CHAP. IX.] MR. PONSONBY'S MOTION. 285 union; and the breach between the King and the people would have closed. This is distinctly set forth in the memoir delivered to Government by O'Connor, Emmett, and M'Nevin. But that did not seem to be the object of the Government party; they wished to carry the Legislative Union; and accordingly their writers assailed these resolutions, and their authors, with unmeasured abuse, and poured upon both all their indignation and anger, and declared that no terms should be kept with such men. Thus they made it appear, that attachment to the people and their liberties was not meant to imply attachment to the Government, but that loyalty should have ulterior views. Mr. Grattan had alluded to a union in some of his late speeches; and it now began seriously to be entertained by the Minister in Ireland. It had long since been entertained by a party in England, as appears from the letters of Lord Shelburne, in 1782,* and from the communications of the Duke of Portland, though less distinct, in 1795.† With this view, Parliamentary reform had been constantly rejected; these wily politicians knowing, that if the abuse of the institution of Parliament rendered the body little valued or respected, the people might become indifferent whether it should be retained or lost, and thus their project of union would have a certain and easy victory. The leading men of the Opposition, therefore, attached much importance to the Belfast resolutions, and before Mr. Ponsonby brought forward his plan of reform, in May 1797, Emmett's party sought to open a communication with them. Mr. Ponsonby sent for Mr. Grattan, and he, Curran, and the Ponsonbys, met in order to confer on the prudence of an interview with Emmett and his friends. They wished the latter to join on the † Ante, p. 193. * See Vol. II. 289-92. 286 COMPROMISE OF united irishmeN. [CHAP. IX, question of reform,—give up annual elections and universal suffrage, and acquiesce in the plan about to be submitted to Parliament. To this some of Emmett's party were disposed ;* and Nelson, who was one of them, and well acquainted with the people of the North, their feelings, and wishes, was understood to assent. Mr. Ponsonby thought it would considerably strengthen his case if he was authorized to declare that the discontented party had offered to be satisfied, and to withdraw their extravagant demands if the Government would assent to the proposed reform. Accordingly, the leaders of the Opposition discussed the point : they sat late,-talked a good deal about the proposed interview,-some doubted the wisdom of it, and they broke up without deciding anything. However, Mr. Grattan, on his return home, made up his mind not to hold the meeting, and sent off to Mr. Ponsonby, advising them against such a step, as it probably would lead to no good, and might place them in an embarrassing situation. He very likely thought that Government would not yield, and neither party listen to terms. Certainly, with such a party in power as Lord Camden and Lord Clare, this conclusion was right, but with any other it would have been fatal; for on a review of the whole case, it may be said that the leaders of the United Irishmen were sincere. The North had relaxed its efforts against the Government; great difficulties were placed in the way of the United men ; and, above all, they found that they could not depend upon each other; so they would gladly have listened to any reasonable terms of accommodation. In his evidence, Emmett says, that if the reform had been adopted, the Executive Directory of the United Irishmen * M'Nevin's Evidence.-Pieces of Irish History. New York edit. p. 206. CHAP. IX.] OPPOSITION RESOLVE TO SECEDE. 287 would have sent a messenger* to France to tell them "that the difference between the people and the Government was adjusted, and not to attempt a second invasion." Thus it may fairly be said, that all the misfortunes that befell the country were attributable to Lords Camden and Clare; they lost the opportunity of recalling the United Irishmen to a sense of loyalty and of duty. This proceeding having ended,—and from the evidence of the United party, it appears it was the only connexion ever subsisting between them and the mem- . bers of the Opposition,†-Mr. Ponsonby brought forward his motion on the subject of reform, but he could only muster 30 to 117: thus ended this measure, which Mr. Flood, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Ponsonby, and all the leading patriots had so long contended for, and which, though so delayed, and so abridged, even at this late period, the United men declared would have satisfied the country.‡ The Opposition, finding their labours useless, and the task of opposing the violent measures of Government hopeless, formed the resolution to retire; and on the debate on the motion of reform, Mr. Grattan declared their intention no longer to attend the House of Commons. His advice to Government, and his remonstrance with them on their violent conduct, extorted praise even from those to whom it was addressed; and, among others, from Lord Castlereagh, who complimented him on the manner and temper with which he had treated the subject. After an able and close investiga* Detailed statement by O'Connor, Emmett, and McNevin, p. 189. Emmett's Evidence, New York edition, p. 215. The statements of Mr. Gifford in his Life of Pitt upon this subject are not to be credited-he was wholly ignorant of Irish affairs. Pieces of Irish History, p. 206. The evidence as reported by Lord Clare, and published by the Lords, is very defective and garbled, and in many parts the sense is wholly altered: this appears on comparing it with the American publication; and when Dr. McNevin expostulated with Lord Clare on this, he replied, "He must not expect they would publish more than WOULD ANSWER THEIR PURPOSE." 