No More Learning

After a year was spent in the execution of this
commission, (for I shall, without discontinuing the
relation, say all that I intend upon this subject of
Ireland,) there was very little done towards the set-
tling the kingdom, or towards preparing any thing
partiality that might settle it ; but on the contrary, the

of the com- , . 1*1 i i

breaches were made wider, and so much passion



and injustice shewed, that complaints were brought
act - to his majesty from all parts of the kingdom, and

from all persons in authority there. The number
of the commissioners was so great, and their in-
terests so different, that they made no despatch.
Very many of them were in possession of those
lands, which others sued for before them ; and they
themselves bought broken titles and pretences of
other men, for inconsiderable sums of money, which
they supported and made good by their own author-
ity. Such of the commissioners, who had their own
particular interest and concernment depending, at-
tended the service very diligently : the few who were
more equal and just, because they had no interest of
their own at stake, were weary of their attendance
and expense, (there being no allowance for their
pains;) and, offended at the partiality and injustice
which they saw practised, withdrew themselves, and
would be no longer present at those transactions
which they could not regulate or reform.

All interests were equally offended and incensed ;
and the soldiers and adventurers complained no less
of the coiTuption and injustice than the Irish did :
so that the lords justices and council thought it ne-
cessary to transmit another bill to his majesty, which,



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 51

as I remember, they called an explanatory bill of the iGGi.
former ; and in that they provided, " that no person Second act
" who lived in Ireland, or had any pretence to an of se " le *

inent trans-

" estate there, should be employed as a commissioner- mitted to

f i , . 'the king.

" but that his majesty should be desired to send over
" a competent number of well qualified persons out
" of England to attend that service, upon whom a
** fit salary should be settled by the bill ; and such
" rules set down as might direct and govern the
" manner of their proceeding; and that an oath
" might be prescribed by the bill, which the commis-
" sioners should take, for the impartial administration
" of justice, and for the prosecution and execution of
" this bill," which was transmitted as an act by the
king. His majesty made choice of seven gentlemen New com-

_ . . . missioners

or very clear reputations ; one of them being an emi- appointed
nent sergeant at law, whom he made a judge upon it oe:
his return from thence ; two others, lawyers of very
much esteem ; and the other four, gentlemen of very
good extractions, excellent understandings, and above
all suspicion for their integrity, and generally reputed
to be superior to any base temptation.

But this second bill, before it could be transmitted,
took up as much time as the former. The same nu-
merous retinue of all interests from Ireland attended
the king; and all that had been said in the former The diffe-
debates was again repeated, and almost with the ag
same passion and impertinence. The Irish made Jf n J;. he
large observations upon the proceedings of the late
commissioners, to justify those fears and apprehen-
sions which they had formerly urged : and there ap-
peared too much reason to believe, that their greatest
design now was, rather to keep off any settlement,
than that they hoped to procure such a one as they

E 2



52 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. desired; relying more to find their account from a
""general dissatisfaction, and the distraction and con-
fusion that was like to attend it, than from any de-
termination that was like to be in their favour. Yet
they had friends in the court, who made them great
promises; which they could not be without, since
they made as great promises to those who were to
protect them. There were indeed many particular
men both of the soldiers and adventurers, who in re-
spect of their many notorious and opprobrious actions
against the crown throughout their whole employ-
ment, (and who even since his majesty's return had
enough expressed how little they were satisfied with
the revolution,) were so universally odious both in
England and Ireland, that if their particular cases
could have been severed from the rest, without vio-
lation of the rule of justice that secured all the rest,
any thing that could have been done to their detri-
ment would have been grateful enough to every
body.

After many x very tedious debates, in which his ma-
jesty endeavoured by all the ways he could think of to
find some expedient, that would enable him to preserve
the miserable Irish from the extremity of misery ; he
found it necessary at last to acquiesce with a very
positive assurance from the earl of Orrery and others,
who were believed to understand Ireland very ex-
actly, and who, upon the surveys that had been taken
with great punctuality, undertook, " that there was
" land enough to satisfy all the soldiers and adven-
" turers, and that there would be a very great pro-
" portion left for the accommodation of the Irish very
" liberally. " And for the better improvement of that
proportion, the king prescribed some rules and limit-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 53

ations to the immoderate pretences and demands of 1661.
the soldiers and adventurers upon the doubling ordi-
nance and imperfect admeasurement, and some other
irregularities, in r which his majesty was not in ho-
nour or justice obliged to comply with them : and Second act
so he transmitted this second bill.

Whilst this second bill was under deliberation, ed '
there fell out an accident in Ireland, which produced
great alterations with reference to the affairs of that
kingdom. The differences which had every day
arisen between the three justices, and their different
humours and affections, had little advanced the set-
tling that government; so that there would have
been a necessity of making some mutation in it : so
that the death of the earl of Montrath, which hap-
pened at this time, fell out conveniently enough to
the king ; for by it the government was again loose.
For the earl of Orrery was in England; and the
power resided not in less than two : so that the chan-
cellor, who remained single there, was without any
authority to act. And they who took the most dis-
passioned survey of all that had been done, and of
what remained to be done, did conclude that nothing
could reasonably produce a settlement there, but the
deputing one single person to exercise that govern-
ment. And the duke of Albemarle himself, who Ti. e duke of
had a great estate in that kingdom, which made him
the more long for a settlement, and who had before j
the king's return and ever since dissuaded the king teDant -
from thinking of employing the duke of Ormond
there, who had himself aversion enough from that
command, of which he had sufficient experience ; I

r in] with
E 3



54 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. say, the general had now so totally changed his mind,
""that he plainly told the king, " that there was no way
" to explicate that kingdom out of those intricacies
" in which it was involved, but by sending over a
" lord lieutenant thither. That he thought it not fit
" for his majesty's service, that himself, who had
<<r that commission of lord lieutenant, should be ab-
" sent from his person ; and therefore that he was
" very ready and desirous to give up his commission :
" and that in his judgment nobody would be able to
" settle and compose the several factions in that king-
" dom, but the duke of Ormond, who he believed
"would be grateful to all sorts of people. " And
therefore he advised his majesty very positively,
" that he would immediately give him the commis-
" sion, and as soon as should be possible send him
And the " away into Ireland. " And both the king and the
mend ac- general spake with the duke of Ormond, and prevail-
cept * Jt> ed with him to accept it, before either of them com-
municated it to the chancellor, who the king well
knew would for many reasons, and out of his great
friendship to the duke, dissuade him from undertak-
ing it ; which was very true.

And the king and the duke of Ormond came one
day to the chancellor, to advise what was to be done
for Ireland ; and (concealing the resolution) the king
told him what the general's advice was, and asked
him " what he thought of sending the duke of Or-
" mond his lieutenant into Ireland. " To which the
chancellor answered presently, " that the king would
" do very ill in sending him, and that the duke would
" do much worse, if he desired to go. " Upon which
they both smiled, and told him, " that the general
" had prevailed with the king, and the king with the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 55

" duke; so that the matter was resolved, and there 1661.
" remained nothing to be done but preparing the in- ~"
" structions, which he must think upon. "



The chancellor could not refrain from saying very The
warmly, " that he was sorry for it ; and that it would
" be good for neither of them, that the duke should t c ^ ern at
*' be from the king, or that he should be in Ireland,
" where he would be able to do no good. Besides
" that he had given himself so much to his ease and
" pleasure since he came into England, that he would
" never be able to take the pains, which that most
" laborious province would require. " He said, " if
" this counsel had been taken when the king came
*' first over, it might have had good success, when
" the duke was full of reputation, and of unquestion-
" able interest in his majesty, and the king himself
" was more feared and reverenced than presumed
" upon : so that the duke would have had full au-
" thority to have restrained the exorbitant desires
" and expectations of all the several parties, who
" had all guilt enough upon their hearts to fear
" some rigour from the king, or to receive moderate
" grace with infinite submission and acknowledg-
" ment. But now the duke, besides his withdraw-
" ing himself from all business as much as he could,
" had let himself fall to familiarities with all de-
" grees of men ; and upon their averments had un-
" dertaken to protect, or at least to solicit men's in-
" terests, which it may be might not appear upon
" examination to be founded upon justice. And
" the king himself had been exposed to all manner
" of importunities, received all men's addresses, and
" heard all they would say ; made many promises
" without deliberation, and appeared so desirous to

E 4



56 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " satisfy all men, that he was irresolute in all things.
"~ " And therefore till he had taken some firm and
" fixed resolutions himself, from which neither pre-
judice towards one man, nor pity and compassion
" on the behalf of another, should remove him ; the
" lieutenant of Ireland would be able to do him little
" service, and would be himself continually exposed
" to scorn and affronts. " *>

And afterwards the chancellor expostulated warm-
ly with the duke of Ormond, (who well knew that
all his commotion proceeded from the integrity of
his unquestionable" friendship,) and told him, " that
" he would repent this rash resolution ; and that he
" would have been able to have contributed more to
" the settlement of Ireland, by being near the per-
" son of the king, than by being at Dublin, from
" whence in a short time there would be as many
" aspersions and reproaches sent hither, as had been
" against other men ; and that he had no reason to
" be confident, that they would not make as deep
" impression by the arts and industry of his ene-
" mies, of which he had store, and would have more
" by being absent, for the court naturally had little
" regard for any man who was absent. And that
" he carried with him the same infirmity into Ire-
" land with that of the king, which kept it from
" being settled here ; which was, an unwillingness
" to deny any man what he could not but see was
" impossible to grant, and a desire to please every
" body, which whosoever affected should please no-
" body. "
The duke The duke, who never took any thing ill he said

acquaints .

the than- to him, told him, " that nobody knew better than
" he the aversion he had to that command, when it



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 57

"may be he might have undertaken it with more

" advantage. " He confessed, " he saw many dangers ~ T

for accept-

" with reference to himself, which he knew not how in e *
" to avoid, and many difficulties with reference to
" the public, which he had little hope to overcome ;
" yet Ireland must not be given over : and s since
" there seemed to be a general opinion, with which
" the king concurred, that he could be able to con-
" tribute to the composing the distempers, and the
" settling the government ; he would not suspect
" himself, but believe that he might be able to do
" somewhat towards it. " And he gave his word to
him, " that nothing should be defective on his part
" in point of industry ; for he was resolved to take
" indefatigable pains for a year or two, in which he
" hoped the settlement would be completed, that he
" might have ease and recreation for the other part
" of his life. " And he confessed, " that he did the
" more willingly enter upon that province, that he
" might have the opportunity to settle his own for-
" tune, which, how great soever in extent of lands,
" did not yet, by reason of the general unsettlement,
" yield him a quarter of the revenue it ought to do.
" That for what concerned himself, and the disad-
" vantages he might undergo by his absence, he re-
" ferred it to Providence and the king's good-na-
" ture ; who," he said, " knew him better than any
" of his enemies did ; and therefore, he hoped, he
" would believe himself before them. " However,
the truth is, he was the more disposed to that
journey, by the dislike he had of the court, and
the necessary exercises which men there were to

s and] yet



58 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. excel in, for which he was superannuated: and if
he did not already discern any lessening of the king's
grace towards him, he saw enough to make him be-
lieve, that the contrary ought not to be depended
upon. And within few years after, he had cause to
remember what the chancellor had foretold him of



The duke b o th their fortunes. The duke (with the seven com-

and the

missioners who were appointed for that act of set-
tlement, and all other persons who attended that
interest) entered upon his journey from London
about the end of July, in the year one thousand six
hundred sixty and four, full four years and more
after the king's happy return into England.

