these and other grievances, they had received unspeakable pleasure from his majesty's princely care and tender affection towards them, expressed in the graces transmitted over by their last agents, and on his royal word, the best of assurances, and his princely signature, which he had been graciously pleased to pass unto them, to cause the said graces to be enacted in the next ensuing parliament; that they could not sufficiently discharge their duty to his majesty, or the trust reposed in them by their country, unless they were careful in these great affairs, to conserve the honor of his majesty's word, in that respect, passed unto them his people, who had heretofore, by their said agents, presented a free gift of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds to his majesty, and one hundred and fifty thousand pounds loan-money or contribution, by them forgiven; and forty thousand pounds in these two last years, contributed by the country, amounting in the total to three hundred and ten thousand pounds, exceeding in proportion their abilities, and the precedents of past ages, &c. Wherefore, they most humbly prayed, that his lordship would place the statute 21st Jacobi, entitled an act for the general quiet of the subject against concealments, in the first transmission of laws into England; the said grace being particularly promised by his majesty, approved by both the councils of estate in England and Ireland, and published in all the counties of Ireland at the general assizes; and most expected of all the other graces. And that he would please to certify their universal consent, and much longing desire, to have the said statute of 21st Jacobi, and the rest of the said graces, perpetuated by acts to be passed in that parliament." This remonstrance was presented to his lordship by sir George Ratcliffe, knight, mas * The 24th instruction (among others sent by his majesty) relative to this particular grace, runs thus: " for the better settling of our subjects' estates in that kingdom, we are pleased that the like act of grace shall pass in the next parliament there, (Ireland) touching the limitation of our title not to exceed threescore years, as did pass here (England) 21st Jacobi; wherein are to be excepted the lands whereunto we are entitled by office already taken, and those already disposed of by our directions. And we are further graciously pleased, for a more ample testimony of our goodness to our subjects of that kingdom, to direct hereby that from henceforth no advantage be taken for any title accruing to us threescore years past and above, &c."—Straff. State Ļet. vol. i. fol. 320. ⚫ter of the rolls; sir James Ware, knight; Mr. serjeant Barry; and eight other respectable members. 2 "The improvement of the king's revenue, was the color made use of by certain projectors, to obtain commissions of enquiry into defective titles; the great benefit of which was generally to accrue to these projectors or discoverers, whilst the king was content with an inconsiderable proportion of land,* or a small advance of the reserved rent." One instance of rapacity and corruption in these commissioners,3 Mr. Carte has selected out of many others, which contains in it such a scene of iniquity and cruelty, that considering it in all its circumstances, it is scarce to be paralleled in the history of any other age or country. The instance I mean, is that of the Byrnes, in the county of Wicklow, who were robbed of large estates by sir William Parsons and his fellow-commissioners, on pretence of this enquiry into defective titles. These stateharpies made use of every means of force and fraud to accomplish their designs; having even tortured some witnesses, to make them swear for their purposes; and by promises ot pardon and other corrupt methods, procured thieves, traitors, and other convict criminals, to give false testimony for the same end; all which, these wretches afterwards publicly confessed at their deaths.4 CHAP. X. The commons require an answer to their remonstrance. ON the 4th of November, 1634, commenced the second session of this parliament; and on the 12th an order was passed," that Mr. Speaker and the whole house should attend "The yearly rent reserved to the king, (in the plantation of Wexford) was five pounds for every thousand acres granted the English; and six pounds six shillings and eight-pence, for every thousand acres granted to the natives."-Desid. Curios. Hibern. vol. ii. p. 390-1. "The commissioners appointed to distribute these lands, scandalously abused their trusts; and by fraud or violence, deprived the natives of those possessions which the king had reserved for them."-Lel. Hist, Irch vol. ii, p. 467. the lord deputy, humbly to desire his lordship's answer to the petition of remonstrance, formerly presented to his lordship, either in writing or otherwise, as his lordship should think fit." The return made by the deputy, on that occasion, was by no means suitable to so respectful an application. He had already resolved" to " give them an answer, round and clear, and as such would stifle all replications." He, therefore, called some of them before him, and told them plainly,3 "That he would not transmit to England the statute 21st Jacobi; that such refusal was his own, their request never having been so much as sent over by him; that passing this act to prevent enquiry into defective titles, was not good and expedient for the kingdom at that time; and so they were to rest satisfied, without stirring any more, as to that particular, as a thing which could not, nor would not be departed from." For the clearing of the king's honor, so essentially concerned in this contest, his lordship had, with some difficulty, brought over the council+ to represent to his majesty," That he was not bound, either in conscience, justice, or honor, to perform the solemn promise he had made to these people, for the va luable consideration before-mentioned." When, on the 27th of November, his lordship's answer to their remonstrance was reported to the commons, the catholic members, who were principally, if not solely, aggrieved by the enquiry into defective titles, "were so ill to please," says Wentworth himself, " that they lost all temper, and broke, forth into such forward sullenness, as was strange; rejecting, hand over head, every other bill that was offered them from his majesty and the state." 