it for his majesty, which they would do to their utmost peril. They had, befides, another excufe, which was not altogether difapproved of by his lordfhip; they knew that the deputy's power had determined with the queen's life; but they did not know that it was renewed by her fucceffor." "It may be," fays his excellency, in his letter to them on this occafion, "that you have rafhly, and unadvisedly done this, upon some opinion of the ceafing of authority in the public government, upon the death of our late fovereign, which is fomewhat more, though no way in true and fevere judgment, excufable; and, I think otherwise, you never would have been fo foolish." And it was then only that he first undeceived them as to that matter, by telling them," "That his authority, as lord deputy, was renewed, and confirmed by his then majefty's royal letters patent, under his feal; requiring them, upon their allegiance, to pay obedience to it ;" and adding, "that if he should find they did fo, he would be glad to have occasion to interpret all things paft in the better part, and take as little notice as he could thereof."

But his lordship feems not to have waited for the effects of this letter, which is dated April the 27th; for on the first of the following month, he marched out with an army towards Munfter, and on the 4th entered at a place called Gracedieu, near the city of Waterford; the citizens of which, refused at first, to receive his army into the town, being authorised thereunto by their charter; but they offered to give free and prompt admittance to his lordship, and his retinue, the chief of them having, for that purpose, come forth, and attended him in his camp.

What Lord Mountjoy feemed principally to resent in these people, to fuch a degree as thus fuddenly to draw down the army upon them, was the boldness of feveral of the towns, and corporations," "in fetting up, of their own heads, the public exercise of the popifh worfhip." For, in all his letters to the magiftrates of that province, he takes particular notice of that boldness; frequently

9 Morrif. ib. fol. 288.

10 Id. ib.

11 Id. ib.

frequently affuring them," that his majefty was a good proteftant; and even threatening one of thefe towns," that if they did not defift from the public breach of his majesty's laws, in the celebration of the Mafs, he would think them fit to be profecuted with the revenging fword of his majesty's forces."

d

And in truth his excellency, in this expedition to Waterford, appears, at firft fight, to have acted the part rather of a meek and zealous proteftant miffioner, than that of an incenfed leader of an hostile army. For, upon the citizens coming forth to pay their respects to him in his camp,' he immediately required them to bring unto him one Dr. White, a famous Jefuit of that city, "with whom," fays Morriffon," "he difputed against some erroneous pofitions of popery; all which," adds my author," his lordship did (as no layman, I think, could better do) moft learnedly confute." It is but justice

12 Morrif. ib. 13 Id. ib. 14 Id. ib. 15 Id. ib.

About the beginning of this reign, "one Hewfon, an English minister of Swords, fell violently on one Horish of that place, and took from him a crucifix, and hung the fame upon a gallows, with these words under it, "help all strangers, for the god of the papifts is in danger." Upon Horifh's complaining to the ftate, and producing the mangled and defaced crucifix, Sir Geoffry Fenton, fecretary, infulted the poor man, fnatched the crucifix from him, and caft it on the ground under his feet, and Horish for offering to complain of that abufe, was thrown into prifon. Theatre of Cath. and Proteft. Relig. p. 117.

The fame Sir Geoffry Fenton did fet a poor fellow on the pillory in Dublin, with the picture of Christ about his neck, for having carried the fame before a dead friend at his funeral." Id. ib. p. 118.

"I afk," fays my author on this occafion, “ any fhould hang the king's picture upon the gallows, whether he should incur the king's, or his fubjects ill will, or no, by referring herein the indignity of abufing his picture to the king's own perfon? Certain it is, that one of the principal articles against O'Rorke, an Irish nobleman, who was executed in England for high treafon in the former reign, was his having caufed queen Elizabeth's picture to be faftened to a horfe's tail, and afterwards dragged about and defaced, in fcorn and derifion."

Eliz. p. 589.

Camb.

justice to obferve, that his lordship, at the fame time, did as learnedly confute an erroneous pofition in the citizens charter, granted by king John; by which they supposed themselves privileged to deny his foldiers entrance into their city. For his lordship told them roundly, without entering into the merits of the matter, 15that if they did not presently open their ports to him and his army, he would cut king John's charter in pieces with king James's fword; and that, if he entered the town by force, he would ruin it, and ftrew falt upon the ruins."

CHA P. II.

A general act of oblivion.