It was some months after the commissioners' ar-
rival in Ireland, before they could settle those orders
and rules for their proceedings, which were neces-
sary to be done, before the people should be ap-
pointed to attend. And it was as necessary that
they should in the order of their judicatory first pro-
ceed upon the demands and pretences of the Irish ;
both because there could be no settlement of soldiers
or adventurers in possession of any lands, before the
titles of the Irish to those lands were determined ;
and because there was a clause in the last act of
parliament, that all the Irish should put in their
claims by a day appointed, and that they should be
determined before another day, which was likewise
assigned ; which days might be prolonged for once
by the lord lieutenant, upon such reasons as satisfied
him : so that the delay for so many months before
the commissioners sat, gave great argument of com-
plaint to the Irish, though it could not be avoided,
in regard that the commissioners themselves had not
been nominated by the king above twenty days be-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 59

fore they began their journey into Ireland; so that 1661.
they could never so much as read over the acts of""
parliament together, before they came to Dublin.
And then they found so many difficult clauses in
both acts of parliament, and so contrary to each
other, that it was no easy matter to determine how
to govern themselves in point of right, and to re-
duce themselves to any method in their proceed-
ings.

But after they had adjusted all things as well



mssoners



11 i i i i i i

they could, they published their orders in what me- publish
thod they meant to proceed, and appointed the Irish tended n ine-
to put in their claims by such a day, and to attend proceeding.
the prosecution of them accordingly. And they had
no sooner entered upon their work, but the English
thought they had began it soon enough. For they
heard every day many of the Irish, who had been
known to have been the most forward in the first
beginning of the rebellion, and the most malicious
in the carrying it on, declared innocent ; and deeds
of, settlement and entails which had been never
heard of before, and which would have been pro-
duced (as might reasonably be believed) before the
former commissioners, if they had had them to pro-
duce, now declared to be good and valid ; by which
the Irish were immediately put into the possession
of a very great quantity of land taken from the
English : so that in a short time the commissioners
had rendered themselves as generally odious as the
Irish, and were looked upon as persons corrupted
for that interest, which had every day success al-
most in whatsoever they pretended. And their de-
terminations happened to have the more of preju-
dice upon them, because the commissioners were al-



60 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. ways divided in their judgments. And it is no won-
~~der, that they who seemed most to adhere to the
English interest were most esteemed by them.

The parliament in Ireland was then sitting : and
the house of commons, consisting of many members
who were either soldiers or adventurers, or had the
like interest, was very much offended at the pro-
ceedings of the commissioners, made many votes
against them, and threatened them with their au-
thority and jurisdiction. But the commissioners,
who knew their own power, and that there was no
appeal against their judgments, proceeded still in
their own method, and continued to receive the
claims of the Irish, beyond the time that the act of
parliament or the act of state limited to them, as
was generally understood. And during the last
eight or ten days sitting upon those claims, they
passed more judgments and determinations than in
near a year before, indeed with very wonderful ex-
pedition ; when the English, who were dispossessed
by those judgments, had not their witnesses ready,
upon a presumption, that in point of time it was
not possible for those causes to come to be heard.
Their de- By these sentences and decrees, many hundred
thousands of acres were adjudged to the Irish,



F the Insh> which had been looked upon as unquestionably for-
feited, and of which the English had been long in
possession accordingly.

TJiis raised so great a clamour, that the English
refused to yield possession upon the decrees of the
commissioners, who, by an omission in the act of
parliament, were not qualified with power enough
to provide for the execution of their own sentences.
The courts of law established in that kingdom would



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 61

not, nor indeed could, give any assistance to the 16GI.
commissioners. And the lord lieutenant and coun-~
cil, who had in the beginning, by their authority,
put many into the possession of the lands which had
been decreed to them by the commissioners, were
now more tender and reserved in that multitude of
decrees that had lately passed : so that the Irish
were using their utmost endeavours, by force to re-
cover the possession of those lands which the com-
missioners had decreed to them ; whilst the English
were likewise resolved by force to defend what they
had been so long possessed of, notwithstanding the
commissioners' determination. And the commis-
sioners were so far troubled and dissatisfied with
these proceedings, and with some intricate clauses
in the act of parliament concerning the future pro-
ceedings ; that, though they had not yet made any
entrance upon the decision of the claims of the Eng-
lish or of the Irish protestants, they declared, " that
" they would proceed no further in the execution of
" their commission, until they could receive his ma-
" jesty's further pleasure. " And that they might
the more effectually receive it, they desired leave
from the king that they might attend his royal per-
son ; and there being at the same time several com-
plaints made against them to his majesty, and ap-
peals to him from their decrees, he gave the com-
missioners leave to return. And at the same time
all the other interests sent their deputies to solicit
their rights ; in the prosecution whereof, after much
time spent, the king thought fit likewise to receive
the advice and assistance of his lieutenant : and so
the duke of Ormond returned again to the court.
And the settlement of Ireland was the third time Thedif -

ferent par-



62 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. brought before the king and council; there being
ties heard tnen likewise transmitted a third bill, as additional
f- thir u . 1 an d supplemental to the other two. and to reverse

time by the

king. many of the decrees made by the commissioners,
they bearing the reproach of all that had been done
or had succeeded amiss, and from all persons who
were grieved in what kind soever.

The king was very tender of the reputation of
his commissioners, who had been always esteemed
men of great probity and unquestionable reputation :
and though he could not refuse to receive complaints,
yet he gave those who complained no further coun-
tenance, than to give the others opportunity to vin-
dicate themselves. Nor did there appear the least
evidence to question the sincerity of their proceed-
ing, or to make them liable to any reasonable sus-
picion of corruption : and the complaints were still
prosecuted by those, who had that taken from them
which they desired to keep for themselves.
Theau- The truth is, there is reason enough to believe,
flections on that upon the first arrival of the commissioners in
ceed? ngs of Ireland, and some conversation they had, and the
the com- observation they made of the great bitterness and

missioners. *

animosities from the English, both soldiers and ad-
venturers, towards the whole Irish nation of what
kind soever ; the scandalous proceeding of the late
commissioners upon the first act, when they had not
been guided by any rules of justice, but rejected l all
evidence, which might operate to the taking away
any thing from them which they resolved to keep,
the judges themselves being both parties and wit-
nesses in all the causes brought before them ; toge-

1 rejected] rejecting



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 63

ther with the very ill reputation very many of the 1661
soldiers and adventurers had for extraordinary ma-~
lice to the crown and to the royal family ; and the
notable barbarity they had exercised towards the
Irish, who without doubt for many years had un-
dergone the most cruel oppressions of all kind that
can be imagined, many thousands of them having
been forced, without being covered under any house,
to perish in the open fields for hunger; the infa-
mous purchases which had been made by many per-
sons, who had compelled the Irish to sell their re-
mainders and lawful pretences for very inconsider-
able sums of money ; I say, these and many other
particulars of this kind, together with some attempt
that had been made upon their first arrival, to cor-
rupt them against all pretences which should be
made by the Irish, might probably dispose the com-
missioners themselves to such a prejudice against
many of the English, and to such a compassion to-
wards the Irish, that they might be much inclined
to favour their pretences and claims ; and to believe
that the peace of the kingdom and his majesty's go-
vernment might be better provided for, by their
being settled in the lands of which they had been
formerly possessed, than by supporting the ill-gotten
titles of those, who had manifested all imaginable
infidelity and malice against his majesty whilst they
had any power to oppose him, and had not given
any testimony of their conversion, or of their resolu-
tion to yield him for the future a perfect and entire
obedience after they could oppose him no longer;
as if they desired only to retain those lands which
they had gotten by rebellion, together with the prin-
ciples by which they had gotten them, until they



64 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

lGfi-1. should have an opportunity to justify both by some
"new power, or a concurrence amongst themselves.
Whencesoever it proceeded, it was plain enough
the Irish had received more favour than was ex-
pected or imagined.

And in the very entrance into the work, to avoid
the partiality which was too apparent in the English
towards each other, and their animosity against the
Irish as evident, very strict rules had been set down
by the commissioners, what kind of evidence they
would admit to be good, and receive accordingly.
And it was provided, " that the evidence of no sol-
" dier or adventurer should be received in any case,
" to which himself was never so much a stranger ;"
- as, if his own lot had fallen in Munster, and he had
no pretence to any thing out of that province, his
evidence should not be received, as to any thing
that he had seen done in Leinster or Connaught or
Ulster, wherein he was not at all concerned : whrch
was generally thought to be a very unjust rule, after
so many years expired, and so many persons dead,
who had likewise been present at those actions. And
by this means many men were declared not to have
been in rebellion, when there might have been full
evidence, that 'they had been present in such and
such a battle, and in such and such a siege, if the
witnesses might have been received who were then
present . at those actions, and ready to give testi-
mony of it, and of such circumstances as could not
have been feigned, if their evidence might have been
received.

onheTrisb Tli 3 * which raised the greatest umbrage against
rebel* re- the commissioners was, that a great number of the

stored to T . .

their most infamous persons of the Irish nation, who were

estates.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. G5

looked upon by those of their own country with the 1661.
greatest detestation, as men who had been the most"
violent fomenters and prosecutors of the rebellion,
and the greatest opposers of all moderate counsels,
and of all expedients which might have contributed
towards a peace in the late king's time, (whereby
the nation might have been redeemed,) and who
had not had the confidence so much as to offer any
claim before the late commissioners, were now ad-
judged and declared innocent, and so restored to
their estates : and that many others, who in truth Many who
had never been in rebellion, but notoriously served the king
the king against the rebels both in England and treated. 117
Ireland, and had never been put out of their estates,
now upon some slight evidence, by the interception
of letters, or confession of messengers that they had
had correspondence with the rebels, (though it was
evident that even that correspondence had been per-
functory, and only to secure them that they might
pursue his majesty's service,) were condemned, and
had their estates taken from them, by the judgment
of the commissioners.

