conftitution, as it would have, incorporated with the Parliament of Great Britain. It is well known, Sir, that it is the Ministers of Great Britain who advise the third eftate of Parliament-thofe are exclufively controled by the British Parliament; this is another advantage in which the Irish must participate by an incorporation of Legiflatures. In this view of the queftion, the Irish reprefentatives, inftead of lofing power, would obtain an acceffion of it; and I repeat, as a very material confideration, that with regard to the national interefts of Ireland, a united Parliament would be more capable of adminiftering, than the two branches of Parliament, which now refide in that kingdom, With a reference, Sir, to the general concerns of the Empire there is no comparifon; and in fupport of this idea I can adduce the authority of Mr. Grattan, the reputed champion of Irifh liberty:-the effect of his argument upon an occafion where the question applied was, that Ireland, on the very important points of peace and war, was bound blindly to follow the Parliament of Great Britain; that was fo far furrendering the control of the Irish Parliament over the Executive in a very great inftance. What then is this but a confeffion that the independence of Ireland, which founds fo fine in theory, is not always reducible to practice, and that circumftances may arife in which it must be difpensed with: It would be otherwife were a Union of Legiflatures to take place. How is it, Sir, with Scotland? Let the acceffion of power by the Union to the reprefentatives of that country be confidered. I, as one of the fortyfive members, can maintain the rights of Scotland in the British Parliament, and in the faces of the English reprefentatives, and can take care that the interests of Scotland fuffer in no refpect. The fame would be the fituation of a reprefentative of Ireland, he could affert its interests on every point of peace and war, of finance, and in fine every meafure which could be agitated, without any fear of thefe interefts being neglected. In that cafe, the Irish people would not be obliged to follow the example of England, on questions at the difcuffion of which they were not prefent, and in the decifion of which they had no controul. Whe ther would Ireland be in fact lefs independent when she would have a voice in all the imperial queftions which could occur, than now when the blindly follows the course of Great Britain without controul? This acceffion of power and refpectability beft fpeaks for itself, and fuch would, in the event of a Union, be experienced by Ireland; fo would it in every great and material queftion be more efficient and refpectable than in its prefent mode of conftruction.-Parliamentary Independence, Sir, is, I acknowledge a fine founding word-A Member can start up and fay, I am one of the independent Parliament of Ireland.-But what conftitutes its real independence? Is it because it fits in a dif ferent piece of ground or foil from the Parliament of Great Britain; thefe are fhallow and idle diftinctions; the real confideration with the Irish should be, whether a Parliament fo conftituted as that now refident in Ireland, can be fo beneficially employed for the interests of their country, as if a proper number of reprefentatives from the two eftates were incorporated with the British Parliament. It is an abfolute mistatement of terms, when the Gentlemen opposed to the measure fay, that a Union would deftroy the Parliament of Ireland-It would do no fuch thing; it would be placing it in a fituation where it could benefit Ireland, which is not the cafe at prefent. But let the Irish, Sir, hold their pride and their honour as high as they pleafed, my with is to direct these in fuch a channel, and to fuch ends, as fhall benefit their country. Let the eloquence of Gentlemen of both fides of the water be exerted as much as they pleaselet them exhibit their genius and abilities in expatiating on the fortunate fituation of Ireland under a feparate Legiflature, or on its local advantages, but ftill, Sir, what is it but a little ifland, beat by the feas that furround it! Gentlemen may laugh, but I fpeak feriously-The functions, the deliberations, and the power of their Parliament, are all confined to the limits of their little ifland, which is but a spor in comparison to the extended bounds of the British Empire. Thofe Gentlemen who talked of the hardship of Irishmen giving up their independence and confequence, would do well to confider this circumftance: they would then fee, on what a flender foundation refted their pride for retaining their prefent Legislature. If there was any pride of that kind amongst them; what elfe could it be but that womanifh kind of pride, which held out for little points. But while the debates of the Irish Parliament were scarcely noticed by any part of the world; was that the cafe with the British Parliament? Were there Legislature incorporated. with that of Great Britain, the field of their difcuffions would be almost unlimited; the ocean itself does not bound their dominions in the various climates of the world, which would fall under the cognizance of the Irish in common with the British reprefentatives, and the eyes of all the countries countries in the world would be turned on the proceedings of the United Parliament. If the defired Union were to take place, the Irish reprefentatives would foon be duly impreffed with the acceffion to their confequence; they would feel their importance as Members of the imperial Parliament. -Every thing connected with the widely-extended British Empire would regularly fall under their confideration-they would be bound by nothing but their own judgments and opinions, and their own fenfe of the feelings of mankind. Viewing the measure in thefe lights, I muft regard with ridicule and contempt the allufions made by an Honourable Gentleman to a felect veftry. Instead of leaving the Parlia ment of Ireland in fuch a fituation, my object is, to bring them into a sphere where their honourable ambition would find room for gratification, and where they can fhare in the difcuffion of thofe great interefts which occupy the attention of the British Parliament In making all thefe obfervations, Sir, I wish to have it understood, that I mean not the least reflection upon the Irish Parliament; but I contend, that the nature of its conftitution does not entitle it to take a part in those great and important difcuffions which fall under the cognizance of the British Parliament.