acquit himself with honour towards that people; whereof," adds he, " many have perished, and more are likely to do fo for their loyalty to the crown.' CHA P. XII. The real caufe of the clergy's proceedings at James-town. AT the fame time that the king's declaration* at Dumferling was notified in form to the Irish congregation, the Marquis of Ormond propofed to make good the peace, upon certain conditions; one of which was the revoking their excommunication. But that they refufed to confent to, because, as they alleged among other reafons," they understood from his lordship's letter to them on that occafion, that he had suggested matter unto his majefty for making that declaration, by which, for ought appearing unto them, the king had withdrawn his commiffion from him, and had caft away the nation, as rebels, from his protecVOL. II. tion. D The king's printed declaration was received by the Marquis of Ormond, on the 13th of October, 1650, and fent to the commiffioners of trust on the 24th of the same month. Walsh's Hift. of the Remonft. App. f. 123. In their declaration, annexed to their excommunication, they allege, which is true, " that he had reprefented to his majesty, that fome parts of the kingdom were disobedient, which abfolutely deny any difobedience to have been then committed; and that thereby he had procured from his majefty, a letter to withdraw his own person and the royal authority, if fuch disobedience was multiplied; and fo leave the people without the benefit of the peace." Borl. Irish Rebel. f. 322. from Clarend. The bishops at James-town alleged, as a reason for not revoking their excommunication, that they had perused the declaration which had been published in Scotland, difavowing the peace." Id. ib. f. 331. "These bifhops urged the declaration in Scotland, as a ground and excuse for all their proceedings." Id. ib. f. 332. In the declaration at Dumferling, the king " acknowledg ed his forrow for making peace with the papifts, and recalled all tion. Nor could they understand (they faid) the mystery of preserving his majesty's authority with them, or over them, in fuch a cafe; or how it could be done." They added, "that they believed, the king's authority being thus taken from them, the best remedy for hindering the people to close with the parliament, was to return to their former confederacy, as it was intended by the nation, in cafe of the breach of the peace, on the part of his majesty." That the king's agreement with the Scots, and the fhameful conditions of it, were early known to the Irish in general, is manifeft, not only from what has been already mentioned, but alfo from the following inftance of the infincerity of his majesty's more recent promises to them. When his majesty first took the refolution of entering into a perfonal treaty with the Scotch commiffioners at Breda, he wrote to the marquis of Ormond, January 23d, 1649,'" to affure him, that though he would endeavour to oblige that nation (the Scots), by all just and honourable condefcenfions, to engage themselves to enter England in the spring, with a confiderable army, for his fervice; yet he would not, either in the faid treaty, or upon any other occafion whatsoever, consent to any thing that should be contrary to the agreement made with the Roman catholics of Ireland; but would fulfil and perform all grants and conceffions, which he had either made or promised them, according to the full extent of that grace, he had always intended that nation; which, as he had new inftances of their loyalty and affection to him, he should study rather to enlarge, than to diminish, or infringe, in the leaft degree." He, at the fame time, defired the Marquis " to give thefe 'Cart. Orm. vol. ii. fol. 129. all the commiffions granted by him in Ireland." Cart. Orm. vol. ii. f. 131. Hence the Earl of Clanrickard, in a letter to Lord Muskerry, confeffes, "that the king, by that act (declaration) difavowed the peace with the Irish, and took away his protection from them." Clanrick. Mem. Dub. ed. p. 108. these affurances to all the Irish Roman catholics." But this letter, it feems, did not reach his lordship till midfummer following; and "that delay," fays Carte," "brought an irreparable mischief upon the king's fervice; the marquis's continued ignorance of the king's condition and pleasure, disabling him to refute the malicious reports raised, and the afperfions thrown on the king, for breach of faith, and for having abandoned and given up the Irish; fo that as his excellency complains in his difpatches by Lord Taaffe," the venom of the forgery had wrought very near a deadly effect, before the remedy came. Thus we fee, that before midfummer, 1650, the king's agreement with the Scots, and its ruinous confequences, were not only generally known in Ireland, but alfo had wrought an almost deadly effect upon the affections of that people towards him. And that