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no sooner pronounced these words, but all the people in the churc! n aloud, "Amen, Amen."*

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But how shamefully these bishops themselves had exposed their religion to both sale and contempt, in their ecclesiastical conts (from whose tyranny the catholics were willing to purchase their redemption at so dear a rate), was then notoriously manifest." In these courts," says bishop Burnet,s« bribes went about almost barefaced; and the exchange they made of perance for money was the worst sort of simony." The good bishop Bedel told primate Usher himself, the author and principal promoter of this protestation "whereas he was wont

except one of these courts (meaning the primate's) from the general corruption, yet he heard it was said, among great personages, that his grace's court was as corrupt as others; some said, it was worse; and that of his grace's late visitation, they saw no profit but the taking of the money."

Nay it appears, by the journals of the Irish commons, even in 1640,† that the judges of these courts were guilty of "barbarous and unjust exaction; and that too, for such rites and customs, as had been formerly in use with the popish natives,

Life of bp. Bedel. 9 Burnet ib. 10 Commons Journal, vol. i.

* Mr. Bayle justly observes on this occasion," that Usher and his suffragans proceeded on the principles of the most extravagant intolerance; that this protestation was not founded on maxims of state, which are the principles that moderate opposers of toleration ground their reasoning upon; but merely and solely upon the religious worship of the church of Rome."-Art. USHER.

"The humble remonstrance of the knights, citizens and burgesses of the house of commons assembled in this present parliament (1640):

"To the lord deputy,

"THEY humbly represent unto your lordship, that divers complaints have been referred to them by sundry persons, from several parts of this kingdom, of many grievous exactions, pressures and other vexatious proceedings of some of the clergy of this kingdom, and their officers and ministers, against the laity, and especially the poorer sort, to the great impoverishing and general detriment of the whole kingdom; which the said house of commons, after many debates thereof, having taken into consideration, it was conceived by the unanimous votes of the house, that all of them were very great and enormous grievances. Some whereof be ing most exorbitant and barbarous, they were of opinion ought to be quite abolished, being repugnant to law and reason; and the rest to be reformed, &c."-—Commons Journal, vol. i. fol. 258.

but were now condemned and renounced by protestants, viz. money for holy-water clerk, for anointing, mortuary-muttons, mary-gallons, St. Patrick's ridges, soul-money, and the like."

Thus while these bishops were simoniacally extorting large sums of money from the catholics, for their own private use (for to that alone they were applied), they expected to be considered as taking only their lawful dues: but for the king to accept of the same, or less, from these people, to enable him to carry on the most necessary public servicet (on condition only of freeing them from such barbarous and unjust extortions) was, in their lordships' opinion, nothing less than "setting religion to sale, with the souls of the people."

* "Great sums of money received by several bishops of this kingdom, for commutation of penance; which money, by his majesty's instructions, should be converted to pious uses; not observed, but made a private profit."-Commons Remonstrance. See Commons Journal, vol. i. fol. 261.

"In Connaught and elsewhere, sixpence per annum of every couple (holy-water clerk); of every man that dies a muttue, by the name of anointing-money: from a poor man that has but one cow, they take that for mortuary: from one that is better able, his best garment for mortuary, If a woman, her best garment for mortuary: and a gallon of drink for every brewing, by the name of mary-gallons: for every beef that is killed for the funeral of any man, the hide and tallow, and they challenged a quarter besides : fourpence or sixpence per annum from every parishioner, for soul-money: a ridge of winter-corn, and a ridge of oats for every plough, by the name of St. Patrick's ridges: for portion-canons, the tenth part of the goods, after debts paid, &c.—Ib. p. 260.

"We are told in the life of primate Usher, that this protestation (of the bishops) had a considerable effect in retarding a project, the success of which was absolutely necessary to the king's affairs."-Lel. ubi supra, vol. ii. p. 482, note.

It has been observed on this occasion," that on the plantations made in the reign of James, the new colonists had been supplied with teachers principally from Scotland, they formed their churches on the presbyterian model, and many refused to accept episcopal ordination. To quiet such scruples, the bishops, by the approbation of Usher, their learned metropolitan, consented to ordain them to the ministry, without adhering strictly to the established form, and to admit some of their brethren of the Scottish presbytery to a participation of their office. Thus these Scottish teachers enjoyed churches and tythes without using the liturgy. Such men clamored loudly against the horrid design of selling the truth, and establishing idolatry for a price: their brethren of the other provinces readily united in the clamor."-Lel. Hist. vol. ii. p. 48.

CHAP. II.

A free gift raised for the king, chiefly by the natives, for which they were rewarded by a new persecution of their religion.

IN this pressing exigency of his majesty's affairs, a free gift or contribution,* of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, was set on foot in Ireland, " of which, says Mr. Carte,' the catholics paid near two-thirds." And indeed, on that ac count, they seem to have been well entitled to that respite from legal penalties, which they are said to have then obtained. But this respite, if any they had, must have been very inconsiderable; for in the year 1629, a severe persecution was raised against them, which was as unlooked for, as unmerited. The council of Ireland, in their letter to the king, April 28th

1 Life of Ormond, vol. i.

"This was a voluntary offer made by the Irish agents, then in England; the money was to be paid in three years, by way of three subsidies, each amounting to fifty thousand pounds, and each to be divided into equal quarterly payments. The graces which they solicited in consequence of this extraordinary exertion of loyalty, were in some instances favorable to recusants, but such as in general were evidently reasonable and equitable. The bounty was accepted.”—Lel. ubi supra, p. 483.

