MY LORD, Letter from DESMOND to ORMOND. Great is my grief, when I think how heavily her majefty is bent to disfavour me; and, howbeit I carry the name of an undutiful fubje&t, yet God knoweth, that my heart and mind are always most loyally inclined to ferve my moft loving prince, fo it may pleafe her highness to remove her difpleasure from me. As I may not condemn myself of difloyalty to her majefty, fo I cannot excufe my faults, but muft confefs I have incurred her majefty's indignation; yet when the cause and means, which were found, and devifed to make me commit folly, fhall be known to her highness, I rest in affured hope, that her moft gracious majefty will think of me as my heart deferveth, as alfo thofe, who wrung me into undutifulness. From my heart, I am forry that folly, bad counfels, flights, or any other things, have made me to forget my duty; and therefore I am most defirous to get conference with your lordship, to the end I may open and declare to you how tyrannoufly I was used; humbly craving, that you will vouchsafe to appoint some time and place, where and when I may attend your honour; and then I doubt not to make it appear, how dutiful a mind I carry; how faithfully I have, at my own charge, ferved her majefty, before I was proclaimed; how forrowful I am for my offences, and how faithfully I am affected ever hereafter to ferve her majefty; and fo I commit your lordship to God. Breve of Pope Clement VIII. to the Irish Nation. (Page 87.) CLEMENS Papa VIII. univerfis et fingulis venerabilibus fratribus archiepifcopis, epifcopis et prælatis; necnon dilectis filiis principibus comitibus, baronibus, populis regni Hiberniæ, falutem et apoftolicam benedictionem. Cum jam diu ficut accepimus,vos Romanorum pontificum prædecefforum noftrorum, ac noftris et apoftolicæ fedis cohortationibus adducti, ad veftram libertatem recuperandam, eamque, adverfus hæreticos, tuendam et confer vandam, vandam, bonæ memoriæ Jacobo Giraldino (qui durum fervitutis jugum vobis ab Anglis fanctæ ecclefiæ defertoribus impofitum, fummo animi ardore depellere, dum vixit pro viribus procuravit :) deinde Johanni Giraldino ejufdem Jacobi Confobrino, et noviffimè dilecto filio nobili viro Hugoni principi ô Neillo dicto Comiti Tironenfi, Baroni Dungennaniæ et capitaneo generali exercitûs Catholici in Hibernia conjunctis animis ac viribus prefto fueritis; ac opem et auxilium præftiteritis, ipfique duces et eorum milites manu Domini exercituum illis affiftente, proceffu temporis plurima egregia facinora contra hoftes viriliter pugnando præftiterint, et in pofterum præftare parati fint, nos, ut vos ac dux et milites predicti alacrius in expeditionem hanc contra dictos hæreticos opem et operam in pofterum etiam præftare ftudeatis, fpiritualibus gratiis et favoribus vos profequi volentes eorumdem prædecefforum noftrorum exemplo adducti; ac de omnipotentis Dei mifericordiâ, ac Beatorum Petri et Pauli Apoftolorum ejus authoritate confifi, vobis omnibus et fingulis qui prædictum Hugonem Tironenfem Ducem ejufque exercitum Catholicæ fidei affertores et propugnatores fequimini, ac illis vos adjunxeritis, aut auxilio, favore, comeatibus, armis, aliifque bellicis rebus feu quâcumque ratione eis in hac expeditione operam dederitis, ipfique Hugoni Duci, ejufque exercitus militibus univerfis et fingulis, fi vere pœnitentes et confeffi, ac etiam, fi fieri poterit, facra communione refecti fueritis plenariam omnium peccatorum fuorum veniam et remiffionem, ac eamdem quæ proficifcentibus ad bellum contra Turcas, ad recuperationem Terræ Sanctæ per Romanos Pontifices concedi folita et mifericorditer in Domino concedimus non obftantibus, &c, Datum Romæ apud Sanctum Petrum fub annulo pifcatoris, die decimą fexto Aprilis 1600. Pontificatûs anno nono. No. XII. (Page 87.) From the MSS. Trinity College, Dublin, being a brief Declaration to the Queen, concerning the Abufes of her Government in Ireland, particularly under the Administration of Sir William Fitz Williams, written in 1594, by Captain THOMAS LEE. : To the QUEEN's Moft Excellent MAJESTY. UNDERSTANDING, moft gracious fovereign, the proud and infolent terms the lords of the north of Ireland do now ftand upon, it maketh me bold to fet down my knowledge of those parts to your majesty, because I have debated often with the chiefs of them, what was fit they should yield unto your majesty; and that it was unmeet for them in any fort to condition with your highnefs in the end (after long debating) they feemed fomewhat to like and allow of that which I demanded, as hereafter fhall appear. And because your majefty may the better judge the caufes of their difcontentments, I have here fet down the unconfciable courfes, which have been held towards them, which being remedied, and that they may fee your majefty doth no way allow of the fame, there is no doubt (notwithstanding all their proud fhews of difloyalty) but that they may be brought to dutiful obedience, and to yield you that profit, which neither your majefty now hath, nor any of your progenitors ever had; fo as they may likewise have that, which they demand, being nothing unfit for your majefty to grant. In which difcourfe, if any thing should seem unpleafing to your majefty, I humbly befeech you to pafs it over, and to perufe the reft, whereof I doubt not, but fomething will content your highness, for that it tendeth to your highness's fervice and commodity. My meaning, whereby your highnefs's profit may arife, is by O'Donnel Maguire, Bryan Oge O'Rourke, and Bryan Oge M'Mahon. The demands I made for your