The state of the Protestants of Ireland under the late King James's government in which their carriage towards him is justified, and the absolute necessity of their endeavouring to be freed from his government, and of submitting to their present Majesties is demonstrated.

SECT. XI. The Methods by which Kings James compleated the ruin of the Protestants Personal Fortunes.

1. THE Protestants by the Deputies taking away their Hor∣ses, and the Army their Cattle, were put out of a pos∣sibility of Living in the Country, or of making any thing of their Farms by Plowing or Grazing, and had saved nothing but their Houshold-Stuff and Mony; only some of them, when they saw the Irish taking away their Cattle, slaughtered part of them, Barrelled them up, and sent them to Dublin, and o∣ther Towns; they preserved likewise their Hides and Tallow of the Year 1688, not having any vent for them; and the Merchants upon the same account were stored with such Com∣modities as used to be sent Yearly into England or Foreign Parts; and many of these went out of the Kingdom for their own Safety, and left their Goods in the Hands of their Ser∣vants or Friends. Their going away, though they had Li∣cense for it, and those Licenses not expired, was made a pre∣tence to Seize their Goods; and in March 1688, the Officers of the Army throughout the Kingdom, without any Law or Legal Authority, by order from the Lord Deputy, Seized all Goods, Houses, Lands, &c. belonging to any who were out of the Kingdom; there was no other reason given for this, but that it was the Deputies Pleasure it should be so; in May, the Commissioners of the Revenue took it out of the Sol∣diers Hands; and that they might be the better able to go through with it, endeavoured to procure from their pretended Parliament, an Act to confirm all they had done till that time, and further to empower them to examin Witnesses upon Oath concerning concealed Goods of Absentees: The Bill as it was drawn by the Commons, added a power to oblige every body to discover upon Oath what they concealed, belonging to their absent

Friends, and to Commit whom they pleased without Bail or Mainprize during pleasure, not excepting the Peers of the Realm; which made the House of Lords correct these Clauses, and several others in the Bill, upon the Motion and earnest Struggling of the Bishop of Meath; though the Commissioners did in a great Measure put the Act in Execution, as the Com∣mons intended it▪ for where-ever they expected any good of Absentees to be, they sent and seized all that was in the place, and then refused to restore any thing to the Owners, but upon Oath that it was their own proper Goods; the rest they supposed to belong to some Absentee, and made it lawful Prize; all such being by the Act vested in the King, though the Owners who were absent without any Fault of their own should have come back and claimed, by which Act all Protestants that had fled for their Refuge into England, or any other place, or were gone upon their lawful Occasions, to the number of many Thousands, were absolutely divested of all their Personal Fortunes, and cut off from all Claim to their Goods and Chattels whatever.

The Condition of those who staid behind, was very little better, so many Contrivances were set on foot to ruin them, and take away the little Goods that were yet left them, that they were as effectually destroy'd as their Neighbours that went for England; they knew that besides Goods, the Protestants had some ready Money and Plate; their chief aim was to come by them, and several ways were thought of to effect it; some∣times they were for setting up a Mint, and for forcing every Body to bring in on Oath to be coined, whatever Plate was in their Possession; sometimes they were for searching Houses, and seizing all they found, but these Methods were looked on as too Violent, and not likely to succeed if they should put them in Practice; they therefore defer'd these for the present, and appli'd themselves to the following Courses, by which they got from us a great part of our Mony, Plate and Goods; and if our Delive∣rance had not been speedy, would ••••fallibly have got the rest.

1. They would pretend for a Summ of Mony to procure License for a Ship to go off, and when they had gotten the Mony, and the People had Ship'd themselves and their Effects, they

then ordered the Ship to be unloaded again, and seized all the Mony and Plate they found, which had been privately con∣veyed on Shipboard, tho' not forfeited by any Law.

