Notwithstanding the patriots had so often failed in their parliamentary efforts to bring measures into some constitutional consistency, they still persevered, particularly in their attempt to reduce and regulate the pension list. The commons resolved themselves into a committee of the whole house to take into consideration the state of the pensions upon the civil establishment of that kingdom, and how the encrease of them might be prevented: but the motion for addressing his majesty on the subject was negatived on a division of 112 against 73. So weak were now the patriots in the commons.* Pensions continued to be lavished with unchecked profusion. The debate on this

This motion being very special and important, will let the candid reader into the spirit, which at that time, (8th of November, 1763) directed the councils of the Irish administration. 7 Journ. Com. p. 198. "A motion was "made, that an humble address be presented to his majesty, to represent in "the most dutiful terms, that the debt of this kingdom is become very great. "That the pensions now in being, that have been placed on the establishments of "this kingdom, are one of the causes of the encrease of the public debt. That "those pensions have been paid, and continue to be paid out of all the reve"nues of this kingdom without distinction. That it appears to this house to "be worthy of his majesty's royal consideration, whether the grants that have "been made of those pensions are agreeable to or warranted by the laws of "this kingdom, and whether the revenues of the crown, that have been given "for public uses, ought, or can by law be applied to pensions: and therefore "most humbly do beseech his majesty to order it to be made known, as his "majesty's royal will and command, to the officers of the treasury of this king"dom, that no part of the revenues of excise, customs, poundage, hearth money, quit rents, ale licences, wine, or strong water licences, or of the additional "duties granted or to be granted in this kingdom, for any limited term, be "paid or applied to any pension or annuity granted or to be granted out of, or "which may any ways charge or effect the said revenue of excise, customs, "poundage, hearth money, quit rents, ale licences, wine, and strong water li "cences, and additional duties, or any of the said revenues, till it shall first "be determined by a court of justice of competent jurisdiction, that the crown may grant annuities or pensions out of the said revenues; and that his majesty may be graciously pleased to give his royal orders to the officers of the treasury, that no pensions be paid out of the said revenues, in any other man"ner than the judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction shall "determine to be just, and agreeable to the laws of this kingdom; and that "his majesty be graciously pleased to order his majesty's servants of the law "in this kingdom, to make that defence that the laws of this kingdom "shall warrant, to every suit that shall be commenced or carried on by any pensioner or annuitant, claiming any part of the said revenues, till it shall "be judicially determined in the most solemn manner, and by the dernier "resort, that the crown may grant pensions or annuities out of the said reveThat his majesty's faithful commons nevertheless do by no means "intend, that the crown shall be deprived of the means of rewarding merit "or conferring those bounties on proper occasions, that the honour and dig"nity of the crown may require; but that his majesty's faithful commons, on "the contrary, will be ready to provide a revenue such as the condition and circumstances of this kingdom shall admit of, to enable the crown to reward “merit, and on proper occasions to confer those bounties that may be suitable "to the honour and dignity of the crown, if it shall be determined, that the "present revenues of the crown, that have been given for public uses, ought "not to be applied to pensions. Provided those revenues be reserved and applied to the support of his majesty's government in this kingdom only."

"nues.

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question was rather warm. *Mr. J. Fitzgerald took the lead on the patriot side. He stated, (and was not contradicted) that the pensions then charged upon the civil establishment of that kingdom amounted to no less than 72,000l. per ann. besides the French and military pensions, and besides the sums paid for old and now unnecessary employments, and those paid in unneces sary additions to the salaries of others: that the pensions therefore exceeded the civil list above 42,0004: that not only since the house in 1757 had voted the encrease of pensions alarming, had they been yearly encreased; but that in the time of a most expensive war, and when the country had willingly and cheerfully increased a very considerable national debt; and when the additional influence of the crown from the levying of new regiments might well have substituted the necessity of new pensionary gratifications. He then drew a piteous portrait of the country; not one third peopled; two thirds of the people unemployed, consequently indolent, wretched and discontented; neither foreign trade, nor home consumption sufficient to distribute the conveniences of life among them with reasonable equality, or to pay any tax proportionable to their number; what new mode of taxation could be devised? Would they tax leather, where no shoes were worn, or tallow where no candles were burned? They could not tax the roots of the earth and the water on which the wretched peasantry existed; they could tax no commodity, that would not defeat itself, by working a prohibition. He then entered into the legal and constitutional rights of the crown over the public revenue, and strongly resisted the assumed right of charging the public revenue with private pensions. The crown, he contended, had a public and private revenue; the public it received as a trustee for the public; the private it received in its own right; the former arose out of temporary duties, and was appropriated by parliament to specific public purposes, and was not left to the discretionary disposal of the crown. The latter did not in Ireland exceed 7000l. per ann. and the pensions amounting to 72000l. exceeded the fund, which could alone be charged with them by 65000l. per ann.