And of this I cannot forbear to give an instance, An instance
and the rather, that it may appear how much a pe? -tbecMeaf
sonal prejudice, upon what account soever, weighs T ie r ""[,
and prevails against justice itself, even with men
who are not in their natures friends to injustice. It
was the case of the earl of Tyrconnell, and it was
this. He was the younger son of the lord Fitzwil-
liams, a catholic lord in Ireland, but of ancient Eng-
lish extraction, of a fair estate, and never suspected
to be inclined to the rebels ; as very few of the Eng-
lish were. Oliver Fitzwilliams (who was the person
we are now speaking of, and the younger son of

VOL. n. fr



66 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. that lord Fitzwilliams) had been sent by his father
"into France, to be there educated, many years be-
fore the rebellion. He was a proper and a handsome
man, and by his courage had gotten a very good re-
putation in the French army ; where, after he had
spent some years in the campagna, he obtained the
command of a regiment in which he had been first a
captain, and was looked upon generally as an excel-
lent officer.

When the army was sent into winter quarters, he
went to Paris, to kiss the hands of the queen of
England, who was come thither the summer before,
it being in the year 1644. Having often waited
upon her majesty, he made many professions of duty
and obedience to the king, and much condemned
the rebellion of the Irish, and said, " he knew many
" of them were cozened and deceived by tales and
" lies, and had no purpose to withdraw themselves
" from his majesty's obedience. " He made offer of
his service to the queen, " and that, if she thought
" he might be able to do the king any service, he
" would immediately go into England, and with his
" majesty's approbation into Ireland, where, if he
" could do no other service, he was confident he
" could draw off many of the Irish from the service
" of the rebels. " The queen, upon the good reputa-
tion he had there, accepted his offer, and writ a let-
ter by him to the king, with a very good character
of his person, and as very fit to be trusted in Ire-
land.

It was his fortune to come to the king very few
days before the battle of Naseby, where, as a volun-
teer in the troop of prince Rupert, he behaved him-
self with very signal courage in the view of the



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 67

king himself; who shortly after gave him a letter 1661,
full of recommendation and testimony to the mar-~~
quis of Ormond, his lieutenant of Ireland, who re-
ceived him kindly, and having conferred with him
at large, and understood all he intended to do, gave
him leave to go into the Irish quarters, and to re-
turn again, as he thought fit. And in a short time
after, both his father and his elder brother died;
whereby both the title and the estate devolved to
him, and he was possessed accordingly.

The man was before and in his nature elate and
proud enough, had a 'greater value of himself than
other men had, and a less of other men than they
deserved, whereby he got not himself beloved by
many ; but nobody who loved him worst ever sus-
pected him to incline to the rebels, though they
knew that he was often in their quarters, and had
often conferences with them : and a good part of his
estate lay in their quarters. He attended upon the
lord lieutenant in all his expeditions : and when the
Irish so infamously broke the first peace, and be-
sieged the lieutenant in Dublin, (upon which he was
compelled to deliver it into the hands of the parlia-
ment with the king's consent,) the lord Fitzwilliams
returned with him or about the same time into
England, and from thence again into France ; where
he married the daughter of the widow countess of
Clare, and sister to that earl, a lady of a religion
the most opposite to the Roman catholic, which he
suffered her to enjoy without any contradiction.
When the war was at an end in England, and the
king a prisoner, he with his wife and family trans-
ported himself into England, and after some time
into Ireland ; where Cromwell had a jealous eye

F 2



68 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. upon him, but not being able to discover any thing
"against him, could not hinder him from possessing
the estate that had descended to him from his fa-
ther and his elder brother. And the war being
there ended, and the settlement made by the act of
parliament upon the statute, as hath been mentioned
before, there was not the least trouble given to him ;
but he quietly enjoyed the possession of his whole
estate till the king's return, when he came into Eng-
land to kiss his majesty's hand, and was by him
made earl of Tyrconnell.

When the commissioners sat upon the first act,
who observed no rules of justice, law, or equity,
when they contradicted any interest or appetite of
their own, he received no disturbance ; but when
these new commissioners came over, all men, as well
protestants as others, whose estates had never been
questioned, thought it safest for them to put in their
claims before the commissioners, to prevent any
trouble that might arise hereafter. This gentleman
followed that advice and example, put in his claim*
and pressed the commissioners for a short day to be
heard. The day was appointed. Neither adven-
turer, soldier, or any other person, made any title to
the land : but some envious person, unqualified for
any prosecution, offered a letter to the commis-
sioners which had many years before, and before his
coming into Ireland, been written by colonel Fitz-
williams in Paris to a Jesuit, one Hartogan, then in
Ireland ; in which he gave him notice " of his pur-
" pose of coming into Ireland, where he hoped to
" do their friends some service. "

This letter was writ when the queen first de-
signed to send him to the king, that the Irish, who



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 69

were the most jealous people of the world, might 1661.
know of his purpose to come thither, before they~
should hear of his being in Dublin ; and now being
produced before the commissioners, without consi-
dering how long since it was writ, or the reason of
writing it, that he had served the king, and never
in the least degree against him, upon one of their
rules, " that a correspondence with the rebels was
" a good evidence," they without any pause declared
him nocent, and presently assigned his estate to
some persons to whom reprisals were to be made :
whilst they who thought the judgment very unjust,
laughed at the ill luck of a man whom they did not
love ; and all men were well enough pleased with
the sentence, who were displeased with the person.
And this party pursued him so severely into Eng-
land, that the king's interposition to redeem him
from so unjust a decree was looked upon as over-fa-
vouring the Irish ; when none were so glad of the
decree as the Irish, who universally hated him. Nor
was he at last restored to the possession of his estate,
without making some composition with those to
whom the commissioners had assigned it.

Many, who had formerly made their claims with- Many de-
out insisting upon any deeds of settlement or other "



conveyances in law, now produced former settle- JJ^JJ noto "
ments in consideration of marriage, or other like for & ed -
good considerations in law, made before the begin-
ning of the rebellion : which being now proved by
witnesses enough, decrees were every day obtained
for the restitution of great quantities of land upon
those deeds and conveyances ; though the forgeries
of those deeds and perjury of those witnesses were
very notorious. And some instances were given of

F 3



70 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1661. the manifestation and direct proof that was made



of the forgery of deeds, upon which decrees had
been made, to the satisfaction of the commissioners
themselves, within a very short time after the pro-
nouncing those decrees : and yet no reparation was
given, but the decrees proceeded and were executed
with all rigour, as if no such thing had appeared.
The com- rpj^ com missioners answered, " that they had

raissioners

defence. ma de no decrees but according to their con-
" sciences, and such as they were obliged to make
" by the course and rule of justice. That they did
" doubt and in truth believe, that there had been
" evil practices used both in the forging of deeds
" and corrupting of witnesses, and that the same
" was equally practised by the English as the Irish :
" and therefore that they had been obliged to make
" that order, which had been so much excepted
" against, not to admit the testimony of any English
" adventurer or soldier in the case of another adven-
" turer or soldier ; for that it was very notorious,
" they looked upon the whole as one joint interest,
" and so gratified each other in their testimonies. "
And of this they gave many sad instances, by which
it was too evident that the perjuries were mutual,
and too much practised by the one and the other
side.

" That they had used all the providence and vi-
" gilance they could, by the careful examination of
" witnesses, (which were produced apart, and never
" in the presence of each other,) and by asking
" them all such material questions as occurred to
" their understandings, and which they could not
" expect to be asked, to discover the truth, and to
" prevent and manifest all perjuries. That they



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 71

" had likewise used their utmost diligence and care 166J.
" to prevent their being imposed upon with false and~
" forged deeds and conveyances, by taking a precise
" and strict view themselves of all deeds produced ;
" and interrogated the witnesses with all the cun-
" ning they could, upon the matter and considera-
" tion upon which such deeds had been entered
" into, and upon the manner u and circumstances in
"the execution thereof: which was all the provi-
" dence they could use. And though they met with
" many reasons oftentimes to doubt the integrity of
" the proceedings, and in their own private con-
" sciences to apprehend there might be great cor-
" ruption ; yet that they were obliged judicially to
" determine according to the testimony of the wit-
" nesses, and the evidence of those deeds in law
" against which no proofs were made. That they
" had constantly heard all that the adverse party
. " had thought fit to object, both against the credit
" of any witnesses, and the truth and validity of
" any conveyances which were produced ; upon
" which they had rejected many witnesses, and dis-
" allowed some conveyances : but when the objec-
" tions were only founded upon presumptions and
" probabilities, as most usually they were, they
" could not weigh down the full and categorical
" evidence that was given.

" That if they had yielded to the importunities of
" the persons concerned, who often pressed to have
" further time given to them to prove such a perjury,
" or to disprove such a conveyance ; it must have
" made their work endless, and stopped all manner

11 manner"), matter
F 4



72 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. "of proceedings, for which it appeared they were
" straitened too much in time : and that indeed
" would have but opened the door wider for perjuries
" and other corruptions ; since it was very plain to
" them, that either side could bring as many wit-
" nesses as they pleased, to prove what they pleased,
" and that they would bring as many as they be-
" lieved necessary to the work in hand. And there-
" fore the commissioners having before prescribed a
" method and rule to themselves for their proceed-
" ings, and that no man could have a cause, in which
" he was concerned, brought to hearing without his
" knowing when it was to be heard, and so it wa^
" to be presumed, that he was well provided to sup-
" port his own title ; they had thought fit, upon ma-
" ture deliberation amongst themselves, to adhere to
" the order they had prescribed to themselves and
" others, and to conclude, that they would not be
" able to prove that another day, which they were
" not able to prove at the time when they ought to
" have been ready.

