The oftentatious policy of Lewis XIV. drew the principal nobility of France from the country to the capital, and there they continued to refide during the two fucceeding reigns; and what was the confequence? They lost their influence over the people in the provinces, fo that when the mob of Paris the most vile and profligate of that city, with the poiffards and proftitutes, were pulling the King from off his throne and trampling on the coronets of the nobles-those very nobles felt that from their long eftrangement from their lands, it would be in vain for them to go down into their respective provinces to raise the people who did not know them, and who of course would have no regard for them; and thus the prince and nobility of that antient kingdom funk beneath the Parifian Cannaile almoft without a ftruggle. The operation of the Union here will be precifely the fame, it will tranflate the great land proprietors of this kingdom from their respective counties where their power lies, and plant them in the capital of another country where they will be impotent-here difperfed at certain intervals through the nation, they are, as it were, the binding ftones of fociety, that by their ftrength and weight keep all the parts compact and firm upon which the government reftstake them away, and on the first ftorm the fabrick tumbles into ruin. Take away the Parliament and with it the principal proprietors, and you only leave the mutilated trunk of English power here without head or finews, a diforganized body, which no external will can make act or move, and thus that officious junto of minor ftatefmen, who, in plotting this Union, think they are giving new energy to the domination here of their country, are really doing that which will ultimately paralyze all its powers in this land.

But the ultimate danger of this measure to English Power is even ftill greater than I have stated-for you not only take out of the country a confiderable body of the principal men who are best affected to the English Government, but you offend and irritate a great portion of those who remain. Let meddling politicians therefore beware of what they are doing-any government may proceed in times of facility and peace, but when a day of difficulty and danger arrives, their new vamped up legislature, at a diftance, in another kingdom, may be found but a poor engine for governing this-it may refolve and it may enact, and its denunciations may become like the play-hoafe thunder of the Vatican in modern times, the derifion of those they intended to appall.

In vain fhall England wish at fuch a time, for the old Parliament here again, which has been so long the preserver of the connexion and the ftay of this great pillar of the empire. But it does not depend upon England on this day, but upon you to fave the empire from fuch a catastrophe. Valuable as this country is to Eng

land

land, it is ftill more valuable to you-do not therefore fuffer the rafh projects of English and Scotch empirics to deftroy your Conftitution;a Conftitution which has been the protection of you and your forefathers for so many ages-do not fuffer them to make experiments upon your country, this is no time for fuch capricious changes-do not fuffer yourselves to be tranfported to another kingdom, but perfevere in that fyftem, which keeps you at home to watch over your properties as your ancestors did, in more formidable times, by which wife policy they preferved the lands that you poffefs at the prefent day-it is by your Parliament resting here at home, it is by you yourselves ftanding here upon your ef tates, that you will beft preferve them and that connexion too with England, fo neceffary to protect them. Remove your Parliament and you quit your pofts, and abandon the country.--You want to preferve the peace of Ireland,-where is the place to do fo but in Ireland? You want to preferve the connexion of this coun try with England, where is the place to do fo but in this country? Suppose any man of plain understanding met your Peers and your one hundred members on the road to London, and asked them, what are you going there for? You anfwer" to preserve the peace of Ireland."-Would he not fay "Good people go back to your own country, it is there you can beft preserve its peace, England wants you not; but Ireland does."

Sir Laurence then moved the following amendment;

"To affure his Majefty, that this his Majefly's kingdom of Ireland, is infeparably united with Great Britain, and that the fentiments, wifbes, and real interests of all his subjects, are that it should continue Jo united in the enjoyment of a free Conflitution, in the fupport of the bonor and dignity of his Majefty's Crown, and in the advancement of the welfare of the whole empire; which blessings awe owe to the Spirited exertions. of an independent refident Parliament, the paternal kindnefs of his Majefty and the liberality of the British Parliament in 1782, and which we feel ourselves at all times, and particularly at the prefent moment bound in duty to maintain,”

Mr. SAVAGE.-I rife to fecond the amendment of the Hon. Baronet, and to declare that the decided fentiments of the great and populous county of Down which I have the honor to reprefent, is against the baneful measure of a Union. This I declare to the face of the Noble Lord on the Treafury Bench, as the opinion of his conftituents, trufting that it may have the influence on his meafures which it is entitled to.

Lord CASTLEREAGH faid he did not rife to follow the Hon. Bart. through all the arguments which he had urged against the measure of a Legislative Union, becaufe he did not think this the

proper

proper period for that difcuffion, moft of them had been advanced and refuted on a former occafion; but if his arguments this night were entitled to any weight at all, they went the length of proving this abfurd propofition, that at all times, and under every poffible circumftance, a Legislative Union with Great Britain must be in every point of view highly difadvantageous to Ireland. The Hon. Bart. had expreffed his furprise, that after a meffage had been delivered to Parliament laft year, communicating the refolutions of the British Parliament, a fudden prorogation took place, and the Parliament of Ireland had not an opportunity of returning an answer to that communication; the reafon was obvious, viz. that the proceedings of the British Parliament were not laid before the Irish Parliament with a view to their being either immediately adopted or rejected, but that they might be in full poffeffion of the whole of the fubject whenever his Majeffiy fhould think proper to call their attention to it. The Hon. Bart. alfo wifhed to know. why the fubject of the Union was not alluded to in his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant's fpeech; the reafon was, because it was intended to make it a fubject of diftinct communication to Parliament. Last year, when this fubject was under confideration, for want of its being thoroughly understood, the Parliament did not think proper to entertain the queftion. The fubject was then withdrawn, and it was ftated that it would not again be propofed without full and fair notice, and until there was reafon to believe that the Parliament and the country had changed their opinions upon the fubject. He had withdrawn the queftion last year under a perfuafion that the measure was not completely understood, but thinking as he did upon his fubject, convinced of the many commercial and political advantages it would produce to Ireland, and of its tendency to encrease the general ftrength and profperity of the empire, and being fully fatisfied that it was now approved of by a great majority of the people, he should think that he had betrayed his duty to his Sovereign and to his country, if he did not again fubmit the queftion to the cool and difpaffionate confideration of the Parliament of Ireland. The reason, therefore, that the fubject was not introduced in the Speech was, because a diftinct communication was to be made to Parliament upon the fubject, and he fhould, before the House adjourned, move for a call of the Houfe on Monday fortnight, in order that there might be the fulleft poffible attendance upon fo very important a fubject. The object of the Hon. Baronet's amendmeut was not to reject the queftion after mature inveftigation, but to extinguifh it by antici pation, not only without wifhing for, but abfolutely rejecting every fpecies of information. It was calculated to draw Parliament into a decided cenfure upon a measure which it had not an opportunity of fully inveftigating, and when fo great a number of its members

