called their revolution of 1782. Once the spirit of patriotism had regained an influence upon the ministerial ranks, many of them rather sought than shunned opportunities to unfetter their shackles, and some of them probably created occasions of opening, with a view to improve the terms of their bargains. A more favourable opportunity could not have presented itself to resist the mandates of the British cabinet, than a renewed attack upon their favourite privilege of originating money bills in the commons. The heads of a bill for granting additional duties on beer, ale, &c. being transmitted, were returned with certain alterations, for which reason, the bill was rejected, and a new one framed. The like circumstances also attended the bill for granting stamp duties. As there was by these means for some short time no law there for collecting the additional duties on tobacco and other goods imported into that kingdom, great exertions were made by the importers to procure supplies of such articles, before a new bill could receive the royal assent. An opportunity, which proved of some advantage to several individuals, and no inconsiderable detriment to the finance.

The patriotic party having on some great national questions been supported by several of the opposite side of the house, resolved, ere the session closed, to afford another opportunity of calling forth their exertions upon the general and melancholy state of the nation. * A motion was accordingly made two days before the end of the session for an address to his majesty, "to express their inviolable attachment to his royal person and government, humbly to assure his majesty, that they felt a conscious happiness in the ample and liberal discharge of duty to a sovereign so ready to express his gracious approbation of the loyal endeavours of his people. To return their unfeigned thanks for his majesty's paternal solicitude at the burdens sustained by his people; a solicitude repeatedly communicated to them from the throne by his majesty's representatives, and suggesting to them an attention to the diminution of their expence, and the discharge of their national debt: that they met the wishes of his majesty, and would not, by an inexcusable silence, conceal from his majesty the real distresses of his people of Ireland. That at the close of the last war, the debt of that nation did not exceed 521,161l. 16s. 67d. which was then deemed so considerable, that his majesty's paternal care thought itself called upon to direct the attention of his faithful commons to the discharge of their national debt, and to signify his gracious wishes for a very considerable diminution of their national expence. That after a peace of ten years, the debt of the nation appeared to be so increased, that it was voted by his faithful commons in the last session of parliament, to be a sum not exceeding 994,890/. 10s. 104d. a circumstance so alarming and insupportable to his people, that they determined with one voice to put an end to the pernicious practice of accumulating debts, and they thought it their duty to accomplish that necessary end by first endeavouring to raise the revenue of the kingdom to an equality with the establishment. That they adopted every proposition of his majesty's ministers, and accepted their promises of economy with unbounded confidence, vainly expecting, that it would be ever after unnecessary to afflict their gracious sovereign, by enumerating either the complaints or the distresses of his people. That as they wished to second the promised economy of his majesty's ministers by every effort on their part, they had considerably diminished the sum usually granted by this house for the purposes of national improvement. That in order, that there might be no remnant of any arrear upon any of his majesty's establishments, they had departed from the usual custom of discharging the arrears to the 25th of March only, and had raised the sum of 265,000/. to pay them up to the 29th of September, 1773; and to prevent the necessity of any arrear for the future, they had consented to a stamp duty, and several other taxes, which their predecessors, in the times. of the most expensive wars, had never thought proper to impose. That the calculations of his majesty's ministers were admitted, their promises were relied upon, the taxes they proposed were voted, and their projects were uninterrupted by any opposition from his faithful commons. But that they were then reduced to the melancholy necessity of informing their gracious sovereign, that those unquestionable proofs of their zeal had been equally proofs of their inability. That the new taxes had fallen short of the estimates made by his majesty's ministers, and unequal, as they were to the effects, which were hoped for, they had served only to shew, that they had arrived at that point of taxation, where the imposition of new lowered the old duties. That the debts and incumbrances of his faithful subjects had increased with such alarming rapidity, that they had in that session been reduced to the unfortunate necessity of raising 175,000/ to defray the arrears incurred in one year and six months only. That the perseverance of his faithful commons was not yet exhausted, and they had again endeavoured in that present session, to support his majesty's establishments, by new burdens upon themselves. But that the experience of his majesty's ministers, assisted by the best efforts of his faithful commons, had been able to devise one new tax only, a tax upon spirits; a tax the last, which they proposed for his majesty's service, because it was of the most doubtful nature; a tax,

