charged to any degree of folly. But that the nature of the bargain was a matter of little confequence, when put in competition with that double violation of the constitution, that daring temerity, of engaging for the payment. of fums of money, and venturing to propofe the introduction of foreign forces, without the confent of parliament. Some gentlemen went as far as to fay, that no doubt could be entertained of the defigns, from whence these propofitions originated. One was an experiment on the Irish parliament, to try if it could be induced to confent to the reception of foreign troops, thereby to establish a precedent, which might be afterwards applied to other purposes. The other had alfo its fixed object: it was a fcheme, they said, however deep, formed on very simple principles, and went directly to veft in the crown a virtual power of taxing, as opportunity might ferve, both Great Britain and Ireland. In Ireland, the minifter was to be taught to ask fome favor; then England was to be pledged. In England again, when fuch circumstances occurred, as rendered the attempt impracticable, Ireland was to be taxed, to maintain the fupremacy of the British legiflature. In the mean time, it prepared the minds of the people, and habituated them to fuch notions, as would by degrees be the means of reducing the parliament of each to be the mere inftrumental agents of the crown, without the leaft degree of will or independency whatever. Adminiftration feemed in an odd fituation upon this attack. The matter was ferious; the offer of introducing foreign troops without the previous confent of parliament, indeed to introduce them at all as a permanent part of our establishment, could not be a matter of indifference to the conftitution and fafety of this kingdom. On this occafion, no fmall marks of the want of concert and fyftem appeared in the grounds, upon which this measure was explained and defended in the debate. The minifter difavowed those specific inftructions, upon which it was fuppofed the meffage must have been founded; but acknowledged his general co-operation, in matters relative to the government of Ireland. Both he, and another lord, then lately come into adminiftration, difclaimed all refponfibility whatever, for the conduct of his majefty's fervants in that kingdom. They faid in general or feparately, that the viceroy might have mistaken, or exceeded his inftructions; that he might not have conveyed his meaning in the cleareft terms; but that there was no relation between the British miniftry and the king's fervants in that country, which rendered the former in any degree accountable for thefe matters, and confequently they could not be affected by any cenfure grounded upon them. Some of the gentlemen in oppofition. confidered the bufinefs as of fomewhat a lefs dangerous nature, from the schemes not being carried into execution. They held, that the spirit and magnanimity of Ireland, in rejecting the foreign troops, and in refusing to accept the offer for leffening her own burthen by throwing a part of it upon Great Britain, had already obviated the mifchievous tendency of that meafure; fo that the only object of cenfure now remaining, was the evil intention from which it originated. They alfo held, that the whole weight of the cenfure would fall upon the lord lieutenant, who was merely ministerial in the business, while thofe who were really culpable would not only pafs untouched, but very poffibly, from fome crooked motive of policy, might rejoice in the ill-placed effect. After very confiderable debates, the queftion being put, near twelve at night, the motion for a committee was rejected upon a divifion, by a majority of 224 to 106. A motion was then made for laying the votes of the Irish commons, of fome fpecified dates, and relative to this bufinefs, before the houfe, which paffed in the negative without a divifion. This was fucceeded by the following motion, "That it is highly derogatory to "the honor, and a violent breach of the privileges of this houfe, and a dangerous infringement of the conftitution, for any perfon whatever to pre"fume to pledge his majesty's royal word to the houfe of the parliament of "Ireland: that any part of the troops upon the establishment of that king"dom fhall, upon being fent out of that kingdom, become a charge upon "Great Britain, without the confent of this houfe, or for any person to prefume to offer to the Houfe of Commons of the parliament of Ireland, "without the confent of this houfe, that fuch national troops, fo fent out "of Ireland, shall be replaced by foreign troops, at the expence of Great "Britain.' The motion for this refolution was loft, by putting the previous queftion, without a divifion.