'yi't^^^C^r Tot tie Cities of TTiaiii h Clocr-IieT RISE AND FALL OF THE IRISH NATION. SIR JONAH BARRINGTON, LL. D. K. C. Member in the late Irish Parliament for the Cities of Tuam and Clogher The nations have fallen, and thou still art } oung, Thy sun is but rising, when others are set ; And, though slaverj's cloud o'er thy morning hath hung. The full noon of freedohi shall bwm round them yet. Erin 1 oh Erin, though long in the shade, Thy star will shine out when the proudest shall fade. MooRt TWELFTH THOUSAND. NEW YORK: D. & J. SADLIER & CO., 31 BARCLAY STRSET. BOSTON :— 128 FEDERAL STKECT. MONTSEAL, C. E. : — COR. OK .\OTRK DAMK A ST. KKANCIS XAVIEK STS. 1860. T»> THE BARON PLUNKET, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND My dear Lord, Even whilst the twilight of Hfe is rapidly descending into that mysterious night, hy which the whole human race must inevitably be enveloped, there yet remains one gratification, which, whilst intellect survives, age cannot deprive us of, the recollection of past pleasures. To me none afford more happy recollections than the splendid days of my variegated life, spent in the society of those great and gifted characters, who once adorned that talented and happy island, we were then proud to call the place of our nativity. From that society all distinctions of party were ba- nished, and politics were forgotten; all merged in the general glow of private friendship ; there were no con- tests save those of wit, no emulation but in the animated sallies of classic conviviality, there your talents were con- spicuous, and your elevation was predicted. In those societies our intimacy commenced, and generated a friendship, from which my heart and my actions have never for one moment deviated. IV DEDICATION. No man knew me better than your Lordship, no man knows better the sacrifices I made to uphold our country. Once I was formidable to its enemies ; but I have lost my sting, and it required the strength of more than ordi- naiy philosophy to bear up against that overwhelming weight of injustice, illegality, haughty and irresistible oppression, which, through unconstitutional proceedings, and for a palpably corrupt purpose, were heaped upon one of the oldest and most proven friends of the British Monarchy. I trust, however, to the justice and liberality of a reformed representation to afford me a full oppor- tunity of bringing before their eyes, that unprecedented scene of injustice, and of convincing the Empire, that real culprits, of the higher orders, were at the same moment, not only screened, but elevated. On the most important subject that ever agitated (and has not ceased to agitate) the British Empire, our sen- timents, my Lord, were congenial : Ave fought side by side in the cause of Ireland, upon that vital point I yielded my warmest friends, and acquired most inveterate enemies, you broke from no connexion, talent, patriotism, eloquence and integrity stamped your character ; I feel, therefore, that, as the intimate of my society, the comrade of my battles, and, I believe, the friend of my declining years, I should pay to you this tribute of regard, by pre- senting to you a volume, which fills up the chasm of events for twenty of the most momentous years of Irish History ; and, if God gives me health to complete what I am undertaking, the reigns of the seven Viceroys which have succeeded the Union shall be given to the public, as an irrefragable proof of the truth of the predic- tions, which, in 1800, were urged in vain against the adoption of that disastrous measure. As some novel points of view in which I have in this volume placed the present state of the Union question^ DEDICATION. ▼ < spring solely from myself, they are only to be considered as the isolated opinion of a worn-out public man ; full perhaps of those national prejudices, which are insepara- ble from his nature, but excusable when they are genu- ine, and founded on the purest principles of equity and constitution. One of the proudest days of my life was that when, a candidate for the Metropolis of Ireland, the five first names found on my tally, were those of the Gi^attan^ G. Ponsonby, Plunket, Curran, and Ball; you, my Lord, are the only survivor of that illustrious group, who has lived to see the fulfilment of their prophecies, and in that point of view, I feel that not only my private friendship, but almost public duty, commands me to present to you a work, which, whilst narrating the glorious, but unsuc- cessful struggles of our common country, for its Inde- pendence, offers a feeble and melancholy tribute to the patriotism of those illustrious characters, whose memory will ever be revered by a generous and grateful people. Believe me, my dear Lord, to be. With the utmost sincerity. Yours most faithfully, JONAH BARRINGTON. Ptaris, 1st of May, 1833. PREFATORY OBSERVATIONS More than thirty summers have now passed by, since that disastrous measure, called a "legislative Union" extinguished at one blow, the pride, the prosperity, and the Independence of the Irish Nation. A measure which, under the false colours of guarding for ever against a disunion of the Empire, has taken the longest and surest stride to lead it to dismemberment. A measure which, instead of '-^consolidating the strength and resource of the E^npire,^^ as treacherously expressed from the Throne of the Viceroy, has, through its morbid operation, paralyzed the resources of Ireland ; whilst England is exhausting her own strength, squan- dering her own treasures, and clipping her own constitu- tion, to uphold a measure, effected by cormption, and maintained by oppression. A measure which, pretending to tranquillize, has in fact excited more hostile, and I fear, interminable disgust, than had ever before existed between the two nations, and has banished from both, that mutual and invigorating attachment, which was daily augmenting, under the con- tinuance of the federative connexion. The protecting body of the country gentlemen have evacuated Ireland, and in their stead, we now find official clerks, griping agents, haughty functionaries, and proud Clergy ; the resident Aristocracy of Ireland, if not quite extinguished, is hourly diminishing ; and it is a political truism, that the coexistence of an oligarchy, without a VllI PREFATORY OBSERVATIONS. cabinet, a resident executive, and an absent legislation, tenants without landlords, and magistrates without legal knowledge, must be, from its nature, a form of constitu- tion at once incongruous, inefficient, and dangerous. The present is a state which cannot exist ; it is a strug- gle, that cannot continue, there is "a tide" in the affairs of Empires, as well as of individuals ; every fever has a crisis : Ireland is in one now, I am no fanatic, I am the partisan only of tranquillity, in the country where I drew my first breath. The people of England, and also of some continental kingdoms, are fully aware of the distracted state of Ire- land, but are at a loss to account for it ; it is now how- ever in proof, that thirty-three years of Union have been thirty-three years of beggary and disturbance, and this result, I may fairly say, I always foresaw. And when my humble sentiments as to the suscepti- bility of Ireland, and the misrule that seems entailed on her generations, have the honor of coinciding with those of the highest authority in England, on that subject, I feel myself invincible in the position, that "If Ireland was well governed she would be tlie brightest jewel in the King's Crown. The proof that the people are not bad is that during two rebellions in 1715 and 1745 that raged in Scotland and England, the Irish people were quite quiet. But she has been badly goveriied, and has not and does not improve with the rest of the Empire." In fact the world has now become not only enlighten- ed, but illuminated, by the progress of political informa- tion ; and it is clear as day that there are but two ways, through which eight millions of Irish population can ever be governed with security : either through the re-enjoy- ment of her own constitution, and voluntary affection to her rulers, or by physical force of arms, and the tempo- rary right of conquest, the former even now requires only PREFATORY OBSERVATIONS. IX the will of Eiiglaiul, and the word reconcihation ; but both ancient and modern examples fully prove, that the whole physical force and power of Great Britain might find itself dangerously deceived in trying to establish by the sword J a system so repugnant to the very nature of the English people. During the short reign of Earl Fitzwilliam with a resi- dent legislature, five thousand men were sufficient to garrison every spot of Ireland, under the protracted reign of the present Viceroy, more than thirty thousand sol- diers are found necessary, to enforce obedience even to a single statute of the Imperial legislature. These are proofs and matters of fact, they carry con- viction to the reason of every man susceptible of convic- tion, and of eveiy party not hurried away by prejudice, and great Britain herself must now perceive that above a third of her military are employed in Ireland, by her minister, to keep down the exuberant spirit of that people, and that army paid out of the English purse, by taxes levied on the English people, is solely maintained to extinguish that very spirit which they have themselves so triumphantly exercised to obtain a reform of their own corrupt legislature. The subjects of this volume, and some novel sugges- tions and doctrines it embodies, will of course excite many diflcrent opinions, as to the object of its author, in producing such a work, at so critical an epocha of the British Empire. I therefore hesitate not a moment in avowing my reasons; they are just, true, and con- ciliatory ; one is to dispel that profound ignorance of the real state of Ireland, its claims and its deprivations, which appears to have pervaded every class of the British people, and in which lack of information, so great a proportion even of the present Parliament appears to participate. X PREFATORY OBSERVATIONS. But above all to convince the British people, that they are the very worst friends of the connexion, who raise up a "repeal of the Union" as a sprite to terrify the English people, into a false belief that it would be only a certain prelude to a separation of the countries. Never yet was a more mischievous or false position forced on the credulity of an uninformed people ; whoever reads this volume will detect that falsehood ; there they will find, by comparing times and incidents, that, so far from a resident legislature being a ground of separation, it was the knot that indissolubly united them, whilst the increasing miseries of Ireland, arising from this Union, are only the prelude to a convulsive separation of the two countries. In the body of this volume (page 391,) I have given my suggestion as to the term " Repeal of the Union" and my opinion, that no power of the Irish representa- tives or trustees, could enact a line of it, that as a consti- tutional measure, it is a nullity unqualified, and that no such Union dejure, is at present in existence. I must here observe in reply to the ingenious verbiage of my able friend Baron Smith of the Irish Exchequer Bench, that of all the feeble attempts to uphold the affir- mative of that untenable position, his alone is worthy of the most trivial animadversion. When simply a member of the extinguished legisla- ture, he might, like many others, have supported that vicious doctrine for his temporary purposes ; but it is to be lamented, that being a judge he still supports the same doctrine, as to the competence of Parliament, though so distinctly and palpably repugnant to the eternal principles of Justice, and Equity, which form the very essence, and the practice of his jurisdiction. It is impossible to reconcile such pertinacious retention of that doctrine, save through a supposition, that the PREFATORY OBSERVATIONS. XI subtlety of sophistry and metaphysics, have suggested to his fancy, some imaginary distinction between that equity to which private property, and pubhc right, have been invariably and equally entitled ; and that an individual may be entitled to a justice, which a people can be deprived of; and a constitution betrayed by the very trustees, who were delegated for its protection. The case of England and Ireland is not merely a question of law, or even simply of constitution ; it is a question actually embracing the law of nations, com- mercial treaties existed between them as independent countries, and Ireland enjoyed for eighteen years all the rights which the law of nations confers on independent states. The difficulties of dissolving the union are exaggera- ted, the situation of both countries presented far greater obstacles for their arrangement in 1782, than are at this moment existing. England at that period had usurped a dominion over the Irish legislature ; policy and justice, called on her to relinquish that dominion ; she obeyed the call, and the epeal of her own statute (sixth George I.) by inference xdmitted the usurpation of centuries. Still the power of re-enactment remained; Ireland claimed a statutable renunciation of such a power, and a guarantee for the entire and unqualified Independence of the Irish legislature, and realm, for evc-v^ England saw, and admitted, the policy and justice of the demand ; she again obeyed the call, and voluntarily did guarantee for ever, the independence and integrity of Ireland. The experiment succeeded, and both countries pros- pered. The Union was enacted, and both countries feel the ruin of it. England, therefore, has only to act upon the very same Xll PREFATORY OBSERVATIONS. principle of honour, policy, and justice, as in 1782, and follow her former precedent, which conferred such bene* fits on both — Ireland has nothing to repeal ; her Parlia- ment was incompetent, and her statute was a nullity. The English Act of Union was a statute de jure, and may be renounced as in 1782. I cannot terminate these observatioxis, without express* ing how much the arrangement and the correctness of this volume, owe to the research, and revision, of my zealous and talented friend. Doctor Halliday of Paris. That congeniality of sentiment which generated oui mutual friendship, excited that exertion, and gives m€ the pleasing opportunity, of saying, how much my esteem has been encreased, by a more intimate knowledge of bil mmd and of his principles. Paris, l8t May, 183S. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Ireland at an early period — Misgoverment and oppression of England- Irish statistics — Climate — Geographical advantages — Internal resour- ces — Population — Her depressed condition in 1779 — Causes of it — Poyning's law — Usurpation by England to bind Ireland by British Statutes — The Penal Statutes against Catholics — Fatal consequences to Ireland — Ireland roused by the example of America— Success of America — Its Effect on the Irish people — Origin of the Irish Volun- teers — Character of Lord Clare — His intolerance — His political incon- sistency — His fall, - - * - - p. 23 CHAPTER II. State of the Irish Parliament previous to 1779 — Previous to 1780, occa- sional contests arose in the Irish Parliaments — The absentees — The Irish Bar — Its influence and Independence — jNlr. Burgh Prime-Ser- geant — The Attorney-general — France assists America against Eng- land — France the champion of Liberty ; England of Slavery — France threatens to invade Ireland — England prostrate and incapable of assist- ing Ireland — jModeration and patriotism of the Catholits — Charactei of the Irish people misrepresented and misunderstood in England — Irish character defamed by English writers — Character of the Irish peasant — Their undaunted courage — Attachment to their country — The GentT}- — Romantic Chivalry of the Irish gentry — Suicide unknown in Ireland — Irish Peerage — Protestant Clergy — Catholic Clergy— Their conduct and manners, - - - - p. 37 CHAPTER III. Ireland awakened to a sense of her slavery — The Irish Parliament to- tally independent of England — The King acknowledged in Ireland through his Irish crown, and not through the crown of England — Per- ilous position of England — Moderation and attachment of Ireland — Ireland determined to demand her just lights — Conspiracy against the manufactures of Ireland — The non-consumplion agreement adopted throughout all Ireland — Progress of the Volunteers — Their principal Leaders — Sir John Parnell — His character — General effects of volun- teering upon the people of Ireland, • - - p. 57 2 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Unexpected events in the Irish House of Commons — Mr. G rattan's Amendment to the Address — His public character and vicissitudes — The Amendment — Its effects — Sir Henry Cavendish — His character — Mr. Hussey Burgh (the Prime-Sergeant) secedes from Government and substitutes an Amendment for jNIr. Grattan's — the Amendment passed — First step towards Irish independence — The English Parlia- ment callous to the wrongs of Ireland — Lord Shelburne and Lord Ossory propose resolutions — The Irish nation determined to assert its rights — Resolution for a free trade carried unanimously — This circum- stance one of the remote causes of the Union — Rapid progress of the Volunteers — Extraordinary military honours paid to the Duke of Leinster — Attempts to seduce the Volunteers — Earl of Charlemont — His character, - - - - - p. 71 CHAPTER V. Spirit of the Irish and humiliation of the English Government — Prepara- tion for hostilities — Lord North's embaiTassment — Bang's conciliatory speech and the consequent proceedings — Duplicity of Ministers — The people alarmed — Volunteer Organization proceeds — ^Mutiny Bill — Alarmmg rencontre of the Volunteers and Regular Army — Intolerance of England — Further Grievances of Ireland — Proceedings in the Irish Parliament — O'Neill of Shane's Castle — His character and influence — ^Address to the Volunteers — Its results, - - p. 90 CHAPTER VI. Observations as to the strength of a people — German mercenaries — Fur- ther subject of discontent in Ireland — Dispute between Ireland and Portugal — Portugal encouraged in her hostility towards Ireland by the British Minister — Perseverance of Portugal — IVIr. Fitzgibbon's motion — Sir Lucius O'Brien — Proposes that Ireland in her own right should declare war against Portugal — Sir J. Blaquiere — EfTects of Sir Lucius O'Brien's amendment — Distinctness of Ireland proved — Federative compact — Arguments for and against prompt proceedings — Spirited reasoning of the Irish — No Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland — Determi- nation of the Volunteers — Origin and progress of delegated assemblies — The Northern Irish — Dungannon meeting — JNIr. Dobbs — Extraordi- nary mmd — His eccentricity — Theories — Colonel Irwin — Account of the Dungannon meeting continued — Dungannon resolutions, p. 104 CHAPTER VII. The Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry, declares for Irish Independence — Sketch of his character — Resistance to English Laws unanimously decided on — Declaration of the Irish Volunteers disclaiming all Bri- tish authority— The Irish .Judges dependent on the English Govern- ment—Numerical force of the" Irish Volunteers— Dissenting Clergy, men— Their Leaders— State of the Irish Parliament— IVIembers divi- ded into Classes — The leading members— Mr. Thomas Connolly — Mr. Yelverton— His character, - - - - p. 123 CONTENTS. XT CHAPTER VIII. The alarm in En!z;land increases — The Earl of Carlisle recalled — The Duke of Portland appointed Lord Lieutenant — Duke of Portland's character — He attempts to procrastinate — Remarks on the policy of an Union at that juncture — Mr. Grattan refuses to delay his proceed- ings — Especial call of the house — Comparison of the English and Irish Houses of Parliament — Character of Mr. Sexton Perry — Emhar- rassment of the Patriots — Mr. Hutchinson Secretary of State, unex- pectedly declares the assent of Government — Mr. Ponsonhy moves an address considered insufficient — Dangerous dilemma of Parlia- ment, - -.- - - - p. 142 CHAPTER IX. Mr. Grattan moves a declaration of rights and grievances in Parliament — Mr. Brownlow — IMr. George Ponsonhy — Mr. Flood — Mr. Fitzgib- bon's conduct — His Declaration of Independence — Enthusiastic re- joicings, - - - - - - p. 160 CHAPTER X. Design of the British Goverment to recall the independence of Ireland — Singular conduct of the Attorney General — His speech — Its powerful effect — Palpable dread of an Insurrection — Effect on England — Duke of Portland's duplicity — Attains an ascendency over Earl Charlemont — Embarrassment of the English Cabinet — The Volunteers prepare for actual service — Imbecility of England — Insidious designs of the Eng- lish Government — Mr. Fox — Mr. Pitt — Important meeting of Parlia- ment — The Volunteer Regiments occupy the avenues to the House of Commons — Designs of the Duke of Portland — 'Duke of Portland's speech — Mr. Grattan — Mr. Brownlow — The Recorder and Mr. Walshe oppose Mr. Grattan's address — Mr. Flood neutral — Mr. Walshe — IVIr. Yelverton — The Secretary — Division — Consequent em- barrassment, - - - - - p. 176 CHAPTER XI. Temporary credulity of the Irish Parliament — Country Gentlemen- Singular character of Mr. Bagenal — His Exploits — Popularity — His patriotism — Commanded many Volunteer Corps — Gives notice of a motion to reward lAIr. Grattan — Anti-prophetic observation — Mr. Grattan's increasing popularity — Hasty repeal of the declaratory act 6th Geo. HI. — And tran?;mitled by the Viceroy to the Volunteers — Doctrine of Blackstone declared unconstitutional — Mr. Ragonal's motion to grant e£ 100,000, to Mr. GraUan — Mistaken pride of his friends — Extraordinary occurrence — Insidious conduct of Government — Mr. Thomas Connolly makes a most unprecedented motion — Viceroy offers the Palace to Mr. Grattan and his heirs as a reward for his services — Objects of the Government in makins: the ofler — Discovered by the indiscretion of the Secretary, Col. Fitzpafrick — His character — Real objects developed — Mr. Grattan's friends dt line so large a grant— XVI CONTENTS. Then mistaken principle — Effects of tlie calumnies against Ireland — False arguments — Comparison of the conduct of England and Ire- land — Comparative loyalty, - - - - p, 190 CHAPTER XII. Epitome of Irish History — Treacherous system of the English Govern- ment — First Irish Union — Second Union compared with the first — King Henry's Acts in Ireland — His plan to decimate the nation — He relinquished his dominion over Ireland — Abortive attempts to colonize —Totally failed, P- 202 CHAPTER XIII. Ireland kept in a state of oppression and turbulence — Elizabeth becomes Queen — Character public and private of Queen Elizabeth — Henry the VIII. — Fanaticism of the English — True principles of tolerance — Union of religion and political fanaticism — Religious schisms excited through Luther — Violent dissensions — The Irish roused — Cruel t3-rau- ny of Elizabeth — Earl of Tyrone excites the Irish — Extract from his speech — General rising of the Irish and old English colonists — Im- mense slaughter — Contiscation of whole provinces to Elizabeth — Ac- cession of James the First — Comparison with Elizabeth — His wise maxims — Conciliatory principles — Its full success — Charles the First — Disloyalty of the English— Ireland desolated by Cromwell, p. 207 CHAPTER XIV. Restoration of the Stuart dynasty — Usurpation of William — Ireland remained loyal — Comparison of the people — The revolutionary prin- ciple undefined— The Irish treated as rebels by William for their loy- alty to their King — Character of William the Third — Continued op- presr^ion and malgovernment of Ireland— The Scotch and English rebelled — Ireland remained tranquil — Comparison of the English and Irish as to their kings — Ireland first infected by the Scotch and English rebellions — Mr. Pitt suppressed the spirit of insurrection in England promptly — Suffered it to increase in Ireland, - - p. 219 CHAPTER XV. Catholic relaxation Bills opposed by Mr. Rowley— Sir Edward l Desperate step of Government — Fitzgibbon's Philippic — Most violent Debates — Bill rejected — Extraordinary coincidence of facts — ISIr. Con- nolly's motion — Feeble and insidious resolution of Lord Charlemont — Fatal adjournment — Called a meeting of his partisans — Breaks his trust — Inexcusable conduct — False statement — Virtually dissolves the Convention before the full meeting — Lord Charlemont justly reproba- ted — Volunteers beat to arms — Lord Charlemont's intolerance — Op- posed by the Bishop of Derry, - - - p. 289 CHAPTER XX. Celebrated Address of the Volunteers to the Bishop — Reply of the Bishop — Some thought the Bishop's answer too strong — A new Bill suggested — New measures of Earl Charlemont — Decline of the Vol- unteers — Insincerity of the concessions — Cupidity of English traders — Sordid interest absorbed her justice — Commercial treaty and tariff proposed — Commercial propositions — Mr. Pitt's duplicity — Magnifi- cence of the Irish Court — The Propositions rejected — Mr. Brownlow opposes the eleven propositions — Passed the Commons — Mr. Pitt proposes twenty propositions — Embarrassment of the Secretary" — Most violent debates in the Irish Parliament — The IMinister vhtually defeated — The treaty ended — Defeat of the treaty effected by the coun- try gentlemen — jVIr. Forbes a leading member of the House of Com- mons — Mr. Hardy — Mr. Carleton, Solicitor General — ^His singular character, _.---- p. 305 CHAPTER XXI. Death of the Duke of Rutland — Marquis of Buckingham's second Gov- ernment — The question of a Regency — Mr. Pitt's conduct — The Prince submitted to the restraints — The Irish resisted, and refused to restrain him — Unprecedented case — Collision between the two Parlia- ments — Round Robin — Irish address to the Prince — Sketch of the Arguments on the Regency question in Ireland — Constitutional state of both nations — Conduct of the nations contrasted — Reasons for the Irish Parliament proceeding by Address, and not by Statute, to appoint a Regent — Question whether the Parliaments of England or Ireland had committed a breach of the Constitution — Threats of the Viceroy — The Round Robin — Viceroy determined to retire — Reception of the Irish delegates by the Prince — Address of the Irish Parliament to the Prince — Reply of the Prince, eulogizing the Irish legislature — After- wards neglected, - - - - - p. 319 CHAPTER XXII. Ireland acted on her independence — Prosperous state of Ireland at that Period — The Rise of the Irish Nation consummated by the withdrawal of the Viceroy — Particularly important observation — Lord Westmore- land — Major Hobart — His character — State of Ireland on his accession to office — Concessions by Government — Delusion and negligence of the CONTENTS. XIX Opposition — Catholic emancipation commenced — Arguments of the Catholics — Catholic petition rejected by a great majority — Deep de- signs of Mr. Pitt — Mr. Pitt proceeds with his measures to promote a union — Lord Fitzwilliam appointed Lord Lieutenant — His character — Deceived and calumniated by Mr. Pitt — Great popularity of the Lord Lieutenant — Earl Fitzwilliam recalled — Fatal consequences — Ireland given up to Lord Clare, and insurrection excited — Lord Camden — Uni- ^ ted Irishmen — Unprecedented Organization — Lord Camden's character — Despotic conduct of Lord Clare — Earl Carhampton commander-in- chief — Disobeys Lord Camden — Again disobeys — The King's sign- manuel commands him to obey — He resigns, - - P- 330 CHAPTER XXin. Insurrection — Topography of Wexford County — Persecutions and cruel- ties of the Wexford Gentry — Commencement of Hostilities — State of the Insurgents — And their number — Expected attack on Dublin- Excellent plan of the Insurgents — Kxecutions in cold blood, and bar- barous exhibition in the Castle yard — Major Bacon executed without trial — Major Foot defeated — Col. Walpole defeated and killed — Gen- eral Fawcett defeated — General Dundas and the Cavalry defeated by the Pikemen — Captain Armstrong's treachery — Henry and John Shears — The execution of the two brothers — Progress of the insur- rection — Different Battles — Important Battle of Arklow — Spirited reply of Colonel Skerrit — Battle of Ross — Bagenal Harvey — Death of Lord Mountjoy — Unprecedented instance of Heroism in a Boy — The Royal Army driven out of the town — Description of Vinegar Hill — Details of the Engagement — General Lake's horse shot under him — Ennis- corthy twice stormed — Wounded peasants burned — Mr. Grogan tried by Court Martial — His witness shot by the military — Bill of attainder — Ten thousand pounds costs to the Attorney General — Barbarous ex- ecution of Sir Eidward Crosby and Mr. Grogan, under colour of a Court Martial, - - - - - p. 345 CHAPTER XXIV. Appointment of Lord Cornwallis — His crafty conduct — French invade Ireland in a small number — British troops totally defeated, their artil- lery all taken — Races of Castlebar — Ninety militia men hanged by Lord Cornwallis — French outwit Lord Cornwallis — Lord Jocelyn taken prisoner — French surrendered — Mr. Pitt proceeds in his projects of a Union — The subserviency of the Lords — The Bishops — Bishops of Waterford and Down — Political characters of Lord Cornwallis and Lord Castlereagh — Unfortunate results of Lord Comwallis's conduct in every quarter of the world — Lord Castlereagh — Union proposed- — Great splendour of the Chancellor — Celebrated Bar Meeting — Mr. Saurin— Mr. Saint George Daly— Mr. Thomas Grady— Mr. Grady's curious harangue — Mr. Thomas Goold's speech — Thirty-two County- Judges appointed by Lord Clare — Lord Clare opposes the Bar — Open- ing of the session of 1799 — Lord Clare's great power — Lord Ty- rone's character — Seconded by Mr. Fitzgerald — Mr. John Ball— His character, ...... 367 XX CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXV The three leading arguments used in Parliament in favour of a Union — Arguments of the Anti-Unionists — Not England which quelled the insurrection — English militia never acted in Ireland — Mr. William Smith supports the Union — Corrupt conduct of JMr. Trench and Mr. Fox — Mr. Trench palpably gained over — Mv. Trench recanted what he had a few moments before declared — The Place Bill and its unfor- tunate effects — ^Ir. Fox created a Judge of the Common Pleas for his tergiversation — Originally a Whig — jNIade a false declaration to avoid being counted — Effect of the Place Bill — His second deception — Con- duct of jMr. Cooke and Admiml Pakenham — Mr. JVIarshall's disgrace- ful conduct — Debate commenced — Great popularity of the Speaker — Lord Castlereagh's policy — Sir John Parnell denied the competence of both the King and the Parliament to enact a Union — Mr. Tighe the same — Great effect of Mr. Ponsonby's speech — Remarkable agitation — Description of the scene — Lord Castlereagh's violent speech — Attack on jNIr. Ponsonby — ]Mr. Ponsonby's sarcastic reply — Lord Castle- reagh's desperation — Mr. John Egan attacks Mr: William Smith — Sir Laurence Parsons made a most able and eloquent speech — IMr. Fred- erick Falkiner nothing could corrupt — Prime Sergeant Fitzgerald dis- missed — Mr. Plunket's speech — Spirited speech of Col. O'Donnell — Second shameful tergiversation of Mr. Trench, created Lord Ash town — Most important incident in the annals of Ireland — State of the House of Commons — Mr. Fortescue's fatal speech — jNIr. French and Lord Cole seceded — John Claudius Beresford — Extraordinary change in the feelings of the House — Sarcastic remark of Sir Henry Caven- dish — Great popularity of the Speaker — Joy and exultation of the people — Singular anecdote of Mr. Martin — JNIeeting of the Lords — • Their infatuation — Conduct of Lord Clare — Unpopularity of the Irish Peers — Two Bishops, Down and Limerick, opposed him — Character of the Bishop of Down — Commission of Compensation — Subsequent proceedings of the Viceroy and Lord Castlereagh — Ruinous conse- quence of Mr. Fortescue's conduct — ]Mistaken conduct of the Anti- Unionists — Their embarrassment — Bad effects of Mr. Fortescue's con- duct—The Catholics— Stale of parties, - - p. 383 CHAPTER XXVI. The different views of the Opposition — Opposition not sufficiently or- ganized or connected — Disunion in consequence of the Catholic ques- tion — Catholics duped — Alternately oppressed and fostered — Lord Clare's great influence — Very important despatch from Mr. Pitt, to Lord Cornwallis — Unprecedented plan of Lord Castlereagh — Remark- able dinner — The plan or conspiracy — Acceded to — Rewards in Per- spective — Meeting of Anti-Unionists at Lord Cliarlemont's — Opposi- tion Lords m^et — Lord Castlereagh's Plan laid before them — Counter- plan proposed — Rejected — Earl Bslmore — His motion to the same effect as Air. Ponsonby's — Rejected — Very numerous addresses against the Union — Particularly Dublin— A Privy Council — Lord Clare's vio- lence —Military execution — People killed and wounded — [nefficientiy CONTENTS. XXI brought before Parliament — Anti-Union dinner — Mr. Handcock of Athlonc, a conspicuous patriot — Corrupt state of the British Parlia- ment — Compared with that of Ireland at the Union — Mr. Handcock bribed, ...... p. 420 CHAPTER XXVn. Felons in the gaols induced, by promise of pardon, to sign petitions in favour of the Union — Ever}' means of corruption resorted to hv the Viceroy — Viceroy doubtful of future support — Resorted to Place Bill — Unparalleled measure of public bribery avowed by Lord Castle- reagh — Bill to raise c£ 1, 500, 000, for bribes — Grave reflection on the King's assenting to an avowesl act of corruption — A few bribes called Compensation — The British Parliament had anticipated the proposal — Lord Cornwallis's speech peculiarly artful — Lord Loftus moves the address — Lord Castlereagh's reason — Sir Laurence Parson's important motion and speech — Debate continued all night — Lord Castlereagh's plan put into execution — Mr. Bushe — Mr. Plunket — Mr. St. George Daly — His character — His attack on ]\Ir. Bushe — On l\Ir. Plunket — Replied to by ]Mr. Barrington — Mr. Peter Buitows — AiTecting appear- ance of Mr. Grattan in the House of Commons — Returned forWicklow the preceding evening — The impediment laid by Government — Re- turned at midnight — Entered the house at seven in the morning in a debilitated state — Description of his entry — Powerful sensation caused hy his splendid oration — jNIr. Corry induced to reply — No effect on the House — The three Bagwells seceded from Government — Lord Ormond changed to the minister — Mr. Arthur Browne's tergiversation — Divi- sion — Mr. Foster's speech — Important incident — Bad conduct of the clergy — Very singular circuiristance — Mr. Anne.?ley chairman of the committee on the Union — Bishop of Clogher returns I\Ir. Annesley to Parliament — IMe.ssrs. Ball and King petition — Succeed — Mr. Annesley declared not duly elected — Left the chair and quitted the House — Not a legal chairman — Shameful and palpable act of corruption by Sir William Gladowe Newcomen — Bribe proved — Bribery of Mr. Knox and Mr. Crowe — Their speeches against the Union — The Earl of Belvidere most palpably bribed to change sides — His resolutions — Mr. Knox and Mr. Crowe bribed — Mr. Usher bribed to secrecy — The cor- rupt agreement of Mr. Crowe and i\Ir. Knox to v.icate their seats for Union members, in presence of Mr. Usher, a Parson — The terms with I^rd Castlereagh — Mr. Charles Ball's affecting conduct — The Anti -Union members, despairing, withdraw in a body — La.st sitting of the Irish Parliament — The House surrounded by military — Most affecting scene — Bail con.sequences to England — Unhappiness of the Speaker — Ireland extinguished, - - - p. 432 RISE AND FALL 01 THE IRISH NATION. CHAPTER I. Ireland at an early period^-Misgovemment and oppression of England — Irish statistics — Climate — Geographical advantages — Internal resources — Population — Her depressed condition in 1779 — Causes of it — Poyn- ing's law — Usurpation by England to bind Ireland by British Statutes — The Penal Statutes against Catholics — Fatal consequences to Ireland — Ireland roused by the example of America — Success of America — Its effect on the Irish people — Origin of the Irish Volunteers — Cha- racter of Lord Clare — His intolerance — His political inconsistency — His fall. I. More than six centuries had passed away, since Ire- land had first acknowledged a subordinate connexion with the English Monarchy — her voluntary but partial submission to the sceptres of Henry and of Richard had been construed by their successors into the right of con- quest — and the same spirit of turbulence and discord, which had generated the treachery and treasons of M'Morrough, was carfully cultivated by every English potentate, as the most effectual barrier against the strug- gles of a restless and semi-conquered people — and Ire- land, helpless and distracted, groaned for ages in obscu- rity, under the accumulated pressure of internal strife and external tyrranny. The apathy produced by this habitual oppression had long benumbed the best energies of Ireland; — her national spirit, depressed by the heavy hand of arbi- 24 RISE AND FALL trary restraint, almost forgot its own existence ; and the proudest language of her constitution could only boast, that she was the annexed dependant of a greater and a freer country. It was not until an advanced stage of the American revolt had attracted the attention of enlightened Europe to the first principles of civil liberty, that Ireland began steadily to reflect on her own deprivations. Commerce and constitution had been withdraAvn from her grasp, and the usurped supremacy* of the British Parliament gave a death-blow to every struggle of Irish inde- pendence. 11. But in whatever relative situation the two nations really stood, the same jealous and narrow principle might be perceived uniformly attending every measure enacted as to the Irish people. If at any time a cheering ray of commercial advantage chanced for a moment to illu- minate the dreary prospects of Ireland, the sordid spirit of monopoly instantly arose in England, and rendered every effort to promote a beneficial trade, or advance a rival manufacture, vain and abortive. Commercial jealousy and arbitrary government united, therefore, to suppress every struggle of the Irish nation, and root up every seed of prosperity and civilization. Alarmed at the increasing population, the unsubdued spirit, and the inexhaustible resources of that strong and fertile island ; a dread of her growing power excited a fallacious jealousy of her future importance. In her timidity or her avarice, England lost sight of her truest interests, and of her nobler feelings ; and kings, usurpers, and viceroys, as they respectively exercised the powers of government, all acted towards Ireland upon the same blind and arbitary principles, which they had imbibed from their education, or inherited from their prede- cessors. This desperate policy, so repugnant to the attachment, and fatal to the repose of the two countries, excited the spirit of eternal warfare : — an enthusiastic love of na- * The claim of the British Parliament to bind Ireland by British statutes was at length most ably refuted by Mr. William Molyneux, representative for Dublin University, in his celebrated work, published in 1693, entitled " The due of Ireland.'' OF THE IRISH NATION. 25 tional independence sharpened the sword, and the zealots of rehgious fanaticism threw away the scabbard — the septs fonght against each other, the Enghsh against all — the population was thinned, but the survivors became inveterate ; and though the wars and the massacres of Elizabeth and of Cromwell, by depopulating, appeared to have subjugated the nation — the triumph was not glori- ous — and the conquest was not complete. Direct persecution against principles only adds fuel to a conflagration — the persons of men may be coerced — but it is beyond the reach of human power to subdue the rooted, hereditary passions and prejudices of a perse- vering, ardent, and patriotic people : — such a nation may be gained over by address, or seduced by dissimula- tion, but can never be reclaimed by force, or overcome by persecution — yet from the very first intercourse be- tween the two countries, that destructive system of force and of dissension, which so palpably led to the miseries of Ireland, had been sedulously cultivated, »nd unremit- tingly persevered in. Thus grievously oppressed, and rumou.-^J'y disunited, Ireland struggled often, but she struggled n vain : the weight of her chains was too heavy for the /-iebleness of her constitution, and every eflbrt to enlarge her liberty only gave a new pretext to the conqueror, to circum- scribe it within a still narrower compass. On the same false principle of government this op- pressed nation was also systematically retained in a state of the utmost obscurity, and represented to the world as an insignificant and remote island, remarkable only for her turbulence and sterility : and so perfectly did this misrepresentation succeed, that, while every republic and minor nation of Europe had become the theme of tra- vellers, and the subject of historians, Ireland was visited only to be despised, and spoken of only to be calumni- ated. In truth, she is as yet but little kno\\^n by the rest of Europe, and but partially even to the people of Eng- land. But when the extraordinary capabilities, the re- sources, and the powers of Ireland are fully developed, an interest must arise in every breast, which reflects on her misfortunes. It is time that the curtain, which has been so long interposed between Ireland and the rest of 26 RISE AND FALL Europe, should be drawn aside for ever, ind a just judg- ment formed of the impohcy of measures, which have been adopted nominally to govern, but substantiaiiv to suppress her power and prosperity. III. The position of Ireland upon the face of the globe peculiarly formed her for imiversal intercourse, and adapted her in every respect for legislative inde- pendence. Separated by a great sea from England — the Irish people, dissimilar in customs, more than equal in talent, and vastly superior in energy, possess an island about 900 miles in circumference ; with a climate, for the general mildness of temperature and moderation of seasons, unrivalled in the universe — the parching heats, or piercing colds, the deep snows, the torrent, and the hurricane, which other countries so fatally experience, are here unknown. Though her great exposure to the spray of the Atlantic increases the humidity of the atm^osphere, it adds to the fecundity of the soil, and distinguishes her fertile fields by the productions of an almost perpetual vegetation. The geographical situation of Ireland is not less favorable to commerce, tlian her climate is to agricul- ture. Her position on the v/estern extremity of Europe would enable her to intercept the trade of the new world from all other nations — the merchandise of Lon- don, of Bristol, and of Liverpool, skirt her shores, before it arrives at its own destination ; and some of the finest harbours in the world invite the inhabitants of this gifted island to accept the trade of India, and form the emporium of Europe. The internal and natural advantages of Ireland are great and inexhaustible. Rich mines are found in alm.ost every quarter of the island ; gold is discovered in the beds of streams, and washed from the sands of rivulets — the mountains are generally arable to their simimits — the valhes exceed in fertility the most prolific soils of Eng- land — the rivulets, which flow along the declivities, adapt the country most peculiarly to the improvement of irri- gation ; and the bogs and mosses of Ireland, utterly unlike the fens and marshes of England, omit no damp or noxicnis exhalations ; and give a plentiful and cheer- OP THE IRISH NATION. 27 mg fuel to the surrounding peasantry ; or, when re- zlaimed, become the most kixuriant pastures. The population of Ireland is great and progressive. Above five* millions of a brave and hardy race of men are seen scattered through the fields, or svv^arming in the villages — a vast redundancy of grain, and innumerable flocks and herds, should furnish to them not only the source of trade, but every means of comfort. Dublin, the second city in the British empire, though it yields in extent, yields not in architectural beauties to the metropolis of England. For some years j)revious to the Union, its progress was excessive — the locality of the parliament — the constant residence of the nobility and commons — the magnificent establishments of the vice- regal court — the indefatigable hospitality of the people — and the increasing commerce of the port, all together gave a brilliant prosperity to that splendid and luxurious capital. Ireland,! possessing the strongest features of a power- ful state, though labouring under every disadvantage which a restricted commerce and a jealous ally could inflict upon her prosperity, might still have regarded with con- tempt the comparatively unequal resources and inferior powers of half the monarchies of Europe. Her insular situation — her great fertility — the cliaracter of her people — the amount of her revenues — and the extent of her population, gave her a decided superiority over other nations, and rendered her crown, if accompanied by her affections, not onlyt a brilliant but a most sub- stantial ornament to the British empire. However, though gifted, and em'iched by the hand of Nature, the Ibmented dissensions of her own natives had wedded Ireland to poverty, and adapted her to subjuga- ^ * Now upwards of eight millions. t The relative size of Ireland, compared to England and Wale§, is about 18 to 30. ft contains about cic^liteon millions of acres; is about 285 miles lona;, and above IGi) broad. In time of war she lends more than one hundred thousan 1 soldiers and sailors to the English fleet and army, and retains at hoine above one million of hardy meji, from 17 to 47 years of age, lit to bear arms. X In the very words of the highest authority in Great Britain thia day, " If v)cll }roi "rue. I, Ireland would be the brightest jewel in the kiiisc's crown." 3B» RISE AND FALL tion — her innate capacities lay dormant and inactive — her dearest interests were forgotten by herself, or resisted by her ally ; and the gifts and bounties of a favouring Providen.'^e, though lavished, were lost on a divided people. lY. By thfc paralyzing system thus adopted towards Ireland, she was at length reduced to the lowest ebb — her poverty and distresses, almost at their extent, were advancing fast to their final consummation— her com- merce had almost ceased — her manufactures extinguished — her constitution withdrawn — the people absolutely desponding — while public and individual bankruptcy finished a picture of the deepest misery ;* and the year 1779 found Ireland almost every thing but what such a country and such a people ought to have been. This lamentable state of the Irish nation was not the result of any one distinct cause : a combination of de- pressing circumstances united to bear down every pro- gressive efibrt of that injured people. Immured in a labyrinth of difficulties and embarrassments, no clew was found to lead them through the mazes of their prison ; and, helpless and desponding, they sunk into a dose of torpid inactivity, while their humiliated and inefficient parliaments, restrained by foreign and arbitrary laws, subjected to the dictation of the British Council, and obstructed in the performance of its constitutional func- tions, retained scarcely the shadow of an independent legislature. A statute of Henry the Seventh of England, framed * This wretched period cannot be more pathetically described, than by a most able and just statement oi Irish grievances, published in the year 1779, by Mr. Hely Hutchinson, (father'of the present Lords Donou2:h- niore and Hutchinson,) then Provost of the Dublin University, an elo- quent and very distinguished member of the Irish Parliament. In his book entitled " Commercial Restraints," Mr. Ilutcliinson gives a ja- Ihetic description of the state to wliich Ireland was reduced by the jeal- ous and narrow policy of England. This book acquired" so much character, and spoke so many plain truths, that for many years it was qu'^'ed as an authority in the Irish Parlia- ment. Mr. Flood often declared, that, if there were but two copies of it m print, he would give a thousand pounds for one of tliem. It will be mteresting to compare the miserable state of Ireland m 1779 with her prosperity In 1794, when she had enjoyed only twelve years of consti- tutional independence and unrestricted commerc*. OF THE IRISH NATION. 29 by his Attorney-General, Sir Edward Poyning, re- strained the Irish Parhament from originating any law whatever, either in the Lords or Commons. Before any statute could be finally discussed, it was previously to be submitted to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and his Privy Council, for their consideration, who might at their pleasure reject it, or transmit it to England. If trans- mitted to England, the British Attorney General and Privy Council were invested with a power either to sup- press it altogether, or model it at their own will, and then return it to Ireland, with perfJiission to the Irish Parliament to pass it into a law, but without any altera- ;ion, though it frequently returned from England so changed, as to retain hardly a trace of its original fea- tures, or a point of its original object. Yet, as if this arbitrary law were insufficient to secure Great Britain from the eftect of those rival advantages, which Ireland might in process of time eventually ac- quire ; and as if that counteracting power, with which England had invested herself by the law of Poyning, were unequal to the task of etiectually suppressing all rivalship of the Irish people, and independence of the Irish Parliament ; it was thought advisable by Great Britain, to usurp a positive right to legislate for Ireland, without her own consent, or the interference of her Par- Hament : and a law was accordingly enacted at West- minster, in the sixth year of the reign of George the First, by one sweeping clause of which England assumed a despotic power, and declared her inherent right to bind Ireland by every British statute, in which she should be expressly designated : and thus, by the authority of the British Council on the one hand, and the positive rigiit assumed by the British Parliament upon the other, Ire- land retained no more the attributes of an independent nation, than a monarch, attended in a dungeon with all the state and trappings of royalty, and bound hand and foot in golden shackles, could be justly styled an inde- pendent potentate. The effect of this tyrannical and ruinous system fell most heavily on the trade of Ireland. Its inthience was experienced not merely by any particular branch of com- merce, but in every stuige of marmfacture, of arts, ot 3* 30 RISE AND FALL trade, and of agriculture. Id every struggle of the Irish Parliament to promote the commerce or the manufac- tures of their country, the British monopolizers were perpetually victorious ; and even the speculative jea- lousy of a manufacturing village of Great Britain was of sufficient weight to negative any measure, however beneficial to the general prosperity of the sister country. The same jealousy and the same system, which ope- rated so fatally against the advancement of her com- merce, operated as strongly against the improvement of her constitution. England was well aware, that the acquirement of an independent Parliament would be the sure forerunner of commercial liberty ; and, posse'-^^ed of the means to counteract these objects, she seen^ed de- termined never to relax the strength of that power, by the despotic exercise of v/hich Ireland had been so long continued in a state of thraldom. But exclusive of these slavish restraints (the necessaiy consequence of a dependent legislature.) another system, not less adverse to the general prosperity of the whole island, than repugnant to the principles of natural justice and of sound policy, had been long acted upon with every severity, that bigotry could suggest, or intolerance could dictate. V. The penal statutes, under the tyrannical pressure of which the Catholics had so long and so grievously laboured, though in some instances softened down, still bore heavily upon four-fifths of the Irish population — a code, which would have dishonoured even the sanguinary pen of Draco, had inflicied every pain and penalty, eveiy restriction and oppression, under which a people could linger out a miserable existence. By these statutes, the exercise of religion had been held a crime, the educa- tion of children a high misdemeanour — the son was encouraged to betray his father — the child rewarded for the ruin of his parent — the house of God declared a public nuisance — the officiating pastor proclaimed an out- law — the acquirement of property absolutely prohibited — the exercise of trades restrained — plunder legalized in courts of law, and breach of trust rewarded in courts of equity — the Irish Catholic excluded from the possession of any office or occupation in the state, the law, the OF THE IRISH NATION. 31 aimy, the navy, the municipal bodies, and the chartered corporations — and the mild doe^rines of the Christian Taith perverted, even in the pulpit, to the worst purpos(;s of religious persecution. Yet under this galling yoke the Irish, for near eighty years remained tranquil and submissive. The ignorance, into which poverty and wretchedness had plunged that people, prevented them from perceiving the whole extent of the oppression ; and these penal laws, while they oj)e- rated as an insuperable bar to the advancement of the Ca- tholic, deeply allected the generaf interest of the Protes- tant. The impoverished tenant — the needy landlord — the unenterprising merchant — the idle artisan, could all trace the origin of their wants to the enactment of these sta- tutes. Profession was not permitted to engage the mind of youth, or education to cultivate his understanding. Dissolute habits, the certain result of idleness and illi- terateness, were consequently making a rapid progress in almost every class of society. The gentry were not exempt from the habits of the peasant ; the spirit of in- dustry took her flight altogether from the island ; and, as the loss of commerce and constitution had no counter- acting advantages, every thing combined to reduce Ire- land to a state of the most general and unqualified depression. VI. It was about this period, when the short-sighted policy of the British Government had by its own arbi- trary proceedings planted the seeds of that political philosophy, afterwards so fatal to the most powerful monarchies of Europe, that Ireland began to feel herself affected by the struggles of America. The spirit of in- dependence had crossed the Atlantic, and the Irish people, awakened from a trance, beheld with anxiety the contest, in which they now began to feel an interest. They regarded with admiration the exertions of a colony combating for the first principles of civil liberty, and giving to the world an instructive lesson of fortitude and perseverance. Spread over a vast expanse of region, America, with- out wealth — without resources — without population — without fortresses — without allies — had every thing to contend with, and every thing to conquer. But freedom 32 RISE AND FALL was her call, and as if she had been designated by Pro"V « dence for an example to the universe of Avhat even powerless states can achieve by enthusiasm and unaiii- 'miti/, her strength increased with her deprivations, and the firmness of one great and good man converted the feebleness of a colony into the power of an empire. The defeats of Washington augmented his armies — his wants and necessities called forth his intellect — while his wisdom, firmness, and moderation, procured him power- ful friends, and secui;ed him ultimate victory. The strength of Great Britain at length yielded to the vigor of his mind, and the unflinching fortitude of his people ; and Lord Cornwallis, (the chosen instrument for op- pressing heroic nations,) by his defeat and his captivity, established the independence of America. The arrogance of England bowed its proud head to the shrine of liberty, and her favorite general led back the relics of his con- quered army, to commemorate in the mother country the impotence of her power, and emancipation of her colonies. While these great events were gradually proceeding towards their final completion ; Ireland became every day a more anxious spectator of the arduous conflict — every incident in America began to communicate a sympathetic impulse to the Irish people : — the moment was critical : — ■ the nation became enlightened — a patriotic ardor took possession of her whole frame, and, before she had well considered the object of her solicitude, the spark of con- stitutional liberty had found its way into her bosom. The disposition of Ireland to avail herself of the circum- stances of those times, so favourable to the attainment of her rights, now openly avowed itself. Her determination to claim her constitution from the British Government became unequivocal, and she began to assume the attitude and language of a nation " entitled to independence.''^ — The sound of arms and the voice of freedom echoed from every quarter of the Island — distinctions were forgotten, or disregarded — every rank, every religion, alike caught the general feeling, — but firmness and discretion charac- terised her proceedings : — she gradually arose from torpor and obscurity — her native spirit drew aside the curtain, that had so long concealed her from the world j and OF THE IRISH NATION. 33 exiiihited an armed and animated people, claiming their natnral rights, and demanding their constitutional liberty. AMien the dawn of political liberty begins to diffuse itself over a nation, great and gifted characters suddenly spring up from among the people — animated by new- subjects, their various talents and principles become developed — they interweave themselves with the events of their country, become inseparable from its misfortunes, or identified with its prosperity. Ireland, at this era, possessed many men of superior capacities — some distinguished by their pure attachment to constitutional liberty — others by their slavish deference to ruling powers and patronizing authorities. Among those whom the spirit of these times called forth to public notice was seen one of the most bold and energetic leaders of modern days an anticipated knowledge of whose mark- ed and restless character is a necessary preface to a recital of Irish recurrences, in which the effects of his passions will be every where traced, and the mischievous errors of his judgment be perceived and lamented. VII. This person was John Fitzgibbon, afterwards Earl of Clare — Attorney General, and Lord High Chancellor of Ireland. His ascertained pedigree was short, though his name bespoke an early respectability. His grandfather was obscure — his father, intended for the profession of a Catholic pastor, but possessing a mind superior to the habits of monkish seclusion, procured himself to be called to the Irish bar, where his talents raised him to the highest estimation, and finally established him in fame and fortune. John Fitzgibbon, the second son of this man, was called to the bar in 1772. Naturally dissipated, he for some time attended but little to the duties of his profession ; but on the death of his elder brother and his father, he found himself in possession of all those advantages, which led him rapidly forward to the extremity of his objects. Considerable fortune — professional talents — extensive connexions — and undismayed confidence, elevated him to those stations, on which he afterwards appeared so con- spicuously seated ; while the historic eye, as it follows his career, perceives him lightly bounding over every obstacle, which checked his course., to that goal where all S4 RISE AND FALL the trophies and thorns of power were collected for his reception. In the Earl of Clare we find a man eminently gifted with talents adapted either for a blessing or a curse to the nation he inhabited : but early enveloped in high and dazzling authority, he lost his way ; and considering his power as a victory, he ruled his country as a conquest : — • indiscriminate in his friendships — and implacable in his animosities — he carried to the grave all the passions of his childhood. He hated powerful talents, because he feared them; and trampled on modest merit, because it was incapable of resistance. Authoritative and peremptory in his ad- dress ; commanding, able, and arrogant, in his language, a daring contempt for public opinion was the fatal principle which misguided his conduct ; and Ireland became divided between the friends of his patronage — the slaves of his power — and the enemies to his tyranny. His character had no medium, his manners no medio- crity — the example of his extremes w^as adopted by his intimates, and excited in those who knew him feehngs either of warm attachment, or of rivetted aversion. While he held the seals in Ireland, he united a vigorous capacity with -the most striking errors : as a judge, he collected facts with a rapid precision, and decided on them with a prompt asperity : but he hated precedent, and despised the highest judicial authorities, because they were not his own. As a politician and a statesman, the character of Lord (ylare is too well known, and its effects too generally experienced, to be mistaken or misrepresented — the era of his reign was the downfall of his country — his councils accelerated what his policy might have suppressed, and have marked the annals of Ireland with stains and mise- ries unequalled and indelible. In council, — rapid, peremptory, and overbearing — he regarded promptness of execution, rather than discretion of arrangement, and piqued himself more on expertness of thought than sobriety of judgment. Tlirough all the calamities of Ireland, the mild v^oice of conciliation never escaped his lips ; and when the torrent of civil war had OF THE IRISH NATION. 35 subsided in his country, he held out no oUve, to show that the dehige had receded. Acting upon a conviction, that his power was but co- existent with the order of pubhc estabUshments, and the tenure of his office hmited to the continuance of admiriis- tration, he supported both with less prudence, and more desperation, than sound pohcy or an enhghtened mind should permit or dictate ; his extravagant doctrines of religious intolsrance created the most mischievous pre- texts for his intemperance in upholding them ; and, unde] colour of defending the principles of one revolution, he had nearly plunged the nation into all the miseries of another. His political conduct has been accounted uniform, but in detail it will be found to have been misera])ly incon- sistent. In 1781, he took up arms to obtain a declaration of Irish independence ; in 1800, he recommended the introduction of a military force to assist in its extinguish- ment , he proclaimed Ireland a free nation in 1783, and argued that it should be a province in 1799 ; in 1782 he called the acts of the British Legislature towards Ireland " a daring usurpation on the rights of a free people,''^* and in 1800 he transferred Ireland to the usurper. On all ocasions his ambition as despotically governed his politics, as his reason invariably sunk before his pre- judice. Though he intrinsically hated a Legislative Union, his lust for power induced him to support it : the preservation of office overcame the impulse of conviction, and he stre nuously supported that measure, after having openly avowed himself its enemy : its completion, however, blasted his hopes, and hastened his dissolution. The restlessness of his habit, and the obtrusiveness of his dis position, became insupportably embarrassing to the British cabinet — the danger of his talents as a minister, and thc^ inadef[uacy of his judgment as a statesman, had beei: proved in Ireland : he had been a useful instrument ii; that country, but the same line of services which he per * In his Lordship's answer to the address of Dublin University, on th?. 14th of April 1782, upon the declaration of rights, he used these words: and added, tliat '• he had uniformly expressed that opinion both iii pub- lic and in private." 36 RISE AND FALL formed in Ireland, would have been ruinous tc Great Britain, and Lord Clare was no longer consulted. The union at length effected through his friends, what Ireland could never accomplish through his enemies — his total overthrow. Unaccustomed to control, and unable to submit, he returned to his country, weary, drooping, and disappointed ; regretting what he had done, yet miserable that he could do no more : his importance had expired with the Irish Parliament, his patronage ceased to supply food for his ambition, the mind and the body became too sympathetic for existence, and he sunk into the grave, a conspicuous example of human talent and human frailty. In his person he was about the middle size, slight, and not graceful, his eyes, large, dark, and pcjnetrating, betrayed some of the boldest traits of his uncommon character, his countenance, though expressive and manly, yet discovered nothing, which could deceive the physiog- nomist into an opinion of his magnanimity, or, call forth a eulogium on his virtues. During twenty momentous and eventful years, the life of Lord Clare is in fact the history of Ireland — as in romance some puissant and doughty chieftain appears prominent in every feat of chivalry — the champion in every strife — the hero of every encounter, and, after a life of toil and of battle, falls surrounded by a host of foes, a victim to his own ambition and temerity. Thus Earl Clare, throughout those eventful periods, will be seen bold, active and desperate, engaging fiercely in every important conflict of the Irish nation and at length after having sacrificed his country to his passions and his ambition, endeavouring to atone for his errors, by sacri- ficing himself. OF THE IRISH NATION. 37 CHAPTER II. State of the Irisli Pailiament previous to 1779 — Previous to 1780, occa- sional contests arose in the Irish Parliaments — The ahsentees — The Irish Bar — Its influence and Independence — Mr. Burgh Prime-Ser- geant — The Attorney-general — France assists America against Eng- land — France the champion of Libert}' ; England of Slavery — France threatens to invade Ireland — England prostrate and incapable of assist- ing Ireland — ^Moderation and patriotism of the Catholics — Character of the Irish people misrepresented and misunderstood in England — Irish character defamed by English writers — Character of the Irish peasant — Their undaunted courage — Attachment to their country — The Gentry — Romantic Chivalry of the Irish gentry — Suicide un- known in Ireland — Irish Peerage — Protestant Clergy — Catholic Cler- gy — Their conduct and manners I. The habits of commerce and the pursuits of avarice had not, at this period, absorbed the spirit or contracted the intellect of the Irish people. That vigorous compre- hensive, and pathetic eloquence, so peculiar to Ireland, which grasped at once the reason and the passions, still retained its ascendency at the bar, and its pre-eminence in the Senate : and tlie Commons' House of Parliament, about the period of Lord Clare's first introduction into public notice, contained as much character, as much eloquence, and as much sincerity, as any popular assembly since the most brilliant era of the Roman republic. II. It might be reasonable to infer that a nation so long retained in the trammels of dependence, so habituated through successive generations, to control and to subjection would have lost much of its natural energy, and more of its national feeling. But, though the Irish Parliament, previous to 1779, in general manifested strong indications of a declining and a subservient^ body, yet, even after centuries of depression, when roused by the sting of accumulating usurpation, its latent spirit occasionally burst forth, and should have convinced the British Government, that though the flame of liberty may be smothered, ilie- spark is unextinguishable. 4 38 RISE AND FALL Although, by the operation of Poyning's .aw, the par- Hamentary discussions were generally restricted to local subjects and domestic arrangements, yet constitutional questions of a vital tendency incidentally occurred ; and the exercise of controling powers, assumed by the British Cabinet over the concerns of Ireland often afforded matter of serious controversy between the viceroy and the nation and had, in some instances, been resisted by the Parlia- ment with a warmth and a pertinacity which foretold a certainty of more important contests.* These struggles, however, although frequent, were fruitless. The country was not yet ripe for independence, constitutional freedom had been so long obsolete, thai- even its first principles were nearly forgotten, and the people were again to learn the rudiments, before they could speak the language of liberty. But the fortitude, the wisdom, and the perseverance of the Anglo-American colonies, the feebleness, the impolicy, and the divisions * On many occasions previous to 1779, the Irish Commons asserted their independent rights and privileges with great warmth, though some- times without success. In 1749, a redundancy of c£53,000 remaining in the Irish treasury — an unappropriated balance in favour of the nation, after paying all the establishments — the King sent over his letter to draw that sum to England, as a part of his hereditary revenue. But the Irish Parliament resisted the authority of his Majesty's letter, as an encroach ment on the distinctness and independence of Ireland; a part of tha< sum having arisen from additional duties imposed by her Parliament. The King consulted the English judges, who were of opinion that the King's previous consent was necessary to its appropriation ; but the Irish Commons insisted on their right of appropriation, and asserted that his Majesty's subsequent asseiit only was necessary. This contest was warmly maintained until the year 1753, when the Irish Commons suc- ceeded in establishing their principle. The principles of l\Tr. Molyneux's " Case of Ireland " published in 1698, had never ceased to make a strong impression on the minds of the Irish people. The British Parliament ordered it to be burned by the hands of the common executioner ; but that measure defeated its own object, by greatly increasing its celebrity and circulation. The same principles were strongly inculcated, in several ])ublications, by a very able writer, Doctor Charles tucas, member for Dublin. For those wri- tings, lie was expelled from the house; but he afterwards resumed his seat wilh increased character and influence; and, to this day, his statue, in white marble, stands eminently conspicuous in the Royal Exchange at Dublin, as a monument of his steady jKitriotism. Before him. Dean Swift, whose name is still adored by the Irish, had employed his mas- ferly pen with powerful r ffeof in fostering the [spirit of independence. OF THE IRISH NATION. 39 of Great Britain, soon taught Ireland the importance of the crisis ; and by a firmness, a moderation, and an ananimity, unparalleled in the annals of revolution, the Irish Vohuiteers acquired for 1 1 leir- country a civic crown, which nothing but the insanity of rebellion and the arti- fices and frauds of Union, could ever have torn from the bj'ow of the Irish people. III. Absentees* who have ever been and ever will remain an obstacle to the substantial prosperity of Ireland exerted themselves more particularly at this period, in giving a strenuous and weighty opposition to every measure of innovation, they knew their Irish demesnes only by name and by income, they felt no interest but for their rents, and no patriotism but for the territory, alarmed at any legislative measure originating in Ireland. They showed themselves equally ignorant and regardless of her constitution, and ever proved themselves the steady adherents of the Minister for the time being ; their proxies in the Lords, and their influence in the Commons, were transferred to him on a card or in a letter, and, on every division in both houses, almost invariably formed a phalanx against the true and genuine interest of the country. IV. However zealous and determined the incipient exertions of the Irish nation might have been, they would probably have been crushed and extinguished, had not a class of men, possessing the first talents in the senate and the highest confidence of the country, stepped boldly forward to support the people. In those days the Irish Bar, a body equally formidable to the Government by their character and their capacity, too independent to be restrained, and too proud to be corruj)ted, comprised many sons of the resident noblemen and connnoncrs of Ireland. The legal science was at that time considered as part of an Irish gentleman's education : the practice Avas then not a trade, but a profession. Eloquence was cultivated by its votaries, as a preparation for the higher duties of the senate, and, as almost every peer and every * The absentees of the present day annually draw. from Ireland above three millions sterling, to be expended in Great' l^rilain. Son)e of the law offices of the ^;reatest emolumeiit, connected with the Irish courts of ju*- lice, are now held by constant absentees. 40 RISE AND FALI^ ^ commoner had a relative enrolled among their mm ber, so they had no interest in the conduct and honor of that department of society. The influence therefore of the bar as a body, increased by tlie general respect for the connexions and cultivated talents of its members, gave them an ascendency both in and out of Parliament, which could scarcely be counteracted, and, on certain tiying occasions the conduct of some of the law-officers afforded experimental proof, that even they considered their offices as no longer tenable with advantage to the King, if the Minister should attempt to use them as instruments against the people. The rank and station of the law-officers of Ireland in those days were peculiarly dignified, and conveyed an impression of importance, which the modern degeneracy of talent and relaxation of wholesome forms and of dis- tinctions has altogether done away with. — The office of Prime Sergeant, then the first law-officer of Ireland, was filled at this period by one of the most amiable and elo- quent men that ever appeared on the stage of politics — Walter Hussey Burgh, whose conduct in a subsequent transaction rendered him justly celebrated and illustrious. This gentleman was then representative for Dublin Uni- versity ; in which office, he and M. Fitzgibbon were colleagues — men in whose public characters, scarcely a trait of similarity can be discovered. Mild, moderate, and patriotic, Mr. Burgh was proud without arrogance, and dignified without effort : equally attentive to public con- cerns and careless of his own, he had neither avarice to acquire wealth, nor parsimony to lioard it : — liberal, even to profusion — friendly, to a lault — and disinterested, to a weakness — he was honest without affluence, and ambitious without corruption : — his eloquence was of the highest order — figurative, splendid, and convincing: — at the bar, in the Parliament, and among the people he v.^as equally admired, and universally respected. But, when we compare Mr. Burgh with the then Attor- ney General of Ireland, who had been selected by Lord Townscnd to l^car down, if possible, the spirit of the country, the contrast may give a strong view of that policy, which falling ministers frequently and perhaps judiciously adojTt, of endeavouring, if practicable, to enUst I J)iiJ,r ,'/' l.ruistir I llfiiir lii;it/ii/i .! J.I • III I III/ r .'). 11 II. w sn • fiiini/i ■"• lli/irv I'/i'i',/ f! Ann/ Hii/rJiin^i>n 7 I. rill i/nir/i-ini'iil OF THE IRISH NATION. 4 and seat upon their benches some popular and elevated personage of opposition, who. by his character, may give strength to the party which surrounds him, or at least may lor ever prostrate his own reputation by the unpopu- larity of the connection. Mr. John Scott, then Attorney General, and afterwards created Earl of Clonmel, and Chief Justice of Ireland, exhibited the most striking contrast to the character of the Prime Sergeant. Sprung from the humbler order of society, he adventured upon tlie world without any advantage, save the strength of his intellect and the versatility of his talents. He held his head high, his boldness was his first introduction, his policy, his ultimate preferment. Courageous,* humorous, artificial, he knew the world well, and he profited by that knowledge ; he cultivated the powerful ; he bullied the timid, he fought the brave, he flattered the vain, he dupod the credulous, and he amused the convivial. Half liked, half repro- bated, he was too high to be despised, and too low to be respected. His language was coarse, and his principles arbitrary : but his passions were his slaves, and his cun- ning was his instrument. He recollected favors received m his obscurity, and, in some instances, had gratitude to requite the obligation : but his avarice and his ostentation contended for the ascendency: tlieir strife was perpetual, and their victories alternate. In public and in private, he was the same character ; and, though a most fortunate man and a successful courtier, he had scarcely a sincere friend, or a disinterested adherent. This marked contrariety in character and disposition, which distiufruished those chief law-officers of government, was equally discernible in almost every other department: the virtues and the talents of Grattan, of Flood, of Yel- verton, of Daly, found their contrasts on the same benches ; and tliese two distinguished characters are thus brought forward, by anticipation to show in the strongest point of view how powerful and insinuating the j)ul)lic feeling of that day must have been, that could finally draw together, in one comir.on cause, personages so * His Lorlship foujjht sn^cral duels before he was Chief Justice of the Kiiii;'s BtMich. The hitc L!;irl of I.aiulalV, and the present Lord Ty rawly, were two of his antagonists. 4- 42 RISE AND FALL opposite and so adverse on almost every political object; and in every national principal. The crisis, however, now approached, when In»land was for a moment to rear her head among imperial nations: strange and unforseen events began to crowd the annals of the world, — the established axioms of general polity began to lose their weight among nations; and governments, widely wandering from the fnndam(;ntal principles of their own constitutions, seemed carelessly travelling the road to anarchy and revolution. The rival powers of England and of France — ever jealous ever insincere — concluding deceptions negotia- tions by fallacious treaties — doubtful of each others honor, and dreading each other's prowess — had long stood cautiously at bay — each v/atching for an unguarded open to give a mortal wound to her adversary — ^yet each dreading the consequences of an unsuccessful effort. However, the perseverance and successes of America communicated a stimulating impulse to the councils of the French King ; and that ill-fated monarch, urged on to his destiny, determined to strike a deadly blow at the pride and the commerce of England, by giving an effec- tual aid to her revolted colonies. The question soon came to a speedy issue ; an unde- cisive engagement with the French fleet in the Channel alarmed and irritated England ; every prospect of accom- modation vanished ; and a declaration of war was issued by the French Government, with a pompous manifesto proclaiming the wanton injuries they had sustained from Great Britain. Plunged into destructive warfare, each nation used their utmost eftbrts to accomplish their respective pur- poses. France, determined to establish the independence of America ; while England, sought to reduce her colonies to the most decisive slavery. A transposition of national principles seemed to have been adopted by the Govern- ments of both countries — despotic France combating, to establish the rights of civil liberty — and England exerting all her energies, to enforce a system of tyrannic govern- ment — the one marshalling the slaves of her arbitrary power to battle in the cause of pure democracy — the other rallying round an English standard the hired mer- OF THE IRISH NATION. 43 cenaries of German avarice, to suppress the principles of British freedom — and both Governments soliciting the aid of sanguinary savages, to aggravate the horrors of a Christian war by the scalping-knife and the tomahawk of lieathen murderers. Europe beheld with amazement a combat so unnatural and disgusting : but it would have required a prophetic spirit, to have then foretold that the French throne would be eventually overturned by the principles of those new allies, and would, by the mighty shock of its fall, shake even the foundations of the British constitution ; though the total prostration of the one, and the ministerial inroads upon the other, would since have fully justified the hazard of that prediction. V. Amidst the confusion incident to those great events, Ireland yet remained unheeded and unthought of: her miseries and her oppressions had hardly engaged the consideration of the British minister. Meanwhile, the Irish people, with a dignified anxiety, contemplated the probable termination of a contest, by the result of which their own destiny must be determined. The subjugation of America might confirm the dependence of Ireland ; and she was soon convinced, — that she could obtain her own constitutional rights from Great Britain only by the complete success and triumph of her colony. Awaiting therefore the decrees of Providence, Ireland steadily surveyed the distant prospect of great and rival empires wantonly lavishing the blood and treasures of their people in a contest fundamentally repugnant to their established principles : but — cautious, moderate, and firm in her conduct — though she wisely determined to avail herself of the crisis to promote the establishment of her independence, — she fed the flame of liberty, she kindled not the blaze of licentiousness : while America fought to obtain a separation from Great Britain, Ireland took up arms only to ol)tain a just participation of her constitution. To embarrass the oficnsive nKjasiu'cs of England, and make a formidable diversion in favor of America, France manifested an intention of invading Ireland. — In this alarming emergency. Great Britain, from the dispersions of her military Ibrce, scattered into many distant stations of the world, and so numerously employed on the con- 44 RISE AND FALL tineiit of America, found it impossible to afford a body of regular troops sufficient to protect Ireland in case of such invasion. Here let us for a moment pause, and dispassionately reflect upon the situation of Great Britain and the conduct of Ireland at this most trying moment : let us survey the increasing imbecility of the one, and the rising enemies of the other: and we must — do justice to the moderation and generosity of a people, whose long and grievous oppressions, if they could not have justified, v/ould at least have palliated, a very diflerent proceeding. The state of England during this war became every day more difficult and distressing. A discontented people, and an unpopular ministry — an empty treasury, and a grievous taxation — a continental war, and a colonial rebellion — together formed an accumulation of embar- rassment, such .as Great Britain had never before expe- rienced. Her forces in America were captured or defeated : her fleets, had not yet attained that irresistible superiority which has since proved the only protection of the British Islands. — Ireland, without money, militia, or standing army — without ordinance or fortifications — almost abandoned by England, had to depend solely on the spirit and resources of her own natives ; and this critical state of Ireland, which the misconduct of Great Britain herself had occasioned, gave the first rise to those celebrated associations, the immediate means of obtaining Irish independence. Many inducements prevailed, to fill the ranks of these associations. The warlike propensities of the Irish people, so long restrained — and personal attachment to their chiefs and leaders, were with them the first excitements : but the blending of ranks, and more intimate connexion of the people, which was the immediate consequence of a general military system, quickly effected an extensive and marked revolution in the minds and manners of the entire nation — an important and extraordinary change, of which the gradations became every day more conspicuously discernible. The primary stimulus of the Irish farmer was only that which he felt in common with every other animated being — the desire of self preservation : — he associated against invasion, because he heard that it would be his ruin: but his intercourse with the highei OF THE IRISH NATION. 46 ranks opened the road to better information. Thus he soon learned that the Irish people were deprived of poli- tical riglits, and that his country had endured political injuries : his ideas became enlarged, and quickly embraced more numerous and prouder objects ; he began, for the first time, to know his own importance to the state ; and, as knowledge advanced, the principles of constitutional independence were better understood, and more sedulously cultivated. The Irish peasant now assumed a different rank, and a higher character : — familiarised with arms, and more intimate with his superiors, he every day felt his love of liberty increased : the spirit at length became general enthusiastic ; and, in less time than could have been supposed from the commencement of these associa- tions, the whole surface of the island was seen covered with a self-raised host of patriot soldiers. VI. In the formation of those armed associations, the long-established distinctions between the Protestant and the Catholic could not be altogether forgotten. Many of the penal laws were still in full force ; Catholics were prohibited by statute from bearing arms in Ireland ; and, from the rooted prejudices against alloAving to that body any civil or military power vv^hatever, strong objections arose to their admission into those armed bodies. The Catholics, however, neither took offence nor even showed any jealousy at this want of confidence, on the contrary, with their money and their exhortations, they zealously assisted in forwarding those very associations into which they themselves had not admission. Their calmness and their patriotism gained them many friends, and a relax- ation of intolerance appeared rapidly to be gaining ground but it was not until the volunteers had assumed a deliberative capacity, and met as armed citizens, to discuss political questions, that the necessity of uniting the whole population ©f the country in the cause of independence became distinctly obvious. Those who foresaw that a general association of the Irish people was essential to the attaimncnt of theif constitutional objects, endeavoured to reconcile the schisms of sectarian jealousy by calm and rational observations ; they argued, that religious feuds had, in all countries, proved subversive of national pros- perity, but to none more decidedly fatal than to mon the policy and fears of England ; and that a 60 RISE AND FALL general appea/ to the people would be justified by the soundest axioms of civil government — as long experience had fully ascertained, that nothing was to be gained by the forbearance of the one nation, or to be expected from the voluntary justice of the othex, The Irish people being thus apprised of the real source of all their grievances, the subject quickly engrossed their whole thoughts, and became familiar to their understand- ings. A new and broad field of retiection was opened to the middle orders ; political discussions necessarily fol- lowed from day to day ; at every public and private meet- ing, and in every district, these discussions turned on the principles of liberty : and as the subject expanded, their ideas became enlarged ; those who could read, liberally instructed the illiterate as to the rudiments of their his- tory and the rights of the constitution ; and by familiar deductions, the misery of the peasant was without diffi- culty brought home to the corruption of the ministers. All ranks of the community began to mingle and con- verse at their public meetings ; the influence of that general communication diffused itself rapidly amongst every class of society ; and the people, after having per- fectly ascertained the hardships of their situation, natu- rally proceeded to discuss the most decisive means of re- dressing their grievances. III. The circumstances of public alTairs in America and on the continent of Europe, but more especially in England herself, were every moment becoming more and more propitious to the political emancipation of Ireland. A dark cloud appeared collecting over the head of Great Britain — the rays of her setting sun could scarcely pene- trate the obscurity of the gloom which surrounded her — and though she faced the impending hurricane with magnanimity and perseverance, she experienced a most anxious solicitude at the awful crisis which was rapidly approaching her. Her situation was terrific. The States of America, colonised by her industry, and peopled by her convicts, tearing themselves away from the mother country, and appealing to the whole world against the tyranny which at once had caused and justified her disobedience ; British armies wandering through boundless deserts, and OF THE IRISH NATION. 