farming ; the same useless commercial 
“monopoly ; the same interference with 
native legislation; characterized there 
the metropolitan managers; but Ireland 
had to depend on a protestant sove- 
reignty, and. in addition to civil had to 
suffer from religious intolerance and per- 
secution. And ofall the periods of inte- 
rior suffering, that probably will be consi- 
dered as the severest, which intervened 
between the recal of earl Fitzwilliam, 
and the dissolution of the anti-jacobm mi- 
nistry. We trust that the approaching 
atonement will be as conspicuous as the 
ast injuries; and that the union so 
Eesply accomplished will be the signal 
for diffusing civil, and extending reli- 
gious liberty, for multiplying the fur- 
rows of the plough, of the shuttle, and 
of the keel; for invigorating commercial 
circulation, and for beckoning all the 
forms of merit into conspicuity and re- 
compence. 
As it is certainly incumbent on the 
Duke of Portland’s party to account for 
their not having resigned on Earl Fitz- 
william’s recal; if they wish to escape 
the charge of letting to the crown their 
instrumentality, for the execution of de- 
testably harsh measures, which they all 
the while disapproved, we shall extract 
some allusions to this circumstance. 
«« Mr. Grattan, previous to the motion he 
was about to ct observed, that it had 
been asserted, that in the conduct of the mi- 
nisters of the crown towards that country, 
no blame could attach to the minister of 
Great Britain, or to any of his colleagues. 
He did not pretend to ascertain the real causes 
of the bear .of the late chief governor, but 
was informed, that two causes were alleged ; 
as to the removal of certain great officers, he 
observed, that such removal was matter of 
Stipulation on one side, and engagement on 
the other. ~He spoke of nothing of what he 
was confidentially informed, but asserted 
what he knew was generally known, and re- 
eatedly communicated ; he said, that the 
eading member of the coalition declared, 
« he accepted office principally with a view 
_ to reform the abuses in the government of 
Ireland ; that the system of that government 
was execrable, so execrable as to threaten not 
only Ireland with the greatest misfortune, 
but ultimately the empire; that his Grace 
would have gone in person if he had not 
found a second self in Lord Fitzwilliam, his 
~ nearest and dearest friend, whom he persuad- 
ed to accept the Irish government, and to 
whom he committed the important office of 
reforming the manifold abuses in that go- 
vernment.’ That he had obtained, with re- 
gard to that country, extraordinary power ; 
PLOWDEN’S HISTORICAL KEVIEW OF IRELAND. 
258 
the information of that extraordinary power, 
he communicated to his Irish friend; he 
consulted members of the Irish opposition 
touching his arrangements of men and mea- 
sures, and ardently espoused, as an essential 
arrangement, those principal removals, whic 
were supposed to haye occasioned the recall 
of the deputy; an explanation and limitation 
of his powers did indeed afterwards take 
place, but no such limitation or explanation 
as to defeat either the stipulated measures er 
the stipulated removals, one only excepted, 
which never took place, Another question 
now arose, whether that quarter of the ca~ 
binet could without blame recal the viceroy 
for carrying into execution those specific en- 
gagements; whether they could without 
blame recal their minister of reform, for re- 
moving, according to stipulation, some of 
the supposed ministers be dutes and te con- 
tinue the ministers of abuse in the place of 
the minister of reformation. He t re 
concluded, that if the Irish removals were a 
ground for the viceroy’s recal, blame did at- 
tach at least to one quarter of- the British 
cabinet. 
“© The second alleged cause was, the catho- 
lic bill. Upon this the principles and decla- 
rations of that quarter were decided ; the ca- 
tholie emancipation was not orly the con- 
cession of that quarter of the cabinet, but its 
precise engagement. His friends repeatedly 
declared they never would support any go- 
vernment, that should resist that bill, a7 it 
was agreed by that quarter with concurrence; 
and he was informed from persons in whom 
he could not but*confide, of another; that 
the instruction was, if the catholics insisted 
to carry forward their bill, that the govern- 
ment should give it a handsome support. 
Before he concluded his speech, he thus 
summed up the acts of earl Fitzwilliam’s ad- 
ministration: it had paid attention to the 
poverty of the people, by plans for relieving 
the poor from hearth-money, and pajd at- 
tention to their morals, by a plan increasing 
the duty on spirits; had paid: attention to 
their health, by proposing to take off the du- 
ties on beer and ale ; that a plan for educa- 
tion had been intended; that a more equal 
trade between the two countries had not 
escaped their attention; that an odious and 
expensive institution that obtained under co- 
lour of protecting the city by a bad police, 
was abandoned by that government, and a 
bill prepared for correcting the same; that a 
responsibility bill had been introduced, and a 
bill to account for the public money by new 
checks, and in a constitutional manner, had 
been introduced by the persons connected 
with that government; that it was in con- 
templation. to submit for consideration some 
further regulation for the better accounting 
for the public money, and for the better col- 
lection of the revenue; that those oecupa- 
tions were accompanied by great exertions 
for the empire ; so that administration estab- 
lished the compatibility of the services, do- 
