the utmost importance to the nation, had too long remained undecided, our freedom of trade with Portugal, where goods of Irish manufacture had been ftopped, and were not permitted to be fold:.

Mr. Eden arose, and agreed with Sir Lucius, that a great deal of time had been spent about this very embarraffing business; but affured the house, that the utmost exertions had been ufed both on this and the other fide of the water, to bring it to a happy determination..

Mr. Yelverton thought there had been fome defign in the fpeech, to lead their imaginations away from this important object; it had, indeed, talked of Proteftant charter fchools, making of roads, digging of canals, and carrying of corn; and contained half a dozen lines that might be found in every fpeech for fifty years paft; fubjects more proper for the enquiry of a county grand jury, than for the great inqueft of the nation;. but not one word of our trade to Portugal; that had been defignedly omitted.

On the fubfequent day, after fome converfation upon the proper time for adjourning, and a strong recommendation from the fpeaker to bring in the money bills before the clofe of the feffion; Mr. Yelverton declared, that he was determined to profit by the excellent advice the fpeaker had given the house. He gave notice, that immediately after the recefs, he would move the houfe for leave to bring in heads of a bill to regulate the tranfmiffion of bills from that kingdom to England. At the present, their conftitution was the constitution of England inverted. Bills originated with the British minister, and with that house it only remained to regifter, or reject them. Such was the miferable state of Ireland, and in that ftate it would remain, as long as a monfter, unknown to the conftitution, a British attorney-general, through the influence of a law of Poyning's, had power to alter their bills. So generally had this been admitted by every member of the house, that laft feffion, when he moved for a modification of Poyning's law, gentlemen urged, that though that power lay in the hands of the English attorney-general, yet it was never exercised to any bad purpose; but the declaration was fcarcely made, when an altered fugar bill annihilated our trade to the Weft-Indies: annihilated might be thought too strong an expreffion, but it surely injured it in a very high degree.

After a recefs of three weeks, the houfe met on Monday, October 29th, pursuant to adjournment, when the recorder prefented a petition from the guild of merchants, ftating, that the great advantages, which that nation was

promised

promised by a freedom of trade to all the world, were likely to prove merely imaginary, as from the prefent almoft univerfal war, our commerce was confined to very few nations, and amongst them, the kingdom of Portugal, from which the greatest hopes had been formed, had refused to receive our manufactures, quantities of which were now actually detained in the custom-house of Lisbon; and praying the houfe to interfere for redress.

The subject, he said, was nice, and not fo proper for the deliberation of a popular affembly, as for the minifterial intervention, which was going forward. He wished, therefore, that the fubject might be poftponed; and though he were not difpofed to pledge himself for a specific meafure, or unforeseen circumstances, he would readily promife, at the proper period, to take the lead in the mode, which might beft vindicate the juft expectations of Ireland, if thofe expectations fhould be difappointed.

Sir Lucius rofe again. From what Mr. Eden had laft faid, he understood, that if Portugal did not grant the redress demanded, it was intended to lay a further duty on her wines; this he did not think was a mode proper to be adopted; it was for ever cutting off their trade to that kingdom, and increafing taxes upon the fubject. But he thought that granting the fupplies for fix months only, would be the most likely method of bringing the business to a happy iffue. He was forry to fee the business conducted in a timid manner, and in the hands of perfons not interested in their welfare, but with a secondary view, who, at most, would only promote it when it did not clash with the convenience of a neighbouring nation. They even doubted whether they were acquainted with the foundation of their right to trade with Portugal. They erred, if they fuppofed it rested on the treaty between England and that kingdom in 1703; he therefore thought parliament should enter into an immediate investigation of the subject; that if the minifter intended to give a strenuous fupport, he might find himself backed with the whole weight of the Irish nation; but if not, every man would see what was intended, by throwing difficulties in the way of the enquiry, and damping it with cold delay. Mr. Eden appealed to the house, whether he had appeared to throw any difficulty in the way of this important bufinefs. With regard to what had been intimated respecting a noble earl, it was a fuggeftion utterly unmerited, that noble earl being a true and steady friend to Ireland, having fhewn himself peculiarly fo upon the prefent occafion, and being in every in

ftance

ftance incapable of making a distinction between the interefts of his majesty's kingdoms.

The activity of the Caftle to enfure a majority in parliament, kept pace with the increase of patriotism out of it. But this fyftem in the new ferment of the public mind, became daily less efficient, and was ill fuited to the existing difpofition of the country. The people had arms, had power and a determination to be free: they knew the use of their arms, and had imbibed a uniform and steady refolve not to quit them, till they had attained the object of their wifhes, a free and independent conftitution. It was obvious, that a parliament marfhalled as that was, to refift the demands of the people, might irritate, but could not control the wishes of their conftituents. Administration confiding in their number, fet all the patriotic attempts at defiance, and fruftrated or negatived all their demands and claims. Had they fo far temporized, as to have made fome conceffions, though they had refifted others with a good grace, they would have divided, and thereby destroyed the power of the people. The contrary conduct pitted this factitious majority of the senate against the mafs of their armed countryman, who now beheld them with indignation, and confidered them in fact the only enemy they had to encounter in Ireland.

