Ireland in no other Manner than as a Member of the English Empire We agree with him that all the Rights and Liberties of English-men were granted to the People of Ireland that they had the Privilege of holding Parliaments and in short that they had a Compleat Jurisdiction and Form of Government settled and allow'd to be exercis'd among them as far as was requisite for the well-governing and regulating the particular Management of the affairs of so considerable a People that were now become a Member of the English Empire and were seperated by Sea from the Seat of the Supream Government Yet all this must be understood to be no otherwise than in Subordination to the Supream Authority of England which is Evident not only from the Reason of the thing but also from the Practice that hath always been Observ'd Can it consist with Reason to believe that any powerful Government should subdue another Nation much inferiour to them in strength place a Colony of their own people among them make them Denizons and endow them in all the Privileges of their own Subjects and yet because they gave them their Laws and constituted the very same Manner of Government among them as was exercis'd by themselves that therefore they could not be in any Subordination to the Kingdom that thus far subdu'd and settled them but must ever after be esteem'd as a People fixt upon a distinct Foundation and as much seperated from them as they were in the state of Nature Sure this is too absurd to be insisted on But the constant practice which hath been us'd in the Administration of that Government from the first times of their becoming a Member of our Empire shews that the Kings of England did never treat them as a Propriety of their own and distinct from the Jurisdiction of this Kingdom were not these Magna Charta's as his own Authorities prove given with the Advice of the Privy Council of England and have they not always had Governours sent them from hence whether under the Title of Lords Lieutenants Deputies Justices Presidents or otherwise and that not by the King alone but nominated in the Privy-Coâ—ncil and have not these Governours been accountable to our Parliaments for any Male-administration there All the prime Motions and Supream Managements of their Government are likewise consulted and directed by the King in his Privy-Council here such as the Calling Proroguing or Dissolving of their Parliaments and the Approving all their Acts the Sending over and Establishing what English Forces shall be kept there the Appointing all Officers Military and Civil c. Is this like a Separate Kingdom an Independent Government or a Neighbour Nation as free as in the State of Nature Can any Man be so ignorant as to maintain that the Privy-Council of England may have Authority where the Supream Legislature the Parliament hath none Doth this leave room to say that England and Ireland though govern'd under one and the same Supream Head yet are as seperate and distinct in their jurisdictions as are the Kingdom of England and Scotland at this day The Privy-Council of England never intermeddle in the Business of Scotland the King transacts the affairs of that Kingdom through the Hands of the Scotch Secretaries who always attend him in England the Royal Family of the Stuarts were their Lawful Kings and when our King Iames the First succeeded as Right Heir to the Kingdom of England although he remov'd his Residence hither because this was the much more Considerable Kingdom yet no alteration could thereby be made upon their Jurisdiction but the Constitution of their Government remain'd as entire within themselves as before but this Author himself hath sufficiently made out that the Accession of Ireland to England was in such a manner as totally abolish'd their former Constitution if they had any and subjected them to become a Member of the English Monarchy I think I have said enough of these Matters already to set them in a truer Light than this Gentleman hath represented them and shall not give my self the Trouble to Remark divers other Passages which result from the same Erroneous Way of Arguing nor to meddle with his long History of what English Laws and in what manner they were introduc'd into Ireland more than to argue some few Points with him He says If we now enquire what were those Laws of England that became thus establisht in Ireland Surely we must first reckon the great Law of Parliaments c. Is it not the highest Sanction of the Parliamentary Authority that all the Subjects of the Empire must obey its Supream Decrees In receiving then this great Law of Parliaments were not the People of Ireland for ever obliged as well as to all its former Statutes so also to whatever it should for the future enact concerning the whole Empire in which they now became comprehended But Mr. Molyneux means that Law whereby all Laws receive their Sanction The free Debates and Consent of the People by themselves or by their chosen Representatives His drift in this is to perswade us that because it was granted to Ireland to hold a Parliament within themselves by their own Representatives that therefore they ought not to be in any Subjection to the Parliament of England wherein they have no Representatives and 't is upon this Point that he mightily values himself in much of his after Discourse yet he cann't tye this Knot so fast but that it may well enough be undone This Parliament of theirs could not be granted them further than for the managing their own Affairs among themselves but the Supream Legislature of the whole Body must be permanent and fixt in its Head according to the first Constitution and cannot be divided or granted away to any Member or Members of the Body Can any thing grant away it self A Father may grant his Son a great deal of Liberty but he can never make any grant to divest himself of his paternal Relation But Mr. Molyneux can have no Notion of Liberty if a Man may be bound by Laws whereto he hath not given his Consent by either himself or his Chosen Representative A little Distinction now will make us agree this Matter 'T is yet no Oppression upon him if he neglects to constitute a Representative when the Privilege of doing it is not taken away from him If a Man go abroad and stay many years out of his own Countrey shall he not be bound by the Laws made by the Community in his absence because he gave no Assent neither in his Person nor by his Representative In like manner if a Colony be settled abroad shall not the Legislature of their Mother Countrey bind them if they think fit to Enact concerning them because they had no Representatives in it Yes very reasonably for that they are still Fellow-Subjects of the Community and if they are permitted to live abroad for their Convenience the main Body of this their