The court party strenuously resisted these arguments, as an unconstitutional and indecent attack upon the prerogative; insisting that the regal dignity should be supported by a power to reward as well as to punish; that the king was not to hold a sword in one hand and a barren sceptre in the other; that the two great springs of all actions were hope and fear; and where fear only operated, love could have no place; that a people stimulated only by fear, however free, and whatever advantages of government they might boast, were in a worst state, than the

1 Cald. Deb. p. 213, 14, 15.

subjects of a despotic prince. In a word, that an enquiry into the legality of these grants would restrain the king's power of doing good. What the opinion of the government was upon the question, was very explicitly set forth by the regular law-officer of the crown, Mr. Philip Tisdal, the attorney-general; he was of opinion, that the king had an indefinite and uncontrolled right to charge the money brought into the treasury with pensions arising from the words of the preamble of the statutes, by which the several duties were laid: and that the crown had this power with respect to duties raised by the very statutes, that declare them not chargeable with pensions; for that the barring clauses with respect to the hearth money and ale licences could affect them only before they were brought into the treasury, and that the moment they became part of the aggregate fund, they were indiscriminately a supply for the exigencies of government and its support.

On another *day, when a motion in the house was carried for taking into consideration the state of the pensions, Mr. R. Fitzgerald took occasion to state to the house, what was not contradicted by those, whose duty as well as disposition it was to correct any false statement, upon matters of so much importance and notoriety. It lamentably proves, that the poverty and dependance of Ireland were wished to be continued by those, who then governed her. Instead of 30 regiments upon the establishment, there then were 42, with the same number of men, viz. 12,000: this augmentation of 12 regiments, besides a large addition of court influence, created an additional expenditure of 15,000l. per annum, so that the military establishment then amounted to 100,000l. per annum, more than in the height of the war, besides military contingencies and barracks, which amounted to a very considerable sum: that in fact the military and civil establishment with the pensions would only leave 30,000%. out of the whole revenue of the country; which sum would be more than swallowed up by the artillery and laboratory, an amphibious institution, that might be carried on without control: that the staff of general officers in Ireland amounted to 22,000 per annum, though in England it did not exceed 11,000l. and notwithstanding, there were seldom general officers sufficient in Dublin to form a board.

The patriots had so managed the enquiry into the pensions, that they had on the 9th of the month brought the house to agree, that the pensions on the civil establishment were an intolerable grievance: on the same day they passed an unanimous resolution, that on the Tuesday following, they should take that griev ance into consideration, which they deferred to the next day,

12 Nov. 1763. 1 Cald. Deb. p. 308.

when a most violent and angry debate ensued, upon the attorney. general's moving, that the question should be adjourned to the 1st of July next; the division for putting off the enquiry was 126, against it 78.*

The tenacity and perseverance, with which the patriots pursued this abuse of pensions extremely annoyed the court party: they could not have taken more popular ground. A pension of 1000l. had been granted to Mr. De Verois, the Sardinian ambassador (in the name of George Charles), for having negotiated the peace, which had been lately concluded with the minister of France. On this ground Mr. Pery moved the house, that

8 Com. Journ. p. 227. In this debate Mr. Pery, member for Limerick, spoke thus: 1 Cald. p. 324. "I am sorry to say that, notwithstanding these resolutions, I have but too much reason to believe the sitting of such a committee was never intended; and I think it my duty to communicate such reason of my belief to the House. As I was coming last Monday from the four courts, in my chair, I was stopped by a particular friend, a gentleman of great worth and consequence, who asked me, whether I intended to go that day to the House. I answered, that I did not, as I knew of nothing that made my attendance necessary; and that, as I had been much fatigued by business of the House, and by the courts, I intended to make that a day of rest." He replied, "You may not only take your rest this day, but every other day of "the sessions, for things are now fixed so as to admit of no alteration; no enquiry will be made into the state of the pensions, nor any thing else done, "but what has been agreed upon with those, who are to take the lead." To this I answered with great surprise, that I could scarce think what he told me was possible: that the House had been unanimous for examination, and had actually appointed a committee for that purpose, but a few days ago; that the public expected it, and to disappoint them in an expectation so reasonable, and on an occasion so important, would be wholly inconsistent with the dignity, as well as the duty of the House, as the members would then appear to be nothing more than state puppets, with wires in their noses; by which they were turned first one way, and then another, just as those, who had the management of them thought fit."

