thus we see that how great soever that Jurisdiction was which the King in Parliament granted to his Son Iohn he yet remain'd no more than a Subject of the Kingdom of England and was treated accordingly in his being Try'd and Condemn'd by the Laws thereof Moreover it may be noted that upon his accession to the Imperial Crown of England whatever Feudatory Royalty he had before became now merg'd and extinguisht in his own Person which by reason of it's being Head and Supream could not at the same time be capable of any Feudatory Subjection so that there was an absolute determination of the Former Grant which could not agâ—in be reviv'd but by a New Donation upon another Person I hope I have now so far remov'd this main Pillar of Mr. Molyneux's Structure that I may take the Liberty as often as I shall have Occasion hereafter to deny positively that King Iohn was ever made absolute King of Ireland without any Dependance on England Here Mr. Molyneux had brought his Argument up to a pitch and concluded us under a perfect real Seperation and thus he puts it upon us let us suppose That King Richard had left Issue whose Progeny had governed England and King John 's Progeny had governed Ireland where then had been the Subordination of Ireland to the Parliament or even to the King of England Certainly no such thing could have been then pretended But this is but a Supposition and fit for none but People of his size who take up Matters by Appearances and Presumptions and assume the Confidence from thence to be positive in their Assertions giving no allowance for the possibility of being mistaken But we need not suppose in this matter but may be confident that the Supream Authority over Ireland must always have continued in the Kingdom of England as it does at this day and he hath made nothing appear to the contrary De non apparentibus non existentibus eadem est ratio Yet I cann't but remark how he enjoys himself in this Supposition when he thought he had gain'd his Point Where then had been the Subordination if any such there be it must arise from something that followed after the descent of England to King John for by that descent England might as properly be subordinate to Ireland as the Converse because Ireland had been vested in King John twenty two Years before his accession to the Crown of England Yes and 't was the ancienter Kingdom too Is it likely that King Iohn who had not before thought so well of his Kingdom of Ireland as to make it his residence but chose rather to remain where he was but a Subject when he was now become a real King of England should be so far taken with the Fancy of the ancientest Kingdom if it were so as to put the greater and by many degrees the more powerful more pleasant and more civiliz'd Kingdom in subordination to the less which was then of no Power or Consideration in the World and that he should be better pleas'd with the Stile of Lord of Ireland and King of England than that of King of England and Lord of Ireland or is it likely that England who in that very Age had subdued Ireland and added it to its Empire should now be contented to submit it self and become subordinate to Ireland so as that the Administration of the Government there should direct the grand Affairs of England is not this perfect Jesting and Fooling with Argument But he tells us If perhaps it will be said that this Subordination of Ireland to England proceeds from Ireland 's being annext to and as it were united with the imperial Crown of England by several Acts of Parliament in both Kingdoms since King John 's time This is well acknowledged for it makes out clearly that Ireland is a Kingdom as firmly united to the Kingdom of England as the Legislature of both Kingdoms could do it If he would yet distinguish between the Imperial Crown as his words are and the Kingdom I have shewn before how there cannot be any such distinction in England But though in the former Passage of Iohn's being created an Independent King by Act of Parliament he shews himself to be quite overseen and blinded by his depending so much upon it through the rest of his Argument yet he perceives plainly that a fair Inquiry into this Annexing will not turn to account for him and therefore although he is not wanting to be very particular and exact in his Numerous Quotations of other Authorities yet here he is cautious of imparting any further Light into this matter than just to tell us there are several such Acts of Parliament both in England and Ireland Surely these English Acts might be said to be binding upon Ireland and therefore too they must be conceal'd and we shan't have one Word of them anon when he pretends to reckon up all those Statutes that the English Parliaments have made to affect Ireland And I cann't find that he meddles with it any more tho' he says that He shall enquire more fully hereafter how this operates But for the present he only tells us That he conceives little more is effected by these Statutes than that Ireland shall not be alien'd or seperated from the King of England who cann't hereby dispose of it otherwise than in Legal Succession along with England and that whoever is King of England is ipso Facto King of Ireland and the Subjects of Ireland are oblig'd to obey c. Doth not this strongly assert the Parliamentary Authority If he had