61 associating with the savage trihes for savage purposes, dwindling by their victories, and diminishing by their conquests, surrendering their swords to those whom they had recently vanquished, and lowering the flag of England, with all the courtesies of continental warfare, to those very men whom the preceding moment they had proclaimed as traitors to their king and to their country.* However, the wise and deliberate measures which Ireland on this occasion adopted, proved not onl)^ her unshaken fidelity, but her moderation and her unaffected attachment to Great Britain. She saw the perilous situ- ation of her sister country ; and though she determined to profit by the crisis, in justly reclaiming her commerce and her constitution,. she also determined to stand or fall with the British empire, and to share the fate of England in the tremendous confederacies which were formed and were forming against her. * The very different line of conduct adopted by England towards America and Ireland, when respectively in a state of insurrection, is very remarkable. The Americans (a mere colony) united with French troops, stood in open rebellion, for the avowed purpose of final separa- tion from the mother country, and were proclaimed traitors and rebels by the King and Parliament; yet they uniformly experienced from the Bri- tish military commander? the most decorous and respectful treatment. Their generals were addressed by their appropriate official titles — their military rank was recognized by the British army — their officers, when taken, were a^itted on their parol of honour — and their prisoners were treated with humanity and attention. The Irish experienced a very different conduct in 1798, when imm©*- diate execution was generally the gentlest punishment inflicted upon the insurgents of every rank, office, and description, and the laws of retalia- tion giving rise to a competition of barbarities, deluged the whole country in blood, extinguished its spirit, divided its people, and destroyed its reputation. To persons unacquainted with the true history of those transactions, and the project of the British minister, the am.biguous conduct of Lord Cornwallis will appear altogether inconsistent and unaccountable. But the difficulty will be solved, when it becomes evident, from historic facts, that, without that general horror, depression, and dismay which the extent and continuance of those mutual barbarities bad excited through- out all ranks and classes of people, the measure of a T^^gislative Union never durst have been proposed to Ireland, and tha* this ferrific sensa- tion was critically made use of, as the strongest instrument, to impose that measure on a people sunk under the lassitude of civil war, juid whilt in search of peace,' forgetting liberty. CQ RISE AND FALL The Irish people felt that they had a double duty tc perform — to themselves, and to their posterity. England herself had given them a precedent. She had proved by the experience of centuries, that when she had an object to achieve in Ireland, she had never been restrained by the punctilious dictates either of honour or humanity, and had never failed to take advantage of the feebleness of Ireland to impose the grievous weight of her arbitrary restrictions ; she had, at all periods, systematically en- couraged the internal dissensions of that people, the better to humble them for the yoke which she had al- ways been ready to place upon their country. Ireland, therefore, felt that she would be justified by British pre- cedent to take advantage of this important crisis, and that even the practical principles of the British constitution had declared and justified the right of popular resistance. England had, upon the same principle of resistance to arbitrary power, attempted to justify the murder of one king, and the deposition of another, whilst Ireland, pre- ferring her allegiance to her policy, remained faithful to both, and was rewarded for her loyalty by massacre and confiscation. However, a hasty or impetuous resistance of the Irish people, even to the most arbitrary acts of their King or of their Government, was by no means a principle con- genial to their political character ; whilst it was obvious to the whole world that England had adopted those violent and outrageous proceedings against her own monarchs, upon principles and pretences far less con- stitutional, and more inconsistent with her liberties, than the measures and conduct which had been wantonly and systematically practised by British ministers against Irish freedom. With this useful and awful lesson before her eyes, Ireland wisely considered that she would best raise and establish her national character, and effect her just objects, by a gradual reassumption of her rights, and a temperate and fair demand of constitutional liberty; that her moderation would form an edifying contrast to the violence and intemperance of England, whenever her liberties were mvaded, and that the advantage wliich the embarrassed state of Great Britain had now thrown into the hands of Ireland, would be most honour.Lbly exer- OF THE IRISH NATION. 63 cised by a calm and loyal, but resolute and effectual proceeding. She perceived, however, that the moment most favourable to her objects had arrived ; which, if suffered to pass by without effort, might never recur ; and it therefore only remained to Ireland to ascertain the means most moderate but most likely to call Great Bri- tain to a sense of reason and of justice, and to secure to herself tlie attainment of her rights, without the danger of hostile convulsion,-or the horrors of civil contlict. England, notwithstanding she had in some instances suspended, and in others prohibited, the exportation of Irish manufactures, inundated the Irish markets with every species of her own ; and with a view effectually to destroy all power of competition in Ireland, the great capitalists of England determined, even at any loss, to undersell the Irish in their own markets — a loss, how- ever which they thought would be eventually and amply repaid by the monopoly which must necessarily succeed the utter destruction of the Irish manufacture. This system it was impossible for the Irish manufac- turer to resist or counteract ; his capital was too small to bear the losses of competition ; resistance would have been vain ; he had therefore no alternative but to change his trade, or submit, and famish. It depended on the exertions of the people at large to resist every vicious and destructive project ; and they lost no time in adopting incipient measures of resistance. With this view, they resolutely determined to adopt a non- importation and non-consumption agreement through- out the whole kingdom ; and by excluding not only the importation, but the consumption of any British manu- facture in Ireland, visited back upon the English combi- nators the ruin of their own treachery. No sooner Avas this measure publicly proposed, than it was universally adopted ; it flew quicker than the wind throughout the whole nation : the manufacturing bodies, the corporate towns, the small retailers, the general merchants, at once universally adopted this vigorous determination, and the great body of the people, by general resolutions, and uni- versal acclamations, avowed their firm determination to support the measure, till they should acquire a restoration of their political rights. 64 RISE AND FALL IV. Meanwhile, the armed associations hourly gained strength in numbers ; they began to acquire the appen- dages and establishments of a regular army — discipline and confidence ; and gradually consolidated themselves into regiments and brigades ; some procured cannon and field equipages, and formed companies of artillery ; the completion of one corps stimulated the formation of another, and at length almost every independent Pro- testant of Ireland was enrolled as a patriot soldier ; and the whole body of the Catholics declared themselves the decided auxiliaries of their armed countrymen. This extraordinary armament — the recollections of which will for ever excite in Ireland a devotion to the cause of liberty, which neither time can efface nor mis- fortunes extinguish — actuated solely by the pure spirit of incorruptible patriotism, and signalized by a conduct more temperate and more judicious, than had ever con- trolled the acts and objects of any military body in the history of the world. The modern military corps, which have been skilfully, and perhaps wisely, imbodied, to preclude any recur- rence to the measure of volunteering, possess no analogy to these celebrated associations, save that the loyalty of the Volunteers was to their country and their King — the loyalty of the Yeomen, to the King of England and to his Ministers. Sell-formed, and self-governed, the Volunteers accepted no commissions whatever from the Crown, and acknow- ledged no connection whatever with the Government ; the private men appointed their own officers, and occa- sionally cashiered them for misconduct or incapacity ; they accepted no pay, the more wealthy soldier cheer- fully shared his funds with his poorer comrade — and the officers contributed tlieir proportions to the general stock purse. Yet notwitlistanding this perverted state of all military establishments, their subordination was complete : the soldier obeyed, from the instinctive impulse of honour to himself and duty to his country ; the officer com- manded upon the same principle, and very few instances occurred where either were found to deviate from the straightest line of military rectitude. The rules of dis- OP THE IRISH NATION. 65 cipline were adopted by general assent, and that passive obedience which, in regular armies, is enforced by punish- ment, amongst the Volunteers of Ireland was effected by honour. They assumed various uniforms ; green, white, scarlet, or blue, were the prevailing colours.* Their line, there- fore, appeared variegated, and peculiarly striking. Their arms were at first provided by themselves ; but the ex- traordinary increase of their numbers rendered them at length unable to procure a sufficient supply' by purchase: they had then but one course — they confidently required arms from the Government ; the Government, whatever reluctance they might have felt to arm men who acknow- ledged no supremacy, yet did not think it safe to refuse their demand ; and with an averted eye handed out to the Volunteers twenty thousand stand of arms from the Castle of Dublin. V. Being completely equipped, the acquirement of persons capable of instructing so large a body in military tactics, appeared a matter of the greatest difficulty ; but the same events which had at first inspired the Irish with a determination to arm, furnished them Avith the means not only of acquiring discipline, but of increasing their ardour. The disasters of the American war had restored to the bosom of Ireland many brave men, whose health had sunk under the consequences of wounds and sufferings, and who, having witnessed the successful struggles of America for liberty, had returned to Ireland at that moment when she was critically preparing to assert her own. The association of these experienced veterans was sedulously courted by the Irish Volunteers ; their orders * The Lawyer's regiment of Volunteers adopted exactly the uniform of the King's Guards — their motto, " Pro avis et focis." The Kilkenny regiment (the late Earl of Ormonil's,) and the regiments of Irish Bri- ades, &c., wore green; the motto of the latter, " Vox populi suprema ex est." During the continuance of the Volunteer corps, no other police whatever was necessary throughout the whole nation — no public delin- quent could possibly escape apprehension — and the most perfect peace and tranquillity prevailed throughout every county and district in heland; the Volunteers exerted themselves in every department, as the preser- vers of public peace, and with an effect never known at any former oa •ater period in that countrv- 6* le 66 RISE AND FALL were obeyed with confidence cand aiacrity, and amongst the coinitry corps the effect of their instructions became suddenly conspicuous ; and, under their experience, dis- ciphne advanced with rapid progress. The intercourse and conversation of those persons also had a powerful effect, by transfusing into their pupils that military mind which a veteran soldier can nevei relinquish. In their convivial hours, the serjeant, sur- rounded by his company, expatiating on the events of actual service* and introducing episodes of individual bravery, perhaps of his own undauntedness and sagacity, gradually banished every other topic from their conver- sation at those meetings. The successful perseverance of America had impressed even the soldier himself who had fought against her, with an involuntary respect for the principles of his enemies ; a constant intercourse with his Irish associates soon excited in him congenial feelings, and he began to listen with pleasure to their interesting question, "Why should not his own brave countrymen possess as much constitutional liberty as those foreign colonists who had conquered him ? " It is difficult to conceive the fascination which seized upon the heretofore contracted intellect of the military farmer, by a repetition of these novel and warlike sub- jects ; the martial propensity of his innate character had already rendered him peculiarly susceptible of these ani- mating impressions, and he now almost imperceptibly imbibed a military mind, and acquired a soldier's feeling. In a word, the whole nation became enamoured of arms ; and those who were not permitted to bear them, consi- dered themselves as honoured by being employed to carry the food and ammunition of the soldier. The chief commanders of these armed bodies were men of the highest and most distinguished characters, and each corps was in general headed by persons of the first respectabiUty in their respective districts, selected generally for their popularity and independence ; but all these corps were, for a considarable time, totally distinct and unconnected ; nor was it until they had formed into a consolidated column, under the command of the amia- ble and the illustrious Charlemont, that they acquired tlie irresistible impulse of a co-operating power. The OF THE IRISH NATION. 67 mild, but determined patriotism of that respected noble- man, gave a new tint of character to the whole army which he commanded, and chased away the tongue of slander from their objects and their conduct. In tlie number of those who, at this moment were launched, for the first time, into public observation, there appeared a person, who, without possessing the highest reputation for public talent, or the most unde- viating line of public principle, by the honest and spi- rited termination of his political life, has been justly raised upon the elevated pedestal of national gratitude ; a person, whose early appointment to the first financial department of Ireland, and whose official conduct, from that day to the catastrophe of Irish Parliaments, will necessarily be the subject of frequent and important observations, and authorizes an introduction of his name and character, at an earlier stage of this history, than would otherwise be consistent with the regular detail of a progressive narrative. VI. Sir John Parnel, the commandant of a Yolunteei association,* was the son of a crafty and prudent minor politician (Sir John Parnel, of Rathlegue, in the (Queen's County.) and was educated with a view to a diplomatic situation; but on his return from the Continent, was found by his father too deficient in the necessary attain- ments of evasion and duplicity, to qualify him for the high departments of foreign diplomacy: his talents, therefore, became destined for home consumption, and by the intrigues of his father, and a forced exertion of his own abilities, he was soon noticed in the Irish Par- liament as a person of more than ordinary capacity — and after a veering course of local poUtics, he Avas appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. In that situation he con tinued, till the project of a union called forth the public virtues of every man who possessed any, and too late opened the eyes of the nation to its steady friends, and to its temporizing enemies. # Sir John Parnel had an eminent capacity for public business, but a lamentable deficiency of system in its arrangement. His strong mind and cultivated under- standing lost much of their effect by the flurry of his * The Maryborough Volunteers. 68 RISE AND FALL manner, which frequently impeded the perspicuity of his language. His intellect was clear, his memory retentive, and his conception just ; he possessed esteem, without an eiFort to obtain it, and preserved his friends, without exercising his patronage ; he supported the Ministry without offend- ing the opposition, and all parties united in calling him an honourable man. Plain, frank, cheerful and convivial, he generally pre- ferred society to trouble, and seemed to have rid himself of a weight when he had executed a duty. As a finan- cier, he was not perfect — as a statesman, he was not deep — as a courtier, he was not polished — but as an officer, he was not corrupt ; and though many years in possession of high office, and extensive patronage, he showed a disinterestedness almost unparalleled ; and the name of a relative, or of a dependent, of his own^ scarcely in a singlfe instance increased the place or the pension lists of Ireland. Though his education and habits were ministerial, his mind was intrinsically patriotic, and a sentiment of inde- pendent spirit not unfrequently burst out from under the pressure of that official restriction which the duties of his station had necessarily imposed upon him ; but his appointment as a minister never induced him to forget his birth as an Irishman ; and his attachment to the sove- reign, never diminished his philanthropy to the subject. After an honest, faithful, and zealous service of his king, for seventeen years — as Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer — he was called upon by the minister to sacri- fice his principles, and betray his country — to efface the impressions of his youth, and tarnish the honour of his maturity — to violate his faith, and falsify his conviction ; but the fetters of office could not restrain the spirit of its captive : he lost his station, but he retained his inte- grity, and was compensated for the consequences of an undeserved dismissal, by the approbation of his con- science and the affection of his country. The V^olunteer corps which he commanded, early and zealously adopted the cause of Irish independence — a cause he strenuously adhered to, to the last moment of his existence — and in that noble firmness with which he OF THE IRISH NATION. 69 resisted a legislative union, and disobeyed the mandates of a crafty and vindictive viceroy ; he has left to the present age a brilliant and a rare example of a minister, honest enough to prefer his character to his office, and proud enough to postpone his interest to his honour. VII. The Volunteer system now becoming universal in Ireland, effected an important and visible change in the minds and manners of the middle and lower orders of the people ; by the occurrence of new events, and the promulgation of novel principles, their natural character became affected in all its bearings, and acquired, or rather disclosed, new points, which at that period tended to promote their prosperity, but eventually formed the grand pretence for the extinguishment of their inde- pendence. The familiar association of all ranks, which the nature of their new military connection necessarily occasioned, every day lessened that wide distinction, which had theretofore separated the higher and lower orders of society — the landlord and the tenant — the nobleman and the artisan — the general and the soldier — now, for the first time, sat down at the same board — shared the same fare — and enjoyed the same conviviality. The lower order learned their own weight in the community — the higher were taught their dependance upon the people — and those whose illiterate minds had never before con- ceived or thought on the nature of political constitutions, or the fundamental principles of civil government, now learned from the intercourse and conversation of their superiors, the rudiments of that complicated but noble science ; the misconception and the abuse of which, has since become the severest scourge that ever afflicted the states of Europe. A visible alteration was also soon observable in the general appearance of the people ; the squalid garb and careless dress of the Irish farmer was now exchanged for the minute cleanliness and regularity of tlie soldier. A striking revolution took place not only in tlie minds, but also in the external appearance of the Irish ; their intellect ac<[uired strength by exercise and information — their address was improved by intercourse and disci- pline — and their general appearance by dress and regu- 70 RISE AND FALL larity ; and had not the same causes, which led to the concessions of 1782, induced the British Government to recall that constitution which had been wrested from its feebleness, these miparalleled associations would have conferred advantages on the country, beyond all mea- sures which human wisdom could have suggested, for its improvement. OF THE IRISH NATION. 71 CHAPTER IV. Unexpected events in the Irish House of Commons — Mr. CTrattan'a Amendment to the Address — His public character and vicissitudes — The Amendment — Its effects — Sir Henry Cavendish — His character — Mr. Hussey Burgh (the Prime -Sergeant) secedes from Government and substitutes an Amendment for Mr. Grattan's — the Amendment passed — First step towards Iiish independence — The English Parlia- ment callous to the wrongs of Ireland — Lord Shelburne and Lord Ossory propose resolutions — The Irish nation determined to assert its rights — Resolution for a free trade carried unanimously — This circum- stance one of the remote causes of the Union — Rapid progress of the Volunteers — Extraordinary military honours paid to the Duke of Leinster — Attempts to seduce the Volunteers — Earl of Charlemont — His character. I. While those transactions were taking place throughout the country, a memorable and unexpected event occurred in the Irish Parliament. The sessions of 1779-80 commenced with a scene which Avhile it elevated the Irish people to the height of expectation, and inspired them with a new confidence, paralyzed the British Government, and for the first moment, made known decidedly to the councils of that country, that they had no longer to deal with a timid, dispirited, and unprotected nation. The adoption tf non-importation and non-consumption agreements had already created considerable anxiety in the British Minister as to the probable result of the ensuing Session, and the Lord Lieutenant was directed to open the Parliament with a speech, remotely alluding to his Majesty's sentiments of liberality, but without specifying any measure of concession, and so cautiously guarded, as neither to alarm the Public, nor commit the Govern- ment, but the days of insipidity had now passed away ; the Viceroy's speeches from the throne, for almost a century, had been composed nearly in the same common- place language and trite observation, and the addresses of both Houses, in reply to those speeches, had been n RISE AND FALL almost invariably mere echoes of the speech itself, with general assm'ances of liberal supplies and increasing loyalty. On the opening of this Session, however, there appeared a more than common sensation amongst the leading members of Parliament, the strong and animated declara- tions of public sentiment which had been published during the prorogation, made an extraordinary impression, but the extent or consequences of that impression could not be ascertained, until the proceedings of the House of Commons gave an opportunity of observing what effect the new spirit of the people would now have upon the conduct of their representatives. At length the Parliament assembled ; the anxious and mquisitive eye of the Secretary and of the steady partisans of Government passed rapidly throughout the whole House alarmed by the appearance of some unusual re- sistance, they endeavoured, from the looks, the sugges- tions, the manner of the members, to prejudge the result of the first night's debate, which had generally decided the complexion of the ensuing session, but no sagacity could have anticipated the turn which Irish affairs were to receive on that night — no human foresight could have predicted that blow which the system of the British Cabinet was about to receive by one single sentence — or have foreseen that that single sentence would be the composition of the first law-officer of the Irish Gov- ernment. The Lord Lieutenant's speech was delivered by him, in the House of Lord's in the accustoiped tone of confi- dence, ambiguity, and frivolous recommendations ; and in the Commons, the usual echo and adulatory address was moved by Sir Robert Deane, a person completely devoted to the views of Government. A pause succeeded and an unusual communication was perceivable between several members on the Government and Opposition sides of the House. A decided resistance to the usual qualified address now became certain ; the Secretary, moving irresolutely from place to place, was seen endea- vouring to collect the individual opinions of the m.embers — and the law-officers of the Grown evinced a diffidence never before observable in their department ; throughout OF THE IRISH NATION. 73 the whole House a new sense of expectation and anxiety was evident. II. At length Mr. Henry Grattan arose, with a some- what more than usual solemnity ; — he seemed labouring with his own thoughts, and preparing his mind for a more than ordinary exertion. The address and the language of this extraordinary man were perfectly original ; from his first essay in Parliament, a strong sensation had been excited by the point and eccentricity of his powerful eloquence ; — nor was it long until those transcendent talents, which afterwards distinguished this celebrated personage — were perceived rising above ordinary capa- cities, and, as a charm, communicating to his countrymen that energy, that patriotism, and that perseverance, for which he himself became so eminently distinguished ; his action, his tone, his elocution in public speaking, bore no resemblance to that of any other person ; the flights of genius, the arrangements of composition, and the solid strength of connected reasoning, were singularly blended in his fiery, yet deliberative language ; he thought in logic and he spoke in antithesis ; his irony and his satire, rapid and epigrammatic, bore down all opposition, and left him no rival in the broad field of eloquent invective ; his ungraceful action, however, and the hesitating tardi- ness of his first sentences, conveyed no favourable im- pression to those who listened only to his exordium, but the progress of his brilliant and manly eloquence soon absorbed every idea, but that of admiration at the over- powering extent of his intellectual faculties. This was Mr. Henry Grattan of 1779 — in the vicissi- tudes of whose subsequent life will be remarked three dictinct eras of public character, and disgusting proofs of popular inconsistency — the era of his glory, the era of his calumny, and the era of his resurrection ; in the first, elevated to a pitch of unbounded gratification, by the attachment, the gratitude, and the munificence of his countrymen ; — in the second, despoiled of health, of happiness, and of character, by the artifices of a powerful enemy, and in the third rising from the bed of sickness, re-embarking a shattered frame in the service of his country. In Parliament he taught the doctrines of Molyneux and of Lucas — he drew the true constitutional 7 74 RISE AND FALL distinctions between the Crown and the Government — the magistrate and the function — the individual and the sceptre. But the partiahty of the friend may possibly bias the pen of the historian ; — hi^ public principles will be best ascertained by tracing the undeviating line of his public conduct. The career of this extraordinary man is finished. But he survived his country, he lived to view the demolition of that noble fabric raised by the exertion of his own virtue and perseverance, and the catastrophe of that constitu- tion, which, " as he watched over it in its cradle, so he attended it to its grave." III. After an oration, replete with the most luminous reasoning, the severest censure, pathetic and irresistible eloquence, Mr. Grattan moved an amendment to the address, viz. " That we beseech your Majesty to believe, that it is with the utmost reluctance we are constrained to approach you on the present occasion ; but the con- stant drain to supply absentees, and the unfortunate prohibition of our trade, have caused such calamity, that the natural support of our country has decayed, and our manufacturers are dying for want ; famine stalks hand in hand with hopeless wretchedness ; and the only means left to support the expiring trade of this miserable part of your Majesty's dominions, is to open a free export trade, and let your Irish subjects enjoy their natural birthright." His arguments had been so conclusive, his position so self-evident, his language so vigorous and determined, his predictions so alarming, and the impression which those combined qualities made upon the House was so deep, and so extensive, that the supporters of Government, paralyzed and passive, seemed almost ready to resign the victory, before they had even attempted a resistance. The confusion which now appeared on the Treasury bench was very remarkable, because very unusual. The Secretary (Sir Richard Heron,) for the first time, showed a painful mistrust in the steadiness of his followers ; he perceived that the spirit of the House was rising into a storm, which all the influence of his olfice would not be able to allay, direct opposition would be injudicious, if not fatal, palpable evasion would be altogether imprao OF THE IRISH NATION. 75 ticable, the temporizing system was almost worn out, and procrastination seemed to yield no better prospect of a favourable issue ; the otficers of Government sat sullenly on their benches, awaiting their customary cue from the lips of the Minister, but he was too skilful to commit himself to a labyrinth, from whence return was so difR cult and precarious, and all was silent. At length i^ic Henry Cavendish hesitatingly arose, to declare his dis- sent to this first decided effort of the Irish Parliament to assert its liberties. IV. Sir Henry Cavendish was one of those persons who are generally found in the front of a popular assembly, and acquire notoriety by becoming the oracle of some insulated department. Though possessea of a plain, shrewd understanding, abundance of craft, a con- venien'. temper, and imposing plausibility; after una- vailing effort to acquire the fame of a rhetorician. Sir Henry contented himself with the reputation of profound knowledge in parliamentary precedents and points of order. Aq was ever prepared with a string of parliamentary precedents, appropriate to every question, and adapted to every circumstance, which he skilfully contrived to substitute for reasoning, and oppose to argument, and should his prolific memory chance to fail him in the quo- tation of his documents, his inventive genius never let the subject fail for want of an auxiliary. On points of order he was at least as garrulous as orthodox, and peculiarly expert at critical interruption ; under colour of keeping order, he assumed a licence for transgressing it, — and in affecting to check the digression of others, he frequently made it the first figure of his own rhetoric ; — he was admirably calculated for desul- tory debate — when he was right, he was concise — when he was wrong, he was pertinacious, sarcastic, obstinate, plausible, persevering — he gained time when he coukl not make proselytes, and became the very essence and soul of procrastination. Sir Ilerny was well aware that he durst not venture an unqualified negative, and endeavoured craftily to administer his panncea of precedents, and to propose what he termed '• something more orderly in the House, and more gracious to the Sovereign." He said 76 RISE AND FALL he would vote against the amendment — that the busmess would be better eifected by following a precedent in the year 1661. when the Lords and Commons of Ireland appointed commissioners to attend the King — to " sup- plicate the redress of grievances." V. The die was now cast — and a resistance to the measure was announced and proceeded on. Mr. Scott (Attorney General) affected to support Sir Henry — but as if conscious of his ultimate feilure, he appeared almost a new character ; — the bold audacity of his address dege- nerated into an insidious plausibility — his arrogance fled without an effort — and for once in his life he was tame, vapid, and equivocal ; — an ardent spirit now burst forth from every quarter of the House. Mr. Henry Flood, a most prominent personage in Irish history, whose endow- ments were great, and whose character was distinguished, the Provost — Mr. Ogle — Sir Edward Newnham — and many others — declared their coincidence with the amend- ment. But though it stated, in true and pathetic language, the miseries Ireland v>'as subject to, by reason of her absentees, if pressed too strongly on the tenderest spot of the interest of Britons, to admit of their concurrence ; while, on the other side, it was conceived not to be tho- roughly explicit — and not sufficiently peremptory ; — the object was most important — the moment was most critical — and the amendment was exceptionable. These diffi- culties had been foreseen. YI. Mr. Hussey Burgh (the Prime Sergeant) at length arose from the Treasury bench, with that proud dignity so congenial to his character, and declared, that he never would" support any Government, in fraudulently con- cealing from the King the right of his people ; — that the high office which he possessed could hold no competition with his principles and his conscience, and he should consider the relinquishment of his gown only as a just sacrifice upon tlie altar of his country ; — that strong statement, rather than pathetic supplication, was adapted to the crisis ; and he proposed to Mr, Grattan to substi- tute for his amendment the following words — " That it is not by temporary expedients, that this nation is now to be saved from impending ruin." OF THE IRISH NATION. 77 The effect of his speech* was altogether indescribable, nor is it easily to be conceived by those who were not witnesses of that remarkable transaction; the House, quick in its conception, and rapidly susceptible of every impression, felt the whole force of this unexpected and important secession. The character — the talents — the eloquence of this great man, bore down every symptom of further resistance ; — many of the usual supporters of Government, and some of the Viceroy's immediate con- nections, instantly followed his example, and in a moment the victory was decisive, — not a single negative could the Minister procure, — and Mr, Burgh's amendment passed unanimously, amidst a tumult of joy and exultation. This triumph of Irish patriotism, made an instantaneous and powerful impression on the minds of the people ; — it was their first victory, and the ministers' first discomfiture. The volunteers attributed this unexpected success to the impressions which their spirit had diffused throughout the country, and they determined to adopt this measure, as if it had been their own offspring — and thereby identify the virtues of the Parliament with the energies of the people. On the circumstance being announced, the drums beat to arms — the Volunteer associations collected in every part of the metropolis — and they resolved to Hne the streets, and accompany to the gates of the Castle that part of the legislative body which moved in solemn procession, to present their wholesome warning into the hands of the Viceroy. The secession of Mr. Burgh from the Government, was not more important than that of M. Connolly, brother-in-law to the Viceroy, and Mr. Burton Cuning- ham, a constant supporter of ministerial measures — men * The author of this memoir was present at that memorable debate (if debate it can be called,) and the imprcssioii it then made upon his mind can never be effaced. The depression on the one side — the exulta- tion on the other — the new sensation on both — the obvious feeling which this unex})ecteil event excited in the f2;alleries, crowded by six or seven hundred of the most resjjectable persons out of Parliament, and a great number nf ladies of liigh rank — the general congratulafion on the spirit of the Parliament, was a scene so remarkable, as never to be forgotten; but is attended by the sad reflection, that I\]r. Burgh did not long sur- vive the sarvice he did his country — nor did his country long survive th'J service which he rendered it. 7* 78 RISE AND FALL in high estimation and of large fortunes — which gave Mr. Grattan an opportunity for observing, that " the people were thus getting landed security for the attainment of their liberties.^ The effect of this measure, though in its nature incon- clusive, appeared to lay the first stone of Irish indepen- dence, and greatly increased both the numbers and con- fidence in Volunteer associations.* Several attempts had been previously made to fix the attention of the British legislature on the distressed and dangerous situation of Ireland; but every such elfbrt had proved totally abortive. Although the critical state of that country had been discussed in both houses of Par- liament, and addresses had been voted to the King re- questing his immediate attention to the affairs of Ireland, to which favorable answers had been returned by his Majesty ; and though the Irish Commons had also framed a resolution, in the language of more than common expostulation ; yet the subject passed away from the * The secret history of this celebrated amendment is worthy of record- ing; it proves that the measures adopted by Ireland, at that period, wen? not the work of parly or of faction, but the result of the secret and delibe- rate consideration of the most able and virtuous men of the Irish nation. Mr. Dennis Daly, a man of great abilities, large fortune, exquisite eloquence, and high character, together with JNIr. Grattan, withdrew themselves to Bray (a village ten miles from the metropolis,) there to deliberate privately on the most effectual means of attaining the jusl rights of their country ; — previous confidential communications had taken place between them and ftir. Perry, then Speaker of the House of Com- mons, who recommended a strong and comprehensive amendment to the address of the ensuing session, as the first step to be taken on the occa- sion. Mr. Grattan drew up one amendment — jNIr. Daly another — and Mr. Daly's, in his own hand-writing, formed that which Mr. Grattan moved in the Commons. At the same time similar communications had taken place between Mr. Hussey Burgh and Mr. Henry Flood, which gave rise to the amendment moved by Mr Burgh. That proposed by Mr. Grattan leaning heavily on absentees, \\\Q friends of that body did not, from the complexion of the House, wish to hazard any division respecting them ; and therefore, to avoid such discussion, acceded to Mr. Burgh's ammcndinent, which did not allude to absentees, to avoid Mr. Graltan's which did; — and to thiscircumslance istobeattri- buteii the un.iccountable imanimily wilh which the measure passed both Houses of Parliament — and the extraordinary .secession of Mr. Connolly, and other weighty supporters of Administration. OF THP: IRISH NATION. 70 attention of the Ministers, and even this session closed, affording only further and decided proofs of their tem- porizing duphcity. VII. Great Britain was not as yet sufficiently alarmed, .^to_becoj.Tie jiist ; — she could not as yet be persuaded that the Irish people were competent to the redress of their own grievances ; and she considered the v/armth of their public declarations only as the brilliant flashes of a tem- porary patriotism. Her egotism blinded her to her state and she fancied that the same revolution which had confirmed Aer liberties, had subjected to her power the liberties of her sister; and still paramount to justice and to policy, she felt too proud as yet to bend her attention to the grievances which she had herself inflicted. Some powerful friends of Ireland at length began zealously to espouse her interests. The good Earl Nu- gent, whose m^emory and character are still revered by those who recollect the sincerity of his attachment to that country in 1778, made an eflbrt in the British Lords to call their attention to the distresses of Ireland : but his efforts were ineffectual. The same nobleman soon after repeated the same effort; but his weight and abilities were not equal to his zeal and integrity. His motion was treated with an unbecoming superciliousness by Lord North, and death unfortunately, soon after, deprived his country of one of its truest friends and most dignified and honest advocates. VIII. The Earl of Shelburne, in the Lords, and the Earl of Upper Ossory, in the Commons, also proposed strong resolutions in both Houses, declaratory of the dangerous state of that country.* But though the mo- * The follcwing resolution was moved, by the Earl of Shelburne, in the British House of Lords, on the 1st day of December, 1779 : — " Resolved — That it is highly criminal in his Majesty's iviinisters to have neglected taking efFectual measures for the relief of the kingdom of Ireland, and to have suffered the discontents of that country to rise to such a height, as evidently to endanger the constitutional connection between the two kingdoms, and to create new embarrassments to the public coun- cils, through division and diffidence, in a moment when real unanimity, grounded upon mutual confidcnre and affe(Jwn, is confessedly essential to the preservation of tlie British empire." After a short debate, this motion was rejected. P'or the motion — 37 Lords. Against it— 82. 80 RISE AND FALL tioii was well-timed, the motives of the noble movers did not proceed from the same feeling which actuated the resident inhabitants of Ireland. Neither of those noble- men had been liabitual friends to the general interests of that country. Both of them were total absentees — they possessed large estates in Ireland, and trembled for their properties — they acted in general opposition to the Go- vernment, and wished to register the culpability of their adversaries. Their motions were, after very sharp debates, rejected in both Houses, and Ireland became fully and finally convinced, that it was not through the occasional exertion of Irish emigrants, in a foreign legislature, that she was to seek for the recovery of her rights, and allevi- ation of her miseries. Applications to the Government — petitions to the Par- liament — and supplications to the Crown, had all been tried in vain: neither the bold remonstrances of right, nor the piercins^ cries of necessity, could reach the royal ear, or penetrate the circle of Ministers which surrounded the British throne, and concealed from the Irish king a distinct view of his Irish people. Humble and pathetic language had failed — the voice of the nation was ex- hausted by unevailing supplication — and it now became full time to act in the cause of liberty. ^ich being the ascertained disposition of the whole body of the people, not a moment was to be lost in the adoption of some measure, too strong to be despised by ministers, and too moderate to be dangerous to the con- nection. Delay might now terminate all the hopes of Ireland — the crisis might pass away — the public spirit might cool — and the moment so auspicious to the inter- ests of the nation might be lost for ever. Though this determination quickly circulated throughout the whole country, the people still acted with that deliberate firm- ness, which, of all conduct, is the most fatal to a political adversary, and adds most strength and character to populai proceedings. IX. Tiie personages who then led Ireland forward tc her bloodless victory, well knew the inestimable value of that prudent principle. They were men of great abilities — profound wisdom — and that etiective patriotism, which considers activity its necessary friend, but precipitatioa OF THE IRISH NATION. 81 Its most dangerous enemy. They instructed the people, that while they acted with undeviating firmness, they should also act with prudential moderation — that the sus- pended liberties of a people were most likely to be reco- vered from a powerful oppressor, by a determined hut cool and progressive perseverance — that by deliberate system none would be alarmed — wise men would be attended to — the impetuous be restrained — the wavering confirmed — and the people steadied : patriotism and con- fidence would grow up together and become more inti- mately blended, and the whole nation, without alarm, be imperceptibly led to one common centre, and become competent to achieve the strongest measures, before they were well aware that they had commenced the prepara- tion for them. They were instructed, that on the other hand, undi- gested and impetuous proceedings, if not successful, by the first rapidity of their execution, in general defeat their own object, and rivet the chains of that country which they were intended to emancipate — that it is more prac- ticable to advance on gradual claims than recede from extravagant determinations — and that the inevitable miseries of civil war, however justifiable upon the princi- ples and precedent of constitutional resistance, esta- blished at the revolution, should be the last resource even of an enslaved people — and, that though the Irish Avere armed, and might demand concession in the attitude and tone of confidence, it would be much Vv^ser to give their incipient proceedings the weight and character of citizens, and reserve for the last extremity the threat of soldiers — that England, by this means, would be sufficiently in- formed of the determination of Ireland, without feeling her pride too much hurt, to propose a negotiation, or so much alarmed as to prepare for resistance. This discreet reasoning had its full effect upon the generality of the nation ; and though the ebullitions of public feeling occasionally broke forth in ardent resolu- tions of the Volunteer associations — the temperate system was generally adopted ; and it was only upon fully expe- riencing its final failure, that the exhilarating shoviis of an embattled people were heard reverberating from v^very quarter af a military country. 82 RISE AND FALL X. As "before mentioned, public resolutions neither to import, purchase, or consume any British manufacture, or commodity whatever, had been universahy but peace- ably adopted, throughout the whole island — a measure at all times justifiable by any people, who may have been deprived of their commerce and their constitution by the power or the machinations of an insidious neighbour. Inundated as Ireland had been with every species of British manufacture, there could be no step so just, so moderate, or which promised so many beneficial conse- quences, as the total exclusion from the Irish markets of every commodity which she was herself competent to ma- nufacture, or of which she could possibly dispense with the immediate consumption. However, it was not until after the grievances of Ireland could be no longer en- dured, and she found that nothing but propositions, without sufficient latitude to be beneficial, or security to be permanent, Avere offered for her acceptance, that these resolutions became almost universal — spread them- selves like a rapid flame, throughout every village of the island — and were zealously promoted by almost every individual in the country. At length, a general meet- ing was convened by the High Sheriffs of the city of Dublin, and resolutions* then entered into by the whole * THOLSEL, DUBLIN. At a general meeting of the Freemen and Freeholders of the City of Dublin, convened by public notice, William James, and John Exshaw, High Sheriffs, in the chair. The following Resolutions, amongst others, were unanimously agreed to: '* That we will not, from the date hereof, until the grievances of this country shall be removed, directly or indirectly import ox consume any of the manufactures of Great Britain ; nor will we deal with any mer- chant, or shopkeeper, who shall import such manufactures; and that we recommend an adoption of a similar agreement to all our countrymen who regard the commerce and constitution of this country. " Resolved unanimously, That we highly applaud the manly and patri- otic sentiments of the several corps of Alerchants, Independent Dublin, Libertv, and Goldsmiths' Volunteers, and heartily thank them for their demonstration of zeal and ardour in the cause of their country — and that we shall ever be ready to join with them in defending our rights and con- etitntion, and glaJly and cheerfully contribute to protect them from PROSECUTION or PERSECUTION. Signed, TOHN EXSHAW. Sheriff.*' OF THE IRISH NATION. 83 metropolis, which finally confirmed and consummated that judicious measure, and at length convinced Great Bri- tain, that Ireland would no longer submit to insult and domination, and had commenced a gradation of active proceedings, of which the climax might ultimately, though unfortunately, produce a rupture of the connection. These resolutions were enforced with rigor and strict- ness. Few men, however their interest might be afiected, would wantonly risk the imputation of being traitors to their country, and encounter tlie dangers of populai- retribution, which was, in some few instances, actually inflicted. The nation now paused for a moment : it found itself prepared to commence its great work of constitutional regeneration, and stood stetidily and firmly v%^atching with an anxious eye, for the operation of this first overt act of determined patriotism. The people had now ascended an eminence sufficiently elevated to give them a fuf view of their friends and of their enemies — they had poaceabl)' hoisted the first standard, and made the first proclamation of liberty. A mutual compact of the citizen to support the soldier, and the soldier to defend the citizen, formed a very remarkable feature in all their resolutions — and though the military associations had not (as such) yet assumed a deliberative capacity, it was obvious that their discretion alone had continued the distinction — and, that though they spoke by two tongues, there was in fact but one heart amongst the people. This bold measure, however it may have been eclipsed by the more striking importance of events which succeeded each other in a rapid progression, yet had a momentous influence on the subsequent fate and poHcy of Ireland, and must be considered as the commencement of that interest- ing course of pohtical transactions, which suddenly raised her to the highest pitch of national pride and prosperity, and afterwards hurled her down the destructive precipicti of misery and degradation. The spirited adoption and obstinate adherence of the N. B. — This resolution liad been preceded, some months before, by similar resohitions in Gal way and other parts of Ireland; but the nation could not b» considered as having generally adopted those sentiments, till they were sanctioned hy the metrojwiis. 84 RISE AND FALL Irish people to these resolutions, now flashed as a new light in the eyes of the British Administration. The power of the English statutes, which bound the com- merce of Ireland, was, by these resolutions, almost at the same moment denied and demolished, without the aid of arms, or tumult of insurrection, and the pride and power of Great Britain received that warning blow, which taught her what she had reason to expect from a further perse- verance in her favorite system. The Ministry were asto- nished : the arm of usurpation, which had so long wielded alternately the sword and commanded the cofler, fell paralyzed and lifeless by the side of the usurpers. But the fate of empires is governed by the same fatality as the chequered life of individuals ; and this very measure, which so auspiciously and proudly asserted, and the events which afterwards so completely acquired the con- stitutional independence and commercial freedom of Ire- land, will be found the ulterior pretence for revoking those great acquirements. England, compelled to concede was determined to reclaim, and from the first hours of reluctant concession, pursued that deep and insidious sys- tem, which will be fully traced and developed in the course of Irish transactions, and will be found conspicu- ously active, from the commercial tarifl" of 1784, through every stage of the regency, and the rebellion, to the com- pletion of that measure, entitled a legislative Union be- tween the two countries. XL The Volunteer associations of the metropolis soon perceived, that however numerous their force and exten- sive their popularity, it required some strong link of con- nection to unite military bodies, so entirely distinct and independent of each other — who acknowledged no supe- rior to their respective commanders, and no control but voluntary obedience. To secure their unanimity, perhaps even their perma- nence, it required some consolidating authority, whose weigiit might restrain within proper limits the uncon- trolled spirits of a body, assuming the double capacity of a soldier and of a citizen. This essential object could only he attained by the selection of some high and dignified' personage, whose rank and character, rising beyond the reach of common OF THE IRISH NATION. 85 competition, might unite together, under on_e common chief, that diversity of views and objects which must ever distract the proceedings of detached associations. The Volunteers of DubUn saw clearly, that military bodies, however laudable their views, must be more than commonly subject to the foUibility of human institutions, and that to have the effect and impetus of an army, they must submit themselves fully to its control and organi- zation. They did not, however, long hesitate in their choice of a commander. Every eye seemed to turn, by general instinct, on William, Duke of Leinster. His family, from the earliest periods, had been favorites of the peo- ple — he had himself, when Marquis of Kildare, been the popular representative for Dublin — he was the only Duke of Ireland — his disposition and his address com- bined almost- every quality which could endear him to the nation. The honesty of his heart might occasionally mislead the accuracy of his judgment ; but he always intended right, and his political errors usually sprung from the principle of moderation. This amiable Nobleman was therefore unanimously elected, by the armed bodies of the metropolis, their General, and was immediately invested with all the honours of so high a situation ; a guard of Volunteers was mounted at his door — a body guard appointed to attend him on public occasions — and sentinels placed on his box when he honoured the theatre ; he v\^as followed with acclamations whenever he appeared ; and something approacWng to regal honours attended his investiture.* * A whimsical circumstance took place on this occasion, which shows the extreme credulity with which every intelligence respecting Ireland was then swallowed in Great Britain. The appointment of the Duke, as General in Chief, was celebrated by the Volunteers in College-green, with great solemnity. Their artillery was orJere.l out, and a vast con- course of people were assembled. The captain of a Whitehaven collier, who had just landed, and come unexpectedly to the sj)ot, on inquiring the reason of such rejoicina;, was jocularly informed, that the people were crowning the Duke King of Ireland. He waited for no further information — got Lack with all expedition to his vessel in the bay, and sailed instantly for Liverpool ; where he made an affidavit before the Mayor, that he was present and saw the Duke of Leinster crowned King of Ireland the preceding day. An express was instantly despatched to London with the aihiavit to the British Ministers — a cabinet council 8 86 RISE AND FALL This was the first measure of the Volunteers towards the formation of a regular army ; its novelty and splen- dor added greatly to its importance, and led the way to the subsequent appoiirtments which soon after completed their organization. The mild and unassuming disposi- tion of the Duke, tending, by its example, to restrain the over zeal of an armed and irritated nation, did not con- tribute much to increase the energy of their proceedings and at no distant period deprived him, for a moment, of a portion of that popularity which his conduct (with but httle deviation) entitled him to, down to the last moments of his existence. A new scene now presented itself to the view of the British Minister, and embarrassed, to an unparalleled degree, every measure of the Irish administration. A regular army, composed of every rank of society, raised, armed, and disciplined in the midst of the metropolis, independent of the Crown, and unconnected with the Government, disdaining all authority of either over their military concerns, and, under the eye of the Viceroy, appointing a commander in chief, and avowing their determination to free their country or perish in its ruins,* the standing army tame spectators of this extraordinary spectacle, and almost participating the flame which they might be called upon to extinguish ; the Government, irresolute, and shrinking within the Castle, not only tolerated, but even affected to countenance, this unpa- ralleled procedure. The new commander of the Vohm- teers was received and recognized by the public author- ities, and the regular soldiery at length involimtarily paid him the same military attentions as their own commanders. But though the Government, from policy, affected to bear the sight with complacency and patience, they reflected, with the deepest solicitude, on the situation of the country, and secretly made every elfort to divide or weaken the military associations. Every device was was immediately summoned, to deliberate on this alarming intelligence, when the arrival of the regular mail dissipated their consternation, by stating the real causes ol' the rejoicing. * The lollovving label was affixed to the mouth of tho Vcliinteer can- non — " A Free 1 rack c- -" OF THE IRISH NATION. 87 used to seduce the soldier from his officers, or to detach the most popular officers from the command of the soldiers. The one was offered connnissions and pay from the CrowUj the other offices in the public departments. No scheme was left untried — no means were forgotten, to achieve this object ; but it was all in vain — the spirit of the people was then too high, and their patriotism too ardent to admit of such negociation — and every attempt became not only futile, but also gave an additional strength to the measures and declarations of the people. The appointment of the Duke of Leinster to the com- mand of the Volunteers of the metropolis, was quickly followed by that of other district generals ; and the or- ganization of four provincial armies was regularly pro- ceeded on ; the country gentlemen, of the highest con- sideration and largest fortune, vied wath each other in their efforts to promote it ; many leading members of the Irish parliament were individually active in promo- ting the common object — and from single corps were soon collected county regiments and provincial armies ready to take the field at the command of their officers, and to sacrifice their lives and their properties for the emancipation of their country. Still, however, something was wanting to complete their organization ; provincial armies had been formed and disciplined, but still these armies were independent of each other — there was no general head, to put the whole in motion — no individual to whom all would own obedience, and such an appointment seemed indispensa- bly essential to secure their co-operation. But this was a task more serious and more difficult than had yet occurred. Where could be found the man, whose integrity was incorruptible — whose wisdom was profound, whose courage was invincible, yet whose moderation was conspicuous, and whose popularity was extensive? Ireland could not boast a Washington, yet so critical was her situation at that moment, that a com- bination of all these qualities seemed to be requisite in the person to whom should be entrusted the guidance of eighty thousand patriot soldiers. Such a personage was not to be discovered ; and it was only left to tlie Volun- teers to select the purest character of that day, and leave 88 RISE AND FALL his guidance to the councils less of the concniring than of the counteracting qualities of the inferior commanders. XII. Public affairs in Ireland now began to wear a serious and alarming aspect. The Leinster army appointed the Earl of Charlemont its commander in chief, the other armies proceeded rapidly in their organization. Provin- cial reviews were adopted ; and every thing assumed the appearance of systematic movement. The elevation of Lord Charlemont to that high com- mand, though it formed a more decided military establish- ment for the Volunteer army, was probably the very means of preserving the connection between the two countries ; had the same confidence and command been entrusted to a more ardent or ambitious character, it might have been difficult to calculate on the result of combining an intemperate leader with an impatient army, but the moderation of Lord Charlemont gave a tone and a steadiness to the proceedings of the people, which might otherwise have pointed to a distinct independence. His character had long preceded his elevation ; in the North, his influence was unlimited, and though the Southern and Western Volunteers had not as yet consolidated their force with the other provinces, they were in a high state of discipline and preparation, and soon adopted the same principles, which the appointment of the Earl of Char- lemofit had now ditfused through the other parts of the Nation. From the first moment that James Earl of Cliarlemont embarked in Irish politics, he proved himself to be one of the most honest and dignified personages that can be traced in the annals of Irish history ; the love of his country was interwoven with his existence — their union was complete, their separation impossible ; but his talents were rather of the conducting class, and his wisdom of a delil)erative nature — his mind was more pure than vigorous — more elegant than powerful — and his capacity seemed better adapted to coimsel in peace, than to com- mand in war. Though he was not devoid of ambition, and was proud of his popularity, his principles were calm, and his moderation predominant; — for some years at the head of a great army in tlie heart of a powerful people — in the OF THE IRISH NATION. 89 hand of an injured nation — during the most critical epoch that a kingdom ever experienced — he conducted the Irish nation with incredible temperance — and, in the midst of tempests, he flowed on, in an unruffled stream, fertihzing the plain of liberty, and enlarging the channel of independence — but too smooth and too gentle to turn the vast machinery of revolution. His view of political objects, though always honest was frequently erroneous ; — small objects sometimes appeared too important, and great ones too hazardous ; — though he would not actually temporize, he could be seduced to hesitate — yet even when his decision was found wander- ing from the point of its destination, it was invariably discoverable that discretion was the seducer. Had the unwise pertinacity of England persisted in her errors, and plunged his country into more active contest, his mildness — his constitution — and his love of order — would have unadapted him to the vicissitudes of civil commotion, or the energetic promptitude of military tactics ; — but fortunately the adoption of his counsels rendered his sword unnecessary ; and by the selection of one man, to combat for the liberties of Ireland, he raised a youthful champion for his country, whose sling soon levelled the giant of usurpation, and he wound a laurel round the bust of the deliverer, which will remain un- faded, till the very name of Ireland shall be obliterated from amongst nations. His indisposition to the extent of Catholic liberty — nourished by the prejudice of the times — was diminished by the patriotism of the people ; — the Catholics of 1780 preferred their country to the claims, as those of 1800 preferred their claims to their country — and amongst that people he gained by his honesty, what he lost by his intolerance, and lived just long enough to experience and to mourn the fallibility of his predictions. Around this Nobleman the Irish Volunteers flocked as around a fortress; — the standard of liberty was supported by his character — the unity of the Empire was protected by his wisdom ; and as if Providence liad attached him to the destinies of Ireland, he arose — he flourished — and he sunk with his country. 8* 90 RISE AND FALL CHAPTER V. Spirit of the Irish and huiryliation of the English Government — Prepara tion for hostilities — Lord North's embarrassment — King's conciliator) speech and the consequent proceedings — Duplicity of Ministers — Th» people alarmed — Volunteer Organization proceeds — jMutiny Bill — Alarming rencontre of the Volunteers and Regular Army — Intolerance of England — Further Grievances of Ireland — Proceedings in the Irish Parliament — O'Neill of Shane's Castle — His character and influenc* — Address to the Volunteers — Its results. I. The British Government at length awakened from their sliimhors — their dreams of power and security now vanished before the view of their increasing dangers ; — a rehance on the omnJpotence of English power — at all times chimerical — would now have been presumptuous ; — the Irisli nation, to whose bravery and whose blood the victories and conquests of Britain had been so eminently indebted, now called imperatively for their own rights, and demanded a full participation of that constitution, in support of which they had daily sacrificed so great a proportion of their treasure and their population. The Irish soldier and the Irisli seaman could never be supposed to remain unfeeling spectators, whilst their own country was struggling for its dearest liberties, or become the mercenary instruments of their own subju- gation. Even their indisposition to the British service would have reduced the armies and navy to debility; but their defections would have been fatal to the power of Great Britain, and have enabled Ireland irresistibly to effect her total independence. The balance of Europe was likely to undergo a great change ; — the improvident attachment to continental politics — almost exclusively engrossed the attention of England ; and the completion of a mercenary league with a petty potentate of a' Ger- manic principality, inferior even to one Irish county was considered of more importance by the British Cabinet, than all the miseries, the dangers, and oppressions o( OF THE IRISH NATION. 91 Ireland. But the British Government now perceived their error, when it was too late to temporize — and that arrogance, which, for centmies, had hardly condescended to hear her groans, was now started into attention. II. Affairs now approached fast towards a crisis ; the freedom of commerce being the subject most familiar and comprehensible to the ideas of the people, was the first object of their solicitude. " A Free Trade'' became the watchword of the Volunteers, and the cry of the Nation ; — the Dublin Volunteer Artillery appeared on parade, commanded by James Napper Tandy, with labels on the mouths of their cannon, •' Free Trade or speedy Revo- lilt ion ; placards were pasted up in every part of the city, to the same effect, until the determined proceedings of all ranks and classes of the people, connected with tlie operation of the non-importation agreements, left no fur- ther room for ministerial procrastination. The British Minister now became alarmed, and trem- bled for the consequences of his political intolerance ; he had no passage to retreat by, and after every struggle which circumstances could admit of, the British Cabinet at length came to a resolution, that " something must be done to tranquilize Ireland." The King was informed of their determination, and was prevailed upon to accede to it. His Majesty had received a severe shock, by the unex- pected events of the American contest, and the additional mortification of compulsory concessions to Ireland, was little calculated to tranquilize his feelings ; however, absolute necessity required his acquiescence ; and it was finally determined, by the executive Power of Great Britain, to adopt means, if not altogether to satisfy, at least to conciliate and to concede considerably to Ireland. From this determination, the affairs in the British Empire began to wear a new aspect ; the day was fast approaching when England, for the first time, must con- descend to acknowledge her own errors, and, in the face of Europe, to humble herself before a people, who had, for six centuries, been the slaves 'of her power rather than the subjects of her affection. Lord North had now a more difficult task to perform than he at first conceived, lo recant his avowed principles, to humble the pride of his own country, and submit to the ySS RISE AND FALL justice of another, and above all, to justify his own con- duct, which had reduced both countries to that state which required those concessions : an awful lesson to all Governments, how cautiously they should arrogate to themselves a dominion, of which the basis was power and the superstructure injustice. III. But all subterfuge had ended, and on the 24th of November, 1782, his Majesty ascended the throne, to proclaim his first substantial act of grace to the Irish nation, and to call the immediate attention of his British Parliament to the situation of that country,* but his Majesty obviously insinuated, that his attention to Ireland was attracted by a consideration for the safety of Great Britain — and that the benefits to be extended to Ireland should be only such as would be for the common interest, not of Ireland abstractedly, but of all his dominions — and by that very act of conceding to Ireland, he virtually asserted the supremacy of the British Parliament. This speech was immediately attended to by the British Parliament ; the opposition received it as a triumph over the Minister, and gladly acceded to a declaration which proclaimed the imbecility and misconduct of the Cabinet. An actual insurrection in Ireland — the certain conse- quence of further inattention — would have certainly de- prived the Minister of his station, and perhaps eventually of his head. A coincidence of events thus united two hostile inter- ♦ That clause of his ]Majesty's speech, which related to Ireland, ran as follows: " In the midst of my care and solicitude for the mfety and welfare of THIS country, I have not been inattentive to the state of my loyal and faithful kingdom of Ireland. I have (in consequence of your addres- ses, presented to me in the last session) ordered such papers to be col- lecte 1 and laid before you, as may assist your deliberations on this im- portant business; an 1 I recommend it to you to consider what further benefits and advantages may be extended to that kinffdom, by such regu- lations and such wethfd.^i, as may most etfectually promote the common sireni^th, wealth, and interests of all my dominions." This was quickly followed up by resolutions — giving the lie direct to King William, and' to the assertions of iheir own ancestors — and by pass- ing bills, distinctly repealing all the acts which their predecessors had declared aljsolutcly cs'^cnt/al to secure the prosperity of England from the dangerous industry of the Irish. OF THE IRISH NATION. 93 ests in one honest object ; and Ireland was destined to receive, through the ambition of one party, and the terror of another, those rights which she had so long in vain solicited from their justice. This speech was immediately followed by the measures rec'omniended by his Majesty, and the same Parliament which had so repeatedly withheld the just rights of Ire- land, now thought they could not too hastily accede to her claims ; and hardly a day was omitted, till the pro- posed arrangement was proceeded on.* Messages were sent over to Ireland, to announce the happy tidings to the people, and emissaries were dis- persed over every part of the kingdom, to blazon the liberality and justice of Great Britain. IV. The Minister, however, justly suspecting, that so soon as the paroxysms of Irish gratitude, for this unac- customed condescension, should subside, and give way to calm rejection, that nation could not avoid perceiving, that until their constitution became independent, and the usurpation of England should be altogether acknow- ledged, these favours could have no stability, and might be revoked, at a more favourable opportunity, by the same authprity which originally conceded them. To obviate these feelings, the Minister continued the Committee on Irish aftairs open from time to time, now and then passing a resolution in favour of that country, and thus endeavouring to wear out the session, which he, no doubt, intended should terminate his favours. The whole nation at length perceived the duplicity of proceedings which, while they purported to extend benefits to Ireland, asserted the paramount authority of Great Britain, and converted its acts of coitcession into declaratory statutes of its own supremacy. Reasoning of this nature soon made a deep impression on the public mind, and meetings were held throughout the kingdom, to declare the national feeling on this itn- portant subject ; fourteen counties at once avowed tlieir determination to tear down these barriers which excluded tliem from a full participation of the British constitution, ♦ The British Parliament met the 25th of November, and the first bills of concession received the royal assent the 21st December. 94 RISE AND FALL and to establish, at the risk of their Uves and fortunes, the independence of the Irish legislature, beyond the power of British re-assumption.* This spirit and this determination spread themselves universally amongst the people ; the cry of " Free Trade" was now accompanied with that of " Pr^e Parliament, ^^ and that patriotic enthusiasm which kad so effectually asserted the commerce of Ireland, now arose with doable vigour to assert its constitution. V. The Volunteer army, in the mean time, rapidly advanced in discipline and numbers : the success which had attended this first effort of their steadiness acted as a powerful incitement to the continuation of their exer- lion ; they felt, with exultation, that at the very time they were in arms, icithout the authority of the Crown, or control of their Sovereign, his Majesty, from his throne, condescended to pass unqualified eulogiums on theloyalty and fidelity of the people — expressions, which, if considered with reference to the King, were gracious — but with reference to the Government, which framed them, were clearly intended as an anodyne to lull that spirit which durst not be encountered. Provincial reviews of the Volunteer armies were now • As the e;enius and disposition of a people are often discoverable, not only by trivial but ludicrous circumstances, so their national poetry and music iiave a very considerable effect in rousing the spirit, and disclosing the character. At this period the press teemed with publications of every quality, in prose and verse, on the subject of fresh grievances. A stanza from one of the popular songs of that day, shows the pointed humour and whimsical lightness which characterize that people even upon the most important subjects. In alluding to the Irish being deprived of the woollen trade by Eng- land y and the military associations of Ireland to assert her liberty, the stanza runs thus : " Was she not a fool, When she took of our wool. To leave us .so much of the leather, the leather? It ne'er entered her pate, That a s'lecp's skin, veil beat. Would draw a whole nation TOGKTIIKK, TOGKTIinR." These words were adapted to a popular air, and l)ecame a favourite march of tlie Volunteers, and a patriotic song amongst tlie peasantrjr throughout the kingdom. OF THE IRISH NATION. 95 adopted, and a more regular staff appointed to the gene- ral officers ; new trains of artillery were formed — that of Belfast was brought to considerable perfection. Earl Charlemont was called on to review the Northern army ; on his tonr he was attended by many persons of the highest distinction, and his suit had all ilie appearance of military dignity and national importance. His Lord- ship returned to review the Leinster corps i)i Dubhn. His aid-de-camps were men of the highest character and of the first ability. Barry Yclverton, Hussey Bmgh (both of whom were afterwards Chief Barons of the Exchequer,) and Mr. Grattan, were on his staff. The Volunteer army had acquired the discipline of an efficient force, and at that period amounted to above eighty thousand soldiers, ready for actual service, aided by the zeal, the prayers, and the co-operation, of nearly five millions unarmed inhabitants. The British Government, v%iiich had vainly supposed that enough had been done, if not to satisfy, at least somewhat to disunite the Irish people, now perceived how ill they had calculated on the character of that na- tion, and felt, with pain and disappointment, the futility of their designs, and the feebleness of their authority. The dilemma of the Minister was difficult and dis- tressing ; any effort to seduce the Volunteers would ha.ve roused — any attempt to dupe them would but inflame, and to resist them would have been impossible : dis- tracted, therefore, by every species of em])arrassment, he suffered the Irish nation to pursue its course without direct opposition, and trusted to the chance of events for the preservation of the empire. Grave and most important circumstances now 0})C7ned to the public view, and imperatively concurred to put the constitutional claims of Ireland directly in issue with the British legislature. The army in Ireland had been under the regulations of a British statute ; and the hereditary revenue of the Crown, with the aid of a perpetual mutiny bill, enabled the British Government to command at all limes a stand- ing army in Ireland, without the authority or the control of its Parliament. This unconstitutional power, hitherto almost unnoticed 96 RISE AND FALL in Ireland, now that the principles of liberty had been disseminated amongst the people, and that an indepen- dent army of Irishmen had been organized, became a subject of general dissatisfaction. Some patriotic magis- trates determined to make a stand upon that point, and to bring the legality of British statutes, as operating in Ireland, into issue, through the medium of their own conduct, in refusing to obey them. To effect this measure, they determined to resist the authority of the British mutiny act, and by refusing to billet soldiers, under the provisions of that statute, soli- cited complaints against themselves, for the purpose of trying the question. This measure would at once have put Ireland and the usurpation of Great Britain in direct issue ; but the Irish judges were then dependent upon the Crown ; they held their offices during pleasure only; judges might differ with the juries — the people with both — and the result of a trial of such a question, in such a way, was considered by all parties as too precarious, to hazard the experiment. The career of independence however proceeded with irresistible impetuosity ; a general feeling arose that a crisis was fast approaching, when the true principles of the Irish constitution must be decisively determined. Though the regular forces and the Volunteer army were on the most amicable terms, yet jealousies might eventually be widened into a breach, pregnant with the most disastrous consequences. This was an extremity the Viceroy determined to avoid ; and orders were issued to the army, to show every possible mark of respect to the Volunteers ; their officers received the usual military salute from the regular soldiers, and at the request of the Volunteers a few troops of cavalry were ordered by the Lord Lieutenant to assist in keeping the Volunteer lines at a review in the Phoenix Park. But an accidental circumstance some time afterwards occurred, which showed the necessity for cultivating that cordiality, ou the continuation of which the tranquillity of the nation so entirely depended. VI. Lieutenant Doyne, of the second regiment of Horse, marching to relieve the guards in Dublin Castle, OF THE IRISH NATION. 97 at the head of the cavahy, came accidentally, on Essex Bridge, directly at right angles with a line of Volunteer infantry commanded by Lord Altamont. An instant embarrassment took place — one parly must halt, or the other could not pass: neither would recede — etiquette seemed likely to get the better of prudence — the cavalry advanced — the Volunteers continued their progress, till they were nearly in contact ; never did a more critical moment exist in Ireland. Had one drop of blood been shed, through the impetuosity of either officer, even in that silly question of precedence, the Irish Volunteers would have beat to arms, from north to south, in every part of the kingdom, and British connection would cer- tainly been shaken to its very foundation. As the cavalry advanced. Lord Altamont commanded his corps to continue their march, and incline their bayonets, so as to be ready to defend their line. The cavalry officer, wisely reflecting, that by the pause even of a single moment, every possibility of disagreement would be obviated, halted his men for an instant — the Volunteers passed on — and the affair ended without fur- ther difficulty. This circumstance, however trivial, was quickly circu- lated, and increased the public clamour. Resolutions were entered into by almost every military corps, and every corporate body, that they v/ould no longer obey any laws, save those enacted by the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland ; and this spirit gradually embraced the whole population, till at length it ended in the cele- brated resolutions of Dungannon, which established the short lived independence of that nation. VII. William Duke of Leinster had long been the favourite and the patron of the Irish people, and never did the physiognomist enjoy a more fortunate elucidation of his science : the softness of philanthropy — the placi- dity of temper — the openness of sincerity — the sympathy of friendship — and the ease of integrity — stamped cor- responding impressions on his artless countenance, and left but little tc> conjecture as to the composition of his character. His elevated >-ank and extensive connections gave him a paramount lead in Irish politics, which his naked talents a 98 RISE AND FALL would not otherwise have justified ; though his capacity was respectable, it was not brilliant, and his abilities were not adapted to the highest class of political pre- eminence.* On public subjects, his conduct sometimes wanted energy, and his pursuits perseverance ; in some points he was weak, and in some instances erroneous, but in all he was honest : from the day of his maturity to the moment of his dissolution he was the undeviating friend of the Irish nation — he considered its interests and his own indissolubly connected — alive to the oppressions and miseries of the people, his feeling heart participated in their misfortunes, and felt the smart of every lash which the scourge of power inflicted on his country. As a soldier, and as a patriot, he performed his duties ; and in his plain and honourable disposition, was found col- lected a happy specimen of those qualities which best compose the character of an Irish gentleman. He took an early and active part in promoting the for- mation and discipline of the Volunteer associations, he raised many corps and commanded the Dublin Army^ The ancient celebrity of his family, the vast extent of his possessions, and his affability in private intercourse, co- operated with his own popularity in extending his in- fluence and few persons ever enjoyed a more general and merited influence amongst the Irish people. The Irish Catholics, at this period, were much attached to the Gerald ines, and pursued a conduct so meritorious, that even the bitterest enemies of that body acknowledged the uncommon merit of their conduct : their open friends multiplied, their secret enemies diminished, and they gradually worked themselves into the favour and confi- dence of their Protestant countrymen, though loaded with severe restrictions, though put out of the pale of the British constitution, and groaning under the most cruel and unjust oppression, they were active and patriotic, they forgot the tyranny under which they groaned, and only felt the chains which fettered and oppressed their country ; a general union of all sects seemed to be cement- ing — the animosity of ages was sinking into oblivion, and * Tlie political abilities of his Grace were likened, by a gentleman of great public talent, to " a fair fertile field, without either a weed at a wild flower in it." OF THE IRISH NATION. 99 it was reserved for the incendiaries of a . ater period to revive that barbarous sectarian discord — a weapon, with- out which the British Government \Yould have ever found Ireland too proud for the influence of power, and too strong for the grasp of annexation. The doctrine of pure democracy was then but a weak exotic, to which the heat of civil war in America had given the principle of vegetation. In Ireland, it was uncongenial to the minds, and unadapted to the character of the people ; and during the whole progress of those events, which preceded the attainment of Irish indepen- dence, its progress was only observable in the intimate association of the distant ranks in military bodies, and the idea of revolution never extended further than to attain the undisturbed enjoyment of a free Parliament, and to remove for ever the ascendency of the British Government over the crown of Ireland. VIII. Notwithstanding all these occurrences, the British people, in their nature jealous and egotistical, still remained obstinately blind to the true state of Ire- land enjo^dng the blessings of independence, under a resident monarch and an unfettered parliament — they felt interested only in their own aggrandizement — their solicitude extended solely to their own concerns — and without reflecting that the same advantages which they so liberally possessed, were denied to Ireland, they attri- buted the uneasiness of that nation rather to innate principles of disaflection, than the natural result of misery and oppression. Every element of a free constitution had been torn away by the rough hand of a foreign legislature, enacting laws, to which the representatives of the Irish people were utter strangers. Yet this usurpation had been sanctioned by the dictum of a British judge, who added to his reputation, by giving an unqualified opinion for Irish slavery.