imparted to me by a very Learned and Observing Gentleman of our House of Commons whose Credit I can relye on without troubling my self to search the Records and I doubt not but Mr. Attwood hath been much fuller in this particular though I deny my self the reading his Book till my own be perfected The Statute of York 12 Ed. 1st Enacts Laws to be observed in England and Ireland 11 Ed. 3. cap. 3. Prohibits any Cloaths to be brought into England Ireland Wales and Scotland for we then claim'd a Dominion over Scotland also but such as were made in the King's Dominions upon pain of Forfeiture 27 Ed. 3. Erects Staple-Towns in Ireland 34 E. 3. cap. 17. Enacts that Merchâ—â—nts Aliens or Denizons may come into Ireland with their Merchandize and freely return 43 Ed. 3. cap. 1. The Staples of Ireland c. shall be kept at the places where they were first ordain'd 1 Hen. 6. cap. 3. Enacts that the Irish that have Benefices or Offices in Ireland shall abide there upon their Benefices and Offices upon the pain of forfeiting the Profits of their Benefices and Offices for the Defence of Ireland and mentions the like Law made the 1st of Hen. 5th From these and many other instances it evidently appears that England hath always exercis'd a Legislative Iurisdiction over Ireland whenever fit Occasions have made it necessary I have also seen the Irish Acts of Settlement and Explanation and though Mr. Molyneux says that they plainly shew that the Parliament of Ireland may repeal an Act pass'd in England yet I find nothing like it in those Acts but on the contrary the King's Declaration which is of the Body of the Act of Settlement although it takes Notice that the Estates and Possessions enjoy'd by the Adventurers would prove very defective if they were examined by the Letter of the Law because they had not strictly pursu'd and observ'd those Acts of 42 from which they deriv'd their Title yet 't is made the first Business of this Act to confirm these Adventurers in the Inheritance of all the Estates allotted them by virtue of those English Acts of Parliament and 't is provided that if they should be obliged to restore any of those Lands to Innocents they should be first repriz'd to the full Value out of other forfeited Lands What more could be desired to shew the utmost regard to those English Acts of Parliament 'T is true indeed that the Act of Explanation retrenches one Third of the Allotments made to the Adventurers but this could not be construed as any Breach upon the English Acts for if they had taken a greater share than the Lands that remain'd forfeited would amount to 't was but reasonable to reduce them to a just proportion So that here again Mr. Molyneux hath evidently strain'd this Suggestion beyond the Truth of the Fact I have indeed remark'd these things at large in their places but as some more perfect Informations have since come to my Hand I thought they might not improperly be hinted here for the obviating the too great Opinion of Mr. Molyneux's performance with which some may yet remain praepossess'd and preparing them to entertain my Answer with the less prejudice I have heard indeed that 't is not to Mr. Molyneux alone that we are beholding for this Notion but that it hath for several Years past been talk'd on among several of your People and he hath only reduâ—'d it into form and now at last brought it forth into the World and you may observe by the Votes of our last Parliament that they were of the Opinion that several Resolves of your House of Commons gave Encouragement to the publishing of this Book But I would yet hope that many of that Assembly were not so far appriz'd of the Matter as wittingly to Design the doing any thing that should give so great an Offence to England Yet I can assure you from the Conversation I have had with several of the Members of our House of Commons that although they had not Leisure to proceed further upon this Business in their last Sessions 't is however very probable that it may be taken into Consideration again by the ensuing Parliament as a Matter which if it be not check'd in time may produce very ill Effects And you cannot but be sensible of the Dangerous Consequences of breaking the fair Correspondence and firm Confidence that ought always to be maintain'd between the Head Government and its Members and that when Misunderstandings and Iealousies are once entertain'd they are too apt to be improv'd into Extreams on both sides You know also that you have an Old Enemy near you who would be ready enough to entertain hopes of Advantage to themselves from any such Iarrings And you must needs acknowledge that 't is an imprudent thing to provoke those that have not only Right but also Power to support it It hath been an usual Policy with some other Governments to keep so strict a Hand over their Colonys as not to suffer the Criolians or People born there to bear any Considerable Office or Command therein but the Government of England hath not dealt so â—ardly by you and doubtless it will be always your Interest to prevent the giving any Occasion to distrust your Fidelity and to think it may be needful to treat you with more Caution I should think therefore that you cannot do your selves a greater Right than in the next Sessions of your Parliament not only to Censure this Book but utterly to Disclaim also the Notion of your being a Kingdom so absolute within your selves as to be wholly independent of the Kingdom of England I hope I have been able in my following Discourse to Convince any reasonable Person that it cannot be so and that instead of doing you any good 't would tend to your Destruction to have it thought so Yea and if you should Recognize your selves to be a Colony of England as I have shewn that you cannot be lookt upon under any other Consideration I believe nothing can be more agreeable to your Circumstances or better support your Title to what you enjoy in that Country It would also be well worth your Thoughts whether it might not be fit for you to shew your Readiness to Contribute something according to your Ability towards the Reimbursing of England a part of the vast Charge they have been at in recovering that Country and restoring you to your Estates whereby you may possibly prevent the Parliament of England's requiring it of you for I can tell you that since Mr. Molyneux hath started the Thought some of the most considerable Members of our House of Commons â—ave talk'd on 't I have no ill will to Ireland I have had the Honour to have been in Conversation with many of you for whom I have the utmost Respect and personal Esteem and I have been sorry to see so much of an Inclination in some worthy Persons to favour this Opinion of Mr.