said that it should not be alienated or separated from the Kingdom he had spoken English and set the matter right but if he will insist upon so fine a Conceit as to divide between the Political Capacity of the King and the Kingdom if it be not bad English is however Language that cann't be understood in England Now he tells us of King Iohn's going again into Ireland about the Twelfth year of his Reign of England where above Twenty little Irish Kings did again do Homage and Fealty to him and he constituted the English Laws and Custâ—â—s among them placing Sheriffs and other Ministers for the Administration of Iustice to the People according to the English Laws This is a further Proof of the intire Resignation and Submission of the Irish to the Government of England He goes on King Henry the Third his King Iohn's Son in the first year of his Reign granted to Ireland one or two Magna Charta's but he owns that 't was by the Advice of his English Privy Council Let it again be Observ'd that this King did not transact this Matter by any seperate Authority but did it in his Privy Council which is exactly according to our Constitution and that being the same Method in which all the Administration of the Government of the Kingdom of England was directed it shews that those Kings govern'd
Reign Against planting Tobacâ—o in Ireland for encouraging Shipping and Navigation and for prohibiting the Exportation of Wool from Ireland to any Country except England He acknowledges Do name and bind them too so as they do not transgress them and he hath nothing to urge to take off their Efficacy but how rightfully this can be done is the Question I answer by that Right which as I have shewn before must be inherent in the Supream Legislature of the English Empire for conserving the Well-being of its Body The Acts of his present Majesties Reign he acknowledges To be such as the Necessity of the Time requir'd and to be made in their Favour but that these should be argued as a Precedent of their Submission and absolute Acquiescence in the Iurisdiction of the Parliaments of England over that Kingdom is what they complain of as an Invasion of their Legislative Right We have Reason and Precedents enough to vindicate the Just Authority of the English Parliaments in these matters and they are not under any neâ—cessity of dating this Power as commencing from the first of these Acts not over thirty seven years past so that he need not be concern'd to think that they can make any ill use of these Precedents But whatever this Gentleman's Principles may be his following Expressions seem very arrogant from a Person who at fiâ—st pretended to so much Submission but I hope the Body of the Protestants of Ireland understand their Duty and their own Interest better than to Offer at throwing off the Authority that the Kingdom of England hath for so many Ages had over them and I doubt not but they will believe The hazard of doing it would be much greater than any inconvenience they have ever found in England's way of Protecting them We are now come to his Fifth Article viz. The Opinion of the Learned in the Laws relating to this Matter And he begins with the Lord Chief Justice Cook for whose Name he bespeaks a great deal of Respect although he treats him but somewhat roughly but this seems to be the Gentleman 's particular Talent He says the Lord Chief Justice Cook quotes many Authorities to prove that Ireland is a Dominion divided and separated from England and in particular the fore-mentioned Case of the Merchants of Waterford but he finds fault with him for citing it unfaithfully and brokenly The Chief Justice doth indeed abridge it and it seems by the alteration of the Words as if he had cited it by Head not transcrib'd it out of the Book which is a thing not unusual nor to be esteem'd a fault in such Authors if they give the passage its due weight and that I think he does as to the matter for which he quotes it but what he especially blames is that the Chief Justice upon the Words of the Report That the Statutes of England don't bind them Ireland adds in a Parenthesis which is to be understood unless they be specially named and that Herein he concludes magisterially so it must be this is my definitive Sentence without giving any other Reason It is not unusual for Men of this Judges Authority when they Note their Opinion transiently not to dilate upon it if that be not the Point they are directly handling yet Mr. Molyneux confesses that In another place he gives this Assertion a Colour of Reason by saying That tho' Ireland be a distinct Dominion from England yet the Title thereof being by Coâ—quest the same by Iudgment of Law mighâ— by express Words be bound by the Parliament of England But this doth but make the Matter worse with him He hath before enquired how far Conquest gives a Title But he would fain know what Lord Cook means by Iudgment of Law whether the Law of Nature and Reason or Nations or the Civil Laws of our Common-wealths in none of which senses he conceives will he or any man be ever able to make out his Position And now he gallops away with this that there 's no stopping him for two or three pages bespattering the Chief Justice all the way and though there is a great deal of his sort of Reasoning in it yet I think it not worth the Readers Trouble to