in the appointment of a regent, in cafe that neceffity fhould recur, they brought forward a regency bill.*

On the 11th of February, the right honorable Mr. Fitzgerald moved the order of the day for going into a committee on the regency bill, when Lord Caftlereagh obferved, that on the fecond reading of the bill, he pledged himfelf not to offer any objection to it, provided it appeared adequate to the remedy it went to fupply. His lordship's opinion was, that it would not prove a remedy for the inconvenience complained of. It went, in his mind, only to

*The following is a copy of that bill:

"A Bill to provide for the Adminiftration of the Government of Ireland, whenfoever and as often as "the Government of Great Britain fhall be administered by a Regent or Regency. "FORASMUCH as this kingdom of Ireland is annexed and united to the imperial crown of "England, and by the laws and ftatutes of this kingdom is declared to be juftly and rightly depend"ing upon, and belonging, and for ever united to the same, and the kings and queens of England "are, by undoubted right, kings and queens of this realm, and ought to enjoy the ftate, title, majefty,

power, pre-eminence, jurifdiction, prerogative, and authority of kings and queens of the fame : "And whereas the exercife and administration of the regal powers of the imperial crown of "Great Britain may happen to be vested in, and committed to a regent or regency, or to fome perfon or perfons by fome other title, name, or description:

"And whereas the exercifes and adminiftration of the regal powers of the imperial crown of "Ireland fhould be vefted in, appertain to, and belonging to the perfon or perfons in whom the "administration of the regal powers of the imperial crown of Great Britain shall be vested, by "whatever title, name, or description, the exercise or adminiftration of the fame fhall be vested in "him or them.

"We, therefore, your majefty's most dutiful and loyal fubjects, the lords fpiritual and temporal, "and commons, in parliament affembled, determined to contribute every thing in our power to "the firm and lafting establishment of the connexion between Great Britain and Ireland, do most "humbly befeech your majefty, that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the king's most ex"cellent majefty, by and with the advice and confent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and

46

commons, in this present parliament affembled, and by the authority of the fame, that whenfoever and as often as the regal powers of the imperial crown of Great Britain fhall be exercised or "administered by a regent or regency, or by any perfon or perfons by any other title, name, or "description, that the regal power of this your majefty's realm of Ireland fhall be exercifed or ad"ministered by the fame perfon or persons, in whom the exercise and administration of the regal powers of the imperial crown of Great Britain shall be vested, by whatever name, title, or defcription, the fame shall be so vested in him or them.

"Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority aforefaid, that such person or perfons shall "exercise and adminifter the regal rights of the imperial crown of this realm, under the fame refrictions and limitations as fuch perfon or perfons shall be fubject to, in the exercise and admini"stration of the regal powers of the imperial crown of Great Britain, and not otherwise."

a part

a part of the evil; namely, the effect, but left the caufe of the evil untouched. Thus the great malady ftill remained, and the connexion between both countries would in no inftance be better fecured. Two parliaments perfectly equal in point of rights, might at any future period differ refpecting their choice of a regent, and therefore the bill could not effect that unity of the executive, which the measure propofed to establish.

Circumftanced as the countries were, the queftions of peace and war, of treaties with foreign powers, of different religions might, at fome future period, lead to a difference of decifion between both parliaments, and fuch occurrence would shake the connexion, and in confequence the empire, to its foundations.

If questions of comparative advantage between countries might arife, how could a regency bill operate as a remedy for the evil?

His lordship wished to be informed, how a bill, which went to establish the unity of the regal powers, could identify the neceffary powers of a regent for other countries: might not the particular circumstances of one country differ fo materially from the other, that the regency for both kingdoms could not conveniently be exercised by the fame perfon? Or did not the bill go to oblige the monarch to appoint one and the fame regent, which in fact went to restrict the legal authory? Thus either the regal powers were curtailed, or the regency bill was inefficient to remove the inconvenience it went to remedy. The regent was to all intents and purposes a deputy; and could a regent in that cafe appoint a lord lieutenant? Could a deputy appoint a deputy? He prefumed he could not:-and should a regent fend over a lord lieutenant to that country, he was fatisfied that the council could object to his authority.

His lordship read part of a speech of Mr. Fox's, to fhew, that the adjustment of 1782 was not confidered as a final one, that it went merely to quiet the political struggle which then exifted; and that it was indifpenfably neceffary to give up fomething for that imperial purpose.

His lordship concluded by faying, that the measure was inefficient to the purpose it held forth; calculated to blind the country, and difgrace the legiflature.

Right Honorable Mr. Fitzgerald declared, that it was only in a cafe of imperious conviction, that he was led to differ from the noble lord. His idea in introducing the bill, arofe from the arguments founded on the poffible emer

VOL. II.

F

gency

gency of the appointment of a regent; it being urged, that the parliaments of both countries were free to make different elections. He wifhed, as far as his limited abilities could, to fupply that deficiency, and confequently to remove the caufe of complaint. He had procured all the affistance poffible in framing the bill; and all the law-authorities he confulted, agreed with him in the opinion, that he had provided fully and completely for the deficiency complained of.

Mr. Fitzgerald concluded by moving an amendment to meet an objection of Lord Caftlereagh's, viz. after the word fhall, in the first claufe, by adding the words, "according to the laws and conftitution of Great Britain."

Mr. Fofter, for the first time, now delivered his fentiments at confiderable length. His firft aim was to demonftrate the finality of the fettlement of 1782. He cenfured Mr. Pitt's* speech, which he termed a paltry production, the mereft tissue of general affertion without proof, high-flowing language without meaning, and affumptions without argument.

