\A^ 
 
Cfte J!3cta 3li*i.s1j libi-arj) 
 
 THE 
 
 PATRIOT PARLIAMENT 
 
THE NEW IRISH LIBRARY. 
 
 Edited by 
 
 Sir CHARLES G4YAH DUFFY, K.C.M.G. 
 
 Assistant Editors : 
 
 DOUGLAS HYDE, LLD., 
 
 Natioml Literary Society, 
 
 4 College Green, 
 
 Dublin. 
 
 T. W. ROLLESTON, 
 
 Irish Literary Society, 
 
 Bloom<;bury Mansion, Hart St.j 
 
 London. 
 
THE 
 
 PATRIOT PARLIAMENT 
 
 OF 1689 
 
 Wir/I ITS STATUTES VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS DAVIS W 
 
 EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 BY 
 
 THE HON. SIR CHARLES GAYAN DUFF/, K.C.M.G. 
 THIRD EDITION 
 
 EonUan 
 T. FISHER UN WIN 
 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE 
 
 IBublin 
 
 SEALY, ERYERS & WALKER 
 MIDDLE ABBEY STREET 
 
 MDCCCXCIII 
 
 p. J. KENEDY 
 BARCLAY STREET 
 
 BOSTON college; LisRAfnr 
 
 CHESTNUT HILL. MASS. 
 
.'V :^^ 
 
THE] 
 
 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION, 
 
 F this little book should fall into the 
 hands of a reader to whom the 
 &I name of the author, THOMAS DAVIS, 
 is unfamiliar, he will certainly value 
 the book more from knowing something of 
 that remarkable man. 
 
 Davis was the youngest son of a family 
 who were Protestants, and belonged to the 
 party of Protestant ^spendanpy in Ireland, 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and his father was an Englishman and an 
 officer in the British army. But in early 
 manhood he separated himself from these 
 antecedents. The young man, during his 
 college course, spent all his leisure not in 
 indolence or enjoyment but in studying for 
 himself the problems of Irish History ; and 
 when he came to understand them he was 
 seized with the desire to make the truth known 
 and recognised. On leaving college he became 
 a barrister, but to serve his native country he 
 relinquished his profession to work as a pub- 
 licist in the National cause. He was one of the 
 most upright and unselfish men whom it has 
 been my good fortune to encounter in a long 
 lifetime, and when he died in his thirty-first 
 year, three years after this inquiry into James' 
 Parliament was written, he left a name in 
 Ireland which, among all the conflicting parties 
 in that troubled country is a synonym of 
 integrity and oatriotism. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 His judgment on one of the most debated of 
 the Irish problems which he studied at college 
 will be found in this volume. He has shown 
 conclusively, I think, that the action of the 
 "Popish Parliament of James H. in Ireland," 
 so long and so shamefully misrepresented, was, 
 to a notable degree, just, reasonable, and 
 patriotic. He has further shown that the Irish 
 Parliament was more moderate and honest, 
 and essentially fairer, than the English Parlia- 
 ments which preceded and followed it in 
 order of time, or than the Protestant Parlia- 
 ment of Ireland which took its place after the 
 Battle of the Boyne. I invite the reader to 
 note that the identical offences charged on 
 James's Catholic Parliament by partisan writers 
 (and here disproved) were committed without 
 shame or reserve by the Protestant Parliaments 
 of the same era in both countries. That these 
 two nations may understand each other and 
 live at peace hereafter, nothing is more essential 
 
VIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 than that the wicked past should be understood 
 and deplored. 
 
 Since Davis's death, Lord Macaulay has 
 written a striking and persuasive, but essentially 
 false account of James's transactions in Ireland. 
 If that accomplished writer has treated no 
 subject which he has not made luminous and 
 attractive he has scarcely treated one in which 
 a sober inquirer following in his track has not 
 discovered that he habitually sacrificed truth 
 to scenic effect, or in his history at any rate, 
 to the predetermination to produce a national 
 epic whose heroes were unchangeably in the 
 right. There is an eminent living historian with 
 a speciality for misrepresenting Irish affairs 
 who has no more idea of fairness or reciprocity 
 than a Mohawk ; but many Irishmen prefer the 
 naked enmity of Mr. Froude to the polished 
 plausibility and disengcnuous glosses of Lord 
 Macaulay. 
 
 The transactions of the Irish Parliament 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 under the last of the Stuart kings will be 
 imperfectly appreciated without some account 
 of the previous relations of the princes of that 
 ill-fated and ill-conducted house with the Irish 
 people. James's brother, his father, and his 
 grandfather had each helped to create a 
 chaos which it was now the duty of a native 
 parliament to reduce to order. 
 
 Let us begin with the achievements of his 
 grandfather. 
 
 When the first Stuart king was called to the 
 throne of England there was general rejoicing 
 among the Catholics of Ireland. While he was 
 still a pretender he had kept an agent in the 
 camp of the Irish princes in arms against 
 Elizabeth, he was son of Mary Queen of Scots 
 regarded as a martyr for the Catholic Faith, 
 and he was a prince of their own Milesian race. 
 Now, it might be hoped, the country would 
 have fair play, and, perhaps, a gleam of Court 
 favour. But the English counsellors of James I. 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 knew that if he made concessions to Ireland 
 he could scarce hold the English throne, and 
 one of his earliest acts was a proclamation 
 announcing that "liberty of conscience he could 
 not grant." But though religious liberty must 
 be refused, English law would be introduced 
 to every part of the island, " the sword would be 
 sheathed, and every man indiscriminately taken 
 into the favour of the king's majestie."* In 
 that happy era the Irish were destined to learn 
 how much more destructive an instrument than 
 the sword that was sheathed is the inkhorn, 
 when it is placed on the council-board to frame 
 Acts of Parliament and Orders in Council. 
 Though gallant adventurers could no longer, 
 in the language of Pacata Hiberma, "have 
 the killing of some Irish'' as a morning's 
 pastime, they might still, if they were skilful, 
 enjoy much the same recreation, in the way of 
 devising ^' beneficial measures " for the country. 
 * Sir John Davies, Irish Attorney-General under James I. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 In the transactions now to be briefly de- 
 scribed, and which form the foundations of 
 our modern history, English writers in general 
 are agreed that the paramount nation ex- 
 hibited singular wisdom and benevolence. 
 Through constantly changing and troubled 
 times they were always right ; right when 
 they did in Ireland the exact reverse of what 
 they were accustomed to do at home ; right, 
 by a singular good fortune, when they set 
 aside rules of morality and justice, which else- 
 where are of permanent authority. 
 
 Lord Bacon, with whom ideas grew plenty- 
 fully, had a pregnant suggestion at the service 
 of the king. He was of opinion that a great 
 settlement of English husbandmen in Ireland 
 able to guard as well as to till the land would 
 help to secure the interest of the Crown. The 
 only question was where to plant them. O'Neill 
 and Tyrconnell had proved dangerous enemies 
 to Elizabeth, and they possessed a fertile terri- 
 
XU INTRO DUCTIO-^. 
 
 tory ; but they had been ostentatiously received 
 into favour at the close of the late reign, and 
 some decent pretence for destroying them so 
 soon was indispensable. It was found in a 
 letter conveniently dropped in the precincts 
 of Dublin Castle, disclosing a new conspiracy. 
 Of a conspiracy there was not then, and has 
 not been since discovered, any evidence worth 
 recording. The letter was probably forged 
 according to the practice of the times ; but 
 where so noble a booty was to be distributed by 
 the Crown, one can conceive how ill-timed and 
 disloyal any doubt of their treason would have 
 appeared at the Court of James, or of the Lord 
 Deputy. They were proclaimed traitors, and 
 fled to the Continent to solicit aid from the 
 Catholic Powers. Without delay James and his 
 counsellors set to work. The king applied to 
 the City of London to take up the lands of the 
 wild Irish. They were well watered, he assured 
 them, plentifully supplied with fuel, with good 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 store of all the necessaries for man's sustenance ; 
 and moreover, yielded timber, hides, tallow, 
 canvas, and cordage for the purposes of com- 
 merce. The Companies of Skinners, Fish- 
 mongers, Haberdashers, Vintners and the like 
 thereupon became Absentee Proprietors and 
 have guzzled Irish rents in city feasts and holi- 
 day excursions to Ireland from that day to this. 
 Six counties in Ulster were confiscated, and not 
 merely the chiefs, but the entire population dis- 
 possessed. The fruitful plains of Armagh, the 
 deep pastoral glens that lie between the shelter- 
 ing hills of Donegal, the undulating meadow lands 
 stretching by the noble lakes and rivers of Fer- 
 managh, passed from the people which had pos- 
 sessed them since before the Redemption of man- 
 kind, to immigrants from England and Scotland. 
 It is not difficult to see in imagination 
 the old race, broken by battle and suffering, 
 and deprived, by a trick of state, of their heredi- 
 tary chiefs, retiring slowly and with bitter hearts 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 before the stranger. The alkivial lands were 
 given to English courtiers whom the Scotch king 
 found it necessary to placate, and to Scotch 
 partisans whom he dared not reward in England. 
 The peasants, driven out of the tribal lands to 
 burrow in the hills or bogs, were not treated 
 according to any law known among civilised 
 men. Under Celtic tenure the treason of the 
 chief, if he committed treason, affected them no 
 more than the offences of a tenant for life affect 
 a remainder man in our modern practice. Under 
 the feudal system they were innocent feudatories 
 who would pass with the forfeited land to the 
 Crown, with all their personal rights undisturbed. 
 The method of settlement is stated with com- 
 mendable simplicity by the latest historian, Mr. 
 Froude. The " plantators " got all the land 
 worth their having ; what was not worth their 
 having — the barren mountains and trackless 
 morass, which after two centuries still in many 
 cases yield no human food — were left to those 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 who in the language of an Act of Parliament of 
 the period were " natives of the realm of Irish 
 blood, being descended from those who did in- 
 herit and possess the land." Lest the frugality 
 of the Celts should enable them to peacefully 
 regain some of their possessions, it was strictly 
 conditioned that no plantator or servitor should 
 alienate his portion, or any part thereof, " to the 
 mere Irish." The confiscated territory amounted 
 to two millions of acres. " Of these a million 
 and a half," says Mr. Froude, " bog, forest and 
 mountain were restored to the Irish. The half 
 million acres of fertile land were settled with 
 families of Scottish and English Protestants." 
 It was in this manner that the famous Planta- 
 tion of Ulster was founded. The natives were 
 discontented with these arrangements, and their 
 perversity has been visited with passionate cen- 
 sure by indignant critics down to our own day. 
 There is reason to believe, however, that if a 
 settlement of Irish Catholics had been made in 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 England by Mary or James IL, on whom the 
 best lands of Norfolk and Suffolk, Essex and 
 Sussex, Kent and Surrey, were bestowed, while 
 the English were left only the forest, mountain, 
 and morass, that just and temperate people 
 would not have entirely approved of the trans- 
 action, and might even be tempted to call it 
 in question when an opportunity offered. 
 
 The new colonists have been painted in 
 unfavourable colours by critics not unfriendly 
 to the plantation.* In many cases it is probable 
 
 * The picture drawn of their general character by 
 Stewart, the son of one of the ministers who came over, 
 is probably a little over-coloured, but there is no reason to 
 doubt its substantial truth, and it does much to explain 
 the ferocious character of the rebellion which followed. 
 ' From Scotland came many, and from England not a few, 
 yet all of them generally the scum of both nations, who 
 from debt, or breaking or fleeing from justice, or seeking 
 shelter, came hither, hoping to be without fear of man's 
 justice, in a land where there was nothing, or but little as 
 yet, of the fear of God. ... On all hands Atheism 
 increased, and disregard of God ; iniquity abounded, with 
 contention, fighting, murder, adultery.'— Lecky's "History 
 of England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. ii., p. 109. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVU 
 
 they were stout soldiers or skilful husbandmen, 
 who under more favourable conditions would 
 have been an element of strength to the country. 
 But the settlement had the fever of usurpation 
 upon it. The rightful owners were forthcoming, 
 and the planters held by no higher title than 
 naked force ; good as long as force was on their 
 side, but not a moment longer. Fences were 
 erected, fruit-trees planted, simple churches 
 built, and after a time white-walled bawns 
 rose in the midst of waving corn-fields and rosy 
 orchards. It was a pleasant sight to see ; but 
 within a gunshot of the gay harvest and gardens, 
 the remnant of the native race, to whom the 
 land had descended since the Redemption, were 
 pining in misery and bitter discontent. The 
 barren hills or frozen bogs to which they were 
 banished yielded little food except the milk of 
 their kine. " The mountainy men," so the new 
 settlers contemptuously named them, would 
 have been more magnanimous than any race 
 
XVlii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 who have lived on this globe, if they acquiesced 
 patiently in the transfer. They could not forget, 
 any more than their kinsmen in the Scottish 
 Highlands, that 
 
 ** The fertile plain, the softened vale, 
 Were once the birthright of the Gael."* 
 
 If their efforts to "spoil the spoiler," and 
 " from the robber rend his prey,"* do not thrill 
 sympathetic boudoirs, and if the scenes of their 
 exploits are not the annual haunt of sentimental 
 tourists, it is not because the exploits were 
 different from those so favoured, but because a 
 Walter Scott has not yet arisen to interpret 
 them to mankind. 
 
 To obtain the sanction of the Irish Parlia- 
 ment, composed of feudatories of the Crown, to 
 the practice of transferring property from heredi- 
 tary owners to foreign proteges of the reigning 
 sovereign, would have been difficult under any 
 
 * Sir Walter Scott's " Lady of the Lake." 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 circumstances. But it was peculiarly difficult 
 when the two races had just been declared 
 equal in the eyes of the law, and some of the 
 native chiefs sat with the old English and new 
 English, and possessed an undoubted right to con- 
 firm or reject the royal scheme. But James was 
 shown (by Bacon we may venture to surmise) 
 a device for evading the difficulty, exactly 
 suited to the temper of his mind, which he 
 joyfully adopted. Forty boroughs were created 
 in a single day, consisting for the most part of 
 townships, where towns were projected but not 
 built, or of groups of three or four houses in- 
 habited by a dozen or so of new settlers, to 
 whom in some cases a charter had not yet been 
 issued. These boroughs were authorised to 
 select two members each, and when the new 
 Parliament met, two hundred thousand English 
 and Anglo-Irish of the religion of the Court were 
 found to have more representatives than the Irish 
 nation, six times their number. The members for 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the new boroughs were not likely to be trouble- 
 some to the Crown ; they were chosen from the 
 Lord Deputy's servants, attorneys' clerks, bank- 
 rupts, outlaws, and other persons in a servile or 
 dependent condition. The authentic represen- 
 tatives of the people sent agents to James to 
 complain of this abuse of the royal prerogative 
 by which they were swamped in their own 
 Parliament by the intrusion of nearly eighty 
 unauthorised persons. James returned an 
 answer, which the reader may consider inade- 
 quate, but which would certainly have seemed 
 sufficient to any Stuart that ever reigned in Eng- 
 land. Too many members ! " The more the 
 merrier," quoth he, " the fewer the better cheer." 
 But Sir John Davies, Speaker of the new 
 Parliament, was more politic than the king, and 
 may indeed be regarded as the very high 
 priest of plausibility in that day. He knew 
 that the name and form of freedom had been 
 granted to the nation, and clearly perceived 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXI 
 
 that the form ought to be respected, though 
 the substance might be skilfully filched away 
 — a method of reforming Irish abuses which 
 has never been permitted to fall into disuse. 
 Under his direction the House of Commons 
 confessed the wrong, but evaded the remedy. 
 It was true that many members were " unduly 
 elected," some (as the resolution recited) for 
 " not being estated in their boroughs, some 
 for being outlawed, excommunicated, and lastly, 
 for being returned for places whose charters 
 were not valid/* It would greatly prejudice 
 the public business, however, to create a delay 
 just then ; therefore the returns should not be 
 questioned, but this resolution must, of course 
 not be drawn into a precedent. The native 
 members withdrew in a rage, and the repre- 
 sentatives of the boroughs " whose charters 
 were not valid," the bankrupt, outlawed, and 
 excommunicated nominees of the Castle, de- 
 clared the territory of O'Neill and O'Donnell 
 
XXU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 forfeited to the Crown. Such a Parliament 
 could scarcely be improved upon, and when 
 leisure came the fraudulent boroughs were never 
 called in question. They were not called in 
 question, indeed, but carefully maintained by 
 successive sovereigns and governments as a 
 means of keeping Parliament in order, and the 
 reader who is about to consider the Acts of 
 James's Popish Parliament is invited to note 
 these Acts of his grandfather's Protestant 
 Parliament. 
 
 The next stroke of statesmanship which James 
 adopted was worthy of its forerunners. When a 
 Catholic proprietor died leaving children under 
 age, the king like a true father of his people 
 undertook the charge of the orphans. The 
 powers and functions of the Court of Wards 
 founded by Henry VIII. were enlarged, and as 
 James could not get a wife out of Spain for his 
 son, (on which condition, as we now all know, he 
 was ready to " kiss the Pope's pantoufle,") he 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXIU 
 
 became an ardent Protestant, and It was ordered 
 that the children should be strictly educated 
 in the Reformed religion. If they were girls 
 they were provided with Protestant husbands 
 by James or Buckingham. This device proved 
 a most successful stroke of State policy, and 
 with the favours and blandishments of the Court 
 judiciously distributed, did more than the laws 
 of Henry and Elizabeth to win over the old 
 families. Education is stronger than natural 
 instincts or inherited opinions. The Janissaries 
 were Christian orphans trained to be Miissulmen 
 by the Sultan, and the most remorseless enemies 
 of the Celt in the next generation were O'Briens 
 and Butlers wards of the Crown strictly educated 
 in the Reformed religion), who became more 
 English than the English themselves. 
 
 In process of time the O'Brien became Earl 
 of Thomond, the O'Healy, Earl of Donoghmore, 
 the O'Quin, Earl of Dunraven, the O'Callaghan^ 
 Lord Lismore, the O'Neill, Lord O'Neill, and so 
 
XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 forth ; all partisans of the English interest, and 
 the Established Church. The Anglo-Norman 
 families went the same way ; the Fitzgeralds, 
 the Butlers, the De Courceys, the De Burgos, 
 and the rest, made their submission to the State 
 and the Church. From this time forth there 
 were Irish courtiers in London. The chief, 
 who lived among his people, and was a visible 
 Providence, began to be replaced by an English 
 cavalier who spent the revenue of the O'Brien's 
 country, or the McWilliams's country, in playing 
 hazard with Buckingham, or junketting with the 
 accommodating ladies at Whitehall. 
 
 When Charles I. succeeded his father on the 
 throne he was as eager to plant Irish lands with 
 strangers as his predecessor. He was repre- 
 sented in Ireland by a trenchant Lord Deputy, 
 remembered in that country as " Black Tom," 
 and memorable in English history as Thomas 
 Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. Wentworth re- 
 solved to make a settlement in Connaught to 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 rival the settlement in Ulster. The first busi- 
 ness was to clear out the owners in possession. 
 The wildest inventions in " Candide," intended 
 to illustrate human absurdity and wickedness, 
 will not match the pretence on which the for- 
 feiture of these estates was founded. In the 
 previous reign when the king substituted "feudal 
 tenure " for the Celtic system, the Connaught 
 proprietors had duly submitted and paid him 
 a heavy fine to have their new patents enrolled 
 in Chancery. The officers of the Court, wilfully 
 or ignorantly, omitted to make the proper 
 entries in their books ; and this misfeasance 
 was declared by Court lawyers to have for- 
 feited the lands of the province to the king. It 
 is a maxim that no man can profit by his own 
 fraud ; but maxims are not made to bind sove- 
 reign princes. As the blessing of English law, 
 however, had been extended to the whole 
 nation, it was necessary that this opinion should 
 be confirmed by the judgment of a Court and 
 
XXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the verdict of a jury. If a dozen of his fellow- 
 countrymen found a Connaught proprietor's 
 title bad, calumny itself must be mute. Went- 
 worth marched to the West at the head of 
 formidable military force, as " good lookers- 
 on," he said, and accompanied by the neces- 
 sary retinue of judges and lawyers to perform 
 the judicial ceremony. Some of the juries were 
 frightened into verdicts ; some were wheedled 
 into them, for to sharpen the persuasive power 
 of the judges Went worth secretly gave these 
 learned personages a percentage on the forfei- 
 tures. But in Galway the juries were of opinion 
 that, notwithstanding the misconduct of the 
 officers of Chancery, the land did not belong to 
 the king, but to the owners, and they found 
 accordingly. Wentworth's method of encoun- 
 tering this difficulty may help to mitigate our 
 surprise that the Irish people did not cordially 
 love a system of jurisprudence which has undeni- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXVU 
 
 ably secured equal justice to many generations 
 of Englishmen. The jurors who found a verdict 
 according to their conscience, and not accord- 
 ing to the wishes of the Lord Deputy, were 
 immediately brought before the Castle Chamber 
 in Dublin, and fined ;^4,ooo each and their 
 estates seized till the fine was paid ; a penalty 
 the equivalent of which would impoverish many 
 a noble of the present day. They were further 
 required to acknowledge their offence in public 
 court on bended knees. The lawyers who had 
 the wickedness to plead for the native proprie- 
 tors were tendered the Oath of Supremacy, 
 which as Catholics they could not take ; and 
 declining to take it were excluded from future 
 practice. The sheriff who summoned the jurors 
 was dealt with in a more decisive fashion ; he 
 was first fined and then flung into prison, where 
 he was kept till he died of the process ; an 
 example to future officials to array their panels 
 more discreetly. 
 
XXVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 If these excesses seem impossible it may be 
 noted that the London Parliament on the 
 occasion of Strafford's impeachment, cited among 
 the catalogue of his achievements in Ireland 
 — " that jurors who gave their verdict according 
 to their consciences, were censured in the 
 Castle Chamber in great fines ; sometimes 
 pilloried, with loss of ears, and bored through 
 the tongue, and sometimes marked in the fore- 
 head, with other infamous punishments." 
 
 Though the character of Charles I. as a com- 
 pound of egotism and faithlessness is one of the 
 most familiar studies in English history, it may 
 borrow a characteristic touch from Irish records. 
 Before these transactions he appealed in sore 
 stress to hi% Irish subjects for a grant of money ; 
 the Catholics took his wants into consideration 
 and offered a subsidy of i^ 120,000 — an enor- 
 mous sum in that day — provided that no pro- 
 prietor sixty years in undisturbed possession 
 should be troubled respecting his title ; and that 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXIX 
 
 Catholics should be allowed to practice as 
 barristers without taking the oath of supremacy. 
 Charles took the money, and promised the 
 " Graces " (so they were named) which the 
 Catholics desired. The Puritans, however, grew 
 daily stronger, and to keep the promise of tolerat- 
 ing Papists, even in so small a matter as not 
 cheating them out of their estates, soon became 
 inconvenient. Some of the bishops of the 
 Irish Establishment transmitted a fierce re- 
 monstrance to England against any concession 
 to Catholics, and as Charles was a good 
 Churchman and loved his bishops, he was 
 sorely perplexed ; but above all there was 
 the glory and profit of making a plantation in 
 Connaught no longer possible if he kept his 
 word.* Wentworth saw an easy w^ay out of 
 
 * The protest of the bishops drawn up by Archbishop 
 Ussher, one of the ablest men the Irish Estabhshment 
 has produced, is commended to the attention of persons 
 who are accustomed to clamour about the bigotry of Rome. 
 '-The Religion of the Papists is Superstitious and Idola- 
 
XXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the difficulty ; let him not keep his promise ; 
 
 and he, for his part, was willing to assist so 
 
 worthy a purpose by bearing all the blame. 
 
 Charles's whole character is painted in the two 
 
 trous, their Faith and Doctrines erroneous and heretical, 
 their Church, in respect of both, Apostatical : to give 
 them, therefore, a Toleraiio?t, or to consent that they 
 may, freely, exercise their Religion, and profess their 
 Faith and Doctrine, is a grievous sin." 
 
 The principle which lay at the root of this persecuting 
 spirit is curious. The Puritans insisted upon the right of 
 private judgment. They were fighting for religious free- 
 dom against a persecuting king. Independents, Ana- 
 baptists, and Brownists were not to be disturbed in their 
 liberty of conscience. To set up a new creed in a new 
 conventicle was lawful. But if a man's private judgment 
 led him to prefer the faith that prevailed throughout the 
 bulk of Christendom, then the rule did not apply. 
 
 Lord Macaulay, who seems always to have proceeded 
 upon the assumption that justice is a luxury, like Bass's 
 beer and Hollo way's ointment, intended specially for 
 British enjoyment, says of this era : " One part of the 
 empire was so unhappily circumstanced that, at that time, 
 its misery was necessary to our happiness, and its slavery 
 to our freedom."* This maxim describes the policy to 
 which Lord Macaulay himself was a party in the reign of 
 Queen Victoria as accurately as Cromwell's in the Common- 
 wealth ; and to my thinking, is as base a rule of conduct 
 as any that can be picked out of Macchiavelli. 
 
 ♦ In the Edinburgh Revievj article "Milton." 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXxi 
 
 facts, that he broke his promise without scruple, 
 after he had spent the subsidy, and thankfully 
 accepted Strafford's offer to stand between him 
 and the infamy he had incurred. He even 
 improved in time on the teaching of his minister. 
 Later, when the Puritans determined to destroy 
 Strafford himself, the king passionately assured 
 him that not a hair of his head would he suffer 
 to be touched ; but when he discovered that it 
 would be dangerous to keep his word, he 
 graciously pronounced the ceremonial " Le roi 
 le veut " over the Act of Parliament which sent 
 Strafford to the block; a transaction in which the 
 student will probably recognise what is called 
 poetic justice. 
 
 Nearly a generation had elapsed since the 
 Plantation of Ulster, when the troubles between 
 Charles and his Parliament began. The middle 
 classes and many of the gentry distrusted his 
 policy in Church and State, and feared his 
 leanings towards Rome. They had some ground 
 
XXXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 for their fears. His wife was a devout Catholic ; 
 his chief adviser in spiritual affairs, Archbishop 
 Laud, was a High Churchman, to whom a 
 Catholic was more acceptable than a Sectary ; 
 and to Charles himself, Rome was not so odious 
 as Geneva. By this time a great change had 
 come over the English people. They had 
 grown graver and more thoughtful than at the 
 era of the Reformation. As soon as the stern 
 authority of Henry was removed, a sect sprang 
 up which aimed to model the new Church on 
 the doctrine and system of Calvin. From the 
 strictness of their tenets, and the severity of 
 their practices, they were named, partly in 
 ridicule, the Puritans. These men were more 
 in earnest than the courtly ecclesiastics, and 
 more intelligible to the people, and their opinions 
 spread rapidly, chiefly among the industrious 
 class, as Wesleyan Methodism spread in a later 
 age, for the same reason. They had embar- 
 rassed James by questions of prerogative, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXIH 
 
 they set up a fierce parliamentary opposition as 
 often as want of money compelled Charles to 
 summon a parliament. John Pym, John 
 Hampden, and other men of remarkable ability, 
 led this party, and It soon became plain that 
 the issue would be civil war. The Puritans 
 were undoubtedly contending for liberty, but it 
 was liberty in which Prelatists and Papists 
 should have no share. Their success has been a 
 blessing to mankind ; but it is a blessing because 
 mankind have peremptorily rejected many of 
 the perverted opinions which distinguished the 
 Puritans from the rest of the nation. 
 
 Secretly instigated by the Parliamentary 
 leaders, the Scots rose against the king and 
 invaded England in considerable force, and 
 Charles summoned to his aid the army which 
 Wentworth maintained in Ireland ; an army 
 recruited in part from Irish Catholics. In the 
 House of Commons this project evoked a storm 
 of resistance. It was permissible to call a Scot- 
 
XXxiv INTRODUCTION, 
 
 tish army into England, and it was a natural 
 right, which no one would be mad enough to 
 dispute, to send an English army into Ireland, 
 but if an Irish army were brought into England, 
 on any pretence whatever, that was an outrage 
 sufficient to release subjects from their allegi- 
 ance. The Irish, who did not quite see the 
 force of this distinction, began to bestir them- 
 selves. They heard of threats in London that 
 Popery must be extirpated ; Pym, in the House 
 of Commons, boasted, it was said, that Parlia- 
 ment would not leave a Papist in Ireland ; 
 they noted the successful rebellion of the Scots, 
 they saw their old enemies in conflict, and the 
 time seemed propitious to regain their ancient 
 lands, and to save such as remained from bribed 
 judges and panic - stricken juries. Roger 
 O'Moore, a man greatly gifted both to project 
 and to persuade, and whom contemporaries of 
 all parties pronounce of unblemished honour, 
 brought leading men together, kindled them 
 
INTRODUCTION, XXXV 
 
 with his own convictions, and in a short time 
 there was a genuine conspiracy on foot to seize 
 the seat of government, and summon the Irish 
 race to arms. For now again there had risen 
 among the Irish race a Statesman ; one who 
 not only recognised injustice and pitied it, of 
 which sort there was never any scarcity, but one 
 who saw ;how to amend or end it, 
 
 Owen Connolly, servant of one of the con- 
 spirators, betrayed his master, several of the 
 leaders were seized, and the Government in 
 Dublin put effectually on their guard. But the 
 North was beyond their control. There the 
 clans v/ho had been pillaged by James, or their 
 immediate descendants, rose on an autumn 
 night forty thousand strong, led by Sir Phelim 
 (still remembered by Ulster peasants as Phelemy) 
 O'Neill and other chiefs of their own blood, 
 drove out the English and Scotch settlers, and 
 repossessed themselves of their ancient tribal 
 lands. This is the transaction known to Enorllsh 
 
XXXVl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 writers as the *' Great Popish Rebellion," and the 
 "Popish Massacre;" the leader of the rising 
 being a man educated by the Court of Wards 
 as a Protestant. By whatever contumelious 
 nickname it may be branded, what happened 
 in Ireland is what would happen under similar 
 conditions in any branch of the human family. 
 When a favourable opportunity offered they 
 '* spoiled the spoiler." So the Saxons dealt with 
 their Norman conquerors, as far as their power 
 and opportunity permitted, and the Dutch with 
 their Spanish conquerors, and the Sicilians with 
 their French conquerors. Though there were 
 dreadful excesses committed by both parties in 
 the end, it is certain beyond all controversy, 
 that the first aim of the Irish was to regain 
 their own without any sacrifice of life. On the 
 night of the rising, and during the six days that 
 followed, only one man was killed ; a fact which 
 stamps with complete certainty their original 
 purpose. When blood is shed it is like kind- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXVU 
 
 ling the prairie ; no one can any longer pretend 
 to limit the devastation, But there were some 
 signal instances of moderation ; certain priests 
 it is recorded concealed fugitives under their 
 altars ; and Dr. Bedell, a bishop of the Pro- 
 testant Establishment, who had distinguished 
 himself by humane conduct in his day of power, 
 was permitted in the very focus of the insurrec- 
 tion, to fill his house with English settlers, and 
 shelter them from all molestation. 
 
 The contemporary accounts of the transaction 
 are quite as untrustworthy as the narratives of 
 Titus Gates and his confederates. The settlers 
 depended absolutely on the support of England 
 for maintaining their position. Many of them 
 had suffered grievously, and the remainder were 
 in danger of losing the fruit of all their toil and 
 enterprise. What sort of stories they sent to 
 Westminster under such circumstances, to in- 
 flame the zeal of their partizans, may be conceived. 
 All Puritan England was ready to believe, and 
 
XXXVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 eager to hear, new marvels of Irish iniquity. 
 Pious tears and rage were excited by a descrip- 
 tion of the ghosts of murdered Protestants 
 appearing in broad dayh'ght, day after day, on 
 the bridge of Portadown, (where unhappily a 
 settlement was cruelly destroyed,) wringing their 
 hands and uttering piercing shrieks for an 
 avenger. One peculiarly stubborn ghost held 
 his ground for more than a month. A bishop 
 was among the witnesses of these impressive 
 facts ; which exhibited, as one can conceive 
 heaven itself among the allies of the plantators.* 
 The broad sheets published in London from 
 day to day, by the Parliament and its partisans, 
 were as shameless as the inventions of a Hindoo 
 
 * There is in Trinity College, Dublin^ amass of deposi- 
 tions intended to establish these astonishing phenomena, 
 and others nearly as marvellous. Edmund Burke, who 
 personally examined the documents, speaks of the "ras- 
 cally collection " in the College, relative to the pretended 
 massacre of 1641. Mr. Eroude (among many smaller 
 Froudes) of course accepts this " rascally collection " as if 
 they were so many proofs of Holy Writ. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXIX 
 
 against a fallen enemy. But they did their 
 work. They fed the prejudice of the English 
 people against the " Queen's Party," and to this 
 hour they are the familiar materials of English 
 History. The best of them is abundantly 
 leavened with falsehood, but some of them must 
 have been invented in London, for no plantator 
 would have ventured on fabrications so glaring 
 and palpable. Among prominent leaders of the 
 rebels, for example, we find the illustrious poten- 
 tates Lords Matquers, Dulon, Don Lace 
 Cargena, Limbrey, and Lewricole. These great 
 unknown or their followers, committed excesses 
 in districts of commensurate obscurity. They 
 burned Lognall, and Toyhull ; seized upon 
 fifteen towns in the great county of Monno (by 
 some read Conno), laid siege to Anney, and 
 committed unheard of cruelties in the populous 
 and Protestant county of Warthedeflowr. In 
 some of them Dublin is seized by the natives, 
 in others O'Neill is a prisoner in the hands of 
 
xl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Irish Government. One Tract contains a 
 a circumstantial account by " One of God's 
 ministers " of a new gunpowder plot, to blow up 
 the flourishing town of Rockoll, six miles from 
 Dublin, while the king's army were in the act of 
 passing through it ; but fortunately this atrocity 
 was prevented by the gallant conduct of a 
 gentleman of whom posterity has been singu- 
 larly unmindful, Mr. Carot Topey.* 
 
 The theory finally adopted by English and 
 Anglo-Irish writers generally, with respect to 
 this transaction, when the clouds of prejudice 
 and misrepresentation had blown away, is per- 
 plexing to human reason. To seize the here- 
 ditary lands of the Irish race, and drive out the 
 inhabitants from the pastoral valleys and alluvial 
 plains which they and theirs had enjoyed since 
 the dawn of history, was a wise stroke of states- 
 
 * See Thorpe's Tracts, a collection of contemporary 
 brochures, in the Royal Irish Academy, Dubhn, collected 
 and presented by Mr. Thorpe. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xli 
 
 manship it seems ; but to seize the same lands 
 occupied for a single generation by English 
 settlers, and drive out the inhabitants, in order 
 to place the original population in their own 
 possessions, was a crime of incredible greed and 
 cruelty. A title founded on the naked ground 
 of conquest is necessarily liable to the right of 
 resumption or reconquest, which establishes a 
 similar title in some other persons. Six years 
 earlier the Scotch had risen in defence of their 
 religion, and for the redress of civil grievances. 
 And they succeeded. No person has yet sug- 
 gested an intelligible reason why the Irish also 
 should not defend their religion, and procure the 
 redress of grievances. In modern times, when 
 the original history of the massacre is well 
 understood to have been partly a scare, partly a 
 lie, the chief complaint against the Irish is that 
 they laid waste a flourishing settlement where 
 goodly men were enjoying the fruits of their 
 industry in holy peace. But the contemporary 
 
Xlii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 evidence is of a different character. The last 
 glimpse we catch of the Scotch plantators 
 exhibits them enduring, from English bishops 
 and nobles, the same stripes which Dundee and 
 Dalzell inflicted on Cameronians and Covenan- 
 ters a generation later — reduced to such a plight 
 indeed that there would seem but little left for 
 the Irish enemy to do. In a petition to the 
 English Commons in 1640, the Presbyterians of 
 Antrim, Down, and Tyrone, declare that by 
 " the cruelties, severities and arbitrarie proceed- 
 ings of civil magistrates, but principally through 
 the sway of the prelacy with their faction, our 
 souls are starved, our estates undone, our 
 families empoverished, and many lives among 
 us cut off and destroyed." They summed up 
 the result. " Our cruel taskmasters have made 
 us, who were once a people, to become, as it 
 were, no people, an astonishment to ourselves, 
 the object of pittie and amazement to others."* 
 
 * Humble Petition of the Protestants, etc. Thorpe's "Tracts" 
 
INTRODUCTIO^f. xliii 
 
 The array of authorities for the common 
 English view of the rising is very imposing, 
 having the august name of John Milton at its 
 head. But it is not more certain that Titus 
 Oates' story of the Popish Plot was a fabrica- 
 tion, than that John Milton's specific statements 
 about the Irish rebellion were unfounded and 
 impossible. He placed the number of the 
 massacred at 616,000, the Protestant popula- 
 tion of the island, including soldiers in garrison 
 and officials in Dublin, and the great towns, 
 amounting at that time to little over 200,000. 
 Temple, who is the unrelenting enemy of the 
 Irish, estimates the slain in his history of the 
 transaction, at 1 50,000 ; and Clarendon, the 
 royalist historian, reduces it to 50,000. These 
 were guesses more or less wild. Cromwell 
 issued a commission to investigate the wrongs 
 endured by the British in- Ireland, and Crom- 
 well's commission, before which the maddest 
 evidence was produced, and where the same 
 
Xliv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 incident is reported by various witnesses, and 
 counted over and over, fixes the number of 
 murders at 2,109, to which 1,900 cases, supposed 
 to have occurred during the Confederate war, 
 are added. If we accept as authentic the report 
 of a fanatical commission, before whom no evi- 
 dence on the part of the Irish was heard, and 
 who believed in ghosts shrieking in the broad 
 day for a Protestant avenger, Milton multi- 
 plied every murder by more than 100. Fairly 
 judged at this day it must be admitted that the 
 transfer of the land back to its original owners 
 was made with as little premeditated violence 
 as in any agrarian revolution with which it can 
 be fairly brought into comparison. Bloody 
 reprisals were the custom of the age ; in the 
 Netherlands, in Italy, and in France, the faction 
 of the Catholics and the faction of the Reformers 
 killed and ravaged, without remorse. That a 
 race whose chiefs had been trapped like wild 
 beasts, or assassinated in the very offices of 
 
INTRODUCTIOX. xlv 
 
 hospitality, among whom the tragedy of the 
 Pacata Hibernia, and the kindred tragedy of the 
 Plantation of Ulster, were performed, should have 
 been stung into no deadlier a humour will be 
 for ever a marvel to men who have studied 
 human history and human nature. The out- 
 rages shamefully exaggerated were no part of 
 the original design. The rising, when it fell 
 under the guidance of Roger O'MoOre, finally 
 swelled into a revolution, had its parliament at 
 Kilkenny, to which Charles sent ambassadors, 
 and its armies in the field, to which in the end 
 he would gladly have committed his cause, and 
 conducted its measures with notable clemency 
 and moderation.* 
 
 * Unless on the hypothesis that there is a separate 
 scheme of divine and human justice, and a separate law 
 of nature, applicable to Ireland, it is difficult to account 
 for the contradictory judgment which a man ordinarily so 
 wise and just as Mr. Carlyle, applies to nearly identical 
 circumstances in Ireland and France. In Ireland the 
 agricultural population driven wild by pillage and 
 oppression, rose and repossessed themselves of lands 
 
Xlvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 At the period of the Rising, the Lords Justices 
 were Sir John Parsons and Sir John Borlase. 
 Parsons, who was one of the greediest and most 
 Unscrupulous adventurers of whom history has 
 left a record, was the leading spirit. He pur- 
 sued with brutal frankness the policy which had 
 secretly influenced the statesmen of the Pale at 
 every critical era since the Invasion; he aimed 
 to make peace impossible that forfeited estates 
 might be plentiful. The Catholic peers and 
 gentlemen of English descent had little national 
 
 recently taken from them, and in the process committed and 
 endured cruel excesses : in France the agricultural popu- 
 lation, also long oppressed and pillaged, rose and burned 
 the chateaux of the noblesse, who had possessed them for 
 centuries, killed the owners whenever they could find 
 them, and when their partisans were in prison rose in 
 conjunction with a city mob and murdered them in cold 
 blood. Of the Irish transaction Mr. Carlyle has written 
 a vehement and unmeasured condemnation. Of the 
 French massacre he says : " Horrible in lands that had 
 known equal justice. Not so unnatural in lands that had 
 never known it. Le sang qui coule est il do7tc si piir ? 
 asks Barnave, intimating that the gallows, though by 
 irregular methods, had its own."— Carlyle's " French 
 Revolution." 
 
INTRODUCTION, xlvii 
 
 spirit, and some of them were ready to prove 
 their loyalty by taking up arms against the 
 Northern Irish. But Parsons and his associates 
 at the Privy Council determined to treat all 
 Papists on the same footing. They were dis- 
 armed indiscriminately. A few wished to retire 
 to England, but permission was refused. They 
 were ordered to reside on their estates, and not 
 to return to Dublin on pain of death. That 
 living at home might not be unduly agreeable, 
 they were forbidden to retain the arms neces- 
 sary for the defence of their houses against 
 marauders. Some whom he choose to suspect 
 were put to the torture to extract a confession 
 of their complicity with O'Neill. In short he 
 left them no choice but to fight in self-defence, 
 and at length they took up arms. Certain 
 priests had distinguished themselves, as we 
 have seen, in protecting the English fugitives in 
 the North, and the Council checked this 
 dangerous practice by ordering that all priests 
 
xlviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 who fell into the hands of the army should be 
 forthwith put to death. The English Parlia- 
 ment highly approved of these measures, and 
 solemnly resolved that no toleration should 
 thenceforth be given to Popery in Ireland. 
 To give full effect to their determination a loan 
 was raised upon two millions and a half of 
 " profitable lands," which it was agreed to take 
 from the owners and sell to English adventurers. 
 In the Irish Parliament, known as the Confede- 
 ration of Kilkenny, the Catholics of both races 
 were fully represented. Don Eugenio O'Neill, 
 known in Irish annals as Owen Roe,* a soldier 
 who had acquired skill and experience in the 
 armies of Spain, came to the aid of his country- 
 men. The Confederation established a regular 
 government under the title of the Supreme 
 Council, got an army into the field in each 
 of the four provinces, coined money, sent agents 
 to Rome and to the great Catholic powers, issued 
 * Red Owen, so called from the colour of his hair. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xlix 
 
 letters of marque to privateers, and established 
 free trade with the Continent, from which arms 
 and ammunition were obtained plentifully. It 
 was not the least of its achievements that it 
 set up a printing press, a machine so rare, and 
 so restricted by law, that there was but one 
 in Ireland, that one in use at the seat of English 
 government in Dublin. 
 
