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for a rifing on the part of the Irish, when their most virulent libeller Sir John Temple admits, that "these rebels at their first rifings out had not many better weapons than ftaves, fcythes, and pitchforks." Borlafe, who ftill improved upon Temple's rancour to the Irish, fays, "the first infurgents in Ulfter, though without arms and ammunition, got poffeffion "of moft parts of the kingdom." The Earl of Ormond, according to Carte, acknowledged, that "fuch of the infurgents as appeared to him "feemed rather to be a tumultuous rabble, than any thing like a dif ciplined army; and he was of opinion, that there were as many arms, "within a few, in the hands of 600 of the king's forces, as there were amongst all the rebels then in the kingdom." But what Lord Clanrickard, to whom neither party refufes credit, fays, is the most important to be known: "That the Scots in Ulfter were 40,000 well armed men, "when the rebellion commenced; at the fame time that the rebels were at "leaft by half lefs numerous, and furnished with few better weapons than "ftaves, fcythes, and pitchforks." In the very outfet of the rifing in Ulfter, the chiefs of the infurgents, through fear of this formidable armed force of the Scots in Ulfter, published a proclamation, “forbidding their "followers, on pain of death, to moleft any of the Scottish nation in body or goods." And Temple admits that this was for a time obeyed. The lords juftices Parfons and Borlafe, who gave deeply into the Puritan party, not only declined all offers, and checked every exertion of the loyal Catholics to put down the northern infurrection, but forced their ingenuity and power to the utmost, in order to drive the rest of the kingdom into a fimilar infurrection, for the bafe and profligate purpofe of profiting of the forfeitures of those who should give into it ;* in which nefarious project they too effectually fucceeded. The conduct of thefe infamous juftices, which goaded the loyal Irish into infurrection, is thus fummarily detailed by Dr.

"Whatever (fays Leland) were the profeffions of the chief governors, the only danger they "really apprehended, was that of a too speedy fuppreffion of the rebellion. Extenfive forfeitures was their favorite object, and that of their friends." 3 Leland, p. 160. They with fome of their partizans in the council, fays Carte (1 vol. p.194), privately wrote to the Earl of Leicester, then lord lieutenant, defiring his fecrecy, for they could not speak openly at the council board; that he would not accept of any overtures for checking the Northern rebellion, because the charge of fupplies from England would be abundantly compensated out of the estates of the actors in the rebellion.

Warner,

Warner, who had evidently no propenfity to favor the Irish:

"bitrary power exercised by these lords juftices; their illegal exertion of it by

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bringing people to the rack to draw confeffions from them; their fending "out fo many parties from Dublin and other garrifons to kill and destroy "the rebels, in which care was feldom taken to distinguish, and men, women, and children were promifcuously flain; but above all, the mar"tial law executed by Sir Charles Coote, and the burning of the Pale for feventeen miles in length, and twenty-five in breadth, by the Earl of "Ormond; these measures not only exasperated the rebels, and induced "them to commit the like or greater cruelties, but they terrified the nobility and gentry from all thoughts of fubmiffion, and convinced them, that there was no room to hope for pardon, nor any means of "fafety left them but in the fword." And Leland obferves, "that the "favorite object both of the Irish government and English parliament, 66 was the utter extermination of all the Catholic inhabitants of Ireland. "Their estates were already marked out and allotted to the conquerors, "fo that they and their posterity were configned to inevitable ruin.” Thus was the nation compelled to arm in felf-defence. The fyftem of tyranny and oppreffion, under which they groaned they attributed to the parliament; and in refifting it, they then and ever fince have confidered themselves acting as royalists. It has been said, that a commiffion under the great feal

* Hiftory of Rebellion, p. 183. + 3 Leland, p. 166.

Carte, the panegyrist of Ormond, tells us, that after Parfons's difgrace he owned to Clanrickarde, that during Borlafe's and 'his administration, "the parliament's pamphlets were received as oracles, "its commands obeyed as laws, and extirpation preached for Gospel." How infamous then was it not in Ormond, to lend himself as the base tool to their enormities. The prevention of the king's will that the acts of grace fhould be passed in parliament, the breach of faith with the lords of the Pale, the fuppreffion of the royal proclamations and pardons, unmerited and unrefifted maffacres, burnings, and pillages, were the further means, by which thefe juftices forced the loyal Irish to refift the ufurped tyranny of the parliamentarians.

