5 that "no oppofition was made." "Sir Charles Coote, who by the lords juftices fpecial defignation, was appointed to go on this expedition, as the fitteft perfon to execute their orders, and one who best knew their minds, at this time pillaged and burned houses, corn, and other goods belonging to Mr. King, to the value of four thousand pounds.' d The pretended plunder of an English bark, by fome of the common people of that village (part of which plunder is faid to have been put into Mr. King's house in his absence, and is made the fole pretence for this breach of public faith), must have happened, if at all, fome time before this manifefto was published. For R 2 5 Carte's Orm. vol. i. the tarf, took boats and went to fea, to fhun the fury of a party of foldiers come out of Dublin, under the command of Colonel Crafford; but being pursued by the foldiers in other boats, were overtaken and thrown overboard.” Tb. "Which was but a forry encouragement to him," fays Mr. Carte, "to accept their invitation to Dublin, and gave just grounds of apprehending, at leaft, fome danger of trouble; from which danger the manifefto pretended to fecure him, as well as the reft that were affembled at Swords." Orm. vol. i. fol. 254. d Mr. Carte's obfervation on this occafion is pertinent and juft: "No account of this affair," fays he, "takes the leaft notice of any men on board the bark, or of any ill treatment that they met with; which had there been any, would have been unavoidable, and could not have failed of being mentioned by those who relate it; fo that it seems to have been a veffel deserted or wrecked; in which cafe, people that live on the feacoafts, influenced by a common but barbarous notion, are apt to deem and treat goods aboard as lawful plunder." Life of Orm. vol. i. fol. 246. N. B. In the lords juftices order to burn Clontarf, and deftroy its inhabitants, there is no mention made of the inhabitants having plundered an English bark being the caufe of that order. See Borl. Ir. Rebel. f. 61. Borlafe adds, that the number of fishing-boats at Clontarf, and this plunder, "did much difquiet the lords juftices and council, fufpecting that, thereby, the port of Dublin might have been blocked up.' Id. ib. fol. 62. Sir Charles Coote burnt Clontarf the 15th of December, 1641. Id. ib. the justices made exprefs mention of it, in their letter to the Earl of Leicester of the 14th of December;" on which day too, their order to pillage and burn Clontarf is dated, although their manifefto was not published till the 15th. In that letter, their lordships exprefs their intention of ordering that expedition; and after betraying a guilty confcioufnefs," "that the gentlemen of the pale would take new offence thereat;" they add, "but that we will adventure upon.' From whence it evidently appears, that on the very day before that on which they published their manifefto, they had taken a refolution to violate it. CHA P. XVI. The order for a general pardon limited by the juftices. BUT if even this perfidious measure should be found infufficient to excite these gentlemen to any hostile or difloyal attempt, the juftices had ftill in referve, divers other means equally calculated for that iniquitous purpofe. Their lordships had, about this time, received an order of both houfes of the English parliament,' dated November 30th, directing them, to grant his majesty's pardon to all thofe who, within a convenient time, fhould return to their obedience." Yet, notwithstanding this order for a general pardon, they a ftill • See Temp. Irish Rebel. 7 Id. ib. I Id. ib. C "The lords juftices, as foon as they were fatisfied that the lords of the pale would not trust themselves in the city in the hands of Sir Charles Coote, though they were ready to treat with commiffioners fent from thence to any place out of his power, took measures in order to convict them of treason, and forfeit their eftates." Carte's Orm. vol. i. fol. 275-6. a" It was not the (English) parliament's intention to extirpate that whole nation, but they ordered mercy and pardon, both as to life and estate, fhould be extended to all husbandmen, labourers, artificers, yea to (perfons of) higher rank and qua lity, 2 4 66 ftill continued their former proclamation, which was fo limited, with respect to persons, places and time; and clogged, befides, with fuch impracticable conditions, that they must have been themselves fenfible, that it was apter to prevent than to produce fubmiffions. For firft, it abfolutely precluded freeholders from all hopes of pardon; "becaufe," fays Lord Castlehaven," they had estates to lofe." And on the other hand, the poorer Irish, who alone had been guilty of the depredations, and other mischiefs then committed, were to be pardoned upon fuch terms only, as it was not in their power to comply with. "For their pardon,' fays Temple,+ was to be granted only, on condition of restoring the goods and chattels taken from the British;" which reftitution, the fame writer confeffes," "it was impoffible for them to make." Befides this pardon, instead of being general (as both houses of the English parliament intended it fhould be), extended only to the lower people of four counties, viz. Meath, Weftmeath, Louth and Longford, " in two of which counties, no body of infurgents had yet appeared. And the time allowed for their coming in, being ftinted to ten days, it was hardly poffible, as the nation was then circumstanced, for half the perfons concerned to receive 2 Id. ib. 3 Memoirs. 4 Ib. p. 48. 