men found in the night a ruined cabin, "where' "they saw a great fire of wood, and a company "of miserable old women and children sitting "round about it, and betwixt them and the fire "a dead corpse lay broiling, which as the fire "roasted they cut off collops and eat.”*

Similar scenes of desolation and famine would have doubtless followed the rebellion of 1798, if by a concurrence of lucky incidents its extension and continuance had not been prevented. At this prevention the Romanists of Ireland would surely rejoice, if matters were by them viewed in a clear and pure light. Supposing the insurrection completely successful in Leinster, Munster, and Connaught, how formidable an opposition was to be expected from the protestants of Ulster, aided by British forces, when the war was once known to be decidedly religious? Happily intelligence of the religious insanity exhibited by the southerns was received soon enough in the north to prevent commotions of any moment in favour of rebellion in that quarter. Supposing all Ireland reduced under the power of the insurgents, the British forces expelled, and the protestants exterminated by death or exile, was no discord with probability to be expected among the various bodies of insurgents, which might favour the return and

*Col. Lawerce's Interest of Ireland, part ii. page 86, 87.

successful progress of British armies? The very high probability of such discord is evinced by experience in the events of times past, in the civil wars of this unhappily often distracted country.

Thus when O'Nial, earl of Tyrone, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, flushed with temporary success, conceived strong hopes of being able to effectuate a separation of Ireland from the English dominion, he and his followers were unable to conceal the design which they entertained, of exterminating all in this kingdom of English race, not excepting Romanists-not even those who were fighting under his own banners against the protestant government. What discord must not such a spirit produce if the terror of the queen's arms had once been completely, or even nearly removed? The same spirit revived with such force in the time of Charles I. when the expectations of the Irish Romanists ran high in the prevalence of their power, that their armies were ready to turn their swords one against another, notwithstanding that the issue of their contest with the protestant party was still uncertain. "The insolence of "the followers of Owen O'Nial," says an authentic historian, "who could not conceal the "the pride and prejudices of their ancient descent, "and claimed the whole island as the property

of the old Irish, filled the confederates with

"fears and discontents. Those of Leinster, and "all the catholics of English race, dreaded ex

tirpation from these savages. So that the body "of Irish insurgents, who had given such consequence and such dignity to their original conspiracy, who had extorted the most abject "condescensions from the king, and prescribed "law to his lieutenant, was now on the point "of breaking into virulent factions, and de"claring desperate war against each other."*

The distinction indeed between Irish of aboriginal and English descent is, from the blending of the races, long since lost, as Dr. Duigenan, in his most excellent pamphlet already noticed, has observed, and as I also have observed in another work † but would not other causes of jealousy and dissension have arisen, and encreased with the prospect of success, among rival chiefs and rival armies, when, even in the recent insurrection, a private enmity between two chiefs. of the Wexfordian insurgents prevented the seizure of Ross, and a most dangerous extension of the rebellion to the counties of Waterford and Kilkenny Supposing a most improbable continuance of concord, together with

* Leland's history of Ireland, book v. chap. 7. Also book v. chap. 3. Also Carte's Ormond, vol. i. p. 589.

+ Gordon's Terraquea, vol. iii. p. 322, 323.

a complete expulsion of the British power, what rueful havoc might be expected from British armaments, hovering round the coast, and seizing every favourable opportunity of descent? The maritime towns might be laid in rubbish; and armies, occasionally debarking in various parts of the blockaded island, might carry devastation far into the country, and re-embark, before sufficient bodies of troops could be collected at the necessary points to attack them with effect. After disease and famine should so desolate the land that another Sir William Petty might calculate its population at eleven hundred thousand, the government of France, in a treaty of peace with that of Britain, would probably, if even French armies were in possession of the country, relinquish Ireland for the restitution of the French settlements in the East and West Indies, and other valuable considerations. Thus might the remnant of those Irish, who had given cause for the desolation of their country, in their attempts to accomplish its political separation from Britain, be reduced to the alternative of emigrating with the French troops, or of remaining exposed to the vengeance of the British government at home.

In May 1798, a little before the eruption of the rebellion, I wrote an Address to the Men of Ireland, calculated to the best of my knowledge, to dissuade the United Irish from the pursuit of

their design, by representing, as well as I could conjecture, the probable consequences of their attempt, some of which have since literally taken: place. I was emboldened to hope for some small success in that publication, by my having reason. to think that I had, by the same arguments in private conversation, induced a few to abandon all connexion with the united society. But, as in the introductory part of the address, I ex pressed, though in gentle terms, my disappro bation of the conduct of the Britirh ministry, in having precipitately, as I thought, involved the nation in a war with France, the conductors of newspapers were afraid to insert it, so irritable and so arbitrary did they seem to conceive the members of administration at that time to be. A bookseller, who was pleased with the arguments, printed a few copies to distribute among his friends, but would not publish for the above reasons. This appeared to me a most wretched compliment to government, a compliment of which I should be most heartily sorry to think it worthy, that a writer could not safely publish arguments to dissuade his fellow-subjects from rebellion, without writing in such a manner as to render his arguments of no effect, by giving cause to suspect that he was either a servile tool of administration, or a despicably blind follower of its politics. Of making such a compliment I hope I shall ever find myself incapable. The