Henry Mitchel, Esq.
Bart. Privy Counsellor Hon. Mr. Westely
Michael Clarke, Esq. Exami- General Bligh, Colonel of a
ner of Excise Regiment of Horse
Francis Pier Burton, Esq. Richard Hamilton, Esq.
Thomas Montgomery, Esq. Nathaniel Clements, Esq. De-
William Cooper, Esq. Puty Vice Treasurer
APPENDIX. 13
Alexander Montgomery, Esq. Lord Boyle
Bartholomew William Gilbert, Sir Henry Cavendish, Bart.
Esq. Teller of the Exchequer
Marcus Patterson, Esq. Ser- *Right Hon. Anthony Malone,
jeant at Law Chancellor of the Exchequer,
William Henry Dawson, Esq. and Privy Counsellor
Henry Sandford, Esq. Gustavus Lambert, Esq. Col-
Thomas Mahon, Esq. lector of Excise
Frederick Gore, Esq. Lord Forbes, Colonel of Foot
Galbraith Lowry, Esq. Richard Malone, Esq. Serjeant
Frederick Gore, Esq. at Law
St. George Richardson, Esq. Hon. Thomas Southwell, Esq.
Lieutenant of Horse Pensioner
Aland Mason, Esq. Charles Gardiner, Esq. Sur-
Lord Beresford veyor General of the Cus-
Shapland Carew, Esq. toms in Ireland.
Nc. LX.
EXHORTATION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY OF DUBLIN,
READ FROM THEIR ALTARS ON THE SECOND OF OCTOBER,
1757....PAGE 53.
(From the Dublin Journal of October 4th, 1757.)
IT is now time, Christians, that you return your most
grateful thanks to Almighty God, who, after visiting you with
a scarcity, which approached near unto a famine, has been gra-
ciously pleased, like a merciful father, to hear your prayers, and
feed you with a plentiful harvest : nor ought you to forget those
kind benefactors, who, in the severest times, mindful only of
the public good, generously bestowed, without any distinction
of persons, those large charities, by which thousands were pre-
served, who otherwise must have perished the victims of hunger
and poverty. We ought especially to be most earnest in our
thanks to the chief governors and magistrates of the kingdom,
and of this city in particular, who, on this occasion, proved the
fathers and saviours of the nation. But as we have not a more
effectual method of shewing our acknowledgment to our tempo-
ral governors, than by an humble, peaceful, and obedient beha-
viour ; as hitherto, we earnestly exhort you to continue in the
same happy and Christian disposition, and thus, by degrees,
14 APPENDIX.
you will entirely efface in their minds those evil impressions,
which have been conceived so much to our prejudice, and in-
dustriously propagated by our enemies. A scries of more than
sixty years spent, with a pious resignation, under the hardships
of very severe penal laws, and with the greatest thankfulness for
the lenity and moderation, with which they were executed, ever
since the accession of the present royal family, is certainly a fact
which must outweigh, in the minds of all unbiassed persons, any
misconceived opinions of the doctrine and tenets of our holy
church.
You know that it has always been our constant practice, as
ministers of Jesus Christ, to inspire you with the greatest hor-
ror for thefts, frauds, murders, and the like abominable crimes ;
as being contrary to the laws of God and nature, destructive of
civil society, condemned by our most holy church, which, so far
from justifying them on the score of religion, or any other pre-
text whatsoever, delivers the unrepenting authors of such cri-
minal practices over to Satan.
We are no less zealous than ever in exhorting you to abstain
from cursing, swearing, and blaspheming ; detestable vices, to
which the poorer sort of our people are most unhappily addicted,
and which must at one time or other bring down the vengeance
of heaven upon you in some visible punishment, unless you ab-
solutely refrain from them.
It is probable, that, from hence, some people have taken oc-
casion to brand us with this infamous calumny, that we need
not fear to take false oaths, and consequently to perjure ourselves ;
as if we believed that any power upon earth could authorize
such damnable practices, or grant dispensations for this purpose.
How unjust and cruel this charge is, you know by our instruc-
tions to you both in public and private, in which we have ever
condemned such doctrines, as false and impious. Others, like-
wise, may easily know it from the constant behaviour of num-
bers of Roman Catholics, who have given the strongest proofs
of their abhorrence of those tenets, by refusing to take oaths,
which, however conducive to their temporal interest, appeared
to them entirely repugnant to the principles of their religion.
We must now intreat you, dear Christians, to offer up your
most fervent prayers to the Almighty God, who holds in his
hands the hearts of kings and princes, beseech him to direct
the counsels of our rulers, to inspire them with sentiments of
moderation and compassion towards us. We ought to be more
earnest, at this juncture, in our supplications to heaven ; as some
very honourable personages have encouraged us to hope for a
mitigation of the penal laws. Pray then the Almighty to give
a Messing to these their generous designs, and to aid their coun-
sels, in such a manner, that, whilst they intend to assist us, like
APPENDIX. 15
kind benefactors, they may not, contrary to their intentions, by
mistaking the means, most irretrievably destroy vis.
To conclude, be jiut in your dealings, sober in your conduct,
religious in your practice, avoid riots, quarrels, and tumults ; and
thus you will approve yourselves good citizens, peaceable subjects,
and pious Christians.
No. LXI.
LETTER OF MR. o'CQNOR TO DR. CURRY.. ..PAGE 54.
MY DEAR FRJEND,
MY neighbour, or rather a great man in my neigh-
bourhood, the Bishop of Elphin, has been of late very inquisitive
about the Bishop of Ferms's bleeding Iphigenia, in hopes, I sup-
pose, of throwing some dirt at us this session out of our own dung-
hills. I know enough of this book out of Walsh's, to think that
you as well as I, are of Walsh's side of the question, in condemn-
ing the proceedings at Waterford, Jamestown, and Galway, and in
declaring that the war of the confederate Catholics was just and
necessary; they fought against unprincipled regicides, and his
lordship's abuse will tend ultimately to make such enemies less
odious to mankind. In the mean time, you and all of you, are as
passively silent as sheep before the shearer ; you are of opinion, I
suppose, that it is not justice due to all parties to shew by what
means and by whose means, such evils were brought upon us as
operate to this day. This Harris's insolence is seasoned for him
by an opinion derived from your silence, that he has defeated us
all. For my part, were I you, and had I but a pebble, I would
cast it at such an illiberal dog ; nay, at every Irishman, who would
be so base as not to be ashamed to mangle the corpse of the fallen,
or to rivet the fetters of the oppressed.
But alas ! we are a people truly fallen, or we would co-operate
with each other systematically, in counteracting the proceedings of
the parties that are united in nothing but in a league against us.
They offer as a boon, a registry bill, which is evidently calculated
to extirpate our very remains. Nothing can be better known, than
that our spiritual ceconomy cannot be exercised without the spi-
ritual jurisdiction of our bishops. Yet, the jurisdiction of Ca-
tholic bishops is totally overturned by this blessed boon, the intent
of which is therefore to destroy Popery by Popery itself.
16 APPENDIX.
The difference between Queen Anne's Registry Bill and this
one, is, that the, former was too penal to execute itself. But the
latter is far from being so ; it avails itself of our most despotic
passions to destroy our best principles.
Let us therefore jlraw up a solemn appeal, to be published in
the Foreign Gazettes, which will acquit us in the face of Europe
as men aggrieved merely on account of honest attachments to our
principles* This will be of use to us in the day of exile ; for I
see now that there is no remedy but emigration. I can never
think of this legal annihilation of episcopal authority, without al-
ternate emotions of anger and dejection. I am moved to indig-
nation when told, that, after this bill passes, the penal clauses shall
be as little enforced as those already existing. Vain presumption !
This penal law is calculated to execute itself, and ourselves shall
be the executioners ! How shall I proceed on this melancholy sub-
ject which afflicts me the more, as, for so many years past, we have
not by any principle or conduct, given the smallest provocation.
Allow me, my dear friend, to apply to you for the consolation
which I can derive only on the vigilance and activity of which I
know you are possessed.
TecunVetenim longos memini consumere soles.
I am, in every situation of life,
Affectionately and invariably your's,
CHARLES O'CoNOR.
[The Declaration of the Roman Catholic Tenets published at this time was the
same as that published in 1793 ; for which vide Appendix, No. LXXX VIII. ]
No. LXII.
MR. WYSE'S PROPOSAL TO THE FIRST CATHOLIC COMMIT-
TEE PAGE 54.
WHEREAS, many of the penal laws enacted against
the Roman Catholics of Ireland, since the Revolution, have in a
great measure been owing to the supineness of some, to the over-
bearing superiority assumed by others in taking the lead, and des-
pising the opinions of men of greater knowledge and penetration ;
to embezzlements of public money, and an insecurity of applica-
tion to the purposes, for which large sums have been occasionally
raised ; to an imprudent choice of improper agents ; to the diffi-
dence and difficulty of raising such sums as are necessary to give
weight to solicitation ; and lastly, to the want of that good under-
APPENDIX. 17
standing, harmony and union so remarkable in the political conduct
of all other Dissenters, by which they have preserved a legal tole-
ration of their religious worship, and the rights and liberties of
freemen, which the Catholics might have been equally successful in
keeping, if they had gone hand in hand, and pursued the same me-
thods, the neglect and omission of which have brought such an
inundation of calamities on us, that neither clergy nor laity could
live in this kingdom, if the severity of the laws themselves did not
suspend their execution, and the lenity of government hold up the
scourge, but not the spirit of persecution, which breaks out each
session, with greater violence, and though now and then diverted,
yet in the end must extirpate us, if not prudently counteracted.
And, whereas, it would be impossible to convene together all the
Roman Catholics of property throughout the kingdom On any emer*
gency, or even all the Roman Catholics of weight and consequence
in and about the city of Dublin, the fountain head of intelligence,
and though such a convention were practicable, it would be inexpe-
dient ; in order therefore to remedy, &c. &c. the following scheme
is humbly proposed for establishing a perpetual committee of repre-
sentatives for each diocess in Ireland, and for each parish in the ci-
ty of Dublin. One representative to be chosen by ballot, at a
meeting of the principal inhabitants of each parish, and in each
county by a majority of the parish priests, as well as of the towns
and cities, and each nomination and appointment of a lay represen-
tative to be signed not only by the said clergy, but also, by the prin-
cipal inhabitants of the diocess, and these several elections to be
made with as much secrecy as possible.
The chairman of the said committee with an assistant, con-
stantly residing in Dublin, to keep a book of accounts, and enter
all transactions for the satisfaction of their constituents ; to be an-
nually chosen on some day before the first of January, by a majo-
rity of members, and to have a casting voice, in case of a division,
and an equality of voices on both sides. The country members,
who may not be in town at the time of any necessary business shall
be duly apprized thereof by the chairman or assistant secretary for
the time being, and any gentleman, though not of the committee,
shall have access to their meetings, to give his opinion or advice on
any deliberation of importance, but not to have a voice in any de-
bare or resolution of the committee, or be present when the ques-
tion is put ; and every thing done by a majority of voices, relative
to the spiritual or temporal welfare of the constituents, shall be
binding, and considered by all parties as conclusive, &c.
18 APPENDIX.
No. LXIII.
LETTER or MR. SAUL TO MR. O'CONOR or BELANAGARE.
[PAGE 55.]
MY DEAR MR. O'CoxoR,
I AM an utter stranger to what our people
here are doing, and I am resolved never to be concerned in any af-
fairs during my life, but those of my family, and a small circle of
friends ; what I suffered on account of my human:ty in the case of
Miss Toole, has taught me this lesson ; I was then made to under-
stand, from the mouth of no less a personage, than the lord chan-
cellor, that the laws did not presume a Papist to exist here, nor
could they breathe without the connivance of government. If so,
for I shall not attempt to think otherwise, after so solemn a declara-
tion, hov." can you blame me for being an enemy to addresses and
to memoirs ? Even you cannot persuade me that they tend to any
purpose. I remember to have read in some of the classics
(when a school boy) a line or two, which have been of singular use
to me in the course of my life.
Nunquam poenituittacuisse, at szpe locutum.
And now, my dear friend, since there is not the least prospect of
such a relaxation of the penal laws, as would induce one Roman
Catholic to tarry in this house of bondage, who can purchase a set-
tlement in some other land, where freedom, and security of pro-
perty can be obtained, will you condemn me for saying, that if I
cannot be one of the first, I will not be one of the last, to take flight
from a country, where I have not the least expectation of encou-
ragement to enable ine to carry on my manufactures, to any consi-
derable extent ?
Heu ! fug'e crudeles terras, fuge littus avarum !
The parliament of 59, is not the parliament of 53. The heart
was then on the right side of the political body, ready to promote,
on all occasions, the interest and welfare of the country ; but the
case is quite the reverse at present. The patriots of that happy
sera are the betrayers of this ; and he only is wrong, who stood out
for too great a price, or did not sell himself in time for what he
could obtain.
APPENDIX. ]<j
If (as Pope says) " whatever is, is right," those trials may per-
haps be intended for our greater benefit, as lessons to shew us,
that our kingdom is not of this world, that we are not to expect any
real happiness in this life, and that the greatest calamities and mi-
series here must have an end.
This reflection, I own, has often relieved me on many distress-
ing occurrences. But how I will be able to bear at this time of
life, when nature is far advanced in its decline, and my constitu-
tion by constant exercise of mind very much impaired, the fatal
necessity of quitting for ever, friends, relations, an ancient patri-
mony,....my natale solum, to retire perhaps to some dreary inaus-
picious clime, there to play the school-boy again, to learn the lan-
guage, laws, and constitution of the country ; to make new friends
and acquaintances ; in short, to begin the world anew ; how this
separation, I say, from every thing dear in this sublunary world,
would afflict me, I cannot say, but with an agitated and throbbing
heart.
But when Religion dictates, and Prudence points out the only
way to preserve posterity from temptatien and perdition, I feel
this consideration predominating over all others, I am resolved as
soon as possible to sell out, and to expatriate ; and I must content
myself with the melancholy satisfaction of treasuring up in my
memory the kindnesses and affections of my friends. Living or
I am,
My dear O'Conor,
Ever your's,
LAWRENCE SAUL.
November 15, 17«9.
No. LXIV.
LETTER OF MR. O'CONOR tO DR. CURRY....PAGE 55.
DEAR SIR,
September 16J//, 1759.
NO circumstance attending the Memoirs 'gives in*
more pain, than the prospect you have before you, that the storm
of the times is to burst over the heads of the patronizers of such a.
work, that is, over the defenceless, the grieved, and hated part of
the nation.. ..If our masters are so far bent against us, as tq be
so APPENDIX.
provoked at what we may now surely call innocent truths ; let
those truths be secreted for better days and better times, even
though no great deference should be observed to the errors of men,
who would rather continue ruinously mistaken, than be unplea-
singly undeceived ; my deference to such men would go but a short
way ; and were I author of the Historical Memoirs, I would appre-
hend but very little from the open avowal of them. But, perhaps
the true author, whoever he is, has more measures to keep through
the delicacy of his situation.
For my part, I can see neither relief nor persecution from the
complexion of the present times, they seem not purified enough
for the one, nor implacable enough for the other ; and when the
scales of political wisdom are thus poised, let us conclude that wis-
dom and justice will take care one time or other to cast the balance
on the right side.
Your's affectionately,
CHARLES 0'ConoR.
TO THE SAME.
Befanagare, October 20th.
DEAR SIR,
ON my return two days since from Jamestown, I
called in Elphin, at Mr. Stafford's. He informed me, that he put
a book which lately came out, (on the fatal rebellion in 1641) into
the Bishop's hands, who promised it an impartial reading. As
you might probably have perused that work, you may be curious
to know what so great a man's thoughts are relative to it ; they are
indeed pretty much what I foresaw they would be.. ..The author
(said he) hath taken great pains to support his facts by authentic
testimonies, but I cannot approve of the discretion of gentlemen,
who in the present time revive such facts... .Mr. Stafford made no
reply; nor could it escape his lordship, that such facts are revived
incessantly, in the anniversary sermons, pamphlets, and books of
the most eminent men among us. But the charge of indis-
cretion is levelled particularly at any person, who now have the
audacity to controvert any matters set forth in these periodical writ-
ings. For my own part I cannot but approve entirely of the
equity of this judgment: nor can I see the reason, why a people,
who contended in vain for civil justice in a former age, should
have any historical justice done them in this! Who does not see
that under all popular governments, popular contention must some-
times arise, and that eveiy discomfited party, (which party must
be surely always in the wrong) owe at least one duty to the public,
which is either to applaud the justice done them, or leave the ho~
nour of the panegyric to others.
APPENDIX. 21
In the present case you see, that nothing more than a respectful
silence is required, and sorry I am that the author of the book I
mention, did not follow the example set him by his own party for
seventy years past. Had he done so, nothing more than the usual
course would be served up, on the approaching anniversary of the
23d instant; but now I am not without my apprehensions, that the
perusal of those memoirs may swell the bill of fare ; and prove
expensive to those, for whom such feasts are annually prepared.
Here I drop my melancholy subject, having only to add, that his
lordship suspects strpngly? that the author of the book I mention,
lives this side of the Shannon ; he will doubtless confirm others in
this idea.
I lay four nights ago in Jamestown, pine miles off. It contains
an area of four or five plantation acres, in an oblong square, sur-
rounded by a strong wall six feet in thickness, about twenty feet
high ; the two great gates are broken down. It stretches along the
Shannon, under a rising ground to the West; no fortification
was ever worse situated for defence. I give you this description
of the place, as it is almost as famous in history, for its council
of bishops in the civil war, as Trent is for another council,
which is equally the object of popular odium. I have tired you and
myself.
Adieu,
CHARLES O'CoNOR.
P. S. The great man set off for Dublin on Monday last. He
thought that the not procuring him the Iphigenia, was owing rather
to a design in secreting the work, than the real want of the book.
I request you will do all you can to hunt down this historical fugi-
tive, and let him be delivered bound up, or even loose, to one who
js so eager to have him examined.
THE ANSWER.
DEAR SIR,
I RETURN a thousand thanks for both your last
favours. Your great neighbour's observation on the Memoirs is
pleasant enough. After a very short, critical, inquisitive perusal
of an unpleasing work, because a work, destructive of one of his
principal topics of argumentation against an opposite party, whom
he is in the habit not only of dissenting from, but detesting; for
such a man to have no other fault to find, but indiscretion, in the
publication of such truths at this juncture, nay, to allow that the
author has supported his facts by authentic evidence.. ..quod erat
desideratum..,. amounts, consideratis considerandis....to approba-
22 » APPENDIX.
tion aw! applause. From a judge so circumstanced as his lord-
ship, no more could he expected ; and his mentioning the i'ault
of indiscretion, looks like affected criticism; because you have
shewn it to he entirely groundless, and because it was, you know,
absolutely necessary he should find some fault. I have been seek-
ing in vain for Iphigenia : if I can get her at any price, she shall
be at your service. Adieu,
J. CURRY.
No. LXV.
THE HUMBLE ADDRESS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC GENTLEMEN,
MERCHANTS, AND CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN, TO
HIS GRACE, JOHN, DUKE OF BEDFORD, &C....PAGE 57.
(From the Dublin Gazette, December 15, 1T39.)
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE,
WE, his majesty's dutiful and faithful subjects, the
Roman Catholic gentlemen, merchants, and citizens of the city of
Dublin, do, with the greatest respect, approach the illustrious re-
presentative of the best of kings, with our hearty congratulations
on those glorious successes, by sea and land, which have attended
his majesty's arms, in the prosecution of this just and necessary
war.
We gratefully acknowledge the lenity extended to us by his
most sacred majesty, and by his royal father, of happy memory.
Our allegiance, may it please your grace, is confirmed by affec-
tion and gratitude ; our religion commands it ; and it shall be our
invariable rule firmly and inviolably to adhere to it.
We are called to this duty, at the present time in particular,
when a foreign enemy is meditating desperate attempts to inter-
rupt the happiness and disturb the repose, which these kingdoms
have so long enjoyed, under a monarch, who places his chief glory-
in approving himself the common father of all his people : and
we sincerely assure your grace, that we are ready and willing, to the
utmost of our abilities, to assist in supporting his majesty's go-
vernment against all hostile attempts whatsoever.
Whenever, my lord, it shall please the Almighty, that the legis-
lative power of this realm, shall deem the peaceable conduct of his
majesty's Catholic subjects of Ireland, for many years past an ob-
ject worthy of its favourable attention, we humbly hope means may
APPENDIX. 25
then be devised, to render so numerous a body more useful mem-
bers to the community, and more strengthening friends to the state,
than they could possibly have hitherto been, under the restraint of
the many penal laws against them. We most humbly beseech your
grace to represent to his majesty these sentiments and resolutions
of his majesty's faithful subjects, the Roman Catholics of this me-
tropolis, who sincerely wish, that a peace honourable to his majesty
and advantageous to his kingdoms, may be the issue of the present
war ; and that the people of Ireland may be long governed by your
grace, a viceroy, in whom wisdom, modei"ation, and justice, are so
eminently conspicuous.
Dated this first of December, 1759. (nine).
HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEDFORD S AXSVv'ER TO THE AD-
DRESS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS OF DUBLIN, IN HIS LET-
TER TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN PON3ONBY, ESQ.
SPEAKER OF THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
(From the Dublin Gazette, December 15th, 1759.)
Dublin Castle^ 10th of December, 1759.
SIR,
I BEG the favour of you to return my most sincere
thanks to the gentlemen, the Roman Catholics of Dublin, for the
address which you brought me from them this morning, and for the
good opinion which they have therein expressed of me.
The zeal and attachment, which they profess for his majesty's
person and government, can never be more seasonably manifested,
than in the present conjuncture. - „
It gives me the greatest pleasure to find, that they are so fully
sensible of the lenity, which hath been extended to them, during
the whole course of his majesty's reign ; and they may be assured,
that, so long as they conduct themselves with duty and affection to
the king, they will npt fail to receive his majesty's protection.
I am with great truth and regard, sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
24 APPENDIX,
No. LXVL
LETTER or GENERAL STRODE TO THE LORD LIEUTENANT,
CONCERNING THE LANDING OF THUROT PAGE 63.
INFORMATION of Benjamin Hall, lieutenant and adjutant
to my regiment, who this moment arrived here, on his parade,
from Carrickfergus, in order to get provisions for the officers and
soldiers of my regiment there, says, that on the 21st inst. three
ships appeared off the isle of Magee, standing in shore, for the bay
of Carrickfergus, and at eleven o'clock came to an anchor, about
two miles and a half to the N. E. part of the castle, and within
musquet shot of the shore at Thilroot-point. At this time the
small number of troops belonging to the garrison, were at exercise,
about half a mile on the road to Belfast ; and at a quarter after ele-
ven o'clock, the guard was turned out, made up, and marched off,
td relieve that on the French prisoners in the castle : the rest of
the men continued in the field of exercise, where an account was
soon brought, that the three ships just come to anchor had taken
and detained two fishing boats, and with them and several others
were plying on and off between the shore and the ships ; on which
immediate orders were sent to the castle for both guards to conti-
nue under arms, and double the sentinels on the French prisoners ;
and be particularly strict and watchful over them, till they could be
satisfied whether they were friends or enemies ; though at the
same time, a strong report prevailed with some, that it was an En-
glish frigate and two store ships : but to be convinced what they
were, after the troops had assembled in the market place, Lieute-
nant Hall went off with a reconnoitring party, and took post on a
rising ground, where he could plainly perceive eight boats landing
armed men ; and that they drew out in detachments, and took post
on the dykes, hedges, and all the rising grounds, from whence they
could have the most extensive views : upon which he gave the ne-
cessary orders to his non-commission officers and men, to have a
watchful eye of their approaches ; and to take particular care, that
they did not get round them, by going to the foot of the hill undis-
covered : in order to prevent which he posted them himself, and
told them as soon as ever their advanced guard came within shot, to
fire upon them, and continue to do so until they repulsed them ;
or, if necessary to retreat, he likewise pointed that out to them,
with orders to take every opportunity or advantage of the ground,
in their retreat, to retard the enemy's approach; and to be sure to
keep up a communication with the town as much as possible ;
APPENDIX. 25
and, on this he immediately went to the town and acquainted Lieu-
tenant Colonel Jennings, where he met him with the troops on the
parade, who immediately ordered detachments to be made to de-
fend the gates of the town, and all the avenues leading thereto ; soon
after which the reconnoitring party retired, after having spent all
their ammunition : during which time the lieutenant colonel and
chief magistrate of the town, sent off the sheriff and Mr. Macklewain
(who is captain of the militia of the corporation) with orders to
take off the French prisoners of war, and convey them with all
speed to Belfast, where they were to receive further orders from
me. By this time the enemy were in full march for the town,
which he computed to be near 1000 men ; and two or three strag-
gling hussars, on horses they had picked up after landing, attempt-
ed to enter the gates, but on the first fire, retired, but were soon
supported by parties of foot, who attacked both the north and
Scotch gates ; as also the garden walls of Lord Donegal ; but were
repulsed also, and kept back as long as the men had ammunition.
On which Colonel Jennings ordered the whole to retire to the cas-
tle ; which he had sufficient time to do, as now the enemy was a
little checked from our fire ; and would have been more so, if the
men had ammunition. Before the gates of the castle were shut,
they made their appearance in the market place ; and then it was,
in his opinioH, the destruction of the enemv would have commenc-
ed, had it not been for the still dreadful want of ammunition, not-
withstanding the supply of powder they had received a few clays
before by my order, from Belfast, but were in want of ball, and
even time, if they had that, to make them up : from which the ene-
my, finding our fir,e so cool, attacked the gates sword in hand, which
from the battering of the shot from both sides, the bolts were
knocked back and the gates opened, and the enemy marched in :
but Lieutenant Colonel Jennings, Lord Wallingford, Capt. Bland,
'Lieutenant Ellis, with some gentlemen, and about fifty men, re-
pulsed the enemy and beat them back. Here it was he saw a great
resolution in a few Irish boys, who defended the gate after it was
opened, with their bayonets ; and those from the Half-moon, after
their ammunition was gone, threw stones and sticks. Had this at-
tack of the enemy been supported with any degree of courage, they
must certainly have succeeded in it, but they retired back under
cover, leaving the gates open, with our men in the front of it ;
which gave them a short time to consider what was the best to be
done : first, to see the men's ammunition, who if they had any,
would have certainly sallied, and even without it, had not Colonel
Jennings and all the officers thought the enterprise too hazardous.
Then they considered if the gate could be defended : the breach in
the castle wall, could not ; it being near fifty feet long ; and hav-
ing but a short time to deliberate, all agreed a parley should be
beat, and Lieutenant Hall sent to know on what terms they might
VOL. II. D
26 APPENDIX, v
surrender ; which was done accordingly, and on his going out, found
the greatest part of the enemy under shelter of the old walls and
houses before the castle gate ; and after the usual ceremony, de-
manded of the commandant (the general being wounded) what
terms would be given to the troops on their surrender ; and at the
same time sent the drum to call Colonel Jennings out of the castle,
in order to treat with the French commandant on the articles of
capitulation, which he says, as well as he can remember, were as
follows, viz.
" Colonel Jennings demanded that the troops should march out
" with all the honours of war, and the officers to be on their parole
" in Ireland, and that an equal number of prisoners should be sent
" to France within one month, or as soon after as ships could be
*' got ready for that purpose Granted.
u That the castle of Carrickfergus should not be demolished,
u or any of the stores destroyed or taken out of it Granted.
" That the town and county of Carrickfergns should not be
" plundered or burnt, on condition the mayor and corporation fur-
" nished the French troops with necessary provisions
" Granted/'
That, as well as he can remember, was the verbal articles agreed
on ; though on writing them the French commandant, after con-
sulting his principal officers, declared he could not by any means
answer to his master, the French king, for granting to his Britannic
majesty the stores in the castle, which he insisted upon : and
Colonel Jennings, to his great grief had it not in his power to
refuse, declaring solemnly, at the same time with a grave counte-
nance, that he would rather have been buried in the ruins. To
which the French commandant replied, that he could not insert it
in the articles of capitulation, yet he would give his word of honour,
and did so, that if there was nothing of great value in the castle,
belonging to the king, besides powder, he would not touch it (which
there really was not) : but how far he will keep his promise, is not
yet known. Likewise the magistrates of Carrickfergus, not fur-
nishing the French with necessary provisions, they plundered the
town, declaring it was their own fault, as they were convinced they
had it in their power to supply them, as they had found enough in
the town afterwards.
Mr, Hall further informs me, that he has discovered by some of
the French, that there was a disagreement betwixt their General
and Captain Thurot, the General being for the attack of Carrick,
and Thurot for landing at the White -house and attacking Belfast.
