Mother Church will down with them; this will not be allowed by the established Church, et hinc illa lachrymæ. Other gentlemen leave Ireland (the cheapest country perhaps of any in the King's dominions) to live in England, (fuppofed to be now the deareft in the world) in order, as they would perfuade us, to fave money; and however paradoxical this may appear, as they contrive the matter, I make no doubt of its being true, because, when at home, if seated within ten miles of a man, who may have ten times their fortune, determined to emulate him in every species of luxury and diffipation, it cannot be matter of furprize, that a moderate estate should find itself hereby much impaired in a very short time; fo that they charge to a fpirit of laudable frugality, what in truth arifes from nothing but vanity: Be that as it may, and whether these emigrants are fet in motion by bigotry or religion, by vanity or by ceconomy, it is your duty, who may be faid (in the failors phrafe) to stick to the hip, to fee care taken, that those who forfake her, be feverely checked, if not intirely cut off from their shares. You are to confider, that every man owes a duty to his country, and much more do thefe owe of that duty, who, without labour or ftudy, draw from their country all the comforts, perhaps the luxuries of life. Upon this principle it was, that when Ireland, in ancient times, was in danger, thofe who enjoyed knights fees there, were obliged by law, either to tarry at home, or incur a certain forfeiture; and upon this fame principle do I ground the prefent neceffity of expending a very confiderable part of the eftates of thefe gentlemen, upon what? why upon the defence of their country; for to improve that country, and to employ its poor, is to fecure it against mifery, against famine, perhaps against rebellion. I entertain, therefore, gentlemen, the ftrongeft hopes of feeing you, at your next meeting of parliament, eftablishing a fund, to be formed out of the fortunes of these abfentees, for carrying on an improvement of your wafte and unprofitable grounds. This will employ your poor, and by producing plenty, bring food within the reach of their fcanty wages: it will reduce the remittances of thefe out-lyers, and what with the dearness of England, and the cheapnels of their own country, the prodigal fon will at length return, and the fatted calf be killed. Nor am I of opinion, that, notwithstanding the great fums of money expended by the Irish in this kingdom, the thinking part of the English would be displeased, though they should remain at home: The vintners, taylors, victuallers, and London bagnio-keepers, would fincerely lament the abfence of fo many good cuftomers; but the valuable part of this nation look. upon the increase which they bring to the flock of vice, profigacy, and diffipation of their own gentry and nobility, as more an more than a counterbalance to the advantage arifing from any confumption they caufe; nay, they confider them as one of the concurrent caufes of the prefent fcarcity; and thus they reafon : in Great Britaindorefide, at least 300,000 Irish, fifty of whom are not employed in the cultivation of the earth, and therefore they are in no refpect whatsoever affiftant in the production of thofe victuals which they nevertheless confume; but it is a maxim, that a disproportion between the number of thofe individuals of a community, whofe labour is applied to raising provifions, and of those who do not contribute by actual labour to that end, must occasion a relative fcarcity. If there be twenty raisers, and but fifty confumers, greater plenty will appear, than where there are hundred confumers, and but twenty raisers, as above; the indifpofition, therefore, of the refident Irish in this kingdom, to country labour, muft increase this difproportion, and must confequently be one cause of the prefent fcarcity. The Irish who come over to help in getting in the harveft, form no material objection to what is here advanced, because they have but a kind of momentary existence here; and are in truth the only patriots of that kingdom who appear; for, like the Scots, they spend no money in England but what they get in England, and not always fo much, as they feldom return empty handed to their families: The other Irifh are really to be ranked amongst animals, fere natura, of which the lawyers fay, no property is vested in any perfon, and may be therefore feized and killed as lawful game; but their country has ftill a property in these labourers, for whenever they leave it, they do fo animo revertendi. Exert then, gentlemen, your natural power, and fhew the man who enjoys the benefits of fociety, that he must contribute to the advantage of that fociety; purge, purge your penfionary lift; but above all, fecure unto yourfelves an internal defence; for that wanting, what avails your flocks, your herds, your manufactures? and how much it is wanting, one moment's confideration will make evident.-In cafe of an invafion, your prefent military eftablishment is notoriously inadequate to a defence, infufficient as to numbers; but allowing it fufficient in that refpect, a circumftance attending this little army, muft ever render it a moft doubtful fecurity; I mean the probability, that a blundering British minifter, in order to add a glare to his adminiftration, by feizing upon fome defert ifland, or by fome other trifling adventure, will divide and weaken it, by fending your regiments abroad. Thus, by a legal exercife of prerogative, you are all of a fudden left unguarded, and perhaps in the nicest and most critical fituation of your affairs; your exiftence, therefore, muft depend (unless you have fpirit to enforce a national defence) upon the wifdom of British adminiftration; how precarious that has been, the inftances. above recounted fufficiently evince: how much more precarious a fecurity it is likely to afford for the future, the fluctuation of councils, the inftability of measures; but above all, the fudden enlargement of their other objects of political concern, must discover to thofe of the moft narrow comprehenfion. Your fecond hope of defence arifes from the supposed eternal fuperiority of the fleets of Great Britain; but admitting, that, upon the whole, they fhould be able to maintain this fuperiority, yet may they be unfuccefsful at particular times, and mifs of their objects of enterprise: We have known them formerly to do fo: they could not relieve Mahon; and