 The war which the Confederation main- 
 tained was distinguished by clemency and good 
 faith. They were apparently determined 
 that the national cause, represented by the 
 leading men of the nation, should be clearly 
 distinguishable from the rising of plundered 
 peasants in the North ; and it will be so dis- 
 tinguished by fair critics for ever. When strong 
 places fell into their hands they murdered no 
 garrisons, sacked no cities, burned no churches, 
 put no peaceful inhabitants to the sword, though 
 these crimes were being committed against 
 them at the moment. The English Parlia- 
 
1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ment directed that all Irish Papists fighting 
 for the king in Scotland (where the Catholics 
 had sent Charles some aid), or at sea, should 
 be denied quarter, and Irish soldiers were strung 
 up in batches, and their wives and children 
 flung into the sea in pursuance of this order. 
 If the Catholics had retaliated who could be 
 surprised ; but the Supreme Council forbade 
 retaliation. In the first year of the war the 
 garrison of Drogheda received the submission 
 of 1,200 Protestants, who were admitted to 
 terms and treated with humanity. And this 
 was their common custom. They practised 
 forbearance to lengths, which, in face of the 
 provocation they endured, was amazing and 
 admirable. For the soldiers of the Parliament 
 fought under the inspiration of men who 
 declared that one Papist must not be left in 
 Ireland. The most ferocious of these soldiers 
 was Sir Charles Coote. His career is an 
 unbroken record of murder and plunder. We 
 
INTRODUCTION. H 
 
 read of garrisons put to the sword after they 
 had laid down their arms, of towns, villages, 
 and manor houses wantonly burned, of growing 
 crops laid waste, of priests and friars knocked 
 on the head whenever they were encountered 
 all told as coolly as a modern reporter describes 
 a battue ; till at length a musket ball brought 
 his achievements to a sudden end. Monroe, 
 a Scotch soldier, rivalled Coote in barbarity ; 
 he is described as roasting fugitives — many 
 hundred it is alleged — in a wood, which he 
 fired to destroy them — laying waste the harvest 
 and renewing the other horrors of the Pacata 
 Hibernia, till happily he encountered Owen 
 Roe, as we shall see. Lord Inchiquin, the head 
 of a family which inherited the blood of Brian 
 Borhoime, has left a blacker memory than 
 Coote or Monroe. He is still execrated in 
 Munster as Murrogh of the Burnings. The 
 achievement by which he is best remembered 
 is the sacking of the ancient church on the 
 
Ill INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Rock of Cashel. He offered terms, it is said, 
 i'O the garrison empowering them to depart with 
 all the honours of war, but they refused to leave 
 the priests and citizens at his mercy. A pro- 
 digious slaughter ensued ; when the struggle was 
 over nearly a thousand dead bodies of the 
 besieged and besiegers (for the garrison fought 
 gallantly) strewed the church and its approaches. 
 Twenty priests were massacred, and one of 
 their confreres has left this vivid picture of the 
 scenes which ensued : " The altars were over- 
 turned ; the images that were painted on wood 
 were consigned to the flames ; those on canvas 
 were used as bedding for the horses, or were 
 cut into sacks for burdens. The great crucifix 
 which stood at the entrance of the choir, as if it 
 had been guilty of treason, was beheaded, and 
 soon after its hands and feet were amputated. 
 With a like fury did they rage against all the 
 other chapels of the city ; gathering together 
 the sacred vases and all the most precious 
 
INTRODUCTION, liii 
 
 vestments, they formed a procession in ridicule 
 of our ceremonies. They marched through the 
 pubHc squares, wearing the sacred vestments, 
 having the priests' caps on their heads, and 
 inviting to Mass those whom they met on the 
 way. A beautiful statue of the Immaculate 
 Virgin taken from our church was borne along 
 (the head being broken off) in mock state, with 
 laughter and ridicule. The leader of the 
 Puritan army had the temerity to assume the 
 archiespicopal mitre, and boast that he was 
 now not only governor and lieutenant of 
 Munster, but also Archbishop of Cashel."* 
 
 The Confederate Council ordered that 
 "accurate accounts" of these outrages should 
 be collected. Strict accuracy was scarcely to 
 be expected under the circumstances ; the 
 accounts were afterwards published, and it 
 may well be that they were exaggerated by 
 
 * Narrative of the Irish Superior of the Jesuits, cited in 
 Cardinal Moran's Persecution of the Irish Catholics. 
 
liv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rage and horror ; but they rested, I do not 
 doubt, on a substantial basis of truth. They 
 can scarcely be matched, in human annals, for 
 cold blooded and wanton cruelty. They re- 
 cord the burning of aged men and women, the 
 murder of the blind and disabled, of women 
 who bore other lives, and the drowning of 
 batches of unarmed peasants with their wives 
 and little ones. Two hundred women and 
 children, they alleged, were smothered in a 
 cave in Donegal ; three hundred men, women 
 and children who sought shelter in Derry were 
 butchered by the garrison ; five hundred 
 persons were arrested by soldiers at Nevvry 
 and flung in successive batches into the river ; 
 Irish soldiers who yielded on terms at Clon- 
 gowswood, were hung as soon as they had 
 submitted ; and a hundred and fifty women 
 and children (camp followers it may be pre- 
 sumed), slaughtered ; three hundred peaceful 
 farmers and -farm labourers with their families 
 
INTRODUCTION. Iv 
 
 were murdered by the Parliamentarians quar- 
 tered in Drogheda ; eighty-eight inhabitants 
 of Bandon were tied back to back and flung 
 into the river by the garrison (the same garri- 
 son are described in another of their slaughter 
 houses as seizing young children by the legs 
 and knocking their brains out against the 
 wall), a hundred and fifty persons of both 
 sexes at Termonfechan were roasted to death 
 by setting fire to a furze-cover in which they 
 had taken shelter. And so forth through a 
 long catalogue of cruelty and perfidy ; but 
 the task of recalling these bitter memories is 
 odious, and I stop midway. They might, 
 perhaps, be forgotten, — they might, at least, 
 have vanished from the popular memory, had 
 they had no successors. But w4iat Irish boy 
 has not conversed with men who saw crimes 
 as shameful and inhuman committed in Wex- 
 ford and Carlow at the end of the last 
 century? Crimes for ever renewed cannot be 
 
Ivi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 forgotten ; they are indispensable materials of 
 history, for they have largely contributed to 
 form the Irish character as it exists at this 
 day.* 
 
 The Pope sent a nuncio to aid the Irish with 
 his advice, and with some help in money and 
 arms. Irish officers returned in considerable 
 numbers from France, Italy, and Spain, and 
 
 * The Rev. Dr. Lelancl a Professor in Trinity College, 
 Dublin, and a Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, describes 
 an incident of another character in the war worthy to live 
 as long as the story of Regulus : 
 
 "The Romish Bishop of Ross, who had been particu- 
 larly active in raising and animating these unfortunate 
 troops, was taken prisoner in the engagement. A man 
 so distinguished in his opposition to the parHamentarians 
 could expect no mercy ; Broghill, however, promised to 
 spare his life, on condition that he should use his spiritual 
 authority with the garrison of a fort adjacent to the field 
 of battle, and prevail them to surrender. For this 
 purpose he was conducted to the fort ; but the gallant 
 captive, unshaken by the fear of death, exhorted the 
 garrison to maintain their post resolutely against the 
 enemies of their religion and their country, and instantly 
 resigned himself to execution. His enemies could 
 discover nothing in this conduct but insolence and 
 obstinacy, for he was a Papist and a Prelate." 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ivii 
 
 brought, we may assume, a deposit of arms 
 which, according to an English spy, these gal- 
 lant exiles had long before " bought out of the 
 deduction of their pay," in hopes of some such 
 opportunity, Richelieu meditated sending officers 
 and money, perhaps a French expedition to 
 Ireland, when death cut short his memorable 
 career. The war continued for seven years ; 
 and in the end the success of the Confederates, 
 and his own repeated defeats in England, 
 induced Charles to open negotiations with the 
 Catholics and propose terms securing them 
 religious liberty, and ,a fair share of political 
 power in their own country. The faithlessness 
 which marked his entire history, however, lost him 
 his last friends. He was impatient for Irish help 
 to regain his position, but he meant to buy it a 
 bargain. " I do, therefore, command you," he 
 wrote to the Lord Lieutenant, " to conclude a 
 peace with the Irish, v/hate're it cost, so that 
 my Protestant subjects there may be secured, 
 
Iviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and my regal authority preserved. But for all 
 this, you are to make the best bargain you can, 
 and not to discover your enlargement of power 
 till you needs must ; and though I leave the 
 managing of this great and necessary work 
 entirely to you, yet I cannot but tell you, that 
 if the suspension of Poining's Act for such bills 
 as shall be agreed upon between you there, and 
 the present taking away of the Penal laws 
 against Papists by a law will do it, I shall not 
 think it a bad bargain, so that freely and vigor- 
 ously they engage themselves in my assistance 
 against my rebels of England and Scotland, for 
 which no conditions can be too hard, not being 
 against conscience and honour." 
 
 The Catholics who remembered Charles's 
 double dealing about the ^'Graces" were not 
 prepared to pay him in advance a second time. 
 If they set him up again in England, he must 
 set them up in religious and political equality 
 in their own country. It was a fair proposal ; 
 
INTRODUCTION. lix 
 
 but SO little was Charles's agent, the Duke of 
 Ormond, disposed to second it that he gave up 
 Dublin to the Parliament (on excellent terms 
 for himself personally), and left the country 
 rather than assent. The king, pressed by his 
 increasing danger in England, despatched 
 a Catholic nobleman to the Confederation 
 bearing an affectionate private letter from 
 Charles to the nuncio, and a public despatch 
 conceding all that was asked. But the unhappy 
 faithless prince at the same time privately wrote 
 to Ormond, " Be not startled at my great con- 
 cessions to Ireland, for tJiey will come to nothing!^ 
 Among the Catholic leaders of that era 
 the name of Owen Roe is the one name 
 that still lives in popular love and traditiona 
 reverence. Owen's most memorable achieve- 
 ment was a great victory over a parliamentary 
 army at Benburb. The loss of the Puritans, 
 mostly Scots, with Ulster planters for auxiliaries 
 and led by the ferocious Monroe, was prodigious. 
 
IX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 More than twenty officers were killed, and as 
 many as 3,200 of the rank and file ; over thirty 
 standards, and the great guns, ammunition, and 
 equipment of a camp, fell into the hands of 
 O'Neill, whose loss in killed and wounded did 
 not amount to quite 200 men. But in a subse- 
 quent campaign a fatal calamity fell on the Irish 
 cause in the sudden death of Owen.* After 
 that event the war, which had been maintained 
 through seven stormy years with varying fortune 
 prospered no more. The Catholics, though they 
 still held the chief towns in Munster and Con- 
 naught, attained none of the objects for which 
 they were in arms. But let us remember that 
 though unsuccessful they were fighting for free- 
 dom of conscience, as the Scots at the same 
 time were fighting for it ; as the Dutch, some- 
 
 * It was widely believed that Owen was poisoned by a 
 treacherous gift from a Puritan lady (after the practice of 
 the previous century, when it is admitted that Ehzabeth 
 countenanced the poisoning of Irish leaders), but no evi- 
 dence to justify this suspicion has ever been exhibited. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixi 
 
 what earlier, had fouj^ht for it. They did not 
 succeed in escapincr from bondage, but the 
 wrath of their keepers at the attempt deserves 
 the sympathy of mankind in the same measure 
 as the rage of a slave-driver whose tranquillity 
 has been disturbed by unexpected resistance to 
 the lash. 
 
 When Charles was deposed and executed 
 Cromwell carried his victorious army across 
 the Channel to conquer Ireland for the Com- 
 monwealth. His campaign was as coldly 
 merciless as was Alva's in the Netherlands, or 
 Carew's in Desmond. We are assured on high 
 authority that he was in truth a humane and be- 
 neficent ruler, who only struck hard because it 
 was necessary to execute Divine justice on the 
 authors of the Ulster Rising. In pursuance of 
 this meritorious policy he besieged Drogheda, 
 which was held for the king, and put to the 
 sword the entire garrison, and the population of 
 all ages and both sexes ; nobody being spared. 
 
Ixii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The massacre continued for several days ; it is 
 admitted that between three and four thousand 
 persons were butchered in cold blood ; and a 
 score or two of the inhabitants, who alone 
 escaped, were sold as slaves to the tobacco 
 plantations. Among the garrison was an 
 English regiment, commanded by an English 
 Cavalier, and as Drogheda always lay within 
 the English Pale, where the native Irish were 
 long forbidden to inhabit a walled town, the 
 traders and citizens were almost without ex- 
 ception Catholics of English blood. What 
 Cromwell actually did was to kill certain 
 Englishmen and Anglo-Irishmen in order to 
 punish the imputed offences of O'Neills and 
 O'Reillys, Maguires and MacMahons. The 
 account of the transaction which he sent to 
 England was that it was a righteous judgment 
 executed *' on the barbarous wretches who had 
 imbued their hands in so much innocent blood." 
 He repeated the lesson of Divine justice at 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixiii 
 
 Wexford. There the garrison and population 
 were Irish, but Irish of the South ; there is no 
 reason to believe that it contained one soldier or 
 citizen who had ever crossed the Boyne, or been 
 any more associated with Sir Phelim O'Neill 
 than with Praise God Barebones. The English 
 Parliament ordered a general public thanks- 
 giving throughout the whole nation for the 
 happy event at Drogheda. 
 
 Charles II. was invited to take personal com- 
 mand of the native army in Ireland. He sent 
 them assurances of sympathy, and confirmed 
 the concessions to Catholics made by his father. 
 But he preferred relying on his countrymen the 
 Scots, who accepted him as their king, on con- 
 ditions which made him infamous, and destroyed 
 his last chance in Ireland. He had to subscribe 
 the Covenant against Papists and Prelatists 
 and to publish a declaration acknowledging 
 his father's sin in having married his mother — 
 "an idolatrous woman" — and in having made 
 
Ixiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 peace with the Irish Papists ; which peace since 
 his father's death, he had himself acknowledged 
 and confirmed. When these proceedings be- 
 came known there was an end to the royal cause 
 in Ireland. Charles took the earliest oppor- 
 tunity to send private assurances to the 
 Catholics that he only made these professions 
 for convenience, and under duresse ; but his 
 father had exhausted this device, and garrison 
 after garrison submitted to the Commonwealth. 
 
 It must never be forgotten that the troops of 
 the Confederation, during the entire war, did 
 not put one man to death in cold blood. The 
 troops of the Parliament, when the contest was 
 practically at an end, shot general officers as if 
 they were banditti — among others the son of 
 Owen Roe, and Heber MacMahon, Bishop of 
 Clogher, who succeeded Owen as commander- 
 in-chief. Of rank and file they slaughtered, 
 during the war, ten times the number who had 
 fallen in the Rising. And there are incidents in 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixv 
 
 that remorseless campaign which might move 
 the pity of Marat or St. Just. 
 
 Cromwell was now undisputed master, and a 
 period followed which we are exhorted to recog- 
 nise as the sole era when an authentic God-given 
 ruler made Divine justice prevail in the land. 
 Of his Divine government of Ireland the naked 
 facts are these : Two years after the war was at 
 an end, and when the fighting men of Ireland to 
 the number of 40,000 had been encouraged to 
 take service with Spain, he drove out by beat of 
 drum the entire Catholic population of three 
 provinces, excepting only hinds useful to hold 
 the plough or herd the flocks of the conqueror. 
 Aged men and women, feeble and sickly persons, 
 many who were protected by general treaties, 
 others who were protected by special terms of 
 submission, some who had received personal 
 guarantees for personal services, were driven 
 across the Shannon, to find a shelter if they could 
 in the bogs of Connaught, and their lands 
 
Ixvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 divided among his soldiery. Peers and knights 
 who had fought for the king, to whom they had 
 sworn allegiance, were held by the represen- 
 tative of Divine justice to have incurred this 
 penalty. If they returned they became liable 
 to be hanged without trial. Of the labouring 
 classes all who were considered dangerous, 
 were treated with a barbarity beside which Louis 
 Napoleon's deportation of his political enemies 
 to Cayenne, in our own day, was mild. They 
 were seized upon, and sold into perpetual slavery 
 in the West Indies, at so much a head ; five and 
 twenty pounds being the average price which 
 the Commonwealth obtained for an Irish slave. 
 Twenty thousand men, and a large number of 
 women (said to be chiefly the wives of soldiers 
 who had been induced to enlist in foreign ser- 
 vice), were so transported and sold. Youngsters, 
 who cannot be considered guilty of any offence, 
 shared the same fate. By the direct agency of 
 Cromwell's son a rape, like Herod's, was com- 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixvii 
 
 mitted on the children of the poorer classes, of 
 whom he caused i,ooo boys to be sold as slaves, 
 and 1,000 innocent Irish girls to be sent to 
 Jamaica, to a fate which would scarcely be ade- 
 quately avenged if the authentic ruler spent an 
 eternity in the region to which Cavalier toasts 
 consigned him. The admitted aim of the Lord 
 Protector was to extirpate the Irish race, and 
 his policy is still known among them as the 
 " Curse of Cromwell." If this be indeed the art 
 of Divine government, it was afterwards practised 
 more successfully in the fusillades and noyades 
 of the French Jacobins, and in the Bulgarian 
 atrocities painted by a modern statesman ; and 
 it reaches its perfection in the management of a 
 prize by pirates, when the crew are made to walk 
 the plank, and the booty distributed among the 
 victors. Cromv/ell's conduct is still defended on 
 the same fanatical pretences employed to justify 
 the expulsion of the Huguenots from France, the 
 Moors from Spain, the Jews from Russia, and 
 
Ixviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Christians from Japan, and the justification 
 is good for all these transactions, or for none of 
 them. 
 
 There was probably not one member of 
 James's Irish Parliament to whom these events 
 were not as well known as the names of his own 
 children ; and in judging the' character ot that 
 assembly this fact ought never to be left out 
 of account. 
 
 Before Cromwell's policy was carried to 
 complete success the Restoration brought back 
 the Stuarts. Charles II. having compensated 
 or reinstated a host of royalists ejected from 
 their estates in England, turned his attention to 
 Ireland. The enemies of his house were in 
 possession of the lands confiscated under Crom- 
 well, and the friends of his house, the original 
 proprietors, who were the last to lay down arms 
 for his father, some of whom had shared his 
 own exile, were in penury and destitution. 
 The king who never said a foolish thing, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixix 
 
 never did a wise (or honest) one, was ready 
 enough to acknowledge the service of the Irish, 
 if that would sufifice. " In the last place we did 
 and must always remember, the great affection a 
 considerable part of that nation expressed to us, 
 during the time of our being beyond the seas 
 when with all * cheerfulness and obedience, 
 they received and submitted to our orders, and 
 betook themselves to that service which we 
 directed as most convenient and behoofeful, at 
 the time to us, though attended with incon- 
 venience enough to themselves, which de- 
 meanour of theirs cannot but be thought very 
 worthy of our protection, justice and favour." 
 But compliments would not suffice. It was a 
 case needing prompt handling, and Charles 
 handled it with unusual promptitude. To pacify 
 the Irish Puritans he confirmed the settlement 
 of property under the Commonwealth. That 
 is to say, Cromwell had given to his soldiers the 
 estates of the Catholic gentlemen who had 
 
IXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fought for the house of Stuart, and the restored 
 house of Stuart graciously confirmed the 
 arrangement. Charles would certainly have 
 preferred doing justice, if justice could be done 
 without too much personal inconvenience. But 
 he loved his harlots and jesters too well to run 
 risks ; and to do justice in this matter was made 
 difficult by a sentiment always powerful in 
 England ; a sentiment which has created a 
 perpetual barrier between the two nations, and 
 which while it exists will never suffer them to 
 unite. His English Parliament, crowded with 
 Cavaliers and returned exiles, would not have 
 helped him to displace Englishmen, though they 
 were Cromwellians, to make place for Irishmen, 
 though they were Royalists. His impulse to do 
 justice, indeed, was at best not very strong ; a 
 slice of confiscated land remained at the disposal 
 of the Crown, with which he might have made 
 a provision for a few more of the worst cases of 
 injustice ; but his heart was touched with 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixxi 
 
 fraternal affection, and he gave the bulk of it— > 
 a hundred and seventy thousand acres and 
 upwards — not to Irish sufferers, but to his brother 
 James — the same James whose Irish legislation 
 is under inquiry in the following paper : 
 
 Charles' confirmation of the Cromwellian 
 grants was known as the Act of Settlement, and 
 the crime of James's Irish Parliament most 
 clamorously denounced by English historians 
 was their repeal of that shameful Act. 
 
 Although the Cavalier Parliament did not give 
 back their estates to its Irish allies, it is needless 
 to say that it did not quite overlook them. It 
 compelled the king to withdraw a rash indul- 
 gence by which they were permitted to practise 
 their religion. It passed a Test Act, by which no 
 person could hold any office, civil or military, 
 without subscribing a declaration against tr^n- 
 substantiation ; and as bullocks from Meath and 
 Kiidare brought down the price of fat stock in 
 the English market, it declared the importation 
 
Ixxii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of cattle from Ireland to be *'a public nuisance." 
 In another session the business was clenched 
 by an act prohibiting the introduction of these 
 objectionable animals for ever ; whether " dead 
 or alive, great or small, fat or lean." Some 
 members who objected were assured with the 
 gracious courtesy reserved for Irish debates, 
 that none " could oppose the bill but such as 
 had Irish estates, or Irish understandings." 
 
 This was the reign of the " Merrie Monarch,'' 
 a time of national enjoyment and revelry in 
 England, interrupted only by an English Popish 
 plot and massacre, more deliberate and bloody 
 than the plot and massacre in Ulster, over which 
 history is so clamorous. The plot was the 
 famous invention of Titus Gates ; the massacre 
 was the trial, conviction and murder of his victims 
 for eighteen months ; whose execution went on 
 merrily long after the time when judges and 
 juries had ceased to believe a syllable of the 
 evidence. These victims were English Catholics, 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixxiii 
 
 because the inventors of the plot probably knew 
 nothing personally of the Irish ; but that Ireland 
 had no share in a conspiracy to restore Popery, 
 was so improbable that the patrons of the 
 plot in London insisted on Irish victims. 
 Gates and his comrades might make incon- 
 venient blunders ; but the Privy Council 
 ordered the Lord Lieutenant to make procla- 
 mations for persons fit for the work. All who 
 could make discoveries relating to Ireland were 
 invited to come in without delay, and threatened 
 with penalties if they were dilatory. There 
 were at that time living in the country three 
 men whom crime and want had made fit 
 competitors with Dangerfield and Bedloe. 
 They were living as cattle stealers and robbers, 
 some of them liable to capital charges, but 
 the character of witness of the plot was equal 
 to a protection under the privy seal. One 
 was a suspended priest, the others apostate 
 friars, who had been expelled from their com- 
 
Ixxiv Introduction. 
 
 m unities. These men charged Oliver Plunket, 
 Primate of the Cathoh'c Church, with having 
 conspired to bring in a French expedition, and 
 to levy an Irish army to aid them. His trial 
 was ordered to be held in Dundalk; but as 
 he was well known to the jurors, and the 
 whole community there, no witnesses appeared 
 when his arraignment took place. But this 
 difficulty was promptly overcome; he was carried 
 over to London, tried before an English jury, 
 and on the ordinary incredible evidence of the 
 period, convicted and executed. No man in 
 England knew better than Charles Stuart, or 
 admitted more frankly in private, that the plot 
 was a fabrication, and its victims innocent men, 
 but he was afraid to utter a word or perform 
 an act to save them from murder. If the 
 Catholic king who succeeded Charles had 
 been strong and merciless as Cromwell, if he 
 had slaughtered the judges, juries, and specta- 
 tors of this massacre, and their contemporaries 
 
INTRODUCTION. IXXV 
 
 indiscriminately for the offence of being alive at 
 the period, if he had sent Englishmen in thou- 
 ands to be slaves in the West Indies, and women, 
 to a worse fate, he would be qualified, doubtless, 
 like Oliver, to be recognised as a benevolent 
 agent of Divine justice. 
 
 When the death of Charles raised his brother 
 to the throne James determined to establish 
 religious liberty by suspending or annulling 
 the penal laws against Catholics and Dissenters. 
 It was a wise and just purpose, and if he had 
 carried it out by the large influence of a king 
 over the parliaments of that period, he would 
 have had the applause of all good men. But 
 he attempted to effect his purpose by royal 
 prerogative and violated the Protestant con. 
 stitution of the country. History has done 
 slender justice to his memory, but Hallam 
 an oracle on questions of constitutional law, 
 declares of that period : '' No man had been 
 deprived of his liberty by any illegal warrant. 
 
Ixxvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 No man, except in the single instance of 
 Magdalen College, had been despoiled of his 
 property. The Government of James II. will 
 lose little by comparison with that of his 
 father; yet many, who scarcely put bounds to 
 their eulogies of Charles I., have been content 
 to abandon the cause of one who had no faults 
 in his public conduct but such as seemed to 
 come to him by inheritance." 
 
 James naturally sought support in Catholic 
 Ireland which would have shared the benefit of 
 his reform. The Irish never loved James, they 
 knew him chiefly as a plantator in Tipperary, but 
 his present offence was not such a one as could 
 reasonably be expected to move their indigna- 
 tion. He was a Catholic and sought to extend 
 religious liberty to Catholics and Dissenters. 
 If his method was harsh and arbitrary, the 
 boundaries of royal prerogative were ill-defined, 
 and nations have never been slow to condone 
 offences committed in their own interest. A 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixxvii 
 
 little later the strictest Scottish Whigs forgave 
 William for suspending statutes by his royal 
 authority in Scotland ; though suspending 
 statutes by royal authority was the offence for 
 which his predecessor had been driven from the 
 throne. The laws in operation against the king's 
 fellow Catholics, indeed, were such as a reason- 
 able man could not justify, or a humane man 
 endure. The religion of the State was guarded 
 with more than Mahomedan rigour. It was a 
 capital offence to receive a member of the 
 dominant church into the Catholic fold. It 
 was a capital offence for a member of the 
 Society of Jesus to land on the soil of England. 
 In the great Universities founded by Catholic 
 piety no Catholic could hold an office. In the 
 army which Catholic nobles had led to victory 
 on so many memorable fields no Catholic noble 
 could hold a commission ; no Catholic peasant 
 could carry a musket. To modify these 
 barbarous laws was the clear duty of one 
 
Ixxviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 having the authority and responsibility of a 
 sovereign. l( James had endured them with- 
 out resistance he would have been known to 
 posterity as the basest of the long line of 
 English kings. But he undertook his appointed 
 task in a perverse spirit. He was headstrong 
 and arbitrary, and yet easily deluded. He 
 counted on impunity because he believed the 
 incredible doctrine preached from the pulpits 
 of the English Church since the Restoration, 
 that the duty of a subject was non-resistance, 
 to the will of his prince in every extremity, 
 and he determined to do by authority and force 
 what he might have succeeded in effecting by 
 persuasion and influence. 
 
 James selected as Lord Lieutenant in Ireland 
 Richard Talbot, the head of an Anglo-Norman 
 house which still remained Catholic, created him 
 Duke of Tyrconnell, and gave him his confidence 
 in a degree unusual to his frigid nature. Talbot 
 is credited with a plentiful catalogue of vices by 
 
INTRODUCTION. IxXlX 
 
 English writers. It is probable that he was 
 boastful and profligate, and perhaps unveracious, 
 but he was certainly bold, resolute, and devoted 
 to his master, and to the nation he was sent to 
 rule. We must judge him by his age and his 
 contemporaries. He was far from being so un- 
 scrupulous a partisan as Shaftesbury, the patron, 
 if not the prompter, of Titus Gates, and he was 
 a generous and chivalrous gentleman compared 
 to the hero of Blenheim and Malplaquet. When 
 a conspiracy to bring in the Prince of Orange 
 began to be talked of, Talbot disarmed a large 
 number of Protestant gentlemen, whom he sus- 
 pected of sympathy with William, and armed 
 and regimented the native population whom 
 he knew to be friendly to James. What else 
 indeed was an agent of James to do ? The 
 Protestant gentry were for the most part heirs 
 of Cromwellian settlers, and hated James as a 
 Papist, and feared him as a king who might 
 call in question the title of their estates. They 
 
IXXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 themselves had taken much stricter precautions ; 
 when they were in power, a CathoHc was not 
 permitted to possess the simplest weapon of 
 defence ; half-a-dozen Catholics meeting in 
 Dublin or its neighbourhood constituted an illegal 
 assembly, and in country districts Catholics were 
 not allowed to leave their parish except to 
 attend the neighbouring market. In periods of 
 -alarm the precaution has been taken by every 
 Government in Ireland before and since ; but so 
 singular are the canons of criticism applicable to 
 Irish affairs, that Lord Macaulay, who was a 
 Cabinet Minister under Queen Victoria in 1848, 
 when arms were taken from Munster Catholics 
 and distributed among Ulster Orangemen, treats 
 this precaution of Tyrconnell's as a grave and 
 exceptional offence. 
 
 The principal employments, civil and military, 
 in Ireland, were necessarily bestowed on native 
 Catholics. " The highest offices of state, in the 
 army, and in the Courts of Justice (groans Lord 
 
INTRODUCTION. IxXXl 
 
 Macaulay) were with scarcely an exception filled 
 by Papists."* It was an intolerable grievance 
 certainly, in a Catholic country, under a Catholic 
 king, who had only a handful of Protestant 
 partisans in the island, that Catholics were so 
 employed. To be sure, in England when 
 James's opponents got the upper hand, the high- 
 est offices of state, in the army, and in the 
 courts, without a single exception, were filled 
 with Protestants, but that was " bien different^ 
 While the Prince of Orange, in correspondence 
 
 * The new levies under Tyrconnell are described by 
 Lord Macaulay as a terror to Protestant innkeepers ; they 
 swaggered into taprooms, drank freely, and probably paid 
 irregularly, being but irregularly paid themselves. In 
 truth they were no better or no worse than the ill-discip- 
 lined soldiers of that age, but the judicious reader will get 
 a valuable light on the system on which Anglo- Irish 
 history is written, if he notes that while no excuse can be 
 found for the Irish recruits, English soldiers under identi- 
 cal circumstances are defended and justified. " The pay 
 of the English and Danes (says the same writer,) was in 
 arrears. They indemnified themselves by excesses and 
 exactions for the want of what was their due, and it was 
 hardly possible to punish them with severity for not 
 choosing to starve with arms in their hands." 
 
 F 
 
Ixxxii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 with some of James's privy councillors and 
 generals, was collecting on the coast of Holland 
 an army of Dutch, French, and German troops 
 to invade his kingdom, the king summoned to 
 his aid a portion of his army in Ireland, recruited 
 like the army of his father in a large part from 
 Irish Catholics. An army similarly recruited 
 has since won memorable victories for England 
 in Spain, Belgium, and France, in Africa, Asia 
 and Australasia, but the proposal was received 
 with a roar of indignation, and a deluge of libels. 
 At the same time two Irish judges, one of them 
 recognised even by unfriendly critics as the 
 foremost man of his race, were sent to London 
 to make certain representations respecting the 
 condition of Ireland. These officials would have 
 been received with distinction at Versailles or 
 the Escuriel ; in London the mob surrounded 
 their carriage with burlesque ceremonies, among 
 which potatoes stuck on white wands were con- 
 spicuous. The favourite jester of the present 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ixxxiii 
 
 day,* who ordinarily pictures an Irishman as a 
 baboon or gorilla, is scarcely more delightfully 
 humorous ; and the perversity of a people who 
 do not love such charming pleasantries, has 
 naturally been the perplexity of English writers 
 down to our own time. 
 
 While James was meditating a flight to France 
 some good friend of the revolution indulged 
 in a playful device of a more practical sort. A 
 crowd of fugitives, whose dress bespoke them 
 ploughmen and labourers, rushed into London 
 at midnight, shrieking the dreadful news that the 
 Irish army were in full march on the city, burn- 
 ing houses and slaughtering women and children 
 in their course. Letters containing horrible 
 versions of this Popish atrocity were delivered 
 in distant and widely sundered districts of the 
 country at the same time. The citizens rose 
 and armed in self-defence, and as no enemy 
 
 * Mr. Punch. 
 
Ixxxiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 appeared they passed the time agreeably in 
 sacking and burning houses of Catholic gentle- 
 men and tradesmen. The enemy never appeared, 
 and the story turned out to be a pious fraud ; a 
 partisan of the Whigs afterwards claimed the 
 merit of having schooled the shrieking fugitives 
 with his own lips, and written the letters with 
 his proper hand. The good bishop who saw 
 the Protestant ghosts clamouring for an avenger 
 in broad day light, on the bridge of Portadown, 
 or the ingenious scribes who furnished the daily 
 bulletins of the Massacre manufactured in Lon- 
 don, scarcely deserved better of the State. Had 
 he lived in our day he would probably have 
 exercised his imagination in kindred pursuits 
 and become an eminent historical critic, 
 
 James fled to France and left his enemies in 
 possession of England and Scotland. In Ire- 
 land Tyrconnell held the country for the king, 
 and sent him advice to head a French expedition 
 to Dublin, where he would be loyally welcomed, 
 
INTRODUCTION. IxXXV 
 
 and reinstated in a kingdom. Louis XIV. 
 gave him officers, arms, ammunition and a 
 little money, but no soldiers ; and with this 
 poor provision he landed at Kinsale in the 
 spring of 1689. The Irish received him in 
 triumph ; installed him in Dublin Castle, the 
 traditional seat of authority, and the best men 
 of the race tendered him their service. A parlia- 
 ment was summoned. It necessarily consisted 
 almost exclusively of Catholics. The Protest- 
 ants elected amounted to about half a dozen. 
 The Protestant peers who answered the king's 
 summons reached about the same number, 
 including three Protestant bishops ; but small 
 as the number was, it was certainly in excess of 
 the proportion of Protesta.nts in the country 
 who supported James. And it was liberality 
 and generosity compared to the practice it 
 superseded. Up to the coming of James, and 
 throughout a great part of the seventeenth 
 century, an Irish Catholic found it as impossible to 
 
IxXXVi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 get elected to the legislature of his native 
 country as an English Catholic has done in the 
 nineteenth. There was but one Catholic in the 
 Irish Parliament of Charles II. The Govern- 
 ment was chiefly Catholic also, though James 
 had several English Protestants in his Cabinet, 
 but they were necessarily the minority. Lord 
 Macaulay is disgusted at the number of O'Neills 
 and O'Donovans, MacMahons and Macnamaras 
 who thronged the benches of the Commons ; a 
 phenomenon as amazing as to see Russells and 
 Stanleys, Smiths and Brownes, in the Parliament 
 of Westminster. Other modern writers have 
 made the scanty representation of the minority a 
 subject of reproach. How the Irish Catholics 
 could have been so bigoted as to prefer entrust- 
 ing their interests to men of their own race and 
 faith, is amazing to writers of a nation which 
 two centuries later, out of five hundred and 
 fifty representatives of England, Scotland and 
 
INTRODUCTION. IxXXvii 
 
 Wales did not elect a single Catholic gentleman, 
 and down to this day has never elected half 
 a dozen to any one parliament.* 
 
 Such were the lessons of public morality and 
 equal justice which the Irish people had received 
 during the reigns of the ancestors of the exiled 
 king of England, who threw himself upon their 
 generosity. Their representatives in the new 
 parliament, elected as soon as the king had 
 taken up his abode in Dublin Castle, came 
 to power vv^ithout experience or discipline, be- 
 cause they had been basely excluded from the 
 exercise of any public functions in their native 
 country. If men with such antecedents had 
 committed all the crimes attributed to them by 
 dishonest writers, they would only have shown 
 themselves apt pupils of English statesmen and 
 sovereigns. But they had a few leaders of their 
 
 * Having formerly traversed the same period in a 
 general smvey of Irish History, I have reproduced the 
 facts of the Stuart era from my ''Bird's Eye View of 
 Irish History'' in "Young Ireland," re-published in a sepa- 
 rate volume by James Duffy & Co., Dublin. 
 
Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 own race trained in France and England, into 
 some acquaintance with public business, who dis- 
 couraged all factious excesses, and the counsel 
 of these leaders was loyally followed by the new 
 parliament. There is scarcely in human history 
 a more touching or impressive spectacle than the 
 genuine fairness and moderation of this maligned 
 parliament, and this is the story which is told in 
 the following pages. I determined long ago to 
 re-publish the narrative in some such collection 
 as the present, a design confirmed by the judg- 
 ment passed on Davis's work by so competent a 
 critic as Mr. Lecky."^ The scattered chapters 
 
 * "By far the best and fullest account of this Parliament 
 with which I am acquainted is to be found in a series 
 of papers upon it (which have unfoitunately never been 
 reprinted) by Thos. Davis, in the 'Dublin Magazine' 
 of 1843. Ii^ these papers the Acts of Repeal and of 
 Attainder are printed at len,c;th, and the extant evidence 
 relating to them is collected and sifted with an industry 
 and skill that leave little to be desired. I must take this 
 opportunity .of expressing my grateful thanks to Sir 
 Gavan Duffy for having called my attention to these most 
 valuable, but now almost forgotten papers." — Note on 
 " Lecky's History of England in the Eighteenth Century." 
 Vol. ii., p. 184. 
 
INTRODUCTION. IxXXlX 
 
 were originally printed from time to time in an 
 obscure periodical, and fell dead from the press ; 
 but once they are known to students, it is not 
 rash to predict that they will take their place 
 permanently in historical as well as popular 
 libraries. 
 
 C. GAVAN DUFFY. 
 
 Villa Guillory, 
 l^iCE, /u/!y, 1893. 
 
THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE, 
 
 HIS enquiry is designed 
 to rescue eminent men 
 and worthy acts from 
 calumnies which were 
 founded on the ignorance 
 and falsehoods of the Old 
 Whigs, who never felt secure until they had 
 destroyed the character as well as the liberty of 
 Ireland. 
 
 Irish oppression never could rely on mere 
 physical force for any length of time. Our 
 enormous military resources, and the large pro- 
 portion of '' fighting men," or men who love 
 fighting, among our people, prohibit it. It was 
 ever necessary to divide us by circulating extra- 
 vagant stories of our crimes and our disasters, 
 in order to poison the wells of brotherly love 
 
xcii THiE author's preface. 
 
 and patriotism in our hearts, that so many of us 
 might range ourselves under the banner of our 
 oppressor. 
 
 Calumny lives chiefly on the past and future ; 
 it corrupts history and croaks dark prophecies. 
 Never, from Tyrconnell's rally down to 
 O'Connell's revival of the Emancipation 
 struggle — never, from the summons of the Dun- 
 gannon Convention to the Corporation Debate 
 on Repeal, has a single bold course been pro- 
 posed for Ireland, that folly, disorder, and dis- 
 grace, has not been foreboded. Never has any 
 great deed been done here that the alien Govern- 
 ment did not, as soon as the facts became his- 
 torical, endeavour to blacken the honour of the 
 statesmen, the wisdom of the legislators, or the 
 valour of the soldiers who achieved it. 
 
 One of the favourite texts of these apostles of 
 misrule was the Irish Government in King 
 James's time. " There's a specimen," they said, 
 *' of what an Irish Government would be — unruly, 
 rash, rapacious, and bloody." But the King, 
 Lords, and Commons of 1689, when looked at 
 honestly present a sight to make us proud and 
 hopeful for Ireland. Attached as they were to 
 their King, their first act was for Ireland. They 
 declared that the English Parliament had not, 
 
THp: author's preface. xciii 
 
 and never had, any right to legislate for Ireland, 
 and that none, save the King and Parliament 
 of Ireland, could make laws to bind Ireland. 
 
 In 1698, just nine years after, while the acts of 
 this great Senate were fresh, MOLYNEUX pub- 
 lished his case of Ireland, that case which SwiFT 
 argued, and LuCAS urged, and FLOOD and 
 Grattan, at the head of 70,000 Volunteers; 
 carried, and England ratified against her will. 
 Thus, then, the idea of 1782 is to be found full 
 grown in 1689. The pedigree of our freedom is 
 a century older than we thought, and Ireland 
 has another Parliament to be proud of. 
 
 That Parliament, too, established religious 
 equality. It anticipated more than 1782. The 
 voluntary system had no supporters then, and 
 that patriot Senate did the next best thing 
 they left the tithes of the Protestant People to 
 the Protestant Minister, and of the Catholic 
 People to the Catholic Priest. Pensions not 
 exceeding ;^200 a year, v/ere given to the 
 Catholic Bishops. And no Protestant Prelates 
 were deprived of stipend or honour — they held 
 their incomes, . and they sat in the Parliament. 
 They enforced perfect liberty of conscience ; 
 nor is there an act of theirs which could inform 
 one ignorant of Irish faction to what creed the 
 
XCIV THE AUTHORS PREFACE. 
 
 majority belonged. Thus for its moderation and 
 charity this Parliament is an honour and an 
 example to the country. 
 
 While on the one hand they restored the 
 estates plundered by the Cromwellians thirty- 
 six years before, and gave compensation to all 
 innocent persons — while they strained every 
 nerve to exclude the English from our trade, 
 and to secure it to the Irish — while they intro- 
 duced the Statute of Frauds, and many other 
 sound laws, and thus showed their zeal for the 
 peaceful and permanent welfare of the People, 
 they were not unfit to grapple with the great 
 military crisis. They voted large supplies ; they 
 endeavoured to make a war-navy ; the leading 
 members allowed nothing but their Parliamen- 
 tary duties to interfere with their recruiting, 
 arming, and training of troops. They were no 
 timorous pedants, who shook and made homilies 
 when sabres flashed and cannon roared. Our 
 greatest soldiers, M'Carthy and Tyrconnell, 
 and, indeed, most of the Colonels of the Irish 
 regiments, sat in Lords or Commons ; — not that 
 the Crown brought in stipendiary soldiers, but 
 that the Senate were fearless patriots, who were 
 ready to fight as well as to plan for Ireland. 
 
THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. XCV 
 
 Theirs was no qualified preference for freedom 
 if it were lightly won — they did not prefer 
 "Bondage with ease to strenuous liberty." 
 
 Let us then add 1689 to our memory ; and 
 when a Pantheon or Valhalla is piled up to 
 commemorate the names and guard the effigies 
 of the great and good, the bright and burning 
 genius, the haughty and faithful hearts, and 
 the victorious hands of Ireland, let not the 
 men of that time — that time of glory and mis- 
 fortune — that time of which Limerick's two 
 sieges typify the clear and dark sides — defiance 
 and defeat of the Saxon in one, trust on the 
 Saxon and ruin in the other — let not the 
 legislators or soldiers of that great epoch be 
 forgotten. 
 
 THOMAS DAVIS. 
 
 July 1843. 
 
THE 
 
 IRISH PARLIAMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 JAMES II. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A RETROSPECT. 
 
 How far the Parliament which sat in DubUn in 1689, 
 was right or wrong, has been much disputed. As the 
 history of it becomes more accurately and generally 
 known, the grounds of this dispute will be cleared. 
 
 Nor is it of trifling interest to determine whether a 
 parliament, which not only exercised great influence at 
 the time, but furnished the enactors of the Penal Laws 
 with excuses, and the achievers of the Revolution ot 
 
 G 
 
2 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 1782 with principles and a precedent, was the good or 
 evil thing it has been called. 
 
 The writers commonly quoted against it are, Arch- 
 bishop King, Harris, Leland ; those in its favour, 
 Leslie, Curry, Plowden, and Jones.* Of all these 
 writers, King and Leslie are alone original authorities. 
 Harris copies King, and Leland copies Harris, and 
 Plowden, Curry, and Jones rely chiefly on Leslie. 
 Neither Harris, Leland, nor Curry add anything to 
 our knowledge of the time. King (notwithstanding, 
 as we shall show hereafter, his disregard of truth) is 
 valuable as a cotemporary of high rank; Leslie, also 
 a cotemporary, and of unblemished character, is still 
 more valuable. Plovv'den is a fair and sagacious 
 commentator; Jones, a subtle and suggestive critic 
 on those times. 
 
 If, in addition, the reader will consult such 
 authorities as the Letters of Lord Lieutenant Tyr- 
 connell ; j the Memoirs j' of James the Second by 
 
 * King's "State of the Protestants." Ilavris's "Life of 
 King William," folio, Dublin, 1749, book 8. Leland's " History 
 of Ireland," vol. 3, book 6, chaps. 5 and 6. Leslie's "Answer 
 to King's State of the Protestants," London, 1692. Cuny's 
 " Review of the Civil Wars of Ireland." Plovvden's " Historical 
 Review of Ireland; also Historj' of Ireland," vol. i., c. 9. 
 Jones's " Reply to an anonymous writer from Belfast, signed 
 I'ortia." Dublin, 1792. 
 
 t Thorpe's MSS. 
 
 J London, 2 vols. 4to edited by Rev. ]. Clarke. 
 
A RETROSPECT. 3 
 
 himself; Histoire de la Revolutiofi par Mazure ; * and 
 the pamphlets quoted in this publication, and the 
 notes to it, he will be in a fair way towards mastering 
 this difficult question. 
 
 After all, that Parliament must be judged by its 
 own conduct; If its acts were unjust, bigotted, and 
 rash, no excuse can save it from condemnation. If, 
 on the other hand, it acted with firmness and loyalty 
 towards its king, — if it did much to secure the rights, 
 the prosperity, and the honour of the nation, — if, in a 
 country where property had been turned upside down 
 a few years before, it strove to do justice to the many, 
 with the least possible injury to the few, — if, in a 
 country torn with religious quarrels, it endeavoured to 
 secure liberty of conscience without alienating the ultra 
 zealous, — and finally, if in a country in imminent 
 danger from a powerful invader and numerous traitors, 
 it was more intent on raising resources and checking 
 treason, than would become a parliament sitting in 
 peace and safety, let us, while confessing its fallibility, 
 attend to its difficulties, and do honour to its vigour 
 and intelligence. 
 