KING James had fucceeded to the English_throne without oppofition; and his catholic fubjects, throughout the three kingdoms, made fignal rejoicings on that account. Upon this occafion, he not only confirmed Tirone's pardon, but alfo received him in England, (whither he was conducted by Lord Deputy Mountjoy) with fingular marks of favour; and foon after fent him back with honour, to take poffeffion of his estates

I

a

in

"But this storm," fays an adverfe writer, as foon as the lord deputy presented himself with an army before their walls, was appeafed; and not long after, larger liberties and immunities were granted unto them, than formerly they had." Defid. Curiof. Hibern. vol. i. p. 416. Such privileges were afterwards granted them," that the juftices of affize having no authority to hold their affizes there, the laws of, religion (against recufants) could not be executed." Ib. vol. i. p. 359.

a Tirone's reception by the people of Beaumorris, where he landed, was very different. "For no refpect to the lord deputy," fays Morriffon, "in whofe company he rode up to London, could contain many women in these parts, who had loft hufbands and children in the Irish war, from flinging dirt at him, with bitter words. And when he was to return, he durft not pafs by thefe parts, without directions to the sheriffs to convey him, with troops of horse, from place to place, till he was fafely embarked." Morris. Hist. of Ireland, fol. 296.

in Ireland; having fet forth a proclamation, forbidding all perfons to reproach him, at any time after, with the rebellion formerly raised by him, and then happily fuppreffed.

2

But although, by the fuppreffion of this rebellion, the minds of the people were broken, and prepared to obedience, yet the ftate, upon good reafon, did conceive, that the public peace could not be fettled, till the hearts of the people were alfo quieted, by fecuring them from the danger of the law, which most of them had incurred, one way or other, in that great and general confusion; therefore, by a general act of state, called the act of oblivion, published by proclamation under the great feal, all offences against the crown, and all particular trefpaffes between fubject and fubject, were to all fuch as would come in to the juftices of aflize, by a certain day, and claim the benefit of this act, pardoned, remitted, and utterly extinguifhed, never to be revived, or called in question. And by the fame proclamation, all the Irifhry, who for the most part, had no defence, or juftice from the crown, were received into his majesty's immediate protection. "This," continues my author, "bred fuch comfort and fecurity in the hearts of all men, as thereupon enfued the calmeft, and moft univerfal peace, that ever was feen in Ireland."

Yet in the midst of this most calm and univerfal peace, his majefty, quite unmindful of all his former pronifes of favour to his catholic fubjects, ordered a proclamation to be published, ftrictly forbidding the exercife of their religion to those of Ireland, banishing their clergy, and inflicting severe pénalties on all fuch, as fhould be found to harbour, or entertain them; enjoining alfo the immediate and ftrict execution of the act of uniformity of the fecond of Elizabeth; which act, though VOL. I.

b

F

2 Sir John Davis's Hiftorical Relations.

pretended

Happy indeed had it been for the proprietors of fix entire counties in Ulfter, had this folemn promife of oblivion been faithfully obferved; or rather not fo fcandaloufly broken, in a few years after, as we fhall presently fee it was.

pretended to have been paffed in the Irish parliament forty years before, was then first folemnly published."

By this act, all catholics are obliged to affist at the proteftant church-service, every Sunday and holyday, on the penalty of twelve pence, and of what, indeed, was infinitely more grievous, the cenfures of the ecclefiaftical courts, for each default. A method of proceeding very inconfiftent with the fundamental principles of that religion, which this act was intended to introduce, viz. freedom of confcience, and the right of private judgment. Dr. Heylin has justly observed another abfurdity in this ftatute. "The Irish," fays he," were obliged, under feveral penalties, to be prefent at the reading of the English liturgy, which they understood no more than they did the mafs; by which means, they were not only kept in continual ignorance, as to the doctrines, and devotions, of the church of England, but also were furnished with an excellent argument against ourselves, for having the divine fervice celebrated

3

3 Eliz. fol. 128.

• Some consciousness of this breach of promife appears in the proclamation itself, which was published on the 4th of July, 1605, and fets forth in the beginning, " that whereas his majefty was informed, that his fubjects of Ireland had been deceived by a falfe report, that his majefty was difpofed to allow them liberty of confcience, and the free choice of a religion, contrary to that which he always profeffed himself, by which means it has happened that many of his subjects of that kingdom had firmly refolved to remain conftantly in that religion-wherefore he declared to all his beloved subjects of Ireland, that he would not admit any fuch liberty of confcience as they were made to expect by that report. And then orders all, and each, of his fubjects, for the time to come, to frequent their respective churches, and chapels, &c.

d There was another severity attending the execution of this ftatute. Roman catholics of condition, under the title of Inquifitors, were particularly appointed by the state, to watch and inform against those of their own communion, who did not frequent the proteftant churches on thefe days; which, when thro' a fcruple of conscience, they neglected, or refused to do, they were grievoufly fined, and condemned to a long and irksome imprisonment. See Analect. Sacr. Rivnis in Analect. p. 25.