" For the discovery of any forgery after the de-
" crees had been passed, and upon which they had
" given no reparation," they confessed, " that some
" few such discoveries had been made to them, by
" which the forgery appeared very clearly : but as
" they had no power by the act of parliament to pu-
" nish either forgery or perjury, but must leave the
" examination and punishment thereof to the law,
" and to the judges of the law; so, that they had
" only authority to make decrees upon such grounds
" as satisfied their consciences, but had not any au-
" thority to reverse those decrees, after they were
" once made and published, upon any evidence what-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 73

" soever. " They concluded with their humble desire 1661.

to the king, " that the most strict examinations might '"

" be made of their corruptions, in which," they said,

<* they were sure to be found very innocent, against

" all the malice that was discovered against them :

" that they had proceeded in all things according to

" the integrity of their hearts, and the best of their

'* understandings ; and if through the defect of that

" they had erred in any part of their determinations

" and judgments, they hoped their want of wisdom

" should not be imputed to them as a crime. "

Many, who had a very good opinion of the per- Their de-
sons and abilities of the commissioners, were not yet pe rfectiysa-
satisfied with their defence; nor did they believe, tlsfactory '
that they were so strictly bound to judge upon the
testimony of suspected witnesses ; but that they were
therefore trusted with an arbitrary power, because it
was foreseen that juries were not like to. be entire:
so that they were, upon weighing all circumstances,
to declare what in their consciences they believed to
be true and just. That if they had bound themselves
up by too strict and unreasonable rules, they should
rather in time have reformed those rules, than think
to support what was done amiss, by the observation
of what they had prescribed to themselves. And it
was believed, that the entire exclusion of the Eng-
lish from being witnesses for the proving of what
could not in nature be otherwise proved, was not just
or reasonable. That their want of power to reverse
-or alter their own decrees, upon any emergent rea- f
sons which could afterwards occur, was a just ground
for their more serious deliberation in and before they
passed any such decrees. And their excuse for not
granting longer time when it was pressed for, was



74 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

founded upon x reasons which were visibly not to be
- 1 justified; it not being possible for any man to de-
fend himself against the claims of the Irish, without
knowing what deeds or witnesses they could pro-
duce for making good their suggestions ; and there-
fore it was as impossible for them to have all their
evidence upon the place. Besides that it was very
evident, that in the last ten days of their sitting
(which was likewise thought to be when their power
as to those particulars was determined, and in which
they had made more decrees than in all the time
before) they had made so many in a day, contrary
to their former rule and method, that men were
plainly surprised, and could not produce those proofs
which in a short time they might have been sup-
plied with; and the refusing to allow them that
time, was upon the matter to determine their in-
terest, and to take away their estates without being
once heard, and upon the bare allegations of their
adversaries. And in these last decrees many in-
stances were given of that nature, wherein the evi-
dence appeared to be very full, if time had been
given to produce it.

A decree in There was one very notable case decreed by the
themar- commissioners extremely complained of, and cried out
trim imu n ~ a g ams t by all parties, as well Irish as English ; and
versaiiy f or wn ich the commissioners themselves made no

complained

of. other excuse or defence, but the receipt of a letter

from the king, which was not thought a good plea
for sworn judges, as the commissioners were. It was
the case of the marquis of Antrim. Which case hav-
ing been so much upon the stage, and so much en-

* was founded upon] Omitted in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 75
larged upon to the reproach of the king, and even 1661.



to the traducing of the memory of his blessed fa-
ther ; and those men, who artificially contrived the
doing of all that was done amiss, having done all
they could to wound the reputation of the chancel-
lor, and to get it to be believed, "that he had by
" some sinister information misled the king to oblige
" the marquis ;" it is a debt due to truth, and to
the honour of both their majesties, to set down a
very particular narration of that whole affair; by
which it will appear, how far the king was from so
much as wishing that any thing should be done for
the benefit of the marquis, which should be contrary
to the rules of justice.

Whilst his majesty was in foreign parts, he re-Aver ypa r-
ceived frequent advertisements from England and latioSVf^h
from Ireland, "that the marquis of Antrim behaved AnSmV*
" himself very undutifully towards him ; and that case -
" he had made himself very grateful to the rebels,
" by calumniating the late king : and that he had
" given it under his hand to Ireton, or some other
" principal person employed under Cromwell, that
" his late majesty had sent him into Ireland to join
" with the rebels, and that his majesty was not of-
" fended with the Irish for entering into that rebel-
" lion :" which was a calumny so false and so odious,
and reflected so much upon the honour of his ma-
jesty, that the king was resolved, as soon as God
should put it into his power, to cause the strictest
examination to be made concerning it ; the report
having gained much credit with his majesty, by the
notoriety that the marquis had procured great re-
commendations from those who governed in Ireland
to those who governed in England ; and that upon



76 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. the presumption of that he had come into England,
~~ and as far as St. Alban's towards London, from
whence he had been forced suddenly to return into
Ireland by the activity of his many creditors, who
upon the news of his coming had provided for his
reception, and would unavoidably have cast him into
prison. And no recommendation could have inclined
those who were in authority, to do any thing ex-
traordinary for the protection of a person, who from
the beginning of the Irish rebellion lay under so ill
a character with them, and had so ill a name through-
out the kingdom.

The king had been very few days in London,
after his arrival from the parts beyond the seas,
when he was informed that the marquis of Antrim
was upon his way from Ireland towards the court :
and the commissioners from Ireland, who have been
mentioned before, were the first who gave his ma-
jesty that information, and at the same time told
him all that his majesty had heard before concern-
ing the marquis, and of the bold calumnies with
which he had traduced his royal father, witli many
other particulars ; " all which," they affirmed, "would
" be proved by unquestionable evidence, and by let-
" ters and certificates under his own hand. " Upon
this full information, (of the truth whereof his ma-
jesty entertained no doubt,) as soon as the marquis
came to the town, he was by the king's special order
committed to the Tower; nor could any petition
from him, or entreaty of his friends, of which he
had some very powerful, prevail with his majesty to
admit him into his presence. But by the first op-
portunity he was sent prisoner to Dublin, where he
was committed to the castle ; the king having given



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 77

direction, that he should be proceeded against with 1661,
all strictness according to law : and to that purpose,
the lords justices were required to give all orders
and directions necessary. The marquis still pro-
fessed and avowed his innocence, and used all the
means he could to procure that he might be speedily
brought to his trial ; which the king likewise ex-
pected. But after a year's detention in prison, and
nothing brought against him, he was set at liberty,
and had a pass given him from the council there to
go into England. He then applied himself to his
majesty, demanding nothing of favour, but said, " he
" expected justice ; and that after so many years
" being deprived of his estate, he might at last be
" restored to it, if nothing could be objected against
" him wherein he had disserved his majesty. "

He was a gentleman who had been bred up in
the court of England, and having married the duchess
of Buckingham, (though against the king's will,) he
had been afterwards very well received by both their
majesties, and was frequently in their presence. He
had spent a very vast estate in the court, without
having ever received the least benefit from it. He
had retired into Ireland, and lived upon his own
estate in that country, some years before the rebel-
lion brake out; in the beginning whereof he had
undergone some suspicion, having held some corre-
spondence with the rebels, and possibly made some
undertakings to them : but he went speedily to Dub-
lin, was well received by the justices there, and from
thence transported himself with their license to Ox-
ford, where the king was ; to whom he gave so good
an account of all that had passed, that his majesty
made no doubt of his affection to his service, though



78 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. he had very little confidence in his judgment and
""understanding, which were never remarkable. Be-
sides that it was well known, that he had a very
unreasonable envy towards the rnarquis of Ormond,
and would fain have it believed that his interest in
Ireland was so great, that he could reclaim that
whole nation to his majesty's obedience ; but that
vanity and presumption never gained the least credit
with" his majesty : yet it may reasonably be believed
that he thought so himself, and that it was the
source from which all the bitter waters of his own
misfortune issued.

Upon the Scots second entering into England
with their army upon the obligation of the covenant,
and all his majesty's endeavours to prevent it being
disappointed, the marquis of Mountrose had pro-
posed to the king, "to make a journey privately
" into Scotland, and to get into the Highlands,
" where, with his majesty's authority, he hoped he
" should be able to draw together such a body of
" men, as might give his countrymen cause to call
" for their own army out of England, to secure
" themselves. " And with this overture, or upon de-
bate thereof, he wished " that the earl of Antrim"
(for he was then no more) " might be likewise sent
" into Ulster, where his interest lay, and from
" whence he would be able to transport a body of
" men into the Highlands, where he had likewise
" the clan of Macdonnels, who acknowledged him to
" be their chief, and would be consequently at his
" devotion ; by which means the marquis of Mount-
" rose? would be enabled the more powerfully to pro-
" ceed in his undertaking. " The earl of Antrim en-
tered upon this undertaking with great alacrity, and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 79

undertook to the king to perform great matters in 166 1.
Scotland ; to which his own interest and animosity
enough disposed him, having an old and a sharp
controversy and contestation with the marquis of
Argyle, who had dispossessed him of a large terri-
tory there. All things being adjusted for this un-
dertaking, and his majesty^ being well pleased with
the earl's alacrity, he created him at that time a
marquis, gave him letters to the marquis of Ormond
his lieutenant there, as well to satisfy him of the
good opinion he had of the marquis of Antrim, and
of the trust he had reposed in him, as to wish him
to give him ah* the assistance he could with conve-
nience, for the carrying on the expedition for Scot-
land.

And for the better preventing of any inconve-
nience that might fall out by the rashness and in-
advertency of the marquis of Antrim towards the
lord lieutenant, his majesty sent Daniel O'Neile of
his bedchamber into Ireland with him, who had
great power over him, and very much credit with
the marquis of Ormond ; and was a man of that
dexterity and address, that no man could so well
prevent the inconveniences and prejudice, which the
natural levity and indiscretion of the other might
tempt him to, or more dispose and incline the lord
lieutenant to take little notice of those vanities and
indiscretions. And the king, who had no desire
that the marquis should stay long in Dublin, upon
his promise that he would use all possible expedi-
tion in transporting himself into Scotland, gave him
leave to hold that correspondence with the Irish re-
bels (who had the command of all the northern parts,
and without whose connivance at least he could very



80 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. hardly be able to make his levies and transport his
""men) as was necessary to his purposes: within the
limits of which, it is probable enough that he did
not contain himself; for the education and conver-
sation he had in the world, had not extirpated that
natural craft in which that nation excels, and by
which they only deceive themselves ; and might say
many things, which he had not authority or warrant
to say.
Upon his coming to Dublin, the lord lieutenant gave him all the countenance he could wish, and
assisted him in all the ways he could propose, to
prosecute his design ; but the men were to be raised
in or near the rebels' quarters. And it cannot be
denied, but that the levies he made, and sent over
into Scotland under the command of Calkito, were
the foundation of all those wonderful acts, which
were performed afterwards by the marquis of Mount-
rose, (they were fifteen hundred men, very good, and
with very good officers ; all so hardy, that neither the
ill fare nor the ill lodging in the Highlands gave them
any discouragement,) and gave the first opportunity
to the marquis of Mountrose of being in the head
of an army ; under which he drew together such of
the Highlanders and others of his friends, who were
willing to repair to him. But upon any military
action, and defeat given to the enemy, which hap-
pened as often as they encountered the Scots, the
Highlanders went always home with their booty,
and the Irish only stayed together with their ge-
neral. And from this beginning the marquis of
Mountrose grew to that power, that after many
battles won by him with notable slaughter of the
enemy, he marched victoriously with his army till



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 81

he made himself master of Edinburgh, and redeemed
out of the prison there the earl of Crawford ? , lord
Ogilby, and many other noble persons, who had been
taken and sent thither, with resolution that they
should all lose their heads. And the marquis of
Mountrose did always acknowledge, that the rise
and beginning of his good success was due and to
be imputed to that body of Irish, which had in the
beginning been sent over by the marquis of Antrim ;
to whom the king had acknowledged the service by
several letters, all of his own handwriting ; in which
were very gracious expressions of the sense his ma-
jesty had of his great services, and his resolution to
reward him.

