GOVERNMENT OF TYRCONNEL, 1687-1688
[Sidenote: Tyrconnel Lord Deputy, February 1687.]
James forced Sheridan upon Tyrconnel as secretary, and made him
chief commissioner of revenue to make the Irish service worth his
while. Clarendon thought him a 'wicked, cheating man,' and the new
Lord Deputy objected to him, not on that ground, though he accused
him of dishonesty, but because he knew he was sent to be a drag
on him. He could not avoid taking him, but did so with a very ill
grace, advising him to give up drinking, and not imitate Sir Ellis
Leighton or Mr. Ellis, 'the first having ruined Lord Berkeley, and
the other, the blackest and most corrupt of villains, my Lord Arran.'
Sheridan answered that he was the most abstemious of men, that he
abhorred corruption, and that for all he cared Tyrconnel might give
the secretary's place to his nephew, Sir William Talbot. He at first
refused to go unless he had a seat at the Irish Council, but Tyrconnel
said he had asked the King for this and been refused. Nevertheless,
when Lord Bridgeman spoke about it to James, he at once consented,
saying that Tyrconnel had never mentioned the matter to him. In January
the new Viceroy and Sheridan were at Chester, where Cartwright was
now installed as bishop, along with Richard and Anthony Hamilton and
two Irish lords. Fitton joined them at Holyhead, and they all talked
of Irish affairs while waiting for a wind. Tyrconnel suggested that
Christ Church should be taken from the Protestants, that a Catholic
militia should be raised and trained, and that Catholics should fill
all places. Sheridan and Fitton disagreed, 'both of them knowing
these things were contrary to His Majesty's intentions and interest.'
It is clear that they were against his interest, but not that they
were against his intentions. On reaching Dublin, Sheridan was sent
to Clarendon with the King's letter of recall, repeating one from
Sunderland in which he was directed to give up the sword to Tyrconnel
within a week of his arrival. Before he received the sword, and
while still a private person, the latter demanded the surrender for
punishment of one of Clarendon's servants who had attributed the
change to the dog Talbot. Tyrconnel was sworn in as Deputy, not Lord
Lieutenant, on February 12, and Clarendon was Cartwright's guest at
Chester a few days later. He heard a sermon from Mr. Peake in the
cathedral on the duties of governors, and it seems not to have been
pleasant, for the bishop thought of suspending the preacher, though
both Lord Derby and Mr. Cholmondeley interceded for him. Ten days
afterwards Cartwright sent his carriage to meet Porter, and found the
ex-Chancellor's children 'set in a stage-coach broke in the quicksands
three miles from Chester.' They were rescued, and next day their father
and mother were brought safely from Neston.[158]
[Sidenote: The Coventry letter.]
When Nagle left Ireland it was thought probable that he would return as
Attorney-General, and that part of his business would be to attack the
Act of Settlement. The King had assured Clarendon that it 'must always
be kept untouched, though many ill and disaffected people are secured
in their possessions by it.' Nagle was back in November, and neither
then or later did Clarendon have any intimation from the English
Government that a change of policy was intended. It was not until
January, shortly before his recall, that he received through private
hands the copy of a letter from Nagle to Tyrconnel purporting to have
been written on the road at Coventry, but doubtless composed in London
as the result of careful deliberation. In it the Acts of Settlement and
Explanation and the administration of them were vigorously attacked.
About the same time the Benedictine Philip Ellis, afterwards Bishop
of Segni, was allowed, or, as some thought, bribed, by the Irish in
London to preach at St. James's against the Acts. Tyrconnel admitted
that he had inspired the sermon and promised Ellis the bishopric of
Waterford as a reward. The contents of Nagle's letter were known in
Ireland before Clarendon got his copy, and the writer complained of its
surreptitious publication. Tyrconnel had the original, and his denial
is worth little. Both letter and sermon were disliked by moderate men,
but they evidently foreshadowed extreme measures. Less than a year
after the date of Nagle's manifesto, Barillon knew that James had made
secret preparations for repealing the Act of Settlement.[159]
[Sidenote: The Land Settlement threatened.]
The commission of grace issued less than eleven months before the
late King's death expired with him. The court constituted by it had
not time to do much, but it excited hopes and fears, for the old
proprietors expected to get money in exchange for their claims,
while the men in possession saw that their titles were endangered.
Clarendon found men's minds much disturbed, and thought the best way
to quiet the country would be to renew the commission. He believed
the Protestant holders under the Act of Settlement, as well as the
many Roman Catholics who had bought land from them, would be willing
to pay well for confirmation of their titles, and 150,000_l._ might
thus be raised to compensate the most deserving sufferers. Lord
Chancellor Porter sounded the men of his own profession, and found
them generally favourable to such a policy. Chief Justice Keating was
strongly of that opinion, and at first James seemed inclined to agree,
but contrary influences prevailed, and Clarendon was informed that the
King preferred a parliament to a commission. He was to take counsel
with Tyrconnel and others as to how much landowners would be willing
to pay for clear titles, with a suggestion that the parliamentary way
might bring in the larger amount. Rice and Nagle supported Tyrconnel,
who inveighed against the idea of a commission with much cursing and
swearing, holding that it would bring in little money, 'but would
confirm those estates which ought not to be confirmed.' In the meantime
many secret meetings were held among the Roman Catholics. A letter
found at Christ Church after morning prayer on the last day of August
professed to be written by one who 'politically went to mass' in order
to gain admission to these conclaves, which he said were attended by
nine bishops, ten Jesuits, and eighteen friars, and that letters were
received from the Queen, from Lord Castlemaine, from the Pope and
cardinals, and from the King of France. All this was no doubt greatly
exaggerated, and the writer's name did not transpire, but Clarendon
knew from other sources that there were many private consultations at
which Tyrconnel attended, and that at one of these it was resolved
to send Nagle to England. When he returned, after having written the
Coventry letter, there was more uneasiness than ever, and he soon
became Attorney-General, displacing Domville, who had held that office
ever since the Restoration. As a practising lawyer, says Archbishop
King, Nagle 'was employed by many Protestants, so that he knew the weak
part of most of their titles.'[160]
[Sidenote: Protestant corporations attacked.]
