the British conne&tion have co-operated with the fleets and armies of England to refift the defperate combination. Hitherto they have refifted it with fuccefs, but the hoftile fpirit is ftill unfuppreffed. I believe this is a fair ftatement of the prefent fituation of Ireland. France feeks to aggrandize herfelf and dif member the British empire. It is idle to imagine that the projects of a foreign enemy can be in any manner affected by fuch an internal egulation of our political economy, and as long as all the other motives of the undertaking remain, I cannot fuppofe France to defert her enterprize, merely because the Irish nation is reprefented in Westminster inftcad of Dublin. A The objects of the United Irishmen are fimply thefe; they deteft monarchy, church establishment, and the British connection-they feek a feparate Republic. They affect to fay, that they have been led to adopt fuch extreme and violent politics, by the excess of fome conftitutional grievances, the inequality of our reprefentation, the establishment of the religion profeffed by the minority of the people, the preference which the fifter kingdom obtains by the means of influence, and other alledged imperfections, which they state, as rendering a revolutionary.change, and a democracy, defireable alternatives. I am at a lofs to discover how an Union is to reclaim thofe perfons; for that they will be reclaimed is the propofition contended for, inafmuch as the phyfical force of the empire, which has hitherto conquered them, is equally competent to do fo under all forms and modifications of the connection between the countrics. It has often been justly argued, that fuch a party could not be conciliated by conceffion. The oppofite direction of purfuits-the want of a community, or identity of objects, have been confidered as forming an infuperable bar to their conciliation, and yet the fame perfons who thus reafoned, now contend, that the men who could not be conciliated may be metamorphofed by a meafure which will leave all Under an the caufes and the pretexts of their hoftility undiminished, if not exaggerated. Union the monarchical form of government muft continue-the proteftant religion will remain established-the countries will remain unfeparated-the theory of a pure reprefentation will be at least as far removed from the practice of Westminster, as of College-green. The influence of England will have been exchanged for its dominion, and I affert, that the relative pofition of both parties will remain precifely the fame, unless, perhaps, the difguft (whether juftified or not) which the innovation fhall produce, may detach fome parts from that combination of national loyalty, without which, the phyfical force of the enrpire might have been, in the late conflict, fruitlessly exerted. I have taken up too much time in arguing what is fo plain. I have been compelled to it by the prevalence of a delusive and abfurd opinion, artfully encouraged that an Union must neceffarily restore tranquillity! Giddy and precipitate fear never reafons, but exclaims any thing for quiet. I wish to check this cant of folly and terror. I remember an ideot, whofe clothes caught fire; ordinary relief was at hand, but he leaped into the fea to extinguish the flames-the ideot was drowned. Yet ftill the story may be true, What evils human life betide? And gone fo foon!-Why not lay more? It happen'd-O, the fad event! The Clown was preff'd to pay his rent; PRICE 2D. TO THE SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1799. No. V. it. He faid, that already we poffeffed every benefit that England could bestow, except a EDITORS of the ANTI-UNION, very few, and thefe trifling; that when an Uni GENTLEMEN, on was talked of long ago, England had much to give us in compenfation for it; and we, without reflecting, now adopt the fame argument, tho' circumftances are totally changed. I AM a plain man, and from my infancy. England has already, and with a liberality for which we ought to be grateful, given up to us have been bred up to bufinefs. I look upon the character of a Merchant to be one of the high-every thing, that then might (by fome) be coneft and most independent in the nation, and all my pursuits and objects, have been in the commercial line. I am no politician, but love our moft gracious Sovereign, refpe&t his Minifters, and obey his Laws. It is neither fuitable to my talents or profeffion, to look into matters deeper than as they concern myself. When I heard first, that an Union of the Parliaments of England and Ireland was to be obtained, and that Ireland was to get vast trading advantages, as a reward for letting her part of the Legiflature fit in London-I own it made me very happy. It was faid that the fame commercial benefits, which have made England the richest and most powerful nation in the world, were to be given to Ireland, in confequence of an UniI confess I could not conceal my joy, and I began to fpeculate on amaffing prodigious wealth. My Partner, who is a man of much prudence and knowledge, fmiled at my thapfodies, and asked me, "What precise plan I had formed for extending our trade upon any farther commercial advantages, that may be granted to this country, by the English Parliament?" "I am not prepared yet," faid I, "I have not had time to calculate. but I am sure there must be many sources of wealth open to English Merchants, that we are deprived of, all of which we should obtain by an Union. My Partner replied, "That he would not enter into the merits of an Union, upon any principle at prefent, but that of commerce, and of the further advantages in that line, that might be granted to Ireland in confequence of on. fidered as a fair price for an Union. That we had