NOTE.
This pamphlet constitutes the opening of a campaign against his
political enemies in England on whom Swift had, it must be
presumed, determined to take revenge. When the fall of
Harley's
administration was complete and irrevocable, Swift returned to
Ireland and, for six years, he lived the simple life of the
Dean of
St. Patrick's, unheard of except by a few of his more intimate
friends in England. Accustomed by years of intimacy with the
ministers of Anne's court, and by his own temperament, to act
the
part of leader and adviser, Swift's compulsory silence must
have
chafed and irritated him to a degree. His opportunities for
advancement had passed with the passing of Harley and
Bolingbroke
from power, and he had given too ardent and enthusiastic a
support
to these friends of his for Walpole to look to him for a like
service. Moreover, however strong may have been these personal
motives, Swift's detestation of Walpole's Irish policy must
have
been deep and bitter, even before he began to express himself
on
the matter. His sincerity cannot be doubted, even if we make
an
ample allowance for a private grudge against the great English
minister. The condition of Ireland, at this time, was such as
to
arouse the warmest indignation from the most indifferent and
unprejudiced—and it was a condition for which English misrule
was
mainly responsible. It cannot therefore be wondered at that
Swift
should be among the strenuous and persistent opponents of a
policy
which spelled ruin to his country, and his patriotism must be
recognized even if we accept the existence of a personal
motive.
The crass stupidity which characterized England's dealings with
Ireland at this time would be hardly credible, were it not on
record in the acts passed in the reigns of Charles II. and
William
III., and embodied in the resolutions of the English
parliament
during Walpole's term of power. An impartial historian is
forced to
the conclusion that England had determined to ruin the sister
nation. Already its social life was disreputable; the people
taxed
in various ways far beyond their means; the agriculture at the
lowest state by the neglect and indifference of the landed
proprietors; and the manufactures crippled by a series of
pernicious restrictions imposed by a selfish rival.
Swift, in writing this “Proposal,” did not take advantage of
any
special occasion, as he did later in the matter of Wood's
halfpence. His occasion must be found in the condition of the
country, in the injustice to which she was subjected, and in
the
fact that the time had come when it would be wise and safe for
him
to come out once more into the open.
He began in his characteristic way. All the evils that the laws
against the manufactures and agriculture of Ireland brought
into
existence are summarized in this “Proposal.” His business is
not to
attack the laws directly, but to attempt a method by which
these
shall be nullified. Since the manufactures of Ireland might
not be
exported for sale, let the people of Ireland wear them
themselves,
and let them resolve and determine to wear them in preference
to
those imported from England. If England had the right to
prevent
the importation to it of Irish woollen goods, it was surely
only
just that the Irish should exercise then right to wear their
own
home-made clothes! The tract was a reasonable and mild
statement.
Yet, such was the temper of the governing officials, that a
cry was
raised against it and the writer accused of attempting to
disunite
the two kingdoms. With consistent foolishness, the printer was
brought to trial, and although the jury acquitted him, yet the
Lord
Chief Justice Whitshed, zealous for his employer more than for
his
office, refused to accept the verdict and attempted to force
the
jury to a conviction. In his letter to Pope, dated January
10th,
1720-21, Swift gives an account of this matter:
“I have written in this kingdom, a discourse, to persuade the
wretched people to wear their own manufactures, instead of
those
from England. This treatise soon spread very fast, being
agreeable
to the sentiments of the whole nation, except those gentlemen
who
had employments, or were expectants. Upon which a person in
great
office here immediately took the alarm; he sent in haste for
the
chief-justice, and informed him of a seditious, factious, and
virulent pamphlet, lately published, with a design of setting
the
two kingdoms at variance; directing, at the same time, that
the
printer should be prosecuted with the utmost rigour of the
law. The
chief-justice has so quick an understanding, that he resolved,
if
possible, to outdo his orders. The grand juries of the county
and
city were effectually practised with, to represent the said
pamphlet with all aggravating epithets, for which they had
thanks
sent them from England, and their presentments published, for
several weeks, in all the newspapers. The printer was seized,
and
forced to give great bail. After his trial, the jury brought
him in
not guilty, although they had been culled with the utmost
industry.
The chief-justice sent them back nine times, and kept them
eleven
hours, until, being perfectly tired out, they were forced to
leave
the matter to the mercy of the judge, by what they call a
special
verdict. During the trial, the chief-justice, among other
singularities, laid his hand on his breast, and protested
solemnly
that the author's design was to bring in the Pretender,
although
there was not a single syllable of party in the whole
treatise; and
although it was known that the most eminent of those who
professed
his own principles, publicly disallowed his proceedings. But
the
cause being so very odious and unpopular, the trial of the
verdict
was deferred from one term to another, until, upon the Duke of
Grafton's, the lord lieutenant's arrival, his grace, after
mature
advice, and permission from England, was pleased to grant a
noli
prosequi.”
This Chief Justice Whitshed was the same who acted as judge on
Harding's trial for printing the fourth Drapier letter. Swift
never
forgot him, and took several occasions to satirize him
bitterly.
* * * * *
The text of the present edition is based on the Dublin edition
of
1720 and collated with the texts of Faulkner, 1735, and
Miscellanies of same date.
[T. S.]
A PROPOSAL
For the universal Use
Of Irish Manufacture,
IN
Cloaths and Furniture of Houses, &c.
UTTERLY
Rejecting and Renouncing
Every Thing wearable that comes from
ENGLAND.
* * * * *
Dublin: Printed and Sold by E. Waters, in
Essex-street, at the Corner of Sycamore-Alley, 1720.