much relied on; she had in that article, in the last ten years, increased her export one-third, or about a million, (her export of any other manufactures is nothing,) the increase, then, of your export of manufacture has been 1,000,000l. in ten years; in the same time your permanent expences have increased above 500,000l. a-year: that he did not include in those expences the war establishment, and that he concluded from this establishment what he had asserted before, that we had overdrawn our prosperity, and that the growth of our expences exceeded in proportion the growth of our exports.

As to the revenues, he observed that the loans of the war had been above 5,000,000l.-700,000l. in 1793; 1,300,000l. in 1794; 1,900,000l. in 1795; and this year 700,000l., besides the vote of credit. That each year of the war had introduced new taxes, and each list of taxes were calculated at above 100,000l. per annum each year. That in the last half year these taxes had come into full operation, and yet the produce of the last half year was but 421,000l., which was less than the corresponding half year, or less than any half year of the war, while the charge stated in the half yearly account was 2,000,000l., and the payments in that half year near one million and a half. It has been said, that we are not to estimate our trade or revenue by the produce in war; true; but gentlemen themselves have done so; and have boasted that the actual produce was surprizing; and have, from that statement, hinted something very like an apology for neglecting the duty of opening new sources of trade. He said he had entered into the calculation taken from their own papers, not to instil despondency, but to check vain confidence, and an unfounded display of riches; which, by encouraging your expence, without enlarging your commerce, led to poverty, and which taught a British minister, by your own authority, to adopt projects of expence, and to reject projects of commerce; a plan which must end in correcting those blessings, the result of that free trade which the exertions of the nation had procured-which the industry of the people had nursed, but which the expences of the state would blast, unless supported by new sources of commerce, and render abortive. This kind of language cries out to an English minister “ are very rich; our revenues, in the midst of war, are abundant; our trade, in the midst of war, is prodigious." The minister will carry your exhortation beyond your intention, and collect from you that he may increase your burden, and that he need not increase your commerce. The argument which over-rates your riches is less dangerous than that other argument which under-rates your pretensions; he meant that argument that

we

tells an English minister that, in the intercourse between the islands, Ireland has the advantage; for that the balance of trade is in her favour 1,300,000l.; fallacious calculation, partial statement this of the relative situation of these countries. Foreign trade, it has been said, is against us, but in our trade with England there is a balance of 1,300,000l. in our favour. But do we not know that foreign trade appears to be against Ireland principally, because Irish trade is for England; because England is the carrier of your foreign trade: and as to the balance of 1,300,000l., he begged to know whether that was the whole of the case, or of the relative situation of the two countries? he reminded gentlemen that the absentee rental was nearly equal; it does not exceed that balance, and which, gentlemen, in calculating the reciprocal advantages and disadvantages of the countries, had thought proper to omit that the absentee rental in 1766 was calculated to be 600,0007. per annum, and that rental had since that time doubled. But that this was not the only error in gentlemen's calculation; for that of the exports from Ireland to Great Britain, linen was almost the only manufacture, part of which England reexported; so far she was your carrier, not your consumer; and, therefore, on that article, part of your obligation is only apparent; the other articles are principally the rudiments of manufacture or manufactures, in a very early and unfinished state; this is the case of hides, of worsted, and of linen-yarn: these England improves and fructifies, so as to obtain thereon a very considerable gain. The articles of Irish worsted and linen-yarn alone, are calculated to produce to England, when manufactured, above 1,000,000l. a-year; what then becomes of this balance of 1,300,000l.? The absentee rental sweeps away almost the whole of that balance, and then there appears on the other side, in favour of England, a balance of gain from the various articles of unmanufactured goods, which are in abundance sent to England from this country, and which, in the instances of worsted and linen, amount to about a million. Thus it appeared that the case was the reverse of gentlemen's representation: it appeared that the balance of obligation was against England, not Ireland; that England was the debtor of Ireland; that Ireland was to her inestimable, not only from our physical situation, our harbours, and the like; not only from the provision and the men whom we give her, and without whom she could not have a fleet nor an army; not only from an immense draft from this country to England by an absentee rental, but from a commercial intercourse, by which she is our carrier, possesses not only a considerable share in our markets in most manufactures, but also has a gain

in our linen manufacture, the only one which she receives from us, and in which intercourse she gets, moreover, the various rudiments of manufacture, which she works up into a great value; whose value, together with the other benefits already mentioned, greatly overbalance the trade account that appears in our favour, and constitute, on the side of England to this country, an immense obligation, which makes a continuation of her prohibitory duties against Ireland a matter of gross and insulting injustice. He said, that he thought it necessary to say so much in reply, in order to refute two dangerous arguments, one of which had a tendency to encourage the minister to increase your expences, and the other taught him to resist your just pretensions.

He observed, that he did not know that the measure could be carried by negotiation; he had hoped a year ago that it might, and he found he was mistaken; and, from that experience, he was warranted in his motion that if the measure was left to negotiation, it might perhaps be carried, but that you might be made to pay for it a great deal more than it was worth. He therefore submitted the best way was, that the Parliament of the country should interfere in the cause of her

commerce.

