CHAP. LVIII. 1784. Of Lord were endowed with some small portion of property; to all who paid taxes, to all copyholders and leaseholders for terms exceeding thirty years, of a yearly value of forty shillings, Catholics not excepted; but he would not allow persons of that religion to be members of the lower House. The disfranchisement of small boroughs, the transfer of their members to counties, the capital, and the great towns which had not hitherto sent representatives; adding to these such a number of members as should give them a preponderance in legislation; and a restriction of the duration of Parliaments to one, or, at the utmost, three years. He also recommended a general assembly of delegates from every part of Ireland: by such a meeting the union of volunteers might be preserved; their applications would be presented to Parliament with the weight and authority of the collective body, and the requisitions must be complied with. Lord Effingham advised that the boroughs should be divided into four Effingham. classes, each class to return from four to ten burgesses; all persons paying scot and lot to be voters; the polls to be taken on a certain day in every parish, before the parish officers, witnessed by the constable, and by him transmitted to the sheriff, who, from these documents, was to return the members. The Parliament to be triennial, at the most; but it were more eligible that it should have no fixed duration beyond the session. There was, he said, no argument in favour of seven years which would not equally apply to seventeen. The Duke of Richmond, whose opinion was, for many of the Duke years afterward, the theme of daring innovators, laid of Richmond. down, as the result of many years' consideration and of every day's experience, that the restoration of the right of voting universally to every man, not incapaciated by nature for want of reason, or by law for the commission of crime; together with annual elections; was the only reform that could be effectual and permanent, the only reform that was practicable. His Grace recommended the extension of the right of suffrage to Catholics; and protested against voting by ballot. To Other these were added missives from Dr. Jebb, Dr. Price, opinions. CHAP. LVIII. 1784. Resolutions of Major Cartwright, and some others, beside anonymous writers, urging the necessity of reform, and indicating to the volunteers their power of obtaining it by compulsion, if not granted by concession; all agreeing in some points, but varying in others*. The delegates were not less fervid in their resoluthe delegates. tions and declarations; and, while they insisted on freedom as their indefeasible birth-right, they censured, in all its parts, the composition of the lower House of Parliament, forming a body independent of the people; tendering majorities to every administration, while its imperfections, as a representative assembly, and its length of duration, were unconstitutional and intolerable grievances. Nor did they omit making ample acknowledgments to their friends in England†. 35th July. The elections During the sittings of the delegates, Parliament was dissolved; and, whatever might have been expeaceably con- pected or desired by some parties, the elections were conducted without disorder, and produced no remarkable occurrence. ducted. 4th October. the Irish Par liament. On the meeting of Parliament, Mr. Pery was Proceedings in chosen Speaker, and an address agreed to without a division; when, on the motion of Lord Dudley, thanks were voted to the volunteers "for their spirited en"deavours to provide for the protection of their country, "and their ready and frequent assistance of the civil "magistrates in enforcing the due execution of the "laws." This motion appears to have been framed for the purpose of preventing any violent declaration of opinion respecting their proceedings; but it could not be expected, in the prevailing state of the public mind, to quell the disposition to angry debate. 15th. A portion of ill-humour was shown on the following day, when a motion for a complimentary address to Lord Temple was opposed by Mr. Adderley, on the ground that the retiring Viceroy was too partial to the *See a Collection of the Letters addressed to the Volunteers of Ireland, published by Stockdale, 1783; Letter of the Duke of Richmond, by the same publisher, 1783; and Political Papers by the Reverend Christopher Wyvill, vol. iii. p. 46. + Plowden, vol. i. p. 28 et seqq. CHAP. LVIII. Altercations Roman Catholics. A few days afterward, the ill-temper of party broke out in a more conspicuous manner. In a debate on a motion of Sir Henry Cavendish, on 1784. economical retrenchment, Mr. Flood and Mr. Grattan 28th. let loose upon each other a torrent of vituperative de- between Mr. clamation. To repeat their gross personalities could Grattan. only be of use if it were necessary to prove, by a striking example, that men, who, by education, talents, and eminent repute, ought, themselves, to serve as models of correct deportment, may, in the heat of debate, so far forget all that is due to public opinion and self-esteem, as to become a precedent and apology for those who pretend to be misled by the example of such men, while they are, in fact, only pursuing the bent of their own depraved minds and degraded habits. The con- 29th. test, in the present instance, was carried to such an extent, that the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench intimated that he must interfere, but was prevented from issuing his warrant by an assurance from the Speaker that he would take the necessary measures for preventing a breach