these petitions.  The answer is simple.  The Scotch Parliament was independent, and the impossibility of having two independent Parliaments under one sovereign had become manifest.  Trade jealousies had arisen; the action of the Scotch had nearly involved England in a war with Spain; the Scotch Parliament had passed an Act declaring that until provision was made for settling the rights and liberties of the Scotch nation independently of England the successor to the Scotch Crown should not be the same person that was possessed of the Crown of England.  The Parliament of England commenced arming the militia and fortifying the towns near the Border.  England being at war with France the Scotch Parliament passed an Act allowing Scotchmen to trade with that country; it therefore was a choice between Union and War; and the two countries wisely chose Union.  In the case of Ireland, however, England saw no such danger; the Irish legislature was subordinate; Ireland was bound by English statutes; and the Irish Parliament represented not the whole people but only that one section of it which was necessarily bound to the English connection; the Irish petitions for Union therefore remained unheeded.  The great Bishop Berkeley, writing in 1735, strongly advocated a union; at a later time Adam Smith wrote:  “By a union with Great Britain Ireland would gain besides the freedom of trade other advantages much more important ...  Without a union with Great Britain the inhabitants of Ireland are not likely for many ages to consider themselves as one people.”  But, as we have seen, by the Act of 1782, the Irish Parliament had become independent—­that is, it was placed in the same position as the Scotch Parliament had been; and by the Act of 1893, the bulk of the constituencies in the counties had become Roman Catholic.  Except in the opinion of thoughtless optimists like Grattan, matters were approaching a deadlock; for sooner or later the Roman Catholic electors would demand representation in Parliament; the borough members would most probably refuse it, in which case war might break out again; and if they granted it, the Irish Parliament, then almost entirely Roman Catholic, would be anxious to break the tie that bound Ireland to England.

But apart from the religious question, it was evident that the constitution, as fixed by the Act of 1782, was fraught with dangers.  And it is no answer to say that not many difficulties had arisen in the few years between 1782 and 1799; for, even though that is partially true, the question for a statesman to consider was whether they were likely to arise in the future; and the rebellion, which was still seething, had made this all the more probable.  First, on a declaration of war by England, Ireland might refuse to take part in it; and her refusal would paralyse the Empire.  As early as 1791, Wolfe Tone had pointed out that Ireland need not embark on the side of Great Britain in the contest which was then pending; and one of his followers had advocated an alliance