eight being against the agitation of the pension list at that time, and eighty-nine only for it. So trifling a majority did not encourage the lord lieutenant to hazard any more questions before the prorogation: although no hint or suggestion had been thrown out by the ministry, that it was the intention of government to prorogue the parliament, yet so fully convinced of it were the patriots, that on the 20th of that month (of December) the commons resolved, that it was their undoubted privilege to address the chief governor, to know whether he had any instruc tions or entertained any intentions to prorogue the parliament at an unusual season: an address was therefore agreed upon, whereby it was requested, his excellency would inform the house, whether he had any instructions or had any intention to prorogue the parliament sooner than usual. Here again the lord lieutenant found his deficiency in doing the king's business : for upon a division on the main question the minister was left once more in a greater minority than ever: there being 106 for his excellency's making the declaration, and 73 only against it.* On the very next day, however, Sir George Macartney, the secretary, reported to the house, that his excellency had returned the following answer. GENTLEMEN, "I shall always be desirous of complying with your request when I can do it with propriety. I do not think "myself authorized to disclose his majesty's instructions to me upon any subject, without having received his majesty's com"mands for so doing. With regard to my intentions, they will "be regulated by his majesty's instructions and future events. This answer was neither ambiguous, nor gracious: past events had provoked it and the lord lieutenant awaited only his justification from England of the measure, which his own judgment and disposition had predetermined him to adopt. On the day after Christmas day his excellency put an end to the ses sion. A message was sent by the gentleman usher of the black rod to the commons to attend his excellency in the House of Peers, where after the royal assent was given to two money bills, the speaker Mr. John Ponsonby made the following speech at the bar of the House of Peers.t * Journ. Com. vol. 8, p. 353. † It is remarkable that the Journals of the Lords take no notice of the speaker's speech to the lord lieutenant; that appears only in the Journals of the Commons (8 vol. p. 354) and the Journals of the Commons make no mention of the lord lieutenant's speech to the commons: that appears in the vol. 4 of the Lords Journals, p. 538, the whole of which, with the proceedings and protest are to be seen in the Appendix, No. LXI. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELlency, "His majesty's faithful commons having, upon "all occasions, given the strongest, and most distinguished proofs of their loyalty, duty, and affection to his sacred per"son and government, do now attend your excellency, to present you, for the royal assent, two bills of supply granted by them "this session of parliament; one for granting unto his majesty an additional duty on beer, ale, strong waters, wine, tobacco, "hides, and other goods and merchandises therein mentioned; " and for prohibiting the importation of all gold and silver lace, "and of all cambricks and lawns, except of the manufacture of "Great Britain; the other for granting to his majesty the seve "ral duties, rates, taxes, and impositions therein particularly expressed to be applied to the payment of the interest of the "sums therein provided for, and towards the discharge of the "said principal sums, in such manner as therein directed. The "commons are pleased with every opportunity of testifying "their zeal for his majesty's service; and as they always have, "so they ever will continue, to support and maintain his govern"ment with dignity and honour. They think themselves per"fectly secure under a prince, who considers it as his highest glory to make all his subjects happy; they humbly presume, "that their loyal and dutiful behaviour will entitle them to the "continuance of his majesty's favour and protection, and they "are persuaded, from their knowledge of your excellency's regard to justice, that they shall be represented as a dutiful, a "loyal, and a grateful people." Whereupon his excellency made a very pointed speech to the commons, setting forth his reasons for protesting against their conduct. Then the lord chancellor, by his excellency's command, delivered the said protest to the clerks of the parliaments, which he read at the table, and kept, in order to enter it in the Journals of the lords: after which the chancellor, by his excellency's further command, declared the parliament prorogued to the 20th day of March next. The commons upon their return to their house gave orders, that their clerk should not enter the lord lieutenant's speech in their Journals. The lord lieutenant having experienced so much inflexibility and difficulty in the management of the commons in the first session, fully resolved to meet them no more in parliament, till they were more properly marshalled, and thoroughly broken in to every manœuvre of the new tactics. His excellency accordingly by proclamation on the 12th of March, 1770, prorogued them to Tuesday the 1st of May following: on the 20th of April, 1770, he further prorogued them to the 28th of August, and by three other successive proclamations he further prorogued them to different periods, and ultimately to the 26th of February, 1771, and then to sit for the dispatch of business. This measure of depriving the nation of all benefit of their representatives, because a majority of them had stood up firmly for their privileges, coupled with the effect produced on the nation by some cavalier and angry expressions, which had escaped the secretary in debate, kept the public mind in a state of soreness and irritation, which was not merely confined to Ireland. On the 3d of May, 1770, as soon as conveniently could be, after the second prorogation, a motion was made in the British House of Commons, by the Hon. Boyle Walsingham,* on the late extraordinary prorogation of the Irish parliament, which he introduced by a speech, wherein he said, that the state of Ireland was most deplorable; that, in consequence of the last unexpected prorogation, the following temporary laws had expired; the act for assigning judgments, by which the Roman Catholics could alone obtain landed security for their money; that the tax upon hawkers and pedlars had ceased, which had been appropriated to the support of the incorporated society for building Protestant charter schools; that 2800%. granted for public works, &c. would remain unappropriated in the treasury; that many useful laws, regarding the late insurrections, and the tillage and improvements of the country, had expired; and concluded with moving, "That an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he "would be graciously pleased to give directions, that there be "laid before that house, a copy of all instructions given to the "lord lieutenant of the kingdom of Ireland relating to the late "sudden prorogation of the Irish parliament, at a time when "affairs of the greatest national importance to that kingdom "were depending in the said parliament, together with the papers, on which the said instructions were founded, and his answers thereto; and likewise a copy of a message of the "16th of November, last from the lord lieutenant of Ireland to "the House of Commons of that kingdom, relative to the aug"mentation of the forces there," which motion was seconded by the Hon. Constantine Phips; upon which the right Hon. George Grenville said, that the late prorogation was unconstitutional; that the Stuarts had ever been desirous of ruling without parliaments; that prorogations always followed grants of money, as was the case lately in Ireland; that administration had given up the prerogative of the crown to obtain the augmentation in Ireland; that Lord Townshend's message, and the king's promise, were contrary to two English acts of parliament, the act of the last sessions repealing the 10th of King William, and to the 13th of Charles the Second vesting the Parliam. Deb. 5 vol. p. 309. power and disposition of all the land and sea forces in the crown; that if this promise were observed, it would be in contradiction to those two statutes: he believed deceit and delusion had been hung out to the Irish parliament, to induce them to come into the augmentation. He then moved, that the papers relative to the augmentation also might be laid before parliament. Lord North, in reply, said, that the prorogation of the Irish parliament' was unavoidable; the minister would have been impeachable, if he had advised otherwise: the resolution of the House of Commons was contrary to Poyning's law, the grand bond of the dependance of Ireland upon England, and warranted by the precedent of Lord Sidney in 1692; that, founded upon that, he advised the lord lieutenant's protest, and the prorogation of the Irish parliament; that he affirmed his majesty's bounty from his privy purse would be extended to the incorporated society; that the augmentation could be obtained from Ireland upon no other consideration, than the king's promise of 12,000 men being stationary at all times in that country. Sir William Meredith reverted to the original proposition of his honourable friend; the consideration of the prerogative of the Irish parliament; and in order thereto, he entered into a summary view of Poyning's law, and those statutes, which are derived from it; strongly urging that the Irish House of Commons had a right to give their reason for their votes, which did not impugn in the least the validity of the statute in question. He continued, that he would not then comment upon the violation of the privileges of both houses of parliament by Lord Townshend's protest, but content himself with observing, that in a speech of Sir George Macartney's, printed as it appeared to him in justification of that measure, he said, that this council money-bill was a fine, which they paid for the renewal of parliament, and pointed to a man of great abilities in that country; telling the house at the same time, that he had lost his place of Chancellor of the Exchequer, for impeding the progress of a similar bill at the commencement of his present majesty's reign, recommending it to others to avoid a like fate. He then contended, that the proceedings of administrations in Ireland had been most arbitrary and oppressive. Their house had a coercive power over ministers in every part of the British empire; and he hoped, that the afflicted country of Ireland, would obtain from the British legislature, that reparation, which her own parliament could no longer give her; and that their policy and interest would induce them to do that, which justice loudly demanded from them. The house at length divided upon the question, when 66 were for it, and 178 against it. The augmentation of the army had very considerably augmented the debt of the nation, which for two years ending at Lady Day, 1769, amounted to 628,883l. 17s. 101d. and the pensions during the same period amounted to 177,052l. 11s. 51⁄2d. The national distresses called loudly for the interference of the legislature. All were dissatisfied: some publicly complained. The corporation of the city of Dublin, on the 29th of October, 1770, transmitted an address under their common seal to his majesty, wherein they humbly informed him, that from some defects in the laws relative to corn, flour, and other necessaries of life, and in the laws affecting the police of that city (a situation from which they could only be relieved by the meeting of parliament), his majesty's subjects there experienced many and great difficulties, and apprehended yet greater; and therefore besought his majesty to grant them such relief, as in his royal wisdom he should think fit. During this cessation of parliament, the lord lieutenant redoubled his efforts to complete his operose system of ensuring a majority of individuals. This necessarily exposed him to numberless applications, to which he neither had the means nor the will to accede. Anxious to per fect his system with all possible dispatch, he frequently found himself thwarted by the slenderness of his means, but had the address to accompany the disappointment or refusal with some trait of humour, which ingratiated rather than offended the Irish.* The dearth of political virtue in Ireland has long been the theme of lamentation to most men, of derision to some, and even of boast to others: the historian has but to shew, who at different times have supported, who have deserted, and who have resisted her cause. During the long interval of 14 months, that Ireland, greatly distressed and impoverished, was kept without a parliament, the lord lieutenant did not labour in vain to bring over a considerable portion of the opposite party; at the head of which shone conspicuous, the great quondam patriot, Mr. Sexton Pery, who was first seated in the chair of the house of commons, with a promise of being soon after raised to the peerage. With this accession of force the lord lieutenant, on the 26th of February, 1771, faced the parliament in full confidence; he told them in his speech, it was with the truest satisfaction that he obeyed his majesty's commands to meet them again in parliaHe observed in his speech, that the then high price of corn was an object of the first importance, and demanded the ment. It has been generally supposed, that this noble lord had sketched and published a caricature (in which he excelled) of himself, with his hands and feet fettered: he had one of them in his study, and would often humorously point to it by way of apologizing for a refusal." |