of these forfeitures immense estates to | Levinge to be the author of certain William Bentinck, whom he created Lord groundless and scandalous aspersions resWoodstock, to Ginkell, Lord Athlone, and pecting the commissioners who had signed others of his Dutch friends;-especially, he had bestowed over 95,600 acres on Mrs. Elizabeth Villiers, Countess of Orkney, a lady who, in the words of Lord Macaulay, "had inspired William with a passion which had caused much scandal and unhappiness in the little court of the Hague" -where, in fact, his lawful wife resided. If the consideration of the grant was of the kind here intimated, it must be allowed that William paid the lady royally, out of others' estates. The commissioners further report great corruption and bribery in the matter of procuring pardons, and astonishing waste and destruction, especially of the fine woods, which had covered wide regions of the island. The drift of their report is, that the whole of the dealings with those confiscated lands were one foul and monstrous job.

the report, and to commit him, thereupon, prisoner to the Tower. There were long and acrimonious debates upon this question; a sharp address to the king, in pursuance of the sense of the majority, and a submissive answer from his majesty, declaring that he was not led by inclination, but thought himself obliged, in justice, to reward those who had served well, and particularly in the reduction of Ireland, out of the estates forfeited to him by the rebellion there. And the House resolved, in reply, "that whoever advised his majesty's answer to the Address of the House has used his utmost endeavour to create a misunderstanding and jealousy between the king and his people." The "Bill of Resumption" of the forfeited estates finally passed, after vehement opposition, and received the reluctant royal assent on the 11th of April, 1700, on which day his majesty prorogued the Houses, without any speech, thinking there was no room for the usual expressions of satisfaction and gratitude; and not choosing to give any public proof of discontent or resentment. In all these parliamentary disputes there was not the least question of the rights or claims of any Irish Catholic; nor does it appear that there would have been the slightest opposition to any scheme which concerned merely the resumption of lands restored to them. The biographer of William remarks, "that no transaction during the reign of this monarch so pressed upon his spirits, or so humbled his pride, as the resumption of the grants of the forfeited

Here, it is to be remarked that this inquiry and report were by no means in the interest of the plundered Catholics, the right owners of all those estates; on the contrary, one of the points dwelt on most bitterly by the commissioners was the restoration of a small portion of them to Catholic proprietors, under what the commissioners considered delusive pretences; and the resumption which they contemplated was to have the effect of again taking away those wrecks and remnants of the property of Catholics which had been redeemed out of the general ruin. The English House of Commons, in a violent ferment, immediately resolved "that a bill be brought in to apply all the forfeited estates and interests in Ireland, and ali grants thereof, and of the rents and re-estates in Ireland by the English Parliavenues belonging to the crown within that kingdom since the 13th February, 1689, to the use of the public." Then a "Court of Delegates" was appointed to determine claims; and it was resolved by the House" that they would not receive any petitions whatever against the provisions of this bill." The report of the commission had been signed only by four commissioners out of seven, namely, by Annesley, Trenchard, Hamilton, and Langford, the other three having dissented. The House, therefore, came to the resolution, "that Francis Annesley, John Trenchard, James Hamilton, and Henry Langford, Esqs., had acquitted themselves with understanding, courage, and integrity; which was an implied censure on the Earl of Drogheda, Sir Francis Brewster, and Sir Richard Levinge, the three dissentient commissioners; and the House went so far as to vote Sir Richard

ment." This may be easily believed; but it is to be remarked, that we find no such opinion from King William's enthusiastic biographer when he was called on to set his seal to the legislative violations of the Treaty of Limerick. He could ill bear to deprive his Dutch courtiers of their Irish estates; but it was of small moment to him to beggar and oppress millions of Irishmen, in violation of his own plighted faith.

