claration of rights, I should be ashamed of giving freedom to but fix hundred thousand of my countrymen, when I could extend it to two millions more."

Fortunately for the Catholics, Mr. Gardiner's bill was not made a government question, or otherwife it would probably have fallen before the fame majority, that had uniformly oppofed every conftitutional question, that had been brought before them fince the commencement of the American war. The nearer that fatal ministry drew to its diffolution, the more violent were its agonizing struggles against the patriotic efforts of Ireland to obtain a free and independent conftitution. Within the octave of the great civic feftival at Dungannon, Mr. Grattan, as the herald and oracle of his armed countrymen, once more addreffed the Houfe of Commons.* "After the ample difcuffion," faid he, " in this houfe of the prefent queftion of right on the 19th of April, 1780, and the universal reprobation of the affumption of the British parliament, to bind this kingdom, then received, I had been filent on that fubject, if that parliament had not fince that time continued its tyrannical and unconstitutional assumption, by enacting feveral laws to bind Ireland, which I have in my hand, as alfo a proclamation in the Irish Gazette, where the execution of a British ftatute is enforced: meafures that evidently fhew, that the British nation, fo far from relinquishing the claim of ufurped authority in this kingdom, have ftill the fame fpirit of making laws for us, which they keep alive by renewing their claim on every occafion. These fresh inftances of British ufurpation, added to that disgraceful and unrepealed act of the 6th of George I. which declares Ireland bound at all times by the legiflature of Great Britain, makes it neceffary at this time for the parliament of Ireland to come to an explanation concerning its privileges, and the injured rights of the nation. And what are the boafted relaxations Britain has granted to us? The firft was in 1778, as contemptible in principle as in effect; for after a bar of lawyers had been brought to plead against Ireland in the English Houfe of Commons, we are permitted to export every thing except our manufactures. Their favor was an infult and aggravation to our mifery. The minifter fends over to know the caufes of our diftreffes, and he is anfwered from his agents here, that it was done away, and that we were fatisfied by being permitted to cultivate tobacco. The fecond period.

* On the 22d of February, 1782. 1 Parl. Deb. p. 266.

was

was in 1779, when government abdicated the defence of Ireland, and Ireland appeared in arms; the minifter now changed his tone, he glanced a temporary gleam of hope upon our fhields; he gave us every thing, but kept the power of taking it back; he retained a mutiny bill and the poft-office act. The third period was a minifterial addrefs of thanks, evidently calculated to diffolve the union of the people; it had its effect in a paroxism of ease, and when it was known, that the ftrength of this houfe was diffolved, and that the glory of 1779 was no more, an order comes over to oppofe on every occafion the latent claims of Ireland; to oppofe an Irifh mutiny bill, to alter the fugar bill; and when Lord Hillsborough found you had loft all veneration for yourselves, he loft it for you likewife. The reprobated measure of a perpetual mutiny bill followed; but you have not done with it yet, you have stabbed your country, and the wound is feftering. Emboldened by your diffolution, English acts binding Ireland were paffed laft winter. Is the claim of the British parliament to legiflate for this kingdom given up, as I have heard fome gentlemen fay in this houfe? How futile and ridiculous now do thefe arguments appear, that declared the return of the Irish mutiny bill was a renunciation of legislation on the part of England. How futile and abfurd are all the arguments that teemed on that occafion from the government prefs? I am for tranquillity; it is for honorable tranquillity; but when I fee an adminiftration, unable to make a blow against an enemy, tyrannize over Ireland, I am bound to exert every power to oppofe it.

"Ireland is in ftrength; fhe has acquired that ftrength by the weakness of Britain, for Ireland was faved when America was loft: when England conquered, Ireland was coerced; when he was defeated, Ireland was relieved ; and when Charles-town was taken, the mutiny and fugar bills were altered. Have you not all of you, when you heard of a defeat, at the fame inftant, condoled with England, and congratulated Ireland?

"If England were for a moment awake to her own interefts, fhe would come forward, and invite us to her arms, by doing away every caufe of jealoufy. How, but by the ftricteft domeftic union, can Great Britain, with only eight millions of people, oppofe the dreadful combination of feven millions in Spain, with twenty-four millions in France, and two in Holland? Will the caft off three millions of brave and loyal fubjects in Ireland, at fo critical and eventual a time?

"An Irish army, the wonder of the world, has now exifted for three

years,

years, where every foldier is a freeman, determined to fhed the laft drop of blood to defend his country, to fupport the execution of its laws, and give vigour to its police. The enemy threaten an invasion, the Irish army comes forward, administration is ftruck dumb with wonder, their deputies in their military drefs go up to the Caftle, not as a fervile crowd of courtiers attending the lord lieutenant's levee, but as his protectors, while the cringing crowd of fycophants fwarm about the treasury, and, after having thrown away their arms, offer nothing but naked fervitude.

"You are now lofing the British conftitution, which by compact you were to poffefs; two councils, with more than parliamentary power; dependent judges, a mutiny bill loft, and governors like the Roman pro-confuls in diftant provinces are fent over to fleece you.

"A general election is shortly to take place; what will be your answer to thofe, who have fent you hither, when you refign your delegated truft, and they ask you, where are our rights? Where is our fugar bill? Where our mutiny bill?

