your majestie's prerogative and power, which were endeavoured to be clipped, or taken away, as is before rehearsed; then the plot of destruction by an army of Scotland, and another of the malignant partie in England, must be executed; the feares of those twofold destructions, and their ardent desire to maintain that just prerogative, which might encounter and remove it, did necessitate some catholiques in the North, about the twenty-second of October 1641, to take armes in maintenance of their religion, your majestie's rights and the preservation of life, estate and libertie: and immediately thereuppon tooke a solemn oath, and sent several declarations to the lords justices and council to that effect; and humbly desired they might be heard in parliament, unto the determination whereof, they were ready to submit themselves, and their demands; which declarations being received, were slighted by the said lords justices, who by the swaying part of the said councill, and by the advice of the said two impeached judges, glad of any occasion to put off the parliament, which by the former adjournment was to meete soone after, caused a proclamation to be published on the twenty-third of the said month of October 1641, therein accuseing all the catholiques of Ireland of disloyaltie, and thereby declareing that the parliament was prorogued until the twenty-sixth of February following.

9th. Within few dayes after the said twentythird day of October 1641, many lords and other persons of ranke and qualitie, made their

humble address to the said lords justices and councill, and made it evidently appeare unto them, that the said prorogation was against law, and humbly besought the parliament might sit according to their former adjournment, which was then the only expedient to compose or remove the then growing discontents and troubles of the land; and the said lords justices, and their partie of the councill, then well knowing that the members of both houses throughout the kingdome (a few in and about Dublin only excepted,) would stay from the meeting of both houses, by reason of the said prorogation, did by proclamation two dayes before the time, give way the parliament might sitt, but so limitted, that no act of grace, or any thing else for the people's quiet or satisfaction, might be propounded or passed. And thereuppon, a few of the lords and commons appeared in the parliament house, who in their entrance at the castle-bridge and gate, and within the yard to the parliament house doore, and recess from thence, were invironed with a great number of armed men with their match lighted, and muskets presented even at the breasts of the members of both houses, none being admitted to bring one servant to attend him, or any weapon about him within the castlebridge. Yet how thin soever the houses were, or how much overawed, they both did supplicate the lords justices and councill, that they might, continue for a tyme together, and expect the coming of the rest of both houses, to the end they might quiet the troubles in full parliament,

and that some acts of securitie graunted by your majestie, and transmitted under the great seale of England, might pass to settle the minds of your majestie's subjects. But to these requests, soe much conduceing to your majestie's service, and settlement of your people, a flatt denyal was given; and the said lords justices and their partie of the councill, by their workeing with their partie in both howses of parliament, being then very thyn as aforesaid, propounded an order should be conceaved in parliament, that the said discontented gentlemen took armes in rebellious manner, which was resented much by the best affected of both howses; but being awed as aforesaid, and credibly informed, if some particular persons amongst them stood in opposition thereunto, that the said musketteeres were directed to shoot them att their goeing out of the parliament house, through which terror, way was given to that order.

10th. Notwithstanding all the before-mentioned provocations, pressures, and indignities, the farr greater, and more considerable parte of the catholiques, and all the cittyes and corporations of Ireland, and whole provinces, stood quiet in their howses; whereupon the said lords justices and their adherents, well knowing that many powerfull members of the parliament of England stood in opposition to your majestie, made their application, and addressed their dispatches, full fraught with calumnies and false suggestions against the catholiques of this kingdome, and propounded unto them, to send

severall great forces to conquer this kingdome; those of the malignant partie here were by them armed; the catholiques were not only denyed armes, but were disarmed, even in the citty of Dublin, which in all succession of ages past continued as loyall to the crowne of England, as any citty or place whatsoever: all other auntient and loyall cittyes and corporatt townes of the kingdome, (by means whereof principally the kingdome was preserved in former tymes) were denyed armes for their money to defend themselves, and express order given by the said lords justices to disarm all catholiques in some of the said cittyes and townes: others disfurnished were inhibited to provide armes for their defence; and the said lords justices and councill having received an order of both houses of parliament in England to publish a proclamation of pardon unto all those who were then in rebellion (as they termed it) in this kingdome, if they did submit by a day to be limited, the said Sir William Parsons, contrary to this order, soe wrought with his partie of the councill, that a proclamation was published of pardon only in two countyes, and a very short day prefixed, and therein all freeholders were excepted; through which every man saw that the estates of the catholiques were first aymed att, and their lives next. The said lords justices and their partie haveing advanced their designe thus far, and not finding the success answerable to their desires, commanded Sir Charles Coote, knight and baronet deceased, to march to the county of Wicklow, where he burnt,

killed, and destroyed all in his way in a most cruell manner, man, woman, and childe; persons that had not appearing wills to doe hurt, nor power to execute it. Soone after, some foot companies did march in the night by direction of the said lords justices, and their said partie, to the town of Sauntry in Fingall, three miles off Dublin; a country that neither then, nor for the space of four or five hundred years before, did feele what troubles were, or war meant; but it was too sweet and too near, and therefore fitt to be forced to armes. In that towne innocent husbandmen, some of them being catholiques, and some protestants taken for catholiques, were murdered in their inn, and their heads carryed triumphant into Dublin. Next morning, complaint being made of this, no redress was obtayned therein; whereupon some gentlemen of qualitie, and others the inhabitants of the country, seeing what was then acted, and what passed in the said last march towards the county of Wicklowe, and justly fearing to be all murthered, forsooke their howses, and were constrayned to stand together in their own defence, though ill provided of armes or ammunition. Hereupon a proclamation was agreed upon at the board, on the thirteenth of December 1641, and not published or printed till the fifteenth of December, by which the said gentlemen, and George Kinge by name, were required to come in by, or upon the eighteenth of the said month, and a safetie was therein promised them. On the same day another proclamation was published, summoning the lords dwelling