"confideration can prevail with his majefty to fwerve from that indifpen"fable duty, which the conftitution prefcribes to him of concurring in fuch "provifions only, as on mature deliberation and advice of his council appear to him at the time calculated to promote the true intereft and happinefs of his people.” From the fpirit, which dictated this anfwer, and the further conduct of the British cabinet at this time, it appears, as if they had selected this particular juncture for a trial of strength between the English and the Irish intereft. A bill for better fecuring the liberties of the fubject was this feffion paffed in the commons, and tranfmitted, but was not reurned. Another bill of a patriotic tendency was introduced this feffion, to prevent the buying and felling of offices, which concern the administration of justice, or the collection of his majesty's revenue: but it mifcarried in the commons. Thus failed every effort of the patriots to remedy the fyftem of venality, which now openly prevailed, and to bring back the conftitution to its primitive principles of freedom and independence.*

In

* As this was the time and this the system, to which Mr. Burke alluded in his incomparable political chef d'œuvre, on the Cause of the prefent Difcontents, I will favour the reader with some of his thoughts peculiarly applicable to this juncture. P. 56. "The court party refolve the whole into faction. Having faid fomething before upon this subject, I fhall only observe here, that when they give this account of the prevalence of faction, they present no very favourable aspect of the confidence of the people in their own government. They may be affured, that however they amuse themselves with a variety of profpects for fubftituting fomething else in the place of that great and only foundation of government, the confidence of the people, every attempt will but make their condition worse. When men imagine, that their food is only a cover for poison, and when they neither love nor trust the hand that ferves it, it is not the name of the roast beef of Old England, that will perfuade them to fit down to the table, that is spread for them. When the people conceive, that laws, and tribunals, and even popular affemblies, are perverted from the ends of their inftitution, they find in thofe names of degenerated establishments only new motives to discontent. Those bodies, which when full of life and beauty, lay in their arms, and were their joy and comfort, when dead and putrid, become but the more loathfome from remembrance of former endearments. A fullen gloom, and furious diforder, prevail by fits; the nation lofes its relish for peace and prosperity, as it did in that season of fullness, which opened our troubles in the time of Charles the Firft. A fpecies of men, to whom a state of order would become a fentence of obscurity, are nourished into a dangerous magnitude by the heat of inteftine disturbances; and it is no wonder that, by a fort of finister piety, they cherish, in their turn, the diforders, which are the parents of all their confequence. Superficial obfervers confider fuch perfons as the cause of the public uneasiness, when, in truth, they are nothing more than the effect of it. Good men look upon this diftracted scene with forrow and indignation. Their hands are tied behind them. They are despoiled of all the power, which might enable them to reconcile the ftrength of government with the rights

of

In the year 1765 the revenue of Ireland, although confiderably increased upon the whole receipt, ftill fell fo far fhort of the expences of government, that 100,000l. were directed to be raised at 4 per cent. and the principal due upon the different loans was ordered to be confolidated into one fum, making in the whole 595,000l. at 5 per cent. which remained due at Lady Day. The debt of the nation then amounted to 508,874l. 5s. 9žd. There was this year a great scarcity of grain, as likewife a general failure of potatoes, which was still more feverely felt by the lower ranks. The legislature found it neceffary to interpofe: they paffed an act to ftop the diftilleries for a certain. time, which confequently produced a decrease in the Excife, and alfo an act to prevent the exportation of corn; in both of which acts it is recited, that it was apprehended, there was not fufficient corn in the kingdom for the food of the inhabitants until the harvest. In the latter of thefe acts is contained a provifo, that it should be lawful for his majesty, his heirs, and fucceffors, by his or their order in the privy council of Great Britain, or for the chief go. vernor or governors and privy council of Ireland for the time being, by their proclamation, to permit the exportation of any of the kinds of corn, grain, meal, or flour therein mentioned, any thing therein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. The heads of the bill had been tranfmitted over without

