should seem unpleasing to your majesty, I humbly beseech you to pass it over and to peruse the rest, whereof I doubt not, but something will content your highness, for that it tendeth to your highness's service and commodity.

My meaning, whereby your highness's profit may arise, is by O'Donnel Maguire, Bryan Oge O'Rourke, and Bryan Oge M'Mahon.

The demands I made for your majesty were these, that they should receive your majesty's forces into their countries, and your laws to go current, as they did in other places, and some part of their countries to be reserved for your majesty to dispose unto them, who should govern them; and they to charge themselves with that proportion, that was fit for them to bear.

To those demands they all yielded; so that they might have such gentlemen chosen, as they knew would use no treachery, nor hard measures towards them, but to live upon that which your majesty would allow, and that which they would give of their free consents, and be no farther charged, and they would be as duti full as any other country in Ireland now is. And how this may be performed, I have madę bold, with your majestie's favourable liking, here to set down upon my knowledge, both how your ma jestie's forces may be received with their consent, and they to yield great profit in discharge of that, which your majesty allows to the soldiers, and the soldiers to be well satisfied.

The cause they have to stand upon those terms, and to seek for better assurance is, the harsh practices used against others by those, who have been placed in authority to protect men for your majestie's service, which they have greatly abused and used in this sort.

They have drawn unto them by protection three or four hundred of these country people, under colour to do your majestie service, and brought them to a place of meeting, where your garrison soldiers were appointed to be, who have there most dishonourably put them all to the sword: and this hath been by the consent and practice of the lord deputy for the time being. If this be a good course to draw these savage people to the state to do your majesty service, and not rather to enforce them to stand upon their guard, I humbly leave to your majesty.

When some one who hath been a bad member (pardoned by your majesty) hath heard himself exclaimed upon to be a notable thief after his pardon, and hath simply come in without any bonds, or any other enforcement, to an open session to take his trial, by your majesty's laws, if any could accuse him, notwithstanding his coming in after this manner, and without any trial at the time (because he was a bad man in times past,) there hath been order given in that session for the execution of him, and so he has lost his life,

to the great dishonour of your majesty, and discredit of your laws. There have also been divers others pardoned by your majesty, who have been held very dangerous men, and after their pardon have lived very dutifully, and done your majesty great service, and many of them have lost their lives therein; yet upon small suggestions to the lord deputy, that they should be spoilers of your majesty's subjects, notwithstanding their pardon, there have been bonds demanded of them for their appearance at the next sessions. They knowing themselves guiltless, have most willingly entered into bonds, and appeared, and there (no matter being found to charge them) they have been arraigned only for being in company with some of your highness's servitors, at the killing of notorious known traitors, and for that only have been condemned of treason, and lost their lives. And this dishonest practice hath been by the consent of your deputies.

When there have been notable traitors in arms against your majesty, and sums of money offered for their heads, yet could by no means be compassed, they have in the end (of their own accord) made means for their pardon offering to do great service, which they have accordingly performed to the contentment of the state, and thereupon received pardon, and have put in sureties for their good behaviour, and to be answerable at all times, at assizes and sessions, when they should be called; yet notwithstanding there have been secret commissions given for the murdering of these men. They have often been set upon by the sheriff of shires, to whom the commissions were directed, in sundry of which assaults some of them have been killed, and others have hardly escaped. And after all this they have simply come, without pardon or protection, to an open place of justice, to submit themselves to your majesty's laws, where they have been put to their trial upon several indictments, of all which they have been acquitted, and set at liberty. If this be a course allowable for poor men to be handled in this manner, and to be at no time in safety of their lives, I humbly leave to your majesty.

When many notorious offenders have submitted themselves to your majesty's mercy, and have been accepted, and had their pardons, and have put in good assurances to be at all times answerable to your laws, the chiefest rebel (whose followers they were) has been countenanced and borne out by your state, to rob and spoil, burn and kill these poor men, who did thus submit themselves. When they have very pitifully complained against that arch rebel, and his complices of these outrages, they have been sharply rebuked and reproved for their speeches, and left void of all remedy for their losses; so as when in the end they have made petition to have licence by their own means, and help of their friends, to recover their goods from the rebels, they have

been rejected, and utterly discomforted, yet nevertheless remained dutiful subjects, although they see that such as continue notorious malefactors, are in far more safety than they, who depend upon your majesty's defence.

