supply of that market. In confirmation of this, it appears, that during the two years preceding the present, the import of linen from Ireland into this country diminished considerably, while the re-exportation increased. In 1797, the Irish linen imported amounted to 39,868,000 yards, and the re-exportation was but 3,889,830; last year the importation was only 35,338,000 yards, and the re-exportation 6,590,456. But let us take it the other way, and suppose the 25 per cent duty to be extended to the Irish linen. Will it be said, that such a burden on the trade to this country in that article, would not put a stop to it? Will it be so said, by those who have very justly remarked, that the smaller charge of 20 per cent on its general export, entirely "put down the woollen trade of Ireland ?" [Mr. Foster's speech, p. 83]. If it would not put a stop to it, Ireland is certainly obliged to Great Britain for her generosity, or rather profusion, in remitting to her an annual duty it seems she could afford to pay, of from half a million to a million sterling. In an account produced to the House of Lords by that very able and accurate officer the inspector-general, the true value of all the products and manufactures of Ireland imported into this country, on the average of the three years preceding the 5th of Jan. last, is stated at about five millions and a half, while that of the exports of the same sort, from hence to Ireland, amounted to little above two; the excess being near three millions and a half. On the gross view, therefore, of this sort of debtor and creditor account, Ireland appears to be a gainer to that amount, in consequence of the present commercial code, not of that, but of this country. The true value of the total imports from Ireland into this country, was, on the like average, 5,612,689/.; that of the exports from hence thither, 3,555,845l.; leaving an apparent balance of 2,056,8447. and other respects, solely under those laws, in order to show how vain, I had almost said how extravagant, the arguments have been, by which it has been attempted to be proved that the balance is even between that country and this, or rather preponderates on the side of Ireland. But such general statements have been made already more than once, both here and in the Irish parliament, and are now to be found in a variety of authentic publications. I will content myself, therefore, with trying to point out some of the falJacies belonging to the endeavours which have been used to show those statements to be erroneous. It is admitted, that the great market for Irish linen is this country. On the annual average of the four years preceding lady day 1798, of about 40 millions of yards exported, near 35 were sent to Great Britain and the British colonies and islands; or seven-eighths of the whole. This immense quantity was imported duty free, and a great part of what was re-exported received a bounty; while all foreign linens imported here were charged with a duty, variously computed, at from about 33 to about 25 per cent. Taking it at the lowest, is not this a bounty to the amount of no less than one fourth of the value, on Irish linen goods brought into this kingdom? and is it not a difficult task for any body to undertake to contend, "that those linens would, to any considerable extent, find their way here even though there were no duty on the foreign?" [Mr. Foster's Speech, p. 89.] It is stated that Irish linens have risen of late not less than 35 per cent above their usual value. [Mr. Foster's Speech, p. 89.] Sir, I have endeavoured to inform myself of the causes of this extraordinary rise, and I believe it will be found to be owing partly to the reduced quantity manufactured on the continent, and at the same time an increased demand in consequence of the war, and partly to unwise and unprofitable speculations occasioned by that circum-in favour of Ireland. stance. It seems the demand for shirt- But we are told [Mr. Foster's Speech, ing for the different armies of Europe has p. 80], that upon a proper examination been immense, and considerable quantities of the articles which compose the gross of Irish linens have also been lately sent, sums in these accounts, the real balance directly or circuitously, to Spain and Por-will be found to be much in favour of tugal, and likewise to some of our West Great Britain. To make this out, the obIndia islands to be exported from thence jects of the mutual trade of the two kingto South America, as a substitute for doms are classed under the three heads of, those of German manufacture which used 1, manufactures; 2, raw materials, &c.; to be sent there, but which are now be- and, 3, foreign articles. The particulars come too scarce to be sufficient for the are then arranged in such a manner as to gainer by carrying the East and West India articles required for the consumption of Ireland. But could Ireland, all circumstances considered, obtain those articles so beneficially in any other way? Her own tonnage is not equal to the carriage of her own produce and manufactures to this country; and in the present state of things, even the rest of Europe is almost entirely supplied by Great Britain, notwithstanding the protection the naval commerce of several other states derives from their neutrality. When to these considerations we add the immense variety of channels of a more advantageous nature, in a mercantile view, in which it is well this branch of her carrying trade might be employed, we shall not easily be persuaded to place whatever gain arises from it to the credit side of Ireland, in settling accounts between that country and this. 2. Under the general head of raw materials, &c. exported from Ireland, have been included, by the description of articles of prime necessity, beef, butter, pork, corn, and other provisions; Irish make it appear, 1st, that Ireland takes from Great Britain to the amount of 14,000l. a year more, under the first head, than Great Britain