Fortefque-To the Printer of the Prefs Sidney-On the Liberty of the Prefs The Contraft; a poetical Fragment Trial of Captain Simon Frazer, and John Rofs Old Truepenny-To the Editor of the Prefs Elegiac Ode, to the bonored Memory of Wm. Orr The White Shoulder Knot; a Poem Epigram; on a virtuous Prime Minifter William Caxan-On the Liberty of the Prefs Refolutions, &c. at the Temple Inn, London A Man of Ulfter-To the Lord Lieutenant An Elegy, on General Hoche's Death Marcus, Letter I. To Lord Grenville Affidavits of the Jurors on William Orr's Trial William Caxon-To the Students of Trinity College An Effay; addressed to the People Marcus-To the People of Ireland A Militia Officer-To the Commander in Chief Petition of the Freeholders of Co. Down-To the King- Poetry Poetry CONTENTS. Mr. Curran's Speech, on the Trial of Mr. Finnerty A Militia Officer-To the Commander in Chief Mary Smith's Letter to her Brother-in-Law A Freeholder of Westmeath-To the Grand Jury Extracts of Letters from the County of Carlow A Prefbyterian-To the Rev. Philip Johnson A Sopbifter-To the Students of Trinity College A Malecontent-To the Peers of Ireland A Sketch of Buonaparte's Character An EfJay-To the Editor of the Prefs Copy of Lieutenant Speare's Affidavit Letter from J. Hebert, to Mrs. O'Connor A Militia Officer-To Sir Ralph Abercrombie The Orangeman's Converfion; a poetic Dialogue A Man of Ulster-To the Lord Lieutenant A Prefbyterian-To the Editor of the Prefs A Call on Arthur O'Connor's Bail, &c. Marcus-To his Fair Countrywomen 7. Bird To bis Excellency Lord Camden Scævola-To the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Addrefs of the London Society, to the Irish Nation The Writers in the Prefs-To Lord Perfecution of Mr. B. Coile, and W. Hawthorn Examination, &c. of Mr. Stockdale, Printer M. M.-To the Invincible Mafter, &c. Sentence of Mr. Stockdale, printer Dien-To the Author of Coercion Further Imprisonment of Mr. O'Connor Appeal of the People of Ulfter, to their Countrymen Arthur O'Connor's Speech on the Catholic Question, in THE PRESS. No maxim is more true than this, "That no Liberty can furvive the Liberty of the Prefs;" it breathes a foul into the body of a People; it forms their manners, and by teaching them their duties and their rights, and infpiring them with the fentiments of virtue and courage, by which both are to be enforced, introduces the empire of reafon to the univerfe; it is the veital fire, upon the prefervation of which, the fate of Nations depends; and the moft pure hands, officiating for the whole community, fhould be inceffantly employed in keeping it alive. But it muft be acknowledged, that by fome fatality of late, the Prefs in this haraffed country has been either negligent or apoftate; it has been a centinel a-fleep on its poft; or, an open deserter, active againft the people and their caufe, in the fervice of which it affected to volunteer. To flatter and betray, has been too often the practice of thofe who have fought popular confidence-money, and not principles, was their object; and it is not furprifing, that what was fordid and mercenary in the beginning, fhould, in the end, be perfidious and corrupt. So many and fo fad have been the apoftacies which have taken place in this refpect, that afcepticism humiliating and derogatory to the Irish character has obtained, and the beft difpofed men, with great reafon, have been led to doubt the existence of a pure patriotism, unalloyed by any mixture of the selfish paffions; they have feen the Prefs introduced to them in all the charms of a virtuous virgin, fhordly degenerate and receive the private embraces of the minifter behind the curtainor act the bolder part of a public proftitute. The Northern Star, put down by military interpofition, must be acknowledged to be an honorable exception. It is now propofed to establish a News-paper, to be solely and unalterably devoted to the people of Ireland and their Interefts, under the appellation of THE PRESS : For the reafons before ftated, it occurred that not one fentence in the form of profeffion to the public fhould be uttered, but rather, that the columns of THE PRESS fhould be fuffered to fpeak for themselves, and the print let to live or die by the character which they should unfold; yet the public have certainly a right to be acquainted with the grounds upon which their approbation is folicited, and which shall be stated in a few words: To extinquish party animofities and introduce a cordial union of ALL the PEOPLE on the bafis of toleration and équal government, as it is a primary duty, fo it fhall be the efpecial care of THE PRESS; to call into action all that is noble and generous in the minds of IRISHMEN individually, as a fure means of rendering them collectively a great and happy nation; to cultivate the feeds of virtue, heroif and induftry, which are inherent in their minds, shall be chief objects of its unceafing vigilance ;-these feeds lie plentifully and deep in that good foil, and be it the labor of THE PRESS to cultivate them until they fhoot forth in all the glory of illuftrious actions; to class Ireland on the scale of Nations, and to give her an Imperial place in the map of Europe; to affert and obtain her commercial rights, fo Aagrantly encroached on by British monopoly; to inculcate thofe maxims of ceconomy and liberty, without which no nation can be grand or respectable; to open new channels for induftry, and the employ of our people in manufactures and in commerce, in our fifheries and our collieries, those mines of wealth which, in complaifance to the fifter-or rather miftrefs nation, are doomed to continue unworked; to infufe notions of pure morality into the rifing generation, and to recommend an attention to the mild virtues of religion, in the abfence of which its forms are a mockery; |