to imply that the rebellion had been carried on by Catholics only; a supposition which the accounts received from the seat of it, and the characters and confessions of many of the united Irishmen, would effectually disprove. The proposed discrimination would, he was persuaded, if adopted, add fuel to the flame, and create new sources of dissension and hostility. It should, besides, be observed, that many who, from motives of hypocrisy, or of regard to their personal safety, had not given way to the malignant suggestions of their own minds, by taking up arms against the government, would thereby be countenanced; whereas, in other parts, that had been the scene of insurrection and rebellion, the Catholic, that they were likely to be more or less influenced than others), they could not be supposed to possess, without exercising it, the power of recovering that property of which they conceived their ancestors to have been wrongfully deprived: and if, under the present circumstances, the inconveniences arising from the discordant proceedings of distinct legislatures have been regarded with anxiety and apprehension, he could not but conceive such sensations would be applicable, in a far stronger degree, if political power was possessed by those, between whom, and the parliament of Great Britain, a greater variety of differences from various causes, might be supposed to arise, and on points less capable of reconciliation and adjust-who had yielded to a momentary, though an unjustifiable impulse, would, by one rash step, be excluded for ever. This was not a mode, according to his opinion, of healing the divisions, and of establishing the tranquillity of Ireland: it could not have the effect of allaying the irritation of the Catholics, nor of conveying to the Protestants a greater degree of confidence and security. ment. His hon. friend who spoke last thought that it would be expedient for the parliament of Ireland to tread back some of the steps that had been taken, and to re-enact the whole code of the Popery laws (the repeal of which had been the subject of such general encomium and satisfaction) against the Catholics, who did not produce certificates of their peaceable and loyal Mr. Speaker then adverted to the meaconduct during the late rebellion: and to sure of 1793, by which the competency provide that those by whom such certifi- to enjoy and exercise the elective franchise cates were produced, should be admitted and to hold certain offices, was afforded to all the rights and privileges enjoyed by to the Roman Catholics of Ireland, and Protestants; but he had also intimated to the opinion which had been stated consuch an opinion of the Catholics, as to cerning it, from an authority to which he leave little hope that many of them would had before referred. "For that measure,” be entitled to the benefit of such a dis- Mr. Foster had said, "that he could not tinction. That disaffection had spread thank the Irish minister, though he did widely amongst that body, could not, he for many others; for that from his soul he feared, be contested: that it had been so considered it as the prelude and certain nearly universal, as some persons had forerunner of the overthrow of the Proimagined, he thought there were solid testant establishment in Ireland"—" that grounds to deny. Many individuals of the it hazarded the Hanover succession, and yeomanry and other volunteer corps, and the connexion with Great Britain." From most of those of whom the militia regi- these opinions, he was far from dissenting; ments consisted, were of that persuasion; he had quoted them, not only to mark the and yet they had in general manifested the danger which was apprehended from the utmost degree of ardour and alacrity in re- proceedings of 1793, by a gentleman sisting the internal, as well as the foreign known to be friendly to the Protestant esenemies of their country. He was, how-tablishment, and to the connexion with ever, concerned to think that, on the part of a large proportion of the Catholics, strong prejudices against this country must be confessed to exist; but he was convinced that they arose in a great degree, from the persuasion that the Protestant ascendancy was principally maintained by British connexion and British power. He said, that the proceeding which had been recommended by his hon. friend, would, if his advice was followed, appear Great Britain, but for the purpose of founding upon them an argument in favour of the measure in question. If the predictions of Mr. Foster were well-founded, and he confessed that they accorded in a great degree with his own sentiments and apprehensions, he saw no means by which their accomplishment could possibly be averted, but by a legislative union, or by a renewal of the restrictions and disabili ties which were done away by the act of 1793. Of the former measure Mr. Foster | committee reported, "That upon due had very recently disapproved; and it consideration of the present constitution could not therefore but be supposed, that of this kingdom, such a humble repreit was by the latter only that he could hope sentation be made to the queen of the state to prevent those calamities which, he was and condition thereof, as may best incline convinced, were deprecated by no one her majesty, by such proper means as to more anxiously and sincerely than by that her majesty shall seem fit, to promote such hon. gentleman himself. He would, how- an union with England as may best qualify ever, acknowledge, that if he were obliged the states of this kingdom to be represented to make an option between a recurrence there." The proposition was not listened to so much of the system of the Popery to by the queen's ministers, and, as has laws as was repealed at that time, or to been stated by lord Clare, "it was not Catholic emancipation, coupled with par- till this attempt to unite the parliaments of liamentary reform, he should conceive that both countries had proved abortive, that he best consulted the