same." At the same time solemnly promising,

that e should appear to the world as clear as the sun, by evident proof, that the only ground and motive of these earls departure, was the private knowledge and inward terror of their own guiltiness." But neither in that proclamation, nor in any other authentic instrument, nor in any manner whatever, did his majesty deign, ever after, to enlighten the world, even with the least glimpse of evident proof, that such was the only motive of these earls departure. And I shall leave it to the decision of every candid reader, whether this non-performance of his majesty's solemn promise, be not a better negative proof of the nullity and fiction of this conspiracy of the earls, than the bare non-appearance of a memorial in their vindication, can be deemed of its reality?

CHAP. VI.

Puritan bishops of Ireland.

DURING sir Arthur Chichester's government, several of the established clergy were puritannically affected, if not puritans professed. Of this number was the famous doctor, afterwards primate, Usher; for when in the year 1605, he was Provost of the College of Dublin, "the whole doctrine of Calvin1 was, by his management, received as the public belief of the Irish church, and ratified by Chichester in the king's name.2It was, in short, he that drew up those Calvinistical articles then agreed to in convocation; which were afterwards condemned and abolished by lord deputy Wentworth, containing arrant Brownism, and conforming not only the Lambeth-articles, suppressed by queen Elizabeth, and afterwards rejected by king James, but also several particular fancies and notions of his

own."

"After the repeal of the Irish act against the bringing in of the Scots, retaining them, and marrying with them, the Scottish presbyter came over to Ireland in great numbers. These the Irish bishops condescended to ordain, not as performing the function of bishops, for they would not receive ordination 6 Lel. Hist. of Irel. p. 425.

1 Garte's Ormond.

2 Id. ib. vol. i. fol. 75 3 Presbyterina Loyally, p. 162.

from them as such, but as mere presbyters, assisting with some of their own ministers, in order to qualify them to enjoy benefices in the church. And these bishops were so exceedingly complaisant, on such occasions, that they left out all those expressions in the established form of ordination which these ministers excepted against; inserting and using such others as they consented to and approved of, After this method Mr. Blair was publicly ordained by Dr. Ecclin, bishop of Down, in the church of Bangor; and all those of the presbyterian persuasion, who were ordained in Ireland between the years 1622 and 1642, were ordained after the same method; and all of them so ordained enjoyed the churches and tythes, though they remained presbyterians still, and used not the liturgy. And there was, adds my author, a civil comprehension between them, and a sort of an ecclesiastical comprehension too; for they frequently met, and consulted with the bishops about the affairs of common concernment to the interest of religion; and some of them were members of the convocation in 1634." The same author informs us, "that these presbyters employed them. selves in their ministerial work, to the approbation of all the moderate and sober episcopalians, and particularly of the great primate Usher, from whom they had great applause.”

CHAP. VII.

Warm contests in the Irish house of commons.

IN the year 1613, a parliament was called, wherein the

The only parliament that was held in Ireland since the year 1586.Ware's Annals.

"About the 18th of May, 1613, the lord deputy, with all the peers of the realm, and the clergy, both bishops and archbishops, attired in scarlet robes very sumptuously, with sound of trumpets; the lord David Barry, viscount Buttevant, bearing the sword of state, and the earl of Thomond, bearing the cap of maintenance; and after all these, the lord deputy (now Baron of Belfast) followed, riding upon a most stately horse, very richly trapped, himself attired in a very rich and stately robe of purple velvet, which the king's majesty had sent him, having his train borne up by eight gentlemen of worth. They rode from the castle of Dublin to the cathedral church of St. Patrick, to hear divine service, and a sermon preached by the reverend father in God, Christopher Hampton, archbishop of Armagh, and primate

attainder and outlawry* of the noblemen and gentlemen of Ulster, for the before-mentioned pretended conspiracy, together with several other acts, injurious to the religion and property of the natives, were intended to be passed. "The Irish," says Mr. Carte," on this occasion, were apprehensive that some further penal laws, particularly against harboring Jesuits+ and seminary priests, and for obliging not only magistrates in corporations, but also professors of the law and others, to take the oath of supremacy, would be enacted." And that apprehension was but too well founded. Knox, a Scotch puritan, and bishop of Raphoe, had informed the deputy, that the only sure means of extirpating popery out of Ireland, was by the death or banishment of the persons, and the confiscation of the properties of papists. And although neither of these expedient's was fully adopted by his excellency, yet, from that malignant insinuation, he certainly meditated some new and severe parliamentary restrictions upon them at that juncture, For this

1 Life of Ormond, vol. i.

of all Ireland. But as many of the nobility of Ireland (adds my author) as were recusants, went not into the church, neither heard divine service or sermon, notwithstanding that they were lords of the parliament house; but they staid without during the time of service and sermon. Now when service was done, the lord deputy returned back to the castle, these recusant lords joining themselves again with the rest of the state, and rode to the castle in manner as they came from thence (where the parliament was held) this was the first day of its meeting.-Desider, Curios. Hibern, vol. i. p. 166-7.

* While this act of attainder was under debate in this session, we are told in the journals, that "doubts arose in some scrupulous consciences, that Tirone was oppressed, that he complained and was not redressed, and therefore requisite to fly out." To which the answer was "that for religion or justice, no man ought to rise against the prince; and that the law of repelling force by force took place only where there was a parity, not otherwise." Comm. Journ. vol. i. fol. 16.-Does not this answer imply a confes sion of the wrongs which Tirone complained of?