their belief of it was founded, not on forgery or malicious reports, but on real matter of fact. d And fo groundless is the pretence, that the Marquis of Ormond was furprized and puzzled at these proceedings of the bishops at James-town, as at an event, of which he was at a lofs to divine the cause, that it is manifeft, from a letter of his to Secretary Long, that he was fully apprifed of them, and the motives that produced them, at least fourteen days before they were made public. For having mentioned, in that letter, an answer he had sent to a request of theirs, which he judged would be ill taken, he adds, "which anfwer, D 2 2 Id. ib. Cart. Collect. Orig. Pap. vol. ii. p. 443. d What Ormond himself says on this occafion, is, "Inafmuch as for the want of encouragement of frequent dispatches, accompanied but with chearful promises, this people took themfelves to be abfolutely abandoned; nor was I able to refute malicious reports raised to that effect." This letter of Ormond's is dated June 27th, 1650; and the king had confented to make void the peace with the Irifh, and had figned both the covenants, national and folemn, before they fuffered him to land in Scotland, which was on the 23d of that month. See Sir Edward Walker's Hift. Difcourf. Carte's Collect. of Orm. Papers. anfwer, whether it will produce a direct declaration against me, and an excommunication of all those that fhall adhere to me, or not, is more than I am certain of, though I be told it will." This letter is dated the 2d of September; and the clergy's declaration and excommunication, were not published till the 15th of that month. CHAP. XIII. The clergy's proceedings at James-town, disapproved of by the generality of the Irish catholics. And THESE violent proceedings of the Irish clergy, though, it must be confeffed, not unprovoked, were far from being approved of by the generality of the catholics of Ireland. "All the fober profeffors of the catholic religion," fays Clarendon,'" abhorred them; and most of the commiffioners of truft, and the principal nobility, and most confiderable gentry remained firm in their particular affection and duty to the king; and in their fubmiffion to the authority of his lieutenant, notwithstanding the excommunication. not only the whole nobility and gentry of fortune and intereft, fome very few of the latter excepted, but alfo many pious and learned men of the fecular and regular clergy, and even fome of the bifhops, did abhor and abominate the proceedings of that congregation, and the doctrine they infufed into the people; the fame being disowned by fome of those bishops, as being obtruded upon them by the major vote; or done by their procurators, without their affent or knowledge. And even others of them, who were present at the congregation, and fubfcribed the excommunication, 'Hift. of the Irish Rebel. *See lords justices orders concerning Roman catholic priests, vol. i. p. 248. tion, difclaimed their having confented to it, though they were obliged to fign it for conformity." It hath been mentioned above, that this congregation had annexed to their cenfure a reftriction, by which the next general affembly was empowered to difpose of it in what manner they thought proper. That affembly met, by the Marquis of Ormond's appointment at Loughrea, on the 15th of November, 1650; "it was very full, and (befides the clergy), confifted of the principal nobility and gentry of fortune and intereft in the kingdom." "The bifhops there prefent, for the removing of those jealoufies, which were occafioned by their proceedings at James-town,' declared and protested, of their own accord, that by their excommunication and declaration, they had no other aim but the preservation of their religion and people; and that they did not purpose to make any encroachment upon his majefty's authority, or the liberty of their fellow fubjects; confeffing that it did not belong to their jurifdiction fo to do." When this affembly understood the Marquis of Ormond's resolution to leave the kingdom, they fent four of their members, viz. the Lords Dillon and Clanrickard, and two others, to his lordfhip at Kilcolgan, with an inftrument bearing date the 7th of December; in which, after reciting what the bifhops had protefted in the affembly, concerning their excommunication and declaration, they added, "that they, the lords spiritual and temporal, and the gentry met in that affembly, conceived, that there was no better foundation or ground for their union, than the holding to and obeying his majefty's authority, to which they owed and ought to pay all dutiful obedience. And they did thereby declare and proteft, that there was not any power in the lords fpiritual or temporal, gentry or people, clergy or laity of the kingdom, to alter or take away his majefty's authority; they holding that to * Cart. Orm. vol. ii. Clarend. 3 Id. ib. fol. 139. Clarend. Carte. be |