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and returned back to the fuppofed original contract, or first right of mankind, to erect government for their own convenience, of confequence the tye which England had upon Ireland was diffolved, and Ireland left, as well as England, in its fuppofed original freedom, to choose what government and governors they pleafed; befides all this, Dr. King's principles freed them from king William; because of the prefumptions they had to think, that king intended to invade their property, lives, and religion.'

"The defertion (fays Mr. Macpherson on this occafion) upon which the deprivation of James has been founded in England, had not exifted in Ireland. The lord lieutenant had retained his allegiance. The government was uniformly continued under the name of the prince, from whom the fervants of the crown had derived their commiffions. James himself had, for more than feventeen months, exercifed the royal function in Ireland; he was certainly de facto, if not de jure, king. The rebellion of the Irifh muft therefore be founded on the fuppofition, that their allegiance is transferable by the parliament of England. A fpeculative opinion can fcarce juftify the punishment of a great majority of the people. The Irifh ought to have been confidered as enemies, rather than rebels."

"The kingdom of Ireland," fays the fame author (Macpherson), "ever fince its reduction in 1691, exhibited one continued fcene of oppreffion, injustice, and public mifery. The government of James, with all its difadvantages, his own bigotry, the infolence of the papifts, combined with the fears of the protestants, were all more tolerable than the administration of William, ever fince the furrender of Limerick. Co. ningsby and Porter, the lords juftices, rendered them

d

• Hift. Gr. Brit. vol. i. p. 622.7 Id. vol. ii. p. 26.

felves

d An order of the lords juftices Porter and Coningsby, to Samuel Booth, Efq; high fheriff of the county of Kilkenny, dated 19th November, 1691, fets forth, " that they were extremely furprized at the frequent complaints they received from all parts of the kingdom, notwithstanding their proclamation to the contrary, of the ill treatment of the Irish, who were in

arms

felves odious, by a series of fraud, cruelty and rapacity. They fold common juftice for money; they fcreened the guilty, and oppreffed the innocent. To render their proceedings fummary, to clothe their authority with more terror, and with most expedition to enrich themselves, they chose to exert their power in the military way. The corruption at the fource. extended itself to every channel of government; the fubordinate magiftrates, the juftices of peace, as if all law was at an end, made their own will and pleasure the rule of their conduct. Prefuming on their power in the country, they deprived, under colour of their authority, many perfons of their effects; they difpof feffed many of their lands. Coningsby, created a baron by the fame name, with his colleague Porter, continued in the government till the arrival of Sydney, on the 25th of August, 1693; in the intermediate time, they prefided in the court of claims for adjusting the demands of thofe comprehended in the articles of Limerick; and the obvious road to their justice, was faid to lie through their avarice."

e

CHAP.

arms against their majefties, and have either fubmitted, and are under their majefties protection, or are included in the articles granted upon the furrender of fome of their garrifons, or fubmiffion of their army. That this proceeding has fo extremely terrified them with the apprehenfions of the continuance of this fort of usage, that they found experimentally, fome thousands who quitted the Irish army, and went home with a resolution not to go for France, are now come back again, and press earnestly to go thither, rather than stay here; where, contrary to the public faith, as well as against law and justice, they are robbed of their fubftance, and abused in their perfons, &c." From an attested MSS. Copy of that Order, communicated to me by Mr. James Laffan of Kilkenny.

e.

King William's army, in want of pay from the crown, raised money by military diftrefs from the fubject, to the incredible amount of two hundred thousand pounds. The ftores left by king James in the kingdom, to the value, it was faid, of eighty thousand pounds, were embezzled or applied to his own ufe by Coningsby. The lord lieutenant himself, and Ginckle, who had been created Earl of Athlone, were accufed of poffeffing themselves of almost all the forfeitures. But one of the moft flagrant inroads upon the conftitution, was depriving the

citizens

CHA P. XIX.

A short sketch of the cruelties inflicted on the Irish pri foners in this war; and alfo on those even under protection.

MR. Lesley, after having fhewn, that the foregoing

charge of breach of articles made by Dr. King against king James's officers, was groundless and wicked; has, by way of contraft, produced feveral notorious and uncontroverted inftances of the perfidy and cruelty of king William's officers, towards their Irish prifoners, in the courfe of this war. Out of thefe instances, I shall select the few following; and with them conclude this tedious and melancholy narrative of the state of the Irish at different periods, for the space of more than one hundred and fifty years.

"When' Drogheda furrendered to king William, after the defeat at the Boyne, the fick and wounded foldiers were, by the capitulations, to be taken care of, and to be fent with paffes to their own army, as they recovered. But they were not only neglected, and might have starved but for the charity of fome of their own poor countrymen, who fold their beds and cloaths to relieve them, but they were alfo kept as prisoners after they recovered, contrary to their articles."