288 MR. GRATTAN'S SPEECH. [CHAP. IX. tion into the causes of the public disorder and disturbance in Ireland, Mr. Grattan observed : "Gentlemen chiefly rely on the report of the Secret Committee, and allege that a conspiracy appears from that report to have established itself in a way so extensive and formidable as to render any conciliatory measure inadmissible; they must be subdued before they shall be relieved;' such are the words of Gentlemendangerous and inconsiderate words! but from that very report I draw a conclusion diametrically opposite; from that report I conclude that Parliamentary Reform is not merely eligible, but absolutely indispensable. In that report, and from the speeches of Gentlemen, we learn that a conspiracy has existed for some years; that it was composed originally of persons of no powerful or extensive influence -and yet these men, under prosecution and discountenance, have been so extended as to reach every county in the kingdom, to levy a great army, to provide arms and ammunition, and to alarm, as the report states, the existence of the Government, with the number of its proselytes, procured by these two popular subjects-Parliamentary Reform, and Catholic Emancipation. It appears, then, that they have recruited by these topics, and have spread their influence, notwithstanding your system of coercion, every where; that notwithstanding your Convention Bill of 1793, it passed that year; that this convention has grown—that notwithstanding your gunpowder act, it has armed and increased its military stores under that act-that notwithstanding your insurrection act, another bill to disarm, it has greatly added to its magazines-and that notwithstanding the suspension of the Habeas Corpus bill, and Gen. Lake's proclamation, it has multiplied its proselytes. I should have asked, had I been on the Secret Committee, whether the number of United Irishmen had not increased very much since Gen. Lake's proclamation - and by General Lake's proclamation. It appears from that report, that just as your system of coercion advanced, the United Irishmen advanced-that the measures you took to coerce, strengthened to disperse, collected-to disarm, armed-and to render them weak and odious, made them popular and powerful-whereas, on the other hand, you have loaded Parliament and Government with the odium of an oppressive system, and with the further odium of re CHAP. IX. ON REFORM AND EMANCIPATION. 289 jecting these two popular topics, which you allow are the most likely to gain the heart of the nation, and to be the beloved objects of the people; in short, you have given to the United Irishmen the popularity of suffering under acts of power, and the popularity of offering acts of privilegeacts giving to the Catholics emancipation-to the people a full and free representation; and to the Parliament you have given the odium of passing those acts of power, and of rejecting those acts of privilege. What, then, remains but to reverse your conduct, and offer to your people immediately those acts of privilege-those acts which you allow, while you allege they are the pretext of some committees, are the great object of the nation; by such, I say, if you cannot reconcile all, you will reconcile the nation,-you will take from the United Irishmen their proselytes-you will annex those proselytes to Parliament, and if you do not annex every man you will annex the people. Gentlemen are reduced in the course of their argument to the necessity of saying that the people would not be satisfied with the plan of reform submitted; they allow the reform to be the present object of the people; hereafter it may not, but they say the people would not be satisfied with this reform. Sir, we have sent our plan to different persons who are much in the confidence of the people, and to persons who have a great lead among the different sects of our fellow-citizens-they have considered the plan, and have consulted with one another, and have returned us for answer that the plan submitted, would be highly agreeable to them. * "I have in my hand a paper signed by 900 persons, considerable men in business, and northern merchants, containing the following resolutions in substance,-that they conceive the cause of the present discontent to be the miserable state of the representation-that the discontent and suffering will continue until Parliament shall be reformed, and that they will persist in the pursuit of that object, and will not lose sight of it by cavils at the plan, but will expect and be satisfied with such a plan as does substantially restore to the community the right of electing the House of Commons-securing its independency against the influence of the Crown-limiting the duration of Parliament, and extending to his Majesty's subjects the privileges of the Constitution, without distinction of religion. Such a plan we offer you; that is our plan of peace-our idea of strength and union against a foreign enemy; we conceive |