as he understood the intentions
of Government, he approved of them--understanding them to go to
a complete derilection of the right in terms so as not to be
undone again. He entered at large into the arguments against
simple repeal; and, in answer to Fitzpatrick, who had dwelt much
on the resolution of the Houses of Parliament as speaking the
sense of the nation, in contradiction to the Volunteer
resolutions, said that he wondered to hear such an argument from
him, who took the sense of the people of England in taverns and
at clubs, &c., &c.
Fitzpatrick replied to him: went over much the same ground;
defended the simple repeal; then retorted upon Lord Beauchamp;
and took his pamphlet out of his pocket, and reading his last
sentence, that his lips should be closed for ever upon the
subject, observed that he, in his turn, was a little surprised,
after this, to hear the noble Lord's lips opened to run a race
with Government, &c., &c.
I then desired to explain, that so far from saying that the Bill
was to be grounded on the insufficiency of the repeal, I had
said the direct contrary, and had stated a few days ago in the
House, my full opinion that the faith of Great Britain had
thereby been pledged to Ireland upon the avowed principle of
putting an end to every idea of legislation and jurisdiction
over that kingdom, and that nothing was implied by the present
motion which went to impeach that.
Fox then spoke. He went over the ground of simple repeal;
defended Grattan and his friends very warmly; and seemed to
imply pretty strongly, though he did not quite express it, that
you was to abandon--to desert those men of high integrity and
honour, whose great abilities were the smallest part of their
merit, &c. It is impossible to go over the whole of what he
said; but it chiefly turned upon these heads: he said that no
Bill would do if there was not confidence; that such a system
should be adopted as to ensure this confidence, not to humiliate
the Parliament of Great Britain by bringing propositions founded
on supposed discontents, &c.; that the judicature was given up,
as far as related to appeals, by the repeal of the Declaratory
Act; that writs of error were prohibited by the Irish Act;
however, a Bill might be necessary to prevent here the exercise
of a nugatory ju
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