The catholic nobility and gentry afterwards solemnly declared, in their remonstrance of grievances, delivered to his majesty's commissioners at Trim, in March 1642: "That they had readily, and without reluctance or repining, contributed to all the subsidies, loans and other extraordinary grants made to his majesty since the beginning of his reign; and were in parliament and otherwise, most forward in granting said sums and did bear nine parts în ten, in the payment thereof.”—App.

The truth of this appears from hence, that these subsidies, loans, &c. were rated to each person, in proportion to the value of his real property; and we are well informed, " that before the year 1641, the Irish were the proprietors of ten acres of land, to one that the English had in Ire land."-Col. Laurence Inter. of Ireland, part ii. p. 47.

Father Walsh says, that they had nineteen in twenty acres. Reply to a Person of Quality.

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That there was great partiality shewn to certain persons in these collections, appears from hence, that Richard, earl of Cork, out of his vast estate, paid towards one yearly contribution (says lord Wentworth) not a penny more than six shillings and eight pence a quarter."-State Lea ters, vol. i. fol. 148. 407.

of that year, confess, « That except what they call the insolence and excrescence of the popish clergy (which shall be just now explained), the kingdom, as to the civil part of it, was in far better order at that juncture, than ever it was in the memory of man; as well in the general and current execution of justice, according to the laws, in the freedom of men's persons and estates, and in the universal outward submission of all sorts of settled inhabitants to the crown and laws of England; as also in the advancement of the crown-revenues, and in the competent number of bishops and other able and learned bishops of the church of England." But these bishops, it seems, and other able and learned ministers of the church of England, were not then thought sufficient, without the help of a military force, to reclaim the catholics from the heinous sin of serving God in the way most agreeable to their own con

sciences.

The cause and manner of this persecution are thus related by Hammon l'Estrange, who was then, or shortly after, in Ireland. "In this year," says he, "the Roman clergy be gan to rant it, and to exercise their fancies, called religion, so publicly as if they had gained a toleration." The reader, I imagine, will be surprized to find, that this ranting of the catholic clergy was nothing more, than their reading prayers quietly to their people in one of their own chapels:* "For (proceeds l'Estrange) whilst the lords justices were at Christ church in Dublin, on St. Stephen's day, they were celebrating mass in Cook-street; which their lordships taking notice of, they sent the archbishop of Dublin, the mayor, sheriffs, and recorder of the city, with a file of musketeers, to apprehend them; which they did, taking away the crucifixes and para ments of the altar; the soldiers hewing down the image of St. Francis; the priests and friars were delivered into the hands of the pursuivants, at whom the people threw stones, and res

2 Scrinia Sacra.

3 See Harris's Fiction Unmasked.

It has been observed on this occasion, that " the protestant party tvere zealous in their detestation of popish idolatry (i. e. ceremonies), that the inferiors of their clergy were poor, and sometimes scandalously profligate. And that many of the prelates, as well as officers of state, of English birth, were puritanically affected."-See Leland's History of Ireland, vol. iii. p. 4.

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cued them the lords justices being informed of this, sent a guard and delivered them, and clapped eight popish aldermen by the heels for not assisting their mayor. On this account, fifteen houses, (chapels) by direction of the lords of the council in England, were seized to the king's use, and the priests and friars were so persecuted,* that two of them (adds my author) hanged themselves in their own defence."

Few, I believe, will wonder that the populace endeavored to rescue their priests, in such an exigency; and fewer yet, that the catholic aldermen of Dublin did not assist their mayor in this priest-catching business. But it is not easy to conceive, what else but a truly puritannical excess of zeal, could have excited an archbishop of Dublin to quit his province, the public service of the church, on a solemn festival, to head a file of musketeers, and lead them on thus furiously to demolish a chapel, apprehend a few priests, and terrify a number of harmless peo ple in the midst of their devotions; and that too "in the midst of far better order in civil matters, and more universal subjection to the crown and laws of England, than was ever before known in the memory of man." One can hardly help thinking, that the furious puritan Venner did, some years after, copy the example of this archbishop of Dublin, when issuing from his conventicle in Colman-street, London, with about fifty of his disciples armed, he fancied himself commissioned from Heaven to fall upon and kill all those whom he met with in the streets, of a different persuasion from his own.

After what has been hitherto related, who can help wondering at the partiality or ignorance of those historians who confidently tell us," that during all this and the former reign, the catholics of Ireland enjoyed an undisturbed exercise of their religion; and that even Dublin, where the seat of the king's chief

4 Clarendon, &c.

This persecution was afterwards extended all over the kingdom. The English council acquainted the justices of Ireland, on that occasion," That his majesty in person, was pleased openly, and in the most gracious manner, to approve and commend their ability and good service; whereby they might be sufficiently encouraged to go on, with the like resolution and moderation, till the work was fully done, as well in the city as in other places of the kingdom, leaving to their discretion, when and where to carry a soft or harder hand."-Scrinia Saera,

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