repeat more of it than That he conceives my Lord Chief Iustice Cook to have applyed himself so wholly to the Study of the Common Laws of England that he did not much enquire into the Laws of Nature and Nations else sure he could not have been guilty of so Erroneous a Slip. Nay This Assertion of his is directly contrary to the whole Tenour of the Case he cites for that very Act of Parliament on which the Iudges debated and which they deemed not to be of force in Ireland does particularly name Ireland so that here again Lord Cook 's Error appears most plainly Well if he 'll be but a little Cool we may deal well enough with him in this Matter too wherein he thinks he hath so much advantage But now after all Mr. Molyneux's Inquiries he hath not said enough to Convince me that the Lord Chief Justice Cook is in the wrong to believe that England hath a Title to Ireland by Conquest Nay I do believe further of the Chief Justice's side that that Conquest hath given her so just a Title to all that Supream Authority which she pretends to hold over Ireland as that by Judgment or in Reason of Law her Parliaments may bind Ireland if nam'd in the Law and that she is warranted therein by the Laws of Nature Reason and Nations the Civil Laws of particular Common-wealths I don't understand and also by the Fundamental Laws of the Original Constitution of the English Government and I have already endeavoured to make out this Position so clearly that I shall say no more to it here but leave the Matter referr'd to the Reader 's Judgment The Censure which he passes upon so venerable a Person as the Lord Chief Justice Cook that he must be very little acquainted with the Laws of Nature and Nations should methinks but ill become a Writer so little known in the World as Mr. Molyneux especially when in this first Essay of his he hath discovered much more of his Assurance than Judgment But now to Vindicate the Chief Justice from the gross Errors with which he Charges him we must look back again upon the Opinion of the Judges in the Exchequer-Chamber as he hath deliver'd it in Page 90 91. They were Consulting whether the Staple-Act made in England could bind the People of Ireland they argue after this manner Ireland hath a Parliament of its own which makes Law 's for the ordering Matters among themselves and therefore the Statutes made in England don't bind them by which they must mean such Statutes which are made in general Terms and for the particular Occasions of England for 't is plain that what they intend when they say that The People of Ireland
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
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
observ'd upon his way of Arguing I believe it will be found that this doughty piece of Irish Learning will appear but a very indifferent performance I would not however detract from any thing that may deserve applause and therefore must commend his smooth way of Expression and own him to be a good Master of Words but yet to have applyed them so ill will still continue him under the Censure of being much wanting either in Integrity or Judgment and makes this Book of his to deserve no better a Character than that of Vox praeterea nihil I have heard indeed that some have been taken with the seeming Modesty and Submission with which he introduces his Discourse as if it were but an innocent representation of the ancient Rights and Liberties of the People of Ireland and a just Remonstrance of some Encroachments and Invasions made upon them by the Government of England but if it shall appear that the Kingdom of England hath a certain Jurisdiction over them and that it hath never treated them otherwise than according to the Rules of Justice and with such a due Policy as becomes every Supream Authority to Exercise over all the Members of its Empire for the Conservation of Peace and Tranquility to the whole and in that have not exceeded the Bounds of a reasonable and just Dominion that part of the Empire that shall endeavour to withdraw themselves from the Subjection which they justly owe to the Supream Government that hath always protected and defended them and shall challenge to themselves Immunities and Privileges which never were or could be granted them without prejudice and injury to the greater Body of the Government deserve not to be considered as Assertors of their own Rights but rather as Invaders of the lawful Authority which God hath placed over them and certainly it must rather be Matter of Contempt and Derifion than of Commendation to see a Man treat his Superiour with a strain of Fine Smooth Gentle Words and Fawning Complements upon a Subject that is altogether imposing and odious to him Thus much I thought requisite to premise and so shall proceed to the Examination of his Discourse In which I intend to take Notice only of such matters as I shall think most Observable In his Dedication to the King he Humbly implores the Continuance of his Majesties Graces to them by protecting and defending those Rights and Liberties which they have enjoy'd under the Crown of England for above 500 Years and which some of late do endeavour to violate His most Excellent Majesty is the Common Indulgent Father of all his Countries and hath an equal regard to the Birth-rights of all his Children and will not permit the