2. They would take off the Embargo which was generally laid on Ships, and pretend that they would suffer the Merchants to Trade: and as soon as they had got the Custom-houses full of Goods, and receiv'd vast Rates for Custom, besides Bribes to the Officers that attended the Ships, they would put on the Embargo again, stop the Goods, and not return one Farthing.

3. They promised Licenses for England to all who would pay for them; and when they had gotten vast Summs from the Crowd that press'd to get away, they would then stop the Ships, and make their Licenses useless: There was nothing to be done without a Bribe, at what Rate may be imagined from this, that an ordinary Tide-waiter, one White at Rings-End, was accounted to have gotten in Bribes for conniving at Peo∣ples going off, at least 1000 l. in a few Months.

4. All Protestants that lived in the Country, were forced to take out Protections; these were sold at great Rates, and it was not sufficient to buy them once, they were often voided, either by new Orders, or the Change of Governors; and then they were obliged to take them out a new; some had Protections not only for their Goods, but likewise for some Arms and Horses, and re∣newed them five or six times, paying a good Rate for them every time, and yet at last they lost all their Horses, Arms and Goods, as well as their Neighbors who had no Protections.

5. Where they learnt any Man had Mony, they seiz'd him, on some Pretence or other; and if they found the Mony, it was sufficient Evidence of his Guilt; they sent him to Goal, and con∣verted the Mony to their own use; at the worst, they knew it was only restoring it in Brass: Thus they serv'd Mr. Heuston in Bridg∣street, and Mr. Gabriel King in the County of Roscommon, who could never get any satisfaction for his Silver and Plate thus taken from him; and the case was the same with many others.

6. In several places the Governors went into Mens Houses and Shops, and seiz'd wh•••• they found, without the Formality of a Pretence, and took it away: Cork was used at this rate; their Governor Mounsieur Boiselot, not failing in any Punctilio of his

Country Dragooning; and he is supposed to have sent off for Frame to the value of 30000 l. in Mony, Leather, and other Commodities; the Spoils of the Protestants in that Rich Town.

7. The Parliament granted the King a Tax of 20000 l. per Month for thirteen Months, which the Kingdom could hardly have paid if it had been in its most Flourishing Condition; but they knew it would fall most heavy on the Protestants, who must be forced to pay it out of their ready Mony, having lost their Stocks generally by Plundering, and deprived of their Rents and Incomes.

2. Because the Protestants in and about Dublin had saved some Hides, Tallow, Wooll, &c. King James, by▪ pretence of his Prerogative Royal, laid a Tax of 20000 l. per. Month, for three Months, on Chattels, because the 20000 l. per Month granted by the Parliament was only on Lands.

This way of levying Mony did startle every Body; the pre∣tended Parliament was then in being, and was adjourned till January 12. 1689. which happened to be about the very time when the King and his Council were upon this Project. Some in the Council oppos'd it, and pleaded the no necessity of using extraordinary ways of levying Mony, when the King might have it in the ordinary way; and further, that it would give advantage to his Enemies, and be an Argument of his affecting an Arbitrary Power; but he was very angry with those that oppos'd it, and told them, That they had made him believe it was a Branch of his Prerogative to Levy Mony, and If he could not do it, he could do nothing. Chancellor Fitton appear'd Zeal∣ously for it, and 'twas carried, that the Mony should be raised; but it being a new thing, they were at a loss how to go about it; at last they issued out a Proclamation, dated February 4. 1689. wherein 'tis ordered and declared, That a Contribution of 20000 l. per Month, for the space of three Months, ending the last day of Ja∣nuary last past, shall be forthwith applotted, laid in and levied upon the Personal Estates of all Sorts. And the Applotment is order'd to be made by Commissioners to be nam'd by the King, Who were to proceed according to Instructions forthwith to be published by him: Albaville, the Secretary of State, thought it sufficient to send Letters, signed only by himself; in which he named and