tranquillity of Ire- the great code of the Popery laws of Ireland, and the interests of the empire at land was enacted: a code," he admitted, large, in giving the preference to the for-" of great severity, but evidently forced "of mer: but that it was, in a great measure, upon the parliament by necessity." To because his objections to both were radical these authorities, and many others might and insuperable, that he was compelled to be cited in support of them, he had the give his cordial and entire support to the utmost satisfaction in adding those of lord measue of a legislative union. Clare, lord Carleton, lord Kilwarden, and particularly of lord Yelverton, who had been called the "Father of the Independence of the Irish Parliament," but whose sen timents at this time were by no means inconsistent with his conduct in 1782; as it was only by the establishment of the independence of the parliament of Ireland, that a legislative union could be the result of the compact between the two countries. Without that measure it must have been an act of power on the part of Great Betain. He said, it was a satisfaction to him to know that the opinion which he entertained on this subject was sanctioned by great and respectable authorities. It could not be unimportant to the weight and credit of such a measure, to state that it had been countenanced by distinguished and enlightened men in the last century; that it had the approbation of sir Matthew Decker, sir William Petty, and sir Josiah Child; that Molineux, the friend of Locke, who had incurred, as the Journals could testify, the displeasure of that House, for his bold assertion of the independent authority of the parliament of his native country, anxiously wished for its adoption. After having referred in his publication on this subject, to many ancient documents, for the purpose of proving, that, at an early period of our history, delegates from Ireland had been sent to the parliament of Great Britain, Mr. Molineux adds-"If from these records it be concluded that the parliament of England may bind Ireland, it must also be allowed that the people of Ireland ought to have their representatives in the parliament of England; and this I believe we should be willing enough to embrace, but it is a happiness we can hardly hope for." It was also material to state, that in the second year of the reign of queen Anne, when, as had been said, it had become difficult for the Protestants to keep their ground in Ireland, a committee of the House of Lords of that kingdom was appointed to take into con sideration the state of the nation: and the To the opinions of these great and en. lightened men, who have proved them. selves to be the true friends of Great Bri tain and Ireland, by their constant endea vours to encourage and promote a close and intimate connexion between the two countries, he desired to add those entertained by Dr. M'Nevin and others, of that, which (with reference to their own views and projects) they justly denomi nated a fatal measure. It would be recollected that these persons have declared that, on their parts, Catholic emancipa tion was a mere pretence, and that separation was the real and invariable object of all their hopes and all their efforts. On the 9th of April 1795, the committee of nine, of which Dr. M.Nevin, Lewins, Ryan, and others of the same description, were members, assembled at the chapel in Francis street, Dublin, and came to the following, amongst other, resolutions: "Resolved unanimously, That we are sincerely and unalterably attached to the rights, liberties, and independence of our native country; and we pledge ourselves, collectively and individually, to resist, even our own emancipation, if proposed to be conceded on the ignominious terms of acquiescence in the fatal measure of a union with the sister kingdom. That the thanks of this meeting be respectfully presented to our agent, Theobald Wolfe Tone, esq. for the readiness with which he accompanied our deputies to England, and the many other important services he has rendered to the Catholic body, in pursuit of emancipation -services which no gratitude can over-rate and no remuneration can over-pay." the spirit of the unrepealed statute of Henry 8th, which enacts that "the kingdom of Ireland is inseparably annexed to, and dependent upon, the crown of Great Britain, and that whoever is king of England, is thereby ipso facto king of Ireland." Upon every thinking mind a deep impression was made by these transactions; and a very respectable gentleman, who now holds a high office in Ireland, is reported to have said, in a debate at that period-" If these sentiments are to prevail, what shall prevent us to-morrow from adopting a different mutiny-bill, or disclaiming a uniformity in religion? The unity of the executive magistrate has been well called the solitary bond of union; but can it exist for a moment, if a possibility remains of the two legislatures being discordant on this subject? Unless one is suffered to take the lead, the alternative is obvious: with two legislatures so liable to pull different ways, no authority can govern." It was not, however, upon authority only, much as he was inclined to respect it, nor upon the repugnance of United Irishmen to this measure, that he was disposed to support and recommend it. He thought that it was calculated to avert much probable evil from both countries, and to produce positive and substantial advantages to both. One of the leading considerations in its favour was, that it would in future preclude the inconvenience and danger, of which recent expeHis hon. friend who preceded him, aprience warrants the apprehension, arising peared, however, to be under little apprefrom the discordant determinations of se-hension upon the subject of a possible parate and independent legislatures. He reminded the committee of the proceedings of the Irish parliament, upon the subject of the commercial propositions in 1785, and the question of the appointment of