 Before we mention the composition of the Parlia- 
 ment, it will be right to run over some of the chief 
 dates and facts which brought about the state of 
 things that led to its being summoned. Most Irish- 
 men (ourselves among the number) are only beginners 
 at Irish history, and cannot too often repeat the ele- 
 * Palis, 1825, 3 vols. 8vo. 
 
4 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 ments : still the beginning has been made. It is no 
 pedantry which leads one to the English invasion, for 
 the tap-root of the transactions of the seventeenth 
 century. 
 
 Four hundred years of rapacious war and wild re- 
 sistance had made each believe all things ill of the 
 other ; and when England changed her creed in the 
 sixteenth century, it became certain that Ireland 
 would adhere to hers at all risks. Accordingly, the 
 reigns of the latter, and especially of the last of the 
 Tudors, witnessed unceasing war, in which an appe- 
 tite for conquest was inflamed by bigotry on the 
 English side, while the native, who had been left 
 unaided to defend his home, was now stimulated by 
 foreign counsels, as well as by his own feelings, to 
 guard his altar and his conscience too. 
 
 James the First found Ireland half conquered by 
 the sword ; he completed the work by treachery, and 
 the fee of five-sixths of Ulster rewarded the " energy " 
 of the British. The proceedings of Strafford added 
 large districts in the other provinces to the English 
 possessions. Still, in all these cases, as in the 
 Ivlunster settlement under Elizabeth, the bulk of the 
 population remained on the soil. To leave the land 
 was to die. They clung to it amid sufferings too 
 shocking to dwell on f they clung to it under such 
 a serfhood as made the rapacity of their conquerors 
 
 * Spenser's ** View " ; Fynes Moryson's " Itinerary "; Captain 
 Lee's " Memoir "; Harris's *' Letters" ; an«? Carte's "Ormonde." 
 
A RETROSPECT. 5 
 
 interested in retaining them on the soil. They clung 
 to it from necessity and from love. They multiplied 
 on it with the rapidity of the reckless. Yet they re- 
 tained hope, the hope of restitution and vengeance. 
 The mad ferocity of Parsons and Borlace hastened 
 the outbreak of 1641. That insurrection gave back 
 to the native his property and his freedom, but com- 
 pelled him to fight for it, — first, against the loyalists; 
 next, against the traitors ; and lastly, against the re- 
 publicans. After a struggle of ten years, distinguished 
 by the ability of the Council of Kilkenny, and the 
 bravery of Owen Roe and his followers, the Irish sunk 
 under the abilities and hosts of Cromwell. Those 
 who felt his sway might well have envied the men 
 who conquered and died in the breach of Clonmel, 
 or fell vanquished or betrayed at Letterkenny and 
 Drogheda. During the insurrection of 1641, the 
 royal government, at once timid and tyrannical, 
 united with the sordid capitalists of London to 
 plunder the Irish of their lands and liberty, if not 
 to exterminate them."^' In order to effect this, a 
 system of unparalleled lying was set a-foot against 
 the natives of this kingdom. The violence which 
 naturally attended the sudden resumption of pro- 
 perty by an ignorant, excited, and deeply wronged 
 people, was magnified into a national propensity to 
 throat-cutting. Exaggerations the most barefaced 
 
 * See the proofs of this collected in Carey's " Vindicise Hiber- 
 nicpe." 
 
6 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 were received throughout England. Deaths, which 
 the English-minded Protestant, the Rev. Mr. Warner, 
 has ascertained to have been under 12,000, reckoning 
 deaths from hardships along with those by the sword, 
 — were rated in England at 150,000, and by John 
 Milton at 616,000.* No wonder the English nation 
 looked upon us as bloody savages ; and no wonder 
 they looked approvingly at the massacres and confis- 
 cations of the Lord Protector. But the Irish deemed 
 they were free from crime, in resuming by force of 
 arms the land which arms had taken from them ; they 
 regarded the bloodshed of '41 as a deplorable result 
 of English oppression ; they fought with the hearts of 
 resolved patriots till 1651. 
 
 The restoration of the Stuarts was hailed as the 
 restoration of their rights. They were woefully disap- 
 pointed. A compromise was made between the 
 legitimists and the republicans ; the former were to 
 resume their rank, the latter to retain their plunder. 
 Ireland was disregarded. The mockery of the Court 
 of Claims restored less than one-third of the Irish 
 lands. While in 1641 the Roman Catholics possessed 
 two-thirds of Ireland; in 1680, they had but one- 
 fifth, f Besides, the new possessors were of an 
 
 * Milton's " Eikonociastes " ; Warner's "History of tlie Rebel- 
 lion " ; Carey's " Vindicicis "; and Pamphlets, Libraries of Trinity 
 College and the Dublin Society. 
 
 t Sir W. Petty's "Political Anatomy of Ireland "; La\vrcnce's 
 "Interest of Ireland"; "Curry's Review", "Carte's Life and Letters 
 of Ormonde," &c. 
 
A RETROSPECT. 7 
 
 opposite creed, and fortified themselves by Penal 
 Laws. Under such circumstances the aim of most 
 men would be much the same, namely, to take 
 the first opportunity of regaining their property, 
 their national independence, and religious freedom. 
 With reference to their legislation on the two 
 latter points, doubts may be entertained how much 
 should be complained of; and even those who 
 condemn that on the first, should remember that " the 
 re-adjustment of all private rights, after so entire a 
 destruction of their landmarks, could only be effected 
 by the coarse process of general rules.''* 
 
 Let us now run over a few dates, till we come to 
 the event which gave the Irish this opportunity. On 
 the 6th of February, 1685, Charles the Second died in 
 the secret profession of the Roman Catholic faith, and 
 his brother, James Stuart, Duke of York, succeeded 
 him. 
 
 James the Second came to his throne with much of 
 what usually wins popular fa^'our. He united in his 
 person the blood of the Tudor, Plantagenet, and 
 Saxon kings of England, while his Scottish descent 
 came through every king of Scotland, and found its 
 spring in the Irish Dalriad chief, who, embarking 
 from Ulster, overran Albany. In addition, James, 
 had morals better than those of his rank and time, 
 as much intellect as most kings, and the reputation 
 
 *Hallam's " Constitutional History," v. 3, p, 588, 3rd edition. 
 
8 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES It. 
 
 acquired from his naval administration, graced as it 
 was by sea-fights in which no ship was earher in 
 action than James's, and by at least one great victory 
 — that over Opdam — fought near Yarmouth, on the 
 3rd June, 1665. 
 
 Yet the difference of his creed from that of his 
 EngUsh subjects blew these popular recollections to 
 shivers. He tried to enforce, first — toleration ; and 
 secondly, perfect religious equality, and intended, as 
 many thought, the destruction of that equality, by 
 substituting a Roman Catholic for a Protestant 
 supremacy ; and the means he used for this purpose 
 were such as the English Parliament had pronounced 
 unconstitutional. He impeached the corporate 
 charters by quo zvarranto^ brought to trial before 
 judges whom he influenced, as all his predecessors had 
 done. He invaded the customs of the universities, 
 as having a legal right to do so. He suspended the 
 penal laws, and punished those who disobeyed his 
 liberal but unpopular proclamations. Some noble 
 zealots, the Russells and Sidneys, crossed his path in 
 vain ; but a few bold caballers, the Danbys, the Shaftes- 
 burys, and Churchills, by urging him to despotic acts, 
 and the people to resistance, brought on a crisis ; 
 when, availing themselves of it, they called in a foreign 
 army and drove out James, and swore he had 
 abdicated ; expelled the Prince of Wales, and falsely 
 called him bastard ; made terms with William, that 
 he should have the crown and privy purse, and they 
 
A RETROSPECT, ^ 
 
 the actual government; and ended by calling their 
 selfish and hypocritical work, " a popular and glorious 
 revolution." 
 
 It is needless to follow up James's quarrel with the 
 university of Oxford, and his unsuccessful prosecution 
 of the seven Bishops on the 29th of June, 1688, who, 
 emboldened by the prospect of a revolution, refused 
 to read his proclamation of indulgence. From the 
 day of their acquittal, James was lost. Letters were 
 circulated throughout England^* and Ireland, declaring 
 the young Prince of Wales (who was born loth June) 
 spurious, and containing many other falsehoods, so as 
 to shake men's souls with rumours, and arouse 
 popular prejudices. The army was tampered with; 
 the nobles and clergy were in treaty with Holland. 
 James not only refused to retract his policy till it was 
 too late ; but refused, too, the offer of Louis to send 
 him French troops. 
 
 Similar means had been used by and against him in 
 Ireland. Tyrconnell, who had replaced Clarendon as 
 Lord Lieutenant in 1686, got in the charters of the 
 corporations ; reconstructed the army, and used every 
 means of giving the Roman Catholics that share in 
 the government of this country, to which their numbers 
 entitled them. And on the other hand, the Protes- 
 tant nobles joined the English conspiracy, and adopted 
 the EngHsh plan of false plots and forged letters. 
 
 * Speke's "Memoirs." 
 
lO THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 At length, on 4th November, 1688, Prince William 
 landed at Torbay with 15,000 veterans. James 
 attempted to bear up, but his nearest and dearest, his 
 relatives and his favourites, deserted him in the hour 
 of his need. It seems not excessive to say, that there 
 never was a revolution in which so much ingratitude, 
 selfishness, and meanness were displayed. There is 
 not one great genius or untainted character eminent in 
 it. Yet it succeeded. On the i8th of December, 
 William entered London ; on the 23rd, James sailed 
 for France; and in the February following, the English 
 convention declared he had abdicated. 
 
 These dates are, as Plowden remarks, important; 
 for though James's flight, on the 23rd of December, 
 was the legal pretence for insurrection in the summer 
 of 1689, yet negociations had been going on with 
 Holland through 1687 and 1688,* and the Northern 
 Irish formed themselves into military corps, and 
 attacked the soldiers of the crown before Inniskillen, 
 on the first week in December; and on the 7th 
 December the gates of Derry were shut in the face of 
 the king's troops,t facts which should be remembered 
 in judging the loyalty of the two parties. 
 
 *See tlie Declaration of Union, dated 21st March, 1688 in ihe 
 Appendix to Walker's "Account of the Siege of Derry." 
 
 t These acts were done in good faith by the people, instigated 
 by the devices of the nobles. A letter, now admitted to have 
 been forged, was dispersed by Lord Mount Alexander, announc- 
 ing the design of the Roman Catholics to murder the Protestants. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ORIGIN AND CHARACTER OF THE PARLIAMENT. — THE 
 HOUSE OF LORDS. 
 
 James landed at Kinsale, 12th March, 1689, about 
 a month after the election of William and Mary by the 
 English convention. He entered Dublin in state 
 on the 24th March, accompanied by D'Avaux, as 
 Ambassador from France, and a splendid court. His 
 first act was to issue five proclamations, — the first, 
 requiring the return and aid of his Irish absentee 
 subjects; the second, urging upon the local authorities 
 the suppression of robberies and violence which had 
 increased in this unsettled state of affairs ; the third, 
 encouraging the bringing provisions for his army ; the 
 fourth, creating a currency of such metal as he had, 
 conceiving it preferable to a paper currency (a gold 
 or silver currency was out of his power, for of the 
 two millions promised him by France, he only got 
 ;£i 50,000); the fifth proclamation summoned a 
 parliament for the 7th May, 1689. 
 
 James also issued a proclamation promising liberty 
 of conscience, justice and protection"^' to all ; and, after 
 
 * See as to this, Melfort's letter to Pottinger, the sovereign 
 of Belfast ; " History of Belfast," pp. 72-3 ; Lesley proves, on 
 Williamite authority, that the Protestants were worse treated 
 by William's army than by James's, See Dr. Gorges in 
 Lesley's Appendix. 
 
i2 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 receiving many congratulatory addresses, set out for 
 Derry to press the blockade. On the 29th April, he 
 returned to Dublin. On the 7th May, Ireland 
 possessed a complete and independent government. 
 Leaving the castle, over which floated the national 
 flag, James proceeded in full procession to the King's 
 Inns, where the Parliament sat, and the Commons 
 having assembled at the bar of the Peers, James 
 entered, " with Robe and Crown," and addressed the 
 Commons in a speech full of manliness and dignity. 
 At the close of the speech the Chancellor of Ireland, 
 Lord Gosworth, directed the Commons to retire and 
 make choice of a Speaker. In half an hour the 
 Commons returned and presented Sir Richard Nagle 
 as their Speaker, a man of great endowments and high 
 character. The Speaker was accepted, and the Houses 
 adjourned. 
 
 The peers who sat in this parliament amounted to 
 fifty-four. Among these fifty-four, were six dignitaries 
 of the Protestant church, one duke, ten earls, sixteen 
 viscounts, and twenty-one barons. It contained the 
 oldest families of the country, — O'Brien and DeCourcy, 
 MacCarty and Bermingham, De Burgo and Maguire, 
 Butler and Fitzpatrick. The bishops of Meath, Cork, 
 Ossory, Limerick, and Waterford, and the Protestant 
 names of Aungier, Le Poer, and Forbes sat with the 
 representatives of the great Roman Catholic houses 
 of Plunket, Bamewell, Dillon, and Nugent. Nor 
 were some fresher honours wanting; Talbot and 
 
THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 1 3 
 
 Mountcashel v/ere the darlings of the people, the trust 
 of the soldiery, the themes of bards. 
 
 King's impeachment of this parliament is amusing 
 enough. His first charge is, that if the House were 
 full, the majority would have been Protestant. Now 
 if the majority preferred acting as insurgents under 
 the Prince of Orange, to attending to their duties in the 
 Irish house of peers, it was their own fault. Certain 
 it is, the most violent might safely have attended, for 
 the earls of Granard and Longford, and the bishop of 
 Meath not only attended, but carried on a bold and 
 systematic opposition. And so far was the House from 
 resenting this, that they committed the sheriff of 
 Dubhn to prison, for billeting an officer at the bishop 
 of Meath's. Yet the bishop had not merely resisted 
 their favourite repeal of the Settlement, but, in doing so, 
 had stigmatized their fathers and some of themselves 
 as murderous rebels. 
 
 King's next charge is, that the attainders of many 
 peers were reversed to admit them. Now this is un. 
 supported by evidence, against fact, and simply a 
 falsehood. Then he complains of the new creations. 
 They were ]ust Jive in number ; and of these five, two 
 were great legal dignitaries — the Lord Chancellor 
 and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland ; the third was Col. 
 MacCarty of the princely family of Desmond, and a 
 distinguished soldier with a great following — the 
 others. Brown, Lord Kenmare; and Bourke, Lord 
 Bofin (son of Lord Clanricarde), men of high position 
 in their counties. 
 
14 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES IT. 
 
 Fitton, Lord Gosworth, occupied the woolsack. 
 That he was a man of capacity if not of character, may 
 be fairly presumed from his party having put him. in 
 so important an office in such trying times.* He cer- 
 tainly had neither faction nor following to bring with 
 him. Nor was he treated by his party below what 
 his rank entitled him to. The appointments in his 
 court were not interfered with : his decrees were not 
 impeached, and in the council he sat above even 
 Herbert the Lord Chancellor of England. Yet, King 
 describes this man as " detected of forgery," one who 
 was brought from gaol to the woolsack — one who had 
 not appeared in any court— a stranger to the kingdom, 
 the laws and the practice and rules of court ; — one 
 who made constant needless references to the Masters 
 to disguise his ignorance, and who was brought into 
 power, first, because he was " a convert papist, that is, 
 a renegade to his country and his religion;" and 
 secondly, because he would enable the Irish to recover 
 their estates by countenancing '* forgeries and per- 
 juries," which last, continues the veracious archbishop, 
 he nearly effected, without putting them to the trouble 
 of repealing the Acts of Settlement. King staggeis 
 from the assertion that Fitton denied justice to Protes- 
 tants, into saying it was got from him with difficulty. 
 
 Thomas Nugent, Baron Riverstown, second son of 
 the Earl of Westmeath, was chosen chairman of com- 
 mittees. King, who is the only authority at present 
 
 * He was appointed in 1686 (see Appendix B). T. W. R. 
 
THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 15 
 
 accessible to us^ states that Nugent had been "out " 
 in 1 64 1, but considering that he did not die till 17 15, 
 he must have been a mere boy in '41, if born at all; 
 and, at any rate, as his family, including his grandfather 
 Lord Delvin (first Earl Westmeath) and his father, 
 carried arms against the Irish up to 1648, and suffered 
 severely, it is most improbable that he was, as a child, 
 in the opposite ranks. 
 
 The Irish had never ceased to agitate against the 
 Acts of Settlement and Explanation. Thus Sir 
 Nicholas Plunket had done legal battle against the 
 first, till an express resolution excluded him by name 
 from appearing at the bar of the council. Then Col. 
 Talbot (Tyrconnell) led the opposition eftbrt for their 
 repeal or mild administration. In 1686, Sir Richard 
 Nagle went to England, as agent of the Irish, to seek 
 their repeal. But the greatest effort was made in 
 1688. Nugent and Rice were sent expressly to 
 London to press the repeal. Rice is said to have 
 shown great tact and eloquence, but Nugent to have 
 been rash and confused. Certain it is, they were 
 unsuccessful with the council, and were brutally 
 insulted by the London mob, set on by the very 
 decent chiefs of the Williamite party. 
 
 Of the eighteen prelates, ten were Englishmen, one 
 Welsh, and only seven Irish. Several had been 
 chaplains to the different lords lieutenant. Eleven 
 out of the eighteen were in England during the session. 
 Of these, some were habitual absentees, such as 
 
1 6 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAI^I^ II. 
 
 Thomas Hackett, bishop of Down, deprived in 1691 
 by WiUiamite conamissioners, for an absence of twenty 
 years. Others had got leave of absence during '87 
 and 'SS. Some, Hke Archbishop John Vesey of Tuam, 
 and Bishop Richard Tennison of Killala, fled in good 
 earnest, and accepted lectureships and cures in 
 London. 
 
 There was one man among them who deserves 
 more notice, Anthony Dopping, lord bishop of Meath. 
 He was born in Dublin 28th Maich, 1643, and died 
 24th April, 1697. He was educaved in St. Patrick's 
 schools, and won his fellowship in T. C. D. in 1662, 
 being only 19 years old. He led the opposition in 
 the parliament of '89 with great vigor and pertinacity. 
 He resisted all the principal measures, and procured 
 great changes in some of them, as appears by " The 
 Journal." He had a fearless character and ready 
 tongue. He continued a leader of the Ultras 'after 
 the battle of the Boyne, and quarrelled with the 
 government. King William, finding how slowly the 
 Irish war proceeded, had prepared and sent to Ireland 
 a proclamation conceding the demands of the Roman 
 Catholics, granting them perfect religious liberty, right 
 of admission to all offices, and an establishment for 
 their clergy.^' While this was with the printers in 
 
 * In July, 1 69 1, William had offered these terms: 1st. The 
 free public exercise of the Roman Catholic religion : 2nd. Half 
 the churches in the kingdom : 3rd. Half the employments, civil 
 and military, if they pleased : 4th. Half their properties, as 
 
THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 1 7 
 
 Dublin, news came of the danger of Limerick. The 
 proclamation was suppressed by the Lords Justices, 
 who hastened to the camp, " to hold the Irish to as 
 hard terms as possible. This they did effectually." 
 Still these "hard terms" were too lenient for the 
 Ultras, who roared against the treaty of Limerick, and 
 demanded its abrogation. On the Sunday after the 
 Lords Justices had returned, full of joy at having 
 tricked the Irish into so much harder terms than 
 William had directed them to offer, they attended 
 Christ Church, and the bishop of Meath preached a 
 sermon, whose whole object was to urge the breaking 
 of the treaty of Limerick, contending (says Harris, in 
 his Irish Writers in Ware, p. 215) that "peace ought 
 not to be kept with a people so perfidious." The 
 Justices, and the Williamite or moderate party, were 
 enraged at this. The bishop of Kildare was directed 
 to preach in Christ Church on the following Sunday, 
 in favour of the treaty ; and he obtained the place in 
 the privy council from which the bishop of Meath was 
 expelled : but ultimately the party of the latter 
 triumphed, and enacted the penal laws. 
 
 The hst of the Lords Temporal has been made out 
 with great care, from all the authorities accessible. 
 
 Ireland had then but two dukes, Tyrconnell and 
 Ormond. Ormond possessed the enormous spoils 
 
 held prior to Cromwell's conquest. The terms were at once 
 refused. The suppressed proclamation doubtless offered at least 
 as much. (Harris's " William," and Tlowden, b. 2. ) 
 
 H 
 
18 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 acquired by his grandfather from the Irish, and was 
 therefore largely interested in the success of the 
 English party. He of course did not attend. His 
 huge territory and its regal privileges were taken from 
 him by a special act. 
 
 Considering the position he occupied, the materials 
 on the life of Tyrconnell are most unsatisfactory. 
 Richard Talbot was a cadet of the Irish branch of the 
 Shrewsbury family, and numbered in his ancestors the 
 first names in English history. His father was Sir 
 William Talbot, a distinguished Irish lawyer, and his 
 brother, Peter Talbot, was R. C. archbishop of Dublin, 
 and was murdered there by tedious imprisonment on 
 a false charge in 1680. He v»as a lad of sixteen when 
 Cromwell sacked Drogheda in September, 1649, ^-nd 
 he doubtless brought from its bloody ashes no feel- 
 ing in favour of the Saxon. He was all his life engaged 
 in the service of the Irish and of James. He was 
 attached to the Duke of York's suite from the Restora- 
 tion, and was taken prisoner by the Dutch, on board 
 the Catharine, in the naval action at Solebay, 29th 
 May, 1672.* After the Acts of Settlement and 
 Explanation were passed, he acted as agent for the 
 Irish Roman Catholics, urging their claims with all 
 the influence his rank, abilities, and fortunef could 
 
 *Rawdon Papers, p. 253. 
 
 fAnthony I lamilton, in his "Memoirs of Grammont, "exaggerates 
 this to ^40,000 a year, and attributes Miss Jennings' affection to 
 its attractions. But beside tliat, by his statement, Tyrconnell 
 
THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 1 9 
 
 command. His zeal got him into frequent dangers ; 
 he was sent to tlie Tower in 1661 and 1671, for 
 having challenged the Duke of Ormond, and the 
 English Commons presented an address in 167 1, pray- 
 ing his dismissal from all public employments. He 
 was selected by James, both from personal trust and 
 popularity, to communicate with the Irish ; and though 
 Clarendon was first sent as Lord Lieutenant in '85, 
 Tyrconnell had the independent management of the 
 army,* and replaced Clarendon in 1686. 
 
 Sarsfield, who was at the head of " the French 
 party," and most of the great Irish officers, thought him 
 undecided, hardly bold enough, and with a selfish 
 leaning towards England. Of his selfishness we have 
 now a better proof than they had, a proof that might 
 have abated his master's eulogy, given further on. We 
 say vitght, for possibly Tyrconnell was in communica- 
 tion with James as to the French offers. 
 
 had been a rival of Grammont with INIiss Hamilton, there is 
 enough in Grammont to account for it otherwise. HamiUon, an 
 Irishman and a Jacobite, seems to have sympathised witli 
 Tyrconnell. He describes him as " one of the largest and most 
 pov/erful looking men in England," " with a brilliant and hand- 
 some appearance, and something of nobility, not to say haughtiness 
 in his manners. " He mentions circumstances, showing him bold, 
 free, amorous, and, strange for a courtier, punctual in payment of 
 debts. Yet this man, so full of refinement, and so trained, is 
 described by King as addressing the Irish Privy Council thus : — 
 "I have put the sword into your hands, and God damn you all 
 if ever you part with it." 
 
 * Clarendon's " State Letters," vol. i. and the Diary. 
 
20 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 ■' It is now ascertained that, doubtful of the king's success in 
 the struggle for restoring popery in England, he had made 
 secret overtures to some of the French agents, for casting off all 
 connection with that kingdom in case of James's death, and, with 
 the aid of Louis placing the crown of Ireland on his own head. 
 M. Mazure has brought this remarkable fact to light. Bonrepos, 
 a French emissary in England, was authorised by his court to 
 proceed in a negociation withTyrconnell for the separation of the 
 two islands, in case that a Protestant should succeed to the crown 
 of England. He had accordingly a private interview with a 
 confidential agent of the lord lieutenant at Chester, in the month 
 of October, 1687. Tyrconnell undertook that in less than a year 
 everything should be prepared."* 
 
 Tyrconnell was made Baron Talbotstown, Viscount 
 Bait ill glass, and Earl of Tyrconnell in 1686, and Duke 
 and Marquis, 30th March, 1689. 
 
 From his coming to Ireland, he worked hard for 
 his master and his countrymen. He gradually substi- 
 tuted Jacobite soldiers for the Oliverians, who till 
 then filled the ranks. He increased the army largely, 
 and lent the king 3,000 men in '88. Mischief was done 
 to James's cause by this employment of Irish troops in 
 England. He was active in calhng in the corporation 
 charters, and was exposed to much calumny on account 
 of it. The means, doubtless, were indefensible, (for 
 the change should have been effected by act of Parlia- 
 ment, as it has at length been in our times,) but the 
 end was to put the corporations into the hands of the 
 
 * Ilallam's "Constitutional History," v. iii., p. 530. 
 
THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 21 
 
 Irish people. And even in those new corporations, 
 one-third of the burgesses were of EngHsh descent and 
 Protestant faith ; but this moderation is attempted to 
 be shaved away by the WilHamites, who insist that most 
 of these Protestants were Quakers, whom they describe 
 as a savage rabble, originally founded by the Jesuits* 
 — with what injustice we need hardly say. James des- 
 cribes him "as a man of goodabilities and clear courage, 
 and one who for many years had a true attachment to 
 his majesty's person and interest."! 
 
 Lord Clanrickarde represented the Mac William 
 Uaclidar^ one of the two great branches of the De 
 Burgos, who usurped the chieftainry on the death of 
 the Earl of Ulster in the year 1333. His father was 
 the great Lord Clanrickarde, who held Connaught in 
 peace and loyalty, from 1641 to 1650; when the 
 troops for which he had negociated with the Duke of 
 Lorraine not arriving, he too yielded to the storm. 
 
 Mac Donnel Lord Antrim, also the representative of 
 a great house (the Lords of the Isles) was equally 
 dependant on his predecessor for notoriety. His elder 
 
 * State Tracts, Will. III.'s reign, H. R.'s App. to Cox. 
 
 t " Memoirs of James II." by the Rev. — Clarke, chaplain to 
 George IV. These memoirs seem to have been copies of 
 memoirs written under James 11. 's inspection, and deposited in 
 the Scotch College in Paris. The originals perished at the 
 French Revolution, and their copies came to Rome, from whence 
 they were procured for the English government in 1S05. See 
 Mr. Clarke's preface, and Guizot's preface to his translation of 
 them ill the *' Memoires de la Revolution." 
 
^2 THE miSR PARLIAMENT OF JAMES IT. 
 
 brotl^.er, the Marquis and Earl of Antrim, played a 
 notorious and powerful part on the Irish side, in the 
 war, from 1642 up to 1650. This Earl Alexander also 
 commanded an Irish regiment during the same war. 
 He was within the treaty of Limerick, and saved his 
 rank and fortune. 
 
 Lords Longford and Granard were Williamites in 
 fact. This does not follow from their having acted so 
 vigorously in the opposition in 1689, but from their 
 having joined WiUiam openly the year after. Lord 
 Granard had been offered the command of the 
 Williamites of Ulster in 1688, and on his refusal, Lord 
 Mount Alexander was appointed. 
 
 Among the earls, one naturally looks for the two 
 famous names of Taaffe and Lucan. But Taaffe was 
 then on an embassy to the emperor, and Patrick 
 Sarsfield was not made Earl of Lucan till after. Indeed 
 his patent is not entered in the rolls, from which 'tis 
 probable he was not titled till after the battle of the 
 Boyne. 
 
 Viscount Ivcagh held Drogheda at the battle of the 
 Boyne, and was induced to surrender it by William's 
 ruflianly and unmilitary threat of "no quarter." 
 
 Lord Clare was father to the famous Lord Clare, 
 whose regiment was the glory of the Irish Brigade, 
 and who was killed at Ramillies in 1706. He 
 was descended from Connor O'Brian, third earl of 
 Thomond. 
 
 Lord Mountcashel, by his rapidity and skill, 
 
THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 
 
 23 
 
 completely broke the Munster insurgents, and made 
 that province, till then considered the stronghold of 
 the English, James's best help. To him was intrusted 
 the Bill repealing the Settlement in the Commons, 
 where he sate as member for the county of Cork till 
 that Bill passed the Commons, when he was called to 
 the Upper House as Lord Mountcashel. 
 
 Lord Kinsale represented the famous John De 
 Courcy, Earl of Ulster,, and had the blood of Charle- 
 magne in his veins. He served as Lieutenant-Colonel 
 to Lord Lucan. His attainder under William was 
 reversed, and he appeared at court, where he enforced 
 the privilege peculiar to his family, of remaining 
 covered in the king's presence. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
 
 The number of members in the Commons, as the 
 complement was made up under the monstrous 
 charters of James I., Charles I., and Charles II., far 
 outdoing in their unconstitutional nature, any of the 
 stretchings of prerogative in the reign of James II., 
 amounted to 300. The number actually returned was 
 224. Of the deficiencies, no less than 28 were caused 
 by the places being the seats of the war. 
 
 The character of this assembly must be chiefly 
 judged by its acts, and we shall presently resume the 
 consideration of them ; but there are some things in 
 the composition of the Commons whereby their 
 character has been judged. 
 
 They have been denounced by King : but before 
 we examine his statements, let us inquire who he was, 
 lest we underrate or overrate his testimony ; lest we 
 unjustly require proof, in addition to the witness of a 
 thoroughly pure and wise man ; or, what is more 
 dangerous, lest we remain content with the uncon- 
 firmed statements of a bigot or knave. 
 
 William King was the son jf James King, a miller, 
 
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 2$ 
 
 who, in order to rcvoid taking the Solemn League and 
 Covenant, removed from the North of Scotland, and 
 settled in Antrim, where William was born, ist of 
 May, 1650. (See Harris's "Ware," Bishops of Derry.) 
 He was educated at Dungannon, was a sizar, " native^^ 
 and schoolmaster in T.C.D., and was ordained in 1673. 
 Parker, archbishop of Tuam, gave him a heap of 
 livings, and on being translated to Dublin, procured 
 the Chancellorship of St. Patrick's for King in 1679. 
 This he held during the Revolution. He was im- 
 prisoned in 1689 on suspicion, but after some months 
 was released, through the influence of Herbert and 
 Tyrconnell, and notwithstanding C. J. Nugent's oppo- 
 sition. Immediately on his release, he wrote hir 
 "State of the Protestants of Ireland," printed in 
 London, cicm privilegio^ at the chief Williamite 
 printer's. It was written and published while the war 
 in Ireland was at its height, and when it was sought 
 at any price to check the Jacobite feeling then 
 beginning to revive in England, by running down the 
 conduct of the Irish, James's most formidable sup- 
 porters. Moreover, King had been imprisoned, 
 (justly or unjustly) by James's council, and he obtained 
 the bishopric of Derry from William, on the 25th of 
 January, 1690 (old style) namely, within thirty-eighf 
 weeks before the pubHcation of his book, which waa 
 printed, cum privilegio^ 15 th of October, 1691. 
 Whether the bishopric was the wages of the book, or 
 the book revenge for the imprisonment, we shall not 
 
2$ THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 say ; but surely King must have had marvellous 
 vktue to write impartially, in excited and reckless 
 times, for so demoralized a party as the English 
 Whig^, when he wrote of transactions yet incomplete, 
 of which there w^as a perilous stake not only for him 
 but for his friends, and when, of the parties at issue, 
 one gave him a gaol and the other a mitre. 
 
 There is scarcely a section in his book that does 
 not abound with the most superlative charges, put in 
 the coarsest language. All the calumnies as to 1641, 
 which are now confessed to be false, are gospel truths 
 in his book. He never gives an exact authority for 
 any of his graver charges, and his appendix is a 
 valuable reply to his text. 
 
 When, in addition to these external probabilities 
 and intrinsic evidences of falsehood, we add that, im- 
 mediately on its publication, Lesley wrote an answer 
 to it, denying its main statements as mere lies, and 
 that his book was never replied to, we will not be in 
 a hurry to adopt any statement of King's. 
 
 But in order to see the force of this last objection 
 to King's credibility, something must be known of 
 Lesley. 
 
 Charles Lesley, son of the bishop of Clogher, is 
 chiefly known for his very able controversial writings 
 against Deists, Catholics, and Dissenters. He was a 
 law-student till 1680, when he took orders ; and in 1687 
 became chancellor of Connor. When, in 1688, James 
 appointed a Roman Catholic sheriff for Monaghan, 
 
The house of commons. 27 
 
 Mr. Lesley being then sick with gout, had himself 
 carried to the court-house, and induced the magistrates 
 to commit the sheriff. In fact, it appears from 
 Harris ("Life of William," p. 216 and "Writers of 
 Ireland," pp. 282-6), that Lesley was notorious for his 
 conversions of Roman Catholics, and his stern hostiHty 
 to Tyrconnell's government. Lesley refused to take 
 the oath of supremacy after the Revolution, and thereby 
 lost all chance of promotion in the Church. He was 
 looked on as the head of the nonjurors, and died in 
 March, 172 1-2, at Glaslough, universally respected. 
 
 Such being Mr. Lesley's character, so able, so up- 
 right, so zealously Protestant, he, in 1692, wrote an 
 answer to King's "State," in which he accuses King 
 of the basest personal hypocrisy, and charges him with 
 having in his book written gross, abominable and 
 notorious falsehoods, and this he proves in several 
 instances, and in many more, renders it highly 
 probable, King died 8th May, 1729, leaving Lesley's 
 book altogether unreplied to. 
 
 Here then was that man — bishop of Derry for 
 eleven years and archbishop of Dublin for twenty- 
 seven years — remaining silent under a charge of 
 deliberate and interested falsehood, and that charge 
 made by no unworthy man, but by one of his own 
 country, neighbourhood, and creed — by one of 
 acknowledged virtue, high position, and vast abilities. 
 
 Nor is this all ; Lesley's book v/as not only unan- 
 swered ; it was watched and attempted to be stopped, 
 
2S THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 and when published was instantly ordered to be 
 suppressed, as were all other publications in favour 
 of the Irish or of King James. 
 
 The reader is now in a position to judge of the 
 credibility of any assertion of King's, when unsup- 
 ported by other authority. 
 
 King's gravest charges are in the following 
 passage : — 
 
 " These members of the House of Commons are elected either 
 by freeholders of counties, or the freemen of the corporations ; 
 and I have ah-eady showed how king James wrested these out of 
 the hands of Protestants, and put them into Popish hands in the 
 new constitution of corporations, by which the freemen and free- 
 holders of cities or boroughs, to whom the election of burgesses 
 originally belongs, are excluded, and the election put into the 
 hands of a small number of men named by the king, and remove- 
 able at his pleasure. The Protestant freeholders, if they had 
 been in the kingdom, were much more than the papist free- 
 holders, but now being gone, though many counties could not 
 make a jury, as appeared at the intended trial of Mr. Price and 
 other Protestants at Wicklow, who could not be tried for want 
 of freeholders, — yet, notwithstanding the paucity of these, they 
 made a shift to return knights of the shire. The common way of 
 election was thus : — The Earl of Tyrconnell, together with the 
 writ for election, commonly sent a letter, recommending the 
 persons he designed should be chosen ; the sheriff or mayor being 
 his creature, on receipt of this, called so many of the freeholders 
 of a county, or burgesses of a corporation together, as he thought 
 fit, and without making any noise, made the return. It was 
 easie to do this in boroughs — because, by their new charters, the 
 electors were not above twelve or thirteen, and in the greatest 
 cities but twenty-four ; and commonly, not half of these in the 
 place. The method of the sheriff's proceeding was the same ; 
 the number of Popish freeholders being very small, sometimes 
 
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 29 
 
 not a dozen in a county, it was easie to give notice to them to 
 appear, so that the Protestants either did not know of the 
 election, or durst not appear at it." 
 
 First let us see about the boroughs. King, in his 
 section on the corporations, states in terms that "they " 
 (the Protestants) ''thought it reasonable to keep these 
 (corporate towns) in their own hands, as being the 
 foundation of the legislative power, and therefore 
 secluded papists, &c," The purport therefore of King's 
 objection to the new constitution under King James's 
 charters, was the admission of Roman Catholics. Re- 
 ligious equality was sinful in his e)'es. 
 
 The means used by James to change the corporations, 
 namely, bringing quo warrantos in the Exchequer 
 against them, and employing all the niceties of a 
 confused law to quash them, we have before condemned. 
 In doing so, he had the precedents of the reigns called 
 most constitutional by EngHsh historians, and those 
 not old, but during his brother's reign; nor can anyone 
 who has looked into Brady's treatise on Boroughs, 
 doubt that there was plenty of " law " in favour of 
 James's conduct.* But still public policy and public 
 opinion in England were against these quo wan'a?itos, 
 
 * Hallam (" Constitutional History," caps. 13 and 14) contains 
 enough to show the uncertainty of the law. Throughout these, 
 as in all parts of his work, he is a zealous Williamite and a 
 bigoted Whig. His treatment of Curry has been justly censured 
 by Mr. Wyse, in his valuable " History of the Catholic Associa- 
 tion," vol. i., pp. 36-7. 
 
30 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 and in Ireland they were only approved of by those 
 who were to be benefited by them. 
 
 But the means being thus improper, the use made 
 by James of this power can hardly be complained of. 
 The Roman Catholics were then about 900,000, the 
 Protestants over3oo,ooo. James, it is confessed, allowed 
 one-third of the corporations to be Protestant, though 
 they were little, if at all more than one-fourth of the 
 population. This will appear no great injustice in our 
 times, although some of these Protestants may, as it 
 has been alleged, have been " Quakers." 
 
 It must also be remembered, that those proceedings 
 were begun not by James but by Charles ; that the 
 corporations were, with some show of law, conceived to 
 have been forfeited during the Irish war, or the Crom- 
 wellian rule ; and that being offered renewals on terms, 
 they refused ; whereupon the quo warrantos were 
 brought and decided before the regular tribunals, 
 during the earlier and middle part of James's reign. 
 On the 24th September, 1687, James issued his Royal 
 Letter (to be found in Harris's Appendix, pp. 4 to 6), 
 commanding the renewal of the charters. By these 
 renewals, the first members of the corporations were 
 to be named by the lord lieutenant, but they were 
 afterwards to be elected by the corporations themselves. 
 There certainly are iwn-obstanie and non-resistance 
 clauses ordered to be inserted, in the prerogative spirit 
 of that day, which were justly complained of. 
 
 With reference to the number of burgesses, King's 
 
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 3 J 
 
 Statement that the number of electors was usually 
 twelve or thirteen, and in the greatest cities but twenty- 
 four, is untrue. Most of the Irish boroughs were 
 certainly reduced to these numbers under the liberal 
 Hanoverian government, but not so under James. 
 The members' names are given in full in Harris's 
 Appendix, and from those it appears that no corpora- 
 tion had so few as twelve electors. Only five, viz. — 
 Dungannon, Ennis, St. Johnstown (in Longford), 
 Belturbet, and Athbo}^, were as low as thirteen; tv/enty- 
 three, viz. — Tuam, Kildare, Cavan, Galway, Callan, 
 Newborough, Carlingford, Gowran, Carysfort, Boyle, 
 Roscommon, Athy, Strabane, Middletown, Newr}', 
 Philipstown, Banagher, Castlebar, Fethard, Blessing- 
 ton, Charleville, Thomastown, and Baltimore varied 
 from fourteen to twenty-four; mostof the rest varied from 
 thirty to forty. Dublin had seventy-three, Cork, sixty- 
 one, Clonmel, forty-six, Cashel, forty-two, Drogheda, 
 fifty-seven, Kilkenny, sixty-one, Limerick, sixty-five, 
 Waterford, forty-nine, Youghal, forty-six, Wexford, 
 fifty-three, and Derry, sixty-four. This is a striking 
 proof of the little reliance to be placed on King's 
 positive statements. 
 
 Harris, a hostile authority, gives the names, and 
 generally the additions of the members of each cor- 
 poration, and the majority are merchants, respectable 
 traders, engineers, or gentlemen. Moreover, in such 
 towns as our local knowledge extends to, the names 
 are those of the best families, not being zealous 
 
32 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Williamites. As to the counties, King relies upon a 
 pamphlet pubhshed in London in 1689, setting out 
 great grievances in the title page, and disproving them 
 in the body of the tract. 
 
 If many Protestant freeholders had fled to England, 
 who was to blame ? — Most assuredly, my Lord Mount 
 Alexander and the rest of the right noble and honour- 
 able suborners, devisers, and propagators of forged 
 letters and infamous reports, whereby they frightened 
 the Protestants, in order to take advantage of their 
 terror for their own selfish ends. The exposure of 
 these devices by the publication of " Speke's Memoirs," 
 by the confessed forgery of the Dromore letter, &c., 
 have thrown the chief blame of the Protestant desertion 
 off the shoulders of those Protestants, off the shoulders, 
 too, of the Irish government, and have brought it 
 crushingly upon the aristocratic cabal, who alone 
 profited by the revolution, as they alone caused it. 
 
 In the absence of other testimony, we must take, 
 with similar allowances, the story of Tyrconnell 
 " comjHonly " sending an unconstitutional letter to 
 influence the election. But how very good these 
 Jacobite sheriffs and mayors were, to let King into 
 the secret, in 1691, when their destiny was uncertain ! 
 That such gossip was current is likely, but for a 
 historian to assert on such authority is scandalous. 
 
 King asserts that the unrepresented boroughs were 
 '"'■ about iwe72ty-niney Now, there were but eighteen 
 boroughs unrestored ; but King helps out the false- 
 
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 33 
 
 hood by inserting p'aces — Thinles, TIpperary, Arklow, 
 and Birr — which never ha.d members before or since, by 
 creating a secofid town of Kells, by transferring St. 
 Johnstown in Longford, which returned members, to 
 St. Johnstown in Donegal, which ^Yas a seat of war, 
 and by other tricks equally discreditable to his honesty 
 and intelligence. 
 
 The towns unrestored could not have sent members 
 to James's parliament, and it was apparently doubted 
 whether they ought to have done so to William's in 
 
 ■92. 
 
 Against the Commons actually elected, the charge 
 is, that only six Protestants were elected. In the very 
 section containing the charge, it is much qualified by 
 other statements. "Thus," he says, "one Gerard 
 Dillon, Sergeant-at-Law, a most furious Papist, was 
 Recorder of Dublin, and he stood to be chosen one of 
 the burgesses for the city, but could not prevail, 
 because he had purchased a considerable estate under 
 the Act of Settlement, and they feared lest this might 
 engage him to defend it ;" and therefore they chose 
 Sir Michael Creagh and Terence Dermot, their Senior 
 Aldermen, showing pretty clearly that the good citizens 
 of Dublin set little value on the " furious Popery" of 
 Prime Sergeant Dillon, in comparison with their 
 property plundered by the Act of Settlement. 
 
 The election for Trinity College is worthy of notice. 
 We have it set out in flaming paragraphs how horribly 
 the College was used, worse than any other borough, 
 
 I 
 
34 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 "Popish Fello.vs" being intr'aded. '"'In the house 
 they placed a Popish garrison, turned the chapel into 
 a magazine, and man}' of the chambers into prisons 
 for Protestants." (King, p. 220, Ed. 1744.) Yet, 
 miraculous to say, in the heart of tins " Popish garri- 
 son," the " turned-out Vice-Provost, Fellows, and 
 Scholars " met, and elected two most bold, notable, 
 and Protestant Williamites. 
 
 If this election could tahe place in Dublin, under 
 the very nose of the Government, and in a corpora- 
 tion in which the king had unquestioned control, 
 one will hesitate about the compulsion or exclusion in 
 other places. 
 
