not doing it; but when it was found that he meant seiously to take their affairs into consideration, they had then basely seceded, and wholly forsaken the interest of the kingdom. These censures were so loud, that a member of the British house of commons wrote a letter to be communicated to his friends in Ireland, in which he represented, that however politic it might be to compliment the minister on the present occasion, it was neither very wise nor generous in the members of the Irish parliament, to be so ready in bestowing invectives against their old friends in England. With regard to the minister, it was alleged, that until he was driven to it by the measures adopted in Ireland, his conduct had been extremely equivocal, dilatory, and indecisive. The minority had been justly incensed against him for having so grossly sacrificed the honour of the nation and the dignity of parliament, as to refuse any substantial relief to the Irish, until their own exertions had made it appear that every thing which could be done for them by the British parliament was not a matter of choice but of necessity. The minority, it was said, had earnestly and repeatedly laboured to procure relief for the people of Ireland; and if they had now contented themselves with a silent acquiescence in the minister's propositions, it was only

until they should know whether they would be satisfactory to the people of Ireland; and because what was now done, appeared to be more an act of state than of parliamentary deliberation and discussion.

To the propositions already mentioned, lord North added three others. 1. For repealing the prohibition of exporting gold coin from Great Britain to Ireland. 2. For removing the prohibition to import foreign hops into Ireland, and the drawback on the exportation of foreign hops. 3. For enabling his majesty's Irish subjects to become members of the Turky company, and to export woollens in British or Irish bottoms to the Levant. In support of this last resolution his lordship urged, that it was necessary, because the exportation of woollens having been granted to Ireland, the Irish would naturally expect a share in the Turky trade; which, as matters stood, was impossible, it having hitherto been a received opinion, that no Irishman could be elected a member of the Turky company. Notwithstanding all the satisfaction, however, with which the news of these bills was received in Ireland, it was not long before thoughts of a different kind began to take place. It was suggested, that a free trade could be but of little use, if held by a

precarious tenure. The repeal of the obnoxious laws was represented as an act of necessity, not of choice, on the part of the British parliament. When that necessity, therefore, no longer existed, the same parlia ment might recal the benefits it had granted, and again fetter the Irish trade by restrictions perhaps more oppressive than before. To secure the advantages they now possessed, it was necessary that the kingdom should enjoy the benefits of a free constitution. For this the people looked up to the volunteer companies; and the idea of having such a glorious object in their power, augmented the numbers of those which had also been increased from other causes. They had now received the thanks of both houses of parliament, and thus obtained the sanction of the legislature. many who had formerly scrupled to connect themselves with a lawless body, made no scruple to enter their lists. Government also engaged several of their friends in the volunteer cause. New companies were therefore raised; but whatever might be the political sentiments of the officers, the private men were universally attached to the popular cause. The national spirit was likewise kept up by several patriotic publications, particularly the letters signed Owen Roe O'Neil, which in an especial manner attracted the

Thus

public attention; nor was the pulpit backward in contributing its part in the same cause.

To give the greater weight to their determinations, the volunteers now began to form themselves into battalions; and in a very short time they were all united in this manner, excepting a small number of compa nies, which, from accidental causes, continued separate. The newspapers were filled with resolutions from the several corps, declaring Ireland to be an independent kingdom, intitled by reason, nature, and compact, to all the privileges of a free constitution; that no power in the world, excepting the king, with the lords and commons of Ireland, had or ought to have, power to make laws for binding the Irish; and that, in support of these rights and privileges, they were determined to sacrifice their lives and property.

Notwithstanding all this zeal, however, the repre➡ sentatives of the people in Ireland seem yet to have behaved in a very supine and careless manner, and to have been entirely obedient to the dictates of government. One of the house of commons declared in the month of April seventeen hundred and eighty, that

no power on earth, excepting the king, lords, and

commons of Ireland, had a right to make laws to Every member in the house

"bind the people."

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(says Mr Crawford), " one excepted, acknowledge the "truth of the proposition, either in express terms, or "by not opposing it; and yet, however astonishing it

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may appear, it was evident, that had the question "been put, it would have been carried in the negative. "The matter was compromised. The question was "not put and nothing relating to it was entered on "the journals."

This inattention, or rather unwillingness, of the majority to serve their country, was more fully manifested in the case of a mutiny bill, which they allowed to be made perpetual in Ireland, though that in England had always been cautiously passed only from year to year. After it was passed, however, some of the zealous patriots, particularly Mr Grattan, took great pains to set forth the bad tendency of that act. He observed, that standing armies in the time of peace were contrary to the principles of the constitution and the safety of public liberty; they had subverted the liberty of all nations excepting in those cases where their number was small, or the power of the sovereign over them limited in some respect or other; but it was in