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that kingdom and its inferior courts. That therefore in the year seventeen hundred and three, upon a complaint of the Earl and Countess of Meath, that during the interval of parliament, an order of the English peers had dispossessed them of certain lands, which had been decreed them here; the Irish parliament restored them effectually, to the undisturbed possession of them. That there was just reason to conclude, they would have acted the same part, respecting the appeal of the Bishop of Derry, had he not been removed, and a composition made by his successor with the London society prevented it. Then they stated the appeal of Maurice Annesly from their judgment, with all the particulars of the interference of the English lords in that cause injurious to their privileges; the pernicious consequences of this usurped jurisdiction of the British peers were next pointed out; and they observed to his majesty, that it was the right and the happiness of his subjects in that kingdom as well as of those in Britain, that by their respective constitutions, justice was administered to them without much trouble or expence, in the kingdom to which they belonged: but if his majesty were deprived of the power of finally determining causes in his court of parliament in Ireland, those who were unable to follow them to Britain, must submit to whatever wrongs they might suffer from the more rich and powerful. That if all judgments made in his majesty's highest court within that kingdom, were subject to be reversed by the lords in Great Britain, the liberty and property of all his subjects of Ireland, must thereby become finally dependant on the British peers, to the great diminution of that dependance, which by law they ought always to have on the English crown. That if the interference of the English lords in receiving appeals from Ireland should be recognised and sup ported, it would take away the power from his majesty of determining causes in his parliament of that country, and confine it entirely to the parliament of Britain. That the writs for summoning the lords and commons in both countries being the same, they must in each kingdom be possessed of equal powers, or else the peerage of their nation would be little more than an empty title; and the commons stand for ever deprived of the privilege of impeaching in parliament, which right could not possibly be maintained, if there were not within the realm a parliamentary judicature. That if the power of judicature could by a vote of the British lords be taken away from the parliament of Ireland, no reason could be given why the same lords might not in the same manner deprive them of the benefit of their whole constitution. That the lords of Great Britain had not in themselves any way, either by law or custom, of executing their decrees in Ireland. That this could only be accomplished by an extraordinary exertion of royal power, which would be high

ly prejudicial to the liberties of the Irish nation. And in con clusion, they informed his majesty, that to prevent the appellant Esther Sherlock, from making farther application to the Irish parliament, his deputy receiver had paid her the sum of above eighteen hundred pounds, which to the prejudice of his majesty's subjects, he expected would be refunded by government. That these proceedings of the English lords had greatly embarrassed his parliament of Ireland, disgusted the generality of his loyal subjects, and must of necessity expose all sheriffs and officers of justice to the greatest hardships by sush interference of different jurisdictions. They hoped that all these things being duly considered, his majesty would justify the steps they had taken, for supporting his prerogative, and the just rights and liberties of themselves and their fellow subjects.

The representation and the proceedings of the House of Lords in Ireland, concerning appeals being transmitted to his majesty, pursuant to an address for that purpose, they were laid before the British House of Lords and read: upon which instead of departing from the mode of conduct they had adopted with respect to Ireland, they resolved, that the barons of the court of Exchequer in Ireland, in their proceedings in the cause between Annesly and Sherlock, in obedience to their orders, had acted with courage according to law, in support of his majesty's prerogative, and with fidelity to the crown of Great Britain; and that an humble address be presented to his majesty, to confer on them some mark of his royal favour, as a recompence for the injuries they had received, by being unjustly censured, and illegally imprisoned for doing their duty.*

The Duke of Leeds alone entered protest against these resolutions:† the lords ordered a bill to be brought in, for the better securing the dependancy of Ireland, upon the crown of Great Britain, which afterwards passed into a law. When the

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Jeffry Gilbert, Esq. was made a baron of the Exchequer in England, May 24th, 1722, and lord chief baron of that court, June 1st, 1725.

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†This protest being very pointed and interesting, is given in the Appendix,

No. LVI.

