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however has not been faithful, for though he failed in that attempt, he yet, and perhaps the Houfe too, continues to think him an ufeful Minifter to the country; but though he may chufe thus to fmile at the folemnity of his own pledges, the people of Ireland may not be difpofed to fmile upon them with the fame temper and complacency; they felt their fituation too deeply to evince the leaft fymptom of playful mirth. The House must be now convinced of the deep effect which his uncalled for pledge has produced in the public mind of the fifter kingdom, and they will furely hefitate and ponder before they join in that pledge, and by that co-operation increafe all the mifchiefs that muft inevitably flow from following it up. This acquiefcence, however, in his pledge, is what the Right Hon. Gentleman now proposes to us, and this without offering the leaft argument to fhew its utility, or to ground its neceflity. If the Houfe of Commons of England was to become a party to the Right Hon. Gentleman's pledge, every danger would be increased in ten-fold proportion, and every latent fear animated with redoubled force, and what could be the advantage of their fo joining? What force could it carry to the argument if they were to join in his pledge? Utility there can be none in it; on the contrary every disadvantage, and every danger; for by adopting it do we not put the two countries in the most hazardous and frightful fituation, in which any two countries fo connected have ever been placed?-For do not the Irish Parliament and the Irish people know that if the British Farliament fecond the pledge entered into by the Right Hon. Gentleman, that he will refort to the fame means which he has already resorted to? The inevitable confequence of fuch conduct would be, to put the two countries in the moft dreadful fituation in which any two nations had ever been placed. The Minister muft furely know, that after that folemn decifion, the Irish people and Parliament muft fairly afcribe his defign to perfevere, to his reliance upon the refources of corruption and intimidation. They must henceforth view him as anxiously watching for a moment of weakness to effect a project which he had found it impoffible to accomplish in the moment of their strength. It was obvious, that with these prehenfions they would be urged to take every means of precaution that could be devised to put themfelves beyond corruption or intimidation. If they gave the Right Honourable Gentleman the merit of fincerity in the pledge which he had made, the only courfe left for them was to fortify them5F2

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felves against his attack, and to endeavour to prevent the confequences with which they were threatened by him, when he reprefented the commercial profperity and the protection of Ireland against foreign enemies as wholly dependent upon the will of the British Parliament. Évery one must fee that rendering fuch protection and privileges a fubject of queftion, was to plunge Great Britain and Ireland into a fituation of the most perilous and frightful nature. Can they ever be perfuaded to regard and accept as a boon that which, under fuch circumstances, and by such means, he is attempting to force upon them?-Surely not; and if they fee the Right Honourable Gentleman perfift, and this House concur with him in perfifting to employ fuch means for the accomplishment of fuch an end, is there any thing to which they will not have recourfe in order to fortify themselves against these more than infinuated threats; for is it not infinuated, and that pretty broadly, that should Ireland perfift in refufing the offer made to her by Great Britain, it is in the power of the British Parliament to deprive her of thofe commercial advantages from which her powerful profperity is faid to fpring? Is it not infinuated that the British Parliament may deprive her of that protection without which Ireland is faid to be incapable of defending herself against domestic infurrection or foreign invafion? This, Sir, is the fituation and this the extremity to which a concurrence of the Houfe in the pledge of the Right Hon. Gentleman muft reduce Ireland, and never, I will again repeat it, were two nations hitherto fo clofely connected, placed in a more perilous and alarming fituation, than the two kingdoms would be placed by fuch a concurrence. adopting this pernicious line of conduct, the Right Hon. Gentleman has joined with those who moft ftrongly reprobated the conduct of the Irish Parliament, whose wisdom, vigilance and firmnefs have fo frequently been the theme of his own panegyric. Yes, Sir, he has joined with the United Irifhmen, who plainly agree with the Right Honourable Gentleman in five of his principles out of fix. They agree with him in a wifh and a defign to deftroy that Government from which the United Irifhmen contend that all the mifchiefs and calamities arife, under which their country groans. To the corruptions and venality of the Irish Parliament do they afcribe all the miferies that afflict Ireland; and the Irish Parliament they likewife affert to be the paffive inftruments or mere dupes of British faction. The Right Honourable Gentleman afcribes the fame effects to the mifrule of the

