the empire they represented, it would produce that degree of general security which would be wanting in any vain attempt to obtain that degree of theoretical perfection about which in modern times they had heard so much.”  He approved of “the principle which had been laid down upon this part of the subject in the Parliament of Ireland—­a reference to the supposed population of the two countries, and to the proposed rate of contribution.  The proportion of contribution proposed to be established was seven and a half for Great Britain, and one for Ireland; while in the proportion of population Great Britain was to Ireland as two and a half or three to one;[144] so that the result, on a combination of these two calculations, would be something more than five to one in favor of Great Britain, which was about the proportion which it was proposed to establish between the representation of the two countries.”  The principle of selection of the constituencies which had been adopted he likewise considered most “equitable and satisfactory for Ireland.  The plan proposed was, that the members of the counties and the principal commercial cities should remain entire....  The remaining members were to be selected from those places which were the most considerable in point of population and wealth....  This was the only plan which could be adopted without trenching on the constitution; it introduced no theoretical reforms in the constitution or in the representation of this country; it made no distinction between different parliamentary rights, nor any alteration, even the slightest, in the internal forms of Parliament.”

Another consideration which he had kept in mind in framing this measure was this:  “By the laws of England care had been taken to prevent the influence of the crown from becoming too great by too many offices being held by members of Parliament.”  And Pitt had no doubt that there would be a general feeling “that some provision ought to be made on this subject” in the arrangements for the new Parliament.  At present, among the representatives of the counties and great commercial towns, whose seats were to be preserved in the new united Parliament, there were not above five or six who held offices; and, though it was impossible to estimate the possible number of place-holders with precision, he thought what would he most fair for him to propose would be, that “no more than twenty of the Irish members should hold places, and that if it should happen that a greater number did hold places during pleasure, then those who had last accepted them should vacate their seats.”

In the House of Peers he proposed that twenty-eight lords temporal of Ireland should have seats in the united Parliament, who should be elected for life by the Peers of Ireland—­an arrangement which differed from that which, at the beginning of the century, had been adopted for the representative Peers of Scotland; but he argued, and surely with great reason, that “the choice of Peers to represent