of the people. They ftand in a most distressing alternative. But in the election among evils they hope better things from temporary confufion, than from established fervitude. In the mean time, the voice of law is not to be heard. Fierce licentioufnefs begets violent restraints. The military arm is the fole reliance; and then call your conftitution what you please, it is the sword, that governs. The civil power, like every other, that calls in the aid of an ally ftronger than itself, perishes by the afliftance it receives. But the contrivers of this scheme of government will not trust folely to the military power, because they are cunning men. Their reftlefs and crooked spirit drives them to rake in the dirt of every kind of expedient. Unable to rule the multitude, they endeavour to raise divifions amongst them. One mob is hired to destroy another; a procedure which at once encourages the boldness of the populace, and juftly increases their discontent. Men become penfioners of state on account of their abilities in the array of riot, and the difcipline of confufion Government is put under the disgraceful neceffity of protecting from the feverity of the laws that very licentioufnefs, which the laws had been before violated to reprefs. Every thing partakes of the original diforder. Anarchy predominates without freedom, and fervitude without submission or subordination. Thefe are the confequences inevitable to our public peace, from the fcheme of rendering the executory government at once odious and feeble; of freeing adminiftration from the conftitutional and falutary controul of parliament, and inventing for it a new controul, unknown to the constitution, an interior cabinet; which brings the whole body of government into confufion and contempt."

any difpenfing power to the king in the British council: this was an alteration introduced by the British cabinet, and was violently, though ineffectually oppofed by the few remaining patriots in the Irish Houfe of Commons. The two grounds, upon which the now dwindled patriotic party in the Irish House of Commons refifted thefe alterations were undoubtedly conftitutional: 1o. that even under the reftrictions of Poyning's Law (which though perhaps prudent when paffed, confidering the then preponderancy of the Irish oligarchy had been latterly execrated by all Irish patriots), the king only had a power of affent or diffent: not a power of alteration, which from its nature muft import a deliberative power, which could exift no where, but in the Lords and Commons of Ireland. 2°. That if it be expedient or necessary to lodge a difpenfing power in the executive for the occafional benefit of the kingdom, fuch power to be executed by proclamation with the advice of the privy council in Great Britain, where the king perfonally refides, the proclamation iffues directly from the king, with the advice of his privy council of Great Britain but in Ireland, where the executive power is vefted in fuch fubftitute or deputy as the king appoints, it iffues in the name of fuch appointee, with the advice of the privy council of Ireland. The practice is evidently bottomed in reafon : otherwife the council of Great Britain would have a control over the legislative acts of the independent kingdom of Ireland. The patriots attributed the precipitancy,* with which the court party preffed this bill through the Houfes, to the moft unworthy motives of driving the people to the defperate alternative of famine, or the fubverfion of their conftitution.

On the 22d day of December, 1765, Dr. Lucas, as one of the reprefentatives of the city of Dublin, published an addrefs to the lord mayor and aldermen, fheriffs, commons, citizens and freeholders of Dublin, on the paffing of this bill, in which he gave the following fuccinct hiftory of its progrefs. "On Thursday (viz. 19) this bill was firft prefented to the House and read. As foon as the fatal alteration was difcovered, it filled one part of the Houfe with horror and deteftation of the measure, and a motion was made to reject it. But, it paffed in the negative; and it was ordered, and accordingly, did

* Vid. 8 Com. Journ. p. 70. The Journals very unfairly have fuppreffed the nature of the alteration made in England. They merely state that a committee was appointed to examine the transmiss with the heads of the bill fent from that Houfe, and that it afterwards paffed without amendment.

receive

receive a fecond reading on Friday laft. It was then ordered to be committed on Saturday, paffed the committee, was reported the fame day, and ordered to be ingroffed, though in every ftep of its progrefs, in which there were not one third of the members in the House, it met with conftant, uniform, though fruitlefs oppofition, with many divifions of the House and the committee, in all which, I gave my utmost opposition to the measure, but had the misfortune to be always of the minority. I could not fufpect, a bill with any, fpecially with fuch an alteration, could be permitted to make fo rapid progrefs, through any part of the legislature. Its fate now depends upon a single queftion in the House of Commons: when it will be put, or how determined, I cannot inform you; but the prefumption is, it will be

to-morrow."

