advanced, and the ordinary powers of the three estates of Ireland denied.

This will explain the phenomena of the times. A prince of Wales, laden in England with unconstitutional restrictions; a British subject gratified in Ireland with unlimited corruption. This will explain the meanness of our court, as well as its mysteries—when your viceroys, under the present system, for the purpose of reducing the expenses or redressing the evils of the state, are puppets, and the men who serve under them are mere machines moved by wires, held by these puppets; themselves active agents, indeed, for the purpose of incumbrance, and their magic castle the reign of men imp'd with inferior privileges in these descending times of meanness and of mischief.

This will elucidate the present policy; a policy against which we remonstrate. Let us suppose the various descriptions of society to approach the Irish minister, and deprecate his project. And, first, the moderate man. He will tell him :

"Sir, give up this system. We were quiet. Why innovate?Why commence an attack? Why make us first the dupes of profession, and afterwards the victims of corruption? why a system in which we cannot perceive, or principle, or prudence, or temper?" Let the financier approach him: "Sir, give up this system. You have exceeded the old duties, and you have exceeded the new, and you have exceeded the estimate of expense, as well as the produce of the revenue; and you have been obliged to draft £70,000 from the public creditor, and you have been obliged to bolster up the state by lottery subscription; and nothing remains but to attempt new loans, or to proceed to new taxes, or to fall on the bounty." Let the modest virtues of private life approach him : Sir, give up this system; we do not enter into political discussion, but may we be permitted to fear, lest the very great degree of public corruption at this time, for reasons best known to yourself, adopted, and the ribaldry cast by your government on public virtue, may at last extend their poison to the purity of private life." Or let us bring forth the institution of parliament itself to expostulate with the Irish minister! or, if there is yet her spirit resident in this dome, let that spirit rebuke him! I cannot hear its voice, but I think I feel its dictates. I obey, and I move you,

"That the resolutions of this House against increasing the number of the commissioners of the revenue and dividing of the boards, be laid before His Majesty, with an humble address that His Majesty will be graciously pleased to order to be laid before us the particulars of the representations in consequence of which two new commissioners of the

customs have been added, notwithstanding the resolutions of this House; and also that His Majesty will be graciously pleased to communicate to his faithful Commons, the names of the persons concerned in recommending that measure."

11th February, 1790.

I think it necessary to rise, to make some few observations on what fell in this debate from some gentlemen on the other side, on the subject of party. We have been called "the tail of a British faction;" by whom? By those, or the followers of those, who owe their livelihood, or their first elevation, to what they call "the British faction;" by those who have received one, two, or three thousand pounds a-year from that British faction; whose numerous family have been fed by that British faction; or whose introduction into political life was first due, and the consequences, therefore, in some degree, to be attributed to that British faction. There is not one of the gentlemen in the present Irish administration who are really confidential, that are not bound either by the closest relationship, or the greatest political pecuniary obligations to that British faction; nor is there any one of them, or of those who act under them, that would not be the humble servant of that British faction, if the keys of the treasury were once more in those hands; nor is there any one of them who would not, and does not now, for his private interest, personally and privately court that British faction. When such men revile that body, and instigate their friends, and followers, and retainers, to revile that body, such men do not acquit themselves of the charge of party, but convict themselves of the basest ingratitude and vilest adulation. They prove themselves willing to offer their wretched incense to whomsoever shall be in power; to those from whom they now receive wages, and therefore fawn on, at the expense of those from whom they did receive wages, from whom they are ready to receive wages, but from whom, at this particular moment, they receive wages no longer; and, therefore, such men are not above party, but so very mercenary and menial, as to be below faction. Just so, the coachman who drives the minister he serves secretary after secretary-he is handed down from master to master, and he inquires not into the principles of any, but receives wages from all; and his justification is, that he is a servant. But should he, servant as he is, like some of you, revile those masters who have paid him, then he would be a faithless hireling, and not an honest

servant.

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Sir, I will tell gentlemen what description of party is beneficial; party united on public principle, by the bond of certain specific public measures, which measures cannot be carried by individuals, and can only succeed by party.

I will state some of our's: a pension bill; a place bill; a repeal of the present Dublin police bill; a responsibility bill; that is, a bill requiring the acts of the executive power to be signed by certain officers resident in Ireland, who shall be, with their lives and fortunes, responsible to this kingdom in the measures and expenses of government; also a bill to preserve the freedom of election, by disqualifying revenue officers; and, further, a total demolition of the new charges created by the Marquis of Buckingham.

These are some of the measures to which we, if we should have power, are pledged to the public to carry into specific execution. I read them the rather, because, littera scripta manet, the public hears and will record.

These are some of our measures. I now turn to administration, and call upon them to state their measures; what bills for the public good? State them; come forth. I pause to give them time to consider. Well, what are they? not one public, constitutional, or wise regulation; there they sit under the public eye-a blank, excavated and eviscerated of any one single constitutional or economic bill, or principle, or project, for the good of the community.

