I AM a AM a free-born Irishman, and an independent man. I am attached to my native land beyond any other spot on the earth. I am ready to facrifice my life for its interefts, and to fpend the little property I poffefs in fecuring its happiness. I therefore feel myself warranted to call upon all true Irishmen, to lend, at least, a patient attention to what I have to propofe to them. I think for myself, and write as I think; I wish them to read and to judge for thems felves. It is agreed on all hands that our affairs are in a most desperate state; our difficulties and diftreffes multiply from day to day. War has been long afflicting us from abroad; heart-burnings, and difcontents, and infurrections, from within. Numbers of our countrymen have perished by fea and land. The fword has cut off its hundreds, and disease its thousands; millions, and millions of money are daily expending; trade and manufactures languifh; B languish; public credit was never more deeply fhaken than we have lately feen it; Government fecurities never at a lower ebb; our national debt encreases, and we begin to feel, what our patriots have often talked to us of, the preffure of taxes. Our very tars, among whom it was our pride to count fo many Irifhmen, fuffered themselves to be deluded for a moment, and made our hearts ake. Some would even make us call in doubt the fidelity of our national troops, and labour to excite our fears, where we ought chiefly to place our reliance. Religious afperities, after a fleep of one hundred years, are once more awakened, and made inftruments of ambition and defign to divide and inflame us against each other, and to renew the miferies which they have fo often entailed upon this country. The wicked and the feditious and the de. luded provoke, and the law punishes; and between the horrid exceffes of the one, and the neceffary rigour of the other, a great part of the kingdom is filled with fire and blood. The war, of which hitherto we have only felt the distant effects, appears now to be approaching to our doors, and to the feats of our family comforts and enjoyments. The French bully, and vapour and threaten, and their emiffaries and fupporters, who no longer conceal themselves, repeat their threats, and exaggerate their power, and are a thoufand times more virulent, and vindictive, and fanguinary than even our ancient and natural enemies-all is alarm, and terror, and difmay, and defpondency. We It is indeed true, that we are not without fomething to put to the other fide of the account. have had many fignal fucceffes in the courfe of the war-we have taken many fine iflands and colonies from our enemies-we have never feen their fleets without beating them-we have taken the round of them, and all in their turns have vanifhed before the fuperior skill and conduct of our Admirals, and the bravery of our feamen; and, what never could have been faid on any other occafion, scarce a fhip of war of ours has been taken, and not one foot of British land has been loft in any part of the world. It must alfo be allowed, that our enemies are ftill in a worfe ftate than we are. There is not under the fun, there never has been under the fun, a more wretched people than the French: their King, their Queen, many of the royal blood; the best of their nobility, of their Clergy, of their gentry, of their wealthy and respectable merchants, and even of their honeft mechanics, and farmers, and labourers have fhed their blood on the fcaffold, or been shot, stabbed, drowned, or poifoned. Numbers of all these descriptions have fled to other countries, deftitute and helplefs, and of thofe who remain, a great part have been plundered of their property, and deprived of all the comforts and conveniencies of life. Religion, law, order and good government are at an end among them. Even they who fubmit to the prefen rulers, and fwear allegiance to the present power, cannot hope, for a day, to be fafe from the general oppreffion: if they escape either death death or banishment, they are ftill liable to be plan dered and pillaged on every wanton pretext, and to be facrificed to the neceffitiés of the army, of which their ufurpers are afraid, and which must be fed and paid at all events, let who will fuffer and be reduced to mifery. In Spain the cafe is not much better. Being divided into two parties, one betrayed the other to the French, who compelled them to make war against us, though contrary to their known interefts, and the confequence is, that they have been beat moft dreadfully; that their dear friends and good allies are become their tyrants, and treat them with fuch haughtinefs and infolence, that, if they dared, they would cut the throats of every French man in their country. The Dutch are ftill worfe off; their trade is de ftroyed; their colonies are in our hands; the French have drained them of their money, their goods, and almost every thing they had; they have an army in the midst of them, and in all their frong towns, dragooning them into all their meafures, banishing, imprisoning, and pillaging even those who were at firft the moft forward and active in giving up the country to them, and forcing them to fit out fhips to fight against us, when (although they think themselves obliged to behave like men, let who, will be their opponents) they are much more inclined to fight for us. But what are we the better for all this? In fpite of the dreadful things that have happened to our enemies, in spite of all the |