thing, and has not authority or influence left, fufficient for the opening of a turnpike gate. So that in fact it appears, as if the powers of government only exifted in their contact with evil, but inftantly loft their efficacy when applied to any good purpose. occafion is represented as a man of ftraw, a creature deftitute of all confequence and efficacy, who only attends as one of the officers of the houfe, merely to hear and receive with reverential awe the decrees of parliament. The noble minifter has not affumed any part of this delicacy upon occafions, when it would have been highly becoming in him, and of infinite advantage to his country. In fuch cafes, he has paid as little regard to popular clamour or cenfure without doors, as to reafon or argu. ment within. If a fcheme is meditated for depriving all the freeholders in England of the nobleft portion of their birthright; if the chartered rights of the greateft commercial company in the universe are to be violently invaded, and all parliamentary faith at one ftroke annihilated; or if a great quarter of the world, if thirteen nations, are to be at once ftripped of all that is worth the confideration and value of mankind, of all thofe rights which they inherited from their ancestors, and even of the means of existence; on any, and on all of these occafions, the minifter ftands forth in all the fulness of his power. He leads on his majorities of two or three to one, in all the eafy pride and confcious triumph of affured victory. He boats of them as appendages to his own inherent merit; and tells you gravely, that government could not fubfift, without fuch an overruling influence, and fo decifive a power. But if the nature of the fervice is changed, and that he is called from the fuccefsful works of deftruction, to the falvation of one kingdom, by the prefervation of another, he finks at once into no They, however, abfolutely denied, that the minifter had been paffive, neutral, or inefficacious, with respect to the affairs of Ireland; and on the contrary feverely charged him, with having, very unfortunately for this country, taken a very active part in that bufinefs in the preceding feffion. For a bill having been brought in to afford fome relief to Ireland, by admitting the direct importation of fugars for their own confumption, and he, as they faid, having for a time fuffered things to take their natural courfe in that house, the bill was accordingly (as all matters ever would be under the fame circumstances) coolly and deliberately canvaffed and debated in all its parts; and without being overwhelmed by thofe extraordinary prejudices which are now pretended, and without its being fupported by any powerful influence, worked its way, by the ftrength of its own intrinfic merit, through repeated divifions, until it had nearly arrived at the last stage of its progrefs. But at that inaufpicious moment, the minifter having by fome means been rouzed from his flumber, moft unhappily refumed his activity; and departing at once from that neutrality which he had hitherto profeffed, came down in all the power, and surrounded with all the inflruments of office, in order to defeat the meafure. He accordingly fucceeded in throwing out the bill; but, as a proof how little prejudice had to do in the bufinefs, his majority upon this occafion was fo totally difproportioned to thofe which attended his steps upon others, that a victory upon fuch terms feemed fome fort of degradation. It was to be acknowledged, that the bill, in itself, was not of much value, and would have afforded but a fcanty measure to Ireland of that relief which he wanted; but the time, manner, and circumstances of a favour, frequently ftamp a greater value upon it than it inherently poffeffes; and the paffing of the bill at that time, would evidently have produced very happy confequences, and, in a great meafure, if not entirely, have prevented all the mifchiefs and dangers which have fince taken place with refpect to that country. But, on the contrary, when the people of Ireland faw that the minifter had thus openly fet his face directly against them; and found after, that every effort in their favour was rendered abortive by his influence or management, until they faw themselves at length totally abandoned by the rifing of the British parliament; it was no wonder then that they fhould become defperate; and that they fhould feek in themfelves for the means of that redrefs, which they found denied both to favour and to juftice. The only matter of admiration now, and which does them the highest honour as a people, is, that they have not yet proceeded to fill greater extremities, and that their demands are not abundantly more exorbitant than they yet appear. But their demands must be rejected with the fame degree of fcorn with were which thofe of America treated, before they can think of following that example. Minifters, they faid, boafted, that the diftreffes of Ireland had not originated with them. It would be readily admitted, tha she