were

were indifpenfably abfent. He begged to fubmit to the confider." ation of the Houfe, whether it was confiftent with propriety or with their own dignity to proceed to the difcuffion of a question of fuch infinite magnitude while fo many gentlemen of great weight and character were neceffarily abfent? He begged the House to confider the nature of the attempt now made, and the peculiar circumstances under which it was brought forward.-He defired to afk whether it could be confidered as refpectful to his Majefty, after he had stated that it was in his contemplation at fome future period to bring this question under their confideration, to declare not only that they would not agree to it, but that they would not condescend to difcuts it. But whatever opinion gentlemen entertained upon the advantages or difadvantages which might refult to Ireland from a Legislative Union with England, yet they felt, or affected to feel highly fenfible of the benefits resulting from an intimate connexion between the two countries. If, however, the House fhould agree to this amendment, they would deftroy the only means by which the Parliaments of the two countries could communicate with each other, viz. by the common Sovereign of both countries communicating to one Parliament the proceedings of the other.

It was as little confiftent with the duty they owed the people of Ireland, as that which they owed their Sovereign, to refuse all confideration of a fubject which involved the interefts and safety of both countries, and to decide upon a queftion, the principles of which they had not investigated, and confequently could not uuderstand. Would it be proper for the Parliament of Ireland to decide upon a queftion, without confidering how it would affect the agriculture, the commerce, and all the various interests of Ireland? Surely not; nothing but the most cool and difpaffionate examination could enable the Parliament of Ireland to make up their minds fairly upon this important fubject. He believed he should not be contradicted when he faid, that upon this point the public in general were not fully informed, and he fhould think himself an enemy to his country, if he did not by every means in his power promote difcuffion, Nineteen of the moft confiderable counties in Ireland, conftituting above 5-7ths of the kingdom, had come forward, and not only expreffed their wish that a difcuffion fhould take place, but had in the moft explicit manner declared themselves in favour of a Legislative Union between the two countries. He wifhed to ask whether it would be decent to prefs forward this dif cuffion, when there were fo many gentleman abfent who had accepted places under Government? Did gentlemen th conftitutional, or right to proceed to the determination of fo very important a fubject, when fo large a proportion of their body was abfent?-If the Hon. Bart. had poftponed his oppofition to the measure until it was brought regu

it

larly

larly before Parliament for its confideration, he [Lord Caftlereagh] would have entered into a full investigation on the subject, and would have ftated his reafons for thinking it a measure highly calculated to promote the happiness and encreafe: the strength of both countries, and would without hesitation have fubmitted the decifion to the wisdom of Parliament. There were two forts of opponents to the measure of a Legislative Union. He was very ready to admit that fome of them had proved themselves upon various occasions to be friends of Ireland and the Conftitution, but he could not help thinking that they were indifcreet friends to their country, they were endeavouring to play too deep a gamethey wanted the Conftitution of England-but they wanted it without taking the only ftep which would render the connexion between the two countries folid and permanent.

He should always look to those gentlemen with respect, but he could not confider them as wife friends to their country as long as they connected themselves with perfons of a very different defcription; they certainly could not hope for the confidence of the loyal part of their fellow fubjects. He would not take upon himfelf to decide whether gentlemen meant to act fairly, but he would fay, that their conduct had no tendency to prove that fuch was their object. There were many gentlemen who had feceded, who had abfented themselves from Parliament when meafures upon which the prefervation of the British Conftitution depended were under confideration. They wished to have this country left in a ftate exposed to continual political contefts, and kept as it were in fufpence, open to all the changes that might be proposed. They had two or three Conftitutions propofed to them-the laft one was quite upon French principles, but it met with no fupport from any friend of the country. They fay, do not incorporate. with Great Britain, not because it will not be beneficial to you, but because if you do you will put an end to all my projects, and I fhall not be able when I choose to come down and disturb the peace of the country by propofing the adoption of a French Conititution. He was juftified in not confidering fome gentlemen as real friends of the Conftitution, because they did not come down and fupport in that House the English Conftitution against the French, when it was a queftion in that House.

He had flated, that it was his intention to bring forward the meafure for the full confideration of Parliament, and he [Lord Caftlereagh] relied upon the good fenfe of the Houfe, that if they did not think it proper to adopt the measure, they would at least give it a full and fair confideration, and entertain it with respect. He was fatisfied that there was no man who wished to act fairly who would not liften coolly and difpaffionately on the question. He fhould have the honour of making the communication from

the