ing your majesty's service, and advantaging your revenues, assuring myself, that the doing of such an office would neither procure. me any friends, nor pay any of my debts: besides, its against my profession (being a soldier) to be a penman, or so earnestly to seek for peace. Yet, nevertheless, when I considered what due honour may be unto God, what true service to your highness, and what good to that poor commonweal, it made me utterly neglect my own fortune, and respect of my private benefit, and emboldened me to discharge my duty to God and your majesty, and disclose my zeal for benefiting that poor realm. And if these my labours shall be rightly conceived of by your majesty, and your most honourable council, I shall think my time happily spent, and enjoy as much as I desire. And thus, most humbly beseeching pardon for this my bold and rude discourse, and praying on my knees to Almighty God, the director of all princes hearts, that it may please him to move your majesty's mind duly to consider of the premises, and pitifully to regard the present state of that your poor kingdom, and beseech him to bless your highness with all honour, health and princely happiness, long to reign over us, I most humbly conclude with this my petition. I humbly beseech your majesty, if it be your gracious pleasure to accept the Earl of Tyrone into your highness's protection, that he may safely come in unto your majesty, or to your lord deputy, and hither at your pleasure, that I may be the messenger; because at my coming over he reposed great trust in me, to deliver unto your majesty those things, wherewith he found himself grieved, wherein I doubt not but to do your highness acceptable service, by reason of the poor credit I have with him. But if your majesty be minded to deal otherwise with him (because it hath been reported by those, who are adversaries both to him and to me, that I am a great friend unto him) to show what manner of love mine is towards him, there is none of them, nor any other, who shall do greater service than I will, if it please your majesty to command me, and enable me fit for it; if not, my service and myself, rest at your highness's command to be disposed, as it shall please you, for whom, as is my bounden duty, I will daily pray, &c. Your Majesty's faithful And obedient Servant, THOMAS LEE. THE No. XIII. ANONYMOUS LETTER, UPON WHICH THE REBELLION OF THE import of the letter was as follows, "That he was called "into company by some Popish gentlemen, who, after administering an oath of secrecy, declared their purpose to murder or "poison the deputy, to cut off Sir Oliver Lambert, to pick up one by one the rest of the officers of state, to oblige the small dispersed garrisons by hunger to submit, or to pen them up as "sheep to their shambles. That the castle of Dublin, being "neither manned nor victualled, they held as their own, that the "towns were for them, the country with them, the great ones "abroad and in the North prepared to answer the first alarm, "that the powerful men in the West are assured by their agents "to be ready as soon as the state is in disorder. That the "Catholic king had promised, and the Jesuits from the Pope “had warranted men and means to second the first stirs, and 66 royally to protect all their actions. That as soon as the state "is dissolved, and the king's sword in their hands, they will elect "a governor, chancellor and council, dispatch letters to King "(James I.) trusting to his unwillingness to embark in such a war, and to his facility to pardon, would grant their own con"ditions of peace and government, with toleration of religion: "that if the king listen not to their motions, then that the many days spent in England in debates and preparations would give “them time enough to breathe, fortify and furnish the maritime coasts; and at leisure call to their aid the Spanish forces from "all parts. The writer of the letter declares, "That he interposed some doubts on them, which they readily answered, and "he pretended to them to consent to further their projects, and "that he took the method of this letter, to give notice of their designs, though he refused to betray his friends, in the mean "time he would use his best endeavours to hinder any further practices." And he concludes, "That if they did not desist, "though he reverenced the Mass and Catholic religion equal to "the devoutest of them, yet he would make the leaders of that "dance know, that he preferred his country's good, before their 66 busy and ambitious humours." No. XIV. BY THE KING. A PROCLAMATION TOUCHING THE EARLS OF TIRONE AND TIRCONNEL.....PAGE 86. SEEING it is common and natural in all persons of what condition soever, to speak and judge variably of all new and sudden accidents, and that the flight of the Earls Tirone and Tirconnel with some others of their followers out of the North parts of our realme of Ireland, may happly prove a subject of like discourse; We have thought it not amiss to deliver some such matter in publique; as may better cleare men's judgments concerning the same; not in respect of any worth or value in these men's persons, being base and rude in their originall, but to take away all such inconvenience, as may blemish the reputation of that friendship, which ought to be mutually observed betweene us and other princes. For although it is not unlikely, that the report of their titles and dignities, may draw from princes and states some such courtesies at their first coming abroad, as are incident to men of some extraordinary rancke and qualitie: yet, when wee have taken the best meanes wee can to lay them open in every condition, wee shall then expect from our friends and neighbours all such just and noble proceedings as stand with the rules of honour and friendship, and from our subjects, at home and abroad, that duty and obedience (in their carriage toward them) which they owe to us by inseparable bonds