IRELAND UNDER THE STUARTS
VOL. I.
_By the same Author_
IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS
Vols. I. and II.--From the First Invasion of the Northmen to the year
1578.
8vo. 32_s._
Vol. III.--1578-1603. 8vo. 18_s._
LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.
London, New York, Bombay, and Calcutta
IRELAND
UNDER THE STUARTS
AND
DURING THE INTERREGNUM
BY
RICHARD BAGWELL, M.A.
AUTHOR OF 'IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS'
VOL. I. 1603-1642
_WITH MAP_
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA
1909
All rights reserved
PREFACE
These volumes have been written at such times and seasons as could be
made available during an active life in Ireland, and this may induce
critics to take a merciful view of their many shortcomings. I have been
diligent, but there is still much extant manuscript material which I
have been unable to use. Ireland is the land of violent and persistent
party feeling, and no party will be pleased with the present work, for
I hold with an ancient critic that the true function of history is
to bring out the facts and not to maintain a thesis. If I am spared
to finish the third volume, it will bring the narrative down to the
Revolution, and will contain chapters on the Church or Churches and on
the social state of Ireland.
The dates of all documents relied on have been given, and unless it is
otherwise stated they are among the Irish State Papers calendared from
1603 to 1660. Many papers, chiefly, but not exclusively, from the Carte
manuscripts, were printed by Sir J. T. Gilbert in the 'Contemporary
History of Affairs in Ireland,' or in the 'History of the Confederation
and War in Ireland.' As these collections are more generally accessible
than the Bodleian Library, I have referred to them as far as they
go. The 'Aphorismical Discovery,' which forms the nucleus of the
first, is cited under that title, and the narrative of Bellings in
the second under his name. The original Carte papers at Oxford have
been often consulted, as well as the transcripts in the Public Record
Office, while the manuscripts in the British Museum and in Trinity
College, Dublin, have not been neglected. In the case of old tracts and
newsletters, of which I have read a great many, dates and titles are
given.
The late Lord Fitzwilliam did not consider it consistent with his
duty to let Dr. Gardiner see the Strafford correspondence preserved
at Wentworth Woodhouse, and my application to his successor has also
been refused. No restriction seems to have been imposed on the editors
of Laud's works, of which the last instalment was published as late
as 1860. All the Archbishop's letters are printed, Strafford's being
omitted only because they would have taken too much room. In 1739 Dr.
William Knowler, working under Lord Malton's directions, published the
well-known Strafford Letters, and Mr. Firth has thrown fresh light
upon them by printing some of the editor's correspondence in the ninth
volume of the 'Camden Miscellany.' 'There is,' Knowler wrote, 'four or
five times the number of letters uncopied for one transcribed, and yet
I believe those that shall glean them over again won't find many things
material omitted.' Yet Laud's editors thought it worth while to publish
a good deal of what had been left out, and probably there is still
something to be done.
I have made some examination of the famous depositions in Trinity
College, Dublin, concerning the rebellion of 1641, but it is
unnecessary to repeat Miss Hickson's arguments, which appear to me
conclusive. The documents may be pronounced genuine in the sense that
they really are what they profess to be, but they are all more or less
_ex parte_ statements, and the witnesses were not cross-examined.
Deductions may be made on these grounds, especially in the case of
numerical estimates, but there is a vast mass of other evidence as to
the main facts. The matter is discussed pretty fully in Chapter XX.
It is unnecessary to describe here the various contemporary histories
and memoirs referred to in the text and notes. Sir Richard Cox's
'Hibernia Anglicana' should be used with caution. Cox was a strong
partisan, but he was not a liar, and he wrote at a time when there were
still living witnesses.
The maps at the beginning of each volume are intended as helps to the
reader, and make no pretension to completeness. Fuller details as
to the various colonies or plantations may be found in Mr. Dunlop's
map, No. 31 in the Oxford Historical Atlas. As to the short-lived
Cromwellian settlement much may be learned from the map in Gardiner's
'Commonwealth and Protectorate,' iii. 312, and from that in Lord
Fitzmaurice's 'Life of Petty.' The more lasting arrangements made after
1660 will be the subject of full discussion in my third volume. The
innumerable sieges, battles and skirmishes from 1641 to 1653 may be
traced in any large map of Ireland, and cannot be shown in a small one.
The state of affairs at the critical moment of the first truce in 1643
is illustrated by the map in Gardiner's 'Great Civil War,' i. 264.
My best thanks are due to Mrs. Shirley for lending me fourteen volumes
of tracts concerning the rebellion from the library at Lough Fea. They
have been very useful.
I received some valuable hints from my friend, the late C. Litton
Falkiner, whose untimely death is a loss to Ireland.