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Irish Government, and adduces three inftances in which the Irish Parliament were the dupes of an English Oppofition. But in all these three inftances the Right Honourable Gentleman should not forget that two of his now confidential friends, the Duke of Portland, and a Right Honourable Gentleman near him, (Mr. Windham) were at the head of that faction, of which he fays the Irifh Parliament have been the tools and the dupes. So far does the Right Honourable Gentlemen accord with the United Irishmen, and cry out with them delenda eft Carthago-for they both pronounce that the Irish Parliament and the Irish Government should be extinguished as the foul fource of all the evils which are faid to afflict Ireland. The only difference between the United Irishmen and the Honourable Gentleman is, what fhall be the remedy for the calamities which have afflicted the country, when the Parliament is done away. The United Irishmen proceeding on the affumption that all their miferics flowed from their Parliament, being the fervile agents of British faction, entertained the project of depofing the British Government and erecting Ireland into an independent Republic; whereas the Right Honourable Gentleman propofed to extinguith the independent Parliament of Ireland, and by means of a limited reprefentation in the Imperial Legislature to put the country completely under the Government of Great Britain. The United Irifhmen pretended to know the caufe and the cure of all the miseries of Ireland better than the Parliament of that country. The fame fuperiority of knowledge was alfo arrogated by the British Minifter; and the fame means were reforted to for the purpose of supporting their experiments-force, intimidation, and corruption; for it had been alledged that the United Irishmen were not entirely unacquainted with the application of that perfuafive agent; and if any credit were given to the declaration of the Irish Parliament, there could be no doubt that the prefent measure was preffed upon it by direct undifguifed intimidation. It fhould appear then that the queftion before the Houfe was in reality, Whether the British Houfe of Commons would, by their vote on that night, give their feal and fanction to this ftriking fimilarity between the proceedings and arguments of the United Irishmen and thofe of the Right Honourable Gentleman. It was his ardent wifh, as it fhould be that of every lover of the peace, happiness, and perpetual connection of the two countries, that no question fhould ever be difcuffed in either Parliament which could give any degree of jealoufy

or

or anxiety to the other. It was on that account that he came forward with the propofitions he now held in his hand. and to foothe thofe feelings of afperity which the rash scheme of the Right Honourable Gentleman had unfortunately engendered. Sir, an Honourable Friend of mine oppofite (Mr. Canning), in the course of a debate on a former evening, gave credit to an Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Windham), for being fo extremely pugnacious, fo very. fond of an affray, that if he faw two people fighting, he would not interfere to part them, but rather let them fight it out. He hoped, however, that he fhould not hear a fimilar fentiment expreffed that night by his Honourable Friend, or the Right Honourable Secretary at War in a cool, deliberate affembly, upon a queftion which involved interefts of fuch weighty importance. On the contrary, he fhould hope that they would ftep in as mediators, and rather endeavour to part the combatants than encourage them to fight it out. I remember the Honourable Gentleman alluded to was an amateur of an art not held in quite so much estimation now as it was fome time ago; yet I hardly think he would not rather part two combatants than fuffer them to fight.-But if I am mistaken, allow me to observe, that what might be profeffional magnanimity in a Secretary at War, would be highly unbecoming the Houfe of Commons. The Government of England, and the people of Ireland, are fighting together; but I trust this Houfe will not let them fight it out, but will step between and part them. Who are the combatants? The Irish Parliament, and the Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Pitt); and who would he engage as his fecond? The British Parliament. But, I truft the British Parliament will not take part with the Right Honourable Gentleman on this occafion-for who are his allies? He has two of them: intimidation and corruption. But, to these I truft, that Ireland will oppofe two different allies-honour and refolution. Honour, to refent corruption; and refolution, to laugh at intimidation.

What next does the Right Honourable Gentleman affert in fupport of his favourite meafure?-He contends that the falvation of Ireland, and the continuance of her connection with this country, effentially depend upon an Union. What purpose, but that of intimidation was intended to be produced by the Right Honourable Gentleman's affertion, that the very existence of Ireland depended upon its adoption of his projected Union? I have already faid, and I will repeat it, that the only effect of fuch language, if not corrected by

the

the judicious decifion of this Houfe, will be to root out entirely any remaining confidence in the affectionate regard of the British Parliament for the interefts of Irifhmen, and to compel them to refort to every precaution that could fence them against thofe injuries to which they are faid to be liable at its difcretion. But I must contend that any reproach against the conduct of its Members came with a very ill grace from perfons who had been in the habit of calling them the Saviours of Ireland; and it was ftrange that fo difgufting a picture of Irish wretchednefs fhould have been exhibited by those who had, through the medium of their Viceroys, reprefented in the most alluring colours the degree of profperity to which Ireland had rifen within the laft twenty years. This I ftate merely as an argument which the Irish Parliament cannot fail to make ufe of against the Right Honourable Gentleman, who, after lavishing on them all these praifes, would now induce or compel them to concur in their own diftruction, in their own humiliation and extinction. But I may be asked, are there not many miferies, many calamities, which Ireland wishes to be redreffed and removed? This I cannot, nor I will not, deny; but I contend that the remedy ought to come through the Irish Parliament. The Right Honourable Gentleman was bound to make out, that his plan was the only one that could be executed, before they were called upon to adopt it. This was not attempted: no proof exifted that thofe rebellions and infurrections would not have taken place under fuch a fyftem as was now propofed. The detection and fuppreffion of them was clearly owing to the Irifh Parliament alone, and received no affiftance from the prefent measure.

For I may juftly contend that these fervices have been rendered to Ireland, (and the Right Hon. Gentleman must there concur with me), by that very Parliament which he now wifhes to annihilate-I fay that much has been done by them in that refpect, and I wonder to hear those who rail fo loudly against the pernicious efforts of Jacobinifm in pulling down old eftablished authorities without fubftituting any thing in their ftead, fo forward on the prefent occafion to imitate thofe detefted Jacobins. Much, indeed, had been done to blacken the character of the Irish Parliament, but in my opinion they have done much to whiten and retrieve it by their late fpirited conduct-and they might fill do, more. But it is urged that the religious feuds that embroil the country cannot be extinguished, or the deprefled ftate of ignorance and incivilization in which its peafantry is

plunged,

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