It is true, that the marquis of Antrim had not
gone over himself with his men, as he had promised
to do, but stayed in Ulster under pretence of raising
a greater body of men, with which he would adven-
ture his own person ; but either out of jealousy or
displeasure against the marquis of Mountrose, or
having in truth no mind to that service of Scotland,
he prosecuted not that purpose, but remained still
in Ulster, where all his own estate lay, and so was
in the rebels' quarters, and no doubt was often in
their councils ; by which he gave great advantages
against himself, and might in strictness of law have
been as severely punished by the king, as the worst
of the rebels. At last, in his moving from place to
place, (for he was not in any expedition with the
rebels,) he was taken prisoner by the Scots, who in-
tended to have put him to death for having sent
men into Scotland ; but he made his escape out of

> Crawford] Strafford
VOL. II. G



82 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. their hands, and transported himself into Flanders,
and from thence, having assurance that the prince
(his majesty that now is) was then in the west, he
came with two good frigates into the port of Fal-
mouth, and offered his service to his royal highness ;
and having in his frigates a quantity of arms and
+ some ammunition, which he had procured in Flan-
ders for the service of Ireland, most of the arms and
ammunition were employed, with his consent, for
the supply of the troops and garrisons in Cornwall :
and the prince made use of one of the frigates to
transport his person to Scilly, and from thence to
Jersey ; without which convenience, his highness
had been exposed to great difficulties, and could
hardly have escaped the hands of his enemies. After
all which, when Dublin was given up to the parlia-
ment, and the king's authority was withdrawn out
of that kingdom, he again (not having wherewithal
to live any where else) transported himself into Ire-
land, made himself gracious with the Irish, and was
by them sent into France, to desire the queen mo-
ther and the prince of Wales " to send the marquis
" of Ormond to reassume his majesty's government
" in that kingdom ;" which was done accordingly,
in the manner that is mentioned elsewhere.

The marquis of Antrim alleged all these- particu-
lars, and produced many original letters from the
late king, (besides those which are mentioned,) the
queen mother, and the prince, in all which his ser-
vices had been acknowledged, and many promises
made to him; and concluded with a full protesta-
tion, " that he desired no pardon for any thing that
" he had ever done against the king ; and if there
" were the least proof that he had failed in his fide-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 83

" lity to him, or had not according to the best of 1661
" his understanding advanced his service, he looked ~
" for no favour. But if his being in the Irish quar-
" ters and consulting with them, without which he
" could not have made his levies for Scotland, nor
" transported them if he had levied them, and if his
" living amongst them afterwards, when his ma-
"jesty's authority 7 was drawn from thence, and
" when he could live no where else, do by the strict
" letter of the law expose him to ruin without his
" majesty's grace and favour, he did hope his ma-
" jesty would redeem him from that misery, and
" that the forfeiture of his estate should not be
" taken, as if he were a traitor and a rebel to the
" king. " And it appeared that if he were restored
to all he could pretend to, or of which he had ever
been possessed, his debts were so great, and his cre-
ditors had those legal incumbrances upon his estate,
that his condition at best would not be liable to
much envy.

Though the king had been never taken notice of
to have any great inclinations to the marquis, who
was very little known to him ; yet this representa-
tion and clear view of what he had done and what
he had suffered, raised great compassion towards
him in the royal breast of his majesty. And he
thought it would in some degree reflect upon his
own honour and justice, and upon the memory of
his blessed father, if in a time when he passed by so
many transgressions very heinous, he should leave
the marquis exposed to the fury of 'his enemies, (who
were only his enemies because they were possessed

* authority] Omitted in MS.
G 2



84 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. of his estate, and because he desired to have his
""own from them,) for no other crime upon the mat-
ter, than for not having that prudence and that pro-
vidence in his endeavours to serve the king, as he
ought to have had ; that is, he ought to have been
wiser. And the rigour exercised towards him upon
his first arrival, in sending him to the Tower and
afterwards into Ireland, by those who enough wished
his destruction, and that they had not been able to
make the least proof against him, improved his ma-
jesty's good disposition towards him. Yet he re-
fused positively to write a letter to the commis-
sioners on his behalf; which the marquis most im-
portunately desired, as the only thing that could do
him good. But his majesty directed a letter to be
prepared to the lord lieutenant, in which all his alle-
gations and suggestions should be set down, and the
truth thereof examined by him ; and that if he
should be found to have committed no greater faults
against the king, than those which he confessed,
then that letter should be sent to the commissioners,
that they might see both their majesties' testimonies
in such particulars as were known to themselves.
And this letter was very warily drawn, and being
approved by his majesty, was sent accordingly to
the lord lieutenant. And shortly after a copy of it
signed by the king (who conceived it only to be a
duplicate, lest the other should miscarry) was, con-
trary to his majesty's resolution, and contrary to
the advice of the chancellor and without his know-
ledge, likewise sent to the commissioners ; who had
thereupon made such a decree as is before men-
tioned, and declared, " that they had made it only
" upon that ground ;" which gave his majesty some



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 85

trouble, and obliged him to insert a clause in the 1661.
next bill concerning that affair.

And this was the whole proceeding that related
to the marquis of Antrim : and it is yet very hard
to comprehend, wherein there was more favour
shewed towards him by his majesty, than he might
in truth very reasonably pretend to, what noise so-
ever was raised, and what glosses soever made;
which proceeded only from the general dislike of
the man, who had much more weakness than wick-
edness in him, and was an object rather of pity than
of malice or envy.

When his majesty entered upon the debate of the
third bill, which was transmitted to him for a sup-
plement and addition to the other two, he quickly
found the settlement proposed, and which was the
end of the three bills, was now grown more difficult
than ever. All the measures, which had formerly The diffi-
been taken from the great proportion of land which a"ettie-
would remain to be disposed of, were no more to be^^J""
relied upon, but appeared to have been a wrong
foundation from the beginning; which was now
made more desperate, by the vast proportions which
had been assigned to the Irish by the commissioners'
decrees : and somewhat had intervened by some acts By some
of bounty from his majesty, which had not been dent acts of
carefully enough watched and represented to him. 'the king?

The king had, upon passing the former bills, and
upon discerning how much the Irish were like to suf-
fer, resolved to retain all that should by forfeiture or
otherwise come to his majesty in his own power ; to
the end, that when the settlement should be made, he
might be able to gratify those of the Irish nation, who

G 3



1661. had any thing of merit a towards him, or had been
~~ least faulty. And if he had observed that resolution,
very much of the trouble he underwent afterwards
had been prevented : for he would then, besides that
which Cromwell had reserved to himself, (which
was a vast tract of ground,) have had all those for-
feitures which the regicides had been possessed of,
and other criminal persons; which amounted to a
huge quantity of the best land. And though the
king had before designed all those forfeited lands to
his brother the duke, yet his highness was so pleased
with the resolution his majesty had taken, to retain
them to that purpose, that he forbore to prosecute
that grant, till he heard of great quantities of land
every day granted away by his majesty to his ser-
vants and others; whereby he saw the main end
would be disappointed. And then he resolved to be
no longer a loser for the benefit of those, who had
no pretence to what they got ; and so proceeded in
getting that grant from the king to himself of those
lands designed to him.

The kin & h ad swerved from tnat te> before it



owing to was scarce discerned : and the error of it may be

the earl of . '

Orrery. very justly imputed to the earl of Orrery b , and to
none but him ; who believing that he could never
be well enough at court, except he had courtiers of
all sorts obliged to him, who c would therefore speak
well of him in all places and companies, (and those
arts of his put the king to much trouble and loss
both in England and Ireland,) he commended to
many of such friends (though he had advised the

a of merit] Omitted in MS. b Orrery] Ormond c who] and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 87

king to' the former resolution) many suits of that 1661.
kind, and sent certificates to them, oftentimes un-"~
der his own hand, of the value those suits might be
to them if obtained, and of the little importance the
granting of them would be to his majesty ; which,
having been shewed to the king, disposed him to
those concessions, which otherwise he would not so
easily have made. Then he directed them a way
(being then one of the lords justices) for the more
immediate passing those grants they could obtain,
without meeting those obstructions which they had
been subject to ; for when any of those grants had
been brought to the great seal of England, the
chancellor always stopped them, and put his majesty
in mind of his former resolution : but this new way This done
(in itself lawful enough) kept him from knowing any chancellor'*
of those transactions, which were made by letters knowledge :
from the king to the lords justices ; and thereupon
the grants were prepared there, and passed under
the great seal of Ireland.

There was then likewise a new clause introduced
into those grants, of a very new nature ; for being
grounded always upon letters out of England, and
passed under the seal of Ireland, the letters were
prepared and formed there, and transmitted hither
only for his majesty's sign manual : so that neither 4
the king's learned council at law, nor any other his
ministers, (the secretaries only excepted,) had any
notice or the perusal of any of those grants. The And with
clause was, " that if any of those lands so granted dmary
" by his majesty should be otherwise decreed, his "



majesty's grantee should be reprised with other the s nts -



a neither] Not in MS.
G 4



88 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. "lands:" so that in many cases, the greatest in-
"ducement to his majesty's bounty being the incer-
tainty of his own right, which the person to whom
it was granted was obliged to vindicate at his own
charge, the king was now bound to make it good, if
his grant was not valid. And so that which was
but a contingent bounty, which commonly was the
sole argument for the passing it, was now turned
into a real and substantial benefit, as a debt ; which
created another difficulty in the settlement : which
was yet the more hard, because there were many
claims of the Irish themselves yet unheard, all the
false admeasurements to be examined, and many
other uncertainties to be determined by the commis-
sioners ; which left those who were in quiet posses-
sion, as well as those who were out of it, in the
highest insecurity and apprehension.

