Montrath, were appointed lords juftices of Ireland. They had procured inftructions to be fent them from England,'" to tender the oaths of allegiance and fupremacy, to all his majesty's fubjects; to proceed according to law against thofe that fhould refufe them; and to prepare fuch bills, as by them and the privy council (which was then likewife appointed) should be thought to be for the good of the people, in order to a parliament. That parliament met on the 8th of May, 1661. The house of commons confifted of two hundred and fixty members, of which number, all but fixty-four were burgeffes. And 2 Cromwell having filled all the cor 'Cart. Orm. vol. ii. f. 212. 2 Id. Ib. porations The editor of Orrery's letters (the late Earl of Orrery) pretends, that his predeceffor " propofed this match between the king and the protector's daughter, with a remote hope that fuch an alliance might at length bring about a restoration." But how remote, or rather impoffible muft fuch hope have been, when the fame Orrery endeavoured to perfuade the protector himself to accept the title of king? Or perhaps his lordship meant it to be remote in this fenfe, that after King Oliver's decease, King Charles was to fucceed the throne, in virtue of this marriage. "That houfe of commons confifted chiefly of adventurers and foldiers." Cart. Orm. vol. ii. f. 263. For this reafon it seems to be, that from the year 1661 to 1666, the house of lords on all occafions of privilege and conferences, treated these commons with great flight, and even contempt; frequently, after having appointed meetings with them on difputes of their respective privileges, having kept the committees of the commons waiting an hour at their lordships door, and afterwards adjourning themselves without meeting them. See Com. Journ. vol. ii. One paffage of this kind deferves fome notice: a conference was demanded by the lords on the usual wrangle about privilege; when the committee of the commons came to the place appointed, they found no forms for them to fit on as usual; on which they sent to the black rod to appoint his fervants to place forms in the chamber behind the lords chairs; who returned answer, that he could not cause that to be done then they commanded the meffengers belonging to the commons to fet chairs for them inftead of the faid forms. Some porations throughout the kingdom with a fet of people of his own ftamp, it is eafy to account for the ftrength and prevalency of that party in the house, which laboured to make good all the eftates of the adventurers and foldiers, how guilty foever, and refused to hearken to any reasonable proposal, in favour of the old proprietors, however innocent." But even this favourable compofition of the house of commons did not content thefe ftate harpies. In order to have the dividing the spoil of the nation enVOL. II. tirely G Some time after the lords came down to the free conference, and they being fat, the committee of the commons took their feats behind their lordfhips, and as they were opening the free conference, their lordships whifpered to each other, and immediately thereupon told them they could not admit of that posture, and wondered they infifted on that point. After which they rofe, faying they would communicate what paffed to the houfe of lords: being afked by the commons if they should stay for their lordships return, one of the lords (Earl of Drogheda) looking back towards them, faid, "they had a mind all to be lords." Whereupon one of the commons (Capt. Molyneux) answered, why may not another rebellion make fome of us lords as former rebellions did make some of your lordships predeceffors fo." length the black rod came and acquainted them from the lords, that they intended not to return to the faid free conference. Id. vol. ii. f. 518-19. The lords on this occafion made a refolution not to meet the commons in any conference, till the commons made reparation for the affront, in fitting before them; and they kept their refolution during that parliament. Id. ib. vol. ii. "Although his majefty in his letter to these lords juftices of the 11th of March preceding, ordered them to fee Sir William Domville (an honeft and loyal gentleman) fettled speaker of this houfe of commons." (Orrery's State Lett. p. 34.) Yet Sir William not being thought a favourer of their defigns, they found means to fix Sir Audley Mervin, a Cromwellian and covenanter, in the chair." Ib. Orrery, in a letter to Ormond at this time, betrays their thoughts of this parliament's infufficiency for their predatory purpose. "I writ my poor sense to your grace, fays he, how fit it might be, that after this parliament had done what it was requifite for them to do, an unquestionable one might be called to confirm all; which I rejoice to find, was alfo my lord chancellor of Ireland's fenfe, and is so well liked by his majesty, your grace, and my lord chancellor of England." State Lett. p. 68. tirely among themselves, and for ever to preclude the catholics from having any fhare, even in their debates about it, one of their firft illegal refolutions was,' "that no members fhould be qualified to fit in that house, but such as had taken the oaths of allegiance and fupremacy." With the fame view of banishing the catholic peers from the houfe of lords, Primate Bramhall, their fpeaker, procured an order to be paffed there,+ "that all the members thereof fhould receive the facrament of the Lord's fupper from his grace's own hands." To fuch vile and predatory purposes, was one of the most awful inftitutions of religion prostituted at that juncture! But in no other parliament but one fo conftituted, and