WHEREAS it is expedient, and conformable to the principles of true religion and morality, and to the rules of sound policy, to put an end to all traffic in the persons of men, and to the detention of their said persons in a state of slavery, as soon as the same may be effected without producing great inconveniences in the sudden change of practices of such long standing: and, during the time of the continuance of the said practices, it is desirable and expedient, by proper regulations, to lessen the inconveniences and evils attendant on the said traffic and state of servitude, until both shall be gradually done away.

And whereas the objects of the said trade and consequential servitude, and the grievances resulting therefrom, come under the principal heads following, the regulations ought thereto to be severally applied; that is to say, that provision should be made by the said regulations, 1st. For duly qualifying ships for the said traffic;

2d. For the mode and conditions of permitting the said trade to be carried on upon the coast of Africa;

3d. For the treatment of the negroes in their passage to the West India islands;

4th. For the government of the negroes, which are or shall be employed in his majesty's colonies and plantations in the West Indies:

Be it therefore enacted, that every ship or trading vessel, which is intended for the negro trade, with the name of the owner or owners thereof, shall be entered and registered, as ships trading to the West Indies are by law to be registered, with the further provisions following:

1. The said entry and register shall contain an account of the greatest number of negroes of all descriptions, which are proposed to be taken into the said ship or trading vessel; and the said ship, before she is permitted to be entered outwards, shall be surveyed by a shipcarpenter to be appointed by the collector of the port from which the said vessel is to depart, and by a surgeon also appointed by the collector, who hath been conversant in the service of the said trade, but not at the time actually engaged or covenanted therein; and the said carpenter and surgeon shall report to the collector, or, in his absence, to the next principal officer of the port, upon oath (which oath the said collector or principal officer is hereby empowered to administer) her measurement, and what she contains in builder's tonnage, and that she has feet of grated port-holes between the decks, and that she is otherwise fitly found as a good transport vessel.

2. And be it enacted, that no ship employed in the said trade shall, upon any pretence, take in more negroes than one grown man or woman for one ton and half of builder's tonnage, nor more than one boy or girl for one ton.

3. That the said ship or other vessel shall lay in, in proportion to the ship's company of the said vessel, and the number of negroes registered, a full and sufficient store of sound provision, so as to be secured against all probable delays and accidents; namely, salted beef, pork, salt fish, butter, cheese, biscuit, flour, rice, oatmeal, and white peas; but no horsebeans or other inferior provisions; and the said ship shall be properly provided with watercasks or jars, in proportion to the intended number of the said negroes; and the said ship shall be also provided with a proper and sufficient stock of coals or fire-wood.

4. And every ship, entered as aforesaid, shall take out a coarse shirt, and a pair of trowsers or petticoat, for each negro intended to be taken aboard; as also a mat, or coarse mattress or hammock, for the use of the said negroes.

The proportions of provision, fuel, and clothing, to be regulated by the table annexed to this

act.

5. And be it enacted, that no ship shall be permitted to proceed on the said voyage or adventure, until the searcher of the port, from whence the said vessel shall sail, or such person as he shall appoint to act for him, shall report to the collector, that he hath inspected the said stores, and that the ship is accommodated and provided in the manner hereby directed.

6. And be it enacted, that no guns be exported to the coast of Africa, in the said or any other trade, unless the same be duly marked with the maker's name on the barrels before they are put into the stocks, and vouched by an inspector in the place where the same are made, to be without fraud,and sufficient and merchantable arms.

7. And be it enacted, that before any ship as aforesaid shall proceed on her voyage, the owner or owners, or an attorney by them named, if the owners are more than two, and the master shall severally give bond, the owners by themselves, the master for himself, that the said master shall duly conform himself, in all things to the regulations is this act contained, so far as the same regards his part in executing and conforming to the same.

II. And whereas, in providing for the second object of this act, that is to say, for the trade on the coast of Africa, it is first prudent not only

SIR,

HAVING heard yesterday by mere accident, that there is an intention of laying before the county meeting new matter, which is not contained in our petition, and the consideration of which had been deferred to a fitter time by a majority of our committee in London; permit me to take this method of submitting to you my reasons for thinking, with our committee, that nothing ought to be hastily determined upon the subject.

