670 



1799. 

 'Proceed- 

 ings re- 

 specting 

 The union 

 "f Ireland 



>ptcch of 

 Mr Sheri. 



Speech of 

 Mr Pitt. 



Britain and Ireland, the British government was anx- 

 ious to draw them closer together, by uniting the 

 two countries, not only under the same crown, but 

 the same legislature. So sanguine was the British 

 minister in his hopes of succeeding in this measure, 

 though it was necessarily to be submitted to the 

 Irish parliament, that he did not wait for the re- 

 sult of their deliberations, but submitted the plan 

 to the parliament of both kingdoms in one day. 

 On the day appointed in the House of Commons, 

 for addressing his majesty on this subject, the mea- 

 sure met with considerable resistance. Mr Sheri. 

 dan said, that he conceived it incumbent on mini- 

 sters, before they proposed the discussion of the 

 plan of the union, to offer some explanations with 

 regard to the failure of the last solemn agreement be- 

 tween the two countries, which had been declared in 

 1782. The people of Ireland had, at that memor- 

 iible period, declared their parliament independent. 

 The British legislature acquiesced. What should 

 the Irish now augur from our declared intention of 

 innovation? Not tranquillity, but disquietude ; not 

 the suppression of treason, but its aggravation. To 

 agitate any important question on Irish affairs, above 

 all, to decide on so momentous a subject, would be 

 to insult the rights and dignity of their parliament. 

 Whatever were the merits of the plan, or how pure 

 soever the intentions of its projectors, it would aid 

 the purposes of the enemy, by the very passions 

 which its agitation would excite. The concurrence 

 of the Irish, (he added,) could not be hoped for 

 but by stratagem, bribery, or coercion. To the 

 period of the last final adjustment, the cruelty of 

 Britain towards Ireland had been notorious. Would 

 a country which had been insulted for three cen- 

 turies, when at last she had wrung her indepen- 

 dence from our tardy justice at the end of 16 years, 

 forget all her fears, and prejudices, and give up her 

 independence .'Would this be offered, if the free 

 sense of the country were to be taken > Was the 

 parliament of England competent to decide for the 

 parliament of Ireland ? Impossible. Every advan- 

 tage of situation favoured the one ; the other was un- 

 fitted for governing or giving laws, by disadvantage 

 of situation, and by dissimilar habits and temper. 

 The Irish legislature itself, Mr Sheridan contended, 

 was incompetent to sacrifice itself, and transfer its 

 power to the British parliament. Mr Pitt, in answer- 

 ing the. opponents of the union, argued, that if the 

 incompetency of the Irish parliament to decree the 

 union, were admitted, it would invalidate all the acts 

 of the British legislature since the union of England 

 and Scotland. The gentlemen in opposition, he ob- 

 served, had for many years loudly complained of the 

 mismanagement of Irish affairs, had expatiated on 

 the deformity of its constitution, and lamented the 

 miseries of its inhabitants. Would it not then be 

 more prudent to apply a promising remedy at the 

 present time, than to risk the effects of a long delay, 

 by which the evils of the country might be aggrava- 

 ted and embittered ? Those evils had a deep root, 

 being involved in the prevailing character, manners, 

 and habits of the people in their want of knowledge 

 in the unequal state of property in the separa- 

 tion of classes of the community and in the rancour 



BRITAIN. 



of religious differences. Catholic emancipation, and 

 parliamentary reform, had been recommended as reme- 

 dies ; but if the state of society were such, that laws, 

 however wise in themselves, would be ineffectual un- 

 til the minds of the people were changed, what was 

 the remedy ? A legislature standing aloof from party 

 connections, sufficiently removed from the influence of 

 contending factions, to <t>e influenced by neither, and 

 so placed as to have no superstitious reverence for 

 the names and prejudices of ancient families, which 

 had su long enjoyed a monopoly of power and pro- 

 perty ; a monopoly which custom had sanctioned, 

 and which recent necessity might justify. A legis- 

 lature was wanted, which should neither give way to 

 the haughty pretensions of a few, nor to the popular 

 clamours of the many. All this was wanted for Ire- 

 land. Where was it to be found ? In a countn. 

 where the evils enumerated still exist ; or in this 

 country. Where should that legislature deliberate ? 

 No sooner was the proposal ot the union unequivo- 

 cally known in Ireland, thr. the leading political cha- 

 racters of that country took the ranks in the contro- 

 versy : the Earl of Clare at the head of the unionists ; 

 Mr Forster at the head of the anti-unionists. Some 

 of the latter party were dismissed from their official 

 situations, for refusing their support to the British 

 government on so important an occasion. The members 

 of the Irish bar, by a large majority, published their 

 resolution against the union. The city of Dublin 

 distinguished itself in opposing it ; almost all the in- 

 corporate bodies of the citizens followed the example. 

 The Irish parliament opened their debates on the 

 grand question of the union, at the same time that it 

 was submitted to the British legislature. In the lirst 

 debate, the address to his majesty in favour of the 

 measure, was carried by a majority of only one vote. 

 In the next debate, the anti-unionists gave an actual 

 defeat to the ministry, by a majority of six votes. 

 The popular exultation rose to the greatest height on 

 this occasion, a;id the members of parliament, who 

 favoured the union, were generally insulted by the 

 populace. But the determined character of the Bri, 

 tish minister, was not to be checked by the. oppoai-. 

 tion of Ireland After a final debate upon the sub- 

 ject in the English House of Commons, on the 26th 

 of April, a conference was held with the Lords, and 

 the sentiments of both houses were communicated to 

 the throne in due form ; but it was reserved for ano- 

 ther session to obtain the assent of the parliament of 

 the sister kingdom. 



After the trtaty of Campo Formio, negotiations 

 had been conducted at Rastadt, for extending the 

 peace, which had been signed only between the 

 French and the king of Hungary and Bohemia, to 

 the whole German empire ; but for some time these 

 negotiations had been but a shadow. The capture 

 of Ehnbreitsten, by the French, put an end to 

 a treaty insincere on both sides. After which, Prince 

 Charles, at the head of the Impi-rialits, gave three 

 successive defeats to the French under Jourdan,f and 

 drove. the republicans once more beyond the Rhine. 

 The renewal of the war in Italy, was signalized by 

 the accession of a Russian army, commanded by the 

 far famed Suwarrow. This officer, being joined by an 

 Austrian army, defeated General Moreau, near the 



Britaii 



vi 



GEOHOF!! 



1799. 



Protect 

 ing's in 



Liu! re- 

 garding 

 union. 



The uni 



lost in t 

 Iiish p.i 

 lumci'U 



Negotia. 

 turns at 

 Rastadu 



Prince 



fejts the 

 French ji 

 three suc- 

 cess i ve 

 battles. 



t These victories were obtained at PfuUendorpb, at Stockach, and at Villingen. 