In his private despatches to Lord Galway, shortly after the rising of parliament, the king says: "You may judge what vexation all their extraordinary proceedings gave me; and I assure you, your being deprived of what I gave you with so much pleasure is not the least of my griefs. I never had more occasion than at present for persons of your capacity and fidelity. I hope I shall find opportunities to give you marks of my esteem and friendship."

the last of her race, by virtue of the act establishing the succession in the House of Hanover; and her brother was an attainted and proscribed outlaw. But if the Irish people had imagined that any Stuart, or indeed any English sovereign, could either be moved by gratitude for their loyal service, or stung by resentment against the dominant Whig party, which ruined and degraded the Stuart family, to the point of interposing or interceding on behalf of the oppressed Catholics, they would have been grossly deceived. In truth they had no such hope or expectation. They were as indifferent to the Stuarts now as the Stuarts were to them; and except some Irish officers on the continent, who still put their trust in a counter-revolution, none of the Irish took the smallest interest in the new settlement of the throne, nor cared whether a descendant of the Stuarts or of the Electress of Hanover should reign over England.

to him, commanding him to repair to his government of Ireland, whereupon he insolently declared "that he would not go if the queen gave him the whole country." The earl then waited on her majesty, and resigned his office, which was immediately conferred upon the Duke of Ormond; an evil omen for Ireland when one of the name of Butler was appointed to rule over her. But the duke did not come to Dublin for that year, as he was employed in military service abroad; this island was therefore, as usual, placed under the government of three lords-justices, Lord Mount Alexander, General Erle, and Mr. Knightley.

were

successful in this campaign; and the unfailing result followed-a new code of laws to still further beggar and torture the Irish. It is an irksome and painful task to pursue the details of that terrible penal code; but the penal code is the

The military operations began with the siege of Kaisarswart, a strong place on the Rhine. The Prince of Nassau-Saarbruck conducted the siege, and Ginkell, now "Earl of Athlone," commanded the covering army. The place capitulated on the 15th of June. Shortly after, the Earl King William had died just at the mo- of Marlborough came over from England ment when his able policy had succeeded to take the command of the allied army; in uniting the power of the Germanic and entered upon that career of brilliant Empire with that of England and Holland, achievements which entitled him to for another war against Louis. Three rank as the first soldier of his time. days after her accession, the queen Unfortunately the English arms repaired in person, with the usual pomp and solemnity, to the House of Peers, and made a speech from the throne, expressing her fixed resolution to prosecute the measures concerted by the late king, whom she styled "the great support, not only of these kingdoms, but of all Eu-history of Ireland. The Duke of Ormond, rope." And she declared "that too much could not be done for the encouragement of our allies, and to reduce the exorbitant power of France." In the conclusion of her speech she took occasion to protest "that her heart was truly English," which was considered a studied affront to the memory of the late king, whose heart was Dutch; but the allusion probably only added to her popularity. Her most influential counsellors, at first, were the Earls of Marlborough and Godolphin, who were eager for the most vigorous prosecution of the war. Lord Godolphin was appointed Lord High Treasurer, and Marlborough Captain-General of the forces of England at home and abroad. War was declared against France simultaneously on the same day at London, Vienna, and the Hague.

Lord Rochester was then Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. He was of the Tory party, much averse to the war, and loud in his denunciations of it. But his protests at the council-board having been disregarded, he retired in high indignation to his country-seat. Shortly afterwards a message from the queen was despatched

after an unsuccessful attempt upon Cadiz, and a prosperous one upon the Spanish fleet in the harbour of Vigo, in Spain, came over to his government in Ireland, where the Irish Commons in a body, presented to him the first of the famous bills "to prevent the further growth of Popery." The House, says Burnett, "pressed the duke with more than usual vehemence, to intercede so effectually that it might be returned back under the great seal of England." His grace was pleased to give his promise "that he would recommend it in the most effectual manner, and do every thing in his power to prevent the growth of Popery."

