nied, and the truft of the old revenue, which had ufually been voted for two years, was reftricted to fix months. A mutiny bill was alfo paffed for the king's army in Ireland, which before had always been regulated under the authority of an act of the British legislature.-Thefe vigorous meafures, as we have already feen in the tranfactions of the year 1780, produced their intended effect, and led to ftill more important confequences.

The paffing of the mutiny bill was a ftep that went in its principle fo evidently and fo directly to the acknowledgment of the independence of the kingdom of Ireland, that it is not eafy to conceive how it came to meet with fo little oppofition from adminiftration, or to receive fo readily the fanction of the British cabinet, unless we fuppofe that the circumftance of its being made perpetual had rendered it acceptable to government. But in Ireland, where one great conftitutional principle appears to have been facrificed merely for the purpose of eftablishing another, it was eafy to forefee that they would not long fubmit to a restriction which rendered the advantage they had obtained not only not useful, but dangerous to their conftitution.

Accordingly in the following feffion an attempt was made to get rid of the obnoxious part of the bill, by repealing the claufe of perpetuity. But here government made

a ftand; and this, as well as a motion made to obtain a modification of Poyning's law, was rejected by a large majority.

The failure of these efforts of the minority in parliament, appears to have given occafion to the firft meeting of the volunteers on the subject of parliamentary reform. Dec. 28th, On the 28th of Decem1781. ber, 1781, the officers of one of the Ulfter regiments came to an unanimous refolution, "That

to restore the conftitution to its "original purity, the moft vigorous "and effectual methods fhould be "purfued to root corruption and "court influence out of the legifla"tive body;" and with this view a meeting of delegates from the feveral regiments of the province was convened at Dungannon, on the 15th of Februafy following.

On that day the reprefentatives of 143 corps of volunteer troops affembled. Their refolutions, which were adopted in fubftance by all the volunteers of the fouthern provinces, were confined for the most part to the affertion of the political independence of the kingdom.-This primary object being foon after establithed, by folemn acts of the legiflature of both nations, the ardour for parliamentary reformations appeared for a while to have almost entirely fubfided *.

The exiftence and increase of the volunteer army, after the neceffity which firft gave rise to it had been fuperfeded

returned

the neighbouring parifhes fhould be admitted to a right of voting; and laftly, that the duration of parliaments fhould be limited to three years.

Mr. Flood undertook to bring forward the difcuffion of these topics in the Houfe of Commons; and accordingly, the day following, he moved for leave to bring in a bill " for the more equal reprefentation "of the people in parliament." The motion was received by a great majority of the houfe with the ftrongest marks of difapprobation. Without entering into the confideration of the wisdom or folly of the. plan propofed, it was urged that the houfe could not poffibly, without betraying its truft, and abdicating its authority, confent to receive propofitions tendered to them at the point of the bayonet, by a body of armed men. That however refpectable they might be in other points of view, yet to fuffer them to befet the houfe of parliament, and to dictate to the legislature with arms in their hands, would be to eftablish a precedent fubverfive of the very existence of all order and go

uphold the conftitution, to con"firm the fatisfaction of their fel" low-fubjects, and perpetuate the "cordial union of the two na"tions."

The change which foon afterwards took place in the administration of both kingdoms, gave fresh fpirits to the friends of reformation. It was not unreasonably expected that the weight of government would now be thrown into their fcale, as the first minifter in England, and the first minifter in Ireland*, had been among the most eager and loud in fupport of the fame measures in Great Britain. But notwithstanding these flattering appearances, they were doomed to experience a fecond difappointment.

On the 13th of

March 13th, March 1784, Mr. 1784. Flood again moved for leave to bring in his bill; as the motion was fupported by a great number of petitions, and all occafion of offence was avoided, by

keeping

keeping the volunteers out of view; the bill was allowed to be brought in, but, on the fecond reading, it was rejected by nearly the fame majority as before.

Thefe repeated defeats did not abate the ardour of the Irish reformers in the pursuit of their favourite object; but as all hope of obtaining the deliberate co-operation of parliament was at an end, they turned their applications to a quarter from whence experience had already taught them to look for more effectual exertions; as government had not yet ventured to queftion the legality of the volunteer affociations, the people at large were called upon to provide themfelves with arms, and to array themfelves under that defcription. Several unpopular acts of the new government, in fome of which parliament was alfo involved by the share it had in them, ferved greatly to increase the general difcontent of the nation.

On the 7th day of June 7th. June a meeting was held of the aggregate body of the citizens of Dublin. It was here refolved to prefent another petition to the king, and in the mean time to endeavour, by a circular addrefs, to ftimulate the body of the people to a general and vigorous exertion.

The petition, after enumerating their feveral grievances, and lamenting that his majefty's adminiftration fhould have taken an active part in all the measures of which they complained, fiates, "That this was a circumftance the more ex"traordinary, as the firft minifter "of England had virtuously de"clared himself in favour of the "principal measure which had been

to adopt whatever he thould col"lect to be the fenfe of his people; "and that they therefore looked

66

up to him with the utmoft confi"dence for the immediate diffolu"tion of the parliament of Ire"land, in compliance with the al"moft unanimous requeft of his "loyal fubjects of that kingdom."

In the addrefs, the complicated hardships they had fuffered from the abufe of power were detailed with great warmth and freedom; the continuance of thefe fufferings they attribute to the defects of their reprefentation in parliament; and they appeal to experience for the inefficacy of every means they had employed to obtain redrefs. They therefore call upon and conjure their fellow-fubjects to unite with them in the purfuit of fome more efficacious plan for the removal of the general calamity; and with this view they propofe that five perfons fhould be elected from each county, city, and confiderable town, meet in Dublin in national congrefs.

to

But the moft remarkable feature in this addrefs was, a propofition to admit the Roman-catholic fubjects of that kingdom to a participation in the rights of fuffrage at the election of members of parliament. Though this meature was not only

confonant

confonant to the general principles of the reform they meditated, but promifed no fmall acceffion of ftrength to the common caufe, yet the fincerity of the Irish proteftants on this point, farther than as it ferved the prefent turn, has been much doubted.

In a former volume we had occafion to remark, as one of the confequences of the general calamity in which the late war had involved the country of Ireland, that the prejudices entertained against the papifts in that kingdom appeared, in fome degree, to be giving way to more liberal, wife, and equitable fentiments. The volunteers, at a very early period, expreffed their abhorrence of the unjust and impolitic treatment of fo great a majority of their fellow-fubjects; they recommended their caufe to the attention of the legislature, and, in fome counties, even invited them to range themfelves under the fame banners in the field. But the great political objects then in view being obtained, no other relief was granted to the catholics, than the repeal of a few of the most cruel and oppreffive claufes in the laws enacted against them *.

When the bufinefs of equal reprefentation began to be agitated, the cafe of the Roman-catholics was again brought forward, and the delegates of the meeting at Dungannon, in the year 1783, were inftructed to confider of the best plan of admitting them to an equal participation in the benefits of the projected reformation. At the subfequent meeting of the convention. in Dublin, when that fubject was propofed for their confideration, a pretended letter was produced from the Earl of Keumare, purporting to convey the general fentiments of the Roman-catholics of Ireland, in which they were made to exprefs their perfect fatisfaction with what had been already done for them, and that they defired no more than peaceably to enjoy the privileges they had obtained. But though this letter was publicly difavowed, both by the respectable person from whom it was faid to have come, and by a general affembly of the committee of the Irith catholics, who acknowledged themfelves to have too great a refemblance to the reft of their fpecies to be desirous of oppofing any thing that tended to their relief, and that they thould