forfeiture? Of Mr. Nangle, the then attorney general, who was chiefly employed in that bufinefs, Lord Clarendon makes very honourable mention in feveral of his letters, and in one of them mentions him,'" as a man of great knowledge, very able in his profeffion, and of the best reputation for learning, as well as honesty, amongst that people." d

But Dr. King's precipitate paffion, or rather prejudice, against these popifh judges and lawyers, feems to have fo far transported him, that he has entirely miftaken, or mifreprefented, this tranfaction. "Lord Tyrconnel," he tells us, "knowing that the protestants would not give up their charters, did endeavour to prevail with them, to admit papifts to freedom and offices in their corporations, that, by their means, he might have their charters furrendered; but," adds he," the refolution of the lord mayor of Dublin fpoiled that defign, and forced the king to bring quo-warrantos against them." Harris, in his life of

King

4 State of the Protest. p. 67.

3 Vol. i. p. 72. vol. ii. p. 373. mons of that city, fays, " in my own thoughts, I am of opinion, and have been long fo, that nothing will reduce this city to a due composure, unless it be the avoiding their charter by quowarranto, and granting them a new one; for the body of the commons are fo numerous, and most of them being extreme poor men, are continually mutinous and factious; whereas, if they had a new charter, and the number reduced to fewer, and thofe named out of the moft fubftantial chief trading men of the city, whofe intereft it is to be quiet, I am confident, it would be the only way to bring them into order and peace." Effex's Letters, p. 114.

And in another letter of May 30th, 1686, he fays, "in the lift of the perfons added to the privy council, I find Mr. Richard Nangle; he is a very learned and an honeft man." State Lett. p. 226.

Dr. King, was fo ridiculously prejudiced against fuch natives of Ireland, as were afterwards appointed to city-offices under Tyrconnel's government, that not content to represent them as poor and unworthy, (the contrary of which can be proved) he tells us, "their very names fpoke barbarities." State of the Proteftants, p. 69. So much it feems were the doctor's delicate ears offended with the harfh found of Irish furnames.

King William, has retailed this ftory from King, and dates it in the year 1686, in the mayoralty of Sir John Knox. But it is manifeft, from Lord Clarendon's authentic account of thefe matters, that the lord mayor and aldermen of Dublin, and many other corporations, had been prevailed upon before Tyrconnel's time, to admit papifts to freedom and offices among themselves; 5" for his lordfhip had himself difpenfed with no lefs than fifteen Roman catholic merchants of Limerick, according to the king's order, from taking the oath of fupremacy, when admitted to the common-council of that city and, in a letter to Lord Sunderland, July 6th, in this very year, his excellency fays," "that he had fent letters to all the corporations for giving their freedoms to all the Roman catholics as to his majefty's other fubjects, without tendering them the oath of fupremacy; and for presenting to him fuch as fhould be chofen into offices, that he might difpenfe with their taking the faid 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 fome places, where they had two bailiffs, which are there the chief magiftrates, they had, without any conteft, chofen one of each religion."

And although, in the year 1686, fome feeming oppofition, in that refpect, was made by the lord mayor and aldermen of Dublin; or rather, as Lord Clarendon expreffes it," "not fo fpeedy a compliance given to the king's commands as he expected;" yet it is by no means true, that they were so very refolute, 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 fo fooner. For his excellency having fent for the lord mayor of Dublin to come to him, he, with the aldermen, expreffed great readiness to obey the king in any thing he fhould command them; but

8

but faid, that it being their constitution, that freemen should be elected only at certain terms, they could not prevail with the commons, without whofe consent that rule could not be altered, though they tried twice, by his lordship's pofitive directions, to admit any freemen, till the ufual time; and when that time came," adds his lordship, "all the Roman catholics, who made application, were admitted."

CHAP.

* The following extracts from papers relating to the admitting of papifts into corporations, and fent by Secretary Coventry to Lord Effex, in 1674, chief governor of Ireland, may throw fome light on this affair.

"In most of the corporations of Ireland, the freemen were generally papists in the year 1641, and fo continued till about the year 1652; and although moft of the perfons who were then free, may now be presumed to be dead, yet there being a custom in most corporations, that all the fons 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 feveral corporations. In the ufurper's time, all the papifts, that were freemen, were hindered from enjoying the benefit of their freedom.