One might indeed suppose that "Popery" had been already sufficiently discouraged. seeing that the bishops and regular clergy had been banished; that Catholics were excluded by law from all honourable or lucrative employments; carefully disarmed and plundered of almost every acre of their ancient inheritances. But enough had not yet been done to make the "Protestant interest" feel secure. visions of this bill "to prevent the further growth of Popery," which were so warmly

The pro

modification it received in England was actually an additional clause, imposing still further penalties and disabilities. This clause was levelled against the Protestant Dissenters, who were already a numerous and wealthy body, especially in Ulster; and was to the effect that none in Ireland should be capable of any employment, or of being in the magistracy of any city, who did not qualify by receiving the sacrament according to the rites of the Church of England; according to the Test Act, which had till then been applicable only to that kingdom, and had never yet been imposed upon Ireland. It has been alleged by the friends of the Government of Queen Anne, that the Administration invented this plan, hoping that it would defeat the bill altogether. Bishop Burnet, in his history of his own Times, says, "It was hoped, by those who got this clause added to the bill, that those in Ireland who promoted it most, would now be the less fond of it, when it had such a weight hung to it." If it be indeed true that the government intended to defeat the bill by this underhand method, the plan did not succeed. Nothing was too savage for the "Ascendency,' provided only that it was to aggrieve and oppress the Catholics; and for the same great object, the Dissenters themselves, though they remonstrated at first by petition, soon meekly acquiesced in their own exclusion and disabilities. The law was to ruin the Catholics; and that was enough for them.

recommended by the Duke of Ormond, by the Irish Parliament; and the only are shortly these: the third clause enacts that if the son of a Papist shall at any time become a Protestant, his father may not sell or mortgage his estate, or dispose of it, or any portion of it, by will. The fourth clause provides that a Papist shall not be guardian to his own child; and further, that if his child, no matter how young, conforms to the Protestant religion, he reduces his father at once to a tenant for life; the child is to be taken from its father, and placed under the guardianship of the nearest Protestant relation. The sixth clause renders Papists incapable of purchasing any landed estates, or rents or profits arising out of land, or holding any lease of lives, or any other lease, for any term exceeding thirty-one years; and even in such leases the reserved rent must be at least "one-third of the improved annual value;" any Protestant who discovers being entitled to the interest in the lease. The seventh clause prohibits Papists from succeeding to the property of their Protestant relations. The tenth clause provides that the estate of a Papist who has no Protestant heir shall be gavelled; that is, parcelled in equal shares between all his children. Other clauses impose on Catholics the oath of abjuration and the sacramental test, to qualify for any office or for voting at any election. After several further clauses relating to qualification for office, which were not of very great importance-as no Catholic then aspired to any office-come the 15th, 16th, and 17th clauses, which carefully deprive the citizens of Limerick and Galway of the poor privilege promised them in the treaty, of living in their own towns and carrying on their trade there, which, it will be remembered, was grievously complained of by the Protestant residents as a wrong and oppression upon them.

When this bill was sent to England it somewhat embarrassed the court. Queen Anne was then in firm alliance with the great Catholic power of Austria, and the English Government, with its usual hypocritical affectation of liberality, was ever pressing the emperor for certain indulgences to his Protestant subjects. Yet the bill was not objected to on the part of the crown; it was, in fact, thought then, as it is thought now-and with justice-that what is done in Ireland is done in a corner; and that England might continue to play her part as champion of religious liberty in the world, while she herself went to the uttermost extremities of intolerant atrocity in Ireland. The bill was sent back approved, in order that it might be passed

29

On the return of the bill to Ireland, and before its passage in Dublin, certain Catholics prayed to be heard by counsel in opposition to it. They were Nicholas Viscount Kingsland, Colonel J. Brown, Colonel Burke, Colonel Robert Nugent, Colonel Patrick Allen, Captain French, and other Catholics of Limerick and Galway. Their petition was granted; and in pursuance of that order, three advocates for the Catholics appeared at the bar of the House of Commons. They were Sir Theobald Butler, Counsellor Malone, and Sir Stephen Rice; the two first in their gowns, the third without a gown, as he appeared not for the petitioners in general, but for himself in his private capacity, as one of the aggrieved persons. It is to be observed that these Catholic lawyers were themselves "protected persons," within the meaning of the Articles of Limerick; and that they were pleading on that day not only for their clients, but for themselves-for their own liberty to plead in court and to wear their gowns. It was a very remarkable scene; and as it forms an era in the history of Irish penal laws,

