turers and soldiers, who then had possession of them. It also ordained, that such of the Irish as had never infringed the articles of the peace, concluded between the marquis of Ormond and them in 1648, should be restored upon the same conditions. But the king had already disposed of so great a part of the kingdom in gifts to the English and Irish favorites (some of whom had been accessaries in his father's murder), that the order for reprisals was absolutely impracticable; on which account the adventurers and soldiers still continued their usurp ed possession," although many of them, in respect of their notorious and opprobrious actions against the crown, throughout their whole employment, and of their expressing even after his majesty's return, how little they were satisfied with the revolution, were universally odious, both in England and Ireland."

The earl of Clarendon, who was thoroughly acquainted with the conduct and intrigues of this settlement, informs us, "that his majesty was led into this mistake by a very positive assurance from lord Orrery,† who was believed to understand

use but that of the war. Yet, "scarce was there one hundred thousand pounds thus raised, when the same parliament, contrary to its own act and engagement, caused it to be laid out for the setting forth their army under the command of the earl of Essex, then ready for its march, against the king at Nottingham."-Borl. Hist. of the Irish Rebel.f. 121.

The soldiers, who were to be reprized with the lands of equal value, had constantly fought for the usurpers against the king; and were thus to be rewarded for that service. "They were, (says Mr, Carte) for the most part, anabaptists, independents, and levellers,"—Orm. vol. ii.

Although the king himself had confessed in his declaration, which was to be the foundation of these acts of settlement, "that the estates and possessions, which the adventurers and soldiers did then enjoy, if they were examined by the strict letter of the law, would prove very defective, and invalid, being no ways pursuant to those acts of parliament upon which they are pretended to be founded."-See that Declaration.

"If (says Ormond on this occasion) the adventurers and soldiers must be satisfied to the extent of what they supposed intended for them by the declaration; and if all that accepted and constantly adhered to the peace (of 1648) must be restored, as the same declaration seems also to intend, there must be new discoveries made of a new Ireland; for the old will never serve to satisfy these engagements."-Cart. Orm. vol. iii. f. 340.

† “This earl (says king James in his memoirs) was famous for changing

the state of that kingdom very exactly, that there was land enough to satisfy all the soldiers and adventurers; and that there would be a very great proportion left for accommodating the Irish very liberally." But his lordship, at the same time, made use of every sinister means, for his own private advantage, to reduce that proportion to nothing.

For,3" believing he could never be well enough at court, except he had courtiers of all sorts obliged to him, who would therefore speak well of him in all places and companies, he recommended to many of them divers suits for such lands, as by forfeiture, or otherwise, should come to his majesty; although he knew that his majesty had resolved (and that by his lordship's own advice) to retain those lands in his own power, to the end that, when the settlement should be made, he might be able to gratify those of the Irish nation, who had any thing of merit towards him, or had been least faulty. His lordship often, even sent certificates to these courtiers under his own hand, of the value those suits might be to them, if obtained; and of the little importance the granting them would be to his majesty; which having been shewn to the king, disposed him to those concessions, which otherwise he would not so easily have made."

CHAP. XVIII.

The affairs of Ireland brought before the English Council.

ABOUT this time, a warm, dispute was carrying on at London, between the agents for the late confederate catholics, and the commissioners from the council and the two houses of the Irish parliament, in several memorials presented by them to the king, in justification of their respective claims and pretensions. "But' the Irish agents pleaded their cause under great disadvantages. The commissioners from the council

3 Clarend. Life.

4 Id. ib.

1 Cart. Orm. vol. ii. 2 Clarend. Life, vol. ii. fol. 129. parties so often, and for making a speech to Cromwell to take the title of king; his tongue was well hung, he had some good parts, and he was reckoned so cunning a man that no body would trust him, or believe what be said."-Macphers. Orig. Pap, vol. i. p. 45.

and parliament differed a little among themselves, about their private and personal interests; but they were all united in one unhappy extreme, that is, (says lord Clarendon, who was present in council during these disputes) in their implacable malice to the Irish; insomuch, that they concurred in their desire, that they might gain nothing by the king's return; but be kept with the same rigor, and under the same incapacity to do hurt, which they were then under. And though eradication was too foul a word to be uttered in the hearing of a christian prince, yet it was little less or better, that they proposed, in other words, and hoped to obtain. Whereas the king thought that miserable people to be as worthy of his favor, as most of the other party, and that his honor, justice, and policy, as far as they were unrestrained by laws and contracts, obliged him more to preserve them, at least as much as he could. And yet it can hardly be believed how few men, in all other points very reasonable, and who were far from cruelty in their nature, cherished that inclination in the king; but thought it in him, and more in his brother, to proceed from other reasons than they published. Whilst others, who pretended to be only moved by christian charity and compassion, were more cruel towards them, and made them more miserable by extorting great engagements from them for their protection and intercession; which being performed, would leave them in as forlorn a condition as they were found.

