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and populous territories acquired by France in this unfortu nate war, by the conqueft of the rest of the Auftrian Netherlands, which it is now in vain to think of wrefting from them, though it is a great misfortune to us, as well as to the inhabitants of those provinces themselves, and to their late Sovereign, the Emperour of Germany, and to the Dutch, that those provinces have been conquered by them. For this unhappy event, we are to thank the arbitrary encroachments madeon the liberties of those inhabitants by the late Emperour Jofeph II. in breach of the oath he had taken to maintain thofe liberties, and of the Treaty of Utrecht, by which alone he had any right of fovereignty over thofe countries: perhaps alfo we may thank the fupineness and negligence of our own Government at that time, in not interfering with that rash and tyrannical Emperour, in the best manner we could, to check his proceedings, and protect the liberties of those people, as being guarantees of the Treaty of Utrecht, by which thofe liberties were promifed to be continued to them. These things, however, are now past, and the mischiefs of various kinds produced by them are irreparable. But, though those provinces cannot now be recovered from France, yet, furely, we may hope to procure the fmall portions of them above mentioned to be reftored and ceded to the Batavian Republick, in order to procure it a moderate degree of independence: and this would be of great importance towards the preservation of our own independence. Perhaps, alfo, as great changes are now making over all Europe, it might be expedient for us to give up Gibraltar to the Spaniards, in exchange for the island of Minorca, which, though not quite fo ftrong as Gibraltar, could not have been taken from us, either in the year 1756, or the year 1781, if the garrifon had been ftronger than it was by only 1500 or 2000 men.

And, as the Weft-India Colonies will be of no ufe either to us or any other of the European States to which they belong

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long, unless the negro flaves in them continue in a state of fubjection and induftry, I could wish that we should retain Martinico, and have all the other French Colonies there, fuch as Guadaloupe and St. Domingo, ceded to us, or ceded to the Spaniards, by the French; and, in confideration of fuch ceffions, we should be ready to pay to the French a sum of two or three millions of pounds fterling. This measure I fhould confider as expedient, not from an avaricious defire of monopolizing all the fugar-islands in the Weft-Indies, but for the fake of preferving our own former fugar-islands, which will foon be rendered ufelefs to us, and even become a nuifance both to us and to all the commercial States in the world, if Martinico, Guadaloupe, and the other French iflands, fhall be brought into the miferable ftate of St. Domingo, by the fudden emancipation of the negro flaves. I would not, however, be supposed to be a friend to the Slave-trade: for I heartily with it were abolished, according to Mr. Wilberforce's benevolent, and, as I think, prudent, plan, and that without further delay. But this is quite a different queftion from that of the emancipation of the negroes already in the Weft-India islands; for fuch an emancipation, befides being an enormous injury to the Planters who own them, would throw every thing into confufion, and bringon the general mifery of all the inhabitants of those Colonies, the negroes themfelves, as well as the white men, their mafters.

It is only to avoid fuch general scenes of mifery and defolation that I should wish to have the French islands ceded to us; and I fhould, therefore, be almoft as well pleased to fee the whole island of St. Domingo ceded to the Spaniards (who are faid to be the mildest and most judicious masters of flaves of any of the European nations that have fettled in America), as to the Crown of Great Britain. The prefervation of our own independance and of our property, and not the acquifition of more power, or wealth, or trade, ought now

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to be our great object; and to this object the measures I have fuggefted would contribute.

As to the proposal of paying two or three millions of pounds fterling for those islands, I confefs it is a mortifying and humiliating condition; but we are not victorious in the present war, and must submit to the inconveniences refulting from the ill fuccefs of it: and we ought to recollect, that, at the enormous rate of expence at which this war has been carried-on, (whether such expence has been neceffary or not, I do not pretend to determine;) three millions of pounds fterling is lefs then the expence of carrying-on the war for only two months; and, confequently, many a fum of three millions must be spent in confequence of our refufal to pay this, or fome fuch, fum, if the French fhould be difpofed to accept of it as the price of thofe iflands and of an immediate

peace.

If these conditions were complied-with by the French, I fhould think Great Britain ought to think herself happy to obtain the restoration of peace by the ceffion of the French factory of Pondicherry, the Dutch ifland of Ceylon, and the value of the ships destroyed at Toulon; and even of the Cape of Good Hope, and of every other place that we may have taken from either the French or the Dutch Republicks in the course of the war.

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REFLECTIONS ON SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLES THAT IT WOULD BE REASONABLE TO ADOPT IN FORMING A LEGISLATIVE UNION OF THE TWO KINGDOMS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND; WHICH WAS A MEASURÉ THAT WAS MUCH THE SUBJECT OF CONVERSATION IN THE YEARS 1797 AND 1798, AND WHICH WAS AFTERWARDS CARRIED INTO EXECU. TION IN THE YEAR 1800.

To the EDITOR of the OLD ENGLISHMAN and ANTI-JACOBIN EXAMINER.

SIR,

I HAVE read with great pleafure a pamphlet published at Dublin, and fince republifhed at London, entitled, "Arguments for and against an Union between Great-Britain and Ireland confidered," in which the writer fets-forth the great advantages that would accrue to both kingdoms from fuch a measure in fo full and clear a light, that I hope it will overcome the prejudices that have been hitherto entertained on both fides the Irish Channel against the measure, and will prove the means of inducing both kingdoms to adopt it. Seventy or eighty years ago, I believe, a propofal of this kind made by Great-Britain would have been chearfully and thankfully acceded-to by the Irish Nation: but then the British Nation was too proud to offer it. And for these laft twenty years, when Great Britain would probably have been willing to confent to it, the Irish Nation have been too proud to accept it. But now that a rebellion has been raifed in Ireland upon the new French principles, or, rather, pretenfions, of Liberty and Equality, that is, in truth, upon

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the principles of robbery and murder, or with a view to rob the established church of Ireland of its tythes and other property, and the nobility and gentry of their eftates, and that a great part of the peafantry of Ireland has been feducedby Mr. Wolfe Tone, Mr. Napper Tandy, Mr. Archibald Rowan, and their other pretended patriots, to join in this rebellion, with out even the pretence of a real grievance, and to invite the republicans of France, (the deftroyers and plunderers of the really free countries of Holland, Brabant, and Switzerland,) to invade their country and affift them in their project of forming themselves into a republick similar to that of France; and the Parliament and Government of Ireland have found themfelves unable to repress this rebellion, without the help of many thousand British troops ;it may be hoped that they will fee the neceffity of a clofer and more intimate connection with Great-Britain, in order to prevent a return of the like dangers. Taking it therefore for granted that this wife, and indeed indispensable, measure of an Union between the two kingdoms will be thought reafonable on both fides the Irish Channel, I fhall beg leave to mention fome thoughts that have occurred to me concerning the terms of it.

In the first place then, as I ardently defire to see this great measure adopted, I would endeavour to make it palateable to the Irfh nation by allowing them a very ample number of reprefentatives in the British Parliament, to wit, fifty members in the House of Lords, and a hundred members in the Houfe of Commons. Of the fifty members in the House of Lords, eleven should be Irish Bishops, which is half the whole number of archbishops and bifhops in Ireland; and these should be the four arch-bishops and the bishops of the feven richeft bishopricks in Ireland, which should be enumerated in the act of Union. But, if the bishops of the fees did not attend the Parliament on the

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