“fix hundred and eighty-two acres. Let us now examine the state of "forfeitures: "In the reign of James I. the whole of the province of Ulfter Acres. 2,836,837 7,800,000 1,060,792 Total 11,697,629 "So that the whole of your island has been confifcated, with the exception "of the eftates of five or fix families of English blood, fome of whom had "been attainted in the reign of Henry the VIIIth, but recovered their poffeffions before Tyrone's rebellion, and had the good fortune to escape the pillage of the English republic inflicted by Cromwell; and no in"confiderable portion of the island has been confifcated twice, or perhaps "thrice, in the courfe of a century. The fituation therefore of the Irish "nation at the revolution, ftands unparalleled in the hiftory of the in"habited world. If the wars of England carried on here, from the reign "of Elizabeth, had been waged against a foreign enemy, the inhabitants "would have retained their poffeffions under the established law of civilized nations, and their country have been annexed as a province to the Bri“tish empire.” <6 PART III. OF THE STATE OF THE IRISH NATION, FROM THE CHAPTER I. THE REIGNS OF WILLIAM AND MARY, AND WILLIAM. THE Revolution of 1688 opens to our view a new scene of Irish politics. Whatever civil advantages were gained or established at that epoch in England, vainly do the Irish look up to it, as the æra of their commencement or improvement of conftitutional liberty. Then more than ever was Ireland treated as a conquered people, its independence violated, its national confequence and dignity debafed. It appears to have been the systematic policy of the British cabinet of that day, not only to trample on the rights of the individuals, through their immediate governors, but to extinguish the very idea of an independent legislature in Ireland.* When * Mr. Burke, viewing this fituation of his country as a statesman and a philofopher, has left a masterly portrait of it. (Letter to Sir Her. Lang. p. 44.) "By the total reduction of the kingdom "of Ireland in 1691, the ruin of the native Irish, and in a great measure too of the first races of "the English, was completely accomplished. The new intereft was settled with as folid a stability as any thing in human affairs can look for. All the penal laws of that unparalleled code of oppreffion, which were made after the laft event, were manifeftly the effects of national hatred " and scorn towards a conquered people, whom the victors delighted to trample upon, and were " When we throw back our attention to the circumftances of thofe days, it appears unaccountable, that the articles of Limerick, to which the great feal of England had been affixed, fhould have been fo quickly and fo barefacedly infringed in the face of the nation. Two months had not elapfed, when, according to the teftimony of Harris, the avowed encomiaft of William, the lords juftices and General Ginckle endeavoured to render the first of thofe articles of as little force as poffible. Nay, *"the justices "of the peace, sheriffs, and other magiftrates prefuming on their power in "the country, did, in an illegal manner, difpoffefs feveral of their majefties fubjects not only of their goods and chattels, but of their lands and "tenements, to the great disturbance of the peace of the kingdom, fub"verfion of the law, and reproach of their majefties government." So little delicate was the government, at this time, of the observance of them, that Harris fcrupled not to confefs, that "Capel, lord juftice in 1693, proceeded as far as it was in his power to infringe the articles of Limerick."† We fhall be less furprized at this open violation and defiance of the articles of Limerick, when we confider that they were boafted of by the friends of 66 σε "not at all afraid to provoke. They were not the effects of their fears, but of their fecurity. "They who carried on this fyftem, looked to the irrefiftible force of Great Britain for their fup"port in their acts of power. They were quite certain, that no complaints of the natives would "be heard on this fide of the water, with any other sentiments than those of contempt and indignation. Their cries ferved only to augment their torture. Machines which could answer "their purposes fo well must be of an excellent contrivance. Indeed at that time in England the "double name of the complainants, Irish and Papists, (it would be hard to say singly, which was "the most odious) fhut up the hearts of every one against them. Whilft that temper prevailed in "all its force to a time within our memory, every measure was pleafing and popular, just in pro"portion as it tended to harass and ruin a set of people, who were looked upon as enemies to God "and man; and indeed as a race of bigotted favages, who were a difgrace to human nature itself.” *Harris's Life of King William, p. 357. † Ibid. p. 350. It appears alfo from a letter of the lords juftices of the 19th of November, 1691, that their lordships "had received complaints from all parts of Ireland of the ill treatment of the Irish "who had submitted, had their majefties protection, or were included in articles: and that they "were fo extremely terrified with apprehenfions of the continuance of that ufage, that fome "thoufars of them, who had quitted the Irish army, and went home with a refolution not to go "to France, were then come back again, and pressed earneftly to go thither, rather than stay in “Ireland, where contrary to the public faith as well as law and justice, they were robbed of their "fubftance and abufed 'in their perfons." James James as the most advantageous capitulation recorded in the annals of war, and for that amongst other reasons they were condemned by the Irish Proteftants, and fome of the most violent Whigs in England, as difhonourable to the arms of William and unjust to his best friends in Ireland. The Irish Proteftants more apprehenfive of their own danger from the comparative paucity of their numbers, than their brethren in England, more feverely cenfured the moderation of William in confenting to articles favorable to their opponents, and lamented their having perhaps loft for ever the advantage of crushing the Catholics, with fome fignal aggravation of rigor, that should take away the poffibility of their raifing their heads again. In no fenfe could the Revolution of 1688 be termed any thing else to the Irish than a mere conqueft, and a conqueft of the harsheft nature, inasmuch as it was not followed up by a participation of civil rights and liberties between the conquerors and conquered, but acted upon as a new ground for impofing additional feverities upon the former grievances of the vanquished. "It was (as Mr. Burke obferved, in defiance of the principles "of our revolution) the establishment of the power of the fmaller number, "at the expence of the civil liberties and properties of the far greater, and "at the expence of the civil liberties of the whole." Under the imperious circumstances of a great nation's recovering from the agonies of a long and bloody contest, it might have been expected, that fome things thould have been neceffarily done by the executive, until the legiflative power could be conveniently called upon to ratify and confirm them. But although Ireland, as an independent kingdom, claimed, under William, the fame rights which it had enjoyed under his predeceffors; yet did the parliament of England ufurp the right of legiflating for Ireland, in as free and uncontrouled a manner, as if Ireland had no right to a parliament of its Thus in the year 1691, before William had convened an Irith parliament, the English parliament paffed an act to alter the laws of Ireland, upon the most effential and fundamental rights of the fubject, by excluding the Roman Catholics, who then compofed the decided majority of the nation, from a feat in either Houfe of Parliament." And when a pure own. * Viz. 3 William and Mary, c. ii. An Act for the Abrogating the Oath of Supremacy in Ireland, and appointing other Oaths. It muft alfo be remarked, that the 11th fection of this act contains an exception of perfons comprised in the Articles of Limerick, which amounts to a legiflative recognition of them. Proteftant |