C gates against the king's army; and as the Enniskilleners had marched, attacked and defeated a party of his majesty's forces. He knew, that the proteftant gentlemen in Ulfter had sent a deputation to the Prince of Orange, December the 8th, 1688; that they had received commiffions from him (and they actually proclaimed him in the beginning of March following) that, by reason of a villainous forged letter, found in Cumber, d William's) declaration to the Irish to lay down their arms. But that it should seem more reasonable to have its first beginning from the time Duke Schomberg landed with his army in the kingdom, Auguft 13th following; that till Duke Schomberg's landing, the late king James's authority was fubmitted to, almost through the whole kingdom; and that what was taken from the proteftants, before that time, was difowned by the late king James, as may appear by feveral proclamations declaring, that whoever fhould plunder any proteftant, fhould be anfwerable for the fame, and undergo the penalties of the law." Com. Journ. vol. ii. f. 801. Not till August 13th, 1689, Duke Schomberg landed at Bangor in the north of Ireland, with about Which then, of the two parties in arms fo long before that time, ought to be deemed rebels? 10,000 men. "The inhabitants of the town of Bandon, in February, 1688, difarmed the garrison of Bandon, and feized upon the town for king William's fervice." Com. Journ. vol. ii. f. 876. For which fervice the Irish commons, in 1697, agreed, that a sum of two thousand five hundred pounds fhould be levied for these inhabitants of Bandon, by the high constables, on the province of Munfter." Id. ib. f. 897. ઠંડ ‹ These Enniskilleners were merciless enemies. At the battle of Lifniskea, they "defeated and purfued the Irish with great flaughter, granting quarters to none but officers. About two thoufand fell by the weapons of an enemy transported by zeal and refentment, above five hundred plunged into lake Earne, and but one of that multitude escaped." Lel. Hist. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 534. d December the 9th, 1688; " which was a contrivance defigned to engage the Earl of M, who till then was deaf to all arguments for entering into the affociation in Ulfter." Lefl. Anfwer, p. 79. The like villainous artifice was used to make king James's army defert him at the camp on Hounslow-heath. Colonel Langston, and other fuperior officers, affirming privately, with vollies of oaths, to the reft," that king James would turn out all Cumber, fetting forth, that the papifts intended to maffacre all the proteftants, the whole north of Ireland appeared of a fudden in one blaze, though the proteftants then were fo far from having any reafon to fear the poor Irifh there, as they pretended they did fear them, that they had them panting under their feet, in as much fubmiffion as ever a hawk had a lark." Dr. King himself confeffes, that before king James left England, the proteftants of Dublin had entered into a plot, to feize the lord deputy with the castle, where 3 3 State of the Proteftants, p. 82. с all the proteftant officers and foldiers in his army, and have none but Roman catholics; that he had entered into a close league with France to have all the proteftants throats cut in England and Scotland: and that, as foon as his army was modelled to his purpofe, he would fet up a mafs in every church in England and Scotland; and he that was not a thorough papist, fhould be hanged, quartered, or burnt." Macpherfon's Hift. of Gt. Brit. vol. iii. p. 286. Dr. King pretends, that this villainous forged letter was directed to Lord Mount-Alexander (p. 186): But Chief Juftice Keating exprefsly fays, "that it was neither directed to, nor fubfcribed by any perfon;" he adds, "that copies of it were difperfed throughout all parts of the kingdom; that the proteftants were frightened to that degree by it, that many of them betook themselves to the Ards, and other places of fecurity in the north; fome into Scotland; and very many families embarked for England and Wales, carrying with them all the ready money and plate they had. The confternation being fo great, that even the officers of the port, either out of commiferation to the departing crouds of women and children, or being amazed at the fuddennefs of the fright, neglected to do their duty; whereby Dublin and the adjacent places, were drained dry of their cash and plate." See Appendix to King's State of the Proteftants. "That letter caufed the proteftants of the north to meditate the defign of rifing against the government." Lel. Hift. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 513. "When the news (fays he) came to Ireland, that king James had fent commiffioners to treat with the Prince of Orange, it was propofed by fome to feize the castle of Dublin. The where the ftores and ammunition lay; "he knew,+ that these proteftants (and himself among the rest) had a private understanding and connection with the northern rebels, as they were then called; that when they were disarmed, February 24th, 1688, all the proteftants, generally, in Ulfter, Munfter, and Connaught, and in all Ireland, except Dublin and other parts of Leinster (which the lord deputy kept in awe with what forces he had), were then actually in arms, in oppofition to the government, and had entered into affociations to carry on their war. And he has even 4 Lesley, ubi fupra, & p. 189. owned, The fuccefs was extremely