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majesty would be graciously pleased to take such steps for the remedy there"of, as his royal wisdom and paternal dignity fhould fuggeft."

In the addrefs of the commons to the lord lieutenant, which was moved for and carried on the 16th of May, two days only before the prorogation, the patriots objected to the thanks contained in it for his excellency's just and prudent adminiftration; but on a divifion they were outvoted by 106 against 51: this addrefs together with the king's anfwer* to the addrefs of the commons to the throne, was confidered, by the caftle, to have completely counteracted the whole effect of the fuccefsful efforts of the patriots in the last feffion, and to have given the exprefs royal fanction to every part of the viceroy's conduct.

The addrefs of the lords to the king contained the following paragraph: "We have the trueft fenfe of the many inftances, which your majesty has "been pleased to afford us of your paternal care, and particularly your con"tinuing the Lord Viscount Townshend in the government of this kingdom, "of which, as his experience enables him to form the trueft judgment, fo "his candor and integrity will we doubt not, move him to make the justest "representation." A warm debate took place upon the question being put, that the faid paragraph do ftand part of the addrefs; which was carried by thirty against fifteen. The proteft entered by fixteen lords on this occafion, is an authentic and very precife hiftorical document of the grounds and

*2nd of May, 1771. Journ. Com. vol. 8. p. 383. The Right Honorable Sir George Macartney informed the house, that he was commanded by his excellency the lord lieutenant, to acquaint them, that his majesty had been pleased to return a moft gracious answer to the address of this houfe, which he read in his place, and after delivered in at the table, and the fame was read by Mr. Speaker (all the members being uncovered) and is as followeth,

"GEORGE R.

"His majefty thanks the house of commons for the many warm expreffions of "affection and loyalty contained in their address, and for their congratulations on the increase of "his family.

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"His majefty is extremely glad to find that the opportunity he has given them of confulting together, at this time, for the general good of his kingdom of Ireland, has been received by them

" with fo much fatisfaction, and he trufts it will be productive of every benefit to the public that "they could defire.

"His majefty is well pleafed with the affurances given by the house of commons, of their regard "for his rights and those of the crown of Great Britain, which it is his indifpenfable duty to affert, "and which he shall ever think it incumbent upon him to maintain.

"G. R."

nature

nature of the oppofition made in parliament to that lord lieutenant's administration.

*Diffentient.

1o Because the repeated proofs we have of his majesty's paternal tendernefs towards his people, convince us, that a mifrepresentation of his faithful commons could alone have determined his royal breaft to exert his undoubted prerogative of proroguing his parliament at a crifis, when the expiration of laws effential to the well-being of this kingdom, feemed peculiarly to point out the most urgent demand for the affiftance of the legislature: at a time, when the commons had given a recent efficacious teftimony of their unremitting zeal for his majesty's fervice, by voting an augmentation of his majesty's forces; a measure, which had been reprefented to parliament as highly acceptable to the king; at a feafon too, when the fuddennefs of this unexpected mark of royal difpleasure, rendered its confequences almoft irritrievably fatal to the nation, infomuch, that we fee, with the deepest concern, an extraordinary deficiency in his majefty's revenue, proceeding from the declining state of our credit, trade, and manufactures, thereby occafioned.

2o Because the unbounded confidence we repofe in his majesty's inviolate regard to the fundamental principles of the conftitution, affures us, that the attempt, which has been lately made, to infringe that balance, indefeazably infeparable from its very formation, by entering upon the journals of this house a proteft, animadverting upon the proceedings of the house of commons, was the refult of pernicious counfels, infidioufly calculated to alienate the affections of the moft loyal fubjects, from the most amiable of princes: an opinion, in which we conceive ourselves by fo much the better founded, as this unconftitutional extenfion is unprecedented; (fave only in one instance) which was followed by just disapprobation of the fovereign, testified by the immediate removal of the chief governor. We further conceive, that as the conftitution of this kingdom is, in refpect to the distinct departments of the crown, the lords, and the commons, one and the fame with that of Great Britain; we should depart not only from our duty to our king, and to this our country, but likewise from that, which we owe to Great Britain, if in our high capacity of hereditary great council of Ireland to the crown, we should acquiefce under an attempt, which manifeftly tends to fubvert

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that reciprocal independence of the three eftates, which is the bafis of its fe curity.

3o Because the justice and piety, which fhine confpicuous in our fovereign, as well in his domestic life as on the throne, do not fuffer us to fuppofe, that this difmiffion of trusty nobles and commoners from his majefty's privy council; the former only, because they made a juft exercise of their hereditary birth-right as peers of the realm, the latter, on account only of their parliamentary conduct, can have proceeded from the truly-informed intention of fo great and good a prince.

4° Because moderation, firmness, confiftency, a due diftinctive regard to all ranks of perfons, a regular system of adminiftration, being, as we conceive, indifpenfably requifite to the support and dignity of government, and to the conduct of his majesty's affairs, we cannot, without violation of truth and justice, return thanks to the king for continuing a chief governor, who in contempt of all forms of business and rules of decency, heretofore respected by his predeceffors, is actuated only by the most arbitrary caprice to the detriment of his majesty's interests, to the injury of this oppreffed country, and to the unspeakable vexation of perfons of every condition.

