entreating his majesty to prevent its being put in execution. That prince assured him that he had already ordered Rosene to desist from such proceedings. Nevertheless, the Frenchman executed his threats with the utmost rigour. Parties of dragoons were detached on this cruel service: after having stripped all the protestants for thirty miles round, they drove these unhappy people before them like cattle, without even sparing the enfeebled old men, nurses, with infants at their breasts, tender children, women just delivered, and some even in the pangs of labour. Above four thousand of these miserable objects were driven under the walls of Londonderry. This expedient, far from answering the purpose of Rosene, produced a quite contrary effect. The besieged were so exasperated at this act of inhumanity, that they resolved to perish rather than submit to such a barbarian. They erected a gibbet in sight of the enemy, and sent a message to the French general, importing, that they would hang all the prisoners they had taken during the siege, unless the protestants whom they had driven under the walls should be immediately dismissed. This threat produced a negotiation, in consequence of which the protestants were released, after they had been detained three days without tasting food. Some hundreds died of famine or fatigue; and those who lived to return to their own habitations found them plundered and sacked by the papists, so that the greater number perished for want, or were murdered by the straggling parties of the enemy; yet these very people had for the most part obtained protections from king James, to which no respect was paid by his general.

§ XXXV. The garrison of Londonderry was now reduced from seven to five thousand, seven hundred men, and these were driven to such extremity of distress, that they began to talk of killing the popish inhabitants, and feeding on their bodies. In this emergency, Kirke, who had hitherto lain inactive, ordered two ships laden with provisions to sail up the river, under convoy of the Dartmouth frigate. One of these, called the Mountjoy, broke the enemy's boom; and all the three, after having sustained a very hot fire from both sides of the river, arrived in safety at the town, to the inexpressible joy of the inhabitants. The

army of James were so dispirited by the success of this enterprise, that they abandoned the siege in the night, and retired with precipitation, after having lost about nine thousand men before the place. Kirke no sooner took possession of the town, than Walker was prevailed upon to embark for England, with an address of thanks from the inhabitants to their majesties for the seasonable relief they had received.

§ XXXVI. The Inniskilliners were no less remarkable than the people of Londonderry for the valour and perseverance with which they opposed the papists. They raised twelve companies, which they regimented under the command of Gustavus Hamilton, whom they chose for their governor. They proclaimed William and Mary on the eleventh day of March; and resolved in a general council to maintain their title against all opposition. The lord Gilmoy invested the castle of Crom belonging to the protestants in the neighbourhood of Inniskillin, the inhabitants of which threw succours into the place, and compelled Gilmoy to retire to Belturbet. A detachment of the garrison, commanded by lieutenant colonel Lloyd, took and demolished the castle of Aughor and they gained the advantage in several skirmishes with the enemy. On the day that preceded the relief of Londonderry, they defeated six thousand Irish papists at a place called Newton Butler, and took their commander Macarty, commonly called lord Moncashel.

§ XXXVII. The Irish parliament being assembled at Dublin, according to the proclamation of king James, he, in a speech from the throne, thanked them for the zeal, courage, and loyalty they had manifested; extolled the generosity of the French king, who had enabled him to visit them in person; insisted upon executing his design of establishing liberty of conscience as a step equally agreeable to the dictates of humanity and discretion, and promised to concur with them in enacting such laws as would contribute to the peace, affluence, and security of his subjects. Sir Richard Neagle, being chosen speaker of the commons, moved for an address of thanks to his majesty, and that the count D'Avaux should be desired to make their acknowledgments to the most christian king, for the generous assistance

he had given to their sovereign. These addresses being drawn up, with the concurrence of both houses, a bill was brought in to recognise the king's title, to express their abhorrence of the usurpation by the prince of Orange, as well as of the defection of the English. Next day James published a declaration, complaining of the calumnies which his enemies had spread to his prejudice; expatiating upon his own impartiality in preferring his protestant subjects; his care in protecting them from their enemies, in redressing their grievances, and in granting liberty of conscience; promising that he would take no step but with the approbation of parliament; offering a free pardon to all persons who should desert his enemies, and join with him in four-andtwenty days after his landing in Ireland, and charging all the blood that might be shed, upon those who should continue in rebellion.

