which would one day not only devour that country, but the whole Empire. But admitting the probability of a change occurring in the difpofitions of the Irish people, fince the measure was confefledly to lie over until that period arrived, he must contend that it was at least imprudent to pledge the Parliament of Great Britain to specific refolutions, which might be fuperfeded by the future relative fituation of the countries. By one of the refolutions the test act was to be ftill maintained in force with refpect to the Catholics and Diffenters of Ireland, of whom the former conftituted threefourths of the whole population, and the latter nearly twothirds of all the Proteftants. Was it not imprudent to proclaim openly this neglect of their claims, without any thing to counteract its impreflion, except the fugitive hope held out by the Noble Secretary of State of a diftant admiffion to the privileges enjoyed by the rest of their countrymen. The Noble Secretary of State alledged that it was neceflary to lay the detail of the refolutions before the public, to fhew that it was not the intention of the Government of this country to over-reach the fifter kingdom He thought that in that view they would have come with much better grace, before the subject had been agitated in the Irish Parliament, than after they had been rejected by fo large and refpectable a portion of that affembly. It was ftated in fupport of them that Ireland could not go on in its prefent ftate. He had predicted that the fyftem of Government which had been purfued in that country could not go on, and he hed unfortunately proved too true a prophet. But in defcribing the connection at prefent exifting between the two countries, the Noble Secretary of State had not been very earnest when he said that there was no other link of union than the Crown. He forgot ties of a much more powerful kind, mixture of blood, and the identity of the army and navy of the two islands. He forgot that the fole difcrimination confifted in their feparate Parliaments. He was no less unfortunate in his illuftration of the inadequacy of the prefent connection to bind them permanently together.— He had defcanted upon the inconveniencies which had been experienced under the first Conftitution of America, to remedy which they found no other mode than that of creating an Executive Government with very extenfive powers. This every one muft admit to be true; but how did it apply to Great Britain and Ireland, where there already exifted fuch an Executive Government? The Noble Secretary had touched on the state of Ireland with regard to the ftate and œconomy

No. 30.

7 I

œconomy of establishment of its military force. His Lordhip noticed, in the next place, an argument made use of by the Noble Secretary of State, which went to shew that the King had fo little power over the Parliament of Ireland, that except the title of common Sovereign over both, the two countries were nearly in a state of separation. The Noble Secretary had endeavoured to elucidate this from a fuppofition that the English Parliament, in cafe of war, might vote the fupplies, and that the Irish Parliament might refuse to do the fame. This pofition, however, the Noble Earl begged leave to deny in toto. The Crown had certainly a very strong hold upon the Parliament and people of Ireland by the perfonality there was in the army and navy of the Empire, which was fo equally compofed of the men of both countries, that they were, in fact, identified as one. Befides this, it was very well and generally known, that the Parliament and Executive Government of Ireland were under the immediate direction and controul of the British Administration; and if that was the cafe, there could be little doubt of the Parliament of Ireland voting the fupplies for any war in which the British Administration might chuse to engage.

Now the Noble Lord must forgive him, if in fhewing how ill founded were his fears on all these points, he should take occafion in pafling to remark, and he did fo without any feeling of difrefpect for the Noble Lord, that fuch remarks were unworthy of a grave and experienced statesman, and could only have originated in either ignorance or inadvertency to the legitimate force of argument. It was indeed a ftrange mifconception of the real ftate of the cafe. But what would be the confequence, if fuch a thing was to happen? Why nothing but that his Majefty would be obliged to fend troops to Ireland in British pay. This was a thing fo unprecedented, a cafe fo improbable, that it did not deferve to be noticed, confidering the prefent question. The demand upon Ireland was nothing lefs than the whole body of her laws, her rights, her liberties, her independent Parliament, the blood, the labour, the wealth and refources of the people; and to guarantee the undisturbed poffeffion of these, to take poffeffion of their foil, the Irish are to have quartered upon them the troops of Great Britain, and bow willing victims, while the lath and the torture were dealt without measure, in a state of perfect apathy to the cries of agonized humanity in a father, whofe breaft heaves for his bleeding offspring who refuses to glow at the black

and

and hideous recollection of the dungeon prepared for a brother, or the unprovoked infults to be offered to a wife, The British foldier had not a more ardent friend, a friend who more revered the character or admired the courage of the British army than he did; but exceffes were among the things bargained for, if he might use the expreffion, at the beginning of all civil wars, and Ireland had received and dearly bought her fhare of the misfortunes of such a melancholy crifis. If Ireland fuffered, and if Great Britain could only fee in the iffues of the prefent moment distraction without union, whom could the British Government justly blame? Themselves! He had himself told his Majefty's Ministers that the state of Ireland was such that the Government could not go on carrying along with it the affections, confidence, and ready zeal of the people. He was not believed! He had told them that conciliation was neceffary, that only conciliation could fave Ireland. He was not believed! He had told them the rebellion had broke out. Even then he was not believed! He had foretold that all these things would happen, yet his Majefty's Minifters ever lent an unwilling ear to his narrative; and appeared to regard matters of fact, refting for complete proof on the authority of documents which they might if they pleafed have perused at their table, with more than political apathy, with a gaiety of manner which approached to unconcern. But the Government at length found that it could not go on without reforting to expedients and means of felf defence which, whatever was the guilt of one party in the conteft, were fuch as to fhock human feeling. The Legiflature of Ireland began their work of fober but firm reproof, of dignified but conciliating correction, by enacting laws of uncommon vigour, and paffing on with an eagle fwiftnefs, and with more than equal fiercenefs, to acts of feverity, to fweeping fchemes of oblivion to the poor Irifh, and now the catastrophe of that frightful and foulharrowing tragedy was to open upon mankind with an act of oblivion to the rights and liberties of all Ireland. The Noble Earl (Camden) had alluded to fome acts of the Legiflature of Ireland being treated with reprobation in that Houfe. He did not know to whom the Noble Lord alluded. It was very natural to lament fome acts that had been paffed, but they were fuch as were entitled to respect as being the acts of a Parliament. But what he complained of always in that House was, that they were not acts which paffed freely and spontaneously under the authority of Parliament. He had referred to the modes of indifcriminate and savage tor

