Crown of that degree of discretion with which the constitution had invested it, and which is necessary for the safety and honour of Administration-it enjoined that in all times, and under all circumstances, whether of foreign attack or of domestic disturbance-whether the revenue should rise or fall-that in all events the Crown should be bound, by the admonition of Parliament, not to exceed the annual income of the nation. This, say the opponents of the resolution, never was attempted by the Parliament of England-that, on the contrary, from 1774 to 1780, session after session, the Minister had a vote of credit of one million, to enable him to provide for such emergencies-that by such vote the English Minister was enabled to send to Ireland a great sum of money, to provide for her unforseen emergencies, and at a period too when the Irish Exchequer was exhausted-that such a resolution tied up the hands of Government from giving bounties to encourage industry, and to promote the prosperity of the country -that a Government which could not be trusted, or whose power the Parliament would be obliged to circumscribe with such a resolution, should not be suffered to exist-that the resolution (according to the special pleaders for the Crown) was an imperfect one-that it was so worded, as

to give to any Administration the opportunity of rendering it nugatory and inefficient-for, says the Minister, examine the wording" So long as the taxes of last year shall be continued, the expenses of the nation shall not exceed the revenue.""What is the necessary deduction ?" exclaimed Lord Clare." Why, so soon as one of those taxes shall be withdrawn, the Government may set off in the old career of profusion and extravagance-give us up the new taxes, and you may accumulate debt as fast as you please." To this reasoning, impertinent and sophistical as it must appear to every reflecting mind, Mr. Grattan replied, with his usual logical precision, and peculiar sagacity ;-to the specious and wily quibbles of the special pleader, we see him oppose the integrity and wisdom of the statesman.

The profusion and extravagance, which it was the object of Mr. Connolly's motion to prevent, and which Mr. Grattan told the nation would

follow from its rejection, soon after deluged every branch of the Administration, and generated that fatal corruption and debility, which terminated in the destruction of the independent spirit of the landed interest, and the necessary extinction of Irish freedom.

Mr. GRATTAN spoke to the following effect:

"Mr. Speaker-Sir, the motion before you is very near a self-evident proposition-that a nation, after a great exertion to raise her revenues, ought not to exceed them.-I differ from these gentlemen who deny that the new taxes were granted in consideration of commercial advantages; commerce was held forth the last Session as one of the compensations; to stop the progress of debt, was the other; but if any man doubts whether commercial advantages were in contemplation of the new taxes, look to the eleven resolutions, and let the record determine; there you will find the resolution for the taxes a part of the new system of commerce; the new taxes there evidently appear to have been asked on the credit of new commercial advantages, which were supposed likely to generate a new ability to bear them; and as a further inducement, these taxes were also recommended by the stipu lation of putting a stop to the further accumulation of debt.

"Here then were held out two compensations, trade and economy; neither were to exist in pro- mise, but both were to form part of your laws : accordingly, by the eleventh proposition, the surplus of hereditary revenue was to make up

home deficiency, before it could be applied to the navy of Great Britain; and the English Minister could not obtain Irish money, unless he became an Irish economist!-Here was a self-operative principle of economy established, not in confidence, but in law; this was the idea of the resolutions; and even the commercial bill, which does in some measure betray that idea, does stipulate for economy, and provides that this House should in future proceed by estimate, and that when Government exceeded, the excess should fall on the English fund. Thus the new taxes were to be accompanied with two compensations, trade and economy; the first compensation is withdrawn. I do not inquire now whether the bill of the right honourable member was good or bad. I continue to think it execrable-but certainly it was not the condition held out, or the trade that was offered in the original propositions. You have lost one compensation, the trade; and the question is now, whether you will lose the other, economy? When gentlemen agreed to the first resolution this night proposed, that it was necessary to stop the further accumulation of debt, I suppose them to have been sincere; that they meant it not as a vile excuse for granting new taxes, but as the principle of the grant. I enter into the spirit of that principle, and affirm

that the best method of securing its operation is to vote the second resolution. For the mere and unqualified increase of taxes, does not prevent, but rather encourages, the growth of debt, for it encourages the growth of expense; it is an amnesty to past, and a spur to future profusion; as if a father should say to his son-I will pay all your extravagance, by way of discouragement. This general observation applies to this country with peculiar force, because in this country there are peculiar causes of extravagance.

"You have two Administrations, that of Ire. land, and that of Great Britain; and of course a double patronage, and a two-fold authority to load your establishment; moreover, you have no appropriation of funds, in Ireland, as there is in Great Britain; and not having a special, youshould surely have a general limitation ;-again, we have no Irish cabinet-individuals may depre cate, may dissuade, but they cannot enforce their principles-there is no embodied authority in Ireland.

"Again, your government constantly fluctuates; your Viceroys change every day-men of different parties and different principles, faithful to private engagement, but not bound to any uniform public system; again, you have no decided responsibility in Ireland-the objects of