In order to carry out their policy, James and Tyrconnel saw that an
Irish Parliament would have to be called, and one of a very different
character from the last. There were thirty-two counties, in each
of which the freeholders were entitled to return two members, and
one hundred cities and boroughs where two members were eligible by
the burgesses. In the counties Government could generally maintain
itself through subservient sheriffs, and it was resolved to attack
the charters in virtue of which the boroughs existed. The process of
transforming the municipalities by prerogative alone began as early
as June 1686, when Tyrconnel brought over a letter from the King
directing the Lord Lieutenant to admit freemen without tendering the
oath of supremacy. Even the English oath of allegiance was thought
too strict, and he was ordered to be satisfied with a shorter oath
of fidelity. Acting by the advice of Judge Daly and other reasonable
Roman Catholic Privy Councillors, Clarendon aimed at appointing
English and Irish in equal numbers, 'which they say is the best way
to unite and make them live friendly together.' Had this wise course
been persevered in, an understanding might have been arrived at, but
Tyrconnel's faction thought the mere fact of being a Roman Catholic was
qualification enough for anything. As it was, all who could make out
any sort of hereditary claim were accepted as freemen, though they did
not live in the towns and were engaged in no trade or business.[161]
Those who were encouraging James to take extreme measures tried to make
out that most Irish Protestants were Cromwellian fanatics or their
descendants. Clarendon said that there were not many adventurers or
soldiers, nor many of their children remaining. Land had been freely
bought by men who wanted to make fortunes by buying in a cheap market.
These new purchasers and the representatives of settlers before 1640
formed the bulk of the colony, six-sevenths of the trade being in
their hands. They had hitherto had things much their own way, but it
was now determined to humble them to the dust. By the statutory rules
made under Essex, every mayor or other municipal officer was required
to take the oath of supremacy, but might be dispensed from so doing by
name and in writing by the Lord Lieutenant and Council. The result of
these rules had been to keep the Protestants in power, though the Roman
Catholics, scattered for the most part in the country, but claiming
the hereditary freedom of old towns, were more numerous. Corporations
of recent origin had been the creation of the colonists, and had
always been in Protestant hands. The changes made by Clarendon were
considerable, but the process was too slow for a man of James's temper.
In August he summoned Tyrconnel to meet him at Chester. The King was
attended by Sunderland, and the Deputy by Nagle, Rice, William Ellis,
and a Jesuit named Johnson. Richard Hamilton was also at Chester.
Tyrconnel wished to keep Sheridan back in Ireland, but orders came from
Sunderland that he was to come over, and they went on to Shrewsbury
together to meet James, who sent for Sheridan early next morning, and
told him he should expect a full report at Chester. There were heated
discussions about the Act of Settlement, but no decision was come to.
'God damn you,' said Tyrconnel, 'for making you a Privy Councillor!'
to which the secretary replied that the King made him. The Deputy
then damned himself for making him secretary, and told him to go to
the devil. Rice and Nagle tried to smooth matters by attributing all
this to Sunderland's wine, but Sheridan says he was sober. Next day
Tyrconnel thought it prudent to apologise, pressing the other to dine,
'and taking him about the neck and hugging him.' The quarrel broke out
again as soon as they got back to Dublin.[162]
[Sidenote: Municipal charters annulled.]
Tyrconnel had been able to report at Chester that the transformation
of the corporations was already well begun. Dublin had resisted
successfully for a time, but _quo warrantos_ were brought against all
the corporations, except a few that surrendered at discretion. Soon
after his return from the Chester conference, James wrote to Tyrconnel
announcing that judgment had been given against most of the cities
and towns, and that suits were pending for the rest. The Deputy was
empowered to issue new charters appointing the officers and members of
all municipalities by name, with power to fill up vacancies and to
return two members to Parliament. He was to reserve power for himself
and his successors to remove all magistrates and officers by Order in
Council, both they and the freemen being obliged to swear 'that it is
not lawful upon any pretence whatsoever to take arms against the King.'
This, of course, made all the corporations absolutely subservient to
the Government. The charters were brought into the Exchequer, the only
Irish court whence no writ of error lay in England, and were nearly
all declared forfeited. Rice and his brethren took advantage of every
legal quibble, and it does not appear that any case was tried upon its
substantial merits. Strafford had long since discovered how easy it was
to find technical flaws in letters patent, and Rice before he was a
judge had said that he could drive a coach and six through the Act of
Settlement. The general result was that two-thirds of each corporation
were Roman Catholics who could be trusted to return members of their
own persuasion when the time came for a parliament. In many old towns
this was no doubt only a return to the state of things that had existed
before the Civil War, but the new boroughs were chiefly the creation
of English Protestants. No exception was made, Londonderry and Belfast
faring like the rest. The colonists were placed in the power of men
who had seldom any substantial commercial interest, and who were often
descended from the insurgents of 1641.[163]
[Sidenote: Panic among the Protestants.]
Tyrconnel's proceedings in general had driven many Protestant families
from Ireland. In June 1686, 120 went to Chester in one ship, and
multitudes hastened to realise their property. The certainty of his
being made Viceroy caused a greater exodus, and while he was waiting
for a wind at Holyhead, Ormonde wrote that many men and more women had
fled, 'but I think a less matter than the dread of my Lord Tyrconnel
will fright a lady from Ireland to London.' It was natural that the men
who stood their ground should wish to place their families in safety,
for Clarendon reports that many merchants and others were going, though
he tried to steady them by saying that all would be well. As they left
Dublin their places were filled by crowds of officers who came to meet
the rising sun. After his arrival Tyrconnel lost no time in proclaiming
his intention of dealing justly with all according to the known laws.
The prevailing terror had, he said, been much heightened 'by some few
fiery spirits in the pulpits, by taking upon them to treat of matters
that do not lie within their province.' The Protestants, nevertheless,
continued to leave Ireland when they could, though magistrates and
officers were empowered by proclamation to stop them. Many were unable
to go because they could not afford the journey or because they had
everything invested in stock or buildings. Officials generally stood
their ground from a sense of duty, or lest their places should be taken
by hostile Roman Catholics, and many clergymen were actuated by the
same motives. But the drain steadily continued, and after William's
invasion at a greatly increased rate.[164]
[Sidenote: Lord Chancellor Porter dismissed.]
Lord Chancellor Porter, though nothing could be truly said against him,
proved less accommodating than was expected, and as early as June 1687
it was rumoured that he would be recalled. Tyrconnel worked incessantly
to that end, and accused him of taking a bribe of 10,000_l._ from the
Whigs, 'which, upon my conscience,' said Clarendon, 'is as true as that
he has taken it of the Great Turk.' General MacCarthy was satisfied
of Porter's probity, and Mr. Nihill, a young Roman Catholic King's
Counsel, admitted that if Tyrconnel took a dislike to a man, he had
'a sly way,' and would ruin him while pretending to be reconciled.
Tyrconnel emerged victorious from the obscure struggle at Court, and
Porter shared Clarendon's fate. They dined together on January 4, and
within a week both were recalled. The Lord Chancellor was treated with
marked discourtesy, for he only heard of his removal from a third
person.[165]
[Sidenote: Fitton succeeds him.]
