INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. pro A KNOWLEDGE of the natural situation, the political institutions, and the local advantages, even of a foreign nation, is an object of considerable magnitude, and must, to an inquiring and enlightened mind, be a source of no small gratification; but to become acquainted with these relations, as they respect the great divisions of that empire, of which we are ourselves subjects, is of much higher importance. If we be ignorant of the true state of our country, its interests must be imperfectly understood; and it will be as difficult to discover a remedy for existing evils, as to prevent those from arising, which will otherwise necessarily occur during the gress of time. It is by the power of foreseeing political danger that we can guard against its consequences; for states, if their capabilities of improvement be overlooked or neglected, will inevitably sink into weakness, and lose that influence and that consequence among nations, which they might otherwise acquire and retain. Contemplating the present state of Europe, and the wonderful change which has taken place in the general system of continental politics; it becomes the imperious duty of every well-wisher of Great Britain, to point out her resources, and to recommend, to the best of his abilities, the manner in which they may be employed to the greatest public advantage. From recent events there is reason to conclude that our country, at least for some years, must depend for support chiefly on the natural vigour of her own people, and the internal means which they possess of calling it into activity. Her energies, I am happy to say, seem to increase in proportion to the difficulties which she has to encounter; and her resources, notwithstanding the pressure of the times, are still unquestionably great: but the most flattering prospects may be unexpectedly obscured; and prudence requires that we should be VOL. I. b vigilant, not only to avoid what may tend to depress the one, or to fetter and impede the other, but also to pursue such measures as may give additional strength and stability to both. Those in the least acquainted with history know, that Ireland forms a very valuable portion of the British empire; whether considered in a commercial, agricultural, or political point of view, and that its importance calls for the utmost attention of a wise administration. Even in the time of the Romans, the possession of Ireland seems to have been considered as necessary towards securing the conquest of Britain ;* and we are informed by a very acute and ingenious French writer,+ that Louis XIV., when he endeavoured to re-instate James II. on the English throne, and sent troops to Ireland for that purpose, was guilty of a great political oversight, in not employing a force sufficient to secure to him that country; which, in his hands, and under the control of France, would have enabled him effectually to check the increasing power of his rival. To point out the advantages which England might derive from Ireland, were its interests better understood, and its energies properly encouraged by sound and well digested laws, is the principal object of the facts and observations collected in the following sheets. They were sought after for the purpose of supplying, with authentic materials and documents, those who may be disposed hereafter to turn their thoughts to this subject; and, I hope, however defective this work may be in style, that the matter will be found important, if not interesting. It is, indeed, generally admitted, that the situation of Ireland, so far from being known and appreciated in Great Britain as it ought to be, and as it easily might be, is very imperfectly understood. Agricola expulsum seditione domestica unum ex regulis gentis exceperat, ac specie amicitiæ in occasionem retinebat. Sepe ex eo audivi, legione una et modicis auxiliis debellari obtinerique Hiberniam posse. Idque etiam adversus Britanniam profuturum, si Romana ubique arma, et velut è compectu libertas tolleretur. Tacitus in Vita Agric. edit. Ebz. p. 673. + In his Considerations sur les Causes de la Grandeur des Romains, alluding to the maxim of constantly dividing, adopted by these people, this writer says: Si un grand Prince qui a régné de nos jours, avoit suivi ces maximes lorsqu'il vit un de ses voisins détrôné, il auroit employé de plus grandes forces pour le soutenir, et le borner dans l'isle qui lui resta fidele: en divisant la seule puissance qui pût s'opposer à ses desseins, il auroit tiré d'immenses avantages du malheur même de son allié. Euvres de Montesquieu, tom. vi. p. 72. Amst. 1785. It may be thought decorous to assign some reason for appearing before the public as an author: the following statement will, I hope, be satisfactory on that head, and be considered as a sufficient apology for assuming, on the present occasion, a character so little in unison with my past habits and pursuits. In the spring of the year 1808, a committee of the House of Commons was appointed to determine on the best mode of affording relief to the West India planters, men who have a strong claim to the protection and assistance of the mother country. In the course of the deliberations of this committee, it was suggested, as the most effectual means of relief, that sugar, the produce of the West Indies, should be substituted in the distilleries for corn, the production of Great Britain and Ireland. Being called upon by that committee to state my opinion, as to the effect of the proposed measure on the future cultivation of corn at home, I was induced to take a much more comprehensive view of the subject, than as it affected the landed interest. I conceived that the adoption of such a proceeding would be an encroachment on the resources for supplying the people of England with food; and that it would violate those principles of political economy, which formed the basis of that system on which the late Mr. Pitt* had acted a few years before, when the last corn act was introduced and carried by Mr. Western. The suggestion of this plan arrested my attention; and I carefully watched the evidence which was procured by the