MARLFIELD, CLONMEL:
_December 26, 1908._
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME
CHAPTER I
MOUNTJOY AND CAREY, 1603-1605
PAGE
Accession of James I. 1
Agitation in Irish towns 2
Insurrection at Cork 8
Reform of the currency 14
Chichester made Lord Deputy 15
CHAPTER II
CHICHESTER AND THE TOLERATION QUESTION, 1605-1607
The laws against Recusancy 17
Proclamation against toleration 19
Cases of Everard and Lalor 21
Attempt to enforce uniformity--the Mandates 23
Bacon on toleration--Sir P. Barnewall 27
The Mandates given up 29
CHAPTER III
THE FLIGHT OF THE EARLS, 1607
Tyrone at Court 30
O'Cahan's case 31
Death of Devonshire 33
Earldom of Tyrconnel created 34
Departure of Tyrone, Tyrconnel, and Maguire 37
The fugitives excluded from France and Spain 39
Reasons for Tyrone's flight--Lord Howth 41
Uncertainty as to the facts 42
Lord Delvin's adventures 44
Royal manifesto against the Earls 47
Tyrone leaves the Netherlands 48
He reaches Rome 49
CHAPTER IV
REBELLION OF O'DOGHERTY, 1608
The settlement at Derry 51
O'Dogherty and Paulet 53
Derry surprised and sacked 54
Flight and death of O'Dogherty 56
A 'thick and short' war 58
A Donegal jury 60
Forfeitures 61
CHAPTER V
THE SETTLEMENT OF ULSTER
The tribal system 63
Chichester's plan of colonisation 66
Bacon on the settlement 67
The Scots in Ulster--Bishop Montgomery 68
Church and Crown 70
Chichester and Davies 71
British settlers invited 72
The natives neglected 74
The survey 75
Londonderry and Coleraine 76
Sir Thomas Phillips 77
Slow progress 78
English and Scots compared 79
Carew's prophecy 81
Settlers and natives 82
Bodley's and Pynnar's surveys 85
The Londoners' settlement 87
English, Scotch, and Irish 88
Optimism at Court 90
CHAPTER VI
CHICHESTER'S GOVERNMENT TO 1613
Sir John Davies on circuit 91
Uniformity in Ulster--Bishop Knox 97
Irish swordsmen deported to Sweden 99
Piracy on the Irish coast 101
CHAPTER VII
THE PARLIAMENT OF 1613-1615
No Parliament for 27 years 108
A Protestant majority 109
Roman Catholic opposition 110
Violent contest for the Speakership 112
Sir John Davies on the constitution 114
Patience of Chichester 116
Royal commission on grievances 117
Election petitions--new boroughs 118
Opposition delegates in London 120
Doctrines of Suarez: Talbot, Barnewall, and Luttrell 122
Rival churches--neglect of religion 122
Ploughing by the tail 124
Chichester found upright by the Commissioners 126
The King verbally promises toleration 127
But tries to explain away his language 128
Bacon as philosopher and Attorney-General 129
The King's speech on parliamentary law 130
Legislation 132
The Protestant majority insufficient 134
Taxes not easily collected 135
Legislation against the Recusants abandoned 136
James falls back upon prerogative 137
CHAPTER VIII
LAST YEARS OF CHICHESTER'S GOVERNMENT, 1613-1615
The Ormonde heritage 139
The MacDonnells in Antrim 141
Irish expedition to the Isles 142
Plot to surprise the Ulster settlements 145
Chichester recalled; his position and character 147
Death of Tyrone and Tyrconnel 149
CHAPTER IX
ST. JOHN AND FALKLAND, 1616-1625
St. John tries to enforce uniformity 150
Charter of Waterford forfeited 152
Plantation of Wexford 153
General dissatisfaction 156
Bishop Rothe's strictures 160
Plantation in Longford and King's County 162
The new plantations not successful 164
Plantation of Leitrim 166
Irish swordsmen in Poland 167
Unpopularity of St. John 168
Lord Deputy Falkland 169
Ussher and the civil power 170
Effect of the Spanish match in Ireland 171
Falkland's grievances 173
Death and character of James I. 174
CHAPTER X
EARLY YEARS OF CHARLES I., 1625-1632
Accession of Charles I. 175
Quarrel between Falkland and Loftus 175
The case of the O'Byrnes 176
Alleged plot of Lord Thurles 180
The 'graces' 180
The bishops declare toleration sinful 181
Irish soldiers in England 182
Poynings's law 183
Falkland recalled 184
Wentworth as a judge 185
The religious orders attacked 186
St. Patrick's Purgatory 188
CHAPTER XI
GOVERNMENT OF WENTWORTH, 1632-1634
Wentworth's antecedents 190
His alliance with Laud--'thorough' 192
His other friends 193
Conditions of Wentworth's appointment 195
His journey delayed by pirates 198
His arrival in Ireland 199
His opinion of the officials 201
First appearance of Ormonde 203
Reforms in the army 203
Church and State--Bishop Bramhall 205
Wentworth, Laud, and the Earl of Cork 206
Algerine pirates--sack of Baltimore 207
Wentworth suppresses piracy 209
CHAPTER XII
THE PARLIAMENT OF 1634
Wentworth's parliamentary policy 211
Wentworth and the Irish nobility 213
How to secure a majority 214
Parliamentary forms and ceremonies 215
Wentworth's speech 216
Supply voted 219
Wentworth refused an earldom 220
The 'graces' not confirmed 221
Parliamentary opposition overcome 222
Judicial functions of Parliament--Gookin's case 223
Taxation 226
Parliament dissolved 227
Convocation 227
The Thirty-nine Articles adopted 228
Wentworth successful in all directions 229
CHAPTER XIII
STRAFFORD AND THE ULSTER SCOTS
Rise of Presbyterianism in Ulster 231
Wentworth, Laud, and Bramhall 232
Bishop Adair's case 233
The Covenant 236
The Black Oath 238
Repression of the Presbyterians 239
A 'desperate doctrine' 242
Wentworth wishes to drive out the Scots 243
CHAPTER XIV
WENTWORTH'S PLANS OF FORFEITURE AND SETTLEMENT
Defective titles 245
Large colonisation schemes 246
Roscommon, Sligo, and Mayo submit 247
Resistance of Galway 249
Treatment of the Galway people--Clanricarde 250
Injustice of Wentworth's policy 251
Attack on the Londoners' plantation 252
CHAPTER XV
CASES OF MOUNTNORRIS, LOFTUS, AND OTHERS
Lord Wilmot's case 255
The Mountnorris case 256
Martial law in time of peace 257
