tenant, who now has his landlord on the spot, witnefs to his loffes, and willing to relieve him; would it ferve him, think you, to send a griping Steward to his farm, and have his last guinea evifcerated from him, to be changed, perhaps, that hour into an English Bill; not here to be bestowed in the relief of want, encouragement of arts, or even the confumption of luxuries; but, there to be eaten at a feaft, drank with a mistress, or loft upon a die!!!

Sir, this is, believe me, no highly coloured picture of the effects to be expected from an Union: ONE AND INDIVISIBLE.

In the following paragraphs of your work, you represent the confequences which you fay must result from the free admiffion of the Catholics to complete political equality, and which you state to be, Repeal of the Teft and Supremacy Acts-Re-introduction of the Pope's Jurifdiction, &c. &c.: furely I fhall not be expected to stop to debate fuch improbable events. I incline to think the prime caufe neceffary to their production, will never have existence. Let us not waste time upon poffible matters, or lofe fight, even for a moment of the grand queftion, UNION Or

NO UNION! Would to God, we could class that attempt amongst REMOTE Contingencies!

But to come, at length, to compleat argumentative precision :

In page 26 of your book, Sir, you regularly reduce and condenfe " the natural effects of a favourable legislative Union," into heads; and you dress these heads very much in the form of axioms, "Firft, fecondly, thirdly, fourthly," I fhall difcufs ~them EVERY ONE: and before I begin, fhall just make one general obfervation; namely, that by the expreffion "favourable legislative Union," you are "BEGGING THE QUESTION.” What right have we to pre-fuppofe England would perfevere in cramming "a favourable Union" down our throats; and infift on loading Ireland, her dear Sifter, "nolens, volens," with Privileges, Rights, Exemptions, Immunities, and Advantages of all kinds; which, if not taken and fubtracted from her proper SELF, muft drop from the moon? Will fhe fay to Ireland, « Take HALF my trade, but I will keep ALL my taxes." Thus was the "monftrous kind," when fhe ALLURED us to a

SIMPLE REPEAL, then WHEEDLED us to take her abfolute RENUNCIATION; and at laft COAXED us to accept of a FREE TRADE. Trust me, I should be fincerely forry, cautious, and fufpicious, were I now to fee her COMPLIMENTING us with your favourable Union." If ever England, by her engines, by her arts, or by her arms, shall be able to tempt, to befot, or to provoke us to this SELFDESTRUCTION of the vital principle of our POLITICAL EXISTENCE, if ever the fhall be able to force, or to perfuade us to commit upon ourselves, this great CONSTITUTIONAL SUICIDE, the only pofthumous favour we can hope from the judgment of posterity, will be,their tearful verdict-NATIONAL LUNACY!

But let me not wander from my original: you lay it down as granted, that "the natural effects," which would refult from your « favourable Union," must be thefe:

First, "The Empire would have but one legiflature, one organ of the public will, and the dangers which arise from an imperium in imperio, from two supreme powers, would be avoided." Conftitutionally fpeaking, I hold the Lords and Commons of Ire

land to be but parts of an « imperium," and no "Supreme power," without the King: their Acts are powerless without the King. The King of England is ipfo facto," King of Ireland; and until it is fhewn to me, that the King of Ireland is fubordinate to, controulable by, or dependant upon the King of England, I cannot bring myself to think, that the legislature of Ireland, as at prefent established, is a « Supreme power," included in, fubordinate to, controulable by, and dependent upon any other "Supreme power" under Heaven.

At the time I fat down to answer your arguments, it was most devoutly my intention, not to defift, until I should have traced you, Sir, through all the paradoxes of your ingenious work, even to the last tittle of your laft page; but, on throwing my eye over the fcattered fheets, which already lie written on my table, and confidering I have not yet got farther on my journey, than to your 26th page, I am apprehensive I should exceed, in point of bulk, the limits usually prescribed to pamphlets of this nature for the prefent, therefore, I am constrained, indeed reluctantly, to take my leave. What I have yet further to obferve upon the fubject, fhall make the matter of a second letter; and

as

as my heart is in the cause, you may conjecture that I fhall not long continue, Sir, in your debt. In a very few days you fhall hear from me again; and, if in what I have hitherto written, an expreffion, or a word have efcaped me, to give you perfonal pain or offence, I beg you to believe it very far from my intention.