probable; confidering that the papifts, befides the four thoufand of the army, were generally without arms; and that thofe who were in arms were raw and cowardly. To do it effectually, there needed no more than to feize the Deputy Tyrconnel, &c." King's State of the Protest. p. 83. "Dr. King wrote to an Irish proteftant bishop then in London, that it was in almoft every proteftant's power in Ireland to hang the reft; yet that they were fo true to one another, that they did not discover it." Lefley's Anfw. p. 106. f "We are told (fays Mr. Lefley) in the faithful History of the Northern Affairs in Ireland, p. 7. (written by a protestant), that they began to arm and engage themselves in affociations, about September 1688, two months before the Prince of Orange landed in England.' p. 77. And when the happy tidings of the prince's landing (in England), fays Mr. Boyfe, had reached our ears, fome non-conformift minifters and gentlemen of note, were employed to get fome gentleman or other fent over from Dublin to the prince." Anfw. to King, p. 77. Long before king James's abdication was determined in the convention in England, which was in February 1688, the protestants in the north of Ireland were in arms. Ib. p. 75. And on the 8th of December preceding that determination, a deputation was fent by the gentlemen and others of that province to the Prince of Orange, with an offer of their fervice; (ib. p. 77.) although king James did not go out of England till December the 23d in that year. Ib. p. 73. It is notorious, that upon the 11th of February 1688 (before the defcent of king James's army into the north), fome of Colonel Cormick O'Neil's troop. of dragoons were killed by the proteftant forces at Tuam upon Loughneagh, owned, "that king James's army was but an handful to the proteftants, there being even after the difarming, men and arms enough in Dublin, fays he, to have dealt with them." And yet this impartial writer has represented the government's difarming the protestants, at such a critical juncture, as nothing lefs than a defign to maffacre them. CHAP. X. The difarming of the protestants further confidered. As AS for the fecond difarming of the proteftants, on the 20th of July, 1689," it was in the very heat of the war, between King James, and the northern affociators, when Kirk had come from England, and was riding with his fhips in Loughfoil, for the relief of Derry; which, with the before-mentioned confpiracy of the protestants of Dublin, to feize the lord deputy and castle, will furely juftify the fufpicion which the government entertained of thefe proteftants, from the beginning." With refpect to the scheme of ftarving one half the proteftants of Dublin, which Dr. King has imputed to King James, Mr. Lefley obferves," that the hanging two of his Irish foldiers before a proteftant baker's door, for stealing two loaves not worth a fhilling; and the leaving them to hang there forty-eight hours (which Dr. Gorge teftifies) to terrify others, did not look like ftarving the proteftants of Dublin; but rather like feeding them, by letting them have bakers of their own, and protecting them in that manner." And as for that king's 5 King, ib. p. 82. Loughneagh, in endeavouring that way to escape the northern affociators, and get to their quarters. Lefley's Answ. p. 86. And many other hoftile acts were committed by the proteftants in Ulfter, before the defcent of that army. Ib. p. 89-90. king's defign of hanging the other half of the protestants, Mr. Lesley also obferves, "that in all the time the proteftants of Dublin were in King James's power, viz. in fummer 1689, he did not hang one of them, though fome of them deferved it by the law then, as Dr. King could witness.” CHA P. XI. General De Rofen's cruelty before Derry confidered. AFTER Derry had fhut its gates against King James, and several times refused to submit to his authority upon any conditions whatever, General De Rofen, a foreigner, was fent to befiege it; who made ufe, indeed, of a barbarous, though not unusual expedient to reduce it under King James's obedience. For, finding that the town was in extreme want of provifions, he purposed to increase their distress, by adding to their number; for which purpose, he iffued orders for a general driving of all the proteftants, protected and unprotected (fays Dr. King), within thirty miles round; who "I am told (fays Mr. Lefley) that Dr. King owed it to King James's mercy that he now lives: was he not (adds he) accused of holding correfpondence with, and giving intelligence to the rebels, as they were then called, both in England and the north of Ireland? did he not give frequent intelligence to Schomberg by one Sherman, and keep conftant correspondence with Mr. Tollet and others in London? a bloody-minded tyrant (such as King reprefents James) would have found another punishment for it than a fhort imprisonment. King James had once fo good an opinion of this author, that he had him frequently in private and trufted him in his affairs, till at last he found him out." Anfw. Anfw. p. 105-6. a "Long before this, the people of Derry took out their pardon for fhutting their gates against the Earl of Antrim's regiment, which (adds my author) was a confeffion of fome fort of guilt." Lefley's Anfwer, p. 93. The proteftants feized Derry the 7th or 8th of December 1688, and King James's army did not come to Dromore in the north till the 14th of March following. Id. ib. p. 97. |