The proceedings of the House of Lords resembled that of the Commons; on
the 8th of November they concurred with the resolution of their
committee, which was unfavourable to the establishment of a bank. A
protest was, however, entered, signed by four temporal and two spiritual
peers, and when an address to his Majesty, grounded on that resolution,
was proposed, a long debate ensued, which occupied two days. On the 9th
December a list of the subscriptions was called for, and on the 16th
they resolved, that if any lord, spiritual or temporal, should attempt
to obtain a charter to erect a bank, "he should be deemed a contemnor of
the authority of that house, and a betrayer of the liberty of his
country." They ordered, likewise, that this resolution should be
presented by the chancellor to the lord lieutenant. ("Lord's Journal,"
vol. ii, pp. 687-720.) _Monck Mason's "Hist. St. Patrick's Cathedral_,"
p. 325, note 3. [T. S.]
[27] The title, Esquire, according to a high authority, was anciently
applied "to the younger sons of nobility and their heirs in the
immediate line, to the eldest sons of knights and their heirs, to the
esquire of the knights and others of that rank in his Majesty's service,
and to such as had eminent employment in the Commonwealth, and were not
knighted, such as judges, sheriffs, and justices of the peace during
their offices, and some others. But now," says Sir Edward Walker, "in
the days of Charles I., the addition is so increased, that he is a very
poor and inconsiderable person who writes himself less."
Accordingly, most of the signatures for shares in the projected National
Bank of Ireland, were dignified with the addition of Esquire, which,
added to the obscurity of the subscribers, incurs the ridicule of our
author in the following treatise. [S.]
[28] SUBSCRIBERS TO THE BANK, PLACED ACCORDING TO THEIR ORDER AND
QUALITY, WITH NOTES AND QUERIES.
A true and exact account of the nobility, gentry, and traders, of the
kingdom of Ireland, who, upon mature deliberation, are of opinion, that
the establishing a bank upon real security, would be highly for the
advantage of the trade of the said kingdom, and for increasing the
current species of money in the same. Extracted from the list of the
subscribers to the Bank of Ireland, published by order of the
commissioners appointed to receive subscriptions.
_Nobility._
Archbishops 0
Marquisses 0
Earls 0
Viscounts 3
Barons 1
Bishops 2
French Baron 1
N. B.: The temporal Lords of Ireland are 125, the Bishops 22. In all 147,
exclusive of the aforesaid French Count.
_Gentry._
Baronets 1
Knights 1
N. B. Total of baronets and knights in Ireland uncertain; but in common
computation supposed to be more than two.
Members of the House of Commons--41. One whereof reckoned before amongst
the two knights.
N. B. Number of Commoners in all 300.
Esquires not Members of Parliament--37
N. B. There are at least 20 of the said 37 Esquires whose names are
little known, and whose qualifications as Esqrs. are referred to the king
at arms; and the said king is desired to send to the publisher hereof a
true account of the whole number of such real or reputed Esqrs. as are to
be found in this kingdom.
_Clergy._
Deans 1
Arch-Deacons 2
Rectors 3
Curates 2
N. B. Of this number one French dean, one French curate, and one
bookseller.
Officers not members of Parliament--16
N. B. Of the above number 10 French; but uncertain whether on whole or
half pay, broken, or of the militia.
_Women._
Ladies 1
Widows 3 whereof one qualified to be deputy-governor.
Maidens 4
N. B. It being uncertain in what class to place the eight female
subscribers, whether in that of nobility, gentry, &c. it is thought
proper to insert them here betwixt the officers and traders.
_Traders._
{ Dublin 1 a Frenchman.
Aldermen of { Cork 1
{ Limerick 1
Waterford 0
Drogheda 0
&c. 0
Merchants 29, _viz._ 10 French, of London 1, of Cork 1, of Belfast 1.
N. B. The place of abode of three of the said merchants, _viz._ of
London, Cork and Belfast, being mentioned, the publisher desires to know
where the rest may be wrote to, and whether they deal in wholesale or
retail, _viz._
Master dealers, &c. 59, cashiers 1, bankers 4, chemist 1, player 1,
Popish vintner 1, bricklayer 1, chandler 1, doctors of physic 4,
chirurgeons 2, pewterer 1, attorneys 4 (besides one esq. attorney before
reckoned), Frenchmen 8, but whether pensioners, barbers, or markees,
uncertain. As to the rest of the M----rs, the publisher of this paper,
though he has used his utmost diligence, has not been able to get a
satisfactory account either as to their country, trade or profession.
N. B. The total of men, women and children in Ireland, besides Frenchmen,
is 2,000,000. Total of the land of Ireland acres 16,800,000. (Vide
Reasons for a Bank, &c.)
Quære, How many of the said acres are in possession of 1 French baron, 1
French dean, 1 French curate, 1 French alderman, 10 French merchants, 8
Messieurs Frances, 1 esq. projector, 1 esq. attorney, 6 officers of the
army, 8 women, 1 London merchant, 1 Cork merchant, 1 Belfast merchant,
18 merchants whose places of abode are not mentioned, 1 cashier, 4
bankers, 1 gentleman projector, 1 player, 1 chemist, 1 Popish vintner, 1
bricklayer, 1 chandler, 4 doctors of physic, 2 chirurgeons, 1 pewterer,
4 gentlemen attorneys, besides 28 gentleman dealers, yet unknown, _ut
supra_?
Dublin: Printed by John Harding in Molesworth's Court, in Fishamble
Street. (_Reprinted from original broadside, n.d._)
[29] In the capacity of a postillion, no doubt. [T. S.]
[30] Which means that she kept an eating-house or restaurant, and became
eventually a bankrupt. [T. S.]
[31] The livery of a footman. [T. S.]
[32] As a constable. [T. S.]
[33] An innkeeper. [T. S.]
