duty and allegiance there. The said lords justices traiterously disbanding his majestie's well assured Catholic forces, when his person and monarchy were exposed to the said rebel sectaries, then marching in hostile armes to despoil him of his power, dominion and life; their immediate calling into the place and stead of those, his majesty's faithful disbanded forces, a formidable body of disciplined troops, allyed and confederated in cause, nation, and principles with those rebel sectaries; their unwarrantable entertainment of those troops in this kingdom, to the draining of his majesty's treasury, and terror of his Catholic subjects, then openly menaced by them the aforesaid lords justices with a massacre and total extirpation; their bloody prosecution of that menace, in the slaughter of many innocent persons, thereby affrighting and compelling others in despair of protection from their government, to unite and take arms for their necessary defence, and preservation of their lives; their unpardonable prevarication from his majestie's orders to them, in retrenching the time by him graciously given to his subjects so compelled into arms, of returning to their duty; and stinting. the general pardon to such only as had no freehold estates to make forfeitures of; their pernicious arts in waylaying, exchanging, and wickedly depriving all intercourse by letters, expresses, and other communication and privity, betwixt your said royal father and his much abused people; their insolent and barbarous application of racks and other engines of torture to Sir John Read, his then majestie's sworn menial servant, and that upon their own conscious suspicions of his being intrusted with the too just complaints of the persecuted Catholicks aforesaid. Their diabolical malice and craft, in essaying by promises and threats, to draw from him, the said Read, in his torments, a false and impious accusation of his master and sovereign, as being the author and promoter of the then commotion, so manifestly procured, and by themselves industriously spread.

And whereas a late eminent minister of state, for parallel causes and ends, pursuing the steps of the aforesaid lords justices, hath by his interest and power, cherished and supported a fanatical republican party, which heretofore opposed, put to flight, and chased out of this your kingdom of Ireland, the royal authority lodged in his person, and to transfer the calamitous consequences of his fatal conduct from himself upon your trusty Roman Catholick subjects, to the breach of publick faith solemnly given and proclaimed in the name of our late sovereign, interposed betwixt them and his late majestie's general indulgence and pardon, and wrought their exclusion from that indemnity in their estates, which by the publick faith is specially provided for, and since hath been extended to the most

:

bloody and execrable traitors, few only excepted by name in all your realms and dominions. And further, to preclude from all relief, and even access of admittance to justice, your said Irish Catholick people, and to secure to himself and his posterity, his vast share of their spoils, he the said eminent minister, did, against your sacred brother's royal promise and sanction aforesaid, advise and persuade his late majesty to give, and accordingly obtained his royal assent to two several acts. The one intituled, An Act for the better Execution of his Majestie's gracious Declaration for the Settlement of this Kingdom of Ireland, and Satisfaction of the several Interests of Adventurers, Soldiers, and other his Majestie's Subjects there. Which act was so past at a parliament held in this kingdom, in the fourteenth and fifteenth years of his reign and the other, an act intituled, "An Act of Explanation, &c." Which act was passed in a sessions of the said parliament held in this kingdom, in the seventeenth and eighteenth years of his reign, most of the members thereof being such, as forcibly possessed themselves of the estates of your Catholick subjects in this kingdom, and were convened together for the sole special purpose of creating and granting to themselves and their heirs, the estates and inheritance of this your kingdom of Ireland, upon a scandalous, false hypothesis, imputing the traiterous design of some desperate, indigent persons, to seize your majestie's castle of Dublin, on the 23d of October, 1641, to an universal conspiracy of your Catholic subjects, and applying the estates and persons thereby presumed to have forfeited to the use and benefit of that regicide army, which brought that kingdom from its due subjection and obedience to his majestie, under the peak and tyranny of a bloody usurper! An act unnatural, or rather viperously destroying his late majestie's gracious declaration, from whence it had birth, and its clauses, restrictions and uses, inverting the very fundamental laws, as well of, your majestie's as all other christian governments. An act limiting and confining the administration of justice to a certain term or period of time, and confirming the patrimony of innocents unheard, to the most exquisite traytors, that now stand convict on record; the assigns and trustees, even of the then deceased Oliver Cromwell himself, for whose arrears, as General of the regicide army, special provision is made at the suit of his pensioners. Now in regard the acts above mentioned do, in a florid and specious preamble, contrary to the known truth in fact, comprehend all your majestie's Roman Catholick subjects of Ireland, in the guilt of those few indigent persons aforesaid, and on that supposition alone, by the clause immediately subsequent to that preamble, vest all their estates in his late majestie, as a royal trustee, to the principal use of those, who deposed and murthered your

royal father, and their lawful sovereign. And further-more, to the ends that the articles and conditions granted in the year. 1648, by authority from your majestie's royal brother, then, lodged in the Marquess of Ormond, may be duly fulfilled and made good to your majestie's present Irish Catholic subjects, in all their parts and intentions, and that the several properties and estates in this kingdom may be settled in their ancient foundations, as they were on the 21st of October, 1641: And that all persons may acquiess and rejoyce under an impartial distribution of justice, and sit peaceably down under his own vine or patrimony, to the abolishing all distinction of parties, countries and religions, and settling a perpetual union and concord of duty, affection, and loyalty to your majestie's person and government in the hearts of your subjects be it enacted, &c.

No XLV.

