surrender, a surrender to arms. I laugh at those: who call the liberty of Ireland the disgrace of England; such a principle would be the disgrace of England; it has already been her destruction.

"For acknowledging American liberty, England has the plea of necessity; for acknowledging the liberty of Ireland she has the plea of justice; the British nation, if she consults with the head, or with the heart, will not, or cannot refuse our claims: or, were it possible she could refuse, I will not submit. If England, (which I cannot believe,) is capable of refusing to repeal the Declaratory Act against Ireland, after she has enabled his majesty to repeal that which was made against America, if she were capable of imposing that distinction, you are incapable of submitting to it; the members of this house cannot submit to it: no nation is so little formed to bear any thing that looks like personal disrespect; many of us have received great honours from the people; can we, can I for instance among others, take the civic crown from my head, and go under the yoke of the British supremacy real or imaginary? Some of the gentlemen of this country are the descendants of kings; can they pay allegiance to their ancestors crown, on the head of every common man in England? I know the gentlemen of this country too well. I know they will not submit. The submission would go against their personal esti

62 The appellant jurisdiction of the lords vindicated. mation, as well as against their publie right. They would not submit to the insult in the face of Europe. Are colonists to be free, and these royal subjects slaves? Can the nation, in this popular and royal predicament, live cordially with the people of England except on terms of perfect. equality?

"I have done with the supremacy of England, and shall now say a word on the appellant jurisdiction of the house of lords. The Irish house of lords must have their judicature, their birthright, their unalienable privilege; it is the English constitution, and must be restored. I must hear very strong argument indeed before I can be brought to think that this country is unfit for the British constitution. The supposed incapacity of the lords to decide the question of law is an absurd way of talking. Give them power, and you give them capacity. Cannot they have the opinion of the judges? Do not they correspond with the judges of England? Are not the lay lords of England as unacquainted with the law as the lay lords of Ireland? And is not Ireland capable of having law lords competent to law? The present men are so. Are they not to adjudicate under the public eye? Will they not be ambitious of a chaste discharge of a new power? We can never fear any abuse of it. The lords will exercise with caution a power restored to them by the virtue of their countrymen. Sir, I see in that house

not only sound legal knowledge, but a young and glowing vigour, virtue, and capacity that will assert and exalt the peerage of Ireland.

"But you are to consider this head in another point of view; you are called on this day to settle the constitution, and if you leave any thing unsettled, if you leave any thing unasserted, you are responsible to England that the settlement shall be final, and therefore it must be radical. England meets your wishes; the new ministry intend to remove every subject of dispute, and throw themselves on the support of the people; then how can we support them if any cause of dispute be left? England has said, state your grievances; and shall we neglect to do so? If we do, and if there shall be general meetings of the people, and of the volunteers, to complain of grievances after what is intended for a final adjustment, would not England think there was something insatiable in the Irish people? Do not you know, that if the legislative supremacy is ceded, the jurisdictive will be the next subject of attack? These are great conjunctures; but I would not have them of the ordinary course of things. I would therefore settle all our questions with England now, and shake hands with her for

ever.

"The question of judicature cannot be distinct from the question of legislature. If the 6th of Geo. I. be partially repealed, the claim of legislation is not ceded. Let us then restore the ap

pellant jurisdiction; for if that part of the act be not repealed, they leave not only the claim of British supremacy standing against us, but they leave the exercise of the power existing; for the part of that act which vests the judicature in England is an exercise of legislative authority. To cede the latter, therefore, the law must be repealed in toio; and if repealed, their original right reverts to the peers, unless you pass an act divesting the peers of their hereditary right. But will the peers submit to this? will the people submit? will you expose administration to the odium of such an act? It cannot be: the illustrious house of peers, composed of persons of the first learning, talents, and abilities; aged men matured in wisdom, aspiring youth animated to glory, never will rest in the fashionable insignificance to which they have been reduced, nor carry about the world, in their noble persons, the evident badge of extinguished honour. No: my lords, you shall have your judicature, you shall sit in the seat of your ancestors, dispeusing justice according to the ways of the constitution, in full nobility. England can have no objection to this-she is not ambitious of the trouble of being an arbiter.

"I now come to the third head, the mutiny bill. (Here he condemned it very forcibly, mentioned several reasons against its perpetuity, and what kind of a mutiny bill there should be.) It must," said he," be limited in time, in uumber of men, the articles of war set forth, and the

66

English declaration of rights in the preamble." He then went to the fourth head, Poyning's law, under which the councils had exercised a power of suppressing and altering bills; both which powers must be extinguished by law.

"I cannot imagine the present ministers of England are inimical to the rights of the Irish nation, when they have been for so many years advocates for the liberties of England and of the colonies. It was the great rule of their opposition; and it is impossible that men who are ready to grant independence to America should oppose the independence of Ireland. If the late ministry lost thirteen colonies during the course of an unsuccessful war, Ireland has, from being a colony, grown into a nation. If ministers have the same powers and the same sentiments in office .that they had when in opposition; if they are not afraid of Ireland; if instead of seeking to soothe, they mean to redress it; if they will give us ample and unqualified redress-the Irish people then are their friends, the volunteers are their army, and we are their supporters: we will give them a support very different from the canting of moderation, or that sort of pensioned loyalty whose exertions never went beyond these walls; and let me add, this is a time when a venal parliament and a murmuring country will not serve either Eng land or Ireland. The same sentiment of pensioned loyalty did very well, when every thing was F

VOL. II.