Hard treatment of Mountnorris 261
Case of Lord Chancellor Loftus 264
Judgment of Royalist contemporaries 267
Wentworth and Lord Cork 268
Vindictive action of Wentworth 270
Sir Piers Crosbie's case 271
Wentworth and Trinity College 273
Provost Chappell 274
The Irish lecture abandoned 275
CHAPTER XVI
STRAFFORD'S GOVERNMENT, 1638-1640
Wentworth's account of his services 276
His power practically unchecked 278
Country life and game laws 279
Wentworth chief minister 281
Made Lord Lieutenant and Earl of Strafford 282
Meeting of an Irish Parliament 283
Supply voted 283
Declaration in praise of Strafford 284
CHAPTER XVII
STRAFFORD'S ARMY
Lord Antrim's plot against Scotland 285
Wentworth garrisons Carlisle 287
The new Irish army 288
Muster and disbanding 291
Danger from disbanded soldiers 292
Recruits for France and Spain 293
Owen Roe O'Neill and Preston 295
CHAPTER XVIII
TRIAL AND DEATH OF STRAFFORD
Wandesford as Strafford's Deputy 297
The Irish Parliament refractory 298
Strafford commander-in-chief 299
Strafford at York 300
His arrest 301
The Irish Parliament repudiate Strafford 302
Death of Wandesford 303
Trial of Strafford 304
Death and character of Strafford 308
CHAPTER XIX
THE REBELLION OF 1641
Parsons and Borlase Lords Justices 312
Roman Catholic majority in Parliament 313
Apprehensions of a rising 315
Rory O'More, Lord Maguire, and others 317
The plot to seize Dublin is frustrated 319
Outbreak in Ulster 320
The government weak 321
Ulster fugitives in Dublin 323
State of the Pale 326
Ormonde made general--Sir H. Tichborne 327
The Irish Parliament after the outbreak 329
The news reaches the English Parliament 330
And the King 330
Relief comes slowly 331
Monck, Grenville, Harcourt, and Coote 332
CHAPTER XX
PROGRESS OF THE REBELLION
Savage character of the contest 333
Conjectural estimates 334
The rising in Tyrone 335
In Armagh and Down 336
In Fermanagh 337
In Cavan--the O'Reillys 338
In Monaghan 342
The Portadown massacre 342
Imprisonment and death of Bedell 344
Irish victory at Julianstown 347
Belfast and Carrickfergus 348
The Pale joins the Ulster rebels 349
Meeting at Tara 350
Defence of Drogheda 351
Fire and sword in the Pale 357
MAP
Ireland in 1625, to illustrate colonization projects _to face p. 1_
[Illustration: IRELAND
IN 1625
GEORGE PHILIP & SON LTD.
_Longmans. Green & Co., London, New York, Bombay & Calcutta._]
IRELAND UNDER THE STUARTS
CHAPTER I
MOUNTJOY AND CAREY, 1603-1605
[Sidenote: Accession of James. The new era.]
[Sidenote: Submission of Tyrone.]
The change from Elizabeth to James I. marks the transition from an
heroic age to one very much the reverse. The new court was scandalous,
and after the younger Cecil's death public affairs were administered by
a smaller race of men, not one of whom gained the love or admiration
of his countrymen. Raleigh, the typical Elizabethan, spent thirteen
years in the Tower, and died on the scaffold. But outside the sphere
of politics the first Stuart reign must be regarded with interest, for
it saw the production of Shakespeare's finest plays and of Bacon's
chief works. Meanwhile England had peace, and silently prepared for
the great struggle. Eliot and Pym, Wentworth and Cromwell, were all
young men, and Milton was born some three years before Prospero drowned
his book. The great Queen died at Richmond very early on March 24. By
nine o'clock Sir Robert Carey was spurring northwards with the news,
and King James was proclaimed in London the same morning. It was not
until the next day that Cecil found time to send Sir Henry Danvers to
Ireland, but the news had preceded the official messenger by a full
week, so that Mountjoy was quite prepared. Danvers landed at Dublin
on April 5, and within an hour after the delivery of his letters King
James was duly proclaimed. Oddly enough, Tyrone, who had reached Dublin
the day before, was the only peer of Ireland present, and he signed the
proclamation which was circulated in the country. Three days later he
made submission on his knees to the new sovereign, 'solemnly swearing
upon a book to perform every part thereof, as much as lay in his power;
and if he could not perform any part thereof he vowed to put his body
into the King's hands, to be disposed at his pleasure.' The earl's
submission was ample in substance, and humble enough in form; but Sir
William Godolphin, who had brought him to Dublin, warned the English
Government that he would not remain a good subject unless he were
treated reasonably.[1]
[Sidenote: Excitement about the King's religion.]
[Sidenote: Agitation in the towns.]
Neither his relations with his own mother nor with Queen Elizabeth
had given any reason to suppose that the new king was attached to
the religion of Rome. Tyrone had offered his services to James years
before, and was told that he would be reminded of this when it should
please God 'to call our sister the Queen of England to death.' After
his raid in Munster Tyrone wrote in rather a triumphant strain, but
still obsequiously, to the King of Scots. This did not prevent James
from offering his help to Elizabeth when the Spaniards took Kinsale,
for which she thanked him. A rumour that his Majesty was a Catholic
was nevertheless widely circulated in Ireland, and caused a strange
ferment in the corporate towns. Much stress was also laid upon his
descent from ancient Irish kings. During the Queen's later years mass
had been freely celebrated in private houses, and a strong effort was
now generally made to celebrate it publicly in the churches. Jesuits,
seminaries, and friars, says the chronicler Farmer, 'now came abroad in
open show, bringing forth old rotten stocks and stones of images, &c.'
