felves odious, by a series of fraud, cruelty and rapacity. They fold common juftice for money; they fcreened the guilty, and oppreffed the innocent. To render their proceedings fummary, to clothe their authority with more terror, and with most expedition to enrich themselves, they chofe to exert their power in the military way. The corruption at the fource extended itself to every channel of government; the fubordinate magiftrates, the juftices of peace, as if all law was at an end, made their own will and pleasure the rule of their conduct. Prefuming on their Prefuming on their power in the country, they deprived, under colour of their authority, many perfons of their effects; they difpoffelled many of their lands. Coningsby, created a baron by the fame name, with his colleague Porter, continued in the government till the arrival of Sydney, on the 25th of August, 1693; in the intermediate time, they prefided in the court of claims for adjusting the demands of those comprehended in the articles of Limerick; and the obvious road to their justice, was faid to lie through their avarice."

С НАР.

arms against their majesties, and have either submitted, and are under their majefties protection, or are included in the articles granted upon the furrender of fome of their garrifons, or fubmiffion of their army. That this proceeding has fo extremely terrified them with the apprehenfions of the continuance of this fort of ufage, that they found experimentally, fome thoufands who quitted the Irish army, and went home with a resolution not to go for France, are now come back again, and prefs earnestly to go thither, rather than stay here; where, contrary to the public faith, as well as against law and juftice, they are robbed of their fubftance, and abufed in their perfons, &c." From an attefted MSS. Copy of that Order, communicated to me by Mr. James Laffan of Kilkenny.

с

King William's army, in want of pay from the crown, raised money by military distress from the fubject, to the incredible amount of two hundred thousand pounds. The ftores left by king James in the kingdom, to the value, it was faid, of eighty thousand pounds, were embezzled or applied to his own ufe by Coningsby. The lord lieutenant himself, and Ginckle, who had been created Earl of Athlone, were accufed of poffeffing themfelves of almost all the forfeitures. But one of the molt flagrant inroads upon the conftitution, was depriving the

citizens

СНА Р. XIX.

A Short Sketch of the cruelties inflicted on the Irish prifoners in this war; and alfo on thofe even under protection.

MR. Lefley, after having shewn, that the foregoing

charge of breach of articles made by Dr. King against king James's officers, was groundless and wicked; has, by way of contraft, produced feveral notorious and uncontroverted inftances of the perfidy and cruelty of king William's officers, towards their Irish prisoners, in the course of this war. Out of these instances, I fhall felect the few following; and with them conclude this tedious and melancholy narrative of the state of the Irish at different periods, for the fpace of more than one hundred and fifty years.

"When' Drogheda furrendered to king William, after the defeat at the Boyne, the fick and wounded foldiers were, by the capitulations, to be taken care of, and to be sent with paffes to their own army, as they recovered. But they were not only neglected, and might have starved but for the charity of fome of their own poor countrymen, who fold their beds and cloaths to relieve them, but they were alfo kept as prisoners after they recovered, contrary to their articles."

2

"Upon the furrender of Cork, the Irish army, though prifoners of war, were by the conditions to be well ufed. Notwithstanding which, even thofe protestants who were moft zealous for king William, owned, that the Irish General narrowly efcaped being murdered

а

Anfw. to King.

2 Id. ib.

by

citizens of Dublin of the right to choose their own magiftrates. Macphers. Hist. Gr. Brit. vol. ii. p. 28, 9.

a General M'Carthy, of whom when colonel, Lord Clarendon, lord lieutenant of Ireland, reported to the English ministry," that he was a man of quality, and a foldier; and that

he

by the inhabitants; that he had no juftice done him, nor any fatisfaction, upon his complaint to the Englifh General; and that the garrifon, after laying down their arms, were ftripped; and marched to a marfhy wet ground, where they were kept with guards four or five days; and not being sustained, were forced by hunger to eat dead horfes, that lay about them; and feveral of them died, for want even of that, when they were removed from thence. That they were afterwards fo crouded in houfes, jails, and churches, that they could not all lie down at once, and had nothing but the bare floor to lie upon; where the want of sustenance, and the lying in their own excrements, with dead carcaffes lying whole weeks in the fame place with them, caufed fuch infection that they died in great numbers daily. The Roman catholics of Cork, though promised fafety and protection, had, on this furrender, their goods feized, and themselves ftripped and turned out of the town foon after."

"In December 1690, one Captain Lauder, of Colonel Hale's regiment, being ordered with a lieutenant, enfign and fifty men, to guard about two hundred of the Cork prifoners to Clonmell, as they fainted on the road with the above said bad ufage, fhot them to the number of fixteen, between Cork and Clonmell; and upon Major Dorington's having demanded justice against this officer from General Ginckle, Lauder got a pardon for the murder, and was continued in his poft.

