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. IX. The attempts made on the Personal Estates of Protestants, before the Revolution in England.

1. THe Earl of Tyrconnel when made Deputy of Ireland, found the Riches of the Kingdom in the Hands of Prote∣stants; the Flocks, the Herds, the rich Houshold-Stuff and Plate, Beneficial Leases, improved Rents, Trade and Mony were almost intirely theirs; whereas the Papists by their Idle∣ness, Ignorance, and numerous Begging Clergy, were so low in their Fortunes, that they were in no condition to raise or maintain such an Army, as was necessary to carry on his De∣signs in this Kingdom; and he was sure the Protestants that had the Riches, would not contribute to support them: He therefore applied himself with all art and industry to impo∣verish them. He did what he could, as I have already shew'd, to destroy their Trade; he put all the hardships imaginable on Protestant Tenants, that they might not be able to pay their Rents, and he encouraged the Popish Tenants to oppose their Landlords: It was whispered amongst them, that they need not pay their Rents, for the Land in a little time would

be their own; they were taught to answer when their Rents were demanded, that they had spent what they designed for their Landlords, to fit themselves or their Sons for the King's Service; and he was sure to be represented as disaffected, that did not sit down with this Answer. If any Landlord was so hardy as to Sue them, they either got themselves inlisted in the Army, or got a particular Protection against Arrests. If any distrained, they let their Cattle be taken to the Pound, and then by Night they either stole or forced them from thence; and when they had thus secretly recovered and conveyed them away, they brought Actions against the Landlord that distrained, as if he had imbezelled them; in which case they were sure to meet with favour and countenance in the Courts. Sometimes they avoided paying Rents, by Swearing their Pro∣testant Landlords into a Plot, or by affixing Treasonable Words on them; insomuch that hardly any Protestant durst distrain, or even demand his Rent: And for Two Years be∣fore the Revolution in England, very few received any profit out of their Estates. This stop of Receits for so long time, obliged Gentlemen to live upon the main Stock, and for want of their growing Rents, which should have answered their Ex∣pences, they were as low as possible in ready Mony, when the late. Troubles fell upon them; and this made many of them on their Flight to England, need Charity for their Sub∣sistence.

2. This hardship was the more heavy upon them, by the necessity they lay under of leaving their Farms and setled manner of Living in the Country, and of either repairing to Dublin, or removing into England, where nothing could be useful to them but ready Mony; yet this was unavoidable, for there was no living for them amongst a People that made no Conscience to pilfer or rob them of their Goods, or to lay Snares for their Lives by false Oaths and suborned Evidence: Nei∣ther did their repairing to Cities and Towns protect them, but the same Persons that drove them from their Country Houses by their Robberies and Oppressions, did afterwards indict and imprison them for leaving* 1.1 them, of which I have given an Example in the

Appendix. Some indeed notwithstanding all the hard usage they met with, ventured to stay on their concerns in the Country; but were at last burnt out of their Houses, and for∣ced to follow their Nighbours. A House within Four Miles of Dublin was Burnt, and several Women and Children Mur∣thered in it at the very beginning of Modelling the Army. Thus Mr. Thomas Corker's House in the County of Meath by Navan was Burnt, as supposed, by the Popish Parish Priest; who after he had done this inju∣ry to the Gentleman, gave out* 1.2 that Mr. Corker had burnt his own House, to make the Roman Catholicks odious. Mr. Henry* 1.3 Gonnes, a Ministers House in Con∣naught, was likewise Burnt, be∣cause they could not otherwise prevait with him to leave the Country: And many others were served in the same way, and their Families Murthered; or else were put to a vast Charge to guard their Houses against these Cut∣throats and Robbers. Even about Dublin hardly any Gentleman's House escaped without being Robbed, or at least several times attempted; and if any were caught in the Fact, they easily got a Pardon for it.

3. Add to this in the Third Place, that though of a good while the Protestants got nothing out of their Estates, yet they were put to vast Charges to defend them; for the Pa∣pists having gotten Judges, Juries and Sheriffs of their own, brought in their Counterfeit Deeds and false Claims in great numbers, and either in forma Pauperum, or by the favour of the Courts, carried on their Suits with little Expences; and when worsted in them, as sometimes in spite of the most ma∣nifest partiality, they were, there was nothing to be recovered of them; whereas the Protestants were forced to row against

the Stream, and to struggle with all the expensive delays and tricks the Courts could put on them. If at any time they were found tardy in the least circumstance or form of Law, though no advantage used formerly to be made of such Mi∣stakes, yet they were sure to pay severely for it; every body who has been concerned in Law business, knows the difference of these cases as to expences; and the consequence was, that Protestants were forced to part with a considerable share of their ready Mony, to recover or defend their Estates, which when in their Possession yielded them nothing.

4. They met with the same measure from the Treasury, as from their Tenants; where any Salary, Pension or Payment was due to any of them from the King, they either did not get it at all, or if by importunity and interest they did get any thing, it was with such Expences, Bribes to Cour∣tiers, and Delays, that they lost the benefit of it. But where any thing was due from them, it was exacted with all the ri∣gour imaginable, and the most strict punctilio's observed to bring them under Fines and Forfeitures. The Chief Baron Rice could not contain himself on the Bench; but on occa∣sion of a Protestant Lawyers pressing somewhat importunate∣ly for his Client that he might have Justice, he answered he should have Justice, but as I said before, that it should be Summum Jus. Nay such discouragement and discountenance was given to the Protestant Lawyers, that many of the most celebrated Counsellors forsook their Practice and the King∣dom; and such as staid could hardly come in for a share of the Fees expended by their former Protestant Clients; for it was enough to destroy a Cause, to have them appear at the Bar for it. The consequence of which was, that the Prote∣stants were forced to employ their Enemies for Counsel, and give them their Mony too often to betray their Cause; at least they could not expect Lawyers that wished so ill to it and them in their Hearts, would be earnest to carry it for them.