instructed the Commissioners; but the Persons so named for Dublin, judged this Authority insufficient, and demur'd on the Execution till they had their Nomination and Instructions ac∣cording to the Proclamation, from the King himself, under the Great Seal. The King was heartily angry at them for this De∣mur, and was hardly prevailed on to Issue a Commission under the Seal in the usual Forms, as judging his Secretaries Letter a sufficient Warrant: But at last the Commission was issued, in which the Commissioners were named, and impower'd to no∣minate Sub-Commissioners for every Barony in their respective Counties, to make the Applotment; of which Sub-Commissi∣oners the High-Constable was to be one. The Commissioners of Dublin, and other Cities, were not yet satisfied; for their Coun∣ties had neither Baronies nor High-Constables; and therefore the Commission could not be duly executed in them; they therefore applied a new to the Lords of the Treasury, for a more ample Commission, which put the Lords and Attorney-General in as great a Passion as the King was in before; and all the an∣swer return'd to the Commissioners was, That they should go about their Business without such frivolous Scruples, or they should take a course with them: The Commissioners being thus ap∣pointed, were most of them Papists; and the few Protestants that were named, declin'd acting as much as they durst; by which means the Papists had the applotting intirely in their own Hands, and never fail'd to lay the greatest Burden on their Pro∣testant Neighbours, who, in effect, paid all Taxes that King James ever receiv'd in Ireland.

3. The Papists raised a Militia, and inasmuch as Protestants were not qualified to serve in it, by the Proclamation, which did not allow them to bear Arms, they were assess'd at a certain Rate for the Maintenance of the Militia, and sent to Prison if they refused to pay it. The Tax was as great as either of the former, amounting, in the small Parish of St. W••rburghs Dublin▪ in which not above one half of the Protestant-dwellers were left, to 900 l. per Annum.

4. They pretended to make some small Ditches at the several Avenues of the Town, and for these likewise the Protestants must pay; and they tax'd them at what Rate they pleased,

Distraining or committing them to Goal, if they refused to pay what was exacted, or wanted Mony: Before they form'd this Militia business into a Tax, the Officers of the Militia went about Weekly for several Weeks, and demanded and took what they pleased from every House with great Rigor, com∣mitting those who disputed their Demands, which was, for the time it lasted, a Heavy Burthen, and a Prodigious Tax.

5. Towards the middle of Winter 1689. their Forces were dispersed into their Winter-Quarters; very few being left in Dublin, it was most convenient to have such as remain'd in it, quarter'd together; at least it was judged unsafe to have them dispersed in Protestant Houses; therefore they seiz'd on wast Houses, and filled them with the Soldiers; the rest they quar∣ter'd in the Colledge. Nevertheless, that the Protestants might not escape Free, they obliged them to send in Beds to the Sol∣diers; but instead of Beds they took a Composition in Mony, the Rate was from 24 s. to 5 l. for every House: This fell in∣tirely on the Protestants, the Papists being conniv'd at, and the Conditions were not generally made good to them after they paid, for within two or three Months some had Soldiers quar∣tered on them again; tho while it lasted it must be confess'd it was a great Convenience and Ease, to be rid of such Guests at any rate.

6. All these Contrivances to get Mony from Protestants, did indeed Impoverish them; but by their Indu∣stry and Charity to one another, they made a shift to subsist, and to keep something in re∣serve; but the Contrivance of making Brass Mony pass instead of Silver, and at an equal Value with it, was an utter and unavoidable Ruin to them: It is true, the Coining of Mony is a Prerogative of the Crown, and the reason of its being so, is to prevent its being adulte∣rated, the King's Honor and Interest being the Engagement and Security for the Coin that bears his Impression: But sure the meaning was not, that he should give a Value to what has no Value in it self; otherwise the Cauti∣ousness