Sir, I will give these gentlemen of administration, on this topic of party, the greatest advantage they can in their situation receive. I will draw a veil over the past, and forget the specific services which we have performed, and those which we are pledged to perform for the good of the country. I will also forget the injuries which they and their abettors have at different times inflicted, and are this hour inflicting on the community; let us start, as it were, anew; set name against name, and we will beat them down by character.

I have submitted a description of a party which I conceive to be a public benefit. I will state to you a description of a party which I conceive to be a public curse; if party it can be called which is worse than a faction, and nothing more than an impudent phalanx of political mercenaries, coming from their little respective offices to vote for their bribe, and vapour for their character, who have neither the principles of patriotism, nor ambition, nor party, nor honour; who are governed not by deliberation, but discipline; and lick the hands that feed, and worship the patron who bribes them. Degraded men, disgraceful tribe, when they vote for measures they are venal; when such men talk against party, they are impudent!

As to the complaint before you, contained in the address of my friend, I can only say what has already been said better by others.

This complaint is not incompatible with the bill. It states the grievance of the excess of pensions, and applies for redress; the bill purports to prevent the repetition of that excess by operation of law. The pension list is not now less than the latitude of the bill; they have not read the bill who talk so. The establishment of the bill, including royal pensions, parliament pensions, military pensions, and incidents, was £80,000. The latitude of the list with these, about £110,000. There was, indeed, in the bill a latitude for future royal and parliament pensions, but the present were and are included in the bill of £80,000-you will be certain of this, because we will try the bill again. They say we have no evidence of what? that the Irish pension list is excessive and corrupt. What! do they want to be convicted as well as confuted? Had you the evidence they demand, it would not be sufficient to proceed against the measure, it would be incumbent on you to proceed against the men.

What evidence had this House in 1757, which resolved a string of resolutions against pensions? What evidence had this House in 1771 and 1773, that resolved against Mr. Dyson's pension? In these cases you act as an inquest-notoriety is evidence here-notoriety of corruption in the present case is ample evidence. Do you demand more evidence? The men who have supported these measures are evidence; the reason, or rather the want of reason, they adduced, is evidence. They have attempted to tell you, that you have no right to complain to the king on the exercise of his prerogative; and, in telling you so, they talk like school-boys, unfit to be members of the legislature; and still more unfit to be ministers of the crown. You are the great council of the nation, and obliged to remonstrate to the king on the improper exercise of his prerogative, unless you have abdicated that situation; and, instead of being the great council of the nation, under the present ministers, have become the pensioners of administration.

Gentlemen tell you, that your debt has decreased, and therefore they infer, you may increase corruption. Sir, the fact is not so; the funded debt, indeed, has decreased, and without any merit in government; but there is another debt, the unfunded debt, which has not only increased, but which, when added to the other debt, makes in the whole, on a comparative view of 1789 with 1787, an increase of debt £113,000; for those reductions of fictitious charges are to be taken off the debt of 1787, as well as off 1789, and there will be, notwithstand

ing your new taxes, and your unfounded argument, an increase of debt from 1787 to 1789, in the sum of £113,000. But there is another position which they cannot deny, and which is fatal to that argument that supports the pension list, on presuming the ability of the nation. Sir, you this moment exceed your income; you exceed it in the sum of near £100,000, notwithstanding this casual payment to the minister for New Geneva. What becomes of the argument of those gentlemen now? Sir, there is another position which they cannot deny, and that is, that they now want a loan of near £200,000, which they wish to postpone; but they admit the fact. Their argument, therefore, founded on the prosperity of your revenue, is a false confidence, founded on a fallacious statement. Their other argument, founded on the prosperity of the nation, let us examine that. The country is rising in prosperity! it is true. on this side of the House, with the assistance of the people, got for the country a free trade, and a free constitution; without the assistance, and in direct opposition to some of the gentlemen on that side of the House now in her government; gentlemen who took no part, or took a most hostile and wicked part on those great occasions. Yes, Sir, we prevailed against those deserters of the pretensions of their country, of her trade, and her constitution; the consequence of their defeat and of our victory was, that the country, free from restrictions, shot forth in prosperity and industry, not by the virtue of her present ministers, but by her own native vigour, which their oppression is no longer able, and which their corruptions have not yet been able, to subdue.

We prevailed-we,

This country is placed in a sort of interval between the ceasing of a system of oppression, and the formation of a system of corruption; the former affects her no longer; the latter has only began with the walls of certain august bodies, and will take time to propagate all its poisons into the mass of the country; but go on for ten or twelve years as you have done in the last five; increase in the same proportion your number of parliamentary places; increase, as you have done, your annual charge, every five years of peace £183,000; get every five years new taxes, and apply them as you have done, and then the minister will find that he has impaired the trade and agriculture, as well as destroyed the virtue and the freedom of the country.

There is no object which a course of corrupt government will not finally ruin-morality, constitution, commerce, manufacture, agriculture, industry. A corrupt minister issues forth from his cabinet like sin and death, and senates first wither under his footsteps; then he consumes the treasury; and then he corrupts the capital, and the dif