Irelands lamentation for the late destructive cessation, or, A trap to catch Protestants.: Written by Lieutenant Colonell Chidly Coote. Published according to order.

Irelands Lamentation, For the Destructive Cessation.

ALthough the sad face of Ireland hath appeared often in sable colours to the publique view of the true hearted Protestants of England, whose dolefull story by patheticall expressions by men of eminence and others, hath been already most amply and lively described: Yet I presume (though no Mercu∣rialist) being a spectator of the prodigious Tragedies act∣ed on the bloody Theater of that Kingdome, to present unto your serious thoughts the deplorable condition, and present state of the languishing Protestants there, which I conceive, I am many wayes bound to discover, as both in duty to Almighty God, so in zeale and faithfulnesse to my Country.

And because I neither desire nor dare to adventure the inlarging my present Relation with the flourishes of Rhe∣torick, having been bred a Souldier, and not verst that way, I shall make the most plaine, speedy, and true De∣monstration that I may, and shall enter into the particulars.

And first, I shall give a touch of one circumstance, that hath been a great occasion of the Protestants misery in that Kingdome; and that hath hapned through the false, and treacherous government of those, who have lately been

set as Rulers and Governours over them. And in relation of this, it will not be necessary for me, to use over much prolixity, for even since my repaire to this City, I well perceive my Lord Marquesse of Ormond, and most of his Complices, have been truely Characterized unto this whole Kingdom. Onely I shall offer this unto the con∣sideration of all men, whether or no it can be justly con∣ceived, that the Protestants have been, or can bee justly dealt withall, as long as my Lord of Ormond, my Lord Chancellor Boulton, my Lord of Roscomon, my Lord Lam∣bert, my Lord Brabazon, my Lord Taaffe, Sir Morris Eustance, Colonell Barrey, and the two Poores have had, and still have, the sway of that Kingdome, and I doubt not but that the true consideration of this, cannot but induce you to beleeve, that the greatest Justice the Protestants can expect is injustice in the very abstract, and the greatest mercy, most suddain, and inevitable cruelty, and destruction, if not through Gods infinite mercy and care of the Honourable Houses of Parliament, timely prevented.

For truely, this I will confidently affirme upon my own knowledge, and shall by Gods gratious assistance never bee afraid, to seale the Truth of my affirmation with my blood, that if countenancing the Papists, discountenan∣cing the Protestants, bee justice, the Protestants have an administration of justice, in this kind, to the very full. If countenancing Jesuites, and setting up in the Pulpits, prat∣ling Ministers, discountenancing and imprisoning honest and zealous Preachers of the sacred Word of God, be Ju∣stice, the Protestants of that Kingdome have no cause of complaint.

If looking with a gratious aspect on those who are rotten, and lukewarme, in the service against the Rebels, and be∣holding those who were honest in the service, with a threatning and malignant b••ow, be a signe of Justice, the

Protestants need not complaine of the want of Justice. In a word, to end this circumstance, I do hereby declare before God, and the whole world, that the best justice distributed amongst the Protestants of Ireland, hath been most destructive, both to Church and Common-wealth, and shall heartily wish, that the unjust Rulers of that King∣dome may be removed from among the poore languishing soules, that lye groaning under their cruelty.

Now I must turne my discourse from the many miseries the Protestants of Ireland have sustained, by those who should have been their best friends, and will make as briefe a Relation as I may, of the suddain destruction, our too too well known enemies would fain bring upon us, and what wayes they have prepared to effect the same. The first way they fell upon, is by this time notifyed to all Na∣tions, which was to cut off man, woman, and childe at one blow, without distinction of either descent, age, or sex, and not onely to kill their bodies, but their soules also, as farre as in them lay, forcing many weak Christians to de∣ny their Redeemer, and then telling them, they were in the state of Grace, and that they could never dye in a bet∣ter time, and so hanged them up; and their raging ma∣lice was not sufficiently shewed, as they supposed, by kil∣ling the Soules of the Protestants, and murthering their bodies, but they must aggravate the malignity of their malice, by inflicting not onely death, but strange kindes of death upon them, as stabbing, hanging, drowning, which is known unto all men, starving the English, untill they forced them to eate pieces of their own flesh, cut off and broiled on the coales, and many such like horrid deaths as these. And because they did not abound enough in malice, as yet, to the English Protestants, the Papists in Ireland must be inforced to kill their own wives, that they had marryed of the English, great with childe, because

they had English blood in them, as they said, and all those English allyed unto them by their wives.

Neither did their rage extend onely to the living, but most inhumanely conveyed it selfe to the dead; for it is a maxime in their diabolicall Divinity, that it is unlawfull to say Masse, where Hereticks have been buryed: upon which ground they have dis-interred the bodies of the in∣nocent Protestants sleeping in their graves, and have ex∣posed them to be a prey either to beasts or birds: witnesse their practise in this kind at Galway, Limerick, and in di∣vers other places.

