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. VI. V. King James's destructive Attempts upon the Trade and Tra∣ding Part of the Nation.

1. TRade is of so great advantage to a Kingdom, and the Profit it brings to the Exchequer is so considerable, that it is hardly credible that any King should contrive to de∣stroy it in his own Kingdom; and yet King James has given us just reason to conclude, that he designed the Ruin of it in all his Kingdoms, at least was well pleased with it. Many Roman Ca∣tholicks, who pretended to know his mind, have confidently affirm'd, that he purposely let the Ships of England decay and rot, that the French might grow great at Sea, and destroy the Trade of the English. The Reason pretended for doing so, was to humble his Subjects, and take away their Wealth from them, that made them proud and surly, so that the King could not have his Will of them; I speak the Language of these Roman Catho∣licks; and the King himself▪could not sometimes forbear Words to the same purpose. And if we consider the Condition in which their present Majesties found the English Fleet, the thing will not want probability. It was further pretended by many of King James's Officers▪ that it was more for the King's Advantage, to have his Subjects poor than rich; For, said they, you see how

willing the poor Irish are to enlist themselves Soldiers for two pence a day, who know no better way of living: but it were impossible to bring the rich Churls of England (so they usually called them) from their Farms and Shops, on such terms, to serve the King. They further alledged, that the Poverty of the Generality of France, is the Reason that they are so willing to be Soldiers, and makes them so easily maintain'd when they are enrolled. Upon such destructive Maxims did they found their design of ruining Trade in these Kingdoms.

2. But whatever be said to the general Design, it is certain King James ruined the Trade of Ireland, in prosecution of his purpose of destroying the Protestants there. The Money and Wealth circulated in their Hands, and few others had either Stock, Understanding or Credit, to carry on a Trade besides them. They innocently imagined, if there had been no other Reason, that this alone would have prevailed with the then Government to have permitted them to live secure, easie and quiet; but they quick∣ly found that King James and his Ministers wou'd rather have no Trade at all in the Kingdom, than it should be in the Hands of Protestants. Merchants have generally their Stock in Move∣ables, so that it is easie for them to transport themselves and their Effects into another Country, if they find themselves uneasie in their own. And sure the Protestant Merchants could not be easie in Towns which they had formerly governed, and in which they were now subjected to mean inconsiderable People; many of which had formerly been their own menial Servants, but now advanced to the Honor of being Magistrates, treated their late Masters with such Affronts and Abuses, as are intolerable to Free Men, and, which Solomon observes, make even wise Men mad.

3. This, together with the apprehension of danger to their Lives and Fortunes, from the advancement of such indigent and malicious persons to▪ Power, did drive most of the rich Traders out of the Kingdom. The rest contracted their Stocks, called in their Debts, and resolved to give over Trading, or else follow their Neighbours into England, as soon as they could clear them∣selves of their Business; the effect of this Resolution of theirs was ruinous to all such as were indebted to them, or in their Books; for it was impossible to raise Money to answer those

Debts, when called for so suddenly, tho they had Stock enough to answer them if time had been allowed them, as they expect∣ed when they contracted them; by which means Protestants were forced to ruin one another, as well as some Papists that depended on them; a great many being forced thereby to shut up Shop, and break for small Debts, that bare no proportion to their Stocks and Credit, whose payment had been good, if they had not been called on too suddenly, and if the Circulation of Trade had not been stopped.

4. The next thing that destroyed the Trade of Ireland was the advancing persons of mean or no Fortunes unto places of Profit. These had no ready Money to give the Merchants, and yet were necessitated to live high, and appear in fine Cloaths; and either by force or fraud they got into the Shop-Books; and by refusing to pay, disabled the Merchants to make their usual Returns, and by that means broke their Credit, which is the Foundation of Trade. The Protestant Soldiers and Officers, in whose places the indigent Papists were substituted, were ge∣nerally so good Husbands as to have some little thing in store; and hence were enabled to take up at the best hand, and pun∣ctualy pay what they had expended; but these New-Comers gave their Creditors, where they chanced to be trusted, only Oaths, and Curses, and Abuses, instead of Payment; a general stop of Trading immediately followed; especially the Manu∣factures set up in the Kingdom, which were very considerable to its Trade, came to be neglected; and every thing upon Tyrcon∣nell's coming to the Government, was at a stand. The Clothier would not lay out his Money to make Cloth, and pay Work∣men, when it must either lie on his Hands, or he be obliged to trust it to such Debtors that would only return him Abuses for his Money. The Builder would not go on in his Building, and part with his ready Money, when he could have no Secu∣rity of enjoying it, or receiving Rent for it, if he let it. By these means great numbers of Tradesmen and Laborers, all ge∣nerally Protestants, were reduced to Beggary, and their Families starved. Such sort of People as these, are the Men that carry on Trade, and enrich a place; but were now forced to leave the Kingdom, and seek elsewhere for Work: their going away stop∣ped the usual Consumption of Commodities, and made Trade yet more dead and heavy.

