the fource of her commercial opulence, and the basis of her maritime strength. It had been infinuated, that they could trade to more advantage with the colonies of foreign states. But what foreign states would allow them to trade with their colonies? Who was to protect them if foreign ftates refused to do them justice? or who was to affert their rights, supposing them to be violated? When an arrangement so advantageous was offered to Ireland, for what reason was it that the hefitated and demurred? Because she is told that the treaty struck at the independence of her legiflature. But it is as an independent power that Ireland has negotiated. It is as to an independent power that the overtures of Britain are made. An arrangement of trade could not be agreed upon between two nations, unless they fettled at the same time principles of mutual restriction; and if the Irish nation would never condescend to promise compliance with any condition of a treaty, the must determine never to make any commercial treaty, or any treaty whatever." Mr. Fitzgibbon concluded a most able speech, by remarking, "that whatever might have been intimated concerning the possibility of Ireland standing alone, he was convinced, that, situated as she was in the neighbourhood of powerful popish countries, with a great majority of her people of the popish religion, she could not exist one hour as a protestant state if the protection of England were withdrawn." After a vehement debate, in which both parties exerted their utmost ability and eloquence, the house divided at nine in the morning upon the motion of Mr. Orde for leave to bring in the bill, ayes 127, noes 108. Such a division in the first stage of the business was equivalent to a defeat: and on the Monday following, Mr. Orde moved the first reading of the bill and the printing it; declaring, that he did not intend to make any further progress in the business during the present seffion. He had completed his duty respecting it. If it were revived, it must be by a motion from the public, lic, who at the commencement of the ensuing session might take such further steps as they thought proper.

In order to preclude a motion of censure framed by Mr. Flood, the fecretary then moved an adjournment; and Mr. Flood consenting, not without difficulty, to wave his motion, the adjournment was carried without a divifion. Public illuminations testified the joy excited by the fudden termination of this extraordinary business; and from this period, no effort has been made in either kingdom to revive in any shape this important and interesting discussion.

Upon the whole, though it might perhaps justly be regarded as too daring an experiment, the probability is, that a commercial treaty founded on the basis of the original propositions would have proved very beneficial in practice. The prodigious inferiority of skill, of credit, and of capital, must have effectually prevented Ireland from becoming formidable as a competitor to England; and in proportion as Ireland advanced in opulence, her artificial wants would have increased, and confequently her consumption of British manufactures and commodities.

Notwithstanding the great alarm excited when the first commercial conceffions were made to Ireland, no detriment was in fact sustained by Great Britain: on the contrary, the trade to England continued rapidly to increase, even in regard to those very articles which Ireland was allowed to import from the place of their growth and produce. From the year 1781 to the year 1784 Muscovado fugars imported from the West Indies rose from 7,384 cwt. to 27,492 cwt.; and in the fame term fugars imported from Britain rose from 130,056 to 160,083 cwt. Another remarkable fact is, that the linen manufacture both in England and Scotland has flourished with conftant and regular acceleration, notwithstanding the unlimited competition of the Irish nation. According to a seven years average ending A. D. 1755, not more than 576,373 yards were exported from England; and in the year 1771 the export export amounted to no less than 4,411,040 yards. Why then might not a similar competition be as fafely and advantageoufly established in other branches of commerce ? These arithmetical statements shew to a demonftration the extreme weakness and futility of those fears and apprehenfions which are so apt to agitate the mercantile world at the flightest breath of innovation, and their total incompetency to deduce, from a comprehensive and impartial furvey of the whole system, just and accurate conclufions. Confidering, nevertheless, the narrow limits of the highest human sagacity, it must be acknowledged that prudence would have dictated a temporary duration to this commercial arrangement, in order to bring the utility of it to the infallible touchstone of experience. As to the fourth propofition of the English series, which was the immediate cause of the positive and peremptory rejection of the whole, it might in all probability have been very fafely dispensed with, as there is no reason to doubt but that Ireland would have spontaneously adopted with good-faith and good-will any regulations necessary to enforce a treaty which she found upon the whole conducive to her profperity.