does from her; 2nd, that she supplies Britain with an excess of raw materials, including articles of prime necessity, to the amount of no less than 2,463,4477.; and, 3rd, that the excess of the foreign articles exported from this country into Ireland, over the similar imports from thence into this country, is 1,366,3091. This is a very different method of stating the case from what has been usual. I have endeavoured to ascertain whether, the right clue might not be found to this seeming refutation of the hitherto received opinion, that the profit-known that the British capital vested in able balance is very greatly in favour of Ireland. I think it may, and I will attempt to explain myself in regard to it, in the best manner I can. 1. To the amount of British manufactures taken off by Ireland, which, by Mr. Irving's tables, is but 1,640,1957. have been added all the articles brought either from our American colonies, or the East Indies, the value of which is not less than 970,000l. "Much of this," we are told, "is real manufac-linen yarn is also classed under this head; ture, and that the rest may be deemed so, on account of the employ of labour in the colony, and of the shipping." [Mr. Foster's speech, p. 80]. But surely it can never be intended seriously to maintain, that Great Britain profits as much by the industry, skill, and labour employed by the people of the East and West Indies in manufacturing for the use of these kingdoms their own raw materials, as Ireland does by those of her inhabitants engaged in her domestic fabrics. Indeed, as to the British West Indian and American colonies, it seems to me, that since a full participation in the trade with them has been opened to Ireland, the opulence acquired by manufactures or otherwise in those parts of the British dominions, in as far as it is not to be considered as merely local, merely West Indian or American, is to be reckoned not British more than Irish, but imperial; and this is also true as to the East Indies, supposing the Irish act of 1793 (33 Geo. 3, c. 31) to have secured to Ireland as great a share of commercial intercourse with that country as she had in any way the means of carrying on; a supposition more than warranted by the little, or rather, I believe, no use she has made of the privileges since she obtained it.-With regard to the shipping, undoubtedly Great Britain is a while cheese, fish, such as cod and herrings, &c. and raw silk and cotton yarn, are articles classed as manufactures among the British exports. But in comparisons of this sort, the expression of raw materials" has been generally used to signify matters which constitute the basis of a manufacture, and contribute thereby much more to the wealth of the country to which they are carried, and where they are worked up, than in their rude state they had done to that of the country supplying them. In this sense, beef, corn, &c. cannot with any propriety be ranked under that description; they add nothing to the wealth of the country importing them; they continue just worth the price at first paid for them, and in the case under our consideration, if not obtained from Ire land, the same capital would probably procure them elsewhere, or might be directed to the production of them at home. 3. Although the sum of 970,000l. by the title of colonial goods, had been added under the first of these three heads to the amount of British manufactures exported to Ireland, it is here retained to make up the gross sum of 1,468,179%. as the value of foreign articles taken by Ireland from Great Britain, and is thus twice charged against this country: this has clearly hap pened by mistake, though it makes a most material difference indeed in the result. But it is said, "the excess of gain to Great Britain must appear prodigious, if we consider that of all that gross sum of near a million and a half, only 407,000l. is East India trade; and that what remains, to the value of above a million, is open to be imported direct to Ireland, were she obliged or inclined to import it so. [Mr. Foster's Speech, p. 81.] Undoubtedly it is open to her; but if she could do it to advantage, will any man who knows the nature of trade suppose that she would not have the inclination, but would suffer Great Britain to gain from her what she does by thus acting as her carrier? The truth is, she wants shipping and capital, what she has, being necessarily occupied to better advantage, or for more necessary purposes; and such being the case, can we in fairness be required to set this down as a benefit which Great Britain holds at the good will of her sister kingdom? Thus, sir, I think we must still retain the belief hitherto so prevalent with the generality of those in both countries, who have most deeply considered such matters, that in their commercial intercourse the balance between them is greatly in favour of Ireland, and it follows, of course, that Ireland, in the present relative situation of the two kingdoms, must depend entirely on the policy and wisdom of the British parliament for the continuance of whatever part of her general prosperity she derives from that source. This indeed is sometimes admitted: it is admitted that Great Britain, by what is called a war of duties and prohibitions, might injure Ireland for a time; of this America, it is said, affords ample proof; but that Britain herself must suffer in such a contest, and that her wisdom, her liberality, and her own interest will forbid her entering into such hostilities. I entirely agree in the position that it is not only liberal, but wise, and for her own advantage, that the present system should be persevered in by this country, though I regret that America should have been unnecessarily mentioned, and this at the very time, and as it were with the same breath with which the right hon. gentleman who has proposed an union was in my opinion most unjustly accused of holding out threats to induce Ireland to accede to it. Alas! Sir, have