The question being put, that the order of the day be read, the House divided;-Ayes 82, Noes 16; Majority 66. Tellers for the Ayes, Sir Hercules Langrishe and Mr. Stephen Moore; for the Noes, Mr. Grattan and Mr. Fletcher.

DISTURBED STATE OF THE COUNTRY. INSURRECTION BILL.

MR. GRATTAN MOVES AN AMENDMENT TO THE RESOLUTIONS PROPOSED BY THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

February 22. 1796.

ON the 20th, the House went into a committee, to enquire what measures would be necessary to restore tranquillity in certain disturbed parts of the country, when the Attorney-general (Mr.Wolfe), after stating the outrages that had taken place, and the seditious meetings that were held in the different counties; and having dwelt upon the necessity of adopting some measures to put a stop to such enormities, concluded by moving the following resolutions :

"I. Resolved, That the spirit of conspiracy and outrage, which has appeared in certain parts of the kingdom, and has shown itself, in various attempts to assassinate magistrates; to murder witnesses; to plunder houses; and seize by force, the arms of His Majesty's peaceable subjects, requires that more effectual powers should be given to the magistracy.

"II. Resolved, That in such parts of this kingdom as the said spirit hath shown itself, or to which there may be cause to apprehend its being extended, it will be necessary that the magistracy should have enlarged powers of searching for arms, ammunition, and weapons of offence, and of seizing or securing the same, for the preservation of the peace, and the safety of the lives and properties of His Majesty's peaceable and loyal subjects.

"III. Resolved, That from the many attacks which have been made on the houses of individuals, by large bodies of armed insurgents, for the purpose of taking arms and money by force, and murdering those who have had the spirit to enforce the laws, or give information against offenders, it will be necessary that the magistracy should have enlarged powers, to prevent such bodies herereafter, from assembling or meeting, either to plan or execute such horrid purposes.

"IV. Resolved, That it will be necessary to give the magistracy further powers, with respect to vagabonds, idle and disorderly persons, and to persons liable to be deemed so, and who have no lawful trade, or any honest means to obtain a livelihood."

Lord Edward Fitzgerald opposed the first resolution, and declared it to be his opinion, that nothing would tranquillize the country but the sincere endeavour of the government to redress the grievances of the people. If that was done, the people would return to their allegiance, if not, he feared that neither resolutions or bills would be of any avail.

Mr. Arthur Browne stated, that he could not entirely approve of these measures, but would not in the present instance oppose them.

Mr. Pelham and Mr. Vandeleur supported the resolutions, which were severally put and carried, and on this day (the 22d), the report of the committee was brought up, and the resolutions having been read,

MR. GRATTAN observed, that he heard the right honourable gentleman's statement, and did not suppose it to be inflamed, but he must observe at the same time it was partial. He did indeed expatiate very fully and justly on the offences of the Defenders; but with respect to another description of insurgents, whose barbarities had excited general abhorrence, he had observed a complete silence; he had proceeded to enumerate the counties that were afflicted by disturbances, and he had omitted Armagh; neither had he comprehended the outrages in his general description, nor in his particular

enumeration of those outrages. He had received the most dreadful accounts; that their object was the extermination of all the Catholics of that county. It was a prosecution conceived in the bitterness of bigotry, carried on with the most ferocious barbarity, by a banditti, who being of the religion of the state, had committed with the greater audacity and confidence, the most horrid murders, and had proceeded from robbery and massacre to extermination; they had repealed by their own authority, all the laws lately passed in favour of the Catholics, had established in the place of those laws, the inquisition of a mob, resembling Lord George Gordon's fanatics, equalling them in outrage, and surpassing far in perseverance and success.

Their modes of outrage were as various as they were atrocious; they sometimes forced by terror, the masters of families to dismiss their Catholic servants; they sometimes forced landlords by terror, to dismiss their Catholic tenantry; they seized as deserters, numbers of Catholic weavers; sent them to the county gaol, transmitted them to Dublin, where they remained in close prison, until some lawyers from compassion pleaded their cause, and procured their enlargement nothing appearing against them of any kind whatsoever. Those insurgents, who called themselves Orange Boys, or Protestant Boys—that is, a banditti of murderers, committing massacre in the name of God, and exercising despotic power in the name of liberty; those insurgents have organized their rebellion, and have formed themselves into a committee, who sit and try the Catholic weavers and inhabitants, when apprehended, falsely and illegally, as deserters; this rebellious committee, they call the committee of elders, who, when the unfortunate Catholic is torn from his family and his loom, and brought before them, sit in judgment upon his case; if he gives them liquor or money, they sometimes discharge him; otherwise, they send him then to a recruiting office as a deserter. They had very generally given the Catholics notice to quit their farms and dwellings, which notice is plastered on their houses, and conceived in these short but plain words "Go to Hell, Connaught will not receive you — fire and faggot! Will. Thresham and John Thrustout." They followed these notices by a faithful and punctual execution of the horrid threat, soon after visited the house, robbed the family, and destroyed what they did not take; and, finally, completed the atrocious persecutions, by forcing the unfortunate inhabitants to leave their land, their dwellings and their trade, and to travel with their miserable family, and with whatever their miserable family could save from the wreck of their