This intricacy and even despair, which possessed
all kind of people, of any settlement, made all of
them willing to contribute to any that could be pro-
posed. They found his majesty very unwilling to
consent to the repeal of the decrees made by the
commissioners; which must have taken away the
confidence and assurance of whatsoever was to be
done hereafter, by making men see, that what was
settled by one act of parliament might immediately
be unsettled by another : so that there was no hope
by that expedient to increase the number of acres,
which being left might in any degree comply with
the several pretences. The Irish found, that they
might only be able to obstruct any settlement, but
should never be able to get such a one as would
turn to their own satisfaction. The soldiers and
adventurers agreed less amongst themselves : and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 89

the clamour was as great against those, who by 1661.
false admeasurements had gotten more than they"
should have, as from those who had received less
than was their due ; and they who least feared any
new examination could not yet have any secure
title, before all the rest were settled. In a word, all
men found that any settlement would be better than
none ; and that more profit would arise from a
smaller proportion of land quietly possessed and
husbanded accordingly, than from e a much greater
proportion under a doubtful title and an incertainty,
which must dishearten any industry and improve-
ment.

Upon these considerations and motives, they met
amongst themselves, and debated together by what
expedient they might draw light out of this dark-
ness. There appeared only one way which ad-
ministered any reasonable hope ; which was, by in-
creasing the stock for reprisals to such a degree,
that all men's pretences might in some measure be
provided for : and there was no other way to arrive
to this, but by every man's parting with somewhat
which he thought to be his own. And to this they
had one encouragement, that was of the highest
prevalence with them, which was, that this way an
end would be put to the illimited jurisdiction of the
commissioners, (which was very terrible to all of
them,) who from henceforth could have little other
power, than to execute what should here be agreed
upon.

In conclusion, they brought a proposition to the The differ-
king, raised and digested between themselves, " that

' e from] of



90 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. "all persons, who were to receive any benefit by
agree upon " tn ^ s act should abate and give a fourth part of



they na( ^ towards the stock for reprisals ;
settlement. " all which the commissioners should distribute
" amongst those Irish, who should appear most fit
" for his majesty's bounty. " And this agreement
was so unanimous, that though it met with some
obstinate opposition after it was brought before 1 the
king, yet the number of the opposers was so small
in respect of the others who agreed to it, that they
grew weary and ashamed of further contention.
tnereu P on tnat third act of settlement, as sup-



passes the plemental to the other two, was consented to by the

third act . iti i 111 i

of settle- king; who, to publish to the world that nothing
stuck with him which seemed to reflect upon the
commissioners, resolved to make no change : and so
though two of them, who had offices here to dis-
charge, prevailed with his majesty that they might
not return again into Ireland; the other five were
continued, to execute what was more to be done by
this act, and so to perfect the settlement. And no
doubt it will be here said, that this expedient might
have been sooner found, and so prevented many of
those disorders and inconveniences which inter-
vened. But they who knew that time, and the per-
verseness and obstinacy that possessed all pretend-
ers, must confess that the season was never ripe
before : nor could their consent and agreement,
upon which this act was founded, ever be obtained
before.

These were all the transactions which passed with
reference to Ireland, whilst the chancellor remained
at that board ; in which he acted no more than any
other of the lords who were present did : except



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 91

when any difficulties occurred in their private meet- 1661.
ings and debates, they sometimes resorted to him"
for advice, which he was ready to give ; being al-
ways willing to take any pains, which might make
that very difficult work more easy to be brought to
a good end. But as he never thought he deserved
any reward for so doing, so he never expected the
benefit of one shilling in money or in money's worth,
for any thing he ever did in that affair ; and was so
far from entertaining any overture to that purpose,
that it is notoriously known to many persons of ho-
nour, who, I presume, will be ready to testify the
same, that when, upon his majesty's first return into
England, some propositions were made to him of
receiving the grant of some forfeited lands, and for
the buying other lands there upon the desire of the
owners thereof, and at so low a price that the very
profit of the land would in a short time have paid
for the purchase, and other overtures of immediate
benefit in money, (which others did and lawfully
might accept ;) he rejected all propositions of that
kind or relating to it, and declared publicly and
privately, " that he would neither have lands in
" Ireland nor the least benefit from thence, till all
" differences and pretences in that kingdom should
" be so fully settled and agreed, that there could be
" no more appeal to the king, or repairing to the
" king's council for justice ; in which," he said, " he
" should never be thought so competent an adviser,
" if he had any title of his own in that kingdom to
" bias his inclinations. " And he was often heard to
say, " that he never took a firmer resolution in any
" particular in his life, than to adhere to that con-
" elusion. " Yet because it was notorious afterwards,



92 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. that he did receive some money out of Ireland, and
""had a lawful title to receive more, (with which he

A vindica-
tion of the was reproached when he could not answer for him-

cbancellor /> *. r>

with regard self ;) it may not be amiss in this place, for his vin-
*"' ' ' dication, to set down particularly how that came to
pass, and to mention all the circumstances which
preceded, accompanied, or attended that affair.

In the bills which were first transmitted from Ire-
land after his majesty's happy return, there was an
imposition of a certain sum of money upon some
specified lands in several provinces, " which was f to
" be paid to his majesty within a limited time, and
" to be disposed of by his majesty to such persons
" who had served him faithfully, and suffered in so
" doing," or words to that effect ; for he often pro-
tested that he never saw the act of parliament, and
was most confident that he never heard of it at the
time when it passed, he being often absent from the
council, by reason of the gout or other accidents,
when such matters were transacted. But two years
after the king's return, or thereabout, he received a
letter from the earl of Orrery, " that there would
" be in his hands, and in the earl of Anglesea's and
" the lord Massaren's," (who it seems were ap-
pointed treasurers to receive the money to be raised
by that act of parliament,) " a good sum of money
" for him ; which he gave him notice of, to the end
" that he might give direction for the disposal
" thereof, whether he would have it returned into
" England, or laid out in land in Ireland ;" and he
wished " that he would speedily send his direction,
*' because he was confident that the money would

f was] were



EDWARD EARL OF CLAREN 7 DON. 93

" be paid in, at least by the time that his letter 1661,
" could arrive there. " No man can be more sur- ~~
prised, than the chancellor was at the receipt of this
letter, believing that there was some mistake in it,
arid that his name might have been used in trust by
somebody who had given him no notice of it. And
without returning any answer to the earl of Orrery,
he writ by that post to the lord lieutenant, to in-
form him of what the earl of Orrery had writ to
him, and desired him to " inform him by his own
" inquiry, what . the meaning of it was. "

Before he had an answer from the lord lieutenant,
or indeed before his letter could come to the lord
lieutenant's hands, he received a second letter from
the earl of Orrery ; in which he informed him,
" that there was now paid in to his use the sum of
" twelve thousand six hundred and odd pounds, and
" that there would be the like sum again received
" for him at the end of six months ;" and sent him
a particular direction, " to what person and in what
" form he was to send his order for the payment of
" the money. " The chancellor still forbore to an-
swer this letter, till he had received an answer to
what he had written to the lord lieutenant, who
then informed him at large, what title he had to
that money, and how he came to have it : " that
" shortly after the passing that act of parliament,
" which had given his majesty the disposal of the
" money before mentioned, the earl of Orrery had
" come to him, the lord lieutenant, and putting him
" in mind, how the chancellor had rejected all over-
" tures which had been made to him of benefit
" out of that kingdom," (which refusal, and many
others that shew how unsolicitous he had always



94 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. been in the ways of getting, is not more known to
~~ any man living than to the lord lieutenant,) " wished
" that he would move the king to confer some part
" of that money upon the chancellor ; which the
" lord lieutenant very willingly did, and his majesty
" as cheerfully granted : that a letter was accordingly
" prepared, and his majesty's royal signature pro-
" cured by Mr. Secretary Nicholas, who was at the
" same time commanded by the king not to let him
" know of it ; to which purpose there was likewise
" a clause in the letter, whereby it was provided
" that he should have no notice of it ; which," the
lord lieutenant said, " was by his majesty's direc-
" tion, or with his approbation, because it was said,
" that if he had notice of it, he would be so foolish
" as to obstruct it himself. And there was a clause
" likewise in the said letter, which directed the
" payment of the said monies to his heirs, execu-
" tors, or assigns, if he should die before the receipt
" thereof. "

The chancellor being so fully advertised of all
this by the lord lieutenant, and of which till that
time he had not the least notice or imagination, he
desired secretary Nicholas to give him a copy of
that letter, (which had been since passed as a grant
to him under the great seal of Ireland, according to
the form then used ;) which the secretary gave him,
with a large account of many gracious circum-
stances in the king's granting it, and the obligation
laid upon him of secrecy, and the great caution
that was used that he might have no notice of it.
After he was informed of all this, he did not think
that there was any thing left for him to do, but to
make his humble acknowledgment to his majesty



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 95

for his royal bounty, and to take care for the re- 1661,
ceiving and transmitting the money ; and doubted
not but that he might receive it very honestly. He
did therefore wait upon his majesty with that duty
that became him : and his majesty was graciously
pleased to enlarge his bounty with those expressions
of favour, and of the satisfaction he had vouchsafed
to take himself in conferring his donative, that his
joy was much greater from that grace, than in the
greatness of the gift.

At the very same time, and the very day that the
chancellor received the letter from the lord lieute-
nant, the earl of Portland came to him, and in-
formed him of a difference that was fallen out be-
tween the lord Lovelace and sir Bulstrode Whitlock,
upon a defect in the title to certain lands purchased
heretofore by sir Bulstrode Whitlock from the lord
Lovelace, and enjoyed by him ever since ; but being
by the necessity of that time, the delinquency of
Lovelace and the power of Whitlock, bought and
sold at an undervalue, and the time being now more
equal, Lovelace resolved to have more money, or
not to perform a covenant he had entered into ; the
not-performance whereof would leave the other's
title very defective. The earl desired to reconcile
those two, which could not be done without sale of
the land : and so he proposed to the chancellor the
buying this land, which lay next to some land he
had in Wiltshire. This proposition was made? upon
the very day, as is said before, that he had received
the letter from the lord lieutenant of Ireland ; by
which it appeared that there was near as much

g was made] being made



96 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. money already received for him, as would pay for
~ that purchase, besides what was more to be received
within six months after. The land was well known
to the chancellor ; so that upon a short conference
with the parties, they all agreed upon the purchase :
and he was easily prevailed with to undertake the
payment of the greatest part of the money upon
sealing the writings, not making the least doubt,
but that he should by that time receive the money
frorti Ireland; which was the sole ground and mo-
tive to his making that purchase.