of our Forefathers was ridiculous, who would not allow the King by his Prerogative to raise Mony either by Loan or Subsidy from the Subject; since if it be allowed, that he may set what value he pleases upon Brass, he may have what he thinks fit from the Kingdom without troubling a Parlia∣ment; but King James's Council used not to stick at the For∣malities of Law or Reason, and therefore vast Quantities of Brass Mony were coined, and made Current by a Proclama∣tion dated June 18. 1689. under severe Penalties. The Metal of which this Mony was made was the worst kind of Brass; old Guns, and the refuse of Metals were melted down to make it; Work-men rated it at Three-pence or a Groat a Pound, which being coined into Six-pence's, Shillings or Half-crowns, one Pound weight made about 5 l. and by another Proclama∣tion dated 1690. the Half-crowns were called in, and being Stamp'd anew, were made to pass for Crowns; so that then 3 d. or 4 d. worth of Metal made 10 l. There was coined in all, from the first setting up of the Mint, to the Rout at the Boyne, being about twelve Months, 965375 l. In this Coin King James paid all his Appointments, and all that received the King's Pay being generally Papists, they forced the Protestants to part with their Goods out of their Shops for this Mony, and to receive their Debts in it▪ but the Protestants having only good Silver or Gold, and Goods bought with these, when they wanted any thing from Papists, they were forced to part with their Gold and Silver, having no means of coming by the Brass Mony out of the King's Hands; so that the Loss by the Brass Mony did in a manner intirely fall on the Protestants, being defrauded (for I can call it no better) of about 60000 l. per Month by this Stratagem, which must in a few Months ut∣terly exhaust them, when the Papists had gotten most of their Saleable Goods from their Protestant Neighbours, and yet great Quantities of Brass Mony remain'd in their Hands, they began to consider how many of them who had Estates, had engaged them to Protestants by Judgments, Statute Staples and Mort∣gages; this was all the reserve of their Fortunes left the Pro∣testants: And to take this likewise from them, they procured a Proclamation dated February 4. 1689. to make the Brass Mony

Current in all Payments whatsoever, whereas at first Judg∣ments, &c. were excepted: Thus they rid themselves of their Brass Mony, and put it on Protestants. The Chancellor Fitton compelling the Trustees for Orphans and Widows, to receive their Mortgages, &c. in this Coin, as well as others, tho they pleaded that they knew not how to dispose of it, nor if they did know, could they legally receive it, or make use of it, being only Trustees. Sometimes it was pleaded, that by the Original Covenants they were to have a certain time of warn∣ing, before they should be obliged to receive their Mony, tho offered them in Silver; but all signified nothing, the Chan∣cellor over-rul'd all their Pleas, and placed the Brass Mony on them, not so much as allowing it to remain in the Court.

7. The Governor of Dublin, the Provost-Marshal, and their Deputies, assumed the same Power, and threatned to hang all that refused the Brass Mony; of which we had many Instances one Mr. Bennet a Tanner owed Mony to one Alderman Smith, and to Mr. Hugh Leeson a Clergy-man; Bennet having some Goods taken from him for which he was paid in Brass Mony, tendered it to them, but upon a Civil refusal he complained to Governor Luttrell, who gave him two Warrants to the Provost-Martial to take them; he shewed them to Alderman Smith, who immediately complied and received his Mony; but Luttrell being informed of it, was angry that Bennet had compounded the business, and therefore directed the Provost to take him; by whom he was kept a Fortnight, and not re∣leased till he paid 20 l. Fees. Leeson was likewise taken and committed with him.

One Chapman a Widow was used yet worse by the Provost-Martial's Deputy one Kerney; a Petition was preferred against her, by the Sollicitor of one who owed her 150 l. by Bond, alledging falsly that she had refused to receive it in Brass: Kerney sent his Troopers for her at Ten a Clock at Night; he told her, with many Oaths and Execrations, that he would have her Burnt next Morning; that he had Power to put to what Death he pleased, any that should refuse or undervalue the Brass Mony, and would exercise it on her. Her Debtor was present, and acknowledged that the Allegation in the

