An act for the setting apart a day of publique thanks-giving, to be kept on Friday the twenty sixth of this instant July. Together with a declaration & narrative, expressing the grounds and reasons thereof. Die Jovis, 11 Julii, 1650. Ordered by the Parliament, that this Act, together with the list of the officers and soldiers slain and taken, and the commission to the Popish bishop of Clogher, be forthwith printed and published. Hen: Scobell, Cleric. Parliamenti.

AN ACT FOR The setting apart a Day of publique Thanks∣giving, to be kept on Friday the 26^th of this instant JULY: Together with a Declaration & Narrative, Expressing the GROVNDS & REASONS thereof.

THe mighty Wonders that God hath wrought in and for Eng∣land, and the multitude of Mercies with which he hath followed the PARLIAMENT throughout, in this great Cause which they have under∣taken, for Asserting and Re∣covery of their Just Rights and Liberties, with the Esta∣blishment of Truth and Righteousness, are always to be had in thankful Remembrance by us and our Poste∣rities, and ought to endear this Commonwealth, after a most peculiar maner to seek the Lord, and become a People in whom his Soul may take delight. For he it is that hath removed our shoulders from the Burthen, and hath delivered us from Tyranny and Bondage; He hath gone forth with our Armies, and the Weapons that have been formed against us, He hath not suffered to pro∣sper. A most eminent Example of this His Grace and Goodness to us, we have occasion at this time to Cele∣brate

in respect of Ireland, where God hath not onely be∣gun his saving and delivering Work, to our Admiration, and the Astonishment of all our Enemies, but hath al∣most made an end, and that in a most glorious and remarkable maner; so as we may truly say, The Lord hath soon subdued our Enemies in that Nation, and turned his hand against our Adversaries; The haters of the Lord have been found lyars, and have not been able to stand in the day of Battel; but those Cruel and Blood∣thirsty men have had his just Vengeance so seasonably poured out upon them, that the Innocent Blood of the many Thousands Protestants there slain since this Re∣bellion, hath been Revenged and Punished upon the prime and eminent Actors of it. God (that is un∣searchable in his Councels, and in his ways past finding out) having called them to a strict Accompt, and given them blood to drink, of which they were worthy, that all Nations may fear before him, and take heed how they set themselves against him and his People. It is as yet very little more then Twelve Moneths, when Dublin and London-derry were the onely considerable places in all Ireland, that remained under the Power of the Parliament; and those were so straightly block'd up and besieged by powerful Armies of the Enemies, that there was nothing left, but marvellous & extraordinary appearances of God, whereby to set them free, and make passage, & give footing unto the Army sent last year from hence for the reduction of that Dominion; whose progress, by the Blessing of God, hath been such, as that neither in Field nor Garison the Enemy is much considerable. The particulars of this last great Mercy given unto the Parliaments Forces under Sir Charls Coot, Lord President of Connaught, against the whole Army of Irish Rebels in Vlster, commanded by the Popish Bishop of Clogher, have been by an Express from the said Lord President, certified to the Parliament, and are summ'd up in the Narrative following, and the Letters and Papers themselves herewith, and heretofore printed and made publique.

IT having pleased God so to bless our Armies in Lemster & Munster, that the enemy durst no longer keep the Field in those parts, The Irish Rebels (having reduced them∣selves into a Body meerly Popish, putting all Protestants, of what quality soever, from amongst them, and till when, they thought themselves less capable of Success or any Blossing) look'd upon the Province of Vlster as the fittest Refuge for their preservation and subsistence, where the Parliaments Forces lay scattered in smallest propor∣tion, and (as the nature of that large Countrey required) at greatest distances, and where the Countrey was well-near wholly at their Devotion, the Papists (which in those parts are the most zealous, and therefore the first in the Rebellion, and most bloody in the Execution) upon their own account entirely, and the Scots upon their Kings, by whose Authority, and for whose Service this Army was raised; and therefore as by the last years ex∣perience they were sure of the Scots upon that Common Interest, so for their encouragement now, they did by many Declarations disperst amongst the Scots, assure them of Security and Protection, if they continued to own the said Kings Authority. These Forces, which upon the death of Owen Roe O Neal, were destitute of a Comman∣der, were supplied with Ever mac Mahon Bishop of Clogher, by Commission from Ormond, Authorized thereunto by Charls Stuart, Eldest Son to the late King, into whose Service and Protection they were taken, by a Treaty mentioned in the said Commission it self of the said Or∣monds, herewith Printed.

