twelve years of age, the brother of Lord Thomas: and the vengeance of the king pursued even this helpless and guiltlefs infant; but happily by the vigilance of his guardian he was fecretly conveyed out of the kingdom, and at last safely committed to the protection of Cardinal Pole, then in Italy, who, in defiance of his declared enemy King Henry, received the young lord as his kinfman, educated him fuitably to his birth, and by his favor and support preserved him to regain the honors of the family of Kildare.* This tyrannical and treacherous conduct of King Henry towards one of the first families in Ireland is conclufive evidence, that he was little fuited to gain favor with the Irish, either within or without the pale, in the work of reformation, which he had now taken in hand.

A party was formed of the most powerful fervants of the crown, who were enemies to Kildare. At the head of these was Allan, archbishop of Dublin, the deprived chancellor. He had been trained in the fcene of political intrigue under his patron Wolfey: he had ferved him as judge in his legatine court with an attention and affiduity neither upright nor honorable: and though accused of misdemeanor and difmiffed from his office, he was ftill protected by the cardinal, and proved an ufeful and active agent in his favorite scheme of the fuppreffion of monafteries. Wolfey's death had given great affurance to Kildare, but his creature Allan retained all his master's rancour against the Geraldines. It was at laft refolved to commiffion the Mafter of the Rolls in the name of the lords of the council (for the major part concurred in the measure) to repair to England, and lay the ftate of the country before the king, and implore the royal interpofition. The representation made to the king by the agents of thefe lords, will further prepare our minds to judge

*The Earl of Kildare is faid to have died in prifon through grief at hearing of his fon's defeat, &c. Thomas late Earl of Kildare was with fome others attainted for the infolencies he had done during his deputyfhip: which act was repealed in the 11th of Queen Elizabeth, the Earl of "Kildare's brothers and fifters being thereby restored to their blood, as in King Edward VI. his "reign: Gerald (Earl Thomas his brother) was restored to his ancient inheritance, and by Queen Mary, May 14, 1554, to his honor and the Barony of Offaly, who returning the fame year into "Ireland was received with great applause by the people, though his brother had been beheaded " and five uncles hanged at Tyburn, February 3, 1537." Borl. Red. of Ireland to the crown of England 104. The fame author 105 informs us "that this Lord Gray was in the year 1541 be"headed on Tower hill, about June 25, for having, as it was conjectured, joined with Cardinal "Pole and others of the king's enemies, notwithstanding his good service, &c." He did not long furvive his treachery.

fairly and impartially of the difpofition of the Irish nation to fubmit to the power and adopt the fyftem of reformation propofed by Henry.

The Master of the Rolls opened his commiffion by representing to his Majefty the confined extent of the English laws, manners, language, and habit, at length reduced to the narrow compafs of twenty miles: the melancholy confequence of thofe illegal exactions and oppreffions, by which the English tenantry had been driven from their fettlements: the grievous tribute, which the remains of these loyal subjects were obliged to pay the Irish lords for a precarious protection: the enormous jurifdictions granted to the lords of the English race, that favoured their oppreffions, and stopped the course of juftice: the rabble of difaffected Irish fettled purposely on their lands, whom they oppreffed with impunity, and whom they found their readieft inftruments for oppreffing others: the negligence of the king's officers in keeping the records: their unfkilful conduct in the exchequer: but above all the alienation of the crown lands, which reduced the revenue to a state of dangerous infufficiency, and left the realm without fuccour or refource. Many of the public diforders they afcribed to a too frequent change of governors: entreating the king's highness that for the future he would be graciously pleased to entrust the charge of his Irish government to fome loyal subject fent from his realm of England, whofe fole object should be the honor and interest of the crown, unconnected with Irish factions, and uninfluenced by partial favor or averfion.*

Henry, though impetuous and ungovernable in his paffions, wanted not penetration to see the weakness of his power over the Irish, who in their prefent fituation were rather to be foothed by policy, than compelled by force into the adoption of his measures. His mind was now bent upon the most effectual means of introducing the reformation into Ireland. This was a work not to be effected by the terror of that artillery, with which the Lord Deputy Skeffington daunted and difperfed the undisciplined and tumultuary army of O'Connor before Maynooth,† and with which he carried

* This state of grievances moft fingularly coincides with others of later dates: for it is a melancholy truth, that for want of an incorporate union with England, this country has been doomed for centuries to suffer a fimilarity, as well as continuance of oppreffion.

†This army confifted of about 7000 men, with which Dermod O'Connor Don had fupplied Lord Thomas Fitzgerald: it flattered the vanity, and gratified the feelings of this old chieftain, that a lord of the pale, then an exile in his territory, should apply for fuccour against the English government. O'Neil also had joined his forces with those of O'Connor.

terror through the nation. Whilft Henry was elated at the general and prompt compliance with his fcheme of reformation in England, he refolved to extend it yet further and gain a reception for the new doctrines in Ireland. Accordingly, Lord Cromwell, who upon the death of Wolfey had fucceeded to as much of his prince's favors, as Henry would again bestow upon a fubject, in his quality of vicar general in fpirituals, appointed George Brown, the provincial of the Auguftine Friars, who had been prominently confpicuous in preaching up the reformation in London, to fucceed Allan in the archiepifcopal fee of Dublin. He was fent over with other commiffioners, fpecially inftructed and appointed to confer with the clergy and nobility, in order to procure a general acknowledgement of the king's fpiritual fupremacy.* But the task was found more difficult than the impetuofity of the king, or the faftidious contempt, which the English minister entertained of this country, permitted them to fufpect. The Irish had aboriginally been enthufiaftically tenacious of their religion, and of the facredness of the rights and character of it's minifters. Accordingly, as Leland after Ware obferves, when Europe had almost unanimously declared against the yoke of ecclefiaftical power, a flight attempt made in one province of Ireland to circumfcribe the privileges of the clergy raised a most violent and infolent clamor among the order, although it amounted to nothing more than empowering the civil magistrate to imprison ecclefiaftical debtors. And, had," continues the learned doctor,t "the generous policy prevailed of collecting "all the inhabitants into one body of English fubjects, a union and pacifi"cation of ages must have prepared the people for the reformation now propofed."