will never think the publishing a Book to the World which is little better than Sheba's Trumpet of Rebellion to be a fair way of stating Grievances but that 't is a part of their Business and their Glory when they think it worth their while to call such Authors to account for their Boldness I begin now with his Book which as near as possible I shall follow in order and for the Authorities which he hath quoted I shall leave them to him very little disturb'd but take them as he gives them whether they are right or wrong only making such Observations as may result therefrom or from his own Reasonings He begins with a very fine Complement again to the Parliament of England and then take upon him to give them Due Information in matters wherein as he says another People are chiefly concern'd and tells them that he could never imagine that such great Assertors of their own could ever think of making the least breach upon the Rights and Liberties of their Neighbours unless they thought that they had Right so to do and that they might well surmise if these Neighbours did not expostulate the matter and this therefore seeing all others are silent he undertakes to do but with the greatest deferrence imaginable because he would not be wanting to his Country or indeed to all Mankind for he argues the cause of the whole Race of Adam Liberty seeming the Inherent Right of all Mankind Now it seems from Children of the same Parent we are become another People and Neighbours the Irish may be said to be another People though they have not been very good Neighbours to us sometimes but the English we may justly challenge to be our own and not another People and we shall hardly admit them to be our Neighbours in such a sense as that we should transact with them in Matters of Government upon the same foot and at equal distance with our Neighbours of France Holland c. If they expect this from us I hope they 'll shew us the respect of sending their Ambassadours to us and do this Champion of their Liberties the Honour to let him be the first Can he think the Parliament of England will believe themselves to be civilly treated by him because of his fine Words when he is Suggesting to the World as if they acted so unadvisedly in their Councils as to proceed upon Surmises and to take upon them to do what they do but think they have a Right to when indeed they have none at all But doubtless Manking will ever have a higher Veneration for those August Assembles than to think them as subject to be mistaken in these Matters as one presuming single Gentleman But he argues for Liberty the right of all Mankind A Glorious Topick indeed and worthy of the utmost Regard especially from such great Assertors of it as an English Parliament But if People should ask for more then ever was their Due and challenge a Liberty of acting every thing they should think for their own profit thought it were to the Damage and Injury of others to grant this would be an Injustice and a sinful Liberty may as well be pleaded for such Expostulations as these are abominable and to assume such an equality with our Superiours as was never granted us is an Arrogance that might rather have been expected from 〈◊〉 Irish than an English Man And after all this 't is not enough for a Man to say If the great Council of England resolve the contrary he shall then believe himself to be in an Error and with the lowest Submission ask Pardon for his Assurance and he hopes he shall not be hardly censured by them when at the same time he declares his Intention of a submissive Acquiescence in whatever they resolve for or against Such Subjects as these as I have said before are beyond the Bounds of Modesty and cannot admit of any such Apologies He comes now to tell us the Subject of his Disquisition shall be how far the Parliment of England may think it reasonable to intermedâ—le with the Affairs of Ireland and bind up those People by Laws made in their House This is certainly a very odd stating the Question What need has he now to enquire since he knows already how for the Parliament of England have thought it reasonable to intermeddle Another Blunder as bad as this is his Talking of Laws made in their House Dotâ— he not know that our Laws are not made without the Concurrence of Two Houses and the Assent of the King also as the Third Estate But we will take his Meaning to be to enquire how far it may be reasonable for the Parliament of England to intermeddle c. and join Issue upon that Next he gives us fix Heads from which he undertakes to argue that they can have no such power For the First He pretends to give us the History of the first Expedition of the English into Ireland his Design being to shew That the first Adventurers went over thither yet with the King's License upon a private Vndertaking in which they were successful but that afterwards when King Henry the 2d came over with an Army the Irish generally submitted to him and received him to be their King without making any Opposition from whence he seems to suggest that Ireland subjected it self only to the King but not to the Kingdom of England But he should have considered that the Government of England was a limited Monarchy which was sufficiently acknowledg'd even by William the 1st commonly call'd the Conqueror in his Swearing to preserve the Liberties and Privileges of the People at his Coronation and confirming the same to them by his Charter and though he did indeed afterwards violate them in a greater measure than ever they had been before or since yet neither he nor his Successors did ever take upon themselves to be absolute Monarchs The great Power and Prerogative of an English King then can only be due to them as to the Supream Magistrate and Head of the Kingdom and not in any seperate propriety annext to their Persons as distinct from the Common-Wealth If then Henry the Second carried over an Army of English into Ireland it ought to be considered as the Army of the Kingdom for it is held as a Principle with us that no King of England may raise any Forces in this Kingdom but what are allow'd to be the Forces of the Kingdom I am not here arguing whether ever any King did or did not take upon him such an Authority but 't is sufficient for me to offer that he could not by right and according to this Authors own way of arguing what may not be done of Right ought not to be argued or brought into President if our Rights have at at any time been invaded and usurp'd upon this Nation hath had many Opportunities of Vindicating them and we do not believe that what we enjoy
it may be really so or may be not so for all its Venerable Ancient Appearance we can conclude with no more Certainty than he leaves it only we may believe from the Credit of the Arguments produced by his Nephew Samuel Dopping 's Father the Reverend and Learned Doctor Dopping late Bishop of Meath that this old Modus was found in the Treasury of Waterford by my Lord Longford's Grandfather My Reader may perhaps think me as impertinent in this Repetition but I do it to shew that I have in this abbreviated about nine of his pages which offers no more of Argument to the Matter than that Henry the Second settled the Kingdom of Ireland under the very same Coustitution of Governmâ—nt with England and this we should as readily have granted as he could have propos'd and 't is sufficiently to our purpose that he hath abundantly prov'd That all Ranks and Orders of the Irish did unanimously agree to submit themselves to the Government of the King of England That they did thankfully receive the Laws of England and swear to be governed thereby and I know not what hath releas'd them from any part of that Obligation to this day himself owning that There cann't be shewn a more fair Original Compact than