The parliament of Great Britain, after a tranquil interval of a few months, met on the 24th of January, 1786. In the speech from the throne the king declared to the house of commons his earnest wish to enforce economy in every department; recommending to them the maintenance of our naval strength on the most respectable footing; and above all the establishment of a FIXED PLAN for the reduction of the NATIONAL DEBT. Nothing remarkable passed until about the middle of February, when the estimate of the ordnance was brought up in the committee of fupply. Upon this occafion Mr. Pitt called the attention of the house to the plan laid before them in the course of the last session, under the sanction of the duke of Richmond, master general of the ordnance, for FORTIFYING the DOCKYARDS of the kingdom; the propriety of which VOL. II.

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it was then agreed to refer to a board of land and fea officers, whose report Mr. Pitt stated to be in the highest degree favorable to the plan of fortification fubmitted to their decision; but the report itself he declined as a matter of too serious and delicate a nature to lay before the house.

The discontent and surprise manifested when the quef tion was last year under difcuffion, now rose into greať warmth of indignation and resentment. " If the report or the essentials it contained were not to be in some mode fubject to the inspection of the house, they were, it was affirmed, in exactly the same situation in which they hadď stood before the board was appointed. They must decide, not upon their own judgments, but in deference to the authority of others. But the house of commons were not justified in voting away the money of their constituents upon the grounds of paffive complaisance and courtly fubmiffion. The expence attending this novel system would be enormous, and it was their duty before they adopted it to be fully convinced of its neceffity."

General Burgoyne, who was one of the board, contro verted the affertion of Mr. Pitt as to the entire approbation expreffed by them of the system in question. "It was well known, he said, that cases hypothetically put admitted only of a direct answer given under the admiffion of the hypothefis. It remained to be ascertained, whether the cafe thus hypothetically put was sufficiently within the limits of probability to deserve attention. Several of the cafes on which the board were called upon to decide were mere poftulata, and hypothetically as extravagant as if it' were asked, suppose by fome convulfion of nature the Straits of Dover should vanish out of existence, and the coasts of England and France were to unite, would it not be expedient to fortify the ifthmus between the two countries?"

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Mr. Pitt, waving the farther discussion of the question

for the present, declared his determination to bring the business in the most specific and folemn manner before the house. He accordingly after a short delay moved a resolution, "That it appeared to the house, that to provide effectually for securing the dock-yards of Portsmouth and Plymouth by a permanent system of fortification was an essential object for the safety of the state, &c. &c." A violent debate arose, in the course of which no member diftinguished himself so eminently as Mr. Sheridan, a gentleman who had been for some time gradually rising to a very elevated height of parliamentary reputation; and previous to his introduction into the house of commons the public had long known and admired the brilliant talents of this fecond Congreve in dramatic literature. Mr. Sheridan stated forcibly the danger to which the constitution would be exposed in consequence of this vast addition to the military power of the crown. " These strong military holds, maintained by numerous and disciplined garrifons, would afford tenfold the means of curbing and subduing the country as would arise from doubling the present army eftablishment. Could any one, he exclaimed, possibly imagine that the system now recommended was to end with Portsmouth and Plymouth, and that the reasonings of the minister would not apply to other parts of the kingdom ? No-we were to figure to ourselves the same board of officers, acting under the same instructions, and deliberating with the same DATA, going a circuit round the coasts of the kingdom. He wished to see the estimate for the stationary defence of such places as Chatham, Sheerness, &c. in addition to the two-and-twenty thousand men demanded for Portsmouth and Plymouth. Mr. Sheridan profesi ed, nevertheless, his readiness to abide by the decision of the board of officers, if it could be fairly shewn that, upon a full and unfettered investigation of the subject, they had reported it as their clear and unqualified opinion, that the plan

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