hard for any man of common spirit to turn his
thoughts to such speculations, without discovering a resentment which
people are too delicate to bear." For, I will not deny to your Grace,
that I cannot reflect on the singular condition of this Country,
different from all others upon the face of the Earth, without some
emotion, and without often examining as I pass the streets whether those
animals which come in my way with two legs and human faces, clad and
erect, be of the same species with what I have seen very like them in
England, as to the outward shape, but differing in their notions,
natures, and intellectuals, more than any two kinds of brutes in a
forest, which any men of common prudence would immediately discover, by
persuading them to define what they mean by law, liberty, property,
courage, reason, loyalty or religion.

One thing, my Lord, I am very confident of; that if God Almighty for
our sins would most justly send us a pestilence, whoever should dare to
discover his grief in public for such a visitation, would certainly be
censured for disaffection to the Government. For I solemnly profess,
that I do not know one calamity we have undergone this many years,
whereof any man whose opinions were not in fashion dared to lament
without being openly charged with that imputation. And this is the
harder, because although a mother when she hath corrected her child may
sometimes force it to kiss the rod, yet she will never give that power
to the footboy or the scullion.

My Lord, there are two things for the people of this Kingdom to
consider. First their present evil condition; and secondly what can be
done in some degree to remedy it.

I shall not enter into a particular description of our present misery;
It hath been already done in several papers, and very fully in one,
entitled, "A short View of the State of Ireland." It will be enough to
mention the entire want of trade, the Navigation Act executed with the
utmost rigour, the remission of a million every year to England, the
ruinous importation of foreign luxury and vanity, the oppression of
landlords, and discouragement of agriculture.

Now all these evils are without the possibility of a cure except that of
importations, and to fence against ruinous folly will be always in our
power in spite of the discouragements, mortifications, contempt, hatred,
and oppression we can lie under. But our trade will never mend, the
Navigation Act never be softened, our a