a regent, which occurred in 1788. In the former, the sensitive jealousy of the parliament of Ireland deprived that country of the obvious and undisputed advantages which were held out to it, by a free access to the home market of Great Britain; in the latter, it would be recollected that the diversity of opinion, which occurred in the two parliaments, led not only to a difference as to the extent of the power and authority, but as to the identity of the person, by whom, during the illness of his majesty, the functions of executive government were to be exercised. The same illustrious personage was indeed nominated by both, but by one as a matter of choice; in virtue of a supposed right by the other in one with more limited powers; in the other with powers as unlimited as those of the monarch himself. It was therefore obvious that the discord-plies might be liberally granted; in the ant principles, which operated at that juncture, and which actually occasioned the delegation of different degrees of authority, might also have led to the nomination of different individuals; and this at the hazard of the tranquillity and safety of the empire, and in direct violation of difference of sentiments and conduct, in the two legislatures. He thought that as the king of Great Britain was the supreme executive magistrate, and therefore vested with the same prerogatives in both countries, it was not to be supposed that those embarrassments and dangers would arise, which might be occasioned by a declared difference of opinion on the subject of treaties, or on the great questions of peace or war. The Speaker said, he knew and respected the prerogatives of the crown, but he likewise knew and respected the privileges of the people. Of these the power of the purse was the most important; it was the great instrument of support and control; the check upon the abuse of power on the part of the advisers of the crown, and the safeguard and guardian of the interests and liberties of the people. It would not be contended that this great privilege was to be borne down by prerogative; and if not, it might, at a period of public emergency, be differently exercised in both countries. In one, sup other, absolutely withheld; and the cooperation of the two great branches of the empire could never be ensured, even on occasions in which its security and independence were deeply and essentially in volved. The Speaker, however, declared, that his hopes went farther; he thought, that if the present measure was carried into effect, it would not only preclude such a discordance as he had described, but that it would lead to a coincidence of views and sentiments in the great body of the people of both kingdoms; that they would all look the same way: and that their feelings and opinions would invariably recognize the same interests, the same allies, and the same enemies. He must however declare, that no consideration so forcibly impelled him to wish for the adoption of this measure, as his conviction of the beneficial consequences with which it would be attended to the internal situation of Ireland; his hope and belief were, that it would lead to the removal of a principal ground of animosity, by precluding that species of contest, which had hitherto subsisted for obtaining political authority and power. Among the lower orders of society, he was convinced that its salutary effects would be found in that change of manners, the result of habitual industry, which would necessarily be produced by the transfer of a part of the capital of Great Britain to that country. Could it be supposed, he would ask, that persons of opulence would be so much inclined to embark any part of their property from hence in the trade and commerce of Ireland, if the parliament of that country were still to remain distinct from, instead of being incorporated with, that of Great Britain? Of the consequences which must be produced by such an application of part of the wealth of this country, no doubt could be entertained; it would operate on every class of the community, and diffuse itself throughout every part of that kingdom and notwithstanding what had been said of the aggravation that would be occasioned by a legislative union to the evil arising from the non-residence of the opulent proprietors of land in that country, he was convinced, that whatever had a tendency to give security to property and improvement to manners would prove the fallacy of such a supposition; and that even those wastes and fastnesses, which now afford retreat to the marauder, the assassin, and the rebel, would be the scenes of cheerful labour and protected industry, of mutual confidence and social intercourse, under the superintendance and guardianship of well-administered and beneficent laws. It had been said, that amongst the consequences of such a measure, it could not be contended that it would be possible to mention any immediate advantage to the Roman Catholics of Ireland: from this assertion, however, he must beg leave to dissent. The elective franchise itself, bestowed by the parliament of Ireland in 1793, could hardly be considered as a boon to the Roman Catholics, whom it was hoped and intended to gratify: the right, with the limitation annexed to it, could not be exercised in most instances, without some degree of violence to their opinions and their feelings: it could only be made use of for the purpose of contributing to form a House of Commons, the whole body of which they too generally conceived to be adverse to their interests, and those of the individuals, to whom, from a coincidence in religious opinions, and from other causes, they had been accus. tomed to look up with the utmost respect. Whereas the same franchise, if employed in contributing to form the representation in a united parliament, might be accompanied with the satisfactory reflection, that the individual in whose behalf it was exercised, would be mixed with those, a majority of whom were uninfluenced by the prejudices