CHA P. XVI.

Ormond treats privately with the Scots in Ulfter.

STRANGE as this conduct of his excellency may appear to those who have been always taught to confider him as a mirror of loyalty to Charles I. even in his most depreft and forlorn state; their wonder will certainly increase, when they know, that he was all this while privately foliciting that king's greatest enemies in Ireland, to join all their forces with his, in order to renew the war against thofe confederate catholics with whom he was, by his majesty's reiterated commands, publicly negociating a peace. This appears evidently from a fecret correspondence between his excellency and one Galbraith, a major in the Ulfter army, which had commenced and was carrying on ever fince the month of January 1644. The marquis's fecret propofal of this new alliance, "was joyfully received by the chiefs

a

1 Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 432.

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and the only subjects then capable of helping him, the Irish : from hence proceeded the towns refufing to receive his garrifons; from hence the divifions and differences of the people and clergy; from hence the factions of Ormond and O'Nial, of old and new Irish; from hence the cenfures, and declaration of the bishops at Jamestown against his grace; from hence all other diforders; of which (adds my author) Peter Walsh and Dr. Enos are more guilty (on account of their having published libels. on Ormond) than the bishops or the common people." Friar Disciplined, p. 68.

a

Ormond had received a letter on this subject from Galbraith, dated the 29th of January, 1644. See Cart. Orm. vol. iii. p. 385. Ormond begins this letter to Galbraith, with an apology for his not having anfwered it fooner. "Your letter of the 29th of January (fays he) hath been coming to me till this day (25th of February), which I tell you, left that not knowing the interruption it hath met with, you might judge me not so thankful unto you for your important and prudent advertisements, as in truth I am, and shall be found to be, whenever it comes in my way, to make it appear to you." Id. ib. fol. 385.

of both the Scotch and the English armies, in that province; and Monroe himself was

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fully affected that way. "This Monroe had juft before received a commiffion from the English parliament, under their new broad feal, to command in chief all the English as well as Scotch forces in Ulfter; and, in virtue of that commiffion, had taken Belfast by surprise, turned out his majesty's garrison, and replaced them with one from the parliament."

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But, as these officers had, it seems, been told,' "that his excellency had an innate malice against the Scots in general, his friend Galbraith," in order to accelerate this new alliance," advised him, to write a letter with his own hand, directed to Monroe now mentioned, in which he was to take notice, that he understood there were fome evil inftruments who laboured to poffefs all Scots, that he entertained an implacable prejudice against them; and that he fent that his juft and neceffary apology, to vindicate himself against such secret wounds; and that all of them might be perfuaded of the fincerity of his affection for that nation, and of his endeavours to ferve every of them with his best offices of friendship."

2 Cart. Orm. vol. i.

d

b Galbraith, in one of his letters to the Marquis of Ormond, on this occafion, fays, " that he had met most of the officers of the old British, and found in all an earnest defire, that the war fhould be carried on, with the Marquis's allowance and concurrence; whereof, (adds he) when I gave them hopes as from the mouth of a confident of yours, they were overjoyed, and approved the cautions I fhewed them." Cart. ib. vol. iii.

"He took Belfast, and seized upon his majesty's ordnance there, on the 14th of May, 1644." Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 312.

At this time Capt. Swanley, before-mentioned, who commanded the parliament fhips, that blocked up, the harbour of Dublin, had formed a defign to surprize that city, but that defign being made known to the king, he gave the Marquis of Ormond notice of it." Warn. Irish Rebel. p. 330.

In a letter to the English parliament on this occafion, figned

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We have already obferved, that his excellency had before this difcovered a confpiracy, "whereby Drogheda firft, and by confequence Dublin, was to be put into the power of thofe Scots, or at least, into the obedience of the English parliament." And it feems, this confpiracy was concerted and carried on by fome ill-affected perfons, active in intelligence with Monroe. On that occafion, the marquis told Galbraith," that by letters from Ulfter, be found it was misunderstood, that all the Scots ferving in Ireland, were in that confpiracy, or fo far miftrufted, that they were under a great cloud of fufpicion." But after having obferved, how difficult it was to ftop the mouths of the common people, he confidently affirmed, “that their nation had loft no jot of esteem or truft, in the more confiderate fort, by it; and that it fhould be found, that no rigour, beyond neceffity, in order to his preferVOL. I. vation,

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5 Cart. Orm. vol. i. fol. 385.

by their commiffioners, Arthur Annefley, Robert King, and William Bale, from Belfast, November 19th 1645, we find that "Ormond defired but power and opportunity to break with the confederates, and to fall upon them, upon condition that the covenant fhould not be forced upon thofe under his command; offering for their fecurity, that Drogheda fhould be given into their hands, they giving affurance that ufe fhould not be made of it againft his lordship." Irish Cabinet, p. 36.

