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. XVI. 2. King James took away the maintenance of the present Pro∣testant Clergy.

1. BUT King James did not only endeavour to hinder the Education and Succession of the Protestant Cler∣gy, but he likewise took away all their present mainte∣nance. Immediately upon his coming to the Crown, their Popish Parishioners began to deny the payment of Book-moneies, which is a considerable part of the Ecclesiastical Revenue of Ire∣land? a great part of the Tithes of Ireland are impropriate; in some Places the whole Tythes, in many Two third Parts, and in most the one half; and there is little left for the Vicar that serves the Cure, except it be the Third part of the Tythes, or the small Fees due out of Burials, Marria∣ges, or Easter Offerings; these Dues are call'd commonly Book-moneys; and though very inconsiderable in them∣selves, yet make a great part, and in some Places the

whole of what falls to the Vicar's portion; against these the Popish Judges declar'd in their Circuits; and by their encouragement most People, and the Papists universally deny'd to pay them.

2. The Priests began to declare that the Tythes belong'd to them, and forbad their People to pay them to the Protestant Clergy; with this the People complied willingly; and for Two years before the late Revolution in England, hardly any Tythes were recovered by the Clergy; or if any were recovered, it was with so much difficulty and cost, that they turn'd to very little account.

3. They past an Act in their pretended Parliament, where∣by they took away all Tythes that were payable by Pa∣pists; and gave them to their own Popish Priests; and al∣low'd them to bring an Action for them at the Common Law, to make the recovery of them more easie; and yet denyed this to the Protestant Clergy; alleadging that they allow'd them still their old means of recovering their Tythes; and therefore did them no injury. But this was as good as nothing; for they had so weaken'd the Ecclesiasti∣cal Power and Jurisdiction, that it was incapable of com∣pelling the People to obedience; and it being necessary to sue out a Writ de excommunicato capiendo, in order to force such as were refractory, the Popish Chancellor either direct∣ly refused to grant the Writ, or else laid so many impedi∣ments and delays in the way, that it cost double the Value of the Tythes sued for, to take it out.

4. Though they rendered the Protestant Clergy uncapable of enjoying the Tythes of Roman Catholicks, yet the Popish Clergy were made capable of enjoying the Protestant Tythes: The Case then was thus; if a Protestant had a Bishoprick, Dignity, or other Living, by the new Act, he must not de∣mand any Tythes or Ecclesiastical Dues from any Roman Catholick; and as soon as his Preferment became void by his death, cession, or absence, a Popish Bishop, &c. was put into the Place; and by their Act, there needed no more to oblige all Men, To repute, take, and deem, a Man to be a Roman Catholick Bishop or Dean of any Place, than the King's

signifying him to be so, under his Privy Signet and Sign Manual; a Power that the Protestants, how much soever they magnified the King's Authority, never trusted any King with, nor other Mortal man whatsoever. But as soon as any one became thus Entitled to a Bishoprick, &c. immediately all the Tythes, as well of Protestants as of Papists, became due to him, with all the Glebes and Ecclesiastical Dues; and for the recovery of them he had an Action at Common Law.

5. Notwithstanding the Glebes and Protestants Tythes were not given to the Popish Clergy, during the incum∣bency of the present Protestant Incumbents, yet the Popish Priests by violence entred on the Glebes where there were any, pretending that the King had nothing to do with them, and that neither he or his Parliament could hinder the Church of her Rights; and this Pretence was so far countenan∣ced, that no endeavours whatsoever could get any of these Priests out, when once he had gotten possession. The Truth is, hardly one Parish in ten in the Provinces of Leinster, Munster, or Connaught, have any Glebe left them; for either they were never endowed, or if they had been at any time en∣dowed with Glebes, the many Confusions and new Dispo∣sitions of Lands have made them to be forgotten, or swal∣lowed up in the Hands of some powerful Parishoners. The pretence therefore of the Parliament, that they had been kind to the Protestant Clergy, in leaving them the Glebes, was a meer piece of Hypocrisie: since they knew that gene∣rally Parishes had no Glebes; and that where they had Glebes, the Priests would make a shift to get into possession of them, without being given to them by the Parliament.