DOCTOR GORGE, SECRETARY ΤΟ GENERAL

SCHOMBERG IN

IRELAND, HIS LETTER TO COLLONEL JAMES HAMILTON, IN LONDON, TO BE COMMUNICATED TO THE LADY VISCOUNTESS RANELAGH, THE LORD MASSAREEN, AND OTHERS.

HONORED SIR,

[PAGE 158.]

THE fire, saith the royal prophet, kindled in my. breast, and I spoke with my tongue : perhaps some sparks of that fire so enflamed my zeal to the public good of this country, that I have not onely spoke with my tongue, but wrote with my pen those truths which I know have redounded more to my particular prejudice, than to the public service. He that follows: truth too near, saith a wise man; may lose his teeth; and a wiser than he tells us, that he who professeth some truths, may thereby lose his life; yet in the same period tells us, that he shall be no loser thereby; the satisfaction and contentment which constantly attends integrity, being much sweeter than the advantage of temporal security. Liberavi animam meam, and if this make me vile, I am content to be more vile: I know God hath put enmity between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the serpent; and I as well know, that it is as vain for man's prudence to attempt to unite what God hath divided, as it is sinful to divide what he hath united. I speak not a little to my

satisfaction, what you know to be true, that our adversaries who are more God's than ours, want neither power nor malice to crush us; such is the goodness of God, that they dare not own their hatred; but are content not only to make me fall from my present station, soft and easie, but are willing to make my remove an advantage to me, little thinking, that taking me off from being secretary to the general, and making me secretary of state, necessitates one of my principles to be the more prejudicial to theirs: you know that notwithstanding all their public and private opposition, they are come up to many of our principles, and we still continue our distance to theirs, which for the better memory I shall enumerate in the following method, the better to obtain your belief in other particulars, which I shall here subjoin.

You know that I ever asserted, that those principles and prac tices which God blessed with success in the former Irish war, were most like to have the same success in this, which I told you were as followeth :

1. Though the Irish Papists had then, as appears by the excellent preface to the act of settlement, made that rebellion the most horrid and universal, as ever befel this kingdom; and that nothing but the final extirpation of the British persons, laws, religion, and government was designed and endeavoured by that war; yet the then English government thought not fit to tread in their steps, but still declined making the war either national or religious, and did declare, and, as you know, made their declaration good at the end of the war, that those of the Irish Papists as could prove their constant good affection to the English interest, as many then did, were as secure in their properties, as any of the British nation or religion; and by this means so divided their interest, that Sir Charles Coote's northern army was most of it composed of Irish Papists, who fought faithfully and successfully against their countreymen, and many yet living know faithfully the white knight of Kerry and others as eminent as he served General Cromwell.

2. By publick proclamation in those times, they protected Papists as well as Protestants, who would live peaceably under their government, from any violence to be done them by the soldiers, two private soldiers being publicly executed in the face of the whole army, for stealing two hens from an Irishman not worth sixpence, for violating the proclamation, the first day General Cromwell made his advance from Dublin towards Droghedaagh.

3. They forbid, under the like penalty of death without mercy, any contempt or violation of the lord general's public orders and proclamations.

4. They prohibited all free quartering on the countrey, or any soldiers quartering without billets from the constable, and would not suffer any soldier to quarter himself.

5. They likewise under severe penalties forbid private soldiers straggling from their colours without passes, and ordered both civilTM and military magistrates to apprehend such stragglers, to send them to their colours, then to be punished according to their respective merits.

6. They gave great encouragement to Papists as well as Protestants, who would give hostages for their fidelity, and join with them.

7. They severely punished all open debauchery and impiety, and would frequently affirm, that good conduct was more usually blessed with success than courage of armies.

8. Though they protected, as aforesaid, Papists as well as Protestants, from the soldier's violence, yet they left both to be fined, imprisoned or sequestered by the civil magistrates, according to their respective merits.

9. Both officers and soldiers were required to be aiding and assisting to put in execution all orders or directions of the civil magistrate, especially such as referred to the well management of the public revenue.

10. They laboured all they could to lessen the charge of England, and to encrease the public revenue of Ireland.

11. On assurance of punctual performance, they contented themselves with four days pay in a week, and placed the other three days, to be paid out of forfeited lands.

Lastly. By this abatement of their pay, and leaving rebels' goods, stock, and lands, and the public revenue to be improved by the civil magistrate, and making the soldiers duly pay for their quarters, they soon raised in this kingdom a revenue, which bore a moiety of the charge of the war.

I might enumerate many other particulars, which having been the subject matter of my discourse with yourself, and some late letters I have wrote to Major Wildman, I intentionally decline. You know how often and how early we pressed the necessity of restoring a civil government in this province, and how often and openly we declared that the ruine of the countrey must be the prejudice, and endanger the ruine of the army; and that there could be found no hands so cheap and easy to be got, or any that would be more hearty and faithful than the Protestants of this countrey, who having their particular interests seconded by natural and religious motives must be more zealous in carrying on this war, than any foreign or mercenary soldiers, as is evident by what has been done by the Londonderry and Eneskillen soldiers, who are and were made up of the meanest and lowest people of this and the neighbouring provinces. You cannot forget who offered, and that at their own charge on our first landing here, to block up Charlemont, and to raise regiments to secure the northern garrisons, that the established army might have the more leisure to attend the motions of the