He likewise judges the frigates to be one of 4O guns, the other two
about 20 each.
Lieutenant Hall begs leave to present his duty to your grace,
and hopes your grace will excuse any inaccuracy, that may be in his
description, as he was no way provided with any papers, and state*
APPENDIX. 2f
but from his memory, having been often interrupted by numbers of
gentleman of the militia, who were crowding perpetually into the
room to receive orders.
I beg leave to subscribe myself,
My Lord, Sec.
WM. STRODE.
Belfast, Z$d Feb. 1760.
No. LXVII.
THE ADDRESS OF THE QUAKERS PAGE 66,
To GEORGE the Third, King of Great Britain and the Domini-
ons thereunto belonging. ,
The humble Address of the People called Quakers, of the King-
dom of Ireland.
MAY IT PLEASE THE KING !
We, thy dutiful and faithful subjects, being
deeply impressed with a sense of the loss these nations have sus-
tained by the sudden and unexpected removal of thy royal grandfa-
ther, our late gracious king, beg leave to condole with thee on this
affecting event.
His mild and just government rendered htm dear to all his faith-
ful subjects ; and the particular indulgence and protection we have
enjoyed -in the free exercise of our religious duties, have left on
our minds lasting impressions of gratitude and respect for his me-
mory.
At the same time permit us to congratulate thee on thy accession
to the throne of these realms, in which exalted station, we trust in
that God by whom kings reign, that those many virtues which we
hear adorn thy breast (and for which we are humbly thankful to
the divine giver) will ever continue to animate thy conduct ; and
thy gracious declaration for the encouragement of piety, and sup-
pression of vice and immorality, gives us just grounds to hope, that
thy reign will be happy to thy people, and honourable to thy-
self.
Persuaded of the clemency and benevolence of thy disposition,
and conscious of our own fidelity and affection to thy person and
government, we are emboldened to ask, and assured of thy favour-
able protection : a protection we stand the more in need of, as
S8 APPENDIX.
some of oui' religious tenets (of the truth of which we are firmly
persuaded) expose us to sufferings from unreasonable men. Such
protection, we thankfully acknowledge, the kind acceptance of our
peaceable and dutiful demeanour hath procured to us, during the
late reigns of thy royal ancestors ; and it rs our firm resolution
(through divine assistance) to merit the continuance thereof, by
behaving agreeable to our Christian principles, as becomes faith-
ful subjects.
We offer up our fervent prayers to Almighty God, that he may
endue thee with wisdom, to rule in his fear ; that in thy days righ-
teousness may exalt the nation ; and that thou may be the happy
instrument of restoring a permanent peace ; that his protecting
providence may shield thee irom every danger, preserve thee long
the beloved sovereign of a happy and grateful people ; and perpe-
tuate their happiness by continuing the crown in thy family to la-
test posterity.
Dublin, the 13th of the llth month (called November) 1760.
To the King's most excellent Majesty.
The humble Address of the Roman Catholics of the Kingdom of
Ireland.
MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGJf,
WE, your Majesty's most dutiful and faithful
subjects, the Roman Catholics of the kingdom of Ireland, beg leave
to approach your majesty with this humble tender of our unfeign-
ed loyalty, on your Majesty's happy accession to the throne of your
ancestors.
WThile your Majesty's subjects of all denominations are now en-
deavouring to be foremost in the exertion of every duty towards
your Majesty's person and government ; and while all circum-
stances of affairs at home, and abroad, unite for the present happi-
ness and future glory of your reign ; permit us to condole with
your majesty, and pour out our sincere sorrow for the loss we have
sustained,by the deatfrof a monarch, who had always approved him-
self the common father of all his people ; a loss the more sensible
on our part, as the repose we have so long enjoyed proceeded from
his royal clemency, and the mild administration of his government
in this kingdom.
Ever since the accession of your Majesty's royal house to the
throne of these realms, we have in a particular manner experienc-
ed the paternal interposition of your illustrious predecessors. We,
most gracious sovereign, who are so unfortunately distinguished
from the rest of our fellow subjects, cannot subsist without a conti-
nuance of the royal favour and protection.
APPENDIX. 29
Sensible of the same hereditary compassion in your Majesty's
breast, we most humbly hope for that share in the happiness of
your reign, which our peculiar circumstances can admit. And we
beg leave to assure your Majesty of our grateful and constant re-
turn of affection and loyalty ; a loyalty which our conduct has prov-
ed, and our religion enforces ; happy ! might it entitle us to ex-
press a wish, that of all your majesty's dutiful subjects of this king-
dom, we alone may not be left incapable of promoting the general
welfare and prosperity of it.
May the Almighty so influence and direct your Majesty's coun-
cils, through the whole course of your reign, that they may be ever
productive of real happiness to all your people ! and may that reign
be as memorable for its duration and felicity, as for the greatness and
variety of those blessings, which we have already so much reason
to expect from it.
No. LXVIII.
EXHORTATION READ IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPELS OK
THE DAY OF PUBLIC FAST PAGE 67.
WE think it our duty to remind you of the gra-
titude and thanks you owe to the Almighty God, who in these ca-
lamitous times, so fatal to other parts of Europe, leaves you in the
happy enjoyment of peace and all the blessings that attend it ; bless-
ings that ought to fill your hearts with the deepest sense of God's
mercy towards you, and thankfulness to our chief governor here,
whose paternal care and pity, equally genSrous and extensive,
knows no distinction of persons or people ; these blessings we at-
tribute in a great measure to your peaceable and discreet behaviour
hitherto : wlierefore we exhort you in the bowels of Jesus Christ, to
continue to demean yourselves in the same peaceable manner, and
to avoid every thing in public or private, that might give the least
shadow of offence ; that our ministry (as St. Paul says) may not be
blamed. Nor does this caution proceed from any diffidence we
have of your future conduct : it is rather intended to raise in your
minds a lively sense of the lenity and mildness of our present most
gracious government. Length of time, your constant, ready, and
cheerful submission to the ruling powers, and, above all, the mer-
ciful and humane dispositidh of the present royal family, have
greatly worn off the rigour of prejudice against you : these happy
30 APPENDIX.
dispositions, encouraged by a continuance of the same behaviour in
you, may perhaps improve still more to your advantage : but
whether we shall be deemed worthy of future favour or not, it is our
duty as ministers of Jesus Christ, strongly to enforce the obliga-
tions of a submissive, obedient, and peaceful behaviour, and yours,
as Christians and good subjects, to fulfil them steadily in your prac-
tice.
No LXIX.
THE ADDRESS OF THE MERCHANTS AND TRADERS OF DUBLIN,
IN 1761 PAGE 82.
To the Right Hon. William Pitt, Esq. late one of his Majesty's
Principal Secretaries of State.
The grateful Address of the Merchants and Traders of the city of
Dublin.
WE, his Majesty's most loyal, dutiful, and affecti-
onate subjects, the merchants, traders, and other citizens of the city
of Dublin, whose names are underwritten, judge these kingdoms
too deeply interested in your withdrawing from the high station
you have lately so eminently and greatly filled, to the honour and
satisfaction of the crown and the subject, to let so important an
event pass orer in silence.
Though thus far removed from the great scene of action, we
sensibly felt the manifold good of your truly patriotic and singular-
ly wise and upright administration. To this \ve must attribute
the rescuing Britain from the shameful infection of that pestilential
ministerial practice, which called foreign mercenaries to the defence
of a country, by her native force, when properly exerted, more
than a match for half the powers of Europe.
To your steady virtues we stand indebted for freeing our mother
country from the reproach of calling foreign troops to defend her
from a threatened invasion, and for chastising the insolence of the
vaunting invader ; inspiring the councils and arms of Britain with
that ancient true national spirit, which when duly exerted, ever has,
and ever must render the British name terrible to her foes in the
utmost extremities of the globe.
Under such an administration, we must always see, instead of
private interest, merit, the only recommendation to places of im-
portant trust. By such measures as these, it is that we have seen
APPENDIX'. 31
eommci-ce accompanying conquest to the remotest parts of the earth,
while faction was silenced and jarring parties reconciled and united
at home.
Thus, sir, have your steady patriot virtues raised monuments to
your fame more durable than marble or brass.
As the enemies of these kingdoms never had so great cause to
rejoice, as th:y have from your withdrawing yourself from the
sphere in which alone you could render these unspeakably great
services to your country ; so the true friends of these kingdoms
never had more just cause to mourn.
We should therefore think ourselves wanting in duty to our pa-
triot king, to our mother country, as well as our native, did we
omit giving this public testimony of the loss which all sustain by the
withdrawing of a minister of such matchless abilities and equal
fidelity at so important and critical a conjuncture as the present.
Indulge us thus, great sir, in venting our griefs, and blending
our tears with those of the rest of our mourning brethren and fel-
low subjects in Britain, as well as in other parts of this kingdom.
Accept our most hearty and unfeigned acknowledgments for the
unspeakable services and lasting honours you have already done
your native country, and all the dominions of the crown of Great
Britain. And give us leave to assure you, that we shall ever ad-
mire, and ever with profound respect and gratitude remember the
unparalleled virtues that have so eminently distinguished your ad-
ministration.
No. LX. a.
[PAGE 122.]
HIS Excellency George Viscount Townshend, Lord Lieute-
nant General and General Governor of Ireland, being arrayed in
royal robes, entered the House with the usual ceremonies of gran-
deur ; the Earl of Tyrone carrying the cap of maintenance, and
the Earl of Charlemont the sword of state ; two noblemens' sons
bearing the train of the royal robe : his Excellency the Lord Lieu-
tenant making his conge to the throne, ascended the same, and seaN
ed himself in the chair of state under the canopy ; all the Lords
Spiritual and Temporal standing robed in their places, uncovered,
till their Lordships took their seats.
The Lord Chancellor, kneeling, conferred with his Excellency
the Lord Lieutenant, and then standing on the right hand of the
chair of state, commanded the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod
to repair to the House of Commons, and acquaint the Commons
32 APPENDIX.
that it is his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant's pleasure they attend
him immediately in the House of Peers.
And the Commons, with their Speaker, being come, were con-
ducted to the bar, with the usual ceremonies ; where Mr. Speaker,
after a speech to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, in relation to
the money-bills, delivered them to the Clerk of the Parliament,
who brought them to the table, where the Clerk of the Crown read
the titles, as follow, &c.
1. An act for granting unto his Majesty an additional duty on
beer, ale, strong waters, wine, tobacco, hides, and other goods
and merchandise therein mentioned, and for prohibiting the
importation of all gold and silver lace, and of all cambrics and
lawns, except of the manufacture of Great- Britain.
2. An act for granting to his majesty the several duties, rates,
impositions, and taxes therein particularly expressed, to be ap-
plied to the payment of the interest of the sums therein pro-
vided for and towards the discharge of the said principal sums,
in such manner as therein is directed.
To these bills, tlie Clerk of the Parliament pronounced the Roy-
al Assent, severally in the words following, viz. "Le Roi remer-
" cie ses bons sujets, accepte leur benevolence, et ainsi le veult."
Then his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant was pleased to make
a speech to both Houses of Parliament as follows, viz.
My' Lords and Gentlemen,
The attention you have shewn to the great objects which have
been particularly recommended by me to your consideration, and
the provisions which have been made for the safety and security of
this kingdom, call upon me, not only to express my approbation of,
but to thank you, as I now do, for your conduct in these particu-
lars.
Gentlemen of the House of Commons,
It is with great pleasure that I thank you, in his majesty's name,
for the supplies which you have granted, and the provision which
you made for the present establishment, the public credit, and the
safety of this kingdom.
When I first met you in Parliament, as I knew and could rely
upon it, that nothing cou'd move from his majesty, but what would
be expressive of his constant and ardent desire to maintain and
preserve every constitutional right to his people, I little thought
that anything would happen during the course of this session, that
could possibly affect the just rights of his majesty, and of the crown
of Great Britain, so as to afford his majesty any just cause of dis-
satisfaction, and make it necessary for me, specially to assert and
vindicate those rights.
Therefore it is with great concern that I have seen and observed
in the Votes and Journals oi the House of Commons, printed by
APPENDIX. 33
your order, a late proceeding by you, of such a nature and of such
effect, with respect to the rights of his majesty and the crown of
Great Britain, as to make it necessary for me, on this day, and in
this place, to take notice of and animadvert thereupon ; I mean
the vote and resolution of the 21st day of November last, by which
you, Gentlemen of the House of Commons, declare, that a bill, ia-
titied, " An act for granting to his majesty the several duties, rates,
impositions and taxes therein particularly expressed, to be applied
to the payment of the interest of the sums therein provided for
and towards the discharge of the said principal sums, in such man-
ner as is therein directed," which had been duly certified from hence
to his majesty, and by his majesty had been transmitted in due
form, under the great seal of Great Britain, and which had been
read a first time by you, and which was rejected by you on that day,
was so rejected, because it did not take its rise in your house.
This vote and this resolution of yours, declaring that the said
bill was rejected, because it did not take its rise in your house, be-
ing contrary to the acts of Parliament of this kingdom of the 10th
of Henry VII. and the 3d and 4th of Philip and Mary, and the
usage and practice ever since, and intrenching upon the just rights
of his majesty and the crown of Great Britain, to transmit such
bills to be treated of and considered in Parliament here ; I am now
to assert his majesty's royal authority, and the rights of the crown
of Great Britain in this respect, and in such a manner as may be
most public and permanent ; and therefore I do here in full Par-
liament, make my public protest against the said vote and resolu-
tion of the House of Commons ; by which you, Gentlemen , of that
House, declare, that the said bill was rejected by you, because it
did not take its rise in your house, and against the entries of the
said vote and resolution, which remain in the Journals of the House
of Commons ; and I do require the Clerks of this House now to
read my said Protest, and to enter it in the Journals of this House,
that it may there remain to future ages, as a vindication of the un-
doubted right and authority of his majesty, and of the rights of the
crown of Great Britain, in this particular.
In this Protest, I think myself warranted in all respects, and if
it needed, as I conceive it doth not, any other strength than that,
which it derives from the statutes which I have mentioned, and
from the usage and practice ever since, it would be found in that
precedent which appears in the Journals of this House of the 3d day
of November, 1692, under the reign of that glorious and immortal
Prince King William III. the great deliverer of these kingdoms,
and th*: constant and magnanimous asserter and preserver of the
civil and religious rights of mankind.
VOL. II.
'«4 APPENDIX.
The Lord Chancellor then, by his Excellency's command, deli-
vered the said Protest to the Clerk of the Parliaments, which he
read at the table, and is as follows, viz.
TOWNSHEND.
Whereas at a Parliament holden at Drogheda, in the 10th year
of the reign of King Henry VII. an Act was made for and con-
cerning the order, manner and form of Parliaments, to be holden
and kept in this realm of Ireland ; and by another Act made at a
Parliament holden at Dublin in the 3d and 4th years of King Phi-
lip and Queen IVLiry, it was ordained, enacted, and established, that
no Parliament should be summoned or holden within this realm of
Ireland, until such time as theLieutenant,Lord Deputy, Lord' Jus-
tice, Lords Justices, Chief Governor or Governors, cr any of them,
and the council of this realm, for the time being, should have certi-
fied the King and Queen's Majesties, her heirs and successors, un-
der the great seal of this realm of Ireland, the considerations, causes
and articles of such Acts, provisions, and ordinances, as by them
should be thought meet and necessary to be enacted and passed
here by the Parliament, and should have received again their Ma-
jesties' answer, under the great seal of England, declaring their
pleasures, either for passing the said acts, provisions, and ordi-
nances, in the form and tenor as they should be sent into England,
or else for the change or alteration of them, or any part of the
same ; and that as well after every authority and licence, sent into
this realm of Ireland, for summoning and holding a Parliament, as
also at all times after the summons, and during the time of every
Parliament, to be thereafter holden within this realm of Ireland,
the Lieutenant, Lord Deputy, Lord Justice, Lords Justices, Chief
Governor or Chief Governors, and Council of this realm of Ireland,,
for the time being, should and might certify all such other conside-
rations, causes, tenors, provisions and ordinances, as they should
further trunk good to be enacted and established, at and in the said
Parliament, to the King and Queen's Majesties, her heirs and suc-
cessors, under the great seal of this realm of Ireland, and such con-
siderations, causes, tenors, provisions and ordinances, or any of
them, as should be thereupon certified and returned into this realm,
under the great seal of England, and no others, should and might
pass, and be enacted here in any such parliament withinthis said realm
of Ireland, in case the same considerations, causes, tenors, provi-
sions, and ordinances, or any of them, should be agreed or resolv-
ed on by the three estates of the said Parliament. And whereas
in this present session of Parliament, a bill kititkd, " An Act for
granting to his majesty the several duties, rates, impositions and
taxes therein particularly expressed, to be applied to the payment
of the interest of the sums therein provided for, artel towards the
APPENDIX. 3$
discharge of the said principal sums in such manner as is therein
directed," which had been certified by us, the LordLieutenant of
this kingdom, and by the council of this kingdom, unto the King's
Majesty, under the great seal of this kingdom ; and by his Majes-
ty approved of, and returned into this kingdom, under the great
seal of Great Britain, and by us sent to the House of Commons
to be consi lered of in this present Parliament ; the said Commons,
having the said bill before them, did read the said bill the first
time on the 21st day of November last ; and on the same 21st day
of November, a motion being made in the said House, and the
question put, u That the same bill be read a second time on the
morrow morning :" it passed in the negative. And afterwards,
on the same 21st day of November, another motion was made in
the said House of Commons, and the question put, " That the
same bill be rejected :" it passed in the affirmative. And after-
wards, on the same 21st day of November, a motion was made in
the said House of Commons, and the question put, " That the said
bill is rejected because it did not take its rise in that House :" it
was carried in the affirmative. And the said House of Commons
thereupon, the same day, resolved, that the said bill was rejected,
because it did not take its rise in that House. Ail which motions,
questions, votes, resolutions and proceedings, appear to us in the
Journals or Votes of 'the said House of Commons, printed and
published by and under their order and authority ; and which vote
and resolution of the said House of Commons, declaring, that the
said bill was rejected, because it did not take its rise in that House,
do tend to exclude his Majesty and the crown of Great Britain
from the right of transmitting any bills for granting to his Majes-
ty anc^ his successors, money or other aids, and are not consistent
with, but contrary to the said recited acts of Parliament, and the
usage and practice ever since the making thereof ; and do, in effect,
intrench upon his majesty's roytil power and authority, and the just
and undoubted rights of the crown of Great Britain.
We therefore the said Lord Lieutenant, as well to assert the just
rights of his Majesty and the crown of Great Britain (whereof we
are, and ever will be most tender) in transmitting such bills under
the great seal of Great Britain, to be considered of in Parliament,
as to discharge the trust reposed in us, and prevent the inconveni-
encies which may hereafter happen by the said vote and resolution
of the House of Commons, declaring, that the said bill was reject-
ed for the cause therein mentioned, being made public and remain-
ing in their journals, without any contradiction or animadversion,
have thought it necessary this day, in full Parliament to protest,
and we do accordingly protest against the aforesaid vote and reso-
lution of the said House of Commons, made and passed, declaring
that the said bill was rejected, because it did not take its rise in
that House, and appearing in their journals or votes. And we do
36 APPENDIX.
assert, protest and declare, that it is the just and undoubted right of
his Majesty and of the crown of Great Britain, observing the
f n ms in the said several acts prescribed, to transmit bills under
the great seal of Great Britain, for granting of aids to his Majes-
ty, his heirs and successors ; which said bill so transmitted, ought
to be read and considered of by the House of Commons in tnis
kingdom, without being rejected by the said House, on account on-
ly of their not taking their rise in that House ; and therefore the
rejecting of the said bill because it did not take its rise in that
House, and the said recited vote and resolutions of the said House
of Commons, declaring, that the said bill was rejected, because it did
not take its rise in that House, are not consistent with, but contra-
ry to, the acts of parliament herein before mentioned, and the prac-
tice and usage in all parliaments since the making thereof; and al-
so highly derogatory to his Majesty's royal authority and the rights
of the crown Great of Britain.
After which the lord chancellor, by his excellency's further com-
mand, said ;
My Lords and Gentlemen,
It is his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant's pleasure, that this
Parliament be prorogued to Tuesday the 20th day of March next,
to be then here held ; and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued
to Tuesday the 20th day of March next.
No. LXI. a.
PROTEST OF FIVE LORDS AGAINST THE LORD LIEUTENANT'S
RIGHT OF PROTESTING PAGE 125.
MOTION being made, that the speaker of this house be de-
sired to direct that no protest of any person whomsoever, who is
not a lord of parliament, and a member of this house, and which
doth not respect a matter which had been previously in question
before this house, and wherein the lord protesting had taken part
with the minority either in person or by proxy, be entered in the
journals of this house.
And a debate arising thereupon, the question was put, and the
house divided :
The Earl of Drogheda reported, that the contents below the bar
were 5 ; and the non-contents in the house were 30.
It passed in the negative.
APPENDIX. 37
Dissentient :
1. Because we conceive, that it is the sole and exclusive right
and privilege of a lord of parliament and member of this house,
to have his protest entered on the journals of this house : and
that even a lord of parliament and member of this house cannot
have his protest so entered, except upqn a matter previously
in question before this house, wherein the lord protesting took
part with the minority, either in person or by proxy.
2. Because we conceive, that this regulation of the privilege
of protesting, stands upon the same principle ; in consequence
of which, this privilege hath obtained among the lords, and not
among the representatives of the people, the latter, we appre-
hend, are considered by the constitution, as actuated and justi-
fied by the sentiments of these whom they represent : whereas
the lords, who act, not as deputies, but in their own right,
are more personally responsible for their conduct to posterity.
The practice of a permanent justification, also seems to have
deemed a more necessary guard upon a body, whose power was
permanent. Hence we conceive the privilege of protesting
arose, that a lord against whom the majority had declared, might
have an opportunity of vindicating himself to future times,
which the original custom of inserting the name of each lord
on the journals, with the part he had taken in the question
rendered more unnecessary : and we therefore apprehend, as it
would be absurd for a lord to justify his conduct where he had
not acted, that the privilege of protesting had been by reason as
well as by practice confined to cases, in which the lord protesting
had taken a part, and in which, upon question, the majority had
been on a different opinion.
3. Because we conceive, that the Earl of Strafford, who
first attempted, and that but in a single instance, to enter
his protest, as chief governor, upon the journals of this house,
was a person of such an arbitrary spirit, and the times, in which
he lived, of so bad example, and his said protest so informal and
faulty in itself, that such his proceeding ought not to be con-
sidered as a precedent.
4. Because we apprehend, that the only subsequent instance,
to wit, the protest of Lord Sydney, which was made in heat by
that governor, whose conduct was disapproved on his recal to
England, which soon followed, and founded upon the former
example, which ought not to have, been imitated, was still more
irregular and improper, inasmuch as it related to a matter, which
had never been before this house, and respected the privileges
and proceedings of the other house of parliament.
5. Because we conceive it to be peculiarly necessary, at this
time, to express our sentiments upon this subject, when we have
3S APPENDIX.
reason to apprehend, that it is intended, that a protest should be
entered upon the journals of this house, relative to the proceed-
ings and privileges of the other house of parliament in imitation
of the last mentioned protest.
6. Because we apprehend, that we ought not to suffer this
distinguished privilege of the lords to be invaded or assumed
by any person, in whatever station. And that we ought par-
ticularly to resist any such attempt, when it may be to involve
a breach of the privileges of the other house of parliament also,
and may therefore be productive of dissension between the two
houses.
Louth, Mountmorres,
Charlemont, Longford.
Powerscourt,
No. LXII. *.
PROTEST OF SIXTEEN LORDS AGAINST THE ENTRY OF THE
LORD LIEUTENANT'S PROTEST ON THE JOURNALS....?. 135.
Dissentient,
1. BECAUSE we conceive, that by the entering of the
lord lieutenant's protest upon the journals of this hquse, at
the close of the last session, the privileges of this house, and
the constitutional rights of the peerage, have been most fla-
grantly infringed and violated ; and that therefore the earliest
opportunity should be seized of vindicating the rights and pri-
vileges of the peerage, and of wiping away the affront, which this
house has received therein, by expunging from its journals this
matter of offence which has been unwarrantably and illegally
obtruded upon them.
2. Because we conceive, that the above mentioned protest
contains in it matter in the highest degree illegal and uncon-
stitutional, inasmuch as it claims a right, and presumes to
animadvert upon some proceedings of the lower house of parlia-
ment. Now we are bold to assert, that whenever any one
branch of the legislature shall arrogate a right to animadvert
upon either of the other two branches, the branch of the legis-
lature so subject to animadversion would instantly cease to be
part of the supreme power ; the balance of the constitution
would be overturned, and that branch in which this jurisdiction
resided, would be completely sovereign j a supposition, which
APPENDIX. 351
is equally abhorrent to the spirit and to the letter of the con-
stitution.
3. Because we conceive, that this house hath and ought to
have the sole and exclusive dominion over its own journals, in
like manner as the commons have over theirs ; and that the lord
lieutenant hath no more right to order an entry to be made upon
our journals than he hath to order an entry to be made upon
the journals of the commons ; and we conceive, that as the
crown, though a branch of the legislature, is no estate of par-
liament, therefore the crown or its representative, can have no
jurisdiction over the journals of the estates of parliament, which
are the records of the proceedings of the deliberative branches
of the legislature, whereof the crown is not one. And we are
the more confirmed in this opinion, by reflecting, that there is
not a single instance even in the most arbitrary times, of such
a power being claimed or exercised by the crown, in Great
Britain, over the journals of, the British peers. We apprehend
also, that no matter can with propriety be entered upon the
journals of this house, without the leave of this house previously
had or implied, as is clearly evinced by the constant practice of
reading the minutes by the clerk before the house is adjourned,
in order that every peer may have an opportunity of preventing
any thing improper from being entered upon the journals. Now
on the last day of the last session, no such opportunity was
given, the reading of the minutes having been prevented by the
prorogation.
4. Because, though it hath been asserted, that the journals of
this house, being public records, it is improper that any altera-
tion should be made therein: we are of opinion, that this maxim
extends only to the judicial proceedings of this house, not
seeing that in other instances there is any reason to distinguish
between the journals of this house and those of the other
house of parliament, from which matters have frequently been
expunged: As it is also notorious, that matters, not of a judi-
cial nature, have frequently been expunged from the journals of
the House of Lords of Great Britain. Indeed, were it other-
wise, the speaker or even the clerk of this house, or any in-^
different person, who might however irregularly get access to
the journal book, might insert therein matter of the most
criminal import, amounting even to the crime of treason ; and
it would be a strange solecism to say, that such insertion
must for ever remain, to the disgrace of this house, without
any power in us to expunge and purge away such obnoxious
matter.
5. Because it hath been declared to be a high breach of the
privileges of parliament, that the crown should take notice of
40 APPENDIX.
the proceedings of either house of parliament, unless the same
shall be regularly laid before it ; a circumstance, in which we
conceive, that the protest of Lord StrafFord, however in all other
respects irregular and unconstitutional, hath the advantage over
those of Lord Sydney and of our present chief governor.
6. Because we think this entry peculiarly improper, inasmuch
as the viceroy hath therein, by a breach of the privileges of this
house, made our journals the instrument of a breach of the pri-
vileges of the other house of parliament, a practice which, if not
discountenanced by us, might probably end in a rupture between
the two houses.
Leinster, by proxy, Moira, by proxy,
Westmeath, Longford,
Lanesborough, Mountcashel,
Shannon, Knapton,
Lisle, Louth,
Mornington, Bellamont,
Powerscourt, Bective,
Charlemont, Molesworth.
Baltinglass,
No. LXIII. a.
THE CATHOLIC'S TEST or ALLEGIANCE PRESCRIBED BY 13TH
AND 14TH GEO. III. C. XXXV PAGE 149.