This is that Army, which while it was under the Con∣duct of Owen Roe the last year, did occasion some jealou∣sies and reproaches upon the Proceedings of this present Parliament, as if they had been taken into their Service, and that such bloody Rebels should have been made use of against the Protestant Party of English and Scots, then under the Command of Ormond and Monroe, that had

declared themselves against the Parliament of England, as Sectaries, and Murtherers of the late King: And great use was made thereof by Ministers and others, not affect∣ed to this present Government, to alienate the mindes of men from their duty to this Parliament, and foment new Distractions and Divisions amongst us. But as we did then in the sight of God and sincerity of our hearts, vin∣dicate our innocency in reference to any such Designs, as by the Votes we then passed doth appear; so the vigorous and constant opposition all along maintained against them, and the thorow execution now done by our For∣ces upon them, gives an undenyable evidence of our clearness therein, and leaves to future Ages, the marks of our just Indignation against them. This Army pro∣vided of this General about the end of May last, fell down into Sir Charls Coot's Quarters, and presently took by storm a place upon the Frontier of Vlster, called Dunge∣ven, where they put all to the Sword, except the Gover∣nor, whom they sent dangerously wounded to Charle∣mont; from thence they marched to Bally Castle, which was presently surrendred to them without opposition, by the treachery of some therein. These successes exceed∣ingly puft up the Rebels, and made them considerable, not in their own eyes onely, but to the judgement of Ormond, Clanrikard, and the rest of their Party, who therefore advise their General, by all means to keep off from putting things to the hazard of a Battel, having hopes upon this foundation, and by the well managing of this so well begun Success, to recover again, not onely their late Interest in, but the whole Dominion of Ire∣land: For though the Army in effective force did not con∣sist of above Six hundred Horse and Four thousand Foot, yet they were reckoned Fourteen Regiments of Foot, and had Officers of all degrees proportionable to that number, which by their Interest in the Countrey as aforesaid, and by the countenance of these successful be∣ginnings, they might reasonably promise themselves; & by

them upon the place it is belived, that within a very few days they would have gathered in a force of Soldiers, an∣swerable to those Officers: In the mean time, all the force that the Lord President of Connaught could draw into the Field to resist this powerful inroad (leaving the Gari∣sons tollerably provided for) was but Eighteen hundred Foot, and Six hundred Horse, whereof One thousand Foot came up to him under Colonel Fenwick, but three days before he engaged the Enemy: But England may say as well as Israel, It is as easie with the Lord to save with few as with many; who was pleased to put such zeal and cou∣rage into the Soldiers of the Parliament, that on the One and twentieth of June last, they marched up to∣wards this Army (so exceeding them in number, and heightned Resolution by late successes) as it lay Encamp∣ed near Letterkenny upon the side of a Mountain, in∣accessible either for Horse or Foot; upon sight of which, the Enemy drew forth upon a piece of ground (being in∣deed inticed thereunto by the giving back of some of our Forlorn-Hopes (ordered for that purpose so to do) and though that ground were extreamly bad, yet it pleased God to put it into the hearts of our Forces, with that small Body to advance towards them, where they pre∣sently engaged them, and by the wonderful blessing of God, after an hours hot dispute, even to push of Pike, with great resolution on both sides, the Enemy was to∣tally Routed, many of them killed upon the place, and the Execution pursued ten or eleven Miles every way that night; so as the number computed to be slain that day in the pursuit, and the next day, was Three thousand at the least, in which Action were slain and taken Prisoners most of their Officers, from, the highest to the lowest, few escaping; and many of the Heads of the principal Septs or Families in that Countrey of the old Irish Rebels, some of whom are since Executed, and their Heads set upon the Walls of London-Derry, for the terror of others, and as Monuments of Gods goodness in their over∣throw,