Petition was false, that he had never tendered the Mony, only sent to her House, and received answer that she was not at home, and that his Sollicitor had wronged her in the Petition; yet the Deputy-Provost abated nothing of his Rigour, but made her be thrust into a dark Closet for that Night, without Bed or Candle: Her Sollicitor offered any Security for her till next Morning, but he threatned to Tye him Neck and Heels, send him to Newgate, and Hang him next day at his own Door, for interceding for her. At Nine next Morning he sent a Messenger to her to prepare for Death, for he would have her Burnt immediately. She had often, whilst in Custody, proffered to receive her Mony, and never before refused it, which some represented to him so effectually, that he at last consented to release her, she paying 4 l. Fees, and 10 s. to her Adversary's Sollicitor that prefer'd the False Petition against her, and signing an Ac∣knowledgment to be entered on Record, and a General Re∣lease: She demurr'd a little at the General Release, but the Provost renewing his Threats of Burning her, and Hanging her Sollicitor, obliged her to perfect it.

But where Papists were Creditors, and Protestants Debtors, the Case was otherwise; of which Mr. Rose a Merchant is an Instance; he had received 500 l. from some Roman Catho∣licks, for which he drew a Bill of Exchange into England on his Correspondent; the Seas being shut up, they sued for the Mony, tho it was supposed on all hands to be paid in En∣gland: Whilst they went on with the Suit, the Brass Mony came into Play, and then they would have withdrawn it, but Mr. Rose having great quantities of this Mony put on him for Goods taken away from him, persisted in it; the Declaration against him being filed; however the Judge kept him three Terms, taking occasion from the Sickness of the Attorney, or any other little matter, to adjourn the Cause. At last Mr. Rose brought the Mony and deposited it in Court, which the Judge called an Affront, and the receiving it was demurr'd to, and there the Cause remain'd till the Change of the Government, without any Determination.

8. By these means vast Quantities of Brass Mony were lodged in the Hands of Protestants; and not knowing what else to do with it, they laid it out on the Staple Commodities of the Kingdom, such as Hides, Tallow, Wooll, Corn, &c. these they bought up at any Rate, as supposing they might sometimes turn to account, whereas the Brass Mony could signifie nothing. The Papists were aware of it, and there∣fore put the King upon taking these again out of their Hands, which they contrived thus, They put out a Proclamation, by which they set a Rate upon Commodities, dated February 28. 1689. then the King declared he wanted certain Quan∣tities of these Goods, and that he would have them at the Proclamation Rates. The Lord-Mayor first, then the Com∣missioners of the Revenue, and afterwards Sir Thomas Hackett, and others, were employ'd to search for them and seize them. They first sent out Officers to take an Inventory of all they could find in the Hands of Protestants; some few escaped by giving good Bribes: The Searchers return'd an account of the following Quantities in Dublin, viz. 61105 Stones of Wooll, 7780 hundred Weight of Tallow, 14687 Raw Hides, 18771 Tan'd Hides; what return was made from other places we could not learn; but we find when they came to Seize, that the following Parcels were actually taken up, viz.

	Wooll Stone	Tallow C	Raw Hides	Tan'd Hides C q
In Dublin	10948½	4230	3237	900-2
In the rest of the Kingdom	121339	12619	19100	1832-2
Total	132287½	16849	22337	2732-2

Computing 35 Stones to a Bag of Wooll, 600 Weight to a Cask of Tallow, and four Tan'd Hides to an hundred Weight; which appears to be the Proportions in Dublin, where both the Number and Weight is return'd.

