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 GRATTAN. Q35 tion with God, for they have none with man; it must be inspiration, for it cannot be knowledge. In such circum stances, to subscribe this agreement, without knowledge, without even the affectation of knowledge, when Great Britain, with a l l her experience and every means o f in formation from East Indies, West Indies, America, and with the official knowledge o f Ireland a t her feet, has taken six months t o deliberate, and has now produced twenty resolutions, with a history t o each, amounting t o a code o f empire, not a system o f commerce: I say, i n such circumstances, for Ireland t o subscribe this agree ment, would be infatuation; a n infatuation t o which the nation could not b e a party, but would appear t o b e con cluded, o r indeed huddled, with a l l her posterity, into a fallacious arrangement, b y the influence o f the crown, without the deliberation o f parliament, o r the consent o f the people I This would appear the more inexcusable, because we are not driven t o it; adjustment i s not indis pensable; the great points have been carried An inferior question about the home market has been started, and a commercial fever artificially raised; but, while the great points remain undisturbed, the nations cannot b e com mitted; the manufacturers applied for protecting duties, and have failed; the minister offered a system o f reciprocity, and succeeded i n Ireland, but has failed i n England; h e makes you another offer, inconsistent with the former, which offer the English d o not support and the Irish deprecate. “We can go on; we have a growing prosperity, and a s yet a n exemption from intolerable taxes; we can from time t o time regulate our own commerce, cherish our ma nufactures, keep down our taxes, and bring o n our people, and brood over the growing prosperity o f Young Ireland. I n the mean time we will guard our free trade and free constitution, a s our only real resources; they were the struggles o f great virtue, the result o f much perseverance, and our broad base o f public action We should recol lect that this House may now, with peculiar propriety, interpose, because you did, with great zeal and success,