The bill being short, and arising so immediately out of the particular facts alluded to, it is here annexed by way of historical illustration: 5 Geo. c. v. An Act for better securing the Dependancy of the Kingdom of Ireland, upon the Crown of Great Britain.

Whereas attempts have been lately made, to shake off the subjection of Ireland unto, and dependance upon the imperial crown of this realm, which will be of dangerous consequences to Great Britain and Irel: nd. And whereas the lords of Ireland, in order thereto, have of late, against law, assumed to themselves a power and jurisdiction to examine, correct, and amend the judgments and decrees of the courts of justice in the kingdom of Ireland, therefore, for the better securing of the dependancy of Ireland upon the crown of Great Britain, may it please your majesty, that it may be enacted, and it is hereby declared and enacted, by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords, spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this

bill had been read a second time in the House of Commons, upon the motion for committing it to a committee of the whole house, a warm debate ensued. Mr. Pitt spoke against the bill, saying, "It seemed calculated for no other purpose, than to 66 encrease the power of the British House of Peers, which, in "his opinion, was already but too great." He was seconded by Mr. Walter Plummer, who excepted against the preamble of the bill, as incoherent with the enacting part, which was partly owned by Sir Joseph Jekyll, who in the main, spoke for the bill. Mr. Hungerford, on the contrary side, endeavoured to shew, that Ireland was ever independent with respect to courts of judicature: and he was supported by the Lord Molesworth, Lord Tyrconnel, and some other members. But Mr. Philip Yorke having backed Sir Joseph Jekyll, and the question being put upon the motion, it was carried in the affirmative by 140 against 83.*

About this time a fresh attempt was made in favour of the Pretender by the intrigues of the Cardinal Alberoni. An armament of twelve ships of the line, and several transports, was equipped, having on board 6000 regular troops, and arms for 12000 men. The command of this fleet was committed to the Duke of Ormond, with the title of captain general of his Catholic majesty. He was provided with declarations in the name of the Spanish monarch, importing, that for many good reasons he had sent part of his land and sea forces into England and Scotland to act as auxiliaries to King James. The Duke of Ormond sailed from Cadiz and had proceeded as far as Cape Finisterre, when the fleet was overtaken and dispersed by a storm, which entirely defeated the intended expedition. In justice to the unshaken loyalty of Ireland, it should be recollected; that at this time the tenantry on the Ormond property, was the most numerous in Ireland, the bulk of the nation was of the same religion as the pretender, Ireland lay more contiguous to Spain than Great Britain, and was less provided for defence present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the said kingdom of Ireland hath been, is and of right ought to be subordinate unto, and dependant upon the imperial crown of Great Britain, as being inseparably united and annexed thereunto; and that the king's majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons of Great Britain, in parliament assembled, had, hath, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes, of sufficient force, and validity, to bind the people and the kingdom of Ireland. And be it further enacted and declared, by the authority aforesaid, that the House of Lords of Ireland have not, nor of right ought to have any jurisdiction to judge of, affirm or reverse any judgment, sentence or decree, given or made in any court within the said kingdom; and that all proceedings before the said House of Lords, upon any such judgment, sentence, or decree, are, and are hereby declared to be utterly null and void, to all intents and purposes whatsoever." * Debates in the Commons, 1 vol. p. 213.

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against invasion. Yet so sternly loyal to the house of Hanover were the Irish Catholics, even at this early period after the accession of the present illustrious family to the throne, that not even the intriguing Alberoni, the Spanish monarch, the Catho lic pretender, or his enthusiastic and then desperate supporter Ormond, dared even to attempt to seduce them from their allegiance and civil duty.

