confideration of the natural pro, grefs of a measure of this fort. What had gone from that houfe early in the feffion was to be confidered in the nature of the founda. tion of a treaty, a fketch on the part of the people of Ireland of the agreement they were willing to form. It was next requifite that Britain fhould confider what it was that she could concede; and fhould ftate thofe restraints and exceptions which the might regard as effential to her welfare. For himself, he could have wished that ftill more liberal terms of adjustment could have been confonant to the feelings and fuppofed interefts of both countries. His ideas and his hopes had gone to open ports, and a total dereliction of duties between the two kingdoms; but, as the different circumstances of each, and the different maturity of their trade rendered fuch an adjustment impracticable, it had been neceffary to look out for fomething near it. The difficulties and obstacles, that had fuggefted themselves in its progrefs, had been innumerable. Particular interests were naturally alarmed, and it had been neceffary to attend to them in fome inftances, not lefs to refist them in others. The conduct of the oppofition in both houfes of the British parliament had been artful, infidious, and indefatigable. They had fuggefted a variety of amendments hoftile to the constitutional and commercial rights of Ireland; and it had been their boat, that by their alterations and additions they had effected their grand purpofe of perplexing the bufinefs, and creating difcontents in Ireland, without allaying thofe of Great Britain. The manner, in which the minifter there had extricated himself from these embarraffiments, did him the highest

honour; the inftances in which he had refifted the demands of impor tunate complaint grea ly outnumbered thofe in which he had yield ed. He had been actuated by the moft liberal principles, and had u niformly ftood up as the advocate and reconciler of both kingdoms.

Mr. Orde averred with the ut molt confidence, that the amendments that had been made to the propofitions in England, though calculated to gratify the cautious and circumfpect fpirit of her revenue laws, did not in reality interfere with the profperity of Ireland. Notwithstanding all the modifications and alterations that had been adopted, the system was still as advanta geous to that country as it had ever been. The natural fituation of Great Britain and Ireland in commercial affairs, was a fituation of rivalfhip; but it was their mutual intereft not to continue rivals. They could not long remain as they were, and foreign nations only could rejoice at the defeat of the meafure. Mr. Orde added, that after bringing in the bill, and print ing it, it was his intention to pause, in order to learn the fentiments of the country refpecting it. original outline had been only the overture of a treaty, and there had been no impropriety in coming to a decifion upon it at once. But in the prefent stage he wished to follow the example of mature deli beration that had been given them by the English parliament. It was his defire, that the house should decide upon the best information they could procure. Let them hear every perfon who wished to be heard: let them receive every pe tition that could be brought; and let them listen to all the evidence that could be offered.

The fpeech of Mr. Mafon, who B 2 stood

flood forward in defence of the fyftem,, was particularly directed to the vindication of the fourth propofition. He fhould not have been furprised, if the commercial regulations of the bill were found to occafion a great diverfity of opinion. If in a treaty of this nature every article were in favour of one of the parties, there would be an end of that equality, which must neceffarily be the bafis of a permanent agreement. It was therefore natural that fome of the provifions, when confidered fingly, and not as compofing part of a fyftem, fhould appear exceptionable. But that men on this occafion fhould have talked of peril to the conftitution, was an objection equally fraught with abfurdity and mifchief. It was to fpread a falfe alarm through all parts of the kingdom, to irritate the public without just caufe against the British parliament, and to perfuade the people, that the independence of their country was in danger at the very moment when it was most secure; at the very moment, that all the branches of the legiflature in both kingdoms were vying with each other, which of them fhould affert the independence of Ireland in the ftrongest terms; when the minister of Ireland had moved for a bill by the claufes of which, this point was exprefsly declared; when the minister of Great Britain had actually prefented fuch a bill in that country; and when both houfes of the British parliament had concurred in prefenting an addrefs to the throne, declaring that the parliament of Ireland alone was competent to make laws to bind that kingdom in any cafe whatever. Mr. Mafon went farther in afferting the unimpeachable integrity of the fyftem in this point. He affirmed, that the contested ftipulation re.

quired by Great Britain was the ftrongest acknowledgment of the independence of Ireland. Why had the departed upon that occafion from her established practice, of regulating the commerce of every part of the empire by her own parliament only? Why had the then relinquifhed a power, which fhe had exercifed without controul for one hundred and twenty years? Because the acknowledged the in. dependence of Ireland; because fhe well knew that no act of her parliament would be confidered as valid by the people of Ireland, if it were not confirmed by the Irish legiflature.

Mr. Mafon was of opinion, that, if there were any one claufe more abfolutely neceffary than the rest, it was the very claufe which had been fo loudly and mistakenly reprobated. He contrafted the fpirit of the advocates of liberty in the prefent inftance, with that which they had manifefted when Mr. Yelverton's bill for adopting all fuch. commercial laws of Great Britain, as conferred equal benefits and impofed equal burthens on the fubjects of both kingdoms, was received with fo general applaufe. The fpirit of both meafures was the fame. But he contended that the bill of 1780 was the more offenfive ftipulation of the two, fince by it they adopted the duties as well as the regulations of Great Britain. If ever a country was to be jealous of the interference of a foreign legiflature, fhe ought furely to be most fo in matters that related to the impofition of taxes. No man, he faid, could be fo ignorant, as to imagine they were required to pafs a law, rendering it compulfory on future parliaments to regifter the commercial cdicts of Great Britain. Common feufe was fufficient to fhow