 Besides, Sir John Meade and Mr. Joseph Coghlan, 
 the members for the College, there " were four more 
 Protestants returned, of whose behaviour I can give 
 no account," says King. Pity he does not give the 
 names. 
 
 If we were to allow a similar error in King's account 
 of the creed of the elected, that we have proved in 
 his lists of the borough electors, it would raise the 
 number of Protestants in the house to about fourteen. 
 
 Allowing then for the Protestants in arms agamst 
 the Government — out of the country, — or within the 
 seat of war — the disproportion between their repre- 
 sentatives and the Roman Catholics will lessen 
 greatly. 
 
 One thing more is worth noticing in tlie Commons, 
 and that is a sort of sept representation. Tims we see 
 
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 35 
 
 O'Neills in Antrim, Tyrone, and Armagh ; Ivlagennises 
 in Down, O'Reillys in Cavan ; Martins, Blakes, Kir- 
 wans, Dalys, Bourkes, for Connaught; MacCarthys, 
 O'Briens, O'Donovans for Cork and Clare; Farrells 
 for Longford ; Graces, Purcells, Baders, Welshs, 
 Fitzgeralds, for Tipperary, Kilkenny, Kildare, &c. ; 
 O'Tooles, Byrnes, and Eustaces for Wicklow ; 
 Mac^Iahons for Monaghan ; Nugents, Bellews, 
 Talbots, &c., for North Leinster. 
 
 Sir Richard Nagle, the Speaker, was the descendant 
 of an old Norman family (said to be the same as the 
 Nangles) settled in Cork. His paternal castle, 
 Carrignancurra, is on the edge of a steep rock, over 
 the meadows of the Blackwater, half-a-dozen miles 
 below Mallow. It is now the property of the Foot 
 family, and here may still be seen the mouldering 
 ruin where that subtle lawyer fust learned to plan. 
 Peacefully now look the long oak-clad cliffs on the 
 happy river. 
 
 Nagie had obtained a splendid reputation at the 
 Irish Bar. "He had been educated among the 
 Jesuits, and designed for a clergyman," says King, 
 "but afterwards betook himself to the study of the 
 law, in which he arrived to a good perfection." 
 Harris, likewise, calls him "an artful lawyer of great 
 parts." Tyrconnell valued him rightly, and brought 
 him to England with him in the autumn of 1686. 
 His reputation seems to have been great, for it seems 
 the lords interested in the Settlement Act, "on being 
 
36 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 informed of Nagle's arrival, were so transported with 
 rage, tliat they would have had him immediately sent 
 out of London." 
 
 He was knighted and made attorney-general in 1687 ; 
 and on James's arrival, March, 1688-9, he was made 
 secretary of state. He is said, we know not how truly, 
 to have drafted the Commons' bill for the repeal of the 
 Settlement. 
 
 Let us mention some of the members. — Nagle's 
 colleague in Cork was Colonel MacCarty, afterwards 
 Lord Mountcashel. Miles de Courcy, afterwards 
 Lord Kinsale. MacCariy Reagh who finally settled in 
 France. His descendant Count MacCarty Reagh, was 
 notable for having one of the finest libraries in Europe, 
 which was sold after the Revolution. 
 
 The Rt. Hon. Simon Lutteral raised a dragoon 
 regiment for James, and afterwards commanded the 
 Queen's regiment of infantry in the Brigade. He v.-as 
 father to Colonel Henry Lutteral, accused of having 
 betrayed the passage of the Shannon at Limerick; and 
 though Harris throws doubt on this particular act of 
 treason, his correspondence and rewards from William 
 seem sufficient proof and confirmation of his guilt. 
 
 Lally of Tullendaly, member for Tuam, was 
 the representative of the O'Lallys an old Irish 
 sept. His brother John Gerard Lally settled 
 in France, and married a sister to Dillon, 
 '•''colonel proprietaire''' in the Brigade, and was 
 Colonel commanding in this illustrious regiment; 
 
The house of commons. 37 
 
 Sir Gerard was father to the famous Count Thomas 
 Lally Tollendal, who after having served from the 
 age of twelve to sixty-four in every quarter of the 
 globe, from Barcelona to Dettingen, and from Fon- 
 tenoy to Pondicherry, was beheaded on the 9th of 
 May, 1766. The Marquis De Lally Tollendal, a dis- 
 tinguished lawyer and statesman of the Bourbonist 
 party, and writer of the life of Strafford, and many 
 other works, was a grandnephew to James Lally, the 
 member for Tuam m '89. 
 
 Colonel Roger Mac Elligot who commanded Lord 
 Clancarty's regiment (the 12th infantry) in the Brigade 
 was member for Ardfert. 
 
 Limerick. — Sir John Fitzgerald was " coL propr''* 
 of the regiment of Limerick (8th infantry) in the 
 Brigade. 
 
 Oliver O'Gara, member for Tulske, was Lieutenant- 
 Colonel of the guards under Colonel Dorrington, 
 
 Hugh Mac Mahon, Gordon O'Nial's Lieutenant- 
 Colonel, was member for Monaghan. 
 
 The Right Hon. Nicholas Purcell, member for 
 Tipperary, was a Privy Councellor early in James's 
 reign. His family were Barons of Loughmoe, and of 
 great consideration in those parts. 
 
 The first bill introduced into the Lords was on the 
 8th of May — that for the recognition of the king, 
 and the same day committees of grievance were 
 appointed. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SESSION. 
 
 It is needless for us to track the parliament through 
 the debates of the session, which lasted till the 2oi.h 
 July. The few acts (thirty-five) passed in two months, 
 received full and earnest discussion ; committees and 
 counsel were heard on many of them (the Acts for 
 repeaHng the Settlement in particular), and this parHa- 
 ment refused even to adjourn during any holiday. 
 
 We trust our readers will deal like searchers for 
 truth, not like polemics, with these documents and 
 with the history of these limes. But, above all, let 
 them not approach the subject, unless it be in a spirit 
 enlightened by philosophy and warmed by charity. 
 Thus studied, this time, which has been the armoury 
 of faction, may become the temple of reconciliation. 
 The descendant of the Williamite ought to sympa- 
 thise with the urgent patriotism and loyalty of the 
 parliament, rather than dwell on its errors, or on the 
 sufferings which civil war inflicted on his forefathers. 
 The heir of the Jacobite may well be proud of 
 such countrymen as the Inniskilliners and the 
 'Prentice Boys of Derry. Both must deplore that 
 the falsehoods, corruption, and forgeries of English 
 aristocrats, the imprudence of an English king, and the 
 
THE SESSION. 39 
 
 fickleness of the English people, placed the noble cavalry 
 which slew Schomberg, and all but beat William's 
 immense masses at the Boyne, in opposition to the 
 stout men of Butler's-bridge and Cavan. What had 
 not the defenders of Derry and Limerick, the heroes 
 of Athlone, Inniskillen, and Aughrim done, had they 
 cordially joined against the alien? Let the Roman 
 Catholics,, crushed by the Penal Code, let the Protes- 
 tants, impoverished and insulted by England, till, 
 musket in hand and with banners displayed, they 
 forced their rights from her in '82 — let both look nar- 
 rowly at the causes of those intestine feuds, which 
 have prostrated both in turn before the stranger, and 
 see whether much may not be said for both sides, and 
 whether half of what each calls crime in the other, is 
 not his own distrust or his neighbour's ignorance. 
 Knowledge, Charity, and Patriotism are the only 
 powers which can loose this Prometheus-land. Let 
 us seek them daily in our own hearts and conver- 
 sation. 
 
 The Acts and other otiicial documents of James's 
 Parliament were ordered by William's Parliament 
 to be burned, and became extremely scarce. In 
 1740 they were printed in Dublin by Ebenezer Rider, 
 and from that collection we propose to reprint the 
 most important of them, as the best and most solic 
 answer to misrepresentation. 
 
 The parliament which passed those Acts was the 
 first and the last which ever sat in Ireland since the 
 
40 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 English invasion, possessed of national authority, and 
 complete in all its parts. The king, by law and in 
 fact— the king who, by his Scottish descent, his creed, 
 and his misfortunes, was dear (mistakenly or not) to 
 the majority of the then people of Ireland, presided 
 in person over that parliament. The peerage consisted 
 of the best blood, Milesian and Norman, of great 
 wealth and of various creeds. The Commons re- 
 presented the Irish septs, the Danish towns, and the 
 Anglo-Irish counties and boroughs. No parliament 
 of equal rank, from King to Commons, sat here since ; 
 none sat here before or since, so national in composi- 
 tion and conduct. 
 
 Standing between two dynasties, — endangering the 
 one, and almost rescuing the other, — acting for a 
 nation entirely unchained then for the first time in 
 500 years, — this parliament and its Acts ought to 
 possess the very greatest interest for the historian and 
 the patriot. 
 
 This was the speech with which his jNIajesty opened 
 the Session : — 
 
 My Lords and GentlcDicn^ 
 THE Exemplary Loyalty which this Nation hath ex- 
 pressed to me, at a time when otJicrs of my Subjects 
 undutifully misbehaved themselves to me, or so basely 
 deserted 7Jie : And your seconding my Deputy, as you 
 did, in His Firm and Kesolute asserting my Eight, in 
 preserving this Kingdom for me, and putting it in a 
 Posture of Defence ; made me resolve to come to you, 
 
THE SESSION. 4I 
 
 and to venture my Life with you, in defence of your 
 Liberties, and My Own Right. And to my great 
 Satisfaction I have not only found you ready to serve 
 me, but that your Courage has equalled your Zeal. 
 
 I have always been for Liberty of Conscience, and 
 against invading any Man's Property ; having still in 
 my Mind that Saying in Holy Writ, Do as you ivoidd 
 be done to, for that is the Law and the Prophets. 
 
 It was this Liberty of Conscience I gave ^ which viy 
 Enemies both Abroad and at Home dreaded ; especially 
 when they saw that I was resolved to have it Established 
 by Law in all my Dominions, and made them set them- 
 selves up against me, though for different Reasons. 
 Seeing that if I had once settled it, My people (in the 
 Opinion of the One) would have been too happy; and 
 I (in the Opinion of the Other) too great. 
 
 This Argument was made use of, to persuade their 
 own People to joyn with them, and to many of my 
 Subjects to use me as they have done. But nothing 
 shall ever persuade me to change my Mind as to that ; 
 and wheresoever I am the Master, I design (God 
 willing) to Establish it by Law ; and have no other 
 Test or Distinction but that of Loyalty. 
 
 I expect your Concurrence in so Christian a Work, 
 and in making Laws against Prophaneness and all 
 Sorts of Debauchery. 
 
 I shall also most readily consent to the making such 
 Good and Wholesome Laws as may be for the general 
 Good of the Nation, the Improvement of Trade and 
 
45 tME IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 the relieving of such as have been injured by the late 
 Acts of Settkmenfj as far forth as may be consistent 
 with Reason, Justice, and the PubUck Good of my 
 People. 
 
 And as I shall do my Part to make you Happy and 
 Rich, I make no Doubt of your Assistance ; by 
 enabling me to oppose the unjust Designs of my 
 Enemies, and to make this Nation flourish. 
 
 And to encourage you the more to it, you know 
 with what Ardour and Generosity and Kindness the 
 Most Christian King gave a secure retreat to the 
 Queen, my Son, and Myself, when We were forced 
 out oi England, and came to seek for Prolection and 
 Safety in his Dominions ; how he embraced my In- 
 terest, and gave me such Supplies of all Sorts as 
 enabled me to come to you ; which, without his oblig- 
 ing Assistance, I could not have done: This he did 
 at a Time v/hen he had so many and so considerable 
 Enemies to deal with : and you see still continues to do. 
 
 I shall conclude as I have begun, and assure you 
 I am as sensible as you can desire of the signal Loyalty 
 you have expressed to me ; and shall make it my chief 
 study (as it always has been) to make you and all my 
 Suyects happy.* 
 
 These were the Acts of that memorable parliament.* 
 
 edition of 1740, by Rider, the title of which is copied above; 
 
 vvliere the titles only are found, they are taken from 
 
 " An Appendix to the late King James's Acts ; containing an 
 
THE SESSION. 45 
 
 Chapter I. 
 An Act of Recognition. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 An Act for Annulling and making void all Patents 
 of Officers for Life, or during good Behaviour. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 An Act declaring^ That the Parliament of England 
 
 cannot bind Ireland [and] against Writs of Error and 
 
 Appeals, to be brought for Removing Judgments, 
 
 Decrees, and Sentences given in Ireland, into England. 
 
 [§ I.] WHEREAS His Majesty's Realm o{ Ireland \% 2.\\(i 
 hath been always a distinct Kingdom from that of His Majesty's 
 Realm of ^«^/^«^, always governed by His Majesty and His 
 Predecessors, according to the ancient Customs, Laws, and 
 Statutes thereof : And as the People of this Kingdom did never 
 send Members to any Parliament ever held in England, but had 
 their Laws continually made and estaljlished by their own Par- 
 liaments : So no A.cts passed in any Parliament held in England 
 were ever binding here, excepting such of them as by Acts of 
 Parliament passed in this Kingdom were made into Laws here ; 
 yet of late Times (especially in Times of Distractions) some have 
 pretended. That Acts of Parliament passed in England, m.en- 
 tioning Ireland, were binding in L-eland ; and as these late 
 Opinions are against Justice and Natural Equity, and so they 
 
 exact list of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons 
 zoho sate in the Parliament held in Dublin^ in 1689. To 
 xvhich is added, A Catalogue of the Titles of all the Acts passed 
 in the said Session, and the preamble to the Act for restoring 
 the old Proprietors to their Estates, ^c, as it passed the House 
 of Com?nons y Dublin, Printed and sold by Ebenezer Rider ^ 
 George^ s-lane. 1 740. 
 
^4 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 tend to the great Oppression of the People here, and to the 
 Overthrow of the Fundamental Constitutions of this Realm. 
 And to the End, that by these modern and late Opinions no 
 Person may be further deluded, Be it therefore Ejiacted by the 
 King's most Excellent Majesty, by the Advice and Consent of 
 the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons in this 
 present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same; 
 And it is hereby Declared, That no Act of Parliament passed, or to 
 be passed in the Parliament of England, though Ireland should be 
 therein mentioned, can be, or shall be any way binding in 
 Ireland ; Excepting such Acts passed, or to be passsd in England, 
 as are or shall be made into Law by the Parliament of Ireland. 
 
 [§ 2.] And whereas, several Writs of Error were formerly 
 Sued out and Retornable into the King's Bench in England, in 
 order to reverse Judgments given in His Majesty's Court of 
 King'' s Bench in Ireland: And ivhcreas most of the said Writs 
 of Error have been brought for Delay, and thereby many of His 
 Majesty's Subjects of this Realm were greatly hindred from 
 Recovering their just Rights, and put to vast Charges in attend- 
 ing such Suits in England: For the Prevention whereof, Be it 
 hereby Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Writ of 
 Error shall be hereafter brought out of England, in order to 
 remove any Record or Transcript of Record, out of Plis Majesty's 
 Court of Kings Bench in Ireland, or out of any other Court of 
 Record here into England, in order to reverse any such Judg- 
 ments. 
 
 [§ 3.] But in regard Judgments to be given in Plis Majesty's 
 Court of King's Bench in Ireland may happen sometimes to be 
 Erroneous, Be it Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That 
 where any Judgment shall at any time hereafter be given in the 
 said Court of King's Bench in Ireland, in any Suit or Action of 
 Debt, Delinure, Covenant, Account, Action upon the Case, 
 Ejeciione firmde, or Trespass first commenced, or to be first 
 commenced there, other than where the King's Majesty shall be 
 Party, Plaintiff or Defendant, or other Person or Persons against 
 whom any such Judgment shall be given, may at his Election 
 
THE SESSION. 45 
 
 sue forth out of the Higli Court of Chancery in Irelandy a special 
 Writ of Error to be devised in the said Court of Chancery, 
 directed to the said Chief Justice of the said Court oi icing's Bench 
 in Ireland for the time being, Comman-ding him to cause the 
 said llecord, and all things concerning the said Judgments to be 
 brought before the Justices of the Common Fleas, and Barons of 
 the Exchequer here, into the Exchequer Chamber in Ireland, 
 there to be Examined by the said Justices of Common Fleas, and 
 Barons of the Exchequer, Which said Justices of the Common 
 Pleas, and Barons of Exchequer or any four or more of them by 
 vertue of this present Act, shall thereupon have full Power and 
 Authority to Examine all such Errors as shall be assigned or 
 found in or upon any such Judgment as the Law shall require ; 
 other than for Errors to be assigned or found, for or concerning 
 the Jurisdiction of the said Court of King's Bench in Ireland y 
 or for any Avant of Form in any Writ, Retorn, Plaint, Bill, 
 Declaration or other Pleadings, Process, Verdict or Proceeding 
 whatsoever and other than for such Mistakes, Errors, or Failings, 
 as are now suppHed or helped by some Statute or Statutes in 
 Force within this Realm. And, that any one or more of the said 
 Justices and Barons, in the Absence of the rest, shall have 
 Power to Adjourn the said Court, and continue the Proceedings 
 of the said Writ of Error from time to time ; and that after the 
 said Judgment shall be affirmed or reversed, the said Record 
 and all things concerning the same, shall be removed and 
 brought back into the said Court of King's Be7ich, that such 
 further Proceeding may be thereupon, as well for Execution as 
 otherwise, as shall appertain. 
 
 [§ 4.] And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, 
 That such Reversal or Affirmation of any such former Judgment 
 shall not be so final, but that the Party who findeth himself 
 grieved therewith, shall and may Sue in the High Court of 
 Parliament in Ireland, for the further and due Examination of 
 the said Judgment ; anything herein contained to the contrary 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 [§ S.] And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, 
 
4P THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 That from the End of this present Session of Parliament, no 
 Execution shall be stayed in the said Court of King's Bench, by 
 Writ of Error or Supersedeas thereupon, after Verdict and Judg- 
 ment thereupon in any Action personal \vhatsoever, unless a 
 Recognizance with Condition, according to the Statute made in 
 the loth Year of the Reign of our late Sovereign Lord King 
 Charles the First, shall be first acknowledged in the said Court 
 of King s Bench. And further^ That in \Yrits of Error, to be 
 brought upon any Judgment after Verdict, in any Action of 
 Ejectione fnthc, no Execution shall be thereupon or thereby 
 stayed, unless the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs in such Writs of Error 
 shall be bound unto the Defendant in such Action of Ejectione 
 finna, in such reasonable Sum as the said Court of Kings Bench 
 shall think fit, wilh Condition, that if the Judgment shall be 
 affirmed in the said Writ of Error, or be discontinued in De- 
 fault of the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs therein, or that the Plaintiff or 
 Plaintiffs be Nonsuited in such Writs of Error, that then the 
 said Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall pay such Costs, Damages, Sum 
 and Sums of Money as shall be awarded upon or after such Judg- 
 ment affirmed, or Discontinuance or Nonsuit had. 
 
 [§ 6.] And to the end, that the same Sum and Sums and 
 Damages may be asertained, Be it further Enactedhy the Autho- 
 rity aforesaid, That the said Court of King's Bench, upon such 
 Affirmation, Discontinuance, or Nonsuit, shall issue a Writ to 
 enquire as well of the INIesne Profits, as of the Damages by 
 any Waste committed after the first Judgment in EJeclione firtncB, 
 and upon the Retorn thereof Judgment shall be given and Ex- 
 ecution awarded for such- Mesne Profits and Damages, and also 
 for the Cost of Suit. 
 
 [§ 7.] And7vhereasoi\z\.Q Times several Persons have brought 
 Appeals before the House of Lovds in England^ in order to 
 reverse Decrees granted in the High Court of Chancery in 
 Irtland, which tend to the great Trouble, Charge and Vexation 
 of such of His Majesty's Subjects as have obtained such Decrees, 
 and is an apparent new Encroachment upon the Fundamental 
 Consiituiions of this Realm, and also Appeal before Dclcijales 
 
THE SESSION. 47 
 
 in England ; Be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, 
 That no Person or Persons whatsoever, do hereafter presume to 
 sue out any such Appeals, or to tender or produce any such 
 Appeal to the Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper of Ireland, or to 
 any of the officers of the said Court of Chancery, and that such 
 Appeals shall be void ; and that no Appeal whatsoever (to 
 reverse any Decree or Sentence passed, or to be passed in Ireland) 
 shall be brought into England either before the Plouse of 
 Lords there, or any Commissioner or Dele;^ates of Appeal. 
 And, that all such Appeals shall be disallowed. 
 
 \S 8.] And for rendering this present Act the more effectual. 
 Be it hereby Enactedhy the Authority Aforesaid, That it shall be 
 an high Misdemeanour in any Person or Persons whatsoever, 
 that shall in drawing of Pleadings either in Law or Equity, or 
 in any Bill of Exception to be Filed in any Court in Ireland, 
 or that at any Tryal, before any Court within this Realm, shall 
 deliberately insist, that any Act of Parliament made, or to be 
 made in En;^la?id, wherein Ireland h or shall be mentioned, is 
 or can be binding in Ireland, though it should not be made 
 into a Law here by any Act made, or to be made in a Par- 
 liament held, or to be held here. And also, it shall be an 
 high Misdemeanour in any Person or Persons whatsoever, who 
 within this Realm shall tender or produce any Writ or Writs 
 of Error out of England in His Majesty's Court of liiug's 
 Bench in Ireland, or to all or any of the Judges of the said 
 Court for the time being, Retornable to the Court of A'ing^s 
 Bench in England, or that shall tender or produce any Appeal 
 to the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of Irelafid for the time 
 being, or to any of the Officers of the said Court of Chancery, 
 or to the Chancellor, Treasurer, and Barons of the Exchequer, 
 from the House of Lords in England, or that shall tender any 
 Appeal out ol England to any Spiritual Judge or Spiritual 
 Court, or Delegates within this Realm, in order to reverse any 
 Sentence given in Ireland, by any Court of Delegates in 
 England. And, that if any Person or Persons shall offend 
 herein, he shall be Fined and Imprisoned, according to the 
 
48 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Discretion of the Court where he shall be Prosecuted for the 
 same. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 An Act for Repealing the Acts of Settlement, and 
 Explanation, Resolution of Doubts and all Grants, 
 Patents and Certificates, pursuant to them or any of 
 them. [This Act will be dealt with separately in the 
 next chapter.] 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 An Act for punishing of persons who bring in 
 counterfeit Coin of foreign Realms being current in 
 this Realm, or counterfeit the same within this Realm, 
 or wash, clip, file or lighten the same. 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 An Act for taking off all Incapacities on the Natives 
 of this Kingdom. 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 An Act for taking away the Benefits of the Clergy 
 in certain Cases of Felony in this Kingdom for two 
 Years. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 An Act to continue two Acts made to prevent 
 Delays in Execution ; and to prevent Arrests of Judg- 
 ments and Superseding Executions. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 An Act for Repealing a Statute, Entituled, An Act for 
 Provision of Ministers in Cities and Corporate Towns, 
 and 7naking the Church of St. Andrews in the Suburbs 
 ^[the city of] Dublin Presentative for ever. 
 Preamble omitted. ] Be it therefore Enacted, by the King's 
 
THE SESSION. 
 
 49 
 
 most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of 
 the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in this present 
 Parliament Assembled, and by Authority of the same, that so 
 much of the said Act, as extends to the grantinjr, imposing, or 
 securing the Duties or Payments of Twelve Pence in the Pound 
 as aforesaid, be, and is hereby repealed ; and that the residue of 
 the said Act, relating to the making of the said Church of St. 
 .^«^;y7^'^ Presentative for ever, and providing for the Building 
 thereof, and for purchasing Lands and Livings for the use of the 
 said Church, shall remain in full force. 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 An Act of Supply for his Majesty for the Support 
 of his Army. 
 
 [The Act of Supply begins by giving good reasons 
 for the making of it ; namely, that the army cost far 
 more than the king's revenue, and that that army was 
 rendered necessary from the invasion of Ireland by 
 the English rebels. It next grants the king ^,^20,000 
 a month, to be raised by a land-tax, and this sum it 
 distributes on the different counties and counties of 
 towns, according to their abilities. The rebellious 
 counties of Fermanagh and Derry are taxed just as 
 lightly as if they were loyal. The names of the com • 
 missioners are, beyond a doubt, those of the first men 
 in their respective counties. The rank of the country 
 was as palpably on James's side, as was the populace. 
 
 The clauses regarding the tenants are remarkably 
 clear and liberal ; " For as much," it says, " as it would 
 be hard that the tenants should bear any proportion 
 Oi the said sum^, considering that it is \t\-Y difficult for 
 
 K 
 
50 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 the tenant to pay his rent in these distracted times," 
 it goes on to provide that the tax shall, in the first 
 instance, be paid by the occupier, but that, where land 
 is let at its value, he shall be allowed the whole of 
 THE TAX OUT OF HIS RENT, notwithstanding any con- 
 tract to the contrary ; and that where the land was let at 
 ha/fiis value O}- less, then, and then only, should the 
 tenant pay a share (half) of the tax. Thus not only 
 rack-rented farms, but all let at any rent, no matter 
 how little, over half the value, were free of this tax. 
 Where, in distracted or quiet times, since, has a 
 parliament of landlords in England or Ireland acted 
 with equal liberality ? 
 
 The;£"20,ooo a month hereby granted was altogether 
 insufhcient for the war; and James, urged by the 
 military exigency, which did not tolerate the delay of 
 calling a parliament when Schomberg threatened the 
 capital, issued a commission on the loth April, '^690, 
 to raise ;^2o,ooo a mo;Uh additional ; yet so far was 
 even this from meeting his wants, that we find by one 
 of Tyrconnell's letters to the queen, (quoted in Thorpe's 
 catalogue for 1S36), that in the spring of 1689, James's 
 expenses were ;^ioo,ooo a m.onth. Those who have 
 censured this additional levy and the brass coinage, 
 weie jealous of what was done towards fighting the 
 battle of Ireland, or forgot that levies by the crown 
 and alterations of the coin had been practised by every 
 government in Europe.] 
 
THE SESSION. 5 I 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 An Act for Repealing the Act for keeping and 
 celebrating the 23rd of October as an Anniversary 
 Thanksgiving in this Kingdom. 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 An Act for Liberty of Conscience, and RepeaUng 
 such Acts or Clauses in any Act of Parliament, which 
 are inconsistent with the same. 
 
 All Act concerning TytJics and other Ecclesiastical 
 Duties. 
 [Acts XIII. and XV. provide for the payment of 
 tithes by Protestants to the Protestant Church and by 
 Catholics to the Catholic Church; a setth aent of the 
 Church question fairer and more reasonable than the 
 one adopted in our own day. — Editor.] 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 An Act regulating Tythes, and other Ecclesiastical 
 Duties in the Province of Ulster. 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 An Act for Repealing the Act for real Union and 
 Division of Parishes, and concerning Churches, Free- 
 Schools and Exchanges. 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 An Act for Relief and Release of poor distressed 
 Prisoners for Debts. 
 
52 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 An Act for the Repealing an Act, Entituled, An Act 
 for Confirmation of Letters Patents Granted to his 
 Gi'ace James Duke of Ormond. 
 
 [The list of estates granted to Ormond, under the 
 settlement at the restoration, occupies a page and a 
 half of Cox's Magazine. To reduce him to his here- 
 ditary principalities (for they were no less) which he 
 held in 1641, was no great grievance, and that was the 
 object of this Act.]*-' 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 An Act for Encouragement of Strangers and others 
 to inhabit and plant in the Kingdom of Ireland. 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 An Act for Prevention of Frauds and Perjuries. 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 An Act Prohibiting the Importation of English, 
 Scotch, or Welch Coals into this Kingdom. 
 
 [§ I.] WHEREAS, It is Evident, that nothing could occasion 
 the great Scarcity of Money now in this Kingdom, but the Ex- 
 traordinary Industry that was used by Persons not well affected 
 to the Government, to Transport considerable Sums of Money 
 into Englatid, Holland, and other remote Parts. Atid whereas, 
 
 *[The Act, however, makes no mention 01 estates or lands, but 
 only of certain valuable '* regalities franchises and jurisdictions " 
 enjoyed by the Duke of Ormond in the County of Tipperary, 
 now taken from him as a rebel. — T. W. R.] 
 
THE SESSION. 53 
 
 it is likewise Maniiesl:, that the great Quantity oi English, Scotch, 
 and [Velch Coals, which were heretofore Imported into this 
 Kingdom, hath not only hindered the Industry of several poor 
 People, and Labourers of this Land, who might have Employed 
 themselves and Horses, in supplying the City of Dublin, and 
 other Places within this Kingdom, with Fewel, but hath like- 
 wise given Opportunity to the Persons Importing the said Coals, 
 to see the said Places ruined for want of Fireing, when they 
 pleased, or at least, to raise the Price of Coals so high, that the 
 Poor should never be able to Buy ; by means whereof, the said 
 Colliers raised considerable Fortunes to themselves, and carried 
 vast Sums of Money yearly out of this Kingdom, to the lessening 
 his Majesty's Revenue, the ruin of several poor People, and the 
 general Loss of the Inhabitants of this Kingdom ; for Remedy 
 whereof, Be it enacted, by the King's most Excellent Majesty, 
 by, and with the advice of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, 
 and Commons in this present Parliament Assembled, and by the 
 Authority of the same, That no Person or Persons whatsoever, 
 shall from, and after the last Day of August next, Import, or 
 cause to be Imported, any English, Scotch, or JVelck Coals into 
 this Kingdom, or any part thereof, for any cause, reason, or 
 pretence whatsoever. 
 
 [§ 2.] And be it like'vise Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, 
 That if any Person or Persons, shall, from, and after the said last 
 Day of August, presume to Import, or bring any Coals into this 
 Kingdom, contrary to the Intent and Tenour of the said Act, 
 that then it shall, and may be lawful, to, and for the Commis- 
 sioners and Governors of his Majesty's Revenue for the time 
 being, to issue Warrants for the Person or Persons so offending, 
 and him or them, to biing, or cause to be brought before them, 
 Dr any Two of them, and if upon confession of the Party or Par- 
 ries so offending, or by other undeniable Proof or Evidence, it 
 shall appear to the said Commissioners or Governors, or any 
 Two of them, that the said Person or Persons hath Imported any 
 Coals out of England, Scotland, or Wales, into this Kingdom, 
 that then upon such Proof and Evidence, the said Commissioners, 
 
54 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES 11. 
 
 Governors of his Majesty's Revenue, are hereby Impowered, and 
 Authorised to seize on the said Coals, and on the Ship or Shipi 
 that Imported the same, and the said Ship or Ships, with the 
 said Coals, to sell and dispose of, for his Majesty's use, as to 
 them shall seem convenient, any Act, Law, or Custom, to the 
 contrary in any wise notwithstanding. 
 
 [§ 3.] And for as much as it may be hereafter thought conve- 
 nient and necessary, to have Coals Imported into this Kingdom, 
 and that we cannot at this time, fore-see the Necessity that may 
 be for the same, Be it t/ie>efore Enacted, by the Authority afore- 
 said, That it shall, and may be lawful, to, and for the said 
 Lieutenant, or other Chief Governor or Governors, and Council, 
 whom his Majesty, shall, or may appoint for this Kingdom, at 
 any time hereafter, at the Instance and Request of the Lord 
 JNIayor, and Common Council of Dublin, for the time being, to 
 grant License or Leave to such Person or Persons, as he and 
 they shall think fit and convenient, to Import, and bring into 
 this Kingdom, such, and so much Coals, as the said Lord Lieu- 
 tenant or other Chief Governor or Governors, and Council, shall, 
 by their said J^icense and Leave, to be Granted by them as 
 aforesaid, think fit and convenient to allow, and no more, any 
 thing in this or other Act contained to the contrary in any wise 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 [§ 4.] And for as much as the Owners, or Proprietors of the 
 Coal-pits of Kilkenny, and otlier Coal-mines in this Kingdom, 
 may upon passing of this Act, enhance and raise the Price of 
 Coals, to the defeating the Ends proposed hereby ; Be it therefore 
 Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, that no Owner, or Proprietor 
 of such Coal-pits, or Coal-mines, or Seller of Coals at any ol 
 the said Pits shall at any time hereafter. Receive or Demand more 
 than Nine Pence for each Barrel of Coals {Bristol Measure) which 
 shall be delivered by him or them, at any of the said Coal-pits, 
 any Act, Law, CuslcMn, or Ordinance, to the contrary, in any 
 wise notwithstanding. 
 
THE SESSION. 55 
 
 Chapter XXI I. 
 An Act for ratifying and confirming Deeds and 
 Settlements and last Wills and Testaments of Persons 
 out of Possession. 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 An Act for the speedy Recovering of Servants' 
 W.ges. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 [Printed in the Appendix to this Chapter.] 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 An Act concerning JNIarlial Law. 
 
 Chapter XX VI. 
 An Act for Punishment of \Va3tc committed on 
 Lands restorable to old Proprietors. 
 
 Chapter XXVIL 
 An Act to enable his Majesty to regulate the Duties 
 of Foreign Commodities. 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 An Act for the better settling Intestates' Estates. 
 
 Chapter XXIX. 
 An Act for the Advance and Improvement of Trade, 
 and for Encouragement and increase of Shipping, and 
 Navigation. 
 
 [v 1 ] WHEREAS, tills Kingilom of /relaiiJ, for it:3 good 
 Situation, commodious Harbours, and great Quantity of Goods, 
 
56 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 the Growth, Product, and Manufactury thereof is, and standeth 
 very fit and convenient for Trade and Commerce with most 
 Nations, Kingdoms and Plantations ; and several Laws, Statutes 
 and Ordinance, having heretofore been made and enacted, and 
 time to time, prohibiting and disabling the King's Subjects of 
 this Realm, to export, or carry out of this Kingdom, unto any 
 other the King's Islands, Plantations, or Colonies, in A sia,A/n'ca, 
 or America, several of the Goods, Wares, Merchandizes, and 
 Commodities of this Nation ; or to import into this Kingdom, 
 the Goods or Merchandizes of the said Plantations, Colonies and 
 Islands, without landing and discharging in England, Wales, or 
 the Town of Berwick upon Tzveed, under great Penalties and 
 Forfeitures, not only to the Decay of the King's Revenue, but 
 also to the very great prejudice and disadvantage of all the In- 
 habitants in this Kingdom, as well Subjects as Strangers ; 
 and which hath in a high measure contributed to impoverish this 
 Kingdom, and discouraged several Merchants, Traders, and 
 Artificers, to come from abroad, and dwell, and trade here : A7id 
 ivhereas, the Increase of Shipping, and the Encouragement of 
 Navigation, under the good Providence of God, and the careful 
 Protection of his sacred Majesty, are the best and fittest Means 
 and Foundations, whereon the Wealth, Safety and Strength of 
 this Island and Kingdom, may be built and established. Be it 
 therejore Enacted, by the King's most Excellent Majesty, with 
 the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, 
 and Commons in this present Parliament Assembled ; and by 
 the Authority of the same, that it shall, and may be lawful, to 
 and for his Majesty's Subjects of this Realm o{ Ireland, and to and 
 for every other Person and Persons, of what Nation soever, residing 
 and inhabiting here, during the time of such Residence, freely 
 to trade into, and from all and every his Majesty's Plantations, 
 Colonies and Islands, \x\Asia, Africa, a.nd America, and to export 
 fiom this Kingdom, and carry unto all and every the said Plan- 
 tations, Colonies, and Islands, and there sell, dispose of, and 
 barter all sorts of Goods, Wares, INIerchandizes and Commodities, 
 as well of the Growth, Product, or Manufactury of this Kingdom, 
 
THE SESSION. 57 
 
 as of any other part of Europe, commonly called European Goods, 
 and import, and bring into this Kingdom of Ireland, all sorts of 
 Goods, Wares, Merchandizes, and Commodities of the Growth, 
 Product, or Manufactury of all or any the said Islands, Colonies 
 and Plantations, without being obliged to land or unload in 
 England, Wales, or the Town of i5^r7czV/C' upon Tzueed, or entering 
 all or any such Goods, Wares, or Merchandizes there ; but as 
 herein after is expressed, andwithoutbeingobliged upon Shipping, 
 or taking on Board, in the said Plantations, Colonies, or Islands, 
 the said Commodities, to enter into any Bond, to bring the said 
 Goods into Ejigland, Wales, or Town of Beriuick upon Tzueedj 
 and to unload and put the same on shore, any Act, Statute, 
 Ordinance, Law, Sentence, or Judgment, at any time heretofore 
 made, given, or in force, to the contrary notwithstanding : Pro- 
 vided always, Tliat the Master or Owner of all and every such 
 Ship and Ships, Vessel or Vessels, so trading from this Kingdom, 
 unto all or any the said Islands, Colonies, or Plantations, his or 
 their Agents or Factors shall, and do before such Ship or Ships, 
 Vessel or Vessels, sail from any part of this Kingdom towards 
 the said Islands, Colonies or Plantations, perfect and enter into 
 a bond, with one sufficient Security, to the use of the King, and 
 to be perfected to the Collector, or chief Custom-house Officer, 
 of such Fori or Place, whence such Ship or Vessel is to sail, in 
 such a reasonable Sum, as such Collector, or Custom-house 
 Officer shall require, Regard being had to the Value of such 
 Cargoe, as the said Ship or Vessel shall export, with condition 
 to bring the Goods, Wares, and Merchandizes, which such Ship 
 or Vessel shall take in, at all or any the said Plantations, Colonies, 
 or Islands, into England, Ireland, Wales, or the Town ot 
 Berivkk upon Tweed, and to no other Place, and there to abode 
 and put the same on shoar, the danger of the Seas only Ex- 
 cepted. 
 
 \\ 2.] Be it likezvise Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That 
 all Goods and Merchandizes whatsoever, which shall be carried, 
 conveyed, or exported out of this Kingdom of Ireland, to the 
 said Islands, Colonies, and Plantations, shall be lyable and pay 
 
58 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 to the King's Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, in the said Islands, 
 riantations and Colonies, the same or so much Customs, Excise, 
 or other Duties, as the like Goods or Merchandizes being exported 
 out of England, into all, or any the said Plantations, Colonies, 
 or Islands, and all Goods or Merchandizes imported into this 
 Kingdom, out of all or any the said Islands, Colonies, and 
 and Plantations, (Tobacco and Sugar only excepted) shall pay 
 in this Kingdom to the use of the King's Majesty, his Heirs, and 
 Successors, the snme or like Duties, Custom and Excise, and nc 
 more or other, and in such manner, and at such lime, and subject 
 to such Penalties and Forfeitures, for Non-Entry, Undue Entry, 
 or Non-Payment of Duties, as in the like Acts of Parliament 
 made in this Kingdom, in the FoJtrteenth and Fifteenth Years of 
 Reign of the late King Charles the Second; the One, Entituled, 
 An Act for Settling the Subsidy or Fonndage, and Granting a 
 Subsidy of Tunnage, and other Stems of Money tinto His Royal 
 Majesty, his Heirs and Successors ; the same to be paid upon Mer- 
 chandize, imported and exported into or out of the Kingdom of 
 Ireland, according to a Book of Rates hereunto annexed ; and 
 the other, Entituled, An Act for the Settling of the Excise, or neiu 
 I in- Post, upon His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, according 
 to the Book of Rates, therein inserted, and as in the said Book of 
 Rates, and as in the Rules, Orders, and Directions, to the said 
 Acts and Books of Rates annexed, are contained and speci- 
 fied. 
 
 [§ 3.] And lohcrcas, the Duties, and Cuslom, and Excise on 
 Tobacco, of the King's Majesty's Plantations, imported into this 
 Kingdom, amount to no more according to the said two late 
 Acts of Parliament in this Kingdom, and Books of Rates to them 
 annexed, but to Two Pence per Pound, which is too small a 
 Duty ; Be it therefore Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, that 
 all Tobacco of the Growth or Product of all or any His Majesty's 
 New Plantations or Islands, or any Plantations belonging to His 
 most Christian Majesty, imported into this Kini;.l<>in, out of all 
 or any the said Plantations and Islands, shall hum and after 
 the Eighteenth Day ol July, 1689, be charged, and lyable to 
 
THE SESSION. 59 
 
 pay unto his Majesty, his Heirs, and Successors, the Sum of 
 Five Pence Sterl. for each Pound, Custom, and Excise, (that 
 is to say' Two Pence for each Pound Custom, and Three Pence 
 for each Pound Excise, and no more ; Provided always, That 
 Spanish and Brazil 'I'obacco, shall pay the same Duty of Cus- 
 tom, and Excise, as formerly ; and that likewise. Tobacco of that 
 Growth or Product of the King's Plantations, or any of the 
 Foreign Plantations belonging to his Alost Christian Majesty, 
 imported into this Kingdom out of England, or any other part 
 of Europe at any time, from and after the Eighteenth Day of 
 Jnly, 1689, shall pay and satisfy unto the King's Majesty, his 
 Heirs and Successors, the Sum of Two Pence, Sterl. Custom, 
 for, and out of each and every Pound, and the Sum of Two 
 Pence half-penny, Sterl. Excise, for, and out of each Pound and 
 no more. And, That Sugars, Indicoe, Logwood, imported 
 into this Kingdom out of Encland, shall pay, and satisfy unto 
 the King's Majesty, his Heirs and Successors {viz.), white Sugar 
 coming from England, Ten Shillings Custom, and Ten Shillings 
 Excise for every hundred weight, and no more ; brown Sugar, 
 the Sum of Two Shillings and Six Pence, Sterl. Custom, and 
 the like Sum of Two Shillings and Six Pence Sterl. Excise for 
 each hundred w^eight, and no more ; Indicoe, the Sum of Two 
 Pence per Pound Excise, and Two Pence Custom for each Pound, 
 and no more ; and Log-wood, Five Shillings Sterl. Excise, 
 and Five Shillings Sterl. Custom, for each hundred weight, and 
 no more ; The said Duties, Customs, and Excise to be paid in 
 such manner, and under such Pains and Forfeitures, and with 
 such Allowances as in the aforesaid Two Acts and Books of 
 Rates, Orders and Directions are expressed and contained. 
 
 [§ 4.] And for the further Encouragement and Advance of 
 the said Plantation Trade, and for Maintaining a greater and 
 more firm Correspondence and Kindness between the Subjects of 
 this Kingdom, and Planters, and Inhabitants of the said Plan- 
 tations and Islands ; Be it Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, 
 I'halw liatsoever Goods or Commodities of the Growth, Product, 
 or Manufactury of the said Islands or Plantations, shall be at any 
 
6o THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAIMES II, 
 
 time hereafter Unloaded, or Landed in any Part of tliis Kin,^- 
 dom, and shall pay or secure to be paid, the Customs, Duties, 
 and Excise on the said Goods, due and payable, that at 
 any time hereafter, within the space of One whole Year, to 
 commence from the Day of such Landing, it shall, and may 
 be lawful to and for the Merchant, Owner or Proprietor of 
 such Goods and Commodities, his or their Agents or Factors, to 
 export and carry out of this Kingdom into any other Nation, 
 Dominion, or Country, such and so much of the said Goods 
 and Commodities so landed, as he or they shall think fit ; and 
 that upon such Exportation the whole Excise of such Goods, 
 which was before paid, or secured to be paid for the same, and 
 one half of the Custom of the said Goods before paid or secured 
 to be paid, shall be re-paid or allowed to such Merchant, Owner, 
 Proprietor, his or their Factors or Agents so exporting, and 
 that within twenty Days next and immediately ensuing the Date 
 and Time of such Exportation, Tobacco only excepted. 
 