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And when on the fame day it was refolved, that the addrefs to the lord lieutenant, then before the houfe, fhould ftand the addrefs of that house: the fame fixteen peers* protefted against it. Becaufe the addrefs to the lord lieutenant having contained acknowledgments of thanks to his excellency for his conduct in the government of that kingdom, to which they were confcious he had not any juft claim, they had therefore conceived it to be their

* These same lords also protested against the motion for entering the lord lieutenant's protest on their journals: it is alfo a well confidered, well worded and truly conftitutional representation of that extraordinary and illegal measure of Lord Townfhend: which fee in the Appendix, No. LXII.

duty

duty to withhold even that accuftomed compliment. No policy is more unwife, than to attempt to fupprefs from a nation (as from an individual) in debt the real state of its finances. It appears evident, from the arguments of the ftill uncorrupted patriots of the house of commons, from the protests of the fixteen peers, from the ftate of the national accounts ftill upon record, and from other hiftorical documents, that the national debt of Ireland very heavily accumulated during the administration of Lord Townshend: yet we find, that after the experience, which two years and a quarter had given him of the inadequacy of the fifcal refources of that kingdom to anfwer his new plan of keeping up the English intereft, he refrained from calling on the commons for any fupplies, alledging in his fpeech to parliament, on the 26th of February, 1771, that with very ftrict œconomy, the duties granted last feffion would be fufficient to answer the expences of his majefty's government; and therefore he would afk no further fupply.

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The confidence, with which Lord Townshend met the parliament in October 1771, was ftrongly depictured in his speech. My experience," faid his excellency," of your attachment to his majesty's perfon, and of your "zeal for the public fervice, affords me the best grounded hopes, that no"thing will be wanting on your part to co-operate with his majefty's gracious intentions to promote the welfare and happinefs of this kingdom, and "when to this confideration I add my remembrance of your kind regard "for the eafe and honor of my administration, I feel the most fenfible pleasure "in the present opportunity, which his majesty has given me of meeting you a fourth time in parliament. "* Notwithstanding his boafted œconomy, which prevented his application to the commons for any further fupply in the last feffion, he now told them, that it was with concern, that he must afk a fum of money to discharge the arrears already incurred on his majesty's establishments, but that they would find, they had been unavoidable; for that the strictest œconomy had been used, not only in the charges of the late augmentation, upon which a very large faving had been made, but in the reduction of the staff, which was then diminished to the number directed by his majesty.†

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* Journ. Com. vol. 8. p. 403.

Another

+ Very strong objections have been made to the unconstitutional system of Lord Towfhend's administration both in and out of parliament: but he had now fo completed his fyftem of managing

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Another part of the lord lieutenant's fpeech referred to the illegal affociations and audacious outrages committed in divers parts of the kingdom, but especially in the north, which deserved their most serious attention, being as deftructive to commerce, as difgraceful to liberty: the parliamentary proceeding upon this recommendation, was a still stronger illuftration of the unconstitutional tendency of the measures and general fyftem of that nobleman's administration. One of the infurgents, charged with felony, had been apprehended and carried to Belfaft, and there confined in order to be tranfmitted to the county jail. Provoked by this treatment of their affociate, feveral thousands of them proceeded to Belfast, to rescue the prisoner. When intelligence of this reached the town, it being refolved not to give him up, he was removed to the barrack, and placed under a guard of foldiers. The Steel Boys preffed forward to the barrack, firmly determined to effect a rescue. The confequence in all probability, would have been fatal to many on both fides and to the town, had not a gentleman of commanding influence, interpofed, at the rifque of his life, and prevailed with the military to fet the prifoner at liberty. Being delivered up to his affociates, they marched off in triumph. One house only experienced the effects of their refentment. Many, who were engaged in this enterprize, returned home, and had afterwards no further connexion with the rioters: yet their numbers daily encreased, and their spirit extended to the neighbouring counties. Befides the the house of commons, that he was fure on all occafions of one third majority on any queftion: and it is remarkable, that by fuch majority did he carry the queftion on feventeen different divifions, which took place in the house of commons on the two first days of the feffion. Most of these questions arose upon the eulogies contained in the addreffes upon the lord lieutenant's conduct and administration. Some however turned upon mere matters of fact, which the patriots charged him with having defignedly mifreprefented in order to deceive the people. One of the questions, upon which they divided, was upon a propofal to infert in the addrefs the following words: "notwith"ftanding that the faid refolution was propofed to obviate the tendency of that part of the lord "lieutenant's fpeech wherein he infinuates, that the deductions made from the revenue for payment "of grants, for premiums, bounties, and public works, were the cause of the great arrears men"tioned in his excellency's fpeech." Another divifion took place upon a motion for adding the following words to the addrefs: "notwithstanding we muft obferve, that two of the gentlemen, "who refigned the staff, are aged and infirm, fo that the public are not likely to receive so much "benefit from that alteration, as was gracioufly intended by his majesty: and that a pension of "2001. a year has been granted to General Lambert, and 300l. a year to his wife, in confideration "of his long and faithful fervices, making in all 500l. a year, which is within 477, 10s. of the "faving accruing to the public from his refignation." Vide Com. Journ, vol. 8. p. 408.

oaths,

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