fruits been, by the richer parts of their own order, and parti cularly the bishops, faithfully and justly valued, and applied to the building of churches and the increase of poor livings, the advocates for non-residence would want their voluptuous apology. But it has happened that the first-fruits, by a remote and antiquated valuation, are rendered of no account; they do not, by that valuation, which was made in the reign of Henry VIII. produce more than 4301.; at this day the bishoprics alone amount to near 70,000l. a-year, the firstfruit of which, without going farther, would be a great fund for building of churches and glebe-houses, and increasing poor livings. You see that, in fact, first-fruits are now a most miserable modus; and it is very remarkable, that the very men who object to any modus, however rational, in favour of the manufacturer, have themselves set up a modus against the church; a modus, the most irrational and illiberal, against the poor of their own order, and the house of their own God! "We cannot reside, because we have neither house nor church;" that is, the richer part of your order have taken to themselves the funds of the church, and now you have no place to pray in!

But though I would compel residence, I would compel it by a moderate process; a moderate tax, to commence after absence for a certain time. I would not leave the dispensing with residence to the bishop, because I would not put into his hands the talents and suffrages of the parochial clergy; I would not enable him to say, "Sir, you have written too freely on constitutional subjects, you must reside;" or, "Sir, you have voted for the popular candidate, and must reside." I would not make residence an instrument of undue influence, nor would I wish to make the parochial clergy mean and subservient to their bishop. I would compel residence by a tax, and that should be moderate, with certain allowances; my principle with respect to the residence of the minister being this, his parish ought to be his home, but not to be his prison.

I have submitted the resolutions; I mean to put the House in possession of them. All I desire is, that they may have a fair examination. Of government, all I ask is impartiality; all I deprecate is predetermination. I do not desire that they should assent to either my facts or principles, but I desire a fair trial for both. I desire, moreover, that in holding their deliberation, they may not take into their cabinet the enemy. If these principles are false, they will die of themselves, without the interposition of government; if right, they will at last prevail, and then government would be obliged to retract a

resistance precipitately made. As to the southern peasantry, all I ask on their part is peace. If the White-Boys break out again, I give up this business. I will be the first to support strong measures of coercion. The gentlemen of the south should inform them, that if they had originally represented the oppressions they suffer under tithe, by humble petition to Parliament, they must have been redressed; the parson and the tithe-farmer would not have chosen to have defended, or to continue demands publicly stigmatised for extortion and avarice. In a free country, the mere promulgation of injury is the certainty of redress; but those desperate wretches had not the courage to apply to the legislature, and had the despair to apply to outrage; the consequence was, as always must be, they consigned their bodies to the hangman, and left to their families a continuation of the grievances; and involved in their disgrace a great part of the peasantry, who were equally oppressed, and entirely innocent. The truth is, the tithe-farmer had no case but the White-Boy; they both stood on the crimes of the other, and murder was a greater offence than extortion.

With respect to a right reverend bench, I mean a part of that bench, all I ask is temper. I stated several allegations; I am ready to prove them. I stated, that in some parts of the south the demands of tithe had exceeded the bounds of law; I repeat the allegation. I stated that the proctor had, in many places, demanded and received a certain per centage, called proctorage, against law and charity; I repeat that allegation. I stated, that in parts of the south, certain ministers or their proctors had been guilty of exactions which were unconscionable, and I stated also that they had recently, and greatly and unconscionably increased their ratages; I repeat that allegation. I stated that the tithe-farmers did very generally, in the parts disturbed, oppress the common people, and had exceeded their legal powers, or had most grossly abused them: these allegations I repeat now; and am ready to go into proofs, whenever gentlemen choose to give me such an opportunity.

I am not responsible for the precise quantity of every return stated to me. Some of the statements are official, and cannot be disputed, and are enormous; others come from the oppressed, and may be sanguine. I am not responsible for the precise quantities in such a case; but I am responsible for this allegation, that there exists great oppression; I repeat it again, there exists great oppression.

As to the resolutions which I now submit, and which, next session, I shall move, the right reverend quarter will consider,

that some of those propositions are in their principles already the law of England. With what justice can they attempt to deprive Ireland of the benefit of such laws? Ireland, a country requiring so much more encouragement, and paying abundantly more to the church. A celebrated bishop in England has calculated, that the income of the church in England, including all bishoprics, and even the estates of the universities, would, if distributed, amount to 150%. for each clergyman. A learned bishop in Ireland has calculated, that, excluding bishoprics and universities, the income of the church in Ireland would amount to 1487. for each clergyman. Thus, by this calculation, excluding their great riches, I mean the bishoprics, the ministers of the Protestant church of Ireland have within 27. as much as in England; and, including bishoprics, must have, beyond all comparison, more than in England, where the extent of the cures is incomparably less, even supposing our clergy were all to reside, and while this kingdom has two other orders of priesthood to support. Such of our bishops who came from another country, and have intercepted the views of some of the younger branches of our best families here, will naturally wish to make some compensation. The laws of the country to which they owe their birth, they, I suppose, will not object to communicate to this country, to which they owe their situation.

