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to England. Bufinefs opened in the boufe of commons there by Mr. Pitt bis fpeech. Propofitions minutely investigated. Ten new propofitions added. Propofitions paffed. Very strongly oppofed in the house of lords; paffed. Bill thereupon. Propofitions tranfmitted to Ireland; their reception there. Bill moved for, correfpondent to that in England; debates thereupon. Speeches of Mr. Grattan and Mr. Flood. Bill brought in; ordered to be printed. Further profecution of the meafure declined. Mr. Orde's Speech on the occafion. Intended emigration of the Genevefe to Ireland. Reception of their commiffioners there. Disagreement between the parties. Scheme proves abortive.

W

E have already feen, that by feveral acts of parliament which paffed in the year 1780, the commerce of Ireland was freed from thofe ruinons restrictions with which it had been long fhackled, through the fhort-, fighted policy and narrow prejudices of the British nation.

In the year 1782, the declaratory act of George the Second was repealed; and by another ftatute, which paffed in the following year, the authority of the British parliament, in all matters both of legiflation and jurisdiction, were renounced, and the political independence of the kingdom of Ireland was co.npleatly established.

The only object therefore that remained for the confideration of the respective governments of each country, was the fettlement of a fyftem of commercial intercourse betwixt the two kingdoms upon a firm and permanent bafis.

Before we enter upon this part of our hiftory, it may be neceffary to take a fhort retrofpective view of the internal state of affairs in that country.

The fpirit of reforming the conftitution, by fhortening the duration of parliaments, and establishing a more equal reprefentation of the people, which broke out in Great Britain about the year 1779, paffed over at the fame period into the

kingdom of Ireland. It has always been queftioned, whether any confiderable part of the people of England, however unpopular the house of commons may at times have rendered itself to the nation, was at all diffatisfied with the established mode of reprefentation, or expected any effectual relief from the more frequent return of elections.

In Ireland, these projects of reformation certainly met with a much more general reception-a circumftance not difficult to be accounted for, when we confider the ferment which then existed in that kingdom, and how favourable fuch moments are to every fpecies of political innovation.

In the year 1779, the parliament of Ireland, in their addreffes to the throne, had in firm and manly language demanded the restoration of their commercial freedom. In order to give effect to this requifition, refolutions were entered into by the inhabitants of the trading towns to prevent the importation of British manufactures; and these resolutions were often enforced with a degree of violence and outrage, which the civil authority of the country was unable to reftrain. This vigorous and determined spirit of the people had a forcible effect upon the deliberations of parliament; all new fupplies for the current fervices of the executive government were de

nied, and the truft of the old revenue, which had ufually been voted for two years, was restricted to fix months. A mutiny bill was alfo paffed for the king's army in Ireland, which before had always been regulated under the authority of an act of the British legislature.-Thefe vigorous measures, as we have al ready feen in the tranfactions of the year 1780, produced their intended effect, and led to ftill more important confequences.

The paffing of the mutiny bill was a step that went in its principle fo evidently and fo directly to the acknowledgment of the independence of the kingdom of Ireland, that it is not easy to conceive how it came to meet with fo little oppofition from adminiftration, or to receive fo readily the fanction of the British cabinet, unless we fuppofe that the circumftance of its being made perpetual had rendered it acceptable to government. But in Ireland, where one great conftitutional principle appears to have been facrificed merely for the purpose of establishing another, it was eafy to foresee that they would not long fubmit to a reftriction which rendered the advantage they had obtained not only not ufeful, but dan gerous to their constitution.

Accordingly in the following feffion an attempt was made to get rid of the obnoxious part of the bill, by repealing the clause of perpetuity. But here government made

a ftand; and this, as well as a mo. tion made to obtain a modification of Poyning's law, was rejected by a large majority.

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The failure of these efforts of the

1781.

minority in parliament, appears to have given occafion to the first meeting of the volunteers on the subject of parliamentary reform. Dec. 28th, On the 28th of December, 1781, the officers of one of the Ulfter regiments came to an unanimous refolution, “ That to restore the conftitution to its original purity, the most vigorous and effectual methods fhould be purfued to root corruption and "court influence out of the legifla"tive body:" and with this view a meeting of delegates from the feveral regiments of the province was convened at Dungannon on the 15th of February following.