* * It is painful to see a British judge and commentor — whose duty it was at least to respect the vital principles of that constitution under which he acted — giving a decisive opinion for " leesult of negociations, the commencement of which ;vas uncertain, and the termination of which would cer- ainly be protracted. This proceeding, however, did not satisfy the Irish nation ; and, as is generally the case of impolitic, short- sighted evasion, that line of conduct which was intended to quiet the subject, and evade the investigation, served to raise it into greater notice, and excited a latitude of discussion which the Irish Government had never dreamed of, and which ultimately became highly serviceable to the cause of liberty. Some negociations were certainly carried on by the British Ministers with the Court of Portugal upon the subject, but without that sincerity which could effect their purposes. Portugal could have no just cause to resist the admission of Irish manufactures into her ports ; she had no distinct treaties with Ireland, and no foreign treaties hostile to the interests of the British empire ; she relied on the good will of England and of Ireland for the recej)- tion of lier own wines, on which so great a proportion of her commerce depended ; yet yielding to the secret niJi- chinations of interested Enghsh merchants, she depended 108 RISE AND FALL on the feebleness and incapacity of Ireland to resist her determination, and on the disposition of England to favour her monopolists. Nor was she deceived in her expecta- tion. The deceptive remonstrances of the British Minis- try ended in the perseverance of Portugal ; and, at the commencement of the ensuing session, Mr. Eden found Ireland in a state of general agitation, and it became absolutely necessary to retreat from his mean system of procrastination-— a line of conduct nov7 too palpable, and which the Irish nation would no longer submit to — and feeling it impossible any further to evade the discussion, Mr. Eden, with an address and skill, highly useful on many occasions to a Minister, determined to anticipate a subject which he knew must come forward, and, as a Minister, unexpectedly snatch from the Opposition the merit of the inquiry. Mr. Eden, on this occasion, with all the symptoms of sincerity, commenced his statement by representing the strong and unavailing efforts of England to bring the Court of Portugal to a due sense of its impropriety; and concluded by declaring, that notwithstanding every effort, the Minister of Portugal had given a final and adverse answer to the rightful claims of Ireland. This statement, however plausible, could not escape the sagacious penetration of many members ; and it appeared clearly, that Mr. Eden had determined, by this means, to rid himself of responsibility, by employing a person of less compunction than himself. The person who was thus selected for the purpose of again sacrificing the rights of his country, was the same Mr. J. Fitzgibbon, who, in the arrogant and able manner so peculiar to himself, seemed rather to command than move an address to his Majesty, as if it was of his own composition, though in fact it was the production of the Secretary. In this address, he prayed " His Majesty to take into his consideration the subject (already discussed,) and to apply for a redress" (already decidedly negatived) — and the whole address was couched in terms feeble, fulsome, and indecisive, unbecoming the dignity and the importance of any inde])endent nation. This vapid and insidious measure was warmly opposed by the real friends of Ireland ; and Sir Lucius O'Brien, OF THE IRISH NATION. 109 With a spirit and language which spoke his real attach- ment to the interests of his country, and a perfect know- ledge of its commercial rights, moved an amendment to Mr. Fitzgihbon's address — the terms of which form a very remarkable circumstance in Irish history — and by its pe- remptory and independent language, led directly to the consideration of national rights and constitutional distinct- ness, which, till that period, had never been so strongly expressed or so decisively put in issue. 111. Sir Lucius O'Brien was descended from one of the most ancient and illustrious of the aboriginal Irish families, a large part of whose fortune he still retained, and by means of a rational understanding, and very ex- tensive and accurate commercial information, he acquired a considerable degree of public reputation ; though his language was bad, his address miserable, and his figure and action unmeaning and whimsical, yet, as his matter was good, his reasoning sound, and his conduct spirited and independent, he was attended to with respect ; and, in return, always conveyed considerable information. Sir Lucius was always strong and decisive ; he carried with him at least a portion of that weight which justly appertained to his information, his family, and his cha- racter. Mr. Fitzgihbon's motion was most strongly reprobated by Sir Lucius ; but aware that he could not completely defeat the measure, he moved an amendment of a grand and novel nature which, if adopted, would have placed Ireland on a pinnacle. This amendment called upon his Majesty, as King of Ireland to assert the rights of that kingdom, by hostility loith Portugal, and concluding with these remarkable expressions — " we doubt not that nation has vigour and resources sufficient to maintain all her rights, and astonish all her enemies P' — at once man- fully asserting the constitutional independence, and pub- lishing the military power, of his country, and giving to England herself a wholesome hint of her spirit and deter- mination. The boldness of this motion, its promptitude, its vigour, its consequences, made an instantaneous and visible im- pression on the whole House ; it was at once a declara- tion of war, a declaration of rights, and a declaration of 10 110 RISE AND FALL superiority ; it gave a new character to the Irish Parha- ment, and a new existence to the Irish people. But they were not yet sufficiently prepared to receive the impres- sion with conclusive effect, their chains were not yet loosened, they had not been enlarged from their prison, and however disposed to adopt this spirited and vigorous proceeding, their keepers were yet too numerous and too strong to permit their liberation. The motion of Mr. Fitzgibbon was, however, opposed by many of the first characters in Ireland ; and even some friends of Government, ashamed of its imbecility, refused to support it. Sir John Blaquiere^ an habitual supporter of the Minister, holding offices and pensions, and who had been himself a Minister, spiritedly, amongst others, gave it his decided negative. However, after a warm and animated debate, the Secretary succeeded, and Mr. Fitzgibbon added a new thorn to that goad with which he endeavoured to drive, but which he finally found had only the effect of irritating, his countiy. IV. Sir Lucius O'Brien's amendment gave the keenest spur to the cause of national independence. The King oi Ireland, required by an Irish Parliament, and his Irish subjects, to take hostilities on behalf of Ireland, against a foreign nation with which England had no quarrel, exhibited a new scene to an enlightened people, and soon excited thoughts and inquiries, which led to the impor- tant discussion that soon followed, and at length attained their emancipation. An inquiry into the nature of the federative compact between England and Ireland was now excited and occupied every thinking mind throughout the latter country ; it was a subject which the depressed state of Ireland had heretofore suspended : so desperate had been its situation — so desponding the people — so hopeless its redress — that the nature of that connection had been hardly considered worthy of discussion : and though its abuses had been frequently resisted, its principles had never been defined. So soon, however, as the people learued that their conn^^ction with England was strictly federative, that the King of Ireland might, in right of his Irish crown, make war with a foreign Power, without the King ot OF THE IRISH NATION. Ill England (as such) being a principal in the contest, that Ireland was, in fact, an independent nation, connected with England only by the identity of the Monarch, and that the King governed Ireland only in right of his Irish crown^ and not as a part of the realm of Great Britain^ the features of the Irish constitution soon became familiar to the people, a distinctness perfectly apparent and une- quivocally proved, by the language and the conduct of the British Ministers themselves, who calmly permitted Portugal to insult and mjure Ireland, without treating it with insult to, or aggression against the Crown of Great Britain. This unanswerable reasoning, and these indisputable facts, now engrossed almost the exclusive consideration of all the armed associations. It was manifest that, in every point of view, Ireland had been denied the rights of a free constitution, though, in every point of view, she was entitled to enjoy it ; if she was to be considered merely as a partner of the British empire, she was then entitled to the full rights and advantages of the whole British constitution, but if, on the other hand, she was connected with England solely as a federative state, she was then decidedly entitled to enjoy the distinct rights and advantages of a distinct constitution ; but, in fact, she enjoyed neither the one nor the other, and that usur- pation of Government, though sanctioned by the statutes of the usurping Power, could never bind the constitutional rights and prerogatives of the suffering Nation, longer than until it could mature the pov^'er of resistance. V. The reason and the justice of these considerations penetrated the understanding of the people, in eveiy quarter of the nation. The Volunteers reflected, that the remedy was with themselves — their grievances were heavy — their means ample — their determination decisive — and their redress attainable. If the Parliament would not act, the people would — if the representatives were corrupt, the constituents were honest. Nothing was necessary but a declaration of the rights of the Nation, and of the will of the People — and T^ngland, already humbled, disgraced, and dispirited by America, had lost the means and the spirit of opposition — and would con- 112 RISE AND FALL cint, which s^cnerally bruised both his fricMids and his opjK»ncnts. His (pia lilies were curiously niixL'd, and his principl<\s as singularly blended; and if he hafl not Immmi distintruished by birth and fortune, he certainly would have remained all iiis life in obscurity. This gentleman had an extensive circle of adht.'rents. On some questions lie was Ird away by lh«'ir persuasions, on olhera. they submitted talus prejud^'S, as a bait to 138 RI^E AND FALL fix him on more important occasions ; and sometimes he differed unexpectedly from all of them. He was nearly- allied to the Irish minister at the discussion of the union, and he followed his lordship's fortunes, surrendered his country, lost his own importance, died in comparative obscurity, and in his person ended the pedigree of one of the most respectable English families ever resident in Ireland. X. Many other persons, who distinguished themselves at this period of public trial, will be subjects of observa- tion in the course of this memoir : but scarcely any of them more justly deserve notice than Mr. Yelverton, who was, perhaps, the only public character of those days, whose every act could be with ease accounted for, his motives for the act being as palpable as the act was public ; and whether his conduct was right or wrong made no difference in this respect, its causes could be traced with equal facility, and he generally struggled as little against the propensities of his nature as any man that ever existed, [n this narrative of the concerns of Ireland his name will frequently occur ] and as so extra- ordinary a character can never be forgotten in the minds of his countrymen, it may properly be anticipated. Barry Yelverton, of humble origin, afterwards Lord Avonmore, and successor to Hussey Burgh, as chief baron of the exchequer, had acquired great celebrity as an advocate at the Irish bar, and was at this time rapidly winging his way to the highest pinnacle of honourable notoriety and forensic advancement. He had been elect- ed member of parliament for the town of Carrickfergus, and became a zealous partisan for the claims of Ireland. It would be difficult to do justice to the lofty and over- whelming elocution of this distinguished man, during the early periods of his political exertions. To the profound, logical, and conclusive reasoning of Flood ; the brilliant, stimulating, epigrammatic antithesis of Grattan ; the sweet-toned, captivating, convincing rhetoric of Burgh ; or the wild fascinating imagery and varied pathos of the extraordinary Curran, he was respectively inferior ; but in powerful, nervous language, he excelled them all. A vigorous, commanding, undaunted eloquence burst in rolling torrents from his lips, not a word was lost. OP THE IRISH NATION. 139 Though fiery, yet weighty and distinct, the authoritative rapidity of his language, relieved by the beauty of his kixuriant fancy, subdued the auditor without the power of resistance, and left him in doubt, whether it was to ar- gument or to eloquence that he surrendered his conviction. His talents Avere alike adapted to public purposes, as his private qualities to domestic society. In the common transactions of the world he was an infant ; in the varie- ties of right and wrong, of propriety and error, a frail mortal ; in the senate and at the bar, a mighty giant : it was on the bench that, unconscious of his errors, and in his home unconscious of his virtues, both were most conspicuous. That deep-seated vice, which with equal power freezes the miser's heart, and inflames the ruffian's passions, was to him a stranger ; he was always rich, and always poor ; like his great predecessor, frugality fled before the carelessness of his mind, and left him the vic- tim of his liberality, and of course in many instances a monument of ingratitude. His character was entirely transparent, it had no opaque qualities ; his passions were open, his prepossessions palpable, his failings obvious, and he took as little pains to conceal his faults as to publish his perfections. In politics he was more steady to party, than to prin- ciple, but evinced no immutable consistency in either : a patriot by nature, yet susceptible of seduction, a partisan by temper, yet capable of instability, the commencement and the conclusion of his political conduct were as dis- tinct as the poles, and as dissimilar as the elements. Amply qualified for the bench by profound legal and constitutional learning, extensive professional practice, strong logical powers, a classical and wide ranging capa- city, equitable propensities, and a philanthropic disposi- tion, he possessed all the positive qualifications for a great judge : but he could not temporize ; the total absence of skilful or even necessary caution, and the indulgence of a few feeble counteracting habits, greatly diminished that high reputation, which a cold phlegmatic mien, or a solemn, imposing, vulgar plausibility, confers on miserably inferior judges. But even with all his faults Lord Avonmore was vastly superior to all his judicial contemporaries. If he was im- 140 RISE AND PALL petuons, it was an impetuosity in which his heart had no concern; he was never unkind that he was not also repentant ; and ever thinking that he acted with rectitude, the cause of his greatest errors seemed to be a careless ignorance of his lesser imperfections. ^ He had a species of intermitting ambition, which either led him too far, or forsook him altogether. His pursuits, of course, were unequal, and his ways irregular. Elevated solely by his own talents, he acquired new habits Avithout altogether divesting himself of the old ones. A scholar, a poet, a ^statesman, a lawyer, in elevated society he was a brilliant wit, at lower tables, a vulgar humourist ; he, had appropriate anecdote and conviviality for all, and whether in the one or in the other, he seldom failed to be either entertaining or instructive. He was a friend, ardent, but indiscriminate even to blindness, an enemy, warm, but forgiving even to folly; he lost his dignity by the injudiciousness of his selections and sunk his consequence in the pliability of his nature; to the first he was a dupe, to the latter an instrument, on the whole he was a more enlightened than efficient states- man, a more able, than unexceptionable judge, and more honest in the theory, than the practice, of his politics. His rising sun was brilliant, his meridian, cloudy, his settiu!^, obscure : crosses at length ruffled his temper — deceptions abated his confidence,, time tore down his talents he became depressed and indifferent, and after a long life of chequered incidents and inconsistent conduct, he died, leaving behind him few men Avho possessed so much talent, so much heart, or so much weakness. This distinguished man, at the critical period of Ire- land's emancipation, burst forth as a meteor in the Irish senate, his career in the commons was not long, but it was busy and important ; he had connected himself with the Duke of Portland, and continued that connection unin- terrupted till the day of his dissolution. But through the influence of that nobleman, and the absolute necessity of a family provision, on the question of the Union the radiance of his public character was obscured for ever, the laurels of his early achievements fell withered from his brow, and after having with zeal and sincerity laboured to attain independence for his country in 1782, he became OF THE IRISH NATION. 141 one of its sale-masters in 1800, and mingling in a motley crowd, uncongenial to his native character, and beneath his natural superiority, he surrendered the rights, the franchises, and the honours of that peerage, to which, by his greal talents and his early virtues, he had been so justly elevated. Except upon the bench, his person was devoid of dignity and his appearance ordinary and mean, yet there was something in the strong, marked lines of his rough un- finished features, which bespoke a character of no common description; powerful talent was its first trait, fire and philanthropy contended for the next, his countenance, wrought up and varied by the strong impressions of his labouring mind, could be better termed indicatory, than expressive ; and in the midst of his greatest errors and most reprehensible moments, it was difficult not to respect and impossible not to regard him. 142 RISE AND FALL CHAPTER VIII. The alarm in England increases — The Earl of Carlisle recalled — The Duke of Portland appointed Lord Lieutenant — Duke of Portland's character — He attempts to procrastinate — Remarks on the policy of an Union at that juncture — Mr. Grattan refuses to delay his proceed- ings — Especial call of the house — Comparison of the English and Irish Houses of Parliament — Character of Mr. Sexton Perr}' — Embar- rassment of the Patriots — Mr. Hutchinson Secretary of State, unex- pectedly declares the assent of Government — Mr. Ponsonby moves an address' considered insufiBcient — Dangerous dilemma of Parliament. I. As the proceedings of the Volunteers and municipal bodies became every day more serious and decisive, and the Irish House of Commons, on the subserviency of which the British ministers had been so long accustomed to rely, assumed an unusual tone of independence, and evinced strong symptoms of an approaching revolution of sentiment, the British cabinet were alarmed for the con- sequences of further neglect, and at length reluctantly gave up all hopes of eifectually resisting or evading the demands of Ireland, they now only sought how they could best gain time for deliberation, so as to moderate the extent of their concessions, and adopt a mode of conduct the least likely to humiliate the pride, or alarm the jea- lousies of Great Britain. But Lord North's administration had been disgraced, and ruined through their proceedings towards America, and were, of course equally unfit to negociate with Ireland, as they must feel the same repugnance, as in the American case, to concede independence. With these ministers, therefore, it was found impracticable to proceed to such a measure, and they were at length necessarily displaced. But though the administration was changed individually, they were still a British government with the appropriate characteristics of the old leaven, and could not so suddenly and radically alter the fundamental system of their pre- decessors or conceal from the world the true motives OF THE IRISH NATION. 143 which caused the change of sentiment in the Enghsh councils: in other words it was altogether impossihle eflectually to mask the reluctance with which England must at length retract her favourite political doctrines — and the ill grace with which she must strike the flag of usurpation to what she considered an inferior nation. In this state of things, as the Earl of Carlisle could not act on measures which had heen resisted by his col- leagues it became absolutely necessary for the safety of the empire, to change the ministers of both nations, and the appointment of the Marquis of Rockingham and Mr. Fox by calling to his majesty's councils as much honesty and talent as could reasonably be expected, gave a new impulse to the machine of Government, and increased tlie hopes, as it raised the spirits of the Irish people. The members of the new cabinet were well aware that the situation of Ireland was too critical to be for a moment neglected, the great responsibility which that critical state imposed on their heads, impressed them with a full sense of the difficulties and the dangers they had undertaken to encounter; and whatever their private opinions might have been on the atfairs of Ireland, they wisely adopted a full tone of pacific conciliation, and professing the true Whig doctrines of constitutional hberty, they assumed the eccentric character of patriot-ministers, an attribute but little known, and seldom found in any country. These ministers were certainly disposed to act liberally, thougli probably to a narrower extent than what they soon found was hidispensable to the integrity of the empire ; for even Mr. Fox had never proved himself to be a very attached friend to the interests of Ireland, further than he was led by his general principles of toleration and liberty, and so inattentive had he been to the concerns of that nation in the abstract, that a few days after his appoint- ment, he fairly acknowledged himself ignorant* of its true state, and uninformed as to its real circumstances. • Mr. Fox, on the 4th of April 1782, wrote to Lord Charlemont in these words — " With regard to the particular points between the two countries, I am really not master of them sufficiently to discuss thx:m; but I can say in general, the new ministry have no other wish than to settle them m the way that may be most for the real advantage of both countries, whose interests cannot be distinct." 144 RISE AND FALL Their first step, however, was pohtic and laudable ; they determined to send over to Ireland a nobleman of high rank vviiose character was popular, and whose prin- ciples were conciliatory — and thereby skilfully give the colouring of generous consideration to measures, which in fact, were substantially requisite, for there was not a Bri- tish minister, if his real sentiments had been known, whatever his alfected language might have been, who did not consider the intended concessions as the necessary result of an imperious necessity ; existing circumstances had left them no choice, and the Duke of Portland was properly selected Lord Lieutenant for Ireland, as a fair, honest, moderate whig, too temperate and discreet to irritate faction, and sufficiently plausible to soften down the asperity of parties, by insinuating on every occasion the friendly views of the new cabinet, and the kind con- descension of his majesty himself, in acceding to claims, which, in more prosperous days, his ministers had uni- formly and haughtily rejected. II. On the 14th of April, 1782, the Duke of Portland arrived to take upon himself the government of Ireland to the great satisfaction of that nation, and the Earl of Car- lisle departed, leaving behind him strong impressions both of individual respect and popular disapprobation. How- ever friendly and honourable the Earl's disposition to- wards the Irish nation might have been, his administra- tion had effected nothing permanently advantageous, either to the country, to the minister, or to his own repu- tation. The Portugal business had lost him the confi- dence of the people, and he left Ireland alive to all her grievances — completely awakened from her slumber, and no longer amenable to that narrow and mistaken policy, by which she had been so long kept down, rather than governed, and in the exercise of which the Earl's admi- nistration had been by no means deficient. The Duke of Portland, on his arrival found the nation in a state in which neither procrastination nor evasion was any longer practicable. The spirit of independence had arisen to its highest pitch, the parliament, no longer the vassals of the British Government or of their own, stood boldly determined to support the people, to reclaim them to their old subjection was impossible, to corrupt them OF THE IRISH NATION. 145 anew was impracticable, and a dissolution would have increased the numbers, and added tenfold strength to the power of the patriots. The Duke therefore, had but one course to take, to proceed as calmly, deliberately, and slowly, as circum- stances would admit of, and endeavour, if possible, to contract the number of concessions which the Irish nation were disposed to insist on. But to effect this object he was incompetent, he was not a man of talent, and though not altogether deficient in that species of ambiguity and equivocation, which are supposed to constitute a necessary part of a modern minister's education, he had not enough of those qualifications to carry difficult objects by dissi- mulation, or ingenuity to defeat, by negociation, measures which he had not the power of openly resisting. He was accounted a plain, fair, well-meaning and rather high- minded man, and had the peculiar advantage of being the first credible messenger of intended justice from the British Government to the Irish people. The courtesy of the Irish House of Peers to so elevated a nobleman, combined with their courtly habits to all former chief governors, procured him a considerable strength in that assembly, but he found the House of Commons quite beyond his grasp. The yoke on their part, was completely thrown off, nor could all his influence rally around his government a sufficient number of that house to support him in any one measure of delay or equivocation. He, therefore, pursuant to his instructions from the British cabinet, endeavoured, by personal appli- cation and interviews with the leading members of par- liament and country gentlemen of the greatest influence, to gain a little time for deliberation, but he found the de- termination of Ireland already so very general, and so far matured, and the Volunteer determination so unalter- ably decided on — that there appeared to be hardly an alternative, between immediate acquiescence, or inevita- ble revolution. Whilst the Duke remained in this pamful dilemma, irresolute as to his conduct, the important crisis was rapidly approaching, and the very first day of the meeting of parliament portended extraordinary events, not likely to diminish the extent of his embarrassment. 13 146 RISE AND PALL Exclusive of the distinguished personages already men tioned, many other eminent men were daily emerging from the general body of the commons whose talents and eloquence, catching the flame which surrounded them, soon added to that brilliant light which illuminated the whole nation. But the public eye still kept steadfastly fixed on Mr. Grattan, as the person best qualified to take the lead in asserting the rights and independence of his country. The style and fire of his eloquence, the integ- rity of his character, his indefatigable perseverance, and intrepid fortitude of spirit which had always great weight with the Irish, procured him a consideration far above his contemporaries, in none of whom were these grand qualities so generally united, whilst a kind heart, and the mild, unassuming, playful manners of a gentleman, se- cured to him that sort of private esteem, v/hich banishes the feelings of rivalship even from the most zealous par- tisans. Thus as if by general assent, at the time of the Duke of Portland's assuming the government, was Mr. Grattan considered by all ranks as the chosen champion for the independence of Ireland, distinguished by the most elevated characters, admired by the parliament and idolized by the people. III. Immediately before the Duke of Portland's arrival, Mr. Grattan had prepared, and determined to move, a general declaration of rights in the House of Commons ; and it mast have been an object of the utmost importance to the Duke either to prevent that measure altogether, or obtain at least its postponement until he became better acquainted with the disposition of the principal persons of the country, the full extent of their views, and how far he might be able to assuage the general irritation, without going the full length of their extensive requisitions. It was also of importance to the credit of his administration, that, if possible, he should liave the substance of wiiat- ever he was authorized to accede to, made known by an- ticipation, as the liberal act of his government, through his English secretary, rather than brought forward, as the demand of the people, through their Irish advocate. Under these circumstances, an adjournment of parliament was a most desirable object, and he determined to attempt it through the negociation of Mr. Fitzpatrick, who was at OF THE IRISH NATION. 147 least as sincere a man as his noble employer, alid had always expressed himself strongly in favour of the inte- rest of Ireland. The Duke also felt the great importance of a little breathing-time after his arrival ; and both Mr. Fox and Lord Rockingham exerted themselves to obtain that object from the Irish patriots ; and under the circumstan- ces in which his Grace stood, it might be supposed that it would have been granted without much hesitation ; and in common times and cases it certainly would have been but just, and even in the existing one did not seem altogether unreasonable — for, in fact, did not every thing promise a harvest of benefits from the new administra- tion ? The avowed and proved enemies of Ireland had retired from office. In their stead, at the head of the government, was the Marquis of Rockingham — as a man, most excellent — as a statesman, constitutional, honest, liberal ; as Secretary of State, Mr. Fox, on the admirable nature of whose public principles eulogium would be surplusage ; and for the management of thb affairs of Ireland, the Duke of Portland, accompanied by Colonel Fitzpatrick. A more propitious prospectus could hardly be expected ; nor could England furnish many men, on whose tolerating dispositions the Irish nation had more reason to repose. But still it could not be forgotten that they were all Englishmen ; and though naturally munificent, honourable, and conciliatory, yet necessarily partaking in some degree of those inherent prejudices, whicli education favours and habits confirm in English minds, unacquainted with the state of their sister country, and, of course, cautious of committing themselves with the one country, by too precipitate and favourable a change of system towards the other. Men the most enlightened on general principles are frequently found feeble on abstract subjects ; and Mr. Fox was ex- cusable in his wariness of adopting sudden determina- tions, repugnant to the theories and practice of all former ministers and former parliaments of Great Britain. Every proper preliminary therefore was adopted by the new ministry, to prepare their nation for measures towards Inland which never were, and never could be popular in England ; and with a view to anticipate the 148 RISE AND FALL expected proceedings of the Irish parhament, a message was delivered from the King to the British parhament, on the ISth of April, 1782, stating, "Thai mistrusts and jealousies had arisen in Ireland, and that it was highly- necessary to take the same into immediate consideration, in order to a final adjustment." This message from the King, when coupled with the address of the British parliament to his Majesty in reply, expressive of " their entire and cheerful concurrence in his Majesty's views of a final adjustment," if they are to be understood in the plain and unequivocal meaning of words, and construc- tion of sentences, clearly import — the conjoint sentiments of both the British King and British Parliament to pro- ceed to a final adjustment of all differences between the two countries ; and this message and reply are here more particularly alluded to, because they form one of the principal points, afterwards relied upon in the Irish parliament, as decisive against any agitation of the ques- tion of a Union. The words final adjustment^ so un- equivocally expressed by his Majesty, were immediately acted upon by the parliaments of both nations ; and the adjustment, which took place in consequence of the message, was considered by the contracting parties as decisively conclusive and final — as intended to be an indissoluble compact, mutually and definitely ratified by the two nations. The measure of a Union, therefore, being proposed, and afterwards carried against the will of the people — by the power, and through the corruption of the execu- tive authority — after the complete ratification of that contract, and after it had been acted upon for seventeen years, was clearly a direct infringement of that final adjustment — a breach of national faith — an infraction of that constitutional federative compact solemnly enacted by the mutual concurrence of the King, Lords, and Com- mons of Great Britain, and the King, Lords, and Com- mons of Ireland, in their joint and several legislative capacities. This message, therefore, forms a predominant circum- stance, as applying to the most important subsequent occurrences between the two nations ; and as such, should be kept in mind through every event detailed in OF THE IRISH NATION. 149 this memoir. It also leads to some considerations, which, though they may be considered as a digression from the transactions which immediately took place in consequence of the message, are yet of considerable utility in eluci- dating the respective situation of the two countries, at the time this final adjustment was proposed by the King, and the sense that his Majesty's ministers, eighteen years afterwards, were pleased to give to the word Ji?ial, when they conceived it necessary to argue that it bore, not a positive, but an inconclusive import, and could only be construed as giving an indefinite scope for future ne- gociation. IV. Previous to the year 1780, the distressed state of Ireland — the law of Poyning — the 6th of George the First — the standing army under a permanent mutiny bill — the dependence of the judges — the absence of the Habeas Corpus act — the restraints on commerce, and the deprivation of a constitution, had often suggested, to some of the best friends of Ireland, the idea of a com- plete incorporation of that country with Great Britain, as the only remedy for its accumulated and accumulating grievances and oppressions — as the most advantageous measure which could be obtained for Ireland under its then deplorable circumstances ; and about the year 1753, and subsequently several pamphlets of consider- able merit were published on the subject, detailing the advantages which Ireland must necessarily have derived from so close and beneficial a connection. As Ireland was then trampled upon, oppressed, and put down without the power of resistance, or any pro- bable chance of ever obtaining justice — there can be no doubt that almost any change must have been bene- ficial ; and, in that point of view, a complete union of the two nations would then have been, in many respects, extremely fortunate for that ruined country. The British parliament had declared itself paramount to that of Ireland. The Irish parliament, tired of ineffectual struggles for even the name of independence, had become indifferent to its fate, and sunk into a state of lassitude and debility, from which, though it was occasionally roused by the sharp stings of oppression, it soon relapsed into its old apathy, partlv through despair and pa.tiv through cor- 13* 150 RISE AND FALL ruption, while the people, kept systematically ignorant, and of course having but little public mind, and less public information, were naturally indifferent to the existence of a representative assembly, of which they neither felt the honour nor experienced the utility. But at that period England was too powerful, too jealous, and too haughty, to equalize her constitution and her commerce, with what she considered as a conquered country. She had then no object to obtain from a captive, who lay groaning at her feet, picking up the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. The prejudiced, contracted and fallacious views which England then took of the state of Ireland, deceived her as to her own interests, connected with the general strength and prosperity of the whole empire, and every idea of an incorporate union with Ireland was rejected with disdain by the British nation. England had united herself with Scotland to avoid the chance of a total separation, which it was more than probable might otherwise have been the consequence of distinct dynasties : but the state of Ireland and the nature of her federal connection with England occasioned no risk of such an event, and therefore created no such uneasiness or necessity, and the idea seemed to have been totally relinquished by both (countries ; by the one, because she was too haughty and avaricious to grant, by the other, because she was too poor and too dejected to obtain so advantageous an arrangement. But when Ireland, by tlie causes heretofore detailed, had been awakened to a sense of her own strength, and a knowledge of her own resources ; when America had shown her the example of perseverance, and the possibility of obtaining justice, every idea of annexation to England vanished like the passing wind ; liberty was attainable, prosperity must follow liberty, and, in 1782, there w^as scarcely an Irishman, who would not have sooner sunk under the ruins of his country, than submit to a measure, Avhich, a few years before, was an object, at least of indif- ference. England too late perceived its error, a union in 1753 would have etfectually ended all claims of an inde- pendent constitution, by Ireland, in 1782, and would have been an object of the highest importance to Great Britain: but now it was a word she durst not even articulate, the OF THE IRISH NATION. 151 very sound of it would have been equal to a declaration of hostility, and however indisposed the new ministers of England might have been to admit all the claims of Ireland, the words "final adjustment," so emphatically used by his majesty, left no room to suppose that a union could be in contemplation, or ever afterwards be insisted on : and yet it is singular, that the very same words, " final adjustment," were repeated, by the Irish minister, when a union was proposed to the Irish parliament in 1800 for its consideration. So many arguments afterwards arose from that ex- pression, so many sophistical constructions were placed on his majesty's message, so much duplicity did his min- isters attribute to his language, that it is impossible to believe that all the ministers of that day were unreser- vedly sincere, as to the finality of the arrangement made with Ireland under its then commanding attitude, and it reminds us of one very remarkable truism of Irish history, that no compact had ever before been entered into between the two countries, that had not been infringed or attempted to be infringed by England, when her power enabled her, or her interest seduced her, to withdraw from her engagements. y. Nothing can more clearly elucidate the public con- duct of the Duke of Portland. In 1782, he came to Ire- land to consummate a Jiiial adjustment between the two nations, and in pursuance of such proposal, a final ad- justment was apparently effected, passed by the parlia- ments of both nations, confirmed by the honour of Great Britain, and sanctified by the faith of Majesty. The Duke of Portland was the accredited agent of that final adjustment, the responsible minister of both nations, the official voucher of its perpetuity, and therefore should have been the guardian of that independence, which was effected through himself, and declared by him, as viceroy, to be final and conclusive. Yet, in 1800, the same Duke of Portland is found retracing all his former steps, recanting his Irish creed, demolishing that independence of which he was the guardian, falsifying his own words, and equivocating on those of his sovereign to both parliaments, and arguing upon an incongruity, never yet paralleled, namely, that 152 RISE AND FALL the words "final" and "inclusive" were synonymous m politics: for upon no other principle could his grace's first and latter conduct be explained or justified. It is impossible therefore to give the Duke the merit of sincerity towards Ireland in 1782. The altered state of Ireland in 1800, was made the solitary but fallacious pretence for dissolving a solemn bond, breaking the ties of national faith, and diminishing the character of royal integrity. The Duke was obliged to meet the Irish parliament within two days after his arrival ; those days were employed in endeavouring to procure an adjournment of the house, and several confidential communications took place between him, Mr. Grattan, and others, who had determined not to admit the delay of a single hour. The Duke's arrival in Ireland had been preceded by letters from the Marquis of Rockingham and Mr. Fox to the Earl of Charlemont, requesting an adjournment of par- liament for three weeks, and expressing their conviction that the request would be immediately acceded to. No- thing could more clearly prove their ignorance of the state of Ireland. All the influence of the crown could not have adjourned the commons for a single day. The people were too impatient for any procrastination. By adjournment, the parliament Avould have lost its charac- ter, and the members their influence, anarchy would have been the inevitable result, and instead of a placid, consti- tutional, parliamentary declaration of rights, a recess would probably have occasioned popular declarations of a more alarming tendency. For every reason therefore an adjournment, though, superficially considered, seemed an object of importance to government, might have ended in measures greatly to their disadvantage. The reasons for declining all delay were communicated to the Duke of Portland by Mr. Grattan, and the Duke, though not convinced, having nopower of resistance, was passive on a proceeding which he could not encounter. Mr. Grattan also, previously to proposing his measure to parliament, fairly submitted the intended declaration of rights to the Duke ; but it was rather too strong and too peremptory for his grace's approbation. He durst not however say he would oppose, and yet could not say OF THE IRISH NATION. 153 he would support it ; but he proposed amendments, which would have eifectually destroyed the vigor and narrowed the compass of these resohitions, and recommended modi- fications, which would have neutralized its firmness. Mr. Grattan declined any alteration whatever, and the Duke remained doubtfiil, whether his fiiends would accede to or resist it, and it is more than probable he was himself at the same moment equally irresolute as to his own future conduct : he had no time to communicate with England, and his only resource was that of fishing for the support of eminent persons in both houses of parlia- ment, in the hope of being able, in modifying, to mode- rate by their means the detailed measures which would follow the declaration. Whilst the chief governor was thus involved in per- plexity and doubt, every step was taken by the advocates of independence to secure the decisive triumph of Mr. Grattan's intended declaration. Whoever has individually experienced the sensations of ardent expectation, trembling suspense, burning impatience, and determined resolution, and can suppose all those sensations possessing an entire nation, may form some, but yet an inadequate idea of the feelings of the Irish people on the 16th of April, 1782, which was the day peremptorily fixed by Mr. Grattan for moving that declaration of rights, which was the proximate cause of Ireland's short-lived prosperity, and the remote one of its final overthrow and annexation. So high were the minds of the public wound up on the eve of that momentous day, that the Volunteers flew to their arms without having an enemy to encoimter, and, almost breathless Avith impatience, inquired eagerly after the probability of events, which the close of the same day must certainly determine. It is difficult for any persons, but those who have witnessed the awful state of expected revolutions and of popular commotion, to describe the interesting mom.ents which preceded the meeting of the Irish parliament; and it is equally impossible to describe the no less interesting conduct of the Irish Volunteers on that trying occasion. Had the parliament rejected Mr. Grattan's motion, no doubt could exist in the minds of those who were wit- to the temper of the times, that the connection with 154 RISE AND FALL England would have been shaken to its very foundation; yet the most perfect order and decorum were observed by the armed associations, who paraded in every quarter of the city. Though their own ardor and impatience were great, they wisely discouraged any manifestation of the same warm feelings amongst the lower orders of the people, and though they were resolved to lose the last drop of their blood to obtain the independence of their country, they acted as preservers of the peace, and by their exertions effectually prevented the slightest inter- ruption of public tranquillity : the awe of their presence restrained every symptom of popular commotion. VI. Early on the 16th of April, 1782, the great street before the house of parliament was thronged by a multi- tude of people, of every class, and of every description, though many hours must elapse before the house would meet, or business proceeded on. As it was a circumstance which s^dom takes place on the eve of remarkable events, it becomes a proper subject of remark, that though more than many thousands of people, inflamed by the most ardent zeal, were assembled in a public street, without any guide, restraint, or control, save the example of the Volunteers, not the slightest appearance of tumult was observable, on the contrary, such perfect order prevailed, that not even an angry word or offensive expression escaped their lips. Nothing could more completely prove the good disposition of the Dublin populace, than this cor- rectness of demeanour, at a time when they had been taught that the very existence of their trade and manufac- tures, and consequently the future subsistence of them- selves and their families, was to be decided by the con- duct of their representatives that very evening ; and it was gratifying to see that those who were supposed or even proved to have been their decided enemies, were permitted to pass through this immense assemblage, without receiving the slightest token of incivility, and with the same ease as those who were known to be their letermined friends. The parliament had been summoned to attend this ffiomentous question by an unusual and special call of the Aouse, and by four o'clock a full meeting took place. The body of the House of Commons was crowded with OF THE IRISH NATION. 166 its members, a great proportion of the peerage attended as auditors, and the capacious gallery, which surrounded the interior magnificent dome of the house, contained above four hundred ladies of the highest distinction, who partook of the same national fire which had enlightened their parents, their husbands, and their relatives, and by the sympathetic influence of their presence and zeal com- municated an instinctive chivalrous impulse to eloquence and to patriotism. Those who have only seen the tumultuous rush of imperial parliaments, scuffling in the antiquated chapel of St. Stephen's, crowded by a gallery of note-takers, anxious to catch the public penny by the earliest reports of good speeches made bad, and bad speeches made better, indifferent as to subjects and careless as to misrepresenta- tion, yet the principal medium of communication between the sentiments of the representative and the curiosity of the represented, can form no idea of the interesting appearance of the Irish House of Commons. The cheerful magnificence of its splendid architecture, the number, the decorum and brilliancy of the anxious auditory, the vital question that night to be determined, and the solemn dignity which clothed the proceedings of that awful moment collectively produced impressions, even on disinterested strangers, which perhaps had never been so strongly, or so justly excited by the appearance and proceedings of any house of legislature. VII. Mr. Sextus Perry* then occupied the speaker's chair, a person in whose integrity the house, the nation, and the government reposed the greatest confidence ; a man in whose pure character, spirit, dignity, independence of mind, and honesty of principle, were eminently con- spicuous ; decisive, constitutional, patriotic, discreet, he was every thing that became his office, and every tiring * Mr. Perry was the son of a gentleman of business in Limerick, an.i held been called to the Irish bar where he practised with considerable reputation and success. He was not a distinguished orator in parlia- ment, but few men ever sat in that house more personally respected by all parties. He was chosen speaker on Mr. Ponsonby's resignation, and his brother appointed a bishop some time after. INIr. Perry was uncle to the present Earl of Limerick, on whom his estates have descended ; and it has been remarked that there seldom appeared two public personages mwe dissimilar than the uncle and nephew. 156 RISE AND FALL that became himself. He had been a barrister in exten- sive practice at the time of his elevation, and to the moment of his death he never departed from the line of rectitude, which marked every step of his progress through life, whether in a public or private station. Mr. Perry took the chair at four o'clock. The singular wording of the summonses had its complete effect, and procured the attendance of almost every member resident within the kingdom. A calm but deep solicitude was apparent on almost every countenance, when Mr. Grattan entered, accompanied by Mr. Brownlow and several others, the determined and important advocates for the declaration of Irish independence. Mr. Grattan's preceding exertions and anxiety had manifestly injured his health ; his tottering frame seemed barely sufficient to sustain his labouring mind, replete with the unprecedented impor- tance and responsibility of the measure he was about to bring forward. He was unacquainted with the reception it would obtain from the connections of the government, he was that day irretrievably to commit his country with Great Britain, and through him Ireland was either to assert her liberty, or start from the connection. His own situation was tremendous, tliat of the members attached to the administration embarrassing, that of the people anxious to palpitation. For a short time a profound silence ensued, it was expected that Mr. Grattan would immediately rise when the wisdom and discretion of the government gave a turn to the proceedings, which in a moment eased the parliament of its solicitude, Mr. Grattan of the weight that oppressed him, and the people of their anxiety, Mr. Hely Hutchinson (then secretary of state in Ireland) rose. He said, that his Excellency the Lieutenant had ordered him to deliver a message from the King, importing, that " His Majesty, being concerned to find that discontents and jealousies were prevailing amongst his loyal subjects of Ireland, upon matters of great weight and importance, recommended to the house to take the same into their most serious consideration, in order to effect such a final ad- justment as might give satisfaction to both kingdoms." And Mr. Hutchinson accompanied this message — and his statement of his own views on the subiect with a deter- OF THE IRISH NATION. 157 mination to support a declaration of Irish rights, and constitutional independence. VIII. Notwithstanding this official communication, the government members were still greatly perplexed how to act. Mr, Grattan's intended declaration of independence was too strong, decisive, and prompt to be relished as the measure of any government, it could neither be wholly resisted, nor generally approved of, by the viceroy. His secretary Colonel Fitzpatrick, was not yet in parliament, all modification whatsoever had been rejected by Mr. Grattan and his friends ; and it is generally believed, that the members of government went to parliament that day without any decided plan or system, but determined to regulate then* own individual conduct by the circumstances which might occur, and the general disposition indicated by the majority of the house in the course of the pro- ceedings. IX. Thus, on the 16th of April, 1782, after nearly 700 years of subjugation, oppression, and misery, after centu- ries of unavailing complaint, and neglected remonstrance did the King of Ireland, ^irough his Irish secretary of state, at length himself propose to redress those grievances through his Irish parliament : an authority which, as King of England, his minister had never before recognised or admitted. In a moment the whole scene was completely changed ; those miserable prospects which had so long disgusted, and at length so completely agitated the Irish people, vanished from their view : the phenomena of such a message had an instantaneous and astonishing effect, and pointed out such a line of conduct to every party and to ev^ery individual, as left it almost impossible for any but the most mischievous characters, to obstruct the happy unanimity which now became the gratifying result of this prudent and wise proceeding. Mr. Hutchinson, however, observed in his speech, that he was not officially authorized to say more, than simply to deliver the message ; he was theretbre silent as to all details, and pledged the government to none, the parlia- ment would act upon the message as to themselves might seem advisable. Another solemn pause now ensued, Mr. Grattan remained silent, when Mr. George Ponsonby rose and, after eulogising the King, the British Minister, and 14 158 RISE AND FALL the Irish Government, simply proposed an humble address in reply, " thanking the King for his goodness and con- descension, and assuring his majesty that his faithful com- moners would immediately proceed upon the great objects he had recommended to their consideration." X. This uncircumstantial reply, however, fell very short of the expectation of the house, or the intentions of Mr. Grattan. On common occasions it would have answered the usual purposes of incipient investigation; but the subject of Irish grievances required no committee to investigate, no protracted debates for further discussion. The claims of Ireland were already well known to the King and to his ministers ; they had been recorded by the Dungannon convention, and now only required a par- liamentary adoption in terms too explicit to be miscon- strued, and too peremptory to be rejected. It is true, the good intentions of his majesty were announced — the favourable disposition of his cabinet coiiimunicated, a re- dress of discontents and jealousies suggested, but nothing specific was vouched or even alluded to; the present favourable government might be displaced, and the King's conceding intentions changed by a change of ministers, and Ireland thus be again committed with Great Britain under circumstances of diminished strength, and more difficult adjustment, every man perceived the crisis, but no man could foresee the result, some decisive step appeared inevitable, but without great prudence that step might be destructive, popular impetuosity frequently de- feats its own objects, the examples of European history in all ages have proved, that rash or- premature efforts to shake off oppression, generally confirmed, or rent the chains of despotism from the grasp of one ruler, only to transfer them with stronger rivets to the power of a sue-' cessor. It is less difficult to throw off the trammels of an usurping government, than to secure the preservation of a new-gained constitution, and in cold and phlegmatic nations where the sublime principles of political freedom were less investigated or less valued than in Ireland at that enlightened epoch, more comprehensive powers might be entrusted to the prudence of the people or dele- gated to the guardianship of selected chieftains but in an ardent nation, distinguished more for its talents and its OF THE IRISH NATION. 159 enthusiasm, than for its steadiness or its foresight, where every man fostered his heated feehngs, and the appetite for hberty was whetted even to voracity by the slavery of ages, hasty or violent proceedings, however they might for a moment appear to promote a rescue of the country from existing evils, would probabl}^ plunge it still deeper into unforeseen and more deplorable misfortunes, vision- ary men and visionary measures are never absent from such political struggles, but if the phrenzy of Eutopian speculations gets wing amongst a people, it becomes the most plausible pretext to oppressive rulers, and the most destructive enemy to the attainment of constitutional hberty ; and at this important crisis, had one rash step prematurely committed Ireland and Great Britam in hostile struggle, the contest would have ended in the ruin of one country, if not of both. These considerations had great weight, and excited great embarrassments amongst the leading members in the Irish Parliament, different characters of course took different views of this intricate subject, strength of intel- lect, courage, cowardice, interest, ignorance, or informa- tion, naturally communicated their correspondent im- pressions, and but few persons seemed entirely to coin- cide on the specific limits to which these popular pro- ce^ings might advance with safety. 160 RISE AND FALL ' CHAPTER IX. Mr. Grattan moves a declaration of rights and grievances in Parliament — Mr, Brownlow — Mr. George Ponsonby — Mr. Flood — Mr. Fitzgib- bon's conduct — His Declaration of Independence — Enthusiastic re- joicings. I. Mr. Grattan had lorxg declared the absolute necessity of gratifying the people by a legislative declaration of Irish rights and constitutional independence, marking out by an indelible record that sacred Rubicon past which the British government should never more advance, and beyond which the Irish nation should never wander. On that point the fate of Ireland vibrated as on a pivot, it must rise or it must fall, it could no longer remain sta- tionary, and the great landed proprietors strongly felt that they must necessarily participate in its vicissitudes, the court had totally lost its influence, the people had entirely acquired theirs, the old system of Irish govern- ment was annihilated, and the British cabinet had neither the Vvisdom nor the disposition to take a decisive lead in more popular arrangements, the parliament and the peo- ple were gradually drawing together, an instinctive sense of the common difficulty called all men towards some common centre, and as that centre, all parties, all sects, and all factions looked to the talents and the honesty of Mr. Grattan, they knew that he had no object but his country, and no party but its supporters, they knew that his energetic mind could neither be restrained by resist- ance nor neutralized by subterfuge, he possessed all those intellectual qualities best calculated to lead the Irish peo- ple to the true standard of freedom. II. It is an observation not unworthy of remark, that in describing the events of that important evening, the struc- ture of the Irish House of Commons (as before mentioned) at the period of these debates was particularly adapted to convey to the people an impression of dignity and ol' OF THE IRISH NATION. 161 splendor in their legislative assembly, the interior of the Commons House was a rotunda of great architectural magnificence ; an immense gallery, supported by Tuscan pillars, surrounded the inner base of a grand and lofty dome, in that gallery, on every important debate, nearly seven hundred auditors heard the sentiments and learned the characters of their Irish representatives ; the gallery was never cleared on a division ; the rising generation acquired a love of eloquence and of liberty, the principles of a just and proud ambition, the details of public busi- ness, and the rudiments of constitutional legislation. The front rows of this gallery were generally occupied by females of the highest rank and fashion, whose pre- sence gave an animating and brilliant splendour to the entire scene, and in a nation such as Ireland then was, from which the gallant principles of chivalry had not been altogether banished, contributed not a little to the preservation of that decorum so indispensable to the dignity and weight of deliberative assemblies. This entire gallery had been crowded at an early hour by personages of the first respectability of both sexes, it would be difficult to describe the interesting appearance of the whole assemblage at this awful moment ; after the speech of Mr. Hutchinson, which in fact decided nothing, a low confidential whisper ran through the house, and every member seemed to court the sentiments of his neighbour without venturing to express his own, the anxious spectators, inquisitively leaning forward, awaited with palpitating expectation the development of some measure likely to decide the fate of their country, them- selves,.and their posterity, no middle course could possibly be adopted, immediate conciliation and tranquillity, or revolt and revolution, was the dilemma which floated on every thinking mind, a solemn pause ensued, at length Mr. Grattan, slowly rising from his seat, commenced the most luminous, brilliant, and efl^ective oration ever deli- vered in the Irish parliament. This speech, ranking in the very first class of eflective eloquence, rising in its progress, applied equally to the sense, the pride and the spirit of the nation, every suc- ceeding sentence increased the interest which his exor- dium had excited, trampling upon the arrogant claims 14* 162 RISE AND FALL and unconstitutional usurpations of the British govern ment, he reasoned on the enhghtened principle of a fede- rative compact, and urged irresistibly the necessity, the justice, and the policy of immediately and unequivocally declaring the constitutional independence of the Irish na- tion, and the supremacy of the Irish parliament, as the only effectual means of preserving the connection between the two nations. His arguments were powerful and conclu- sive, but they were not original,* it was the very same course of argument which that great Irish statesman, Molyneux, had published near a century before, the same principles on which Swift, the ablest of Irish patriots, had defended his country, and the same which that less able, but not less sincere and honest friend to Ireland, Dr. Lucas, had continuall)^ maintained, frequently in opposition to the doctrines of Mr. Grattan's own father. Some pas- sages of this oration were particularly characteristic of Mr. Grattan's energetic manner. '• He admired that steady progressive virtue which had at length awakened Ireland to her rights, and roused her to her liberties, he was not yet old, but he remembered her a child, he had watched her growth, from childhood she grew to arms, from arms she grew to liberty ; whenever historic annals tell of great revolutions in favour of freedom, they were owing to the quick feelings of an irritated populace excited * It is a circumstance worthy of observation, that the principal argu- ments of My. Grattan went to establish the same doctrines, and were expressed partly in the very same words, as those of Mr. Molyneux and Dr. Lucas, and that Mr. Grattan's speech was received with universal approbation by parliament, and these principles of Irish independence acceded to by the King's government, and even supported by his law officers, whilst the celebrated book published by Mr. Molyneux, con- taining the same " claims of Ireland," had been voted a treasonable libel by the Irish parliament, luhen under the influence of the English gov- ernment, and was ordered to be burned by the hands of the common hangman, which sentence was accordingly executed before the door of the House of Lords ; and that Dr. Lucas, for publishing the same princi- ples at a later period, had been voted an enemy to his country, and neces- sitated to fly from Ireland for his safety. Nothing can more strongly exemplify the dreadful vassalage into which the Irish nation had sunk, or prove the inestimable value of na- tional independence, than the fact that Mr. Grattan gained immortal honour and substantial rewards for the same acts for which his illustrious predecessors had been declared enemies to their country'. Such are the resulting distinctions of slavery and of freedom. OF THE IRISH NATION. 163 by some strong object presented to their senses, such was the daughter of Virginius sacrificed to virtue, such were the meagre and haggard looks of the seven Bisliops sacri- ficed to hberty. But it was not the sudden impulse of irritated feelings which had animated Ireland, she had calmly mused for centuries on her oppressions, and as de- liberately rose to rescue the land from her oppressors. For a people to acquire liberty they must have a lofty conception of themselves, what sets one nation above another, but the soul that dwells within her ? deprive it of its soul, it may still retain a strong arm, but from that moment ceases to be a nation, of what avail the exertions of Lords and Commons if unsupported by the soul and the exertions of the people 7 the Dungannon meeting had spoken this language with the calm and steady voice of an injured country, that meeting had been considered as an alarming measure, because it was unprecedented but it was an original transaction, and all original transactions must be unprecedented ; the attainment of Magna Charta had no precedent, it was a great original transaction, not obtained by votes in parliament, but by Barons in the field, to that great original transaction England owes her liberty, and to the great original transaction at Dungan- non, Ireland will be indebted for hers, the Irish Volunteers had associated to support the laws and the constitution, the usurpations of England have violated both, and Ireland has therefore armed to defend the principles of the British constitution against the violations of the British govern- ment. Let other nations basely suppose that people were made for governments, Ireland has declared that govern- ments were made for the people, and even crowns, those great luminaries whose brightness they all reflect, can receive their cheering fire only from the pure flame of a free constitution. England has the plea of necessity for acknowledging the independence of America, for admitting Irish independence she has the plea of justice ; America has shed much English blood, and America is to be free: Ireland has shed her own blood for England, and is Ireland to remain in fetters? is Ireland to be the only nation whose liberty England will not acknowledge, and whose aflections she cannot subdue ? we have received A 164 RISE AND FALL the civic crown from our people, and shall we like slaves lay it down at the feet of British supremacy ?" Proceeding in the same glow of language and of reasoning, and amidst an universal cry of approbation, Mr. Gratlan went fully into a detail of Irish rights and grievances, and concluded his statement by moving, as an amendment to Mr. Ponsonby's motion — " That an hum- ble address be presented to his Majesty, to return his Ma- jesty the thanks of this house for his most gracious mes- sage to this house, delivered by his Grace the Lord Lieutenant. " To assure his Majesty of our unshaken attachment to his Majesty's person and government, and of our lively sense of his paternal care in thus taking the lead to admi- rt v^ nister content to his Majesty's subjects of Ireland. JJ^ /f " That thus encouraged by his royal interposition, we ^% ' shall beg leave, with all duty and submission, to lay before his Majesty the cause of all our discontents and jealousies ; to assure his Majesty that his subjects of Ireland are a free people, that the crown of Ireland is an imperial croioii, inseparably connected with the crown of Great Britain, on which connection the interests and happiness of both nations essentially depend — but that the kingdom of Ireland is a distinct kingdom, with a parliament of her own the sole legislature thereof — that there is no body of men competent to make laws to bind the nation but the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland — nor any parlia- ment which hath any authority or power of any sort what- ever in this country, save only the parliament of Ireland — to assure his Majesty, that we humbly conceive that in this right the very essence of on?' liberty exists — a right which we, on the part of all the people of Ireland, do claim as their birthright, and which we cannot yield BUT WITH OUR LIVES." The effect of this speech, and the concluding amend- ment, was instantaneous and decisive. A legislative de- claration of independence at once placed the rights and determinations of Ireland on a footing too high to be relinquished without an exterminating contest ; the cir- cumstances of both nations were imperative ; Ireland was committed and must persirst, and Great Britain had la- vished ill America her p^owers of resistance. That OP THE IRISH NATION. 165 hai» ^hty government, which in all the arrogance of supe- noi force had for so many centuries lorded over the naearal rights and scoffed at the groans of her sister couiitry, at length reached the highest climax of oppres- sion and intolerance, and was necessitated to acknowledge the wrongs and the virtues of that people, and peaceably capitulate to a nation which, by honest means, it might at any time have conciliated. The whole house in a mo- ment caught the patriotic flame, which seemed to issue from every bench of the entire assembly.* III. Mr, Grattan had selected, to second and support his declaration, a person who gave it as much influence as character and independence could possibly commu- nicate. Well aware of the great importance which was attributed to the accession of the landed interest in par- liamentary measures, he judiciously selected Mr. Brown- low, member for the county of Armagh, as one of the first of the country gentlemen in point of wealth and reputation. No man could be better adapted to obtain the concur- rence of the landed interest than Mr. Brownlow. His own stake in the country was too great to be risked on giddy speculations ; his interests were entirely identified with those of the country ; and having no courtly con- nections to detract from his independence, or aristocratic taints to trifle with his purity, every thing he said, and every measure he supported, carried a certain portion of influence amongst the country gentlemen, and they often followed his example solely because they could not sus- pect its honesty. The great body of the landed proprietors in parlia- ment, though intrinsically honest, were simple, prejudiced, refractory, and gregarious ; the Government, on ordinary occasions, found it not diflicult to delude or disunite them : and even on this day, without such a leader as Mr. Brownlow, the entire unanimity of their opinion on their conduct could by no means be depended on. * The author of this work, then a student in the University of Dub- lin, was present at this important scene as a spectator, and the impres- sion it made on his youthful mind, years have not been able in any de- gree to efface ; and he is therefore enabled to delineate the circumstanceg attending tbat important event with more than ordinary accuracy. In truth, time has not left many contemporaries to tell the story. 166 RISE AND FALL After Mr. Grattan had concluded, Mr. Brownlow instantly rose — a general symptom of approbation ran through the house at perceiving so weighty an auxiliary to so decisive a declaration — his example gave counte- nance to many, and confidence to all — his speech was short, but it was decided, and expressed in such terms as at once determined the country gentlemen to adopt the measure in its fullest extent without further, delay, and to pledge their lives and fortunes to the support and establishment of Irish independence ; he said, " as he had the honour to second the mover in adversity, he could not avoid maintaining the same honour at a moment of triumph. He had long seen that things must come to this ; the people had learned their rights, and they loould have them — an end has been proclaimed to temporizing expedients — to artful delay, and to political junctions — the people hav^e demanded their rights, and the Irish parliament will support them with their lives and fortunes. He would leave the other side of the house to discuss the subject, and if they were anxious to atone for their past conduct, he would not check the ardour of tlxeir p^r.iotism, which, after being so long restrained, seemed read}?- to burst forth, and he should rejoice in the explosion. As to the declaration of rights, the honourable gentleman would have the eternal gratifi- cation of having reared this infant child — his (Mr. Brownlow's) only merit would be, that, though he could not maintain it with ability, his utmost zeal should be exerted to support it." On the conclusion of Mr. Brownlow's speech, another short pause ensued ; but it was not a pause of doubt — the measure was obviously decided — the victory was complete — nothing remained in suspense but through whom, and by what species of declaration the Govern- ment could submit to so strong a measure ; some of the officers of the crown had been the servants of the last administration, and the sliort period from the arrival of the Duke of Portland had given no time to his cabinet for consideration or concert — the dynasty of diplomatic evasion had ceased to reign — and for the first time in the annals of British history, the officers and ministers of government appeared to be let loose upon the parlia- OF THE IRISH NATION. 167 ment, to recant their principles and capitulate for their characters. The first they performed, the latter they failed in. Men may pity the feelings of a vanquished enemy, but they can never securely trust to his compul- sory repentance, and they who had expended every day of their political life in upholding the principle of British supremacy, could hardly expect to receive more confi- dence from the nation than that which belongs to the character of defeated apostates. i, IV. Mr. George Ponsonby, on the part of the Lora Lieutenant, submitted with as good a grace as the cir- cumstance would admit of, to a proceeding which it was impossibla could be pleasing to any English ministry. Mr. Ponsonby had been generally in opposition since the time of his father's disagreement with Lord Townsend, and his family being entirely attached to the Whig inter- ests of England, the change of ministry naturally brought to the Marquis of Rockingham's administration and aid, the persons who had been so long in opposition to his predecessor. Mr. Ponsonby's family, of course, con- nected itself in Ireland with the Duke of Portland, and it was expected that he would have been placed high in confidence under his Grace's administration. Blending an aristocratic mind with patriotic feelings^ and connected Avith a Viceroy who could himself hardly guess the road he might have to travel, Mr. Ponsonby could not at such a moment be expected to play the full game of popular expectation. Extensive and high family connections, whatever party they espouse in public trans- actions, ever communicate some tints of their own colouring, and impose some portion of voluntary res- traint upon the free agency of public characters — and had Mr. Ponsonby been an isolated man, he would have been a more distinguished personage. A nation may sometimes look with confidence to individuals, but they are a credulous people who look with confidence to party. Individuals may be honest — but gregarious in- tegrity would be a phenomenon in politics. It is the collisions of party, not their visionary virtue, that is ad- vantageous to a people who frequently acquire their rights not through the political purity, but through the rancorous recrimination of ambitious tactions. 168 RISE AND FALL On this occasion, however, Mr. Ponsonby's steady, judicious, and plausible address, exactly corresponded with the exigencies of the Viceroy, and gave a tinge of generous concession to his Grace's accedence, which the volatile gratitude of the Irish nation, for a moment mis- took for genuine sincerity. Mr. Ponsonby sought to be considered at the same moment as faithful to his country and faithful to its government — a union which the bad policy of England had taught the Irish people to consider as incompatible. His manner and his speech, however, had the effect intended. His fair and discreet reputation gave great weight to so gratifying a declaration ; and no impression could be more favourable to tha Duke of Portland than that which he derived from the short con- ciliating observations of Mr. Ponsonby. He stated, " that he most willingly consented to the proposed amendment, and would answer that the noble Lord who presided in the government of Ireland, wished to do every thing in his power for the satisfaction of the nation, and he knew that the noble Duke would not lose one moment in forwarding this remonstrance of parliament to the Throne, and he would use his utmost influence in obtaining the rights of Ireland, an object on which he had FIXED HIS HEART."* This declaration was received with the loudest cheers by a great majority of the House ; but there existed men whose wise scepticism still retained their doubts of his Excellency's unsophisticated sincerity. They reflected justly, that the irresistihle position of Ireland alone had at length induced the British government to this mag- nanimous declaration — past events had indisputably de- cided, that whether cabinets of Whigs or cabinets of Tories had ruled the British councils, the system of its government had remained invariably adverse to the rights of Ireland ; high British supremacy had been the principle and the practice of all its administrations and of * Mr. Ponsonby soon after this period acquired the highest legal esti- mation, and in public affairs connected himself with Mr. Grattan, which connection has continued without interruption. Mr. Ponsonby was one of the leadinir and distinguished opponents of Lord Castlereagh, on the question of the Irish Union, and always carried a great and just weight in the Irish Parliament. OF THE IRISH NATION. 1G9 all its princes; and amidst all the changes and revolu- tions of England, Ireland had never yet experienced one friendly ministry. V. On this subject Mr. Flood (one of the ablest men that Ireland ever produced) was this night silent. He saw further, and thought deeper than any of his contem- poraries — he knew the world, and of course was sceptical. As a popular orator, he was inferior to Mr. Grattan, but as a deliberate senator he was vastly his superior. He knew that all precedent of British cabinets gave just reason to attribute this sudden transition of English policy, not to the feelings of her liberality, but to the extent of her embarrassments ; and that the Duke of Portland's having " set his hearV upon obtaining the rights of Ireland, was only giving the gloss of voluntary merit to a concession which was in fact a matter of abso- lute necessity, and without which his Grace foresaw that all British autliority in Ireland, v/ould be extinguished for ever. Mr. Flood's confidence, therefore, never was im- plicit. Mr. Grattan, on the contrary, was deceived by his own zeal, and duped by his own honesty ; and his friend, Lord Charlemont, was too courtly a nobleman to suspect his Grace of such consummate insincerity.* But * The following Resolutions passed immediately before the meeting of parliament, and being followed by the same, or still stronger, from every armed association in heland (at that period nearly one hundred thousand disciplined men) taught the Duke of Portland the total im- practicability of postponing the claims of Ireland one hour. The first of these Resolutions were those of the Irish Bar — a body at that time of the greatest weight in point of talent, respectability, and patriotism — it gave the tone to the Resolutions of the whole Irish nation. Those Resolutions were unanimously adopted, some in stronger terms, by all the armed associations. lawyer's corps. At a full meeting of the Lawyer's Corps, the 28th February, 1782, pursuant to notice, Colonel Edward Westby in the Chair : Resolved, That the Members of the House of Commons are the rep- resentatives of, and derive their power solely from, the people; and that a denial of this position by them would be to abdicate the representation. Resolved unanimously. That the people of this country are now called upoa to declare that the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland are the only power competent to make laws to bind this kingdom. Resolved unanimously, That we do expect such declaration of right 15 170 RISE AND FALL Mr. Flood even at that moment did not stand alone in this ungracious incredulity; and ensuing events have fully confirmed the wisdom of his scepticism.* from our representatives, and that we will support them with our lives AND FORTUNES in WATHEVER measurcs may be necessary to render such declaration an effectual security. Resolved, that the above resolutions oe printed. Signed by order, Samuel Adams, Secretary. At a Meeting of the Corps of Dublin Volunteers, Friday, 1st March, 1782, His Grace, the Duke of Leinster in the chair : Resolved, That the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland only are competent to make laws to bind the subjects of this realm, and that we will not obey or give operation to any laws, save only those enacted by the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland, whose rights and privilegeSy jointly and severally, we are determined to support with our lives and fortunes. Signed by order, John Williams, Secretary. * The doubts of Mr, Flood, and the intentions of the Irish Volunteers, seem to be fully exemplified in the following resolutions, passed the very DAY AFTER this Celebrated declaration of rights had passed in parliament. At a meeting of the delegates from one hundred and thirty-nine Corps of the Volunteers of the Province of Leinster, at Dubhn, 17th April, 1782, Colonel Henry Flood in the Chair: Resolved unanimously, That we feel ourselves called upon to declare our satisfaction in the unanimous sense of the House of Commons ex- pressed in favour of the rights of Ireland, in their address to the King yesterday, as amended by Colonol Grattan, and that we will support them therein with our lives and fortunes. Resolved unanimously. That the thanks of this meeting be given to Colonel Grattan, for his extraordinary exertions and perseverance io asserting the rights of Treland. Resolved unanimously. That the following thirteen Commanders of Corps be appointed a Standing Committee of Delegates from this Prov- ince, to correspond and commune with all the other provincial Commit* tees or Delegates of Ireland, to wit : Earl of Granard, Colonel Parnell, Earl of Aldborough, Captain R. Neville, Sir W. Parsons, Captain Gorge, Colonel Grattan, Colonfl Burton, Colonel Talbot, Colonel M. Lyons, Lieut. -Colonel Lee, Captain Smyth. Colonel Flood, OF THE IRISH NATIOX. 171 This speech of Mr. Ponsonby's is the moro, remarkable, because it was reserved for the same Mr. Ponsonby, seventeen years afterwards, to expose, in the clearest and most able language, this very duplicity of the same Duke of Portland ; and the open avowal of his Grace in seventeen hundred and ninety-nine, that he had " «erer " considered that this concession of England, in 1782, should be a "^?ia/" adjustment between the two nations, leaves no room to doubt his Grace's mental reservation, and the existence of a diplomatic sophistry which the Irish Parliament, gulled by their own credulity, and en- veloped in a cloud of gratitude and exultation^ were at that moment prevented from suspecting. VI. Mr. Hussey Burgh, and some other members, shortly but zealously supported this declaration of Irish independence — all was unanimity — not a symptom of opposition was manifested : but on the close of the pro- ceeding, a circumstance not less remarkable than dis- gusting unexpectedly occurred. Mr. John Fitzgibbon, whose indigenous hostility to the Hberties of his country had never omitted any opportu- nity of opposing its emancipation, on a sadden became metamorphosed — assumed a strange and novel character, and professed himself not only the warmest advocate of Irish freedom, but a deadly and inveterate foe to that very system of British usurpation, the practice of which, till that moment, he had himself been an undeviating and virulent supporter. Mr. Fitzgibbon's embarrassment in making this de- claration was too strong and too new in him to remain unnoticed — the unanimity of the House had left him no room for cavil — his former conduct had left him no room for consistency — his haughty disposition despised neu- trality, and his overbearing mind revolted from submis- sion ; his stubborn heart, though humiliated, was un- subdued. But he saw that he was imsupported by his friends, and felt that he was powerless against his ene- mies. To such a mind the conflict was most dreadful — a sovereign contempt of public opinion was his only Resolved unanimously, That an officer's guard from each corps of Volunteers in the city and county of Dublin, be mounted at Lord Charle- mont's liouse, in rotation, at ten o'clock every morning. 172 RISE AND FALL solace, and never did he more fully require the aid of that consolation. This most remarkable, false, and inconsistent of all political recantations ever pronounced by a confirmed courtier, was delivered in the tone of a confirmed patriot. " No man," said Mr. Fitzgibbon, with an atfected em- phasis, " can say that the Duke of Portland has poiver to grant us that redress which the nation unanimously demands ; but as Ireland is committed, no man, I trust, will shrink from her support, but go through, ha?id and hearty in the establishment of our liberties. As I was cautious in committing, so I am now firm in asserting the rights of my country. My declaration, therefore, is, that as the nation has determined to obtain the restoration of her liberty, it behoves every man in Ireland to stand FIRM.'-' Yet this was the Fitzgibbon who in a few years trampled on her liberties, and sold her constitution. The effect produced by this extraordinary speech from a man, the whole tenor of whose public life had been in hotility to its principles, neither added weight to the measure nor gained character for the speaker, disgust was the most prevalent sensation, but had he been a less able man, contempt would have been more prominent. All further debate ceased, the Speaker put the question on Mr. Grattan's amendment ; a unanimous " aye" burst from every quarter of the house, he repeated the question, the applause was redoubled, a moment of tumultuous exultation followed, and, after centuries of oppression, Ireland at length declared herself an independent NATION. Tliis important event quickly reached the impatient crowds of every rank of society, who, without doors, awaited the decision of their parliament, a cry of joy and of exultation spread with electric rapidity through the entire city, its echo penetrated to the very interior of the house, every thing gave way to an effusion of happiness and congratulation that had never before been exhibited in that misgoverned country. VII. Ireland from that moment assumed a new aspect, she rose majestically from her ruins, and surveyed the author of her resurrection with admiration and with gra- titude. A young barrister, without professional celebrity, OF THE IRISH NATION. 