surrender of a portion of their estates, especially where provision was required for the Church. The principal business of the commission for defective titles, after the king's "just and honourable title" had been found, was to receive these compositions; and the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and the Lord Chief Baron, who presided over the inquisitions, were stimulated to "intend it with a care and diligence such as if it were their own private," by the receipt of a commission of 4s. in the pound on the first year's rent extracted from the confiscated estates.

If Wentworth's hand was heavy on the great landholders of the west, it was none the less so on the more modern English nobility. Lord Wilmot, an officer of Mountjoy's army, who had become a landed proprietor, a peer, and Governor of Connaught, was forced to account for lands he was said to have usurped from the Crown; Sir Piers Crosby was dismissed from the Council for opposing in Parliament one of the Government bills; Loftus was deprived of his office, and imprisoned, for refusing to obey an order of the Privy Council for the payment of his daughter's marriage portion; and Lord Mountnorris, for some incautious words let fall at the lord chancellor's table, was courtmartialled, and actually sentenced to be shot.

But a storm was brewing in England and Scotland, which was destined to ruin both the lord-deputy and his master. For ten years Charles had been trying the experiment of governing without a Parliament, and had endeavoured to keep his treasury full by means of

Q

monopolies, forced loans, and the illegal levying of customs dues. The country was on fire at the gathering of ship-money, which had been declared a legal impost by a corrupt bench of judges. Laud had made himself hateful in England by his rigorous Church policy. The fined, pilloried, and mutilated Puritans cried aloud for justice; and the Scotch, on whom he had recklessly ventured to force a new liturgy, had signed the covenant, and were in open rebellion.

Charles, in despair, sent over for Wentworth, who came and formed a secret junto with Laud and Hamilton. An immediate blow at the Scotch was at once decided on. The fortresses of the south were to be held with Irish garrisons; the treasury was to be filled by the long delayed Parliament; a voluntary loan was to be started, with Wentworth's name at the head for £20,000. Wentworth himself was to return to Ireland as lordlieutenant and Earl of Strafford-a title twice before solicited by him in vain. Irish subsidies were to be obtained, and the Irish army, under the command of the young Earl of Ormonde, held in readiness for active service. Strafford's energy had raised the Irish revenue to an excess over expenditure of £60,000 a year. His measures of army reform had produced a well-paid, well-armed, well-provided force of 8000 foot and 1000 horse, which were assembled at Carrickfergus and awaiting transport. An obedient Parliament promptly voted four subsidies; and Strafford, tortured with gout, hurried over again to England to take command of a *Irish Stats., 15 Car. I. c. 13.

*

broken, disaffected army, and to find the treaty of Ripon signed with the Scots behind his back.

The end was now at hand. It was too late to bring over the Irish army. Charles had upset all the calculated plans of the busy-brained earl, and had cut the ground from under his feet. The Long Parliament had assembled a very different body from that expected by the king and his ministers. The suppressed mutterings of three kingdoms against the well-hated viceroy were rising into an overwhelming storm. The Irish Commons, released from his dreaded presence, impeached four of the Privy Council who were his creatures. The victims of his tyranny, Connaught landlords, Castle officials, Presbyterian pastors, swarmed over to England to accuse him. All England and Ireland watched with breathless interest the trial of the man who, in the words of the impeachment, "had endeavoured to subvert the fundamental laws of the realm, and to introduce arbitrary and tyrannical government; " and rejoiced when his selfish, thankless master, whom he had devotedly served, as he had himself so often boasted, " at the peril of his head," signed the bill of his attainder and sent him to the scaffold.

English Stats., 16 Car. I. c. I.

*

CHAPTER III.

PROVINCIAL INSURRECTIONS IN 1641.

UPON the death of Strafford, the king, in deference to the views of the English Parliament, appointed Sir William Parsons and Sir John Borlase, an old soldier, to hold the office of lords justices. The island to all appearances was in a state of complete tranquillity; and though there were rumours of disaffection in the air, and some significant warnings were given, the lords justices paid them no attention.

But, notwithstanding this apparent quiet, the minds of the native Irish were greatly stirred by many things. There was a bitter feeling of suppressed hatred throughout the country. The wholesale confiscations were neither forgotten nor forgiven, and the smouldering fire of discontent had only been prevented from bursting forth by the terror of Strafford's government. The religion of the people was proscribed by law; and, though its free exercise was to a great extent winked at, and practically, with the exception of an occasional outburst of intolerance, there was little or no persecution, the law might be put actively in force at any moment; and,

rightly or wrongly, a very general belief had got abroad that the English Puritans had determined to stamp out Popery in Ireland. The ruthless proscriptions of Elizabeth had done their work; and a host of Irish had been driven over the sea with a fierce hatred of England in their hearts, to become hardy and experienced soldiers in the service of Spain; and to foster in exile the hope of revenge upon their great enemy. While at home Strafford's disbanded army, which was almost wholly composed of Irish Roman Catholics, was ready and waiting to be re-enlisted by the first popular leader who should concert a rising. The recent successful appeal to arms by the Scotch in the cause of religious liberty had been duly noted; as also had the increasing state of tension in the relations of the king and the English Parliament. What the Scotch had done, the Irish might fairly expect to do; and, as usual, the embarrassment of the English Government was the opportunity of the Irish. They overlooked the fact that the rebellion of the Scotch was successful because the English Commons sympathized with them both in their purpose and their faith that the struggle was between the king and two nations; whereas an Irish rebellion meant a national and religious war, in which the Irish would be confronted with the old antagonism of race, and the united bigotry of Scotch Presbyterian and English Puritan.

At this time an Irish gentleman of great address and ability, named Roger or Rory O'Moore, was earnestly canvassing the possibility of making a stand against the English Government. Rory O'Moore was the represen