The result of all this wretched misgovernment was not merely destitution bordering on famine, but a wholesale emigration.  Whilst the Roman Catholics were leaving the country to avoid the penal laws, the most skilful and industrious of the artizan class,—­the very backbone of the nation—­were being driven out by the prohibition of their trades.  It is said that no less than 30,000 men were thrown out of employment by the destruction of the woollen industry alone.  These were nearly all Protestants; to encourage them would have done more to Protestantize the country than all the penal laws and charter schools put together; but they were ruthlessly sacrificed to the greed of the English manufacturers.  Some went to the Continent, many more to New England and the other American colonies, where they prospered, and they and their sons became some of Washington’s best soldiers in the War of Independence.

It was only natural that thoughtful men in Ireland should cast envious eyes on Scotland, which had recently secured the benefit of union with England, and consequently was able to develop her commerce and manufactures unhindered.  But though the subject of a union was discussed, and even referred to in addresses from the Irish Parliament to Queen Anne, no active steps were taken.

Still, in considering these commercial restrictions, as in the case of the penal laws, we must not lose sight of the fact that the state of circumstances we are dealing with has long passed away.  It is necessary for a historian to refer to it, even if he finds it hard to do so in a perfectly dispassionate way; but it is waste of time and energy for the present generation to go on brooding over woes which had come to an end before their grandfathers were born.  Yet that is what the Nationalists of to-day are doing.  Not long ago, the Old Boys’ Association of an Irish Roman Catholic College resolved, very laudably, to found an annual prize at their alma mater.  The subject they selected was an essay on the treatment by England of Irish industries before the year 1800!  Had it been a Scotch or a German College, the subject chosen would probably have been, The progress in scientific knowledge during the last century, or, Improvements in means of travel since 1820; and one must ask, which subject of study is likely to be most profitable to young men who have to make their way in the modern world?

It may be asked, why did the Irish Parliament do nothing to stay this national ruin?  The answer is that the Irish Parliament possessed very little power.  The Bill of Rights of course did not apply to Ireland; general elections were very rare, and a large number of members were paid officers of the Government; the English Parliament had a co-ordinate power of legislating for Ireland; and since Poyning’s Act (as explained by the declaratory Act of George I) was still in force, no Bill could be introduced into the Irish Parliament until it had been approved both by the Irish and the English Councils; and the Irish Parliament might then pass it or reject it but had no power to amend it.