committee, in order that I might confirm or reject the opinion which I then entertained. When it appeared, from unquestionable testimony, that Great Britain did not produce corn sufficient to supply her inhabitants, and that Ireland *« "When even the scarcity of the year, when that corn act passed, so severely pressed upon the country, the house, with reluctance, resorted to the measure of bounties; and they acted wisely, rather to let things go almost to extremity, than to encourage the people to look to any other resources than their own agriculture and industry; rather to try their patience and fortitude, to endure distress for a short season, in order to turn their attention to the means, and to urge their best exertions to prevent the recurrence of similar difficulties in future. The policy of our ancestors had been to encourage importation of corn by bounties; but ours was happily that, which by tending to increase our own resources, more effectually secured us against want; and he hoped the country would persevere in that system, for the less we were to depend on other nations for our supply, the less we had to apprehend." Extract from Mr. Pitt's speech, 4th December, 1802. Woodfall's Debates, vol. i. p. 338. had a surplus, it was not difficult to perceive, that the only question for the determination of the committee was, whether it would be most advantageous to the empire, to cultivate the colonies taken from our enemies, or to encourage the increase and improvement of tillage in Ireland. The committee determined in favour of the colonies, and recommended to Parliament, that distillers should be obliged to draw their spirit from sugar instead of corn. In a budget, or, as it was termed, exposé of the French empire, the minister of that country boasted, that during the war, the culture of the captured islands would be improved by British capital and industry;* and that so far from their temporary loss being injurious to France, it would have a beneficial result, for at the period of peace they would be restored in a state much more valuable and productive. This measure, so gratifying to our enemies, however sanctioned by powerful recommendation, did not pass through the British Parliament without much opposition; and in the Commons, the Right Honourable John Foster, then Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, voted in the minority. In the course of these discussions, the West Indian planters and merchants produced such statistical information, as afforded apparently powerful arguments in favour of their interests, This information, was obtained from Sir William Young's West Indian Common Place Book; and it then occurred to me, that a similar work on Ireland might be highly acceptable to those interested in the prosperity and welfare of that country; especially as information respecting her resources and powers of improvement, moral as well as physical, could be gathered only from detached accounts, scattered throughout numerous volumes, which are seldom to be met with in England: even the representatives of that country in the British Parliament, seemed either unacquainted with her true interests as far as related to this great question, or unable, from want of sufficient information, to state and enforce it, so as to produce a beneficial effect. The necessity of such a work was suggested in a conversation with Mr. Foster; and I considered his opinion as no mean sanction for con * I know that the French islands, surrendered by the treaty of Amiens, had their fortifications amended, extended, and improved, with British labour and British money. cluding, that a compilation of this kind would be of great use, not only to Ireland, but to the empire at large. Mr. Foster was so obliging as to offer me all the assistance and information in his power; but I consider it necessary to observe, that although the idea of the work originated in this manner, the opinions are my own; they are the unbiassed result of a patient investigation of the state of the country, from actual observation. I stated to Mr. Foster, that if I undertook the work, it must be done unconnected with any party, and that I should consult the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Darnley, noblemen, who did not accord with him in political opinion. Mr. Foster approved my intention; and both these noblemen were assiduous in introducing me to such of their friends as were likely to aid in the undertaking. To these noblemen, and to the Earl of Fingal, I am particularly indebted; they afforded me the means of procuring much valuable information; and I take the liberty here of mentioning their names, to shew, that it was my early determination not to collect materials merely from those who seemed desirous, only in one way of serving Ireland. After mixing so much with persons of all parties and all religious persuasions, in this my anxious pursuit, I have been surprised, and I may say, chagrined, to find an opinion prevailing, that this work is invariably to speak the sentiments of Mr. Foster. I should consider myself as acting disingenuously, if I did not endeavour to shield him from the imputation of holding many opinions which are to be found in the follow ing pages, and which may be at variance with his own. Whatever reception, therefore, this work may meet with, its defects are to be placed to my own account; with me the whole responsibility must rest; and to prevent any part of it from being ascribed to that gentleman, I have generally mentioned my authority for every fact. The conclusions which I deduce from these facts are the result of my own judgment and conviction. It will be found that I differ from Mr. Foster on several points of no small moment, and particularly on two of the most important measures in which he has participated during the course of his long political career. For Mr. Foster, I entertain the warmest sentiments of friendship and respect; I am proud to acknowledge it; but I never, on that account, yielded up any of my own opinions. when they happened to be contrary to his. On every occasion, when they accorded with those which he is known to entertain, I have felt gratified |