"

Mr. Pery was interrupted by the attorney general, who addressed himself in a very angry strain to the House. "I hope every gentleman in this House feels a proper disdain at being represented as a puppet, moved by dictates of another's will, and sufficient spirit to shew, by his conduct, that he acts upon principles of freedom and independence, by the determination of his own judg. ment. As to the enquiry in question, I shall, for my own part, oppose it from a full conviction, that it is unnecessary; what could we hope more from this enquiry, than an assurance from his majesty, that he has considered the grievance, and will redress it? And this assurance he has been graciously pleased to give us already. It is indeed true, that this assurance has not come before the House, with the solemnity of a formal message; but gentlemen seem to forget that his majesty could not communicate it in that manner, consistent with his character and dignity. The intimation to the lord lieutenant is a favour, and, if his majesty is graciously pleased to wave his prerogative in our behalf, are we to expect, that he should do it in a way, that would imply a consciousness of his having abused it? His majesty has, in this instance, treated us with condescension and kindness, of which, I may venture to say, we have no precedent; and shall we return it with remonstrance and complaints? Shall we refuse a favour from our gracious prince, merely because it is not offered in a manner that would degrade himself?"

cure,

an humble address* should be presented to his majesty, strongly expressive of the impropriety and mischief of such grants, which produced a still more impassioned debate than the former; the address was negatived by 124 against 58. The prevailing argu ment on the court side was used by Mr. Gore, the solicitor general. "The voice," said he, " of the majority, is the voice "of the nation, and in that once given we ought to acquiesce. "Give me leave, Sir, to add, that the majority, by which the "late question has been determined, consists of gentlemen of “rank and abilities; gentlemen, who have great property to seand great characters to maintain; and I think there never sate in any national assembly of any age, or any country, persons, who had more the constitutional rights of the people at heart, or knew better how they were to be maintained." The prominent zeal of Mr. Gore in supporting the court party was soon rewarded; he was raised over the head of Mr. Tisdall, the attorney general, to the head of the King's Bench, and was soon after created Lord Annally. With unrelenting perseverance the patriots followed up this popular ground of opposition. On the 13th of December Mr. Pery again came forward, and although he had been very unfortunate in the proposals, that he had made with a view to the public advantage, yet, said he, it was his duty to persevere; let the current therefore run ever so strongly against him, he was determined to strive against it to the last; and though he might not be able to stop, or turn its

7 Com. Journ. p. 239. 24 Nov. 1763. A motion was made, and the question being put, that an humble address be presented to his majesty, to assure his majesty of the inviolable attachment to his royal person and family; that we have the firmest reliance on his majesty's wisdom, justice, and tender regard for his subjects of this kingdom; but that we should fail in our duty to his majesty, and desert the trust reposed in us by those we represent, should we longer defer laying before his majesty the real state of this kingdom, which we have some reason to fear may not yet have been fully presented to his ma jesty's view. That we presume to do so from a firm persuasion, that his ma jesty will not believe, that we are prompted to it by the spirit of faction, but impelled by the necessities of the kingdom; and that we have nothing in view but his majesty's honour and prosperity of our country. That during the late successful war we exerted our utmost efforts for the support of his ma jesty's government, and to raise such supplies as his majesty thought necessary for his service, though it was with the greatest difficulty we could even provide for payment of the interest of the sums we were obliged to borrow for that pur pose. But at the same time we could not without the utmost concern observe, though we lamented it in silence, the great continual encrease of pensions, and that a considerable part of the sums, which were destined for public uses, were diverted to private purposes. That this is one great cause of the heavy debt, which oppresses the kingdom, and which we can scarce ever hope to discharge, deprived as we are of those resources from trade, with which the other parts of his majesty's domains are blessed. That any considerable addition to this burthen must depopulate this kingdom, already much exhausted of its inhabiThat we presume with all humility to lay these our circumstances before his majesty, not doubting, that they will excite in his royal breast those sentiments, which are so natural to his princely disposition.

tants.