But the next letters he received from Ireland in-
formed him, " that the necessities of that kingdom
" had been such, that they could only return six
" thousand pounds of that money ; and that they
" had been compelled to make use of the rest for
" the public, which would take care to repay it to
" him in a short time :" and so he found himself en-
gaged in a purchase which he could not retract, upon
presumption of money which he could not receive.
And he did not only never h after receive one penny
of what was due upon the second payment, (which
he so little suspected could fail, there being an act of
parliament for the security, that he assigned it upon
the marriage of his second son to him, as the best
part of his portion ;) but the remainder of the first
sum, which was so borrowed or taken from him, or
any part of it, was never 1 after paid to him or to his
use : by which, and the inconveniences and damages
which ensued to him from thence, he might rea-
sonably say that he was a loser, and involved in a
great debt, by that signal bounty of his majesty ;

h never] ever ' never] ever



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 97

and which was afterwards made matter of reproach 1C61.
to him, and as an argument of his corruption. But ~
this is a very true account of that business, and of
all the money that he ever received from Ireland,
with all the circumstances thereof; which, in the
judgment of all impartial men, cannot reflect to the
prejudice of his integrity and honour.

And so we shall no further pursue or again re-
sume any mention of the affairs of Ireland, though
they will afford a large field of matter; but shall
return to the beginning of the parliament, from
whence we departed.

It cannot be expressed, hardly imagined, with Trent nc-

. tions in

what alacrity the parliament entered upon all par- parliament.
ticiilar affairs which might refer to the king's ho-
nour, safety, or profit. They pulled up all those
principles of sedition and rebellion by the roots,
which in their own observation had been the ground
of or contributed to the odious and infamous rebel-
lion in the long parliament. They declared, " that The king's
" sottish distinction between the king's person and av
" his office to be treason ; that his negative voice
" could not be taken from him, and was so essential
" to the making a law, that no order or ordinance of
" either house could be binding to the subject with-
" out it ; that the militia was inseparably vested in
" his majesty, and that it was high treason to raise
" or levy soldiers without the king's commission. "
And because the license of speaking seditiously, and
of laying scandalous imputations and aspersions upon
the person of the king, as saying " that he was
" a papist," and such like terms, to alienate the af-
fections of the people from his majesty, had been
the prologue and principal ingredient to that rebel-

VOL. II. H



98 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

16G1. lion, and corrupted the hearts of his loving subjects ;
"they declared, " that the raising any calumnies of
" that kind upon the king, as saying, ' that he is a
" papist, or popishly affected,' or the like, should be
" felony/' In a word, they vindicated all his regal-
ities and royal prerogatives, and provided for the
safety of his person in as loving and ample a manner
as he could wish : and towards raising and settling
a revenue proportionable to his dignity and neces-
sary expense, over and above the confirmation of all
that had been done or granted in the last conven-
tion, they entered upon all the expedients which
could occur to them, and were willing to receive
propositions or advice from any body that might
contribute thereunto. In all these public matters,
no man could wish a more active spirit to be in
them, than they were in truth possessed with.
The pariia- But in that which the king had principally re-
wiiiing to commended to them, the confirmation of the act of
the act of oblivion and indemnity, they proceeded very slowly,
indemnity, ^^ly, an( j unwillingly, notwithstanding the king's
frequent messages to them " to despatch it, though
" with the delay of those other things which they
" thought did more immediately concern him. "
They had many agents and solicitors in the court,
who thought that all that was released by that act
might lawfully be distributed amongst them ; and
since the king had referred that whole affair to the
parliament, he might well leave it to their judg-
ments, without his own interposition. But his ma-
jesty looked upon himself as under another obliga-
tion both of honour and conscience, and upon the
thing itself as more for the public peace and security,
than any thing the parliament could provide instead



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 99

thereof; and therefore was very much troubled and I6G1.
offended at the apparent unwillingness to pass it. ~~
And thereupon he went himself to the house of
peers, and sent for the commons, and told them,
" that it was absolutely necessary to despatch that The king

, . . . i * i i i -,r> * * i strenuously

:< bill, which he himself had sent to them near two urges them

" months before :" for it was now the eighth of [ r c(

July. His majesty told them, " that it was to put

" himself in mind as well as them, that he so often,

" as often as he came to them, mentioned to them

" his declaration from Breda. " And he said, " he

" should put them in mind of another declaration,

" published by themselves about that time, and

" which he was persuaded made his the more ef-

" fectual, an honest, generous, and Christian de-

" claration, signed by the most eminent persons,

" who had been the most eminent sufferers ; in

" which they renounced all former animosities, all

" memory of former unkindnesses, vowed all ima-

" ginable good-will and all confidence in each other. "

All which being pressed with so much instance by

his majesty prevailed with them : and they then whereupon

forthwith despatched that bill ; and the king as soon firm it.

confirmed it, and would not stay a few days, till

other important bills should be likewise ready to be

presented to him.

And there cannot be a greater instance of their
desire to please his majesty from thenceforth, than
that before that session was concluded, notwith-
standing the prejudice the clergy had brought upon
themselves (as I said before) upon their too much
good husbandry in granting leases, and though
the presbyterian party was not without an interest
in both houses of parliament, they passed a bill for

H 2



100 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. the repeal of that act of parliament, by which the

"bishops were excluded from sitting there. It was

first proposed in the house of commons by a gentle-

man, who had been always taken to be of a pres-

The com- byterian family : and in that house it found less

b-^for"^-* opposition than was looked for; all men knowing,

slops to*"' that besides the justice of it, and the prudence to

their seats w ip e out the memory of so infamous an act, as the

in parlia-

ment; exclusion of them with all the circumstances was
known to be, it would be grateful to the king.

But when it came into the house of peers, where
all men expected it would find a general concur-
rence, k met with some obstruction ; which made a
discovery of an intrigue, that had not been suspect-
ed. For though there were many lords present,
who had industriously laboured the passing the for-
mer bill for the exclusion, yet they had likewise
been guilty of so many other ill things, of which
they were ashamed, that it was believed that they
would not willingly revive the memory of the whole,
by persevering in such an odious particular. Nor in
truth did they. But when they saw that it would
unavoidably pass, (for the number of that party was
not considerable,) they either gave their consents, as
many of them did, or gave their negative without
noise. The obstruction came not from thence. The
catholics less owned the contradiction, nor were
Which is guilty of it, though they suffered in it. But the
inthe Ctei truth * s > k proceeded from the mercurial brain of



house of the ear j o f Bristol, who much affected to be looked

lords by

the eari of upon as the head of tlie catholics ; which they did

Bristol. *

so little desire that he should be thought, that they
very rarely concurred with him. He well knew that
the king desired (which his majesty never dissem-



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 101

*
bled) to give the Roman catholics ease from all the I66J,

sanguinary laws ; and that he did not desire that "~
they should be liable to the other penalties which
the law had made them subject to, whilst they
should in all other respects behave themselves like
good subjects. Nor had they since his majesty's re-
turn sustained the least prejudice by their religion,
but enjoyed as much liberty at court and in the
country, as any other men ; and with which the
wisest of them were abundantly satisfied, and did
abhor the activity of those of their own party, whom k
they did believe more like to deprive them of the li-
berty they enjoyed, than to enlarge it to them.

When the earl of Bristol saw this bill brought
into the house for restoring the bishops to their
seats, he went to the king, and informed his ma-
jesty, " that if this bill should speedily pass, it
" would absolutely deprive the catholics of all those
" graces and indulgence which he intended to them ;
" for that the bishops, when they should sit in the
" house, whatever their own opinions or -inclinations
" were, would find themselves obliged, that they
" might preserve their reputation with the people,
" to contradict and oppose whatsoever should look
" like favour or connivance towards the catholics :
" and therefore, if his majesty continued his former
" gracious inclination towards the Roman catholics,
" he must put some stop (even for the bishops'
" own sakes) to the passing that bill, till the other
" should be more advanced, which he supposed might
" shortly be done ;" there having been already some
overtures made to that purpose, and a committee

k whom] which
H 3



102 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

r-
1661. appointed in the house of lords to take a view of all

"the sanguinary laws in matters of religion, and to
present them to the house, that it might consider
further of them ! . The king, surprised with the dis-
course from a man who had often told him the ne-
cessity of the restoring the bishops, and that it
could not be a perfect parliament without their pre-
sence, thought his reason for the delay to have
weight in it, and that the delay for a few days
could be attended with no prejudice to the matter
itself; and thereupon was willing the bill should
not be called for m , and that when it should be under
commitment, it should be detained there for some
time ; and that he might, the better to produce this
delay, tell some of his friends, " that the king would
" be well pleased, that there should not be over-
" much haste in the presenting that bill for his royal
" assent. "

This grew quickly to be taken notice of in the
house, that after the first reading of that bill, it had
been put off for a second reading longer than was
usual, when the house was at so much leisure ; and
that now it was under commitment, it was ob-
structed there, notwithstanding all the endeavours
some lords of the committee could use for the de-
spatch ; the bill containing very few words, being
only for the repeal of a former act, and the expres-
sions admitting, that is, giving little cause for any
debate. The chancellor desired to know how this
came to pass ; and was informed by one of the lords
of the committee, " that they were assured that the
" king would have a stop put to it, till another bill

1 of them] of it m for] upon



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 103

" should be provided, which his majesty looked for. " 1661.
Hereupon the chancellor spake with his majesty, 7~
who told him all the conference which the earl of
Bristol had held with him, and what he had con-
sented should be done. To which the other replied,
"that he was sorry that his majesty had been pre-
" vailed with to give any obstruction to a bill, which
" every body knew his majesty's heart was so much
" set upon for despatch ; and that if the reason were
" known, it would quickly put an end to all the pre-
" tences of the catholics ; to which his majesty knew
" he was no enemy. " The king presently con-
cluded that the reason was not sufficient, and
wished, " that the bill might be despatched as soon
" as was possible, that he might pass it that ses-
" sion ;" which he had appointed to make an end of
within few days : and so the next day the report
was called for and made, and the bill ordered to be
engrossed against the next morning ; the earl not
being at that time in the house. But the next
morning, when the chancellor had the bill engrossed
in his hand to present to the house to be read the
third time, the earl came to him to the woolsack,
and with great displeasure and wrath in his coun-
tenance told him, " that if that bill were read that
" day, he would speak against it ;" to which the
chancellor gave him an answer that did not please
him : and the bill was passed that day. And from But is at
that time the earl of Bristol was a more avowed and af
declared enemy to him, than he had before professed
to be ; though the friendship that had been between
them had been discontinued or broken, from the
time the earl had changed his religion.