The agitation was strong in Kilkenny, Thomastown, Waterford, Limerick,
Cork, and in the smaller Munster towns; and even Drogheda, 'which since
the conquest was never spotted with the least jot of disloyalty,' did
not altogether escape the contagion. In the latter town a chapel had
long been connived at, but the municipal officers firmly repressed the
agitation and even committed a man who had ventured to express a hope
of open toleration. Mountjoy declared himself satisfied, but a note in
his hand shows that he was still suspicious. Probably he thought it
wiser not to have north and south upon his hands at the same time.[2]
[Sidenote: Disturbances at Kilkenny and Thomastown.]
[Sidenote: Kilkenny and other towns submit.]
On the evening of March 26, Carey reached Holyrood with the news of
Queen Elizabeth's death, and on the 28th Mountjoy was appointed Lord
Deputy by Privy Seal. Before this was known in Ireland the Council
there had elected him Lord Justice according to ancient precedent;
so that practically there was no interregnum. Ulster was now almost
quiet, and the Viceroy could draw enough troops from thence to make
any resistance by the corporate towns quite hopeless. On April 27
he marched southwards with about 1,200 foot, of whom one-third were
Irish, and 200 horse. At Leighlin he was joined by Ormonde, who had
been opposed by the Kilkenny people acting under the advice of Dr.
James White of Waterford, a Jesuit, and of a Dominican friar named
Edmund Barry, who was said to be James Fitzmaurice's son. Ormonde was
accompanied by Sir Richard Shee, the sovereign, who was an adherent of
his, and Mountjoy was easily induced to pardon the townsmen upon their
making humble submission. Dr. White was vicar-apostolic in Waterford,
and his authority seems to have been recognised in Ossory also, there
being at this time no papal bishop in either diocese. He forbade the
people to hear mass privately, and enjoined them to celebrate it
openly in the churches, some of which he reconsecrated. Barry went
so far as to head a mob in attacking the suppressed convent of his
order, which was used as a sessions-house. The benches and fittings
were broken up, and the conqueror said mass in the desecrated church.
This friar came to Mountjoy, said that he had believed himself to
be acting in a way agreeable to the King, and promised to offend no
further now that his Majesty's pleasure to the contrary was known. The
Lord Deputy did not enter Kilkenny, but went straight to Thomastown,
which had behaved in the same way. The town being small and penitent,
it was thought punishment enough that the army should halt there for
the night. Wexford had already fully submitted by letter, and Mountjoy
marched from Thomastown to within four miles of Waterford, and there he
encamped on the fourth day after leaving Dublin.[3]
[Sidenote: Mountjoy at Waterford.]
[Sidenote: Odium theologicum]
[Sidenote: An absolute monarch.]
The Suir at Waterford was unbridged until 1794, and the citizens
doubtless thought that Mountjoy would be long delayed upon the left
bank. But Ormonde, who had proclaimed King James at Carrick some weeks
before, now brought enough boats from that place to carry over the
whole army. Mountjoy encamped at Gracedieu, about a mile and a half
above the city. There could now be no question of resistance, but some
of the citizens came out and pleaded that by King John's charter they
were not obliged to admit either English rebel or Irish enemy, though
they would receive the Deputy and his suite. As against a viceroy
this argument was in truth ridiculous, and the Lord Deputy had only
to say that his was the army which had suppressed both rebels and
enemies. If resistance were offered he would cut King John's charter
with King James's sword. It was then urged that the mayor had no force
to restrain the mob unless the popular leaders could be gained over.
Mountjoy consented to see Dr. White--who had just preached a sermon
at St. Patrick's, in which he called Queen Elizabeth Jezebel--and
a Dominican friar who had acted with him. Sir Nicholas Walsh the
recorder had been pulled down from the market cross when he attempted
to proclaim King James, and Sir Richard Aylward, who was a Protestant,
had escaped with difficulty, some citizens expressing regret that they
had not both lost their heads. Walsh thought he owed his preservation
more to having relations among the crowd than to any dregs of loyal
compunction. The Jesuit and the Dominican now came to the camp in full
canonicals and with a cross borne before them, which Mountjoy at once
ordered to be lowered. White fell on his knees, protesting his loyalty
and acknowledging the King's right. A discussion arose as to the
lawfulness of resistance to the royal authority, and the book learning
which Essex had made a reproach to Mountjoy now stood him in good
stead. According to one not very probable account, the Lord Deputy had
a copy of St. Augustine in his tent, and convicted White of misquoting
that great authority. 'My master,' he said, 'is by right of descent an
absolute King, subject to no prince or power upon the earth; and if it
be lawful for his subjects upon any cause to raise arms against him,
and deprive him of his regal authority, he is not then an absolute
King, but hath only _precarium imperium_. This is our opinion of the
Church of England, and in this point many of your own great doctors
agree with us.' James was of course no absolute king in our sense of
the word, for he had no power to impose taxes; but the long reign of
Elizabeth, the wisdom which had on the whole distinguished her, and
the terrible dangers from which she saved England, had taught men to
look upon the sceptre as the only protection against anarchy or foreign
rule. Experience of Stuart kingcraft was destined to modify public
opinion.[4]
[Sidenote: Submission of Waterford.]