6. The same may be said of their leaving some of the Tythes belonging to Protestants, for the present, to their own Clergy. They had so robb'd and plundered the Pro∣testants of the Country, that few liv'd or had any thing Tithable in it; being forced for their own safety to flee to the Towns, and leave their Farms wast; if any had Tythes, they might pay them if they pleas'd, or let it alone, for they had left the Protestant Clergy, as I shew'd before, no

way of recovering their Dues. Many times the Priests came with a Company of the next quarter'd Dragoons, and took the Tythes away by force; and this past for a Pos∣session of the Livings; and the Protestant Ministers must bring their Leases of Ejectment, if they would recover their Possessions, or pretend any more to Tythes in those Livings. There is a Custom in Ireland whereby some Farmers do agree with their Neighbours to plow their Lands for them, on Condition that they afford them a certain quantity of Corn, suppose an Half, one Third, or one Fourth, after it is reaped. Now Protestants that had Farms in the Country, being in no capacity to plow them after their Horses were taken away, and their Houses robb'd, agreed with their Po∣pish Neighbours to plow their Lands for them, according to the Custom of the Country; this was enough to Entitle Priests to the Tythes of Lands so plowed; and accord∣ingly they seiz'd upon them by force; though both the Land and Corn belong'd to Protestants; by these and other such Contrivances, from the year 1686. till King James's Power was put to an end by the Victory at the Boyn, hardly any Protestant enjoy'd any Tythes in the Country; all which was represented to the Government, but to no pur∣pose.

7. In Corporate Towns and Cities, there was a peculiar Provision made for Ministers by Act of Parliament, in King Charles the Second's time; by which Act, the Houses in those Places were to be valued by Commissioners at a moderate value; and the Lord Lieutenant or chief Gover∣nour, for the time being, did assign a certain Proportion for the Ministers maintenance, not greater than the Twentieth part of the yearly value, return'd by the Commissioners. That therefore the City Protestant Clergy might not be in a better condition than those in the Country, an Act was past in their pretended Parliament, to take away this altogether; the Clergy of Dublin desir'd to be heard concerning this Act at the Bar of the House of Lords before it past, and their Council were admitted to speak to it, who shew'd the unrea∣sonableness and unjustice of it so evidently, and insisted so

boldly on King James's Promise to the Protestant Clergy, at his first arrival in this Kingdom, when he gave them the greatest assurances of maintaining them in their Rights and Priviledges; and further, bid them, if aggriev'd in any thing, to make their Complaints immediately to him, and engaged to see them redrest, that he seemed to be satisfied, and the House of Lords with him; yet the design to ruin them, was so fixt, that without offering any thing by way of Answer to the Reasons urged against it, the Act past; and thereby left the Clergy of the Cities and Corporate Towns, without any pretence to a maintenance, except they could get it from the voluntary Contributions of their People; nay, so malicious were they against the Protestant Clergy, that they cut off the Arrears due to them, as well as the growing Rent; having left no means to recover them, as appear'd upon Tryal at the Council-board afterward, when some of the Clergy petitioned for relief therein.

8. Upon the Plantation of Ulster 1625. there was a Ta∣ble of Tythes agreed on by the King and Council; and the Planters, to whom the Grants were made by the King, obliged to pay Tythes according to that Table; the pre∣tended Parliament took away this Table also; for no other Reason that we could learn, but because most of the Inhabi∣tants of Ulster were Protestants, and consequently the Prote∣stant Clergy would pretend to them.

9. The Livings of Ireland were valued by Commissions in Henry the Eight and Queen Elizabeths time; and paid First Fruits and Twentieth Parts, according to that valuation; other Livings were held in Farm from the Crown, and paid year∣ly a considerable reserved Rent, commonly call'd Crown Rents; others appertain'd to the Lord Lieutenant, and other Officers of State, and paid a certain rate of Corn for their use, commonly call'd Port Corn. Now all these Payments were exacted from the Protestant Clergy, notwithstanding the greatest part of their Tythes were taken from them: The re∣maining part, (where any remained) was seiz'd in many Pla∣ces, by the Commissioners of the Revenue, and a Custodiam granted of it for the King's use, for the payment of the Du∣ties

which accru'd out of the whole, and not one Farthing allow'd for the Incumbent, or the Curate: nay, in some Pla∣ces, they seiz'd the Incumbents Person, and laid him in Jail till he paid these Duties, though at the same time they had seiz'd his Livings, and found that they were not sufficient to answer what they exacted; and because the Clerk of the First Fruits, Leiutenant Colonel Roger Moore, being a Prote∣stant himself, would not be severe with the Clergy, and seize their Livings and Persons, to force them to pay what he knew they were not in a capacity to do, they found pretence to seize his Person, and sent him with Three Files of Musque∣tiers Prisoner to the Castle of Dublin, where he and two Gentlemen more lay in a cold nasty Garret for some Months. By these Contrivances, the few Benefices yet in the hands of the Protestants, instead of a support, became a burthen to them; and they were forced to cast themselves for a mainte∣nance on the kindness of their People, who were themselves undone and beggar'd.