this between Henry the Second and the People of Ireland and we have desired no more from them than that they should continue to be so governed He tells us It is manifest that there were no Laws imposed on the People of Ireland by any Authority of the Parliament of England nor any introduced by Henry the Second but by the Consent and Allowance of the People of Ireland and that both the Civil and Ecclesiastical State were settled there Regiae Sublimitatis Authoritate not only this but the manner of holding Parliaments also to make Laws of their own which is the Foundation and Bulwark of the Peoples Liberties and Properties was directed and established there by Henry the Second as if 〈◊〉 were resolved that no other Person or Persons should be the Founders of the Government of Ireland but himself and the Consent of the People who submitted themselves to him against all Persons whatsoever Was it fit for the King to have carried a Parliament about with him or because he had not a Parliament there must it follow therefore that their Authority could never have any concern in what was done The King was now abroad with the Forces of the Kingdom and 't is not to be suppos'd that his own Authority was not sufficient to make Terms with the Enemy if they submitted we do not pretend that the Power of our King is limited at that rate yet whatever Submission is made to his Person on such Occasions is doubtless virtually made as to the Supream Authority of the Kingdom and that I believe every Body will allow to be in our Constitution the King Lords and Commons in all whom the Legislature resides and not in either separate from the rest The King may be said to be vested with the Power of the whole in the Civil and Military Administration of the Government and yet whatsoever is acted or acquired under his Authority as King of England must doubtless be esteemed to be for the Account of the Nation and not in any Propriety peculiar to himself To talk then As if the Parliament had nothing to do in this Transaction and that King Henry the Second acted in it as if he were resolv'd that no other Person or Persons should be the Founders of the Government of Ireland but himself is Language not becoming an Englishman and I wonder that this Author could have so little Sense of what he was about when he said this for in the very next Paragraph but one he gives us an Instance which shews beyond all Contradiction that King Henry himself had no such Opinion of his own Seperate Authority And now he comes to the Matter and tells us that King Henry about the 23d â—ear of his Reign and five Years after his Return from Ireland creates his Younger Son John King of Ireland at a Parliament held at Oxford and that by this Donation Ireland was most eminently set apart again as a seperate and distinct Kingdom by it self from the Kingdom of England and did so continue until the Kingdom of England descended and came unto King John after the Death of his Brother Richard the First which was about 22 years after his being made King of Ireland during which time and whilst his Father and Brother were successively reigning in England he made divers Grants and Charters to his Subjects of Ireland wherein he stiles himself Dominus Hiberniae and in some Dominus Hiberniae Comes Meritoniae by which Charters both the City of Dublin and divers other Corporations enjoy many Privileges and Franchises to this day We know that diâ—ers of our Kings have at several Times granted out Parcels of their Dominions to their Sons or Subjects and endowed them with many Royal Privileges yet always as Feudatories of the Empire after the same manner so much anciently practised in most Kingdoms of Europe such have been in England the Principality of Wales the Counties Palatine of Chester Lancaster and Durham and what was much less considerable than these the Isle of Man was given with the Title of King in Man which was more than King Iohn had which continues in the Earls of Darby at this day In like manner also have Proprietoryships been granted to the Settlers of Colonies in America in our time and such and no other was this Grant of King Henry the Second to his Son Iohn but what is very remarkable in this Case is that this Grant was made in Parliament Did ever Man so expose himself in Print what he hath been endeavouring to prove is that the Irish were never so conquered by Henry the Second as to give the Parliament of England any Jurisdiction over them and yet here he tells us that this same King Henry created his Son Iohn King of Ireland in a Parliament at Oxford which to word it in the Stile of this time is to say that about the twenty third Year of Henry the 2d an Act of Parliament was made at Oxford by which Iohn the younger Son of the said King was Created King of Ireland Is it possible to think upon a greater Instance in which the Authority of a Parliament over a People can be exerted than this of creating a King to rule them and that without ever asking their Consent and is it not plain from this that King Henry himself did never esteem the Submission of the Irish to have been made to him in respect of his Person according to this Author 's New Doctrine but in respect of the Kingdom which he govern'd otherwise why did he not make a King of Ireland by his own Authority rather than thus eclipse his Power and Right if he had it by submitting it to be
their Jurisdiction be much less than that of Ireland yet it is a certain Jurisdiction so firmly establisht as that it 's held that it cannot lawfully be taken away or altered by any Power in England but the Supream Legislature and that it must stoop to and the same the Lord Chief Justice Cook says of this distinct Dominion of Ireland that notwithstanding it hath a Power Jurisdiction and Authority which is compleat within it self yet it must pay Obedience to the Supream Legislature of England whenever any Extraordinary Occasion shall make it needful for that to name it specially and therefore the Tenour of his Judgment upon this whole Matter shews that by his terming them no part of the Kingdom of England because they have such a distinct administration among themselves he does not in the least intend that they should be lookt upon so separated as to be out of all Reach of the Supream Imperial Authority of England so that in all this there appears no Inconsistency he never asserts what Mr. Molyneux assumes that the King and Parliament in Ireland is a Legislature equally as Supream as that of the King and Parliament in England and it must be very unaccountable in any one to do so who knows that all Irish Acts of Parliament must be approv'd in the Privy Council of England I 'll warrant him they 'll take care that they shall never Enact different or contrary Sanctions so that he need not from this fear the Consequence of Ireland's having two Supreams He hath one Touch more at the Lord Chief Justice Cook he quotes him saying If a King hath a Christian Kingdom by Conquest as King Henry the Second had Ireland after the Laws of England had been given them for the Government of that Country c. no succeeding King could alter the same without Parliament Which by the way seems nothing contradictory to all that Mr. Molyneux hath quoted of what he says concerning Ireland but is a farther Indication that his Opinion was always steady that the King and Parliament of England and not the King alone held the Supream Authority over Ireland And now he Hath done with this Reverend Iudge and I am very glad on 't because I doubt I have tyr'd my Reader with such an abundance that I have been forc'd to say for the Judg's Vindication but to make amends I 'll try to divert him a little by telling a short Story upon my self When I was a Boy I thought once that I had espy'd a fault in