3 Ib. 4 Ib. $ Ib. 2 Strafford's State Lett, vol. i. fol. $38. This appears to be a falsehood, for in a letter to secretary Coke of the 6th of October 1634, he tells him," that he sends the petition of the lower house" relative to these graces. And adds, " that the ground of denying all may be set upon him and the council; and so his majesty preserved from all color of declining in any part of that which they expected."-State Let. vol. i. fol. 304. + "Sure I am (says he) I gained this point from them (the council) with some art and difficulty; and flatter myself therein to have done his majesty good service."—Id. to. The bills here alluded to, were the two statutes of uses and wills; by which," says Mr. Carte," the Roman catholics imagined, and not without reason, that their religion would in time be affected, and by the due execution thereof, be at last utterly extinguished, by their putting it in his majesty's power, to have the minors of the chief families of the kingdom, educated in the communion of the church of England. These bills were, however, at length passed in that session ;7 and the catholics ever afterwards considered them as heavy grievances, and had an eye to them, in all the complaints which they exhibited upon occasion, against the court of wards." CHAP. XI. A convocation of the clergy of Ireland. BUT the catholics of Ireland were not the only objects of the deputy's despotism and control. The protestant archbishops, bishops, and other clergy, then assembled in convocation, with the famous primate Usher at their head, crouched and groaned under his arbitrary dominion. Lord Wentworth had discovered that the generality of that clergy were strongly+ inclined to puritanism;' and therefore he resolved, in concert with archbishop Laud, to compel them to receive im 6 Carte's Orm. vol. i. 1 Strafford's State Letters. 7 Ib. 2 Id. ib. vol. iii. fol. 381. "These laws could not be agreeable to the recusants, because they empowered the king to have minors educated from their early years in the communion of the established church."-Lel. Hist. of Ire. vol. iii. p. 24. And because Strafford had promised in his speech to that parliament, "that religion should not be touched upon."-State Let. vol. i. p. 305. "They not only sung the psalms after the Geneva-tune, but expounded the text to the Geneva-sense."-Strafford's State Letters, vol. i. This archbishop was then and since thought to be popishly affected; but the contrary appears from a private letter of the rev. Mr. Gerard, to lord Wentworth, in 1635, as well as from many other passages of that prelate's life. "Some exception," says that clergyman," has been taken by my lord's grace of Canterbury, which he presented, first to the king, and by his majesty's command to the council-table, to the great, I may plicitly without examination or debate," the canons as well as the articles of the church of England; a condescension, which for the manner, as well as matter, they were exceedingly loath to yield to. It may not, perhaps, be unentertaining to the reader, to find some account here of this extraordinary transaction, from his lordship's own letter to the archbishop, on that occasion. "I found," says he, "the lower house of convocation had appointed a select committee to consider the canons of the church of England; and that they did proceed in the examination without conferring at all with the bishops; that they had gone thro the book of canons, and noted in the margin such as they allow ed with an A; and on the others, they had put a D, which stood for deliberandum; that into the fifth article they had brought the articles of Ireland (of 1615) to be allowed and received, under pain of excommunication; and that they had drawn up their canons into a body. "I instantly sent for dean Andrews,* that reverend clerk, who sate, forsooth, in the chair of this committee; requiring 3 Strafford's State Letters, vol. i. fol. 342. say over-great, recourse of his majesty's subjects to the queen's chapel at Somerset-house, and to ambassadors houses in the town, which must needs be the cause of the growth of popery in this kingdom. They (the council) have taken into consideration, and I hope will give a speedy remedy to this growing evil. It pleased his grace to say, that the papists were the most dangerous subjects of the kingdom, and that betwixt them and the puritans, the good protestants would be ground to powder."— Straff. State Lett. vol. i. föl. 426. * Dean of Limerick. Lord Wentworth was very angry with this clergyman; and the punishment he intended for him, was somewhat singular. "If," says he, in a letter to Laud on this occasion, "your lordship thinks Dr. Andrews is to blame, and that you would chastise him for it, make him bishop of Ferns and Leighlin, to have it without any other commendam than as the last bishop had it; and then I assure you, he shall leave better behind him." For that bishoprick, it seems, was then so saddled and spurgauled, (they are Wentworth's own words) "that, if the devil himself were the rider, he could not make well worse of it than it was already."—State Letters. The dean, however accepted this preferment with great thankfulness.→→ "His lordship elect," says the deputy of him some time after, "gave us a farewell sermon this lent, that had fasted surely, for a lean one it was; only he commended the times, and said, how long! how long! have we heretofore expected preferment, and missed of it. But now, God be praised, |