Eldest because the strongest to encroach upon the Possessions of the Younger Here is should be Noted that by the Crown of England he must intend the Kings of England as distinct from the Kingdom although I think this a very improper way of Expression which is evident from his Simile of the Eldest and Youngest Child as well as by the whole Design of his Argument and this perhaps might have serv'd the turn in making his Court to a Mac Ninny or a Prince â—ond of the Irish Nation but it looks but like a course Complement to his Majesty to entertain him with a meer begging the Question when he knows right well at what a vaâ—t Expence of the Blood and Treasure of England that Country was so lately under his Glorious Conduct reduc'd to its Obedience and he is too Just and Generous a Prince to endure that any Parasite should perswade him that any acquisition gain'd at the Expence of great Taxes rais'd upon the whole Body of his Subjects of England and even appropriated by the Parliament for the particular Uses in which they were to be employ'd can appertain to him in any propriety distinct and separate from the Imperial Crown of England Neither is it reasonable for him to expect that his Majesty should believe that the Some he means are about to violate their Rights and Liberties without clearer Proof than any he hath brought But it may be worth Inquiry to know in what sense he brings Ireland in with us for an equal share of Birth-right allowing us no higher Priviledge than that of being the Elder Child If he means this with respect to the Old Irish surely the many Disturbances they have given us and the many Occasions we have had of reducing them by force of Arms may fairly admit us to some higher Title over them but if he means it of the English Inhabitants they will certainly own themselves to be descended from England and it would ill become them to start up and call their Mother by the Familiar Appellation of Sister What he hints of encroaching upon their Possessions cannot be taken to have any fair Meaning unless he intends thereby to blame us for seizing the Estates of those that have been in Rebellion against us In his Preface he tells us How unconcern'd he is in any particular Inducement which at this juncture might seem to have occasion'd his Discourse He hath no concern in Wool or the Woollen Trade he is not interested in the Forfeitures or Grants nor solicitous whether the Bishop or Society of Derry recover the Lands they contest about I believe seven Eighths of those Gentlemen of Ireland that have been so busie in soliciting against the Woollen Manufactury Bill might make as fair a Protestation as this and yet it seems they thought themselves concern'd in the Consequence of that Matter but his Reach in this is to shew his Dislike of the Parliament of England's medling with the Business of the Forfeited Estates as well as the rest He says 'T is a Publick Principle that hath mov'd him to this Vndertakeing he thinks his Cause good and his Country concern'd 't is hard if they may not complain when they think they are hurt and give Reasons with all Modesty and Submission The Great and Iust Council of England freely allow such Addresses to receive and hear Grievances is a great part of their Business and to redress them their chief Glory but that 's not to be done till they are laid before them and fairly stated for their Consideration 'T is yet but a Private Principle to become an Advocate for a part against the Whole his Name shews him to be of English Extraction and I know none of his Neighbours under that Circumstance who don't reckon it a Privilege that they may still own Old England to be their Country and be owned by her though they are permitted to live in Ireland if they please what if they are not hurt and the nature of their Complaint be such as that it cannot be thought to be within the Bounds of Modesty and Submission how could he be so fond of his Project as to imagine that the Parliament of England would freely allow such an Address which impeaches their own just Authority They
every way like to those in England and that they make and Change Laws by the Authority of this their Parliament and therefore the Statutes which are made to bind in England do not bind them because they have no Representatives here in the Parliament of England But 't is always to be understood that this the Laws made in the Parliament of Ireland must only have relation to that Country and to such Matters as are transacted among themselves therein But they the People of Ireland are in their Persons Subjects of the King and Kingdom of England and as Subjects they shall be oblig'd not to do any thing out of that Country against Statutes made in England to prohibit them like as the Inhabitants of Calais Gascony Guien c. while they were Subjects and they shall be obedient to the Admiral of England in all things done upon the High Sea In like manner also a Writ of Error upon Iudgment given in Ireland lyes from the Court of King's Bench in England I Confess this Opinion is oddly worded but I shall make no further Comment upon it here having Occasion to speak at large to it in another place where it will appear whether the Sense which I have put upon it may not be more agreeable both to the passage it self and to the Opinion which we shall afterwards