ties, through which they paffed. The finding of these juries was alike every where; there being a great calm in all places; no preparations for a rifing, nor fo much as a rumour of any new troubles. Nothing could be more frivolous, and void of proof, than the paper which the commons drew up on this occafion, and prefented to the lords juftices; who yet thought fit to fend it, inclosed in their letters, to Secretary Nicholas, fignifying at the fame time their opinion, that it would be destructive to the English intereft, to admit the Irish to trade and fettle in corporate towns; or to allow the Roman catholic lawyers to practife in their profeffion; both which, however, had been pofitively allowed by his majesty's letters."

CHAP. XI.

The parties principally fufpected of this confpiracy, voluntarily appear before the lords juftices, in order to detect the forgery.'

2

THE imputation of a confpiracy' was matter of great apprehenfion to the whole body of the Irish Roman Catholics; all their fortunes depending on the pleasure of his majefty, who was likely to be estranged from them, by unjust representations of their difpofitions and defigns. Wherefore the ordinary was prevailed upon to fend for the two priests, whofe names were in the letter; and the Earl of Fingall waited upon the lords justices, to defire a protection with regard to their function, but not to extend to the letter, or any other crime with which they might be charged. But the lords juftices would not grant fuch a protection; and fome of the council told Lord Fingall, that they were no friends to the king, who made any objections, or took measures to prove it a forged letter. Dermott, however, the fuppofed writer of this letter, came to Dublin;

Dublin; as did Phelan, the other priest, to whom it was directed. Soon after the former presented a petition to the council, complaining of the injury done him, by this imposture, defiring leave, notwithstanding his function, to appear before them, to justify his innocence, being ready to fuffer any punishment, if he fhould be found criminal as to that letter, or any thing elfe that might tend to fedition, and the disturbance of his majesty's government. After a long examination, he was committed to the cuftody of an officer; and the next day Phelan appearing, Mr. Belling went with him to the council, who having examined him, committed him in the like manner, upon his denying he had ever received any fuch letter."

"It was very improbable, continues Mr. Carte,+ that the Irish should, at a time when their all depended on the king's good-will to them, be forming against him defigns of an infurrection, which, if they were never fo unfaithful, they were in no condition to execute."

CHA P. XII.

Loyalty of the catholic nobility and gentry of Ireland at this juncture.

ON account of a fevere perfecution at this time raised against them, and in hopes of removing all future pretence for the fame, the catholics of Ireland, having agreed upon a remonftrance and proteftation of their loyalty, which was couched in the strongest and most explicit terms,' fent it by the Earl of Fingall to Mr. Walsh, an Irish Francifcan, then at London, who

2

Walsh's Hift. of the Irish Remonstrance, f. 9.

was

"This religious," fays Mr. Carte, "had always been very cordial and sincere in all his profeffions and zeal for the Duke of Ormond's fervice. And his grace having the post of fene

fchal

was an humble confident of the Duke of Ormond: by whom it was immediately prefented to his majefty, and moft graciously received.

Walsh having foon after come to Ireland, in order to get this remonstrance figned by all the Roman catholic clergy, nobility and gentry of the kingdom (as many of them as were at London, when it was presented, having figned it there) fucceeded fo well, as to obtain, in a fhort time, the fignatures" of fixty-nine of the clergy, fecular and regular; five earls, fix viscounts, two barons, twenty-four colonels and baronets, and fixty efquires and gentlemen."

But

2 lb.

schal or steward to the bishop of Winchester (it being usually given, in antient times, to fome of the moft powerful of the nobility, who were thereby engaged in the protection of the See) by a patent from bishop Morley, with the fee of one hundred pounds a year, had settled it upon him for his fubfiftence. This was all Walsh had to live on. He received it duly, and enjoyed it till his death, which happened a little before the Duke of Ormond's." Orm. vol. ii. f. 548. The fame hiftorian informs us, "that Walsh having urged his grace to turn Roman catholic towards the latter part of his life, the duke told him, among other things," that he wondered, if the condition wherein he was appeared fo dangerous to him, why fo good a friend did not admonish him fooner thereof." "Walth foon faw there was no good to be done, and did not venture on a second attempt." Ib. The following paffage from Lord Castlehaven, further illuftrates this Irish friar's character. His lordship, after having told us," that he had received a long letter by a trumpet from Ireton, fetting forth the great value he had for his perfon, and offering him, if he would retire from the king's fervice and live. in England privately, he should not only enjoy his estate, but remain in safety with the esteem and favour of the parliament;" adds, "I immediately fhewed this letter to Father Peter Walsh, my then ghostly father, whom I had always found faithful to the king, and a lover of his country. With his advice, by the fame trumpet, I anfwered all his points, and rejected his propo sition concerning my own perfon; defiring him withal to fend no more trumpets with fuch errands, if perhaps, he would not have the messenger ill treated. From this time, there was an end of all meffages, and letters between us." Memoirs, p. 127.