No fooner had the commiffioners appointed by the king explained their inftructions, and demanded an acknowledgment of his fupremacy, than Cromer, primate of Armagh, an Englishman by birth, and who had fometimes held the office of chancellor, openly and boldly declared against an attempt fo impious. Difguft at being removed from his office, and refentment at the severity exercised against the family of Kildare, his friends and patrons, might be fuppofed to have had fome share in this oppofition, were it neceffary

* Ufher, Ware, Cox, Leland, Crawford, &c.

+ 2 Lel, 158.

For very obvious reafons I have chofen to follow Dr. Leland's account of the Effect of Archbishop Browne's Miffion to Ireland.

to

to recur to worldly motives to explain it. He fummoned the fuffragans and clergy of his province: and to those whom he could collect, he pathetically represented the danger, which now threatened the religion of their ancestors: exhorting them to adhere inviolably to the apoftolic chair, by fuch arguments and motives as were fuited to their understandings. He reminded them, that their country had been called in the earliest ages the Holy Ifland; a convincing proof that it ever was and is the peculiar property of the holy fee, from which the kings of England derive their lordship. He enjoined them by his fpiritual authority to resist all innovation, as they tendered their everlasting felicity: and pronounced a tremendous curse against all those, who should facrilegiously acknowledge the king's fupremacy. In the mean time he dispatched two emiffaries to Rome, to represent the danger of the church, and to entreat the interpofition of the pontiff in defence of his rights and interefts in Ireland.

This fpirited oppofition of the most eminent amongst the Irish prelates, enlivened the zeal and vigor of the friends of Rome. Henry and his minifter feem to have imagined, that no one could have prefumed to attempt the least resistance to his royal will in a point, which had been already folemnly decided and established in England. His agents were probably poffeffed with the fame idea. But to their utter mortification, the king's commiffion was treated with indifference and neglect; and his vicar, on account of the meanness of his birth, became even a subject of popular ridicule.* Archbishop Browne, with the affiftance of fome of his fuffragans, laboured in fupport of the commiffion: but he was treated not only with difdain but outrage, and his life was expofed to danger from the opponents of the reformation. Such at least were the apprehenfions he expreffed. He informed Lord Cromwell of his bad fuccefs, and the oppofition of Cromer: reprefented the melancholy fituation of ecclefiaftical affairs in Ireland; the extreme ignorance of the clergy, incapable of performing even the common offices, and utter ftrangers even to the language, in which they celebrated their mafs; and the furious zeal of the people, whofe blind attachment to Rome was as determined, as the conftancy of the most enlightened martyrs to the true religion, who exulted in expectation of effectual support from the pope,

* Archbishop Browne in one of his letters to Lord Cromwell, tells him with an awkward and uncourtly fimplicity, the "countrie folk here much hate your lordship, and despitefully call you in their Irish tongue, the blacksmith's fon."

and

and that he would engage fome of the old chieftains and particularly O'Nial, the great dynaft of the north, to rife in defence of their religion. He recommended, as the most vigorous and effectual method of procedure, that an Irish parliament should be affembled without delay, which, like the English legiflature, might by law enforce a general acknowledgment of the king's fupremacy, so as to terrify the refractory and to filence their oppofition. This advice was approved: and the Lord Gray, who was ftill engaged in fuppreffing the disjointed relicts of the Geraldine rebellion, received a commiffion to fummon a parliament, which was accordingly convened at Dublin on the first of May 1536.

So limited at this time was the jurifdiction of the Irish parliament, or to fpeak more properly, of the provincial affembly of the pale, that the master of the rolls reported to the king, that his laws were not obeyed twenty miles from his capital. Yet did Henry fuccefsfully exert every device of art and power to render the members that compofed it ductile and fubfervient to his dictates. The tranfactions of the late parliament at Westminster were holden out to the members convened, as a model of the ordinances the king expected at their hands. Therefore, as to all the acts which concern the reformation of religion, the Irish statutes are mere tranfcripts of the English acts upon the fame fubjects. The king was declared fupreme head on earth of the Church of Ireland: all appeals to Rome in fpiritual caufes were taken away: the English law against flandering the king in confequence of these innovations was enacted and confirmed in Ireland, together with the provifions made in England for payment of first fruits to the king: and not only of the first fruits of bishopricks and other fecular promotions in the Church of Ireland; but by another act he was vefted with thofe of abbies, priories, colleges, and hofpitals. By a further act the authority of the bishop of Rome was more folemnly renounced, and the maintainers of it in Ireland made fubject to a præmunire. All officers of every kind and degree were required to take the oath of fupremacy: and every person who should refuse it was declared, as in England, guilty of high treason. All payment of penfions and fuing for difpenfations and faculties to Rome were utterly prohibited, by adopting the English law made for this purpose, and accommodating it to Ireland. By one act twelve religious houfes were fuppreffed: by another the priory of St. Wolftan's was particularly fuppreffed; and the demefnes of them all were yested in the crown.

As