BOOK VI.

CHAP. I.

The nobility and gentry of Ireland unite in a regular body.

THE lords and gentlemen of the pale, who had seen their houses burnt, their lands destroyed, and their tenants murdered, without making any opposition, still renewed their applications to government,' to accept of their best assistance and endeavors towards putting a stop to the insurrection, now daily increasing in every part of the kingdom. But these overtures were scornfully rejected, and even the proposers of them held worthy of punishment. The earl of Castlehaven, who had presented one of their petitions, was imprisoned ; and had he not escaped by a stratagem, might have been racked for his officiousness, as sir John Read was on a similar account. At the same time, Hugh Oge O'Connor, sir Luke Dillon, and others of the principal gentry of the county of Roscommon, intreated the lords Clanrickard and Ranelagh, to prevail with the justices, to receive the like humble offer of their services, or, at least, to consent to a suspension of hostilities for some short time. Lord Clanrickard transmitted their request to the government, with his humble wishes for its success; but sir William Parsons was so much offended at the motion, that Clanrickard was obliged to apologize for having made it, by telling him," that his grounds for seconding that application were, that fire and sword having made a sharp discovery of his majesty's high indignation, some part of his mercy might appear, by a distinction of punishment; which then, and since, had fallen equally, not only on capital offenders, but even upon deserving servitors. These," adds his lordship," were the apprehensions which drew me into that error, which I must now conceive to be such, as it stands in opposi tion to so able a judgment. But certainly, some other way of moderation may be agreeable to his majesty's goodness, and

the destruction and murders committed by the soldiers, thereby prevented; which are now acted upon those, who are protected by your lordship, which, at present, puts all men into high desperation."

Thus were the catholic nobility and gentry of Ireland, at last, compelled to unite in a regular body; and to put themselves into that condition of natural self-defence, which has been ever since branded by their enemies, with the appellation of a most odious and unnatural rebellion.*

At Kilkenny they formed two different meetings on this occasion, viz. their general assembly and supreme council: of the first were all the lords, prelates and gentry of their party; the latter consisted of a few select members, chosen by the general assembly, out of the different provinces, with the most rigorous exactness: those so chosen, having taken the oath of counsellors, were, after the recess of the assembly, accepted and obeyed as the supreme magistrates of the confederate ca. tholics.

"The supreme council consisted of about four and twenty members, some of every state, nobility, clergy and commons, who, during the intervals of the assemblies, had a kind of limited government, and power to call an assembly on occasion."s "They framed to themselves a seal, bearing the mark of a long cross; on the right side a crown, on the left a harp with a dove above, and a flaming harp below the cross, and round about this inscription, pro Deo, pro rege, et patria Hibernia, unanimes, with which they sealed their credentials.”

4 Belling's MSS. Hist, of the Wars of Ireland,

5 Leyburne's Mem. Pref. p. xi.

6 Borl. Irish Rebel. fol. 128.

"To strengthen their party," says Mr. Carte, " as much as was possible, they sent manifests and declarations of the motives and reasons of their conduct, to all the English catholics throughout the kingdom. Nor did they find any great difficulty in engaging them; they being ready enough to consider it as a common cause, and to imagine that the same snares, which they were persuaded had been laid for the lives and estates of the lords of the pale, would be made use of to destroy them, by piecemeal, one after another: and that the only way to prevent the destruction of each particular, was to unite all together as one man, to make a general association for their defence, and to depend upon the fate of war to make the best terms they could for themselves.—Orm. vel. iii. fol. 262.

The first result of this union, was an humble and dutiful address to his majesty, setting forth, "that, having apprehended, with fulness of sorrow, the condition to which the misrepresentation of his majesty's ministers in Ireland, united with the malignant party in England, had reduced them; and sad experience having taught them, that a resolution was taken to supplant their nation and religion; they humbly conceived it necessary, after long patience, to put themselves in a posture of natural defence; with intention, nevertheless, never to disturb his majesty's government, to invade any of his high prerogatives, or oppress any of his British subjects, of what religion soever, that did not labor to oppress them. Which intention in the beginning of the troubles, they had solemnly sworn to observe; an oath,* often since reiterated, lest the misguided and unauthorised motions of some among them should be construed to derogate from that faith and allegiance, which, in all humbleness, they confessed they owed and sincerely professed unto his majesty. That before any act of hostility committed on their parts, they had, with all submission, addressed themselves, by petition, to the lords justices