during one of thefe inglorious intervals, Ireland may be invaded. In the late very fuccefsful war, a powerful French army would have been landed in Ireland, had it not been for the exceffive temerity, or extreme bravery, of our admiral: Whether this army would have been joined by the unhappy peafantry of the country, is ftill problematical; but this we all know, that diftrefs, mifery, and every fpecies of oppreffion, are powerful incentives to innovation, and will pluck from men's hearts every fibre of the most deep-rooted loyalty. But your artful domeftic leaders, who would draw your attention from your own affairs, that they may enjoy the profitable credit with a Lord Lieutenant, of being able to manage you, will infift, that although Ireland be invaded, over-run, for a time in poffeffion of France or Spain, yet it cannot remain long fo, but must be recovered. This will furely afford much confolation to a thinking Irifhman: your flocks are deftroyed, your manufactures ruined, your cultivated fields laid waste; wild rapine and defolation reaflume their ancient dominion, and every thing is carried down, by the strong tide of war, to that miferable ftate in which it was found at the capitulation of Limerick fome forced to feek refuge in this country, where all that profufion, which can attend upon affluence, is now fcarce able to fecure you against insult and abuse; others, unable to seek fuch refuge, forced into treaties with a victorious enemy, for their own fafety and that of their families, fhall poffibly find this Act of Natural Self-defence, conftrued, by fome hungry court minion, into rebellion and death; forfeiture and corruption of blood enfue: thefe, gentlemen, are real evils. But if Britain, through the artful, defpotic, pernicious influence of the prefent favourite, who has divided, corrupted, and brought to the meanest humiliation the first people of the land; if the fhould lofe this affured fuperiority, and not be able to expel thefe invaders, what muft be the fate of you, a diftracted, unpoliced, unarmed people? why, you will find yourselves in the fame wretched circumftances with the ancient Britons, who, in the reign of the Emperors Arcadius and Ꮓ Honorius, Honorius, were not only forfaken by the Romans, and left at the mercy of the ravaging Picts; but their beft men were carried away, in order to aflift againft the northern nations, who had broke in upon, and over-run, the empire. It is faid, that your prefent Lord Lieutenant is refolved to govern upon principles of law and strict juftice; that he will fee things with his own eyes, and that he cannot be perfuaded to liften to any propofal for farming out the administration to the old tenants. If this be fo, I own it will furprise me, because here he ftands connected with men who are abfolute flaves to the Scottish Thane; men, whose political existence depends but upon favouritifm, whofe capacity could not recommend them to the ftation of office-clerks, unconfided in by their K-g, unrefpected by the people; men, in short, with whom the Lords Lyttelton and Temple, notwithstanding their tender concern for the diftreffes of their country, have fpurned all communication, although warmly folicited, to chufe their department and office. Aware, therefore, of the duplicity of the Great, and fufpicious of the arts of lulling your fears and apprehenfions, come to the refolution of eftablishing fuch a national defence, as may enable you, at all times, to fell your liberties at the deareft price; break through the manifold barricadoes of faction, which have thus long feparated you from your King. Bear your dutiful remonftrances to the foot of his throne; fhew him how reafonable are your demands; you must fucceed,—for justice, mercy, and a paternal love for his people, are furely lodged in his royal breaft. WH ANECDOTE. HEN Mifs Anne Pitt, fifter to William Pitt, got a penfion from Lord Bute, her brother fent her a very angry letter upon the occafion, and, amongst other things, faid," he had hoped that the name of Pitt and Penfion would t never have appeared together." When William Pitt got a penfion of three thousand pounds per annum from Lord Bute, his fifter fent him a true copy of his own letter, written as above. AN AN IMPARTIAL REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, &c. The Hiftory of the Life of King Henry the Second, and of the Age in which he lived. By George Lord Lyttelton. (Continued.) W E obferved in our preceding number, that as Lord Lyttelton had confined himself to a particular period of the English hiftory, he had had an opportunity of mentioning a great many curious anecdotes, which ferve to mark the manners of the age; and at this we shall be the less surprised, when we confider the vast number of original records, which his Lordship has confulted, and which have either been entirely overlooked, or, at beft, but very fuperficially examined, by most other hiftorians. We likewife remarked, that his Lordship had every where, in the course of this work, fhewn himfelt a ftaunch friend to liberty; and of this we shall have frequent occafion to produce the most striking and inconteftible proofs. Speaking of the charter of liberties granted by King Henry the Firft, he very juftly obferves, "that, to "ufe the words of one of our greateft antiquaries, Sir Henry "Spelman, It was the original of King John's Magna Charta, "containing most of the articles of it, either particularly expreffed, or in general, under the confirmation it gives to the laws of "Ed"ward the Confeffor." "So much mistaken," continues his Lordfhip, "are they, who have fuppofed, that all the privi"leges granted in magna charta were innovations, extorted by "the arms of rebels from King John! a notion, which seems "to have been first taken up, not fo much out of ignorance, as "from a base motive of adulation to fome of our princes in "latter times, who, endeavouring to grafp at abfolute power, cr were defirous of any pretence to confider thefe laws, which "flood in their way, as violent encroachments made by the "barons on the ancient rights of the crown: whereas they "were, in reality, reftitutions and fanctions of ancient rights, "enjoyed by the nobility and people of England in former "reigns, or limitations of powers, which the King had ille"gally and arbitrarily ftretched beyond their due bounds. In "fome refpects, this charter of Henry the First was more advantageous to liberty, than magna charta itself." |