 C§ 5-] ^1^^ for the more Encouragement of building good 
 and serviceable ships, Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, 
 That any person or persons, who shall within the space of Ten 
 Years, to commence the 24/// oijtuie, 1689, build or cause to be 
 built within this Kingdom of Ireland, any Ship or Vessel above 
 Twenty-five Tun, and under One Hundred Tun, Burthen, shall 
 and may for the first three Voyages any such Ship or Vessel 
 shall make out of this Kingdom, upon the said Ship or Vessel's 
 Return from such Voyage back into this Kingdom, have, receive, 
 or be allowed to his and their own proper Use one Eighth Part 
 of the Duties of Customs and Excise, which shall be due or pay- 
 able to the King, his Heirs, or Successors, for and out of all 
 the Goods and Commodities so imported in such Ship or Vessel 
 upon the said three first Returns, which such Ship or Vessel 
 shall make into this Kingdom. And likewise, That any Person 
 or Persons who shall within the said space of Ten Years com- 
 mencing, as aforesaid, build or cause to be built in this Kingdom 
 any Ship or Vessel exceeding in Burthen One Hundred Tun, 
 shall lor the first four Voyages such Ship or Vessel shall make 
 
THE SESSION. 6 1 
 
 out of this Kingdom, and upon the said Ship or Vessel's Reiurn 
 from the said Voyages back to this Kingdom, have and receive 
 to his and their own proper Use one Eighth Part of the Duties 
 of Custom and Excise, which shall be due or payable to the 
 King, his Heirs or Successors, for or out of the Goods and Com- 
 modities so imported into such Ship or Vessel upon the four 
 first Returns such Ship or Vessel shall make out of this King- 
 dom. 
 
 [§ 6. ] And to the end that Masters of Ships, Seamen, Mari- 
 ners, Ship-wrights, Carpenters, Rope-makers and Block-makers 
 may be encouraged and invited to come and dwell in this King- 
 dom, and that thereby Navigation may improve and increase, 
 Be ii further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all and 
 every Masters of Ships, and Ship-wrights, Ship-Carpenters, 
 Sea-men, Mariners, Rope-makers and Block-makers, who are at 
 present residing within this Kingdom, or who shall or do at 
 any time from henceforth come and reside in this Kingdom of 
 Ireland, and shall pursue and follow his Trade or Calling, shall 
 iand may for the time and space of Ten Years after his or their so 
 coming into this Kingdom, be freed, exempted and discharged 
 of, and from all sorts of Taxes, and Cesses, Watch, \/ard, and 
 Quarterings of Soldiers and Officers in and throu/;hout this 
 Kingdom : And shall likewise have and be allowed hi.; and their 
 Freedom gratis in any Town, City, Seaport, Corporation or 
 Borough, where he or they shall please to reside, and pursue 
 his or their Calling and Trade. 
 
 [§ 7.] And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. 
 That in the respective Cities and Towns of Dublin, Belfast, 
 Waterford, Corke, Liinerick and Gallivay there shall be established, 
 erected and settled, before the First Day oi Dece?nber, 1689, in 
 each of the said Towns and Cities, and so continued for ever 
 hereafter, a Free School for Teaching and Instructing the 
 Mathematicks, and the Art of Navigation ; in eveiy of such 
 Schools there shall be placed and continued one or more able 
 and sufticient Master or Masters for Teaching and Instructing 
 the said Arts : And that every ot the said Towns and Cities, 
 
62 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 shall out of the Publick Revem:e and Stock to them belonging, 
 or otherwise, settle and secure a reasonable Pension and Stipend 
 for such Master or Masters, to be paid them Quarterly during 
 his or their Continuance in such Employment or Employments. 
 [§ 8.] Provided always, and be it further Enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, that the said Duties of Custom and Excise 
 of Tobacco of the Growth of Product of his Majesty's Planta- 
 tions, shall be and continue payable to his Majesty, his Heirs 
 and Successors, during the time, and so long as the new Duties 
 in England of Custom and Excise on Tobacco, amounting to 
 Five Pence per Pound, shall and do continue, and so long as 
 this Kingdom of Ireland shall have a free and open Trade to 
 and from the Iving's said Foreign Plantations, and no longer ; 
 and whensoever the said Duties of Five Pence per Pound Cus- 
 tom and Excise shall cease and determine in Etigland, that then 
 the duties of Custom and Excise, payable for Tobacco imported 
 in this Kingdom before the making of this Act shall remain, and 
 be payable for ever thereafter to his Majesty, his Heirs and 
 Successors, and no more or other, and this present Duty to 
 cease and determine. Provided likewise, that it shall and may 
 be lawful to and for all and every Person or Persons so Im- 
 porting Tobacco from time to time, and at all times hereafter, 
 to export and carry out of this Kingdom into any other Nation or 
 Kingdom all or any part of the said Tobacco Imported, and 
 that upon such Exportation out of this Kingdom, tlie whole 
 Duty of Excise of the said Tobacco, and three half Pence /cr 
 Pound of the Custom shall be allowed and re-paid the Mer- 
 chant, Owner or Proprietor, his or their Agents or Factors so 
 Exporting the said Tobacco ; so that there shall be and remain 
 to his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, but one Half Penny 
 per Pound Custom for the said Tobacco so Exported. 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 An Act for the Attainder of Divers Rebels, and for 
 the Preserving the Interest of Loyal Subjects. — (Dealt 
 with our sixth chapier.) 
 
THE SESSION. 6$ 
 
 Chapter XXX I. 
 
 An Act for granting and confirming unto the Duke 
 of Tyrcounel, Lands and Tenements to the Value of 
 ^\ 5,ooo/(?;' An?uif?i. 
 
 Chapter XXXII. 
 
 An Act for securing the Water-Course for the Castle 
 and City of Dublin. 
 
 Chapter XXXIII. 
 An Act for reheving Dame A7wa Yolanda Sarra- 
 court ahas Diival^ and her Daughter. 
 
 Chapter XXXIV. 
 
 An Act for securing Iron-works and Land there- 
 unto belonging, on Sir Henry Waddi?igton^ Knight, at 
 a certain Rate. 
 
 Chapter XXXV. 
 
 An Act for Reversal of the Attainder of William 
 Ryan oi Bally Ryan in the County of Tipper ary^ Esq. : 
 and lor restoring him to his Blood, conupted by the 
 said Attainder. 
 
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 An Act for Forfeiting and Vesting i7i His Majesty the Goods of 
 Absentees.* 
 [§ I.] WHEREAS, upon the general Defection of your 
 Majesty's Subjects in England, several of your Majesty's subjects 
 have deserted this Kingdom, and repaired into your Majesty's 
 Kingdom of England, and elsewhere, thereby endeavouring to 
 weaken your Majesty's Interest here, and showing an apparent 
 Diffidence of your Majesty's Protection, most part of which 
 Persons have actually taken Arms, under the unnatural Usurper 
 in England, and diverse others ofyour Majesty 'sJSubjects became 
 Rebels and Traytors within this your Realm: And for as much as 
 the said Persons have left behind them several Goods and Chatties, 
 Stock, Corn in Ground, Debts, and Arrears of Rent, and other 
 Chatties, and Personal Estates, part whereof hath been seized in 
 your Majesty's name, or otherwise, by several Persons, who have 
 not yet answered or accompted for the same to your Majesty. 
 
 * [This act was passed the i8th of July, 16S9. The seizure in 
 the country parts was ordered on ist March. No seizure took 
 place in Dublin till 9th August " There being free transportation 
 for England in March, the Custom-house quay (now Wellington- 
 quay) became like a fair, and most of the absentee goods were 
 for England ; scarce any thing valuable was then left unless by 
 the carelessness of the persons employed by the absentees. " King 
 also says, that the directions, both in Dublin and the country, 
 were, "to inventory and take security for the forthcoming of these 
 goods, and not to strip the houses, &c." — State of C^c, p. 413, 
 
 Numerous officers were appointed to dispose of these goods ; 
 but up to September "89, when we lose sight of them, they had 
 not been disposed of.] 
 
APPENDIX TO CH. IV. 65 
 
 Be it therefore Enacted, by the King's most Excellent Majesty, 
 with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, 
 and Commons, in this present Parliament Assembled, and by the 
 Authority of the same, That all Goods and Chattels, Corn in 
 Ground, Debts by Judgments, Statutes, Bonds, Bills, Books or 
 otherwise ; and all Arrears of Rent, belonging to any Person or 
 Persons, in Rebellion against your Majesty, out of this your 
 Majesty's Kingdom ; or belonging to any Person or Persons, that 
 by any Act of this present Parliament, shall be adjudged and 
 declared a Forfeiting, Person or Persons absent, and all other 
 Persons absent out of this Realm, and that aid, abett, or assist, 
 the said Prince of Orange ; Minors under the age of Seventeen 
 Years, and such Person or Persons who are entituled to such 
 Goods or Chattels, or Debts as aforesaid, in Trust for others, who 
 are not absent, or joined with the Rebels ; and such Person or 
 Persons, as for some reasonable Cause to be allowed of, and 
 approved under the Hands of the Commissioners of your Majesty's 
 Revenue in this Kingdom, or the major Part of them, within 
 three Months after the Royal Assent given to this Act, always 
 excepted and foreprized, shall from the Fi/tA day of November 
 last, be, and hereby are vested in, and settled in your Majesty, 
 your Heirs and Successors ; and that any Person or Persons, who 
 since the said Fifth da}' of November last, have seized or possessed 
 themselves of any Goods or Chatties, belonging, or pretending to 
 belong to any Person or Persons, upon Pretence of such Person 
 or Persons being in Rebellion, or absent out of this your Majesty's 
 Realm ; and any Person or Persons, who since the First Day of 
 May last, have received any Arrears of Rent or Debt, due to 
 any Person or Persons, who are, or have been in Rebellion, or 
 now are absent out of your Majesty's Kingdom, be, and are 
 hereby declared to be Debtors and Accomptants to your Majesty, 
 your Heirs and Successors ; and such Person or Persons, shall by 
 Process out of your Majesty's Court of Exchequer, to be issued 
 within Two Years, and no longer, be made Chargeable and 
 Lyable, as in other Debts and Accounts by the Course of the 
 Excheqtter is used or accustomed. 
 
 L 
 
66 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 [§ 2.] And be it fii7'ther Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, 
 That for the more speedy and effectual Remedy, for Recovery of 
 the said Goods and Chatties personal, seized upon, it shall and 
 may be lawful for the Commissioners for Management of his 
 Majesty's Revenue, or any Three of them, upon Information 
 given unto them in Writing upon Oath, which Oath they are 
 hereby empowered to Administer, to issue Warrants under their 
 Hands and Seals, for seizing such Persons and Goods, as they 
 upon such Information shall see proper, and upon hearing of 
 such Person or Persons, and the Defence by him made, if any 
 such Person so called, do make such Defence, to examine 
 such Witnesses upon Oath, and judge and determine the Matter, 
 and by Process, or other Warrant from them, to commit such 
 Persons, or seize the Goods of such Persons condemned, until by 
 such Committal or Sale of their Goods, which is hereby authorized 
 to be done, the Sum or Sums adjudged, shall be satisfied and 
 paid, the Privilege of Peers as to their Persons, always saved and 
 excepted, and that the said Commissioners shall have Power for 
 executing this Act in manner aforesaid, for one Year, from the 
 First Day o^ July, 16S9, and no longer ; Provided always, that 
 nothing herein contained, shall be prejudicial to any of your 
 Majesty's Subjects now in this Kingdom, that have not joined 
 with your Majesty's Rebels or enemies, to whom any Debts by 
 Judgment or Decree in Chancery, or upon Civil Bill at the Assizes, 
 or any Rents or Arrears of Rent, were due, on or before the First 
 Day ot May, 1 689, out of the Lands or Houses wherein such 
 Goods or Chatties personal were kept or abided, but the same 
 Goods and Chatties, shall be, and are hereby made lyable and sub- 
 ject to such Judgments and Degrees, in case, the said Goods were 
 by the Sheriff seized, or the same distrained for the Rent, before 
 the same Goods or Chatties were seized into the King's Hands. 
 
 [§ 3.] Provided also, and be it Enacted,hy the Authority afore- 
 said, That Corn in Ground, belonging to such Absentee or 
 Absentees, shall be lyable to yield to the Owner or Owners of 
 the Ground, on which the same shall stand, if a Stranger, such 
 Proportion or Sum of Money for the standing thereof as by the 
 
APPENDIX TO CH. IV. 67 
 
 Custom of the Country is due ; Provided ye\. likewise, That nothing 
 herein contained, shall be prejudicial to any sale, bona Jide ^mzi^Q 
 of any of the Goods or Chatties, aforesaid, to any Person or 
 Persons, by such Absentee, Owner, or the Servant or Servants 
 employed by him, for the Sale of such Goods or Chatties, in 
 Case he or they have, bona fide, paid the Money contracted for 
 upon such Sale which is to be proved before the said Commis- 
 sioners, by such Person or Persons, when thereunto called by the 
 said Commissioners : Provided likewise. That nothing herein 
 contained shall any way be prejudicial unto, or charge any Tenant 
 or Tenants, or Receiver or Debtor, who hath bona fide paid or 
 delivered over, or accompted for such Sum or Sums of Money, 
 and bona fide, paid or discharged the same to such Absentees or 
 such Persons, as the same was ordered for, or assigned unto, 
 and prove the same before the said Commissioners, when there- 
 unto summoned. 
 
 [§ 4.] Provided ahuays and be it enacted, by the Autb.ority 
 aforesaid. That where such Absentees or Persons Attained, did 
 owe any Sum or Sums of Money, for Quit-rent or Crown-rent, 
 that then and in such case such Quit-rent and Crown-rent shall 
 be first paid out of such Goods and Chatties.* 
 
 * In March, K-^xWand May, before the Parliament sate, Persons 
 appointed by the Commissioners, came to all Absentees' Houses, and 
 seized xuhat Goods they pleased, and carried them azvay, unless 
 Persons of good Credit appeared, and gave security to be forthcoming 
 for them ; and accordingly afteriuards they ivere forced to deliver 
 them to the Commissioners Orders, withont any information or 
 Oath made by any Person, as this Act prescribes ; the Commission- 
 ers after it was passed, not only seized Goods of Persons ivho were 
 no Absentees, on suspicion, and kept them until the Owners swore 
 they were their own proper Goods; but they also withotit any 
 Information or Oath made, sent for Absentees^ Servants, and be- 
 cause they would not discover their Masters'* Goods and Debts tip on 
 Oath, to Personal Interogatories of their own framing, committed 
 ihem to Gaol. — Note to Edition of J 740. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 REPEAL OP THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 
 
 It appears from the Journal of the proceedings of 
 the parhament, and from many other authorities, that 
 no act of the Irish Parliament of 16S9, received such 
 full consideration as the following. Two bills were 
 brought in for the purpose of repealing the acts of 
 settlement — that into the House of Lords, on May 13, 
 by Chief Justice Nugent, — that into the House of 
 Commons, by Lord Riverstown and Colonel Mac- 
 Carthy. Committees sat to inquire into the effects of 
 the bills, many memorials were read and considered, 
 counsel were heard, both generally on the bills, and on 
 their effects on individuals, the debates were long, and 
 it was not till after several conferences between the 
 two houses that the act passed. The act was de- 
 liberately and maturely considered. 
 
 The titleS; and some of the effects of the acts of 
 setdement, are given in the preamble to the following 
 statute. The effect of those acts of settlement had 
 been, in a great degree, to confirm the unprincipled 
 
REPEAL OP THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 69 
 
 distribution of Irish property, made by Cromwell's 
 government, amongst those who had served it best, or, 
 what meant nearly the same thing, who had most in 
 jured the Irish. The acts of settlement gave legality 
 to a revolution which transferred the lands of the 
 natives to military colonists. The repeal of those acts, 
 within 24 years after they passed, and within about 
 37 years after that revolution took place, cannot excite 
 much surprise. The one-third of their holdings (which 
 the Cromwellian soldiers were obliged by the acts 
 of the settlement to give up,) could not have made a 
 fund to reprize those who had been ousted from the 
 entire. However, the giving up of that one-third was 
 not strictly enforced, and the stock resulting was 
 wasted by commissioners, and distributed as the appli- 
 cants had interest at court, not as they had title to the 
 lands. Thus, lord Ormond got some HUNDRED 
 THOUSAND acres ; albeit he had done more sub- 
 stantial injury to the Irish, and to the royalist cause 
 in which they foolishly embarked, than any of the 
 parliamentarians, from Coote to Ireton. Under such 
 circumstances, we are not exaggerating the effect ot 
 the acts of settlemxCnt, passed after the Restoration, in 
 saying, that they confirmed by law the Cromwellian 
 robbery. The testimony of all the credible writers of 
 the time goes to the same effect. Indeed, the repeal 
 of the acts of settlement would have been against the 
 interests of the natives, if they had received justice 
 from those acts. This, in itself, is sufficient to prove 
 
70 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 how much hardship they had caused. The repeal of 
 those acts by the Irish, as soon as they were in power, 
 
 seems natural, considering how great and how recent 
 was the injury they inflicted. Still, as we said, 24 
 years had passed since those acts had become law. 
 Many persons had got possession of properties under 
 that law, and many of those properties had, doubt- 
 less, been sold, leased, subdivided, improved, 
 and incumbered, upon the faith of that law. It 
 might be urged that persons interested by such means 
 in thcoC properties, had become so with full know- 
 ledge that they had been acquired by violence and in- 
 justice, and that the original owners and their families 
 were in existence, ready and resolved to take the first 
 opportunity of regaining their rights. Such reasoning 
 fixes all who had advanced money, made purchases, 
 or become in any wise interested under the acts of 
 settlement, with such injusUce and imprudence as to 
 diminish their claim for compensation upon the repeal 
 of those acts. But it only diminished, it did not 
 destroy that claim. All those persons reposed some 
 confidence in the security of the then existing govern- 
 ment ; and many of them found a justification tor the 
 Cromwellian conquest, in the conduct of the Irish, as 
 the well-sustained falsehoods of the English describe 
 it. 
 
 For these reasons, Chief Justice Keating prepared a 
 long memorial, which Forbes, lordGranard, presented 
 to the king, during the discussions on the bills^ in 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 7 1 
 
 May, 1689, setting forth the clauns of those who came 
 in under the acts of settlement, as incumbrancers, 
 purchasers, tenants, by marriage, &c. This memorial 
 is dishonestly represented by the Whig writers, as 
 directed against the repeal altogether ; but any one 
 who reads it (which he can do in the appendix to 
 Harris's life of William) will find that it is an argu- 
 ment in favour of the classes described in the last 
 sentence. From the lon.s; and careful clauses in the 
 following act, for the reprisal and compensation of 
 those classes, we must infer that Keating's memorial 
 produced its intended effect. However, these clauses 
 require to be carefully examined, to see whether they 
 carry out this principle of compensation fairly and 
 impartially. The character of this parliament for 
 moderation depends greatly on their doings in this 
 respect. 
 
 We now come to a second class, the Irish who, 
 having been given the alternative of " Hell or Con- 
 naught " (as a certain bishop was of Heaven or Dun- 
 garvan,) preferred the latter, and were located on the 
 lands of the Connaught people. This class would 
 generally come in for their old holdings in the 
 other provinces, and required no compensation ; 
 but the distribution, under this act, of the incum- 
 brances, &c., between them and the owners of 
 their former and present lands, seems lawyer-like 
 and reasonable. 
 
 The next great class are the " adventurers," those 
 
72 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES 11. 
 
 who got lands during the Commonwealth, and whose 
 holdings were confirmed by the setllement. Their 
 claim was boldly and ably urged by Anthony Dopping, 
 bishop of Mcath. His speech on the Repeal Bill is 
 given in King's appendix, and is worth reading. He 
 bases their claim upon the supposition of the Irish 
 having been bloody rebels, rightly punished by the 
 giving of their lands to their loyal conquerors. His 
 speech gives the genuhie opinion of the English at 
 the time. The preamble to the following act, and 
 that to the Commons' bill, give the Irish view of the 
 war. These documents deny that the bulk of the 
 Irish were engaged in the conspiracy of 1641 ; and 
 the denial is true, although it is also true that more 
 than a " few indigent persons " engaged in it, as is 
 plain from lord Maguire's narrative ; and although 
 it might have more become this Irish parliament to 
 proclaim the absolute justice of the rising of 164 1, on 
 account of the sufferings of all ranks of Irish, in pro- 
 perty, and in political and religious rights ; while they 
 might have lamented that EnQ;lish atrocities had led to 
 a cruel retaliation, though one infinitely less than it 
 has been represented. However, the parliament, pro- 
 bably from delicacy to the king, based the rights of 
 the Irish upon the peace of 1648, and the Restoration 
 as restoring them to their loyalty, and to the proper- 
 ties possessed in 1641. 
 
 jMost fair inquirers will allow the justice of this re- 
 storation of the Irish ; but will lament that the act 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 73 
 
 before us contains no provision for the families of those 
 adventurers, who, however guilty when they came into 
 the country, had been in it for from thirty to forty 
 years, and had time and some citizenship in their 
 favour. There had been sound policy in that too, but 
 it was not done ; and though the open hostility of 
 most of those adventurers to the government — though 
 the wants and urgency of the old proprietors, added 
 to a lively recollection of the horrors which thronged 
 about their advent, may be urged in favour of leaving 
 them to work out their own Uvelihood by hard 
 industry, or to return to England, we cannot be quite 
 reconciled to the wisdom of the course. Yet, let any 
 one who finds himself eager to condemn the Irish 
 Parliament on this account, read over the facts that 
 led to it, namely ; the conquest of Leinster before the 
 Reformation ; the settlements of Munster and Ulster, 
 under Elizabeth and James ; the governments of 
 Strafford, and Parsons, and Borlace, Cromwell's and 
 Ireton's conquest, the effects of the acts of settlement, 
 and the false-plot reign of Charles II. ; let them, we 
 say, read these, and be at least moderate in censuring 
 the Parliament of 1689. 
 
 The Preamble to the Act of Repeal of the Acts of Settle- 
 ment and Explanation^ 6^^., as it passed the House of 
 Commons.''' 
 
 * This Preamble is James XL's own writing, as appears by 
 "The Journal." 
 
74 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 WHEREAS the Ambition and Avarice of the Lords 
 Justices ruling over this your Kingdom, in 1641, did 
 engage them to gather a malignant Party and Cabal 
 of the then Privy Council contrary to their sworn 
 Faith and natural Allegiance, in a secret Intelligence 
 and traiterous Combination, with the Puritan Sectaries 
 in the Realm of Gnat Britai7i^ against their lawful 
 and undoubted Sovereign, his Peace, Crown and 
 Dignity, the Malice of which made it soon manifest in 
 the Nature and Tendency of their Proceedings ; their 
 untimely Prorogations of a loyal unanimous Parliament, 
 and thereby making void, and disappointing the Effects 
 of many seasonable Votes, Bills and Addresses which, 
 passed into Laws, had certainly secured the Peace and 
 Tranquility of this Kingdom, by binding to his Majesty 
 the Hearts of his Irish Subjects, as well by the Tyes 
 of Affection and Gratitude, as Duty and Allegiance 
 there. The said Lords Justices traitorously disbanding 
 his Majesty's well assured Catholick Forces, when his 
 Person and Monarchy were exposed to the said Rebel 
 Sectaries, then marching in hostile Arms to dispoil 
 him of his Power, Dominion and Life ; their immediate 
 calling into the Place and Stead of those his Majesty's 
 faithful disbanded Forces, a formidable Body of dis- 
 ciplined Troops allied and confederated in Cause, 
 Nation and Principles with those Rebel Sectaries ; 
 their unwarrantable Entertainment of those Troops in 
 this Kingdom, to the draining of his Majesty's Treasury, 
 and Terror of his Catholick Subjects, then openly 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 75 
 
 menaced by them the aforesaid Lords Justices with a 
 Massacre and total Extirpation, their bloody Prose- 
 cution of that Menace, in the Slaughter of many 
 innocent Persons, thereby affrighting and compelling 
 others in despair of Protection, from their Government, 
 to unite and take Arms for their necessary Defence, 
 and Preservation of their Lives ; their unpardonable 
 Prevarication from his Majesty's Orders to them, in 
 retrenching the Time by him graciously given to his 
 Subjects so compelled into Arms of returning to their 
 Duty ; and stinting the General Pardon to such only 
 as had no Freehold Estates to make Forfeitures of; 
 their pernicious Arts in way-laying, exchanging and 
 wickedly depriving all Intercourse by Letters, Ex- 
 presses, and other Communication and Privity betwixt 
 your said Royal Father and his much abused People ; 
 their insolent and barbarous Application of Racks and 
 other Engines of Torture to Sir John Read^ his then 
 Majesty's sworn menial Servant, and that upon their 
 own conscious Suspicions of his being intrusted with 
 the too just Complaints of the persecuted Catholick 
 aforesaid ; their diabolical Malice and Craft, in essay- 
 ing by Promises and Threats, to draw from him, the 
 said Read J in his Torments, a false and impious 
 Accusation of his Master and Sovereign as being the 
 Author and Promoter of the then Commotion^ so 
 manifestly procured, and by themselves industriously 
 spread. 
 
 And whereas a late eminent Minister of State, for 
 
76 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES 11. 
 
 parallel Causes and Ends, pursuing the Steps of the 
 aforesaid Lords Justices, hath by his Interest and 
 Power, cherished and supported a Fanatical Re- 
 publican Party, which heretofore opposed, put to 
 flight, and chased out of this your Kingdom of Ireland^ 
 the Royal Authority lodged in his Person, and to 
 transfer the calamitous Consequences of his fatal 
 Conduct from himself, upon your trusty Roman 
 Catholick Subjects, to the Breach of publick Faith 
 solemnly given and proclaimed in the Name of our 
 late Sovereign, interposed betwixt them and his late 
 Majesty's general Indulgence and Pardon, and 
 {vrrought their Exclusion from that Indemnity in their 
 Estates, which by the said publick Faith is specially 
 provided for, and since hath been extended to tlie 
 most bloody and execrable Traitors, few only excepted 
 by Name in all your Realms and Dominions. And 
 further, to exclude from all Relief, and even Access of 
 Admittance to Justice to your said Irish Catholick 
 People, and to secure to himself and his Posterity, his 
 vast Share of their Spoils ; he the said eminent 
 Minister did against your sacred Brother's Royal 
 Promise and Sanction aforesaid, advise and pursuade 
 his late Majesty to give, and accordingly obtained his 
 Royal Assent to two several Acts. The one intituled, 
 An Act for the better Exccutio7i of Jiis Majesty's gracious 
 Declaratio7i for the Settlement of this Kingdom of 
 Ireland, and Satisfaction of the several Interests of Ad- 
 venturers^ Soldiers^ and other his Majesty's Subjects 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 77 
 
 tJm-e. Which Act was so passed at a Parliament held 
 in this Kingdom, in the 14th and 15th Years of his 
 Reign. And the other, An Act intituled, An Act of 
 Explanation, &'c. 
 
 Which Act was passed in a Session of the Parliament 
 held in this Kingdom, in the 17th and i8th Years of 
 his Reign, most of the Members thereof being such, as 
 forcibly possessed themselves of the Estates of your 
 Catholic Subjects in this Kingdom, and were convened 
 together for the sole special Purpose of creating and 
 granting to themselves and their Heirs, the Estates 
 and Inheritances of this your Kingdom of Ireland, 
 upon a scandalous, false Plypothesis, imputing the 
 traitorous Design of some desperate, indigent Persons 
 to seize your Majesty's Castle of Dublin^ on the 23d 
 of October 1 64 1, to an universal Conspiracy of your 
 Catholick Subjects, and applying the Estates and 
 Persons thereby presumed to have forfeited, to the 
 Use and Benefit of that Regicide Army, which brought 
 that Kingdom from its due Subjection and Obedience 
 to his Majesty, under the Peak and Tyranny of a 
 bloody Usurper : An Act unnatural, or rather viper- 
 ously destroying his late Majesty's gracious Declaration, 
 from whence it had Birth, and its Clauses, Restorations 
 and Uses, inverting the very fundamental Laws, as well 
 of your Majesty's, as all other Christian Governments. 
 An Act hmiting and confining the Administra- 
 tion of Justice to a certain Term or Period of 
 Time, awd confirming the Patrimony of Innocents 
 
7^ THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 unheard, to the most exquisite Traytors, that 
 now sta.'d convict on Record ; the Assigns and 
 Trustees, sven of the then deceased Oliver Cro?nwell 
 himself, for whose Arrears, as General of the Regicide 
 Army, special Provision is made at the Suit of his 
 Pensioners. Now in regard the Acts above mentioned 
 do in a florid and specious Preamble, contrary to the 
 known Truth in Fact, comprehend all your Majesty's 
 Roman Catbolick Subjects of Ireland^ in the Guilt of 
 those few indigent Persons aforesaid, and on that 
 Supposition alone, by the Clause immediately sub- 
 sequent to tliat Preamble, vest all their Estates in his 
 late Majesty, as a Royal Trustee, to the principal Use 
 of those who deposed and murthered your Royal 
 Father, and their lawful Sovereign. And furthermore, 
 to the Ends that the Articles and Conditions granted 
 in the Year 1648, by Authority from your Majesty's 
 Royal Brother, then lodged in the Marquess of 
 Ormond, may be duly fulfilled and made good to your 
 Majesty's present Irish Catholick Subjects, in all their 
 Parts and Intentions, and that the several Properties 
 and Estates in this Kingdom may be settled in their 
 antient Foundations, as they were on the 21st of 
 October^ 1 64 1. And that all Persons may acquiesce 
 and rejoyce under an impartial Distribution of Justice, 
 and sit peaceably down under his own Vjne or Patri- 
 mony, to the abolishing all Distinction of Parties, 
 Countries and Religions, and settling a perpetual 
 Union and Concord of Duty, Affection, and Loyalty 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 79 
 
 to your Majesty's Person and Government in the 
 Hearts of your Subjects, Be it enacted, &^c. 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 An Act for Repealing the Acts of Settlement and Ex- 
 planatmi^ Resolution of Doubts^ and all Gra?tts^ 
 Patents and Certificates pursuant to them, or aiiy of 
 them. 
 \% I.] WHEREAS, the Roman Catholick Subjects of 
 this Kingdom have for several Years, to the apparent 
 hazard of their Lives and Estates under the Royal 
 Authority, defended this Kingdom, until at last they 
 were overpowered by the Usurper, Oliver Cromwell ; 
 in which Quarrel many of them lost their Lives, and 
 divers of them (rather than take any Conditions from 
 the said Usurper) did transport themselves into Foreign 
 Parts where they faithfully served under his late 
 Majesty, and his present Majesty, until his late Majesty 
 was restored to the Crown. Arid whereas the said 
 Usurper hath seized and sequestered all the Lands, 
 Tenements, and Hereditaments of the said Roman 
 Catholicks within this Kingdom, upon the account of 
 their Religion and Loyalty, and disposed of the same 
 among his Officers and Soldiers, and others his Ad- 
 herents; and though his Majesty's said Roman 
 Catholick Subjects, not only upon the account of the 
 Peace made by his late Majesty in theYear 1648, but also 
 for their eminent Loyalty and firm Adherence to the 
 Royal Cause, might have justly expected to partake of 
 
8o THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 his late Majesly's Favour and Bounty upon his happy 
 Restoration, which was then extended even to many 
 notorious Rebels in other his Countries and Dominions, 
 which would make amends for the Oppressions and 
 Injustice they lay under for many Years in the Time of 
 the said Usurper ; yet such were the Contrivances set 
 on foot to destroy his Majesty and Catholick Subjects 
 of this Realm, that two Acts of Parliament passed here, 
 the one Entituled, " An Act for the better Execution of 
 his Majesty's Gracious Declaratmi for the Settlement 
 of his KiJigdoni of Ireland, a7id Satisfaction of the 
 several Interests of Adventurers, Soldiers, and other his 
 Subjects there:' The other Act Entituled, ''An Act 
 for explaining of some Doubts arisitig upon an Act 
 Entituled, An Act for the better Execution of his 
 Majesty's Gracious Declaration for the Settlement of 
 his Kingdom of Ireland, and Satisfaction of the several 
 Interests of Adventurers, Soldiers, and other his Subjects 
 there ; and for 7naking some Alterations of, and Ad- 
 ditions unto the said Act for the more speedy and effectual 
 Settlement of the Kingdom^' by which many of the said 
 Catholick Subjects were outsted of their ancient Inheri- 
 tances, without being so much as heard, and the same 
 were distributed among Cromwell's Soldiers, and others, 
 who in Justice could not have the least Pretension to the 
 same, contrary to the said Peace made in the Year 1648, 
 and contrary to Justice and natural Equity. Andwhereas 
 it is now high time to put an end to the unspeakable 
 Sufferings of the said Roman Catholicks. Natives of 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 8 1 
 
 this Realm, (who have eminently manifested their 
 Loyalty to his Majesty against the Usurper the Prince 
 of Orange) and to remove the unparallel'd Grievances 
 brought upon them under colour of the said two 
 Statutes, which cannot be otherwise redressed, than by 
 repealing the said Acts, and restoring the former 
 Proprietors to their ancient Right, the compassing 
 whereof is much facilitated by his Majesty's Royal 
 Condescention to apply towards the Satisfaction 
 and Reprizals of honest Purchasers under the said 
 Acts, a great part of the Lands and Tenements for- 
 feited to him by the late Rebellion and Treason 
 committed by Estated Persons within this Kingdom, 
 who contrary to their Duty and Allegiance, joined 
 with the Prince of Orange. Be it therefore enacted 
 by your most excellent Majesty, with the Consent of 
 the Lords Spiritual and" Temporal, and the Commons 
 in this present Parhament Assembled, and by the 
 Authority aforesaid ; And it is accordingly enacted b) 
 Authority of the same, That the said two several Acti 
 hereinbeformentioned, commonly called the Acts of 
 Settlement and Explanation, and the Acts of State, or 
 Act of Council, commonly called, the Resolution of 
 Doubts by the Lord Lieutenant and Council upon the 
 Acts of Settlement and Explanation thereof, and all 
 and every Clause, Proviso, Article, and Sentence in 
 them, and every of them contained, and all and every 
 Grant, Patent, and Certificate pass'd by vertue of, or 
 under colour or pretence of the said Acts and Reso- 
 
&B THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II." 
 
 lutions, or any or either of them (except what is 
 hereinafter preserved, or mentioned to be preserved), 
 be and are hereby absolutely repealed, annulled and 
 made void to all Intents, Constructions and Purposes 
 whatsoever, as if the same had never been made or 
 passed, notwithstanding any Mis-recital of the Title to 
 them, or either of them, or of the exact time when the 
 said Acts or either of them were made and passed. 
 
 [§ 2.] And be it further enacted. That all manner of 
 Persons who were any way entituled to any Lands, 
 Tenements or Plereditaments, or whose Ancestors 
 were any way seized, possessed of, or entituled to any 
 Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments, in Use, Possession, 
 Reversion or Remainder in this Kingdom of Ire Ian d^ 
 on the 2 2d Day of October, 1641, their Heirs or 
 Assigns, and every Person lawfully claiming by, from, 
 or under them and his and their Feoffees and Trustees, 
 to and for their Use or Uses, or in Trust for them or 
 any of them, and who were barred, excluded, hindered 
 or prejudiced by the said x-Ycts, Resolutions, Grants, 
 Patents and Certificates, shall and may have and take 
 such and the like Remedy by Action, or otherwise, for 
 revesting or recovering the same, as they, or any, or 
 either of them now might, could, or ought to have had 
 or taken, in case the said Acts, Resolutions, or any 
 Grant, Patent, or Certificate had never been made or 
 pass'd, any Clause, Proviso, Article, Sentence, or 
 Restriction in the said Acts, Resolutions, Grants, 
 Patents or Certificates, and any Limitation of Time, 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 83 
 
 Descent cast, common Recovery, Judgment, or Non- 
 claim upon any Fine or Fines, or upon any other 
 matter or thing where r.n Entry or Claim could or 
 would have aided him or them, or any of his or their 
 Ancestors, Feoffees and Trustees, in any wise not- 
 withstanding. 
 
 [§ 3.] And be it further Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, That all Attainders and Outlawries for 
 Treason, or any other Offence; and also all Treasons 
 and other Ouences whatsoever upon account or pre- 
 tence of the Rebellion mentioned or expressed to have 
 begun or arisen in this Kingdom on the 23d Day of 
 October^ 1641, and also all Penalties, Pains, Forfeitures, 
 Bars and Disabilities accrued, or supposed to be 
 accrued thereby, or by any Means or Ways touching 
 or relating thereto, or any way upon account or pre- 
 tence thereof, be and are hereby made void, released 
 and discharged to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever. 
 [§ 4.] And be it further Enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, That every Officer and Officers, who have 
 the Custody or Keeping of the said Attainders or 
 Outlawries, or of any of them, or of any of the Proofs, 
 Entries and Proceedings thereof, and of all or any of 
 the Books of Crimination and Examinations relating 
 thereunto, shall as soon as conveniently may be take 
 the same off the Files, and from the respective Offices 
 where the same do now remain, and cancel the same 
 before or in the Presence of all or any of the Commis- 
 sioners of Restitution herein mentioned; and any 
 
84 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Officer failing to do the same shall forfeit his Office, 
 and also the Sum of ;£"5oo Sterling, the Moyety of 
 the said ^500 to be to your Majesty, and the other 
 Moyety to any Person who shall sue for the same by 
 Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information in any of 
 your Majesty's Courts of Common Law, in which 
 Action no Essoyn, Protection, or Wager of Law shall 
 be allowed. 
 
 [§ 5.] And to the end that every Person or Persons, 
 and their Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns 
 who hitherto were barred, hindered or delayed from 
 recovering or enjoying his or their just Rights, Titles, 
 or Possessions by any of the matters aforesaid, may 
 with all convenient speed be put into and be estab- 
 lished in his and their Rights, Titles, and Possessions. 
 Be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid. That 
 such three or more Persons, as by your Majesty, your 
 Heirs or Successors, by Commission under the great 
 Seal of Ireland^ shall be to that purpose appointed 
 from time to time, shall be Commissioners to hear and 
 determine the Claims and Title by English Bill of 
 such Person or Persons, their Heirs, Executors, Ad- 
 ministrators and Assigns, who are or ought to be 
 restorable or entitaled unto any Lands, Tenements, or 
 Hereditaments, by reason of the repealing or making 
 void of the said several Acts and Resolutions of 
 Doubts, Grants, Letters Patents, Certiticates, or any 
 other matter or thing herein before mentioned to be 
 made void, repealed, released, or discharged, And 
 
RfiPEAL OF THE ACT O^ SETTLEMENT. 8^ 
 
 further, That the said Commissioners, or any three, or 
 more of them, shall appoint certain Times and Places 
 from time to time for their Sitting, Hearing and 
 Determining the Rights, Titles and Claims aforesaid, 
 and shall issue Summons to the Tenants and Possessors 
 of the Lands claimed before them, and for Witnesses, 
 and upon Appearance, or in Default of Appearance, 
 then to proceed and examine the Right and Title of 
 the said Claimant or Claimants upon Oath, which Oath 
 they have hereby Power to administer, and to take 
 Affidavit in Court or out of Court, and thereupon shall 
 have Power to award Injunctions for putting into Pos* 
 session such Person or Persons as shall appear unto 
 them to be restorable unto, or who ought to be put 
 into Possession of any Lands, Tenements or Heredita- 
 ments by vertue of this Act, and all Injunctions and 
 Prohibitions to be granted to stop or delay the Pro- 
 ceedings of the said Commissioners shall be void and 
 of none effect. But all Sheriffs and Coroners, to whom 
 any Injunction or Injunctions for Possessions shall be 
 directed, are hereby required and authorised at theit 
 Peril to execute the same. And the said Commis- 
 sioners are hereby authorised to punish all Neglects 
 and Contempts of Sheriffs, Officers, or any other 
 Persons. 
 
 [§ 6.] And forasmuch as by reason of the several 
 Oppressions, Distractions and Confusions herein before 
 mentioned, and of the length of Time since the 
 ancient Proprietors have been dispossessed, as afore- 
 
S6 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OP JAMES 11. 
 
 said, the Deeds, Evidences, and Writings of the Persons 
 restorable by this Act may be either lost or mislayed, 
 so that the same may not speedily, or perhaps not 
 at all be had, in order to make out his or their Titles 
 before the Commissioners aforesaid. Be it therefore 
 Enacted, that the Judgement, Decree, or Sentence of 
 the said Commissioners, or of any of them, shall not be 
 final or definitive ; but the Person or Persons, and his 
 and their Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns, 
 who is or shall be restorable by vertue of this Act, shall 
 and may at his own Will and Pleasure, use and have 
 his Action and Remedy in any of his Majesty's Courts 
 of Law or Equity for recovery of his and their Rights, 
 Titles, and Possessions, without resorting to the said 
 Commissioners ; or if he be not able to make out his 
 Title before them. 
 
 [§ 7.] Provided always, and be it hereby enacted 
 and declared by the Authority aforesaid, that this Act 
 or any thing herein contained shall not extend, nor be 
 deemed or construed to extend, to annul or make void 
 any Release, Confirmation, Conveyance, Fine, Re- 
 covery or Agreement, made, done, suffered, perfected 
 by any Person or Persons, or their Ancestor or An- 
 cestors, who otherwise would have been restorable by 
 vertue of this Act ; but that such Release, Confirma- 
 tion, Conveyance, Fine, Recovery or Agreement, shall 
 be of such like force and effect as they would have 
 been if this Act had never been made. 
 
 [§ 8.] A/id be it further enacted by the Authority 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 87 
 
 aforesaid, tliat where any Person or Persons who have 
 been transplanted into the Province of CoiiJiaught^ or 
 County of Clat-e^ or his or their Heirs or Assigns, has 
 sold or conveyed away the Lands or Tenements there 
 set out unto him in lieu of his ancient Estate ; and he 
 or his Heirs shall notwithstanding such Sale of his 
 transplanted Interest, be restored to his ancient 
 Estate, or hath released his Right thereto, the said 
 transplanted Interest be likewise restored to the Person 
 or Persons who was or were intituled thereto the 22d 
 Day of October, 1641, or to his or their Heirs or 
 Assigns, that then the ancient Estate which shall be so 
 enjoyed by or restored to the Person or Persons who 
 sold the said transplanted Interest, or to his or their 
 Heirs, or to any one claiming by or under him, or his 
 Ancestors, or to whom he or they released the same. 
 And likewise such other Estate as the said transplanted 
 Person hath or had, or which came from him by 
 Descent in Fee to his Heir or Heirs, shall be, and is 
 hereby made lyable unto, and charged with the lawful 
 yearly Interest of the Purchase Money, which was 
 paid to the said Old Proprietor for the said trans- 
 planted Interest, by the Person or Persons who bought 
 the same, the said yearly Interest, to be paid to your 
 Majesty, your Heirs and Successors, after the Expira 
 tion of 21 Days next after the Feast of Philip and 
 Jacol) and All Saints, yearly, by even and equal Portions 
 every Year, until the original Purchase-Money be paid 
 unto your Majesty, your Heirs and Successors in one 
 
SB THE IRISH PARLIAMENT 0? JAMES !l. 
 
 entire Payment; and the said Purchaser of the said 
 transplanted Estate to be reprized in such manner as 
 herein after to that Purpose is expressed, and the said 
 Piirchase-i^-Ioney to be part of the Slock of Tleprizals. 
 [§ 9.] And whereas by the Restitution of the Persons 
 hereby intended to be restored to their said ancient 
 Estates and Properties, which belonged to them, or 
 their Ancestors, or those under whom they claim on 
 the 22d Day of October, 1641, divers Persons who were 
 Strangers to the several Persons to whom some of the 
 said Land^, Tenements, and Hereditaments were dis- 
 tributed, came into the Possession of the said Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments by or under Purchases 
 or Conveyances after the said Act of Settlement past, 
 or before the first Day of November last, for good and 
 valuable Consideration, and not consideration of Blood, 
 Affinity, or Marriage, by or from the Person or Persons 
 to whom the same have been granted or distributed, 
 pursuant unto, or under colour of the said several 
 Acts of Parliament, and Resolution of Doubts, or of 
 some or one of them, and whereof Certificate or Patent 
 hath been passed since the said first Act of Settlement : 
 And likewise such Person and Persons, whose An- 
 cestors, or themselves, or those under whom they 
 claim, purchased the Estates set forth to transplanted 
 Persons in the Province of Connaught and County of 
 Clare^ must be removed and displaced from their said 
 Possessions and pretended Estates, and leave the same 
 to the just Owaers iixi6 Proprietors thereof, who are to 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 8^ 
 
 be restored thereto by vertuc of this Act ; the said 
 Persons so to be removed, are hereby intended to be 
 reprized for such their Purchases in manner as herein- 
 afterwards is expressed. 
 