[34] This paragraph is printed as given by Faulkner in ed. 1735, vol.
iv. [T. S.]
[35] See note on Paul Lorrain, p. 34. It was the duty of the Ordinary of
a prison to compose such dying speeches. [T. S.]
[36] His parents were Dissenters, and gave him a good education. [T. S.]
[37] Sir Henry Craik remarks on this title: "In modern language this
might well have been entitled, 'The theories of political economy proved
to have no application to Ireland.'" The word "controlled" is used in
the now obsolete sense of "confuted." [T. S.]
[38] Sir John Browne, in his "Scheme of the Money Matters of Ireland"
(Dublin, 1729), calculated that the total currency, including paper, was
about ВЈ914,000, but the author of "Considerations on Seasonable Remarks"
stated that the entire currency could not be more than ВЈ600,000. Browne
was no reliable authority; he is the writer to whom Swift wrote a reply.
See p. 122. [T. S.]
[39] See "A Short View of the State of Ireland," p. 86. [T. S.]
[40] Lecky refers to a remarkable letter written by an Irish peer in the
March of 1702, and preserved in the "Southwell Correspondence" in the
British Museum, in which the writer complains that the money of the
country is almost gone, and the poverty of the towns so great that it
was feared the Court mourning for the death of William would be the
final blow. (Lecky, vol. i., p. 181, 1892 ed.). [T. S.]
[41] Those of Charles II. and James II. in which, for political reasons
on the part of the Crown, Ireland was peculiarly favoured. [S.]
[42] This was Dr. Nicholas Barbou, the friend of John Asgill and author
of two works on trade and money. After the Great Fire of London he
speculated largely in building, and greatly assisted in making city
improvements. He was the founder of fire insurance in England and was
active in land and bank speculations. He died in 1698, leaving a will
directing that none of his debts should be paid. [T. S.]
[43] The beggars of Ireland are spoken of by Bishop Berkeley. But Arthur
Dobbs, in the second part of his "Essay on Trade," published in 1731,
gives a descriptive picture of the gangs who travelled over Ireland as
professional paupers. In the 2,295 parishes, there was in each an
average of at least ten beggars carrying on their trade the whole year
round; the total number of these wandering paupers he puts down at over
34,000. Computing 30,000 of them able to work, and assuming that each
beggar could earn _4d._ a day in a working year of 284 days, he
calculates that their idleness is a loss to the nation of ВЈ142,000. (Pp.
444-445 of Thom's reprint; Dublin, 1861) [T. S.]
[44] See Swift's terrible satire on the "Modest Proposal for preventing
Children of Poor People from being a burthen." [T. S.]
[45] A small country village about seven miles from Kells. [T. S.]
[46] Esther Johnson. [T. S.]
[47] Stella's companion and Swift's housekeeper. [T. S.]
[48] See Swift's "Directions to Servants." [T. S.]
[49] By Acts 18 Charles II c. 2, and 32 Charles II c. 2, enacted in 1665
and 1680, the importation into England from Ireland of all cattle,
sheep, swine, beef, pork, bacon, mutton, cheese and butter, was
absolutely prohibited. The land of Ireland being largely pasture land
and England being the chief and nearest market, these laws practically
destroyed the farming industry. The pernicious acts were passed on
complaint from English land proprietors that the competition from Irish
cattle had lowered their rents in England. "In this manner," says Lecky,
"the chief source of Irish prosperity was annihilated at a single blow."
[T. S.]
[50] The original Navigation Act treated Ireland on an equal footing
with England. The act, however, was succeeded in 1663 by that of 15
Charles II c. 7, in which it was declared that no European articles,
with few exceptions, could be imported into the colonies unless they had
been loaded in English-built vessels at English ports. Nor could goods
be brought from English colonies except to English ports. By the Acts 22
and 23 of Charles II. c. 26 the exclusion of Ireland was confirmed, and
the Acts 7 and 8 of Will. III. c. 22, passed in 1696, actually
prohibited any goods whatever from being imported to Ireland direct from
the English colonies. These are the reasons for Swift's remark that
Ireland's ports were of no more use to Ireland's people "than a
beautiful prospect to a man shut up in a dungeon." [T. S.]
[51] See note on page 137 of vol. vi of this edition. "The Drapier's
Letters." [T. S.]
[52] Lecky quotes from the MSS. in the British Museum, from a series of
letters written by Bishop Nicholson, on his journey to Derry, to the
Archbishop of Canterbury. The quotation illustrates the truth of Swift's
remark. "Never did I behold," writes Nicholson, "even in Picardy,
Westphalia, or Scotland, such dismal marks of hunger and want as
appeared in the countenances of the poor creatures I met with on the
road." In the "Intelligencer" (No. VI, 1728) Sheridan wrote: "The poor
are sunk to the lowest degrees of misery and poverty--their houses
dunghills, their victuals the blood of their cattle, or the herbs of the
field." Of the condition of the country thirty years later, the most
terrible of pictures is given by Burdy in his "Life of Skelton": "In
1757 a remarkable dearth prevailed in Ireland.... Mr. Skelton went out
into the country to discover the real state of his poor, and travelled
from cottage to cottage, over mountains, rocks, and heath.... In one
cabin he found the people eating boiled prushia [a weed with a yellow
flower that grows in cornfields] by itself for their breakfast, and
tasted this sorry food, which seemed nauseous to him. Next morning he
gave orders to have prushia gathered and boiled for his own breakfast,
that he might live on the same sort of food with the poor. He ate this
for one or two days; but at last his stomach turning against it, he set
off immediately for Ballyshannon to buy oatmeal for them.... One day,
when he was travelling in this manner through the country, he came to a
lonely cottage in the mountains, where he found a poor woman lying in
child-bed with a number of children about her. All she had, in her weak,
helpless condition to keep herself and her children alive, was blood and
sorrel boiled up together. The blood, her husband, who was a herdsman,
took from the cattle of others under his care, for he had none of his
own. This was a usual sort of food in that country in times of scarcity,
for they bled the cows for that purpose, and thus the same cow often
afforded both milk and blood.... They were obliged, when the carriers
were bringing the meal to Pettigo, to guard it with their clubs, as the
people of the adjacent parishes strove to take it by force, in which
they sometimes succeeded, hunger making them desperate." (Burdy's Life
of Skelton. "Works," vol. i, pp. lxxx-lxxxii.) [T. S.]
