an undoubted right and just title to all the privileges and advantages which such their native country affords and surely no man but will allow, that by such a native right, every one born in any country, hath an undoubted right to the inheritance of his father, or any other, to whom he, or they, may be heir at law: but if this bill pass into a law, every native of this kingdom, that is and shall remain a papist, is, ipso facto, during life, or his or their continuing a papist, deprived of such inheritance, devise, gift, remainder or trust, of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, of which any protestant now is, or hereafter shall be seized in fee-simple absolute, or fee-tail, which by the death of such protestant, or his wife, ought to descend immediately to his son or sons, or other issue in tail, being such papists, and 18 years of age; or, if under that age, within six months after coming to that age, shall not conform to the church of Ireland, as by law established; and every such devise, gift, remainder or trust, which, according to the laws of the land, and such native right, ought to descend to such papist, shall, during the life of such papist, (unless he forsake his religion,) descend to the nearest relation that is a protestant, and his heirs, being and continuing protestants, as though the said popish heir and all other popish relations were dead; without being accountable. for the same: which is nothing less than robbing such popish heir of such his birth-right; for no other reason, but his being and continuing of that religion, which, by the first of Limerick articles,

the Roman catholics of this kingdom were to enjoy, as they did in the reign of king Charles II. and then there was no law in force, that deprived any Roman catholic of this kingdom of any such their native birth-right, or any other thing, which by the laws of the land then in force any other fellow subjects were entituled unto.

The 8th clause of this bill, is to erect in this kingdom a law of gavel-kind: a law in itself so monstrous and strange, that, I dare say, this is the first time it was ever heard of in the world; a law so pernicious and destructive to the wellbeing of families and societies, that, in an age or two, there will hardly be any remembrance of any of the ancient Roman catholic families known in this kingdom; a law, which, therefore, I may again venture to say, was never before known or heard of in the universe!

There is, indeed, in Kent, a custom, called the Custom of Gavel-kind; but I never heard of any law for it till now: and that custom is far different from what by this bill is intended to be made a law; for there, and by that custom, the father, or other person, dying possessed of any estate of his own acquisition, or not entailed, (let him be of what persuasion he will, ) may by will bequeath it at pleasure: or if he dies without will, the estate shall not be divided, if there be any male heir to inherit it; but for want of male heir, then it shall descend in gavel-kind among the daughters, and not otherwise. But by this act, for want of a protestant heir, enrolled as such within three months after the death of such papist, to be

divided, share and share like, among all his sons; for want of sons, among his daughters; for want of such, among the collateral kindred of his father; and in want of such, among those of his mother; and this is to take place of any grant, settlement, &c. other than sale, for valuable consideration of money, really, bona fide, paid. And shall I not call this a strange law? Surely it is a strange law, which, contrary to the laws of all nations, thus confounds all settlements, how antient soever, or otherwise warrantable by all the laws heretofore in force, in this, or any other kingdom.

The 9th clause of this act, is another manifest breach of the articles of Limerick; for by the 9th of those articles, no oath is to be administered to, nor imposed upon such Roman catholics, as should submit to the government, but the oath of allegiance, appointed by an act of parliament made in England, in the first year of the reign of their late majesties king William and queen Mary, (which is the same with the first of those appointed by the 10th clause of this act :) but by this clause, none shall have the benefit of this act, that shall not conform to the church of Ireland, subscribe the declaration, and take and subscribe the oath of abjuration, appointed by the 9th clause of this act; and therefore this act is a manifest breach of those articles, &c. and a force upon all the Roman catholics therein comprized, either to abjure their religion, or part with their birth-rights; which, by those articles, they were, and are, as fully, and as rightfully A B

VOL. III.

entituled unto, as any other subjects whatever.

The 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th clauses of this bill, relate to offices and employments, which the papists of Ireland cannot hope for the enjoyment of, otherwise than by grace and favour extraordinary; and therefore, do not so much affect them, as it does the protestant dissenters, who (if this bill pass into a law) are equally with the papists deprived of bearing any office, civil or military, under the government, to which by right of birth, and the laws of the land, they are as indisputably entituled, as any other their protestant brethren: and if what the Irish did in the late disorders of this kingdom, made them rebels, (which the presence of a king, they had before been obliged to own, and swear obedience to, gave them a reasonable colour of concluding it did not,) yet surely the dissenters did not do any any thing to make them so; or to deserve worse at the hands of the government, than other protestants; but, on the contrary, it is more than probable, that if they (I mean the dissenters) had not put a stop to the career of the Irish army at Enniskillen and London-derry, the settlement of the government, both in England and Scotland, might not have proved so easy as it thereby did; for if that army had got to Scotland, (as there was nothing at that time to have hindered them, but the bravery of those people, who were mostly dissenters, and chargeable with no other crimes since; unless their close adhering to, and early appearing for the then government, and the many faithful services they did their country, were

crimes,) I say, if they had got to Scotland, when they had boats, barks, and all things else ready for their transportation, and a great many friends there in arms, waiting only their coming to join them; it is easy to think, what the consequence would have been to both these kingdoms; and these dissenters then were thought fit for command, both civil and military, and were no less instrumental in contributing to the reducing the kingdom, than any other protestants: and to pass a bill now, to deprive them of their birth-rights, (for those their good services,) would surely be a most unkind return, and the worst reward ever granted to a people so deserving. Whatever the papists may be supposed to have deserved, the dissenters certainly stand as clean in the face of the present government, as any other people whatsoever and if this is all the return they are like to get, it will be but a slender encouragement, if ever occasion should require, for others to pursue their examples.

By the 15th, 16th, and 17th clauses of this bill, all papists, after the 24th of March 1703, are prohibited from purchasing any houses or tenements, or coming to dwell in Limerick or Galway, or the suburbs of either, and even such as were under the articles, and by virtue thereof have ever since lived there, from staying there; without giving such security as neither those articles, nor any law heretofore in force, do require; except seamen, fishermen, and day-labourers, who pay not above forty shillings a year rent; and from voting for the election of members of par