majefty were thefe, that they should receive your majefty's forces into their countries, and your laws to go current, as they did in other places, and fome part of their countries to be reserved for your majesty to difpofe unto them, who fhould govern them; and they to charge themselves with that proportion, that was fit for them to bear. To To thofe demands they all yielded; fo that they might have fuch gentlemen chofen, as they knew would use no treachery, nor hard measures towards them, but to live upon that which your majesty would allow, and that which they would give of their free confents, and be no farther charged, and they would be as dutifull as any other country in Ireland now is. And how this may be performed, I have made bold, with your majestie's favourable liking, here to fet down upon my knowledge, both how your majeftie's forces may be received with their confent, and they to yield great profit in difcharge of that, which your majefty allows to the foldiers, and the foldiers to be well fatisfied. The cause they have to stand upon those terms, and to feek for better affurance is, the harsh practices used against others by thofe, who have been placed in authority to protect men for your majestie's fervice, which they have greatly abused and ufed in this fort.. They have drawn unto them by protection three or hour hundred of these country people, under colour to do your majestie fervice, and brought them to a place of meeting, where your garrifon foldiers were appointed to be, who have there moft difhonourably put them all to the fword: and this hath been by the confent and practice of the lord deputy for the time being. If this be a good course to draw these savage people to the state, to do your majesty fervice, and not rather to enforce them to ftand upon their guard, I humbly leave to your majesty. When fome one who hath been a bad member (pardoned by your majefty) hath heard himself exclaimed upon to be a notable thief after his pardon, and hath fimply come in without any bonds, or any other enforcement, to an open feffion to take his trial, by your majefty's laws, if any could accufe him, notwithstanding his coming in after this manner, and without any trial at the time (because he was a bad man in times paft), there hath been order given in that feffion for the execution of him, and fo he has loft his life, to the great difhonour of your majefty, and difcredit of your laws. There have also been divers others pardoned by your majefty, who have been held very dangerous men, and after their pardon have lived very dutifully, and done your majesty great fervice, and many of them have loft their lives therein; yet upon fmall fuggeftions to the lord deputy, that they thould be fpoilers of your majesty's fubjects, notwithstanding their pardon, there have been bonds demanded of them for their appearance at the next feffions. They 1 They knowing themselves guiltlefs, have moft willingly entered into bonds, and appeared, and there (no matter being found to charge them) they have been arraigned only for being in company with fome of your highness's fervitors, at the killing of notorious known traitors, and for that only have been condemned of treafon, and loft their lives. And this difhonest practice hath been by the confent of your deputies. When there have been notable traitors in arms against your majefty, and fums of money offered for their heads, yet could by no means be compaffed, they have in the end (of their own accord) made means for their pardon, offering to do great fervice, which they have accordingly performed to the contentment of the ftate, and thereupon received pardon, and have put in fureties for their good behaviour, and to be anfwerable at all times, at affizes and feffions, when they should be called; yet notwithstanding there have been secret commiffions given for the murdering of thefe men. They have often been fet upon by the fheriff of thires, to whom the commiffions were directed, in fundry of which affaults fome of them have been killed, and others have hardly escaped. And after all this they have fimply come, without pardon or protection, to an open place of justice, to submit themselves to your majesty's laws, where they have been put to their trial upon feveral indictments, of all which they have been acquitted, and fet at liberty. If this be a courfe allowable for poor men to be handled in this manner, and to be at no time in fafety of their lives, I humbly leave to your majefty. When many notorious offenders have fubmitted themselves to your majesty's mercy, and have been accepted, and had their pardons, and have put in good affurances to be at all times anfwerable to your laws, the chiefest rebel (whofe followers they were) has been countenanced and borne out by your state, to rob and spoil, burn and kill these poor men, who did thus fubmit themselves. When they have very pitifully complained against that arch rebel, and his complices of thefe outrages, they have been fharply rebuked and reproved for their fpeeches, and left void of all remedy for their loffes; fo as when in the end they have made petition to have licence by their own means, and help of their friends, to recover their goods from the rebels, they have been rejected, and utterly difcomforted, yet nevertheless remained dutiful fubjects, although they fee, that fuch as continue notorious malefactors, are in far more fafety than they, who depend upon your majesty's defence. For it is well to be proved, that in one of your majesty's civil fhires, there |