we shall insert here the main part of the or obligation, upon the most valuable conexcellent argumentative appeal of Sir siderations, most solemnly made and enTheobald Butler, as it is abstracted in tered into, destroys and violates the end of several histories of the time.* The speaker every such contract or obligation: but the opens, of course, by laying great stress end and design of those articles was, upon the Articles of Limerick; he pro- that all those therein comprised, and ceeds thus: every of their heirs, should hold, possess, and enjoy all and every of their estates of freehold and inheritance, and all the rights, titles, and interests, privileges, and immunities, which they and every of them held, enjoyed, or were rightfully intituled to, in the reign of King Charles the Second; or at any time since, by the laws and statutes that were in force in the said reign in this realm: but that the design of this bill was to take away every such right, title, interest, &c., from every father being a Papist, and to make the Popish father, who, by the articles and laws aforesaid, had an undoubted right either to sell or otherwise at pleasure to disposeof his estate, at any time of his life, as he thought fit, only tenant for life: and consequently disabled from selling, or otherwise disposing thereof, after his son or other heir should become Protestant, though otherwise never so disobedient, profligate, or extravagant: ergo, this act tends to the destroying the end for which those articles were made, and consequently the breaking of the public faith, plighted for their performance.

"That since the said articles were thus under the most solemn ties, and for such valuable considerations granted the petitioners, by nothing less than the general of the army, the lords-justices of the kingdom, the king, queen, and parliament, the public faith of the nation was therein concerned, obliged, bound, and engaged, as fully and firmly as was possible for one people to pledge faith to another; that therefore this Parliament could not pass such a bill as that intituled An Act to prevent the further growth of Popery, then before the House, into a law, without infringing those articles, and a manifest breach of the public faith; of which he hoped that House would be no less regardful and tender than their predecessors who made the act for confirming those articles had been.

"That if he proved that the passing that act was such a manifest breach of those articles, and consequently of the public faith, he hoped that honourable House would be very tender how they passed the said bill before them into a law; to the apparent prejudice of the petitioners, and the hazard of bringing upon themselves and posterity such evils, reproach, and infamy as the doing the like had brought upon other nations and people.

"Now, that the passing such a bill as that then before the House to prevent the further growth of Popery will be a breach of those articles, and consequently of the public faith, I prove (said he) by the following argument:

"The argument then is (said he) whatever shall be enacted to the prejudice or destroying of any obligation, covenant, or contract, in the most solemn manner, and for the most valuable consideration entered into, is a manifest violation and destruction of every such obligation, covenant, and contract: but the passing that bill into a law will evidently and absolutely destroy the Articles of Limerick and Galway, to all intents and purposes, and therefore the passing that bill into a law will be such a breach of those articles, and consequently of the public faith, plighted for performing those articles; which remained to be proved.

"The major is proved (said he), for that whatever destroys or violates any contract, *It will be found at full length in Plowden's Appendix and in Curry's Historical Review.

"The minor is proved by the 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, and 17th clauses of the said bill, all which (said he) I shall consider and speak to, in the order as they are placed in the bill.

"By the first of these clauses (which is the third of the bill), I that am the Popish father, without committing any crime against the state, or the laws of the land (by which only I ought to be governed), or any other fault; but merely for being of the religion of my forefathers, and that which, till of late years, was the ancient religion of these kingdoms, contrary to the express words of the second Article of Limerick, and the public faith, plighted as aforesaid for their perform ance, am deprived of my inheritance freehold, &c., and of all other advantage which by those articles and the laws o the land I am entitled to enjoy, equally with every other of my fellow-subjects, whether Protestant or. Popish. though such my estate be even the purchase of my own hard labour and industry, yet I shall not (though my occasions be never so pressing) have liberty (after my eldest son or other heir becomes a Protestant) to sell, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of, or charge it for payment of my debts, or have leave out of my own estate

And