No explanation was offered to Porter, the King treating him with
studied coolness, and merely remarking that it was all his own fault.
He returned to the English bar, and was counsel for Sir Alexander
Fitton, his successor as Irish Chancellor, in one of his numerous
lawsuits. Fitton, who was released from prison and knighted by the
King, seems never to have had any practice to speak of, but he was a
convert to the Church of Rome. He had been engaged in long litigation
with Lord Gerard, and was accused of setting up a forged deed. A jury
found against the document, and he was fined and imprisoned by the
House of Lords. He apparently owed his appointment to Father Petre
and to James himself, rather than Tyrconnel, whom he accompanied to
Ireland. Archbishop King, who was in Dublin during the whole time
that he held office, has represented Fitton as not only partial and
tyrannical, but quite incompetent to perform his judicial function,
while a modern biographer who examined the records of Chancery declares
that all was done in order. Possibly the legal knowledge was supplied
by two new Masters in Chancery appointed to strengthen the Court. One
of these was Felix O'Neill, whose father had been a member of the
Confederate Council in 1642; the other was Alexius Stafford, a priest
who may have been a learned civilian. Both Stafford and O'Neill were
killed at Aughrim. King may or may not have painted Fitton in too dark
colours, but Sheridan, who was closely associated with him, says he was
'a most poor and timorous man, having nothing to maintain him but his
office, to which dignity he was surprisingly raised from a tedious
imprisonment of many years in the King's Bench in England for debt and
pretended forgery in the business of the estate in dispute between him
and Lord Macclesfield.'[166]
[Sidenote: Judges and magistrates.]
At the time of Clarendon's recall one judge out of three in each Common
Law Court was a Roman Catholic; under Tyrconnel the proportion was
reversed. In the Exchequer, which became much the most important, Rice
was made Chief Baron, and was supported by Sir Henry Lynch, who pursued
the same policy. Baron Worth was a Protestant, but not much trusted
by his own co-religionists, and in any case always in a minority.
Probably he tried to be impartial. The same policy was adopted in
the case of local magistrates, whose personal fitness was not always
considered. Porter had no objection to Roman Catholics, but he had
some regard for his own reputation. He received lists of candidates
from the judges and rejected only those for whom no person of position
would vouch. Among these was Primate Maguire's brother. 'He is a poor
country fellow,' he told General MacCarthy, 'lives upon six pounds a
year, which he rents of Sir Michael Cole, and has nothing else in the
world. After all this, if you think fit for the King's service to have
such a man come upon the Bench, he shall be a justice of peace.' 'No,
in good faith,' answered MacCarthy, 'I do not think it fit.' Even the
degree of independence which Porter showed was not to be expected from
Fitton.[167]
[Sidenote: Sheriffs.]
The appointment of sheriffs was of the highest importance. They were
not only the chief officers for enforcing the laws of property between
man and man, but they might exercise great influence in the case of a
general election. Clarendon had to nominate them immediately after his
arrival, and before he had time to make a wide personal acquaintance.
He got the best information he could, and thought he had made a happy
selection, but the list was sent back to him with criticisms which,
according to Tyrconnel, were made by Sheridan and Sir Robert Hamilton.
He answered them all in detail and with much confidence. Sir William
Evans was objected to as Sheriff of Kilkenny because he was Cromwell's
baker's son. The answer was that his father had been a baker in England
before the war, that he had made a fortune near Kilkenny, married
Captain Coote's daughter, been made a baronet, 'and since a justice of
peace, which office he has discharged very honestly.' But Tyrconnel was
not satisfied, though he owned that the Lord Lieutenant had done his
best. 'By God, my Lord,' said he, 'you must not wonder if the Catholics
do think you a little partial after your making such a set of sheriffs,
who are four parts out of five rogues; but, by God, I justified you to
the King,' and so forth. Long before the year was out Clarendon had
orders not to name any sheriffs for 1687, instead of which Tyrconnel
handed him a list drawn up by himself and Nugent, and purporting to
make no religious distinction. Clarendon remonstrated, telling the King
that the judges were the proper persons to suggest names, and that
many of those now proposed were obviously and scandalously unfit for
positions of trust. When the appointments were at last made, Tyrconnel
was Deputy, and every county was committed to the charge of a Roman
Catholic except Donegal, where one Hamilton was pricked by mistake
for another. It is easy to believe that many of these sheriffs were
unfit men. Protestants were also turned out of all the minor offices
connected with the law.[168]
[Sidenote: Rice and Nugent in London, 1688.]
The corporations, the judicial bench, the army, and the shrievalty
having been remodelled to his liking, Tyrconnel wished to hold a
parliament. Rice and Nugent were sent over early in 1688, and their
presence tended to increase the general unrest in London. Their
coach, when they appeared in the streets, was escorted by a mob
carrying sticks with potatoes at the ends, and calling upon all men
to make room for the Irish ambassadors. They brought with them heads
of a Bill for repealing the Act of Settlement, and were authorised
to offer 40,000_l._ to Sunderland, who loved money even more than he
loved power. In the negotiations that took place, Rice showed his
great ability and Nugent his conspicuous want of sense. Sheridan was
in London part of the time trying to rebut the charge of corruption
brought against him by Tyrconnel. He told Sunderland that the Lord
Deputy had been bragging about the money he had offered the minister,
and about the Queen's necklace. The result was that the bribe was now
refused with becoming indignation. To the King himself Sheridan said
that Tyrconnel hated him for objecting to turn out Protestant officers
'for being such only,' and for differing with him in opinion about the
Act of Settlement. Nugent and Rice did not stay long in London, and
they failed in their immediate object. Bellasyse and Powis opposed
them, the former with many severe expressions about Tyrconnel's rash
folly. A year was still to elapse before the land legislation of
Charles II. was repealed by an Irish Parliament.[169]
[Sidenote: The Declaration of Indulgence.]