a performance of my Master's and I had the assurance to tell him on 't he first fairly convinc'd me that I had not taken the thing right and then very gravely told me with a bent Brow that 't was more like my Boyish Confidence to find Faults where none were than the Solidity of his stronger Judgment to commit such Now for Pilkington's Case The King first grants a Patent for an Office in Ireland to be held by Pilkington or his Deputy but after this the same King grants the same Office to A who who sues for it and pleads an Act of Parliament in Ireland that no Person might execute any Office there but in his own Person on pain of Forfeiture he proves that Pilkington acted by a Deputy the Iudges thereupon decide in favour of A. What 's this to the Parliament of England's Jurisdiction over Ireland it shews no more than that the Judges of Ireland were of the Opinion that the Kings Letters Patents could not over-rule an Irish Act of Parliament Indeed he tells us that in the Pleadings 't was offer'd That Ireland time out of mind had been a Land separated and distinct from England and ruled and governed by its own Customs that they could call Parliaments within themselves c. It seems two of the five Judges held this Prescription void and thô I will not dispute as it seems they did about the Word Prescription yet 't is well known that what Jurisdiction they had was granted them by the Supream Authority of England and I know no Body denies it them only we cann't admit them to strain it beyond what was ever intended It says further that Two of the Iudges affirm'd and the other three did not deny that a Tax granted in England could not affect Ireland except it be approv'd in the Parliament in Ireland This is not what we Contest about I never heard that England did ever raise Taxes upon any Members of her Empire without the Consent of their Representatives As for the Merchants of Waterford's Case we have both said enough to that already That of the Prior of Lanthony in Wales comes next He sues the Prior of Mollingar in Ireland for an Arrear of an Annuity and obtains Iudgment against him both in the Common-Pleas and Kings-Bench in Ireland Mollingar Appeals to the Parliament in Ireland and they Revers'd both Iudgments upon this Lanthony removes all into the King's Bench in England but that Court would not meddle in it as having no Power over what had pass'd in the Parliament of Ireland Lastly He Appeal'd to the Parliament of England and it does not appear that they did any thing in it What of all this The Court of King's-Bench in England although they had Authority to determine upon Matters brought before them by Writ of Error out of Ireland yet they did not believe they had any Power over the Parliament of Ireland Doubtless they were in the right but it seems 't was then believ'd that the English Parliament had else Lanthony had never Petition'd but it does not appear that they did any thing upon this Appeal the Petition only being entered at the end of the Roll Why that 's a plain Sign that 't was the very last thing of the Session and the Parliament was Dissolv'd Prorogu'd or something before they could go upon it or perhaps the Matter was agreed or the Prior's dead before next Sessions or fifty Reasons more that might be offer'd against his sleeveless Suggestion That the Parliament of England did not think themselves to have a Right to enquire into this Matter because nothing more than the Petition is found upon Record but I 'll tell him a better Reason of our side 't is not probable that they would have receiv'd the Petition if they did not believe they had Right to decide upon it The next thing is about the Acts of Recognition and this he begins with an ingenious Confession That the Kingdom of Ireland is inseparably annext to the Imperial Crown of England and the Obligation their Legislature lies under by Poyning's Act makes this Tye indissoluble This is enough to make out all our Pretensions upon them 't is strange to see a Man writing a Book against the Natural Consequences when yet he so easily agrees upon the Premises The Imperial Crown of England denotes the Supream Authority of the Kingdom the Material Crown is but a Badge of this
Authority and is given to the King not as his own separate Propriety but as an Ensign of the Authority which he enjoys as Head of the Kigdom if any Body should steal this Material Crown and break it to pieces as Bloud did the Supream Authority of the King and Kingdom remains entire and inviolated This Supream Authority always resides in the Legislature which in our Constitution is inseparably vested in the King Lords and Commons there can be no annexing to the Imperial Crown of England distinct from the Supream Imperial Authority of the Kingdom if any Territory shall be annext to this Imperial Crown it must become a Member of the Empire otherwise 't is no annexing and because there can be but one Supream Legislature every Member or part of the Empire must be in some Subordination to that Supream Legislature whatsoever other Jurisdiction it may retain as necessary to its own particular Regulations within it self otherwise it can be no Member but must remain a perfect Body of it self I think these are Positions that won't easily be disprov'd and we have a compleat Instance of them in the Kingdoms of Scotland and Ireland as they stand related to England Scotland is an ancient distinct and saving the old Pretensions of England upon them independent Kingdom hath an Imperial Crown of its own worn by a long Succession of Kings whose Posterity came to inherit the Kingdom of England and remove their Seat hither yet 't was not in their Power to annex the Kingdoms without their Joint Consent so that they remain an intire Sovereign Kingdom govern'd according to their own Constitution without any Subordination to England to this day and therefore in the late Happy Revolution when King William and Queen Mary had obtain'd the intire possession of the Crown of England they did not pretend to that of Scotland 'till the States of that Kingdom had conferr'd it upon them by a free Election On the contrary Ireland whatever it was anciently was no intire Kingdom when the English first took Possession of it but divided into many Jurisdictions under Petty Princes it had never any Diadem or Ensign of Royalty that ever I could hear of it was entirely subdued and brought under the English Government by Conquest as all Authors except Mr. Molyneux agree it was brought into the form of a Kingdom and afterwards had that Title conferr'd upon it and was endow'd with Laws and a Constitution of Government by the Authority of England who from the Beginning reserv'd and exercis'd a Superiority over them and Mr. Molyneux being quite mistaken in the Grant made to King Iohn it was never separated from being a Member of the Empire of England but even as Mr. Molyneux confesses remains annext to it to this day The Supream Legislature of England then in being presented the Title of it to King William and Queen Mary at the same time with that of England without asking the leave of the People of Ireland in like manner they have proclaim'd all the English Kings with that Title at their first Accession and have as he owns concluded Ireland in all Acts of Recognition What if the Parliaments of Ireland have also recogniz'd 't was but to own their Allegiance our Kings were as effectually vested in the Dominion over Ireland before by the Authority of England and double doing in such a Case can be no harm neither can this be any Argument to prove Their having all Iurisdiction to an Absolute Kingdom belonging or that they are not subordinate to any Legislative Authority on Earth Now he tells us As the Civil State of Ireland is thus absolute within it self