which proved their despondency as well as their zeal, and concerning which they knew nothing certainly, except that it could not produce enough. That they saw before them the necessity of borrowing, session after session continued. They saw the funds, on which they used to borrow nearly exhausted. They saw the new duties, which they raised with the hopes of providing a sufficient revenue within the year, mortgaged in part for the payment of incumbrances; and that they saw his majesty's ministers relapsing into their former despondency of supply. ing the exigencies of the state, in any other manner, after every effort, made on their part, and seconded by them, and with a dreadful increase of debt incurred during the experiment. That if an indulgence to his majesty's ministers could induce them to suppress these truths, they should be guilty of a criminal deceit towards the best of sovereigns. That could they neglect the most essential interests of themselves, their constituents, and their posterity, still their duty to his majesty would prevent them from suffering the resources of his majesty's power and dignity to dwindle and decay; and that they were the more necessitated to make that earnest application, because the evils they suffered were not temporary or occasional; because they could not attribute them to any physical evil, or proud national exertion, but to a silent, wasting, and invisible cause, which had injured the people, without adding strength to the crown. That they therefore performed that indispensable duty of laying their distresses at the foot of the throne, that history might not report them a nation, which in the midst of peace, and under a gracious king, equally ready to warn and relieve, proceeded deliberately to their own ruin, without one appeal to the wisdom, which would have redressed them. And that they did appeal from the temporary expedients of his majesty's ministers, to his own wisdom and virtues, and to that permanent interest, which his majesty had, and ever would have, in the welfare of his people. And if supplication could add force to the pleadings of their common interest, and of their persevering loyalty, they supplicated that his majesty would graciously turn his royal attention to the reduction of their establishments, which they were unable to support, and which they would support if they could. That they did not presume to point out more particularly what his royal wisdom would more properly and effectually distinguish. "That after all their efforts, and all their disappointments, they had one sure resource in his majesty's royal justice and wisdom, and they did rest assured, that their gracious sovereign would not suffer the strength of his crown to be impaired, or the glories of his reign to be sullied by the unaccountable and entire ruin of a loyal people."

In order to get rid of this motion, the ministerial party put and carried the question, that the motion should be adjourned to that day se'nnight; and upon its being thus negatived, another motion was made, and also carried, that an humble address of thanks be presented to his excellency the lord lieutenant, for his prudent, just, and wise administration. The majority of the votes for adjourning the consideration of this motion took off none of the fatal truth and resemblance of the portrait, which it exhibited of the nation at that melancholy juncture. An address* was framed in the committee, and upon the second reading of the fourth paragraph thereof an amendment was proposed to be made by adding thereto the following words.

"At the same time, that we pay your excellency every perso"nal respect, and make you the same acknowledgments, which we have not refused to any of your predecessors, we do not mean, that it should be understood, that the situation of this "country is less deplorable now than it was upon your excel" lency's arrival; a period in which her situation was admitted " to be desperate. On the contrary, we must lament, that every " proposal, which the wishes or abilities of your administration "suggested, supported by the most perfect conformity of parlia"ment, in the course of four years has had no other effect, than " to leave this country more exhausted than ever, more incum"bered with taxes, more loaded with debt, and more oppressed " with unnecessary establishments. That in the first session of your excellency's government, we were induced to grant new " taxes in time of profound peace, under a persuasion, that the

"promised frugality of administration would justify the unu"sual bounty of parliament, and put an end to the pernicious " practice of running in debt. That in the same session we set "the example of economy to your excellency's administration, " by abridging our own expences; and we provided for the " payment of a great arrear, including a fifth half year, a libe" rality without precedent, but which we adopted to take away " all pretence of presenting us with a future arrear. That the "failure of those projects of finance proposed under your ex" cellency's administration, as it was a testimony of the poverty " of the kingdom, so it was an additional reason for adminis"tration to preserve inviolate the solemn engagements of eco"nomy. That we cannot but lament, notwithstanding the libe"ral confidence of parliament, the solemn professions of admi"nistration, and the authenticated poverty of the kingdom, our "sagacity cannot discover any visible retrenchment. On the

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contrary, we have been in the course of this session surprised " with a new arrear, not less in proportion than that incurred in "the two last years of the administration of your predecessor. "We behold the old burdensome establishments, which we " know to be unnecessary, and feel to be insupportable, conti" nued, and increased; and we see the old spirit of profusion, " which has long wasted us in time of peace, opposing every " project of retrenchment, whether conceived in the shape of " parliamentary resolution, or humble address to the throne, " with fatal success under your excellency's administration, "which has been candid enough to acknowledge public dis"tresses, but not fortunate enough to relieve them. When we "state these facts, we do not mean to attribute them to your "excellency's intentions, nor do we attribute to those intentions "the alarming and military powers given to the lowest officers " in the revenue; as little do we attribute to those intentions "the flagrant violations of our constitution in the course of "the last four years. We are convinced the alteration of "four money bills, that breach of constitution, and insult on the " dignity and bounty of this nation; the questioning the validi"ty of the augmentation compact by subtleties as dangerous as "unintelligible; the involving this country in a civil and unna"tural war, the leaving her exposed to any invasion by sending away her necessary and stipulated defence in prosecution of "that civil war; the attack made on her law, and the interrup" tion of her trade in the course of that civil war; the refusal of

a militia bill, always eligible, now rendered nece ary for our "security, and so qualified as not to alarm the arbitrary spirit " of the times, were measures adopted not in pursuance of your "councils, but in total disregard of them: and we are the more "ready to acquit your excellency's intentions of all those mea