of the peace*. Mr. Flood, on a 31st. subsequent evening, entered into a long vindication of his public conduct; but a debate was prevented by a motion to adjourn. vention. Pursuant to resolutions at the Dungannon meeting, National conthe volunteers had formed a national convention in Dublin; and Mr. Flood moved for leave to bring in a 29th Nov. bill for the more equal representation of the people. Mr. Flood The scene which took place is described by an eye wit- Reform. ness as being almost terrific. Several opposition members, and all the delegates who had come from the convention, appeared in uniform. The orders of the House, the regulations of debate, and even the rules of conduct observed among gentlemen, were alike disregarded. The Attorney-general, Mr. Yelverton, denied the Observations right of the volunteers to dictate to Parliament; "we For an account of the measures of the volunteers, the formation and proceedings of the convention, and this debate, see Hardy's Life o. Lord Charlemont, vol. ii. p. 92 to 138: also Gordon's History, vol. ii. p. 287; and for some severe, though merited.'remarks on the coarse personalities of Mr.Flood and Mr. Grattan, Lord Orford's, Works, vol. v. p. 495. of the Attorney gene.al. CHAP. LVIII. 1784. Mr. Flood's reply. 66 "do not sit here," he said, "to register the edicts of "another assembly, or to receive directions at the point "of the bayonet; so long as the volunteers confined "themselves to their first line of conduct, it was their glory to preserve domestic peace, to render their "country formidable to foreign enemies, to aid the "civil magistrate, and to support the Parliament. They "were then entitled to applause, and commanded re"spect; but, when they form themselves into a debat"ing society, and, with that rude instrument the bayonet, probe and explore the constitution, which it requires the nicest hand to touch, respect and vene"ration for them are destroyed. If it be avowed that "this proposition, originating with them, can be carried, it decides the question whether the House or "the convention represents the people, and whether "Parliament or the volunteers are to be obeyed." 66 66 66 66 "As A long debate ensued, in which Mr. Flood, although called upon, did not clearly disclose his plan. "votes in this House," he said, "go by tale, and not by weight, and as the vote of the meanest wretch that "ever disgraced the walls of Parliament, representing "the most venal borough, tells for as much as that of "the most illustrious character, representing the first "county in the kingdom, the people wish to correct "the ill effects of this system by opening the boroughs "and giving them an opportunity of being virtuous. "This is the voice of the people, and it is opposed "because it is said to be the demand of the volunteers; "but the volunteers and the people are the same; they "have been made constitutional by every act but that "of being placed on your establishment, which they "despise. Such arguments produced little effect; the motion was lost by a very large majority*; and, in Resolutions of like manner, the House declared that it would maintain its just rights against all encroachments†; and voted unanimously an address to his Majesty, declaring their perfect satisfaction in the blessings enjoyed under his most auspicious reign, and the present happy con Motion lost. the House. СНАР. LVIII. stitution, together with their determination to support those institutions with their lives and fortunes. After this defeat, the convention voted a loyal address to the 1781. King, and finally adjourned*. diture. Economy and retrenchment formed the subject of Public expenmany animated debates; but no solid measure was brought forward for diminishing the public burthens, while an addition of four thousand pounds was made to the allowance of the Lord Lieutenant, an act of liberality against which Mr. Grattan, who was not in the House when the vote passed, inveighed vehemently, declaring that, if he had been present, it should have encountered his most strenuous oppositiont. Duke of Rut 1784. While the Irish Parliament was thus occupied, that of Great Britain was engaged on Mr. Fox's India bill, land, Lord and the other important affairs already noticed. On Lieutenant. the expulsion of that ministry, the Earl of Northington resigned the vice-royalty; but the Duke of Rutland, 4th January. his successor, was not appointed until nearly six weeks had elapsed. During this interregnum, Parliament was adjourned from time to time, but not without 17th Feb. strong expressions of disapprobation, bordering on contumely, from some opposition members. teers. In the late debate, it may be seen that the pretensions of the volunteers occasioned alarm and anxiety to Considerations government: in fact, if they had persisted in the course on the volunthey appeared to be taking, Ireland was entirely within their jurisdiction. Assuming that they had saved the state, they inferred that they had a right to govern it; and their claim was supported by some members in Parliament, and a large and clamorous party without. Not discouraged by the failure of Mr. Flood's first effort, reform was eagerly pressed, and numerous petitions presented to the House of Commons. trade of Ireland, connected with the wants of the manufacturers and relief of the poor, formed another topic of public discussion; and a portion of the Roman Catholics appealed to the feelings and judgment Catholics. Other topics agitated in The Parliament. Irish Parliamentary Register, vol. ii. p. 325; Hardy's Life of Lord Charlemont, vol. ii. p. 142. + Same, pp. 197, 213. Efforts of the |