White was allowed to return to Waterford, being plainly told that he
would be proclaimed a traitor unless he pronounced it unlawful for
subjects to resist their sovereign. The prospect of being hanged by
martial law quickened his theological perceptions, and he came back
after nightfall with the required declaration. Lord Power also came to
make peace for the townsmen, and Mountjoy promised to intercede for
them with the King. Next morning the gates were occupied, at one of
which the acting mayor surrendered the keys and the civic sword. The
latter was restored to the corporation, but the keys were handed to
the provost-martial. Sir Richard Aylward was brought back in triumph,
bearing the King's sword before the Viceroy, who grimly remarked that
he would leave a garrison of 150 men in one of the gate-towers so that
the mob might not again prove too strong for the mayor. An oath of
allegiance was generally taken even by the priests, but White and two
other Jesuits seem to have avoided putting their names to it. Mountjoy
notes with just pride that his soldiers, drawn out of the hungry north
and excited by the hope of plunder, did not do one pennyworth of
mischief in the city, though provisions were exorbitantly dear. The
place was at their mercy all day, but the whole force, except the 150
men, evacuated it in perfect order before nightfall.[5]
[Sidenote: Religious differences in the Pale and elsewhere.]
The Irish Catholics were at this time more or less persecuted, and
toleration is so excellent a thing that the historical conscience
is likely to be in favour of those who claimed it. But in the then
state of Ireland it is doubtful whether the public exercise of both
religions was possible. The sovereign of Wexford said his fellow
townsmen would have been satisfied with the use of one church without
any meddling with tithes or other property of the Establishment.
But the ultramontane priests, though they might have provisionally
accepted this in some large towns, aimed at complete supremacy, and
they were the real popular guides. Mr. Pillsworth, the parson of Naas,
when he saw the people flocking to high mass, fled to Dublin and
thence to England. He may have been a timid man, but his terror was
not altogether unfounded. At Navan, another clergyman named Sotherne,
accompanied by several gentlemen, saw two friars in the dress of their
order and began to question them in the King's name. 'James, King of
Scotland,' said the elder of the two in Latin, 'is a heretic; may he
perish with thee and with all who have authority under him.' Sotherne
charged him with high treason, but the constable was foiled by the
mob who gathered round him. 'Thy companions,' said the friar, 'are no
Christians since they suffer thee among them,' and he repeated this
several times in Irish for the benefit of the bystanders. A Mr. Wafer,
who said he had known the friar for twenty years, and that he was an
honest man, rebuked Sotherne as a 'busy companion,' and pointedly
observed that he would get no witnesses to support his charge of
treason. As some of the crowd seemed bent on violence, Sotherne bade
the constable do nothing for this time, and so returned to his lodging.
He remonstrated afterwards with Wafer, who said that he 'thought
no less, but I would grow a promoter, and that was cousin-german
to a knave; wishing his curse upon all those that would assist in
apprehending either friar or priest.' And popular opinion was entirely
on Mr. Wafer's side.[6]
[Sidenote: A Jesuit report on Ireland.]
But perhaps the best testimony is that of two Irish Jesuits, writing
to their own general, and not intending that profane eyes should ever
see what they had written:--'From our country we learn for certain
that the Queen of England's death being known in Waterford, Cork, and
Clonmel, principal towns of the kingdom, the ministers' books were
burned and the ministers themselves hunted away, and that thereupon
masses and processions were celebrated as frequently and upon as grand
a scale as in Rome herself. The Viceroy did not like this, and sent
soldiers to garrison those towns, as he supposed, but the beauty of it
is that those very soldiers vied with each other in attending masses
and Catholic sermons. In the metropolitan city of Cashel, to which we
belong, there was one solitary English heretic, and, on the news of the
Queen's death being received, they threatened him with fire and every
other torment if he would not be converted. Fearing to be well scorched
he made himself a Catholic, whereupon the townsmen burned his house, so
that even a heretic's house should not remain in their city. But when
the Viceroy came near enough to threaten Cashel, and the Englishmen
came forward to accuse the townsmen, he merely ordered them to rebuild
the house at their own expense.... I only beg your Paternity to show
this letter to the most illustrious and most reverend Primate of
Armagh (Peter Lombard), and to excuse me for not having written to him
specially because I am unwilling to multiply letters in these dangerous
times.'[7]
[Sidenote: Insurrectionary movement at Cork.]
[Sidenote: Refusal to proclaim King James.]
[Sidenote: Tardy submission]
The mere approach of Mountjoy was enough to overawe Cashel, Clonmel,
and the other inland towns. Limerick was bridled by the castle, and the
disorders there did not come to much. But at Cork things took a much
more serious turn. When leaving Ireland Carew had left his presidential
authority in the hands of Commissioners, of whom Sir Charles Wilmot was
the chief. The corporation of Cork now declared that the Commissioners'
authority ceased on the demise of the Crown, and that they were
sovereign within their own liberties. Captain Robert Morgan arrived
at Cork on April 11 with a copy of the proclamation and orders for
the Commissioners from Mountjoy. Wilmot was in Kerry stamping out the
embers of Lord Fitzmaurice's insurrection, and Sir George Thornton, who
was next in rank, called upon the civic authorities to proclaim King
James. Thomas Sarsfield was mayor, and he might have obeyed but for the
advice of William Meade, the recorder, who defied Thornton to exercise
any authority within the city, reminding him that too great alacrity in
proclaiming Perkin Warbeck had brought great evils upon the kingdom.