2

"Upon the furrender of Cork, the Irish army, though prisoners of war, were by the conditions to be well used. Notwithstanding which, even those proteftants who were most zealous for king William, owned, that the Irish General narrowly escaped being murdered

a

• Anfw. to King.

2 Id. ib.

by

citizens of Dublin of the right to choose their own magistrates. Macpherf. Hift. Gr. Brit. vol. ii. p. 28, 9.

General M'Carthy, of whom when colonel, Lord Clarendon, lord lieutenant of Ireland, reported to the English miniftry," that he was a man of quality, and a foldier; and that

he

by the inhabitants; that he had no justice done him, nor any fatisfaction, upon his complaint to the English General; and that the garrifon, after laying down, their arms, were ftripped; and marched to a marfhy wet ground, where they were kept with guards four or five days; and not being fuftained, were forced by hunger to eat dead horfes, that lay about them; and several of them died, for want even of that, when they were removed from thence. That they were afterwards fo crouded in houses, jails, and churches, that they could not all lie down at once, and had nothing but the bare floor to lie upon; where the want of fuftenance, and the lying in their own excrements, with dead carcaffes lying whole weeks in the fame place with them, caused such infection that they died in great numbers daily. The Roman catholics of Cork, though promised fafety and protection, had, on this furrender, their goods feized, and themselves ftripped and turned out of the town foon after."

"In December 1690,3 one Captain Lauder, of Colonel Hale's regiment, being ordered with a lieutenant, enfign and fifty men, to guard about two hundred of the Cork prifoners to Clonmell, as they fainted on the road with the above faid bad usage, fhot them to the number of fixteen, between Cork and Clonmell; and upon Major Dorington's having demanded justice against this officer from General Ginckle, Lauder got a pardon for the murder, and was continued in his poft."

"King William's army, after being entire mafters of Athlone, killed in cold blood an hundred men in the

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he behaved himself extremely well, wherever he was quartered,
with great
eafinefs and moderation." State Let. vol. i. p. 45.
His excellency foon after recommended him to the king to be
made a major general. Ib. p. 47.

b

"Douglas, in his expedition to Athlone, marched as through an enemy's country, his men plundering, and even murdering, with impunity, in defiance of the royal proclama,

J

the castle, and little out-work on the river. And at Aughrim above two thoufand, who threw down their arms and afked quarter; and feveral who had quarter given them, were afterwards killed in cold blood; in

which

tion, or the formal orders of their general. As he advanced, the Irish peafantry appeared, fucceflively, in confiderable bodies, to claim the benefit of king William's declaration; and were fucceffively enfnared by affurance of protection, and expofed to all the violences of the foldiers." Lel. Hift. of Irel. vol. iii. p. 576.

"Douglas, in the mean time, pursued his destructive route to Athlone; his men plundered the country; they murdered many unfortunate wretches, who relied on the king's declaration; the peafantry came in numerous bodies to claim protection; but they were exposed to all the infolence, cruelty, and tyranny of a licentious army. Detefted, abhorred and feared, Douglas fat down with his cruel followers before Athlone, he carried on his works with vigour; but he was foon forced to abandon the fiege. The unfortunate perfons who had declared for William upon his approach, found themselves obliged to attend him (in his retreat), to avoid the fury of their former friends, but they were robbed and plundered by thofe from whom they expected protection. Nothing but mifery, diftrefs, and even death were feen; the harvest was trodden down by the troops, the wretched cabins of the unfortunate peasantry were confumed with fire, and the cattle driven as booty away." Macpherson's Hift. vol. i. p. 595.

On king William's retreat, after his first attempt upon Limerick," the proteftants attended him to avoid the refentment of the Irish; but they found enemies in their fuppofed friends; they were plundered of their effects and cattle; the army ranged at large after booty; they knew no difcipline; they owned no authority. The king either winked at their irregularities, or he yielded to a ftream which he could not oppofe; his declaration was infringed; his protections difregarded; his route covered with devaftations, and all the other miferies of war. Exceffes of a favage barbarity, but upon questionable authority (Lel. vol. iii.), have been afcribed to the king himself, on his retreat from Limerick. Difappointment, might have raifed his refentment; the outrages committed by his troops ftain the annals of the times." Macpherfon's Hift. of Gr. Brit. vol. i. P: 596-7.

In the battle of Aughrim, and in a bloody purfuit of three hours (ftopped only by the night's coming on), feven thoufand of the Irish army were flain. The unrelenting fury

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