For it is well to be proved, that in one of your majesty's civil shires, there lived an Irishman, peaceably and quietly, as a good subject, many years together, whereby he grew into great wealth, which his landlord thirsting after, and desirous to remove him from his land, entered into practice with the sheriff of the shire, to dispatch this simple man, and divide his goods between them. They sent one of his own servants for him, and he coming with his servant, they presently took his man, who was their messenger, and hanged him, and keeping the master prisoner, went immediately to his dwelling, and shared his substance (which was of great value) between them, turning his wife and many children to begging; after they had kept him fast for a season with the sheriff, they carried him to the castle of Dublin, where he lay by the space of two or three terms, and having no matter whatever objected against him, whereupon to be tried by law, they by their credit and countenance, being both English gentlemen, and he who was the landlord, the chiefest man in the shire, informed the lord deputy so hardly of him, as that without indictment or trial they executed him, to the great scandal of your majesty's state there, and impeachment of your laws. For if this man had been such an offender as they urged, why was he not tried by ordinary course of law? whereby good example of justice might have been shewed, and your highness benefited by his wealth, which they shared? But to cut him off by martial law, who was a good householder, inhabiting a civil country, always liable to law, and last imprisoned in Dublin (where all the laws of that land have their head,) was in my conceit rather rigour than justice; for as martial law is very necessary, and in my opinion ought to be granted to all governours of remote and savage places, where your majesty's laws are not received, with all other authority and power severely and sharply to cut off or punish offenders, according to the quality of their offence, until such time as the people shall become civil, and embrace the law and peaceable living (for till then they are not to be governed without the like measure of justice) so to use the same, where the people are civil and obedient to their laws, is very indirect justice, administered to your majesty's poor subjects there, who, if they have once been offenders, live they never so honestly afterwards, if they grow to any wealth, are sure by one indirect means or other to be cut off. When there have been means made to an aged gentleman (never traitor against your majesty, neither he nor any of his ancestors, and dwelling in one of the remotest parts of your king

dom) to come into your state, and that the hard courses used to others, made him demand security for his coming in, which hath been sent unto him by great oaths and protestations delivered by the messenger, whereof he hath accepted, and thereupon come in; yet, notwithstanding all these promised safeties, this aged gentleman hath been detained prisoner for six years, and so yet remaineth. And his imprisonment is the only colour to satisfy your majesty for a wonderful great charge, which your majesty and your subjects were then put unto; but his detaining, contrary to promise, hath bred great fear in all or most of his sort (in those parts,) of crediting what your state there shall promise.

When upon the death of a great lord of a country, there hath been another nominated, chosen, and created, he hath been entertained with fair speeches, taken down into his country, and for the offences of other men, indictments have been framed against him, whereupon he hath been found guilty, and so lost his life; which hath bred such terror in other great lords of the like measure, as maketh them stand upon those terms which they now do. When there hath been a stratagem used for the taking into your majesty's hands a young youth (the Earl of Tyrconnel,) the heir of a great country, by whose taking his whole country would have been held in obedience, the practice whereof was most good and commendable; yet (after the obtaining of him) his manner of usage was most dishonourable and discommendable, and neither allowable before God nor man. My reasons are these; he being young, and being taken by this stratagem, having never offended, was imprisoned with great severity, many irons laid upon him, as if he had been a notable traitor and malefactor, and kept still among those, who were ever notorious traitors against your majesty; having no other council, or advice, or company but their's, what good could come to this young man for his education among such, I humbly refer to your highness.

The taking of him as aforesaid was most commendable, and for the good of that country, so he had been brought up in this manner: presently to have been sent to your majesty to have been instructed in the fear of God, to have known his duty to your majesty, and to have been furnished with all necessary parts for a gentleman and as your majesty should have found his disposi tion, so either to have detained him here or sent him home into his country, whose good example (by his virtuous training up) might have done God and your majesty much good service in those parts. I have been the more bold to discover to your majesty the dishonourable managing of your service there, by the indirect cutting off of sundry your majesty's poor subjects, because it pleased your highness (many years since) to impart unto me, how much you abhorred to have your people there dealt withal

by any practice, but only upright justice, by your majesty's laws and forces, which being otherwise handled, I desire to make known to your majesty, and your most honourable council, for redress thereof.

But I fear, that they who have well liked that course, and have been practisers of the same, will inform your majesty, that those people are so bad, as it is no matter of conscience to cut them off any way howsoever, which is (in my opinion) for none but tyrants and beggarly princes to imitate. But your majesty being of so great power to offend the mightiest kings of the world, and to revenge yourself upon them, may with much honour suppress your own vassals, by your highness's laws and forces, wherein you are at charge in those parts for that purpose.

These principal instruments, as the lord deputy, and they who have been his assistants in those dishonest practices, have not only used these bad means against those poor remote and savage people, but have done all their endeavours (so far as in them lay) to discomfort and discredit your majesty's best servitors, living under their commands, because they misliked to execute such unjust practices and devices, and to allow of their covetous, unconscionable and dishonourable gettings.

I am emboldened, most gracious sovereign, to declare thus much, because, not only my poor self (one of the meanest in that place of service) have been partaker of it, but some of your majesty's chief officers also have tasted the indiscreet bitterness of the two last lord deputies, as namely Sir Robert Gardiner, in his place of justice a most worthy man, and void of all manner of corruption; and Sir Richard Bingham, in his place of government, against whom (even within his own jurisdiction) traitors have been suborned and countenanced by them; and the like in nature, though not in quality, hath been done against myself; and as for Sir Richard, there was never man in his place hath done your majesty like honourable service, without increase of charge. For my own part, I leave the report of my services to such as know it, and have seen it; yet have they not only done me injustice there, but have also used their best friends and credit here, to obscure my good deserts, and to make (as far as in them lieth) me a man to be hated of your majesty, depressing me with all their might and authority there, and crossing me with all their ability and malice here, not because I have slacked or not performed your majesty's service at any time, but for that I have afore time and now, discovered unto your highness their dishonourable dealings and intolerable corruptions.

And I desire not that your majesty should either simply credit me this my plain detecting them, nor them in excusing themselves; but if it please your highness to appoint commissioners