[53] See on this subject the agitation against Wood's halfpence in the
volume dealing with "The Drapier's Letters." [T. S.]
[54] Faulkner and Scott print this word "irony," but the original
edition has it as printed in the text. [T. S.]
[55] The original edition has this as "Island." Scott and the previous
editors print it as in the text. Iceland is, no doubt, referred to.
[T. S.]
[56] Bishop Nicholson, quoted by Lecky, speaks of the miserable hovels
in which the people lived, and the almost complete absence of clothing.
[T. S.]
[57] Hely Hutchinson, in his "Commercial Restraints of Ireland" (Dublin,
1779; new edit. 1888) points out that the scheme proposed by the
government, and partly executed, by directing a commission under the
great seal for receiving voluntary subscriptions in order to establish a
bank, was a scheme to circulate paper without money. This and Wood's
halfpence seem to have been the nearest approach made at the time for
supplying what Swift here calls "the running cash of the nation." [T. S.]
[58] England.
[59] Scotland and Ireland.
[60] The Irish Sea.
[61] The Roman Wall.
[62] The Scottish Highlanders. [T. S]
[63] Charles I, who was delivered by the Scotch into the hands of the
Parliamentary party. [T. S]
[64] See note to "A Short View of the State of Ireland." [T. S.]
[65] The King of England. [T. S.]
[66] The Lord-Lieutenant. [T. S.]
[67] The English Government filled all the important posts in Ireland
with individuals sent over from England. See "Boulter's Letters" on this
subject of the English rule. [T. S.]
[68] See notes to "A Short View of the State of Ireland," on the
Navigation Acts and the acts against the exportation of cattle. [T. S.]
[69] The laws against woollen manufacture. [T. S.]
[70] Absentees and place-holders. [T. S.]
[71] The spirit of opposition and enmity to England, declared by the
Scottish Act of Security, according to Swift's view of the relations
between the countries, left no alternative but an union or a war. [S.]
[72] The Act of Union between England and Scotland. [T. S.]
[73] The reference here is to the linen manufactories of Ireland which
were being encouraged by England. [T. S.]
[74] Swift here refers to the sentiment, largely predominant in
Scotland, for the return of the Stuarts. [T. S.]
[75] Alliances with France. [T. S.]
[76] Alluding to the 33rd Henry VIII, providing that the King and his
successors should be kings imperial of both kingdoms, on which the
enemies of Irish independence founded their arguments against it. [S.]
Scott cannot be correct in this note. The allusion is surely to the
enactments known as Poyning's Law. See vol. vi., p. 77 (note) of this
edition of Swift's works. [T. S.]
[77] Disturbances excited by the Scottish colonists in Ulster. [S.]
[78] The subjugation of Scotland by Cromwell. [S.]
[79] That is to say, to interpret Poyning's law in the spirit in which
it was enacted, and give to Ireland the right to make its own laws.
[T. S.]
[80] Free trade and the repeal of the Navigation Act. [T. S.]
[81] Office-holders should not be absentees. [T. S.]
[82] That the land laws of Ireland shall be free from interference by
England, and the produce of the land free to be exported to any place.
[T. S.]
[83] The laws prohibiting the importation of live cattle into England,
and the restrictions as to the woollen industry, were the ruin of those
who held land for grazing purposes. [T. S.]
[84] The Act of 10 and 11 William III., cap. 10, was the final blow to
the woollen industry of Ireland. It was enacted in 1699, and prohibited
the exportation of Irish wool to any other country. In the fifth letter
of Hely Hutchinson's "Commercial Restraints of Ireland" (1779) will be
found a full account of the passing of this Act and its consequences.
[T. S.]
[85] Edward Waters and John Harding, the printers of Swift's pamphlets.
See volume on "The Drapier's Letters." [T. S.]
[86] The text here given is that of the original manuscript in the
Forster Collection at South Kensington, collated with that given by
Deane Swift in vol. viii. of the 4to edition of 1765. [T. S.]
[87] The letter was written in reply to a letter received from Messrs.
Truman and Layfield. [T. S.]
[88] Dr. William King, Archbishop of Dublin. [T. S.]
[89] Swift betrays here a lamentable knowledge of the geography of this
part of America. Penn, however, may have known no better. [T. S.]
[90] William Burnet, at this time the Governor of Massachusetts, was the
son of Swift's old enemy, Bishop Burnet. [T. S.]
[91] Burnet quarrelled with the Assembly of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire because they would not allow him a fixed salary. The Assembly
attempted to give him instead a fee on ships leaving Boston, but the
English Government refused to allow this. [T. S.]
[92] The original MS. on which this text is based does not contain the
passage here given in brackets. [T. S.]
[93] Swift is here supported by Arthur Dobbs, who in his "Essays on
Trade," pt. ii. (1731) gives as one of the conditions prejudicial to
trade, the luxury of living and extravagance in food, dress, furniture,
and equipage by the Irish well-to-do. He describes it "as one of the
principal sources of our national evils." His remedy was a tax on
expensive dress, and rich equipage and furniture. [T. S.]
[94] The text of this tract is based on that given by Deane Swift in the
eighth volume of his edition of Swift's works published in quarto in
1765. [T. S.]
[95] This refers to Whitshed. [T. S.]