Some Gentlemen had saved their Wooll of the Year 1688. and had placed it in Dublin and the Port-Towns, designing to send it off as soon as the Seas were open; and it was all they had to begin the World with, their Estates being taken from them by Act of Parliament, and their Stocks and House∣hold Goods by Robbers; but now this remainder of their For∣tunes was taken from them by the King himself, and when they press'd the Commissioners of the Revenue to know the reason why they were thus used, it was answered them by Sir Patrick Trant, that he would not give any reason to Such Rogues; but at last, when urged, he told them, It was be∣cause they were Protestants: Some, particularly Mr. Piercy the Merchant, being ask'd by Sir Thomas Hacket, whether he was willing to part with his Goods; answered very calmly, That he was not willing if he could help it. His saying so was reckoned a High Crime, and he was brought before Colonel Luttrell Governour of Dublin, who put the same que∣stion to him, and upon his making the same answer, con∣demned him, in his Passion, to be Hanged, for opposing the King's Will: He sent up and down for the Provo's to execute the Sentence, and Swore many Oaths that he would have it done immediately. Mr. Piercy continued under this Sentence for two Hours, during which time the Provo's could not be found, though diligent Search was made for them▪ at last the Governour, wearied with waiting, and not able to find any to execute his Sentence, was, by some Intercession made to him, content to dismiss Mr. Piercy for that time. Some Protestants offered to Transport their Goods themselves into France, and bring back such things as the King needed; but this was refused them; and the design being to ruin them, such Goods as came to them from France were seiz'd on, and put into the hands of Papists, to be disposed of by them, and the right Owners not suffered so much as to oblige a Friend with a little Salt or a Rundlet of Brandy Thus Mr. Bell, a Protestant Merchant, was served, with a Ship that came to him from France; and without any Crime alledged against him, that he might think no more of Trading, he was confined in close Prison, and no body allowed to speak

to him. As to the Goods thus taken up, King James dispos'd of them to Mr. Labady and other Papists; so that this appear'd to be a meer Contrivance to get the Goods out of the Pro∣testants hands, and enrich the Papists; and not, as was pre∣tended, to supply the King's Necessity.

9. Some Protestants had laid out their Brass Mony in Corn and Malt; of this Commodity Brewers, Maltsters and Bakers had good Quantities, and some private Persons laid in enough for themselves and Families, and perhaps a little to spare. Some likewise had Provisions of Bisket, Barrelled Beef and Bacon, not knowing how the Market might be furnish'd, after such Destruction of Provisions: There was a general Search made for all these, and they were, for the most part, taken away, or seized, for the King's use; it was Criminal to have Barrelled Beef or Bisket in a House, and Alderman Giles Meigh was clap'd up in Prison for the Treason of having some hundred of Bisket: The like happened to several others, they alledging that such as had them, designed them for Schonberg's Army; we were at a loss what the meaning of taking away Corn from Protestant Farmers, House-keepers and Bakers should be, when there was no Scarcity in the Kingdom, and the Markets, if left open, were sufficient to furnish all; but Sir Robert Parker, and some others, blab'd it out in the Coffee-house, That they designed to starve one half of the Protestants, and hang the other, and that it would never be well till this were done. We were very sensible that they were in earnest, by the event; for no Protestant could get a bit of Bread, and hardly a drop of Drink in the whole City; Twenty or Thirty Soldiers stood constantly about every Bake-house, and would not suffer a Protestant to come nigh them; if they sent into the Country, and by Interest and a great Price, got a Barrel of Wheat from a Popish Far∣mer, it was seiz'd as it came to Town; and though there was Plenty of all things, yet several Protestant Families could not get one Loa•• of Bread, sometimes in a Week, sometimes in a Fortnight; there was a general Cry for Bread, and the Protestants could find no way to come by it, but by buying it from the Soldiers, who sold their Two-penny

Loaves for a Shilling or eighteen Pence; it was confidently reported, that the Popish Store-keepers design'd to get all the Corn in the Kingdom into the King's Stores, and then to let the Protestants have none out but for Silver and Gold; which they did in good measure effect; and it is certain before Harvest, they would have starved many, and drained all.

10. Some few Protestants had, under shelter of a good na∣tured Popish Landlord or Neighbour, preserved a few Sheep; as soon as these were Shorn, the Commissioners immediately seiz'd the Wooll, and it was resolv'd to seize their Corn like∣wise, where they had any, as soon as it was cut and made up.

