Page:Biographia Hibernica volume 1.djvu/434

 CAULFIELD seemed of late to be so unanimously grateful, was reviled, both in and out of parliament, by the partisans of Mr. Flood's doctrines against the efficacy of simple repeal. But that which seemed to heap new combustibles on this newly kindled flame, was the attempt of Lord Abingdon to introduce a bill in the British house of lords, asserting the right of Great Britain to legislate externally for Ire- land: and the basis of this bill was a preamble, stating, that whereas the kings of England having been acknowledged sovereigns of the English seas for eighteen centuries, the British parliament had the sole right to make laws to regu- late the external commerce of Great Britain, and all such kingdoms as are under its sovereignty. There was also a clause in the bill, stating, that whereas Queen Elizabeth having formerly forbad the kings of France to build more ships than they then had, without her leave first obtained, it enacted that no kingdom, as above stated, Ireland, as well as others, should presume to build a navy, or any ship or ships of war without leave from the lord high admiral of England." The very announcement of this bill excited a strong and general ferment in Ireland, and raised such distrust and indignation among the volunteer corps who had pledged their exertions for raising the twenty thousand seamen, that they desisted from their laudable endeavours: and a numerous and respectable corps in the metropolis, then under the immediate com- mand of Lord Charlemont, entered into very warm resolu- tions against enrolling any seamen, and sent their resolu- tions to his lordship, then in the north, with the warmest expressions of personal respect and kindness. To this his lordship returned a polite and moderate answer, in which he shewed them the rashness of suffering themselves to be alarmed by the measure io question, which was "the pro- duction of an individual nobleman, actuated by his own private whim and prejudice, and not adopted, nor even suffered to proceed to discussion in the English parliament. The speech of Lord Abingdon in his attempt to introduce 423