[96] The Fourth. See vol. vi. of present edition. [T. S.]
[97] Some ten years after Swift wrote the above, the roads of Ireland
were thought to be so good as to attract Whitefield's attention. Lecky
quotes Arthur Young, who found Irish roads superior to those of England.
(Lecky's "Ireland," vol. i., p. 330, 1892 ed.) [T. S.]
[98] Lecky (vol. i., pp. 333-335, 1892 edit.) gives a detailed account
of the destruction of the fine woods in Ireland which occurred during
the forty years that followed the Revolution. The melancholy sight of
the denuded land drew the attention of a Parliamentary Commission
appointed to inquire into the matter. The Act of 10 Will. III. 2, c. 12
ordered the planting of a certain number of trees in every county,
"but," remarks Lecky, "it was insufficient to counteract the destruction
which was due to the cupidity or the fears of the new proprietors."
[T. S.]
[99] Swift always distinguished between the Irish "barbarians" and the
Irish who were in reality English settlers in Ireland. Swift, for once,
is in accord with the desires of the English Government, who wished to
eradicate the Irish language. His friend the Archbishop of Dublin and
his own college, that of Trinity, were in favour of keeping the language
alive. (See Lecky's "Ireland," vol. i., pp. 331-332.) [T. S.]
[100] See Swift's "Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish
Manufactures." [T. S.]
[101] See Swift's "Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish
Manufactures." [T. S.]
[102] The text here given is that of Scott read by the "Miscellaneous
Pieces" of 1789. The "Observations" were written, probably, in 1729.
[T. S.]
[103] Monck Mason has an elaborate note on this subject ("Hist. of St.
Patrick's Cathedral," pp. 320-321, ed. 1819), which is well worth
reprinting here, since it is an excellent statement of facts, and is
fully borne out by Hely Hutchinson's account in his "Commercial
Restraints of Ireland," to which reference has already been made:
"In the year 1698 a bill was introduced into the English Parliament,
grounded upon complaints, that the woollen manufacture in Ireland
prejudiced the staple trade of England; the matter terminated at last in
an address to the King, wherein the commons 'implored his majesty's
protection and favour on this matter, and that he would make it his
royal care, and enjoin all those whom he employed in Ireland, to use
their utmost diligence, to hinder the exportation of wool from Ireland
(except it be imported into England), and for the discouraging the
woollen manufacture, and increasing the linen manufacture of Ireland.'
Accordingly, on the 16th July, the King wrote a letter of instructions
to the Earl of Galway, in which the following passage appears: 'The
chief thing that must be tried to be prevented, is, that the Irish
parliament takes no notice of what has passed in this here, and that you
make effectual laws for the linen manufacture, and discourage as far as
possible the woollen.'--The Earl of Galway and the other justices
convened the parliament on the 27th of September; in their speech, they
recommended a bill for the encouragement of the manufactures of linen
and hemp, 'which,' say they, 'will be found more advantageous to this
kingdom than the woollen manufacture, which, being the settled trade of
England from whence all foreign markets are supplied, can never be
encouraged here.' The house of commons so far concurred with the lords
justices' sentiments as to say, in their address of thanks, that they
would heartily endeavour to establish the linen manufacture, and to
render the same useful to England, and 'we hope,' they add, 'to find
such a temperament, with respect to the woollen trade here, that the
same may not be injurious to England' ('Cont. Rapin's Hist.,' p. 376).
'And they did,' says Mr. Smith, 'so far come into a temperament in this
case, as, hoping it would be accepted by way of compromise, to lay a
high duty of ... upon all their woollen manufacture exported; under
which, had England acquiesced, I am persuaded it would have been better
for the kingdom in general. But the false notion of a possible monopoly,
made the English deaf to all other terms of accommodation; by which
means they lost the horse rather than quit the stable' ('Memoirs of
Wool,' vol. ii., p. 30). The duties imposed by the Irish parliament, at
this time, upon the export of manufactured wool, was four shillings on
the value of twenty shillings of the old drapery, and two shillings upon
the like value of the new, except friezes. But this concurrence of the
people of Ireland seemed rather to heighten the jealousy between the two
nations, by making the people of England imagine the manufactures of
Ireland were arrived at a dangerous pitch of improvement, since they
could be supposed capable of bearing so extravagant a duty: accordingly,
in the next following year, the English parliament passed an Act (10-11
William III: cap. 10), that no person should export from Ireland wool or
woollen goods, except to England or Wales, under high penalties, such
goods to be shipped only from certain ports in Ireland, and to certain
ports in England: But this was not the whole grievance; the old duties
upon the import of those commodities, whether raw or manufactured, into
Great Britain, were left in the same state as before, which amounted
nearly to a prohibition; thus did the English, although they had not
themselves any occasion for those commodities, prohibit, nevertheless,
their being sent to any other nation.
"The discouragement of the woollen manufacture of Ireland, affected
particularly the English settlers there, for the linen was entirely in
the hands of the Scotch, who were established in Ulster, and the Irish
natives had no share in either. It is stated in a pamphlet, entitled, 'A
Discourse concerning Ireland, etc. in answer to the Exon and Barnstaple
petitions,' printed 1697-8, that there were then, in the city and
suburbs of Dublin, 12,000 English families, and throughout the nation,
50,000, who were bred to trades connected with the manufacture of wool,
'who could no more get their bread in the linen manufacture, than a
London taylor by shoe-making.'
"Mr. Walter Scott says ('Life of Swift,' p. 278) that the Irish woollen
manufacture produced an annual million, but this is not the fact; Mr.