I A. B. do take Almighty God and his only Son Jesus
Christ my Redeemer to witness, that I will be faithful and bear
true allegiance to our most gracious sovereign lord King George
the Third, and him will defend to the utmost of my power
against all conspiracies and attempts whatever, that shall be
made against his person, crown, and dignity; and I will do my
utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to his majesty,
and his heirs, all treasons and traitorous conspiracies, which
may be formed against him or them ; and I do faithfully pro-
mise to maintain, support and defend, to the utmost of my
power, the succession of the crown in his majesty's family,
against any person or persons whatsoever, hereby utterly re-
nouncing and abjuring any obedience or allegiance unto the per-
son taking upon himself the style and title of Prince of Wales,
in the life time of his father, and who since his death is said to
have assumed the style and title of king of Great Britain and
APPENDIX. 41
Ireland, by the name of Charles the Third, and to any other
person claiming or pretending a right to the crown of these
realms ; and I do swear, that I do reject and detest as unchris-
tian and impious to believe, that it is lawful to murder or de-
stroy any person or persons whatsoever, for or under pretence
of their being Heretics ; and also, that unchristian and impious
principle, that no faith is to be kept with Heretics ; I further
declare, that it is no article of my faith, and that I do renounce,
reject, and abjure the opinion, that princes excommunicated by
the pope and council,, or by any authority of the see of Rome,
or by any authority whatsoever, may be deposed or murdered
by their subjects, or by any person whatsoever ; and I do pro-
mise, that I will not hold, maintain, or abet, any such opinion,
or any other opinion, contrary to what is expressed in this de-
claration j and I do declare, that I do not believe, that the pope
of Rome, or any other foreign prince, prelate, state, or potentate
hath, or ought to have any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power,
superiority, or pre-eminence, directly or indirectly, within this
realm ; and I do solemnly in the presence of God, and of his on-
ly Son Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, profess, testify and declare,
that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the
plain and ordinary sense of the words of this oath, without any
evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatever, and with-
out any dispensation already granted by the pope or authority of
the see of Rome, or any other person whatever ; and without
thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man, or
absolved of this declaration, or any part thereof, although the
pope, or any other person or persons, or authority whatsoever
shall dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null
and void from the beginning.
So help me God.
No. LXIV. a.
FROM THE DEBATES IN THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS.
[PAGE 166.]
AS soon as the ceremony of swearing in the re-elected and
new members was over,
Colonel Luttrell rose, and reminded the house, that, previous
to the recess, he had expressed a desire to say something rela-
tive to the very critical situation of Ireland ; and that he had
VOL. II. F
42 APPENDIX.
been prevented from indulging that desire by a request from
an honourable member (Mr. Byng), that he would not intro-
duce any question upon so important a subject in the absence of
his majesty's ministers, who having been at that time just ap-
pointed, had vacated their seats in that house, and consequently
could not be present at the discussion of a subject, which he
owned ought hot to be agitated without them : that the same
honourable member had requested he would speak to them, be-
fore he should say any thing relative to Ireland in that house ;
and assured him at the same time, that he would find the new
servants of the crown most ready to do every thing in their
power to promote the welfare and happiness of every part of his
majesty's dominions.
He had given way to the desire of the honourable member,
and had conferred with two of the new ministers, and he felt
himself bound to say publicly of them that he found them ex-
tremely well disposed to do every thing in reason to quiet the
discontents of the people of Ireland ; as far as they were con-
cerned he was satisfied ; but as he then saw in his place a right
honourable gentleman (Mr. Eden) who knew best the situation
of Ireland, he certainly wished that before his return the right
honourable gentleman would explain to the house, a little of the
present posture of affairs in that kingdom.
Mr. Eden thought that in a situation, such as Ireland then
stood, the eyes of men were turned upon him, who being a
member of the legislature of that kingdom, as well as of this,
and at the same time in a ministerial capacity in the former,
must be supposed to be well acquainted with the nature of the
jealousies and demands of the people of Ireland : he presumed
that it would be expected of him to say something of affairs in
which he himself had borne a part ; and to propose some mea-
sure, which should tend to conciliation with Ireland, in the pre-
sent very alarming situation of that kingdom ; it was his inten-
tion therefore, before he should sit down, to make a motion on
that subject; but first he thought it would be proper to give a
short sketch of the history of Irish affairs for the last two years.
(As the public are acquainted with all the political facts that
have occurred in Ireland during that period, we shall not enter
into them so minutely as Mr. Eden did ; we shall therefore
only state the general heads, and the observations that he made
on them.)
He said, that, when the acts passed in England for enlarging
the trade of Ireland, and admitting that kingdom to an equal
participation of trade with England, the people of the former,
instead of being filled with gratitude for the blessing which had
been just extended to them, began to be jealous, lest they should
lose that blessing which they prized so much ; and, seeing be-
APPENDIX. 43
fore them the bright prospect which a free trade opened to their
view, their first sentiment was fear, that, at some future period,
the same power, which had conferred, might resume that grant:
and some circumstances occurred, which tended greatly to en-
crease the fears of the people on this head ; lor in the very next
session of the English parliament, Ireland was mentioned in
four diiferent acts ; so that the Irish were thereby alarmed, lest
the power which assumed a right to bind Ireland, even after a
free trade had been granted to her, might, when the circum-
stances of affairs would warrant such a proceeding, resort back
again to that commercial monopoly, which had just been bro-
ken ; and they then began to look into their own constitution.
It was tru*e, that those four acts, in which Ireland was bound,
were not of a nature to afford grounds for any such apprehen-
sion; for they related to very trifling matters, no ways injuri-
ous, one of which, on the contrary, was beneficial to Ireland ;
but still they created jealousies, and gave rise to many argu-
ments in the Irish House of Commons, where Mr. Grattan had
formerly complained of them, as subversive of the constitutional
independence, as it was called, of the parliament of Ireland.
The volunteers all complained of them ; and when he mention-
ed the volunteers, he might be said to mention the whole nation,
which, as with one voice, maintained that no power on earth
had a right to legislate for Ireland, but the king and parliament
of Ireland. In speaking of the volunteers, he must take that
opportunity, he said, to bear his public testimony to their steady
loyalty, and attachment to Great Britain ; and their constant
declarations, that the enemies of England should be the ene-
mies of Ireland; but it was not by words only or professions,
that they manifested their loyalty ; they proved it by their
deeds ; and when the combined fleets threatened the country
with an invasion, it was impossible to describe with what ala-
crity and spirit they made a tender of their services to the lord
lieutenant ; and this too without any previous communication
among themselves, or concert whatsoever : for their noble and
generous behaviour at that alarming moment, his excellency has
thought it necessary to express his acknowledgments to them
from the throne. Previous to that session, the volunteers, with-
out marking any disposition to those measures, which they had
since adopted, were harmlessly amusing themselves with re-
views, and military parade ; and such an opposition was ex-
pected in parliament, as even' free government would wish to
see formed, as such a constitutional opposition must necessarily
make ministers more watchful, and attentive to their duty.
When the session was opened, various were the questions in-
troduced into the House of Commons, which he had not been
able to approve, and which appearing to a majority of the house,
44 APPENDIX.
in the same light as they did to him, he had been able to post-
pone : one was for a declaration of the rights of Ireland j
another respecting the mutiny-bill ; a third for a bill to quiet the
proprietors, who held estates in Ireland, under British acts of
parliament. All these measures had appeared to the majority
of the house, as very inexpedient ; but still he must observe,
that even the majority which had supported him, were friends to
the principle of every one of these questions ; and therefore
they were only postponed and got rid of by the previous ques-
tion; but not rejected: At length, a gentleman of very great
character and abilities (Mr. Yelverton) wishing to steer a mid-
dle course, to satisfy the demands of the volunteers, respecting
a declaration of rights, and at the same time to prevAt the mis-
chiefs or at least the inconveniences, which might flow from
such declaration, unqualified, and untempered, had brought in a
bill for enacting into laws in Ireland, several statutes, which had
been made in England : in this bill he himself had taken no ac-
tive part ; but he would say thus much of it, that it had his most
hearty concurrence. As this bill would certainly obviate the
principal inconveniences, that would otherwise result from a de-
claration of what the people of Ireland called their rights, and
as he saw plainly, that such a declaration could no longer be op-
posed with success, he would now give way to necessity, and
no longer oppose himself to such a measure ; for in the present
state and disposition of Ireland, he would assure the house, that
they might as well strive to make the Thames flow up High-
gate-hill, as to attempt to legislate for Ireland, which would no
longer submit to any legislature but its own.* What use the
Irish would make of their legislative independence, he could
not tell ; but if he could bring himself to think, that they would
avail themselves of it in making any foreign connections, inju-
rious to the trade or interest of this kingdom, he was free to say,
that sooner than agree to such an independence, England ought
to risque a good deal. But he believed a sensible, judicious
people, like the Irish, would always see that the interests of both
kingdoms \vere so connected, sthat they could not be separated
without the greatest loss to both ; and therefore he trusted, that
the Irish would never attempt to break the connection ; he
trusted also, that they would adopt, from time to time, such
laws of this country, as it would be for the interest of both
should be in force in both kingdoms, and as no Irish bill could
pass into law, without the previous consent of the king, in his
council of England, so there was no danger that the indepen-
dence of the legislature of Ireland could be made use of to make
laws injurious to the sister kingdom, the English council being
responsible for every advice they gave their sovereign.
APPENDIX. 45
Exclusive of the declaration of rights, the volunteers, or in
another word, Ireland, had called for an habeas corpus act,
which as it was proper she should have, had not been opposed ;
and now it was part of the law of Ireland. They had called
also for an act to make the judges independent of the crown, by
making them hold their commissions quamdhi se bene gesserint;
this was a reasonable demand, and had consequently been com-
plied with j for a bill was brought in to that effect ; and it was
now in its progress through parliament. An alteration of the
mutiny bill was another thing which they looked for; he must
needs'say, he could not see the danger, which the enemies to
what was called the perpetual clause in that bill, apprehended
from it ; hSwever, as he made no doubt but the people of Ireland
would be ready to adopt such regulations as the parliament of
England might from time to time make for the army, so he
flattered himself that the ground of apprehension, lest the regu-
lations in England and Ireland for the army should be different,
would be removed : he saw no reason, why the wishes of the
latter should be any longer opposed on this head ; nay, he thought
they ought not to be opposed, since new jealousies had lately
been excited on that subject by a transaction in England. It
was understood in Ireland that the name of that kingdom should
no longer be inserted in the English mutiny bill ; and still, when
that bill was brought in, the word Ireland, as usual, stood part
of it: It had indeed been since struck out, and the bill passed
without it ; but the minds of the volunteers were not easy on
the subject. A modification of Poynings' law was another
object, which the Irish had greatly at heart: On that he would
not enlarge ; but gentlemen would see that it should be granted ;
England had nothing to fear from the increased power of the
Irish parliament, as the consent of the king would still be neces-
sary to sanctify all their acts.
Having made these, and various other observations, he moved
for leave to bring in a bill to repeal so much of the act of the
6th of George I. as asserted a right in the king and parliament
of Great Britain to make laws to bind the kingdom and people
of Ireland. He did not wish to precipitate matters ; but gen-
tlemen must see the necessity of doing something speedily, and
without the loss of a moment, to prevent those consequences,
which it was not for him so much as to think of: they all knew
that the parliament of Ireland was to meet to-morrow se'nnight,
and Mr. Grattan would on that day propose to the House of
Commons, a vote for a declaration of rights. Would it not
therefore, says he, be expedient to anticipate the wishes of Ire-
land on that head ; and, to convince her of our sincere inten-
tion, give her every security in our power for the permanency
of her constitution, and of that trade, which she is so anxious to
46 APPENDIX.
preserve? As for himself, he must set out on his return for
Ireland, either that night or to-morrow morning, and he should
be happy to have it in his power to carry over with him the
agreeable tidings, that the parliament of England was ready
to give the Irish every satisfaction they could reasonably re-
quire.
He did not desire that the bill which he moved for should
be immediately passed ; all he looked for was a kind of pledge
from that house to carry over with him to Ireland, that the
English parliament would not oppose the favourite wish and
determined resolution of the Irish: the bill might lie over, until
it should be known whether it would satisfy the Irish parliament
or not : if it should, then it might be passed into a law ; if the
partial repeal he proposed should not please the Irish, then he
would advise the total repeal of the 6th of George I. But
if neither partial nor total repeal would satisfy them, then he
certainly should leave the law, as it now stood, without any alte-
ration whatever.
Mr. Courtenay rose, and said he would second the motion; Lord
Newhaven rose to do the same thing, and Colonel Luttrell was
not willing to give up the point to either of them. After some
dispute for the priority in speaking, the chair decided in favour
of Lord Newhaven, who said that no man was less connected
with the present administration than he was ; and yet he thought
it would have been proper to have given the new administration
a little more time to turn their thoughts to the affairs of Ireland:
however, as the motion had been made, he rose to give it his
most hearty support : because he was perfectly satisfied that the
measure was now become absolutely necessary.
Colonel Luttrell said, that when he rose to second the motion,
it was under the idea, that such a measure as was then proposed,
would give general satisfaction to Ireland ; if he thought it
would not, he certainly would not second such a motion ; because
he would not consent to the repeal of the 6th of George I.
unless in case of such emergency as the present, when he thought
by such a repeal, he might quiet the minds and conciliate the
affections of the people of Ireland ; and therefore he called upon
the right honourable gentleman, who made the motion, to tell
the house, whether he thought such a measure ajs he had just
proposed, would produce the salutary effect that was expected
from it.
Mr. Eden could not undertake to say, that the measure pro-
posed would give complete satisfaction to Ireland ; and there-
fore would not pledge himself, that it would ; but he knew that
so critical was the situation of that country at present, that if
the motion then before the house should be rejected, he would
not answer for the consequences. The speaker read the motion
from the chair.
APPENDIX. 4JT
M. Secretary Fox then rose, and claimed the attention of the
house in a particular degree, lie said he never was more
astonished than at the proceedings of the house upon that day,
and at the manner in which the right honourable gentleman had
acted. For first an honourable gentleman had risen, and re-
stated to the house what he had mentioned before the recess,
without making any motion whatever, relating merely the cir-
cumstances ot the country of Ireland, and the necessity that
there was for serious and speedy measures being adopted for
quieting the jealousies subsisting in that kingdom. Upon this
another right honourable gentleman, without any previous
communication, or having consulted with any person whatever,
rises up, aud, after many observations on the circumstances and
state of the kingdom of Ireland, concludes with a motion for
declaring Ireland to be totally independent of the legislature of
Great r..ritain. The right honourable gentleman said, he hoped
it would not be expected that he should give an answer to all
the observations that had been made; they had been truly cu-
rious ; and especially as they were thrown out, and the house
moved upon the very day when the new servants of the king
met the representatives of the people in parliament, and before
they could have it in their power to propose any measure what-
ever with respect to Ireland. The hurry of the right honoura-
ble gentleman was such, that he came down to the house, and
moved this proposition, which was to divide the kingdom of
Ireland from the legislature of Great Britain, without giving his
majesty's ministers any time to act in their new situation, or
come to parliament with such plans as would in their opinion
quiet the disturbances, and restore harmony to both nations.
The right honourable gentleman had come over from Ireland to
this country ; and it was no secret that he had brought with him
a letter of resignation from the lord lieutenant. His majesty's
ministers had scarcely done reading that letter, when they re-
ceived another from the right honourable gentleman himself,
informing them that he declined communicating to the confi-
dential servants of the crown any knowledge which he might
possess relative to the circumstances and state of Ireland, to tell
them any facts, or to state any opinion upon them whatever.
In the letter of resignation the Earl of Carlisle had said, that he
did not give any account of the situation of the kingdom of
Ireland, because his right honourable secretary was coming to
England, who would be able to give them the most complete
.information of every particular. But the right honourable
secretary chose to withhold this information from his majesty's
ministers, and to come to this house without communicating
with any one, without taking any advice, and without giving
any time to the new ministers to move for a repeal of the 6th
48 APPENDIX.
of George I. He had believed that the purpose of the right
honourable gentleman's visit to this country, was to give his
majesty's ministers that information, for which the lord lieute-
nant referred them in his letter of resignation ; but now the true
purpose of his journey was discovered. It was not to give in-
formation to government, but to come to that house, and, on
the first day after the recess, to make a most unseasonable and
unwise motion, which, he no doubt imagined would considera-
bly embarrass the king's servants. If this were the sort of op-
position, which they were to meet with in that house, he had
too good an opinion of the candour of parliament to fear it.
The disposition of the king's ministers towards Ireland, he
believed, was sufficiently understood ; and that disposition which
they had expressed, when out of office he sincerely believed
they would now maintain, and would take the speediest and
most likely means of giving complete satisfaction to the people
of Ireland. The motion came with singularity from the right
honourable gentleman, who was one of those persons who had
constantly talked in such high language of " the unity of the
" British dominions," and who thought proper to resist every
claim that was made both by the people of Ireland and the people
of America to that just liberty, and those rights and privileges
they inherited under the constitution. If the administration,
of which he had been a member and a partisan, had been as
ready to yield to the pretensions of Ireland, when those preten-
sions were conveyed, in terms of most respectful regard, the
house would not have been insulted on that day with a motion
from one of the men who had constantly and uniformly denied
every request, and withheld every boon that was either sought
or wished for by our sister kingdom. But the right honourable
gentleman seemed yet to have the principles of his late friends,
and to act entirely upon their plan ; he seemed to wish to divide
the two kingdoms ; and like them, after talking of the unity
of the British dominion, to strive to dismember the British
empire. He had come post from Ireland for the purpose, as it
should seem, of moving this repeal of the 6th of George I.
in the House of Commons ; and this he thought it his duty to
do, though he did not conceive it to be his duty to give any
account to government of the state and condition of Ireland.
The nature of his journey was now perfectly manifest. He
had come in this very great hurry.. -.had contrived to come on
the very first day of the meeting after the recess. ...on the very
first day of the ministers taking their seats in the house.. ..to
propose a thing which demanded, the most serious enquiry, the
most deliberate investigation, that the wisdom of this country
and of Ireland could give it. If his late friends had had a twen-
tieth part of his hurry, if they had had a twentieth part of his
APPENDIX* 49
present disposition to yield to the requisitions of Ireland, we
should not now be brought to the distress in which we are at
this moment. If the late ministry had conceded when they
might concede with grace, if they had given an extension of
commerce, as was the right of Ireland, as well as it was for
the benefit of England, when that extension was decently called
for, and they had taken that occasion finally to settle the relative
situation of the two countries, it might have been done without
difficulties, and all our present embarrassment, with its conse-
quences, would have been avoided. But they never looked
beyond the present instant, they never provided for what was
to come, they did things neither effectually or finally, and the
right honourable gentleman seemed still to partake of the same
quality ; for he was only inclined to do one thing, without tak-
ing time to consider, or seeming to care whether what he did
would be sufficient, whether it were all they desired, and whether,
when they had procured the repeal of one part of the act of the
6tn George I. they would not afterwards think that the other
parts of that act should also be repealed. He was sincerely of
opinion, that this was not the way of settling the jealousies, or
of restoring tranquillity to Ireland. His majesty's ministers,
he could assure the house, had not lost a moment in bringing
forward the subject. Out of the short time that they had been
in office, they had employed a considerable part on the affairs of
Ireland. He wished to God that their predecessors had been
as active, and that they had lost as little time as those who were
now entrusted with the government of this country. If the right
honourable gentleman had given the proper communications to
government, perhaps the ministers would have been prepared
this day to have brought forward a proposition j as it was, he
could say, that before many days elapsed, before many hours,
the subject would come before the house in a regular way. His
majesty's ministers, when out of office, declared their opinion
with respect to the claims of Ireland. They had said, that those
restrictions, with regard to commerce, under which they la-
boured, were exceedingly impolitic as well as cruel ; and that it
would be for the benefit of England as well as of Ireland, that
there should be such an extension of trade, and such settlement
of connection, as would quiet the jealousies of the one, without
hurting the interest, or lowering the rank of the other. It
was therefore to be presumed, at least, that they would act
up to their former declarations ; he sincerely believed that they
would do so ; and he could assure the house, for his own part,
that he was entirely disposed to heal the sore minds of our fel-
low-subjects, and to prevent the unhappy cgnsequsnces of divi-
sion and tumult.
VOL. II. G
50 APPENDIX.
The right honourable gentleman had talked of the measures
of the volunteer army in Ireland, during the last summer, as a
matter of diversion and amusement. This was language which
he confessed he did not expect to hear. He should not have
been surprised if the right honourable gentleman had said of
them, that their measures were alarming to the government of
Ireland ; it might have been said with truth, that they had been
conducted with bravery ; perhaps that they originated in neces-
sity ; certainly in the love of their country, in virtue, and in the
support of their independence, as a people: but that the secretary
to the lord lieutenant, and one of the ministers of the kingdom,
should talk of their measures as a matter of diversion and
amusement, was beyond all the absurdity that he had ever heard.
The right honourable gentleman had said, that the opposition
which the government of Ireland had met with, was that sort
of opposition which a government would always choose to have.
Was it so ? Was an opposition composed of all the integrity,
the talents, and the respect of a country, such as a ministry
would choose to meet with? An opposition composed of a
Charlemont, a Grattan, a Burgh, a Yelverton, a Flood, &c. was
not to be wished for by any ministry, who desired to stand well
with their country. The Lord preserve him from such an
opposition ! He would not wish to be the minister who proposed
measures, which such men as those must in their hearts op-
pose. The right honourable gentleman had, by a strange mode
of reasoning, called the administration of the Earl of Carlisle
fortunate and successful. Fortunate and successful surely must
that administration be, which concludes writh a motion from
the secretary for reducing this country to conditional submis-
sion, and humbling her at the feet of Ireland ! Fortunate and
successful must that administration have been, when the secre-
tary, after opposing every claim that is made, comes over post,
and declares, that all his opposition is fruitless, and that the
requisition must be complied with ! Fortunate and successful
Surely the administration of the Earl of Carlisle could not be
called; but in denying that the noble lord had been successful
in his administration, he by no means intended to say, that he
was to blame. He believed it was the fault of the late ministers
of this empire, whose total inattention to the affairs of that king-
dom, had made apart of that system of negligence and lethargy
which prevailed throughout. He had always thought, that the
affairs of this country under their management had suffered most
materially ; that they had taken away the pride which was natu-
ral to Britain, and had brought us into most alarming circum-
stances. But within the last fortnight he had deceived such
additional information, and such insight into the affairs of that
country, that all his former conjectures were now ripened into
complete judgments j all his former apprehensions were most
APPENDIX. 51
alarmingly increased, and he found that our situation was much
worse even than he dreaded. Bad as he always thought those
ministers were, he had never believed them to be so inattentive,
so remiss, or so totally careless of every thing that regarded the
interests of their country, as he had found them. He trusted,
that the present servants of the crown would think it their duty
to make up a state of the affairs of the country as they found
them at this time, and lay it before parliament for their infor-
mation. This was a digression \vhich the house would pardon.
It was, however, not totally foreign from the question ; for their
neglect of the affairs of Ireland was one of the most material
parts of their guilt.
The right honourable gentleman said, that he trusted in the
candour of the house for the confidence which they would have
in the intentions of his majesty's ministers towards Ireland ;
and that they would believe, that they meant and wished most
ardently to bring the matter forward in the most speedy manner.
He would again assure them, that it had always been his politi-
cal sentiments, that it was unjust and tyrannical to attempt to
hole] a country in subjection, and to govern against the will and
opinion of the people. It had always been his sentiment with
regard to America as well as to Ireland, that they could not,
much less ought not to be governed by laws which they rejected
as unconstitutional. All just government must consist in the
perfect consent, good will and opinion of the people ; it was the
best and purest system of government, where harmony pre-
vailed ; and without it, it was not government, but usurpation.
This was always his idea on the subject, and he maintained it'in
opposition to all theories of men, because it was the only system,
which in the end was practicable. It was certainly the most
consistent with true policy, as well as justice. To bring about
a final settlement of the dispute between Great Britain and Ire-
land ; to state and precisely to declare, not for a moment, but for
ever, what was the relative situation of the two countries with
respect to each other ; to take in«and conclude all points of dif-
ference, and to establish such a system of connection, intimacy
and relation between them, as should be immediately and per-
manently for the interest of both, would require much discus-
sion, and a considerable deal of time; for both countries must
come to the discussion of the great and important subject, that
by mutual consent it might be settled for ages, and not, as had
been the conduct of the late ministers, sear up the wound for a
moment, without completing the cure. When those ministers
agreed to the extension of the trade of Ireland, they should have
ultimately settled the claims and fixed the situation. They
failed to do this at the proper time, and they ought to answer
for it to their country. That measures, however, would bz
52 APPENDIX.
taken for accomplishing this desirable end, he might safely
assure the house. He thought that deceit was always perni-
cious, and he wished to speak with as much openness and infor-
mation as the nature of his office could justify. He would,
therefore, move for the order of the day, as the best means of
postponing the motion of the right honourable gentleman. He
wished for this to give time to the king's servants to determine
with precision on the plan to be offered to both countries ; and
he had the utmost reason to hope and believe, that the matter
would be finally settled without any of those consequences, which
the conduct of the right honourable gentleman in this business
had been calculated to produce. He wished, he confessed, that
the right honourable gentleman would withdraw his motion,
as the best means ; and by which an honourable friend of his,
Mr. Crewe, would be able to move for leave to bring in a bill,
which he had introduced some years ago, for disqualifying
excise and custom-house officers from voting at elections. This
was a part of the plan, which had been formed when they were
out of office, for reforming the constitution of parliament, and
which they seriously meant to undertake now with the same
zeal and attention as before. Not a day would be lost until
the task of reducing the improper influence of the crown, and
settling the representation of the people upon more equal grounds,
was fulfilled. The right honourable gentleman, had said, that
his opposition to the various motions that had been made in the
Irish House of Commons had been supported by great majori-
ties. He said, that he wished these majorities had been less :
it was the greatness of these majorities, and the manner, in which
they were constituted, that had given offence and jealousy to
the people of Ireland. They, no doubt, desired to see a free
representation, declaring honestly their voice in the senate.
To correct the abuses in influence and representation, would
be the steady endeavours of his majesty's ministers. He
concluded with moving for the order of the day ; this he
would not have done upon any other account, than that the
motion was of such a sort, and came at su^h a time j but he
hoped, that the right honourable gentleman would yet with-
draw it.
Mr. Eden rose to explain what he meant by saying the oppo-
sition to government in Ireland was such, as no person need
be fearful of; it was not to infer, that they were men of no respect
or talents, but that they were men of such moderation, that no
fear was to be apprehended from them. With respect to the
volunteers taking up arms as amusement, they certainly did so
at first, and at the same time with a laudable zeal to protect the
country from the danger of an invasion, which was said to
threaten it; but that amusement had grown into a formidable
APPENDIX. 53
body of men, who seemed determined to have a total repeal of
the declaratory law, without properly weighing, whether it
would not be in some measure detrimental to them. He men-
tioned again, that he should leave England to-morrow ; and
was fearful, that if the motion were not carried into execution,
notwithstanding what the right honourable gentleman (Mr.
Fox) had said of the intentions of government, it would be too
late.
Lord Mahon said, he thought it extremely indecent for the
right honourable gentleman, who spoke last, to bring in the mo- _
tion, as he had refused giving his majesty's ministers the infor-
mation respecting Ireland, that it was his duty to have done.
His lordship read the preamble of the act 6th George I. which
asserted, that the reason of its being made, was the abuse of
power committed by the House of Peers of Ireland. The de-
claration of the right honourable secretary (Mr. Fox) had been
such, he said, as ought to appear fully sufficient, that it was
their intention to take up the business with all possible dis-
patch.
Colonel Luttrell said, he hoped that he stood free from any
censure in the business ; that the sole reason of his calling on
the right honourable gentleman, was from a certainty, that, as
he was just arrived from that kingdom, he could be able to give
the house much information on the state of affairs ; that he was
himself at first much inclined to second the motion ; but as the
right honourable secretary (Mr. Fox), had so openly declared
that councils had already been held, and that every considera-
tion possible was meant to be given to the business, he thought
it would be best for the right honourable gentleman, (Mr. Eden),
on his return to Ireland, to state fairly to the house, that the
present ministry had fully declared their intentions of redress-
ing the grievances complained of, and to desire they would post-
pone their decision for a short time, until they saw what mi-
nisters did do on the subject.
Lord Newhaven said, he by no means would wish to embar-
rass government ; that he believed the right honourable secre-
tary on the treasury bench was sincere in his declarations ; yet
he was fearful of an impression going over to Ireland, that we
had rejected the offer of repealing the act complained of in the
motion.
The Right Hon. General Con way owned himself surprised
that any person, who was a servant of the public, (for as such
he undoubtedly considered the Irish secretary), should dare to
withhold information from his majesty's ministers, because they
were not a set of men that were favourable to the wretched sys-
tem that had occasioned the dispute of the present hour. Since
the new ministers had come into place, no time had been lost
54 APPENDIX.
in thinking of the most speedy and effectual means of quieting
the troubles that unfortunately raged in Ireland ; no less than
three or four cabinet councils had been held solely on that bu-
siness ; and the new appointed lord lieutenant would be em-
powered with such terms, as he trusted would establish a firm
and happy union between the two countries, which were so in-
separably connected together by every tie of interest. It was
extremely indecent in the right honourable gentleman who
moved the business, to bring the matter on in the manner he
had, without ever hinting the least idea to any of his majesty's
ministers of his intention, or knowing whether ministers did not
intend themselves to move something similar to it.