* 66 The British cabinet was little fatisfied with the adminiftration of Lord Harcourt the easy and delicate turn of his mind ill qualified him to fupport, much less to improve upon the system of his predeceffor: but by which alone, to the infamy and misfortune of Ireland, the legiflators of that kingdom were to be kept steady in their ranks to the fiat of the caftle. Although govern * The violence of party spirit will often render it difficult for the hiftorian to extract the impartial spirit of a debate: to avoid therefore any imputation of partiality or bias, the candid reader is referred to the whole debate on this fubject in the Appendix, No. LXIV. ment ment upon the whole ftill retained a confiderable majority, yet feveral of their adherents had occafionally, during the laft feffion, proved recreant from their inftructions; fome had deferted their ranks, many amongst them wavered, menaced, and complained of the terms of their engagements. It was therefore refolved to invigorate the new fyftem by the election of a new parliament. For this purpose an unusual, and till that time unprecedented, number of promotions in the peerage took place in one day*. Many other engines were in the mean time put in motion for the fame purpose. Shortly before this general promotion took place, Mr. Sawbridge, then lord mayor of London, moved in the British House of Commons,† that his majesty's colonies in America be continued upon the fame footing of giving and granting their money, as his majesty's fubjects in Ireland were, by their own reprefentatives: on which occafion, the Honorable Temple Luttrell,‡ observed, that fuch esteem had he for the right honorable magiftrate's difpofition and talents, that if he were to form a conftitution for the colonies to fatisfy his own mind, he would have their interefts and happiness better provided for, than by giving them a constitution on the model of that of Ireland. A people fo wretched, fo oppreffed were scarcely to be found in any civilized part of the globe. Too many and too crying were the proofs of the national calamity and. * It far exceeded the famous promotion of twelve in the days of Queen Ann. Five viscounts were advanced to Earldoms, feven barons to be viscounts, and eighteen new barons were created in the fame day. The ufual terms of such modern peerages are well understood to be an engagement to support the cause of their promoters by their individual votes in the House of Peers, and by those of their fubftitutes in the House of Commons, whofe feats are ufually fettled and arranged before they vacate them upon their promotions. 66 ↑ Viz. on the 10th of May, 1776. 3 Parliamentary Debates, p. 392. § Then with allufion to the intended creation of Baron Macdonald he observed: " nor could a more substantial injury, or a more humiliating infult be offered by a paramount nation to one of "its dependencies, than what Ireland would experience at the hands of a British miniftry within forty eight hours, if his information proved authentic. An English minifter had abufed the con"fidence of his royal mafter so far, as to prevail with him, in his character of king of Ireland, to "create hereditary legiflators for that ifland from the clans of the mountains of Scotland. Men, "who in their private characters, he believed to be not only irreproachable but amiable and praifeworthy, of authority and high defcent amidst their own thanefhips, yet whofe public pretenfions "in the year 1715 and 1745 (for he never heard of any other) now conftrued loyalty, were still in "the eye of our conftitution, acts of infamy and rebellion. He should be told, perhaps, that this power was a part of the rightful prerogative of the crown; an idea, to which he could never sub "fcribe,, and diftrefs of the Irish, to place this faying of Mr. Temple Luttrell to the account of declamation or the heat of party. The English minifters became daily more embarraffed and perplexed by the encreafing difficulties of carrying on the American war, which hourly became more unpopular at home, and lefs fuccefsful abroad. The analogy of the cafes of America and Ireland neceffarily drew their attention to this latter country, and forced them to smooth the way for a new viceroy, implicitly devoted to their whole fyftem. Lord Buckinghamshire went over the fworn fervant of the British cabinet; and left there fhould be a knot in the thread of fubferviency, he took over his attorney, Mr. Heron, for his fecretary. The critical, alarming, and embarraffed fituation of Ireland at that juncture certainly called for a larger fhare of political knowledge, experience, and addrefs, than either that lord lieutenant or his fecretary carried over. And we must not dissemble, that a modeft consciousness of his own inadequacy to fill the arduous fituation appeared in his fpeech to the new parliament in October, 1777.