Dobbs in his 'Essay on the Trade of Ireland,' informs us, from the
custom-house books, that in the year 1697 (which immediately preceded
the year in which the address above-mentioned was transmitted to the
king) the total value of Irish woollen exports, of all sorts, was only
_ВЈ23,614 9s. 6d._, and in 1687, when they were at the highest, they
did not exceed _ВЈ70,521 14s. 0d._ It moreover appears, that the
greater part of these exports were of a sort which did not interfere
with the trade of England, _ВЈ56,415 16s. 0d._ was in friezes, and
_ВЈ2,520 18s. 0d._ coarse stockings, the rest consisted in serges and
other stuffs of the new drapery, which affected not the trade of England
generally, but only the particular interests of Exeter and its
neighbourhood, and a very few other inconsiderable towns.
"But, whatever injury was intended, little prejudice was done to
Ireland, except what followed immediately after the passing of this Act.
It appears from Mr. Dobbs's pamphlet, that, a few years after, four
times the quantity of woollen goods were shipped in each year,
clandestinely, than had ever been exported, legally, before: moreover,
the Irish vastly increased their manufactures for home consumption, and
learned to make fine cloth from Spanish wool: it was only to England
itself that any disadvantage redounded; many manufacturers who were
unsettled by this measure, passed over to Germany, Spain, and to Rouen
and other parts of France, 'from these beginnings they have, in many
branches, so much improved the woollen manufactures of France, as to vie
with the English in foreign markets.--Upon the whole, those nations may
be justly said to have deprived Britain of millions since that time,
instead of the thousands Ireland might possibly have made.'--What Mr.
Dobbs has here asserted, relative to the removal of the manufacturers,
has been confirmed by another tract, 'Letter from a Clothier a Member of
Parliament,' printed in 1731, which informs us that, for some years
after, the English seemed to engross all the woollen trade, 'but this
appearance of benefit abated, as the foreign factories, raised on the
ruin of the Irish, acquired strength': he shows too, that the
importation of unmanufactured wool from Ireland to England had been
gradually decreasing since that time, which was probably on account of
the increase of the illicit trade to foreign parts, towards the
encouragement of which the duties, or legal transportation, served to
act as a bounty of 36 per cent. 'So true it is, that England can never
fall into measures for unreasonably cramping the industry of the people
of Ireland, without doing herself the greatest prejudice.'" (Note g, pp.
320-321). [T. S.]
[104] The causes for absenteeism are thus noted by Lecky ("Hist. of
Ireland," p. 213, vol. i., ed. 1892): "The very large part of the
confiscated land was given to Englishmen who had property and duties in
England, and habitually lived there. Much of it also came into the
market, and as there was very little capital in Ireland, and as
Catholics were forbidden to purchase land, this also passed largely into
the hands of English speculators. Besides, the level of civilization was
much higher in England than in Ireland. The position of a Protestant
landlord, living in the midst of a degraded population, differing from
him in religion and race, had but little attraction, the political
situation of the country closed to an Irish gentleman nearly every
avenue of honourable ambition, and owing to a long series of very
evident causes, the sentiment of public duty was deplorably low. The
economical condition was not checked by any considerable movement in the
opposite direction, for after the suppression of the Irish manufactures
but few Englishmen, except those who obtained Irish offices, came to
Ireland."
The amount of the rent obtained in Ireland that was spent in England is
estimated elsewhere by Swift to have been at least one-third. In 1729,
Prior assessed the amount at ВЈ627,000. In the Supplement to his "List of
Absentees," Prior gives eight further "articles" by which money was
"yearly drawn out of the Kingdom." See the "Supplement," pp. 242-245 in
Thone's "Collection of Tracts," Dublin, 1861. [T. S.]
[105] John Erskine, Earl of Mar, has elsewhere been characterized by
Swift as "crooked; he seemed to me to be a gentleman of good sense and
good nature." The great rebellion of 1715, for which Mar was
responsible, was stirred up by him in favour of the Pretender, and
succeeded so far as to bring the Chevalier to Scotland. The Duke of
Argyll, however, fought his forces, and though the victory remained
undecided, Mar was compelled to seek safety in France. The rebellion
caused so much disturbance in every part of the British Isles that
Ireland suffered greatly from bad trade. [T. S.]
[106] Joshua, Lord Allen. See note on p. 175. [T. S.]
[107] See page 60 of vol. iii. of the present edition. [T. S.]
[108] Chief Justice Whitshed. [T. S.]
[109] See page 14. [T. S.]
[110] Edward Waters. [T. S.]
[111] See pages 96, 235-6, of vol. vi. of present edition. [T. S.]
[112] The person here intimated, Joshua, Lord Allen (whom Swift
elsewhere satirizes under the name of Traulus), was born in 1685. He is
said to have been a weak and dissipated man; and some particulars are
recorded by tradition concerning his marriage with Miss Du Pass (whose
father was clerk of the secretary of state's office in James the
Second's reign, and died in India in 1699), which do very little honour
either to his heart or understanding.
It is reported, that being trepanned into a marriage with this lady, by
a stratagem of the celebrated Lionel, Duke of Dorset, Lord Allen
refused, for some time, to acknowledge her as his wife. But the lady,
after living some time in close retirement, caused an advertisement to
be inserted in the papers, stating the death of a brother in the East
Indies, by which Miss Margaret Du Pass had succeeded to a large fortune.
Accordingly, she put on mourning, and assumed an equipage conforming to
her supposed change of fortune. Lord Allen's affairs being much
deranged, he became now as anxious to prove the marriage with the
wealthy heiress, as he had formerly been to disown the unportioned
damsel; and succeeded, after such opposition as the lady judged
necessary to give colour to the farce. Before the deceit was discovered,
Lady Allen, by her good sense and talents, had obtained such ascendance
over her husband, that they ever afterwards lived in great harmony.
Lord Allen was, at the time of giving offence to Swift, a
privy-counsellor; and distinguished himself, according to Lodge, in the
House of Peers, by his excellent speeches for the benefit of his
country. He died at Stillorgan, 1742. [S.]