In fact the queftion for the bill's paffing with the inferted alteration wasput on the next day, viz. Monday the 23d of December, 1765, and was carried by a majority of twenty-nine against fifteen.*

From

* 8 Com. Journ. p. 71. One of the moft ftrenuous fupporters of this bill with the alterations, was the late Lord Clare, then Mr. J. Fitzgibbon, member for Newcafile; to whom the following passage in Mr. Lucas's address referred." Since I have mentioned precedents, you may fee by "the votes, that lawyers have not let a worm-eaten parliament roll, nor an obsolete musty statute, efcape the most diligent research. If one happier than the rest should think he found a cafe in point, in times, indeed, the most fit for the black purpose, under the auspices of the direft foe to "the liberties of Europe and of Britain, the Spanish tyrant Philip, the worthy confort of bloody "Queen Mary, that horrid firebrand to the religion and the laws of her country; for it is in fuch a

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tyrannic reign alone, that any one could hope a precedent for the purpofe of this innovation might be found; what ufe could be made of fuch a precedent in our happy days? It is indeed true, that an act paffed in this kingdom, in the third and fourth years of that abominable reign, "for reducing certain wafte lands to fhire grounds; giving however, a power to the crown, for "seven years, to fufpend or repeal the whole act or any part thereof. Thus far the act proves a

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"cafe in point: but upon reading the whole fection through, it appears that the ends, for which "alone it could be cited and read, were utterly fruftrated: because, however evil and unjust the power granted in that ftatute may appear, it was not, as fome favorers of this innovation may " contend, to make it ferve as a precedent; it was not left to a private order, conceived in the "council of Great Britain, but it was exprefsly provided, "that every fufpenfion, repeal or revo"cation of the ftatute fhould be made in writing under the great feal of Ireland, and public pro"clamation thereof made." If those who raked through much obfcurity, and rubbish, and filth, "thus ferve their country, had found a better precedent, no doubt their commendable zeal would "have produced it. But you fee how little this queftion can answer the purposes of such favorers " of innovation as may produce it. In the innovation in these heads of a bill, an order conceived

From the frequent defections of the patriots and the confequent reduction of their numbers, it became the policy of the castle, at this time, to throw all poffible difrepute upon the few, who ftill earnestly espoused that cause. Upon this fubject Dr. Lucas explained himself very pointedly in another addrefs to his conftituents:* but it would be uncandid to leave the reader in the vulgar prepoffeffion, that because this eminent and true patriot stood firm to the laft hour of his life in the honourable cause of his fuffering country, therefore he was unacceptable either to his fovereign or his vicegerents. The Earl of Hertford had particularly noticed Dr. Lucas when he was in England, and was efteemed by him in return: he boafted also of his kind treatment from the Lords Chesterfield and Harrington, Halifax and Northumberland. He bore affection as well as loyalty to his majefty. The unremitted

"in the council in England, which from its known appellation must be secret, is to repeal a statute "paffed in the parliament of Ireland, without any proclamation or publication in Ireland, or perhaps without its being at all known in the kingdom, till it comes to be executed in the ports. "Yet this is attempted to be introduced, after the enlivening fpirit of the revolution, and the confequent Hanover fucceffion, broke the illicit bonds of the never-enough-to-be-detefted race of "Stuarts, and bad us live and be free."

* Patriot and patriotism, are now no longer confidered as real, but ideal characters. That they were once otherwise, our author thus confeffes. I hope, he is taught by his own heart to believe, that there are yet fome men in the world, who are ready and willing to facrifice, upon a proper occafion, their time, their fortunes, their healths, their lives, to the fervice of their country.

That defigning men have often layed hold of trifling, as well as weighty occafions, to fet forth their own importance, to gain their private ends; and that great and important subjects taken up apparently, with juft and public-fpirited views, have been given up and forfaken, when the miniftry have thrown out the proper lure, are notorious, as they are hateful.

That the royal confent was once anticonftitutionally, yet without oppofition, inferted in an act of parliament, and that at another time, the propofition was conftitutionally spurned at, and rejected in the fame parliament, is certainly true. That many patriots arose upon this great occafion, while the funds were redundant in the treasury, is true. But that these were short lived pageants is true. That fome loft their places, fome their penfions, for a while is certain; but that the chapping and changing, placing and penfioning, and replacing and repensioning these patriots, coft the nation about half a million, is certain: As it is, that while they juftly contended for the right of parliament to the difpofal of the redundance of the funds in the treasury, they afterwards peaceably suffered it to be drawn out of the treasury by the fole mandate of the crown. And thus, it must be confeffed, that ours, like other patriots, have been the pageants of a day, each acting their parts like the poor player, who frets and struts his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.

+ You know I am no flatterer: you know how often and in what terms I have teftified my difinterefted love and loyalty to his majesty, and my zealous and inviolable attachment to his royal house.

That