173 Without family connections, possessed of no considerable fortune, nor of any personal influence, save that which talent and virtue involuntarily acquire, leagued with no faction, supported individually by no political party, be- came the instrument of Providence to liberate his coun- try, and in a single day achieved what the most able statesmen, the most elevated personages, th6 most power- ful and best connected parties never could eflect. Aided by the circumstances of the moment, he seized the oppor- tunity with promptitude, vigour and perseverance ; but whilst he raised his country to prosperity, and himself to unexpected fortune and never-fading honour, he acquired vindictive enemies by the brilliancy of his success, and afterwards fell a temporary sacrifice to the perseverance of their malice and the dissimulations of their jealousy. Mr. Connolly and Sir Henry Cavendish also, on this night, as ardently supported the independence of Ireland, as if it was a principle engrafted on their nature, both of them ha.d put their signatures to a " life and fortune" declaration, to uphold the perpetual independence of their country, but it will appear in the progress of Irish affairs, how little reliance is to be placed on .political declarations, where an alteration of circumstances or connections so frequently operates as a renunciation of principle. On the discussion of the Union in the year eighteen hundred, Sir Henry had exchanged the Duke of Devonshire for an employment in the treasury, and a new planet had arisen to influence Mr. Connolly ; in that year both those gentle- men declaimed as conscientiously against the indepen- dence of the Irish nation, as if they had never pledged their "lives and fortunes" for their perjyetnal support of it. It was impossible for any uninterested observer of the character and composition of the Irish Parliament to have conceived that the apparent unanimity of this night could have arisen from any one principle of universal action, men were actuated by various motives forming a mixed composition of patriotism and of policy ; it was the una- nimous firmness of the people^ and not the abstract vir- tue of their delegates, whicli achieved this revolution, nor is it possible to read some of the popular resolutions of that day without feeling admiration at the happy union of 15* 174 RISE AND FALL spirit, of patriotism, and of prudence, wdiich characterized their proceedings.* VUl. When the inteUigence of these events was cir- culated through the nation, the joy and rejoicings of the people were hcyond all description, every city, town, and village, in Ireland, blazed with the emblems of exultation, and resounded with the shouts of triumph, the Volunteers, however, were not dazzled by the sunshine of the moment, they became rather more active than more remiss ; much indeed was faithfully promised, but still every thing re- mained to be actually performed, and it soon appeared, that human life is not more uncertain in its duration than political faith precarious in its sincerity, the fair inten- tions of one government are generally called at least injudicious by its successors, political honesty has often vegetated in British Councils, but never yet did it survive to the period of maturity, and the short existence of the Duke of Portland's splendid administration warranted the cautious suspicion of the Volunteers, and allbrded the succeeding ministry an opportunity for attempting those insidious measures which soon afterwards characterized anew the dispositions of the British Cabinet. The parliament, and the people, when the paroxysm of their joy had subsided, waited with some solicitude for the King's reply to the Declaration of their independenco, and a general suspension of public business took place until its arrival. It was, however, the first pause of con- fidence and tranquillity that Ireland had experienced since her connection with Great Britain ; little could she then foresee that her new prosperity was but the precursor of * The following address of the Dungannon Convention to tlie mem- bers of parliament who had voted in the minorities in 1781, and the beginning of 1782, is extremely illustrative of their temper and firmness, and made a very deep impression on the public mind. " My Lords and Gentlemen, " We thank you for your noble and spirited, though hitherto inef- fectual efforts in defence of the great constitutional rights of your coun- try. Go on, go on, the almo.st unanimous voice of your country is with you, and in a free country, the voice of the people must prevail. We know o'lr duty to our Sovereign, and are loyal. We know our duty to ourselves, and are resolved to be free. We seek for our rights, and no more than our rights, and in so just a pursuit we sliould doubt the being of a Providence, if we doubted of :>uccess" OF THE IRISH NATION. 175 future evils and of scenes as cruel and as destructive as any she had ever before experienced. The seeds of the Irish Union were sown by the very same event which had procured her independence, so early as seventeen hundred and eighty-four that independence was insidiously assailed by a despotic minister under colom- of a commercial tariff, in seventeen hundred and eighty-nine events coimected with the malady of the Monarch and the firm adherence of the Irish Parliaments to the constitutional rights of the Heir Apparent determined the same minister in the fatal project of extinguishing the Irish legislature, and in seventeen hundred and ninety-eight a rebellion artificially permitted, to terrify the country, and followed by acts and scenes of unparalleled corruption, for a moment warped away the minds of men from the exercise of com- mon reason, and gave power and pretence to the British Cabinet to effect that extinguishment at a moment of national derangement. 176 RISE AND FALL CHAPTER X. Design of the British Goverment to recall the independence of Ireland — • Singular conduct of the Attorney General — His speech — Its powerful effect — Palpable dread of an Insurrection — EfTect on England — Duke of Portland's duplicity — Attains an ascendency over Earl Charlemont — Embarrassment of the English Cabinet — The Volunteers prepare for actual seiTice — Imbecility of England — Insidious designs of the Eng- lish Government — Mr. Fox — Mr. Pitt — Important meeting of Parlia- ment — The Volunteer Regiments occupy the avenues to the House of Commons — Designs of the Duke of Portland — Duke of Portland's speech — Mr. Grattan — ]Mr. Brownlow — The Recorder and Mr. Walshe oppose ]Mr. Grattan's address — ]\Ir. Flood neutral — Mr. Walshe — IVIr. Yelverton — The Secretary — Division — Consequent em- barrassment. I. The foundation of Irish independence had now been laid, by the spirit of the Parhament and the unanimity of the people ; and the stately structure of Irish liberty seemed likely to rise with solidity and magnificence. The labourers were numerous and indefatigable ; and nothing was to be dreaded but contrariety in the plans, or jealousy among the architects ; dangers which are proved by the sequel of her history, to be the true and substantial cause of Ireland's annexation. It is demonstrated by facts, beyond the power of refutation, that from the moment the British ministry found it imperatively necessary to submit to this declaration of Irish independence, no consideration was paramount in their councils to the desire of counter- acting it. Ill furtherance of that object, from the period of the Duke of Portland's administration to that of Lord Cornwallis, the old system of dividing the Irish against each other, and profiting by their dissensions, was artfully pursued by the English Ministry, to re-establish their own supremacy, and from that moment they resolved to achieve, at any risk or price, that disastrous measure, which, at one blow, has jirost rated the pride, the power, and the legislature of Ireland, and reduced her from the rank of a nation to the level of a department. But the OF THE IRISH NATION. 177 people had now no leisure for suspicious forethought, or mature reflection, and the interval between the declaration of independence, and the reply of his Majesty to that declaration, though a period of deep anxiety, neither awakened serious doubts, nor produced implicit confidence. An adjournment for three weeks was now proposed in the Commons, to give time for the arrival of His Majesty's Answer to their Address and Declaration, This motion, though it gave rise to a conversation rather than a debate, produced one of the most singular political phenomenons that had ever appeared in the history of any nation. Mr. John Scott, then Attorney General, afterwards Lord Clonmel, whose despotic conduct had previously given rise to many and severe animadversions, took advantage on this occasion to recant his former and favourite political principle, that " might constitutes right." He now declared his firm and unqualified ad- herence to the claims of Ireland, in terms which, a week before, he would have prosecuted for as a seditious libel ; and tendered his large fortune towards a general fund, to enforce from Great Britain the rights of his country, if force should become necessary. He said, that, "he now felt it indispensable for him to throw oft'all equivocal and mysterious silence,and declared as his unchangeable opinion, that Great Britain never had any right whatever to bind his country, and that any acts she had ever done for that purpose were decided usur- pations. That if the tenure of his office of Attorney General depended upon the maintenance of doctrines in- jurious to the rights and independence of Ireland, it was an infamous tenure ; and if the Parliament of Great Britain were determined to lord it over Ireland, he was re- solved not to be their villain in executing their tyranny.* * It is a very curious fact, that Mr. Attorney General Scott's declara- tion of resisting the usurpation of England in 1782, was repeated in 1800,- by two other successive Attorney Generals of Ireland, though under different circumstances. Mr. William Saurjn, in his place in Par- liament, declared that he considered the Irish Rc])iesentatives incompe- tent to exact a legislative union ; and that any statuics, made by a Par- liament so constituted, would not be constitutionally binding on the Irish people. That gentleman, some time after: became Attorney General of Ireland himself, and never afterwards repeated his scepticism- 178 RISE AND FALL That if matters should proceed to the extremity to which he feared they were verging, he should not be an insignifi- cant subscriber to the fund for defending their common rights. That a life of much labour, together with the blessing of Providence, and what is commonly called good luck, had given him a landed property of £5,000 per year, and an office of great emolument, all which should certainly be devoted to the service of his country. Tho.t it would be disgraceful, for the paltry emoluments of an oflice to stand watching the vibrations of the balance, when he had determined to throw his life and fortune into the scale. I know,-' concluded the Attorney General, " that the public mind is on fire ; I know that the deter- mination of the people is to be free ; and I adopt their detemiination." A speech of so strong and stormy a nature, never hav- ing before been uttered by any Minister or Law Officer of the British Empire, nor even by any member of the Irish Parliament, created a sensation which it is scarcely possible to describe.* One sentence conveyed a volume of information. " If matters proceed to the extremities to which I fear they are verging," was a direct declaration of mistrust in the Government he served ; and such a speech, made in Parliament by the first confidential executive Law Officer of the Crown, possessed a character of mystery and great importance. The dread of an insurrection in Ireland was thus, in Mr. Plunkett made the same declaration, but in rather stronger terms, as he vouched for his son as well as himself; and soon after became Attorney General. Mr. Forster, and numerous able lawyers, some of them junior judges, and many country magistrates, united in those senti- ments. No Member of the Irish Parliament opposed the Union more stren- uously, than the Author of this Work, and he united with those gentle- men in their opinion as to the incomi)etence of the Irish Parliament. * The author was present at all these important debates. On Mr. Scott's recantation, the sensation of the House was so striking and sin- gular, that he can never recollect it without emotion. For a moment, there was profound silence, gradually, the murmur of astonishment was heard, spreadinc; from bench to bench, till one loud and general cry of approbation burst from every quarter of the House, and, in rapuland con- tinued plaudits, evinced the enthusiasm of that era, and the importance of that secession OF THE IRISH NATION. 17& direct terms, announced by the King's Attorney General ; and by his intrepid determination to risk his life and fortune to support its objects, he afforded good reason to apprehend that his Majesty's reply was not likely to be such as would cultivate tranquillity, and left no doubt thai the Attorney General foreboded an unwise reluctance in the British Cabinet, to a measure so vital to the pqice. perhaps to the integrity, of the British Empire. This conduct of Mr. Scott, coupled with the previous secession of Mr. Fitzgibbon, must be looked on as among the most extraordinary occurrences of these, or any other times in Ireland. In the history of Nations and of Parliaments, there is not another instance of two such men, publicly professing and practising the principles of arbitrary power, being so humbled, and reduced to the abject condescension of feign- ing a public virtue they had theretofore but ridiculed, and assuming a fictitious patriotism, the result, at best, of their fears or of their policy. However, be the motive what it might, that most un- precedented conduct taught the British Government that they could no longer trifle with Ireland. Their power was then extinct ; and no course remained but that of instantly relinquishing their long-vaunted supremacy, and surren- dering at discretion to the just demands of a determined and potent people : and the splendid, though temporary triumph achieved by Ireland, affords a glorious prece- dent for oppressed nations, and an instructive lesson for arrogant usurpation. II. Immediately on this unexpected turn, the Duke of Portland sent off two despatches to England ; one to thr Cabinet as a public document, and the other, a private; and confidential note to Mr. Fox. The latter document explained his reasons for the necessity he felt of acceding, without any appearance of reluctance, to any demands which might at that moment be made by the Irish Par- liament ; but intimated " that so strong a difference of opinion appeared to exist between some gentlemen of weight that arrangements more favourable to England might possibly be cflected through their co}itrovcrsies, although he could not venture to proj)ose such, were^ey perfectly unanimous. He stated, in conclusion, that ho 180 RISE AND FALL would omit no opportunity of cultivating his connection with the Earl of Charlemont, who appeared entirely dis- posed to place confidence in his administration, and to give a i^roper tone to the armed bodies over whom he had the most considerable influence." So skilfully did he act upon these suggestions, that he inveigled the good but feeble Earl Charlemont entirely into his trammels ; and as long as his Grace remained in the Irish Government, he not only much influenced that nobleman, but kept him at arms length from some of the ablest statesmen of the country, without their perceiving the insidious power that caused the separation. The other Ministers adopted the same principles, and they did not despair, by plausible conduct, according to the Duke of Portland's policy, to temporize with all ])ar ties, play ofl" the people and the Parliament imperceptibly against each other; and, by gradually diminishing theii mutual confidence, bring both to a dependence upon the good faith of the British Ministry, and so indispose the Irish Parliament from insisting upon any measures which might humble the pride, or alarm the interests of the Bri- tish nation. III. The British Cabinet had certainly great embar- rassments to encounter. They had the difficult step to take of gratifying the claims of Ireland, without affecting the egotism of Great Britain. But the relative interests of the two countries being in many points fundamentally repugnant, the dilemma of Ministers was extremely em- barrassing. It was doubly increased by a declaration of rights, and a positive demand, which anticipated the dredit of a spontaneous generosity — an advantage which was now lost to them for ever. Their voluntary favours would now be changed to compulsory grants, the extent of which they could neither foresee nor control. While the British Cabinet and the Irish Viceroy actively corresponded, the Irish nation was not idle. No relaxation was permitted in the warlike preparations of the Volunteer army. Reviews and discipline were con- tinued with unintermitting ardour and enmlation. Their artillery was daily exercised in the Phoenix Park, near Duolin. Camp equipage was preparing for actual service, and on the day to which the parliament adjourned, the OF THE IRISH NATION. 181 whole of the Vohiiiteer force of the metropohs was under arms, and fully prepared for the alternative (which the decision of his Majesty's Cabinet, through the speech of its Viceroy, might impose upon the people) either to return to their homes for the peaceful enjoyment of their rights or instantly to take the field. Musters had been ordered, to ascertain the probable numbers of Volunteers ready for immediate and active service. The returns had increased from the former census to about 124,000 officers and soldiers, of whom upwards of 100,000 etfectives, well armed and disciplined, and owning no superior but God and their country, would, on the first sound of an hostile trumpet, have rushed with enthusiasm to the standards of independence. The Volunteer regiments and corps were commanded by gentlemen of rank and consideration in the country, and disciplined by retired officers of the British army ; the Serjeants being chiefly veteran soldiers who had fought in the American campaigns, and learned from their own defeats, the powers of a people determined to obtain their freedom. The whole disposable military force of Great Britain was at that period inadequate to combat one week with the Volunteers of Ireland, com- posing an army which could be increased, at a call, by a million of enthusiasts ; and which, in case a contest had arisen, would have also been liberally recruited by the desertion of the Irish soldiers from the British army — and nearly one third of that army was composed of Irish- men. The British Navy, too, was then also manned by what were, generally denominated British tars;* but a large proportion of whom were in fact sailors of Irish birth and Irish feelings, ready to shed their blood in the service of Great Britain whilst she remained the friend of Ireland, but as ready to seize and to steer the British navy into Irish ports, if she declared against their coun- try, and thus it ever will be. The safety of England was then clearly in the hands of * The mutiny at the Nore, in the channel fleet, conlirins this observa- tion. Had the mutineers at that time chosen to cany the British ships into an Irish port, no power could have prevented them ; and had there been a strong insurrection in Ireland, it is more than probable they would have delivered one half of the English fleet into the hands of their countrymen. 16 182 RISE AND FALL Ireland, and one hostile step, at that perilous crisis of the two nations, must have terminated their unity, and of course the power of the British empire. But the Cabinet at length considered that resistance to the just demands of [reland would be unavailing ; and that she was then too powerful for England to hazard an insurrection, which, if once excited, it would have been impossible to suppress. Too cautious to risk a danger so imminent, they yielded to existing circumstances, and determined to concede ; a system of conduct, which is called perfidy in private life and policy by Governments, has been very generally and very successfully resorted to in important political dilem- mas, and they adopted the low and cunning course of yielding with affected candour, and counteracting with deep duplicity. iV. The Cabinet reflected, also, that times and circum- stances cannot always remain unchanged, and that the political vicissitudes to which every State is subject frequently enable conceding powers to re-assume usur- pation ; and, when restored to strength and vigour, again to forget the law of nations and of justice, and explain away or deny the spirit of those engagements which tlieii feebleness had contracted. The events which have since occurred in Ireland, and the conduct and equivocation of the British Ministers in 1799 and 1800, proved to the world, that such were the premeditated and ulterior views of the British Cabinet, in 1782 ; and that the Duke of Portland was well aware of its objects, and freely lent himself to their perpetration. Mr. Fox never had any especial predilection for Ireland. He was ignorant equally of her rights,* and her localities ; and he considered her only as the segment of a great circle, which he laboured to encompass. He wielded the grievances of Ireland only as a weapon of offence against the ministry. He was a great man, with a popular am- bition, and assumed the hereditary title of Whig, when its purest principles had nearly become obsolete. Mr. Pitt had in view the very same object, to rule; and they only differed in the means of affecting it. The one wished to rise upon the shoulders of the people ; the other, to be • See Mr. Fox's Letter to Earl Charlemont, April 1782. Hardy'i Lafe of ( harlemMit OF THE IRISH NATION. 183 elevated upon those of the aristocracy. But the ambition of both was to govern the Empire. Their rivahy was of party, and their struggle was for power ; but the internal prosperity of Ireland, as a distinct abstract consideration, gave not one hour's solicitude to either one or the other of those celebrated Ministers, though its resources were in part an object to both. The Duke of Portland was not of sufficient talent or weight to lead the Ministry ; but he had enough of both to be an efficient accessory. A man of plain, fan-, undis- tinguished reputation, can efiect important acts of dupli- city, with less suspicion and more facility than more pro- minent and energetic personages ; and when the moment of development arrives, he can plead the honesty of his character, and the error of his judgment : or, at the worst, he may gain a great point, and can only lose a narrow reputation. These observations may be interesting, as decidedly applicable to the administration of the Duke of Portland. His Grace's conduct and speeches on the question of the Union, in 1800, leave no doubt that the whole tenor of his conduct, in 1782, must have been a premeditated tissue of dissimulation. V. The Irish House met, pursuant to the adjournment, on the 27th May 1782, a day teeming with importance to the fate of Ireland and the character of Great Britain. It is not easy to imagine the solicitude and impatience with which the people awaited the decision of Great Britain on its claims. On the morning of that memorable day, the Volunteers were under arms at an early hour. Their artillery, under the orders of James Napper Tandy, was stationed on the quays, and commanded all the bridges leading from the Military Barracks to the House of Parliament. The other corps, horse and foot, were posted at different stations of communication in the city ; while some regular troops, formed in treble files, lined the streets for the passage of the Lord Lieutenant. But though neither party knew what would be the result of that day's proceedings, nor whether war or peace would be proclaimed by the British Ministry, not a symptom of hostile feeling appeared on any side. The Volunteers and the regular troops saluted 184 RISE AND FALL each other as they passed, and reciprocally showed every mark of military courtesy. The strictest order prevailed; and the whole, by a combination most interesting and extraordinary, formed a scene to which history atFords no parallel. The Duke of Portland had not a very dignified demean- our, but, unfortunatel}^, every body then considered him as a man of political integrity. His time, during the recess, had been skilfully employed, to gain upon the country gentlemen by flattering attention and courtly blandishment. His Grace had learned, from Earl Charlemont, the character of Mr. Grattan, before he saw him. He was fully apprised of his spirit and patriotism, and knew well that neither could be conquered ; but he conceived that by operating on the moderation and generous confidence of that virtuous Irishman, he might eventually divide the Parliament ; chill the general enthusiasm of the people, and effect the objects of the British Government ; and, before the meeting of Parliament, his Grace had made great progress in exciting shades of ditference in the opinions of those who should have been unanimous. A premature gratitude, and credulous confidence, had al- ready prepared the House for his reception ; and he de- livered the speech from the throne, with a well-aflected honesty of emphasis, and an imposing appearance of in- dividual gratification. The Viceroy's speech gave rise to a debate of the very highest importance, not only as afiecting the interests and feeUngs of that day, but as influencing the subse- quent events and destiny of the Irish nation. " My Lords and Gentlemen. It gives me the utmost satisfaction, that the first time 1 havx occasion to address you, I find myself enabled, by the magnanimity of the -King, and the wisdom of the Parliament of Great Britain, to assure you that immediate attention has been paid to your representations, and that, the British Legislature have concurred in resolution to remove the causes of your discontents and jealousies, and are united in a de- sire to gratil'y every wish expressed in your late Ad- dresses to the Throne. "If any thing could add to the pleasure I feel in givmg OF THE IRISH NATION. 185 you those assurances, it is that I can accompany them with my congratulations on the important and decisive victory gained by the fleets of his Majesty over those of the common enemy in the West Indies, and on the signal advantage obtained by his Majesty's ar??is in the Island of Ceylon, and on the Coast of Coro/ziandcl. " By the papers which, in obedience to His Majesty's commands, I have directed to be laid before you, you will receive the most convincing testimony of the cordial reception which your representations have met with from the Legislature of Great Britain ; but His Majesty, whose first and most anxious wish is to exercise His Royal Pre- rogative in such a manner as may be most conducive to the welfare of His faithful subjects, has further given it me in command to assure you of His gracious disposition to give His Royal Assent to Acts to prevent the sup- pression of Bills in the Privy Council of this Kingdom, and the alteration of them any where ; and to limit the diuation of the Act for the better Regulation and Accom- modation of His Majesty's forces in this Kingdom, to the term of two years. " These benevolent intentions of His Majesty, and the willingness of His Parliament of Great Britain to second his gracious purposes, are unaccompanied by any stipu- lation or condition whatever. " The good faith, the generosity, and the honour of this nation, atibrd them the surest pledge of a correspond- ing dispostion, on your part, to promote and perpetuate the harmony, the stability, and the glory of the Empire. " On my own part, I entertain not the least doubt, but that the same spirit which urged you to share the freedom of Great Britain, will confirm you in your determination to share her fate also, standing and falling with the Bri- tish Empire." Mr. Grattan immediately rose. His unsuspecting and grateful mind, though congenial to the honest liberality of a patriot, was quite too conceding and inexperienced to meet the ways and wiles of deceptions statesmen. Misled by the apparent sincerity of that speecii, and the plain and plausible demeanour of the Duke of Portland, he lost sight of every thing but confidence and gratitude, and left to deei)er politicians to discover the snare that lay 16* 186 RISE AND FALL concealed amidst the soothing and honourable language of the Viceroy. He said, — " That as Great Britain had given up every claim to authority over Ireland, he had not the least idea that she should be also bound to make any declaration that she had formerly usurped that power. This would be a foolish caution, a dishonourable condition.* The nation that insists upon the humiliation of another, is a foolish nation ; and Ireland is not a foolish nation. I move you, to assure His Majesty of our unfeigned affection to His Royal Person and Government ; that we feel, most sen- sibly, the attention our representations have received from the magnanimity of His Majesty, and the wisdom of the Parliament of Great Britain ; to assure His Majesty, that we conceive the resolution for an unqualified, uncondi- tional repeal of the 6th George the First to be a measure of consummate wisdom and justice, suitable to the dignity and eminence of both Nations, exalting the character of both, and furnishing a perpetual pledge of mutual amity ; to assure His Majesty, that we are sensibly afiected iDy his virtuous determination to accede to the wishes of His faithful subjects, and to exercise His Royal prerogative in the manner most conducive to their welfare. That, gra- tified in those particulars, we do assure His Majesty, that no constitutional question between the tivo nations tvill any longer exists to interrupt their harmony ; and that Great Britain, as she approved of our firmness, may rely on our aftection ; and that we remember, and do repeat our determination, to stand or fall with the British Nation." When Mr. Grattan concluded the Address, which was seconded by Mr. Brownlow, a most animated and inte- resting, though desultory debate, immediately ensued ; a debate too much connected with the subsequent transac- tions on the Union, not to be particularly noticed in this stage of the history. The Recorder of, and Member for, Dublin, Sir Samuel Bradstreet, a strong-minded, public-spirited man, an able * This was a juvenile syllogisiT., where there were neither premises nor conclusion to support the argument. Credulity and wisdom are nearly incompatible. Ireland was a credulous nation ; ergo, siie could not have been a wise one. Had Ireland l)een more sceptical in 1782, she would have been less unfortunate in 1800 OF THE IRISH NATION. 187 lawyer, and independent Member of ParliameHt ; of a rough, decisive, firm deportment, was ths first Avho ven- tm'ed to insinuate his dissent from the Address, and his suspicions of the Duke's sincerity. He entirely objected to that sweeping clause of Mr. Grattan's Address — " That all constitutional questions between the two countries were at an end." He stated that many were not yet touched upon, — many that were vital to Irish independence still remained unnoticed : for he insisted that the Irish Parliament actually sat at that moment under an English Statute : and that the Address, as moved, was in some instances premature — in others too comprehensive — in all, defective. Subsequent events have since proved the sound- ness and the acuteness of his judgment and his foresight. Mr. Flood said but a few words, and they were rather insinuating than insisting on his dissent. He started some difficulties on the subject of external legislation — he expressed his opinion, that matters were not yet suf- ficiently advanced to form a decided judgment upon the extent and modifications of the proposed arrangements ; but it was obvious that this great man was neither con- fident nor satisfied, and that he conceived, that though the chief demand had been made, and that grant acceded to, yet that it would require profound consideration, and a steady comprehensive system, to secure the tenure. He publicly anticipated nothing ; but his own want of faith in the British Cabinet was obvious and compre- hensive. Mr. David Walshe, an able, pertinacious lawyer, cou- rageous and not conciliating, was a still more determined sceptic. He had a clear head, a suspicious, perverse mind, and a temper that never would outstretch itself to meet pacific objects. He debated well, but was too in- temperate to acquire or maintain a general popularity. A part of his speech on this memorable night is also of great importance. He followed Sir Samuel Bradstreet on the point of external legislation, and concluded with these remarkable expressions : — " I repeat it, that until England declares unequivocally, by an act of her own legislature, that she had no right, in any instance, to make laws to bind Ireland, the usurped power of English legislation never can be cou« 188 RISE AND FALL sidered by us as relinquished. We want not the con- cessions of England to restore us our hberties. If we are true to ourselves, we possess the fortitude, we possess the will, and, thank God, we possess the power, to assert our rights as men, and accomplish our independence as a nation." VI. The gauntlet was now thrown, the vital question was started — England was put on her defence, and Ireland on her trial. The great point of confirming the Irish independence and constitution being once started, never could be re- linguished ; it must be decided — the suspicion of English sincerity once raised, must be satisfied ; and it appeared in a moment, that Mr. Grattan's address could never be considered either secure or conclusive. But even those who thought so, did not conceive that the moment had as yet arrived when that subject should be so warmly discussed. Those who feared that a difference at so early a period might defeat all their expectations, chose rather to accede to an address they did not approve of, than hazard a dis- union which might never be remedied. Mr. Yelverton strongly recommended unanimity at that moment. It seemed, for prudential reasons, to be the general wish : and Mr. AYalshe had withdrawn his oppo- sition-^when Mr. Fitzpatrick, the Viceroy's secretary artfully seized on the moment of inconsiderate gratitude, and threw out a defiance to those who endeavoured iy diminish its unanimity. This to such a temper as Mr. Walshe's, had the effect intended, of causing a division — and the skilful secretary succeeded in his object. On the division, the Recorder and Mr. AValshe alone divided on the minorit}^, and Mr. Grattan's address was triumphantly carried, with all its imperfections ; and a short period proved that these imperfections were neither few nor unimportant. The House adjourned amidst the univ^ersal acclamations of the ignorant and credulous people ; and tlie constitutional arrangements between the two countries were fatally supposed, from the tenor of the speech and the address, to have been entirely and for ever arranged to tlieir mutual satisfaction. It is here proper to pause and reflect upon the em- OF THE IRISH NATION. 189 barrassing situation into which this day's debate had thrown both nations ; an embarrassment which, since that day, has never yet completely terminated, and pro- bably never will. The transcendent merits of Mr. Grattan, the unparal- leled brilliancy of his language, in moving the declara- tion of rights, his firmness and his patriotism, had raised him above all his countrymen. That declaration, it was believed, had restored the liberties of his country, and given him a just claim to all the rewards and honours which even the glowing gratitude of that country could confer upon him. But, unfortunately, his own honesty :ed him to a mistaken confidence in that of others. The courtly patriotism of Earl Charlemont, always inclining him to a blind principle of conciliation, had its influence on Mr. Grattan, who was a statesman, great in principle, but inefficient in detail; and the moderation of Lord Charlemont was not ineffective nor merely passive, when restraining the vigour of a mind, that seemed to be created to think greatly and act decidedly, only upon great and decisive occasions. 190 RISE AND FALL CHAPTER XI. Temporary' credulity of the Irish Parliament — Country- Gentlemen — Sing:ular character of Mr. Bagenal — His Exploits — Popularity — His l)atriotism — Commanded many Volunteer Corps — Gives notice of a motion to reward Mr. Grattan — Anti-prophetic observation — Mr. Grattan's increasing popularity — Hasty repeal of the declaratory act 6th Geo. HI. — And transmitted by the Viceroy to the Volunteers — Doctrine of Blackstone declared unconstitutional — Mr. Bagenal's motion to grant c£ 100,000, to ISIr. Grattan — Mistaken pride of his friends — ■ Extraordinary occurrence — Insidious conduct of Government — Mr. Thomas Connolly makes a most unprecedented motion — Viceroy offers the Palace to ]Mr. Grattan and his heirs as a reward for his seiTices — Objects of the Government in making the offer — Discovered by the indiscretion of the Secretary, Col. Fitzpatrick — His character — Real objects developed — Mr. Grattan's friends decline so large a grant — ■ Their mistaken principle — Effects of the calumnies against Ireland — . False arguments— Comparison of the conduct of England and Ire- land — Comparative loyalty. I. It is as extraordinary as it is true, that the weaknesses and foibles of Irish character were more strikingly dis- played daring this important discussion, than upon any lormer occasion. A generous, ardent, credulous, un- statesman-like sensibility, appeared to have seized upon the whole assembly; and even the natural quickness of perception, and acuteness of intellect, which the members of that House displayed on ordinary and trivial subjects, seemed totally to have forsaken them during this me- morable debate — of more vital importance to the nation man any other that had ever taken place in the Irish Parliament. II. The country gentlemen of Ireland, at all times bad casuists and worse lawyers, appeared on this occasion to close both their ears and eyes, and to resign, with one accord, all exercise of judgment and discrimination. The word " unanimity" operated as a talisman amonst them, and silenced all objections. The very important observa- tions of Sir Samuel l^radstrect and of Mr. Walshe were hardly listened to with i)atience. Mr. Flood himself seemed to be overwhelmed and manaclod j and those OF THE IRISH NATION. 191 axioms and that reasoning which were uhimately acceded to and adopted even by the British Ministers themselves, were on this night considered as a species of treason against the pm'ity of the- British Government, and the sincerity of ttie Irish Viceroy. No voice but that of con- gratulation, joy, and confidence, could make itself heard. No suspicions durst be suggested — no murmurs durst be uttered. The scene was new to Ireland ; and exulta- tion took precedence for a time of both reason and re- flection. Beauchamp Bagenal, representative for Carlow county, so soon as the flurry of mutual congratulations had a little subsided in the House, proposed a measure well adapted to the circumstances of that moment, and most happily coincident with the sentiments of the people. How far it had been premeditated, or arose from the impulse of the moment, no person acquainted with the character and eccentricities of Mr. Bagenal could possibly determine. He was one of those persons, who, born to a large inheritance, and having no profession to interrupt theii propensities, generally made in those times the grand tour of Europe, as the finishing part of a gentleman's education. Mr. Bagenal followed the general course ; and on that tour had made himself very conspicuous. He had visited every capital of Europe, and had ex- hibited the native original character of the Irish gentle- man at every place he visited. In the splendour of his travelling establishment, he quite eclipsed the petty poten- tates with w^iom Germany was garnished. His person was fine — his manners open and generous — his spiiit high, and his liberality profuse. During his tour, he had performed a variety of feats which were emblazoned in Ireland, and endeared him to his countrymen. He had fought a prince — jilted a princess — intoxicated the Doge of Venice — carried ofl" a Duchess from Madrid — scaled the walls of a convent in Italy — narrowly escaped the Inquisition at Lisbon — concluded his exploits by a cele- brated fencing match at Paris ; and he returned to Ireland with a sovereign contempt for all continental men and manners, and an inveterate antipathy to all despotic kings and arbitrary governments. 192 RISE AND FALL Domesticated in his own mansion at Dunleckny — sur- rounded by a numerous and devoted tenantry — and pos- sessed of a great territory, Mr. Bagenal determined to spend the residue of his days on his native soil, according to the usages and customs of country gentlemen ; and he was shortly afterwards returned a representative to Parliament for the county of Carlo w, by universal accla- mation. Though Mr. Bagenal did not take any active part in the general business of the Irish Parliament, he at least gave it a good example of public spirit and high-minded independence. His natural talents were far above medi- ocrity ; but his singularities, in themselves extravagant, were increased by the intemperance of those times ; and an excellent capacity was neutralized by inordinate dis- sipation. Prodigally hospitable, irregular, extravagant, uncertain, vivacious ; the chase, the turf, the sod, and the bottle, divided a great portion of his intellects between them, and generally left for the use of Parliament, only so much as he could spare from his other occupations. However, in supporting the independence and prospe- rity of Ireland, he always stood in the foremost ranks. Liberal and friendly, but obstinate and refractory, above all his contemporaries, he had a perfect indifference for the opinions of the world, when they at all differed from his own ; and he never failed to perform whatever came uppermost in his thoughts, with the most perfect con- tempt as to the notions which might be formed either of his rectitude or impropriety. He was one of the first country gentlemen who raised a vohmteer regiment in the county Carlow. He com- manded several military corps, and was one of the last Volunteer Colonels in Ireland who could be prevailed upon to discontinue the reviews of their regiments, or to relinquish that noble, patriotic, and unprecedented insti- tution. However, he was, on this occasion, as politically short-sighted as he was nationally credulous. He could see nothing but sincerity in the Viceroy, honour in the British Cabinet, and an eternal cordiality between the two nations : and before the constitutional arrangement was well begun, he fancied it was completely concluded His admiration of Mr. Grattan was unqualified and ex OF THE IRISH NATION. 193 travagaiit ; and it was with an honest zeal and pure sin- cerity he rose to propose a measure, at that period the most popular and gratifying to the Irish nation. III. Having passed many eulogiums on Mr. Grattan's services to Ireland, he gave notice of an intended motion, " that a Committee should he appointed, to consider and report what sum the Irish Parliament should grant, to build a suitable mansion and purchase an estate for their great deliverer." in prefacing this notice, Mr. Bagenal, full of candour and credulity, used some expressions, so unfortunately anti-prophetic, as to render them worthy of marked ob- servation. He said, that Mr. Grattan had saved the country from an iron age, and unequivocally restored a golden one to his own country for ever. " By our affec- tionate alliance with Great Britain, we shall not only be benefitted ourselves, but shall see a beloved sister revive from her misfortunes. This great man has crowned the work for ever; under his auspices the throne of freedom is fixed on a basis so firm, and which will always be so well supported by the influence the people must acquire under his system, that, with the help of God, there is no danger, even of Parliament itself ever being able to shake it; nor shall any Parliament be ever again profanely styled omnipotent." Mr. Grattan attempted to make some observations, but his voice was drowned in the general applause ; and the house adjourned without further observations. IV. He alone now occupied the entire hearts of the people. They had no room for any other individual. Almost frantic with gratitude to their deliverer, they cried out, that the doctrines of Molyneux had triumphed in the same place where they had before been consigned to infamy. But the day of those pure and lofty feelings has passed away. A broken down constitution seldom recovers its pristine elasticity ; and that enthusiastic, proud, patriotic spirit which signalized the Irish nation in 1782, driven to its tomb by misrule and by misfortune, can never rise again but on some congenial crisis. V. The British Ministry and Parliament now began to feel their own weakness. Their intolerance degenerated 17 194 RISE AND FALL into fear ; and responsibility began to stare them in the face. The loss of America had been got over by their predecessors without an impeachment ; but that of Ireland would not ha.ve passed over with the same impunity. The British Cabinet had already signed the capitulation, and tlionght it impossible to carry it too soon into execution. Bills to enact the concessions demanded by Ireland were therefore prepared with an expedition nearly bordering on precipitancy. The 6th of George the First, declara- tory of, and establishing the supremacy of England, and the eternal dependence of Ireland on the Parliament and Cabinet of Great Britain, was now hastily repealed, with- out debate, or any qualification by the British Legislature. This repeal received the royal assent, and a copy was in- stantly transmitted to the Irish Viceroy, and communica- ted by circulars to the Volunteer commanders. Chap. LIII. An Act, to repeal an Act made in the sixth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the First, intituled. An Act for the better securing the dependency of the kingdom of Ireland upon the crown of Great Britain. Whereas, an act was passed in the sixth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the First, intituled : An Act for the better securing the dependency of the king- dom of Ireland upon the crown of Great Britain ; may it please your Most Excellent Majesty, that it may be enacted, and be it enacted, by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present par- liament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that from and after the passing of this Act, the above mentioned Act, and the several matters and things therein con- tained, shall be, and is, and are hereby repealed. Thus, the doctrine of Blackstone, that venerated Druid of English jurisprudence, who by his dictum had tried to seal the slavery of the Irish people, was surrendered as unconstitutional, and renounced by the very same legisla- ture that had enacted it. As England drooped, Ireland raised lier head ; and for a moment she was arrayed with all the exterior insignia of an independent nation. VI. On the 30th of May, 1782, Mr. Bagenal resumed the subject of the leward to Mr. Grattan ; and after a OF THE IRISH NA'i ION. 195 short, but animated speech, moved that " £100,000 should be granted by parhament, to purchase an estate, and build a suitable mansion, as the reward of gratitude by the Irish nation, for his eminent services to his country." No mem- ber could directly oppose a measure so merited, so popu- lar, and so honourable to the nation. No absolute mur- mur was heard ; but the magnitude of the sum gave rise to many incidental observations ; and some friends of Mr. Grattan endeavoured to impress the house with the idea that he was altogether adverse to the measure, and conceived that his honours and gratification would be greater by the feeling of having served his country with- out other reward than that arising from its pure and un- sophisticated enjoyment. This idea in modern times, and under Mr. Grattan's peculiar circumstances, was considered less the result of a true pride than of a patriotic vanity. Roman prece- dents were not applicable to Ireland , and his paternal estates were not sufficiently ample to support so distin- guished a man in the dignity of his station. And the wisest friends of Mr. Grattan considered such a grant not as a mercenary recompense, but the reward of patri- otic virtue, conferred by the gratitude of a nation to elevate a deliverer. VII. While the House seemed to hesitate as to the wisest course of carrying the proposed grant into imme- diate execution, a most unexpected circumstance took place, which, though in its results of no important conse- quence, forms one of the most interesting anecdotes of Irish events, developes the insidious artifices to v/hich the Government resorted, and forms an episode without a precedent in ancient or modern annals. Mr. Thomas Connolly,who, as a leading member of the Whig party, had entirely connected himself with the Duke of Portland ; and though not holdiug any ministerial office, was a Privy Councillor, and considered to be par- ticularly confidential in the councils of the Viceroy, after many eulogiums upon Mr. Grattan's unparalleled services to Ireland, stated, " That the Duke of Portland felt equally with the Irish people, the high value of those services; and that he was authorized by the Lord Lieu- tenant to express, in the strongest terms, the sense he en- 196 RISE AND FALL tertained of the public virtue of Mr. Gratuin, and of his eminent and important services to Ireland : and as the highest proof he could give of his admiration and respect for that distinguished personage, he (the Lord Lieutenant) begged to offer, as a part of the intended grant to Mr. Grattan, the Viceregal Palace in the Phoenix Park^ to be settled on Mr. Grattan and his heirs for ever, as a suitable residence for so meritorious a person." VIIL The Viceroy of His Britannic Majesty, offering to a private individual a grant for ever of the King's best palace in Ireland, was repugnant to the principle of Monarchical Governments ; while Mr. BagenaPs proposal of a grant by the House of Commons, as a reward for the public services of one of their own independent mem- bers, appeared to the Viceroy as making the people every thing and the administration nothing. He saw clearly, that the public spirit was irresistible, and that the grant must pass ; and the Viceroy determined, at any sacrifice, to give it a tinge of ministerial generosity, and thereby deaden, as much as possible, the brilliancy and effect of a popular proceeding. He knew that if his proposal through Mr. Connolly should be accepted, the grant would have very considerably changed its democratic complex- ion, the prerogative would be somewhat preserved, and Mr. Grattan no longer considered as deriving his reward exclusively from the gratitude of his countrymen : the Crown would have its share in a claim to his acknow- ledgements ; and thus the merit of the favour be divided between the people and the minister. This magnificent and unexampled offer, at first view, appeared flattering and showy ; at the second, it appeared deceptions ; and at the third, inadmissible. Delicacy pre- vented any debate on the subject; and it would have died away without remark or observation, and have been rejected by a judicious silence, had not the indiscretion of Colonel Fitzpatrick betrayed the whole feeling and duplicity of the Govermnent, and opened the eyes of many to the jealousy and designs of His Grace's admin- istration. Thougii tlie secretary was extremely disposed to serve Mr. Grattan individually, the entire failure of the plan, and the frigid manner in which the royal offer had been received on every side, hurt Ids official pride, OF THE IRISH NATION. 197 and affected him extremely. He recollected his ministry, but forgot his discretion ; and he could no longer restrain himself from some observations equally ill-timed and injudicious. Colonel Fitzpatrick was the brother of the Earl of Upper Ossory. Though not an expert diplomatist, he was well selected to make his way amongst the Irish gentry, and consequently carry into effect the objects of the British ministers, and the deceptions of the Duke of Portland. He was ingenuous and convivial ; friendly and familiar ; and theoretically honest, even in politics. His name was musical to the ear of that short-sighted community (the Irish gentry), and his casual indiscretions in Parliament were kindly attributed to his undesigning nature ; and of all qualities, an appearance of unguarded openness is most imposing upon the Irish people. But the office of a minister or of a secretary is too well adapted to alter, if not the nature, at least the habits of a private gentle- man ; and, as a matter of course, he relinquishes his can- dour when he commences his diplomacy. Whatever his individual feelings might have been as Colonel Fitzpatrick, it is impossible that in his capacity of secretary, Mr. Bagenal's motion could have given him any gratification. He declared, that " he conceived the power of rewarding eminent men was one of the noblest of the Royal Prerogatives, which were certainly a part of the constitution. He did not wish to be considered as giving a sullen acquiescence, but he conceived that marks of favour of this nature always appertained to the Crown alone, and he should have wished that this grant had come from the Royal hand ; but, as the man was un- precedented, so was the grant ; and he hoped this would not be considered as a precedent on future occasions." IX. By these few, but comprehensive observations of the Secretary, the apparently magnificent liberality of the Viceroy appeared in its real character, and dwindled into a narrow subterfuge of ministerial jealousy. Mr. Con- nolly appeared to have travelled out of his station, and officiously to have assumed the office of a minister, fur a deceptive purpose, and lent himself to a little artifice, to trepan the Parliament and humiliate the people. By this rejected tender the Whig administration gained 17* 198 RISE AND FALL no credit ; they evinced a disposition to humble the Crown without elevating the people, and to wind the laurels of both around their own temples. The Viceroy considered a grant by the Commons too democratic ; and the Parliament considered the Viceroy's tender too ministerial. Mr. Grattan was a servant of the Irish people, and was utterly unconnected with the British Government. In every point of view, therefore, the Vice- roy's olfer, at that moment, was improper, and derogatory alike to the Crown and the individual. The Viceroy of Ireland proposing, on behalf of the King of England, to Ireland's great patriot to reward his services for having emancipated his country from the domination of Great Britain, was an incident as extraordinary as had ever occurred in any government, and, emanating from that of England, told, in a single sentence, the whole history of her terrors, her jealousy, her shallow artifice and humbled arrogance. Tliis proposal was linked with many other insidious objects, but they were too obvious to be successful, and only disclosed that shallow cunning. His Excellency had perceived in Ireland the phenomena of a governing people, without a ruling democracy, — an armed and un- restrained population, possessing, without abusing, the powers of Sovereignty, and turning their authority, not to the purposes of turbulence or sedition, but to those of Con- stitution, order, and tranquillity. These armed Associa- tions, however irreproachable in their conduct, were un- precedented in their formation, and were fairly considered by His Grace with a lively jealousy, as tending to esta- blish a species of popular aristocracy, dangerous to the very nature of the British Constitution. X. Many friends of Mr. Grattan, or those who pro- fessed to be so, declared he would not accept of so large a sum as that proposed by Mr. Bagcnal ; but this was a mistaken, or an alfected view of that subject. In ftuit the grant itself, not its amount, was the only point for digni- fied consideration. However, after a considerable dis- cussion,, it was diminished, by Mr. Grattan's friends, to the sum of fifty thousand pounds, which was unani- mously voted to him ; and never had a reward, more merited or more honourable, been conferred on any pat- riot by any nation. OF THE IRISEI NATION. 199 The times when civic crowns conferred honours no longer existed ; property had become essential for impor- tance in society. The Irish Parhament had before them a sad and recent example of the necessity of such a re- ward, in the fate of Dr. Lucas, one of the best friends of Ireland, who had sacrificed himself to support his prin- ciples : a man who had, so far as his talents admitted, propagated and applied the doctrines of the great Moly- neux ; and, like him, was banished, and, like him, de- clared a traitor ; who had sat a Representative for the metropolis of Ireland ; and whose statue still adorns the Royal Exchange of Dublin : a venerable Senator, sink- ing under the pressure of years and of infirmity, carried into their House to support its liberties, — sickening in their cause and expiring in their service ; a rare example of patriotism and independence ; yet suffered to die in indigence, and leave an orphan offspring to become the prey of famine. With such a reproachful warning before the nation, it was for the people, not for the Crown, to take care that they never should be again disgraced by similar ingratitude. In these degenerate times, honours give no sustenance ; and in the perverted practices of modern policy, it is not the province of the Monarch to reward the patriot. And this event leads the historian to others still more important. Upon every important debate on the claims of Ireland, in the British and Imperial Parliaments, the native cha- racter and political propensities of the Irish people had been uniformly made a subject of animated discussion ; and the loyalty of that Nation to her Kings had been put directly in issue, by both her friends and her enemies ; by the latter, as a pretext for having abrogated her Con- stitution : by the former, as a defence against libel and exaggeration ; each party asserting, that the past events of Irish history justify their reasoning, and afford evi- dence of their respective allegations. XL It is, therefore, at this important epoch highly ex- pedient that this controversy of opinions, as to the loyaUy of the Irish people, though probably digressive, should be decided by unequivocal historic matters of fact, unde- niable by eitlier party ; and thereby, that the true princi- ples of a long persecuted and cahmmioted people, should be no lons-er mistaken nor misrepresented. 200 RISE AND FALL A reference to the authentic Annals and Records of Irish Histor}^, indisputably proves that the unrelenting cruelties and misrule of their British Governors in early ages, goading the wretched natives to insurrection, formed the first pretext for afterwards branding them with an imputation of indigenous disloyalty, thereby exciting an inveterate prejudice against the Irish people ; which, be- coming hereditary, has descended, though with dimin- ished virulence, from father to son throughout the Eng- lish nation. These calumnies had their full and fatal operation, as an argument in urging the necessity of a Legislative Union ; an argument at once refuted by reference even to the modern events of 1782, and to the unexampled moderation, forbearance, and loyalty of the Irish nation, who sought only a full participation in the British Con- stitution, though the moral and physical powers of that ardent people were then consolidated by their patriotism, and rendered irresistible by their numbers, their discipline, and their energy. XII. At that awful crisis of the British Empire, the Irish were an armed and triumphant people ; England a defeated and trembling nation. Ireland was in the bloom of energy and of vigour ; England on the couch of dis- comfiture and malady. And if the spirit of indigenous disaffection, so falsely imputated to the Irish Nation,, had, in reality, existed, she had then full scope, and ample powers, to pursue and effect all its dispositions for an eternal separation. It is not, however, by modern or isolated events alone, that a fair judgment can be formed of the characteristic attributes of any nation ; still less so of a worried and mis- governed people. It is only by recurring to remoter periods, thence tracing, step by step, the conduct of Ireland throughout all her provocations, her miseries, and her persecutions, and then comparing the extent of her suf- ferings, her endurance, and her loyalty, with those of her sister countries during the same periods, that the compa- rative character of both can be justly appreciated, and those calumnies which have weighed so heavily on her reputation be efiectually refuted. It is a matter of indisputable fact, that during the twenty reigns which succeeded the first submission of the OF THE IRISH NATION. 201 Irish princes, the fidelity of Ireland to the British mo- narchs was hut seldom interrupted, and that Irish soldiers were not unfreqnently brought over to England, to defend their English sovereigns against the insurrections of English rebels. But when we peruse the authenticated facts of British annals during the same twenty reigns, we find an unex- tinguishable spirit of disaffection to their princes, and that an insatiable thirst for rebellion and disloyalty signalized every reign, and almost every year of British history, during the same period ; that above thirty civil wars raged within the English nation ; four of their monarchs were dethroned ; three of their kings were murdered, and during four centuries, the standard of rebellion scarcely ever ceased to wave over some portion of that distracted island ; and so deeply had disloyalty been engrafted in the very nature of the British nobles and British people, that insurrection and regicide, if not the certain, were the expected consequences of every coronation. Through these observations, the eye of England will at length be directed to these events. They will then be convinced that there lurked within the bosom of Great Britain herself the germs of a disquietude more unre- mitting, a licentiousness more inflammatory, a fanaticism more intolerant, and a political agitation more dangerous and unjustifiable, than any which even her most inveterate foes can justly extract from an impartial history of the libelled country. This short digression must have the advantage of illus- trating the principles which led to the transactions of 1798 and 1800, those gloomy epochs of Irish calamity ; it may enlighten that dark and profound ignorance of Irish History and transactions which still obscure the intellect of the English people, and even leads members of the united Parliament to avow that utter ignorance of the very country and people as to whom they were at the same moment so severely legislating. Those men are surely the most injurious to the general tranquillity of a state, the collected power of united nations, and the safety of the common weal, whose prejudices ignorance and bigotry lead them by wanton irritation to engender uncongenial feelings in eight millions of so powerful, ardent, and generous a portion of the empire. 202 RISE AND FALL CHAPTER XII. Epitome of Irish Histoiy — Treacherous system of the English Govern- ment — First Irish Union — Second Union compared with the first — King Henry's Acts in Ireland — His plan to decimate the nation — He relinquished his dominion over Ireland — Abortive attempts to colonize —Totally failed. I. The Irish annals, though more imperfect, can be traced by tradition farther back than those of England. Ancient records, and other evidence also of a most indisputable nature, of the eighth and preceding centuries, prove that in the earliest ages Ireland had been the seat of literature, arts, and refinement : and scarcely a year passes without discovering strong proofs of her former wealth, skill, and magnificence.* She first degenerated under the invasion of northern barbarians ; and while England profited by the intercourse of her great and accomplished conquerors, Ireland had retrograded under the ignorance and brutality of hers. By the great battle of Howth, her Danish tyrants were at length exterminated, and Ireland was gradually re- covering her original prosperity, when she found that * Some English writers, of the best authority, acknowledge the high state of learning and civilization, which existed in Ireland during the early ages; and numerous works and manuscripts now in the Vatican and the Royal Library at Paris^ put tlie trutli of that fact beyond all ques- tion. The'variety and exquisite workmanship of ornaments and weapons of solid gohl, still occasionally found buried in the bogs of Ireland, leave no doubt that great metallic wealth and superior skill once existeil in that country, and that some of the arts were cultivated there to an almost unexampled perfection. The author has seen a solid piece of virgin gold, found in one of the Wicklow gold mines, about twenty-eight miles from Dublin, larger than a racket ball, and a great quantity of smaller dimensions. The mines extend many miles up the bed of a shallow stream, springing from the cliffs in the mountains. And an Irish statute in the reign of Henry the Fourth, prohibiting the native Irish from using ffold stiiTups and bridles, is a convincinir proof that, even since the Eng- lish invasion, sumptuary laws were judged proper to restram the remain- ing tendency to profuse splendour among the Irish chieftains. OF THE IRISH NATION. 203' she had only changed the name, not the nature of her slavery. It was at this commencement of her convalescence, and before the Irish monarch had as yet been able to reform the chiefs or re-establish his authority, that a band of British adventurers, headed by Stiguel Strongbow, a Bri- tish nobleman, abetted by the subtlety and practices of a vicious native chieftain, the treacherous Mac Murrough, landed in Ireland, with a view to mend their fortunes by conquest, and by plunder. Earl Strongbow found in Ireland a powerful but a dis- jointed people, who though they had regained their in- dependence, were still divided by jealous factions, — enfeebled by civil warfare, and dispirited by the dread of recurring contests. He found it a worn down, palsied nation, well adapted to become a prey to the impression of arms, or the wiles of treachery. He was lavish in the use of both. She struggled much with these disciplined adventurers ; but her vigour had been exhausted by her civil contests, and, though occasionally victorious, her energy had declined, and her powers were but inter- mitting. As her strength failed, her terrors augmented : and she was finally induced to listen to the deceptions representations of Strongbow and Mac Muriough ; and after an inefiectual resistance she fell beneath the mingled pressure of arms and of seduction. At a conference in 1170, her Chieftains were told nearly in the same words which disgraced her Parliament in 1800, that there could be no remission of her internal feuds, no protection against future massacres, but by a voluntary sacrifice of that mis- chievous and agitating independence, which she had so uselessly enjoyed, and was so un avail ingly contending for, but that, if united to the flourishing and powerful realm of Britain, its benevolent and potent monarch would then find it to be the interest of his empire to arrest all her feuds, and promote her prosperity. II. Though the spirit of national independence still lingered in the country, her heart was broken ; the melan- choly recollection of feuds, of defeats, and misfortunes, made a powerful impression on the jealous and divided leaders. Mac Mur rough's treachery had destroyed all confidence amongst the Princes — discord had torn the 204 RISE AND FALL Royal Standard of the Irish Monarch — the Chieftains had no general rallying station to collect their powers they submitted to the invaders, and each stipulated for himself, and influenced his Kernes* to a reluctant capi- tulation. The choice of difficulties and dangers, or of rewards and honours, was held out to the most obdurate opponents of British annexation. Some leaders were gained by specious promises of territory ; many were beguiled by the assurance of future protection, and a large portion of the chieftains at length yielded to the sway of a British sceptre.. But this submission never was unanimous. Many who would have resisted it to the last extremity, were dismayed and scattered ; many who retained the power to resist it, were terrified or corrupted ; and though the acquisition of the entire island appeared to have been effected by the adventurers, the appearance was fallacious. However, the English Strongbow gained great honours for his achievement, the Irish Mac Murrough obtained great rewards for his treachery, the adventurers were com- pensated at the expense of the natives : and the First Union of Ireland with Britain, in the year 1173, received a royal assent and consummation from the Second Henry. It is very remarkable, that though the occurrences were so different, the persons so dissimilar, and the periods so remote, the circumstances attending this first annexation of Ireland cannot be reflected on without the memory also recurring to the circumstances of the last. Though * Kernes were a species of followers who attended the Irish Chief- tains, ready to execute any business to which their patrons might order them. The Chiefs generally gained importance with the King in propor- tion to the number of Kernes he could produce, when the King had occa- sion for their assistance : and when a Chief made terms for himself, he generally stipulated for his Kernes into the bargain. They desj)ised any independent mode of livelihood ; and often lived in a state of expectation on their Chief, or by the public. This race seems not to have been totally extinct in Ireland, in ]800, though they then existed under the denomination of gentlefolks. See the fac simile of Mr. Robert Crowe's letter, annexed to this volume, respecting Lord Castlerea?h"s treat ij with the Earl of Belvidere, to purchase Alessrs. Knox and Crowt* (two of his Lordship's members): Witnessed by the Rev. Mr. Usherj his Lordship's chaplain. — Litera scripta inanct. OF THE IRISH NATION. 205 Oornwallis was not Stron^bow, though Gastlereagh was not Mac Murroiigh, tlioiigh the Peers were not Priuces, and the Commons were not Kenies ; and though nearly seven centuries had intervened between the accomphsh- ment of these unions, it is impossible not to recognize in their features a strong family resemblance. Henry lost no time in repjiiring to the Irish metropolis, where, in great state he received the allegiance of his new but reluctant subjects ; and feasted the Irish Princes in a style of magnificence and splendour unusual in those times. But his banquets were those of policy, his splen- dours were founded on contempt, and before the games and rejoicings which accompanied those celebrated feasts were yet entirely terminated, the beards of Irish Kings had been pulled by the vassals of the English monarch.* III. Henry, on his return to England, soon perceived that the submission of such a people, effected by such means, could never be permanent ; that his Irish sove- reignty, if not actually precarious, must be inevitably embarrassing. He found that his narrow revenues were inadequate to the expens-es of perpetual and desultory warfare ; and truly conceived, that the most certain, cheap, and feasible mode of retaining his new subjects in due subjection, would be by fomenting the jealousies which had reduced them to his authority, and aggravating those feuds which he had promised to extinguish ; and thus, by alternately fostering and depressing the contend- ing factions to embroil them in eternal contests, and leave them no strength to regain their independence when they returned to their reason. This system of misrule, connecting a decrease of their resources with an increase of their ignorance, had then a powerful operation in keeping down the people ; and this * Henry had a temporary palace erected on Hoghill (now St. Andrew Street), Dublin, where he entertained such Irish princes as acknowledged him for their liege lord. The singularity of their dress and manners were subjects of amusement and ridicule to Henry's courtiers. He en- tertained them on a feast of storks, a bird never eaten in heland. These banquets, which lasted nine days ended without any permanent advan- tage to Henry. Most of the princes and chiefs considered themselves insulted by the familiarity of his followers, and returned home witli a full determination to reassert their independence and resist his authority on the lirst favourable opportunity. 18 206 RISE AND FALL same fiindamentril and favourite principle of governing Ire- land has been elfectively adopted by every king, usurper, and minister of England, for seven distracted centuries. Henry having discovered by experience that his nomi- nal kingdom of Ireland was likely to afford him, in the end, little more than a fertile desert, sprinkled over with inveterate enemies ; and that neither peace, nor strength, nor honour, nor what to him was more important, tribute, was likely to be the produce of his newly-acquired terri- tory, became indifferent to its state, and left it to its destiny. The successors of Henry also perceiving that they possessed but a naked and consuming power, equally unprofitable and precarious, formed the design of coloni- zing Ireland by English settlers ; who, connecting them- selves by affinity with the uncultivated natives, would improve their habits and gradually introduce a growing attachment to the English people. IV. This theory was plausible and meritorious ; but the propensities of human nature were not calculated on in the execution ; the project was merely abstract, uncon- nected with any general system of wise or conciliatory government : and the attempt at colonization, instead of producing in the Irish a more congenial feeling only con- firmed their hatred, increased their powers, and became one of the keenest thorns that ever pierced the side of British governments. There is something cordial, open, and joyous, in the native Irish character, which never fails to attract and seldom to attach, strangers who reside amongst that peo- ple. Even their errors become contagious by protracted intercourse ; and the habits and propensities of the host and of the domiciliated foreigner become quickly and almost imperceptibly assimilated. This malady became almost epidemic amongst the colonists, whom the policy of England had vainly sent over to improve the people. On all important occasions, the new race evinced a more than ordinary attachment to the place of their settlement, and vied with the Irish in an inveterate hostility to the domination of their own compat- riots ; and in the direct desccjidants of those British colo- nists, England has since found many of the most able, dis- tinguished, and persevering of her political opponents. OP THE IRISH NATION. 207 CHAPTER XIII. Trelai' i kept in a state of oppression and turbulence — Elizabeth becomes Quien — Character public and private of Queen Elizabeth — Henry the VIII. — Fanaticism of the English — True principles of tolerance — Union of religion and political fanaticism — Religious schisms excited through Luther — Violent dissensions — The Irish roused — Cruel tyran- ny of Elizabeth — Earl of Tyrone excites the Irish — Extract from his speech — General rising of the Irish and old English colonists — Im- mense slaughter — Confiscation of whole provinces to Elizabeth — Ac- cession of James the First — Compariso:i with Elizabeth — His wise maxims — Conciliatory principles — Its full success — Charles the First — Disloyalty of the English — Ireland desolated by Cromwell. I. The English monarchs, disappointed in this plausible project, perceived that colonization was a hopeless expe- dient, and became more inveterate against " the jdegene- rate English of the Pale," than against the aboriginal natives ; and for some centuries in every contest of the two nations, a full proportion of the British settlers, or of their descendants, fell by the executioner, or under the sword of their own countrymen. Through the same vicious policy by which Ireland had been kept in perpetual warfare, it remained in a state of ignorance, misery, and turbulence, when Elizabeth, one of the most sagacious of rulers, and the most unprincipled of women, succeeded to the throne, and to the vices of her father. Compared with later periods, Elizabeth's sphere of action was contracted. Compared with modern times, her reign was a reign in minature. But at all times it would have been considered a reign of talent, and in all countries a reign of tyranny. II. She was well adapted to rule over a nation, where, ii she governed with success she might govern despotically. The uncontrolled tyranny of her father, had prepared her subjects to admire any thing on their throne superior to a monster. The imbecility of her brother was contrasted with the vigour of her own intellect; and she assumed the British sceptre, with all the advantages which expe- rience and expectation could excite in a worried people. 208 RISE AND FALL Her reign is celebrated as the most glorious and admired era of British history ; but, with all its merits, it owed much of its celebrity to the darkness of the times, the habitual slavery of the people, the sex of the monarch, and the talents of the ministry. And Charles afterwards lost his head, and James his throne, for assuming a small portion of that despotic rule which is eulogized by the biographers of their female predecessor. The wisdom of Elizabeth was not the wisdom of philo- sophy. It was a penetrathig sagacity, prompt, vigilant, and intiexible. The energy of her resolution, and her profound dissimulation, surmounted what her physical powers would have been unable to accomplish ; at home, she was despotic, abroad, she was victorious ; by sea, by land, by negotiation, she was every way successful. The external glory of England arose under her administration. Providence seemed to pardon her disregard of moral principles, and to smile even upon the vices of this celebrated female. The people admired her, because she was a successful queen ; and she liked the people, because they were submissive vassals. By the acuteness of her discrimination she chose able ministers. They served her with fidelity, because they feared her anger and they flattered her vanities, because it prolonged her favour. But they served her at their peril ; and she selected and sacrificed them with equal policy and in- difterence. She affected learning, and she professed religion. lu the one she was a pedant without depth ; and in the other, she was a bigot without devotion. She plundered her people, to be independent of her parliaments ; and she bullied the parliaments to be independent of the people. She was frugal of their money where she had no passion for expending it ; and she was generous to her favourites for her own gratification. Magna Charta had been trampled on by a succession of tyrants. The principles of civil liberty had been forgotten in the country ; and, throughout the whole com'se of her reign, Elizabeth assiduously laboured to retain her people in the most profound ignorance of constitutional freedom. The word mercy was banished (lom her vocabulary. OF THE IRISH NATION. 209 Her administration as to Ireland where she experienced no Restraint, gave the strongest proofs that she felt no compunctions. In her nature there was no feminine soft- ness to moderate her cruelties ; no moral scruples to arrest her conscience ; no elevated generosity to contract her dissimulation. Though she was mistiess of the great quahties, she was a slave to the little ones;* and though the strength of her judgment somewhat restrained the progress of her vices, she was intrepid but harsh, trea- cherous, and decisive ; even the spirit of murdered Mary- could not appall her fortitude. The eyes of the people were closed by the brilliancy of her successes, and the crimes of the woman were merged in the popularity of * Mr. Hume's life and character of Queen Elizabeth appear altogether irreconcileable to each other. In his delineation of her character, he states her to be a princess of the most " magnanimous virtues " In the anecdotes of her life, he states her to have been guilty of as tyrannic, cruel, and treacherous actions as any crowned head (Richard excepted) that ever filled the throne of England. Amongst numerous other exam- ples of her " magnanimous virtues," Mr. Hume details her interview with the Lord Chancellor Bacon, when Her IMajesty declared with vehe- mence, that she \Yould order Mr. Hayward, an innocent inoffensive man, to be put upon the rack and tortured, solely because he had translated some passages of Tacitus, which Her Majesty's ignorance of that author permitted her to suppose were Hayward's own composition, and were intended to reflect upon herself Mr. Hume's attempt to apologise for the despotic conduct of Elizabeth certainly requires a very ample apology for himself. He says, " She did not always do what was best, but she did what was usual ;" the most tyrannic political principle ever avowed by any modern historian. What was " /x's/ " was her imperative duty as a Sovereign, what was " usual" (after the reigns of her father and her sister) must be the apol- ogy of a tyrant, sheltering the commission of crime under the protection of precedent. Mr. Hume might as justly excuse her errors by the pre- cedent of the Emperor of Morocco, who makes the same apology for shooting one of his subjects every morning as a matter of amusement, because it was usual. Had some of Mr. Hume's antitheological essays been published in the reign of his favourite Elizabeth, the author cer- tainly would have retracted either on the rack, or among the faggots, every eulogium on her " magnanimous virtues." As a further exemplirtcation of Elizabeth's " magnanimous virtues," Mr. Hume states also (vol. v. page 449;, a letter of that Queen, to the Earl f)f Sussex, expressing her displeasure, that proper severity had not been exercised against some English insurgents, although it appeared, that his Lordship liad previoush/ hanged above eight hundred of them to gratify his mLslress. However, this was merciful, in comparison with Ler orders to Carew and Mountjoy, as to the Irish. 18* 210 RISE AND FALL the monarch. Such was the British princess, who first projected an extirpation of the aboriginal Irish; and she soon discovered and put into action the most deadly- weapon to efiect her purposes. III. Her father, Henry, the Nero of British history, had assumed, as a pastime, the trade of a theologist; and changing his rehgion as often as he decapitated his consorts, at length settled his veering faith, by declaring himself a Reformist, with the most unqualified intolerance. Theological disputes, after this important auxiliary t^ the Reformation, altogether divested the minds of men of the attributes of common reason ;• and the black 3st eno? mities were considered as the most holy virtues, if they corresponded with the fanaticism of deluded imagi- nations. Henry's sectarial versatility had extended not only to his subjects, but to his children. Mary and Elizabeth had embraced adverse tenets with equal pertinacity ; and the whole population of England plunged at once, under the cloak of religion, into the commission of the very crimes which were prohibited by its precepts. One moment of calm unbigotted reflection must con- vince every man, not only of the folly, but of the impiety of such controversies. The point is plain, the dogma simple, that no human authority should control man, as to his choice of what words he may utter, what language he may adopt, what posture he may choose, or what cere- monies he may practice, in the abstract act of piously supplicating the mercy of his Creator. Common sense, however, had taken its flight from Eng land ; and the doctrines of Martin Luther, not a founde;, but a fanatical Reformist, soon became the greatest scourge that had ever been laid in chastisement upon a sinful people. His doctrines, which professed only to simplify the exercises of Divine worship, to purify religion from the dross with which it had amalgamated through priestcraft, to diminish the mysteries of Revelation, and reconcile the inconsistencies of Christian theories, failed in its professed end, and instantly kindled a fanatic fire which enveloped in its flames the reason of mankind; and which, daily supplied with nev/ fuel, has continued to the present day OF THE IRISH NATION. 211 alternately smothering and blazing, and consuming, with an inextinguishable violence. IV. The incendiaries of modern times have preserved this destructive fire for their own purposes. They per- ceived that the return of reason must be the death of fanaticism, and that discord amongst a people would not survive the extinction of religious j^rejndice, without the aid of some new excitement ; political feuds have been therefore cultivated, as theological ones were losing ground ; and a novel and complicated system of discord has been invented which, by artfully entangling the theory of politics with the theories of religion, and fallaciously atfecting to render their combination inseparable, has per- petuated animosities which were declining with rapidity. And this culpable and insidious policy appears to have been most sedulously and successfully cultivated in Ireland. Elizabeth, even in those early times, well knew the efficacy of this species of weapon, to inflame, to divide, and to conquer. The Reformation (now fully established in England) furnished her with a weapon for the general subjugation of Ireland, more fatal and effective than the keenest sword which had been whetted by any of her predecessors for the same purpose. V. The later of the English settlers in Ireland had embraced the novel doctrines of Luther. The natives and the old English colonists adhered to the original faith. This portion of the people, therefore, perse- cuted and stigmatised, sunk into ignorance ; and, hunted down as outlaws, finding no protection but with their chiefs, and no instruction but from their clergy, naturally attached themselves to both with a savage fidelity. Eliza- beth took advantage of every circumstance to attain her objects. The reformation was not only proclaimed, but enforced in Ireland with unexampled rigor. A few adopt- ed, most rejected, but none comprehended it. Elizabeth having lighted the firebrand at both ends, tossed it amongst the people. The sects fought around it, and Elizabeth's officers gave out, '• Reform," as the watch-word of the combatants, and the pretext for extermination. The contending factions massacred each other without 212 RISK AND FALL mercy or compuncl ion, and without any intelligible reason for their individual animosities. The famished, harassed people, in the midst of blood and dame, naturally became alive to every feeling, and susceptible to every argument, which could show them the way to even a prospect of alleviation. Their chiefs and their clergy were their only instructors, who in the wild, strong, persuasive language of their country, im- pressed in glowing figures on the shivering multitude, the excesses of their misery, fired their irritable minds by a distant prospect of deliverance, and harrowed up all the feelings of hatred to their oppressors, which torture and famine had implanted in their bosoms. Elizabeth proceeded systematically in her projects. She first ordered the performance of the Catholic worship to be forcibly prohibited in Ireland. She ordered the rack to be employed, and directed her officers to torture the suspected Irish. She ordered free quarters on the peasantry to gratify her soldiers, and rouse the natives to premature insurrections. Her executioners were ordered to butcher them without mercy. Religion was abolished by martial lawj and Divine worship prohibited under pain of death. This curious order of Queen Elizabeth remains still on record. By her instructions to the Deputy of Munster (Carew) in 1598-9, on his going over to carry her exter- minating schemes into execution in that country, she au- thorizes her officers to " put suspected Irish to the rackj and to torture " them when they should find it coiiveiii- ent." Carew fulfilled her Majesty's instructions to their full extent, and at the conclusion of his government she had the satisfaction of finding that Munster was nearly depopulated. It is here well worthy of reflection, that the exercise of free quarters and martial law, the suspension of all muni- cipal courts of justice, the discretional application of the torture to suspected persons, executions in cold blood, and the various measures which Mountjoy and Carew, and the other officers of Elizabeth practised in Ireland by her authority in 1598-9, were again judged to be expe- dient, and were again resorted to with vigour in the years 1798-9, two hundred years after they had been practised OF THE IRISH NATION. 