Swift did not allow Lord Allen to rest with this "advertisement." In the
poem entitled "Traulus," Allen is gibbetted in some lively rhymes. He
calls him a "motley fruit of mongrel seed," and traces his descent from
the mother's side (she was the sister of the Earl of Kildare) as well as
the father's (who was the son of Sir Joshua Allen, Lord Mayor of Dublin
in 1673):
"Who could give the looby such airs?
Were they masons, were they butchers?
* * * * *
This was dexterous at the trowel,
That was bred to kill a cow well:
Hence the greasy clumsy mien
In his dress and figure seen;
Hence the mean and sordid soul,
Like his body rank and foul;
Hence that wild suspicious peep,
Like a rogue that steals a sheep;
Hence he learnt the butcher's guile,
How to cut your throat and smile;
Like a butcher doomed for life
In his mouth to wear a knife;
Hence he draws his daily food
From his tenants' vital blood."
[T. S.]
[113] See note on page 66 of vol. vi. of present edition. The patent to
Lord Dartmouth, granting him the right to coin copper coins, provided
that he should give security to redeem these coins for gold or silver on
demand. John Knox obtained this patent and Colonel Moore acquired it
from Knox after the Revolution. [T. S.]
[114] Of ten pence in every two shillings. [F.]
[115] But M'Culla hath still _30l._ per cent. by the scheme, if they be
returned. [F.]
[116] Faulkner's edition adds here: "For the benefit of defrauding the
crown never occurreth to the public, but is wholly turned to the
advantage of those whom the crown employeth." [T. S.]
[117] See page 89 of vol. vi. of present edition. [T. S.]
[118] 1: Faulkner's edition adds here: "it being a matter wholly out
of my trade." [T. S.]
[119] See "A Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufactures," p.
19. [T. S.]
[120] See Swift's letter to Archbishop King on the weavers, p. 137.
[T. S.]
[121] Edward Waters. [T. S.]
[122] See note prefixed to pamphlet on p. 15. [T. S.]
[123] See notes on pp. 6, 7, 8 and 73 of vol. vi. of present edition.
[T. S.]
[124] See Appendix V. in vol. vi. of present edition. [T. S.]
[125] See page 81. [T. S.]
[126] Nathaniel Mist was the publisher of the "Weekly Journal," for
which Defoe wrote many important papers. The greater part of his career
as a printer was spent in trials and imprisonments for the "libels"
which appeared in his journal. This was largely due to the fact that his
weekly newspaper became the recognized organ of Jacobites and
"High-fliers." From 1716 to 1728 he was a pretty busy man with the
government, and finally was compelled to go to France to escape from
prosecution. In France he joined Wharton, but his "Journal" still
continued to be issued until September 21st of the year 1728, which was
the date of the last issue. On the 28th of the same month, however,
appeared its continuation under the title, "Fog's Weekly Journal," and
this was carried on by Mist's friends. Mist died in 1737. [T. S.]
[127] See notes on pp. 158-159. [T. S.]
[128] "Observations on the Precedent List: Together with a View of the
Trade of Ireland, and the Great Benefits which accrue to England
thereby; with some hints for the further improvement of the same."
Dublin, second edition, 1729. Reprinted in Thom's "Tracts and Treatises
of Ireland," 1861, vol. ii. [T. S]
[129] A reference to Alberoni's expedition in aid of the Jacobites made
several years before Swift wrote. [T. S.]
[130] Sir W. Petty gives the population of Ireland as about one million,
two hundred thousand ("Pol. Arithmetic," 1699). [T. S.]
[131] This is probably a Swiftian plausibility to give an air of truth
to his remarks. Certain parts of America were at that time reputed to be
inhabited by cannibals. [T. S.]
[132] This anecdote is taken from the Description of the Island of
Formosa by that very extraordinary impostor George Psalmanazar, who for
some time passed himself for a native of that distant country. He
afterwards published a retractation of his figments, with many
expressions of contrition, but containing certain very natural
indications of dislike to those who had detected him. The passage
referred to in the text is as follows: "We also eat human flesh, which
I am now convinced is a very barbarous custom, though we feed only upon
our open enemies, slain or made captive in the field, or else upon
malefactors legally executed; the flesh of the latter is our greatest
dainty, and is four times dearer than other rare and delicious meat. We
buy it of the executioner, for the bodies of all public capital
offenders are his fees. As soon as the criminal is dead, he cuts the
body in pieces, squeezes out the blood, and makes his house a shambles
for the flesh of men and women, where all people that can afford it come
and buy. I remember, about ten years ago, a tall, well-complexioned,
pretty fat virgin, about nineteen years of age, and tire-woman to the
queen, was found guilty of high treason, for designing to poison the
king; and accordingly she was condemned to suffer the most cruel death
that could be invented, and her sentence was, to be nailed to a cross,
and kept alive as long as possible. The sentence was put in execution;
when she fainted with the cruel torment, the hangman gave her strong
liquors, &c. to revive her; the sixth day she died. Her long sufferings,
youth, and good constitution, made her flesh so tender, delicious, and
valuable, that the executioner sold it for above eight tallies; for
there was such thronging to this inhuman market, that men of great
fashion thought themselves fortunate if they could purchase a pound or
two of it." Lond. 1705, p. 112. [S.]
[133] The English government had been making concessions to the
Dissenters, and, of course, Swift satirically alludes here to the
arguments used by the government in the steps they had taken. But the
truth of the matter, Swift hints, was, that those who desired to abolish
the test were more anxious for their pockets than their consciences.
[T. S.]
[134] The inhabitants of a district of Brazil supposed to be savages,
making the name synonymous with savage ignorance. [T. S.]
[135]
"Remove me from this land of slaves,
Where all are fools, and all are knaves,
Where every fool and knave is bought,
Yet kindly sells himself for nought."