and obligations of nature and loyaltie, whereof wee intend to take streight accompt. For which purpose, wee do hereby first declare, that these persons abovementioned had not their creations or possessions in regard of any lineall or lawfull decent from ancestors of blood or virtue, but were onely preferred by the late queen our sister of famous memory, and by ourselves, for some reasons of state before others, who for their qualitie and birth (in those provinces where they dwell) might better have challenged the honours, which were confered upon them. Secondly, wee do profess, that it is both knowen to us and our councel here, and to our deputie and state there, and so shall it appear to the world (as cleare as the sunne) evident proofes, that the onely ground and motive of this high contempt in these mens departure, hath been the private knowledge and inward terrour of their owne guiltinesse; whereof, because wee heare, that they doe seeke to take away the blot and infamie, by devulging that they have withdrawen themselves for matter of religion (a cloake that serves too much in these dayes to cover many evil intentions), adding also thereunto some other vaine pretext of receiving injustice, when their rights and claims have come in question betweene them and us, or any of our subjects and them, wee think it not impertinent to say somewhat thereof. And therefore, although wee judge it needlesse to seeke for many arguments to confirme whatsoever shall be said of these mens corruption and falshood (whose hainous offences remaine so fresh in memorie, since they declaired themselves so very monsters in nature, as they did not only withdraw themselves from their personall obedience to their soveraigne, but were content to sell over their native country to those, that stood at that time in the highest terms of hostilitie with the two crownes of England and Ireland), yet to make the absurditie and ingratitude of the allegations abovementioned so much the more cleare to all men of equal judgement, wee do hereby professe in the worde of a kinge, that there never was so much as any shadowe of molestation, nor purpose of proceeding in any degree against them for matter concerning religion. Such being their condition and profession, to thinke murder no fault, mariage of no use, nor any man worthy to be esteemed valiant, that did not glorie in rapine and oppression; as we should have thought it an unreasonable thing to trouble them for any different point in religion, before any man could perceive by their conversation, that they made truely conscience of any religion. So we also for the second part of their excuse affirme, that (notwithstanding all that they can claime, must be acknowledged to proceed from meere grace upon their submission, after their great and unnaturall treasons) there hath never come any question concerning their rights or possessions, wherein wee have not bene more inclinable to doe them favour than to any of their competitours, except in those cases wherein wee have plainely discerned, that their onely end was to have made themselves by degrees more able than now they are, to resist all lawfull authoritie (when they should return to their vomit againe), by usurping a power over other good subjects of ours, that dwell among them, better born than they, and utterly disclaiming from any dependancie upon them. Having now delivered thus much concerning these men, estates, and their proceedings, wee will onely end with this conclusion, that they shall not be able to denie, whensoever they should dare to present themselves before the seate of justice, that they (before the running out of our kingdom) not onely entered into combination for stirring sedition and intestine rebellion, but have directed divers instruments, as well priests as others to make offers to forcine states and princes (if they had bene as ready to receive them,) of their readinesse and resolution to adhere to them, whensoever they should seeke to invade that kingdom. Wherein, amongst other things, this is not to be forgotten, that under the condition of being made free from English government, they resolved also to comprehend the utter extirpation of all those subjects, that are nowe remayning alive within that kingdom, formerly descended from English race. In which practises and propositions, followed and fomented by priests and jesuits (of whose functions in these times the practice and perswasions of subjects to rebell against their soveraignes, is one special and essentiall part and portion) as they have found no such incouragement as they expected, and have boasted of; so wee doe assure ourselves, that when this declaration shall bee seene and duely weighed with all due circumstances, it will be of force sufficient to disperse and to discredit all such untrueths as these contemptible creatures, so full of infidelity and ingratitude, shall disgorge against us, and our just and moderate proceedings, and shall procure unto them no better usage, than they would wish should be offered to any such packe of rebells, borne their subjects, and bound unto them in so many and so great obligations. Given at our palace of Westminster, the fifteenth day of November, in the fifth year of our reigne of Great Britain, France, and Ireland. GOD SAVE THE KING. No. XV. A LETTER FROM SEVERAL OF THE LORDS OF THE PALE TO KING JAMES I.....PAGE 90. MOST RENOWNED AND DREAD SOVERAIGNE, THE respective care of your highness's honour, with the obligation, that our bounden duty requireth from us, doth not permitt, that we, your nobility of this part of your majesty's realme of Ireland, commonly termed the English Pale, should suppress and be silent in aught, which in the least measure might ymport the honour of your majesty's most royal person, the reputation of your happy government, or the good and quiet of your estates and countryes; and therefore are humbly bold to addresse these our |