There is something to be said for generous confidence, and something also for distrustful prudence; there is nothing to be said for ineffective suspicion.
ii.

_Grattan's Constitution_.

From the asserted harmony between England and Ireland from 1782 to 1800 under Grattan's Constitution, the inference is drawn that there is no reason to fear discord between England and Ireland under the Gladstonian constitution of 1893.
The fallacy underlying the appeal to this precedent has been, to use words of Mr.Lecky, 'so frequently exposed that I can only wonder at its repetition.'[112] Under Grattan's Constitution the Irish Executive was appointed, not by the Irish Parliament, but by the English Ministry; the Irish Parliament consisted solely of Protestants; it represented the miscalled 'English garrison,' and was in sympathy with the governing classes of England.

With all this to promote harmony, the concord between the governing powers in England and in Ireland was dubious.

The rejection of England's proposals as to trade, and the exaction of the Renunciation Act, betray a condition of opinion which at any moment might have produced open discord.