lieved it more becoming the dignity of that meeting, and more respectful to his majefty and his grace, to present a remonftrance of their own framing, which, at the fame time that it expreffed as much loyalty as the other, fhould be fo unexceptionable, in point of language, that not only the bishops and other clergy there prefent, but every Roman catholic prieft in the kingdom, both fecular and regular, would chearfully fubfcribe it. Wherefore, after mature deliberation and debate, the following remonftrance of loyalty was drawn up and figned by this congregation; and, on the 16th of June, 1666,' delivered to the Duke of Ormond by two of their bifhops, together with a petition, praying his grace to accept that remonftrance from them, and to prefent it to his majesty, the rather that it was fo unanimously agreed to, as there was not one diffenting voice in all their number." "To the king's most excellent majefty, Charles the Second, king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, &c. "WE, your majefty's fubjects, the Roman catholic clergy of the kingdom of Ireland together affembled, do hereby declare and folemnly proteft, before God and his holy angels, that we own and acknowledge your majefty to be our true and lawful king, fupreme lord, and undoubted fovereign, as well of this realm of Ireland as of all other your majesty's dominions; confequently we confess ourselves bound in confcience, to be obedient to your majefty in all civil and temporal affairs, as any fubject ought to be to his prince, and as the laws of God and nature require at our hands. Therefore we promife, that we will inviolably bear true allegiance to your majefty, your lawful heirs and fucceffors; and that no power on earth fhall be able to withdraw us from our duty herein; and that we will, even to the lofs of our blood, if occafion requires, affert your majesty's rights against any 1 1 Walfh's Hift. of the Irish Remonft. f. 683. that that fhall invade the fame, or attempt to deprive yourfelf, or your lawful heirs and fucceffors, of any part thereof. And to the end, this our fincere protestation may more clearly appear, we further declare, that it is not our doctrine that fubjects may be difcharged, abfolved, or freed from the obligation of performing their duty of true obedience and allegiance to their prince; much less may we allow of, or pass as tolerable, any doctrine that perniciously, and against the word of God, maintains, that any private fubject may lawfully kill or murder the anointed of God, his prince; wherefore, pursuant to the deep apprehenfion we have of the abomination and fad confequences of its practice, we do engage ourselves to discover unto your majesty, or fome of your ministers, any attempt of that kind, rebellion or confpiracy against your majesty's perfon, crown, or royal authority, that comes to our knowledge, whereby fuch horrid evils may be prevented. Finally, as we hold the premises to be agreeable to good confcience, fo we religioufly swear the due obfervance thereof to our utmoft, and we will preach and teach the fame to our refpective flocks. In witness whereof we do hereunto fubfcribe the 15th day of June 1666." But the Duke of Ormond not only rejected the pe tition and remonftrance of this clergy, but alfo ordered them immediately to difperfe; and foon after banished them out of the kingdom; infomuch that when his grace quitted the government, there were not more than three catholic bishops remaining there, two whereof were bed-rid, and the third had abfconded." CHAP. b His grace expected their fubfcriptions to that very remon ftrance which had been prefented to the king; and would ac cept of no other. See Walfh's Remonft. f. 489. Although the non-fubfcribers alleged, and Walsh himself owns in feveral parts of his hiftory, that his remonftrance feems to affert all that is contained in the oath of supremacy itself. The Duke of Ormond's defign in permitting this meeting of the Irish clergy. PETER TALBOT, titular Archbishop of Dublin, and one of the most powerful opponents of Walfh's remonftrance, obferved afterwards to that religious, that he had been all along made ufe of only as a tool and a dupe, in that business. "The ministry," fays he,' "for reasons best known to themselves, were willing to let you preach and press a formulary, which they forefaw would divide the catholics among themselves, difcredit their religion, and give the government the colour and advantage of excluding from their eftates, many meriting gentlemen, for not profeffing that allegiance, which learned men of their own religion maintained to be abfolutely neceffary in a faithful fubject." That there were fufficient grounds for fuch an obfervation, can be now proved by unquestionable authority; for about the end of the year 1666, after the before-mentioned fynod of the Irish clergy had been difperfed, Lord Orrery, taking advantage of that incident, wrote thus to Ormond: "I humbly offer to your grace, whether this may not be a fit feafon to make that fchifm, which you have been fowing among the popish clergy, publicly break out, fo as to fet them at open difference; as we may reap fome practicable advantage thereby." And when, fome years after, his grace's enemies had strangely accused him of having countenanced and encouraged popery in Ireland, during his administration; and instanced his permisfion of this fynodical meeting of the Irifh clergy, as a proof of it; the duke himfelf frankly declared, 3 "that his aim in permitting that meeting, was to work a divifion among the Romish clergy; and that he believed 2 Friar Difciplined, p. 92. 2 State Let. vol. ii. lieved he had compaffed it, if he had not been removed; and if contrary councils and courfes had not been taken and held, by his fucceffors in the government; of whom," fays he, " fome were too indulgent to the whole body of papists, and others not much acquainted with any of them; not confidering the advantages of the divifion defigned." Some hopes, it appears, had been given (which his grace's before-mentioned letter to Walsh feemed to confirm), that the fubfcribers to the first remonstrance would be restored to their estates. But Archbishop Talbot calls upon Walfh, " to name but one, who had been the better for his fubfcription. A man,' fays he, "would think that my Lord of Iveagh's extraction, innocency, and merit, his breaking General Owen O'Nial's army, his raifing and lofing two or three regiments in the king's fervice, his venturing himself and his nearest relations in the towns befieged by Cromwell, his conftantly following his majefty's perfon and fortune in exile, needed no further remontrance of his loyalty; but, however, that nothing might be objected against him, he figned yours; and yet is nothing the nearer his eftate. I know you preffed my Lord Duke of Ormond very much in Sir Robert Talbot's behalf, faying it would be a great scandal if the only gentleman in Ireland, who never would reject the peace of 1646, and fuffered fo much on that account, were not restored to his eftate; and yet you fee he was, and his fon is, in the fame condition with the reft of your fubfcribers." a СНА Р. Friar Discipl. p. 87. a In the year 1674, when Friar Difciplined was published. CHA P.. XV. The king confeffes his obligation to make good the peace of the year 1648. HIS majefty had, at feveral times, acknowledged himself bound to fulfil his engagements to the Irish by the peace of 1648. We have already obferved, that in a letter from Breda, in 1650, he defired the Marquis of Ormond,'" to affure them, that he would perform all grants and conceffions which he had either made or promised them by that peace; and which, as he had new inftances of their loyalty and affection to him, he should ftudy rather to enlarge, than diminish or infringe in the leaft degree.” In his fpeech to both houfes of parliament, July 1660, when a general act of oblivion was intended to be paffed, his majefty knowing that means had been used to exclude the Irish from the benefit of that act, told them, "that he hoped the Irish alone would not be left without the benefit of his mercy; that they had fhewn much affection to him abroad; and that he expected the parliament would have a care of his honour, and of what he had promifed them." And in his declaration of the 30th of November following (which was intended to be the ground-work of the acts of fettlement), he again acknowledged this obligation, and faid, "he muft always remember the great affection à confiderable part of the Irish nation expreffed to him, during the time of his being beyond feas; when, with all chearfulness and obedience, they received and fubmitted to his orders, though attended with inconvenience enough to themselves; which demeanour of theirs," adds he, " cannot but be thought very worthy of our protection, juftice, and favour." 2 But · Cart. Coll. of Orm. Orig. Pap. Carte's Orm. vol. ii. f. 129. 2 Irish Statutes. |