Mr. Eden said, he found it absolutely necessary to declare
the whole of his transactions since he came to England. He
arrived in town on Thursday last, he said, with a letter of Lord
Carlisle's resignation, and was surprised to find that a new lord-
lieutenant had been appointed in his stead, two days previous to
his arrival, by which it might possibly happen, that his Grace
the Duke of Portland Mrouid be the messenger of his own ap-
pointment : that treatment he thought extremely indecent : it
was not using. Lord Carlisle well, to recal him without any no-
tice1, or alleging any fault against him ; making no more cere-
mony in the removal of him, (although business of the kingdom
might materially require his attendance,) than they would in the
removal of a chancellor of the dutchy court of Lancaster, or any
other sinecure place. He likewise found on his arrival, that the
lord-lieutenancy of the East-Hiding of Yorkshire, was also taken
from his lordship : he looked on that as an additional insult of-
fered to his lordship ; and he had therefore determined to hold
no conference with men, that had treated the noble earl in such
an unprecedented manner. He had offered to wait on any of
the ministry that wished to see him ; but he had undoubtedly
declined giving his opinion on any point whatever.
Mr. Secretary Fox said, with the right honourable gentle-
man's leave, he would read his own letter, which he did, stating
his reason for not giving them any information on account of
his thinking Lord Carlisle ill treated. It was extremely curious,
he said, that the right honourable gentleman should think Lord
Carlisle ill treated, by a successor being appointed, when he had
written home a positive and unconditional letter of resignation.
He had the honour, he "said, to be well acquainted with Lord
Carlisle, and was certain that he was possessed of too much
sense to think himself ill treated in his resignation being ac-
cepted. With respect to the Marquis of Carmarthen being-
restored to the lord-lieutenancy of the East-Riding of York-
shire, it was a measure so proper, that he should have thought
himself no ways fit for the trust reposed in him, if he had ne-
APPENDIX. 5a
glected one moment after he came into office, to reinstate that
nobleman in a post of honour, which had been shamefully taken
from him, on account of his giving a free and honest vote in the
house of Peers. The Duke of Portland, who was to succeed
Lord Carlisle, would, he trusted, have power to form a strong'
an.d permanent union, so essential to the interest of both king-
doms, and which would, in his opinion, be far better than a
hasty, undigested motion, artfully introduced to seek a little
popularity, although the honourable gentleman had disclaimed
any such idea.
Mr. Martin, and Lord -George Ctivendish, jun. held nearly
the same language.
Mr. T. Pitt could scarcely recover from his astonishment,
that any man, a servant of the public, should dare to refuse giv-
ing every inforjnation in his power, when called upon by his
majesty's ministers ; nor was he able to express sufficiently his
indignation at finding a member of that house introduce so
slightly a motion of so much consequence, that upon it might
depend the salvation of Great Britain and Ireland.
Mr. Burke adverted to the arduous situation of the new mi-
nisters, when so many objects presented themselves to their con-
sideration ; the state of America, of Ireland, of our finances,
&c. The motion before the house went, in some measure, to>
tear asunder the connection between England and Ireland, and
yet the house was to be hurried into a decision in a moment up-
on a question of such magnitude : he would not give an opinion
on the subject ; he would not say whether the 6th of George I.
ought, or ought not to be repealed ; but he held that nothing
could be more mad thari to call upon parliament to proceed to-
such a measure in a moment, without giving time for any deli-
beration. He then mentioned the necessity of bringing in his
own bill as soon as possible, for regulating his majesty's house-
hold.
General Conway oncfe more called upon Mr. Eden to with-
draw his motion ; but not finding that gentleman willing to do
it, he grew very warm, and said, that for having introduced such
a question, he ought to have a motion passed upon himself.....
Here there was a great cry of hear ! hear ! move ! move !
Mr. Herbert said, he left Ireland about a twelvemonth since ;
that he was perfectly convinced the people of that country want-
ed nothing more than their rights ; and as he was thoroughly-
convinced his majesty's ministers were sincere in their declara-
tions, he thought the right honourable gentleman's motion quite
unreasonable.
The Secretary at War (Mr. T. Townshend), begged the
house would recollect, that in every business where Ireland was
concerned, he had uniformly been an advocate for that country j
56 APPENDIX.
and if the late wicked ministry had listened to the prayers of the
different petitions from that kingdom, the present alarming
crisis had never happened. He had, he said, as high an opi-
nion of the honour of Lord Carlisle as any man breathing, and
stood up for his honour as much as his secretary had done j his
abilities were such as required but little help ; they would al-
ways shine forth and shew themselves. His lordship, he was
confident, would not approve of the conduct of his secretary, in
withholding his knowledge of the state of Ireland from the pre-
sent ministry, on account of any little paltry personal grievance.
His lordship, he was certain, did not resign on purpose to be
pressed to stay ; he was a nobleman that would despise such
conduct, and would not suffer himself to be made the cat's paw
of his secretary, or any other man breathing.
The motion to-day, he said, so far from being meant as a
conciliatory measure, was intended as a fire-brand, to kindle and
stir up the flame between the two countries, by first proposing
a thing, which it was impossible gentlemen could instantly de-
cide on, and then threatening, that if it were not instantly com-
plied with, he should be obliged to acquaint the House of Com-
mons of Ireland, that it had been rejected. He advised the
right honourable gentleman to withdraw his motion, and not
trouble the house to divide.
Mr. Baker said, he wondered at the learned gentleman's de-
claration, that there was no difference between withdrawing a
motion, or getting rid of it by reading the order of the day.
That learned gentleman was capable of seeing and making pro-
per distinctions if he chose it, he was therefore not a little sur-
prised to hear him argue in so unaccountable and extraordinary
a manner. He expressed his doubts whether Mr. Eden would
make a fair representation of that day's debate in Ireland.
The Speaker called Mr. Baker to order, and said, no member
could consistently with the rules of the house, argue in that
manner of another member's fairness.
Mr. Baker said, he spoke of Mr. Eden as a minister, and not
as a private man. In the latter capacity, from early habits of
friendship and intimacy, he had a great respect and esteem for
him ; but though he wished him personally no ill-will whatever,
he thought a motion of censure necessary, if the motion were
not withdrawn.
Mr. Courteney said, that no man in the house listened with
more pleasure than he did, to the just and liberal sentiments of
the right honourable gentleman on the floor, (Mr. Fox), as de-
claratory of the wise and generous system of policy meant to be
pursued, by the present administration, in respect to Ireland.
Yet he was extremely concerned and surprised to hear the right
honourable gentleman assert, that the present motion (if come
APPENDIX. sr
into), would be equivalent to unconditional submission from,
his country, and a relinquishment of all her rights over Ireland.
He said, he little expected such a construction from the right
honourable gentleman. Unconditional submission was a term
often and justly stigmatized by the right honourable gentleman
himself in respect to America, and which he never expected to
have heard in a debate, in relation to Ireland. No man in that
house hated the term more than he did. The people of Ireland
were too generous, too spirited, and felt too much for the honour
of this country, to expect or demand such a humiliation from
Great Britain.
He declared, that from his present correspondence with gen-
tlemen, with whom he had the honour of serving, and who
now served in the volunteer corps, and who would be found
ready at every hazard, with temper, but with fifmness, to main-
tain their just right, he found the general opinion of the people
to be, that nothing but a repeal of the exceptionable part of
the 6th of George I. which was stated with so much accuracv,
and pressed with so friendly a zeal to Ireland, could ever allay
the jealousies of that country, and totally efface all apprehensions
at the overbearing authority of Great Britain. This, he observed,
was the well-weighed and settled opinion of men, to whose
animated and generous exertion it was owing that Ireland was
at this day a part of the British empire ; that nothing was so
dangerous as provoking men, who, by their uniform and loyal
conduct for a series of years, had shewn themselves slow to
anger ; and who had connected a due execution of the laws,
and maintenance of the internal civil police of the country, with
those constitutional principles of liberty, which they were deter-
mined to support.
He added, that if it were not presumption to suppose, that
the opinion of an individual .could add weight to that of a
whole nation, he should not scruple to assert, that what the
honourable gentleman had declared to be the claims of Ireland,
were perfectly reasonable and well founded ; and as an evidence
that these were his real sentiments, he pledged himself orvall
occasions, as well as the present, to second the same, or even a
more comprehensive motion, to ascertain and establish clearly,
and beyond all possibility of doubt, the just and constitutional
rights of Ireland.
He said, he would not enter into a formal discussion of
the right of judication in the House of Lords in England, that
not being the direct object of the honourable gentleman's mo-
tion, though it had been incidentally introduced into the debate,
further than to observe, that the assumed, jurisdiction of the
English House of Lords over the courts of law in Ireland was
VOL. II.
38 APPENDIX.
not in practice till long after the restoration, and then arose
from necessity ; for there was no parliament convened for many
years, and consequently no House of Lords sitting : in order,
therefore, that the subject might not be deprived of the right
of appealing, it occasioned the necessity of allowing appeals to
the House of Lords in England. So much, Mr. Courtenay
said, he had remarked, in respect to that part of George I. which
related to judicature: with regard to that part of it, which
asserts the supremacy of the English over the Irish legislature,
he should only observe, that clause was introduced unnecessarily,
and was not called for by the preamble, the professed object
of which was only to maintain that superintendant judicature of
the House of Lords over the courts of justice in Ireland : but
the act goes much beyond that point, when it maintains the
supremacy of the legislature of this country over Ireland. In
short, what the act professed to do is limited to the judicature ;
and what it enacts, is insidiously extended to the supremacy
of one legislature over the other. Besides, he was surprised,
that gentlemen seemed to consider their claim of exemption
from the assumed control of that country, as a novelty, when, in
fact, the Irish, whenever constitutional points were discussed,
maintained their exemption from the British legislature, as
their undoubted right ; but having at that time only reason on
their side, they submitted through necessity: at this auspi-
cious period, however, when they not only had reason to support
their claims, but volunteers to enforce them, they trusted, that
by the united assistance of both, their loyal requisitions would
be attended to, and their just rights established.
He declared he could not conclude without saying a word to
the reprehension, which had been given to the honourable gen-
tleman who had made the motion, as if it had arisen from
personal pique and disappointment. He said, he was persuaded,
the honourable gentleman had acted in England that day as he
had acted in Ireland during the whole course of his administra-
tion, from a sincere anxiety to promote the happiness and wel-
fare of both countries ; and that it was from that conviction,
and not from any concert or previous information he had taken
the liberty of seconding the motion, of returning the honoura-
ble gentleman thanks for it ; and of declaring, that whenever
that motion should be made again, he would again do himself
the honour to second it. He added, that so little was he ac-
quainted with the intention of the honourable gentleman to
move the pi'esent question, that he even apprehended the
honourable gentleman had acted by the approbation, and in
concert with the present administration. He was induced to
believe this, by what the honourable gentleman had mentioned
of the precipitate recal of Lord Carlisle, as he conceived, that
APPENDIX. 59
in order to give the noble lord credit and popularity on his
recal, his secretary had been permitted to move for the repeal
of acts, which would come as a general obliging condescension
from this country, instead of superinducing a necessity in
the Irish House of Commons to come to an explicit and strong
resolution of what they and their constituents conceived to be
their just, invariable, and constitutional rights.
He concluded with declaring, that in his earnest desire to
second the motion, he had no other motive than zeal to pro-
mote a cordial conciliation between the two countries; and
to remove forever all cause of jealousy and dissatisfaction ; and
he sincerely trusted that this debate would tend to no other
consequences.
Mr. Alderman Townshend spoke with indignation of the
conduct of the right honourable gentleman who came over to
this country: he withheld all information from government;
forgot or neglected his duty as a servant of the public ; and
just, because he chose to fancy that the Earl of Carlisle had a
feather plucked from his cap, he refused to serve his country
in one of the most critical and alarming moments that we ever
saw. He thought that this conduct was so truly improper and
dangerous, that parliament could not, with any regard to its
own dignity, overlook so flagrant a neglect of duty in one of
the public servants. Was the right honourable gentleman to
conceive, that he was the servant of the lord lieutenant of
Ireland, and not the servant of the public ; or that he could
thus mix personal considerations with official duty? It was
certainly fit and candid, that his majesty's ministers should be
allowed the necessary time to frame and bring forward their
measures, and not "on the first day of their appearance in the
house be treated as they had been by the right honourable gen-
tleman. The obligation which that gentleman was under, as
one of the ministers of Ireland, to give every aid and assistance
to government which he could do, and by which the interest
ot his country might be promoted, was of so serious a nature, that
it ought not to be sported with ; and he should not be surprised,
if, when he went back to the country of which he is a minister,
the House of Commons should impeach him for his neglect
of duty. The right honourable gentleman declared, that he
absolutely believed, that if the order of the day, or the previous
question, should be put upon his motion, it would produce the
most alarming consequences. If this then were his opinion,
why did he force the house to this dangerous measure, by per*
sisting in his motion ? He would, and he ought to be responsible
for all the consequences of his conduct.
Mr. Mansfield (late Solicitor General), defended Mr. Eden's
conduct; but declared it appeared to him to be a matter perfectly
60 APPENDIX.
indifferent whether his honourable friend withdrew his motion,
or whether it were got rid of by a previous question, or by read-
ing the order of the day upon it. Mr. Mansfield said, he was
somewhat amazed to hear his honourable friend treated with so
much harshness, and his motion talked of, as if it were taking the
house by surprise. There was not a gentleman present, he
conceived, who must not be well aware, that Ireland was in a
most alarming and critical state. The journals of the Irish
parliament, and all our own newspapers, plainly evinced the
fact. It therefore struck him as an idea perfectly absurd, to
call his honourable friend's motion precipitate or rash. It was
in his mind highly necessary ; but if the house were of another
opinion, it mattered not, in his idea, whether it were got rid of
one way or the other.
Lord Newhaven hoped, that it was perfectly understood in
that house, and that it would go forth to the world, that his
majesty's ministers did not reject this motion from any dislike
to the business, but that they would, with all possible speed,
give every attent!on in their power to so important an object.
Mr. Eden rose, and wished to know if he gave up his motion,
whether the right honourable secretary would pledge him-
self that a repeal of the act of the 6th of George I. should take
place.
Mr. Sheridan said, he could not set still and see a question of
this importance, which was then just going to be put from the
chair, rejected or evaded in the manner which it was likely to
be. He could not dismiss his hopes that the right honourable
gentleman, who had moved it, might yet be induced to with-
draw it : and he was convinced the greatest mischief would
follow its being otherwise disposed of. The learned gentle-
man, who was the only person who had attempted to defend
the extraordinary conduct of the secretary for Ireland, had
taken great pains to prove, that it made no difference in what
manner the motion was got rid of. He differed entirely front
him on that head; and he had the authority of the honourable
gentleman himself, who had made the motion on his side, for
he had expressly declared, that if the motion were evaded by
the previous question, or by moving the order of the day, he
apprehended the most serious mischiefs to Ireland would fol-
low. He called, therefore, upon that honourable gentleman,
if he had any real feeling for the interests and peace of either
country, not to persevere in bringing on the mischiefs which he
acknowledged he foresaw. Mr. Sheridan then proceeded to
state the whole of Mr. Eden's conduct which he attacked with
great acrimony, as scandalously unfair to the new ministers,
who, he was convinced, had the fairest intentions towards Ire-
land ; yet if he declared himself so decided an enemy to the
APPENDIX. 61
principle of the declaratory law in question, which he had al-
ways regarded as a tyrannous usurpation in this country, that
though he could not but reprobate the motives which influenced
the present mover for its repeal, yet if the house divided on it
he should vote with him. With regard to the fair representation
of the intentions of the new ministers, which the honourable gen-
tleman had been called on by the noble lord, who seconded the
motion, to give to the Irish on his return, he could give but little
credit to his intentions on that head j it was his business, and
his direct and explicit duty, to have given a fair representation,
and full information of the state of Ireland to his majesty's pre-
sent ministers here, for which purpose he had been sent to Lon-
don. He had deserted that duty, and from motives of private
pique and resentment, had withheld all information from them
on the subject. It was but reasonable, therefore, to suppose,
that the same principles would direct his conduct on his return
to Ireland, and the same little motives of resentment would lead
him to withhold from the parliament of that country the satis-
factory information of the intentions of the new ministers, though
it were equally his duty to report it.
He then animadverted on the assertion of the solicitor gene-
ral, that every attention had been given by the late ministers to
prevent these jealousies rising in Ireland, which he said was so
far from being the case, that the whole of the present commo-
tions there were chargeable to their scandalous neglect, in hav-
ing suffered the name of Ireland to be inserted in no less than
five British acts of parliament ; one of which had been published
by the secretary himself in the Dublin Gazette, after they had
given the Irish the most solemn assurances, that this claim
should never be attempted to be exercised in a single instance.
Mr. Grattan had produced these acts in the Irish House of Com-
mons, and this apparent violation of faith with them it was,
which had roused the present spirit of jealousy and resentment
in their parliament, as well as among the volunteers. He con-
cluded with repeating his call on Mr. Eden, to withdraw his
motion, and not to mangle and disgrace a good and honourable
cause, through the selfish motives of party, pique, and private
disappointment.
The speaker was again proceeding to put the question, when
Mr. Eden rose once more, and, after some hesitation and ex-
planation, consented to withdraw his motion.
62 APPENDIX.
No. LXV. a.
DEBATE UPON IRISH AFFAIRS IN THE BRITISH HOUSE OF
PEERS. ...PAGE 194.
MARQUIS of Rockingham rose, and entered into along,
computative, and arithmetical detail, shewing the comparative
ability of Ireland to bear burdens, to what it had been at former
periods, not far distant. His lordship's opening was chiefly di-
rected to meet such objections as he imagined might be made
against the proofs he meant to adduce, of the real distress of
Ireland. His detail was accurate and important, as it presented
two objects worthy the attention of the British administration ;
first, so far as the consequences might be supposed to affect them,
personally ; secondly, as it might probably affect, and that in a
most serious manner, the people of Great Britain. He first
stated the revenues of Ireland, the outgoings and savings in the
year 1775, during the administration of the late Marquis of
Hartington, afterwards Duke of Devonshire, and proceeding
regularly, through each successive administration, till he brought
it down to the present viceroy, Lord Buckinghamshire. In 1755,
and for some years after, the whole of the civil and military
establishment amounted, for the two years, that being the mode
of voting the parliamentary grafts of that kingdom, to about
1,200,OOO/. on an average, 60O,000/. per annum ; whereas, of
late years, the grants were little short of 2,OOO,000/. or 1,OOO,OOO/.
per annum. At that period too, in the course of five years
peace, the debts contracted during the preceding war had not
only been paid off, but there was a surplus of 260,0007. in the
national treasury, the greater part of which was applied to pub-
lic uses, such as canals, churches, bridges, &c. in bounties for
the encouragement, and promoting the extension of agriculture,
arts and manufactures, land-carriage of corn, carrying it coast-
wise, to the Dublin Society, linen manufacture, and the fishe-
ries. His lordship made a progressive statement of the grants
and taxes, the civil and military establishments, and pension list,
under each successive administration, that of the Duke of Bed-
ford, Lord Halifax, Duke of Northumberland, and the Lords
Weymouth, Bristol, Townshend, Harcourt, and the present
viceroy, in the course of which he shewed, that the public ex-
penditure imperceptibly increased in each respective branch.
He stated, that a debt was necessarily incurred during the late
war, as the outgoings exceeded the public income. But what
APPENDIX. 63
/
rendered the condition of Ireland a most extraordinary one in-
deed, and contrary to the usage of all other states under the sun,
was, that after the peace of 1762, instead of paying off the debts
incurred during the preceding war, they yearly continued to
augment gradually and regularly, for the last fifteen years of
peace ; a circumstance not paralleled in any country he ever
heard or read of; nay, more, that the debt increased in opposi-
tion to new taxes. Taxes, in the course of the last four sessions,
were laid on ; money was uniformly borrowed ; and, at the end
of the two years, when the national accounts came to be settled,
fresh deficiencies appeared on each new loan, and fresh taxes
were laid on, in consequence of them. In short, it was a mode
of policy adopted, that of taxing and borrowing and pledging
the public faith, till not a shilling more could be procured. A
tontine scheme, or a plan of paying an high interest on annuities
granted upon lives, with benefit of survivorship, was the first j
this not answering the exigencies of government, stamp duties
were then laid on ; and lastly, a vote of credit ; notwithstanding
which, such was the exhausted, impoverished state of that coun-
try, that no money could be procured upon so precarious a se-
curity. Indeed, the security amounted to no more than a mere
national engagement, that the public creditors would be paid
some time or other : but that the funds offered as a specific se-
curity would prove equally deficient and unproductive, with
those, which had caused the very necessity of the desired loan.
The debt still continued to accumulate, and in the year 1777,
the expenditure exceeded the receipts in the sum of 260,0007.
So long as England continued in a prosperous situation, though
Ireland were drained, she had recourse to this country ; but
such was the state of both countries, in the spring of 1778, al-
though the revenues of Ireland were hawked about London
streets, and offered to be mortgaged for the sum of 300,OOO/. a
single shilling could not be procured or borrowed upon them.
After dwelling on those circumstances for a considerable time,
he opened another head of argument, that of the immediate dis-
tresses of Ireland, which, he said, must in the end materially
affect the commerce and manufactures of Great Britain. His
lordship stated the average of the exports to that kingdom, both
from Scotland and England, for the last eleven years, ending
1777. From Scotland, upwards of three millions; from Eng-
land, upwards of eighteen millions : or from Scotland, 300,000/.
and a fraction ; from England, 1,600,000/. and a fraction year-
ly ; the whole making twenty-two millions, or upwards ol two
millions a year, British export. It might be said, does not
Great Britain take the linen, provisions, &c. of Ireland in re-
turn ? Certainly ; but it was to be considered on which side the
balance lay, whether in favour of this or that country. He then.
64 APPENDIX.
from authentic papers, shewed that the balance of trade in fa-
vour of Scotland was above a million and a half, and in favour
of England above five millions, for these last eleven years. This
led him to his grand conclusion, that of motives of interest ;
because, by the accounts, at last made up, it appeared, that the
exports to Ireland for the last year had decreased one fourth :
for in 1777 it was upwards of two millions, in 1778 under a mil-
lion and a half. His lordship entered into several circumstances,
which came within his own knowledge, particularly in the West
Riding of the county of York : by the last returns of the num-
ber of broad woollens manufactured in that district, it appeared,
that there had been twenty-one thousand pieces less than the ave-
rage of several years before, and eight thousand narrows, or forest
cloths ; that he had made it his business to enquire the reason,
and found it had been the failure of the trade of Ireland. He
some time since conversed with a very considerable manufactu-
rer in his neighbourhood in the country, relative to the state of
the trade of Ireland, so far as it was connected with the woollen
manufacture carried on in the West Riding of York, who con-
stantly every year went over to Dublin to take orders, and who
assured him by a letter received from his correspondent in that
city, he was warned not to come or send ; for he could not en-
sure safety to either his property or person. His lordship, be-
sides the proof of the poverty of Ireland, by its daily incurring
new debts, the insufficiency of the funds appropriated for the
payment of interest and annuities, payable to the public credi-
tors ; the almost bankrupt state of the exchequer, and several
other evidences of a similar nature, mentioned the circumstance
of our being obliged to provide, in the committee of supply of
the present year, 64,OOO/. for the pay of six regiments of foot,
and one of dragoons, serving in America, or consent to have
them disbanded. His lordship then proceeded to enumerate
the several petitions sent by some of the counties of Ireland, the
associations at the Tolsel it Dublin, and at several of the county
meetings, particularly at Cork, Kilkenny, Wicklow, and Ros-
common, some of them expressly resolving not to import, or
use, or purchase, any of the manufactures of this country;.. .
others, less violent, Cork in particular, not to purchase or use
any goods, but such as were manufactured in that kingdom.
His lordship earnestly, nay, very warmly, pressed the necessity
there was for giving Ireland relief, upon every principle of gra-
titude, interest, and sound policy, and pointed out thy danger of
irritating the people, lest, by being driven to extremities, they
might in an act of despair, be forced into resistance. He expa-
tiated greatly on their loyalty to the government, and their re-
verence, zeal, and affection for the people of this country ; it
would therefore, he thought, as a mere matter of policy, be ex-
APPENDIX. 65
tremely imprudent to do any thing, which might tend to estrange
Ireland from her respect and veneration for her elder sister.
His lordship, as well by his details as in arguments, contended,
that administration had neglected its duty towards Ireland ; that
all care and protection had been withdrawn ; and that Ireland
was precisely in that situation, which, if not speedily remedied,
would, in the opinion of many, justify resistance. He said, the
people of Ireland, by the most accurate computation, amounted
to two millions three hundred thousand souls, whereof five hun-
dred thousand were believed to be Protestants, in the propor-
tion of three hundred thousand Dissenters to two hundred thou-
sand of the established church. The Irish Catholics, it was
true, had been favoured with some degre of religious toleration,
and he was happy to say, so far as the example set by England
could be supposed to operate upon the ruling powers in our sister
kingdom, he took a share in the merit of that measure. On
the other hand, so respectable and powerful a body as the Irish
Dissenters were, ought not to be treated with contempt and un-
kindness, as they certainly had been in one instance ; he meant
the clause inserted in the bill for giving an indulgence for Ro-
man Catholics, which clause was lost in the privy council of this
kingdom. But he did not found his argument upon this or that
distinction. People of all ranks, qualities, and religions there,
were united as one man ; they forgot all animosities and jealou-
sies in the ruin, which threatened them ; and the great point of
union and national cement which kept them together was, not
to import, purchase, or deal in any article of the produce or
manufacture of this country. In this part of his argument he
censured ministers highly, for their total neglect of the defence
of that country ; and pointed out the danger of permitting the
people there to associate and embody in troops and companies
contrary to law. When he said this, it was his opinion they
had done very properly, in endeavouring to defend themselves
when neglected by government. But ministers should have
prevented the necessity of having recourse to such military as-
sociations ; or if that were not practicable, in the present state
of affairs, the people should have been legally commissioned and
enabled to take arms. The matter novr wore a very serious ap-
pearance ; for though he were firmly persuaded, in case that
country should be invaded by a foreign force, which was gene-
rally believed to be in contemplation, the Irish, with their usual
loyalty and spirit, would defend themselves, and bravely repel
the invaders ; yet it was worth considering how far the same
spirit might be exerted in resisting oppression and injustice from
any other quarter. After recapitulating the many and very
important advantages we derived from Ireland, through the
VOL. II. I
66 APPENDIX.
medium of our trade and commerce, the accession of strength
she afforded in time of war, and the immense sums she remitted
to her absentees, monies paid officers, pensioners, or spent on
motives of pleasure or business, at the universities, inns of
court, appeals in law and equity, &c. he observed, how unkindly
she had been treated in every instance, how cruelly and oppres-
sively in some. He reminded their lordships of the compact
made between both kingdoms in King William's time, when
the parliament of Ireland consented to prohibit the export of
their own woollen manufacture, in order to give that of England
a preference, by laying a duty equal to a full prohibition upon
every species of woollens or even of the raw commodity ; and
of the solemn assurance given by both the houses of the British
parliament, that they would give every possible encouragement,
and abstain from every measure, which could prevent the linen
manufacture to be rendered by the staple of Ireland. But
how had England kept its word ? by laying duties or granting
bounties to the linens of British manufacture, equal to the pro-
hibition of the Irish, and at the same time giving every kind of
private and public encouragement to render Scotland a real
rival to Ireland, in almost every species of her linen fabrics.
After describing the private as well as public distresses of
Ireland in the most feeling language, his lordship proceeded to
contrast the deserts of the Irish nation, whose loyalty kept
pace with the extent and magnitude of the calamities they
felt. He instanced, in particular, their friendly and affec-
tionate behaviour since the commencement of the American
Avar ; the zeal and fidelity of that kingdom in the time of the two
last Scotch rebellions ; the uncommon efforts she made during the
late war, and her uniform loyalty and attachment to this country
in every trying exigency when engaged in a foreign war. He
said, he hoped, the importance of the object would strike every
noble lord with the propriety, nay, the absolute necessity of his
motion ; that the house would treat it with that temper, cool-
ness, and moderation, which it so apparently merited; and at-
tend to it as a matter in which every man in the nation was
most deeply interested. He trusted, that their lordships would
not be led away by any partial ideas or narrow distinctions of
local beuefit or advantage, but meet it fairly as a question of
state, in which both kingdoms had an equal interest. He would
be extremely sorry, that this or that town or district, that Man-
chester or Glasgow, or any other place, would supersede or
render of none effect the wisdom of their lordships' delibera-
tions. He wished farther, that on the present occasion, all
party or personal considerations would give way to the general
good, and that as they meant all the same thing, the interest of both
kingdoms, their lordships would not entertain a second opinion
APPENDIX. 67
on the subject. It was a great object, and should neither be
lost, abandoned, or evaded. It had for some years been unfor-
tunately too much neglected, but matters were at length arrived
just at that critical state, which would render it not only unwise
and impolitic to lose a moment, but would afford an instance of
obstinacy and want of feeling, little short of political insanity.