was not without grievances, previous to the fatal period of their administration; but her immediate calamities fprung principally from the grand fource of all our evils and dangers, from their own American war. By that Ireland, like England, loft a valuable part of her commerce, with lefs ability to fupport the lofs; and the corrupt expences of a feeble government increafed, as all the means of fupplying them diminished. But if minifters, faid they, did not adminifter relief to Ireland themfelves, they may with justice boaft, that they inftructed her in the means of obtaining effectual redrefs. In fact, they taught Ireland by example, from their own' conduct and that of America, every thing fhe had to do. They had convinced her, that no extent of affection or fervice to this country could entitle her either to favour or justice. But they fhewed her at the fame time, in a ftriking inftance, the benefits to be derived from a bold and determined refiftance. They taught her to dictate to the crown and parliament of England the terms of their future union. America, for her revolt, had a profufion of favours held out to her. Every thing fhort of nominal independency had been offered. Such was the reward of rebellion. The reward of loyalty, and of long forbearance under accumulated oppreffion and internal diitreis, fhe had herself juft expe[E] 3 rienced, rienced, in the refufal of fo fmall a favour as the importation of her own fugars. Ireland, accordingly, profited of the example; and determined not to render vain the wisdom, nor to difappoint the good intentions of minifters. She also enters into her commercial and military affociations. She alfo, adhering ftrictly to the line in all its parts, holds the faith and integrity of government in exactly the fame degree of contempt, which has been fo long and fo repeatedly expreffed and fhewn by the Americans; lin has had her mob and riot, as well as ill-fated Bofton; yet nei. ther her port has been fhut up, nor the rioters brought over here to be tried by an English jury. No alteration has even taken place in the ufual mode of trials in that country; their popular meetings and popular elections are not interrupted; no profcription has been iffued against their leaders, nor has that kingdom been declared out of the king's peace; we see that Corke has ftill efcaped the flames, nor do we hear that Waterford is yet and which indeed was hitherto reduced to afhes. Whence then prevented, and feems ftill to shut this wonderful departure from out the poffibility, not only of the grand American fyftem? The any reconciliation, but even of anfwer, they faid, was plain and peace, with that people. The obvious. This change of fyftem Irish parliament accordingly, to proceeded neither from lenity, fhew her total diftruft of the good humanity, a more enlightened faith or honefty of the British go- policy, or from any real acceffion vernment, departs from her own of wisdom. It proceeded from the established rules and mode of ac- tremendous appearance, and the tion, and inftead of making a real dangers of the prefent aweprovifion for two years as ufual, ful moment; thefe had compelpaffes a fhort money bill for fix led infolence and arrogance to months only; thus telling you, give way to fear and humiliain plain mercantile language, tion. that your character is fo bad, that you cannot be trufted for more than fix months credit; and pointing out at the fame time the inevitable confequences which mut immediately attend your refufal to comply with her demands. Thus, faid they, Ireland has filled up every part of the fyftem on her fide, but there feems a frange deficiency on that of the minifters. They have yet neglected to hurl the thunders of the cabinet against that kingdom, as they had done before again ft the continent of America. Dub Minifters were overpow ered, aghait, and astonished, in the horrors of that tempeft which they had themselves raised; and this drove them to fuch lengths, as to defend, and to reprefent as prudent and conftitutional, those things, which they confidered as caufes of war with America, and which they would confider as acts of rebellion even in Eng land. plea for not affording timely relief to Ireland, becaufe the parliament of that country was not then fitting. As if (they faid) the British legiflature was incapable of thinking justly, or acting rightly, with refpect to the commercial interefts of both kingdoms, until they were illuminated by those beams of wisdom and knowledge which were to be reflected on them by the Irish parliament. If the charge of incapacity was confined to the minifters, friends and foes, all mankind, they faid, would readily concur in acknowledging the juftness of the application; but with regard to the British parliament, the reflection was not only uncivil, but indeed conftituted a libel of a new and fingular nature. They faid, it was entirely needless to take the trouble of entering at all into the queftion relative to the neceffity of the rifing of parliament; for there