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In a letter to the archbishop of York, May 27th 1644, Ormond acquaints his grace with this treachery. "We are here (fays he) threatened with an invafion of the Scots out of the North, who have treacheroufly furprized Belfaft, and attempted other English garrisons." Cart. Collect. of Orig. Pap. vol. i. p. 48.

The confpirators agreement with Monroe, was, "that they should feize the town, and plunder and turn out all the papifts, and fuch as would not adhere to them; and that they would keep the entire command of the place to themselves. But that, if he would affift them with his forces, till they received fuocours from the parliament, he should have half the plate, jewels, money, and goods, of the papifts, that were to be plundered, except bedding, corn, and other things neceffary for the garrifon. Monroe readily clofed with this propofal." See Cart. Orm. vol. i. fol. 525.

vation, had been, or should be used." This fhewed an apt difpofition in his lordship, to follow his friend Galbraith's advice, to acquit himself to the Scots in the manner prescribed. Whether, or no, he actually did fo, does not appear; but certain it is, that in all his letters to the king's friends, he expreffed very different fentiments of these people from what are here recited; and, particularly, in one written to the king himself in January 1645, while this fecret treaty was carrying on," he told his majesty," "that through an almost general defection in the northern army,h Colonel Chichefter was no longer able to ferve him there." i

On the other hand, he was frequently and pofitively affured by his noble friend Lord Clanrickard, that the loyalty of the confederate catholics was fuch, (at the very time that he was thus negociating their ruin,') "that if the impediments to the peace (the penal laws) were once removed, they would foon fatisfy his excellency of their real, earnest defire, to be employed in his majesty's service; and that the difficulty would be rather to keep back the multitude of forward spirits that would prefs into that expedition."

• Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 442.

CHA P.

7 Id. ib. fol. 413.

For Galbraith in a létter to Ormond of the 21ft of the month of December, 1645, tells him, "that he has good hopes of a good iffue (of the treaty) if Ormond can with patience brook the expence of a little time." Ib. fol. 436.

h. Thefe officers and foldiers had all taken the covenant: and -the marquis and council had before, on another occafion, told the British officers under his command in Ulfter," that the covenant was fo full of treason, sedition and disloyalty, that no preffure whatsoever would prevail with them to blemish their former merits by taking of that oath, or permitting of others to take it." Cart. Orm. vol. i. fol. 491. They took it, however, foon after out of fear, as they pretended, of Monroe.

i And fo long before, as July 1644, he told Lord Digby, as we have already obferved, "that he could not doubt, but that, when the Scots in Ulfter were able, they would endeavour to be mafters of all the harbours, and other places of confequence in the kingdom, on pretence of fecuring them against malignants and papists." Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 327.

The Earl of Glamorgan arrives in Ireland.

THE king finding that the Marquis of Ormond

would not conclude a peace with the confederate catholics, upon thofe equitable terms which he had so often ordered him to grant them, difpatched the Earl of Glamorgan to Ireland, with a private commiffion for that purpose; a nobleman, whofe zeal for his majefty's

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a "Among other patents and commiffions figned by the king, and brought by the Earl of Glamorgan from England, there was one appointing him lord lieutenant of Ireland, upon the expiration of the Marquis of Ormond's term of holding that poft, or in cafe the marquis fhould, by any fault, deserve to be removed from it." Enquiry into the Share King Charles I. had, &c. p. 253. from the Nuncio's Mem.

"The Marquis of Ormond had very early notice of the earl's intended voyage to Ireland, from his friend, Mr. Arthur Trevor, who in a letter from Bristol, April 9th, 1645, wrote to him, that he heard much of Lord Herbert's (Glamorgan's) commiffion; that, as he heard, the Marquis of Ormond was not taken notice of in it; that he was to pafs into Ireland upon very important affairs, and that Sir Bryan O'Nial went into Ireland. with him." Carte's Collect. of Orig. Lett. vol. i. p. 82. And the Marquis of Ormond himself in a letter to Lord Digby of the 8th of May following, fays, " though I have no full knowledge of what Lord Herbert was to bring with him, yet, by his letter to me out of Wales, I guess his miffing this place was a great misfortune to the king's fervice; even in relation to the credit I found the Irish were apt to give to his advices and undertakings." Carte's Orm. vol. iii. fol. 405.

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"Glamorgan having embarked on board a fmall veffel was near being taken by a parliament ship, which pursued him, till he took refuge in a part of Cumberland, but before he left Wales he wrote the above letter to Ormond. He arrived at Dublin about the end of July or beginning of August, 1645, and was prefent at one of the meetings of the deputies of the confederate catholics with the Marquis of Ormond at Dublin. About the 7th of August he went to Kilkenny, in order to execute his commiffion for treating with the confederate catholics." Enquiry