The nation which he sold and plundered saw him make with his own hand the
fearful retribution. The great body of the Irish people never assented
to the Union. The following extract from a speech of Earl (then Mr.)
Grey, in 1800, upon the Union question, will show what means were made
use of to drag Ireland, while yet mourning over her slaughtered children,
to the marriage altar with England: "If the Parliament of Ireland had
been left to itself, untempted and unawed, it would without hesitation
have rejected the resolutions. Out of the 300 members, 120 strenuously
opposed the measure, 162 voted for it: of these, 116 were placemen; some
of them were English generals on the staff, without a foot of ground in
Ireland, and completely dependent on government." "Let us reflect upon
the arts made use of since the last session of the Irish Parliament to
pack a majority, for Union, in the House of Commons. All persons holding
offices under government, if they hesitated to vote as directed, were
stripped of all their employments.
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