the most considerable of all which, so far as they were then discovered and known, are set forth in the List herewith printed. There were also taken in that glorious Day, all their Arms, Ammunition; Colours, Bag and Baggage, and most of their Horse; and though their General the Bishop got off with a Party, yet he was met with (so sure doth Divine Justice pursue, and overtake the men of Blood) and taken by Major King and his Troops near Eniskellen, whose Head was also sent for by Sir Charls, to accompany the rest of his wicked Ac∣complices at Derry. In this day of Vlsters Danger and Distress, it might reasonably have been expected, That the Scots (who notwithstanding their general defection from the Parliament to the contrary Party the last year, had yet enjoyed Peace and Protection from us) would have come out against this perfectly-Popish Army, and help the LORD against the mighty; but such was their in∣gratitude, and so great their hatred to them whom they term Sectaries, above what they bear to the worst of Pa∣pists, and the most bloody Rebels, as that they sate Neu∣tral all the while, as reserving themselves to declare, and fal in with the Conqueror, which they also did accordingly.

In all this Business, the loss on our side was very small, so mercifully did the LORD cover the heads of his servants in the day of Battel; so as onely Captain Sloper of Colonel Venables Regiment, with eleven or twelve private Soldiers, were slain, and Colonel Fenwick, Major Gore, Captain Gore, and an Ensign, with some few others, wounded: And it is a thing most worthy Observation, That those who first began the Rebellion in that very Countrey of Vlster, and where they executed most Cruelty and In∣humanity, should be reserved for Gods Vengeance to be poured out upon them in that place; so that we may justly say, Who is a GOD like our GOD, our enemies them∣selves being Iudges! To him alone therefore be the Praise and the Glory.

Nor was this great Mercy more Wonderful then Sea∣sonable,

in regard of the terms wherein we stand to Scot∣land, and the Necessity of our Armies marching thither, amongst other things, for pursuing the Head of this Ar∣my of Popish and Irish Rebels, CHARLS STUART, Eldest Son of the late King, who being beaten out from his Confidences and Intimacies with the Popish Army in Ireland, by the wonderful Success which God hath been pleased to give our Army this year and the last, hath now no other Refuge left him but Scotland, where his hopes are (Montross also having run out his course, upon whose Assistance 'tis known he most affectionately de∣pended) to do that by Stratagem and Deceit, with the Reformed Party, which he could not carry on by Force and Power, by means of the Popish Rebels, and purely Malignant Party; And thinks now, under the fair Vi∣zard of Reformation and the Covenant (which he hath swallowed, like ill-pleasing Physick, for a desperate Cure) to raise up a Party for himself in this Nation also, for the Rooting up this present Government, and with it the English Liberty, Purchased at so high a Rate, and what∣ever else is near and dear to honest and good men: But the same God, who is mighty in Strength, and also wise in heart, and having shewn himself in Power to subdue open Enemies, will not suffer his Arm to be shortned, in his going forth against Hypocrites and false Friends, that he in all may be glorified, and his Praise spread abroad throughout the whole Earth.

UPon consideration of all which, together with the taking of Trecroghan about the same time, and other prosperous proceed∣ings of our Forces in Ireland, The Parliament, for manifestation of their high and extraordinary Sense of so signal and seasonable Mercies, have thought it sit, and their duty, to set apart a time for publique and solemn Thanksgiving, to be rendred to the Lord, the Author of these Mer∣cies:

And they do therefore Enact and Ordain, That Friday the Twenty sixth of July, be obser∣ved and kept as a Day of publique and holy Re∣joycing and Thanksgiving to the Lord, in all the Churches and Chappels, and places of Divine worship within this Commonwealth of England, Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed; And that the Ministers of the respective Parishes and places aforesaid, be, and hereby they are Required and Enjoyned to give notice on the Lords-Day next preceding the said Twenty sixth of July, of the day so to be observed; to the end the People of their several Congrega∣tions may the more generally and diligently at∣tend the publique Exercises of Gods Worship and Service there to be dispensed upon that occasion; At which time, that the People may be the more particularly and fully informed of this great Deliverance and Success, the said Ministers are hereby Required, and (under the Penalty set down in the Resolves of Parliament of the Ninth day of July, One thousand six hundred forty nine) En∣joyned to publish and reade this present Act and Declaration. And for the better observation of the day, the Parliament doth hereby inhibit and for∣bid the holding or use of all Fairs, Markets, and servile works of mens ordinary Callings upon that day: And all Majors, Sheriffs, Iu∣stices of Peace, Constables, and other Offi∣cers, be, and are hereby Enjoyned to take espe∣cial care of the due observance of the said day of Thanksgiviving accordingly.