In an addrefs to the people of Ireland, they propofe the election of five delegates from each county, city, and confiderable town, to meet in Dublin, October 25 next enfuing, in NATIONAL CONGRESS. On the 9th of August, refolutions nearly fimilar were agreed to at a general meeting of the freeholders of the county of Dublin; and a petition was also voted by them to the king for a diffolution of the prefent parliament. On application being made to the lord lieutenant to tranfmit thefe petitions to England, his grace without hesitation "declared it to be his duty fo to do. At the fame time he informed them that he should not fail to accompany them with his entire difapprobation, as they included unjuft and indecent reflections upon the laws and the parliament of Ireland, and as they tended to foment fatal diffenfions among the people."

The town of Belfast, distinguished much more for its zeal than its difcretion in the caufe of liberty, nearly at the fame time voted a petition of a nature most extraordinary, and in the highest degree exceptionable, to the king, which they transmitted to Mr. Pitt, in order to its being prefented by the minister to the fovereign. The prayer of the petition was, "That the king would be pleased to diffolve the present, and to iffue the writs neceffary for the affembling of a new parliament, ACCORDING to the PLAN of REPRESENTATION which should be agreed upon in the NATIONAL CONGRESS of the 25th of October." Mr. Pitt in reply very calmly and forcibly remarked, "That he had undoubtedly been and still continued a zealous friend to a reform in parliament, but he must beg leave to say that he had been fo on grounds very different from those adopted in the petition. What was there propofed he confidered as tending to produce ftill greater evils than any of thofe which the friends of reform were defirous to remedy. He had great concern in differing fo widely on this fubject from a body of men who profeffed to be guided by motives of loyalty and reverence for the conftitution: but ani

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mated himself by the fame motives, and fincerely.anxious for the profperity and freedom of every part of the British empire, he had thought it his duty to communicate to them his fentiments with fairness and precifion."

Conscious of its ftrength, notwithstanding the extreme unpopularity of its measures, the government of Ireland did not long content itfelf with a cold expreffion of difapprobation at the proceedings now in contemplation. The 20th of September had been fixed upon as the day for electing five delegates to reprefent the city of Dublin in NATIONAL CONGRESS. A fhort time previous to the intended meeting, Mr. Fitzgibbon, the attorney-general, wrote a letter to the sheriffs, " expreffing his aftonishment at having read a public fummons figned by them for this purpose-and declaring them refponfible for fuch outrageous breach of their duty to the laws of their country, and fignifying his refolution to proceed officially against them." The sheriffs, in a confternation at this menace, refused to take any part in the bufinefs, After fome embarraffment and delay, five delegates were nevertheless chofen, and a refolution paffed, declaring the conduct of the attorney general to be a violation of magna charta. The attorney general, holding this refolution in contempt, actually filed informations against the high fheriffs of various counties, for convening and prefiding at fimilar meetings. Notwithstanding all obftacles, the NATIONAL CONGRESS met on the 25th of October (1784). After a feffion of three days only, finding their numbers on the return very in complete, they adjourned to the 20th of January 1785; having previously paffed feveral refolutions, importing, that the appointment of that affembly, and the steps that had been taken, were in entire conformity with the conftitution of Ireland.

On the fame day commenced the second feffion of the parliament of Ireland; and in a fhort time Mr. Orde, fe cretary to the lord lieutenant, laid before the house in a

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feries of propofitions, the grand commercial regulations digefted, during the recefs, into a regular fyftem. There were two plans obviously and radically different, on which a permanent arrangement might be formed on the bafis of equality-1. A fyftem of mutual prohibition. 2. A fyftem of mutual admiffion. The propofitions, eleven in number, moyed by Mr. Orde, were framed in conformity to the latter, and beyond comparison the wifer of thefe oppofite fyftems.