likewise so is the Ecclesiastical and just so it is but that is without any absoluteness in either The multitude of the Native Irish and the Old English were doubtless very averse to the Establishment of the Reformed Religion because they have continued Româ—n Catholicks ever since and yet this Reformation was begun there by no other Authority than an Order of the King and Council in England to the Lord Deputy to Cause the Scriptures and the Common Prayers to be us'd there in the English Tongue from whence 't is evident that they did not then think their own Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction so absolute as that they could oppose it to the Authority of England He quotes a Record out of Reyley That Edward the Second upon a Motion of his Parliament at Westminster had sent his Letters Patents to the Lord Iustice of Ireland that he should Order that the Irish might enjoy the Laws of England concerning Life and Member From whence he infers That the Parliament did not then think that they had Iurisdiction in Ireland otherwise they would have made a Law themselves to this effect Can this be any more than an Instance of what I have all along said that our Parliaments have always been willing to leave the Peopâ—e of Ireland as much as possible to the Exercise of their own Form of Government in Matters relating to themselves and not to interpose their own Supream Authority but upon Extraordinary Occasions wherein the Welfare of the whole was concerned But can it be any Argument that they thought they had no such Authority because they did not think â—it on this Occasion to use it Mr. Molyneux finds that the lying of a Writ of Error from the King's Bench in England on a Judgment given in the King's Bench in Ireland lyes heavy upon him and therefore he labours mightily and turns it every way to get rid on 't first he says 't is The Opinion of several Learned in the Laws of Ireland that this is founded on an Act of Parliament in Ireland which is lost How Learned soever this Opinion may be I am sure 't is not very Judiciously offer'd here for no Body will believe that the Legislature of a Kingdom that thought it self absolute could do so foolish a thing as to make a Law themselves that should put them under the Administration of another Kingdom in so high a point as the Controuling all their Judicatures and therefore if ever they made such an Act of Parliament 't is not to be doubted but that at that time they were very sensible that whatsoever Authority they had among themselves was all deriv'd from and in perpetual Subordination to the Supream Authority of England Indeed he comes and says after That this Suit is made to the King only the matter lies altogether before him and the Party complaining applyes to no part of the Political Government of England for Redress but to the King of Ireland only who is in England That the King only is sued to the Law books make plain c. for above two Pages Fine very fine spun are these Arguments but withal so extream â—light that they won't hang together If the King was ever us'd to â—it there in Person was there not always four English Judges constituted in that Court whom
Mother Country must not be hindred from acting what they shall find necessary for the Common Good because of their absence even although it should respect themselves and this without depriving them of any their Just Rights because their Liberty and Privilege still remain'd to them of choosing their Representatives to the Supream Legislature and they might have exercis'd it if they had stay'd at home and may again whenever they 'll please to come in place They have indeed an Authority delegated to them from the Head to Enact such Laws in their Settlement as may be requisite for the Circumstance of that place but no such Privilege can ever be extended to rescind and abrogate their Allegiance and Subjection to the Head of the Empire But I shall come to Enlarge further upon this by and by And now to go on with Mr. Molyneux He speaks of two Acts made by the Parliament of Ireland viz. 10th Hen. 4. and 29th Hen. 6. wherein it was Enacted That the Statutes made in England should not be of force in that Kingdom unless they were allow'd and published there by Parliament It is not impossible but that in those days there might be some People there who were of this Gentleman's stamp for assuming as much power as they could right or wrong if they could but colour it under the specious pretence of their Ancient Rights and Privileges and they might think the Reigns of those two Princes a Favourable Conjuncture for such an Attempt The first of them got the Crown of England by his Sword and manag'd things as smoothly and easily as possible and perhaps never thought himself so secure as to exert the utmost Authority of his Government on every Occasion that might offer Henry the Sixth was a weak Prince govern'd and manag'd at different times by the two Factions of York and Lancaster from whence arise Civil Wars and his own Deposing A better time could never happen than during the Troublesome Reign of this King to attempt such Innovations But what if the Parliament of Ireland did enact a Law derrogating from the Authority of the Parliament of England could this abate any thing of that Right which England had before But 't is plain that if they did any such thing they did but think that English Acts of Parliament could not in any case bind Ireland for 't is certain both from the Reason of the thing and former Practice that in some Cases they might and did and even in the Second Year of this King Henry the Sixth as he quotes it the Staple Act expresly naming Ireland was made surely the Parliament of England must consist of much more Considerable Men than the Parliament of Ireland in those days could and they were most likely to know best what they had to do And it seems as if the People of Ireland themselves had no Opinion of the Validity of these invalidating Acts in Mr. Molyneux's Sense because they did not plead them in Bar of the Staple Act in the Case of the Merchants of Waterford which he gives us hereafter There is yet much more reason to believe that these Statutes were made on the very Occasion which he hints to remove Scruples or satisfie the Judges in relation to some Laws for the administration of Justice that were extant in England and they might have some doubt whether they ought not also to obtain there since the generality of the English Statutes were reciev'd in Ireland and therefore the Parliament of Ireland for the clearing any such difficulty for the future might possibly declare that such Statutes were not of force there 'till they had been establisht by them And I may easily grant him that the End and Intent of the Institution of a Parliament in Ireland was that as they were separated from England by the Sea they should have Authority to make and adapt Laws among themselves suitable to their own Circumstances and fit for the well-ordering of the Affairs of that Kingdom and therefore the Parliament of England did not think fit to impose upon them such Laws as were from time to time enacted suitable to the Occasioâ—s of the Realm of England but left the People of Ireland at Liberty to choose or refuse such as they thought fit and from this Reason it must be that so many of the English Statutes as he instances have been introduc'd into Ireland by passing them into Laws in their own Parliament The generous English Constitution doth not impose any Laws of this Nature or for raising Taxes upon any of the Subjects of their Dominions without their own Consent by their Representatives this is The Great Charter of English-men And because 't was thought that the People of Ireland could not conveniently send Representatives to the