MY LORD—­My friend Mr. Ferguson showed me a few days ago a letter in which your Lordship was so good as to say that you wished to know my opinion concerning the consequence of granting to the Irish that free trade which they at present demand so importunately.  I shall not attempt to express how much I feel myself flattered by your Lordship’s very honourable remembrance of me, but shall without further preface endeavour to explain that opinion, such as it may be, as distinctly as I can.

     Till we see the heads of the bill which the Irish propose to
     send over, it is impossible to know precisely what they mean
     by a free trade.

It is possible they may mean by it no more than the freedom of exporting all goods, whether of their own produce or imported from abroad, to all countries (Great Britain and the British settlements excepted) subject to no other duties or restraints than such as their own Parliament may impose.  At present they can export glass, tho’ of their own manufacture, to no country whatever.  Raw silk, a foreign commodity, is under the same restraint.  Wool they can export only to Great Britain.  Woollen manufactures they can export only from certain ports in Ireland to certain ports in Great Britain.  A very slender interest of our own manufacturers is the foundation of all these unjust and oppressive restraints.  The watchful jealousy of those gentlemen is alarmed least the Irish, who have never been able to supply compleatly even their own market with glass or woollen manufactures, should be able to rival them in foreign markets.

The Irish may mean by a free trade to demand, besides, the freedom of importing from wherever they can buy them cheapest all such foreign goods as they have occasion for.  At present they can import glass, sugars of foreign plantations, except those of Spain or Portugal, and certain sorts of East India goods, from no country but Great Britain.  Tho’ Ireland was relieved from these and from all restraints of the same kind, the interest of Great Britain could surely suffer very little.  The Irish probably mean to demand no more than this most just and reasonable freedom of exportation and importation; in restraining which we seem to me rather to have gratified the impertinence than to have promoted any solid interest of our merchants and manufacturers.

The Irish may, however, mean to demand, besides, the same freedom of exportation and importation to and from the British settlements in Africa and America which is enjoyed by the inhabitants of Great Britain.  As Ireland has contributed little either to the establishment or defence of these settlements, this demand would be less reasonable than the other two.  But as I never believed that the monopoly of our Plantation trade was really advantageous to Great Britain, so I cannot believe that the admission of Ireland to a share in that monopoly, or the