The Declaration of Indulgence was republished in Dublin one week after
its appearance in London. For the relief of the Roman Catholics it
was hardly necessary, since the Statute of Elizabeth and the oaths
depending on it had been virtually suspended even under Clarendon;
but the prospect of general toleration was pleasing to the Ulster
Presbyterians. Three or four loyal addresses were presented from
Nonconformists in Dublin and Belfast and in Munster, but on the
whole their attitude was cautious, for they could not forget what
James had done quite lately in Scotland. Halifax's famous letter to
a Dissenter does not appear to have been reprinted in Ireland, but
no doubt it circulated there, and its argument is conclusive to all
who reject Filmer's theory and the doctrine of passive obedience. If
a King can sweep away the statute law at pleasure, he is absolute,
and Parliaments and courts of justice are superfluous. In the end
the Irish Presbyterians had to say Yes to Halifax's short question,
'whether you will join with those who must in the end run the same fate
with you?' The Episcopalians were, of course, not pleased, for all
that the King would promise was less than what the law already gave
them. There was an address from the Irish Quakers, which may probably
have been due to Penn. In the meantime very few Protestants were left
in the army, while they were placed in a minority on the bench and
in civic administration. Those who could leave Ireland did so, and
cashiered officers helped to fill the gaps in the Prince of Orange's
forces, made by those who obeyed the King's order of recall. In less
than a year after the Declaration of Indulgence the King forbade all
foreign enlistment, and his proclamation was republished in Dublin,
with stringent directions to magistrates and port authorities to stop
all who endeavoured without licence 'to transport or to enter and list
themselves in the service of any foreign prince or state.'[170]
[Sidenote: Tyrconnel and the army.]
In about five months after his arrival as Deputy Tyrconnel had granted
over one hundred commissions in the army, and the names show that few,
if any, were Protestants. Among them were Anthony Hamilton and his
brother John, both of whom became generals. Before he had been three
months in the country he found that the private soldiers, especially in
the infantry, were in great misery and more likely to cause disorder
than to be useful in keeping the peace. The most he could do was to
give each soldier of the line threepence-halfpenny a day, with a
promise, which was not kept, of another halfpenny at the end of the
year. Out of this the man had to feed himself. He was to receive fresh
clothing free every eighteen months, the solitary coat to be turned
without charge at the end of ten. It was found that some officers had
been in the habit of enrolling recruits, keeping them for awhile, and
then turning them away without pay, thus making a handsome profit in
each case. In July 1687 he assembled a force in camp at the Curragh
with a free market for victuallers, the soldiers having strict orders
to pay ready money and 'in all things to behave themselves as becomes
good and peaceful subjects.' When the camp broke up Sheridan advised
Tyrconnel to send the regiments of Mountjoy and Forbes, the only two
Scotch Protestant colonels, to Munster, and Catholic regiments to
Ulster, where the Presbyterians had been assembling in great numbers.
Mountjoy dissuaded him from this course, with important results both to
himself and to the country.[171]
[Sidenote: Irish soldiers in England.]
[Sidenote: Tyrconnel raises fresh regiments.]
The attack on Magdalene College, the persecution of the seven bishops,
and the proceedings of the Ecclesiastical Commission had little
direct effect in Ireland, but they caused many Protestants to make
haste out of Tyrconnel's reach and spread terror among those who were
unable to get away. In July 1688 the Irish army was again encamped
at the Curragh, and James, unwarned by his father's and Strafford's
fate, determined to use it for his own purposes in England. In the
camp at Kildare all Roman Catholic soldiers--that is, the great bulk
of them--were to confess regularly and to forfeit three months' pay
if they failed to produce a priest's certificate of having received
the Sacrament at least twice a year. In the camp at Hounslow loud
cheers hailed the acquittal of the bishops. There were a few Irishmen
there, and one of them murdered a comrade. He was promptly hanged as
the only means of stilling the consequent uproar. A few weeks later
Evelyn reports that 'many murders had been committed by Irish Popish
soldiers.' Officers forfeited their commissions rather than admit
Irish recruits at the King's command. Nearly a whole regiment laid
down their arms rather than declare against the tests. In the face of
this popular feeling James persevered in his determination to bring
over Irish troops. There were not enough of them to be of any real
use, and they were guilty of many disorders on the road. Probably
they were unpaid, and had to steal or starve. Tyrconnel was weakened
by the loss of trained troops. Some 5000 were brought over in all,
including about one-half of the Irish standing army of seven or eight
thousand. Sarsfield and his men behaved well at Wincanton, but the
skirmish there could not influence events. When the Revolution was
accomplished most of the Irish were disarmed and kept in the Isle of
Wight, whence William III. sent about two thousand as a present to
the Emperor for employment against the Turks, thus contributing to
the discomfiture of France and indirectly to that of their dethroned
king. When the Dutch descent on England was imminent, Tyrconnel began
to raise new regiments. He told James that Ireland was rich in men and
provisions, but without money, and he sent full particulars through
Sarsfield. The supply of competent officers was at once seen to be
insufficient, and many non-commissioned officers and men left their
colours in the old army with a view to getting promotion with the
new levies. Before the end of the year Tyrconnel gave out that His
Majesty's revenue had decreased and was daily decreasing, and the clear
pay of a soldier of the line was reduced to twopence halfpenny a day.
Hundreds of commissions were issued in a very irregular way, and the
new officers, in Archbishop King's words, 'were without money, estate,
or any visible means to raise their troops and companies and to subsist
[so they termed maintaining] them for three months from the first of
January, a thing impossible without allowing them to steal and plunder.
It was this struck so much terror into Protestants, and made them so
jealous and apprehensive of danger that they fled into England in great
numbers, especially when they found that the new raised men, as they
surmised, began to make havoc of all things.'[172]
[Sidenote: The Duke of Ormonde dies.]
On July 21, less than a month after the acquittal of the seven bishops,
the Duke of Ormonde died at Kingston Hall in Dorsetshire. It was the
anniversary of his wife's death four years before, and the end of his
life was clouded by many other losses. His eldest son Ossory, who had
a reputation scarcely inferior to Philip Sidney's, had died in 1680,
and his much less satisfactory brother Arran followed in 1685. As soon
as the news reached Oxford, Convocation was hastily summoned, and the
Duke's grandson and successor was chosen Chancellor. A royal mandate
to stop the election came too late, and the University was saved the
indelible disgrace of seeing Jeffreys at its head. In one respect
Ormonde was happy in an opportune death, for he did not have to choose
between the King and the law. It would have been a bitter thing for
him to come under another sovereign when James was still alive, but he
opposed his policy. Only a year before his death he signed a protest
against admitting a pensioner to the Charterhouse without taking the
oath of allegiance and supremacy as required by an express Act of
Parliament. The governors who protested with him were Sancroft, a
non-juror, Craven, whose loyalty was absolute, Halifax the cautious,
Danby and Compton, who signed the invitation to William of Orange, and
Nottingham, who was privy to it but shrank from signing. The King and
Jeffreys were cowed by this powerful opposition. Besides his anxiety
about public affairs, Ormonde was troubled by want of money, for
Tyrconnel's proceedings had interfered with Irish rents, and he foresaw
discomforts such as he never expected to feel 'during the reign of
any of the race of King Charles the First.' His health was gradually
failing, though he travelled much almost to the last, but he felt that
the time for field sports was over, and that 'the steps downwards are
very natural from a field to a garden, from a garden to a window, from
thence to a bed, and so to a grave.'[173]
[Sidenote: His character.]
