' commission to repel the adversary in some par-
'ticular district, BECAME PESTILENT ENEMIES TO
'THE INHABITANTS. Their properties, their lives,
'THE CHASTITY OF THEIR FAMILIES, were all ex-
posed to barbarians, who sought only to glut
"their brutal passions; and by their horrible ex-
cesses, saith the annalist, purchased the curse of
God and man.'-Leland, Book II. ch. 3.
That these disorders and crimes were encour-
aged, or at least not discountenanced, either in
the words, or by the example of the English Vice-
roys, is a melancholy fact, that appears in every
page of Irish history. They could not, without
arrant hypocrisy, discourage in others, that which
they practised on a larger scale themselves. The
following is the general account given of the Irish
Viceroys, by the same Protestant historian whom
I have so often quoted :-

:

'with the Governour's faithfull and undoubted 'promise that he should be pardoned upon his 'repaire into England. And to the end that no 'treachery might be misdeemed of either side,

'THEY BOTH RECEIVED THE SACRAMENT OPENLIE IN

• THE CAMPE, as an infallible seale of the covenants
' and conditions of either part agreed! Heerupon
'Thomas Fitzgerald, sore against the willes of
'his councellors, dismist his armie, and rode with
'the Deputie to Dublin, where hee made short
'abode, when hee sailed to England with the fa.
'vorable letters of the Governour and the coun-
'cell. And as he would have taken his journeie
'to Windsore where the Court laie, he was inter-
'cepted contrairie to his expectation in London
'waie, and conveied without halt into the towre!
' and before his imprisonment was bruited, letters
were posted into Ireland, streictlie commanding
the Deputie upon sight of them, to apprehend
Thomas Fitzgerald his uncles, and to see them
'with all convenient speed shipt into England,
'which the Lord Deputie did not slacke. For,
having feasted three of the gentlemen at Kilmai-

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At a distance from the supreme seat of power, ' and with the advantage of being able to make 'such representations of the state of Ireland as they pleased, the English Vicegerents acted with 'the less reserve. They were generally tempted 'to undertake the conduct of a disordered State,nan, immediately after their banket, (as it is for the sake of private emolument, and their ob'ject was pursued WITHOUT DELICACY OR INTEGRITY; SOMETIMES WITH INHUMAN VIOLENCE.'-Leland, Book III. chap. 1.

Speaking of the departure of one of them, in the reign of Henry the Sixth, Leland has a short passage, which, with a small variation in phrase, might serve as the general character of the English Governors of Ireland :

'Furnival' (chief governor) departed with the ' execration of all those, clergy and and laity alike, 'whose lands he had ravaged, whose castles he 'had seized, whose fortunes had been impaired by his extortion and exactions, or who had shared in the distress arising from the debts he left undischarged.'-Leland, Book III. chap. 1.

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nowe and then seene that sweet meate will have 'sowre sauce,) HE CAUSED THEM TO BE MANACLED, AND LED AS PRISONERS TO THE CASTELL OF DUB'LIN! and the other two were so roundlie snatcht up in villages hard by, as they sooner felt their own captivitie, than they had notice of their 'brethren's calamitie! The next wind that served into England, these five brethren were em'barked, to wit: James Fitzgerald, Walter Fitz'gerald, Oliver Fitzgerald, John Fitzgerald, and Richard Fitzgerald. Three of these gentlemen, James, Walter and Richard, were known to 'have crossed their nephue Thomas, to their power, in his rebellion; and therefore were not oc'casioned to misdoubt anie danger! But such as in those daies were enemies to the house, inIt will be perceived that the English Governors 'censed the King so sore against it, persuading behaved with the same impartial and indiscrimi- him that he should never conquer Ireland as long nate treachery and cruelty to the descendants of 'as anie Geraldine breathed in the countrie: as the English, and to the native Irish themselves. 'for making the pathwaie smooth, he was reNothing can exceed the baseness of the means 'solved to lop off as well the good and sound which were unblushingly resorted to by the mon- grapes as the wild and fruitlesse berries; ster Government of Ireland. I select as an in- whereby appeareth how dangerous it is to be a stance from Hollinshed's Chronicles, the mode'rub, when a king is disposed to sweepe an alley.' in which, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, the insurrection of Lord Thomas Fitzgerald was terminated. Perjury, murder, and blasphemy so richly concur in capping the climax of atrocity and baseness, that it may alone serve to demonstrate the spirit in which Ireland was governed. The passage from Hollinshed is this:

'With Fitzgerald, Sir William Brereton skir'mished so fiercelie, as both the sides were rather 'for the great slaughter disadvantaged, than either part by anie great victory furthered. Master Brereton, therefore, perceiving that rough nets were not the fittest to take such peart birds, gave 'his advice to the Lord Deputie to grow with Fitz'gerald by faire means to some reasonable com'position. The Deputie liking of the motion, 'craved a parlie, sending certayne of the English as hostages to Thomas his campe, with a pro'tection directed unto him, to come and go 'will and pleasure. Being upon this securitie in 'conference with Lord Greie, he was persuaded 'to submit himselfe unto the King his mercie,

at

Thomas Fitzgerald, the third of February, ' and these five brethren his uncles, were hanged, drawne, and quartered at Tyburne, which was incontinently bruited as well in England and Ireland, as in foreign soiles.'-Idem, 303.

One incident during the war with Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, is worth recording :

'One hundred and forty of his (viz. Lord Tho'mas Fitzgerald's) gallowglasses had the mis'fortune to be intercepted and made prisoners; ' and as intelligence was received that the rebels 'advanced and prepared to give battle, Skeffing'ton,' (the Governor) with a barbarous precaution, ordered these wretches to be slaaghtered; an order so effectually executed, that but one of 'all the number escaped the carnage.'—Leland, Book III. chap. 6.

on several felons that had lands and goods, which 'would be forfeited to the Earl by their attainders, and that the Sheriff took those lands and goods to his own cause.-Cox. 395.

by Martial Law; which was treated as if it really formed part of the Common Law of Ireland. The abstract of a commission to execute Martial Law, as given by Hollinshed, is worth recording:The Lord Justice from Waterford, upon no- The result of all these grievances and oppres'tice of the trouble dailie increasing, sent a com- sions was the almost total secession from Eng'mission of the 11th of Februarie, to Sir War-lish power, even of the parts of Ireland that had ham Sentleger to be provost marshall, authoris-been overrun by the English and submitted to ing him to proceed according to the course of mar- English authority. 'shall law against all offenders, as the nature of his or their offences did merit and deserve; so 'that the partie offender bee not able to dispend 'fortie shillings by the yeare in land, or annuitie, || ' or be not woorth ten pounds in goods; also that upon good cawses he maie parlie and talke with anie rebell, and grant him a protection for ten daies: that he shall banish all idlers and 'sturdy beggars: that he shall apprehend aiders of outlaws and theeves, AND EXECUTE ALL IDLE 'PERSONS TAKEN BY NIGHT! that he shall give in ⚫ the name and names of such as shall refuse to 'to aid and assist him; that in doing of his ser'vice he shall take horse-meat and man's-meat|| where he list, in anie man's house for one night; 'that everie gentleman and nobleman doo deliver him a book of all the names of their servants ' and followers; that he shall put in execution all ⚫ statutes against merchants and other penal laws, ' and the same to see to be read and published in every church by the parson and curate of the same: and that he doo everie month certifie the the Lord Justice how manie persons, and of their 'offences and qualieties, that he shall execute and put to death! with sundrie other articles, which 'generallie are comprised in every commission for 'the marshall law.'-Hollinshed, VI. 429.