Our petition arose naturally from distresses which we felt; and the requests, which we made, were in effect nothing more, than that such things should be done in parliament, as it was evidently the duty of parliament to do. But the affair, which will be proposed to you by a person of rank and ability, is an alteration in the constitution of parliament itself. It is impossible for you to have a subject before of more importance, and that requires a more cool and more mature consideration, both on its own account, and for the credit of our sobriety of mind who are to resolve upon it.

you

The county will, in some way or other, be called upon to declare it your opinion, that the house of commons is not sufficiently numerous, and that the elections are not sufficiently frequent. That an hundred new knights of the shire ought to be added; and that we are to have a new election once in three

years for certain, and as much oftener as the king pleases. Such will be the state of things if the proposition made shall take effect.

man,

All this may be proper. But, as an honest I cannot possibly give my vote for it until I have considered it more fully. I will not deny, that our constitution may have faults; and that those faults, when found, ought to be corrected; but, on the whole, that constitution

has been our own pride, and an object of admiration to all other nations. It is not every thing which appears at first view to be faulty in such a complicated plan, that is to be determined to be so in reality. To enable us to correct the constitution, the whole constitution must be viewed together; and it must be compared with the actual state of the people, and the circumstances of the time. For, that which, taken singly and by itself, may appear to be wrong, when considered with relation to other things may be perfectly right; or at least such as ought to be patiently endured, as the means of preventing something that is worse. So far with regard to what at first view may appear a distemper in the constitution. As to the remedy of that distemper, an equal caution ought to be used; because this latter consideration is not single and separate, no more than the former. There are many things in reformation which would be proper to be done, if other things can be done along with them; but which, if they cannot be so accompanied, ought not to be done at all. I therefore wish, when any new matter of this deep nature is proposed to me, to have the whole scheme distinctly in my view, and full time to consider of it. Please God, I will walk with caution, whenever I am not able clearly to see my way before me.

I am now growing old. I have from my very early youth been conversant in reading and thinking upon the subject of our laws and constitution, as well as upon those of other times, and other countries. I have been for fifteen years a very laborious member of parliament; and in that time have had great opportunities of seeing with my own eyes the working of the machine of our government; and remarking where it went smoothly and did its business, and where it checked in its movements, or where it damaged its work. I have also had and used the opportunities of conversing with men of the greatest wisdom and fullest experience in those matters; and I do declare to you most solemnly and most truly, that on the result of all this reading, thinking, experience,

and communication, I am not able to come to an immediate resolution in favour of a change of the groundwork of our constitution: and in particular, that in the present state of the country, in the present state of our representation, in the present state of our rights and modes of electing, in the present state of the several prevalent interests, in the present state of the affairs and manners of this country, that the addition of an hundred knights of the shire, and hurrying election on election, will be things advantageous to liberty or good government. This is the present condition of my mind; and this is my apology for not going as fast as others may choose to go in this business. I do not by any means reject the propositions much less do I condemn the gentlemen who, with equal good intentions, with much better abilities, and with infinitely greater personal weight and consideration than mine, are of opinion that this matter ought to be decided upon instantly.

I most heartily wish, that the deliberate sense of the kingdom on this great subject should be known. When it is known, it must be prevalent. It would be dreadful indeed, if there was any power in the nation capable of resisting its unanimous desire, or even the desire of any very great and decided majority of the people. The people may be deceived in their choice of an object. But I can scarcely conceive any choice they can make to be so very mischievous as the existence of any human force capable of resisting it. It will certainly be the duty of every man in the situation to which God has called him, to give his best opinion and advice upon the matter; it will not be his duty, let him think what he will, to use any violent or any fraudulent means of counteracting the general wish, or even of employing the legal and constructive organ of expressing the people's sense against the sense which they do actually entertain.

In order that the real sense of the people should be known upon so great an affair as this, it is of absolute necessity that timely notice should be given. That the matter should be prepared in open committees; from a choice into which no class or description of men is to be excluded-and the subsequent county meetings should be as full and as well attended as possible. Without these precautions the true sense of the people will ever be uncertain. Sure am, that no precipitate resolution on a great change in the fundamental constitution of any country can ever be called the real sense of the people.

