took upon them the crown of that kingdom, which was the 11th of May, 1689."

The true caufe of the decline of the protestant religion in Ireland in the reign of king James II.

THE decline of the proteftant religion in Ireland, in the reign of king James, was not owing, as Dr. King fuppofes, either to the violence of his government, or the artifice, or industry of his priests; but to the negligence at first, and afterwards to the selfinterestedness and tergiverfation of its own clergy. Of their negligence,' Lord Clarendon himself frequently complained,

a

1 State Lett. vol. i. p. 215.

b

They were printed at London, by order of King William, -ann. 1689; and the Scots acts of convention and parliament, above quoted, are collected and extracted from the registers and records of the meeting of eftates and parliament there by the commiffioner, then exercifing the office of clerk-register, and printed Cum Privilegio at Edinburgh, ann. 1690." Lefley, ib.

"By an act made in Scotland in 1695, episcopal minifters were prohibited to baptize or folemnize matrimony, in pain of perpetual imprisonment, but repealed roth of Queen Anne, and no perfon to incur any penalty for reforting to epifcopal meetings, nor their paftors for preaching, adminiftering the facraments or marrying." Summary of penal Laws, p. 79.

"I did not find (fays Marthal Schomberg, in a letter to King William, from Lifburn, December, 1689), that the minifters apply themfelves enough to their duty; whilst the Romifh priefts are paffionate to exhort the people to die for the church of Rome, and in putting themfelves at their head." Dalrymp. Mem. vol. iii. p. 59: NON

grace,

"that

very

few

In one of thefe letters, he tells his "of the clergy refided in their cures but employed pitiful curates, which neceffitated the people to look after a Romish priest, or a non-conformist preacher, of both which there was plenty. That he found it an ordinary thing in Ireland for a minifter to have five or fix, or more cures, and to get them fupplied by those

who

complained, in his letters to the Archbishop of Canterbury, whom, as I have already obferved, the king had ordered him to confult, in all the religious affairs of that kingdom. And the effects of that negligence, together with the enfuing war (for which religion which religion was the pretence) were fuch, that Mr. Lefley fays, "he was himfelf a witness, that atheism, contempt of all religion, debauchery, and violence, were more notorious and univerfal, in the proteftant army in Ireland, from the year 1688 to 1692, and more publicly owned, than fince he knew the world. That to his knowledge, feveral had turned papifts, on account of the lewdness of the

2. Ubi fupra, p. 36-7-8.

who will do it cheapest. When (adds he) I discourse with my lords the bishops on these things, I confefs, I have not fatisfactory anfwers." Dalrymp. Memoirs, vol. i. p. 223. Even Marfhal Schomberg complained to King William in 1690, "that the (eftablished) clergy of Ireland were people, that were little attached to their parifhes." Ib. vol. ii. Append. p. 79.

Lord Clarendon complained in 1685-6," that several of the clergy were abfent in England; and among these the Archbishop of Tuam, and the Bishop of Down and Connor: that the former, after three years abfence, was refolved to come home ; but that the latter, who had been abfent from his charge fix years, defired to have his licence of abfence renewed ; and that yet, it was really a fhame to think how his diocess lay.” State Lett. vol. i. p. 215.

"Some (clergymen) fays his lordship, hold five, fix or nine hundred pounds per annum in ecclefiaftical preferments, and get them all ferved for one hundred and fifty pounds a year, and do not preach once a year themselves. Several of the clergy, who have been in England, fent to renew their licences of abfence, but I have refufed most of them, which has brought some of them home, and the rest must follow." Ib. p. 215.

In the journals of the house of commons, October 1695, there is a petition of Peter Aris, Thomas Baker, Richard Adams, and other inhabitants of the parish of Newcastle in the county of Wicklov, complaining that they have had no fervice in their parish-church fince the troubles (1688) though their church be in good repair, and at least three hundred proteftants in the faid parish; under colour of an union to the parish of Delgany, though in truth there was no fuch union; presented to the house and read." Vol. ii. f. 728.

the army, and the apoftacy of the clergy. And that, however it might feem a paradox, it was nevertheless true, that there had been more converts to popery in England. alfo, and from the fame caufes, within the four years above-mentioned, than in four years before that period." That is to That is to fay, more in the four years after King James's abdication, when he could make ufe of neither force nor allurements to gain converts to his religion, than in all the time that he had it fo amply in his power, to employ both thefe ineans of converfion for that purpose."