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On that day the representatives of 143 corps of volunteer troops affembled. Their refolutions, which were adopted in fubftance by all the volunteers of the fouthern provinces, were confined for the most part to the affertion of the political independence of the kingdom.-This primary object being foon after eftablifhed, by folemn acts of the legiflature of both nations, the ardour for parliamentary reformations appeared for a while to have almost entirely fubfided*.

The existence and increase of the volunteer army, after the neceffity which first gave rife to it had been fuperceded

* During the courfe of this, the Irish parliament paffed the following acts, for the purpofe of giving effect to their new conftitution:

An act to empower the lord lieutenant, or other chief governor or governors, and council of this kingdom, for the time being, to certify all fuch bills, and none other, as both houfes of parliament fhall judge expedient to be enacted in this kingdom, to his majesty, his heirs and fucceffors, under the great feal of Ireland, without addition, diminution, or alteration. All fuch bills, thus tranfmitted, and

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fuperceded by the establishment of peace, and after the great conftitutional objects to which it had fecondarily directed its views were fully atta ined, called for the moft ferious attention of government.Accordingly, foon after the tranfactions we have just related, an attempt was made to induce them to disband, by raising under the authority of government a kind of national militia, by the name of Fencible Regiments. It is probable that this defign, though too glaring to be concealed, and accordingly almoft univerfally condemned and oppofed by the volunteers, would in time have produced its effect, if fome new object had not been found upon which the united efforts of that body might again be exerted.-The reform of parliamentary reprefentation furnifhed this centre of union, and the difcuffion of it was again refumed with great zeal and folemnity. Delegates are affembled from the feveral corps of the several provin, ces; committees of correfpondence are appointed; and letters are difpatched to the moft celebrated political fpeculators, or parliamentary reformers in Great Britain, for their

advice on fo great and momentous an occafion.

On the eighth day of September, 1783, a general meeting of delegates from the province of Uliter was held at Dungannon. A plan of reformation was here propofed and agreed upon; and it was refolved, that a grand national convention of reprefentatives from the whole volunteer army fhould affemble at Dublin on the tenth day of November following. In these measures the volunteer corps of the other three provinces almost unanimously concurred.

The convention in Dublin was both full and refpectable, and the meafures were at least commendable for their moderation. On the subject of parliamentary reform, it was propofed to extend the right of voting in all cities and boroughs to every proteftant inhabitant poffeffed of a freehold or leafehold, for 31 years or upwards, of the value of forty fhillings a year; that in decayed boroughs, where the number of voters fhould be less than two hundred in the province of Ulfter, one hundred in Munfter and Connaught, and feventy in the province of Leinster,

returned under the great feal of Great Britain, without addition, diminution, or alteration, and none other, to pafs in the parliament of this kingdom. No bill necessary to be certified into Great Britain as a cause or confideration for holding a parliament in Ireland.

An act to limit the mutiny a to two years, and to repeal the other obnoxious parts of the late statute.

An act providing that from henceforth all erroneous judgments, orders, and decrees, fhall be finally examined and reformed in the high court of parliament of this kingdom caly; and that for this purpofe the lord lieutenant, or other chief governor or governors, fhall and may grant warrants for fealing writs of error returnable into parliament.

An habeas corpus law, and one for rendering the judges independent of the crown, were also enacted.

* Thefe letters were addrefied to the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Effingham, Mr. William Pitt, Mr. Wyvil, Major Cartwright, Dr. Price, and Dr. John Jebb.

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the neighbouring parishes fhould be admitted to a right of voting; and laftly, that the duration of parliaments fhould be limited to three. years.

