finen manufactures of Ireland, and for continuing and amending the Irish corn acts.'

state of Ire

In opening the Irish budget, Mr. Foster did Lamentable not let slip the opportunity of laying to the ac-land. count of the Union the distresses of his country. He lamented to o find

had ventured to the predictions, which he

}

L

:

urge on the probable state of Ireland, during the discussions upon the Union, but too forcibly verified by the then deplorable state of her finances, as compared with her public debt and expenditure. Within the last 10 years, the public debt of Ireland had made an alarming progress. It stood in 1793 at 2,400,0001. in 1800 at 25,400,000l. On the 5th January 1804 at 43,000,000l. and in that year there had then been added to it no less a sum than 9,500,000l. This formed a quota far exceeding the ratio esta-. blished by the Union compact to be paid by Ire land. This ruinous race, in which Ireland was so far exceeding her means by her expenditure, would shortly equalize her debt in proportion to that of England, and entitle England to call for a parlia mentary decision and consolidation of accounts and equalization of taxes. He then stated to the house the corresponding produce of the Irish revenue. In the year 1800, which immediately pre ceded the Union, the net produce of the revenue › was 2,800,000l. when she owed 25,000,000l. in the last year it was only 2,789,000l. whilst the debt amounted to 55,000,000). There was every reason to believe, that far the running year the pro duce of the Irish revenue would not yield one

91

¥ * *

魯

1804.

[12

180, shilling towards Ireland's quota in the common expenditure of the empire. Such was the situation of Ireland in the summer of 1804, as depicted by Mr. Foster, with an enormous and growing encrease of debt, a rapid falling off of revenue, and a decay of commerce and manufacture. He then proposed raising additional taxes, which chiefly fell on home made spirits, wine, and tea, to meet the public expenditure of the year *.

**

Mr. Foster, who now had again worked his way into the favor of Mr. Pitt, with whom he had quarrelled on the exorbitancy of his demands for supporting the Union, took this op-" portunity of endeavouring to white-wash his defection from his old employers by this last burst of forced patriotism. He laid before parliament a fair and true state of the corruption and wants of the Irish government in the management of the revenue. He He minutely set forth the balances permitted to remain in the hands of the collectors. The last accounts of the enormous revenue of England shewed only a balance of 37,000l. in the! hands of the English collectors, and the corresponding accounts of the Irish revenue, shewed a balance of 600,6001. in the hands of the collectors then in office and in order to prove the rapid growth and encrease of this abuse, he further stated, that the arrear in 1803 had amounted to 460,000l. and last year to 505,1001, Besides this heavy arrear in the hands of the collectors then in office, there also was in the hands of collectors dise missed an arrear of 120,000l. He specified as to stamps; the whole of which was collected and paid into the Stamp Office at Dublin, and there then was upon a receipt of 182,0001. a deficit of 8,6001 and in the Post Office, there was then an airear of › 22,0001, out of a revenue, of 250,000l. As a financier of more promise than performance, he assured the house, that two great arrangements were necessary to be adopted in Ireland to keep her from sinking: viz. an effectual reform in the collection' of her revenue, and a retrenchment in the expences of her government. For these salutary ends, he engaged at a future day to

J"

1804.

Fox charged

Abercorn.

../

2

*

1

KERR

Before the Parliament rose, Mr. Hutchinson drew the attention of the house to the daring Mr. Justice manner, in which the articles of the Union were by Lord broken through by the Irish distillery bills. On the motion of Mr. Foster, 800,000l. Irish currency were granted to his majesty for such expences, as exigencies might require for Ireland and 1,700,0001 were raised by treasury bills in Ireland, to be charged on the first aids of 1805. Bills were also passed for accommodating the public with a circulation of small notes, and other matters of regulation in the Irish revenue. The Marquis of Abercorn, about three weeks before the close of Parliament, presented articles of complaint against Luke Fox, a judge of the court of common pleas in Ireland, grounded on several petitions presented to the house of lords against that Judge. The articles, he said, contained every topic of complaint, that he had before noticed in that house, except what related to certain high military officers, which he had not yet been able to reduce into proper form. For the rest of the charges, he was ready then to go upon them. He moved, however, that a of the articles of a copy complait should be, and they were accordingly sent to Mr. Justice Fox. The substance of them

ME

$50

6.31 DE

11

30

6.7.

P

move for a committee to be established in England, empowered to examine upon oath touching every item of the public accounts of Ireland, that should be brought forward, when any doubt should arise upon them. The abuses and misfortunes of Ireland have never arisen from want of powers in the govern

1

2.3.1

3

ment to prevent or correct them.

1904.

07

F

was 19: That Mr. Justice Fox had urged upon the grand jury of the county of Fermanagh, that it was their duty to address his Majesty to remove the Lord Lieut. from the government of Ireland, with the intent to excite discontent against his Majesty's government. 2o, That he had endea-" voured to induce the commanding officer of a corps of yeomanry to procure an address from that corps to the same effect; and that this was done with the same evil design. S, The third part stated all the complaints, which had appeared in the petitions of the high Sheriff of the county and of the petty jurors; the high Sheriff complaining of having been fined 5001. by Judge Fox in an arbitrary manner, and the petty jurors hav-1 ing been stigmatized by him in his judicial capacity, as being unworthy to serve as jurors in future. Under this head also was included the complaint of a Mr. Hart*, who complained, that having been one of the grand jury of the county of Donegal, that had found a bill of indictment against one Dodson, for having improperly procured the oath of a magistrate concerning the repair of a road, in which Mr. Hart was in no way interested, Judge Fox upon the trial had taken an opportunity of charging the petitioner with having very improperly interfered in the business, and had used these expressions concerning him to the petty jury degraded and disgraced as he is by

f.

7)

1.

331,

His petition had been presented about a month before to the house of commons by Sir John Stewart.

12704

མཪ་ཇ་ཇ』

INDE

1162

this transaction, which will entail eternal infamy 1804. on him and his family. That the jury having been discharged, the petitioner waited on the Judge, and asked permission to return to Londonderry, in order to attend a corps of yeomanry, which was refused; and on the next day in court, Judge Fox caused an information to be laid against him for a most heinous offence, ordered him into custody, and to be put into the common dock, where having been asked what he had to say for himself, the petitioner was so terrified, that he was unable to articulate: he was then told he should be tried at the next assizes, and was holden to enormous bail for his appearance. When the next assizes came on, no bill was found against him, and he applied to the house to redress the injury he had suffered. The charges lastly stated, that Judge Fox had grossly and wantonly insulted the Marquis of Abercorn, representing him as withdrawing him.. self from his duty as a Governor of a county from sulky and selfish motives, and concluded with charging the learned Judge with having publicly acknowledged, that he had done so to vex and annoy the Marquis *. All proceedings were however put off to the next sessions,

C

"

13.8

jon side.

Within three days after Sir John Stewart had presented Mr. Hart's petition against Judge Fox, Colonel Cole presented a petition to the house of commons from William Armstrong and others (all Orangemen) of the county of Fermanagh describing themselves as a petty jury, holden the preceding Summer at Eng. niskillen, complaining, that one Nicholas Morryson was brought before them for trial, upon a charge of murder, of which they