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catholics as to his majesty's other subjects, without tendering them the oath of supremacy; and for presenting to him such as should be chosen into offices, that he might dispense with their taking the said oath according to the rules; that he had then received returns from about twenty of the corporations, all full of duty and obedience; and that, in some places, where they had two bailiffs, which are there the chief magistrates, they had, without any contest, chosen one of each religion."

And although, in the year 1686, some seeming opposition, in that respect, was made by the lord mayor and aldermen of Dublin; or rather, as lord Clarendon expresses it, 7“ not so speedy a compliance given to the king's commands as he expected;" yet it is by no means true, that they were so very resolute, or uncomplying in that particular as King and Harris have represented them. On the contrary, it appears, that they afterwards not only complied with the king's orders, but also made a proper and reasonable apology for their not having done so sooner. For his excellency having sent for the lord mayor of Dublin to come to him, he, with the aldermen, expressed great readiness to obey the king in any thing he should command them; but said, that it being their constitution, that freemen should be elected only at certain terms, they could not prevail with the commons, without whose consent that rule could not be altered, though they tried twice, by his lordship's positive directions, to admit any freemen, till the usual time; and when that time came," adds his lordship," all the Roman catholics, who made application, were admitted."*

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• The following extracts from papers relating to the admitting of papists into corporations, and sent by secretary Coventry to lord Essex, in 1674, chief governor of Ireland, may throw some light on this affair.

"In most of the corporations of Ireland, the freemen were generally papists in the year 1641, and so continued till about the year 1652; and although most of the persons who were then free, may now be presumed to be dead, yet there being a custom in most corporations, that all the sons of freemen are also free of the corporations whereof their fathers were free, there cannot but be now very many papists living, who are intitled to their freedoms in their several corporations. In the usurper's time, all the papists, that were freemen, were hindered from enjoying the benefit of their freedom.

"Since the king's restoration, many disputes have happened concerning

CHAP. VI.

The behavior of the Irish priests, and new recruits, under king James, impartially considered.

HAD Dr. King been as candid in his relation of facts, as he ought, and as he solemnly professed to be; at the same time that he reproached the papists of Ireland, with the forwardness of some of their clergy, and the insolence of the new recruits, at this period, in Dublin; he would have given us," at least, some intimation of the provocations, which both of

the papists (in Ireland) who were formerly free, being admitted again into the corporations.

"By a letter from the king, dated the 22d of May, 1661, his majesty declared his pleasure, that the respective former inhabitants, natives and freemen, and such as had a right to be freemen in any of the cities or towns in this kingdom (Ireland), should be forthwith restored to their accustomed privileges and immunities, and admitted to trade, in the said respective cities and towns, as freely as heretofore, without making any national distinction, or giving any interruptions, upon pretence of difference of judgment, or opinion, in matters of religion. Notwithstanding this letter, many of the antient freemen, that were papists, were kept out of several of the corporations,

"His majesty afterwards, by his letters bearing date 26th February, 1671, in the time of lord Berkley's government, did again declare his pleasure that all the antient freemen of the respective corporations should enjoy their former freedoms and privileges. Yet in some of the corporations, in which the number of protestants is great, many of the papists are still kept out, and hindered from their freedoms. If they should be hindered from their freedoms, they will complain that there is no law to take that benefit from them that it is against the king's pleasure, expressly declared in his several letters, and since made public by proclamation; that by the rules, papists, who are foreigners, may be admitted to be free in the corporations, and that it will be hard to bar papists, who are na, tives, from enjoying that freedom which has been already granted them.”— Lord Esser's Letters, p, 185-6-7, &c.

In the heads of the bill to prevent the further growth of popery in 1703, we find these words," and whereas many persons, so professing the popish religion, have it in their power to raise divisions among protestants, by voting in elections for members of parliament, &c."-Com. Jour. vol. iii. f. 130.

These recruits were far from being such despicable creatures as Dr. King has represented them. "They seemed to lord Clarendon to be very good men, well-sized, and as adroit (in their exercises) as could be expected of new men."-State Lett. vol. ii. p. 54.

These recruits were mostly Roman catholic natives: Of whom his ex

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them had received from the protestant inhabitants of that city; which indeed were so great and notorious, that lord Clarendon takes frequent notice of them in his dispatches into Eng, land. In one of these he complains,1 "that the new recruits were often affronted by the boys in Dublin, and that the soldiers, that were put out, did rap them soundly at fisty-cuffs." From another of these dispatches it appears, that these insults and disorders of the inhabitants of Dublin towards these recruits had risen so high, that his lordship was obliged, "to send to the lord mayor, to let him know, that he expected he would keep the town in order, and not suffer any rudeness to be com mitted." And as for the forwardness of the popish priests at that juncture, such provocation was really given them from the pulpit, and otherwise, not only by the inferior protestant clergy, but even by the bishops, 3" that his excellency thought himself bound to send for the bishop of Meath to rebuke him 2 Id. ib. p. 294.

1 State Lett. vol. i. p. 295.

3 Id. ib. vol. i, p. 84.

cellency in another letter says, "if the king will have one half of the Irish army to be natives, and the other half English, good God, why should not the chief governor be trusted with it, and why should it not be orderly done, which would make it well-digested, and not frighten people out of their wits!" Ib. p. 392.—He alludes here to Tyrconnel's rashly interfering in these matters, even during his excellency's government of Irciand.