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The statutes and parliamentary records shew the impartial and conciliatory principle, upon which the Irish government conducted themselves towards the bulk of the Irish people, in return for their unshaken loyalty to the house of Brunswick. In the year 1719, the parliament passed an Act for Exempting the Protestant Dissenters of that Kingdom from certain penalties, to which they were (in common with the Catholics) then subject. And the preamble of the act most truly and liberally as far as it went, and politically set forth, that "the granting some ease and indulgence to the Protestant Dissenters in the "exercise of religion, may be an effectual means to unite his "majesty's Protestant subjects in interest and affection." This desirable object ought certainly not to have been confined to his majesty's Protestant subjects: and so indeed thought his grace the Duke of Bolton, who in his speech on the day that the bill passed, falsified the words of that statute, in order to take off the sting, which this gross and unmerited partiality for the few to the exclusion of the many necessarily carried with it. “The "advanced season of the year makes it proper to put an end to "this session, that you may have an opportunity to take care "of the public peace in your several counties, and to keep a "vigilant eye over those, who may have a desire to disturb it; "but of this you will have less occasion to be apprehensive, if 66 you shall use your endeavours to cultivate that, which will be your best security against all foreign and domestic enemies, "and which for that reason I must in a special manner, recom

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6th Geo. c. v.

The lieutenant's speech was made on the 2d of November, 1719. And on the 10th of the preceding August, the jealousy of the Catholics at the favour shewn to the Dissenters, was very much encreased by the answer of his majesty to the address of the commons in favour of the Dissenters. 3 Journ. Com. p. 216. "His majesty is glad to find them (his faithful commons) sensible of "the danger of the Established Church of Ireland, from the great number of Papists and other disaffected persons, hoping this consideration will incline them to enter upon such methods as may make the Protestant Dissenters "not only more easy, but also more useful to the support of the constitution "both in church and state, and will prove a great addition of strength to the "Protestant interest." It would certainly have been more politic, and fully as decent, had his majesty's servants recommended an attention to the general interest of Ireland, in lieu of an exclusive attention to the Protestant interest, which formally shut out the interest of three fourths of the people. His present majesty was the first English monarch who took a share in the interests of the whole people of Ireland.

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"mend to you in the words of one of those excellent bills passed "this day, I mean, an union in interest and affection amongst "ALL his majesty's subjects." Unfortunately for the people of Ireland the words of the statute were operative and lasting those of the lord lieutenant insidious, false, and transient: but the speech of the lieutenant acquired instant circulation: the people read, what they never experienced: and they smarted under what they never read. When the Duke of Grafton closed the next session of parliament, in the same spirit of harshness and mistrust towards a people, which had evinced such eminent steadiness to the new family on the throne, he told them;*"I persuade myself that the same principles, which "have influenced your actions in parliament, will excite you to put the laws in execution, when you return to your several ❝ counties. I think it incumbent upon me, particularly to recommend it to you, to keep a watchful eye over the Papists, "since I have reason to believe, that the number of Popish "priests is daily encreasing in this kingdom, and already far "exceeeds what by the indulgence of the law is allowed." Neither the austerity of government towards the Catholics, nor its invidious predilection and indulgence to the Dissenters, nor the lapse of time, nor any intermediate circumstance, that threatened danger to the establishment, could relax the fervour or shake the steadiness of their loyalty and zeal for the house of Hanover. The same noble duke in opening the session in 1723, rendered to the Catholics, perhaps an inadvertent, certainly not an unimportant eulogy, upon the actual confidence placed in their loyalty in the very achme of alarm and danger. The traitorous projects (said his grace) "that were near ripe "for execution the last year, made it advisable to call for six "regiments of foot from Ireland, and as the scene of blood and "confusion, that was then opening in Great Britain must have soon reached this country, his majesty could not more effectu"ally shew his tender regard for his subjects, than by ordering "that seasonable reinforcement for securing peace in that part "of his majesty's dominions." And it is singular, that in the very speech, which proved, that the Catholics were so little suspected of disaffection to the government, as to make it advisable and safe, to send six regiments from Catholic Ireland, for the defence of Protestant Britain, his grace added,† “ I cannot "but think it a matter deserving your serious attention, to pro"vide some laws for the further strengthening of the Protes"tant interest of this kingdom, particularly for preventing more effectually the eluding of those in being against Popish priests,

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* 3 Journ. Com. p. 314. † 3 Journ. Com, p. 314.

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