5. In Cities and Corporate Towns, the Townsmen were put to great Charges to defend their Charters; and when Judg∣ment was given against them, they were put to another Charge to take them out anew, and to purchase their Freedoms. It

is true, some few Papists generally joined to take out the new Charter; but when it was taken out, they forced the Prote∣stants to pay for it at what rate they pleased, or obliged them to leave the Town. The Attorny General got some Thou∣sands for his share, and every petty Officer and Head of a Country Borrough, enrich'd himself with some part of the Pro∣testants spoil on this account.

6. The next means used to impoverish them was that of Free Quarters, by which they extorted from the Inn-keepers vast Sums of Mony: It was a hardship in time of Peace to be obliged to entertain such rude nasty Guests as the private Soldiers generally were, and to endure the insolencies of their Officers, who practised several Arts with a design to destroy their Quarters. Sometimes they would quarter a whole Troop of Horse on Two or Three Protestant Inns for some Months together, till they wearied them out of their Trade, drove away their Guests, and broke them: Sometimes they would compound for a Sum of Mony to be gone, and then imme∣diately send another Party as bad as themselves, to succeed them; by which means they ruined all the little Towns about Dublin, and broke the Inhabitants. The very first thing they did after they had gotten into the Army, was to set a rate on Diet, on hay and on Oats, not above▪ of what it cost the Innkeeper; a thing to which they had been Strangers be∣fore; but it seemed tolerable, in respect of the Free Quar∣ters to which they pretended afterwards, though in effect it came to the same thing, for they went away and never paid a Farthing for Meat or Drink, or any other conveniencies al∣lowed them in their Quarters; only some gave Bills which were never paid; nay they were not content to have their Meat and Drink and Quarters free, but they so ordered the matter, that their Quarters were generally better to them than their Pay: They commonly had Billets on. Three or Four Houses apiece, every one of which paid them a certain rate per Week; one private Soldier bragg'd that he had Fif∣teen Quarters; the rate paid out of them was according to the quality of the House, and the Person that had the Billet; the very least was 18 d. or 12 d. per Week, and the allowance

to the Officers was proportional: The truth of this is noto∣rious to all in Dublin, and is demonstrable from the number of Publick Houses which were obliged to quarter Men, com∣pared with the number of Men quartered in them. The Houses were double in number to the Soldiers, and yet eve∣ry House had one or Two Soldiers at the least, some Three some Four quartered on them, for which they paid Week∣ly; and yet so unreasonable were these Creatures, that this would not satisfie them, but they would go up and down the Country Stealing and Plundering Meat and Drink, and for∣cing the poor Protestants to bring forth their whole Stock of Provisions, of which they used to eat what they pleased, and then destroy the rest, that the Damned Whigs, (that is, in their constant Dialect, the Protestants,) might not have the benefit of it: It was in vain to grumble or complain; instead of remedy they were sure to have the injury redoubled up∣on them. If any ventured to prosecute a notorious Robbery committed by a Soldier, their Officers appeared in the Court for them, and openly threatned the Jury if they found them Guilty. Thus Colonel Luttrel, afterwards Governour of Dub∣lin, appeared at Killmainham, and brought off his Soldiers who were guilty of a Robbery, by threatning the Jury, and telling them that it should be worse for them if they found his Men guilty; that the King's Souldiers must not be discouraged, and must be allowed, when in want, to take from those that had, meaning the Protestants; and by his Authority he saved them, being not only an Officer, but one of the Justices of the Ses∣sions. And in the very Council, Allbaville publickly owned that the Protestants durst not complain, except they had a mind to be Massacred: I use his Words.

7. The Priests and Fryars were no less oppressive than the Soldiers; they Multiplied in Dublin to Three or Four Hun∣dred at the least; they were well Fed and well Cloathed; there were not more Lusty Plump Fellows in the Town than they, insomuch that they were remarkable for it; and rec∣koning that they consumed but Twenty Pound apiece one with another, which was the least, they cost the Town Eight Thousand Pound per Annum; which is near Four times more

than all the Protestant Clergy in Town received; they built about Fourteen Chappels and Convents in Dublin, and set up Two Nunneries, all which came to a great Sum; and a great part of it came out of the Protestants Pockets, for they were such experienced Beggars, that none escaped them, and so importunate that none durst refuse them; if any did, they must expect to be the next who were Robbed: They must be content to be Accused and Committed either on some se∣cret Whisper, or false Accusation. The Insolency of the Friars may be guessed at by their Carriage to the Lord Primate Boyle; Two of them, as I had before occasion to remark, came to de∣mand Mony of him; and because he refused them, they pro∣cured a Warrant from Sir Thomas Hacket, to commit his Son in Law and Nephew; but others were forced to buy their Peace by large Contributions to them.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Appendix, N^o 18.
• * 1.2

  See the First Proclamation by the Earl of Tyrconnel, Feb. 21. 1686.
• * 1.3

  WHereas a late Proclamation is∣sued forth by the Lord Lieu∣tenant and Council of this Kingdom in December last for the Suppressing of Tories, Robbers, and their Harbour∣ers in these Words following, Where∣as there have been of late many Bur∣glaries and Robberies committed in several parts of this Kingdom, to the ruin of some of his Majesties good Subjects, and to the great disquiet of many others; and it is found by ex∣perience, that his Majesties Mercy that hath been heretofore extended to some Persons that have been attainted of such Crimes, hath been an encou∣ragement to others to commit the like, &c. Which Proclamation hath not yet met with the full effect, &c.