Ormonde's character has sufficiently appeared in the course of these
volumes. His patience was boundless. Burnet, who had not much in common
with him, says he was 'firm to the Protestant religion, and so far
firm to the laws that he always gave good advices: but even when bad
ones were followed, he was not for complaining too much of them.' His
distinguishing principle was loyalty to the person of the sovereign
and to the Crown as an institution. Thus, he fought for Charles I.
as long as he had any party, and then he surrendered Dublin to the
Parliament rather than damage the value of the reversion. Having begun
by repressing the Irish rebels, he joined them when they were fain to
call themselves royalists. During the interregnum he followed Charles
II., and even risked his life in London when Cromwell was at the
height of his power. During his three years of retirement after the
accession of James, he continued to give good advice, and followed the
King as long as he was able to go about. In Ireland he was undoubtedly
popular, though an offence to extreme men on either side. Those who
were ruined by the Act of Settlement thought he did not do enough
for them. The Settlement, however, was not specially his work, but
the result of the political situation, and for many he was able to
secure special terms. By the Roman ecclesiastics he was, of course,
hated, but they had done him all the harm they could in their day of
power, and he made no secret of his wish to divide them. Most of his
relations were Roman Catholics, but he stood staunchly by the Church
of England. For persecution he had no taste, and he did much to soften
the action of the English House of Commons. He did not neglect his own
interests, though he might have had much more than he got, but some
critics forgot that he had been in dire poverty during several years
of exile. He, or rather his Duchess, was extravagant, as when 2000_l._
was spent on Charles II.'s supper, but his own tastes were very simple,
and a boiled leg of mutton was all he insisted on. As a soldier he
distinguished himself in the early part of the Civil War, but the
disaster at Rathmines damaged his military reputation. He had a very
bad army there, and Michael Jones had a very good one. His whole career
is a comment on Wellington's question--How is the King's government
to be carried on? The sovereigns whom he served were unworthy of such
loyalty, but both England and Ireland profited by it.[174]
[Sidenote: Disturbed state of Leinster.]
[Sidenote: Price's case.]
The state of the country after a year of Tyrconnel's government may be
inferred from such reports as have survived of the Spring Assizes in
1689. Chief Justice Keating and Baron Lynch, one of the new judges,
presided at Wicklow. John Price, lately Receiver-General, but dismissed
since Clarendon's departure, was under his successor's protection. When
the new levies were in progress 'the Merryboys,' urged on by some of
their clergy, made a general attack on the Protestants. Plunder was the
order of the day. Price lived at Ballinderry in the Wicklow hills, and
his neighbours gathered round him for mutual safety. Colonel O'Toole,
who was said to have collected twenty-six loads of miscellaneous booty,
demanded their horses and arms, which were refused. Colonel Sheldon
was then sent with a strong force, and to him they submitted. On
these facts Price and a hundred other Protestants were indicted for
high treason. A true bill was found, but the multitudinous defendants
challenged all Roman Catholics. For want of Protestant freeholders
no petty jury could be had, so that the trial failed. A juror named
Saville was discharged as destitute. Even his wife's and his children's
clothes had been taken. Keating asked him the value, and he answered,
'Truly, my lord, I have not yet computed my loss, but they have taken
away all.' In his charge to the Grand Jury the Chief Justice said the
country generally was in an ill state, 'but here they spare not even
wearing clothes and habits of women and children, that they are forced
to come abroad naked without anything to cover their nakedness.' He
prayed for the preservation of his sacred Majesty King James II.,
'for the protection of dutiful subjects, and for the subversion and
eradication of all those who desire the subversion of his government
either by foreign force or inbred conspiracy.' He told the Roman
Catholics that their turn would come. They knew that there had been
'an invasion in England of a foreign enemy, the Prince of Orange, and
the same is designed on this kingdom.' When these words were spoken
William was actually King of England, and it is not surprising that the
Protestants, when they regained power, should have considered Keating a
traitor, or at the very least a trimmer.[175]
[Sidenote: Opinions of two judges.]
At the same Assizes Maurice Cavanagh and two men named Poer and Boland,
were indicted for robbery with violence. Cavanagh gave evidence against
his accomplices and was acquitted. In sentencing Poer and Boland to be
hanged, Keating said the worst of the three had escaped; and he drew a
vivid picture of the condition of those who had put the labour of their
whole lives into cattle and lost all in a night. There was, he said,
nothing so barbarous this side of the Cape of Good Hope. Cavanagh swore
that his parish priest had ordered him to have a skean, that similar
orders had been given in other parishes, and that companies were thus
everywhere collected armed with skeans or half-pikes. A letter dated
March 2, addressed by Tyrconnel to the judges, was read in court.
The Chief Justice having returned to Dublin, the Grand Jury gave in
their answer to Lynch. The Lord Lieutenant complained of a falling
revenue, and demanded a voluntary aid to be raised by the sheriffs,
but they said in writing that the country was poor through the daily
ruin of the English, and they could hardly live, much less subscribe.
In discharging them the judge said their paper was a reflection and
scandal to their country, and would be very ill taken by Government. He
ordered it to be torn out of the minute-book, lest it should be used in
evidence against them, and this was accordingly done.[176]
[Sidenote: Case of Sir Thomas Southwell, March 1689.]
Cork and Bandon, Mallow and Castlemartyr, being in Jacobite hands,
about a hundred of the Munster gentry who were determined not to
submit, prepared to join Lord Kingston at Sligo. Sir Thomas Southwell
of Castlematras, near Rathkeale, was the leader of this expedition.
Avoiding Limerick, they crossed the Shannon at O'Brien's Bridge and
made their way through Clare with slight opposition. At last they were
captured in a narrow pass by James Power, sheriff of Galway, at the
head of a strong force. It seems clear that the conditions were not
faithfully kept, but the prisoners were all taken unharmed to Loughrea
and thence to Galway. They were tried before Martin, one of the new
judges, who went to court preceded by a piper instead of a trumpeter.
The facts could not be denied, and the whole party were sentenced to be
hanged, drawn, and quartered, and even ordered to prepare for immediate
death, but there were several reprieves, and all were suffered to live
until William's arrival altered the situation. Southwell himself made
friends with Kenneth, Lord Seaforth, who was allowed to carry him off
after several months' captivity. James granted him a pardon, though
Nagle said he was then precluded by the Act of Attainder from doing so.
As Southwell was by that time safe in Scotland, the validity of King
James's clemency remained undecided.[177]
[Sidenote: William's attempt to gain Tyrconnel.]