Bishop Burnet has accounted for this fudden growth of irreligion and immorality, at that juncture, in the fame manner. "A difbelief," fays he,' " of revealed religion, a profane mockery of the chriftian faith, and the mysteries of it, became fcandalous and avowed; and it must be confeffed, that the behaviour of many clergymen gave atheists no small advantage. They had taken the oaths to, and read the prayers for the present government; they obferved the orders for public fafts and thankfgivings; and yet they fhewed in many places, their averfion to our establishment too visibly. This made many conclude that the clergy were a fort of men, that would fwear and pray, even against their confciences rather than lofe their benefices; and by confequence, that they were governed by interest, not by principle. Upon the whole matter, the nation was falling into a general corruption, both as to morals and principles; and that was fo much fpread among all forts of people, that it gave us great apprehenfions of heavy judgments from Heaven."

3 Hift. of his own Times, vol. ii.

Queen

A late ingenious writer obferves, "that the number of Roman catholics did not increase when they had the particular favour of the court. From the diffolution of the Oxford parliament to the end of the reign of James II. none embraced their doctrine but a very few perfons, who were called court catholics, and they after the revolution all returned to the profeffion of the proteftant religion, except Mr. Dryden (the great poet).” Confideration on the Penal Laws against Roman Catholics, p. 66.

Queen Mary, in a letter to King William, July 1690, has these remarkable words, " I must put you in mind of one thing, believing it now the feafon (the king was then in Ireland), which is, that you would take care of the church in Ireland. Every body agrees, that it is the worft in Chriftendom." 4.

The perplexity of the established clergy of Ireland after the coronation of King William.

THE ftrange verfatility, and trimming behaviour of

the Irish established clergy on this occafion, is thus freely described by Mr. Lefley. "Before the affociation in the north, they prayed for King James; in the beginning of March following, they proclaimed the Prince of Orange king, and prayed for him. On the 14th of that month, King James's army broke their forces at Dromore, in the north of Ireland; then they prayed again for King James, that God might strengthen him to vanquish and overcome all his enemies; in Auguft following, Schomberg came over with an Englifh army; then, as far as his quarters reached, they returned to pray the fame prayer for King William, the reft of the proteftants ftill praying for victory to King James. And yet they fay, that, all that while, they all meant the fame thing; four times in one year, praying backward and forward, point blank contradictory to one another. The bishop of Meath in his speech at the head and in name of the proteftant clergy of Dublin, took pains to clear himself and them to king William, from having been fo much as trimmers to king James, while he was among them; that is, they were his inveterate enemies. Yet his lordship was one of the lords fpiritual mentioned in the addrefs of the parliament of Ireland to that king, on the roth of May, 1689; in which

4

* Dalrymp. Mem. vol. iii. p. 154.

'Anfw. to King, p. 108.

2 Id. ib. p. 103

a

which they abhor the unnatural ufurpation of the Prince of Orange, and the treafon of thofe who joined with him in England and Ireland; and profefs to king James with their tongues and hearts, that they will ever affert his rights to his crown, with their lives and fortunes, against the said ufurper and his adherents, and all other rebels and traitors whatfoever." 3

CHAP.

3 Anfw. to King, p. 103.

a That William's motives for invading England, were very different from what they are commonly thought to have been, viz. a glorious heroic zeal to deliver thefe kingdoms from popery and flavery, will appear from the following paffage.

In the treaty of peace at Ryfwick," as William trufted not his three plenipotentiaries at the Hague with his agreement with France, mankind juftly concluded, that a secret of the last importance had been for fome time depending between the two kings (Lewis XIV. and him), time has at length unravelled the myftery. Lewis unwilling to defert James, proposed that the Prince of Wales fhould fucceed to the crown of England, after the death of William: the king with little hesitation agreed to the request. He even folemnly engaged to procure the repeal of the act of fettlement, and to declare by another, the Prince of Wales his fucceffor to the throne. The fifty thousand pounds a year fettled as a jointure on King James's Queen, was agreed to be paid, though the money was afterwards retained upon various pretences. Thofe (adds my author) who afcribe all the actions of William to public fpirit, will find fome difficulty in reconciling this tranfaction to their elevated opinion of his character. In one conceffion to France, he yielded all his profeffions to England; and by an act of indifcretion, or through indifference, deferted the principles to which he owed the throne. The fuppofed fpuriousness of the Prince of Wales's birth, had been only held forth to amuse the vulgar, and even these would be convinced by the public acknowledgment intended to be made by the very perfon whofe intereft was most concerned in the fupport of that idle tale." Macphers. Hift. of Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 122-3-4.