66

King William's army, after being entire mafters of Athlone, killed in cold blood an hundred men in

the

3 Id. ib.

4 Id. ib.

he behaved himself extremely well, wherever he was quartered, with great eafinefs and moderation."

State Let. vol. i. P. 45. His excellency foon after recommended him to the king to be made a major general. Ib. p. 47.

b

"Douglas, in his expedition to Athlone, marched as through an enemy's country, his men plundering, and even murdering, with impunity, in defiance of the royal proclama.

J

the caftle, and little out-work on the river. And at Aughrim above two thoufand, who threw down their arms and asked quarter; and several who had quarter given them, were afterwards killed in cold blood; in which

с

tion, or the formal orders of their general. As he advanced, the Irish peafantry appeared,, fucceflively, in confiderable bodies, to claim the benefit of king William's declaration; and were fucceffively enfnared by affurance of protection, and expofed to all the violences of the foldiers." Lel. Hift. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 576.

Douglas, in the mean time, pursued his deftructive route to Athlone; his men plundered the country; they murdered many unfortunate wretches, who relied on the king's declaration; the peafantry came in numerous bodies to claim protection; but they were expofed to all the infolence, cruelty, and tyranny of a licentious army, Detefted, abhorred and feared, Douglas fat down with his cruel followers before Athlone, he carried on his works with vigour; but he was foon forced to abandon the fiege. The unfortunate perfons who had declared for William upon his approach, found themselves obliged to attend him (in his retreat), to avoid the fury of their former friends, but they were robbed and plundered by thofe from whom they expected protection. Nothing but mifery, diftress, and even death were feen; the harvest was trodden down by the troops, the wretched cabins of the unfortunate peasantry were confumed with fire, and the cattle driven as booty away." Macpherson's Hift. vol. i. P. 595 :

On king William's retreat, after his first attempt upon Limerick," the proteftants attended him to avoid the refentment of the Irish; but they found enemies in their fuppofed friends; they were plundered of their effects and cattle, the army ranged at large after booty; they knew no difcipline; they owned no authority. The king either winked at their irregularities, or he yielded to a stream which he could not oppofe; his declaration was infringed; his protections disregarded; his route covered with devaftations, and all the other miseries of war, Exceffes of a favage barbarity, but upon questionable authority (Lel. vol. iii.), have been afcribed to the king himself, on his retreat from Limerick. Difappointment might have raised his refentment; the outrages committed by his troops ftain the annals of the times." Macpherson's Hift. of Gr. Brit. vol. i. p. 596-7.1

In the battle of Aughrim, and in a bloody pursuit of three hours (ftopped only by the night's coming on), seven thoufand of the Irish army were flain. The unrelenting fury

of

'which number were the Lord Galway and Colonel Charles Moore. The Major of Colonel Epingham's dragoons owned to Major General Dorington, that Lord Galway was killed after quarter, and when the battle was over. More vouchers," adds Mr. Lefley," might be produced if needful.”

5

"In fhort, many hundreds of the poor Irish prisoners were fent at a time into Lambay, a waite deferted ifland in the fea near Dublin; where their allowance for four days might, without excefs, be eaten at a meal; and being thus out of the reach of their friends, (all perfons being prohibited to pafs into it with boat, or other veffel, under the penalty of forfeiting the fame) they died there miferably, and in heaps."

6

Thus publicly were thefe, and many other facts, attefted by Mr. Lefley, in his anfwer to Dr. King's State of the Proteftants of Ireland under king James, in refutation of the numerous falfehoods contained in that book. The truth of which anfwer is ftill further confirmed, by the doctor's confcious filence, under

5 Anfw. to King. Harris's king William, fol. 318.

6 Id. ib. p. 164.

fuch

of the victors, appeared in the number of their prifoners, which amounted only to four hundred and fifty." Lel. Hift. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 606. : боб.

"Ginckle gained reputation by the defeat of the Irish at Aughrim; but his army loft every claim to humanity, by giving no quarter." Macpherf. ib. p. 621.

d For "Archbishop Tillotson recommmended this book (to king William to justify the revolution), as the most serviceable treatife that could have been publifhed at fuch a juncture." Swift's Letter concerning the Sacramental Test.

e

• Though Mr. Lefley, in his anfwer, fervently prayed," that God might give Dr. King grace, before he died, to repent. fincerely, and confefs honeftly, all the errors, wilful or malicious reprefentations in this book of his." P. 173.

One can't help fmiling to find an affertion in Dr. King's life, lately prefixed to Dean Swift's letters to his grace, that, notwithstanding this long filence both of his lordship and friends, "his Grace had by him at his death attested vouchers of every particular fact alleged in his State of the Proteftants of Ireland,