His lordship concluded a very long speech, in the course of
which, he spoke to a great variety of matter of less importance
with making the following motion : " That this house taking
" into consideration the distressed and impoverished state of
" the kingdom of Ireland, and being of opinion, that it is con-
" sonant to justice and true policy to remove the causes of
" discontent by a redress of grievances^ and, in order to demon-
" strate the sense, which this house entertains of the merits
u of that loyal and well deserving nation, this house doth think it
" highly expedient that this important business should be no
" longer neglected, and that an humble address be presented to
" his majestv, that his majesty would be graciously pleased to
" take the matter into his most serious consideration, and direct
" his ministers to prepare and lay before parliament such par-
" ticulars relative to the trade and manufactures of Ireland, as
" may enable the national wisdom to pursue effectual measures
** for promoting the common strength, wealth, and commerce of
u his majesty's subjects in both kingdoms." Lord Viscount
Weymouth rose in reply, and opposed the marquis's motion on
two grounds ; because the house had no paper whatever regu-
larly before them, relative to the distressed state of Ireland,
which was held out as the ground of the motion that amounted
to a matter of fact ; secondly, because if a relaxation or repeal
of any of the restrictive laws relative to the trade of Ireland
should be moved, that could properly originate only in the other
house. His lordship, after expressing his best wishes for Ire-
land, said, the matter at a future period might be taken up, and
the necessary measures for affording relief to Ireland be adopted;
but at present, without proof sufficient to warrant the terms
in which the address was couched and without the means of
originating specific relief, he thought it his duty to move the
previous question. Duke of Chandos, after giving his opinion,
that that part of the address which conveyed a censure or a
charge of neglect in ministers, did not meet his idea, both
because he thought with the noble viscount, that the house were
not in possession of any evidence of the fact of neglect therein
charged ; and, that he had a full confidence in the conduct of
administration. He highly approved, in other respects, of the
motion made by the noble marquis ; and said, one principal
cause of the distress felt by Ireland, was the continual drain
from that country, in order to pay the great land owners resi-
68 APPENDIX.
dent here, many of whom, in their whole lives, never spent a
shilling in the country from whence they drew their incomes.
That, he said, was systematic grievance, which admitted of no
remedy but a tax upon absentees. Though he possessed a
considerable property in that country, he should cheerfully assist
in any measure for giving the Irish that species of relief, for he
was persuaded, that whatever else might be done to relieve
them, if that cause of impoverishment should not be met in
some way or other, the same principle would continue to pro-
duce similar effects, in a greater or less degree. His grace
before he sat down expressed his approbation of the previous
question, the propositions made by the noble marquis being
such, as that he could neither give it a direct negative nor
ailii-iiiaiive. Marquis of Rockingham rose, he said, to take
notice of some expressions, which had fallen from the noble
viscount high in oirice, and the noble duke who spoke last,
affirming, that he had heard with much surprise the objections
now started. He repeated, with some warmth, that Ireland
had been cruelly and injuriously treated, and that it would pre-
sent a mixture of folly and ingratitude, which nothing but the
dullest obstinacy and ignorance could explain, if we refused to
lighten those intolerable burthens, which the restriction of our
trade laws laid upon that loyal, affectionate, and enduring peo-
ple. As an additional argument, why it made it necessary and
prudent in the king's servants to agree to his motion, he adverted
to the formidable military associations now on foot in that king-
dom ; and desired to know if they had been informed of their
mi'nre and extent. This, he said, was a matter truly alarming,
if the British government meant to adhere to their former sys-
tem of oppression and injustice; and therefore it highly be-
hoved ministers, if they were obstinately bent to throw every
part of the empire into a flame, to seriously investigate the de-
gree of resistance they were likely to meet. With regard to
the particular sentiments of the noble viscount and the noble
duke, he confessed, he was unable to repress his feelings, when
they imputed to his motion that it was so framed as to contain
a censure upon administration. Nothing en earth was more
distant from his thoughts, as he endeavoured all in his power
to draw it up in such a manner, as to prevent the possibility of
any objection that might arise on the ground of personality.
When a motion was made a short time since for the removal of
a noble earl over the way (Sandwich) from his majesty's coun-
cils, he did not at all wonder at his brethren in office rising to
oppose the motion ; " no, let our noble friend's crimes be ever
u so great, we cannot abandon him. We do not care a farthing
" about that ; he is a pleasant companion, and we do not chuse
" to part with him." There is, added the marquis, nothing
APPENDIX. 69
extraordinary in all this ; but it appeared to him very unac-
countable indeed, how ministers should object to the giving
relief to Ireland, for certainly any opposition to it could admit
of no other fair or rational construction. Lord Townshend
rose, he said, to defend his own administration against the
general charge of an increased establishment, which the noble
marquis said, at the opening of his speech, had gone on in a
progressive state of augmentation since the viceroyship of the
Marquis of Hartington, afterwards Duke of Devonshire. He
compared the establishment during his lieutenancy with those
of his predecessors and successors in office since the year
1763. In that year the civil establishment amounted to no more
than 105,0007. In that of the noble earl over the way (Hert-
ford) there was a small addition. In the administration of
Lord Bristol 8OOO/. had been added. During his own admi-
nistration, in the course of six years, from September 1 767 to
1772, the civil expences were less by 8000/. but since that time
the civil expences had. risen to 137,0007. His lordship, in ex-
pressions of the warmest affection for the people of Ireland,
pleaded their distresses and deserts in very forcible language ;
said, he should be wanting in the feelings which gratitude ought
ever to inspire, if he did not take the present opportunity of
testifying his regard for them, and his earnestness to procure
them every degree of redress and indulgence, which their
melancholy situation demanded, which justice dictated, and
generosity and national gratitude rendered a positive duty on
the part of a great nation. His lordship adverted, in confirma-
tion of those favourable expressions of the noble marquis, to
the many proofs Ireland had given in the course of almost a
century to assist Great Britain in her wars ; and contended, that
all the public distresses she now felt were in consequence of
her loyalty and affection, particularly her recent distress, which
solely arose from the assistance she had given to this country in
carrying on the war against our rebellious subjects in America.
With regard to local or partial distinctions, he disclaimed them,
as beneath a wise and great nation ; they should never be per-
mitted to mix in questions of such vast magnitude and extent
as the present. He resided himself in a country full of manu-
facturers. His estate and property were within that county
(Norfolk), and if the manufacturer was to be affected by grant-
ing any Indulgence to Ireland, he must suffer his share of the
loss ; but though he wished them and himself every thing which
could be derived from trade and manufactures carried on upon
a liberal plan, God forbid he should, upon any motives of pre-
judice or .self-interest, give countenance to measures formed
upon a narrow or partial scale of politics. He should, in point
of union and national strength, ever consider England and Ire-
ro APPENDIX.
land as one country, and the people of each bound and connected
by the same objects, the prosperity of the whole. The noble
marquis had dwelt upon one argument to induce their lordships
to agree to the proposed redress, which, he confessed, did not
strike him in the same light it did the noble lord ; that was the
possibility or probability of resistance, in case this country
should not think it expedient to enter into a consideration of
the subject matter at present. That was an argument ill founded,
that should never operate upon his conduct, as a peer of parlia-
ment. He hoped that their lordships would be induced to act
upon principles of justice and humanity, from motives of af-
fection and sound policy, and not from threats of resistance
or compulsion on our part. But he would speak to the fact
from his own knowledge; he believed, as the truest test of
their affection, the Irish were no less remarkable for their pa-
tience and endurance than for their loyalty. He knew them
well in every possible light they could be viewed, either po-
litically or individually ; and he could affirm from his own
actual knowledge, that no provocation (such as had been al-
leged by the noble marquis) could drive them to any act of
violence, tending to a separation or resistance to this country :
but if relief were not speedily given to Ireland, there was another
motive more" serious, und an event much more probable than re-
sistance, which, he feared, would be the consequence of cold
indifference and neglect on our part j and that was, the people
of Ireland emigrating to America, which would inevitably be
the consequence. He had often taken the liberty to press that
consideration on the house ; and he was extremely sorry to find,
that his early information respecting Washington's army had
proved so fatally true, and that we had been in part baffled in our
attempts to subdue our rebellious colonies, by the great number
of Irish emigrants, who, driven by poverty and oppression from
their native country, were compelled to enlist in the rebel army.
He concluded with saying, that he agreed entirely in principle
with the noble marquis: but that as to the motion, so far as it
related to the form in which it was drawn up, he should reserve
his ultimate opinion till a farther progress should be made in
the debate, and until he heard the opinions of others of his ma-
jesty's CQoftdential servants. Marquis of Rockingham rose to
explain some matters relative to the independent corps and com-
panies then in arms in Ireland. He said, they amounted to up-
Avurds often thousand men, all acting under illegal powers, un-
der a kind of supposition that all government was at an end.
This was one unanswerable proof to shew the neglect of mi-
nisters in the performance of their duty. Why were not those
men embodied in the king's name? Why was not there a con-
stitutional militia raised to answer the same purpose ? In fine,
APPENDIX. 71
why were not the gentlemen and yeomanry of Ireland put into
some form, or under some regulation, which might subject them
to a legal or constitutional control? He was no less satisfied
than the noble viscount of the zeal, loyalty, and fidelity of the
people of Ireland. He was ready to go as far as the noble lord
in every degree of confidence which prudence and sound policy
would warrant, but no farther. He remembered the American
war commenced in addresses and petitions ; that when those
were turned a deaf ear to, they were followed with non-impor-
tation agreements. He remembered, that when bills of pains
and penalties were enacting in that hou.->e, a syllable would not
be heard which seemed to tend to measures of lenity. The bill
was brought in a hurry, passed in a hurry, and we run in a hurry
headlong to our ruin. To engage therefore for what Ireland
might bear with patience, or draw the line exactly upon what
particular occasion or period of oppression she might resist, was
a language which fatal experience had warned them sufficiently,
he believed, not to put too great a reliance upon. After speak-
ing for some time in this strain, he called upon ministers to
speak out, and recommended most warmly the necessity of giv-
ing Ireland speedy and effectual relief. We had lost the great-
est part of America ; we were fighting with a powerful enemy
for all our distant possessions ; Scotland was in a state little
short of actual rebellion, and Ireland was united as one man
against us, not to purchase a single shilling's worth of British
property. Earl Gower proposed a kind of compromise. He
moved, to omit that part of the recital of the noble marquis's
motion, which stated the existing grievances Ireland labours
under, and the neglect imputed to administration, in not taking
measures for their removal. His lordship pressed very warmly
the impropriety and danger of coming to too hasty or precipi-
tate a vote upon a question of such importance. The very cure
proposed would, in his opinion, rather serve to increase than
remove the disorder, which had been so fully and ably described.
It ought to be seriously considered, that holding out false hopes
or creating ill-founded expectations, which could not be gratified,
would in the end promote those evils, which it was the duty of
parliament to prevent. He could never subscribe to the opinion
that adopting to the extent contended for, or agreeing to the
claims of Ireland, would be the means of preventing rebellion :
on the contrary, he feared it might produce the very reverse ;
if not in Ireland, possibly nearer home. The kingdom was to
be consulted. The great body of British manufacturers had
rights and claims of their own, which they would not readily
part with, and though the arguments used by noble lords might
seem specious and plausible, he begged their lordships to consi-
der, that perhaps the very measures which might promise to
T2 APPENDIX.
prevent a rebellion in Ireland might prove the cause of an actual
rebellion in England. He spoke very fully on the motion, said
there was no proof of several of the matters contained in the
motion, and if there were, it did not appear that the distresses
which Ireland felt were owing to the government of Great Bri-
tain, or the restrictions laid upon the Irish trade. If that part
of the motion which took the facts a,s proved, and the inferences
flowing from them, as self-evident, were omitted, he was ready
to meet the noble marquis, and adopt the other part of his lord-
ship's proposition ; for at present there was no evidence before
the house, that the affairs of that country had been neglected,
nor was the house in possession of any documents respecting the
existence of grievances there, sufficient to induce them to come
to the proposed vote. Earl of Bristol replied, that he believed
there was not a noble lord present who entertained the shadow
of a doubt, that those grievances stated by the noble marquis
really existed. He delivered himself very favourably in behalf
of Ireland, and said he looked upon them to be the most op-
pressed and injured people under the sun. Duke of Manches-
ter declared himself of the sajne opinion ; and said, he could
never think of giving up the ground of the motion; for, what
was it, if the people in Ireland were not labouring under the
greatest national distress ? And how could that be true, if mi-
nisters had not neglected their duty, by forbearing to grant them
any species of relief? His grace urged the necessity of doing
something effectual, and the doing it speedily, and that for the
following important reasons. It was no secret, that France in-
tended, in the course of the ensuing summer, to make an at-
tempt on either or perhaps both kingdoms. He was well in-
formed, that the first attempt would be made on Ireland. He
had it, he said, from the best authority, that France would not
appear as an enemy on the coasts of that kingdom, to commit
hostilities, but to offer her alliance, friendship and protection,
in assisting her to throw off the yoke laid upon the Irish nation
by Great, Britain: in short, she meant to hold out independency
and a free trade. The mischievous policy of that ambitious
people was no longer to appear as conquerors come to enslave,
but as friends to succour and relieve ; no longer as the foes, but
the friends of human kind, come to vindicate the rights of in-
jured and oppressed nations. This was her policy respecting
America, and this he feared would be her policy respecting Ire-
land ; and he had good reason already to believe, that overtures
of that nature had been thrown out, and that several French
emissaries had been in that kingdom, in order to sound the dis-
positions of the people. This was the invasion and conquest of
Ireland, which he feared, and which it was their lordship's bu-
siness to adopt the most speedy and effectual measures to pre-
APPENDIX. 73
vent. His grace therefore conjured and intreated ministers to
interfere in time, and do every thing in their power to prevent
France from acting so insidious a part, by removing those evils,
the existence of which could only have given rise to so deep-
laid a scheme of policy and ambition. He was as well as his
noble friend (Gratton) glad to see ministers shew any disposi-
tion to relent. He was fully persuaded of the necessity of con-
vincing Ireland, that we were candid, and meant at length to be
serious ; but he nevertheless was of opinion, that a subject of
such transcendent importance, involving in it such a variety of
interests and objects, ought not to be lightly taken up, nor hasti-
ly decided on. Earl Gower's motion being at length framed,
it was suggested that the original motion should be first with-
drawn. (A cry of withdraw, withdraw.) His lordship's mo-
tion was then read, after a few words from the Marquis of
Rockingham, to shew the propriety of retaining that part of his
motion respecting the distresses of Ireland, and was as follows :
" That an humble address be presented to his majesty that he
" will be pleased to take into his gracious consideration, the dis-
" tressed and impoverished state of the loyal and well-deserving
" people of Ireland, and to direct an account to be laid before
te parliament of such particulars relative to the trade and manu-
" factures of Ireland, as may enable the national wisdom to pur-
" sue methods for promoting the common strength, wealth, and
" commerce of his majesty's subjects in both kingdoms." The
Duke of Grafton said, though he liked the address as first
moved better than as it stood amended, he would be ready to ac-
cept of it, sooner than run the risque of having a negative put
upon it ; for though it took no retrospective view, it looked for-
ward to what he believed was the universal wish of every noble
lord present ; it pointed to redress, and for the sake of unanimi-
ty he was ready, for one, to adopt it. Marquis of Rockingham
said, so far as the new motion pointed to future redress, he
heartily coincided with the noble duke ; but however willing he
might be to submit to the prevailing sense of the house, so
strongly manifested on the present occasion, he could see no
reason against declaring, as an act of justice, and the best pledge
of our being in earnest, that the affairs of Ireland had been ne-
glected. Earl of Shelburne recommended great caution, and
deliberation ; and put in his claim thus early to be understood
as not pledging himself to support any measure, which might
in its consequences put the Irish upon a better footing than the
British manufacturer. The Duke of Richmond, in a very able
speech, endeavoured to shew, that all local distinctions were
the creatures of prejudice and selfishness. He said, that Ire-
land and England were in fact the same nation and people ;
VOL. II. K.
74 APPENDIX.
that any distinction made in favour of the latter, was a species
of injustice to the former. A great, a loyal, and a brave people,
were not to be ruined, beggared or oppressed, because Man-
chester thought this, or this or that country were alarmed. All
those petty motives must cease to operate, nor be permitted to
influence our public councils, which ought never to lose sight
of justice and sound policy. His noble friend (Duke of Graf-
ton) had talked of an union. He was for an union, but not an
union of legislature, but an union of hearts, hands, of affections,
and interests, as had been well pointed by his other noble friend,
who made the motion. This was his opinion, and he should
ever prefer such a connection to any other which might give
offence to the^people, or be effected by means, however well
intended, that would lie open to many objections.
A kind of conversation now succeeded, in which the Duke of
Richmond said, he had no objection to the motion, provided it
were fully understood on every side of the house, and candidly
declared, that immediate measures of relief would be adopted j
and that it was not merely thrown in the way to stop any effectual
proceedings.
Earl Gotver protested, so far as he could answer, he meant
to act with candour. It was his wish, and it now became
his particular duty ; but it was impossible for him to speak
with any degree of precision. It was a subject of great delicacy,
called for great consideration, and he thought whatever might
be done, it would not be prudent or politic to hold out to Ire-
land any promise, which might be received as restraining the
wisdom and deliberation of parliament.
The amended motion was put and carried nem. con.
No. LXVI. a.
LETTER FROM MR. FRANCIS DOBBS TO LORD NORTH.
[PAGE 203.]
MY LORD,
FROM what has fallen from your lordship
jn regard to Ireland,! conceive you are greatly misinformed, as
-o the ideas of the people at large. It is of the utmost conse-
APPENDIX. J-5
quence, in such a moment as this, that our sentiments should
not be misunderstood. If they are, apparent satisfaction may
conceal real jealousy and distrust ; the bane of friendship in
nations, as well as in men.
Your lordship dwells on the address of our parliament being
a petition for indulgence, not a demand of rights. My lord, I
conceive that address was to the King of Ireland, without whose
approbation our laws cannot be altered or enlarged. If your
lordship conceives that it was a supplication to the parliament of
Great Britain, I apprehend you are mistaken. When the par-
liament of Ireland addressed their king, and told him that
nothing but a free trade could save their country, they could not,
I am persuaded they did not, forget why Ireland had not a free
trade ; they could not forget that Ireland Avas bound by British
acts of parliament.
But, my lord, should it even be possible that our parliament
could forget the great question of right, it cannot be forgot
by the people ; they know it, and will remember it. As one of
that people, I deem it essential to freedom, and think myself
justified as a man entitled to be free, to publicly argue for
my own and my country metis' rights. The investigation of
truth cannot be improper. In this instance, I am convinced
that the surest mode of promoting the welfare of both kingdoms,
is to have our connection fully explained and perfectly under-
stood.
As an Irishman, give me leave to express my obligations to
your lordship, for the kind intentions which you have mani-
fested to my country ; I do not even believe my countrymen
want more than it is your wish to give. But, my lord, they
want it in a different mode ; they want what they have a right
to, separated from the bounty of England. It shall there-
fore be the object of this letter to point out my own, and
what I apprehend to be their reasons, for wishing for such a
distinction. •
At first, my .lord, your propositions, which have now in part
become a law, gave pretty general satisfaction. Men hitherto
restrained in almost every branch, naturally rejoiced at the
first view of an extended commerce ; but when reason had
investigated the principles, on which that extension was given ;
when it was found to be a matter of expediency, not of right:
when it was perceived that it rather established than relinquished
the power of British legislation over Ireland,* our transports
sunk into a very moderate degree of pleasure ; and even that
pleasure was lessened by the precariousness of enjoyment.
* The act of parliament lately made, only repeals part of the English ads
iiindinsr Ireland.
76 APPENDIX.
My lord, we claim to be a kingdom, with every right be-
longing io a kingdom ; governed by our own legislature, the
king, lords and commons of Ireland. We complain of the
British legislature making laws to bind Ireland. We allege it
is without right, and we require that the legislature of Great
Britain should relinquish a claim that we say they are not enti-
tled to, and that they should obliterate the name of Ireland from
their statutes.
This is a short creed, but like all creeds admits of much ex-
planation ; let us fairly discuss it ; the examination will be no
impeachment even to your lordship's abilities, though it should
oblige you to correspond with a man so much your inferior
in rank and understanding. If my ideas, if the ideas of my
countrymen are unjust and unreasonable, we are surely entitled
to an explanation why they are so. If they are just and rea-
sonable, they should be complied with. If they are just and rea-
sonable, and not complied with, we have a right to do ourselves
justice, if ever we have the power.
Here, my lord, I shall beg leave to ask two questions : Is the
kingdom of Ireland considered by the legislature of Great Britain
as a conquered nation? If not, is Ireland considered as a free
kingdom, united with England by long usage, similarity of man-
ners, vicinage, and a common king?
If we are deemed a conquered nation, and as such to hold
every thing we possess at the will of the English our conquer-
ors; if we are in all things subject to their caprice ; still, my lord,
there is one right that I apprehend cannot be taken from us : It
is a right I almost blush to mention ; it is the right of the van-
quished; the right of regaining our freedom, whenever we are
nble to throw off your yoke. If you say, as I trust you will,
that we are a free people, you must allow us those rights which
are indispensably necessary to the very existence of freedom ;
and if on enquiry it should be found that Ireland has not such
rights, because Great Britain has exerted an arbitrary power to
which she'was not entitled, Great Britain must either relinquish
such an evasion of our rights, or support it, as she made it... .by
power.
What, my lord, constitutes the freedom of a people ? What is
the boasted freedom of a subject of Great Britain ? Is it not,
tbat he is governed by laws to which he has assented either by
himself or his representative ? Is it not that he cannot be bound
by laws that do not affect those who make them, as well as him-
self? What, my lord, is the definition of a slave ? Is it not where
a man is bound by laws, to which he never assented, and lies at
the mercy of a power, over which he has no control ? Weigh
these two definitions, and tell me what is Ireland ?
Great Britain's repealing part of those laws by which I appre-
hend she has unjustly bound Ireland, is no satisfaction, nor arc
APPENDIX. rr
we less enslaved. In fact, your propositions, and the law founded
upon them, establishes that power, which I, and I believe my
countrymen deny. The word expedient conveys a thousand
things repugnant to the rights of Ireland. It may hereafter be
deemed expedient to revoke the very indulgences you now find
it expedient to grant. It may be expedient to dissolve our par-
liament, and never call another; it may be expedient to tax
Ireland by a British act of parliament, and enforce it by a British
armament ; where shall we set bounds to expediency, and how
can its limits be ascertained ? But, my lord, I will venture to
assert, and I now call on your lordship to refute it if you can,
that Ireland is not free, whilst England has the power of binding
Ireland by British acts of parliament. I will venture to assert,
we are not less slaves, though British legislation never found it
expedient to exert the power it claims; the most absolute mo-
narch on earth may make his subjects happy, but whilst he has
the means of making them miserable, they are not, they cannot
be free.
The Irish for a long time remained in ignorance as to their
situation ; those amongst them who perceived it, thought it
would be cruel to shew them rights, without a possibility of
their obtaining them. Particular circumstances have led them
to particular enquiries. Enquiry has made them acquainted
with their situation ; and it is, my lord, the characteristic of my
countrymen to be impatient under their wrongs, which they feel
and understand.
I do not deceive you when I say, that this reasoning is very
general amongst Irishmen. I do not deceive you when I say,
we are attached to England, and seek a connection with her, in
preference to the rest of mankind. But, my lord, our first
attachment is to freedom, and every other is a secondary con-
sideration. To be in possession of freedom, we must know
what is our right. As to favours, we ought, and I am persuaded
are willing to give an equivalent. But, my lord, we wish
to have the line between rights and favours ascertained ; the
blending them together, if possible, we are determined, to
avoid.
My lord, we conceive that we are a free people, and as such
entitled to a free trade. We admit your right to shut your ports
against us, but we claim a similar power as to you. If we are as
free as England this must be the ca.se ; if we are not, we are
surely entitled to the reasons why we are not so. We surely
have a right to know why we are excluded from the undoubted
privileges of a free people. Can your lordship blame us if we
deem it necessary to know how we stand in point of right, in
regard to Great Britain ? We cannot build on a sure foundation,
or expect a lasting fabric, till this is ascertained.
78 APPENDIX.
Your lordship says the Irish parliament is to do certain things*
in consequence oi English resolutions. How, my lord, can this
be? How can England treat with Ireland, until the English
parliament relinquishes her claim of binding Ireland in all cases
whatsoever? Is it not, my lord, absurd ? Is it not a contradic-
tion in terms, that an English parliament should enter into a
treaty with an Irish, if an Irish parliament is to be subject to
the will of an English : and if an English act can bind Ireland
in all cases whatsoever.
I am aware it will be said, that this overture from an English
to an Irish parliament, tacitly admits that an English parliament
has not a right to bind Ireland. Why tacitly ? If England
means to give up this claim, why not openly ? The doing so
would give confidence here. If on the other hand it should be
meant to deceive, to mislead by the natural idea that must arise
from the one parliament treating with the other, I will not he-
sitate in proclaiming it a mean subterfuge. ...a low cunning....
unworthy of a man. ...unworthy of a nation.
In consequence of your lordship's propositions, I will suppose
vrcalth pouring into this kingdom from every quarter. Here,
my lord, I will again ask a question : What security have we
for wealth so acquired? If vou have a right to bind us in all
cases whatsoever, you must have a right to tax us. If you have
a right to tax us one shilling, you have a right to twenty in the
pound ; and had we the wealth of the Indies, whilst you claim
lhat power, and have force to execute it, we are but a treasury,
filled for the use of Great Britain. In absolute governments,
wealth and danger go hand in hand, and poverty is happiness.
If individuals grow rich they dare not enjoy their wealth, and
are careful to conceal it. Their lives are often forfeited for
supposed offences, to give a colour to the seizing of their acqui-
sitions. The same reasoning will hold in this instance. If,
whilst poor, you claim absolute power over us, by what chain of
reasoning are we to suppose you will relinquish it, should we
become rich ? It makes no difference that this power is vested
in the legislature of Great Britain, and not in a single hand.
Absolute power in one or in many is the same. Its effect is
equally destructive to the happiness of a state or individual.
I have frequently observed, my lord, when the subject of Irish
rights has been broached, that the distressed situation of Eng-
land has been introduced j that England has been represented
as a nation sunk in debt, and overwhelmed with difficulties. If
it be so, I am, and I am persuaded my countrymen are sorry
for it. But, my lord, as an Irishman, I cannot conceive that I
am to be a slave^ because England has been imprudent or unfor-
tunate. I cannot conceive if England was sinking, that Ireland
is bound in any way, to go to the bottom with England. We
APPENDIX. 79
are called sister kingdoms, but if we were married, there is but
one country* that I have heard of, where the wife sacrifices
herself on the funeral pile of the husband, and I trust Ireland
is not inclined to follow so singular an example.
Be the situation of England what it may, what has Ireland to
say to it ? Have we ever exposed you to war ? Have we en-
creased your taxes ? Have we been the cause of a single misfor-
tune ? If your fleets have protected us, who occasioned our
wanting that protection ? Have we not contributed both with
our blood and treasure in support of your quarrels, without
sharing in your conquests ? Are we not indebted, from our con-
nection with you, beyond our ability to pay ?
My lord, I will go so far as to say, if the ruin of England
was to follow justice to Ireland, yet still we are entitled to that
justice. The question must still resort to first principles, and
Irishmen cannot, ought not to have a confidence in Great Britain,
till those principles are fully ascertained.