that

infult to Ireland; it ftruck at the independence of her legiflature. This was the first inftance in which Ireland had ever treated; and it was a new idea to Mr. Fitzgibbon, that England, by opening and car rying on a treaty with her as an independent ftate, infulted her pride, and undermined her independence. He took great advantage in arguing upon this point of a definition of free trade, as given by Mr, Flood in December 1779. "It was a trade to the whole world, fubject to the restraints of their own legiflature and that of the country with which they traded. This was a principle clear as the fun which Thone on their reviving empire, and wide as the univerfe." No truth, faid Mr. Fitzgibbon, could be more unqueflionable than that which had been thus delivered by Mr. Flood. An arrangement of trade could not be agreed upon between two nations, unless they fettled at the fame time principles of mutual reftriction; and, if the Irish nation would never condefcend to promife compliance with any condition of a treaty, the Irish nation must deter mine never to make any commercial treaty, or any treaty what

ever.

Mr. Fitzgibbon treated the objection, as originating in the arts of the oppofition in the British parliament. He could not by any means confent to regard them as the friends of Ireland. It was a first principle with them not to make to her any conceffions. In the prefent bufinefs, they had in the first inftance echoed the clamours and the prejudices of the manufacturers of Great Britain. But, having failed in their profpect of damning the meafure in England, they had in ftantly changed their ground, and applied themselves to inflame the

pride and excite the indignation of that country. Mr. Fitzgibbon had been informed, that they had indulged their merriment, he hoped fomewhat prematurely, at the expence of a few individuals whom they fuppofed to have fwallowed the bait, and at the expence of the kingdom of Ireland. That coun try would become the laughingflock of every nation in Europe, if he were made the dupe of fo palpable and fhallow an artifice, Mr. Fitzgibbon concluded with remarking, that, whatever might have been intimated at different times concerning the poffibility of Ireland ftanding alone, he was intimately convinced, that, fituated as he was in the neighbourhood of powerful popifh countries, with a great majority of her people of the popish religion, fhe could not exist one hour as a proteftant ftate, if the protection of England were withdrawn.

The perfon, who on this day first rofe in oppofition to the fyftem, was Mr. Conolly, who declared against it in the most explicit terms. The houfe would remember that when the obtaining a free conftitution was the matter in queftion, he had ftood in the breach and oppofed the measure. The reafon he had done fo was, that he thought the fituation of Ireland, in refpect to cir, culation and capital, by no means fufficient to put her in competition with the fifter kingdom, or enable her to embark on a feparate bot tom. But the queftion was now entirely altered. That houfe had afferted the conftitution; it had been recognized and admitted on all hands; and he was perfuaded that no member of that houfe, not the houfe itself had a right to recede from or relinquish the independ ence they had obtained,

Sir Henry Cavendish had attended with great anxiety to the opening of the bufinefs, and had liften. ed to Mr. Orde with an earnest wish to coincide with him if he poffibly could. He was aware of, and he lamented the unpleafant fituation into which this bufinefs had plunged adminiftration, an adminiftration he had always fupported, because he believed that they had abilities equal to their fituation, and honefly equal to any thing. The motion for leave to bring in a bill was reckoned very strong ground, and was an excellent motion for quieting the parliamentary confciences of members. It however became them to confider whether the bill contained any thing derogatory to the legislative rights of Ireland. Upon this question he differed from Mr. Orde, and he fhould therefore vote against giving him leave to bring in the bill, which he thought the most fair and manly way of proceeding, rather than paying him the empty compliment of fuffering the bill to be introduced, and then voting against its paffing through the house.

himself he had always been an enemy to improper applications from the people, and the spirit of uurpation upon the authority of that houfe. If he could extend his voice from one end of the kingom to the other, he would recommend patience and peace; but he would recommend, if the bill fhould pafs, unintermitted applica tions to parliament and the throne for its repeal. If parliament fhould not listen to fuch applications, a queftion would then come before the public of a ferious nature in deed. He fhould lament the neceffity of entering upon the confider. ation of the origin of government, of the compact upon which focieties were formed, by which the people gave up a part of their liberty for the protection of the remainder.

Sir Henry Cavendish would fay nothing to the commercial part of the bill. Many of the regulations appeared to be beneficial for Ireland; and very poffibly they might never have a better offer as to commerce. But what was commerce without liberty to enjoy it? He could not readily fuppofe that the house would pafs the bill. If they did, he would affert, that they would betray the truft reposed in them by their country, and render themselves odious to every honest man in the kingdom. It required no fkill, no abilities to roufe the people against this measure. They were already roufed, the difficulty would be to appease them. For

Mr. Burgh, member for Harristown in the county of Kildare, diftinguished himself by the fpeech he delivered upon this occasion. He argued against the admiffion of the principle of the fourth propofition, by obferving that he was called upon by that principlé to trust the defence of the Irith conftitution to the parliament of Great Britain. "Did not that parlia ment," it was asked, “declare that they never would infringe the conftitution of Ireland?" But before he trusted them, he must confider how far the parliament of Great Britain had been hitherto to be relied on with regard to their commerce. He muit recollect what had been the fruits of the former profeffions and declarations. In the year 1698, the balance in favour of Ireland on account of the flourishing state of her woollen manufacture was 420,000l. The parliament of England, defirous to deprive her of this trade, addreffed the king, "to declare to his fubjects