5 Ib. p. 49. " lity, according to the refpective demerits and confiderations under which they fell, and that all fhould enjoy the benefit of their articles." Scobel's Acts, fol. 197. from Borl. Hift. of the Irish Rebel. fol. 70. "In another inftance," fays Dr. Leland, "the conduct of thefe wretched governors was ftill more fufpicious; they received inftructions for a general pardon to fuch rebels as should fubmit within a certain time, to be limited by the lords juftices. But no proclamation was published, no pardon offered in confequence of these inftructions. A pardon offered in the name of the English parliament, must have had greater influence than any act of an Irish miniftry, defpifed and fufpected by the body of the nation. But the chief governors, and their creatures, experienced in the art of converting forfeitures to their own advantage." Hift. of Ireland, vol. iii. p. 339-40. were receive even notice of the proclamation, much lefs to furrender themselves on so short a warning. 7 66 In like manner, when his majefty afterwards fent these justices his proclamation of January 1ft, 1641, granting a general pardon to thefe infurgents, upon their fubmiffion; they fecreted the copies of it to fuch a degree, that the lords and gentlemen of the pale, who lay nearest Dublin, could not get a fight of one of them." Nay, instead of purfuing fuch pacific and conciliating measures, they, on the ist of February following, commanded out the Earl of Ormond, with a powerful army, on an expedition to the county of Kildare; where," pursuant to his orders," fays Mr. Carte, "he burnt Newcaftle and Lyons, and gave up Naas to his foldiers to plunder; having sent out parties to burn Castle-Martin, Kilcullen-bridge, and in fhort, all the country. for feventeen miles in length, and twenty-five in breadth." b 8 7 Carte's Orm. vol. i. fol. 296. 8 Ib. The About the beginning of February 1641, "the prifons of Dublin were fo filled with prifoners, that the lords justices, on account of the scarcity of victuals, thought it neceffary to thin them; but as it was difficult, or rather impoffible, for want of freeholders, to find juries of the proper counties where the crimes were acted, fo there was no bringing these criminals to a legal trial. In this neceffity it was determined, to caufe a confiderable number of them to be executed by martial law. Men of estates were exempted from the rigour of that law, in order to preferve the king's efcheats upon legal attainders, so that thefe execution fell intirely upon the poorer fort, and such as had no freeholds; particularly upon the Romish priests, whofe execution would exafperate the Irish to the highest degree: and yet these lords justices pretended, in the postscript of their letter to the lord lieutenant, January 20th 1741, that they had juries to find indictments for the counties of Meath, Wicklow, and Kildare; for the two firft of which, as well as for that of Dublin, within two days afterwards, bills of high treason were found against all the lords and prime gentlemen, as also against three hundred perfons of quality and eftate in the county of Kildare, among whom were the old Countefs of Kildare, Sir Nicholas White, his fon Captain Nicholas White, and others, who had never joined the rebels, fo much expedition was ufed in this affair." Cart. Orm. vol. i. fol. 278. 9 The Earl of Ormond was more implicitly obedient to these lords justices orders, than became either a true lover of his country, or a faithful subject of his king. He was not infenfible of their lordships criminal connection with the prevailing faction in the English parliament; nor of the flagrant iniquity of many of these rders; for although, while they remained in the government, he "protefted to Sir Henry Vane," who was one of the leaders of that faction, " upon the faith of an honeft man, that he loved and honoured their perfons," yet, upon the difgrace of Sir William Parfons, he confeffed to Lord Clanrickard, who, he knew, detefted them," that during their administration, the parliament's pamphlets were received as oracles, its commands obeyed as laws, and extirpation preached for gospel." C II 66 The lords of the pale made no oppofition to any of thofe parties that were detached to make the abovementioned general devastation. But it affected Lord Gormanstown, the principal mover of their union, to fuch a degree, that he died not long after of grief; and the reft of the lords of the pale, grown defperate, laid afide all thoughts of pardon or treaty; and joined all their forces for the fupport of the common caufe; in which many others who had as yet stood out foon joined, fearing that they fhould at last be involved in the others fate, fince a total extirpation was intended." d CHAP. 10 Id. ib. fol. 170. 9 Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 43. c Sir William Parfons was then a prifoner by his majesty's exprefs command. The charge against him was debated in a full council, thirteen members befides the lords justices, and the Marquis of Ormond being prefident. Even Lord Borlase, his late colleague, voted for fecuring his perfon. Carte. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 449. "The arbitrary power exercised by these lords juftices, (fays Dr. Warner) their illegal exertion of it by bringing people to the rack to draw confeffions from them; their fending out fo many parties from Dublin and other garrifons to kill and destroy the rebels, in which care was feldom taken to diftinguish, and men, women |