213 by the ministers of Elizabeth. Tlie ruinous misriJe of Irekuid tor nearly two centuries, and the errors ot' Eliza- beth's barbarous policy, are proved beyond all controversy by the extent ot" inipro\'ement in Ireland, and in the habits of the Irish people, in a very few years, under the niild and benevolent administration of James the First, her successor, and the adoption by him of a system of govern- ment diametrically the reverse of that which had been practised by Elizabeth, proves that Ireland advanced more in loyalty, prosperity, and civilization, under a tem- perate and concilWting administration in a few years, than in four centuries of coercion and severity ; a prece dent which should never have been lost sight of by Bri- tish ministers, but to whicli they seemed too long to have been either entirely blind, or criminally inattentive. Ire- land never was governed, nor ever can be ruled, by any coercive system, and those who think otherwise know little of her character. Harassed by every mode that the ingenuity of oppres- sion could intiict ordictate, the natives, already barbarised by servitude, became savage by irritation ; and at length the whole population, wrought up to frenzy, flew into resistance, and have been libelled as traitors to the Bri- tish crown for asserting the indefeasible rights of human nature, and claiming the enjoyments of civil liberty, for which their allegiance to Elizabeth was only a " condi- tioii subsequent* IV. The Earl of Tyrone, an Irish chieftain, was a man of great talents, and for those days a powerful leader. Skilful, courageous, and persevering, he raised the stan- dard of insurrection against the goverimient of Elizabeth. He represented to the wretched natives in the animating colours of uncultivated eloquence : " The miseries they had been enduring under the tyramiy of their op])ressors." He presented to their view the proclamation of Eliza- beth to extinguish for ever the religion of their ancestors. He told them, " that tlie power of endurance had arrived at its final limits, that an attempt for their liberation • This ))ri!icij)le has since l)ocome an acknowlcdijcii maviin, and coin- ponont pari ol ihc IJritish constitution: yet was violated in Ireland by WUliuin, the same prince through whose tisiirpation i*. was established. 214 RISE AND FALL though unsuccessful, could not even by its failure aggra- vate their miseries. That death would be the worst they could experience by battle, and that death was preferable to the slow tortures they were enduring, the famine under which they languished, and the desolation of their families." He impressed upon their heated minds, that " their lands were overrun by foreign soldiers ; their homes plun- dered or enjoyed by the butchering bands of an English female ; that their race of princes had become a family of slaves, and their clergy had been executed as the guil- tiest felons :" and he invoked them, "ija the name of their country, by the memory of their ancestors, and the holi- ness of their religion, to rise as one man, and liberate all from their tyrants." Nor can an impartial reader of Irish and English history deny that there was great crimes in Elizabeth's government, and much justice in Tyrone's representations. The event was a general insurrection of the aboriginal natives, aided by a great number of the English settlers, who had become connected by affinity with the Irish chieftains. But in all such contests, a multitude of naked insurgents, w^ithout arms, without officers, without any discipline or much subordination, without any of the ne- cessary requisites, except courage and numbers, which could resist a trained and accoutred army, must naturally be defeated, and, if defeated, hav^e seldom reason to ex- pect mercy from the conquerors ; such was the fate of Tyrone and his followers. VII. At the conclusion of these dreadful campaigns, though the Irish people had been diminished by nearly a moiety, and though the entire of Ulster, and a great pro- portion of the other provinces, were confiscated to her Majesty,* Elizabeth had not sated the voracity of her rancour. The chiefs had been reduced to beggary, the clergy had been executed, the people slaughtered, their towns destroyed, their castles razeed ; yet still slie felt that Ireland was not extinguished. Though under the weight * A circumstantial account of this most sanguinary insurrection wa3 afterwards published under the immediate authority of the Queen. Thou)i;h the Pcccata Hihernia, as a history, cannot be an impartial one, yet there is a species of liorrid candour runs through the pages of that work which gives it altogether strong claims to a partial authenticity. OF THE IRISH NATION. 216 ol such an enormous pressure, the chiefs still breathed, but it was the breath of vengeance. The clergy were re- cruited from inveterate sources ; and even the very name of England and Reformation was rendered detestable by the savage cruelties of Elizabeth's Reformers. Similar etlbrts of that determined and indefatigable Princess to crush the Irish people were renewed, resisted, and persevered in during her long reign. Ireland appear- ed to Elizabeth as a country of Hydras ; every head she severed produced a number of new enemies : she slaugh- tered and she burned, but she could not exterminate ; and, at length, she expired, leaving Ireland to her suc- cessor, more depopulated, impoverished, desolated, igno- rant, and feeble, but in principle more inveterate and not more subdued, than the day on which she received its sceptre. Ylll. James the First, unfortunately for his own fame, succeeded to so gaudy a reign as that of Elizabeth. A great proportion of his better qualities vj-as thrown away upon the English Nation. Intoxicated by the renown and splendour of Elizabeth's successes, they undervalued the advantages of tranquillity and of improvement. An Engli^sh Q,ueen of powerful talents, and a Scottish King of moderate capachy ; a woman of undaunted fortitude, and a man of personal imbecility ; a proud, magnificent, and dignified female ; an awkward, shambling, unaffected Monarch, drew down the sarcasms of superficial ridicule upon one of the best reigns for the internal and. prospec- tive happiness of the people. James's system of government was as distinct as possibk. from that of his predecessor's. While the reign of Eliza- beth abounded in wars abroad and despotism at home, that of James was tranquillity every where ; the rudiments of civil liberty slowly and gradually advancing, at length became very visible in the results of his mild and pacific, though whimsical administration. But it was in Ireland that the government of James was most remarkable and most fortunate ; for the sword, the torture, the execu- tioner, and desolation, he substituted improvement and well regulated justice. He sent not a Mountjoy nor a Carew to iniiame and massacre ; he sent Davies and Petty to investigate and to instruct, to reform and tranquilize. 216 RISE AND FALL Thc)^ sought to convince the natives, hy examples and by reasoning, that their ancient laws and customs were less just than the laws of England ; and by practising, as far as circumstances could admit, those principles of justice which they so earnestly recommended, gave the people the very best proofs of the integrity of their intentions. James had been taught, by experience, that loyalty to Monarchs never can be compulsory ; it is not loyalty if it be not principle^ and it cannot be principle if it be not voluntary .--past events in Scotland and in England had proved to James, that the loyalty of /orce is but the hicid interval of insurrection. He therefore sought to persuade, not to subdue, his Irish subjects ; and, to moderate their feelings, and to render them susceptible of persuasion, he thought it necessary to give them overt acts of his own moderation.* Himself a bigot of the first order, yet he knew how to make allowances for the same vice in others ; he knew that religious persecution is the assassin of morality, and he substituted his pen for his sword to reform his subjects. Thus James, a most bigoted Protestant Monarch, by tranquillity and moderation, by wise measures and whole- some instruction, conciliated^ and governed in peace and improv^ement, a nation of rude and exasperated Catholics^ still bleeding from the scourge and the sword of his pre- decessor ; and by that conduct James laid the basis of whatever civilization that country afterwards attained to. The reign of James amply demonstrates that Irish loyalty was fully commensurate with royal tolerance ; and that whilst plots against his life, and conspiracies against his throne, abounded in England, and debased the British character, a Catholic popnlatiofi in Ireland re- mained faithful to a bigoted Protestant of England ; and by their conduct, during this reign, unequivocally dis- proved the charge of native disloyalty. Their advance- * It cannot be controverted that many acts of civil injustice were com- mitted by Chichester and other officers of James in h'eland, under colour of the Commission of Escheats, and of defective titles which can only be palliated by a comparison with the reign he succeeded to, and ihe times he lived in; at all events the reign of James the tirst was the only truly paternal Government ever experienced by heland, from its fii-st annexation to the present day. OP THE IRISH NATION. 217 meiiL in civilization amply repayed both the people and the monarch ; and it is deeply to be regretted, that no government of England followed the same conrse. to tranqnilize a conntry, whose turbulence has ever been a theme for their calumnies and their severity. However, Providence had decreed that, with the ex- ception of James the First, whether kings, or queens, or usurpers, were the rulers of Great Britain, the same de- structive and desolating system should be adopted as to Ireland ; all nations, save her, had some intervals of tran- quillity ; she had none ; and the more she suffered in the cause of royalty, the more she was branded with the charge of disaffection. IX. When Charles the First succeedecLto the throne, the doctrines of Luther were yielding fast to new sects in England. The united standard of bigotry and of treason was now elevated by the Puritans far above the sphere of all former sectaries ; and the British Constitution (such as it was in those times) was, at once, demolished even to its foundation. Rebellion and hypocrisy marched hand in hand triumphantly over its ruins ; and the intolerance of Mary and of Elizabeth only changed its garb, but re- tained its principles, in the practice of Cromwell. The English Commons House of Parliament renounced its allegiance, cashiered the Lords, extinguished the epis- copacy, and dethroned their King. The English Rebels subdued him ; the Scots betrayed him ; conjointly they beheaded him ; but Ireland upheld him. She combated his murderers, and, as the reward of loyalty, she met the fate of Rebels.* The wrecks of Cromwell's desolation still appear scattered over every part of Ireland ; blood that had escaped the massacres of Elizabeth was only reserved to flow under the sword of usurpation ; and Cromwell has the credit of having done his business more effectually than any of his predecessors. He cooped up the surviving Irish in a contracted district, confined the clergy nearly to one country, confiscated two thirds of * So ^eat a hatred did the English Parliamentarians entertain against the Irish Royalists, that they ordered " No quarter to be given by their troops to Irish Soldiers." This order was, for a short time, strictly ad- hered to; but Prince Rupert, on the King's part, making retaliation, this most sanguinary measure was quickly rescinded. 19 218 RISE AND PALL Irish territory, and stained his sanguinary career by indis- criminate massacres in every fortress that resisted him. Never was any Rehel so triumphant as he was in Ire- land ; yet it is impossible to deny, that perhaps a less decisive or less cruel general than that splendid usurper, might, by lenity have increased the misery, in prolonging the warfare, and have lengthened out the sanguinary scenes of an unavailing resistance. But it is remarkable that Charles, the graceless son of the decapitated monarch, on his restoration, confirmed under his seal the confisca- tions against the Irish royalists^ and actually regranted their estates and territories to the heirs and descendants of his father's murderers. OP THE IRISH NATION. 219 CHAPTER XIV. Restoration of the Stuart dynasty- — Usurpation of William — Ireland remained loyal — Comparison of the people — The revolutionary prin- ciple undetined — The Irish treated as rebels by William for their loy- alty to their King — Character of William the Third — Contiuued op- pression and malgovemment of Ireland — The Scotch and English rebelled — Ireland remained tranquil — Comparison of the English and Irish as to their kings — Ireland first infected by the Scotch and English rebellions — Mr. Pitt suppressed the spirit of insurrection in England promptly — Suffered it to increase in Ireland. I. Ireland had now been weary of bleeding and begging in the cause of legitimate monarchy ; however, a new and not less ruinous opportunity soon occurred of again proving the loyalty, the perseverance, the fidelity, but the folly of the Irish people. The Puritans had got out of fashion, and the Stuarts had been restored to the British sceptre. Charles the Second, after a long and shameless reign, had by his death, ceased to disgrace the throne and stigmatize the nation ; and England swore allegiance to his brother James, as her legitimate monarchy so did Ireland. His English subjects soon became disgusted Avith his administration, and privately negociated with 3. foreign prince to invade their country, and dethrone their king. Heedless of their obligation, they renounced their allegiance, recanted their oaths ; and, without a trial, drove James from his palace, and then proclaimed his throne empty, as if vacated by an act of voluntary abdication. At the head of his foreign guards, William, unequivo- cally an usurper, marched into the metropolis of Great Britain, seized on the throne, and occupied the royal palaces. The unnatural desertion of Mary and of Anne to the prince who had dethroned their parent, exhibited to the world (whatever might have been lYm political errors of their father) the most disgusting example of filial in- gratitude, and nearly of parricide. 220 RISE AND FALL Ireland had not as yet learned those deep political refinements, the adoption of which now gives constitutional sanction to the principle of revolution. That great precedent was to come from England herself Ireland experienced not, or at least had not felt, James's attempts at despotism, which the English Commons had proclaimed to be a forfeiture of his sceptre. The jjretence of his voluntary abdication, on which England had proceeded to dethrone her king, had not extended its operation to Ireland, nor even been notified to that people. On the contrary, James, a monarch de jure and de facto ^ expelled from one portion of his empire, threw himself for protection upon the faith and the loyalty of another : and Ireland did not shrink from affording that protection. She defended her legitimate monarch against the usurpation of a foreigner ; and whilst a Dutch guard possessed themselves of the British capital, the Irish people remained firm and faithful to their king and fought against the invader. In strict matter of fact, therefore, England becanif* a nation of decided rebels, and Ireland remained a country of decided royalists. Historic records leave that point beyond the power of refutation. At the period of James's expulsion, even in England the rigJit of popular resistance, and the deposition of a British monarch, by a simple vote of the Conmions House of Parliament, though exemplified by Cromwell, had no acknowledged place in the existing constitution of the British empire. It was then an unsanctioned principle of political polity ; and though, in theory, according with the original nature and essence of the social compact between the governor and the governed, yet of the utmost difficulty in its constructions, and dangerous in its execution. Even now the quantity or (juality of arbitrary acts and uncon- stitutional practices which may be deemed sufficient to put that rev^olutionary principle into operation, remains still undefined, and must, therefore, be a matter of con- flicting opinions, and of most dangerous investigation; but it is an open argument. II. The representatives of the people in the Commons House of Parliament are incompetent solely to enact the most imimpoitant local statute ; it is therefore not easy OF THE IRISH NATION. ^ 221 vO designate the cause and crisis which may legally invest that one branch of the Legislature with a dispensing power as to the others, or enable it to erect itself into an arbitrary tribunal, to decide by its sole authority, questions of revolution.* As to James, this difficulty was exemplified. The British Commons, and the Irish people, both subjects of the same king, entirely differed in their opinions as to what acts, regal or desj^otic, could be construed into vol- untary abdication, a point of great importance as to subsequent events which took place in Ireland. III. James was the hereditary king of both countries, jointly and severally. The third constitutional estate, only of one of them (England), had deposed him by theii own simple vote : but Ireland had never been consulted upon that subject ; and the deposition of the King of Ire- land by the Commons of England could have no para- mount authority in Ireland, or supersede the rights, and dispense with the loyalty, of the Irish Parliament. The Irish people had held no treasonable intercourse with William ; they knew him not ; they only knew that he was a foreigner, and not their legal prince ; that he was * Though the English Commons House of Parliament had taken upon themselves to dethrone and decapitate Charles the First, on their own aole autliority, it will scarcely be contended, that Bradshaw and Cromwell established any constitutional precedent for a similar ^voceed- jng. Yet the proceedings of the Commons, in James's case, though more peaceable, were not more legal. The vacancy of the English throne, and consequently the deposition of James, was strongly congested and negatived by the House of Peers of England. The questions and divisions of the House of Lords were as follows , — For the election of a new king, . . .51 Against the election of a?ii/ king, . . .49 Majority, . . 2 The next debate came more to the poirtt — " whether James had broken the original compact, and thereby maile the throne vacant?'' This was negatived by a majority of 2. It therefore appears, that the Irish people and the English Peers were of the same way of thinking. Even after James had quitted Ireland in despair, the Irish did not relinquish his cause, which was fmallv termi- nated by the gallant defence and ultimate capitulation of Limerick for the whole of Ireland. 222 RISE AND FALL supported by a foreign poAver, and had succeeded by foreign mercenariGS. But even if there was a doubt, they conceived that the most commendable conduct was that of preserving entire their allegiance to the King, to whom, in conjunction with Eiigland^ they had sworn ie'dXiy. The British Peers had showed them an example, and on that principle they fought William as they had fought Cromwell : and again they bled, and ogain were ruined by their adherence to legitimate monarchy. Mas- sacre and confiscation again desolated their entire country, and they were treated by AVilliam as rebels to a throne which they had never sanctioned, and to an usurping prince whom they had always resisted ; at length, the contest ended, and Ireland finally submitted, not in the field., but by capitulation. The triumph of Aa illiam over the Irish Royalists at the Boyne and at Aughrim, and the deceptions capitulation of Limerick, finally established William on the throne of both nations. Their resuhs introduced into the theory of the British Constitution, certain principles of a regene- rating liberty^ which have given it a solid and decided superiority over every other system of Government as yet devised by the wisdom of mankind ; yet the advan- tages of that constitution which England has thus raised upon the loyalty, and completed upon the ruins of Ire- land, never were participated in by the Irish people. "William, an able captain, a wise and prudent statesman, was yet a gloomy and discontented magistrate ; and had in his nature a portion of sulky despotic principle, which nothing but a consideration of the mode in vrhich he had acquired the English crown could have restrained or counteracted. But as to Ireland, the case was difl'erent. William had been invited into England, and he felt that she was his mistress ; but he had fought for Ireland, and he considered her as his vassal, and he adapted his gov- ernment to the relative situation in which he stood as to the two countries. The massacre of Mac John, his family and clan, in the valley of Glenco, perpetrated by the especial order of William, under his sign manual', has, in point of barba- rity, treachery and injustice, no parallel in the annals of Europe. Its details cannot be read without exciting OF THE IRISH NATION. 223 horror ; and while it develops the cold-blooded nature of VVillianvs character, it accounts for nuich of his conduct towards the Irisii royalists, whom he called rebels, but who owed him no allegiance ; so far as it bears upon the events of his reign in Ireland. The result of William's usurpation, in the general es- tablishment of constitutional liberty in England, and the principles of popular revolution which his accession has sanctioned and confirmed, have rendered the memory of his reign glorious in that country. But little did he foresee his restraints and disappointments on the throne of England ; there he felt his arbitrary nature unexpect- edly curbed and chained down by the principles of that same liberty, which his own usurpation had originated ; and mortified by the resistance he experienced in Great Britain, he lavished his redundant rancour on prostrate Ireland. But had William acted in Great Britain as he did in Ireland, he would have lost his throne, upon the very same principles by which he acquired it, and have left his own short reign as an historic supplement to the deposition of- his father-in-law. IV. For nearly a century after the capitulation of Limerick had been signed and violated by William, Ire- land exhibited a scene of oppression, suffering and pati- ence, which excited the wonder and commiseration of every people of Europe. The inveterate system of Bri- tish political and commercial policy invariably practised against her interests, excluded all hopes of progressive prosperity, and if it were possible, she must have entirely retrogaded to the iron age. But even during this state of depression, it was destined that Ireland should have new touchstones and trials to assay her nature ; and again be placed in situations where her loyalty should be proved, and again found preponderating in the balance with the loyalty of Great Britain. In 1715, and in 1745, the British and Scotch people again forgot their oaths and their allegiance, and again revolted in favour of that very prince whom Ireland had been so ruined and stigmatized for defending against themselves. The Stuarts again claimed the aid of Ireland. But Ireland, in the interval, had sworn fealty to the House of 224 RISE AND FALL Brunswick ; and Ireland, though groaning under slavery remained faithful to lier obligation. Neither oppression no politics, nor religion^ swayed her from the line of hei allegiance. The noblest blood of Scotland was poured upon the scalibld ; the heads of Scottish Peers were elevated upon the gates of London ; Britons in crowds expiated their disloyalty by the cord of the executioner ; the anger of offended Brunswick fell with desolating weight upon Great Britain ; but through all those bloody scenes, English ingenuity could not find a single traitoj to execute in Ireland. She preserved her loyalty and her oath, during two rebellions, but she gained neither favour nor character by that preservation ; and her laud- able fidelity was only rewarded by new oppressions, and by the incessant calumnies of that same people who had seldom lost an opportunity of being themselves disloyal. Tranquil and submissive, though in absolute servitude, nearly one hundred years passed over Ireland. The great population of the Irish nation continued to be deprived of every attribute of liberty, civil, political and religious. A few of the Penal Acts then in force, or since enacted, against Catholics, were — " By 7th Williain III,^^ no Pro- testant in Ireland was allowed to instruct any Papist. ''''By Sth of Ajine,''^ no Papist was allowed to instruct any other Papist. ''By 7th William IIP' no Papist was permitted to be sent out of Ireland to receive instructions. By these statutes, as the great body of the Irish people were Roman Catholics, more than nine- tenths of the in- habitants of Ireland were legislatively prohibited from receiving any instruction whatever, either from a Pro- testant or a Catholic, either at home or abroad, or from going out of Ireland to be instructed ; consequently the darkest and most profound ignorance was enforced under the severest penalties in Ireland. How then can the Irish Catholics admire the memory of that prince who debased them to the level of brutes, that he might retain them in a state of slavery ? Even so late as the 12th George I. any Catholic clergy- man marrying a Protestant and Catholic was to he hatiged. " By 7th George IJ.^^ any barrister or attorney marrying a Catholic, to be disbarred. " By 2nd Aiine,^^ Papist clergymen coming into Ireland, and performing religious OF THE IRISH NATION. 225 exercises, to be hanged. '• By Sf/i Anne:'' Fifty pounds rev. Art! lor all iiilbnners against (.'atholic an.'hbisiiopsaiid vicars-general. But the most extraordinary of tln^se Penal Statutes, is that of 7th William III. No Paj)ist to ride any horse worth more than £5. And by 9th Genrs^e II. Papists residing in Ireland, shall make good to Protestants all losses sustained by the privateers of any Catholic, king ravaging the coasts of Ireland. 29th George II. barristers and attorneys o])liged to icaive tho'w privilege, and betray their clients, if Paj)ists. Literally outlaws in their own country, labourers on their own territory, they quarried on their own demesnes, to raise palaces lor the descendants of those canting hypocrites who had massacred their monarch, or of the foreign soldiers of that gloomy and ambitious prince, who had seduced away the loyalty of the children from their parents, and had occupied the throne of their banished father. V. If the future is to be judged by the past, it will probal)l\ continue to be alleged, that the adherence of Ireland to her kings has rather been the result of her religion than of her loyalty. That observation could not in any degree be applicable to any reign but that of James, an imputation, however, which in its true construction, general or especial, goes to assert, that a connection of loyalty and religion so cultivated and extolled in England under the title of " Chmch and State," was a crime of the most heinous culpability when found in Ireland. But when historic facts are resorted to, that charge is retorted ; and it will hardly ho contended, that it was more loyal and meritorious for Protestant subjocts to nnu'der their Pro- testant king, as they did in England, than for Catholic subjects to defend their Catholic king, as they did in Ireland. And it will be as dilHcult to defend the rebel- lions of 1715 and 1745, raised by British Protestant subjects against their Protestant king, as it will be to calunmiate the undeviating, unshaken loyalty of Catholic Ireland to her Protestant monarchs, and the House of Brunswick, during the same })eriods. But unfortunately these indisputa])le far-ts will form this miserable precedent for future ages, that in England the reward of rebellion 226 RISE AND FALL teas liherfy ; while in Ireland^ the reward of loyalty was bondage. The Irish insurrection of 1798, which afforded to the British minister the fatal and premeditated pretext for annihilating the Irish legislature, differed but little in its ordinary events from those numerous civil wars, which the history of England, and of every nation, so liberally abound with ; and more especially with those which desolated some of the finest countries of Europe about the same period, the contagion of which had been imported from England herself where the overthrow of the con- stitiUion had been planned, and the murder of the King attempted, before Ireland had been infected. But it was reserved for the recorders of that sanguinary contest in Ireland, with motives not less mischievous than those of the insurgents, to raise by their misrepresentation a permanent standard of enmity between the two nations, and endeavour to persuade one portion of the empire, that its safety was altogether incompatible with the indepen- dence and prosperity of the other. Were the leading authors of these absurd and dangerous doctrines, confined solely to the hired traducers or fac- tionists of that country, their histories and their fabrica- tions would sink, together with their names, into obscurity. But when persons of the superior orders in Great Britain lent their weight, their zeal, and their reason to the pur- poses of their bigotry and their prejudices, and attempted to impose upon the credulity of their countrymen with the same facility that they had been imposed upon themselves, as to the native disloyalty of the Irish people, it becomes just, if not necessary, to recall their recollection to the atFairs and records of their own country at the same epoch : a reference to which, if it cannot check the fanaticism, may at least diminish the authority of the fanatics. Though in fact a digression, it maybe here not improper to follow up that subject a little further, by anticipating some observations more connected with a subsequent part of this memoir. VI. When it pleased Heaven, during the French Revo- hition, to intlict a temporary derangement on the reason of mankind, a spirit ot wild democracy, under the mask OF THE IRISH NATION. 227 of liberty, appeared in fanciful forms to seduce away or destroy the peace, the moraUty, the order, and the alle- giance of ever}^ European people. It would have been more than a phenomenon, if too sensitive and ardent Ireland had escaped that general fever, from which the boasted constitution of England, and the steady character of Scotland, had been unable to protect them. The Ca- tholic in the South, the Presbyter in the North, the Pro- testant in the metropolis of Ireland, and the professors of every religion in England and in Scotland, became more or less infuriated by the general delirium. That conta- gion wdiich so vitally affected the nations of Europe, originating in France, soon displayed its S3^mptoms in every part of Great Britain; and when in progress to full maturity, and not before, was carried into Ireland by collision with the English and Scots repuhlicans* Religion could have but little influence on the projects and politics of that era, for the total extinction of all religion was a fundamental principle of that foreign revo- lution, which gave birth to a democracy that sought to overturn every throne and constitution of Europe. Yet the calumniators of Ireland place that spirit of insurrec- tion almost exclusively to the credit of religion amongst the Irish people, because the population of Ireland, was chiefly composed of Catholics whom they stigmatized. At that period, Ireland had a resident Legislature and a free constitution. She was in profound tranquillity, and the most progressive state of national prosperity,t when * See the state trials and the reports of the Secret Committee of Eng- land, in the year 1794. By these reports of the Secret Committee, it appears that Edinburgh, and various other places in England and Scotland, were infected long before Ireland ; and Mr. Secretary Dundas Illustrated these reports by annexing accurate drawings oi the different forms of pikes, battle-axes, &c., which were fabricated in Scotland, his own country, for the pur- poses of treason and murder. Ireland did not appear to Mr. Pitt forward enough in treason with the kingdom under his more immediate manage- ment, and therefore sent over Lord Fitzwilliam to Ireland, to ensure tran- quiUity ; and when his Lordship was on the point of doing so, ordered him back again to excite insurrection. — See Lord Fit zwilliam's letters to Lord Carlisle. t When Lord Westmoreland was removed from Ireland, in 1795, Ire- land was in a most unexampled and progressive state of general prosper- ity. In that year, Mr. Curran informed tlie Author of his intention to 228 RISE AND FALL the emissaries :)f the EngHsh and Scotch societies quK K'^ proceeded to pervert her reason, as their own had been perverted, The original societies of Ireland had no such principles as designated the latter ones. The Minister, Mr. Pitt, had made his entrance into pnblic life in the domino of a Reformer. The first and most loyal noble- men, and commoners in Ireland were Reformers ; but it was through the prospective policy of that great Minister, that the seeds of insurrection were permitted to take root in Ireland : without it a union had never been accom- plished. ATI. In England, the Government took prompt and vigorous measures to stop the progress of that dangerous and destructive principle ; but in Ireland they coolly saw the weed springing up, and artfully forced it to premature maturity. They watched its growth till it had covered sufficient of the country to bewilder the residue. Its vege- latioji was cautiously permitted to proceed, whilst there remained within their own reach sulficient means of sup- pressing it at their discretion ; and this deep and trea- cherous experiment was risked to effect the greatest object of Mr. Pitt's administration, a final extinguishment of Irish independence. With that view, it was expedient to suffer that country to plunge itself into a state of sanguinary civil warfare, of terrors and of animosities ; whilst England should hold the reigns which could check its progress, and might falla- ciously induce it, by the hopes of English protection, to exchange a constitutional independence for a speculative tranquillity, or render it so feeble and so divided by a suggest an impeachment against the Earl of Westmoreland, for havincr permitted a part of 12,000 troops (which, according to stipulation, should always remain in h^eland) to be drafted out of that kingdom for foreign service. Mr. Curran laughed at his own project, when the Author asked him wliat plausible reason he could give for saying that any troops were necessary. The day Lord Westmoreland departed, 710 army was necessary in Ire- land ; and if Earl Fitzwilliam had not been removed, doubtless insurrec- tion might have been prevented. But tranquillity would not have effect- ed Mr. Pitt's purposes: and Earl Fitzwilliam, one of the best and honcst- est of the. British peerage, was appointed, duped, and deposed by the policy of tlic Minister; the' reason was obvious. OP THE IRISH NATION. 229 continiiatiou of internal contests, that it could not be se- duced, it might bs compelled, to annexation. And here lies the secret spring which regulated the msurrection of 1798, and the machinery which moved the Union in 1800, a measure which, for the thirty-two years succeeding its accomplishment, has only operated as a ruin to the annexed, and a torment to the annexing nation. Recorded abstracts of Irish and of British history thus form an incontrovertible exposition of Irish principles, and of English misconception. The character of the Irish people has been always calumniated, their independence has been torn away, but their indigenous loyalty is un- aflected, their nation is monarchical, they naturally love kings, the tradition of their old monarchs keeps up the attachment ; and never was a greater injustice done to any people, than to call them democratic. But immortality of power is not an attribute of nations, like man, they liourish ; but like man, they must decay. Rome had her glory and her power, but, subdued by time, she yielded up her empire ; and should some Gibbon of future ages record the decline and fall of British greatness, the his- torian will probably do justice to Ireland ; and tell pos- terity, that when some gigantic foreign power, nurtured by British folly, for British subjugation, had paralyzed her resources, and decolonized her empire, England, in the last struggles of her superiority, had not a faithful ally left to cover her remains, but her calumniated* sister. * This observation will not be considered altogether visionary, when men reflect upon the modern events of Europe, and the possible conse- quences of that extravagant and ruinous system which had been adopt- ed, of blindly subsidizing and strengthening every foreign power at the expense of the British treasury. Russia, Prussia, Austria, Portugal; but above all, Spain, owe their present independent j)olitical existence to the blood and the treasure of Great Britain and of Ireland, levied for their use, and lavished for their protection. And miserably is England requited for her protection, her money, and her sacrifices : and miserably has Ireland been requited for her participa- tion. 90 230 RISE AND FALL CHAPTER XV. Catholic relaxation Bills opposed by Mr. Rowley — Sir Edward Newen- enham — Doctor Patrick Duigenam — His Character — IVIr. Ogle — Bills passed — Unjust doctrine — Change in the Irish Parliament — Mr. Fox's candour — His speech — Deception of the British Government devel- oped — 'Marquis of Rockingham — Total absence of energy — Mr. Burke — Inactive as to Ireland — New debates — Embarrassing conse- quences of Mr. Grattan's adchess — INlr. Grattan's motion objectionable — Mr. Flood's reply — Unfortunate collision of Grattan and Flood — ISIr. Grattan's fallacious motion — Mr. Flood's reply — jMr. Montgo- mery moves to build an Irish na\y — Negatived — Parliament pro- rogued — Most important session — iVIoderation of Ireland — Duke of Portland's hypocritical speech. I. We now return to the measures which were taken to rock Ireland into a slumber more fatal to her existence than the trance she had awakened from. Bills to ameli- orate by partial concession the depressed state of the Catholics, as some reward for their zeal and patriotism, were introduced, and had arrived at their last stages in the House of Commons without any effective opposition ; intolerance, however, even to the extent of fanaticism, had so identified itself with the minds of some members of both Houses of Parliament, that these Bills of partial relief to their enslaved countrymen were strenuously op- posed, in their latter stages, by statements so exaggerated, and language so aggravating, that a cry of " Danger to Church and State!" was raised and circulated, and ac- tually bewildered the intellect of many, who were on other occasions of reasonable judgment. These Bills were clamorously opposed in Parliament by several country gentlemen of high local consideration, and principally by Mr. Rowley, member for Meath County, one of the best landlords and best men in Ireland, a downright, honest, headstrong country gentleman. His information was scant, and his abilities were less than moderate; but he was of large fortune, splendid establish- ments, unbounded hospitality, and full of philanthropy ; OF THE IRISH NATION. 231 yet so perverted was his mind by legendary tales, and hereditary prejudices, that tliough he most generously afforded to his Catholic tenantry, and to individual Catho- lics, every service and kindness in his power, he consi- dered and represented them, collectively^ as a body of demons ; their chapels, temples of idolatry ; their schools, seminaries of rebellion, and their clergy as a gang of necromancers. So infatuated was he by these prepossessions, that he saw, or rather fancied that he saw, in any relaxation of the penal statutes, nothing but a total overthrow of the entire Protestant establishment, and an immediate revo- lution in favour of some Popish monarch. Those Bills were also pertinaciously opposed by Sir Edward Newenham, member for Dublin County, a weak, busy, narrow-minded, but not ill informed, nor ill-inten- tioned person. He Avas very defective in talent, but very confident that he possessed much of it ; he fancied he was a great patriot, and was disposed to imagine himself a distinguished personage. He had drawn General Wash- ington into a short literary correspondence with himself as to Ireland, on the strength of which, he affected, with great importance, to be an importer of the most early and authentic information from America. He was an active officer of the Volunteer Artillery, and a good Irishman ; but a busy, buzzing, useless, intermed- dling member of Parliament, and one of the most credu- lous, feeble, and fanatical of all the Irish intolerants. Many inveterate opponents of any concessions to the Catholics made their appearance in the Irish Parliament ; and as the concerns of that body must form a prominent topic in the progress of this memoir, it may be interesting and useful to introduce, even by anticipation, the most distinguished of its opponents. This celebrated antagonist of the Irish Catholics, so far as invective and declamation could affect their interests, was Doctor Patrick Duigenam, Judge of the Prerogative Court of Ireland ; a man whose name must survive so long as the feuds of Ireland shall be remembered, and whose singular conduct, on many points, was of a nature so inconsistent and irregular that, even now, when his race is run, and no further traits of his character can ever 232 RISE AND FALL be developed, it is yet impossible to decide with certainty as to his genuine principles, if such he possessed, upon any one subject, religious or political. His father was parish-clerk of St. Werburgh's Church, Dublin, but in what part of Ireland he originated, is still uncertain ; he was educated in the Parish ScJiool, and (as he told the Author himself) was humourously christened Paddy, having been born on St. Patrick's day. He sig- nalized himself as a scholar in the University of Dublin, of which he was chosen a fellow ; he soon afterwards quarrelled with the Provost, Mr. Hutchinson, and every person who did not coincide with his humours, and wrote a number of severe pamphlets, of which " LachrymcB AcademiccB^^ and ^^ Pra?iceriana,^^ are the most notable; the first, personally against the conduct of the Provost and Sir Sohn Blaquiere ; the second, on a proposal of the Provost's to establish a riding house for the students. He was always at open war with some person, during the whole course of his public life. He left the University, retaining the office of Law Pro- fessor ;' was shortly afterwards appointed King's Counsel ; Judge of the Prerogative and Consistory Courts ; King's Advocate to the High Court of Admiralty ; one of Lord Castloreagh's Commissioners for bribing Members of Parliament ; (Post;) and to many other public offices, most of which he retained to his death. His income was very large, and he must have privately done many liberal and charitable acts, because he was not extravagant, and left no considerable fortune behind him. Dr. Duigenam having been King's Advocate to the High Court of Admiralty, where the Author presided ; and the Author being a Doctor of Laws, and Advocate in the Court of Prerogative, of which Dr. Duigenam was Judge, their intercourse was constant and very intimate for many years, and the Author had daily private oppor- tunities of observing the curious habits of this most eccen- tric character ; the most outrageous, and at the same time one of the best natured men in the world, to those whom he regarded. This eccentric person, whose celebrity originated from his crusades for Protestant supremacy, would probably have been a conspicuous character in whatever station he OP THE IRISH NATION. 233 might have been placed, or in Avhatever profession he might have adopted. Incapable of moderation upon any subject, he possessed too much vigorous and active in- tellect to have passed through life an unsignalized spec- tator ; and if he had not at an early period enlisted as a champion of Luther, it is more than probable he would, with equal zeal and courage, have borne the standard for St. Peter's followers. A hot, rough, intrepid, obstinate mind, strengthened by very considerable erudition, and armed by a memory of the most extraordinary retention, contributed their attributes equally to his pen, and his speeches. He considered invective as the first, detail as the second, and decorum as the last quality of a public orator ; and he never failed to exemplify these principles. A partisan in his very nature, every act of his life was influenced by invincible prepossessions ; a strong guard of inveterate prejudices were sure, on all subjects, to keep moderation at a distance, and occasionally prevented even common reason from obtruding on his dogmas, or inter- rupting his speeches. A mingled strain of boisterous invective, unlimited assertion, rhapsody and reasoning, erudition and ignorance, were alike perceptible in his writings and orations ; yet there were few of either, from which a dispassionate com- * piler might not have selected ample materials for an able production. He persuaded himself that he was a true fanatic ; but though the world gave him full credit for his practical intolerance, there were many exceptions to the consis- tency of his professions, and many who doubted his theo- retic sincerity. His intolerance was too outrageous to be honest, and too uiu'easonable to be sincere ; and whenever his Protestant extravagance appeared to have even one moment of a lucid interval, it was immediately predicted that he would die a CathoHc. ^ His politics could not be termed either uniform or co- herent. He had a latent spark of independent spirit in his composition, which the minister sometimes found it difficult to extinguish, and dangerous to explode. He had the same respect for a Protestant bishop that he would probably have had for a Cathohc cardinal. Episcooacy 20* 234 RISE AND FALL was his standard; and when he showed symptoms of nm iiing restive to the Government, the primate of Ireland was called in to be the pacificator. He held a multiplicity of public offices \t the same time, unconnected with Government.* He was Vicar General to most of the bishops ; and whenever he con- ceived the rights of the Church were threatened, his bristles instantly arose, as it were, by instinct ; his tusks were bared for combat ; he moved forward for battle ; and would have shown no more mercy to the Govern- ment than he would have done to the patriots. He injured tlie reputation of Protestant ascendency by his extravagant support of the most untenable of its prin- ciples. He served the Catholics by the excess of his ca- lumnies, and aided their claims to amelioration, by per- sonifying that virulent sectarian intolerance which was the very subject of their grievances. He had, however, other traits, which frequently dis- closed quahties of a very superior description. His tongue and his actions were constantly at variance ; he was hos- pitable and surly; sour and beneficent ; prejudiced and liberal ; friendly and inveterate. His bad qualities he ex- posed without reserve to the public ; his good ones he husbanded for private intercourse. Many of the former Vere fictitious ; all the latter were natural. He was an honest man, with an outrageous temper and perverted judgment ; and, as if he conceived that right was wrong, he sedulously endeavoured to conceal his philanthropy under the garb of a misanthrope. In private society, he was often the first in conviviality ; and when his memory, his classic reading, and his mis- * On the Union, he accepted tlie office of Commissioner for paying the bribes to Members of Parliament (under the name of compensation for the loss of their Seats or Patronage.) (Vide Post.) The Doctor, the late Lord Annesley, and a Mr. Jameson, an English- man, under this commiss'ioii^distrlbuted, by Lord Ca^htlereagh's appoint- ment, ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS of the Lish money, among-st Members of the Houses of Lords and Commons; without which bribes and gifts of peerages, there would be a vast majority against the Union. The Doctor told the Author that he accepted that office, solely that he might be able to take care of the bishops; and the Author believes at least half his as.sertion. Bui the ^-shops were out- witted. OF THE IRISH NATION. 235 cellaneons information were turned to the purposes of humour or of anecdote, they gave a quaint, joyous, ec- centric cast to his conversation, highly entertaining to strangers, and still more so to those accustomed to the display of his versatilities. The most striking singularity of this most singular man, was his unaccountahle inconsistency in words and actions toward the Catholic community. He alternately fostered and abused, caressed and calumniated, many in- timates of that persuasion ; an inconsistency, however, which his last matrimonial connection was supposed to have redeemed ; and he died at a very advanced age, upon a short notice, retaining all his strength and facul- ties, and in the full vigour of all his prejudices. His strong, sturdy person, and coarse, obstinate, dog- matic, intelligent countenance, indicated many of his characteristic qualities. He was too rough and too un- accommodating to have had many partisans ; and after the Union which he vigorously supported, his public im- portance and reputation dwindled away to nothing ; and his death afforded no great cause of regret to his friends, or of gratification to his enemies. Mr. George Ogle, and many other decided opponents of the Catholic claims, were also prominent characters in the general affairs and politics of the country, and will appear in most of the miscellaneous transactions of the Irish Parliament. But the whole bent and efforts of the Doctor's mind and actions were concentrated and publicly arrayed against the Catholic community, some members of which were in private his chief associates, and his nearest connections, and the early introduction of such a personage may tend to illustrate the singular situation of that body, and that inconsistency which from first to last has sig- nalized the conduct both of their friends and their enemies. Those iJills relaxing the severity of the penal code passed, however, through both Houses, without any con- siderable diliiculty ; and, though the concessions were very limited, they afforded great satisfaction to the Ca- tholic body, as the first growth of a tolerating principle, which they vainly imagined was a sure precursor of that general religious and political freedom, without which, in 236 RISE AND FALL an ardent and divided population, peace and security must ever be precarious. Some men, however, saw in those incipient concessions the germ of discord and extravagant expectation. The most unrelenting of their opponents, in the full zeal of UiKiualified fanaticism, used arguments so cruel and un- just in principle, that the distorted mind, or crooked pol- icy of legislators alone could have resorted to. They argued, that the nearly insupportable oppressions under which the Irish Catholics had so long laboured, were rapidly disgusting them with their own tenets, which had entailed upon them all the attributes of slav- ery and deprivation ; that, worn down by penal codes, under the pressure of which they could neither rise nor prosper, they were daily recanting those disqualifying tenets, and embracing that religion, under which their wants and their ambition could be fully gratified ; that noblemen, gentlemen, peasants, and even their priests, were rapidly embracing the Protestant profession ; and that if the same propensity to recantation was still kept in progress, by a full and strict continuance of that same penal code, the severity of which had originally caused it, Ireland would gradually acquire a protestant population, if not a majority of the people, at least more than a pro- portion of all whose property, rank, and interest would lead them to preserve the peace of the nation and the connection with Great Britain. II. This was a barbarous doctrine, which could never be supported by any principle either of justice or of policy. The principle of concession which actuated the Parlia- ment in these relaxations, proved that the light of justice and reason had broken in upon them, and excited reason- able expectations of further grants and general toleration. The wealth of the Catholics multiplied, their numbers increased. The first chain of intolerance was loosened, and permitled them to take a view of that total emanci- pation which by unremitting struggles they were certain of attaining. HI. The paroxysms of ardent patriotism having some- what abated in the Irish Parliament, distinctions and shades of distinctions were rising and ro-oponing into party, and into jealousies. Some men conceived that OF THE IRISH NATION. 237 Ireland had obtained every thing, others argued that she had acquired no securities, tliat enthusiastic unanimity which had so proudly signalized their first movements was gradually degenerating, the old courtiers, who had wandered from their standards, seized greedily upon every pretence to re-assume their stations ; and many of that body, who a moment before had been unanimous, and supposed to be incorruptible, now began to remember themselves, and forget their country ; but the people were staunch, their spirit was invincible, the voice of the volun- teers was raised it was loud and clear, and echoed through the Parliament. The Government was arrested in its corrupting progress ; many were recalled to a sense of duty by a sense of danger, and the situation of the coun- try seemed approaching to another crisis. Mr. Grattan acted on the purest patriotic principles, but they were ov^er moderated by Earl Charlemont, and occasionally neutralized by an honourable confidence in Whig sincerity. He still contended (because such was his conviction) that the Irish Nation should rest satisfied, and confide in the sincerity of the British Ministry, and the existing guarantees, for the permanence of their con- stitution. He was devoted to the Whigs, because they professed the purest principles of well-regulated liberty ; and he would not doubt the integrity of those whose prin- ciples he had adopted, till at length Mr. Fox himself, wearied by a protracted course of slow deception, uncon- genial either to the proud impetuosity of his great mind, or the natural feelings of his open temper, at once con- firmed the opinions of the Irish people, and openly pro- claimed to Ireland the inadequacy of all the measures that had theretofore been adopted. He took occasion in the British Parliament, on the repeal of the sixth of George the First, being there alluded to, to state, " that the repeal of that Statute could not stand alone, but must be accom- panied by a final adjustment, and by a solid basis of per- manent connection." He said '■ that some plans of that nature would be laid before the Irish Parliament by the Irish Ministers, and a treaty entered upon, which treaty^ when proceeded on, might be adopted by both Parlia- ments and finally become an irrevocable arrangement between the two countries." 238 RISE AND FALL By that short, but most important speech, the Irish dehision of a final adjustment was in a moment dissipated, the Viceroy's duplicity became indisputably proved ; His Majesty's reply to the Irish Parliament was renounced by the very minister who had written it. The Irish address to the Duke of Portland appeared to have been premature and inconsiderate ; and his reply could no longer be defended on the grounds either of its truth or its sin- cerity. Mr. Fox himself, with the true candour of an able statesman, avowed the insufficiency of the existing arrange- ment ; and thus, by easy inferences, decided against the adequacy of the simple repeal for general purposes. His declaration, that " a further treaty was in contemplation," was prospective and ambiguous, and gave not only plau- sible but justifiable grounds, for an alarming uneasiness amongst the Irish people. Notwithstanding this avowal, Mr. Flood was still but feebly supported in the House of Commons. The Volun- teers, rather than the Parliament, had now the prepon- derance in public estimation, and their activity increased as difficulties augmented. In England public matters were sinking into a 'state of languor and torpidity. The Marquis of Rockingham, in a fatally declining state of health, and his friend Lord Char- lemont, in an habitually complaining one, carried on a well-bred, superficial, whining correspondence, as to the affairs of Ireland, every thing that was courteous, but nothing that was statesmanlike ; and even if death had not unfortunately for the Whigs, snatched away Lord Rock- ingham, he and the Earl of Charlemont were not likely to effect the (consummation of the political arrangements between the two nations. The latter nobleman could see wide, but he could not see deep. The former could neither see very wide, nor very deep, but he could see very distinctly; in cultivating moderation, they lost sight of energy, and their conduct at this moment was shallow and insipid. Mr. Burke might have been sincere towards Ireland ; but he had a game to play at for himself; and his talents, however great in their extent, were not found so consistent in their application. And though his fame never can be eclipsed, his abil'^ies never depreciated ; though his OP THE IRISH NATION. 239 lessons will be ever instructive, and the vigour of his intellect could not be vanquished, still he had his trances, his visions, and his theories; and though always in the first line of general admiration, he stood not in the front rank of public confidence. He took no distinguished part in those transactions, appearing as if he were repugnant to commit himself in an imperfect treaty. Whilst affairs remained in this precarious state, a debate occurred, more embarrassing than any that had preceded it, and which gave new features to the close of this, the most remarkable session of Irish Parliaments. IV. The question of simple repeal had now been so often canvassed, so often argued, and had caught so strong a hold of the Irish people, that it was obvious it could not rest where it was, and that something further must be done to satisfy the Irish Nation ; but what that something should be, was more embarrassing to the Government of both countries than any consideration which had thereto- fore occurred to them. After the address of the Irish Commons to his Majesty, moved by Mr. Grattan, England could not be again so strongly applied to for further concession. She had promptly acceded to every thing that was then required of her, and was told by that address, that nothing remained further to be done as to a constitution between the two countries ; she might, therefore, plausibly decline further demands upon the same subject. That address had in plain language, renounced all further constitutional claims by the Irish Parliament ; and Mr. Grattan could not recede from such his own reiterated declarations. Mr. Flood, however, remained unshaken and firm in his opinion of the insufficiency of the arrangement, and determined to increase their security, through an unequivocal act of the Irish Legislature ; and on the twenty-ninth day of July, he moved for leave to bring in a Bill, " to affirm the sole exclusive right of the Irish Parliament to make laws affecting that country, in all concerns external and inter- nal whatsoever." A most animated, and even virulent debate, took place on that motion. It was debated with great ability, but ill- placed confidence or ill-timed mo(' 3ration still guided the 240 RISE AND FALL majority of the Commons ; and even the introduction of the Bill was negatived without a division. jMr.' Graltan heated hy the hmguage of his rival, blinded by an unlimited confidence in the integrity of the Whig Ministry, and for a moment losing sight of the first prin- ciple of constitutional liberty, then proposed a motion, equally singular for the language of its exordium, and the extravagance of its matter. He moved, "that the Legis- lature of Ireland was independent; and that any person who should propagate in ivj^iting-.ov otherwise, an opinion that any right whatsoever, whether external or internal, existed in any other Parliament, or could be revived, was inimical to both kingdoms." The ingenuity of man could scarcely have formed a more objectionable precedent or dangerous resolution. It was too great an opportunity not to be taken immediate advantage of by Mr. Flood ; his reply was equally severe and able ; he represented the resolution as " placing Ireland in a state of tyranny worse than Russia ; prohi- biting both the Lords and Commons of Ireland, imder a denunciation of being enemies to their country, from the common rights of every British citizen, to discuss the same constitutional question which had been so often before, and was at that very moment, debating in the House of Parlia- ment, depriving every Irish subject of his natural liberty, either of speech or of writing : a proscription against all who differed with the honourable gentleman on a vital question respecting his own country, or who should pre- simie to publish or even to whisper that difference, a resolution which would be scoffed at in Ireland, ridiculed in Great Britain, and be contemptible in both, a resolu- tion which could have no operation as a law, no justifi- cation as a principle, and which could have no character to support it, but those of folly and of tyranny." He therefore moved an adjournment. The tide, however, liowed too strong against Mr. Flood personally. It was the great object of the Gov^enmient to conquer him first, and then neutralize his adversary ; and even those who were determined to negative Mr. Grattan's motion, also determined to negative the motion of adjournment, be- cause it was Mr. Flood's ; and a considerable majority OF THE IRISH NATION. 241 decided against it.* Mr. Grattan then proposed another declaratory resohition, stretching away from the real facts as to any pohtical apphco.tion of those that existed, but unaccompanied by most of the former objections ; and, at all events, leaving both his own and Mr. Flood's principles nearly where it foimd them at the commencement of the altercation. Mr. Grattan moved, that leave was " refused to bring in the (Mr. Flood's) Bill, because the sole and exclusive right to legislate for Ireland in all cases what- soever, internally and externally, had been asserted by the Parliament of Ireland, and had been fully, finally, and irrevocably acknowledged by the British Parliament." This resolution obviously stated some facts which did not exist. No final irrevocable acknowledgment ever had been made by the British Parliament. On the con- trary, acts had been done, and declarations made by the Minister himself, that a future treaty would be necessary to render the arrangement full, final, or irrevocable. Mr. Flood saw the weak point, and he possessed himself of it. He altered his language, became satiric, and ridi- culed the resolution as the " innocent child of fiction and of fancy." He congratulated Mr. Grattan on changing his tone, and declared " that he would willingly leave him in the full enjoyment of this new production of his lively imagination." Mr. Grattan's motion then passed without further observation, and the House adjourned. V. No further proceedings of importance took place in the House of Commons during the session, except two motions of Mr. Montgomery, of Cavan County, for leave to bring in a Bill to build Irish men of war for the pro- tection of the trade of Ireland. This motion appeared too * The division was ninety-nine to thirteen against Mr. Flood's motion, though the whole House saw clearly that Mr. Grattan's resolution could not possibly pass; yet so strong was the opposition to any thing pro- posed by Mr. Flood, that an adjournment was rejected. This debate, so near the termination of the session, appeared at first very disagreeable ; but in the event it had great effect ; and the embarrassments which Mr. Grattan's resolution, if carried, must necessarily have created, was a very Btrong ingredient amongst those considerations which induced the British Parliament voluntarily to pass an Act of Renunciation, which Mr. Grattan had thought unnecessary, before the hish Parliament could meet again to discuss the subject, when the accumulating dissatisfaction of the nation m"ght have given rise to more distracting measures. 21 242 RISE AND FALL distinct, and was of course negatived. He also moved for an address to the King, to reinstate Mr. Flood in his office of Vice Treasurer, from which he had been dis- missed for supporting his country. This would have been just, but it was not eligible. Mr. Fitzpatrick received it in civility, but it was also negatived, as encroaching on the prerogative ; and on the 27th of July, the Duke of Portland prorogued the Parliament, with a speech detail- ing all the advantages Ireland had received under his paternal administration ; and thus ended the public trans- actions of his Grace the Duke of Portland's first vice- royalty to the Irish nation. VI. This session of the Irish Parliament was the most interesting and important its history records ; important, not to Ireland only, but to the best interests of Great Britain ; illustrative of the first and finest principles of civil liberty ; and a lecture on the rights and foundations of rights, by the establishment of which alone the inde- pendence of nations can be attainable, or, being attained, preserved. It displayed a scene of loyalty and of for- bearance in the Irish nation, unequalled in the history of any armed people. It proved the possibility of an irre- sistible democratic power, roused without icommotion ; the entire population of an extensive country converted into a disciplined and independent army, to assert its liberties, yet, in the pursuit of that most animating of all objects, preserving perfect peace and substantial loyalty. It showed an independent and patriotic army, able in one day to crush or to drive every relic of usurpation from its shores for ever, with a moderation almost incredible ; accepting, as a kind concession, those natural rights which it had the power of commanding; and, with a liberal and generous confidence, peculiar to its character, honourably, but fatally, insisting on no further guarantee for her con- stitution, than the faith of a government which had never before omitted an opportunity of deceiving her. The Duke of Portland's [)roroguing speech to the Irish Parliament, July 27, 1782, is in itself the most unsophis- ticated tissue of hypocrisy on record, totally unparalleled in the history of the British Empire, or of any Minister who regarded either the law of nations, or the character of the sovereign. It was emphatically delivered by a OF THE IRISH NATION. 243 Viceroy, wlio, a few years afterwards, in 1800, in his place in Parliament, unblushingly declared, that he never considered the treaty between England and Ireland (con- summated by himself) as final. His Grace's speech, addressed, in the name of the King, to the assembled Peers and Commons of Ireland, on the prorogation of that Parliament, is of the greatest importance, as connected with the events of 1799 and 1800 ; and when that speech is compared with a subsequent speech of the same noble- man in the Peers of England, not only an Irish subject, but even a disinterested citizen of the world, would draw conclusions in no way favourable to his Grace's political integrity. It was, however a useful lesson to all people, to trust their statesmen just so far and so long as their interest or their party called for their consistence. His Grace was pleased to speak as follows : " The great and constitutional advantages you have secured to your country, and the wise and magnanimous conduct of Great Britain, in contributing to the success of your steady and temperate exertions, call for my congra- tulations, on the close of a session which must ever reflect the highest honour on the national character of both kingdoms. " It must be a most pleasing consideration to you, to recollect, that in the advances you made towards the settlement of your constitution, no acts of violence or impatience have marked their progress. A religious adherence to the laws, confined your endeavours within the strictest bounds of loyalty and good order ; your claims were directed by the same spirit that gave rise and sta- bility to the liberty of Great Britain, and could not fail of success, as soon as the councils of that kingdom were influenced by the avowed friends of the constitution. " Many, and great national objects, must present them- selves to your consideration during the recess from par- liamentary business ; but what I would most earnestly press upon you, as that on which your domestic peace and happiness, and the prosperity of the Empire at this moment, most immediately depend, is to cultivate and difl'use those sentiments of affection and confidence which are now happily restored between the two kingdoms; convince the people in your several districts, as you are 244 RISE AND FALL yourselves convinced, that every cause of past jealousies and discontents is finally removed ; that both countries have pledged their good faith to each other, and that their best security will be an inviolable adherence to that com- pact ; that the implicit reliance which Great Britain has reposed on the honour, generosity, and candour of Ireland, engages your national character to a return of sentiments equally liberal and enlarged ; convince them that the two kingdoms are 7ioiv one, indissolubly connected in unity of constitution, and unity of interests ; and that the danger and security, the prosperity and calamity of the one, must equally affect the other, that they must stand and fiall together." OF THE IRISH NATION. 245 CHAPTER XVI. Insufficiency of Mr. Grattan's measures — Death of the Marquis of Rockingham and its consequences — Earl Temple Lord Lieutenant — Mr. Grenville Secretary — His Character — Lord Temple — Not unpop- ular — Mr. Corry a principal instrument of Lord Temple — Proceedings of the Volunteers — Strong resolutions to oppose English Laws — Bad effects of the dissension between Grattan and Flood — Sir George Young — Effect of Sir George Young's speech — Lord Mansfield's con- duct accounted for — Consequence of these speeches — British Parlia- ment belie their own Act — Lord Abingdon denies the King's right to pass the Bill — England by Statute admitted her usurpation, and relin- quished for ever her right to legislate for Ireland — Renunciation Act — Mr. Grattan still perversely opposes Mr. Flood — The renunciation Act confirmed Mr. Flood's doctrine. I. Bills Id carry into effect the concessions of England had been passed through the British Parliament with un- usual expedition. The sixth of George the First, decla- ratory of the dependence of Ireland, had been repealed ; and the arbitrary dictum of Blackstone, that favourite Druid of modern Britain, had been abandoned by his countrymen. But it quickly became obvious, that though Mr. Grattan's declaration of grievances had left to the Irish Parliament a certain latitude for reclaiming their consti- tutional rights in detail, he had not foreseen to what lengths those details might extend, or the danger of attempting to conclude on narrow discussions on that intricate subject. His address to the King now appeared to have so con- tracted in its tenor the claims which the declaration of grievances, if not specifically, had virtually alluded to, that many of the most important of Irish constitutional rights had been thereby altogether passed over ; and con- cessions of England had been accepted of, without those guarantees which the invariable practices and principles of British government therefore, rendered absolutely in- dispensable to the permanence and security of Irish independence. Had the constitutional arrangement been complete and 2V 246 RISE AND FALL final, and the concessions of Great Britain as sincere dS they appeared to be Uberai, and without any view to ulterior revocation, never would two nations have been placed in an attitude more powerful and imposing, or pregnant with happier consequences to the interests and prosperity of both ; they would have been firmly united by indissoluble ties, and bound to each other by a Gordian knot, which nothing but the scythe of time could have divided. But unfortunately, England was not sincere. Her cabinet remained mentally intolerant ; and Ireland, after ten years of unexampled prosperity, was again des- tined to future miseries, equally unforeseen and unmerited. It was for a moment supposed that commercial jealou- sies towards Ireland, those eternal enemies to every thing generous or cordial, had been at least partially excluded From British councils, to make room for a more just; liberal, and enlightened policy. Had it been so, the interests of both nations would have found their common level in their mutual prosperity ; the moral and physical powers of both would have been invigorated and embarked in the same cause, attracting and consolidating their united strength into one impenetrable mass, which would hav^e defied all the enmities, the machinations, and the powers of united Europe. Arrangements of such a nature, founded on so strong and broad a basis, might have been durable as the ancient towers of Ireland, of which even tradition cannot trace the origin, but which neither time nor the elements have as yet liad the power to dilapidate. Ireland was disposed, for a lime, to be contented with her Parliament: sus- picion is not one of her characteristic feelings ; she looked at every object through the sunny medium of her own bright and warm generosity, and threw herself at once into the arms of her sister country. She did not, or she would not, till forced by its glare upon her vision, see the false and fatal artifices by which her independence was surrounded. She disdained to suspect those on whom she had already lavished a noble confidence; and she fancied she beheld all her belter fortunes circling, like a glory, round the brow of her new-born freedom. A phenomenon so novel and captivating, absorbed foi a time the reflection of the people, and concealed from OF THE IRISH NATION. 247 thein that treacherous reservation, which subsequent events have proved to have then lurked behind the faithless, but specious language of the yielding country. However, the matter was suddenly brought to a decisive issue. After a lingering indisposition, the Marquis of Rockingham the only link which bound the Whig ministry together, ceased to exist. Tins loss was irreparable, the cabinet became incomplete, and could not be recruiti^d ; its members suspected each other, and the nation suspected them, and, but a short period had elapsed, when the most unnatural and corrupt ministerial coalition in the annals of British Government, between Mr. Fox and Lord North, justified the suspicions of both the people and the parties, and taught Ireland what she might expect from the con- sistency of British Ministers. II. A temporary confusion was the consequence of tlie Marquis of Rockingham's death. However, an entire new ministry was formed, and public affairs in England appeared to be acquiring at least a semblance of some stability. In Ireland, the scene entirely changed. The Marqnis of Rockingham no more, the administration of England remodelled without being improved ; and Earl Temple sent over to supersede the Duke of Portland, and to take his chance of governing and tranquilizing the Irish peo- ple, as circumstances might warrant. His Excellency was accompanied to Ireland by his brother, Mr. (now Lord) Grenville, in the office of Chief Secretary; a person not adapted to the habits of that people, the temper of the times, or the circumstances of the country; a proud English gentleman, deficient in that modulation and flexibility of character so useful to a minister, at times when he cannot control, and so pecu- liarly serviceable at all periods to the temporary rulers of the Irish nation ; and as he and his family assumed a leading part, eighteen years afterwards, in the suppression of that constitution which he then came over professedly to complete, it becomes necessary to allude to some of those public qualities which have distinguished tliat per- sonage in his political capacities on both occasions. Mr. Grenville had improved by unremitting assiduity, whatever talents nature had entrusted him with : and so 248 . RISE AND FALL far as they could be extended, he Avorked them up mto very considerable reputation, and never failed to exercise them with firmness, though not always with discretion, and occasionally with inconsistency. He commenced his public course in an Irish office, and he pursued it till he arrived at the British Cabinet. In both he was efficient ; but in the first he was mistaken, and in the latter he Avas overrated. Too unbending for the crown, and too aristocratic for the people, he sought intiuence from both, without attaching himself to either ; and like the coffin of Mahomet, he was suspended be- tw^een attraction. The popularity of the man was cir- cinnscribed by the austerity of the courtier ; and the am- bition of the courtier, counteracted by the inflexibility of the statesman. His powers were inferior to domination, but his pride superior to subserviency; his party therefore have been placed in a long abeyance, but which certainly could not be well justified, either by the policy of the state, or by the gratitude of the ruler. The Viceroy, though a grander person was a very in- ferior statesman. He was a man of business ; not less proud, yet rather more accessible than his brother, and would have worked his way better had he been aided by a more elastic secretary. They both mistook their course ; they began where they should have concluded ; and acted upon the vain idea of diverting away the attention of an ardent people from an animating object, by the novel purity of pecuniary retrenchments. On this erro- neous principle, they passed over more important con- cerns, and proceeded to the detection of official pecula- tions with unprecedented activity ; they even sacrificed to this delusive, and comparatively frivolous object, one of the highest officers, and one of the most extensive politi- cal connections in Ireland. Earl Temple and his brother thus setting to work steadily, as men of business, laboureo to gain a confidence amongst the people by financial re forms, before they had established a foundation for de serving it by constitutional services. III. However, few acts of the first Temple administra lion gave the Irish nation any important grounds for com plaint or for suspicion. Every day discovered and ex- posed some new official delinquency, and every day OF THf: IRISH NATION. 249 brought its dismissals or its punishments. In other times, and under other circumstances, this meritorious exertion would have had its full weight, and received adequate approbation ; but that moment was not an or- dinary one ; a financial reform was but a secondary ob- ject, and was soon considered rather as an interruption to the view of constitutional arrangement, and leading away the attention of the nation from great measures, l)y thosf' nf comparatively unimportant consequence. This system failed in all its objects ; the nation saw and de- spised the principle, they were not in a humour to relish naked financial arrangements, the idea of national inde- dependence had filled their minds, and popular tranquil- lity should have preceded financial retrenchment, then it would have been grateful, now it was contemptible. The Viceroy, however, persevered in his official refor- mations ; and though he obtained no credit from the body of the people, he appeared to make considerable progress amongst the aristocracy of the patriots. Amongst those whom Lord Temple selected to aid him in this plausible reformation of public abuses, was a person, who, from that period, continued an active and on some occasions, a distinguished member of the Irish Par- liament. On the question of an Union, he made himself particularly remarkable, and had nearly ended his mortal career in supporting the minister. Mr. Isaac Corry, the son of an eminent merchant in No wry, had been elected representative in Parliament for his native town, and commenced his j)ublic life under the patronage of that dignified Irishman, Mr. John O'Neil, with great advantages. His figure and address were those of a gentleman, rather graceful and prepossessing ; and though not regularly educated, he was not badly in- formed. He was a man of business, and a man of plea- sure : he had glided over the surface of general politics, and collected the idioms of superficial literature ; he pos- sessed about a third rate public talent ; his class of elo- cution in Parliament was sometimes useful and always agreeable, but on momentous subjects he was not efficient. In facing great questions, he frequently shrunk back, in facing great men, he was sufficiently assuming. His public principles were naturally patriotic ; but his interest 250 RISE AND FALL lost 110 time ill adapting them to his purposes. He sought to acquire the character of an accompUshed financier, but he was totally unequal to the mazes of financial specula- tion, and there ho altogether failed. His private habits and qualities were friendly and engaging, his public ones as correct as his interest would admit of As a reward for his fidelity to the Irish Minister of 1799, he succeeded in the first object of his life, the sup- planting of Sir John Parnell in the Chancellorship of the Irish Exchequer. But it added little to his emolument, and nothing to his reputation. He wrangled through the Irish Union as a ministerial partisan, and exposed himself as a financier in the Imperial Parliament. His influence was neutralized when he lost his country, his pride was extinguished when he lost his office, and he was defeated at Newry, in which he thought himself es- tablished. Like others of his repenting countrymen, he withdrew from public life, upon the purchase of his in- tegrity, regretting past scenes, and disgusted with the passing ones. He lingered out his latter days in an in- glorious retirement, the prey of chagrin, and the victim of unimportance. As a private friend, it is impossible but to regret him ; as a public character he has left but little of celebrity. Lord Charlemont and Mr. Grattan, dazzled by specious appearances, placed much confidence in, and formed some- what of a political connection with the new Lord Lieute- nant. But they soon found that it had become impera- tively necessary to change the tone of their representa- tions to Government ; and during the recess of Parlia- ment, they adopted language very different from and much stronger than that which they had conceived to be sufficient during the last administration. The interval between the prorogation and the meeting of a new Par- liament, comprised a period of great importance in Irish history, and merits considerable attention, as bearing strongly on the subsequent transactions which extin- guished its constitution. IV. The armed Volunteers had now assumed a delib- erative capacity. Political subjects became topics of regular organized discussion in every district of Ireland, and amongst every class and description of its populatioiL OF THE IRISH NATION. 251 They paraded as soldiers, and they debated as citizens ; and but few days passed over, in which they did not exercise in both capacities. More tlian 150,000 Vohm- teers now appeared upon their regimental muster-rolls : prepared to join their standards the moment tlieir country demanded their exertions ; an army so constituted must have been strong, an army so animated must have been invincible. The Catholics now became also practically active in the same cause, considerable bodies of that body now took up arms, formed regiments in several districts, and placed themselves entirely under the command and control of their Protestant officers and fellow subjects. iVll was unanimity in the armed bodies ; but a general discontent and suspicion, as to the conduct of Great Britain, appeared in rapid progress, and proceedings more than usually alarming were occurring every moment throughout the whole nation. Many collateral and important constitutional points now successively appeared to have been omitted in the claim of rights ; and many remained unaffected by the repeal of the English statute, but which sooner or later must necessarily give rise to new and great collisions. The debates of the last session inconclusive in their results, had, without remedying these difficulties, inflamed the people ; and a new paroxysm of discontent actually seized upon the entire population. The Yolunteers, however, soon placed the matter beyond all doubt or argument ; they again entered into decisive resolutions, no longer to obey, or sufTer to be obeyed, any statute or law theretofore enacted in England, and to oppose their execution with their lives and fortunes.* The magistrates refused to act under them, the judges were greatly embarrassed, no legal causes could be proceeded on, under the authority of the British statutes,! though naming Ireland, no counsel * A few resolutions of the Volunteer corps will serve to show tb-^ spirit and temper ot the whole ; the most important will be detailed in the Appendix. t Resolutions, County of Monaghan. " We, the High Sheriff, Foreman, and Grand Jury of the County of Monagban, assembled, Lent Assizes, 1782: " Thinking it now peculiarly necessary to declare our sentiments re- epecting the fundamental and undoubted rights of this nation, we dc 252 RISE AND FALL would plead them, no juries would find for them, the operation of many important laws, theretofore in force, was necessarily suspended ; and matters seemed verging towards great perplexity. The general dissatisfaction made rapid progress, assumed a more decisive attitude, and every discreet person became alarmed for the con- sequences. The discussion and arrangement of those numerous constitutional and legal difficulties, though complicated and irritating, appeared absolutely indispensable. It became impossible longer to support the terms of the address to his Majesty, or to argue that "all constitutional questions between the two nations were at an end for ever ; " the fact was practically negatived, and all reasoning on the sufficiency of the simple repeal, daily lost its weight amongst the people. V. Whilst these important subjects were in agitation, and many men's opinions remained undecided in Ireland, the conduct of the British Parliament and of the British Ministry justly confirmed all the suspicions which had been entertained as to the sincerity of Great Britain. unanimously declare, that we will, in every situation of life, and with all the means in our power, assert and maintain the constitutional rights of this kingdom, to be governed by such laws only as are enacted by the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland, and that we will in every in- stance, uniformly and strenuously oppose the execution of any statutes, except such as derive authority from said Parliament, piledging ourselves to our country, and to each other, to support, with our lives and fortunes, this our solemn declaration ; and further, we bind ourselves, that we will yearly renew this necessary vindication of our rights, until such time as they shall be explicitly acknowledged, and firmly established. " Thomas Corry, Sheriff, " Samukl Madden, Foreman, and Fellows." Resolutions entered into by the Corps of Dublin Volunteers, on Friday, the 1st of March, 1782, His Grace the Duke of Leinster in the Chair. " Resolved, That Great Britain and heland are, and ought to be, in- separably connected, by being under the dominion of the same King, and enjoying equal liberty, and similar constitutions. "That the King, Lor Is, and Commons of h'eland only, are competent to make laws, binding the snbjecls of this realm; and that we will not obey or c;ive operation to any laws, save only those enacted by the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland, whose rights and privileges, jointly and severally, we are determined to support with our lives and fortunes." •' Signed (by order), John Williams, Sec." OF THE IRISH NATION. 