Parliament in Englaand they were therefore authorized to hold Parliaments among themselves for the tranâ—acting such Affairs we allow it to all our Colonies in America and even Wales after their submitting to the Government of England was not Taxt 'till they were admitted to send their Representatives to Parliament This I speak of such Laws which regard the administration of Commutative Justice regulating their own particular Affairs or raising Taxes But there is yet a higher kind of Law inherent in the Constitution whether it may be call'd the Law of Parliaments or the Common Law I leave it to Men of more Judgment in these Matters than my self to define it but I mean that which comprehends the Subjects of the whole Empire and must be of Authority to ordain certain Regulations which shall be binding upon the Whole in extraordinary Cases where the well-being of the Universality is concern'd England must be allow'd to be the Head of this Empire from whence all its Members do derive their Being and must depend for their Support and Protection the Riches which she attracts from the Benefit of her Forreign Trade is the only means she hath to support her Power and maintain such Fleets and Armies as are requisite for the Defence of all her Territories she must therefore prosecute all justifyable Methods for the preserving her Commerce and hath the utmost reason to restrain her Members from any prejudicial interfering with her in her Trade because this hath a direct Tendency to weaken her Power and render her incapable of supporting the great Charge of her Government For this end then or the like Extraordinary Occasions those Laws have been made by which the distant Dominions are bound and such have been the Acts of Navigation the Acts for hindering the Transportation of Wools from Ireland to Forreign Parts c. And though these Statutes are enacted when the Occasion requires yet they are not so much to be lookt upon as New Laws to use his own Expression as it were declaratory of the Supream Authority virtually inherent in and inseparably united to the Imperial Constitution and which hath been always exercis'd by this Kingdom and all other Governments that have had Colonies
as Subjects of the King are oblig'd to act nothing out of that Country against the Statutes is of such English Statutes as name Ireland for the Subject of their Debate was about a Statute wherein Ireland was named These Judges of the Exchequer do here make two Conclusions that seem contradictory First They say our Laws don't bind them but that is in respect of things transacted within themselves wherein the Parliament of England don't meddle but then in the Second Place They say our Statutes did bind the People of Ireland in Matters not relating to what was done within themselves and therefore they Concluded that this Statute did because they were particularly named else there had been no such Dispute about it and this reconciles both these Conclusions Soon afterwards as is aforesaid when this Cause came to have a Second Hearing before the Judges in the Exchequer Chamber the Chief Justice Hussey declar'd That the Statutes made in England shall bind those of Ireland to which the other Iudges agreed without saying much against it But doubtless this Opinion is to be understood of such Statutes only which name Ireland and as to this Statute they all agree that it had its full Effect upon the People of Ireland Where then is this Erroneous Slip of the Lord Chief Justice Cook In repeating the Words of the first Opinion that Our Statutes don't bind them he Notes in a Parenthesis the Tenour of the latter Opinion unless they be especially namedâ— this is not contrary but agreeable to both the former Opinions how then doth he differ from them indeed the first Opinion says only that they should be obliged in matters done out of that Country But Hussey and Cook take no Notice of this Distinction but give their Opinion somewhat more General Cook infers that if Ireland be specially named our Statutes do bind them which still is not contrary to the Case which he cites for that entirely agrees with him excepting only in this difference he infers that Ireland is bound that asserts that the People of Ireland as Subjects of the King are bound the Case stands stated alike to both 't is if they are named in an English Statute If this Distinction will do Mr. Molyneux any good let him enjoy it for me it sufficeth if I have shewn that the Lord Chief Justice Cook 's Assertion is not directly contrary to the whole Tenour of the Case which he hath cited He Notes that the English Statutes don't bind Ireland unless they are specially named this Case shews that because Ireland was named in it those Judges were of the Opinion that the People of Ireland as Subjects were oblig'd to pay Obedience to this Staple Act as far as it required I see therefore no contrariety to it in this his Assertion but a great deal in that of Mr. Molyneux where he says 'T was the Vnanimous Opinion of all the Iudges then in the Exchequer Chamber That within the Land of Ireland the Parliaments of England have no Iurisdiction whatever they may have over the Subjects of Ireland on the open Seas I appeal to the Words of the Opinion whether it denies that the Parliament of England hath any manner of Jurisdiction within the Land of Ireland there 's nothing in it so positive if it says that Ireland hath a Parliament within it self it Notes also that 't is only for ordering of Matters fit to be transacted among themselves If it says that the Statutes in England don't bind them because they have no Representatives there it may well be understood of such Statutes that are directed for the particular Occasions of England wherein Ireland is not named it doth not in the least offer at the denying the Jurisdiction of the Parliaments of England in naming Ireland for it directly concludes them to be Subjects of the King which cannot be meant in any separate Sense from the Kingdom because it says they shall be under the Obedience of the Admiral of England and the King hath no Admiralty or Navy distinct from the Kingdom Nay their quoting the lying of a Writ of Error in the Courts of Ireland after they had own'd them to have such Courts as well as a Parliament in the very same manner as those in England from the King's-Bench in England could be he here to no other purpose than to shew that England had Jurisdiction over Ireland in some Matters and certainly where England has any Authority at all it cannot be severed from the Supream Legislature But since he lays so much stress upon the Words Ad aliquam rem extra terram illam faciend though it is to be noted by the way that this Deliberation was upon a Statute respecting only matters to be done out of the Kingdom yet I 'll do him all the Reason possible and if I should take the Words in the strictest sense he puts them and grant that those Judges at that time had not considered the Matter further than to think that the Jurisdiction of the Parliaments of England did not extend to enact Laws binding within the Land of Ireland he must yet allow that Judges are sometimes mistaken in their Opinions and we do not admit their Sentences to have the force of Laws as neither will he himself the Opinions of the Lords Chief Justices Hussey and Cook if then the Reason of the thing as well as ancient Practice be quite otherwise as I hope I have sufficiently shewn in this Case we may very warrantably conclude this Opinion of these Judges to be Erroneous if they intended it in the same sense which Mr. Molynâ—ux takes it He hath not yet done with the Lord Chief Justice Cook but tells us That this Assertion is likewise inconsistent with himself in oâ—her parts of his Works where he says that the Laws of England had been granted to Ireland and thereby Ireland being of its self a distinct Dominion and no part of the Kingdom of England was to have Parliaments holdâ—n there as in England The Chief Justice might well say that Ireland had a distinct Dominion and Parliaments within themselves every Body must own it needful because of their being divided from England by the Sea that they might thereby be enabled to regulate Matters among themselves as the Circumstances of Time and Place should require May not the City of London be said to have a kind of a distinct Dominion and a sort of a Parliament held within themselves even after the Pattern of the Grand Parliament of the Kingdom the Lord Mayor after the manner of the King calls and dissolves their Assembly the Aldermen after once Chosen have Right of Session for their Lives as the House of Lords the Common Council-men resembling the House of Commons are chosen Annually by the Respective Wards like the Counties all these assemble in Common Council and there Enact Laws for the good Government of the Citizens which the Grand Parliament rarely if ever controul and though