Sir William St. Leger, the prefident of Munfter, committed the moft unprovoked murders and barbarities throughout that province, and when the principal nobility and gentry remonstrated with him upon the danger of their rifing, he tauntingly infulted them all "as rebels, would not "trust one of them, and thought it most prudent to hang the best of them." In this he was encouraged by Ormond, to whom he wrote on the 8th of November, 1641, "that they were "then only a company of ragged, naked rogues, that with a few troops of horse would be presently "routed." And on the 11th, "Never was fuch a war heard of, no man makes head." Carte Orm.

feal to Phelim O'Nial to rife in arms against the ufurped armed force of the Proteftants in Ireland had been forged. The king's enemies affected to believe it a true commiffion; their aim being to implicate his majesty in the business, by confidering this commiffion as an open declaration of war by Charles and his Irish Catholic fubjects against his parliament and Proteftant fubjects. But the forgery of it by O'Nial (as he confeffed it at the place of his execution) fpeaks highly in favor of the loyalty of the Catholics, who could on no other grounds be induced to take up arms, but in fupport and defence of the king, and his crown and dignity. The king's conduct at this time, in relation to his Irifh fubjects, could have no other appearance in their eyes, than of compulfion: for they never could believe that the King of Ireland fhould adopt the unconftitutional and unjust measure of committing to his English parliament the care and whole government of the kingdom of Ireland, they then having an independent parliament of their own. Yet that this was attempted, appears from the order of the two houfes of parliament to the lords juftices, in which no affent, or even derivative idea of the king's authority is referred to.*. The lords and gentlemen of the Pale, whofe houfes had been burned, whofe lands had been destroyed, whose tenants had been murdered by the Earl of Ormond under thefe parliamentary juftices, without crime, provocation, or refiftance, renewed their application to government to accept of their beft endeavours to check and put a stop to the infurrection, now daily encreafing throughout the kingdom: but their overtures were indignantly rejected. The Earl of Castlehaven was imprifoned; and Sir John Read was put on the

The particular views for goading this province into rebellion, are fully laid open in Lord Corke's letter to the speaker of the Houfe of Commons in England, which he fent together with 1100 indictments, against perfons of property in that province, to have them fettled by crown lawyers, and returned to him: and fo fays he, "if the houfe pleafe to direct to have them all proceeded against "to outlawry, whereby his majefty may be entitled to their lands and poffeffions, which I dare "boldly affirm, was, at the beginning of this infurrection, not of fo little yearly value as 200,000/." This Earl of Corke was notorious during the two preceding reigns, for his rapacity; but this last effort he called the work of works. In Dublin, many were put to the rack, in order to extort confeffions: and in the short space of two days, upwards of 4000 indictments were found against landholders, and other men of property, in Leinster. And numerous are the letters of Lord Clanricard to Ormond, and others, complaining of fimilar attempts to raise Connaught into rebellion, even by Ormond's own troops.

* Vide Appendix, No. XXV.

rack,

rack, for officious interference.* Thus at laft was the whole body of the Irish Catholic nobility and gentry compelled, for felf-prefervation, to unite in a regular system of defence; which to this day is most unwarrantably and unjustly stiled, an odious and unnatural rebellion. Nothing can fo emphatically demonftrate the grounds and principles, upon which they affociated on this occafion, as the oath of confederacy, by which they. bound themselves to each other: it is expreffive of unqualified allegiance to the king, and contains an undertaking with life, power, and estate, to support and defend the royal perfon, honors, eftates, dignities, and prerogatives, against all impugners thereof, &c.;† which certainly favours more of royalifm than rebellion. It muft indeed be acknowledged, that if England had been as early, fincere, and zealous in refifting the ufurpation of these parliamentarian regicides as the Irish Catholics, the catastrophe of Charles, with all its confequences, would have been avoided.