 [§ 10.] And whereas an horrid and unnatural Rebel- 
 lion was lately raised, and still is continued in this 
 Kingdom, and in other your Majesty's Dominions, 
 by great numbers of 3^our Majesty's Subjects, and more 
 especially by divers of the Persons and their IPeirs, 
 who had and enjoyed a great part of the Panels and 
 Tenements which formerly belonged to your Majesty, 
 and your Royal Father's and Brothers CathoUck Sub' 
 jects, and were given out or distributed by tlie late 
 usurped Powers, as a Reward for their former Rebel- 
 lion and Treason herein first mentioned, which said 
 Rebels not being content therewith, but again endea- 
 vouring by the like Rebellion and Treason to draw in 
 Foreign Forces, and to continue a Succession of 
 Usurpation against your Majesty, and over your most 
 Loyal Catliolick Subjects of this Kingdom, in hopes 
 thereby to gain the rest of the Land=;, as they had 
 obtained a great part of it before, and totally to 
 deprive your Royal Majesty, and your Heirs and Suc- 
 cessors thereof, and of the Crown and Dignity, divers 
 of the said R<-bels went into England^ Scotland, IVales, 
 Holland, and the Isle of Man, and other Places 
 beyond the Seas, to invite and procure your most 
 unnatural Enemy the Prince of Orange, and your Re- 
 bellious Subjects there, to send over Forces into ^bi^ 
 
90 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES IT. 
 
 Kingdom, while the rest of the said Rebels in great 
 Multitudes arrayed themselves in Rebellious Number, 
 and seized several of your Majesty's Forts, Garrisons 
 and Magazines here for tlie Prince of Orange, and the 
 said Confederate Rebels, whereby this your Majesty's 
 Kingdom was in great danger to be lost ; but it pleased 
 Almighty God, by the Courage and Conduct of his 
 Grace, Richard Duke of TyrcoJinel, your ?vlajesty's 
 Deputy in this Kingdom, with the dutiful Assistance 
 of all your Majesty's Loyal Catholick Subjects here, 
 unanimously joyning with the said Deputy to preserve 
 the same for your Majesty, and to break and defeat 
 ihe Measures and Machinations of a great part of the 
 said Rebels and Traytors. And forasmuch as for the 
 Treasons and RebelHons aforesaid, the said Rebels 
 and Traytors have justly forfeited not only their 
 Estates, Lands and Livings, but their Lives also. Be 
 it therefore further enacted by your most excellent 
 Majesty, by the Advice and Consent aforesaid, That 
 all and every the Manors, Lands, Tenements, and 
 Hereditaments, Use, Trust, Possession, Reversion 
 and Remainder, Power of Redemption, and all and 
 every Estate and Interest whatsoever in Law or Equity 
 within this Kingdom, which on the first Day oi August, 
 1688, or at any time since belonged or appertained 
 to any Person or Persons whatsoever, who on the said 
 first Day of August, 1688, or at any time since was in 
 Rebellion or in Arms against your most Sacred Ma- 
 jesty either in this Kingdom, or in the Kingdom of 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT, QI 
 
 England or Scotland^ or who corresponded or kept in- 
 telligence with, or went contrary to their Allegiance, 
 to dwell or stay among the said Rebels, or any of 
 them, or who was or were any way aiding, abetting or 
 assisting to them or any of them, be and are hereby 
 forfeited unto, and vested in your Majesty, and shall 
 be deemed and adjudged to have been forfeited 
 unto, and vested in your Majesty, as from the 
 first Day of August, i6S8, without any Office or Inqui- 
 sition thereof found, or to be found, freed and absolu- 
 tely discliarged of, and from all Estates Tayl, and of 
 all Remainders and Reversions, to the Intent and 
 Purpose that the same may be settled, disposed, and 
 granted, and confirmed in such manner as hereafter 
 is expressed, (that is to say) that every Reprizable 
 Person or Persons, his Heirs, Executors and Adminis- 
 trators, who shall be removed from any of the Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments, which are hereby to 
 be restored to tiie ancient Proprietor thereof, as herein 
 before is expressed, shall be reprized, and have other 
 Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments of equal Value, 
 Worth and Purchase, set out and granted unto him out 
 of the said forfeited Lands, hereby vested in your 
 Majesty, for such Estate or Estates as the Lands from 
 which he or they shall be so removed, were held by 
 him at the passing of this Act. 
 
 [§ II.] And for the most speedy and effectual grant 
 ing of the said Reprizals, Be it further enacted. That 
 if it shall be thought fit or necessary, there shall issue 
 
92 TtiE IRISti PARLiAMENT OF JAMES Ii. 
 
 Commissions under the Great Seal of this Kingdom, 
 to such Commission: ers as shall be named by the 
 Lord Chancellor and Lord-keeper of the Great Seal of 
 Ireland^ within every of the Cities, Towns, and 
 Counties of this Kingdom, to enquire and ascertain 
 what Lands, Tenements, and Llereditaments any of 
 the Rebels aforesaid were seized or possessed of, or 
 entituled unto on the said Hist Day of August^ i6S8, 
 or at any time since, and the true and real yearly 
 Value thereof, and to make return thereof unto his 
 Majesty's LLgli Court of Chancery with all convenient 
 speed. 
 
 [§ 12.] And be it further enacted by the Authoiity 
 aforesaid, that such three or more Persons as your 
 Majesty, your Heirs and Successors, by Commission 
 under the Great Seal of Ireland^ shall from time to 
 time to this purpose appoint, shall be Commissioners 
 for setting forth, allotting, and distributing the said 
 Reprizals ; whicii said Commissioners, or any three or 
 more of tliem are liereby authorized and empowered 
 lo receive the Petitions and Claims of such Person or 
 Persons who shall demand such Reprizals, in which 
 said Petition and Claim is to be contained the 
 Quantity, Quality, and the true yearly Value of the 
 Lands, 'J'enements, and Hereditaments from which 
 such Petitioner or Claimant was removed, and the 
 Estate and Title he had therein, and the Quit-rents 
 thereout payable, and the said Commissioners, or any 
 three or more of them, to examine the Truth thereof 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEI^IENT. 93 
 
 by Witnesses upon Oath, and such other Evidences 
 as shall be produced unto them ; and upon due 
 Examination thereof, if they find that such Petitioner 
 or Claimant, or those under whom he claimed was a 
 Purchaser, by purchase made after passing the first 
 Act of Settlement, and for good and valuable Con- 
 sideration, before the first of November last, and not 
 for or in consideiation of Blood, Affmity or Marriage 
 from, by, or under the Person or Persons to whom 
 the Estate so ciaimed was granted or distributed, and 
 whereof Certificate or Patent was passed since the 
 said first Act as aforesaid, or that the said Petitioner 
 or Claimant, or those under whom he claims, was or 
 is a Purchaser for valuable Consideration of any trans- 
 planted Interest in the Province of Connaw^lit, or 
 County of Clare, then to set forth unto such Peti- 
 tioner or Claimant, other Lands, Tenements, Heredi- 
 taments of equal Value, Worth, or Purchase, and for 
 the like Estate as the said Petitioner or Claimant had 
 in the Lands, Tenements, or Llereditanients from 
 v.'hich he was, or shall be removed as aforesaid. And 
 the said Commissioners, or any three or more of them, 
 are hereby required and authorized to grant their 
 Certificates under their Plands and Seals to the said 
 Petitioner or Claimant, expressing the Denominations, 
 Quantity and Quality, and Number of Acres of the 
 said Lands so allotted, and the Barony and County 
 wherein the same do lie, and the Estate thereof to be 
 ^Tantedj and the Rent thereout to be reserved ; upon 
 
94 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 producing of which Certificate the Lord Chancellor or 
 Lord-keeper of the Great Seal of Irelattd is hereby 
 authorised and empowered, without any further War- 
 rant, to cause effectual Letters Patents to be made and 
 passed to the said Claimant of the Lands so certified, 
 to be allotted unto him, and under the Rents and for 
 such Estate and Estates as in the said Certificate shall 
 be to that purpose expressed. 
 
 [§ 13.] Provided always and be it further enacted 
 by the Authority aforesaid, that such Person or 
 Persons as shall claim or demand any Reprizals for 
 any transplanted Estate or Interest, shall, before he or 
 they have any Reprizal or Reprizals for the same 
 allotted or set out to them, make full and true Dis- 
 covery and Proof of the whole original Purchase- 
 Money which was paid for the said transplanted Estate 
 by the first Purchaser thereof to the Person or Persons, 
 or his Heirs, to whom the said Estate was originally 
 set forth or allotted by way of Transplantation ; and 
 the said Commissioners, upon due Examination and 
 Proof of the said Purchase-Money, are to certify the 
 Quality thereof, and the Estate of the ancient Pro- 
 prietor, which is to stand charged with the Yearly In- 
 terest thereof into your Majesty's Court of Exchequer, 
 to the end that the same may be levied as it shall 
 grow due from time to time, until the original Pur- 
 chase-Money be paid in one entire Payment to your 
 Majesty, your Heirs and Successors, the said Principal 
 and Interest to be paid towards Reprizals, as afor^raid. 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 95 
 
 [§ 14.] And be it further Enacted, That in case at 
 any time hereafter it shall be discovered, that any 
 Person or Persons so claiming Reprisals for any such 
 transplanted Interest, hath not discovered the full 
 Purchase-Money first paid for the said transplanted 
 Estate, but hath concealed any part thereof, then and 
 in such Case the Person or Persons who hath so con- 
 cealed any part of the said Purchase-Money, shaU 
 forfeit double the Sum concealed or not discovered, 
 the one Moyety of such Forfeiture shall be to your 
 Majesty, your Heirs, and Successors, and the other 
 Moyety to such Person and Persons as shall sue for 
 the same by Bill, Plaint or Information, wherein no 
 Essoyn, Protection, or Wager of Law shall be allowed. 
 
 [§ 15.] Provided also, and be it further enacted, 
 That neither this Act nor any thing therein contained, 
 shall be deemed or construed to vest in your Majesty 
 your Heirs or Successors, any the Lands, Tene- 
 ments, Hereditaments or Chatties real, Riglit, Title, 
 Service, Chiefry, Use, Trust, Condition, Fee-rent, 
 Charge, Right of Redemption of Mortgage, Recogni- 
 zance, Judgment, Extent, Right of Action, Right of 
 Entry, Statute, or any other Estate of w4iat nature or 
 kind soever, which are hereby restorable, according to 
 ihe true Intent and Meaning of this Act, to any 
 ancient Proprietor, or his Heirs or Assigns, and the 
 which have been vested or mentioned, or supposed to 
 have been vested in your Majesty's said Royal Father 
 and Brother, or either of them by vertue of both or 
 
gb THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 either of tlie said Acts of Settlement, and Explanatory 
 Acts, or Resolution of Doubts, or by vertue of any of 
 the said Attainders or Outlawries, which are herein 
 before repealed or made void, or mentioned to be 
 repealed or made void ; but that all and every Person 
 and Persons, whose Titles, or whose Ancestors' Tides 
 were hitherto thereby barred, forfeited, or any way 
 prejudiced or interrupted, shall and may be restored 
 thereunto, according to their Ancient Rights and Title, 
 as herein before to that purpose is expressed or in- 
 tended. 
 
 [§ 1 6.] Provided always and be it further enactea 
 by the Authority aforesaid, that nothing in this present 
 Act contained shall any way extend or be construed 
 to extend to forfeit to, or vest in your IMajesty, your 
 Heirs or Successors, any Remainder or Remainders, 
 Reversion or Reversions, for valuable Consideration, 
 limited or settled by any Settlement or Conveyance 
 made for such valuable consideration either of Mar- 
 riage, or Marriage-Portion, or other valuable Con- 
 sideration whatsoever upon any Estate, for Life or 
 Lives, to any Person or Persons, who have not, nor 
 shall not aid, abett or assist any Person or Persons in 
 the Usurpation or Rebellion aforesaid, such Remainder 
 or Remainders, Reversion or Reversions as are limited 
 by any Conveyance, wherein there is no Power for 
 revoking or altering all or any Use or Uses therein 
 limited : And also such Remainder and Remainders, 
 Reversion and Reversions as are limited upon any 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 97 
 
 Settlement, or conveyance of any Lands, Tenements 
 and Hereditaments, commonly called Flantatiori 
 La?tdSj and all Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments 
 held or enjoyed under such Grants from the Crown, 
 or Grant upon the Commission or Commissions of 
 Grace for Remedy of defective Titles, either in the 
 Reign of 'K\r\gja7nes I. or King Charles I. in which 
 several Grants respectively there are Provisos or 
 Covenants for raising and keeping any number of Men 
 and Arms for the King's Majesty against Rebels or 
 Enemies, or for raising of Men for his Majesty's 
 Service for Expedition of War always excepted and 
 fore-prized; all which Remainders and Reversions, 
 limited by such Conveyance, wherein there is a Power 
 of Revocation for so much of the Lands, Uses and 
 Estates therein Hmited, as the said Power doth or 
 shall extend unto, and all such Remainders as are 
 derived or limited of Plantation Lands, or other Lands 
 held as aforesaid under such Grants made by the 
 Crown, shall by Authority of this present Parliament 
 be deemed, construed, and adjudged void, debarred 
 and discharged to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever 
 against his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, and his 
 or their Grantees or Assigns ; and the said Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments belonging to such 
 Rebels as aforesaid, shall be vested in his Majesty, 
 his Heirs and Successors, freed and discharged of the 
 said Remainder and Remainders, and every of them. 
 [§ 17.] And to the end the Reversions and Re- 
 
 N 
 
98 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 mainders saved and preserved by this Act may appear 
 with all convenient Speed, Be it enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, That the respective Persons 
 entituled to such Remainders, do within sixty days 
 next after the first sitting of the Commissioners for 
 executing this Act, exhibit their Clairxis before the said 
 Commissioners, and make out their Title to such 
 Remainder or Remainders, so as to procure their 
 Adjudication, and Certificate for the same, or the 
 Adjudication and Certificate of some three or more 
 of them. And further, That all Remainders, for 
 which such Adjudication and Certificate shall not be 
 procured at or before one hundred and twenty Days 
 after the first sitting of the said Commissioners, shall 
 be void, and be for ever barred and excluded, any 
 thing in this Act or other matter to the contrary in 
 in any wise notwithstanding ; nor shall this Act extend 
 to vest in your Majesty, or bar any Remainders limited 
 to Dudley Bagnel, Esq. upon the particular Estate of 
 Nicholas Bagiiel of Newry, Esq. in A'acry, the Lord- 
 ship and Lands of Moiirfie^ and all other Mannors 
 and Lands now or lately belonging to the s^\^ Nicholas 
 Bagncl in the Kingdom of Ireland ; Provided the 
 same be such a Remainder as was not, or is not in the 
 Power of the said Nicholas Bagncl to bar. 
 
 [§ 18.] And forasmuch as w-e, your Majesty's most 
 Loyal and Dutiful Subjects, always have been and 
 for ever intend to be more studious and industrious to 
 secure and advance your Majesty's Revenue, than to 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT, 99 
 
 lessen or diminish the same : And whereas the Quit- 
 Rents or King's Rents reserved, or now payable unto 
 your Majesty, your Heirs and Successors, would 
 determine by repealing the said Acts, if some Provision 
 were not made to continue the same ; Be it enacted 
 by the Authority aforesaid, That all Lands and Tene- 
 ments, which, by the said Acts of Settlement and 
 Explanation, were charged with, or made liable to 
 Quit-Rents, shall be, and hereby are charged with, and 
 made liable to the same, or the like Quit-Rents, to be 
 paid to your Majesty, your Heirs and Successors, as 
 in and by the said Acts of Settlement and Explanation 
 were appointed and directed, saving and reserving and 
 excepting the Quit-Rents due and payable, and due 
 out of the Earl of Antrim'' s Estate, which were granted 
 to the late Earl of St. Alba?i^s^ and saving and excepting 
 all such Lands and Tenements, whereof the Quit-Rents 
 have been by Letters Patents under the Broad Seal of 
 England or Ireland granted or released to the ancient 
 Proprietor or Proprietors thereof, or to some Person 
 or Persons in trust for them, or reduced into the Hand 
 of the Ancient or New Proprietor, since the Acts of 
 Settlement and Explanation, by reason of barren or 
 unprofitable Ground, whether such Reducement was 
 by Patent under the Broad Seal, or Certificate, or 
 other Order of Commissioners, having Power to re- 
 dace the same ; which Lands and Tenements are for 
 the future to be charged only with such Quit-Rents or 
 Crown-Rents as are by such Letters Patents, Certi- 
 
lOO THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 ficates, and Orders respectively reserved and specified. 
 And further, That all Lands which immediately before 
 the passing of this present Act were not liable to any 
 Quit-Rents, and shall be, by or pursuant to the 
 present Act restored to the ancient Proprietor thereof,' 
 and likewise all Lands within this Kingdom, which 
 being vested in your Majesty by this present Act, or 
 by or upon account of the present Rebellion, or of any 
 Treason committed by any Person since the first day 
 of August last, shall be distributed or given out for 
 Reprizals by the Commissioners for executing this 
 Act, or otherwise granted by your Majesty, your 
 Heirs and Successors, to any Person or Persons, 
 Bodies Politique or Corporate, shall be and are hereby 
 charged with and made liable to the same, or the like 
 Quit-Rents to be paid to your Majesty, your Heirs 
 and Successors, as in and by the said Acts of Settle- 
 ment and Explanation were appointed or directed to 
 be paid out of any other Lands in the respective Pro- 
 vinces where such Lands do respectively lie ; so that 
 the Rent formerly reserved to the Crown, on such 
 Lands, exceed not the Rent hereby reserved ; but 
 where the Rents formerly reserved do exceed the Rent 
 hereby to be reserved, the said former Rents only shall 
 be paid. 
 
 [§ 19.] And be it further enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid. That all Arrears of the said Quit-Rents re- 
 served by the said former Acts, which were due to 
 your Majesty on the first Day of Afay^ 1689, shall be 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 10 1 
 
 answered and duly paid to your Majesty, and that 
 your Majesty shall and may recover and levy the same 
 in such manner, and by all such ways and means as 
 you might have done, if this present Act had never 
 been made, any thing in this Act contained to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding. 
 
 [§ 20.] And in regard the mesne Profits of the said 
 ancient Estates, which are hereby restorable, are to 
 be discharged, as hereafter expressed. Be it further 
 enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that all Interests 
 of Money for any Debt or Debts contracted before the 
 23d Day of October^ 1641, and wherewith the Estate 
 of any Person restorable by this Act may be charge- 
 able, be and are hereby discharged and released for 
 such Time as the Person or Persons, who should have 
 paid the said Debts, were barred and kept out of theii 
 Estates by the said Acts or Rebellion ; but the Ori- 
 ginal Debts are not to be discharged by this Act. 
 
 [§ 21.] And be it further enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid. That no Persons restorable by vertue of this 
 Act shall sue for, or recover any mesne Profits of the 
 Estate so restorable, but only for such mesne Profits 
 as shall accrue or grow due after his demanding 
 Possession, or commencing since for the Lands so 
 restorable after the passing of this Act. 
 
 [§ 22.] And be it further enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, that the Estate or Estates to be set out or 
 allotted to any Person or Persons by way of Fore- 
 prizals by vertue of this Act, or any other Estate which 
 
102 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 he or his Heirs shall have, shall be lyable and Subject 
 to all such Judgments, Statutes and Recognizances for 
 Payment of Money, Rentcharges, Annuities, Mortgages, 
 Dowers, and all other Estates, Uses, Trusts, Limita- 
 tions, Settlements, Charges and Incumbrances of the 
 Persons so reprized or removed, in such manner as the 
 Estate from which he shall be so removed, would be 
 lyable in case he never were removed from the same ; 
 but in case any Person hereby removable to make room 
 for an old Proprietor, be a forfeiting Person, or is not 
 intituled to have Reprisal, then in such Case it is here- 
 by declared and enacted, that all and every Person and 
 Persons, who, before the 7th Day of May, 1689, had 
 any such Incumbrances as before is expressed, or any 
 Judgment at any time before the 2 2d Day oiMay, 1689, 
 on the said Estate hereby restorable to the old Pro 
 prietor, shall and may have Reprizals for the same out 
 of the Common Stock of Reprizals, at the rate of Ten 
 Years purchase : Provided always, that such Incum- 
 brances, or the Reprizals to be had or allotted for the 
 same, shall not exceed the Value of the Estate which 
 was lyable thereunto, and which is restorable to the 
 old Proprietor thereof, or to his Heirs or Assigns. 
 
 [§ 23.] And be it further hereby enacted, that where 
 any old Proprietor, or his Heirs, Avho had or held any 
 new Estate by Transplantation, or otherwise, by or 
 under the said Acts hereby repealed, or any of them, 
 shall by vertue of this present Act be removed from 
 the same, that then, and in such Case, the ancient 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. I03 
 
 Estate of which old Proprietor or his HeirS; shall be 
 restored, And likewise all such other Estate which such 
 ancient Proprietor, or his Heirs by Descent in Fee 
 under him, shall have, be, and is hereby made Assets 
 for the Ancestor's Debts, and lyable to make satisfac- 
 tion for all such Judgments, Recognizances, and 
 Statutes for payment of Money, and also for all Rent- 
 charge, Annuities, Mortgages, and all other Estates, 
 Uses, Trusts, Limitations and Settlements, Charges 
 and Incumbrances of the said old Proprietor and his 
 Heirs, in such m anner as the said new Estate from 
 which he or they shall be so removed would have 
 been lyable, in case he or they were never removed 
 from the same, except the Leases made by such Per- 
 sons who are to be restored to the Lands they or any 
 of them were seized or possessed of. 
 
 [§24.1 And furthermore, for the* prevention of the 
 great inconveniences which may happen by the 
 sudden removal of the Leasees, Farmers or Under- 
 tenants, from the Lands, Tenements, or Heredita- 
 ments whereof they are now in actual possession, and 
 which are hereby to be restored to the ancient Pro- 
 prietors thereof, their Heirs or Assigns. Be it further 
 Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that all such 
 Leases in writing, of the Lands, Tenements, and 
 Hereditaments hereby restorable, and which were 
 made before the first Day of May, 1688, meerly in 
 consideration of Rents, Duties, or other valuable 
 Yearly Reservations, and not in consideration of any 
 
104 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Fine or Incumbrance, or of Blood or Affinity, and by 
 vertue whereof the Lands, Tenements and Heredita- 
 ments thereby demised, are at this time enjoyed and 
 held by the present Terr-tenants and Occupiers thereof, 
 be, and are hereby made good and confirmed by the 
 said Terr-tenants and Occupiers, for and during so 
 much of the term or time in such Lease or Leases 
 Hmited and expressed, as shall not exceed the Number 
 of 21 Years, or three Lives yet to come and unex- 
 pired, and for all the Lands, Tenements and Here- 
 ditaments thereby demised, except that Messuage or 
 Tenement which in the Year 1 641 was the Mansion- 
 house of the old Proprietor, or his Assigns; and ex- 
 cept the demesne thereunto belonging (that is to say) 
 the Town and Lands whereon the said Mansion-house 
 then stood, and the said Tenant or Leasee, and his 
 Executors, Administrators and Assigns for the Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments so by them to be held 
 and detained by vertue of such Lease or Leases, are 
 to pay the yearly Rent and Duties thereout reserved, 
 or their just Proportion thereof, to the said ancient 
 Proprietor hereby restorable, and to his Heirs and As- 
 signs, and to give him or them Copies or Counterparts 
 of the said Lease or Leases, and their own Obliga- 
 tions for Performance thereof, or otherwise to accept 
 of anew Lease for the Lands, Tenements and Here- 
 ditaments so to be enjoyed, and under the like Rent 
 proportionably, and for such time or time or term as 
 shall be then unexpired of the said former Demise. 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 10$ 
 
 [§ 25.] And whereas in some Cases the Lease or 
 Leases which such Leasee or Leasees had, might have 
 been very beneficial Leases for a great Term, and ori- 
 ginally made in consideration of Fines by them given 
 to their Leasers for the same, or in respect of Improve- 
 ments ; and as it is unequitable on the one side, that 
 such Leasees should lose their Fines, Bargains and Im- 
 provements, without satisfaction for the same, so it is 
 on the other side unreasonable, that the old Proprietor, 
 who hath been hitherto kept out of his Estate, and is 
 hereby barred from the mesne Profits thereof, should 
 be obliged to bear the Loss and damage of Leases so 
 made, at an under Rate and low Value : Be it there- 
 fore Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that the said 
 Leasor, his Heirs or Assigns, who is to be reprized for 
 the said Lands, shall out of the Lands which shall be 
 to him granted by way of Reprizal, make and perfect 
 unto the said Leasee, his Executors, Administrators 
 or Assigns, a Lease of Lands of the like Value ; and 
 for such term or time of the said former Lease as will 
 be unexpired at the removal of the said Leasor, and 
 that the said new Lease shall be under the like Rents, 
 Reservations, Covenants and Conditions, as in the 
 said former Lease were expressed ; but in Case the 
 said Leasor be a forfeiting Person, and not Reprizable 
 by this Act, then the said Leasee and Leasees shall 
 be reprized for their said Leases out of the Common 
 Stock of Reprizals, according to the Methods herein 
 before set forth ; but such Leases in Possession, and 
 
I06 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 not now in any forfeiting Person, as were made by 
 your Majesty of the Lands held by your Majesty under 
 the Title of the said Acts, are to stand good and 
 effectual at the Election of the Leasees, their Execu- 
 tors, Administrators or Assigns, and the Rent and 
 Reservation thereof to devolve and come to the old 
 Proprietors thereof, and particularly one Lease bear- 
 ing date the first Day of April, 1675, made by your 
 Majesty yrnXo John Keatiiig, Esq. ; for the Term of 26 
 Years, to commence from the first Day of May then 
 next ensuing the date thereof, of the Town and Lands 
 of BlacJzrathy in the County of Kilda?r, under the 
 yearly Rent of^Si 15s. Sterling, shall in like manner 
 stand good and effectual, notwithstanding any Sale 
 made by your Majesty unto him the said /o/in, of the 
 Inheritance of the said Lands or any INIerger of the 
 said Lease, but the Reversion and Rent of the said 
 Lands so leased is hereby to come to the old Pro- 
 prietor thereof, his Heirs or Assigns. 
 
 [§ 26.] Provided always, and be it Enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, that all and every Person and Persons 
 who is, or are at the time of passing this Act, seized or 
 possessed of any Houses, Messuages, Manors, Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments, within this Kingdom 
 of Ireland, and who are by vertue of this Act, or any 
 Clause therein contained, to be removed from the 
 ^Seizin or Possession thereof, or of any part thereof, 
 shall have such reasonable and competent time 
 given and allowed him or them for the removal of 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. I07 
 
 themselves, their Families and Stocks, as the Commis- 
 sioners for Execution of this Act, or any three of them, 
 shall think fit and appoint, not exceeding one Year 
 from the first Day of May, 1689, and the same to be 
 under such competent Rent, as the said Commis- 
 sioners shall think fit to be paid to the Person or Per- 
 sons, his and their Heirs, Executors and Adminis- 
 trators, who is, or are by this Act restorable to the 
 said Houses, Messuages, Manors, Lands, Tenements 
 and Plereditaments, any thing in this Act, or any 
 other matter or thing to the contrary thereof in any 
 wise notwithstanding. 
 
 [§ 27.] Provided also, and be it further enacted by 
 the Authority aforesaid, that all and every Person and 
 Persons who sow any Corn or Roots in any Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments, whereof they or any 
 of them are now at the time of the passing of this 
 Act seized or possessed, shall have, receive, and take 
 the full benefit and advantage thereof, and have free 
 liberty of ingress, egress and regress, for the making 
 up and preserving, and of carrying away and disposing 
 of the said Corn and Roots, or any part thereof as he 
 or they shall think fit, he or they paying or allowing 
 for the same to such Person or Persons as shall be 
 restored to the said Lands so sowed with Corn and 
 Roots, according to the Custom of the Country. 
 
 [§ 28.] And whereas there are divers poor and dis- 
 tressed Widows and Relicts, whose deceased Hus- 
 bands, had they been alive, would have been restorable 
 
Io8 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 by this Act, and been thereby enabled to leave some 
 Maintainance to their said Widows and Relicts ; but 
 in regard their said deceased Husbands, by means of 
 the several Acts and other Matters herein before ex- 
 pressed and repealed, were kept from any Seizin or 
 Possession of the Estates, which should of right be 
 enjoyed by them, and for want of such Seizin, the said 
 Widows and Relicts are not by the Common Law of 
 this Land entituledto any Dower, and therefore are in 
 danger of perishing : Be it therefore Enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, That the want of such Seizin 
 shall be no bar or prejudice to the Widows and Relicts 
 aforesaid, but that every Widow and Relict, whose 
 Husband, if living, would or might be restorable by 
 this Act, shall and may have and recover such Dower 
 or Proportion of her said Husband's Estate as she 
 might recover by the Common Law, if her said Hus- 
 band had a Seizin in Deed or in Law thereof, and the 
 Commissioners for Restitution herein appointed, or 
 to be appointed, are hereby required to cause the same 
 to be set forth and allotted ; or the said Widows and 
 Relicts may, if they think fit, use and have their 
 Remedy at Common Law ; and if Ne unque Seizieque 
 Dower, or any such Plea, shall be pleaded against any 
 of them, it shall be sufficient for every such 
 Widow and Relict to give in Evidence, that the 
 Estate which her Husband should have had, was 
 kept out of by any of the Acts or Matters 
 herein repealed, was such whereof she might recover 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 1 09 
 
 Dower, in case he were actually seized, according to 
 the Estate to him limited; and upon proving thereof, 
 every such Widow and Relict shall recover, as well as 
 if her said Husband had been actually seized of the 
 said Estate ; but such Widows and Relicts as had or 
 enjoyed any Jointure to them limited, shall only have 
 the benefit of such Jointures. 
 
 [§ 29.] Provided always and be it further enacted by 
 the Authority aforesaid, That all and every the 
 Honours, Manors, Lands, Tenements, Remainder and 
 Remainders \i\\tXQoi Robert Lord Baroji oi Kmqstown, 
 now is, or at any time heretofore has been lawfully 
 and rightfully seized or possessed of in his Demesne, 
 as of Fee or Fee Tayl, to or of any Estate of Inheri- 
 tance in Right of his Ancestors (that is to say) of John 
 Lord Baron of Ki?igstown^ or the Lady Katharine his 
 Wife, situate, lying and being in the Counties oi Cork 
 and Roscommon^ or elsewhere, within this Kingdom, 
 and which hath been settled upon, or limited unto 
 the said JoJm Lord Baron of Kingstown^ by his 
 Father or Grandfather, Sir John and Sir Robert 
 Kifig, or by any of them, or to the said John 
 Lord Bai'on of Kingstoivn, and the Lady Katharine 
 his Wife, or to either of them, by Sir William 
 Fenton^ Knight, and Dame Margaret his Wife, or 
 either of them, and whereof the said ^\v John or Sir 
 Robert, or the said Sir Williafn Fenton were seized or 
 possessed of respectively on the 2 2d Day of October, 
 1641, with all the Rights, Titles or Interests, which 
 
iro THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 they or any of them respectively had thereunto, be 
 and are hereby vested and setded in his Majesty and 
 his Heirs, to be disposed of as his Majesty shall think 
 fit, subject nevertheless to such legal and equitable 
 Incumbrance, as the same would have been liable 
 unto, in case this Act had never passed ; any thing 
 therein contained to the contrary notv/ithstanding. 
 
 [§ 30.] Provided always and be it further enacted by 
 the Authority aforesaid, That the Capital Messuage, 
 Town and Lands of Chapellizard, alias Ized, with all 
 other the Appurtenances thereunto belonging and every 
 part and parcel now at the passing of this Act, occu- 
 pied, possessed and enjoyed as part or parcel thereof, 
 and the Capital Messuage of the Fhtnix^ and all the 
 Houses, Messuages, Lands, Tenements and Here- 
 ditaments within the King's Park adjoining unto, 
 or near tins City of Dublin, in as large, free 
 and ample manner as the same is now at the 
 passing of this Act possessed and enjoyed by 
 his Majesty, or any person claiming by, from 
 or under his Majesty, shall be and are hereby 
 vested in the King's Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, 
 and shall be held and enjoyed by his Majesty, his 
 Heirs and Successors ; anything in this present Act, 
 or any other matter or thing whatsoever to the contrary 
 in any wise notwithstanding. And in case any Ancient 
 Proprietor or Proprietors thereof hath, or have not 
 been already satisfied for his or their Interests therein, 
 that then such Ancient Proprietor or Proprietors shall 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 1 1 1 
 
 be reprized according to his Title and Interest in the 
 said Lands out of the forfeited Lands, according to 
 the Rules of this x\ct. 
 
 [§ 31.] Provided always and be it enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, That the Lord Chief Justice of 
 his Majesty's Court of King's Bench, the Lord Chief 
 Baron of his Majesty's Court of Exchequer, and the 
 Master of the Rolls, or any other of his Majesty's 
 Officers of this Kingdom for the time being, shall and 
 may have and receive such Port-Corn of the several 
 Rectories vv'hich have been formerly paid and received; 
 any thing in this present Act, or any other matter or 
 thing whatsoever to the contrary in any wise notwith- 
 standing. 
 
 [§ 32.] And whereas in pursuance of an Agreement 
 made and concluded between Ricliard late Earl of 
 Clajirichard, and Chai'les Lord Viscount Muskerry, 
 and Margaret Viscountess Muskerry, his Wife, Heir 
 General of Uiick, late Lord Marquis of Clanrickard, 
 several Provisions have been made and enacted in the 
 said Acts of Settlement and Explanation for setding 
 the Estate of the Family of Clanrickard ; since which 
 time several Deeds, Conveyances, Settlements, Pro- 
 visions, Writings, Decree, Award and Agreements of, 
 and concerning the Honour, Manor, Lands, Tene- 
 ments, and Hereditaments, belonging to the said 
 Family, or whereof William late Earl of Clanrickard 
 was seized or possessed, were made and perfected by 
 the said William late Earl of Clanrickard, or by liis 
 
1 1 2 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Children after his Decease, or wiih their consent, 
 which are not intended to be weakened or avoided by 
 tliis Act ; Be it therefore enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, that the said several Deeds, Conveyances, 
 Setdements, Provisions, Writings, Decrees, Awards, 
 Agreements, according to the several and respective 
 Estates, Uses, Trusts, Remainders, Limitations and 
 Provisions therein mentioned, shall be and remain 
 firm, valid in Law according to the said Award lately 
 made between the Family of Clanrickard and the 
 Limitations and Uses therein set forth ; and that the 
 several Deeds, Conveyances, Settlements, Provisions, 
 Writings, Decree and Award to the Uses and Limi- 
 tations in the said Award be of the same force and 
 vertue, and in the same plight and condition to all 
 Intents and Purposes, as if this present Act had never 
 been made against the Heir General of Ulick^ late 
 Lord Marquis of Cla?irickard, Richard late Earl of 
 Clanrickard, and all Persons claiming by, from or 
 under them, their Ancestors, or any or either of them, 
 anything in these Presents to the contrary notwith- 
 standing ; saving the Right, Title and Interest of all 
 Purchasers and Strangers, their Heirs, Executors, 
 Administrators and Assigns. 
 
 [ § 33.] And whereas the Right Honourable HellcTi 
 Countess of Clanrickard having heretofore her Dower 
 of the Estate of her deceased Husband John Fitz- 
 Gerald, Esq. set out unto her, in which Dower several 
 parcels of Lands were comprized, that did belong in 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. II3 
 
 October^ 1641, to old Proprietors restorable by this 
 Act; It is hereby enacted, That the said Countess 
 shall be reprized out of the other two Thirds of the 
 said Estate late in the Seizin of Edward Villiers, Esq. 
 and Katharine his Wife, in Lands of equal Value, 
 Worth, and Purchase, that shall be forfeited to his 
 Majesty for and during the Life of the said Countess 
 to supply what shall be bona fide evicted from her by 
 any such old Proprietors. 
 
 [§ 34.] And whereas by a particular Proviso in the 
 Act, commonly entituled. An Act for the better execution 
 of his Majesty's GracioiLS Declaration for the Settlement 
 of this Kingdom of Ireland, and, Satisfaction of the 
 several Interests of Adventurers, Soldiers, and others 
 his Subjects there : It is amongst other things enacted 
 That Theobald late Earl of Car-lingford shall have, hold, 
 possess, and enjoy to him and his Heirs, all those the 
 Lands, Manors, Tenements and Hereditaments in the 
 County of Louth, whereof the said Theobald late Earl 
 of Carlingford, upon the First Day of August, in the 
 Year, 1661, was possessed or set out. Assigned or 
 Granted to the said Theobald by way of Custodiam or 
 otherwise, in order to a further Settlement thereof to 
 and on the said Theobald Earl of Carlingford, and his 
 Heirs, for and in lieu of the Estate of Coloo?iy, in the 
 County of Sligo ; and also. That the said Theobald 
 Earl of Carlingford shall have and enjoy, to him and 
 his Heirs, the Manors, Lands, Tenements and Heredi- 
 taments, whereof Christo;pher Taaffe of Bragaustoiun^ 
 
114 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES 11. 
 
 and Theoph. Taaffe of Cookstotvfiy or either of them, or 
 any of their Ancestors, or any other Person or Persons 
 to their Use, or in Trust for them or any of them, 
 stood seized or possessed upon the 2 2d Day of 
 October, 1641. And whereas the said Manors, Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments are by this present Act 
 to be restored to the ancient Proprietors thereof, or 
 unto their Heirs or Assigns ; And also several other 
 Lands granted unto the said Theobald Earl of Carling- 
 ford and his Heirs, lying and being in the County of 
 Meath, Sligo, and Tipperary, whereby Nicholas now 
 Earl of Carlingford will be a great Suflerer, if not 
 otherwise provided for by this Act: Be it therefore 
 enacted, and it is hereby further enacted by the 
 Authority aforesaid, That the Commissioners for 
 executing of this Act shall forthwith set out in Re- 
 prizals other Manors, Lands, Tenements and Heredi- 
 taments, forfeited unto, and vested in his Majesty by 
 vertue of this Act, or upon account of any Attainder 
 of Treason, of equal Value, Worth and Purchase with 
 the Manors, Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments 
 from which the said Nicholas Earl of Carlingford or 
 his Heirs are to be removed or dispossessed of by 
 vertue of this present Act, and which were held by the 
 said Nicholas Earl of Carlingford, by vertue of the 
 said Acts of Settlement and Explanation or either of 
 them or by Patent or Patents upon the said Acts, and 
 all and singular which Lands and Premises so set 
 out in Reprizal, the said Nicholas Earl of Carlingford 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OB' SETTLEMENT. II 5 
 
 shall hold to him and his Heirs, at and under the same 
 or Uke Tenure, Rents and Services, as all Purchasers 
 are to hold by this Act the Reprizal set out to them 
 or any of them, and subject to such Mortgages, 
 Charges and Incumbrances, as the Lands from whence 
 he or they are to be removed, were and are at the time 
 of the passing of this Act ; any thing in this present 
 Act contained, or any other matter or thing to the 
 contrary thereof, in any wise notwitlistanding. 
 
 [§ 35.] Provided always and be it further enacted 
 by the Authority aforesaid. That this Act or anything 
 herein contained, shall not be Construed or Ex- 
 pounded in any Courts, either in Law or Equity, to 
 vest in the King's most Excellent Majesty, his Heirs 
 or Successors, or otherwise bar any Remainder or 
 Remainders, or any Right, Title or Interest whatso- 
 ever, that ought to have descended or come, or which 
 shall or niay hereafter descend cr come upon or to 
 Frances La7ie, now wife to Ulick Lord Viscount Gall- 
 way, by Vertue of any Deed, Will or other Writing 
 whatsoever, made and executed by George Lord 
 Viscount Lanesborough deceased; and that all the 
 Right, Title and Interest whatsoever, in respect of the 
 Premises, be saved to the said Ulick Lord Viscount 
 Gallway and Dame Frances his Wife, this Act, or any 
 thing therein contained to the contrary in any wise 
 notv/ithstanding. Always excepted such Lands, Tene- 
 ments and Hereditaments as were at any time 
 withheld or detained from tl]e Ancient Proprietor or 
 
Il6 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Proprietors on account of any Title derived or pre- 
 tended to be derived from or under the said Acts of 
 Settlement and Explanation, or either of them, and 
 not under the Proprietors to his Heirs. 
 
 [§ 36.] And whereas by a particular Proviso in the 
 Act commonly Intituled, An Act for the better Execution 
 of his Majesty's Gracious Declaration for the Settlcmettt 
 of his Kingdofn of Ireland, and Satisfaction of the several 
 Interests of Adventurers^ Soldiers^ and others his Subjects 
 then. It is amongst other things Enacted, That the 
 Town of MuUingar in the County of West-Mcath, 
 with all the Houses, Castles, Lands, Tenements and 
 Commons thereunto belonging and Forfeited to his 
 late Majesty Charles the Second of Happy IMemory, 
 should be and were by the said Act settled upon the 
 Earl of Granard and his Heirs, by the Name of Sir 
 Arthur Forbes^ Bart, according to a Grant thereof 
 passed to him by Letters Patents under his said late 
 Majesty's Great Seal of Ireland^ bearing Date the 
 27th day oi July in the 13th Year of his said late 
 Majesty's Reign : And whereas the said Earl of 
 Granard hath in Consideration of a considerable 
 Marriage Portion, settled the said Town of MuUingar^ 
 with all and singular the Premises, on Arthur now 
 Lord Forbes Eldest Son of the said Earl of Gi'anard : 
 And whereas the said Town of MuUingar, and all 
 other the Premises, with their and every of their 
 Appurtenances, are by this present Act to be restored 
 to the Ancient Proprietors thereof, or unto their Heirs 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. II7 
 
 or Assigns, whereby the said Arthur Lord Fo?-hes will 
 be a great Sufferer, if not otherwise provided for by 
 this Act. Be it therefore Enacted, and it is hereby 
 further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the 
 Commissioners for Execution of this Act, shall forth- 
 with set out in Reprizal other Manors, Lands, Tene- 
 ments and Hereditaments forfeited unto and vested 
 in his Majesty by vertue of this Act, or upon account 
 of any Attainder of Treason, of equal Value, Worth 
 and Purchase with the said Town of Mullingar, and 
 other the said Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments 
 from which the said Arthur Lord Forbes, or his Heirs, 
 are to be removed or dispossessed by vertue of this 
 present Act, or any Clause or Matter therein contained. 
 All and singular which Lands and Premises, so set out 
 in Reprizals, the said Arthur Lord Forbes shall hold 
 to him and his Heirs, at and under the same, or like 
 Tenures, Rents and Services, as all Purchasers are to 
 hold by this Act, of the Reprizals, set out to them, hx 
 any of them, any thing in this present, or other Matter 
 or Thing to the contrary thereof in any wise notwith- 
 standing. 
 