Being rebuked by Boyle for breaking out into violent language, he
replied that there were thousands ready to break out. Power was claimed
under the charter to delay for some days, and Meade sent a messenger
to Waterford for information as though the Lord Deputy's letters were
unworthy of credit. Captain Morgan vainly urged that he had himself
been present when Ormonde, the most cautious of men, had proclaimed
the King at Carrick-on-Suir. Thornton and the other Commissioners,
including Chief Justice Walsh and Saxey the provincial Chief Justice,
were kept walking about in the streets while the corporation wasted
time, and at last they were told that no answer could be given until
next day. The mayor and recorder protested their loyalty, but pretended
among other things that time was necessary to enable them to make due
preparation. In vain did Thornton and his legal advisers insist on the
danger of delay, and upon the absurdity of Cork refusing to do what
London and Dublin had done instantly. Meade would listen to nothing;
and one clear day having elapsed since Morgan's arrival, Thornton
went with his colleagues and about 800 persons to the top of a hill
outside the town, where he solemnly proclaimed King James. Lord Roche
was present, and the country folk seemed quite satisfied. The mayor
soon followed suit at the market cross. The ceremonial of which the
corporation had made so much was only the drinking of a hogshead of
wine by the people, and no doubt that was a function which the citizens
were always ready to perform at the shortest notice.[8]
[Sidenote: Cork in possession of the Recusants.]
Mass was now openly celebrated, the churches reconsecrated in the
recorder's presence, and the Ten Commandments in the cathedral scraped
out so as to make some old pictures visible. The town was full of
priests and friars, one of whom claimed legatine authority, and
'they had the cross carried like a standard before them throughout
the streets,' every one being forced to reverence it. It was openly
preached that James was no perfect king until he had been confirmed
by the Pope, and that the Infanta's title was in any case better.
Gradually these tumultuary proceedings ripened into open insurrection,
and 200 young men in two companies were ordered to be armed and
maintained by the citizens. It was indeed proposed to arm the whole
population from twelve to twenty-four years, but there was not time
for this. Lieutenant Christopher Murrough, who had served the League
in France, was active during the whole disturbance. The mayor, who
vacillated between expressions of loyalty and acts of disrespect to the
new sovereign, had evidently the idea of a free city in his head, and
said he was 'like the slavish Duke of Venice and could not rule the
multitude.'[9]
[Sidenote: A street procession.]
'I myself,' says an eye-witness, 'saw in Cork on Good Friday a
procession wherein priests and friars came out of Christ's Church with
the mayor and aldermen, and best of citizens going along the streets
from gate to gate all singing, and about forty young men counterfeiting
to whip themselves. I must needs say counterfeiting because I saw them
(although bare-footed and bare-legged), yet their breeches and doublets
were upon them, and over that again fair white sheets, everyone having
a counterfeit whip in his hand--I say a counterfeit whip because
they are made of little white sticks, everyone having four or five
strings of soft white leather neither twisted nor knotted--and always
as their chief priest ended some verses which he sung in Latin these
counterfeits would answer _miserere mei_, and therewith lay about their
shoulders, sides, and backs with those counterfeit whips; but I never
saw one drop of blood drawn, therefore their superstition is far worse
than the Spaniards', who do use such whipping upon their bare skin,
that the blood doth follow in abundance, which they do in a blind zeal,
and yet it is far better than those counterfeits did.'[10]
[Sidenote: The citizens arm themselves,]
[Sidenote: And bombard Shandon.]
Cork was then a walled town, but being commanded by high ground can
never have been strong. Outside the south gate and bridge and not far
from where the Passage railway station now stands Carew had begun to
build a fort with the double object of overawing the town and of
intercepting a foreign enemy. After the battle of Kinsale the work
had been discontinued, and no guns were mounted. The north gate was
commanded by Shandon Castle, which was in safe hands. The east and west
sides of the city were bounded by the river, which ran among marshy
islands. The approach from the open sea was partly protected by a
fort on Haulbowline Island, at the point where the Lee begins finally
to widen out into the great harbour, and the seditious citizens had
visions of destroying this stronghold, which the recorder pronounced
useless and hurtful to the corporation. Inside the town and near
the north gate was an old tower known as Skiddy's Castle, used as
a magazine for ammunition and provisions. The citizens refused to
allow stores to be carried out to the soldiers and at the same time
obliged them to remain outside. One alleged grievance was that two
guns belonging to the corporation were detained at Haulbowline, and
Thornton against Boyle's advice exchanged them for two in the town
which belonged to the King. Lieutenant Murrough was placed in charge
of Skiddy's Castle, every Englishman's house was searched for powder,
'a priest being forward in each of these several searches,' and the
inmates expected a general massacre. Sir George Thornton left the town,
Lady Carew took refuge in Shandon, and Lord Thomond's company was sent
for. Wilmot arrived with his men when the disturbances had lasted for
more than a week, but the townsmen would not listen to reason, and
began to demolish Carew's unfinished fort. The recorder admitted that
he had instigated this act of violence. Wilmot took forcible possession
of the work, but forbade firing into the town on pain of death. The
inhabitants then broke out into open war, sent round shot through the
Bishop's palace where the Commissioners lodged, and killed a clergyman
who was walking past. They severely cannonaded Shandon, but, as Lady
Carew reported, 'never did any harm to wall or creature in it,' and did
not frighten her in the least.
On May 5 Thornton brought up a piece of Spanish artillery from
Haulbowline, and when three or four shots had pierced houses inside
the walls, a truce was made. Five days later Mountjoy arrived.[11]
[Sidenote: Violent proceedings of the citizens.]