Some of the resolutions are not only founded on principles of husbandry, but maxims of Christianity. These, I hope, will not meet with inveterate opposition from any of the right reverend bench; those of them the most adverse and inveterate will soften, when they consider the Christianity of clothing the naked, and feeding the hungry; or rather, indeed, of suffering the naked and the hungry to feed and clothe themselves, by encouraging their manufacture; giving certain privileges to their infant labours, and by leaving in their principal food the poor, unoppressed by avarice and exaction under any pretence whatsoever. However, if this shall not be the case; if these sound doctrines and these charitable principles are received by some of a certain quarter with hardness of heart, and their author with clerical scurrility, I cannot help it. I shall persist, notwithstanding, in making my solemn appeal against such men to their own Gospel; which, as it is the foundation of their power, so must it be the limits of our veneration.

The resolutions were opposed by Mr. Browne (of the college), Mr. Mason, the Secretary of State (Mr. Hutchinson), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Parnell, and Sir Lucius O'Brien. They objected to the resolutions appearing on the journals, and

stated, that the House, by agreeing to the barren land bill, had expressed a much stronger opinion than those resolutions conveyed. The question of adjournment was accordingly proposed, and passed without a division.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

SPEECH OF THE LORD-LIEUTENANT (MARQUIS OF BUCKINgham). HIS MAJESTY'S ILLNESS.

February 6. 1789.

ON the 5th, the session was opened by the Lord-lieutenant, with the following speech to both Houses of Parliament:

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"With the deepest concern, I find myself obliged, on opening the present session of Parliament, to communicate to you the painful information, that His Majesty has been for some time afflicted by a severe malady, in consequence of which he has not honoured me with his commands upon the measures to be recommended to his Parliament,

"I have directed such documents as I have received respecting His Majesty's health to be laid before you; and I shall also communicate to you, so soon as I shall be enabled, such further information as may assist your deliberations on that melancholy subject.

"Gentlemen of the House of Commons,

"Deeming it at all times my indispensable duty to call your attention to the security of the public credit, and to the maintenance of the civil and military establishments, I have ordered the public accounts to be laid before you.

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"It is unnecessary for me to express to you my earnest wishes for the welfare and prosperity of Ireland, which, in every situation, I shall always be anxious to promote: nor need I declare my confidence in that affectionate attachment to His Majesty, and in that zealous concern for the united interests of both kingdoms, which have manifested themselves in all your proceedings."

Lord Kilwarlin moved an address of thanks to the Lord-lieutenant. He was seconded by Mr. French; and a committee was appointed to prepare the same. On the 6th, the address was

brought up.

"To His Excellency George Grenville Nugent Temple, Marquis of Buckingham.

"May it please Your Excellency,

"We, His Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Ireland, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to return

Your Excellency our most humble thanks for your excellent speech from the throne.

"We cannot adequately express the poignancy of our sorrow, in being informed by Your Excellency that His Majesty has been for some time afflicted with a severe malady, in consequence of which Your Excellency has not received his royal commands upon the measures to be recommended to his Parliament.

"We return Your Excellency our sincere thanks (however we must lament the necessity of such a circumstance) for ordering the communication of such documents as you have received respecting His Majesty's health, as well as for your intention of laying before us such farther information as may assist our deliberations on that melancholy subject.

"Nor can we withhold our tribute of acknowledgment to Your Excellency for pointing our attention to the support of our public credit, and the maintenance of the civil and military establishments, as well as for your solicitude to prepare us for those subjects, by ordering the public accounts to be laid before us. On these great objects of general importance, we shall endeavour to act with a becoming care to the national interests, and the honour of His Majesty's crown.

"We are duly impressed with a lively and grateful sense of [Here the amendments were moved] the earnest wishes that Your Excellency is pleased to express for the welfare and prosperity of Ireland, which you have been always anxious to promote; and we flatter ourselves, that His Majesty's most faithful Commons will be found to merit the favourable opinion which Your Excellency entertains of them, by manifesting, under the pressure of the present calamity, the most genuine and cordial loyalty and attachment to their beloved monarch, and the most zealous regard for the united and common interests of both his kingdoms."

On the third paragraph being read, Mr. Grattan asked what the documents were to which the paragraph alluded? Mr. Fitzherbert replied, the copies of the examinations and reports of the physicians attending His Majesty, taken before the Privy Council and Parliament of Great Britain. They were the only documents he

had to offer.

Mr. GRATTAN said, That the object of his question was, to discover whether any other evidence relative to His Majesty's health than that which had been laid before the Houses on the other side of the water, was expected? For his part, he was clear that the physicians' report who attended his Sovereign, as solemnly given and properly certified, was complete and conclusive evidence; but the House should not wait for His Excellency's report of these transactions, for if they did, it would appear to the world as if the measure of another assembly was to be the rule of their conduct. He had a high veneration for such respectable authority, but he spurned the idea of dictation; the first was evidence,