In parliament there appeared but little cordiality between the leaders of the patriotic party, and Mr. Eden, the fecretary, who fpoke for, and headed the court party. Mr. Eden was a man of information and talent, and conducted the business of parliament in a manner widely different from his predeceffor in that office. Yet fuch a general prejudice against every thing British at that time pervaded every rank throughout the kingdom, that fcarcely a debate occurred, in which fome perfonal reflections were not made on the lord-lieutenant and his fecretary's partiality and bias for England. During the whole of Lord Carlisle's adminiftration, the numbers of the two parties in the House of Commons continued nearly, as they had been left by his predeceffor. Some of the leading men of each party had thifted fides. It has been the melancholy and degrading fate of Ireland, that although there have always been a ftandard of patriotifin erected in their Houfe of Commons, few indeed have been thofe, who have rallied round it from a pure and difinterested love of their country; ftill fewer, who have perfevered in their patriotifin through their political career of life. Early in the prefent feffion,* Mr. Flood declared,

Viz. on the ft of Nov. 1781-1 Parl. Debates, p. 30.

that

that when he had quitted the house last feffion, he had left them the most dignified and virtuous affembly on earth: he expected now to find them fuch. And he faid, that the fate of the nation depended on the motion then before the house (for going into the confideration of the Portugal trade): that they should not truft to any minifter, that countenanced a perpetual mutiny bill: and that they would be execrated by pofterity, if they abandoned that motion.* On the other hand, we find Mr. George Ponfonby declaring, that now he saw the minifter acting obviously for the honor and intereft of Ireland, he thought it his duty to fupport him, and he would ever affift him while he acted upon the fame principle. He faid, he thought this was the time, that all gentlemen of rank and property in the country, fhould fupport government: it was to men of that description that administration applied, and by them he trufted they would be fupported.†

The debate, which brought forth Mr. Flood in oppofition to the minifter, Awas on the fupplies, and it involved the queftion upon the state of the nation.‡

It

* Which was negatived by a majority of 117 against 44. 1 Parl. Debates, p. 30.

† Sir Frederick Flood severely reprehended the honorable gentleman, for declaring that he would fupport a ministry, that could be so base, so infamous, fo corrupt, as to take away gentlemen's employments, merely because they acted according to the dictates of their confciences. Mr. George. Ponfonby had admitted, that nothing but public fpirit could induce him to rifk the lofs of one of the beft appointments government could beftow. 1 Parl. Debates, p. 41.

Dr. Campbell, who was present at the debate, gives this account of it. P. 458 Phil. Surv.The fame author favours us with the following obfervations upon fome of the speakers in that debate:-Mr. H. Hutcheson has a mellifluous voice, and pleafing elocution. His exordium gave me hopes of great matters; but his oratory is of that wordy, oftentatious kind, which muft fometimes disappoint your expectations. He is here called Prancer, from fome fimilitude they find in him to a horfe in the manege, curvetting at the height of his mettle, without making any progrefs forward.

Mr. Scott, the folicitor-general, is one of the moft powerful fupporters of government. He does not affect making long speeches, though one of the ableft advocates of the bar; his talent lies in promptitude of reply, in dilution of objections, and in turning the arguments of his adverfaries against themselves.

Mr. Huffey is a fine speaker; his expreffion is clear; his language flowing; his action graceful; and his manner perfuafive. Mr. Yelverton is vehement and forcible. But the greatest pleasure I received, was from a very young man, a Mr. Denis Daly, whofe fentiments were fuch as became a country gentleman, and whose manner was vaftly engaging. He was clear, he was manly, he was copious. His invective against the fecretary was fo keen, and fo poignant, that Demofthenes, at his

age,

It was amazing, how differently that state was represented by the different parties. On one fide of the house, it was holden forth as the most flourishing of any country under heaven, and that nothing was wanting to make the people the most happy in the universe, but a contented refignation to the prefent measures of administration: on the other fide, you might have heard it reprefented as the moft injured nation on the earth, defpifed as an alien, infulted by penfions, oppreffed by taxes, and fettered in commerce. Mr. Ogle painted the miseries of the common people in a most affecting manner.

Mr. Flood fpoke, for the first time, on the oppofite fide of the question; but he confined himself to calculation, and affected rather to demonstrate than perfuade. But there was no fpark of that flame remaining, wherewith he is faid heretofore to have fet the galleries in a blaze. It would, to be sure, have been extremely embarraffing for him, to have played the orator in behalf of measures, which, for a feries of years, he had employed every art of rhetoric to ftamp with infamy.

It was in this debate, that Mr. George Ponfonby faid, that he rejoiced to fee the right honorable gentleman, after an eclipfe of feven years, burft forth into fuch a blaze of eloquence; to which Mr. Flood, in rifing to anfwer what the attorney-general had faid concerning the profperous state of the kingdom, thus replied: an honorable gentleman (Mr. Ponfonby) fays, I am emerged from a feven years eclipfe; it is true I fupported Lord Harcourt's administration; but was I eclipfed, when, on feveral occafions, I went not with them, and gave my reasons for fo doing? I alfo fupported the last administration; but on that great day when a free trade was demanded, was I eclipfed? When a declaration of rights was the fubject of debate in this houfe, did I fhrink from the question?

Probably, as the gentleman fays, minifterial refentment may deprive me of the place I hold, for I am not near enough to my royal mafter to take shelter in his virtues. Gentlemen speak of the profperity of this kingdom from our free trade, as an inftantaneous operation; but the growth of a nation, like the

age, would not have been ashamed of it. He lifted up his voice, he said, in behalf of his oppreffed country, which he had just heard represented in such an opulent condition. I, who had fo recently feen the scenes he fo pathetically bewailed, could not help going along with him in every thing he faid, that was not perfonal. Yet, what was advanced by the friends of adminiftration, was, in fome degree, true; the kingdom being certainly, upon the whole, in a progreffive ftate of improvement. What muft it then have been, if tings are fo much mended?