* "His majefty," faid he, " has been graciously pleased to honor "me with a moft diftinguished mark of his confidence in appointing me to "the government of Ireland; with cafe he might have found an abler mi"nifter, with difficulty one more anxiously folicitous to justify his choice in "meriting your approbation. Influenced by that benovolent fpirit, which 1 "fcribe, while he remembered the wife and fterling definition of prerogative given us by Mr. "Locke, who fays, " 'tis a difcretionary power of acting for the public good, where the pofitive "laws are filent; if that difcretionary power be abused to the public detriment, fuch prerogative is "exerted in an unconftitutional manner." Was this acting for the public good? To beftow thofe "privileges and pre-eminencies, which are attached to a peerage of a kingdom, on perfons whofe names and families are utterly unknown to the natives of fuch kingdom, and without any ties of property, of local services or affection? Barons whofe blood has been tainted by an open violation "of the laws of their own country, are, in preference to the best gentlemen of Ireland, fent over to "poffefs the most honorable feats in the fenate, to enact public ftatutes, and judge upon perfonal "inheritances in the dernier refort." Mr. Rigby, who had advised the right honorable magiftrate to define the constitution of Ireland, before he propofed it to be adopted by the colonifts: remarked, that with respect to the Scotch peers, the mountaineer lords, as they were called, he believed the creation would do no harm, if it did no good: what good it would do them, was best known to themselves: but he must observe, that the cafe was not without more precedents than one. It must be admitted, that the defence of Mr. Rigby, as the organ of government, against the charge of depreciating the Irish peerage, by lavishing it on perfons no way connected with or interested in the welfare of that kingdom, was not very fatisfactory at least to the Irish. may juftly command the affections of all his fubjects, his inftructions to me are to co-operate with his parliament in every meafure, which can promote the improvement, infure the happiness, and cherish the true interests "of this kingdom. I decline making any profeffions relative to my future "conduct; it is by the tenor of my actions, that the character of my admi"niftration must be determined." When the commons addreffed to his excellency their thanks for his speech, they very fignificantly affured him, that they founded their hopes of his administration upon better omens, than thofe of mere affurances, and they were happy in having a chief governor, who chofe rather to reft his character upon his conduct than his profeffions. Certain it is, that when Lord Buckinghamfhire affumed the reigns of government, he found the country in a moft deplorable ftate of calamity and diftrefs.* In Dublin, numbers of wretched manufac * Stronger proofs cannot be adduced of national diftrefs than the petitions of certain bodies of men, who were fallen from opulence and profperity into the common calamity. Thus a petition was prefented to the Houfe of Commons, from the merchants and traders of Cork, fetting forth that about the month of November, 1770, an embargo was laid on all thips laden with provifions, and bound from that kingdom to foreign countries, which was ftill continued by government, and had been very strictly enforced: that in confequence of that long embargo, an extenfive beneficial trade, carried on for feveral years by that kingdom to France, Spain, Portugal, and Holland, for the supply of provifions, had been not only interrupted, but was in danger of being entirely loft; the petitioners being informed, that the merchants of thefe countries were respectively, flocked and provided from Ruffia, Sweden, Denmark, and Hamburgh, whereby the ufual returns to that kingdom were dif continued, new enemies to our commerce were raised, and our commodities rendered useless and unprofitable. That great quantities of falt beef, not fit for the ufe of government or the fugar colonies, being made up in that city, and alfo great quantities of beef and butter being annually brought to that market, these commodities of a perishable nature were there decaying for want of a free export, to the great injury of the proprietors in particular, and of the kingdom in general. That in fupport of these affertions, there then remained on hand, fince the preceding year, a very confiderable quantity of provifions, the property of several merchants in that city, not wanted by government, and therefore without opportunity of fale; and although a confiderable part of the season, in which those articles were made up and exported, had already elapfed, no demand whatsoever then existed for them, except for fuch quantities as were required by government alone. That his majesty's revenue, which before had received large and conftant fupplies from the Cuftoms of the city of Cork, had decreased in proportion to the decay of their trade. That the embargo, therefore, at that time not being warranted by any great fubftantial neceffity, but on the contrary, reftraining and preventing the diffusion of trade, was pregnant with the most ruinous confequences, not only to |