had been more than fufficient time, between the 11th of May, when the business was firft brought before them, and the 3d of July, when the prorogation took place, to have done every thing that was then neceffary with refpect to the affairs of Ireland. But if they would not forward, why did they oppofe the relief? Minifters themfelves, faid they, acknowledge, that one half of what must now be yielded to Ireland, would then have afforded fatisfaction. What atonement can they then make, to their fovereign, to parliament, or to their country, for reducing them to the hard alternative, of either facrificing the fupreme authority of the British legislature, by a compel's compliance with all the demands of Ireland, or of being driven to the direful neceffity of opening another civil war, when we are already furcharged by France, Spain, and America? On the other hand, the miniftry endeavoured to turn the tables on the oppofition. Here, faid they, is the uniform course oppofition faithfully holds, without any deviation from the established precedents of all their forefathers in faction. Compulfion, conceffion, things done, or things left undone, are alike a fubject of clamour. If measures of vigour for fupport of authority are adopted, a cry is raised as if tyranny were going to be established. If, for the fake of peace, conceffions are to be made, then the dignity of the nation is facrificed. If measures are prompt and spirited, the miniftry are accufed of precipitation; if they are maturely weighed and confidered, then the charge is timidity, irrefolution, and procrastination. Finding it impoffible to please thefe gentlemen, they would difcharge their confciences, and would do what they trufted would be both pleafing and beneficial to England and Ireland. That, the loyalty of that country was too clear to be fhaken by all the endeavours of factions either there or here; although attempts were not wanting, by comparing her cafe to that of America, to bring on the like confufions in Ireland. The armaments in Ireland were folely directed against the common enemy; and they knew that the conceffions which would be propofed (and they hoped adopted) in parliament, as they would be adequate to the neceffities of [E] 4 Ireland, The queftion being put at half after twelve o'clock, the motion was rejected, upon a division, by a majority of 173, to 100. Ireland, would be fatisfactory to any detraction of his former fpiher wishes. If they were not, rit. both nations would know who to thank for the confequences. The minifters had long and inveterate prejudices to deal with in this kingdom, which obliged them to defer relief to Ireland, until England faw the propriety of it. When fuch prejudices prevailed, it was neceffary perhaps that fome inconveniences fhould be felt from the prevalence of fimilar prejudices in others, and thus, that the oppofite paffions of men ballancing each other, might bring them all at length to reafon. Hiftory confirmed this principle; and it has been feldom or ever known, that one narrow felfintereft in ftates has been got the better of, but in the conflict with fome other. It would be hard to make the prefent minifters anfwerable for the natural courfe of things. The debates were long, various, and interefting. All the wit, ability, and eloquence of the oppofition, were thrown out without measure or referve against the minifters. On their fide, they exerted themfelves much more than they had done in the Houfe of Lords. The two great leaders and fpeakers of the oppofition in that houfe took a large fhare in the debate, and were as ufual diftinguished. The appearance of Mr. Fox, after his recovery from the wound which he had received in the late duel, occafioned by fomething that had fallen from him on the firft day of the feffion, afforded matter of much general curiofity; and that incident feemed now to have produced a renovation, rather than An unexpected motion made on the following day by 7th. the Duke of Richmond, brought on a confiderable debate in the House of Lords. The noble duke having ftated the vast combination of force which was formed against this country, which was left without friend or ally; the fufpicious or unfavourable appearance of fome powers who were not in declared enmity, and the total indifference, at beft, of all others; then entered into a detailed statement of our prefent vaft military establishments by fea and land; which, including the late augmentation of above 20,000 men to the land force, would not fall much fhort, he fhewed, in both departments, of 300,000 men. He proceeded to argue, that it would exceed the ability of any power whatever in Europe, to fupport, for any continuance, this prodigious force, by fea and land, at the enormous expence which it created to this country. Without at all taking into the account, that the commercial loffes of this country, including thofe of all kinds which proceeded from the defection of her colonies, far exceeded in extent, what could well have fallen to the lot of any |