we, then, no instances where the wisest nations have departed from the line of sound policy, and by the operation of various causes, on the natural frailty of human counsels and conduct, adopted measures at once injurious to themselves and to their neighbours? or is wisdom of conduct to be the possession in perpetuity the exclusive right-of all the successive administrations and parliaments which, in all times to come, are to hold the reins of government, and exercise the functions of legislation in Great Britain? Should the principles which now prevail on commercial subjects lose their influence should disputes, prejudices, passion, and animosity, ever take their place in adjusting the relations of trade between the two islands; and to what binding laws, to what inviolable treaty can Ireland appeal? or what will then avail towards compelling the admission of her commodities into the British ports and markets, or the exportation of what she may want from thence, her own parliament, the supposed adequate guardian of her trade, its vigilance, its regulations, and its bounties? Will the independence and distinctness of that parliament be able to ward off the blow, which on such a supposition may be aimed at her prosperity, when she shall have shut her ears to that warning voice which now calls upon her to listen to the salutary measure by which alone she can be really and completely secured against the possibility of such an evil? We are, it is true, too apt to think, when we think superficially, that our descendants will never relapse into errors similar to those of our forefathers, from which we have escaped; and that what appears right and wise to us, must be thought so by them. But does experience confirm this opinion? Those who have attended to the great and numerous fluctuations of system in our national policy, foreign and domestic, will, I believe, decide otherwise : "We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow: Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so-" is the sensible, though perhaps not very poetical reflexion of a great and sagacious poet. Have we not heard the obsolete notion of making Ireland a British garrison, revived in this House, and from a most respectable quarter? On the present occasion it was indeed, I think, a single, and if the hon. gentleman will pardon the expression, a singular opinion; but a change of time and circumstances may perhaps render it less so. I dread to reflect on the possibility of its ever regulations of 1782 [Mr. Foster's Speech, p.. 109]. becoming reasonable; those, however, who will have to determine, may think it so, when the sentiments of none of us can have any share in the deliberation. What was the case of Scotland? every body must now admit that, being under the same king, who was also head of both parliaments, and with the rules of succession to the crown (till the Revolution) the same in both kingdoms, it would have been the interest of England to have encouraged the trade of Scotland, and conferred upon her every favour that could have tended to increase her prosperity. But how different was the conduct she actually held to her! Was the parliament of Scotland less independent than the Irish parliament has been since 1782, and does it not appear from history, that Scotland was to the full as desirous, had she had the means of establishing a national commerce, and rivalling in her proportion the trade and manufactures of the neighbouring kingdom, as Ireland can now possibly be to retain and augment those which she at present possesses? In 1785, those persons in Ireland who, in my opinion had the best knowledge of her interests, did not think the advantages she then enjoyed from her commercial connexionwith Great Britain, were sufficiently safe under the shield of British acts and British policy; "they wished to have the security of a legislative compact" [Mr. Foster's Speech, p. 87], and this country was desirous to give them that security, in as binding and permanent a form as was compatible with the existence of distinct legislatures. The mistaken jealousy of speculative independence defeated the plan. It is now proposed to give them a legislative security of a much more binding nature, one as indissoluble as human wisdom can devise or imagine; but we are now told by some of the strongest advocates for the much more imperfect measure of that year, even in respect to commerce, that a compact by union to dissolve which, no legitimate authority would any longer exist in either country, would be a measure pregnant with danger and mischief to Irish trade and manufactures. With what success, the consistency of these sentiments has been contended for, I shall leave to others to determine; it is now, it seems thought safest solely to trust to "a connexion rivetted on the interests, the sentiments, and the affections of both nations, and those rivets closed and kept firm. by the Some admit that there are commercial benefits still left for Great Britain to bestow; that a perfectly free communication between the two islands, a complete interchange of commodities of all sorts, without the charge of any kind of duty in their transit from the one to the other, would greatly redound to the advantage of Ireland; that she would then send more manufactured goods to Great Britain than she yet does, and receive a greater quantity and variety of raw materials from thence. But then it is asked, why should not this country complete her system of liberality to the sister kingdom? That is in one moment called liberality, which in another is described as mere selfishness, or an unwilling ransom extorted by intimidation. Why should she not grant to Ireland, without the condition of a union, what by benefiting her must also benefit herself? Others, however, tell us, that if the British minister were to ask them what farther trade could be opened? what new manufactures promoted? their answer would be “You can give us nothing, and our