* On this occasion his excellency "assured some of the Roman catholic bishops, that he would give effectual orders, that whatever should happen of that kind, the parties should not be countenanced, and that their superiors should have notice of them. For that he was too well acquainted with the mischief that sort of loose clergy had done, who would submit to no authority; of which," adds he, "there are too many in all religions." State Lett, val, i. p. 136-7.—In this letter to lord Sunderland, his excellency acquaints him, "that he was then giving the necessary orders, which lord Sunderland had directed, to all archbishops, bishops, sheriffs, &c. that the Roman catholic clergy might not be molested in the exercise of their functions." Id. ih.—“ I believe you will hear a noise, (says lord Clarendon on this occasion) of two sermons which were preached here (Dublin) before me on all-saints day, and the 5th of November. Indeed they were indiscreet and impertinent sermons, and I do as little love to have preachers meddle with controversy or politics, as any body can do; I know neither of the men, but if I had, it had been all one, I would have done what I have done; the very next day I caused them both to be suspended and silenced.”—Ib. vol. ii. p. 82.

on that account; and to let him know his mind on that head which that bishop promised to observe." And although he, had resolved to hold the same course with other bishops, and had even suspended some of the turbulent preachers," yet he says, 5 5" he could not answer, but some impertinent things would be said even before himself; and that he durst not undertake to keep the inferior clergy of Dublin within the bounds of duty and good manners."

CHAP. VII.

The conduct of the Irish and English army compared.

I

IF the new Irish recruits were insolent and flagitious, their officers, according to Dr. King's account of them, were infinitely more so. These officers were, in truth, the sons of some of the best, but despoiled, families of the kingdom. But if we believe the doctor,* « they were the scum and rascality of the nation, who ruined all the protestant inns; and might have killed whom they pleased, without fear of the law." In short, there was no irregularity, vice, or villainy, which he has not represented them to be capable of, and disposed to commit.†

4 Ib.

s Ib.

State of the Protestants, p. 47.

Lord chief justice Keating (“whom,” as lord Clarendon testifies, "all parties owned to be a good man." State Lett. vol. i. p. 140.)—in a letter dated 1688, says, "that the Roman catholic nobility and gentry of Ireland were universally concerned both in the Irish army then raised, and in that which was afterwards to be raised."-Append. to King's State of the Protestants, &c.

Lord Clarendon himself, when in the government, had recommended several of these Roman catholic officers to be provided for, as lord Brittas, captain Butler, major M'Carthy, colonel Lacy, and others. State Lett. passim, and vol. i. p. 4.-The first and last of the above-named officers, he says, were almost ruined by Oates's villainy-Ib.

This scurrility seems less indecently applicable to king William's ⚫fficers in Ireland; for marshal Schomberg, in a letter to his majesty from Lisburn, January 1689, tells him," that most of the Irish officers under him, particularly those of the Enniskilleners and Derry-men, were peasants." Dalrymple's Mem, vol. ii. p. 72. part ii.--The same marshal Schom berg mentioning king James's army, says, "the enemy are not only strong in numbers, but also well disciplined, and the situation of their camp as well chosen as the ablest generals could contrive." Ib. p. 51.-Of his own

*

Allowing for a moment this account of king James's officers to be true, which we shall just now prove to be false, how much more shocking and authentic accounts have we of the treachery and cruelty of the principal commanders and adherents of king William on this occasion ?

"Dr. Sheridan, the deprived bishop of Kilmore, assured Mr. Carte, that being well acquainted with the old earl of Peterborough, and often with him, he shewed him at one of his visits, sir George Hewit's original confession, with his hand and seal to it (which was afterwards sent to king James in France). In the confession, the said sir George Hewit, (who had been made a lord by king William,) begged pardon of God and king James, for his disloyalty and rebellion; and declared in it, that the night before king James went to Salisbury, the earl of Rochester and lord Churchill, now duke of Marlborough, the bishop of London (Stewart also, who is now a general officer), as he remembers, and himself, with others, met at Mr. Hatton Compton's house in St. Alban'sstreet; and there it was debated among them, how they should do the best service to the prince of Orange; and at length it was resolved, that the earl of Rochester should attend the king at Salisbury, but in order to betray all his councils to the prince of Orange; and the lord Churchill should endeavor to seize king James's person, and carry him off to the prince; but if he could not do that, he should pistol him or stab him when he was in the coach with him. This," adds Mr. Carte," the bishop has protested to me, more than once or twice, he saw written in the confession of sir George Hewit."

Mr. Lesley has justly observed on Dr. King's charge," that there never was, and perhaps never will be, a war, wherein there were not some disorderly and wicked persons; and that,

2 Macphers. Orig. Pap. vol. i. p. 280.

officers he says, “I never was in any army where there were so many new and lazy officers. The officers of the artillery are ignorant, lazy, and tiI discovered that in the artillery, there has been a great deal of roguery."-Ib. p. 60, et passim.

morous.

King James's Irish officers raised their own regiments, "and maintained them for five months at their own expence; the most of them having laid out all they were worth, and reduced themselves to an impossibility of doing so any longer."-King James's Memoirs. Macpherson's Hist. Grea Britain, vol. iii. p. 194-5.

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