I trust it will not be taken amiss, if, as an inhabitant and freeholder of this county, (one

indeed among the most inconsiderable,) I assert my right of dissenting (as I do dissent fully and directly) from any resolution whatsoever on the subject of an alteration in the representation and election of the kingdom at this time. By preserving this right, and exercising it with temper and moderation, I trust I cannot offend the noble proposer, for whom no man professes, or feels, more respect and regard than I do. A want of concurrence in every thing which can be proposed, will in no sort weaken the energy or distract the efforts of men of upright intentions, upon those points in which they are agreed. Assemblies that are met, and with a resolution to be all of a inind, are assemblies that can have no opinion at all of their own. The first proposer of any measure must be their master. I do not know that an amicable variety of sentiment, conducted with mutual good will, has any sort of resemblance to discord; or that it can give any advantage whatsoever to the enemies of our common cause. On the contrary, a forced and fictitious agreement (which every universal agreement must be) is not becoming the cause of freedom. If, however, any evil should arise from it, (which I confess I do not foresee,) I am happy that those who have brought forward new and arduous matter, when very great doubts, and some diversity of opinion must be foreknown, are of authority and weight enough to stand against the consequences.

I humbly lay these my sentiments before the county. They are not taken up to serve any interests of my own, or to be subservient to the interests of any man or set of men under heaven. I could wish to be able to attend our meeting, or that I had time to reason this matter more fully by letter; but I am detained here upon our business. What you have already put upon us is as much as we can do. If we are prevented from going through it with any effect, I fear it will be in part owing, not more to the resistance of the enemies of our cause, than to our imposing on ourselves such tasks as no human faculties, employed as we were, can be equal to. Our worthy members have shown distinguished ability and zeal in support of our petition. I am just going down to a bil! brought in to frustrate a capital part of your desires. The minister is preparing to transfer the cognizance of the public accounts from those whom you and the constitution have chosen to controul them, to unknown persons, creatures of his own. For so much he annihilates parliament.

Charles-street, 12th April, 1780.

I have the honour, &c. EDMUND BURKE.

FRAGMENTS OF A TRACT

ON THE

POPERY LAWS.

THE PLAN.

I PROPOSE first to make an introduction, in order to shew the propriety of a closer inspec tion into the affairs of Ireland; and this takes up the first chapter; which is to be spent in this introductory matter, and in stating the popery laws in general as one leading cause of the imbecility of the country.

Ch. II. states particularly the laws themselves, in a plain and popular manner.

Ch. III. begins the remarks upon them, under the heads of, 1st. The Object, which is a numerous people. 2dly. Their means, a restraint on property. 3dly. Their instruments of execution, corrupted morals; which affect the national prosperity.

Ch. IV. The impolicy of those laws as they affect the national security.

Ch. V. Reasons by which the laws are supported, and answers to them.

The condition of the Roman catholics in Ireland appears to have engaged the attention of Mr. Burke at a very early period of his political life. It was probably soon after the year 1765, that he formed the plan of a work upon that subject, the fragments of which are now given to the public. No title is prefixed to it in the original manuscript; and the Plan, which it has been thought proper to insert here, was evidently designed merely for the convenience of the author. Of the first chapter some unconnected fragments only, too imperfect for publication, have been found. Of the second, there is a considerable portion, perhaps nearly the whole; but the copy, from which it is printed, is evidently a first rough draught. The third chapter, as far as it goes, is taken from a fair corrected copy; but the end of the second part of the first head is left unfinished; and the discussion of the second and third heads was either never entered upon, or the manuscript contain

CHAPER II.

In order to lay this matter with full satisfaction before the reader, I shall collect into one point of view, and state, as shortly and as clearly as I am able, the purport of these laws, according to the objects which they affect, without making at present any further observation upon them but just what shall be necessary to render the drift and intention of the legislature, and the tendency and operation of the laws, the more distinct and evident.

I shall begin with those which relate to the possession and inheritance of landed property in popish hands. The first operation of those acts upon this object was, wholly to change the course of descent by the common law; to take away the right of primogeniture; and, in lieu thereof, to substitute and establish a new species of statute gavelkind. By this law, on the death of a papist possessed of an estate in fee simple or in fee tail, the land is to be divided by equal portions between all the male children; and those portions are likewise to be parcelled out, share and share alike, among the descendants of each son, and so to proceed

ing it has unfortunately been lost. What follows the third chapter appears to have been designed for the beginning of the fourth, and is evidently the first rough draught; and to this we have added a fragment, which appears to have been a part either of this or the first chapter.