253 Every day during the session of Parliament discord had been augmenting : Mr. Flood was frequently victorious in the argument ; but Mr. Grattan was always victorious in the majority. Their contests were, at first moderate : but at length, discretion was abandoned on both sides and gave way to altercations, abounding in eloquence, but too personal and too acrimonious to be recorded in these memoirs. This violent difference of opinion between those two great men, of course communicated its effects, more or less, amongst all their supporters, and became injurious to the general cause of the country. iMr, Grattan firmly believed that he was right ; and he would not recede. His pertinacity formed a rallying station for some of the old courtiers, who hated botli nien, but Mr. Flood most, and gave them a pretence for their re-embodying against the country. Strong parties in Parliament had assailed Mr. Flood, he stood at bay, and no local statesman ever showed more talent, more judgment, more constitutional knowledge, and effective firnmess, than he did in this memorable contest. This divided state of the Irish nation was exactly what the Ministry were desirous to bring about. It somewhat discredited all the Irish parties, gave breathing time to the British Cabinet; and if disunion had extended itself materially to the people, it would have given the Govern- ment an opportunity of making arrangements entirely conformable to their own objects. This dividing system however, became entirely defeated by the injudicious conduct of some Members of the British Parliament, who could not restrain their chagrin at concessions which they disapproved of; but carried by their zeal beyond their discretion, their injudicious conduct united parties in Ireland, as against a common enemy. Events now rapidly succeeded each other, to impress the Irish nation with a thorough conviction that they had to deal with a Government, from whom, neither political sincerity nor cordial concession could he fnrth(?r expected. VI. Sir George Young, a uKmiber of the British Par- liament, neither a native nor a resident of Ireland, had been placed in the ofiice of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, as 22 254 RISE AND FALL a sinecure reward for his Parliamentary support of the British Government. It was an office during pleasure only ; and therefore no person liolding that office could act contrary to the desire of the Government which appointed him. Yet so circumstanced, Sir George Young, in his place in Parlia- ment, did oppose the Bills of Concession to Ireland, and the repeal of 6th George I. which had been brought in by the British Ministers themselves : he 3.\so protested against the power of passing such Bills by the English Parliament, and disclaimed the power of the King himself to relin- quish the inherent rights of the British Legislature to legislate for Ireland. No person, therefore, could suppose, that Sir George Young, a dependent placeman, and partisan of the British Minisrers, durst have so acted, or have ostensibly opposed the King and his Government, without the express desire or implied concurrence of the Ministers themselves. The effect of such a speech, by such a person, at such a moment, was almost electrical ; but a much weightier authority against the independence of Ireland soon suc- ceeded it. Lord Mansfield (though one of the greatest, was an arbitrary, and, in some points, one of the most mischievous judges that ever sat upon the English Bench,) notwithstanding the repeal of the 6th of George the First by the British Parliament, proceeded to entertain, in the Court of King's Bench, at Westminster, an Appeal from the Court of King's Bench of Ireland ; observing, that " he knew of no law depriving the British Court of its vested jurisdiction." The interest of money in England was only jive per cent., in Ireland it was six ; and Lord Mansfield had placed very large sums on Irish mortgages, to gain the additional one per cent. His Lordship well knew that such Irish investments were, in their nature, a trouble- some species of security ; but that they were not likely to gain any additional facilities by the appellant's juris- diction being taken from the British Courts and transferred to Ireland herself: hence his Lordship's reluctance to part with it. These considerations were not concealed by his Lord* OF THE IRISH NATION. 256 ship. He was forced however to yield to circumstances ; but he never did it with a good grace. VII. The effect of this proceeding was sufficiently alarming ; but another exciting circumstance immediately took place, of still higher order. The English Parliament passed an Act, regulating the importation of sugars from St. Domingo to all His Majesty's dominions in Europe. Ireland was a part of His Majesty's dominions in Europe ; and this statute was construed as of course embracing Ireland, and thereby constituting an act of external legis- lation over Irish concerns, by the King of England, and Parliament of Great Britain, without the concurrence of the Irish legislature. This, however, was rather a refine- ment of construction ; but the conduct of Lord Abingdon, in the British Lords, rendered all further confidence in the state of the arrangement between the two countries, as it then stood, totally inadmissible : it was too explicit to be mistaken. Lord Abingdon, equally adverse to the rights of Ireland, followed, in the House of Peers, the example of Sir George Young in the House of Commons ; and totally denying the authority of the King and the Pa.rliament of England to emancipate Ireland, he moved for leave to bring in a declaratory Bill to re-assert the right of England to legis- late externally in the concerns of Ireland. This remarka- ble Bill stated, " that the Kings of England being masters of the British Seas for eighteen centuries, and the Wes- tern Sea, which surrounded Ireland, belonging to the Kings of England, the British Parliament had the soje right to make laws to regulate the commerce of Ireland, &c." It was impossible noAv for the Irish nation longer to re- main silent. The aggregate of all these circumstances went clearly to a simultaneous attack upon the nevv^ inde- pendence of Ireland, and a decisive proof of what might occur when Great Britain acquired sufficient vigour to re-assert, with any prospect of enforcing, her supremacy. Lord Abingdon's attempt was candid and direct, and, above all others, alarmed the Irish people. The Volun- teers beat to arms throughout the whole kingdom; above 120,000 paraded. The Volunteers March was played by every band, and sung by every voice the war hyniii of Ire- land. All confidence in the sincerity of the British Minis* 266 RISE AND FALL try, its Cabinet, its Officers, its Parliament, was dissipated ; and there were not wanting persons who behev^ed and dis- seminated their opinion, 'hat the rights of Ireland were actually betrayed. 7'hc danger and confusion of the times hourly increased ; Mr. Flood preserved his firmness and his dignity, and gained much ground amongst the people. The repeal of the 6th George I. could no longer be urged by Mr. Grattan as a guarantee ; the sincerity of England could no longer be relied upon ; the people began to act for themselves ; and the Anglo Irish Government was driven back to its old practices, and endeavoured, by every means within its power to diminish the number and over- whelming weight of their Parliamentary opponents. But the Volunteers were in line : the people cried to arms; the British Cabinet now trembled for the consequences of their own duplicity ; yet they had neither honour to relin- quish their system, nor courage to support it : they reluc- tantly perceived it was totally inoperative ; and at length became sensible to the imminent dangers of their own situation. They felt the impossibility of either evasion or resistance ; and early in the ensuing Session the British Ministry and the British Parliament, without any stimu- lating debate, and without waiting for further and peremp- tory remonstrances from Ireland, passed the most impor- tant statute that ever had been enacted as to the atiairs of Ireland, a statute unequivocally and explicitly renouncing all future right to legislate for Ireland. They thereby appeared to have abrogated for ever that principle of legislative usurpation which they had for so many ages pertinaciously and unjustly exercised. Anno vicessimo tertio. GEORGII III REGIS. Chap. XXVIII. An act for removing and preventing all doubts which have arisen, or might arise, concerning the exclusive Rights of the Parliament and Courts of Ireland, in matters of legislation and judicature ; and for preventing any writ of error or appeal from any of His Majesty's Courts in that kingdom from being received, heard, and adjudged in any ot' His Majesty's Courts in the Kingdom of Great Britain. Whereas, by an Act of the OF THE IRISH NATION. 257 last Session of this present Parliament, (intituled An Act to repeal an Act, made in the Sixth Year of the Reign of his Late Majesty King George the First, intituled An Act for the better securing the Dependency of the King- dom of Ireland upon the Crown of Great Britain,) it was enacted, that the said last mentioned Act, and all matters and things therein contained, should be repealed : And whereas, doubts have arisen whether the provisions of the said Act are sufficient to secure to the people of Ireland the Rights claimed by them, to be bound only by laws enacted by His Majesty and the Parliament of that King- dom, in all cases whatever, and to have all actions and suits at law, or in equity, which may be instituted in that Kingdom, decided in His Majesty's Courts therein finally, and without apppeal from thence. Therefore, for removing all doubts respecting the same, may it please your Majesty that it may be declared and enacted, and be it declared and enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the said right claimed by the people of Ireland, to be bound only by laws enacted by His Majesty and the Parliament of that Kingdom, in a/Z cases whatever, and to have all actions and suits at law or in equity, which may be instituted in that Kingdom, decided in His Majesty's Courts therein finally, and without appeal from thence, shall be, and it is hereby declared to be established and ascertained for ever, and shall, at no time hereafter be questioned or questionable. 2nd. And be it further enacted, by the authority afore- said, that no writ of error or appeal shall be received or adjudged, or any other proceeding be had by or in any of His Majesty's Courts in this Kingdom, in any action or suit at law or in equity, instituted in any of His Majesty's Courts in the Kingdom of Ireland ; and that all such wiits, appeals, or proceedings shall be, and they are hereby declared null and void to all intents and purposes ; and that all records, transcripts of records, or proceedings, which have been transmitted from Ireland to Great Bri- tain, by virtue of any writ of error or appeal, and upon which no judgment has been given or decree pronounced, 22* 268 RISE AND FALL before the first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, shall, upon application made by or in behalf of the party in whose favour judgment was given, or decree pronovniced in Ireland, be delivered to such party, or any person by him authorised to apply for and receive the same. VII. This most important measure was brought into the British House of Commons by Mr. Townshend, passed through both Houses, and received the Royal assent without debate and with very little observation. In Eng- land it was cautiously held out neither in the light of a new concession to Ireland, nor of a relinquishment of any then existing supremacy of Great Britain ; but as a con- sequential declaratory part of a general constitutional arrangement entered into between the two nations. In Ireland it was represented as not presuming to create a new, but merely to define a pre-existing constitution. These were wise constructions, and in these points of view gave no alarm nor jealousy to either country ; while it seemed to consummate the desires and objects of the Irish nation. England had now surrendered all the interests and concerns, constitutional and commercial, ex- ternal and internal, which Ireland claimed, into the hands and guardianship of her own legislature. To many, this great and finishing concession appeared a conclusive, magnanimous, and sapient measure of the British Min- istry. Irish freedom appeared complete; her indepen- dence as a nation legislatively acknowledged for ever. The great outline of her constitution appeared to have been drawn irrevocably, the possibility of reassumptioii was regarded as chimerical, and nothing but commercial arrangements remained to be adjusted by the mutual good will, and according to the reciprocal interests of the two nations. For a moment, general happiness, great cor- diality, and invincible strength, seemed to be in store for the British Empire, as the result and reward of this Avise and honourable confederacy of two independent nations. A union of powers and of interests more dignified, sub- stantial, and invigorating to a people, and more ennobling to an empire, never had existed. And it is grievous to contrast that moment of pride and strength with the de- solating measure which in eighteen years afterwards OF THE IRISH NATION. 259 sacrificed the pledged honour and good faith of one nation, to annihilate the independence and paralyze the prosperity of another.* VIII. This legislative renunciation of British supre- macy, however, appeared to some in a different point of view. Mr. Grattan, and many persons of great talent, considered that statute rather a confirmation than a re- Hnquishment of British supremacy, and still adhered more strongly to the adequacy of simple repeal in preference to such a renunciation ; and many considered that it did not go far enougli. The arguments on both sides were carried on with great warmth and pertinacity; and the doubtful security of Irish independence was debated upon the construction of that very statute which was enacted to confirm it. This Act of Renunciation, however, appeared to have a conclusive operation. It was conceived by many, that nothing further was necessary to be done, but such as the Irish Parliament was now in itself competent to enact. But though the measm-e tended to give a strong confidence in the good intentions of the British Parliament, it came too late to satisfy the Irish people as to the purity of their own. On the contrary, it convinced them of either its inefficiency or its corruption, or the Renunciation Act of the British Parliament would have been totally unne- cessary. Mr. Flood's argument now appeared not only triumphant in Ireland, but fully acknowledged, and legis- latively acted upon, even by Great Britain herself The unfortunate opposition in the Irish Commons, and the still more unfortunate majorities of that House, which had scouted doctrines and measures thus subsequently admitted to be just and necessary, by the voluntary acts of England herself, made a deep impression on the Volunteers of Ireland. It was true they had acquired their liberties, they had gained their independence ; but they still had to secure it. The Renunciation Act of England had dis- credited the Irish Parliament witli the Irish people. But it had its apology. It had been so long enfeebled and corrupted, so long within the iron trammels of usurpation, • A full experience of thirty-two years has proved unanswerably the truth of this observation. 260 RISE AND PALL that the chain had become habitual, and therefore it was more to be dreaded that its broken hnlvs might be rivetted anew, and Ireland, in lapse of time, sink again under the same power which had originally enslaved it. The Irish Declaration of Rights had been one of those sudden events which ages might not again produce ; it was the power- ful struggle of an enslaved people, and the irresistible energy of an extraordinary man, uniting to command the acquiescence of a corrupt legislature. Without the people, the Parliament would have been neutralized ; and without the man, the people would have been unsupported : and it was indisputable, that whilst the work remained as yet unfinished, the Irish Parliament had slackened in its duties, and relapsed into its old habits of a corrupt and indolent confidence, contrary to every principle of prudence and foresight, and the opinion of the nation : the Irish people, therefore, as they gave credit to the British Parliament for voluntarily conceding what their own Parliament had refused, naturally lost all confidence in the future conduct and purity of their own legislature ; a suspicion but too j istly founded, and which has given rise to consequences deeply interesting to the fate of that country. OP THE IRISH NATION. 261 CHAPTER XVII. Lord Charlemont's courtly propensities — Comparison of Grattan and Flood — Consequences of their jealousy to the country — The people enlightened, learn the true state of their situation — Discussion — And Arguments— Inefficiency of the measures as a future security — A Reform of Parliament indispensable to public security — Mr. Pitt — His duplicity and corruption — Constitutional reasons for a Reform of Par- liament — Deduction — Conclusion drawn by the Volunteers — Proved by incontrovertible fact — State of Electors and Representatives com- pared — jNIr. Curran — His character. I. These historic incidents have been anticipated, to give a clearer insight into the interesting and important de- bates which immediately succeeded them. During the Marquis of Rockinghanrs lifetime, Earl Charlemont, al- ways virtuous but often feeble, had found something most congenial to himself in the refined habits and mild plaintive disposition of that nobleman ; and was led, by his love of order, to conceive a visionary amalgamation of popular rights and ministerial generosity ; and the fundamental object of all British Cabinets — disunion amongst patriots — seemed likely to gain miich ground through so debilitating a doctrine. Tliose who were guided by Lord Charlemont's tranquil credulity and courtly moderation, had been disposed to be content with simple repeal. But Mr. Flood had seen the crisis, and had boldly thrown down the gauntlet. Mr. Grattan had as boldly taken it up; direct hostilities commenced ; and the same Parliament, which for a moment had been all confidence and unanimity, arrayed itself for combat under two powerful leaders. Mr. Flood had become most prominent amongst the Irish patriots. He was a man of profound abilities, high manners, and great experience in the affairs of Ireland, He had deep information, an extensive capacity, and a solid judgment. His ex})erience made him sceptical — Mr. Grattan's honesty made him credulous. Mr. Grattan 262 RISE AND FALL was a great patriot — Mr. Flood was a great statesman. The first was qualified to achieve the liberties of a coun- try — the latter to untangle a complicated constitution. Grattan was the more brilliant man — Flood the able senator. Flood was the wiser politician — Grattan was the purer. The one used more logic — the other made more proselytes. Unrivalled, save by each other, they were equal in their fortitude ; but Grattan was the more impetuous. Flood had qualities for a great prince — Grattan for a virtuous one ; and a combination of both would have made a glorious monarch. They were great enough to be in contest ; but they were not great enough to be in harmony : both were too proud ; but neither had suiRcient magnanimity to merge his jealou- sies in the cause of his country. It was deeply lamented, that at a moment, critical and vital to Ireland beyond all former precedent, an inveterate and almost vulgar hostility should have prevented the co- operation of men, whose counsels and talents would have secured its independence. But that jealous lust for undi- vided honour, the eternal enemy of patriots and of liberty, led them awa}^ even beyond the ordinary limits of Parlia- mentary decorum. The old courtiers fanned the tlame — the new ones added fuel to it — and the independence of Ireland was eventually lost by the distracting result of their animosities, which in a i'ew years was used as an instrument to annihilate that very legislature, the preser- vation of which had been the theme of their hostilities. This irreconcileable difference of opinion bet\t^een two of the ablest men of Ireland, generated the most ruinous consequences for that ill-fated country. Both had their adherents, as pertinacious as themselves. The simple repeal had contented Mr. Grattan and Earl Charlemont ; the Renunciation Act was enforced by the perseverance of Mr. Flood and the people, and still considered incon- clusive. Both parties adhered to their own conviction ; nothing could warp the opinions of either ; and to the day of their death their opinions remained unaltered, and events proved that both were mistaken. II. By those two statutes, by daily political discussions amongst the Volunteers, and by a multitude of literary publications, circulated with activity, tlie people were at OF THE IRISH NATION. 263 length informed of the plain, true facts of their own case and situation. They were reminded, as at their first for- mation, that Clreat JBritain had long usm'ped the power of binding Ireland by acts of their own Parliament, and that Ireland had thereby been reduced to a state of con- stitutional slavery ; that the British Government, intend- ing to carry its usual usurpation to an extraordinary length, had passed an Act in " the British Parliament," during the reign of George L, " binding Ireland by British statutes," cutting off at once every branch of Irish hberty ;* that this statute did not affect to originate any new power by England, but declared peremptorily, that such a right had always existed in the English Parlia- ment, and always would be acted on when it suited the convenience of the British Ministry. They were reminded, that when the Irish nation became too wise and too pow- erful to be longer retained in subjection, England (in order to pacify the Irish nation) had herself voluntarily repealed that statute declaratory of her pre-existing power ; but did not, by that repeal, renounce the right which she had so long exercised, nor did she in any way declare that she would never re-enact it : that the same right remained, in abeyance ; nor had England admitted in any way that she had been orighially erroneous in enacting it. III. These being the plain and undisputed facts of the * When the author uses the term liberty, as connected with Ireland, lest his application of that term might be misconceived, he thinks it right to state that he applies the term " liberty," previous to 1782, in contradis- tinction to the then existing constitutional subsennency of that country. From 1782 to 1800, he uses it as a constitutional quality, actualhj and fully enjoyed by Ireland; and after 1800, as a constitutional quality ac- tually relinquished ; because he thinks, and always has thought, and that in unison with the avowed opinion of many of the King's present law officers and judges of Ireland, that no detached distinct nation can be said to possess the attributes of a constitutional liberty without a resi- dent legislature of her own to regulate her own concerns; and because he conceives the Union between Great Britain and Ireland, considered abstractedl y as a union, has too much of the " imperium in imperio'* remaining, "to be a perfect union of two nations, and too little of it to be a. federal compact ,- and he considers that the tie of connection between England and Ireland, as it stood on the Is^ day of January, 1800, was the most perfect, firm, and advantageous union (illustrating the term " liberty") that human wisdom could have devised. 264 RISE AND FALL case, it was thence argued that the mere repeal of the declaratory statute, so fur from definitively renouncing the existing right of legislation over Ireland, confirmed it ; and, by repealing, only enacted the expediency of discon tinning its exercise under existing circumstances. The statute which had declared that there existed such a pre- existing right in England to bind Ireland, was indeed repealed by England; but still, though the declaration was repealed, the right was not renounced, and remained only dormant till it might be advisable, under a change of circumstances, to re-declare it by a new statute. The simple repeal of any statute certainly leaves the original jurisdiction untouched, exactly in the same situ- ation as before the repeal of it, and with an undiminished right to re-enact it as might be convenient : and the 6th of George L, its enactments and repeal, stood exactly in the same situation as any enactment and repeal of any ordinary statute of the same monarch. It was therefore argued, that it had become indispensably necessary, for the security of Ireland, that the British Parliament should, by statutes of their own, not only repeal the Act declara- tory of Irish dependence, but also expressly and for ever renounce the existence of any such legislative authority over Ireland, or future renewal of such usurpation, with- out which renunciation Ireland had no guarantee for her constitution. Had the statute of George I. been an assumption of a new authority to legislate for Ireland, its simple repeal would have at once admitted the usurpation of such modern assumption ; but as that statute was the recognition and declaration of pre-existing authority, coeval with the British Parliament itself, a repeal could not be binding on any future Parliament, which might at any future time be disposed to re-enact it. But a statute of the British Parliament and the King of England, by his royal assent, directly renouncing the pre- existence of such assumed right by England, pledged all future Parliaments (as far as Parliaments can be pledged) to the same principle, and also definitively pledged all future Kings of England against any future re-assump- tion or exercise of such power over the Kingdom of Ire- land ; and Jhough the Kings of England and Ireland OF THE IRISH NATION. 265 must always be the same individual, the reahns were totally distinct, their crowns were distinct, though on the same head ; and Ireland, possessing her own indepen- dent legislature any such future attempt by a King of England would then be a direct breach of the law of nations, and a dereliction of his Irish office by the King of Irela-nd. These arguments* became a universal subject of dis cussion ; and were rendered of still greater interest by debates, which every day arose on other points inter- woven with the arrangements. Nimierous British statutes had been enacted, expressly naming and legislating for Ireland, as if enacted by its own Parliaments. All these remained still in activity, and great inconvenience nmst necessarily have arisen from an immediate and indiscri- minate suspension of their operation. None were enacted in Ireland to supply their places ; and great difficulties were occurring. Modern England could not be humili- ited by generously declaring that her ancestors had ex- ceeded their constitutional authority as to Ireland. On »,he contrary, it should have been her proudest boast to have done justice by avowing it. This was not humilia- tion — it was true glory : and when England, shortly after- wards, actually renounced for ever, by the act of her own legislature, her domination over Ireland, she could not have been much gratified by the temporizing complaisance of the Irish Parliament. IV. It is also very remarkable, that though Mr. Walshe and the Recorder alone divided against the address of Mr. Grattan, in a very short time afterwards there was scarcely a member of Parliament, or a man in Ireland, * The arguments used by Mr. Flood and Mr. Grattan on this intricate point, and which finally decided the fate of Ireland, branched out into no many parts, were debated with such ability by both parties, that though the arguments may be compressed, the strength and beauty of the language never can be given in any publication. At all events, those arguments have been published by a number of persons, and partly appear in Mr. Grattan's speeches, published by his son. The author, however, never being on that point of the same opinion as Mr. Grattan, mentioned to him his dissent and his difficulty as to the terms in which he should publish the points and issue of those arguments ; and the author has no mode so authentic as by Mr. Grattan's letter to himself on that subject, obviously not a private one, but rather intended, in point oi ■ubject, to be made public. 33 266 RISE AND FALL who did not concur decidedly in their opinions ; and even the British ministry and the British legislature, by theii own voluntary act, confirmed their doctrine. Public dis- cussions on one great subject seldom fail to involve retiec- tions upon others, and these naturally brought the Irish people to discuss the imperfections of their own Commons House of Parliament, and to perceive, that without a comprehensive reform of that department, there was no security against the instability of events and the duplicity of England. The following letter, however, from Mr. Grattan to the author, appears to throv/ new and material light upon the subject, and to develop the individual views and politics of Mr. Grattan himself, more clearly than any speech or document heretofore published. This letter also proves, more than volumes, the insin- cerity of the Duke of Portland and the English Govern- ment : their distinction between the words " recognised" and " established," leaves their political reservation be- yond the reach of scepticism. This letter shows palpably the ruin that a want of co-operation between two great men brought upon the country ; and, above all, it incidentally exposes the courtly, credulous, and feeble politics of Earl Charlemont, so injurious to the public cause, and so depressing to the vigour and energies of its greatest advocate. To Mr. Ponsonby's chance remissness on a future cri- sis, is attributable the ultimate loss of the Irish legisla- ture, as Lord Charlemont's political courtesy was, on this, fatal to its security. Patriots without energy, as bees without stings, may buz in sunshine, but can neither defend their hive, nor assail their enemy. " House of Coinmons, London^ " March, 2nd. " My dear Barrington, " I am excessively sorry that your health has been impaired, and I hope it will soon be restored. " I will get you the Whig-C\\\h resolution. They pro- posed to obtain an internal reform of Parliament, in which they partly succeeded : they proposed to prevent an unioUj in which they failed. CF THE IRISH NATION. 267 "The address that declared no political question re- mained between the two countries, had in view to stop the growth of demand, and preserve entire the annexation of the Crown. It was, to us, an object to prevent any- future political discussion touching the relative state of the two countries ; because we might not be so strong as in that moment. " And it was an object to us, and to the English Minister, to guard against any discussion that might shake the connection to which we were equally attached. Fox wished sincerely for the liberty of Ireland without reserve. He was an enemy to an union, and wished the freedom to be annexed to his name. " The Act of repeal was a part of a treaty with Eng- land. A declaratory Act of title is the affirmance of the existence of a former title : the repeal is a disaffirmance of any such former title ; the more so when accompanied by a transfer of the possession, viz. the transfer of the final judicature and the legislation for the colony-trade of the new-acquired islands, made in consequence of a pro- test by Ireland against the claim of England. " The repeal was not any confession of usurpation — it was a disclaimer of any right. You must suppose what I have said, unsaid. A man of spirit may say that ; but he will hesitate to unsay word by word. That Avas the case of England. She would not in so many words con- fess her usurpation, nor did she ; on the contrary, when they pressed her, she exercised the power, and said, ' The constitution of Ireland is established and ascertained in future by the authority of the British Parliament.' It was proposed in the House of Commons to change the words, and say ' recognised for ever.' They agreed to the words ' for ever,' and refused the word ' recognised/ and kept in the word ' established.' This, I call making Ireland free with a vengeance. "I wish, in your History, you would put down the irgument on both sides. I can get you Flood's pubhshed by his authority. " I am excessively thankful for the many handsome things you have said of me. " Yours most truly, "HENRY GRATTAN. " Chevalier Barringtoii, " Boidogne. pres Paris." 268 RISE AND FALL V. Their late constitutional acquirements, though apparently confirmed heyond the power of revocation, might be yet a precarious tenure, whilst Ireland had a House of Commons, so framed and elected as to be sus- ceptible of relapse into its former degradation; and though their constitution was not in any state of present danger, future insecurity must be the necessary conse- quence of a feeble or corrupt representation. Ov^er the Lords and over the Crown, the control of the people was insufficient and uncertain. It was just, there- fore, that they should have a counterpoise, by a House of Commons of their own free selection ; and events have since proved that the suspicions were prophetic. These, and such like reflections, led the Irish people gradually according to their capacities, into a train of constitutional deductions ; and suggested topics as to the reform and purity of Parliament, which they had nevei betbre thought of. The great body of a people can never be capable of that cool and discriminating course of reasoning, which individuals or limited delegations are capable of exercising, hence they too frequentl}^ in great general assemblies, follow, whether right or wrong, the sentiments of those Avho reason more plausibly than themselves, or whose elocution grasps at their feelings, and gives them a fac- titious superiority over ordinary understandings. It was impossible that the great body of the Irish Volunteers, which had now assumed the guardianship of Ireland, could be capable of methodical, deep, systematic reasoning, or of unerring political deduction from argu- ments of enthusiastic and heated orators; but a great proportion of them reasoned by that instinctive power which nature confers on shrewd uncultivated capacities, and on none more than the humble orders of the Irish people ; they caught the strong features of their case and their constitution : they knew that they had contributed by their arms and by their energy, to the common cause of their country, they felt that they had been victorious, they listened attentively to their officers, who, more learned than the soldiers, endeavom-ed to adapt their explanations to the strong, coarse minds which they sought to enlighten, they instructed them as to existing OF THE IRISH NATION. 269 Circumstances, and to future possibilities, and thus en- deavoured to teach those whom they commanded, not only how to act, but why that principle of action was demanded by their country. At this time, the visionary and impracticable theories of more modern days had no place amongst the objects of the armed societies of Ireland; but the naturally shrewd and intelligent capacities of the Irish people were easily convinced, that without some constitutional reform in the mode of electing the Commons House of Parliament, they could have no adequate security for permanent indepen- dence. They learned that paroxysms of liberty which give rise to revolutions, do not endure for ever, and that the spirit of Irish freedom, which had effected the liberation of their country, might expire, that the independence of the constitution, unless protected by a free parliament, never could be secure, that the enemy might attempt to regain her position, and that the battle would then be fought again under multiplied disadvantages. Such a reform, therefore, as might insure the unin- fluenced election and individual independence of the Irish representatives, appeared to be indispensable, not as a theoretical innovation, nor of a revolutionary complexion, but as a practical recurrence to the first and finest elements of the constitution as it then existed, without any diviation from the principles on which it had been with so much wisdom originally constructed. This species of reformation, and none other, was that which the Irish nation so judiciously sought for ; nor were they without high authority and precedent to countenance that requi- sition. Mr. Pitt, that great, but mischievous and mistaken statesman, at that time professed himself to be a reforming patriot, but it was profession only, his deep and solid in- tellect was soon perverted by the pride of his successes, and confidence in his omnipotence. He reigned at an unexampled era, his fertile and aspiring, but arrogant genius, led him into a series of grand and magnificent delusions, generating systems and measures which, while professing to save, sapped the outworks of the British constitution, and accelerated, if not caused, the financial ruin in which he left his country. He, however, lived long enough to rule as a minister by that system of cor- 23* 270 RISE AND FALL ruption which, as a patriot, he had reprobated ; and to extinguish the Irish Parhament, by the loyahy and at- tacliment of which his government had been uniformly supported. The Irish people coincided with Mr. Pitt as to the necessity of a reform ; nor did the leading reformers of Ireland materially differ 'with him in the details of that reformation : the principle was admitted by both nations, but Mr. Flood was undisguised, and Mr. Pitt was in masquerade. The course of reasoning which led the armed associa- tions of Ireland at that period to decide upon the impe- rative necessity of a reform of Parliament, was of that sober and convincing nature, which without sophism or declamation, proves itself by the force of uncontrovertible premises, and of plain and simple deductions. VI. 1st. It could not be denied that the fundamental principle of the British constitution is a perfect relative equipoise and distinctiveness of its three component es- tates, the King, the Lords, and the representatives of the people. 2nd. It could not be denied, that any deviation from that equipoise and distinctiveness necessarily altered the political symmetry of the whole, and destroyed that counteracting quality of the three estates, on the preser- vation of which public liberty entirely depended. 3d. It could not be denied that the Members of the House of Commons, forming the third estate, should, by the theory of the constitution, be persons freely selected by the people themselves, to guard above all things against any coalition of the other estates, (the Crown and the Peers), which coalition must endanger the liberties of the people, by extending the prerogatives and powers of the Executive Government beyond the limits the consti- tution restrains them to. 4th. It could not be denied, that any one individual, arrogating to liimself, and actually exercising a power to nominate, and by his own sole will elect and return re- presentatives to the Commons House of Parliament, sent them into that assoml)ly, not to speak the sentiments of the people, but the sentiments of the individual who no- minated thenij and caused an immediate deviation from 1. Lord Eihvunlfti. 4.Lon1 /onnni/lis. -i ..sWn-t<>kt.-. .'t.Ji'lm Phi/p,>t I'lirn. .^. JM^-hoi> fl'Domi . ii. Ii-tliuj- /''/t>iiJi>'/: 7. Bfthrrt En////,'// . OF THE IRISH NATION. 271 the fundamental principles of the British constitution ; but where members of the House of Peers so nominated and returned persons to sit and vote as members in the House of Commons, it was, in fact, the Honse of Peers voting by proxy in the House of Commons ; thereby at once destroying the independence and distinctiveness of the third estate, and enabling the Crown and the Peers, oy coalition, to control the Commons, and establish a despotic throne and an arbitrary aristocracy. The power, therefore, constitutionally conferred on the Kin? by his royal prerogative of creating Peers, coupled with the power unconstitutionally practised by Peers, of creating Commoners, left the people no sufficiently counteracting constitutional protection for their liberties. 5th. It could not be denied, that purchasing the repre- sentation of the people in the Commons House of Par- Uament for money, and selling the exercise of that repre- sentation for office, was a constitutional crime of great magnitude ; and that when such a practice was publicly countenanced, it of course destroyed the purity of Parlia- ment, the principle of representation, and safeguard of the constitution. But if these purchases were made by servants of the Executive Government, in trust, for the uses and purposes of its ministers to enable them to carry measures through the legislature, which their naked strength, official character, or the merits of the measure, might be unable to effect, it was unequivocal that such practices put an end totally to all security in the constitution, and that the people must owe the enjoyment of their liberties only to the 'timidity, the forbearance, or the possible wisdom of an official oligarchy. The Volunteers now examined existing matters of tact in Ireland as applicable to these premises, and comparing the one with the other, the conclusion became so plain and obvious to the humblest capacities, that the necessity of reform oi modification in the mode of electing members for the Parliament of Ireland, required no further argument. To ascertain the relative matters of fact, as applicable to these premises, the Volunteers caused to be printed and published, lists of their House of Commons, desig- 272 RISE AND FALL nating the mode of election of every individual; the individual by whose personal influence each representative was elected; the number of persons who nominally returned the member ; and, as far as could be ascertained, the money or valuable consideration, paid for such uncon- stitutional representation. The result of the inquiry left no room to doubt the applicability of those inquiries to a great proportion of the Commons House of Parliament. The Earl of Ely nominated nine members to the House of Commons. The Earl of Shannon nominated seven; and above twenty other members of the House of Lords nominated and elected members for the House of Com- mons. Many individuals openly sold their patronage, for money, to the best bidder, others returned members at the nomination of the Viceroy or his secretary ; and it appeared that the number of representatives elected freely by the people, upon constitutional principles, did not compose one-fourth of the Irish Commons. VII. An internal reform of Parliament was, on full consideration, deemed quite incompetent to meet the danger. Numerous statutes had been passed to punish, as a public crime, the bribery of an elector ; but no law reached the individual who possessed and exercised an influence over electors, and then secretly sold that in- fluence for money or for title. The elector who corruptly voted, was considered as a criminal ; but the man who corruptly bought and sold his vote, was tolerated. On the fullest investigation, therefore, it appeared that in Ireland the third estate was, in a considerable degree, nominated by the second estate ; that both the second and third estates were influenced by the first estate ; and that the whole symmetry and equipoise of the constitution were theoretic, but had no solid or permanent existence. The Volunteers at length determined to demand a reform of Parliament, and to bring the measure before the existing Commons in a garb which they conceived would render it irresistible ; and from that determination arose the formation of a national representative convention of patriotic delegates selected from the armed regiments, the most extraordinary, animating, but unprecedented assembly ever yet beheld in the midst of a people, at the moment enjoying an ascertained constitution. OF THE IRISH NATION. 273 Had this assembly been conducted with discriminating caution and untiinchitig firmness, it might have attained all its objects, and have effected a complete renovation of the British constitution, through the Irish people. England would not long have delayed acting on the successful pre- cedent of Ireland. This extraordinary meeting, however, though its objects were not effectuated, brought forward a great mass of talent and of patriotism which had there- tofore lain dormant. During the progress of all political reforms and revo- lutions, men have been frequently found pressing them- selves forward into public notice, solely by the strength of their talents and the power of their energies ; springing at once from the humblest ranks of obscurity, to the high- est class of reputation. One of these luminaries was about this period seen arising in Ireland, whose celebrity in that country had no competitor. John Philpot Curran, a person of humble origin, of careless habits, and contemptible exterior, rose at once to give new llistre and spirit to an already highly enlightened and spirited profession. He had passed through the University of Dublin unsignalised by any very peculiar honours ; and was admitted to the Irish bar, scarcely known, and totally unpatronised. With the higher orders, he had no intercourse, and had contracted manners, and adopted a kind of society, tending rather to disqualify him for advancement : but whatever disadvantages he suffered from humble birth, were soon lost sight of amidst the brilliancy of his talent, and a comparison of what he had been, with what he rose to, rendered the attainments of his genius the more justly celebrated. Never did eloquence appear in so many luminous forms, or so many affecting modulations, as in that gifted personage. Every quality which could form a popular orator was in him combined ; and it seemed as if nature had stolen some splendid attribute from all former declaimers to deck out and embellish her adopted favourite. On ordinary occasions, his language was copious, frequently eloquent, yet gene- rally unequal, but, on great ones, the variety of his elo- cution, its luxuriance, its effect, were quite unrivalled, solemn, ludicrous, dramatic, argumentative, humourous, 274 RISE AND FALL sublime, in irony, invincible, in pathos, overwhelming, in the alternations of bitter invective and of splendid eulogy, totally unparalleled ; wit relieved the monotony of narrative, and classic imagery elevated the rank of forensic declamation. The wise, the weak, the vulgar, the elevated, the ignorant, the learned, heard and were affected, he had language for them all. He commanded, alternately, the tear or the laugh ; and at all times acquired a despotic ascendency over the most varied auditory. These Avere the endowments of early Curran ; and these were the qualities which, united to an extraordinary pro- fessional versatility, enabled him to shoot like a meteor beyond the sphere of all his contemporaries. In private and convivial society, many of his public qualities accompanied him in their fullest vigour. His Avit was infinite and indefatigable. A dramatic eye anti- cipated the flights of an unbounded fancy ; but the flashes of his wit never wounded the feelings of his society ; except, perhaps, those minds of contracted jealousy, which shrink up from the reluctant consciousness of inferiority. He was, however, at times, very unequal. As in a great metropolis (to use one of his own illustrations,) " the palace and the hovel, splendour and squalidness, magnificence and misery, are seen grouped and contrasting within the same precincts :" there were occasions when his wit sunk into ribaldry, his sublimity degenerated to grossness, and his eloquence to vulgarity ; yet his strength was evident even in his weakness. Hercules, spinning as a concubine, still was Hercules ; and, probably, had Curran been devoid of these singular contrarieties, he might have glided into a brilliant sameness ; and, like his great contemporary, Burgh, though a more admired man, he would probably have been a less celebrated personage. The inrmmerable difliculties he had to encounter in early life, were not easy to conquer; but once conquered, they added an impetus to his progress. His ordinary, mean, and trifling person ; his culpable negligence of dress, and all those disadvantageous attributes of early indigence, were imperceptible or forgotten amidst his talents, which seldom failed to gain a decided victory over the prejudices even of those who were predetermined to condemn him. OF THE IRISH NATION. 275 His political life was unvaried : from the moment he became a Member of the Irish Parliament his temperature never changed. He piu'sued the same course, founded on the same principles. He had closely connected himself in party and in friendship with Mr. George Ponsonby ; but he more than equalled that gentleman in the sincerity of his politics. From the commencement to the conclusion of his public life, he was the invariable advocate of the Irish people ; he never for a moment deserted their in- terest or abandoned their defence. He started from obscurity with the love of Ireland in his heart ; and while that heart beat, it was his ruling passion. As a mere lawyer, he was in no estimation ; but, as an able advocate, he had no rival ; and, in his skill and powers of interrogation, he vastly excelled all his rivals. He never failed to uphold the rights and independence of the Irish bar, on every occasion where its privileges were trenched upon ; and the Bench trembled before him when it merited his animadversions. None ever assailed him publicly, who was not overthrown in the contest ; and even the haughty arrogance of Fitzgibbon seldom hazarded an attack, being certain of discomfiture.* Mr. Curran was appointed Master of the Rolls (Mr. Ponsonby then Lord Chancellor.) He was disappointed in not obtaining a legal situation more adapted to his des- cription of talents. He was also chagrined at not having obtained a seat in the Imperial Parliament, and at length resigned his office, upon a pension of 2,700/. per annum. He died at Brompton, on the 14th of October, 1817, after a short illness, and now " not a stone tells where he lies." His funeral was private, and he was buried in the yard of Paddington Church. The Author knew him. He had too much talent to last, every thing is worn out by inces- sant action. He was never fond of show, and in his latter days he both sought and obtained obscurity. Of the close of his life I have heard much, and credit little. • Mr. Curran and Lord Clare, whilst the latter was Attorney General, had on one occasion a controversy which could only be terminated by a personal battle. Tlie combatants fired two cases of very long pistols at each other, but certainly with very bad success and very little eclat ; for they were neither killed, wounded, satisfied, nor reconciled; nor did cither of them express the slightest disposition to contmue the engagement 276 RISE AND FALL CHAPTER XVIII. Volunteers received by the King — Happy state of Ireland — Progi*essive- ly prosperous — Untoward consequences of the collision between Flood and Grattan — A second Uungannon meeting of delegated Volunteers — ■ Mr. Flood gains ground — Arguments — A National Convention decided on — Their first meeting — Interesting procession of the Delegates described — Entrance of the Delegates — Extraordinary coincidence of localities — Embarrassing situation — The Delegates meet at the Ro- tunda. I. That unparalleled army, the Irish Volunteers, had now ascended to the zenith of their character and pros- perity. They had liberated their country from a thraldom of seven centuries, their numbers, their attitude, and re- spectability, had conquered their independence from a more powerful nation, without blood slied. The King received at his court, and his levees, with apparent cordi- ality, Volunteer officers and soldiers who without his authority, formed an army unconnec*3d with his Crown, and independent of his Government : they acted without pay, and submitted to discipline without coercion. The regular forces paid them military honours ; the Parliament repeatedly thanked them for supporting a constitution upon which their establishment had undoubt- edly encroached. They were adored by the people, dreaded by the Minister, honoured by the King, and cele- brated through Eiu'ope. They had raised their country from slavery, and they supported their Monarch against his enemies. They were loyal, but determined to be free ; and if their Parliament had been honest, Ireland would have kept her rank, and the nation preserved its tranquil- lity. The rise and progress of that institution have been already traced ; its decline and fall nnist now be recorded. At this period, Ireland appeared to hav^e notliing to de- sire but capital and industry. She was free, she was in- dependent, populous, poweiful and patriotic ; her debt did not exceed her meons of payment ; but of trading capital OF THE IRISH NATION. 277 she had insufficient means, and her industry was cramp- ed hy the narrowness of her resources. All the materials and elements of industry were within her own realm, and the freedom of trade she had acquired, now promised a stimulus to her commerce which she had never before experienced. The people were united ; Catholic and Protestant were on the most cordial terms ; the voice of patriotism had exorcised the spirit of discord, the Catholic for the moment forgot his chains, and the Protestant no longer recollected his ascendency ; peace, order, and se- curity, extended over the whole Island ; no army was required to defend the coasts, no police was wanted to preserve tranquillity, neither loreign nor domestic enemies could succeed against a prospering and united people. Had the ardent nature of Ireland been then tempered by calm and persevering judgment, had ordinary fore- sight controlled or guided her zeal, and had rational scep- ticism moderated her enthusiasm, one short session of her own Parliament might have intrenched her indepen dence, and established her constitution, beyond the power or the influence of all her enemies. Untoward destiny, however, had decreed that unfor- tunate and ever mal-governed Island to fall into the error by which individuals so often meet their ruin. Having obtained successes beyond their expectation, a mist ob- scures their vision ; they know not where to stop, they rush blindly to the dangers that surround them, and lose by indiscretion what they had achieved by fortitude. It was justly feared that the too sensitive, credulous, and enthusiastic Irish, in a fallacious paroxysm of grati- tude, might raise the drawbridge of their fortress for the admission of their enemies, and, amidst the dissensions of the most able and honest of their warders,* those who sought their overthrow might again penetrate into her citadel. II. The unfortunate difference of sentiments between Mr. Flood and Mr. Grattan, by enfeebling the authority * The jealousies, the adverse feelings, and discordant proceedings of Mr. Flood and Mr. Grattan, and tlieir partisans, prevented the adoption of measures which might have secured the country against any attempt at union or annexation. See the speech of Lord Castlereagh, on 15th January, 1800. 24 278 RISE AND FALL of both, had diminished the security of the nation. Mr. Flood's ditfidence of government was most congenial to the prospective interests of a people long enslaved. The energy of patriots had achieved, but it required the wisdom of statesmen to secure, their newly-acquired constitution. Both, however, united in opinion as to the necessity of a free and independent Parliament to protect that constitu- tion ; but no unanimity existed between them or through- out the country, as to the details of that measure. By this unfortunate collision, the old courtiers obtained breathing time, and the Minister acquired hope. The hundred eyes of the British Argus were keen to discover the failings and fraihies of the Irish patriots ; nor did they watch long in vain ; for a measure, which forms one of the most remarkable incidents of Irish History, soon gave the EnglishGovernmentanopportunity of resuming its operations against that devoted country. The line of reasoning already described, as to the state of the Parliament, and the necessity for its reform, made a deep and general impression, and was indefatigably circulated throughout the whole nation. Discontent quickly sprang up amongst the people, and their meetings increased. At length delegates from several Volunteer regiments again assembled at Dungannon, to consider the expediency and means of an immediate reform of Parlia- ment. Hence originated one of the most extraordinary scenes in the annals of any country. III. Mr. Flood was now considered the most able leader of the Irish patriots. Those who supported his opinions still pertinaciously contended, that the measures already conceded were not, in themselves, guarantees for the con- stitution which had been acquired, or in any respect suf- ficient for the preservation of independence ; that confi- dence in the existing state of her Parliament, would lull the nation into a fatal slumber, from which she might be awakened only by a new assault upon her freedom ; and that no arrangement, without an explicit, formal, and un- equivocal recantation by England, of her original usur- pations, ought to have been accepted. They urged that such an avowal would certainly have been obtained, if the Parhament had not been corrupted or deceived. They contended, that if England should refuse such a declara- OF THE IRISH NATION. 279 tion, that, in itself, would be positive proof of her general insincerity ; and that if she haughtily persisted in retain- ing the theory of her usurpation, after the practice of it had been relinquished, it was evident she would watch the first favourable moment to impose still stronger chains than those that she had loosened. This strong language had already been freely used to rouse the friends of Ireland to a conviction of the versa- tility which her Representatives had given such practical proofs of It was most assiduously disseminated, and not without foundation, that the Irish Parliament, in its re- cent proceedings, had clearly evinced more talent than prudence, and less wisdom than declamation ; that whilst patriots were debating in the House, the Secretary was negociating in the corridor ; and therefore it was necessary to the public safety to strangle corruption in its cradle^ and give the people a due confidence in the integrity of their Representatives. It was considered, by many men of influence and for- tune, that a reform of the Commons House of Parliament was attainable, and should be then attained. The na- tional arrangements daily appeared more imperfect, for they had not been conducted with the sound principles of cautious statesmen, nor had satisfactory guarantees been established for their future security. As Parliament was then returned, no well-founded confidence could be placed in its permanent protection ; and it was most judiciously stated by Mr. Flood, that the speech of a puzzled Min- ister, put into the mouth of an embarrassed Monarch, was at that moment the only security for the continuance of Ireland as an independent nation ; that such indepen- dence might rest solely upon a single word of two sylla- bles,* on which every future Minister might found falla- cious reasoning, and place his own equivocal construc- tion. This was, in truth, prophetic. It was also more than insinuated, by men of clear and dispassionate judgment, that the struggles in Parliament weie becoming rather for the supremacy of men and party, than for the preservation of the Constitution ; that they were blind, rancorous, and ill-timed individual contests, dangerous to the state, and irritating to the people. They * The word Fit\al 280 RISE AND PALL argued, that the piercing eye of the British Minister would not fail to watch for the moment when, the Irish being enfeebled by their dissensions, he might destroy that in- dependence which the architects of 1782 had attempted to establish, without guarding against the insecurity of the foundation. So far these arguments were true, but men stopped not here. It was suggested that a requisition to the Parliament, to reform itself, urged by the people, in their civil capacities only, might not have sufficient weight to command attention. If, however, 300 delegates were chosen by Volunteer regiments, from men of fortune, influence, and character, it would prove to the Parliament that a reform was required by those who had a right to require it, and could enforce it. They might send the heads of a Bill to Parliament through the hands of their own members ; such a mode of presentation could create no cavil ; and, above all, the very same men who would deliberate as volunteer delegates, and prepare such a bill, would be, in a great measure, those who, in their civil capacities, composed the several grand juries of the na- tion, many of them being members of the Legislature. The measure was almost unanimously determined upon. IV. Three hundred delegates were now chosen by dif- ferent corps, and the 10th of November (1783) was pro- claimed for the first sitting of the Grand National Con- vention of Ireland, within the precincts of the two Houses of Parliament, the members of which were at the same period exercising their legislative functions. Never was any country placed in a more extraordinary or critical situation. This state of aflairs in Ireland was then seriously felt by the English Cabinet, it became alarmed. Ireland now stood in a high station. No longer (in the language of Mr. Gibbon) a remote and obscure Island, she formed a new feature on the face of Europe, and might assert her rank amongst the second order of European nations. In constitution and in laws, numicipal and international, she was fundamentally the same as England ; her legislature was, in theory, altogether independent. The individuality of their joint Monarch constituted the indefeasible basis of their federative connection; but their respective Par- liaments alone could make laws to bind their respocti^nB OP THE IRISH NATION. 281 people, to regulate their own commerce, and to pay their own armies. Ireland had wisely and magnanimously re- corded her loyalty, and proclaimed her determination, that ^'whilst she shared the liberty^ she would share the fate of the British nation ;" but the compact was recipro- cal^ and she had bound herseli'nofnrl/ier. England could not with apathy regard a military Con- vention, meeting and operating on political subjects, in the centre of the Irish Metropolis. The attention of England was by the adoption of these extraordinary proceednigs naturally roused to a more detailed review of the statistical circumstances of Ireland By the acquisition of a free commerce, and of unshackled manufactures, the revenue and resources of Ireland con- sequently became susceptible of extraordinary improve- ment, and might soon have equalled those of many continental nations, and solely at her own disposal and appropriation. In the capability of military power also she had few rivals ; at that period she contained, (and continues to contain) more fighting men, or men who love fightings and who might be collected in a week, than any other state in Europe. The powerful and elevated position she was then about to occupy, and the unprecedented steps by which she had mounted to that eminence, could not be regarded without strong feelings of solicitude by the sister country. The example of Ireland had afforded a grave and instructive lesson to an oppressed and vassal people, and a wholesome lecture to griping and monopolising govern- ments. Of all the extraordinary circumstances which the state of Ireland then displayed, none was beheld, at that critical period, with such mingled wonder and alarm by England, as the rapid {)rogress of the Volunteer associa- tions. And the l)old step of a delegated convention, the increasing numbers, discipline, and energy of that military hislitution, had no precedent, nor in the changed state of Europe, can the phenomenon ever appear in any country. The Volunteers, now actually armed and discipliyied^ and whose deloi^ates were now fo be assembled were said to exceed 150,000 organzi(3d men. But whatever the 24* 282 RISE AND FALL force then was, the Yoliinteer recruits, if called on, would have comprised the male inhabitants of nearly the whole island, including every rank, religion, and occupation. Such a force, though self-levied, self-officered, and utterly independent of any control or subjection, save to their own chosen chiefs, still remained in perfect harmony amongst themselves, in entire obedience to the municipal laws of the country, holding the most friendly and intimate intercourse with the regular forces, and by their activity and local knowledge, preserving their country in a state of general and imprecedented tranquillity. This extraordinary military body, equally ready to shed their blood in opposing a foreign enemy, supporting theii own liberties, or defending those of England, combining the moral and physical powers, and nearly the entire wealth, of an immense population, nothing could have resisted ; and whatever ground of alarm the British Government might then have felt, had ministers been mad enough, at that period, to have attempted its direcv or compulsory suppression, instead of its attachment to the sister country, the result would inevitably have been a prompt separation of the two islands. Ireland was in this state at the first meeting of the National Convention, and the Parliament assembled about the same time. The Volunteer elections were quickly ended without tumult or opposition, and their 300 delegates, each escorted by small detachments of Volun- teers from their respective counties, entered the metropolis, and were universally received with a respect and cor- diality impossible to be depicted ; yet, all was harmony and peace. Many men of large fortune, many of great talent, and many members of the Lords and Commons, had been elected delegates hy the Volunteers^ and took upon themselves the double functions of Parliament and of the Convention. The Royal Exchange of Dublin was first selected for the meeting of the Volunteer delegates. Whoever has seen the metropolis of Ireland must admire the external architecture of that building ; but it was found inadequate to the accommodation of a very large deliberative assem- bly. It was therefore determined that the Rotunda (being then the finest room in Ireland) was best adapted or THE IRISH NATION. 283 for the meeting of the National Convention. This was, and continues to be, the great assembly-room of Dublin. It consists of a circular saloon of very large dimensions, connected with numerous and very spacious chambers, and terminates Sackville street, the finest of the Irish metropolis. It is surmounted by a dome, exceeding in diameter the Irish House of Commons, and was perfectly adapted to the accommodation of a popular assembly. This saloon and the connected chambers had been fitted up for the important purpose to which they were to be appropriated. But little did the Irish people conceive, that what they then considered as the proudest day their nation had ever seen, only preceded a little time her national dissolution, and even prepared the grave in which her new-gained independence was to be inhumated. Every measure, however, had been previously taken to prepare that splendid chamber for this unparalleled assembly, and to receive the delegates and their escorts with every possible mark of respect and dignity. Voliuiteer grena- diers were ordered to attend on the Convention as a guard of honour during their sittings, and to mount an officer's guard at the house of the President; whilst Volunteer dragoons patrolled during the sittings, in the utmost tranquillity, throughout the entire city. The detachments of country corps, who had escorted their delegates, having a great emulation as to their appearance and acquipments on this grand occasion, had new dresses and accoutrements, and it was agreeable to see the noble hunters on which a great proportion of the cavalry were mounted. The horse had entered Dublin in very small detachments, from exceedingly numerous corps, and when occasionally formed into line, the great variety of their dresses, ensigns and equipments, presented a splendid, but very striking and singular appearance.* * The author had been sent to town with a detachment of his father's cavalry corps, the " Cullenas^h Rangers;" their undress was white, with black velvet facings, the full dress, scarlet. At the head of these few men, the author felt prouder than an Emperor, it made an impression on his youthful mind, which, even in the chill of age, is still vivid and ani- mating, a glowing patriotism, a military feeling, and an instinctive, though a senseless lust for actual service, arose within him, a sensation which is certainly inherent in a great proportion of the Irish people, and which seldom forsakes them but with their lives. 284 RISE AND FALL The citizens of Dublin excelled in their hospitality, tliey appeared in crowds every where, forcing their invi- tations on the country Volunteers, every soldier had nu- merous billets pressed into his hand, every householder who could afford it, vied in entertaining his guests with zeal and cordiality. Every thing was secure and tranquil, but when it was considered that 300 members had vir- tually proclaimed a concurrent Parliament, under the title of a National Convention, and were about to lead a splendid procession through the body of the city, to hold its sittings within view of the Houses of Legislature, the affairs of Ireland seemed drawing fast to some decisive catastrophe. But it was also considered, that the Con- vention was an assembly of men of rank, of fortune, and of talent. The Convention, therefore, possessed an im- portance and a consistence that seemed to render some momentous consequence absolutely inevitable ; the crisis did arrive, but it was unfortunate ; Ireland tottered, re- trograded and has fallen. The firing of twenty-one cannon announced the first movement of the delegates from the Royal Exchange to the Rotunda, a troop of the Rathdown cavalry, commanded by Colonel Edwards, of Old Court, County of Wicklow, commenced the procession; the Liberty Brigade of artil- lery,* commanded by Napper Tandy, with a band, suc- ceeded. A company of the Barristers' grenadiers, headed by Colonel Pedder, with a national standard for Ireland, borne by a captain of grenadiers, and surrounded by a company of the finest men of the regiment came after, their muskets slung, and bright battle-axes borne on their shoulders. A battalion of infantry, v^nth a band, followed, and then the delegates, two and two, with side-arms, car- rying banners with motto and in their respective uniforms, broad green ribbands were worn across their shoulders. Another band followed playing the special air alluded to. The chaplains of the ditferent regiments in their cassocks, * Some of the musicians of Dublin in 1780, had been employed to compose a march for the general adoption of the Volunteer corps through- out the kingdom, that all might be accustomed to march to the same air at their reviews, Sec. They composed a simple-noted march, now obso- lete, but of which the author retained a copy, still interesting, as ronnecl* ed with a recollection of the times, and of that unparalleled Institution. OF THE IRISH NATION. 285 marched each with his respective corps, giving solemnity to the procession, and as if invoking the blessing of Hea- ven on their efforts, which had a wonderfnl efl'ect on the surronnding mnUitude. Several standards and colours were borne by the different corps of horse and foot, and another brigade of artillery, commanded by Counsellor Calbeck, with labels on the cannons' months,* Avas escort- ed by the Barristers' corps in scarlet and gold (the full dress uniform of the King's Guards;) the motto on their buttons being " Vox popiili suprema lex est.''' The procession in itself was interesting, but the sur rounding scene was still more affecting. Their line of march, from the Exchange to the Rotunda, was through the most spacious streets and quays of the city, open on both sides to the river, and capable of containing a vastly larger assemblage of people than any part of the metro- polis of England. An immense body of spectators, crowding every window and house-top, would be but an ordinary occurrence, and might be seen and described without novelty or interest, but, on this occasion, every countenance spoke zeal, every eye expressed solicitude, and every action proclaimed triumph, green ribands and handkerchiefs were waved from every window, by the enthusiasm of its fair occupants ; crowds seemed to move on the house-tops, ribands were flung upon the delegates as they passed ; yet it was not a loud or boisterous, but a firm enthusiasm. It was not the effervescence of a lieated crowd, it was not the fiery ebullition of a glowing people, it was not sedition, it was liberty that inspired them, the heart bounded though the tongue w^as motionless, those who did not see, or who do not recollect that splendid day, must have the mortification of reflecting that (under all its circumstances) no man did before, and no man ever will "behold its like again." V. The entrance of the delegates into the Rotunda was more than interesting, it was awful. Each doffed his helmet or his hat, as if he felt the influence of that sacred place where he was about to sacrifice at the Shrine of Freedom. Every man knew he was, in some respect, overstepping the boundaries of the Constitution, but he * Their motto was, " Oh Lord, opeji thou our lips, and 3ur mouthi shall sound forth thy praise !" 286 RISE AND FALL considered that his trespass was for the purpose only of adding security to that Constitution which he seemed to transgress. Such a state of things never existed in any other country, consistent with perfect tranquiUity. Ireland, however, proved on that occasion her superior loyalty, and gave the retort courteous to all her calumniators. It was a matter of fact that the independence of Ireland had been achieved, that it had been proclaimed in Ireland and in England, that it had been solemnly ratified and con- firmed for ever by his Majesty from his throne, as monarch of both countries. That compact was therefore firm, because it was federal and final, and the delegates sought what their own Parliament alone was competent to discuss, and over which England had no control. A partial reform of the representation was a measure which the British Minister himself had the duplicity of proposing in Eng- land, yet of undermining in the sister country, even in the face of his own renunciation of all innovation and acknow- ledgment of the former usurpation. VI. These would at any other time, have been subjects for deliberate consideration, but it was too late to reflect, the die was thrown, and, as if every thing conspired to increase the peculiarity of the scene, even the site of the Rotunda, where the Convention assembled, exactly termi- nated the street and fronted the river, on the other side of which, in a direct line, was seen the magnificent dome of the Commons House of Parliament, were 300 members, returned as representatives of the Irish people, according to the practice of the Constitution, were also deliberating. Those localities excited, in every rational mind, some- thing like a dread of possible collision, it was also a grave and curious consideration, that the avowed object of the Volunteer delegation was, in fact to degrade the character of the Parliamentary delegates, and, under the name of reform, convict them of corruption. It was impossible not to perceive, that both were placed in a situation, which must necessarily terminate in the humiliation of one of them. It was also remarkable that the "Volunteers, who had thus sent their delegates to reform th(^ C(nnmons House of Parliament, had been themselves solemnly thanked the OF THE IRISH NATION. 287 preceding session, for their support to the Constitution, by the very same House of Commons which they now deter- mined to reorganize and reform. It is impossible not to contrast this national convention of Ireland with the democratic assemblies which, in later days overwhelmed so many thrones and countries. With what pride must an Irishman call to his recollection the concentration of rank and fortune, and patriotism and loyalty, which composed that convention of the Irish people ! With what pride must the few survivors re- member the 300 Irish nobles and gentlemen, assembling peaceably and loyally to demand a reform, an object of all others the nearest to their hearts, and the most ne- cessary to their independence ! Yet the recollection of that assembly must also cast a dark shade over the History of Ireland, by transferring a reflection on its proud birth to its humble termination. A delineation of those scenes may appear, to modern readers, an exaggerated episode. That generation which beheld, or acted in those days, is drawing fast to a close ; and whilst a few contemporaries exist, it would be unpar- donable to leave the scenes altogether to future historians, who could convey but an imperfect recital of actions they had never seen, and frigid ideas of feelings they had never experienced. The results of that extraordinary measure may enable posterity to do some justice to calumniated Ireland, where loyalty appears to have wonderfully re- tained its influence over a powerful, proud, and patriotic assembly, and over an armed and irresistible population, under circumstances the most dangerous and irritating that had ever terminated with tranquillity in any nation. The Artillery had scarcely announced the entry of the delegates into the Rotunda, when that silent respect which had pervaded the entire population, during the procession, yielded to more lively feelings ; no longer could the peo- ple restrain their joy. At first, a low murmur seemed to proceed from different quarters, which, soon increasing in its fervour, at length burst into a universal cheer of tri- umph, like distant thunder, gradually rolling on, till one great and continued peal burst upon the senses ; the loud and incessant cheering of the people soon reverberated from street to street, contributing the whole powers of 288 RISE AND FALL acclamation to glorify an assembly which they vainly con- ceived must be omnipotent, it was an acclamation, long, sincere, and unanimous, and occasionally died away, only to be renewed with redoubled energy. The vivid interest excited by this extraordinary and affecting scene can never be conceived, save by those who were present, and participated in its feelings, nor can time or age ob- literate it from the memory. It is not unworthy of remark, that a wonderful pro- portion of female voices was distinguishable amidst these plaudits. A general illumination took place throughout the city, bands of music were heard every where, and never did a day and night of rejoicing so truly express the unsophisticated gratification of an entire population. The Government was astounded, the Privy Council had sat, but were far from unanimous, and had separated without decision. The old courtiers called the scene frantic, but it was not the frenzy of a mob, it was the triumph of a nation, incomprehensible to the vulgar meetings of another country. The scene within was still more novel and impressive. The varied uniforms of the delegates had a very singular appearance ; sent from different regiments, no two of them were dressed or armed alike ; cavalry, infantry, gre- nadiers, artillery, generals, colonels, Serjeants, privates ; in fine, all possible varieties of military dress and rank were collected in one general body, destined to act solely in a civil capacity. The cheers, the cannon, the music, the musketry, com- bined to prevent any procedure that day, save that of the members giving in their delegations, and nominating some officers to act during the session. OF THE IRISH NATION. 28(^ CHAPTER XIX. The Bishop of Derry takes his seat at the Conventi'-:. — His splendour — And pageantry — Procession — Popularity — Extraordinary Visit to the House of Lords — A Guard of Honour mounted at his house — Entire- ly devoted to the Irish people — His great qualities and acquirements — Opposes Charlemont and Grattan — First treacherous Scheme of the British Government again to enslave Ireland — The spirit of the Irish Parliament declines — Reasons for Reform in Parliament — Absolutely essential to her prosperity — Further traits of Lord Charlemont's Char- acter — His inefficiency — His views — Opposes the Bishop of Berry's Election for the Presidency of the National Convention — Many Mem- bers of Parliament attend the Convention also -Earl Charlemont's dilemma — Proceedings of the Convention — The Bishop and Mr. Flood acquired the ascendency — The Parliament and Convention — Desperate step of Government — Fitzgibbon's Philippic — Most violent Debates — Bill rejected — Extraordinary coincidence of facts — Mr. Con- nolly's motion — Feeble and insidious resolution of Lord Charlemont — Fatal adjournment — Called a meeting of his partisans — Breaks his trust — Inexcusable conduct — False statement — Virtually dissolves the Convention before the full meeting — Lord Charlemont justly reproba- ted — Volunteers beat to arms — Lord Charlemont's intolerance — Op- posed by the Bishop of Derry. 1. Previous to the meeting of the delegates, the Bishop of Derry had determined to convince the Irish people, that he was no lukewarm professor of adherence to their interest ; his character, already given, is confirmed by every act of his life when in Ireland. He took his seat amongst the Irish delegates, at the Rotunda, with the greatest splendour ; and, to prove that he preferred the claims of the Irish Vohmteers to both his English rank as Earl of Bristol and his Irish rank as a spiritual noble, he entered Dublin in royal state, drew up his equipage at the entrance to the House of Lords, as if he halted to teach the Peers their duty to their country, and then moved for- ward to take his seat at the Rotunda, as an Irish Delegate in the National Convention. Such a circumstance can be scarcely credited in England ; but had not Lord Charle- mont's temporizing neutralized his spirit, it is probable 25 290 RISE AND FALL that the Convention might have succeeded in its object It is not, therefore, wonderful, that a British Peer, an Enghshman, and above all, a Bishop, taking so decided a part in the cause of Ireland, should gain a popularity that few before him ever had so fully, or perhaps, more justly, experienced. He certainly was sincere ; his pro- ceedings on this occasion were extraordinary, and not im worthy of a special notice. The Lords had taken their seats in the House of Peers when the Bishop of Derry began his procession to take his seat in the Convention. He had several carriages in his suite, and sat in an open landau, drawn by six beau- tiful horses, caparisoned with purple ribands. He was dressed in purple, his horses, equipages, and servants being in the most splendid trappings and liveries. He had brought to Dublin, as his escort, a troop of light cavalry, raised by his unfortunate and guilty nephew, George Robert Fitzgerald ; tliey were splendidly dressed and accoutred, and were mounted on the finest chargers that the Bishop or their Commander could procure. A part of these dragoons led the procession, another closed it, and some rode on each side of his Lordship's carriage. Trumpets announced his approach, and detachments from several Volunteer corps of Dublin joined his Lord- ship's calvacade. He never ceased making dignified obeisances to the multitude : his salutations were enthu- siastically returned on every side ; " Long live the Bishop," echoed from every window ; yet all was peace and har- mony, and never did there appear so extraordinary a procession within the realm of Ireland. This calvacade marched slowly through the different streets, till it arrived at the portico of the house of Lords, which adjoined that of the Conmions. A short halt was then made, the trumpets sounded, the sudden and unex- pected clangor of which oi\ to act with OF THE IRISH NATIOX. 325 dignity, firmness and decision ; and therefore that due time might be had for dehberation, he would move the question of adjournment to the following day. The question was put and carried without oppisition. VII. On the next day he moved, That his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, having thought proper to decline to transmit to his Royal Highness George, Prince of Wales, the address of both Houses of Parliament, a competent number of members be appointed to present the said ad- dress to his Royal Highness. Mr. Grattan's motion was passed without any division, whereupon he moved, "That Mr. Connolly do attend the Lords with the said resolution, and acquaint them that this House requests them to appoint members of their own body to join with the members of the Commons in presenting the said address." This also passed without any division, and Mr. Connolly went up to the Lords accordingly. The message received in reply was, that the Lords had concurred in the resolution of the Com- mons, and had appointed his Grace the Duke of Leinster, and the Earl of Charlemont, to join with such members as the Commons should appoint to present the address of both Houses to his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. Mr. Grattan then moved that the Right Hon. Thomas Connolly, Right Hon. J. O'Neil, Right Hon. W. Ponson- by, and J. Stewart, Esq. should be appointed commis- sioners on tlie part of the Commons, for the purpose of presenting the Address to his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, and they were appointed accordingly. These motions having passed, Mr. Grattan then moved, that the two Houses of Parliament had discharged an in- dispensable duty in providing for the third estate of the L-ish Constitution (rendered incomplete through the King's incapacity) by appointing the Prince of Wales, Regent of Ireland. This motion was carried after a long debate. Ayes 150, Noes 71. Mr. Grattan then moved that it is the opinion of this House, " That the answer of his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant to both Houses, in refusing to transmit the said address, is ill advised, and tends to convey an un- warrantable and luiconstihitional censure on the con- duct of hotk Houses.'^ 28 326 RISE AND FALL Mr. Grattcin's m )tion of censure was then put, on which the House divided, and there appeared for the motion 115 against it 83. On the 25th, resohitions of the committee of supply (which provides for the payment of the interest of the national debt, the annuities and establishments,) being read, Mr. Grattan moved " That the words for two MONTHS, only ending the 26th of May, 1789, be added." On the question being put, there appeared. Ayes 104, Noes 85. Mr. Grattan tlien moved that the army be provided for to the 25th of May only, which motion was carried. Ayes 102, Noes 77. VIII. This determination of the Irish legislature in asserting their constitutional independence, and their en- tire rejection of all subserviency to the views or dictates of the British Parhament, was founded not only on the nature of their federative compact, but on the very prin- ciples of that constitution which it was their mutual duty to preserve in its full integrity. By that constitution it was indispensable that every statute should receive its consummation only by the ex- press assent of the King, as tlie third estate of that con- stitution. In this case no third estate existed in a capacity to as- sent to or consummate any statute, and no express pro- vision had been made by the constitution for such an emergency. The Irish legislature therefore, having no competent third estate to consummate a statute, adopted the next step admitted by the Constitution, of proceeding by address, for which they had the English precedent of 1688. The British Minister liowever, determined to proceed by statute, and this difference therefore arose between the two legislatures, England proceeded by means which could not be constitutionally consummated, Ireland pro- ceeded by means which constitutionally could. The Viceroy surrendered himself to the minister ; the Irish legislature adhered to the Prince, and asserted their in- dependence by an overt act, which England never since forgi^ve ; and, on the Union, used that act of Irish con- Blitutionaiity as an argument for annihilating that legis- OF THE IRISH NATION. 