 [§ 37.] And be it further enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, That whereas Francis Plowdeii^ Esq. is, and 
 for several Years past has been seized in Fee of several 
 Houses, Backsides, wast Plots, and Gardens, lying 
 and being in the City of Dublin, and Town of Gallway, 
 by and under the last Will and Testament of Dame 
 Katharine Plowden, Relict of Sir Daniel Tresivel^ 
 
Il8 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Kniglit, deceased, he the said Francis Flowden 
 having paid above two thousand Pounds Sterling 
 in Debts and Le^^acies out of the said demised Premi- 
 ses pursuant to the said "Will, that the said Commis- 
 sioners for executing of this Act shall forthwith set out 
 and allow in Reprisal unto the said Francis Flowden, 
 his Heirs and Assigns, to his and their Use, Lands, 
 Tenements and Hereditaments of equal Value, Worth, 
 and Purchase with the said several Houses, wast Plots 
 and Gardens for which the said Francis Flowden, his 
 Heirs or Assigns, is or are to be removed, for restoring 
 the ancient Proprietor by this Act any thing herein 
 contained to the contrary notwithstanding : Provided 
 always that John Brown, Esq. ; his Pleirs and Assigns, 
 shall in Trust for his Creditors, and for support of 
 his Iron-works, which are of publick Advantage to 
 your Majesty and this Kingdom, have, hold and enjoy 
 all and every the Furnaces, Store-houses, Mills, Dwel- 
 ling-houses and Gardens, and other Improvements, 
 built or made by him, or on his Account, in the 
 County of ATayo, for his own, his Clerk's and Work- 
 men's Dwelling-houses, and Conveniences to attend 
 the said Works ; and also all Dams built by the said 
 John Brown for support of the said Works, with power 
 for Repairs, as heretofore usually done, and next the 
 said W^orks, and most contiguous unto them, so much 
 of the Lands, which by the Rules of this Act would be 
 taken away from the said John Brown, or his Heirs, 
 and restored to the ancient Proprietors, as is or shall 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. II9 
 
 be necessary for the Gardens, Dwelling-houses, and 
 Grazing for the Cattle and Horses of the several Clerks:, 
 Work-men and Labourers, employed or to be employed 
 by the saidy<;//;^ Broivii^ about the said Works ; and 
 the Commissioners for executing of this Act are here- 
 by empowered for to ascertain the Quantity and Rates 
 of the said Lands that shall be necessary for the said 
 B)V7l'ji, his Clerks, Dwellers, Work-men and Labourers 
 to be employed about the said Works respectively, as 
 aforesaid, and to order and appoint such Rents to be 
 paid yearly to the ancient Proprietors and their Heirs, 
 by the said /^//;z Brown and his Heirs, out of the said 
 Lands, as they shall think fit, regard first only being 
 liad to the intrinsical Value of the said Lands. 
 
 [§ 38.] And whereas Martin Supple, Esq. having 
 been restored as an Innocent by the Commissioners 
 for Execution of the said Acts of Settlement to the 
 ancient Estate of his Ancestors in the Lands and 
 Tenements of IghtermwTaniore, Ightcnniirrahcgg, 
 BaUiiitoondidng, Ring! ass, BallinenirnaugJi, and other 
 Lands in the Barony of Imokelly, and County of CorJz ; 
 after which Restitution, Suit or Contest being com- 
 menced or moved by Roger late Earl of Ossory, who 
 pretended a Title to the said Lands under the late 
 Usurped Powers ; and whereas the said Martin Supple, 
 not being able to withstand the Power of the said 
 Earl, was necessitated to purchase his Peace and 
 Quiet, by conveying or exchanging his said ancient 
 Estate unto the said Earl, and to accept for the same 
 
120 THE IklSH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 th.e Lands of Di-ommodimorc, Drommadibegg^ Paj-na- 
 /lelly, BoKghallane, in ihe said Barony and County, 
 uhich Lands were held by the said Earl under the 
 Titles of the said Acts of Settlement and Explanation, 
 or one of them, and therefore by this present Act are 
 restorable to the ancient Proprietors thereof: Beit 
 therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That 
 all Conveyances and Assurances made by the said 
 Martin Supple to the said Earl of the said ancient 
 Estate, or of any part thereof, be and are hereby 
 annulled and made void to all Intents and Purposes 
 whatsoever : And that the said Martin Supple be and 
 is hereby restored to the said ancient Estate, and 
 shall and may hold and enjoy the same, according to 
 such Estate and Title as he had therein, before the 
 said Conveyance and Exchange thereof, made sub- 
 ject, and liable to all Remainders, Uses, Trusts, Limi- 
 tations, and all other Estates, Charges and Incum- 
 brances, as the said Estate or Lands from the said 
 Martin Supple is to be removed, were or ought to 
 have been liable unto, any thing herein to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding. 
 
 [§ 39-] Provided always, and be it further enacted 
 by the Authority aforesaid, That this Act or any thing 
 therein contained, shall not be construed or judged to 
 vest in your Majesty, or to bar any Remainder or Re- 
 mainders limited to Colonel Richard Butler, or to any of 
 his Sons, upon the respective particular Estates limited 
 to [afues Duke of Qmiond and his Brotlier, in and of 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. 1 2 I 
 
 tlie ancient Estate, which on the 21st day of Octoler, 
 1641, did rightfully belong unlo Ja7nes late Duke of 
 Ormond deceased, or the Lady Dutchess his Wife, 
 and the same to be subject to all Incumbrances where- 
 unto the same ought to be liable, in case this Act were 
 never made. Provided always, That the Remainder 
 so limited to the said Colonel Richard Butler and his 
 Sons, be such as is not, or was not in the Power of 
 the S2i\^ Jajjies now Duke of Ormond^ and of his said 
 Brother, or of either of them, to bar. 
 
 [§ 40.] And be it further enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, and it is hereby declared to be the true in- 
 tent and meaning of this Act, That all Lands, Tene- 
 ments and Hereditaments, Uses, Trusts, Possession, 
 Reversion or Remainder, Chattel real, and all and 
 every other Estate, either in Law or Equity, of what 
 nature or kind soever within this Kingdom, which on 
 the said first Day of August^ 1688, or at any time since 
 did belong or appertain to the Society, Governors and 
 Assistants oi London^ of the new Plantation of Ulster 
 in the Kingdom of Ireland^ or to any other Body 
 Politick or Corporate, derived unto them, or composed 
 or consisting of any the Citizens of London^ by what- 
 soever Name or Names the same or any of them are 
 called, be and are hereby vested in your Majesty, 
 your Heirs and Successors, as from the first Day of 
 August, 1 688, and to be part of the Stock of Reprizals 
 herein before mentioned, saving always the Right, 
 Title, Estate and Interest of the Corporation of the 
 
122 THE IR.ISH PARLIAMENT OP JAMES II. 
 
 Tslayor, Couimons and Citizens of London-Derry and 
 Colerain. 
 
 [§ 41.] And whereas several v^'ast Plots of Ground 
 within several Cities, Towns and Burroughs, or the 
 Suburbs thereof within this Kingdom, at the publick 
 Charges of the several Free holders and Inhabitants 
 of the several and respective Counties, Cities, Tovvns 
 and Burroughs, have been purchased from the then 
 Proprietors, or reputed Proprietors thereof, and great 
 Sums of Money laid out and expended by them in 
 building of Session Houses, Gaols, Houses of Correc- 
 tion, and other public conveniences thereunto belong- 
 ing, upon the said wast Plots of Ground, for the 
 publick Good and Advantage of this Kingdom : And 
 ^\h^reas the said wast Plots of Ground, or some 
 of them so purchased and improved upon, may by 
 tliis present Act, to the great Prejudice of this Com- 
 monwealth, be restored unto the old Proprietors 
 thereof, if not by some special Clause or Proviso pre- 
 vented : Be it therefore enacted by the Authority 
 aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted. That all the Lands, 
 Tenements, and Hereditaments so purchased as afore- 
 said, and w^hereupon any Session-Houses, Gaols, 
 Houses of Correction are built, shall be and are 
 hereby vested in your Majesty, your Heirs and Suc- 
 cessors, to the Use herein after expressed ; and that 
 the several and respective old Proprietors of the said 
 wast Plots of Ground 5;hall by the Commissioners for 
 Execution of this Act be forthwith reprized for the 
 
REPEAL OF THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT. I 23 
 
 san^e out of some ofthe forfeited Lands vested in your 
 Majesty, your Heirs and Successors by vertue of this 
 Act, of equal Value, Worth and Purchase with the 
 said wast Plots of Ground, before any Buildings or 
 Improvements made thereupon, to have and to hold 
 the said Lands to be set out in Reprizals, and them 
 and every of them, their Heirs and Assigns, at or under 
 the same, or like Tenures, Rents and Services, as all 
 Purchasers are to hold by this Act, the Reprizals set 
 out to them, or any of them, any thing in this present 
 Act, or any other matter or thing to the contrary 
 thereof in anywise notwithstanding 
 
 [§ 42.] Provided always, and it is hereby declared, 
 That such of the waste Plots so built upon, as did not 
 formerly belong unto and was the consecrated Ground 
 or Site, Circuit, and Ambits of any Monaster}^, Abby, 
 or other Rehgious House, shall be and remain vested 
 in your Majesty, your Pleirs and Successors, to the 
 said publick Uses for which the same were so pur- 
 chased and built upon : And as to all such of the 
 said wast Plots so built upon as did formerly belong 
 to, and was the consecrated Ground or Site, Circuit, 
 and Ambits of any Monastery, Abby, or other Px.eli- 
 gious House, the same shall be and remain vested in 
 your Majesty, your Heirs and Successors, to be dis- 
 posed of to such pious or charitable Uses as your 
 Majesty, your Heirs and Successors, shall think fit : 
 
 [§ 43. J And whereas some meriting Persons, who 
 are to lose considerable Estates by this Act, might by 
 
124 
 
 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 the foregoing Rules be entituled to small or no Re- 
 prizals, but by their erament Services may in a special 
 manner merit your Majesty's Grace and Favour : Be 
 it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That your 
 Majesty may in such special Cases set forth and grant 
 Reprizals to such meriting Persons, as by your 
 Majesty's Letters, under your Majesty's Privy Signet or 
 Sign Manual, order the Commissioners for executing 
 this Act to set forth Reprizals for them ; and likewise, 
 if your Majesty shall so think fit, to appoint and ascer- 
 tain where and what Lands shall be set out to them. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ACT OF ATTAINDER. 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 An Act for the attainder of varmis rebels^ andforp'C 
 
 serving the interests of loyal siibjccts. 
 The authenticity of tiiis act as printed by Archbishop 
 King, has been questioned, especially by William Todd 
 Jones in 1793. But we believe its authenticity cannot 
 be successfully contested. Lesley, in his " Reply " to 
 King, makes no attempt to disprove its existence, but, 
 on the contrary, alludes to it and applauds James for 
 having opposed it. King, however, asserts that the 
 act was kept a secret ; and that the persons attainted, 
 or their friends, could not obtain a copy of it."^'* For 
 this Jones answers : 
 
 *' But the fact (as stated by King) is impossible : conceive the 
 absurdity ; an act of parliament is smuggled, where ! through two 
 houses of lords and commons ; of whom were they composed ? 
 of catholics crowded with protestants ; though Leland, upon the 
 authority of King, says there were but fourteen real protestants. 
 Well, what did these two houses do ? They voted and passed a 
 %uret act of attainder of 2, 500 protestants, which was to lie-by 
 
 * The reason alleged by King for this course is that the 
 existence of the Act might be denied in England. "State," 
 &c.,iii. 12, 18, 2. T. W, R 
 
126 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 privately in petto, to be brought forward at a proper time \ 
 unknown, luiiieard of, by all the protestant part of the kingdom, 
 till peace was restored : and that, according to King, was to be 
 deemed ike proper time for a renewal of war and devastion^ by 
 its publication and execution, and the secret was to be closely 
 kept from nearly 3,000 persons, by the whole house of commons ; 
 by fifty-six peers, including primate Boyle, Barry lord Barrymore, 
 Angier lord Longford, Forbes, the incomparable lord Ciranard 
 (of whom more in my next continuation). Parsons lord Ross, 
 Dopping bp. of Meath, Otway, bp. of Ossory, Wetenhal, 
 bishop of Cork, Digby, bishop of Limerick, Eermingham lord 
 Athenry, St. Lawrence lord Howth, Mallon lord Glenmallon, 
 Hamilton lord Strabane, all protestants and many of them 
 presbyterians, or rather puritans. It was kept close from 3,000 
 persons by all the privy council ; by all the clerks of parliament 
 who engross and tack together bills, it was to be kept an entire 
 secret from all the protestants without doors, by all the protestants 
 within the gates of parliament ; and this probable, wise politic 
 expectation was entertained by those Catholic peers and represen- 
 tatives, who through the cloud of war, passion, and uncertainty, 
 could exercise the more than human moderation in solemnly 
 prescribing the narrow bounds of thirty-eight years to all enquirers 
 after titles under the revived court of claims : by those peers and 
 representatives, whose patriotism, political knowledge, and 
 comprehensive minds instructed them to declare the inde- 
 pendence OF THE realm, THE FREEDOM OF IRISH TRADE, 
 AND THE INESTIMABLE VALUE OF A MARINE.— Good God, 
 
 that any man, woman I mean, after such acknowledged, 
 tJNCONTROVERTED DOCUMENTS of the wisdom and reach of 
 mind of that parliament, could be induced to credit and to advance 
 the forgeries of a vicar of Bray under a persecuting protestant 
 administration, for the wicked purpose of calumniating 
 
 THEIR memory, AND DEFEATING THE EFFORTS OF THEIR 
 
 POSTERITY FOR FREEDOM 
 
 "A secret conspiracy BY way of statute against the lives 
 of near three thousand people, appears in itself impracticable and 
 
THE ACT OF ATTAINDER. I 27 
 
 fabulous ; but that it should have been agitated IN OPEN parlia- 
 ment, and in the hearing of the protestant members, and yet 
 expected to have been kept a secret from the protestants, by these 
 protestant Members^ is childish and ridiculous. — In that parliament 
 sat the venerable lord Granard, a protestant, and a constant ad- 
 herefit and companion of King James in Ireland—' This excellent 
 nobleman had married a lady of presbyterian principles ; Mas 
 protector of the northern puritans ; had humanely secreted their 
 teachers from those severities which in England proved both 
 odious and impolitic ; and had gained them an annual pension 
 of p^5oo from government.'— (Leland, vol. 3, p. 490.) — ' It vk'as 
 this lord Granard to whom the assembled protestants of Ulster, 
 by colonel Hamilton of Tullymore, who was sent to Dublin for 
 the sole purpose, unanimously offered the command of their 
 armed association, from their confidence in his protestant prin- 
 ciples ; but he told Mr. Hamilton, THAT he had lived 
 
 LOYAL ALL HIS LIFE, AND WOULD NOT DEPART FROM IT IN 
 HIS OLD AGE ; AND HE WAS RESOLVED THAT NO MAN SHOULD 
 
 WRITE REBEL UPON HIS GRAVESTONE.' (Lesley's " Reply," 
 pp. 79, 80.) .... Is it then likely that this man would 
 be privy to a general protestant proscription, and not reveal 
 it ? — and is it probable that such a secret conspiracy by 
 WAY OF STATUTE could pass the houses of commons, and 
 lords, the privy council, and finally the King, and that it never 
 should come to the knowledge of a peer of parliament, a favourite 
 ofthecourt, a resident in Dublin, and every day attendant in 
 his place in the upper house ? " 
 
 The intrinsic improbability is well proved here, and 
 would suffice to show King's falsehood as to the secrecy 
 of the act; but if further proof were needed, the 
 authorities which prove the authenticity of the 
 act, utterly disprove the secrecy alleged by King. 
 The act is well described, in the London Gazette of July 
 I to 4, 1689, ^^^ ttie names are given in print, in a 
 
128 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 pamphlet licensed in London, the 2d day of the year 
 1690 (March 26th, old style). 
 
 Jones's statement as to the destruction of all papers 
 relating to that parliament having been ordered, under 
 a penalty of ;£'5oo and incapacity from office, is 
 certain, and we give the clause in our note ; * but this 
 
 * The clause for the destruction of the Records of the parlia- 
 ment of 16S9, is in an act annulling the attainders and all acts 
 of 1 689. 
 
 "Be it enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal 
 and commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the 
 authority of the same. That all and every the acts, or pretended 
 acts, and the rolls whereon the said acts or pretended acts, and 
 every of them, are recorded or engrossed, and all proceedings of 
 what nature or kind soever had, made, done, or passed by the 
 said persons lately so assembled at Dublin, pretending to be 
 or calling themselves by the name of a Parliament, and also all 
 writs issued in order to the calling of the said pretended Parlia- 
 ment, and returned into any office in this kingdom, and there 
 remaining, and all the journals of the said pretended Parliament, 
 and other books or writings in any wise relating thereunto, or to 
 the holding thereof, shall, by the officers or persons in whose 
 custody the same are, be brought before the lord deputy, or other 
 chief governour or governours of this kingdom for the time being, 
 at such time as the lord deputy, or other chief governour or gover- 
 nouis for the time being shall appoint, at the council chamber in 
 Dublin, and there shall be publickly and openly cancelled and utterly 
 destroyed : and in case any officer or person in whose hands or 
 custody the said acts and rolls, or proceedings, or any of them, 
 do or shall remain, shall wilfully neglect or refuse to produce the 
 same, to the intent that the same may be cancelled and destroyed, 
 according to the true intent of this act, every such person and 
 officer shall be, and is hereby adjudged and declared to be from 
 
THE ACT OF ATTAINDER. 1 29 
 
 clause was not enacted till 1695, and therefore could 
 not have affected the acts of 1689, when King wrote 
 in 1690. 
 
 Moreover, we cannot find any trace of Richard 
 Darling (who professedly made the ^^ copia vera^' for 
 King) as clerk in the office of the Master of the 
 Rolls, or in any otfice, in 1690. A Richard Darling 
 was appointed secretary to the commissioners for the 
 inspection of forfeitures, by patent dated the ist of 
 June, 5 William III. (1693). 
 
 There certainly are grounds for supposing that some 
 great jugglery, either as to the clauses or names in the 
 act, was perpetrated by this v/ell-paid and unscrupulous 
 Williamite. The temptation to fabricate as much of 
 the act (clauses or names) as possible, was immense. 
 The want of scruple to commit any fraud is plain upon 
 King's whole book. The likelihood of discovery alone 
 would deter him. Probably every family who had a 
 near relative in the "list, "would be secured to William's 
 interest, and no part of King's work could have helped 
 more than this act to make that book what Burnet 
 called it, " the best fitted to settle the minds " of the 
 people of England, of any of the books published 
 on the Revolution. 
 
 thenceforth incapable of any office or employment whatsoever 
 and shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred pounds, one 
 half thereof to his Majesty, and the other half to such person or 
 persons that shall sue for the same by any action of debt, bill, 
 plaint, or information, in any court of record whatsoever." — 
 7 Will, III. Ir, c. I. 
 
 P 
 
130 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 *' // is possible an outline of some such bill might have been 
 prepared by one of those hot-headed people of whom James had 
 too many in his councils either for his safety or for his reputation, 
 and they were chiefly English ; and that such draft of a bill 
 having been laid before parliainent, that wise, patriotic and 
 sagacious body did meliorate and reduce it into * the statute for 
 the revival of the court of claims ; ' a law so unparalleled from 
 its moderation in its review of forfeitures, by going back to 
 CroiiiivelV s debentures exclusively ; a period of only thirty-eight 
 years anterior to the date of their then sitting. 
 
 "Such a draft of a bill, like our own protestant bill for the 
 castration of Romish priests, ivhich did pass here but was cush- 
 ioned in England,* or like the threat of a bill for levelling popish 
 chapels, which I myself heard made when I sat in the house of 
 commons, such a draft of a bill, I say, might have been found 
 among the baggage of the Duke of Tyrconnel, of Sir Richard 
 Nagle, or of the unfortunate sovereign himself, for Burnet 
 acquaints us, That all Tyrconnel's papers were taken in the 
 camp ; and those of James were found in Dublin. (Burnet's 
 "Own Times," Vol. 2d, p. 3o\" 
 
 The preamble states truly the rebellion of the nor- 
 therns to dethrone their le'gitimate king, and bring in 
 the Prince of Orange ; and that the insurgents, though 
 offered full pardon in repeated proclamations, still 
 continued in rebellion. It enacts that certain persons 
 therein named, who had " notoriously joyned in the 
 said rebellion and invasion^''' or been slain in rebellion, 
 
 * This is not quite correct. The penalty in the Bill, asit passed 
 the Irish House of Commons, was branding on the cheek. In 
 sending the Bill on to En?^land the Tvish Privy Council substituted 
 castration. The Engiit>h G^vciiiin nt restored the original 
 penalty. The Bill ultimately fell through, but not, it would 
 seem, on this point. See Lecky, '' History of England," Vol. I., 
 ch.ii. T.W. R. 
 
THE ACT OF ATTAINDER. I3I 
 
 should be attainted of high treason, and suffer its pen- 
 alties, unless before the \otJi of August following (i.e. at 
 least seven weeks from the passing of the act) they 
 came and stood their trial for treason, according to 
 law, when if otherwise acquitted, the act should not 
 harm them. The number of persons in this clause 
 vary in the different lists from 1270 to 1296. 
 
 It cannot be questioned that the persons here 
 conditionally attainted, were in arms to dethrone the 
 hereditary sovereign, supported, as he was, by a regu- 
 larly elected parliament, by a large army, by foreign 
 alliances, and by the good will of five-sixths of the 
 people of Ireland. King he was de jured^nddefado^ and 
 they sought to dethrone him, and to put a foreign prince 
 on the throne. If ever there were rebels, they were. 
 
 As to their creed, there is no allusion to it. Roman 
 Catholic and Protestant persons occur through the lists 
 with common penalties denounced against both ; but 
 neither creed is named in it. 
 
 We do not say whether those attainted were right 
 or wrong in their rebellion : but the certainty that they 
 were rebels according to the law, constitution, and 
 custom of this and most other nations, justified the 
 Irish parliament in treating them as such ; and should 
 make all who sympathise with these rebels, pause ere 
 they condemn every other party on whom law or defeat 
 have fixed that name. Yet even this attaint is but 
 conditional ; the parties had over seven weeks to 
 surrender and take their trial, and the king could, at 
 
132 THE IBISH PARLIAMENT OF JAiMES II. 
 
 any time, for over four months after, grant them a 
 pardon both as to persons and property — a pardon 
 which, whether we consider his necessities and pohcy, 
 his habitual leniency, or the repeated attempts to win 
 back his rebellious subjects by the offer of free pardon, 
 we believe he would have refused to few. This, too, is 
 certain, that it has never been even alleged thai one single 
 person suffered death under this much talked of act. Of 
 the constitutional character of the act, more presently. 
 
 The second article attaints persons who had absented 
 themselves " since or shortly before " the 5th Novem- 
 ber, 1688, unless they return before the ist cf 
 September, that is, in about ten weeks. Staying in 
 England certainly looked like adhesion to the invader, 
 yet the mere difficulty of coming over during the war 
 should surely have been considered. 
 
 The third attaint is of persons absent before (some 
 time probably before) 5th November, 1688, unless 
 they return before the ist October, that is, within about 
 fourteen weeks. 
 
 Moreover, a certain number of the persons named 
 in this conditional attaint are excepted from it specially, 
 by a following clause, unless the king should go to 
 England (their usual residence) before ist October, 
 
 1689, and that after his arrival they should neglect to 
 signify their loyalty to the satisfaction of his Majesty. 
 
 Yet Harris and " The List " licensed 26th March, 
 
 1690, have the audacity to ^^^ these English residents 
 and make another list of attainted persons, instead of 
 deducting Xhtm from the list under clause 3. 
 
THE ACT OF ATTAINDER. 1 33 
 
 With similar want of faith, both these writers make 
 out a fifth Hst of attaints of the persons explicitly not 
 attainted, but whose rents are forfeited by sec. 8, so 
 long as they continue absentees. Thus, two out of the 
 five lists, by adding which Harris makes up his 2461 
 attaints, are not lists of attainders at all^ and one of 
 them should be rather deducted from one of the three 
 lists of real attaints. Harris has under this exception 
 for English residents, 547 names (though printed 647 
 in totting), and were we to deduct these and the fifth list 
 of 85 persons, his number of attaints would fall to 
 1829 ; though he himself confesses that there must be 
 some small drawback for persons attainted twice under 
 •different descriptions ; and though his own totting, 
 without removing either the fourth or fifth list, is- only 
 2461, yet in his text he says, "about 2600" were 
 attainted. 
 
 Yet Harris and " The List " pamphlet, which give 
 the names in schedules, were more likely to misplace 
 the lists than King, and he certainly did so in reference 
 to the fourth list. 
 
 Names. 
 
 Kmg's first list, like the rest, contains 1280 
 
 His second, 455 
 
 And his third, 197 
 
 1932 
 And deductmg the names in list 4, 59 
 
 King's list falls to 1873 
 
 Yet even in this many are attainted twice over. 
 
134 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 Harris's second list, and " The List's " third list 
 each of 79 names, should be under title 4, namely, 
 English residents, containing 59 in King. Harris's 
 third list of 454 names should be second, namely. Ab- 
 sentees since 5th November, containing in King 455, 
 and in " The List " 480 names. Harris's fourth list of 
 547, and " The List's " fourth list of 528 names should 
 go to No. 3 in King, containing only 197 names, viz. 
 of persons absent before 5th November. Without 
 making these corrections, we would have the con- 
 ditional attaints, under clauses i, 2, and 3, amount in 
 "The List" to i3ii,in Harris to 1282, and in King 
 to 1873. But if we make these corrections. King's 
 will remain at 1873, Harris's rise to 221S, and "The 
 List " to 2209. 
 
 It would, we think, puzzle La Place to calculate the 
 probability of any particular name being authentic 
 amid this wildernesss of inaccuracies. 
 
 The fifth class of 85 persons are, as we said, not 
 attainted at all. The 8th section declares them to be 
 absent from nonage, infirmity, &c., and denounces no 
 penalty against their persons, but " it being much to the 
 weakening and impoverishing of this Realm, that any 
 of the Rents or profits of the Lands, Tenements, or 
 Hereditaments thereof should be sent into or spent in 
 any other place beyond the seas, but that the same 
 should be kept and employed within the Realm for 
 the better support and defence thereof," it vests the 
 properties of these absentees in the King, until such 
 
THE ACT OF ATTAINDER. 1 35 
 
 time as these absentees return and apply by petition 
 to the Chancery or Exchequer for their restoration. 
 Harder penalties for absenteeism were enacted repea- 
 tedly before, and considering the necessities of Ireland 
 in that awful struggle, this provision seems just, mild, 
 and proper.* 
 
 By the fourth section, all the goods and properties of 
 al/thQ first four classes of absentees were also vested in 
 the King till their return, acquittal, pardon or discharge. 
 By the 5th and 6th sections, remainders and reversions 
 to innocent persons after any estate for lives forfeited 
 by the Act, are saved and preserved, provided (by the 
 7th section) claims to them are made within 60 days 
 alter the first sitdng of the Court of Claims under the 
 Act. But remainders in settlements, of which the uses 
 could be changed, or where the lands were " planta- 
 tion" lands, &c., were not saved. Whether such a 
 Court of Claims ever sat is at least doubtful. 
 
 By the 9th and nth sections, the rights and incum- 
 brances of non-forfeiting persons over the forfeited 
 estates are saved, provided (by section 12) their claims 
 are made, as in case of remainder-men, &c. 
 
 * Lord Macaulay and after him Mr. T. D. Ingram press very 
 severely against the Irish Parliament the charge that they 
 attainted persons who were in many cases physically unable to 
 accept the alternative offered them of a trial at law. The aim 
 of the 8th section is to provide an easy remedy for persons who 
 through no fault of their own m.ight be prevented from surrender- 
 ing themselves before the expiration of the term of grace. T. W. R. 
 
136 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES 11. 
 
 The loth section makes void Lord Strafford's abom- 
 inable " offices," or confiscations of Connaught, Clare, 
 Limerick, and Tipperary, and confirms the titles of the 
 right owners, as if these offices had not been found. 
 
 The 13th section repeals a private act for conferring 
 vast estates on Lord Albemarle out of the forfeitures 
 on the Restoration. 
 
 The remaining clauses, except the last, have nothing 
 to do with the Attainders. They are subsidiary to the 
 Act repealing the Acts of Settlement and Explanation. 
 They reprize ancient proprietors, who had bought or 
 taken leases of their own estates from the owners under 
 the Setdement Acts. 
 
 The 17th section provides for the completion of the 
 Down or Strafford Survey, and for the reduction of 
 excessive quit rents. In this section the phrase occurs, 
 '* their Majesties," but this is probably a mistake in 
 printing, though a crotchety reasoner might find in it 
 a doubt of the authenticity of the Act. 
 
 [The 2 1 St and last section provides that any of the 
 persons attainted ** who shall return to their duty and 
 loyalty " may be pardoned by royal warrant, provided 
 that such pardon be issued " b-^fore the first day of 
 November next, otherwise the pardon to be of no 
 effect." T. W. R.] 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Let us now run our eyes over the deeds of the Feis, 
 or Parliament of 1689. It came into power at the 
 end of a half century of which the beginning was a 
 civil and religious, social and proprietal persecution, 
 combining all the atrocities to which Ireland had been 
 alternately subject for four centuries and a half. Of 
 this, the next stage was a partial insurrection, rendered 
 universal by a bloody and rapacious government. The 
 next stage was a war, in which civil and religious 
 quarrels were so fiendishly combined, that it could not 
 end while there was any one to fight with ; in which 
 the royalist dignitaries were the crudest foes of the 
 royalist armies and people, and in which the services 
 done by cool and patriot soldiers were rendered 
 useless by factious theologians. The next stage was 
 conquest, slaughter, exile, confiscation, and the repose 
 of solitude or of slavery. The next was a Restoration 
 which gave back its worst prerogatives to the crown, 
 but gave the restorers and royalists only a skirt of 
 their properties. Then came a struggle for proprietal 
 
138 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 justice and religious toleration, met by an infamous 
 conspiracy of the deceptions aristocracy and the 
 fanatic people of England, to blast the characters of 
 the Irish, and decimate the men ; and lastly, a king, 
 who strained his prerogative to do them justice, is 
 driven from England by a Dutchman, supported by 
 blue guards, black guards, and flaming lies, and is 
 forced to throw himself on the generosity and prudence 
 of Ireland. 
 
 A faction existed who raised a civil war in every 
 province; and in every province, save one, it was 
 suppressed ; but in that one it continued, and the sails 
 of an invading fleet alrealy flap in the Channel breeze 
 when this parliament is summoned. 
 
 How difficult was their position ! How could they 
 act as freemen, without appearing ungenerous to a 
 refugee and benefactor king? How guard their 
 nationality, without quarrelling with him or alienating 
 England from him? How could they do that pro- 
 l)rietal justice and grant that religious liberty for which 
 ihe country had been struggling? How check civil 
 war — how sustain a war by the resources of a distracted 
 country? Yet all this the Irish parliament did, and 
 more too ; for they established the principal parts of 
 a code needful for \hQ permanent liberty and prosperity 
 of Ireland. 
 
 Take up the list of acts passed in their session of 
 seventy-two days, and run over them. They begin by 
 recognising their lawful king who had thrown himself 
 
CONCLUSION. ^ 139 
 
 among them. They pledge themselves to him against 
 his powerful foe. Knowing full well the struggle that 
 was before them, and that lukewarm and malcontent 
 agents might ruin them, they tossed aside those official 
 claims, which in times of peace and safety should 
 be sacred. 
 
 But their next act deserves more notice. It must 
 not be forgotten that Molyneux's " Case of Ireland," 
 which the parliaments of England and Ireland first 
 burnt, and ended by declaring and enacting as sound 
 law, was published in 1699, just ten years after this 
 parliament of James's. Doubtless the antique rights 
 of the native Irish, the comparative independence of 
 the Pale, the arguments of Darcy, the memory of the 
 council of Kilkenny, might suggest to Molyneux those 
 principles of independence, which one of his cast of 
 mind would hardly reach by general reasoning. But 
 why go so far back, and to so much less apt prece- 
 dents? Here, in the parliament of 1689, was a law 
 made declaring Ireland to be and to have always been 
 a " distinct kingdom " from England ; " always gov- 
 erned by his majesty and his predecessors according 
 to the ancient customs, laws, and statutes thereof, and 
 that the parliament of Ireland, and that alone, could 
 make laws to bind this kingdom ; " and expressly 
 enacting and declaring that no law save such as the 
 Irish parliament might make should bind Ireland. 
 And this act prohibited all English jurisdiction in 
 Ireland, and all appeals to the English peers or to any 
 
I40 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II, 
 
 Other co'Jit out of Ireland. Is not this the whole 
 argument of Molyneux, the hope of Swift and Lucas, 
 the attempt of Flood, the achievement of Gratlan and 
 the Volunteers ? Is not this an epitome of the Pro- 
 testant patriot attempts, from the Revolution to the 
 Dungannon Convention ? Is not this the soul of '82 ? 
 Surely if it be, as it is, just to track the stream of 
 liberation back to Molyneux, we should not stop 
 there ; but when we find that a parliament which sat 
 only ten years before his book was published, whicli 
 must have been a daily subject of conversation, — as it 
 certainly was of written polemics — during those ten 
 years ; when we find this upper fountain so obviously 
 streaming into the thought of Molyneux, should we 
 not associate the parliament of 1689 with that of 1782, 
 and place Nagle and Rice and its other ruling spirits 
 along with Flood and Grattan in our gratitude ? 
 
 Moreover, the lords and commons expressly repealed 
 Poyning's law, and passed a bill creating Irish Inns 
 of Court, and abolishing the rules for keeping terms in 
 London. But the king rejected these. We are to this 
 day without this benefit which the senate of '89 tried 
 to give us ; and the future advocates and judges of 
 Ireland are hauled off to a foreign and dissolute capital 
 to go through an idle and expensive ceremony, term 
 after term, as an essential to being allowed to practice 
 in the courts of this their native kingdom. 
 
 The Act (c. 4.) tor restoring the ancient gentry to 
 their possessions, we have already canvassed. It were 
 
CO.NCLUalON. 14! 
 
 monstrous to suppose the parliament ought to have 
 respected the thirl y-eight years' usurpation of savage 
 invaders, and to have overlooked the rights of the 
 national chieftains, the pkindered proprietors who 
 lived, and whose families lived, to claim their rights. 
 The care with which purchasers and incumbrancers 
 were to be reprized we have already noticed ; yet we 
 cannot but repeat our regret, that the bill of the Lords 
 (which left the adventurers of Cromwell a moiety of 
 their usurpations) did not pass. 
 
 Naturally related to this are the Acts, c. 24, for vest- 
 ing attainted absentees' goods in the King, and c. 30, 
 attainting a number of insurgents. We have already 
 shown from King, that the Whigs had taken good care 
 of the two things forfeited — their chattels, which they 
 had sent to them, without opposition, during the 
 month of March, and their persons, which they put 
 under the guard of the gallant insurgents of Derry and 
 Fermanagh, or in the keeping of William and the 
 charity of England. How poorly they were treated 
 then in England, may be guessed at by the choice men 
 of the impoverished defenders of Derry having been 
 left without money, aye, or even clothing or food in 
 the streets of London. 
 
 We heartily censure this Attainder Act. It was the 
 mistake of the Irish Parliament. It; bound up the hearts 
 and interests of those who were named in it, and of their 
 children, in William's success. It could not be enforced : 
 they were absent. It could not be terrible till victory 
 
142 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 sanctioned it, and then it would be needless and cruel 
 to execute. Yet, let us judge the men rightly. James 
 had been hunted out of England by lies, treachery, 
 bigotry, cabal, and a Dutch invader, for having 
 attempted to grant religious liberty by his prerogative. 
 Those attainted were, nine out of ten, in arms against 
 him and their country. They had been repeatedly 
 offered free pardon. Just before the act was brought 
 in, a free pardon, excepting only ten persons, was 
 offered, yet few of the insurgents came in ; and Jame", 
 instead of forbidding quarter, or hanging his prisoners, 
 or any other of the acts of rigour usual in hereditary 
 governments down to our own time, consented to an 
 act requiring the chief persons of the insurrection to 
 come, in periods specified, and amply long enough to 
 stand their trials. Certain it is, as we said before, that 
 though many of these were or became prisoners, none 
 were executed. The act was a dead letter ; and con- 
 sidering the principles of the time, surely the act was 
 not wonderful. 
 
 In order, then, to judge them better, let us see what 
 the other side — the immaculate Whigs, who assailed 
 the Irish — did when they were in power. Of anything 
 previous to the Revolution — of the treachery and 
 blood, by law and without law, under the Plantagenets, 
 Tudors, Stuarts, and the Commonwealth, 'tis needless 
 to speak. But let us see what their neighbours, the 
 WiUiamites, did. 
 
 The Irish Attainder Act was not brought in till the 
 
CONCLUSION. 143 
 
 end of June. Now, this is of great value, for the dates 
 of the last papers on Ireland, laid before the English 
 Commons, having been loth June, 1689, they, on the 
 20th June, ^^ Resolved, that leave be given to bring in 
 a Bill, to attaint of high treason certain persons who 
 are now in Ireland, or any other parts beyond the 
 seas, adhearing to their Majesties' enemies, and shall 
 not return into England by a certain day." '^' 
 
 * The elates about the time of this revolution are most impor- 
 tant. On the loth October, 1688, William issued an address, 
 dated at the Hague, and another from the same place, dated 24th 
 October, intended to counterwork James's retractations. He 
 landed at Torbay, November 5th, arrived in London December 
 17th. Some Whig Lords signed an association, dated December 
 19th, pledging themselves to stand by the prince, and avenge him 
 if he should perish. December 23d, William issued the letter 
 calling the members of Charles H.'s parliament, the ma3'or, 
 alderman, and 50 councillors of London. December 26th, they met, 
 called on the prince to assume the govermnent and issue letters for 
 a convention, and they signed the association of the Whig Lords. 
 They presented their address 27th December, it was received De- 
 cember 28th, and then this little club broke up. December 29th, 
 William issued letters for a convention, which met 22d Januaiy; 
 1688-9, finally agreed on their declaration against James and 
 his family, and for William and Mary, 12th February ; and these, 
 king and queen, were proclaimed 13th February, 1688-9. 
 February 19th, a Bill was brought in to call the convention a 
 parliament ; it passed, and received royal assent 23d February. 
 By this the lords and gentlemen who met 22d January, were 
 named the two houses of parliament, and the acts of this con- 
 vention-parliament were to date from 13th February. This 
 hybrid sat till 20th August, and having passed the Attainder Act, 
 was adjourned to 20th September, and then 19th October, 1689. 
 
144 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 The very next entry is — "A Bill for the attainting 
 certain persons of high treason, was read the first 
 time." ^^ Resolved, that the Bill be read a second 
 time." 
 
 Here was a bill to attaint persons beyond seas in 
 another kingdom where William had never been 
 acknowledged — where James was welcomed by nine 
 men out of ten — from whence, so far from being able 
 to procure evidence or allow defence, they could but 
 by accident get inteUigence and reports once in some 
 months. It is not here pretended that the attainted 
 were habitual residents in England. The bill passed 
 the second reading and was committed, June 2 2d, 
 with an instruction to the committee, " That they in- 
 sert into the bill such other of the persons as were 
 this day naJiiedin the house, as they shall find cause." 
 
 Again, on the 24th — " Ordered, that it be an in- 
 struction to the committee, to whom the bill for attaint- 
 ing certain persons is referred, that they prepare and 
 bring in a clause for the itnmediate seizing the estates 
 of such persons who are or shall be proved to be in 
 arms with the late King James in Ireland, or in his 
 service in France." On the 29th is another instruc- 
 tion to " prepare and bring in a clause, that the estates 
 
 This second session lasted till 27th January, 1689-90, when it was 
 stopped by a prorogation to the 2d April ; but before that day 
 it was dissolved, and a parliament summoned by writ, which met 
 20th March, 1689, and as a first law, passed an act ratifying the 
 proceedings of the convention. 
 
CONCLUSION. 145 
 
 of the persons who are now in rebeHion (!) in Ireland 
 be applied to the relief of the Irish Protestants fled 
 into this realm ; and also to declare all the proceed- 
 ings of the pretended parliament and courts of justice, 
 now held in Ireland, to be null and void ; " the com- 
 mittee *' to sit de die in diem^ till the bill be finished." 
 
 Up to this time they could not have known that any 
 attainder act had been brought in in Ireland. On the 
 9th July, Sergeant Trenchard reported, " That the 
 committee had/;v^" (we shall presently see of what 
 kind) " of several other persons being in Ireland in arms 
 vvilh King James, and therefore had agreed their 
 names should be inserted in the bill." " Ordered, that 
 the bill, so amended, be engrossed." On the nth 
 July the bill passed, inserting August^ 1689, in stead 
 of August next, and inserting some Christian names. 
 
 The bill reached the Lords. 
 
 Upon the 24th July a message was sent to the 
 Lords, urging the despatch of the bill. On the 2nd 
 August, at a conference, the Lords required to know 
 on what evidence the names were introduced as being 
 in Ireland, "for, upon their best inquiry, they say they 
 cannot learn some of them have been there — they in- 
 stanced the Lord Hunsden." On the 3d of August, 
 Mr. Sergeant Trenchard acquaints the house, that the 
 names of those who gave evidence at the bar of the 
 house, touching the persons who are named in the 
 bill of attainder, being in Ireland, were Bazill Purefoy 
 and William Dalton ; and those at the committee, to 
 
 Q 
 
146 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 whom the bill was refirred, were William Watts and 
 Math. Gmi ;" four persons, two and two giving the 
 whole evidence for the attainder of those who stood 
 by King James in Ireland ! This report was handed 
 to the Lords on the 5th August. 
 
 On the 20th August the Lords returned the bill, 
 with some amendments, leaving out Lord Hunsden 
 and four or five more, and inserting a few others ; and 
 upon this day the parliament was prorogued. 
 
 Again, on the 30th October, a bill was ordered to 
 attaint all such persons as were in rebellion against 
 their Majesties. On the 26th November, certain 
 members were ordered to prepare a bill attainting all 
 who had been in arms against W^illiam and Mary, since 
 14M February^ 1688-9, or any time since, and all who 
 have beetle or shall be, aiding, assisfi?ig, or abetting 
 them. On the icth December the bill was reported 
 and read a first time, and the committee ordered to 
 bring in a bill for sale of the estates forfeited thereby. 
 On the 4th April, 1690, another bill was ordered, 
 and was read 2 2d April. 
 
 Again, on 2 2d October, another attainder and 
 confiscation bill was brought and passed the Commons, 
 on the 23d December. 
 
 Wearied at length by unsuccessful bills, which the 
 better or more interested feeling of the Lords, or the 
 policy of the King, perpetually defeated, they aban- 
 doned any further attainder bills, and merely adver- 
 tized for money on the forfeited lands in Ireland. 
 
CONCLUSION. 147 
 
 The attainders in court might satisfy them. The 
 commissioners of forfeitures, under 10 William III., 
 c. 9, reported to the Commons on the 15th of Decem- 
 ber, 1699, that the persons outlawed for treason in 
 Ireland since the 13th of February, 1688-9, o" account 
 of the late rebellion, were 3921 in number. It was 
 abominable for James's parliament to attaint condi- 
 tionally the rebels against the old king, but reason- 
 able for the Whigs to attaint about double the number 
 absolutely, for never having recognized the new 
 king! These 3921 had properties, says the report, 
 to the amount of 1,060,792 plajitation acres, worth 
 ^211,623 a year, and worth in money ;£2, 685,130, 
 "besides the several denominations in the said 
 several counties to which no number of acres can 
 be added, by reason of the imperfection of the 
 surveys not here valued." Of these 3921, there were 
 491 restored under the first commission on the articles 
 of Galway and Limerick; and 792 under the second 
 commission, having joint properties of 233,106 acres, 
 worth ;£55,763 a year, or ;^7 24,923 purchase, leaving 
 2638 persons, having 827,686 acres, worth ;^i55,859 
 a year, or ;£i, 960,206. Yet the fees were monstrous, 
 say the commissioners, in these Courts of Claims, JT^^ 
 being the register's fees for even entering a claim. 
 William restored property to the amount of 74,733 
 acres, worth ;£"2 0,066 per annum, or ;^"2 60,863 i^^ 
 all, which would leave as absolutely forfeited pro- 
 perty, 752)953 acres, worth ;£"i35>793 a year, and 
 
143 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 ;£i,6gg,s43 in all; and even were we to deduct in 
 proportion, which we ought not, as those pardoned 
 were chiefly the very wealthy few, there would remain 
 over 2400 persons attained by office, after deducting 
 all who carved out their acquittal with shot and sword, 
 and all whom the tenderness or wisdom of the king 
 pardoned. 
 
 The commissioners state that ^£"3 00,000 worth of 
 chattels were seized, not included in the above esti- 
 mate ; nor were 297 houses in Dublin, 26 in Cork, 
 226 elsewhere, mills, chief rents, ;£6o,ooo worth of 
 woods, &.C. in it. 
 