Tyrconnel was a partisan of France, and in 1686 boasted that he could
hand over Ireland to her whether he became Viceroy or not. Barillon
said much the same, adding that only time and a Parliament could
restore their property to the Catholics of Ireland. In the meantime
James thoroughly approved of the Lord Deputy's proceedings in that
direction. There is no evidence that Tyrconnel at any time contemplated
making terms with William, but he may have wished it to be thought that
he did. He told Archbishop Marsh and others that he was weary of the
government, but could not quit it without his master's leave. 'What,'
he said, 'shall I do with the sword? There is nobody to receive it.
Shall I throw it into the kennel?' He may have had a moment of despair
when he saw the thanes leaving their misguided master, and there is a
letter written by Chief Justice Keating with his approval, which hints
that he and his co-religionists would be satisfied if they could be
placed in as good a position as they had held under Charles II. If
James gave the order he was ready to disband his new levies. Keating's
letter was addressed to Sir John Temple, whose nephew advised William
to send over Richard Hamilton, one of the officers sequestered in the
Isle of Wight. It is uncertain whether Hamilton had an understanding
with Tyrconnel, or whether he really thought he could persuade him
to accept William's terms. However that may be, it was known in a
month that the emissary would not return as he had promised, and he
doubtless confirmed Tyrconnel in his determination to resist. John
Temple was blamed for the bloodshed that followed, and his tragic death
was the result of remorse.[178]
[Sidenote: Unrest in Ulster,]
[Sidenote: and in Dublin.]
'It pleased God,' said George Walker, 'so to infatuate the councils of
my Lord Tyrconnel that when the 3000 men were sent to assist his master
against the invasion of the Prince of Orange, he took particular care
to send away the whole regiment quartered in and about Londonderry.'
The air was full of rumours, and the prevailing panic was increased by
an anonymous letter announcing that there would be a massacre of the
Protestants on Sunday, December 9. Many copies were circulated, one
of which, addressed to Lord Mount Alexander, was found in the street
at Comber in Down. The letter was doubtless an impudent fabrication,
but it had a great effect, for 1641 was not forgotten. Copies reached
Dublin on Friday, Sunday was the fatal day, and 3000 Protestants
managed to get away by sea on the Saturday. Tyrconnel did not lose a
moment before issuing a proclamation against false news, and he sent a
yacht after the fugitives, but they could not be persuaded to return.
The alarm spread to the country, and for several successive Sundays
Protestant congregations worshipped with armed sentries at the door,
like the Scotch field conventicles in Lauderdale's time. The panic in
London owing to false reports brought by countrymen took place a week
later, and may have been an echo of the Comber letter, but the truth
will never be known. Londonderry became a city of refuge, with vigorous
support from Enniskillen and Sligo, which Tyrconnel had also neglected
to garrison.[179]
[Sidenote: Non-resistance. Dr. King.]
[Sidenote: Lord Mountjoy.]
The English colonists in Ireland were naturally most unwilling to break
with the King. The Scots were less so, though the Presbytery of Belfast
had in some sort taken the part of Charles I. against the Parliament.
The position occupied by the covenanted King before Worcester had not
increased their respect for the royal office, nor had the boot and the
thumbscrew done much to revive it. Ezekiel Hopkins, Bishop of Derry,
was for non-resistance at any price. Dr. William King, who succeeded
him after the Boyne, held the same doctrine, but he realised that
James was on the road to ruin, and has left an interesting account of
the steps by which he came to see that his allegiance was due to King
William. It was a comfort to him to reflect that he had done nothing
to bring about the change, and might become an archbishop under the
sovereign whom Parliament had chosen. Less fortunate was William
Stewart, Viscount Mountjoy, whose father had fought against Cromwell
at Dunbar, who had been Master of the Ordinance since 1684, and who
had seen foreign service. It was his regiment which was withdrawn from
Londonderry to replace one sent to England. On account of his great
influence the purge had been sparingly used in this case, and many,
perhaps most, of Mountjoy's men were Protestants. After Londonderry had
shut its gates Mountjoy was admitted alone, but the town was induced
to receive two companies, chiefly Protestants, under the command of
Lundy, who has thus gained an unenviable place in history. Mountjoy
then went to Dublin, where Tyrconnel persuaded him to go to James in
France, to say that he would destroy Ireland, but not save it, and to
ask leave for the Deputy to treat with the usurper. Tyrconnel promised
upon his word and honour not to raise or arm additional troops and to
sign no fresh commissions, to keep the new levies in quarters, and to
send no more into Ulster, to molest no one for any tumultuous meeting
or disorder before January 10, and to quarter no soldiers in any
private gentleman's house. The sequel is well known. Chief Baron Rice
accompanied Mountjoy to Paris with secret orders directly opposite to
those avowed. The deceived soldier was at once shut up in the Bastille,
where he remained for over three years, and was then exchanged for
Richard Hamilton. Having by this time had enough of passive resistance,
he joined William as a volunteer, and was killed at Steenkirk. James
was no party to the imprisonment, and would have been satisfied to let
Mountjoy leave France. Tyrconnel at once proceeded to do all the things
he had promised on his word and honour not to do--the honour which
stooped to traduce Anne Hyde, and the word which had gained him the
name of lying Dick Talbot. The treacherous detention of Mountjoy was a
blunder, for the Protestants found other leaders, and were confirmed in
their opinion that no faith would be kept with heretics.
[Sidenote: The gates of Londonderry shut, December 1688.]
On the same day that the Comber letter reached Londonderry there came
another from George Philips of Limavady, who had been governor in
Charles II.'s time. He was a descendant of that Philips who had been
conspicuous in the Ulster Settlement. He informed the townsmen that
Lord Antrim was near with his regiment, and cautioned them against
admitting it. Antrim's men were raw levies, some 1200 Highlanders and
Irish, not properly clothed and very imperfectly armed, and, of course,
all Roman Catholics. The men on the wall saw the motley crowd, and
thought that they had come to fulfil the predicted massacre. Against
the advice of the bishop and disregarding the fears of their elders,
some young apprentices shut the gates in the face of Lord Antrim's
officers. He withdrew to Coleraine, and ten days later Tyrconnel
ordered him to be ready to march at a moment's notice. The Lord Deputy
was about to send an army against the rebellious town, and would follow
himself in a short time. In the meantime Mountjoy had received a
somewhat apologetic letter from the citizens, in which the apprentice
boys are called a rabble; but in writing to the Irish Society in London
the same men say only that 'just as the soldiers were approaching
the gates, the youthhood, by a strange impulse, ran in one body and
shut them.' Old and young combined to form themselves into companies.
