HISTORY OF EUROPE. [119 



the union, on the twenty first of 

 April, admitted, that if any thing 

 could, in his mind, throw a doubt 

 on the question of union, it would 

 be the necessity of disturbing the 

 representation of England. But 

 that necessity, fortunately did not 

 exist. He had once, indeed, en- 

 tertained a different opinion. But 

 times and circumstances had chan- 

 ged. And he thought it right to 

 declare farther his most decided 

 opinion, that even if the times were 

 proper for experiments, any, even 

 the slightest change in such a con- 

 stitution, must be considered as an 

 evil. While Mr. Pitt was thus il- 

 lustrating the consistency of his own 

 conduct, on the point of parliamen- 

 tary reform, a commotion and cla- 

 mour of hear ! hear ! arose on the 

 opposition benches, which was car- 

 ried beyond the usual pitch of such 

 vociferation, and bore some resem- 

 blance to the debates in the con- 

 vention assembly of France, and af- 

 terwards, in the council of five 

 hundred. Some muttered censure, 

 some laughed aloud, all cried hear ! 

 hear ! while, on the ministerial side 

 of the house, there was as loud a 

 cry of order ! order ! Mr. Pitt, 

 after a long and involuntary pause, 

 said, calmly " I wish gentlemen 

 would hear me and then answer me. 

 When I see that the constitution 

 has supported itself against the 

 open attacks of its enemies, and 

 against the more dangerous reforms 

 of its professed friends ; that it has 

 defeated the unwearied machina- 

 tions of France, and the no less per- 

 severing efforts of jacobins in Eng- 

 land, and that, during the whole of 

 the contest, it has uniformly main- 

 tained the confidence of the people 

 of England : when I consider all 

 these circumstances, I should be 



ashamed of myself, if any former 

 opinions of mine could now induce ■ 

 me to think that the form of repre- 

 sentation, which, in such times as 

 the present, has been found amply 

 sufficient for the purpose of protect- 

 ing the interests, and securing the 

 happiness of the people, should be , 

 idly and wantonly disturbed, from 

 any love of experiment, or any pre- 

 dilection from theory. Mr. Pitt 

 had been led farther, he said, by 

 theunusualinterruptionheliad met 

 with, into the subject of reform, 

 than he intended. But he did not 

 mean to have passed by the subject 

 of the Irish members, without ac- 

 companying it with some obser- 

 vations on British representation. 

 However these members might be 

 chosen, there was one consideration 

 which could not fail to press itself 

 on their minds, namely, that, by the 

 laws of England, care had been 

 taken to prevent the influence of 

 the crown from becoming too great, 

 by too many offices being held by 

 members of parliament. In Ire- 

 land there were laws of a similar 

 nature, but not quite to the same 

 extent : so that it might happen 

 that, in the hundred members to 

 be chosen, there might be a great 

 number holtling places. It was 

 impossible to j^rovide against this 

 contingency by an article of union 

 to be binding on the united parlia- 

 ment, because it was found, from 

 experience, that the number of of- 

 fices, to be held by members, must 

 always remain in the discretion of 

 parliament, to be regulated from 

 time to time, ascircumstancesmight 

 require. On the other hand, if no 

 regulation on this subject should at 

 present be made, it might happen 

 that, in the furst hundred members 

 chosen, there might be a great 