In the volume with which it is intended to close this posthumous publication of Mr. Burke's Works, we shall have occasion to enter into a more particular account of the part which he took in the discussion of this great political ques. tion. At present it may suffice to say, that the letter to Mr. Smith, the second letter to Sir Her cules Langrishe, and the letter to his son, which here follow in order the fragment on the popery laws, are the only writings upon this subject found among his papers in a state fit to appear in this stage of the publication.

What remain are some small fragments of the tract, and a few letters containing no new matter of importance.

in a similar distribution ad infinitum. From this regulation, it was proposed that some important consequences should follow; First, By taking away the right of primogeniture, perhaps in the very first generation, certainly in the second, the families of papists, however respectable, and their fortunes however considerable, would be wholly dissipated, and reduced to obscurity and indigence, without any possibility that they should repair them by their industry or abilities; being, as we shall see anon, disabled from every species of permanent acquisition. Secondly, By this law, the right of testamentation is taken away, which the inferiour tenures had always enjoyed; and all tenures from the 27th Hen. 8th. Thirdly, The right of settlement was taken away, that no such persons should, from the moment the act passed, be enabled to advance themselves in fortune or connection by marriage, being disabled from making any disposition in consideration of such marriage, but what the law had previously regulated; the reputable establishment of the eldest son, as representative of the family, or to settle a jointure, being commonly the great object in such settlements, which was the very power which the law had absolutely taken away. The operation of this law, however certain, might be too slow. The present possessors might happen to be long lived. The legislature knew the natural impatience of expectants, and upon this principle they gave encouragement to the children to anticipate the inheritance. For it is vided, that the eldest son of any papist shall, immediately on his conformity, change entirely the nature and properties of his father's legal estate; if he before held in fee simple, or in other words, had the entire and absolute dominion over the land, he is reduced to an estate for his life only, with all the consequences of the natural debility of that estate; by which he becomes disqualified to sell, mortgage, charge, (except for his life,) or in any wise to do any act by which he may raise money for relief in his most urgent necessities. The eldest son so conforming, immediately acquires, and in the lifetime of his father, the permanent part, what our law calls the reversion and inheritance of the estate, and he discharges it by retrospect; and annuls every sort of voluntary settlement made by the father ever so long before his conversion. This he may sell or dispose of immediately, and alienate it from the family for ever.

pro

Having thus reduced his father's estate, he may also bring his father into the court of chancery, where he may compel him to swear to VOL. II.-26

the value of his estate; and to allow him out of that possession (which had been before reduced to an estate for life) such an immediate annual allowance as the lord chancellor or lord keeper shall judge suitable to his age and quality.

This indulgence is not confined to the eldest son. The other children likewise, by conformity, may acquire the same privileges, and in the same manner force from their father an immediate and independent maintenance. It is very well worth remarking, that the statutes have avoided to fix any determinate age, for these emancipating conversions; so that the children, at any age, however incapable of choice in other respects, however immature or even infantine, are yet considered sufficiently capable to disinherit their parents, and totally to subtract themselves from their direction and controul, either at their own option, or by the instigation of others. By this law, the tenure and value of a Roman catholic, in his real property, is not only rendered extremely limited and altogether precarious; but the paternal power is in all such families so enervated, that it may well be considered as entirely taken away; even the principal upon which it is founded seems to be directly reversed. However, the legislature feared that enough was not yet done upon this head; the Roman catholic parent, by selling his real estate, might in some sort preserve the dominion over his substance and his family, and thereby evade the operation of these laws, which intended to take away both. Besides, frequent revolutions and many conversions had so broken the landed property of papists in that kingdom, that it was apprehended that this law could have in a short time but a few objects upon which it would be capable of operating.

To obviate these inconveniences, another law was made, by which the dominion of children over their parents was extended universally throughout the whole popish part of the nation, and every child of every popish parent was encouraged to come into what is called a Court of Equity, to prefer a bill against his father, and compel him to confess, upon oath, the quantity and value of his substance, personal as well as real, of what nature soever, or howsoever it might be employed; upon which discovery the court is empowered to seize upon and allocate for the immediate maintenance of such child or children, any sum not exceeding a third of the whole fortune; and as to their future establishment on the death of the father, no limits are assigned; the chancery may, if it thinks fit, take the whole property, personal as