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affigned; and no doubt, intended both it and the state for the making great his own family."

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This propofal was agreed to, and all Ireland being furveyed, the beft land was rated only at four fhillings an acre, and fome only at a penny. The foldiers drew lots in what part of the kingdom their portions fhould be affigned them. Great abuse was committed in fetting out the adventurers fatisfaction for the money they had advanced, at the beginning of the war; for they had whole baronies fet out to them in grofs; and then they employed furveyors of their own, to make their admeasurements.10 "No men had so great shares as they who had been inftruments to murder the king. What lands they were pleased to call unprofitable (which were thrown in gratis), they returned as fuch, let them be never fo good and profitable."" The lands held by the foldiers as unprofitable, and as fuch returned into the furveyor's office, amounted to 605,670 acres. In this manner was the whole kingdom divided between the foldiers, and the adventurers of money.

CHAP.

• Morrice's Life of Orrery.

1 Id. ib.

› Cart. Orm. vol. ii. fol. 301. " Id. ib.

• Lord Antrim's eftate, confifting of 107,611 acres, was allotted to Sir John Clotworthy, afterwards Lord Maffareene, and a few others, in confideration of their adventures and pay, which did not in all exceed the fum of 7000l. Cart. Orm. vol. ii. fol. 278.

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СНА Р. II.

The transplantation of the Irish into Connaught.

CROMWELL' and his council, finding the utter extirpation of the nation, which they had intended, to be in itself very difficult, and to carry in it fomewhat of horror, that made fome impreffion upon the ftone-hardness of their own hearts, after fo many thousands destroyed by the fword, fire, famine, and the plague; and after fo many thoufands transported into foreign parts, found out the following expedient of transplantation, which they called an act of grace. There was a large tract of land, even to the half of the province of Connaught, that was feparated from the rest, by a long and large river, and which, by the plague and many maffacres, remained almost defolate. Into this space and circuit of land, they required all the Irish ("whom Cromwell had declared innocent of the rebellion," fays Leland,) to retire by a certain day, under the penalty of death; and all who after

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that

Clarend. Life, vol. ii. p. 116. 2 Hift. Ir. vol. iii. p. 409.

By a proclamation of Cromwell and his council, printed at Dublin by William Bladon, in the year 1654, "they were commanded to transplant themselves before the ift day of March next ensuing, into the province of Connaught, and county of Clare, according to former declarations, and to address themfelves to those that are there empowered for that purpose, to take out their respective affignments for lands, and proceed to build and fettle themselves there, and make provision for their families; and this upon the highest penalties." See Walsh's Reply to a Perfon of Quality, p. 33.

The fame contemporary writer mentions, "the rigorous execution of this proclamation, in the long imprisonment of fome, the exile of others, and the death of Hethrington in the market-place of Dublin, for not obeying it, as the paper on his breast when he was executed, expreffing the cause of his death, did manifeft: and in the general rule fo well known,

that time, should be found in any other part of the kingdom, man, woman, or child might be killed, by any body who faw or met them. The land within

this circuit, the most barren in the kingdom, was, out of the grace and mercy of the conquerors, affigned to those of the nation who were enclosed, in fuch proportions as might with great industry preserve their lives; and to those perfons from whom they had taken great quantities of land in other provinces, they affigned greater proportions within this precinct. And that they might not be exalted with this merciful donative, it was a condition that accompanied this their accommodation, that they fhould all give releases of their former rights and titles to the land that was taken from them, in confideration of what was now affigned them; and fo they should for ever bar themselves, and their heirs, from laying claim to their old inheritance. What should they do," continues my author, "they would not be permitted to go out of this precinct, to

b

fhift

which they had to force the obedience of all the Irish to that proclamation, turning them to Barbadoes, or putting them to death, expreffed in plain English at Kilkenny by Colonel Axtel, in the cafe of Mrs. Martha Harpol." Id. ib. p. 148.

b

"That all the transplanted Irish (says Walsh) to a man, at least the generality of them, and hereof I am very certain, deny any kind of exchange or bargain made by them for fuch: lands, in lieu of their own proper eftates, or any release given, or disclaim made, or promife engaged to quit from thenceforth, or at any time after, their own former titles to those estates, whence they had been fo forcibly removed: and likewife deny that they could, if they would, prejudice, or bind, thofe of their children who had, by antient or late agreement, before the wars, thofe very eftates entailed upon them." Id. ib.

