tors of Irish dignity and Independence have mo laudably exerted themselves to revive these fame liberties on a folid and permanent basis, and that the fovereign Irish people have been always extremely tenacious of them, as effential to their phyfical confequence. The crime for which the memory of James I. has been calumniated is, that he laid the foundation of a regular government in Ireland, and of the exifting establishments in church and state. At his acceffion there were fcarcely any proteftants amongst the old inhabitants of English blood-amongst the native Irish noneFor the laft twenty years therefore of Elizabeth, fhe could not venture to call the colonial Parliament. The diftinction of Englishry and Irifhry had been nearly effaced in her time, and was fucceeded by a new fchifm of proteftant and papist, but from the first introduction of his proteftant colony by James I. the old diftinctions of native Irish and degenerate English, and English of blood and English of birth, were loft and forgotten; all rallied to the banner of the popish faith, and looked upon the new proteftant fettlers as the common aggreffor and enemy; and it is a melancholy truth, that from that day all have clung to the popifh religion as a common bond of union, and an hereditary pledge of animofity to British fettlers and the British nation.-What alternative then remained to the King for retaining this country under the dominion of his crown? In the

modern

modern revolutionary phrafe, the phyfical con fequence of the country was arrayed againft the English colony and the English government. He was therefore driven to the neceffity of treating the old inhabitants as a conquered people, and governing their Country as an English Province, or of fortifying his Proteftant colony by invefting them exclufively with the artificial power of a feparate government, which on every principle of felf-intereft, and felf-prefervation, they were bound to adminifter in concert with England. The Executive departments were under the immediate controul of the ordinary royal prerogative: but it was vain to hope that he could retain poffeffion of Ireland under a feparate government, unless a majority of the Irish Parliament flood well affected to the English Crown, and English nation; and to obtain that majority, he reforted to the exercise of a prerogative which has always belonged to the English Crown, by erecting new counties and incorporating fome of the principal towns, occupied by the new fettlers, giving them the franchife of fending Reprefentatives to the Irish Parliament: And I repeat, without incurring the hazard of contradiction, that Ireland never had any affembly which could be called a Parliament. until the reign of James I. The Legislative affemblies before his acceffion, were compofed only of the few perfons who could be prevailed upon to attend rom obedient fhires and towns within

the

the pale, or immediately adjacent to it, and from a few fcattered English fettlements on the coafts of Munfter and with all the exertions made in fupport of the Proteftant colony, the majority in its favour at the first meeting, was little more than Twenty. And it would feem that the debates of that day partook pretty largely of modern virulence, for a fcuffle took place in the Houfe of Commons, which might have ended in bloodfhed, if the precaution had not been taken to difarm the combatants before they were fuffered to meet in Parliament.

The fteady government of Strafford kept down these animofities, which had continued with unabated rancour until his time. But at his removal the old inhabitants, taking advantage of the weaknefs and diftraction of the English government, broke out into open hoftility and rebellion. The flame had long been fmothered, and at length burft forth with a terrible explofion. The native Irish began the infurrection: but were foon joined by the English colony, and Lords of English blood, with few exceptions; and after a fierce and bloody conteft of eleven years, in which the face of the whole ifland was defolated, and its population nearly extinguished by war, peftilence, and famine, the infurgents were fubdued, and fuffered all the calamities which could be inflicted on the vanquished party, in a long contefted civil

war;

war; this was a civil war of extermination.The rebellion of 1798 would have been a war of extermination, if it had not been for the firong and merciful interpofition of Great Britain; and I could with that the befotted rebels of this day, who have been faved from extermination by a British Monarch, would look back at the bleffings of republican liberty, dealt out to their ancestors by the ufurper Cromwell.

His firft act was to collect all the native Irish who had furvived the general defolation, and remained in the country, and to transplant them into the province of Connaught, which had been completely depopulated, and laid wafte inthe progrefs of the rebellion. They were ordered to retire there by a certain day, and forbidden to repass the river Shannon on pain of death, and this fentence of deportation was ri gidly enforced until the Restoration. Their ancient poffeffions were seized and given up to the conquerors, as were the poffeffions of every man who had taken a part in the rebellion, or followed the fortunes of the King, after the murder of Charles I. And this whole fund was distributed amongst the officers and foldiers of Gromwell's army, in fatisfaction of the arrears of their pay, and adventurers who had advanced money to defray the expences of the war. And thus a new Colony of new Settlers, compofed of all the various fects which then infefted England, Indepen

dents,

dents, Anabaptifts, Seceders, Brownists, Socinians, Millenarians, and Diffenters of every description, many of them infected with the leaven of democracy, poured into Ireland, and were put into poffeffion of the antient inheritance of its inhabitants: And I speak with great perfonal respect of the men, when I ftate that a very confiderable portion of the opulence and power of the kingdom of Ireland, centers at this day in the defcendants of this motley collection of English adventurers.

It seems evident from the whole tenor of the declaration made by Charles II. at his restoration, that a private ftipulation had been made by Monck, in favour of Cromwell's foldiers and ad venturers, who had been put into poffeffion of the confifcated lands in Ireland; and it would have been an act of grofs injuftice on the part of the king, to have overlooked their interefts. The civil war of 1641, was a rebellion against the Crown of England, and the complete reduction of the Irish rebels by Cromwell, redounded effentially to the advantage of the British empire. But admitting the principle in its fullest extent, it is impoffible to defend the Acts of Settlement and Explanation, by which it was carried into effect; and I could wish that modern affertors of Irish dignity and independence would take the trouble to read and underftand them.