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CHA P. XVII.

The established clergy of Ireland laboured under a particular difficulty on this occafion.

AFTER King James's abdication, the parliament of England abolished the declaration, viz." that it was not lawful upon any pretence whatsoever, to take up arms against the king." "But this, by fome neglect, was still left upon the Irish proteftant clergy, under the penalty of forfeiting their livings, and as many of them as came into livings, after the revolution (among whom Dr. King was one), read the faid declaration publicly in time of divine fervice, and were to continue fo to do until fome parliament took it away. Notwithstanding which, they preached against it, difputed against it, and inftructed their congregations against it. And yet, to fave their livings, they continued ftill to subscribe this hated declaration before their ordinaries; and took certificates under their hands and feals, that they had fubfcribed it; and openly and publicly read the fame, on the Lord's day, in their parifh-churches, in the presence of the congregation there affembled. They read it in the desk, and preached against it in the pulpit; and when they came out of the church railed, at the parliament that impofed it, and wondered and curfed their hard fate, that this declaration was not taken out of their way in Ireland as it was in England, and wished it was done. In the mean time they would lofe nothing by it, they could fwallow."

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Nor was their embarraffment much lefs, upon taking the new oaths that were afterwards framed. "There never was, proceeds Mr. Lefley, fo fudden, fo fhameful a turn of men profeffing religion; and their manner of doing it fo impolitic as to make it evident, that they

'Lefley's Anfw. to King, p. 112.

2 lb. p. 123.

a

they took the oaths, at least, with a doubting and fcrupulous conscience. For they did not take them freely, but haggled, and kept off, fome to the last day, roaring against them all the while; and then coming about, all at once, with new-coined diftinctions and declarations, point-blank contrary to the declared fenfe of the impofers; they differed among themfelves; every one had a falvo for his own confcience; fome pretended they kept paffive obedience still, others that they were never for it. It was a fevere jeft that the common people had got up against the clergy, that there was but one thing formerly that the parliament could not do, that is, to make a man a woman; but that then, there was another, that is, to make an oath the clergy would not take." b

CHA P.

'State of the Proteftants, &c. p. 149.
2 Lefley, ubi fupra.

3 Id. ib.

2 The Irish Roman catholics, "made no scruple to take the oath of allegiance to King William and Queen Mary, which was agreed to in the articles of Limerick; and it was generally taken by them all over the kingdom, by the direction of their clergy." Lefley's Anfw. p. 125. "The English Roman catholics, in their chapels at London, prayed publicly at the fame time, for King William and Queen Mary." Lefley, ib. 126.

p.

In the Commons Journal, ann. 1695, I find the following paffage: "Mr. Weaver farther reported, that it is the opinion of this committee, that to an act in England of the 31st of Charles II. an act for the better fecuring the liberty of the subject, there fhall be added the following provifo, viz. provided that no person or perfons fhall have the benefit of this act, unlefs he or they take the oaths, and fubfcribe the declaration made in England for this kingdom, intitled an act for abrogating the oath of fupremacy in Ireland, and appointing other oaths, &c. The queftion being put that this houfe do agree with the committee in this refolution, it paffed in the negative." Vol. ii. f. 668.

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The good faith of king William's and king James's officers compared.

DR. King was not ashamed to affirm,'

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that among

all the articles into which K. James's officers entered, they never kept any to the proteftants." Yet thefe proteftants themfelves "fpoke, at the fame time, with commendation and honour, of Sarsfield's punctual obfervation of his articles, when he took Sligo, to omit other inftances. General Ginckle owned to Major General Dorington, in the prefence of the Prince of Wirtemberg, Monfieur Marquis de la Foreft, and feveral other general officers, the good ufage their prifoners had received at Limerick, and other Irifh garrifons; and most of the proteftants that belonged to the north of Ireland, did then confefs, that the Trish, while among them in the fummer of 1689, kept their protections better to the proteftants, than the proteftant kept theirs to them. Even fome of the moft zealous fticklers for king William's government have complained much, that the articles entered into with the Irish at Carrickfergus, by Marfhal Schomberg, were not punctually obferved, For when that general

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VOL. II.

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State of the Proteft. &c. p. 149. Lefley ubi fupra. 3 Id. ib. "Schomberg," fays Macpherfon, invefted Carrickfergus ; he fummoned the garrifon in vain; he opened four batteries against the place; he attacked it with the guns of the fleet; one thousand bombs were thrown into the town; the houses were laid in afhes. The garrison, having expended their powder to the last barrel, marched out, on the ninth day, with all the honours of war. But the foldiers broke the capitulation; they difarmed and ftripped the inhabitants, without any regard to fex or quality; even women stark naked were whipt publicly between the lines." Hift. of Gt. Brit. vol. i. P. 570.

