Commons of Ireland in parliament of another prince, thoroughly sen assembled, beg leave to approach your sacred person, with thewarmest professions of our just sense of the many blessings we enjoy under the mild, just, and auspicious government of so gracious a sovereign, who has made the happiness of his people the constant object of his wishes, and the unvaried rule of his actions; and with the most grateful acknowledgments for the continuance of your Majesty's paternal regard and affections for your faithful subjects of his kingdom. Your Majesty has given us a conspicuous instance of your gracious attention to the happiness and prosperity of Ireland, by sparing from your councils, and sending to preside over us, a chief governor, who, having long had the honour to be placed near your sacred person, and under the influence of your royal example, must be particularly acquainted with your Majesty's benign purposes for the happiness of your people, and to have derived from that great source those virtues and talents which are peculiarly adapted to diffuse and secure the blessings of good government, and of constitutional liberty. Under the conduct and administration of a nobleman of the most distinguished character, whose public and private virtues give a lustre to his high station, we shall be peculiarly happy in continuing to manifest that uniform attention to the public good, of which your Majesty's conduct has set the most illustrious example. We humbly offer our warmest congratulations to your Majesty upon the happy event of the birth sible that every addition to your Majesty's royal family adds strength to that happy succession, which is the great security of all that is valuable to us, and to which your Majesty's loyal subjects of Ireland, from the united motives of gratitude and interest, have at all times shewn the most steady and inviolate attach ment. Conscious of the happiness which we have enjoyed under the best of princes, we shall cheerfully grant, as far as the present state and circumstances of our country will admit, and in the manner least burthensome to your Majesty's subjects, the supplies necessary for the honourable support of your Majesty's government; convinced that in properly maintaining the honour and dignity of government, we effectually promote the good of our country. Satisfied that penal laws for the reformation of the people are insufficient, unless their morals can be reformed, and their minds impressed with principles of virtue, we shall direct our particular attention to such laws as will extend the influence of religion, improve the morals, and promote the security and good order of the people. Our Protestant charter-schools shall receive from us the consideration due to seminaries of true religion and industry; and we shall, without delay, prepare any new laws that may be wanting to improve, regulate, or extend our linen manufacture. Your Majesty may be thoroughly persuaded, that your faithful Commons, as representatives of your Majesty's dutiful and affectionate subjects of Ireland, are animated 66 66 GEORGE R. "His Majesty returns his thanks "to the House of Lords for their very loyal address. The strong assurances they give of their duty "and affection to his Majesty and "his royal family, have given his Majesty the greatest satisfaction; "and as his Majesty, from the ex"perienced zeal of the House of "Lords, has the firmest reliance on their applying themselves diligently to promote the happiness "and prosperity of his subjects of "Ireland, they may be assured of "his Majesty's constant favour and protection." 66 GEORGE R. G. R. Most gracious Sovereign, Wtiful and loyal subjects, the your Majesty's most du Commons of Ireland in parliament assembled, return your Majesty our warmest thanks for your Majesty's most gracious Answer to the Address of this House. We will cheerfully grant the necessary supplies for the support of government with honour, as far as the present state and circumstances of the country will admit, being truly sensible of your Majesty's paternal regard for us, from the assurances given us of your Majesty's concurrence in such measures as may best contribute to the welfare and prosperity of Ireland, and from our our happy experience of your Majesty's mild and gracious govern ment. regard for his faithful subjects of Ireland, fills us with the warmest sentiments of duty and gratitude; and we cannot too much acknowledge the gracious manifestation of his Majesty's goodness towards us, The Addresses of both Houses of Parliament in Ireland, to his Ex-in committing the government of cellency the Lord-Lieutenant. W May it please your Excellency, E, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in parliament assembled, return your Excellency our most sincere thanks for your speech from the throne to both houses of parliament. We esteem ourselves particularly happy in the satisfaction which your Excellency has been pleased to express at the meeting us in parliament, and doubt not of your concurring with us in every measure that may promote the real interest of this kingdom; and we beg leave to assure your Excellency, that the satisfaction is sincerely mutual on our part. Your Excellency's great abilities, which have received the highest marks of approbation from the many important trusts which in successive reigns, and various administrations, have been reposed in you, give us the most lively hopes of every benefit which can result from a steady, prudent, and benign administration. The assurances which your Excellency has given us of the continuance of his Majesty's paternal this