Great Britain, however, was not irritated when we surrendered up to her the India trade.

"Will any man tell this house, that Great Britain is of so haughty a character, that she must be fawned upon, and courted to do justice? He did not blame the right hon. gentleman for moving the question of adjournment. From his manner, he seemed to do it with regret and concern. He considered him only as the commissioner of the British cabinet, in whose councils he did not share, and who is only to execute their orders as directed. It would be, therefore, unjust to attach any blame to him. If the house should accede to the resolution, we would not thereby get the British tariff: it must be considered first by the parliament of England; and, if it appeared improper to them, they would stop it in limine. In voting for the resolution, the house would give to the British parliament an opportunity of discussing the question, and of exposing that commercial folly, which, it was said, existed. He thought, therefore, they ought not adjourn the question, until a comprehension of mind was restored to the people of Great Britain.

"He did not doubt but Great Britain bad a regard for Ireland! She ought to have it. If she had been formerly impressed with the same sentiments, she would, at the present day, be the most powerful empire on earth. At that inauspicious period, when the woollen trade of Ireland was surrendered to British monopoly, there were but thirty-four gentlemen in this house to come forward in behalf of their country; and, if the

house should this night vote for the question of adjournment, he did not think they would be much better. He could not help impressing on the mind of the right hon. gentleman the injustice of admitting France to commercial advantages from which Ireland is excluded. To give an idea of the commercial disadvantages under which Ireland labours, in her intercourse with England, it might not be unnecessary to state a few items from the tariffs of both countries. How then stand the tariffs on woollen cloths, or what is called old drapery? In Great Britain there is an import duty of forty shillings and six pence per yard on Irish woollens, while the duty on English woollens, imported into Ireland, amounts to no more than fifty pence per yard! On woollen stuffs and mixed goods, or what is called new drapery, the same system of hostility to the manufactures of Ireland has been followed by the parliament of Great Britain. The import duty from Ireland into England is six shillings per yard; and from Great Britain here only three halfpence! Cotton goods were admitted here at a duty of 10 per cent.; in England the duty is 30 per cent. Printed linens, notwithstanding all that is said of the protection afforded by Great Britain to the linen manufacture of Ireland, are subject to an import duty there of 65 per cent., while here they are admitted at 10 per cent. One manufacture has been considered sufficient for upwards of four million of people; but, he would beg to know, was not such a disproportion of duties calculated to destroy even that? Ireland

bad not been more than thirty years in possession of the manufacture of printed linens, when England laid on a heavier duty, to enable her to rival us. After trying the experiment, she found she could not; and, the consequence was, that the trade went into the hands of the Germans, the Hollanders, and the Swiss. Thus the trade was lost to Ireland, without being the smallest advantage to Great Britain. The manufacture of sailcloth, in like manner, was rising in this country, about the year 1750, to a very flourishing state, until checked by the monopolizing spirit of England; which, however, has not been productive to the latter nation of any advantage. So that Ireland might, with respect to these particulars, tell Great Britain, you have robbed us of that which not enriched you, but makes us poor indeed.'

"When, in the year 1785, this nation was given to understand, that a commercial adjustment with Great Britain was about to take place,

140,000 annually, of new taxes, were imposed on that presumption; and, to this day, the nation remains without any equivalent. We chearfully acceded, last sessions of parliament, to the monopoly of the India company for twenty-one years; and, at that time, the noble lord, who conducted the affairs of government, said the accommodation should take place.

"He made no doubt but some gentlemen would be highly gratified that the session should pass over without any debate: these might, however, find themselves disappointed. Nations were

瞥

born to assist nations, in like manner as men were born to assist men; and the more exactly Great Britain and Ireland squared their reciprocal commercial and political intercourse by this maxim, the more prosperous would be the common affairs of both. England was peculiarly adapted to the manufacture of fine woollen cloths, and might, therefore, leave to Ireland the advantages on coarse. It begins now to be known, that the spirit of monopoly is as injurious to trade, as that of conquest is to the happiness of society. It is better for mankind to assist than destroy each other. The tendency to the former is natural to the human heart, and is done by the wisdom of God; the latter proceeds only from the depraved policy of man. The consequence of depriving Ireland of the woollen manufacture was, to throw that trade directly into the hands of France, to the detriment of Great Britain. Sir Matthew Decker, than whom no higher authority on the subject of trade can be adduced, is of opinion, that the rivalry of France would not have become so formidable to Great Britain, but for the restrictions laid on the woollen trade of Ireland: and, if the two nations would not suffer themselves to be divided in sentiment, on account of the narrow gut of ocean which separates them, they would both become more great and prosperous. This session a great subsidy had been voted to Great Britain, for the purpose of carrying on the war with the greater effect. Are we then to be joined in war with Great Britain, but excluded from her commerce? The linen manu

facture may, perhaps, be sufficient for Ulster; but is Munster to droop in poverty? He entertained too high an opinion of the British ministers, to think they would yield to the folly of the manufacturers, or be thereby induced to postpone measures, which, they must be convinced, are for the common interest of the empire. When a commercial adjustment was in discussion in the year 1785, the British manufacturers only mentioned their doubts to the ministry, with respect to the manufactures of glass, pottery, and a few other trifling articles. He would be glad to know, what new circumstance had produced the present alleged irritation? The resolution proposed by the right hon. gentleman did not go to agitate any political question. It went only to procure the British duties to be lowered to the Irish tariff, which must be finally adjusted in the parliament of Great Britain: and he thought that, in voting the resolution, we were but doing our duty as the representatives of Ireland."

The only instance where opposition seemed to assume any thing of its former tone, was, in the debate upon Mr. Ponsonby's reform bill, on the 4th of March; but even then that party was particularly careful to mark its abhorrence of democracy, of French principles, and universal suffrage. Sir Laurence Parsons, indeed, very strikingly pointed out what he called the imposture and mockery of the existing representation. "When the Americans were deliberating," said he, " "on their new constitution, if any one had got up among them, and had proposed such an