CHAP. VI. The behaviour of the Irish priests, and new recruits, under King James, impartially confidered. HAD Dr. King been as candid in his relation of facts, as he ought, and as he folemnly profeffed to be; at the fame time that he reproached the papifts of Ireland, with the forwardnefs of fome of their clergy, and the infolence of the new recruits, at this period, in Dublin; he would have given us, at least, fome intimation of the provocations, which both of them had received from the protestant inhabitants of that city; which indeed were fo great and notorious, that Lord Clarendon takes frequent notice of them in his dispatches into England. to take that benefit from them; that it is against the king's pleasure exprefsly declared in his feveral letters, and fince made public by proclamation; that by the rules, papifts, who are foreigners, may be admitted to be free in the corporations, and that it will be hard to bar papifts, who are natives, from enjoying that freedom which has been already granted them." Lord Effex's Letters, p. 185-6-7, &c. In the heads of the bill to prevent the further growth of popery in 1703, we find thefe words," and whereas many perfons, fo profeffing the popish religion, have if in their power to raise divifions among proteftants, by voting in elections for members of parliament, &c." Com. Jour. vol. iii. f. 130. These recruits were far from being fuch despicable creatures as Dr. King has reprefented them. "They feemed to Lord Clarendon to be very good men, well-fized, and as adroit (in their exercises) as could be expected of new men." State Lett. vol. ii. p. 54. Thefe recruits were moftly Roman catholic natives: Of whom his excellency in another letter fays, "if the king will have one half of the Irish army to be natives, and the other half English, good God, why fhould not the chief governor be trufted with it, and why fhould it not be orderly done, which would make it well-digefted, and not frighten people out of their wits!" Ib. p. 392. He alludes here to Tyrconnel's rafhly interfering in thefe matters, even during his excellency's government of Ireland. 2 I England. In one of these he complains, " that the new recruits were often affronted by the boys in Dublin, and that the foldiers, that were put out, did rap them foundly at fifty-cuffs." From another of these dispatches it appears, that thefe infults and diforders of the inhabitants of Dublin towards these recruits had risen so high, that his lordship was obliged, " to fend to the lord mayor, to let him know, that he expected he would keep the town in order, and not fuffer any rudenefs to be committed." And as for the forwardness of the popish priests at that juncture, fuch provocation was really given them from the pulpit, and otherwise, not only by the inferior proteftant clergy, but even by the bishops,3 "that his excellency thought himself bound to fend for the bishop of Meath to rebuke him, on that account; and to let him know his mind on that head, which that bifhop promised to obferve." And although he had refolved" to hold the fame course with other bishops, and had even fufpended fome of the turbulent • State Lett. vol. i. p. 295. 2 Id. ib. p. 294.. b On this occafion his excellency "affured fome of the Roman catholic bifhops, that he would give effectual orders, that whatever should happen of that kind, the parties should not be countenanced, and that their fuperiors fhould have notice of them. For that he was too well acquainted with the mischief that fort of loose clergy had done, who would fubmit to no authority; of which," adds he, "there are too many in all religions." State Lett. vol. i. p. 136-7. In this letter to Lord Sunderland, his excellency acquaints him, "that he was then giving the neceffary orders, which Lord Sunderland had directed, to all archbishops, bishops, fheriffs, &c. that the Roman catholic clergy might not be molefted in the exercife of their functi ons." Id. ib. "I believe you will hear a noife, (fays Lord Clarendon on this occafion) of two fermons which were preached here (Dublin) before me on all-faints day, and the 5th of November. Indeed they were indifcreet and impertinent fermons, and I do as little love to have preachers meddle with controverfy or politics, as any body can do; I know neither of the men, but if I had, it had been all one, I would have done what I have done; the very next day I caufed them both to be fufpended and filenced." Ib. vol. ii. p. 82. turbulent preachers," yet he fays,' " he could not anfwer, but fome impertinent things would be faid even before himself, and that he durft not undertake to keep the inferior clergy of Dublin within the bounds of duty and good manners." С НА Р. VII. The conduct of the Irish and English army compared. If the new Irish recruits were infolent and flagitious, their officers, according to Dr. King's account of them, were infinitely more fo. Thefe officers were, in truth, the fons of fome of the best, but defpoiled, families of the kingdom. But if we believe the doctor," they were the scum' and rafcality of the nation, who ruined all the proteftant inns; and might have killed whom they pleased, without fear of the law." In short, there was no irregularity, vice, or villainy, which he has not reprefented them to be capable of, and difpofed to commit. b 5 Ib. Allowing State of the Proteftants, p. 47. a Lord Chief