though in his expedition on the coast of Spain, his foldiers committed many outrages, and profanations of what was held facred by the inhabitants; yet after the bill of attainder had paffed against him, he fled for protection to that country, where he had connived at the facrilegious exceffes of his army; and afterwards retired to Avignon, a territory belonging to the first prelate of that church, which he had treated with fo much cruelty. Upon the return of this bill to prevent the further growth of popery from England, "Nicholas Lord Kingsland, Colonel John Brown, Colonel Burke, Colonel Robert Nugent, Major Allen, Captain Arthur French, with other Roman catholics of Ireland, and perfons comprized in the articles of Limerick and Galway, petitioned to be heard by counsel against it; which was granted." This returned bill had a clause inferted in England, which gave great offence to the whole body of diffenters in Ireland; many of whom, then in the house of commons, were perfons of confiderable power and influence. For this reafon it was expected, that it would have been totally laid afide; and the rather, because the diffenters had lately received no fmall difguft by a refolution of a committee in October 1703,7 "that the penfion of one thousand two hundred pounds "Com. Jour. vol. iii. f. 173. 7 Id. vol. ii. f. 76. per "A claufe was added (in England), which they (Roman catholics) hoped would hinder its being accepted in Ireland. That matter was carried on fo fecretly, that it was known to none but those who were at the council, till the news of it came from Ireland, upon its being fent thither. The claufe was to this purpose, that none in Ireland fhould be capable of any employment, or of being in the magistracy of any city, who did not qualify themselves by receiving the facrament, according to the teft-act paffed in England; which before this time had never been offered to the Irish nation. It was hoped, by. those who got this claufe added to the bill, that thofe in Ireland, who promoted it moft, would now be the lefs fond of it, when it had fuch a weight hung to it." Burnet's Hift. of his own Times, vol. ii. f. 214. C per annum, granted to the prefbyterian minifters in Ulfter, was an unneceffary branch of the efstablishment." وو The diffenters, in their petition to the commons on occafion of the above mentioned claufe, complained, "that, to their great furprize and disappointment, they found a clause inferted in the act to prevent the further growth of popery, which had not its rife in that honourable house; whereby they were difabled from executing any public truft, for the fervice of her majefty, the proteftant religion, or their country; unless, contrary to their confciences, they fhould receive the Lord's fupper, according to the rights and ufages of the established church." This claufe has been fince called the facramental teft, then first impofed on the diffenters of Ireland; whose zeal against popery was fo creduloufly blind at that juncture, that upon a promife given them of having it repealed on the first opportunity, they readily concurred in paffing, together with the claufes against popery, that mortifying one against themselves. But their friends in parliament, afterwards wanting either the power or the inclination to make good their pro; mise, that clause was not only left unrepealed, but alfo put in frequent and ftrict execution, during all queen Anne's reign. In October 1707, these commons entered into fuch fevere refolutions against diffenters, as plainly fhewed, how little confidence their brethren ought to have placed in the promise they made them in 1703. For firft, they " refolved that, by an act to prevent the further growth of popery, the burgeffes of Belfast were obliged to subscribe the declaration, and receive the facrament according to the ufage of the church of Ireland." And fecondly, upon the noncompliance of fome of thefe burgeffes; "that the burgefsfhip of the faid burgeffes of Belfaft, who had not fubfcribed the declaration, and received the facrament, pursuant to the faid act, was, by fuch neglect, become 'Prefbyterian Loyalty, fub finem. 99 10 become vacant." In fhort, notwithstanding the most strenuous and repeated efforts ever fince made by the diffenters, to have that difqualifying claufe repealed, it ftill remains in full force against them; although its execution has been either artfully evaded, or benignly connived at, fince the acceffion of the prefent royal family to the throne of these kingdoms. CHA P. V. The fame fubject continued. On the 23d of February, 1703, pursuant to leave given by the commons,' Sir Theobald Butler, Counfellor Malone, and Sir Stephen Rice (the two former in their gowns, as counfel for the petitioners in general, and the last without a gown, as only a petitioner in his private capacity), appeared at the bar of the house of commons. Sir Theobald Butler, the first and principal speaker on this occafion, demonstrated in a long