Above : Painting Of Henry Grattan

On the first day of the new Session the Commons received a message from the Lord Lieutenant, saying that the King recommended them ” to take into consideration the discontents prevailing amongst his loyal subjects of Ireland,” ” in order to arrive at such a final adjustment as might give mutual satisfaction to the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland.” Grattan at once moved a resolution ” to assure his Majesty that his subjects of Ireland are a free people-That the Crown of Ireland is an Imperial Crown, inseparably annexed to the Crown of Great Britain, on which connection the interests and happiness of both nations depend.” But that ” the Kingdom of Ireland is a distinct Kingdom, with a Parliament of her own, the sole legislature thereof. That there is no body of men competent to make laws to bind this nation, except the King, Lords and Commons of Ireland ; nor any other Parliament which hath any authority or power of any sort whatsoever in this country, save only the Parliament of Ireland.” This was passed unanimously. Portland assured the English Ministers that, if what was asked were denied or even delayed, there would be an end of all government in Ireland. ” The whole country,” he wrote, ” is desirous of this • the Church, the Law, the Army, the merchant, the tradesman the manufacturer, the farmer, the labourer, the Catholic, the Dissenter, the Protestant.

Above : Painting Of Prime Minister Pitt

It had already been mentioned that, for several years previous to the1798 Insurrection, the project of a legislative union between England and Ireland had been present to the mind of Pitt, and that this was well known to the authorities at Dublin Castle, though carefully concealed from the country at large.