Star.
London, England, 1807-08-04 00:00:00

itterteci to the contrary, that the Houle had never'
looked with an eye of indifference on the iaterelts ot
irelaini, and he could anfwer for it. that on the part
bl the pi-cent G ,veramenr, it would ever be their
Mott ardent and Boccie with to pay every attention
to th fe interells and to promote them to the utrnot•
Of their power ; but he could nor conceive that was
to be dun.. by calling on the Hoof: at that moment,
to ad pi a rehilto ton which direelly militated againft
the meaftsies they had fo lately paged, and thereby
Induce a belief that they had done that which was
likely to roduce difcontenis. The Right Honour
able Gentleman had made this refolution the ground
work to introduce a variety of arguments, which, in
his opini• n, were very irrelevant and unttecetfary.—
lie would not, however, trefpafs on the time of the
H .ute by following him into to wide a field, but
would con -lit himfelf, after the few obfeivations he
had made, tvi h moving the previous queftioto
The SPEAKER then read the original motion,
and having put the previ .u• queltion.
Mr. G RATTAN rote, and laid, that basing been
alluded to on the prefent evening as well as on a
former i-ccafil•n, as an authority relpeCting the par-
ticnla. Rate ot 'octane!. he would with to make a few
obfe,vations on the piefent motion. With refoeft to
the Bills that had fo lately gaffed the Houle, he
would fay, that if he had voted at all, it would
certainly have been for the fhortet term of their du-
ra,ion, and then he would have voted fr r the Bills
Ne expreffed !rime& in terms of high admiration
of the fentiments which had juft been delivered by
his Right Honourable Friend (Mr. Sheririaa), in
bringing forward the refolitti-n which he had fills-
tnitted to the c. nfideration of the Honfe ; fentiments
he Paid, which excited in him the deenett gratitude,
and which mull excite the fame in the biretta of every
Irifhman, from the very kind and favourable opinion
they conveyed of the loyalty, zeal, and attachment if
the people of that country to the g..veriment f this.
The very eloquent and animated manner in which
thole fentiments twee del:acted, could not tail to
make a deea impt Ai in on all alio acre interetted
for that part of the to iced t mpi.e : and it he d ffeted
with his Right Hon. Friend in any refpeet in the pre
fent t.cc.tfion.it was n .t in the fentiments thernfelves,
bit in the particular din eet.on of them. •His Right
H n. Fricntt had limed, that be the ught the tiaffing
of the late hill, (•he infurretion and the army bills);
was not necelftty ; for his own part, he ci uld nro
but tsiff!r wilii :um mud pointedly on that head.—
His Riolit Honourable Ftiend had alto Rated, that
there had always been a French parry iu Ireland.—
He allowed the jaitice of that Itatement ; hut he
begged the Houle, and his Right Hon Ftiend
to recolle6l, that there WAS a very great difference
between a party 'hat had exilled, and a party .hat
• now exiled ; and not only that, trnt there was alio a
great difference in the times, and now that France
was become Inch a fair antic power, and a French
patty exiited in Ireland, that was alone in his opinion
a good teal n for adopting a Rrong meal-tire. There
might he times when the commot, law of the land was
by no means fufficient t .r the Wel and lenatity
of the country ; and when that i• the cafe, firm g
mcafwes mull be retorted to. He did not mean to
fay that the people of behind were in general dui-af-
fected :on the contrary, he jointed with his Right Hon.
Friend, in the belief that they were generally loyal
and fi only attached to the Government of this
count! y. It was not, however, It.fficient to fay that
par. icular counties were Lindh:tubed. Mr. Jullice
Fox, he had no doubt, was very right in what he
had laid of the counties of Tipperary, Wexford, and
Kilkenny, but there might be difcontented parties in
odic, quarters, which were foffieient to juflify the
extraordinary p-Avers given by the Bills lately paired.
His Rik,ht i ion. Friend had Rated that the people
of Ireland were in a (late of ot4eft tranquillity, and
that a pet fim ot the htghett authority in another
place had given it as his opinioo, that the Arms Bill
was unnecefroy. That high authority might think
fo, but he cr old not agree with him on that head.—
The great obj.et of the Arms Bill teemed not to be
fully under Rood ; it had in view the difatming, not
the great mats of the people, but certain portions of I
them who wet e rebels, and who went about the coun.
try to the bottles of farmers and gentlemen who wet e
known to hare arms, and plundered them of the fame,',
to tile them for rebellious purpoles, and one of the !l
chief objeEts of the Bill was to take from thole rob '
bens the power of doing that. Another °tried of
the A& was to prevent compulfory oaths from being
adminittered, and other matters which tended to pro
more and eliffule infurreCtion. He allowed that thofe
Alts were unconititutienal, and alluded to the dying
requelt of LordKil warden, which had been frequently
quoted ; that Noble Lord had, however, given his
entire approbation to Alts of a fimilar tendency,—
Lord Yelverom, alfo, who was univerfally allowed in
Ireland to be a conllitutional Judge, had faneirmed
fimilar meafwes in 1796 and 1798. There had alfo
been at that time a very cr ntiitutional Attorney
General and Solicitor General, the former of whom
had drawn the firei Bill introduced on that tubjeCt.
When he raw therefore that the molt conflitutional
Lawyers had all agreed in the necedity of retorting
to fuch meafures, much as he admired the eloquent
arguments of his Right Hon. Friend, he mull fay,l
that if he were to be called on again, he would, for
the falety and fecurity of Ireland, vote for thofe acts.
Informer times the Legiflature had paired aCts
of a fimilar kind againit different Mothers of the
Public peace, fuch as againfl the White Boys in 1776,
and afterwards againft the Hearts of Steel and Peep
of Day Boys. He could not therefore think that the
people of Ireland could conceive that Mottle was in-
different to their rights, and CArtiefs of their intereils
becaufe they had paired thole Ails. He was certain ,
that much ttronger Bills than tilde would not do half
the mifchief to the freedom of Ireland, that a revival
of the old diiturbances and inturreetions would.—
Gentlemen who thought othern ife forgot the prefect
filtration of the country, they toroot that France was
at our doors : and it was neceittry to remind them,
that in fuch a fiturinn we were not to look at the
Rate of things on the mere principle of right and
wrong, but en the invert:an necellity of predemina-
i •
hog cil cumitances. It had been the invariable prac-
tice to fufpend the mdt conuitirtional laws in the
cafe of an invafi .n, and when there was a French
party in Ireland, we might do at one time what we
would not do at another. He thought the Bills
necefLuy for the heater fectirii y of the country againft
horatiori and thilurbance, and he voted for them not
for the purpofe of extending the powerot the crown,