and pathetic speech, that almost every clause in the act then before them, relating to the Roman catholics of Ireland, was a direct infringement of one or other of the articles of Limerick, which he, at the fame time, held in his hand. "Articles," added he, "folemnly engaged to them, as the public faith of the nation! That all the Irish, then in arms against the government, had fubmitted thereunto, and furrendered the city of Limerick, and all the other garrifons in their poffeffion; when they were in a condition to have held out, till they might have been relieved by the fuccours then coming out of France; that they had taken 1. Id. ib. Account of the Debates on the Popery Law of 2d. Q. Ann. 2 Ib. * This claufe was repealed without any oppofition in the feffions of 1782. * See Appendix No. XV. taken fuch oaths to the king and queen, as by the faid articles they were obliged to take; that their fubmiffion was upon fuch terms, as ought to be then, and at all times, made good to them; and that therefore to break thofe articles, would be the greatest injuftice for any one people in the whole world to inflict upon another, being contrary to the laws of both God and man. That the cafe of the Gibeonites, 2 Sam. xxi. 1. was a fearful example of the breach of public faith, which, above an hundred years after, brought nothing lefs than a three years famine on the land; and stayed no* until the lives of all Saul's family atoned for it. That even among the Heathens, and most barbarous of nations, all the world over, the public faith was always held facred and binding, and that furely it would find no less regard in that honourable affembly." The fame, and other arguments, against the paffing of this bill, were fuffered to be pleaded at the bar of the houfe of lords; but were equally difregarded by both houses. The petitioners were told,'" that if they were to be deprived of the benefit of the articles of Limerick, it would be their own faults, fince by conforming to the established religion, they would be entitled to these and many other benefits; that therefore they ought not to blame any but themselves; that the paffing of that bill into a law was needful for the fecurity of the kingdom at that juncture; and in fhort, that there was nothing in the articles of Limerick, that fhould hinder them to pafs it." This anfwer of the commons needs no commentary; the former part of it evidently exhibits nothing elfe but downright mockery, and a public infult on national faith. And by the latter, befides the notorious falfehood of it, a maxim feems to be adopted, that tends to deftroy all truft and confidence among men, viz. that the most folemn engagements between parties may be violated or fet afide by either of them, upon a feigned or groundlefs apprehenfion of danger from the 3 Debates, ubi fupra... other, other, by keeping it. I call the apprehenfion of danger, in this cafe, feigned or groundlefs; because I think, I may venture to challenge the ablest and most zealous sticklers for this law, to produce even one inftance of fuch mifconduct of the Roman catholics of Ireland, from the year 1691, when the articles of Limerick were figned, to the year 1704, when this first act to prevent the further growth of popery was paffed, as could occafion in the government any apprehenfion of danger or difturbance from them. That no fuch inftance could be then produced, appears from hence, that one of the principal objections to their conduct was, "their not having congratulated her majefty queen Anne, by a dutiful addrefs, on her acceffion to the throne, as her proteftant fubjects had done;" which, as it may be reasonably accounted for, from their diftreffed, perfecuted, and defponding condition at that juncture; fo, had they actually addreffed her majesty on that occafion, in the most humble and dutiful manner that could be devised, moft probable it is, that their very accufers would have confidered and reprefented it, as the meer effect of adulation and hypocrify; if not of infolence and presumption in them. Thus on the 4th of March, 1704, the royal affent was given to an act, which, befides its being a violation of national faith, has been hitherto productive of every species of private, as well as public, injury; by stripping men of their property, for not parting with their integrity; by fining and imprisoning them, for confcientious diffent from fettled forms of worship; or for holding tenets merely spiritual, and totally foreign from "We agree," fays Dean Swift, fpeaking of the catholics, "with our fellow diffenters, that perfecution, merely for conscience sake, is against the genius of the gofpel. And fo likewife, is any law for depriving men of their natural and civil rights which they claim as men. We are also ready enough to allow, that the smallest negative difcouragements for uniformity's fake, are fo many perfecutions. Becaufe, it cannot be denied, that the scratch of a pin is in fome degree a real wound, as |