It is said, my lord, that we have long acquiesced under this
claim. For argument sake I will grant it. England herself
has been obliged in particular times to submit to the most severe
exertions of arbitrary power, but it has been the most distin-
guished feature in the character of your countrymen, to watch
for and seize the moment in which they had the prospect of re-
gaining their freedom. Witness your barons compelling the
infamous John to grant them Magna Charta. Witness the de-
capitation of the misinformed and unfortunate Charles. And
witness the glorious revolution, by which the present king of
England.... of Ireland, is entitled to his crown. Will your lord-
ship then, or your countrymen, be so unjust as to say, we ought
to acquiesce in a claim, because we have not hitherto had power
to oppose it ? Will you assert if at first the claim was unjust, it
has changed its nature from the inattention or impotence of
Ireland ?
Strange arguments, however, sometimes suggest themselves.
I have heard it argued, my lord, that the king of Ireland, re-
siding in Great Britain, gives a right to supremacy there. To
this there is a short and conclusive question ; one, my lord, that
I borrow from the elegant and well-informed Guatimozin....
Had the king of Great Britain been in reality, what he is nomi-
nally, king of France ; had he held his court at Paris ; would
Great Britain have allowed the king of Great Britain, in con-
junction with the parliaments of France, to bind them in all
cases whatsoever ? Apply this, my lord, to the subject of this
letter, and answer the question as you please.
* A country in Asia, where the bodies of the dead are burned, und the wife
is placed on the funeral pile of the husband.
80 APPENDIX.
In all connections between free kingdo-ms advantages must
be reciprocal. It must be the interest of both to preserve the
connection ; or that kingdom who finds herself hurt by the al-
liance, will infallibly quit it the moment it is in her power. In-
terest is the grand spring of action even amongst men, though a
few individuals may gloriously deviate from it ; but between
nations it is, it must be the ruling principle.
My lord, it is my wish, and I hope and believe it is the wish
of every good man in this kingdom, to form an alliance with .
Great Britain, which nothing can disturb. I conceive this can.
only be done by a fair and candid enquiry into the natural rights
of each kingdom. If Great Britain treats with Ireland under
the idea of giving as little as she can, and that little from neces-
sity, Ireland can neither be thankful nor satisfied. You your-
selves will say that Ireland, from particular situation, has got
more than you intended for her ; and when that situation ceases,
you will naturally endeavour to recal what you have so granted.
On the other hand, Ireland looking for an establishment of
rights, cannot conceive herself obliged by what is given from
expediency. Whilst the great question of right remains unas-
certained, mutual jealousies and distrusts must affect the peace
of both kingdoms. Irishmen cannot seriously wish the pros-
perity of a country which they conceive to be oppressing them ;
and England cannot be cordially our well-wisher, whilst she con-
siders us as a people she has wronged ; as a people she must sup-
pose anxious for an opportunity of procuring justice.
It may be said, that finding fault is easy, but that it will be
difficult to point out a mode of relief more satisfactory than the
one your lordship has adopted ; I shall, therefore, in a few
words, lay down what I believe would be satisfactory to my
countrymen ; what I know would be satisfactory to my country-
men ; what I know would be satisfactory to myself.
Let England declare she has no right to bind Ireland by Bri-
tish acts of parliament, and entirely repeal all laws hitherto made
for that purpose. It has been my endeavour to prove that Eng-
land in doing this, would only do justice ; suppose it done, Ire-
land would have a right to trade with all the world, but all the
world would also have a right of choosing upon what terms, and
in what instances, they would enter into commercial alliances
with Ireland ; Great Britain of course would have a right to say,
you shall not trade with us, but on such conditions as we shall
think proper to require. The colonies would have the same
right ; and at this moment Ireland would have less than what
your propositions, and the law founded, and to be founded on
them, would give us ; but then, my lord, the matter of right
Avould be adjusted ; whatever wealth we acquired would be the
wealth of freemen, and could not be taken from us but by our
APPENDIX. 81
own legislature ; then that frightful spirit raised in the reign of
George the First would be laid, and the fears and apprehensions
of Irishmen, with the Ghost, would vanish.*
If, my lord, we are admitted to trade with Great Britain and
her colonies, I, as an Irishman, think we should make a suita-
ble return. If your fleets protect us, protect our trade. I think
we ought in proportion to that protection, in proportion to that
trade, contribute to their support. These, my lord, in my hum-
ble apprehension, ought to be the subjects of treaty between the
two legislatures ; then rights and favours would be distinct ; a
distinction which must give universal satisfaction here. If
Great Britain really means to give us a permanent Free Trade,
what can be her objection to being fully explicit ? My lord, the
consequence would be, that industry would diffuse her blessings
over this heretofore devoted iand ; then, my lord, the merchant
would plow the ocean, and the farmer his land with satisfaction
and security ; then Ireland would become the cheerful and pow-
ful supporter of Great Britain.
My lord, I cannot expect you will take either my word or
opinion for the sentiments of my countrymen ; but, my lord, it
is surely worth your lordship's attention to enquire how far I
am right in my opinion ; if by that enquiry, you find that the
people of Ireland, almost to a man, deny the right in a British
parliament to bind them ; if you find that they acknowledge no
power on earth but their king, lords, and commons ; and will
not, if they can help it, pay obedience to the laws of any other ;
I submit it to your lordship, whether it would be wise in the
British legislature to voluntarily declare the statute of 6 George
I. c. 5. no longer in force, so far as relates to Ireland, and that
it was made on the mistaken idea, that England had a right to
bind Ireland. This, my lord, would heal every dissension,
would banish every jealous idea from our minds.
Many other things relative to Ireland croud upon my imagi-
nation, but as they are in general things that ought to be looked
to at home, and as I wish to confine myself to the one great
question, I shall not longer intrude on your lordship.
In the course of this letter I have endeavoured to steer clear
of the least offence to your lordship. I have endeavoured to
argue without passion or prejudice, and I trust I have in some
degree succeeded.
I feel the fullest conviction, that an explanation of the matter
of right is essential to the welfare and prosperity of both king-
* The law declaring a right to bind Ireland in all cases whatsoever.
VOL. II. j.
82 APPENDIX.
doms, and it is from that conviction I have thus ventured to ad-
dress your lordship.
I am, with great respect,
Your Lordship's
Most humble servant,
FRANCIS DOBBS,
1st January^ 1780.
No. LXVII. a.
ADDRESSES AND RESOLUTIONS OF DIFFERENT COUPS OF
VOLUNTEERS..,. PAGE 276.
To the Right Hon. and Hon. the Minority in both Houses of
Parliament.
MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
We thank you for your noble and spirited,
though hitherto ineffectual efforts in defence of the great consti-
tutional and commercial rights of your country. Go on.. ..the
almost unanimous voice of the people is with you ; and in a
free country, the voice of the country, the people, must prevail.
We know our duty to our sovereign, and are loyal. We know
our duty to ourselves, and are resolved to be free. We seek
for our rights, and no more than our rights, and, in so just a pur-
suit, we should doubt the being of a Providence, if we doubted
of success.
These proceedings were generally approved of... .the spirit of
the Dungannon meeting was diffused throughout the kingdom,
and its resolutions were seconded by almost every volunteer
corps in Ireland.
On the 17th of February, the corps of Independent Dublin
Volunteers unanimously agreed to the following resolutions and
preamble :
Natural justice and equity having established the universal"
rights of mankind upon an equal footing, the inhabitants of
Ireland have a claim to a free trade \vith all nations in amity
with Great Britain ; yet their ports have been kept shut, their
trade has been monopolized, and their industry has but served
to aggrandize the proud traders of a neighbouring kingdom.
APPENDIX. 83
Necessity, which compels to ingenuity, has lately led up that
trade, dignified with the spacious name offree: yet trade, which
enriches industrious nations, serves but lo impoverish the na-
tives of this kingdom, because they have purchased at an high
price, an illusion; defrauded thus of their birthright, there is
nothing but (economy as a counterpoise. This unsubstantial
freedom of commerce, having originated from the united spirit
of the people against the use of foreign manufactures, the same
spirit which procured the fallacious grant, may yet, by a perse-
vering unanimity, establish a real, permanent, and substantial
trade.. ..Therefore resolved, that these our thoughts and opinions
be laid before our countrymen, reminding them, at the sam«
time, that not only they, but their posterity are interested in the
event ;_ and that to do away effectually the yoke of monopoly, a
noii-consumption and non-importation agreement should be
entered into without delay.
Resolved, That for the more effectually furthering this great
national point, the several corps (as private citizens) of this city
be requested to send each a delegate to the Royal Exchange, on
Monday the 25th inst. at seven o'clock in the evening, and the
foregoing resolutions be published.
. The following Resolutions zvere passed a few Days afterwards
at a full Meeting held by the Lawyers' Corps.
Resolved, That we do highly approve of the resolutions and
address of the Ulster volunteers, represented at Dungannon on
the 15th day of February instant.
That as citizens and volunteers, we will co-operate with the
several corps, whose delegates met at Dungannon, in every
constitutional mode of obtaining a redress of the grievances
mentioned in their resolutions.
Tlu Address published bij the Committee of the Ulster Volunteers.
To the Electors of Members of Parliament, in the Province
of Ulster.
GENTLEMEN,
DELEGATED by the volunteers as-
sembled at Dungannon, we call on you to support the con-
84 APPENDIX.
stitutional and commercial rights of Ireland ; to exert the im-
portant privileges of freemen at the ensuing election, and to pro-
claim to the world, that you at least deserve to be free.
Regard not the threats of landlords or their agents, when they
require you to tail in your duty* to God, to your country, to
yourselves, to your posterity. The first privilege of a man is
the right of judging for himself, and now is the time for you to
exert that right. It is a time pregnant with circumstances,
which revolving ages may not again so favourably combine.
The spirii of liberty is gone abroad, it is embraced by the peo-
ple at large, and every day brings with it an accession oi strength.
The timid have laid aside their fears, the virtuous sons oi ire-
land stand secure in their numbers. Undue influence is now
as despised as-it has ever been contemptible : and he who would
dare to punish an elector lor exerting the rights of a freeman,
would meet what he would merit, public detestation and abhor-
rence.
Let no individual neglect his duty. The nation is the aggre-
gate of individuals, and the strength of the whole is composed
of exertion of each part j the man, therefore, who omits what is
in his power, because he has not more in his power, and will
not exert his utmost efforts for the emancipation of his country,
because they can, at best, be the efforts of but one man, stands
accountable to his God and to his country, to himself and to his
posterity, for confirming and entailing slavery on the land which
gave him birth.
An upright House of Commons is all that is wanting, and
it is in the power of the electors to obtain it. Vote only for
men whose past conduct in parliament you and the nation ap-
prove, and for such others as will solemnly pledge themselves to
support the measures, which you and the nation approve. Do
your duty to your country, and let no consideration tempt
you to sacrifice the public to a private tie, the greater duty to a
less.
We entreat you, in the name of the great and respectable body
we represent ; we implore you, by every sociable and honoura-
ble tie ; we conjure you as citizens, as freemen, as Irishmen, to
raise this long insulted kingdom, and restore to her her lost
rights. One great and united effort will place us among the
first nations of the earth, and those who shall have the glory
of contributing to that event, will be for ever recorded as the
saviours of their country.
APPENDIX. 85
It would be impossible and unnecessary, to state here the
numerous resolutions agreed to by the several volunteer corps
and other assemblies, where these subjects were taken into
consideration : they were substantially the same, and differed
but in words. We shall therefore only add the proceedings of
a few other bodies, that were not under the military character,
to shew that the same disposition and sentiments pervaded all
ranks of people.
At a Meeting of the Freemen and Freeholders of the City of
Dublin, convened by the High Sheriffs, at the Tholsel, on
Tuesday the 19th of March, 1782, the following Address was
unanimously agreed to.
To Sir Samuel Bradstreet, Bart, and Travers Hartley, Esq.
Representatives in Parliament for jthe City of Dublin.
GENTLEMEN,
AS men justly entitled to, and firmly re-
solved to obtain a free constitution, we require you, our trustees,
to exert yourselves in the most strenuous manner, to procure
an unequivocal declaration, " That the king, lords, and com-
" mons of Ireland are the only power competent to make laws
" to bind this country." And we solemnly pledge ourselves to
you and to our country, that we will support the representatives
of the people at the risk of our lives and fortunes, in every con-
stitutional measure, which may be pursued for the attainment
of this great national object.
Be assured, gentlemen, that your zeal upon this occasion will
insure you a continuance of our esteem and regard.
(Signed) James Campbell ~) „. .ff
David Dick J ^
The Sheriffs, having waited on the Representatives, received the
following Answer.
To the Sheriffs, Freemen, and Freeholders of the City of
Dublin.
GENTLEMEN,
IT has ever been my wish to receive with
pleasure, and to obey the instructions of my constituents.
You may depend on my using every means in my power te
procure an explicit and unequivocal declaration, " That the
8G APPENDIX.
" king, lords, and commons of Ireland are the only power com-
" petent to make laws to bind this country ;" and I rely on your
solemn engagement to support your representatives in every
constitutional measure, which may be necessary for the attain-
ment of this great national object. Permit me to assure you,
that my zeal for the accomplishment of your wishes can be
equalled only by my desire to convince you how sacred I es-
teem the trust you have reposed in me, and how rr.uch I value
a continuance of the good opinion of my fellow citizens.
I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect,
Your obliged and faithful servant,
* SAMUEL BRADSTREET.
To the Sheriffs, Freemen, and Freeholders of the city of Dublin.
GENTLEMEN,
I SHOULD be very unworthy of that
honourable and important trust, with which you have so recently
invested me, did I not receive with the highest respect, the most
perfect satisfaction, and cheerful conformity, your instructions
•on a subject in which the national honour and security are
essentially engaged. To suppose that any power, except that
of the " king, lords, and commons of Ireland, is competent to
" make laws to bind this kingdom," is utterly inconsistent with
the idea of freedom ; it is equal liberty alone, which can secure
that perfect harmony to the subjects of the same crown, so
necessary to the prosperity both of Great Britain and Ireland.
You may rely, gentlemen, on every exertion I am capable
of, to procure an unequivocal declaration of the sole rights
of the legislature of this kingdom, to enact laws obligatory on
the people of Ireland ; and I doubt not in this, and every con-
stitutional measure, I shall be always secure of the support of
my constituents. Your instructions on this occasion will give a
• dignity to the vote you have intrusted me with, which it must
have wanted, if considered as merely proceeding from my own
private judgment.
I have the honour, gentlemen, to be,
With the most perfect respect, and sense of obligation,
Your faithful and obedient servant,
TRAVERS HARTLEY.
APPENDIX.
At a Meeting of the H/gfr Sheriff and Grand Jury of the
County of Dublin, on the \\th of April, 1782, the following
Resolutions rvere agreed to.
Resolved, That no power on earth, but the king, lords, and
commons of Ireland can in right make laws to bind the people
of this land.
Resolved, That the members of the House of Commons are
representatives of, and derive their power solely from, the peo-
ple ; and that a denial of this proposition by them would be to
abdicate the representation.
The following Address tuas then read by the Chairman, and
agreed to.
To the Right Hon. Luke Gardiner, and Sir Edward New-
enham, Knight.
GENTLEMEN,
WE, the high sheriff and grand jury of the
county of Dublin, warmly coinciding with the determination re-
specting the constitutional rights of Ireland, with which the
mind of every man in this nation is deeply impressed, think if
our duty to express those feelings in the strongest terms.
As you have already evinced your intention to support the
sole and undoubted authority of the legislature of Ireland, to
make laws for its government, we confidently hope and expect,
that you will persevere in pursuing the most decisive and im-
mediate measures, that may effectually carry that great object
into execution, by a solemn ratification of our rights.
Though this is, at the present crisis, the principal matter
under the consideration of parliament, we have no doubt but
that you must consider it your duty to act in all things that
affect the freedom of our constitution, in such manner as
may become the representatives of a great and independent
county.
Resolved, That copies of the above resolutions and address,
signed by the high sheriff and foreman, be presented to the
Right Honourable Luke Gardiner and Sir Edward Newen-
ham, knight, and that the same, together with their answers be
published*
88 APPENDIX,
The following Answers were returned.
To the High Sheriff and Grand Jury, of the County of Dublin.
GENTLEMEN,
IT give's me very sincere satisfaction, that my
past conduct, relative to the sole and undoubted authority of the
legislature of Ireland, has merited your approbation. You may
be assured, that I shall persevere in giving my warmest sup-
port to the great and important object, as I consider it so deci-
sively founded in right, that no man who loves to be free, can
hesitate to acknowledge and to assert it.
With respect to any other matter that may affect the freedom
of our constitution, I am so conscious of my intentipns to pro-
mote the perfect contentment of this country, that I have no
doubt I shall, in every particular deserve that confidence, with
which you have hitherto honoured me.
I am very glad that you have given me an opportunity of de-
claring my sentiments thus publicly at this crisis ; as I think that
the time is now come, which demands an explicit and a perma-
nent settlement of the constitution of Ireland, as the certain means
of establishing the tranquillity of this country, and of perpetuat-
ing the harmony, which ought to subsist between us and Great
Britain.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
With the greatest respect,
Your very obliged and humble servant,
LUKE GARDINER.
Henrietta Street, April 13, 1782.
To the High Sheriff, Foreman, and Grand Jury of the County
of Dublin.
GENTLEMEN,
I ALWAYS received your instructions with
respect and pleasure, for it is equally my duty and inclination to
obey them ; if I did not, I should betray that delegated trust,
with which you have honoured me.
In respect to those great objects in which you desire " I will
persevere," I assure you, I will most faithfully pursue that line
of conduct marked out by you, confident that his majesty can-
not, in justice to this independent kingdom, refuse his royal
assent to such acts, as may be deemed by the Irish parliament
" a solemn ratification of our rights." I flatter myself that no
Irish minister will be found to be so presumptuous, as to impede
APPENDIX. 8<»
the total annihilation of foreign usurpation ; if such a minister
should be found, the parliament of Ireland, supported by the
general voice of the people, ojght to do their duty. Though
effectual impeachments have betn too long neglected, and* there-
by our sister kingdom has nearly fallen a martyr to the corrup-
tion and wickedness of its ministry, the spirit of this nation is
too high, to submit patiently to national insults.
You are also pLased to direct me " to act in all things, that
" affect the freedom of our constitution, as may become 'the re-
" presentative of a great and independent coumy :" in order to
accomplish that object, I have frequently introduced heads of a
bill to secure the freedom of parliament, by limiting the num-
ber of placemen, and totally excluding pensioners from sitting
therein ; a hostile band of parliamentary placemen and pension-
ers is the foundation of internal and external corruption.
Every measure tending to maintain the freedom, or promote
the trade and manufactures of your great, respectable, and in-
dependent county, shall meet my warmest support in every sta-
tion of life.
I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect,
Your most obliged and faithful trustee,
EDWARD NEWENHAM.
At a full Meeting of the Grand Jury, Gentlemen, Clergy, and
Freeholders of the County of Galivay, assembled pursuant to
public Notice from the High Sheriff', at the County-Hall, in
Galway, March 31, 1782, the follorving Resolutions were una-
nimously entered into :
RESOLVED, That a seat in parliament was never in-
tended by our constitution as an instrument of emolument to
individuals ; and that the representative, who perverts it to such
a purpose, particularly at so momentous a period as the present,
is guilty of betraying the trust reposed in him by the people for
their, not his benefit.
Resolved, That the people who could tamely behold their
suffrages made the tool of private avarice or ambition, are still
more criminal than the venal representatives, as they become
the panders without even the wages of prostitution.
Resolved, That when we daily see the mandate of the minis-
ter supersede all conviction in debate ; when placed and pen-
sioned members of parliament notoriously support in public
measures, which they condemn in private ; when the hirelings
of corruption avow, and government have exemplified in recent
instances of distinguished characters, that to vote accprding to
TOL. II. M
9(X APPENDIX.
conscience amounts to a disqualification to hold any office in the
service of our country, it is time for the people to look to them-
selves, and in great national questions to assert their right to
control *thoset who owe their political existence to their breath,
and may be annihilated by their displeasure.
Resolved, That at an asra when every thing which can be dear
to a nation is at stake, we are called upon by our duty to our-
selves, to our country, and to posterity, to stand forth, and by
the most unremitting exertions stfm the returning torrent of
corruption at home, and resist the usurpation from abroad, that
all mankind may see we are determined to preserve the purity,
while we vindicate the rights of our legislature.
Resolved, therefore, That we do hereby solemnly pledge our-
selves to each other, and to our country, by every tie of honour
and religion, which can be binding to man, that, as the sacred
duty which we owe to the community supersedes all ties and
obligations to individuals, we will not suffer private friendship
or private virtues, to warp our settled determination not to vote
for any man, at a future election, either for county, town, or
borough, who shall act in opposition to our instructions, and
who will not subscribe a test to obey them previous to the elec-
tion, or who shall absent himself when those questions, on which
we instruct him, are agitated in parliament.
Resolved, That the king, lords, and commons of Ireland are
the only power competent to make laws to bind this kingdom,
and that we will resist the execution of any other laws, with our
lives and fortunes.
Resolved, That if force constitutes right, the people of this
country have a right to use force against the man, who dares to
maintain doctrines subversive of their constitution ; but as the
object is beneath the dignity of the national resentment, we shall
only bid such a man beware how he hereafter trifles with the
rights of his country, and provokes the vengeance of a people
determined to be free.
Resolved, That we highly approve of the resolutions of the
volunteer delegates, assembled at Dungannon and Bailinaslqe.
Resohed, That the thank's of this county be returned to
the minority in parliament, and particularly to our countrymen
Anthony Daly, Sir Henry Lynch Blosse, and Robert Dillon,
Esqrs.
Resohed, That the following address be presented to the
Right Honourable Denis Daly, and W. P. Keating French,
Esqrs. representatives in parliament for this county.
APPENDIX. 91
TO DEXIS DALY,
SIR,
'
THERE is a moment in the affairs of nations as well
as of individuals, which if seized and happily improved, may
lead to prosperity, if neglected, may terminate in the riveting of
its oppressions. Such a mofiient is the present : the eyes of
Europe are upon us, and posterity will read our conduct with
applause or execration according to the use we make of the op-
portunities, which a providential combination of events has af-
forded us. When the rights of a nation become objects of
public question or discussion, not to assert is to relinquish, to
hesitate is to betray. The die is cast ; if we advance with a
manly and determined step, we ensure success j if we recede or
divide, we sink for ever; in so awful an hour, who is the man
that, however unwilling to provoke the question, will not at the
day of trial be found in his post ? Your private opinion, Sir,
must give way to the national voice ; the assemblage of quali-
ties which formed and elevated your character, raised you to
one of the most exalted situations a subject could arrive at.
Your abilities remain, we h,.ve relied on your integrity ; yet we
cannot but lament, that at the moment we stood in need of all
the influence of such a character, its brightness should have
been shaded, and its weight lost to the nation by being placed
in a station in which, however chaste, it may at least be suspect-
ed. But waving at present the consideration of this subject, we
now call upon you, as one of our representatives, as you value
our future approbation and support, to give your fullest assis-
tance to the following measures, whenever they shall be pro-
posed in parliament, viz. a declaration of our national rights ;
an ademption of the assumed power of the privy council to stop
or alter bills ; a mutiny bill limited in its duration ; a bill ren-
dering the judges independent of the crown ; and a bill to re-
duce the expences of the nation to a level with its revenues, as
we cannot conceive a conduct more insane, than for a people
scarce emerging from ruin, like a profligate heir, to anticipate
its funds, and ground certain extravagance on uncertain pros-
perity.
TO W. P. KEATING FRENCH, ESQj,
So,
THE present period calls upon every man in this
country to take an active and decided part in the common cause.
The nation is not now to be trifled with. Upon our conduct at
this eventful hour depends the establishment of our constitution,
02 APPENDIX.
and the liberties of unborn generations. We shall not, Sir, suf-
fer our attention to be drawn from the great objects in which
we are engaged, by a retrospect into your past parliamentary
conduct, however dissonant in many points Irom our opinions ;
but we call upon you, if you value our future approbation, to
give your fullest support to the following measures, whenever
they shall be agitated in parliament, viz. a declaration of our
national rights ; an ademption of the power of the privy council
to stop or alter bills ; a mutiny bill limited in its duration ; a
bill to render the judges independent of the crown; and a bill
to reduce the national expences to a level with its revenues.
At a Meeting of the Electors of the University, on the 3d of
April) the following Address was unanimously agreed tot
and ordered to be presented to their Representatives.
To the Right Honourable Walter Burgh and John Fitzgibbon,
Esq. Representatives in Parliament for the University of
Dublin.
GENTLEMEN,
WHEN the murmurs of a people, struggling
for their rights, have been heard even in the quiet retreat ol sci-
ence, we should deem it a breach of duty to our countrymen and
ourselves, did we neglect to second their virtuous exertions:
we are never forward in political conttsts : we shall always be
decided and steady ; although we have not been the first to com-
plain of, yet, we have not been the last to feel, the repeated in-
juries this country has suffered, not only from those who may
have separate duties and separate interests, but from men who
are bound by the strongest duty, and the dearest interest, to vin-
dicate its rights, and cherish its prosperity.
The power of binding Ireland by acts of a foreign legislature,
is what nothing but a spirit of arrogance or oppression would
insist upon, nothing but the most abject servility submit to ; for
we cannot suppose, that the appearance of a claim, which irri-
tates the \\hole body of the people, would be retained, unless
there was an intention of enforcing this claim hereafter; we are>
therefore convinced, that an express declaration of rights, is the
only measure upon which this country can build its legislative
independence, and that a reluctance to assert the constitution of
the land, may furnish Great Britain with a pretence for denying
the justice of our requisition.
APPENDIX. 93
We do not think the present situation of Great Britain to be
any objection against such a declaration, as we can never sup-
pose that MIC could derive strength from our weakness, or any
security to her liberties from the oppression of ours ; and
that time is undoubtedly to be preferred for the assertion of
our right, when the object is likely to be obtained with the least
struggle.
The insecure attachment of Ireland to the crown of England
at a former period, iurnibhed a pretext ior divesting the houses
of parliament of dieir right to originate bills, unless previously
certified into England under the great seal of this kingdom ;
now, as the loyalty of this country for several centuries, so often
tried, and so often acknowledged, has removed every cause of
distrust ,- we conceive that this injurious and humiliating restric-
tion should also cease.
The dependance of the judges of Ireland on the will of the
sovereign, may, in the hands of an aspiring monarch, prove
a powerful instrument of oppression ; now, holding ourselves
entitled to ever}7 constitutional security which our sister kingdom
possesses, we consider it necessary that the judges of this king-
dom should be made equally independent with those of Great
Britain.
But since every advantage, which could result from these
reformations must be precarious, as long as a perpetual mu-
tiny bill exists, by which force may be made to supersede
right, and the soldiery of Ireland are subject to trial and
punishment by any future articles of war, which the king
and privy council of Great Britain may think proper to adopt;
we are pei-suaded, that every concession must be imperfect,
unless accompanied by the repeal of so dangerous a law.
We therefore expect you will exert your most strenuous
efforts, to obtain a declaration of the rights of Ireland : a repeal
or satisfactory explanation of the law of Poynings ; an act for
making the tenure of the judges independent of the crown j and
a repeal of the perpetual mutiny bill.
We declare, that these are our fixed and unalterable senti-
ments, and we are convinced, that nothing short of the requisi-
tions herein contained, can be, in any degree, satisfactory to the
people of Ireland.
It is cur wish to render the connection between this country
and Great Britain, as close and permanent as possible, and we
are persuaded, that this is only to be accomplished by abolishing
all usurped authority of the one over the other, and removing
every invidious distinction between the constitutions of two
countries equally entitled to be free.
94 APPENDIX.
To this Address the folio-wing Answers ivere returned.
To the Electors of the University.
GENTLEMEN,
WHEN I reflect on my past parliamentary
conduct, it affords me the highest satisfaction, to find that it
entirely corresponds with the tenor of your instructions.
Whenever the objects that you recommend have come into dis-
cussion, I have given them my uniform and decided support.
My conduct has been founded upon principles, which no motives,
of interest or ambition have beet^ able to shake, and in which
I shall persevere unto the last hour of my life.
I have the honour to be^ with the greatest respect,
Gentlemen,
Your most faithful humble servant,
WALTER BURGH.
To the Electors of Trinity College.
GENTLEMEN,
I AM just now honoured with your in-
structions, which have been forwarded to me by post. Be as-
sured, that I shall always feel the utmost satisfaction in re-
ceiving the instructions of that very great and respectable
body, which I have the honour to represent, and that you shall
ever find me ready, to the best of my ability, to vindicate your
rights.