(_From Swift's note-book, written while detained at Holyhead in
September, 1727._) [T. S.]
[136] All these are proposals advocated, of course, by Swift himself, in
previous pamphlets and papers. [T. S.]
[137] So that there would be no danger of an objection from England that
the English were suffering from Irish competition. [T. S.]
[138] This was the celebrated periodical founded by Pulteney, after he
had separated himself from Walpole, to which Bolingbroke contributed his
famous letters of an Occasional Writer. The journal carried on a
political war against Walpole's administration, and endeavoured to bring
about the establishment of a new party, to consist of Tories and the
Whigs who could not agree with Walpole's methods. Caleb D'Anvers was a
mere name for a Grub Street hack who was supposed to be the writer. But
Walpole had no difficulty in recognizing the hand of Bolingbroke, and
his reply to the first number of the Occasional Writer made Bolingbroke
wince. [T. S.]
[139] The "Modest Proposal." See page 207. [T. S.]
[140] Referring to the silks, laces, and dress of the extravagant women.
See pp. 139, 198, 199. [T. S.]
[141] The chief source of income in Ireland came from the pasture lands
on which cattle were bred. The cattle were imported to England. The
English landlords, however, taking alarm, discovered to the Crown that
this importation of Irish cattle was lowering English rents. Two Acts
passed in 1665 and 1680 fully met the wishes of the landlords, and
ruined absolutely the Irish cattle trade. Prevented thus from breeding
cattle, the Irish turned to the breeding of sheep, and established, in a
very short time, an excellent trade in wool. How England ruined this
industry also may be seen from note on p. 158. [T. S.]
[142] Alluding to the facilities afforded for the recruiting of the
French army in Ireland. [T. S.]
[143] The King of France. [T. S.]
[144] Buttermilk. The quotation from Virgil aptly applies to the food of
the Irish peasants, who, in the words of Skelton, bled their cattle and
boiled their blood with sorrel to make a food. [T. S.]
[145] At Christ Church. See note prefixed to this tract. [T. S.]
[146] Sheridan, in his life of Swift, gives an instance of this which is
quoted by Scott. Carteret had appointed Sheridan one of his domestic
chaplains, and the two would often spend hours together, or, in company
with Swift, exchanging talk and knowledge. When Sheridan had one of the
Greek tragedies performed by the scholars of the school he kept,
Carteret wished to read the play over with him before the performance.
At this reading Sheridan was surprised at the ease with which his patron
could translate the original, and, asking him how he came to know it so
well, Carteret told him "that when he was envoy in Denmark, he had been
for a long time confined to his chamber, partly by illness, and partly
by the severity of the weather; and having but few books with him, he
had read Sophocles over and over so often as to be almost able to repeat
the whole _verbatim_, which impressed it ever after indelibly on his
memory." [T. S.]
[147] This refers to Richard Tighe, the gentleman who informed on poor
Sheridan for preaching from the text on the anniversary of King George's
accession, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." It was on this
information that Sheridan lost his living. Swift never afterwards missed
an opportunity to ridicule Tighe, and he has lampooned that individual
in several poems. In "The Legion Club" Swift calls him Dick Fitzbaker,
alluding to his descent from one of Cromwell's contractors, who supplied
the army with bread. [T. S.]
[148] "The worst of times" was the expression used by the Whigs when
they referred to Oxford's administration in the last four years of Queen
Anne's reign. [T. S.]
[149] A famous rope-dancer of that time. [H.]
[150] A justice of the peace, who afterwards gave Swift farther
provocation. It was Hutcheson who signed Faulkner's committal to prison
for printing "A New Proposal for the Better Regulation and Improvement
of Quadrille," a pamphlet which Swift did not write, but which had his
favour. A jeering insinuation was made against the famous Sergeant
Bettesworth, whom Swift had already lampooned, and Bettesworth
complained to the House of Commons. Hutcheson aided Bettesworth in this
prosecution, causing Swift to be roused to a strong indignation against
such unconstitutional proceedings.
"Better we all were in our graves,
Than live in slavery to slaves."
These are the lines beginning one of his more trenchant lampoons against
the magistrate. [T. S.]
[151] "The beast who had kicked him" is the expression Swift uses for
Tighe in writing to Sheridan in a letter on September 25th, 1725. In
that letter Swift urges Sheridan to revenge, and promises him his help.
[T. S.]
[152] The word is spelt "Galloway" in the original edition. The earldom
of Galway became extinct in 1720. For an account of the earl, see note
on p. 20 of volume v. of this edition. [T. S.]
[153] Joshua, Lord Allen. See p. 175 [T. S.]
[154] Swift's poem entitled "Traulus" was published at this price, and
gives in rhyme much the same matter as is here given in prose. See p.
176. [T. S.]
[155] Lord Allen was reputed to be wrong in his head. When Swift was
once asked to excuse him for his conduct on the plea that he was mad,
Swift replied: "I know that he is a madman; and, if that were all, no
man living could commiserate his condition more than myself; but, sir,
he is a madman possessed by the devil. I renounce him." (See Scott's
"Life of Swift," p. 365.) [T. S.]
[156] The reader may compare what is stated in these two paragraphs with
the same opinion expressed by the author in "The Public Spirit of the
Whigs." [S.]
[157] See notes on pp. 74, 232. [T. S.]
[158] See note on p. 232. [T. S.]
[159] Mr. Tickell and Mr. Ballaquer. Tickell was Addison's biographer,
and a friend and correspondent of Swift. He was no mean poet, and though
Pope did not care for him Swift did. Tickell was Secretary to the Lords
Justices of Ireland, and Ballaquer Secretary to Carteret. [T. S.]
[160] The day of the anniversary of the accession of George I. In his
"History of Solomon the Second" Swift censures his friend strongly for
his indiscretion. [T. S.]