-I must enter my proteft, Sir, against an afperfion thrown by a Gentleman oppofite, upon thofe who wish to promote the measure, namely, that a degree of coercion is intended. I deny pofitively that any proceeding or word of those who are advocates for the measure, can be fairly conftrued into fuch an intention; or what poffible grounds can there be in the tranfaction for giving offence to the Legiflature of Ireland? In difcuffing this question, it is impoflible not to allude to the northern part of this ifland, the history of which is a complete anfwer to every thing urged this night against the measure. The Honourable Gentleman talks of the difcontents arising from preffing it forward; but are discontents the only thing in which it bears a relation to the Union with Scotland? When the Union between the kingdoms of England and Scotland was repeatedly propofed, did the Legiflature or people of the latter realm expreís any anger at the propofal? They did not. The mode uniformly adopted on those occafions was precifely that adopted in the prefent inftance. The Sovereign fent a communication upon the fubject, at the fame time, to the Parliaments of both kingdoms. One mode was uniformly adopted by the refpective Sovereigns who entertained a fenfe of the propri ety of the measure, James I. Charles I. William III. and Queen Queen Anne; and the measure at the time when it was carried into effect with refpect to Scotland, was primarily attended with greater difficulties, and experienced an Oppofition a hundred times more violent than the recent Oppofition made by the Irish-Gentlemen were mistaken too, if they imagined that the Union with Scotland was effected in a moment of profperity and of calm. Scotland was then labouring under the difcontents occafioned by the forfeitures of the preceding reign, and a war, the fuccefs of which was afterwards fo brilliant, was in its commencement against the French in the height of power. The Union with Scotland was certainly perfected in 1707-but the treaties and negotiations for that purpose were commenced in a very fhort time after Anne was feated on the Throne. What ultimately, and decidedly effected the Union, I fhall mention by and bye. I fhall now trouble the Houfe, and prefs to the confideration of Gentlemen oppofite to me a few ftatements, which will fhew, beyond cavil, the great benefits which Scotland has received from the Union-from the very fmall portion of tonnage which was notoriously employed in the shipping concerns of Scotland at the period in queftion, it has increased to the amount, as taken in 1792, of 162,000 tons, worth upwards of one million and a half fterling; in the port of Leith alone, the port appertaineth to the metropolis of Scotland, they had increafed from 1700 tons to 18,000 in the year 1792. The Scots Linen Manufactory (and this I particularly with to refer to, as the linen is the prefent Staple Manufacture of Ireland) at the time of the Union was about one million yards; but by the foftering care of the united Parliaments, and from the benign influence of a thorough confolidation of the interefts of both kingdoms, it has increased to the quantity of twenty-three millions, manufactured in the year 1796-the cuftoms from an amount of about 34,000l. to 284,000l. in the last yearthe Excise has rifen from only 33,000l. to the immense sum of 851,000l.-and the population bore an increase proportionate to this addition of wealth. Since the year 1755, the population has encreafed 500,000. Between 1701 and 1710, the population of Glafgow was 14,000, and at prefent it is 77,000. There were at that time thofe who prophecied the fame evils to Scotland from the Union, which fome are likely to forbode to Ireland. Thefe ftatements not only go in argument against the oppofers of a fimilar meafure with refpect to Ireland, but flatly contradict, the prophecies of Lord Belhaven, one of the moft violent Oppofers of the No. 21. Union 5 L Union with Scotland, in his fpeeches, which might be called A Display of his Visions. He prophefied the greatest calamities as likely to refult to Scotland from the measure; from the power of managing their affairs, according to that Nobleman, being taken out of their hands, the interests of the church would be facrificed. That, however, Sir, will hardly now be infifted upon, as I believe we all know, that the church establishments of Scotland continue in their prif tine vigour, unaffailed by the United Parliament. The Peerage of Scotland, according to the fame prophet, would be degraded-that alfo is another falfity; for it is well known, no one fet of men in Great Britain have attained to a greater degree of confideration in rank or property than many of the Scots Peers-the ruin of their provincial towns was predicted, but the reverfe is the fact; inftead of grafs growing in the streets of the boroughs, they had all advanced rapidly in profperity and importance; for not only the great towns, as Perth and Dundee, but all the Burghs, have increafed in wealth and population 100 fold. The laws, mode of adminiftering them, the fituations and functions of the judges in that country, are all preserved pure and inviolate; the records of the kingdom are preferved from the earliest dates to the prefent, with the moft fcrupulous exactness. As to the army, it would be allowed that the Scots had their fhare of military glory. Every rank and clafs of people feel the benefits arifing from the Union; the induftrious manufacturer, who formerly drank water at his meals, now indulges in the luxury of beer-as my statements of the increafed amount of the excife clearly fhews. It was then faid, that the Scotch would be deprived of all their comforts, but, inftead of that, their comforts were encreased in a degree beyond their most fanguine expectation. I think what I have faid, without going further, fhews the different prophecies which were made upon the occafion, to be illfounded. However, they were not without their ill impreffions on the minds of the people at the time, nor was it until fome time after that they were undeceived. As there was not a prophecy with refpect to Scotland that was not fince belied, it was fair to conclude that all thofe uttered about Ireland now would meet with the fame fate.-Experience had not only proved the vifions of Lord Belhaven to be apocryphal, but had proved that Scotland had profpered in every one respect in which its deftruction was foretold. But it might be faid that Scotland would have flourished though the Union never had taken place. Certainly it was difficult |