An arrangement founded on the bafis of mutual prohibition, or, in the more favorite and fashionable language of protecting duties, would have been fatal to the great staple manufactory of LINENS imported into England, not only duty-free, but with the pofitive advantage of a bounty. On the fyftem of prohibition Ireland would have been totally deprived of the colonial traffic; and the city of Cork, the emporium of the kingdom, and the grand mart of the West Indian and victualling trade, would have been precipitated from the height of profperity into the depth of diftrefs and ruin. It would have amounted to a virtual declaration of national enmity and hoftility; and there was good reason to fear left Ireland fhould have funk under the weight of fo unequal and dangerous a competition. On the other hand, the fyf- tem of amicable equalization was open to very plausible and even ferious objections.

Such was the prodigious inferiority of Ireland in almost every branch of traffic, that were the high prohibitory importation duties repealed by England, there was but little ground to hope that Ireland would for many years to come find herself materially or fenfibly benefited. It was urged by Mr. Flood and other members in the oppofition, that the greater object was now about to be facrificed to the lefs; Ireland had afked for bread, and England had given her a ftone; fhe had asked for protecting duties, and the was offered equalization; amid a parade of con

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eeffion the real defideratum was withheld. This might be compared to the procedure of a certain company of ftrolling players, who advertised the tragedy of Hamlet, in which the part of Hamlet was by particular defire to be omitted. By the propofed regulations Ireland was indeed at liberty to fend her woollens to Leeds and Halifax, and her coals to Sunderland and Newcastle. England would not fuffer, even under the new fyftem, the exportation of her raw wool to Ireland; but then Ireland was at liberty, when the quality of her wool was improved, and the price lowered, to retaliate, by prohibiting the exportation of Irish wool to England-and this was called equality. The starving woollen manufacturer of Ireland was in the mean time left to perifh; and if he prefumed to complain, he was told that he ought to rest satisfied, for that the linen manufacture would under the new fyftem flourish more than ever.

By the laft propofition it was refolved, " that whatever fum the grofs hereditary revenue of the kingdom should produce above the amount of the regular peace establishment, fhould be appropriated towards the fupport of the naval force of the EMPIRE, in fuch manner as the parlia ment of Ireland shall direct." This was inveighed against as a palpable collufion-an artifice by which a revenue was to be raised in Ireland, to be afterwards applied to the advantage of Great Britain. Had England, it was afked, ever entered into a war on the account of Ireland? Had the ever equipped a fhip more than fhe would have done had Ireland been funk into the abyffes of the ocean? Were Ireland entirely independent of and unconnected with England, it was forcibly afferted that the minifter who should form a treaty of commerce with England on the foundation of thefe refolutions, would deferve to be impeached for facrificing the effential interefts of Ireland. In the heat and paffion of debate, it was affirmed to be fortunate for Mr. Orde that he was at prefent in a civi

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lized country; had he brought forward his plan in a Polish diet, he would not have lived to carry back his answer.

Notwithstanding these reasonings and invectives, the good fenfe and moderation of the house were well fatisfied with the conceffions made by England, fo far furpaffing what the most fanguine expectation a few years fince could have ventured to indulge. The propofitions were received not only with approbation, but with joyful applause, and were ultimately ratified by a very decifive majority of the houfe. In the mean time the NATIONAL CONGRESS had continued its fittings almost unregarded. In a brief and final address to the people of Ireland, this affembly obferved," that if the abuses of former parliaments did not inspire a distrust of those which were to come-if the venerable opinion of those illuftrious men who were now no more, and the affiftance of those whose present labors cooperated with them in the fame pursuit, had no influence to awaken their fears, to animate their efforts, and to in vigorate their hopes, this and every other endeavor must fink into oblivion; and they would fhortly repofe in indolent acquiefcence, under fuch a reprefentation as would gall themselves and their posterity with increafing taxes and oppreffions."

After long delay Mr. Flood, on the 12th of May (1785), prefented once more his bill for effecting a reform in the reprefentation, fomewhat varied from that of the last year. A previous motion of the fame fenator, "that it be an instruction to the committee appointed to prepare the bill, that no borough in the province of Connaught having less than forty, or in the other provinces having lefs than seventy electors, fhould be permitted to return more than one member to parliament," was negatived without a divifion. On the introduction of the bill Mr. Brownlow obferved, "that he greatly doubted indeed whether there was virtue enough in that houfe to pass the

bill;