5. There was a third thing that did further discourage the Merchants, and that was the▪ Exaction of the Custom Houses. The Officers found, that by the decay of Trade, the King's Revenue must fall, and that then they would be in hazard to lose their places; to prevent which, they used all the Rigor and Exactions imaginable: they had Valuators of their own chusing, which put what Rates on Goods they pleased; and then the Merchant must pay the Duties accordingly without Remedy. Frequently the Values set on Goods were double, nay treble to what they ought to have been, and to the true intrinsick Worth of the Commodity, or what they could be sold for; the Conse∣quence whereof was, that the Merchant paid often double or treble Duties to what he ought; and this was a great Discou∣ragement to Trading. The Complaints of all People in general as well as of Merchants were great on the account of Exactions of the Officers of the Revenue, who were grown up to a high degree of Exorbitance; which, with many other Abuses in the Kingdom, proceeded from the long Disuse of Parliaments, the inferior Officers being freed from that fear for twenty four years, did forget that there were any, to whom they were accountable, besides their own Masters; and therefore not only exacted upon and oppressed the Subjects, but likewise treated them with in∣sufferable Insolence, while the Commissioners or Farmers strain∣ed and perverted the Laws for their own profit, or to ingratiate themselves with the Courtiers, on whose Favour they de∣pended.

6. There was a fourth thing that more peculiarly ruined the Protestant Trade, and 'twas thus; the King's Revenue in Ire∣land was so considerable a part of each Man's Estate, that most of the current Coin in the Kingdom came into the Treasury once in a year, either for Hearth Money, Crown Rents, or some other Duties. And the King having turned Protestants out of all profitable Employments, and out of the Army, and put in Papists, his Revenue was paid out again to them, and ought to have circulated indifferently amongst his Subjects, as it used to do. But so great was the Malice of these new Officers to Protestants, that they combined amongst themselves, to let them have as little of it as was possible; and therefore where∣ever they could lay it out with one of their own Religion, they

did it. And very few Protestants ever received a Groat of their Money, as the Citizens of Dublin can universally witness. When they wanted Money they came to the Protestant Shops, where they abused and affronted and terrified them, if they re∣fused to trust; calling them Dogs, Whigs, Rebels and Traitors, swearing with many Oaths, that they would be revenged on them. But if they had ready Money, tho they had been for∣merly Customers to Protestants, and in their Books, they ne∣ver came near them any more. This Practice was so universal amongst them, that even the Women learn'd it; particularly the Lady Tyrconnel's Daughters: for thus the Lady Ross and her Sister Dillon treated several Shopkeepers, falling furiously upon them in the former Terms, because their Servants refused to trust. By the like rudeness the Exchange was intirely ruined; neither Buyers nor Sellers being able to keep in it, by reason of the Insolencies of the new Popish Officers who walked in it, affronted and assaulted every Body, or extorted their Goods from them for nothing, the Shopkeepers not daring to refuse to trust them. By this means the rich Shopkeepers were driven away, and most of the considerable Shops shut up, even in the princi∣pal Streets of the City, long before we heard any News of the Prince of Orange. As soon as the Earl of Tyrconnel came to the Government, there was almost a Desolation in the Town; and there were at least fourteen or fifteen Trades that had nothing to do; the Government knew very well that this would be the Effect of their Proceedings, and that the Trade, Manufactures and Improvements of the Kingdom must cease, if they went on at the Rate they did; but they were so far from being concerned at it, that they rather seemed well pleased with it.

7. And to ruin our Trade intirely, they suffered and conni∣ved at the Transportation of our Wool to France; a thing so fa∣tal to England as well as to Ireland, that the Law has made it Felony to be punished with Death. The new Mayor of Gallway, Mr. Kyrovan was catched in the very Fact; and the Delivery of a considerable Cargo sent by him into France, was fully pro∣ved; for which he ought to have been hanged: but the Lord Deputy Tyrconnel, notwithstanding all his Oaths and pretended Displeasure, when the Mischief of it was laid before him, quickly shewed this to be only a Copy of his Countenance; for he not

only granted him a Pardon, and remitted his Forfeiture of about 10000 l. but as a further Mark of his Favour, he continued him in his Mayoralty for another year. Thus the Trade of the Kingdom was ruined, and the Protestants, who with vast Hazard and Charge carried it on, had it left to their Choice whether they would stay here and starve, or remove themselves to ano∣ther Kingdom; and I believe no Body will wonder if they had no great affection for a Government that designedly brought this hardship upon them.

8. It must be acknowledged, that King James did not only ruin the Protestant Trade, but that he went a great way in de∣stroying the Trade of the Roman Catholicks also. It is well known, that the Citizens of Gallway are the most considerable Roman Catholick Traders in Ireland; many of whom had pur∣chased Estates under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation, and must therefore fall together with them. They foresaw their own Ruin in the Repeal of th••se Acts, and petitioned the Par∣liament, that Consideration might be had of their Purchases and Improvements; but this reasonable Request was denyed them; those Acts were repealed, and by their Repeal left the most con∣siderable Roman Catholick Traders in Ireland, without Estates or Credit to follow their Trade, or to answer their Correspondents abroad.

I might add here the further steps made by King James to∣wards ruining the Protestant Trade, by his coining Brass Money, by his lodging it in Protestants Hands, seising their Stocks and Commodities, whereby they were utterly disabled to trade; whilst Papists were not only spared, but had the Protestants Goods put into their Hand. But these with the other Influences the Brass Money had to destroy us, will be more proper, when we come to consider the Invasions made on our Properties.