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first day of any Seffion of Parliament, the other bishops, of fees not enumerated in the act of Union, might attend in their ftead, and fhould be intitled to receive from the several bishops in whofe ftead they attended, the fum of 500 pounds to defray the expence of their attendance. The other 39 Irish Lords who should be admitted into the British House of Lords, fhould be fuch as were not already British peers, and should be elected by fuch Irish Lords as were not already British peers. And for the future no new peers fhould be created for Ireland only, any more than there have been new peers created for Scotland only fince the Union of the two kingdoms in the year 1707; but all new peers fhould be peers of Great-Britain. As to the hundred members to be admitted into the British House of Commons, I should think it would be expedient to permit all the members for Counties to make a part of them, and to fill-up the remainder of the number from fome of the moft eminent cities and trading-towns in Ireland, fuch as Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Athlone, Londonderry, Armagh, Waterford, Limerick, Port-Arlington, Kingfale, Lisburne, Inniskillin, Galway, Athy, Kilkenny, Wicklow, and Dundalk. This method of compofing the Irish members of the British House of Commons would in a great measure operate as a reform in the representation of that house, which is thought by many perfons to be a matter of the greatest importance. For there are 34 Counties in Ireland, each of which fends two members to parliament; fo that, if this method of compofing this addition to the British House of Commons were to be adopted, we should have 68 new members of Counties in that Legislative affembly, which would go a great way towards effecting the improvement of its conftitution fuggefted by the late much-admired Minifter, the Earl of Chatham, who propofed that an hundred additional members for Counties fhould be admitt

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ed into the British Houfe of Commons, in order, as he expreffed it, to infufe new and wholefome blood, that is, new life and independance into it, in oppofition to the members for boroughs, who are fuppofed to be too often feekers of promotion and pecuniary emolument, and to have procured their feats in parliament with a view to advance their fortunes. This moderate plan of reform, fuggefted by the Earl of Chatham, has met with the approbation of many perfons in England, who are firm friends to our prefent form of Government by a Limited Monarch with two houses of parliament, a house of Lords and a house of Commons, and are therefore determined enemies of French republicanism, and of all fuch violent plans of reforming Parliament as, by removing the foundations of our prefent fyftem by too great an extenfion of the right of election, would naturally tend to introduce it. And this moderate reform would be in a great measure broughtabout by the admiffion of the 68 members of the Irish Counties into the British Houfe of Commons, and by the admiffion of the remaining 32 members of the hundred from elections made by the great cities and trading-towns of Ireland, inftead of the feveral paltry, little, boroughs, totally dependent on fome Lord, or rich Commoner, by which, (as I have always heard,) the members for boroughs in the Irish Parliament are now elected. As to the Lords and rich Commoners who have influence enough to nominate the members for the boroughs that, upon this plan, would be deprived of their right of election, I would propofe that they and their voters fhould receive a sum of money from the publick treafury, either of Great-Britain or Ireland, in compenfation of the lofs of their privileges; just as the proprietors of certain hereditary Jurifdictions in Scotland, that were found to be prejudicial to the tranquillity of the kingdom, were bought-out of them with publick money

money after the Scotch rebellion about fifty years ago; an event, Mr. Printer, that I well remember. I prefume one million of pounds fterling would be fufficient for this purpose; and I should be glad to fee it so employed, even though it was advanced out of the English treasury.

In the fecond place, I conceive it ought to be ftipulated in the act of Union, if this beneficial meafure fhall be adopted, that all the debts of the kingdom of Ireland already contracted at the time of the Union, fhall be paid, or provided-for, by taxes raised in Ireland, and all the debts of Great-Britain already contracted at the time of the Union, fhall be paid, or provided-for, by taxes raised in Great-Brirain; but that all debts to be contracted after the Union fhall be confidered as belonging to the whole united kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland, and be paid, or provided-for, by taxes raised in both countries. This would be neceffary to remove from the minds of the Irish nation the apprehenfion of being obliged to bear a part of the burthen of the enormous publick debt already incurred by Great-Britain.

In the third place I conceive that the tythes due to the Church of Ireland, and to other holders of them, ought to be continued and confirmed, and declared to be fo in the act of Union, and not changed into any modus decimandi, or other payment to be substituted for them; in which point I am forry to differ from the author of the excellent pamphlet above-mentioned. But I have been satisfied from what is advanced in Dr. William Hales's Observations on Tytbes (which have been reprinted in England a few years ago, and are now to be had at Mr. White's, the bookfeller in Fleet Street,)"that no other payment can be made to the clergy in lieu of tythes, but what will be subject to greater inconveniences than are found to belong to the tythes, though these may fometimes be great." And, as to the objection often

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made to the injuftice of making the Irish peafants, who are moftly Roman-Catholicks, pay tythes to the Proteftant Clergy, I beg leave to make an obfervation, which will at leaft diminish the weight of it, if not totally remove it. The burthen of paying tythes falls ultimately upon the owner of the land, and not upon the tenant or occupier of it, though the latter pays it to the rector: for, if the tythe were totally abolished, the owner of the land would immediately raise his rent upon the occupier, and make him pay an additional fum, at least equal to, and often much greater than, the tythe which he had before paid to the rector; and thus the poor Roman-Catholick occupier of land in Ireland would be no ways benefitted by the total abolition of the tythes. I have been affured that judicious farmers in England often prefer a tytheable farm to one of the fame fize and fertility that is tythe-free, because of the great addition of rent that is required for the latter, and which more than balances the tythe, or compofition for tythe, ufually paid to the recor for the former. Now it feems to be agreed that nine tenthparts of the Land in Ireland is the property of Proteftants. Is it therefore unjust that the payment of tythes, which falls chiefly upon the Proteftants, fhould be applied to the fupport of the teachers of their religion? If there is any injus tice in the matter, it feems only to relate to the payment of tythes to the Protestant rector by a Roman Catholick occupier of fuch land as belongs to a Roman-Catholick owner, because in that cafe the Roman-Catholick land-owner contributes to the support of the Proteftant religion, which he does not believe. But thefe cafes happen but feldom, because of the small number of Roman-Catholick owners of Land in Ireland; and the like irregularity happens in every coun try where any particular religion is established, or its teachers are fupported by any fort of payments appointed by Law for these payments must be made by the few that do not be

;

lieve

lieve the religion fo established as well as by the many who do believe it; of which we have an example here in England, in the tythes paid by Roman Catholicks, and by Quakers and other Proteftant diffenters, to the clergy of the church of England. But my letter is growing rather too long, and therefore I here conclude it.

I am,

Your most humble Servant,

AND CONSTANT READER.
F. M.

N.B. This Letter was fent to the Editor of the Old-Englisbman and Anti-Jacobin Examiner; but he did not think fit to publish it.

ON

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