Againe, their barbarous immanity ends not with the reasonable creature, but diffuseth it selfe to the sensitive and vegetable, for they revenge themselves on the very English Beasts, commonly called by the name of English breede, for the same reason before mentioned, and would not when they were designed for slaughter, kill them, as they did the Irish breede, but the beasts being alive, cut off great peeces of flesh out of them, skinne and flesh to∣gether, and so broyling that flesh upon the coales, eate the same; and if the beasts chanced either to roare or groan for misery and paine, they would in detestation and mock∣ery of the English, cry out that they understood not their English language. But hitherto they have not launced out farre enough into the Sea of their malice, and cruelty, but they must proceed further yet. They must be revenged of all manner of things, that either pleased or belonged unto the English. Trees that the English planted must be cut up, roote and branch, there was too much of an En∣glish man in them; All herbes, plants, odoriferous flow∣ers, set and planted by the English, and pleasing to them, must therefore no longer grow but be pluckt up. All stately houses, and all manner of costly Ornaments and furniture belonging to the English, must be (out of the

raging heat of their malice) consumed by the fire.

So that it may clearely appeare, by the cruelty of these devouring Woolfes, that their malice was so inveterate to the English, that they fully intended to make such a destru∣ction of them, as there should not appeare so much as one Monument of an English man in the whole kingdom of Ire∣land, nor any one thing that should ever be a signe unto the succeeding Posterity of the Rebells there, that ever there was an English man in that Kingdome: and this likely had come to passe, had their hellish Plot taken effect, & had not God in his infinite mercy & goodnesse prevented the same.

And although they have by their more then heathe∣nish Cruelty, (with other unexpected and unlawfull helps which they had) very much advanced their devilish de∣fignes, yet it hath pleased the All-powerfull God, in some measure to frustrate their long expected hopes, and to shew them they neither can nor shall so farre prevaile over us by force, but that we shall be able to enjoy the Inheri∣tance which God Almighty hath beene pleased to bestow upon us in that Kingdome, mangre all their power and malice.

And therefore now, what they see they are not able to doe by force, they will strive to doe by devilish subtilty and craft: An inherent quality of that Nation.

The meanes to effect this, is by a stratagem called by the name of a Cessation, which some selfe-ended Coun∣sellors have obtained by their insinuation into his Majesty, and by these false Informations that the onely way to save the Kingdome of Ireland, was by making a Cessation with the Rebels there, which indeede may easily appeare unto every wise man, is, and shall prove, if not timely pre∣vented, the very high way to lose it.

For how can it otherwise be? for before the Cessati∣on was made, what foode had the English to subsist on,

but what they forced from the Rebels? Now the Cessati∣on being concluded, and the Rebels having all the estates and livelihood of the Protestants, and all the food of the Kingdome in their own hands, and suffering none of the food to be sold, for any rates whatsoever, to the English, of purpose to starve them out of the Kingdome, and so to get possession of it themselves; how can it be thought, but that this cessation was brought to passe by evil Counsellors to the end the Papists should get possession of the whole kingdome, as they have already the greatest part thereof?

From all these places following, the Rebels have for the most part starved out the English since this Cessation, and that meerely by stopping provisions, and suffering none to be sold unto them. The names of the places are these, and all these places in the chiefest province of the kingdome, the province of Lemster, viz. Carloe, Athy, the Fort of Lease, Nease, Trymm, and Dundalk, with ma∣ny more Castles and Garrisons. And the certainty of this plot they have in hand, will prove the more apparent, by a Declaration of grievances, signed and attested by all the Protestant Officers of the whole province of Conought, sent unto my Lord Marquesse of Ormond, some five weeks since. Wherein amongst sundry grievances, they exprest, that there was an absolute plot amongst the Rebels to starve them out of that province, for that the Papists would have no manner of commerce, or buying, or selling with them, either victuals or any thing else. And more∣over the Protestants complained in that Declaration, that they found that the County Councels (which were the head rebels of those Counties) had issued out Warrants to seize on all mens goods and estates of their own devilish Confederacy, that should offer to have any manner of buying or selling with the English.

