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This was on the 19th of that month notified to the marquis of Ormond, in order to their having safe-conducts from the state, as well as from his majesty, for their repair to court and return home. The king had wrote to the lords justices and council of Ireland, to recommend to him some able and fitting persons well versed in the affairs of the kingdom to be sent over to assist in the treaty, which was to commence upon the arrival of the Irish commissioners. They recommended archbishop Usher, sir W. Ryves, justice of the king's bench, sir Thomas Tempest, attorney general, sir W. Sambach, solicitor general, and the lord Ranelagh, who were then in England, and the lords Kerry, Inchiquin, and Lambert, sir Gerard Lowther, sir W. Stewart, sir Cha. Coote, and Mr. justice Donellan, out of which his majesty might choose such as he thought most fitting. The king out of those who were in Ireland sent particular letters to summon the lord Kerry, sir Gerard Lowther, sir W. Stewart, and Mr. justice Donellan. He sent the like letters to sir Paul Davys, clerk of the council, than whom none was more proper; but his presence being absolutely necessary in Ireland, sir Philip Percival was sent in his stead. Some particular protestants were desirous to have agents of their own, and by a petition to the state moved that they might have leave to send over in that capacity captain Mac William Ridgeway, sir Francis Hamilton, captain Michael Jones, and Fenton Parsons. This petition being transmitted to the king, he graciously condescended to their request; which being notified to those agents, produced that speech of Michael Jones delivered in the name of the rest at the council-board the day after the marquis of Ormond was sworn lord lieutenant.

The lord Muskeryk, soon after he was chosen agent for the Irish, applied to the marquis of Ormond for advice i Letters of the lords justices, Sept. 28 and Nov. 18, 1643. j See Collection of Letters, No. CCXXV. k Ib. No. CCIX.

touching his deportment in that weighty employment. The marquis being utterly ignorant as well of the instructions as of the powers of those agents, could only recommend to him in general to be careful of paying to the king, both in form and substance, that respect which is due from subjects to their prince; to make satisfaction as far as might be for the injuries sustained by the king and his protestant subjects; and, whatever demands they should be directed to make, yet to content themselves with such as his majesty should think fit to grant an advice which (he protested solemnly) should be his own practice if he were in their case. The Irish were not well agreed among themselves what to ask, and as little resolved about the manner of securing what should be granted; for though they had reason to suspect the present parliament as unfit to be trusted with the settlement of the kingdom, yet the wisest and most moderate of their party! were apprehensive of several inconveniences that might attend the calling a new one, from the heats of some of their own side, and the tumultuous elections likely to be made in their favour. These fears, the diversity of opinions, the difficulty of adjusting as well the propositions 500 to be made in the name of the whole body, as the instructions to be given to the agents, or perhaps some hopes of making advantage of the king's difficulties, and of wearing out so much of the time allotted for the cessation, were the occasion that, though the lords justices sent the safeconducts necessary on Jan. 24, the agents did not leave Ireland till the March following, nor reach Oxford m till the 23rd of that month. The gentlemen whom the king expected from Ireland were not yet arrived, being detained there by the parliament ships interrupting all passage from Dublin to Chester.

1 See Collection of Letters, No. CLXXIV. and K. 64.

m Ib. No. CCLIV. and CCLXII.

The Irish agents" presented their propositions on March 28, but they were so very unreasonable, that it was even scandalous to treat about them; and instead of offering to give them any satisfaction upon the particulars thereof, it was thought proper to break off entirely with them the most popularly that could be done. The agents, to prevent that consequence, agreed to withdraw and suppress them; and on April 2 presented others, which, though in many points unreasonable for the king to grant, contained nothing very scandalous for them to ask. In the first propositions, which gave such offence, they had insisted on the repeal of the two acts in the 17th of the king passed for the encouragement of adventurers, and that all grants and other acts in pursuance thereof should be declared void. They had demanded, that no standing army should be kept up in the kingdom, and that their supreme council and the government which they had formed in Ireland should continue and be maintained within their quarters, not only till their grievances should be redressed by acts of parliament, but for some convenient time after the execution thereof. They insisted that all offices, whereby any title to lands was found for the crown, since the first year of queen Elizabeth, and all attainders since that time, and all grants, leases, and estates thereupon derived from the crown, should be reviewed in a free parliament according to justice and conscience. These were the propositions which had like to have produced an immediate rupture, and the omission whereof in the second draught gave occasion to lord Muskery to write to the marquis of Ormond, that they had therein made their demands so moderate and reasonable, that the nation could not subsist in the condition of free subjects if their desires were not granted; that the highest of them was not such a rock but the king might

n See Collection of Letters, No. CCLXII. and CCLXIII. K. 28. o Ib. No CCLVII. and CCLXXVII.

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find a way to satisfy his people in Ireland without prejudice to his affairs in England; and that they had sunk to the very lowest they could devise, and there were no hopes of receding from any of the demands which they had made. The marquis in return advised him and the other agents to submit themselves to the king's judgment with regard to the reasonableness of their demands, and to prefer (like the good subjects they said they were) his majesty's honour and safety, much wounded by false rumours raised of him touching the business of Ireland, before the present satisfaction of such of their desires as might perhaps in themselves be so just, that his majesty might hereafter grant with more safety than he could as yet hear them propounded.

Their moderated demands were P, "the freedom of their religion, and repeal of the penal laws; the calling of a free parliament and suspension of Poyning's act during its sitting; the annulling of all acts and ordinances of the Irish parliament since Aug. 7, 1641, the vacating of all indictments, attainders, outlawries, and grants depending thereupon, or in prejudice of the Irish Roman catholics, found and passed since the said days; the release of all debts, or putting them in their former state, notwithstanding any grant or disposition thereof; and a general 501 act of oblivion, extending to all persons and goods; the vacating of all offices for his majesty's title to lands found since 1634, and an act of limitation for the security of estates, like that of 21 Jac. in England; that the marks of incapacity upon the natives to purchase lands, leases, or offices be removed, an inn of court erected, and the university and schools to be free; that places of command, profit, and trust be conferred upon Roman catholic natives, equally and indifferently with other subjects; that no person, not estated, or not resident in the kingdom, be admitted to sit and vote in either house of parliament;

P K. 164.

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that the court of wards be taken away; that an act be passed declaring the independency of the kingdom and parliament upon those of England; that the jurisdiction of the council-board be limited to matters of state; that a new book of rates be settled by a committee of both houses; that no governor should continue above three years, and, during his government, he should [be] disabled to purchase lands in the kingdom, except from his majesty; that an act should pass for the raising and settling of trained bands within the several counties of the kingdom; and as they had been taxed with many inhuman cruelties which they never committed, they, to manifest their desire to have such heinous offences punished, and the offenders brought to justice, desired that all notorious murders, breaches of quarter, and inhuman cruelties, committed of either side, might be questioned in the next parliament, if his majesty so thought fit, and such as should appear to be guilty, to be excepted out of the act of oblivion, and punished according to their deserts. Upon the grant of these propositions, they professed themselves ready to contribute ten thousand men towards suppressing the unnatural rebellion in England, and further to expose their lives and fortunes to serve his majesty, as occasion should require."

There were at this time in Oxford sir Charles Coote and some other persons, who called themselves agents of the protestants of Ireland; and in their name presented, on April 18, several propositions to his majesty. Some of these were to ask future graces of his majesty, upon supposition of a peace, as, that he would abate his quitrents for a time, to encourage and enable protestants to replant the kingdom, and cause a good walled town to be built in every county of the kingdom for their security, no papist being permitted to dwell therein. Others were directly levelled at the propositions of the Roman q Cox. Appendix XXI.