which it was ready to give up. This mode, however, it was fore feen, might give offence to the people of Ireland, who contended, that England never had any fuch right. The other mode was by declaring that England, though it · had exercised, had never been legally poffeffed of, fuch a right: but to this mode of renunciation it was justly apprehended that the parliament of Great Britain would not be brought to confent. The measure of a fimple repeal of the declaratory act of the 6th of Geo. I. was therefore adopted, as moft confiftent with the spirit of the people there, and the dignity of government here: and though fome zealous patriots in Ireland feemed to think that an abfolute renuncia tion was neceffary; yet, as we have before related *, an addrefs was carried there through both houfes, with only two or three diffentient voices, expreffing their perfect fatisfaction, and declaring that no conftitutional queftion between the two countries would any longer exist. After this the parliament of Ireland proceeded in the exercise of their legislative capacity, to enact laws for regulating their judicial proceedings, and for confining the decifions of property to their own courts of law, with power of appeal to the Houfe of Lords of that country only. Things were going on in this amicable manner, when a cause that had been removed by writ of error from Ireland to the court of King's Bench, long before the repeal had been in agitation, and which the judge, by the rules of the court, was bound to determine, was brought to a decifion. This unlucky accident was

eagerly laid hold on by the clamorous in that country; and the jealousy they attempted to spread was not unwillingly improved by the minifters into an opportunity of fhewing, that the measures of their predeceffors had failed of giv ing that complete fatisfaction which had been boafted, and of courting the applaufe of Ireland by the additional fecurity which the prefent bill was fuppofed to afford to their rights.

The bill paffed without any formal oppofition: it was however remarked, that as the parliament of Ireland had declared that no conftitutional question did any longer exift between the two countries, it was not confulting the dignity of the legislature of Great Britain, nor paying any compliment to the difcernment of that of Ireland, to declare that doubts might still arife; and to pafs an act to prevent them, that was unafked, and grounded on mere furmifes. The parliament of Ireland, by the repeal of the 6th of Geo. I. were virtually invefted with full powers to regulate every domestic inconvenience according to its own discretion; and this in the prefent inftance they had actually done, a bill for the purpose having received the royal affent. The officious interference now of Great Britain, fo far from encreafing the confidence which Ireland was inclined to repofe in us, was more likely, it was faid, to produce the contrary effect, by authorizing groundless jealoufy and diftruft. Confidence was in its nature voluntary: a profufion of profeffions never had, nor ever would, either produce or confirm it. It was madness to fuppofe that fpe

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diftinctness and precision, to follow the arrangement of the arguments used on both fides the quef. tion, than the order of fpeakers. With respect to the latter therefore it may fuffice to mention, that the original addrefs was fupported by the fecretary of ftate, the chancellor of the exchequer, the treasurer of the navy, the folicitor-general, and by Mr. Powis, Mr. Banks, and fome other country gentlemen; the amendments by Lord North, Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, Governor Johnstone, Lord Mulgrave, Sir Henry Fletcher, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Adam, and alfo by feveral of the country gentlemen.

The defence of the peace was undertaken on three grounds; firft, on the weak and impoverished state of this country; fecondly, on the merits of the articles themselves; and lastly, on an attempt to difarm the arguments and objections on the other fide of their force and effect, by throwing on the oppofite party the odium of acting entirely, on this occafion, from interested motives; and of having entered into an unnatural coalition, merely for the purpose of displacing his Majesty's minifters by inducing parliament to cenfure the peace.

On the first of these heads, Mr. Thomas Pitt entered into a circumftantial detail of the deplorable ftate of the finances of this country, taken from the report of a committee appointed to enquire into the ftate of the funds, of which he had been chairman. By this he made it appear, that the national debt, funded and unfunded, amounted to upwards of 250 millions. That the annual intereft

on it would fall little fhort of nine millions and a half. That this enormous interest, being added to the civil lift, and to a moderately calculated peace establishment, our annual expences, in feasons of profound peace, would (according to his detailed calculations) amount at least to 14,793,137 1. That the amount of the enormous load of taxes under which the landed intereft was finking, did not exceed all together 12,500,000l. So that there remained an annual fum of near 2,300,000l. to be raised by fresh burthens.-From thefe facts it was demanded, whether the continuance of the war could end in any thing less than certain ruin?

This ftate of our finances, it was faid, ought to be kept conftantly. in view in difcuffing the merits of the peace; and whenever it was argued that conceffions had been improvidently made, or that greater advantages might have been obtained, members, fhould fairly afk themselves, whether fuch an object, under fuch circumstances, was worth the expence and hazard of another compaign?

It would doubtlefs be urged that the other belligerent powers felt an equal degree of diftrefs; but to what a confequence would fuch a mode of reafoning lead the house? What man was fo defperate as to advise the continuance of a war, which might end in the bankruptcy of public faith, a bankruptcy. which would almost diffolve the bands of government, and this merely on a furmife, that probably one of the adverfe powers might experience an equal distress.

The navy, the fecond great engine of war, was reprefented to be in a condition fcarcely adequate

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to the purposes of defence, and (in a competition of ftrength) greatly inferior to that of the enemy. From the papers on the table it appeared, that the whole British force, fit for fervice, fcarcely amounted to one hundred fail of the line. Of these many were undermanned, several unclean and in a mouldering ftate, and the great eft part had been long and actively employed on foreign ftations. Our magazines were in an exhausted condition; and with the moft diligent exertions not more than fix fail could have been added to this catalogue in March. The force of France and Spain amounted to one hundred and forty fail of the line. Thirteen new ships would have been added to the fleet of France in the courfe of the enfuing fpring. The Dutch fleet would have amounted to twenty-five fail of the line, and it was uncertain what acceffion the Spanish force would have received at the fame time.

With fo glaring an inferiority, what hopes of fuccefs could we derive, either from the experience of the last campaign, or from any new diftribution of our force in that which would have followed? In the Weft-Indies we could not have had more than forty-fix fail to oppofe to forty, which on the day that the peace was figned lay in the harbour of Cadiz with 16,000 troops on board, ready to fail for that quarter of the world, where they would have been join ed by twelve ships of the line from the Havannah,and by ten from St. Domingo, with 25,000 men on board. A defenfive war, it was univerfally acknowledged, muft terminate in certain ruin; and it

was afked, whether Admiral Pigot, with fuch an inferiority, could have undertaken any offenfive operations against the islands of the enemy; thofe iflands on which Lord Rodney, flushed with victory, could not attempt to make an impreffion? Could Admiral Pigot have regained by arms what the minifters had recovered by treaty? Could he, in the fight of a fuperior fleet, have captured Grenada, Dominique, St. Kitt's, Nevis, and Montferrat? Or might we not too reasonably apprehend, that the campaign in the Weft-Indies would have clofed with the loss of Jamaica itself, the avowed object of this immenfe armament?

In the Eaft our profpects were not brighter. A mere defenfive refiftance had entitled Sir Edward Hughes to the thanks of parliament; but his fuccefs, if it might be termed a victory, had not prevented the enemy from landing a greater European force than we actually poffefs in that country, and which, in conjunction with Hyder Ally, was at that inftant fubduing or defolating the Carnatic. In the enfuing campaign, after the junction with Commodore Bickerton, the French fleet would at least be equal to ours.

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If we looked forward to the probable operations in the channel, and in the northern feas, in a future campaign, it was faid to be clear, from the papers laid before the house, that the combined fleets of the houfe of Bourbon and of Holland, would at least have doubled our force in our own seas.

With respect to the army, it was afferted, that we were in want of thirty thousand men to complete its establishments, and that levies [K] 4 could