Irish Independence and English Union

Personally, I get the impression that Edgeworth claims that the Irish could stand improvement and that a union with England would aid in such an endeavor.  Thady has an outsider-within perspective of the Rackrents, and can document their disfunction.  National pride plays a big part of Thady's narration, and I find it highly unlikely that Edgeworth would outright claim that the Irish could use help; however, as discussed Tuesday, many of Thady's compliments are left-handed or tongue-in-cheek suggesting that Edgeworth uses the character as a rhetorical device to show how dreadful of a nation Ireland has become.  In addition, since Edgeworth was a woman, speaking openly and directly for the union for the improvement of the nation would have been dismissed.