Mr. Flood undertook to bring forward the difcuffion of thefe topics in the House of Commons; and accordingly, the day following, he moved for leave to bring in a bill "for the more equal reprefentation "of the people in parliament." The motion was received by a great majority of the houfe with the ftrongest marks of difapprobation. Without entering into the confideration of the wifdom or folly of the plan propofed, it was urged that the houfe could not poffibly, without betraying its truft, and abdicating its authority, confent to receive propofitions tendered to them at the point of the bayonet, by a body of armed men. That however refpectable they might be in other points of view, yet to fuffer them to befet the house of parliament, and to dictate to the legislature with arms in their hands, would be to establish a precedent fubverfive of the very existence of all order and go

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"affure him of their determination to fupport the prefent conflitution with their lives and for"tunes." The addrefs being fent up to the House of Lords, received their concurrence.

On the report of thefe measures to the convention by Mr. Flood, it was agreed, that a counter-addrefs fhould be prefented to the king, in the name of the delegates of all the volunteers of Ireland," to im"plore his majefty, that their hum"ble wish to have certain manifeft "perverfions in the parliamentary "reprefentation of that kingdom "remedied, might not be imputed "to any spirit of innovation, but "to a fober and laudable defire to

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uphold the conftitution, to con"firm the fatisfaction of their fel "low-fubjects, and perpetuate the " cordial union of the two na"tions."

The change which soon afterwards took place in the adminiftration of both kingdoms, gave fresh fpirits to the friends of reformation. It was not unreasonably expected that the weight of government would now be thrown into their fcale, as the first minister in England, and the first minister in Ireland*, had been among the moft eager and loud' in fupport of the fame measures in Great Britain. But notwithstanding these flattering appearances, they were doomed to experience a fecond difappointment.

March 13th,

1784.

On the 13th of March 1784, Mr. Flood again moved for leave to bring in his bill; as the motion was fupported by a great number of petitions, and all occafion of offence was avoided, by

Mr. Pitt, and the Duke of Rutland. [4] 3

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keeping the volunteers out of view; the bill was allowed to be brought in, but, on the second reading, it was rejected by nearly the fame majority as before.

These repeated defeats did not abate the ardour of the Irish reformers in the pursuit of their favourite object; but as all hope of obtaining the deliberate co-operation of parliament was at an end, they turned their applications to a quarter from whence experience had already taught them to look for more effectual exertions; as government had not yet ventured to queftion the legality of the volunteer affociations, the people at large were called upon to provide themfelves with arms, and to array themselves under that defcription. Several unpopular acts of the new government, in fome of which parliament was alfo involved by the share it had in them, ferved greatly to increase the general difcontent of the nation. On the 7th day of June 7th. June a meeting was held of the aggregate body of the citizens of Dublin. It was here refolved to present another petition to the king, and in the mean time to endeavour, by a circular addrefs, to ftimulate the body of the people to a general and vigorous exer

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" rejected; that his majesty had "lately thought it neceffary to ap"peal to the electors of Great Bri"tain against the power of an arif"tocracy; that on that occafion "but one fourth of the people of "England exclaimed againft their "Houfe of Commons, and the fo"vereign prudently diffolved a par"liament which had loft-the confi"dence of a quarter of the na"tion, and declared his readiness "to adopt whatever he should col"lect to be the fenfe of his people; "and that they therefore looked

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up to him with the utmoft confi"dence for the immediate diffolu"tion of the parliament of Ire"land, in compliance with the al"most unanimous requeft of his "loyal fubjects of that kingdom.”

In the addrefs, the complicated hardships they had fuffered from the abuse of power were detailed with great warmth and freedom; the continuance of these fufferings they attribute to the defects of their representation in parliament; and they appeal to experience for the inefficacy of every means they had employed to obtain redrefs. They therefore call upon and conjure their fellow-fubjects to unite with them in the pursuit of some more efficacious plan for the removal of the general calamity; and with this view they propofe that five persons fhould be elected from each county, city, and confiderable town, to meet in Dublin in national congrefs.

But the most remarkable feature in this address was, a propofition to admit the Roman catholic fubjects of that kingdom to a participation in the rights of fuffrage at the election of members of parliament. Though this meafure was not only confonant

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