only request on the part of Ireland is, that you will let us alone." [Mr. Foster's Speech, p. 77.] Both these grounds are taken by different persons in arguing against a union, and for the purpose of proving that Ireland either ought to obtain, or if she has already obtained, ought for ever to be permitted to possess every possible benefit of trade she can derive from this kingdom, without our proposing that she should agree to that measure; that is, agree to a settlement which, while it would afford the only permanent security for those benefits, would, in my opinion, at the same time confer others of a still more important nature than any commercial advantage whatever, both on that country and on this. With that opinion. I do not scruple to say, in regard to such commercial boons as may still be left in the power of Great Britain, that I would not be hasty to part with them, if there were any chance that a belief that they can only be acquired through a union, might work in its favour on the selfish tempers of those who overlook the many more weighty political reasons for its adoption. As to the advantages which have already been granted, though it may be, and undoubtedly is, true, that, in contributing to the prosperity of Ireland, found in Ireland, and which will always they also promote that of the whole em- render them so much cheaper in the pire, of which she forms so material a former country, that the Irish consumer part; what if the machinations of foreign will rather import them from thence, and domestic enemies,-the suggestions than buy them as made at home. 2nd. of ill-directed national vanity,-the ex- Neither will a union induce the English aggerated and mistaken principle of inde. capitalist to establish such manufactures in pendence, and the restless and prosely- Ireland for exportation to foreign markets, tical spirit of democracy, should succeed because those foreign markets have been in tearing asunder this mighty limb from long as open to Ireland as they can be the imperial body: would it, in such case, after a union, and yet no such establishbe still for the interest of Great Britain to ments have taken place. 3rd. As it will continue the laws by which those advan- not carry over English capital to establish, tages have been bestowed? Sir, I do not either for Irish consumption or foreign like to pursue this train of reflexion: export, those manufactures in which Bribut I am satisfied, that those causes are tain excels Ireland; neither will it attract at this moment operating with such in- it to that manufacture in which Ireland uncreasing energy, that if a union does not dersells Great Britain, namely, the linen; soon take place, a separation, unfortunate" for though that manufactory has been to Great Britain and ruinous to Ireland, certainly will. I have already mentioned my persuasion, that the people of Ireland will in time, after a really final settlement of the connexion and relations between the two countries by an incorporating union, experience the advantages of a communication of English capital and credit. This position has been treated as "a foolish, absurd, futile, and unsupported assertion" [Mr. Foster's Speech, p. 68. 76]; but I think the assertion may be considered as approaching as nearly to a prediction of the truth as any thing can do, which mere human foresight may conjecture concerning future consequences and events. Is much argument necessary to convince us that monied men will be more ready than at present to lend their capital on landed security, or to pledge their credit by partnerships in trade and manufactures in that country, after it shall pos. sess a steady uniformity of government, -the same legislature with themselves, an established conformity of legal decisions to those whereby their property is regulated and secured at home,-internal peace and habitual industry? But a detail is gone into to show that English money is not likely to be transported to Ireland and vested there, either in trade or manufactures. If I understand the general scope of that detail, it is this: 1st. A union will not carry over English capital to be employed in the manufactory in Ireland of any of the great articles of consumption with which we now supply that country, viz. woollens, cotton goods, iron, and pottery, because England has advantages for those fabrics not to be free and prosperous in Ireland for these ninety years, and has afforded many great fortunes to the industrious who have engaged in it, yet hardly any British capital has settled in it" [Mr. Foster's Speech, p. 75]. Permit me, Sir, to examine shortly how these different points are made out. "Iron and pottery," it is said, "depend so totally on plenty and cheapness of fuel, that they exist only in the coal countries, and have never been known, even in England, to make what can be called a settlement at any distance from a plentiful colliery. In the pottery too, the flint and clay which are so abundant in England, have not yet been found in any quantity in Ireland, and in fact there is not a single pottery in Ireland. It is self-evident, therefore, that these manufactures never can travel from the country which has coal, to that which has it not from Britain to Ireland; and the same facility of fuel must give to Britain a decided preference in all manufactures where steam engines cheapen the price of labour. Woollens, though established for centuries in Yorkshire, have never travelled in any direction ten miles from the coal country, and they are manufactured there to such advantage over Ireland, that England supplies her to the value of near 600,000l. a year, though burdened with an important duty of more than 8 per cent. And as to cottons, machinery being more used in this manufactory than in the others, the Irish cannot, even on the eastern coast opposite the British collieries, make cotton twist within at least 20 per cent as cheap as Britain can supply them. In Britain, during the con |