perverted, could acts, alienating the juft properties of almoft all the catholics in the kingdom, be expected to pass. CHA P. Orrery's State Letters, vol. i. p. 35 + Borl. Reduct. of Irel. p. 34. "May 15th, 1661, Ordered, upon queftion, that the undernamed perfons be, and are hereby appointed a committee to attend the right honourable the lords juftices, and hereby to pray their lordships from this house, to iffue out a warrant to the right honourable the lord chancellor to grant a commission under his majefty's great feal of this kingdom, unto fuch perfons as their lordships fhall think fit, whereby they, or any two or more of them, may be empowered to adminifter the oath of fupremacy, which is established by act of parliament in this kingdom, 2o Elizabeth, and the oath of allegiance established 3° Jacobi in England, unto all and every of the members of this house, that now are, or hereafter fhall be, in fuch manner, form, or order, at large, as in the acts they are feverally expreffed." Com. Journ. vol. i. f. 602. The fame was done in the house of commons. "June 17th, 1661, Ordered, that the undernamed perfons do repair unto his grace the lord primate of all Ireland, and, in the name of this house, do return thanks unto his grace, for his great pains taken yesterday, in preaching and adminiftering the holy facrament of the Lord's fupper unto the members of this houfe." Id. ib. f. 640. "Which (adds Borlafe) I the rather obferve, it being, for what I ever heard, the first order of that nature. The compofi tion of the lords houfe confifting moft of papifts." Ib, СНА Р. X. Falfe reports of a confpiracy among the Irish confidered. The effects of these reports. BUT the commons, not fatisfied even with these advantages, in order to have fome colourable pretext for the injuftice intended, refolved to render the party to be injured as odious as poffible. For this purpose they left no means unattempted, however wicked or abfurd, to countenance and diffuse the calumny, lately raised by their emiffaries, as if the Irish had actually entered into a real confpiracy. They had with great industry, called before them several witneffes to prove that the papists were fometimes feen attending divine fervice in their own way, and that confiderable numbers of people were gathered together on fuch occafions; that a cutler's apprentice had new furbished an old fword for one of them; and that another was detected buying a horfe for his neceffary occafions. Such proofs of a confpiracy, fays Mr. Carte, might have appeared good and fufficient to the two new earls, but did not fatisfy Sir Maurice Euftace, and a few others. Recourfe was, therefore, had to an old expedient for realizing imaginary plots, which had been formerly found fuccessful.' A letter fuppofed to have been written by one Irish priest to another, upon G 2 fomewhat a❝ The enemies and competitors of the Irish," fays Dr. Leland on this occafion, "were indefatigable in endeavouring to load their whole party with the guilt of new confpiracies; and even manifest forgeries were received as folid proofs." Hist. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 426. b"All the foundation (fays Mr. Carte) for this infinuation was, that there had been of late, meetings of the poor Irish at maffes, in order to partake of a jubilee, which the pope had sent them; but the whole kingdom knew that they were in no condition to rebel." Orm. vol. ii. f. 231. fomewhat that was deemed treasonable, because dark and unintelligible, was fomewhere found and laid before the parliament, by one Jephfon, a member; who, with feveral other members, was himself, about two years after, convicted of a real confpiracy againft the government and executed for the fame. In confequence of this pretended difcovery, a proclamation was iffued, and executed with great rigour," by which all artificers and fhopkeepers, who had been left in their habitations by the ufurpers, at the time of the transplantation, were now banished from Kilkenny, and other great towns. Horfes and arms, being no where else to be found, were fought for in trunks and cabinets; and filver cups were defined to be chalices. The letter above-mentioned was tranfmitted into England with a reprefentation of the infolence of the papifts, for whofe fuppreflion, in order to prevent the threatened danger, his majefty's directions were defired." "But Chancellor Euftace fufpected the injuftice, as well as defign, of this charge against the Irish; and to discover what ground there was for it, he directed the judges in their circuits to cause the matter to be enquired into by the grand juries of the feveral coun 3 Com. Journ. vol. ii. f. 337. 4 Cart. Orm. vol. ii. ties, He reprefented the borough of Trim in the county of Meath. Com. Jour. vol. ii. f. 337. The following members, "Robert Shapcote, John Chambers, Thomas Boyd, Alexander Staples, Abel Warren, John Ruxton, and Thomas Scot, Efqrs. were voted, nem. contradic." for having been engaged in this plot," to be expelled the house, and made incapable of ever fitting in future parliaments; and that the faid expelled members be left to the courts of juftice to be further proceeded against." Id. ib. f. 347. The charge of the house of commons against these men was, "that they were engaged in a late wicked and horrid plot, to have furprized his majefty's castle of Dublin, to have feized on the perfon of his grace James Duke of Ormond, and to have involved the three kingdoms in blood." Ib. f. 350. The above expelled members were also incapable of exercifing any employment civil, military, or ecclefiaftical within the kingdom." Ib. f. 354. made 66 |