But,  Sir,  though  what  I  have  thus  stated  relates  most
immediately  to  the  great  object  of  healing  the  dissentient,
and  providing  for  die  internal  tranquillity  of  Ireland,  there
are  also  other  objects  which,  though  comparatively  with
this  of  inferior  importance,  are  yet  in  themselves  highly
material,  and  in  a  secondary  view  well  worthy  of  at-
tention*

44  I  have  heard  it  asked,  when  I  pressed  the  measure,
what  are  the  positive  advantages  that  Ireland  is  to  derive
from  it  i  To  this  very  question  I  presume  the  considera-
tions which  I  have  already  urged,  afford  a  sufficient  an-
swer. But,  in  fact,  the  question  itself  is  to  be  consider-
ed m  another  view ;  and  it  will  be  found  to  bear  some  re-
semblance to  a  question  which  has  been  repeatedly  put
by  some  of  the  gentlemen  opposite  to  me,  during  the  last
six  years.  What  are  the  advantages  which  Great  Britain
has  gained  by  the  present  war  with  France  ?  To  this,  dm
brilliant  successes  of  the  British  arms  by  sea  and  land,
our  unexampled  naval  victories  over  all  our  enemies^
the  solid  acquisition  of  valuable  territory,  the  general  in-
crease of  our  power,  the  progressive  extension  of  our
commerce,  and  a  series  of  events  more  glorious  than  any
that  ever  adorned  the  page  of  our  histoay,  afford  at  once
an  ample  and  a  satisfactory  answer.  But  there  is  another
general  answer  which  we  have  uniformly  given,  and
which  would  alone  be  sufficient;  k  is,  that  we  did  not


Digitized  by  VjOQQlC


TROUBLES  IN  ITOLAKD,  lie  4ff\

enter  into  this  war  for  any  purpose  of  ambition ;  our  ob-
ject was  not  to  acquire,  tmt  to  preserve ;  and  in  this  sense
what  we  have  gained  by  the  war  is,  in  one  word,  all
that  we  should  have  Jost  without  it ;  it  is  the  preserva-
tion of  our  constitution,  our  independence,  our  honor,
our  existence  as  a  nation.