I have always been of opinion, that the claim of the British
parliament to make laws for this country, is a daring usur-
pation on the rights of a free people, and have uniformly
asserted this opinion both in public and in private. When a
declaration of the legislative right was moved in the House of
Commons, I did oppose it, upon a decided conviction, that it
was a measure of a dangerous tendency, and withal inadequate
to the purpose for which it was intended. However, I do, with-
ou; hesitation, yield my own opinion upon this subject to yours,
and will, whenever such a declaration shall be moved, give it my
support.
With respect to an explanation of the law of Poynings, I
confess, the more I consider the subject, the more difficult it
appears to me. Allow me to remind you, that the University
did, upon a very recent occasion, experience that this law, in
its present form, may operate beneficially. A total repeal of
APPENDIX. . 95
it, will I hope, on consideration, appear to you to be not,
by any means, a desirable object. You may rest assured, that
the best attention which I can give to the subject shall be ex-
erted ; and I trust and doubt not, that upon a communication
with you upon this topic, I shall be able to give you full satis-
faction.
I agree with you most warmly, that any advantage, which we
may derive from reformation, must be precarious, so long as
the articles of war shall continue to be a permanent and estab-
lished branch of municipal law, which they certainly are under
the present act for regulating the king's army in Ireland. I have
not a doubt, in my mind, that a perpetual mutiny law lays the
foundation of a military government in this country ; upon this
principle I did oppose it as strenuously as I could, from the-first
moment it was introduced into the House of Commons, and
upon this principle I will, whilst I live, make every effort within
my power to procure a repeal of it. The administration of jus-
tice in this country is certainly an object of the first importance,
and therefore I will, at all times, concur in any measure, which
can be proposed to make the judges of the land independent and
respectable. ,
I have the honour to be,
Gentlemen,
With great respect,
Mount Shannon, Your most obedient, and
April llth, 1782. very humble servant,
JOHN FITZGIBBON*
No. LXVITI. a.
FROM THE DEBATES IN THE BRITISH .HOUSE OF COMMONS,
[PAGE 2941]
0
THE Right Honourable T. Townshend spoke fully upon
the privileges of the House of Commons. He maintained,
that the only true substantial meaning or idea those privileges
conveyed was that they were the indubitable right of all the
Commons of England, who had one general interest in them.
That to be sure in a more confined sense, they were particularly
applied first to that house, as a deliberative body, and one of the
96 APPENDIX.
branches of the legislature. Secondly to the individual mem-
bers who compose that body. He did not intend to make them,
however, the subject of this day's business ; they were but of
secondary, nay indeed of very inferior consequence, when op-
posed to that great privilege, the power of granting money, of
keeping the purse of their constituents safe from the hands of
violence, art or fraud. This was a trust of the first magnitude ;
in fact, it included every other ; for so long as that was pre-
served inviolate, the crown would remain under the constitu-
tional control of parliament ; so soon as that was wrested by
open force, defeated by indirect means, or done away by fraud,
the liberties and the privileges of the people would be for ever
annihilated. He expatiated on the commendable, wise, and
well-founded jealousy of that house whenever the least attempt
had been made in that way even by the other house ; but when
any endeavours were made by the crown, or its ministerial
agents, the commons at all times caught the alarm ; they had at
all times uniformly united, as if they were actuated by one soul,
to resist any attempt of the crown to encroach upon their
power of granting or refusing the money to be raised on
themselves or their constituents. He then opened the cause
which induced him to make these observations, and read the
following papers.
" Message to the Irish House of Commons,
Jovis.Nov. 23d, 1774.
HARCOURT.
I have his majesty's command to acquaint you, that the situa-
tion of affairs, in part of his American dominions, is such, as
makes it necessary, for the honour and safety of the British
empire, and for the support of his majesty's just rights, to desire
the concurrence of his faithful parliament of Ireland, in sending
out of this kingdom a force not exceeding four thousand men,
part of the number of troops upon this establishment, appointed
to remain in this kingdom, for its defence, and to declare to
you, his majesty's most gracious intentions, that such part of
his army as shall be spared out of this kingdom, to answer the
present exigency of affairs, is not to continue a charge upon
this establishment so long as they shall remain out of the king-
dom. I am further commanded to inform you, that as his
majesty has nothing more at heart than the security and pro-
tection of his people of Ireland, it is his intention, if it be the
desire of the parliament, to replace such forces, as may be sent
out of this kingdom, by an equal number of foreign Protestant
APPENDIX. 9r
troops, as soon as his majesty shall be enabled so to do. The
charge of such troops to be defrayed without any expenceto this
kingdom.
Extract from the Address of Knights, &V. to Lord Harcourt.
That your excellency will be pleased to return his majesty
our most gracious thanks for his gracious declaration, that his
majesty has nothing more at heart than the security and pro-
tection of his people of Ireland, of which his majesty has given
a signal proof, by his offer, if it shall be the desire of parlia-
ment, to replace such forces as maybe sent out of this king-
dom, by an equal number of Foreign Protestant troops, the
charge thereof to be defrayed, without any expence to this,
kingdom.
Extract from the Votes of the House of Commons of Ireland.
AN amendment was proposed to be made to the resolution,
by inserting after the word resolved, the following words, viz.
" that having, in consequence of his majesty's gracious recom-
" mendations, and of our mature consideration of the state of this
" country, repeatedly declared our opinion, that twelve thousand
" men are necessary for the defence of this kingdom ; being
" sensible that it would be a violation of the trust reposed in
" us, should we have subjected our constituents to a very heavy
" expence, in times of perfect tranquillity, for the purpose of
" providing a force, which we are to part with in times of dan-
" gerj and being convinced, that since the time at wThich we
" first declared twelve thousand men to be necessary, the pro-
" bability of a^war has increased, and not diminished."
Right Honourable Mr. Speakers Speech to his Excellency Simon
Earl of Harcourt.
Lunce 25 die Decembris, 1 77 5.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
THE conduct of the commons, in the
course of this session, has marked more strongly, if possible,
than in any former period, their loyalty, duty, and affection to
his majesty, and their zeal for the interest and honour of Great
Britain. At the hazard of their own safety they have consented
to part with one-third of the forces^ deemed necessary to be
maintained at all times within this kingdom for its defence in
VOL. IT. N
98 APPENDIX.
a season when powerful reasons existed for retaining them,
without putting Great Britain to the expence of replacing them,
though generously offered ; and they have cheerfully granted
to his majesty a very considerable supply, in addition to all
former duties, though the liberality of the last session served
only to expose the weakness of their resources. This disposition
of the commons they doubt not your excellency will improve to
their advantage, and they trust that through your excellency's
favourable representation, it will serve to unite Great Britain
and Ireland in still closer bonds of mutual affection, so necessary
to the security and prosperity of both. They acknowledge with
gratitude your excellency's generous efforts to open to them
new sources of commerce, and to remove some restraints upon
the old ; they see with joy a beam of light break through that
dark cloud which has so long overshadowed this nation ; and
they are animated with the hope that the honour is reserved
for your excellency's administration, of establishing this impor-
tant truth, that nothing will more contribute to augment the
strength and wealth of Great Britain, than the increase of both
in this kingdom.
Having read these papers, Mr. Townshend said, the message
contained two propositions, by both which the parliament of
Great Britain was pledged to that of Ireland, if it should accept
the conditions held forth by this message, to pay for the troops
to be sent to America, and to replace them writh 4000 foreign
Protestants ; and further to induce the Irish nation to accept
this insidious bargain, she was to have 12,000 within the king-
dom, and at the same time to be relieved of a burthen of 80,000/.
per annum. Such. a proposition could only have originated in
the worst designs, or must have been the effect of the most
consummate folly. For what was the whole measure taken
together ? The minister on this or the other side of the water,
no matter which, makes the king engage his royal word, that
the expence shall be borne by the parliament of Great Britain ;
but adding folly to temerity, makes him promise, that Great
Britain shall pay for 8,OOO men, though if the bargain was
accepted, she would actually have hut 4000 men in her service.
After thus stating, in his opinion, the meaning of the words, he
proceeded to shew, that they were received in this sense by the
Irish parliament, though neither of the offers were received in
the terms proposed, and quoted the speaker's speech, delivered
at the bar of the House of Lords, on the 25th of December,
1775, in which he offers, in the name of the commons, to send
the 4000 natives out of the kingdom, without putting Great
Britain to the expence of replacing them, though generously
offered. He then stated the complaint in the following words :
" that the Earl of Ilarcourt, lord lieutenant general, and general
APPENDIX. .59
" governor of Ireland, did, on the 23d day of November last,
" in breach of the privilege, and in derogation of the honour and
" authority of this house, send a written message to the House
*' of Commons of the parliament of Ireland, signed with his own
" hand, to the following effect." (Here he recited the message
in page 96.) He moved, that a committee be appointed to en-
quire into the matter of the said complaint, and to report the
same, as it shall appear to them, to the house.
Sir George Yonga seconded the motion.
Lord Clare said, the right honourable gentleman who made
the motion, had been lavish of his encomiums on Ireland, but
did not offer a syllable in behalf of poor Britain. Ireland re-
tained a proper sense of freedom ; she would not admit fo-
reigners, "even with the consent of parliament; her principles
were sound, her manners were pure : her counsels were uncon-
taminated ; while poor degenerated Britain was fallen from her
former greatness, and was sunk into the lowest extreme of cor-
ruption, folly, and want of spirit ; yet while he was proud to hear
his country so highly extolled, he could not help lamenting that
fallen Britain had not one friend to stand forth in her defence.
His lordship having continued upon the two propositions. The
offer of sending foreigners and of defraying the expence signi-
fied nothing : no such offer or promise was intended ; it was all
the idle reveries of a gentleman, whom, for the familiarity of
expression, he would call by the name of Mr. Edmund Sexton
Perry. He knew Mr. Edmund Sexton Perry very well, and he
knew him to be a good sort of a considerate, honest, sensible
man, but however sensible Mr. Perry might be, the house was
not bound by his interpretations. The honourable mover says,
that Mr. Perry went to the bar of the House of Lords, and
delivered a certain speech, and that the lord lieutenant acquiesced
in that interpretation of the message, because he did not con-
tradict it. Would he have Lord Harcourt rise and come to
Mr. Perry to the bar, and contradict him, by telling him he
never meant any such thing ? I dare say he would hardly be so
unreasonable. I have indeed heard it asserted by some of my
countrymen, that they spoke better English than the people of
his country. It may be so, but it is the first time I ever heard it
asserted, that they understood it better. I presume that Mr.
Perry thought he understood the message ; but I will not allow
that either Lord Harcourt, or this house, are bound to abide by
his interpretation ; neither can I be persuaded that the House of
Commons of Ireland are any more bound than we are by his
conceptions. For what does the whole amount to ? Mr. Perry,
in his individual capacity,, says so and so. What is that to the
House of Commons ? He is speaker it is true, but what he does
100 APPENDIX.
out of the house, when he is not instructed, is no more the act of
that house, than if it had been done by any other person.
Mr. Conolly replied to his lordship, that he was an Irishman
as well as the noble lord, and as Ireland Mras to be the subject of
that day, in the cocking phrase, he was ready to pit himself
against him. He then observed, that he was not surprised that
the noble lord was in such extreme good humour with ministers
on both sides of the water, as his lordship, and the three others,
who enjoyed sinecure employments, had a present made them in
one day of 14,000/. (meaning the arrangement of the vice-trea-
surers and the clerk of the pells) and lest a possibility should
arise of any defalcation of their salaries, parliament was so good-
humoured, while they increased the salary, to take upon them-
selves to provide payment out of the public purse for deputies,
who were to do the duty. It was therefore no wonder that his
lordship and his colleagues should be merry, while Ireland con-
tinued to be sad; to see the salaries of sinecure places raised,
while she was mortgaging her funds, laying on new duties, and
providing for deficiencies of grants. He gave a picture of Ire-
land : an exhausted treasury, ruined trade, starving manufac-
turers, accumulating pensions, new created places, state op-
pressions, daily executions, a ruined, mouldering army, encrea-
sing debts, castle jobs, bands of lawless ruffians in defiance of
law, and beyond the power of punishment ; in short, every
public evil and private mischief, that ever was on earth to curse
and debase mankind. He did not rise to the question simply
stated, whether the message were really a breach of the privi-
lege of the Commons of England, but principally, he said, to
give an account of what passed in the Irish House of Commons,
when Sir John Blaquiere brought the message from the lord
lieutenant. That house refused the offer, he said, upon two
principles, first, because they thought the introduction of foreign
troops an unconstitutional and dangerous measure ; and second-
ly, because it was thought that the ministry had no mind that
they should have them, for Sir John himself voted against them.
He said, Ireland was quite defenceless, that the 12,OOO nominal
men were only 10,800, out of which 4OOO were to be sent
away ; that the White Boys were governors of all the South
of Ireland, where four-fifths of the people were Catholics ; that
no private gentleman could be sure of his life, sitting there in
his own house, for one half-hour, that more troops were really
wanting, instead of taking those away they had already ; that
men had their ears sawn off, and others were buried alive, to
the disgrace of government, that could not or would not protect
the people ; that the peasantry were in such a state of poverty,
that no revolution or change of situation could possibly be to
them for the worse,
APPENDIX. 101
Right honourable Welbore Ellis said the meaning of the
message had been mistaken, that taking the expression in any
light, no breach of privilege could be deduced from it. He
recalled to the remembrance of the house, that in 1769, when
the Irish establishment was raised from 12,000 to 15,OOO men,
his majesty passed his royal personal promise to the Irish par-
liament, that there should never be less than 12,OOO men in ire-
land, except in cases of actual invasion or rebellion in Great
Britain. Now. the Earl of Harcourt's message, he contended,
had reference to this promise ; as the pi'esent want of troops
was not within those exceptions, it certainly was his majesty's
first business to be absolved from that promise, by the parties
to whom it was made : but if he had applied first to the Commons
of Great Britain, it must have been for the approbation of a
measure in direct breach of his promise to Ireland. He com-
pared it to the king's proposing military establishments to the
house ; the king does the whole. by his prerogative, and leaves
nothing to the House of Commons but to vote the money. Is
not this engaging for the consent of parliament ? Yet all the
world knows that the house may object to them, and consequent-
ly they cannot be effected without their consent.
Mr. Gordon thought the first part of the message was agreea-
ble to the sense now put upon it by the honourable gentleman
who spoke last : but the other part seemed a little obscure at
first sight ; yet it might be concluded, that as a measure of go-
vernment, it could never be in the idea of the minister to make
such an attempt, in express contradiction to the disbanding act
of King William. It was in his opinion, a fair inference to say,
that the expression " enabled so to do" meant the previous con-
sent of the British parliament. If he thought administration
had any other intention in view, no man would be more ready to
join a vote of disapprobation and censure. He condemned the
conduct of ministers, respecting the indemnity bill, and disap-
proved of introducing foreigners into the dominions of Great
Britain, without the consent of parliament.
Mr. Powys had little doubt, that the message under conside-
ration meant more than it expressed, and was intended as an
experiment to try if the Irish parliament would consent to re-
ceive foreign troops, in order to establish a precedent which
might be afterwards employed to other purposes.
Lord Middleton said, he had fortune in both kingdoms, but
had no predilection for either in a political light, because he
looked upon their interest to be mutual; but whatever other
gentlemen might think of the message, of the true import of
which it was impossible there could be a second opinion, he had
not a doubt but it aimed at one fixed object, that was, to habi-
tuate both countries to a submission, which must in the end re-
102 APPENDIX.
duce the parliament of each to be the mere instrumental agents
of the crown, without the least degree of will or independence
whatever. It was a scheme, however deep, formed neverthe-
less, on very simple principles, and went directly to vest in the
crown the virtual power of taxing, as the opportunity might
serve, both in Great Britain and Ireland. In Ireland the mi-
nister was taught to ask some favour ; then England was to be
pledged. In England again, when circumstances recurred, or
were impracticable, Ireland was to be taxed, in order to main-
tain the supremacy of the British legislature.
Mr. Dunning divided the message into two parts. On the
first he observed, that it contained no condition implied or ex-
pressed. It was his majesty's intention as immediately from
his own mind, declared in the most positive te'rms the English
language is capable of conveying. It was a complete undertak-
ing on his part to pay for the 400O men, if the Irish House
of Commons should chuse to consent or accept of the terms. It
was impossible in the nature of things, that any man possessed
of any thing he could properly call his own, or binding himself
to the execution of any act within his power, could promise in
terms more clear, positive, or unequivocal, than those in which
this part of the message was conceived. To get clear of this,
he said, two modes had been adopted, both with equal bad suc-
cess. One of those was a naked contradiction to the obvious
sense of the words ; but such an unsupported denial was aban-
doned in the very instant it was urged ; for the noble Lord
(Lord Clare) and the honourable gentleman (Mr. Ellis) who
asserted at random, being conscious that it was but a random
assertion, endeavoured to explain it, by saying that the affair
was conducted precisely iu the manner of a subsidiary treaty.
This he said was still worse, for no argument was better than
a bad one. It was well known, that the king, when treating
with foreigners, represented the state, which could never be the
case, when treating with one part of his subjects, and engaging
for another ; besides, the consequence, ha*d the offer been ac-
cepted by the Irish parliament, would have clearly shewn the
difference, and established the distinction beyond all question.
The troops, if the season of the year had permitted, might be
noAV in America ; the foreigners might be landed in Ireland.
Great Britain was pledged ; the cause in which the troops were
to be employed, and the necessary arrangements by which the
measure was to be brought about, was a favourite one ; so that
the whole business might be effected by his majesty's bare in-
tention, as completely without, as with the consent of the Bri-
tish parliament. The second part of the message, he insisted,
was clear and explicit. The offer was to replace the 400O
troops, by an equal number of foreign Protestants, " if it be
APPENDIX. 103
" the desire of parliament." Here again was clear intention,
and offer expressed, with the condition annexed, that was, " if
tl it be the desire," &c. By every rule of legal construction or
common sense, if there be an undertaking accompanied by a
condition, if the condition be accepted by the party to whom it
is proposed, the bargain is from that instant complete, and mu-
tually binding on both parties. If then the proposition were a
positive one, and it had been accepted, it only remained to dis-
cover whether or not it were the commons of Great Britain,
whose word was thus pledged without being consulted. This,
he presumed, would require very little proof. No man would
say that Hanover was to bear the burden : he could less think
that any of his majesty's new allies were to do so, however zea-
lous they might be for chastising his rebellious subjects in Ame-
rica. The civiljist, he suspected, was still less equal to afford
so heavy a disbursement. Where then could the necessary-
means of paying so large a body of men be obtained but from
the British parliament ? By what had fallen in debate, as well as
general declarations made at the time this business was first men-
tioned, he understood this famous message had been disavowed
by the minister, and his friends on this side of the water. H$
presumed the minister on the other side did not venture to do it
entirely on his own judgment. This excited his curiosity td
know where it originated. It would be a sufficient "answer, if
the minister either here, or in Ireland, owned it. If neither
did, but the advice came from another quarter, he should be
glad to know, because in such an event more particularly, it
would be the duty, as it ought to be the wish, of the house, tp
sift the matter to the bottom, in order to come at the real author
or authors.
Lord North gave a -long narrative of the increase of the
establishments which took place in Ireland in 1769, and of his
majesty's promise to his Irish parliament, that 12,OOO men
should always remain within that kingdom, except in the event
of a rebellion in this. He said, the royal promise, though bind-
ing on his majesty, was not law, therefore sending the troops
out of this kingdom, to the amount of any number, was per-
fectly legal. His lordship said, he would not answer the gene-
ral question put to him by the last honourable gentleman, not
chusing to gratify mere curiosity, at the expence of betraying'
the secrets of the cabinet. He avowed the having co-operated
with the rest of the king's servants, in giving general instruc-
tions, but would not charge his memory with having any im-
mediate hand in drawing up the particular letter or paper, on
which the present measure was supposed to be taken. He said,
he thought it was perfectly justifiable, and was willing to share in
the consequences. Yet he could not see how it was fair in argu>
104 APPENDIX.
ment to charge administration here with specific measures taken
in Ireland ; nor could he conceive, either positively or by im-
plication, that he or his colleauges in office, were bound in any
manner by what passed in another kingdom. To some allusions
made by Mr. Dunning and Mr. Gordon, relative to the Hano-
verians being sent to Gibraltar and Minorca, and the fate of the
indemnity bill, he replied, he thought the measure perfectly
legal, and was ready to meet his adversaries on that ground
whenever they thought fit. He gave a history of the indemnity
bill, and in a humorous way proved it was thrown out by a no-
ble marquis in the other house. If introducing foreign troops
were an improper measure, the minister in Ireland acted per-
fectly right, for he declined to support it; he finished with ob-
servations on the German resources, and the poverty of the civil
list.
Lord John Cavendish rose to give his attestation of the per-
sonal worth of Lord Harcourt. He observed, that his lordship
had been little acquainted with public business till his late ap-
pointment ; therefore, if it were his own measure, he was much
the more excusable ; but he believed it was not. However, if
it were not, as the Irish nation had been too wise and too spirit-
ed to accept of one part of the proposal ; and as ministers, what-
ever they might affect to the contrary, had not dared to send a
single man out of Ireland on such an authority, the matter hard-
ly deserved the time and attention some gentlemen seemed
willing to bestow on it. The people of Ireland had already
done half the business, by refusing the offer ; the. minister had
in fact done the other half from his own fear ; so that on the
whole, he did not desire to send the matter to a committee, but
wished to come to some decisive resolution, which would con-
demn the whole transaction, without any particular reference or
application to those, who might be supposed to have first planned,
or endeavoured to carry it into execution.
Lord George Germaine contended that whatever might have
been the sense of the message, his majesty's servants could not
be supposed to be strictly answerable for its contents. He said,
Lord Harcourt might have mistaken, or exceeded his instruc-
tions. He did not know he had. Or he might have conveyed
his meaning in the clearest terms ; whether he did, or did not,
the first part of the message only proposed a matter to the con-
sideration of the Irish parliament, clearly and legally within the
constitutional exercise of the regal power. If his majesty had
not given his royal promise to keep 12,OOO men within the king-
dom, he might have ordered the whole, or any part of the troops
'on that establishment, to any part of the British dominions he
pleased, without applying to the parliament of either kingdom.
He said, he had heard a great deal of what had passed in debate
APPENDIX. 105
in the House of Commons of Ireland, but he could not perceive
what direct relation it bore to what now was under consideration.
The eflicient minister, as he was called, was likewise much spo-
ken of; Sir John Blacquiere said this, and Sir John Blacquiere
said that; but for his part, what Sir John Blacquiere said one
way or the other, was of no great consequence. He knew a Sir
John Blacquiere, and had been in conversation with him ; but
in what way what he said could be made a ground of censure
on a British minister, was more than he could reconcile to the
relation they really stood in to each other, if they stood in any.
He confessed, the measure of paying for 8000 men, when we
were to have the service but of 4000, was extremely unecono-
mical, and he thought very improper : yet if 4000 men could
be had upon no better terms, and that it was supposed it
might be more proper to send natives than foreigners to Ame-
rica, the measure on that account, and that alone, might be
defended.
Lord Irnham. As I am just returned from Ireland, where
I have attended closely to the proceedings of that parliament, it
may be expected from me to say something on the present ques-
tion. I shall therefore endeavour to shew the house, whether
the honourable gentleman now in my eye, (Mr. Conolly), and a
member of that parliament, as well as of this, has given you a
true account of the conduct of government there relative to the
matter now before you; or whether the representation of it
by the gentlemen who oppose the right honourable member's
motion, ought most to. be relied on. The doubt to be cleared
up is, what was really the meaning of government there in the
message sent to both houses of parliament? The words of the
message have been already read to you, and it has been very
ingeniously, though somewhat variously explained by the gen-
tlemen of the treasury bench : but the lord lieutenant's secre-
tary, (who as a noble lord on that bench, and other gentlemen
who heard him, and as well as his lordship, have held that
office, well know, is always considered as the minister in the
Irish House of Commons), clearly expressed and interpreted
the meaning of it; which was, that the Irish parliament should
consent to the introducing into the country 4000 foreign Pro-
testants, in consideration of which, they should assure his
majesty of their readiness to spare 4000 men of the troops on
the Irish establishment for the service of America, to be like-
wise paid by Great Britain ; and it was expatiated upon by him,
and all those who spoke on the side of government, how advan-
tageous such an offer must be, which provided equally for the
safety of Ireland, as if their own troops had remained in it,
and would moreover bring 80,000/. of English money into the
VOL. Ji. o
106 APPEN7DIX.
kingdom. The speech was answered by addresses from both
houses.. ..that of the lords immediately to the king ; that of the
commons to the lord lieutenant; in substance the same as re-
turning thanks for the offer, but refusing the introduction of
the foreign troops, proving that they chose to defend their coun-
try, even in its present precarious situation, by the exertion of their
own efforts, rather than to adopt so unconstitutional and dange-
rous a measure ; which sentiment of theirs certainly did them
honour: but at the same time they consented by address, to send to
America the 40CK) additional troops requested of them, both
houses understanding, however, (as it is well known) that an act
should be passed to legalize the terms of the said address, as
the crown had precluded itself by act of parliamerit from the
right of sending more than about 30OO men out of that kingdom,
which number it had already exceeded. A bill was accordingly
brought in, wherein were inserted two clauses calculated to effect
that purpose ; but to the astonishment of the public, those causes
were thrown out in England : and an act was again passed, bar-
ring the crown from the power of sending any more troops
abroad than would leave 12,000 men on the establishment for
the defence of Ireland, and consequently the effect of the
addresses'of both houses was thereby destroyed, whilst at that
very time government declared its resolution to send those 4OOO
men to America, in conformity to the addresses of both houses,
and signified, that they did not consider the crown as bound by
the act, to which the royal assent has just been given, to keep
12,000 men in that kingdom, under pretence of its not being
in the enacting part, though in the preamble of the act; but
whoever reads it, will find that compact not only .in the pream-
ble, but also so strictly tied to that part of the itct which grants
the subsidy, (being about 450,0007.) that if the crown be not
bound thereby, above two-thirds of the concessions from the
crown to the subject by act of parliament since Magna Charta,
will fall to the ground, and the crown has forfeited its right
to those subsidies. I remember upon this being hinted at by
some members of the Irish parliament, too sanguine for govern-
ment, the law servants of the crown (men of great abilities),
avoided the question on that ground. As to the present lord
lieutenant of Ireland, of whom many handsome things have been
said by gentlemen on both sides of the house, those qualities
mentioned, are, I apprehend, relative only to his private cha-
racter, which merely as such, has, I think, good ingredients
in it: but we don't sit here to discuss private characters ; his mi-
nisterial and public one is what we are to consider, and I will
speak out.. ..the talents and abilities of that minister of the
crown are by no means equal to his station. Two millions and'
a half of people is a trust of too great weight for him to sustain;
APPENDIX. 107
find he has sufficiently avowed his incapacity to govern them,
by delegating all his power to his secretary. To conclude, the
measures pursuing there being illegal, must displease the best
and soundest part of his majesty's subjects ; and though for
certain purposes the ministry have this day spoken very advan-
tageously of Ireland, if they go on in acting as they do, they will
meet with the united efforts of that country in oppcsition to
their attempts: and then, instead of panegyric, they will call
out to this house for restraining and incapacitating bills, to
punish that kingdom, as they have done America. Let me
therefore recommend to the noble lord now at the helm, to
attend whilst it is time, to that alarmed part of his majesty's
most affectionate subjects, and to forgive me if I heartily
intreat him to apply his utmost care to rectify the errors of
government in that kingdom. In the present case now before
us, the conduct of administration, relative to the message from
Lord Harcourt to the Irish parliament, has been unconstitutional
and highly blarneable. I am therefore to thank the right
honourable gentleman for the motion, and to express my hearty
concurrence in it.
Mr. Fox observed, that as the administration of both king-
doms were totally unconnected, so was every individual who
composed them. No two of the confidential servants of the
.crown who spoke agreed in a single sentiment. Some allowed
the message to import what was stated in the complaint ; others
acceded to a part of it, it manifestly intended : but in this
diversity of opinion, there was one thing too curious to pass
unnoticed, that was the language used by two or three members
of administration, which was describing the minister of
the House of Commons in Ireland, and the speaker, under the
undefined terms of one Edmond Sexton Perry, and one Sir
John Blacquiere.
Mr. Attorney General said, the motion was a party squib,
not worth attending to ; and that the preamble to an Irish act of
parliament did not bind the parliament of Great Britain.
Governor Johnson said, the ministers here throw all the
blame upon the ministers in Ireland.
Lord North gave a great encomium of the administration of
Ireland since the appointment of the present lord lieutenant ;
observing, that no better proof could be given of it, than that it
was attended with uncommon success.