3

But the Duke of Ormond now returned to his government, and but too well acquainted with the late diffentions and animofities among the Irish clergy, (which, it will hereafter appear, he then intended to revive) affected to believe, that there could be no certain reliance on any declaration of loyalty from the catholic laity, until the whole body of their clergy had firft unanimously subscribed it. He therefore wrote a letter to Walfh, which was to be fhewn to all thofe ecclefiaftics who were backward in fubfcribing, wherein he told him, "that, confidering how well his majefty received the fubfcriptions to the proteftation prefented to him in England, he did not a little wonder, that the example had not been more readily and frequently followed in Ireland. That he had no other end in wifhing it should, than that those of loyal and peaceable difpofitions might thereby be distinguished from others, for their own advantage; that the fubfcribers were more likely to find fuch advantage than the refufers; and that he defired to know who had already fubfcribed, and who had refused."

His grace already knew, that as this protestation had been cenfured by fome ministers of the court of Rome, on account of its fomewhat intrenching on the pope's fpiritual authority, it would be hardly poffible to prevail on fuch of the Irish clergy, as had expectations from that court, to subscribe it, in the fame offenfive terms, in which it was conceived. For their chief, if not only objection, was to these terms; as Walfh himself owns," that none at all fcrupled about what he calls the catholicnefs of it ;" and that these non-fubfcribers had repeatedly offered to draw up and fign a proteftation of their own, equally loyal to his majefty in point of civil obedience,

3 Walfh's Hift. of the Irifh Remonftrance, f. 94.

4 Ib.

"I must defire the reader," fays he, "to take notice here, that fince the year 1661, till this prefent, about the end of the year 1666, there was not, among fuch a number of pretences and excufes, any one alleged, by any at all, of unlawfulness, unconscionablenefs or uncatholicnefs in point of faith, religion. or morality, in the fubfcription of that remonftrance, or declaration of allegiance." Hift. of the Irish Remonf. f. 42.

obedience, and less liable to misconftruction, with refpect to their spiritual fubjection to the Pope. But all their propofals of that kind were conftantly rejected.

But the Irish nobility and gentry were not quite fo fcrupulous in this refpect; for in order to convince the Duke of Ormond, that the refusal of any number of their clergy fhould be no hindrance to their fubfcribing, in terminis, to the first remonstrance, " they' affembled together at Lord Clanrickard's house in Dublin; where, after Lord Tyrconnel had declared, that their agreement to, and concurrence in, that addrefs, was wholly and folely their own act; that it was originally proposed by the Earls of Clancarty, Carlingford, and himself; and feconded, in very good earneft, by the Earl of Inchiquin, as many noblemen and gentlemen as were then prefent, and had not fubfcribed at London," in number thirty-three, put their names to it; which number being joined to the London fubfcribers, made, in all, one hundred and twenty-one, whereof twenty-one were earls, viscounts, and barons."

Not content with this, they at the fame time drew up a letter, praying and inviting the unanimous, chearful and fpeedy fubfcriptions of all the reft of the catholic noblemen and gentlemen of the kingdom. This letter was figned by the Earls of Castlehaven, Clancarty, Clanrickard, Fingall, Tyrconnel, and Carlingford; and expreffed their hopes,' that the fame prudential, chriftian, catholic, and obvious reafons, which had induced themselves to fign that remonftrance, would prevail upon them alfo to do the like, as these reasons imported no lefs than the clearing of their holy religion from the imputation of most unholy tenets; the affuring his majesty ever more of their loyal thoughts, hearts and hands, in all contingencies whatsoever; and the opening of a door to their own liberty and future eafe, from those rigorous penal laws, under which they, and their predeceffors, had fadly groaned during an hundred years past. That