They found it a hard matter to get Copper or Brass to serve the Mint, there were on this account several Searches made in Town; and first the Braziers Shops were pillaged, and then the Citizens Kitchens of their Brass Pots, Skellets, Boylers; and their Houses of other Brass Utensils, even to the Knockers of Doors; hardly one such was left in the whole City: Under the pre∣tence of this they ordered their Emissaries to take a private Inventory of whatever they saw in the Possession of Protestants, of which they made their uses as they had occasion, and in∣tended more if their Power had continued.

11. The Deputy-Mayor of Dublin, Edmund Reily, issued out an Order, dated Sept. 27. 1689. for regulating the Rates of Provi∣sions, Country Goods, and Manufactories, to be sold in the City of Dublin; in which he took care to set a very low Rate on such Goods as were then most in the hands of Protestants, the Rate at which he ordered them to be sold, was not one half of what they generally yielded. When therefore any Papist had a mind to put off his Brass Mony, he went to some Protestant Neigh∣bor, whom he knew to have a quantity of these Goods, offered him the Mayor's Rate in Brass, and carried away the Goods by Force. This was practised even by the Lady Tyrconnel, and seve∣ral of their Grandees: But the case was otherwise with Papists, they sold at what Rate they pleased, not minding the Procla∣mation; of which Alderman Reily, who issued it, was an In∣stance; He had a quantity of Salt in his hands, and sold it at excessive Rates, above what he compelled Protestants to part with theirs; Complaint was made against him, and he was

indicted at the Tholsel, which is the City Court, that very Term in which the Proclamation came out; upon the Traverse the Petty-Jury found him guilty, and the Court Fin'd him in an 100 l. but all this was only a Blind, for the Sheriffs set him at Liberty on his Parole after he was committed to them: He brought his Writ of Error returnable into the King's-Bench, but the Record was never remov'd nor the Fine levied. And the Con∣sequence was, that neither he nor any Papist took notice of the Order, and yet kept it in its full Force against Protestants.

12. They saw therefore that it was resolved to leave them nothing that was easily to be found; for Sir Thomas Hacket had made a Proposal to Seize Feather-Beds, and other Furni∣ture of Houses; alledging that they would be good Commo∣dities in France; upon which the Protestants thought it the best way to exchange what Brass Mony they had, into Silver and Gold, and gave 2 l. 10 s. 3 l. 4 l. and at last 5 l. for a Guiney; but even so 'twas thought too beneficial for them, and to stop it, they procured a Proclamation, dated June 15. 1690. where∣by it is made Death to give above 1 l. 18 s. for a Guiney, or for a Louis d'Or above 1 l. 10 s. &c. The Papists needed not fear a Proclamation, or the Penalty of it; they had Interest enough to avoid it, and therefore still bought up Gold at what rate they pleased; but if any Protestant had been found Transgressing, he must have expected the utmost Severity.

13. And thus the case stood when His Majesty's Victory at the Boyn delivered us; and let any one judge whether we had reason to be pleased with the Success, and gratefully receive him, that came to restore to us, not only our Goods and Fortunes, but the very Necessaries of Life; and what Obligations we could have of Fidelity or Allegiance to King James, who treated us plainly as Prisoners of War, and as Enemies not Subjects, and by design∣ing and endeavoring our Ruin, declared, in effect, he would go∣vern us no longer; but more expresly at his going away, freely allowed us to shift for our selves; and advised those about him, both at the Boyn when he quitted the Field, and the next Morn∣ing in Council at the Castle of Dublin, to make the best Terms they could, and quietly submit to the Conqueror, who, he said, was a Merciful Prince.

Notes

• 'Twas an ancient Law of England, some say, as Old as King Alfred, That no King should change his Mony, nor impair, nor inhanse, nor make any Mony, but of Silver, without the Assent of the Lords and all the Commons. See Power of Parlia∣ments asserted by Sir Robert Atkins, p. 17. And Lord Cook Expo∣sition of Stat. Artic▪ super Chart. Cap. 2••▪ 2 I••st▪ 577.