7 Cart. Orm, vol. iii.

* Their oath of confederacy, on this occasion, is thus recited by Borlase: “ I, A. B. do, in the presence of Almighty God, and all the saints and angels in heaven, promise, vow, swear, and protest to maintain and defend, as far as I may, with my life, power and estate, the public and free exercise of the true Roman catholic religion, against all persons that shall oppose the same. I further swear, that I will bear faith and allegiance to our sovereign lord king Charles, his heirs and successors; and that I will defend him and them, as far as I may, with my life, power and estate, against all such persons as shall attempt any thing against their royal persons, honors, estates and d'gnities; and against all such as shall directly or indirectly endeavor to suppress their royal prerogatives, or do any act or acts contrary to the regal government; as also the power and privileges of parliament, the lawful rights and privileges of the subjects; and every person that makes this vow, oath and protestation, in whatsoever he shall do in the lawful pursuance of the same. And to my power, as far as I may, I will oppose, and by all ways and means endeavor to bring to condign punishment, even to the loss of life, liberty and estate, all such as shall either by force, practice, counsels, plots, conspiracies or otherwise, do attempt any thing to the contrary of any article, clause, or any thing in this present vow, oath, or protestation contained. So help me God."-History of the Irish Rebellion, fol. 74.

and council, for a timely remedy against the then growing evils; but that therein they had found, instead of a salve for their wounds, oil poured into the fire of their discontents, which occasioned such intemperance in the common people, that they acted some unwarrantable cruelties upon puritans, or others suspected of puritanism, which cruelties they really detested,* had punished in part, and desired to punish with fulness of severity, in all the actors of them, when time should enable them to it; though (added they) the measure offered to the catholic natives here, in the inhuman murdering of old decrepit people in their beds, women in the straw, and children of eight days old; burning of houses, and robbing of all kind of persons, without distinction of friend from foe, and digging up of graves,† and there burning the dead bodies of our an cestors, have not deserved that justice from us."

In the conclusion of this address, we find the following zealous obtestation. "We therefore, with hearts bent lower than our knees, do humbly beseech your sacred majesty, timely to assign a place where, with safety, we may express our grievances, and you may, with freedom, apply a seasonable cure unto them; and there you shall find our dutiful affections, at

* They kept their word religiously in this respect. For in the two peaces concluded afterwards with the marquis of Ormond, viz. those of 1646 and 1648, they expressly excepted from pardon, all those of their party that had committed such cruelties. And long before either of these peaces, lord Clanrickard testified," that it was the desire of the whole nation, that the actors of these cruelties should, in the highest degree, be made examples to all posterity." Carte's Orm, vol. iii.—And the marquis of Ormond himself, confessed, "that those, assuming power among the Irish, had long disclaimed them, and professed an earnest desire that they might be brought to punishment."-Id. ib.

f That they did not exagerate in this particular, is plain from a letter of lord Clanrickard's, who says, "that while he was at Tyrellan, in treaty with lord Forbes, (the commander of a parliament ship of war), though lord Ranelagh, president of Connaught, was then in the fort of Galway, he saw the country on fire, his tenants houses and goods burnt, and four or five poor innocent creatures, men, women and children, inhumanly murdered by Forbes's soldiers; who having taken possession of Lady's-church in Galway, the antient burying place of the town, did, upon their departure, not only deface it, but digged up the graves, and burnt the coffins and bones of those that were buried there."—Carte's Orm. vol. iii. fol. 109. Lel. Hist. of Ireland, vol. iii. p. 174.

tended with just cause of security in our faithfulness, and manifest arguments of our earnest desire to advance your service."

CHAP. II.

The king consents to hear the grievances of the insurgents.

THE king, considering the occasion and circumstances, which had caused such a body of nobility and gentry, most of them of English race, to have recourse to arms; the apparent moderation of their demands, their earnest desire of laying their grievances before him, and submitting them to his determination, resolved to issue out a commission, under the great seal of England, to empower certain persons to meet with the principal of those who had sent the petition; to receive, in writing, what the petitioners had to say or propound; and to transmit the same to his majesty.

"This commission was dated January 11th, 1642, and directed to the marquis of Ormond, the earls of Clanrickard and Roscommon, the lord viscount Moore, sir Thomas Lucas, sir Maurice Eustace, and Thomas Burke, esq. any three or more of them being authorised to meet and act for the purpose aforesaid. It was sent over to Ireland by the last of these commissioners, who delivered it to the marquis of Ormond on the 30th. He at the same time brought the lords justices a letter from the king, notifying the purport of it."

"But these lords justices taking," says the marquis of Ormond, "this commission for a step towards the peace of the kingdom, and their own ruin ;" and, "being displeased3 that even a wish or consent should be discovered in any man, that the war, from which so many promised themselves revenge, and fortunes, should be any other way ended than with the blood and confiscation of all those whom they could propose to be guilty of the defection," sought many artful expedients to hinder or delay the execution of it; and at length hit upon one that, for a while produced the wished-for effect. There came a trumpet to the supreme council of the confederate catholics, Cart. Orm. vol. i. 2 Orm. Let. in Cart. Orm. vol. iii. A Belling's MSS. Hist.

3 Clarend. Hist. of the Irish Rebel.