ture which had been adopted without compunction, and perfevered in without remorse. The picquetings, the burning of houfes, the rapes, the hundred thoufand unheard of, but not nameless, unutterable cruelties which had marked the progress of the measures taken to suppress the rebellion were the woeful tales he alluded to, and the immeasureable evils he deplored. All this had taken place in Ireland during that Noble Earl's administration. He was, however, far from accufing the Noble Earl. He was certain thofe things were not done by his directions or orders. But it was the fyftem. The Noble Lord had stated that the confpiracy exifted to an enormous extent. He believed it. The report of the Secret Commitees of the Parliament of Ireland, and the confeflions of those men who were the chiefs in that confpiracy, who conducted its widely extended lines, and fought its battles, proved it. According to their confeffion the number enrolled to serve in the ranks of the United Irish, was 500,000 men. This number was perhaps exaggerated, but ftill the amount was enormous, and the confpiracy of a moft dreadful nature. He was very ready to give the Noble Earl all credit for his personal character, as drawn by another Noble Lord; but how did it happen, that fo base a confpiracy should ripen and come to a head under the Administration of fo good a character? He could account for it but one way, that the Noble Earl's perfonal character depended upon himself, his ministerial actions were under the influence of others. That such a confpiracy should have been engaged in by the evident majority of a people, by at least an alarming proportion of the adult and effective population of a country, was the greatest cenfure that could be paffed on any Government. He had never blamed the Parliament of Ireland for any thing but their becoming the ready inftruments of the Executive Government; for he had always afcribed all the evils, the misfortunes, the caufe of the many wounds, the wretchednefs and naked poverty of Ireland to the misconduct of the British Government. He did not, however, mean to fay, that the Government had acted from any thing but error of judgment, and utter ignorance of the fituation of the country, and he chiefly blamed them for not making those enquiries which would inevitably have fhewn them they proceeded in their Administration of the Affairs of Ireland on an entirely wrong method. This, God knew, was a fufficient fource of retrofpective forrow to any feeling mind, and if Governments must often hear of the horrors of war, and

the

the pains and fufferings of individuals without a figh and without pity, the time might revolve in the progress of Governments as in the lives of individuals, when remorse would take place of apathy, and when ardent prayers would be offered up that the fyftem of their conduct had uniformly enforced on their fervants the neceflity of respecting with awful veneration the rights of humanity. The Noble Lord had stated that the introduction of French principles into Ireland, had perverted the minds of individuals too artful not to know how a populace was to be fuccefsfully deluded by the loud mimics of patriotism, and the talkers about liberty. He had ftated thefe principles and the effects of them as the caufe of the rebellion in Ireland. But these were infufficient to produce a great and univerfal difaffection. He would repeat it, only conciliatory measures could have faved Ireland. Perhaps they might recover the country. The measures which had been reforted to were evidently improper. He believed no country was ever univer fally irritated by the adoption of fevere measures when those measures were neceflary to provide with effect for the general fafety. But the cafe had been different here, thofe mea fures which the Government afferted were alone calculated to fave Ireland and advance her profperity, were univerfally execrated by the people. There was fomething curious and new in the Noble Secretary's imagining that those people whom he called barbarians, and had defcribed as being un-, civilized, who were not capable of comprehending the meaning of Catholic Emancipation and Parliamentary Reform, were yet to understand, thus miferably ftupid, all the relations of widely extended and intricate rebellion, the nature of Liberty and Equality, and of the Sovereignty of the People. Of this principle, the Sovereignty of the People, he must be permitted to obferve in pafling, that it was that very principle in the Conftitution of Great Britain which had placed the prefent Royal Family on the throne. Among the extraordinary productions of the laft troubled feasons of adventurous and reftlefs fpirits was to be found, the word Democrat made ufe of, fo as to be as cruel a war-hoop in England, as ever the word Ariftocracy was in France. But a ftrange misconception of terms had gone abroad with regard to the Sovereignty of the People. It had been ftiled the Sovereignty of the mob. It was the Sovereignty of the property, the virtue, the talents, the genius, the intrepid courage, the honourable portions of a nation. The Sovereignty of the People was acknowledged and recognized by

Parliament,