Philips accepted the office of governor, and, while seeking a pardon
from the Lord Deputy, the offenders made it quite clear that they
would stand on their defence. Mountjoy entered the town alone, but it
was agreed that two companies of his regiment, chiefly Protestants,
should be quartered there under Colonel Robert Lundy, who became
governor, and that future reinforcements should be at least one-half
Protestant. When the flight of James was known, the determination to
hold out became stronger, and when William actually became King of
England all restraint was withdrawn. Lundy received a commission from
the new sovereign. When James landed in Ireland he found the state of
war fully established between his own Government and the Protestants of
Ulster.[180]
[Sidenote: Enniskillen determines to resist.]
'We stand upon our guard,' said Gustavus Hamilton, governor of
Enniskillen, 'and do resolve, by the blessing of God, rather to
meet our danger than expect it.' The great men of the neighbourhood
were timid or lukewarm, but the people did not hesitate, and their
chosen governor identified himself with them. His grandfather, who
was Archbishop of Cashel, had died in exile after being plundered by
the rebels in 1641. His mother was a Swede, his father and uncle had
served under the great Gustavus, and he himself had been turned out of
the army by Tyrconnel. At Enniskillen, as at Derry, there was great
unwillingness to oppose King James, but circumstances were too strong,
and the party of resistance soon got the upper hand. The Comber letter
arrived on December 7, and the effect was immediate. The Irish were
drilling and arming in the neighbourhood, and the news from Dublin
grew daily worse. It was hard to get a horse shod, for the country
smiths were busy making pikes, and staves were being cut openly in the
woods. On December 13 came news that two companies were actually on
their way to garrison the town. From that moment country people with
horses and arms flocked in to reinforce the inhabitants, who were under
a hundred in number. Three days later the dreaded companies, with a
convoy of arms for the rabble, reached Lisbellaw, some four miles away.
By this time the townsmen could muster 200 foot and 150 horse, and they
resolved to be the attacking party. Hamilton had raised another 100
horse on his own account, and was ready to support them. The invaders
fled without striking a blow to Maguire's Bridge, and the next day to
Cavan. Hamilton then accepted the office of governor, and a few days
later the news came of James having left London, after which there was
no hesitation, though it was long before the full facts were known.
Some said he had gone to Rome, others to a monastery, and others that
he was dead. Until after his landing in Ireland there was no further
attempt against Enniskillen. Lundy was accepted as commander-in-chief,
and on March 11 William and Mary were joyfully proclaimed with as much
ceremony as circumstances admitted.[181]
[Sidenote: Sligo.]
The panic extended to Sligo, and the gentry there, chiefly under
the guidance of Robert, Lord Kingston, determined to resist. As at
Londonderry and Enniskillen, Roman Catholics were excluded from the
town, and the Protestants resolved to cast in their lot with the
English Government and Parliament. Troops and companies were formed,
Kingston and Colonel Chidley Coote were chosen commanders-in-chief,
and care was taken to provide for communication with Enniskillen. One
outpost was at Manor Hamilton, which had played a part in 1641, and
another at Dromahaire, the old O'Rourke stronghold near Lough Gill. The
Protestants of Roscommon, Mayo, and Leitrim flocked to Sligo, and when
James landed it was still in Protestant hands.
[Sidenote: Ineffective resistance in Ulster.]
[Sidenote: The Break of Dromore.]
The Protestant gentry of Down and Antrim met at Comber and formed an
association. Lord Mount Alexander, who was only a nominal soldier,
was made commander of the forces raised, which were considerable in
point of number. A council was established at Hillsborough, where
there was a fort, and stores were collected there; but from the first
ill-success attended the movement. The general showed little ability,
and his heart was not really in the business, while he complained of
being ill seconded by others. The local magnates quarrelled among
themselves. No real leader made himself known. A plot to seize
Belfast and Carrickfergus, which were undefended, failed through want
of promptitude, and an attempt to surprise the latter place after
it had received a garrison was ill-managed and unsuccessful. Just
before James landed in Ireland, Tyrconnel sent Richard Hamilton with
a thousand good soldiers and twice that number of raw levies to the
North. The Protestants were scattered about in small bodies and never
came properly together. Those at Rathfriland and Loughbrickland fled
at Hamilton's approach. A stand was made at Dromore, but he fell upon
them before they were all assembled, and a complete rout followed.
Tradition says the struggle was so short that a woman left her baking
to see the fight, and on her return found the bread not burnt. Some
delay was caused by the strong fort at Hillsborough, but there was
no serious resistance. The general and most of the chief men fled to
England or Scotland, and the rest flocked to Londonderry and Coleraine.
By the time that James reached Dublin opposition to him was practically
confined to the territory controlled by Londonderry and Enniskillen.
Sligo was evacuated by special orders from Lundy, who laid the blood
of all Ulster on Lord Kingston's head, if he did not come at once to
the relief of Londonderry. The holder of King William's commission was
obeyed, but when the Sligo men got to Ballyshannon they were ordered
to stop there and defend the Erne. Afterwards they were told to go
to Cladyford, but the order came too late. Lundy, who had at first
demanded every man, then offered to take in a few as a sort of favour.
Lord Kingston made his way to England, but he left Colonel Lloyd
behind, who became the fighting hero of the Enniskillen garrison.'[182]
FOOTNOTES:
[158] _Sheridan MS._ Cartwright's _Diary_, January 17 and February 21
to March 5, 1686-7. Clarendon's _Diary_, February 6, and his letters of
October 2 and January 8.
[159] The Coventry letter, dated October 26, 1686, is in the _Jacobite
Narrative_, ed. Gilbert, appx. i., and in _Ormonde Papers_, vii. 464.
Clarendon's _Diary_, January 4, 1686-7. _Sheridan MS._ The King to
Clarendon, April 6, 1686. Barillon to Louis XIV., October 16, 1687, in
_Dalrymple_, ii. 262.
[160] Clarendon's letters of March 14, April 17, 1686, May 8, 11, 15,
25, and 30, and June 1 (to Ormonde). Sunderland to Clarendon, June 14.
Anonymous letters of warning to Clarendon and the Protestants are in
_Clarendon and Rochester Correspondence_, i. 369, 498, 563.
[161] Sunderland afterwards claimed to have prevented James from
allowing Tyrconnel to hold a parliament, though he was offered
40,000_l._ to agree to the repeal of the Act of Settlement in that way.
This may be believed, as he appealed for confirmation to Godolphin, as
well as to Nugent and Rice, _Diary of H. Sidney_, ii. 379.
[162] Rules for Corporations in _Irish Statutes_, pp. 197-239.
Clarendon's letters, particularly that to the King of August 14, 1686.
