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. V. Fourthly, King James's ordering Corporations was an effectual means to destroy his Protestant Subjects, and to alter the ve∣ry Nature of the Government.

1. WOever knows the Constitution of England and Ire∣land, must observe that the Subjects have no other security for their Liberties, Properties and Lives, except the Interest they have of choosing their own Representatives in Parliament. This is the only Barrier they have against the Encroachments of their Governor. Take it away, and they are as absolute Slaves to the Kings Will, and as miserable as the Peasants in France. Whoever therefore goes about to deprive them of this Right, utterly destroys the very Constitution and Foundation of the Government. Now the Protestants of Ire∣land finding the necessity of securing this right in their own Hands, to preserve the Kingdom in Prosperity and Peace, had procured many Corporations to be Founded, and built many considerable Corporate Towns at their own Cost and Charges. They thought it reasonable to keep these in their own Hands, as being the Foundation of the Legislative power; and therefore secluded Papists as Enemies to the English Interest in Ireland, from Freedom and Votes in them by the very Foundation and Rules of planting them. This Caution they extended by a Law, to all other Corporations in the Kingdom, excluding Papists likewise from them, which they justly did, if we remember that these Papists had forfeited their Right in them, by their Rebellion in 1641; and by their having turned those Towns, where they had Interest, into Nests of Traitors against the King, and into places of Refuge for the Murtherers of the English; insomuch that it cost England some Millions to reduce them again into Obedience; witness Killkenny, Waterford, Galway, Lymerick, and every other place where they had power to do it. Add to this, that generally the trading industrious Men of the Kingdom were Protestants,

who had built most of the Corporate Towns (above thirty at once in King James the First's time) and a great part of the Freeholds of the Kingdom did also belong to Men of the same Religion: insomuch that if a fair Election had been allowed, in probability no Papist could have carryed it in any one County of Ireland. All which considered, it was but reasonable that the Protestants that had by so much Blood and Treasure, brought the Kingdom into subjection to the Laws of England, and planted it in such a manner as to render it worth the Governing by the King, should be secured of their Representatives in Parliament; especially when out of their great Loyalty, and Confidence in the Kings kind intention to them, they by some new Rules had condescended, that none should Officiate as Majors, Portrieves, Magistrates, or Sheriffs in the chief Towns, till approved by the Kings chief Governor for the time being. Their yielding this to the King, was a sufficient security, one would have thought, to the Royal Interest. A great diminu∣tion of their Liberties, and such as never was yielded before to any King; but this would not serve King James to be Ab∣solute, he must have the intire Disposition of them, and the Power to put in and turn out whom he pleased, without troubling the Formalities of Law. To bring them therefore to this, it was resolved to Dissolve them all. Tyrconnel knew that the Protestants would never give up their Charters, with∣out being compelled by Law: and therefore he endeavoured to prevail with them to admit Papists to Freedom and Offices in them, that by their means he might have them surrendred; but the Resolution of Sir John Knox, then Lord Mayor of Dublin, and of the then Table of Aldermen, spoiled that De∣sign, and forced the King to bring Quo Warranto's against them, since they would not easily consent to destroy them∣selves.

2. The Chief Baron Rice, and the Attorney General Nagle, were employed as the fittest Instruments to carry on this Work. To prevent Writs of Error into England, all these Quo Warranto's were brought in the Exchequer; and in about two Terms, Judgments were entred against most Charters. Whereas if either Equity or Law had been regarded, longer time ought to have been allowed in matters of such Conse∣quence

for the Defendants to draw up their Plea, than the Chief Baron took to dispatch the whole Cause, and seize their Franchises. Attorney General Nagle plaid all the little Tricks that could be thought of; and had an ordinary Attorney brought such Demurrers or Pleadings into Court, in a common Cause, as he did in this most weighty Affair of the Kingdom; he would have received a publick Rebuke, and been struck out of the Roll for his Knavery or ignorance. After all, there was not one Corporation found to have Forfeited by a Legal Tryal neither was any Crime or Cause of forfeiture objected against them; yet the Chief Baron gave Judgment against a hundred Charters or thereabouts, upon such little Exceptions, and pittiful Cavils, that it must be the greatest affront to the understanding of Mankind, to think to put such on them for Justice; and the greatest profanation of the name of Law, to endeavour to pass such Proceedings for Legal. Admit that a Corporation, which is an invisible Body in Law, could do any thing to destroy its own being; or that it were reasonable it should be divested of a particular Privilege, which it has mani∣festly abused; or when, by alteration of Circumstances, such a Privilegde becomes a Prejudice to the Publick; as it sometimes happens. Yet to Dissolve all the Corporations in a Kingdom, without the least Reason or Pretence of abuse of Priviledge or Forfeiture, to take advantage from the Ignorance of a Lawyer, or the mistake of a Clerk, nay to pretend these when really there is no such thing, is such an abuse of the Kings Preroga∣tive and the Law, that it is enough to make the People, oppres∣sed by colour of them, to hate both, at least to wish the Ad∣ministration of them in other Hands; and this was clearly the Case of the Corporations in Ireland. The City of Dublin was not allowed so much time to put in their Plea as was really sufficient to transcribe it as it ought to have been. The Clerk mistakes the Date of one of their Charters; they pray leave to mend it; this is denyed them; and the Chief Baron gives Judgment. The same Term the Charter of Londonderry, in which the City of London was so deeply concerned, was con∣demned on a yet more frivolous Pretence, upon which the Chief Baron gave Judgment against the Charter. And upon the like wrangling Cavils were the rest dissolved; except a few