There was actually a bill of that kind sent over by the deputy, concerning which the king tells him and the council, in returning the other bills, "We think it a fit time to dispatch from hence, sir John Davis, our attorney-general of that kingdom, with those bills which were first transmitted thither, under the great seal of England, and were lately sent for hither again, by our special direction, to the end that the bill against the Jesuits, &c. might be taken away from the rest, to be further considered by us; which we ourselves have done with our hands,"-Desid. Curios. Hiber, zol.i. p. 325,

purpose, several new boroughs were hastily created in Munster and Connaught ;* some, and those not a few, even after the writs had been issued; and from the ancient boroughs and towns, many undue returns of aliens, and other unqualified persons, were openly procured.†

* «The deputy,” says Dr. Leland, " continued to increase the new boroughs to the number of forty; of which several were not incorporated, until the writs for summoning a parliament had already issued. This awakened the fears of the numerous party of recusants; some additional severities against those who refused to abandon the Romish communion, some additional penal statutes, or at least the revival of those already made, were naturally dreaded." History of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 445.—The same author had before informed us, "That these new boroughs being most of them inconsiderable, and many too poor to afford wages to their represen tatives, must have been entirely influenced by government, and returned its creatures and immediate dependants; and that they were represented by attornies clerks, and the servants of the lord deputy."-Ib..p. 443.

The new boroughs were forty-Sir John Davis's Speech, Desider. Curios. p. 190.

†The Roman catholics complained, on this occasion, that they were put in fear of their lives, by a great number of soldiers, drawn from the distant garrisons into the castle of Dublin, where the parliament was held. On the other hand, the deputy pretended, that he drew these soldiers to Dublin on "his foreseeing that there would be an extraordinary number and concourse of people to the city in the parliament time, and that if any great disturbance or broil happened, he might want men to repress the same. Des. Cur. Hib. vol. i. p. 356-7.—The commissioners sent · by the king, to enquire into the foundation of these and other complaints of the Irish, though they discover prejudice enough against the catholics, reported to his majesty, "that upon their having examined some of the recusant members, they did affirm upon their oaths, that the disorders in the house of parliament on the first day of its meeting, caused them to appre hend a fear of some danger to their persons, seeing so many swords-men in the house, and themselves, for the most part, in gowns, without weapons." Ib. p. 356.-"That the deputy caused one hundred soldiers to be drawn out of four several garrisons, on the pretence before-mentioned." Ib. p. 357.But that having examined the lords and others, concerning that matter, they did not understand that any of the lords, knights, citizens, or burgesses came to town with any extraordinary number of men or followers, only the lord viscount Gormanston came to the city with one hundred horse (as was confessed) whereof there were not twenty of his own retinue; the rest were his friends and kinsmen, that went out of Dublin to meet him, the rather because his lady came in his company; but it is confessed, there were great numbers of people in the town at that time, who, as they said, came from all parts to behold the assembly."—Ib. p. 38.

And 'tis no wonder their curiosity was so great on that occasion, for

Under these circumstances, when, on the first day of the session, sir John Davis was proposed for speaker, sir James Geogh said, "That he observed many persons in the house, who had no right to sit there as members; and therefore moved, that their votes might be for a time suspended, until a speaker was chosen; after which the legality of their elections should be duly enquired into. But this motion being soon rejected, and sir James urged, by the opposite party, to proceed directly in the chusing of a speaker, he named sir John Everard, and was seconded by sir Christopher Nugent, Mr. William Talbot, and several other respectable members. But sir Oliver St. John, and sir Thomas Ridgeway insisting tu multuously, that sir John Davis was chosen speaker, by a majority of voices; and the other party calling out as loudly, to place sir John Everard in the chair; great confusion arose among them; so that the number of votes, on either side, could not be determined, until sir John Davis's friends having followed him to another room, those who remained within agreed to put sir John Everard in the chair, supposing him to be duly elected, as in truth he was by a real majority of legal voices, notwithstanding the greater number of nominal votes on the other side. But the court members, on their

2 Reeves in Analect. part. ii. p. 14.

there had not been any parliament held in Ireland before that, since the year 1586.-Ware's Annals.

* The lords of the pale, in their humble remonstrance to his majesty on this occasion, observe, among other things, "That the managing elections for that parliament, had generally bred so grievous an appre hension, as is not in their power to express, arising from a fearful suspicion, that the project of erecting so many corporations in their places that scarcely pass the rank of the poor villages of the poorest country in Christendom, do tend to nought else, but that by the voices of a few, selected for that purpose under the name of burgesses, extreme penal laws should be imposed on his majesty's subjects. That his majesty's subjects of Ireland, in general, did very much distaste and exclaim against the deposing of so many magistrates in the cities and boroughs of that kingdom, for not swearing the oath of supremacy, in spiritual and ecclesiastical causes, they protesting a firm profession of loyalty, and of all kingly jurisdiction in his highness.”—Desid. Curios. Hiber. vol. i. p. 160.

"A recusant of respectable character, who had been a justice of the king's bench, and on resigning his station, rather than take the oaths was indulged with a pension."-Lel. Hist. of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 447,