kingdom to a nobleman, whose name has stood unsullied through the many high offices he has filled. We are most thankful to your Excellency for the joyful information you have been pleased to give us of the increase of the domestic happiness of our amiable Sovereign, and the stability added to his illustrious house by the birth of another prince, descended from him with whom the welfare of these kingdoms is so necessarily connected. Your Excellency's wise and seasonable advice in directing our attention towards such laws as respect the religion and morals, the security and good order of the people, cannot fail to animate our endeavours to do every thing on our part to procure so desirable an end, and to take into consideration what new laws may be necessary, as well for that purpose as also for the extending and improving our linen manufacture, that great source of wealth to this nation. The favourable sentiments that your Excellency is pleased to conceive of us, gives us the most sincere pleasure, and we can have no doubt, that the proofs we shall afford of our loyalty and attachment to the King, and of our zeal for the public service, will be faithfully and impartially represented by your Excellency to his Majesty, so as to preserve to us his favourable opinion and royal protection. And we flatter ourselves, that there will be that unanimity in all our delibera our chief governor a nobleman of approved experience, wisdom and abilities, and to whose great virtues and distinguished character we justly look up with the fullest confidence and the highest respect. His Majesty's conduct, in making the public good the constant rule of his actions, will be our surest guide in the discharge of our duty, which we shall effectually accomplish, by shewing the same uniform attention to the good of our country, that his Majesty has invariably exerted in promoting the general happiness of all his people: and we are fully convinced, that your Excellency will steadily and uniformly pursue that illustrious example of attention to the public good, which you have so powerfully recommended to our imitation. We shall carefully consider the public accounts, and will cheerfully grant the supplies necessary to support his Majesty's government with honour, as far as the state and circumstances of our country will permit, and in the manner that will be most easy to our fellow-subjects of this kingdom, who are deeply interested in the support of that mild and just government, necessary for carrying into execution those laws upon which the preservation and security of liberty and property, and the maintenance of the peace and good order of the public must entirely depend: and we confide in your Excellency's wisdom and justice, that those supplies will be faithfully applied, and frugally administered. We thankfully acknowledge your Excellency's goodness, in pointing out the laws of our country as the first and most important ob jects of our consideration, and in directing "I shall endeavour, by an earnest directing our attention to such as concern the religion and morals," attention to my duty to the the security and good order of the "King, and to the prosperity and people. service of this country, to de There cannot be a more convincing proof of your Excellency's regard for the welfare of this kingdom, than your recommending so particularly to our consideration, The Lords Protest against the East that principal source of our wealth the linen manufacture, the extension of which, and the support whereof at foreign markets, are objects of the highest importance to this nation, and at this time call in a peculiar manner for your Excellency's patronage and protection; and your Excellency's recommandation of our charterschools will be an additional incitement to us to promote and encourage those useful seminaries of true religion and industry: We shall co-operate with your Excellency, with equal zeal in maintaining the honour and dignity of the crown, as in promoting the good of this kingdom, sensible that those objects equally tend to the happiness of the people. Our future conduct will, we hope, confirm the approbation which your Excellency has expressed of our attachment to his Majesty, and of our zeal in the public service; and we have every reason to expect, that your Excellency's administration will demonstrate that you have nothing more sincerely at heart than the welfare and prosperity of Ireland. India Regulating Bill. Die Veneris, 11° Junii, 1773. Dissentient, this bill, stating defects in the powers of the East India Company, abuses in its administration, and injuries to public and commercial credit, ought to have been supported by evidence adapted to the nature of the several matters alledged. But the production of charters has been refused by the House; no witnesses have been called to ascertain the existence or quality of the supposed abuses; no enquiry has been made into the condition of public credit; and no state of the Company's commercial affairs have ever been laid before us. ECAUSE the preamble to 2dly. Because, if the defects in the charters, and abuses in the administration of the Company exist in the manner stated in the preamble, no effectual provision is made in the enacting part of the bill for supplying the one, or reforming the other: on the contrary, the utmost distraction is introduced into the whole economy of their affairs. The nomination to the subordinate presidencies, and inferior offices in India, is left to the Company, but a superior presidency is appointed by parliament to govern those inferior officers. The superior pre sidency |