Virginia Argus

From a London paper.

IRISH PARLIAMENT.

The speech of Mr. Francis Dobbs, Member for the Borough of Charlemont, in Ireland on the third reading of the Union Bill, having been mutilated in the Irish papers, and as their misrepresentation was copied into the Star, we think it our duty to lay before our readers the following correct copy which we have received from an authentic source, and which we can therefore assert to be the real substance of what that gentleman said. During the first ten minutes after Mr. Dobbs began to speak, some members thought proper to laugh, but afterwards the most profound silence pervaded the House till the speech was concluded.

SIR, From the conduct pursued by administration during this session, and the means that were known to be in their power, it was not very difficult to foresee that it would fall to your lot to pronounce the painful words, " That this Bill do pass."

Awful, indeed, would those words be to me, did I consider myself living in ordinary times; but, feeling as I do, that we are not living in ordinary times,—feeling as I do, that we are living in the most momentous and eventful period of the world—feeling as I do, that a new and better order of things is about to arise, and that Ireland, in that new order of things, is to be highly distinguished indeed, this bill has no terrors for me.

Sir, I did intend to have gone at some length into history and the sacred predictions; but I purpose in a very few months, to give to the public a work, in which I shall fully express my opinion as to the vast design of this terrestrial creation, I shall for the present confine myself to such passages as will support three positions: The first is, the certainty of the second advent of the Messiah ; the next, the signs of the times of his coming, and the manner of it; and the last, that Ireland is to have the glorious pre-eminence of being the first kingdom that will receive him.

In chap. 2d of the Book of Daniel, there is a most concise, sublime, and comprehensive description of the four greatest empires that ever were in the world, under the figure of a great Image, in the shape of a man It is agreed by Sir Isaac Newton, and every commentator of eminence, that the head of gold was the Syrian and Babylonian Empire: that its breast and arms of silver were the Medo-Persian Empire; that its belly and thighs of brass were the Grecian Empire; and its legs of iron were the Roman Empire. But Sir Isaac Newton well observes, that by the legs of iron was only meant Italy, and those countries which never composed any part of the three first Empires; and when the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western, under two distinct Emperors, in the fourth century, the Western was made up of those countries accordingly. The feet and the toes of the Image, which relate to the Western Roman Empire, are described by Daniel to be partly iron, partly clay, partly strong and partly broken, and as iron and clay do not unite neither were they to unite.—Now the exact accomplishment of this is highly worthy of attention. By the ten toes it was predicted, that it should be divided into ten kingdoms, and Sir Isaac proves that this was so in the year 408. It was after this division, to be part strong and part broken, and so were these kingdoms, for the followers of Mahomet and the Turks could make no permanent conquest within the bounds of the western Roman empire. It was also to be in part broken in its power, and so were these kingdoms, for they in vain poured forth their millions of crusaders into Asia, without being able to make any permanent conquest there. As iron and clay do not unite, neither have they been united, from the year 403 to the present day. In vain did Charlemagne attempt it—in vain did the Emperor Charles V. attempt it—in vain did Louis XIV. attempt it : No, the God of Heaven had declared it should remain in a divided state, till an Universal kingdom was to be established on the earth. Kings and their ministers, without knowing it have accomplished the fulfilment of this astonishing prophecy, and that balance of power which has for so many centuries been attended to in Europe, is neither more nor less than keeping up that broken state of the Western Roman Empire.

Before I go into the remainder of the prophecy as to those kingdoms into which the western empire was broken, it is curious to contemplate what has happened within that boundary, in the course of the last ten years. France dethroning and putting to death her monarch, and going through a variety of bloody revolutions—the Austrian Netherlands taken from their ancient princes, and made part of France—Holland revolutionized, and her Stadtholder sent into exile—Switzerland revolutionized—Venice annihilated—as a state—all Italy for a time revolutionized, and though reduced by the Austrian and Russian forces, yet still in a state entirely unsettled—the late Pope bereft of all his temporal dominions, and dying a prisoner in France, the new Pope not even elected at or residing in Rome—Spain bordering on revolution—Portugal in danger either of being revolutionized or subjugated—the affairs of Germany and the house of Austria in a critical situation, and Great Britain engaged in an arduous war, to which we can see no termination. Thus Sir, the whole, I may say, of what was the western empire, and which contains the most polished nations of the earth, is convulsed from one end to the other. But the next and last part of the prophecy of the 2d chapter of Daniel will tell us the winding up of all those eventful scenes.

After having described the image, Daniel proceeds, and says he beheld a stone cut out without hands, which smote the feet of the image, that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then were the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. To know more exactly what is meant by this stone, we have only to read the 7th chapter of Daniel, There, the four great empires are more minutely treated of under the description of four beasts, and instead of ten kingdoms being described by toes, they are made ten horns of the fourth beast—and when their destruction is mentioned, in these words, "I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of Man, came with the clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him, And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." There cannot therefore be a doubt, but that the stone, and the personage thus pointed out is the Messiah, and so does Sir Isaac, and all the best of the commentators explain those passages; and there are many texts in the scriptures that corroborate this explanation. But for my part, if there was not another passage in the Bible, than what is to be met with in the 2d and 7th chapters of Daniel, nor another commentator than Sir Isaac Newton, I should not have a doubt of the certainty of the second coming of the Messiah.

I shall however add what in the opinion of the Jewish nation, because it ought to have great weight, as they are in fact a standing miracle: but I shall first premise this exact accomplishment of the prophecy as to them, which has already taken place. Moses near three thousand years ago, predicted that they should be plucked from their land, that they should be every where found, but should have a resting place no where, and that they should become a bye-word and a scorn to all nations

It is now near 1700 years since they were driven from Judea by the Romans o exactly has the prediction been fulfilled, that it would be impossible, in the same number of words as were used by Moses, to give a better history of them. Every Jew expects the coming of the Messiah in power and glory, when their restoration is to take place. And strange indeed would it be, if they did not expect it, when those very scriptures which contain the prophecies as to their afflictions, have a thousand passages as to their future happy state. I shall, however, content myself with giving you one of the plainest and strongest—It is in the 23d. chapter of Jeremiah : " Behold the day is come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute justice and judgment in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. and this is his name whereby he shall be called. the Lord our righteousness. : therefore, behold the day is come, saith the Lord that they shall no more say, the Lord, liveth, which brought up, and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land." Thus, Sir, all the Jews, all the best commentators, and I will be bold to say all the best informed Christians unite in the opinion, that the Messiah is to come in power and glory, and to be actually and in person, the King of the kings of the earth.

I Shall now, sir, briefly give you my reasons for thinking the moment of that appearance is at hand. The general texts certainly are, that no man can tell the day or hour, for it said, " that he shall come as a thief in the night;' that as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be: that we shall be eating and drinking, and giving in marriage, and occupied in our usual pursuits. It is also said that: the sun shall withhold his light, and then we shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. But though it is to be thus sudden there are general signs given, by which we may know its near approach. The chief of these are, the fall of the Papal power. and a very high degree of infidelity. In the 7th chapter of Daniel, the Papal power is described under the name of a little horn of a very extraordinary nature, that was to rise up amongst the ten horns of the fourth beast. Sir Isaac and all the best commentators agree, that this little horn was to have power for 1260 years, and then what is the language of Daniel? " Bu the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom, is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Thus the kingdom of the Messiah is to rise at the fall of the papacy. Now can any man doubt, that the 1260 years of papal power are long since past, and that the judgment is sitting, that is to consume, and to destroy it unto the end? Look what has happened to it, particularly during the last ten years, and say if we are not to expect the immediate accomplishment of what remains? In regard to the infidelity of the times, being a warning to us, Christ himself, in speaking of his second coming, says, " nevertheless shall I find faith upon the earth," not meaning certainly that there would be no faith, but that there would be a high degree of infidelity. Now look at France, one of the greatest countries in Europe, openly denying not only the New, but the Old Testament, substituting the 10th day instead of the 7th and even attempting to abolish the memory of Christ, by changing the era that bears his name, Inquire into the state of faith in the surrounding Christian nations; nay enquire at home, and answer me, does not a very high degree of infidelity every where characterize this last year of the 18th century?

I come now, Sir, to the most interesting part of what I have to say : it is to point out my reasons for thinking this is the distinguished country in which the Messiah is now to appear. The stone that is to be cut out of the mountain without hands, is to fall on the feet of the image, and to break the whole image to pieces. Now, that would not be true, if Christ and his army were to appear in any country that is a part of the image ; therefore all the countries that were comprised in the Babylonian and Assyrian empire, in the Medo Persian empire, in the Grecian empire, and in the Roman empire, are positively precluded. There is another light thrown on this question, by a passage in the 41st chapter of Isaiah, " I have raised up on from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun, he shall call upon my name, and he shall come upon princes, as upon mor-ter, and as the potter treadeth out the clay." This is manifestly the Messiah; and we are therefore to look for a country north of Judea, where the prophecy was given. The new world is out of the question, being no where a subject of prophecy : and as the image is excluded, it can only be in the Russian empire, or in the kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden or Ireland !

The army that follows the Messiah we are told amount to 144,000, and there are two passages in the Revelations of St. John, that denote the place where they are to be assembled.—One is, " I saw them harping with their harps !" Another, " I saw them standing on a sea of glass, having the harps of God." Another is, " That they were clothed in fine linen, white and clean." Another is. And he gathered them together, in a place in the Hebrew tongue, called Armaged-don." Now, what represents the harp but the fine linen peculiarly applies to Ireland and not at all to Russia, Denmark or Sweden. The sea of glass, I think, must be an island. And I believe the word of Armageddon in the Hebrew tongue, and Ard-magh or Armagh in the Irish, means the same thing ! At all events, there is a great similitude in their sounds, and St. Patrick thought proper to make the city of Armagh, which is the old name, of the church government of Ireland. But besides the sacred passages of Scripture, there are some very particular circumstances attending Ireland. She has never had her share in worldly prosperity, and has only since 1782 began to rise, and I know no instance in history of any nation beginning to prosper without arriving at a summit, of some kind, before it became again depressed. The four great empires rose progressively west of each other, and Great Britain made the last toe of the image, being the last conquest the Romans made in the west. Now Ireland lies directly west of it, and is therefore in exactly the same progressive line, and it never was any part of the image, nor did the Roman arms ever penetrate here. The arms of Ireland are the harp of David, with an angel in its front. The crown of Ireland is the apostolic crown Tradition has long spoke of it as a land of saints, and, if what I expect happens, the prediction will be fulfilled. But what relies on more than all is our miraculous exemption from all the serpent and venomous tribes of reptiles This appears to me in the highest degree emblematic, that Satan, the great serpent, is here to receive his first deadly blow

I have before given you some reasons why we are to expect the immediate coming of the Messiah. In my opinion, that bill that now lies upon your table proves that it is at hand. What is the British minister now attempting to do? He is attempting to annihilate Ireland as a kingdom, though it has remained distinct from all others, time immemorial. He is attempting. by the union of the two parliaments, to make it a part of the image, which was completed in the year 408 as if he knew better than the Creator what ought to be the situation of nations As well might he enact, that from the day this union is intended to take place, the snake. the viper, the adder, and the toad, should thenceforth live and thrive in our land, for each is contrary to the will of God. I therefore do not hesitate ,even in this moment to declare, as I did in a former debate, that this can never be an operative law. I do not hesitate, even in this moment, again to proclaim to his house, and to the British and Irish nations, that the independence of Ireland is, written in the immutable records of heaven

Sir, before I sit down, I think it right publicly to declare the conduct I mean to pursue, should this bill pass into a law. I mean, sir, to submit to it without a murmur, until it be repealed, or until the sun shall miraculously withhold its light and announce the appearance of Christ ! Should this bill receive the royal assent, I mean to inculcate into the minds of all who are sprung from me, or over whom I have the least influence, to pay it the most implicit obedience, till the Messiah in person demand their allegiance ! Acting under the strong conviction that I feel of its certainty, I say, sir, to you, and to every member in this house, and out of this house, if he loves virtue let him rejoice for the triumph of virtue is at hand. I say unto every man within and without these walls, if he be the friend of Christianity, no matter to what sect he be, let him rejoice, for its glorious author is about to unfold all that is mysterious, and to remove every doubt and every difficulty ! I say to every man within and without these walls. whether he be a Christian or not, if he sincerely loves his fellow creature, let him rejoice, for that Messiah who suffered on the cross is about to accomplish the objects of his mission ! He is now about to take away the curse which followed the fall of Adam. and to renovate the earth. He is about to establish a religion founded in justice, in truth, and in righteousness, that shall extend from pole to pole, and which shall place this hitherto wicked and miserable world upon the highest pinnacle of human happiness and human glory !

* A land, free of reptiles, as was Eden.