Cartwright's _Diary_, August 1687. _Sheridan MS._
[163] James's letter of September 20, 1687, is in Harris's _Life of
William III._, appx. viii. The _quo warranto_ to Belfast and the new
charter are printed in Young's _Town Book of Belfast_. King's _State of
the Protestants_, chap. iii. section 5. _Apology for the Protestants of
Ireland_, 1689. The proceedings in the Londonderry case are given by
King, appx. vii.
[164] Clarendon's letters of June 22 and August 14, 1686, and of
January 22 following--his last from Ireland. Ormonde to Southwell,
February 5, 1686-7, in _Ormonde Papers_, 1899. Proclamations of
February 21, 1686-7, and April 4, 1688. _Life_ of James Bonnell, p.
273, and his letter to Strype, January 21, 1688-9, in _English Hist.
Review_, no. 74.
[165] Clarendon's letters of June 26, July 27 and 31, August 26, 1686,
and his _Diary_, January 4, 10, and 11, 1686-7. The Duke of Berwick
agreed with Mr. Nihill that Tyrconnel was 'fort rusé.'
[166] _Sheridan MS._ King's _State of the Protestants_, chap. iii.
section 3. O'Flanagan's _Irish Chancellors_, i. 470, 487.
[167] Clarendon's letters of June 19 and July 31, 1686. King _ut sup._
In _Secret Consults of the Romish Party_ Worth is represented as their
chief tool, but Tyrconnel said he was 'by God, a damned rogue ... by
God, I will have it brought to the Council Board, the King has an ill
opinion of him, and I will do his business.'
[168] Clarendon's list of sheriffs for 1686 is printed with his letter
of March 2, 1685-6. Tyrconnel's list for 1687 is in King, appx. vii.
Clarendon's letters of June 12 and 15. The King to Clarendon, October
8, and the answer, October 16.
[169] The two judges left Dublin on March 17, 1688, St. Patrick's Day,
_Secret Consults of the Romish Party_, pp. 115, 120. They had left
London on their return before April 25, Luttrell's _Diary_, i. 438.
[170] Tyrconnel's proclamations of April 11, 1687, and April 4, 1688.
As to Irish Nonconformist addresses, see Reid's _Presbyterian Church_,
ii. 351, and Luttrell's _Diary_, June to August 1687.
[171] List of Commissions in Dalton's _Army List_, i. 10, from February
12 to June 21, 1687. Proclamations of February 24 and July 18.
_Sheridan MS._
[172] Avaux fully sustains King. He says most regiments were raised
'par des gentilhommes qui n'ont jamais été à l'armée, que ce sont des
tailleurs, des bouchers, des cordonniers qui ont formé les compagnies
qui les entretiennent à leur despens et en sont les capitaines,'
to Louvois, April 16, 1689. Tyrconnel's proclamations of July 20,
August 24, December 29, 1688. Luttrell's _Diary_, July 6, August 27,
September 8, December 15, 19, and 30, 1688, January 1, and April 24,
1689. Evelyn's _Diary_, July 23, October 7, 1688. Hoffmann to the
Emperor Oct., Doc. 626 in Campana Cavelli. Tyrconnel to James II.,
Oct. 3/13, _ib._ Doc. 633. King's _State of the Protestants_, chap.
iii. sec. viii. 5. It was absurdly reported in France that William had
interned the Irish in a little island that they might all perish there,
_Memoirs_ of De Sourches, January 12/22, 1689.
[173] Carte's _Ormonde_, ii. 547, and see Macaulay's remarks on the
Charterhouse case in chap. viii. Ormonde to Southwell, November 18,
1686, in _Ormonde Papers_, O.S., ii. 306; and to Temple, June 15, 1687,
_ib._ N.S., vii. 494. A. Wood's _Fasti Oxonienses_ and his _Life and
Times_, ed. Clark.
[174] Burnet's _Own Times_, i. 95, and the _Supplement_, ed. Foxcroft,
p. 60. The two characters should be compared, that in the published
History, written in 1702, being kinder to Ormonde than the original
draft written in 1683. Burnet tells us that he had associated more
with Ormonde's enemies than with his friends, and looking back at the
Caroline court from a convenient distance, he was able to see the
old cavalier's superiority. I have read Nicholas French's _Unkind
Deserter_, 1676, which is not convincing, though the Bishop proves that
Ormonde got larger grants of land than Scævola and Horatius Cocles. A
defence of his hero in money matters is in Carte's _Ormonde_, ii. 308
_sqq._, 430. Burnet notes that Ormonde 'writes the best of any man that
has no learning that I ever knew.'
[175] Proceedings against John Price, &c., Wicklow Assizes, March 6,
1688-9, 1 William and Mary, Howell's _State Trials_, xii. no. 363. The
reporter says he was present in court. The author of _Secret Consults_
is unfair to Keating, but points out (p. 75) that he had 'always been a
servant of the Duke of York'; he had done his law business in Ireland,
_Hist. MSS. Com._ (House of Lords), 11th Report, ii. 219.
[176] Howell's State Trials, xii. no. 364.
[177] The fullest account of this matter is in Lodge's _Peerage of
Ireland_, ed. Archdale, vi. 20. Hardiman, in his _History of Galway_,
p. 155, note, says Lodge's account is unfairly coloured, but does not
dispute the facts. King's appendix no. 16. _Account of the Transactions
of the late King James_, &c., licensed July 7, 1690, p. 3. Luttrell,
i. 517. Two Ponsonbys, a Percival, and a Purdon were among Southwell's
companions.
[178] _Sheridan MS._ Letters of Barillon, September 13/23, 1686, and
September 6/16, 1687, and of Bonrepaus, August 25/September 4 1687, in
notes to Macaulay, chap. viii. Luttrell, i. 495, 500. King, iii. 8, and
Keating's letter of December 29 in appx. xiv. Evidence of Sir Robert
Colville and John Philipps to the House of Lords, _Hist. MSS. Com._,
appx. to 12th Report, part vi. 1689.
[179] Walker's _True Account_. The Comber letter is in King, appx.
xii., and in many other places. _Secret Consults of the Romish Party._
Proclamations of October 15 and December 7. The 'Irish night' in London
is sufficiently described by Macaulay, chap. x. _Ellis Correspondence_,
ii. 356. Writing to her cousin Abigail Harley on December 13, 1688,
Mrs. Pye says, 'The watch called all up that the Irish were near, and
at Knightsbridge had killed man, woman, and child, and were resolved
for to fire and massacre. I bless God I was not much frighted as might
be expected,' _Portland Papers_, iii. 420.
[180] _Faithful History of the Northern Affairs_, &c., licensed
December 10, 1689.
[181] Andrew Hamilton's _True Relation_, 1690. He says there were
public masses through the North 'for the furthering of that which they
called Inteneragh--that is, a secret intention.'
[182] _Faithful History of Northern Affairs_, 1689.