"Since the king's restoration, many difputes have happened concerning the papifts (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 refpective former inhabitants, natives and freemen, and fuch as had a right to be freemen in any of the cities or towns in this kingdom (Ireland), fhould be forthwith reftored to their accuftomed privileges and immunities, and admitted to trade, in the faid respective cities and towns, as freely as heretofore, without making any national diftinction, 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 papifts, were kept out of several of the corporations.

"His majefty 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 refpective corporations should enjoy their former freedoms and privileges. Yet in fome of the corporations, in which the number of proteftants is great, many of the papifts are ftill kept out, and hindered from their freedoms. If they fhould be hindered from their freedoms, they will complain that there is no law.

to

CHA P. VI.

The behaviour of the Irish priests, and new recruits, under King James, impartially confidered.

HAD Dr. King been as candid in his relation of

facts, as he ought, and as he folemnly profeffed to be; at the fame time that he reproached the papifts of Ireland, with the forwardness of fome of their clergy, and the infolence of the new recruits," at this period, in Dublin; he would have given us, at least, fome intimation of the provocations, which both of them had received from the protestant inhabitants of that city; which indeed were fo great and notorious, that Lord Clarendon takes frequent notice of them in his dispatches into

England.

to take that benefit from them; that it is against the king's pleasure exprefsly declared in his feveral letters, and fince made public by proclamation; that by the rules, papifts, who are foreigners, may be admitted to be free in the corporations, and that it will be hard to bar papifts, who are natives, from enjoying that freedom which has been already granted them." Lord Effex'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, fo profeffing the popish religion, have if in their power to raise divifions among proteftants, by voting in elections for members of parliament, &c." Com. Jour. vol. iii. f. 130.

a Thefe recruits were far from being such despicable creatures as Dr. King has reprefented them. They feemed to Lord Clarendon to be very good men, well-fized, and as adroit (in their exercifes) as could be expected of new men." State Lett. vol. ii. p. 54.

These recruits were moftly Roman catholic natives: Of whom his excellency in another letter fays, " if the king will have one half of the Irifh army to be natives, and the other half English, good God, why fhould not the chief governor be trusted with it, and why fhould it not be orderly done, which would make it well-digefted, and not frighten people out of their wits!" Ib. p. 392. He alludes here to Tyrconnel's rafhly interfering in these matters, even during his excellency's government of Ireland.

2

England. In one of these he complains,' "that the new recruits were often affronted by the boys in Dublin, and that the foldiers, that were put out, did rap them foundly at fifty-cuffs." From another of these dispatches it appears, that thefe infults and diforders of the inhabitants of Dublin towards these recruits had rifen fo high, that his lordship was obliged, "to fend to the lord mayor, to let him know, that he expected he would keep the town in order, and not fuffer any rudenefs to be committed." And as for the forwardness of the popish priests at that juncture, fuch provocation was really given them from the pulpit, and otherwise, not only by the inferior proteftant clergy, but even by the bishops, "that his excellency thought himself bound to fend for the bifhop of Meath to rebuke him, on that account; and to let him know his mind on that head, which that bifhop promised to obferve." And although he had refolved" to hold the fame course with other bishops, and had even fufpended fome of the turbulent

• State Lett. vol. i. p. 295.
3 Id. ib. vol. i. p. 84.

b

2 Id. ib. p. 294.
4 Ib.

On this occafion his excellency "affured fome of the Roman catholic bifhops, that he would give effectual orders, that whatever should happen of that kind, the parties fhould not be countenanced, and that their fuperiors fhould have notice of them. For that he was too well acquainted with the mischief that fort of loose clergy had done, who would fubmit to no authority; of which," adds he, "there are too many in all religions." State Lett. vol. i. p. 136-7. In this letter to Lord Sunderland, his excellency acquaints him," that he was then giving the neceffary orders, which Lord Sunderland had directed, to all archbishops, bifhops, fheriffs, &c. that the Roman catholic clergy might not be molefted in the exercife of their functions." Id. ib. "I believe you will hear a noife, (says Lord Clarendon on this occafion) of two fermons which were preached here (Dublin) before me on all-faints day, and the 5th of November. Indeed they were indiscreet and impertinent sermons, and I do as little love to have preachers meddle with controverfy 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 fufpended and filenced." Ib. vol. ii. p. 82.