327 lature, which had dared to support the rights of their Prince against the ambition of his Minister. IX. Internationa] controversies are frequently referred to the arbitration of foreign states, disinterested on the 'subject, and had the question been submitted to such an arbitrator, " Whether the British legislature abetting the conspiracy of Mr. Pitt, to abridge the executive power of its inherent rights, or that of Ireland supporting the royal prerogatives of their common Regent, and had committed a crime, should be extinguished for its inroad on the con- stitution," the awful sentence must have been pronounced against Great Britain ; and even the dignified language of the Prince himself, evinced nothing adverse to the principle of so just a condemnation.* Previous to the departure of the Delegates to present the address to the Prince of Wales, a declaration by the Viceroy had been made public, which threatened to visit with his displeasure, or reward by his favours, every member of the legislature v/ho could either be deprived of office for his resistance, or induced to accept one for his desertion. This declaration gave rise to the then celebrated Round Robin, which was subscribed by a great number of the highest and most leading characters of both Houses of Parliament, pledging themselves as a body and as indi- viduals, against every attempt by Government either to seduce or to intimidate them. This was a fatal blow to all frnther struggles of the Vicero^^. The tide ran too strongly to be resisted ; the rank and influence of those who signed that document could no longer be opposed, and proved to the Viceroy the impossibility of his con- tinuing the Government of Ireland, upon such a princi- ple, and of course he determined to retire from the Vice- royalty. X. The Delegates now proceeded to London to deliver to the Prince the joint address of both Houses of the Irish Parliament. The first nobles and commoners of that kingdom investing him with all those royal rights and. prerogatives which had been refused to him by his Bri- tish subjects, was too grand and gratifying an embassy not to receive the highest honours and attention his Royal • See his letter to Mr Pitt, and hie repiit.b to the addressos RISE AND FALL Highness and his friends could l:>esto\v. Nothing could exceed tlie dignified cordiahty and splendour with which they were received by the Regent on thai occasion. He felt all the importance of such a grant, and if gratitude has any permanent station in the hearts of monarchs, the Irisli people had reason to expect every favour that future power could confer, on a nation whose firmness and fidelity had given him so imperishable a proof of their attachment. The words of the address bespeak the independence and loyalty of the Irish legislature, and fix the constitu- tional limitation to the power conferred by them ; they prayed : — " We, his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the lords spiritual and temporal and the Commons of Ireland in Parliament assembled, beg leave to approach your Royal Highness with hearts full of the most loyal and affectionate attachment to the person and government of your Royal Father, to express the deepest and most grateful sense of the numerous blessings which we have enjoyed under liis illustiious House, and at the same time to condole with your Royal Highness upon the grievous malady with which it has pleased Heaven to afflict the best of sovereigns. •' We beg leave humbly to request that your Royal Highness will be pleased to take upon you the govern- ment of this realm, during the continuance of his Majes- ty's present indisj^osition, and no longer; and under the style and title of Prince Regent of Ireland, in the name and on behalf of his Majesty, to exercise and administer, according to the laws and constitution of this kingdom, all regal powers, jurisdictions, and prerogatives to the crown and government thereof belonging." XI. The reply of his Royal Highness to this embassy from Ireland, is a document of most intrinsic value to the character, and ought to have been so to the interests of that calunmiated and ruined island. Tiiat royal document expressly n]~)held and for ever records the loyal, consistent, and constitutional principles, and conduct wliicli guided the Irish legislature in that unprecedented j)roceeding, therein, not only explicitly, but most ardently eulogised by the heir apparent. OF THE IRISH NATION. 329 Yet it is unfortunate for the character and conMstency of British Governments, to find seated high in the cabinet of George the Fourth, the very minister who, in the Irish Parliament, in 1799, gave the retort courteous to every word so uttered by that monarch, as Regent in 1789, and stigmatized as treason that just eulogium uttered but ten years before upon their loyahy. Posterity, however, wiU read with disgust that, within so short a period, the very act which elicited those just and florid praises of devoted Ireland, was converted into a libel, and made a leadnig argument to effect the annihilation of the very legislature they had so ardently applauded. It is a remarkable coincidence in Irish annals, that Providence was pleased to diminish her visitation on the King's capacity on the very day first appointed by the Prince to receive his investiture as Regent of Ireland, through the hands of the Irish Delegates ; the object of this mission therefore could have no ulterior operation, and they returned to their country with every public honour and piivate estimation which their embassy and their characters so justly merited. The Prince therefore had no power previous to the Union of exemplifying his declaration of gratitude to Ireland. After the Union, when Imperial Regent, his British ministers showed no disposition to give his Royal Highness that power or opportunity ; his energies seemed to retire as his powers were advancing, and when he became actual monarch of both countries, events proved that the Regencies were forgotten, and that gratitude was not a record. 330 RISE AND FALL CHAPTEP XXII. Ireland acted on her independence — Prosperous state of Ireland at tnat Period — The Rise of the Irish Nation consummated by the withdrawal of the Viceroy — Particularly important observation — Lord Westmore- land — ]Maior Hobart — His character — State of Ireland on his accession to office — ^Concessions by Government — Delusion and negligence of the Opposition — Catholic emancipation commenced — Arguments of the Catholics — Catholic petition rejected by a sreat majority — Deep de- signs of JNlr. Pitt — Mr. Pitt proceeds with his measures "to promote a union — Lord Fitzwilliam appointed Lord Lieutenant — His character — Deceived and calumniated by Mr. Pitt — Great popularity of the Lord Lieutenant — Earl Fitzwilliam recalled — Fatal consequences — Ireland given up to Lord Clare, and insurrection excited — Lord Camden — Uni- ted Irishmen — Unprecedented Organization — Lord Camden's chardcter — Despotic conduct of Lord Clare — Earl Carhampton commander-in- chief — Disobeys Lord Camden — Again disobeys — The King's sign- manuel commands him to obey — He resigns. I. Upon the return of the Delegates to Ireland, the first epocha which gives a title to this epitome of her history was consummated ; her Rise. She had arisen from ser- vitude to freedom, from a subservient to an independent Nation ; the acquirement of that independence was a revolution, but it was a revolution without bloodshed. It was rather a regeneration, accomplished by the almost unanimous exertion of ah the rank, the wealth, the cha- racter and the honesty of a vast population ; the highest of the Aristocracy, and the humblest of the people joined hand in hand to regain their independence ; and it may well he termed a loyal revolution, because the Englisli legislature, by their own voluntary act, admitted their o\vn previous usurpation, and denounced all further pre- tensions to dominate over Ireland ; and the King of Great Britain on his throne, received and acknowledged his Irish subjects altogether legislatively unconnected with the rest of England. From tliat day Ireland rose in wealth, in trade, and in manufactiu'es, agriculture, and every branch of industry that could enhance her value or render a OF THE IRISH NATION. 331 ppople rich and prosperous. She had acquired her seat aniongel I he nations of the world, she had asserted her independence against the insolence of Portugal, she had suggested ;\n Irish navy to protect her shores, she had declared a perpetual league of mutual amity and aid with Great Britain. The court of her Viceroy appeared as splendid as her monarch's. Her nobles resided and expended their great fortunes amongst the Irish people, the Commons all resided on their own demesnes, supported and fostered a laborious and tranquil tenantry. The peace of the country was perfect, no standing army, no militia, no police were wanting for its preservation ; the activity of the Volunteers had suppressed crime in every district, religious prejudices were gradually diminishing; every means of amelioration were in contemplation or in progress. The distinctness of Ireland had been proclaimed to the world by overt acts of herself, and of her monarch and the King of England. The Irish sceptre in the hands of her King had touched the charter of her independence, on the faith of nations, before God and man its eternal freedom had been declared, and should have been in- violable. But by some inscrutable will of heaven, it was decreed that she should soon be again erased from the list of nations, punished without a crime, and laid prostrate at the feet of a jealous ally. II. The spirit and independence of the conjoint Peers and Commons of Ireland, and their reception by the heir apparent, convinced the Viceroy of the impossibility of his retaining office; his declaration of departure being again repeated, was greeted in Dublin as a measure of the highest gratification to the Whigs and Patriots, and of the deepest regret to the adherents of the minister. However, though the recovery of the King rendered the ap})ointment of their Regent, at the time, unnecessary, it sufficiently asserted their constitutional and national in- dependence, and as we have already mentioned, consum- mated that epoch which is termed the Rise of Ireland. One observation is here not out of place, and it is rather a remarkable occurrence, that it was during the short interval which occurred between the first and second announcement of the entire incapacity of King George the Third, that he was induced by the same ministers wlio 332 risp: and fall had resisted the regent, to forego liis own Roya! acts, rescind his own constitutional assent — nieh down his Irish Crown, and place his Irish suhjects under the guardianship of a mutilated and absent representation. It js therefore not easy to reconcile to ordinary reason the probability that a conscientious and moral monarch, during the in terval of a disease so deep-seated and enfeebling to the human intellect, could calmly or judicially reflect on a measure so comprehensive in its results, and so corrupt in its attainment, as the legislative Union. It was under all these circumstances, and the departure of the Viceroy, that the Earl of Westmoreland came over as his successor. But the line of his politics or govern- ment had not preceded him. III. Mr. Pitt felt that he had made but slight progress towards his scheme of a union with Ireland ; his projects had turned against himself; and the Irish Parliament, on the subject of the Regency, had taught him a lesson he had but little expectation of learning. However, the spirit of the Irish confirmed that austere and pertinacious statesman in his resolution to rule Ireland in Great Britain, and to leave her no power to impede the course of his ambition. The Earl of Westmoreland was by no means ill adapted to the Irish people. He was sufficiently reserved to com- mand respect, and dignified enough to uphold his station. His splendid conviviality procured him many rational partisans, and his extreme hospitality engendered at least, temporary friendships. He was honourable and good- natured, and, among the higher orders and his intimate associates, he was a popular Viceroy. His Secretary, Major Hobart (Lord Buckinghamshire), was more a man of the world, and was admirably cal- culated for the higher classes of the Irish. A perfect gentleman, cheerful, convivial, and con- ciliating, though decided ; liberal, yet crafty ; kind- hearted, but cautious ; and with a mixture of pride and affability in his manner, he particularly adapted himself to his official purposes by occasionally altering the pro- portion of each, as persons or circumstances required their applicatioiL With an open, prepossessing, counte- nance he gained wonderfully upon evei y gentleman with OF THE IRISH NATION. 333 whom he associated.* The period of Lord Westmore- land's government was certainly the summit of Irish prosperity. From the epoch of his departure she may date the commencement of her downfall. Lord West- mo-reland's was charged with being a jobbing Government, but it was less so than that of any of his predecessors ; and if he did not diminish, he certainly did not aggravate the burthens of the people. IV. When Lord Westmoreland arrived, Ireland was in a state of great prosperity. He met a strong opposition in Parliament,'but it was an honest opposition, the guardian of public liberty, and not a faction. It was constitutional in principle, and formidable in talent ; it was rather a party to etfect wholesome measures, than a systematic opposition to the Government. Only two subjects of vital importance were introdnced during his adminis- tration ; most of the others being plansible demands, calculated rather to gratify the people than to produce any radical change in the system of the Government. A Place Bill, a Pension Bill, and a Responsibility Bill, an inquiry into the sale of Peerages, ancl into the Police of Dublin, were amongst the most material measures pressed by the opposition during his viceroyalty. The Place Bill, however, sup])osed to be remedial, eventually became the most important that bad ever been passed by an indepen- dent Irish Parliament. The perseverance of the able men who formed the opposition, at length gave a pretence to the Minister to purchase an armistice, by conceding some of the measures they had so long and pertinaciously resisted. It could not have been flattering however, to the warm supporters of Govenmient, to be required by the Secretary * The Board of Green Cloth (the Lord Lieutenant's second table), never was supported with more splendour than during Lord Westmore- land's Government, h was, at least, as good as his own, the class of so- ciety the same, the conviviality superior. Economy had not cr-ept into that department, and every shilling tliat was granted to that establish- ment was expended upon it. Major Hobart saved nothing in Ii'cJand; he expended in the metro- polis all he received; and the entire of the grants, then made by the Irish rarliament to .support the Vice-regal establishment, was actually laid out on it, and the citizens of Dublin, m fact, reaped the profits of their tax- ation. 334 RTSIs AND FAT,L to become absolutely inconsistent, and to change theii language witliout a change of circunistances, and recant opinions they had so frequently declared in conjunction with the minister. Some of the most active supporters of Government, therefore, determined not to interfere in these concessions, and the opposition, on the other hand, was so keen at the chase, and so gratified at the concession of their long- sought measures, that they but superficially regarded the details or the mode of conceding, and never reflected, as legislators or as statesmen, that one of those measures might prove a deadly weapon, by which the executive Government might destroy the Parliament under pretence of purifying it. A Bill was brought in to vacate the seats of members accepting oftices under Government, omitting the term of bona fide ofiices ; thereby leaving the minister a power of packing the Parliament. The opposition, blinded by their honest zeal, considered this ruinous Bill a species of reform, and were astonished at the concession of a measure at once so popular, and which they conceived to be so destructive of ministerial corruption. The sagacity of Mr. Pitt, however, clearly show^ed him, that measure would put the Irish Parliament eventually into his hands ; and the sequel proved, that, without that Bill, worded as it was, the corruption by the Ministers, the rebellion, Ibrce and terror combined, could not have ellected the Union. The Place, Pension, and Responsibility Bills, were pro- posed by Mr. Grattan, acceded to by the Viceroi/, passed into laws, and considered as a triumph of the opposition over the venality of the Government.* Mr. Grattan was certainly the most incorruptible public character on the records of the Irish Parliament. He worshipped popularity, yet there was a tinge of aristocracy in his devotion, which whilst it qualified its enthusiasm; still added to its purity. * The Author was requested by Govemment to 2;ive his assent, in the House, to the Place Bill ; but he had, at their ori2;inal request, as well as on his own opinion, ff)r some years opposed it; he iherel'ore positively refused, and stood nearly alone in his opposition. INIr. Newenham and Sir John M'Cartney only supported him He foresaw its possible oper« ation. OF THE IRISH NATION. 335 Such men may occasionally err in judgment, or may be misled by their ardour ; and this was the case with Mr. Grattan, on this armistice with the Government. Mr. Grattan did not always foresee the remote operation of his projects. He was little adapted to labour on the details of mea- sures ; he had laid the broad foundation of the constitu- tion, but sometimes regarded lightly the out-buildings that were occasionally attached to it. On this occasion, the Ministers were too subtle for him, and he heeded not that fatal clause which made no distinction between real and nominal otfices. He considered not, that though offices of real emolument could not be so frequently vacated and transferred, as to give the Minister any very important advantage, those of nominal value might be daily given and resigned, without observation, and that, as the House was then constituted, the Minister might almost form the Commons at his pleasure.* By comparing the Irish Parliament at the epochs of the Proposition and the Regency Bills, and at that of 1800, the fatal operation of the Place Bill can be no lon- ger cpiestionable. In one word — it carried the Union.! V. During the administration of Lord Westmoreland, the first question (v/liich so deeply affected the subsequent events of Ireland) was the partial emancipation of the Irish Catholics. Though the question did not, when in- troduced, appear to involve the consideration of a legis- lative union, its results communicated a powerful influ- ence to that measure. The national annihilation of Ireland was, in a consi- derable degree promoted by the impolitic mismanagement of the Catholic population. Though many of the penal and restrictive statutes, by * There are four nominal offices in Ireland — the Escheatorships of Leinster, Munster, Connaught, and Ulster, which are obsolete: their emoluments are 30s per annum. By means of these offices, Lord Cas- llereagh packed the parliament in 1800. The Chiltern Hundreds in England are of the same nature; but the large number of the British Commons renders any thing like packing Parliament for occasional purposes, by that means, impossible. Nor durst a British minister practice that artifice, except to a very limited ex: tent. f See hereafter Mr Crow's L'-.tter to Lord Belvidere. 336 RISE AND FALL which the Cathohcs had been so long exchided from all the most vakiable rights, not only of British subjects, but of freemen, were repealed ; and though the power of taking freeholds, and possessing landed property, was restored to them, these concessions were but a stimulus to further claims, and for which they created a most rational expectation. The Catholics argued, that if they were allowed to purchase freeholds, and to receive, by descent, lands in fee, it must consequently be an injustice, an absurdity, and an insult, to debar them from the plective franchise, and the privileges which w^ere by law attached to the possession of the same species of property by their Pro- testant fellow-subjects. They said, that noblemen and commoners of great for- tune, of their persuasion, who had been deprived of their rights by their attachment to hereditary monarchy, not- withstanding those partial concessions, still remained loaded with many attributes of actual slavery, in the midst of a free people ; that after a century of loyal and peaceable demeanour towards a Protestant dynasty, they were still to be stigmatized as neither trustworthy nor loyal. Their language, firm and decided, was rational, and eventually successful. Government were now alarm- ed, and alfected to take a liberal view of the subject ; but were by no means unanimous as to the extent of the concessions. They conceived that tran(]uillity might be attained by mere religious toleration. This may be true, where but a small portion of the people are claimants : far different, however, where those excluded form the bulk, and the exclusionists a small minority of the people. However, the concessions were important, and greater than could have been credible before Lord Westmore- land's administration. The grant to Catholics of the elective franchise was tlie act more of Major Hobart and of his government than of himself The Ibrty shilling franchise was then granted to the poorest and most de- pendent peasantry of Europe, who might one day be influenced by one motive, and the next by its re- verse. It is easier to grant than to recall, and strong doubts were fairly entertained as to the wisdom of that part of it. OF THE IRISH NATION. 337 The first important debates, on granting the elective franchise to Irish Catholics, were in 1792, on a petition, presented in their favour. It was then looked upon as a most daring step ; intolerance was then in full vigour, and Mr. Latouche moved to reject the petition without enter- ing on its merits. The prejudice against the CathoHcs was then so pow- erful, that their petition was rejected with indignation, by a division of 208 to 23. The Government, by this majority, hoped to render similar applications hopeless ; but, a few months after, it was found necessary that the measure should be recom- mended from the Throne, and supported by Government, and was carried in the same House by a large majority. The strange proceeding of the Irish Parhament on this subject, may be accounted for by their dread of reclama- tion by the Catholics (should they be admitted to power) of their forfeited estates, held by Peers and Commoners, by grants of Elizabeth, Cromwell, and William ; but which, on more mature reflection, they found to be chimerical. The Legislature, however, by granting the elective franchise to the Irish Catholics, conceded to them the Very essence of the British Constitution. Mr. Pitt's ulterior views as to Ireland solve the enigma, that the virulent ene?)iies of the Catholics, who opjjosed the slightest concession, should directly after vote them the elective franchise. Mr. Pitt's object was to recipro- cally exasperate the two parties against each other. The indignant rejection of the petition of 1792, hiflamed the Catholic with resentment, and elated the Protestant with triumph. The concession of 1793 reversed these pas- sions ; and both parties felt equally disgusted. The Minister took every advantage of the unpopularity of the Parliament. A very remarkable incident of inconsistency occurred in the House of Lords upon this occasion. Lord Clare, the most unqualified enemy the Catholics ever had, and the most virulent against them, on the debate in 1793 spoke and voted for giving them the elective franchise, which he had previously asserted would be a breach of the Coronation Oath, and destructive to the Church and 29 338 RISE AND PALL State. On the other hand, Lord Charlemont, always the most zealous friend of the Irish people, and the most dis- tinguished of the gentle breed of patriots, on the same debate spoke in favour of the Catholics, yet voted against any concession whatsoever. Lord Clare wished to do mischief on Mr. Pitt's system, even at his own expense. Lord Charlemont wished to do good, but was too shallow to see the designs of the Chancellor, or even to mix policy with his candour.* Though Lord Westmoreland was powerfully opposed in Parliament, during the whole of his government, the country was in peace, and he was zealously supported. Had he not been recalled, under pretence of making way for a general pacification, the nation had no reason to suppose his place would be much better filled. His recall, and the appointment and deposition of Lord Fitzwilliam, his successor, within three months, completed the train which Mr. Pitt had laid for the explosion. Having divided the countr}^, and obtained the means of packing the Parliament, through the Place Bill, he suffered some men to disseminate the French revolutionary mania; and having proceeded so far, recalled Lord Westmoreland, and encouraged others to raise their loyalty into the region of madness. His Lordship had not completed the usual term of residence, nor had he failed in his duties ; and his ap- pearing not to feel hurt at his abrupt recall was mysteri- ous, and seemed to forbode some important scheme or deception. VL The appointment of Lord Fitzwilliam, who had previously opposed the administration, was, perhaps, the most deep and treacherous design ever contemplated by any minister. But Mr. Pitt had never been in Leland, and experienced difficulties he did not anticipate. He fancied he might excite and suppress commotion at his convenience ; but, in deciding upon forcing a premature • The ablest of the Catholic l-:^aders, at that time, was Mr. Keough. he jx)s.>«ssed a very strong intellect, and had more intellij!;ence and more influence with that body, than any man of that persuasion ; he was a leader at all their early meetini;s, and of very trreat use in forwarding their measures. After iheir attainment oi the elective franchise, he still urged their ckiims with talent, vigour, and ])erseverance. OF THE IRISH NATION. 339 insurrection for a particular object, he did not calculate on the torrent of blood that would be shed, and the in- veterate hatred that might be perpetuated against the British Government. His resolution Avas taken, and he prevailed upon one of the most pure and respected of the Whig leaders to become Viceroy of Ireland, under a sup- position that he was selected to tranquilize and to foster that country. The Minister wanted only a high-minded victim, as an instrument to agitate the Irish. His Lord- ship had great estates in Ireland — was one of its most kind and indulgent landlords, and was extremely popular. His manners were, perhaps, too mild, but he had enlarged principles of political liberty, and of religious toleration. Mr. Pitt had assured him he should have the gratification of fully emancipating the Irish Catholics. Lord Fitz- william accepted the office only on that consideration, and with this entire conviction he repaired to Dublin, to carry into immediate execution what he conceived would for ever tranquilize that country. Mr. Pitt intended to inflame the country — throw upon the Viceroy the in- sinuation of disobedience — and openly charge him with a precipitancy, of which he himself was the real author. Never was a scheme conducted with more address and secrecy. Lord Fitzwilliam was received with open arms by the people — he immediately commenced his arrange- ments — and Mr. Pitt began as closely to counteract them. In every act of his government, Lord Fitzwilliam was either deceived or circumvented. Mr. Pitt's end was answered : he thus raised the Catho- lics to the height of expectation, and, by suddenly recall- ing their favourite Viceroy, he inflamed them to the degree of generating the commotions he meditated, which would throw the Protestants into the arms of England for protection, whilst the horrors would be aggravated by the mingled conflicts of parties, royalists and republicans. By this measure, too, Mr. Pitt had the gratification of liumbling Earl Fitzwilliam, disgracing the Whigs, over- whelming the Opposition, turning the [rish into fanatics, and thereby preparing the gentry of that country for the project that was innnediately to succeed it. The conduct of the Duke of Portland must have been either culpable or imbecile — he nuist either have be- 340 RISE AND FALL trayed Lord Fitzwilliam to Mr. Pitt, or Mr. Pitt must have made him a bUud instrument of treachery to his friend. The first is most probahle, as he remained in office after his friend had been disgraced, and, in direct contradiction to his own declaration, aided in the fatal project which was effected by that treachery. The hmits of this volume do not admit of stating in detail all the important facts which constituted the treach- ery of the Premier, and the fraud on Earl Fitzwilliam. His Lordship's letters to Lord Carlisle cannot be abridged ; every line is material ; in those letters only can the deception practised on that nobleman be found with that weight and accuracy .which so remarkable an incident in both English and Irish history requires. In those letters will be found, as in a glare of light, on the one side, that high-minded, pure, virtuous dignity of mind and action, and on the other, that intrepid, able, crafty, inflexible, and unprincipled conduct, which mark- ed indelibly the characters of those remarkable per- sonages. Mr. Pitt having sent Lord Fitzwilliam to Ireland with unlimited powers to satisfy the nation, permitted him to proceed until he had unavoidably committed himself both to. the Catholics and country, when he suddenly recalled him, leaving it in a state of excitation and dismay. The day Lord Fitzwilliam arrived, peace was pro- claimed throughout all Ireland. The day he quitted it, she prepared for insurrection. The Beresfords and the Ponsonbys were arrayed against each other — and, in one week more the Beres- fords would have been prostrate. Mr. Pitt, however, terminated the question, by dethroning Lord Fitzwilliam ; the Whigs were defeated — and Ireland was surrendered at discretion to Lord Clare and his connection. Within three months after Lord Fitzwil Ham's dismissal. Lord Clare had got the nation into full training for military execution. VII. The arrival of Lord Camden to succeed Earl Fitzwilliam, was attended by almost insurrectionary out- rage. The Beresfords were the ostensible cause of the people's favourite being overthrown : on that family, tlierefore, they conceived they should signalize their ven- OF THE IRISH NATION. 341 geance ; and their determination was nearly carried into execution. Tlie Chancellor, in his carriage, was assailed ; he re- ceived the blow of a stone on his forehead, which, with somewhat more force, would have rid the people of their enemy. His house was attacked ; the popi.ijace were determined to destroy him, and were proceeding to exe- cute their intentions. At that moment their rage Avas, most fortunately, diverted by the address of his sister, Mrs. Jeflries, who, unknown and at great risk, had min- gled in the crowd: she misled them as to the place of his concealment. Disappointed of their object, they then attacked the Custom House, where Mr. Beresford, first commissioner of the revenue resided. Dreadful results were with reason apprehended. Such was the inauspicious beginning of Lord Camden's government. From the day of his arrival the spirit of insurrection increased, and, in a short period, during his Lordship's Government, more blood was shed, as much of outrage and cruelty was perpetrated on both sides, and as many military executions took place, as in ten times the same period during the sanguinary reign of Eliza- beth, or the usurpations of Cromwell or King William.* Vin. The conspiracy of united L'ishmen — never pro- foundly secret, soon became public ; its members avowed themselves ; but the extent of its objects was unknown, and its civil arrangements and military organization far exceeded those of any association in history. Constituents knew not their representatives, and the soldiers knew not the names of those by whom they were to be commanded. Even the members of their executive Directory were utterly unknown to some hundred thousand men, who had sworn obedience to their orders. Mr. Pitt was sur- * T have always considered, and still consider William the Third as an usurper in Ireland, until the flight of James, and the Articles of Limerick, capitulated for the whole nation ; after that, he was to be considered kinti; de facto, by conquest. At all events, it was the result of a rebellion in England and of loyalty in Ireland; and it should be recol- lected, that the Irish people, after that capitulation, never did rise or rebel against his government, or that of his successors, as they did in Scotland twice, and partially in England. The insuirection of 1798 was excited by the artifices of Mr. Pitt to promote a Union. 29* 342 RISE AND FALL prised, and found the conspiracy becoming rather too extensive and dangerons for his purposes ; for a moment he felt he might possibly get beyond his depth, and he conceived the necessity of forcing a premature explosion, by which he might excite sufficient horrors throughout the country to serve his purpose, and be able to suppress the conspiracy in the bud, which might be beyond his power should it arrive at its maturity. Individually Lord Camden was an excellent man, and, in ordinary times, would have been an acquisition to the country, but he was made a cruel instrument in the hands of Mr. Pitt, and seemed to have no will of his own. Earl Camden was of a high mind, and of unblemished reputation ; his principles were good, but his talent was not eminent ; he intended right but was led Avrong ; he wished to govern with moderation, but was driven by his council into most violent proceedings ; to the arrogant dictum of Lord Clare he hcid not a power of resistance, and he yielded to cruehies that his mind must have re- volted at. His Lordship became extremely popular amongst the armed associations which were raised in Ireland imder the title of Yeomen. He was considered the guardian of that institution. He did what justice he was permitted to do ; and a single false act of his oicn^ during his residence in Ireland, never was complained of His Secretary, Earl Chichester (Mr. Pelham), held up the reputation of the Government to its proper standard. "Without great talents, he had good sense, good manners, a frank ad- dress, with humane, honourable, and just intentions ; but, at a critical moment he was obliged to return to England for his health, and Lord Camden filled up the vacancy by his nephew. This relative became one of the most celebrated persons of his day, and is the principal hero in the sequel of Irish history, and in England proved him- self a most destructive minister to the finances and cha- racter of the British Empire. However, with all his good qualities as Viceroy, Lord Camden's Government was by its consequences, tlie most ruinous, and most unfortunate, that Ireland ever experi- enced. Lord Clare and his connections, int )xicated by their OF THE IRISH NATION. 343 victory over the late Viceroy, set no bounds to their triumph ; they treated the people as their vassals, the country as their demesne, and its patronage as their pri- vate property. IX. On a reviev/ of the state of Ireland at that period, it must be obvious to every deliberate observer, that the design of Mr. Pitt, to effect some mysterious measure in Ireland, was now, through the unaccountable conduct of the Irish Government, beginning to develope itself. The seeds of insurrection, wliich had manifested themselves in Scotland and in England, were by the vigour and promptitude of the British Government, rapidly crushed ; and by the reports of Parliament, Lord Melville had ob- tained and published prints of the different pikes manu- factured in Scotland, long before that weapon had been manufactured by the Irish peasantry. But in Ireland, though it appeared, from public documents, that Govern- ment had full and accurate information of the Irish United Societies, and that their leaders and chiefs were well known to the British Ministry, at the same period, and by the same means that England and Scotland were kept tranquil, so might have been Ireland. Mr. Pitt, however, found he had temporized to the ex- tremity of prudence ; the disaffected had not yet appear- ed as a collected army, but a succession of partial out- rages convinced him that prompt and decisive measures became absolutely indispensable. The Earl of Car- hampton, Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, first expressed his dissatisfaction at Mr, Pitt's inexplicable proceedings. His Lordship had but little military experience, but he was a man of the world, of courage, and decision, ardent, and obstinate ; he determined i'ight or wrong, to annihi- late the conspiracy. Without the consent of the Irish Government, he commanded the troops, that, on all symptoms of insurrectionary movements, they should act without waiting for the presence of any civil power. Martial law had not then been proclaimed. He went, therefore, a length, which could not possibly be support- ed ; his orders were countermanded by the Lord Lieu- tenant ; but he refused to obey the Viceroy, under colour that lie had no rank in the army. Lord Carhampton found that the troops in the garrison 344 RISE AND FALL of Dublin were daily corrupted by the United Irishmen ; he therefore withdrew them, and formed two distinct camps on the south and north, some miles from the capital, and thereby, as he conceived, prevented all intercom'se of the army with the disatfected of the metropolis. Both measures were disapproved of by the Lord Lieutenant, whom Lord Carhampton again refused to obey. The King's sign manual was at length procured, or- dering him to break up his camps, and bring back the garrison ; this he obeyed, and marched the troops into Dublin barracks. He then resigned his command, and publicly declared, that some deep and insidious scheme of the Minister was in agitation : for, instead of suppress- ing, the Irish Government was obviously disposed to ex- cite an insurrection. Mr. Pitt counted on the expertness of the Irish Govern- ment to effect a premature explosion. Free Quarters* were now ordered, to irritate the Irish population ; Slow Tortures were inflicted under the pretence of forcing confessions ; the people were goaded and driven to mad- ness. General Abercromby, who succeeded as Commander- in-Chief, was not permitted to abate these enormities, and therefore resigned with disgust.t Ireland was by these means reduced to a state of anarchy, and exposed to crime and cruelties to which no nation had ever been subject. The people could no longer bear their miseries. Mr. Pitt's object was now effected, and an insurrection was excited. * Free Quaiicrs is a term not yet practically known in England Free Quarters rendered officers and soldiers despotic masters of the peas- antry, tlieir houses, food, property, and, occasionally, their families This measure was resorted, with all its attendant horrors, throughout some of the hest parts of Ireland, previous to the insurrection, and for the purpose of exciting it. t General Abercromby, in general orders, stated that the army placed under his command, from their state of disorganization, would soon be much more formidable to their friends than to their enemies; and that he would not countenance or admit Free Quarters. OF THE IRISH NATION. 34fi CHAPTER XXIII. biisurrection — Topography of Wexford County — Persecutions and cruel ties of the Wexford Gentrj^ — Commencement of Hostilities — State oi the Insurgents — And their number — Expected attack on Dublin- Excellent plan of the Insurgents — Executions in cold blood, and bar- barous exhibition in the Castle yard — Major Bacon executed Avithout trial — ^Vlajor Foot defeated — Col. Walpole defeated and killed — Gen- eral Fawcett defeated — General Dundas and the Cavalry defeated by the Pikemen — Captain Armstrong's treachery — Henry and John Shears — The execution of the two brothers — Progress of the insur- rection — Different Battles — Important Battle of Arklow — Spirited reply of Colonel Skerrit — Battle of Ross — Bagenal Har\^ey — Death of Lord Mountjoy — Unprecedented instance of Heroism in a Boy— The Royal Army driven out of the town — Description of Vinegar Hill — •Details of the Engagement — General Lake's horse shot under him — Ennis- corthy twice stormed — Wounded peasants burned — Mr. Grogan tried by Court [Martial — His witness shot by the military — Bill of attainder — Ten thousand pounds costs to the Attorney General — Barbarous ex- ecution of Sir Elward Crosby and Mr. Grogan, under colour of a Court Martial. T. These sanguinary transactions will, in the opinions of posterity, be placed to the account of those who might have prevented them. The success of the illiterate in- surgents at the commencement, nearly confirmed them in the idea of their cause being divine : they were led to hope, that, by their numbers, impetuosity, and persever- ance, they could obtain their liberation from an oppres- sive Government and a tyrannical aristocracy. The ignorance or indiscretion of many of the king's officers who had encountered them, excited their contempt, while their own natural habits and instinctive tact led them to a system of ambuscade and stratagem, which, in many instances proved disastrous to the king's forces. The pike, at the commencement, very frequently succeeded against the regular, and always against the yeoman cavalry ; and, in close combat with even the infantry, it proved in some instances irresistible.* • The extreme expertness with which the Irifh handled the pike wa§ 346 RISE AND FALL Almost all countries possess some national weapon, m the use of which the inhabitants are more expert than at any other, and their superiority at which is evinced in every insurrection. The Highland broadsword and tar- get, in the rebellions of Scotland, were eminently suc- cessful ; the Polish lances, the American rifle, and the Indian tomahawk, were often as successful against regu- lar troops. II. AVexford, though so near the metropolis, is not a frequented county, as it is not a direct thoroughfare to any other part of the kingdom : the towns of Gorey, Arklow, and Wicklow intervene between Wexford and Dublin. The king's troops were in possession of Arklow, and the country to the metropolis, through Wicklow. The}^ in- terrupted the communication between Wexford and the Wicklow mountains ; and, on that side, left the -Wexford insurgents almost isolated in their original position. In the interior of the county, however, the insurgents had many strong positions ; and, on the south side, the town of New Ross was the only impediment to their making themselves masters of Waterford, where they were certain of being immediately joined by the Munster insurgents, particularly by the Waterford and Tipperary men, the most numerous and efficient in the kingdom ; and this possession of New Ross gave rise to one of the most bloody and most protracted battles ever fought in Ireland. The reckless ferocity, so natural to men resisting op- pression, here had full scope for its terrific development. The peasantry of that country were, in a great proportion, of English descent ; they had been taught that it was right to separate themselves from England ; and they surprising ; by wilhdra\ving, they could shorten it to little more than the length of a dagger, and, in a second, i!art it out to its full extent. At Old Kilcullen, they entirely repulsed General Dundas, and the licavy cavalry, in a regular charge, killing two captains and many soldiers: the General escaped with great diiEculty, by the fleetness of his horse. At New Ross, they entirely broke the heavy liorse by their pikes. A solid mass, or deep column of determined pikemen, could only be broken by artillery, or a heavy fire of musketry: well-served artillery they could not withstand, if not close enough to be rushed upon. Colonel Foot's detachment of infantry was nearly annihilated by the pike at Oulart: only the major and two others escaped. DF THE IRISH NATION. 347 were filled with that dreadful doctrine, that, " if the object be good, the means are immaterial." Upon this doctrine, however, many of the higher orders had miequi vocally acled. A portion of the gentry of the county of Wexford were boisterous, overbearing, and de- void of judgment ; their Christian principles were merged in their Protestant ascendency. The frenzy of an exter- minating principle seemed to have taken root amongst them ; and they acted as if under the impression, that burning every cottage, and torturing every cottager, were a meritorious proof of their faith and loyalty. Great and most unwarrantable excesses had been practised by some of the Protestant gentry on the lower orders : some of them were nearly as savage, and certainly as sangui- nary as the most vicious of the insurgents. Those men committed their loyal brutalities without calculating that a single victory might enable the insurgents to retaliate. 1'he conduct of the Wexford gentry was held out, by insurgent leaders, to the inflamed population, as a system to be retaliated ; nor is it possible to deny, that natural justice gave some colour to that sanguinary doctrine. The lower orders uninstructed in the distinction between the rights of Government and the mad excesses of the bigoted gentry or tyrannical functionaries, naturally mis- took retaliation for justice, and followed exactly the course of devastation which had been inflicted upon themselves. The mansions of the gentry experienced the same fate which the gentry had inflicted on the cottages. The in- surgents considered every Protestant a tyrant ; the Pro- testants proclaimed every Catholic a rebel ; reason was banished, mercy was denounced, and the reciprocal thirst for blood became insatiable. III. Actual hostilities now commenced by skirmishes round the city of Dublin, and several simultaneous at- tacks were made by the insurgents, upon various posts and garrisons, with surprising pertinacity. They had neither officers, regular arms, nor discipline ; their plans, there- fore, though acutely devised, could have no certainty of regular or punctual execution ; yet a masterly system of tactics, of combinations, and of oflfensive warfare had been originally determined upon. Though these, in a great measure, had been frustrated by the death of Lord 348 RISE AND FALL Edward Fitzgerald, and the arrest of the Directory, they were executed sufficiently to prove that there had been the plan of an effectual resistance to the Government. The number of the insurgents is utterly impossible to be stated with accuracy. There then existed in Ireland at least 125,000 effective men at arms, who, from the cjmallness of the island, could be collected and marshalled in a week throughout the entire kingdom.* The insurgents were unpaid — many of them nearly unclothed, few of them well armed, all of them imdisci- plined, with scarcely any artillery, no cavalry, their pow- der and ammunition mostly prepared by themselves, no tents or covering, no money, no certainty of provisions, obedience to their chiefs, and adherence to their cause, were altogether voluntary. Under these circumstances, their condition must have been precarious, and their numbers variable. No one leader amongst them had sufficient power to control or counteract their propensities, yet they fought with wonderful perseverance, address, and intrepidity.! * Some of the returns stated that above four hundred thousand men had been sworn, and privately drilled ; but little faith can be placed ii\ any document on the subject. Had the cause continued to succeed, the numbers would have been double. In 1 782, above one hundred thousand Independent Volunteers were well clothed, armed, and disciplined, and about fifty thousand more of an inferior description, were assembled. t One of the insurgents in the town of Wexford, with whom I was well acquainted, gave me much information, and a great insight into the transactions of that county. He was a rational man, and disgusted with both parties, he would have been neutral, but neutrality was impos- sible ; and Mr. Taylor, a Royalist, and a man of truth and integrity, whom the insurgents, on pain of death, had forced to print their procla- mation, gave me many of their documents, and a great deal of intelli- gence. I collected, on all hands, that, on the first rising, there were not five thousand insurgents to attack the town of Wexford ; but that tho King's troops having evacuated the place, with a considerable force, and without any effort to defend it, and being harassed on their retreat, this first and most important success had its immediate effect, and before noon the next day more than twenty thousand Wexford men had flocked to their standards, and they hourly increased in number while success was possible. At the battle of New Ross, I was assured that Bngenal Har- vey had thirty thousand, at tbe battle of Arklow there were more than 20,000 : and, as the most unequivocal proof of their formidable num- bers, at the engagement of Vinegar Hill, General Lake did not think it advisable to attack them with less than twenty lliousand regular troops and OF THE IRISH NATION. 349 lY. A night attack on the metropolis had been long meditated by the united Irishmen, but its early execution had not been anticipated by the Government. The Lord Lieutenant ascertained that such an attempt was to be made on the 23d of May, 1798, by a large body of in- surgents then collecting on the north of Swords and Santry, and on the south under the Rathfarnham moun- tains less than five miles from the city. Of their num- bers, leaders, arms, or tactics, every body was ignorant, all was confusion and every report was extravagantly exaggerated. The regular garrison, and the yeomanry, prepared themselves with the utmost animation, but nobody knew his station, or could ascertain his duty. Orders were issued, and immediately revoked, positions were assigned and countermanded, more confused, inde- cisive, and unintelligible arrangements of a military nattire never appeared. No probable point of attack was signified, and the only principle of defence appeared to be comprised in one sen- tence, " every man for himself, and God for us all." Lord Clare appeared the most busy and active, as far as his tongue extended. Confidence and bravery were re- commended in all quarters ; but a very serious uneasiness was perceptible throughout the metropolis ; his Lordship's activity was confined to the council chamber, and to the upper court of the castle. As night approached, orders were given that the yeo- a considerable artillery. Cavalry and mortars were brought to force their line, and even a2;ainst such an attack they made a long and desperate re- sistance, and retreated from that large and disciplined army with very little (comparative) loss. I had every reason to believe (and I omitted no means of ascertaining the reality), that above thirty-five thousand men had risen in the county of Wexford alone. This species of computation may, therefore, be indulged in as theory, certainly not as a true criterion. Wexford is only one of thirty-two counties, by no means the most populous, and far from the most extensive. Had the rising been general, the northern counties might have furnished as many, the southern counties more, and the midland less than Wexford. A rough (but no doubt uncertain) aver- age, may be drawn from these data, as to what the possible or probable amount of insurgents might have been, throughout the entire kingdom, if the struggle had been protracted. It is equally clear, that had the insurgents possessed arms, officers, and discipline, their iiumbers would soon have rendered them masters of the kingdom. 30 35U RISE AND FALL men, cavaky and infantry, should occupy Smithfield, which was, at length, considered as the probable point of attack from Santry, where the peasantry were reported to have collected in the greatest numbers. The yeomen, amongst whom were nearly eight hundred attorneys, horse and foot, turned out. Their infantry was effective, and their cavalry excellent. The gradations of their disci- pline and enthusiasm were, however, extremely amusing ; those who had imbibed their full quantum of generous fluids, were the most fierce and enthusiastic : others who had dined on substantial matters, were as steady as posts. But those who had been paraded before dinner, after standing under arms for some hours, could endure it no longer, and a forced loan of cheese, tongues, and bottled porter, from a Mr. Murray, of Great George's-street, was unanimously decided upon, and immediately carried into execution. The barristers, commanded by Captain Saurin, were from their position likely to sustain the first onset of the pikemen ; and as night closed, such a scene of military array never was, and probably never will be wit- nessed. Smithfield is a long and very wide street, open at both ends, one of which is terminated by the quays and river. It is intersected by narrow streets, and formed altogether one of the most disagreeable positions in which an immense bod^r of demi-disciplined men and horses ever were stationed in solid mass, without any other order than, " if you are attacked, defend yourselves to the last extreinityP The cavalry and infantry were, in some places, so compactly interwoven, that a dragoon could not wield his sword without cutting down a foot soldier, nor a foot soldier discharge his musket without knocking down a trooper. The cavalry being elevated, could breathe freely in the crowd ; but the infantry could scarcely avoid suffocation. A few hundred insurgents, with long pikes, corning on rapidly in the dark, might, without difficulty, have assailed the yeomen at once from five different points. The Barristers and Attorneys' corps occupied three of those points. So much for General Craig^s tactics. The danger was considered imminent, the defence impracticable ; yet there was a cheerful, thoughtless • OF THE IRISH NATION. 351 jocularity with which the English nation, under grave circumstances, are totally unacquainted ; and plain matter of fact men can scarcely conceive that renovating levity which carries an Irish heart buoyantly over every wave, which would swamp, or at least water-log, their more steady fellow-subjects. All the barristers, attorneys, merchants, bankers, revenue officers, shopkeepers, students of the University, doctors, apothecaries, and corporators, of an immense metropolis, in red coats, with a sprinkling of parsons, all doubled up together, awaiting in profound darkness (not with impatience), for invisible executioners to dispatch them without mercy, was not (abstractedly) a situation to engender much hilarity. Scouts now and then came, only to report their ignorance, a running buzz occasionally went round, that the videts were driven in — and the reports of distant musketry, like a twitch of electricity, gave a slight but perceptible movement to men's muscles. A few (faintly heard) shots on the north side also seemed to announce that the vanguard of the Santry men was approaching. In the mean time, no further orders came from the general, and if there had, no orders could have been obeyed. It appeared, at break of day, that both the Santry and Rathfarnham men had adjourned their main assault till some other opportunity. The different corps now got more regular, the bands struck up " God save the King" — the danger of the night, in all its ramifications, re-occupied the tongue of every soldier in Smithfield ; and at length an order came from General Craig (Lord Roden being victorious in a skir- mish), to dismiss the troops, and to parade again in the evening. Never was an order obeyed with more alacrity, and never did insurgents lose so favourable an opportunity of covering a field of battle with more distinguished carcases. The insurgents on the south intended to take the castle by surprise, whilst the Santry men assailed the barracks ; but their plan was disconcerted by Lord Roden, at the head of his dragoons (called the fox hunters, from their noble horses). His Lordship marched rapidly upon them, and surprised the few who had collected ; and, being supported by a small number of light infinlry, the attack completely succeeded. A few were sabred, and some few 362 RISE AND FALL * made prisoners; but the body dispersed with Httle msist- ance. Lord Roden received a ball on his helmet, but was only bruised, and some dragoons were wounded ; the other (county of Dublin) men retreated to join the Kildare men ; the southern marched to unite themselves with those of Wicklow. Their plan had been excellent, had they acted steadily on it, success was not improbable ; however, the metropolis for some time had no further dread of molestation. A new, disgusting, and horrid scene was next morning publicly exhibited ; after v^^hich military executions com- menced, and continued with unabating activity. Some dead bodies of insurgents, sabred the night before by Lord Roden's dragoons, were brought in a cart to Dublin, with some prisoners tied together; the carcases were stretched out in the Castle yard, where the Viceroy then resided, and in full view of the Secretary's windows; they lay on the pavement as trophies of the first skirmish, during a hot day, cut and gashed in every part, covered with clotted blood and dust, the most frightful spectacle which ever disgraced a royal residence, save the seraglio. After several hours exposure, some appearance of life was per- ceived in one of the mutilated carcases. The man had been stabbed and gashed in various parts ; his body was removed into the guard-room, and means were taken to restore animation ; the efforts succeeded, he entirely recovered, and was pardoned by Lord Camden ; he was an extraordinarily fine young man, above six feet high, the son of a Mr. Keough, an opulent landholder of Rath- farnham ; he did not, however, change his principles, and was, ultimately, sent out of the country. That morning, the yeomanry corps were called upon to attend the execution of Lord Roden's prisoners, who were ordered to be hanged from the lamp irons, or on the bridges. It was a service the respectable corps declined, several, however, went individually as spectators. The first victim to that arbitrary and ill-judged execution, was a Mr. Ledwitch, of Ratlifarnham, the brother of a Catho- lic clergyman.* * He was a remarkably large and heavy person, and was hanged on one of the bridges. By the inexperience ot the executioner, Mr. Led- witch suffered a prolonged and cruel death ; the rope frequently slipped, OF THE IRISH NATION. 353 Others were executed at the same time ; some of the lamplighters also paid with their lives for their former night's omission, and blood began to flow with but little mercy. Bacon (a Major of the old volunteers), was caught in a female garb, endeavouring to quit the city ; and under a general order to execute, forthwith, all persons found in disguise, he was led to Carlisle Bridge, and hanged from the scaffolding. These species of executions became common, and habit soon reconciled men to what was not only disgusting, but horrible. V. Martial law was now proclaimed, and the courts of justice closed, except on civil subjects. The barristers pleaded in their uniform, with their side-arms, one of the judges (Baron Medge) appeared on the bench in the same uniform, the names of the inmates of every house were pasted on every door, fabricated reports of massacres and poisonings were daily propagated, the city assumed, altogether, the appearance of one monstrous barrack, or slaughter-house. The attacks on the royal garrisons in Kildare and Dublin counties, were in many places unsuc- cessful ; on other points the insurgents entirely succeeded, and no quarter was granted on either side. The town of Prosperous was taken, and the garrison were killed by the peasantry. On the Wexford side the insurgents, at first, were almost uniformly successful ; they took Wexford without resistance ; the garrison retreated with much fighting and some loss. Enniscorthy was stormed by the peasantry, and, after a desperate conflict, most of the town was burned, and a great portion of the garrison cut to pieces; the residue escaped, with great difllculty, through the flames.* The victory was complete, and gave them the and gave away; at length, his legs were tied up behind his back, and, after much struggling and dragging, he was dispatched with very consid- erable difficulty. It was a horrid sight. * Captain Hay, of the light dragoons, had been taken prisoner some time before, and was accused of having acted as a commander of the peasantry in that attack, and at Arklow. This report acquired strength, from the circumstance that one of his brothers had been hanged as a rebel, and another of them had been an active insurgent during the occu- pation of Wexford. Captain Hay, however, was tried by a court-mar- tial, and fully acquitted, on the jiround of compulsion. He also appeared to have saved the lives of several lovalisio at Enniscorthy, and particu- 30* 354 RISE AND FALL possession ot that fine position, Vinegar Hill, and the total command of an extensive conntiy. Major Foot, advancing too confidently with a detach- ment to Oulart, was totally defeated — only three of his corps escaped. Colonel Walpole, an inexperienced offi- cer, solicited, and, as a court favour, obtained, a com- mand to attack the insurgent army near Gorey ; but he was surprised by them near that town; many of the troops were destroyed — the Colonel himself fell early in the action — the artillery was taken — and the whole corps were dispersed, or taken prisoners. The town of Gorey was sacked and burned. General Fawcett's detachment was as unfortunate. He marched from Duncannon fort, to unite with other corps collecting to attack Wexford : but he was himself attacked at the Three Rocks Moun- tain ; all his artillery was captured ; he was utterly routed, and with difficulty got back to Duncannon, with some relics of his corps. In Kildare the success was alternate, but in most in- stances the regular troops had the advantage ; torrents of blood were shed, and every idea of mercy seemed ex- ploded ; acts of ferocity, beyond belief, were committed on both sides.* General Dundas confidently determined upon breaking a solid body of pikemen, by the impetuosity and weight of his heavy cavalry. The peasantry, in a deep close column, and under the ruined church of Old Kilcullen, received them on their pikes : two captains were killed, with many of the heavy cavalry, and the General escaped larly a Mrs. Ogle's sister, whom he carried through the flames of a burn- ing street, and a fire of musketry. * It is a singular fact, that in all the ferocity of the conflict, the storm- ing of towns and of villages, womea were uniformly respected by the insurgents. Though numerous ladies fell occasionally into their power, they never experienced any incivility or misconduct. But the foreign troops in our service (Hompesch's) not only brutally ill-treated, but oc- casionally shot gentlewomen. A very respectable married woman in Enniscorthy (ISIrs. Stringer, the wife of an attorney) was wantonly shot at lier own window by a German, in cold blood. The rebels (though her husband was a royalist) a short time after took some of those foreign soldiers prisoners, and piked them all, as they told them — "just to teach them how to shoot laches" Martial law always affects both sides; retal- iation becomes the law of nature wherever municipal laws are not in operation ; it is a remedy that should never be resorted to but in extremis. OP THE IRISH NATION. 355 \v>Ti difficulty. The same body was attacked again the same day, with artillery, and quickly broken ; but not till lanes had been repeatedly cut through them by round shot. The removal of the troops into the camps of Laugh- linston and the Naul, heretofore mentioned, gave rise to one of the most melancholy episodes of this history. At LaughHnston (seven miles from Dublin) some thousand men, mostly Irish militia, were encamped by Lord Car- hampton. The United Irishmen sent emissaries to the camp ; and disaffection was rapidly proceeding amongst troops. It was disclosed to Government by a Captain Armstrong, of the King's County Militia, who also did what every principle should have imperatively prohibited. He was prevailed upon at the Castle, for a reward, to ingratiate himself, as a brother conspirator, amongst the higher classes ; and to encourage their proceedings, so as to gain proofs of their guilt, through their implicit conii- dence in his fidelity. He then became an evidence even to death, against those whose culpability he had encou- raged, and attended to execution the very gentlemen whom he made victims to their confidence in his integrity. Captain Armstrong thus wormed himself into the con- fidence of the leaders, with the design of betraying them : his treachery was preorganized ; and he proved himself a worse man and a more competent conspirator than those whom he made his victims. He had the honour of an officer, and the integrity of a gentleman to sustain; yet he deliberately sacrificed both, and saw two barris- ters executed through his treachery. VI. Messrs. Henry and John Sheares were of the Irish bar, and of a respectable family, Henry, the elder, had a competent fortune, and was an excellent domestic person, with a most amiable family ; he had received a univer- sity education, but was not possessed of talent — plain and friendly, occasionally warm, generally credulous, and always full of prejudices, his mind was never strong enough to resist his feelings, and though unexceptionable in private character, he had neither capacity, firmness, nor discretion for a public life. The younger brother, John, was tall, fair, handsome, and of gentlemanly ad- diess ; his countenance was sensible, and, firm to inflexi- 356 RISE AND FALL hility, with much more ta.ent than his hrother, he guided him at his cUscrctiou. They were inseparable as brothers, and were united by an ahnost unparalleled attachment. Mr. John Sheares, upon the arrest of the others, became one of the executive directory of the United Irishmen, and, as a necessary consequence, Henry was a participa- tor, and aided in procuring emissaries to seduce the troops at Laughlinston. There Captain Armstrong became acquainted with the two brothers, pledged to them his friendship, persuaded them that he Avould seduce his own regiment, gained their implicit confidence, faithfully ful- filled the counterplot, devised secret meetings, and worked up sufficient guilt to sacrifice the lives of both. They were arrested, tried, on his evidence convicted, and were hanged and beheaded in the front of Newgate. They came hand in hand to the scaffold : this was one of the most interesting trials in Ireland. It is only justice to Lord Clare, to record an incident which proves that he was not insusceptible of humane feelings, and which often led me to believe that his nature might have been noble, had not every feeling of modera- tion been absorbed by that ambition, the fatal disappoint- ment of which, at length hastened his dissolution. By some untbrtunate delay, a letter of Henry Sheares to me was not delivered till eleven o'clock of the morning after the trial. I immediately waited on Lord Clare, he read it with great attention ; L saw he was moved ; his heart yielded. I improved on the impression ; he only said : " What a coward he is ! but what can we do ?" — he paused — " John Sheares cannot be spared. Do you think Henry can say any thing, or make any species of disco- very, which may authorize the Lord Lieutenant to make a distinction between them? if so, Henry may be re- prieved." He read the letter again, and was obviously affected. I had never seen him amiable before. " Go," said he, " to the prison ; the execution will be deferred for one hour. See Henry Sheares, ask him this question and return to me at Cooke's office." I lost no time, but I found, on my arrival, that orders had been given that nol/ody should be admitted without a vrltten permission. I instantly returned to the caslle — they v.'ere all at coun- cil, Cooke was not in his office, I was delayed several OF THE IRISH NATION. 357 minutes. At length the secretary returned, gave me the order to see them, and to the sheriff to delay the execu- Mon for one hour. I hastened fo Newgate, and arrived at the very moment that the executioner was holding up the head ot' my old college friend, and saying, " Here is the head of a traitor^ I felt deeply affected. Vn. This insurrection, which commenced on the 23d of May, 1798, and concluded in a few months, produced a greater effusion of hlood, more ferocity, and more de- vastation than ever were witnessed in Ireland within an equal period. Partial hattles and skirmishes were inces- sant, but general engagements were not numerous. It was generally in small bodies that the insurgents were successful. The principal battles were those of Arklow, Gorey, and Vinegar Hill, and the storming of Enniscorihy and Ross by the peasantry. At Arklow, in a regular line, the peasantry assailed a disciplined army in the field, and the result was a drawn battle. At Ross, after storming and gaining the town, after ten hours in- cessant fighting, they surrendered themselves to drunk- enness and plunder, and were slaughtered in their inebriety. At Vinegar Hill, the entrenchments were defended for several hours, though attacked by twenty thousand regular troops, with ordnance, and the loss of the insurgents was disproportionately small. They retired unpursued, and soon formed anotlier army, and marched to the very heart of Ireland. At Gorey, Carnew, the Three Rocks, and numerous places where they fought in ambuscades, they always succeeded; and had they confined themselves to desultory attacks and partisan warfare, they might soon have de- stroyed their local enemies the yeomen, and wearied and exhausted the regular troops. After the storming of Gorey, had they succeeded in taking Arklow, they might have marched to the inetropolis in one day, Vin. To ])rotect Arklow, therefore, was im{)oratively necessary, yet it was hut j)oorly garrisoned, and totally unprovided with ammunition or j)rovisions. The garrison were considerably less than oxw thousand men, princi- pally irr<*LMilar troops, and not a field-work or other pre- paration had been made to defend the place. An old 358 RISE AND FALL barrack, incapable of defence, was their only fortification, four pieces of field artillery their only ordnance, and a party of the Ancient Britons, commanded by Sir W. W. Wynn in person, anil a few yeomen, their only cavalry. The insurgents had collected nearly thirty thousand men at the ruined town of Gorey, within a few miles of Arklow, which they boldly but indiscreetly declared they would storm the ensuing morning. The alarm of the metropolis at this intelligence, may be easily conceiv^ed. An imme- diate reinforcement of the garrison of xirklow could alone prevent an attack on Dublin, and an insurrection of the populace. The Cav^an militia, commanded by the pre- sent Lord Farnham, were instantly despatched to succour General Need ham, but the distance being more than thirty miles, they were hurried off in every sort of vehicle ; and even the carriages of the nobility and gentry were seized or tendered for the occasion. This was the most regular engagement throughout the whole of the insurrection. The pikemen amounted to many thousands — the king's troops were under fifteen hundred — the lire-arms on each side were nearly equal in number, but those of the insurgents w^ere of every calibre and description, v/hilst their powder was carried in horns or in the pocket, and was but scantily supplied. The Cavan regiment arrived at the critical minute. The conflict was in a level field at the extremity of the town ; the royal infantry being in a line on open ground, with two pieces of cannon at each wing ; the peasantry, with fire-arms, were drawn up in a line exactly parallel, ■with a very low ditch in front, and two pieces of artillery on each flank ; small flags of green and yellow w^aved in every part of their position. The fire began as regularly as between disciplined armies — no movements were made on either side ; tiie pikemen formed a crescent on a range of hills just over the royalists, and waited for any dis- order to rush down and exterminate them. An uninter- rupted fire was kept up by both parties for some hours, without any manojuvre, and with very little comparative execution. At length the insingents dismounted one of the royal cannon, killed the gunners, and the battle was becoming doubt hil. The left llank of the royal army was protected by some cavalry and houses, and the right by OF THE IRISH NATION. 359 their barracks, and a piece of artillery which commanded the road. The peasantry had no pre-arranged plan of attack, and their immense body of pikemen remained in- active on the eminence, a iew hundred yards fiom the scene of action. The royal officers became alarmed : had the insurgents' ammunition lasted, and the pikemen charged, the danger would have been realised. General Needham, and most of the officers were disposed to retire, as a matter of necessity ; but Colonel Skerritt, of the Dumbarton fencibles, resolutely declared that his regi- ment never should retreat. A retrogade movement would have given an opportunity for a rush of the pike- men, which must have ended in the annihilation of the royal force. No quarter was expected upon either side. Had the royal troops advanced, they might have been easily surrounded ; their alternative was, to succeed or perish. The ammunition of the royal army began to fail ; but fortunately that of the peasantry was first ex- hausted. The firing gradually slackened, and, at length a very ferocious attack was made on the right wing, by a large body of pikemen, led by Father Murphy ; a four- pounder opened its fire, and Father Murphy received a baU which tore him to pieces. The insurgents, thus dis- pirited, advanced no farther ; and after an effort on the left, repulsed by some Ancient Britons, they began to re- treat, but without precipitation. The royal army did not think it prudent to pursue, but retired to their barracks, whilst the peasantry fell back, unmolested, to Gorey. Thus concluded a battle by no means the most sangui- nary, but, certainly, one of the most important of the in- surrection. Had the peasantry succeeded, they would have been reinforced every mile of their march to Dublin, by the excited population of Wexford and Wicklow. Kildare, Meath, and Westmeath were in arms, and the capital itself had more than 30,000 organized United Irishmen within its walls ; and, however intrepidly de- fended, must have yielded in a river of blood to the in- numerable hosts of it^ enthusiastic assailants. Their failure, however, in the principal attacks in Kildare and Wicklow, had dispirited and disorganized a multitude without officers to direct them, and Ireland was thus saved. More than 30,000 peasantry were actually pre- 360 RISE AND FALL sent at the battles of Ross and Arklow ; and Wexford and Wicklow are by no means the most populous counties. At a very moderate computation, there were, in Wexford and Wicklow, at least 50,000 effective insurgents, either under arms, or prepared to take arms, had their measures continued to be successful. Their courage and perseve- rance may be estimated by the extraordinary incidents of the battle of Ross, which lasted ten hours with alter- nate success, and in which they were finally conquered, only by their insubordination, and the incapacity of their leaders. IX. The battle of Ross, with respect to its incidents and extensive results, was one of the most important of the insurrection. Ross is surrounded on three sides by steep hills, and on the fourth by a river, dividing it from the southern counties, and having a long wooden bridge. The possession of Ross, therefore, would open a commu- nication with the southern insurgents, who were prepared to rise, en masse, the moment their friends should occupy that town ; and the city of Waterford, and probably the whole of the western and southern counties would have risen in their favor. Nearly 30,000 insurgents assembled on Corbet-Hill, near the town of Ross. Their General, Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey, was, of all men, probably the most unfit for so desperate an enterprise ; his figure diminutive, his voice tremulous. He was a Protestant barrister of fortune ; good tem- pered, and of good private character ; and was selected from being lord of Bragay Castle, and of considerable demesnes in the county of Wexford. Of individual courage he had sufficient, but of that manly heroic intre- pidity which converts danger into enthusiasm, and is in- dispensable to the leader of such an army and such a cause, he was altogether unsusceptible. The other offi- cers were little better than himself ; and an army of 30,000 intrepid, persevering insurgents, could not pro- duce one leader of sufficient tact or influence to guide and secure to them certain victory. Harvey and his aid-de-camp, Mr. Gray, a Protestant attorney, remained upon a neighbouring hill, inactive spectators during ten hours mccssdui fighting. The first attack commenced at six o'clock in the morn- OP THE IRISH NATION. 361 ing on only one entrance to the town, and that the most defensible by the ganison ; all the others were neglected, otherwise, the garrison not being snfficiently luunerous to defend all, the town must have been entered from sev^eral quarters. A regiment of infantry and one of cavalry sallied out to distract the insurgents, and prevent their attack upon the other entrances. Both regiments were driven back with great loss, the cavalry by a charge of bullocks * and pikemen, the infantry by ambuscade and irregular attacks. Lord Mountjoy fell at the head of his regiment, the Dublin Militia, immediately at the gate ; and the royalists and the peasantry entered Ross almost intermingled. The main street became the scene of a most sanguinary and protracted conflict ; the royalists were forced back, and their artillery taken and turned on them- selves. The market-house alone remained in possession of the troops ; and after a long and bloody contest they retreated to the bridge, prepared, if necessary, to pass to the other side, and destroy the communication. Had they done this, they must have marched through the very heart of an insurgent country, and all would have been cut to pieces. There is scarcely a trait of individual courage which was not exemplified during that contest ;t * At this battle the insurgents practised a ruse de guerre used origin- ally by the Romans. A regiment of heavy cavalry had marched out, to charge them on their first approach ; they suspected the attack, and were prepared to receive them by a very unexpected salutation. They had cooped up in a field near two hundred bullocks. When these beasts are urged, and rush on in a body, nothing can stop them ; a wall or even a house, they have been known to dash against, in their blind fury. When the heavy cavalry were in a proper position on the road, the rebels, with their pikes, goaded the bullocks; maddened by the smart, they i-ushed to the openings of the enclosure, which had been purposely made for them : nothing could withstand them ; the cavalry were over- whelmed ; man and horse were overthrown and trampled upon. Of such as could retreat through the gate, several met their death from the pike- men. t The account of this battle I have had from many, but from none so accurately or circumstantially as from a gentlemen I have been long acquainted with. Counsellor Lundyfoot, son of the eminent person of that name. He had some property there, and curiosity led him to Ross, to see what was going forward ; just as he got there he found he could not get away again, and was obliged to remain, and run his chance during the battle. He was a member of the barristers' infantry , and con- eeivGfl that no soldier should on such occasions be inactive ; nc therefore 31 362 RISE AND FALL the battle occasionally slackened, but never ceased for a moment. Tlie peasantry, certain of victory, lost all sub- ordination; and, in their turn, were attacked by such •of the garrison as had time to rally. Many were killed, almost without resistance ; the town was set on fire, and in the midst of the flames the battle raged for hoyrs most violently. The royalists recovered the main street. The insurgents were on the point of being finally repulsed, when a young gentleman of thirteen years of age, from the town of Wexford, of the respectable family of Lett, in that town, had stolen away from his mother, and joined General Harvey on Corbet Hill. The boy saw the disorder of the men, and the incapacity of their leaders, and with a boyish impulse he snatched up a standard, and calling out "Follow me who dare!" rushed down the hill, two or three thousand pikemen rapidly followed him in a tumultuous crowd, and uttering the most appalling cries. In a moment he was at the gate, rallied his party, and with his reinforcement rushed upon the garrison, who, fatigued and astonished at the renewed vigour of their enemy, were again borne down, and com- pelled with much loss, fighting step by step, to retire towards the bridge. For many hours the firing in the streets and houses w^as incessant; and the peasantry were very nearly in possession of the entire place, when again all subordination vanished, and again fortune forsook them. Some hundred houses were in a blaze ; the horror was indescribable. The remaining body of the garrison, overcome by fatigue, became nearly unable to continue the contest. The firing, however, continued till towards night, when the insurgents who had not entered the houses, having no oflicers to command them, retreated through the gate by which they had entered, half a mile to Corbet Hill, leaving some thousands of their comrades asleep in different houses, or in the streets to which the flames had not com- municated. Of these, the garrison put hundreds to the sword, without any resistance ; and more than 5000 were armed, acted as a Volunteer, and \vas in tlie very midst of the battle during the ten hours it continued. He described to me the desperate valour of the peasantry-, and confirmed to me a story, nearly incredible, of their i^iorance ; namely, an old man thrusting a wig into the mouth of an adverse cannon, to prevent its explasion. OF THE IRISH NATION. 363 either killed or consumed by the conflagration. The garrison, greatly diminished and exhausted by ten hours incessant fighting, without refreshments, lay down in the streets, slumbering amongst the dead ; and had Harvey, at any hour before morning, returned with even 1000 fresh men, every soldier might have been slaughtered ; resistance would have been impossible. X. Vinegar Hill is a beautiful, verdant, low mountain ; the river Slaney rolls smoothly at its foot on the one side, and the large town of Enniscorthy lies immediately under its base upon another ; at one point the ascent is rather steep, on the others, gradual ; the top is crowned by a dilapidated stone building. The hill is extensive, and com- pletely commands the town and most of the approaches to it; the country around it is rich, sufficiently wooded, and studded with country seats and lodges. Few spots in Ireland, under all its circumstances, can at this moment be more interesting to a traveller. On the summit of this hill the insurgents had collected the remains gf their Wexford army; the number may be conjectured, from General Lake deciding that 20,000 regular troops were necessary for the attack. The peasantry had dug a slight ditch around a ku'ge extent of the base ; they had a very few pieces of small half-disabled cannon, some swivels, and not above two thousand fire-arms of all descriptions. But their situation was desperate ; and General Lake considered that two thousand fire-arms, in the hands of infuriated and courageous men, supported by a multitude of pikemen, might be equal to ten times the number under other circumstances. A great many women mingled with their relatives, and fought with i'ury ; several were found dead amongst the men, who had fallen in crow^ds by the bursting of shells. The circumstantial details of that battle, however interesting, are too numerous for this volume, a few, how- ever, are necessary. General Lake, at the break of day, disposed his attack in four columns, whilst his cavalry were prepared to do execution on the fugitives. One of the columns (whether by accident or design is strongly debated) did not arrive in time at its station, by which the insurgents were enabled to retreat to Wexford, through a country where 364 RISE AND FALL they ("oiild not be pursued by cavahy or cannon. It was astonishins^ with what fortitude the peasantry, uncovered, stood tlic tremendous fire opened upon the four sides of their position ; a stream of shells and grape was poured on the multitude ; the leaders encouraged them by exhor- tations, the women by their cries, and every shell that broke amongst the crowd was followed by shouts of de- fiance. General Lake's horse was shot, many officers wounded, some Ivilled, and a few gentlemen became in- visible during the heat of the battle. The troops advanced gradually but steadily up the hill ; the peasantry kept up their fire, and maintained their ground, their cannon was nearly useless, their powder deficient, but they died fight- ing at their post. At length, enveloped in a torrent of fire, they broke, and sought their safety through the space that General Needham had left by the non-arrival of his column. They wei'e partially charged b}^ some cavalry, but with little execution ; they retreated to Wex- ford, and that night occupied the town. During the battle, the pike and blunderbuss were in constant exercise ; both parties had committed great atrocities in cold blood, under the milder term of retalia- tion. Previous to that battle, Enniscorthy had been twice stormed; every street in it had streamed with blood ; many bundled houses had been burned ; and the combats had been hand to hand in the midst of fiames and falling edifices. It is asserted that eighty-seven wounded peasants, whom the king's army had found on taking the town, in the market-house, used as an hospital, had been burned alive ; and that in retaliation the insurgents burned above a himdred royalists in a barn at Scullabogue. Amongst the remarkable and melancholy examples of the abuse of martial law, and the discretionary power given to military officers in Ireland, one which occurred on the taking of Wexford is a peculiarly fit subject for observation : Mr. Grogan, of Johnstown Castle, a man past seventy years of age, of very large fortune, irre- proachable rei)utation, with the address, manners, and feelings of a gentleman. Overstrcet and John, his two brothers, commanded yeomanry corps. The first of them was killed at the head of his corps (the Castletown Ca- valry), at the battle of Arklow. The other was wounded OF THE IRISH NATION. 