С НА Р. VI. Commiffioners fent from Ireland; their characters and defigns. As foon as the king was proclaimed, Sir Charles Coote and his affociates fent commiffioners to his ma jesty, whom they called commiffioners from the state; and a prefent of money from the fame, accompanied with all those profeffions of duty, which could be expected from the best of subjects. These commiffioners were the Lord Broghill, Sir Audley Mervin, Sir John Clotworthy, and feveral other perfons of quality, much the greater number whereof "had been always notorious for the differvice they had done the king. All these commiffioners from the state had inftructions, to which they were to conform, in defiring nothing from the king, but the fettling of his own authority amongst them, the ordering the army, the reviving the execution of the laws, and fettling the courts of justice, and such other particulars, as purely related to the public; and their public addresses were to this, and no other purpose. But then,' to their private friends, and fuch as they defired to make their friends, most of them had many pretences of merit, and many expedients by which the king might reward them, and out of which they might be able liberally to gratify their patrons. And by these means, all who ferved the king were furnished with fuits enough to make their fortunes, in which they prefently engaged themselves, with very troublesome importunity to the king himself, and all others, who, they thought, had credit, or power to advance their defires." Lord Broghill appeared fo very generous, and to be without the leaft pretence to any advantage to himfelf, that he quickly got himself believed; and having free • Clarendon's Life. 2 Id. ib. 3 Id. ib. free access to the king, by mingling apologies for what he had done, with promises of what he would do, he made himself so acceptable to his majefty, that he heard him willingly, because he made all things eafy to be done and compaffed; and gave fuch affurances to the bed-chamber men, to help them to good fortunes in Ireland, which they had reason to despair of in England, that he wanted not their teftimony on all occafions, nor their defence and vindication, when any thing was reflected upon to his disadvantage or reproach." The ground-work of the before-mentioned expedients, proposed by these commiffioners for the public fervice of the kingdom, was the calling a new parliament, consisting only of proteftant peers, and commoners; a general pardon, and indemnity to all the proteftants; and that nothing fhould be done to the prejudice of the adventurers or foldiers; or towards qualifying the Irish for recovering poffeffion of their eftates. СНА Р. VII. The Irish catholics excluded out of the general act of oblivion. IT was apprehended that the act of oblivion, and general pardon, which the English parliament had been drawing up to be presented to the king at his landing, might be so extenfive as to comprehend the Roman catholics of Ireland.' To prevent this, other agents were fent over by perfons concerned in the new purchases; all thefe attended the house of commons, fuggefting continually, that they never could be secure in any parliament, that could be called in Ireland, if it did not exclude out of that act of general indemnity, all perfons who had any hand in the rebellion; under which notion, they comprehended promifcuoufly all thofe thofe of the Roman catholic religion, who had been fequeftered or in arms. 2 Reports also were industriously spread by these agents that the Irish were ready to rife into a new rebellion. But this was a thing impoffible to be conceived by any body that knew the miferable condition of these people.' There were, indeed, fome perfons, who had been deprived of their eftates, fo transported with the thoughts of regaining them upon the king's being proclaimed, that they endeavoured to take poffeffion of them immediately, without having recourfe to those methods which the law prescribes, in cafe of being unlawfully dif-feized. Thefe were chiefly of those Irish gentlemen, who had been found innocent, when in Cromwell's time, inquifition was made into the guilt of perfons concerned in the rebellion; and who were afterwards by him forced to quit their ancient eftates, and accept of other lands in Connaught or Clare in lieu thereof. They had fuffered grievously in the exchange, and having been transplanted by an ufurped power, eafily imagined, they might warrantably re-enter upon their former poffeffions, and eject the intruders, as all in England did, whofe eftates had been taken from them' by the ufurpers. Hence arose several riots and disturbances, which the convention at Dublin taking hold of, published on May the 20th, a declaration for preferving the peace, and quieting poffeffions; and the fevere laws and ordinances lately made by the ufurpers against the Irifh, were hereupon put in execution. They were not allowed to go from one province to another, to tranfact their bufinefs; abundance of the eftated men were imprisoned, all their letters to and from Dublin intercepted, and the gentry forbid to meet, and thereby deprived of the means of agreeing upon agents to take care of their interests, and of an opportunity to represent their griev CHAP. VIII. A proclamation publifhed against the Irish. THE members of both houses of the English parliament thus clofely folicited by the convention agents, and too apt of themselves to believe the worst things that could be fuggefted concerning these people, joined in a representation to his majefty, as foon as he came to London," that many of the natives of Ireland, who had been deeply guilty of the late rebellion, had broke out of late into new acts of force and violence, fome of them robbing, defpoiling, and murdering feveral of the proteftants there planted, and others by force entering upon, and difquieting the poffeffions of the adventurers, and foldiers, to the great and manifest disturbance of the English plantation; and they desired that a proclamation might be iffued to reprefs these attempts." 2 The king accordingly, on the 3d of June, 1660, iffued a proclamation, wherein, taking notice, by the information of the lords and commons, that many of the natives of Ireland had broken out into the abovementioned acts of violence, and bloodshed, " did, by the advice of faid lords and commons, hold it his duty to God, and the whole protestant intereft, to command, publish and declare, that all Irish rebels, other than fuch as by articles had liberty to refide in his dominions, and had not forfeited the benefit thereof, that should refort to England, or Ireland, fhould be forthwith apprehended, and proceeded against as rebels and traitors; and that the adventurers, foldiers and others, who were on the 1st of January laft paft, in poffeffion of any of the manors, caftles, houfes, or lands of any of the faid Irish rebels, should not be disturbed in their poffeffions, till either legally evicted by due course of law, or till his majefty, majefty, by the advice of parliament, had taken further order therein." This proclamation was not more injurious to many of the loyal Irish, whom it caufed to be imprisoned, or driven out of both kingdoms, than it was fortunate to all thofe, whom the late ufurpers had left masters of their eftates. For, by being thus preferved in the enjoyment of the freeholds, they were enabled to chufe reprefentatives to their mind, in the enfuing parliament, who, they knew, would confirm and perpetuate their unjust poffeffions. LORD Chancellor Euftace, Lord Broghill, now Earl of Orrery, and Sir Charles Coote, now alfo Earl of Montrath, "These two (new) earls," fays Clarendon, " had been eminently against the king; but upon this turn, when all other powers were down, were eminently for him. But the king had not then power to chufe any against whom fome as material objections might not be made. With them there were too many others, upon whom honours were conferred; upon fome, that they might do no harm, who were thereby enabled to do the more." Clar. Life, vol. ii. p. 219. Yet fome writers weakly contend, that Orrery was all along, even while he ferved Cromwell, eminently, though fecretly for him. Among the reft his biographer, Morrice, draws a ridiculous inference of fuch loyal intention in his lordship, from fome of the worft and moft obnoxious circumstances of his conduct, when most intimately connected with that ufurper. "When Lord Orrery," fays he, " had given his word to be faithful to Cromwell, it would have been dishonourable in him not to keep it. He served the protector while he lived, honestly, difinterestedly, and zealously, and ftill with a view of bringing back the king; of which the defign of marrying his majesty to Cromwell's daughter, was a ftrong inftance, and from the fame motive did his lordship endeavour to perfuade Cromwell to accept the title of king." Mem. of E. Orrery, prefixed to his Lett. p. 98. The |