§ XXXVIII. His conduct, however, very ill agreed with this declaration; nor can it be excused on any other supposition, but that of his being governed, in some cases against his own inclination, by the count D'Avaux, and the Irish catholics, on whom his whole dependence was placed. As both houses were chiefly filled with members of that persuasion, we ought not to wonder at their bringing in a bill for repealing the act of settlement, by which the protestants of the kingdom had been secured in the possession of their estates. These were by this law divested of their lands, which reverted to the heirs of those catholics to whom they belonged before their rebellion. This iniquitous bill was framed in such a manner, that no regard was paid to such protestant owners as had purchased estates for valuable considerations: no allowance was made for improvements, nor any provision for protestant widows: the possessor and tenants were not even allowed to remove their stock and corn. When the bill was sent up to the lords, Dr. Dopping, bishop of Meath, opposed it with equal courage and ability: and an address in behalf of the purchasers under the act of settlement was presented to the king by the earl of Granard: but notwithstanding these remonstrances, it received the royal assent: and the protestants of Ireland were mostly ruined.

§ XXXIX. Yet, in order to complete their destruction, an act of attainder was passed against all protestants, whether male or female, whether of high or low degree, who were absent from the kingdom, as well as against all those who retired into any part of the three kingdoms, who did not own the authority of king James, or corresponded with rebels, or were any ways aiding, abetting, or assisting to them from the first day of August in the preceding year. The number of protestants attainted by name in this act amounted to about three thousand, including two archbishops, one duke, seventeen earls, seven countesses, as many bishops, eighteen barons, three-and-thirty baronets, one-and-fifty knights, eighty-three clergymen, who were declared traitors, and adjudged to suffer the pains of death and forfeiture. The individuals subjected to this dreadful proscription were even cut off from all hope of pardon, and all benefit of appeal for, by a clause in the act, the king's pardon was deemed null, unless enrolled before the first day of December. A subsequent law was enacted, declaring Ireland independent of the English parliament. This assembly passed another act, granting twenty thousand pounds per annum, out of the forfeited estates, to Tyrconnel, in acknowledgment of his signal services: they imposed a tax of twenty thousand pounds per month for the service of the king: the royal assent was given to an act for liberty of conscience; they enacted that the tithes payable by papists should be delivered to priests of that communion: the maintenance of the protestant clergy in cities and corporations was taken away; and all dissenters were exempted from ecclesiastical jurisdictions. So that the established church was deprived of all power and prerogative; notwithstanding the express promise of James, who had declared, immediately after his landing, that he would maintain the clergy in their rights and privileges.

XL. Nor was the king less arbitrary in the executive part of his government, if we suppose that he countenanced the grievous acts of oppression that were daily committed upon the protestant subjects of Ireland: but the tyranny of his proceedings may be justly imputed to the temper of his ministry, consisting of men abandoned to all sense of justice and humanity, who acted from the dictates of rapacity and Vor. I.

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revenge, inflamed with all the acrimony of religious rancour. Soldiers were permitted to live upon free quarter: the people were robbed and plundered: licenses and protections were abused, in order to extort money from the trading part of the nation. The king's old stores were ransacked: the shops of tradesmen, and the kitchens of burghers, were pillaged to supply the mint with a quantity of brass, which was converted into current coin for his majesty's occasions: an arbitrary value was set upon it, and all persons were required and commanded to take it in payment under the severest penalties, though the proportion between its intrinsic worth and currency was nearly as one to three hundred. A vast sum of this counterfeit coin was issued in the course of one year, and forced upon the protestants in payment of merchandise, provision, and necessaries, for the king's service. James, not content with the supply granted by parliament, imposed by his own authority a tax of twenty thousand pounds per month on chattels, as the former was laid upon lands. This seems to have been a temporary expedient during the adjournment of the two houses, as the term of the assessment was limited to three months: it was, however, levied by virtue of a commission under the seals: and seems to have been a stretch of prerogative, the less excusable, as he might have obtained the money in a parliamentary way. Understanding that the protestants had laid out all their brass money, in purchasing great quantities of hides, tallow, wood, and corn, he assumed the despotic power of fixing the prices of these commodities, and then bought them for his own use. One may see his ministers were bent upon the utter destruction of those unhappy people.

XLI. All vacancies in public schools were supplied with popish teachers. The pension allowed from the exchequer to the university of Dublin was cut off: the viceprovost, fellows, and scholars were expelled: their furniture, plate, and public library, were seized, without the least shadow of pretence, and in direct violation of a promise the king had made to preserve their privileges and immunities. His officers converted the college into a garrison, the chapel into a magazine, and the apartments into prisons: a popish priest was appointed provost: one Mac