The question of a legal toleration for the Roman Catholics and of
municipal freedom for the town had been carefully mixed up together,
and the possession of all Government stores by the citizens made the
rising troublesome for the moment if not actually formidable. The chief
commissary, Mr. Allen Apsley, was the mayor's prisoner from April 28 to
May 10, and his evidence fortunately exists. First there was an attempt
to get the troops out of the neighbourhood by refusing provisions which
were undoubtedly the King's property. At last it was agreed that the
stores should be removed by water to Kinsale, but the opportunity was
taken to extort an extravagant freight, and when the vessel was laden
she was not allowed to leave the quay. After Wilmot's arrival on April
20 or 21, it was pretended that he wished to get possession of the
town by treachery, and the mayor said he was 'as good a man and as
good a gentleman as Sir Charles Wilmot, if the King would but knight
him, and give him 200 men in pay, and the like idle comparisons.' Four
days later this valiant doge had guns mounted on the gates, and the
provisions and powder were disembarked again. The mayor first tried
to make Apsley swear to answer all his questions, and on his refusal
confined him to his own house. Two days later the recorder put him
into the common gaol, and bail was refused. There seems to have been
an attempt to make out that Apsley had committed treason by helping
Wilmot to get possession of the stores, but of this even there was no
proof.[12]
[Sidenote: Cork garrisoned by Mountjoy.]
[Sidenote: Meade acquitted by a jury.]
Meade and his party strongly urged that Mountjoy should be forcibly
resisted, but more prudent counsels prevailed, and the town had to
receive a garrison of 1,000 men. The chief points having been occupied
by his soldiers, the Lord Deputy entered by the north gate, and
saw ploughs ranged on both sides of the street as if to show that
the extortion of the soldiers had made the land lie idle. The old
leaguer Murrough, a schoolmaster named Owen MacRedmond, who had openly
maintained the Infanta's title, and William Bowler, a brogue-maker,
were hanged by martial law. The recorder, who had land, was reserved
for trial, and was ultimately acquitted by a jury at Youghal, though he
was undoubtedly guilty of treason by levying war. The foreman was fined
200_l._ and the rest 100_l._ apiece, but it became evident that no
verdict could be expected in any case where matters of religion might
be supposed in question. Meade went abroad and remained in the Spanish
dominions for many years. He is heard of at Naples, too poor to buy
clothes for a servant, but in 1607 he was at Barcelona and receiving a
pension of 11_l._ per month. In 1611 he wrote a letter of advice to the
Catholics of Munster, grounded on the Act 2 Eliz., chap. 2, in which
he showed that they were not bound to go to church, but the attempt to
enforce attendance had then been practically abandoned.[13]
[Sidenote: Departure of Mountjoy. Carey Deputy.]
[Sidenote: Sir John Davies Solicitor-General.]
Mountjoy left Ireland on June 2, 1604, after being sworn in as Lord
Lieutenant, and he never returned. He was created Earl of Devonshire,
and continued till his death to have a decisive voice in the affairs
of the country which he had reduced. Vice-Treasurer Sir George Carey
was made Deputy, and was at once engaged with the currency question,
for the state of the coinage had furnished a pretext to the Munster
malcontents, and may really have had something to do with their late
proceedings. He soon had the help of Sir John Davies, a native of
Wiltshire, whose name is inseparably connected with Irish history, but
who had been hitherto better known as a poet than as a statesman. It
was perhaps the striking example of Hatton's promotion that made the
young barrister sing of dancing, but it was a poem on the immortality
of the soul which attracted the King's attention. Devonshire wished him
to be made Solicitor-General for Ireland, and James readily complied.
He arrived in November, and found the country richer than he supposed
after all the wars, but suffering from the uncertainty caused by a base
coinage.
[Sidenote: Reform of the currency.]
The money issued in 1601 contained only 25 per cent. of silver, but
it was easily counterfeited with a much greater alloy, and interested
people gave out that it contained no silver at all. Soon after his
accession James consented to revert to the old practice of Ireland, and
to establish a currency containing 75 per cent. of silver; but this was
ordered by proclamation to be received as sterling. The name sterling
had hitherto been applied to the much purer coinage of England, and a
new element of confusion was thus introduced. The base coin of 1601 was
cried down at the same time, so that a shilling should be received for
fourpence of the new money. When Davies arrived he found that people
would not take the dross even at the reduced rate, and they were even
more unwilling to do so when another proclamation cried down the new
and comparatively pure shillings also from twelvepence to ninepence.
The King had granted 20,000 pardons in a few months, but Davies was
of opinion that he would gain more popularity by giving twopence for
every bad shilling and then recalling the whole issue than by all
his clemency. The Solicitor-General could speak feelingly, his fees
on all the pardons being paid in copper, while the royal revenue was
in the same way reduced almost to nothing. Soldiers and officials
were the greatest losers, for they had to take what the proclamations
allowed, while traders could not be forced to do so. A few were sent to
prison for refusing, but this only caused discontent without securing
obedience, and there was a riot at Galway. The matter was brought to a
crisis by a case decided in the summer of 1604.[14]
[Sidenote: The case of mixed money.]
[Sidenote: Inconvenience of separate Exchequers.]
The bad money was proclaimed current in May 1601, and in April, while
the pure coin of England was still current in Ireland, one Brett of
Drogheda, merchant, having bought wares from one Gilbert, in London,
became bound to Gilbert for 200_l._ on condition to pay the said
Gilbert, his executors or assigns 100_l._ sterling current and lawful
money of England at the tomb of Earl Strongbow in Christchurch, Dublin,
on a certain future day, which day happened after the said proclamation
of mixed monies. On that day Brett tendered 100_l._ in mixed money of
the new standard. The question was whether this tender was good. Sir
George Carey, being Deputy and Vice-Treasurer, ordered the case to be
stated for the judges who were of the Privy Council, and they decided
after an immense display of learning that Brett had rightly tendered in
the only lawful money of Ireland, that Gilbert was worthy of punishment
for refusing to receive it, and that the Irish judges could take
cognisance of no money except what was established by proclamation.
