Ignatius,' the founder of the Jefuits; and in short, that their defign was to kill the lords juftices and all the king's privy-council. The like information was given by the lord keeper, and other lords, and in the fame folemn manner, to the houfe of lords.

8

The falfehood of this representation, with respect to the design of these infurgents, is so very notorious, that fo even a writer otherwife highly prejudiced against them, could not pass it over uncenfured. "Both the lord keeper in the houfe of lords, and the lord lieutenant in the house of commons," fays Dr. Warner, "did exceed the informations that had been given, either in the letters, or in the examinations transmitted over. No hiftorian," adds he, "hath taken notice of this falfification; and yet one cannot believe that it was owing in both thefe lords to accident or mistake. The lord keeper hath faid, that the rebels had committed divers murders; and the lord lieutenant, befides affirming that they had information of fhedding much blood of the proteftants there, added moreover, that the defign of the rebels was to kill the lords juftices, and all the king's privy-council; whereas neither in the letters, nor the examinations, is there a single word of any murder being committed; nor was there the leaft thought among the confpirators, for any thing that appears, of killing, particularly the lords juftices and the king's privy council. And the council in their letters, after having given an account of feveral robberies, burning of houfes and villages, and feizing fome forts and castles, exprefsly fay, and this though too much, is all that we yet hear is done by them."

Hift. of the Irish Rebel.

It

f This, like many other circumftances of this pompous tale, is a well-known falfehood: for St. Ignatius's festival is kept on the 31st of July.

"Whatever cruelties (fays Doctor Warner) are to be charged upon the Irifh in the profecution of their undertaking, yet their first intention, we fee, went no further than to ftrip the English and the proteftants of their power and poffeffions, and unless forced to it by oppofition, not to fled any blood." of the Irish Rebel. p. 47. See p. 28.

Hift.

It is worthy of notice, that about this time, viz. before the end of October, 1641, Temple himself confeffes," that the rebels had got poffeffion of all the towns, forts, caftles, and gentlemens houfes within the counties of Tyrone, Donegal, Fermanagh, Armagh, Cavan, Londonderry, Monaghan, and half the county of Down; except the cities of Londonderry and Colerain, the town and caftle of Enniskillen, and fome other places and caftles. And that befides the above mentioned, these rebels had taken a multitude of other castles, houses of strength, towns and villages, all abundantly peopled with British inhabitants." Yet in none of thofe places does it appear, from Temple's account, that any maffacre or murder was committed by the infurgents within that space of time."

و

There is but little wonder, that fo fhocking a calumny, thus folemnly delivered, by perfons of honour, to an auguft affembly, fhould make a general and lasting impreffion on a credulous and prejudiced people; but the reader will please to reflect, that if fo many perfons of the first quality, living at a distance from the danger and mischiefs of this infurrection, and therefore, influenced by fear or revenge, could, for their own evil purposes, circulate fuch horrid falfehoods concerning it,

9 Hift. of the Irish Rebel. p. 34.

h The true reason that these places were fo eafily taken by the infurgents, is thus fet forth in the remonftrance of the lords and gentry of the pale. "Your majesty's old ftanding army here, which was appointed to keep the garrifon-towns of this land, and in your forts and caftles here, which receives yearly large entertainment from your highness, hath been hitherto an army in name only, and not in substance, and was not visible in them towns and forts, through the neglect and corruption of your governors and ftate here, whereby the army of UÎfter did furprize most of the forts and caftles in that province without refiftance, and expulfed thence most of the British inhabitants." Defid. Curiof. Hibèrn. vol. ii. p. тоб.

i "The Irish rebellion," fays Sir Edward Walker, "did fortify the defigns in England, which then wanted matter to work upon. The parliament raised money for this war, and employed it in their own; and scandalized his majesty, as not zealous

it, how little stress ought to be laid on the evidence, or teftimonies of fome of the meanest of the adverse par ty at home, who were either exafperated by the inju ries they themselves had fuffered, or scared out of their wits by the fhocking ftories they had heard of those committed on others, when they were called upon to give fuch evidence. And yet, the teftimony of per fons fo prejudiced, and otherwise unduly influenced, is the principal, if not only foundation, on which the belief of the Irish maffacre has hitherto rested, and has fo generally, not to fay uncontrovertably, prevailed.

AN

in the fuppreffion of it: though to fhew his odium of this rebellion, he proposed the going thither himself to suppress it; but his propofal was ill taken by the commons, as fearing the rebels might fubmit to his majefty, and fo become his, in oppofition to their designs." Hiftor. Difcourf. fol. 231.

The main defign of the infurgents not general or premeditated.

In order to fet this tragical part of the history of Ireland in a true light, it is neceffary to diftinguish two infurrections, differing not fo much in their causes as their times. The first is that mentioned in the lord juftices proclamation of the 29th October, 1641, of fome of the mere old Irish only in the province of Ulfter. The other is that general defection, which happened fome months after, in the other provinces; and was occafioned by a continuation and increase of those grievances and oppreffions, which had produced the first. We will begin with the infurrection in Ulfter, which Sir John Temple,' and his numerous copiers,

I

a

History of the Irish Rebel.

This gentleman published his History of the Irish Rebel

lion

copiers, have represented as an horrible enterprise, long before concerted and refolved upon, by the generality of the catholics of Ireland. But in this particular, and in truth in most others, that writer has fufficiently confuted himfelf; for he informs us, that feveral of the chiefs of these Ulfter infurgents, instead of providing men, arms and other requifites for the execution of fuch a defign, did on the contrary, but a short time before their rising, take fuch measures as had a manifest tendency to prevent its fuccefs. For he tells us," "that Sir Phelim O'Neil, and many others of the

b

Hift. of the Irish Rebel. p. 14.

prime

lion in the year 1646, by the direction of the parliament-party, which then prevailed, and to which, tho' long before in actual rebellion, he was always attached. The falfehoods it contains are fo glaring and numerous, that even the government, in the year 1674, feems to have been offended at, and himself ashamed of, the re-publication of it. This we gather from a letter of Capel Earl of Effex, then lord lieutenant of Ireland, to Mr. Secretary Coventry, of that date, wherein we find thefe words: "I am to acknowledge yours of the 22d of December, in which you mention a book that was newly published, concerning the cruelties committed in Ireland, at the beginning of the late war. Upon further enquiry I find Sir J. Temple, master of the rolls here (Ireland), author of that book, was, this laft year, fent to by feveral ftationers of London, to have his confent to the printing thereof; but he affures me, that he utterly denied it, and whoever printed it, did it without his knowledge. Thus much I thought fit to add to what I formerly faid upon this occafion, that I might do this gentleman right, in cafe it were fufpected, he had any fhare in publishing this new edition." State Let. Dub. ed. p. 2. His lordship was at this time foliciting a grant of three (he would have it five) hundred pounds a year, on the forfeited eftates, for Sir John Temple, which he at laft obtained, (see these letters); and the miniftry feems to have made this re-publication of his history an objection, which his lordship thus endeavours to remove.

The difficulty which Moore found to prevail on the Ulfter-Irish (to rife), fhews there was no long-meditated scheme of rebellion even among them."

"Roger Moore's ancestors, in the reign of Mary, had been expelled from their princely poffeffions by violence and fraud;

and