The king, confidering the circumftances of this general confederacy of the Catholics of Ireland, figned a commiffion on the 14th of January, 1642, directed to the Marquis of Ormond, the Earls of Clanrickard and Rofcommon, Viscount Moore, Sir Thomas Lucas, Sir Maurice Euftace, and Thomas Bourke, Efq. to meet the principal confederates (who had petitioned

* Lord Caftlehaven efcaped out of prison, or probably would have undergone the fame fate as Sir John Read.

† Vide the form of oath, Appendix, No. XXVI.

Beyond the public notoriety of the conduct of the Catholics, if any one feek further proofs, at least of their conviction that they were acting loyally, let him read Clanrickard's letter to the king, in which he vouches for the general conviction and loyal disposition of his countrymen. The letter being very illustrative of the spirit and circumftances of these times, is given in the Appendix, No. XXVII. Lord Castlehaven alfo, amongst other reafons for joining the confederates, alledged the following. "I began to confider the condition of the kingdom, as that the ftate did chiefly "confift of men of mean birth and quality, that most of them steered by the influence and power "of those who were in arms against the king, that they had by cruel massacring, hanging, and

torturing, been the slaughter of thousands of innocent men, women, and children, better subjects than themselves; that they by all their actions fhewed that they looked at nothing but the "extirpation of the nation, the destruction of monarchy, and, by the utter fuppreffion of the an"cient Catholic religion, to settle and establish Puritanifm. To these I could be no traytor. Def. "Cur. H. 2 vol. p. 132. This is confirmed by the answer of the confederated Catholics, to commiffioners fent from the juftices, who in their commiffion had used the term odious rebellion ; amongst other things, they say: "We take God to witness, there are no limits fet to the fcorn and "infamy that are caft upon us; and we will be in the esteem of loyal subjects or die to a man.”

his majesty to liften to their grievances) to receive, in writing, what they had to fay or propound. The Marquis of Ormond was a man of perfonal intrepidity, fome military knowledge, and very extensive ambition; imperious, haughty, vindictive, and impatient of control: he was fo implacable to the Catholics, that in his hatred to them, he not only contravened the commands and wishes of his royal mafter, but bafely defcended to execute the fanguinary orders of his determined enemies.* So in lieu of complying with the pacific orders of this commiffion, he prefered the injunction of a committees from the English parliament, to march with an army of 5500 foot and 500 horse, towards Rofs. In this expedition, near 1000 of his countrymen loft their lives. He was the only one of the commiffioners who did not attend the confederates at Trim; where they delivered to the reft of the king's commiffioners, a very full remonftrance of all their grievances, which was accepted, and by them tranfmitted over to his majesty.‡

In confequence of this remonftrance, which it appears ftrongly affected the king, his majesty informed the lords juftices, that he had authorised the Marquis of Ormond to treat with his Irish subjects, who had taken arms, for a ceffation of hoftilities for one year: "which as it was a fervice of very "great concernment to his majesty, and his present affairs in both kingdoms, "fo he willed and commanded, that they would therein give the most "effectual affiftance and furtherance to advance the fame by their industry " and endeavours as there fhould be occafion." Sir William Parfons was fuperfeded, indicted for high crimes, misdemeanors and treasonable prac

* It was well known to Ormond, that this committee was fent from the English parliament against the king's exprefs commands. On his way, Ormond took the caftle of Timolin, which, after an obftinate refiftance, furrendered; and although he had promifed quarter to the garrifon for their gallant defence, yet he suffered them all to a man to be butchered in cold blood, after they had surrendered their arms. And on the very day on which the other commiffioners received the remonftrance from the Catholics at Trim (viz. the 17th of March, 1642), he attacked and routed the forces of General Preston, and killed 500 of them. Blood and devastation marked his progress

to and from Rofs.

"This committee confifted of Reynolds and Goodwyn fent over by the English House of Commons, were settled at Dublin, and they took upon them the direction of all public affairs: they were allowed by the lords justices, without any leave from the king, to fit in privy council; and "their opinion governed the whole board." Warn. p. 231.

For this curious and authentic document, vide Appendix, No. XXVIII.