find the Lord Chief Justice Cook gave of it than to that turn which Mr. Molyneux hath given it But he Notes upon it that upon a second Consideration of this Case before the Judges in the Exchequer-Chamber the 1st Hen. 7. Hussey the Chief Justice gave his Opinion That the Statutes made in England shall bind those of Ireland which was not much gain-said by the other Iudges notwithstanding that some of them were of another Opinion the last Term. And he is offended at this Opinion and suggests as if 't was the Presence of the Chief Iustice that influenc'd those other Iudges which had not been of the same mind He Notes also That Brook in his Abridging this Case makes a Note upon it intimating thereby that Hussey 's Opinion was not reasonable Yet this is no more than Mr. Molyneux's Construction of this Intimation but if he had any such Scruple is it strange thing for Lawyers not to jump in their Opinions in some Cases yet it seems those that were present with Hussey and heard the Arguments were so far convinc'd as to become of his Mind without saying much against it But I cann't believe that Judges were so eaâ—ily to be influenc'd contrary to their Judgments by a Lord Chief Justice then more than now when we have seen Two of them persist in an Opinion against the other Ten. He Comments also upon the first Opinion in this Case and says that those Judges were not so concluding upon them as Hussey And they did almost seem to extend the Iurisdiction of the English Parliament over the Subjects of Ireland only in relation to their Actions beyond Seas Even this is handle enough for us to lay hold on for the doing whatever we shall think requisite for the preserving of our Commerce But he says This will appear unreasonable because by the same Argument Scotland may be bound by English Laws in relation to their Forreign Trade as they are the King's Subjects The Scots are Subjects of the King only as he is King of Scotland and we have no pretence to meddle in their Government but Ireland is upon another Foot 't is not an Independent Kingdom though it hath a Parliament it is not compleat in its own Jurisdiction but is subordinate to England and they can transact nothing of weight in their Administration without Orders and Directions from the Government of England all this I think is clearly made out already But he makes all the advantage possible of the words Personae eorum sunt subjecti Regis c. and tells us If being the King of England 's Subjects be a Reason why we ought to submit to Laws in relation to our Trade abroad which have not receiv'd our Assent the People of England will consider whether they also are not the Kings Subjects and may therefore by this way of Reasoning be bound by Laws which the King may assign them without their Assent in relation to their Actions abroad or Forreign Trade Or whether they had not been subjected to the King of France if our Kings had continued in the possession of that Country and then if France had been the strongest it might seem that the Subjects of England might have been bound by Laws made at Paris c. What a parcel of Argument is here I repeat so much on 't only to expose it 'T is evident that the Judges in their Opinion by the Words Subjecti Regis mean the same thing as if they had said Subjects of the Kingdom of England for they say afterwards that while they are Subjects they shall be under the Admiral of England c. If they had said the King's Admiral could we have thought of any other than the Admiral of the Kingdom Having Noted this Distinction I will say no more to the rest He tells us that In the Reigns of Edward the First and Edward the Third Knights Citizens and Burgesses were chosen in Ireland to serve in Parliament in England and that they have so served What and could Ireland be then a distinct and separate Kingdom Surely our Ancestors would scarcely then have admitted them to sit together with themselves in their Grand Senate I hope after this what I have before alledg'd of Ireland's haveing been always in the Condition of a Member of the English Empire ever since its first accession will never more be doubted They have been when the Circumstance of Time hath made it convenient admitted to send Representatives to the English Parliament and may again if our Parliament think fit He admits of the Acts made in the 17th of King Charles the First for encouraging Adventurers to raise Money for the suppression of the Rebellion there to be binding in Ireland but then they were made for their Good and afterwards when the Acts of Settlements were made by the Irish Parliaments these English Acts were made of no force which shews that they have a power of repealing such Acts made in England From hence 't is apparent that our Parliament have not been ready to exercise this Authority but when the Welfare of the Whole Body requir'd it and that they were then contented to take no Notice of such Alterations made by them which might be needful and of use to them and he hath reason to acknowledge their Tenderness to them in this respect But I believe these English Acts were not repeal'd and therefore this Instance will not maintain the Assertion which he raises from it That the Parliament of Ireland may repeal an Act pass'd in England in relation to the Affairs of Ireland The Acts of King Charles 2d