posed the corruption of the pension list, the government proved too strong for them, and the evil, so far from abating, continued to increase year by year.

Another question arose about this time which excited great interest that of the duration of parliament. In England the utmost limit was seven years; at the end of which the parliament, if it lasted so long, had to be dissolved, and there was a general election. This was a good plan; for if a member acted wrong the electors could put another in his place without much delay. But, in Ireland, parliament lasted as long as the king wished; and the preceding one had continued during the entire reign of George II.: thirty-three years.

This state of things led to great abuses; and several times the Patriots brought in a Septennial or seven years bill, and the majority of the Irish parliament agreed to send over the heads of the bill for approval by the English council, in accordance with Poynings' Law (p. 187). But, in each case, no notice was taken of the communication. Now, once more, the A.D. 1767 patriots, under the leadership of Charles Lucas, did the same thing; and this time the document was returned, approved, from England, but with the seven years changed to eight, which was accepted by the Irish parliament. The passing of this Octennial bill was the occasion of much popular rejoicing in Ireland.

After this bill had become law there was a dissolution, and a new parliament was elected. During the election, Lord Townshend-the same lord lieutenant under whom the Octennial bill had been passed-made use of every possible form of bribery, and with much success, to have members returned favourable to his side. But, with all his corrupt practices, he failed to

bring this new house of commons with him on one important point. Both in England and in Ireland the commons have always jealously preserved to themselves the power to originate money bills-that is, the power to raise money by taxation and to apply it to the expenses of the country; justly holding that the representatives of the people have alone the right to tax the people. On the present occasion the English privy A.D. 1769 council sent over a money bill for Ireland, with directions to have it passed by the Irish parliament; but it was rejected "because it did not originate in the house of commons "-the very phrase used in Sydney's parliament in 1692 (p. 381)— which greatly incensed Lord Townshend. Keeping his mind to himself, however, he first got parliament to pass the usual money supplies to the government; and when these were safe, he had the commons summoned to the bar of the house of lords, where he lectured them severely for their conduct about the money bill, and prorogued parliament for fourteen months. He entered a protest in the books of the house of lords against the rejection of the bill; but the commons, who were more firm than the lords, forbade their clerk to enter the same protest on their books. These proceedings of Townshend, which were felt to be a mixture of trickery and tyranny, caused great indignation, and gave renewed strength to the popular party.

All this time the Catholics were almost wholly silent, taking no part in political questions: their only desire being to avoid the sharp fangs of the law. Yet there were signs of some faint desire to indulge them a little; but how little may be judged from one small concession, and the difficulty of having even that granted. Lord Townshend had an act passed (A.D. 1771), which

had been previously often rejected, enabling a Catholic to take on long lease, and reclaim as best he could, fifty acres of bog; and, if it were too deep or marshy for building on, he was permitted to have half an acre of solid land on which to build a house. But these precautions were inserted :—that the bog should be at least four feet deep, and that it should not be nearer than a mile to any market town.

Townshend at last growing tired of the ceaseless opposition of the Patriots, and of the everlasting deluge of hostile literature in newspapers, pamphlets, ballads, and all sorts of witty squibs, with ugly caricatures, resigned in 1772. During his term of office, he had done more to corrupt parliament than any of his predecessors, by dismissing all opposed to him, and by giving pensions, places, and titles; all to secure a majority for the Court or English Party. By this open and perpetual corruption he managed to keep up a majority and to have most of his measures passed. But, on the other hand, these proceedings had the effect of consolidating the Patriotic Party, and of strengthening their determination to break down the purely English influence, and to have Irish affairs managed mainly for the benefit of Ireland, and not solely for that of England, as had hitherto been the case.

Sculpture on a Capital: Priest's House, Glendalough: Beranger, 1779.

N 1775 began the war between England and her North American colonies, which in more ways than one had much influence on the affairs of Ireland, mostly favourable, but sometimes the reverse.

Notwithstanding all the disastrous restrictions, some channels for commerce still remained open to Ireland; and a brisk trade

was carried on by the export of provisions of different kinds, especially salted meat, to various countries. But even this industry did not escape; for in the very year after the breaking out of the war, an embargo was laid on the exportation of Irish provisions, in order to cheapen food for the A.D. 1776 British army, as well as to prevent supplies reaching America: in other words, all export of provisions from Ireland was prohibited. This nearly ruined the farmers and all others employed in the trade, and caused instant distress everywhere. As might be expected, it gave rise to a flourishing smuggling trade, which was extensively carried on, especially round the intricate coasts of the south and

west, but which went no way in alleviating the distress. The embargo was ordered by the English authorities of their own motion, without consulting Ireland; and this fact, with the sight of the misery that had been suddenly brought on the country, caused such dangerous

Edmund Burke. From portrait in National Gallery, Dublin.

discontent in the Irish parliament, that it was considered desirable to dissolve it, and have a new set of more pliable members elected. The general election accordingly came, and as usual there was extensive bribery to secure a government majority.