The several courts of record in Dublin accepted this as law, and all
the cases pending were so decided. In other words, Ireland repudiated
the greater part of her debts. The situation created was intolerable,
for credit was destroyed; but it was not till the beginning of 1605
that the English Government made up its mind that the various kinds of
coin in Ireland might be lawfully current for their true value. In 1607
English money was made legal tender in Ireland at the rate of sixteen
pence Irish to the shilling. All who knew the country best wished to
have one coinage for England and Ireland, but official hindrances were
constantly interposed, and the difficulty was not got over until after
the unification of the two Exchequers in 1820. Some establishment
charges are still paid with deductions for the difference between old
Irish and sterling money.[15]
[Sidenote: Sir Arthur Chichester Lord Deputy.]
Carey retained the Vice-Treasurership along with the acting
Viceroyalty, the power of the sword and of the purse being thus held
in a single hand. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that
charges of extortion should have been brought against him, and that he
should be accused of having become very rich by unlawful means. He had
only one-third of the viceregal salary, two-thirds being reserved for
Devonshire as Lord-Lieutenant. There is no evidence that Salisbury or
Davies gave much credit to the charges against Carey, who was himself
anxious to be relieved, and who suggested that Sir Arthur Chichester
should fill his place. Chichester, who had gained his experience as
Governor of Carrickfergus, at first refused on the ground that he could
not live on one-third of the regular salary, and he was given an extra
1,000_l._ per annum with 500_l._ for immediate expenses. He remained at
the head of the Irish Government until 1616.[16]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy Council, April 6; Tyrone to
Cecil, April 7; submission of Tyrone, April 8; Godolphin to Carew,
April 19. Farmer's chronicle of this reign begins at p. 40 of _MS.
Harl._ 3544 with a panegyric on 'Elizabeth the virgin Queen and flower
of Christendom that hath been feared for love and honoured for virtue,
beloved of her subjects and feared of her enemies, magnified among
princes and famozed through the world for justice and equity.' Since
these chapters were written Farmer's book has been printed by Mr.
Litton Falkiner in vol. xxii. of the _English Historical Review_.
[2] In _Cambrensis Eversus_, published in 1662, John Lynch says 'the
Irish no longer wished to resist James (especially as they believed
that he would embrace the Catholic religion), and submitted not
unwillingly to his rule, as to one whom they knew to be of Irish royal
blood,' iii. 53. Lynch was a priest in 1622. Stephen Duff, Mayor of
Drogheda, to the Lord Deputy and Council, April 13; Mountjoy to Cecil,
April 19, 25 and 26; Francis Bryan, sovereign of Wexford, to Mountjoy,
April 23. James VI. to Tyrone, December 22, 1597, in _Lansdowne MSS._
lxxxiv. Tyrone to James VI., April 1600 in the Elizabethan S.P.
_Scotland_. _Letters of Elizabeth and James_, Camden Society, p. 141.
Farmer's _Chronicle_.
[3] Muster of the army, April 27; Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy
Council, Mountjoy to Cecil, and Sir G. Carey to Cecil, May 4; Humphrey
May to Cecil, May 5.
[4] Authorities last quoted; also Smith's _Waterford_.
[5] Authorities last quoted; also Hogan's _Hibernia Ignatiana_, p. 121.
[6] Hogan's _Hibernia Ignatiana_, p. 118; Declaration of Edward
Sotherne, June 16.
[7] Barnabas Kearney and David Wale to Aquaviva (Italian), July 7,
1603, from London, in _Hibernia Ignatiana_, p. 117. The burning of the
service-book is mentioned in the official correspondence.
[8] Brief Declaration in _Carew_, 1603, No. 5; account written by
Richard Boyle in _Lismore Papers_, 2nd series, i. 43. As clerk of the
Munster Council Boyle was an eye-witness of all these proceedings.
Moryson's _Itinerary_, part ii. book iii. chap. 2.
[9] Brief Relation in _Carew_, 1603, No. 5; Irish State Papers
calendared from April 20 to May 14; _Lismore Papers_, 2nd series, i.
43-73; Mountjoy to the Mayor of Cork, May 4, in _Cox_, p. 7. The full
account in Smith's _Cork_ is mainly founded on the Lismore collection.
Lady Carew's letter of May 5, 1603, among the State Papers and Lady
Boyle's of March 18, 1609, in the Lismore Papers are both printed
verbatim, and are interesting to compare as specimens of ladies'
composition.
[10] Farmer's Chronicle in _MS. Harl._ 3544. Farmer was a surgeon.
[11] Authorities last quoted.
[12] Apsley's account in _Lismore Papers_, 2nd series, i. 66.
[13] Notices of Meade in the Calendars of State Papers, _Ireland_,
especially No. 355 of 1611, where his tract is entered as among the
Cotton MSS. There is another copy in the Bodleian, _Laudian MSS._ Misc.
612, f. 143. The proceedings at Meade's trial are calendared under
1603, No. 184.
[14] Davies to Cecil, December 1, 1603; proclamations calendared at
October 11 and December 3.
[15] _Le Case de Mixt Moneys_, Trin. 2 Jacobi in Davies' Reports, 1628;
State of the Irish coin, calendared at June 12, 1606; Lord Deputy
Chichester and Council to the Privy Council, calendared at March 2,
1607.
[16] Chichester was sworn in February 3, 1604-5.