 Most of these properties had been given away freely 
 by William. Amongst his grants they specify all 
 King James's estates, over 95,000 acres, woith 
 ^25,995 a year, to Mrs. Elizabeth Villiers, Countess 
 of Orkney. She was William's favourite mistress. 
 James, to his honour be it spoken, had thrown these 
 estates into the general fund for reprisal of the injured 
 Irish. 
 
 Here then is, certainly not a justification of the par- 
 liament of 1689, in passing the attainder act, but evi- 
 dence from the journals of the English parliament and 
 the reports of their commissioners, that they tried to do 
 worse than the Irish parliament (under far greater 
 excuses) are accused of having done, and that the 
 actual amount of punishment i?iflictcd by the William- 
 ite courts in Ireland, far exceeded what the Irish 
 parliament of 16S9 had conditionally ihrcatmed. 
 
CONCLUSION. 149 
 
 The next Acts as a class are c. 9, repealing ministers' 
 money act; c. 12, granting perfect liberty of con- 
 science to men of all creeds ; c. 13, directing Roman 
 Catholics to pay their tithes to their own priests ; 
 c. 14, on Ulster poundage; c. X5, appointing those 
 tithes to \.\\Q parish priests, and recognizing as a Roman 
 Catholic prelate, no one but him whom the king under 
 privy signet and sign manual should signify and 
 recognize as such. All these acts went to create 
 religious equality, certainly not the voluntary system ; 
 neither party approved of it then ; but to make the 
 Protestant support his owai minister, and the Roman 
 Catholic his own, without violation of conscience, or a 
 shadow of supremacy. The low salaries (;£'ioo to 
 ^2Co a year) of the Roman Catholic prelates, and 
 their exclusion from parliament, were in the same 
 moderate spirit. 
 
 Again, this parliament introduced the statute of 
 frauds, (which having been set aside, was not adopted 
 until the 7th William III. ;) acts for relief of poor 
 debtors, for the speedy recovery of wages, and for 
 ratifying wills and deeds by persons out of posses- 
 sion. 
 
 Chap. 21, forbidding the importation of foreign 
 coals, was designed to render this country indepen- 
 dent of English trr.de. At that time the bogs were 
 larger and the people fewer. Their opinion that this 
 importation, which " hindred the industry of several 
 poor people and labourers, who might have employed 
 
150 THE IRISH PARLIAMENT OF JAMES II. 
 
 themselves " in supplying the cities, &c. with turf, 
 reminds us of Mr. Laing's most able notice in his 
 " Norway," of the immense employment to men, 
 women, and children by the cutting of fire-wood; 
 and what a powerful means this is of doing that which 
 is as important as the production of wealth, the diffu- 
 sion of it without any great inequality through all 
 classes. Part of c. 29, encouraging trade, laying 
 heavy import duties on English goods, and giving 
 privileges to Irish ships over foreign, especially over 
 English, was the result of sound practical patriotism. 
 It was necessary to guard our trade, manufactures, and 
 shipping against the rivalry of a near, rich, and aspir- 
 ing neighbour, that would crush them in their cradles. 
 It was wise to raise the energies of infant adventure 
 by favour, and not trust it in a reckless competition. 
 The example, too, of all countries which had reared 
 up commerce by their own favour and their neigh- 
 bour's surrender of trade, would have justified them. 
 
 Besides the schools for the Navy under c. 29, c. 16 
 deals also with schools. We have not the latter Act ; 
 but, considering James's known zeal for education, his 
 foundation of the Kilkenny college, and the spirit of 
 the provision in c. 29, we may guess the liberality of 
 the other. One of the most distincjuished of our livins: 
 historians has told us that he remembered having seen 
 evidence that this Act established a school for general 
 (national) education in every parish in Ireland. 
 
 C. 10, the Act of Supply; c. 25, Martial Law, and 
 
CONCLUSION. 151 
 
 this Act, c. 29, were a code of defence. The supply 
 was proportioned to their abilities : every exertion was 
 made, and all efforts were needed. Plowden puts the 
 effect of this c. 29 not ill : — 
 
 *' Although James were averse from passing the acts I have 
 already mentioned, he probably encouraged another which 
 passed for the advance and improvemejit of trade and for 
 cncfluragetnent and increase of skipping and navgiation, which 
 purported to throw open to Ireland a free and immediate trade 
 with all our plantations and colonies ; to promote ship-building, 
 by remitting to the owners of Irish built vessels, large propor- 
 tions of the duties of custom and excise, encourage seamen by 
 exempting them for ten years from taxes, and allowing them 
 the freedom of any city or sea-port they should chuse to reside 
 in, and improve the Irish navy by establishing free schools for 
 teaching and instructing in the mathematics and the art of navi- 
 gation, in Dublin, Eelfast, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Gal- 
 way. If James looked up to any probability of maintaining his 
 ground in Ireland he must have been sensible of the necessity 
 of an Irish navy. No man was better qualified to judge of the 
 utility of such institutions than this prince. He was an able 
 seaman, fond of his profession ; and to his industry and talent 
 does the British navy owe many of its best signals and regula- 
 tions. The firmness, resolution and enterprise which had dis- 
 tinguished him, whilst Duke of York, as a sea officer, aban- 
 doned him when king, both in the cabinet and the field." 
 
 Thus then this parliament exercised less severity 
 than any of its time, it established liberty of con- 
 science and equality of creeds, it proscribed no man 
 for his religion — the word Protestant does not occur 
 in any act — (though, while it sat, the Westminster 
 Convention was not only thundering out insults 
 against " popery,'' but exciting William to persecute 
 
152 THE IRISH FARLIAAIENt OF JAMES It. 
 
 it, and laying the foundation of the penal code^ — it 
 introduced many laws of great practical value in the 
 business of society, it removed the disabiHties of the 
 natives, the scars of old fetters ; it was-generous to the 
 king, yet carried its own opinions out against his 
 where they differed ; it finally — and what should win 
 the remembrance and veneration of Irishmen through 
 all time — it boldly announced our national indepen- 
 dence, in words which Molyneux shouted on to Swift, 
 and Swift to Lucas, and Lucas to Flood, and Flood 
 and Grattan redoubling the cry, Dungannon church 
 rang, and Leland was again a nation. Yet something 
 it said escaped the hearing or surpassed the vigour of 
 the last century; it said, " Irish commerce fostered," 
 and it was faintly heard, but it said, '' an Irish navy 
 to shield our coasts," and it said, "an Irish army to 
 scathe the invaders," and Grattan neglected both, and 
 our coast had no guardian, and our desecrated fields 
 knew no avenger. 
 
 We have printed the king's speech at the opening of 
 this eventful parliament, the titles of ^// its acts, and ail 
 the statutes summarized in full detail which we could in 
 any way procure — sufficient, we think, with the scattered 
 notices of the chief members, to make the working of this 
 parliament plain. We are conscious of many defects 
 in our information and way of treating the subject ; 
 but we commenced by avowing that we were not pro- 
 fessors but students of Irish history ; trying to come 
 at some clear understanding on a most important part 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 153 
 
 of it, communicating our difficulties and offering our 
 solutions, as they occurred to us, in hopes that some 
 of our countrymen would take up the same study, and 
 do as much or more than we had done, and possibly 
 that one of those accomplished historians, of which 
 Ireland now has a few, would take the helm from us, 
 and guide the ship himself. 
 
 We have no reason to suppose that we succeeded in 
 either object ; yet we cling to the belief that, owing to 
 us, some few persons will for the future be found, who 
 will not allow the calumnies against our noble old par- 
 liament of 1689 to pass uncontradicted. It m.ight 
 have been belter, but this is well 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 A LIST of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal who sate in the 
 Parliament held in Dublin, in 16S9, under the late Lung 
 James II. 
 
 [N.B.— In the following list, J. indicates the "Journal of the 
 Proceedings of the Parliament in Ireland," (printed in London, 
 July 6, 1689,) as the authority to show that the individual sat ift 
 the Parliament. T. indicates the " True Account : " K. indicates 
 the appendix to Archbishop King's "State of the Protestants, 
 &c." pp. 90, 91 : R. indicates Ebenezer Rider's " Appendix to 
 the late King James's Acts," (Dublin, 1740) : II. indicates the 
 *• Appendix to Walter Harris's Life of William III.'' pp. 32, 
 33, (Dublin, 1749;) ^s the authority.] 
 
 THE LORD PRIMATE. 
 
 Dr. Michael Boyle, Lord Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of all 
 
 Ireland. Q. K.] 
 
 THE LORD CHANCELLOR. 
 Sir Alexander Fitton, Knt. Lord Fitton and Lord Baron of 
 
 Gosworth, in the County of Limerick, Lord High Chancellor 
 
 of Ireland. [J. T. K. R. H.] 
 
 DUKE. 
 
 Richard Talbot, Duke of Tyrconnell, [J. T. K. PL] Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Ireland, and Captain General of the Royal Forces in 
 Ireland. 
 
156 APPENDIX. 
 
 EARLS. 
 
 Richard Eoiirk, Earl of Clanrickard, [T. H.] Lord Lieutenant of 
 Galway. 
 
 Alexander MacDonnel, Earl of Antrim, [T. K. IL] Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Antrim, 
 
 Richard Nugent, Earl of Westmeath, [T. K. R. H.] L^rd Lieu- 
 tenant of Westmeath. 
 
 Richard Nugent, Earl of Barrymore. [T. K. R. H.] 
 
 Richard Lambert, (spelled Lamb.vrt in Lodge's Peerage, Ed. 
 1754) Earl of Cavan. [K.] 
 
 Donogh MacCarthy, Earl of Clancarty. [T. K. R. IL] 
 
 Richard Poer, Earl of Tyrone, [T. K. R. H.J Lord Lieutenant 
 of Waterford. 
 
 Francis Aungier, Earl of Longford. [T, K. R. PL] 
 
 Arthur Forbes, Earl of Granarl. Q. T. K. R. IL] 
 
 William Dungan, Earl of Limerick, [T. K. R. H.] Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Kildare. 
 
 VISCOUNTS. 
 
 Jenico Preston, Lord Viscount Gormanstown, [T. K. H.J Lord 
 Lieutenant of Meath. 
 
 David Roche, Lord Viscount Fermoy. [T. IL] 
 
 Richard Butler, Lord Viscount Mountgarret. [T. K. R. IL] 
 
 Theobald Dillon, Lord Viscount Costello-Galcn, Viscount 
 Dillon, Lord Dillon, Lord Lieutenant of Roscommon. 
 
 Arthur Magennis, Lord Viscount Iveagh, [T. K. R. ILJ Lord 
 Lieutenant of Down. 
 
 Dominick Sarsfield, Lord Viscount Kilmallock. [T. K. R. II.] 
 
 Theobald Bourk, Lord Viscount Mayo. [IC] 
 
 Pierce Butler, Lord Viscount Ikerin. [K.] 
 
 Maximilian O'Dempsy, Lord Viscount Clanmalier, [T. R. H.] 
 Lord Lieutenant of the Queen's County. 
 
 Pierce Butler, Lord Viscount Galmoy, [T. R, II. ] Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Kilkenny. 
 
 Nicholas Barnewall, Lord Viscount King^land. [IC] 
 
APPENDIX. 157 
 
 TXiniel O'Brian, Lord Viicount Claie, [T. K. H.] Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Clare. 
 K. chard Parsons, Lord Viscount Ross. [T. K. R. H.] 
 UlickBourk, Lord Viscount Galway. [T. K. R. H.] 
 .Sir Valentine Browne, Lord Viscount Kinmare, Baron Castle 
 Rosse, lately made, (24th July, 1784,) [T. K. R. H.] Lord 
 Lieutenant of Kerry. [" Kilmore " (in King) is evidently a 
 mistake for " Kinmare."] 
 Justin MacCarty, Lord Viscount Mount Cashel, Baron Castle- 
 bench, lately made, (25th May, 1789) [T. K. R. H.] Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Cork, Master General of the Ordnance. 
 
 BISHOPS. 
 
 Dr. Anthony Dopping, Lord Bishop of Meath. [J. T. K. R. H.] 
 Dr. Hugh Gore, Lord Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. [J.] 
 Dr. Thomas Otway, Lord Bishop of Ossory. [J. T. K. R. H.] 
 Dr. Edward Wettenhall, Lord Bishop of Cork and Ross. [T. T. 
 
 K. R. H.] 
 Dr. Simon Digby, Lord Bishop of Limerick and Ardfert. 
 
 [J. T. K. R. H.] 
 
 BARONS. 
 Edward Bermingham, Lord Baron of Athenry, [K. P.] Lord 
 
 Lieutenant of Mayo. 
 Almericus Courcy, Lord Baron of Kinsale. [T. K. R. IL] 
 William Fitrmaurice, Lord Baron of Kerry and Lixnaw. [K.] 
 Thomas St. Lawrence, Lord Baron of Howih. [T. K. R. H.j 
 Christopher Fleming, Lord Baron of Slane. [T. K. R. H.] 
 Robert Barnewall, Lord Baron of Trimleston. [T. K. R. H.] 
 Christopher Plunket, Lord Baron of Dunsany. [T. K. R. H.] 
 Pierce Butler, Lord Baron of Dunboyne. [T. K. R. H.] 
 Brian Fitzpatrick, Lord Baron of Upper Ossory. [T. K. R. H.] 
 Matthew Plunket, Lord Baron of Louth, [K.] Lord Lieutenant 
 
 of Louth. 
 William Bourk, Lord Baron of Castle-Connell. [T. K. H.] 
 Pierce Butler, Lord Baron of Cahir. [T. K. R. H.] 
 
IS8 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Theobald Bourk, Lord Baron of Brittas, [T. K. R. H.] Lord 
 
 Lieutenant of Limerick. 
 Thomas Folliot, Lord Baron of Ballyshannon. [H.j 
 Henry Blaney, Lord Baron of Monaghan. [K.] 
 Dermot Malone, Lord Baron of Glenmalun and Courchey. 
 
 [T. K. R. H.] 
 Connor Maguire, Lord Baron of Iniskillin, [T. K. R. H.] Lord 
 
 Lieutenant of Fermanagh. 
 Claud Hamilton, Lord Baron of Strabane. {T. K. R. H.] 
 John Bellew, Lord Baron of Duleek. [T. K. H.] 
 Alexander Fitton, Baron of Gosworth, (ist April, 16S9) [viife 
 
 Chancellor,] 
 John Burke, Lord Baron of Bophin, /.7/t/>' ma.fe. {2nd April, 
 
 1689.) [J. T. K. R. H.] 
 Thomas Nugent, Lord Baron of Riverstovvn, /a/ely ?nade, (3vd 
 
 April, 1689.) [T. K. R. H.] 
 
 An exact LIST of the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses, who tveic 
 returned and sate in the Parliament held in Dublin under ihc 
 late King James iji 1 689. 
 
 Note. Those wanting are for Londonderry, Innibkellin, and sueJi 
 Places as zvere in th: Protestants' Hands. 
 
 County of Antrim. 
 Cormac O'Neill, Esq. ; 
 Randal MacDonnell, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Belfast. 
 Marcus Tnlbot, Esq. ; 
 Daniell O'Neill, Esq. ; returned 20lh INIay, 16S9. 
 
 County of Arumagii. 
 Arthur Brownlow, Esq. ; 
 Walter liovenden, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Ardmagh. 
 Francis Stafford, Esq. ; 
 Constantine O'Neill, Esq. ; returned 20tb May, 1689. 
 
APPENDIX. T 5 9 
 
 County of Catherlagh [Carlow]. 
 Dudley Bagnal, Esq. ; 
 Hemy Lutterell, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Catherlagh 
 Marcus Baggot, Esq. ; 
 John Warren, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Old Leighlin. 
 Darby Long, Esq. ; 
 Daniel Doran, Esq. 
 
 County of Cavan. 
 Philip Reilly, of Aghnecrevy, Esq. ; 
 John Reilly, of Garirobuck, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Cavan. 
 Philip Og O'Reilly, Esq. ; 
 Hugh Reilly, of Lara, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Beltiirbct. 
 Sir Edward Tyrrel, Bart. ; 
 Philip Tuite, of Newcastle, Esq. 
 
 County of Clare. 
 Daniel O'Brien, Esq. ; 
 John Macnamara, of Crattlagh, Esq, 
 
 Borough of Enn'is. 
 Florence Macnamara, of Dromad, Esq. ; lOth May, 1689 ; 
 Theobald Butler, of Strathnagaloon, Esq. ; loth May, 16S9. 
 
 County of Cork. 
 Justin MacCarthy, Esq. ; 
 Sir Richard Nagle, Knight. 
 
 City of Cork, 
 Sir James Cotter, Knight ; 
 John Galloway, Esq. 
 
i6o 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Tovvn of YoH-^hal, 
 Thomas Uniack, Alderman ; 
 Edward Gough, Alderman. 
 
 Town oiKinsaU. 
 Andrew Murrogh, Esq. ; 
 Miles de Courcy, Esq. 
 
 Town of Baudon-byid^".. 
 Charles MacCarthy, of Ballea, Esq. ; 
 Daniel MacCarthy Reagh, Esq. 
 
 Town of Malloiv. 
 John Barret, of Castle more, Esq. ; 
 David Nagle, of Carragowne, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Baltimore. 
 Daniel 0"Donovan, Esq, ; 
 Jeremy Donovan, Esq. 
 
 Borough of CloghnakiHv, 
 Lieutenant Colonel Owen MacCarthy; 
 Daniel [Mac] Fion MacCarthy, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Charlez'iUe. 
 John Baggot, Sen. of Baggotstown, Esq. ; 
 John Power, of Killballane, Esq. 
 
 Borough oi Middhton. 
 Dermot Long, Esq. ; 
 John Long, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Rathconnac. 
 James Barry, Esq. ; 
 Edward Powel, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Douerai'ie, 
 Daniel O'Donovan, Esq. ; 
 John Baggot, Jan., of Baggotstown, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX. l6t 
 
 County of Down. 
 Murtagh MacGennis, of Green-Castle, Esq. ; 
 Ever MacGennis, of Castle-Welan, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Killelcagh. 
 Bernard MacGennis, of Bailygorianbeg, Esq. ; 
 Toole O'Neill, of Drummekelly, Gent. 
 
 Borough of Neivry. 
 Rowland White, Esq. ; 
 Rowland Savage, Esq. 
 
 County and Town of Drogheda. 
 Henry Dowdall, Esq. ; Recorder ; 
 Christopher Peppard Fitz-George, Alderman. 
 
 County of Dublin. 
 Simon Lu-tterel, of Lutterelstown, Esq. ; 
 Patrick Sarsfield, jun., of Lucan, Esq. 
 
 City of Dublin. 
 Sir Michael Creagh, Knight, Lord Mayor ; 
 Terence Dermot, Sen. Alderman. 
 
 University of Dublin. 
 Sir John Meade, Knight ; 
 Joseph Coghlan, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Swords. 
 Francis Barnewell, of Woodpark, in the County of Meath, Esq. ; 
 Robert Russel, of Drynham, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Newcastle. 
 Thomas Arthur, of Colganstovvn, Esq. ; 
 John Talbot, of Belgard, Esq. 
 
 County of Galway. 
 Sir Ulick Bourk, Bart. ; 
 Sir Walter Blake, Bart. 
 
1 62 APPENDIX. 
 
 Town of Galway, 
 Oliver Martin, Esq. ; 
 John Kirwan, Esq. 
 
 Town of Athenry. 
 James Talbot, of Mount-Talbot, Esq. ; 
 Charles Daly, of Dunsandal, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Tuam, 
 James Lally, of Tullendaly ; 
 William Bourk, of Carrowfrila. 
 
 County of Kerry. 
 Nicholas Brown, Esq. ; 
 ^ir Thomas Crosby, Knight. 
 
 Borough of Dingle- 1 couch. 
 Edward Rice Fitz-James, of Ballinelig in the County of Lira 
 
 rick, Esq. ; 
 John Hussey, of Culmullin, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Trahe. 
 !Maurice Hussey, of Kerry, Esq. ; 
 John Brown, of Ardagh, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Ardfcrt. 
 Colonel Roger MacElligot, Esq. ; 
 Cornelius MacGillicuddy, Esq. 
 
 County of Kild.\re, 
 John Wogan, Esq. ; 
 George Aylmer, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Kildare, 
 Francis Leigh, Esq. ; 
 Robert Porter, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Naas. 
 Walter Lord Dungan j 
 Charles White, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX. 663 
 
 Borough of Athy, 
 William Fitzgerald, Esq. ; 
 Wi'iliam Archbold, Esq. 
 
 Borough oi Harry stoivtu 
 James Nihel, Esq. ; 
 Edmond Fitzgerald, Esq. 
 
 County of Kilkenny. 
 James Grace, of Courstown, Esq.; 
 Robert Walsh, of Cloneneassy, Esq. 
 
 City of Kilkenny, 
 John Rooth, Mayor ; 
 James Bryan, Alderman ; 4th May, 16S9. 
 
 Borough of Gowran. 
 Richard Butler, Esq, ; 
 
 Colonel Robert Fielding, by a new election ; 
 Walter Kelly, Esq., Doctor of Physic. 
 
 Borough of Thomasiowiz^ 
 Robert Grace, Sen., Esq. ; 
 Robert Grace, Jun., Esq. 
 
 Borough oilnistiog3. 
 Edward Fitzgerald, Esq. ; 
 James Fitzgerald, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Cotlan. 
 Walter Butler, Esq. ; 
 Thady Meagher, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Knocktofhcr. 
 Harvey Morres, Esq. ; 
 Henry Meagh, Esq. 
 
 King's County- 
 Hewer Oxburgh, Esq. ; 
 Owen Carroll, Esq. 
 
164 APPENDIX. 
 
 Boraugh of Banaghar. 
 Terence Coghlan, Esq. ; 
 Terence Coghlan, Gent. 
 
 Borough of Philips-town, 
 John Connor, Esq. ; 
 Hewer Oxburgh, Esq. 
 
 County of Leitrisi . 
 Edmond Reynells, Esq. ; 
 Iriel Farrel, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Jaiiies- Toivn 
 Alexander IMacDonnel, Esq. ; 15th May, 6S9 
 William Shanley, Esq. ; 15th May, 1689. 
 
 County of Limerick. 
 Sir James Fitzgerald, Bart. ; 
 herald Fitzgerald, Knight of the Glyn. 
 
 City of Limerick. 
 Nicholas Arthur, Alderman ; 
 Thomas Harrold, Alderman. 
 
 Borough oi Killmallock. 
 Sir William Harley, Bart. ; 
 John Lacy, Esq. 
 
 Boiough of Asheyton. 
 John Bourk, of Cahirmoyhill, Esq. ; 
 Edward Rice, Esq. 
 
 County of Longford. 
 Roger Farrell, Esq. ; 
 Robert Farrell, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Lancsho rough. 
 Oliver Fitzgerald, Esq. ; 
 Roger Farrell, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX. 165 
 
 Borough of St.Johnstozun. 
 Sir William Ellis, Knight ; 
 Lieutenant Colonel Jarnes Nugent. 
 
 County of Louth. 
 Thomas Bellew, Esq. ; 
 William Talbot, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Atherdce. 
 Hugh Gernon, Esq.; 
 John Babe, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Dundalk. 
 Robert Dermot, Esq. ; 
 John Dowdgall, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Carlingford, 
 Christopher Peppard Fitz- Ignatius, Esq. ; 
 Bryan Dermot, Esq. 
 
 County of Mayo. 
 Gerald Moore, Esq. ; 
 Walter Bourk, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Castlebar. 
 John Berminghara, Esq., Portreeve ; 
 Thomas Bourk, Esq. 
 
 County of Meatii. 
 Sir William Talbot, Bart. ; 
 Sir Patrick Barnewall, Bart. 
 
 Borough of Triin^ 
 Captain Nicholas Cusacke ; 
 Walter Nangle, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Athboy, 
 John Trynder, Esq. ; 
 Robert Longfield, Esq. 
 
l66 APPENDIX. 
 
 Borough of Navdn. 
 Christopher Cusacke, of Corballis, Esq. ; 
 Christopher Cusacke, of Ratholeran, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Kells. 
 Patrick Everard, Esq. ; 
 John Delamare, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Ratoath, 
 John Hussey, Esq. ; 
 James Fitzgerald, Esq. 
 
 County of MonAGHAN. 
 Bryan MacMahon, Esq., gth July, 1689 ; 
 Hugh MacMahon, Esq., 9th July, 1689. 
 
 Queen's County. 
 Sir Patrick Trant, Knight ; 
 Edmond Morres, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Maryborough. 
 
 Pierce Bryan, Esq. ; 
 Thady Fitzpatrick, Esq. 
 
 Borough of BallynakUL 
 Sir Gregory Byrne, Bart. ; 
 Oliver Grace, Esq. 
 
 Borough of rortarliugtojt. 
 Sir Henry Bond, Bart. ; 
 Sir Thomas Hackct, Knight. 
 
 County of Roscommox. 
 Charles Kelly, Esq. ; 
 John Bourk, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Roscomvton. 
 
 John Dillon, Esq. ; 
 John Kelly, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX. X67 
 
 Borough of Boyle, 
 Captain John King ; 
 Terence MacDermot, Alderman ; 6th May, 1609. 
 
 County of Sligo. 
 Henry Crofton, Esq, ; 
 Oliver O'Gara, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Sligo. 
 Terence MacDonogh, Esq.; 8th May, 1689 ; 
 James French, Esq. ; 8th May, 1689. 
 
 County of Tipperary. 
 Nicholas Purcel, of Loghmore, Esq. ; 
 James Butler, of Grangebeg, Esq. 
 
 Borough of ClonmsL 
 Nicholas \Vhite, Alderman ; 
 John Bray, Alderman. 
 
 City of Cashel, 
 Denni-s Kearny, Alderman ; 
 James Hacket, Alderman. 
 
 Borough of Feat hard. 
 Sir John Everard, Bart. ; 
 James Tobin, of Feathard, Esq. 
 
 County of Tyrone. 
 Colonel Gordon O'Neill ; 
 Lewis Doe, of Dungannon, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Dungannon. 
 Arthur O'Neill, of Ballygawley, Esq. ; 
 Peter Donnelly, of Dungannon, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Stralane. 
 Christypher Nugent, of Dublin, Esq, ; 
 Daniel Donnelly, of the same, Gent. 8th May, 1689. 
 
1.68 APPENDIX. 
 
 Coanty of Waterford. 
 John Power, Esq. ; 
 Matthew Hore, Esq. 
 
 City of Waterford. 
 John Porter, Esq. ; 
 Nicholas Fitzgerald, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Dinigarvan, 
 John Hore, Esq. ; 7th May, 16S9 ; 
 Martin Hore, Esq.; 7th May, 1689. 
 
 County of Westmeatii. 
 The Honorable Colonel William Nugent ; 
 The Honorable Colonel Henry Dillon. 
 
 Borough of Athloue. 
 Edmond Malone, of Ballynahoune, Esq. ; 
 Edmond Malone, Esq. ; Counsellor at Law. 
 
 Borough of Kilbeggan. 
 Bryan Geoghegan, of Donore, Esq. ; 
 Charles Geoghegan, of Lyonane, Esq. 
 
 Manor of MuUingar, 
 Gerard Dillon, Esq. ; Prime-Sergeant ; 
 Edmond Nugent, of Carlanstown, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Fore. 
 John Nugent, of Donore, Esq. ; 
 Christopher Nugent, of Dardystown, Esq. 
 County of Wexford. 
 Walter Butler, of Munfine, Esq. ; 
 Patrick Colclough, of Mochury, Esq. 
 
 Town of Wexford. 
 William Talbot, Esq. ; 
 Francis Rooth, Merchant. 
 
APPENDIX. 169 
 
 Town of Nciu Ross. 
 
 Luke Dormer, Esq. ; 
 Richard Eutler, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Enniscorthy. 
 
 James Dcvereux, of Carrigmenan, Esq. ; 
 
 Dudley Colclough, of Moughery, Esq. ; 
 
 Arthur Waddington, Esq., Portreeve, by a new election. 
 
 Borough of Fethard. 
 
 The Right Honorable Colonel James Porter ; 
 Captain Nicholas Stafford. 
 
 Borough of Nezuhorough^ alias Gorey. 
 Abrakam Strange, of Toberduff, Esq. ; 
 Richard Doyle, of Kilorky, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Bannow. 
 Francis Plowden, Esq. j Commissioner of the Revenues ] 
 Dr. Alexis Stafford. 
 
 Borough of Clomines. 
 Edward Sherlock, of the City of Dublin, Esq. ; 
 Nicholas White, of New Ross, Merhant. 
 
 Borough of Taghmon. 
 George More, of Po^ehore, Esq. ; 
 Walter Hoer, of Harpcrstown, Esq. 
 
 County of WiCKLOW. 
 Richard Butler, Esq. ; 
 William Talbot, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Wicldo-v. 
 Erancis Toole, Esq. ; 
 Thomas Byrne, Esq. 
 
170 APPENDIX. 
 
 Borough of Carysfort. 
 Hugh Byrne, Esq. ; 
 
 Pierce Archbold, Esq. ; upon whose default of appearance ; 
 Bartholomew Polewheele, Esq. 
 
 Borough of Blessington. 
 James Eustace, Esq. ; 
 Maurice Eustace, Gent. 
 
 The Commons choose Sir Richard Nagle their Speaker, 
 and Mr. John Kerney was Clerk of that House. 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 ALEXANDER FITTON, CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND. 
 
 King's statement about Fitton's "detection of forgery," and! 
 imprisonment — in which King has, of course, been followed 
 bhndly by Hume, Macaulay and other writers on the same side 
 ever since — is, as Davis suspected, entirely misleading. 
 
 Alexander Fitton was descended from Sir Edward Fitton, Kt. 
 of Gosworth, Cheshire (ob. 1579), who was Treasurer of Ireland 
 and President of Connaught and Thomond. The senior brancli 
 of the family became extinct with Sir Edward Fitton, Bart., of 
 Gosworth (great-grandson of the Treasurer), who died s.p. in 
 1643. I^y ^ deed executed in 1642 the estates, after Lady 
 Fitton's death, passed to the younger branch, settled in Ireland, 
 then represented by William Fitton of Awne, father of Alexander. 
 William only got possession of them after three law suits with 
 the sisters of Sir Edward Fitton. 
 
 Nearly 20 years later, when Alexander had succeeded to the 
 property, the estates were claimed by Lord Brandon (afterwards 
 
APPENDIX. 171 
 
 Earl of Macclesfield) whose mother Penelope was a sister of Sir 
 Edward Fitton, and who exhibited a will in his favour, then 
 heard of for the first time. Alexander Fitton then produced a 
 deed poll, dated 1643, which confirmed the deed of 1642 and 
 would have nullified the alleged will. Lord Brandon declared 
 that the deed poll was a forgery, and produced (from gaol) a 
 witness named Granger who swore he had forged it at Alexander 
 Fitton's instigation. His story was backed by witnesses only to 
 this extent, that they swore they had heard Alexander Fitton 
 declare that he had paid Granger £40 to forge a deed for him— a 
 circumstance about which one can hardly believe that Fitton 
 would have been so communicative. On the other hand, 
 witnesses were produced who swore that they had seen the deed 
 before the date alleged for the forgery. The jury, probably not 
 uninfluenced by the fact that Fitton had turned Catholic while' 
 Lord Brandon was a strong Protestant and Royalist found that 
 the deed poll was a forgery and gave Lord Brandon the estates. 
 Subsequently Granger retracted his whole story in a printed 
 document, but as the document contained violent charges against 
 Lord Brandon the House cf Lords took the matter up, laid hold 
 of Alexander Fitton, and sentenced him to pay a fine of ;^5oc> 
 and lie in prison till he should produce Granger, which he could 
 not or would not do. 
 
 It appears therefore (i) that Fitton was not imprisoned for 
 forgery but for publishing a vindication of himself; (2) that the 
 evidence for the forgery rests entirely on Granger's testimony; 
 (3) that this testimony is perfectly worthless for any purpose. 
 The fact that the deed poll of 1643 was not produced until the 
 deed of 1642 was met by the alleged will, shows only common 
 prudence on the Fittons' part. They knew the other side to be 
 determined and perhaps unscrupulous, and it was their obvious 
 policy not to show more of their hand than they could help. 
 
 Ormerod (" Hist, of Cheshire," III. 290 ff.) seems to suspect 
 that the will under which Lord Brandon claimed was a forgery 
 
172 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 tind that the deed poll may have been a counter-forgery to meet 
 it. But Oliver Burke (" Lives of the Chancellors ") holds that 
 Fittonwas wrongfully dispossessed, defamed and punished, and so 
 I think will the impartial student. It is certainly not surprising 
 that King James thought so; and indeed it is clear that the most 
 iirbitrary of kings could not have raised such a man to such a 
 position unless the conviction of his innocence had been strong 
 and general. There is a rare tract in the British Museum 
 published in Fitton's defence in 1663 and entitled "A true 
 Narrative of the Proceedings in the several Suits in Law that 
 have been between Rt. Hon. Charles Lord Gerard of Brandon 
 and Alex. Fitton. Esq. By a Lover of Truth." It contains 
 Granger's recantation. 
 
 T. W. R. 
 
 I'RINTED BY SEALV, BRYERS & WALKER (a. T. C. L.), DUBLIN. 
 
A Bird's-Eye View of Irish History (enlarged and carefully 
 revised), by Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, k.c.m.g. Dublin : 
 Tames Duffy & Sons, 15 Wellington Quay, and i Paternoster Rovv^ 
 London. 1SS2. Two Shillings ; Paper Cover, One Shilling. 
 
 From the "Specl.ifor" (liOndon). 
 
 "AVeneed not say that we cannot always atrree in the drift of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy'» 
 political criticism. It is a very powerful, and for the most part a very just indictment against tha 
 Ir^sh policy of Great Britain. The brief review of Irish history is one of the most \'iffbrous an<t 
 one of the most painful 'acts of accusation' apiinst this country which Wcis ever penned, 
 and for English readers one of the most wholesome lessons." 
 
 From the "Freeman's Journal" (Dnlilln). 
 
 " We read it through twice in the large edition, and we are reading it through now in its 
 s<'parate form, and it seems to us on the third reading what it seemed on the first. We regard it 
 as the most fascinating chapter in a very fascinating book, as a masterpiece of luminous cou^ 
 Sensation and as a gem of historic writing." 
 
 From "United Ireland" (Dnblin). 
 
 "Whosoever wants to know the main facts and the rationale of Irish History will find thenv 
 enshrined in limpid and flowing English, and will rise from perusing the little book refreshed and 
 proud— not, as often happens, after toiling through Irish histories, weary and dejected." 
 
 From the "American" (Philadelphia). 
 
 "The historical chanter in Sir Charles Gavan Dufl^y's 'Young Ireland* wast recognised^ 
 generally as the only re-adable account of Irish history which had appeared in the English language. 
 It is the story of Ireland's wrongs, told by a decided, but not an extreme Irish patriot, and goes a^ 
 great way to e-xplain the utter discontent with which the Irish people regard English rule." 
 
 From the "Age" (Melbourne). 
 
 " As a plea for Irish Home Rule, nothing more brilliant than the chapter entitled ' A Bird's.-.. 
 Eye View of Irish history,' has ever been printed." 
 
 Conversations with Carlyle, by Sir Charles Gavan 
 Duffy, k.c.m.g., Author of "Young Ireland," (S:c. London: 
 Sampson Low & Co. Price Six Shillings. 
 
 From the " Saturday Review." 
 
 " A book which is well entitled to a place of honour, for it is by far the most sane, the most 
 kindly, and the most critical estimate of Carlyle published as yet. In this book the reader wiU, 
 find much to correct prevailing false notions about a very great writer." 
 
 From the " Review of Reviews." 
 
 " This Kttle volume will do a great deal to rehabilitate Mr. Carlyle, asd to remove the cloud 
 that gathered over his memory alter Mr. Froude's biography." 
 
 From "Truth." 
 
 "Sir Charles Duffy's admirable book is an illivstration of the truth tUat a 'magnetic man ' 
 attracts the qualities in another which are congenial with his own. For that which Coleridge says 
 ot wliat we find in Nature is true in a sense of what we find in human nature : — 
 
 ' O Lady, we receive but what we give.' " 
 
 From tho " Speaker." 
 
 "The gentler side of the Carlyles appears in strong relief in Sir Gavan Dufly's book. . . . 
 The interest of Sir Gavan Duffy's book is not by any means confined to his judgment on Carlyle. 
 It furnishes 'a striking gallery of portraits, and a. unique body of criticism on the writers of the 
 century, by one of the most iinpressirc painters of niea that ever csisted." 
 
 173 
 
From the "Guardian."' 
 
 "Never perhaps since the days of Boswell has anything of like importance in the shape «? 
 ■conversation been recorded in which the narrator was so absolutely candid ; and yet, m the present 
 instance, we close the page, as we cannot close Boswell's, with a profound respect for both persons 
 »f the dialogue-" 
 
 From tlio "Alliena?nni/' 
 
 "Other and no less characteristic letters of Mr?. Carlyle's, with many of her husband's, are 
 pointed iu Sir C. G. Duffy's delightful volume, the main purpose of which — thankworthy in itself, 
 and most satisfactorBy achieved— is to sliow both husband and wife in a more amiable Hght than 
 that in which Mr. Froude has chosen to exhibit them. . . . There is in this votume much en- 
 tertaining anecdote and gossip about Jeffrey, Lander, Mill, Thackeray, Dickens, and others whom 
 Sir C. G. Duffy met in his mentor's company, or heard of from him ; but its chief value is in its 
 illustrations ol Carlyle's own and his wife's character, and of their home life and relations witli 
 one another. " 
 
 From the " Queen." 
 
 "Full of deep thought and clever criticism, both of books and men ; and the Irish part of 
 St, abounding in wisdom, is well worth reading at the present time- It is a book to be bought, to 
 be read, and to be referred to constantly." 
 
 PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION. 
 
 Final Edition of Young: Ireland. Illustrated with 
 portraits of the principal persons mentioned in the narrative, 
 autographs, &c. 
 
 A P'uLL Prospectus will be issued shortly. 
 
 From the " Times." 
 
 ■The gifted and ill-fated Party of Young Ireland certainly deserved an Apologia, and it is 
 past dispute that no one could be more competent for the task than Sir Charles Gavan Dutiy. 
 Notwithstanding the genuine modesty with which he always attributes the origin of the School 
 Xfor, in the true sense, it was a school rather than a party) to Thomas Davis, he will, we think, be 
 always regarded as its true founder. He established and guided from 1842 to 1855 the Nation, 
 which was in those days its one accepted organ. A State prisoner with O'Connell in 1844, with 
 Smith O'Brien in 1848, three times tried and all but convicted of treason in 1848, he organized, 
 after his release from prison, a peaceful agitation for the measures which afterwards formed th-.i 
 main achievements of Mr. Gladstone's Irish policy. Proceeding to AustraUa in 1855, he has been 
 sometime Prime Minister of Victoria and Speaker, and while he filled the chair it is said order 
 reigned in that tumultuous Parliament. 
 
 " The literary quality of the book is remarkable ; the style is vivid and graphic. The abun- 
 dant correspondence and other materials at the author's disposal have been, on the whole, 
 judiciously used. The portrait of O'Connell presented by this book is of enduring historic interest. ■* 
 
 From the " -Vineteeuth Century." 
 
 "Young Ireland, the Confederate movement of 1848, deserves to have its history written. 
 Kven if all the leaders of that movement were still living, there would probably be none as well 
 •qualified to tell its whole story as the author of the work which has just been published. 
 No doubt the Young Ireland movement contributed greatly, as Sir Charles Dufly contends. 10 
 purify and ennoble the national agitation. It substituted for the crafty and oftCR vacillating 
 plans of O'ConncU's later years, an open, direct, and generous national poHcy." 
 
 From the " Fortni$;htI.v Review." 
 
 " The charms of a style singularly lucid, the manifest truthfulness of the narrative, the 
 ■transparent sincerity of the writer, fascinate the reader, whatever his preconceived notions nuiy 
 •have been, and arrived at the end, he will exclaim involuntarily, * Had I lived in those dayn, a»Kl 
 Tjcen acquainted with these young men, I, too, might have been a Young Irdander.' " 
 
THE IRISH LITERARY SOCIETY, LONDON. 
 
 £ir CHAS. GAVAN DUFFY, K.C.M.G. 
 
 Commltttc. 
 
 Rev. STOPFORD BROOKE, M.A. 
 
 Mrs. BRYANT, D.Sc. 
 
 J. G. O'KEEFFE. 
 
 F. A. FAHY. 
 
 D.J. O'DONOGHUE. 
 
 M. MACDONAGH. 
 
 JOHNTODHUNTER. 
 
 D. MESCAL. 
 
 JOHN AUGUSTUS O'SHEA. 
 
 ALFRED P. GRAVES, M.A. 
 
 ^V. M. CROOK. 
 
 W. B. YEATS. 
 
 R. BARRY O'BRIEN. 
 
 MARK RYAN. 
 
 J. McGUINNESS (Hon. Treasurer'), 
 
 T. W. ROLLESTON (Hon. Sec). 
 
 THE Society is founded to encourage the study and circulation of Irish literature. 
 Its reading-rooms are situated in Hart Street (close to the British Museum). 
 Lectures (ope, free to members) are delivered once a month during session. 
 Particulars '1 be furnished on application to the Hon. Secretary, Irish Literary 
 Society, Blc nsbury Mansion, Hart Street, W.C. 
 
 ?CI)e 3ri6b IRational Xiterari? Society?, 
 DUBLIN. 
 
 'T^HE Objects of the Irish National Literary Society ar6 as follows :— 
 
 1. The Circulation of Irish Literature. 
 
 2. Lectures and Discussions. ' 
 
 3. Concerts of Irish Music. 
 
 4. The Ectablishment of Lending Libraries. 
 
 The Society h j now taken rooms in 4 College Green, Dublin, where the members 
 hold social and n usical meetings, with fortnightly debates or lectures on Irish subjects. 
 
 The following -nonthly public lectures have also been delivered under the auspices 
 of the Society: Aug. 22, 1892, "Irish Literature: Its Origin, Environment, and 
 Influence" ("Inaugural Address), by George Sigerson, M.D., F.R.U.I. Nov. 25, " The 
 Necessity of De Anglicising the Irish Nation,'' by the President, Douglas Hyde, LL.D. 
 Dec. 16, "The Antiquities of Tara" (illustrated), by George Coffey, B.L. Jan. 20. 
 1893, " Owen Roe O'Neill," by Rev. T. Finlay, S.J. Feb. 17, " Battk of the Curlew 
 Mountains," by Standish O'Grady. March 24, "The Celtic Leaven in English 
 Literature," by Richard Ashe King, M.A. April 21, "James Barry, R.A," by 
 Count Plunkett, B.L. May 19, "Nationality and Literature." by W. B. Yeats. 
 June 23, " Irish Orators,'' by J. F. Taylor, B.L. 
 
 175 
 
A Chapter from Irish History, 
 
 THE 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 Theobald Wolfe Tone: 
 
 A CHAPTER FROM IRISH HISTORY, 179** 1798. 
 Edited, with an Introduction, \ 
 
 By R. BARRY O'BRIEN/ 
 
 OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW, . 
 
 Aiithor of *' F^fly y*-'^^^ of Concessions to Ireland,^' 
 " Thomas Drunvnond,'' C-'c. 
 
 2 Vols., with Photogravure Frontispiece to each, 4 Steel-Phtcs, and 
 a Letter in facsimile. 
 
 Royal Svo, cloth ^ 32.r. 
 
 *' Mr. Barry O'Brien has undertaken to edit a new editien of the 
 autobiography of Wolfe Tone, to which attention was recently called by 
 the Duke of Argyll. He proposes to join together the brief memoir 
 and the fragmentary diaries wiih a continuous narrative.'' — Acadeviy, 
 June 25th, 1892. 
 
 London: T. FISHER UNWIN, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, E.G. 
 176 
 
 ^0 
 

 DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 MAR ? Q ?nn9 
 
 
 
 
 r "'""' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 ! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S A. 
 
BOSTON COLLEGE 
 
 2.JI 
 
 3 9031 01638866 2 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 N 
 
 ERJi6 19dd 
 
 DA945 
 .D26 
 
 Davis, Ihomas. 
 
 Bapst Library 
 
 Boston College 
 
 Chestnut Hill 67, Mass.