Yet even those unhappy gentlemen, who were thus violently driven from their own fair eftates, into thofe barren waftes of Connaught and Clare (though after a most rigorous inquifition by the late ufurpers, they were all found innocent of the rebellion), were, after the king's return, debarred by his declaration for the fettlement of Ireland, from being ever restored to their eftates, on pretence "that they had fued out decrees from the ufurpers (which, on the highest penalty, they were compelled to do), and were bound thereby, and were not to be relieved against their own act." See his majesty's Declaration, November 1660. Cart. Orm. vol. ii. fol. 216.

fhift for themselves elfewhere; and without this affignation, they must starve here, as many did daily die of famine."

3

"In this deplorable condition, and under this confternation, they found themselves obliged to accept, or fubmit to, the hardest conditions of their conquerors; and fo figned fuch conveyances and releases as were prepared for them, that they might enjoy those lands which belonged to other men. And by this means, the plantation of Connaught, as they called it, was finished, and all the Irish nation was enclosed within that circuit; the reft of Ireland being left to the English. Some few eftates were left to the old lords and juft proprietors, who being all proteftants (for no Roman catholics were admitted) had either never offended them, or had ferved them, or had made compofition for their delinquencies, by the benefit of fome articles." d

3 Clarend. Life, vol. ii. p. 117.

CHA P.

Father Walfh, who was thoroughly acquainted with the affairs of these transplanted gentlemen, afferts, " that he knew fome of those who had not ten pounds lands per annum affigned them in Connaught, whofe proper eftates at home, in their own countries, whence they had been removed, were worth a thousand a year." Reply to a Person of Quality, p. "Others were transplanted that got nothing at all." Id.

147.

ib. p. 148.

This tranfplantation, grievous and fhocking as it appears in this authentic description of it, has been reprefented by a late historian, rather as a piece of neceffary and ufeful policy, at that time, than as an act of severity and injustice to the Irifh. "Connaught, (fays that writer) was referved entirely for the Irish, under the qualifications determined by parliament. Here they were to confine themselves, and to enjoy their feveral proportions of land; that fo the new English planters might proceed without interruption, and without that danger of degenerating, which former ages had experienced from an intercourfe with the Irifh; and the natives, divided by the Shannon from the other provinces, and furrounded by English garrifons, might be reftrained from their old barbarous incurfions." Lel. Hift. of Ir. vol. iii. p. 396.

Thefe

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a

ABOUT this time, a new tribunal, under the title of an high court of justice, was erected, by the ufurpers, in different parts of both kingdoms, for the trial of rebels and malignants, that is to fay, of those who were still found faithful to the king. That which fat at Dublin, in 1652, was befides authorifed,' " to hear and

Borl. Irish Rebel.

"These gentlemen (fays an intelligent, contemporary, and impartial writer) were thus tranfplanted, without cattle to stock that land, without feed to fow, or plough to manure it; without fervants, without fhelter, without house or cabbin to dwell in, or defend them from the wolves, or from robbers, or from heat or cold, or other injuries of the air. And the miserable Irifh fo transplanted, must not even in those small tracts allotted for them, within the narrow precincts of fome parks in three or four counties of Connaught, and Thomond, pitch in any place, or fix their dwelling houfes, or take any lands within two miles of the Shannon, four of the fea, and four of Galway, the only city within their precinct: they must not enter this town, or any other corporate or garrifoned place, without particular orders, at their peril, even of being taken by the throat." Walsh's Reply to a Perfon of Quality, p. 145.

a In Ireland, the first high court of juftice fat at Kilkenny, where the confederates had ufually held their general affembly and fupreme council; they were attended, and fat in very great ftate, with twenty-four halberdiers in good apparel for their guard, and all other officers fuitable. The prefident of this court was one juftice Donellan, an Irish native, picked out (fays my author) for the greater terror of the delinquents; to whom, as affiftants, were joined juftice Cook, the infamous folicitor against the late king, and commiffary-general Reynolds. Thefe judges would have moft wickedly, and by all abominable artifices, of foothing and threatening, tempted their prifoners to accufe the late king as a principal in the Irish infurrection," but found not, by all their scelerate practices, what they fought for." Brief Chronicle of the Civil Wars, &c.

P. 616.

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