further provisos, finished at last, and being sent over, passed the two houses at the latter end of May. 78 The parliament of that kingdom, after several prorogations, met on March 4, 1and not knowing that the debates about the settlement would be so soon ended, the house of commons sent to the lord lieutenant an address to be presented to his majesty, humbly begging a despatch of the bill of settlement; and lest it should be delayed by the applications and importunities of private persons, desiring that no provisos, intrenching upon any persons or interests in his declaration or instructions, or lessening any provision designed or appointed for them, might pass his royal assent. They had not long before complimented the duke of Ormond upon his being made lord lieutenant: they now gave him a more substantial proof of their esteem and affection. His grace had distinguished himself more eminently in the service of the crown, and had suffered more for it in his fortune, than perhaps any subject the king had in his three kingdoms. He was preparing for a journey into Ireland, where he was to appear and live in the state and grandeur of a lord lieutenant, and 246 after being deprived of his estate for many years, was not perhaps so well qualified, as might be wished, to bear so great an expense. He was coming over thither for the service of the kingdom, to exert all his arts and skill in government, and in managing the various tempers of mankind, to reconcile the jarring interests of the people, to unite a distracted and divided nation, and to settle it on a firm and good foundation, wherein themselves and their posterity in future ages might find their security and happiness. Some members of the house of commons thought it would become the representatives of the kingdom to express, at this time, their sense of his grace's past merits and sufferings in the service of it, by making him a seasonable present to help defray the necessary ex1 App. No. XXXVI. XXXVII. and XXXVIII. pense of his employment; that being more at ease in his private fortune, he might have no domestic concerns to take off his attention for the public; and however extraordinary such a motion might appear in the house, (there never having been a precedent of the like nature before,) they made no question but, as the person and occasion were so too, it would be readily received. Of these members, none was more zealous than sir Theophilus Jones, who intended to make the motion, but was prevented by colonel Knight and colonel Shapcot, who having got notice of the design, and hoping either to make a merit of it to themselves, or to lessen the intended present, moved that a bill might be brought in for raising twenty thousand pounds for the use of the duke of Ormond, as a testimony of their just and grateful sense of his extraordinary merits to the kingdom, in his constant care and endeavour for maintenance of the just rights of his present majesty and his royal father, both against foreign enemies and domestic rebels. Sir T. Jones was only doubtful of the success on account of the thinness of the house, and, for fear of the worst, moved that the consideration of that matter might be deferred till the house was fuller. This was rejected, all the members present shewing by their looks and words a great eagerness to comply with the motion. Hereupon he made another motion, that the sum to be given might be thirty thousand pounds. This was agreed to unanimously, and sir Theophilus, with sir Paul Davys, sir James Ware, sir H. Tichborne, and others, were appointed to attend the lords justices, and desire them from the house as well to prepare and transmit a bill in due form to his majesty for raising the said sum, as to take care to insert in it the following clause, "and although this house in demonstration of their just and deserved thankfulness to his grace do thus express the sense of this kingdom in reference to him; yet they intend not thereby, that it should be TO interpreted in exclusion of him from any other just fa- 79 The justices and council promised to draw up and 80 moved that the bill might be committed. Hereupon the bishop of Meath got up and made a motion, that since the bill found so clear a passage, both in the council of England and in the house of commons, without being committed, it might meet with the same cheerful despatch in their house. This was seconded by the general concurrence of the whole house, and the bill was immediately passed. Such were the manner and the circumstances of this present to the duke of Ormond, who was as much pleased with the honour as he had reason to be with the profit; those two things, which are rarely enough compatible, meeting together, to a very high degree, in this grant of the parliament of Ireland. The house of commons had soon after another occasion of shewing their respect to his grace's family. The earl of Ossory had in April 1661 been made lieutenant general of horse in the Irish army, and in the beginning of this year he had succeeded the earl of Montrath in the command of the troop of horse and regiment of foot, which became vacant by that nobleman's death. The king, vouchsafing to grace him with further honours, ordered, by his letter of June 22, that a writ should be issued out for calling him up to the house of peers in Ireland. The earl, who was at this time a member of the house of commons of England, being chosen for the city of Bristol, was likewise so of the commons of Ireland. Taking leave of this house on the 8th of August following, an order was made that sir Paul Davys and sir H. Tichborne, with the body of the house, should accompany him to the bar of the house of lords. The lords having notice of their coming made an order, that, by the consent of the earls' bench, the earl of Ossory should be placed above all the earls, but it should be no precedent for the future. His place being thus fixed, the house of commons were called in, and the speaker in their name returned thanks to the lords for the honour they had been pleased to do to the honourable person he then presented to the house, and assured them, that none could come more wished for, and the commons doubted not but as he had been a great help to their house, so he would be an honour to that of the peers, and an help to both. The commons being withdrawn, the earl of Ossory was introduced into the house, and complimented by the chancellor in a short and handsome speech upon that occasion. 8 Though the act of settlement had passed both houses, and lay ready for the royal assent, it was thought proper to defer giving that assent till some money bills were first passed. The commons had not only made a grant of twelve subsidies to his majesty, but had presented to the council a bill for establishing the excise or new impost, intending it to be a constant revenue to his majesty, by way of compensation for the court of wards, which they desired might be suppressed. That court had been erected about forty years before in Ireland, but had been established in England from the time of Henry VIII, and was heavily complained of in both kingdoms, as an insupportable grievance. All the lands of England were originally vested in the crown, and by grants from thence 248 have been since derived to other proprietors; William the Conqueror being the first that ever granted an estate of inheritance to the subject. They were granted for the performance of certain services, which were the condition of their tenure; and hence upon an incapacity to perform those services, as in the case of idiocy and lunacy, or in case of a renunciation thereof, implied in acts of treason and other high crimes and offences against the law, they still reverted to the crown, of which they were held, and from the favour and bounty whereof they were derived. Children being unable to perform those military services required of such as held lands in capite, or by knight's service, their lands so held did during their minority return to the crown, and the profits thereof were either |