One point, he obferved, was a new and incontrovertible ground of conftitutional permanence and finality-namely, that modification of Poynings' law which fecured the continuance of the connection between the kingdoms, by rendering the great feal of Britain neceffary for every Irish law, and making the British minifter refponfible to the British nation, if any bill tending to injure the empire, or to feparate Ireland from it, fhould receive the royal affent in the western realm. This regulation, he argued, was intended to fecure union and connection on a firm, lafting, and unalterable bafis. It gave to the British parliament, as Mr. Dundas had obferved, a control over the third eftate of the Irish parliament, but it was a control over the king's naked power of affent only; which gave to Great Britain an effectual pledge, that Ireland retained no power to do any act (i. e. without the concurrence of Great Britain) to weaken or impair the connection.

For his having recommended the commercial propofitions of 1785, he had been accufed of great inconfiftency. But he denied, that an atom of the conftitution would have been furrendered by the plan of 1785, but this new

* As various editions of that gentleman's speech had been circulated, he selected that to which government had given its fanction of authority, which had been printed by the king's printer under their direction, of which 10,000 copies had been circulated gratis by them at the public expence.

fyftem

fyftem would lead to its utter annihilation. The measure of 1782 was all conftitutional-that of 1785 all commercial.

The pretences for a legislative Union were ill fupported. The rifque of a difagreement on the fubject of peace or war, or with regard to foreign treaties, would not juftify the adoption of a meafure fo unconftitutional. The cafe of regency afforded the only apparent foundation of alarm; but the bill now under confideration would remove all apprehenfions on that head.

The arguments adduced for an Union of the two legiflatures were, he faid, equally applicable to the Union of the two houfes of either parliament. Thefe might difagree, and ought, by parity of reafoning, to be formed into one affembly. Where would then be our conftitution? It would yield to monarchical or republican defpotifm. The balancing principle composed the chief excellence of our conftitution; and why might not the two legiflatures, guarded by one head, perform national and imperial functions in a better and more efficacious manner than a combined parliament.

Mr. Fofter then took a very wide and minute review of the trade of Ireland, and declared his opinion, that it would not flourish more after an Union than under a refident parliament. It was already in a thriving ftate; it enjoyed all defirable freedom, and required only the care and attention of its natural pro

tectors.

On the fubject of religion he barely remarked, that an Irish parliament might adjust all points in which the Proteftants and Catholics differed, as judiciously and effectually as an imperial legislature.

He feverely cenfured that want of political wifdom, which had induced the English minifter to hold out Ireland to the enemy as the most vulnerable part of the empire, torn by internal factions, barbarous, weak, and contemptible. It was painful even to refer to the phrafes, by which he infulted the feelings of every Irithman. They knew them to be unfounded. Had they been true, it was the duty of a difcreet statesman to have concealed with reverence the failings and weakness of fo confiderable and important a part of the empire. He tells the enemy the danger and the remedy; the danger immediate-the

*The speaker imputed to the British minifter great infincerity in quoting his words in 1785, from Woodfall's Report, in having omitted the following pointed expreffion of his fentiment:"He should think himself indeed unworthy of a feat in that houfe, or of the name of Irishman, if " he could consent to barter an atom of the conftitution of his country for all the commerce in the "world."

remedy diftant and uncertain. He deftroys a conftitution which the Irish hold, as the dear facred palladium of their liberty, and would perfuade the world there would be more zeal in Ireland, when the conftitution fhould no longer remain, to animate its spirit and invigorate its exertions.

Another advantage mentioned by the advocates of the measure was ftill more ftrange, namely, that it would tranquillize Ireland. If a refident parliament, and refident gentry, could not foften the manners, and amend the habits, or promote social intercourse, would no parliament, and fewer refident gentry, do it? What was the great misfortune with respect to the tenantry of that kingdom? The middle-men, who intervene between the owner and the actual occupier, and these are mostly to be found on the estates of absentees. It had remained for Mr. Pitt to advance a new fyftem, that depriving a country of its native refident landlords, encouraging land-jobbers and landpirates, degrading the hospitality of the old manfion-houtes into the niggardly penury of agents dwellings, was become the approved modern mode of making happy and contented tenants, of forming good men and good fubjects.

That the adding to the bishop's duty of attending to his diocese the new and imperial duty of quitting the kingdom for eight months in the year, was the best way of making him acquainted with his clergy, and of enforcing attention to their parishioners.

That a parliament, unacquainted with the local circumstances of a kingdom, ever at too great a diftance to receive communication or information for adminiftering in time to the wants or wishes of the people, or to guard against exceffes or difcontent, was more capable of acting beneficially than the one, which, by being on the spot, and acquainted with the habits, prejudices, and dispositions of their fellow-subjects, best knew how to apply relief.

In adverting to the late treafon and rebellion, there they applied to fa&t. Could any parliament fitting in Great Britain have developed the fecret fyftem of conspiracy, animated the loyal, and fupported the executive, with the effect that very parliament had done? What would the ridiculous exhibition have been at that time, of an united parliament walking through St. James's park with their address, and yet what vigor and energy did the inftant proceffion of near two hundred members, with the mace, to the caftle, give to the loyal ardor of the country; it animated the loyal fpirit which crushed the rebellion before a fingle foldier could arrive from England, notwithstanding the uncommon exertions made there to expedite their failing.

The