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. IV. III. King James's Progress to destroy his Protestant Subjects, by his disposing of Civil Offices, and ordering the Privy Council.

1. I Have already taken notice how King James disposed the Military Offices, in such a Method, as must unavoidably ruin the Protestant Interest in Ireland, it was not altogether so easie to out Men of their Civil Employment, as of their Military. 1. Because many had Patents for Life, or Good Be∣haviour. And 2. Because some of the Offices themselves were so difficult to be managed, that it was not easie to find Roman Ca∣tholicks capable of discharging them; yet it appeared necessary, in order to ruin the Protestants, that they should be turned out of them; and therefore King James and his Ministers resolved to do it as fast as they could. As soon as they could find a Papist that would or durst undertake them, they put him in; and they plainly declared, that no Protestant after a little while should have any Office of Trust or Profit left in his Hands. Some Offi∣ces they disposed of without more ado, by new Patents, and

put the Patentee in Possession without taking notice that there was another Patent in being, leaving the former Proprietor to bring his Action at Law if he pleased. Thus they served Sir Charles Meredith for his Chancellorship of the Exchequer; and thus they served Sir John Topham, and Sir John Coghill, for their Masterships of the Chancery. And the Inferior Bodies of Cities learned this Trick from them; and by it outed their Protestant Recorders, even before their new Charters. Some Officers that claimed a Title to their Offices by Law, were not allowed a Legal Tryal: but the Chancellor called them before him, and on a private Hearing, turned them out. Thus he served Mr. Charles Baldwin one of the Examinators of the Chancery.

2. But to proceed by Retail seemed tedious, and therefore to make short Work, and rid their Hands of Protestant Civil Officers at once, as they had done of the Military. They made an Act in their pretended Parliament, to void all Patents for Offices during Life or Good Behaviour, though granted by King James himself, and though the Protestants had laid out their Fortunes to purchase them by King James's own Con∣sent, and Permission, as many had done. Now let the World judg what a step the disposal of these Offices was, to the De∣struction of Protestants, when some of them were of such Con∣sequence, that an unfaithful Officer in them, might undo many, by destroying their Evidences for their Estates; in what con∣dition must Protestants be, when the Records by which they held their Estates, were put into the Hands of those who were their Adversaries in the claim, and had nothing to bar them, but these Records, of which they were now made Keepers, who had often before shocked the Protestant Titles, by setting up counterfeit Deeds, nay and corrupting the Re∣cords themselves, even whilst Protestants had the keeping of them; of which, the Records in the Common Pleas Office, are yet an unanswerable Evidence, counterfeit Judgments be∣ing entred there, to the sum of some one thousand pound, by the Treachery of corrupting Papists. I have for the satisfaction of the Reader set down in the Appendix the* 1.1 Names of the most considerable Officers be∣longing to the Courts, that the Change may be more visible.

3. The next sort of Officers were such as were concerned in the Revenue; these were, many of them, during Pleasure. The Revenue had for five or six years last past been managed by Commissioners to very great advantage. They had gotten under them a set of very sharp and severe Officers; many of which having been formerly concerned in Trade themselves, knew all the Arts of cheating the King in his Duties; and were able to discover them, and he who was most acute and made greatest Advantage for the King, was sure to keep his Place and to be advanced. It was hard to find a set of Com∣missioners and Officers that could serve the King in his Revenue at the Rate these Persons did; and therefore they were forced to be slow in changing them: yet they did it by degrees, and with such Circumstances, as plainly discovered that they were resolved, as soon as was possible, to employ Roman Catholicks only. To do them Justice they generally owned it; and when any of them had a Friend to prefer to an Office in the Revenue, his Argument to remove the Protestant Possessor usually was, This Man must be removed, and why not now? As the Popish Bishop of Elphin wrote to Sir Patrick Trant from Gallway, in order to remove a Protestant Gauger employed there. In most places they turned out the Protestant Collectors and Officers, and put in their Popish Friends, though much to the Kings Loss, as it often proved, and as they themselves knew it would be, and did not scruple to own it. Their new Collectors, either be∣ing so ignorant as not to make the best of their Places, or so very Corrupt that they run away with the Mony when Col∣lected; as it happened at Clonmell; or so abused their Trust, that they were obliged to change no less than five or six at a time, King James himself declaring publickly that they de∣served to be hanged. That there remained any Protestants employed in the Revenue was plainly from their not having time enough to train up others in their room, and not from their intentions to continue Protestants in it; to whom they envied even the hated Office of being Publicans.