And therefore what other terme can rightly be given

to this Cessation, then a trap for Protestants? which in∣deed all the Protestants of Ireland are most sensible of, and how great a yoake of tyranny they are inforced to lie under. And in that part of the kingdome (as in Ulster) where they were so powerfull, as not to feare the shewing their true sense of what swist destruction was plotted to bee brought upon them; they have to the number of 30000. men united themselves to resolutions of falling upon the Irish againe, as soone as ever supplies of victualls commeth unto them, which I doubt not through the mer∣cies of God will redound much to the service of that king∣dome and of this, for I hope the united forces will bee stronger ere long, and will give the Rebels so much to do in Ireland, as they shall have either little time or mind of imbrewing their wicked hands in the innocent blood of the Inhabitants of England, which truely otherwise they will bee most eager to doe, and I shall ever wish that this kingdome in generall may truly discerne how pleasing it will bee to Almightie God, that there may bee assistance by them given unto the Protestants of Ireland to prose∣cute the warre in that kingdome, and to take a just re∣venge of the heathenish Canibals there, for the many thousands of Innocents they have murthered. And like∣wise how advantagious it will bee for the service of this kingdome, since I dare confidently affirme, that the ma∣lice of the Irish Rebels pointeth at all the Protestants, nay at all the English in this kingdome likewise.

And that doth appeare by the great preparations there made both by Sea and Land for the sending over a rebel∣lious Army into this Kingdom, upon hopes and conjectures that the Protestants here are in no condition of any wayes enabling the Protestants of that Kingdome to with∣stand them.

For I beseech you judge, if the Protestants there should

for indigence and want bee enforced to desert that King∣dome, and that the Irish should swarme here, what mer∣cy could the English here expect from them, who have beene so bloody upon us, that had so many ties of friend∣ship and gratitude upon them? truly I know not how peo∣ple may flatter themselves, but I am perswaded murthe∣ring and massacres without mercy, rapes, and rapines, bur∣nings, devastations, and all manner of spoyles will be the greatest mercy received from them.

And by sufficient testimonies I am perswaded that if the Papists may once have a concourse into this Kingdome, the very person of his Majestie would not bee free from the danger of being murthered by them, if their fuccesses here should not meet with their hopes, or if his Majestie should any way decline at any time, (which I hope in Gods due time hee will) from an eager pursuit of the mis∣chievous designes they shall at all times seeke to bring his Majestie unto.

And indeed, I have a strong argument to inforce me to this beliefe; for not long before my departure from Dub∣lin, certaine newes came to the Citie of my Lord Duke Hammiltons flying out of Scotland to his Majestie, which newes did not a little deject some there, for that they did conjecture that there was no partie to bee raifed in Scotland for the hindering the advance of the Scotch Army into this Kingdome; many whispers and constructions were concerning his comming away at that time and in that manner, among many others this was the construction my Lord Taaffe made of it, who freely ript up his minde to those of so unblemished reputations (whom although for some causes I will not name at this time, yet in due time I shall both name them, and prove by them, that hee ex∣prest himself) in these words.

My Lord Duke Hammilton is reported to bee fled out of

Scotland to the King, and pretends hee fled from thence, because hee could not raise a partie for his Majestie; But truely for my part, I take him to bee as notorious a Tray∣tor as ever hee was, and that hee is fled to the King meerely to trie, whether or no, with his great power, hee can perswade the King to a peace, and by that meanes de∣stroy the good cause his Majestie hath in hand. But for my part, I ingenuously declare my selfe, that if the King bee so weake as to bee prevailed upon by him, I thinke it is pitie hee should bee suffered to live.

So that by this you may well perceive, what a high esteeme such traytorous Papists as these have of the cause disputed for by the Kings evill Counsellors: And by con∣sequence, how little reason the Protestants have to con∣jecture, that this good cause the Papists so much adore is the Protestant Religion, though 6. or 700. of those who joyning with the Protestants that came over to serve the King, made oath in my hearing to maintaine the Prote∣stant Religion with their lives and estates. As likewise, how much reason all honest men have to grieve and mourne at the great danger his Majestie is in, when such threatners of his life as these shall so neerely approach unto him; The truth of all which I doe hereby engage my selfe to prove, whensoever called upon, and no suf∣ferance or death whatsoever, by Gods powerfull assi∣stance, shall ever make me deny any one tittle of what I have here declared and subscribed unto.

Chidly Coote.

FINIS.

Notes

• Taaffe and Bar∣ry, obstinate Pa∣pists, the two Poores kinsmen to my Lord Marquesse, and Papists like∣wise, and those by whom he is most led & ••n∣led.
• Witnesse the choosing these above named Papists for Ru∣lers of the king∣dome, and im∣prisoning Sir William Parsons Sir Adam Lof∣tus, Sir Iohn Temple, and Sir Robert Meri∣deth, Doctor Harding, and divers others that were im∣prisoned and have beene en∣forced to flye.
• This kind of death the Rela∣tor can the bet∣ter testifie, be∣cause one Ma∣ster Watson a Divine and Chaplaine un∣to his Father suffered in this kinde.
• The Relater is ready to affirm this upon oath.
• As Doctor Webbe Bishop of Limerick, Master Lee, &c.
• To wit because they had En∣glish bloud in sheepe.
• The Treache∣ry of the Go∣vernors & Of∣ficers.