THE UNION WITH IRELAND 589

that economic grievances were the fundamental reason for the AD 15s
revolt, on the American side, appears to have been mistaken. ’
Still, this opinion had immediate and important results on sy the
the remaining members of the colonial system, especially in jorge
the country which had suffered most severely from British
economic policy’. In 1779 Lord North endeavoured to remove
 the main commercial disabilities of Ireland?; and
after 1782, when the Nationalist movement had been so far
successful as to obtain a fuller Parliamentary freedom? a jin
serious effort was made by the Irish to imitate the policy more
that had been adopted in England, and thus to foster their 7477 Wagriculture
 and industry.
A large number of measures, with these objects in view, The Irish
was passed in the Parliamentary session 1783—4; but it is He
not clear that sufficient pains were taken to consider the real
requirements of the country. This objection may certainly be
made in regard to the Act which followed the English policy
of giving bounties on corn. The circumstances of the two og
countries were somewhat different ; for corn did not constitute mentary
the food of the Irish peasant, who subsisted chiefly on potatoes ; Colbertism.
premiums on the growing of corn were a boon to farming as
a trade, but did not directly maintain the food supply of the
country. Hence the political bearing of the Irish corn bounties
was different from that of the English, even though many of
the economic results may have been similar. The bounties
gave no encouragement to provide a surplus of food, and no
security that a slight failure of the food supply would not result
in famine. According to the new law the Irish farmer could
count on getting nearly 30s. a barrel for his wheat; a bounty
of 8s. 4d. was given on export, when the price was not
above 27s.; exportation was prohibited when the price was
1 Burke in 1778 put forward the doctrine that Ireland should be free to use its
natural facilities. Works, 1. 224; Salomon, 100.
2 18 Geo. III. cc. 55 had opened up the colonial trade, and free trade was
granted by 20 Geo. III. cc. 6, 10, 18, An Act to permit the exportation of certain
goods directly from Ireland into any British plantation in America, or any British
settlement on the coast of Africa, and for further encouraging the fisheries and
navigation of Ireland.
8 By the repeal of Poynings’ Law which gave the English Privy Council
control over Irish legislation, and of the Declaratory Act (6 Geo. I. c. 5), which
asserted the right of the English Parliament to legislate for Ireland. Lecky,
England, Tv. 551.