But a united parliament can have no feparate interest to confult. The whole united people of Great Britain and Ireland become the fubjects of its legislative care: in its compofition would be found not only the proper representation of Ireland, but also many refpectable reprefentatives for Great Britain, as deeply interested in their own property for the peculiar welfare of Ireland as for that of Great Britain: the subject matters to be difcuffed would be fubjects of common intereft, could be prefented only in that form, and must preclude all invidious debate as between diftinct states: while the frequency of deliberation on the common interest of the fubjects of both islands, could not fail, operating by the fure principle of habit, to create and ftrengthen in the legislature, the fentiment and principle of a common intereft, and by neceffity diffuse the fentiment and principle through the constituent body, the whole united community. Two mighty instances indeed have been vehemently urged and idly repeated, not of partial laws, but of laws unjustly, as it is faid, and in breach of faith, enacted as against Scotland in the parliament of Great Britain; and these are relied on as proof, that the interests of Ireland as well as of Scotland, would be facrificed after a Union, to the interefts of England. But these instances have been fo clearly and repeatedly proved to be unfounded, that it would be tedious, as it is unneceffary, to repeat, or to add to, the refutation. It may be proper however to remark, that from the part taken by the Scotch members of parliament in the matter of the malt tax, it cannot eafily be fhewn, that they were indifferent to the interests of their particular country; country; nor in truth can it be fhewn, that in any matter in which the interests of Scotland have come into difcuffion, the Scotch reprefentatives have not ftrenuously fupported them. The proceeding on the occafion of the malt tax proves to have been merely an effort of the then oppofition, to give to a quibble mɔre effect than to fubftantial and equal juftice. The act which placed Scotland on the fame footing as England in refpect to the law of high treafon, is acknowledged by those who invidiously adduce it, to have been for the benefit of Scotland; while on examination it appears to have been enacted in exact pursuance of an article of the Union. We may therefore, in oppofition to modern calumny, continue to give credit to the most respectable hiftorians of the times fubfequent to the Union, who concur in teftimony, to the good faith and impartiality of the parliament of Great Britain in obfervance of the compact, as well as to the many and lafting benefits which have refulted to Scotland from the Union, notwithstanding the gloomy and inflammatory forebodings (long fince falfified) of Lochart, Fletcher and Lord Belhaven. The leader of the oppofition to Union is fenfible of the failure of all fuch inftances in proving a breach of compact, that, in the whole of his long fpeech, he pretends not to adduce or to support one: and even when he attempts to fhew, that by the income tax the articles of Union are virtually broken, yet he difavows any infinuation that the measure is a breach of any article of the Union, or that it was intended to evade it.* Speaker's Specch, page 96. The weakness weakness and futility of his endeavour to fhew that by this measure the articles of Union are virtually broken, ferve to confirm rather than weaken our reliance on a united legislature. He fays, that by annihilating the measure of a land tax, another is raised by the name of the income tax. But the land tax is not annihilated; it 'remains fubftantially as it was; it is merely difpofed of in order to raise a large principal fum for the exigencies of the ftate; and whether the proprietor of an eftate purchases in, or continues to pay the tax, is to all real effect the fame. But if it were annihilated, the effect would be the fame in Scotland as in England: the tax according to the proportions agreed on at the Union would be done away as to both countries: and all other taxes, whatever they were or might be, would remain the fame. But how the annihilation of the land tax, fuppofing it annihilated, produced the income tax, is moft inconceivable. The large fum, arifing from the fale of the land tax, we fhould more naturally expect, would have precluded the neceffity of the income tax; for the income tax has not been raised to pay the intereft of loans, or in any refpect to ftand in the place of ordinary taxes, but is exprefsly adopted in place of a loan, and so far to preclude the neceffity of loan or of permanent taxes. The propofition therefore is as inconfiftent as it is unfounded, and by the by is equally irrelevant. The lands of Scotland, by the articles of Union, were, he fays, to pay only one-fortieth of the Britifh land tax; but he adds, an income tax has taken place; and income arifes out of land; and eftimating Scotland in her income at one-eighth of England, her lands will therefore pay henceforward one-eighth infead of one-fortieth of what thofe of England do. Now, H 1 Now, in order to give any femblance of reason to this argument, it must be previously shewn that the proportion of land tax for Scotland, was at the Union, most abfurdly and unjustly, adopted as the ratio of all other taxes to be paid by Scotland; for no tax was ever invented, or can be conceived, which is not paid out of income; and whether a man pays a certain amount, by the name of an income tax, in the form of one-tenth of his revenues, or in the form of taxes upon confumption, window lights, hearth money, or the like, makes not to common fenfe the flighteft difference. But we know, for we are accurately informed by the hiftorians of that day, that the proportion of land tax was not adopted as the ratio of other contributions, but was merely a regulation of that particular tax then fubfifting in England, adopted according to circumftances. Many objections had been made as to the different modes in the two countries of valuing the lands, of fetting them, of the payment of rents, and of levying and paying in the fums charged upon land; which rendered it difficult to adjust this tax equitably by any rate or valuation'; and therefore, to accommodate all differences, and to fmooth the way for fo defirable a purpofe as they were about to accomplish, the commiffioners agreed that, as to this particular tax, whenever it fhould be laid on, Scotland fhould pay a certain fixed fum, in the event of England paying another certain fum, and fo in proportion. But this mode of regulating a particular tax was never till now dreamt of as a ftandard for regulating any other taxes, whether called customs, excife, affeffment, or contributions of income. Be the land tax existing or annihilated, difpofed of for a principal fum, or remaining as a tax with government, all other taxes remain 1 remain as before, and regulated in the long used and ac- There is no reason then for apprehenfion, that the legiflature of a great nation, like united Britain and Ireland, would facrifice the interefts of one great and esfential part to thofe of another; nor, if the apprehenfion were rational, can it be conceived, that the executive could countenance fuch abfurd fchemes, evidently deftructive of the well-being and fafety of the whole over which it prefides, and tending to weaken as well as degrade the government; but even if the vicious folly were poffible, a penetrating and active oppofition, joined to the members for the great portion of the state, against which the weak and wicked confpiracy would be formed muft expofe and defeat fuch wild attempts, In the prefent ftate of connexion indeed, which be comes neceffarily more flight and precarious as Ireland becomes mighty, mighty to deftroy as well as to fupport Great Britain, it would not be furprising if the British legislature were to confider the intereft of the two countries as incompatible. An invidious fpirit has been long carefully kept alive among us; and, whatever has been fuppofed to ferve the interefts of Great Britain, has been generally reprefented, for that reason, as baneful to the interefts of Ireland. Hence the cry for non-importation agreements, and the demands of prohibitory duties, hoftile bounties, and the like; which, fo far as carried into practice, have hurt our own valuable H 2 Y |