now a free and direct trade to all the world, as perfect as England-England and the Eaft Indies alone excepted that as to the Eaft ndies, we have already more privileges of commerce there, than any of the great trading towns of England-for that fome of the outward bound India fhips were permitted regularly to touch at Cork, and take on board a certain number of tons weight of our goods. That if Ireland was allowed to trade directly to Indiá, it was what he was quite incapable of. That even to the India Company, the mere trade did not pay its expences and tehir establishments, and was profitable only as the means of bringing home the immenfe produce of their territorial poffeffions. That Ireland stood at this moment in the fame situation with respect to the Eaft Indies with all England, except the chartered Eaft India Company; of which, howeever, her Merchants could equally with thofe of London, become Members. As to the direct trade to England, or as it is commonly called, the Chamel trade-it is in that alone, that it is poffible to give us any further benefits. But let us see what they are, and how the cafe stands now, without an Union. We have already fome little advantage, as to the West India trade, by our local fituation, and all reftrictions whatever on it, have lately been taken off. By a conftruction of a claufe in the Navigation Act, and by other Statutes, the Irish were prohibited from carrying Plantation Goods to Britain, either from the Weft Indies or Ireland. This was a great reftriction, indeed, on our Weft India trade; but, by a late Act of Parliament, this is done away; and now Irish fhips have the fame privileges as English; and a Cork merchant can now fend his fhip to Jamaica, load her with fugar, rum, &c. &c. fend her to Bristol, or bring her to Cork, and, if he finds that market over-stocked, he can fend her to Liverpool, or any other English port where his goods will be admitted on the fame terms as if they came direct from the West Indies to Britain, and in an English ship. No grant of the English legiflature can add a further privilege to this, and you have the plantation trade as free and open now, as it is poffible to give it to you. You fee the greater number of them deferve no notice; they are commodities that we are obliged now to procure for our own confumption from England, though loaded with. fome duty, (generally 10 per cent.) and with the expence of freight, infurance, commiffion, &c. Of this defcription, are coals, hard-ware, refined fugars, hops, cheese, earthen-ware, wrought filks, and fuperfine cloths, &c. Could we fend flow manufactured, and expensive filks for the changeable taste of a London market, to vie with the ready and ingenious artist of Spital-fields, who is on the spot, and can take advantage of every fluctuation of fashion? Is it likely we can fend fine cloths to England, when our own gentry will not wear them here, though fo much cheaper than those we get from England? Is it not ridiculous to talk of our contending in hard-ware with Birmingham, or, in earthen-ware with Staffordshire, from whence we are forced to bring them for our confumption, loaded with the expences of freight, infurance, commiflion, and duty'? Perhaps, indeed, we might be able to fend fome coarse woollens to nearly the extent of what woollen yarn we now export; and fome printed linens, cottons mixed with linen, cordage, or fail-cloth, or other articles, wherein the fuperiority we have in the linen manufacture might have its advantage; and thefe two articles, of the coarse woollens and printed, or mixed linens, are those alone in the whole catalogue that deferve any confideration, and to them we are to look for the fole commercial advantages we can derive from an Union. The fuperfine cloths are all made, or ought to be, of Spanish wool; and the Englifh manufacturers, themselves, confefs, we have, not fkill, or artificers, to contend with them in it. As to the coarfer woollens, we ufe in our own confumption most of what wool we produce, except what we export in woollen yarn; and if all this was wrought up, and exported in woollen cloths, it would not "Certainly, between England and Ireland there are fome mutual restrictions ftill remaining, but I think that thofe which England has imposed on Irish goods imported into England are not of fo much confequence as it is ufually imagined, for, in general, they are laid on articles we have no probability of ever being able to fend them," "How?" faid I," and what are they? Surely the moderation of our taxes, the conveniences of fuel and water, but, above all, the cheapnefs of provifions, and, confequently of labour, may enable us, in time, to rival England in many articles, that we are now prevented fending her by legal restrictions." My partner replied" Do you know what these prohibited articles, or, articles loaded with duties equal to a prohibition, are?" I prohibition, are?" I faid not. "Then," faid he, "I will enumerate them to you, at least all thofe that are of the smallest poffible confequence. They are hats, Tape, and linfeed oil; hard-ware, earthen ware, coals, cheefe, woollen cloths, glafs bottles, printed linens, glafs ware, wrought ivory, velvet, flockings, vinegar, iron, feathers, mixed cotton and linens, fail-cloth, cordage, beer, foap, ftarch, leather, refined fugars, candles, gun-powder, cyder, hops and wrought filks. For which of these shall we ex-be a matter of great consequence, but we change our exports of beef, butter, pork, and wheat? or which of these think you will the Northern merchant prefer to his linen trade? muft always have the power of a confiderable export of linen and woollen yarn, or we will not have enough for our own manufactures, for, |