Justice Keating (" whom," as Lord Clarendon teftifies," all, parties owned to be a good man." State Let. vol. i. p. 140.) in a letter dated 1688, fays, "that the Roman catholic nobility and gentry of Ireland were univerfally concerned both in the Irish army then raised, and in that which was afterwards to be raised." Append. to King's State of the Proteftants, &c. Lord Clarendon himself, when in the government, had recommended several of these Roman catholic officers to be provided for, as Lord Brittas, Captain Butler, Major M'Carthy, Colonel Lacy, and others. State Let. paffim, and vol. i. p. 4. The first and last of the above-named officers, he says, were almoft ruined by Oates's villainy. Ib. This fcurrility feems less indecently applicable to king William's officers in Ireland; for Marshal Schomberg, in a letter to his majefty from Lifburn, January 1689, tells him," that most of the Irish officers under him, particularly thofe of the En nifkilleners Allowing for a moment this account of king James's officers to be true, which we fhall juft now prove to be falfe, how much more fhocking and authentic accounts have we of the treachery and cruelty of the principal commanders and adherents of king William on this occafion? In "Dr. Sheridan, the deprived Bishop of Kilmore, affured Mr. Carte, that being well acquainted with the old Earl of Peterborough, and often with him, he fhewed him at one of his vifits, Sir George Hewit's original confeffion, with his hand and feal to it (which was afterwards fent to king James in France). the confeffion, the faid Sir George Hewit, (who had been made a lord by king William,) begged pardon of God and king James, for his difloyalty and rebellion; and declared in it, that the night before king James went to Salisbury, the Earl of Rochester and Lord Churchill, now Duke of Marlborough, the Bishop of London (Stewart alfo, who is now a general officer), as he remembers, and himself, with others, met at Mr. Hatton Compton's house in St. Alban's-street; and there it was debated among them, how they fhould do the best service to the Prince of Orange; and at length it was refolved, that the Earl of Rochefter fhould attend the king at Salisbury, but in order to betray all his councils to the Prince of Orange; and the 2 Macphers. Orig. Pap. vol. i. p. 280. niskilleners and Derry-men, were peafants." Dalrymple's Mem. vol. ii. p. 72. part ii. The fame Marfhal Schomberg mentioning king James's army, fays, "the enemy are not only strong in numbers, but alfo well difciplined, and the fituation of their camp as well chofen as the ableft generals could contrive." Ib. P. 51. Of his own officers he fays, " I never was in an army where there were fo many new and lazy officers. The officers of the artillery are ignorant, lazy, and timorous. I difcovered that in the artillery, there has been a great deal of roguery." p. 60, et paffim. Ib. King James's Irish officers raised their own regiments, "and maintained them for five months at their own expence; the most of them having laid out all they were worth, and reduced themselves to an impoffibility of doing fo any longer.'" King James's Memoirs. Macpherson's Hift. Great Britain, vol. iii. p. 194-5. the Lord Churchill fhould endeavour to feize king James's perfon, and carry him off to the prince; but if he could not do that, he fhould piftol him or stab him when he was in the coach with him. This," adds Mr. Carte," the bishop has protested to me, more than once or twice, he saw written in the confeffion of Sir George Hewit." Mr. Lesley has juftly obferved on Dr. King's charge, "that there never was, and perhaps never will be, a war, wherein there were not fome diforderly and wicked perfons; and that, that army is beft conducted and difciplined, wherein fuch crimes are feweft and leaft. Now," fays he, "whether the proteftant army, then in Ireland, was not much more mifchievous and ungovernable than the popish, I appeal to the teftimony of an enemy then on the fpot." That enemy was Dr. Gorge, secretary to Marshal Schomberg, who, in a letter to Colonel James Hamilton,' (after having told him, "that the foldiers in the proteftant army under king William, robbed and plundered at pleafure; that fome of its leaders ridiculed, fcorned, and condemned all motions for its good government See Append. to Lesley's Answer to King. d Marshal Schomberg, in a letter to king William, in February, 1690, informs him, that "the Enniskillen and Londonderry regiments were upon a footing of licence both to rob and fteal." Dalrymple's Mem. vol. iii. p. 78. In another letter he tells his majesty, that " one must count upon the troops raised in Ireland (for his majesty's fervice) only as fo many cravats. That, in the day of battle, they will always throw themselves upon the first plunder. That Mr. Harbord (pay-master general of his army) had experience of this: for that having gone one night, with his fowling-piece, upon a party with Count Schomberg, and having fallen from his horse, five or fix Ennifkillen-troopers began to ftrip and rob him, although he cried out that he was pay-master, and that he would give them money to carry him to the camp; but that a French officer, in paffing, having known him, the Enniskilleners brought him back." Id. ib. p. 66. "I don't love to pillage," adds the Marfhal," I do what I can to prevent others from doing it, who think |