holders."3 At the same time, Patrick Barnwell, of Kilbrew, esq; one of the most considerable gentlemen of the pale, a venerable old man, of the age of sixty-six, a lover of quiet and highly respected in his country, "having surrendered himself to the earl of Ormond, and received a safe-conduct from sir William Parsons,* was nevertheless, upon his arrival in Dublin, imprisoned and put to the rack; and he (lord Dunsany) and sir John Neterville suffered great hardships afterwards, from the rigor of the lords justices, in their confinement in the castle of Dublin, for twelve or fourteen months; and being refused to be bailed, were ready to perisih for want of relief.” Besides these, sir Andrew Aylmer, Girald and George Aylmer, esqrs. Edward Lawrence, Nicholas and Stephen Dowdal, esqrs. sir Nicholas White and his son, John Talbot, Gerald Fitzgerald, and William Malone, esqrs. all gentlemen of the pale, had either submitted to the lords justices, or to the earl of Ormond in this expedition to Drogheda. But although it was certainly known, that they never were in any manner connected with the insurgents, but on the contrary, that they had greatly suffered by their depredations, " yet they were all committed prisoners to the castle, without being even admitted to the presence of the lords justices; after which they were examined, some by menace, others by torture,† and most of them necessitated to subscribe to what the examiners pleased to

3 Brief Narrative. See Walsh's Reply to a Person of Quality,

4 Carte's Orm. vol. i.

5 Id. ib.

"hav

The earl of Ormond, in a letter to lord justice Parsons, says, ❝ing received from your lordship, a note intimating a safe-guard to Mr. Barnwell, of Kilbrew, I suffered him to come along with me.”—Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 68.

"Patrick Barnwell, of Kilbrew, esq, endured the torture with so steady an avowal of his innocence, and such abundant evidence was offered in his favor, that the justices were ashamed of their cruelty; and to make some amends to the unhappy gentleman, he was permitted to reside in Dublin, and his estate protected from the general havock of the soldiery."-Lek Hist. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 165.

↑ "Preparations were made for their trials. But as they had never been engaged in any hostile action, proper facts were wanting to support a charge against them. To supply this defect, the lords justices had recourse to the rack, in order to extort such confessions as these miscreants had a mind to put into the mouths of these unhappy men."-Warner's Irish Rebel. p. 176,

insert. In consequence of those examinations, and perhaps other kinds of management,* they were all indicted of high treason; and in the space of two days there were above three thousand indictments upon record."

CHAP. XXI.

The gentlemen of the pale petition the king and parliament.

WHILE the gentlemen above-mentioned were confined in the castle of Dublin, they addressed to the earl, now marquis of Ormond, the following petition; inclosing two others, one to his majesty and the other to the English house of commons.†

"May it please your lordship to call to mind,' how your pe titioners, upon your lordship's advancing into the country, with his majesty's army, did come and submit to your lordship; not doubting but that they should thereby partake of his majesty's grace and mercy. And yet they have received as hard mea

Carte's Orm. vol. iii.

The justices" had exerted themselves so vigorously, that indictments of treason were found against those, and above a thousand more in the space of two days."-Lel. Hist. of Irel, ubi supra.

"With a shameless outrage on decency, a memorial was publicly read at the council board, from a friend of sir William Parsons, representing his merits in expending sums of money for procuring witnesses on these indictments."-Id. ib. p. 101.

+ The justices sent only a copy, and that probably imperfect, of these gentlemen's first petition to his majesty; for Borlase informs us," that on the 25th of August, the lords justices in a letter to secretary Nicholas, sent a copy of the rebels petition, together with the letter of the rebels of the pale to the earl of Ormond; in answer to which (adds he) exceptions were taken, that they had not sent the original; and withal (the secretary) took notice that as his majesty would be ready to punish the rebels, so he would not shut up his mercy against those who did unfeignedly repent; upon which the original was sent, and his majesty's pardon begged."-Hist. of the Irish Rebellion, fol. 141.

The earl of Ormond in a letter to these lords justices, March 12th, 1641, sets forth his method of proceeding with such gentlemen as voluntary surrendered themselves to him; from whence, certainly, he could have little or no hope that any grace or mercy would be shewn them: " for those that come in, (says he) the course I hold with them is to put them in safe keeping, either to send them before me to Dublin, or to bring them along with

sure since as if they had been taken prisoners and committed the highest acts of treason. Your lordship cannot forget that we were then out of danger of the army; and that if we had suspected any such hard and extreme usage as we have since found, we might have means and opportunity to shift for ourselves, and at least to continue our former liberty. But we being conscious of no voluntary treason committed by us, did of our own free will and accord put ourselves into your lordship's hands, not doubting but that this was an engagement upon your lordship in point of honor, (if not upon his majesty, as we conceive it is). to intercede to his highness and to the parliament for us; which your lordship has not hitherto done.

"Their humble request unto your lordship is, that for the clearing of yourself from having any hand in the proceedings, which since their submission have been against your petitioners, and for the vindicating your honor unto posterity (which in the opinion of many doth in this much suffer) your lordship will be pleased, by your letters, to transmit their petitions subscribed by them unto his majesty; and also to the honorable house of 'commons in England, which is the least right, and it is in the main nothing but truth, which your lordship is bound in honor to testify."