if they are in good Earnest willing and able to pay us his Debt the Parliament of England and I hope my good Intention in this matter will obtain their Pardon for my presumption will leave them intirely at Liberty to raise it according to their Methods as regularly in their own Parliaments as he desires and this being as he says all they ask let him but publish himself in Print once more and engage to pledge his own Estate which by the way he may value the less by how much he is indebted to me and the rest of the good People of England for what we have paid to redeem it to the Publick for the performance I 'll engage not only my Estate which is somewhat to me if it be not so great as his but my Life too that the Parliament of England will assent to give them what time they please for the payment of the Principal if they can but give Security for the payment of the Interest at 6 per Cent. though the Interest of Ireland is 10 and I believe I might adventure to promise that upon the performance of such Articles they would make him as Compleat a King of Ireland as ever his King Iohn was and also give him a better Estate to support that Dignity than was given to that Prince I don't love Banter but how can a Man treat such Discourse otherwise is it not certain that we have expended more Money besides the invaluable Blood of our People in the Reductions of Ireland than all the Lands in the possession of the English are worth and yet we have been so generous to them as hitherto not to ask for one penny of Reimbursment from them But see the inconsiderateness of this Gentleman he hath been so far overseen in the saying any thing that he has Thought could give the least support to his unreasonable Argument as not only to scatter many pernicious Notions which the Irish may lay hold on to the Prejudice of the English but here also he hath started a Thought that is capable of being improv'd more to the Benefit of England than to the advantage of his own Country-men as he distinguishes the English of Ireland Is there not Reason that those who receive the greatest Benefit by the Publick Expence should contribute a proportion towards it The People of England receive but a distant advantage by the Reduction of Ireland and yet they have born the whole Charge the Protestants of Ireland have receive'd an immediate Benefit by being restored to very great and improving Estates and yet they have paid nothing the Government of England is extreamly in Debt and the Taxes will continue to lye very heavy upon the Inhabitants of England where the Means of Sustsistance is much harder but Ireland is recover'd into a flourishing Condition and through the great Plenty and Cheapness of Provisions the People there by a little abatement of their abundant way of living may spare Taxes much more easily then England What then if the Parliament of England should entertain this Thought of his and become of his Opinion that they ought to be repaid their Expences and that the People of Ireland are now in a Condition to Contribute something towards it especially since they are already become so Upish and retain so small a Sense of Gratitude for the great Support we have so lately given them as that not only this Gentleman but others also have shewn their Readiness to fly at our Heads and even threaten us with the Consequences of their Resentments for our only offering to Check their Progress in a Manufacture which cannot be carried on there but to the Ruine of England I say if upon these Considerations and so extraordinary an occasion they should require a Certain Summ from the People of Ireland I know not but that it may well consist with that Supream Authority which as I have endeavoured to shew must be of the Essence of every Compleat Empire and that it would be no Violation upon that Constitution which was given them if our Parliament should be content That in preservation of their own Rights and Liberties they may have Liberty to raise it in their own Methods regularly in their own Parliaments Perhaps Mr. Molyneux will tell us that they have a Negative upon us but he hath before put us in mind of an Unlucky Hank that our Admiralty hath on them I doubt the Gentlemen of Ireland won't be well pleas'd with me for touching upon this Point but they must reflect upon their own Advocate but for whom it had never come into my Mind and they ought not to be offended with me for answering him in such a Way as his own Arguments require I never design'd them any ill Office and if any advantage should be taken by this I am as ready as Mr. Molyneux himself for my part in it with the lowest Submission to ask their Pardon What follows next may be prefac'd with a Monstrum horrendum informe ingens cui lumen ademptum We have an Example of this in Point between England and Holland the Glorious Revolution under his present Majesty Holland in Assisting England expended Six Hundred Thousand Pounds and the English Parliament fairly repaid them It would look oddly for Holland to have insisted on disposing of Lord Powis's and other Estates by their own Laws to reimburse themselves An Example in Point then Holland must once have Conquer'd England and have ever since retain'd a Title to this Kingdom and exercis'd an Authority over us in directing all the Principal Managements of our Government Neither can there be any Semblance of their assisting us at that time with Six Hundred Thousand Pounds that Assistance was advanc'd wholly on the Credit of their Stadtholder the then Prince of Orange and the Assistance we had was only owing to him who by the Success of that Glorious Expedition came to be Elected our King and then the Parliament of England considering the Inestimable Benefit England had receiv'd by that most Happy Revolution thought it reasonable to repay them the full Charge which the States had advanc'd on this Account Besides if the Fact had been true the Dutch knew we were well able to repay them and they have had their Money to their Content but we knew that the People of Ireland if they would have beggar'd themselves could never have reimburst us and therefore we have not and perhaps then never intended to ask them for it May this be call'd an Example in point too After this can there be a more Odious Comparison than what he infers that the Dutch had as much reason to insist on the disposing Lord Powis's and other Estates as our Parliament had to meddle in the matter of the Forfeited Estates of Ireland I have sufficiently shewn how the Government of England hath a Just Right to the Forâ—eited Estates in Ireland but surely the Dutch cann't pretend to any Right to Estates forfeited in England