The Journal of the most remarkable Tranfactions in this War, published at that juncture of time, thus relates this breach of articles at Carrickfergus, with refpect to the inhabi "The Irish in that town, when reduced to one barrel

tants:

of

general first landed, he iffued proclamations of protection and encouragement to the Irish, who would return to their habitations, and follow their labour; which many accepted, and a great part of the country was thereby planted, fome places in as full a manner as before the revolution; but notwithstanding these protections, the proteftant army fell upon them, and wafted their whole country; and when the Irish held out their protections, they tore them, and bid them wipe their a--e with them, and none were punished for this breach of protections.'

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Notwithstanding General Ginckle's proclamation, printed at Dublin, February 4th, 1690, wherein he affured the papifts in their majefties names," that all of them, who would fubmit to their majefties government, fhould be protected as to their religion, eftates, and liberties; yet that did not hinder the multitude of out-lawries, and other forfeitures and proceedings against those papifts," who submitted to the govern

Lefley's Anfw.

ment

of powder only, made foldier-like terms; marching out with their arms, colours flying, ball in mouth, and other usual ceremonies in war; to be attended by a convoy, until they were within three miles of the Newry. Yet the articles, though figned by Schomberg himself, were nevertheless barbarously violated by the foldiers; who, without regard to age, or fex, or quality, difarmed and ftripped the town's people, forcing even women to run the gauntlet stark naked.”

b By the report laid before the English houfe of commons, by Mr. Annefley, in 1700, it appeared that three thousand nine hundred and twenty-one perfons had been out-lawed by king William fince the 13th of February, 1689 [the report made by the commiffioners fays, 13th February, 1688]; that all the lands belonging to forfeited perfons, amounted to more than one million and fixty thousand acres; that the most confiderable grants were made to perfons born in foreign countries, to Kepple, to Bentick, to Ginckle, and to Rouvigny: who had been all dignified with peerages, in one or other of the two kingdoms. That befides, a grant had paffed the great feal to Elizabeth Villiers, now Countess of Orkney, a woman peculiarly favoured by William, of all the private estates of the late king James, containing ninety-five thousand acres, worth twenty-five thoufand nine hundred and ninty-five pounds a

year:

ment on that affurance. As to their religion," adds Mr. Lesley, they did not complain, for king William was very gracious to them in that refpect; but as to their perfons, eftates and liberties, they cried out heavily of breach of public faith, and great oppreffion.'

Mr. Lefley had before attempted to prove that these forfeiting Irish were not guilty of rebellion," how could they," fays he, "who adhered to king James, be made rebels to king William, before they had fubmitted to him? If you fay he had a title to Ireland, by being king of England, because Ireland is an appendix to the crown of England; I answer, from the beginning it was not fo; and the government of England being diffolved, as Dr. King fays, by abdication, O 2 and 5 Id. ib.

year: And that, upon the whole, the value of Irish forfeitures amounted to three millions, three hundred and nineteen thoufand, nine hundred and forty-three pounds." Macphers. Hift. of Gt. Brit. vol. ii. p. 161-2.

There were not three thousand protestants named in the act of attainder, paffed by king James in Ireland, 1689; and they were all quickly restored by king William: whereas the Roman catholics attainted by king William, loft all for ever, notwithstanding they were to be reinftated by the articles of Limerick. See King's State of the Proteft. p. 133.

The above 1,060,792 acres, were worth per ann. 2,11,6231. 6s. 3d. total value 2,685,130l. 5s. 9d. (befides the several denominations in the faid counties, to which no number of acres can be added, by reason of the imperfection of the surveys); "which we humbly reprefent to your honours, as the grofs value of the lands forfeited in Ireland, fince February 13th, 1688." Rep. Commiffioners ubi fupra.

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"The impatience of William's English adherents only ferved to confirm the Irish in their averfion to the new government. And by a fhameful difregard, and almoft perpetual violation of his protections, granted to the peafantry, they forced this order alfo to croud to their old leaders, and to take arms for their fecurity." Lel. Hift. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 574

The Irifh" faw their religion on the point of being utterly extinguished, and their remains of property ready to be seized by ftrangers; no fecurity in fubmiffion, no reliances on any promises of pardon." Lel. ubi fupra, p. 576. At Chapel-Izod, "William was employed in receiving petitions and redreffing grievances, arifing from the perpetual violations of his protections." Id. ib.

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