This is given only as a specimen. It is mentioned as a common practice, and is spoken of thus, by one of the Chief Governors. He talks,

it will be seen, of "giving this power to sundrie ;" so that he was not at all scrupulous as to the persons to whom he committed it :

There has been lately published a document, from which a few extracts will give a thorough insight into the real state of Ireland so late as the reign of Henry the Eighth. The document I allude to is to be found in the 2nd Volume of the State Papers lately published under the authority of a Commission from the Crown; containing State Papers of the reign of Henry VIII.; and appears to have been a representation made to that monarch of the state of Ireland; and a plan for its reformation. It shows that there were no less than eight counties, which, though shire land, yet did not recognize the authority of England: and five other counties, one half of each of which equally disclaimed the English authority; including in these counties, even the county of Dublin itself. There were, besides, no less than sixty districts, called Regions,' which were altogether under the dominion and authori ty of Irish Chieftains; and, what will seem still more surprising to those who are unacquainted with the history of Ireland, there were no less than thirty other Regions,' or Districts, under the sway and authority of Chieftains of pure English descent; but who did not acknowledge or submit to the authority of the English government. It is better to give the very words of the document; and first, as relates to the Irish Regions,' we find the following passage:

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'And fyrst of all, to make His Grace under'stande that there byn more than 60 countrys, called Regyons, in Ireland, inhabyted with the king's Irish enemies: some region as big as a 'I also granted unto sundrie, power to execute shire, some more, some less unto a little; some the martiall lawe and left authoritie with Siras big as halfe a shire, and some a little less; . Edmond Butler, and Patrick Sherlock, to leviewhere reigneth more than 60 chief captains, and entertayne men to prosecute the outlawes, 'whereof some calleth themselves Kings, some and such as no man would answere for. I have Kings Peers in their language, some Princes, herde, that since that tyme some have been some Dukes, some Archdukes, that liveth only executed."-Sydney, I. 21. 'by the sword, and obeyeth to no other temporal person, but only to himself that is strong: and every of the said captains maketh war and 'peace for himself, and holdeth by sworde, and hath imperial jurisdiction within his rome, and 'obeyeth to no other person English or Irish, except only to such persons as may subdue him by

That persons were executed by Martial Law in time of profound peace, is isdisputable.

"The Lord Dillon affirmed that martial law had 'been practiced, and men hanged by it in times 'of peace.'-Nalson, II. 60.

I shall make one quotation more to establish the fact that it was considered in Ireland that the officers of the Crown could supersede the Common Law whenever they pleased; by substituting trial by Court Martial.

Martial Law is so frequent and ordinary in 'Ireland that it is not to be denied; and so lit'tle offensive there, that the Common Law takes no exception at it!!!"-Rushworth, VIII. 198. The manner in which the execution of the Martial Law worked, we can discover from the following instance. which I find in Cox's History of Ireland :

The Earl of Ormond's officers made a com'plaint against Lovell, Sheriff of the county of Kilkenny, that he had executed Martial Law

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'the sworde.'

Next, with regard to the English Chieftains, there is this passage:

'Also, there is more than 30 great captains of 'the English noble folk, that followeth the same 'Irish order, and keepeth the same rule, and every of them maketh war and peace for himself 'without any licence of the king, or of any other 'temporal person, save to him that is strongest, and of such that may subdue them by the 'sword.'

Next, as to the counties that had thrown off the English authority, we have this passage :— 'Here followeth the names of the counties that

'Here followeth the names of the English 'counties, that bear tribute to the wylde Irish: How expressive of the impolicy of misgovern. The barony of Lecchahill in the county of ing Ireland, is the concluding paragraph of the Wolster, to the Captain of Clanhuboy, payeth || paper in question! The writer says, yearly, £40, or else to Oneyll, whether of them 'be strongest.'

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tilance! and he encouraged the repetition of these diabolical means, by his own evidence of their efficacy. He recommended, indeed, that twenty days should be given to the Irish to come in and submit; after the expiration of which time they were to be shown no mercy. But let me quote his own words :