*

me without any manner of promise or condition, but that they submit to his majesty's (i. e.) their lordships) justice. Nor do I dispute by what power (i. e. if upon the king's proclamation of pardon) they come in, leaving that to your lordships to judge when they are in your hands, and I have told you the manner, which I shall very truly."-Carte's Orm. vol. iii. fol. 68.

"I do not find (says Mr. Carte) that any thing was done in parliament towards the liberty of these (imprisoned) gentlemen, who, upon the king's orders, that such as submitted upon the proclamation, should be allowed the benefit thereof; were admitted to bail a little before the cessation."-Cart. Orm. vol. i. fol. 102.

Ormond, in his letter to secretary Nicholas, transmitting a petition of these gentlem to that house in 1642, tells him, "that the letter and petition sent therewith came to him by an ordinary fellow, an Irishman and a papist; that sir Patrick Wemys, the bearer (who soon after went over to the English rebels) would inform him whose names those were that were to it, and most of their conditions, and that he held it his part to lose no time in the transmission of them, being well assured that his majesty's judgment was not to be surprised by any colors these rebels could cast upon their foul disloyalty."-Carte`s Orm, vol. iii. fol. 102.

This sir Patrick Wemy's, Ormond himself tells us, was " afterwards, in

The marquis of Ormond, in a letter to the speaker of the English house of commons, after having made a kind of apology for sending him these petitions, acquaints him,2 « that, indeed what concerned these gentlemen's coming to him of their own accord, and the course that had been afterwards held with them, was very truly set forth; and that he had not heard of any hostile act that had been done by any of them." But then he immediately subjoins, what certainly was never intended for their service, viz. " and to enter into their hearts, and search what is there, is only peculiar to God. I am not able," adds he, "to judge whether any treason was hatched there or no." And with this invidious insinuation," he submitted it to the wisdom of that great council (the English commons) to advise when and where, and to whom to distribute mercy for the most advantage of the present service." The principal drift of which service, he perfectly well knew, was by all manner of means, to attaint the persons, and confiscate the estates of all the catholic nobility and gentry of the kingdom.*

2 Carte's Orm. vol. iii.

1644, concerned in a treaty to yield up Drogheda to the English parliament; at least so far as amounted to a concealing, which in him (adds his lordship) considering the favors done him by his majesty, and the good offices by me, in my judgment is less pardonable than the contrivance and action of others less obliged." Id. ib. fol. 370.

"The lords justices, who not only favored the designs of their friends in England, but expected to have their own services rewarded by a large portion of forfeitures, were resolved to discourage pacific dispositions. The gentlemen who were sent in custody to Dublin, (on surrendering themșelves to Ormond) though men of respectable characters and families, engaged in no action with the rebels, some, sufferers by their rapine, averse to their proceedings, known protectors of the English, were all indiscrimi. nately denied access to the justices, closely imprisoned and threatened with the utmost severity."-Lel. Hist. of Ireland, vol. iii, p. 163.

Mr. Carte informs us, "that he found in the earl of Ormond's notes written with his own hand, that in April, 1643, there was a letter read at the council board, from an intimate friend of sir William Parsons, who claimed a great merit to himself in getting some hundreds of gentlemen indicted; and the rather that he had laid out sums of money to procure wit nesses to give evidence to a jury for finding these indictments.”—Orm. vol. i. fol. 423.

CHAP. XXII.

Barbarous orders of the lords justices and council to the earl of Ormond.

WERE there any room to call in question the accounts hitherto given of these lords justices cruel and rapacious administration, their own public orders which were constantly and rigorously executed,would authenticate and confirm them, beyond all possibility of doubt. Out of these orders, I shall select two or three passages, for more would be shocking to the reader's humanity,) with reference to the ends all along pursued by them, which evidently were, first to compel such of the Irish as were still quiet, to rise in their own defence, and afterwards to seize on their persons and estates for having yielded to such compulsion.

On the 23d of February, 1641, the earl of Ormond, when on his march towards the Boyne, received the following resolution of the lords justices and council. It is resolved, that it is fit, that his lordship do endeavor, with his majesty's forces, to wound, kill, slay, and destroy, by all the ways and means he may, all the said rebels and their adherents and relievers; and burn, spoil, waste, consume, destroy and demolish all the places, towns and houses where the said rebels are or have been relieved or harbored, and all the corn or hay there; and to kill and destroy all men there inhabiting, able to bear arms."+

On the 9th of the following month, these lords justices and council, dispatched another order to the earl of Ormond, then marching into the pale, with an army of three thousand foot, and five hundred horse, to burn, spoil, and destroy the rebels of the pale, without excepting any. By this order, "those who offered to come in, were in no other manner to be taken in, than as prisoners, taken by the strength of his majesty's army; and if any of them should come to the army, the soldiers were to seize on them, before they had access to his lord1 Carte's Orm, vol. iii.

Irish and rebels were then synonimous terms.

↑ "Can any one think after this, (says Dr. Warner) that these lords justices had any reason to complain of the cruelties committed by the ignorant and savage Irish."-Hist. of the Irish Retel.