which they have imputed, whether on sufficient ground or otherwise is not now to be considered, to the parliament and to the great body of the Protestants in Ireland." With respect to the expediency of ex tending to the Roman Catholics of Great Britain and Ireland, in the event of such a measure as was now in contemplation, a more ample participation of the rights of Protestant subjects, he would not now offer an opinion; he would, however, quote the sentiments of a person (Dr. Duigenan) whose good sense he admired, and who would not be accused of a strong bias towards the Roman Catholics of Ireland: "It has been the opinion of very great and able statesmen, that a union with England, on just and equitable_terms, would be very advantageous to Ireland, would contribute greatly to increase her trade and her opulence, and conduce to the strength of the empire at large; and in any event, it could not be more preju dicial to the Romanists of Ireland, than to any other class of his majesty's subjects here, but much less (if it could be at all prejudicial, which I cannot admit), inasmuch, if we were one people with the British nation, the preponderance of the Protestant body of the whole empire would be so great, that all rivalship and jealousies between Protestants and Romanists would cease for ever, and it would not be necessary, for the safety of the empire at large, to curb Romanists by any exclusive law whatsoever." On the supposed surrender of the rights of the parliament of Ireland, and the sacrifice of its independency, he was not disposed to dwell; the futility of the ar guments on which those objections were founded, was, in his opinion at least, fully developed on a former occasion: he would only say, that if a uniform coincidence should take place between the two legislatures, the independency of one or the other would be liable to be called in question; and that without such a coincidence the interests of the empire, and eventually the connexion between the two countries, might possibly be endangered. Mr. Speaker said, he was not inclined to take up the time of the committee by a reference to the particulars of the union with Scotland, to the consequences which followed that measure, or to the arguments which they suggested on the present occasion. These topics had been already discussed, in a manner which could not fail to make a forcible impression on the House. He would only remark, that the animosity between the two nations, immediately previous to the union, was such as to have led them to the verge of hostilities; and that the grounds of distrust and complaint were thereby entirely done away. He also observed, that there were circumstances tending to facilitate an intimate connexion between this country and Ireland, and to incorporate the people of those kingdoms, which did not belong to the relation in which England and Scotland stood to each other. It would be recollected, amongst other illustrations of this observation, that here, and in Ire land, there was the same code of civil and criminal law; the same forms for the administration of justice; and for the purposes of legislation, the same succession to the crown; and the same established religion. Having stated a few of the many considerations which, in his opinion, recommended this measure, he thought it incumbent upon him to notice some of the objections that had been made to it. Of these there were two, either of which, if valid, was fundamental and insuperable. The first was to the competency of the parliament of Ireland to accede to this measure: the second relied on the final adjustment, as it had been termed, of the year 1782. The one called in question the nature and extent of the authority of the parliament of Ireland; the other solemnly appealed to the good faith of the parliament of Great Britain. In viewing the question of competency, he said, it appeared to him that new doctrines of the present day were on the one side, and the sound principles, the theory and the practice of the British constitution, on the other. The highest legal authorities affirmed the extent and the supremacy of the power of parliament. It was sufficient to refer to the names of sir Edward Coke, sir Matthew Hale, sir William Blackstone, and many others, who, to say the least, have never been charged with a bias against the constitution and liberties of their country. That the functions of the legislature should be exercised on all occasions, and particularly on one so solemn and important as the present, with the utmost circumspection, would be readily and universally allowed. It must also be admitted, that parliament possesses the power, and the right, when called for by the obligation of providing for the public security and welfare, to new-model the constitution, and to alter the succession to the crown, and the established religion of these kingdoms: and he would then ask those to whose objections he was referring, where, if not in parliament, the means of carrying into effect such an arrangement as that which is now in contemplation, however necessary, and however approved, could possibly be supposed to reside? Not in the constituent body, for it would hardly be said that they had delegated a trust to their representa tives, with a reservation in particular cases: not in the people at large, for such a supposition would imply the dissolution of the government; as it is an established truth, that, while the constitution exists, the only legitimate sanction of public opinion, and its only efficient authority, must be derived from the proceedings of parliament. This is the place," sir William Blackstone observes, "where that transcendant and absolute power, which must in all governments reside somewhere is entrusted by the constitution of these kingdoms." The attempts to preclude the discussion of the present subject, by the denomination of a final adjustment, which had been bestowed on the proceedings of the year 1782, struck him with more astonishingnt |