The king within few days came to the parlia-
H 4



104 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1G61. ment, to give his royal assent to those bills which

~" were prepared for him ; and then told them, " that

" he did thank them with all his heart, indeed as

" much as he could for any thing, for the repeal of

" that act which excluded the bishops from sitting

" in parliament. " He said, " it was an unhappy

" act in an unhappy time, passed with many un-

" happy circumstances, and attended with miserable

" events ; and therefore he did again thank them

" for repealing it : and that they had thereby re-

" stored parliaments to their primitive institutions. "

The pariia- This was upon the thirtieth of July 1661, when the

journtd. " parliament was adjourned to the twentieth of No-

vember following.

Because we have mentioned the gracious purposes

the king had to his Roman catholic subjects, of

which afterwards much use was made to his disser-

vice, to which the vanity and presumption of many

of that profession contributed very much ; it may

The true not be unseasonable in this place to mention the

the klng'-s ground of that his majesty's goodness, and the rea-



sons wnv ^at P ur Pse of his was not prosecuted to
catholics }j e p ur p 0se it was intended, after so fair a rise to-
wards it, by the appointment of that committee in
the house of peers, which is remembered above.

It is not to be wondered at, that the king, at the
age he was of when the troubles began in England,
and when he came out of England, knew very little
of the laws which had been long since made and
were still in force against Roman catholics, and
less of the grounds and motives which had intro-
duced those laws. And from the time that he was
first beyond the seas, he could not be without hear-
ing very much spoken against the protestant religion,



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 105

and more for extolling and magnifying the religion i6fil.
of the church of Rome ; neither of which discourses
made any impression upon him. After the defeat
at Worcester, and his escape from thence into
France, the queen his mother (who had very punc-
tually complied with the king her husband's injunc-
tions, in not suffering any body to endeavour to per-
vert the prince her son in his religion, and when he
came afterwards into France after he was king,
continued 11 the same reservation) used much more
sharpness in her discourse against the protestants,
than she had been accustomed to. The liberty that
his majesty formerly had in the Louvre, to have a
place set aside for the exercise of his religion, was
taken away : and continual discourses were made
by the queen in his presence, " that he had now no
" hope ever to be restored to his dominions, but by
" the help of the catholics ; and therefore that he
" must apply himself to them in such a way, as
" might induce them to help him. "

About this time there was a short collection and
abridgment made of all the penal laws, which had
been made and which were still in force in England
against the Roman catholics ; " that all priests for
" saying mass were to be put to death ;" the great
penalties which they were to undergo, who enter-
tained or harboured a priest in their house, or were
present at mass, and the like ; with all other envi-
ous clauses, which were in any acts of parliament,
that had been enacted upon several treasons and
conspiracies of the Roman catholics, in the reigns of

11 continued] her majesty con- jesty's return and escape from
tinned Worcester the queen used

used] but after his ma-



106 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. queen Elizabeth and king James. And this collec-
tion they caused to be translated into French and
into Latin, and scattered it abroad in all places,
after they had caused copies of it to be presented to
the queen mother of France, and to the cardinal :
so that the king came into no place where those pa-
pers were not shewed to him, and where he was not
seriously asked, " whether it was a true collection
" of the laws of England," and " whether it was
" possible that any Christian kingdom could exer-
" cise so much tyranny against the catholic reli-
" gion. " The king, who had never heard of these
particulars, did really believe that the paper was
forged, and answered, " he did not believe that there
" were such laws :" and when he came to his lodg-
ings, he gave the chancellor the paper, and bade him
read it, and tell him, " whether such laws were in
" force in England. " He had heard before of the
scattering of those papers, and knew well who had
made the collection ; who had been a lawyer, and
was a protestant, but had too good an opinion of the
Roman catholics, and desired too much to be grate-
ful to them.

The chancellor found an opportunity the next
day to enlarge upon the paper to his majesty, and
informed him of " the seasons in which, and the
" occasions and provocations upon which, those laws
" had been made ; of the frequent treasons and con-
" spiracies which had been entered into by some
" Roman catholics, always with the privity and ap-
" probation of their priests and confessors, against
" the person and life of queen Elizabeth ; and after
" her death, of the infamous and detestable gun-
" powder treason to have destroyed king James and



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 107

" his posterity, with the whole nobility of the king- 1661.
" dom : so that in those times, the pope having ex-
" communicated the whole kingdom, and absolved
" the subjects from all their oaths of fidelity, there
" seemed no expedient to preserve the crown, but
" the using these severities against those who were
" professed enemies to it. But that since those
" times, that the Roman catholics had lived quietly,
" that rigour had not been used : and that the king
" his father's clemency towards those of that pro-
" fession (which clemency extended no further than
" the dispensing with the utmost rigour of the laws)
" was the ground of the scandal of his being po-
" pishly affected, that contributed as much to his
" ruin, as any particular malice in the worst of his
" enemies. "

The king hearkened attentively to all that was
said, and then answered, " that he could not doubt
" but there was some very extraordinary reason for
" the making such strange laws : but whatever the
* { reason then was, that it was at present and for
" many years past very evident, that there was no
" such malignity in the Roman catholics, that should
" continue that heavy yoke upon their necks. That
" he knew well enough, that if he were in England,
" he had not in himself the power to repeal any act
" of parliament, without the consent of parliament :
" but that he knew no reason why he might not
" profess, that he did not like those laws which
" caused men to be put to death for their religion ;
" and that he would do his best, if ever God re-
" stored him to his kingdom, that those bloody laws
" might be repealed. And that if there were no
" other reason of state than he could yet compre-



108 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

1661. " hend, against the taking away the other penalties,
~" he should be glad that all those distinctions be-
" tween his subjects might be removed ; and that
" whilst they were all equally good subjects, they
" might equally enjoy his protection. " And his ma-
jesty did frequently, when he was in the courts of
catholic princes, and when he was sure to hear the
sharpness of the laws in England inveighed against,
enlarge upon the same discourse : and it had been a
very unseasonable presumption in any man, who
would have endeavoured to have dissuaded him from
entertaining that candour in his heart.

With this gracious disposition his majesty re-:
turned into England ; and received his catholic sub-
jects with the same grace and frankness, that he did
his other : and they took all opportunities to extol
their own sufferings, which they would have under-
stood to have been for him. And some very noble
persons there were, who had served his father very
worthily in the war, and suffered as largely after-
wards for having done so : but the number of those
was not great, but much greater than of those who
shewed any affection to him or for him, during the
time of his absence, and the government of the
usurper. Yet some few there were, even "of those
who had suffered most for his father, who did send
him supply when he was abroad, though they were
hardly able to provide necessaries for themselves :
and in his escape from Worcester, he received ex-
traordinary benefit, by the fidelity of many poor
people of that religion ; which his majesty was never
reserved in the remembrance of. And this gracious
disposition in him did not then appear ingrateful to
any. And then, upon an address made to the house



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 109

of peers in the name of the Roman catholics, for 1661.
some relaxation of those laws which were still in~
force against them, the house of peers appointed A commit-
that committee which is mentioned before, to ex- lords for re -
amine and report all those penal statutes, which p^afiLw
reached to the taking away the life of any Roman " mnst lhe

' J Roman ca-

catholic, priest, or layman, for his religion ; there not thoiics.
appearing one lord in the house, who seemed to be
unwilling that those laws should be repealed. And
after that committee was appointed, the Roman ca-
tholic lords and their friends for some days diligently
attended it, and made their observations upon seve-
ral acts of parliament, in which they desired ease.
But on a sudden this committee was discontinued,
and never after revived ; the Roman catholics never
afterwards being solicitous for it.

The argument was now to be debated amongst
themselves, that they might agree what would
please them : and then there quickly appeared that The Roman
discord and animosity between them, that never disagree*
was nor ever will be extinguished ; and of which ^
the state might make much other use than it hath
done. The lords and men of estates were not satis-
fied, in that they observed the good-nature of the
house did not appear to extend further, than the
abolishing those laws which concerned the lives of
the priests, which did not much affect them : for
besides that those spectacles were no longer grateful
to the people, they were confident that they should
not be without men to discharge those functions;
and the number of such was more grievous to them
than the scarcity. That which they desired was,
the removal of those laws, which being let loose
would deprive them of so much of their estates, that



110 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF

16C). the remainder would not preserve them from po-
~" verty. This indulgence would indeed be grateful to
them ; for the other they cared not. Nor were the
ecclesiastics at all pleased with what was proposed
for their advantage, but looked upon themselves as
deprived of the honour of martyrdom by this remis-
sion, that P they might undergo restraints, which
would be more grievous than death itself: and they
were very apprehensive, that there would remain
some order of them excluded, as there was even a
most universal prejudice against the Jesuits ; or that
there would be some limitation of their numbers,
which they well knew the catholics in general would
be very glad of, though they could not appear to de-
sire it 1.

There was a committee chosen amongst them of
the superiors of all orders, and of the secular clergy,
that sat at Arundel house, and consulted together
with some of the principal lords and others of the
prime quality of that religion, what they should say
or do in such and such cases which probably might
fall out. They all concluded, at least apprehended,
that they should never be dispensed with in respect
of the oaths, which were enjoined to be taken by all
men, without their submitting to take some other
oath, that might be an equal security of and for their
fidelity to the king, and the preservation of the
peace of the kingdom. And there had been lately
scattered abroad some printed papers, written by
some regular and secular clergy, with sober propo-
sitions to that purpose, and even the form of an oath
and subscription to be taken or made by all catho-

P that] and that 1 it] Not in MS.



EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. Ill

lies; in which there was an absolute renunciation 1661.
or declaration against the temporal authority of the ~~
pope, which, in all common discourses amongst the
protestants, all Roman catholics made no scruple to
renounce and disclaim : but it coming now to be the
subject-matter of the debate in this committee, the
Jesuits declared with much warmth, " that they
" ought not, nor could they with a good conscience
" as catholics, deprive the pope of his temporal au-
" thority, which he hath in all kingdoms granted
" to him by God himself," with very much to that
purpose ; with which most of the temporal lords, and
very many of the seculars and regulars, were so
much scandalized, that the committee being broken
up for that time, they never attended it again ; the
wiser and the more conscientious men discerning, that
there was a spirit in the rest that was raised and
governed by a passion, of which they could not com-
prehend the ground. And the truth is, the Jesuits,
and they who adhered to them, had entertained
great hopes from the king's too much grace to them,
and from the great liberty they enjoyed ; and pro-
mised themselves and their friends another kind of
indulgence, than they saw was intended to them by
the house of peers.