throne of Ireland. In his religious principles he was neither a catholic nor a protestant: he disliked and dreaded the puritans. At this time the puritan party had acquired both in the church and state of Ireland an eminent ascendancy; and from this moment they were preparing that eventful tragedy which closed in the catastrophe of the throne, altars, and constitution of the British empire. Their first act was to express their indignation at the relaxations, favour, and countenance shown to the catholics; to meet which the government published the Statute of Conformity, to which was annexed the king's proclamation for its strict observance. These measures, and some harsh proceedings against several magistrates and citizens of Dublin, naturally produced general rancour and distrust; but the views of those who had instituted them would have been disappointed, unless some advantages could be 'reaped from them.

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mours of insurrections and conspiracies were set afloat; and in the moment of distrust and alarm an anonymous letter was dropped in the privycouncil chamber, intimating a traitorous scheme of rebellion formed by the earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, and other lords and gentlemen of the north, for seizing the castle of Dublin, murdering the deputy, and raising a general revolt, with the aid of Spain, in favour of the catholic religion. The truth or falsehood of this charge is variously contended for by the adherents and opposers of the Roman catholic cause. Certain however it is, that Tyrone and Tyrconnel fled the country, and were with some other fugitives of inferior note at, tainted of high treason. Whether the flight of these noblemen ought to be attributed to consciousness of guilt, or fear of injustice, the consequence was

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the forfeiture of their vast estates to the crown. These estates, besides some others that had been also forfeited by sir Cahir O'Dogherty and several of his adherents, who were actually for about five months in rebellion, comprised almost the whole six northern counties of Cavan, Fermanagh, Armagh, Derry, Tyrone, and Tyrconnel, now called Donegal. From that period king James entered upon his favourite scheme of forming a plantation for the avowed purpose of exclud ing the old inhabitants, and introducing the reformed religion. The lands were accordingly parcelled out among the adventurers who flocked thither from England and Scotland. The latter were the more numerous, and brought with them the principles and discipline of presbyterianism. The most opulent adventurers in this speculation were the citizens of London; who obtained a large tract of land on the river Ban in the vicinity of Derry, which town they rebuilt and called London Derry. The passion which James indulged for plantations was an endless source of apprehension and suffering to the Irish. With a view to extend them to other parts of the kingdom, he appointed a commission of inquiry to scrutinize the titles and determine the rights of all the lands in Leinster and the adjoining districts. Such rapid progress did these commissions of defective titles make, that in a short time James deemed himself entitied to make a distribution of 385,000 acres in those counties. By such acts the possession of every man became precarious and unsafe; and to complete the horror of this system of inquisition, the juries who refused to find a title in the crow? were censured, and fined in the castle chamber. The remainder of the reign of James I. was an uninterrupted

interrupted scene of vexatious oppressions of the recusants. Grievous extortion of the soldiery and their officers upon the people, the execution of martial law in time of peace, the abusive exactions of the clergy and the ecclesiastical courts, the unconstitutional interference of the privy council and castle chamber in causes which ought to have been determined by common law, the invasion of property in the different plantations, and extreme rigour in executing the penal laws, were the means by which James estranged the affections of his Irish subjects from the English government, reduced them to want and misery, and consequently predisposed them to rise against their oppressors whenever the opportunity should offer itself of doing it with effect.

CHAP.

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CHAP. VI.

Reign of Charles I.

T the period when the inauspicious reign of the first Charles commenced, lord Faulkiand was deputy of Ireland. This nobleman was a man of more rectitude than ability, of manners indolent and gentle, courting rather than terrifying the obnoxious and prevailing party. The instructions sent him from court were favourable to the ca tholics, and he faithfully pursued them. The puritans however highly resented this conduct, and loudly complained that the popish worship was still maintained, and that the new seminary of the recusants in Dublin was not suppressed. The catholics were more than prudently elated with this species of negative indulgence and precarious favour, and, in the overflowing of their gratitude, offered to keep in pay at their own charge a constant body of five thousand infantry and five hundred horse for the service of the king. Faulkland was instructed to give every encouragement to this proposal. The protestants, however, jealous of the power that would by this means be placed in the hands of the catholics or the crown, availed themselves of the fanatic spirit of the times, and rejected the offer as the ungodly price of idolatry and superstition. Faulkland still continued faithfully t execute the instructions of the court, and by that zeal so irritated the puritans, that they beset the English cabinet with complaints of his administra tion, and the king sacrificed a faithful servant

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the intrigues of enemies. Faulkland was recalled, and the administration intrusted to two lords justices, viscount Ely the chancellor, and the earl of Cork the lord high treasurer of that kingdom. These justices, without waiting for any instructions from the king, fell at once with great severity on the recusants, and threatened all absentees from the established worship with the penalties of the statute enacted in the second year of the reign of Elizabeth. The difficulties however which the unfortunate Charles experienced at home, soon caused him to lend an eager ear to those who advised him that austerity to the papists was the only sure method of securing supplies. A system of terrorism was again adopted. The archbishop of the diocese, and the chief magistrate of the city, at the head of a file of musqueteers, entered the catholic chapel in Cork-street on St. Stephen's day whilst they were celebrating divine service: they seized the priest in his vestments at the altar, hewed down the crucifix, and carried off all the sacred utensils and ornaments. After their first alarm and terror had in some degree subsided, several of the congregation pursued the assailants with stones, and rescued their priest. The representation of this incident to the English council produced an immediate order, which was carried into effect, for seizing fifteen religious houses for the king's use, and assigning the newly established seminary to the university of Dublin. The most rigorous execution of the penal laws was extended to every part of the kingdom, and the king yielded to the advice of the lords justices, that the army should be provided for out of the weekly fines to be imposed upon the catholics for absenting themelves from the established worship. As long as

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