"What will be the confequence of your not explaining your rights now? When a peace happens it will then be too late; your ifland will be drained of its people, the emigrants will fay, let us prefer freedom in America to flavery at home, and ceafe to be his majesty's subjects here, to become his equals there. Let us not therefore fuffer the fame men, whofe infamous arts were reprobated in America, to fucceed here." He then made his motion for an addrefs to his majesty,

"To affure his majefty, of their moft fincere and unfeigned attachment to "his majesty's perfon and government.

"To affure his majefty that the people of Ireland were a free people; that "the crown of Ireland was a diftinct kingdom, with a parliament of her own, "the fole legiflature thereof.

"To affure his majefty, that by their fundamental laws and franchifes, "which they on the part of this nation claimed and challenged as their birth-right, the fubjects of that kingdom could not be bound, affected, or obliged, by any legiflature, fave only the King, Lords, and Commons, of "that his majefty's realm of Ireland; nor was there any other body of men, "who had power or authority to make laws for the fame..

"To affure his majefty, that his majesty's fubjects of Ireland conceived, "that in that privilege was contained the very effence of their liberty, and

"that

"that they tendered it as they did their lives, and accordingly had with one "voice declared and protested against the interposition of any other parlia"ment in the legiflation of that country.

"To affure his majefty, that they had feen with concern, the parliament of "Great Britain advance a claim to make law for Ireland, and their anxiety "was kept alive, when they perceived the fame parliament ftill perfift in that claim, as might appear by recent British acts, which affected to bind Ire"land, but to which the fubjects of Ireland could pay no attention.

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"To affure his majesty, that next to their liberties, they valued their con"nexion with Great Britain, on which they conceived, at that time most particularly, the happinefs of both kingdoms did depend, and which, as it was "their moft fincere with, fo fhould it be their principal ftudy to cultivate and "render perpetual. That under that impreffion, they could not fuggeft any means, whereby fuch connexion could fo much be improved or ftrengthened, as by a renunciation of the claim of the British parliament, to make "law for Ireland, a claim ufelefs to England, cruel to Ireland, and without any foundation in law.

66

66

"That impreffed with an high fenfe of the unanimity and juftice of the "British character, and in the most entire reliance on his majefty's paternal

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care, they had fet forth their right and fentiments, and without prefcribing any mode to his majefty, throw themselves on his royal wisdom."

Mr. Brownlow feconded the motion, and faid, the people know their rights, and it is needlefs for government to pretend to oppofe what must at laft be obtained.

Mr. Huffey Burgh fpoke alfo in favour of the addrefs.

The Attorney General rofe to oppofe the addrefs: he obferved, that they were defired to addrefs the king, that he would interfere with his parliament of Britain, to renounce any claim of authority over Ireland. The time was most improperly chofen to agitate that queftion, and the object of the motion utterly impracticable. He faid, he did not mean to agitate the queftion of right; the act of the 6th of George the Firft was certainly of little ornament upon the Statute Book, and of ftill lefs ufe;, yet if it gave nothing to England, it certainly took away nothing from Ireland. The question anfwered itself. Were they to agree to the addrefs, and the British parliament fhould declare, that they never had any right to bind Ireland, in what a miferable fituation would that country be placed. He had looked over the pa

pers

pers of the forfeited estates, and found that there was scarcely a man in the house, that did not enjoy fome portion of them, nor a county in Ireland, of which they did not make a confiderable part. A worthy reprefentative of the county of Cavan holds a large property, formerly forfeited, and afterwards granted by an English law. Would he doubt the validity of his title? Many gentlemen, who heard him were in the fame fituation. Some days ago the obfervation of a learned friend of his (Mr. Fitzgibbon) electrified the houfe, when he told them, that they were about to disturb all property derived under the laws of forfeiture, &c. &c. What then must be their feelings, when defired to loose all the bands, which unite fociety, and leave almost the whole property of the kingdom to be grappled for by the defcendants of the ancient proprietors.

The honorable gentleman had faid, that now when Great Britain was hemmed in by enemies on every fide, when finking under a load of debt, and the repeated ftrokes of ill fortunes, no refiftance could be feared from her, when Ireland was in full vigour, expert in arms, and almoft certain of fuccefs-now was the proper time for demanding from Britain the relinquishment of what their ancestors had handed down from age to age; to make the British parliament eat up their words and humble themselves; to make them difclaim a power, which they had exercised for the benefit of Ireland, and to plunge the nation into an armed anarchy. If an ambaffador from France or Spain, or if the boldest agents for the rebels of America were at the bar to urge the houfe in language fuch as that, he fhould not be much furprifed; for it ill accorded with the loyal and liberal feelings of Irishmen, who fcorn to take advantage of an enemy in diftrefs, but always remember acts of friendship with gratitude; he was therefore against the addrefs, becaufe it would give the world an opportunity of faying Ireland had made demands on Great Britain, and was in arms to enforce them. He was against it, becaufe it was a challenge, though couched in terms of civility; becaufe it tended to anarchy and mifrule; becaufe the thing contended for could never gain ftrength but by ftruggle; and becaufe, if obtained, it would thake all the property in the nation. Upon thofe principles he thought it an honor to oppofe the addrefs in any way; but from refpect to the honorable mover, he would not give it a direct negative, but move to have it put off to the first of August; upon which motion the house divided, 137 for the attorney general's motion, and 65 against it.

As