another. The same cause that, in a more miti. gated form, now prevents Ireland from being a nation, did at that time preclude, in a more rude and savage manner, the establishment of nationality. The Irish Chieftains had the power, and seldom wanted either the inclination or the incitement to make war upon each other. Mutual injuries, reciprocal devastations, created and con- The end will (I assure mee) bee very short, tinued strife and hate amongst them. The worstand much sooner than it can be in so greate a elements of continued dissension subsisted. When trouble, as it seemeth, hoped for: altho' there upon particular occasions some universal or gene. should none of them fall by the sword,nor be slaine ral oppression made them combine, their con- by the soldiour: yet thus being kept from manfederacy was but of short duration. When the urance, and their cattle from running abroad, by English party was strong, it endeavoured by force 'this hard restraint THEY WOULD QUIETLY CONto put down such confederacy. But the forcible at- SUME THEMSELVES, and devoure one anOTHER !' tempts were in general successfully resisted by the -Spencer's Ireland, p. 165. Irish; who gained the futile glory of many a victory over some of the most accomplished command. ers of the English forces. But these defeats taught the English officers that cunning which is called potitical wisdom. They assailed the avarice, or fomented the resentments of particular chieftains; and succeeded in detaching them from the gene. ral cause. These chieftains betrayed their companions in arms; joined their forces with those of the English; and participated in the counsels, and united with the force, which by degrees broke down the power of the other chieftains. But the traitors obtained no permanent profit; and no length of fidelity to the English commanders secured the confidence or the kindness of their unprincipled seducers.

Immediately after the victory of Knocktow, 'Lord Gormanstown turned to the Earl of Kil. 'dare, in the utmost insolence of success, We have slaughtered our enemies,' said he; but to complete the good deed, we must proceed yet fur. 'ther, cut the throats of those Irish of our own, • party.''

I shall now proceed with extracts of equal au. thority and authenticity, showing the mode in

These counsels of Spencer were carried into effect. The war with Desmond, who was in fact forced into rebellion—that is, into a contest with the Queen, afforded the pretext and oppor. tunity for exercising these cruelties. Take these specimens from Hollinshed, who thus describes the progress of the English army through the country :—

As they went, they drove the whole country 'before them into the Ventrie, and by that means they preyed and took all the cattle into the country, to the number of eight thousand kine, be'side horses, garrons, sheep, and goats: and all 'such people as they met, they did without mercy put to the sword; by these means, the whole country having no cattle nor kine left, they were 'driven to such extremities, that 'for want of vic'tuals they were either to die and perish for famine, or to die under the sword.'—Hollinshed, VI. 427.

The soldiers, likewise, in the camp, were so hot upon the spur, and so eager upon the vile rebels, that that day they spared neither man, woman, nor child, but ALL was committed to the 'sword.'-Hollinshed, VI. 430.

I give the next quotation to show how trivial it was considered to slaughter four hundred unarmed people in a single day. It was thought an insufficient day's service:

'The next daie following being the twelfe of 'March, the Lord Justice and the Earle divided 'their armie into two severall companies by two ensigns and three together, the Lord Justice tak.

of Sleughlogher, and so they searched the woods, burned the towne and killed that daie about foure hundred men, and returned the same night with all the cattel which they found that day. And the said lord's being not satisfied with his daie's service, they did likewise the next 'daie divide themselves, spoiled and consumed the whole countrie until it was night.'-Hollin shed VI. 430.

which English authority in the reign of Queening the one side, and the other taking the side Elizabeth became predominant. What arms were unable to achieve, was brought about by the most horrible and persevering cruelties. The Irish, who could not be subdued by force, were compelled to yield to famine. The harvests were destroyed year after year; the cattle were taken away and slaughtered; provisions of every kind were destroyed; the country was devastated-the population perished for want of food; famine and pestilence were the irresistible arms used by England to obtain the dominion.

It is horrible to think that this mode of subjuga. tion was suggested in detail by the Poet Spencer; a man who, though affected by the quaintness of his time, was endowed with the most poetic ge. nius; but his imagination, which might have been inflamed by fictitious woe, exhausted itself in. devising real horrors for Ireland. He had his plan for the pacification of Ireland. It was no other than that of creating famine, and ensuring pes

This is but a specimen of the mode in which the war was carried on. I give a few more instances, and I could multiply them by hundreds :

"They passed over the same into Conilo, where the Lord Justice and the Earl of Ormond divid. 'ed their companies, and, as they marched, they 'burned and destroyed the country.'-Hollinshed, 'VI. 430.

'He divided his companies into foure parts, and 'they entered into foure severall places of the