Mr. Conolly observed, it was no wonder the government of
that kingdom should be attended with success, when 265,0007.
had been raised on a ruined impoverished country. (Here he
was proceeding to shew how unable the Irish were to bear such
a burthen ; and to give a detail of the pensions that had been
lately granted, the places that had been newly created, and the
108 APPENDIX.
various means that had been employed to influence and corrupt
the representatives of the people, when he was interrupted by
JLord North, as applying to matters not at all relating to the
subject of the debate.)
Mr. Fox insisted, that the matter stated by his honourable
relation was perfectly within order ; that it grew directly out of
the subject of debate ; and that if his lordship appealed to the
success of administration in Ireland, as a proof of the wisdom
or mildness of the government there, it was no less fair in argu-
ment, than consonant to order, to shew the true causes of that
boasted success. (Here the altercation was put an end to, by
the question being called for.) The question was put on Mr.
Townshend's motion for a committee. The house divided j
for the motion 106, against it 224.
No. LXIX. a.
" AN ADDRESS FROM THE BELFAST FIRST VOLUNTEER CO?r-
" PANY, TO THE OFFICERS AND PRIVATES OF THE SEVE-
" RAL COMPANIES TO BE REVIEWED AT BELFAST, SlST
" OF JULY, 1782. ...PAGE 333.
" GENTLEMEN,
" FROM a conviction that the present is
" a critical moment for Ireland, inasmuch as we conceive that
" the question whether we shall be free or an enslaved people
" depends on it ; we humbly presume that an address, in-
" duced by the purest motives, will not be held presumptuous,
*' and that every reasonable allowance will be made for us by the
" liberality of our fellow subjects and soldiers, the volunteers of
" Ulster.
" The struggles which this loyal nation has lately made to-
" ward casting off the usurpation of a country which cannot
" justly claim a single right to which Ireland is not by charter,
" justice, and nature, equally entitled, have excited the admi-
*' ration of every state in Europe. But at this period of Irish
" virtue, were we contentedly to sit down with any thing
" short of complete freedom, we should render ourselves odious
4C to millions yet unborn, who would tax us with having meanly
APPENDIX. 109
cc sold an opportunity of rescuing the land from the yoke of
44 slavery at such an sera as the revolution of centuries may not
*' again produce.
" The designs of ambitious men may for a time mislead, but
" cannot long delude a people of that sound plain understanding
" by which even the inferior classes of the men of Ulster have
44 ever been distinguished. With such men, simple ungarnished
" truths, level to every capacity, must have their weight, and
" will, it is presumed, rouse them to a sense of the dignity and
44 independence of their nation.
44 The intention of this address is with all humility to impress
44 the following great and serious truths :..,.That the rights of
44 this kingdom are not yet secured, nor even acknowledged by
" Britain, partly owing to the delusions of many sincere friends,
44 to the perfidy of pretended ones, and to an error committed
" through precipitancy by our representatives in the senate. That
" unless a spark of that sacred flame, which but a few days ago
" glowed in every breast in Ulster, be again excited ; the glo-
" rious attempt of this country to procure its emancipation, in-
44 stead of producing any real permanent good, will too probably
" be the means of depriving ITS of our rights for ever.
44 Let us then trace the growth and progress of our late spirit,
44 and let the claims asserted at Dungannon, on the 15th of Fe-
*' bruary, be the ground-work of our enquiry.
44 The spirit of that great day's proceedings, which was re-
" echoed from every quarter, may easily be collected from the
" following quotations :.... Your representatives there assembled,
44 declared, 4 That a claim of any body of men other than the
4 king, lords, and commons of Ireland, to make laws to bind this
* kingdom, is unconstitutional and a grievance.
4 That the ports of this kingdom are by right open to all fo-
4 reign countries not at war with the king ; and that any burden
' thereupon, or obstruction thereto, save only by the parliament
4 of Ireland is unconstitutional and a grievance.'
44 A moment's reflection will shew, that the first of these two
44 resolves clearly applies to a denial of the pretended right of
44 Britain to internal legislation for this country ; and the latter
44 resolve as decidedly determines with respect to external le-
" gislation, as our right to a freedom of commerce is its very
44 soul and basis.
44 If it appear that these demands of Ireland, which arose
44 from your own act, and from which you cannot recede with-
41 out drawing do\yn eternal dishonour on your posterity, have
44 completely and without equivocation been acceded to, then
41 the present discontents and jealousies are groundless and
44 should cease ; but if a candid disquisition evinces the contra-
" ry, the voice of Ireland should again be raised, and rather
110 APPENDIX.
44 than the pride of a sister (in an honourable connection with
" whom we will ever glory) should trample on the dearest rights
" of our nature, we should meet our danger like men deserving
*' to be free, and by acting with the boldness of conscious virtue
" and true dignity, we would probably secure for ages the inte-
" rest, peace, and affections of the two kingdoms.
" Our Houses of Lords and Commons, forced into the tem-
*' porary practice of virtue by the demands of an armed people,
" complained of the British Declai-atory Law of 6th of George
" I. and of the powers, as the lords said, and of the claims of it,
*4 according to the commons.
44 Every one must recollect in what manner demands, on the
" accuracy of which the settlement of the rights of three millions
" depend, was precipitated. Imperfect, however, as they were,
" their general tenor went to demand an eternal renouncement
" of all power of legislation for this country, however marked
44 by the futile, groundless, and insidious distinction of external
" and internal.
44 In the address of our commons to the king, we find the
" following animated expressions to this point:
44 There is no body of men competent to make laws to bind
44 this kingdom except the king, lords, and commons of Ireland ;
" nor any other parliament which hath any authority or power
44 of any sort whatsoever in this country, save only the parlia-
44 ment of Ireland. To assure his majesty, that we humbly
41 conceive that in this right the very essence of our liberties ex-
" ists ; a right which we, on the part of the people of Ireland,
" do claim as their birthright, and which we cannot yield but
u with our lives."
44 Let us examine how this claim, so solemnly advanced by
44 the representatives of a nation, was received, and what effects
*4 it produced on our repenting sister.
44 Mr. Fox, a man of the first abilities in Europe, who was
44 the ostensible minister of that day, moved for a repeal of the
" 6th of George the First in the British House of Commons, a
44 repeal which has since drawn such floods of gratitude and ill-
" timed applause from the open, sincere, unsuspecting hearts of
44 Irishmen. In a speech in which his great abilities were fully
44 employed, introductory of the Irish business to the parliament
" and people of Great Britain, a business of which he was the
*' avowed patron, in the very same breath, with which he urged
44 the justice of our demands, asserted, ' that he always made a
4 distinction between internal and external legislation, and though
4 it would be tyranny to attempt to enforce the former in coun-
* tries not represented in the British parliament, yet he was
4 clear that the latter was in reason and policy annexed to the
4 British legislature.' A little after he presents a just though
APPENDIX. Ill
" dreadful view of that very species of usurpation which he dig-
44 nified by giving it the air of a right, though he little intends
44 that it should be seen in so clear a light as it has been by every
" thinking man in this country :....His words are 'but fatally for
* this country this power of external legislation had been em-
4 ployed against Ireland as an instrument of oppression to esta-
4 blish an impolitic monopoly in trade, to enrich one country at
4 the expence of the other.' Could a more striking illustration
" of the abominable state of subjection to which we were ac-
4' cording to his assertion reduced, and still are subject, be
44 given ? This picture drawn in a British House of Commons,
44 exhibits a nation deprived of even the shadow of constitution,
44 and consequently its dearest interests lying at the mercy or
44 rather caprice of a neighbouring nation ; of a nation whose
44 policy it had ever been to check and destroy in the bud, every
44 prospect of gain and commercial advantage, which did not
44 directly tend to her own opulence or did not gratify her own
44 lust for power.
44 We might defy the most descriptive pen to delineate the
44 features of the most abject slavery with more truth and ac~
44 curacy.
44 We do net mean to tax the then premier with any miscon-
44 duct as a British minister, as we cannot but suppose he fairly
44 represented the sentiment of the cabinet ; the sentiment of an
44 administration uncommonly popular, and of the bulk of the
44 British nation ; for we are well aware that a man situated as-
44 he was, durst not, as premier, utter a sentiment not according
44 with that of his colleagues ; also that his chance for remaining
44 long in office depended on his acting up to, and holding such
44 language as, considering the circumstances of the times, would
44 be most pleasing to the country to which he belonged. Mr.
44 T. Pitt, who seconded the motion of Mr. Fox> further ad-
44 vanced, 4 that he knew no diiference between internal and ex-
4 ternal legislation, and that he would not, to his last breath,
4 think otherwise.' Lord Beauchamp was the only man who con-
44 tended against the claim of externally legislating for us, and
44 who foresaw that any thing short of a relinquishment of that
*4 claim as well as the other, could not be satisfactory to this
44 country. A few days after the minister said, that the first
" men of Ireland were content with a repeal alone. In that
44 shape the law passed, and we were persuaded in the second
44 address to admit the idea, not indeed of a simple repeal but a
44 repeal without stipulation or condition, and which might have
44 been full and sufficient if properly worded.
44 We have, from these circumstances, every presumptive evi-
44 dence, that it never was the intention of Britain or of British
44 ministers to relinquish the right, and that their favour extend-
112 APPENDIX.
" ed no farther than to a suspension of its exercise, which in her
44 then debilitated state she could not enforce.
44 We have here avoided mentioning the very cogent reasons
44 advanced by the Right Honourable H. Flood, and the great
44 view he has opened of the question to the kingdom at large :
44 we must, however, pay him that tribute of praise, that no man
44 yet has been hardy enough (save Mr. Dobbs) to meet him on
u that subject, either in parliament or in the public prints. As
" to that gentleman's impregnable ' fortress, founded on a rock,'
" we presume it could be taken without much difficulty : but as
44 it is purposely erected to withstand the abilities of the greatest
44 man, and perhaps the most profound constitutional historian in
4i the British empire, we shall not here presume to attack it.
u It is very foreign from our intention to attempt to open new
" grounds of controversy with England ; but we ardently wish,and
44 will never cease to hope, that the people of this kingdom will, by
" perseverance and an exertion of spirit, bounded by loyalty to
44 our prince and a love of the British constitution, according to
44 its purest principles, very speedily obtain the wishes expressed
44 by its inhabitants in every capacity, and by the addresses of its
*' own parliament to its sovereign. As to volunteers, it is evi-
" dent that their honour is bound by the determination of their
*' first and only glorious meetings in their different provinces,
44 and that they cannot retract without ignominy and contempt.
44 Let a reflection on the miraculous effects your own spirit, clis-
44 played atone of your Dungannon meetings, produced on all
" descriptions of men, as well the courtier as the timid friend,
*•' teach you that even unanimity among ourselves, as well as a
" lasting and happy connection between the two contending
u parties, can only be obtained by again speaking out with that
" spirit, which characterised Irishmen on the 15th of February,
" 1782, and which rendered it a day that will make an eminent
44 figure in the annals of the empire.
41 Recollect that Ulster led the way, that the other provinces
*4 followed the great example with redoubled vigour, and that we
44 cannot doubt they will do so again ; that discontents against
44 men and measures are gone forth, and are hourly encreasing ;
" that the first meeting of Ulster is equally the pride of every
44 man in Ireland ; and the last one pretty generally reprobated
44 as premature, ill-judged, and not conveying the sense of the
" constituent body. Such reflections will convince every im-
44 partial man, that a speedy meeting on the hill of Dungannon,
*' (the delegates being previously instructed by the people, in
44 whom only true spirit exists, and taught only to echo their
44 sentiment) can alone, in the present mutilated state of our af-
u fairs, so lately promising every blessing, give us the chance of
" a free constitution. Do not forget that Connaught has, in her
APPENDIX. 113
" address to his majesty, laid down, in the most pointed terms
" that language could convey, the very principle which we here
" endeavour to establish and maintain ; where she informs his
" majesty, that a revival of the claims, either of external or in-
" ternal legislation, would forever sever the two countries.
41 If you follow her steps in that point, what can possibly be
"dreaded? You will at that instant, with her, compose 3
" large majority of the armed force of Ireland : and no man
44 who has not sinister, dishonest views, can pretend to allege
" that perfect unanimity would not prevail over the whole ;king-
" dom, as it did when there was much less chance or expecta-
44 tion of it.
41 The British legislature in claiming a right to external
" legislation for this country, assumes an absolute control over
44 our commerce and foreign trade : and consequently can, if
44 we admit her claim, prevent us from forming any commercial
44 connection with any nation on the globe however well
44 calculated our produce or manufactures may be to serve
4' such nation. When such a preposterous claim is made,
4' will any man, in his right reason, say that this is enjoying
44 equal liberty ; or that we have, under such base restraint,
4' received what Britain was pleased to term a free trade, when
" the moment of her depriving us of a commerce, even with
44 foreign nations, depends merely on her own caprice, or her-
<4 own interest ?
44 Slavery cannot be of a deeper complection !
44 It may be alleged, that this is the price we pay for the pro-
44 tection of the British flag. But let us not deceive ourselves.
4' Ireland is, and ever was, one of the best pillars of the empire
41 and contributes more to the aggrandizement of Britain than
44 any other country she is connected with. But independently
44 of this circumstance, will any man, not enamoured with the
44 horrors of bondage, dare to assert that the loss of civil liberty
' should be the price of any protection whatever !
44 We take the liberty of submitting three resolutions to your
u deliberation, which we will move through our delegate the day
44 after the Belfast review, when addresses to the reviewing
14 general will be moved for.
44 Previous to that day, we hope, you will instruct your dele-
*' gate, which will attend the meeting, whether you chuse that
44 he should give your assent or dissent to them.
44 1st Resolve, That a Dungannon meeting be held on the....
u day of.. ..for the purpose of considering whether any, and which
44 of the demands of the province of Ulster of the 15th of
44 February, 1782, have not yet been complied with. If any are
" found not yet complied with, prudent measures may be adopted
VOT.. u. p
114 APPENDIX.
" for obtaining them, as also for obtaining an Irish statute,
" declaring that the sole right of both external and internal
" legislation is vested in our own parliament, and in no other,
" as its receiving the assent of a prince, in whom the two crowns
u are united would be held a strong security, and would admi-
" nister general satisfaction.
" C2d Resolve, That it is not the sense of this meeting that
" a simple repeal of the 6th of George I. can be accepted
" as a sufficient renunciation of the claim of external and internal
" legislation formerly exercised over this country.
" 3d Resolve, In order to guard against an undue use of
" delegated power, that it be held a general principle, that no
" resolutions or addresses, which may be adopted at any future
" assemblies of delegates, can be considered as being the rcso-
" lutions and addresses of such volunteer companies, until the
" chairman snail have transmitted copies of their proceedings
" to all the companies for whom delegates appeared, each of
" which corps shall deliberate collectively upon such proceed-
" ings, and return to the chairman on or before a limited day,
" their several approbations or disapprobations of each resolu-
" tion and of each address. That as soon as it has been ascer-
u tained, which resolutions and which addresses are agreeable
" to the majority, then, and not before, such resolutions shall be
" held binding to the constituent body, and the addresses shall
" then be presented or transmitted. That such chairman shall,
" in the public prints of the province, publish such assents or
" dissents of corps to each resolution and each address.
< " We have the honour to be,
" Gentlemen,
" Your fellow subjects and soldiers.
" (Signed by order of the Company) WADDELL CUNNINGHAM*
" Belfast, July 18, 1782.
AN ADDRESS FROM FRANCIS DOETS, ESCJ. TO THE OFFICERS'
AND PRIVATES OF THE SEVERAL COMPANIES TO BE RE-
VIEWED AT BELFAST, THE SlST OE JULY, 1782.. ..P. 335.
GENTLEMEN,
ROM the fullest conviction, that this is
a critical moment for Ireland, and that your conduct, at the
APPENDIX. 115
ensuing review, will lead to the peace, honour and prosperity, or
to the devastation, ignominy and destruction of Ireland, I now
address you.
You are addressed from the Belfast first company, and, if they
are right, the emancipation of your country is not obtained. If
they are right, you are betrayed by every man, whom you have
long looked up to, as well as by those, who were but lately in
your confidence. If the first Belfast be right, a Charlemont,
who has devoted his life to your rights....a Grattan, whom you
almost adored.. ..a Brownlow....a Stewart.. ..an Ogle.. ..a Yelver-
ton....a Burgh.. ..a Bagnell....in short, every member of the
senate, who has distinguished himself in your cause, the cause
of liberty, have sold you ; and six gentlemen, which was the
number that divided against the resolution in the House of
Commons, on Friday the 19th hist. (" that the exclusive right
of legislation, as well external as internal in the parliament of
Ireland, was acknowledged unequivocally by Great Britain")
are the only friends of their country.
Two resolutions, namely, " That a claim of any body of
" men, other than king, lords, and commons of Ireland, to
" make laws to bind this kingdom, is unconstitutional, and a
" grievance.
" That the ports of this kingdom are, by right, open to all
" foreign countries, not at war with the king, and that any bur-
" then thereupon, or obstruction thereto, save only by the par-
" liament of Ireland, is unconstitutional, and a grievance".. ..were
among the resolutions at Dungannon. I admit with the first
Be/fast, that these resolutions exclude England from either
making laws internally or externally, for Ireland. I would shed
the blood of that heart, which has uniformly beat, high in your
cause, rather than submit to either ; but I contend for it, and I
will give you my reasons, that as far as it is possible to be se-
cured, you are secure, and that all that has been set up, after the
faith of the nation was pledged, if obtained, would not add an
,atom to your security.
Dungannon resolutions spread through the kingdom, and the
unanimity that marked them, declared their justice. England
felt it, and the lord lieutenant was instantly changed. The new
lord lieutenant asked for your demands. ...every thing demanded
at Dungannon was demanded by parliament.. ..Every thing de-
manded by parliament was complied with.. ..And parliament
expressed its lull and ample satisfaction.... Then, and not till
then. ...then, when the honour, faith, and every thing dear to the
character of a nation were pledged, it was suggested, that a re-
peal was not satisfactory, and that a declaration from England,
renouncing all right to bind us, must be obtained. The language
of better security was held out.. ..the language of legal security
116 APPENDIX.
was held out.. ..let us try whether this be any thing but words.
If there is meaning, if there is security, if there is honour, if
there is justice, if there is magnanimity in it, let us contend for
it. But if there is no security, no honour, no justice, no mag-
nanimity in it, let us treat it with contempt.
Let us first examine this act, which is just repealed. The
6th of Geo. I. amongst other things, says, " That England had,
" hath, and of right ought to have, a power to make laws to bind
" Ireland." What does the repeal then say ? Does it not say,
that they have given up what the act contains ? Does it not
say, that they had not, have not, nor of right ought to have, a power
to make laws to bind Ireland ? What does Lord Abingdon's
speech say, that is so much taken notice of, for the bill con-
tained in that speech was not seconded, does not lie on the
table, is not mentioned in the minutes of the day.. ..I ask, what
does that speech say ? For it is no more than a speech. It says,
" That England now has no right to make laws for Ireland,
" externally or internally, because the 6th of George I. is re-
" pealed," and therefore, he moves for leave to bring in his bill,
which was treated with such contempt, that it was not even
seconded. If such a bill was to pass, then, indeed, your indig-
nation would be called for.. ..then, indeed, I would be among
the first to rouse you to arms.
Let us now examine a declaration, on the part of England,
renouncing all right. In the first place, we deny, that England
ever had a right, and I submit to you whether the calling for
renunciation is not saying, England has a right. What has she
to renounce ? Is it nothing she has to renounce ? If you call on
her to renounce a right, do you not admit that right ? Do you not
furnish her, at a future day, with an argument against your-
selves? But grant, that renunciation, or declaration from England
would not admit her right, where is its security ? Can she not,
the next hour, if she thinks proper, make a declaration, or a lavr
directly opposite ? If then^he can, it is a security, that, for my
part, I would not give a farthing for.
But it is said, it would be a better security. I deny it, where
there can be no security, but honour and faith, there can be no
degrees of security ; it being fully understood what is the inten-
tion of the parties in matters of honour and faith, is all that:is
necessary. Now, does any man doubt, that it is fully under-
stood between England and Ireland, that we are satisfied, because
we hold that England is bound by every tie of honour and faith
never to attempt to make laws, externally or internally, to bind
us. As I said before, no declaration or law she could make,
if she had a mind to be perfidious, can prevent her again re-
pealing or again enacting. The mistake is here. You talk of
nations as you talk of men. ...but there is no tribunal, to which
nations can appeal, to prove their better security, but Heaven.
APPENDIX. 117
Now, let me suppose, that men have no other tribunal.... A man
owed me money, and he gave me his note, that he would pay
me, and I, afterwards, demanded his bond, though there was
no tribunal on earth, that could enforce the payment of either.
Would the bond, however high sounding, be a better security
than the note, when there was no tribunal that could enforce
either ? The same observation will hold with respect to a re-
peal, declaration, and renunciation. There is no earthly tribu-
nal that can decide. We have the honour and faith of England.
We can have no more. I again, and again, repeat it, if Eng-
land is perfidious, our appeal must be to Heaven, and our argu-
ments must be our arms.
But we ought to have a legal security. What is a legal se-
curity ? Is it not a security, that an acknowledged legal court
can try, and give judgment upon ? Now how can there be a le-
gal security between nation and nation ? Where is the court you
can go before to plead and enforce your security ? If, then,
there is no court on earth, to which you can go, there can be no
legal security. The words are sounds and not sense, and I
trust will not mislead your honest judgments.
What is now the fact ? No one law made in England, that is
not recognized by our parliament, is binding here. No one law
affecting your external commerce made by England, and not re-
cognized by your parliament, is binding on our trade. The
exertion of the whole claim is laid aside, and you are now, as
free as any nation under Heaven.
Conversations, in the House of Commons of England, are
talked of.... I do not care, if fifty tyrants there wished to enslave
us, whilst the legislature, as a legislature, repeals the law, which
says, she has a right to bind us. Do we mind, in houses of
parliament, the absurdities of a few individuals ? Do we take
the rash, the foolish, the mad expressions of individuals, as the
determination of the senate ? The argument may mislead, but
it must appear insignificant, in my apprehension, to every man
of common understanding.
A bill declaratory of our rights was moved for lately, and re-
jected ; because totally unnecessary, and because it would be
involving a new question, after the lords and commons had pub-
licly pledged themselves to be satisfied, and the people had as-
sented. I will admit, that that bill could have done no harm,
and I would have voted for it, had Ihad the honour of a seat in
parliament, had it been introduced before the nation had ex-
pressed its contentment. But I think it a matter of perfect in-
significance as to real security ; and I now should think the in-
troducing it, would be the first breach of faith, on the part of
Ireland. You have expressed, that you are satisfied.. ..You have
expressed, that you are satisfied, because England has for ever
118 APPENDIX.
relinquished all claim, or right to bind you in any shape whatso-
ever. What then would your conduct now be, if, after this, you
required more ? It would be inconsistent, (with your pardon for
the expression) it would be absurd.
Every thing is to be urged to. re-commit the nation....! am
the only man, it is said, that has been bold enough, to meet Mr.
Flood in argument either in or out of parliament ; it is well they
dated their paper the 18th of July, for I heard Mr. Grattan, in
the House of Commons, on the 19th, answer Mr. Flood....! saw
almost every man, that I have been taught by you to look up
to, as your friends, and as the friends of Ireland, with Grattan
....I saw Mr. Flood and five others against the resolution of that
day....! believe Mr. Grattan will publish what he recollects of
his speech, and let it say for itself and its cause, what my abili-
ties do not enable me to do.
The resolutions of Connaught are mentioned, and it is said
they inform his majesty, that a revival of the claims, either of
external or internal legislature would for ever sever the two
countries. ...Who denies it ? I spoke it lately to the first minis-
ters of England, and I have evidence, that I did, if you choose
to call for it... .Has not Ulster done, in fact, the same thing
when these words were introduced into our address presented
to the Irish king, in the presence of his English courtiers, sur-
rounded by his British subjects, and their parliament then sit-
ting?
" The address of the Irish parliament having disclaimed any
power, or authority of any sort whatever, in the parliament of
Great Britain over this realm, we shall consider an unqualified,
and unconditional repeal of the statute Cth George I. by the Bri-
tish parliament, in pursuance of the said addresses a complete
renunciation of a principle, hostile to the rights of Ireland, and
cf all the claims contained in the said statute, and as such we
Trill accept it, and deem it satisfactory."
What has Connaught done that we have not done ? I love and
honour Connaught, and I trust that we shall never deviate from
their proceedings.
I now submit to you two lines of conduct. By dissenting
from the unanimous vote of your House of Lords, which says,
that a repeal of the 6th George I. is a complete dereliction of
.all claim, to make laws, internally or externally, for this country ;
by dissenting from your House of Commons, where six mem-
bers only were found to object to a resolution, that England had
completely renounced all right, internally, or externally, for le-
gislating for us ; by dissenting from the unanimous voice of
Dungaunon, from the voice of Jvjinster, from the voice of Con-
naught, and probably from the voice of Munster ; you open all
anew, you undo all that has been done, you risk every hazard of
APPENDIX. 119
a bloody civil war, and if you succeed, you get that, which is
not, cannot, nor will be a real security. You render the name
of Ireland, and particularly of Ulster, contemptible. You make
yourselves insignificant, for who, after this changeability, will
confide in you ? Who will rely upon the opinion of this day be-
ing the opinion of to-morrow ? Remember, I call upon you to
remember, that our honour and dignity as a nation,r4re at stake.
There is another line of conduct in your power, think well of
it, and then decide.
By agreeing with your lords and commons, by agreeing with
the unanimous voice of the delegates at Dungannon, by agree-
ing with Connaught, with Leinster, and with the probable voice
of Munster, by being unanimous in the construction of the con-
duct of England, and that she has for ever relinquished all rights,
internally or externally, to make laws to bind this country;
you bind yourselves together, you bind England, as far as ho-
nour and faith can bind her (and you can bind her no farther),
never to infringe upon your rights. By this conduct, Ireland,
to a man, will unite at the first infringement, and by uniting stop
it. Public propriety and consistency will gain you every honour,
and give you real and true stability. Whilst we have force, we
are safe, when we have not, we are at the mercy of those wha
have ; this being the case, I shall submit to you the following
resolutions. Weigh them fairly with the other resolutions, and
see which establishes the honour and rights, consistency, faith
and prosperity of your country.
Resolved, That as our parliament has demanded all that the
resolutions of the 15th of February, 1782, at Dungannon, re-
quired, and in that demand expressed, " That there is no body
u of men competent to make laws to bind this kingdom, except
" the king, lords and commons of Ireland, nor any other parlia-
" ment, which hath any authority, or power of any sort whatso-
" ever in this country, save only the parliament of Ireland." To
assure his majesty, that we humbly conceive, that, in this right
the very essence of our liberties exists, a right, which we, on the
part of the people of Ireland, do claim as their birthright, which
we cannot yield but with our lives. And then required the re-
peal of the 6th George I. and have since declared that repeal to
be a full and unequivocal renunciation on the part of Great Bri-
tain, to make laws to bind Ireland either externally or internal-
ly. WTe therefore conceive Great Britain so bound for ever to us
and our posterity, as that we shall consider the slightest attempt
on the part of England to make laws externally or internally, to
bind Ireland, as the signal for irrevocable separation, therefore
we do not deem any meeting at Dungannon necessary at present.
Resolved, That we will not suppose it possible, that Great
Britain should ever break through the faith and honour, which
120 APPENDIX.
she has now pledged to us; but as power is the only true and
real security to a nation, we will continue in the exercise of
arms, and recommend it to our latest posterity, to imitate
our example, remembering that freedom can only be preserved,
by arms of freemen.
I have only to add, that as to all insinuations of the motives of
my conduct, I despise them. ...I have uniformly acted with those
men, that I thought the best men in this kingdom, with those
men whom your opinions had sanctioned.. ..If I fall before popu-
lar indignation....! fall with almost every man in this kingdom,
whose public conduct has met your approbation....and I fall with
what is more to me than all.. ..with the consciousness of having
exerted every nerve and every power of mine, to lead you to
glory, honour and prosperity, and when you had obtained that
glory, honour and prosperity, I exerted myself, successfully, as
I thought, to prevent your doing that I deemed would lead you
to destruction.
Whatever you may think of me,
I know that I am,
And ever have been,
Your faithful, your devoted,
And most grateful servant,
FRANCIS DOBB*.
LXD OF APPENDIX TO VOL. II.
Printed and Published by W. F. M'Laughlin,
and Bartholomew Graves, Philadelphia.
BINDING SECT. JUL 0
DA Plowden, Francis Peter
910 An historical review of
P4, the state of Ireland
1805
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