Besides these impediments to their success, from the malice of their enemies, the ignorance and prejudice of some about the king, and the fraud and cruelty of others, these agents from the confederate catholics had another obstacle in their way, which was still more insurmountable; and that was the "The3 new earls of great poverty of those who sent them. Orrery and Montrath had taken care to raise* privately among

3 Cart. Orm. vol. ii. p. 200.

And as much more publicly. For "the Irish commons, on the 4th of March, 1661, ordered, nem. con. thirty thousand pounds English to be raised throughout the kingdom, and presented to his grace the duke of Ormond, with a clause, that they intended not that present of theirs should be interpreted as an exclusion of his grace from any other just favor his majesty might think fit to confer on him or his.—Com. Jour, vol. i. This order was procured by his grace's friend, the earl of Orrery, then one of the lords justices; for thus that earl wrote to his grace the day after

the adventurers and soldiers twenty or thirty thousand pounds, to be disposed of properly, without any account, by way of recompence to such as should be serviceable to what was called the English interest. The Irish had no such sums to command; few friends about the court, and no means of procur ing any. Those of the English council, before whom they were to plead their cause, were highly prejudiced and incensed against the whole nation, knew little of the conduct of parti cular persons, who deserved favor; but were willing to involve every body, in the general guilt of the massacre, as well as the rebellion."

CHAP. XIX.

The sufferings of the Irish set forth by their agents before the king and council.

IN vain did the Irish agents urge,' "the great and long suf. ferings of their countrymen; the loss of their estates, for five or six and twenty years, the wasting and spending of the whole nation in battles, and transportation of men into the parts beyond seas; whereof many had the honor to testify their fide. lity to the king by real services; many of them returned into England with him, and were still in his service; the great numbers of men, women, and children, that had been massa. 1 Clarend. Life.

it was passed. Yesterday the parliament met in this city; I had engaged the speaker, and much the most, if not all the members, that their motion for their humble present for your grace might be the very first business gone upon. It passed without one negative.”—Orrery's State Lett. vol. i. p. 99.

The bill for granting thirty thousand pounds to the duke of Ormond, was read thrice in one day and passed.—See Com. Jour. vol. ii. fol. 8.

The same Orrery having acquainted Ormond, that the first act of settlement was sent to England, adds, " all this kingdom looks upon your grace as their great patron, to whom they in a high degree owe those hopes, which his majesty's gracious declaration has given them." State Lett. p $7. -This declaration was the basis and ground-work of the acts of settlement. Again, he tells him, "your lordship's favor to this poor kingdom in hastening the bill of settlement, is so signal and great, that I know not one man concerned in the good settlement of this kingdom but must, and does own himself your grace's servant, for your eminent pains and care in that desired work."—Ib. p. 90.

fred, or executed in cold blood after the king's government had been driven from them; the multitudes that had been destroyed by famine, and the plague, these two heavy judg ments having raged over the kingdom for two or three years; and at last, as a persecution unheard of, the transplanting of the small remainder of the nation into the corner of the province of Connaught, where yet much of the lands were taken from them, which had been assigned with all those formalities of law, which were in use and practice under that government."

"In vain did they claim the benefit of the two treaties of peace, the one in (1646) the late king's time, and confirmed by him; the other (in 1648) confirmed by his majesty, who was present; by both which they alleged, they stood indem nified for all acts done previously by them in the rebellion, and insisted upon their innocence since that time; and that they had paid so entire an obedience to his majesty's commands while he was beyond the seas, that they betook themselves to, and withdrew themselves from, the service of France or Spain, in such manner as his pleasure was they should do."

* "About the year 1652 and 1653, (says an eye-witness) the plague and famine had so swept away whole countries, that a man might travel twenty or thirty miles, and not see a living creature, either man, beast or bird, they being all dead, or had quitted these desolate places. Our soldiers (Cromwell's) would tell stories of the places where they saw a smoak, it was so rare to see either smoak by day, or fire or candle by night; and when we did meet with two or three cabins, none but very aged men and women and children (and those with the prophet might have complained, ( we are become as a bottle in the smoak, our skin is black like an oven, because of the terrible famine,") were found in them. I have seen those miserable creatures plucking stinking carrion out of a ditch, black and rotten; and have been credibly informed, that they digged corpses out of the grave to eat. But the most tragical story I ever heard, was from an officer commanding a party of horse, who, hunting for tories (Irish) in a dark night, discovered a light, which they supposed to be a fire which the tories usually made in these waste countries to dress their provisions and warm themselves; but drawing near, they found it a ruined cabin, and besetting it round, some did alight and peep in at the window, where they saw a great fire of wood, and a company of miserable old women and children sitting round about it, and betwixt them and the fire a dead corpse lay broiling, which as the fire roasted they cut off collops and eat.-Colonel Lawrence's Interest of Ireland, 2d part, p.86, 87.