[161] The Richard Tighe afore-mentioned. [T. S.]
[162] Sheridan wrote a poem displeasing to Swift, which Swift thus
animadverts on in the "History of the Second Solomon": "Having lain many
years under the obloquy of a high Tory and a Jacobite, upon the present
Queen's birthday, he [Dr. Sheridan] writ a song to be performed before
the government and those who attended them, in praise of the Queen and
King, on the common topics of her beauty, wit, family, love of England,
and all other virtues, wherein the King and the royal children were
sharers. It was very hard to avoid the common topics. A young collegian
who had done the same job the year before, got some reputation on
account of his wit. Solomon would needs vie with him, by which he lost
the esteem of his old friends the Tories, and got not the least interest
with the Whigs, for they are now too strong to want advocates of that
kind; and, therefore, one of the lords-justices reading the verses in
some company, said, 'Ah, doctor, this shall not do.' His name was at
length in the title-page; and he did this without the knowledge or
advice of one living soul, as he himself confesseth." [T. S.]
[163] Dr. Stopford, Bishop of Cloyne, one of Swift's intimate friends.
Stopford always acknowledged that he owed his advancement entirely to
Swift's kindness. He wrote an elegant Latin tribute to Swift, given by
Scott in an appendix to the "Life." With Delany and others he was one of
Swift's executors.
[164] Delany was a ripe scholar and much esteemed by Swift, though the
latter had occasion to rebuke him for attempting to court favour with
the Castle people, and for an attack on the "Intelligencer," a journal
which Swift and Sheridan had started. Delany, however, was a little
jealous of Sheridan's favour with the Dean. He was afterwards Chancellor
of St Patrick's, and wrote a life of Swift. [T. S.]
[165] Sir Constantine Phipps, Lord Chancellor of Ireland when Queen Anne
died. [_Orig. Note._]
[166] Swift himself. [T. S.]
[167] Dr. William King, who died a year or so before Swift wrote. [T. S.]
[168] In 1724, two under-graduates were expelled from Trinity College
for alleged insolence to the provost. Dr. Delany espoused their cause
with such warmth that it drew upon him very inconvenient consequences,
and he was at length obliged to give satisfaction to the college by a
formal acknowledgment of his offence. [S.]
[169] A very good friend of Swift, at whose place at Gosford, in the
county of Antrim, Swift would often stay for months together. The
reference here is to the project for converting a large house, called
Hamilton's Bawn, situated about two miles from Sir Arthur Acheson's
seat, into a barrack. The project gave rise to Swift's poem, entitled,
"The Grand Question Debated," given by Scott in vol. xv., p. 171. [T. S.]
[170] Most of these expressions explain themselves. "Termagants" was
applied to resisters, as used in the old morality plays. "Iconoclasts,"
the name given to those who defaced King William's statue.
"White-rosalists," given to those who wore the Stuart badge on the 10th
of June, the day of the Pretender's birthday. [T. S.]
[171] By fines is meant the increase made in rents on the occasion of
renewals of leases. [T. S.]
[172] This document was copied by Sir Walter Scott from Dr. Lyon's
papers. It is indorsed, "Queries for Mr. Lindsay," and "21st Nov., 1730,
Mr. Lindsay's opinion concerning Mr. Gorman, in answer to my queries."
Mr. Lindsay's answer was:
"I have carefully perused and considered this case, and am clearly of
opinion, that the agent has not made any one answer like a man of
business, but has answered very much like a true agent.
"Nov. 21, 1730. Robert Lindsay."
[173] Swift was born at No. 7, Hoey's Court, near the Castle grounds.
[T. S.]
[174] A sort of sugar-cakes in the shape of hearts. [F.]
[175] A new name for a modern periwig with a long black tail, and for
its owner; now in fashion, Dec. 1, 1733. [F.]
[176] Referring to the last four years of Anne's reign, when Harley was
minister. The expression was a Whig one. [T. S.]
[177] "The squeezing of the orange" was literally a toast among the
disaffected in the reign of William III. [S.]
[178] The author's meaning is just contrary to the literal sense in the
character of Lord Oxford; while he is in truth sneering at the splendour
of Houghton, and the supposed wealth of Sir Robert Walpole. [S.]
[179] The paragraph here printed in square brackets did not appear in
the original Dublin edition of 1732. [T. S.]
[180] Was a gentleman of a very large estate, and left it to the poor
people of England, to be distributed amongst them annually, as the
Parliament of Great Britain, his executors, should think proper. [F.]
[181] 4,060,000 in 1734 and 4,600,000 in edition of 1733. To make the
total agree with the division below it, the item against Richard Norton
has been altered from 60,000 to 6,000. [T. S.]
[182] See note on page 269. [T. S.]
[183] See note on page 271. [T. S.]
[184] Humphry French, Lord Mayor of Dublin for the year 1732-3, was
elected to succeed Alderman Samuel Burton. [F.]
[185] John Macarrell, Register of the Barracks, shortly after this date
elected to the representation of Carlingford. [F.]
[186] Edward Thompson, member of parliament for York, and a Commissioner
of the Revenue in Ireland. [F.]
[187] Mr. Thompson was presented with the freedom of several
corporations in Ireland. [F.]
[188] Upon the death of Mr. Stoyte, Recorder of the City of Dublin, in
the year 1733, several gentlemen declared themselves candidates to
succeed him; upon which the Dean wrote the above paper, and Eaton
Stannard, Esq. (a gentleman of great worth and honour, and very knowing
in his profession) was elected [F.]
[189] Dr. William King. [T. S.]
[190] The following, from Deane Swift's edition, given by Sir Walter
Scott in his edition of Swift's works, refers to this "very plain
proposal." It is evidently written by Swift, and is dated, as from the
Deanery House, September 26th, 1726, almost eleven years before the
above tract was issued:
