[Edward Cooke], Arguments For and Against an Union, between Great Britain and Ireland, Considered, 8th edn (Dublin: Printed for J. Milliken, 1798)

The object of the considerations which follow, is not to give an opinion upon any Plan of Union, which may be in contemplation, but to state the general arguments which respect the subject, and to prove that it ought to be discussed with temper, and that it deserves such a discussion. The question of forming an Union between two countries, must never be confused with the subjection of one country to another. The latter is supposed to be the result of force, the former / of consent; the latter is calculated to extinguish the power and independence of one of the parties; the former, by the communication of privilege and the Union of strength, to increase the power and independence of both. Supposing there were no other reasons which rendered the Union of the Sister Kingdoms desireable, the state of Europe, and especially of France, seems to dictate its peculiar policy at the present day.