365 at the head of his troop (the Heathfield Light Horse) during Major Maxwell's retreat from Wexford, and upon the recapture of Wexford. The semblance of a trial was thought expedient by General Lake, before he could exe- cute a gentleman of so much importance and fortune. His case was afterwards brought before Parliament upon a Bill of attainder, and argued for three successive days, and nearly nights, and evidence was produced clearly ex- onerating him from any voluntary error. The only charge the Government (to excuse the culpability of General Lake) could prove, was his having been surrounded by the insurgent army, which placed him under surveillance, and who, to give importance to themselves, forced him one day into the town of Wexford, on horseback, a pea- sant of the name of Savage attending liim, with a blun- derbuss, and orders to shoot him if he refused to obey their commands ; against his will, they nominated him a commissary, knowing that his numerous tenantry would be more willing in consequence to supply them. He used no weapon of any description, too feeble even to hold one in his hand. A lady, of the name of Segrave, gave evidence that her family in the town were in want of food, and that she sent to Mr. Grogan to give her an order for some bread, which request, to save her family from starving, he reluc- tantly complied with. Througli that order, she procured some loaves, and supplied her children ; and for that act of* benevolence, and on that lady's evidence, Mr. Grogan was sentenced to die as a traitor, and was innnediately hanged and beheaded, when unable to walk to the place of execution, and already almost lifeless from age, impri- soment, pain and brutal treatment. It appeared before Par- liament, upon interrogating the President of the Court, that the members of the Court Martial which tried him had not been sworn, that they were only seven instead of thirteen, the usual number, that his material witness was shot by the military, while on the road, between Johnstown Castle and Wexford, to give evidence of Mr. Grogan's entire in- nocence ; and that, while General Lake was making merry at dinner (with his staff and some members of the Court that condemned him), one 'of the first gentlemen in the county (in every point far his superior), was hanged and 31* 366 RISE AND FALL mutilated before his windows. The author's intimate knowledge of Mr. Cornelius Grogan for many years ena- bles him to assert most unequivocally, and it is but justice to his memory to do so, that, though a person of independent mind as well as fortune, and an opposition member of the Irish Parliament, he was no more a rebel than his brothers, who had signalized themselves in battle as royalists, and the survivor of whom was rewarded by the same Govern- ment, by an unprecedented Bill of attainder against that unfortunate gentleman, long after he was dead, by which his great estates were confiscated to the crown. This Attainder Bill was one of the most illegal and un- constitutional acts ever promoted by any Government; but, after much more than ten thousand pounds, costs to crown officers and to Lord Norbury, as Attorney General, had been extracted from the property, the estates were restored to the surviving brother. XI. These transactions are dreadful, even to the recol- lection : they were the ruin of the nation and its character, but are only mentioned to give some idea of that worst of all scourges, civil war, and of the most cruel of all tribu- nals, courts martial, a situation into which Mr. Pitt craftily permitted the Irish nation to fall, in order to promote his purpose of a union. The subsequent administration of Lord Cornwallis leaves no ground of scepticism upon this subject. The infliction of torture was incessant, and acts of re- taliation were as frequent. GeiUlemen were executed, some with trials, others with worse than none. The exe- cution of Sir Edward Crosby, was a murder; that of Mr. Grogan a butchery. The Viceroy had signed no warrants for their executions ; he was seldom consulted respecting the prisoners, till their fate had been decided ; his conduct was considerate, where he was not governed by his council. The insurrection had been nearly exhausted, and Lord Camden, who was considered by Mr. Pitt an unfit person to employ for his ulterior objects, was recalled. /.<>/,/ ,/,- l',/,it/iii,-/r. A. /I OF THE IRISH NATION. 367 CHAPTER XXIV. A.ppointment of Lord Cornwallis — His crafty conduct — French invade Ireland in a small number — British troops totally defeated, their artil- lery all taken — Races of Castlebar — Ninety militia men hanged by Lord Cornwallis — -French outwit Lord Cornwallis — Lord Jocelyn taken prisoner — French surrendered — Mr. Pitt proceeds in his projects of a Union — The subserviency of the Lords — The Bishops — Bishops of Waterford and Down — Political characters of Lord Cornwallis and Lord Castlereagh — Unfortunate results of Lord Cornwallis's conduct in every quarter of the world — Lord Castlereagh — Union proposed — Great splendour of the Chancellor — Celebrated Bar Meeting — I\Jr. Saurin — j\lr. Saint George Daly — JNIr. Thomas Grady — Mr. Grady's curious harangue — ]Mr. Thomas Goold's speech — Thirty-t^vo County Judges appointed by Lord Clare — Lord Clare opposes the Bar — Open- ing of the session of 1799 — Lord Clare's great power — Lord Tyrone's character— Seconded by Mr. Fitzgerald — Mr. John Ball — His character. I. Lord Cornwallis was now selected to complete the project of a union, and Lord Castlereagh was continued as Chief Secretary. His system was, of all others, the most artful and insidious ; he affected impartially, whilst he was deceiving both parties ; he encouraged the United Irishman, and he roused the royalist ; one day he de- stroyed, the next day he was merciful. His system, however, had not exactly the anticpated effect. Every thing gave reason to expect a restoration of tranquillity ; it was through the impression of horror alone that a union could be effected, and he had no time to lose, lest the country might recover its reason. A portion of an armament, destined by France to aid the Irish insurgents, had escaped our cruisers, and landed about a thousand troops ai Killala Bay. They entered Killala without oppositiou, surprising the bishop and a company of parsons who were on their visitation. Nothing could be better than their conduct, and the bishop, in a publication on this event, did them ample justice, at the expense of his own translation. They were joined by a considerable number of pea- santry, unarmed, unclothed, and undisciplined. But the 368 RISE AND FALL French did the best they could to render them efficient. After some stay at Killala, they determined to march into the country, and, even with that small force, they ex- pressed but little doubt of reaching the metropolis. Lord Hutchinson commanded the garrison of Castle- bar a few miles from Killala. His force being pretty munerous, with a good train of artillery, he had no suspicion that a handful of French would presume to attack him. H. General Lake with his staff had just arrived, and taken the command (as an elder officer), as Lord Hut- chinson had determined to march the ensuing day, and end the question, by a capture of the French detachment. The repose of the generals was of short duration. Early in the morning they were roused by an account that the French and peasantry were in full march upon them. They immediately beat to arms, and the troops were moved to a position, about a mile from Castlebar, which, to an unskilled person, seemed unassailable. They had scarcely been posted, with nine pieces of cannon, when the French appeared on the opposite side of a small lake, descending a hill in columns, directly in front of the English. Our artillery played on them with effect. The French kept up a scattered fire of musketry, and took up the attention of our army by irregular movements. In half an hour, however, our troops were alarmed by a movement of small bodies to turn their left, which, being covered by walls, they had never apprehended. The orders given were either mistaken or misbelieved ; the line wavered, and, in a few minutes, the whole of the royal army was completely routed, the flight of the in- fantry was as that of a mob, all the royal artillery was takei], our army fled to Castlebar, the heavy cavalry galloped amongst the infantry and Lord Jocelyn's light dragoons, and made the best of their way, through thick and thin, to Castlebar and towards Tuam, pursued by such of the French as could get horses to carry them. About nine hundred French and some peasants took possession of Castlebar without resistance, except from a few Highlanders stationed in the town, who were soon destroyed.* * The native character of the French never showed itself more strong- ly than after this action. When in full possession of the large town of OF THE IRISH NATION. 369 This battle has been generally called the Races of Castlehar. A considerable part of the Louth and Kil- kenny regiments, not finding it convenient to retreat, thought the next best thing they could do would be to join the victors, which they immediately did, and in one hour were completely equipped as French riflemen. About ninety of those men were hanged by Lord Corn- wallis afterwards at Ballynamuck. One of them defend- ed himself by insisting, " that it was the army and not he who were deserters ; that whilst he was fighting hard they all ran away, and left him to be murdered." Lord Joce- lyn got him saved. The defeat of Castlebar, however, was a victory to the Viceroy ; it revived all the horrors of the rebellion which had been subsiding, and the deser- tion of the militia regiments tended to impress the gentry with an idea, that England alone could protect the country. Loid Cornwallis was supine, and the insurgents were active in profiting by this victory ; 40,000 of them were preparing to assemble at the Crooked Wood, in West- meath, only 42 miles from Dublin, ready to join the French and march upon the metropolis. in. The French continued too long at Castlebar, and Lord Cornwallis at length collected 20.000 troops, with which he considered himself pretty certain of conquering 900 men. With above 20,000 men, he marched directly to the Shannon to prevent their passage, but he was out- manoeuvered ; the insurgents had led the French to the source of that river, and it was ten days before his Lord- ship, by the slowest possible marches, (which he did pur- posely to increase the public terror), reached his enemy. But he overdid the matter, and had not Colonel Yereker (LordGort) delayed them in a rather sanguinary skirmish in which he was defeated, it was possible that they might have slipped by his Lordship, and have been revelling in Dublin, whilst he was roaming about the Shannon : how ever, he at length overtook the enemy. Lord Jocelyn's Castlebar, they immediately set about putting their persons in the best order, and the officers advertised a ball and supper that niglit, lor the ladies of the town ; this, it is said, was well attended ; decorum in all points was strictly preserved ; they paid ready money for every thing ; m fact, the French army established the French character wherever they occupied. 370 RISE AND FALL fox-hunters were determined to retrieve their character, lost at Castlebar, and a squadron, led by his Lordship, made a bold charge npon the French ; but the French opened, then closed on them, and they were beaten, and his Lordship was made prisoner. The French corps, however, saw that ultimate success was impossible, having not more than nine hundred French troops, and they afterwards surrendered prisoners of war without further resistance, after having penetrated to the heart of the kingdom. They were sent to Dublin, and afterwards to France. Horrors now were everywhere recommenced ; execu- tions were multiplied.* Lord Cornwallis marched against the peasantry, still masters of Killala ; and after a san- guinary conflict in the streets, the town was taken : some were slaughtered, many hanged, and the whole district was on the point of being reduced to subjection, when Lord Cornwallis most unexpectedly proclaimed an ar- mistice, and without any terms permitted the insurgents freely to disperse, and gave them thirty days, either to surrender their arms or be prepared for slaughter; leaving them to act as they thought proper in the inter- val. This interval was terrific to the loyalists ; the thirty days of armistice were thirty days of new horror, and the Government had now achieved the very climax of public terror, on which they so much counted for inducing Ire- land to throw herself into the arms of the protecting country. And the first step of Mr. Pitt's project was fully consummated. IV. Mr. Pitt now conceived that the moment had ar- rived to try the eflect of his previous measures to pro- mote a legislative Union, and annihilate the Irish legisla- ture. He conceived that he had already prepared induce- ments to suit every temper amongst the Irish Commons: in that he was partially mistaken. He believed that he had prepared the Irish Peers to accede to all his projects; in that he was successful. The able, arrogant, ruthless bearing of Lord Clare upon the woolsack, had rendered him almost despotic in that imbecile assembly ; forgetting their high rank, their t His Lordship ordered above ninety oi" the militia fo be immediately executed. OF THE IRISH NATION. 371 country, and themselves, they yielded unresistingly to the spell of his dictation, and as the fascinated bird, only watched his eye and dropt one by one into the power of the serpent. The lure of translation neutralized the scruples of the Episcopacy. The Bishops yielded up their conscience to their interests, and but two of the spiritual Peers could be found to uphold the independence of their country, which had been so nobly attained, and so corruptly ex- tinguished. Marly, bishop of Waterford, and Dixon, bishop of Down, immortalized their name, and their cha- racters ; they dared to oppose the dictator, and supported the rights of Ireland till she ceased to breathe longer un- der the title of a Nation. This measure, of more vital importance than any that has ever yet been enacted by the British legislature, the fatal consequences of which are every day displaying, and still range far beyond the vision of short-sighted states- men, was first proposed indirectly by a speech from the throne, on the 22d January, 1799. The insidious object of that speech to entrap the House into a conciliatory reply was seen through, and resisted with a vigour which neither the English nor Irish Go- vernments had ever suspected. The horrors of civil war, the barbarities practised on the one side, and sanctioned on the other, and the universal consternation of the whole kingdom, had, fortunately for Mr. Pitt, excited in many the fallacious idea that in the arms of England only Ire- land could regain and secure tranquiUity. This shallow principle influenced or deluded many, but afforded to a greater number a specious pretence for sup- porting a measure which their individual or corrupt objects only induced them to sanction. To do justice or to detail the speeches on this great subject, comprising as much eloquence as ever yet ap- peared in any legislative assembly, would be far too extensive a task for this volume. Short abstracts only can now be given here, and the leading arguments con- densed, so as to bring the subject in all its important bearings before the capacity of every reader. V. Ireland was now reduced to a state fitted to receive propositions for a Union. The loyalists were still strug- 372 RISE AND FALL gling through the embers of a rebelHcn, scarcely extin- guished by the .torrents of blood which had been poured upon them ; the insurgents were artfully distracted be- tween the hopes of mercy and the fear of punishment ; the Viceroy had seduced the Catholics by delusive hopes of emancipation, whilst the Protestants were equally assured of their ascendency, and every encouragement was held out to the sectarians. Lord Corn wa His and Lord Castlereagh seemed to have been created for such a crisis and for each other. An unremitting perseverance, an absence of all political compunctions, an unqualified contempt of public opinion, and a disregard of every con- stitutional principle, were common to both. They held that "the object justifies 'the means;" and, unfortunately, their private characters were calculated to screen their public conduct from popular suspicion. Lord Cornwallis, with the exception of the Union, which renders him the most prominent person in Irish history, had never succeeded in any of his public mea- sures. His failure in America had deprived England of her colonies, and her army of its reputation ; his catas trophe at Yorktown gave a shock to the King's mind, from which, it is supposed, he never entirely recovered. In India he defeated Tippo Saib, but concluded a peace which only increased the necessity of future wars. Weary of the sword, he was sent as a diplomatist to conclude the peace of Amiens; but, out-manoeuvered by Lucien Buonaparte, his Lordship's treaty involved all Europe in a war against England. He had thought to conciliate Lucien, by complimenting the First Consul, and sacri- ficed his sovereign's honorary title as King of France, which had been borne since the conquest of the Edwards and the Henrys, while he retained the title of Defender of the Faith, corruptly bestowed by the pope on a tyrant.* This was the instrument now employed by Mr. Pitt to eliect the Union. * The title of the Kmg of England then was — " George III. King of Great Britain, France, and heland, Defender of the Faith," and so forth. It is very observable, that so distinct did the Kings of England consider the two nations, that in t/irce royal titles France was made to intervene therein between England and Ireland. It was owing to the act of settle- ment, and not through any gift of heaven, that the House of HanovM mounted the throne of Great Britain. OF THE IRISH NATION. 373 VI. Lord Castlereagh had teen more than seven years in the Irish Parhament, hvd was undistinguished. In priv^ate Ufe, his honourable conduct, gentlemanly hahits, and engaging demeanour, were exemplary. Of his public life, the commencement was patriotic, the progress cor- rupt, and the termination criminal. His first public essay was a motion to reform the Irish Parliament, and his last lo annihilate it. It is impossible to deny a fact so noto- rious. History, tradition, or the fictions of romance, contain no instance of any minister who so fearlessly de- viated from all the principles which ought to characterize the servant of a constitutional monarch, or the citizen of a free country. Incontestible facts prove the justice of this observation. The rebellion had commenced on the 23d of May, 1798, and on the 22d of January, 1799, a union was pro- posed. The commercial propositions had taught Mr. Pitt that, in a period of tranquillity, nothing could be effected with the Irish Parliament by fraud or delusion. But tor the terrors of the rebellion, the proposal of a Union might have united all parties against the Govern- ment ; and Lord Corn wallis's unexampled warfare against nine hundred Frenchmen, was evidently intended more for terror than for victory. Mr. Pitt's project was first decidedly announced by a pamphlet, written by Mr. Edward Cooke,. the Under- Secretary, entitled, " Arguments for and against a Union considered." It was plausibly written, and it roused the people from their confidence that no English minister dared propose, or Irishman abet, a destruction of that independence which Ireland had possessed less than eighteen years. Mr. Cooke was promptly replied to, by a pamphlet, entitled, " Cease your Fuiming," a master- piece of its kind, wliich, in the garb of wit and irony, conveyed the most skilful reasoning, and rendered Mr. Cooke's publication perfectly ridiculous. The author was then most deservedly high at the Irish bar, and is now its first law dignitary. It was sent to press five days after the first line was written. Above a hundred pamph- lets were i)ublished on both sides of the cjuestion; but it was some time before the whole nation could believe such a measure dmst be attempted. 32 374 RISE AND FALL YII. The Bar in Ireland was formerly not a working trade, but a proud profession, filled by gentlemen of birth and fortune, who were then residents in their country. The Government, the Parliament, every municipality then felt the influence of that profession, whose principal pride it always was to defend the Constitution. The number of offices connected with the law were then com- paratively few. The estimable Lord Lifford, at his death, was succeeded on the woolsack by Lord Clare, who im- mediately gave the utmost latitude to his arbitrary temper and despotic principles as Chancellor. He commenced his office with a splendour far exceed- ing all precedent. He expended four thousand guineas or a state carriage ; his establishment was splendid, and his entertainments magnificent. His family connections absorbed the patronage of the State, and he became the most absolute subject that modern times had seen in the British islands. His only check was the Bar, which he resolved to corrupt. He doubled the number of the bankrupt commissioners ; he revived some offices, created others, and, under pretence of furnishing each county with a local judge, in two months he established thirty- two new offices, of about six or seven hundred pounds per annum each. His arrogance in court intimidated many whom his patronage could not corrupt ; and he had no doubt of overpowering the whole profession. A meeting of the Bar, however, to discuss the Union, was called on the 9th of December, 1799, at the Exhibi- tion Room, William-street, and Mr. Smith, as the father of the Bar, was voted in the chair. Among those who had called the meeting were fourteen of the King's counsel — E. Mayne, W. Saurin, W. C. Plunket, C. Bushe, W Sankey, B. Burton, J. Barrington, A. M'Cartnev, G O'Farrell, J. O'Driscoll, J. Lloyd, P. Burrowes, R. Jebb, and H. Joy, Esquires. Mr. Saurin opened the debate. His speech was vapid, and his resolution unpointed ; but he had great influence in his profession. He was a moderate Huguenot, and grandson of the great preacher at the Hague ; he was an excellent lawyer, and an amiable, pious Christian. He was followed by Captain Spencer, of the barristers cavalry. OF THE IRISH NATION. 376 Mr. Saint George Daly, a briefless barrister, was the first supporter of the Union. Of all men he was the least thought of for preferment ; but it was wittily ob- served, " that the Union was the first brief Mr. Daly had spoken from." He moved an adjournment. Mr. Thomas Grady was the Fitzgibbon spokesman — a gentleman of independent property, a tolerable lawyer, an amatory poet, a severe satirist, and an indefatigable quality-hunter. He had written the " Flesh Bi'ush,''^ for Lady Clare ; the " West Briton," for the Union ; the " Barrister," for the Bar ; and the " Nosegay," for a banker at Limerick, who sued him successfully for a libel. " The Irish," said Mr. Grady, " are only the rump of an aristocracy. Shall I visit posterity with a system af war^ pestilence^ and famine ?* No ! no ! give me a Union. Unite me to that country where all is peace, and order, and prosperity. Without a Union we shall see embryo chief-judges, attorneys general in perspective, and animalciila Serjeants. All the cities of the south and west are on the Atlantic Ocea?i, between the rest of the world and Great Britain ; thei/ are all for it — they must all become warehouses : the people are Catholics, and they are all for it," (fee. , desired that the measure should not be then pressed, unless he could be certain of a majority of fifty* The Chancellor, on learning the import of that despatch, ex- postulated in the strongest terms at so pusillanimous a decision. His Lordship never knew the meaning of the word moderation in any public pursuit, and he cared not whether the Union were carried by a majority of one or one hundred. Lord Castlereagh, though practically unskilled, was intuitively artful, he was cool, whilst Lord Clare was in- flamed ; and Lord Cornwallis, as a soldier, preferred stra- tagem to assault, and cautiously opened his trenches before every assailable member. Lord Castlereagh had reflected on an unfavourable circumstance, which he had the spirit and policy, as far as possible, to counteract. In the former session, the opposition had derived con- * The original despatch I saw and read ; it was brought from IVIr. Cooke's office secretly, and shown to me for a particular purpose, and completely deceived me, but I could not obtain possession of it. I after- wards discovered that it harl not been replaced in the office. It was sub- scribed by Mr. Pitt himself, and the name of Mr. Bankcs occurred more than once in it ; it did not compliment him. I have rea.son to believe that that despatch, with some other important papers, was afterwards accidentally dropped in College Green, and found by Doctor Kearney, then Provost of Dublin University. He told me he had found such papers, and promised to show them to me at a future day when the question was decided, but never did. Doctor Kearney was a grotesfjue figure, wonderfully short and droll, but a man of learning and of excellent character in every respect. He was afterwards made Bishop of Oesory, he was an Anti-Unwmst. 424 RISE AND FALL siderable advantage from the spirit with which many of the party had inclined towards personal hostilities ; this, in the ensuing session, was to be retaliated with interest; but many of Lord Castlereagh's adherents, though engaged to vote, might not be so well inclined to combat for a Union. He was naturally of high spirit, but this was not to be imparted to others, nor could he, prudently, exhibit it himself: he had the command of money, but not the creation of courage, and his cause was not calculated to generate that feeling ; he therefore devised a plan, un- precedented, and which never could have been thought of in any other country than Ireland : it has not been the subject of any publication.* IV. He invited to dinner, at his house in Merrion Square, above twenty of his most staunch supporters, consisting of "tried men," and men of "fighting families," who might feel an individual pride in resenting every personality of the opposition, and in identifying their own honour with the cause of Government. This dinner was sumptuous ; the Champagne and Madeira had their due effect : no man could be more condescending than tlie noble host. After due preparation, the point was skilfully introduced by Sir John Blaquiere (since created Lord do Blaquiere,) who, of all men, was best calculated to promote a gentle- manly, convivial, fighting conspiracy; he was of the old school, an able diplomatist; and v/ith the most polished manners and imposing address, he combined a friendly heart and decided spirit ; in polite conviviality he was unrivalled. Having sent round many loyal, mingled with joyous and exhilarating toasts, he stated, that he understood the opposition were disposed to personal unkindness, or even incivilities, towards His Majesty's best friends, the Union- ists of Ireland. He was determined that no man should advance upon him by degrading the party he had adopted, and the measures he was pledged to support. A full bumper proved his sincerity, the subject was discussed * It was communicated to me on the morning after its development, by a Member of Parliament, who was himself -pveseni and engaged in the enterprise, but luhose real principles were decidedly averse to a Union, to which he had been ijiduced to give his insincere support; hut though he had ample spirit^ he had too much good sense to quarrel on the subject OF THE IRISH NATION. 425 With great glee, and some of the company began to feel a zeal for •• actual serviced'' Lord Castlereagh affected some coquetry, lest this idea should appear to have originated with him ; but, when he perceived that many had made up their minds to act even on the offensive, he calmly observed, that some mode should, at all events, be taken to secure the constant pre- sence of a sufhcient number of the Government friends during the discussion, as subjects of the utmost import- ance were ot\en totally lost for want of due attendance. Never did a sleight-of-luuid man juggle more expertly. One of his Lordship's prepared accessories (as if it were a new thought) proposed, humourously, to have a dinner for twenty or thirty every day, in one of the com- mittee chambers, where they could be always at hand to make up a House, or for any emergency which should call for an unexpected reinforcement, during any part of the discussion. The novel idea of such a detachment of legislators was considered whimsical and humourous, and, of course, was not rejected. ^Vit and puns began to accompany the bottle ; Mr. Cooke, the Secretary, then, with significant nods and smii king inuendos, began to circulate his official rewards to the company. The hints and the claret united to raise visions of the most gratifying nature, every man became in a prosperous state of official pregnancy : em- bryo judges, counsel to boards, envoys to foreign courts, compensation pensioners, placemen at chance, and com- missioners in assortments, all revelled in the anticipation of sometliing substantial to be given to every Member who would do tlie Secretary tlie honour of accepting it. The scheme was unanimously adopted. Sir John Bla- quiere pleasantly observed that, at all events, they would be sure of a good cook at their dinners. After much wit, and many flashes of convivial bravery, the meeting sepa- rated after midnight, fully resolved to eat, drink, speak, and fight for Lord Castlereagh. They so far kept their words, that the supporters of the Union indisputably showed more personal spirit than their opponents during the session! The house of Lord Charlenionl was the ])]ace of meet- ing for the leading Members, opponents of the Union ; tho 426 RISE AND FALL hereditary patriotism and honour of his son, the present Earl, pointed him out for general confidence. The next morning after Lord Castlereagh's extraordinary coterie, a meeting was held at Charlemont House, to consider of the best system to be pursued in the House of Commons, to preserve the country from the impending ruin. No man in Ireland was more sincere than Lord Char- lemont. Lord Corry was by far more ardent, and Lord Leitrim more reserved, in their manners: the Commoners who attended, were alike honest and honourable : their objects were the same, but their temperature was un- equal ; and this meeting, with very few exceptions, was exactly the reverse of that of the Minister : patriotic, dis- interested, indedendent, and talented ; but of a calm, gentle, and reflective character. Lord Castlereagh's project against their courage was communicated to most of them ; and three distinct pro- posals (it would, perhaps, be improper to state them now) were made on that occasion. In the judgment of the proposer (who still retains the same opinion,) either of them, if adopted with spirit and adhered to with perseverance, would have defeated the Minister ; but the great body of the meeting disapproved of them. Mr. Grattan, Lord Corry, Mr. John Ball, Co- lonel O'Donnell, Mr. O'Donneli, Mr. Egan, and some other gentlemen, zealously approved of by far the most decisive and spirited of the three expedients. The pro- poser well knew that no ordinary measures could be suc- cessful against the Government, and that by nothing but extremes could the Union be even suspended. The re- sidue of the meeting were, perhaps, more discreet ; and never was there seen a more decided predisposition to tranquillity, than in the majority of the distinguished men at that important assembly of Irish patriots. However, on the very first debate, in 1800, it appeared mdisputably that Lord Castlereagh had diffused his own spirit into many of his adlierents, and it became equally apparent, that it was not met with corresponding ardour by the opposition : to this, however, there was one memo- rable exception, to Mr. Grattan alone was it reserved to support the spirit of his party, and to exemplify the gal- lantry he so strongly recommended to others. Roused by OF THE IRISH NATION. 427 Mr. Com^, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he gave hirrx no time for repentance ; and, considering the temper of the times, the propensity of the people, and the intense agitation upon the suhject, it is marvellous, that this was the only instance of bloodshed during the contest. Mr. Grattan had shot him at day break, and the intelligence arrived whilst the House was ^ret sitting, its effect was singular. The project at Lord Castlereagh's well war- ranted reprisals.* y. Lord Corry, now Earl Belmore, was one of the most zealous, untlinching, and respectable of the Anti-Union- ists : a young nobleman of considerable talent and in- tegrity, he felt sorely the ruin which the flippant imbe- cility and short vision of Mr. Fortescue and liOrd Cole had brought upon the coimtry. He could not believe but that all those who had composed the majority against the Union, would, on recovering their recollection, see the ne- cessity of Mr. Ponsonby's motion, and he determined, by a declaration of a similar purport, to give them an op- portunity of recovering from that error which they inad- vertantly fell into. In this, however, his Lordship was mistaken, the ex- treme impolicy of any pledge of eternal enmity to Union had, from the last day, been sedulously inculcated by the friends of Government, upon every feeble-minded or wavering member; and Lord Corry's motion, after an animated, long, and high-blooded debate, was definitively negatived by a considerable majority, and gave another handle to the Viceroy for ulterior efforts. Though the fate of Lord Corry's motion was of a most distracting nature, it made but little impression on the confidence of the Anti-Unionists ; they could not bring themselves to suppose that a measure so vital, so con- clusive, and so generally detested, being once negatived, could again be proposed by the (defeated ministers) to the same Parliament. Thousands of addresses were presented, and resolutions passed against any further dis- cussion, and, lor a time, rejoicing and confidence were the general subjects throughout the whole nation. • Two of the ihrce expedients proi)osetl, at first view, might appear extravagant, and were called iinpracticaMe ; one was certainly easy, all were loyal, and either of them would have been effective. 428 RISE AND FALL YI. The rejoicings in the mctropoHs exceeded all others. Dublin was more than any other place interested in defeating a measure which must, by the consequent emigration of the nobles and commoners, deprive it of ev'cry advantage which their splendour and luxury of society, their grand and numerous establishments, influx of strangers, and expenditure of great fortunes amongst its citizens, must confer upon a city which was not com- mercial. These ebullitions of joy and gratitude to their deli- verers, and hostility to the Unionists, were excessive. Lord Castlereagh was hung in effigy and burnt facing the door of the author, in Merrion Square ; but no dis- turbance occurred that could possibly justify military ex- ecution. The violent spirit, however, of the Chancellor, anticipated some attack on his partisans, which conscious culpability, a heated imagination, and his own terrors had raised up as a spectre before him, and led him to counte- nance one of the most unjustifiable. On the universality of the rejoicings and rather boisterous demonstrations of joy, at the defeat of Government, his alarmed Lord- ship under colour of taking precautions to preserve the peace, called a Privy Council to the Castle, which might screen himself under the authority of that body, from the individual imputation of those measures of severity, which he determined to put in force against the rejoicing pof)ulation, should any feasible opportunity be given for the interference of the military. This is a matter of fact, but care was taken that any order which might be given, or the proximate authority through which any wanton violence might be connnitted amongst the people, should not be made public. About nine at night, a party of the military stationed in the old Custom House, near Essex Bridge, silently sal- lied out with trailed arms, without any civil magistrate, and only a scrjeant to command them ; on arriving at Capel-street the populace were in the act of violently huzzaing for their friends, and, of course, with equal vehemence execrating their enemies ; but no riot act was read, no magistrate appeared, and no disturbance or tumult existed to warrant military interference. The soldiers, however, having taken a position a short OF THE IRISH NATION. 429 way down the street, without being in any way assailed, fired a volley of balls amongst the people ; of course a few were killed and^ome wounded ; amongst the former were a woman and a boy, a man fell dead at the feet of Mr. P. Hamilton, the Kint-'s Proctor of the Admiralty, who, as a mere spectator, was viewing the illumination. This is only mentioned to evince the violent spirit which guided the Govermnent of that day, and the tyrannic means which were resorted to, to terrify the people from testitVing their zeal at their deliverance, as they fancied, from the proposed annexation. This outrage was made a subject of complaint to Par- liament, but so well were the actors concealed, that nothing could be developed to lead to punishment. The rejoicings however, were neither ended nor checked by military execution, and, at the conclusion of the session, the same spirit of hostility to the Union remained not only as unsubdued, but still more decided than at its com- mencement. A most remarkable proof of the shameless lengths, at that period, resorted to by the Viceroy and Minister to gain over a suflicicnt number of the Anti-Unionists against the ensuing sessions, occurred immediately after the close of the session of 1799. Ylf. A public dinner of all the patriotic members was had in Dublin to commemorate the rescue of their country from so imminent a danger. One hundred and ten mem- bers of Parliament sat down to that splendid and trium- phant entertainment. Never was a more cordial, happy assemblage of men ot rank, consideration, and of proven integrity, collected in one chamber, than upon that remarkable occasion. Every man's tried and avowed principles were supposed to be untaintaye, and jiledged to his own honour and his country's saf(;ty ; and amongst others, Mr. Ilandcock, member for Athlone, appeared to be conspicuous ; he spoke strongly, gave numerous Anti-Union toasts, vowed his eternal hostility to so infamous a measure, pl(?dged himself to God and man to resist it to extremities, and, to finish and record his sentiments, he had composed an Anti-Union song of many stanzas, which he sung liimself with a general chorus, to celebrate the spirit, the cause, 430 RISE AND FALL and the patriotism of the meeting ; this was encored more than once by the company, and he withdrew towards day with the reputation of being in 1799, the most pure, un- flinching opponent of the measure he so cordially resisted. From that day, Lords Gornwallis and Castlereagh wisely marked him out as one of their opponents who should be gained over on any terms. Human nature is the same in every part of the globe ; wherever ambition, vanity or avarice take root, and become ruling passions, their vegetation may be checked for a day, but the root is perennial : and Ireland had no reason to suppose nature would favour her by an unqualified exemption of her representatives from those alluring vices which she had so profusely lavished on and exemplified in the British Parliament, that at length it became so poll ticaliy vicious and intolerably corrupt, that the remedy of a democraiic relbrm, in the Commons, or more properly, a recurrence to the theory of the constitution, was found indispensable to secure the remains of that constitution against the overwhelming influence of the Peers and the Dligarchy which menaced its annihilation. It was, therefore, the very summit of British egotism and injustice, to pretend that the corrupt state of the Irish Parliament formed a leading and just ground for alto- gether extinguishing its existence, though it appears in full proof, that in proportion to their respective numbers, the British Commons at the period of the Irish Union contained one fourth more corrupt, corruptible, and in- fluenced members than that of Ireland at atty period^ and that the British Minister on the regency question, intimi- dated, intluenced, or corrupted the British House of Commons, when that of Ireland was found pure enough to resist all his eftbrts, and support the heir apparent. The English people, therefore, from^a recurrence to unequivocal facts, and from a sad experience of the infinite ease with which any minister corrupted and controlled at pleasure their own Parliament, will scarcely believe that all the arts, the money, the titles, the offices, the bribes, their minister could bestow, all the influence he possessed, all the patronage he could grant, all the promises he could make, all the threats he could use, all the terrors he could excite, all the deprivations he could inllict, could seduce OF THE IRISH NATION. 431 or warp away scarcely more than a half of the members of the Irish Commons, from their duty to their country and that on the question of annexation by union, his utmost efforts could not influence more than eight above a moiety of their number; yet, with only 158 out of 300, which in England would be considered a defeat, he per- severed and effected ihe extinguishme-at of the legislature, a majority, which, on any important question would have cashiered a Britisli minister. Yet such was the fact in Ireland ; and the division of the 5th and 6th February, 1800, on the Union, will remain an eternal record of the unrivalled incorruptible purity of 115 members of that Parliament. This observation is matter of absolute fact; it may be proper to give it even by anticipation, as an illustration, and a fact of whicb the English people seem to have been totally ignorant. For her own sake probably England will soon recur to Irish history, where she will find her long sufferings, and more unshaken loyalty to her English kings than in any other country or portion of her people.* This not misplaced digression will be considered as a prelude to the sequel of Mr. Handcock, being a sample and a warning to England of what might be also the fate of their own representation. The blandishments of the crafty Viceroy, were now unsparingly lavislied on Mr. Handcock ; simple money would not do, they endeavoured to persuade him that his principles were disloyal, his song was sedition, and that further opposition might end in treason ; still he held out until title was added to the bribe, his own conscience was not strong enough to resist the charge, the vanity of his family lusted for nobility. He wavered, but he yielded ; his vows, his declaration, his song, all vanished before vanity, and the year 1800 saw Mr. Handcock of Athlone Lord Castlemaine. But the reputation of a renegade was embodied with the honours of his family, and pecuniary co^mpensation for a Parliamentary return could do no mischief to his public reputation; he became a strong supporter of the Union. • y.de ante, page 225. 432 RISE AND FALli CHAPTER XXVIl. . Felons in the gaols induced, by promise of pardon, to sign pecitions in favour of the Union — Every means of corruption resorted to by the Viceroy — Viceroy doubtful of future support — Resorted to Place Bill — Unparalleled measure of public bribery avowed by Lord Castle- reagh — Bill to raise d£ 1,500, 000, for bribes — Grave reflection on the King's assenting to an avowed act of corruption — A few bribes called Compensation — The British Parliament had anticipated the proposal- Lord Cornwallis's speech peculiarly artful — Lord Loftus moves the address — Lord Castlereagh's reason — Sir Laurence Parson's important motion and speech — Debate continued all night — Lord Castlereagh's plan put into execution — Mr. Bushe — IMr. Plunket — Mr. St. George Daly — His character — His attack on Mr. Bushe — On IMr. Plunket— Replied to by Mr. Barrington — Mr. Peter Burrows — Affecting appear- ance of Mr. Gratlan in the House of Commons — Returned for Wicklov/ the preceding cvenins; — The impediment laid by Government — Re- turned at midnight — Entered the house at seven in the morning in a debilitated state — Description of his entry — Powerful sensation caused by his splendid oration — Mr. Corry induced to reply — No effect on the House — The three Bagwells seceded from Government — Lord Ormond changed to the minister — Mr. Arthur Browne's tergiversation — Divi- sion — Mr. Foster's speech — Important incident — Bad conduct of the clergy — Very singular circuuistance — Mr. Annesley chairman of the committee on the Union — Bishop of Clogher returns ]Mr. Annesley to Parliament — Mes.srs. Ball and King petition — Succeed — Mr. Annesley declared not duly elected — Left the chair and quitted the House — Not a legal chairman — Shameful and palpable act of corruption by Sir William Gladowe Newcomen — Bril)e proved — Bribery of IVIr. Knox and Mr. Crowe — Their speeches against the Union — The Earl of Belvidere most palpably bribed to change sides — His resolutions — Mr Knox and Mr. Crowe bribed — Mv. Usher bribed to secrecy — The cor- rupt agreement of Mr. Crowe and Mr. Knox to vacate their seats for Union members, in presence of Mr. Usher, a Parson — The terms wUh Lord Castlereagh — Mr. Charles Ball's affecting conduct — The Anli-Union members, despairing, withdraw in a body — Last sitting of the Irish Parliament — The House surrounded by military — Most affecting scene — Bad consequences to England — Unhappiness of the Speaker — Ireland extinguished. 1. It is not possible to comprise in a single volume a tithe of tlic means and measures of every description, resorted to by the Viceroy and Secretary, not only to OF THE IRISH NATION. 433 seduce the members, but to procure addresses favourable to their views, from every or any rank or description of people, from the first rank to the very lowest order; beggars, cottagers, tradesmen, every individual who could be influenced, were tempted to put their names or marks to addresses, not one word of which they understood the intent, still less the ruinous result of. Even public instances were adduced, some mentioned in Parliament, and not denied, of felons in the gaols purchasing pardon, or transmutation, by signatures, or by forging names, to Union eulogiums. English generals, who, at a moment when martial law existed, or a recollection of its execution was still fresh in every memory, could not fail to have their own influence over proclaimed districts and bleeding peasantry ; of course, their success in procuring addresses to Parliament, was not limited either by their power, their disposition, or their instructions. The Anti-Union addresses, innumerable and fervid, in their very nature voluntary, and the signatures of high consideration, were stigmatized by the title of seditious and disloyal ; whilst those of the compelled, the bribed, and the culprit were printed and circulated by every means that the treasury, or the influence of the Government, could effect. Mr. Darby, High Sheriff" of King's County, and Major Rogers of the artillery, had gone so far as to place two six-pounders towards the doors of the Court House, where the gentlemen and freeholders of the county were assem- bling to address as Anti-Unionists ; and it is not to be wondered at, that the dread of grape shot not only stopped those, but numerous meetings for similar piu'poses; yet this was one of the means taken to prevent the expression of public meetings without, and formed a proper com- parison for the measures resorted to, within the walls of Parliament. As this volume cannot detail the innumerable circum- stances and episodes which a perfect history of those times would embody, it may be enough to say, that if the English readers of this work will imagine any act tliatan indefatigable, and, on this subject, ihe most corrupt of Governments could by possibility resort to, to carry a 37 434 RISE AND FALL measure they had determined on ; such readers cannot imagine acts more illegal, unconstitutional, and corrupt, than those of the Viceroy of Ireland, his secretary and under-secretary, employed, from the close of the session of 1799 to that of 1800; in the last of the Irish Parlia- ments every thing therefore is passed over, or but slightly touched on, till the opening of the last session. 11. Lords Cornwallis and Castlereagh, having made good progress during the recess, now discarded all secrecy and reserve. To recite the various acts of simple metallic corruption which were practised v/ithout any reserve, during the summer of 1799, are too numerous for this volume. It will be sufficient to describe the proceedings, without particularizing the individuals. Many of the Peers, and several of the Commoners had the patronage of boroughs, the control of which was essential to the success of the Minister's project. These patrons Lord Castlereagh assailed by every means which his power and situation afforded. Lord Cornwallis was the remote. Lord Castlereagh the intermediate, and Mr. Secretary Cooke, the immediate agents on many of these bargains. Lord Shannon, The Marquis of Ely, and several other Peers commanding votes, after much coquetry, had been secured during the first session ; but the defeat of Government rendered their future support uncertain. The parlia- mentary patrons had breathing time after the preceding session, and began to tremble for their patronage and importance ; and some desperate step became necessary to Government to insure a continuaiice of the support of these personages. This object gave rise to a measure which the British nation will scarcely believe possible, its enormity is without parallel. Lord Castlereagh's first object was to introduce into the House, by means of the Place Bill, a sufficient num- ber of dependents to balance all opposition. He then boldly announced his intention to turn the scale, by bribes to all who would accept them, under the name of compen- sation for the loss of patronage and interest. He pub- licly declared, first^ that every nobleman who returned members to Parliament should be paid, in cash 15,000/. for every member so returned ; secondli/, that every member wlio had purchased a seat in Parliament should OF THE IRISH NATION. 435 have his purchase-money repaid to him, by (he Treasury of Ireland ; tJiirdly. that all members of ParUament, or others, who were losers by a Union, shonld be fully re- compensed for their losses, and that 1,500,000/. should be devoted to this service: in otiicr terms, all who support- ed his measure were, under some pretence or other, tc share in this bank of corruption. / A declaration so flagitious and treasonable was never publicly made in any country ; but it had a powerful eflect in his favour ; and, before the meeting of Palia- ment, he had secured a small majoriy, (as heretofore mentioned,) of eight above a moiety of the members, and ne courageously persisted. After the debate on the Union in 1800, he performed his promise, mid brought in a Bill to raise one million and a half of money upon the Irish people, nominally to compensate, but really to bribe their representatives, for betraying their honour and selling their country. This Bill was but feebly resisted ; the divisions of January and February (1800) had reduced the success of the Government to a certainty, and all further opposition was abandoned. It was unimportant to Lord Castle- reagh, who received the plunder of the nation ; the taxes were levied, and a vicious partiality was effected in the partition. The assent to the Bill by his Majesty, as King of Ire- land, gives rise to perhaps the most grave consideration suggested in these Memoirs. A king, bound by the principles of the British Consti- tution, giving his sacred and voluntary fiat to a Bill to levy taxes for the compensation of members of Parlia- ment, for their loss of the opportunities of selling what it was criminal to sell or purchase, could scarcely be be- heved by the British people. It may be curious to consider how the English would endure the proj)Osal of such a measure in their own country, a British Premier who should advise his Majesty lo give his assent to such a statute, would experience the utmost punishment that the severest law of England could inllict for that enormity. Nor should the Irish people be blamed for refusing lo acquiesce in a measure which was carried in direct violation of the law, and in- 436 RISE AND FALL fraction of the statutes against bribery and corruption, and in defiance of every precept moral and political. There were times when Mr. Pitt would have lost his head for a tithe of his Government in Ireland : Stafford was an angel compared to that celebrated statesman. When the compensation statute had received the royal assehtj the Viceroy appointed four commissioners to carry its provisions into execution. Three were Members of Parliament, whose salaries of 1200/. a year each (with probable advantages) Avere a tolerable consideration for their former services. The Honourable Mr. Annesley, Secretary Hamilton, and Dr. Duigenan, were the princi- pal commissioners of that extraordinary distribution. It is however to be lamented, that the records of the proceedings have been unaccountably disposed of. A voluminous copy of claims, accepted and rejected, was published, and partially circulated ; but the great and important grants, the private pensions, and occult com- pensations, have never been made public, further than by those who received them.* It is known that <£ s. d. Lord Shannon received for his patronage in the Commons The Marquis of Ely .... Lord Clanmorris, besides a Peerage . . Lord Belvidere, besides his douceur . . Sir Hercules Langrishe III. At length, the Parliament being sufficiently ar- ranged to give Government a reasonable assurance of success, Lord Castlereagh determined to feel the pulse of the House of Commons distinctly before he proposed the measure of the Union. * The extraordinary claims for compensation, and some extraordinary grants by tlie Commissioners, would, on any other occasion, be a tit sub- ject for ridicule. But the application of one m'dljon and a half sterlings to purposes so pubhc and so vile, renders it an eternal blot on the Gov- erment in Ireland, and on the minister and cabinet of England for per- mitting the King to give the royal assent to so indisputably corrupt a statute. Amongst other curious claims for Union Compensations, in the Report printed and circulated, appear, one from the Lord Lieutenant's rat- catcher at the Castle, for decrease of employment; another from the necessary woman of the Privy Council of England, for increased trouble 'oi her department ; v/ith numerous others of the same quality. 45,000 45,000 23,000 15,000 15,000 OF THE IRISH NATION. 437 The Britisli Parliament had already framed the terms on which the proposition was to be founded, giving to its own project the complexion of a favour, and triumphing by anticipation over the independence of Ireland. This was a masterpiece of arrogance ; and it was de- termined to try the feelings of the Commons by a negative measure, before the insulting one should be substantially propounded to them. The 15th day of January, 1800 (the \y^ last session of the Irish Parliament,) gave rise to a debate of the most acrimonious nature, and of great importance. The speech of Lord Cornwallis from the throne was expected to avow candidly the determination of the Min- ister to propose, and if possible achieve, a Legislative Union. Every man came prepared to hear that proposal ; but a more crafty course was taken by the Secretary. To the surprise of the Anti-Unionists, the Viceroy's • speech did not even hint at the measure, the suggestion of a Union was sedulously avoided. Lord Viscount Loftus (now Marquis of Ely)* moved the address, which was as vague as the speech was empty. Lord Loftus was another of those young noblemen who were omitted by their con- nections to mark their politics : but neither the cause nor his Lordship's oration conferred any honour on the au- thor ; and his speech would have answered any other subject just as well as that upon which it was uttered. There was not a point in the Viceroy's speech intended to be debated. Lord Castlereagh, having judiciously col- lected his flock, was better enabled to decide on numbers ; and to count with sufficient certainty on the result of his labours since thepreccoding session, without any hasty or premature disclosure of his definitive measure. This negative and insidious mode of proceeding, how- ever, could not be permitted by the opposition ; and Sir Laurence Parsons, after one of tlie most able and luminous speeches he had ever uttered, moved an amendment, de- claratory of the resolution of Parliament to preserve the Constitution as established in 1782, and to support the freedom and inde{)endence of the nation. This motion * His Lordship, who took .so prominrnt and invidious a part in the transaction, had buon christened Lee Boo hy the humourous ])arty of the House, ami was only .selected to show the Commons that his father had been purcha:5ed. 37* 438 RISE AND FALL was the touch-stone of the parties ; the attendance ol the Unionists in the House was compulsory, that of its opponents optional; and on counting the members, sixty- six (about a fiftli of the whole) were absent, a most fa- vourable circumstance for the Minister. Every mind was at its stretch, every talent was in its vigour : it was a momentous trial ; and never was so general and so deep a sensation felt in any country. Numerous British no- blemen and commoners were present at that and the suc- ceeding debate, and they expressed opinions of Irish elo- quence which they had never before conceived, nor ever after had an opportunity of appreciating. Ever^^man on that night seemed to be inspired by the subject. Speeches more replete with talent and energy, on both sides, never were heard in the Irish Senate, it was a vital subject. The sublime, the eloquent, the figurative orator, the plain, the connected, the metaphysical reasoner, the classical, the learned, and the solemn declaimer, in a succession of speeches so full of energy and enthusiasm, so interesting in their nature, so important in their consequence, created a variety of sensations even in the bosom of a stranger, and could scarcely fail of exciting some sympathy with a nation which was doomed to close for ever tliat school of eloquence which had so long given character and celebrity to Irish talent. The debate proceeded with increasing heat and interest, till past ten o'clock the ensuing morning (16th.) Many members on both sides signalized themselves to an extent that never could have been expected. The result of the convivial resolution at Lord Castlereagh's house, already mentioned, was actually exemplified and clearly discern- ible ; an unexampled zeal, an uncongenial energy, an uncalled for rancour, and an unusual animation broke out from several supporters of Government, to an extent which none but those who had known the system Lord Castlereagh had skilfully suggested to his followers, could in any way account for. This excess of ardour gave to this debate not only a new and extraordinary variety of language, but an acrimony of invective, and an absence of all moderation, never before so immoderately practised. This violence was in unison with the pugnacious project of anticipating the Anli-Unionists in oflensive operations, OF THE IRISH NATION. 439 some remarkable instances of that project were actually- put into practice, and are not unworthy of being recorded in the Irish chronicles. Mr. Bushe, the late Chief Justice of Ireland, was as nearly devoid of private and public enemies as any man. Endowed with superior talents, he had met with a cor- responding success in an ambitious profession and in a jealous country. His eloquence was of the purest kind ; but the more delicate the edge, the deeper cuts the irony, and his rebukes were of that description; and when em- bellished by his ridicule, coarse minds might bear them, but the more sensitive ones could not. Mr. Plunket's satire was of a different nature, his weapon cut in every direction, and when once unsheathed, little quarter could be expected. His satire was, at times, of that corroding yet witty nature, that no patience could endure ; yet, on this debate, both these gentlemen were assailed with in- trepidity by a person whose talents were despised, and the price of whose seduction glared in an appointment to the highest office at the Irish bar — a barrister without professional practice or experience, and who was not con- sidered susceptible of black letter. As a statesman he had no capacity, and as an orator he was below even mediocrity, from an embarrassed pronunciation which seemed to render any attempt at elocution a most liopc- less experiment. Such was Mr. St. George Daly, ap- pointed Prime Serjeant of Ireland in the place of Mr. Fitzgerald, raised over the heads of the Attorney and Solicitor General, and, from a siinple brielless advocate elevated to the very highest rank of a talented and learned profession. Mr. Daly, however, was a gentleman of excellent family, and connnon sense, and, what was for- merly highly esteemed in Ireland, of a "fighting family." He was the brother of Mr. Dermis Daly, of so much talent, and of so much reputation amongst the patriots of eighty-two. He was proud enough for his pretensions, and sufficiently conceited for his capacity: and a private gentleman lie would have remained, had not LordCastle- reagli and the Union placed him in public situations where he had himself too nnich sense not to feel that he certainly was over-elevated. This gentleman is particu- larly noticed, as, on this night, he, in some points, ovei 440 RISE AND FALL came the public opinion of his incapacity, and he sur- prised the House by one of the most clever and severe philippics which had been pronounced during the discus- sions upon the Union, more remarkable from being directed against two of the most pure and formidable orators in the country. The contempt with which Mr. Daly conceived his ca- pacity was viewed by the superior members of his pro- fession, the inaptitude he himself felt for the ostensible situation he was placed in, the cutting sarcasms liberally lavished on his inexperience and infirmity, in lampoons and pamphlets, combined to excite an extraordinary exertion to extricate himself from the humiliating taunts that he had been so long experiencing. Mr. Daly's attack on Mr. Bushe was of a clever description, and had Mr. Bushe had one vulnerable point, his assailant might have prevailed. He next attacked Mr. Plunket, who sat im- mediately before him; but the materials of his vocabulary had been nearly exhausted ; however, he was making some progress, when the keen visage of Mr. Plunket was seen to assume a curled sneer, which, like a legion offen- sive and defensive, was prepared for any enemy. No speech could equal his glance of contempt and ridicule, Mr. Daly received it like an arrow, it pierced him, he faltered like a wounded man, his vocal infirmity became more manifest, and after an embarrassed pause, he yielded, changed his ground, and attacked by wholesale every member of his own profession who had opposed a Union, and termed them a disaffected and dangerous faction. Here again he received a reply not calculated to please him, and at length he concluded one of the most remark- able speeches, because one of the most unexpected, that had been made during the discussion. Every member who had been in the habit of addressing the House, new ones who had never spoken, on that night made warm, and several of them eloquent, orations. Mr. Peter Burrows, a veteran advocate for the rights of Ireland, wherever and whenever he had the power of declaring himself, on this night made an able effort to uphold his principles. He was a gentleman of the bar who had many friends, and justly ; nothing could be more ungracious than the manner, nothing much better than OF THE IRISH NATION. 441 the matter, of his orations. His mind had ever been too independent to cringe, and his opinions too intractable for an arbitrary minister ; on this night he formed a noble and distinguished contrast to those of his own jirofession, who had sold themselves and the representation for a mess of pottage. The House had nearly exhausted itself and the subject; when, about seven o'clock in the morning, an incident the most affecting and unexpected, occurred, and which is too precious a relic of Irish Parliamentary chronicles, not to be recorded. IV. Tlie animating presence of Mr. Grattan on this first night of the debate was considered of the utmost importance to the patriots, it was once more raising the standard of liberty in Parliament. He had achieved the independence of his country in 1782, and was the champion best calculated at this crisis to defend it, a union of spirit, of talent, and of honesty, gave him an influence above all his contemporaries. He had been ungratefully defamed by the people he had liberated, and taking the calumny to heart, his spirit had sunk within him, his health had declined, and he had most unwisely seceded in disgust from Parliament, at the very moment when he was most required to defend both himself and his country. He seemed fast approaching to the termination of all earthly objects, when he was induced once more to shed his in- fluence over the political crisis. At that time Mr. Tighe returned the members for the close borough of Wicklow, and a vacancy having occurred, it was tendered to Mr. Grattan, who would willingly have declined it but for the importunities of his friends. The Lord Lieutenant and Lord Castlereagh, justly appreciating the effect his presence might have on the first debate, had withheld the writ of election till the last moment the law allowed, and till they conceived it might be too late to return Mr. Grattan in time for the discus- sion. It was not until the day of the meeting of Parliament that the writ was delivered to the returning officer. By extraordinary exertions, and perhaps by following tlie example of government in overstraining the law, the elec- tion was held immediately on the arrival of the writ, a sufficient number of voters were collected lo return Mi. 442 RISE AND FALL Graltan before midnight. By one o'clock the return was on its road to Dubhn; it arrived by five ; a party of Mr. Grattan's friends repaired to the private house of the pro- per officer, and making him get out of bed, compelled him to present the writ to Parliament before seven in the morning, when the House was in warm debate on the Union. A whisper ran through every party that Mr. Grattan was elected, and would immediately take his seat. The Ministerialists smiled with incredulous deri- sion, and the opposition thought the news too good to be true. Mr. Egan was speaking strongly against the measure, when Mr. George Ponsonby and Mr. Arthur Moore (now Judge of the Common Pleas) walked out, and immediately returned, leading, or rather helping, Mr. Grattan, in a state of total feebleness and debility. The effect was electric. Mr. Grattan's illness and deep chagrin had re- duced a form, never symmetrical, and a visage at all times thin, nearly to the appearance of a spectre. As he feebly tottered into the House, every member simultaneously rose from his seat. He moved slowly to the table ;" his languid countenance seemed to revive as he took those oaths that restored him to his pre-eminent station ; the smile of inward satisfaction obviously illuminated his features, and reanimation and energy seemed to kindle by the labour of his mind. The House was silent, Mr. Egan did not resume his speech, Mr. Grattan, almost breathless, as if by instinct, attempted to rise, but was unable to stand, he paused and with difficulty requested permission of the House to deliver his sentiments without moving from his seat. This was acceded to by acclamation, and he who had left his bed of sickness to record, as he thought, his last words in the Parliament of his country, kindled gradually till his language glowed with an energy and feeling which he had seldom surpassed. After nearly two hours of the most powerful eloquence, he concluded with an undiminished vigour, miraculous to those who were unacquainted with his intellect. Never did a speech make a more atfecting impression, but it came too late. Fate had decreed the fall of Ireland, and her patriot came only to witness her overthrow. For two hours he recapitulated all the pledges that England OF THE IRISH NATION. 443 had made and had broken, he went throngh the great events from 1780 to 1800, proved the more than treachery which had been practised towards the Irisli people. He had concluded, and the question was loudly called for. when Lord Castlereagh was perceived earnestly to whisper to Mr. Corry, they for an instant looked round the House, whispered again, Mr. Corry nodded assent, and, amidst the cries of question, he began a speech, which, as far as it regarded Mr. Grattan, few persons in the House could have prevailed upon themselves to utter. Lord Castle- reagh was not clear Avhat impression Mr, Grattan's speech might have made upon a few hesitating members ; he had, in the course of the debate, moved the question of adjourn- ment ; he did not like to meet Sir Laurence Parsons on his motion, and Mr. Corry commenced certainly an able, but, towards Mr. Grattan an ungenerous and an unfeeling personal assault, it was useless, it was like an act of a cruel disposition, and he knew it could not be replied to. At length the impatience of the House rendered a divi- sion necessary, and in haJf an hour the fate of Ireland was decided. The numbers were — For an Adjournment, Lord Castlereagh had ..138 l/ For the Amendment ... 96 Majority 42* * One of the most unexpected and flagitious acts of public corruption was that of Mr. Arthur Brown, member for the University of Dublin. He was by birth an American, of most gentlemanly manners, excellent character, and very considerable talents. He had by his learning become a senior fellow oi' the University, and was tlie law professor. From his entrance into Parliament he had been a steady, zealous, and able supp Iter of the rights of Ireland, he had never deviated ; he would accept no office; he had attiiched himself to Mr. Ponsonby, and was supj'fised to be one of the truest and most unassailable supporters of Ire- lan(^. la the session of 1799 he had taken a most unequivocal, decisive, and ardent part against tn-* 'hi-u-i, and had spoken against it as a crime, ani*' as the ruin of the country : ne was believed to be incorruptible. On thJ«» night he ro.se, but crest-fallen and abashed at his own tergiversation ; he recanted every word he had ever uttered, deserted from the country, niipported the Union, accepted a brilx? from tlie Minister, was afterwards pUiTj'd in ftffice, but shame haunted him, hated himself: an amiable man 1*^11 a victim to corruption. He rankled, and pined, and died of a wretch- ed mind and a broken constitution 444 RISE AND FALL This decision, undoubtedly, gave a death wonnd to the Irish nation. Many, however, still fostered the hope of success in the opposition ; and Lord Castlereagh did not one moment relax his efforts to bribe, to seduce, and to terrify his opponents. The Anti-Unionists, also, lost no opportunity of im- proving their minority ; and the next division proved that they had not. The adjournment was to the 5th day of February ; the Union propositions, as passed by the British Parliament, were, after a long speech, laid before tlie House of Conmions by Lord Castlereagh : on that day Mr Bagwell, of Tipperary County, seceded from Government, the present Marquis of Ormond had also divided from it ; and the minority appeared to have re- ceived numerous acquisitions. Mr. Saurin, Mr. Peter Burrows, and other eminent gentlemen of the bar, now appeared to make the last effort to rescue their country. V. Lord Castlereagh, upheld by his last majority, now kept no bounds in his assertions and in his arrogance ; and after a debate of the entiiH3 night, at eleven the en- suing morning the division took place. It appeared that the Anti-Unionists had gained ground since the former session, and that there existed 115 Members of the Irish Parliament, whom neither promotion, nor office, nor fear, nor reward, nor ambition, could procure to vote against the independence of their country, though nations fall, that opposition will remain immortal. Lord Castlereagh's motion was artful in the extreme, he did not move expressly for any adoption of the pro- positions, but that they should be printed and circulated, with a view to their ultimate adoption. This was opposed as a virtual acceptation of the sub- ject ; on this point the issue was joined, and the Irish nation was, on that night, laid prostrate. The division was — Number of Members .... . ... 300 For Lord Castlereagh's Motion 158 Against it. . . . . 115 Of Members present, majority 43 Absent 27 By this division, it appears that the Government had OF THE IRISH NATION. 445 a majority of the House of only eigJit, by their utmost efforts, 27 were absent, of whom ev^ery man refused to vote for a Union, but did not vote at all, being kept away by different causes ; and of consequence eight above a ^' moiety carried the Union ; and of the 158 who voted for it in iSOO, 28 were notoriously bribed or influenced cor- ruptly. Although this was ominous to the uhimate fate of the nation, the contest still proceeded with unremitting ar- dour ; numerous debates and numerous divisions took place before the final catastrophe, in numbers, Govern- ment made no progress, and never could or did obtain a majority of fifty on the principle of a Union. The details of the subsequent proceedings are not within the range of this desultory memoir. The speech of Mr. Foster, the Speaker, against the measure occupied four hours : a deference to his opinion, and a respect for his true patriotism, caused a dead silence throughout the entire of his oration, on any other occasion, that oration would have been overwhelming ; but the question was, in fact, decided before he had, in the committee, any op- portunity of declaring his opinion ; and his speech was little more than recording his sentiments. Some very serious facts occurred during the progress of the discussion which may be worth reciting. The House was surrounded by military, under pretence of keeping the peace, which was not in danger, but, in fact, to excite terror ; Lord Castlcreagh also threatened to re- move the Parliament to Cork, if its proceedings were in- > terrupted. But, unfortunately, the Anti-Unionists had no ]/ efficient organization, no decided leader ; scattered and desponding. lh(»y* did not excite suificient external exer- • The fulsome address from the Catholic clergy am Bishop hanip:an trorn KilUeimy to Mar(|uis Cornwallis, in favour of the Union, for- tunately rendered tlie addresses perfectly rnli'^ulous. One of hif* excel- lency's eyes, hy some natural defect, appeared considerably diminished and, like the pendulum of a clock, was generally in a state of motion The Right Reverend Bishop and clergy having never before seen ihfl Marquis, unfortunately commenced their aer for the County Wirklow; Colo- nel of the Kildare Militia, rcfu.sed to vote for Government, and was czishier- ed ; could not be purchased. 466 RISE AND FALL • By the Red and Black Lists (published at the time, the originals being now in the Author's possession) it is evident, beyond all contradiction, that of those who had, in 1799, successfully opposed the Union, or had declared against it, Lord Castlereagh, palpably purchased twenty-Jive before the second discussion in 1800, which made a difference of fifty votes in favour of government ; and it is therefore equally evident, that, by the public and actual bribery of those twenty-five niembers, and not by any change of opinion in the country, or any fair or honest majority, Mr. Pitt and his instruments carried the Union in the Commons House of Parliament; and it is proper the English nation should know accurately how they have acquired the incumbrance of Ireland in its present form, and what little importance was set on every principle of the British Con- stitution, in the mind of the same Ministerwhomthey immediately after- wards entrusted with their own liberties, their money, and their national reputation — every one of which was more or less sacrificed, or squandered, during his administration in England, and his negociations at Vienna. The observations annexed to the names in these Lists were, at the time, either in actual proof, or sufficiently notorious to have been printed in various documents at that epoch. As to the House of Lords, the ser- vile — almost miraculous — submission with which they surrendered their hereditary prerogatives, honours, rights, and dignities, into the hands of the Lords Clare and Castlereagh, is a subject unprecedented. But thia being announced for discussion by the Imperial Parliament, in the ensu- ing session, through the interference of Lord Rossmore, &c. &c., no list ot the Lords is here given, in order not to anticipate that parliamentary Btricture, which will be, no doubt, more potent and elucidating than any which could with propriety be made in any other place than in that au- gust assembly. As the capitulation was disgusting, the discussion must be severe. OP THE IRISH NATION. 467 ORIGINAL BLACK LIST. OBSERVATIONS. 1. R. Aldridge . An English Clerk in the Secretary's office ; no connection with Ireland. 2. Henry Alexander . Chairman of Ways and Means; cousin of Lord Caledon; hisbrother made a Bishop; himself Colonial Secretary at the Cape of Good Hope. 3. Richard Archdall . Commissioner of the Bocird of Works. 4. William Bailey . Commissioner of Ditto. 5. Rt. Hon. J. Beresford, First Commissioner of Revenue ; brother-in-law to Lord Clare. 6. J. Beresford, jun Then Purse-bearer to Lord Clare, afterwards a Parson, and now Lord Decies. 7. Marcus Beresford . A Colonel in the Army, son to the Bishop, Lord Clare's nephew. 8. J. Bingham * . . Created a Peer ; got d£8000 for two seats ; and d£ 15,000 compensation for Tuam. This gen- tleman first oifered himself for sale to the Anti-Unionists; Lord Clanmorris. 9. Joseph H. Blake . Created a Peer — Lord Wallscourt, &c. 10. Sir J. G. Blackwood, Crmfec? a Peer — Lord Duflerin. 11 Sir John Blaquiere, Numerous Offices and Pensions, and created a Peer — Lord De Blaquiere. 12. Anthony Botet . Appointed Commissioner of the Barrack Board, c£500 a-year. 13. Colonel Burton Brother to Lord Conyngham ; a Colonel in the Army. 14. Sir Richard Butler yVmchdiSQA and changed sides; voted against the Union in 1 799 , and for it in 1 800. Cash. 15. Lord Boyle . Son to Lord Shannon; they got an immense sum of money for their seats and Boroughs ; at c£ 15,000 each Borough, 16. Rt Hon. D. Brown, Brother to Lord Sligo. 17. Stewart Bruce . . Gentleman Usher at Dublin Castle; now a Baronet. 18. George Burdet Commissioner of a Public Board, c£500 per annum. 19. George Bunbury Ditto. • The Author of this work was deputed to learn from Mr. Bingham what his expectations from Government for his seats were; he proposed to take from the Opposition c£8000 for his two seats for Tuam, and oppose the Union. Government afterwards added a Peerage and ^15,000 for the Borough 468 RISE AND FALL 20 Arthur Brown 21. Bagwell, sen. 22. Bagwell, jun, 23. William Bagwell 24. Lord Castlereagh 25. George Cavendisli . 26. Sir H. Cavendish . 27. Sir R. Chinnery . 28. James Cane . . . 29. Thomas Casey . 30. Colonel C. Cope . 31. General Cradock 32. James Crosby 33. Edward Cooke . . 34. Charles H. Coote 35. Rt. Hon. I. Corry 36. Sir J. Cotter . . 37. Richard Cotter . 38- Hon. H. Creighton 39. Hon. J. Creighton 40. W. A. Crosbie . 41. James Cuffe . 42 General Dunne . 43. William Elliot 44. General Eustace OBSERVATIONS. Changed sides and principles, and was appomt- ed Serjeant; in 1799 opposed the Union, and supported it in 1800 ; he was Senior Fellow of Dublin University; lost his seat the ensu- ing election, and died. CJianged twice ; got half the patronage of Tip- perary; his son a Dean, &c. &c. Ditto, got the Tipperary Regiment, &c. His brother. The Irish Minister. Secretary to the Treasury during pleasure ; son to Sir Henry. Receiver General during pleasure ; deeply in- debted to the Crown. Placed in office after the Union Renegaded, and got a pension. A Commission of Bankrupts under Lord ClEire ; made a City Magistrate. Renegaded ; got a Regiment, and the patronage of his county. Returned by Government; much military rank; now Lord Howden. A regiment and the patronage of Kerry, jointly; seconded the Address. Under Secretary at the Castle. Obtained a Regiment (which was taken from Colonel Wharburton) patronage of Queen's County, and a Peerage, (Lord Castlecoote) and d£7,500 in cash for his interest at the Borough of Maryborough, in which, in fact, it was proved before the Commissioners that the Author of this work had more interest than his Lordship. Appointed Chancellor of the K\chequer, on dis- missal of Sir John Pamell. Privately brought over by cash. Renegaded (see Red List) privately purchased. Comptroller to the Lord Lieutenant's House- hold. Natural son to INIr. CufTe of the Board of Works, his father created Lord Tyrawly. Returned for Maryborough by the united influ- ence of Lord Castlecoote and Government, to keep out jNIr. Barrington ; gained the election by only one. Secretary at the Castle A Resriment, OF THE IRISH NATION. 469 45. I^rd C. Fitzgerald, 46. 47. 48. Kt. Hon Sir C. Fortescue A. Femisson . W. Fitzgerald. OBSERVATIONS. Duke of Leinster'8 brother; a Pension and a Peerage ; a Sea Officer of no repute. 49. Luke Fox . . 50. William Fortescue 51. J. Galbraith . . 52. Henry D. Grady* 53. Richard Hare 54. 55. William Hare . Col. B. Henniker 56. Peter Holmes . . 57. George Hatton . , 58. Hon. J. Hutchinson 59. Hugh Howard . 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. Wm. Handcock (Athlone) John Hobson . Col. G. Jackson Denham Jephson Hon. G. Jocelyn William .Jones. Theophilus Jones . Renegaded (sec Red List) Officer, King at Arms. Got a place at the Barrack Board, r£.500 a year, and a Baronetcy. Appointed Judge of Common Pleas; nephew by marriage to Lord Ely. Got a secret Pension, out of a fund (,^£3,000 a year) entrusted by Parliament to the Irish Government, solely to reward Mr. RejTiolds, Cope, &c. &c., and those who informed against rebels. Lord Abercom's Attorney; got a Baronetage First Counsel to the Commissioners. Put tvvo members into Parliament, and was created Lord Ennismore for their votes. His son. A regiment, and paid c£3,500 for his Seat by the Commissioners of Compensation. A Commissioner of Stamps. Appointed Commissioner of Stamps. A General — Lord Hutchinson. . Lord Wicklow's brother, made Postmaster (gen- eral. An extraordinary instance ; he made and sang songs against the Union in 1799, at a public dinner of the Opposition, and made and sang songs for it in 1800 ; he got a Peerage. . Appointed Storekeeper at the Castle Ordnance. A Regiment. Master of Horse to the Lord Lieutenant. . Promotion in the Army, and his brother conse- crated Bishop of Lismore. Collector of Dublin Major Gen. Jackson, A Regiment. 68. William Johnson Returned to Parliament by I>ord Castlereagh.aa he himself declared, •* to put an end to it;'* appointed a .Judge since. 69. Robert Johnson . . Seceded from his patron, Lord Downshire, and was appointed a Judge. • This gentleman the Author knew to be entirely indisposed to a Union, but peculiar circumstances prevented him imperatively but hon- ourably from following his own impression. The Author communi- cated to Mr. George Ponsonby these causes, as he thought it but justice to Mr. Grady, who, on some occa.sions, did not conceal hib sentiments, and acted fairly. 40 4*ro RISE AND FALL. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. John Keane . . James Keamy . Henry Kemmis . William Knot . Andrew Knox. Colonel Keatinge. Right Hon. Sir H Langrishe . OBSERVATIONS. A Renegade ; got a Pension ; See Red Liflt Returned by Lord Clifton being his Attorney • got an office. Son to the Crown Solicitor. . Appointed a Commissioner of Appeals d£800 a year. A Commissioner of the Revenue, received dC 15,000 cash for his patronage at Knocto- pher. 77. T. Lingray, sen. . Commissioner oi Stamps, paid <£ 1,500 for hifl patronage. 78. T. Lindsay, jun. Usher at the Castle, paid <£l,500 for his pat ronage. 79. J. Longfield . . . Created a Peer ; Lord Longueville. 80. Capt. J. Longfield . Appointed to the office of Ship Entries of Dub- lin taken from Sir Jonah Barrington. SI. Lord Loftus . . . Son to Lord Ely, Postmaster General; got .£30,000 for their Boroughs, and created an English Marquis. 82. General Lake . An Englishman (no connection with Ireland ;) returned by Lord Castlereagh, solely to vote for the Union. 83. Right. Hon. David Latouche. 84. General Loftus . . A General ; got a Reghnent ; cousin to Lord Ely. 85. Francis M'Namara, Cash, and a private Pension, paid by Lord Cas- tlereagh. 86. Ross Mahon . Several appointments and places by Govern- ment. Commissioner of Stamps. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. Richard Martin Right Hon. Monk Mason . . . H. D. Massy . . Thomas Mahon. A. E. M'Naghten . Stephen Moore . N. M. Moore. Right Hon. Ix)dge Morris . . . Sir R. Musgrave A Commissioner of Revenue. Received c£4,000 cash. Appointed a Lord of the Treasury, &c. A Postmaster at will. Created a Peer. Appointed Receiver of the Customs .£1,200 a year. A Barrister — appointed Solicitor General, and then a Baron of the Exchequer. Co] C. M'Donnel . Commissioner of Imprest Accounts, dBSOO per annum. 96. James M'Cleland 97. OF THE IRISH NATION. 471 OBSERVATIONS. 98 Richard Magenness, Commissioner of Imprest Accounts, <£500 per annum. 99. Thomas Nesbit . A Pensioner at will. 100. Sir W. G. New- Bought (see Memoir ante,) and a Peerage for comen, Bart. his wife. 101. Richard Neville . Renegaded; reinstated as Teller of the Exche- quer. 102. William Odell . A Regiment, and Lord of the Treasury. 103. Charles Osborne . A Barrister; appointed a Judge of the King's Bench. 104. C. M. Ormsby Appointed First Council Commissioner. 105. Adml. Pakenham, ISIaster of the Ordinance. 106. Col. Pakenham . A Regiment; killed at New Orleans. 107. H. S. Prittie . . A Peerage— Lord Dunalley. 108. R. Pennefather. 109. T. Prendergast . An office in the Court of Chancery, <£500 a year ; his brother Crown Solicitor. 110. Sir Richard Quin, A Peerage. 111. Sir Boyle Roche . Gentleman Usher at the Castle. 112. R. Rutledge. 113. Hon. C. Rowley . Renegaded, and appointed to office by Lord Cas- tlereagh. 114. Hon. H.Skeffington, Clerk of the Paper Office of the Castle, and c£7..5O0 for nis patronage 115. William Smith . A Barrister; appointed a ijaron of Exchequei. 116. H. M. Sandford . Created a Peer; Lord JVIount Sandford. 117. Edmond Stanley Appointed Commissioner of Accounts. 118. John Staples. 119. John Stewart ^ . Appointed Attorney General, and created a Ba- ronet. 120. John Stratton. 121. Hon. B. Stratford, Renegaded to get c£7,500, his half of the com- pensation for Baltinghiss. 122. Hon. J. Stratford, Paymaster of Foreign Forces, ^1,300 a-year, and c£7,500 for Baltinglass. 123. Richard Sharkey . An obscure Barrister; appointed a County Judge. 124. Thomas Stannus, Renegaded. 125. J. Savage. 126. Rt. Hon. J. Toler, Attorney General; his wife, an old woman, created a Peeress; himself made chief Jus- tice, and a Peer. 127. Frederick Trench, Appointed a Commissioner of the Board of Works. »28. Hon. R. Trench . A Barrister ; created a Peer, and made an Am- bassador. See Red List. »29. Charles Trench . His brother; appointed Commissioner of Inland Navigation — a new office created by I ord Cornwallip, for rewards. 472 RISE AND FALL OF THE IRISH NATION. OBSERVATIONS \ 130. Richard Talbot. 131. P. Toltenham . 132. Lord Tyrone 133. Chas. Tottenham, 134. Tovvnsend . 135 Robert Tighe . . 136 Robert Uniack . 137 James Verner . 138 J. 0. Vandeleur 139 Colonel Wemyss . 140. Henry Westenraw, Compensation for patronage ; cousin, and politi cally coimected with Lord Ely. 104 offices in the gift of his family; proposed the Union in Parliament, by a speech written in the crown of his hat. In office. A Commissioner. Commissioner of Barracks. A Commissioner; connected with Lord Clare. Called the Prince of Orange. Commissioner of the Revenue; his brother a Judge. Collector of Kilkenny. Father of Lord Rossmore, who is of the vfiy reverse of his father's politics THE EUD ; " u DATE BORROWED DATE DUE DATE BORROWED DATE DUE "' lis !i NOV 1 m 1 m ; i 1 C2e{23»)M100 .« »y.Ar»^4*v^ OLOMB.AUni.EP^>T, i.BPSP tSi " "6022377999 ;2/ Jl 94 1.57 SAnh BS^illU£dJ£M!