4. The third sort of Officers in the Kingdom are such, as have Trust or Honour annexed to them, but little Profit; of this sort I reckon Sheriffs and Justices of the Peace. It was no easie matter to find Roman Catholicks to put into these

Offices, and it was a most provoking sight to Protestants, to see with what kind of Men they supplyed them: they were forced to rake into the very Scum and Sink of the People, to find a few to set on the Bench, as I shewed before; Men with∣out Freehold, without Sense, and without Honesty, were made Sherifs; and yet they were forced to continue most of them two years, not being able to find in some Counties any Ro∣man Catholick that could pretend to be capable of such an Employment. Thus in the County of Tyrone, Turlogh ô Do∣nelly served two years as Sheriff, who had not one foot of Freehold; and for his Honesty you may guess at it by this Story, which is notoriously true: His Son had stolen some Bullocks from his Neighbour Mr. Hamilton of Callidon, and brought them to his Father the Sheriffs House: some of them were killed and eaten in the House. The Owner pursued and found the remainder, which were restored; and to Compound the Matter, a Bond of sixteen pound was entred into by the Sheriff for such as were eaten; and if I remember right, a War∣rant of Attorney for Judgment. When he came to Dublin to pass his Accompts as Sheriff, he was sued for the Mony, but to avoid the Suit, he listed himself a Foot Soldier in the Lord Maguires Company, and pretended he was Enlisted in the Company two or three days before the Arrest; which my Lord likewise vouched, though really he was not Enlisted till after the Arrest or Execution. Upon which the Attorney that took out the Action or Execution, I do not remember which, and the Person to whom he owed Mony were brought into great trouble, and forced to abscond for violating the Privilege of the Army; and obliged for Peace sake to depart from their Claim. We had many such Sheriffs and Justices of the Peace; and to demonstrate that they designed to out Protestants of all Power, there was not one Protestant Sheriff in all Ireland, for the year 1687, as may be seen in the Catalogue which I I have given of their Names in the Appendix,* 1.2 except Charles Hamilton of Cavan, who was put in by mistake (as was supposed) insteed of John Hamilton of Killeneur, who is a Roman Catholick. Nay it was designed that not one Protestant should sit on the Bench as Justice of Peace; and the Design in a great measure effected; not indeed

by revoking their Commissions, but by making it impossible for them to Act. It was now almost a necessary qualification to preserve a Man in his Place, to change or dissemble his Re∣ligion; and some did worse, that is betrayed it by their Com∣pliance, whilst yet they profest it. Many who would not be guilty of such servility, were turned out even from the mean Employments of a High or Petty Constable, of a Goalour or Turn-Key; of all which it were easie to give Examples; but the thing being Universal, makes that unnecessary. Even these mean Employments were now counted too good for Prote∣stants; and all this contrary to the express Letter of the Law, which admitted none but such as would take the Oath of Su∣premacy, to any Office; but they took a peculiar Pleasure to act in contempt and despite of the Laws; and it seemed to them a kind of Conquest to turn a Man out of his Employ∣ment, Office, or Freehold, contrary to Law. In the mean time it was a melancholy thing for Protestants to live under such il∣legal Officers, and have their Lives, Estates, and Liberties, at the mercy of Sheriffs, Justices, and Juries; some of whose Fathers or nearest Relations, they had either hanged for Thieving, Robbery and Murthering, or killed in the very Act of Torying.

5. I reckon as a fourth sort of Officers in the Kingdom, such as were of the Privy-Council, which in Ireland is a great part of the Constitution, and has considerable Privileges and Power annexed to it. Regularly no Act of Parliament can pass in Ireland, till the chief Governor and Privy-Council do first certifie the Causes and Reasons of it. It was therefore no less than necessary that King James should model this to his mind; and he quickly ordered it so, that the Papists made the majority in it; and whereas before it was a Refuge and Sanctuary to the oppressed, it now became a most effectual In∣strument to strengthen the Popish Interest, and give Reputati∣on to their Proceedings. We may guess what kind of Govern∣ment King James designed, when he was attended with such a Council; and yet it is certain even some of* 1.3 these, who were Protestants, would have been turned out, if they had not absented themselves, and declined appearing at the Board; but whe∣ther

they appeared or no, was of no consideration, since it is plain they could do Protestants little service.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Appendix N. 10.
• * 1.2

  N. 7.
• * 1.3

  See the Appen∣dix for the List of Privy-Counsel∣lors. N. 9.