which were on Noblemens Estates. Some of these Noblemen employed, Roman Catholick Agents or Receivers; who so managed their Estates for them, as chiefly to encourage Papists, and now became the Instruments to betray their Corporations. Those Agents employed the Power and Interest they had a∣mongst their Masters Tenants, by Threats and Intrigues, to procure Surrenders; and by these means, some few were in∣fluenced. Thus one Potter, a Papist, employed as a Receiver by the Earl of Kildare, betrayed his Lord, and prevailed with Athy and some other Corporations on his Estate to Surrender.

3. Whether they did not think fit to destroy the Charters upon their usual and trivial pretence of defective Pleading, there they found out other Expedients, without Tryal, to de∣stroy them. And that was, by granting a New Charter (as in the Case of Bangor in the County of Down) to such Men as the Attorney General thought fit; who by the Sheriff should be put in Possession of the Government of the Town, and then if the former Possessors thought themselves injured, they might bring their Actions against the Intruders: in the Tryal of which, they had Reason to expect no more fairness, than they found in the Proceedings against their Charters.

4. This Contrivance, of superseding a former Charter by granting a new one, served to very good purpose. There were many particular Charters granted to Corporations in the City of Dublin. Such were the Corporations of Taylors, Skin∣ners, Feltmakers, &c. where these refused to Surrender, they got a few of the Trade to take out a new Charter, by which Papists were constituted Masters and Wardens, and as soon as they had taken it out they committed to Prison such of the ancient Members as would not submit to them.

5. Every Body dreaded the Effects of these Proceedings, the Gentry considered that they held their Estates by Patents from the King; and the Title was no stronger than that of a Char∣ter. And if Men were outed of their Priviledges and Free∣doms by such Tricks and Shaddows of Law, they began to fear that one day or other the like might be found to void their Patents.

6. As soon as the Corporations came to be supplied with new Charters, it plainly appeared that no English or Protestant

Freeman could expect a comfortable Life in Ireland; for in the first place, the Corporations were made absolute Slaves to the King's Will, it being one Clause in all the new Charters, that the King's chief Governor should have power to turn out, or put in whom he pleased, without giving any Reason, and with∣out any Form of Legal Proceeding; by which the Corporations were so much in the King's Power, that he might with as much reason have named his Regiment of Guards, a Free Parliament, as the Burgesses return'd by such Elections. The whole King∣dom had therefore reason to resent such Proceedings, as being absolutely destructive to their Liberties; but more especially the English Protestants; for it plainly appeared in the second place, that all this Regulation was more immediately designed for their Destruction. The persons every where named for Aldermen and Burgesses in the new Charters being above two thirds Pa∣pists, some few Protestants were kept in for form sake, that they might not seem absolutely to discountenance them; and to avoid discovering their Designs of turning them out of all: but yet so few, in comparison of the Papists, that they were incapable of doing either good or hurt. And when they saw that they must be insignificant, they generally declined serving at all. The Papists employed, were commonly the most inveterate and exasperated persons against Protestants and their Interest, that could be found. Many of them never saw the Corporations for which they were named; they were never concerned in Trade or Bu∣siness; many of them were named for several Corporations, be∣cause they wanted Men qualified as they would have had them, to make up the number of Aldermen or Burgesses. Most of them were poor and mean, and such whose very Names spake Bar∣barities.

7. The Protestants foresaw very well, what they were to ex∣pect from Corporations thus settled; and a great many of the richest trading Citizens, removed themselves and their Effects into England. The Gentry likewise endeavoured to make Pro∣visions for themselves there; and such as could compass Money laid it out in England, and fled after it to avoid the Storm they saw coming on Ireland. The Truth is▪ 'twas intolerable to them to live under the Government of their Footmen and Ser∣vants, which many must have done, had they staid; and they

could not but dread a Parliament, that should not only be Slaves to the King's Will, who they saw was bent to settle Po∣pery at any rate, but which must consist of Members that they knew to be their inveterate and hereditary Enemies, who would not stick to sacrifice the Liberties and Laws of the Kingdom to the King's Will, so they might procure from him Revenge on the Protestants, and turn them out of their Estates. For what would they stick at, that were so servile as to accept such pre∣carious Charters? They saw in this their own Ruin design'd; and the Event has shewn that they were not mistaken, perhaps no King in the World, much less a King who had been obliged in so high a manner as King James had been, by his Protestant Subjects, did ever take so much pains to ruin his Enemies, or condescend to such mean Acts as he did to ruin us.